Alex and Arthur: recipes
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts

Wednesday, 10 April 2013

Granola. It's.....GREAT!



Since I haven’t posted a recipe in a while, I figured I share one of my favourite breakfast recipes: Granola!  This recipe is for a coconut granola base and you can add goodies to it after. The recipe is pretty forgiving so you can even change up some of the ingredients in the base.
 
Ingredients:

  • 4 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats
  • ½ cup of chopped almonds (or another nut of your choosing.  Pecans, walnuts…the choice is yours)
  • 1 cup of shredded unsweetened coconut
  • ¼ cup of honey
  • ¼ cup of packed brown sugar for convenience but I normally use a mixture of molasses and coconut sugar.
  • 2 tblsp of coconut oil (you can use a different type if you don’t have coconut.  Vegetable perhaps)
  • 2 tblsps of real maple syrup (the last time I made this I didn’t have any so I used agave but you could just use more honey)
  • 1 ½ tsps of vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp of cinnamon (or to taste – I usually add more)

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees         
Combine dry ingredients (oats, nuts, and coconut in a bowl).
Combine honey, sugar, oil, maple syrup, and cinnamon in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and add vanilla extract.  Stir
Combine dry mixture with syrup and mix.

Place your granola on a shallow baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.  You’ll need to stir the mixture occasionally or it’ll burn.  I tried leaving it for 10 minutes without stirring and that’s max.  Try mixing every 7-8 minutes.

Take out of the oven.  Cool and then enjoy.

You can add all sorts of delicious goodies to your granola.  Some of the things I've added (after cooking) are: bran buds, pepitas, sunflower seeds, flax or chia seeds, dried fruit, chocolate chunks, the SKY'S THE LIMIT!


Since I don't have a picture of the granola to share with you, and because my blog has been lacking some Arthur, here's a picture of my handsome fellow perched on my shoulder like a parrot.  He likes to climb all over me when we're in the car.


Happy Baking!

Alex & Arthur

Monday, 30 July 2012

Getting My Rapunzel On

The movie Tangled was playing on the movie networks this weekend so naturally I watched it once...or twice.  

If you’re familiar with the movie, you’ll know that Rapunzel’s favourite food is something called Hazelnut Soup and it most definitely has hazelnuts and parsnips in it.  I love both those things so the thought of them combined into a soup had me intrigued.  I googled Hazelnut Soup once the movie was over and to my delight Disney has a recipe posted on Family.com.  

So for my vegan-ized version you’ll need:

  • 1 Butternut Squash, seeded and cut into six sections
  • 1 medium to large parsnip (the larger the parsnip the stronger the parsnip taste), peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 green apple, peeled and quartered
  • 2 tbsps of olive oil
  • 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 1 medium onion (I used spanish, the recipe calls for brown)
  • 1 or 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 box of vegetable stock
  • ½ tsp of cumin
  • ½ cup of almond milk
  • Salt and white pepper to taste
  •  
  • 1 cup of raw hazelnuts

Step 1: Roasting Hazelnuts

This is a very easy process, however I want to warn you that roasted hazelnuts are extremely delcious.  Once you roast and de-skin them, you may want to hide them somewhere or else ruin your dinner appetite like I did.

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees F.  Place your 1 cup of hazelnuts on a baking sheet that’s been lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the hazelnut skins burst
When the hazelnuts are cooled, roll between two paper towels to remove the skins.
Place the skinless hazelnuts in a plastic bag and DESTROY with a rolling pin.  Kidding! Crush the hazelnuts to desired consistency.

Roasting Squash

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place parchment paper at the bottom of a baking dish and drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil.  Next place the squash (skin side up), parsnips and apples in the dish.  Add ¼ cup of water.  Place 3-4 sprigs of thyme on the top.  You’ll need to bake uncovered in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a knife slides easily through the skin of the squash.

While your veggies are roasting in the oven, you can saute your onion and garlic.  Cut onion and garlic into thin slices and add to a frying pan with the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil.  You’re looking for the onions and garlic to become transluscent, not browned.  Once they’re cooked remove from heat and set to the side.




I still had some time to kill while the squash, parsnips and apple finished roasting so I went and hung out with Arthur.  I apologize for the semi-erotic nature of this picture but this is honestly how he was sitting in his favourite chair.


Once the squash is finished, remove from the oven and cool to the touch.    It should look like the picture below.
Remove the skins with a pairing knife and place in a food processor or blender with a touch of vegetable stock.  You’re going to need to use the stock to puree all of the roasted veggies so keep that in mind.  Also remember, when blending hot items make sure not to fill your food processor over the half line.  The pressure from the heat can cause the bottom or top to blow off.



After you've blended the squash, add the apple, parsnip and onion/garlic mixture into your food processor with stock and blend.  Add everything to a large pot

It should look like this:


Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  While the soup is simmering add the cumin, salt and pepper.  If you wish to use more than ½ tsp of cumin please go ahead.  I’m sure I used 1 tsp and a ½, which is probably why my boyfriend thought it tasted “Mexican-y”.


