Jacquie's Coconut Cocktail

I was attempting a vegan Brandy Alexander the other day and ended up with a completely different drink. It was sweet and coconuty...mmm yummy. I love coconut but it was very rich and after four (It was the weekend, don't judge me) I felt a bit sick. Sorry about the rough measurements!

Jacquie's Coconut Cocktail

(makes 4)

Ingredients

1 can coconut cream (400g)

2 shots brandy

1 Tbls agave syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract or 1/2 shot creme de cacao 

Method

Shake ingredients together and serve on ice in brandy glasses.

Asian Inspired Salad

This salad is based on Nigella Lawson's recipe "Crunchy Salad with Hot and Sour Dressing".
It's divine the day you make it but not so great the next day so use any extra for a stir fry.

Asian Inspired Salad


Ingredients


Dressing;
2 teaspoons red curry paste
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 x 15ml tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon agave syrup (or any honey substitute)
2 x 15ml tablespoons canola oil
Pinch of table salt

Salad;
125g broccoli, cut into florets
125g fine beans, each bean cut into 4
125g baby corn, each cob cut into 4
75g button mushrooms, sliced
100g finely shredded Chinese leaf lettuce
150g beansprouts



Method


Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a measuring jug.
Cook the broccoli florets with the fine beans and baby corn for 2 minutes in a pan of boiling water.
Drain and refresh by plunging them into a sink or tub of cold water.
Put the shredded lettuce, beansprouts and sliced mushrooms into a bowl and add the drained and refreshed vegetables.
Dress the salad, tossing everything together well.

Homemade Muesli

Good muesli (granola) is ridiculously expensive so I created this one based on other ones I'd seen. You can just substitute the rolled oats with gluten free oats. This makes enough for breakfast for a few months.

Homemade Muesli/Granola

Ingredients

1 large bag of GF rolled oats

1 packet almonds

1 packet buckwheat kernels

1 packet chia seeds (substitute for poppy seeds if want it to be cheaper)

1 packet goji berries (substitute for currents if want it to be cheaper)

1 packet flax seeds

1 packet sesame seeds

1 packet pepita seeds

1 packet sunflower seeds

1 packet sultanas/raisins

1 packet chopped dried apricots or dried fruit mix

Method

Mix amounts together in a large bowl to taste and then store in an airtight container. 

Serve with non-dairy milk.

Blue's Chocolate

A friend bought me this chocolate as a gift because it was gluten free but is also dairy and sugar free!
Blue's is all sugar free but has a few gluten and dairy free also.
This is the Blueberries in Dark Chocolate and was pretty nice considering it only had 6grams of sugar!

Raw Food

I'm trying to get back into raw food, for obvious reasons that it's healthy, vegan and generally pretty easy.
I last started in Winter which was stupid because all you want in the colder months is comfort food.

Here's some recipes I've been trying...

Save the Salmon Patties with Hollandaise Sauce

This is one of Ani Phyo's from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. The genius part of this recipe for me was that the main ingredient was carrot juice pulp. As someone who LOVES carrot juice but feels sad throwing out all the lovely pulp it was great to find that Ani has a number of recipes that use it.

Maki with Marinated Spinach and "Peanut" Sauce

This dish from Ani Phyo's Raw Food Essentials was delicious and very filling. I used mushrooms instead of parsnips and it was delicious.

Gazpacho Andaluz

This dish from Ani Phyo's Raw Food Essentials was just like a chunky gazpacho but healthier. I added avocado too because I love it in gazpacho. So refreshing on a hot Summer's night.

Teriyaki Noodles

This dish from Ani Phyo's Raw Food Essentials was really delicious. Refreshing and sweet.

Marinated Portabello Steaks and Brazil-Broccoli Mash served with Mushroom Gravy 

This is one of Ani Phyo's from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. The Mushrooms were delicious and the mash was much tastier than I was expecting, the Brazil nuts and broccoli went well together.

                                            Fettuccini Squash Noodles in Alfredo Sauce

This is one of Ani Phyo's from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. It was really tasty but I cooked for servings and ate two of them which made me feel a bit ill. I used a coffee grinder to grind the nuts to a powder for the sauce.

Using a spiralizer give you the texture or noodles but all the goodness of vegetables. It's amazing how many raw vegetables taste good this way! I bought mine online for around $40.

Fresh Rice Paper Rolls

Fresh spring rolls are delicious, filling, super healthy and best of all so easy. They are light and refreshing on a hot summer's day.
It's nice to have people involved in the process by having everything laid out at when friends come around for dinner or for the kids and they can make their own. Ingredients are entirely optional to personal taste. I used a Vietnamese dipping sauce from the supermarket with it but sweet chilli sauce or one of these three sauces here are lovely too. Any ingredients left over makes a nice Asian Salad mixed with the dipping sauce.
Vietnamese restaurants in Sydney serve it with Vietnamese Peanut Sauce (recipe below from Recipe Tin Eats) but take out places will serve it with Sweet Chilli Sauce.

With brown rice paper wraps...

