* This blog post was originally posted on October 18, 2013. The page was refreshed July 2019
This week, one of my lovely readers emailed and asked whether I could share our recipe for falafel. I was more than happy to oblige! I know I’ve posted numerous pics of our falafel in the past, so this recipe share is way overdue.
My family are huge fans of home-made falafel. They’re so versatile! You can flavour them to suit your tastes, and they’re delicious eaten hot or cold.
Today, I’m delighted to be sharing a recipe for a delicious vegan camembert-style cheese. When I started food blogging back in 2011, I would never have dreamed that I would be sharing such a recipe but here we are, in 2019, where it’s pretty much possible to veganise anything!! Whether you avoid dairy for ethical, dietary or environmental reasons, this creamy, cashew-based cheese is more than a worthy substitute for traditional camembert. Not only does it taste amazing, but it also has a beautiful texture. As it bakes, it forms a skin on the outside, yet remains soft and gooey in the middle.
Unlike a lot of hand-made cheeses, this one is incredibly quick and easy to make. It takes just 10 minutes hands-on time and is ready to serve in half an hour. It’s also super cheap. I calculated that this cheese cost me just 65p to make, which is way cheaper than any vegan cheeses you’ll find in the shops.
And while it feels like an indulgent treat, it’s actually good for you! It’s rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, B vitamins and a whole host of minerals, including zinc, manganese, magnesium and iron. Unlike its dairy counterpart, this plant-based camembert contains zero cholesterol as well as significantly less saturated fat. Oh, and most importantly, it’s cruelty-free… no cows were harmed in the making of this cheese 🐮❤️ It’s a winner all round!
The inspiration for today’s recipe was the infamous ‘Camembosh’ which was featured in this month’s Vegan Life magazine (the one with the lovely Henry and Ian from BOSH! on the front cover). I’d been meaning to try this cheese ever since I’d first heard the rave reviews about it on social media, and seeing it in Vegan Life prompted me to dive into the kitchen and get stuck in.
The recipe is actually very similar to the one I use for cashew ‘mozzarella’ which I make for our pizza nights. It is so easy to make! It’s simply a case of blending the ingredients, then heating them in a saucepan and stirring until they become thick and gooey. For the camembert cheese, the mixture gets transferred to a shallow dish and baked in the oven for 20 minutes until it forms a skin. And that’s it! It’s now ready to serve. If you wish, you can warm some bread in the oven at the same time, ready for dipping into the camembert.
The recipe I’m sharing in this post is an adaptation of the Camembosh. The main tweak I’ve made is to reduce the salt. The BOSH! recipe calls for 1½ tsp salt, plus extra for seasoning. A friend who had already tried the cheese recommended reducing the salt quantity as she’d found it very salty. Heeding her advice, we initially reduced the amount to 1 tsp, but we still found it too salty, so in the second batch, we reduced it to ½ tsp. This amount proved to be perfect for us. In the recipe below, I recommend using ½ tsp salt initially, then taste test while the cheese is on the stove. You can always add extra salt at this point, if needed.
I also reduced the amount of garlic compared to the original recipe as I wanted the ‘cheesy’ aspect of the camembert to shine through. Feel free though to add more garlic if you’d prefer a more garlic-flavoured camembert.
N.B. The above values are estimates. The actual nutritional values will vary depending on the brands and ingredients used.
If you make this Cashew ‘Camembert’, I’d love to hear your feedback and any suggestions for adaptations! Tag your photos with #bitofthegoodstuff on social media – I always love to see your creations! You can also connect with me on my social media channels here: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest.
With love,
Sharon xx
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In today’s post I’m sharing a sandwich filling that is tangy, crunchy, creamy and oh so delicious! It reminds me of the Heinz Sandwich Spread that I used to love as a kid in the 80s, but this home-made version is way fresher, tastier and healthier too!
If you’re looking for a new sandwich to liven up school or work lunchboxes, I’d definitely recommend giving this recipe a try. It would also be great for picnics and buffets. As well as a sandwich filling, you can also use it as a topping for crackers. Perhaps even as a jacket potato topper too?
It’s really easy to make and takes around 12 minutes to prepare a large bowl, which will fill about five sandwiches. I tend to make one batch of chickpea smash at the start of the week, which we then use on the following days for Lucien’s school sandwiches, as well as our own.
The inspiration for today’s recipe was this Garden Veggie Chickpea Salad Sandwich from Jenn @ Peas and Crayons which I came across back in 2017, and have been making adapted versions of ever since. Jenn, in turn, credits Angela from Oh She Glows for inspiring her recipe, so it sounds like Angela is the original recipe creator. I’d like to thank both Jenn and Angela for inspiring the recipe I’m sharing today and for giving my family so much sandwich joy these past couple of years!
This recipe is highly versatile, so feel free to switch up the ingredients. I would definitely recommend keeping the dill pickles in though, as they give this recipe its signature tangy, crunchy bite. In England, dill pickles are called ‘gherkins’. It’s such a funny name isn’t it? Even funnier, my mum still calls them by their old slang name ‘Wallies’. Personally, I prefer to call them dill pickles as it sounds much more appealing to me than gherkins or wallies. How about you? What do you call them?
N.B. The above values are estimates. The actual nutritional values will vary depending on the brands and ingredients used.
If you make this Chickpea Smash, I’d love to hear your feedback and any suggestions for adaptations! Tag your photos with #bitofthegoodstuff on social media – I always love to see your creations! You can also connect with me on my social media channels here: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest.
