Darny's Vegan Recipes and Upcycling Crafts

Birthday Boots!

2011-11-13T18:51:00.000+13:00

Miss almost 3 LOVES Dora, I mean really wildly like only a small child can, and she has been begging me for a Dora and a Boots, so I decided rather than fork out a large amount of money on what will be a phase which probably only lasts until Christmas, I would attempt to make her a Boots, Waldorf doll style, and here's the end result. (Don't look too closely at the face!!)

Anyway, if you're interested in having a go yourself I can tell you my method - but you might want to figure out a better way to do the face and the tail, both were a real pain and really there must be an easier way!

I started by drawing out a pattern - see the bottom three photos (sorry there aren't any more photos - kids got sick in the middle of making this and I forget to take photos as I went along.)
Then I figured out where I needed two tone fabric, and cut pieces out, sewed them together and THEN cut out the pattern, much less fiddly than trying to sew together pre cut pattern pieces - only downside is that my accuracy wasn't 100% so one hand is longer than the other, but small children don't seem to mind things like this! Then I added all the appliqué bits required - like the tummy, the ears, the eyes etc.

The rest was pretty much a case of following the Waldorf doll construction method from here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29184580@N04/sets/72157617798912890/
but without making a head ball to start with - instead I stuffed the head tuft and the ears lightly, and the pink bottom face which I had sewn over top of the face I stuffed as hard as I could (I cut a small hole in the head behind the face part to push the stuffing through) Then I sewed over the head tuft to create the three "hairs" and around the appliqué on the ears.
I stuffed the head as hard as possible and made sure I got the neck really well stuffed so it wouldn't end up wobbly then I finished the neck - minus wrapping thread around it to define the neck, it just didn't need it.
I put the arms, head and body together as the instructions show, and then sewed the tail on the back - I had meant to make a cut and sew the tail into the back body piece but I forgot (I blame the kids - hard to remember anything when you're always being interrupted to answer questions!)

The final thing was to make some boots, and I used this tutorial
http://mollychicken.blogs.com/my_weblog/2006/12/baby_boots.html
some soft red felt and the sewing machine - my hand stitching isn't very neat. Because the felt is so soft I managed to turn the boots so all the seams are hidden, and turn and stitch the tops down to hide the raw edges.

Now to convert a Waldorf doll into a Dora doll.... wish me luck!

Nursery Art

2011-10-11T13:09:00.000+13:00

I've been inspired by Little Blue Boo to try my hand at nursery art, I won't show you my first attempt, but the second one, for my new niece came out ok - our local Chinese import shop has these wee canvas blocks at the moment so I hope to make some more soon.

Week two, very late, upcycling sheets

2011-10-11T13:04:00.000+13:00

Well, it's been way more than a week, but in my defense we have been SICK, and Mr 4 turned into Mr 5 and started school, so I'm doing mother help twice (or more)a week, but anyway, here's week two - upcycling sheets...

This is just one idea, I'm sure there are hundreds more out there, but as there have been a few birthdays I've been putting together "build a fort" kits - very simply you take an unwanted but unripped sheet, cut strips from an old tee shirt and make loops and ties at each corner and down the sides/ smack bang in the middle of the sheet. (sew these on) visit your local $2 store and pick up some pegs, rope and a torch and bob's your father's brother, one self build fort.
There are several blogs out there which already show you how to do it, so I won't reinvent the wheel, but send you to have a look instead.
Jodi Michelle
Bloom
Salt Water Kids

But anyway, here's one of my version - I forgot to get photos of the other so you'll just have to imagine.

So, what can you use an old sheet for?

Upcycling old blankets into new

2011-08-28T21:18:00.000+12:00

I've been doing lots of upcycling recently - stuff I've been meaning to do for ages and finally got the time for, so I'm putting out a One a Week Challenge to everyone to see if they can upcycle one item each week.

This week my challenge is old wool blankets, I have 3 or 4 really old manky woolen blankets, not good enough to make into coats but certainly good enough to hide inside some nicer fabric and use as quilt inners.
So far I've covered two (using cot panels as focal points, yes it's taken me THAT long, Master almost 5 was still pleased as punch with them thankfully), have quilting fabric needing to be ironed and cut before sewing up number three for Miss almost 3 and the last one is going to be a nice warm chair blanket for me to keep me warm in the evenings and I've found a couple of pretty vintage sheets to cover that one.

Covering these wasn't difficult, the biggest tip I can give you is IRON, iron everything! The first one I put together was much more difficult because the blanket was wrinkled. You can't really see how stained and manky the blankets were even after a really good wash, but trust me there was no hope for them for anything where you could see them!

I started out with two sheet sized pieces of fabric (top and bottom), laid the blanket on top of that and then sorted out where I was going to put the cot panel, then I ironed the hem allowance on the cot panel over and pinned it to the top sheet of fabric and stitched it down.

Once I'd got the cot panel sorted I then sandwiched the blanket between the two sheets and pinned all the way around and spot sewed parts of the cot panel and right around the edge of the blanket sandwich.

Once held together properly I trimmed the edges and did a fold and turn and pinned and sewed the edges together, you could also use a nice wide bias trim and finish the edges properly, but I found as I had quite a large fabric overlap I could fold it under and get a neat edge without the hassle of cutting and ironing a whole bunch of bias binding (lazy, moi, why yes!)

So, what can YOU do with some old blankets, I can think of a few more things depending on the state of them, like coats and cushion covers if you've got some pretty ones, and the bits you trim off can go into oven mitts and pot mats.

Putting myself out there

2011-05-10T12:12:00.003+12:00

One of the scariest things I've done in a long while is to put my clothing patterns up for sale. Testing them is no problem, after all they aren't supposed to be a 'final' product and as a result it's no big deal when someone doesn't like them, or they don't fit well, need altering, etc... but selling them, asking people to part with hard earned cash, now that's HARD..
I hope that my patterns are sufficiently ok to be worth the money people are paying for them, they are hours of ME, my work, passion, vision (yes even the really basic boring ones) I'm not a sequential thinker so the whole process is a work of mastery over my impulse to leap ahead of myself.
In the end I hope my patterns are USEFUL, because to me, usefulness is the ultimate goal when I'm making these...

Feijoa Muffins

2011-04-27T19:21:00.001+12:00

Too easy to eat, even easier to make

Ice cream container of feijoas - (2 ltrs before scooping), scooped out.
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
100mls oil
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder

Pre heat oven to 180deg C
Mash the feijoas, add the sugar , essence and oil, stir mix. Add in flour and baking powder, mix lightly. Spoon into muffin tins, bake 25mins.

Darn Cat!

2011-04-10T18:47:00.000+12:00

I'm working on a new project, and as part of it I was TRYING to take some photos - outside - on the grass.... without children... I didn't figure on the CAT joining the party!!!!!!!! While it's kind of appropriate to have a cat in the midst, having her start eating the pants was a touch too far..

Cute ain't she?!

Sewing for swaps

2011-04-07T15:37:00.000+12:00

Been involved in a winter clothing swap, and made one extra jacket for little miss

Lazy Hot Cross Buns

2011-04-03T20:01:00.000+12:00

I'm a lazy baker, and can't be bothered warming soy milk and melting margarine etc, so here is my cheats version of the good old hot cross bun

2 cups warm water
3 Tbsp sugar (I use raw)
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp margarine or oil
2 Tbsp yeast - not the surebake stuff the ordinary kind
1 cup wholemeal/ chapatti flour (or high grade white)

Mix all these together, leave to go frothy, then add

1 cup raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp mixed spice

Stir through well, then add

4 cups high grade (bread making) flour

mix well, knead till smooth (love my kenwood dough hook!), leave to rise in an oiled covered bowl till doubled in size.

Divide into 24 bits (half, divide each half into 3, and each 3 into 4) make the bits into bun shapes by tucking the loose bits under - try and hide the raisins so they won't burn while cooking.
Leave to rise till doubled in size - I heat the oven to the lowest setting it will go, put a cup of boiling water in there and leave the buns for 15-30 mins.
Bake 200C for 20 mins.

Oh yeah, you can glaze and put the crosses on before you bake, but like I said, I'm lazy!

Crowns for Christchurch

2011-02-27T19:47:00.001+13:00

Lots of people are banding together to fundraise for those affected by the Canterbury quake. I've been busy making some crowns for both the quake and for a friend who's mum is dying of cancer and wants to raise money for hospice to say thank you for all their wonderful support. I've made six, but two small people claimed one each, so I have four to donate so far, I have more cut out, just need more sewing time to create a few more.

And here is my first ever attempt at quilting, it hasn't come out quite the right size, but still quite proud of it!

Christchurch, words cannot express :(

2011-02-23T18:23:00.000+13:00

Calling it New Zealand's wost natural disaster doesn't do the terrible loss of life and heartache justice.
Our thoughts and love are with you

Gratuitous Chicken Pictures

2011-02-13T20:10:00.000+13:00

I just need to show off our four lovely chookies, since the last photos posted we have been given a wee brown shaver called Flossy, (we call her Bossy Flossy!) she is lovely, very friendly - lets the kids cuddle her, and generally tells us what to do and bosses us around. The other three are now bigger than her which is funny for us as when she arrived she was the biggest and bossed them around, now she just tries to boss them, and they ignore her for the most part, but they are all happy so it's all good.

Here's a preview of the pumpkins in the self seeded pumpkin patch (aka the compost heap). This pumpkin doesn't look like much in the picture, but it's about the width of a beachball!

And here is a warning picture of what happens if you leave a 4yr old alone in daddies office for more than 5 seconds with the self inking stamps.....

Things to do with fabric scraps

2011-02-07T18:28:00.000+13:00

More because I'm a serious horder than I ever get around to using the stuff, but I cannot bear to part with fabric scraps, even overlocker trimmings have their own bag, destined to be filling for some cushions for the four legged beasties.

So what can you do with those small bits left over?

Too small for Adult clothes?
Make kids ones, if too small for kids, try baby sized!

Flannelet:

Patchwork blankets, as long as you have the patience to sew them up, flannelet blankets are great for using up PJ scraps
Panty liners - similar to mamma pads, just made from 3 layers flannelet
Patchworked together and then cut out to make larger clothes
Baby wipes

Fleece:

Warm hats, if you have really small bits you can use wedges to make your hat
Mittens
Baby booties

Cotton

The obvious is patchwork
Applique

Tee shirting:

Fabric flowers
Ruffles - those long strips can be gathered and added to garments

I'm sure there are tons more things you can do with your fabric scraps, but maybe this will inspire you (and me!) to use some.

