STRAWBERRY "BEE STING CAKE" (BIENENSTICH)

I saw this cake-recipe  in a newspaper called "DAS SCHMECKT" and i had to try it immediately, of course in a vegan version. Actually in a original  "bee-sting-cake" (how it´s called in germany) there are now strawberries, but strawberries will make it to a perfect summer recipe!! I´m not really practised in using agar agar and i´ve tried two different ways to prepare the cream. Both of it worked well, but maybe you know a better method.. Please let me know =)

Ingredients:

• 500g all-purpose flour
• 1 cube fresh yeast
• 200g sugar
• 600ml soy milk
• 250g vegan margarine
• lemon zest of 1-2 organic lemon
• a pinch of salt
• 1 egg-replacer
• 4 tbsp strawberry jam
• 200g almon flakes
• 2 packages of custard powder
• 2 tbsp vanilla sugar
• 1 package vegan whip cream ( soyatoo)
• agar agar or "RUF AGARTINE" to replace 2 sheets gelatine ( i forgot how much i had)

1. Sift the flour into a bowl.  Mix yeast with 1 tsp sugar and 200ml lukewarm soymilk and stir well.
2. Give 50g sugar, 150g margarine, lemon zest, salt and the egg-replacer to the flour.
3. Pour "yeast-milk" and knead well. Cover the dough and let it rest for about 60 minutes.
4. Roll out the dough on a baking tray. Use parchment paper before. Let it rest for another 15 minutes.
5. Heat 100g sugar, the rest of the margarine, and 4 tbsp soy milk until everything is molten. Stir in strawberry jam and almonds.
6. Brush the dough with the almond mass and bake in a 170 °C oven for about 35 minutes or until golden brown. Let it completely cool down.
7. Mix custard powder, rest of the sugar, vanilla sugar, 7 tbsp cold milk and agar agar or agartine. Bring remaining milk to boil and stir in the custard mix. This will be a very very thick mass. You can add a little bit more soy milk if you want. Set aside and let it cool a bit.
8. Wash strawberries and quarter them. Whip soy cream and cool in the refrigerator.
9. Now mix the pudding with the cream. Use a handmixer or a food processor to get a creamy consistency.
10. Stir in the strawberries.
11. Halve the cake horizont. Cut the cake cover?? into 24 pieces. Distribute the strawberry cream on the cake buttom and put the lid on it gently.
12. Put the cake  into the refrigerator for at least 120 minutes.

ZUCCHINI-NUT-CAKE

It´s zucchini-time in grandma´s garden, so i decided to bake a zucchini-nut cake... Zucchini in a cake??? OOOH yes that´s a really good combination!! I promise!! The basic recipe is from this page. I just veganized it and added a few different ingredients!!! I tried this recipe 2 times. The first time was with margarine, which makes the cake really juicy. The second time i´ve tried it with the same amount of oil. And this time the cake was a little bit dry but fluffy. I like both methods of preperation. It´s up to you which result you wanna have at the end.




Ingredients for the dough

• 250g all purpose flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 6 tbsp cornstarch+ 3 tsp baking powder + 6 tbsp water (well mixed)
• 250g sugar
• 250 ml soft margarine or oil
• 2 tsp vanilla sugar
• 1 cup ground hazelnut
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• a handfull chopped hazelnuts

1. In a bowl mix together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and the salt and set aside
2. In another bowl add the cornstarch mixture, vanilla sugar and the sugar and mix well. Add oil or margarine and mix until creamy.
3. Slowly add the flour and mix for about 2 minutes. If you use the margarine and the dough is too dry, than add 2-3 tbsp sparkling water.
4. Now add the grated zucchini and the nuts and mix well. 
5. Fill the dough into a greased baking form and bake in a 175°C preheated oven for about 40 - 45 minutes. 
6. Let it completely cool down.

Ingredients for the frosting: 

• 50g soy yogurt
• 50g vegan margarine
• powdered sugar

1. Mix the margarine with the soy yogurt until very creamy.(this needs some time)
2. Than add  powdered sugar until the  mass is more fixed.
3. Take it to the refrigerator and let it rest for about 1 hour. 
4. Spread frosting evenly over the cake and sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts.

HOMEMADE LEMONADE

Ingredients:

• 100ml water
• 100g sugar
• 200ml fresh lemon juice
• 2,5 - 3 cups water (i had sparkling water)
• 1 fresh lemon and mint leaves for decorating

1. Heat water and sugar in a small pot and bring it to boil, so that the sugar can dissolve.
2. Fill in a large can, add lemon juice and water and stir well.
3. add lemon slices and mint for decorating and let it cool in the refrigerator. YUMMIE!!!

BANANA ICE-CREAM

Ingredients:

• 4 (really) ripe bananas
• 1 tsp peanut butter

1. Cut bananas into small pieces and place them in the freezer.
2. Put the frozen bananas in a food processor and pulse until creamy.This will take some time and it will definetely be really loud!!!! But don´t give up, cause the result is amazing!!!
3. Now you can add almost everything you like. I added some peanut butter, but it also tastes good on its own!!!
4. I haven´t tried to put it back in the freezer to eat it later, cause it was so delicious that we ate everything before =) Maybe it could loose its creamy consistensy, but just try it out!!!

