Category Archives: Food Blog

Strawberry Ice Cream Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches (vegan)

These Strawberry Ice Cream Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches are a great (weekend) project, fun to make and sooo delicious to eat. The kids will love helping you make them. You can assemble them completely ahead of time and keep them in the freezer, ready to eat at any time. The combination of chewy chocolate cookies and the fresh strawberry ice cream is the best ever.

Prep time : Cookies, 15 minutes plus baking. Ice cream, 10 minutes plus freezing
Cooking time: 12 minutes
Makes : 6 (large) Sandwiches

INGREDIENTS STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM;

• 300 grs / 10.5 oz , about 1 1/2 cups (frozen )Strawberries, hulled
• 4 tbsp. Agave Syrup* or according to taste
• 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp. tapioca flour** (see notes)
• 1 cup Soy or Oat whipping cream

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Freeze the strawberries the night before if you are using fresh ones.
2. Put the strawberries with the agave syrup, the tapioca and vanilla in a blender and blend until very smooth.
3. Whip the soy cream until stiff peaks form and fold the strawberries thru the whipped cream.
4. Place in an ice cream maker or in a container in the freezer. If you freeze it in a container you need to whip it after about two hours to avoid crystallization. Freeze preferably over night, but it should be frozen after about 4 to 6 hours depending on your freezer.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES:
WET INGREDIENTS;
• 1 tbsp. ground flax plus 1 tsp. tapioca flour, plus 3 tbsp. water mixed
• 1/2 C. solid coconut oil/fat
• 3/4 C. coconut sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
DRY INGREDIENTS;
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. (gluten free) flour
• 1/4 C. cocoa
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. pink Himalaya salt
• 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 C. mini vegan chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Start by soaking the flax/tapioca mix and let stand for about 10 minutes while you prepare the rest.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
3. In an other bowl, mix the wet ingredients and combine with the dry.
4. At this point I like to place the cookie dough on a piece of parchment paper and roll it into a cylinder.
5. Then I place it in the refrigerator for at least two hours or if you are in a hurry in the freezer for half an hour.
6. This will give you the perfect cookie consistency when baking. They dough needs to be really cold!!!
7. Then when you’re ready to bake, pre heat the oven to 175° C / 350° F
8. Shape dough into balls and press them a little flat with your hand. Lay them onto the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
9. Bake for 12 minutes.
10. The cookies may look a little soft still but they will continue to cook on the baking sheet as thy cool.
11. When you take them out of the oven, immediately press on a few more chocolate chips, for prettiness. And because it’s so darn delicious!
12. Let cool completely. I keep mine in the refrigerator because I love how they become chewy.
13. To make the ice cream sandwich, take two cookies. Scoop out one big ball of strawberry ice cream***(see notes) and place it on one cookie. Gently press down with a spoon first and then place the second cookie on top being careful not to break.
14. Press the sandwiches in some sprinkles if you like.

Notes:

*). Syrup keeps ice cream softer in the freezer and prevents it from becoming too hard.

**). Seeing tapioca as an ice cream ingredient may seem odd at first, but it actually makes the ice cream so much creamier and velvety.

***). I scooped the ice cream balls ahead of time and placed them in a container and back into the freezer until I was ready to “build” the sandwiches.

Enjoy!

One pot Summer Quinoa salad, Tahini-Orange dressing.

3 Replies

A quick Summer Salad that is made all in one pot. It can be served straight away (aka warm), at room temperature, or cold. We like it best cold, but that’s completely up to you of course.
I mean, what’s not to love about a salad that can be made all in one pot right?
You start by heating some olive oil in a large pot and cook some onion, garlic and veggies. Then you add the Quinoa, add the rest of the ingredients and like magic, 15 minutes later you have the best Summer Quinoa salad of your life. Perfect for lunch or dinner over a bed of some greens, or as a side.
The Tahini Orange dressing takes the recipe to a whole new level
Before you know it, you’ll be making this one pot Summer Quinoa Salad, all Summer long.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium chopped onion
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
1 cellery stalk, chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 medium tomato, green top removed, chopped
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups hot vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 cup chickpeas from can, drained
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup fresh corn, removed from ear or frozen

Tahini Orange Dressing:
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup orange juice, about one
Juice from half a lemon
1 heaped tablespoon tahini
1 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
2 teaspoons Coconut aminos
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
A dash or two of franks hot sauce

