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The cover




So I' working on the book cover. Its hard to decide as its the most important part of the book. The cover must be sharp, easy and spot on. It must be able to project the inside of the book and make the "wow" impression for people wanting to read it.

I' so excited as this is HUGE deal for me. Please life, don't let me screw this one up...

I was being a good wife and I made pancakes for my husband for his breakfast on Friday. Here is the recipe.





CHIA and COCONUT pancakes


What do you need:

200ml of almond milk ( or any milk you want)
200ml of coconut milk
2 tbs of chia seeds ( soaked in 100 ml of water)
1 cup of almond flour
1 cup of all purpose flour
100 ml of coconut oil
1 tsp of baking powder
1 tbs of apple cider vinegar

How to make it:

In a large bowl mix together flours and milks. Add soaked chia and oil. 
In a small bowl combine baking powder and vinegar. Add to other mixture, gently mix together until you end up with smooth batter. 

The oil mixed in the batter will make the pancake non stick to the frying pan. So no extra oil required. 

Enjoy them golden brown, stacked up with fruit and drizzled with strawberry compote. 






Here we go again




Right so again I had a long break.

A lot has happened since my last post.

1. I have moved countries, wow actually I have moved continents.

2. I have been offered a publishing deal for a Vegan cookbook.

3. I have been reunited with my husband and we are finally a family as a whole.

4. I have made new friends and said goodbye to people who were the most important to me for past few years.

5. I have finally slowed down, made peace with myself and I'm starting fresh. New beginnings .

I'm hoping to write more frequently, to make my recipes more approachable, easier to follow and my pictures more professional.

It's now or never.

To follow my own dreams ...


Vegan junk food?




There is no such a thing as vegan junk food.

Because even if its "junk" style its still billion times better than processed , awful stuff you would eat in a fast food.

Every now and then I make a vegan version of "junk" hahah. last night my very yummy Vegan big burgers.



Zucchini , mushroom and chickpea burgers. 



What you need ( makes 3 burgers)

1 medium zucchini (grated)
3 medium chestnut mushrooms (grated)
half of can of chickpeas (drained)
3 spoons of all purpose flour
1 spoon of vegan bouillon
3 tbs of water


3 wholegrain buns ( cut open)
a bunch of salad leaves
1 large onion ( cut in rings)
2 gherkins ( sliced)
1 large tomato
3 tbs of vegan ketchup or any other sauce


For the burgers:

Put grated zucchini , mushrooms in a bowl. Mix together with bouillon. In a meantime, bend together chickpeas and water, to create a paste. Add to mushrooms and zucchini. Mix well until combined. Add flour, mix again. Divide the mixture in 3, using your hands make 3 medium patties. Shallow fry on some coconut oil or olive oil. 

Once cooked until golden brown, set aside.  Add some more oil and fry the onion rings, once golden brown set aside. Brown the bread ( I used the frying pan but oven or toaster is fine).

The assemble. 

Bun, sauce,burger, salad,sauce, gherkins,tomato and then bun. 

Enjoy!




Summer is here?




The sun is back!!!

Amazing! Its all we needed!! Sun is out, birds are singing. Our favourite season is back!

Picnics in the park, splash park trips, visiting the woods. Possibilities are endless when the weather is great. 

We like using local produce to make our food. 

So tonight a recipe for one of our favourite summer soups. 

Broccoli Cream with extra veg and vegan dumplings



What you need:

1 broccoli
2 medium white potatoes
2 medium carrots 
1/2 cup of frozen peas
1 bunch of fresh dill
2 spoons of vegan bouillon 
2 pints of water approx.

for the dumplings:

1 cup of semolina
1cup of flour
1cup of water
salt


Chop all your veg, set aside 1/3 of veg, the rest bring to boil in water and bouillon . Cook for about 45 min, or when very soft. Cool, then using an electric blender blend. If too think then add some water, bring to boil again, add extra veg and shimmer until veg is softened. 

To make the dumplings, mix together, water, flour and semolina with some salt. With your hands mould little balls of mixture, and put in your soup. Shimmer further until cooked through. 

Its a very filling soup and its great  for dinner or lunch. 

Enjoy




Lunch on!!!




I love food. I honestly love eating , and I love making it too.

But I also love it to be quick, tasty and real.

Quick is the most important part, as with work, two kids and being alone is pretty hectic.

Today I cooked the simplest dish, but I was amazingly tasty!

Noodle bowl!



What you need:

1 bunch of broccoli florets ( 1 cup)
3 large mushrooms ( sliced)
3 larde handfuls of fresh spinach ( use frozen if no fresh)
1 chopped garlic clove
chopped flat leaf parsley

1 handful of noodles (egg free Chinese noodles)
3 spoons of dark vegan soy sauce
2 spoons of olive oil


1. Put water in a large pan, bring to boil.

2. In a frying pan, heat up olive oil, throw in the chopped garlic, then broccoli, mushrooms and the spinach last. Shimmer for 10 min. Add soy sauce. 

