Date syrup

With the high cost of maple syrup I decided to dabble at making an alternative sweetener. 

Ingredients:

2 packs of pressed dates

Water

And that's it!

Method:

Chop the dates very finely, making sure there's no pips. 

Put Dates in a pot and cover with filtered water. 

Bring to the boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. 

When cool enough to handle strain through a muslin or cheese cloth. 

Boil the liquid till reduced by about half. 

Bottle the syrup. Keep the pulp for date balls. 

no bake date balls.

Easy peasy.

Mix date pulp left over from making syrup with coconut flakes, seeds, cocoa nibs and or flaked almonds. 

Add a pinch of salt, cinnamon to taste.

Roll into balls and leave to cool.

Enjoy. 

Banana and oat cookies

What to do with too many bananas? A simple and tasty treat. 

Ingredients:

Ripe Bananas  - as many as you want

Rolled oats - same quantity by weight as the bananas 

Peanut butter  - half the weight the bananas 

Pinch of salt 

Vanilla extract - a teaspoon will do

Cinnamon to taste 

Depending on how ripe your bananas are, extra sweetener shouldn't be needed. 

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C

Mash the bananas. 

Add everything else and mash to combine. 

Check and adjust for sweetness. 

Form into balls.

Place on a prepared baking tray. 

Press each ball with a fork to flatten slightly. 

Bake till brown and crispy. 

Once cool store in the fridge until eaten. 

Not so traditional coconut milk tart

Heritage day is here. Milktart is a South African Heritage. I have also held a title for my Milktart so I thought I'd better give it a vegan twist. Turns out it wasn't as easy as I thought. But result isn't bad

Pasty base.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of almond flour

1/2 cup maca powder

Pinch of salt 

1 tbs malt

2 tbs macadamia oil

3 tbs warm water

Method:

Mix the dry ingredients. 

Add the oil and water and work gently till well mixed. 

Line a piedish with wax proof paper. 

Spread the mixture into the piedish evenly. 

Prick the base. 

Leave to rest in the fridge while the oven warm to 180°C

When the oven is up to temperature bake for 7 minutes. 

When done Leave to cool in the dish. 

Filling 

Ingredients:

1 can coconut cream 

The liquid only of a tin of chickpeas (aquafaba)

4 tbs maple syrup 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

Pinch of salt 

1/2 cup of corn flour 

Method:

Mix everything together well.

Warm gently in a heavy bottomed saucepan. 

When it's all mixed and smooth increase the heat slightly. 

Cook until thick stirring constantly. Be careful not to let the bottom burn. 

As soon as the mixture thickens pour it over the prepared base. 

Sprinkle generously with cinnamon. 

Let it set in the fridge. 

Enjoy. 

Cashew cheese style sauce

Ingredients:

I cup raw cashew nuts

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

1/2 tsp turmeric powder 

Black salt to taste 

Method:

Soak the cashew nuts in enough boiling water to cover for at least 2 hours.

Blend all the ingredients together (including soak water) till smooth. 

Cook in a heavy based saucepan till thick and creamy. 

Serve on veggies or seitan sausages.

Gluten Sausages

This recipe is still a work in progress. These are edible but not perfect yet.

Ingredients:

165grams Green pea or chickpea flour (or a combination of the 2)

1/4 cup yeast flakes

240mls of stock to which spices are added according to your personal taste - pepper, coriander, mustard, sumac, garlic,  smoked paprika, smoke juice, black salt.

3 tbs soya sauce 

Red food colouring 

1 tbs apple cider Vinegar 

1/4 cup oil (macadamia is nice)

160 grams wheat gluten

Method:

Mix flour and yeast flakes together. 

Mix all the wet ingredients and spices together. 

Add wet ingredients to the flour and mix well.

Add the gluten to the mixture and knead well. 

Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions. 

Roll each portion in wax paper to form a sausage. 

Steam for 40 minutes. 

Sausages can be kept in the fridge for 3 days or frozen. 

Nice fried or grilled. 

Peanut butter and chickpea flour balls

Tasty treat. 

Preheat your oven to 180°C

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chickpea flour

3/4 cup unsweetened peanut butter

1/2 cup malt, maple syrup or honey

Salt to taste 

Cocoa nibs

Cocoa powder

Method:

Mix dry ingredients 

Add peanut butter,  malt and Cocoa nibs. 

Using your hand roll into small balls. 

Put balls into Cocoa powder and toss to coat evenly. 

Put onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. 

Bake for 10 mins but watch because they burn easily. 

Cool and enjoy. 

Coconut coated crispy tofu

 Finally have a version I'm happy to eat.

Ingredients:

1tbs desicated coconut 

1tbs corn flour

Black salt

Turmeric 

Black pepper 

100grams firm tofu

Coconut oil

Sesame or any other oil of choice for flavour 

Mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and sesame seeds. About a teaspoon altogether. 

Oil for frying 

Method:

Dice the tofu into 1cm blocks

Mix the desicated coconut, corn flour, salt, Turmeric and pepper in a deep bowl.

Toss the tofu into the mixture. Make sure it's well coated and set it aside. 

Heat the coconut and sesame oil in a deep pan.

Add Mustard, fenugreek and sesame seeds and allow to pop and brown (don't wait too long)

Add the tofu and keep stirring till all the oil has been absorbed (won't take long)

Add the frying oil, enough to stop the tofu sticking to the pan.

Keep frying and stirring until it's all crispy and golden. 

Serve with "pink sauce" made from vegan mayonnaise, tomato sauce and a dash of hot sauce.