Posts Tagged With: vegan christmas

Vegan Festive Flapjack – Cranberry, Walnuts and Oats (Gluten-free)

Posted on December 5, 2019 by leroy watson

Vegan Cranberry and Walnut Flapjack – Sweet and super easy (Gluten-free)

Fruity and nutty. Sweet and super easy. Just the way we want them!

This is my alter ego flapjack, with a festive twist and even healthy. Lower in sugar and using cold-pressed oil, packed with seeds, nuts and cranberries. Also gluten-free!

Something sweet and simple for festive time! The kitchen is a busy place at this time of year and we all need a quick flapjack recipe up our Xmas sleeves. Last minute party call, these are a great go-to tray baker. The ingredients are easy to find, you’ve probably got them tucked away in the kitchen already. Two bowls, one tray, hot oven…job done.

Blending up the oats, nuts and seeds here makes for a rich and very nutritious flour. The chia seeds help to bind things together nicely and add a little texture and crunch. These flapjacks are nice with almonds, and a touch of almond extract, you can use any mix of nuts and seeds you like really. Flapjacks forgive.

Gluten-free, vegan sweet treats for Christmas. Everyone can enjoy!

One thing we Brits know our way around is a flapjack. Is that right? My childhood was built around their sturdy sweet sustenance. They seemed to be everywhere when I was a kid, every relative made their own brand/ ballast, every school fair would see tents filled with them, golden syrup sales were through the roof in the 80’s. Sugar was on a high! You needed a strong jaw and commitment back then to get through most baked goods.

I admit to being sick of the sight of them by age 12. I find your average joe flapjacks way too sweet and regularly, boring (like a brick). So I thought I’d revisit this sweet spot. These are lighter. I’ve added much less sugar than normal. They get their sweetness from the cranberries and a touch of cranberry sauce, which gives them a little extra fruitiness. They are rich, with the oat and nut flour and cold-pressed rapeseed oil.

Flying Flapjacks

Wintertime in Wales is a precarious time for foodie photos. It’s dark in mid-afternoon and there are some fiesty winds and driving rain outdoors. What to do?! These flapjacks nearly ended up in Dawn’s garden (neighbour), the wind whipped the bread board out of my hand. I managed to get some decent light by the kitchen window. I’ve also got this new I-phone thing that has some pretty cool settings, makes everything look good!! It’s not easy being a caveman in a modern world.

I quite like them dusted with some more cinnamon, or a pumpkin pie style spice mix is ace too

Celebrate Cake

Let’s face the cake facts. You can’t just have one at Christmas time, you need a long and healthy line of varieties, a cake for each time of day. I’d tuck into this at ‘elevenses’ (or ‘merienda’, I was raised in the Philippines you see, it means a snack between meals. It also means the same in Italy, Latin America and Croatia. I love the world. We all love cake.)

This would be an excellent kid diversion, when they’re needing something to keep from running wild. You can’t really go wrong with them. Flapjacks are a bit of fun really!! Served warm with custard or ice cream and it even ventures into the realm of dessert.

These are fill your boots flapjacks!

Recipe Notes

Most of us have cranberry sauce kicking about the kitchen at this time of year, if not, use another jam or preserve.

Baking in a tin, as opposed to a tray, means that your flapjack gets a good bake and the top doesn’t burn (which happens). If you’re using a tray, just keep your eye on it.

Add 1 heaped teaspoon of orange zest to take these onto another level.

Festive Flapjacks – The ones that escaped the storm

Vegan Festive Flapjacks – Cranberry, Walnuts and Oats (Gluten-free)

The Bits – For 6 large slices, 12 small

Dry

150g jumbo oats (gluten-free)

50g walnuts

50g sunflower seeds

25g chia seeds

1 teas ground cinnamon

Wet

75g brown sugar

50ml plant-based milk (g.f.)

100ml cold-pressed rapeseed oil (or other cold-pressed oil)

2 tbs cranberry sauce

75g dried cranberries

Do It

Preheat a fan oven to 180oC.

In a bowl, mix together your dry bits, crushing the walnuts up in your hands, making smaller pieces.

Measure your wet bits in a measuring jug, mixing them together.

Place 75g of your dry mix into a blender and blitz until it’s broken down, looking like flour. Add back to your bowl.

Mix the wet into the dry, until all is nicely combined. Then add the dried cranberries.

Line a large loaf tin with baking parchment, scoop in your mix and pack it into the corners, smooth off the top. Nice and neatly does it.

