September 2013 - Page 4 of 5 - Coconut and Berries

Hemp Seeds Recipes

H is for…Hemp Seeds!

We’ve had Chia seeds already and today I’m featuring another nutritious little one- Hemp seeds. No, you won’t get high from eating these I’m afraid! Hemp seeds and marijuana do come from the same plant, cannabis, but different varieties with different properties.

Just like chia, hemp seeds are packed with protein, EFAs, Vitamin E and minerals, not to mention they’re really tasty. They have quite a distinctive flavour, slightly earthy and sweet.

I frequently use them in my meals but almost always just sprinkling them on top of whatever it may be. From salads and soups, to porridge, non-dairy yogurt and fruit. I’ve also recently discovered these flavoured hemp sprinkles from the UK company Good Hemp. They come in 3 flavours: Asian Spice, Italian Herbs + Sweet Cinnamon and are extra tasty. I can especially vouch for the Italian Herb being good on pesto pasta .

For my A-Z challenge I decided I had to incorporate them into a recipe like I did for my Cheesy Tofu Scramble + Chipotle Sweet Potato Tacos. I left it to the experts to come up with the recipes though and made 3 hemp recipes from 3 of my favourite bloggers.

First up was these Happy Hemp Two-Bite Brownies from Ricki Heller. They’re grain-free and also don’t contain any refined sugars. I use coconut sugar in my baking already but hadn’t found a good brand of stevia until recently so had avoided stevia sweetened desserts. I won a giveaway for some NuNaturals products and have to say these are unlike any others I’ve tried. Stevia can often have a bitter aftertaste but this one is completely undetectable.

Back to brownies. Ground almonds and hemp seeds are the main ingredients leaving them with that perfect fudgy brownies texture- a slightly squidgy middle whilst still being crisp on the outside.

Especially good with a tall glass of ice cold almond milk. I couldn’t decide if I liked them being small or not. Mini treats are fun but 2 bites of these was not enough!

Next, I made Gena from Choosing Raw’s Beet and Hemp Granola. This was my first time making granola of any kind and I was so pleased with how it turned out. Gena gives either the option to dehydrate or oven bake but as I sadly don’t own a dehydrator I had to go with the latter. I’m sure it didn’t compromise the taste but it might have resulted in the darker colour of mine, not quite the pretty beetroot pink it was before baking.

I don’t buy store-bought granola as it’s far too sweet for me but this had just the right amount of sweetness- all natural from dates. The goldenberries (Incan berries) added a nice chewy, tangy contrast too.

I served mine with almond milk and berries (N.b My blackberries were from the freezer which is why they look a little icy still!) . I’m excited to try out a bunch of other granola recipes now I know how easy it is to make, and far healthier and cheaper than buying it.

Hemp recipe number 3 was another breakfast recipe. Dreena Burton’s “Hempanana Smoothie” from her latest book Let them Eat Vegan (See this post for my review).

This is a super simple concoction but needs no adornment. Just frozen banana, almond milk, a generous helping of hemp seeds and a dash of cinnamon. Hemp seeds are very soft so they blend down easily and leave the smoothie dreamily creamy! I ran out of straws ( I need to get myself a reusable one….) and slurping this from the glass left me with a thick milk moustache. I’ll definitely be making this again and again.

I enjoyed this for breakfast alongside one of my Strawberry-Almond Muffins. (Oh, and that’s the Good Hemp Sweet Cinnamon variety sprinkled on top of the smoothie)

Incidentally, I just came across this recipe for Chocolate Hemp Banana Ice Cream the other day, which, along the same lines, uses hemp for richness. Can’t wait to try it out.

Have you tried hemp seeds? How do you use them?

Green Curry Tempeh Patties with Coconut-Lime Sauce

G is for…Green Curry Paste!

