Classic Hummus

Sometimes the simplest meal is the best, when Summer rolls around I can happily sit in the garden and devour a tub of hummus with a loaf of crusty bread.  I could eat gallons of the stuff, plain or flavoured, I'm an equal opportunity hummus lover.  I have to admit, usually I'm fairly lazy and just treat myself to a premade pot whenever I'm at the supermarket but when the weather is nice and I have an afternoon free to relax with a good book I like to make my own.  I really have no excuse, it's so very easy and much more delicious than the store bought version. 

Once you've mastered this plain, no frills hummus you can start experimenting.  Add in all kinds of weird and wonderful flavours to your pot of loveliness.  My favourite is red pepper and jalapeno or sweet potato, utterly devine.

If you prefer a creamier, smooth hummus you can peel your chickpeas.  This adds about 20 minutes to your preparation but results in the silkiest hummus around.  I rarely do this, but sometimes it is nice, as a treat.

Classic Hummus

Ingredients

• 1 400g tin of chickpeas
• 2tbsp olive oil
• 2tbsp tahini
• 1/4tsp ground cumin
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1tsp salt
• paprika and olive oil for sprinkling

Cooking Directions

1. Pop all of your ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blitz into a smooth paste. Scoop your hummus out and into a bowl, swirl the top with a spoon for a bit of jazz then drizzle with a little extra oil and sprinkle with paprika.
2. Serve with veggies, flat breads or whatever you have around.

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Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Vegan baking used to have such a stigma surrounding it.  People automatically assumed because a cake is vegan it wouldn't be good, they were constantly passed over in the bakery and always ended up in the bin. That was until I discovered this recipe, and oh my god is it good! You seriously need to try this vegan chocolate raspberry cake to believe it, so moist and gooey. It really is something else.

I whipped up this cake and tested it out on the Pet Lamb counter and couldn't believe the response. Never has a cake sold as fast as this one. Everyone was obsessing over it regardless of their diet, in fact I think the majority of people buying slices were non-vegan.

The best thing about this cake is there's no weird and wonderful ingredients that call for a trip to the local health food store, everything can be bought at any supermarket and if you enjoy baking you'll probably have most of the ingredients to hand anyway.  Make sure your spread is certified vegan, I used Pure but any brand will work perfectly, and you're ready to roll.

Let me know if you'd like to see more dairy free, vegan baking on here. I loved whipping this baby up!

Vegan Chocolate and Raspberry Cake
Recipe adapted from Veggie Desserts

Ingredients

• For the cake :
• 600ml unsweetened soy milk
• 1tsp lemon juice
• 300g vegan spread
• 125g golden syrup
• 350g golden caster sugar
• 550g self raising flour
• 1tsp espresso powder
• 60g cocoa powder
• 1tsp baking powder
• 100g raspberries


• For the frosting :
• 200g vegan spread
• 450g icing sugar
• 30g cocoa powder
• splash unsweetened soy milk
• raspberry jam
• raspberries to decorate

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 175C and line two 9" springform cake tins with baking parchment.
2. In a large jug combine the soy milk and the lemon juice, stir and set aside to curdle.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer whip the vegan spread, golden syrup and caster sugar together till nice and creamy. Turn the mixer down to the lowest setting and add in the milk, flour, cocoa, coffee and baking powder. Mix until fully combined, stir through the raspberries until evenly distributed.
4. Divide the batter between the prepared tins and bake for 30-35 minutes and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out cleanly. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes before releasing and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. To make the frosting whip the vegan spread, icing sugar and cocoa powder in the bowl of an electric mixer. Wrap a tea towel around the top of your mixer to stop the mess. If your frosting is too stiff add a tiny splash of soy milk to loosen.
6. Spread a generous layer of frosting over one half of the cake followed by a good splodge of good quality raspberry jam. Top with the other cake, frost the top and decorate with fresh raspberries. 

I’m sharing this recipe with the blog challenge  #WeShouldCocoa with Tin & Thyme.

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Homemade Vegetarian Gyoza

I've wrote about my undying love for gyozas before, nothing has changed. I still eat copious amounts of the blighters and I still have a warm fuzzy feeling when I have a freezer full.  The only thing that has changed is my house is now half vegetarian. Since I don't want to leave my poor boyfriend out of my frenzied gyoza eating sessions I decided to whip up some sans-meat. 

In fact, these homemade asparagus and tofu gyozas aren't just vegetarian, they're also vegan friendly.  The best thing about these little dumplings of joy is they freeze perfectly.  Simply freeze them in on layer before transferring them into freezer bags, you never know when an unexpected guest may drop by.  Plus, the kudos you'll get for steaming up a big batch of dumplings is amazing, nobody will believe you made these seemingly complex little parcels.

I get my gyoza wrappers from the frozen section of my local Asian supermarket, along with any of the harder to find veggies and sauces. They really are a total treasure trove of interesting ingredients, I could get lost for hours meandering through the colourful isles.  If you're in the Newcastle area, I recommend HiYoU, it's my go to.

