Chachouka Chow Chow + Pecan & Raisin Loaf

If you've followed the blog for a little while, you'll know I get a lot of inspiration from my favourite chefs and cooks. Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver, Sophie Dahl, Nigel Slater, Rachel Allen, Bill Granger, Rachel Khoo, and my take on the Londoner's devilish Slutty Brownies... can you guess who's missing?

It's time for one of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's recipes!

I was so impressed and mesmerised by his series River Cottage Veg Heroes, in which he places vegetables at the centre of his diet. In that series, he created the most mouth-watering recipes; in fact they converted quite a few sceptics to vegetarianism. 

The Chachouka Chow Chow drew my attention, not least because I couldn't figure out how to spell it (but the name sure is funny). Warming spices, tender, juicy peppers, the colours of Africa on your plate. Your house will smell of cumin for hours after you've had the last bite of your chachouka.

Serves 3-4 with bread, 2 as a main meal
Prep time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients:
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 onion, minced
1 green chilli, deseeded ad finely sliced
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
2 medium sized tomatoes (NOT beef)
200-250g tempeh, sliced into strips
3 large peppers, deseeded and sliced into strips
1 400g can tinned tomatoes
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne (or paprika) powder
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 small loaf (pecan and raisin) bread

Instructions:
Heat the coconut oil in a large, deep pan. Fry the cumin seeds for a minute before adding the onion, garlic and chilli. Fry for about five minutes, until the onion is translucid, before adding the peppers, tinned tomatoes and the rest of the spices. Let it all bubble for 20 minutes on low to medium heat.
Serve with a few slices of crusty, rustic bread. 


Notes:
* This dish is best served with a couple of slices of crusty bread. I suggest this recipe for a Pecan and Raisin Loaf I chanced upon while I was browsing the Circo website. Crusty bread crunching underneath your teeth and mellow peppers melting on your tongue -- it's a magical combo. It's quite a sweet meal -- ideal when you need a comforting end to a possibly harrowing day. 
* If you don't like tempeh, you could try replacing it with fried tofu. If you want to make the dish even more wholesome, red kidney beans would be lovely, too, as they go so well with tomatoes and spices. 

Fruity Frozen Yogurt Marbled Cake

Sunshine, where are you? It keeps coming and going, peeking around the clouds for a moment before it hides again. So I made a cute little froyo cake, inspired by a Jamie mag recipe, in the hopes that it would draw out the sunshine...

One hopes, still.

It was meant to look a little more like this:

But, if you're impatient, like me, or if you just want your cake to look a bit wackier more interesting, just do what I did!

Makes 1 cake, serves 8-10 people
Prep time: 10 mins
Freezing time: at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Ingredients:
1 tub 500g plain soy yogurt (I use Sojade)
approx. 250g each of banana (1-2 bananas), fresh raspberries, fresh blackberries and fresh kiwi
a few extra berries, to serve

Instructions:
Line a rectangular cake tin with cling film. (NOT baking parchment. I promise you will rue the day you try.)
Blend a quarter of the yogurt (about 4-5 tablespoons) with the raspberries. Pour into the tin and either set aside if you want a marbled cake effect, or put in the freezer while you continue blending if you want a cake with more defined layers. 
Blend 1/4 of the yogurt with the banana. Layer over the raspberry yogurt. Freeze (or not).
Continue the same way with the blackberries and the kiwis. 
Freeze for at least 6 hours. Thaw for a good 20 minutes before you attempt to slice with a knife warmed in a bowl of hot water. 

TIPS:
* This is scrumptious with some hot custard poured over. The frozen yogurt melts into the hot custard and forms dreamy swirls of fruit and cream. 
* If you don't use up the whole cake and don't want to leave it taking up space in your freezer, you can let it thaw in the fridge until it's gone back to a smoothie consistency, and have it for breakfast. 

Jaffa Cake {Gluten and Wheat-Free} and a Weepy Wednesday.

