Vegan Pumpkin-Chickpea Stew

                               

For a long time I did'nt like to prepare dishes with pumpkins because I hated to cut them (realy a hard work and one need a very sharp knife...) and because I tought that I had also to peel them, what meant that it tooked a quite long time to prepare the dish. But I discovered that very often it is not necessary to peel the pumpkin. So the workload is reduced to cut the pumpkin..... And now I love dishes with pumpkins. The following recipe is one adpated from Haya Molcho and is apart the cutting of the pumpkin really quick prepared.

You need (serves 3-4 persons):

500 g Pumpkin (Hokkaido or butternut or wich one ever you may like) It does'nt matter if you take a little bit more or less....

1 Cinnamon stick

2 bay leaves 

400 g chickpeas ( I used canned one, ready to be prepared)

140 g tomatoe puree

1 Onion, cut in slices

1 garlic glove, cut in slices

1 organic Lemon, cut in small rounds

4 crushed pimento

500 ml water

Some olive oil, salt and pepper to season

To prepare:

1. Wash your pumkin and then cut your pumkin in wedges.

2. Heat up in a deep pan some olive oil and cook the onion until lightly brown then add the garlic and continue cooking for a minute.

3. Now add all the other ingredients and stir well

4. Heat up all and then let simmer for about 20 minutes (until the pumpkin is soft but still ) in your pan covered with a lid, stir from time to time

5. Take out the cinnamon stick, the bay leaves and the lemon-pieces and season wirh salt and pepper

                                 

It's time to eat! Serve with some baguette or some Naan bread or..... Simply savour !

Vegan Salsa di Noci Buns

                          

On sunday morning Breakfast can be celebrated and extended and therefore you may need some fresh hot buns but also quickly done... One will also chill on sunday, no? Here is a quick done recipe for some buns that I filled with a salsa die noci that I bought in Italy last holidays. So for me this treat reminds me also some good days.. Holidays.. Italy.... Sun... Fun.... If you don' t have a salsa di noce (could be hard to find outside Italy) just take some Pesto genovese..... 

I also used once again half of a pack of a ready to bake Croissant dough and my little muffin forms. If you don't have little muffin forms, no problem at all. Or you take normal muffins form and get bigger buns (attention here for baking time.. Might be longer..) or you just bake on a baking tray armed with parchment paper. Then you get a sort of rolls.. The taste is similary delicious... ;) 

You need:l

200 g of a ready to bake croissant dough 

1 glass of salsa di noci (or Pesto)

Some pine nuts

Little bit of butter for your forms as well as some flour

To prepare (you'll get about 12 little buns):

1. Preheat your oven to 180 C and prepare your muffin tray: buttering and dusting with some flour

2. On your dough smear the salsa and roll to the middle from both sides to get a long roll. Then cut in about 2 cm wide pieces.

3. Place in your prepared muffin tray and put on each bun some pine nuts.

4. Bake for about 18 minutes until golden brown

Breakfast here we come, we' re ready!

                            

                           

Vegan shitake - rice noodle wok

                      

Always looking for some new vegan recipes and also for something not using always tofu".. ( but hey this would be an idea... To this shitake - rice noodle wok one could add some tofu cut in cubes and crispy fried... Will try it some day...) I found an attracting recipe in the book "peace food". I adapted it a little bit as I am not such a great fan from ginger and I am allergic to pepper.... But see yourself...

You need: (for 2 persons)

100 g rice noodles

150 g spinach leaves

100 g soy sprouts 

120 g shitake mushrooms (cut in medium size peaces when bigger mushrooms)

2 - 3 green onions cut in 1 cm slices

Some sesame oil and some wok sauce, salt and pepper

To prepare:

1. In a wok pan heat up a good lug of sesame oil and a little bit wok sauce ( about 1 tbsp.)

2. Prepare your rice noodles according the indication on the package (I used some noodles that I only had to pour over with some boiled water and wait for 1 minutes. Then I drained them and added them to the wok after the spinach leaves)

3. Roast for some minutes all the prepared vegetables excepted the spinach leaves. Stir regularly

4. Add the spinach and continue stirring for some further minutes. Then add the prepared rice noodles, a good lug of wok sauce, according to your taste, and mix all well... And now it's ready for serving....

            

Vegan Rice-Rolls

This Rice-Rolls are perfect when you have some risotto left over. If not, as this time in my case, you have to cook some fresh rice. It's recommandable to use a risotto rice or some other rice getting sticky when cooked. I used a very special rice from the brand "Lotao" as well as their rice-conditioner. This brand offers a variety of really extraordinary rice, with enchanting names and stylish packages... in my opinion...

You need (serves 2 person):

1 cup of rising sun rice

2 tbsp. Rising sun elixir

Salt

Yufka or strudel foils cut in squares (size depending on the size you wanna get your rice-rolls)

Some melted butter

Some olive oil for frying

To prepare:

1. Cook the rice according the instruction. My rising sun rice had to be cooekd for about 20 minutes. I used 1 cup and cooked the rice in the same amount of water.

2. When cooked season the rice with 2 tbsp. of rising sun elixir and a little bit of salt.

3. Apply some melted butter at the edges of the prepared Yufka foils and put some rice in the middle. Fold the edges and form little rolls. To get more crispy rolls wrap the rolls in a second foil.

