Vegan Basbousa

Last year was a very quiet year on Gormandize. I don't know how so many women seem to accomplish so much while raising tiny babies, but I salute them. I couldn't even begin to get my head around doing all the stuff I used to do before my baby came along. Caring for a tiny human, trying to keep my house moderately clean and working 2 half days a week already seems like an overwhelming amount to do. A lot of my personal interests have been put on hold.

Next week, my beautiful cheeky daughter turns one. I'm hoping this year to start exploring some of the things that used to occupy my time before her and this blog is one of them. Over the past few years I've put up about 380 free vegan recipes for you all to enjoy. That is a phenomenal database of delicious food. It has taken up a lot of time and resources! I won't be able to dedicate nearly as much time, effort and money to producing recipes for you all as I used to, but this blog will live on.

I've got a new project that I'm working on for Gormandize and I'm also going to be bringing you some new recipes this year. I hope you enjoy what I've got in store.

I'm starting you off with a firm favourite. I love this dish. I must have made it countless times. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :)

Wishing you a prosperous Year of the Rooster!

Basbousa (Egyptian Semolina & Coconut Cake)

Ingredients
1/2 cup nuttelex (or other vegan margarine)
3/4 cup raw sugar
75g dessicated coconut (unsweetened)
1 cup semolina
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup plain wholemeal flour
3/4 cup almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Whole blanched almonds, to decorate

Syrup:
2/3 cup caster sugar
2/3 cup water
2 tbsp lemon juice

To Make:
1. Start with the syrup, so it has time to cool. Place the sugar, water and lemon juice in a saucepan over a medium heat and stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 6-8 minutes, until it thickens. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Once cool, chill in the refrigerator while you make the cake.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. 
3. Melt the nuttelex in a saucepan and then add all the remaining ingredients except the blanched almonds, stir well to combine. 
4. Grease a square baking dish well and pour the batter into it, spreading it out evenly.
5. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden. Remove from the oven and score lines diagonally across the surface. Pour the chilled syrup over the hot cake and then decorate each piece with a blanched almond in the centre. Allow to cool slightly and then serve either warm or chilled. 

You can check out my the other delicious Egyptian & Egypt-inspired recipes here. 

Vegan Bakewell Tart

It's been quiet on the blog front lately, as I'm somewhat otherwise occupied these days with my beautiful two month old daughter (!). In fact, not only do I barely blog anymore - I barely ever cook anymore! My partner comes home every night and cooks dinners as I have my hands full and have usually had a pretty full on day. As for lunches, even if my lovely baby decided to sleep for longer than 40 minutes at a time (gah!), I certainly wouldn't feel like cooking (and photographing) delicious gourmet meals. In fact I always have to hope there are leftovers, otherwise I might not get lunches at all!

I don't want to let the blog completely wither and die though. Luckily, I have some photos and recipes filed away that I haven't gotten around to posting yet from way back when I was featuring United Kingdom recipes. It might take me more than one 40 minute nap to get each post up, but I'm keen to get back to it - especially since I've been contacted by readers who miss my posts :)

The posting will be less frequent than previously, at least for now - but I'm still here :)

I'm actually really excited to share this one with you, partly because I just love the photos of it and also because it was delicious and easy to make. It's called a Bakewell Tart, and it's a classic English afternoon tea delight. It's shortcrust pastry filled with jam and topped with almond-y frangipane. 

A couple of notes on mine, before I go on to the recipe. 

- I've used only 1/4 tsp almond extract, because I've never really been a fan of the taste of almond extract. It would be more traditional to use more, so if you like the taste feel free to up it to a tsp.

- Mine (you might see in the pics) came out slightly undercooked, so I've added an extra 5 minutes to the cooking time. This will vary anyway, depending on your oven, so use your own discretion. 

- I've used raspberry jam here, you can also use cherry or strawberry. 

- The jam is meant to make a nice distinct layer that you can see when sliced. I looked at some other blog pictures of Bakewell Tarts before and thought their layers of jam looked a little thin, so I added mine very generously. Alas, it still seemed to get absorbed by the frangipane during baking and didn't make much of a distinct layer when sliced. I'm sure if I was on the Great British Bake-Off, such a sin would be the end of me. If you don't care about that kind of thing, then don't worry because it still tastes crazy good. If you want to try and get the jam layer nice and distinct then I would suggest adding a super generous amount of jam - and then adding a whole heap more. 

