Tuesday 28 August 2012

Salad Days










Another extended break from an internet connection has left blog posts a little thin on the ground for August- but it wasn't all bbqs on the beach and home cooking... at least not all the time!

For my Dad's birthday this year I made him a cook book of all my favourite recipes I have so far discovered. In fact there's been quite a few new dishes I've had to keep under wraps from here as I know he checks it from time to time!

Here's a little look at the finished cook book, which we looked through with fried mushrooms and parsley from the garden for breakfast. Happy Birthday Dad!

Sunday 12 August 2012

Brunch at Naomi's: Gluten-free, vegan crepes


A few Sundays ago Naomi made brunch and we talked about the missing local cat and the weirdness of strangers. These crepes are vegan and gluten free, less oily and greasy than standard pancakes and really really tasty. We had them with berries from Deptford Market, soy vanilla yoghurt and too much tea.

Naomi told me she used Dove's Farm bread flour (I think you could use either brown or white but she used brown in this instance) as it comes with Xanthan Gum in it already, which helps with any gluten-free cooking.


Naomi's (Not at all) Crepe Brunch
Ingredients
1/2 cup Soymilk
2/3 cup Water
1/4 cup Pure soy margarine
1 cup  Dove’s Farm gluten free brown bread flour
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Sugar (sweet crepes only, optional)
2 tsp Vanilla Extract (sweet crepes only, optional)
2 tbsp Water, to thin if needed

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Transfer to a pourable jug and refrigerate for 30 minutes. While the batter is refrigerating, wash the fruit or other fillings.

Heat a small frying pan and add a little oil, and once the oil is smoking in the pan, add enough crepe batter to cover the bottom of the pan. Allow the mixture to cook and once the edges begin to dry and come away from the side of the pan, use a spatula to loosen the edges and eventually the middle, so you can flip it over. The first crepe is never the best so be patient and use that one for a taste test (yum). Carry on doing the same method for each crepe, adding a little more oil between every few crepes. 


P.S. As well as brunches, Naomi is also amazing at making illustrations- you can see them here.

Thursday 2 August 2012

Spicy bean burger leftovers


Spicy bean burgers made from this recipe, with giant cous cous and chick pea salad, gherkins and toasted pitta. I'm sadly not working from home, but if I was, this is my dream lunch. Yes, it's okay to have those.

Work in progress: Chocolate and cherry Bundt cake


Last Sunday I got up at the crack of dawn to get this little blighter in the oven. Eating cake for breakfast is certainly a decadent pursuit, but unlike most involves getting up very early! A bowl of leftover cherries from the vegetable box became the perfect excuse to try the Bundt tin my Mum gave me- they are so much fun!!

I added some glace chocolate icing and cherries to finish it off. No recipe this time as there's still some parts to the ingredients and method I want to tweak- but here's a visual taster...