Vegan Easter recipes on Bite-Sized Thoughts

Are you looking forward to the Easter weekend? I know my US readers won't get the 4 day break granted in Australia and the UK, but I hope that wherever you are, you enjoy the opportunity to eat chocolate and celebrate the start of spring (in the northern hemisphere) or changing season (in the south). If you are religious, then of course there will be much more to commemorate too.

Carrot and apple cake with a lemon drizzle dressing

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Vegan freezer-friendly meals - A round-up

It is 6 weeks today until I return to work from maternity leave. As you might imagine, I have mixed feelings about that, but they are not the subject of today's post. Rather, I thought I would share a round-up of vegan make ahead, freezer friendly meals. There are similar round-ups out there so this one has the idiosyncratic quirk of including meals I personally want to make! Consequently, this is also a short-ish round-up because I want to make all of the recipe I list below over the next month and a half. Angela shares a particularly useful summary of freezable vegan options, plus general freezing tips, on Oh She Glows if you would like further ideas.

The list below mostly has recipes from elsewhere, but I'm including a few links from Bite-Sized Thoughts too. As I've mentioned before, I tend to forget about my own recipes so this will prompt me to re-make some of my own tried and tested, and likely freezer-friendly, dinners.

I would love to hear your favourite freezable dishes too so please let me know if there are recipes you would recommend!

Cocoa and paprika split peas

Cocoa and paprika split peas from Bite-Sized Thoughts

Curried cauliflower chickpea wraps from The Muffin Myth

Lentil meatloaf from The Live In Kitchen (made in muffin pans!)

Satay chickpea stew with grains from Bite-Sized Thoughts

Singapore street noodles from Once a Month Meals

Thai curry fettuccine from Vegan in the Freezer

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A carob recipe round-up {vegan}

I know, I know - if you aren't a fan of carob, you will be wrinkling your nose at this post (or skipping it altogether!). Carob is one of those products that seems to divide people into love/hate categories. Personally, as this post highlights, I adore the stuff. I have my mother to thank for this, as she gave us carob as children when trying to ration our chocolate intake. I love chocolate too but carob has a firm place in my heart alongside it.

Hazelnut and cherry carob cookies

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20 vegan friendly (and everybody friendly) picnic ideas

The first week of English summer has not been very summery. I know this sounds like a stereotypical British claim, but we really have had some remarkably wet and stormy days, complete with associated rail and road disruptions. Before summer, though, Mr Bite and I took advantage of sunny spring weather to have some low key picnics in nearby parks and nature reserves.

My recent picnic efforts have been simple - usually rolls with hummus and salad, plus some accompanying items like biscuits or fruit. However, I idly searched 'picnic ideas' online the other day and was impressed by the variety of options I found. So, I thought I'd share a round-up inspiration post. If it's summery where you are, take advantage of it. If it isn't? You can always embrace picnics in cars, under shelters, or on the floor in your living room...

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Top 10 chocolate recipes from Bite-Sized Thoughts

It is the time of year where chocolate recipes and heart-shaped products abound. In the past I have shared a chocolate strawberry tart in honour of Valentine's Day and in 2014 I posted a round up of chocolate recipes from various websites and blogs. This year, I thought I'd share my favourite 10 chocolate recipes from Bite-Sized Thoughts.

So, in no particular order, here are my all-vegan, all-chocolate highlights, for whatever you have planned this Sunday.

Tiered orange sponge cake with chocolate ganache icing. As a bonus, it is diabetes friendly.

Chocolate cranberry layer cake with a cranberry ganache icing. A different, equally delicious, cake option.

Chocolate thumbprint biscuits with jam and peanut butter. Easy, tasty, and fun to make.

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Green recipe round up, for Saint Patrick's Day

I suspect I'm revealing personal shortcomings by saying that, until this year, I didn't really know what Saint Patrick's Day was all about. I tended to associate it with reckless drinking and green. It wasn't a particularly big event in Western Australia (except as an excuse for said drinking) but now we live relatively close to Ireland, I thought I should learn what it's actually about.

As you probably know already, Saint Patrick's Day was made a Christian feast day back in the 17th century. Saint Patrick was (is) the patron saint of Ireland. He is thought to have died on the 17th March, lending that date to the annual festival. Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and whilst it is a religious holiday, it is also about celebrating the heritage and culture of Ireland more generally. So, there is rather more to it than alcohol and green...

