What exactly is Carob ???

If you are anything like me you might have thought that carob was a more raw form of cocoa or something like that. Well guess what ... we were wrong!!! 

Carob actually comes from a completely different part of the world and is from a completely different family of plants !!! In fact Carob is a form of legume and Cocoa although called a bean by us is not actually a bean or a legume. 

Carob or  ( Ceratonia siliqua ) is native to the Eastern Mediterranean even the Middle East and has been cultivated for the at least the past 4000 years !!! Pretty impressive huh!!!

Carob is also known as the "locust bean" this is due to a misunderstanding as it was once believed that these were the locusts that John the Baptist ate in the wilderness. It turns out this isn't the case as John apparently ate actual migratory locusts. You know the giant grasshopper things !!! 

Seeds were used to weight gold, hence the word "carat." Mohammed's army ate kharoub , and Arabs planted the crop in northern Africa and Spain (Moors), along with citrus and olives.

Spaniards then carried carob to Mexico and South America, and the British took carob to South Africa, India, and Australia.

Carob can be grown anywhere Citrus grows well. So if you have a lemon tree why not try growing a Carob tree too. Nothing like having a form of choccy available to you to pick straight off the tree.

So there you go that is all about Carob. There is of course loads more to learn about it and all you have to do is ask Google. 

This is a Carob Tree

These are its pods

The Angst of Cheesecake

I don't know about you guys but the moment I am told No, that's the moment my head basically gets a "screw you" attitude.

This is not a new thing for many people and it tends to be easier to get through when you are changing your lifestyle with other people. I am not. My son is happy to eat what I make but he wants to add meat to it. More about that another time.

Time to really get stuck into sorting out food to go out with though as the last few days have proven to me it is almost impossible to go out and actually have this lifestyle and fit with others as well.

Here is my vlog to go with this. I am getting used tot he camera slowly, I guess doing these vlog journals is helping me get over that so hopefully they will get better over time. It needs to I have a competition recipe/cooking video to do. Yeap I have entered a competition with Holland and Barrett so I really need to get this right.

I have the food bank this morning so I will be popping off this morning but this aternoon I will be making food and with any luck not forgetting the memory card in the camera this time !!!! *face palm*

So here it is I hope you enjoy it.... if you are going to leave a comment please be kind, please do subscribe to the YouTube channel cos that would be awesomes :D

See you laters !!!! Byeeeeee xox

Day 1 Journal ~ Yeap It's My Very First Video Diary!!!

This morning I made my first brekky vlog. Not quite sure how I managed it to be honest but I did. Maybe because no one else was there. I have to admit though after chopping off the ends of it I am a little bit shaken up.

I had no idea I had gotten quite that big. If anything I am sad for myself that it got to that stage. I have to say though NOT in a poor me way though more in a well this is as bad as it gets for you missus time to sort things out!!!

So I am

here is my very first video Journal. I have to admit I didn't say everything I wanted to but I got most of it out. Those who know me know I stutter a bit and tend to trip up on my words. Eventually I get there and no I will not be editing out those bits. I don't want to be perfect I want these videos to be from the heart and real. Which is why they are not really staged and are completely ad-libbed.

So here is my journal for today xox

If you are following my journey or coming along and joining my journey please let me know It is always good to know I am not the only weirdo out here :D :D :D

Have an amazing day xox

DAY 1 I need to start again!!!

Over the last few months I have been recovering from illness and injury and am still trying to sort myself out after injury.

After finding out that I have gained 3 stone since i broke my ankle in February I felt it was high time i did something about this wreck I appear to have become whilst relying on others to feed me. today is the start of this, not only the start of this but the start of my vlog as I find it easier to film stuff than to photo things. Probably because I keep forgetting to take photos and I can set the camera up to film and not worry.

So below is my première video. Yes it was really taken at 6.38am !!! Below I will add the recipes.

LEMON AND HONEY

INGREDIENTS

1 whole little Lemon 

OR 

1/2 a Large Lemon 

1 Tablespoon Honey

Boiling water

METHOD

1. Slice the lemon and place slices in the cup. 

2. Add the honey

3. Add boiling water from the kettle

4. Leave to steep until at a safe drinking temperature. 

5. Enjoy

POND SCUM COCKTAILS

INGREDIENTS

1 litre Fresh fruit juice, (tropical is best but a mix of orange and apple works just as well )

1 Banana

1 Tablespoon of Spirulina Powder

METHOD 

1. Place all ingredients in a drinks blender. (If you do not have a blender, use a wand type blender or a food processor works too.)