People often forget, but I'm not British. I never grew up eating beans on toast, having a Sunday roast, I never had a reason to bemoan the renaming of Opal Fruits to Starbursts. Sometimes when something typically British comes up in conversation I'll look completely clueless, and that's when strangers realise I'm not from this quaint island. You'd think then that being vegan would alienate me from living the full British experience, but actually, it's quite the contrary: I get to experiment and live the British experience, as I put it, but in a much more environmentally-friendly, cruelty-free and healthy way. 

Take for example, the beloved Jaffa Cake. 

(Why do they call them cakes? They're biscuits. Chewy, oozy biscuits, but definitely not cakes. But I digress.)

This is inspired by another Jamie magazine recipe from a few issues ago. I've been drooling and dreaming of a Jaffa Cake cake recipe ever since, and decided to make my own. 

To accommodate the dietary requirements of all my readers, I made this cake gluten-free. So far I've dabbled very little in gluten and wheat-free baking, and this is the first time I've created a truly successful GF/WF cake. I used a basic GF/WF self-raising flour mix by Doves Farm: it worked very well -- the texture was perfectly spongy, dry and held together very well -- but the flour itself had an odd aftertaste. (Having tasted it, I can only describe it as an "ungluteny flavour" -- rather unhelpful, I know, if you've never tasted gluten-free flour.) It was alright, but in the future, I will explore other flour options. 

Poof, all gone! 

Just like my days as an undergraduate student. 

This past Wednesday marked my final day of classes. It's official: I will never, ever again take another class at my uni. It's so odd. I don't really feel like the event was properly inscribed into this chapter of my life -- like there should have been some ceremonial celebration, a speech, just something to make it feel more tangible, more lasting. But it just came and went. I cut up the jaffa cake, passed it around in class, and my box was empty by the time the last class was finished. 

Serves 8

Prep time: 10 minutes

Baking time: 32-35 minutes + 10 minutes

Ingredients:

200g Doves Mill Gluten and Wheat-Free Self-Raising Flour

100g brown sugar

1 tbsp ground flaxseeds

1 banana, mashed

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp coconut oil

100ml unsweetened soy milk

zest of 2 oranges

juice of 1/2 orange

For the chocolate ganache:

100g dark chocolate

3-4 tbsp unsweetened soy milk

Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC. Line a 7" round cake tin with baking parchment (or grease it).

Place the dry ingredients in one bowl and combine the wet ingredients in another. Simply fold the wet ingredients into the dry, bit by bit. Pour the batter into the lined tin and bake for 32 to 35 minutes. Keep checking the cake as it bakes: if the top is looking golden, it's probably ready. Insert a knife to make sure: if it comes out of the cake clean, the cake is baked.

Cool on a wire rack. 

In a small pot, gently heat the soy milk. Break the chocolate into small pieces and add to the milk when it starts to bubble (after about 3 minutes). Keep the pan on medium heat, swirling the chocolate around every few seconds with a wooden spoon. Gradually the chocolate will melt and become silky. 

Take off the heat and set aside for a few minutes. Spread over the cake with the back of your spoon. Cool at room temperature (not in the fridge: that will crack the chocolate ganache).

If anyone can suggest better GF/WF flours to me, please do! I'm open to all ideas and suggestions; teach me what you know!

Raw Walnut Coffee Cake {With A Brownie Base}

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A couple of weeks ago, Delicious. magazine announced on Twitter that they were having a cake competition. The most gorgeous, mouth-watering picture would win and be featured on the cover of a Delicious. issue. With only a few days to complete the challenge, and this in the middle of finals craze at university, some might say that I was a bit nuts for attempting it. 

But hey, I do love nuts. 

(Sorry not sorry, haha!)

Walnut coffee cake was the first idea that popped into my mind. I've seen them so many times in various cake and coffee shops and yet I'd never made a vegan version before--or even tasted one! In fact I don't think I'd ever taste walnut coffee cake at all -- so what qualifies me to make a raw, vegan version worthy of the cover of a renowned national magazine, I hear the masses with their pitchforks cry?

It's simple. Passion for good food, for one; and also, you guys know I can bake. So there.