Green spaghetti

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And so this is Christmas...

...nearly.

Christmas decorations in the City of London

Despite saying on Sunday that I was organised for Christmas, it is still a surprise to find it is the 23rd December. Not only is Christmas in two days, 2014 will be over in just over a week. Incredible.

I'm not taking my laptop to the Lake District, so while I'll still be online to some extent, this will be my last post until we're back in London at the start of next week. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday period between now and then. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, and regardless of how you choose to spend the day - very warm wishes for a happy 25th December and the days around it too.

Christmas decorations in Fortnam and Mason

In case you need any last minute food inspiration, I'm closing with a round up of some recent recipes that caught my eye, as well as some Christmas favourites from Bite-Sized Thoughts.

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Easy vegan lunches - for home or work

During the week, I rarely spend more than 5 minutes preparing my work lunches. On weekends I do take a little longer, but still favour speedy meals in the middle of the day. I was reflecting recently on how my lunchtime routines have been streamlined and improved over the years, and so I thought...why not post about them? Why not, indeed.

Without further ado, here are some of my favourite lunch options for weekdays and weekends alike.

Cabbage salad with tofu and mango

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Vegan Easter recipes - and a double pass give away to Taste of Perth from Rekorderlig Cider

My last (and first!) Easter recipe round-up post was in 2012, so I think it is time for another one this year. Before doing so, though, I am delighted to host a give away from Rekorderlig Cider for a double pass to the upcoming Taste of Perth.

Rekorderlig Cider is the premium cider sponsor for this first ever Taste of Perth, on from the 2nd to 4th May at Langley Park. Providing a liquid alternative to the food and restaurant displays, Rekorderlig Cider will have a "Rekorderlig Star" bar decked out in a Swedish winter theme. On the menu will be drinks like orange-ginger cider and 'winter' cider with apples, vanilla and cinnamon. 

The Rekorderlig Star bar

Rekorderlig Cider are kindly giving away a double pass to Taste of Perth along with two complimentary Rekorderlig Cider vouchers. If you would like to enter, please leave a comment on this post telling me your favourite cider flavour or experience (if you have one) or why you'd like to go to Taste of Perth this year. The give away is open to anyone, but obviously you will need to be able to attend the event in Perth at the start of May. The competition closes on the 23rd April 2014.

Now, on to Easter recipes. I'd happily eat my way through any and all of the ideas below, and I hope you will enjoy the suggestions too. If you already have your Easter menu planned, I'd also love to hear what you're making!

Breakfast

Caramel apple French toast from PETA - An amazing way to start your day.

Meyer lemon cranberry poppyseed muffins from Eats Well With Others - Many gorgeous flavours packed into one muffin.

Plum muffins with streusel topping from Bite-Sized Thoughts - A plum-filled breakfast alternative to my recent plum and almond cake.

Sprouted wheat, date and walnut essene bread from the Orgasmic Chef - It will take a bit of advance planning, but this bread sounds worth the effort.

Plum muffins with streusel topping

Main

Citrus roasted tofu from VegKitchen- A great way to make tofu special.

Parsnip rice sushi from The Taste Space - A sweeter alternative to cauliflower rice.

Pumpkin scones with hemp seeds, nutritional yeast and herbs from Bite-Sized Thoughts - A perfect main meal accompaniment (even if I do say so myself!).

Vegetable tagine with chickpeas and raisins from BBC Good Food - A gorgeous mix of colours and vegetables.

Pumpkin scones with hemp seeds, nutritional yeast and herbs

Dessert

Mango coconut cardamom cheesecake from Sweetly Raw - While fresh mango would undoubtedly be best, I imagine you could get away with the tinned variety in this recipe.

Raw carrot cake with cashew cream cheese frosting from This Rawsome Vegan Life - Raw carrot cake is on my 'to make' list and this recipe is a strong contender for my first try.

'Spring Chick Cupcakes' from Oh She Glows - Super cute and guaranteed to appeal to adults and children alike.

Vegan flan from Hotly Spiced - Also gluten free, this is a simple but beautiful dessert.

Chocolate

Chocolates with a healthy mint filling from Green Gourmet Giraffe - I love mint-filled chocolates and this recipe sounds like a refreshing alternative to commercial Easter chocolate.