Frozen avocado chocolate cheesecake

2011-02-02T19:09:00.001+13:00

This is probably the most unlikely combo to make a cheesecake from, but it works, the original avocado mousse recipe isn't mine (though I've changed it a bit), but after freezing some leftovers and eating the mousse like icecream the flavour just screamed to be made into cheesecake.

Base:
1 packet of Arnotts Nice biscuits, crushed (250gm)
80gms margarine
20gms Kremelta

melt margarine and kremelta together and pour into the biscuit crumbs. Press into spring form cake tin so the crust comes at least ¾ ‘s up the sides of the tin. Put in the fridge to set.

Filling:
1/2 cup Golden syrup
1/2 cup water
2 medium-sized avocados (300g flesh)
1 tsp mint (or vanilla if you don't like choc mint, or orange if you'd rather) essence
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup good quality cocoa powder
Juice of 1/2 small lemon

Put all ingredients in a food processor and process to combine or put in a bowl and use a stick blender and blend. Pour/ spoon into the base and cover with glad wrap, freeze until firm, slice and enjoy!

Note: Be really careful not to use more than 1/4 tsp of cinnamon as it will make the mix bitter.

Courgette soup

2011-02-02T18:58:00.001+13:00

Well not totally courgette, - this one is based around potato soup because it's such a favourite here.

2 large or 4 small potatoes
1 medium courgette (or more if your garden has gone mad like ours)
2 wedges of pumpkin (you could use kumera instead)
oil
Massell chicken style stock, about 2 cubes/ 2 teaspoonfuls
boiling water
1/2 cup red lentils

salt and pepper to taste

Chop veges into cubes, leave pumpkin in wedges with the skin on.
Heat oil and lightly fry the potato cubes and the stock, add the other ingredients except seasonings, bring to the boil and then simmer until everything is tender/ mushy. Remove skin from pumpkin and discard if necessary (depends on type of pumpkin- must do this with butternuts and the big grey ones)
mash or stick blend, season to taste and serve with scones or crusty bread.

Really you could put just about anything that will go soft in this soup, but this combo is a real hit with the kids.

Fire Engine Shirt

2011-01-20T22:37:00.000+13:00

The middle of last year I found some utterly gorgeous quilting fabric with fire engines on it, which having a lad who is mad on the big red machines I couldn't resist buying a wee bit of, just enough to add some excitement to a shirt.

And so the fabric sat, and sat, and sat waiting for me to make a shirt (procrastinate, moi?!), then I found and adults shirt in an op-shop and lo, the cheats way to make a well tailored shirt in less than 30 minutes!

Master 4 is in bed right now, so yet to gage the coolness of the garment, but I think he'll be stoked.

Xmas, doll, firehouse and super heroes

2011-01-18T18:39:00.001+13:00

A very belated picture of our Christmas tree, which we took down today! The kids had so much fun putting it up and taking it down I'm seriously considering making something they can decorate for other occasions.

The wee fireman Waldorf style doll I made for Mr 4, it's a bit weird looking as I never got to dying the fabric, and didn't get the hat, boots and belt made. It's pretty much totally from upcycled stuff.

The firehouse complete with fireman's pole, much used with the lego now of all things....

And finally, as I got totally sick of pegging on bits of fabric to the kids, I cut up some old sheets and made super hero capes, yet to make the masks as Mr 4 thinks he needs some, but the kids have been blasting around the house having great fun.

Pay it Forward

2011-01-17T22:08:00.001+13:00

I'm following the lead of a friend and joining in the game, so here goes!

How to play:
“I promise something handmade to the FIRST 5 people who leave a comment here. However, to be eligible, you must repost this message, offering something handmade to 5 other people. The rules are that it must be handmade by you, and it must be sent to your 5 giftees sometime in 2011. Ready, set, GO!

That better get my sewing mojo going!

Chickens, Dora, and dolls house

2010-11-24T23:28:00.001+13:00

Been a busy few ~~months~~ weeks making stuff, mostly Mr was doing the making, but I had a wee dabble, and after Mr cut out the wood, I produced dolls house number one - in pink for Miss's 2nd birthday, Master is getting a firehouse for xmas.... (I must be mad!)

We now have three feather babies in our back yard, Mr made the chicken hutch, and we got the wee darlings a couple of days ago, the fur babies were very interested, but have given up stalking the cage now the chicks run at them in a scary set your fur on end way.

And Miss and Master have a friend who loves Dora, and who is having a birthday very soon, so I had a crack at making Dora's backpack, including the map, AND I made them from upcycled materials, the bag used to be a couple of womens shirts!

Screenprinting, upcycling and tee-shirts!

2010-11-16T16:37:00.000+13:00

Been making tee shirts for a friend's kids as well as mine, 15 in one day! Then we screen printed them at Playcentre, some of the screens our centre owns, but the fire engines we found images for off the net, cut them out of OHP plastic and taped them to blank screens, was tricky cutting them but well worth the results!

My fire engine mad boy is utterly stoked with his new tee's, maybe now I won't get so much grief about the fire engine shirt I still haven't sewn up!

I also upcycled some shirts into pants for little miss, (but of course haven't managed to get the elastic in them yet!) Love the flowery blue pants, they will be lovely and cool over summer, which seems to have started already, 23deg C in the kitchen right now! I managed to keep the pocket from the front of the shirt with a bit of fiddling, as pockets are very important at the moment, and I've only used the sleeve of the red striped shirt so far, planning more pants from the rest, maybe with some ruffles!

Un fondue

2010-11-08T20:12:00.001+13:00

I know REAL fondue is supposed to be made with wine not beer, but made this way it creates a sharp cheesy taste which goes nice on pizza, you could always replace the beer with white wine if you wanted to try for a more authentic taste.

equal quantities oil and flour
2-3 grated garlic cloves
1 tsp mustard
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
beer to mix

Gently fry the first four ingredients until bubbly then slowly add the beer the same way you make a white sauce, stop adding beer when you get the thickness desired. Season sparingly - the more salt you add the more the bitterness of the beer comes through.
Use as a pizza topping of dip lightly steamed veges and crusty bread in it.

Chocolate Chip Biscuits

2010-11-08T20:01:00.001+13:00

125gms Olivani
1/2 cup raw sugar
2 Tbsp treacle
1 Tbsp soy milk (or subsitute)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 - 2 cups plain white flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup (or more) choc chips - dairy free

Cream olivani, sugar, treacle, milk, essence until light and fluffy. Sift 1 1/2 cups flour and baking powder together and mix into the creamed mix with the choc chips, add more sifted flour if needed the mix should be damp but able to be worked - not sloppy and not crumbly. Roll into walnut sized balls and flatten with a fork on a greased oven tray.
bake 180C for 20mins

Stuff I've been making

2010-10-27T13:59:00.002+13:00

I keep meaning to update with pics of stuff I've been making, mostly from stash, but there are some upcycled items in the mix!

Treasure hunt crowns - todays quickie, we had a treasure hunt at Playcentre and on the way home I was "told" that we NEEDED to make crowns with the treasure. Lucky I had some felt lurking in my piles of fabric, a quick cut, hand sew on elastic across the back, hot glue gun the treasure on, and voila one princess and one pirate king all happy!

Then there are the bakers dozen undies in VERY retro 80's cotton lycra, a score thanks to Mum who found a HUGE bag of the stuff going cheap, and some free fold over elastic someone was giving away! Of course Miss fussybum only likes the pink pair *rolls eyes*

And last but not least the swap I did recently, labeled "message in a jar" you had to make items to fit a 375-500gm jar, I chose a falafel container and made cloth reversible bags to go around the containers... then the kids stole the containers so the items just got wrapped up in the bags I made *le sigh*

The first jar was for the mum, who liked pinks, greens, sparkles, chocolate... one WIP bag from sequined lycra, a bamboo container I sparkled up with some fingernail polish, jaffas, and sparkly fabric covered buttons

The next was for a wee boy about 2yrs old who LOVES tractors, so one felt tractor fridge magnet, a tee shirt with a tractor sewn on the front, a lollipop and a keywallet with some keys in it as he loves keys too.

And finally for the 4 yr old girl who loves pink, dolls, fairy's etc... a wee purse in sparkly fabric, a lollipop, a bracelet and last but not least a mini waldorf doll with funky hair and a pretty sparkly pink dress. The doll took me ages to make and I was really pleased with how it turned out!

Undairy Food

2010-10-26T20:03:00.002+13:00

I keep looking longingly at chocolate dairy food in the supermarket, so decided to try making my own. Of course I cheated and used chocolate soy milk, but you could make it from scratch no sweat.

1 ltr of flavoured soymilk (I used sanitarium chocolate flavoured)
4 Tbsps cornflour
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Whisk the cornflour through the soymilk and then heat until thick, cool then chill, to avoid the skin on the top put some gladwrap over the mix before cooling.

To make from scratch mix together

1 ltr soy milk
1 cup sugar (or to taste)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 Tbsp cornflour
4 Tbsp dark cocoa

Stuffed Silverbeet

2010-10-24T21:16:00.000+13:00

We have MEGA huge leaves of silverbeet in the garden at the moment, and as the grape vine has yet to sprout any leaves I tried stuffing the silverbeet instead.

Rice
Oil
red lentils
boiling water
chicken style massel stock

fry the rice in oil till starting to colour, then add the boiling water, stock, red lentils and cook till rice is tender, season to taste

Add as much burgher wheat or couscous as it takes to make the rice quite stiff and able to be rolled

Add any chopped vege you like - things like raisins, pistachios, spring onions, grated carrot, sliced celery

Wrap spoonfuls of rice mix in bits of leaves (remove the thick vein out of the leaves and cut to a suitable size if needed) and place the leaves in a small roasting dish.

Zest and squeeze a lemon, and add with 3 Tbsps oil, and chicken style stock dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water and pour over the leaves.
Cover roasting dish and bake 180deg C for 20 mins

Potato fritters

2010-08-16T16:38:00.001+12:00

cook 8-10 medium potatoes,
1/4 large carrot in a pot until just cooked,
drain and leave to cool just enough to handle
grate into a bowl,
add 3/4 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder,
2 sprigs parsley, chopped
finely chopped spring onion or chives
salt and pepper to taste
milk substitute to mix

mix to a thick batter, and fry in a hot pan until golden on both sides

Lentil pasties

2010-08-16T16:34:00.000+12:00

Pastry:

2 heaped cups plain flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp rice bran oil
1 tsp vegan margarine
Aprox 16 Tbsp cold water

Sift flour and salt, rub in oil and marge, slowly mix in water 1 Tbsp at a time till you have a slightly moist but not sticky dough, cover in glad wrap and leave to relax while you make the filling.

