Lemon & Cardamom Scones

Hello again!

I hope you are having a lovely evening so far! We've had a pretty chilled one, I've done some baking and make this recipe again which I absolutely adore. Back in Norway, cardamom is often used in sweet pastries and so when I came across these scones - I knew I had to make them!

The recipe makes six small scones, so you might want to double it up if you have friends coming over. These would be perfect to make on a morning when you have some extra time.... May day is coming up, treat yourself!

Lemon & Cardamom Scones
(Makes 6 small scones)

Ingredients
225g flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
Pinch of salt
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp lemon juice
125ml plant milk (I used soy vanilla) + extra for brushing

- Start by pre-heat the oven to 160C (140C fan).

- In a baking bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together, along with the lemon zest.

- Then, make a well in the middle of your mix and pour in the milk, followed by lemon juice. Stir to combine, without over-working it. Now, divide into six scones, place on a baking paper clad tray, and brush with milk. Bake for 18-20 minutes until slightly golden in colour.

You can serve these plain with vegan butter spread, jams and the like! I hope you enjoy them :)

Yesterday Kev and I went to see Avengers: Infinity War - aaaaaand it was pretty darn good! There are so many characters in it now though, I got a little bit confused. Then we went to Nanakusa for sushi and other tasty dishes, yum....

I hope you have a great new week ahead!


Original recipe here.

Super Healthy Chocolate Orange Smoothie

Hello hello and thank Faramir it’s Friday - am I right?!

So I found out last week that I have iron deficiency, wompwomp - so I reached out to a local vegan community asking for their assistance, and they were really helpful! I even got this here recipe that I wanted to share with you as I have made it now for a second time, and am currently enjoying it thinking “this has got to be shared!”.

Not a bad ingredient in sight and it’s magic for uptake of iron!

Super Healthy Chocolate Orange Smoothie
(Makes 1 serving)

Ingredients
1 frozen banana, chopped into chunks
1 orange - juice and zest
Handful of spinach
1-2 tbsp cocoa powder (unsweetened) or cacao
200ml plant based milk (I used soy vanilla)
1 tbsp flaxseed

- Simply blitz until smooth, and enjoy!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead! I started mine early by visiting a friend's allotment last night and we planted a black currant bush and turned some soil in the planting beds, it was good fun! And so nice being out in nature! Tomorrow Kev and I are going to see the new Avengers film - that should be good! Today I'll just get a few housey things ticked off though, have a leisurely one *smiles*

Pistachio & Rose Loaf Cake

So, tonight I had to use the shoe horn to fish out my wireless mouse that Alphonse had been playing with, haha! What even!

The other week I had a charity bake night with some of my friends, and it was a success! I got asked a couple of times "Are all these vegan?" - and they were indeed,not the people; but the cakes and scones and that! I am so pleased it was a success *smiles*
The favourite of the night was this pistachio and rose cake - which is exactly why I wanted to share this recipe with you! Because we use a bunch of ground pistachios, the cake is a little dense, but it is supposed to be! And it is even pretty healthy too! I only added icing sugar to the icing as the original was a little too.... meh for me, and it worked great!

Pistachio & Rose Loaf Cake

Ingredients:
125g ground pistachios
70g oats - ground
40g flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
A good pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cardamom
120ml vegan yoghurt (I jused Alpro coconut)
80ml maple of agave syrup

For the frostings:
Pink:
75g cashews
60ml milk
2 tbsp maple or agave syrup
100g icing sugar
1/2 tsp pink food colouring
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp rose water (be very careful with this!)

White:
100g icing sugar
Just enough lemon juice
A tiny bit of soy or almond milk

To decorate:
Chopped pistachios

- Start by pre-heating your oven to 180C.

- In a large bowl,mix all the dry ingredients for the cake. Then, make a well in the middle, and add your yoghurtand syrup. Stir well to combine, then tip into a lightly oiled loaf tin. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

- Allow to cool slightly before popping it out of the mould. Then cool completely before decorating it! Have all the ingredients for the pink frosting in a blender and whizz until smooth (Add more icing sugar if necessary). Drizzle generously over the cake. Then, mix the remaining 100g of icing sugar with juice of 1/4 lemon and just enough milk to get a lush white frosting, drizzle this across the white to create that pink-zebra look!

