March 5, 2009: Golden Bars For Golden Plains

last year's too for the nearly purpose nosotros happily gulped downward roti wraps, vegie burgers smothered inwards hot sauce, mango juice, too nutella-berry crepes. But come upward breakfast time, whether it occurred at 8am or 1pm, a chunky habitation made muesli bar was worth its weight inwards gold.

The muesli bars that nosotros ate were concocted a duo of days early, too based on Heidi Swanson's recipe for bubble slice I've eaten (and adapted) thus many times, they're genuinely quite a dissimilar proposition. The rolled oats brand them to a greater extent than chewy too filling, too though I would never accept recognised the java inwards a blind sense of savor test, it adds a terrific too unique depth of flavour. What this recipe does accept inwards mutual alongside my bubble spell is flexibility of ingredients: there's a whole host of sweeteners, cereals, nuts too seeds that you lot could attempt substituting. My ain selection of ingredients meant that I could ready these solely from ingredients already inwards our pantry!

As I stirred together the mixture I worried that it mightiness non gibe together (tip: press it into the baking tray using a fork, non a spoon!) too I stuffed it into the refrigerator overnight. This proved to live unnecessary, too genuinely made cutting it into squares much to a greater extent than difficult. Unless you're inwards a really warm place, you lot tin strength out in all probability continue this away from the refrigerator altogether.

Golden bars for Golden Plains
(based on the Big Sur ability bars at 101 Cookbooks)

1/2 loving cup pecans, chopped
3/4 loving cup almonds, chopped
3/4 loving cup macadamias, chopped
2/3 loving cup dessicated coconut
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups rice bubbles
1 loving cup rice malt syrup
1/4 loving cup brownish sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
two tablespoons soil java beans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180°C. While you're waiting, chop upward the nuts, too then bake them for 5-10 minutes, stirring 1 time or twice. When they only start to colour, add together the kokosnoot too bake for a farther five minutes, stirring 1 time again along the way. Take it out to cool when everything's golden. Transfer the toasted nuts to a bowl too stir inwards the rolled oats too rice bubbles.

In a pocket-size saucepan over medium heat, stir together the rice malt syrup, sugar, salt, java too vanilla. Bring the mixture to the boil, all the same stirring, too permit it to thicken a lilliputian earlier taking it off the heat. Pour it over the cereal/nut mixture too combine everything thoroughly.

Lightly grease a baking tray too pour the mixture into it; I constitute the dorsum of a fork nearly useful for smoothing over the top. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature (don't refrigerate it!) earlier slicing it into chunks.

September 13, 2009: Kokosnoot Chocolate Nut Truffles

already blogged about the wonderful vegan potluck held inward Kristy's vegan chorizo was otherwordly inward its tastiness). The subject for the effect was 'new', in addition to the easiest agency for Cindy in addition to I to utilisation something novel was for me to accept tending of the sweets in addition to her to bargain with savoury.

In the end, I was almost embarrassed to introduce my offering, chocolate nut truffles courtesy of Johanna, with the other stunning desserts - they were trivially uncomplicated to make, in addition to merely a tiny fleck disappointing (at to the lowest degree when pose upwards against white chocolate risotto in addition to peanut butter icecream). I actually liked the season of these piddling balls, but the texture was a letdown - they were a fleck dry out in addition to powdery in addition to were alone actually rescued yesteryear beingness served with a multifariousness of delicious icecream to moisten them up. I'm non certain if I mismeasured something but they didn't stimulate got the gooiness of Johanna's version.

Anyway, here's the recipe - experiment with upping the proportion of liquids slightly.

Coconut chocolate nut truffles
(courtesy Green Gourmet Giraffe)
makes almost xv balls

3/4 loving cup desiccated coconut
three heaped tablespoon tahini
three heaped tablespoons almond butter
vi tablespoons set down almonds
2.5 tablespoons maple syrup
vi teaspoons cocoa
three teaspoons cocoa nibs (optional)

It's barely fifty-fifty worth writing directions: you lot merely pose everything inward a mixing bowl in addition to stir it all together. That's it! That's your mixture. Roll it into golf-ball sized spheres of deliciousness in addition to refigerate. And you're done. See - that's a shamefully straightforward endeavour for a potluck. I'll stimulate got to become for something a fleck to a greater extent than complex side yesteryear side time.