Filling:

Boil 1/2 cup brown lentils
1/2 tsp mixed herbs
1 clove garlic
1 bay leaf
boiling water to cover with 3cms above

then wash and chop two medium potatoes and cube into frozen mixed vege sized cubes, add to the lentils, cook until lentils and potato is soft.

Fry in a large frypan,

2 spring onions, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp garum massala
1 tsp ground corriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt

add in drained potato and lentil mix and 1 leaf of finely sliced silverbeet
stir and remove from heat while you roll out the pastry.

Divide the pastry into 16 bits and roll each bit out into a thin circle, place 1 Tbsp of mix on each circle, fold together and press with your fingers so the edges stick together.

Bake 210C fan bake, for 10-12 mins until golden.

Serve with diced cucumber and tomato, and plum or brown sauce for dipping.

Bags from Scraps

2010-08-09T19:02:00.000+12:00

I washed Miss 1yrs Playcentre bag, and it fell apart, so it was time to make a new one, I found some very heavy denim fabric in an op shop and an old curtain - the non thermal type, with the addition of some snaps and a couple of D rings she has a drawstring top backpack which easily fits a change of clothes, cloth nappy and the lunch bag I just made.

I also made two lunchbags based on this tutorial and based the bag pattern around the same basic idea, just upsizing it, adding straps to the back and putting a drawstring topper to make the bag hold more without making it too large.

I added handles to the tops of my lunchbags, the insides are lined with scrap PUL not large enough to make nappies from.

I had a bash at making ziplock bag replacers too using this tutorial, great way to use up even the smallest bits of PUL, I patchworked this one together.

I have more cut out, and can think of lots of uses for them, Mr 3 wants to put cars in this one!

Leftovers fritters

2010-07-26T18:18:00.002+12:00

Whenever we have mashed potatoes we seem to end up with leftovers, I'm not sure if it's a comment on my mashing skills or if I just cook too much, but with leftover potato you have the beginning of some really nice fritters, although you could probably throw anything in the batter and it'd taste good!

Batter:

(all measurements are approximate, so feel free to mess around with it)
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup cornflour (the thickener type)
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp baking powder
salt and pepper
a couple of cups of leftovers
a can of beer

mix together all the ingredients except the beer, stir in as much beer as you need to get a fritter consistency, fry in shallow oil, drink left over beer while cooking, add salad and crusty bread to the plate and enjoy!

The cornflour and rice flour give a crispy texture to the fritters, and stop them being so stodgy, and the beer gives a really nice flavour and helps the crispness too, you could substitute the beer with rice or soy milk if you are allergic to the idea of ~~wasting~~ cooking with beer!

Ginger Cake - roasting pan style

2010-07-26T18:09:00.002+12:00

Another variation to the ultimate no mess, one dish cake, (you make the whole thing in a roasting pan and cook it in the same dish). Many may know the chocolate version of this which has been around for donkeys years, but this version removes the chocolate in flavour of ginger, with a really nice moist result - even better eaten the next day!

Place the following ingredients in a large rectangular roasting dish and mix well

3 cups plain flour (you can 50/50 with wholemeal)
2 cups raw sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cinnamon

make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the following into the well in the stated order

2/3 cup rice bran oil (or other light flavourless oil)
2 Tbsp vinegar (white, or cider is nice)
2 Tbsp Treacle (your could substitute golden syrup or molasses, but treacle is best)
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 cups water

Mix well and bake in a pre heated oven 180degC for 20-25mins fanbake or 1 1/4hrs bake (or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Really nice served as pudding with soy yogurt.

Sweetcorn and Pineapple Scones

2010-07-25T13:05:00.000+12:00

Ok, weird,yes, unique, yes, needed some spring onions, yes, but basically you could use this recipe with two cups of ANY semi liquid stuff.. so be inspired!

4 cups plain flour
4 heaped tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (1 tsp if your other ingredients don't contain salt)
1/4 cup yeast flakes (optional, just for a cheesy taste)
100mls oil
1 cup cream style sweet corn
1 cup crushed pineapple (you may need a bit more if mix is too dry)

Mix together, (add more liquid if it's too dry), knead lightly, shape into scones and fan bake 12mins 210C

Best ever gingernuts

2010-07-24T14:31:00.001+12:00

Can't beleive I haven't posted this recipe before now, these are THE BEST gingernuts, they taste like griffins used to!

In a pot put

3 Tbsp golden syrup
75gms raw sugar
1 Tbsp water
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Heat slowly stirring well until it come to the boil then add

1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup rice bran oil

Stir well and mix in

1 3/4 cups plain white flour

Leave to cool a bit, then the mix can either be rolled and cut with gingerbread man cutters or use walnut sized balls and flatten with a fork

Bake 180C for 10-12 mins - no fan, they get really hard and crunchy when cooled down, and make great dunking bikkies

Pikelets

2010-07-17T14:52:00.000+12:00

I love pikelets (these can be made large and called American pancakes too ;) )
While the original recipe calls for eggs, I just leave them out totally, and it works fine.

For every cup of flour add
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk sub (plus extra to get right consistency)

Mix well, the batter should be about thick paint consistency, add a little more milk if too thick.
Cook spoonfuls (or ladle fulls for pancakes) in a hot-ish frypan until mix bubbles and`edges dry slightly, flip and brown on other side.

If you want you can add mashed banana or chocolate chips to the batter

Homestyle stew - crockpot

2010-07-16T17:52:00.001+12:00

Part of this actually came from the supermarket as a vege pack with instructions on how to cook it up, but no reason why you couldn't just make it from scratch.

3-4 cups of the following veges sliced/ cubed
Potato
pumpkin
parsnip
red capsicum
onion
carrot
leeks

place in crockpot on either high (4-5 hours) or low (8hrs) with

2 tsp Beef style Massel stock (or equivalent vege stock)
400gm can chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup pearl barley
1 Tbsp mixed herbs
1 bayleaf

Mix and add boiling water to just cover the veges then mix in two cups of cooked chickpeas, or other cooked white beans.

When cooked throw in a cup of spinach leaves and a Tbsp of chopped fresh parsley and leave another 10 mins on high before serving. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper

Serve with crusty bread (and a glass of beer!!!)

Sun Dried tomato hummus

2010-07-16T15:42:00.000+12:00

Mr 3 loves one flavour of hummus, from one brand... only! (Lisa's if you're curious, I must admit it is VERY nice)
As it's pretty expensive I thought I'd try making some at home and see if it came up to standards, and the verdict is "yum" (though he wants me to store it in the bought hummus containers, maybe it's the packaging that counts?)

This recipe is very approximate, as I threw stuff at it till it tasted right....

2-3 cups really well cooked chickpeas and a bit of the cooking water (I cook them till they are almost mushy)
5-6 whole sundried tomatoes (the stuff in oil, not the dry stuff, very important!)
oil (garlic flavoured would be good)
lemon juice (about 2-3 Tbsps, add more at the end if it doesn't have a tart enough edge)
2-3 Tbsps chopped peeled tomato (I used canned stuff)
1 tsp brown sugar
1-2 tsp dried basil (or a couple of Tbsp chopped fresh if you have it)
salt to taste

Blend until resembles hummus, taste and adjust lemon and salt to suit

NB - this recipe really SHOULD have both garlic and tahini, but as Mr 3 doesn't like garlic and we never seem to have any tahini it's up to you if you add them or not, probably 1/2 cup tahini and a clove of garlic would be about right.

Our favourite way to serve hummus at the moment is with seaweed flavoured rice crackers (they are less salty than plain salted rice crackers)

Lemon roasting pan cake

2010-07-15T19:52:00.002+12:00

OK, weird name, but this is the ultimate no mess, one dish cake, you make the whole thing in a roasting pan and cook it in the same dish. Many may know the chocolate version of this which has been around for donkeys years, but this version removes the chocolate in flavour of lemon (working on the basis that the choc version for pudding is keeping Miss 1yrs awake at night)

Place the following ingredients in a large rectangular roasting dish and mix well

3 cups plain flour (you can 50/50 with wholemeal)
2 cups raw sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
zest of 1 large or 2 small lemons

make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the following into the well in the stated order

2/3 cup rice bran oil (or other light flavourless oil)
juice from the lemons you zested
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 cups water

Mix well and bake in a pre heated oven 180degC for 20-25mins fanbake or 1 1/4hrs bake (or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Variations:
If you want to make the chocolate version, omit the lemon and add 2/3 cup cocoa to the dry mix and 2 Tbsps vinegar instead of the lemon juice.

Add 2-4 Tbsp berry jam to the wet ingredients

Add 1/2 tsp ground ginger to the dry ingredients

Use an orange instead of a lemon

Car Caddy from scraps

2010-07-15T09:58:00.001+12:00

I had to make an extra item for a swap at the last minute, and decided to use up some scraps making a couple of car caddys.

The closed caddy has bright vehicle fabric on the back, and is held closed with snaps

This is the one I made for the swap, using up the last of the skirt I used to line the trousers.

And because Mr3 loves his fire engines and saw me making the swap one, I whipped this one up for him, all I need to do now is find some felt to make a fire for the fire engines to put out!

Chai tea syrup

2010-07-11T14:05:00.003+12:00

I bought some chia tea the other day, THEN read the ingredients, MILK, ugh, so then I googled vegan Chai tea and found this blog http://indietutes.blogspot.com/2007/12/chai-this.html (this chick is like my hero!) but as I'm a dead lazy sod and don't want to boil up this stuff every time I fancy Chai tea, I used her recipe and turned it into a syrup, just add a few Tablespoons to boiling water, top with milk substitute and bobs your relative!

Chai Tea Syrup:

3 cups water

3 cups sugar

1/2 tsp whole cloves

1/2 tsp peppercorns

2 small cinnamon sticks

8 cardamon pods, broken open (I couldn't find this in the shops so just used ground cardamon)

sprinkle of ground ginger

Bring contents of sauce pan to boil carefully, stirring until the sugar is all dissolved. Simmer at low heat for 30 minutes, or until reduced by about half.

Add 2 black tea bags and allow to simmer for an additional 3-5 minutes.

Pour tea from sauce pan through a strainer into a hot sterilized bottle, and when cold store in the fridge.

This is quite sweet, so you might want to increase the spice quantity, it would also be really nice with some orange peel in the syrup.

Skirt to childs trousers tutorial

2010-07-05T18:10:00.001+12:00

Here I'm going to go step by step through turning an adults skirt into kids trousers. I do tend to cut up skirts a lot, so I apologise in advance to any skirt lovers, but skirts are great for upcycling as generally the fabric is in good condition, and there is more usable fabric in them than in jeans. This skirt caught my eye because of the funky pockets.

First thing I needed to do to make the pattern fit was to remove the elastic from the waistband.

