breakfast Archives - Page 10 of 10

Apricot & Almond Smoothie (with a hint of cardamom)

I adore nuts of every kind, but it’s probably only since going vegan that I’ve actually really started eating them regularly, and certainly that I’ve discovered their versatility. In the past, my encounters with nuts were probably mainly limited to chocolate coated peanuts, salted + roasted peanuts, peanut butter (the kind with sugar and preservatives…), and that’s about it.

Wow was I missing out.

They’re well and truly a staple in my kitchen now: A handful of nuts is a great snack- cashews, almonds and walnuts are my favourites; nut cheeses (see my courgette galette with cashew chèvre); an ingredient in salads and stir-fries; a key component of raw desserts; a lovely addition to baked goods, and of course nut creams and milks, among many other uses.

I’ve been buying almond milk for a long time, but only very recently started making my own at home. If you haven’t tried it yet you really must. It’s far creamier and tastes so much more like the actual nut than any stuff you’ll find pre-packaged. It’s hardly any effort either.

I’m not usually a big smoothie drinker but the warm weather has made me fancy a lighter start to the day. This cool, creamy smoothie is ideal for breakfast ( I enjoyed it alongside a little homemade chamomile muffin I found lurking in the freezer), or makes a perfect afternoon pick-me-up, or would even be a delicious dessert.

I’ve just got back from a week in Spain and enjoyed tonnes of gorgeous stone fruit- peaches, nectarines and apricots galore. What we get over here is mainly imported and of course nowhere near as good as the fresh stuff. I found a bag of the soft dried type, and although very different they worked really well in this smoothie, their concentrated sweetness making it feel rather decadent.

Dried Apricots come in two varieties: sulphured, and un-sulphured. Sulphur dioxide is often unnecessarily added to dried fruits as a preservative and is what retains the bright orange colour of the apricots. I prefer to use organic dried apricots with no added preservatives or other added ingredients. This means that they are not bright orange, but are naturally dark instead. In my opinion these are far more delicious and fruity-tasting than the artificially-preserved variety.

Apricot & Almond Smoothie (with a hint of cardamom)

2014-03-25 15:56:55

Serves 1

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Ingredients

3/4 C Almond milk (preferably homemade)
1/2 Frozen banana ( I freeze peeled, halved bananas when they’re turning brown)
4 Soft dried apricots (organic, unsulphured)
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1/8 tsp Almond extract
1/8 tsp Ground cardamom (optional)

Instructions

Blend all ingredients together until thick and smooth. Serve immediately.

Coconut and Berries http://www.coconutandberries.com/

I’m submitting this to the Weekly Blog Hops: Raw Foods Thursdays, Healthy Vegan Fridays, and Wellness Weekends

Do you make your own nut milk? What’s your favourite kind of nut?

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Rhubarb-Berry Compote, Yogurt & Granola Parfait

Eating out as a vegan can have it’s challenges. Nothing that can’t be overcome with a little forethought and planning though.

Despite best intentions I found myself caught out when trying to get breakfast at a UK airport recently. My usual safe-bet is porridge since I know of at least a couple of mainstream coffee shop chains which will make it up with soy milk for you. Add a banana, and if you’ve been really prepared, a squeeze pack of nut butter or some trail mix and you’re good to go. But at this particular airport none of my usual porridge spots were to be found! I traipsed around surveying the options only to find porridge pre-made with dairy milk or oats mixed with dried milk ready for hot water to be added.

I’m being a little dramatic about my little adventure as after all I did have a snack bar and banana in my bag which I settled for instead. Not ideal but not exactly disastrous.

My airport wanderings weren’t entirely fruitless either, since on the way I picked up some inspiration for breakfasts to make-over at home, this parfait being one of them. Yogurt pots with fruit and granola seemed to be all the rage, again all unfortunately using dairy.

Still with more rhubarb to get through, I combined it with an assortment of berries from the freezer- blackberries, raspberries and blueberries, some coconut sugar to sweeten and a teeny dash of vanilla to make this beautiful compote. When warm it was divine over creamy oats, and the following day it had thickened it nicely and was turned into this parfait.

The compote was delicious layered up in a jar with soy yogurt and granola and eaten with a long spoon like an ice cream sundae! I took the easy option using store-bought granola and yogurt but have ambitions to make a variation of this with home-cultured almond yogurt and homemade granola. The choice is yours.