In all seriousness, though, I firmly believe that just because you haven't had a taste of a particular recipe doesn't mean you can't make it with your own spin on it. I didn't want to just recreate any old walnut coffee cake for this competition: I wanted it to be an exciting, tantalising new version. Something the judges had (hopefully) never tasted before. 

I think I may have succeeded. 

Note: raw cakes are beyond easy to make, but unless you organise yourself, it may take a long time to make. Remember that the art of raw baking/cake-making relies heavily on soaking nuts and dates and leaving the cake in the fridge for several hours to firm up. So measure out all your ingredients in advance, soak what needs to be soaked, freeze what needs to be frozen at least a day in advance, and you will save yourself heaps of time. 

And another note: if you don't like the taste of banana in your cake, that's fine. Just double the amount of walnuts in the cake and maybe add an extra splash of water. It will add more fats and calories, but that's up to you. 

Final note: I know espresso isn't raw. It's the only non-raw ingredient of this recipe. If you know how to incorporate coffee flavour into this cake the raw way, do let me know in the comments below!

Serves 8
Prep time: 40-45 minutes total
Cooking time: none! It's a raw cake ;)
Cooling time: at least 3 hours in the fridge, plus soaking

Ingredients:
For the cake:
3 frozen bananas, chopped
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
200g walnuts, soaked for 20 mins
50ml water
2 espresso shots

For the brownie base:
100g walnuts
50g hazelnuts
100g dates (pitted and chopped)
2 tbsp cacao powder
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
a splash of water, as needed

For the topping:
50-75g walnuts, some finely chopped and some roughly
50g cacao butter
2 heaped tbsp cacao powder
1 espresso shot
1/2 tsp stevia powder

Instructions:
1. The brownie base. Soak walnuts, hazelnuts and chopped dates in water for 20 minutes to soften. Drain them and pulse in a food processor until they begin to form a rough batter. Add a splash of water to help the processor. Add the cacao powder and flaxseed, transfer to a bowl and knead for a few minutes with your hands. The batter should be quite tough but still pliable, and hold well together.  Press into a lined 8" springform tin. Leave in the fridge to firm up. 

Raw brownie base. 

2. The cake. Again, soak the nuts and chopped dates for 20 minutes, then drain. Blend at high speed in the food processor or blender, adding the espresso, vanilla extract and water as you go. When the mixture is smoother, add the frozen bananas and keep blending until perfectly smooth and creamy. Pour over the brownie base in the springform tin and store in the fridge for at least 3 hours. 

Raw coffee walnut cream for the cake. 

3. The toppings. Bring the kettle to the boil. Pour some boiling water into a pot over which you'll place a bowl. Roughly chop the cacao butter, place it in the bowl and let it melt. This will take about ten minutes. Vigorously whisk in the cacao powder, stevia and espresso, then set aside to cool for five to ten minutes. 
Carefully take the cake out of the spring form pan. Drizzle the cacao sauce over the cake in a criss-cross pattern, sprinkle over the chopped walnuts, and refrigerate for another 30 minutes or so. 

And ta-dah!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe! I'd love to hear from you -- what's your favourite raw recipe? And have you ever entered a cake competition, or won one? This is my first time entering one, so fingers crossed it all goes well!

Spicy Tomato Brown Rice Soup - Warming, Comforting, and Fuel for the Brain

If you follow the blog regularly, you'll know I'm on the verge of graduating from university. That undergrad degree is only just outside of my grasp. But until then, I still have a few essays and that dear old friend *AHEM* Mr Dissertation to hand in. And my poor wee brain needs a bit of a boost to make it to the finish line.

Oh and let's not even mention working part-time again. I've gone back to being casual waiting staff, yayyyy. #sarcasm Eight and a half hour shifts without a break for food or other basic needs like relieving my bladder? Not so fun. (I do sneak off to the toilet, don't you worry. And I did pinch a few rolls of bread because I was, well, starving. But don't tell my boss.)