Vegan Bakewell Tart

Ingredients

For the pastry:
250g plain wholemeal flour
125g margarine
Ice cold water

Everything else:
170g caster sugar
170g self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
170g almond meal
1/4 tsp almond extract
150ml canola oil
200ml water
Raspberry jam
Icing sugar, to decorate

To Make:
1. Preheat your oven to 190 degrees C. 
2. Put the pastry ingredients in a food processor and blitz until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs (alternatively, use your fingertips to rub the margarine into the flour until the same consistency), then add just enough ice cold water for it to come together as a dough ball. It shouldn't stick to your fingers when you touch it, if you slip up and add a bit too much and end up with sticky dough then just add a little more flour until you get it right. 
3. Roll out the dough to about 3mm or so and line a tart tin with it (one with a removable bottom is best). Prick the base with a fork and bake for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile you can mix together all the other ingredients except the jam and the icing sugar.
5. Spread a generous layer of jam over the pastry base and pour the frangipane batter over the top. Bake for 10 minutes and then lower the temperature to 180 degrees C and bake for a further 30 minutes. 
6. Leave it to cool and then decorate with icing sugar. You could also decorate with flaked almonds, if you like. 

I'm featuring lots of recipes from the United Kingdom,

Check out my other recipe posts here:

Vegan Cauliflower Cheese

Summer Pudding

Mushroom & Guinness Pie

Treacle Tart

Roasted Love Apple and Wine Soup

Cranachan (Whiskey Cream with Raspberries and Oats)

Orange and Lemon Vegetables

Scottish Vegan Oat Scones

Swede & Parsnip Mini Cottage Pies

Avocado, Rocket and Almond Salad

I made this salad as an accompaniment to some fried tofu a while back and I couldn't believe how special it was with so simple a set of ingredients. The key is, of course, beautiful fresh ingredients. It's a very quick and easy to make and it's texture is fantastic, chewy & bitter rocket with fresh crisp cucumber, creamy avocado and crunchy flavourful almonds and pepitas. Use fresh lime juice for the dressing, bottled stuff just really doesn't cut it!

Avocado, Rocket & Almond Salad

Ingredients
2-3 cups fresh rocket (you can sub baby spinach, if you prefer)
1 large lebanese cucumber
2 ripe avocados
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup dry roasted almonds
2-3 tbsp pepitas
Cracked pepper, to taste

To Make
1. Arrange the rocket in a wide serving bowl. Roughly chop the cucumber and spread over the rocket. Dice the avocados and arrange on top of the cucumber.
2. Combine the lime juice, soy sauce and olive oil and then shake or whisk to combine well. Sprinkle over the top of the chopped avocado.
3. If the almonds are already dry roasted, simply sprinkle them on top. If they're not, dry roast them in a pan for a minute or two until just golden, shaking the pan often to ensure they don't get burn't spots. Sprinkle on the salad.
4. Dry roast the pepitas over a medium to low heat until they start to pop, shaking the pan regularly to prevent burning. Once they start to pop you can remove from the heat and sprinkle on the salad.
5. Garnish with cracked pepper if you like.

Serves 2 to 4, depending on what you're serving it with.

Kale, Orange & Almond Pesto Spaghetti

Our digestive systems taking a beating these days. Foods laced with artificial ingredients, chemical additives, flavours and colours are commonplace in every kitchen because it's quick convenient and cheap! I'm no different, it's so convenient to buy a bottle of passata or a stir fry sauce to make a quick dinner or lunch. In my practice as a health care practitioner I see not only lots of people with diagnosed digestive problems, but also countless people with undiagnosable "digestive discomfort", including heartburn and indigestion.

If you suffer from symptoms of heartburn, indigestion, lower abdominal pain, flatulence or irregular bowel movements you should talk to your doctor or pharmacist about getting some relief. If they aren't able to diagnose a cause then your best bet is to see an acupuncturist or Chinese herbalist, as they will treat the root of the problem for a more long term solution (disclosure: I'm a doctor of Chinese Medicine!). You should also look at your diet, as in my professional experience it can often be as simple as altering what you put into your body. It may be an intolerance such as wheat or lactose, or it may be time to start reading the labels on what you're buying at the supermarket!

It's really easy to start making a few things at home instead of buying commercial ones full of preservatives and things our bodies were never meant to consume. It only takes a few minutes to make your own pasta sauces and salad dressings. You can even whip up your own smoky bbq sauce in just a minute. Making your own pesto is easy too, and it tastes much more fresh and delicious than store bought. I love the bright green colour when I make my own pesto and the gorgeous fresh taste. It couldn't be easier - just chuck it all in a food processor and blitz it for a few minutes. It doesn't have to be basil pesto, either.You can experiment with different types as well, such as my rocket & chilli pesto and my broad bean pesto.

This healthy, vegan & additive free meal takes only 10 minutes to make. For quickest results, put the spaghetti on to cook and make the pesto in the 8-9 minutes it takes for the spaghetti to cook (varies depending on which type of spaghetti you use).