SMOKED TOFU WITH MUSHROOMS IN A RED WINE-CREAM SAUCE AND HERB RICE

Ingredients:

• 1 block of smoked mushroom-tofu, cut into cubes
• about 100ml red wine (i had an italian merlot)
• 300g- 400g small brown champignons
• 1 pck of vegan cuisine
• 1 onion, chopped
• rice
• fresh herbs, like parsley, basil, chive... 
• vegetable stock

1. Heat some oil in a pot and add the onion. Sauté for about 2 minutes. Add rice and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
2. If you had 1-2 cups of rice, add twice the amount of vegetable stock. Let it cook until the rice is done.
3. Add chopped fresh herbs and season with salt (if needed)
4. Heat some oil in a large frying pan. Add tofu cubes and fry until golden brown. Take them out of the pan and set aside.
5. In the same pan sauté onion and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Add tofu cubes and pour in the red wine. Fry until the redwine is reduced.
7. Add soy cuisine and fresh chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper.
8. Serve with the herb rice and fresh salad.  

??PUDDING-JAM ROLL CAKE??

Once again i had some dough left over from my strawberry-rhubarb crumble cake. This time i decided to give my

pudding-jam-rolls a second chance, cause with my first try i wasn´t really satisfied. And this is the result.... a little "roll-cake"!
You can fill the roll with almost everything you like.... cinnamon, fruits, nuts, poppyseed, or how i did it, with vanilla pudding and grandma´s homemade jam!!! So... let your creativity run wild and try out the recipe with your favourite filling!!! =)


Ingredients:

• half recipe of the strawberry-rhubarb crumble cake
• leftover pudding (also from the cake recipe) If you have to cook a fresh pudding, let it cool for a while before you using it
• some tablespoons of your favourite jam (i used a strawberry-blackberry jam)
• some teaspoons of cinnamon-sugar
• powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 160°C and grease a round baking form.
2. Roll out the dough into a rectangle. Be sure that it´s not too thin, otherwise you can´t roll the dough.
3. First spread the pudding and then the jam on the dough. Then it´s time to roll in the dough. This is a little bit tricky, cause the pudding make´s it very soft
4. Take a sewing yarn and cut the dough into small rolls.
5. Place the rolls into the baking form and let it rest for about 10-15 minutes. Put it in the oven and bake until golden brown. Let it completely cool down and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

STRAWBERRY-ALMOND-ROLLS

This is another result of my leftover yeast-dough, when i was baking the strawberry-rhubarb crumble cake.

1. Just take half of the dough from the strawberry rhubarb crumble cake.
2. Cut some strawberries into small pieces.
3. Roll out the dough into a rectangle and spread some of the rest of the vanilla pudding on it. (don´t use too much, otherwise you can´t roll the dough)
4. Distribute the strawberries in the batter.
5. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar and some almonds.
6. Bake in a 160°C oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown

STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB-CRUMBLE CAKE

This is actually the same recipe as the apple-rhubarb cake. But the dough is enough for two baking sheets. With the rest of the dough you can make cinnamon rolls, strawberry-almond rolls, or my pudding-jam-roll cake (next recipes). If you wanna have two baking sheets with the cake just double the ingredients for the filling and the streusel. Just try it out and add the fruits you like! It´s such an easy recipe!!!

      Ingredients for the dough:

• 500g all purpose flour
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1/4 l lukewarm milk
• 50g sugar
• 80g warm melted margarine
• 1 egg-replacer
• a pinch of salt

1.  Add flour and the yeast into a bowl. Mix well and set aside.
2. In a small pot heat soymilk and margarine until it´s lukewarm and melted.
3. In a second bowl mix the milk-mixture, sugar, salt and egg-replacer and mix until everything is well combined. 
4. Slowly add the flour and knead for about 10 minutes to a compact dough. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise until it´s doubled in size
5. After rising, knead the dough for another 10 minutes. Then grease a baking dish and sprinkle lightly with flour. Roll out the dough and put it into the form. After that, prick the dough all over with a fork.

Ingredients for the filling:

• 3 bars rhubarb
• about 400g strawberries
• 6 tbsp sugar (or to taste)
• 1 package custard powder + 3 tbsp sugar + 500ml soymilk 

1. Wash and half or quarter the strawberries. Peel the rhubarb and cut into small pieces.
2. In a small pot heat the rhubarb, the sugar and maybe a little bit water and simmer until slightly soft, but not mushy.
3. Prepare a pudding with the custard powder, the sugar and the soymilk. 
4. Spread the dough with some of the pudding, you won´t need everything of it. 
5. Distribute rhubarb and strawberries over the dough.

Ingredients for the streusel:

• 300g all purpose flour
• 150g soft margarine
• 150g sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• a pinch of salz

1. Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix by hand until it´s well combined and the mass is getting crumbly. 
2. Distribute the crumbles over the cake.
3. Bake in a 160°C oven for about 20 - 30 minutes. 
4. Let it cool completely and sprinkle with powdered sugar!

SPAGHETTI "BOLOGNESE"

Actually spaghetti bolognese is a meal that i make when i´m too lazy to cook anything complicated or uses a lot of time. But a friend of mine told me about his yummie bolognese sauce he made with red wine and other yummie ingredients. So i decided to do this aswell and..... this was a good desicion!!! This was definitely the best bolognese sauce i´ve ever had!!! It need´s a lot of time but the result was great!!


Ingredients:

• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1/4 - 1/2 piece of celery, finely chopped
• 1 onion + 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 4 - 5 brown champignons, finely chopped
• 160g granulated tvp
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• about 175 - 200ml red wine
• vegetable stock
• tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• olive oil
• salt, pepper, paprika powder to taste
• spaghetti

1. Cook tvp according to package instruction. I cook my TVP in a strong vegetable stock, 1/2 fresh onion and a rosemary branch. Drain well!
2. Heat some oil in a pan and sauté the prepared veggies. Take it out of the pan and set aside. Now add the TVP to the pan and fry until brown. This will take some time, but it´s worth, i promise!! Season with salt, pepper and some paprika powder.
3. Add the veggies and deglaze with the red wine and let it boil briefly. 
4. Pour with the chopped tomatoes and some vegetable stock and add the bay leaf. And this is the part that needs a lot of time! Let it cook over low flame as long as possible. I think i was cooking the sauce for about 1 hour, but the longer the better!
5. Meantime pour a little broth. At the end, stir in tomato paste and season with salt and pepper!! I think i had 2-3 tbsp of tomato paste, but you can use as much as you want. It depends on how tomatoey you like it.
6. Serve with spaghetti and vegan parmesan!

