Corn Bread

This recipe has been adapted from Mouthwatering Vegan's recipe "Winner Corn Bread".
Corn is one of the most GM food on the market so try to buy organic. Instead of 3x 1/3 cups of different flours you can just use 1 cup of regular flour. Goes beautifully with Mixed Bean Chili!

Corn Bread

Ingredients

1 cup of polenta/corn meal
1/3 cup millet flour
1/3 cup rice flour
1/3 cup corn flour (not starch)
1 cup of soy milk
¼ cup of white sugar
1/3 cup of sunflower oil
3 tsp egg replacer (I use Orgran gluten free)
4 tbsp water
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt


Method

Preheat your oven to 190°c/375°F and grease your oven dish with vegan margarine or oil.
Place all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and mix well.
Then mix the egg replacer with the water, making sure that you remove any lumps.
Add in the soya milk, sunflower oil and egg replacer mix into the dry ingredients and stir well.
Pour mix into your pan, and bake for around 25 minutes.
Check to see if it is ready by poking a stick in the middle – if it is clean when you take it out, it’s ready.


I just like this picture cause it looks like Pacman :)

Beetroot Pepperoni Slices

Thanks to the Sexy Vegan for putting me onto this recipe from Diet Dessert Dogs. I found this recipe a bit salty and not peppery enough so next time I think I would substitute the liquid broth with water and pepper.

Pepperoni Slices

Ingredients

3-4 very small fresh beets, peeled and sliced extremely thin
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp Bragg’s liquid aminos
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/4-1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp ground mustard
1/4 tsp fennel
1/8 tsp sage
1/4 tsp smoked or regular paprika


Method

Preheat oven to 325F (170 C).
Place everything except the beets in the bottom of a 9-inch (22.5 cm) square glass pan or a casserole dish and combine well.  Add the beet slices and toss to coat them all; spread them out as well as you can (overlapping slices is okay).
Bake the slices, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and flip them over and around to re-coat them with marinade and switch the bottom slices to the top and top to the bottom as much as possible. Continue to bake and stir them up every 10-15 minutes until they have absorbed most of the marinade, are very soft, and begin to curl and crisp at the edges. Remove from oven and set aside until you need them for the pizza/risotto etc.

Cashew Cheddar Cheese

This recipe is from Veganela.

Cashew Cheddar Cheese

Ingredients

½ cup + 2 tablespoons raw cashews
¼ cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1+3/4 cups plain unsweetened soy milk
½ cup agar flakes (or 8 teaspoons agar powder)
¼ cup canola oil
2 tbsp yellow or white miso
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 teaspoons white truffle oil (optional)
Chopped chives (optional)


Method

Lightly oil 3-4 small ramekins, or just use a Tupperware container.
Using the pulse button, finely grind the cashews in a food processor (do not allow the cashews to turn into a paste). Add the nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt and garlic powder. Pulse 3 more times to blend in the spices.
Combine the soy milk, agar, and oil in a heavy medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the agar is dissolved. With the food processor running, gradually pour the milk mixture through the feed tube and into the cashew mixture. Blend for 2 minutes, or until the mixture is very smooth and creamy. Blend in the miso, lemon juice, and truffle oil and chopped chives (if using). Note: if your food processor isn’t very big, simply pour the cashew mixture into the saucepan and stir it vigorously for a minute or so, and then add the remaining ingredients.
For grated or sliced cheese: Transfer the cheese to a container; cover and refrigerate until it is very firm, about 4 hours. Once it is firm, use a knife to gently remove the cheese from the ramekin. Grate or slice the cheese as desired.
For melted cheese: Use the cheese immediately as melted cheese. To make the cheese in advance, cover and refrigerate it. When ready to use, melt it in a saucepan over medium heat until it is smooth and creamy, stirring frequently and adding more soy milk to the melted cheese to thin, if necessary.
The cheese will keep for 4 days, covered and refrigerated.

An Adventure in Hair Colour...

Before I have to get a job and join the real world again I thought I'd do something a little bit groovy with my hair. I used all Manic Panic's range which is vegan...

To bleach the ends I did a DIY "ombre" with Manic Panics Flash Lightning Bleaching Kit. It also comes with gloves, the dish and the brush! I didn't care too much about getting gradient look because I knew I was just going to dye it other colours anyway. I definitely did not want the dip dye look and that's when youtube videos came in handy. This one in particular.

This is the wet result...

A bun, to get it to wave more...

Finished product...

It was a little more yellow that I had hoped and maybe there was a bit of brown dye left in my ends but you can get silver rinses to make it whiter. Manic Panic sell a Pasteliser which I think it meant for colours but it might work??