With love,
Sharon xx
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The recipe I’m sharing today is a twist on a traditional Easter favourite … it’s a Hot Cross Bun Loaf! This spiced fruity loaf is perfect for sharing with friends and family over the holidays. I’ve made three loaves already this week and no doubt I’ll be baking more in the lead up to the bank holiday weekend. It sure is a crowd pleaser. Happy holidays everyone!
* Disclaimer: Vegan Life kindly sent me a complimentary copy of this magazine
It was the April edition of the Vegan Life magazine that inspired today’s recipe. I’m a massive fan of hot cross buns, so when I spotted the ‘Hot-Crossed Loaf’ on p47, I knew that I had to give it a try.
I was so impressed with how it turned out. There is something really satisfying about baking bread from scratch. It doesn’t take a great deal of effort either. The main challenge is being patient while the dough proves. It’s definitely worth the wait though!
I did tweak the original recipe a little to suit my personal tastes. Instead of nutmeg and the zest of an orange and lemon, I used a tablespoon of mixed spice and added a little salt too, to make the flavours pop. My family was amazed at how similar the loaf tasted to hot cross buns!
I also played around with the glaze topping. Inspired by my Hot Cross Bun recipe (which I posted way back in 2014!), I tried topping one of the loaves with a glaze made of unrefined sugar and orange juice. Though a little sticky on the fingers, the glaze made the loaf beautifully shiny and tasted delicious too. In the recipe below, I’ve given the original glazing option, then added the instructions for my ‘super shiny’ glaze in the Notes section.
N.B. The above values are estimates. The actual nutritional values will vary depending on the brands and ingredients used.
Big thank you to Vegan Life magazine for the inspo! ✨
If you make this Hot Cross Bun Loaf (or any other recipes on my blog), I’d love to hear your feedback and any suggestions for adaptations! Tag your photos with #bitofthegoodstuff on social media and they will find their way to me. You can also connect with me on my social media channels here: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest.
With love,
Sharon xx
Today’s recipe for Seitan ‘Chicken’ is a new favourite of mine. It’s easy to make, has a succulent, chewy texture and tastes great. It can be torn into chunks and used as a meat substitute in dishes that traditionally use chicken, or it can be sliced and used for sandwiches. I especially love to slice it into discs and pan-fry it in a little olive oil for a warm sandwich filling.
Seitan has a super high protein content. Today’s recipe contains a wopping 52% of the protein RDA per 100g. It’s also high in B vitamins and a range of minerals, especially iron, selenium and zinc. It’s low fat and contains zero cholesterol so, providing you’re not gluten intolerant, this recipe makes a tasty, healthy, cruelty-free alternative to chicken.
As an added bonus, home-made seitan tends to work out much cheaper than the store-bought meat alternatives. Today’s recipe makes 457g / 16 oz of seitan (which serves four as a main meal), and cost me just £1.77 to make.
If you’re new to making seitan, rest assured it’s easy to do… especially this recipe! It has three key steps – combining the ingredients, kneading for seven minutes, then steaming for thirty minutes. Job done!
The inspiration for today’s post was a recipe I spotted in March’s Vegan Life magazine for ‘Butter Chicken’. The dish looked so appetising and I was totally intrigued as to how a vegan version of Butter Chicken would taste, considering it contains no butter or chicken!! The creator of the recipe – Sasha Gill – is an absolute genius as this veganised ‘Butter Chicken‘ is utterly delicious! It makes a wonderful alternative to the original dish, and I’m confident it will appeal to vegans and meat eaters alike!
I’m really excited to try this seitan ‘chicken’ in other traditional chicken dishes. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes!
N.B. The above values are estimates. The actual nutritional values will vary depending on the brands and ingredients used.
Products used in this recipe:
– Suma Vital Wheat Gluten (available in the UK from independent health food shops and online)
– Marigold Swiss Vegetable Vegan Bouillon Powder
– Suma Organic Light Tahini, available from independent health food shops. (Tahini is also widely available in UK supermarkets)
– Onion powder – available in the UK from independent health foods shops and online
– Marigold Engevita Nutritional Yeast Flakes with B12, available from health food shops, some supermarkets (I found it in my local Waitrose and Aldi recently!) and online
Big thank you to Sasha Gill and Vegan Life magazine for the inspo! ✨
If you make this Seitan ‘Chicken’ (or any other recipes on my blog), I’d love to hear your feedback and any suggestions for adaptations! Tag your photos with #bitofthegoodstuff on social media – I always love to see your creations! You can also connect with me on my social media channels here: Instagram, Facebook , Pinterest.
With love,
Sharon xx
Hey dear friends! Today, I am delighted to be sharing one of personal favourite recipes with you – Spanish Omelette (Tortilla de Patatas). This is no ordinary omelette, however, as it’s 100% plant-based!! Yep, not a single egg in sight. In my pre-vegan days, Spanish Tortilla was a favourite comfort food of mine, but I love this vegan version even more. Not only is it delicious, it’s cruelty-free (no hens or chicks are harmed in the making of this omelette) AND healthier than the traditional version. It’s lower in fat, contains zero cholesterol, and is a rich source of plant proteins, B vitamins, vitamin C, and an array of minerals including potassium, magnesium, zinc and iron.
Healthy, tasty AND cruelty-free. A winner all round!