Kale, Orange & Almond Pesto Spaghetti

Ingredients
400g dried spaghetti
1 bunch kale, washed and stems removed
1/2 cup blanched almonds
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Zest of 1/2 orange (about 1 tsp)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra olive oil, as needed
Blanched almonds, to garnish

To Make
1. Boil the spaghetti according to the directions on the packet, until al dente.
2. While the spaghetti is cooking, tear up the kale and put it in a food processor with the almonds, garlic, orange zest and olive oil. Process until all chopped up into a paste, you can make it as smooth or as coarse as you like - I like to leave mine a little chunky.
3. Drain the pasta as soon as it is cooked and return to the pan. Add an extra 2 tbsp of olive oil and toss through the pasta. Mix the pesto through the spaghetti evenly, you can add a little more olive oil if you need to to make the pesto mix easier.
4. Lightly toast a handful of blanched almonds to garnish and serve immediately.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Gavsicon.

Semolina Halva (Sooji Haluwa)

My best intentions for posting this month have been made insignificant by what is happening in my area of the world at the moment - which is why you haven't heard much from me lately! In the area I live there are currently 4 serious bush fires, a couple of which are burning out of control. Although we live in an area prone to fires, this year the fire season has begun badly - and it's only spring! The hot, dry, windy weather we are having now coupled with the fact that we had an unseasonably warm winter leading up to this has lead to terrifying bushfire conditions. Thousands of hectares of bushland has been burnt and many, many people have lost their homes, their cars, their possessions and, in some cases, their beloved pets. Fortunately there has been no known deaths in my area, which seems miraculous.

Today it has been predicted that the weather will be "as bad as it gets" for bush fires. Hot, dry weather with winds of up to 100km. This could potentially be disastrous for the spread of the fires that are already burning. All the schools and childcare centres have been closed for the next few days, hospitals and nursing homes have been evacuated or relocated and people are being urged to leave their homes if they are not prepared. It's a daunting situation!

We have been spending our days preparing our house and getting our plans in order. I feel that we are *pretty well* prepared now, so I've managed to find time to sit down and share a post with you. Today I will be hovering around with my sprinklers at the ready and hoping for the best. My thoughts and best wishes to all the thousands of other people across Australia that are facing similar situations (there are currently more than 60 fires currently burning in NSW alone, although a lot of these fires are being controlled and contained by our wonderful fire fighters).

So what delicious treats can we wheel out to distract us from natural disasters? How about some delicious Nepalese Sooji Haluwa? This is a really easy halva recipe, made with semolina and crammed full of tasty nuts and plump golden raisins.

Nepalese Sooji Haluwa (Semolina Halva)

Ingredients
1/3 cup vegan margarine
1 cup semolina
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups of almond, oat or rice milk
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
2 tbsp dessicated coconut
2 tbsp chopped cashews (about 10 or so)
2 tbsp chopped pistachios (plus more to garnish)
1/3 cup almonds, chopped roughly
Agave nectar, to garnish (or, if you are not a vegan, you can use honey which would be traditionally used)

To Make
1. Heat the margarine in a medium saucepan until melted. Add the semolina and cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until the semolina starts to turn brown.
2. Add the sugar and stir it through, followed by the milk, raisins, cardamom and coconut.
3. Bring to a simmer and then add the cashews, pistachios and almonds. Turn the heat right down and cook over a low heat until all the milk is absorbed into the semolina.
4. Transfer to a serving bowl. You can eat it hot or cold. Before serving sprinkle with fresh chopped pistachios and drizzle with agave nectar (or honey).

Serves 6.

This month I'm featuring lots of recipes from Nepal!

Check out my other Nepali/Nepalese recipe posts:

Tomato Achar

Aloo Roti (Potato Roti)

Vegetable Momo with Chilli Sesame Dipping Sauce

Chilli Grapefruit & Orange Salad

Saag Tarkari

Sesame Chilli Fried Potatoes

Khoshaf

I'll end this month of delicious spicy and Egyptian food with a simple but beautiful dish. This is Khushaf  or Khoshaf, a traditional Egyptian dish which is often made during Ramadan to break the fast. It's good for Ramadan because of the high amount of sugars to give you energy during the day and the protein from the nuts.

It's like a compote, but not cooked. Or perhaps like a fruit salad, but made with dried fruits and nuts. It's very quick and easy to make and makes a delicious dessert, breakfast or snack at any time of the day. It's a lot healthier than a lot of other things you could have for dessert and conveniently you make it the day before, so it is a stress free dessert to serve up to guests.

You can soak the fruit in apple juice instead of water if you want to make it sweeter - but in my opinion it is sweet enough! You can also substitute other types of nuts, if you like.

