editor, Author at The Kind Cook

Mango & Nutmeg Cheesecake w/ Ginger Biscuit

on December 23, 2012

YOU NEED

1 cup of fresh mango, peeled, seed removed

8 ginger biscuits

2 x tubs of Tofutti “cream cheese

4 heaped tablespoons of icing sugar (also known as confectioner’s sugar)

ground nutmeg

YOU DO

Line up 4 small, shallow dessert wine or martini glasses. Blend the mango and dribble about ¼ of it down the sides of each glass.

Roughly crumble 2 ginger nut biscuits into each glass. Set aside.

Blend the Tofutti Cream Cheese, icing sugar, and the remainder of the pureed mango. Pour equal amounts into each glass over the top of the crumbled ginger nut biscuits and cover each glass with glad wrap.

Place the glasses in to the fridge to set a little. This will also soften up the biscuits. I have served it as little as a couple of hours after making it but it’s nicer if you can leave it longer. Up to 8 hours is perfect.

Serve with a generous sprinkle of nutmeg.

Serves: Serves 4

Time: Takes About 15 minutes to make plus the fridge time.

Notes: I use Macro brand Ginger nut biscuits because they are palm oil free. I get them in some Coles/Safeway in the health food section)

I have been known to use a lot more than 2 biscuits each for this recipe.

Tofutti Cream Cheese is available in Coles and is generally found with the dairy cream cheeses.

Juice Cleanse

on December 23, 2012

I really needed this, this morning.

YOU NEED

1 granny smith apple

1 green pear

2 lemons

1 inch of fresh ginger

#optional cayenne

YOU DO

Juice the apple, pear and lemons.

Blend the ginger through the juice and add a little cayenne if you wish.

Servings: Serves 1

Time: 5 minutes.

Freeze: N/A

Little Raspberry Chocolate Pots

on December 23, 2012

A match made in heaven!

………….Sit some raspberries upright in container

Melt some dairy free white chocolate. I used Sweet William (which I get in Coles in the Health food section).

Wait for the chocolate to cool a little.

Place the chocolate into a small piping bag that has a small round nozzle. Pipe the chocolate into the raspberries Pop in the fridge until the chocolate sets

ENJOY!

Chocolate Candy Cane Bark

on December 19, 2012

YOU NEED

250 grams of dairy free chocolate

vegan candy canes (you can get vegan candy canes online and from Sunnybrook Health Food)

YOU DO

Line a 20cm by 30cm tray with baking paper.

Break the chocolate into bite size pieces. Place in a bowl and melt 30 seconds at a time in the microwave, stirring the chocolate each time. Continue melting the chocolate 30 seconds at a time until it is completely melted.

While the chocolate is melting, chop or smash the candy canes into bite size pieces. Place in a bowl and set aside.

Once the chocolate is melted pour and spread it evenly across the lined tray. Definitely make sure that you spread it evenly across the tray so that you get even shards. You don’t want them to be too thick or chunky. Picture the thickness of thin tree bark as it is peeled away from a trunk. Scatter the candy cane evenly over the chocolate. Pop the tray on a flat surface in the fridge to set.

Once it is set gently break it into large shards. I do this by picking it up and holding it with one hand and gently breaking one piece off at a time with my other hand.

ENJOY!

Serves: Serves depends on the size you break the chocolate sheet up into. I get about 10 – 15 pieces.

Time: Takes about 5 minutes to prepare and about 20 minutes to cool in the fridge.

Freezing: Not suitable.

Elderflower Lemonade w/ Pomegranate Seeds

on December 17, 2012

YOU NEED

Elderflower Cordial (I get this on the lower shelves of the cordial section of some Coles and Woolworths)

lemonade

pomegranate seeds for garnish

YOU DO Mix 1 tablespoon of Elderflower cordial and chilled lemonade into a sherry or martini glass. Drop loads of pomegranate seeds into each glass.

