Cauliflower, Potato and Chickpea Curry

Curry is such a perfect winter meal. Especially when it takes minimal effort and you have leftovers for weeks!

When I made this curry, I sort of made it up as I went along. And you can do the same if you want. Switch around the veggies, add some more chilli or whatever suits you. But I promise, this version will not disappoint.

Double Choc Caramel Slice

Who doesn’t love caramel slice?
I certainly do. I remember my school canteen sold caramel slice for $3.50. It was a huge slice! And I would only sometimes let myself by it, but when I did, I would make it last all day, savouring every bite.

Since turning vegan, I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect caramel slice that wasn’t overly complicated. It’s been hard. The caramel has been to gooey, the chocolate doesn’t taste right or it has just taken too long to make!

Spiced Apple Muffins

I had so many apples. Some how I had ended up with 2 huge bags of homegrown, beautiful, crunchy apples. And there are only so many apples you can eat before they go bad!

I made simple apple crumble, stewed apple, grated apple in bircher, apple in smoothies. But there were still so many left! And they were starting to go soft as well.

My mum used to always make a lot of fruit based baked goods. Banana cake, Berry muffins, Orange and Poppy seeds cake and of course Cinnamon and Apple Muffins. My mum, being health conscious, would always make them healthy of course.

So I set out to make a huge batch of Apple Muffins. All the recipes I found only required 1 or 2 apples! That wasn’t going to help my apple dilemma. So instead I made up a recipe myself, and hoped for the best.

Surprisingly, I got it first shot! I knew I’d got it right because I got home from work the next day and only 1 muffin was left! Out of 12!

So I made them again. And again. And again. They are chock full of apples, so sweet from the sugar of the fruit and so soft and moist from the juice of the apples. These babies are ridiculously simple and I even know the recipe off by heart now.

Are you ready for this?

Spiced Apple Muffins
Makes: 12

Ingredients

• 1 cup of soy milk
• 2 tsp vinegar
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 4 medium apples
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 2.5 cups of flour (white, wholemeal or gluten free)
• 1 tsp bicarb soda
• 1 tsp baking powder

Method

1. Line a 12 muffin pan with patties and preheat oven to 180C fan forced
2. Put milk and vinegar into bowl for 10 minutes
3. Dice the apple with skin on, into small pieces
4. Melt the coconut oil on the stove top at low heat. Add the milk mixture and heat until the milk is warm
5. Put the oil and milk mixture into a large bowl and whisk in coconut sugar and vanilla
6. Add spices, flour, bicarb and baking powder. Stir with a large spoon until smooth
7. Add apples and stir through
8. Divide evenly between muffin patties
9. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the tops are golden and feel firm when the tops are pressed.
10. Store for up to 5 days in an air tight container.

Sushi Bowls with Lettuce Cups

I’ve been having crazy sushi craving recently. All I want is sushi. Even for breakfast (sounding a little crazy right now, I know).

But the issue is, I am terrible at making sushi. It always falls apart everywhere and it never tastes the same as store bought vegan sushi.

Also buying vegan sushi can be such a mission sometimes because everyone puts that mayonnaise thing through the rice. Make sure you’re checking for that when you buy it!

Anzac Biscuits Minus the Nasties

I love Anzac biscuits. They’re sweet, chewy yet crunchy and so freaking delicious. I used to beg my mother to buy them whenever I saw them at the supermarket. They came in these huge ANZAC tins and the biscuits were not even that good now that I look back on them, but I still loved them, especially dunked in a big cup of tea.

But what really gets me about these biscuits is that as I was mixing them together, they completely smelt like all of my Food Tech memories. Food Tech was one of those electives in school that children either hated or loved. I loved it except the teacher always wanted you to follow the recipe EXACTLY. No alterations, no additions, nothing.

I’ve been looking for a vegan recipe for a little while but then I decided to just adapt an old recipe and you know what? They turned out just as good!

Vegan ✓
Dairy Free ✓
Fructose Friendly ✓
Refined Sugar Free ✓
Easy to Make Gluten Free ✓

Sunday Morning Brunch

I never do brunch on Sunday.

I am impatient when it comes to food and coffee so brunch on Sunday in Melbourne is a terrible idea. Almost every cafe is bursting with people, with waiting lists and lines and did I mention waiting? 

But I still love brunch. So when my boyfriend said ‘Hey let’s go to Top Paddock for breakfast!,’ how could I say no?

So we get to Top Paddock and (as I suspected) there was a half an hour waiting list. My boyfriend thought this was too long but was craving their Hotcake. Then I remembered that The Kettle Black did a similar Hotcake so we ventured over to South Melbourne, knowing there would be yet another wait for breakfast.

Salted Caramel Snickers Bites

There isn’t many things I love more than crunchy peanut butter and anything sweet, mixed together. Peanut butter and rice malt syrup, peanut butter and jam, peanut butter and dates…. They are all amazing.

So many beautiful soaked dates

So when I came across the Minimalist Baker’s recipe for Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Truffles I just had to make them! And my house mates thought it was a pretty good idea as well.

Gorgeous little Salted Caramel Balls

I’ve made this recipe 3 times now but the last time I made it I had to change it up a little to suit my preferences. They are so decadent, creamy, sweet and a tiny bit salty. Oh and how could I forget that beautiful snap sound they make when you bite into them!
How could you resist?