Vegan – Page 24 – The Food Wife

Harissa Hummus

23rd July 201828th July 2018
by thefoodwife

Weâ€™ve always got a tub of hummus in our fridge at the moment because itâ€™s one of the Food Babyâ€™s favourite things to eat.

This weekend I decided to make my own, and I took the opportunity to make it, as youâ€™ll spy from the ingredients list, without any added olive oil, so as to be diet-friendly for me. You can, of course, add olive oil to your own, but try adding a tablespoon at a time and tasting as you go.

Likewise, I decided a kick of spice was in order so added harissa paste; again, this is optional and could be left out or replaced with a flavour of your choosing (why not try a spoonful of pesto, a roasted red pepper, a few sun dried tomatoes or some toasted cumin).

Once made this will last a few days in the fridge.

Ingredients:
1 heaped tbsp tahini
Juice of one lemon
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 tin of chickpeas, drained
2 tsp harissa paste
1 pinch of salt (leave out if this is for baby)
40-100ml cold water

Step 1: Blend the tahini, lemon juice and garlic in a food processor (or with a stick blender).

Step 2: Add the drained chickpeas and blend again until smooth (to make it extra smooth you could skin the chickpeas, but I think life is too short for such things!)

Step 3: Add the harissa paste (or flavourings of your choice) and salt and blend again, and add the water as you do so (add gradually to get your desired consistency). Add any oil at this stage if you so wish.

Store in a sealed container in the fridge.

Rhubarb Gin Fizz

20th July 201820th July 2018
by thefoodwife

Makes 1 cocktail

So today I finished work as a teacher, not just for the summer holidays but for the foreseeable future. After ten years at the same establishment, itâ€™s feels a bit odd but Iâ€™ve known for a while that Iâ€™ve needed a break from teaching and with the arrival of The Food Baby it seemed like the best time to make the break.

To celebrate, I have decided to crack in to my newly brewed Rhubarb Gin and have decided a cocktail is in order. So here is a recipe for a Rhubarb Gin Fizz.

Ingredients:
50ml rhubarb gin
125ml chilled sparkling wine

Step 1: Pour the measure of rhubarb gin into a fluted glass and top up with a sparkling wine of your choice.

Step 2: Drink.

Rhubarb Gin

20th July 201820th July 2018
by thefoodwife

Makes approx 900ml

Rhubarb is one of my favourite flavours. Iâ€™m also rather partial to gin. Marry the two together? Sign me up!

This takes four weeks to brew (boo!) but the good news is it is quick to put together. You need only four things: a good quality gin, raw rhubarb, caster sugar and a large, sealable vessel (I used a 2l mason jar). Also, donâ€™t forget to keep your empty gin bottle to decant back in to afterwards.

If you use forced rhubarb the result will be beautifully bright pink, or use regular rhubarb, as I did, and you are left with a more subtle shade, but either way the flavour is all there!

Ingredients:
240g white caster sugar
600g rhubarb, cut in to 2-3 inch pieces
70cl good quality gin

Step 1: Combine the three ingredients in your container and seal.

Step 2: Leave for four weeks, shaking every few days to mix everything up.

Step 3: After four weeks, strain the liquid and decant into your gin bottle (you will make slightly more than the original amount of gin so make sure youâ€™ve got an extra bottle to decant the last little bit into).

Baby Oaty â€˜Carrot Cakeâ€™ Cookies

14th July 201820th August 2018
by thefoodwife

Makes 8-10

A quick and easy mix that makes delicious soft cookies which are great as a pudding or snack for your little one. They are perfect finger food for BLW and have no dairy, egg or added sugar.

You can play around with the flavours too, just keep the oat and banana ratio. Iâ€™ve also tried ones with grated apple and chopped glacÃ© cherries which went down well.

These need to be stored in the fridge after baking and will keep for a few days.

Ingredients:
100g oats (gluten-free if necessary)
2 ripe bananas, mushed with a fork
1 eating apple, grated
1 carrot, grated
25g sultanas
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 180c and line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Step 2: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl with a spoon.

Step 3: Put dessert- or table spoon-sized blobs of mixture onto your lined baking sheet and flatten to make a rough cookie shape (these wonâ€™t really spread as they cook so you are aiming for your finished product size and shape).

Step 4: Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Step 5: Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack before storing in a sealed bag or container in the fridge.

Veggie Kebabs in a Japanese Style Marinade

11th July 201811th July 2018
by thefoodwife

Makes 6 kebabs

When providing vegetarian or vegan fare for a barbecue it’s nice to offer something a little different to your standard veggie burgers and sausages. This marinade has Japanese flavours from the soy, mirin and seaweed and the orange adds a citrus hit (although if you can find it, try it with some yuzu juice instead).

The seaweed is really powerful in the marinade and holds up against the other flavours well. It gives off a definite seaside scent but don’t worry, this transforms when cooked.

If you want to go meaty, this would be nice with cubes of pork on a kebab too.

Ingredients:

For the marinade:
3 tbsp mirin (gluten-free if required)
3 tbsp light soy sauce (gluten-free if required)
Juice of 1 orange
1 tsp dried nori flakes

For the kebabs:
1 red pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
1 red onion, quartered and separated into petals
12 mushrooms
12 cherry tomatoes
You will also need 6 kebab sticks (if wooden, soak in water for a couple of hours first)

Step 1: Combine the marinade ingredients in a dish or sealable bag and mix.

Step 2: Add your prepared vegetables and leave, covered, to marinate for about 2 hours.

Step 3: Take your kebab sticks and skewer your vegetables on, ensuring you have different pieces next to each other. Start and finish with a mushroom to ensure things don’t go AWOL. Have two mushrooms and two tomatoes per skewer. N.b. The onions will have softened in the marinade; this will make them extra sweet when cooking.

Step 4: Cook on a hot barbecue for a couple of minutes on each side, turning to ensure they don’t burn.