I quick seam rip with the quick unpick and the elastic is gone, I also ripped the back seam out so the fabric would sit better when I put the pattern on it.

I used the existing waistband when I cut out the pattern, it will be easy to thread elastic through once the pants are sewn up.

You can do this with many styles of skirt, this corduroy one didn't need any unpicking to cut it out.

Even better than a skirt is a large denim dress, there is tons of fabric in these and they usually have lots of neat stitching on them

Even after cutting out there should be fabric left to make something else.

If you have a four piece pattern then sew the front to the back at the side seams

Next sew up the inside leg on each peice

Turn one leg right side out and slide inside the other leg, match the crotch seam and sew from middle back to middle front through the crotch. Them hem the legs and turn over the top for elastic.

Tada! Jeans with funky stitching down the front.

And here are the pocket pants, lined and turned up ( a bit too long yet), will add a better photo when I'm allowed to have them back!

Downsizing a tee shirt Tutorial

2010-07-05T17:57:00.001+12:00

The original tee shirt is pretty sad looking, stretched out of shape and a bit faded under the arms.

I cut the tee up cutting down all the original seams so the front, back and sleeves are all separate

I've left a bit of extra length in the sleeves to try and avoid the faded patches under the arms, and used the original double sleeve ends, I'll do the same with the front and back to keep the look.

Next, sew the shoulder seams together

Sew the neckband seam, fold in half and place pins in the four quarters

Divide the neck into four and pin the neckband on

Sew the neckband on, you should get something looking like this

Next sew up the side and arm seams, because I'm using the original cuffs there is nothing else to do but zigzag over the loose overlocker ends to finish

The finished tee, a bit on the large side but a vast improvement on the saggy baggy original!

Downsizing adults sweatshirt to childs tutorial

2010-07-05T17:19:00.002+12:00

This tutorial will take you step by step through downsizing a zip collar sweatshirt from and adults to a child's. The one I'm cutting down is a size small, and I'm taking it down to a toddlers size T2. Here is the sweatshirt before cutting.

The first thing you need to do is cut the seams, you want to do the side seams, and depending on the size of the child's shirt you are making you may wish to leave the sleeves in, I've taken them out for this one as there is just room for the pattern. DO NOT cut the shoulder seams, you want to leave the shoulders and neck seams intact.

Next you want to find the centre of the sweatshirt and place your pattern pieces on it

Try and line up the shoulders, there will probably be a bit of extra length when you sew the arms in, but you can trim that off with the overlocker (or by hand if you aren't using an overlocker)

Next cut out your sleeves, don't forget to put the right sides of the fabric together so you get a left and a right sleeve.

Here is the cut down front and back, next we will be sewing the sweatshirt up.

To sew up, line the centre sleeve with the shoulder seam and sew the sleeves in

As long as the seam and centre sleeve line up it doesn't matter if the sleeve isn't perfectly matching, you can trim the excess off when sewing up the sides.

Here is the sleeve sewn in

Now sew up the sides and arms, you want to line up the underarm seams, you can trim off excess from the cuffs and hem if needed. Once you've done the side seams hem the sleeves and hems, and all finished.

The finished article

Ugly Skirts to Cool kids pants

2010-06-28T21:03:00.002+12:00

From these two skirts, comes this pair of kids lined and shaped-knee pants.

The back view

These are for another swap, and were a total pain to sew due to using a complicated pattern and then stupidly deciding to line it, thereby increasing the complication factor tenfold.
Still pretty happy with the result, two horribly ugly skirts make one damn cool pair of boys pants!

Pumpkin Scones

2010-06-20T11:00:00.003+12:00

This recipe is an adaption of one my hubby found online which wasn't very successful. A few tweaks and viola, yummy pumpkin filled goodness even my pumpkin haters love.

Pumpkin Scones

4 cups flour
4 heaped tsps baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
100mls oil
2 cups cooked pureed pumpkin

1/ combine dry ingredients in large bowl, stir through oil, Add pumpkin and mix well.
2/ on a lightly floured surface knead dough briefly.
3/ cut into 12 scones
4/ bake 210 for 10-15 mins until done.

Merino lined PJ's

2010-06-19T16:02:00.005+12:00

This cute wee pair of yummy warm PJ's (and another pair not in the picture) were created from two old rib dresses like the one below

And two merino singlets, the one below and a yellow one, I had to use some scraps from stash to finish the pants, but mostly upcycled, and so nice and warm for the toddler!

As usual I use a pattern to ensure I get the size right and things will fit the way I want them to, next project is a pair of dress pants from an old skirt....

Tee shirt and skirt to cute jeans

2010-06-19T15:25:00.006+12:00

From this old baggy yellow tee shirt

And this soft denim skirt

Comes this cute pair of wee baby denims

This was created for a swap, and turned out really well. Rather than trying to use existing sleeves etc as I've seen done elsewhere I used a paper pattern (Kwik Sew) and cut out/ sewed it up normally. It's fully reversible with teeshirting on the inside making it nice and warm for the winter.

Banana Bran Muffins

2009-12-23T13:12:00.002+13:00

Banana Bran Muffins

1 large Banana, mashed
100mls rice bran oil
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup baking bran
2 heaped Tbsp molasses
1 cup raisins
2 cups flour
1 ½ cups water
½ cup soy compound
¾ cup sugar

Mix all together and spoon into a muffin tin, bake 180C for 20mins fan bake.

Eggplant Stroganoff

2009-12-23T13:11:00.002+13:00

Eggplant Stroganoff

1 onion, chopped finely
8 button mushrooms, sliced
½ eggplant in long thin strips
Oil for frying
1 Tbsp vegan Worchester sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 heaped tsp Massel beef style stock
1 can coconut cream
Juice of 1 lemon

Fry the onion, mushrooms and eggplant until soft, add sauces and stock, then add the coconut cream and lemon juice. Cook until reduced and eggplant is tender. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Dark Orange Chocolate Cheesecake

2009-12-23T13:10:00.003+13:00

Dark Orange Chocolate Cheesecake

Crumb Crust

1 packet (250gms) Arnotts Nice biscuits
80gms margarine
20gms Kremelta

Filling

¾ cup coconut cream
175gms Whitakers 72% Dark Ghana Chocolate
1 box firm silken tofu (275gms)
Juice of 1 lemon (approx 2 Tbsps)
Juice and zest of 1 orange
4 heaped tsps Orgran egg replacer
8 Tbsps cold water
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup plain white flour
Pinch baking soda
1 tsp salt

Crumb crust: (this can be done the night before)

Crush the biscuits into fine crumbs, melt margarine and kremelta together and pour into the biscuit crumbs. Press into spring form cake tin so the crust comes at least ¾ ‘s up the sides of the tin. Put in the fridge to set.

Filling:

Take tofu from packet and put in the centre of a clean dry tea towel, bring the sides of the tea towel together and twist the tea towel to remove as much of the liquid from the tofu as possible and set aside.
Melt chocolate and a small amount of the coconut cream.
Put drained tofu, lemon juice, orange juice and zest, the rest of the coconut cream and chocolate in a bowl and beat until smooth (it may have a slightly curdled texture but try and beat long enough that the ‘curds’ are very small).
In a separate bowl mix egg replacer with cold water and then beat until fluffy, add sugar slowly and beat until thick and glossy.
Fold egg replacer mix into the chocolate mix.
Sift flour and baking soda into the wet mix and fold in.
Pour filling into the chilled base and bake in a moderate (150-160C) oven for 40-60 minutes until the filling is set when the tin is shaken lightly. The top should be dry to the touch and the edges cracked.
Remove from oven and allow to cool before placing in the fridge overnight to set - if you cut it after only a couple of hours chilling the filling will be like a mousse.
Serve cold in small slices as it’s a very rich dessert.

Chocolate Mint Cheesecake

2009-12-16T13:40:00.006+13:00

Chocolate Mint Cheesecake

Crumb Crust

1 packet (250gms) Arnotts Nice biscuits
80gms margarine
20gms Kremelta

Filling

¾ cup coconut cream
175gms Whitakers Dark Chocolate
1 box firm silken tofu (275gms)
Juice of 1 lemon (approx 2 Tbsps)
2 tsp peppermint essence OR 1 Tbsp Crème de menthe
4 heaped tsps Orgran egg replacer
8 Tbsps cold water
¾ cup white sugar
1/2 cup plain white flour
Pinch baking soda
1 tsp salt

Crumb crust: (this can be done the night before)

Crush the biscuits into fine crumbs, melt margarine and kremelta together and pour into the biscuit crumbs. Press into spring form cake tin so the crust comes at least ¾ ‘s up the sides of the tin. Put in the fridge to set.

Filling:

Take tofu from packet and put in the centre of a clean dry tea towel, bring the sides of the tea towel together and twist the tea towel to remove as much of the liquid from the tofu as possible and set aside.
Melt chocolate and a small amount of the coconut cream.
Put drained tofu, lemon juice, essence or Crème de Menthe, the rest of the coconut cream and chocolate in a bowl and beat until smooth (it may have a slightly curdled texture but try and beat long enough that the ‘curds’ are very small).
In a separate bowl mix egg replacer with cold water and then beat until fluffy, add sugar slowly and beat until thick and glossy.
Fold egg replacer mix into the chocolate mix.
Sift flour and baking soda into the wet mix and fold in.
Pour filling into the chilled base and bake in a moderate (150-160C) oven for 40-60 minutes until the filling is set when the tin is shaken lightly. The top should be dry to the touch and the edges cracked.
Remove from oven and allow to cool before placing in the fridge overnight to set - if you cut it after only a couple of hours chilling the filling will be like a mousse.
Serve cold in small slices as it’s a very rich dessert.