Place in the oven for 25 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the edges are nice and crispy.

Leave to cool a little in the tin. Ideally served warm with custard or ice cream, also nice cool with a cuppa.

Packed with nuts and seeds. Hearty and healthy(er)

Foodie Fact

Chia seeds are outrageously healthy! We add them to many dishes. Part of the mint family, these little blockbuster seeds are packed with protein (good balance of amino acids), fibre, omega-3 fats and are loaded up with anti-oxidants and minerals.

They were celebrated by many ancient cultures, the Mayan word for strength is actually ‘chia’!!

We’ll have more vegan Christmas recipes coming soon, SIGN UP to our newsletter her and get all the BHK action

Categories: Baking, Cakes, Desserts, gluten-free, healthy, Nutrition, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Vegan, Wales, Winter | Tags: christmas, vegan christmas | 3 Comments

Shallot and Red Wine Gravy – Vegan, Gluten-free

Posted on December 21, 2018 by leroy watson

All you need now are some roast spuds and your favourite people!!

A rich, dark vegan gravy that everyone will enjoy.

Being a vegan, or just trying out more plant-based recipes, opens a doorway into new flavours and techniques. Making this gravy is simple and really flavourful, it’s actually not that different from making other gravies really.

We all like our gravy in different ways, taste it at the end, add more balsamic, jam, salt or yeast extract (marmite), depending on the balance of flavours you prefer. If you can’t get your hands on shallots, a white or red onion will also be fine.

Shallot and Red Wine Gravy – Vegan, Gluten-free, Low-fat

Proper gravy for a proper roast dinner

Making your own gravy is an essential part of any roast dinner, for me, it’s a ritual. I love making gravy, packing all those big flavours into one little pot.

Gravy has always been one of my favourite things about a proper Sunday roast, I also like mashed swede (very important addition) and crispy roast potatoes. Yorkshire puddings are also well up there. In fact, let’s face it, is there a less than awesome part of a roast, when done well?

We’re having this gravy with our Portobello Mushroom Wellington with Toasted Walnut and Rosemary Stuffing, Christmas dinner 2018 sorted.

This deep and rich gravy will go perfectly with any Sunday roast. There are so many vegan centrepieces nowadays for a Sunday roast style dinner, we don’t just have to toss a coin between nut roast or Wellington. Sometimes I feel like experimenting with a roast dinner, playing with flavours, adding spices, getting a bit cheeky. Other times, I’m a staunch traditionalist. I’m happily contrary like that.

Such is my commitment to the Beach House Kitchen, I took these pictures out in the garden in fading winter light, in the rain and wind. Wrapped in a poncho. I’m actually surprised at how normal they look whilst trees were bending and the wind was howling. Got away with it! There’s good light today. I just had to share this post before Crimbo, gravy is important!!

I’ve said it many times, there are absolutely no down-sides to going vegan, you can live deliciously, any time of year!

Recipe Notes

Gravy is, of course, always best served piping hot, a tip is to pour boiling water from a kettle into your gravy boat/ jug before filling with gravy.

Taste your vegetable stock before adding to the soup, it’s important it’s not too strong or too weak. Just right!

If you feel that the gravy is lacking flavour, add a pinch of salt. It’s amazing the difference one or two pinches of salt can make!

Gluten-free version – opt for gluten-free cornflour, yeast extract, wine, and vegetable stock. Always check the labels.

Tasty and Rich Vegan Gravy

Shallot and Red Wine Gravy – Vegan, Gluten-free

The Bits – For 4-6

3-4 large shallots or 1 large onions (sliced)
1 large carrot (sliced)
1 stick celery (sliced)
1 large sprig fresh rosemary
2 big bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme

100g chestnut mushroom or 1 big portobello mushroom (chopped)
175ml vegan red wine
1 ½ -2 tbs dark cherry jam, cranberry sauce or blackberry jam

2 teas g.f. yeast extract
2 tbs g.f. cornflour
1 tbs tomato puree
1 ½ tbs balsamic vinegar

700ml vegetable stock

Cooking oil (I use cold pressed rapeseed oil)

Do It
In a large saucepan, over a medium heat, add 1 tbs cooking oil, then the shallots, celery and carrot, plus the fresh herbs and bay leaves. Cook slowly for 20-25 minutes, until the shallots are golden, stirring regularly.

Mix your cornflour with a few tablespoons of water, until it becomes smooth.

