Coconana-chia Cake

Apparently I don’t make sweets enough. Marco promised me he won’t have his nightly chocolate binge if I make home sweets. So I made an effort to make him a cake this afternoon. My cake is oil free and has no added sugar (except for the icing). This cake is sweet enough with out the icing. But I went all out tonight. Its sweet, moist and utterly delicious!

Coconana-chia Cake (vegan, soy free, nut free)

Ingredients:

1 cup self raising flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/2 cup white chia seeds, ground into a flour

1/2 cup moist coconut flakes or desiccated coconut

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 overripe banana

1 cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoon agave or other liquid sweetener

20g vegan butter

1 cup icing sugar

3 tablespoons coconut milk

2-3 tablespoons shredded coconut, toasted

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees and grease a ring tin.

2. In a large mixing bowl, sift self raising flour and baking powder. Then add coconut sugar, ground chia seeds, coconut flakes and shredded coconut. Whisk well and break down any large balls that may of formed.

3. In a small mixing bowl mash the banana so its nice and creamy, then add coconut milk, vanilla extra and agave. Whisk so that its nice creamy and thickened.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon.

5. Place the cake batter into the ring tin and make sure that it is level all the way round.

6. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.

7. Take the cake out of the oven and leave in tin for 10 minutes, so that it hardens a little.

8. Place the cake on a drying rack for 20 minutes or until the cake has cooled down.

9. Place butter and sugar in a small bowl and mash together with a fork. Then gradually add the coconut milk.

10. Whisk the icing well so that its nice and runny.

11. Drizzle the cake with the icing and top with some toasted shredded coconut.

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Coconut Pancakes with Pomegranate

After being so good for so long its ok to be a bit bad right? I have never been good at making pancakes, crepes, omelettes or anything you have to flip. So after making those perfect Tiramisu Pancakes,  a couple of days ago, I wanted to try again. So I tried to veganise another pancake recipe that I saw on Jamie Oliver’s website, Coconut pancakes with pomegranate jewels. If you aren’t a big fan of coconut cream on its own, try making a whipped coconut cream or using vegan coconut yogurt. I was in a hurry and wanted to make this sugar free so my coconut cream was a bit more runny. Marco liked it, but he also added some jam ontop for more sweet, I don’t think he needed it but he is a sweetaholic. The addition of pomegranate seeds and lime zest also bring a freshness as well, can be omitted if you don’t have any.

Coconut Pancakes with Pomegranate and Coconut Cream (vegan, gluten free option, soy free, nut free)

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat, plain or gluten free flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

8 tablespoons ground dedicated coconut (just grind shredded coconut in processor)

1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup brown rice syrup

3/4 cup water

canola spray oil /coconut oil

1/4 cup coconut cream (left in fridge overnight) or coconut yoghurt

agave to taste

seeds from 1/2 pomegranate

lime zest (optional)

Method:

1. Take a large bowl and add flour, baking powder, ground coconut, and salt. Whisk together.

2. In a smaller bowl add water, rice syrup and vanilla extract. Whisk together.

3. Add wet mixture into dry mixture and whisk until just combined. Don’t over mix, as there should be some lumps.

4. Heat a nonstick pan over medium-high heat, spray with oil. Pour 1/3 cup batter onto pan. When bubbles begin to appear in center, flip the pancake. Cook on the other side until it is lightly browned. Cook for another minute so it is cooked all the way through.  Continue with the rest of the batter.

5. In the meantime take the thick part of the coconut cream and add some agave to sweeten it.

6. Serve pancakes with a dollop of coconut cream/yogurt, lime zest and pomegranate seeds.

*Serves 2-3, makes 6 pancakes

If breakfast wasn’t sweet enough I dropped into The Cupcake Parlour and had a Vegan Vanilla Cupcake with Fairy Floss Icing.

Weekend of International cuisines: Part 2

So for tonight dinner I wanted to try out something I haven’t made before. I decided to make some Indian inspired dishes. These included Pumpkin and Lentil Coconut Curry, Yellow Split Pea  and Brown Rice, Coriander Mixed Mushrooms and  Savory Pineapple Spelt Muffins. It all turned out well, but for me it didn’t taste like the food from my local Indian.  Most importantly though my family loved it  and all had seconds. I have never cooked with fresh curry leaves before. The aroma was so delicious. It did give a more authentic fresh taste as well.

