CHAI DONUTS (vegan) – hb butter&bs!!!!!

 

damnnnn, 3 years. Who would’ve thought I could start something and not give up after a month??

very few people, that’s who (i’m a flighty af)

I mean, I credit my longevity to taking considerable, non helpful, non consistent, nor audience building breaks (*cough* 4 months sorry), but there could be other reasons – motivation and perseverance perhaps? Who truly knows? Definitely not me!

Lets get to it though, chai donuts. Yum!!

These babies got a lit (thats the new ‘sick’ right? seriously, someone correct me if i’m wrong) cardamom glaze on them; but glaze or no glaze, they are truly warming, crispy on the outside while soft on the inside, and perfect in the kind of way where you feel okay eating them for breakfast (for no particular reason?) Lets break the societal construct of acceptable breakfast foods guys!!

starting here:

VEGAN CHAI DONUTS

makes: 6-9 (depending on size)

ingredients:

200g plain flour
1/2tsp fine salt
1/2tsp cinnamon
pinch each of: nutmeg, cloves, ginger (or large pinch of mixed spice)
3/2tsp dry active yeast 
2T light brown sugar
160ml dairy free milk
1-2 chai tea bags

glaze: about 1 1/2 cups icing sugar, a pinch of ground cardamom, and a little water to the thickness you desire. It shouldn’t be runny, but you can add more or less water (or icing sugar) depending on if you want a glaze or more of an iced topping.

method:

Mix together the flour, salt and spices in a bowl, and make a well in the middle.
Warm the milk up till lukewarm and brew the teabag/s in it for about 4-5 minutes (or stir vigorously like me if you’re impatient)
Whisk together the yeast, sugar and chai milk and let sit for 10 minutes till frothy.
Once frothy, mx the wet into the dry until a ball forms, then knead for 10minutes.
In a warm spot, let the dough prove, covered, for about an hour
Once proved, roll out the dough until about an inch or so thick and cut out into 6-9 rings. Alternatively, separate dough into as many balls you would like donuts, then flatten slightly for hole-less donuts.
Let these shapes rise for another half hour in a warm spot.
Once risen again, heat up a neutral oil to a medium-high heat in a pot or pan (a few inches thick, so donuts can be at least half submerged).
Get frying! if a small piece of bread can fry and bubble quickly without burning too soon, you’re good dude. Place 2-3 donuts at a time (depending on the size of your pan) and fry for about 2-3 minutes either side until golden brown and cooked through.
As donuts are done cooking, drain on a cooling rack to remove excess oil.

Finally, glaze! Dip the donuts in your glaze to coat and let sit on the cooling rack a further 5 minutes to set before serving (or not…..)

Enjoy dudes!

vegan french toast

Guess who’s back? Back again…..

After a extremely long hiatus due to a real dry patch in the motivation/inspiration departments, ya girl’s back with something worth the wait my friends!

french toast.aka pure bliss – to make and eat because this is so easy!

And vegan! From a french toast lover there are no compromises here.

u don’t need the eggs people!also bonus this comes with a video as u deserve more from me after almost 3 months. I’m inviting you to the world of my poor quality YouTube channel – this is the only video i don’t regret uploading! (lets not speak too soon tho cause its the first day and i’m bound to self deprecate within a weeks time lol)

um but yeah. this is delicious (creamy, crispy, melt in yo mouth).

Watch the video, make the food, devour the food. Enjoy!

enough for 6-8 medium-thick slices

ingredients:

6-8 slices crusty bread
2 cups dairy-free milk (i used soy)
2T chia seeds (can also use flax)
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp vanilla
2T sugar (or other sweetener)
pinch of salt

method:

Whisk together all the ingredients but the bread (obviously haha)
Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes, for the chia seeds to thicken the mixture a little
Soak the bread slices in the mix for a few seconds either side
Fry the slices on a non-stick, lightly greased pan on medium heat – about 1-2 mins either side or until golden brown (you can also put the slices in the oven at 220ºC for 5  minutes if you like a crispier crust)
Finally, serve the toast with fresh fruit, syrup, whipped cream, nut butter, seeds etc. or just plain ‘ol icing sugar (ma fave)

chocolate chunk cookies (vegan, gf)

These, are a successful experiment. A repeated experiment, and a repeatedly successful, enjoyable experiment.

