Cookies and cream parfait

It seems you loved the carrot cookies! Well to be honest I don’t blame you… to honour their gloriousness I gave them a simple twist that turns a cookie into the basis for a simple no-bake bressert 

You could use any fairly thick cookie here, they can either be soft or a little it crisp but you’ll want to be able to break them into chunks. I reckon the chocolate quinoa cookies, chocolate pillowcakes (these are fat free) or coconut oatmeal cookies would work really well. Or even any of my breakfast cookies!

The cookie forms the base of the parfait and then gets layered up between soft whippy coconut cream…you can infuse this with lemon, orange, cocoa or other flavours to compliment the cookie base, and fresh fruit for extra healthy zing. You can also add a sprinkle topping or cookie crumbs if you wish. Depending on the shape of your bowl you can layer u as many times as you wish. Mine was wide and shallow so I just used cookie chunks at the base.

This would make a refreshing light summer treat (ok so I am getting a bit ahead of myself!) and reminds me bit of trifle (without the jelly layer of course) oh how I miss trifle!

Recipe: Cookie parfait  

Serves 4 (based on original carrot cookie recipe amount)

Ingredients:

10 carrot cookies (or other cookie of choosing)

approx. 1 ½ cups fairly thick coconut cream plus mix ins if required.

approx. 1 ½ cup fruit

toppings of choice or extra cookie crumbs

Method:

Prepare the coconut cream and set this aside

Break up the cookies into small chunks and place the equivalent of 2 small cookies at the bottom of

a dessert dish (or split into two layers if preferred).

Add a dollop of coconut cream to each dish and then layer fresh fruit on top (repeat these layers depending in shape of dish- i.e wine glass?) Finish with some crumbs of the remaining cookies or other sprinkles of choice.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Carrot cookies

I love a cookie...especially a breakfast cookie as that usually means tasty but super healthy!

The recipe for these breakfast cookies came from Abel and Cole and looked so tasty I couldn’t resist giving them a go myself, ok I changed things up ever so slightly using oatmeal as the entire cookie base instead of part spelt (they seemed more breakfast-like that way) I also increased the carrot content and made a few other minor healthy swaps...couldn’t resist!

They were so good, deliciously fat and chewy and they held together well- don’t skimp on the flax (or you can use ground chia). The date sugar gave a lovely caramelly flavour and a slight crispness, you could use another unrefined granulated sugar here but I would suggest that the texture wouldn’t be quite the same just using a liquid sweetener.

 I went for a pumpkin seed and cranberry combo as I loved the contrast in colours against the carrot, also because I seem to have a bit of a thing for pumpkin seeds at the moment. Use whatever dried fruit and seeds or nuts you fancy..how about date and walnut...?

I reckon this will be a recipe base I come back to again, I can already visualise the options, using courgette or parsnip and the veggie hit! 

For more breakfast cookies, you find them amongst the concoctions in this breakfast tab.

 

Recipe: Carrot cookies

Makes approx 10 cookies

Ingredients:

60g oat flour

80g whole oats

1 tbs ground flax

¼ tsp baking soda

Pinch salt

1 tsp cinnamon

50g date sugar

1 tbs maple syrup

1 large carrot-coarsely grated

30ml coconut oil (Melted) or olive oil

50g dried cranberries or other dried fruit

50g pumpkin seeds

1 tsp lemon zest (optional)

Method:

Mix the dry ingredient together in a medium bowl.

Ix the carrot, oil, maple syrup and lemon zest and then add to the dry mixture. Mix lightly using hands as necessary.

Form dollops of cookie mix with your hands and flatten into cookies on a lined baking sheet.

Bake at 180C for approx 10 mins until lightly golden. For a crisper cookie, flip and cook for a further 3 minutes.

 

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Carrot and lentil soup

I am going through a bit of a lentil phase at the moment, and have been creating all things lentilly. Lentils are a classic soup base and here I have opted for two different types.

 

Orange and yellow was the generally look I was going for.... enter the carrots! When I first made this soup in a 4-portion batch as I usually do, I served it without the corn- hence the photos are ‘corn-less’, but the next day as I filled a flask of soup for a lunch, the leftover tub of sweet corn in the fridge caught my eye and on a whim I added it to the mix. It was even better this way, the juicy sweet kernels of corn really add to both the texture and flavour of the soup. So whilst I have added it as an optional ingredient in the recipe, I would encourage you to do so!

You can find more soup recipes to warm you up here! For those who saw and commented on this picture on my Instagram and Facebook a few days ago... I will try and recreate the recipe for you and post it very soon!

 

Recipe: Carrot lentil soup

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

1 large onion

1 tbs coconut oil or red palm oil (I used red palm oil to keep an extra orangey colouring)

2 crushed garlic cloves

1 tsp dried cumin seeds

½ tsp dried coriander (or fresh if preferred)

3 grated carrots

1 cup dried red lentils

2 tbs soy sauce

½ cup green lentils

3 ½ cups veg stock (more if needed)

1 cup sweetcorn- optional

Method

Saute the onion and garlic in the oil for 5 minutes until softened.

