If Hobbits Were Vegan

Happy Happy Hobbit Anniversary to all you Tolkein lovers!

Today is a wonderful day, this day 75 years ago was the release of the first copy of The Hobbit. It's not just a literary celebration my friends, the Hobbit has grown into more then just a book. It is something that transforms imaginations, and it converts even the most stubborn realist into the realms of fantasy and wonder. Mr Tolkein's seamless weaving of worlds, keeping the fantastical world of Middle Earth entwined with very real descriptions is just beautiful. There is no sugar, no cotton wool, and it's a children's book. That is why I love it, it's not some pansy fairy tale. It's incredibly real, it helps children get acquainted with real emotions, it is painful, it is exhilarating and it's violent and it doesn't apologise for being so. As a nine year old reading this book, it was incredibly refreshing being able to feel all of that whilst still keeping that amazing imagination running alongside.

To me, it transcends the literary community, it's an ideological state of time and people idealise their simple lifestyles. Which consists of entertaining, eating, partying, exploring, eating some more and drinking. It's the essence of everything, those simple tasks, and I try my very hardest not to forget it, even when I'm tangled up in books, HTML coding and working. So, in the spirit of this ideal, the wonderful people over at 'The Hobbit Second Breakfast' had this idea, to get together at work, or at home, or out with friends and people and enjoy ten minutes, enjoying something that you have made. Well obviously it's past 11am sharp so the invitation is a little out of date, but I love the image!

I knew that I was going to make something for the occasion, it just happened that a very good friend of mine had requested some vegan cupcakes from me a few days ago, so it tied in quite nicely. Now i'm not vegan myself, so I've never really needed to bake vegan cakes before, so I was a little concerned at how the cakes would come out. I really didn't need to worry, they really aren't difficult. As I'm still riding my pride-train I thought I would write a little about it! 

Now, I did study for a few hours before I made them, to see the effects that different fats and methods had on the end product (which is, useful in any recipe, but more so here!). There is SO MUCH information out there for vegan cakes. I was literally going around in circles trying to find some half decent information that was just straightforward. I did find some little gems on Vegan awareness sites, but it kept getting tangled up animal rights arguments, and I wasn't there to read about that. I was there to read about cooking and nothing more. So iIve sifted through a lot of the controversy to give you a recipe that you can use, if you're vegan, if you have vegan friends, or if you just want to try something a little different from the rich, buttery sponges you normally get. I only needed a small amount for the commission, so this is a relatively small batch, making only six cupcakes! There are two different flavours, so go to town if you like, they're very easy! I must apologise in advance, I made entirely by eye, following the basic rules of baking, so it is in cups rather then grams *shudder*. Looking back this was a stupid decision, as I always work with scales, but it worked so I'm not going to mess.

Jess' Vegan Cupcakes

Makes 6 lovely little cupcakes

3/4 cup self-raising flour

1/2 cup caster sugar, plus maybe a little extra

Just under 1/4 cup sunflower oil

Zest and juice of 1 lemon (do I need to say unwaxed? Nobody likes eating wax!)

1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

1 heaped tablespoon cocoa powder (good cocoa!)

Vanilla extract

Small carton of plain soya single cream/milk (I used cream!)

1 tub of vegan cream cheese

Salt

Decorations of choice

Optional: Gianduja bombs

- Preheat your oven to 170C regular oven/150C fan oven/gas mark 3.
- It really is a very simple mixture, sieve the flour, a pinch of salt, and just over half the sugar into a bowl. Add the 2 tsp vanilla, vinegar and oil and mix until it's a thick paste. 
- Split the mixture into two bowls, add half the zest and juice to the one mixture, and half the cocoa to the other half. 
- This is the bit where you have to sort of play it by sight, the batter needs to be runny, but not completely liquid-sloshy sort of thing. Add some soya cream to the chocolate half first, you'll need a little more in this half. And keep adding it until you get the runny batter. Then do the same with the lemon half. 
- Pour into cupcake cases (if you're using the Gianduja bombs push them into the middle of the chocolate cakes!) and bake for roughly 20-25 minutes. Keep an eye on them though! They won't rise straight away, they will rise gradually over the course of the cooking time, unlike regular sponges. Don't be disheartened if they don't rise straight away like I did, they will, have faith! 
- Do the regular skewer test to make sure they're cooked all the way through (don't forget to skewer the edges of the chocolate cakes as they have truffles in the middle!) and leave them to cool a little. 
- Skewer a few extra holes in the lemon ones, mix a little of the left-over lemon juice with as much or as little sugar as you life, and spoon over the lemon cakes. 

- To make the icing is simple. Soften the vegan cream cheese with the back of a spoon, add 1 tsp vanilla, the rest of the sugar (you may have to taste to get the proportions just right, I'm a bit approximate) and split it into two bowls. - Add the rest of the cocoa powder to the one half, and whatever lemon zest you have left. You will have to add a little lemon juice to get it super lemony, but don't over-do it. It'll be too runny!
- Give a reasonably thick layer to the top and flatten it (you can pipe it, but it is a bit of a pain), then decorate it however you like. I went for chocolate buttons and sugar stars for simplicity. But go nuts.

