Savoury Seed Straws

Hello lovelies! Firstly, I want to apologise for not posting anything in so long! Hopefully I should be getting back to that more now that the summer is on its way! :)

This is a recipe that I have done quite a few times but never got right and just how I wanted..until yesterday! Hooray! *Pulls confetti* 

Some people's taste buds are more sweet than savoury, and others' are more savoury than sweet. Personally, I fit better into the savoury category. But I'm sure you can agree with me in the fact that we all have those times when we favour one category over the other. And for those times when you need something more savoury-these straws are the answer.

Firstly, I love how the paprika and cayenne compliment the salt and mustard perfectly-and give it that extra something. And this is a GREAT way to get seeds into you if you're not the biggest fan or just are simply stuck with what things you can do with them. Secondly, they are gluten free (as far as I know) so if you generally try to stay away from gluten, these are a definite thumbs up!

The nutritional yeast is also marvellous if you want to get some extra vitamin B12 into you, although it isn't necessary. Nutritional yeast has a nutty/cheesy taste and is ideal for when you follow a plant based diet.

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Makes around 8-16 straws

Ingredients:

130g GF Plain Flour (I used Doves Farm which I really like)
130g Brown Rice Flour
1/4 tsp Himalayan Pink or Sea Salt
4 tsp GF Baking Powder (I used Doves Farm)
140g Dairy Free Margarine (I like the brand Pure)
A pinch of cayenne pepper and paprika -As much as is desired
1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast (Optional)
1 tbsp Brown Rice Syrup
5 tbsp Ice cold water and 5tbsp Soy Milk

Topping

1 tsp or tbsp Whole grain mustard (depending on taste)
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Paprika
A combination of seeds that you like, I used poppy seeds, pumpkin, sunflower and linseed that I know of. A good idea would also be to buy a bag of mixed seeds from your local health shop or supermarket.

Method:

1. Put the flours, salt, and baking powder in a food processor and pulse to mix. 
2. Add the margarine, cayenne, paprika, brown rice syrup, and nutritional yeast, if using. Pulse again. 
3. Add the water and soy milk and pulse until it begins to form together. Shape into a ball and put into the fridge wrapped in cling film to chill for up to an hour.
4. Grease a baking tray and put the oven on at around 180C. Take the ball you put in earlier out of the fridge and cut into two halves. Roll each half out individually with a rolling pin and cut into 8 rectangular straw like pieces. Top tip: Be very careful at this point as they break up VERY easily. You may need to use something to lift them up onto the baking tray. 
5. In a small bowl, mix your preferred amount of cayenne and paprika with mustard and 1 tsp water. And use a pastry brush to coat and infuse the straws with flavour evenly. Then sprinkle your seeds over.
6. Once thats finished, put the tray in the oven for 10 minutes and it should be pretty easily to tell when they're ready.

Enjoy!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read today's post! 

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Spring: New Beginnings, and New Promises.

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow. 

-Proverb 

This winter must have been one of the harshest and longest I have ever known, not just because of my personal circumstances, but because I have missed the presence of light over darkness. But that is why I love the above proverb so much. Because no matter how long or dark and gloomy the winter may have been, the spring is sure to make its way back to us again. Always.

Spring is traditionally seen as a time of growth, renewal, and of new life. And for me, it is the same. The hope that a new beginning and fresh start is waiting just around the corner is such a beautiful promise. Spring must be my absolute favourite month. Because winter is over and a new chapter is about to begin. A chapter that is full of untold stories and surprises. The grass is green, the flowers are blooming, animals are coming out of hibernation, the sun is shining, and the sky is blue.

Whenever I go out with my dog Jessie and see the yellow daffodils and white snow drops scattering the ground I'm reminded of that wonderful reassurance. And for that I am forever grateful. Grateful that winter doesn't last forever, and neither does anything that I may be going through. And like everything else, this too shall pass.

Happy Spring everyone! I wish you all the best for this next season.

Love always,

Emily X

Cashew Shortbread Biscuits

These biscuits are nothing fancy, but are something that are lovely if you feel like making something in the kitchen or need a little pick me up. When I made these last week I didn't expect to enjoy them so much! They were one of those gems of a find that happen to really surprise you.

They are great because you can do whatever you want with them. If you have some biscuit cutters you can cut them into pretty shapes of all sorts. Hearts, flowers, stars.. you name it! Be creative. If you didn't want to just have them plain and are desperate for some extra sweetness, another thing you could do is drizzle some dark chocolate over the top. Yummy!

Note: Your biscuits may turn out a little darker than the ones in the picture as I was short on coconut sugar and only used a bit and for the rest used light brown.

For this recipe one thing you will also need is some kind of machine to grind your cashews, I use my Nutribullet. If you have a high speed blender or food processor that would work great too.