Khoshaf

Ingredients
1/2 cup raisins (I used golden)
1/2 cup whole prunes
1/2 cup halved dates
1/2 cup sliced dried apricots
1/2 cup halved dried figs
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup dry roasted almonds (you can just used blanched if you prefer)
Water, to cover

To Make
1. Place all the dried fruit and the nuts in a bowl.
2. Cover with about 6 cups water, the fruit should be covered by at least 2 inches.
3. Leave in the fridge over night to soak. Check to make sure that there is enough water - if the fruit has absorbed all of the water then you'll need to add more. There should be plenty of syrupy juice left in the bowl after the fruit have absorbed as much as they can.
4. Eat! We just ate it as it is, but you could also serve over ice cream or with yoghourt.

Serves 6.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Egypt.

Check out my other Egyptian recipe posts:

Preserved Lemons

Limoonada (Egyptian Lemonade)

Mesa'a'ah (Spicy Eggplant)

Orange and Olive Salad with Cumin

'Ancient Egyptian Peasant' Beer Onions

Creamy Tahini Sauce

Ful Medames

Blackberry & Almond Braid

Making bread is so many things. Therapeutic, impressive, aromatic, calming. Also very, very rewarding in a delicious way. I hope you're enjoying 2013, and that you take a bit of time out to relax, read a book and bake some bread. Maybe even this bread - a sweet bread perfect for breakfast, morning tea, afternoon tea or dessert.

Blackberry & Almond Braid

Ingredients

1/4 cup soy milk, slightly warmed

2 tsp instant yeast

1/4 cup sugar

3 cups plain flour

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup (180ml) coconut milk

3/4 cup blackberry jam

1 cup almonds, roughly chopped

Extra soy milk for brushing

To Make

1. In a large mixing bowl combine the warm soy milk, yeast and sugar and whisk together. Set aside for 10 minutes until the top gets frothy.

2. Add the flour, salt and coconut milk to the yeast mixture and mix to form a dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead it until it's smooth and elastic, which should take no less than 5 minutes, and as much as 10 minutes.

3. Return to the bowl and and cover with cling wrap or a tea towel. Leave in a warm spot to rise for 90 minutes. 

4. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Divide dough into three equal pieces and place on a floured benchtop. Roll each piece in a long thin strip about 45 cm long and about 6 cm wide (don't get a ruler out, just make them all long and thin and about the same length!).

5. Spread 1/4 cup jam and 1/3 cup chopped almonds along each piece, leaving about 2cm around the edge.

6. Fold the edges in on all three pieces and transfer to a large baking tray lines with greaseproof paper. Pinch them together at one end and braid the strands as tightly as you can (you're probably going to benefit from an extra pair of hands for this). Twist the strands a bit as you plait, to make the jam even more marbled through the bread.

7. Brush the top with soymilk and bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown on top and cooked through. The jam may spill out the sides a bit, don't worry.

8. Cool to room temperature and slice.

Makes 1 large loaf.

Gevulde Speculaas (Dutch Spiced Almond Pie)

This pie is one of the best things I've cooked all year - I can't recommend it enough! It's a great idea, the pastry is made from delicious spiced Speculaas dough and it's filled with gorgeous almonds. There isn't much else to say - just go and make it and you won't be sorry!

I've adapted this from a recipe on a great blog called The Dutch Table, which has loads of Dutch recipes. It's also run by a very nice person called Nicole who was more than helpful in advising me on my Dutch food month. It's so lovely to meet new and friendly people all over the world. Of course, being me - I have changed it up a bit to suit my personal taste! I just can't help myself.

Gevulde Speculaas
Adapted from The Dutch Table

Ingredients 
1 batch of Speculaas Dough (note: preferably needs to be made the night before)
1 cup blanched almonds
1 cup confectioners/icing sugar
1/3 cup water
1 pinch cinnamon

To Make
1. Hop over to this recipe and make the Speculaas dough the night before and leave it in the fridge overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Soak the blanched almonds in hot water for fifteen minutes.
3. Drain the almonds and set aside some for decorating (between 10-14 should do it). Place the remaining in a food processor and process until coarsely chopped, should only take a few pulses.
4. Tip the chopped almonds into a bowl and stir through the sugar, cinnamon and water.
5. Take the dough out of the fridge and cut in in half. Place on a floured bench space. Dust your rolling pin with flour and roll out half of the dough to a circle which will fit across the bottom of your pie dish (use a medium to large size shallow pie dish - preferably with a removable bottom!).
6. Transfer the rolled out pastry to the bottom of the dish. It might break up a bit as you move it, but just patch it up but pressing more dough into it (doesn't have to be neat, nobody will see it).
7. Spread the almond filling on top of the pie base. Roll out the top and place it on the top of the pie. Use any remaining pastry to decorate the top and press the almonds you set aside into the top.
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden and cooked on top.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from The Netherlands.

