Happy Easter, beauties! This is going to be a very short post, as I think the stuff that is happening at the moment is just awful and I don’t feel like being super chirpy.
Hi beauties! How are you? Last week I didn’t manage to write anything – I have a poor two poor excuses for it: it was my Aunty’s birthday and I was really tired from the past week as it had been quite busy between work and trying to have a social life (I went to the hairdresser and then to the opera to see the Carmen with a friend!).
This week has been another busy week and also yesterday was my third Saturday working in a row. Quite tiring. And I also got the umpteenth cold – I am working myself up too much and the Spring doesn’t help.
However, here I am with two recipes, the first one is the Vegan Colcannon by TheEdgyVeg, obviously made last Sunday. Candace is by far in my top 3 favourite YouTubers/bloggers and I enjoy making all her recipes. This one is so delicious, quick and easy, that I am definitely going to make it more than once a year!
Next, add chopped cabbage and kale into boiling water and blanch for 1-2 mins, or until bright green in colour. Remove greens with a slotted spoon, and place immediately into an ice water bath.
Next, add your peeled and cubed potatoes and 1½ tsp salt to the same pot of water you cooked the greens in, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer the potatoes for roughly 15-20 mins, or until tender. When it’s fork tender, drain potatoes and add them back into the pot.
Add vegan butter or margarine, and allow it to melt. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes until smooth and butter is combined.
Gradually, add warmed soy milk, stirring. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
Add your cabbage and/or kale and stir again to combine.
Serve garnished with additional green onions and/or parsley.
Extra recipe!
The extra recipe is because I also made these during the week and while they didn’t come out as the commercially available Jimmy Dodgers (I didn’t use caster sugar and I am not used to cream) they came out really nice and had them for breakfast as well as for snacks. So here is the recipe for Vegan Jammie Dodger recipe by WallflowerKitchen.
120 g / ½ cup vegan butter (suggested Vitalite dairy-free spread)
55 g / ¼ cup caster sugar
180 g / 1 ½ cups plain flour
Seedless raspberry jam
Method
In a large bowl, cream together the vegan butter and sugar until smooth.
Add the flour in a small amount at a time and continue to mix the dough until completely smooth and it balls together. If it’s still crumbly, keep mixing.
Briefly kneed the dough and roll into a smooth ball. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180C / 370F and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
Once the dough has chilled, roll to about ½ cm thickness and cut out your cookie shapes. Use a smaller cutter to make a cut-out centre on half of the cookies.
Transfer to the baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally to ensure even baking. Once they begin to turn slightly golden brown at the edges, they are done.
Leave to cool at room temperature.
Once cooled, add approximately half a tsp of the raspberry jam to each full halves of the cookies and place the cut-out centre cookies on top to create a jam sandwich.
Hello beauties! How are you today? Here we can’t complain – I was speaking at an online conference for International Women’s Day and I had been very nervous for the past few weeks: I was very excited about the invitation and also about sharing my research. But I am not good at all at public speaking, like that’s not my skill. However, I have also been invited to give a workshop with a colleague at an in-person conference in June. So I thought that if I can manage this online one, it will be good prep for the in-person one. Also, at this past online conference I prepared the presentation, I rehearsed it and it was an excellent chance for me to share my research project and my findings.
And you know what? I nailed it! Two of my colleagues were following the event and they both came after my talk to tell me that I did very well, they learned new things and also they gave a hug! The attendees at the conference left many lovely positive comments and one person also suggested that they can help progressing my research. I won’t lie: I was DRAINED after the event, but couldn’t stop because I had another event I had to attend with a colleague (that also went well!). Yesterday I was working too, so such a busy week!
And you know me, even if I’m busy I want something tasty, some kind of comfort food and it has to be easy and quick. I was so lucky to stumble upon this recipe for a Pear Almond Torte Tatin by Miyoko Schinner. I am not a fan of pears, but oh goodness this is such a great recipe! (Also, now the Pear Galette, my go-to recipe with pears, has some competition!)
2/3 cup of brown sugar (plus 3-4 tablespoons for the caramelization)
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (plus 2 tablespoons for the caramelization)
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup almond flour
1 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon baking powder
Method
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C;
Prepare an 8-9 in cake pan with a sheet of parchment paper at the bottom;
Brush the 2 tablespoons of olive oil on the paper and sprinkle the 3-4 tablespoons of brown sugar (this will help with caramelization);
Put the pears now: you can fan them out or just set them there without much attention (the fanning will make the end result prettier, but to be honest I just threw them there) and set aside;
Put the half cup of oil with the 2/3 cup of sugar and stir;
Sift the flour with the baking powder then add the almond flour;
Add half of the flour mixture to the oil mixture and stir;
Then add half the milk and whisk well;
Add the rest of the milk and the rest of the flour;
Add the vanilla extract;
Pour the batter over the pears and we’re going to put it in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
Check with a toothpick if it comes out clean. Flip it upside down and let cool.
Happy Sunday, cats! How was your week? Here, it has been another fairly busy week, and I am also preparing to speak at an online conference next week (no pressure!). We’re also going to host an event for International Women’s Day on Friday afternoon – so, plenty to do! I haven’t been feeling like trying new recipes, but while I was making my cabbage soup for the weekend, I noticed I had a lot of cabbage so that’s when I decided to try the Roasted Cabbage Steaks by EatSomethingVegan. They didn’t disappoint! Extremely easy to make and a great result. Definitely will make it again, maybe with some basmati rice and a tempeh roast. Will let you know!
Cut the stems off the cabbage heads and then cut each one in half, then in half again. You should have four flat discs of cabbage that are about ¾ to 1 inch thick from each head. Place the cabbage steaks on a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper, allowing some space between each one to even cooking.
Brush the cabbage with the olive oil, coating them thoroughly. Then generously sprinkle the salt, garlic powder, and paprika on the cabbage steaks. Flip the cabbage over and repeat, brushing them with oil and sprinkling the seasonings. Then add a pinch of red pepper flakes to each one, if desired.
Bake the cabbage steaks at 400°F for about 25 minutes, until the leaves are browned and the center is tender. Serve hot out of the oven and enjoy!
The Vegan Cat Librarian 