CHOCOLATE-CHERRY-GRANOLA BARS (GLUTEN FREE)

When I was shopping in Nuremberg I have found this yummie gluten-free oats and the first thing i was thinking about, was to make granola bars with them. This is so simple and you can add almost everything to the recipe you like. I felt like cherries and of course chocolate  =) And this is the result!! OMNOMNOM

• 1/2 cup gluten free oats
• 1 ripe mashed banana
• 1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries
• 2 tbsp flax seeds
• 1/3 cup soy-flakes
• 1/3 cup gluten free cornflakes
• 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
• 1/4 cup kokos-flakes
• 1/4 cup vegan chocolate drops
• 2 tbsp coconut fat or oil (melted)
• 1/4 + 1/8 cup golden syrup or agave syrup or maple syrup
• some cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to about 175°C. Grease a a baking tin with some vegan margarine or use parchment paper.
2. Just add all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
3. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, pressing it into an even layer. Put it in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
4. Cool completely in the pan. Then cut it into the form you like and store in a airtight box.

MAROCCAN STYLE RICE BAKE

Ingredients:

• 1 coffee-cup full of rice
• 80 - 100g tvp junks
• 1/2 red and yellow pepper, diced
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1/2 aubergine, diced
• 1,5 cup chickpeas, drained
• 1 onion
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• chili
• 1 can of pureed or chopped tomatoes
• harissa paste
• soy-yogurt
• some lemon juice
• 1/2 punch of parsley or cilantro (you can also use both together)
• vegan cheese
• salt, pepper, paprika powder, cumin to taste

1. Cook rice according to package instruction.
2. Heat some vegetable broth or salted water in a pot and cook tvp junks until soft. Take it out from the water and drain.
3. Season the tvp-junks with salt, pepper, paprika powder, cumin and some squeeze of lemon juice and let it rest for about 10-15 minutes.
4. Cut your vegetables, heat some oil in a pan and fry onion, garlic and the rest of the veggies for about 3-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and take it out of the pan.
5. Now fry the tvp-junks in some heated oil until they have a nice brown colour. Season to taste!
6. Add the vegetables to the pan and pour the chopped tomatoes to it. Bring it slowly to boil
7. Add some harissa paste (as much as you like), chopped herbs and fresh chili. Season to taste!
8. Put the rice into a casserole form and pour the sauce over it. You can first mix the rice with the sauce as well.
9. Sprinkle with vegan cheese and bake in a 180°C preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown.
10. Serve with yogurt and fresh lemon.

GRILLED STONE-FRUITS WITH ALMONDS & VANILLA ICE CREAM

Ingredients:

• stone-fruits like peaches, apricots....
• some agave syrup
• almond slices
• vegan vanilla ice-cream

1. Preheat oven to about 180°C + grill
2. Half or quarter the stone-fruits and give them into a casserole form.
3. Give some agave-syrup over the fruits and sprinkle with almonds. 
4. Put it in the oven and grill for about 15-20 minutes. 
5. Serve with vanilla ice-cream

FRIED ASPARAGUS WITH MANGO CREAM TO POTATOES AND CRISPY TOFU

Ingredients:

• fresh asparagus
• 1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into pieces
• soy yogurt
• salt, pepper, chili-flakes to taste

• potatoes, peeled

• 1 package firm tofu
• 1/2 cup flour
• unsweetened cornflakes (gluten-free if needed)
• fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp lemon pepper
• 1,5 tsp salt
• about 1/3 cup water 
• 1 tbsp mustard
• fresh basil, chopped

1. Give the mango to food processor and puree it. Add some soy yogurt to it and mix well. You shoul find your own amount of soy yogurt, cause it depends on how much you like the mango flavour. Season with salt and chili-flakes and put it in the refrigerator.
2. Heat some salted water in a big pot and cook potatoes until soft. 
3. Cut tofu into 1cm thick slices. Rub in with lemon juice and season with salt and lemonpepper. (both sides) Set aside. 
4. Take the cornflakes and grind them into fine crumble. I took the mortar, but it should also work with a food processor. Fill the crumble on a plate and the flour on a seperate plate and set aside
5. In another plate mix together the nutritional yeast, pepper, salt, water, mustard and fresh basil. Be carefully when adding the water. The mixture should be thick and sticky, not too liquid. 
6. Now take the tofu and turn every side into flour then the yeast-mixture and then crumbs (like a schnitzel)
7. Heat some oil in a big pan and fry the tofu until golden brown and crispy. Place them on a kitchen paper.
8. While frying the tofu add oil in medium heat pan and fry the asparagus. Season with salt, pepper and some chili-flakes.
9. Serve potatoes and tofu with the asparagus and the cold mango cream!

GLUTEN FREE RHUBARB MUFFINS

The last cakes or other sweets that i made during the last time, i never could eat, because of my gluten allergy. This is, why it was time to bake something gluten free ONLY FOR ME =) ok, not really, i´m a good girl and share them with my boyfriend Mike!! =) I visited my grandma last week and got some fresh rhubarb from the garden. So i decided to put them into yummie muffins. I checked a lot of gluten free muffin recipes and just mixed the ingredients together that i liked. And this is the result! Yes it´s not the same like muffins with "normal" flour and i have to get used to it. BUT... they are still delicious and juicy!!

