The Yogi Vegans

Fig and Walnut Tart- vegan, gluten free

2020-11-22T14:47:00.000+00:00

Our generous fig tree has given us so many figs this year they’ve been finding their way into all our baking!

Fig trees are amazing; they spread out wide with their beautiful glossy leaves and smell wonderfully sweet and fragrant when Summer sun shines down on the ripening fruit. Figs are such gorgeous fruits, too. They can be small or large, yellow, brown, greenish or purple when ripe depending on the variety. There's nothing that says Mediterranean Summer Holidays quite so definitively as eating freshly-picked and sun-warmed figs for breakfast straight from the tree- although our tree doesn't tend to ripen its figs until at least October, being in the UK. If you live in Northern Europe or somewhere with a similar climate, try growing the variety Violette de Bordeaux; that's what our tree is. It's hardy over frosty Winters and self-pollinating so it doesn't need the fig wasp in order to fruit. We planted it against a south-facing fence and it produces small-to-medium-sized dark purple fruits with a lovely, mildly fragrant and sweet flavour from mid-Autumn right up to the last couple of weeks in November.

I've only made this recipe the one time so far, but it's the kind of recipe that will give pretty consistent results; the only thing you might want to tweak to your own taste is the amount of maple syrup- if you like it sweeter drizzle over a little more before or halfway through baking, or simply add it to serve. I don't know how long this tart would keep, as it was eaten up fairly rapidly, but around four days, covered, in the fridge is probably about right. (I did find the pastry got a bit harder after 48 hours though.)

This tart looks impressive garnished with a drizzle of maple syrup, icing sugar and/or something like physalis (which we also grew in our polytunnel this year) yet it is easy to make, especially if you have a high-speed blender for the filling. The only thing you need to remember is to pre-soak your cashews. So without further ado, here's the recipe:

Pastry base:

250g gluten-free plain flour

20g soft light brown sugar

90g coconut oil, grated

cold water to mix (I used around 75ml)

Mix the flour and sugar together, and rub in the coconut oil with your fingers.
Use a minimal amount of water to bring the mixture together into a soft (but not sticky) dough. The less water you use, the shorter the pastry will be. If you're not rolling it out straight away, wrap or cover the dough to prevent it from drying out but don't chill it; I made this mistake and found it impossible to roll and I had to wait until it armed up before it could be handled.
Roll the dough into a large circle and press into an oiled loose-bottomed flan dish. If your pastry cracks or breaks don't worry; just press what you can roll evenly into the bottom of the dish and use you fingers to gently coax it up the sides- that's actually what I did and it didn't affect the finished result at all.
Bake "blind" -I used some dried chickpeas on baking paper on the bottom to stop it bubbling up- for about ten minutes at 200C or until the bottom is hard and set. This will prevent the filling from making the base soggy. Leave to cool.
Meanwhile, make the filling...

Filling:

300g (soaked weight; needs about half that for the dry weight) cashews, soaked for at least 3 hours or overnight

50g cornflour

125ml maple syrup plus 1-2 tabs to drizzle on top

2 1/2 tsps vanilla essence

150-200ml of the cashew soaking water

Place everything in a blender until its about the consistency of a thick double cream.
Pour into the cooled pastry base.
Next, add the toppings...

Topping:

about 180g fresh figs (that was 10-12 small homegrown fruits)

about 80g walnut halves

extra maple syrup (see above)

Halve or quarter your figs, depending on size, and arrange on the filling with the walnuts. Drizzle with maple syrup.
Bake at 200c for about 20 minutes. The gluten free pastry may not brown like wheat pastry so don't leave it in too long. If the filling has set and the walnuts are slightly browned it's ready.
Leave to cool and serve with more fruit and/ or maple syrup.

If you want to make this for a buffet, you could try making individual tartlets.

Chocolate Caramel Shortbread- gluten free, can be made free from cane sugar

2020-05-17T18:15:00.000+01:00

No sugar? No flour? - no worries, we have your back! Lockdown baking is the perfect situation to hone your creativity whilst scouring the supermarket aisles for those elusive baking ingredients; that's how this recipe actually came about. Having made one version that was a bit like Twix a few weeks ago before our buckwheat flour ran out, I was requested to make it again this week. No buckwheat flour, gluten free flour, vanilla essence or soft brown sugar was to be had anywhere! Gasp!

I did buy, however, some caramel essence labelled natural and plenty of 70% dark chocolate. On arriving home, I inspected the cupboards for something I could turn into flour...I found that we had several likely candidates, the result of our last big shop in an Asian supermarket. That's really our hot tip of the week- if you have an Asian supermarket nearby, go and check it out for different types of raw sugar like jaggery/ gour, shakkar (the dark Punjabi version is our favourite) and coconut sugar (because even Lidl will surely sell out of this eventually). You may also find desiccated coconut, sultanas, dried apricots and an abundance of different grain flours to help fulfil your baking desires. This recipe uses ragi (finger millet flour), some oats I ground finely and some fine cornmeal- note fine; unless you want to end up with something akin to builders' sand, that is. The batch photographed here was made using Punjabi shakkar but coconut sugar as an alternative would work well too.

Notes: I used a 26x17x2.5cm tin lined with greaseproof paper; if you leave a little paper at the edges you can hold this to lift it out of the tin when cooled and set. This recipe is pretty easy to make, but you do need patience making the caramel and waiting for it to set. Because it's such a concentrated slice of sweet yumminess I recommend cutting it into 16 portions. You can always go back for more ;)

First pre- heat your oven to 200C and prepare your tin.
Shortbread:
190g ragi (finger millet) flour
95g fine cornmeal
95g fine oatmeal (it's easy to grind this yourself)
150g Punjabi shakkar/ demerara sugar/ coconut sugar
1/2 tsp seasalt
3/4 cup (about 190 ml) melted coconut oil
water to mix, if needed

Mix together the flours, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
Add the coconut oil; combine well.
If you need to (it will depend on the properties of the flours you are using) add a little water. Bear in mind that the less water you add, the crunchier and "shorter" the result. You don't need to work the mixture into a ball; leave it like crumble topping.
Empty the mixture into the tray, press it down evenly and prick it all over with a skewer. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. About halfway through I usually check it to press it down in the tin and make sure the edges are not over-browning. (If they are, you may need to turn the heat down.)

You don't have to wait for the shortbread to cool completely before you add the topping, so as soon as you take it out of the oven you can get going with the caramel.

Caramel:

2 cups (1 cup = 250ml) shakkar/ coconut sugar/ soft light brown sugar
1 cup tahini

a little water
2 tsps natural caramel essence/ 2-4 tsps natural vanilla essence (if you prefer a more fudge-like vibe)

Melt the sugar over a low heat, adding just enough water to ensure any crystals have dissolved. It's worth being patient here to obtain a smooth caramel.
Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Check for the "soft ball" stage every couple of minutes by dropping a bit into very cold water; if it gloops together on the bottom and forms a soft ball in your fingers, then it's ready. (The harder the ball, the more chewy like toffee, then brittle like praline it will become. Watch out for that one- it happens quickly)
When it's reached the soft ball stage, turn the heat off, beat in the tahini and the essence.
Before it begins to set, put it over the shortbread in the tray. tip it to ensure an even coverage- you wouldn't want to be the one who gets the slice with hardly any caramel on it.

To finish:
Break 200g vegan dark chocolate into small pieces and spread over the caramel while it's all still warm. The chocolate will gradually melt. Return to it every few minutes to spread it evenly with a spatula.

...Now you just have to wait. If you live somewhere hot (lucky you!) or you are, like me, just plain impatient, you can put it in the freezer or fridge to set once it's cooled enough to do so. You may run the risk of the chocolate discolouring slightly if you do this, however, depending on the type of chocolate and the humidity of the environment.

Before the chocolate is completely set, mark out into 16 pieces. that way it will slice more neatly.

When cooled and set, lift it out of the tray by holding the baking paper and cut with a large, heavy knife. It is hard to cut neatly as the shortbread can be more breakable than the other layers, so take your time. Enjoy with a hot drink and good company...

If you would like our raw, sugar-free version of this, which has date "caramel", click here.https://theyogivegetarian.blogspot.com/2014/05/raw-vegan-millionaires-shortbread-wheat.html

Anytime Gluten-free Date and Walnut Cake (Ekadasi friendly)

2018-11-19T22:10:00.001+00:00

Date and walnut cake

Today (Monday 19th November) is special. Not only is it Ekadasi (the day which comes around twice a month on which practitioners of Bhakti Yoga fast from grains and beans) but it is the second Ekadasi in the holy month of Kartika, dedicated to the sweet childhood pastimes of Lord Krishna. Devotees flock to Vrindavan in India for the annual pilgrimage. We like to offer a lamp every day to Him in this month, and sing special prayers to Radha and Krishna.