I say this, but really, they’re chocolate chip cookies and i don’t see why they wouldn’t be enjoyable. Except they’re gluten free, dairy free and vegan – and still fab! Who said classic is always best?

If gooey insides are you’re thing, i apologise. However what these cookies do have going for them is a wonderfully crispy exterior, a slightly chewy centre, big melty pockets of rich chocolate and heaps of flavour. The almond complements the darkness of the chocolate while the coconut adds a lightness to these morsels of yum.

 Chocolate Chunk Cookies (gf, vegan)

makes: 12

Ingredients:
75g almonds, ground
50g dried coconut, ground          }   or almond, coconut & oat flour
75g oats, ground
1/2tsp baking powder
good pinch of salt
1/4tsp cinnamon
50g light brown sugar
25g liquid sweetener (maple/carob/coconut syrup? honey?)
1½T vegetable oil
2tsp chia seeds + 2T water (mix and let sit to make a chia “egg”)
75g dark chocolate chunks [about ½ cup]

Method:
mix together all your dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl (almond, coconut + oat flour, baking powder, salt & cinnamon)
whisk together all wet ingredients (brown sugar, liquid sweetener, oil & chia “egg”)
combine wet and dry until a mould-able dough forms, with a little patience it will form even if it seems too dry at first, however adding a little water or dairy-free milk may help the process if needed
chop up your dark chocolate if need be so, and mix into the dough until evenly distributed
form your cookie dough into 12 even balls and place on a large, lined baking tray
flatten out each ball into a round (you can optionally sprinkle them with a little sea salt here (yum!))
place into the oven and bake for around 10 minutes, or until very slightly spread out and golden brown on top.
let cool for 5-10 minutes before eating so they can hold their shape – still best eaten warm though while the chocolate is still melty!

enjoy!

Middle Eastern Rice

 

Yo. This may be one of the most ridiculously easy dishes/side dishes.  Personally I’ve always just eaten rice plain as a side dish or maybe stir fried. Rice has never really been much more than that in my household, although after being inspired by various restaurant dishes, i decided it was time i take my rice up a notch. And let me tell you, this is absolutely fantabulous as a side, but I think if you were to add even more veggies or legumes (pepper, carrot, kidney beans) it would make a star dish all on it’s own.

I think what makes it so fab is the complementary mixes between the fragrant spices and the sweet ring raisins/sultanas; they bring out the flavours in each other. Also: I used sultanas and raisins in this, because it’s what I had, however dates, dried cranberries and even dried apricot would be so delicious here too.

 

serves: 4 (as a side), 2 as a main

Ingredients:
300g basmati rice (i use 1:1 brown:white) – can also use quick rice
2tsp olive oil
1 onion
2-3 garlic cloves
75g/1/2 cup raisins (sultanas, dates, cranberries, apricots…..)
spices: cumin, coriander, paprika, black pepper, cinnamon, aniseed, salt

Method:
Get your rice cooking according to  packet instructions, this should take anywhere from 15-30mins unless using quick/pre-cooked rice
Chop up your onion and garlic.
Rough chop your dried fruit – especially if using dates or apricots.
Sautee your onion in a pan with olive oil until translucent and just beginning to brown, then add the garlic and fruit and sautee until the garlic is fragrant.
Add the spices to taste – as a guideline, you will probably need more cumin, coriander and paprika then pepper, cinnamon or aniseed. Salt should definitely just be to taste.
Quickly toss your rice with this mix to thoroughly coat, then serve with a squeeze of lemon.

chocolate breakfast shake (high fibre, vegan*)

 

easy, peasy, and you can prepare the base for many of them all at once.

um, yes please.

