Spring Dining

After a Bank Holiday Weekend filled with Easter egg eating, I thought it would be nice to have a light meal, inspired by the arrival of Spring. This is a really simple meal idea and it doesn't require a lot of hassle or ingredients! The basis of the meal is an asparagus, green bean and cherry tomato salad which is delicious and surprisingly substantial. As a side I served it with homemade bruschetta and focaccia bread with balsamic vinegar for dipping.

Ingredients:
- Asparagus
- Green beans
- Cherry tomotoes on the vine
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper for seasoning

Extras:
- Steamer
- Large serving dish
- Chopping board

For the bruschetta please see my previous blog post. 


Now, here's what to do...

• Steam the asparagus and green beans together in the steamer.
• Once cooked, remove and cut both the asparagus and beans into mouthful sized pieces.
• Cut some cherry tomatoes in half and place them in the serving dish.
• Add the asparagus and beans and drizzle with olive oil.
• Mix it all together and season to your liking.

For meat and fish eaters this would work really well alongside some salmon or as part of a big salad for BBQ's in the summer months! I also think this would be great with some long stem broccoli added to the salad.

Enjoy!

Easter Brownies!

I was thinking...Easter wouldn't be Easter without Cadbury's Creme Eggs and lots of yummy chocolate, right?! So, I decided I would give myself a 'day off' being vegan and make some indulgent Easter brownies. 

The inspiration for this recipe comes from The Londoner's 'Slutty Brownies', butt I have taken out the Oreos and replaced them with Creme Eggs! I also decided to make my own cookie dough using a recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction. I am sure everyone reading this has not only heard of both of those blogs but, like me, follows them religiously. If not you must check them out! The following two links are to both of these blogs. The first is to the 'Slutty Brownies' recipe so you can see where the idea came from and the second is to the cookie dough recipe where all the ingredients are listed.

http://www.thelondoner.me/2011/06/slutty-brownies.html

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/05/13/chewy-chocolate-chunk-cookies/

Here are all the ingredients required for the cookie dough as well as the six or so Cadbury Creme Eggs and one box of Betty Crocker brownie Mix needed to make the whole thing. 







Now for the cookie dough...Below is a series of photos of the cookie dough-making process, following the steps from Sally's Baking Addiction. Once you have made the dough leave it to chill in the fridge for at least two hours.

After the dough has chilled in the fridge for a few hours, it's time to construct the brownies.

• Start by pre heating the oven to 180 degrees celsius. 
• Then, make a layer of cookie dough, covering the whole of the rectangular baking tin.

• Next, cut the Creme Eggs in half and layer them on top of the cookie dough.

• Finally, using the Betty Crocker brownie mix make the mixture and pour it on top of the Creme Egg and cookie dough layers. 

• Cook the brownies in the oven for about 35-40 minutes or until they are cooked through. They will be very gooey because of the creme eggs but that just means they stay nice and soft!
• Leave to cool for a few minutes and then serve.

Enjoy!

A Little Vegan Treat

This is going to be a super quick post but I just thought I would say a few quick words about this scrummy Booja-Booja 'Hunky Punky Chocolate' vegan ice cream I recently tried. I'm sure everyone has heard of this brand but it was a new discovery for me! I picked this little tub up at Holland & Barrett and now I'm wishing I had bought a few more! 

It is the perfect little after dinner treat and, in my opinion, tastes very similar to ordinary chocolate ice cream. The consistency was also very like normal ice cream which was nice because I have found that using vegan ingredients in some baking changes the texture and consistency of the food. I really really enjoyed this ice cream and it was just what I needed to satisfy my sweet tooth. 

I have had a look online and discovered they have a few more ice cream flavours so I am definitely going to try and get my hands on those! 

Here are a couple of pictures of what it looks like, in case you are interested.

If you are in the mood for something sweet and indulgent then I would definitely recommend picking up a tub of this! I will admit it isn't the healthiest thing but everyone deserves a treat once in a while.

Enjoy!

My Top Ten Vegan Essentials!

Having been a vegan now for almost two months, I thought it was time to post my top ten vegan essentials. These are the items that I turn to almost daily and couldn't do without. So, here they are...

From left to right:

Broccoli - loaded with essential nutrients and great as part of a meal or in a smoothie. I prefer long stem broccoli and purple sprouting broccoli is the king of broccoli, but all broccoli is delicious! 

