Vegan Orange & Strawberry Pancakes

 This is my go-to vegan pancake recipe you can make all sorts of additions and changes to flavour yours in whichever way you want sometimes I pop 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to them to make them chocolate pancakes other times I cinnamon and have them with baked apples but here is a variation I really love of zesty orange and sweet strawberry. I'd love to know how you guys have your pancakes!

1 cup flour
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp baking powder
1 1/4 cup almond milk (use any non-dairy milk you prefer)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 orange juiced
strawberries, chopped to top
2 tbsp canola oil

• Easy as pie just stir your dry ingredients together and then whisk in the wet ingredients until a smooth batter is formed, then fry until golden brown on both sides. (Tip: you know when the side cooking is ready to be flipped as small bubbles will start to form on top)

30 Minute Vegan Pizza

Vegan pizza has got to be the ultimate healthy vegan 'junk' food. I like my bases super crispy and because I am a garlic fiend I use about 4 cloves of garlic per pizza (feel free to not use quite as much as I do) and I still haven't found a vegan cheese in the UK that I actually enjoy eating so my pizzas never have vegan cheese on which definitely allows you to drizzle that extra glug of extra virgin olive oil on them.

Here is my speedy vegan pizza base recipe so that you can have a pizza from scratch in under 30 minutes.

375g plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
7g dried active yeast
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
225ml warm water

• Combine the dry ingredients into a bowl, make a well in the centre and add the oil and water and mix with hands until a dough comes together, pat into a tin and top with whatever you like! 
• Bake in a 200C oven for 15 mins until cooked

Topping suggestions: 

• mushrooms and thyme
• pesto and asparagus
• courgette, mint and hummus
• chillies and garlic
• aubergine with minted soy yoghurt

Summer vegetable minestrone soup

As much as I love fresh veg everyone gets to that stage in the month before payday where all you have left is some squishy tomatoes and a zucchini stuck to the back of your fridge, this is a perfect leftover veggie soup pretty much any veg can go in this. I pep my minestrone up with a quick homemade pesto as I always have a pot of basil going crazy in my garden.

What I used for the soup:
2 red onions, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
6 carrots, peeled and chopped into cubes
2 zucchinis/courgettes, chopped into cubes
4 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 cup of peas
Half a cabbage
3 cups of pasta (I used baby macaroni)
1L veggie stock

For the pesto:
1 big bunch of basil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 clove grated garlic
Half a cup of olive oil

• Lightly fry off the onions and garlic until soft then add the carrots and zucchinis and fry until starting to soften. 
• Add the cabbage and tomatoes and stir then add the stock and peas and bring to the boil then add your pasta and season, simmer for appropriately 15 mins until pasta is al dente.
• Meanwhile in a pestal and mortar mash up the basil, lemon juice and garlic and slowly add the oil until a pesto paste comes together. 
• Once pasta is cooked serve your soup with a dollop of pesto on the top and a chunk of crusty bread.

Vegan peanut butter and chocolate squares

 

Everyone loves a little vegan junk food now and again and generally anything that involves a whole jar of peanut butter will satisfy my cravings! Plus these are gluten free, cooking free and so simple.

You will need; 

200g dark chocolate (generally one large bar) 

150g soya butter (I used Pure Sunflower soya butter) 

250g digestive biscuits (most own brand supermarket digestives are vegan, Waitrose have the Vegan mark)

200g soft light brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

300g crunchy peanut butter (feel free to replace your fave nut butter)

• Chop the chocolate and melt in a bowl over a pan of simmering water and melt the butter in a separate pan.
• Meanwhile whizz up in a food processor the biscuits and sugar, then add to melted butter and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla extract
• Line a square tin with baking paper and spread the biscuit mix in to an even layer and then spread the chocolate on top and refrigerate for about 2 hours until set and slice into small squares with a hot knife.

And here's what Gregg Wallace and John Torode from Masterchef UK thought of them...