Vegal bagels

Bagels! Is it bread or a donut? 

To answer my own question, it's definitely more like bread. Yet it is a little bit different. It's denser and a little bit sweeter in my opinion. Regardless, bagels are great! They're not as popular in Australia compared to in the US, but on the rare occasion when I get my hands on one, I will savour every last bite. 

I don't know what got me thinking about bagels today but I decided to make my own vegan bagels. I can't ever remember having anything other than jam or margarine spread on my bagels, so I decided to do something more fancy and make a breakfast bagel. I filled my bagel with fresh slices of tomato, baby spinach leaves, balsamic mushrooms (I also added some dried basil to mine), red wine sauteed onions (half an onion sliced and sauteed in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon red wine) and avocado. It was light but satisfying. Good stuff.

Making bagels is similar to making soft pretzels. You need to boil them in water before baking them in the oven. Not sure about you, but I certainly didn't know that. None the less, these babies were quite easy to make :)

Vegan Bagels
Recipe from Hidden Fruits and Veggies

Makes 12

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• ¼ c warm water (not hot!)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 4 c white whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 – 1 ½ c water (warm/room temp)
• Cornmeal (optional)
• Bagel toppings (optional, suggestions in notes)

Directions

1. Combine the first three ingredients and stir. Allow to sit 5 minutes, until foamy (if it’s not foamy, something happened to your yeast and the recipe will NOT work)
2. Meanwhile, using a stand mixer combine the flour, salt, and remaining sugar.
3. Pour the yeast mixture into the flour, while stirring with a dough hook (I just used a wooden spoon). Add 1 c water. Allow the stand mixer to run for about a minute, and if all yeast isn’t picked up into the dough add up to ½ c water, 1 tbsp at a time. Stir using dough hook on a slow/medium speed for 5 minutes – you can knead by hand if you prefer (knead for about 15 minutes).
4. Spritz dough with nonstick spray, turn over and spritz again. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 1 ½ – 2 hours, until dough has doubled in size.
5. After rising, cut the dough into 12 equally sized pieces and roll in balls. Prepare baking sheets with nonstick spray and preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).
6. Let the dough rest for a minute or two, then work a hole into the middle of the balls with your finger, until they are bagel-shaped. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 15 – 20 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, fill a wide saucepan or skillet with water, at least 2 inches deep, and bring to boil. Boil bagels for 90 second on each side – I found it easiest to do 3 at a time, spaced about 30 seconds apart.
8. As bagels are done boiling and while still wet, press tops lightly into desired toppings and bottoms into cornmeal (optional, helps prevent sticking - The bagels WILL stick to the baking paper. I highly recommend covering the bottom with cornmeal).
9. When all bagels have been boiled, bake for 8 – 10 minutes, flip an bake 8 – 10 minutes longer. Adjust time based on how dark you like your bagels.

 My yeast getting progressively more foamy:

 

When I gently stirred the yeast mixture with a fork, this is how foamy it looks.

Before I covered the dough and let it rise.

Before being boiled.

Batman cake decorations

Tomorrow is my brother's birthday and I planned to make him a cake. The original plan was to make him a batman shaped ice cream cake, but I just didn't have the time and resources to make a batman shaped cake tin. I hope I get around to making it one day though. I was thinking of using some malleable metal and making a large batman shaped cookie cutter. That way I could fill it up with ice cream and bam, Batman ice cream cake!

Instead of that idea though, I decided to make some cupcakes instead. I stopped into one of my favourite bulk food stores Weigh 'n' Pay and bought some cake decorating supplies. I bought some Scolpt modelling chocolate and pre-made chocolate fudge icing.

I wanted to make a little Gotham City and Batman beacon with the modelling chocolate. I've never done anything like this before, but it was pretty straight forward, so if you are keen to try it then you really should! It's great fun. 