1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup basil leafs, torn or chopped
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
Chili flakes
Extra orange or lemon wedges for serving

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place a medium pot over medium heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil, add onion and cook until glossy, about 4 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables in the order mentioned above stirring while doing so. Carrot, cellery, garlic, bell pepper and the tomato. Season with salt and pepper. Stir for two minutes and then add the quinoa, give it a stir and combine well with all the vegetables in the pan.
Now add the hot stock, bring to a simmer. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 13 minutes. Turn off the heat and let rest uncovered for 5 minutes. Tip the Quinoa into a large serving dish. Add the fresh herbs and carefully spoon thru to combine.
Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and decorate with orange or lemon wedges if desired. Serve with the Tahini Orange dressing .
To make the Tahini orange dressing, simply combine all the ingredients in a small jar and shake to mix. This dressing is delicious on all sorts of salads, so I advise you to bookmark it. Enjoy!

Pistachio Loaf Cake

9 Replies

When you are looking for a delicious loaf cake with an unctuous texture that’s even better the next day. This is the cake for you.
Pistachios are my favourite nuts so I wanted to create a loaf cake with an intense Pistachio flavor and a hint of spice.

Pistacious give the loaf cake a buttery nutty flavour, the hint of cardamom adds just a little bit of warmth. The lemon juice in the icing adds just enough “zing” to balance it all out. .

Adding olive oil ensure that the cake stays nice and moist and it will keep for 4 days but I can assure you it will not last that long.

This is the perfect cake to make in the weekend to have with tea or coffee and even as breakfast

For this recipe I used unsalted (shelled) pistachios and placed them in a blender and blitz them a few times until fine crumbs, like almond flour consistency. Don’t over grind the pistachios because you might end up with pistachio butter.

INGREDIENTS:

Dry:
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1 cup pistachios shelled then ground to flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. kitchen salt
1 1/2 tsp cardamom

Wet:
2 large eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup mild flavour olive oil
1/2 cup natural unsweetened yogurt
2 tbsp. milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze:
1/4 c icing sugar
2 tsp lemon juice or water

Optional: edible rose petals or other flowers.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pre heat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a loaf tin with parchment paper.
In a large bowl add the dry ingredients and stir well to combine. Add the wet ingredients to a jug and beat together. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir to combine.
Pour the batter into the tin.
Tap the tin a few times on the kitchen counter to remove any air bubbles.
Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out just dry.
Remove from the oven and let cool completely before icing.
To make the icing, combine icing sugar with lemon juice and mix until smooth.
Pour over cake in zig-zag pattern and sprinkle with dry (edible) rose petals. The rose petals are optional but look beautiful and also taste great with the pistachios.
Enjoy!

Baked Oatmeal pots with banana, chocolate chips and a hint of spices.

2 Replies

These individual Banana baked oatmeal pots are actual heaven. There is nothing like a warm breakfast now that the temperatures are dropping.

I have added banana slices and a few chocolate chips (bc yolo) and a hint of cinnamon and cardamom to give it a warm and cozy flavour. You can completely customize these, by adding your favourite ingredients. The little pots are topped with a drizzle of maple syrup before they go into the oven or airfryer so that the top caramelizes, it gives that creme brulee-like crispy top. You and your family will love them.

INGREDIENTS:
For ONE pot, multiply for more.
Dry ingredients;
1/4 cup oatmeal flour*
1 scoop vanilla protein powder**
1 tsp. Psyllium husk powder (optional)***
1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. Stevia (or add sweetener of choice)
1/8 tsp. Cardamom
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tbsp. Chocolate chips
Pinch of salt
Wet ingredients;
2 tbsp. Yoghurt
3 tbsp. Milk of choice
1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
1/2 banana, peeled and sliced

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat airfryer to 160 °C / 320° F. or
Preheat oven to 200°/ 400 ° F

Add all the dry ingredients to a small bowl. Mix well and add the wet ingredients. It should have a cake batter consistency, add a little extra milk if needed.
Stir to combine and add the chocolate chips and banana slices. Gently stir one more time to distribute evenly. Place is a ramekin of about 11×5 cm / 4.5″ x 2″. Top with a drizzle of maple syrup.

Place in airfryer for 12-14 minutes or until set and golden crispy on top.
Or you can bake these in a pre heated oven placed on the middle rack for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and serve straight away as is or with some thick yoghurt.
Enjoy