My first colour in was Manic Panic's Vampire Red Dyehard Temporary Hair Color

As you can see it washed out quite a bit even though I had kept it in for an hour, because it was only a temporary colour. I kind of like it looking all firey though :)

Then I put purple through, really loved this.

I used Manic Panic's Ultra Violet Classic Cream Formula.

Being a semi-permanent it came out much richer and I also left it in for 1.5 hrs.

 It looked really subtle with my dark hair. 

I had to get right under the sun just so you could see the colour in the picture.

Once the purple faded out it looked rainbowy like this which I kind of liked...

Then I put this wonderful teal blue in...Manic Panic's Voodoo Blue Classic Cream Formula.
Love it!!

Kind of faded into a mermaid green...

Waiting for the blue/green to fade out a bit (it had some staying power I can tell you!) and then went with Manic Panic's Semi-Permanent Hot Hot Pink and Ultra Violet....

Going Blonde -2020 

(Covid DIY hair lol)

A fews back I gave myself a balayage makeover to see what it would look like once the grey takes over (luckily not there yet so back to my natural dark brown).

I used the Manic Panic bleach set and watch a YouTube in foiling you can find here. To tone out the brassiness you can use Manic Panic Virgin Snow or any number of toners but what is way cheaper and works just as well is buying Manic Panic Ultra Violet and using a very small amount, like 1/2 tsp in a cup of cheap conditioner. I saw this video on that hot tip!  This lasts such a long time, especially for me since I only wash my hair once a month. 

Brooklyn Grooming

I know the vegan men's brands are harder to find than womens so here's a goodin'!
Brooklyn Grooming is all vegan and made in NYC. Products include a range of hair pomades, beard oil, shaving oil, facial serum, aftershave tonic and tattoo balm. Plus the presentation is très chic!

Vegan Soap for Sale

I've finally got off my lazy butt and set up a store on Etsy to sell my mountains of vegan soaps!
All soaps are vegan, gluten free and handmade by me in small batches.
More scents to come...

My Etsy store is: Soleil Handmade Soaps
My Facebook page is: Soleil Handmade Soaps

Tempeh Satay Skewers

This recipe is from The Sexy Vegan's "Happy Hour at Home" which is awesome! I found this version of the recipe on Glue and Glitter.

Tempeh Satay Skewers
Makes around 10 skewers

Ingredients

2x 8-ounce packages of tempeh, cut into 3- to 4-inch slices, each about 1/2 inch thick
1/2 cup low-sodium tamari
1/4 cup mirin
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
3 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup arrowroot
1/2 cup rice flour
1 cup GF bread crumbs (planko style is best if you can get a GF version)
1/2 cup sweetened coconut shreds
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
16 wooden skewers
sesame seeds, for garnish
lime wedges, for garnish


Method

In a medium pot, combine the tempeh slices, tamari, mirin, garlic, ginger, and 3 cups of the water, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer for 15 minutes, until the tempeh has softened somewhat. Then remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool.

Once the tempeh is cooked, set up your breading station. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup water and the arrowroot. Spread out the rice flour on a large plate. On another large plate, mix together the bread crumbs and coconut, and season with salt and pepper. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat so that you have somewhere to place the breaded tempeh. To bread the tempeh, roll the tempeh slices in the flour, then dunk them in the arrowroot slurry, then coat them in the bread crumbs-coconut mixture. Place them on the baking sheet.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the tempeh on each side, turning with tongs after 2 or 3 minutes. When browned, remove from the pan to allow to cool slightly. When they are cool enough to handle, skewer the slices lengthwise. Arrange sexily on a fancy-ass plate, and garnish with the sesame seeds and lime wedges. Serve with the satay sauce for dipping.


Satay Sauce

Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
2 teaspoons low-sodium tamari
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha or other Thai chili sauce
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 cup water
salt and pepper


Method

In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, peanut butter, tamari, Sriracha, lime juice, and water until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
In a medium saucepan heat on a low heat until warm, then serve with skewers.

Golden Beet Hummus

This recipe is from The Sexy Vegan's "The Cookbook" and the original hummus recipe can be found here on YouTube.

Golden Beet Hummus
Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

1 4oz beet, washed, topped and tailed
2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper
15oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1 Tbls tahini
1 garlic clove, crushed


Method

Preheat oven to 350F.
Toss the beet with the olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper then place in a a sheet of tin foil.
Wrap the tin foil around the beet with a small opening at the top for steam.
Bake in the oven for 1hour (may need an extra 15-20mins) or until a fork is easily pushed in the flesh. Allow to cool.
Remove the beet from the foil and peel off the skin.
Chop into quarters and place in a food processor with all other ingredients.
Blitz until smooth, adding more salt or pepper as desired.

