Tag: vegetarian

B’s Crispy Kale Recipe

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Hope everyone had a good weekend.  Somehow weekends always bring about “cheat” days for those who are dieting!  I know they do for me 😉  So here’s to some healthy food *cheers* 🙂

Crispy Kale is delectable and very nutritious!  Kale is a superfood – a food often eaten by gorillas (surprisingly!).  They are packed with nutrients such as:  Vitamin K, A and C.  It also has copper, calcium and manganese.  Actually the list goes on but these are the significant nutrients in Kale.  However, always remember to buy ORGANIC KALE as you wouldn’t want to be eating pesticide instead of nutrients.  The detrimental effects would largely outweigh the benefits of it being a healthy vegetable in the first place!

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Make sure to trim all the stems out and break kale into pieces…

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Dry the leaves properly…

ImageLay out in a baking sheet ensuring that leaves are spread out and not overlapping…

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Crispy and flavourful – right out of the oven! 🙂

My recipe featured on Almonds & Raisins:

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Hope you guys like it! x

B’s Crunchy Chickpea Bites

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I’ve been reading about roasted chickpeas online as a healthy snack and have been meaning to try them forever.  The final push was when I saw a post by Celeste and thought OK,  I should give it a go!  Her recipe was completely different than mine but i might try hers out too!  I made mine a bit spicy and with indian infused flavours 🙂  It came out delish so much so that I forgot to take a picture of the final product.  I will add it to this post when I re-make it.  This just goes to say how yummy it was that I was completely thrown off-track.

Benefits of Chickpeas:

  • High Fibre content
  • Contains Iron
  • Source of Protein
  • Contains Manganese
  • Low GI-index, controls sugar and keeps you full longer (good for weight loss too!)

These are few motivating factors for you to consumer chickpeas as a vegetarian!

Here’s what I did:

ImageMixed all the flavours on dry chickpeas…

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Lay them out on a baking sheet, making sure they don’t overlap… BAKE AWAY AND EAT!

B’s Crunchy Chickpea Bites

Makes: One big bowl

Ingredients:

  • 1 can chickpeas  (drained, washed and dried)
  • 1/2 tsp oil
  • Flavourings: 1/2 tsp chilli powder, 1/2 tsp cumin powder, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, salt & pepper to taste

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 200 C.
  2. Wash the chickpeas and drain them.  Dry thoroughly on paper towel.
  3. Mix chickpeas with flavourings and oil.
  4. Roast for 35 – 45 minutes, depending on how crunchy you want it.  (I roasted mine for 40 mins)

Notes:  Make sure the chickpeas are DRY.  If not it would result in the bites being soggy rather than crunchy!!

Enjoy this fibre-rich low fat snack!  It’s much better than munching on crisps and gives you similar satisfaction 🙂

xx

B

Easy Fresh Home-made Artisan Bread…!

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We have stopped buying bread in our house and I make it instead.  When I told my brother, he implied I have become a miser. It was pretty funny comment, I was like huh?  NO!  I don’t bake bread to save money. YES, it is a cheaper alternative but really switching to home-made bread is not going to get me haute couture with the saving!  I would need to bake 20000 loaves to justify a LV bag (I’m not into justifying my purchases btw!) hahaha.  Why do I bake bread?  It’s so tasty and so easy. Usually yeast creeps me out.  I have yeast-o-phobia – the whole bubbling process makes me sick.  However,  I came across this recipe and the simplicity of it made me want to try it.  The recipe was adapted from Artisan Bread in 5 minutes!  I changed the flour from all-purpose to strong white as that’s what I had on hand.  I loved it!  Will be trying multi-seed next time.

Advantages of home-made bread:

  • YUMMY (most important!)
  • Healthy – the recipe has zero oil.  Compare this 4-ingredient bread recipe to any store-bought that has 20 ingredients which are unnecessary! (It’s alarming if you read the ingredient list)
  • Cost-effective (20000 loaves baked can buy you an LV BAG LOL)
  • Your house will smell of fresh bread…Mmmmmm.

