Raw Vegan Brownie Bites!

So I feel like this is a place where I can share my true thoughts, and I have to be honest and admit that in the last few weeks I’ve been struggling. The addiction to dark chocolate is real. The problem is that when I adopted a plant-based lifestyle I was still at university, where I spent a lot of time in the library (finals, woo!), away from temptation. I would have a square (okay, two) of dark chocolate, or even the occasional Booja Booja truffle, after dinner and I would feel quite satisfied. Now that I’m living at home, however, my life is somewhat more sedentary. I mean I know that I sat in the library all day, but I was absorbed in other things, and spent less time thinking about food. (It was still a lot of time, but marginally less). So when I moved home, what used to be a 2-square treat started to become a whole bar of vegan chocolate…not ideal. I was thus motivated to come up with a recipe for after-dinner indulgences that would both satiate my cravings and keep me full. Enter the raw vegan brownie. The easiest and most satisfying treat to date (hah! To DATE, get it?! That was unintentional. Sorry). Anyway, these can be whipped up in under 10 minutes, and last for about 10 days in the fridge, so have been perfect for post-gym and pre-bed. The texture is fudgey, and the taste is rich without being bitter. So here goes…

To make 20-24 brownie bites, you will need the following:

Ingredients:

1 cup almonds, ground

1 cup pecans, ground

1.5 cups dates, soaked (if you are using medjool dates then there is no need to soak them; the soaking process is simply a step to make the dates softer so that they break down more easily to form a kind of caramel. This should not take more than 20 minutes)

2 tbsp agave syrup (or other natural sweetener of choice)

1/4 tsp coarsely ground sea salt (using coarsely ground salt means that you get the occasional chunk, which you’ll love if you’re a dark chocolate and sea salt fiend like me!)

3/4 cup raw cacao

Method:

• Put the nuts into a high-speed blender/food processor and blend until they form a coarse powder, retaining some chunks to give the brownies a more interesting texture. Once pulverised, transfer to a mixing bowl.
• If soaking the dates, drain and transfer to the blender, adding the agave syrup. Blend on high speed until they break down to form a thick syrup/paste. Add the dates to the ground nuts.
• Mix both the dates and nuts together, slowly adding the raw cacao and sea salt, until fully combined.
• Once all of the ingredients are mixed together, place the mixture onto a lined baking tray and press down with your fingers.
• Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour before taking out to cut into squares.

As I said, these brownies last really well in the fridge (if they survive that long), and are perfect for evening snacks or even when you’re on the go as they are super easy to transport. Not only that but cacao is high in magnesium, which naturally combats fatigue and maintains energy levels, as well as anandamide, a natural mood enhancer. With the many other benefits of cacao (think reduced blood pressure, anti-aging properties and improved digestion), there really is no downside to these brownies! The thickness/size of the brownies is totally your choice, but my advice would be to keep them relatively small, since they are quite dense.

I’d love to hear from you if you give them a go!

Ruth x

*Inspired by the goddess that is the Minimalist Baker!

Vegan Eats in Oxford: Eden Cafe (Witney)

Having gone to the University in the same city as where I live, the vacations can get a touch boring, especially when meeting up with friends who are also both ‘Town and Gown’ (Oxford residents – ‘Town’, Oxford students – ‘Gown’). Fortunately my friends are also pretty adventurous, so when I suggested to one of them that we venture to Witney to try out Eden Café, they happily agreed. Whilst my friend does not follow a plant-based diet, she’s a total foodie and very health conscious, and my no.1 partner in crime for visiting the latest restaurant or trying out new recipes. So one rainy lunch time we jumped in the car and made the (very worthwhile!) trip to Witney. As teenagers there was not really much for us to do in Witney, but it looks like it’s definitely up and coming – there’s a fabulous health food shop, a Lakeland (we are, at times, total grannies who enjoy perusing cookery shops), and a couple of tea rooms which, though not catering to our tastes, do look very cute. Eden Café, however, is definitely the shining star of the town – nestled on Wesley Walk, it is a relatively small café that serves breakfast, lunch, coffee and cake. It is totally vegetarian with many vegan and gluten-free options.

The first thing that struck me when I walked through the door, a long-awaited shelter from the rain, was how welcoming the staff were (I’m a stickler for service!), but also how busy it was! Arriving at about 1pm, we thought we would be in good time for lunch, but unfortunately all of the tables were already occupied with satisfied looking customers, both young and old. Having briefly read the menu, however, we knew that we could not let the opportunity pass – we would probably have eaten on the floor it looked so good (!), so we squeezed ourselves on the bar stools. Not only was there was a plethora of coffee options (and a good variety of dairy-free milks: soya, almond, and coconut), but there were also plenty of lunch dishes – toasties (which could be made GF), savoury muffins, salads and soups. Both my friend and I opted for the savoury muffin with a choice of salads, which included spiralized vegetables, Greek salad, and a Pad Thai-style noodle salad, which was utterly divine. We even managed to try the last remaining chickpea fritter, which was served with a spicy peanut sauce – definitely one for next time! NB. Although the portion was perfect for me (and left just enough room for the cake, which I was determined to try!), it would probably be on the smaller side for someone like my brother/father.