I ummed and ahed over what to choose for “G”. A rummage in my pantry had me pull out garam masala, ginger, green tea and goldenberries before I found this jar of green curry paste. It’s a bit of a giveaway as to how long I’ve had it that the label is in French. I lived in Paris from January to July 2012 so over a year has gone by since I bought this, and it was unopened! Ooops!

It might seem a rather strange thing to bring back with me but often curry pastes contain shellfish so when I stumbled across this one I excitedly snapped it up. It turns out it’s not actually difficult to find vegan curry paste here after all, but, as you can probably tell, I like to be prepared…

I of course could have just made a curry but I was feeling more creative than that and came up with these Thai Green Curry Tempeh Patties instead. They’re pretty easy to make, with just a few ingredients, including the curry paste. Topped with a zingy lime-coconut sauce I had the full curry experience in a different form.

I had half a package of tempeh to use up so just made a small batch of these. You could easily double the ingredients to use a whole package though.

Green Curry Tempeh Patties:

1/2 225g/8oz pkg Tempeh
1/2T Green Curry Paste
1/2C Shredded Courgette (squeeze out water and measure afterwards)
1 Small clove of garlic, minced
2 Green onions, minced (approx 2T)
2T Breadcrumbs (I make breadcrumbs with any leftover bread and freeze them so I always have them to hand, For GF use GF bread)
1/2T Ground flax seed + 1 1/2T Water
Salt + Pepper to taste

Whisk together ground flax and water and leave to thicken whilst you prepare the other ingredients.

Crumble tempeh into a bowl with your fingers, add shredded courgette, garlic and green onions, Stir in breadcrumbs and flax mixture and mix well, use your hands if you like. You may need another tablespoon of breacrumbs if it’s still very sticky.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Heat a medium-sized pan over medium heat and add a little drizzle of oil. Shape mixture into 4 patties and cook for a few minutes on each side, until lightly browned. (You could probably bake these for a drier texture but I haven’t tried it)

Serve with the Lime-Coconut Sauce

Serves 2

Coconut-Lime Sauce:

1 Small clove of garlic
1/2 Chili, deseeded and minced
1/8t Salt
1/2C Coconut Milk
3/4T Lime juice
2 Green onions, finely chopped
2T Chopped fresh coriander

Using a pestle and mortar (or the flat of your knife on a chopping board) smash together the garlic, chili and salt. Stir in the coconut milk and lime juice and finally the fresh coriander and green onions.

Pre-sauce

I loved these over sautéed kale and quinoa, especially as the greens and grains soak up the tasty sauce.

Now, does anyone have a good Thai green curry recipe?! Or other dishes using green curry paste?

What unopened ingredients do you have in your pantry? It can’t just be me!

Hope everyone’s keeping up with Vegan MoFo now we’re into Week 2

Review: Frank Bars

F is for…Frank Bar!

I’m cheating on my Vegan MoFo A-Z pantry series today…I had planned something else but, although the dish I made was delicious, by dinner time the light had gone so I didn’t get any decent pictures. As I said, it was very tasty so I’ll be sure to make it again and post the recipe after Vegan MoFo.

Anyway, I am still sticking to the planned letter “F” today and bring you a review of a new snack bar on the scene: Frank Bar.

I’ve told you how I always travel with chocolate, but I always travel with a couple of snack bars in my bag too. As a vegan, it’s still not all that easy to find a good snack if you’re out and about, and even harder to find a healthy one, so I leave the house prepared!

I was really pleased to discover Frank Bar at the Allergy & Free From Show earlier this summer. They’re 100% natural, made from oats and dried fruit and topped with a delicious dairy-free coconut cream chocolate layer. They’re also entirely free from gluten and nuts, which makes a nice change, as the snack bars I’m used to often have nuts as a main ingredient. Another thing I really liked is that they’re packed with fibre and also contain pea protein which makes them seriously satisfying for their small size.

So how do they taste?

I loved them! The creamy chocolate layer is the perfect foil to the chewy, oaty base. Frank Bars are currently available in 5 flavours:

Strawberry & Chocolate- If you like chocolate-coated strawberries then you’ll love this one! That’s exactly what it reminded me of.