And Voila! Really light, tasty cupcakes with very little effort! If you're curious, the Gianduja (jahn-DOO-yuh if you're feeling Italian, zhahn-DOO-yuh if you're feeling British) bombs I bought are from Hotel Chocolat and are 70% dark chocolates filled with an incredibly smooth praline paste. They are absolutely gorgeous, and if you haven't tried them before I highly highly recommended it! 

But there you have it, a simple recipe for Vegan cupcakes, useful to have around, just in case there is someone who is lactose intolerant, allergic to eggs or...is Vegan I guess. Enjoy, my Hobbits of the world

Peace

JR

The Wanderer Has Returned

The wanderer has returned from a saunter around Europe! I am full of both vitality and sadness in equal tow.

Just a little background, I have been away for six weeks altogether, and I have visited ten countries, and sixteen cities in that time. I have eaten and witnessed so many cuisines across Europe that I don't even know where to start, so chances are you'll be reading through one of my future posts and hearing "This one time, in Slovenia..." and so on. Minus the flute. Well, I sat at my laptop for several hours over the past few days and have written nothing but babble and tat (I am aware that this is still leaking into my writing today) but I'm still getting back into the swing of things, so bear with me while I remember how to tie my apron strings.

There was many a time when I thought "I really must make this when I get home", but alas, there were so many things it has formed a bit of a backlog of tryouts in my brain. That's the problem with inspiration, it can be so very inconvenient. To help separate my thoughts I went back to my usuals, Tastespotting, Foodgawker, Allrecipes and Pinterest, but I decided sod it (I didn't say sod, but for the purpose of politeness I'm going to say I did). And I left for the kitchen. I made something incredibly simple. Porridge, that's all I made, handful of oats, a few glugs of water, a few glugs of milk, raisins, bananas and brown sugar. And I was so happy to be home for that minute. Apparently, oats haven't crossed the channel to the mainland in a big way, and I really did miss the taste.

I know it doesn't seem like much right now. But hey, I'm a normal person, I don't always want to freeze ice cream in the shape of a train and I don't have the patience, or skill, to make cake pops. When I want cake, I want a lump of something that resembles a cake, and tastes amazing. And that's it. Sometimes with a little bell and maybe a few whistles.

Peace

JR

Shiny Happy Cashews

I love flicking through cookbooks, it really is one of my favourite past times, it may sound really depressing, but it's really quite inspiring. It's my version of leafing breezily through a chick mag...or porn, depending on how sordid your life is. I have a few favourites that I've learnt the basics from; Pastry from Michel Roux, comfort food from James Martin, and all the classic British-ness from Constance Spry's giant brick and the good ol' Delia collection. Yet, no matter how many times I peruse those well-battered pages, I still manage to get myself into a bit of an excitement at the thought of buying a new bit of cooking equipment recommended by the authors.

I will readily admit that I am so easily led by kitchenware suggestions in cookbooks. I'm not sure if it's just the idea of a new toy to play with, or whether I like to think that i'm more adventurous then I actually am. Either way I just watch myself as if my consciousness and common sense were removed from the scene and i'm witnessing a comedic, gullable character ponder over how much I really need a knife shaped like a hand so I can karate-chop my vegetables (yes, it really >exists<). 

This whole thing stemmed from this crappy weather in England at the moment. Because it's been raining so damn much I can't do the normal summery events, like frolicking in fields of daisies - my back garden - or have a barbecue. Thus I have been resigned to sitting in my window reading cookbooks all day, catching the brief glimpses of sunshine between the parting clouds and hoarding the vitamin D like a bear scoffing salmon, ready for a winter of hibernation. So because of this, I've had a lot of time on my hands to read. 


I'm sorry, I'm getting distracted here! Back to the post for today. Seeing as it has been raining, and it has been really muggy and humid, my appetite has pretty much entirely gone. The only thing I've really wanted is cashew nuts, a cashew nut that's had something special done to it. A warning, from henceforth there will be a lot of talk of my nuts. I dare you to keep a straight face...

Shiny Honey Cashews

2 handfuls nuts/about 400g (I used cashews because they're awesome, but pecans, hazelnuts...whatever, they all work)

160g (ish) sugar

1 tblsp honey

80ml (ish) water

- Put the honey, sugar and water into a pan and heat until it starts to gently boil on the hob (not too high on the heat!), this'll take about two or three minutes maximum. Make sure it's not too runny and the liquid has reduced slightly. The first time I made these I put it in too early and my nuts almost got scorched after a too lengthy cooking.
- Stir in the nuts and stir them constantly for about five minutes, until the water has all evaporated off and the nuts are covered in thick honey goo.
-When it looks sorta like caramel you're sorted, pour them out onto a covered baking sheet and spread them apart from each other pretty pronto, the caramel will be completely cold in about 3 minutes and you'll have to snap them apart (doesn't make them taste any different, they just become a little...spiky?)
- Let them cool.
- Scoff.

This recipe is really easy, it just required a little attention, you really do have to look after it otherwise it'll burn. It's also quite versatile, you can add spices to the mixture at the start, cinnamon works particularly well, a good pinch of cayenne does too. I hope you enjoy them! I'm wishing for sunshine for the whole UK so I can get a little more creative.

Peace

JR