WARNING:  AFTER BAKING THIS, THERE’S NO GOING BACK!! A picture of my beautiful baked loaf…

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Doesn’t that just look gorgeous?  The first time I baked it, I was amazed too.  How can something that simple to whip up, be that mouth-watering? Hmmmmm….

Here are a few snaps to demonstrate how I made it…

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Mix the ingredients together for 2 minutes… Flour, Yeast, Salt and Lukewarm Water.  Amazingly easy. 😉

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Cover with a foil and keep it away for 5 hours.

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After 5 hours, it will look like this!  It’s extremely slimy to work with (on the first day)… But this is the dough!

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Yummy… Bread slices pan fried. OMG. I have died and gone to heaven at this point.

I am typing this recipe by memory btw!  This emphasises on how easy it is, and how often I bake it!

EASY HOME-MADE ARTISAN BREAD

Makes: Enough 2 big loaves or 3 small loaves

Ingredients:

  • 6 1/2 cup strong white flour
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
  • 3 cups lukewarm water

Method:

  1. Mix wall the ingredients together with a wooden spoon in a big bowl (as it will double in size later)
  2. Cover with a foil for 5 hours.
  3. Use a knife to divide dough into half (I’d recommend a day after as it’s slimy on the first day!  Hard to work with, but not impossible!)
  4. Form a ball and cover with flour.
  5. Grease a small roasting tin with butter and place dough there for half an hour.
  6. Preheat oven to 235 C.
  7. With a knife cut 3 lines in the bread (so air can escape while baking!).  Also dust a bit of flour for aesthetics.
  8. Bake for 33-34 mins and leave to cool on a wire rack.  Place some water (about 1 cup) in another roasting tin and put beneath the bread.

Notes:  The dough can stay in the fridge in an airtight container for 2 weeks!  I’ve personally only tried till a week as my husband loves bread!  I prefer making the dough a day in advance as I find the dough much easier to work with.

B’s Easy Coleslaw Recipe

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I’ve always wanted to try to make coleslaw – as I know it’s pretty easy but the creaminess of it made me feel it shouldn’t be rendered a salad. LOL 😉  Prior to this recipe I came up with I’ve been buying store bought creamy coleslaw.  I usually like coleslaw without onion and that’s not an option when you buy packaged coleslaw!  So my version is healthier, onion-less and less creamy without compromising the taste.

Firstly, I used a food processor to grate carrots and cabbage:

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And I whisked the dressing together… and tried it to make sure it was the taste I wanted… Hmm.. And adjusted it accordingly!

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I refrigerated it for about 2-3 hours and let the flavours combine properly… 🙂  Doesn’t it look yummy?? 🙂

B’s Easy Coleslaw Recipe

Makes: Enough for 3-4 people as a side 

Ingredients:

  • 2 carrots (grated)
  • 1/2 cabbage head (grated)
  • 6 tbsp ‘lighter than light’ mayonnaise (I buy into marketing! LOL)
  • 3 tbsp milk
  • 2 tbsp white vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2-3 tbsp water
  • salt, pepper

Method:

  1. Grate the carrots and cabbage finely.
  2. Whisk all the dressing ingredients together.  Taste it once it’s done and adjust accordingly to your taste.  If you do miss the cream, add a few tbsp of cream 🙂
  3. Mix the dressing with the salad and refrigerate!