Add the mushrooms, wine and jam to the pan, stir and cook for 3 minutes, making sure your scrape up all the caramelized bits on the bottom of the pan (great flavour there!!).

Then add the tomato puree, vinegar and yeast extract, cook and stir for a minute, then slowly add the vegetable stock. Pour in the cornflour, whilst stirring, and bring to a boil. No lower the heat, simmering gently for 20 minutes.

Pass it through a sieve into another pan or bowl, using a spoon to squeeze out all the precious flavours.

Taste and season with salt if needed. Serve hot with your favourite roast dinner of Christmas feast.

Loads of big flavours in one little boat, totally plant-based gravy!!

Foodie Fact

Shallots are long and slender members of the allium family, along with onions and garlic. They generally have a lighter flavour than onions and I find them perfect for roasting in a tin.

They are more nutritious than onions, high in vitamin A and not bad for vitamin C. Shallots contain good amounts of minerals like iron, calcium and copper.

They also contain a chemical called Allicin, which is basically anti-bacterial anit-viral and good for the heart and can even help prevent cancer.

Categories: gluten-free, healthy, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Sauces, Vegan, veganism, Winter | Tags: low fat, vegan christmas, vegan gravy recipe | 4 Comments

Festive Chocolate and Orange Brownie Cake with Mulled Berries – Vegan

Posted on December 19, 2018 by leroy watson

A very rich and chocolatey slice of happiness, perfect for Crimbo

I fancied something different this Christmas for dessert.

I wanted the flavours, the spice, the mulled fruits, the richness, but all mingling together in a different way. So I wrapped them up in a big brownie, with lots of chocolate. It just seemed like the right thing to do!

This is a decadent brownie cake, very rich, with lovely taste explosions coming from the mulled berries. Best served warm with vanilla ice cream I’ve found, or whipped coconut cream is also very special. Plus, it’s a big brownie, so it’s easy to make.

You could use any dried fruit really in this recipe, but I prefer, and if you can get them, dried cherries, blueberries or the classic cranberry. If you don’t drink alcohol, you can cook the berries in orange/ cranberry juice or non-alcoholic wine.

I have cooked the mulled berries with a few cloves, star anise and cinnamon. But I found that it was a fiddle trying to pick out all the spices, they do add some flavour, but we’re just cooking the berries quickly and there is plenty of cinnamon in the cake. But, by all means, add the spices.

I love the way cinnamon seems to blend and deepen the the flavour of the dark chocolate. As a cook, I find myself naturally drawn to flavour combinations, sometimes I have to resist, in order to try something new. Cinnamon, orange and dark chocolate is special trinity of good things in my eyes.

Festive Chocolate and Orange Brownie Cake with Mulled Berries – Vegan

I do like a Christmas pudding and I’ve always loved Christmas cake. Mum used to bake it in early December and I remember the whole house filled with those beautiful, spicy cake aromas. But they’ve very much like Christmas pop songs, I don’t mind them once or twice in a year, but anymore makes me feel a bit sickly (see my post on Alternative Christmas songs here ). But this brownie cake, I’d happily tuck into in the roasting heart of August. It also makes the house smell pretty damn good too.

Jane was a big fan of Terry’s chocolate orange, so I have added a twist of orange here. It’s a match made in lapland or maybe the Swiss Alps!? Now Terry’s is off the menu, I go for a very dark chocolate flavoured with orange, there are some awesome bars out there. If only they made them in little globes with segments. That’s where all the fun is. The idea as a kid that chocolate oranges could maybe grow on trees just made Christmas even better.

The thing about cooking at Christmas is preparation. Cook things well in advance and have a plan. I’ll be posting some Christmas cooking tips and a full cooking plan in the next couple of days. However, I think this brownie is best served warm, recently taken from the oven. Leave it to the day, along with your veggies.

I hope you love this recipe and it woo’s and yum’s the whole family, and all your friends and neighbours and people at work. Who doesn’t love chocolate cake (actually, one of our bestest buds doesn’t like chocolate cake, but generally speaking, it’s a HIT!) If Christmas is not your cup of tea, or it’s a hard time of year for you, cake is never a bad thing right!

We send you all our love and good vibes at this time of year, a time to eat, drink and snooze by a fire.

Have magical and delicious Festive Time 2018!

Any questions or comments? They are very welcome down the bottom there in the comments. Drops us a chat or just say hello.

If you’re looking for a delicious Christmas centre piece, here’s what we’re having this year (plus recipe):

Portobello Mushroom Wellington with Toasted Walnut and Rosemary Stuffing

Recipe Notes

You might like to decorate it with dried orange slices, I’ve added the method below. They also make for nice decorations.

