Pumpkin curry pie

Pumpkin curry pie

LOVE pumpkin pie. LOVE curry. LOVE pumpkin - Only once a year do they sell them. No more explanation needed. Also - you can carve the pumpkin, and roast the seeds (in oven with a bit of salt, pepper and garlic - yum!)

Ingredients:

Insides of one pumpkin

1 butternut squash

1 pepper

4 carrots

2 onions

1 packet cashews

1 can coconut milk

1 vegetable stock cube or equivalent

Spices (to taste): rosemary, garlic, cumin, coriander, curry powder (1-2 tbsp)

Your basic pie crust (double the flour to butter):

- 1½ cups flour

- ½- ¾ cups vegan butter/margarine

- 1/3 cup water (or however until mixture isn’t too dry/wet and sticks together)

1. Carve out the pumpkin and remove the seeds (for your own roasting pleasure). Leave the gooey insides to a side.

2. Chop up the rest of the veg - put in a pot and cook until softens. Add the pumpkin fillings.  

3. Make pie crust: mash flour and butter (along with cinnamon if using) together until cannot do so anymore with a knife. Then use the very tips of your fingers to mix the rest in until like breadcrumbs. Add water and mix, roll into a ball.

4. Get your shortcrust pastry ball and split into two pieces (so that one is twice the size of the other). Roll into a circle and place on pie tray/9 inch baking tray. Roll the other into a circle too.

5. Add your curry mix into the bottom pie crust. Place circular top crust on top and secure at edges by pressing down the edge of a fork. Prick at top with fork. Bake for ~30mins at 180 ̊or until crust browns a bit.

Also my puppy LOVES Autumn leaves.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with a cheesecakey crumble base

Red Velvet Cupcakes with a cheesecakey crumble base

Our Spanish friends have moved to Ireland and now that they have settled somewhat we were invited for dinner. I offered to make the dessert.

I was in the mood for something cheesecakey,.. something vanilla like (I love vanilla). Something that uses ingredients I have here and don’t have to go to the shop for (like tofu, which I would have to).

So why not give cupcakes a lovely crumbly soft biscuit base, infused with maple syrup?

Ingredients:

Cupcake: 1½ cups self raising flour 1 cup sugar ¾ cup soya milk/water ½ cup oil 1 tsp vanilla essence 1 tbsp vinegar Red food colouring (to the redness you like!)

Base: 1/2 packet biscuits crushed (we used Oaties - basically like Hobnobs) 1.5 tbsp butter 1 ¼ tbsp maple syrup (or golden syrup)

Makes 12 cupcakes.

1. Make the base: crush the biscuits. Then add the butter and golden syrup.

Grease the cupcake cases. Put the base mix into them and press it evenly on the bottom.

2. Mix the wet ingredients, mix the dry ingredients,. Mix two sets together. (or mix the wet, add the two dry ingredients in together then). Split the mixture into two different bowls.

Pour atop the base in the cupcake cases.

Bake at 180° C until toothpick comes out clean.

Top with vanilla icing (vanilla essence + icing sugar + butter mixed together).

Yum yum yum. 

Marinated Tofu in Pastry Floret Cups

Marinated Tofu in Pastry Floret Cups

Another recipe from our dinner party there the other night

(as was Vegan Bailey’s‘Cheesecake’)

Ingredients

Approx. 330g firm tofu Filo pastry 6 slices cucumber 1/3 carrot: very thinly sliced (see picture) 1 spring onion finely chopped Marinade (overall about 1 cup): 1/3 cup sesame oil 2 tbsp paprika 1½  tsp soy sauce 1 tbsp each of: cumin, thyme, garam masala 1 vegetable stock cube

Sauces: 1 pea size drop Wasabi paste 2 spoons houmous 1/3 cup dairy free cream 1 tsp chopped mint (or dried) 2 tsp chopped dill (or dried) 1 tsp garlic powder

Tofu:

1. Cut up tofu into pieces about 2.5cm squares and 1cm thick (or however big you want them depending on the size you want your cups). Put into a box or other container.

Mix up the marinade ingredients mentioned above and pour over the tofu. Leave overnight.

2. Take the tofu out and fry it gently on a medium heat until it browns. 

For pastry cups:

1. Preheat oven to 200°. Pregrease a cuptake tray and cupcake liners.

2. Cut filo sheets into squares about 10cm squared (or however big you want it).

For each cup cut 4 squares. Put one square on top of a second one, and do the same with the last two squares (so you have two squares overall each is 2 sheets thick).

3. Overlay them at angles to each other. Coat them in some melted (dairy free) butter.

Put in oven until slightly browned.

Make the sauces:

1. For first one: mix the houmous and wasabi paste.

2. For second one: mix the cream, mint, dill and garlic powder.

Arrange:

1. Once the pastry cups have cooled, remove the cupcake liner off them.

Put about 1-2 tbsp of the creamy minty sauce into the bottom of each cup. Place the tofu squares on top.

2.Cut a small triangle out of the cucumber slices. Put the cucumber on top of the tofu squares and cover with a good dollop (about 1tsbp) of the houmousy sauce.

3. Place the thinly sliced carrot pieces in as shown.Sprinkle the finely chopped spring onion.

(Sprinkle some sesame seeds on if you wish too, I’d say would be nice)

Vegan Bailey’s ‘Cheesecake’

Vegan Bailey’s ‘Cheesecake’

I’ve wanted to make this for ages, especially as you see it so much in cafes here in Ireland!

So as we were having a fancy dinner party, finally my excuse to take some time out of my study schedule to cook again! (Conor’s been so good to me - he’s been doing most of the cooking in the house as I’m so busy)
This recipe is based off our previous creamy 'cheesecake' like cakes: Lemon Macaroon Cream Pie 
and Strawberry Tofu 'Cheesecake' 
(and was served at the same dinner party as Marinated Tofu in Pastry Floret Cups)

Baileys: 3/4 cup whiskey 2 cans coconut milk 1.5 tbsp instant coffee  (mixed with a little hot water) or about 3/4 cup strong coffee 1/2 cup brown sugar Base 1 packet biscuits crushed (we used Oaties - basically like Hobnobs) 3tbsp butter 2.5 tbsp golden syrup

Filling: 6tbsp cornflour 1/4 cup whiskey 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 block firm tofu (I guess you could use silken, but this works better for me I’ve found) 1/4 cup oil 1 tbsp vanilla essence

Makes 2 cakes: (so half it if you want one!)

1. Make the “Baileys”: put all the ingredients except the whiskey in a pot, then boil off for about 15 minutes until it thickens to a more cream like consistency (if you happen to get the thick ones from Aldi it won’t take long)

2. Preheat oven to 200°. Make the base: crush the biscuits. Then add the butter and golden syrup.

Line a cake tin with baking paper and grease it. Put the base mix into it and press it evenly on the bottom. Put in the oven for about 15mins. (it may harden in the oven or when you take it out and let it cool. If it doesn’t harden when it cools, put it in again at 5-10min intervals until it does)

3. Make the filling: put all the ingredients in a blender. Add 3/4 of the bailey’s mix to the blender mix- keep the rest for yourself ;) Pour the mixture in the blender over the cooled base.

4. Put in oven for about 30 mins or until very very slightly browned.

If I was to make it again though I’d probably just add the ‘Baileys’ ingredients directly to the filling… So this recipe may be getting an update sometime ! :)