Chocolate and Beyond

Recipes: Brandy 'Bounty' Truffles

I recently made some gorgeous choccies after I'd seen the Cherry Ripe Truffles recipe on The Kind Cook, and they were so incredibly easy and delectable, that when it came to thinking of something to add to my friend's birthday present to take to her last weekend, I decided to come up with a version of my own.

As I was creating these for my friend's birthday, I felt booze needed to be included in my own take on the truffles. Hehe. But then, I'd find it very easy to look for an excuse to use booze, anyhow :) I am a sucker for boozy chocs I have to admit, and I love brandy and chocolate as well, so I pretty much decided on the alcohol in a snap decision.

Recipes: Spiced Pumpkin Flaky Pastry Pie

Are you looking for a more creative way of using up your pumpkins these season than a bog standard pumpkin soup? If so, then this recipe is for you. And absolutely scrumptious it is. Although very sadly, I just couldn't seem to get the 'right' photo even after taking many, so I know the pictures here do not do this pie justice, on any level. It's one of those where you will just have to take my word for it.

My boyfriend also thought this Spiced Pumpkin Flaky Pastry Pie was once of the most delicious things he has tasted yet from my kitchen, and it certainly ticks all the boxes for me. It's filling, it's comforting, it's pastry (which I love!), it's spicy and it's full of tender, wholesome, roasted pumpkin. I'm sure the layers of pastry out-do the 'wholesome-ness', but hey ho.

Recipes: Traditional Bonfire Night Yorkshire Parkin

First things first - if you want this to be properly sticky for Bonfire Night - get baking it right away! Secondly, it's probably best not to look at the rest of this recipe if sugar horrifies you. And now we have that out of the way, the rest!...

When I started exploring how to make a 'vegan version' of this delicious sugar-laden, spicy, gingery and sticky cake that we northern Brits all associate with Bonfire Night and autumn, I realised it is one of those recipes that doesn't even "need" eggs or an 'official' binder that much at all (since the non-vegan recipes have eggs in them).

There is soooo much sugar and goo and syrupy naughtiness in Parkin, that you're pretty much guaranteed it is going to glue itself together of its own accord. So, to say this is a 'vegan version' of the cake sort of gives the wrong impression. It's just the same, but without the eggs, which weren't needed anyhow.

Recipes: Lemon Zucchini Linguine with Tarragon & Asparagus

I really love pasta, how can you not do? And this carb-laden pile of it has so many things going for it, it's untrue. For one, it is super-simple to make and you can knock it up in about 20 minutes flat and half blind-folded (believe me, it's the honest truth!).

Also, I do think, it tastes so good and can be presented so nicely that it is of dinner-party calibre. Especially if served with some extra touches like an arugula salad and roasted vine tomatoes, with a beautiful dessert to finish.

And at the same time, the simple ingredients of this meal, which do not mean shopping at twenty different stores to make it, means that you can have it for a week-day dinner or whenever.

Hosting a Vegan Vampire Halloween Party - Ideas for Food & Decor

 

Serving up 'human victim' fingers at a vegan Halloween party? As someone else said, "Oh the irony"! Yes for sure! However, if you're looking for a gruesome but effective addition to your party table, then these definitely make the grade. And the beauty is, their 'vegan-ness' means no actual harm caused to anyone. Surprisingly, they all got eaten too!

Last weekend I hosted a small (pre-Halloween) party for some of my friends. It wasn't a huge family event or anything, but just a few peeps with a vampire gothic/glamour theme, for which I enthusiastically spent a couple of weeks putting decorations together and considering what I would serve up on the table.

Recipes: Vegan Bread & Butter Pudding (the Epitome of Comfort Food!)

 

In the spirit of VeganMoFo and the creation of warming, comfort food, what can I say about this dish, except "oh my word"! If there was ever a dish I wanted to 'veganise', it is that epitome of fine British comfort food - the bread & butter pudding! It has got to be one of my favourite, stodgy, homely puddings EVER in the WHOLE WORLD!

And this turned out soooo good that I could mush my face in it as well as eat it. But as well as being exceptionally delicious, it is stupidly easy to make. And it doesn't require trips to three different 'niche' stores in order to create.

It's a fabulous way of using up a stale white loaf (no, don't feed it to the ducks, it's very bad for them!) and chances are, you will have most of the other ingredients in the house anyway. I mean, who doesn't have a bag of sultanas, wondering when they'll get used, stuffed at the back of their cupboard?

Recipes: Creamy Celery & Peppercorn Soup

This soup is so simple and yet so good. I'm not a big fan of celery when it's eaten on its own, it reminds me too much of my dieting past, so when I buy it I usually look for other things to do with it, rather than just chop up and eat in salads. Cooked in soups and stews, I love it.

With this creation, the whole mixed peppercorns are actually blended into the soup after being cooked in it, rather than taken out (as is the case when used in a bouquet garni) - and they add a great kick to it. It makes it especially suited to these darker and wetter evenings (oh sorry, I just mean darker. I forget, I live in England - they've been wet all year!).

How to Make Traditional Lancashire Bonfire Black Peas

We're a few weeks off from November the 5th and therefore Bonfire Night yet, but I was so excited to find dried black peas - aka maple peas - at the stall of the man who sells herbs, spices and dried foods in my local town. I had been on the hunt for them in order to have a go at making traditional Lancashire Bonfire Black Peas - a dish which is particular to the North West of England, and is eaten on Guy Fawkes Night, the 5th November.

My memories of eating black peas involve me trying to stay warm on Bonfire Night, slathering them in vinegar then scooping them out of a small tub with my mittens on, while watching fireworks clash and burst in the sky. They conjure up wonderful childhood times for me.

For those outside of the UK - Bonfire Night is the same as Guy Fawkes Night - when we morbidly mark the occasion of when a man named Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up parliament with a gunpowder plot, and was burnt for committing treason. We have bonfire parties and fireworks, and sometimes burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes, when people can be bothered making one. Although black peas are also often served on Halloween, too, nowadays.

How to Make a Basic Dairy-Free Pouring Cream for Desserts

If you are looking for a vegan pouring cream, reminiscent of a 'single' cream or a pouring 'double' cream, that you can whip up in a jiffy for desserts and big, stodgy puds, then look no further than this really simple recipe.

I developed this recipe after having bought a commercial almond cream which was very tasty and that I wanted to be able to make for myself. Looking at the ingredients on the pack, I felt it was something that should be fairly easy to replicate. I think I did pretty well with this, and it went well too with the Orange & Spice Gluten Free Pudding you see in the lead photograph (recipe to follow!).

In a similar way to dairy cream, this cream is not very strongly flavoured - it is very subtle, with a delicate hint of almond, and it acts simply as a dessert cream is meant to act - to 'wet' the pudding while complimenting it, rather than overpowering it.

Recipes: White Bean, Walnut & Garlic Pate

If you're going to be eating this, then make sure whoever you will be kissing at the end of the night will also have had their share, as this pate is very, very heavy on the garlic - so one to keep the vampires away for sure, and therefore a good Halloween party suggestion!

Of course, the huge amount of garlic is exactly why I like to make it but I know many people won't enjoy this amount, and if you are that person - it's not one for you (unless you reduce the amount considerably for a more simple bean dip, instead).

I like this recipe because it's a great way to use up white beans, and it's versatile. The pate can be used for dipping in vegetable crudités or tortilla chips, or spreading on crusty bread, or for making delicious sandwiches. And apart from cooking up the beans (though you could use canned if you have them at hand), it's all very easily done in one blender.