Peanut butter and caramel filled chocolate eggs from The Veggie Nook - One of my favourite Easter recipes from last year, I think it deserves highlighting again this year!

Raw chocolate hazelnut strawberry jam thumbprints from Coconut and Berries - A recent, beautiful recipe from Emma.

Tahini-filled chocolate eggs - My Easter creation from last year.

Tahini-filled chocolate eggs

What are your plans for Easter? 

And, if you're interested in the double pass to Taste of Perth, don't forget to enter below!

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A vegan chocolate dessert round-up, for Valentine's Day or any day

What is your stance on Valentine's Day? I'm a bit torn, myself. On the one hand, it is a commercialised holiday that works to keep card companies and florists in business, seems to suggest that we should only say 'I love you' once a year, and gives people an opportunity to feel excluded if they are not in a relationship come February 14th. Hardly things to rejoice in.

On the other hand, the day does have historical origins, I welcome extra reasons to show my husband I love him, and there's no reason 'I love you' has to be constrained to couple (as opposed to friend / family) relationships. What's more, the day has come to be associated with chocolate. There are things to like.

Chocolate raspberry tart made with Chocolate
Covered Katie's ultimate chocolate fudge pie filling

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18 lower sugar Christmas cookies {Christmas ideas 2013}

I'm bringing you a short post today, to share this round-up of 18 Christmas cookies with a healthy twist. Each of the recipe links is below, or you can access them through the original post.

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Edible gift ideas {Christmas ideas 2013}

I am yet to post a savoury Christmas-themed dish, but when it comes to sweet treats and snacks...I've got you covered. 

If you're looking for edible gifts suitable for family or friends, I've got them covered too. As a bonus? Most of these ideas are vegan, but your non-vegan friends won't suspect a thing.

First: Christmas cookies

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An end of year recipe round-up: My 2012 favourites

With 2012 rapidly drawing to a close, it feels like a time for reflecting and for looking ahead. I will be doing another post that looks at 2012 and all it has involved (and it has involved so much!) but for now - I am focusing on food. It's easier.

Here are some of the dishes that I have most enjoyed making and eating this year, in sweet and savoury form. I would love to hear your favourite 2012 meals too, either from your own blog or elsewhere!

Sweet things

Bakewell tarts (vegan)

Banana bread cake (vegan)

Brownie bites with avocado and coconut flour (vegan, no bake)

Chocolate strawberry tart (vegan)

Lavender biscuits with lemon and yoghurt

Lavender, lemon and pistachio cheesecake (vegan, raw)

Strawberry, quinoa and oat pikelets (vegan)

Ugly Duckling Muffins (vegan, low-fat)

Savoury things

Avocado scones with hemp seeds (vegan)

Celeriac fries (vegan)

Chickea (besan flour) pancakes (vegan)

Maple and balsamic roast vegetables and tofu (vegan)

Purple fried rice with tofu bacon (vegan)

Smoky roast almonds (vegan)

Sushi salad with strawberries and edamame beans (vegan)

Teriyaki tofu steaks with cauliflower rice (vegan)

What are some of your favourite recipes from 2012?

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Christmas food ideas 2012: Main meal options

It is one week until Christmas.

One week.

And I am yet to decide what I am making for Christmas lunch.

This isn't quite as catastrophic as you might think. My family has a standard Christmas lunch that will be continuing this year with minimal effort needed from me. My mother has things in a nice routine, involving some traditional Christmas dishes that I wrote about last year. I do, however, need to figure out what I will be eating while the rest of the family tucks into turkey.

Last year was the first Christmas that I was vegetarian; prior to that I didn't eat red meat but did eat seafood and poultry. I added to our traditional Christmas dinner with purple nut roast, cinnamon sweet potato chickpea salad, and mandarin and maple spice quinoa salad with cranberries, apricots and almonds. My family was delightfully accommodating of my additions, and my Dad even ventured to try the quinoa salad. Given that he isn't even very fond of rice, and wouldn't voluntarily put dried fruit in savoury dishes, this was a touching gesture.

This year, I am having trouble making up my mind. I do, however, have a shortlist. It's currently more of a longlist, but I am working on it.