That was simple!  🙂  Enjoy this nice side with jacket potatoes! 🙂

xx

B

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Foodie Fridays: B’s EASY STOVE-TOP HOMEMADE SALTED POPCORN RECIPE

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Hello!  I’ve been trying popcorn at home.  I’ve adapted my recipe from this blog.  I really can’t believe how incredibly easy it is to make popcorn.  Not to mention – how cheap it is too!  (Cinemas mark up the price by 1000% or more! HAHAHA) Popcorn is best eaten when its warm 😉  Actually I love sweet popcorn (cinema-style) and have tried 2 different recipes but am not fully satisfied with the outcome.  So if anyone knows a good one, please leave me a comment or link!! 🙂

And here’s the picture of my home-made popcorn:

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B’s EASY STOVE-TOP HOMEMADE POPCORN RECIPE

Makes: Enough for 2 hungry people

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup corn kernels
  • 4 tbsp oil (enough to cover entire base of pan)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp butter

Method:

  1. Put oil in pan on medium heat,
  2. Add kernels and give it a shake to ensure kernels are coated evenly with oil.
  3. Put the lid on the pan (loosely) to allow air to escape.
  4. Give the pan a bit of a shake.
  5. Kernels will pop in 1-2 mins.
  6. Transfer popped corn (LOL poped corn = popcorn! LOL)  in a bowl and drizzle with butter and salt.

Note:  Putting half the amount of salt in the oil works well too.  😉  Do as you prefer!!

Enjoy!

xx

B

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B’s Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Mash Recipe

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I’ve been MIA for a bit but am back in case I was missed 😉

Thought I’d make something different – so voila!  It was pretty tasty but not perfect.  So I will def be trying it again 🙂

First I steamed the sweet potato and butter squash cubes:

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Then I mashed em and added melted butter with seasonings…

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Voila!  It was a perfect side.

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B’s Sweet Potato and Butter Squash Mash Recipe

Makes: Enough for 2-3 people as a side

Ingredients:

  • 250g Sweet Potato & Butternut Squash (cut in cubes)
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 2 tbsp melted butter
  • salt, pepper and chilli flakes

Method:

  1. Steam the Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash for 15-20 mins.  It’s ready when it’s very soft!
  2. Mash it with melted butter and season to taste.

SIMPLE & EASY!  Being vegetarian is not hard.  It’s easy when you use culinary skills – ok so not quite. 😉 It’s easy when you use different ingredients and have a variety of food on the table!

Enjoy!

xx

B

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Foodie Fridays: Tofu Breakfast Muffins with Quorn Bacon = B’s Eggless Egg Muffins Recipe!

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I tried making this at home after thinking about how much I loved McDonald’s Egg Muffins when I was non-veg.  I tried to somehow make a vegetarian version of Egg Muffins!  It was divine.

Here’s the result!

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It was really easy too!  Great for a weekend brunch 😉

The most important step is marinating the tofu so the flavour and colour gets absorbed properly.

Here’s a picture of how the tofu pieces should look after marinating it:

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B’s Tofu Breakfast Muffins with Quorn Bacon 

Makes: 4 Muffins

Ingredients:

  • Half packet of firm tofu cut into big rectangles (see picture above)
  • Quorn Bacon Slices
  • 4 Muffins
  • Cheese Slices
  • Seasoning: Turmeric Powder, Soya Sauce, Chilli Powder, Salt, Pepper (Mix in a bowl

Method:

  1. Place kitchen towel under and over tofu pieces to absorb extra moisture.  Leave for half an hour.
  2. Marinate the tofu with the seasonings mentioned above.
  3. After half an hour, pan-fry the tofu patties till they are done (a bit crispy on both sides).
  4. Pan fry the bacon slices.
  5. Assemble with cheese in the muffins.

Enjoy it with any sauce you like 😉  I had it with BBQ sauce and baked beans on the side with hash browns!

xx

B

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B’s Eggless Milo Custard Recipe

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I really really wanted custard last night.  So yes, I made custard at 11 pm and made a variation for my husband with Milo.  It came out really really yummy for chocolate lovers!

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So I made normal eggless custard and added milo to it.  I was pretty generous with the milo as you can see.  While it was on the fire I whisked it so it became a smooth chocolately (it’s a word I swear! hahaha) custard.

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It was good… Hmmm… The husband loved it.

