Mum2VeganTeen

Hummus is such a delicious dip it even has a day dedicated to it! Today May 13th is international Hummus Day!!

Also a bonus as it is a naturally vegan recipe!

This Middle-Eastern Dip is fresh, healthy simple & easy to make within minutes, it tastes so much better than shop-bought that it’s worth the extra effort to make yourself.

I use a can of chickpeas but you can used dried ones if you follow the pack instructions before use.

You can make it with or without tahini (I couldn’t get any but it still tastes amazing without)

Ingredients

1 x 400 g tin of chickpeas

1 small clove of garlic: crushed/ chopped or grated

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons olive oil

( 1 tablespoon tahini) if you can source.

Salt & pepper for seasoning

(Optional teaspoon baking powder)

Garnish options:

• Tablespoon of olive oil drizzled over the top

• Fresh Parsley or Coriander
• Chopped olives
• Paprika
• Chilli flakes
• Toasted pine nuts

Directions

The first step is optinial if you have time;

1. Drain & boil the chickpeas with the teaspoon of baking powder for 20 mins. – The powder reacts & boiling them results in a smoother softer consistency.
2. Mix the chickpeas (either drained from the can – or after cooled down from boiling. With the – garlic, lemon & olive oil, tahini & seasoning.
3. You can use a handblender or food processor to blend until it’s a thick, creamy consistency. If you want to make it smoother add a tablespoon or 2 of water as you go along.
4. Put in a bowl & garnish with your preference – paprika, herbs, olive oil etc.

Best served with – Raw vegetables – Carrot, Pepper, cucumber or with flatbread, warmed Pitta-bread, breadsticks or crisps!! Yummy hummus.

Fab for a special breakfast or brunch. You’d never be able to tell the waffles are vegan! We topped with fresh fruit, syrup & whipped cream.

We were very excited a few weeks ago to discover plant based single cream and even more excited now to have discovered Plant based Double Cream! This one was Elmlea. It’s a real game changer!! I Can’t wait to try some more recipes with it.

We whisked it the same way you would normal double cream – until it’s a thick consistency – you can add a spoon or 2 of icing sugar if you want to sweeten it a bit.

This recipe makes 4

Ingredients

2 cups flour

2 cups of non-dairy milk

4 tablespoons of vegetable oil

2 teaspoons of baking powder

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

2 tbsps sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 pinch of salt

(Optional – I added a mashed banana)

Instructions

1. Grease the waffle iron with vegetable oil and turn it on.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl.
3. Add the plant milk, vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients
4. Whisk the mixture by hand until its a smooth batter
5. Pour the batter into the waffle iron according to its instructions.
6. open the waffle maker only when they are ready! The best way to tell is when steam stops coming out of the waffle iron.
7. Open the waffle maker slowly to allow them time to release.
8. Whilst you are cooking more waffles place them on a baking tray in a low oven until you are ready to serve them to keep them crisp & warm.

These waffles came out perfectly crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Enjoy with your favourite toppings!

This is a great tasting easy go- to recipe for a simple stir fry which you can adapt according to your taste or ingredients available. It’s also quick to make – literally throw the ingredients in the pan.

The sweet chilli sauce & soy sauce are the key ingredients. I always have a bottle of each in the cupboard & you cannot go wrong it’s a winning combination of flavours! Salty, sweet & spicy but not too hot, the kids love it!

We were having a ‘cheat day’ so used a pack of ready mixed Vegetable & Bean sprout Stir Fry.

You can use any fresh vegetables you like – Carrot, broccoli, cabbage, peppers, beansprouts are all great – make sure you chop them into small pieces.

We used ready to Wok Noodles. You have to check the noodles are vegan as I’ve made the mistake of buying noodles that couldn’t be eaten so avoid Egg noodles!! These ones are rice noodles so they’re ok & we tried curry flavour one which was nice.

If you don’t have noodles it’s equally nice with rice. You can jazz up the rice a little by adding some finely chopped spring onion, chopped coriander, grated carrot & crushed peanuts!

Ingredients

3 tbsps Soy Sauce

3 tbsps Sweet Chilli Sauce

1tbsp Tomato ketchup

200g No Chicken – chicken substitute- tofu, Seitan or we used Linda Mcartney Frozen pulled chicken. (Half a pack)

Vegetables of choice (about 4 cups) or ready pack

2 tbsps oil

2 garlic cloves, sliced

2 teaspoons grated or dry ginger

1 or 2 tablespoons water.

Salt & pepper to season.

150 g noodles

(Optional – fresh chopped coriander)

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in wok or big frying pan.
2. Add the vegan ‘no chicken’ , heat for couple of minutes or according to your pack instructions.
3. Add the onion garlic stir for a minute
4. Add the vegetables – stir fry for 3 or 4 mins. You can add a tablespoon or 2 of water so they don’t stick.
5. Add the ready to wok noodles (or pre-cooked noodles) stir through for a minute.
6. Add the soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, ketchup stir through and heat through for a couple of minutes. (You can add more of the sauce if you like – just up by 1 tablespoon of each of the chilli & soy sauce)
7. Sprinkle with the fresh coriander to serve.