Rich Christmas Cake

2009-12-13T19:04:00.002+13:00

Rich Christmas Cake

1 3/4 cups orange juice
3/4 cup dark rum or brandy
2 Tbsp grated orange rind
2kg mixed fruit
2 Tbsp Marmalade (optional)
50gms chopped dates and chopped crystallised ginger
1 tsp of every essence you have especially orange, lemon, almond and rum/ brandy
2 tsps grated lemon rind
2 pkts ground almonds (or 1 cup blanched almonds)
2 1/2 cups high grade flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
250gms vegan margarine
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 Tbsp treacle (or 1 Tbsp golden syrup, 1 Tbsp Molasses)
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed soaked in 2 Tbsp boiling water
1 small apple sauced (or 2 heaped dessert spoons applesauce)
2 Tbsp soy compound
1 tsp egg replacer
6 Tbsp cold water

Extra brandy or rum

In saucepan bring to boil orange juice, rum and orange rind. Remove from heat and add dried fruit. Cover and leave to soak overnight.
Peel, core, slice and boil with a tbsp or so of water the small apple, puree and leave to cool.
Next day stir into the fruit mix - essences, lemon rind and almonds.
Sift flour, soda and spices into a bowl.
Cream margarine, sugar and treacle until light and fluffy add egg replacers (flaxseed, applesauce, soy compound, egg replacer and water) one at a time beating well after each addition.
Fold in sifted ingredients alternately with fruit mixture.
Line two large round tins with two layers of brown paper and one layer of non stick baking paper.
Spoon mixture into tins.
Bake 150C for 4 hours or until an inserted skewer comes out clean when tested.
While still hot pour over 2 Tbsps alcohol, when cool remove from tin and wrap in tin foil and store in a cool dark place, pour 2 Tbsps alcohol over the cake once a week until ready to eat, don't cut for at least two weeks (the longer it sits the less crumbly and more flavour it has)

Butter Chickpeas

2008-08-05T11:16:00.004+12:00

This isn't my recipe, but GEE it tastes GOOD!
I think you could convince the most hardened meat eater to devour this.
The recipe amounts are just guidelines - 1 cup of chickpeas should feed 2 people, so increase as needed.

Butter Chickpeas.

2 small or 1 large onions, diced
grated fresh ginger*
grated fresh garlic
curry powder OR cumin, coriander and chilli powder
1-2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 can chopped tomatoes
1/2 can coconut cream

Fry onions, garlic, ginger and curry flavourings.
pour in can tomatoes and chickpeas, cook down slightly, then add the coconut cream.
cook till reduced to a thick creamy consistency (will depend on your coconut cream, I've had massive variations between brands and even cans) Season with salt if necessary.
Serve over fluffy rice.

* Keep your root ginger in a ziplock bag in the freezer, and just grate as required.

Just as a wee addition, I've made this with baked beans instead of chickpeas, and regularly add in cubed potato to make it go further. I also leave the onion out often and it still tastes fine.

Basic Biscuits (and variations)

2008-08-05T11:03:00.005+12:00

I was craving choc-chip bikkies today, and as Google is my friend I went looking for inspiration. Unfortunately the recipe I found, while it works ok, tastes really insipid, so here's my take on it, and variations.
The basic biscuit dough can be refrigerated, or frozen, so you should be able to stock the freezer and have biscuits on demand.

Basic Dough.

2 cups Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt (really important!)

1/4 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 cup soymilk

Mix dry ingredients together with any flavourings (see variations), add in wet and mix. Knead slightly and roll into a tube - biscuit sized and refrigerate if it's a bit sticky.
Slice into 1.5 cm rounds and place on a baking paper lined tray, bake 180C for 10-15 mins (10 mins in fan forced) biscuits should be light golden.

Variations:

*1/2 cup choc chips for choc chip bikkies

*1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp lemon zest, 1/4 cup currents for easter bikkies

*2 Tbsps cocoa, 1 cup roasted husked peanuts for peanut brownies

*1/2 cup sultanas for sultana bikkies

Basically you can add whatever you feel like though, so have fun!

Quiche a la "chick cheez"

2008-07-30T17:34:00.006+12:00

This is really a hash together of two other recipes, but it's so yummy I have to share.
The chick cheez is from Joanne Stepanik's Uncheese book, and just gives the zing this recipe needs, the base quiche recipe is from Vegan with a Vengeance by Chandra Moskowitz, and was just too bland for me (though it warns it's a bland one)

To make up, take one recipe of

Chick Cheez

2 cups cooked chickpeas
3 tbs nutritional yeast
2 tbs tahini (or raw cashew butter)
2 tbs fresh lemon juice (or white wine vinegar)
1 ½ tbs light or chickpea miso
1-2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp onion powder
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp dry mustard

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and whiz into a smooth paste.

Chill several hours before serving to allow flavours to blend. (You can omit this part it doesn't matter when you are cooking the quiche)

Note: I have made the chick cheez without tahini, paprika, replaced the garlic with garlic oil and used stronger miso without any problems, so the recipe is pretty forgiving.

Add to this -

1 small onion, chopped
1/2 head of broccoli chopped
1 1/2 carrots grated
2 Tbps chopped chives (optional - just if you have them)
1/4 cup bread crumbs, wholemeal for preference.
1/4 cup water
1 tsp Massel chicken style stock
Fresh ground black pepper

Mix the Chick Cheez and vege mix together and press into a greased quiche pan and cover with tin foil, cook 180c in a preheated oven for 30-45 mins, and then uncover and cook a further 15 mins or until golden on top and looks cooked.

I have yet to try it, but I think you could use any combo of quiche type veges - courgettes, tomatoes, potato, whatever you have on hand.

Easy Peasy Chilli Dip

2008-02-26T14:12:00.003+13:00

This one isn't child friendly, but it is nice and easy, and a great way to use up the cheap chilli beans (which really don't taste very nice)

Easy Peasy Chilli Dip

1x can chilli beans, drained and rinsed
1 clove garlic
1-2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 - 1 tomato

Place ingredients in blender, blend well, taste and season with salt and pepper if required. Serve with Nachos or vege sticks.

McCains Style Oven Fries

2008-02-14T17:20:00.004+13:00

I often do oven fries when we have burgery type meals, usually homemade, but occasionally bought when I'm being seriously lazy. The kids really like the Mc Cains crunchy style, so I've tried to replicate them and they got a thumbs up tonight.

McCains Style Oven Fries

aprox 2 medium potatoes per person
1/4 - 1/3 cup rice flour (you can get this from Bin Inn)
1-2 tsps salt
Chicken style stock (massel) or onion stock (maggi) or both are optional or you can try out other spice combos, garlic and rosemary is really nice.

Cut the spuds (unpeeled) into equal sized chips - if you have a chip cutter this is a good time to use it as they really need to be a uniform size to cook well.
Preheat your oven and 1-2 oven roasting dishes with a generous squeeze of oil (enough to cover the bottom when cold, it'll expand when hot) to 210C for a fan forced oven and 215C for non fan.
In a large seal-able container or a plastic bag mix the rice flour, salt and any seasoning's you feel like, and then add the chips, seal the bag or container and shake until the chips are well coated.
Spread into the hot roasting dish(s) and toss to cover well with oil, the chips should sizzle when you put them in the pan, if they don't the oil isn't hot enough and they will stick to the bottom of the pan. You want them in a single layer to cook properly and they need to be well coated in oil on both sides or the rice flour doesn't crisp up and tastes a little odd.
Cook 10 mins fan bake stir and cook a further 5 mins or until the potato is cooked (times may vary with non fan ovens.

Baked Bean Burgers

2008-02-04T16:29:00.003+13:00

A good burger for BBQ season, with easily found ingredients.

Baked Bean Burgers

1/2 large or 1 medium onion, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp sage
1 tsp massel chicken style stock
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Dsp Marmite
1 can baked beans, mashed
3/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 - 1 cup flour

Mix well and shape into 6 to 8 burgers with damp hands (or dump large spoonfuls and shape as you cook), fry or BBQ until a deep golden colour (at least as dark as Anzac biscuits, darker is better)

Variations:
Tried these again today and forgot half the ingredients, think I like them better that way, the original recipe is quite salty.
So - the variation is, no soy sauce, no sage, 1 tsp marmite, beef style stock instead of chicken.

Onion Dip

2007-12-24T17:57:00.002+13:00

Gotta have onion dip at Christmas time, because, well ready salted chips are pretty boring really! This isn't quite condensed milk and onion soup, but it's not too bad, if my hubby will eat it it's got to be ok.

Onion Dip

2 heaped Tbsp cornflour
1 cup soy milk
1 Tbsp Maggi onion stock
1 Tbsp Malt Vinegar
60gms Olivani dairy free margarine

Mix the cornflour and soymilk and cook until thick, then cool in a water bath.
Beat Margarine until fluffy with the onion powder. Beat in the cornflour mix and the vinegar, and add more vinegar to taste if needed.
Chill and serve with your favourite dip friendly foods.

Pineapple cheesecake slice

2007-12-21T21:34:00.002+13:00

Ok, tried this now, it's incredibly yummy, but the filling didn't really set (not that it matters to the end result, it's very creamy), plus I used a lamington tin (quite large) and found the filling and base wasn't quite enough, and the topping was well short, so I'll post the altered recipe first, and leave the original below it.
The base uses a marge/ kremelta combo as Olivani is too soft by itself, you could use straight margarine if you can find a hard one that is dairy free.
I'll be posting a cooked chocmint cheesecake later when I can track down soy cream cheese again, the local supermarkets seem to have stopped stocking it.

Pineapple cheesecake slice - altered

Crust:
1 pkt Arnotts Nice biscuits
55gms Olivani dairy free margarine
55gms Kremelta

Topping:
1 can drained crushed pineapple in syrup
saved pineapple syrup from can
3 tsp agar-agar
2 tsp lemon essence
3/4 cup white sugar
2 1/4 cups boiling water

4 Tbsp cornflour
2 cup soy milk
120 gms Olivani dairy free margarine
60 gms icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

1 pkt firm silken tofu
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Base:
Crush the biscuits. Melt the margarine and kremelta together, mix the biscuit crumbs through and press into a foil lined 9 inch lamington tin, chill.

Topping:
Remove tofu from container, wrap in a clean, non fluffy tea towel and place under a flat weighted object such as a cookbook to drain as much excess liquid as possible from it.

Blend cornflour with a little of the soy milk in a heavy bottomed pot, then add rest of soy milk. Bring to boil gently stirring until thick, set aside to cool in a water bath.
Cream marge, vanilla essence and icing sugar until pale, beat into cooled cornflour mix a little at a time, chill.

Mix agar-agar, boiling water, sugar, lemon essence and pineapple syrup in a pot, boil 3-4 mins until agar is properly dissolved, then cool slightly, remove 1 1/4 cups to cool in a water bath and keep the other 1 cup on the element so the jelly doesn't start to set.

Beat together drained tofu, lemon rind, and vanilla essence until smooth.
Blend agar mix, cornflour mix and tofu together and pour into the crumb crust.

Refrigerate until set.

Mix the remaining still warm 1 cup agar and the crushed pineapple and cool without letting it set, pour on the top of the cheesecake and refrigerate until firm and cold.

Pineapple cheesecake slice - original

Crust:
6oz Arnotts Nice biscuits
1.5oz Olivani dairy free margarine
1.5oz Kremelta

Topping:
1/2 cup drained crushed pineapple in syrup
1/2 cup pineapple syrup from can
1 tsp agar-agar
1 tsp lemon essence
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/4 cups boiling water

2 Tbsp cornflour
1 cup soy milk
60 gms Olivani dairy free margarine
30 gms icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1 pkt firm silken tofu
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Base:
Crush the biscuits. Melt the margarine and kremelta together, mix the biscuit crumbs through and press into a foil lined 9 inch lamington tin, chill.