Don't forget your dumpling press if, like me, you can't hack the fiddly folding process. I'm just too damn impatient, I'm sure I'll learn one day.

I used Cauldron Marinated Tofu in this recipe as there's no need to press it. Saves so much time and mess.

These dumplings are adapted from The Part Time Vegetarian cookbook. I cannot recommend this book enough for multi-diet households. Filled with vegetarian and vegan recipes with little notes on how to change it if you're partial to a bit of meat.  I have to say, it's one of my favourite cookbooks of last year.

Asparagus and Tofu Gyoza

Ingredients

• For the filling :
• 200g asparagus, thinly sliced into rounds, tips removed and set aside
• 3 spring onions, finely chopped
• 2.5cm root ginger, grated
• 150g tofu, pressed and finely chopped
• 2tbsp light soy sauce
• 1tsp sesame oil
• good pinch of salt and pepper


• For the dipping sauce :
• 4tbsp light soy sauce
• 1tbsp chinese black vinegar or balsamic
• 1tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2" piece of root ginger, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 red chilli, seeds removed and finely sliced


• For the gyoza :
• 25 gyoza wrappers
• 1tbsp vegetable oil for frying
• 1/2 red chilli, seeds removed and finely sliced

Cooking Directions

1. Mix together all of the ingredients for the dipping sauce and set aside.
2. Mix all of the filling ingredients together apart from the asparagus tips. Slice the tips in half lengthways and set aside.
3. Place 1tbsp of the filling into a gyoza wrapper, mosten the edge and fold in half, pleeting the edges. Or, if you have a dumpling press, place the wrapped into the press, pop your filling in the middle and fold. Repeat until you have used up all of your filling.
4. Pour your vegetable oil into a large frying pan with a lid and place over a medium heat. Place 10 gyoza, flat side down, in the pan and fry for 2 minutes until the bottoms are crisp and brown. Remove from the pan and repeat with the remaining dumplings.
5. Once everything is fried, place all the dumplins back in the pan in an even layer (do this in two batches if they don't all fit), sprinkle over the reserved asparagus tips and pour over 4tbsp water and quickly cover with the pan lid. Steam for 3 minutes and remove from the pan.
6. Serve with the asparagus tips, chopped chilli and the dipping sauce.

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Dairy Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Regular readers of this blog will already know of my love for all things cookie related (here, here & here are some favorites).  I almost always have a stash of frozen dough in my freezer for whenever I fancy a warm and gooey treat, imagine my horror when I went hunting for such a thing and found my freezer drawers cookie-less!

After an initial strop and stamp I thought I'd rectify the situation and restock.  As if to add insult to injury, upon opening the fridge I was found to be missing a couple of key ingredients ... eggs and butter.   I was convinced the day couldn't possibly get any worse, that was until I came across a stash of coconut oil and a tin of pumpkin puree hidden in a cupboard.  I've read about coconut oil being a good substitute for butter in baked goods and I'm sure we've all eaten eggless cookie dough in the past, why can't the two work hand in hand.  You know what, it bloody did!

These cookies are fabulous, and I'm pretty convinced they're much healthier than the variety I'm used to going to town on.  Don't quote me on that though .....

Dairy Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 12

Ingredients:

150g solid coconut oil

200g light brown sugar

50g caster sugar

4tbsp pumpkin puree from a can (why not use the rest in this)

1/2tsp cinnamon

1/4tsp ginger

1/4tsp mixed spice

200g plain flour

150g dairy free chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170C and line two cookie sheets with baking paper.

Mix the butter and sugars together in a stand mixer until light and creamy, add the pumpkin and mix till combined.  Add the flour and spices and mix slowly until the dough comes together, stir through the chocolate chips.

Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared sheet allowing space to spread between each cookie.  Bake for 13 - 15 minutes until lightly coloured and puffy.  Allow to cool slightly before enjoying with a nice cold glass of (almond) milk!

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Vegan Carrot Cake

It's May 25th and National Vegetarian Week is upon us.  In honor of this I haven't touched meat since Monday, it's been tough.  Hold on, it's only Tuesday isn't it? Hot damn! I wonder if I'll stay strong enough to make it through.  A few weeks a go I asked a good friend, and one of the best veggie chefs I know, how he came to be such a great cook.  He told me it's all part and parcel with being a vegetarian. Once you eliminate meat from your diet you have to start getting more creative with your tastes and textures, it's the key to sticking it out.   So, till Sunday I will be saying good bye to the meat and hello to the colourful yumminess that is vegetarian cuisine.

To tell you the truth, it's not that tough for me.  I've always been a big meat eater but growing up in a house with 3 boys and a vegetarian mother often meant that I'd be left with the veggie choice while the boys chowed down on sausages and bacon.  Over the years I came to prefer it, and will often go down the none meaty road to full tummyville when given the choice, I just like the taste and texture of meat too much to ever contemplate giving it up.

