editor, Author at The Kind Cook

Pulled Jackfruit Rogan Josh Sliders with Slaw

on July 22, 2015

These are my super easy pulled stuff sliders. Who needs pulled lamb sliders when you can just open a can of jackfruit? Just saying. It passed the test in my house! And I can tell you now, if you serve it to a meat eater and don’t say anything, they will not realise that this is vegan.

YOU NEED

1 x 565 gram can of young green jackfruit **in brine**

¼ cup water

1 x 350 gram jar of vegan friendly Rogan Josh Simmer Sauce Medium

1.5 teaspoons of vegan friendly gravy powder

125ml of boiled water

1 cup of finely shredded red cabbage

½ cup of finely sliced carrot

½ cup of finely sliced cucumber skin

4 soft buns, cut in half

YOU DO

Drain and discard the brine from the jackfruit. Trim the triangle ends from each piece of jackfruit and set them aside for another use and remove and discard any visible pips. Now gently rub the remaining jackfruit between your fingers. It should easily break apart and form a stringy texture. As you do this you may discover more pips, so toss those out too. You will end up with a generous cup of pulled jackfruit.

Place the ¼ cup of water and the jackfruit into a small non stick pot and simmer on a low heat until the water has almost dissolved. Add the Rogan Josh Simmer Sauce to the pot. Continue to gently cook.

Place the gravy powder into a small bowl and add the boiled 125 ml of water. Whisk well till its combined and lump free. Add it to the pot. Stir the mixture until it’s all well combined and gently simmer till you get a wet, but not runny mixture.

Allow the mixture to cool a little. Distribute onto the bottom half of each bun. Add the cabbage, carrot and cucumber. Top with the rest of the bun.

Serve immediately and ENJOY!!

Time: 15 mins preparation, plus 10 minutes of cooking.

Yields: 4 serves

Notes: You can get jackfruit from most well stocked Asian grocers. Be sure to get “unripe” jackfruit and jackfruit in “brine/water” – NOT the one in syrup.

I used the Patak’s brand of simmer sauce which you find in most supermarkets in the Asian aisle. But always double check ingredients as brands are often changing product ingredients.

These are gorgeous with crisp baby cos lettuce too. You get an awesome crunch with the contrast of the soft bun.

Mango and Lime Cheesecake with a Chewy Chocolate Almond Crust

on July 12, 2015

YOU NEED

For the crust:

¼ cup of almonds
3 fresh, pitted dates
1 tablespoon of raw cacao

For the filling:
1 cup of cashews
¼ cup fresh mango flesh
¼ cup coconut cream
4 tablespoons melted coconut oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
The zest from 2 limes
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 pinches salt

For the garnish:
¼ cup blended mango flesh
½ cup thinly sliced mango flesh

YOU DO

Line a spring form tin (10 cm diameter and 7 cm depth) with baking paper.

Blend the crust ingredients in a high powered blender until they are well combined and form dough like consistency. If the mixture is a little too dry, add a teaspoon of water to bring it together.

Press the crust into the base of the spring form pan. It can be quite sticky so just wet the tips of your fingers a little if you need to.

Place all the filling ingredients into a high powered blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.

Spoon the mixture onto the crust.

Place the cheesecake into the freezer for 1 hour.

Once it has set, remove it from the freezer. Top with the sliced mango, pour the blended mango over the top and serve.

Yields: 4 serves

Time: 20 minutes preparation. 1 hour freezing time.

Notes: Shake the can of coconut cream well before you measure out the ¼ cup you need.

A light spray with oil on the tin will help the baking paper stick to it.

You can pre soak your cashews for a few hours, if you wish to (and discard the soaking water). But a good quality high powered blender or food processor should give you a smooth, velvety consistency for this recipe.

You can double the base ingredients if your processor is going to struggle with such a small amount. Use half of the mixture for the base and with the remainder, roll the mixture into balls to eat as snack

on July 1, 2015

Some exciting projects bubbling along in the background at the moment. The Kind Cook featuring in magazines, booklets on climate change and a coffee table book! I will let you all know about them over the coming weeks and months 🙂

on June 28, 2015

Really proud to have one of my recipes used by the “Terrastendo” website in a blog post where they discuss the “climate change impacts of a single meal”.

http://terrastendo.net/2015/06/28/climate-change-in-a-meal/

on May 8, 2015

An interview with Vegan Foodies. May 8th, 2015.

http://veganfoodies.org/2015/05/08/blogger-interviews-the-kind-cook/

Avocado, Pomegranate & Lime Bruschetta

on March 17, 2015

Avocado and Pomagrantate on Rye 2 wm

Avocado, Pomegranate & Lime Bruschetta

YOU NEED

½ cup of water

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Pinch of rock salt

1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

1 large avocado peeled and cut into a rough dice

4 slices of rye sourdough

handful of washed, crisp baby rocket

¼ cup of pomegranate seeds

cracked black pepper to taste

YOU DO

Heat the water in a small pan. Add the garlic and gently simmer for a few minutes. Discard the water and crush the garlic.

Put the crushed garlic, olive oil, salt and lime juice into a bowl and mix till they are well combined.

Stir the avocado through the oil mixture and check the seasoning

Cook the toast and top with the avocado. Garnish with the rocket and pomegranate seeds and finish with a generous amount of cracked black pepper over the top.

Yields: You decide.

Time: 10-15 minutes

Notes: There are not many components to this simple dish, so good quality ingredients such as a good olive oil, rock salt, fresh garlic and lime juice and crisp washed baby rocket all make a difference.

I usually take the time to cook garlic for a few minutes for recipes like this. It removes that harsh astringent taste raw garlic can have.