For the main dish, the Pumpkin and Lentil Coconut Curry, this was adapted from Jamie Oliver: Pumpkin, chickpea and coconut curry MFM recipe. I didn’t change that much, I just improvised for the ingredients I didn’t have and made a bigger portion. For the Yellow Split Pea and Brown Rice I used similar spices to the curry and seasoned it with lemon. The Coriander Mixed Mushrooms was a spare of the moment dish of ingredients that needed to be used. The Savory Pineapple Spelt Muffins were adapted from Savoury Chutney Muffins from The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions. I tried to make my own chutney and altered a couple of the ingredients.

Pumpkin and Lentil Coconut Curry (vegan, gluten free, soy free, nut free)

Ingredients:

5 cups kent pumpkin (cut into cubs)

1 teaspoon minced ginger

60g frozen minced coriander leaves

sunflower oil

4 garlic cloves, diced

2 small fresh red chilies, diced

4 shallots, diced

1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

20 fresh curry leaves, chopped

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 tin diced tomatoes

400ml  coconut cream

1/2 cup water

1 tin brown lentils (400g)

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large pot on medium  heat. Then add ginger, garlic, red chili and shallots. Saute for 3 mins or until slightly browned.

2. Then add mustard seeds, curry leaves, and coriander. Cook until curry leaves go a bit crispy.

3. Then add turmeric, canned tomatoes, coconut cream and water. Bring to the boil.

4. Then add pumpkin and place on a simmer. Cook for 30 mins or until the pumpkin is soft enough to put a fork through. Add more water if dries out.

5. Add the lentils and cook for a further 10- 15 min, then serve.

*Serves 6

Yellow Split Pea  and Brown Rice (vegan, gluten free, soy free, nut free)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion flakes

12 whole curry leaves

4 whole dried red chilies

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 cups yellow split peas

4 cups filtered water

2 cups cooked brown rice

juice of 1 lemon

sea salt to taste

Method:

1. Take large pot and heat oil on medium heat. Then add mustard seeds, cumin, garlic powder, onion flakes. Cook for 3 mins or until fragrant.

2. Add curry leaves, red chili, turmeric and yellow split peas. Coat split peas in spices and cook for  2 mins. 

3. Add water, bring to the boil, then place on a simmer. Cook for 20 mins or until split peas are cooked.

4. Add cooked brown rice, juice of 1 lemon and sea salt, then serve.

* Serves 8

Coriander Mixed Mushrooms (vegan, gluten free, soy free, nut free)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

1 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoons onion flakes

1 teaspoons garlic powder

1-2 cups mixed mushrooms sliced  (I used white & oyster mushrooms)

2 tablespoons frozen minced coriander leaves

Method:

1. Take a pan and heat oil on medium heat. Then add cumin, onion flakes and garlic powder. Cook for 2 mins or until fragrant.

2. Add mushrooms and coriander and saute for 5 mins or until cooked.

* Serves 4

Savory Pineapple Spelt Muffins (vegan, nut free)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pineapple salsa

1/4 cup tahini

1 tabelespoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1/2 teaspoons ground cayenne

1 teaspoons ground cumin

1 cup unsweetened soy milk

1 cup spelt flour

3/4 cup plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

Ingredients for 1 cup pineapple salsa:

400g pineapple (fresh or can)

10 sun dried tomates

2 garlic cloves

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease trays for 12 muffins

2. Take a mixing bowl and add pineapple salsa, tahini, sesame oil, coriander, cayenne and cumin. Stir all wet ingredients together.

3. Then sift spelt flour, plain flour and baking powder onto the wet ingredient, then add salt. Stir dry ingredients through wet ingredients. Add more soy milk if too dry.

4. Spoon the mixture into the muffin tray and bake for 20 mins.

* Makes 12 muffins.

Raw Cherry Ripe Buckwheat Porridge

To finish off the last of my batch of buckwheat porridge I decided to make something different. I still had some cherries I froze from a few weeks back, so I tried to make a cherry ripe like layered dessert . I only made enough for one, so I think Marco is going to be very jealous when he sees this. It was such a filling breakfast, not sure if I’ll be able to have lunch today.

