Quick Pear Tarts

I recently did an interview for Plant Plate about being a parent who follows a plant based diet.  
My daughter whilst enjoying eating plant foods, often makes it known to me that she wishes for some "vegan junk food", as she mentioned in the interview!
So with one last sheet of pastry left in the freezer & it nearly reaching it's best before date these tarts were made! 
Yes, pastry falls into the "junk food" category for me! And now that it's all gone I won't be replacing it, instead I am enjoying experimenting more with home-made pastry options.

This is a really quick & easy treat to whiz up when visitors are due, or for a special occasion dessert!
But most importantly of all..... my daughter LOVED them and felt like she was having real 'junk food'! 

QUICK PEAR TARTS

Remove a sheet of dairy-free puff pastry from the freezer & allow to soften.
Cut the sheet of puff pastry into quarters. 
Along each cut, add another cut 1cm to either side. 
Also cut 1cm around the edges of the sheet of pastry.
Spread the inner 4 quarters with fig jam but not going all the way to the edge (or other flavoured jam of choice). 

Remove the 1cm sections of pastry from the lining sheet & press them gently into the edges of the tarts as shown.

Slice pears into thin pieces and spread them over the jam.

Sprinkle some frozen whole raspberries and broken pieces over the pears.

Bake in a preheated 220C oven for 15-20 minutes until puffed up and golden brown.

Serve with chocolate coconut cream for added eating pleasure!

Don't forget to check out my friends blog at Plant Plate.com
It's full of wonderfully handy hints and is an amazing resource of information and advice for following a plant-based diet!

WIAW - On a Tuesday

This weeks What-I-Ate-Wednesday post happens to be about what I ate on Tuesday.

Mainly because I have wanted to share this 'yogurt' recipe for sometime and doing it this way actually prompted me to get motivated to do it!

But first..... here's what I ate yesterday:

Pawpaw yogurt with oats, flax and passionfruit for breakfast.

     Roasted sweet potato with refried beans and salsa, and kale chips for lunch.

            Spinach noodle and shiitake mushroom peanut stir-fry for dinner.

Paw Paw Yogurt

In a blender combine:

1 cup frozen paw paw pieces

1/3 cup frozen raspberries

1 Tablespoon probiotic

1/2 cup plant milk (more or less depending on your blender)

Blend til smooth and thick.

Serve straight away.

There is something about the tang of the raspberries mixed with the creaminess of the paw paw that makes this so similar to yogurt!

I'm not a huge fan of pawpaw by itself, though it does bring back fond memories of my grandmother! She used to serve us pawpaw for dessert when we stayed over in the school holidays.

I must admit that most people I ask say that pawpaw is not their favourite taste. 

Thankfully, in this recipe you can't really taste the pawpaw itself! 

Question of the day:

Do you like pawpaw?
If so, what is your favourite way to serve it?  

Vanilla Cupcakes with Raspberry Filling

In true "bake-off" style, I'm starting with cupcakes!

Well...... kind of cupcakes.

You see, I'm not one to make the very decorative type just for everyday eating. My whole aim in cooking and sharing recipes is that they are practical everyday recipes that we will ACTUALLY cook, not just look at to see how pretty they are!
How pretty is this cupcake that was made for us at a wedding recently! So sweet of the bride and groom to include us in their cupcake tower :D

 

Vanilla Cupcakes with Raspberry Filling

To make 12 cupcakes you'll need:
1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground flax seeds mixed with 1 Tablespoon water
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup plant milk of choice
1/4 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup raspberries
2 Tablespoons agave nectar

Whisk the flax seeds with the water and set aside in the fridge.
 In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sugar.
In a measuring jug combing the milk and apple cider vinegar. Briskly whisk and the milk will thicken and start to separate.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the applesauce, vanilla and milk mixture.
Stir until just combined. Do not over mix.
Pour spoonfuls of mixture into a muffin pan - either lightly oil sprayed or lined with cases.
Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 25minutes or until cooked through as oven times can vary.

Allow cupcakes to cool and then make the filling.

In a food processor combine the raspberries and agave. Mix until a smooth 'sauce' in made.
Pour the sauce into a piping bag and poke the end of the piping bag into the cupcakes, squeeze the bag to fill the inside of the cake with raspberry sauce.

Serve :-)

Christmas Drink #2 - Pine-berry Slush

Drink #2 --> Pine-Berry Slush

This is a great drink for those super hot days we get here around Christmas time! 
Its so refreshing & so easy to make!

(These quantities make 2 large glasses - you can adjust as needed. Fill your whole blender to make a great party drink for many guests!)


You'll need:

  1 cup frozen chopped pineapple
  1 cup frozen raspberries
  1 cup cold water
  1 Tablespoon maple syrup

 





Put all ingredients in a blended and blend until all pieces are broken down!




Serve!

You can't keep this as it will melt & not have the 'slush' texture anymore - though it will make a lovely juice!
Note: I added the maple syrup because I find raspberries a bit tangy by themself - -you can omit it is you like the tang that comes with raspberries!

 

Raspberry Oat Cake

Who said you can't have cake for breakfast?!?

This is part of my week worth of oats, where I experimented with different ways to flavour oats. 
This is not a traditional cake so it doesn't take long to prepare and cook. The texture of this cake is like a muesli bar. 
Very quick and easy to prepare, it can be made on a weekday morning without any worries. It can be made in the time it takes to brush your teeth Silly girl, no-one brushes their teeth before breakfast....... hmmm lets try again, it can be made in the time it takes to prepare your morning coffee! That's better..... and let me assure you that coffee is it's perfect match!

You'll need:
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup oatbran (either store bought or grind 1/4 cup oats yourself)
1/4 cup frozen raspberries
1/4 cup soymilk
1 Tablespoon ground flax seeds
1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon


In a small bowl combine the oats, oatbran, flax seeds and cinnamon.

 Add the soymilk and maple syrup and stir until well combined. Then add in the raspberries while still frozen. Stir through til evenly distributed. 

Lightly spray with oil a ramekin (approx 11/2 cup size). Pour the oat mixture into the ramekin and press down.
Place in the microwave for 31/2 minutes. (Please note microwave ovens can vary a lot. I use a 1100W.) 
You will know the cake is ready when the mixture has drawn away from the sides of the ramekin as shown in this picture:

You can slice it if you desire, or just spoon it directly into your mouth (my preference of course!)    ;-)

Also handy for those mornings when you don't feel like eating straight away. It can be easily lifted out of the ramekin and wrapped to take to work with you!

Choc-Raspberry Mousse

Super quick & easy 'mousse'

I love this for a quick afternoon snack or as a dessert.

To serve one simply blend:
150g soft tofu
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1 tablespoon cacao powder (or cocoa powder if you prefer)
1 tablespoon soymilk
1 tablespoon maple syrup

I use a mini food processor :-) I simply could not live without this magical little gadget! So effortless to get it out & use it and super easy to clean.

Another great smoothie

For a tasty and colourful smoothie try blending:
Paw-paw, raspberries, maple syrup, and soy milk
I like a ratio of bout 3:1 pawpaw to raspberries so it's not too tart. Add as much soy mik as you like  depending on how thick or thin you like your smoothies to be.