Choc-Orange Pancakes

Welcome to the final edition of Meatless Monday A-Z.

Today's ingredient is Zest.

Although I have been eyeing off our neighbours overflowing lemon tree for the past couple of weeks, I decided not to pinch any without seeing them & asking them first!!!
So today, although I had high hopes of bringing you a lemon zest recipe, you instead have an orange zest recipe. But don't worry, I'm sure it won't disappoint!

Choc-Orange Pancakes

You'll need:

1 cup wholemeal flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 Tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 Tablespoons boiling water

1/2 cup motherless milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed)

1 Tablespoon orange zest

1 Tablespoon dairy-free chocolate chips

Make a "flax egg" by combing the ground flax with the boiling water & whisking together with a fork. Set aside to thicken.

In a measuring jug combine the milk and apple cider vinegar and whisk til milk starts to separate and thicken slightly.

In a mixing bowl combine the flour & baking powder. 
Add the zest & choc chips. Stir through til evenly distributed. 
Make a well in the centre and combine all the wet ingredients. Mix well.
Pour spoonfuls of mixture onto a preheated frying pan & turn when bubbling. Give the final side a minute or so before removing and serving. Repeat until all the batter is used.

This will make about 12 small or 6 large pancakes and "should" serve 2.

Though they are reallllllllllllly good, so perhaps you're not willing to share ;-)

Question of the day?
What's your favourite chocolate combination flavour? 
I'm sure it will come as no surprise to you that mine is choc-orange, though I do also really like choc-mint!

Meatless Mondays A-Z Avocado

Have you ever heard of the Meatless Monday campaign?

I think its such a wonderful idea! As the website says "Good for you, good for the planet." 

I'm also joining in the Meatless Monday A-Z challenge hosted by the Better With Veggies blog. Each week I'll post a recipe for the food letter! You can read up about it here.
I missed the official start so even though this week is blueberry week I'm playing catchup and sharing my avocado recipe.

Check out what's in store for April:

I don't often eat avocados. So it was a nice change to buy one this week to experiment with.

As I walked through the fruit & veg shop thinking what I would create I remembered a time when I saw sliced avocado served with sliced mango. Even though it was plain is was delicious. I wondered if oranges would taste as yummy with avocado too so I decided to experiment. 

I was honestly surprised at how delicious this was! Don't be scared of the vinegar - it creates a wonderful sweet & sour taste that is just divine!


Avocado & Orange Salad

1/2 avocado
1 orange
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
sprinkling of freshly cracked black pepper



Peel and slice the orange. Slice the avocado. Serve in a dish & pour over the balsamic. Sprinkle with the pepper and serve.

Avocado Tip:
You can store avocados in brown paper bags to make them ripen quicker.
Remove the button from the bottom of the avocado to tell if its ripe. If the flesh showing is brown then its overripe, if its green then its ready to eat.

Christmas Drink #10 - Strawberries & Cream Smoothie

Drink #10 - Strawberries & Cream Smoothie

I decided to include a smoothie in my collection of Christmas drinks. Here's the reason why..... often the morning after a big Christmas meal we don't really feel like having too much, but then I find that skipping breakfast only sets us up for eating more later in the day! Here's a great way to start the day with a festive feel to it! Or, a great afternoon snack!
 

Combine in a blender:

250ml orange juice (that's the juice from 2 oranges, give or take - depending on how juicey the oranges are!)
1 cup frozen strawberry pieces
1 frozen banana
1/4 cup coconut cream

Blend until all the pieces are broken down & well combined.

 

Recipe Review: Chocolate Orange Cake

I'm a big choc-orange fan!

When I stumbled across this Chocolate Orange cake recipe on the fatfreevegan blog the other day I knew I just HAD to try it! Especially after my daughters school holiday request was to bake a chocolate cake!

I reduced the sugar by half and it was still quite tasty, and with the icing on top it was still sweet enough to be an enjoyable cake. 
I also substituted apple cider vinegar for the balsamic.
It is more of a dense type cake and not so light and fluffy, but it really suited the flavour of the cake - it was between a regular cake and a mud cake. 
And the taste was ~DeLiCiOuS~.......

The 2 flavours of icing was AMAZING! It worked so well & just gave the cake a fantastic look!
I don't have a proper Bundt cake tin so I did the best with what I had! 

When I had cut the cake I used the orange slices to cover the cut parts to keep it moist. It worked really well as it added extra flavour to the next slice and kept the cake moist.

My recommendation: TRY IT! You won't be disappointed.

Orange Pulp Layer Cake

You'll need:

2 cups wholemeal flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon bi-carb soda

2 Tablespoons raw sugar

Combine in a bowl. Make a well in the center and add:

1/4 cup apple sauce

2 teaspoons orange flower water

1 cup almond milk

Stir all ingredients until well combined.

Pour 1/2-2/3 mixtures into a lined rectangular baking pan.

Scatter raisins over the mixture.

Top with orange juice pulp (as much or little as you desire - I used about 1 cup).

Pour the rest of the cake mixture over the top and spread over the cake til the pulp is completely covered.

Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Allow to cool before slicing. For best results use a serrated knife.

I just love how the layer is visible!