Topping:
Remove tofu from container, wrap in a clean, non fluffy tea towel and place under a flat weighted object such as a cookbook to drain as much excess liquid as possible from it.

Blend cornflour with a little of the soy milk in a heavy bottomed pot, then add rest of soy milk. Bring to boil gently stirring until thick, set aside to cool.
Cream marge, vanilla essence and icing sugar until pale, beat into cooled cornflour mix a little at a time, chill.

Mix agar-agar, boiling water, sugar, lemon essence and pineapple syrup in a pot, boil 3-4 mins until agar is properly dissolved, then cool slightly, remove 1 1/4 cups to cool and keep the other 1/2 cup on the element so the jelly doesn't start to set.

Beat together drained tofu, lemon rind, and vanilla essence until smooth.
Blend agar mix, cornflour mix and tofu together and pour into the crumb crust.

Refrigerate until set.

Mix the remaining still warm 1/2 cup agar and the crushed pineapple and cool without letting it set, pour on the top of the cheesecake and refrigerate until firm and cold.

Christmas Fruitmince Pies

2007-12-19T21:34:00.001+13:00

This recipe makes tons, so you may wish to halve it.

Christmas Fruitmince Pies

Pastry:
500gms flour (about 4 cups)
220gm icing sugar
220gm Olivani dairy free margarine
about 4 Tbsp water

Sift flour and icing sugar.
Rub margarine through the flour mix until it resembles breadcrumbs, if the mix becomes too greasy to work with pop it in the fridge for a few minutes.
Add the water 1 Tbsp at a time until the dough sticks together and isn't crumbling, be careful not to over water as it will quickly become sticky, it should be soft and pliable.
Wrap in gladwrap and place in the fridge for at least 10 minutes.

Fruitmince:

4 apples
2 cups mixed fruit
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp brandy essence (or 1 Tbsp brandy)

Remove stalks and core from apples and chop with skin on into raisin sized bits, mix the other ingredients in with the apple.

To put together, cut a small portion from the pastry to work with at a time and return the rest to the fridge. This pastry is best rolled and cut on a board that can be popped back into the fridge if it becomes difficult to work with due to warming up too much.
Roll the pastry using short strokes and cut to fit into patty tins, fill each pie with a tsp or two of fruitmince and cover with a pastry lid. Brush the tops of the pies with soy milk and bake 180C for 15-20 mins until starting to go golden.

Sausage Rolls

2007-12-19T21:13:00.002+13:00

This is my take on a recipe from Good Health Naturally. The original recipe uses chickpeas, but as Junior Food Critic #4 has an intolerance to chickpeas this version uses baked beans, which means it's a very quick recipe to put together (I always cook my chickpeas from scratch). Another omnivore pleaser these make really nice savoury nibbles at any kind of party.

Sausage Rolls

2 cans baked beans, drained
1/2 cup walnuts
1 heaped tsp sage
2 tsp mixed herbs
1/2 tsp salt
1 large onion
1 cup rolled oats
3 slices bread
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp tomato sauce

1 packet New Way Vegetarian Flaky pastry

Process onions, baked beans, walnuts, and bread separately.
Combine with other ingredients and mix well.
Mixture should be smooth and reasonably moist - you should be able to spoon it onto the pastry without it slopping everywhere but still wet, if it's too dry add a little water, if too sloppy add more rolled oats or breadcrumbs.

Divide the pastry sheets in half and spoon a line of mix about 2 cms from one of the long edges, damp the edge and roll up so it looks like a bought frozen sausage roll. Press the edge down to seal it.
Either cut and cook the rolls straight away, or wrap uncut in gladwrap and freeze for later.
Fanbake 210C for 10 mins (non fan, 220C 10-15 mins)
Frozen- 15-20 mins

Chocolate Truffles

2007-12-19T21:06:00.001+13:00

Chocolate Truffles

30gm Olivani dairy free margarine
1 Tbsp golden syrup
60mls soy milk
100gms pams choc chips
1 packet arnotts Nice biscuits, crushed
60gm currants
1 tsp rum essence (or 1 Tbsp rum)

Melt marge, syrup, soy milk and choc chips in a double boiler.
Stir in the biscuits, currants and essence.
Roll tspfulls in coconut or chopped nuts and then chill till firm.

Garlic Baked Beans

2007-12-19T20:58:00.002+13:00

Garlic Baked Beans

3 Tbsp oil
4 garlic cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1 heaped tsp beef style Massel stock
1/2 cup red lentils
1 can baked beans
Boiling water, about 2-3 cups

Chop garlic finely on the salt, add to oil and sauté. Add stock powder and fry briefly then pour in boiling water, lentils and baked beans. Bring to the boil, stirring to avoid sticking, then reduce to a simmer and cover until the lentils are mushy. Add more water if needed, or thicken with cornflour once cooked if too wet.

Brandy Balls

2007-12-19T20:52:00.001+13:00

Brandy Balls

1 packet Nice biscuits, crushed
2 Tbsp raisins, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped nuts (walnuts work well)
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 Tbsp cocoa
125gms Kremelta, melted
1 tsp brandy essence (or 1 Tbsp brandy)

Mix well, the mixture will be crumbly, squeeze together into balls and then chill till firm.

Coconut Ice

2007-12-19T20:43:00.001+13:00

A veganisation of a classic recipe, this works quite well and the end result still appeals to the omnivores of the house.

Coconut Ice

3 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup soy milk
25gms Kremelta
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 to 1 1/2 cups coconut
red food colouring

Mix all but the food colouring and coconut in a heavy based pot. Heat over a medium heat stirring until the sugar has dissolved, bring to the boil and boil without stirring until softball stage (once it's boiling you can turn the element down to med low to avoid burning).
Remove from heat, stir in coconut and leave to cool for 10 mins.
If you want half coloured then divide in half, colour one portion.
Beat until the mix starts to thicken, pour into a slice tin lined with baking paper, cut when cold.

Christmas Biscuits

2007-12-19T20:20:00.001+13:00

These are a biscuit take on Stollen and Christmas cake.

Christmas Biscuits

1 tin crushed pineapple
1 kg dried mixed fruit
1/2 kg chopped dates
3 Tblsp oil
2 tsp dried ginger
Boiling water to cover well

Boil the above together until the dates are soft. While this is cooking divide a packet of Odense brand marzipan in half and break into thumbnail sized pieces.

Mix in

1 tsp each
nutmeg
cinnamon
allspice
ginger
lemon, vanilla, brandy and strawberry essence
Heaped Tbsp Treacle
Tbsp brandy
1 70gm packet ground almonds
1/4 cup ground sunflower seeds
1/4 cup ground pumpkin seeds
1 Tbsp ground linseed
1/4 cup oil
6 cups plain white flour
6 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp Orgran egg replacer

Mix well, roll spoonfuls in coconut and push a piece of marzipan into the centre then flatten onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Bake 180 C for 20 mins.

Much like Christmas cake these taste better a few days after baking.

Yolanda's Soy Yoghurt Recipe

2007-12-19T19:20:00.001+13:00

Posted with kind permission from Yolanda.

Easy step by step guide to making your own soy yoghurt

You will need:

- An easy-Yo maker, ie, Easy-Yo thermos flask and 1 litre container (can be purchased from any supermarket and are often found for a few dollars in markets and garage sales)

- 3 tablespoons of a vegan yoghurt starter. I just bought a plain vegan yoghurt from the local health food shop to start my batch,. It wasn’t a nice one, but it made yoghurt that was far nicer than the original starter.

- 1 litre So-Good Essential Soy milk (this is the only type that does it, other brands will fail)

Instructions:

1) Mix 3 tablespoons of the starter soy yoghurt with 1 litre of room temperature So-Good Essential in the 1 litre Easy-Yo container.

2) Pour boiling water in the Easy -Yo flask up to the line and place the container of milk inside. Put the lid on.

3) Incubate at least 12 hours - I usually make it up at dinner time and take it out for breakfast

4) Store yoghurt in the fridge.

5) Remember to leave at least 3 tablespoons to start the next batch. But if the culture dies then start over with more bought vegan yoghurt.

6) To eat - have as it is or mix with a little jam or stewed fruit - you don't need much to sweeten as the yoghurt is not sour (no lactose - therefore no lactic acid)

7) You will notice some liquid separating from the culture - you can either pour this off or mix it back in as it is nutritious.

8) One key thing - make sure you rinse all detergent thoroughly from the Easy-Yo container - even a small amount will lyse the cells and cause the culture to fail.

'Ta' Bikkies (nutritious)

2007-11-09T17:00:00.001+13:00

As my not quite toddler is a fussy eater, but loves biscuits I've invented these so I don't have to worry about his nutrition quite so much when he is in 'snack' mode.
They have protein, and iron, and as everything is well chopped there are no big lumps to negotiate with not too many teeth.
My big kids will eat them, and my husband thinks they are the nicest biscuit I've made... (go figure), to be honest I much prefer my anzacs or gingernuts, but there you go...
They taste a bit like a muesli slice, not wildly sweet, and they are quite stodgy and filling.

'Ta' Bikkies (nutritious)

2 cups raisins
2 cups dates
Boiling water to cover
2 Tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp boiling water
1/2 cup oil
2 Tbsp floradix

1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup ground pumpkin seed
1/2 cup ground sunflower seed
2 Tbsp chickpea flour
2 cups flour
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups coconut
2 crushed weetbix
2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 180C
Wash the raisins and dates, place in a large saucepan and cover with boiling water.
Bring to a boil and simmer until the dates are mushy, the raisins swelled and most of the water has been absorbed.
Grind flax, sunflower and pumpkin seeds and mix with the other dry ingredients.
When raisin mix has reduced down to almost no water, blend to a purée with a stick blender.
Dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water.
Stir in the golden syrup, oil and floradix, and baking soda and mix through.
Add dry ingredients and stir till well combined.
Shape into biscuits and bake on a non stick surface (baking paper or silicone) for 15- 20 mins until the biscuits are golden.

If you want to you can replace the floradix with molasses.

Fly Cemetery's

2007-11-09T16:44:00.001+13:00

I know it's a strange name, but that's what my Mum always called the sultana pastry stuff we got from the bakery when I was little, and the name has stuck.
While this recipe doesn't quite do justice to how I remember these sticky sweet delicacies tasting, they got a huge thumbs up from the family so they must taste ok.