Today our offering to you will be this cake, which can be eaten even on Ekadasi days. We often follow Ekadasi dietary rules on festival days, so it's a great recipe to have up your sleeve for gatherings. And if you're a vegan and on a gluten free diet this cake is for you too.

In fact, anyone could eat this cake, anytime (people with nut allergies can just omit the nuts and replace the nut milk with coconut milk).

Ingredients:
400g buckwheat flour
200g sugar
100g sultanas
90g dates (stoned)
50g walnuts (chopped)
1 tab ground ginger (it cuts the earthiness of the buckwheat rather than giving an overtly gingery flavour)
400ml almond milk (home made to avoid additives)
50ml melted coconut oil
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda in 20ml lemon juice

Mix together the flour, sugar, fruit, nuts and ginger in a large bowl.
Beat the coconut oil with the almond milk and add to the dry ingredients. Mix well.
In a small container, add the bicarb to the lemon juice. It will foam and froth and you need to add this to the cake mix as quickly as possible, turn the batter into an oiled and floured cake tin (8"-10" in diameter) and bake in the middle of an oven preheated to 180C for about 35 minutes.
When cool enough, release the cake from the tin. Store in a cool place (but not the fridge because that will dry it out), in an airtight container or wrapping. Makes 12 slices.

Quince Cheezecake - vegan, sugar free, gluten free, mostly raw

2018-11-11T16:14:00.001+00:00

Tangy, creamy, dreamy...

Once it's been in the freezer for a bit, this dessert firms up beautifully for slicing!

With two quinces left to use, I wondered what on earth we could dream up that isn't already all over the blogosphere? Quinces need to be cooked: a tart, perhaps? But then I remembered that the traditional pairing of quince is with cheese. Hmmmm... oh yes; cheesecake! And so this was my mission last weekend. We've made some pretty good vegan cheesecakes before, including raw (see https://theyogivegetarian.blogspot.com/2013/07/sunny-summer-fruits-tofu-cheesecake.html https://theyogivegetarian.blogspot.com/2016/02/far-out-lime-and-berry-tofu-cheesecake.html and here https://theyogivegetarian.blogspot.com/2013/02/twice-baked-chocolate-tofu-cheesecake.html ) but for a fresh perspective, I looked to Blendaholic's Youtube channel for inspiration. I made the base according to her recipe, but made some tweaks to the filling: I pre-soaked the cashews for about three hours, I cut out the coconut milk and I measured the dry ingredients in grams rather then cups. The topping is my own. If you don't have quinces, pears would work just as well. If you want to make this dessert completely raw then sliced fresh fruit or chia jam would be the way to go.

Ingredients:
Base: 140g almonds (1 cup)
120g stoned fresh dates (1 cup)
Filling: 3 cups cashews, soaked for at least 3 hours in enough water to cover them
3/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp natural vanilla essence
a pinch of salt
Top: 2 large quinces
about 1 tab maple syrup, depending on the sweetness of the quinces
melted dark chocolate/ sugar- free raw chocolate (optional)

This is the kind of recipe where you start from the top, then make the base, then the filling. See how under the next photo...

First soak the cashews in enough water just to cover them.
Now make the quince compote for the topping; you'll need it to be completely cold by the time you use it. Peel, core and dice the quinces and cook in a minimum of water until pureed; I used a potato masher to help things along. Stir in the maple syrup to taste. I prefer things a little tangy.
In a food processor or blender, whizz the dates and almonds until the whole thing comes together in your hands. Press it into a loose-bottomed flan dish lined with greaseproof paper. It should be about 5mm thick. (My dish is about 7" in diameter and the base and topping fitted perfectly.) Set it aside to chill in the fridge.
Blend all the filling ingredients together and pour on top of the base. Put it in the freezer until set. Once it's been frozen it defrosts but stays nicely firm.
When the filling is firm. add the fruit topping and drizzle on some melted vegan chocolate if you like.

(Makes 8 slices; they are pretty rich- you might want to make them a little smaller...)

Kitchen Insider: This month, we’re loving...

2018-11-05T07:30:00.000+00:00

This awesome stainless steel lunchbox by Mintie, bought on Amazon for £22. If that sounds a bit steep, remember that this is a very sturdy product which should last many years and obviate the need for plastic boxes and bags. It’s too small for something like an apple or a banana, so it comes with a cloth drawstring bag. The little pot is so handy for hummus and soya yoghurt. The pot's lid is silicone and leakproof, and the silicone band for the outside of the box means you can slot in a small piece of cutlery without having to worry about taking up space inside. I especially love the fact the box is divided into two compartments: no more soggy crackers!

These two flours are from our local Indian grocery and are the new staples in our gluten-free baking repertoire. On the left, mogo flour (made from cassava) is a superb choice for cookies or tortilla-style flatbread- I'm working on a flatbread recipe now and the first version was very promising. We can't wait to see how it performs in cakes. The second, faradi atta, is a great gluten-free flour made from millet and chestnut. Find our chapatti recipe here. We also add it to pancake batter, cakes and dumpling dough.

Found in a Caribbean corner shop, this spice mix is fabulous! We often struggle to find mixes that don't contain dried onions or garlic (we don't cook with either of those) but this ticks all the boxes. It has a lovely yellow ochre colour, and the heat comes from pepper rather than chilli. It makes a curry quite different from Asian curries and I've been making bean and veg curry with coconut rice'n'peas and cornmeal dumplings regularly. Sadly the packet is now empty but we've kept it so we can find another or, failing that, replicate the mix using the ingredients list. If you zoom in, you can just about see it contains turmeric, rice flour, salt, coriander, fenugreek, black pepper and cumin.

We love to enjoy fruits of our gardening and cooking labours! Our homegrown tomatoes this year were packed with flavour and sunshine. We had so many we dried a large batch in the dehydrator and made three jars of “sun dried” tomatoes in olive oil. This is all we have left now, and it’s gone into hiding until Christmas. Also in hiding until Christmas is the membrillo we’ve posted about here. Can’t wait to see how it pairs with our home made smoked paprika cashew cheese!

Autumn Treats: Membrillo (quince paste)

2018-11-03T11:07:00.001+00:00

We just love old-fashioned fruits and flowers! There's a reason why fruits like quinces and damsons were popular to grow and use in years gone by, and in this fast age of instant meals and takeaways it's lovely, when you have some spare time, to get back to picking and processing fresh seasonal produce to last into Winter. Fruit like quinces are rarely found in shops here in the UK so getting some fruit and making jam, chutney or jelly with it feels like a luxury, especially when you taste their unique flavours and realise they have nutritional benefits too.

Take quinces. If you can't forage any, try checking out your local farmer's market.We were lucky enough to find some in a local grocery but this is a rarity. We haven't got a quince tree in the garden (yet!) but where I work there were some unwanted quinces in the grounds. I was given five, with which I made the membrillo. My colleagues were puzzled as to what these somewhat ugly-looking pear- like, knobbly fruits were and at first didn't believe me when I told them they were quinces, as most people are more used to seeing the shrubby little Japanese quince with the pretty red flowers and much smaller fruits. But quinces they were, and I proved it by making this delicious quince paste! Don't be put off by the fact that you have to cook quinces to make them palatable- the flesh is hard and sharp-tasting when raw- because although I suspect they lose a great deal of their Vitamin C content through cooking, they are high in pectin, a soluble fibre which is great for our digestive health, and also sets jams and jellies beautifully.

To make the jam, I peeled, cored and chopped the quince, cooked it down in a minimum of water and then added brown sugar. I didn't add equal the weight as we don't like our jams too sweet, and it all depends on the quinces; they can vary in flavour. So we prefer less sweet jam and we keep it in the fridge. Quince jam, the original "marmalade" makes a lovely breakfast spread. I've been having it on oatcakes with tahini.

Before I tell you how to make the quince paste, we invite you to take a virtual stroll in our lovely Autumnal garden! We have been blessed with some beautiful mild weather which meant we had flowers at the same time as multicoloured falling leaves. Now frosty mornings are the norm, though, and the flowers are nearly over.

"Violette de Bordeaux" a hardy variety of fig, has given us bowls of lovely fruit this year, even into November!

Here's the recipe for Membrillo, which is traditionally served with a cheeseboard- we are saving ours until Christmas, when we will indeed serve it with a selection of vegan cheeses.