Sunday Scramble… Curry & Coriander Scramble on Rye Sourdough

on March 12, 2015

Sunday Scramble… Curry & Coriander Scramble on Rye Sourdough

I can unequivocally say that I never thought I would hear this sentence come out of my mouth, but I LOVE scrambled tofu. It has become my favourite vegan breakfast recipe.

Like many people that transition to a plant based diet, I was not a tofu fan by any stretch of the imagination. But I am slowly coming around.

If you have never had scrambled tofu, do yourself a favour and try it before you decide you don’t like it. There are many versions of it, but after much experimentation this is my favourite combination of flavours.

I honestly use to think people were bonkers for trying to replicate scrambled eggs but it turns out they weren’t.

YOU NEED

2 slices of rye sour dough

1/4 cup of water

150grams of organic firm tofu

1 tablespoon of tamari

2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast

½ teaspoon of curry powder

Handful of fresh, washed and roughly chopped coriander

YOU DO

Toast the sour dough.

Bring the water to the boil in a non stick pan. Turn the heat down to a simmer and crumble the tofu into the pan. Cook gently until the tofu is heated through and almost all the water has gone.

Add the tamari, nutritional yeast and curry powder. Stir till everything is well combined and continue cooking on a low flame until you get the texture you want. *Some people like their scramble wet, in which case you would serve it now. For a drier texture, continue cooking for another minute or so.

Check the seasoning. Mix the coriander through and serve with the toasted sourdough

Yields: 1-2 serves

Time: 5-10 minutes

Notes: If you don’t have tamari you can substitute it with soy sauce.

Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast that makes things taste cheesy. You can find it in health food stores and online.

For a super Sunday Scramble I love adding some chopped roasted potatoes, roma cherry tomatoes and fresh spinach to my scramble. Serve it alone or with baked beans, mushrooms and veg sausages.

#dairyfree #eggfree #vegan #veganbreakfastrecipes

Mango Tropical Ice Treats

on March 11, 2015

Mango Tropical Ice Treats

YOU NEED
1 cup of fresh mango
1 cup of paw paw
1 cup of pineapple juice
The pulp from 8 passionfruit

YOU DO
Place 8 small cupcake baking cups on a small tray that will easily fit on a shelf in your freezer.

Blend the first 3 ingredients together.

Whisk the passion fruit pulp through the blended ingredients.

Pour the mixture into the baking cups. Place the tray in the freezer.

Wait till the ice treats are partly frozen. Once they are, carefully insert a paddle pop stick into the centre of each baking cup. Then continue freezing until the mixture is completely solid.

Serve once frozen.

Yields: 8 serves
Time: 15 minutes preparation. Plus the freezing time.

Pinwheel Scones with Coconut, Raspberry & White Chocolate

on March 8, 2015

YOU NEED

1 cup of frozen raspberries

5 cups of self raising flour

An extra ½ cup or so of self raising flour

Pinch of salt

375ml of soda water

300ml of (full fat) coconut cream

2 teaspoons of cornflour

¼ cup of your favourite plant based milk

1 x 100 gram block of melted white Sweet William Chocolate

YOU DO

Preheat your oven to 200c. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

Roughly chop the raspberries. Put them in a small bowl and place them back into the freezer.

Sift the flour into a large bowl. Gently tap each measuring cup once you have filled it with flour to eliminate air pockets. Evenly sprinkle the salt over the top. I prefer to do this instead of stirring them together, because I want the flour to stay light from the sifting.

Add the soda water and coconut cream. Using a wooden spoon quickly and gently stir the ingredients, until they start to stick together. If the mixture is too sticky at this point simply add some of the extra flour, until you have a consistency you can work with.

Turn the mixture out onto a well floured bench and gently work it into a ball. Only spend a minute or so doing this because you don’t want to overwork the dough. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfect. You just need it to be light, soft and not sticky. Wash and dry your hands.

Dust your bench top again with a little of the extra self raising flour. Roll the dough into a rectangle, approximately 60cms by 30cms. Stir the cornflour through the frozen raspberries and sprinkle them evenly across the dough.

Now roll the dough from the long side onto itself, until you have a log. Cut the log into 10-12 scones. Place them onto the baking trays, leaving some space between each scone.

Brush each scone with a little milk. Bake for 20 -25 minutes or until cooked. Remove from the oven. Turn out onto a wire rack and allow them to cool.

Drizzle each scone generously with the chocolate and serve. They are delicious served with whipped, maple sweetened coconut cream and a cup of earl grey.

Yields: 10-12 scones

Time: 20 minutes preparation. 20-25 minutes cooking. Cooking times will vary with ovens.

Notes: When you open the coconut cream make sure you stir it well before you measure out the 300mls.

For a sweeter scone you can replace the soda water with the same quantity of lemonade. I prefer this more savoury version though, because it lets the raspberries shine. Plus you have the sweetness from the white chocolate.

Don’t worry if your mixture is really sticky at first. Flour can have different “hardness” and can vary greatly. This is why I always have the “extra flour” on hand. Just in case the mixture is too sticky. Simply add a small amount of flour at a time, until you get the right texture.

It’s crucial that you do not overwork the scone mix. It’s not like bread dough and it relies on not being over worked.

on March 1, 2015

The Kind Cook was privileged to partner with “Sweet William Chocolate” earlier this year. I worked with them on a Giveaway for one of my lucky followers. I also thoroughly enjoyed doing some recipe development with one of their products for them. The result was my Pinwheel Scones with Coconut, Raspberry and White Chocolate.

Pinwheel Scones with Coconut, Raspberry & White Chocolate