4. Heat up some olive oil in a frying pan and fry the rolls until golden brown.

Serve as a little dish with some salad

Easy Cinnamon Rolls

All began with a little gift from th best daughter of this world! She brought me a little package with awesome little cinnamon rolls from a canadian producer..... And as one will not buy every day such a treat that of course you can only buy in one singular place in your hometown.. You have to find a Solution for getting cinnamon buns when craving for that on a weekend or late in the evening.....or whenever....

To really get quick results I bought a ready to bake danish pastry dough (so called "Plunderteig" in my country) and one can start more or less immediatly. For the dough: I am sure the buns / rolls also would work with some puff pastry or some pizza dough.

You need (for 12 little buns)

200 g danish pastry dough ( ready to be used)

120 g ground almonds ( here I am not sure if it would'nt be better to use walnuts for there more distinct taste... If you try it tell me about your results..)

4 tbsp. Creme fraiche

1 tsp. Ground cinnamon

4 tbsp. Honey

Some more honey or maple syrup and some icing sugar for finishing the cinnamon rolls.

To prepare:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 C. Butter and dust with some wheat a baking dish for little muffins.

2. Mix togehter almonds, honey, cinnamon and creme fraiche.

3. Smear this mix on your dough and cut in small stripes ( about 3 cm). 

4. Roll each stripe and place in your baking dish.

5. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

When getting out of the oven glaze with some honey or some maple syrup and dust with some icing sugar and then try to resist.... ;)

Vegan lentil Curry

Lentils: you like them or you hate them. For a long time I did'nt like them but retrospectively I think it was because of the way they were cooked. And looking closer to lentils one will discover that there is quite a great variety of lentils not only regarding the colours (you can find brown, black, green, orange..) but also regarding their taste and the time to cook them. For this recipe I used a prepared mix of different lentils having all the some time to get ready and without the need for soaking in some water hours before. The easiest and quickest way would Bye using orange lentils..so take your choice.

You need (serves 2 persons):

150 g lentils 

1/2 tsp. Curry powder

300 ml vegetable stock

200 ml coconutmilk (I prefere using the fat reduced one)

100 g Zucchini (cut in slices)

100 g carrots (cut in slices or in stripes)

Some bambou sprouts (amount up to you; the more you use the more it becomes an asiatic touch)

Some olive oil, salt and pepper

As side dish: some rice

To prepare:

1. In a good lug of heated olive oil roast the lentils, add the curry powder and the vegetable stock. Cook the lentils according the indicated time from the producer (orange lentils take shorter than others. My mix took about 30 minutes). Season wtih salt and pepper.

2. In a pan heat up some olive oil and add the carrots and some spoons of the coconut milk, cover with a lid and cook for some minutes before adding the zucchini and bambou sprouts. Let simmer for about 5 minutes before adding the rest of the coconut milk. (If you want as side dish some rice don't forget to start cooking it !)

3. When vegetables are cooked but almost a little bit crunchy add your lentil mix.

Thats it, were ready! Serve with some rice and ENJOY!

Vegan nut-chocolate Cake

For a long time a could'nt believe that vegan cakes really could be as tasty as normal cakes or even better :) ... Since my sister brought me a delicious, savoury cake that I could'nt believe to be vegan. Than she gave me the recipe and I tried also the cake and ....yummie! But give a try yourself!

You need:

300 g wheat flour

150 g sugar ( I took 100 g normal and 50 g moscovado sugar)

16 g baking powder (=1 sachet)

250 ml soy milk

135 ml oil

1 tsp. vinegar

20 g vanilla sugar (= 1 sachet)

100g ground walnuts

60 g melted chocolate

To prepare:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 C

2. Mix separately together the dry and liquid ingredients before mixing them together. When all is good melted add the chocolate and fold in

3. Grease and powder with some flour a baking tray (I used a tray for small guglhupf)

4. Put the cake mix in your prepared baking tray and put in the oben for about 20 minutes. ( when using a bigger baking form than you should let the cake longer in the oven until a tooth pick get out clean when picked in the cake)

Serve with some icing sugar and some fruits, drizzle over a little bit maple syrup....

 And never say again that vegan cakes are not tasty. ;)

Oven baked French Toast

I love french Toast.. On a lazy sunday morning.... A good cup of tea... Some good book... This recipe for french Toast is genious as it is baken in the oven and meanwhile you can prepare the rest of your lazy sunday breakfast. I found the recipe in a cookbook from Donna Hay. I adapted it only a little by changing the used milk and reducing the number of eggs and using some brioche.
You neeed: (serves 2 - 4)
4 Brioche slices (rest of a brioche)
1 big egg
250 ml soy milk
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Some vanilla essence (or vanilla sugar)
2 tbsp. Agave syrup
Some salt, a little bit melt butter (for the baking dish), some maple syrup
To prepare:
1. Cover your baking dish with some parchment paper or baking foil and brusch with some melted butter.
2. Put the brioche slices int the buttered dish.
3. Mix together milk, cinnamon, sugar, milk, vanilla, a pinch salt and pour over the brioche.
4. Wait for about 20 minutes and then put in the to 180C preheated oven and bake for about 25 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
5. Serve with some powder sugar and maple syrup