Rhubarb-Berry Compote, Yogurt & Granola Parfait

2014-03-25 15:41:04

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Rhubarb-Berry Compote

2-1/2 C Chopped rhubarb, 1 inch pieces
1-1/2 C Mixed berries, frozen or fresh ( I used blackberries, raspberries + blueberries)
1/4 C Coconut sugar
1-2 Tbsp agave (optional)
Dash of vanilla extract
Non-dairy yogurt
Nutty granola

Instructions

Combine chopped rhubarb and berries in a large pot and add coconut sugar and a couple of tablespoons water.
Simmer gently over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes until rhubarb is very soft and berries collapsing.
Stir through vanilla and taste for sweetness. Add agave if necessary.
Leave to cool if making parfaits or serve immediately over hot porridge for breakfast or with vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Putting it together

You will need (for 1 parfait): a mason jar or tall glass, 1C plain non-dairy yogurt, 1C rhubarb-berry compote, 1/3 C nutty granola.
Carefully pour half of the compote in the bottom of the jar, then half of your yogurt on top. Sprinkle over half of the granola (It sort of gets lost in the pictures but it’s delightful delving into the jar and finding the little crunchy gems). Repeat layers, reserving a little compote for the top.

Coconut and Berries http://www.coconutandberries.com/

All gone!

Do you prepare food for when travelling? Or do you bank on there being good options available?

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Creamy Spinach + Leek Stuffed Mushrooms

Whenever I have portobello or flat mushrooms on hand I always seem to go to my default recipe- marinated in a sweet balsamic dresssing, grilled, and then served any of a number of ways: sliced into chunky strips strewn over a salad, squished between a bun with lots of toppings… When I’ve found a recipe I love I get it into my head that nothing else I make with that ingredient will be as good and so I stick to the tried and tested.

I was definitely proven wrong today. I pushed myself to try something new and I may just have knocked my old fave off the top-spot!

These beauties really have that “umami” flavour and although rich-tasting they are pretty darn healthy too. I’d very happily eat a couple of them simply accompanied with some crusty bread for a satisfying lunch, light dinner, or even for breakfast.

I used coconut milk for the creaminess here and the coconut flavour wasn’t too strong for me when combined with plenty of garlic, earthy leeks and spinach as well as a good dose of nutritional yeast, but if you’re not a fan then you could swap in any other non-dairy cream (soy, coconut etc- there are various available commercially these days). A hint of nutmeg rounds these out nicely, but again you might prefer to go with a dash of cayenne instead for a slightly different background note.

Pictured below I served them with sweet potato chunks, roasted until the edges turn caramel-crisp and some delicately seasoned beluga lentils.

Creamy Spinach + Leek Stuffed Mushrooms:

3-4 Large Flat/Portobello Mushrooms
1 Leek, diced
3 Cloves garlic, minced
Few grinds nutmeg and/or cayenne
Several handfuls spinach
1/2C Coconut milk/non-dairy cream
2T Nutritional yeast
salt + pepper, olive oil

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F

Prepare your mushrooms- either wipe with a damp cloth or peel and de-stalk, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and lay them on a baking sheet.

Sauté leeks over medium heat for 5 minutes until softening nicely, add minced garlic and cook for a further couple of minutes. Add your spinach (be generous as it will shrink down a lot) and spices of choice and cook until wilted. Pour over coconut milk, warm through and season.

Spoon creamy filling onto your prepared mushroom caps and sprinkle with nutritional yeast. Bake 20-30 minutes until turning golden.

Enjoy!

What about you, do you stick to your tried and tested with certain ingredients, or are you open to trying new ideas?

Stewed Rhubarb with Orange

We’re being overrun by rhubarb at home. We were generously given a huge bunch of the stuff and it sat there in the fridge waiting to be eaten. Then, the following week we were given another bunch! I wouldn’t turn down a gift of fruit or veg so the fridge filled up…

To use up a good load of it I turned to a favourite rhubarb recipe- stewed with orange.

It can be cooked in a number of ways. We have an Aga oven at home so I put it in the bottom and cooked it own very low heat for a couple of hours so it kept most of its shape but had that lovely just-falling-apart texture. You can cook it on the stove-top too but it won’t need nearly as long on the heat.

I chopped it up , threw it into an oven-proof dish, sprinkled over the zest and juice of an orange and added just enough sugar for my liking.

It’s a perfect dessert with non-dairy yogurt, coconut cream or vanilla ice cream. It would be a delicious breakfast too, over porridge or layered up with some granola and yogurt.

Stewed Rhubarb with Orange

Ingredients

1.5kg rhubarb (I told you I had a lot!)
150g or 2/3 C sugar (you could use any sweetener you like, and more or less to your taste)
1 orange, zested and juiced
1/4 C water

Instructions

Chop up rhubarb into equal lengths of 2-3 inches.
Place in oven-proof dish or large pan, zest and juice your orange and add to the dish along with your sweetener of choice and the water.
Place in your oven on very low for a couple of hours, or on the stove-top, bring to a boil and simmer gently until soft, about 10 minutes.

http://www.coconutandberries.com/2013/06/12/stewed-rhubarb-with-orange/

There’s still some left, not to mention our own rhubarb in the garden! I think muffins are on the agenda…

Other rhubarb recipes on my radar:

Strawberry-rhubarb muffins (I’ve made these before and they are very good)

Rhubarb-berry baked oatmeal

Sweet and sour rhubarb chickpeas