Latest book and TV loves

After a chilly start to the week, today we could be in Australian spring or autumn. The morning air was cool and crisp, but the midday temperatures nudged 20'C and the sky is pure Australian blue.

The weather was perhaps more striking because several of my recent reads have featured Australian scenes. There is something a tad unsettling about reading of places you know but no longer are. The books, however, have been good and inspired me to share a book-themed post. It's been a while between TV thoughts too, so I'm bundling them into this post as well.

Tweet

Six things Tuesday

1. Christmas. It is nearly here. Are you organised? I'm going ok with gifts, but food is another thing entirely. I got off to a good start with my early chai-spiced chocolate truffles, and then came to a screeching halt!

Our mini Christmas table.
Yes, they are my birthday flowers!

2. We're spending Christmas itself in the Lake District and travelling there by train. So, I not only need to plan food but need to plan food we can carry and prepare in a strange kitchen. Help?

3. My brother submitted his PhD this week. I am so delighted for him, not least because his PhD was so much harder than mine. His involved lab work at all hours of the day and night, experiments that didn't work, and a lab relocation mid-research.

Tweet

A-Z Bookish Survey

I was delighted when Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe tagged me in her post on this A-Z Bookish Survey. I hadn't see the survey before, but it is just the sort of thing that appeals to me. As far as I can tell, it started with The Perpetual Page-Turner a few months back and, as you might imagine, traverses from A to Z with 26 book-related questions. I am very grateful to Johanna for providing me with an excuse to do it!

The tall fiction bookcase.

Tweet

Chocolate and books - Chocolove Almonds & Sea Salt in Dark Chocolate; Endangered Species Dark Chocolate with Goji Berry, Pecans & Maca, and with Cherries; and more historical fiction

A shorter title for this post would have been "all the good things". After all, is there a better combination than good chocolate with a good book? I suppose any good food with a good book is wonderful - but chocolate is a strong contender in the 'good' category. Or at least, these American blocks are.

I nearly didn't buy this Chocolove Almonds & Sea Salt chocolate block. After all, almonds and sea salt aren't that uncommon in chocolate. I confess to wondering if the block really deserved precious luggage space.

Tweet

A book update: Recent highlights and upcoming reads

It's been 4 months since my last post on books or reading, which I think is a long enough break for topics I find so enjoyable (and which I hope are also enjoyable for you!). What is more, I have recently finished three excellent books and I hold the belief that if you read an excellent book, it is worth letting others know of its existence.

Tweet

Loving this week {June 2013}

I am linking this into cityhippyfarmgirl's 'loving this week' post for June.

The 'loving'this week' posts are all about the little moments in your days and weeks that have tickled your heart.

After skipping over a 'loving this week' post for May (I was in pre-holiday work chaos, and just didn't get to doing one), I'm delighted to be back with a snapshot of what I'm loving at the moment.

This week, I'm loving vegan orange cake with (soy) cream cheese frosting. It's the same recipe as the orange cake I made earlier in the year, but with the addition of the orange zest. It tastes like orange this time. It's possible I liked the other one more (orange and I aren't super friendly in baked goods), but I'm still loving the simplicity of homemade cake with tea on a weekend afternoon.

Tweet

Books and films - some highlights from the first four months of 2013

It's been a while since I've talked about books and reading, and on only one previous occasion have I talked in any focused way about films. Today, I feel like talking about both. I'm hoping you feel like reading about them.

My reduced focus on books stems, at least in part, from my reading exploits being available to view on my Goodreads Books page. I figure that those of you who are interested can follow along that way, and then I don't need to bore the rest of you on a regular basis. At the same time, it seems possible that non-Goodreads users might like a summary of books every now and then.

Tweet

Vegan gingernut cheesecake slice, plus Goodreads

I almost feel a little sheepish publishing this. Your well wishes have us halfway to Europe already, and this is not at all a European post! In truth, though, we don't leave until Saturday night and this week is providing a brief return to (sort of) normality. As normality for me includes posting recipes, a recipe is what we have.

This gingernut slice is not my usual style of recipe. Whilst vegan, the ingredients are processed and the slice is rich and sweet and creamy. The creaminess is offset, though, by ginger spices and subtle pineapple flavours. It reminds me of a dessert my Mum made when I was growing up, and I liked it very much.

I am amused, on reflection, to realise that I don't know how or why I decided to make the slice. I am not  sure why I bought the gingernut biscuits in the first place, and having bought them, I have no idea what prompted me to put them in a food processor instead of dunking them in my tea. The slice is like that really - it virtually makes itself. 

I haven't done this justice with the photos, which were all taken in evening / artificial light, but the slice is so simple and the result so tasty that I thought it worth sharing anyway. 