If you’d like to go very decadent (steady!!), I’ve also added a link to my quick chocolate sauce recipe below, which is ideal for a chocoholic, maybe a little brandy could sneak in there too.

I do mention this below, but please don’t overbake this.

If you’re wondering where to get vegan cream or ice cream, you’ll find it in most supermarkets now, and supporting your local health food shop is a wonderful thing too. They’ll have it.

I know what you may be thinking, that’s a lot of chocolate. It’s Christmas!!!

Just add cream or ice cream….

Festive Chocolate & Orange Brownie Cake with Mulled Berries

The Bits – For 12-14 slices

175g plain flour

175g light brown sugar

1 ½ teas baking powder

20g or 3 heaped tbs cacao/ cocoa

1 ½ teas ground cinnamon

Large pinch sea salt

150g dark vegan chocolate

100ml cold pressed rapeseed/ sunflower oil

1 ½ teas vanilla extract

1 medium orange (zest)

200ml plant milk, I used soya milk

Mulled Berries

150g dried fruits, I use cranberries, cherries or blueberries, or a mixture

3 slices orange

60ml brandy/ whiskey

Optional Spices – 4 cloves, 1 star anise, 1/2 stick cinnamon

Decoration

Dried/ fresh orange slices

Icing sugar

Dried cranberries/ cherries or fresh berries like raspberries/ strawberries

Fresh rosemary sprigs

Do It

Boil a kettle. Preheat a fan oven to 180oC. Grease and line a large round cake tin (23cm) with oil and baking parchment.

Mulled Berries – Place your dried fruits into a small saucepan, pour over the brandy, squeeze the juice out of the orange slices and toss them in too. Bring to a boil and leave to simmer for 3 minutes. The berries should absorb almost all of the brandy. Set aside to cool. Remove the orange slices and any orange pips.

Break your chocolate into a bowl, pour the boiled kettle water into a small pan, place the bowl on top and gently warm the chocolate. Stirring regularly until it’s melted. Don’t let the base of the bowl touch the boiling water when cooking. Set aside to cool a little.

Place the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cocoa, sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl, mix well together.

In a bowl/ measuring jug, stir together the oil, soya milk and vanilla extract and then pour this into the bowl of dry ingredients, along with the cooled melted chocolate. Finally add the mulled fruits (with any leftover brandy) and orange zest, fold into the mix. Don’t over mix, just until it’s all combined. Pour the mixture into the tin, fashion a level top, and place in the oven.

Bake for 18 – 25 minutes, depending on your oven. Don’t over bake, it should still be a little gooey in the middle when you test it with a skewer. The brownie cake is ready when a light crust has formed over the whole cake.

Leave to cool in the tin, then decorate as you like. Nice and festive!

Best served warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Orange slices – Place 6 orange slices onto a wire/ cooling rack and into a low oven (120oC). Cook for 1 hour or more, until they have dried out nicely.

Can also be served with 2-minute Chocolate Sauce Recipe

Foodie Fact

It’s Christmas, I’m going to leave out the healthy Foodie Fact this time around. But, I’ll just say this, cinnamon is very high in calcium! Also a good source of iron. And this, cinnamon has been used medicinally for thousand years, it is an AMAZING source of anti-oxidants.

Winter is the perfect time of year to get your cinnamon oooon! We love cinnamon tea and it’s so versatile, add it to smoothies, soups and stews. The next time you cook rice, pop a cinammon stick or some cinnamon bark into the pot. Lovely sweet and warming flavours.

Festive Brownie Cake, a BIG part of our Christmas Lunch menu 2018 in the Beach House Kitchen

Categories: Cakes, Desserts, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Special Occasion, Vegan, veganism, Wales, Winter | Tags: christmas, recipe, vegan christmas, vegan cooking | 1 Comment

Parsnip, Cranberry & Chestnut Roast

Posted on December 12, 2017 by leroy watson

We all need a good nut roast up our festive sleeves!! This is a tasty centre piece with all the flavours of Christmas, that won’t take an age to cook. It is also remarkably healthy, but we won’t dwell on that, after all, it’s nearly Christmas, time to feast and be merry!!

I’m sharing this one on the fly, its a busy time of year in the BHK! As I’m sure it is in your home. I took this picture whilst cooking for lovely people at the weekend, I haven’t had anytime for blogging of late, but this recipe is one we’re enjoying and lets face it, us vegans need a nut roast to lean on (then gobble) at this time of year!