Savoury muffin with spiralized vegetables and nutty noodle salad – simple yet very satisfying.

With lunch finished, I just had to try one of the many vegan cakes on display in the counter (I also really appreciate the hygiene of Eden Café, at times I can be a little dubious of cakes being on display in the open air all day!) So we decided to share two different ones – the carrot cake cupcake and the mocha loaf cake (the pistachio cake also looked incredible, but unfortunately they were just icing another loaf – it obviously flies out the door!), both of which were sumptuously moist without being too heavy. It’s so rare to find vegan treats like these in Oxford so I really savoured every mouthful! Carrot cake is one of my favourite things in the world, and this really hit the spot – it was subtly spicy and topped with wonderfully creamy icing. I also indulged in a Matcha latte with almond milk, which was another winner – in the few places that serve Matcha lattes around Oxford I have found they don’t really deliver; they are often just foamed milk with a hint of green at the bottom. Almost like green sludge. Um, no thank you.

It is safe to say that Eden Café satiated all my cravings for vegan treats, even if we did have to walk around Witney a couple of times to burn it off! Having stalked their Facebook page it also looks like the cake selection changes regularly, which means I will definitely be back! (I wouldn’t want to mislead you, after all!) I have also been assured that their coffee is quite something – vital information for a caffeine addict like myself. All in all I would wholeheartedly recommend Eden Café – the food is amazing and the staff are authentic.

Comment below if you pay them a visit, which you really should! x

Vegan, gluten and refined-sugar-free pancakes

Banana and cinnamon pancakes topped with date syrup, almonds, nectarines and strawberries. On a Monday, because I can.

Okay so I know from that title of this post that these sound like they would taste like cardboard, but I promise that these are just as wonderful as regular pancakes! Whilst I haven’t exhausted the recipe-testing process, these are easy, satisfying and versatile. The basic recipe for these delicious pancakes is as follows:

Ingredients: (makes approx. 6-8 pancakes)

• 1 cup gluten-free flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup dairy-free milk (almond, coconut, etc.)
• 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp natural sweetener

As you can see from the above, a lot of these ingredients leave room for experimentation – whilst I used regular gluten-free flour, for example, I suspect that other varieties like buckwheat would work just as well. Similarly, although I chose date syrup as my natural sweetener, agave would also be great.

*A note about baking powder v. baking soda – I’m not the only one who gets confused about this, right?

For a long time I assumed that baking powder and baking soda are essentially the same thing – I was wrong. They are most definitely not. Whilst I could go into the chemistry of the respective ingredients, you came here for pancakes, not a science lesson, so I’ll cut to the important bit. Baking soda is a LOT stronger than baking powder. In fact, baking powder contains baking soda, so you cannot simply sub in one ingredient for the other. If you find yourself in a position where you’re fighting off the desire to bake yet don’t have the right leavener, a good rule of thumb is that the soda is approx. 3-4x more powerful than the powder, so if the recipe calls for 1 tsp baking powder, use 1/4 tsp baking soda (use too much and your final product will have horrible, metallic undertones). In most cases, the ratio should be about 1 cup of flower to 1 tsp baking powder.

Method:

• In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour and baking soda, before adding the wet ingredients (in order to melt the coconut oil, simply heat on a low temperature in the pan that you will use to fry the pancakes).
• Stir until the mixture is smooth and creamy. At this point feel free to add in any extras (blueberries, superfood powders like lucuma and maca, etc.)
• Let the batter rest for 5 minutes whilst you prepare the frying pan – for the first couple of pancakes there should be enough residual coconut oil in the pan to make sure that the pancakes do not stick, but simply re-grease as you see fit
• Spoon the mixture into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side – you can tell when the pancakes need to be flipped because the bubbles that appear on the surface will stop popping and look more like craters.

The coconut oil should ensure that the pancakes are golden and slightly crispy on the outside, whilst still moist and fluffy on the inside.

Banana and cinnamon pancakes:

As you can see from the above picture, I have experimented a little with this recipe (I love making a big batch of batter on one day and then adding in extra flavours the next!)

In order to make banana cinnamon pancakes, simply add 4 tsp of cinnamon into the mixture and stir. Pour a small amount into the pan, and place a few banana coins into the batter (depending on the size of your pancakes), gently pushing them down. Although these look and cook as normal on one side, when you flip them over the contact between the banana and the pan should gently caramelise the fruit, infusing the mixture with the beautiful flavour of baked banana. Be careful not to overload the mixture with coins, however, since this will make it more difficult to flip.

As you all know, I adore toppings, but a few of my pancake favourites are:

• Coconut yoghurt
• Date syrup
• Almond butter
• Vegan chocolate sauce
• Fruit, nuts

The important thing with pancakes is to have fun, go wild. What is the worst that can happen?

I’d love to see how you mix this up!

Lots of love,

Ruth x