Check out my other Dutch recipe posts:

Lazybones Buns (Luilakbollen)

Naked Babies in the Grass

Speculaas (Spice Biscuits)

Hollandse Stroopkoek (Syrup & Beer Cake)

Vegan Mango and Passionfruit Strudel

There are a lot of desserts on my "work out how to make it vegan" list. I try and limit how often I make desserts though, so often the list doesn't get looked at for a long time. The monthly Sweet Adventures Blog Hop usually makes me get out my list and give one of them a go, although I'm not sure if that is always a good thing. This week I'm starting a new weights and exercise routine, along with a bit of an increase in protein intake and a definite decrease in dessert. This, obviously, is not a good start! Oh well. Wish me luck for the next 12 weeks of not making stuff like this!

Strudel was one of the things on my list. I haven't eaten strudel for years! It wasn't hard to veganise the creamy filling. The secret, as with many vegan creamy things, is nuts. Soaked nuts can substitute almost any creamy thing you can imagine, and it works beautifully here. The fruits I normally associate with strudel are apple, apricot, peach and cherries. However, since the summer weather is in full swing here (it's been hot!) I thought I'd give it a summer tropical twist by using mango and passion fruit. The results were delectable!

Ingredients
1 cup raw blanched almonds
1/4 cup agave nectar
3 tbsp maple syrup
Zest and juice of 1 lemon (tip: zest lemon before you juice it!)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup water
2 passionfruits
1/2 cup flaked or slivered almonds
1 mango, thinly sliced and skin removed
6 sheets filo pastry, thawed
1/2 cup vegan margarine (nuttelex), melted
Icing sugar, to dust

To Make
1. Soak the almonds over night, or for at least 4 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 170 degrees.
3. Place the drained soaked almonds, agave nectar, maple syrup, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract and water in a food processor. Process until completely smooth, scraping down the sides often. This may take a little while, depending on your food processor. Should take between 5 and 8 minutes to get it completely smooth.
4. Remove the pulp from the passion fruits and fold the pulp through the creamy almond mixture.
5. Slice the flesh off the mango (you can suck on the seed while you cook), remove the skin and slice.
6. Lay out two sheets of filo next to each other with the edges overlapping (see pictures).  Brush all over with melted margarine and layer another two sheets on top. Layer with melted margarine again and add the last two pieces of filo (so you should have three layers all together).
7. Layer the almond cream in middle of one of the sheets of pastry (once again, see the picture). Top with sliced mangos and slivered/flaked almonds. Fold the bottom and edges over onto the filling and gently flip the strudel over and "roll" it up right to the end. You'll probably want an extra pair of hands to help you with this, as it's a little bit delicate. But if you rip the pastry a bit it doesn't matter, you'll hide it when you roll it all up.

8. Brush the top with the remaining melted margarine. Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden on top.
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool. You can serve it warm (let it sit for at least 15 minutes) or at room temperature (don't chill!), dust with icing sugar before serving.

Makes 1 strudel (serves about 6).

Peach and Bourbon Cobbler

Southern USA month is a great excuse to make cobbler, which is a dessert that we don't make often enough! There are plenty of different fruits commonly used in cobbler, but I thought I'd go with a classic peach cobbler, jazzed up with a splash of bourbon. It was great to have an excuse to use up the bourbon that I had sitting in my booze cupboard (yes, I have a whole cupboard dedicated to booze) which I bought to make Rainbow Banana Pancakes with Bourbon Syrup. I don't have much else to use bourbon for, so the bottle has been sitting there ever since. Now, thanks to this juicy cobbler, I have one less bottle in my booze cupboard!

Ingredients
2 kg peaches
1/4 cup bourbon
1 tbsp flour

Topping
2/3 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup wholemeal flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp bicarb soda
1/4 cup castor sugar
7 tbsp non dairy margarine
1 tbsp bourbon
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup flaked almonds (optional)

To Make
1. Wash the peaches, remove the stones and slice roughly. Place in a bowl and add the bourbon. Stir through and set aside to macerate for an hour or so.
2. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C.
3. Whisk together the soy milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside for 5 minutes to thicken.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, bicarb and sugar. Cut the margarine into the mix and mix with an electric hand mixer until it forms a crumbly consistency.
5. Add the bourbon and cinnamon to the thickened soy milk. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
6. Add 1-2 tbsp flour to the peaches and stir through. Layer the peaches in a large baking dish and spoon dollops of the batter on top. You don't have to smooth it out, the batter will expand and come together as it bakes, giving you a cobbled texture.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove and sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top. Switch your oven to the "top"/grill setting and cook the cobbler for an extra 1-3 mintutes, or until the almonds are slightly browned. Keep your eye on this the whole time, as flaked almonds burn really easily! As you can see from my picture, I took my eye off mine for a second and they overcooked slightly. It's a fine line!