Jalapeno Poppers

This original recipe is from The Sexy Vegan's "The Cookbook" but I found the recipe on Sexy Vegan Mama.

Jalapeno Poppers
Makes 20 poppers

Ingredients

1 cup whole raw walnuts
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Pinch of ground chipotle
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon yellow miso
4 tablespoons water
1/3 cup canned mild green chiles (either whole or diced)
Pepper
10 jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded (use latex gloves to avoid later eye stingage)
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose GF flour
3/4 cup unsweetened nondairy milk
2 cups GF bread crumbs
Oil or cooking spray, for spritzing


Method

Preheat oven to 400F/200C and prepare a cookie sheet with foil and a light spray of oil.
In a food processor or blender, grind the walnuts, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, paprika, chipotle, mustard and salt into a fine meal.
Then add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, the miso, water, and green chilis, and puree unil combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stuff each jalapeno half with the walnut filling, until the stuffing comes to the top edges of the pepper.

For the breading station use two plates and a bowl.
Put 1/4 cup of the flour on one plate, season with salt and pepper, and mix.
Place your bowl next to that, add 1/2 cup of flour, and whisk in the milk until you have a smooth batter that's bit thinner than that of pancakes.
Season that with salt and pepper as well.
On the remaining plate, season the bread crumbs with salt and pepper.
Lightly coat each stuffed pepper with flour, then dip it into the wet batter, and then coat with the bread crumbs.
The filling is thick enough that it won't fall out; just be gentle during the coating process to ensure it stays put.
Place the stuffed and breaded peppers on your cooking vessel, give them a light spritz of oil or cooking spray, and bake until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.

Let cool for 5 minutes before eating. They go very well with homemade vegan ranch!

Oatmeal Scrub Soap

Oatmeal Scrub Soap

201g Lye
543g Distilled water
435g Coconut oil
507g Vegetable Oil
507g Olive Oil
1 cup Powdered oatmeal

Soap making instructions here.
Tutorial video here.

White Chocolate Soap

White Chocolate Soap

201g Lye
543g Distilled water
435g Coconut oil
507g Vegetable Oil
507g Olive Oil
1 cup Cocoa butter

Soap making instructions here.
Soap Making Tutorial Video here.

Sweet Garlic Eggplant

This Chinese dish is great as a side or a main. For a main I suggest adding more vegetables such as squash, zucchini and potato. Serve with rice. This recipe serves about 4-6 as a main and 8 as a side.

Sweet Garlic Eggplant

Ingredients

3 medium eggplants
7 Tbls vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp garlic, chopped finely
6 tsp caster suagr
6 tsp soy sauce (I used Tamari)
6 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbls dry sherry


Method

Cut the eggplants into 1/2 cubes.
Heat 3 Tbls of oil in a wok or large frying pan.
On a medium/high heat cook the eggplant (you may need to do it in batches) until browned and soft.
Remove from heat.
In a separate saucepan heat the other 3 Tbls oil and fry the garlic until golden.
Add sugar, sherry, soy sauce and vinegar and bring to boil.
Add mixture back to the eggplant and simmer for 3 minutes until sauce is absorbed.
Serve with steamed rice.

Cashew Nut Cheese

This delicious nut cheese recipe was given to me by my very close friend Anna.

Instead of Italian herbs you can add whatever herbs/ingredients/flavours you want to the base recipe to mix it up.

Cashew Nut Cheese

Ingredients

2 cups raw cashews
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 garlic clove
1 Tbls lemon juice
1 tsp onion flakes
1 Tbls Italian herbs (optional)


Method

Soak cashews for 4 hours, then drain and rinse.
Add all ingredients into a food processor and blitz until smooth and mixed well.
If you want it as a nut cheese spread - Set mixture aside in a glass dish in the refrigerator.
If you want it as baked nut cheese - place a sieve on top of a bowl and wrap the cheese mix in a cheesecloth, setting it in the sieve, then refrigerate.
Allow to sit for 48 hours before eating.
If you want to bake it, preheat the oven to 400F/200C and place ball of mixture on a greased cookie tray.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and crunchy on the top.

Green Tea Soap

Green Tea Soap

201g Lye
543g Distilled water
435g Coconut oil
507g Vegetable Oil
507g Olive Oil
1 cup Green tea powder**

Soap making instructions here.
Soap Making Video here.

