Autumn, baking & banana bread...

Autumn is finally here! It's my absolute favourite season. I love the cosiness, the excitement of the lead up to winter, baked goods, halloween & no exams! 

Banana bread. My go-to autumn, heart warming recipe. Everyone loves it. It's moist & reasonably healthy but also filling, warm & makes you want to snuggle down under a quilt with a hot coco and watch a great movie. 

Want that cosy feeling inside? Bake this. 

Serves: 8-10     Prep Time: 10mins    Cooking time: 1 hour

2 cups plain flour
150g white sugar
110g brown sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup almond milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
4 very ripe mashed bananas
1/4 canola/ vegetable oil
1 tbsp maple syrup (can use 2 if want it sweeter)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:
1) Whisk milk & vinegar and leave aside for a few mins.
2) Mix dry ingredients together.
3) Mash the banana and add to the milk and vinegar.
4) Add the milk/vinegar/banana mixture to the dry ingredients (do not over mix, just enough for all ingredients to be combined!)

Pour into baking dish and cook for about an hour at 350F. Check regularly and use a skewer through the middle to see if it baked all the way through- when the skewer comes out clean, it is done. 

Variations:

1) For a chocolatey bread, add chocolate chips.
2) My personal fave: a fruity mixture, add dates and raisins. (about 250g chopped dates, soaked in boiling water until soft, then drained) 

As I said, this recipe is perfect for fall, especially after a nice long walk in the fresh autumn air! The whole family will enjoy and it goes perfectly with a nice warm cup of tea....enjoy!

Laura xoxo

No more faux meat burgers!

Today's recipe is a super easy 'burger'. They are called lentil croquettes and can be served with parsley sauce. Having been vegan for a year now, I've found my taste buds have changed a lot and that I actually don't want to eat faux 'burgers' made with ingredients that taste like meat because I actually no longer like the taste of meat (also it freaks me out when they taste too similar!)

Lentil Croquettes with Parsley Sauce

Serves: 4      Prep Time: 1hr     Cooking time: 5-7 mins

Ingredients:

225g red lentils

570ml water

1tsp oil

110g vegan cheese of choice

2 tbsp of peanut butter (optional to leave out for nut allergy sufferers, it will taste just as good!) 

50g fresh parsley

A few drops of lemon juice

1 tsp yeast extract

(For coasting): 75g fresh wholewheat breadcrumbs

(For Sauce): 200ml Rice milk or dairy free milk of your choice

                     1 tsp corn flour

                     1 tbsp fresh parsley

Directions:

1) Wash the lentils, then bring them to boil in water before adding a tsp of oil. (Leave simmering covered for 20 mins)

2) Turn down the heat and beat thoroughly until smooth

3) Mix in all other ingredients.

4) Shape them into burger like formations then coat with breadcrumbs.

5) Cool in the fridge for 30 mins before cooking for 5-7 mins. 

6) In the meantime, make the sauce by heating the rice milk, adding corn flour and fresh parsley until warm, smooth and mixed together. Take off heat and serve!

Can be served with new potatoes, sweet potatoes & lots of veggies for a great wholesome meal. Enjoy!

Laura xo

PS: I kept my promise...'Becoming a teenage vegan' blog coming in the next few days & a jolly good cookie recipe, stay tuned...until then, enjoy the Olympics! Go Team GB!

Aubergines & an apology

First of all I want to start with an apology for my extended absence. I have a tendency to take on too many projects at once and leave them all unfinished so I needed a little prompt to remind me to return to my blog. In the meantime, however, I have been documenting the recipes for all of the dishes I try out so to make up for leaving my blog to get all dusty, I will be posting a new recipe every day for the next 7 days. And if I don't, come and hunt me down on instagram at @teenlauravegan and give me a good telling off!
Aubergines. They are one of my most favourite foods. They taste great in all recipes as they are almost 95% water so tend to take the flavour of whatever dish you are cooking. Not to mention they are incredibly good for you as they are low in saturated fat and cholesterol but provide a great source of Vitamins K, B6, Thiamin and Potassium, as well as dietary fiber. Check, check, check.
Today's recipe is called Aubergines Parmesan. I have made it about 5 times now and loved it more every time I do. It gets bonus points for being approved (and enjoyed!) by my non-vegan father! 
Recipe: Aubergines Parmesan


