Dienstag, 27. Mai 2014

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream and Strawberries

Die deutsche Übersetzung findet ihr unterhalb des englischen Rezepts.




The strawberry season is here and we decided two kilos of strawberries were a good way to start! Apart from eating the just like that and putting them in my overnight oats, we knew we had to use them in more ways. Cupcakes seemed like a great option!


Ingredients for 12 Vanilla Cupcakes

  • 250 ml soy milk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
  • 175g wheat flour
  • 20g of cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 pack of vanilla sugar (or flavor)
  • 60g of sunflower oil
  • 150g of raw cane sugar

Ingredients for the topping:

  • 1 pack of vanilla flavored custard powder
  • 250ml of soy milk
  • 2 tablespoons of sugar (more if you like your butter cream sweeter)
  • 100g of margarine (I used Alsan)
  • 12 small strawberries (about the size of a hazelnut or a little bigger)
  • a handfull of strawberries of any size :)

Montag, 26. Mai 2014

A Simple + Healthy Breakfast: Overnight Oats

I also puréed a few strawberries and added
this strawberry sauce to the bottom of the jar.


Die deutsche Übersetzung findet ihr unter dem englischen Rezept!


Calling this a recipe is almost impudent... I saw a lot of overnight oats on the internet recently and decided to give it a go so I'd have a simple and healthy breakfast to make a Monday morning a bit nicer for myself and for people around me (those who got breakfast from me and those who didn't have to deal with a breakfast-free me). :)

Here is what I used for today's overnight oats:

Ingredients (per serving):

  • 70g of rolled oats
  • 200ml of oat milk (you can use any milk you like!)
  • 5 strawberries
  • 1 small banana
  • a handfull of chopped almonds
  • some rhubarb (half a small stick?)
  • 1 teaspoon of raw cane sugar



Montag, 19. Mai 2014

Curry Coconut Milk Potatoes with Spinach and Cauliflower

Yet another Tuesday work lunch! Monday nights are always a bit of a challenge because I want to cook something nice for my colleague and myself. Something that can easily be taken to work, heated up, and then eaten. And since my friend - unlike me - does not appreciate the taste of meat (and never has), I always want to make sure I make a wholesome, nice meal without making it seem like I'm just bringing side dishes. Curries and chilis are the obvious choice... and for today I did another curry based dish, but a little different from the green Thai curry or the regular tomato based curry. I have something similar every time we are at the Indian restaurant with my boyfriend's parents, ... except they put much more garlic in there. Which I like. But I don't really consider that a great idea for work lunches. So, if you eat this in the privacy of your home or do not care if your breath wreaks havoc on humanity: Don't forget to throw in as much garlic as you like!


Die deutsche Übersetzung findet ihr unter dem englischen Rezept!




Ingredients for 5-6 servings:

  • 1kg of potatoes
  • 1 cauliflower
  • 500g of spinach
  • 1l coconut milk
  • 3 onions
  • massaman curry paste
  • some coconut oil 
  • salt - if necessary. I didn't use any because I was happy with the salt content of my curry paste
  • optional: fresh garlic (preferably chopped finely and added to the pot along with the onions)


Banana Rhubarb Breakfast Muffins

I'm quite the fan of The Vegan Foodnerd on Facebook. I get tons of great inspiration there and have already tried a recipe or two from their posts. One of them was the ever-awesome (Oreo-free Oreo) Raspberry Cheesecake! Bow down to the makers of these recipes! :)

I have to admit that I had never baked or cooked with rhubarb before. But since I had a bunch of rhubarb in our organic farmer's veggie box last Friday, I had to conquer the art of rhubarb eating! The first piece went into a smoothie (along with bananas, an apple, and turnip tops), but I had to find good use for the rest! And The Vegan Foodnerd's recipe for breakfast muffins looked too good not to try it. I made a couple of changes to the recipe, though. Here is my version!

Die deutsche Übersetzung findet ihr unter dem englischen Rezept! 


Lots of <3 goes to camslinger.de for the picture.