Add the spices and grated carrot and sauté for 2-3 more minutes.

Add all remaining ingredients and bring to the bill before simmering for approx 20 mins until the lentil are cooked.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Carrot burgers

These carrot burgers came about as a moment of spontaneity on my birthday evening last week. I shared these burgers for dinner with my mum, who proclaimed (after having eaten it all up) ‘oh I should have really cooked for you since it’s your birthday’, oh well….bit late now! Not that I minded, I think about food all day long and am always excited to try out something new when the idea strikes, this particular moment in time was no exception…birthday or not!

I’d had a pretty full on day…well, with the birthday cake under my belt (er, quite literally) I was in the mood for more of a light bite in the evening, so I served these burgers with salad and a simple tahini sauce. The perfect balmy summer dinner (balmy summer…I wish!) You could serve with a side of couscous for a more substantial meal.

The other great thing about these burgers is that they are pretty quick and simple to throw together and I’m pretty sure they could be frozen, although I haven’t tried. Add in your own favourite blend of spices, I used a cajun mix for a warm Mexican kick. I have also used red palm oil (as I like the deep yellow colour it gave to coat the burgers, but other oils would be absolutely fine. I like to add beans to things…most things, sweet or savoury! Beans or chickpeas give great texture, act as a binding ingredient and provide a good source of protein, so are a great base for many burgers.

If you have a thing for burgers, these recipes might also take your fancy:

Quinoa burgers

Quinoa meat balls

Black bean beetburger

Sweet potato cakes

Recipe: Carrot burgers

Makes approx. 6 burgers (depending on size)

Ingredients- burgers

300g carrots

200g chickpeas

1 small onion

1 tbs tahini

1 tbs ‘spices’ (I used a Cajun mix)

Extra salt to taste

50g oatmeal

1 tbs chia or flax plus 2 tbs hot water

1 tbs red palm oil (or other oil) for frying

Ingredients- tahini sauce

50g yoghurt of choice (or cashew yoghurt as I used)

2 tsp tahini

2 tbs lemon juice

Method

Coarsely chop the carrot and onion in a food processor and then add the chickpeas, tahini and spices and roughly mash through. Transfer the mixture to a sauce pan and cook for approx. 10 minutes stirring frequently to prevent sticking.

Once cooked, stir through the oatmeal and gelled chia/flax mixture. The mixture should be sticky but firm, if too sticky add a little more oatmeal. With wet hands form flat burger patties and fry them in a lightly oiled pan for a few minutes on each side until golden.

For the tahini sauce, mix all ingredients together well in a small bowl.

Drizzle burgers with tahini sauce and serve immediately.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Carrot cake pancakes

So, on Saturday pancakes got to me again….!  I hadn’t planned for this little distraction at all since I had a nice bowl of oats lined up in my head (hmm, that sounds odd?)

But then Facebook happened and somebody had posted about pancakes- how much they really wanted some….so then I really wanted some too! So I figured I really ought to do something about that.

Meet the newest addition to the pancake family. Carrot cake pancakes!

It’s still only a relatively small pancake family but there are plenty more flavour combos bubbling away in my mind awaiting a future weekend brunch trials. Check these ones out too:

Spiced apple pie

Blueberry and banana

Sweet chestnut and cranberry

What’s your favourite flavour?

You will see the note below about carrot content. I made these originally with quite a large carrot, and therefore the ratio of ‘wet ingredient to dry’ was fairly large as carrot releases more moisture whilst cooking. You will see from the photos that the pancakes were more dense and moist than fluffy, I liked it this way as a nice change but my mum (who I’d shared them with) preferred a slightly fluffier version. Therefore I have slightly reduced the amount of carrot in the recipe below. Also note that the carrot should be finely grated so that it cooks through quickly.

P.S wish me luck for tonight, as I have my first new Pole Fitness class to teach…I’m a big ball of nerves and excitement!

P.P.S do you notice how there are 4 pancakes in these photos yet the recipe makes 6- well guess who ate four pancakes and who ate two! (yes I was hungry!)

Recipe: Carrot cake pancakes

Makes approx. 6 smallish pancakes 

Ingredients

½ cup white spelt flour

4 tbs oats

1 tsp cinnamon or mixed spice

¾ tsp baking powder

pinch salt

1 smallish carrot finely grated (or larger carrot for a less fluffy pancake)

½ tsp vanilla extract

2 tbs maple syrup

1/3 – 1/2 cup orange juice

1tbs melted coconut butter

Method

Mix coconut butter, orange juice and vanilla in a bowl and heat in microwave to melt the coconut butter into the mixture. Combine dry ingredients in a separate small bowl then add the wet and mix. Add finely grated carrot last and lightly mix through. Spoon dollops on a lightly oiled hot frying pan and fry till golden for a few minutes each side.

Serve with soy yoghurt and walnuts with a dusting of extra cinnamon as desired.

Note: when I first made these I added a medium- large carrot to the mixture which made for a wetter pancake due to the moisture in the carrot as it cooks. I enjoyed this texture, but if you prefer a more traditionally fluffy pancake then you may wish to reduce the carrot as noted.