If you are like me and have yet to finalise your Christmas day menu, here are some ideas for main meals and sides - all vegan or easily veganised.

Christmas dinner ideas from around the blogosphere 

Beet burgers from Diet Dessert and Dogs

Butternut, apple and cranberry bake from Eats Well With Others

Cashew nut roast with sage and onion stuffing from Why Veg

Cranberry and chestnut stuffing balls, from Green Gourmet Giraffe 

(see Johanna's blog for many more Christmas recipes, including a great collection of nut roasts)

Cranberry orange brussels sprouts with walnuts from Daily Garnish

Individual Mediterranean nut, olive and marinated tofu roasts from Vegetarian Recipe Club

Lentil cashew cakes with pineapple salsa from Vegetarian Recipe Club

Pumpkin, pomegranate and orange salad with spiced walnuts from Green Gourmet Giraffe

Rainbow quinoa and chocolate pilaf with flax citrus dressing from The Veggie Nook

Red rice, white bean and vegetable salad with toasted almonds and dried cranberries from Notes from the Vegan Kitchen

Roast vegetable strudel from BBC Food

Roasted chipotle sprouts from Veganise This

Christmas dinner ideas from bite-sized thoughts

Lemon quinoa

Maple and balsamic roast vegetables and tofu

Orange baked tofu parcels

Quinoa, edamame and mango salad

Sweet potato, chickpea and hemp seed burgers

Warm vegetable salad with bulgar

plus

Christmas food ideas 2012 - bejewelled couscous salad

Christmas food ideas 2012 - brown rice mango sushi

My 2011 round up of Christmas meal ideas can be found here

A gift package with punch!

In other news, I was fortunate enough to return from work today to a package from the lovely Lou of Fridge Scrapings. I was the lucky winner of Lou's Christmas give away and she put together a gorgeous package - thank you again Lou :-) I feel like Christmas has started already.

What are you planning to serve this Christmas? Are you taking a traditional or non-traditional route?

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Welcome to summer: A collection of smoothies

The 1st December marked the official start of summer here in Australia. (We do our season changes at the start of the month, in contrast to the northern hemisphere.) With temperatures soaring in the Eastern states last week, and set to rise sharply in Western Australia this week, it does feel like summer is here and here to stay.

Given my dislike of temperatures above 30'C, I am repeating a mantra of "only two more summers until we move to England".

I am also reminding myself of how much I like summer fruit, the joy of frozen fruit ice cream on a hot summer afternoon, and the luxurious slide of a chilled smoothie down one's parched, hot throat.

I am definitely not thinking about the joy of being wrapped up inside with a book and a hot drink while rain patters on the window. Not thinking about that at all.

For my fellow Australians, here are six smoothie ideas to help kick off your summer. For those of you in wintery countries, you can enjoy these too - I actually made all of these over winter / spring myself. Just rug up warm, drink them near a heat source, and have a hot drink on stand-by for afterwards.

The smoothies are listed in a rough order that takes you from 'basic stand by' to 'could pass as dessert'. I have listed the milk I used for each one but you can substitute in any milk you like. If making these in a blender, just combine the ingredients and process. If using a food processor, leave the liquid out until the other ingredients are processed, and then add the liquid in gradually, so that it doesn't splash out the sides. I don't have a high-power blender so tend to use my food processor; even with that, my spinach is sometimes less processed than I might like!

All ingredient sets serve one, and err towards a small serve. Double ingredients if you like your smoothies served larger.

Banana-free green smoothie with strawberries

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup baby spinach leaves

~10 medium strawberries, stems removed and frozen (~1/2 cup)

1 tsp vanilla

Banana-free green smoothie with strawberries

Green smoothie with a hint of orange and vanilla
(I made this after juicing two oranges for Mr Bite and being left with orange pulp)

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup baby spinach leaves

1 large banana, frozen

~2 tbsp orange pulp, or fresh orange or orange juice

Few drops vanilla essence

~1 tbsp hemp seeds or chia seeds (optional)

Green smoothie with a hint of orange and vanilla

Raspberry mint smoothie with hemp seed milk

3/4 cup hemp seed milk (or milk of choice; the hemp seed variety gives a slight nuttiness)

3/4 cup frozen raspberries

1/2 cup baby spinach leaves

2 fresh mint leaves (roughly chopped if your blender isn't as efficient as it could be)

Raspberry mint smoothie with hemp seed milk

Caffeinated banana pineapple smoothie

1 cup soy milk

1 medium banana, frozen,

1/2 cup (drained) tinned pineapple

1 tsp instant coffee powder

Caffeinated banana pineapple smoothie

Strawberry ice cream smoothie 

(this really did taste like strawberry ice cream!)

