Tag: dairy-free

Quinoa Winter Bowl with Roasted Vegetables, Cranberries and Balsamic Glaze

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In today’s post, I’m sharing a recipe for a delicious quinoa bowl that’s just perfect for serving this time of year. It features roasted veggies, dried cranberries and crunchy pumpkin seeds, topped with a sweet balsamic glaze. We’ve been enjoying it as a light evening meal, with leftovers served for lunches later in the week. It can even be served cold, and Lucien’s been taking it to school in his lunchbox.

I must admit that I never used to be a fan of quinoa. I found the texture and flavour of plain quinoa quite strange and not particularly appealing. However, I discovered a couple of key steps that make it much more palatable…

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Lemon Berry Crumble Slice (Dairy-free / Egg-free / Vegan)

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In today’s post, I’m sharing a recipe for a delicious baked treat – Lemon Berry Crumble Slices. These slices consist of a fluffy lemon sponge, studded with juicy berries and topped with crumble. They use basic pantry ingredients and are simple to make, yet they’re bound to impress your family and friends!

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Wagamama-Inspired Yasai Cha Han Donburi (Brown Rice Bowl with Stir-Fried Veggies and Tofu)

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In early Summer, my family were eagerly anticipating a trip to Wagamamas. On the way there, we psyched each other up, talking about how much we were looking forward to tucking into our favourite Wagamama dish – the Yasai Cha Han Donburi. Upon arrival, the waiter showed us to our seats and handed us the menu. Our eyes immediately moved to the spot where the dish is usually listed, but it wasn’t there. We scanned both sides of the menu but it was nowhere to be seen. We called over the waiter and he explained that they had a new summer menu. Sadly, the Yasai Cha Han Donburi hadn’t made the cut.

Has that ever happened to you? Where you’re looking forward to tucking into your favourite dish at a restaurant, or you specifically go to that restaurant because you’re craving a dish… only to find that it’s been taken off the menu. It’s happened to my family a few times and it’s always such a bummer.

Well this time, I decided to look on the bright side. I’d been meaning to try my hand at making the Yasai Cha Han Donburi at home for a while, and now was the perfect opportunity. I could still remember what the bowl tasted like and its main components, so I set to work re-creating it.

One of my favourite parts of the bowl is the flavouring added to the rice, so I really wanted to nail this part. I chose to use two of my favourite pantry staples as the basis of the dressing – Clearspring Organic Tamari Sauce and Meridian Organic Toasted Sesame Oil. The tamari provides the ‘umami’ flavour, while the toasted sesame oil add a touch of smokiness. I then added a tablespoon each of maple syrup and rice vinegar for some ‘sweet ’n’ sour’ flavour, and finished it off with a sprinkling of garlic granules. I was extremely happy with the way the dressing turned out. For me, it’s the perfect compliment to a Japanese-inspired rice bowl.

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Chocolate Banana Ice Cream Cups

Published on by Sharon6 Comments

I love making chocolate banana ice cream! (aka ‘Nicecream’)  It’s so simple and cheap to make (costing literally a few pence per serving), yet it feels like a real treat. It also happens to be packed full of healthy ingredients, including an array of minerals and antioxidant goodness.

I’ve been making banana ice cream for a few years now, and have learnt a few tricks along the way to make the process even quicker and easier. For example, I used to slice the bananas into discs and arrange them in single layers in freezer bags prior to freezing, however I’ve since discovered that whole bananas can easily be sliced from frozen using a sharp knife! These days, I simply pop whole bananas in the freezer stacked in plastic containers with a layer of parchment paper in between to stop them sticking together.

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Pear and Yogurt Cake (Dairy-Free / Egg-Free / Vegan)

Published on by Sharon19 Comments

In today’s post, I’m sharing a recipe for a delicious Pear and Yogurt Cake. While simple to make, this cake looks pretty impressive with its glistening pear and cinnamon-speckled top. The cake itself has a beautifully moist, light and fluffy texture and is flavoured with hints of vanilla and almonds.

I know some people with gluten sensitivities are able to tolerate spelt flour and this cake works just perfectly with white spelt flour. Otherwise regular plain (all-purpose) flour or even a combination of half white/plain flour and half wholemeal or chapatti flour works great.

The inspiration for this cake was a visit during May half-term break to one of my favourite cafes in Bristol – Roll for the Soul. This community-run cafe also houses a cycle workshop and event space. It has a great atmosphere and lovely food and coffee, so I highly recommend a visit if you’re in the area [UPDATE: Sadly Roll for the Soul closed down in September 2017 ]

Roll for the Soul is in one of my favourite districts of Bristol. We often head over there to check out the street art. One of my favourite street artists is Silent Hobo and I actually bumped into him a few weeks ago at Montpelier Railway station where he was putting the finishing touches to this mural. Isn’t it beautiful?

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Sultana Banana Mini Pancakes (Vegan)

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Today I’m sharing a recipe for Sultana Banana Mini Pancakes ❤️ They are quick, easy to make and use basic pantry ingredients. They’re perfect for serving as a weekend breakfast or for ‘elevenses’. Me and Lil’ L have made them three times so far and they have proven to be a big hit with the family.

Have you tried adding sultanas to pancake batter before? They work beautifully in these American-style fluffy pancakes. In fact, I loved them so much that I ended up adding more than the original recipe called for.

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