Anyway, I thought this was a perfect time to post a delicious vegan carrot cake.  Yup, no animal produce what so ever!  This cake was a breeze to make and baked up beautifully and the frosting was to die for.  Also, with no eggs and butter you can almost get away with eating twice as much ;)


Vegan Carrot Cake
(recipe adapted from BBC Good Food)

250g Wholemeal self-raising flour 
1 tbsp Baking powder
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp Ground nutmeg
130g Vegan Marg, I used Pure
130g Light brown sugar
250g Carrots, grated
1 Medium banana mashed
1 Orange, rind zested and juiced

For the frosting I used my cup measures, I'm not too sure why but for some reason to me it made sense at the time...

1/2 cup vegan marg
1/2 cup vegan cream cheese
4 cups icing sugar
1tsp vanilla extract

 
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Lightly grease a 18cm round or 20cm square tin.

Sift the flour, baking powder and spices into a large bowl.

Melt the margarine in a pan, add the sugar and stir until dissolved.

Make a well in the flour mixture, then add the margarine and sugar. Mix in the carrots, banana and orange zest and juice.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level the top with the back of a spoon.

Bake for around 40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. allow to cool before removing from the tin.

For the frosting cream the marg and cream cheese together till well mixed.

Add the icing sugar half a cup at a time, turning the mixer up to a high speed for several seconds between each addition.


Mix in vanilla extract and spread generously over the cake.

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Cupcake fun

Lordy lordy, am I cupcaked out! And the way Pet Lamb is going there isn't an end in sight. I've been baking solidly for about 2 weeks now, baking, freezing, frosting, selling. It's a never ending cycle, but I've never been happier! Plus, this week marks a huge milestone in my life, but more on that later ;)

This week I've been doing some more experimenting with vegan baking, but this time I've combined elements of two special diets to create these not only vegan, but gluten free beauties. Flavored with a drop of almond essence combined with the classic vanilla, I'm sure these babies won't just appeal to celiac's.


Next on the menu is every Geordie's favorite drink, magicked into a beautiful cupcake! That's right, a Brown Ale Cupcake! I can't bring myself to say Newcastle Brown Ale as they've gone and moved the brewery to Yorkshire, heathens! I don't half miss the smell of the hops drifting over the river come brewing day. Sigh. If I had the patience I would have doodled the Newcastle sky line upon the blue starts, but the last of my patience was spent icing next Sundays SMS challenge :p


Gluten Free, Vegan Cupcakes (adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World)

1 cup soy milk
1/3 canola oil (I used veg oil)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup gluten free flour blend ( Doves do an excellent blend)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 175C and line a tray with cupcake papers.

In a large bowl combine the soy milk, oil, sugar and extracts. Mix to combine then add flour blend. Its important to mix the batter very well, remember there is no fear of over beating as there is no gluten to make the cake tough.

Fill liners little over 3/4 full as these cakes won't rise as much as a traditional cupcake.

Bake for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Let cool completely before frosting.

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Goin vegan with a chocolate and avocado cake

Not really. I personally couldn't live without cheese, or milk, or meat for that matter. Saying that, I've always wondered about vegan baking, the taste, the look, how it would come together and would I be able to tell the difference. When I saw this cake on Joy the Baker I was amazed, obsessed even. I couldn't stop thinking about the unusual ingredients, the amazing colour of the frosting, how it would taste. In the end it all became too much, I had to make this cake.


Although Joy's cake looked utterly fantastic, I didn't have high hopes for mine. I envisioned two rock hard discus' emerging from my oven, smoldering gently. I thought if I kept my thoughts low I couldn't be disappointed when I inevitably fail. Well, I didn't fail (or I did a little, we'll get to that later) the cakes came out better than most of my normal chocolate cakes. So tall, so chocolatey, so beautiful. I stood looking at them, cooling on the windowsill with love in my eyes. I was so proud.

Next came the frosting, with just avocado, icing sugar and lemon juice I was dubious. On its own it tastes a little odd but as Joy stated, once paired with the cake it will blow you away. It really is important to use the ripest avocados you can get, mine were still a little hard so rather than attempting to mash them I threw the flesh into my blender and hit puree. Sorted!

My failure came when constructing the cake. Due to me over handling one half while still warm, it developed a small crack. No biggie I thought, it'll be fine. Well, once frosted the tiny crack turned into the grand canyon, half of the top layer cascading off the waterfall of beautiful green filling. I fought back the tears, struggling manically to piece the sticky chunks back together. Never use a cracked cake as the top layer, I learned the hard way!

While the cake was good, it wasn't good enough for me to be forever converted to the vegan cake. It was kind of like a chocolate carrot cake in texture. Yummy, but not super duper yummy ;) My search continues.

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