Before you serve your soup, add ½ cup of almond mix.  Ladle the soup until a bowl and top with crushed roasted hazelnuts.  Yum!

This soup was very yummy and creamy!  If you like all of the ingredients listed above this soup is for you.  Although, I don’t think Dan is a huge fan of parsnips and even he enjoyed it.

Have you ever made anything inspired from a movie?

Alex & Arthur

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Thursday, 26 July 2012

Lime/Coconut Deliciousness

On Tuesday I saw this posting on Poppytalk for lime coconut chewy cookies and decided that I needed to make them.  I've been craving coconut since Sunday so the timing was perfect.

The cookie recipe was very easy to 'vegan-ize' and it's oh so yummy.  I was full from eating cookie dough before the first batch was out of the oven.

So for the vegan version you'll need:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened toasted coconut
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
*1 cup vegan butter (I use Becel Vegan when baking.  I find it easier to work with than Earth Balance)
1 1/2 cups white sugar
*1 egg replacer (for this recipe I used a flax egg.  1 tbsp ground flax meal + 3 tbsps of warm water)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest from 1 lime
3 tablespoons of fresh lime juice


Start by toasting some shredded coconut.  The first time I toasted coconut I remember thinking two things.  The first was, 'MAN, that was easy!' and the second was, 'why would I ever eat non-toasted coconut again?'  Just remember to keep the heat on medium and stir constantly.

Next, zest and juice one lime -- and make sure you do it in that order.  I really like juicing citrus so I got really excited and did that first. I just learned that it's very difficult to zest a juiced lime.

Prepare your egg replacer by mixing the ground flax meal and water.


Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment.


Mix together flour, toasted coconut, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, combine the Becel vegan and sugar together. Add in the egg replacer, vanilla, lime juice and zest. Mix in the dry ingredients in two batches until thoroughly combined. 


Roll dough into teaspoon-sized balls and then roll in sugar. Flatten slightly and place on lined cookie sheets two inches apart.


Bake for 10 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned.  Then enjoy!


I tried a couple with sea salt sprinkled on the top to see if they were margarita-like.  They were pretty good!

Again, I got this delicious recipe over at the Poppytalk blog.  Be sure to check it out....and bake these cookies.  So good!!!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Alex & Arthur

Thursday, 26 April 2012

Minty Peach or Peachy Mint

Are peach and mint "hot colours" this season?  I never consciously pay attention to trends but assume that they reach me subliminally.  For some reason I've become obsessed with the colour combo peach and mint and assume that I must be seeing it more and more because this combo is what’s “in” right now. 

It's funny because if you asked me to wear those colours years ago (and someone did), I would have pantomimed puking (and I did).  Back when I was 13 years old my cousin asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding party.  Her colours were peach and mint, which at the time I thought was totally pukatronic!  The maid of honour was to wear a peach dress with mint sash and the bridesmaids would be in a mint dress with peach sash.  They were made of satin and had pouffy sleeves.  Thankfully that wedding never happened (also for non fashion related reasons) but I’d most definitely wear the described dress now.

I’ve also been drinking a lot of peach mint iced tea that I make using this recipe:

Ingredients
4 cups of boiling water
1/3-1/2 cup of fresh crushed mint leaves
4 tblsp granulated sugar (or to taste)
2 tblsp fresh lemon juice
4 tea bags
1 – 1 ½ cups of peach nectar (to taste)
mint sprig and peach slices for garnish

Directions

1 – Crush mint leaves with sugar and lemon juice; pour boiling water over mint leaves and tea bags
2- Let steep to desired taste; drain tea bags
3- Mix in peach nectar
4 – Pour over ice in tall glasses and garnish with fresh mint and peach slices




It’s not much to look at but it tastes absolutely delicious!

Are you obsessed with any colour combos at the moment? Have any iced or hot tea recipes I should try?

Thanks for reading

Alex & Arthur

Wednesday, 30 November 2011

Arthur's Choice


Since Arthur didn't get to participate in my last blog post (he usually is either the subject or sits on my lap as we post together) AND it was his six month birthday yesterday, I thought the only fair thing to do would be to let him pick the topic for today.

So ladies and gentleman, I bring you a blog posting about...

All of his choices are laid out in front of him.

Which one will it be?


WE HAVE A WINNER!
I guess I'm doing a blog post about a RECIPE!
I'm going to give you a recipe for a yummy potato and leek soup.  I absolutely love this recipe because it's simple to make and I can serve it with crispy bacon and cheese to appease (rhyming!) my non-vegan guests although it's delicious enough on it's own without adding anything to it!
Click picture to enlarge!




 Make sure you only use the white/light green part of the leek and season with salt and pepper.  I also like to add fresh chopped parsley and sometimes rosemary.  Also I sometimes need to add additional vegetable broth depending on the starchiness of the potatoes.  You'll really just need to keep adding it until you've found your desired soup thickness.

I hope you enjoy this recipe -- it's extremely easy to make and super tasty.  It's one of my staples if I've worked a long day or if the weather is chilly.

Do you have a go to recipe when you want something quick or comforting?

Alex & the recipe master himself, Arthur

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