3. Put a handful of noodles , boil according to instructions on the packet. Mine took 5 min

4. Drain noodles, then rinse under cold water. 

5. Put noodles in the frying pan and mix well , shimmer for further 5 min. 


Once cooked, transfer to a pan and sprinkle with chopped parsley. 

Enjoy!!!


I love quick fixes when it comes to my food. So watch this space and more is coming!!



Natural Beauty




I have a a go at making my own cosmetics tonight!!!

it was so much fun!!!

I cannot believe I have not done it before !!!

my skin is very sensitive and I have a strict routine when it comes to my face lol, i scrub and i rub and i pat and i smooth and do a lot of crazy stuff to my skin!

but I always struggle to buy a good cream to put on my face and body. And simply I terrified of the companies put in high street cosmetics. When you find a vegan friendly, cruelty free and paragon free cosmetics they cost heaven and earth :(

So making my own was a bit of a hit and miss and I tried a few times before I was completely happy with the outcome.

I also made the coffee body scrub. Which was fantastic and refreshing but it is very very messy!!!

Tea tree moisturiser:



3 spoons of coconut oil
4 spoons of shea butter
2 spoons of olive oil
5 drops of tea tree oil

In a bowl whip shea butter until frothy, add coconut oil, whip again, add olive oil slowly while whipping. Then add tea tree oil.  Whip for another 2 min.  And its ready. I keep mine in a glass container and in the refrigerator. Its great on your body and your face. Little goes a long way!



Coffee Body Scrub



1 cup of good quality fair trade ground coffee
1 cup of brown sugar
4 spoons of good quality organic olive oil

In a bowl mix all ingredients until fully combined.

The scrub is very intense, its messy so I suggest to use it under a shower rather than a bath. It will leave your skin feeling rejuvenated and smooth. Its an amazing body polish. 



So from now on, no more buying moisturisers or scrubs. I'm completely hooked on this now, soother is more to come!!!


3 nut biscuits and a very very long day




its been a very long 3 weeks. I'm still in the old house and not moved into my dream home yet. Things are so complicated and the whole bureaucracy is killing me.

I say its lot I know but being alone with 2 kids is not easy. I struggle for time to do anything for myself. I often dream about having a day to myself without work, houseworks and children. But then I catch myself thinking how ungrateful I became to complain about all that.

Because the truth is?? I love being a mother. My kids are annoying, they are loud and demanding. But they are their own little selfs and they are growing to be good and kind and compassionate ones.

I often spend my days with them being without them really. I catch myself starting a game or an activity just to escape 2 min later to do some chores, to check my phone, to check email. But why? Why I cannot just sit down and play one more round of monkey game, or build one more space ship out of lego?

I'm starting to realise how little time I actually spend with them. Everything else takes over.  Reality is a bitch and I now know that.

Last night we made our fav biscuits:

3 NUT biscuits. Gluten free and vegan




Ingredients:

Wet:

2 spoons of coconut cream
2 spoons of vegetable shortening( i used trex)
1 spoon of coconut milk


Dry:

3 spoons of coconut flour
3 spoons of almond flour
3 spoons of gluten free flour
3 spoons of brown sugar ( or any sugar you wish)

topping:

2 spoons of crushed hazelnuts
1 spoon of brown sugar

Ice water if needed

How:

In a bowl mix together wet stuff, once is soft and smooth add slowly the dry mix. Mix well until combined. I used electric mixer then hands. With hands kneed dough until is smooth. Wrap in a cling film and refrigerate for min 30 min. 

Once ready, roll out and cut shapes out. 

Sprinkle with crashed hazelnuts and sugar mix.

Bake for 10-12 min in 180 


These are so incredibly easy and taste great with a cup of tea. 






Giant Pasta




My kids call it the "Giant "pasta. I guess for them its sort of Giant!!

I promised to post this recipe last night, but I have run out of time. My apologies to anyone who wanted it!!

Here is is:

Giant Pasta Shells




What you need:

1/2 pack of Giant Pasta Shells
5 frozen broccoli florets ( frozen works better in this recipe)
5 chestnut mushrooms
2 tbs of coconut cream
1 tbs of all purpose flour ( we use gluten free)
1 tbs of coconut oil
1 tsp of vegan bouillon 
200ml of water


Step 1:

Pre cook pasta according to instruction on the packet. Drain, set aside

Meantime when the pasta is cooking, cook broccoli in plain water,  drain, that should take no more than 10 min. 

Grate the mushrooms and shallow fry in the coconut oil. Add 100 ml of water and pinch of bouillon.  In a separate bowl mix approx. 100ml of water with coconut cream and flour. Add to the boiling mushrooms. It should turn into a thicker sauce. 