Fresh Rice Paper Rolls


Ingredients

1 packet rice paper sheets
1 packet thin rice noodles
1 avocado, sliced into strips
1 red capsicum, sliced into strips
1 carrot, grated
1 bunch coriander, washed and broken up
Dipping sauce of your choice

Method

In a large bowl place the rice noodles and cover with boiling water until soft and then drain well.
Lay your ingredients out in bowls close to where you're working.
Have a large chopping board to work on and a plate ready for the finished rolls.
In a large frying pan or large plate with sides pour around an 2 cm of warm water.
Submerge one of the rice paper sheets into the water and let soak for around 30 seconds to 1 minute.
The sheet should be soft enough to roll but not too soft that it will start to break.
Place softened sheet on your work space and add a small amount of rice noodles on the end your working from followed by the other ingredients. Don't make them too large of they will break.
Start rolling the sheet over the ingredients away from you.
About half way along fold up the sides and then roll to the end.
Place finished rolls on the plate to firm up.
Serve with you favourite dipping sauce. A sweet chilli or hoisin based sauce tastes great!

Vietnamese Peanut Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

1 tbsp peanut butter, preferably smooth
2 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
1 tbsp lime juice)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp crushed chilli, samba oelak or other chilli paste, adjust to taste (optional)

Method

Combine the Peanut Dipping Sauce ingredients.
Mix briefly (it won't come together), then microwave for 30 seconds.
Mix again until smooth. Add water if too thick.
Set aside to cool.

Apple Pepper Pot Cake

This is a recipe from Jamie Oliver that I veganised, original recipe here. I can't describe how delicious it was, really restaurant quality. It was much easier than it sounded and would be lovely in winter or when friends come round for tea. I only used half these amounts and it would have served 6 people.

Apple Pepper Pot Cake


Ingredients

For the caramelly sauce;
200g vegan butter, at room temperature,
200g caster sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 level teaspoon ground ginger
a pinch of ground cloves (I used a pinch of All Spice)
3 Tbls vegan cream (I didn't used this)

For the sponge;
6 or 7 small/medium eating apples, such as granny smith, quartered and cored
125g vegan butter, at room temperature
125g caster sugar
2 egg replacers
225g self-raising flour, sifted
½ a level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
200ml good-quality dry cider (I used 80% soda water & 20% apple cider vinegar)
2 oranges zest only (I didn't use this)


Method

Grease the bottom and sides of a 24cm circular cake tin and line with greaseproof paper. I used a spring form tin and preheat your oven to 180°C.
Put the butter for your sauce into a saucepan (large enough to hold all your apple quarters in one layer). Add the caster sugar, molasses and ground spices then gently bring everything to the boil.
Turn down the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce starts to thicken.
Be careful because caramel is very hot and can burn badly.
At this point, add the quartered apples and cook for a few minutes while you make the sponge, but keep a close eye on them and stir occasionally so they don’t catch.
Cream together the butter and sugar for the sponge, then add the egg replacers, one at a time, mixing them in as you go.
Fold in half the flour, the bicarbonate of soda and the cider.
Mix well, then fold in the remaining flour and the zest from the oranges, and stir again.
Put the prepared cake tin on to a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper (just in case any hot caramel seeps out during cooking).
Spoon the sticky apples into the bottom of the tin in a fairly even layer, along with any of the caramel that happens to come with them.
Put the pan with the remaining caramel aside for later, then pour the sponge batter over the apples and give it a jiggle to spread the mixture out a bit.
(I skipped the last step and poured the remaining caramel over the cake before baking and it turned out brilliantly)
Put the cake tin and baking tray into the hot oven on the middle shelf to cook for around 35 to 40 minutes. Insert a skewer into the middle of the cake after 35 minutes – if it comes out clean the cake’s ready, if not, just bake for a further 5 minutes.
Once cooked, let the cake cool for 10 minutes (no longer or you won’t be able to turn it out).
Warm the reserved caramel on a low heat and gently stir in the cream.
Go back to your cake and spoon away any escaped caramel so it can’t burn you, then pop a serving plate on top of the cake and quickly and confidently flip it over. (If you use a spring form tin you won't need to do this)
Ease the tin off the overturned cake, then cut into wedges and serve with the remaining sticky, creamy caramel sauce drizzled on top.

Mock Pork

I want to mention how in love I am with the mock pork from Vegan's Choice, The Green Gourmet's vegan store in Newtown, Sydney. They stock a wide variety of mock meats some of which are made specifically for their restaurant. They also deliver if you can't get into the store. And their Yum Cha is awesome and lots of gluten free options!

I've also seen these gluten free mock meats at Asian grocers like CitiSuper in Sydney Town Hall.

These sausages which have a smoked ham flavour and this ham is AMAZING! And the best part is they are both gluten free unlike a lot of mock meats!

Bruschetta

This is a simple recipe for Bruschetta (pronounced Brus-ketta as my Italian friend informs me).

Bruschetta
Serves 2

Ingredients

3-4 tomatoes, washed and chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup basil, washed and chopped
1 Tbls olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 red onion, chopped (optional)


Method

Instead of chopping everything I just throw it all in a food processor but be careful not to over chop or it will turn till mush (but still be yummy).
Serve on toast or oven roasted baguettes. Drizzle some olive oil over the top.


Note: For a variation you can add chopped avocado as well.

Potato Salad

Potato Salad

Ingredients

10 cocktail potatoes

1 tub vegan sour cream

1 Tbls horseradish

1 Tbls Dijon mustard

2 Tbls vegan mayonnaise

1 bunch of chives or shallots, chopped

1 Tbls lemon juice (optional)

Method

Boil half a large saucepan of water. Chop potatoes into quarters and add to water, boiling for around 10mins. Check with a fork to see if they are done, you want them cooked but firm.

Leave potatoes in a colander to cool.

In a large bowl mix other ingredients together.

Add potatoes and carefully mix through.