Fresh quinces (I used five)
A little water
Sugar (I used raw sugar)

Roughly chop the fruit and add a little water. Cook down in a sturdy pan until you get a pulp.
Rub the pulp through a sieve or jelly bag.
Weigh the pulp and add the same weight in sugar. If you use veggie/ vegan (ie from beet not cane) white sugar you will get a more reddish- brown result. Our brown raw sugar gave the membrillo a russet colour.
Dissolve the sugar over a low heat.
Bring to a steady boil, stirring regularly to prevent the mixture from buring on the bottom of the pan.
When you can scrape the bottom and sides and the mixture pulls away, leaving the pan looking clean, it's done.
Turn into a tray lined with lightly-oiled baking paper, 2-3cm deep. When cooled and set, cut into cubes. I'm told it keeps very well, so I've stored ours in a jar in a dark cupboard, where, with any luck, we'll all forget about it until Christmas. We did, however, taste a cube each, and both loved the delicate flavour.

Happy World Vegan Day 2018!

2018-11-01T16:09:00.000+00:00

A fitting day, I think, to resume blogging after yet another lengthy break.. and how the world has changed since we last wrote here!
It’s now mainstream knowledge that we are in the sixth world mass extinction event, and the first to have its cause attributed to humans. Global warming, pollution, landfill, deforestation, air pollution, factory farming... all these and doubtless more are factors which have led to the sorry state this planet is in. But whereas once species like bees die out humans too are history, our Earth planet will recover in time, greening and cleansing herself, without bother from humans. Personally, I’d like to be there to see things turn around so I’m doing my level best to leave as small a footprint as I can. A big part of this is being vegan.
On the positive side, veganism all over the world has never been more popular, and - the ex- editor of a certain UK supermarket’s magazine notwithstanding- people everywhere are understanding that being vegan is not just a diet but a total paradigm shift: a journey in consciousness towards a kinder, more equitable way of life for all living things with whom we share this beautiful planet. Vegan options in food shops and restaurants are increasing all the time, vegan food events like markets and fayres are going on in so many towns and cities globally, and eco-friendly businesses are cropping up everywhere.
Making changes can start small; I have acquaintances who gave up dairy, then, meat, then became veggie/ vegan over a period of months or even years. Over the last few months we have ditched plastic bottles for drinks and haircare products, and choose only cotton buds that are plastic-free. As our consciousness eveloves we choose to adopt more environmentally- friendly habits until we truly do embody a more compassionate and thoughtful lifestyle.
One of my favourite quotes (spoken by Gandhi) is “Be the change that you wish to see in this world.” Once enough people are doing this as individuals, then the world will indeed change for the better.

If you are vegan, why not celebrate this start to Vegan Month by wowing your non- vegan friends and cooking up one of the recipes on here (or choose from the many sites and books available). Or if you are not yet vegan, have a go and take the seven-day vegan challenge and se how much better you feel! There are so many places you can go for support: https://www.vegansociety.com/ Is a good start. Tell us all about your vegan experiences in the comments!
💖 The Yogi Vegans

Simple Vegan Slicing and Pizza Cheeses; Veganuary Made Easier

2018-01-05T23:53:00.002+00:00

Are you, or anyone you know doing Veganuary? It's a month-long, go-vegan challenge that's been on for a few years now, and for those with an inclination to start the New Year off with a resolution, or who missed Vegan Month back in November, you can't get better than this! There are so many simple and healthy vegan recipes online, vegan websites and Facebook support groups you can join, vegan products in mainstream supermarkets all over the world, and a plethora of vegan eateries, food trucks and pop-ups everywhere you look... going vegan has never been easier! - And going vegan has also never been more important, as more and more scientific research is pointing to animal farming as the cause of devastating pollution and environmental change worldwide; case in point the vast "dead zones" around coasts and in the oceans due to warming sea temperatures and animal waste run-off. This will have a huge negative impact on all species, including humans if it isn't curtailed as soon as possible.
But getting back to the positive side of things, we thought we'd share with you a couple of our vegan cheese-making adventures, since cheese is one of those flavours and textures the newly-vegan (and also ex-cheese lovers like me who have been vegan for years!) miss the most. Since bought vegan cheeses are inevitably weird-tasting, nutritionally almost empty, really expensive, or all three of those things making your own plant-based cheeses should probably be on every vegan's to- do list. To make it even simpler for our readers, I looked around the internet, where there is a bewildering array of cooked vegan cheese recipes. Sure, we have our own raw vegan soft/ sauce cheese recipes (see here and here for a couple of them), but every once in a while you might want a cheese you can slice or melt. Something you can make with ingredients you either already have or can get easily to use in sandwiches, pizzas etc. I narrowed down the possibilities and adapted three recipes to make two cheeses for just such uses. They are simple and fairly quick to make.
When I share with you my own memory of a past disappointment with home made vegan cheese back in the 80's on my first venture into veganism, you'll see why I've bothered. In those days you couldn't buy vegan cheeses anywhere, so I was super-excited to find a recipe for a sliceable vegan cheese. It was based on hard vegan kosher margarine, yeast extract and soya flour. I followed the instructions eagerly but the result was disappointingly grainy, oily and not much like cheese at all! Hungry and hopeful as I was, I had to throw it away. I want to make sure nobody else ever has to go through that...

Just about sliceable, this cheese is really delicious on crackers

My first foray into firmer, sliceable cheese was based on these two recipes:

https://bunnykitchen.com/2014/03/02/15-minute-grate-able-and-melt-able-vegan-cheese/

https://jenniferskitchen.com/2014/12/sliceable-vegan-cheese.html

I combined what I thought were the best bits of both, added some ideas of my own and came out with something that, although not grateable or truly melty, is semi-soft and slices fairly easily. I liked the cashews in the latter recipe rather than soya milk, but not the onion powder. Instead, I added hing and smoked paprika along with the tapioca starch from the first recipe. After blending, the mixture seemed too runny so there is more more agar* than in original recipe. *(Please note: agar is harvested from wild seaweeds, so sadly this cheese cannot be offered to Krishna as sea vegetables are not accepted.) It tastes a little bit Cheddar-y, a little bit double Gloucester-y and is fantastic with pickle and salad on crackers, as well as passable on a jacket potato. It makes quite a large block but will soon be snacked on! Here is the recipe:

Slicing Cheddar-Style Cheese

1 cup cashews
6 tabs lemon juice
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil*
1/4 cup tahini
1 small carrot, peeled and sliced
1 dsp smoked paprika
1 tsp miso
A pinch of hing
4 tabs tapioca starch
1 cup water
3 1/2 teaspoons agar flakes/ powder

*Using coconut oil would probabaly give a more solid result, and you might not need the agar.

1. Put all the ingredients, except 1 cup water and the agar, in a blender until smooth. Set aside.

2. In a small saucepan, stir agar into 1 cup water. Cover, and heat over medium-high heat until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for about a minute. The liquid will thicken a bit.

3. As soon as it has thickened pour the agar liquid into the blender with the mixture and blend until thoroughly combined.

4. Line and oil a tin/ silicone mould. I used a loaf-style tin. Pour/ scrape the mixture into it and refrigerate until set.

Our verdict: Delicious flavour, but a little softer than expected. Next time I would use coconut oil and leave out the agar. Will also try soya milk and tapioca.

It's also good in a jacket potato, but although it softens and loses its shape it does not truly melt.

Cheese number two is a mozzarella-style cheese that's based on cashews and tapioca. N actually had the idea for a stringy, tapioca-based cheese a couple of years ago, but neither of us actually got round to making it at the time. Here is the recipe on which I based my design:

https://gourmandelle.com/how-to-make-stretchy-vegan-mozzarella-cheese/

My take on it is more of a Cheddar-mozzarella mashup; great on pizza. It came out of the blender thicker than expected- were the tabs of tapioca more like dsps in the original recipe?- so I added half a cup more water. I also subbed 1 dsp miso for the nutritional yeast (I think that's what gives it the Cheddar-y flavour and off-white colour) and added a further tablespoon of lemon juice.

This recipe makes a good quantity of mozarella balls: enough to top two large pizzas and have a few left over for sandwiches etc. Probably because I used miso rather than nutritional yeast, it has more a of Cheddar/ mozarella mashup kind of flavour. I always used to find mozzarella on its own too bland on pizzas, so this is perfect.

I was impressed with just how much like mozzarella these cheesey balls look and feel!

Vegan mozzarella/ pizza cheese balls:

2 cups cashews, soaked -or as I didn't have time, gently simmered in water until softened, then drained
525ml hot water (just under 2 1/2 cups)
6 tabs tapioca starch
1 dsp miso
1 tsp sea salt
2 tabs lemon juice

Put everything into a blender (preferably high speed) until as smooth as possible.
Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and stir constantly over a medium heat for about 10 minutes. The cheese will thicken a lot and start pulling away from the bottom and sides of the pan. you'll see what I mean when you try it.
Have ready a large bowl full of ice-cold water, in which about a tablespoon of salt has been dissolved. I tested whether or not the cheese was ready rather like the test for jam: I dropped a little into the water and saw if it solidified.
Using an icecream scoop, make balls of the cheese and put into the bowl of salty water. You can tidy up their shape with damp hands. I made about 15 balls. Keep them in the water in the fridge until needed.