Vegan gingernut cheesecake slice

Extremely easy

Makes about 20 squares

Print recipe

Ingredients

150g (about 15) vegan gingernut biscuits (many gingernut brands are vegan without advertising it)

1 cup / 160g vegan cream cheese (I used tofutti)

1 cup / 200g canned pineapple pieces, drained

1 cup / 100g rolled oats

1 tsp vanilla, optional

Method

Process the gingernut biscuits in a food processor until mixed into crumbs (or crush manually). Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth; don't over-process or the mix will be too thin.

Transfer to a square baking dish lined with baking paper and set in the freezer for several hours. Cut into squares, and allow to thaw at room temperature for a few minutes before serving.

Note. I found this kept best in the freezer, with just a few minutes of defrosting before eating. 

From gingernut flavours, we move to books, which in my mind makes for a perfect pairing. As some of you know, I log the books I read and these have been available to view via my Books page for some time. I settled on recording books in spreadsheet form because I found it easier than the online sites available. However, I have recently returned to Goodreads after Mr Bite discovered it and prompted me to re-activate my membership.

I am not sure if I have got more technologically advanced in the last 3 years or if Goodreads improved their site, but I now find it easy to add books (the barcode scanner app for smart phones helps too) and navigate my way around. As a result, I have added the Goodreads widget to my books page instead of my spreadsheet table. My Goodreads account is still a bit of a work in progress but you can also follow me through Goodreads itself if you have an account of your own.

Do you use Goodreads or any similar book logging sites?
How about gingernut cheesecake flavours - yes or no?

Tweet

This weekend

This weekend...

The sun has been shining and the smell of spring is in the air,

things have been growing,

strawberries are featuring,

some computer-based work has been necessary,

but bikes have also been used,

and second hand books have been bought.

Can you guess which are Mr Bite's?

This week...

I have three presentations to write and one to deliver,

there is a paper to finish and a number of reports to edit,

there are meetings galore,

and on Thursday, I fly to Adelaide (South Australia) for a work conference.

Right now...

I am content in spite of the busy-ness,

happy in the knowledge that in two weeks time, I will be married,

and married to a man who is so perfectly wonderful, and so perfectly right,

that he makes work fade into the background even when it is pushing into the foreground.

What has your weekend looked like?

Tweet

Book club baking 2012: Vegan lemon tart and chocolate cupcakes

Last year when I hosted book club, I entertained myself with vegetable-based desserts: chocolate beetroot brownies, apple and rhubarb pie, apple zucchini slice, and a rogue non-vegetable (and non-vegan) contribution in the form of chocolate marshmallow truffles.

This year, slightly fewer people could make it along, I had slightly less time in the lead up to the day, and I was slightly lacking in confidence after my recent experience with sub-optimal pear and raspberry muffins. Thus, I made two desserts instead of four, and both were made exactly to a recipe. Most unlike me!

One was a lemon tart from Kris Holechek's The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes. I have adapted and posted many of the recipes from this book, but as this tart had no adaptations I won't share the recipe here. I will say, though, that it was easier than I anticipated and made for an impressive end result. I was also so taken with the lemon filling that I am already thinking of ways to adapt and use it again.

I would possibly change two things in future, both minor: one would be baking the base for slightly longer as it was quite a cakey base and a little softer than I would have liked, and the other would be putting the tart in the freezer for 10 minutes or so before serving. It set fine in the fridge, but softened relatively quickly at room temperature.

Even with those things, I was very happy with this and almost found it hard to believe myself that it was egg and dairy free. 

Base post-cooking and pre-filling; not altogether attractive

Filled tart; still not altogether attractive

That's better (albeit with different lighting...)

Set and sliced

The second dessert consisted of vegan chocolate cupcakes made using the recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and colleagues' Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. It is available online here. I am always keen to try new vegan cupcake variations and this recipe was particularly appealing because the vanilla recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World is my 'go to' favourite.

The result?

Very good...but I think I still like vanilla best.

These ended up looking almost identical to the chocolate mint cupcakes I made last year, and I think I also preferred the mint twist to these slightly plainer versions. However, that comment comes from someone who doesn't much like chocolate cake, so it is possible I'm not a fair judge. They were certainly enjoyable (even for a non-chocolate cake lover), beautifully fluffy, and very well received.

What recipes have you made recently? And do you have a favourite cupcake base? There is something wonderful about fluffy vanilla bit it does seem like a boring favourite to have!


For those who are interested, our book club book was Zeitoun, which is listed on my books page :)

Tweet

A low-key weekend of enjoyment

After the excitement of the last few weeks, it was quite nice to have a weekend that was thoroughly enjoyable in a normal sort of way. Don't get me wrong - I am still incredibly grateful and thankful for the bigger excitements of the last little while. Overwhelmed by them in fact. However, we all know that the 'big' things can't happen all of the time and sometimes the small-scale pleasures are all the more pleasurable because they are small.