Drain the broccoli. With a potato masher mash the broccoli and add rest of the bouillon. Then fill the pasta shells with broccoli mix. Line them up in a heat prove dish. Pour the mushroom mix over. 

Bake in the oven for 10-15 min.

and then eat up!




Milking the almonds




Yes, one of the most common vegan "problems"

MILK

My son once asked me how I milk the almonds. It made me chuckle but also sad to know that at this young age he knew cows needed to be milked to obtain milk by humans.

I don't go preaching to people to give up cows milk, but I'm open to educating people about what goes behind the closed door of dairy farms.

The reason why I went vegan was me watching the film called "Earthlings" , I'm not going to go into any details here.But it has opened my eyes and over night I decided to go vegan.

We drink homemade almond milk. Mostly because all the other milks I found in the supermarkets contain lots of additives. I completely understand that manufacturers need to make sure milks last longer as they will sell better but what they put in them is plain scary.

I'm raising my kids vegan because I want them to be healthy, so giving them milk full of chemicals isn't an option. We take pride and joy in our milk, its simple and delicious. We make it plain, but later add agave, dates to sweet it up.

Here is the recipe:


Almond Milk



Makes 2 small bottles:


200g of organic raw almonds 
400ml of cooled boiled water
1 cheese cloth ( or baby's muslim will work too)
2 small bottles ( sterilised with boiling water and cooled)
1 pint of boiling water

You will need a blender


Step 1:


Pour water over the almonds and cover with cling film. Leave it for 1 h

Drain the almonds and peel the skin. They should "pop" out of the skin. Some people like it with the skins on, and thats ok. We prefer it smoother and that is without the skins.




Step 2:

Put the cheese cloth over a tall dish, make sure its clean as its where your milk will drip to. Leave a generous amount of cloth sticking out, the weight of the milk will make the dish sink.

Put the almonds in a blender, pour the cooled water with the almonds. Make sure to shut the lid!!!

Blend on low speed for 30 sec, then on fast for another 30 sec. 

Once its all blended pour over the cheese cloth. Grab the edges of the cheese cloth and squeeze it tight. Repeat until no milk is coming out. 



Step 3: 

Pour the milk into prepped bottles. Shut tight. Refrigerate. 



Step 4:

Do not throw away the pulp!!!



Spread it on grease prove paper, and dry in the oven. about 2h on 140C

Once its dry, put in food processor and blend slightly to ensure even and smooth texture. 

Voila! you have made your own almond flour!! use it in cakes, sprinkle over chia puddings. Possibilities are endless!!






Little Helper :)




My children love to cook with me. And I love cooking with them. 

I don't have many memories from my childhood. Not many happy ones anyway. Our minds usually remember the bad stuff, which hoover over happy memories like black clouds. 

I want my children to remember me and the fun stuff used to do together. 

Over the weekend we made gnocchi, something I DO remember making with my mother. 

We had fun, there was lots of mess but the result was fantastic, delicious lunch and time well spend .



My son is not veggie crazy, not like my daughter, so any chance I can get veggies into him is a great chance.  We used ordinary potatoes, sweet potatoes, beetroots and avocado. My kids call it rainbow dumplings. 

I was criticised recently for my pictures not being professional enough. I want to clarify something, this blog is not in any means a way to make money, recipes are mine, they come from the heart, and I have a job and two children who I raise pretty much alone. Snapping fancy photographs isn't a priority. I try to make them nice by slightly editing them adding borders etc. But I learn from any feedback, good or bad so I will try to get those photos nicer :)

recipe for gnocchi below:

Rainbow Dumplings (Gnocchi )


What you need:

1 large sweet potato
2 medium size potatoes
1 medium beetroot
1 medium avodado
approx 8 cups of flour ( we used gluten free)

4 spoons of coconut oil or any vegetable shortening 
pinch of salt 

The first step I do the night before 

Cook the potatoes and beetroot until soft. Leave the avocado until you are ready to make the dumplings.
I cook them in their skins and peel just before I'm about to make the gnocchi .

Once you have your veggies cooked, peel the skin and mash them up. In separate bowls. 


So they look like this. 

Make them one by one, by adding approx. 2 cup of flour to each mash. I found that sweet potato takes more flour than any other. 




Add 1 tbs of your shortening ( i use soft coconut oil)and salt. Kneed until its smooth. It take approx. 10 min.
You should end up with 4 bowls of soft dough ( resembles play dough!!)




Put water on boil. You will need a large pan.


All its left its making the shapes. Roll a small amount and then press with a fork to make the pattern .They should look like this:


Once the water is boiling ( remember it has to boil) throw about 20 every time. Once they surface then cook for further 1 min and drain.

They are perfect served plain with a pinch of salt or with a sauce of your choice. 