Our verdict: The balls came out stickier than the original recipe and pictures showed, so they were quite hard to slice. I'm not sure why. Maybe I'll try adding more water and cooking them for longer next time. We tried this cheese on pizza, and it just about had the edge on our usual pizza cheese because it melted and browned slightly without hardening or drying out and had a lovely, creamy mouthfeel and flavour. It wasn't very stringy though, as the pictures show. I'm hoping my next batch will be as stringy as the original recipe promised.

Cheezy Cottage Pie

2017-12-18T21:52:00.000+00:00

Yes, salad is great.
All kinds of salads.
But don't you think that sometimes, especially in colder weather, it's nice to have something warming and hearty?
Cottage pie (aka shepherd's pie, but I wanted to get rid if the animal connotations) is one such seasonally comforting dish. It's origin goes back to 18th Century England, when pies lined and topped with potato (yes, they actually had a potato lining as well as topping in those days!) were cheaper than wheat pastry pies. Of course, as well as potatoes and vegetables the pie traditionally contains leftover meat so in our vegan version we have substituted whole green mung beans. As a nod to the more recent custom of topping the mashed potato layer with grated cheese, we have also topped our pie with home made vegan cheeze; the same sort we often use to top pizzas.
What's nice about cottage pie is the distinct layers, each with their own taste and texture. Here, a satisfyingly savoury base layer is topped by fluffy mashed potato which has been allowed to go slightly crispy on top in the oven. Next your tastebuds come across the tanginess of the vegan cheeze, and the savoury flavours of the mung bean filling... pure comfort food, we think!

Serves 4-6

Filling:

1 cup uncooked dried mung beans with 4 cups of water

2 cups fresh tomatoes, blended

Just over a cup chopped white cabbage

1/2 tsp compound hing (powdered asafoetida resin mixed with a little wheat or rice flour)

a dash of soy or tamari sauce

1 dsp paprika

a pinch of black pepper

a sprig of fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Topping:

1.2kg scrubbed, unpeeled potatoes, diced

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsps olive oil

1 cup cashews and/ or sunflower seeds, ground

2 tabs tahini

1 tsp miso

half cup water

a further half tsp salt

1 tab lemon juice

Cook the beans and water in a pressure cooker until the beans have absorbed the water and are soft but still intact. (Should be a mince-like texture).
Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in a minimal amount of water, so that all the water is absorbed when they are cooked. This way, most of the vitamins are retained.
Next, mash the potatoes with the salt and olive oil and set aside. Tip: If you have a food processor, use this instead of a potato masher. The mash will be completely smooth, although somewhat sticky, and it goes beautifully crispy on top when cooked. Set aside.
Saute the white cabbage with the hing and soy sauce. Add the salt, paprika, black pepper, tomatoes and rosemary. Add the cooked mung beans.
Finally, mix the ground nuts/ seeds with the tahini, miso, salt, water and lemon juice. You should get a thick paste that tastes a lot like mature Cheddar cheese. Feel free to play around with the proportions of salt, miso, lemon and water until you come up with a flavour you really love.
To assemble the pie, put the filling into a rectangular/ oval oven proof dish, top with the mash and dot generously with the cheeze. Bake for about 20 minutes in the centre of an oven preheated to 200C.

Notes:

I usually serve this with gravy, peas and roast pumpkin. Any kind of steamed green veg is good, however.
I had a little mash and some cheeze left over. These made a yummy "cheese and potato pie" for lunch the next day.

Of course, mung beans aren't the only filling; I have also made this pie with quinoa, carrots and red kidney beans with some chilli flakes to give it a kick. Sort of a red dragon pie. That was probably even more delicious than the mung bean version.

Teff porridge, Snow and a Birthday

2017-12-11T17:32:00.000+00:00

A warming, wintry breakfast

Yesterday morning, we woke up to this:

Now we don't get snow here every single year, and when it does fall it either doesn't settle or it turns to rain very quickly, so you have to understand that we were pretty excited... over six inches of crisp, white, sparkly snow and it continued to fall all day! In the afternoon, I received a text message saying the school where I work would be closed (in fact it is also closed tomorrow) so I settled down to enjoy a welcome break from routine. Before that, however, I tried a different kind of breakfast for the first time, while my husband N had a great idea for helping out the local bird population. Little birds can really struggle to survive in weather like this; they need to eat and drink to live but it costs them precious calories to go looking for food- and they need extra food to keep them warm. Most of the water they would drink is frozen, food on bird tables freezes and there are few berries or seeds left on the snow-laden plants. So what did N do? - He made a warm bird feeder from the tray of one of those heated plant propagators, put it on the bird table in the back garden, put some seeds and coconut oil in it and plugged it in. It took a little while for the birds to arrive as they were suspicious of the big, black box that had suddenly appeared on their scene but finally our first customer was a plucky little robin, who you can just about see below:

Moving on to today's recipe: Teff is an ancient Ethiopian grain (well, seed technically). It is small, dark brown and very nutritious, containing significant amounts of protein, calcium, manganese and other vitamins and minerals, including iron, C and B6 as well as omega 3 and 6 oils. Being such a small grain, teff cooks quickly. What more could you possibly want in a breakfast food? I had heard that teff porridge is a tasty way to fuel up for the day, so I gave it a try. Now teff has a unique flavour; somewhat nutty and earthy, so I thought it would pair well with a mild, sweet fruit like banana. And then of course I had to add in maple syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon once I had decided on the banana... the end result was delicious and satisfying. The mouthfeel of teff isn't smooth and creamy like oatmeal but slightly grainy, but I actually prefer that. You can roast the grains to bring out the flavour even more, but I didn't bother.

Serves 3-4

1 cup teff (250ml)

2 1/2 -3 cups water

sliced banana

a drizzle of maple syrup

a sprinkle of cinnamon

Cook the teff in the water; bring it to the boil gradually and stir to avoid it sticking to the bottom of the pan or forming lumps. At first I thought I had added too much water, but teff does absorb quite a lot as it softens, and you might even even want to add more by the time it's begun to soften.
When the teff is nice and soft (about 10 minutes) pour the porridge into bowls. Top with the banana, maple syrup and cinnamon to serve.

..And as a postscript, here's a picture of the cake I made for N's birthday last Thursday, complete with marzipan dinosaur! It was a chocolate cake with fudge icing inside and for the blobs of mud. glittery blue icing for the waterfall and green coloured desiccated coconut completed the scene, along with chocolate-covered popcorn for the rocks. Fun, vegan but not very healthy!

Christmassy Cakes Collection

2017-12-05T21:08:00.000+00:00

"Are you hanging up a stocking on your wall?

Are you hoping that the snow will start to fall?Do you ride on down the hillsideIn a buggy you have made?...." (Slade, "Merry Christmas Everybody")

I guess what I'm really asking is are you ready for Winter celebrations of some kind? With weather forecasts for the festive season here in the UK strongly hinting at snow and freezing weather over the holidays, I admit I am anticipating cosy Winter cheer and a break from my day job to hunker down indoors get creative in the kitchen! Looking back over the last few years of blog posts, I found quite a collection of cakes that would be suitable for serving at this time, both traditional rich fruit Christmas cakes and less traditional treats; so have a browse through our links and we hope you get some handy ideas to see you through the holiday season. Just click on the links by the pictures to go to the recipes. Happy baking! :)

Christmas cupcakes

Chocolate, pear and almond pudding cake

Cranberry Christmas cake

s

Quick Christmas cake bars

Carob cherry Christmas cake

Rich chocolate truffle cake

Warm Almond Feta and Beetroot Salad with Clementine Dressing

2017-11-30T06:00:00.000+00:00

Are you thinking about Christmas/ the Winter festive season yet? I have to admit I love getting together with family to exchange presents and share food; and also having the luxury of spending more time in the kitchen preparing the vegan versions of all our favourite seasonal foods. This year, I have promised myself an early start in planning and preparation- because I'm usually the one who leaves making a complicated gingerbread house or the mince pies until late night on Christmas Eve! (Does that sound familair to anyone else out there?)

As a light meal or starter over the festive season , you can't go far wrong with this salad. There's festive walnuts and cranberries with a dash of clementine's citrus sweetness, sharp and salty almond feta and earthy beetroot. Flavoursome enough to be a treat but plenty of goodness in there as well. A chunk of warm, crusty bread would make a more filling meal (with the added bonus of being able to use it to mop up all the lovely dressing and feta crumbs.)

