Cold Nights.

I think the mark of a good cake, is the speed at which it is eaten.
This was all that was left by the time I got around to photographing it! One little crumbly slice left.



This is probably my second favourite cake recipe:

Banana and Chocolate Chip Cake.
Makes one large cake

12 oz butter
12 oz golden caster sugar
2 very ripe bananas
12 oz self raising flour
Vanilla extract
Cinnamon
Teaspoon of baking powder
Splash of oatly
Bar of dark chocolate

Cream the butter and sugar together. Smash the ripe bananas into a bowl with a fork until they look like baby food. Add to the sugar and butter mix, and stir together. Add the flour, vanilla, cinnamon and baking powder. Stir together until smooth and add a splash of oatly so that the mixture is creamy. Hack at the chocolate into large triangle chunks and add to the cake mix. Line two cake tins with butter and baking parchment and bake at 160c for around 25 minutes, depending on your oven.

Once the cakes are cooled, make up a bowl of chocolate frosting and sandwich the two cakes together. Place on a cute plate and cover the whole cake in buttery creamy vanilla frosting and sprinkle with cinnamon and sprinkles. Enjoy with a glass of Sailor Jerry and apple juice.


In other news, I have an article and a recipe featured on the brilliant blog, In Search of a Full Stomach. The lovely Lindsey has begun Vegan Month, so follow her travels through delicious recipes, eating out, and plenty of guest blogs.

Here is my article about the Vegan Pantry:

http://insearchofafullstomach.blogspot.com/2010/02/vegan-pantry.html

Here is my recipe for Butternut Squash Risotto:

http://insearchofafullstomach.blogspot.com/2010/02/butternut-squash-risotto.html

Beginning.

Some days you just need to do things which you know will make you happy. They are spontaneous and wonderful. Things which are hurried and fill your belly with warmth.
Yesterday I went back to an old home, an old town and saw old friends. It was just wonderful.

So I think that I managed to get my 5-a-day yesterday...!
It started well; Readybrek with Oatly and plenty of raisins and a glass of orange juice. 2 down already! Then I was in a mad rush and forgot to eat the pile of grapes which would get me to 3. And then I skipped lunch. And had COFFEE <3 <3 Two coffees! It was good. SO GOOD! I went for my favourite; Costa. Then Nero (not so much favourite). With friends who I hadn't seen for months. Months and months. How lovely.
Then for dinner I had chips- yes I know this doesn't count! So on the train home I munched a tub of apples, grapes and strawberries which bumped me up to a definite four (!!!) and a samosa.
So... does a samosa count? It is packed with peas.

In other news I made my Motherbear a lemon drizzle cake for her birthday:



I think I need more ideas on how to make sure I complete my 5-a-day challenge!

O N E.

Artichoke is one years old!
I can't believe that it's been one whole year that I've been blogging about all things vegan. I want to say thanks so much to every single person that reads, comments and forwards on my blogs- it means so much that people read my writing and enjoy my recipes and food, and I really enjoy it all!

It's been a super fun year, including writing and printing a first edition of Artichoke Zine, writing articles for lovely people like To Happy Vegans, and many more will follow! I've read some amazing blogs from so many other people, who I've mentioned on here, and been inspired by them all.

Thanks again you guys!
Chrissie x

Resolutions

This Sunday will mark 31 long days. It sounds quite silly, really.
But I will have gone 31 days without coffee.



It was part of my New Years Resolutions; to give something up/ try something new and challenge myself. Coffee is my weakness- I would buy three cups (three large cups) of coffee a day, which gradually reduced to one a day. Which really is still too much.

I craved coffee everyday; for some reason the cravings never went away; maybe my belly knew that coffee would return one day. This is the longest that I've been without a single ground bean of love, and I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to my first Medium Soya Latte! Heck, it's been so long that Costa have had two new advertising campaigns! I even managed to withstand the temptation of Peter Andre serving me coffee at Piccadilly Circus!

So now I'm moving onto February. I have a few ideas floating around; the one which I keep coming back to, is getting my Five-a-Day. Eating five portions of fruit and vegetables everyday. Sounds pretty easy, what with being vegan and all, and not really eating any meat replacement. But I really don't think that I do eat 5 a day! In fact sometimes I struggle just to eat three meals a day! So I think this challenge would be good for me. I'm a little worried about the cost, but it can't make that much difference to my shopping bill, right?

So what do you guys think? Any other suggestions and challenges you'd like me to try!

Week of Fun!

Well what a week it's been! I feel like I haven't stopped, and got to see so many people who I LOVE! Visited new places, tried new foods, dragged my tapestry suitcase on so many trains. Many many trains. It's been the best.

I started my week by getting a bus and a tube to my Grandparents for a lovely meal cooked by my father. Vegetable tart. With the best freakin' roast potatoes I'd ever had. And CABBAGE! Actually, I was wrong. I didn't start my holiday here. I started it from the minute that I finished work; drinks and dancing with friends until 6am, yes. So I was a little tired by the time I got to my family.

Driving to Sussex with the dogs noses in my ear.

I spent one whole day in my old bedroom, in the best bed ever. Seriously, it's beautiful and comfortable and amazing. And we had Dominos pizza!

Early the next morning I began my journey to Bath. It's just the most beautiful and wonderful city; so many lovely shops, amazing food- vegan food! Just perfect. I will be returning soon.



