Easy Pancakes

There's endless ways to make pancakes! Here's a quick & easy recipe that uses basic ingredients and doesn't require flour.

                          EASY BLUEBERRY PANCAKES
                                  To serve ONE - 4 small pancakes

          1/3 cup rolled oats
          1 generously heaped Tablespoon ground flax seeds
          1 small overripe banana
          1/3 cup soymilk
          1/8 teaspoon each vanilla essence, ground cinnamon
          2 Tablespoons blueberries (optional)

In a food processor combine the oats, flax, banana, soymilk, vanilla and cinnamon. Pulse several times until the mixture comes together but is not completely broken down.
Stir through the blueberries if you're using them.
Heat a non-stick frying pan, then reduce to medium heat. Pour the batter into the frying pan in quarter lots to make 4 small pancakes. As the pancakes begins to bubble around the sides, flip and allow the other side to cook until golden brown.

Serve with toppings of choice - shown with soy yogurt & raspberries.

NOTE: For pancakes that have a lower calorie density you can replace the soymilk with water.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:
What's your favourite topping for pancakes?

Flourless Sweet Potato Waffles

My potato waffles have been a huge hit amongst the plant based community. They make a great bread replacement for burgers!
But today I bring you a sweet potato waffle that works fantastic as a sweet breakfast treat!
And honestly who wouldn't want a breakfast like this?!?!?

FLOURLESS SWEET POTATO WAFFLES

(To serve 1)

               1 small sweet potato
               1 heaped tablespoon ground flax seeds
               1/4 cup boiling water
               small drop of vanilla essence
               1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

 
Preheat your waffle iron.

Place the sweet potato in a microwave and cook for approx 5-6 mins until inside is tender. Note that time will vary in different microwaves. If you don't have a microwave you can cook the sweet potato in the oven. But I don't recommend boiling the sweet potato over a stove top as the consistency will end up different.
Whilst the sweet potato is cooking, prepare the flax mixture. Pour the boiling water over the ground flax seeds and whisk with a fork til thickens. Allow to sit for a few mins.
Remove the sweet potato flesh from the skin, discard the skin & mash the flesh into the flax mixture. Add vanilla & cinnamon, stir until completed combined. The mixture will be quite sticky.
Pour the mixture into the waffle iron & cook on medium for 8-10 mins. You can cook on a higher heat if you'd rather, but the waffle will come out darker. Don't lift the lid while it's cooking or this will pull the waffle apart. It needs to be fully cooked before the lid is lifted. You can wait longer, up to about 15mins on a lower setting and it will be fine. If you are in doubt, they are better to be left a little longer, not shorter!

When your waffle is done, remove & serve with desired toppings!
Shown here with homemade soy yogurt, banana, raspberries & walnuts:

QUESTION OF THE DAY:
Have you experimented with other types of waffles in your waffle iron instead of just flour-based mixtures?

Chocolate Caramel Date Tart

Now I'm not going to pretend that this is everyday kind of food...... But if you're looking for a special occasion treat then I highly recommend giving this tart a try. It's deliciously sweet without added sugar. It's filling is so smooth and it will give you a great chocolate hit. We served this in place of birthday cake and it was a huge hit!  

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL DATE TART

(Serves 10-12)

                You'll need:
                BASE
                1/2 cup raw hazelnuts
                2 Tablespoons ground flax seeds
                1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
                4 pitted medjool dates
                2 Tablespoon motherless milk of choice

                FILLING
                1 1/2 cups pitted medjool dates 
                1/4 cup motherless milk of choice
                1 teaspoon vanilla essence

                TOPPING
                100g bar of dairy-free dark chocolate (I use Lindt 70-85%)
                100ml motherless milk of choice
                1 teaspoon vanilla essence 


Soak the dates for the filling in a bowl of boiling water for 10-15 minutes while you prepare the base.
Put all the ingredients for the base into a food processor and pulse until the mixture comes together. It will be a bit sticky - that's ok! Press the mixture into a glass 20cm pie dish. You can use another pie dish if you'd like, but I find that the mixture doesn't stick to the glass ones and therefore I don't need to use oil or line it. Place in the freezer while you prepare the filling.
Strain the dates and place all the filling ingredients in a food processor and blend til completely smooth and creamy.
Pour the filling mixture onto the base & return to the freezer.
In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients for the topping. Stir continually on low heat until the chocolate has completely melted and the mixture is smooth and shiny.
Pour the topping over the filling mixture.
Place the pie in the fridge and allow the topping to cool.
Once cooled, you can slice and serve (as many pieces as you like hahahahaaaa!)! ;-)

Question of the day:
Do you make yourself treats like this 'just because', or do you save them for special occasions?

Mung Bean Curry

I love a curry, and I also love mung beans. So why not put the 2 together!
This meal takes a bit of time to prep with all the chopping, and also to cook the beans, but it's not difficult so don't let that deter you!
If you want to shorten the cooking time, you can pre-soak the mung beans for a minimum of 6 hours & reduce the cooking time by about half. You will only need about 1 litre of stock then too.
I love that mung beans don't NEED to be presoaked, and I don't mind the cooking time because this curry has the most enticing aroma as it simmers away on the stove! 

MUNG BEAN CURRY
(Serves 4)

 
               You'll need:
               250g dried mung beans - rinsed
               1 large brown onion
               1 zucchini
               2 celery stalks
               1 large carrot
               1/2 head cauliflower
               200g green beans
               2 garlic cloves, crushed
               1 inch ginger, peeled and grated
               1 Tablespoon turmeric powder
               1 heaped teaspoon each: cumin, coriander
               1/2 teaspoon cardamon
               1 long green chili
               100g baby spinach leaves
               1.5 litres salt free veggie stock

In a large saucepan or pot that has a lid, put the mung beans. Add 1 litre of the stock, cover, bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. While the mung beans are cooking, chop all the veggies into bite sized pieces.
Add the veggies (except for the spinach) to the pot, along with all the spices and the remainder of the stock. Return the lid to the pot and again bring to the boil then simmer. Allow to simmer for approx 15 mins or until the stock is absorbed and the veggies are tender.
Stir through the spinach leaves until lightly wilted, then serve. 

Easy Tofu & Capsicum Bake

I know it's much cheaper to buy capsicum's by the kilo than it is to buy the traffic light set...... but sometimes I just can't resist the pretty colours all together in a little baggie! I find that each colour capsicum also had a slightly different taste. My favourite is red! 

Here's a recipe that's super easy. It would make an easy dinner if you just add some brown rice or other grain, or you can always add it on the side of something fancy too.

 EASY TOFU & CAPSICUM BAKE

(Serves 4)

         You'll need:
               400g packet of firm/hard tofu
               1 red capsicum
               1 green capsicum
               1 yellow capsicum
               1 large brown onion
               1 large garlic clove
               1/4 cup tomato paste
               1 teaspoon paprika
               1 teaspoon oregano 

Chop the tofu into bite size cubes. Chop the onions into half rings, and slice the capsicum into chunky pieces. Combine in a large baking dish. Add a few tablespoons of water to the bottom of the baking pan, this helps it not to stick. Grate the garlic over the top. Add the tomato paste, paprika, and oregano. Stir until well combined and the tomato paste has lightly covered the veggies and tofu. Add a 1/4 cup to the bottom of the baking pan. 

Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 25-30 mins until the veggies are tender and the tofu is firm and nearly crispy.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:
Which colour capsicum do you prefer the taste of?