We served it on a bed of fresh mung sprouts and coriander leaves, but radicchio and frisée would also be perfect as their crisp bitterness would offset the sweeter berry and beet flavours beautifully. I happened to have some dried cranberries; you could go for fresh, or of they are too sharp for you go for pomegranate seeds or maybe even blueberries. This is not a quick recipe, though; take note of that if it is to be part of a multicourse meal. You can, however, make the feta in advance because that's the part that takes the longest. Patiently skinning a bowl of soaked almonds is a labour of love. But when they are transformed into sharp, salty feta and warmed until slightly crisp at the edges.... trust me; it's worth it!

Serves 3-4:

almond feta (see here for how to make it)

one large or two small fresh beetroot

a handful of dried cranberries

a handful of coarsely chopped walnuts

salad leaves and/ or sprouts

Dressing:

2 clementines

1 tab extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

a dash of soy/ tamari sauce

a pinch of raw sugar

Make the almond feta and leave it in the fridge to firm up a little.
Meanwhile, peel and dice the beetroot. Cook it in minimal water, so that all the water s absorbed by the time the beetroot has softened.
Prepare the dressing by shaking everything together in a jar.
Bake the beetroot and feta in the centre of a hot oven for about 15 minutes, or until the beetroot is warmed through and the feta is dry and very slightly crispy at the edges. (Be careful to keep them separate unless you want pink feta! Actually, pink feta sounds quite nice doesn't it?)
To assemble the salad, arrange the beetroot, feta and walnuts on the leaves/ sprouts. Sprinkle with dried cranberries and spoon over the dressing.
Serve while the beetroot and feta are still warm.

... We haven't decided what our Christmas dinner will be yet, but we will have Christmas cake, Christmas pudding and probably a batch or two of mince pies. What are your culinary plans for the upcoming holidays? What Christmas recipes would you like to see here?

Chocolate Wafer Style Bars- Wheat-free, palm oil-free, no cook

2017-11-27T06:00:00.000+00:00

If, like us, you don't want to consume palm oil (curious as to why not? Look here) it can be a nightmare if you fancy a ready-made snack, especially biscuits or pastries. Troubled by exactly this ethical dilemma, I dreamed up these wafer-like bars a couple of years back, and I've been making them regularly ever since. They are so scrumptious with a mid-morning cuppa that I've only ever made four at a time, because however many I made, they would probably all disappear in one sitting... ;)
One of the great things about blogging as opposed to writing a cookbook is that you don't have to stick to purely "from scratch" recipes. I have hesitated to post these for ages because somehow I felt they were "cheating", but you know what? They are so yummy you HAVE to give them a try! They come together in minutes and there's a good chance you already have all the ingredients in your cupboard.

For 4 bars:
4 Ryvita-style rye crackers (Aldi do nice ones)
100-150g vegan dark chocolate (I usually use Aldi's salted, orange and almond or 70% bars)
1 heaped tablespoon of cocoa powder/ cacao
1 heaped tablespoon of tahini (or smooth peanut butter as long as it's not too thick)
1 tablespoon of whatever syrup you have to hand; my favourites are date, grape or Sweet Freedom but you can use agave or even golden syrup if you like.

Break the chocolate into little pieces and melt. If you're really in a hurry you can always use a microwave for this.
While the chocolate melts take the cracker and cut them carefully in half lengthways. I use a small serrated knife and sort of saw them halfway through and then snap them. They do break up easily if you're not careful.
Mix up the cocoa, tahini or nut butter and syrup until it's a spreadable paste.It should be loose enough to spread without breaking the crackers.
Spread the filling on the indented side of the crackers and sandwich together. If there's any left it makes a good cake frosting.
Coat on all sides with melted chocolate.
I usually do this on a metal plate, then stick the whole thing in the freezer for 5-10 minutes and voila!

Imam Bayaldi- Turkish-style stuffed aubergine

2017-11-24T21:30:00.002+00:00

This is a dish I made back in the Spring, and it was so good I saved it to share!

You remember how much I love Middle Eastern food, don't you? Here is a dish I had forgotten all about for years, until something - I forget what- jogged my memory. Where we live, in Birmingham, UK, all things Turkish seem to be flourishing: Turkish barbers, Turkish restaurants, Turkish groceries... the latter of which is really good news if, like me, you love to try different ingredients, like tahini, mulberry syrup, grape molasses or fava beans. We have also recently become devotees of Turkish black olives; the small and slightly wrinkly ones with the stones in that come in big jars.

... but I digress. Imam bayaldi literally means "The priest fainted": intriguing name for a dish, I thought, so I did a little research and found out that the eponymous imam is supposed to have fainted with delight when he tasted the dish, which his wife had cooked for him. Another story goes that an imam was married to the daughter of an olive oil merchant who gave twelve jars of the finest olive oil as her dowry. Every day the bride prepared this stuffed aubergine delicacy, which pleased her newlywed husband no end. However, on the thirteenth day the olive oil ran out and she could not cook it. The imam fainted in disappointment. I have to say that nobody fainted in delight when I served this up, but they did enjoy it!

1 can chopped tomatoes

3 medium aubergines (eggplants)

75-80g white cabbage

1tsp hing
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp mixed spice
2 tsps dried oregano/ mixed herbs
1 large pinch of black pepper
2 tsps lemon juice

1 tab soy sauce

2 tsps raw sugar

2 tsps seasalt

1 tab olive oil

Another tab oil
a little flat-leaved parsley and a few olives to garnish (optional)

Cut eggplant lengthways, scoop out flesh and dice.
Roast the halves in a medium-hot oven on an oiled baking tray.
Meanwhile shred the cabbage, fry with soy sauce, hing and sugar in 1 tab olive oil
Add the other tab olive oil and the diced aubergine to the pan with the cabbage. Simmer with the lid on until soft.
Add tomatoes, salt, 1 tsp mixed spice, 1tsp paprika, 2tsps dried oregano/mixed herbs, lg pinch black pepper, 2 tsps lemon juice.
Stuff the aubergines with the mixture and bake in a hot oven.
Garnish with olives and chopped flat-leaved parsley.

Quick Injera- Ethiopian teff pancakes (with split peas and vegetables)

2017-11-21T21:02:00.002+00:00

Some months ago we bought a large bag of whole teff grain, and I'm sorry to say we haven't used it nearly enough. Last weekend, on spotting the teff lying invitingly on the shelf, I ground some in the blender to make teff flour and made some injera (Ethiopian teff pancakes) to go with some Ethiopian style split peas and vegetables. I cheated though, and instead of fermenting the batter with a sourdough culture I used a bit of baking powder and lemon juice to achieve that slightly sour bubbliness. A lot of traditional Ethiopian food is vegan, and vegetables like carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, cabbage and beetroot feature heavily in the vegetable-based stews, called atakilt wat. For plant-based protein, you have dal-like split pea dishes, called kik alicha. We love the simple heartiness of these wholesome foods and the fun way you serve them on top of the injera and then tear off pieces of it to scoop them up.

Teff is the smallest cereal grain, the size of a poppy seed. It comes from a plant called lovegrass. (Sweet name!) In Ethiopia it is a staple and was probably one of the earliest grains in the world to be cultivated. Teff contains no gluten, and nutritionally it is a bit of a powerhouse: a source of dietary fibre, protein, calcium, iron and manganese, and reputedly the fuel of those superfit Ethiopian runners. Being such a tiny grain, teff cooks quicker than quinoa and can be made into porridge. (Note to self: must try that as soon as possible...)

I made four large injera from the quantities in this recipe. It is not a gluten free recipe however, as I added some wheat flour.

2 cups teff flour

1 cup unbleached white flour

the juice of one large lemon

1 tsp baking powder

2-3 cups water; enough to make a fairly thick, pancake-style batter

a little oil, if needed

Mix everything together to form a stiff batter.
Pour enough to cover the base of a non-stick frying pan, preheated and slightly oiled, like a pancake.
Cook like a pancake- loosen at the edges with a spatula and gently shake the pan to prevent the injera sticking to the base. Do not attempt to flip it, however, as it is delicate. Instead, wait until bubbles have formed and the top surface has set.
When it is cooked, slide it off onto a plate and repeat until you have used up all the batter.

A few words about the vegetable accompaniments: there are lots of recipes to be found online, but as a general rule, think cabbage, potatoes, carrots and beetroot. Ethiopian beetroot salad is cold cooked beetroot and potatoes, but I just grated some beetroot raw with lemon juice. For flavouring the stew and the split peas think berbere (pepper, fenugreek, chilli etc.), coriander seed, ginger and turmeric.