Serve warm, you can add ice cream or whipped cream if you like.
Serves 6.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Southern USA!

Check out my other recipe posts:

Mint Julep

Vegan Chili Pone (Chili Cornbread Casserole)

Succotash

Pecan & Molasses Pie with Spiced Pumpkin Whipped Cream

Candied Sweet Potatoes

Mushroom and Bean Jambalaya

Vegan "Fried Chicken" and Waffles

Home Made Smoky BBQ Sauce

Orange Blossom and Almond Friendship Cupcakes

They say that every little girl dreams of her wedding. I didn’t. But I did often think about which of my friends I would pick as my bridesmaids. I’m not sure why, but I found the prospect of picking bridesmaids exciting. I loved the idea of honouring some of my friends with a gesture that said “you are important to me”. When I was young though, I was always glad that I didn’t have to pick bridesmaids just yet, because I had so many friends that the decision would just be too hard. How could I pick just a few when I had so many friends? Is it ok to have eight or nine bridesmaids? It’s only been about 7 years since I finished school, but how things have changed. I still think about it sometimes, even though I have no plans to get married. Only now I feel happy that I don’t have to choose because I’m not sure if I can think of that many people who have really been there for me when I needed it.

When I was a child I used to wonder why my parents didn't seem to have as many friends as me. When I was in primary school I had so many friends to play with, when I was in high school I could easily have 50 people to invite to my party. So, what happened to all my parents’ friends? Now that I'm getting older I have a much better understanding. These days I can put almost all my friends under one of two categories: those who are moving away from me and those who never get in touch.

Those who are moving away are people who care about me and love me, and I know that the fact that they’re moving away isn't personal. I wish them the best of luck and I’m happy for them. It still saddens me though, and it can’t help feeling that it’s them saying “I don’t really mind it I barely ever see you anymore”. They’ll still remain friends, but it’s not the same. You can’t really expect somebody to be there for you if they’re in another country, another time zone, another world away.

Those who don’t get in touch are the ones who never text, never call and never take action to organise any catch ups. This also includes the ones which pull out of the things I organise consistently and at the last minute.  So, I see them only if I contact them or I organise an event and they don’t bail at the last minute. On the few occasions that I do see them they always exclaim “we should see each other more often, we should organise a time to do {whatever}”. Yet, I don’t hear from them again until the next time I get in touch. There are a lot of reasons for this, of which I can guess at. Sometimes it’s because friends value their relationships more then they value their friendships, sometimes it’s because they're too lazy to organise things and sometimes it’s probably because they’re not actually that interested in seeing you.

The other day I needed some time away from home. This happens when you live with somebody, you occasionally just need some space. I went out for a walk and I was trying to think of somebody that I could visit at short notice just because I needed to be away from my house and spend some time with a friend. The sad thing was, I couldn’t think of anybody.

Perhaps tv shows raise our expectations of friendships, just as romance movies raise our expectations of love and relationships. Maybe shows like Sex and the City create unrealistic expectations? Is it too much to expect to have a close group of friends who love you, make time for you, contact you often and are physically and emotionally there for you when you need it – even when they have boyfriends, work and children? I guess it probably is. I’d love to know what other people think, please share your thoughts below.

This reflection on friendship accompanies these beautiful little cupcakes for two reasons. Firstly, because it’s an issue that is on my mind a lot at the moment. Secondly, because I made these lovely cupcakes with a friend while we caught up over tea and it was lovely. While we were eating and drinking tea, I took this photo. It makes me feel happy because to me it symbolises the simple pleasure of making time to catch up with a friend.

Orange Blossom and Almond Friendship Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

1 cup of soy milk

1 tsp of apple cider vinegar

¾ cup of sugar

¼ cup of oil (I used rice bran oil)

2 Tbsp of roasted almond butter

2 Tbsp of orange blossom water

1/2 cup of almond meal

1 cup of plain flour

1 ½ tsp of baking powder

Glaze:

2 Tbsp of orange blossom water

1 tbsp of almond/soy milk

1 ¼ cups of icing mixture

1 Tbsp of roasted almond butter

Whole almonds, to decorate (optional)

To Make:

Preheat oven to 180 Celsius.