Serves: 4     Prep time: 30 mins      Cooking time: 20 mins followed by a further 10-15 mins


Ingredients:
150ml oil (olive oil will work although hemp seed oil is much healthier so I tend to use that!)
1 onion, peeled & finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
800g tin of tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree (or ketchup!)
2tsp fresh chopped basil 
A bit of salt & freshly ground black pepper
550g of Aubergines
225g vegan cheese (mozzarella/ cheddar style will work but mozzarella melts the best!)
Optional: 3tbsp vegan parmesan/other cheese for the topping


Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 4/350F/180C)
2) Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a saucepan & fry chopped onion and crushed garlic for 5-7 mins.
3) Add tomatoes, puree, basil, salt and pepper- allow this to simmer for about 30 mins with a lid on, stirring occasionally)
4) Wash aubergines and cut into slices
5) Lightly salt and leave for 20 minsrinse, dry and put in a frying pan until soft and lightly browned (alternatively if using an AGA, you can just place them on the plate until brown on both sides without worrying about salting them)
6) Oil a dish to cook in and start layering. Put the tomato sauce in first, then the browned aubergines, followed by grated cheese of your choice. Repeat until dish is full & then top with parmesan/other cheese if desired.
7) Put foil over dish and cook in oven for 20 mins. Then uncover dish and return to oven for 10-15 mins to allow the cheese to brown and melt. 

I hope you enjoy this recipe, it's become a family favourite over here and can be served with quinoa, tagliatelle, vegetables...there are no limits! 

I'll see you all tomorrow for another post...
Laura xo

Traditional English Afternoon Tea

This weekend it was my brother's birthday and we had all the family round. The sun was shining and the oven was calling for me to bake some vegan goodies for everyone to try: income the scones...

These scones are super easy to make and as they are basically just sweet dough, you can add any toppings to suit individual taste buds- they were a huge hit!

Recipe:

225g self-raising flour

pinch of salt

55g butter (I used pure)

25g caster sugar

150ml rice milk (of course soya, almond milk etc would be fine also)

Serve with:

400g fresh strawberries

clotted or whipped vegan creme (tried to whip alpro soya single cream and had cream difficulty so ended up just buying soy whip- if anyone knows how to make vegan cream into whipped cream please tell me!)

Strawberry Jam (or jam of your choice!)

All you have to do is: 

1) Preheat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas7 and lightly grease a baking sheet.

2) Mix together the flour and the salt and rub in the butter to form breadcrumbs.

3) Then stir in the sugar and add the milk bit by bit until a soft dough forms.

4) Place dough on a floured surface (dough is sticky!) and knead gently.

5) Roll out dough to about 2cm and use a 5cm cutter to shape them.

6) Use a pastry brush to lightly cover each scone with a bit of rice (or alternatives) milk.

7) Bake for 12-15 minutes until well risen and golden (cut the strawberries and prepare the cream whilst they are cooking!) 

Then...enjoy! 

CAUTION: Always remember, jam goes on the scones before the clotted/whipped cream...I have lived in England all my life and watched the tragic mess which occurs when cream goes on before jam! 

Have a great weekend everyone and let me know how your scones turn out!

The awkward: 'We are trying to eat but have to smile' photo.

PS: Credit due to 'Vegetarian Living' for the fabulous recipe...I recommend any vegetarians or vegans to subscribe to their magazine...it's a life saver! 

Blissful Brownies!

Yesterday was my best friend's birthday and I wanted to make her some brownies as they have always been her favourite treat. However her family are pretty big meat eaters and although she is a pescetarian and supportive of my diet, she is not the biggest fan of veganism. Therefore I was faced with a dilemma, how do I make vegan brownies taste like normal brownies? Bring it on. 
I looked everywhere for a decent recipe and as always, the hardest thing for me is finding an English recipe that doesn't use applesauce or cup measurements as in England, those things are not in abundance as they are in America. It took a while but I found it...the holy grail of brownie recipes. Seriously. 


