Lemon Drizzle Cake - Vegan Recipe

I suppose it's slightly more tropical lemon drizzle cake than its non-vegan cousin, as I've used banana as an egg substitute, it's still very tasty though! 

Pre-heat your oven to 180*C

Ingredients:

- 175g ripe banana 

- 1tsp baking powder

- 100g muscavado sugar

- 75g caster sugar

- 100g margarine

- 2tbsp lemon juice (fresh or bottled!)

- 200g Self Raising flour

Drizzle:

- 3tbsp lemon juice 

- 3tbsp caster sugar 

Icing:

- 5 heaped tsp icing sugar

- 2tsp water

Method:

Mash up your banana with the baking powder

Add both the sugars plus the margarine and mash them in as well!

Add the lemon juice and mix up well. Might be time for a blitz with an electric whisk if you a) have one and b) can be bothered! I'm a lazy baker unfortunately...

Add flour until the mixture is a good consistency. About 200g is right but it will depend on the ripeness of your banana! It wants to be fairly thick and glossy, but not too runny. 

Pour into a 2lb baking tin (I used a liner too....less washing up. If you don't, grease the tin with plenty of extra margarine!!)

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, then turn down to 150*C and and cook for another ten until the top is springy and a skewer comes out clean. 

While it's still warm, poke all over the top with a skewer or cocktail stick. Mix up your drizzle until the sugar is fairly well dissolved. Pour it all over the warm cake! 

While you're waiting for the cake to cool, (A good couple of hours) mix up your icing. When it's cold, drizzle your icing over artisticly, write a message or draw a silly picture! 

Then enjoy! 

Jo :-) 

Oat and Ginger Cookies - Vegan Recipe

My Dad recently got diagnosed with gallstones and until he has it removed in a couple of months he's on a very low fat diet. (And I think he misses his treats!) So I came up with this recipe. 

It also ticks the vegan and vegetarian boxes which is awesome :-)

Oat and Ginger Cookies

Ingredients:

100g self raising flour

100g oats

100g muscavado sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground mixed spice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger*

140g plain applesauce (mine was homemade, basically just apple puree! I even left the skin on! I'm lazy)

*dad loves (loves) ginger so I've put more than this in mine! Feel free to add any combination of spices you want!! 

Method:

Heat oven to 180'C

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Try and get most of the lumps out of the sugar. No worries if you don't! 

Mix in the applesauce! 

Try not to eat it. 

Put on baking paper lined baking trays in little cookie shaped rounds. Flatten them a little. (They rise a tad but don't really spread out)

Bake for 13 minutes. 

Don't burn your tongue and enjoy!! :-)

They're pretty fabulous warm and chewy :-) 

These ones are actually part baked. They're going in the freezer so Dad's treats will last longer than just one evening! 

They should take about eight minutes in the oven from frozen I reckon. It's a bit of guess work now! 

Off to bake more cookies!! :-) 

Fresh Quinoa Salad - Vegan Recipe

Hi guys! Something new from me today! 

A lot has changed since my last post. I've moved to Norfolk, I'm no longer engaged, and I've gone all vegetarian! And that means no real fur coats either! 

Anyway, on a search for good veggie recipes, it struck me that I take lots of ideas from all over the place and cut corners left, right and centre! Some things turn out simply and well, and I thought I'd start sharing some of those recipes here! This is the first! 

Fresh Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

Quinoa (however much you think you need for each person)

Veggie stock (homemade will be vegan, check shop bought!)

Mango (1/2 per person)

Cucumber (2 inch chunk per person)

Avocado (1/2 per person)

Juice of a 1 Lime (per person)

Small bunch of Coriander

A little olive oil

Any other seasoning you'd like!

Method:

Put your quinoa on to cook (with or without stock depending on your preference)

Dice all the fruit and cucumber

Juice the lime and add finely chopped coriander, the oil and any other seasoning and whisk it all together 

When the quinoa is cooked, mix it all together!

Serve either as a warm main meal salad or side dish. Or leave to cool and have as a cold salad served on baby spinach leaves. 

Adding red onion could be good. Maybe a little garlic.... 

Such a lovely summery dish! Enjoy!! 

Jo :-)