For or tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Gingerbread loaf

My second Daring Bakers Challenge reveal has arrived. 

This months challenge...Quickbread. 

The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lis stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavour profiles.

You can see the challenge details here.

It was a very versatile challenge in which we had to come up with a recipe for a loaf, muffin or popover (i’d never even heard of that word before!) that didn't use yeast but instead used baking powder/soda as the raising agent. I fancied making a loaf, and as much as I love a good old banana bread (and was very tempted), that is something i’ve made many times before and my veganised banana plantain loaf was even one of the first recipes on my blog.

So, I had another think and a riffle through my folder of scribbles, notes, cutout, printouts of various recipes from all over.  I came across a gingerbread loaf that I had already written a few notes against with ideas for veganising.  I went a little further than this to bump up the healthy factor and used grated pureed carrot to sub most of the oil. The result was amazing, not at all dry but also not at all gummy as i’d sometimes found previously when just using agave nectar as the sweetener. It wasn’t too sweet and was a cross between a cake and a delicate bread with its fine texture.

I baked the ‘mixture in three mini loaf tins so I could vary the toppings. The other reason for this was to reduce the risk of any issue with the loaf browning on the top before being cooked in the middle. Judging by the texture of the loaf I think this may not have been an issue anyway, but I would still suggest using mini loaf tins or alternatively a shallower cake pan if you have them.  

For the tops I kept one loaf plain, decorated the second with chunks of crystalized ginger prior to baking (ok I accept that does have a little refined sugar), and covered the third in a thin sticky layer of chopped up crystalized ginger and agave syrup once baked but whilst the top was still warm.....all three options were delicious!

I served the loaf warm with a dollop of soy youghurt.

Recipe: Gingerbread Loaf

Makes 3 mini loaves (or 1 large)

Ingredients-

1 ½ cups wholemeal spelt flour

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

1 tbs ground ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

Pinch salt

1 tbs ground flax/chia and 2 tbs hot water

2 tbs molasses

½ cup agave syrup and ¼ tsp stevia

1 tbs freshly grated ginger

1 tsp oil (I used rapeseed)

2 carrots grated/pureed

1 cup soy milk

Chopped crystallized ginger for top- optional

Method

Mix together the wet ingredients. Mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then add to the wet. Mix through lightly and then pour batter in to three mini greased/lined loaf tins (approx. 15cm length).

Sprinkle finely chopped crystallised ginger over the top of the loaf if desired.

Bake at 180C for approx. 30 mins. Check with a skewer to see when done.

Note: I used 3 mini loaf tins to eliminate any potential issue of undercooking/gumminess in the centre. In the past when I have used larger loaf tins the centre has not cooked before the top begins to brown.  This cake crumb was very light and so may not present any problem with a larger pan.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Carrot and citrus bean soup

For this week’s soup fix I wanted to bring on the lovely sweet and earthy flavours of the winter root veg but also a little citrus kick to perk things up on these cold winter days. Beans are (or should be) everyone’s best friend and are perfect way to get your protein, so a good mixture of beans also feature here for a nice variety. 

This recipe was based on a BBC Good Food recipe which used one can of mixed beans to serve 4, when I make this soup again I will definitely double this two cans to give extra body and oomph to the soup. My photos barely show any beans at all but I can promise you this soup had a lot more bulk than would appear- it sank to the bottom of the bowl!

I made this soup last Saturday as a quick lunch in between batches of baking, freezing the extra portions as I nearly always do. I actually had another portion for my lunch at work today and it was just as good.

My kitchen work top ends up full of ‘experiments’…this is what my typical weekend looks like! Note…this is what it looks like when I’ve already cleared up and wiped down and have tidied away all my ‘baking boxes’ full of goodies that end up being stacked on the floor around me. No creative cooks are tidy cooks…are they??

 

Here I have a pan of these granola bars to keep me going through the week, my trusty smooshbars for a colleague at work, some remaining scones- recipe to come (minus the two I’d eaten) and four leftover pots of this soup for freezing.

I do love being surrounded by warm, freshly cooked food...I want to nibble on it all…it’s a good job it is all so healthy then!

Recipe: Carrot and citrus bean soup  

Ingredients

2tbs olive oil

2 onions

Approx. 450g carrots- roughly chopped

1tbs garam masala

A thumb sized piece of ginger- grated

Juice of 1 orange or ¼ cup orange juice

1 litre vegetable stock

200ml coconut milk (full fat or light is fine)

410g can mixed beans- drained and rinsed (note- I would use two cans next time)

2 tbs chopped corriander

Method

Heat oil in a large pan and gently fry the onions and chopped carrot  for around 15 minutes until softening. Add the garam masala and ginger and cook for 1 more minute.

Add the orange juice and vegetable stock, bring to the boil then simmer for 10 minutes. Once the carrots are tender, stir in the coconut milk. Using an electric hand blender (or pour into a blender) puree until fairly smooth (or as smooth as you like).

Add the beans to the pureed mixture in the pan, simmer for a few minutes. Add the coriander just before serving.

Note: if making this again I would use 2 cans of beans to make it even more substantial.

Left over portions can be frozen.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.