Is it just me or is the layer just sooo pretty???? lol

I had to take so many pictures!!!

Delicious plain, however if you'd like to add an 'icing' - I recommend blending almonds & orange juice together and spreading over the top.

Tips:

- Don't have a juicer - you could always use grated carrots in place of the orange juice pulp, or alter the flavour by using other pulp.

- Orange flower water can be found in MiddleEastern-type shops - alternatively just use 2 Tablespoons orange juice.

Orange Pancakes

I loooovvvvveeeee pancakes, as I'm sure you've already worked out by now. And with the right ingredients they can be a wonderfully healthy start to your morning - who said they need to be full of fat and sugar???

Try these for a nice citrus tang to your pancakes!

Perfectly compliments a freshly squeezed glass of orange juice - or for those who love choc-orange flavour, a glass of chocolate soymilk is perfect (and my preference!!!!).

You'll need:

1 tablespoon ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tablespoons water, sit aside in fridge while preparing other ingredients

In a mixing bowl combine:

1 cup wholemeal flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

rind of 1/2 orange, grated (grate the whole rind & save some to sprinkle on top)

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

3/4 cup ricemilk or other non-dairy milk

Add the flax-egg & mix well.

NB: I recommend grating the rind off the orange prior to juicing, its quite difficult to do it afterwards!

Do you really need directions how to cook pancakes??? ;-)

Now that's my idea of a perfect breakfast....
oh wait - with some maple syrup of course :D

Want to try some of my other pancakes?

Pump cakes

Cheesecake pancakes

You could use this waffle recipe as a pancake batter too.

Cream Green Smoothie

Another variation of a green smoothie.

The cashews & banana in this give it a creamy taste & the ricemilk make it quite sweet :-)

To serve 2:

1 cup frozen spinach leaves

1 head baby cos lettuce (can be frozen or fresh)

1 orange, whole peeled

1 frozen banana

1/4 cup cashews

1 cup ricemilk

Blend til smooth.

Avocado Choc-Orange Mousse

mmmmmmmm more chocolate :-)

This is a quick and easy one that can be whizzed up anytime you feel like it. My perferences are afternoon tea and dessert, but hey - there's no reason why you couldn't have this for breakfast if you wanted to! ;-)
I love the mix of chocolate & orange flavours together. If you don't - you can easily omit the orange juice & just put in a bit of soymilk to help this blend together. Try other flavours too - mint.... almond..... choice is yours :-)

You'll need:
1 frozen avocado (I've noticed that there are new packs in the freezer section at Woolies now that have avocado halves frozen - what a great idea)
2 Tablespoons cacao (or cocoa if you prefer)
1 Tablespoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla
juice of 1 orange

Combine all this in a blender or mini food processor.
Process til smooth (this may take some time, and this is also the point where I wish for a Vitamix!!!).

Day 12 - Thursday

Berry Oatmeal for breakfast :-)

This is my gorgeous little girl who wanted to make her own lunch today!
Vegemite breadroll she picked!

A very orange lunch day......

Her self-made bread roll! An orange, dried mango & cinnamon nuts.

This afternoons kitchen adventure was baking okara doughnuts :-) mmmmmm, so moist & tasty.

Of course, everything tastes better if it's coated in chocolate!

Take away dinner!

mmmmmm I love a good Chinese meal.
The lovely people up the road asked "you true vegetarian, no fish sauce?"
That's correct!!!!
And then I indulge in super yummy food!

YUMMY!

Hot Days call for Cool measures

This is the perfect afternoon snack for children on hot days!
Who needs zooper doopers when you can make this in 5 mins flat!

I like to keep a decent stash of frozen fruit in my freezer - it always comes in handy.

You'll need:

1 cup frozen pineapple
1 cup frozen chopped strawberries pieces.
2 oranges, juice freshly squeezed - (of course you must eat all the guts out of the oranges once you have juiced them!!!!!)

Put it all in a food processor, or hand held blender.
Blend til smooth!


This amount will  make you 2 large servings or 4 smaller size servings.

~Very delicious~

Raw Pad Thai with Tofu

I love this raw Pad Thai - its so full of flavour.
However, I find it totally complete with the sauteed tofu as a topping :-)
Maybe that defies the purpose of the Pad Thai being raw - oh well, I never said it was a completely raw meal! ;-)

Serves 2

To make the Pad Thai you'll need:
1 zucchini
1 carrot
1 cup bean sprouts

Rinse the bean sprouts. Put into a salad bowl & shread in the carrot & zucchini. I use a julienne shredder - you could always chop them into matchstick pieces by hand if you don't have a julienne shredder. Put the lid on & shake til mixed well.

To make the sauce:
Put into a food processor 1/4 cup almonds, juice of one orange, 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger, 1 medjool date, squeeze of lemon & lim juice.
Process until smooth.

Pour the sauce over the vegetables & put the lid back on & shake again til the sauce has mixed through all the vegetables.

For the topping I use:
6 button mushrooms sliced
1/2 pack sesame tofu - cut into small cubes
1/2 red onion, chopped into small pieces.

Put all these ingredients into a warm frying pan. Stir frequently until all ingredients are well browned.

Place your pad thai onto a plate & top with the mushroom/tofu mixture!
So tasty!