Seasonal holiday cooking

One thing I love about the Christmas holidays is I get a chance to cook all the things I'm normally to busy to cook.Been meaning to do a vegan Christmas blog post but have been so busy over the last few days I haven't got round to it, I'm sure you all know where I'm coming from.

A few days before Christmas my brother brought me round some lovely seasonal produce I knew I needed to cook them up fast because if I didn't I wouldn't have the time for a few days so off I set stocked up on Mushrooms,Cranberries and blueberries.

Up to press I haven't done anything with the blueberries I've just froze them to use later.The cranberries however is a different story I made the obligatory cranberry sauce for Christmas day.One of my favourite things is Cranberry mincemeat which is taken from the Nigella Lawson (Christmas cookbook) it's a change from the usual mincemeat.I haven't made any mince pies yet but that's tomorrow's job so I will post the recipes and pics then.

I did however make some gorgeous cranberry and Orange marmalade, if you have a Bread Machine this is a really easy recipe.You just add 3 cups of fruit I used 2 cups of Cranberries and 1 cup of orange(roughly chopped) depending on your taste you could reverse it to 2 cups of Oranges to one cup of Cranberries, no rules here.
Next I added 1 and 1/4 cups of Sugar, now I like my jams less sweet than most people so those of you who like regular jams and marmalades I suggest you add 2 cups or even 3 depending on the level of your sweet tooth.

All you add then is one tablespoon of lemon juice 1 packet of pectin and a splash of Grand Marnier (optional) then set machine to Jam setting, sterilise your jars and voila one large pot of Christmas Cranberry and Orange marmalade.

I made a Cranberry Cheesecake as well, have to admit my base was a bit crumbly but it was delicious and definetly would make it again but I just need to search for a better recipe for the base.

From the mushrooms I made a mushroom stroganoff,mushroom Pate and mushroom soup which was all delicious.All the above recipes are vegan and it just proves because you are Vegan you don't have to miss out on all the lovely holiday food.I will post the recipes in another post for the cheesecake.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Vegan Apple Spice muffins

Seeing as I spent most of last weekend cooking down my appleas decided today it was time I actually made something with them!

An old favourite of mine is Apple spice muffins they are quick,simple and smell gorgeous whilst cooking.This was one of the first recipes I veganised when i turned Vegan it was very simple to adfapt I just replaced the butter with a non dairy butter and replaced the eggs with " tablespoons of flax seed mixed with 6 Tablespoons of warm water.

Ingredients
4 oz non dairy Butter
4 oz Sugar
2 Tablespoons flax seed whizzed in blender with 6 Tablespoons warm water.
7 oz Plain Flour
8 oz apple sauce
2 tsp Baking Powder
half a teaspoon Bicaronate of soda
half a teaspoon All Spice
half a teaspoon Cinnamon

Mix butter and Sugar together until creamy add flaxseed egg mixture, stir in until completely mixed.
add Baking powder and bicarbonate of soda along with allspice an cinnamom blend together.
Add flour and apple sauce, mix until just folded in.
Fill muffin cases I usually get 10 or 11 muffins from this mixture.
Place in oven for 20 mins at 180 degrees.

Seasonal cooking

As a family we were brought up eating with the seasons.My dad had an allotment and we always had an abundance of vegetables and fresh fruit, my mum was an amazing cook and could make a meal with whatever my dad brought home.

Sadly I lost my dad 11 years ago but I never pass an allotment without thinking of him.Today was spent gathering my own crop from my much smaller garden my first Bramley apples were brought in and now I have to turn them into something edible.

Looking forward to starting on them tomorrow will blog and add recipes about what I make with them,been stuck with this blog for a long time I didn't quite know which way I wanted it to go, so I've decided its going to be mainly a vegan cooking blogwith bits of travel and gardening.

I also visited my mum this afternoon and she has two amazing plum trees so I gathered a bag of plums and plan to turn them into jam and maybe make a mulled plum crumble, need to come up with loads of ideas as there still are hundreds of plums to gather.

I have a shutter thing going on

After my recent trip to France and Provence I have this shutter thing going on, just love the coloured shutters you see on windows in and around Provence,one day I'll have some of my own but what colour do I paint them?

Tartlettes Aux Citron(Little Lemon Tarts)

Aside from the rolling, this is an easy recipe to prepare. You can make these as individual tartelettes, which I think present better. Or make one large tart, and add about 15 minutes or so to the baking time.

Lemon filling

* 1 12.3 oz aseptic box, extra-firm silken tofu (Do not use refrigerated tofu; it will be too grainy and will not taste right)
* 2 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting
* ½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
* 2 T lemon zest, very finely grated
* 2 T cornstarch
* ½ tsp salt

Pâté Sucrée

* 1 ¼ cup flour
* ¼ cup sugar
* ½ cup non-hydrogenated vegan shortening (1 stick)
* 1 tsp vanilla or lemon extract
* 1 T lemon zest, very finely grated
* ¼ tsp salt
* 1-2 T water



Makes 12 tartlettes or 1 large tarte.

1. Make filling: Whiz everything together in a food processor until absolutely smooth. Better to overprocess than to underwhiz. Pour into a dish and refrigerate until you’re going to use. (You can make this up to one day ahead of time). Clean out the food processor, because you’ll need it to make the crust.
2. Make Pâté Sucrée: In the food processor, pulse everything together except the water. Stir in the water, ½ T at a time, untll the dough ball sticks together. If it seems a little sticky, don’t stress. As long as it holds together between your fingers, it’s fine.
3. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to your desired size.
5. Fill the tartlettes pans/tart pan with the lemon mixture, leaving at least 1/8 inch of headspace, since the filling will rise a bit in the oven.
6. Bake tartelttes for 25-30 minutes, or until they are no longer watery and wobbly. Bake tart about 40-45 minutes or until no longer watery and wobbly.
7. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes. Chill completely before serving. Dust with powdered sugar. Garnish with a raspberry or sliced strawberry, if desired.

Chocolat

Just sitting down watching my favourite film Chocolat with the delectable Johnny Depp.Seen it several times but love it more on each viewing.In another world I would love to open a Chocolaterie in France.

These pics remind me of France

My new blog Intro

Finally I have found some time to write my new blog, I have wanted to do this for some time. I want this blog to be mainly about my passions in life cooking,gardening,interiors and everything French.

I also have a huge love of everything vintage oh and did I mention old movies, now don't get me started there.I hope to blog about all the things in life that matter to me.

I love cooking and trying out new recipes, I recently turned Vegan and am finally finding my way around the vegan kitchen, it's a journey I am enjoying very much and I would like to share some of the fabulous recipes I have found.

So please if you've stopped by bare with me until I'm up and running properly.My other blog Ramblings of an electricwitch is still on the go but that's a more random rambling sort of a blog.

Oh the name of my blog is named after one of my favourite perfumes wild fig and cassis by Jo Malone pure heaven.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone