Bubble Drinks - The Real McCoy

I have blogged before about my love of Asian food, so I thought I'd follow up on my "bubble drink" post with a picture of a can from the Asian market. There were several varieties of these but this was the only vegan one I came across. It's made from mung beans, soya milk, sugar, tapioca balls and non-dairy creamer. It's quite fattening at around 200 calories per can, so I'd rather make my own at home, but I don't see how one once in a while could do any harm and it's also like a snack and a drink in one. It has a slightly odd beany-taste at first, but then it immediately grows on you and becomes more sweet and creamy. Love it!

Cat's Aid Vegan Bake Sale

Today I went to a vegan bake sale in Dublin. It was held at Cultivate at The Greenhouse on Andrew's Street as part of the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale. The proceeds went to Cat's Aid, a charity based in Ballsbridge, and the food was lovely! I bought quite a few things and was very impressed. I'd love it if these events could be held more often - next time I'll make sure I bring along something to sell! Below are some pictures, courtesy of some of the organizers.

We bought:

- Lemon Slice (tasted like lemon meringue pie, this was my favourite one!)
- Chocolate Nut Cookie
- Peanut Butter Pastry Roll
- Treacle Nut Brownie
- Banana Cookie with Strawberry Icing

BUBBLES!

Who doesn't love bubbles? Bubbles in the bath, bubbly champagne, bubbling jacuzzis, bubbles that you blow around you in the wind while pretending to be a fairy... *ahem*

This is my first go at making a bubble drink. The "bubbles" are tapioca balls that I got from the asian market, and are exactly the same ones as I found on this blog.

There are so many different recipes for bubble drinks. You can put them in smoothies, have them with iced coffee, iced tea, cold green tea / fruit tea, soya milk, rice milk, etc. The possibilities are endless! I have an awesome idea in my head for a white russian alcoholic bubble drink!

I made mine with rice milk and a dash of vanilla essence, as I'm pretty new to this and wanted to keep it simple. The packet of tapioca balls I got said to boil them for 5 minutes and then mix them into a sugary solution (I used xylitol). I should technically have a massive oversized straw to suck the tapioca through as I drink, but I have no idea where to get a straw that big! I might get smaller tapioca balls next time.

For more information on bubble drinks have a look at the Wikipedia page!

Chilli Non Carne

I have to share with you a recipe that I concocted from various other recipes. It is most definitely one of the nicest chilli non carnes I've ever had! It is also not too spicy because the boy isn't as tough as me and can't handle hot food ;) It has a semi-sweet flavour to it. I served it up with tortilla chips as I'm not a big fan of rice, it's a bit boring as a plain accompaniment to a dish. This chilli's secret ingredients are cumin and cinnamon. Every time I eat this I want more and more!

Ingredients (Serves 2-3):

- 2 Onions
- 2 Cloves of Garlic
- 2 Sticks of Celery
- 1 Red or Orange Pepper
- Half cup of Sweetcorn
- Can of Mixed Beans in Taco Sauce from Tesco
- Teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
- Teaspoon Chilli Powder
- Teaspoon Cumin Powder
- 2 Tablespoons of Tomato Purée

Method:

- Dice the Onions, Garlic, Celery & Pepper
- Fry them in a large pan with a little oil until starting to soften and turn brown
- Add the Sweetcorn and the can of Taco Mixed Beans
- Add the Spices and Tomato Purée
- Cook over low heat for 10-15 mins

I like to leave this in the pot overnight to stew in its own juices, as it brings out the flavours so much more if you eat it the following day.

Indian Snacks

I'm so glad that Onion Bhajis, Samosas and Pakoras are vegan. I have always loved Indian food and in particular Channa Massala (chickpeas!). Tesco do a lovely little pack of 12 mini Indian snacks and I shared a pack with my boy for dinner tonight with a side salad. It really helps when your other half works in Tesco and can keep an eye on the reduced section!  ;)

My favourite shop-bought Samosa has to be from Marks & Spencers. I always end up getting one for lunch when I'm out and about in town and too busy to sit down. Their large Samosa (usually located in the fridges next to the Salads and Sandwiches) is only €1.70 and is probably one of the nicest tasting Samosas I've ever had! I could eat them until they come out of my ears!!