Ingredients:

• 110g gluten free flour (about 3/4 cup)
• 60g tapioka starch (1/2 cup)
• 140g potato starch (3/4 cup)
• 1 1/2 tsp Arrowroot
• 1 tbsp gluten free baking powder

• 20g coconut flour (i just finely ground coconut flakes in a coffee mill)
• 160g sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar
• 2 egg-replacer
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 225ml milk
• 60ml oil

• 300g peeled rhubarb
• 60g sugar

• powdered sugar 

1. Preheat oven to 200°C and prepare your muffin pan.
2. Peel your rhubarb and cut it in small pieces. Put it in a small medium heat pot, add the sugar and let it simmer until the rhubarb is lightly soft but not mushy! (maybe 5 minutes)
3. In a bowl add the first 5 ingredients, mix well and set aside.
4. In a second bowl mix together the next 7 ingredients.
5. Then add the flour mix into the other bowl and mix well. (I did this with a mixer)
6. Pour off the resulting rhubarb-water and add the cooked rhubarb to the batter and carefully fold it in. 
7. Give the batter into the muffin cups and put it in the oven. Bake until golden brown for about 20 minutes.
8. Let them completely cool down and sprinkle with powdered sugar

TOFU-SANDWICH



Ingredients for the marinated tofu

• 1/2 cup shoyu
• 1/8 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp ginger-paste
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp garlic paste
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 200g tofu 

1. Cut tofu into the form you like.
2. In a tupperware box or a zip bag mix together the shoyu, rice wine vinegar, ginger- & garlic paste and brown sugar. Add the onions and put the tofu into the box. The tofu should be covered with the marinade. If not, you can add some water. Put the box into the refrigerator and let it rest over night or at least 8 hours.
3. Add oil in a medium heat frying pan and saute the tofu until golden brown.

Ingredients for the sandwich

• Sandwich-toast
• vegan cheese ( i had Willmersburger Pizzaschmelz)
• ketchup
• tomato (slices)
• cucumber (slices)
• salad

1. Spread 1 slice of toast with ketchup. On the other slice of toast put some vegan cheese.
2. Add tofu, then tomato and cucumber slices and the salad. Top with the second piece of toast, ketchup side down.
3. You can put the sandwich onto a "panini grill" and toast it until it´s golden brown!!!
4. You can also add avocado or any other ingredients you like!!! Delicious snack!!! I swear! =)

SPAGHETTI WITH LEMON SAUCE, ZUCCHINI AND PEAS

Ingredients:

• 350 - 400g Spaghetti
• 300ml soycream
• 1 red onion
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 zuccini, cut into strips with a vegetable peeler
• 160g frozen or fresh peas
• 1 - 2 tsp lemon zest
• salt and lemon pepper to taste

1. Prepare pasta according to package instruction.
2. Heat some oil in a frying pan, add onion and garlic and saute for about 2 minutes.
3. Add zucchini and peas and season with salt and lemon pepper.
4. Pour in the soycream and the lemon zest and bring it to boil
5. Season with salt and pepper and serve the sauce with the spaghetti.

GLUTEN-FREE STRAWBERRY PANCAKES

Yeah!
This was my first try in "baking" something gluten free and i was so happy about the result. I only had 1 tsp of sugar, but with the chopped strawberries inside they became really sweet and delicious! Now I can only hope that any gluten-free baking experiment succeeds so well =)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups gluten free flour
• 1 - 2  tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1-2 cups soy milk
• 1 tbsp melted butter
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• some strawberrys, cut into little cubes
• chopped hazelnuts for decorating

1. Mix all ingredients, except the strawberrys in a food processor. If everything is mixed well add the chopped strawberrys to the dough.
2. Heat a frying pan and sprinkle lightly with oil. Take a tablespoon to scoop the batter onto pan. Brown on both sides and serve hot with maple syrup, fresh strawberrys  and nuts.

SOY STEAKS TWO WAYS

At this picture there is only one sort of the both steak-recipes to see. For the other one i was to slowly to take a photo, cause we were sooooo hungry!!! I don´t have the exact amount for the marinades, cause i forgot to write them down while preparing them, but it´s not all to difficult. Just cook the tvp soy steaks according to package instruction and let them drain well. I always use salted water or vegetable stock with a big branch rosemary, a half onion and a little bit of tomato paste for cooking the steaks. For the marinade, just mix all ingredients in a bowl. Be sure that the marinade contains enough oil (yes, nothing for a diet =))and especially salt!!! It should be a little bit too salty! The other important thing is to marinade them at least 4-5 hours, better more, so that the steaks can soak up the marinade!! You can use a tupperware box or a zip bag for marinading or anything else which is airtight. Do not despair if the steaks doesn´t take suuuuuper good on the first try. It needs some exercise to know how much salt or other ingredients you have to use. It doesn´t work well with me every time! =)

Ingredients for the spicy red marinade (on the picture)

• tomato paste
• oil
• salt
• pepper
• paprika powder (noble sweet)
• onion powder
• dried oregano
• onion, chopped
• a lot of garlic =)
• soysauce
• fresh herbs (e.g. thyme, basil...)

Ingredients for the herb-mustard marinade (not on the picture)

• mustard
• salt
• pepper
• oil
• ground mustard seed
• onion, chopped
• a lot of garlic
• a lot fresh herbs ( chive, basil, parsley, thyme..)
• a little bit white wine vinegar or balsamico bianco (optional)

ROCKET SALAD WITH GRILLED TOMATOES

Ingredients:

• 120g cocktail tomatoes, halfed
• 120g rocket salad
• 2 tbsp pine nuts
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 tbsp white wine vinegar or balsamico bianco
• salt, pepper and sugar to taste
• vegan parmesan

1. Put the halfed cocktail tomatoes with the flat side on a grill for about 5 minutes or until they get some color.
2. In a small bowl mix together the oil and the vinegar and season to taste with salt, pepper and sugar.
3. Heat a small frying pan and roast the pine nuts.
4. Mix rocket salad with tomatoes and dressing. Add pine nuts and sprinkle with some parmesan cheese.

