Meatless Monday - Jelly

Today's Meatless Monday food is Jelly.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm, Jelly! Or as we call it in Australia - Jam!

There is only one brand of jam that I will buy and its St Dalfour.

I love their jam and the range of flavours.

My favourite flavour is Four Fruits.... 

So that is what you'll find in today's recipe!

Chewy Walnut Jam Cookies

You'll need:

1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour

1/3 cup raw sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup walnuts

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup soymilk (or other plant milk of choice)
1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons ground flax seeds mixed with 2 Tablespoons water

1/2 cup jam (flavour of choice - I used four fruits)

Mix the flaxseeds with the water and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon. Mix well.

Crush the walnuts and add them to the dry mixture.

Make a well in the centre of the mixture and pour in the applesauce, soymilk, vanilla and flax seed mixture.

Gently stir until all ingredients are well combined.

Scoop large tablespoons full of the mixture and place onto a lined baking tray. Use the back of the spoon to make a well in the centre of each cookies.

Pour 1/2 teaspoon of jam into the centre of each cookie.

Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 15 minutes.

Allow to cool before eating as the jam will be bubbling hot.

Makes 14 large cookies

Question of the day:

Do you have a favourite flavour jam?

Easy DIY Cereal

Cereal's these days container many additives, and that's not even the cereal that people KNOW is bad for them!
Here's a great alternative to store-bought cereal. Yes I've used some sweetener - that way it's enjoyable, but with much less sugar than other cereals!

Its really tasty and easy to make.

You'll need:
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup golden syrup

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined. 
Spread onto lined baking trays (I used two).
Bake at 160C for 40 minutes stirring every ten minutes.

This doesn't end up as crunchy as granola and its not as moist.
It is definitely more like a 'cereal'.

Of course, you could always make this cereal without baking it - just omit the apple sauce and golden syrup. It just won't have quite the same flavour.

Meatless Monday - Instant Coffee

Today's Meatless Monday food is Instant Coffee.

 I have a confession to make....

I'm a coffee snob!

You see, I can't stand instant coffee! I like REAL coffee!

So I did have to buy a packet of instant coffee to complete this round of Meatless Monday!!!

I guess its handy to have some in the cupboard and when I saw this hazelnut flavoured one I definitely thought it was worth a try.

Now as for taste.... its tolerable, but NO I won't be giving up my espresso anytime soon to replace it with this ;-)

Mocha Mousse for one

150g soft silken tofu
1 teaspoon instant coffee dissolved in 1 Tablespoon boiling water
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons maple syrup

Combine all ingredients in a mini food process or blender. 
Blend til completely smooth.
Serve.

Can be eaten straight away or if left in the fridge for a few hours it will be even thicker.

I was pleasantly surprised how much the hazelnut flavour came through - definitely a winner! 
I might even try this instant coffee for drinking ;-)

In My Kitchen - August Alternatives

Welcome to another month of In My Kitchen!

Link your kitchen up on the Fig jam and lime cordial blog.

I'm very excited about this new cookbook that I purchased recently....

I'm yet to cook any recipes from it though! But it all looks super tasty. I love the pictures - there's something about flicking through a recipe book with pictures that soothes the soul - even if you never actually cook anything from it ;-)

It got me thinking about the actual "study" that took place when writing "The China Study". I wondered about how they crossed the language barrier going into rural villages.
 

As a veg*n it can sometimes feel like we have a language barrier when trying to dine out! It's often believed that we eat 'fish' or that frying things in butter is ok!

Yep - us veg*n's speak a different language.

Let me provide you with some insight..... 

and hopefully a few laughs ;-)

It's never actually cut 'steak' before!

Don't be fooled by the shape of this counting device.... It's never actually timed an egg ;-)

Although this masher is useful for potato, it's more frequently used to mash beans!

I'm sure by now you won't be surprised when I inform you that this 'cup' has never held an egg - its very handy for an afternoon nibble of dried fruit & nuts though.... if you want to make your nibbles portable try these butterfly snacks.

No prizes for guessing what this scoop has never actually scooped ;-)
Very handy for making equal size muffins and cookies.

Stay tuned for a great recipe that will mean you never miss eggs on toast again!

Lots of yummy burgers have been made using this press - no "hamburgers" though!

Great for crushing nuts to add to recipes!

This cutter has actually made its way through many pizzas, no cheese though. Its works amazingly well for cutting up dehydrator cookies (recipe coming soon)!

Do you have alternative names for your kitchen gadgets?

What's new in your kitchen this month?

WIAW - Choc-Hazel-Goji Granola

Welcome to WIAW

I haven't done a Wednesday post for some time, so enjoy today's one!
It comes with a super yummy breakfast recipe.

Today's eats:

Breakfast was the totally delicious granola recipe below - sure beats nutella on toast!

Lunch I made a quick salad with cooked wholemeal pasta, salad leaf mix, grated carrot, sun-dried tomatoes, chopped capsicum and spring onions - topped off with a big dollop of hummus. Quick, easy, delicious :-)
Dinner was roasted sweet potato with a mexican bean mix with capsicum, corn, tomatoes, zucchini, borolotti beans and mushrooms.

Now for the promised recipe:

Chocolate Hazelnut Goji-berry Granola

You'll need:
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup hazelnuts
1/4 cup pepitas
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 cup goji berries
1/4 cup raisins

Smash the hazelnuts by placing them in a zip-lock bag and beating with a meat-mallet until broken into little pieces.
In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, smashed hazelnuts, pepitas, cocoa powder & coconut. Stir well.
Pour in the apple sauce and brown rice syrup.
Stir until well combined & all the oats have been coated with the moist ingredients. It will look like it won't all combine but keep stirring and it eventually does.
Pour mixture onto a lined baking tray and spread evenly and as thin as possible.
Place in a preheated 160C oven.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes.
Remove tray from the oven & allow to cool.
Stir in the goji berries & raisins until evenly distributed.
Pour into an airtight container for storage.

Here's a picture-tip for how to easily transfer the granola into the storage container:

Because sometimes in life we need all the tips we can get right!!! ;-)


Here's another one then...... don't start nibbling on this before putting it in the container - its soooo good that you won't have much left to transfer otherwise!!!