soup and cake

Saturday lunch time in the Rude Shipyard in Sheffield. A humble little inn just off London Road in Sheffield. Filled with books, blankets, cosy sofas and musical instruments. The food there is delish! They serve a wide variety of vegan food but they also serve meat dishes too..which my mum was very happy about..her eyes lit up when she saw fresh lamb burgers on the menu! Didn't go down my belly though, I went for...

..spicy roasted tomato soup with wholegrain bread and wholesome hummus..

me and mum also shared a red cabbage salad with apple.

Then after a couple of hours we'd worked up an appetite (after a bit of vintage scowering) for something sweet, so we ventured into the Blue Moon cafe, just by the Cathedral in the city centre for some cake and warm tea. Mum had carrot and walnut, and I went for a peanut butter blondie, which was soooooo gooooood!! with a fruity raspberry tea.

Fruity and nutty :)

Peppy Peppermint

Feeling bloated and quite tired after at late evening meal last night, I started the morning with a warm cup of peppermint tea to pepp me up for the day..

...and had a morning of little melodies on the keyboard too.

I didn't fall, I flew

Baking for Fundraising

These cakes and sweets were made for a fundraiser which took place last night at a cafe called New Roots in Sheffield. The fundraiser was to raise money for Syrian refugees and all the proceeds were to go to the NGO Human Appeal International to aid Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.

The buffet was to include a selection of Mediterranean cuisine including a wide variety of starters, main courses such as moussaka, stuffed peppers, butter bean curry, vegetable rice and a selection of desserts.

I was delighted that I'd been asked to make the desserts for the buffet and couldn't wait to get started!

Here's what I made..

dates stuffed with almonds and coated in a light fruit syrup and dessicated coconut.

This was my first attempt at these and they were easy peasy and tasted amazing..I think they look quite pretty too..

date, banana and polenta loaf sprinkled with coconut..wheat free..smells lovely when its baking!

apricot and pumpkin seed flapjack/crumble slices..i had to try so hard not to have a wedge of this when it was cooked!

i also grated some almonds on top of the apricot jam

 and the topping was filled with nuts, raisins and dried banana and coconut flakes

lemon and poppy seed polenta buns, sprinkled with cardamom and agave syrup

i used soya milk and a bit of soya yoghurt to make sure the mix didn't crumble when cooked..and I also used a vanilla pod for the first time..they smell so good!!

no buns..

buns! :)

This was my first attempt at these buns and I'll definitely be making them again, they make a nice little treat and look lovely in the cases..perfect for a gift too.

I also made a dip with the rest of the soya yoghurt I had left, I added mint and crushed cumin seeds to make a tasty and cooling dip for the curries..

And here are some photos of the night...

lovely smiley lady!

It was such a lovely evening, the food was absolutely amaaazing!! The best food I've eaten in a while and some of the best food I've ever eaten. I went back for threeses is was that good. I thought I'd be too stuffed for dessert but I sampled a little of the polenta bread and the flapjack, which was pretty good too, and it was nice to see people enjoying it. Everything was vegan and there was no alcohol. It was a nice peaceful evening filled with beautiful people and beautiful food.

I hope there will be more events like this in New Roots in the future..which I'm sure there will be after this evening.

Oh, and I even got to take some home..yipeee!

x

morning porridge 12.1.12

It was still dark when I awoke this morning, it was early and dark and cold.

I drew open the curtains to a darkened purple growing to a lighter blue, then lighter still to pinks and deep yellows.

It was still dark when I was making my porridge. I made it with rice milk, sprinkled with cinnamon and topped with brazil nuts and raisins..

I went back into the room with my bowl of warm porridge and caught the rest of the sunrise as I sat in the chair, slowly awakening and warming with a hearty bowl of grubby goodness.

Fairy soup 16.1.12

Today I had lunch in the fairy cabin, they served me warm pumpkin soup with hearty, wholesome bread.

The warming fire was crackling away behind me as I scrawled away in my notebook..

That is all that needs to be said.

x

Another nutty roast..

This one didn't go as well as my first attempt, it didn't combine well enough for some reason, but it still tasted great with a nice helping of gravy. A lovely hearty meal on a cold winters eve, i like to have mine with parsnips :)

The recipe is the same as the one further down the page, but I added mushrooms and walnuts and sprinkled with oats before I popped it in the oven.

Soupity soup!

A lazy afternoon lunch of a warming tomato and roasted red pepper soup, with wholemeal bread and home made hummus.

and I ate lunch in my tiara today..just because I can..

x

Date and carrot cake..

...with more bananas!..

Ingredients:

2 cups wholemeal self raising flour

1tsp baking powder

1tsp bicarb of soda

pinch of salt

1 and 1/4 cup of dates

1 cup raisins

1/4cup of water

1tsp cinnamon

1tsp ginger

1/2 cup grated carrot

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup date syrup

3 ripe bananas, mashed

Mix together flour, baking powder, bicarb of soda, spices and salt and set aside.

Put the water in a small pan, bring to the boil and add the dates, simmer for 5mins. Then mix the liquid with the mashed bananas, add to dry ingredients then add the grated carrot and date syrup, mix well until all combined.

Pour into a well greased cake tin and bake in the oven at 170oC for 35-40mins.

Leave cake to cool once cooked then cover with your topping of choice.

I chose a chocolatey one but I reckon a cream (non-dairy) cheese topping would go nice with this cake.

Topping:

1 cup icing sugar

1 cup non dairy spread

1/2 cup cocoa powder

Beat the marg in a bowl, then siv in the icing sugar and cocoa powder, mix well and then spread over cake.

Delish!

x

Festive cards and gifts

The first Broc brought alive by the wonderful Miss Kann..Christmas Broc dude!

Tea and truffles for friends..

..and some cake.

Tea and truffles and cake for mum..

..and a card from the angels..

x

Date, banana and rum loaf

Finally got half way through the huge bag of bananas I bought from the market last Friday for only a pound! They've so far made two cakes and been used in my muselis/porridge in a morning. I used four of them to make this loaf which I've never made before..was quite excited to give it a go, and it turned out oreet!..

Ingredients:

1 and a half cup of dates

3 ripe bananas

1 cup walnuts (or pecans)

1 cup currants and sultanas

2 cups fine cornmeal (polenta)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

3 tbsp dessicated coconut

1 tsp baking powder

3tbsp dark rum

1 banana (small and chopped) to decorate

Method:

Preheat oven to 180oC.

Chop and de-stone dates, put in a small pan with boiling water to cover and simmer for 5mins. Drain the liquid into a jug. Mash the bananas and mix with the date liquid.

In a separate bowl add the cornmeal, baking powder, spices, nuts and currants and sultanas, then add the date puree and rum, stir until combined.

Add the banana and date liquid and mix well. Pour into a well greased loaf tin and decorate with chopped banana.

Bake for 40-50 mins.

Still got quite a handful of bananas left so there'll be another cake in the mix soon :)