Raw Cherry Ripe Buckwheat Porridge (vegan, raw, gluten free, soy free, nut free)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup raw buckwheat porridge

2 teaspoons cacao or cocoa powder (more to sprinkle)

1/2 cup pitted cherries (fresh/defrosted)

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon toasted coconut

Method:

1. Combine the buckwheat porridge and the cocoa powder and stir through till it is brown.

2. In the processor add the pitted cherries. While it is still running add the coconut oil and toasted coconut. Whiz until it has combined and has a jam like consistencey.

3. Take a dessert glass and layer the buckwheat porridge and the cherry mixture. Top with with some cocoa powder and serve.

*Serves 1

Last night I was invited over to my mother’s partners house. Since Ted’s been having a few dinners over at my place, I suggested we go over to his for one of his curries and for some air con. He is Mauritian and makes beautiful Indian curries and chapati breads. Lately he has been making more Thai curries. So last night we had a Thai Green Curry with Tofu and Vegetables, Rice and Lentils. He made the spice paste from scratch and he made it vegetarian for me. It was really good! I really like the lentils as well. His family usually make this kinds of lentils on the side, just with garlic and ginger.  I am going to try get some recipes from him soon and try to cook some of them.

Raw Buckwheat Breakfast Porridge

I discovered a new way to prepare buckwheat for breakfast. I saw this recipe, for Raw Buckwheat Breakfast Porridge, on Oh She Glows and finally got the courage to make it. I love Angela’s recipes. I have been a fan of hers for some time. She has some of the most creative and inventive vegan recipes I have ever seen. She also has an amazing story, so check her out.

I was a bit worried that I didn’t have the right buckwheat. I never knew before that soaking them would make them go soft. I just had organic raw buckwheat from Woolworths. They looked the same as the ones Angela used, so I left them over night to soak and this is how they looked. They were tender, but if you apply a bit of pressure to them between your fingers they break.

I actually made a half portion of this recipe, as I only had 1 cup of buckwheat left. Other then that I followed her recipe all the same. Once I rinsed the buckwheat well, I put them in my processor and added soy vanilla milk (use rice, oat, almond or soy), chia seeds, agave, vanilla extract and cinnamon. I processed them till the entire thing is nice and smooth.

To serve it I just added slices of banana, toasted slivered almonds and toasted shredded coconut.

Later, when Marco came home I made him a portion as well. He wanted it to be more like a dessert, so made a Raw Chocolate Coconut Buckwheat Porridge. I added cocoa powder, more agave and toasted shredded coconut. He really liked it too, so I think this will be a regular for a while.

Toasted Almond & Coconut Gelato

I can’t believe its Christmas in 2 days. I went Christmas shopping yesterday and I was meant to get the last minute presents for my family. But I ended up coming home with only a  pair of Guess Jeans for me. Have to do some last minute shopping tomorrow, as well as plan what I am going to cook for Christmas. Usually we do it here, but this year we are going to my cousins house. They are big meat and dairy eaters so I want to bring something I can eat and they can also enjoy. Not sure what I’ll make but I better think of something soon.

Last night I made this gelato. It didn’t stay in shape for too long since it is so hot here at the moment, but it was really good. It was also very sticky and got stuck in the the crevices of my processor. It got into places are really hard to clean and I don’t know how it happened. Luckily I already know what I am getting for Christmas from my mum. She is getting me an ice cream machine and a dehydrator. So I can start making real ice cream soon. I can’t wait to try out some new flavors and not rely on frozen bananas.