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Makes 12-24 biscuits

Ingredients:
4 oz Vegan butter (Pure/Vitalite/Biona)
2 oz Coconut palm sugar
3 oz Raw cashews
4 1/2 oz Self Raising Flour (To make healthier use just under 4oz SR and the rest Spelt Flour)
1/4 tsp GF Baking Powder
Pinch Himalayan Pink Salt

To Make:

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees/375F/Gas Mark 5 and grease a baking tray. 
2. Cream the butter and coco sugar with the back of a wooden spoon until smooth.
3. Grind the cashews to a fine powder then add to the butter/sugar mixture.
4. Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into the mixture and mix until combined. This will make quite a sticky dough. 
5. In your bowl, gradually add around two or three tablespoons of flour to the mixture then press in & gather together so that you can roll the mixture into a ball ready to roll.
6. With a rolling pin, roll out your dough to a reasonable thickness and cut into shapes with biscuit cutters and place them on your greased baking tray. You may need to use a knife to help lift them up. 
7. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy! 

Emily X

Becoming vegan: 2 months on!

On January 1st I decided to make the decision to become a vegan, and exactly today it will be two months eating this way. So I thought it would only be right to blog about my experience as a vegan, with all my successes and failures. Before I get into the rest of this short post, I would also like to add that I still stand by all the original reasons I set out to become one in the first place, even if everything hasn't worked out quite to my plan.

I must say that I think have may been a little overly ambitious, which I think we sometimes do when we feel passionate and enthusiastic about something. In the first few weeks and month, I did really well. I drank no milk, ate no cheese or eggs. If I fancied eggs I would make myself some scrambled tofu which might I add, is lovely! And not to be compared to scrambled egg! And eating out was no bother either. But then at the beginning of February onwards I started to slip and had an egg or two, and now I have started eating eggs now and again.

In a way, I'm happy that I decided to become a vegan. Because for two months, well..almost-I experienced something different. And not only did it benefit me, it benefited the animals and environment greatly too! My skin has been clearer, my eyes have been brighter, and my digestive system has thanked me also. Now, I have decided to stick to no milk, no cheese (apart from the very occasional bit if I eat out) and eggs once or twice a week.
Plus scrambled tofu because I love that too. :)

What are your thoughts and experiences on removing animal products from your diet? I'd love to hear from you, comment below!

Love always,

Emily X

Chocolate Buckwheat Pancake Stack with a Sweet Berry Sauce

Happy Pancake Day! If you're looking for a better alternative to the traditional pancakes today then this is the perfect recipe to try. Its so versatile and I love waking up to a huge pancake stack just for me!

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Makes around six small pancakes

Ingredients:

Pancake mixture

2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flaxseed combined with 6 tbsp water)
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
2 tbsp rice flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2-3 tbsp raw cacao powder
1 tsp organic burst maca powder
3/4 ripe banana
1/2 cup almond or other non dairy milk
1 tbsp brown rice syrup
Coconut oil for frying

Sweet Berry Sauce

1-2 handfuls mixed frozen berries
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 sliced banana


To Make:

1. Combine the ground flaxseed with the water in a small bowl or ramekin and place in the fridge for at least thirty minutes to thicken up. You can either do this the night before or in the morning. 
2. Sift the flours, baking powder, cacao powder, and maca in a large bowl and mix together. 
3. Mash 3/4 of the banana in a seperate bowl and add the milk, flax eggs and brown rice syrup. Then combine. Add to the flour mixture and fold in gently until fully mixed in. Avoid over mixing as you still want your pancakes to be nice and fluffy! 
4. Take a medium sized non stick frying pan and add some coconut oil. Once the pan has heated up, spoon some of the mixture onto the pan (about 1 pancakes worth) and cook on each side on a medium heat until ready. Then repeat with the rest of the mixture. Then stack nicely on your favourite plate. 
5. While you are cooking your pancakes, in a small pan, make your sweet berry sauce. Place your frozen berries and maple syrup and leave to cook slowly on a low to medium heat. Keep mixing this now and again so it doesn't stick to the pan. Try to time these right so it'll be ready at the same time as the pancakes. Slice the rest of your banana up and top the pancakes along with the sauce and all your favourite toppings. Serve with some soy yoghurt or Coyo coconut milk yoghurt.

Enjoy!

Emily X

Valentines Goji Heart Chocolates

Instead of the typical box of chocolates from the shops for Valentines day, why not treat your loved one (or yourself in my case) to some pretty homemade chocolates that you've made yourself? In my opinion the best gifts are always those that have had extra effort and time taken over them. Not only are these delicious and easy but they are also super good for you. One or more of these and you'll be high in the clouds with happiness, not to mention love!