SPICY GARLIC-THYME-MUSHROOMS

Ingredients:

• mushrooms, quartered
• good quality olive oil
• fresh garlic, finely sliced
• fresh thyme
• chili flakes and salt

1. Put mushrooms in a zip bag or a tupperware box. Sprinkle with olive oil, fresh thyme, chili flakes and some salt. Add the fresh garlic and mix well. Put it in the refrigerator and let it rest for at least 1 hour.
2. You can prepare the mushrooms on a grill or frying pan. Use medium to high heat to get nice brown color.

TIME FOR VEGAN BBQ !!!!

RECIPES WILL FOLLOW!!! =)

...GOODIES FROM THE WOODS....

              Two days ago i was walking in the forest and returned back with full hands. 

              OK, maybe the flowers aren´t interesting, but i looooooooove

              meadow flowers and they look very pretty at my dining table =) 

              The second fund was wild garlic, which is growing in tons there and smells wonderful. 

              With the wild garlic i decided to make something like a herb butter with

               sundried-tomatoes for bbq last night. It´s also delicious in bread doughs, salads 

               or as pesto for pasta!!! 

Here´s my recipe of the ...

WILD GARLIC-BUTTER WITH SUNDRIED-TOMATOES

Ingredients:

• 250g vegan margarine
• 4 - 6 sundried-tomatoes (soaked in hot water)
• 4 - 6 wild garlic leaves (it depends on how intensive you want the wild garlic taste)
• sea-salt to taste
• parchmentpaper

1. Take the margarine/butter from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before beginning, so that is lightly soft.
2. Chop the wild garlic and the sundried tomatoes in small pieces.
3. Now you can work with your hands (which is a little mess) or you can also use a piece of parchment paper. Just take the margarine and work in the tomatoes and the garlic and season with salt to taste. Be careful by using the wild garlic, cause it can be very hot and intensive.
4. With the parchment paper form the herb-butter into a ball or a roll and put it back into the refrigerator! That´s it!! Easy, very fast and delicious!!! =)

CHICKPEA-SALAD WITH GRILLED VEGGIES

 

Ingredients:

• a small can of chickpeas, drained.
• 1 yellow pepper, quartered
• a half aubergine, cut into thick slices
• 2 handfull of cherry tomatoes, halfed
• a bunch of parsley
• salt, pepper, cumin to taste
• 1 tbsp good quality olive oil
• some fresh lemon juice

1. Sprinkle sliced aubergine with salt and let it rest for about 20 -30 minutes. 
2. Heat a grill or a grill pan and roast aubergine and pepper for about 2 minutes. They still should be crispy.
3. Let veggies cool and add it with the chickpeas and tomatoes into a bowl.
4. Season with about 1/2 - 1 tsp cumin and salt/pepper to taste
5. Sprinkle some lemon-juice to taste and add olive oil and chopped parsley. Mix well and let it rest for 30 minutes.You can also use cilantro instead of parsley!

CREAMY POTATO SALAD

Since weeks i wanna try a vegan potato salad and now it was time for it. I never made one before and i was surprised how easy it is. Actually my mum cuts potatoes for the salad in slices but for my recipe i used some really small red and yellow potatoes and cutted them into half pieces. This looks a little bit more rustic, but i really liked it. You don´t have to add carrots and peas to the salad ( i think these are the typical german ingredients). Just add what you want, i´m sure it will also be great.

 Ingredients:

• small potatoes (i don´t know how much i had, but it should be something about 1 kg), halfed/quartered
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 1,5 - 2 cups green peas
• 3 pickled cucumbers, diced
• 4 tbsp vegan mayonaise
• 2 - 3 tbsp soy-yogurt
• 1-2 tbsp mustard
• 1 tsp agave syrup
• salt and pepper to taste
• a bunch of dill and chive, chopped
• some liquid of the cucumbers to taste

1. 1. Heat some salted water in a pot and cook the potatoes. They shouldn´t be too soft, otherwise you´ll get more a mashed potato salad.
   2. In the last 2-3 minutes add the carrots and frozen green peas to the water.
   3. Rinse all veggies in ice water to halt cooking.
   4. Give it to a salad bowl and add the diced cucumbers. Season well with salt and pepper and let it cool. 
   5. In a small bowl mix mayonaise, yogurt, mustard, agave syrup, herbs and cucumber water and season with salt and pepper. Don´t be too accurate with the amount. The taste depends on the taste of your ingredients. So for example... my mayonaise has a sour and salty taste, that´s why i also added agave syrup and needed no more extra salt. 
   6. If the veggies are cooled, add the dressing and mix well. Put the bowl into the refrigerator and let it rest for at least 2 hours before eating so that the dressing can soak into the potatoes.

PUDDING-JAM-ROLLS FROM LEFTOVER DOUGH

When i was baking my apple-rhubarb-crumble i had a lot of dough and pudding leftover. So i decided to make little rolls, like cinnamon rolls but filled with pudding and forest-berry jam. I rolled the dough a little bit too thin, so the whole thing was a bit unwieldy and i couldn´t cut it into small rolls. That´s why i was baking the whole roll in one! The taste was really good,... okay that´s what my boyfriend said, but i think i can trust him ;) i couldn´t try it cause of my gluten intolerance but it smelled very good and yes, i was a little jealous about the fact that he was allowed to eat everything alone!=)

Ingredients:

• leftover of the apple-rhubarb-crumble dough
• leftover warm pudding
• some tbsp of forest berry jam or any kind you like

1. Just roll out the dough at a clean worksurface. (not too thin)
2. At first spread the warm pudding over the dough and then some tbsp of the jam.
3. Now roll in the dough, put it on a baking sheet or try to cut it into small rolls, like cinnamon rolls and put them in a muffin tin.
4. I was baking it in a 175°C oven for about 20 minutes, but this depends on how big your roll is!