Toasted Almond & Coconut Gelato (gf, sf)

Ingredients:

3 frozen bananas

1 can coconut cream

agave/maple syrup to taste

hand full of almonds

handful of dried shredded coconut

Method:

1. Cut the almonds roughly, then dry toast in a pan and then set to the side.

2. Dry toast the shredd coconut and set to the side.

3. Roughly chop up the banana and place into the processor

4. Spoon out the cream from the coconut cream (discard the water) and place into the processor.

5. Turn on processor and while it is mixing add the agave.

6. Once all the banana has been blended, add most of the almonds and coconut. Only pulse so it mixes through.

7. Serve with the toasted almonds & coconut on top.

Today was Marco’s birthday lunch with his family, so I prepared some dishes to take. I made a few things from Chloe’s Kitchen recipe book including Sweet-and-Sour Party Meatballs, Rosemary Tomato Galette with Pine Nut Ricotta and Chocolate Walnut Fudge. The meat balls were delicious and really easy to make. They were made of tempeh, walnuts and lentils. They tasted and smelled more like meat then other recipes I have tried, but texture in the center was a bit soft, more like a processed meat. The sweet and sour sauce was really easy to make and it was a bit like the McDonald’s nugget sauce. The galette turned out really well. It really paid off refrigerating the dough 3 times before baking it. The pastry was more like a short crust pastry and had a much better texture then the other galette I have made previously. The pine nut ricotta was really really good. I was more like a pesto. It had roasted garlic, soaked pinenuts, oil and lemon juice. I found I had to add a bit of water to make it really creamy, but definetely something I want to make again, even if its just to have on toast. The fudge was the most wicked I have ever made. It called for 3 cups of chocolate (I used Sweet William), 1 can of coconut milk, cocoa, 3 cups of powdered (icing) sugar and toasted walnuts. Unfortunately I didnt realised till I had made it, with only 30 mins till I had to be at the party, that I realized it was meant to set in the fridge for up to 8 hours. I don’t know how I forgot about that. So it wasn’t exactly set when it came time to eat it. We still tried to eat it though. It was so rich and decadent, the photos don’t do it justice. Not sure I will make this again. Too fattening! I am not sure if I will bring it to Christmas or I will freeze it and allow Marco a small piece once a month.

Marco’s sister made toasted pita bread with oregano with a chickpea and roasted capsicum dip, which was really good. They also had their traditional salads, of tomato and onion, and cabbage with vinegar and roasted chicken with mayo and gherkins. For main course they made roasted pork, chicken and vegetables. I managed to stay away from the meat and ate my meat balls. I love the way they do their vegetables though. I’m not sure how they get them to taste so good, but they are always perfect. For dessert there was also a serbian cake made of nuts, plasma biscuits and egg whites. It is a serbian cake they always make for celebrations. I did have a bit of that, since it was dairy free. They also had baklava. I am not a big fan of that, its too sweet for me. It was nice to bring somethings though. So I could have a proper meal and not have people worrying about that I’m not eating. I was really happy they they also had the food I made. I think some vegan foods freak some people out. But what I love about Chloe’s recipes is that they don’t look ‘vegan’, they just look and taste delicious.

Sweet-and-Sour Meatballs

Rosemary & Tomato Galettes

Pine nut Ricotta

Toasted Pita bread with Oregano

Roasted Meats & Vegetables

Chocolate Walnut Fudge

Plasma Cake

Baklava

Chocolate Orange Muffin with Coconut Orange Sauce

This experiment was dinner tonight. I’m alone and I wasn’t hungry enough to cook a meal. I wanted to make something sweet without sugar and to make use of the oranges that are going uneaten in my fridge. It is sugar free and oil free and can be made gluten free if you use gf flour & gf baking powder.

I used brown rice syrup instead of sugar, but after being cooked the muffins weren’t as sweet as the batter was . So I made a sauce that was originally meant to be a sugar free icing. It started with only coconut cream, brown rice syrup and orange juice. But then when it started to melt with the heat here, I thought I could add some coconut to thicken it up. It turned out to be a nice sweet sauce to go with the bitter chocolate orange flavor of the muffin.

Chocolate Orange Muffin with Coconut Orange Sauce (gfo, sf, nf)

Ingredients:

1 cups unbleached white flour

1 cup wholemeal pastry flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/3 cup desiccated coconut

1 tablespoon orange zest (2 oranges)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup brown rice syrup

3 oranges

Ingredients for Coconut Orange Sauce:

10 tbsp coconut cream (chilled in the fridge)

4 tsp brown rice syrup

1 tbsp orange juice

½ cup desiccated coconut (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Take a bowl and sift the flours, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda.

3. Add salt, desiccated coconut,  orange zest and vanilla extract.

4. Take the 3 oranges and cut off the skin and all the white parts under the skin. Then use  a blender or bar mix to puree the oranges. Leave a little chunky.