2. Blitz. 

3. Pour out and drink fairly immediately as it will separate. 

So there you go my very first vlog. I know its no Tarantino but I am quite chuffed for my first time out. 

See you next time xox

Stuffed Pancakes

The other members of my household are meat heads... literally. I am always finding ways to make their food different and "manly" and I have to admit there have been times I have felt left out and really miffed about it. So when they came up with the idea of cheese and bacon pancakes for breakfast I sat back and thought. "Well... what about me !!!" On this particular day I thought it might be a good idea to do what I did for them but using vegan cheese and mushrooms and I did ... and it was lush so I figured I better share it before i have my arm chewed off by someone!!!! 

Oh and just out of interest.... my son asked me to make him some of these for him too !!! There are some days you winder if you are winning or not !!!! 

STUFFED MUSHROOM AND CHEESE PANCAKES

1 Cup            Gluten free plain flour

1/2 Cup         Buckwheat flour

1 Tabespoon Ground Flaxseed (Xanthum Gum works too) 

1 teaspoon    Baking Powder

1/2 Cup        Almond Milk (or whatever your preference of non dairy milk is)

250g             Mushrooms (sliced)

100g             Cheddar style Vegan Cheese

50g               Vegan butter for greasing the pan 

First off you have to mix up  your first ingredients together to make a fairly thick pancake batter. Leave to rest

Next you need to cook off your mushrooms in maybe some vegan butter and some herbs. Whatever work for you I used thyme and garlic my favourite flavours for mushrooms. Once they are cooked through and browned a little set to one side.

Slice your cheese fairly thinly but thick enough for it to hold its shape. 

Heat up your pan or skillet or griddle for your pancakes and lightly grease. USe a medium heat not a super hot one, you want them to cook through and not burn on contact. 

Once bubbling add a half cup of mix and if very thick smooth it out a bit so the mix is around 3 mm thick. as this slowly cooks add a couple of slices of your cheese to the top.

Add then your mushrooms on top and carefully pour more mix over the top of the mushrooms to cover. 

It is important that the mix completely cover the mushrooms like so... 

When you start seeing bubbles through the top of the mix on the edges and  few on the top you need to flip it fast. Have confidence and get your flipper right underneath it and flip it quickly, don't give it time to fight back !!! 

As you can see it does have a loverly golden brown base and yes those bits on the side are the extra batter poured over the top. 

Of course make as many as you need and keep them warm in the oven on 50C till you have made them all. 

Inside turns into a wonderful cheesy gooey mushroomy goodness ....

I have to admit I made a good half dozen of these. I got 1. Yeap apparently stuffed pancakes are a hit in our house whether they have bacon in them or not !!! 

Banana and Walnut Pixie Pancakes

Oh My Goddess!!! This morning I awoke with a craving, not just any old craving. A craving for something gooey and nutty and fruity and very very norty!!!!

You know the kind of food you bite into and makes you shudder then slide about 4 inches in your chair and you sit there chewing casually with a dopey grin on your face with your eyes shut kinda food.

The answer for me was simple PANCAKES!!! I could do pancakes with a caramel banana topping ... no no that wasn't going to work ... add walnuts !!! .. nooo i want the nuts but too many pans ... it's too early for a kitchen full of washing up!!!

I KNOW I'll chuck it all in together and see what happens!!! that is what I've done ... literally!!! hahaha!!!

Of course you also have a bit of an insight into how my brain works ... gods bless you every one xoxox

So here we go ...

BANANA AND WALNUT PIXIE PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS

1 Cup     Spelt flour

1 Cup     Buckwheat Flour

1 Tbspn Ground Flaxseed (optional)

1/2 Cup  Soft Light Brown Sugar

2 tspns    Gluten Free Baking Powder

2 tspns    Ground Cinnamon

3/4 Cup  Walnuts

1/2 Litre Almond Milk or other dairy free millk 

3             Bananas 

METHOD

1. Add all the dry ingredients except the walnuts in the bowl together.

2. Place the walnuts in a food processor and pulse 4-5 times to get nice small chunky pieces. Add these to the bowl

3. Place the skinned bananas in the same food processor (this helps get the last bits of walnuts out) and blitz until puree. Place in the bow and mix

4. Add Almond Milk and mix until you have a loverly thick batter. 

5. Place spoonfuls of the batter on a really hot greased frypan and turn the temp down. Flip as soon as you can smell they are cooked. For the size I did they are about a minute each side. 