APPLE-RHUBARB-CRUMBLE CAKE

Ingredients for the dough:

• 60g whole wheat flour
• 190g all purpose flour
• 1/2 package active dry yeast
• 1/8 l soymilk
• 25g sugar
• 40g margarine
• 1 prepared egg-replacer
• a pinch of salt 

1. Mix the two flours in a bowl and add the yeast. Mix well and set aside.
2. In a small pot heat soymilk and margarine until it´s lukewarm and melted.
3. In a second bowl mix the milk-mixture, sugar, salt and egg-replacer and mix until everything is well combined. 
4. Slowly add the flour and knead for about 10 minutes to a compact dough. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise until it´s doubled in size
5. After rising, knead the dough for another 10 minutes. Then grease a baking dish and sprinkle lightly with flour. Roll out the dough and put it into the form. After that, prick the dough all over with a fork.

Ingredients for the filling:

• 3 bars rhubarb
• 2 apples
• 6 tbsp sugar (or to taste)
• 2 - 3 tbsp water
• 1 package custard powder + 3 tbsp sugar + 500ml soymilk 

1. Peel apples and rhubarb and cut into small pieces.
2. In a small pot heat the fruits, the sugar and some water until slightly soft, but not mushy.
3. Prepare a pudding with the custard powder, the sugar and the soymilk. 
4. Spread the dough with some of the pudding, you won´t need everything of it. 
5. Distribute the apple-rhubarb-mass over the dough.

Ingredients for the streusel:

• 230g all purpose flour
• 70g whole wheat flour
• 150g soft margarine
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• a pinch of salz

1. Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix by hand until it´s well combined and the mass is getting crumbly. 
2. Distribute the crumbles over the cake.
3. Bake in a 160°C oven for about 20 - 30 minutes. 
4. Let it cool completely and sprinkle with powdered sugar!

CHOCOLATE-BUTTERCREAM-COOKIES

Ingredients for the cookie-dough:

• 300g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg-replacer
• 1 tbsp cacao powder
• 150g margarine
• 150g sugar

1. Mix the flour with the baking powder and the cacao powder and sift it on a clean work surface.
2. Add the prepared egg-replacer and the sugar to it. Cut the margarine into small pieces and give it to the rest. Now it´s time to knead everything to a compact dough.
3. Wrap the dough in transparent foil and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
4. Roll out the dough and cut out circles. Place them on a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake in a 180°C oven for about 10-15 minutes. Let them completely cool.

Ingredients for the buttercream-filling:

• 1 Package custard powder
• 500ml soymilk
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp agar-agar (i haven´t tried it with it, but i think this would make the cream a little bit more firm)
• 200g margarine
• 1 can of soyatoo whip cream (you can also make it without the whip cream)

1. Prepare a pudding with the custard powder, the milk and the sugar, add the agar-agar and let it completely cool. 
2. Stir the margarine until creamy and add the cold pudding until creamy as well.
3. Whip the cream and lift it carefully under the buttercream-mass. 

Further ingredients:

• vegan bittersweet couverture

1. Melt the chocolate and dip the cookies in it. Let it cool.
2. To make the cookies, pipe a blob of cream into the center of a cookie using a pastry bag. 
3. Place another cookie on top of the cream. Lightly press. 
4. You can also put the cookies together at first and pour then with melted chocolate.
5. Take them into the refrigerator and serve them cool!!!

MINI-CHEESECAKE

This is not going to be a new recipe. Just a variation of my "Cherry-Cheesecake Recipe". I had some leftovers and decided to make little cheesecakes with the ingredients. It´s so simple and doesn´t need a lot of time! You only have to grease such a small form and put it there with dough. Fill in the "cheese-mixture" and cover it with the dough. Take a fork and firmly press the edges of the dough. Cut a cross in the middle of the batter and put it in a 180°C oven. I´m not sure how long it has baked.. but it should be something around 15 minutes!!!  Let it completely cool down and sprinkle with powdered sugar!!!

SUN-DRIED TOMATO PESTO

SUMMER-TIME IS PESTO-TIME!!!... okay it´s not summer but i´m waiting for it =)
I really love pesto in all variations. It´s so easy to prepare and so versatile!!! You can add every ingredients you like and create everytime a new flavor!!! This time sun-dried tomato pesto has its turn. It´s great for pasta but even as spread for sandwiches. And the best thing is.... it´s gluten-free AND yummie at the same time!

Ingredients:

• 120g sun-dried tomatoes (without oil; it should also work with oil)
• 40g pine nuts
• two hands ful of basil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 6-8 tbsp good quality olive oil (or more, but i don´t wanted it too fatty)
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Place sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl and cover with boiling water for 20 minutes, or until tender. (don´t throw the liquid away, you will need it for the pesto)
2. Heat a pan (without oil) and roast the pine nuts until golden brown.
3. In a blender combine the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, pine nuts and  basil. Process until well blended. Add olive oil and about    10 -14 tbsp of the soaking water. I think using more oil makes it even better!!
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. If you don´t wanna use up all the pesto, just fill it in a clean perserving jar and cover with olive oil. Put the lid on and put it in the refrigerator. Here it will remain stable for at least 2 weeks!