5. Combine the orange puree and brown rice syrup with the rest of the mix.

6. Place the mixture into a prepared muffin tray and cook for 15 mins or until cooked inside. 

7. Meanwhile take a small bowl and add the coconut cream and beat with a fork. Then add remaining ingredients and place the sauce  in the fridge.

8. Once muffins have been cooled on a rack, serve with a dollop of the sauce.

Coconut Vanilla Oatmeal

This is a simple breakfast I whipped up this morning. I was craving oatmeal last night, but after reading someones post about the dangers of binge eating I thought I better wait till the morning. I already had devoured some fruit and leftovers in the fridge. I go through phases of eating oatmeal every day and then not eating for months. I like it mildly sweet and very thick. I have seen a few savory oatmeal recipes that I would also like to try. How do you like your oats?

I always choose organic oats. This is because a while back when I was going to my nutritionist and trying to get over leaking gut syndrome, my doctor advise me that I only eat organic oats. This is because I had a mild gluten intolerance and organic oats are not cross-contaminated with wheat and other grains that have gluten. Although I can now tolerate gluten again I still prefer to avoid pesticides and herbicides in my food as much as possible and organic oats are quite cheap and available from the big supermarkets.

Coconut Vanilla Oatmeal (vegan gluten free, soy free or nut free)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup instant or rolled oats, preferably organic

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

1 cup vanilla soy or almond milk

1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)

fresh fruit & shredded coconut to serve (optional)

Method:

1. Take a pot and add oats, cocont and chia seeds and stir though.

2. Then add soy milk and place on a medium heat. Cook for 5mins or until the oats have thickened.

*Serve with fresh fruit and shredded coconut on top. Serves 1.

Indian inspired feast

I am overwhelmed by all the positive comments I have received today. I never thought people would read my blog, let alone  nominated me for so many awards. I initially started this blog to help me change to a vegan lifestyle diet. So far I have been doing really well, which has a lot to do with the inspiration from other bloggers and their nice comments about my food. I am use to my friends and family thinking my dairy free food was strange enough, let alone removing the animal products entirely. But I think my cooking has improve a lot for both myself and others, who now think that this vegan food doesn’t look that bad. All I know is I feel great and eating a healthy diet is becoming more effortless.

I admit I do struggle with entirely eliminating fish, eggs and honey out of my diet. But these are not an every day thing or a complete substitute to meat. Its still a process for me and I have cut back a lot. I don’t really eat eggs anymore, since my chickens have been re-homed. Only the occasional crepe that Marco begs me to make. I was struggling with the decision to re-home them, but my mother was relentless about me getting rid of them. I only agreed to it when I found out Marco’s boss and his wife were paying extra council rates to keep their baby roosters, because their kids had grown too attached to them and wanted some lady hens to keep them company. Apparently they are really happy and now my dogs regained the grass in my yard, so they are happy too. I am especially happy now they they have stopped using my veggie patch as a toilet. Sushi is my biggest weakness still. Usually I can find vegan substitute, but sometimes they don’t have them or they just don’t look that good. I am only human, so I am not going to be too hard on myself. For the most part I want to avoid the bpa in canned fish and mercury in fresh seafood. So since I am not substituting it on a daily basis, for now its an occasional food.

Dark Sweet Eggplant, Spring Onion & Broccoli Noodle Stir-fry

Lunches and dinners are very easy now I have accepted that I don’t need some kind of major protein in every meal. Lots of vegetables have protein that I never realized. On the menu today was Dark Sweet Eggplant, Spring onion & Broccoli Noodle Stir-fry for lunch and for dinner was a Vegetable Korma Curry, Red Dhal curry, Rice and Coconut Poori. I also made a banana curry, but it wasn’t a success. I tried to make this recipe a few years back and miss read it, thinking I needed green bananas. They were so taut that I ended up trying to fry them to make them edible. I didn’t make the same mistake tonight, but I think I may have burnt the spices, plus the soy yoguart and lemon juice did not help the flavor. No one was a fan of this curry. So I think its time to give up on banana curry and leave it up to the experts.