Fruit and nut mix - nuts are full of protein, so a key ingredient in a vegan diet. Dried fruit retains most of the nutritional value of fresh fruit, making it a great source of vitamins, such as Vitamin A and fibre.

Sweet chilli dipping sauce - I don't think there are any particular health benefits to this but it's just really yummy and spices up dishes like soup or works as a snack with a rice cake. 

Porridge oats - the perfect breakfast ingredient! It provides a slow release of energy, is filling and helps to reduce cholesterol. I have recently started putting them in smoothies too and baking with them.

Agave - totally natural and is the perfect sweet addition to tea, porridge, smoothies and baking.

Flaxseed mix - a really essential source of protein and other nutrients such as omega-3. I often have it in my smoothies but it's also great in muffins or other baked goods!

Lentils - lentils form the base of a lot of my meals, especially dinner. They are really versatile and can be eaten hot or cold. They are also packed with protein which makes them really key to any vegan diet.

Mint tea - aids digestion and is a great warm drink throughout the day.

Bananas - they are a great source of vitamins and can be used in so many ways. I eat them as they are, add them to cakes and bread or put them in a smoothie. 

Sweet Potato - contain essential vitamins, such as B6, C and D, as well as iron and magnesium as well as providing a crucial source of carbohydrate.  They can be mashed up to form the base of burger patties, cut up to make chips or baked whole as an alternative to the traditional baked potato.

Maki Yaki - Wimbledon

I've been eating at the Japanese restaurant, Maki Yaki, regularly for about a year now. I think that alone is enough to speak my thoughts on this place, but just in case it isn't... I will say a bit more! 

Although I have never actually eaten in the restaurant itself (I always have it to takeaway), I have never had a bad experience with Maki Yaki. The food is consistently delicious and there is a great variety of dishes from sushi to larger plates. My personal favourite is the Maki roll named 'Crunch' which, as the name would suggest, has a crunch to it, as well as delicious crab, shrimp and cucumber inside. There are lots of other dishes to choose from too, including teriyaki and katsu curry. I would recommend everything I have tried, and having tried almost all the Maki's and a couple of the main dishes, I would say that's a pretty good result. 

The photos below, although not the best, give you an idea of the size of the maki rolls and therefore how much you might like to order. There are six per serving and they are quite filling so I would definitely advise ordering less than you think you'll need!

If you live in and around London then I really urge you to try it out! There are three locations, Wimbledon, Epsom and one in the Excel Centre in London. If you can't get to the restaurant then get some to take away. I would say it is perhaps on the more expensive side for sushi, but maybe that's because I'm a student and everything seems expensive to me!

Obviously now I am a vegan my options are slightly more limited but they have some great vegetable Maki rolls and their Wakame (a seasoned seaweed salad) is absolutely delicious. 

Here is the link to Maki Yaki, if you want to check out the menu or browse their website...

http://makiyakiuk.com

PS, comment on this post if you do end up going!

Bruschetta

So simple. So quick. So delicious...

I'm sure this won't be a stranger to many of you but it is possibly one of my favourite foods! It's so easy to make as well as being really really tasty. Bruschetta is great as a starter, especially if you are hosting a dinner party, as a side dish, or just as a snack! You need so few ingredients too and being a vegan I find this is a great, filling snack to have at any point during the day.

Ingredients:
- Ciabbatta bread 
- 2 x beef tomatoes
- Handful of cherry tomatoes
- Olive oil (I used basil infused olive oil but regular oil will work just as well)
- Fresh basil leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste

Extras
- Large mixing bowl
- Chopping board

Now, here's what to do...

• Cut the ciabatta bread into even slices and put in the toaster.
• Once the slices are lightly toasted, remove them and leave to cool.
• Dice/cube all the tomatoes and place in a large mixing bowl.
• Drizzle some oil into the mixing bowl and, using your hands, mix it with the tomatoes.
• Rip up the basil leaves and add them to the bowl, mixing it together again.
• Season with salt and pepper and give it all a final mix together.
• When your bread is cooled and has hardened, drizzle each slice with a bit of olive oil.
• Spoon a little heap of the tomato mixture onto each slice of bread.
• Add a couple of fresh basil leaves to serve.

I know it might seem like there is a lot involved with this recipe but it honestly takes about 5 minutes! This is also the perfect recipe to get inventive with for example by trying different toppings like pesto or mix in olives with the tomatoes or, if you have time, making your own bread for the base. 

Enjoy!