Barbecue!

Today we went and bought a barbecue, seeing as the weather this weekend has been like Summer for the first time. I love it when washing dries on the line within half an hour and you can bask in the heat of the sun. We've been doing a bit of work on the garden this weekend while the sun lasts, and I even planted some seeds: cauliflower, broccoli, radishes, courgettes, cabbage, baby corn, oregano, coriander, beetroot & spinach for a start. I've never done this kinda thing before, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out. I can't wait!

Here's a photo of my lunch tomorrow - barbecued veg skewers with a side salad. They are marinaded in Reggae Reggae BBQ sauce, which my boyfriend assured me is vegan! On the skewers were cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, red pepper, yellow pepper, baby corn & onions.

And here's a photo of the BBQ in action - the obligatory meat for the omnivores, as well as some corn on the cob & a tofu burger wrapped in slivers of aubergine. Mmmm!

Better than Reese's!

As I was tucking into this final chocolate, it suddenly dawned on me... OMGOSHNOOOO! I haven't taken a picture for the blog!! So here's a picture, of a half eaten chocolate peanut butter cup that I made.

I got tiny little silicone molds from the baking section of Homestore+More, filled the bottom halves of them with molten dark chocolate and squeezed the edges so that the chocolate coated up the sides as well. I let them set in the fridge and then I put a dollop of natural peanut butter in the middle with a whole peanut, before setting them again for a little while and pouring more molten dark chocolate on the top. The result was these nifty little creations. The boy thought they were delicious, but  I (even though I polished them off alarmingly quickly) didn't think they were up to scratch. I should have used a more solid peanut butter. This one (Meridian) was too liquidy and didn't set hard, which I suppose was quite nice in that it had a kind of a similarity to a caramel truffle, the way you bite through a dark chocolate hard shell into the soft filling inside. I really wanted mine to be firmer though, for the more authentic Reeses texture and taste. Next time I will make them even better - but they were lovely all the same!

Beansprouts!

I've been sprouting my own beans recently - here's a salad I made with sprouted mung beans. They are extremely easy to make. Fill a large jam jar about a fifth full with your dried bean of choice and soak it overnight. In the morning put some muslin or cheesecloth over the opening and secure with an elastic band. Drain the water out through the cloth and put the jar in a really warm place like an airing cupboard, in a box in a sunny porch or on the radiator. Rinse the beans well twice daily without removing the cloth on top. In about 2-3 days they should be ready for use and can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. I am also going to try green lentils, aduki beans and chickpeas. Sprouted beans are an excellent source of amino acids, B vitamins and protein. As they are a "living food" they are much more beneficial to eat than cooked beans!

I would love a sprouter jar like in the pics on this Wikipedia page. I think I'll search for them on ebay as I've never seen them in shops here but can remember my mother having some when I was little. I remember getting really excited watching the beansprouts grow, but haven't really thought of trying to have a go myself until now.

My Favourite Breakfast

Nothing better in the mornings than good old porridge oats with red berries, soya milk and xylitol sweetner. I could live off this stuff. Tastes like berry flapjacks and takes less than 2 mins to make - Perfect!

VITAMINZ!

As a vegan it is very important to take supplements. In fact, I think it's important for everyone to take them, because most omnivores probably don't get their daily requirements of most vitamins and minerals either. This site, iherb.com is excellent and I'm going to continue to use them. The goods arrived quickly, very well packaged and I wasn't even charged custom duty. The company is based in New Zealand and are so cheap compared to anywhere in Ireland or the UK. I ordered B12, Iron Complex & Chromium which I will be taking alongside my Multivitamins and Iodine.

Cookies Invade from Outer Space

I bought this book on the weekend, from Waterstones. IT. IS. AMAZING! There are so many pictures, I have no idea what to make first. I'm a sucker for peanut butter and there's so many recipes containing it in this book which will definitely have to be made soon! I'm going to substitute all sugar with xylitol, but probably won't be able to avoid adding a little molasses/agave nectar when it's called for...