The recipes of Red dhal dish and Coconut Poori are from from the book INDIAN FOOD – INTERNATIONAL SERIES. I have had this book for years. It has great recipes for Indian breads and spice pastes and snacks. The Red Dhal dish is an appetizers  but I think it can be enjoyed for a main meal. It is very easy to make and takes very little effort. The recipe doesn’t ask for salt, but for me I used plenty of it to bring out the taste of the dhal and I also used coconut oil instead of ghee. It is gluten free and is a very hearty dish. The Coconut Poori were really different, but really delicious. I made the first couple too big and flat, so they didn’t puff up. So for the rest I made them thicker and smaller and they came out perfect. They are really good with a curry or can be enjoyed after dinner with some chocolate spread. These are not gluten free, but the recipe calls for wholemeal flour or Indian atta flour. It also calls for plain flour, but I forgot about it and it was fine without it. The Vegetable Korma was just whatever vegetables I could find to add. I didn’t make the spice paste, since I had some left over in a jar. I was going to add soy yogurt, but decided to change it to coconut cream in the end, since it was tangy enough.

Red Dhal (gf, sf, nf)

Ingredients

200 g red dhal/lentils (washed)

4 cups water

1 tsp ground turmeric 

1 crushed garlic clove

30 g vegan butter/coconut oil

1 large onion (chopped)

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

sea salt to taste

Method:

1. Take a medium size pot and add the lentils, water, turmeric and garlic. Bring to the boil then place on a simmer for 30 mins (or until dhal is soft)

2. Just before dhal is finished, take a pan and melt coconut oil. Then add onion and the remaining spices. Cook for 5 mins, or until onions are soft.

3. Add onions to dhal, stir through and serve.

*Serves 6

Vegetable Korma (gf)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic (chopped)

4 potatoes (chopped)

1 red capsicum (chopped)

1/2-1 eggplant (chopped)

2 tbsp korma spice paste (or more)

300 ml chicken stock

250 ml coconut cream (1 tetra pak)

Method:

1. Take a large pot and melt coconut oil. Then add onions, garlic and korma spice paste. Cook for 3 mins, add water if becomes dry.

2. Then add rest of the vegetables and coat in the spice paste.

3. Add chicken stock and cook for 30mins or until potato is soft.

4. Lastly before serving, add coconut cream and heat through, then serve.

*Serves 4

Coconut Poori (sf, nf)

Ingredients:

200 g wholemeal flour/Indian atta flour

100 g plain flour (optional)

1/2 tsp sea salt,

100 g desiccated coconut

1 tsp chili powder (I used cayenne pepper)

1/2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp ghee/coconut oil/vegan butter

150 ml water

oil for frying (sunflower oil)

Method:

1. Take a mixing bowl and combine wholemeal flour, salt, coconut, cayenne, and sugar. 

2. Then add melted coconut oil and stir so that it becomes like bread crumbs.

3. Then add water so it becomes like a dough and set aside for 10 mins.

4. Divide into 14 balls and flatten into a small disk shape.

5. Heat wok with oil then place the disks into the oil and hold under the oil. They are ready when they puff up and are golden brown.

*Serves 14

White Chocolate & Coconut Rice Bubble Bars

This is a really simple recipe that I’ve been wanting to make for a while. I am addicted to Sweet Williams white chocolate. Its dairy free & gluten free and tastes very much like the real thing. I saw many recipes that called for butter or eggs, but I thought coconut oil and chocolate was enough to bind the mixture. I put it to set in the fridge last night and it appeared to set, but then broke apart when I went to cut it. I had better luck  today when I took it out of the fridge and cut it, but I recommend more chocolate! I think my mixture was too dry. I will try this again soon and let you know how I go.

White Chocolate &  Coconut Rice Bubble Bars (gf)

Ingredients- 2 cups gf rice puffs, 1 cup desiccated coconut, 2 tbsp coconut oil, 1 (or 2 is better) 100 g  bars of vegan white chocolate 

1. Take a tray (8×12) and put baking paper inside.

2. In a large bowl mix rice bubbles & desiccated coconut together.

3. Heat white chocolate & coconut oil in a heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water.

4. Once chocolate & coconut has melted add it to the rice bubble mixture and stir it through.

5. Place in mixture in the tray and press down with a metal flip/spoon.