I personally really enjoy smoothies and sometimes I think a drink is more refreshing than food, but I also sometimes want a milkshake and soz but that ain’t so healthy. I also think ice cream ain’t all its made out to be sometimes? Just me?

Anyway currently I’ve really been focusing on fibre because, well, I really need fibre despite my love for fruit and veg. This basically means I’ve recently attempted to make everything I consume have more fibre than usual and in my attempts, this beautiful shake came to be.

Usually I just make the ice cubes with the first 2 ingredients but yesterday I realised I could basically just blend everything aside from a few things in advance! yay! Althoughhh, if you want to customise your flavours, then just blending the milk and banana/yoghurt is fine.

Basically here you go. Try it. Enjoy it, or don’t but i really hope you do

chocolate breakfast shake

serves: 1
Ingredients:
60ml/ 1/4cup milk of choice
1/2 banana + 2T greek yoghurt*
15g/2T cocoa
1T wheat bran
pinch of salt
3-4 dates, soaked if necessary (1-2 if medjool)
180ml/ 3/4cup milk of choice

optional:
1T nut butter/coconut oil (for richness, 2T for flavour)
1T chia seeds (even more fibre, keeps shake thicker for longer)

*you can just use a whole banana to keep this vegan, but i’m not and tbh i don’t like the taste of banana, however it does lend a certain silkiness and creaminess, and so by using a little yoghurt i can mask the banana taste and still have the benefits. if you are vegan and don’t like banana, maybe use a vegan yoghurt?

Method:
in a blender or food processor, blend all ingredients except the last 2 until smooth.
pour liquid into an ice cube tray (1 standard should suffice) and freeze until solid.
once frozen, pop out cubes into your blending contraption again and top off with the soaked dates and more milk, also your optional ingredients if using.
blend till smooth, pour in a glass, cup, jar, bottle, anything – and enjoy!

Update: Thick, Tummy Tomato Soup!

Update!

I’ve now got pictures of my own for my tomato soup, yippee!

Scroll down to the bottom of the post and you’ll see a regular photo of it and a meal idea that I had a couple days ago – and please do try it out because it was sooooo tasty.

no jks.

Plum Soy Noodles (For 1!)

Haven’t posted in a while but I’m back with a bang!

BANG!

Noodles!

Yeahhhhh boi. Noodles fo 1!

Fo shizzle ma dizzle.

Sorry for the gangster chav talk.

Actually….

I’m not sorry.

These are good noodles.

They’re super quick and vegetarian too (vegan actually!), and don’t require many ingredients either. Its for that day.

Plum Soy Noodles

Serves: 1        Calories: 430

Ingredients:

70g Dry Rice Noodles (or equivalent fresh)

150g Broccoli

30g Plum Sauce

15ml (1T) Dark Soy Sauce

1 clove Garlic

7.5ml (1/2T) Vegetable Oil

Optional: A pinch of Chilli Flakes

 

Method:

Mix together the soy and plum to make the sauce.

Place the noodles in a pot of boiling water until they are soft and pliable, but not mushy. Then drain them and rinse under cold water and set aside. Do the same to the broccoli just to take the rawness out of them.

Heat up a wok or skillet and fry the garlic in the oil slightly, careful not to burn it, then add in the broccoli. Cook that for another minute or 2 then add in the noodles and sauce and stir-fry until the noodles and broccoli are fully coated in the sauce.

Transfer to a bowl and voilà! Yummyyyyyyy!

Boom! Pow! Done!

And coming soooon….. Another ‘Asian-y’ dish. My healthier version of Orange Chicken (healthier than a restauraunt or takeaway that is!). But maybe I’ll throw in another sweet recipe before, to mix it up 😛