I'm not very good at freehand drawing, so in order to cut out the shape of the batman logo, I cut out a picture of it that I printed on paper. Here are my instructions below:

Batman Cake Decorations

What you need:

•  Modelling chocolate (I used the Scolpt brand) - of any kind of cake decorating fondant
• Yellow food colouring (only if you buy the white chocolate . There is also yellow chocolate)
• Baking paper
• Small knife with a sharp pointed tip (for better accuracy when you're cutting out the shapes)
• Rolling pin
• 2x paper cut-out of the batman logo

 Instructions:

1. Print out two pictures of the Batman logo (including the oval around the bat shape). For one of the pictures, cut out the bat shape and for the other one, cut out the whole oval.
2. Using the black Scolpt modelling chocolate, warm it up in your hands and roll it out on a flat surface lined with baking paper. I sandwiched the modelling chocolate between two sheets of baking paper so that it would get stuck on the flat surface and rolling pin. I rolled my chocolate about 0.3mm. 
3. Place the bat shaped piece of paper that you cut out onto the rolled black chocolate and cut around the paper using a knife with a small sharp pointed tip. 
4.  Using new baking paper, roll out the white Scolpt modelling chocolate. Place the oval stencil onto the chocolate and cut out the shape of the beacon. make sure you wipe the tip of the knife so that you don't get black chocolate onto the white. 
5. I used yellow food colouring to colour it yellow. You can also buy yellow modelling chocolate. 
6. Place the black Batman chocolate onto the yellow beacon  chocolate and press down very gently so that it just sticks together. 
7. For the Gotham City buildings, roll out the black chocolate and cut rectangles of different lengths. I didn't cut my building very long so they might not stand up very well when I put them on the cup cake icing. You could either cut them longer, or you can do what I'll do and use more modelling chocolate to stick some skewers onto the back and stick them into the cupcakes that way. 
8. For the windows, I rolled out white modelling chocolate and cut a very thin strip. Then I cut the strip into little squares, placing them onto the black buildings one at a time. 
9. I cut out a circle shape into the black modelling chocolate and wrote "Happy Birthday Peter" using white chocolate writing fudge which is available in the baking section of any Coles or Woolworths. 

 

The finished product :) :)

Vegan sticky date mug pudding

I had about 2 hours to do something new today. I've been flat out busy today and I got home at 10pm in desperate need of something new. Luckily, I had the idea to make a microwave cake in a mug as I was on my way home. I decided on sticky date pudding because I have not had this since before my vegan days...which is about 2 and a half years now. 

I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find a vegan recipe, but Veggieful was one step ahead of me and had a recipe for a vegan 2 minute sticky date mug pudding. How good is that! 

I ended up making some changes to the recipe in an attempt to make it a bit more healthy :)

This was a perfect way to end my cold and busy day. This incredibly fluffy and delicious dessert was so quick and simple. This will definitely be my future sugar fix. 

Vegan Sticky Date Mug Pudding

Serves 1

Ingredients

• 6 pitted dried dates, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons plain-flavoured oil (I used sunflower)
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 3 tablespoons plain flour
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon bi-carb soda
• pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon flax meal
• 3 teaspoons water
• 3 tablespoons soy milk

Directions

1. Combine the flax meal and water in a bowl, mix and leave in fridge to set for 15 minutes
2. Add all ingredients to a bowl (including the set flax meal) and whisk vigorously until combined and air has been incorporated into the mixture. (Or preferably, use a processor)
3. Pour the mixture into the mug and put into the microwave.
4. Microwave the mixture on high heat for 1 minute 45 to 2 minutes until fluffy.
5. Pour some maple syrup over the pudding.
6. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Vegan berry and apple crumble

I love getting to the point in a friendship where you can just come around in your PJ's, eat the food from their kitchen and having them be OK with it all. 

That was what the girls and I did tonight. We caught up to catch up on Ruth's holiday over some baking and hot drinks. 

We were in the mood for apple pie but decided to go with a berry and apple crumble recipe I found in my Now Vegan! cookbook by Lynda Stoner. It was a very quick and simple recipe and it tasted really good. 

We made our own variations to the original recipe. We halved the amount of sugar and added cranberries, walnuts, sunflower seeds and some almond and hazelnut meal. All the flavours went well together and made the simple dessert into something a bit more special. 