Enjoy! This is one recipe you will try again and again!

We made a simple satay in one pan without any skewering or grilling. The easy option.

We used Tofu but you could also use a vegan ‘no chicken’ replacement. So delicious the flavours are a great combination of peanutty, salty, creamy spice. This recipe is enough for 2 portions.

(It’s best to drain & press the tofu before you start – according to the package instructions)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 can coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon reduced soy sauce
• 2 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoons turmeric
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon lime juice (fresh or from bottle)
• 200 g Tofu cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 tablespoon oil (we used just under half the pack – the packs are quite big)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• FOR THE PEANUT SAUCE

• 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice (or from bottle)
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce, or more, to taste
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger (or powder or purée if you don’t have fresh)

Instructions

1. To make the peanut sauce, whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, chili garlic sauce and ginger in a small bowl. Whisk in 2-3 tablespoons water until desired consistency is reached; set aside.
2. Keep a 3rd of the sauce back.
3. In a plastic bag or large bowl, combine the tofu and two thirds of the satay mixture marinate for at least 2 hours to overnight in the fridge.
4. When it’s marinaded – heat in a pan with some oil for 5- 10 minutes.
5. Then add the other ingredients- coconut milk, soy sauce, curry powder, turmeric, garlic,ginger, brown sugar lime juice and gently heat for 10 minutes.
6. season with salt and pepper,.
7. Serve immediately with the remainder peanut sauce.

Perfect with rice – we had it with onion & pea rice – it was lush!

This is so simple to make & a delicious treat for a special breakfast/ brunch or even a dessert, tastes so good you wouldn’t believe it’s egg-free & vegan!

It uses nutritional yeast, (which seems weird, but it does give it an eggy essence. (Nutritional yeast isn’t the same as baking yeast. Look for yellow nutritional yeast flakes )

You can use any bread but a French loaf or ciabatta is best as it absorbs the mix without getting too soggy & falling apart. It should be at least a day or 2 old. – it’s a great recipe for using up leftover bread. Handy during these times of quarantine.

Ingredients

4-6 slices of French or ciabatta bread, sliced about ¾-inch thick

1 cup Oat (or plant-based Milk) We used the Innocent one as it is very nice, has a more luxury taste)

1 tablespoon syrup, plus more for serving

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon icing sugar

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast**

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Tiny pinch of salt

Coconut oil or vegetable spread.

Instructions

1. In a bowl whisk together the Oat milk, syrup, flour, nutritional yeast, icing sugar, cinnamon & salt.
2. Place the bread in a shallow dish (with sides, pour the mixture over the bread, leave it to absorb for a couple of minutes & turn over so all sides are covered.
3. Heat some vegetable spread or coconut oil in a pan over a medium heat, add the bread slices, cook for a few minutes each side until golden brown.
4. Serve with syrup and fresh fruit.

This is a delicious easy to make pasta dish. Tasty & warming the peppers add another flavour to a classic tomato sauce.

Ingredients

4 x Vegan sausages

3 peppers (red, orange or yellow)

1 x Onion

4 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 x 400g Can of tomatoes

1 tsp tomato purée

Salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp Oregano

Fresh Basil & or Parsley

Pasta

Directions

• The peppers and onions (we cooked them on the barbecue the day before – in a foil bag – basically cut them in half & the onion with the garlic cloves whole & the olive oil turning regularly until they were gently charred. Alternatively you can roast in the oven for around 30 mins. (Chop in half or quarters) It gives the sauce a really nice flavour & texture.

• You can fry the sausages in olive oil in the pan – remove & then put in the tinned tomatoes. (Or grill the sausages). (You can use any vegan sausages you like – we used Linda Mcartney they have a good texture & taste great with this sauce.)

Linda Mcartney Sausages

• Put in the roasted or barbecued pepper & onion mixture. & herbs & seasoning.
• Blend with a hand blender until it’s a thick consistency.
• Heat for 15 mins
• Chop the sausages into small bite size pieces & add to the sauce.
• Cook your pasta according to packet instructions.
• Top with the sauce garnish with fresh herbs & enjoy!

Very simple to make – only 3 ingredients needed!! & is a nice home-made alternative to coffee-shop coffee.

The perfect Quarantine solution if you are missing Costa Coffee or Starbucks & you don’t have a fancy coffee-machine at home or maybe you do but you’ve run out of pods.

Basically put:

2 tablespoons of instant coffee, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of boiling water in a bowl.

(This was enough for 2 – you can double or triple the recipe – using tablespoon of each ingredient)

Use a hand mixer – whisk or handheld frother – whisk/whip it for a few minutes. You should get a frothy creamy consistency & the colour will lighten to a caramel colour.

Depending if you like a cold or hot one put some plant/ soy/ coconut/ oat milk in a cup or glass about 3/4 full.