1. Whisk together the soymilk and apple cider vinegar

2. Add sugar, oil, roasted almond butter, orange blossom water and almond meal and whisk until well combined.

3. Sift in flour and baking powder and whisk until combined.

4. Divide into 12 patty pans.

5. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool.

6. To make the glaze: combine all the glaze ingredients in a bowl and mix well until smooth. Drizzle over the cupcakes once they are completely cooled. Top with an almond, if you like.

Makes 12 cupcakes (and reminds somebody that you love them).

Almond & Goji Berry Chocolate Snaps

Sometimes the simplest sweet treats are really the best - not to mention being a lot less effort! I guarantee that if you spend ten minutes whipping these divine chocolate snaps up for guest they will be praising your ingenuity and calling for more.

This recipe post is for the eat the alphabet challenge, which I almost didn't end up entering, but got in a little late with these in the end. The theme letters are U, V and W. Quite a challenge. I decided to discount any ingredients which had "wild" or "white", because it felt a bit like cheating, but after discounting that the pickings were slim. My first thought was watermelon (coming into season), watercress and water chestnuts. All great options, but then I had an inspired thought.

Ever eaten Goji Berries? They're an ingredient we use in Chinese Herbal Medicine often (isn't it great when medicine tastes so delicious?). Well, their Chinese name is Gou Qi Zi, but their English name is Wolfberry - which starts with a W!

A quick note before we get to the nitty gritty of this recipe: I used a rather obscure ingredient in mine - pickled plum flavoured salt which a friend of mine brought back from Japan. I don't expect many other people have this ingredient lying around in their pantry, so I've written this recipe using coarse regular salt.

Ingredients

100g 70% cocoa dark chocolate

2 tbsp coarsely chopped almonds

2 tbsp wolfberries (goji berries)

Coarse salt flakes

To Make

1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (I just use a metallic bowl with it's bottom resting in some boiling water) until no lumps remain. 

2. Lay out a sheet of greaseproof paper over a tray or plate.

3. Divide the melted chocolate into 8 rounds on the baking paper and sprinkle the tops with almonds and goji berries (press them down gently to make sure they stick in the chocolate). Then sprinkle a pinch of salt over the top and place the plate in the fridge.

4. Leave in the fridge until the chocolate has completely hardened again, at least 20 minutes.

5. Serve. Too easy!

Makes 8 (serves 4).

Vegan Kladdkaka (Gooey Swedish Chocolate Cake)

Only 2 days left of August! The year is going by so fast, we're almost into all the months that end with "ber" and to me that means that Xmas is practically here. There are also only 2 days left in Swedish Food month on this blog, which is sad in a way - although I'm sure my body won't mind eating less carbs, rich foods and chocolatey creamy desserts! It is just as well that Sweden month fell in winter, as I'm not sure how I would have coped with the rich and heavy foods during Sydney's summer months!

I've left my favourite Swedish dessert of the month until last. It's absolutely deliciously decadent! Kladdkaka is essentially a rich chocolate cake which is left slightly undercooked, so that the outer edge is chewy like a brownie and the inside is still gooey. It is very easy to make and is one hell of a fantastic comfort food! It's just like a big gooey chocolate brownie. What is not to love about that?

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup almond meal
1/8 tsp nutmeg
150g nuttelex (or other non dairy margarine)
2 tbsp golden syrup
1/2 cup almond milk (you can sub soy milk)
100g dark chocolate (vegan variety), chopped up
Chopped almonds to garnish (or other nuts if you like)

To Make
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, almond meal and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl.
3. Put the nuttelex and golden syrup in a saucepan and put over a low heat to melt.
4. Stir in the almond milk and heat until it is almost simmering, the milk should be hot but not simmering.
5. Remove from the heat and stir through the chopped chocolate. Stir continuously until all the chocolate has melted.
6. Pour the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well.
7. Grease a 22-23cm springform cake tin and line the bottom with greaseproof baking paper.
8. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 20-22 minutes. The edges should be cooked and a skewer/knife should come out clean when inserted. The middle will be gooey.
9. Allow to cool a little. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Can be eaten warm or cold, great served with vanilla ice cream.

Makes 1 cake.

~TIPS~
~ Remove the sides of the springform pan and then just serve it still resting on the base. As the middle is gooey it is not very stable and your cake may not respond well to being moved, so just leave it on the base to serve.

This month I'm featuring lots of amazing recipes from Sweden!