If you crave simple, healthy and aromatic dishes, Ethiopian vegan cuisine may be just what you want- and it makes a change from more commonplace Asian and European dishes. We'd love to hear from you via the comments if you have some favourite vegan Ethiopian dishes you like to make, or if you have tried making injera the traditional sourdough way.

Banana Cake

2017-11-19T18:17:00.002+00:00

Are you looking for a quick weekend (or midweek) bake that will make a satisfying treat, dessert or lunchbox addition? Do you have some ripe, speckled bananas crying out to be used up before they go all gooey and brown?- Well look no further! We have posted banana cake before (here), but this one is slightly different and has no nuts.

Here, it certainly is the season to be cozied up on the sofa with a mug of hot chocolate and a slice of cake whenever possible. We have had our first heavy frosts, what leaves that remain on the trees are now red and yellow and about to drop and there are no flowers left in the garden; not even one single fuchsia... here is a picture of the beautiful Peak District just outside Sheffield, where we went about 3 weeks ago.

..And here are some of the handful of delicious ripe figs we have been able to pick from our little tree in the garden. It is now all tucked up in a snug polythene shelter for protection from the cold. Perhaps some more of the figs will ripen, too!

-So now back to the cake recipe. This makes a cake which yields 12 slices.

200g wholemeal flour
200g self-raising flour
100g dark muscovado sugar
100g Punjabi shakkar (or light soft brown sugar
a large handful of nsultanas
3 sm-med bananas, mashed
2 tsps mixed spice
150ml coconut oil, melted
1 tap natural vanilla essence
400ml unsweetened soya or other plant milk

Preheat the oven to 180c and dampen an 8" silicone cake mould or grease and flour/ line an 8" round cake tin.
Mix the flours, sugars, sultanas and spice in a large bowl, taking care there are so lumps as raw sugars tens to clump together.
In another bowl, beat the bananas, vanilla, oil and milk.
Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, mixing well.
spoon into your cake mould and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into teh centre of the cake emerges clean.
Turn out after 5-10 minutes and cool on a rack. Or eat it warm...

Crispy Veg Puffs- gluten free

2017-11-12T15:08:00.002+00:00

Dip them in your favourite chutney!

Do you ever crave spicy savouries like pakoras but wish they didn't have to be fried? Look no further, my friends...

One of the best things about blogging as opposed to writing a formal cookbook is that you can publish your experiments, your works in progress, and come up with all sorts of off-the-wall ideas that probably wouldn't get past a publisher. Don't get me wrong; we'd still be thrilled to get The Yogi Vegans into print (publishers out there, take note ;) ), but here on the blog we can get, well, just that little bit more creative. This recipe definitely falls into the "creative" category, if not for ingredients then for using a redundant cake-pop maker we found in the bottom drawer. Don't worry if you don't have a cake-pop maker; these crispy and protein-laden balls of delight can also be cooked in the oven. They won't come out spherical, but they will be just as delicious. We know; we've tried. We didn't think we would come up with post-able results the very first time we made these but we loved their crispy outsides and cake-y insides and the satisfying way you can dunk them in chutney... so here they are!

We teamed them with a spicy tomato chutney and some stir-fried vegetables.

This recipe made about 20. One portion is about six- that's cake-pop size; just under an ice cream scoopful per ball.

Ingredients:

175g gram flour (aka chickpea/ garbanzo flour)

90g peas, sweetcorn or a mix of both (we only had peas when we made them)

90g peanuts, ground (use a blender or even a coffee/ spice grinder)

1 1/2 tsps salt

1 tsp powdered turmeric

1 1/2 tsps baking powder* *make sure it is gluten free if that's what you want; not all brands are.)

masala/curry powder/ a spice mix of your choice to your taste; at least 1 tsp (we used tava fry masala)

water for mixing

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Stir in the peas/ sweetcorn.
Gradually add water until your mixture is the consistency of cake batter.
Using an ice cream scoop spoon the mix into the sections of a cake- pop maker and cook for about 15 minutes. If you are using the oven, place in blobs on an oiled baking tray and cook for about 15 minutes at 200C, turning halfway through. (Of course, you could always deep-fry them, but for us the whole point was getting a crispy, pakora-like savoury that didn't have to be fried.)
While they are cooking, you could whip up your favourite chutney; we used a tin of chopped tomatoes, some spices, fresh ginger, raw sugar and tamarind to create our own in minutes. If you would like a recipe, though, there's one for date and tamarind chutney here.

Iced Shortbread Cookies

2017-11-05T22:18:00.003+00:00

You don't need to ice these cookies, but it does make them more festive!

COOKIES! Who wants some?

That got your attention, didn't it? I don't know anyone who doesn't like some kind of cookie and vegans are no exception. Because it is so hard to get vegan cookies in supermarkets here in the U.K. which don't contain palm oil, we rarely eat biscuits or cookies any more except home made ones. This means we don't get to eat them very often at all. (Sad face emoji.) What I look for in a cookie recipe is simplicity: few ingredients, a quick and easy method and reliable, preferably crunchy results. This recipe has all these, so it's perfect for when you want to quickly make a batch or two in order to decorate them and give them as gifts. Ice or decorate them however you like, and use cutters shaped like stars or Christmas trees for maximum Christmas effect. I made the batch pictured here for a particular decorating purpose at work so they had to be round but you could let your creativity run riot!
A few words about this recipe: after experimenting with coconut oil, I decided on coconut-based vegan margarine. Vitalite, to be precise. I know it's not a whole food, but at least it doesn't contain hydrogenated fat. My coconut oil attempt was nice and buttery, but a tad too... well...oily. Maybe another time I'll get it right. My next confession is that I used white flour and white sugar. White sugar is of course the most unhealthy sugar you can get but these cookies fall into the "sweet treat" category and white sugar from beet (rather than sugar cane) is fine for vegetarians and vegans as it is not bone-char filtered. Wholemeal flour with the coarser bran particles sieved out and soft brown sugar would probably work just as well. The ground rice is just that: I threw brown rice into a high- speed blender.You could, of course, use rice flour, or not bother at all, but I do think it guarantees that crunch that shortbread absolutely must have. Fine cornmeal would also work, and give the shortbread an attractive yellowy colour. The amounts in this recipe will yield about 16 cookies the size of digestive biscuits.

200g dairy-free spread
100g caster sugar
a pinch of sea salt
300g plain flour
1 tab ground rice
icing sugar for decorating

Cream the margarine, sugar and salt together.
Mix in the ground rice and the flour until you have a ball of dough.
I found the dough handled perfectly well without being chilled before rolling out, but if yours doesn't wrap it in cling film and put it in the fridge for a while.
Roll out the dough to about 0.5cm thick. To save messing my worktop up, I rolled it out on clingfilm. Cut into the desired shapes. Keep rolling and cutting until the dough has all been used.
Place the cookies carefully on baking trays. I lightly oiled mine, but you could using baking parchment.Bake in the centre of an oven preheated to 160-180C. After bout 10 minutes your cookies should be done. They will look ever so slighly golden around the edges.
Place them carefully on a rack to cool and crisp up. That's the thing about biscuits; they never look quite cooked but they are, and they don't go crunchy until they have cooled.
When the cookies are cool, you can make some icing by mixing a few drops of water with some icing sugar and spread that on,add sprinkles, cake glitter; whatever you like- or just dust them with sugar.
Perfect with a steaming mug of cocoa on a cold evening!

How did you decorate your cookies? Let us know via the comments below; you could even send a picture.

Happy World Vegan Day 2017!

2017-10-31T12:42:00.000+00:00

..Lots of love from us, Nanda and Sarojini, at The Yogi Vegans ❤️

Being vegan has never been so easy in the UK -and many other countries around the world- as it is now. To celebrate World Vegan Day (and month) this year we thought we'd give you some vegan facts and figures plus links to some of our recipes which prove that as a vegan you are not going to miss out on your favourite dishes. There has never been a better time to take the Seven Day Vegan Challenge and a lot of people I know who tried it have just kept going because they feel so good. So whether you're a new vegan, vegan-curious, or you just love the buzz you get from plant-based food, we hope you will find this inspiring and delicious reading... share the love!

What is Veganism?