Fly Cemetery's

Filling:
2 apples
2 cups raisins or sultanas
1 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp cloves
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup cold water
2 Tbsp cornflour

Pastry:
1/2 block firm tofu (silken style works best)
1/2 cup sugar
100ml oil
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt

Filling:
Core the apples and chop finely in a food processor then scrap into a saucepan.
Wash the raisins and place in the saucepan with the first measure of water, spices, vinegar, sugar and essence.
Bring to a boil and simmer until the raisins are plump and the apple is mushy.
Mix the second measure of water with the cornflour and thicken the raisin mixture stirring well.
Remove from the heat and cool in a waterbath.

Pastry:
Blend tofu, sugar and oil together.
Mix in sifted flour, salt and baking powder, the dough should stick together in a ball when kneaded lightly, if it's too dry add a tiny amount of soy milk, if too wet then add a little flour.
Roll out half the dough for the base and half the dough for the top and put together in a slice tin with the filling in the centre.
Bake 45 mins at 180C
Cool completely before serving.

Baked Bean Fritters

2007-10-31T08:18:00.002+13:00

Baked beans are a great easy protein and iron packed meal, but I've never found the stuff very tasty without some additions.
As my littlest is mad keen on fritters, I've been playing around with the idea of baked beans in a fritter, and I think it works quite well. If you don't like the lumpiness of the baked beans you can always give them a bit of a mashing before you put the fritters together.
The end result will depend on the brand of baked beans you use, do check they don't have cheese added to the ingredients.

Baked Bean Fritters

1/2 onion, diced
1 can baked beans
3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste (this will depend on the baked beans your using)
Oil for frying

Fry the diced onion until soft and then place in a bowl with the baked beans and mix through, add the other ingredients and mix well. Fry in the same frypan yo cooked the onion in - turn when you can see the bottoms of the fritters browning and bubbles appear around the edges, cook until the fritters are cooked right through.
These are really nice served with chilli style sauce or chowchow.

Potato Lentil Soup

2007-10-17T08:42:00.002+13:00

Potato Lentil Soup

Oil for frying
1 medium onion, diced
3-4 medium potatoes, cubed
1/2 cup red lentils
2 tsp Massel chicken style stock powder
4 cups boiling water
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Fry the onion in oil until softening add potato and fry for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Add stock and stir right through the potato and onion so it frys slightly (helps bring out the flavour) then pour in the boiling water carefully and the lentils, stir and bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer until the lentils are cooked and the potatoes are soft and mushy.
Season and purée with a stick blender.

Hummus

2007-10-15T09:18:00.006+13:00

Hummus

1 cup cooked chickpeas (reserve liquid)
1 tsp tahini (optional)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1-3 garlic cloves, crushed
Oil

Purée the chickpeas with the tahini, lemon juice and garlic, and a 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking liquid, season and adjust the consistency with oil or more cooking liquid.

Garlic Yoghurt

2007-10-15T09:18:00.005+13:00

Garlic Yoghurt

1 cup soy yoghurt
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp garlic oil
1 tsp lemon juice
salt to taste

Mix well and leave to sit in the fridge if possible before serving to develop the flavour.

Lentils au Vin

2007-10-14T18:39:00.001+13:00

Lentils au Vin

1 medium onion, chopped
4-6 button sized mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup red lentils
splash of red wine
1 Tbsp garlic and rosemary oil
2 tsp Massel chicken style stock
2 cups boiling water
Couscous as required

Fry onions and mushroom in flavoured oil, add red wine, lentils, hot water, and stock. Cook till lentils are soft and mushy, season to taste, add couscous to mop up excess liquid.

Christmas Cake

2007-10-04T21:39:00.001+13:00

Yep, it's time to start thinking about making the Christmas cake again. This recipe isn't as dark and flavourful as a really good Christmas cake, but it's not bad considering it has no eggs or butter (and with only two tablespoons of oil, it means you can eat twice as much with half the guilt)! It freezes just fine (and this is my recommended method of storage if making well in advance for Christmas), but does have a tendency to get a little dry and stale if it's not kept in a good airtight container once you start eating it- the one downside of no dairy products. If you don't like a dry cake, then use the oil content in brackets - I worked out this recipe while pregnant and suffering a huge oil aversion and have found the cake just a wee bit too dry unless eaten with custard or soy milk or similar.
I suggest you buy twice the listed ingredients, so you can make two cakes, one for the freezer and one to 'taste test' ;)

Christmas Cake

2 cups mixed dried fruit
2 Tbsp oil (or 1/2 cup for a moister cake)
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp golden syrup
1 Tbsp treacle
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp bk soda
2 cup boiling water

2 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp almond essence
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp brandy essence
1/2 tsp each of any other essences you have
1/4 cup ground almonds
4 cups flour (50/50 white and wholemeal)
3 tsp bk powder
3 Tbsps brandy or sherry plus 1/4 cup for cooked cake (optional)

Preheat oven to 180c
Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper
Put fruit mix, oil, sugar, golden syrup, treacle and salt and baking soda in a large mixing bowl, add boiling water and stir well, leave to sit while sifting flour and baking powder.
Mix in all the other ingredients and bake, check cake after an hour with a skewer, if not cooked in the middle cover the top with baking paper and cook in 15 min increments until done.
Remove from oven pierce well with skewer and pour 1/4 cup of brandy over cake

If you want to ice your cake, Odense brand marzipan is vegan friendly for the almond flavoured layer, I'm still pondering the harder outer layer as I'm not a fan of it anyway.

Self Saucing Sticky Date Pudding

2007-10-04T21:35:00.001+13:00

Self Saucing Sticky Date Pudding

1 cup of chopped dates
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp golden syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup boiling water

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder

1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup brandy OR 1 tsp brandy essence

Mix first 7 ingredients in a pudding basin and leave to soak until dates are starting to soften.
Stir in flour and baking powder.
Sprinkle over brown sugar and brandy then pour over boiling water and cover the basin.
Steam for 1 hour minimum, or cook 180c fan bake for 50 mins.

Alternative: Add the rind and juice of a lemon into the date mixture before leaving it to soak.

Beef and Ginger Stir fry

2007-10-04T21:33:00.001+13:00

Beef and Ginger Stir fry

2 Tbsps oil
2 Tbsp Root ginger, grated
2 tsp Massel vegan beef style stock
Soy Sauce to taste
1/4 cup boiling water
3 or more cups sliced veges which can include carrot, broccoli, capsicum, mushroom, cabbage, swede, celery, onion, leeks, bean sprouts, cooked chickpeas, baby corn, courgette, snow peas, green beans
1 Tbsp cornflour

Heat oil in wok and fry root ginger and beef stock with onions, add in any root veges like carrot, swede and other slow cooking veges and 1/4 cup boiling water and stirfry for 5 mins then add in the other veges and keep stirring until cooked. Add soy sauce to taste.
Mix cornflour with water and stir through to coat the veges.

HINT: An easy way to always have root ginger on hand is to freeze it in an airtight container and grate what you need while it's still frozen.

Chilli Bean and Avocado Baked Potato

2007-10-04T21:30:00.001+13:00

Chilli Bean and Avocado Baked Potato

4 medium potatoes
oil

1 can of chilli beans
1 avocado
1 cup alpha-alpha sprouts
6 to 8 sliced button mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped cucumber

Hummus or Garlic Yoghurt to taste

Scrub potatoes, pierce well and brush with oil. Bake 180c 1-1 1/4 hours or until soft. Allow to cool until handle-able. Slice tops off and scoop out the potato without breaking the skin, chop potato roughly and combine with the other ingredients except the hummus. Spoon the mix back into the potato shells and serve with a dollop of hummus or yoghurt.

Creamy Curried Kumera

2007-10-04T21:28:00.001+13:00

Creamy Curried Kumera

1 small onion, grated
1 clove garlic
1 cup cooked chickpeas
2 medium kumera, scrubbed and chopped
1 tsp fenugreek
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
chilli powder to taste (optional)
oil

Heat oil in a pot and gently fry onion, garlic and spices, add kumera, chickpeas and water to cover.
Simmer gently until kumera falls apart and liquid is reduced then season and cream with a stick blender.

Peanut Brownies

2007-10-04T21:21:00.001+13:00

This is a veganisation of a good old Edmonds cookbook standard, I haven't tried it out as yet, as nobody in this house but me eats peanut brownies, and I'm avoiding peanuts until the most junior food critic of the house is old enough to be less at risk from developing an allergy to them.
I'm really hanging out to try them, so I'm hoping someone will let me know if I'm close to the ballpark with my recipe.

Peanut Brownies

1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp oil
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp whole or 2 Tbsp pre ground flax seed
3 Tbsp soy or rice milk
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
2 Tbsp cocoa
1 cup skinless roasted peanuts

Grind flaxseeds into a fine powder and then add the milk and wizz well, let it sit for 5 mins then add this to the oil and sugar and beat well.
Sift dry ingredients except peanuts into the wet and mix well, stir in peanuts and mix through.
Roll walnut sized balls, place on a baking paper lined tray and flatten with a fork.
Bake 180c for 8 to 15 mins or until cooked.

Muesli

2007-10-04T21:14:00.002+13:00

Muesli is pretty easy to make, except when you try and compare it with Hubbards. As I detest peanuts in my muesli, this is a peanut free zone, but feel free to add your own touches. While I can't say this is quite Hubbards style, it's not too bad, next I want to experiment with a berry flavoured one.

Apricot and almond toasted muesli

4 cups rolled oats (or a Coliacs safe alternative)
70gms (3/4 cup or 1 packet of Taste) ground almonds
1 cup coconut
2 tsp almond essence
3/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1/4 cup oil
2/3 cup chopped dried apricots (try and get organic to avoid the sulphur)

In a bowl combine oats, almonds, coconut and salt, mix oil, essence, and syrup in a cup and mix into the dry ingredients.
Spread into a roasting dish and bake slowly for 2 hours at 100c- 120c (no fan) stirring every 20 mins. Turn the heat up to 180 and cook a further 10 minutes, stirring after 5 mins.
Add apricots and mix through, once completely cold store in an air tight container.

Lemon Honey

2007-10-04T21:09:00.001+13:00

I REALLY miss lemon honey so when I found lemons cheap at the supermarket I had to try out making it vegan style. Since making it I've eaten far too much, it goes great on toast and in yoghurt and I think it'd make an excellent cheesecake topping too.

Lemon Honey

Zest and juice of 4 lemons
500gms sugar (2 cups)
75gms oil (1/3 cup?)
2 Tbsp cornflour

Mix together, bring to a boil in a large saucepan and boil for 1-2 mins, pour into hot jars, lid, and store in the fridge once cold.

Scones

2007-10-04T20:21:00.005+13:00

I love scones, and they were one of the first things I learnt to veganise. Plain ones are great with soup, and often scones are a quick easy lunch when the kids are begging for something other than sandwiches.
The trick to making nice scones is having the scone dough soft but not sticky.
If you want to make pinwheel scones use plain scone dough and roll out flat, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, roll up and slice before baking.