Ingredients for 30 Breakfast Muffins:

  • 350g of wholemeal flour (I used half spelt, half wheat)
  • 1 1/2 table spoons of baking powder (1 pack)
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 140g vegan "butter"
  • 300g of unrefined sugar
  • a little bit of vanilla (flavor or the real deal)
  • 2 bananas
  • 3 medium stalks of fresh rhubarb
  • 350g of soy yoghurt

Samstag, 17. Mai 2014

Convenient Donuts

I rarely use convenience products and try to keep my cooking/baking on a level where I can make everything from scratch. Not this time. :) I had come across this advice online and decided I had to try it.

It turned out niiiice. :)

Die deutsche Übersetzung findet ihr unter dem englischen Rezept!





Ingredients:

  • one pack of store-bought portioned biscuit dough (the stuff that turns into biscuits/tiny rolls - check the ingredients! Many brands are vegan!)
  • powdered sugar + water (for the glaze)
  • optional: sprinkles, other decoration
You will need a deep-fryer (or a pot full of oil?) for this recipe.


Montag, 12. Mai 2014

Chili sin Carne con Cornbread!

English version below

Ich esse gerne Chili - und dieses Chili ist besonders. Mr. Squirrel und ich kochen es seit 2016 in Großportionen (2016: 25kg --> 2019: 65kg) für das Duisburger Charity Metal Festival Rage Against Racism. Da dort alle Einnahmen inklusive der Futterstände dem guten Zweck zu Gute kommen, darf man kein eigenes Essen mit reinnehmen. Das ist natürlich doof, wenn man vegan ist und es kein veganes Essen gibt. Aber jammern hilft da nicht, also haben wir angeboten, selbst welches zu machen. :)







Zutaten für das Chili:

  • 1 Dose Kidneybohnen
  • 1 Dose Mais
  • 2 Dosen (je ca. 400ml) gehackte Tomaten
  • 500ml passierte Tomaten
  • 2 mittelgroße Zwiebeln
  • 2 Knoblauchzehen
  • 1 rote Paprika
  • 2 Handvoll Sojagranulat
  • Salz
  • 100g Chipotle Chilis in Adobosauce (oder andere Chilis)
  • 30g dunkle Schokolade
  • 1 TL Zimt
  • ½ TL Kreuzkümmel
  • ein bisschen Olivenöl
  • optional: 100ml Kaffee

Zubereitung:

  • Zwiebeln schneiden. Die müssen nicht superfein sein, aber bitte keine Riesenklopser!
  • Ein paar Teelöffel Olivenöl in einem großen Topf erhitzen und die Zwiebeln darin anbraten.
  • Knoblauch schälen und hacken. Mit zu den Zwiebeln in den Topf geben und ein bisschen mitbraten.
  • Mit dem Kaffee ablöschen.
  • Passierte Tomaten und Tomatenstücke hinzugeben.
  • Chipotle Chilis kleinschneiden und in den Topf geben.
  • Schokolade einrühren bis sie aufgelöst ist.
  • Zimt und Kreuzkümmel dazu geben.
  • Sojagranulat hinzugeben.
  • Gut umrühren.
  • Etwa 10 Minuten köcheln lassen.
  • Mais und Bohnen abtropfen lassen und in den Topf geben.
  • Paprika klein schneiden und dazu geben.
  • Mit Salz abschmecken und ggf. noch mit Chilis nachwürzen.
  • FERTIG!

Corn Bread (Maisbrot)

Zutaten:


  • 270g Maismehl
  • 135g Weizenmehl
  • 2 Teelöffel Backpulver
  • 80g Sonnenblumenöl (oder Rapsöl)
  • 2 Esslöffel Ahornsirup (oder Agavendicksaft)
  • 500ml Sojamilch (oder andere Pflanzenmilch)
  • 2 Teelöffel Apfelessig
  • 2 Teelöffel Salz


  • Zubereitung:

    • Ofen auf 180°C/350°F vorheizen.
    • Eine 28cm (11 Zoll) Springform mit Backpapier auslegen.
    • In einer großen Schüssel Maismehl, Weizenmehl, Backpulver und Salz mischen.
    • In einer anderen Schüssel Sojamilch mit Essig mischen.
    • Rühren und ein paar Minuten stehen lassen.
    • Dann Öl und Sirup hinzugeben.
    • Gut verrühren.
    • Die nassen Zutaten in die trockenen schütten und rühren bis man einen schönen glatten Teig hat.
    • Den Teig in die Springform schütten.
    • 35 Minuten backen.
    • Mit einem Zahnstocher testen, ob das Cornbread gut ist: In die Mitte pieksen, wenn der Zahnstocher ohne klebrige Reste rauskommt, ist das Brot gut.
    • Heißes Brot in Rechtecke schneiden.
    • Warm mit dem Chili servieren.
    • Wenn man das Brot nicht auf einmal schafft (eher unwahrscheinlich ;)) in eine luftdichte Dose packen.
    • Guten Hunger!