Recipe: 
340g self raising flour
4tbsp cocoa
A good pinch of salt
340g golden caster sugar
1tbsp golden syrup 
150ml sunflower oil (I did not have this and broke the rules using Olive Oil but could not notice a difference!)460ml soya milk
2 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

Decoration: 

80g vegan chocolate (chopped into large chunks) or dairy free chocolate chips (if you can find them)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 190c and grease your brownie pan.
2. Sift the flour and cocoa together into a bowl.
3. Add the salt and sugar then stir to mix through.
4. Pour in the vanilla extract, golden syrup and half of the oil, stir slowly until thick and lumpy.
5. Add the milk and the remainder of the oil and beat to combine.
6. Pour into your brownie tin before placing pieces of the vegan chocolate into the mixture for decoration and taste.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30mins. Test with a skewer to see if they're cooked through.8. Leave to cool for a while before slicing into squares.


I cannot take credit for this recipe, the original is on this website: http://www.athriftymrs.com/2012/02/easy-vegan-brownies.html

I use an AGA cooker and they took no longer than 25 minutes. I then left them to cool for a good 15 minutes to make sure they absolutely did not fall apart! 
The brownies turned out crunchy on the outside with a moist and rich chocolate centre and lovely nibs of chocolate chips to spice them up a bit! They were heavenly. The real tester was feeding them to my friend's meat-loving brother- he did not even realise they were vegan...score! Honestly, the recipe made about 30 brownies and within about 2 hours of being baked, they were all gone and the requests for more were pouring in! 

So why not break out the chocolate and apron and get baking. You could serve them with soya cream and strawberrries for the perfect afternoon snack or indulgent dessert! (BONUS: Calories are only around 185 per brownie using Olive Oil so they are almost guilt free as well!) 

Have a fabulous Easter weekend and let me know how the brownies go down with all of your families! 

Pancake Pandemonium!

Cooking on the AGA...they are done quickly so move fast!

PANCAKE DAY!
Everyone loves pancake day. How could you not? It is the perfect opportunity to stuff our faces with sweet, sugary goodness without our motives being questioned...wonderful. 
This was my first 'Shrove Tuesday' as a vegan and being at school and surrounded by people eating pancakes and shoving it in my face that I can't (Bitter? Me? Not at all) I knew I had to figure out a recipe to make my own. I looked up a few recipes and found it was surprisingly simple to make vegan pancakes. In the end, I chose a recipe from one of my favourite vegan cook books: 'Vegan with a vengeance' by Isa Chandra Moscowitz. 

They do fall apart slightly more easily but taste just as good!

First of all, here is the recipe and directions:
1 1/4cup all-purpose flour
2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt 
1tsp cinnamon (You could also use coconut)
2T canola oil (any cooking/vegetable oil will work)
1/3cup water
1 1/4cup soy milk (I used Kallo) 
1tsp vanilla extract


1. Oil a large skillet and preheat over medium-high heat about two minutes.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in one bowl. In a separate bowl combine all other ingredients.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry until just combined. Do not overmix or the pancakes will be tough (a couple lumps are okay).
4. Cook pancakes until browned on the bottom and bubbles form on top, about four minutes. Turn over and cook until the bottoms are browned and barely firm to the touch. Add more oil as needed.

The first pancake...always looks a little strange!

I found this recipe so easy to use and the pancakes tasted gorgeous. Using the ingredients given, it makes 7 pancakes so adjust the amount you need accordingly. The cinnamon was definitely worth putting in although I think it would also be tasty with coconut (she has a seperate recipe for coconut pancakes if you prefer!) They are slightly harder to flip than normal pancakes so be careful not to break them although I personally think that, broken or not, a pancake is a pancake and it will taste just as good! A final word of warning is that you do need a reasonable about of oil on the pan before cooking because they become sticky FAST and you do not want burnt pancakes because you cannot unstick them from the pan to flip them.

Plus, remember...the first one never goes right so don't be disheartened...practice makes perfect (or makes us fat...either one)

Toppings wise (the best bit) I personally love the classics...sugar and lemon or maple syrup but I dared to be a little more adventurous, just for you guys, and tried out chocolate spread...YUM. My mother had brought me some dark chocolate spread and I was super keen to test it. It was fantastic, very dark and slightly bitter but you could still taste the milkiness. It was the perfect combination with the sweet pancakes. Here are a few more photos to make your mouth water...