You can modify this recipe in any way you like. Add all your favourite things and enjoy this in the company of people you love being around :)

Vegan Berry and Apple Crumble

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 4 large apples, peeled and thinly sliced
• 500g (1 lb) mixed berries, fresh or frozen
• 1/2 cup vegan margarine
• 1 cup dark brown sugar (we only used 1/2 cup)
• 1 cup wholemeal self-raising flour (we used plain flour)
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F).
2. Grease a 20cm (8in) baking dish (we make ours in ramekins). Place the sliced apples on the bottom and top with berries.
3. With your fingers, rub together the flour, vegan margarine, brown sugar and cinnamon until finely crumbed, then spread evenly over berries.
4. Bake in oven for 30 minutes.

Vegan apple strudel

I had a dinner party tonight and guests were bringing a dish to share. I whipped out my cookbooks and I found a great recipe for apple strudel. The reason I chose it was because the ingredients included hazelnut meal and I had quite a bit left over from making my hazelnut cupcakes the other day. I was trying to think of how to use up the hazelnut meal yesterday, and so things turned out pretty well. 

My friend had also told me about how she found vegan puff pastry in the grocery store the other week during my prac. The apple strudel recipe also needed vegan puff pastry. I think the stars aligned and it was destined for me to make this apple strudel today :P

I found the recipe in my Native Foods cookbook. I bought it during my trip to America late last year. If you live in the States and have a Natives near you, please you check it out. You'll be doing yourself a big favour by trying out their delicious vegan meals. 

Also, check out the Native Foods recipe blog!

The recipe was supposed to make 2 strudels, but I managed to get one big one out of it. This goes lovely with ice cream and dusted with icing sugar for decoration. 

Stay tuned for the recipe. I'll try and post it soon :)

Served with homemade vegan vanilla ice cream

Vegan hazelnut cupcakes

I've done so much baking this year that come 2014 I'll be a domestic baking goddess! :P

Today was another baking adventure in the kitchen. I absolutely love hazelnuts and so I decided to make hazelnut cupcakes from the cookbook Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. 

Unfortunately I didn't have any vegan friendly hazelnut liqueur so I just substituted for a dash of almond essence. Still tasty, but I would have loved a stronger hazelnut flavour. I've searched far and wide with no luck finding any of the hazelnut flavouring, but I'm determined to get my hands on some eventually. 

Vegan Hazelnut Cupcakes

Makes 12

Ingredients

• 1 cup & 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup hazelnut meal/flour
•  1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup rice milk or nut milk
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoon hazelnut extract or 1 tablespoon hazelnut liqueur

Directions

1. Line cupcake pan and preheat oven to 180C. In a small bowl, whisk together flaxseed and rice milk. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, hazelnut meal, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
2. Add the maple syrup, sugar, canola oil, vanilla, and hazelnut liqueur to the rice milk mixture and beat well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until mostly smooth.
3. Pour into liners, filling them 2/3 of the way.
4. Bake for 22 to 24 min. Give it the old toothpick test. Cool completely on racks. 

The book suggested serving these muffins with raspberry jam. I love raspberry jam and it went perfectly with the muffins :)

Vegan chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache icing

Tomorrow is my last day on my mental health placement and we organised to bring in a plate of food. One of the patients on the ward is vegan, so I decided to make vegan chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache icing for everyone to share. 

I have to get up super early tomorrow morning so I haven't had a chance to ice them and photograph them, but I will post up pictures of the recipe that I got from the cookbook Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.

These babies are soft like clouds I swear. If you are a bit freaked out by the sound of vegan food, start by making these. They're crazy fluffy and so chocolaty I could die :P

I will post up my pictures after my shift tomorrow :)

Vegan chocolate pudding cake

I've been having gum problems lately :( I've had receding gums for a long time and they're normally OK because I do my best to keep my teeth clean and my gums healthy, but lately my gums on the bottom teeth have been inflamed and incredibly painful. 

Sadly, lots of chewing makes it worse, so I decided to make myself soft foods today. I started dinner off with a super healthy soup made of lentils, zucchini, broccoli and spinach. I got the recipe from a cookbook called Vegan Meals For One or Two by Nancy Berkoff. It looked like green mess, but it tasted lovely and I felt super healthy slurping it down. 