    *****************************
    English version

    I like my chili and this chili is special. Since 2016, Mr. Squirrel and I have been making this for a local charity metal festival (Rage Against Racism in Duisburg) in large quantities (2016: 25kg/55lbs --> 2019: 65kg/145lbs). Since all proceeds (including money coming in from the food booths) of the festival go towards a good cause, you can't bring your own food. This particularly sucks when you're vegan and there's no vegan food. So we didn't complain for too long, but instead offered to make some instead :)




    (The recipe for the cornbread is below the chili recipe.)

    Chili sin Carne

    Ingredients for the chili:

    • 1 can of kidney beans
    • 1 can of corn
    • 2 cans (ca. 400ml each) of tomato chunks
    • 2 cloves of garlic
    • 500ml of puréed tomatoes
    • 2 medium sized onions
    • 1 red bell pepper
    • 2 hands full of soy granules
    • salt
    • 100g chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (or other chilis)
    • 30g of dark chocolate
    • a bit of olive oil
    • 1 tsp of cinnamon
    • 1½ tsp of cumin
    • optional: 100ml of coffee

    Instructions:

    • Chop the onions. It doesn't have to be superfine, just not huge chunks.
    • Heat up a few teaspoons of oil in a big pot and fry the onions for a bit.
    • Peel and chop garlic, add to pot. Fry along the onions for a little while.
    • Add the coffee to the pot.
    • Add the puréed tomatoes and the tomato chunks to the pot.
    • Cut up the chipotles as fine as you like. Add to pot.
    • Add the chocolate and stir until it dissolves.
    • Stirr in cinnamon and cumin.
    • Add soy granules.
    • Stir well.
    • Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
    • Drain the corn and beans, then add them to the pot.
    • Cut the bell pepper into small chunks and add them to the pot.
    • Season with salt, add more heat in terms of chilis, if desired! 
    • DONE!

    Cornbread

    Ingredients:

    • 270g of cornmeal
    • 135g of (regular) wheat flour
    • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
    • 80g of sunflower (or canola) oil
    • 2 tablespoons of maple (or agave) syrup 
    • 500ml of soy milk (or any other plant milk)
    • 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
    • 2 teaspoons of salt

    Instructions:

    • Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
    • Line a 28cm (11in) springform with parchment paper.
    • Mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt in a big bowl.
    • In another bowl, mix the soy milk and vinegar. 
    • Stirr and allow to sit for a few minutes.
    • After a few minutes, add oil and maple syrup.
    • Mix the wet ingredients well.
    • Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until you have a nice smooth batter.
    • Pour the batter into the springform.
    • Bake for 35 minutes.
    • Check if the cornbread is good by poking a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean, the cornbread is good!
    • Slice immediately with a sharp knife.
    • Serve warm with the chili!
    • You're probably not going to finish it all in one sitting, so keep the leftovers in an airtight container.
    • Enjoy!




    Freitag, 2. Mai 2014

    Bulgur Asparagus Salad with Walnuts


    Die DEUTSCHE ÜBERSETZUNG findet ihr unter dem englischen Rezept!

    Inspired by a non-vegan (and generally different) version of this recipe (which I found through buzzfeed! :)), I decided to make a vegan version for a birthday party that we'll attend this weekend. Asparagus season just kicked in, so what better thing to make than an asparagus salad?

    Ingredients:

    • 750-1000g green asparagus
    • 300g Bulgur (600ml water)
    • 150g Cashew Feta
    • 100g walnuts
    • 3-4 medium sized carrots
    • A hand full of fresh parsley
    • 80ml olive oil
    • 4 tablespoons mustard
    • 3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
    • 3 tablespoon lemon juice
    • 1 1/2 tsp salt
    • some freshly ground pepper