Date Scones

4 cups flour (or GF baking mix)
3-4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped dates
1/4 cup sugar
80-100gms oil (use a flavourless type like Ricebran for baking)
1 1/2 cups rice or soy milk

Sift flour salt and baking powder together, mix through the dates until they are coated with flour (this helps stop them falling out of the dough) add the sugar and oil and stir till well combined then mix in the milk. You should have a soft but kneadable dough. Knead lightly and roll out on a sheet of baking paper, use a non serrated knife and cut into 4cm squares.
Bake on a cold baking paper lined tray for 10mins at 210c (fanbake) to 230c (no fan) or until a scone at the centre of the tray is cooked in the middle when split in half.
Scones should be a golden colour.

For plain scones simply omit the dates and sugar.

Pizza Scones

4 cups flour (or GF baking mix)
3-4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped tomato
2 Tbsp fresh basil finely chopped (1 tsp dried)
80-100gms Italian flavoured oil (or add1 clove crushed garlic, 1/2 tsp dried oregeno and 1/2 tsp dried marjoram)
1 1/2 cups rice or soy milk

Sift flour salt and baking powder together, mix through the onion, tomato and herbs until they are coated with flour (this helps stop them falling out of the dough) add the oil and stir till well combined then mix in the milk. You should have a soft but kneadable dough. Knead lightly and roll out on a sheet of baking paper, use a non serrated knife and cut into 4cm squares.
Bake on a cold baking paper lined tray for 10mins at 210c (fanbake) to 230c (no fan) or until a scone at the centre of the tray is cooked in the middle when split in half.
Scones should be a golden colour.

Poppyseed Crackers

2007-10-04T20:21:00.002+13:00

This is a Veganisation of a recipe out of a very old Alison Holst book, I've had mixed results getting the dough in a state to be rolled out, depending on the type of flour and the type of oil I used, it seems to work best with white flour and ricebran oil. If the dough seems really crumbly, try adding in more oil instead of water.
The recipe makes a lot of crackers, but I've never had them last long enough to go stale, they get scoffed down very quickly!

Poppyseed Crackers

2 cups flour Or GF baking mix
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp poppyseeds
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup plus 1-3 Tbsp cold water

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together, and then stir in poppyseeds. Add the oil and stir through with a fork until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Slowly mix in the first 1/2 cup of water, adding more by the tablespoon until a firm dough is achieved. The dough should be stiff but not crumbling.
Roll out very thinly and cut into shapes either with a knife or biscuit cutters (they expand upwards but not outwards when cooking). To rework the scraps, pile them up and re-roll, don't try to squash them back together.
Bake on a baking paper lined tray for 11 mins at 180c fanbake or 190c for up to 15 mins without fanbake - crackers are cooked when they have coloured to a light honey.
Store in an airtight container as soon as they go cold or they will go soft.

Flavoured oil

2007-10-04T12:53:00.002+13:00

It's really easy to make your own flavoured oils, and they are a great time saver if you want the flavour without the hassle of chopping the herbs.
I tend to use them in situations where I want the flavour but don't want bits of chopped herbs or garlic in the finished product.

Flavoured Oils

1 glass jar with a seal-able lid
A good cooking oil - Olive or Ricebran are my favourite
1 bulb of garlic separated into cloves and peeled, or a similar quantity of clean dry fresh herbs

Put nicks in the garlic, or bruise the herbs and place in the jar, fill with oil until the herbs/ garlic are well covered, and sit in a dark warmish place for about a week before you start using the oil, keep the jar topped up so the herbs don't sit above the level of the oil and it will last almost indefinitely.
Favourite mixtures of mine are classic garlic and rosemary, and an Italian blend of oregano, garlic and marjoram.
Softer herbs like parsley and basil won't keep so well unless refrigerated.

Carrot spice muffins

2007-10-04T12:43:00.001+13:00

This uses a bog standard vegan muffin recipe, so if you don't like carrots, raisins and spice, you can omit them and add in your own combinations, my girls favourites are Banana and Choc chip, and Apple and Cinnamon. If you use a sweet fruit like banana you can reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe.
This muffin is very reminiscent of carrot cake, and I'm still working on making a cream-cheese style icing for it, just for those days I feel truly decadent.

Carrot Spice Muffins

2 large carrots, grated
50-100gms oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour (or sub a suitable GF baking mix)
1/2 cup raisins
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp allspice
1 cup rice or soy milk

Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until just combined (over mixing muffins makes them tough) pop into a muffin tin and bake 180c for 20 mins on fanbake (so possibly a bit longer for a non fanbake oven)
Makes 12 muffins

Alternatives:

2 mashed bananas and 1/2 cup choc chips
2 large or 3 small grated apples (skin on) and 2 tsps cinnamon
3 or 4 grated or diced pears (depending on how ripe they are) and 2 tsp ginger
2 grated courgettes, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, 2 tsp allspice
2 grated courgettes, 1/4 cup baking cocoa

Seitan Bolliganoff

2007-10-03T21:52:00.001+13:00

Until I got my mits on Vegan with a Vengeance I'd never tasted Seitan that was even remotely eatable, but I still think it's a bit of a phaff around having to cook it and cool it etc etc. So here is my take on it.
And yep, red wine isn't really vegan friendly, but you can get vegan wines (www.wrightswines.co.nz) if you want to. I tend to grit my teeth and pretend like it never happened just on the wine front, but if you can't get vegan wine and don't want to use non vegan you can omit it and just use an equal amount of water instead.
If you'd like to try a bolliganoff without gluten, then use Tofu instead, - press the tofu inside a tea-towel for an hour (drain it as much as possible then wrap in a tea-towel and put a heavy weight on top to remove as much moisture as possible) then marinate for at least an hour in the ingredients for the Seitan, minus the gluten and flour. Using Tofu will mean you can reduce the cooking time.

Seitan Bolliganoff
this is a cross between a Stroganoff and a bollignaise

1 cup healthries gluten flour
1 Tbsp brewers yeast
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup water
1 tsp marmite
1 Tbsp Massel beef style stock
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp garlic flavoured oil (see recipe)

1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp massel beef style stock
1/2 cup red wine
2-3 Tbsp tomato sauce
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 cup water

200gms sliced mushrooms

1 cup soy yogurt
1 tsp lemon juice

Mix the gluten flour, flour, yeast, 1st lot of stock powder in one bowl, in another mix the water, marmite, soy sauce, 1st lot of tomato paste and garlic oil in another and then combine with the dry. mix well and knead for five minutes until elastic, set aside while preparing the rest of the dish.
Gently fry the onions and garlic until soft, add the 2nd lot of tomato paste and sugar and cook until it bubbles and caramelises, deglass the pan with the redwine and remove from the heat then stir through the 2nd lot of stock, tomato sauce, water and the can of tomatoes. Pour into a lidded casserole dish. Set aside and leave to cool.
Preheat the oven to 200c.
Roll and chop the gluten mix into bite sized cubes and drop into the cooled tomato mix, ensuring the gluten is well covered in liquid, add more wine or water if necessary.
Cook covered for 1 1/2 hours, stirring once after 30 mins and adding the mushrooms and stirring through 30 mins before serving. Once cooked combine the yoghurt and lemon juice and stir through just before serving.

For a stovetop version, once the gluten is added, bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer gently for an hour, add mushrooms and cook a further 10-20mins, serve with the soured yoghurt.

This could also be made in a crockpot, transferring the mix to a crockpot instead of a lidded casserole dish and cooking on Auto for 4-6 hours or high for 2 hours and low for 4 hours and adding the mushrooms 20-30 mins before the end of cooking.

Chocolate shortbread?

2007-10-03T21:40:00.001+13:00

OK, so it doesn't really taste like shortbread, the whole buttery thing still eludes me, but these are full of chocolate goodness and passed the taste test with a big thumbs up from the kids.

Chocolate Shortbread

450gms Pam's compound choc chips OR Whitaker's dark chocolate
1 cup cornflour (GF would be rice flour)
2 cups flour (or a suitable GF baking mix)
10 Tbsps (scant 1/2 cup) rice or soy milk

Preheat oven to 150c
Either grease tray or line with baking paper.
Melt chocolate in a double boiler with milk, add sifted flour and cornflour and knead till combined and smooth (you may need an extra tablespoon of milk). Roll out to 1/2 inch thick, cut into shape and prick with a fork, or roll into balls and flatten with a fork. You need to work quickly with this dough as it solidifies as it cools down.
Bake 20 mins.

I originally had the time set to 30mins, but they turned out quite dry and hard the day after they were baked, and I think a shorter cooking time may improve the texture, we'll have to eat up the first batch so I can try them again (what a hardship for my two chocolate obsessed girls).
If the bikkies don't turn out soft enough then my next step will be to try a 1/2 tsp of cream of tarter.

Gingernuts!

2007-10-03T21:23:00.001+13:00

So here goes the first post, hopefully this blog will work ok, let me know if you have any problems with it!

I was gutted when I found out that the Griffins Gingernuts aren't Vegan friendly, and somehow the fingers just don't taste quite right, so here's my vegan alternative.
They crisp up reasonably well as long as they are left to cool and then stored in an airtight container, not quite as jaw breaking as a griffins biscuit, but still a dunkable delight. Make sure when you bake these that if you have a fan oven you don't use the fan function, I find oil based biscuits brown too much if cooked in a fan forced oven, and of course you may need to adjust the time to suit your oven, mine seems to cook quite quickly.
We managed to make a tray of bikkies and 4 reasonable sized gingerbread men with this recipe, and the girls had lots of fun making the men while the batch of bikkies cooked (and then eating the men once they were cooked!)

Oh, and a note on my use of sugar, we don't have white sugar in the house, I can't stand the stuff, it's insipid, so if I say 'sugar' what I mean is brown and raw sugar mixed (my eldest son refused to eat raw sugar but would eat brown, so I've always thrown a packet of brown sugar into the sugar container with the raw stuff, it worked he ate it happily - should I be admitting I pandered to his sugar consumption?)

Gingernut bikkies

1/2 cup plus 1Tbsp oil
1/4 cup brown/raw sugar
3 generous Tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp boiling water
2 cups flour (for gluten free substitute a suitable GF baking mix)
pinch salt
3 tsp ground ginger

Dissolve baking soda in boiling water and add to the sugar, oil and golden syrup. Beat well. Stir in sifted dry ingredients and mix well.
Roll walnut sized balls and place on a tray lined with baking paper, flatten with a fork and bake 180c for 12 mins or until golden.
This mixture can be used to make crispy style gingerbread men.