Lemon and Poppy Seed Muffins - Gluten Free & Vegan

Five years ago, I would never have thought I could walk into a bakery and not buy anything. I love my cakes, muffins and pastries. The only problem is that I’m allergic to American dairy. Eating anything is a little bit of a risk for me. Although I can drool at the cakes, I rarely eat them and when I do, I take a very small bite.

It was time to try another recipe from the Flying Apron’s Gluten-Free and Vegan Baking book. I love this recipe book, but it is RIDDLED with editorial errors. How this book got into print, I have no idea…

100% Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

We’ve always had a thing about cinnamon rolls. I can’t explain what it is. Maybe it’s the warm, sweet and inviting aroma of cinnamon? Maybe it’s the soft and delicious bread or maybe it’s the combination of both!

The only issue is that the cinnamon rolls you can usually buy, are packed full of saturated fats and all sorts of nasties. A classic cinnabon roll is 813 calories, total fat 32 g, 8 g saturated fat and 55 g sugars. They make me sick thinking about them!

I was thus on the search for a healthier option. Each one of these babies are only 340 calories, with a total fat of 3 g and 18 g sugar. They are also made with 100% whole wheat flour and are totally awesome. They make me want to sing just typing about them!

100% Whole Wheat Challah

Challah (pronounced “haa-laa”) is a traditional Jewish bread, made with eggs, flour, yeast and water.

I’ve never been particularly fond of challah. I guess it’s because I have images of those rock-hard challah loaves that are sold in supermarkets (grocery stores), which have a shelf life of 1+ months … eek! We’ve even bought freshly baked (from scratch) challah from a bakery in West Seattle, but again I wasn’t overly impressed.

The only reason I chose a challah recipe this week, was because it looked pretty. There, I said it!

Tofu and Vegetable Yellow Coconut Curry

I've been meaning to post this entry for a long time… but I keep forgetting! It’s a delicious vegan dish (when omitting the fish sauce), which I make when we have a meat-less dinner. You really won’t miss the meat in this recipe.

The curry is well flavored and very mild. I’d compare it almost to a korma. The addition of the creaminess from the coconut milk makes this dish ultra-dreamy. Serve this over freshly cooked rice.

Cheese and Black Pepper Baguettes

I’ve been getting into the habit of baking bread every Saturday morning. This Saturday was no different. My choice of bread today was cheese and black pepper.

I love fresh bread – making it, tasting it and smelling it. However, I’m ever so lazy when it comes to making it. I don’t spend however many minutes hand-kneading, or waiting several hours for it to prove. I usually prep the dough on Friday night, using my stand mixer. Pop the dough into the fridge overnight, and then on Saturday morning, I shape the dough, let it stand for 1 hour, before baking it. Simple – it works a treat every time!

Vegetable Curry Patties

I’ve been craving those yellow tinged Jamaican curry patties for so long! The last time I had one, was probably in 2004, when I was still living in London. The turmeric spiced, soft, yet short pastry, encased a delicious, curried minced (ground) lamb filling. I can taste them now.

The thought of curry patties had subsided until this February. This was when J had some vegetable curry patties whilst up in Vancouver B.C. They’ve been playing on my mind ever since!!!!

Vegan Gluten-Free Oat & Berry Bars

This weekend I didn’t have to work or be someplace else, which meant it was playtime in my kitchen!

On Saturday, I whipped up two loaves of Roquefort bread, granola and these vegan gluten-free oat & berry bars. I still had enough time to prep loads of veggie skewers for our barbecue dinner.

These bars are oaty, chewy and chock-full of berries. They contain no refined sugar and won’t give those annoying pangs afterwards. They are satisfying and taste really wholesome. The bars aren’t overly sweet and the berries have just the right amount of tartness, to make the bar really good.

Soy-Free Vegan Whipped Cream

I’ve never been a big fan of whipped cream, but I do miss it on occasion.

I’ve longed to find a dairy-free whipped “cream” that tasted good, but I daren’t try any. The store bought cream alternatives are usually jammed packed with nasties. I don’t want to replace the poison I want to avoid (milk/cream) and replace it with another poison.

Hong Kong Style Egg Tarts (Dan Tat)

I have a love for egg custard. It’s the combination of milk, sugar and eggs that is ever-so tempting for me. It could be plain old crème anglaise, crème patisserie or just a good ole egg custard tart. Portuguese, Chinese or English – I love them all. I am known to devour numerous egg tarts at one sitting.

Chinese egg tarts are usually made REALLY badly. The pastry is often too thick, the filling doesn’t taste like egg and is thickened with so much cornflour (cornstarch) that it makes the custard rubbery.

Leave of Absence

Long gone are the days of me frittering my time away, doing nothing in particular but procrastinating experimenting in my kitchen. My blog entries will slow down and dimish for the next few weeks. There are two reasons for this:

• When I first started this blog, I had lots of recipes from my private blog, which were already written up. I've been adding one entry per day, but this will slow down from this point onwards. I now have to work on new experiments, before blogging about them.

• On June 1st, I took up a project with allrecipes.com and I’m currently working 40 hours a week.

This working malarkey is seriously cutting into my procrastination time in the kitchen, but I’m thoroughly enjoying it. It’s absolutely ideal - I’m working remotely, so I can procrastinate, do household chores/other activities in between.

I’d like to tell you that my blog entries will be quite sporadic until the end of December, so please bear with me.

Until my next entry, have fun in the kitchen, cook a lot, eat a lot and laugh a lot!

Raw Pumpkin Seed Butter

I’m pretty new to nut and seed butters available in the US. Until a couple of years ago, I’d only tried peanut butter – the others simply weren’t available in the UK.

I’ve now made my own peanut, cashew, almond and coconut butter. I wanted to sample sunbutter (from sunflower seeds) and cheated, by buying it from PCC at $6.99 for an organic jar. It just reminds me not to go grocery shopping on an empty stomach! When I do, I can easily add $40 onto my bill! Anyhow, when I got home, I ripped the jar open and stuck a spoon in it, to try it. I didn’t know what to expect, I mean we both love sunflower seeds, how can grinding them into a paste make them taste any different? Well, the grinding does make them taste different. The stuff is truly addictive, I couldn’t stop spooning the deliciousness out of the jar and into my mouth (with a clean spoon each time, of course!)

100% Whole-Wheat Walnut Bread

I wasn't expecting much when I made this bread. When I sliced into it, it was another thing. The loaf had a nice crumb, sliced well and was immensely soft and fluffy inside. I had to do a double-take on the recipe to make sure it was 100% whole-wheat and it was! It’s delicious on its own, with mature cheese or butter.

As you probably know, I’m working my way through Bernard Clayton’s complete book of breads – it’s an awesome book. I’ve still to find a recipe we don’t like!

Mexican-Inspired Quinoa Salad

A friend of mine, M inspired me to make this salad. I changed the quantities a little and played around the seasoning, but it was one tasty salad! I’m making it again this Friday, I can’t wait.

It’s an all-in-one meal - you have quinoa, black beans, green peppers, tomatoes and avocado tossed together with fresh coriander (cilantro), cumin and lime juice. What’s not to like?

Chocolate Chia Pudding

The first time I heard about chia was from those annoying ch-ch-ch-chia adverts – arggh! Searching for that link just now, reminds me why we don't have TV, ha.

You can in fact eat chia seeds - they’re tiny nutritional powerhouses. Chia (salvia hispanica) belongs to the mint family and is commercially grown for its seed. The seed’s extractable oil is highly concentrated with omega-3 fatty acids. They also contain a high proportion of protein, dietary fiber and significant levels of antioxidants.