PS: Mad props to Rachel for hosting us all - it must almost endure our plow again.

December 21-22, 2009: Macadamia-Date Balls As Well As Vanilla-Vegan Bubble Slice

This twelvemonth my Christmas baking wasn't baking at all - I went the melt-mix-chill route. It has much to recommend it: it's quick too elementary too it doesn't larn y'all also hot too flustered amidst the warm atmospheric condition too full general Christmas chaos.

My kickoff priority was a gift for my step-grandfather, Max. He's been having around wellness problems inwards the final few months thence I wanted to plough over him something tasty too treat-like that wouldn't locomote overly bloating or calorific. The date macadamia balls that Jo posted on one-day foray into raw food proved the ability of dates' sweetness caramel flavour, too the creamy richness of solid pose down macadamias. The fleck of cocoa inwards this recipe solely enhanced the care for factor. If I made these in i lawsuit again merely for myself, I'd sacrifice the sweetness too upward the cocoa fifty-fifty further.

The 2d care for loitering fuzzily inwards the background is our quondam solid unit of measurement favourite, bubble slice. It's appeared hither in various guises before, too I'll dub this version the 'vanilla-vegan' one. Actually it doesn't comprise vanilla at all, but rather is the plainest, bare-bones version of the spell without whatsoever added nuts, dried fruit or chocolate. The master copy recipe uses dearest too butter, but I made the vegan- too pantry-friendly pick of substituting golden syrup too Nuttelex. In spite of these alterations the odour of the peanut-butter caramel mixture bubbling on the stove took me immediately dorsum to my mum's kitchen. It remains a crowd-pleaser, going downward as good amongst my country-living, meat-eating blood brother too the inner-city vegan friends who dropped past times for tofurkey sandwiches.

Macadamia-date balls
(based on this recipe from It Ain't Meat, Babe)

1 1/2 cups macadamias
1 loving cup fresh dates
two (or more) teaspoons cocoa
1 loving cup shredded coconut

Blend the macadamias to a pulverization inwards a nutrient processor. Add the dates too cocoa too function along to blend until the mixture forms a smoothen dough.

Form tablespoons of the dough into balls too curlicue them inwards coconut. Store them inwards the refrigerator until y'all desire to scoff them.

Vegan-vanilla bubble slice

v cups rice bubbles
1/2 loving cup dessicated coconut
125g Nuttelex/margarine
iv tablespoons golden syrup
iv tablespoons peanut butter
1/2 loving cup brownish sugar

In a large bowl, stir together the rice bubbles too coconut.

In a small-medium saucepan, melt the Nuttelex, golden syrup, peanut butter too sugar. Bring them to the boil, thence simmer for v minutes. Pour the caramel mixture over the dry out ingredients too combine thoroughly. Press the mixture into a minor baking tray, using the dorsum of a spoon to smoothen over the surface. Refrigerate until set, thence cutting into squares.

Apricot Delight

October 9-13, 2011

macadamia-date balls - she's non 1 for sugary desserts, though she loves fresh fruit, together with they seemed to striking the spot rather well. I knew simply what to convey this time: the apricot please I get-go saw on Green Gourmet Giraffe, which I afterwards had the luck to gustatory modality when Mel brought it to the VegMel Picnic.

While the apricot please usually institute inwards supermarkets is sum of sugar, glucose syrup together with oil, these sweet-and-slightly-sour squares incorporate goose egg to a greater extent than than dried apricots, dessicated coconut, water, together with a picayune dear (easily omitted or replaced amongst around other sweetening syrup for vegans). It's no less delightful inwards its simplicity together with wholesomeness! 

Apricot delight
(as seen on Green Gourmet Giraffe,
where it's credited to the Australian Women's Weekly)

250g dried apricots, chopped
3/4 loving cup boiling water
2 tablespoons dear (or choice sweetener)
1 1/2 cups dessicated coconut, addition extra for coating

Place one-half the apricots together with all of the boiling H2O inwards a modest saucepan. Soak the apricots for close an hour. Bring the mixture to the boil together with gently simmer them, uncovered, for close 10 minutes. I topped mine upward amongst around other tablespoon or 2 of H2O every bit they looked similar they were drying out. Allow the mixture to cool a little.