VEGAN SWEET HOI-SIN DUCK WITH STIR-FRIED NOODLES

Yes... this should be my last recipe with seitan or vital wheat gluten, cause my doctor diagnosed me with a gluten-allergy. This is why i have to dispense with it for a long time. Too bad, cause the taste of the duck breast filet was amazing! The recipe for the marinade is from a grillbook called "fired up". I just added some extra flavours. =) so try it out and convince yourself !!

Ingredients for the Sweet Hoi-Sin Duck:

• 3 duck breast filet from alles-vegetarisch
• 2 tbsp light soy-sauce
• 3 tbsp Hoi-Sin-Sauce
• 3 tbsp ketchup
• 3 tbsp agave syrup
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• some fresh coriander leaves
• 2 cloves of garlic, sliced

1. Wash off the filets under cold water and dab it off with a kitchen towel
2. Cruciform scarify but not too deep.
3. Mix all the other ingredients in a flat box and marinate the "fake-meat" in it.
4. Heat a pan and fry well.
5. You can eat it now, or put it in a casserole with the rest of the marinade and grill it.

Ingredients for the Stir-Fried-Noodles: (sorry again for my inaccurate amount)

• chinese egg-free noodles 
• carrots, cut into strips
• broccoli florets
• onions, cut into coarse pieces
• red pepper, cut into strips
• china coal, cut into coarse pieces
• a small piece of ginger, grated
• 2 cloves of garlic, grated
• Hoi-Sin-Sauce
• soy-Sauce
• some sugar, salt and pepper to taste
• peanut oil
• coriander leaves

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to package intructions. Drain, rinse in cold water, drain again, and set aside.
2. In a  pan, heat about 1 tablespoon of peanut oil over medium high heat and stir fry the garlic, ginger  and the vegetables. Season with a little salt, and stir fry until the vegetables are cooked but still crisp/crunchy.This shouldn't take too long. Set aside in a bowl.
3. In the cleared pan heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium high heat and add your noodles. Toss them around, get them well coated in the oil, and break up any clumps.  Pan fry the noodles, stirring and flipping them frequently until some of the noodles get a nice and crunchy golden brown exterior. Then season with the Hoi-Sin-Sauce, soy sauce, and sugar. Taste and see if it needs additional seasoning. add the vegetables into the skillet, toss until everything is evenly distributed into the noodles.
4. Sprinkle with some coriander leaves and serve it with the grilled duck breast filet.

PUFF-PASTRY STICKS WITH CREAMY ONION FILLING

When i was filling the puff pastry with apples i was thinking about a savory filling for some puff pastry appetizers or snacks. Then i reminded me of this delicious vegetarian puff pastry strips that my colleague once brought to work. Her recipe was with cheese and sour cream cheese. I neither had a vegan cheese nor a vegan sour cream cheese at home. In Addition... they are very expensive. So i tried to make them with drained yogurt and without cheese and i really was so surprised how good they have become. It´s really an easy and yummie snack for partys or something like that!!!

Ingredients:

• 2 sheets of  puff pastry
• 500g unsweetened soy-yogurt
• 1/2 - 3/4  package organic onion soup powder
• 3 tbsp poppy seeds

1. Fill yogurt into coffe filters and let it drain overnight or at least 2 hours.
2. Mix the drained yogurt with the onion soup powder. Taste from the mixture. Don´t take too much of the powder. It shouldn´t be too spicy!
3. Roll out the  puff pastry into equal-sized pieces. Give something of the yogurt mixture on one of the sheets. Place the second sheet evenly on top of the first sheet, pressing lightly to seal.
4. Use a sharp knife and cut the dough into strips. Spread the poppy on a work surface and place the strip on it. Press a little bit, so that the poppy can stick on the dough.
5. Twist each strip into a spiral shape and transfer to a perpared baking sheet. Press down at the tips.
6. Bake in a pre-heated oven according to package instructions or until puffed and golden.

APPLE POCKETS

These little apple-triangles are absolutely the easiest dessert ever. And .... it´s sooooo delicious! You can fill it however you like!
I decided to make an apple-cinnamon filling and it was great! You can add raisins if you like or serve it with vanilla ice-cream!! YUMMIE!!!

Ingredients:

• 1 package puff pastry
• apples
• cinnamon
• powdered sugar

1. Peel the apples and cut them into small pieces.
2. Season with cinnamon to taste
3. Put apples into a pot and cook lightly until smooth.
4. Cut puff-pastry into squares and place the apples on a triangle part of the square.
5. Now fold the square into a triangle and use a folk to press the edges together.
6. Bake according to package instruction and until it´s golden brown.
7. Sprinkle with powdered sugar

             
                                               

EASY THAI-CURRY

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

• 150g rice
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 red pepper, cut into strips
• 1 yellow pepper, cut into strips
• 1 - 2 handful broccoli florets, cooked
• 1-2 handful sugar pea pods, cooked
• 1/2 chili pepper, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• salt, pepper, paprika, a lot of curry powder
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1-2 tbsp peanut oil
• 1/2 bunch of spring onions or 1 onion, diced

1. Prepare your rice according to package instruction
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add onions and garlic. Saute for about 1-2 minutes.
3. Add peppers and zucchini and saute for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the rest of the vegetables and season with salt, pepper and paprika.
5. Pour the coconut milk into the pan and bring it to boil.
6. Season with salt, pepper, chopped chili pepper and a lot of good quality curry powder.
7. You could also use a curry paste instead of the powder and you can also add any kind of veggies you like.

EASTER BREAD

I know, my last post is already a while ago. But that shouldn´t mean, that i wasn´t still diligent in the kitchen. I was just waaaay too lazy to translate my recipes. But now i collected a lot of new recipes that i will blog during the next days.
Today i start with my yummie easter bread, that i was baking for my family. It´s a sweet yeast bread with raisins, which you can eat for breakfast with margarine and  jam or any other sweet spread. I found that recipe on the internet (i don´t know the page) and just veganised it.

