Happy Easter everyone! Today, I’m excited to be sharing with you the recipe for Pret’s world famous Dark Chocolate and Almond Butter Cookie! 🍪 This has to be one of the best cafe cookies available, and one of my personal favourites! Fresh from the oven, this decadent chocolate cookie is crunchy on the outer edge, gooey in the middle with melting chunks of dark chocolate and crunchy almond pieces throughout. It’s so good!
Today I’m sharing the recipe for a delicious plant-based curry that is filled with sunshine colour. The stars of this dish are butternut squash and red pepper, which are roasted in warming spices to bring a richness and depth of flavour. The sauce is coconut based, adding the touch of sweetness and creaminess that we associate with Sri Lankan curries. I’ve kept the recipe mild enough to suit all family members, but feel free to crank up the heat by adding some fresh chilli.
The inspiration for today’s post was a recipe that I spotted in February’s Vegan Life Magazine. With its vivid oranges and reds, this curry looked so appealing! It also reminded me of Deliciously Ella’s Sri Lankan Curry, which has been on my ‘to try’ list for ages now. Rather than buying new ingredients that I wouldn’t normally purchase, I decided to use the recipes from Ella and Vegan Life magazine as inspiration to create my own version of this delicious-looking curry.
* Disclaimer: Vegan Life kindly sent me a complimentary copy of this magazine
And I was so happy with how it turned out! The colours and flavours of this curry are beautiful!! I used a mix of spices that I always have on hand (turmeric, chilli, cinnamon, curry powder and mustard seeds) which gave the dish the warm, sweet and spicy flavour that I associate with Sri Lankan-style curries. I also chose to add some marinated tofu to increase the protein content. The texture and flavour of the tofu worked really well in this curry, so I will definitely use it again in the future!
Since I first made this curry last month, I’ve gone on to make it twice more already! It’s been a big hit with family and friends, so I know I’ll be making it many more times in the future. This recipe is a keeper! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
If you make this Vegan Sunny Sri Lankan Curry, 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.
Big thank you to the Vegan Life magazine and the lovely Ella Mills for today’s recipe inspiration! ✨
With love,
Sharon xx
* This recipe was originally posted in March 2014. The page was updated in February 2020.
It’s Shrove Tuesday tomorrow and I am really looking forward to making a big pile of my family’s favourite vegan crepes. They are so easy to make and use basic pantry ingredients. We don’t even use an egg replacer! I’ve always loved French-style crepes but I love this vegan version even more. They taste amazing and they’re cruelty-free too ❤️
In today’s post, I’m sharing the recipe for a delicious plant-based alternative to halloumi. Simple to prepare, this Tofu ‘Halloumi’ is highly versatile. We love to add it to Greek-style salads, sandwiches, pittas, wraps and mezze platters.
It was the Greek Vegan Deli guys that first introduced me to Tofu ‘Halloumi’ back in 2018 at Bristol VegFest. It was absolutely delicious!! Since then, every time I see the Greek Deli guys at a festival, I really look forward to tucking into their Tofu ‘Halloumi’, either stuffed into a pitta or as part of one of their incredible Greek platters.
I love Greek food and halloumi used to be one of my favourite cheeses. However, once I’d tried the tofu version, I was hooked. I loved it even more than the original!
And if I’d known just how easy it is to make, I would definitely have tried making Tofu ‘Halloumi’ a long time ago!
It involves three simple steps …
Job done!
I especially love to use a griddle pan to get those beautiful grill lines.
For the marinade, I used five ingredients that are basic staples my kitchen – nutritional yeast flakes, lemon, oregano, extra virgin olive oil and salt. The resulting tofu was so flavourful. It was salty, tangy, cheesy and herby – all the flavours I associated with Greek halloumi (for Cypriot halloumi you could switch the oregano for mint instead).
I’m really looking forward to seeing how you would use this Tofu ‘Halloumi’. Today, I added it to a toasted sandwich with baby leaves and shredded beetroot, sun-dried tomatoes and mayo. It was so delicious! If you make it, remember to take a photo and tag it 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
——————————–
Happy New Year everyone! So here we are, in the year 2020. Wow! When I was little, 2020 seemed so futuristic. I imagined we would all be wearing shiny silver suits and flying around on hover boards. Well, the reality hasn’t matched up with my predictions, but life on planet Earth sure feels a bit crazy right now.