If you're not already vegan, you might think you know but there is actually some confusion about it, especially when it comes to the perceived difference between plant -based and vegan. I accept that our views are not the only valid ones but they do reflect those of many long-time "abolitionist" vegans. Let's get a few common misconceptions out of the way first, before we get onto the

details:

A vegan diet does not include honey. The definition of vegan is "abstaining from the use of animal products particularly in diet" (Wikipedia). Bees definitely were animals the last time I looked! It's not just that we won't eat or use anything that directly kills the animal, it's anything from an animal. (The way animal products are produced will kill these animals anyway, even bees.)
Veganism is not just a diet. It's a lifestyle choice; a whole world-view. Vegans do not use wool, silk, leather or animal-derived or tested cosmetic products. They do not support methods or businesses which perpetuate animal exploitation and cruelty as they believe it to be morally wrong. The Vegan Society (their website is a great resource for new vegans) was founded in England in 1944 by Donald Watson. But Veganism as an ethical choice has been around since at least the beginning of the nineteenth century, with prominent cultural figures such as William Blake and Percy Shelley putting forward sound philosophical arguments against eating meat, dairy and eggs. Fun fact: The word "vegan" was made from the first and last letters of " vegetarian".
A vegan is not some kind of hippy! I have known plenty of hippy types who will happily tuck into a bacon sandwich. Conversely, plenty of hippy types are vegan. It doesn't matter if you don't particularly identify with certain cultural groups or ideologies. With the massive range of vegan-friendly foods, cosmetics, clothes and shoes available nowadays, you can rock whichever look and life you want and still be vegan, be it Earth- Mother, Surfer Dude, Rock Chick, monk/ nun, high-powered businessperson or A-lister or anything at all in between. You are you AND vegan, in that order. Veganism is a Protected Belief in EU law and The Vegan Society provides an advocacy service for those vegans whose needs are not being catered for where they reside (think prisons or hospitals), study or work.
Vegans are not undernourished. Let's not even go there... yawn. There is an abundance of plant-based protein out there, from beans, nuts and seeds to tofu, seitan, even vegan Quorn. Eat a varied diet which includes foods from all groups and not too much vegan junk food (oh yes, there's plenty of that around!) and you can't go far wrong. BUT do supplement with B12. That's the one thing vegans can't get enough of in their diets. B12 deficiency causes damage to the nervous system, and even psychosis. If you are not particularly a sun-lover and your lifestyle means you are mainly indoors or you are from an at-risk ethnic group, then it would also be a good idea to supplement with vitamin D or choose fortified vegan cereals, milks or margarines.

There are different reasons for becoming vegan, and we subscribe to all of them: That it is cruel to exploit animals, that it is ecologically better for the planet not to farm animals, that it would end world food injustice to use land for plants for feeding humans rather than farmed animals, and that it is better for our health to be vegan. By cultivating Veganism in ourselves we also cultivate our compassion for all life. To us, the only way forward for the planet is if as many humans as possible become vegan. It could literally save the world. I don't want to get all preachy, but... seriously!

A piece of land the size of five football pitches when used to pasture farm animals destined for slaughter or dairy farming can feed only two humans. When this same piece of land is used for growing vegetable crops for human consumption it can feed up to 61 people. The amount of greenhouse gases produced by the meat and dairy industry worldwide is a staggering double that of plant-based farming. The amount of water used to farm animals is many times more than that taken by plant-based farming: one pound of meat costs 2,00 gallons of water as opposed to the 25 gallons it takes to produce one pound of wheat. Not to mention the alarming rate at which rainforests are still being cleared to provide pastures for farmed animals. A no-brainer isn't it?- We think so.

Now for a few of the more controversial questions:

If you have a strictly plant-based diet but are still consuming animal products and animal-tested ingredients in the other areas of your lifestyle, can you still call yourself a vegan? -Not in our book, according to the above definition of Veganism, and you are probably better to label yourself as following a "plant-based diet" But we would, never, ever disrespect anyone on a plant-based diet because that in itself is all kinds of awesome and a positive move for reasons including personal and planetary health.
Is palm oil a vegan choice? - It probably depends on your reasons for being vegan. In terms of animal welfare palm oil production scores very badly as forest ecosystems are destroyed in order to make way for the palm plantations. We have all seen those heart-rending pictures of dead orangutans. Intensive palm oil production is also highly exploitative of human labour. Palm oil isn't even all that healthy for us to consume in quantity either as it contains 50% saturated fat. To us and many others this simply does not fit with vegan ethics so we try to avoid palm oil. If you eat a lot of processed food, such as pastry, cookies, etc. then you will be certainly eating palm oil. It is also hiding in shampoos and other toiletries as palmitate and other chemicals, even if they are marked as vegan. Not an easy choice to make. We had to give up all shop-bought biscuits, for example. We totally respect anyone who is finding this too difficult at the moment, and would simply encourage people to do what they can.
Is lab-grown meat vegan? - We don't think so. Again, though, it might depend on your reasons for being vegan and whether or not you actually ever liked to eat meat. But meat is still meat, and so how can a diet including lab meat even be vegetarian, let alone vegan? Also, lab meat will have all the health drawbacks that animal meat has, plus possibly a few more that we don't know about yet. And it's really expensive to produce so hardly likely to solve any world hunger problems any time soon.

Now we've got the serious part of veganism all over and done with, we've collated a few recipe links here to show you that vegans are definitely not missing out on favourite dishes and flavours:
Vegan chocolate cake

Vegan cheesecake

Vegan pasties

Vegan mac'n' cheese

Quinoa burrito bowls

BBQ pulled seitan

Choc fudge ripple vegan ice-cream

So this month, why not give yourself the gift of veganism- it's a gift for the whole planet, too!

You get the last word!
What is your favourite veganised dish? How are you marking World Vegan Day and Month? What are your thoughts on any of the vegan questions we have discussed? Do you have any more questions? What other vegan recipes would you like to see featured on our blog? -Do use the comments section, as our readers really do help to shape what we publish.

Autumn Special: Six Quick Wins with Pumpkins

2017-10-29T15:59:00.002+00:00

Subtly spicy and crispy pumpkin "fries"

Perhaps, like us, you have a pumpkin harvest to make use of, or maybe you just got a little carried away carving Jack'o'lanterns... whatever the reason, there is absolutely no excuse for throwing away nutritious pumpkin flesh. Not with these recipes on hand:

Pumpkin "Fries"

Peel and slice your pumpkin into fries
Sprinkle with soy sauce on all sides
Toss in a mixture that is half cornmeal (polenta) and half wheat flour with a generous amount of garam masala powder
Spread in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet and bake at 200C until cooked through inside and crispy outside.
Pair with your favourite creamy or tangy dip and dig in!

Pumpkin and Sage Gnocchi (gluten free)

600g (raw weight) peeled and diced pumpkin flesh

A large handful of fresh sage leaves

150g buckwheat flour

A little olive oil

Sea salt to taste (I used 1 1/2 tsps)

Bake the pumpkin until soft with the oil and leave to cool.
Add to the food processor with the sage leaves until you get a dry puree and the leaves are chopped.
Add the buckwheat flour and salt. The mixture should be dry enough to form into balls with damp hands. The denser your type of pumpkin the easier the purée will be to handle; if it's a little sticky just dust with more buckwheat flour.
Roll into balls and flatten with the back of a fork/ slotted spatula. I made about 24.
Drop into boiling water and simmer until they are all floating- 5-10 minutes. They are now ready to use. I baked mine in a tomato and sage sauce topped with cubes of almond feta (see here for the feta recipe).

If you would prefer to make something sweet, try:

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

..And of course no pumpkin recipe collection would be complete without a couple of soup recipes!

Kabocha Coconut Soup

Roast Pumpkin and Parsnip Soup with Rosemary

Two healthy and delicious drinks to kickstart your day

2017-10-24T11:07:00.000+01:00

Turmeric ginger lemonade and almond milk turmeric latte.... which one will you choose today?

It's been a while, I know - nearly 18 months to be precise- but we are not pro bloggers, and sometimes our day jobs, and well, just life, take up all our time and energy. But rest assured, we are not just posting about a healthy vegan lifestyle, we actually live it, and we have plenty to share with you from our journey into compassionate living. Plenty! It feels right and good to be posting here again, and we hope from the bottom of our hearts that you will enjoy our offerings. Thank you for sticking with us 🙏🏻 and a heart-ful welcome to any of you who are new here 💚.

Today's post is inspired by my personal experience with asthma and joint/ muscle pains. Despite being a runner, I do wake up regularly with aches and pains, especially in cooler, damp weather. But I don't want any of that, nor my diagnosis of asthma, to stop me getting on with whatever I want to get on with. Are you with me? Over the summer I started drinking turmeric ginger lemonade in the mornings and my morning cough disappeared altogether. This week I finally crawled out from the rock under which I've been hiding from foodie trends and discovered turmeric latte. A hot, frothy, comforting almond milk- based drink. Yum! Turmeric and ginger are known for their anti- inflammatory and anti microbial properties so need no introduction here, but let me tell you this: both these drinks are wonderfully health-promoting, but they both also taste like a treat! And that's a win in my book. I know I am far more likely to keep up the habit of drinking them if it's actually enjoyable. So let's get on with making them.....