I did a little poll recently in the BHK Vegan Cooking Group, asking what was the stand out vegan dish for Christmas lunch and Nut Roast ruled. 1st by quite a bit. I was a little surprised, I love nut roasts, but many people have nightmare stories about bland, crumbly roasts, which is the last thing we want when we are mid Xmas feast.

This is a substantial nut roast (aren’t they all!?), with a nice layer of roasted parsnips in the centre. It cuts nicely into slices and I like the idea of glazing things at this time of year. Makes it extra special and gives it an attractive finish.

I served it with full trimmings at the weekend, roasted Parmesan sprouts, mash, proper gravy, roast squash and swede, a few types of kale and a little red onion and parnsip tart tatin thrown in. It was snowing outside and Snowdonia was looking like a winter wonderland. The perfect Christmas scene.

Let us know if you make this roast, it would make our week! I’m heading off to Spain for Christmas and New Year very soon and Jane is having a nice quiet time with family, then an even quieter time at a silent meditation retreat;) We hope you have a wonderful festive time and get right into the Xmas groove. Have fun. jingle bells and spread the love:)

Merry Christmas everyone!!X

Recipe Notes

If you have some leftover mix, this would make awesome burgers. Festive burger twist? Why not!

Don’t dig parnsips. That’s cool, any root veg will be fine here, something like carrot or squash would be great. Nice colours too.

Walnuts are great in these dishes, they break down nicely, adding flavour and texture. You might prefer hazelnuts, which are also very delicious here.

Just use gluten-free breadcrumbs to make this a GF treat.

———–

Parsnip, Cranberry & Chestnut Roast

The Bits – For 4-6

2 medium onions (skin on and quartered)

300g/ 2 largish parsnips

1 head garlic

2 tbs rapeseed oil

200g chestnuts

100g breadcrumbs (g.f.)

100g toasted walnuts

3 teas dijon mustard

2 teas dried sage

1 teas dried rosemary

1/2 teas cinnamon

2 tbs ground flax (mixed with 7 tbs water)

4 tbs Cranberry Sauce

Serve

8 tbs cranberry sauce

2 tbs whiskey/ brandy or water

Fresh thyme leaves

Do It

Slice the thick end of your parsnips into thin discs, with a few smaller discs from the thinner end. This will be used for decorating the top of our roast. Cut the rest into thin batons.

Preheat an oven to 190oC. Trim the top of the garlic off to slightly expose the cloves. On a baking tray, toss the onion, garlic and parsnip batons (set aside the thin slices) in oil and a little salt. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until all is soft and caramelised nicely. The onion may need a little longer to go nice and soft. Leave to cool and pop the roasted garlic cloves from their skins. Remove any skin and roughly chop the onion into small chunks, keep enough parsnip batons for a decent layer in the middle of your roast, chop the rest up.

Pulse the chestnuts and walnuts into a rough crumb in a food processor. Place in a bowl and mix in the roasted onions, chopped parsnips and garlic, herbs, breadcrumbs, mustard, cinnamon, cranberry sauce, flax egg, salt and pepper. Mash together well and taste to check seasoning. Remember that flavours will develop when cooked. If it’s a little lumpy, that’s fine!

Line and oil a 900g/ large loaf tin with baking parchment, lay out your parsnip discs until they cover the base of your tin. Arrange them nicely, this will be the top of your roast. Spoon in half the chestnut mix, press down snuggly and level out with the back of a spoon. Arrange a layer of parsnips batons, press down a little until snug and spoon over the rest of your chestnut mix. Smooth and press down evenly to make a nice neat finish.

Cover with foil or baking parchment and bake for 45 minutes, then take off the foil and bake for a further 15 minutes. There should be a nice brown crust. Leave to cool for 15 minutes in tin before turning gently out onto a serving plate and again, leave for 10 minutes before slicing. Makes it easier and slices stay together.

In a small pan, mix together the cranberry sauce and whiskey, bring to a boil and simmer for 1 minutes. Keep warm. Glaze the top of your roast with the cranberry sauce and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves.

Looking for a quick and easy Christmas dessert?

Why not try this Spiced Apple & Pecan Tart. Follow the Apple Tart recipe in Peace & Parsnips, adding some spices to the marmalade, cloves, star anise, cinnamon and maybe a few shots of whiskey/ brandy. Top it all off with chopped roasted pecans.