Stawberries and chocolate

I could eat this with a spoon and...nope, just a spoon will do...

Just a side note that if you want to buy the chocolate spread, it is called 'whole earth dark chocolate spread' and I also used maple syrup called 'Sweet Freedom natural syrup'...sinful but sensational!

I hope you all had a wonderful pancake day...now go on, make all those non-vegans jealous!

Plus, my cope of 'Skinny Bitch' arrived today...will do a review of it later, so excited to read it!

I apologise if the posts are a bit delayed, it is time for mock exams once again so sadly there is more studying, less cooking but see you all soon!

Happy pancake flipping...:)

The most wonderful time of the day...:)

Breakfast. Love it or hate it? 
Most of the population skip breakfast, as I used to, simply because they don't have time or energy, or don't like breakfast foods and believe it is one less meal each day and therefore the key to weight loss. WRONG. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I was lucky that my mother made sure that was ingrained in my brain from a very young age; she always told me that my brain would not start working until I had eaten my breakfast and now that I am older I know that your metabolism also slows down without breakfast because your body goes into starvation mode after 8 or so hours of not eating (because you are sleeping!) which actually promotes weight gain. However since becoming a vegan, I have grown to LOVE breakfast. I am a fruit fanatic and I have found so many ways to get my portions of fruits into my breakfast each morning. Now I tend to wake up an hour earlier than I used to, have a shower and get ready then settle down and have breakfast slowly. It is so relaxing and peaceful, gosh, I just love it! 
Anyway so here are a few of the dishes I have been trying out- bear in mind I am a student at school and cooking crazy, complicated things in the morning is just not feasible so these are quick, easy but healthy dishes!

With cooked fruit

First up...porridge oats and berries! This is super quick and easy:
1) Buy any porridge oats (the microwave ones tend to have milk in them, like quakers, so steer clear of those!)
2) Boil the kettle then add boiling water to the porridge oats until they are soft and cooked
3) Add some cold soya milk, as much as you like- depending on how creamy you like your porridge
4) Decorate! Add fresh fruit, dried fruit, chocolate, honey...whatever tickles your taste buds! 
The great thing about porridge is that whilst being really healthy, it never gets boring because you can vary what you put in it so much. Plus, it will keep you full until lunchtime because it has great fibre and carbohydrates, although calories are relatively low, especially compared to sugary breakfast cereals! 
Tip: If cooking with fresh fruit, add it before the hot water so they cook a bit too, they taste much nicer!

Porridge with added strawberries and blueberries

Next on my favourite, quick breakfast dishes is Weetabix chocolate minis/crisp! These ones are a bit of a naughty breakfast but then again, as my mum says, if Weetabix minis are the naughtiest your breakfast gets, you must be pretty damn healthy! Alright so I cannot express my love for these enough. They are HEAVEN IN A BOWL. I love them with cold soya milk and blueberries best but any combination will work, even them on their own or with hot milk for some people! They do not go horribly soggy and fall apart but they do absorb the milk in a way which makes them taste divine. I like to put my milk in first and then add the Weetabix. The one complaint people may have is the amount of calories. They are a cereal so the calories are high and 40g is never enough. However they contain lots of essential vitamins and iron which is so important for vegans and it will keep you full all day so having a 500 calorie breakfast with all those benefits is really a no brainer! 

Heavenly Weetabix minis and blueberries

However for some people the best option in the morning might just be fruit. If you are really not a breakfast type of person and all you can manage is some fruit in the morning then something is always better than nothing at all! Plus, fruit can be delicious and healthy. My personal favourites are strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and persimmons (if you have never tried them...do so...NOW) However as these are all seasonal fruits, they can get expensive and so a good old banana or apple slices can go a long way in the morning. 
If you are just sticking to fruit in the morning, why not try a smoothie? I will be posting more about that later, or maybe even adding a yogurt. Adding a soya yogurt (Alpro soya do some fantastic fruit yogurts and low fat plain or vanilla ones for those watching weight) will give you protein, vitamins and calcium which are all essential nutrients in your diet. 
I hope this post makes you want to at least give breakfast a try and that it's shown you breakfast can be low calorie, simple, filling and super tasty with very little effort required! So wake up and have breakfast...it's going to be a great day!

Some of my favourite fruits...yummy...