ENJOY ♥

Maple, Lime & Ginger…ade

on December 11, 2012

Think warm summer’s day, soft breeze, the scent of rosemary & sage floating from the kitchen as your nut roast cooks, the “cheesecake” is setting in the fridge….Family and/or friends throughout the garden, the laughter of children and a full chilled glass of this..

…OR a quiet child free do and a glass of this with a generous dash of vodka :”..!

YOU NEED

½ cup of pure maple syrup

½ cup of water

¼ cup of freshly squeezed lime juice

ginger ale

lime wedges for serving

YOU DO

Put the maple syrup and water in a pot, whisk them together and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for a few minutes. Turn the heat off and whisk through the lime juice. Place in the fridge till chilled.

Pour equal amounts of the maple and lime mixture into 4 glasses filled with ice and top up with ginger ale.

Serve with lime wedges

Servings: Serves 4

Time: I haven’t timed this one.

Pine Apple & Lime Juice

on December 10, 2012

Make a big batch of this and fill a jug with loads of mint and some slices of lime and offer it the kids instead of cordial.

Or skip the toast and enjoy this for breakfast.

YOU NEED

1 cup of fresh, chopped pineapple

1 very large granny smith apple, roughly chopped

1 juicy lime, skin removed

#optional fresh ginger to taste

1 handful of fresh mint

YOU DO

Put the pineapple, apple, lime & fresh ginger if you are using it through your juicer.

Half fill a tall glass with ice, add the mint and pour the mixed juices over the top.

Yields: 1 serve

Time: 5 minutes

Notes: Refrigerate your fruits until they are nicely chilled before you juice them.

Gingerbread Men (& Women)

on December 9, 2012

I am so thrilled to now be able to make gingerbread people with my little man now. And this is really really REALLY easy to make. It will be a tradition in our home from this day on and will be a gift I give to friends, family and neighbours.

I have a long way to go perfecting my decorating but it doesn’t seem to matter how you decorate them, they still have so much charm.

YOU NEED

65 grams of coconut oil

1 ½ cups of brown sugar

5 cups of plain flour

90 grams of apple sauce

½ cup of molasses (I use blackstrap molasses. You can pick up molasses from any well stocked health food store)

½ cup of Bonsoy or almond milk

1 teaspoon of bi carb (baking soda)

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon of ground cloves

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

3 teaspoons of ground ginger

1 teaspoon of ground cardamom

# I have also made it with 2 ground star anise and/or 1 vanilla pod scraped

YOU DO

Preheat your oven to 180%

Sift all the dry ingredients (except the sugar) together into a large bowl

Mix all the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and combine. Mix them together until you get a dough type texture. If the mixture is too wet just add more flour until you get the right texture.

Cut the “dough” into 4 and make squares, wrap each square in glad wrap and place in the fridge for an hour.

Remove and roll out one square at a time onto a well floured bench. Using cutters cut out whatever shapes you have chosen to make. Gently pull the scrap gingerbread away from your shape and using a spatula lift your shapes off the bench and place on trays lined with baking paper.

Cook your gingerbread for 8-10 minutes then remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cooled decorate them as you wish. You can dust your gingerbread with icing sugar or pipe on it using dairy free white and/or dark chocolate, add sprinkles, decorate with veg lollies etc. This is the fun part so let rip with your creativity.

For rock hard icing…

YOU NEED

½ cup of icing sugar (also known as confectioners’ sugar)

1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar

1 teaspoon of agave (or maple syrup)

1/8 of a teaspoon of xanthium gum (any well stocked health food store will have this)

3 teaspoons of water

YOU DO

Mix all the ingredients together. It needs to a consistency that you can pipe with….so firm but not rock hard. If it’s a little too wet add some more icing sugar. If it’s a little too dry add a little more water.

Separate into small bowls and colour as you wish and the pipe onto gingerbread people using a small nozzle and piping bag.

Serves: Makes 40 medium sized gingerbread men.

Time: I haven’t timed it yet. The gingerbread is not time consuming but I was quite slow with the decorating.

Freeze: Hmm maybe it would be suitable to freeze the dough but I wouldn’t freeze the cooked gingerbread.