Turmeric ginger lemonade:
Fresh ginger root, chopped- roughly the size of the top of of your thumb
Fresh turmeric root- roughly the size of the top of your little finger (I use a dsp of powdered if I can't get fresh)
Pure maple syrup
The juice of one lemon
Water to make up to about half a litre

Blend up everything apart from the water. We have a high-speed blender, which makes this easier. Try to get it all so fine that it doesn't need straining at the end.
Add the water and whizzfor a couple more seconds.
Drink! Take it slowly at first, and remember that turmeric is bitter and an acquired taste. Adjust the maple syrup to suit your tastebuds.

Almond milk turmeric latte:

Enough unsweetened almond milk for your favourite mug (300-400ml)

1 tsp powdered turmeric ( you could use fresh but I had none at the time)

Fresh ginger, the size of the top of your thumb, chopped

1 dsp maple syrup

A pinch of powdered cinnamon

Gently heat the milk
Add to blender with rest of ingredients and whizz until smooth and frothy.
Pour into a mug and enjoy! It's kinda filling and comfortingly warming on a cold morning.

A Sprouting Jar for £2!

2016-05-15T14:09:00.001+01:00

Since our old sprouter- the kind with trays that stack up- broke, we have been using jars with muslin on top secured with an elastic band. Not only does this look messy, but the damp fabric tends to drip everywhere and the elastic bands perish from time to time. After a look online, I decided that it wasn't worth paying £10 or more for something I could probably make myself for a fraction of the cost. We think a sprouting jar should be quick and easy to use, easy to clean, and look neat on your kitchen windowsill. Glass is best, too; you can give it a good scrub between batches without scratching the jar. Yesterday in Poundland, two things caught my eye, I bought them and it all worked out brilliantly! If you would like to do the same, take a look:

1: Glass storage jar with nice wide top, plastic lid and separate rim (also in purple or pink). Plastic mesh sieve. Both cost £1 each.

2: The clear plastic part of the lid was really easy to punch out with closed scissors.

3: The mesh is easily cut from the sieve with ordinary scissors.

4: I put the mesh on top of the jar, secured it by screwing the rim on lightly and trimmed off the excess mesh.

5: Ta-dah! Happy sunflower sprouts nestling in their new home in less than 5 minutes.

Do you have any kitchen tips to save money? We'd love to hear via the comments.

Chocolate Brazil Flapjacks

2016-04-05T10:26:00.000+01:00

Maybe it's because they both come from Soutth America, but Brazil nuts and chocolate do taste really good together. A long time ago, back in the early 90s, I used to buy flapjacks from a local whole food bakery, Ceres, which were covered in carob and also contained Brazil nuts. They were my favourite treat! This is an updated version, using coconut oil and of course fairtrade 70 % vegan chocolate. Judging by the rate at which they disappeared, they are set to be a favourite treat around here, too.

Gour is my sweetener of choice when it comes to flapjacks. It's raw cane sugar with minimal processing (just that the cane juice has been boiled down to produce a solid lump) which retains some minerals, and it melts to a perfect texture for sticking the oats together rather than using a syrup.

500g organic porridge oats

125-150g vegan dark chocolate ( we used a 70% cocoa brand)

250g gour

200g coconut oil

150g Brazil nuts, coarsely chopped

Melt the oil and gour together. It won't mix completely, so don't worry about that; just make sure you don't overheat it.
Press into a shallow, rectangular tin which has been oiled. We use a standard Swiss roll tin.
Stir in the oats and Brazil nuts.
Bake at 180C for 20-30 minutes, depending on your oven. I used the middle shelf and checked from time to time to make sure they weren't overbrowned.
Remove from the oven. While they are still hot break the chocolate and scatter it evenly over them. The heat from the flapjacks will melt it and all you have to do is gently spread it.
Mark into 16 pieces before it's cooled completely so that it cuts cleanly.
Store in an airtight container. Perfect to take to work or school for a snack, or to enjoy at home with a hot drink.

Spring is well and truly here; the first daisies are on the lawn!

Tofu Broccoli Wholewheat Momos

2016-04-03T10:00:00.000+01:00

Momos are fun to cook and fun to eat! I first tried these steamed stuffed dumplings in a Tibetan restaurant by the lake in Pushkhar, India, where they were packed with veggies and served floating in broth. Filling and wholesome.

We don't really cook with white flour, though, so when I created our version of momos I used organic wholemeal flour with the bran sifted out. I decided to go for the Nepali/ Indian version served with chutney, but with a Tibetan filling of tofu, ginger and coriander. I couldn't resist adding broccoli as the tiny florets hold in flavour and moisture so well. They may seem fiddly to make, but once the dough is kneaded, the steamer set up and the filling made, shaping these little parcels of goodness is actually rather enjoyable. You can have your chutney bubbling away as they steam, too. "Shall I make them again?" I asked the family while tentatively studying their faces as they ate (they are used to this by now as we are always trying out new things on them). The answer was a unanimous "Yes!"

As I seem to have nailed momos first time, here's the recipe to make 12-14 momos depending on how thin you can roll them. Three momos seems to make one portion, so you can feed about 4 people with this:

Dough:

300g (sifted weight) wholemeal flour

a pinch of salt

1 1/2 tabs olive oil

warm water to mix- about 225-250ml.

Filling:

230g firm tofu

165g broccoli

1 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves

1 dsp grated fresh ginger

1 small red chilli

2 tabs tamari soy sauce

1 tab olive oil

1 1/2 tsps salt

1/2 ts compound hing

1 tab lemon juice

Make the dough first, by adding the oil then the water. Knead it for a minute or two. It should be moist but not sticky, and easy to handle. Let it rest in a plastic bag while you get tthe filling together.
Dice the tofu small, mince the chilli, grate the ginger and cut the broccoli into really small florets, dicing any stems. the smaller you chop the ingredients, the more evenly they will be distributed throughout your filling.
In a wok or karhai heat the oil and add the broccoli and salt. Put the lid on, turn the heat down and steam-fry until nearly completely tender. Remove the lid, turn up the heat a little and stir in the tofu.
After a couple of minutes Add the coriander, ginger, hing, tamari sauce and chilli. Stir well and cook until tender. Set aside to cool.
Now you are ready to make the momos! Don't worry; that twisty shape is really easy to achieve, and I've added a couple of pictures to help. Use a round cutter/ upturned dish that's about 6" in diameter. Roll the dough onto a floured surface until it's about 2mm thick or less if you can still handle it. Cut a circle and place a small amount of filling in the centre, leaving about 1/2" round the edge. Brush the edge lightly with water and fold into pleats all around, like this:

Gather up the pleats in your fingers, press them together at the top and twist:

Keep going until you have all the momos ready, or, if your steamer only takes about four like mine does, make four, put them in the steamer and then make another four. Each batch will take about 15 minutes to steam, on a medium heat.
You can make whatever dipping chutney you like. Something like the red sauce you get with samosas from the takeaway would be great. I kept mine simple and not hot because of the chilli in the momos. You can find the recipe here.

Quinoa Burrito Bowls

2016-04-01T10:00:00.000+01:00

Our household has a transient and picky population of our young adults/ teens and their friends, so bowls they can grab and fill with whatever proportions they like of something brightly-coloured and inviting are the way to go for meals. That way, whatever time they drift in or however soon they rush off there's always healthy food available. Mexican flavours always go down well too. We usually serve tortilla wraps or chapattis so they can have "proper" burritos if they want, but cook quinoa or rice as well for them to make up their very own, on-trend bowls. Who needs Nando's?

We cook quinoa, make up guacamole (recipe here), prepare salsa (an idea here), salad and a vegan cheese (pictured is a mashed tofu-based one with tahini, salt, lemon and yeast flakes but there's a cashew-based one here). The main part of the bowl, however, is the beans. I don't normally make them very hot and spicy because tastes- and moods- in our house vary and the salsa provides optional heat. For a smoky recipe, see here. If you like the look of the beans in the pictures, here's the recipe:

Serves 4-5:

500g cooked red kidney beans

1 tab oil

1 can (400g) chopped tomatoes

450g diced mixed vegetables (try cabbage, sweet potatoes, green beans, courgettes, peppers, sweetcorn etc.)

2 tsps seasalt

1/2 tsp compound hing

a small pinch of chilli powder

2 tsps ground cumin

1 tab ground coriander

2 tsps dried oregano

2 tsps cacao/ cocoa powder

1 tab tomato puree

Saute the veggies with the oil and salt until they are soft. While this is happening, add the hing, chilli, cumin and coriander.
Add the tomatoes, oregano and cacao/ cocoa and gently simmer, stirring in the beans and tomato puree.
Layer your bowls with quinoa, the beans, salad, guacamole, olives, vegan cheese and/ or cashew sour cream and salsa.