Here's a sample of what's inside:

• Peanut Butter Blondies
• Key Lime Shortbread
• Espresso Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Irish Whiskey Cremes
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows
• Classic Gingerbread
• NYC Black & Whites
• Sweet Wine Sesame Biscuits
• Citrus Glitters
• Various Biscotti
• Sweet Potato Blondies
• Fudge Brownies
• Nutty Wedding Cookies
• Pretzel Cookies

Here's a link to the Get Sconed! blog's review of the book... with fantastic pictures!

Tahini & Peanut Butter Freezer-Fudge

This stuff is to die for and is SO simple to make! A friend gave me the recipe, but the beauty of it is that you can really play around with the ingredients to make it exactly to your taste. I have never really been a fan of tahini, so next time I might lower the amount of it and maybe add something a little more exotic like cocoa butter and some dessicated coconut. I'll definitely be making this again really soon!



Ingredients for Freezer Fudge:

+ 1/3 cup of peanut butter/any nut/any seed/cocoa butter
+ 1/4 cup of tahini
+ dash of vanilla essence/almond essence
+ some linseed/sesame/sunflower seeds if you wish
+ 3 tbsp of xylitol/sugar
+ small piece carob/chocolate (grated)

Method:

- mix it all (apart from carob) in pan on medium heat
- smoosh the dough into a small glass baking dish
- grate chocolate/carob on top to garnish
- place into freezer for 2 hours
- cut into cubes or slices
- store in freezer

Raw Food Bars

These raw bars are by Nakd and cost €1.15 each in Tesco. I thought they were worth a try as they contain no added sugar (I guess only the sugar from the fruit itself) and I've heard many good things about them! I picked up the chocolate, berry and nut varieties. I saw smaller Nakd bars in a different shop with either pecans, ginger or chocolate in them, but they were more expensive than the larger bars so I didn't bother buying any. Gillian McKeith's organic hemp seed bars were reduced in the health food shop so I picked up a couple as they sounded delicious and pretty healthy with the only sugar coming from organic apple juice and organic raisins. I'm not a big fan of carob but thought I'd also give it another try as it's been years since I had any - it was pretty expensive at just over €2.50 for a large bar but might prove to be an interesting alternative to chocolate. However, I'm a little worried that it won't be sweet at all and I might hate it! I'll report back...



***REPORTING BACK!!!***

So the carob is definitely different. I do like it, it has a real chocolatey "bite" to it and the texture of real chocolate - but it really does lack sweetness. I often eat chocolate if I want something sweet, so I don't think this is going to do the job! If I could find bars of it cheap enough I could probably use it in cooking (if it melts well?!) and mix in some xylitol to sweeten it up, but at the moment I think I will have to have a small square of it with a small spreading of peanut butter on top as a sweet treat!

Broccolicious!

I love broccoli and decided to have a go at making cream of broccoli soup. Here is the recipe, it's so simple!

- Boil a head of broccoli in some vegan stock until just about tender
- Fry up a whole sliced onion and 3 cloves of garlic
- Put everything into a blender and add a cup of soya milk
- Blend
- Add salt and pepper to taste
- If desired, add a little leftover water from boiling the broccoli

Broccolicious!

The second time I made it, I added the fried onion and garlic at the very end along with some diced fried mushrooms and blended very gently so they just mixed in but did not completely disappear. The soup was much chunkier and more flavoursome!

More Easter Goodies!

I got some of these for Easter from Aldi and have hidden them away to avoid temptation! I love marzipan with a passion so these little eggs are going to be wolfed down in no time come Easter Sunday!! They are quite small but also come in one larger egg (about the size of two Cadbury's Creme Eggs). I thought, however, that it was a more sensible option to get the smaller eggs so that they lasted longer! From time to time Aldi has a few lovely marzipan goodies in stock. I am yet to come across the small rectangular blocks covered in dark chocolate that are listed on this site.

If you scroll further down that site the Moser Roth chocolate that I love (dark chilli / mint / almond and orange) are mentioned and get a good review :)