Friday, January 28, 2011

Sesame Snaps

You will need:

Feel free to be rough with the seeds/oats/nuts, a good sprinkle will do, as long as u have enough to cover your baking sheet :) You can also use alternative ingredients, such as differnet seeds/nuts to taste, you can also replace the peanut butter with tahini if you like :)

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup raw butternut squash seeds
1/2 cup chopped pecans


1/2 cup hempseed
1 cup Sesame seeds
3 tablespoons golden syrup
1 tablespoon peanut butter
pinch of sea salt
pinch ground cinamon



Method 


1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4 /  325F

2. Line a baking sheet with baking paper and spread out the seeds, nuts and oats

3. Bake in the oven for 20minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent over browning

4. Meanwhile, combine the syrup, peanut butter, salt and cinamon in a pan over a medium heat for about 5 mins

5. Pour the syrup mixture over the seeds etc on the baking tray and press down gently

6. Leave to cool for 5 mins, then cut into squares


Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Mini Chocolate Puddings

This is not for the faint hearted :)  Its a nice gooey chocolate pudding, with a spongey outer and a hot melty chocolate centre. 100% indulgent - be warned.

You will need:

50g Good quality dark chocolate

50g Unsalted Butter
1 Egg

1 Egg Yolk
1 Tablespoon Caster Sugar
3 Tablespoons Plain Flour

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 7 / 220'C / 425'F and lightly butter and a pudding bowl (I use a Le Creuset mug - all you need is a little bowl you can put in the oven - like a souffle cup) - then lightly flour the bowl with either coco powder, icin sugar, or just flour

2. Melt together the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl suspended over a saucepan of simmering water.  (its very important that the water in the pan doesnt touch the bottom of the heatproof bowl).  Once melted, leave to cool

3. Whisk together the egg and sugar until mixture is bubbly, then fold in the cooled chocolate mixture

4. Next add the flour and fold again until smooth

5. Pour the mixture into the bowl, and bake for 10 minutes - or until the top is firm.

6. Once done, turn them out into a bowl and eat right way :)


NB: If you're really stuck for something to make this in, then try in a bun case/cupcake papers and cook for slightly less time.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Vegan Butternut Squash and Chocolate Loaf

This recipe includes my favourite vegetable - butternut squash! Ive adapted it from a recipe book, and changed it to vegan, but it doesnt have to be vegan if you like, I'll include both options in the recipe :)

You will need:

225g Butternut Squash - raw, peeled and grated
350g Granulated Sugar
50g Butter (soya butter or marg)
100g Silken Tofu (or 2 large eggs)
400g Plain Flour
1/2 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Mixed spice
Juice of half an Orange (Optional - see note at bottom about this)
50g Dark Chocolate - chopped into small chunks

1 loaf tin - buttered and lined with baking paper

 Method:

First - Preheat oven to gas mark 4 / 350'F / 180'C

1.  Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy

2. Add the Tofu half at a time, beating inbetween each addition.

3. Add grated butternut squash and mix well

4. Add the orange juice to the mixture and stir well

5. Sift together the flour, bicarb of soda, salt, baking powder and spices.

6. Fold flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture until everything is incorporated

7. Add the chopped chocolate to the mixture and stir well

8. Bake in the oven for 50 mins to 1 hour (depends on how moist the squash is) Check by inserting a skewer: if it comes out clean then its done.

9. Leave to cool before eating, and enjoy! :)


 NB: I adapted this recipe from a green and blacks recipe book. It says to use Maya Gold chocolate, or any good quality orange chocolate..I couldnt find a vegan version of this, so I used Dark chocolate and the juice of half an orange, which worked well. This is optional really, if you cant be bothered with the orange then no worries, but bare in mind you might have to add about 50ml of water to the final mix if it is too dry :)

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Homemade Pizza for Two

This recipe is great because its easy to knock up and consists of ingredients that you can find in your store cupboard!

You will need:

150g - 200g Plain flour (dependin on if you want 2 smaller pizzas or one big one)
1 teaspoon dried yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
A sprinkle of hemp seeds (optional)

Toppings of your choice

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients together

2. Add about 4 tablespoons of warm water (not hot!). Add enough so that the dough becomes sticky

3. Knead it on a floured surface, and leave to stand in a warm place for 20 minutes

4. Roll out and add your desired toppings!


My suggestions are (not all together) a layer of tomato puree, cheese, mushrooms, ham, bacon, chorizo, sardines, tuna, onion, baked beans, hemp seeds!  If you dont have any tomato puree you can cheat by adding a tin of chopped tomatos, just add it to fried mushrooms/bacon/whatever and cook for a bit so it reduces!

5. Bake about 2/3rds of the way up the oven at Gas mark 5 for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!