Tuesday 10 December 2013

Cooked The Boy A Veggie Roast Dinner!


So last night I thought i'd be all good wifey and cook T a proper cooked dinner, vegan style.
I roasted potatoes and parsnips with rosemary and garlic and cut the carrots into little heart shapes.
I sauteed onions and mushrooms in balsamic vinegar to make gravy.
I even made up my own 'nut roast'...although I didn't have any chopped nuts...so it wasn't really a nut roast, more a sort of lentil and bean loafy thing. Basically I threw a load of lentils, red kidney beans, chickpeas, baked beans, onion, garlic, flour and spices together and baked it. It came out quite tastey if I do say so myself, so I might pop the recipe up soooonly if anyone's interested? :)

x

Chocolate And Cardamom

Ok I'll admit it; I am a cardamom lover. Especially at this time of year, it will spice up any biscuit, cookie or cake and make it a Christmasy delight. 
Here's my vegan cardamom spiced chocolate muffin recipe I think you'll love...

Ingredients
2½oz (70g) Vegan butter
2¼oz (60g)Sugar
1 Tbs Syrup
4½oz (120g)Plain flour
½oz (5g)Cocoa powder
1oz (10g) Cornflour
3 Tsp Baking powder
¼ Pint (150ml) Soya milk (Rice milk works well too)
2 Tsp Cardamom pods    
Little splash of vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

This recipe makes 4 large muffins, but if you’re feeling extra naughty it can be doubled, or you can use standard size cake cases to make the mixture stretch further.


 Get your bake on…
First things first, grab your pestle and mortar and bash the cardamom pods so they break. Now take out the shells of the pods and grind the little seeds. Try to get them as finely ground as possible.


 To the mixing bowl!
Cream the vegan butter and sugar together and then add the vanilla extract, syrup and cardamom seeds.


Give it a good mix so it’s all combined.
In another bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt.
Now pour a little soya milk into the butter and sugar mixture and then mix in a little of the flour mixture.

Keep alternating bit by bit until it’s all combined and wonderfully glossy.

Spoon it into some pretty cases and fill them ¾ full. Trust me the mixture smells so chocolatey and spiced up you may struggle not to eat it all from the bowl!
Bake them at 180c for 30 minutes and enjoy!

x

Christmas Cards!

Anybody out there still in need of Christmas cards? If you like handmade cards with cute drawings of mice and rabbits wearing red and white stripy onesies, then I know just the place to grab some :)
Hop along to my Etsy shop HERE and have a looksee.

Here's a few things you'll see...




 The Christmas Angel - a tree decoration
 The Christmas King - a tree decoration
 A little matchbox owl on a candy cane - tree decoration



Dylan The Mouse - a matchbox mouse tree decoration

Hope you're all having a jolly good December, can't believe it's like 2 weeks until Christmas! Aaaaahhh it's come around sooo soon. Bristol at Christmas time is wonderful, the Christmas market is here and the smell of roasted chestnuts and doughnuts is just too tempting :)

x


Thursday 5 December 2013

Who Likes Smoked Paprika?!

SMOKED PAPRIKA!
I don't know about you, but in my opinion this stuff is just amazing. It seems to make everything better, but I warn you, once you go smoked...you won't go back....

Make your own fajita sauce with tomatoes, peppers, chillies and smoked paprika

Before you put potato wedges in the oven, bash them up a bit, add oil, salt, tomato puree and smoked paprika...mmmmmm!

If all you fancy is beans on toast...pop a spoonful of smoked paprika in with the baked beans, it will rock your world!


Love and all that jazz x

What Have I Been Eating?

Wintery days need warming food, food that feeds your mind and soul as well as your body.

Spicy Lentil and Tomato Soup
Pasta in a Creamy Garlic Sauce with Spinach and Tomatoes
Spicy Vegetable Curry With Roasted Peppers and Caramelized Onion Naan Bread
Warming Chilli with Rustic Potato Wedges

And of course I wouldn't be Millie if I hadn't been baking too...

Spiced Up Apple Tumble
Be My Lover Apple Tart
And the first batch of Christmas Time Mince Pies

As always, all my food is vegan and recipes will follow, so if you've seen something you like never fear! Strawberries and Squiggles recipes will soon be here!

Love and all that jazz x