B’s Eggless Milo Custard Recipe

Makes:  Enough for two hungry people.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 tbsp custard powder
  • 2 tbsp evaporated milk
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • vanilla essence to taste
  • generous amount of milo (optional)

Method:

  1. Boil milk with sugar until its dissolved.
  2. Add evaporated milk.
  3. Mix custard powder in a bowl with water till there are no lumps.  Add to the milk and whisk.
  4. Add vanilla essence.
  5. Custard is ready 🙂  Add milo and whisk if you want a chocolate mixture!

Note:  I love custard and can eat it with anything!  When my sisters were here, we had it over scones topped with Nutella.  That was really good 🙂 The leftover custard can be refrigerated in a bowl.  It will set in a few hours and can be eaten cold! 🙂

Enjoy this simple vegetarian dessert 🙂

x

B

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Foodie Fridays: B’s Easy Jacket Potatoes

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Hello all… It’s Foodie Friday again! Yipppeee.  Thought I’d blog about something easy, fatty and British.  JACKET POTATOES.  Simple to make and yummilicious (It’s a word I swear- well it is one in Sparkle Bubble hahaha!).  Here’s an easy recipe!

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Hmmm.. Doesn’t that just look delish?  Ok and sort of like a heart-attack on a plate, but we can ignore the fat part.  Whenever I indulge in Jacket Potatoes it becomes my brunch.  I think that honestly compensates for how heavy it is. Spreading it across two meals makes it justifiable. Yes, I love making myself feel better. Hahahaha!

B’s Easy Jacket Potatoes

Bakes: 4 servings, well if you use 4 potatoes. 😉

Ingredients:

  • 4 Jacket Potatoes
  • 2 tins of Heinz Chilli Beans
  • Butter
  • Cheese
  • Salt & Pepper

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 200 C.
  2. Wash the potatoes.
  3. Cut a cross in the middle of the potato.
  4. Poke all sides with a fork for even baking.
  5. Bake for 1 hour 20 mins.
  6. In the meantime, put beans in a pot and add salt, pepper and any desired seasoning.
  7. After the potato has baked, open the potato up gently and butter the inside.
  8. Pour baked beans generously and top up with cheese.
  9. Return dish to oven till cheese is bubbly!

Note:  You can serve this with coleslaw as it goes very well.  I’ve also made Jacket Potatoes with different toppings such as:  Veg Tuna and Quorn Minced Meat.

Enjoy!

xx

B

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B’s Afternoon Tea with the Husband at Waldorf Astoria Syon Lane

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Hello!  I got a birthday gift voucher for afternoon tea for 2 at Waldorf Astoria Syon Lane so it was time to drag my husband to one of these.  He’s never been for one!!  I usually go with my girlfriends, but since he loves food – I thought he would enjoy it 🙂

It was lovely as expected.  🙂

Here’s the menu:Image

We obviously went for the vegetarian option and omitted the egg mayo with an avocado sandwich.  It was yummy!

And here’s the result of our order…

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3 layers of heaven!  I’m going to say something pretty vain here but my scones are better. They are softer and yummier just FYI.  Even my hubby said it – and no I didn’t bribe him to compliment me 🙂

Let’s look at each layer… Scrutinising food is always good 😉

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ImageImageIt was all pretty delectable.  My favourite sandwich was the cheddar cheese with chutney (not because I’m Indian!)  Favourite scone – was well, my own. HAHAHA!

Favourite dessert had to be the chocolate eclair.  It was yummy with oozing custard inside.

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My enchanted tea (so it was called) – was mysterious. Kind of reminded me of the enchanted magical forest.  Yes I am in my own world. And yes, I love being in it!  It had a fruity flavour and was pretty interesting.

To end the afternoon tea – since it was an all-inclusive:  I ended it with a nice hot cappuccino!

ImageIt was a bit strong to be honest.  Oh god, I sound like I’m complaining about a FREE MEAL. How is that even possible??

Ok the scone was pretty good, how can anything topped up with clotted cream and jam go wrong?

ImageEnjoyed my day out 🙂  My sisters are coming to visit London tomorrow – so I’ll be showing them around and exploring London as a tourist!  xx B

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