3/4 - 1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 medium banana, frozen

4 medium strawberries, stems removed

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 tsp vanilla essence

Strawberry ice cream smoothie

Strawberry mint smoothie with coconut

3/4 - 1 cup soy milk

1 medium banana, frozen

4 medium strawberries, stems removed

2 fresh mint leaves (roughly chopped if your blender isn't as efficient as it could be)

1 tbsp oats

1 tbsp dessicated coconut

You may notice that none of these are very 'green', in the sense that leafy vegetables don't feature highly. My lack of a high-power blender makes spinach the only vegetable I can smoothie-fy, but I do have a very green drink to share later in the week (I thought it deserved a post all of its own!).

Tell me - what is your favourite smoothie at the moment?

For another collection of smoothie recipes, see Theresa's post from last summer at The Tropical Vegan.

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A vegan MoFo round up

Others have done some round up posts for Vegan MoFo already. I also suspect that many of you don't, strictly speaking, need a round up post of any variety. If you're like me, you already have a long list of bookmarked recipes, and that list grows at a steady pace.

Over time, however, I have reached the conclusion that once your bookmarked recipe list reaches a certain length, it is no longer worth trying to curtail it and you may as well save as many recipes as you like in the knowledge that you are never going to make them all, but you might just get to the one you save today (because who knows what one will want to make tomorrow, never mind next month?).

Besides, sometimes it's fun just looking at great dishes, even if you never plan to make them yourself.

With that stance in mind, combined with my own enjoyment of others' round up posts when they appear, here are some of the recipes that I have bookmarked since Vegan MoFo began. As always, I like to throw random photos into these sorts of posts, so this includes some previously unposted travel photos from last month...

Lincoln, Lincolnshire - one of many beautiful buildings to be seen through many beautiful trees

Savoury / main meals

Grenada jerk tofu with Grenada red beans and rice on Veganise This! - one of many truly wonderful international recipes that Mel has veganised this month (and see Mel's blog for some other Vegan MoFo round ups)

Lemony herb potato soup on Eat to the Beet - my sort of potato soup

Lentil and eggplant chilli mole, with fresh corn and scallion cornbread, on Miscdebris - a timely post in light of my recent chocolate pasta experiment

Chapel at Skipton Castle, Skipton, Yorkshire

Popcorn crumbed pumpkin hash brown with apricot and beetroot relish on The Spade and Spoon - a very impressive dish that includes processed / crumbled popcorn in the hash browns

Roasted garlic, caramlized onion and fig pizza on The Vegan Road - figs on pizza now seem absolutely essential as something to try

This vegetable garden had to be photographed...Helmsley, North Yorkshire

Snacks / desserts

Molasses cookies on The Common or Garden Vegan - easy, spiced cookie balls, suitable to make with children

Pumpkin spice scrolls on Green Gourmet Giraffe - beautiful looking, and beautifully flavoured, scrolls

Durham, and bits of Durham Castle and Cathedral, County Durham (also the  town I lived in as an infant)

Quick apple cake on Including Cake! - almost a cross between a cake, pie and cookie

Quinoa crackers with chocolate coconut coating on Fridge Scrapings - both components of this recipe sound wonderful and together they sound quite divine

Traditional Lancashire bonfire black peas on Chocolate and Beyond - reportedly to be eaten on Guy Fawkes Night (the 5th November), I think I'd be happy to eat these at any time

Baddesley Clinton manor house, south of Birmingham

I have listed just 10 of many wonderful recipes to appear over the last fortnight - never mind those appearing on blogs not partaking in Vegan Mofo - and I am sure there will be many more coming before the end of this month. I think that November may see me reviewing my bookmarks folder to make a plan of attack...

Any favourite recipes you've bookmarked lately? And how good are you at making things you bookmark - I admit to a somewhat hit and miss track record!

This post is part of my Vegan Month of Food contributions for October 2012. 

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