Really sayin' something

It might have all fallen a little quiet on the Guac & Roll front over here, but rest assured there's more than a little something in the works for next week...

As well as recipe testing and scrawling ideas on my work roof at any given moment, I managed to finally get my hands on some of the gorgeous magazines pictured above- Kinfolk, Cereal, Wilder and Chickpea. I decided to buy the spring/summer issues as I think I'm in some major seasonal denial and wanted to read about ice cream and sorbets for another few months. If you come across any of these, they're all sumptuous reads, and I don't think anything can replace that luxury of having an evening or even just an hour to spend reading a magazine you've been trying to track down for months. I cycled home with all four weighing down my rucksack like a treasure trove.

See you shortly, and follow me on Instagram for vegan ideas and mishaps with burritos in the mean time!

Summer nights: The Joy of Seeds

I picked up a hankering for seeds from my best friend Heather. The taste of that seeded bread I couldn't get enough of in Berlin followed me right back to London, so that when I returned I realised I, like many before me, had finally discovered THE JOY OF SEEDS.

No, I am not Gillian McKeith incarnate, I just think seeds are amazing; they're little but they pack a punch. You can top off most meals with them and they'll add protein, vitamins, fibre and iron to your food without you realising they're there.

I've tried munching on all manner of seeds at my desk before and it's ended in what a stranger would think were drawers full of abandoned bird-feed.  However, I've found that by adding a handful of different seeds to my meals each day, I've begun to crave them and now miss anything that doesn't include a bit of seedy goodness. So if like me, you're not someone who's easily wooed by seeds at snack time, I suggest adding some to breads, salads, porridge, museli, flapjacks, roast dinner stuffing, burritos.... well, anywhere. Here's a few of my favourite seed-embracing recipes for summertime. Yes, they're super easy, but it's a start...

For another summer night dinner I made a giant couscous salad with sunflower seeds, which are a good source of vitamin E, protein, and minerals, and broccoli with sesame seeds, which are a great source of calcium, magnesium and iron. Along with these two recipes I served marinate aubergine, toasted wraps, salad leaves, beetroot hummus and homemade falafel.

Giant couscous salad with grated carrot, spinach, radish and sunflower seeds
Makes enough for 4

Ingredients
300g giant couscous
Olive oil
1 large carrot
Handful of washed spinach
Handful of washed radishes
Handful of sunflower seeds
Seasoning
Juice 1/2 lemon (optional)

Heat the giant couscous in a pan with a little olive oil, before pouring in around 500ml of boiling water. Allow to simmer for around five minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the mean time, grate the carrot, chop the spinach if it is a larger leaf and slice the radishes. Once the coucous is softer (it has a totally different consistency to regular couscous, so instead you're just tasting to see if it is no longer hard as opposed to fluffy), drain, allow to cool a little, and mix in a bowl with the vegetables and the seeds. Top off with some seasoning and the juice of half a lemon if you like it.

Broccoli, sesame seed and soy sauce salad
Makes enough for 4 as a side dish

Ingredients
One medium head of broccoli
1 tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp sesame seeds

Chop the broccoli into florets, and boil in salted water until just al dente. Drain, then back in the pan add the soy sauce and sesame seeds and heat for about 30 seconds, just so the flavours can mix at a high temperature.

Dun Run vegan flapjacks

These powered me through 90 miles of overnight cycling on the Dunwich Dynamo and are a force to be reckoned with. Golden Syrup is the major player here. I didn't bother with sugar, instead going straight into the real stuff.

Makes enough for about eight-ten people 

Ingredients
Vegetable oil or vegan margarine to line baking tins
250g porridge oats
1 pinch of salt
150g Pure soya margarine (or another vegan spread)
4 tbsp Golden Syrup
Handful of chopped cherries, cranberries or nuts like macadamia

Preheat the oven to 180C. 

Line one or two baking tins with greaseproof paper and/or vegan margarine or oil. I prefer my flapjacks to be crazy dense so usually squash them all into one tray.

In a large bowl, pour in the oats and salt. In a pan, melt down the margarine over a low heat and then add this to the bowl. Stir in with the oats and salt, before adding in the syrup and finally the chopped fruit or nuts.

Pour into the lined baking tray and bake for around 25-35 minutes.

If you like your flapjacks soft like I do, then take them out of the oven as soon as the mixture starts to go golden at the edges. If you like them a littler harder, wait another ten minutes until the tops are brown all over.

Take out of the oven and while still in the baking tray, divide into pieces with a knife. Leave in the tray to cool completely before beginning the demolition process!