Why this soup is good for you:

* The brown rice makes a substantial meal of this soup, providing you with slow-releasing carbohydrates so you have the energy to churn out 3000 words per day. It also happens to be gluten-free.
* Tomatoes are a superfood! They're not often mentioned as such, but this beautiful fruit (nope, it's not a vegetable!) is so good for you: they contain heaps of vitamin C, folic acid, beta-carotene (important for your eyes!), calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and the all-important lycopene, which is a powerful and protective antioxidant.*
* This soup is just really, really comforting. If you don't have a loved one at the ready to hold you and repeat silly words like "shhh, it'll be ok", even though it won't be, every time you have a nervous breakdown, and your cat won't stop screeching every time you come home when you just wanted some peace and quiet, and there's this strange buzzing noise coming from the lift shaft opposite your flat and it's keeping you up at night and -- well, this soup will see you through. 

Serves two
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
1 can tinned tomatoes
200g cooked rice (see tip below)
1 cube vegetable stock
2 tsp turmeric powder
2 fat garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 small white onion, peeled and chopped
1 small red chilli, seeds removed and chopped
water

Instructions:
Combine all the ingredients in a medium-sized pot. Fill the empty can of tinned tomatoes with water and pour into the pot. Simmer for 10 minutes, set aside to cool and blend until smooth. Re-heat and serve with a chunk of sourdough, if you have some on hand; if not, the soup alone will fill you.

TIP: cook a big batch of brown rice in advance. Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge so you can rustle up any meal, like this one, in the blink of an eye when you have little time to cook during the week.

To cook the brown rice, simmer 75g dry brown rice for 25-30 mins.

* source: Healing Foods by Margaret Roberts. Briza Publications, South Africa, 2012.

Superfood Salad -- Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Chickpeas, Kale, Sprouts and Seeds

Following up on my brain food breakfast bowl (aka millet porridge with dried figs, cinnamon and orange), I now give you a superfood salad that will provide you with plenty of energy and all the nutrients required for healthy brain function. I need this now more than ever as in fewer than three weeks, I will have to hand in all my coursework and graduate from university. (YIKES.)

As it turns out, this recipe is also excellent for a calcium-rich diet. If you remember last year I injured myself whilst running and began incorporating more calcium in my diet to strengthen my bones. I'm not always very good at remembering to do so, but the ingredients in this recipe are chock-full of calcium, and I do eat them regularly. 

A few notes on nutrition in this salad from the book Healing Foods by Margaret Roberts (thanks for the gift, Dad!):
* Pumpkin seeds are rich in protein, amino acids, minerals and fibre and stand strong and steady in treating lack of energy. They are particularly rich in zinc, which is a valuable mineral for protecting against free radical damage and for protecting the liver. They also provide calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, manganese, and omega-3 and 6 fats. 
* Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) lowers high cholesterol, assist kidney function flushing toxins from the body, and cleanse the digestive system and ease constipation. They are also high in calcium, zinc, manganese, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and a slew of vitamins, plus absorbable iron. 
* Kale a beautiful winter crop, it is rich in calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamins A, C and B6, as well as iron. Vitamin C increases mental agility and strengthens your immune system. Vitamin K is important for cognitive function. (See this article on the BBC Good Food website)
* Broccoli is a super cancer fighter. It is an excellent source of vitamins C, A, K, B6 and E, folic acid, magnesium, calcium, potassium and phosphorus. 

So chomp your greens, eat more seeds and include more chickpeas in your diet!

I'm not a big fan of salad dressings. Not even a small fan, in fact. I don't like to douse oil all over my beautiful salads, nor do I like smothering them in acid, vinegary concoctions. Instead, I dress my salads in hummus. It's healthy, especially if you make yourself (store-bought ones can be heavy in the oil department, so read the labels!), and it has a sumptuous creamy consistency that I am head-over-heels in love with. 

Serves 3-4
Prep time: under 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5-10 minuts

Ingredients:
100g kale, washed
150g purple sprouting broccoli
50g alfalfa and broccoli sprouts
3-4 tbsp pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp sesame seeds
3-4 tbsp hummus (I used caramelised onion hummus, but you can plain, too)
200g cooked chickpeas

Instructions:
Steam the kale and purple sprouting broccoli. This will not only make them tender but also remove some of the bitterness. 
Toss all ingredients together, coat in the hummus, and serve immediately.