- Decorate with chopped pistachios and you are ready to serve up this cake! I daresay you could even have a slice for breakfast if you wanted!

What is your favourite nutty cake? I'd love to hear it!

And I hope you are having a great week so far! I just finished up my working week today, but I have a tight schedule for the rest of the week, running errands and going to an Escape Room for the first time - yay! :D

Have a good evening!

xox J

Original recipe here

Delicious Korean Vegan Mince with Rice

From Italian-style to Korean-style!

Honestly I have already made this twice in less than two weeks, it is the ultimate comfort food and only takes about 20 minutes to make; the same amount of time it takes to cook your rice to perfection.

You might just love it...

Delicious Korean Vegan Mince with Rice
(Serves about 2-3 people)

Ingredients

1 tbsp sunflower oil
200 g vegan mince (I used Sainbury's own - it's delicious! You can use this from frozen)
3/4 cup white rice
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 Spring onions, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ginger (fresh or ground)
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp pepper flakes (or a quarter of a fresh red chilli, I seem to always have some that needs used up)
Sesame seeds to garnish

- Right, let's go! Start by cooking the rice as instructed on the packaging (I always rinse it three times, and also add a bit of oil and salt to the cooking water).

- Now, in a frying pan, turn the heat up to medium, add the sunflower oil, follower by the vegan mince and the garlic cloves. Cook until defrosted and heated through if using frozen, and make sure the garlic is nice and fragrant. Then add your Spring onions and cook for a few minutes.

- In the mean time, in a bowl - mix the soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, pepper, pepper flakes and ginger and stir well to combine. When your mince mixture is done, pour this sauce over and fry so everything gets coated.

- Serve the mince over a nice bowl of rice and tuck in!

What's not to love? :D

So today I actually had to leave work because I was feeling really light headed and unwell... It might be the whole going back to work and it getting to me physically, but I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow as I have a few things I want to discuss anyway. Wish me luck!

Other than that I am just gonna try and recover as I am hosting a charity bake night for some girls on Saturday and I really need to be on the ball for that - there are so many things I have to make! But I am excited about it...

How about you? Have you had a good week so far? I really hope so!
Also, if you have any more Korean food inspiration, please feel free to share in the comments below!

xox J

Original recipe here.

Creamy Vegan Rosemary Risotto

Risottos never fail - it's creamy and comforting and is SO worth the 40 minutes of stirring. Not to mention that it's inexpensive which is always a bonus, right? People might ask - but parmesan! And butter?! But trust me, you don't need it... true story!

Creamy Vegan Rosemary Risotto
(Serves 3-4 people)

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large carrot (optional), finely chopped
1 litre vegetable stock (I used three cubes of Knorr vegetable stock)
2 tbsp cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar, or 1/2 glass white wine)
1 cup arborio rice (or other risotto rice)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 + 1/2 sprig rosemary, 1 whole and 1/2 finely chopped
Salt and pepper
60g vegan spread,such as Pure

- Start by heating the oil in a large pot, and saute the onion for about five minutes, before adding the garlic cloves - cook for a further couple of minutes.

- Add the carrot, and the rice and stir for a couple of minutes, add another glug of oil if necessary.

- Then add a ladleful of the stock the cider vinegar, garlic and onion, add the full sprig of rosemary. Keep stirring and feeding the risotto more stock as it gets drier - once you feel it is close to done (about 35 minutes in, but taste to check earlier), take out the rosemary sprig, and add the chopped rosemary, add the last ladleful of stock and the vegan spread to fluff it up! Season to taste with salt and pepper.

And there you have it! Delicious, simple food, that just asks for a little bit of attention!

What is your favourite type of risotto? Mine varies depending on the day, and it depends what types of vegetables I have or crave, but usually I always use a lot of garlic - because yum!

How has your week been?
I have been working, and managed to fit in two badminton sessions! Yesterday I'm being an adult and waiting for a new washing machine being installed, but come Friday - I have a girls' night with a good friend of mine, and the rest of the week I'll improvise!