And when things start to feel a bit too crazy in the big wide world, I find it helpful to focus on the things that I can personally do (however small) to help bring about positive change. This month, I am supporting people that are giving Veganuary a try, whether they have pledged to go full vegan for the month or are dipping their toes into the world of plant-based eating. It feels an absolute honour to be part of a person’s journey as they start to make the transition towards this more planet, animal and human health-friendly lifestyle 💚
Over 300,000 people have already signed up to take part in this year’s Veganuary, which is incredible! And that includes one of my personal heroes… Brian May! I’ve been following his vegan journey on Instagram and it’s wonderful to hear how much he’s enjoying it.
I especially love this passage that Brian wrote on Day 13 of #Veganuary…
One person going Vegan for a month is a very small thing. But from small seeds big peaceful oak trees grow. Our grandchildren will need them.
Brian May
All of us really can make a difference! And if you’ve been considering joining in Veganuary but feel you may have missed the boat, it’s not too late! You can still sign the pledge on the Veganuary website. And if you’d like some personalised plant-based nutrition coaching to help you along the way, don’t hesitate to get in touch. I would be delighted to help you!
So after that long introduction, let’s get onto a recipe! I thought I would kick start blogging in 2020 by sharing one of my family’s all-time favourite burger recipes which features in the Bit of the Good Stuff Cookbook – the Gourmet Goa Burger. This recipe has proven popular with our lovely readers too. In fact, one reader that I met at a vegan festival asked me if I would sign this page of the cookbook for her mum as it was her mum’s favourite burger recipe!
These burgers are flavoured with warming Indian spices and have a beautiful texture, thanks to the addition of cashews and oats. Some home-made burgers can be a bit soft and mushy, but not these ones!
And what I especially love about these burgers is that they are so quick and easy to make! You can make them from scratch in 30 minutes or less! In the time it takes to pre-heat our oven and cook the fries for our Friday night dinner, we’ve made the burgers and washed up too.
Fresh, tasty, healthy AND quick to make. Now that’s my idea of the perfect fast food!
N.B. The above values are estimates. The actual nutritional values will vary depending on the brands and ingredients used.
If you make these burgers, 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
——————-
If you’re looking for a special occasion dessert that is super easy to make but has the ‘wow’ factor, then today’s recipe is for you! It’s a rich chocolate torte, consisting of a silky smooth ganache set on top of a biscuit base. There is no baking involved and it only takes around 20 minutes to prepare. The hardest part is waiting for it to set before you can dive in!
The inspiration for today’s recipe was a Dark Chocolate & Coconut Tart that I spotted in this month’s Vegan Life magazine. It looked so decadent and inviting! As I love playing around with recipes and creating my own take on them, I decided to switch the pastry for a biscuit base (to make it a ‘no bake’ recipe) and I experimented with different ingredients for the chocolate filling. I’m not personally a big fan of the chocolate coconut flavour, so I opted to use soya cream instead of coconut milk, and it worked really well!
For the biscuit base (aka cookies for our overseas friends!) I chose to use Lotus Biscoff biscuits. The sweet caramel flavour of these biscuits worked beautifully with the rich dark chocolate ganache. I added a little sprinkle of Biscoff crumbs on top to finish off the torte and it looked so pretty… like little flecks of gold!
If you’re gluten-free, you can easily switch the Lotus biscuits for a gluten-free biscuit/cookie instead. One of my favourites are the Nairn’s Gluten Free Biscuit Breaks and I think their Stem Ginger Biscuit could work well in this recipe. I’ll definitely have to give it a try.
I made this torte to share with friends and family over the festive holidays and so far, it’s going down a treat. Everyone that’s tried it has given it a big thumbs up!
It is pretty rich and filling, so be sure to slice modestly. (The recipe below will easily serve twelve). I love to serve the torte with some fruit compote on the side. The fruit helps to cut through the richness of the chocolate. Cherry or raspberry compote are my favourites as I find their flavours pair really well with chocolate. Adding the compote also helps to ‘dress’ the serving plate (though I really need to work on my plating skills! 😂)
If you make this Easy Vegan Chocolate Torte, 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
P.S. A huge thank you to everyone who has left a comment or review on this recipe! Your feedback honestly means the world to me, and I love hearing about the creative twists and adaptations you’ve tried. It’s also so helpful for others in the community who come to make this torte, so please do keep sharing your experiences — I truly appreciate it! ❤️
