Sunny Salad

A sunny salad on a sunny day..tis a lovely lunch time for me..

and for a fairy..

and then we shared some tea!..

a herbal blend of chamomile, lemon balm, rose petals, lavender, rosemary, and a few more mystical mixes made by the hands of delicate fairies to bring calmness and love into our bellies.

Perfect for a warm Spring's day after a light and lovely lunch.

Hope you've all enjoyed the sunshine too.

x

Cakes for Fundraiser

Another great excuse to make lots of cakes! These were made for the Sharrow Lantern Fundraiser in Sheffield.

I made a chocolate and banana cake, apricot and almond cake, and some lemon and poppy seed buns..

Chocolate and banana cake

2 and 1/2 cups wholemeal self raising flour

1tsp baking powder

8tbsp marg

3 ripe bananas 

2tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup soya milk

pinch of salt

In a bowl mix together flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt. In a seperate bowl beat the marg and sugar until light and fluffy. Transfer this to the flour mix then add the soya milk and mashed bananas. Mix until all combined.

Transfer to a greased cake tin and bake for 40mins at 180oC.

This cake would have been really nice with some cranberries and macadamia nuts mixed in too, or maybe brazil nuts!

Apricot and Almond Cake

2 and 1/2 cups wholemeal self raising flour

1 cup dried apricots, chopped

1 cup almonds, grated to a ground powder

8tbsp marg

1/2 cup soya milk

1/2 cup brown sugar

1tsp nutmeg (or cinnamon)

1/2 tsp baking powder

Use the same method as the choc and narna cake. I like to soak the apricots for a while before hand so there nice and soft in the cake. 

Bake for 25-30mins at 180oC

Walnuts would be quite nice added to this cake too, and some juicy sultanas or currants..and ginger!

Lemon and Poppyseed buns

3 cups gluten free flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1tsp baking soda

1tsp salt

2 cups water

3 tbsp agave syrup

2tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

some grated lemon zest

1/4 cup poppyseeds

Mix together dry ingredients, then add the wet. Mix well, then add poppyseeds. 

Pour mixture into bun cases and bake for 25-30mins.

Think cardamom would go really nice in this mix, and banana too..maybe a banana and cardamom icing?!

These little poppets were my favourite, they came out nice and light and fluffy and compact, the gluten free flour has a lovely sweet taste to it (you can buy it in most health food shops and supermarkets, this is the one I used..http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doves-Farm-Gluten-White-Bread/dp/B006MVULLO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1332778942&sr=8-2 )   

I made some for the fairies too..

After all that cake making and after being so good at not eating any of them (only a tiny bun I shared with a friendly fairy) I treat myself to a slice of my housemates homemade chocolate and carrot cake. Yum..yum..YUM!

x

The fundraising evening was a lovely one filled with folky sounds, and was nice to see some friendly faces, who hopefully enjoyed the cakes.

The Sharrow Lantern Carnival is this coming Sunday 1st April and starting at 7.30 at Mount Pleasant Park..http://www.facebook.com/events/409672405714949/

Squirrels and Rabbits...

..make tasty biscuits!

One heart for Nan

One heart for Mam

Here's how I made the first batch:

1 1/2 cups rice flour

1 cup oatmeal

8tbsp soya marg

6 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 tsp nutmeg

Handful of chopped hazelnuts

In a small pan melt the marg and sugar. In a bowl sift the rice flour, oatmeal, spices and nuts, then add the melted marg and sugar. Mix until a well combined dough has formed.

Take small balls of the dough and roll out onto a clean, floured surface, and make whatever shapes you like with them..I made squirrels and rabbits.

Transfer your doughy shapes onto a greased/foiled baking tray and pop in the oven for 15mins at 160/70oC

Then leave to cool on a cooling rack.

The second batch I made the same way but instead of brown sugar I used dark muscavado sugar, and instead of cinnamon and nutmeg I used ginger..to make ginger nuts!

I also made a jammy flower biscuit too!

Shroom for lunch

A huuuge shroom for lunch!

Plonked on a bed of spinach and beans, topped with a black bean hummusy type dip (i used black beans instead of chickpeas..cos i had no chickpeas in me cupboard) and to go on the side..grated carrot and beetroot with fresh ginger and walnuts..

Then I had a munch on a date slice topped with banana (shall put the recipe up soon) and finally devoured the lovely biscuit from Kiri, it was too pretty to eat..but went down nicely with a brew...

Biscuit

Edinburgh

Tis full of friendly folk, even as the wind blows cold at the edge of the castle..as we walked along the cobbledy streets we came across some wee little scotty teds..who were so kind enough as to offer us some tea to warm our cockles for our walks ahead..

As the tea warmed our tums, we walked along the streets, as the sun began to shine and the wind began to calm.

We peered into alleyways and admired the lovely stone houses and buildings..

Moss on brick..

hidden graff..

and strange beautiful sculptures found..

..in a warm place where we rested..for more tea.

In the parks we walked and saw rabbits and squirrels..who were eager for my nuts..

We heard tales of the Picts, the first people of Scottish History, who created symbols on stone and pebble..''Carved in a time when people were more free to listen to their senses and intuition, they were more aware of the connectedness between all living things and the patterns of nature.''

I left Edinburgh with a Pictish Pebble in hand, and a wee warm feeling inside.

x

Carrots..

I had some left over..so I popped em in a cake...

Ingredients:

2 cups spelt flour

2 grated carrots

some chopped apricots

some chopped almonds

8 tbsp soya marg

1/2 cup soya milk

1 cup date syrup

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

some fresh ginger - cut into tiny squares

pinch of salt

Melt the marg in a pan and stir in the date syrup.

In a seperate bowl mix together spelt flour and spices, then add the marg, carrots, apricots, almonds and fresh ginger, mix together until all combined.

Then I topped the cake with a creamy tofu topping..

The topping didn't come out quite as thick as what i'd hoped, should have probably added some cashews and banana to thicken it up a bit..good idea for another topping though..and it still tasted nice.

I made the topping by blending together silken tofu, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 3 tbsp icing sugar and a vanilla pod..goes really well with the spicy cakeyness.

I enjoyed a slice yesterday eve with a cup of rooibus and vanilla..

x

Butternutty Squashy

After late afty munching on chocolate rice cakes..

...this little recipe popped into my chocolate charged brain..

1 Butternut squash

1 cup brown rice

1 cup chopped cashews

1/2 cup dessicated coconut

1 tsp tumeric

2 tsp lemon juice

handful of pumpkin seeds

and a sprinkle of salt and fresh coriander

Cook rice..

 Peel skin of squash and chop into cubes, cover with boiling water and bring to boil, stirring, for 10mins, when just soft, mash, and add a tsp of veg/soya marg..

Then, in a large bowl combine rice and squash, then add in rest of ingredients.

Tis a really nice creamy nutty orange creation..bringing a smile from the colours and the taste..delicate on the tummy too. Would have maybe been nice to add a little orange juice!

x