Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Chocolate Okara Pie

For those of you who make your own motherless milk, it can often be quite a dilemma what to do with all the leftover pulp. It seems wasteful to throw it away, and yet it isn't always the easiest thing to find uses for, especially if you go through a lot of milk in your home.
Here's a great way to use up some of that pulp.
I have only tried this pie with okara (soy milk pulp) but I see no reason why it wouldn't work with other plant-based milk pulps.

Chocolate Okara Pie

Crust:
1 cup oat flour/bran
1/2 cup okara
1/2 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon baking powder

Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times until combined. Mixture will be a wet crumble. 
Press into a 20cm pie dish, making sure to press some of the mixture up onto the sides.
Bake for 12-15 minutes in a preheated 180C oven.


Pie filling:
1/2 cup okara
1 cup motherless milk of choice
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup coconut sugar (or other dry sweetener of choice)
1/4 cup cornflour
2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine all the pie filling ingredients in a food processor or blender and mix until smooth.
Pour mixture over the baked pie crust.
Cook at 160C for 1 hour. Remove from oven.
The mixture will be slightly wobbly.
Allow to cool prior to slicing.
The mixture will thicken upon cooling.

Serve with frozen berries of choice.



Question of the day:
Do you make your own plant-based milk? If so, what do you do with the pulp?

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Kale, Quinoa & Falafel Salad

Have you seen mini kale in your supermarket or farmers market lately?
I have found these little kales in Coles, and not only are they super cute, but they are really delicious too. 
They don't have the same grassy taste that regular kale does. They have a subtle sweetness to them.
We have been enjoying them the last few months.


They are called "kalettes" and Coles has described them as a combination of kale and brussels sprouts with a nutty flavour.

I think that is a very good description.

Here's a quick and easy way to add them to a eye-pleasing salad:


KALE, QUINOA & FALAFEL SALAD
You'll need:
1 cup quinoa
1 punnet of kalettes
Approx 20 pre-cooked falafels
1 red capsicum


Dressing:

1 can chickpeas, drained
1 Tablespoon sweet chili sauce
2 Tablespoons soft tofu
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Place the quinoa in a microwave safe dish with 2 cups of water. Place a lid on and cook in the microwave for 12 minutes or until quinoa is clear and cooked through.
Allow to cool slightly.
Remove the woody ends from the kalettes and steam for 3-4 minutes.
Slice the capsicum.
Combine all the above in a salad bowl along with the falafels.
You can make your own falafels, or use packet ones. (Click on this link to see my preferred packet brand.)
To make the dressing, simply combine all the ingredients in a blender with 2-3 Tablespoons of water and blend til smooth. You can add more water if you prefer a thinner sauce.
Pour over the salad.

Can be served warm or cold.

*You can use regular kale if you can't find kalettes. Just steam and chop into rough pieces.



Question of the day:
Have you seen kalettes in the shop?

Thursday, July 23, 2015

"Sausage-less" Rolls

Life has been very busy for me lately - this is reflected in my lack of posts! 
I hope to be more motivated soon and share all the drafts that I have lined up waiting to be published. 

These "sausage" rolls were inspiration enough to get me started back at it again. They are super easy to make and they are very delicious. 

"SAUSAGE-LESS" ROLLS

To make 4 rolls you'll need:
2 tins lentils
1 Tablespoon each: nutritional yeast, onion flakes, soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon each: ground garlic, sage powder, liquid smoke and molasses
8 sheets filo pastry

Drain the lentils and combine them in a bowl with all the other ingredients except for the pastry.
Mash until the lentils have crumbled and the mixture resembles mince. 
Place a quarter of the mixture onto the side-middle of 2 sheets of filo pastry. 
Fold the side of the filo pastry in, then fold the edges up and roll until you reach the end of the pastry.
Repeat for the other 3 rolls.
Place on a lined baking tray and brush the tops with soymilk.
Bake in a 180C oven for 20 minutes until golden brown.



Best served while still hot from the oven.