**You could probably use 1/2 cup of green tea powder as mine turned very dark khaki.

Cocolate Chip Pancakes

Sounds unhealthy but because these are so good you don't need butter or syrup.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup Instant Pancake Mix
1 egg replacer (according to packet instructions)
250ml (1 cup) rice/soy milk
3 tablespoon vegan butter
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand)


Method

Heat some butter or spray oil on a non-stick pan on medium/high.
Using a hand mixer combine all ingredients well. If you want thinner pancakes add more milk.
Stir through the chocolate chips by hand.
Empty a ladle of pancake batter onto pan, when bubbles appear on the surface of the little pancakes, flip them over to make them golden brown on both sides. A minute or so a side should do it.

Cherry Pie

This is a low sugar cherry pie recipe from My Vegan Kitchen. I used an 8" pan because I used a spring form and I didn't have enough pastry dough. My pie was delicious but the pastry was a little hard (as happens so often when good things go gluten free) Some dairy free vanilla ice-cream will soften it right up :)

Cherry Pie

Ingredients

Crust Ingredients

1 1/4 Cup Unbleached All Purpose Flour
1/4 Cup Brown Rice Flour
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1/4 Cup Earth Balance Original Spread Butter
1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
1 Tablespoon Canola Oil
6 Tablespoons Ice Water


Filling Ingredients

12oz. Pack Dark Sweet Frozen Cherries (I used fresh cherries and pitted them)
1 1/2 Tablespoons Arrow Root (or Corn Starch)
6 Packets Truvia Sweetener
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
Sprinkle of Sea Salt


Method

Preheat Oven to 350F.
Place all dough ingredients into food processor and mix until it comes together.
Pour into a mixing bowl and kneed with your hands to form a ball.
Split into halves. Take one section to roll out the bottom.
Spray a 9" pie pan with cooking spray and place this in bottom of pan. Place in oven and cook 5 minutes before adding cherries.
While that's cooking, mix together all of the filling ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour in pie tin with bottom crust.
Roll out top and cut into strips and form lattice weave on top.
Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Sushi Lunch

Made a delicious vegan sushi lunch for my family;

Nori rolls: avocado & teriyaki tofu
Teriyaki Oyster Mushroom Boats
Bean Curd Parcels (you can buy the bean curd parcels already marinaded from an Asian grocer and just stuff with sushi rice)

Served with Tamari soy sauce, pickled ginger and wasabi paste...YUM!

Gluten Free Crusty Bread

I'm trying my hand at gluten free breads at the moment. I adapted this recipe from the book "Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day" by Jeff Hertzberg  & Zoe Francois. This made two loaves.

Gluten Free Crusty Bread

Ingredients

1 cup Brown rice flour
3/4 cups Sorghum flour (I used soy flour as a substitute)
1 1/2 cups Tapioca flour (starch)
1 Tbls Granulated yeast
1/2 Tbls Kosher salt
1 Tbls Xanthan gum
1 1/3 cups luke warm water
2 egg replacers (made according to packet instructions)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbls agave syrup


Method

Whisk together all dry ingredients.
Whisk together all wet ingredients then add to the dry.
You can mix thoroughly by hand, or use a bread mixer.
Leave in bowl and cover with a dish towel for 2 hours at room temperature.
It won't rise as much as gluten bread dough.
Once ready halve the dough.
Roll both halves into balls and shape into what you like.
Place on a pizza stone and loosely cover with cling wrap to rise a little more for 40mins.
Preheat the oven to 450F.
Pour 1 cup of water on the top tray to create steam when the bread is cooking.
Slash the top of the loaves with 1/4 inch parallel cuts. (I forgot this step)
Place a baking tray on the top rack of the oven.
Place the stone bread tray on the bottom tray. If using the middle tray use another tray on the bottom rack as well.
Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned and firm.
Allow to cook on a cooling rack before slicing.

"Beef" & Black Bean Stir Fry

This is a great Chinese classic. I used Gardein "Beef" Chunks which are NOT gluten free but I just picked them out of mine. You can used fried tofu or just vegetables. Serve with steamed Jasmine rice.

"Beef" & Black Bean Stir Fry

Ingredients

6 tablespoons black bean sauce
4 tablespoons soy sauce (I used Tamari)
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine
4 teaspoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons canola or peanut oil
I onion, sliced
1 packet, tofu or vegan beef
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
3 cups vegetable stock
3 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed to a paste with 3 tablespoons water
Asian vegetables of choice (I used yellow capsicum, broccoli, string beans & shitake mushrooms)


Method

Mix together the black bean sauce, soy sauce, Chinese rice wine, sugar, and black pepper in a bowl.
Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat, add oil, and stir-fry the "beef" or tofu and onions for 5 minutes.
Add vegetables and cook for 7 minutes.

Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for another minute.

Add the sauce mixture and stock, then add the cornstarch paste and cook, stirring continuously, until thickened.
Serve on a bed of the rice.