Orange & Chocolate- This was my 2nd favourite as I love orange and chocolate together. Terry’s chocolate orange anyone?!

Blueberry & Chocolate- The berry flavour really comes through in this one and isn’t dominated by the chocolate as I expected it would be. This one surprised me with how much I liked it.

Double Chocolate- What’s there to say about this one? It’s double chocolate! It’s obviously fantastic!

Oat & Chocolate- This was my favourite flavour. It’s slightly different to the others in that the main bar doesn’t have cocoa powder in so there’s more of a contrast between the base and the top chocolate layer (see image below). Maybe choc-chips would be good in it though?

Here’s the ingredients list and nutritional info so you can see for yourselves how nutritious Frank Bars are. This is the Blueberry & Chocolate flavour but the nutritional profile is pretty much the same for all the flavours. Nearly 4g Protein and 4g Fibre in each 35g bar and only around 120 calories.

You can find them in various independent stores across England as well as in Planet Organic in London, and online from the Frank Food Co. website. A mixed case of 20 bars- 5 of each flavour- is currently on offer for just £10- that’s only 50p a bar!

Are you a snack bar eater? Which are your favourites?

UK folk, have you tried these yet? If not, ask your local health stores to stock them.

I’ll be back on my pantry A-Z series tomorrow with a recipe for you! Can you guess what the letter “G” will be?

Review: Al Shami, Oxford

I wasn’t planning on posting today but I couldn’t resist a little bonus post This is not following my Vegan MoFo theme. I’ll be back on the A-Z next week, with the letter F on Monday.

As I’m shortly leaving Oxford to move to a new city my Mum asked if there was anywhere I’d like to go out to eat for a “farewell” meal. I didn’t have to think twice about my choice as Al Shami is my favourite Oxford restaurant. It’s not vegan, nor even vegetarian but is incredibly vegan-friendly and all vegan dishes are clearly marked with Ve on the menu. Apparently a new menu is in the works with info for those avoiding gluten and nuts too.

It’s a Lebanese restaurant and if you’ve been reading Coconut and Berries a little while you’ll know that Middle-Eastern might just be my favourite cuisine!

The restaurant’s not particularly fancy at all but it’s definitely authentic

There are so many dishes to choose from that it’s best to go with a few people so that you can try more! Most of the dishes are “Meze” (small plates) anyway so order lots! Although I was eating with omnivores everyone was very happy to eat vegan and let me take charge of the ordering.

Here’s what we got :

Mohammara Bil-Jawz- Mixed crushed nuts, red capsicum, olive oil and spices

My love of dips probably warms me to Lebanese food as there are so many, and all completely different. This is rich and slightly spicy.

Fattoush- Mixed salad with herbs and toasted Lebanese bread

A traditional salad with plenty of parsley and lemon, just how I like it.

They automatically bring a basket of flatbread and a plate of salad to the table- lettuce, tomato, raw carrot and pepper, radishes and pickles- which is nice to nibble on to start with or to use to scoop up the delicious dips and other dishes.

Moutabel- Puréed aubergines, tahini, lemon juice, garlic

The phrase “looks can be deceiving” comes to mind with this dish as it looks slightly bland and insipid. I don’t know how they managed it but it had a fantastic smoky flavour. I thought it must be smoked paprika but it’s not red coloured so I’m perplexed… Any suggestions? I really want to recreate this one!

Falafel- Ground chickpeas and broad beans mixed with spices, fried

Does anyone not like falafel?! These were rather a treat as I always bake rather than fry the falafel I make at home. I adore them anyway but they’re quite different to these crispy little morsels.

Ardi-Shoki- Artichokes with selected vegetables cooked in our special sauce

The cute name alone enticed me into ordering this one (!), but it was delicious too. I’ve not had artichokes cooked like this before- I usually just use them to top pizza to be honest but they soaked up the sweet, tangy sauce wonderfully.