Ingredients (makes 2 small breads)

• 600g all purpose flour
• 1,5 packages dry yeast
• 250ml - 300ml soymilk
• 120g vegan margarine
• 80 - 90g sugar
• 1tsp salt
• lemon zest of 1 lemon
• egg-replacer for 3 eggs
• 120g raisins 

1. Mix the flour with the yeast and sieve on a clean work surface. Form a hole in the middle for the other ingredients
2. Let the butter melt in warm milk. (not too hot)
3. In a bowl mix together sugar, salt, lemon zest, and the milk/margarine mixture.
4. Now add the mixture into the hole and start kneading until everything is well combined. Put it on a warm place and let it rest for about 20 - 30 minutes.
5. During this time, put the raisins in a small bowl and cover with boiling water.
6. After 30 minutes drain them well and knead raisins together with the dough. 
7. Put the bread on a baking sheet with parchment paper, take a sharp knife and cut a cross in the middle of the bread and let it rest until it´s doubled in size. 
8. Preheat oven to 180- 190°C and bake for about 150 minutes. After 15 minutes cover with aluminium foil to become not too dark.

KIWI-COCONUT-CUPCAKES

Everytime i go shopping i see this yummie kiwis and think... oh i´ll take some home to eat something really healthy!! But in the end they collect in a large fruitbowl at home, waiting to be eaten. =)
This time i had something about 10-15 kiwis and i saw them and just thought... hmm they could be really great in cupcakes!!! So this is what came out!!! Yummie kiwi-coconut cupcakes. I personally am not a fan of these super-sweet buttercreme frosting, and i think o lot of other people too. But i still haven´t found any other beautiful solution to decorate cupcakes. Mh maybe you have an idea??
But now to the very simple recipe!!!! The basic-recipe is from that page holycowvegan. I just added some other or further ingredients.

Ingredients for the dough:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp coconut flakes
• 1 1/2 cups kiwi puree
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla sugar

Ingredients for the kiwi-buttercreme frosting

• 200g vegan margarine (i haven´t had shortening, so i would use 100g margarine +100g shortening)
• 300g confectioners´sugar (i know there should be more, but for me it´s too sweet. so feel           free to add more sugar)
•  4 tbsp soy-cream (you can also use yogurt or milk)
• kiwi-puree to taste (pressed trough a fine sieve, to leave out the kiwi kernels) I had about 3-4 tablespoons

Decoration:

• some coconut flakes
• kiwi-fruit (quartered slices)

1. Sift all the dry ingredients into a bowl and set aside.
2. In another bowl beat the wet ingredients until well-mixed.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a whisk, but just until everything is well combined (don´t overmix!!!)
4.  Divide the batter equally among 12 cups of a muffin pan lined with cupcake liners. Fill the cupcakes only a maximum of three quarter full.
5. Bake in a preheated 175°C oven about 24 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
6. While cooling the cupcakes, you can prepare the kiwi-buttercream frosting.  
7. Cream together the margarine and the shortening until fluffy.
8. Now add the other ingredients and beat until mixed
9. Give the mass into a pastry bag and decorate your cupcakes!!! =)

VEGAN GRILLED SEITAN-SANDWICH WITH BALSAMIC ONIONS

This is my first try to prepare seitan since a long time! Because i´m never sure, with what method i should prepare the seitan, i used this recipe to test 4 different ways of preparing seitan:

• baking in aluminium foil
• steaming in aluminium foil
• steaming without aluminium foil
• roasting in oil

I expected, that baking will be the best result, but my favourite was the seitan which was steamed, wether with or without foil, cause most of the flavour remained in the seitan.  This is really a matter of taste. Preparing the seitan with foil makes it a little bit harder than without. The recipe for the balsamic onions is from a bbq-book, called "fired up". And i really really love that sweet taste of the onions!!!  But... now i´ve talked enough. Just try it out =)


Ingredients for the seitan-dough:

• 1 cup gluten flour
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp harissa
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp salt (it could be one more)
• some drops of hot sauce
• 3/4 cup water

1.  In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients and in a second bowl the wet ingredients. 
2. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and knead the dough about 10 minutes until everything is well mixed. 
3. Now it´s time to decide how to prepare the seitan. For steaming just heat some water in a pot, put the steaming tower on top of the pot and steam (with lid on) until the seitan has a good consistensy. I can´t say how much time this will need, cause i cut it into small pieces. If you are steaming it in one piece i think it needs something about 50 - 60 minutes.

Ingredients for the marinade:

• oil
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp paprika powder
• chili flakes to taste
• a handful of parsley (chopped)
• 2 cloves of pressed garlic
• some lemon-juice
• some salt 

1. Mix all ingredients together and marinade the seitan for at least 1 - 2 hours.
2. Now you can grill the seitan, but i think also frying in a pan should work.

Ingredients for the balsamic onions:

• 2 red onions
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp high-quality balsamic vinegar
• some chopped parsley
• sea-salt

1. Peel the onions and cut them into rings.
2. Heat a coated pan on medium heat and brush it with a little bit of the olive oil.
3. Put the onion rings side by side in the pan and let them gently fry for about 10 minutes. Only turn it when they have a nice golden colour. Then also fry the other side. 
4. Take the pan from the hotplate, mix together the rest of the olive oil the balsamic vinegar, the parsley and the salt and add it to the onions. Let it rest for about 30 minutes (on a warm place).

Further ingredients:

• bread (i had a sourdough bread, but you can also use a white bread)
• tomatoes (sliced)
• salad
• cucumber (sliced)
• ketchup or any other sauce you like

1. Roast the bread-slices on a grill, grill-pan or in the oven and face? the bread with all the  
    ingredients.