The recipe below is just an estimate of what I used. Adjust the recipe to be as runny, thick, bitter, or sweet as you like. To make make more runny, add coconut oil, to make more thick add some more cacao powder, and to make more sweet if the cacao powder is too bitter add some more maple syrup or vanilla. Keep tasting as you go along so the chocolates will taste just the way you like. Also make sure to do it all quite quickly as the chocolate will begin to set if you make them too slowly. How do I know? My first batch didn't turn out so pretty. Haha :) The thing with this sort of recipe is trial and error-once you've done it a few times you'll get the hang of it.

I get my cacao butter and cacao powder from The Raw Chocolate Co and the coconut oil I use is Lucy Bee that I get from Sainsbury's for £6. To make these you'll need any kind of silicone mould. I used one that I found from M&S but there are some from amazon that are great for this sort of thing that you can get for really cheap and Lakeland do one thats really good too. If you don't have a silicone mould you can also use an ice cube tray or some bun cases. If you use bun cases make sure that they are firm enough so that the mixture won't spill out as soon as you move them. To take extra precautions place them on a mat or something solid to transfer them to the fridge.

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Makes 6 large or 20 small chocolates

Ingredients:

100g Cacao butter
4tbsp Coconut oil
2tsp Vanilla extract
100g Cacao powder
6-8 tbsp Good quality maple syrup (add more or less to your personal preference)
2-3 phandfuls Goji berries or other nuts/dried fruits (raisins would work really well)

You'll also need: Heart or other shaped silicone moulds and a sieve

To Make:

1. Fill up a medium sized saucepan with water and bring to the boil. If you can, try not to let the pan get hotter than 45 degrees Celsius so all the ingredients contain their original nutritional value.
2. Chop the cacao butter very finely (this way it will melt easily) and set in a glass bowl with the coconut oil.
3. Take the boiling water off the heat and place the bowl on top of it. 
4. Let the cacao butter slowly dissolve and melt down to a liquid. When it has all melted, stir in the vanilla.
5. Sieve in the cacao powder and mix until smooth with a wooden spoon. Add the maple syrup and goji berries. 
6. Slowly pour into moulds and leave in the fridge for thirty minutes to an hour or until firm. When they are ready push out of the moulds and put in a plastic container/box. The chocolates will stay fresh for up to three months in the fridge, though I doubt they'll last that long!

Happy chocolate making!

Lots of love,

Emily X

Review: Dee's Vegan Sausages

I first came across Dee's foods when me and my mum were shopping on Ocado a few weeks ago as they were on offer and were a brand we'd never heard of before so we thought we'd order a couple packs of her sausages and give them a go. As vegans it is a wonderful thing when we find new brands and healthy alternatives we like, as it can be pretty boring if we find ourselves eating a lot of the same things all the time. Dee is a nutritionist and first started her business at a farmers market which for starters, I really admire. Her foods are all free from meat, wheat, soy, eggs, gluten, artificial additives, palm oil, and nasty GMO's and made from the best quality natural and organic ingredients. All of which is a winning combination in my eyes.

Needless to say we really enjoyed them and despite some of the other negative reviews on Ocado, thought they were brilliant. Unfortunately we enjoyed them so much that they were all gone within a few days (oops!) and I said to myself that I would write a review sometime soon on my blog because I believe Dee's Wholefoods is a brand that likeminded people should know exists. I'm not too keen on her burgers as I am the sausages, but it might just be because of the ingredients and flavours that were used. I don't like to be negative at all but I do think that the burgers needed a bit extra flavour and seasoning, and I didn't find them that appetising. If I were to give feedback I would say that these things would definitely need to be changed.

Leek & Onion, and Coriander, Pepper & Ginger

Now onto the review. For starters, I love the packaging, the colours and fonts used really appeal to me and give me the impression that what I am about to eat is actually going to do me good and I'm not going to feel rubbish afterwards. The sausages are wrapped in a vegan casing made of rice flour and they have quite a different texture to a lot of other veggie/vegan sausages on the market. Personally I find it refreshing to have found a different take on veggie sausages that aren't the same to all the rest but thats just me. Other members of the family weren't so keen but I do think they are nice, not the best I've ever eaten, but nice. They are quite light so you could probably have 2-3 with some veggies and beans or something on your plate and you wouldn't leave the table feeling all horrible. In one pack you get six sausages and the price in my opinion is a bit too much money and they wouldn't be something we'd buy every week. Only occasionally for a treat. 

When cooking, because of the texture, they are quite prone to crumbling in the pan and matters are made worse if you miss out heating the pan up on a low heat first before you try to cook but as long as you have the pan heated up before you start cooking them they'll be okay. So overall these are really quite nice sausages that are definitely worth a try as everyone is different and although one person who tries them may not like them another might.

Emily X