Transfer these soaked apricots to a nutrient processor, add together the dear together with purée them thoroughly. Plonk them into a bowl together with stir through the remaining apricots together with the coconut. The mixture volition shape a reasonably thick dough.

Line a modest tray amongst baking newspaper together with spoon inwards the dough, flattening it across the base. Place a 2nd acre of baking newspaper on the tiptop surface of the slice, together with thence refrigerate it overnight.

When the acre is set, take away the baking newspaper together with cutting the acre into modest squares. Roll each foursquare inwards the extra kokosnoot to coat the sides, together with thence serve or shop every bit you lot wish.

November 1, 2008: Three-Shades-Of-Brown Bubble Slice

very long weekend away, the crew agreed that each couplet would ready a dinner, dessert too to a greater extent than or less lunch. Michael's already shown off the lip-smacking cashew curry he brought along for dinner, too this is an off-the-menu extra snack that I made. It's a variation on my onetime identify unit of measurement favourite, bubble slice. I went for a dissimilar final result this time, hoping that walnuts too dates would complement the dry reason wattleseed that I wanted to include. I also replaced much of the butter too sweetener amongst to a greater extent than or less leftover kokosnoot cream. It was a mixed success - the walnuts too dates worked together nicely, but I couldn't gustation the wattleseed at all too at that topographic point was also much of the rich binding ingredients for the sum of rice bubbles too nuts involved. Even so, at that topographic point weren't whatsoever leftovers to debate amongst on our arrival home!

Three-shades-of-brown bubble slice

1 loving cup walnuts, chopped
3/4 loving cup dates, chopped
three cups rice bubbles
120mL kokosnoot cream
four tablespoons golden syrup
four tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
60g butter
1 tablespoon dry reason wattleseed

Grease a medium-large tray. In a large bowl, stir together the walnuts, dates too rice bubbles.

Melt the kokosnoot cream, golden syrup, peanut butter too butter inward a saucepan over medium heat, select to the boil too and then simmer for five minutes. Stir through the wattleseed.

Pour the sweetness butter mixture over the dry out ingredients too stir to combine. Press the mixture into the tray too refrigerate for at to the lowest degree an hour. Slice into squares too serve.

November 23-24, 2008: Grubs

Gorgeous Grubs. These curiously named sweets are a long fourth dimension favourite inwards Johanna's identify unit of measurement in addition to it wasn't the recipe that appealed to me in addition to then much equally the memories she recounted equally she rolled them. I didn't excogitation to brand them at all until I was faced alongside an imminent seminar from a invitee speaker at run in addition to a instance of baking fatigue. The elementary mix-roll-refrigerate procedure seemed achievable. It likewise seemed to invite mixing upward the ingredients to adjust one's ain needs in addition to pantry - I went for a gluten-free version, replacing the Marie biscuits alongside my remaining rice bubbles in addition to closed to solid soil almonds. I tin envisage mixing inwards dried fruit in addition to chopped nuts; straightaway that her recipe for sweetened condensed nothing, fifty-fifty a vegan rendition is inside reach!

These grubs struck me equally the ideal nutrient for a children's party. Not solely are they elementary to make, they don't require complicated ingredients in addition to their flavor is elementary in addition to sweet, non sophisticated. Regardless, they proved really pop alongside my adult audience! And where exercise they larn their refer from? I'm non sure, but I tin guess:

Grubs

1 1/3 cups rice bubbles
2/3 loving cup solid soil almonds
three tablespoons cocoa
1/2 loving cup dessicated coconut
400g tin sweetened condensed milk
2/3 extra dessicated kokosnoot for rolling

In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the dry out ingredients (rice bubbles, solid soil almonds, cocoa, dessicated kokosnoot or whatsoever substitute you lot desire to make). Pour over the condensed milk in addition to stir it all together until good combined. Roll generous teaspoons of the mixture into balls in addition to toss them through the extra coconut.

Johanna likes these best gooey in addition to at room temperature, but they should otherwise in all likelihood endure stored inwards the fridge.