Enjoy 










One of those days...




yep. its been one of those days.

When I feel like the worst mother on the planet. It started quite well...we had our amazing pear pancakes for breakfast. Recipe below.

Then the children helped to clean up their room, then we made lunch. We had fun making gnocchi with my younger sprawling....and then it all went down hill.

Children are very complicated creatures. Being a parent its so hard. You try to be open minded, compassionate, and focused but its so hard it sometimes impossible to keep them happy.

So two grumpy children and me, full of positivity due to lovely weather. We went out to the park.

Fail no 1. No parking
Fail no 2 had to park at the mall and walk...two grumpy children complaining they have o walk
fail no 3. Park was so busy they had nowhere to play.
fail no 4. They decided they wanted to go to get some sorbets and we walked back to the car
fail no 5. Mummy was distracted and took the wrong turning , we ended up adding extra 10 min of driving. with two grumpy children its not fun
fail no 6. sorbet shop closed down
fail no 7 traffic on the way home.


plus many many many more cries and complaints.

I find it really hard to control my own emotions when we have a day like this.. ..So i ended up crying too.

When you are a parent you try to make your children to understand the world, you teach them respect and you teach them empathy for others, you teach them that to win you sometimes have to loose, and that being different is ok. But today I felt like a failure. After a quick bedtime I realised 3 things:

1. My kids don't need trips, sorbets, they need me.
2. Overstimulation is often as bad as no stimulation
3. Trying too hard is exhausting and upsetting, its ok to give yourself a break.

So from now on, I will listen more, and I will try to agree with them the best solutions to our problems. I will tell them about my feelings and will listen to them telling me how they feel. I will make sure they have all they need to be happy, smiley and just be children.

From now on I will try harder but not too hard

Have a good night all.



Pear Pancakes: 




What you need:  (serves two)

2 ripe pears ( apples work too , best bramley apples)
2 cups of almond milk (or any milk you use)
1cup of self rising gluten free flour ( i find that gluten free is better for pancakes)
1 tbs of coconut oil (or any oil)
1 tbs of egg substitute ( i used chia , 1 teaspoon of chia with 100 ml of water to make 5 servings- blended, i used one)
agave nectar to pour on top


In a bowl mix together flour, milk and chia until smooth. In a frying pan melt the coconut oil ( or any oil , heat up ), then using a heat proof spatula add the hot oil to the flour and milk mixture ( be careful its hot!!)  
mix well.  set aside.

peel the pear and cut into rings, using a small knife cut the seedy nests out. then dunk the pear rings in the batter mixture. 

Then using a soup ladle dollop the pear rings onto the frying pan. You shouldn't need any oil as you already put it in the mixture. Cook until golden brown and then flip gently to make sure its cooked evenly and the pear is soft in the middle. 

Serve warm with agave on top or maple syrup if you prefer. 

Enjoy




Viva la Pasta!!!




We are obsessed about pasta in out household. When I realise its not really good for you, I try to buy gluten free and if not available we use wholegrain brown pasta. 

Pasta is the easiest dinner to make, very often is on our tables the night before our food delivery. A fridge cleaning :)

We used to have Italian au pair, oh my! the homemade pasta was out of this world!

Here is a few of our favourites:


Veggie packed Spag "Bol":




What you need:

  • pasta of your choice ( we used linguini, gluten free) - one handful per person
  • 1 finely chopped onion
  • 1 finely chopped carrot
  • 1 finely chopped parsnip
  • other veggies are optional, we like adding courgettes &mushrooms
  • 1 cup of organic tomato pasatta
  • salt & pepper
  • pinch of brown sugar 
  • 1 tbs of oil ( we use coconut oil)



                                                              How to make it :

Put a large pan on boil filled with water). Meantime, shallow fry the onion, then ad carrot and parsnip plus other veggies if you are using any. Cook until soft. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add a pinch of sugar. Pour in pastas and bring to boil. Transfer the veggies and sauce into a high pan and blend until smooth. 

Once the pasta is cooked, drain the noodles but keep about 2 tbs of pasta water. Add the blended sauce and pasta water. Toss around and serve. 

So quick and so delicious. 






 Coco-nutty Mushroom Penne



What do you need:

  • 7-8 chestnut mushrooms ( I choose organic ) - chopped
  • 1 courgette (chopped)
  • 1 cup of penne pasta per person ( serves up 2)
  • 1 tbs of coconut oil ( or any oil )
  • 1 pinch of veggie seasoning ( like vegan Bouillon)
  • 2 tbs of coconut cream
  • splash of water

How to make it:

Cook pasta, according to instructions. Shallow fry the mushrooms and courgettes. Sprinkle with seasoning. Once cooked splash with water and add coconut cream, cook to reduce , it will turn into a lovely creamy sauce. Add to your cooked pasta. So simple and effective.