Check out my other Swedish recipe posts:

Ärtsoppa (Split Pea & Mustard Soup)

Vegan Smörgåstårta (Swedish Sandwich Cake)

Chokladdarraksbolls (Chocolate & Aniseed Balls)

Vegan Swedish Meatballs

Almond and Cranberry Semla

Jansson's Temptation (Creamy Potato Bake)

No-Knead Cardamom Braid 

Garlicy Field Mushrooms with Rödkål 

Vegan Lingonberry and Almond Cream Buns (Swedish Semla)

I recently had the pleasure of catching up with a good friend who I hadn't seen for years! Amy and I constantly miss each other because we are both travel fanatics, so it seems that one of us is always overseas. Luckily we managed to find a time to finally have lunch together, and not surprisingly, we talked most of the time about travel.

Amy, conveniently, had spent six months studying in Sweden - so I was able to pick her brain a bit about Swedish food - which was well timed because August is Swedish food month on Gormandize. It has thus far been a delicious exploration of dishes - see the links at the bottom of this post for other recipes. Most of my past recipes have focused on the savoury side of Swedish cuisine. However, not including some amazing desserts would be doing Sweden an injustice, as Amy reports that the Swedes "have an insane sweet tooth".

During our catchup Amy raved about Semla. Cream buns filled with almond paste which are eaten in Sweden only during certain times of the year. Reportedly (by wikipedia - so likely it's false) King Adolf Frederick of Sweden died in 1771 of indigestion after consuming a feast which included fourteen servings of semla!

This recipe is dedicated to Amy then, and to all Swedes! I hope I did it justice - however, I have made some slight changes from the traditional. Firstly, I don't actually like almond paste - so there was no way I was going to put it in my buns, so I did something very un-traditional and opted for chopped almonds instead. Another fabulous friend of mine who lives in Sweden told me that sometimes Semla can be filled with lingonberry jam. You might not find it that easy to find, though. I am told that the best substitute is cranberry sauce, as it is tart and traditionally used in savoury dishes (as is lingonberry jam). So I went with Almond and Lingonberry Semla filled with vegan whipped coconut cream.

For a more authentic dish, fill with marzipan. 

Ingredients

(Adapted from The Vegan Swedes)

75g Nuttelex (or other vegan margarine)

250ml almond milk

1 tbsp dried yeast

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp ground cardamom

2 3/4 cups plain white flour

1/4 cup whole almonds

8 tsp lingonberry jam (can substitute cranberry sauce)

1 can coconut cream, chilled in the fridge overnight (minimum- a few days is optimum)

1 tablespoons soft confectioners sugar

To Make
1. Melt the nuttelex in a small saucepan and add the almond milk. Heat until just warm and then remove from the heat. Add the yeast and set aside for a few moments.
2. Add the salt, sugar, cardamom and mix though.
3. Add most of the flour and mix through. Add enough of the flour that the dough clings together and doesn't stick to the bowl (don't add too much).
4. Cover with a cloth and leave to rise for 45 minutes in a warm spot with no draught (not sure where this spot is or how to make it happen - read this post to get it right every time).
5. After 45 minutes it should have doubled in size (if not leave a little longer). Turn out onto a flour bench and gently knead it (add more flour if it is still sticking to your fingers).
6. Divide into 8 even round buns. Place on trays covered with baking paper, with plenty of space in between for them to rise again.
7. Cover over with a cloth and leave again in your nice warm spot for another 45 minutes, they should rise again to almost double their size.
8. Bake in an oven at 220 degrees C for 5 minutes, turning them halfway to ensure even cooking.
9. Remove and cool completely.
10. While they are cooling you can whip the cream -

Coconut Cream Topping:

1. When you open the tin you will notice that the top is a very solid thick cream. Scoop out all of the solid thick cream on top (you can reserve the rest of it to use in another meal – like a curry).

2. Put the thick cream into a bowl and mix well using a hand held electric mixer. Move the beaters up and down to try and get as much air into the cream as possible. Add the sugar and beat until it pretty much resembles thick cream.

11. Once the buns are completely cool, cut the tops off and scoop out the middle crumbs.
12. Chop up the almonds and mix them with some of the crumbs that you scooped out the middle.
13. Place a teaspoon of lingonberry jam in the cavity of each bun. Top this with as much of the almond and crumbs mix that you can cram on top.
14. Place big dollops of whipped cream on the top and place the top of the bun back on. Dust it with icing sugar and eat with joy!

Makes 8 Semla, best eaten on the day you make them.

This month I'm featuring lots of amazing recipes from Sweden!

Check out my other Swedish recipe posts:

Ärtsoppa (Split Pea & Mustard Soup)

Vegan Smörgåstårta (Swedish Sandwich Cake)

Chokladdarraksbolls (Chocolate & Aniseed Balls)

Vegan Swedish Meatballs

Jansson's Temptation (Creamy Potato Bake)

No-Knead Cardamom Braid 

Kladdkaka (Gooey Chocolate Cake!)

Garlicy Field Mushrooms with Rödkål