It came served with rice…

Mujadara- Cracked wheat, lentils and fried onions (This comes with yogurt but we asked them to omit this).

I’m going to be on the look out for cracked wheat like this as the bulgur I’ve bought before is finer and doesn’t have the same toothsome quality.

I forgot to get a picture of this dish but you can kind of see it in the first photo- Zahra Maqlia- Fried cauliflower topped with tahini, parsley, garlic, lemon juice. Gosh was this good. The cauliflower is wonderfully tender but crisp and draped in silky tahini sauce. We were so stuffed but couldn’t bear to leave any of this behind.

There were four of us eating and it all came to only £8 a head (excluding drinks)! Seriously good value I think. For some reason it wasn’t listed on Happy Cow so I’ve just added it to the listings so other vegans/vegetarians visiting Oxford can find out about it.

Are you a Middle-Eastern food fan? Which dish looks best to you?

E is for…

Edamame!

I know my A-Z series is pantry ingredients not fresh fruit and vegetables, but I decided edamame count as I buy the frozen packaged kind . My blog, my rules!

I love edamame but always forget to use them…probably because they’re in my freezer and not as visible as the veg in my fridge’s crisper drawer. But, I had lunch at the Japanese noodle restaurant chain Wagamama a few days ago where one of the sides on offer is simply a bowl of salted, steamed edamame and it reignited my passion for these little green beans.

I can’t seem to find them still in their pods unfortunately but they’re more convenient for a variety of recipes in their podded form anyway. I’ve used them in a few recipes on the blog so far- My Summer Vegetable + Chickpea Sauté, 10-minute Raw Peanut Noodles, and my favourite Cauliflower Fried “Rice” with Grilled Tofu. I’m still mad about dips so thought I’d make something similar to my Broad Bean + Roasted Garlic Dip but using edamame.

I opted to fancy up this lunch staple a little with the addition of a second spread for my toasts- tofu ricotta. The slightly salty, tangy ricotta is a lovely contrast to the sweet edamame-pea dip, but if you’re pushed for time then the latter is still very yummy on its own.

Edamame-Pea Dip + Tofu Ricotta Toasts:

1C Frozen edamame
1C Frozen peas
1Clove of garlic, minced
1T + 1t Olive oil
1/2T Tahini
1T Lemon juice
1/8t Salt
1 1/2T Fresh mint leaves

Steam the peas and edamame for approx 3 minutes then plunge into cold water to stop cooking and retain bright green colour. Set aside in a bowl.

Heat the teaspoon of olive oil in a small pan over medium and when hot add minced garlic. Cook, stirring for a minute just to take the raw garlic edge off. Add garlic to edamame and peas and add remaining olive oil, tahini, lemon juice and salt. Using an immersion blender blitz the mixture until you have a fairly smooth purée. You can also use a food processor for this. Finally add the chopped mint and pulse through.

Tofu Ricotta (For Soy-free use Cashew ricotta)

(Adapted from Veganomicon)

1/2 400g/14oz pkg Firm tofu
1 1/2T Lemon juice
2T Nutritional yeast
1/4t Salt
1t Olive Oil
1 Clove of garlic, minced
1/4t Dried basil (optional)

Using your hands crumble up tofu and squish between your fingers until you have a ricotta-like texture. Stir through remaining ingredients and taste for salt.

Spread toast with a generous layer of the tofu ricotta, followed by a good dollop of the edamame-pea dip. Serve alongside a big salad for lunch or make crostini with the spreads and serve as appetizers.

A few more edamame recipes to try:

If you’ve still got peaches where you are try these Portland Porch Lettuce Wraps which use edamame pesto, from Isa at the PPK.

These Vegan Sushi Rolls with Sticky Walnuts and Edamame also look fantastic.

You could thrown them in a veg-loaded hummus wrap.

Or, if you’re in the mood for something a little more wacky…how about these Teriyaki glazed Brown Rice and Edamame Burgers?