Hello cuties! How is your weekend going? While this wasn’t the most tiring week at work, it’s been full in my personal life: starting with Monday where I took my cat for her annual vaccination and finding out that she’ll need to go to the surgery vet to have her teeth cleaned and might need a couple of back teeth pulled out (but this might be the most extreme option depending on how bad the tartar is – keeping all my fingers crossed that she won’t need that!); then went to the GP for this breathing problem – you know I’ve been off/on with cold-like symptoms for the past six months, but they said that these are allergies and to take a nasal spray with steroids as well a tablet every day for six weeks – they decided it was allergies without any checks, no blood tests done, no referral to a specialist to actually see if it is allergies (please vote on Thursday! The current government has been the death of the NHS so we need someone else!); the whole week I was on cat-feeding duties for my ex-neighbour and it’s been lovely looking after the 2 adult cats as well as the 2 kittens, with the former recognising me straight away despite having been a year since last I saw them, and the latter wanting to play with me and making friends right away, but it’s been tiring. So, yes, I’m tired. However, yesterday after work I went to a local shop and found a kind of date that I didn’t know, Mazafati dates and they taste delicious: so soft and caramel-ly and thought they would be nice in a recipe so looking for a recipe using these dates, I found it in this article Interesting Iranian Date Recipes by Infinity Nuts in Medium. A recipe so easy and delicious and quick to make, is not always easy to find!

Date Trufflel

Ingredients:

• 500 gr fresh Mazafati dates
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 cup chopped pistachio
• Sesame, coconut and chocolate powder for the topping

Method

1. Remove the date seeds, then mix the dates with walnuts and chopped pistachio completely.
2. Pick a small portion of the paste and make a ball and do the same for the rest.
3. Pour the powders on the balls and put them in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
4. Put them in the oven for 10 minutes, then our balls or date truffles are ready.

Enjoy!

Love,

TVCL xx

Hi beautiful cats! How has your week been? Have you been enjoying your weekend? I was working yesterday, but enjoyed a short walk at lunchtime as it was a sunny yet cold day. At this point I consider a “busy week” if I have more than three extra things happening: this week, I went to my first KCR session (Kinetic Chain Release – I am trying everything to ease the pain in my back), took the car for the MOT and went to a boxing class yesterday just before work (it was a lot of exercise, though I’ve been doing Taekwondo three times a week for two years now, I wasn’t prepared for all the running/strength training etc., but probably will go back). Keeping my mind off things, from work to the usual International affairs (the latest being the U.S. as the only Country opposing the State of Palestine becoming a full member of the U.N.) while also being on day 14 of the Limpia, I wanted something easy, tasty and Limpia-friendly: so this recipe for Cauliflower Curry Vegan Grill by VeggiesSavesTheDay was perfect!

Ingredients

For the yogurt sauce:

• 1 cup plain nondairy yogurt
• 2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 2 Tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
• 1 Tablespoon lime juice
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon lime zest
• ¼ teaspoon salt

For the cauliflower curry:

• 1 pound cauliflower florets, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 pound russet potatoes, diced
• 1 cup chopped white onion
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup frozen green peas, defrosted
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (15 ounces)
• 1½ Tablespoons melted coconut oil, (or substitute olive oil)
• 1½ Tablespoons curry powder
• pinch of salt
• dash of pepper
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Method

To make the yogurt sauce:

1. Place all the yogurt sauce ingredients in a small mixing bowl, and stir until combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To make the cauliflower curry:

1. Preheat the grill to roughly 400ºF (204ºC). In a very large mixing bowl, place the cauliflower, potatoes, white onions, tomatoes, peas, and chickpeas. Drizzle coconut oil over the top of the veggies, and stir until coated. Add the curry powder and a pinch of salt and pepper, and stir again until evenly coated.
2. Tear out 4 pieces of aluminum foil that are 12 x 18 inches (30 x 46 cm), and lay them out. Divide the curry cauliflower mixture between the 4 sheets, place it in the middle. Fold the two long sides in toward the middle, and fold the seam together until it hits the filling. Fold the two short sides in, twice, to seal the ends.
3. Place each packet on the grill and cook for 7 minutes, flip them over and grill for an additional 7 minutes. Carefully, open one packet slightly, and poke the cauliflower and potatoes to see if they are tender. If not, cook until they are.
4. Once cooked through, place the packets on a cooling rack for 5 minutes before opening and serving.
5. When the packets are opened, squeeze lemon juice over each one, and top with salt and pepper. Serve packets alongside yogurt sauce and enjoy.

Love,

TVCL xx

Hello beautiful cats! How is your weekend going? Today I managed to do a nice walk – while I am not still feeling 100% (still with a cold that won’t leave!), I wanted to take advantage of the April weather, that in-between Winter and Spring mixture of coldish and warmish, a strong chilly wind with on-and-off sunshine. When I arrived back home I was quite knackered but I enjoyed the rest of the day more knowing that I moved.

While I didn’t have anything ready for when I came back, snack-wise, so I decided to make this Vegan Baked Oatmeal by NoSweatVegan. My goodness! Easy, Quick, and just what I needed and something that will do me for the next couple of breakfasts.

Ingredients 

Dry Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

• 1 cup soy milk
• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons almond butter
• 1.5 cups frozen mixed berries

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 375F or 190C and lightly spray a 8-inch baking with cooking spray (or line with parchment paper.)
2. Add all of the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Add all of the wet ingredients to the bowl (except for the frozen berries) and mix to combine.
4. Add 1 cup of frozen berries and fold into the batter.
5. Transfer the batter to the baking dish. Top with the rest of the berries.
6. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the center is done, then remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve with vegan yogurt, walnuts, another drizzle of maple syrup, or any of your favorite toppings.

Enjoy!

Love,

TVCL xx