Cucumber and Cream Cheese Sandwiches

on December 9, 2012

Another super simple but always popular recipe. It’s great for an afternoon tea, for something easy, but a little bit fancy pants.

YOU NEED

1 large cucumber

1 tablespoon of fresh dill

½ tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

dairy free cream cheese

salt/pepper to taste

8 slices of fresh bread

YOU DO

Wash & dry the cucumber. Cut it into sections that are the same length as the bread. Then cut those sections into very thin slices. You need enough slices to have one layer of cucumber for each sandwich. Probably 2 slices per sandwich will be enough, depending on the width of the slices. Lay the cucumber slices onto draining paper and set aside while you prepare everything else. Put any leftover cucumber aside for another recipe.

Wash and dry the dill. Finely chop it and mix the dill and lemon juice through the cream cheese and then season with salt and pepper

Trim the crusts from the bread and set them aside for another recipe.

Lay 2 slices of bread onto your bench and liberally spread them with the cream cheese mixture.

Place 1 layer of cucumber onto 1 of the slices, until all the cream cheese is covered and put the 2nd slice of bread on top, with the cream cheese facing down onto the cucumber.

Cut the sandwich into 3 even rectangle finger sandwiches and put them on a plate. Repeat until all your finger sandwiches are made and serve.

If you are not serving straight away, cover the sandwiches with cling film and refrigerate. Use in the same day though.

Yields: 12 finger sandwiches

Time: 15 minutes

Notes: Giving the cucumber time to sit on some draining paper is a really important step because otherwise you will end up with very soggy sandwiches.

You can get dairy free cream cheese in the supermarket, where the dairy cream cheese is.

Lentil Shepherds Pie

on December 7, 2012

YOU NEED

oil or water for cooking
1 large brown onion, peeled and finely diced
2-3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 large unpeeled carrots, grated (2 cups)
2 cups of celery, washed and finely sliced
1 teaspoon of hot chilli powder
1 tablespoon of ground cumin
½ tablespoon of ground coriander
3 tablespoons of curry powder
1 ½ cups of green/brown lentils, rinsed well
5 cups of gluten free vegetable stock
1 can of crushed tomatoes
6 cups of brown potatoes, peeled and diced (any type that are good for mashing)
¼ cup of gluten free plant based milk, such as almond or rice milk
1 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
1 bunch of fresh coriander, washed and roughly chopped

YOU DO
Gently heat a little oil (or water) in a large pot and sauté the onion till softened. Add the garlic and stir for another minute or two. Add the carrot and celery and cook for another 5 minutes.

Dry roast the spices in a small pan on low heat, stirring frequently for a minute or two to bring out their fragrance.

Add the spices, lentils, tomato puree and stock to the pot and stir to combine. Bring it all to the boil, then turn the heat down to a very gentle simmer. Cook the lentils, uncovered till they are tender (approximately 45 minutes). Add a little extra stock if you need to, but you don’t want the lentils to be too watery or the mash potato will just fall into them.

While the lentils are cooking, get a large pot of water on to boil. Cook the potatoes until tender. Once they are tender, add the milk. Mash it all together till you get a nice smooth piping consistency. Add a little extra milk of you need to. Season well with the salt and add pepper to taste.

Once the lentils are ready, stir the fresh coriander through them. Place them into a baking dish and allow them to cool a little.

Place a large piping nozzle into a piping bag and spoon some mashed potato into it. The mash needs to be quite hot to pipe well, so wrap a tea towel around the piping bag so you can hold it without burning yourself. Pipe rosettes onto the lentils until they are all covered.

Pop the baking dish into a preheated oven at about 180c and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the potato starts to brown.

Yields: Serves 4 very hungry people or 6 not so hungry people.

Time: 30 minutes preparation. 1 hour of cooking time.

Notes: If you use different lentils, they will take either more or less time to cook depending on which ones you choose This will alter how much stock you need and the overall flavor of the dish.

The smaller you cut your potatoes the quicker they will cook.