I'm a person who likes a bit of balance, and since I had a healthy carb free dinner, I decided to whip up a vegan chocolate pudding cake for dessert. 

I came across a few recipes, but I picked the one from the website Foodie Fiasco because it was the healthiest option I could find. I made my own variations so that it would be even more guilt-free :)

I divided the batter up into 4 ramekins and shared one with my brother after they were done in the oven. The pudding was so yummy! When I asked my brother how it tasted he said "I give it a 4 and a half....out of 4 and a half". Cheeky boy had me a bit disappointed in my own cooking skills for a second there :P

This is a seriously great winter dessert. I like sharing my food, so the ramekins were perfect for that...but I honestly could have downed a whole one all to myself. They are just that delicious. 

Vegan Chocolate Pudding Cake

Serves 8

Ingredients

For cake:
• ½ cup agave nectar
• 1 cup whole wheat or almond flour (I used ½ plain flour and ½ wholemeal spelt flour)
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/3 cup applesauce (I just pureed an apple in my food processor)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For sauce:
• 1/3 cup baking sweetener
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 1 ¼ cups hot water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Spray an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside (or use 4 big ramekins).
2. To make the cake, combine the agave nectar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and sea salt in a large bowl. Add in the almond milk, applesauce, and vanilla extract and stir until completely combined. Spread the mixture into the prepared baking dish or ramekins and smooth out the top with an offset spatula or a spoon. Set aside.
3. For the sauce, combine the sweetener, brown sugar and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the batter. Pour the hot water over the batter. Do not stir the water in! I know it looks weird, but it’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.
4. Bake in the oven at 180°C (350°F) for about 25 minutes. It should resemble an undercooked brownie. Let cool for at least 15 minutes. When serving, spoon the sauce from the bottom of the pan over the cake.Good luck trying to share this!...I actually want another one right now.

Vegan Banana, Apple, Pineapple, Sunflower and Pistachio Cake

I love fruit. I can't think of any fruit off the top of my head that I don't like. Of course there are days where I don't feel like eating a particular fruit, but there are those select few that I will always be in the mood for. 

Bananas for example are right up there on my list of favourites along with mango. I love that bananas are natures energy source and that they are so versatile. Even banana leaves are useful in cooking!! The banana tree is just all full of goodness from top to bottom. 

My mum loves bananas too and she came home yesterday with a nice big bunch of them. I was struggling to find something new to do today and I didn't have much time but I still opened up one of the vegan cookbooks I borrowed from the library called Now Vegan! by Lynda Stoner. I found a recipe for Banana, Sunflower and Pistachio Bread. I made a few changes to it so that it would be a sugar-free recipe and I didn't have a bread tin so I just made it into a square cake. 

The cake turned out nice and fluffy which I wasn't expecting because I used spelt flour which usually makes cakes more dense than normal flour. But I'm not complaining. This is a perfect little fruity sweet treat for breakfast, morning tea or dessert. Definitely pair it with a nice cup of whatever it is you enjoy be it tea, coffee or some other hot beverage. 

Vegan Banana, Apple, Pineapple, Sunflower and Pistachio Cake

Ingredients

• 100g (3oz) vegan margarine
• 3/4 raisins
• Egg replacer for 2 eggs
• 2 large ripe bananas
• 1 apple, cored and cut into quarters
• 100g fresh pineapple or canned pineapple, drained
• 100g (3oz) shelled pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 2 cups  self raising flour (I used white spelt flour)
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 cup mixed spice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to moderate, 180 degrees C (350F)
2. Grease and line base of cake tin
3. Combine bananas, apple, pineapple and raisins in food processor and blend (you can leave your raisins whole if you like. I used raisins as a substitute for sugar which the original recipe called for)
4. Add margarine and and egg replacer and blend until combined.
5. Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in the nuts and seeds.
6. Sift flour and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl. Add mixed spice and fold into the banana mixture. 
7. Spoon into cake tin and bake for 1 hour or until skewer comes out clean.
8. Leave to cool in tin for 15 minutes before turning onto wire rack to cool completely.