Heat the milk if you prefer it hot like I did or use milk & ice cubes for a chilled one.

Spoon the coffee mix on top. It’s like an upside down latte!

If you’re feeling really decadent you can top with vegan whipped cream & grate some dark chocolate over the top! Or add a shot of whisky or brandy!

Enjoy!!

This is a fun & easy recipe to make and perfect for the quarantine as you can use up any biscuits you may have left in the tin!!

I’ve done a vegan (dairy-free) version as usual, although you wouldn’t guess it was if you tasted it!

When I started this blog I said it would be vegan & delicious recipes not healthy lol although you could add dried fruit to the mix!

Ingredients

125 grams vegan butter or spread (we used Flora)

300 grams dark chocolate (most dark chocolate over 70% cocoa is naturally vegan but check the packaging first! broken into pieces

3 tablespoons golden syrup

300 grams biscuits

(You can use any plain biscuits – Digestives, coconut rings, fruit shortcake or even a combination)

The beauty is you can adapt the recipe & put in anything you like – we added Brazil nuts & popcorn – you can also use dried fruit.

The traditional recipe has Marshmallows, however I couldn’t find any vegan marshmallows as they contain gelatine.

I discovered Dr Oetker Unicorn Confetti though which added some colour! (Checked & it’s suitable for vegans)

METHOD

• Melt the butter, chocolate and golden syrup in a bowl over a saucepan filled shallowly with simmering water (or microwave).
• Put the biscuits into a freezer bag and then bash them with a rolling pin or mallet. You’re aiming for crumbs and chunks of biscuits. (This was fun – taking out our anger & beating those biscuits lol)
• Fold the biscuit pieces and crumbs into the melted chocolate mixture in the saucepan, and mix.

• Tip into a foil tray (24cm / 9 inch square); flatten as best you can with a spatula.
• Sprinkle with icing sugar or we sprinkled with Dr Oetker Unicorn sprinkles to finish off with a bit of colour.
• Refrigerate for about 2 hours or overnight.
• Cut into small slices.

It must be my Irish heritage but I love potatoes!! During quarantine we’ve – had Baked, mashed, roasted and chipped potatoes.

I thought I’d try hash browns & they were easier to make than I realised I would have done them before if I’d known!

You just need some potatoes, a grater & a frying pan.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 or 3 medium potatoes peeled if desired

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

• ¼ teaspoon onion powder – we grated an onion as didnt have the powder.

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Parboil the potatoes (peeled or not) for 5 mins.

2. Grate the potatoes

3. Transfer the grated potato to a bowl and toss it with the salt, garlic powder and onion powder.

4. Shape the potatoes into patties

5. In a large frying pan warm the olive oil over medium heat until sizzlling.

6. Put the potatoes in the frying pan and press them down with a spatula. Let them cook, undisturbed, for 2 minutes.

7. Stir again, press them down again, and cook for another 2 minutes. Repeat in 2-minute intervals, flipping in sections once they’re crispy enough to do so, until the potatoes are golden brown and crispy, about 4 to 8 more minutes.

8. Drain in paper towel to get rid of excess oil.

9. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

A lovely breakfast addition – to a breakfast muffin or side dish. We had with some fried mushrooms & spinach.

My son’s exact words after we baked and ate this amazing chocolate cake.

Yes we did cheat and use a ready cake mix! Sometimes it’s for the best. This one was incredible – vegan or not – perhaps you want to avoid dairy – this is a great easy way to enjoy a luxury chocolate cake with no eggs or butter.

We did make the chocolate butter icing ourself though which was also awesome!

We used the Betty Crocker – Tempting Chocolate cake mix.

As per instructions we added these to the cake mixture in a bowl.

Ingredients:

125 ml vegetable oil

8tbsp (we replaced water with oat milk )

Instead of eggs;

4 tbsps fizzy lemonade (sprite or 7 up)

1tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Instructions

Divide between 2 cake tins lined with baking paper.

Bake approx 20 mins (180c)

To make the choc butter icing which was literally the icing on the cake!! You can do this whilst the cake is baking.

Ingredients

1. 100 g Dark Chocolate
2. 1x Tablespoon Plant based milk
3. 1 X dessertspoon vegan butter/ spread
4. 6 x Tablespoons Icing Sugar
5. 3 x Tablespoons Vegan butter/ spread

With the butter icing – you can vary the amount as long as you do double the icing sugar to butter! We only had a few tablespoons left of icing sugar – measured it out & then added half of the vegan butter.

Instructions

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water (or in microwave ) with the spoon of butter & milk.

Mix the Vegan butter & icing sugar in a bowl until creamy consistency.

Add the melted chocolate & mix.

Spread over the top of one of the chocolate cakes (make sure it’s cooled down first) – then place the 2nd cake on top (like a sandwich)

I went wrong here lol & dropped the cake so it looks a bit messy but I was forgiven because the cake was tasting out of this world! Anyway it looks more rustic!! 🤗