6. Serve warm or cold. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have your ingredients ready to go. 

Pop all your dry ingredients in the bowl. 

Blitz your walnuts to loverly crumbly chunks. 

Add those and you mashed banana to the bowl and mix through

Add your "milk" 

Mix until you have a loverly gloopy batter that drops in blobs

Choose your weapon ... oh oh I mean pan!!! 

Place a spoonful on your pancake pan, if using small pans use smaller spoons. It's common sense really :D Oh and you need your pan really really hot to start but turn it to halfway as soon as you start cooking. These also will not bubble like the other ones to tell you they are ready. you have to keep an eye on them so slower cooler cooking is definitely best!!!

Pile them up and run away and baracade yourself in somewhere!!!! I have to admit though as much as i looooove my food I could only get through 5 of these babies!!!

I may only have been able to eat 5 of them but i got a guard for the rest!!!

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did/am/ going to later!!! 

To be honest this is the kind of recipe i make because I'm told I can't, so I do because I am positive there is a way to make just about anything vegan and gluten free and if I'm lucky one day I might be able to find some help to prove that theory xox 

Now go make some pancakes!!! lol 

Enjoy xox 

Plum and Brazilnut Frangipane Tart

Hello Loverlies!!!

It's been over a year since my last post and I am very very sorry. What I thought I'd do is make it up to you with a very special recipe. the recipe that really kicked me off back writing the blog again. Unfortunately there is only one picture of it and that is the finished product but it is pretty easy and I'm sure you can do it.

I am not a very good pastry girl, in fact pastry tends to terrify me somewhat. What I do like though and works really well with tarts like this is a "non rollout pastry" This is very much like a biscuit base or a cookie dough type base. Makes your heart pound when it first comes out of the oven but honestly it does crisp up just like a good pastry should.

The other awesome thing about it is that you don't have to blind bake it first. If anything it saves a good half hour of waiting around and rolling and other things you have to do with pastry. So yes this kind of base is definitely going to be my go to tart base from now on.

I used Brazils because honestly i was out of almonds. Necessity breeds creativity around here and I never let a little thing like the type of nuts change what I plan on doing ever.

Ok so enough of my rambling time for a recipe right ??? So here we go xox

PLUM AND BRAZILNUT FRANGIPANE TART

BASE 

1 cup       White Spelt Flour

1/2 Cup   Buckwheat Flour

1/2 cup    Vegan Margarine

1/2 Cup   Soft Brown Sugar

FRANGIPANE

2 Cups     Brazilnuts

1/2 Cup   Soft Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup   Coconut Cream

2 Tbspn   Spelt Flour

TOPPING 

6-8           Fresh Plums - Whatever is available - 

METHOD

Before you do anything 

1. Line and grease your tin. I used a 10 inch tin because that's what I have. 

2. Turn your oven onto 190C or 375F

Ok so then we begin with the fun stuff

1. Mix your marg and sugar together very very well until fluffy. 

2. Add Flours to the mix

3. Pour in Coconut Cream to make a thick cookie style dough texture. 

4. Place all mix in the tin and spread it out across the base and as far up the sides as you can make it. No thinner than about 1/4 cm 

NOTE: If you are in a hot climate placing the tin with the base in the fridge at this point is probably a good idea. Noone likes melted oil all over the work top !!!

5. Place the nuts in a processor and pulse until loose crumbs.

6. Add the rest of the ingredients and you should have a lushious thick creamy mix. (with chunks dont worry about the chunky bits) 

7. Add the frangipane to the base.

8. Cut the plums into quarters (or perhaps slices if you have that much time on your hands!). 

9. Place quarters on top of the frangipane and press in gently. Not enough to cover entirely but enough to sit in it well. 

10. Bake for around 1/2 hour or until golden and set. 

I works well with so cream or other alternatives including vegan icecream. However you eat it ... enjoy it. 

I know it's not just me who thinks it's good cos I gave a slab of it to a friend who also didn't tell anyone it was vegan and gluten free and they loved it and her mother asked for the recipe... I have to admit i find syncronicity an amazing thing at times, she was telling this as I had made up my mind to write this blog again. 

So yes for those of you who miss me you can thank syncronicity and a rather loverly Plum and Brazilnut Frangipane Tart xox 

Until Next time!!!