Zucchini Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

1½ Cup Whole Wheat Flour
½ Cup Cocoa Powder
½ tsp. Baking Soda
1½ tsp. Baking Powder
¼ tsp. Salt (optional)
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Applesauce
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 Medium Zucchini (grated)
¼ Cup Vegan Chocolate Chips
⅓ Cup Raisins (or preferred dried fruit, optional)

Method:

 

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

 

In a separate bowl, combine sugar, applesauce and vanilla. Stir in grated zucchini.

 

Mix dry and wet ingredients. Fold in your chocolate chips and dried fruit.

 

Pour batter into loaf pan, decorate top with more chocolate chips is desired and bake for 45-55 minutes.

Tips:

Grease loaf tin with coconut oil if needed.
Add walnuts instead of dried fruit if preferred (fat content will increase).

Ganache:

1 Cup Chocolate Chips
2 tablespoons Icing Sugar
1¼ teaspoons Cinnamon
3-4 tablespoons warm nondairy milk

Couscous (Basic)

Ingredients:

1 cup water (mixed with ½ tbsp. vegetable stock powder, optional)
1 tsp. onion granules
1 cup couscous

Method:

Bring water and onion powder to a boil and add couscous. Mix thoroughly, replace lid and turn off heat. Leave to steam for 5 minutes. Remove lid and fluff couscous with a fork.


Suggestions:

For extra flavor add ¼ tsp chilly powder & white pepper to couscous.

Spiced Red Lentil Stew

Ingredients:

2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Large Onion, diced
Preferred Veg (cut into small pieces)
1 Can Diced Tomatoes (try half?) (try fresh?)*
1.5 Vegetable Stock Cube (dissolved in 1 cup of water) Try 1
1 Cup Red Lentils
1 - 2 bay leaves
1¼ tsp. Ground Cumin
3/4 tsp. Chili Powder
½ tsp. Ground Coriander
¼ tsp. Smoked Paprika
¹⁄8 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
Sweetcorn
Any dark green leafy greens (handful, optional)


Method:

In a large pot, dry 'sauté' the onion on low heat until clear and turning brown then add the garlic and sauté for another couple of minutes. Add in the tomatoes to deglaze and cook for a few minutes more.

Stir in the veg, stock and lentils.

Stir in the bay leaf and the spices (cumin, chili powder, coriander, paprika, cayenne).

Add additional water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 20-25 minutes, until lentils are tender and fluffy and vegetables cooked. Add more water if necessary.

Add corn (if using) 5 minutes before it is cooked.

REMOVE BAY LEAVES.

Stir in greens once taken off heat, replace lid and leave to steam for a few minutes.

NOTES 

Adding baking soda will change the pH of tomato sauce making it less acidic.

Fresh tomatoes are less acidic, the riper the better, firmer are more acidic. The longer you cook tomatoes the more acidic they become.

Leek and Potato Soup

Ingredients:

1 Medium - Large (2 small) Leeks* (sliced)
1 Potato (medium-large) (about 1 cm cubes)
1/4-1/2 Veg. Stock Cube (dissolved in water)
1 Bay Leaf
Pepper (4 shakes)
1 Clove Crushed Garlic (if desired)

Method:

Sauté the cut leeks and garlic in some water until softened, add the rest of ingredients with just enough water to cover and boil until soft. Once cooked, remove bay leaves and blend some/all of the mixture until the soup is of a desired consistency.

* Cut the ends off the leaks and wash once the leeks are sliced.

Note: Does not freeze well, separates upon defrosting.

Instant Pot Tweak:

Add 1.5 Cups Water per Medium Leek. You can always add boiling water to soup at the end if you want it runnier.

Cook on 'High Pressure' for 4 minutes.

Large batch:

Limit stock cubes to 2 for three times recipe amount.

My preference:

Remove half of the soup with a ladle and put into a glass jug before using immersion blender to blend the remaining half. Add the unblended soup back into the inner pot when the first half is blended. Stir well.

Banana Bites

Ingredients:

2 Bananas (medium)
1¼ cup Rolled Oats
¼ cup Raisins
¼ cup Apples (diced to raisin size)
 ½ tsp Cinnamon

OPTIONS:
Could add ¼ cup walnuts (chopped) and another ¼ cup oats.
Play around with flavours, this doesn't need to be an exact science.


Method:

Mash the bananas and add all the other ingredients to the mixture. Mix well. If the mixture is too sticky add more oats. Use about a spoonful for each bite, add to a lined baking sheet and cook for around 20 minutes until golden. Turn halfway through.

To Try:

Desiccated Coconut.