We had breakfast at Demuths- a vegetarian restaurant which offers brilliant vegan options. We both had the Demuths Big Breakfast, which consisted of grilled tomatoes, perfect garlic mushroom, crispy cubes of tofu, slices of wholemeal toast, a home made sausage and sauteed potatoes. Oh my, it was delish! With a beautiful freshly squeezed orange juice, this breakfast will set you up for the day! And at just over ten pounds (including juice) it's not too shabby. I would love to come back and have lunch or dinner here (or both!) especially when they have sticky toffee pudding, and a cashew and coconut cheesecake on the menu!



I went to the Health Food Shop of Dreams:



I don't know whether it's because I live so far from an independent health food shop, but Harvest is just wonderful. It has a small deli where the amazing staff serve you slices of mushroom pie, the best samosas and potato balls I've ever had, and fresh cakes- including carrot cake, and a chocolate and coconut slice. Everything is labelled vegan, and everything is delicious. The rest of the store boasts the usual goodness; meat replacement, vegan chocolate, eco friendly cleaning etc. Then there are any grains, seeds, nuts, spices you can imagine- all paid for by weight, so you can buy as much or as little as you need. What a gem.

Of course we had to drink lots of wine. And mojitos. And make vegan vodka jellies. And go out for more cocktails. Which ended us up at Al Falafel; the best chip kebab I've ever had!! I'm SERIOUS! This place makes great chips, the salad is awesome, it had houmous, oh my it was perfect.



Did I mention that my sister has a hamster? Called Audrey?



HOWCUTE!



As my trip had to come to an end, I caught a train to Mr T's and from there we roadtripped (vantripped) to Portsmouth/ Havant area for some Grandparents action, where I ate some delicious home made beetroot and got to hang out with my 'niece' who is literally awesome. Saturday evening was spent in Brighton (my soulmatetown and soon to be home) and today I caught another train home. Back to London. Back to New Cross Gate. Lovely.


www.demuths.co.uk
www.harvest-bath.coop
http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/bath/takeaway/1473h6o/al-falafel

In the cold light.

Butternut Squash. It's just brilliant, isn't it?
You can roast it. It goes perfect with houmous. You can mash it. Season it.
It's a little heavy to carry home, but it will fill your belly for hours.

I featured this soup recipe in the printed edition of Artichoke Zine, and it's one of my favourites to make pretty much any time of the year. It's warm and spicy and delicious.



Spicy Butternut Squash and Spinach Soup
Makes four bowls

1/2 onion
3 small garlic cloves
1 Butternut squash, peeled and cubed.
oil
Salt & Pepper
Chilli powder
2 stock cubes
250g spinach

In a deep saucepan heat the oil, and once warm gently fry the onion and garlic until soft and golden. Add the butternut squash- yes it is a lot. It is a lot of chopping and peeling and de-seeding and your wrist will ache but it's worth it. Season well with salt and pepper and as much chilli powder as you can handle. Give it all a good stir so that all of the squash cubes are coated, then crumble your two stock cubes and cover with hot water. Pop the lid on your saucepan and turn the heat up. Simmer for around 20 minutes, until the squash is soft and crumbles, and most of the water has evaporated. Turn the heat off and let it cool down for a few minutes, before whizzing it up with a hand held blender. Stir in the spinach- yes this also seems like a lot, but just trust me on this- and season with black pepper.

Serve with baked ciabatta rubbed with tomato, drizzled with oil and sprinkled with salt.

All at once.

Walking back home this afternoon, with a shopping bag of goodies, I watched families and couples walking through my local park. I've never enjoyed Winter; I hate feeling cold and just want to be wrapped up in a big blanket. I even get a little chilly in Summer. I'm unbelievable!
But today I felt my first pang of love for winter. I even began to enjoy it...!
Maybe because I have learnt the art of layering. And because, really, snow is quite beautiful.

I still have festive thoughts running through my mind, and these are mixed with excitement for Spring. See, it's January now. Which means that it is almost February. Which means that it is almost Spring. Do you see?

Spring is my favourite season. It's warm enough for cardigans but you can still heap your favourite old coat over a summer dress, and still have big pockets to carry your keys and phone and oyster card and receipts and lipbalm.
You can wear pretty dresses (with woolly tights) and you know that Summer is just around the corner- where the real fun begins. Spring is for planning. It's more of a new leaf than new years, and it's the start of amazing things. New things are sprouting and being born, and the sunshine is coming through. Lovely.

So that's what this recipe is about. It's this awkward stage where I still have the images of Christmas in my mind, but I want the clean, refreshing tastes of spring.
Glace cherries remind me of the dense spice of Christmas Cake, whilst fresh cherries are visiting the market in Summer. Bringing home a brown paper bag filled with the little gems, washing and bringing two bowls to the table- one for the cherries, the other for their stones.
Oranges are like clementines which are like Christmas gifts. They're fresh juice on a summers day. They're bright and clean and grated into cakes.



Cherry and Orange Cakes.

8oz butter
8oz golden caster sugar
Glug glug glug of oil*
vanilla
8oz self raising flour
Oatly
lots of glace cherries
2 oranges

Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the glug glug glug of oil* and mix together well, along with the vanilla. Add the flour and beat until well combined. Add enough oatly (or rice milk, soya milk etc) until the mixture is fairly creamy, wet and smooth. Chop the glace cherries in half, grate the two oranges, then slice in half and squeeze the juice into the mix. Give it all a good stir, pour into your chosen baking tray/ case and bake at 160c for:

25 minutes if it's a cake
18 minutes if it's cupcakes.

Leave to rest before trying to move the cake(s)- this is a delicate little sponge!
I iced with orange flavoured water icing; something delicate and not too overpowering.
Enjoy with nothing but a glass of tap water.

* I do apologise for my lack of measuring. I put a fair amount in, it helps it all to stick together and become quite fluffy. Don't put so much in that you feel that you are deep frying your cake.