The weekend started off with on a high note when I ran, miraculously and almost inexplicably, without pain. I mentioned my difficulties with plantar fasciitis earlier this year, but haven't been going into details on the ongoing, incredibly irritating hip pain I have been experiencing since late last year, with the working diagnosis of iliotibial band syndrome. On Saturday, I ran for 30 minutes with no pain and it was an experience beyond amazing. I hope it lasts! Perhaps being engaged has blocked my pain receptors?!

Saturday also involved a cafe visit with school friends, an increasingly challenging scenario as the six in our original friendship group scatter geographically. This year saw the first baby born to this particular group, and having a 10-week-old baby girl join the afternoon was remarkably fun.

The enjoyment continued on Sunday. Many, many posts ago I talked about Fremantle, with its arty vibe, organic foods, fresh bread, and raw and vegan meal and snack options, most notably at The Raw Kitchen Cafe. With Mr Bite happily settled at the football, I wandered Fremantle for a few hours and had a thoroughly fun time.

I found raw carob pieces:

I like them very much indeed. These are quite literally just the edible parts of the carob bean, meaning they are slightly but not too sweet, and don't have the palm oil that goes along with so many carob products.

I also found raw kale chips, seasoned with a barbecue spice blend that includes raw cashews and carrots.

If we're being honest, I liked these less than I was expecting, and will probably stick to fresh kale in future. However, they win points for novelty value and make for an easy vegetable-based snack.

With advance planning, I also settled myself at The Raw Kitchen Cafe with a book. It is a delightful place to take a book to, with comfortable chairs and non-matching furniture.

I took pictures of the menu on my phone, which means the quality is quite appalling, but I thought the menu's first page was worthwhile including anyway. As the following shows, this is a good cafe to visit if you want to find real, natural foods.

I had a green smoothie and a raw, nearly vegan (it contained honey) macaroon with acai and vanilla flavours.

 

My current book, Cutting for Stone, is set in Ethiopia and it is a book that is beautifully written. The language pulls you in and it turned out to be a perfect match for settling back with the smoothie and macaroon. The smoothie was cold and creamy and just slightly sweet from the banana. The macaroon was slightly too coconut-y for my tastes, but it isn't fair to hold coconut flavour against a macaroon. I did enjoy the texture, which was crumbly but dense, and the fact that it was sweet without being artificial in its flavours.

The lovely thing about these sorts of small pleasures, too, is knowing that they are possible again. My bank account may not welcome purchases of carob kibbles, kale chips, and raw cafe treats on a weekly basis, but they are accessible pleasures nonetheless. Friends and running and books - those too.

What about you - have you had any small pleasures lately? Do you have a favourite set? Books and food always seem to make it on to my list!

Tweet

Books, and a chocolate-banana-spinach-cherry-smoothie-pudding

I realised that it's been a little while since I've mentioned books in a post. So long, in fact, that I can't quite recall when it last was. Thus, I thought I'd give a brief mention to those that I've read in the past 2 months;

• The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam, by Lauren Liebenberg (Is this not one of the best book titles you can imagine? Sadly the book didn't quite match the name, but it was still a worthwhile read.)
• Cage of Stars, by Jacquelyn Mitchard
• My Childhood, by Maxim Gorky
• The Coroner, by M. R. Hall
• Disappeared, by M. R. Hall

Details can be found here for those interested, but I wanted to pause on The Coroner for a moment. I probably wouldn't have picked this book up if left to my own devices (Mr Bite's Mum lent it to me), given that I don't usually gravitate towards crime-detective fiction, but it was wonderful. This was partially due to the writing and story (more detective than crime) and partially due to the considerable psychology component in the tale. Consider the following:

"Shutting the door at the end of the day was something she'd worked on with Dr Travis. He'd told her that, in common with so many women, she was a perfectionist who couldn't rest until everything around her was in order. When work was a daily round of chaos, loose ends and uncertainties, it was only a matter of time before a personality like hers would collapse under the pressure." (p. 49, The Coroner).


I love this quote. In part because the attention to anxiety and panic and personality served to enhance the story, in a way I hadn't been expecting, and in part because this quote could describe me. And, I'm sure, many other women (and no doubt men).

You see, I have a terrible tendency to feel overwhelmingly overwhelmed when my To Do list gets too long or seems unmanageable. The 'terrible' part of this is that it very rarely is too long - I get through it. I can't count the number of anxious Sunday nights I've had, waking up frequently to worry about what I have to do on the Monday, and then invariably I get through all the urgent tasks by lunchtime. 3pm at the latest. To my amusement, though, it's never occurred to me to metaphorically "shut the door" on this To Do list, rather than think about how I'm going to tackle it and make sure things are tidied up and ticked off.

So consider this my philosophical contribution to your week: shut the door on work when at home (if you don't already do so). Easier said than done but I shall certainly be giving it a go tonight.

Putting serious things aside, I also have a smoothie recipe today. Recipe is slightly grandiose as it is hardly a novel combination of ingredients, but I found the thickness to be almost pudding like. I very much like that it could go in both straw-drinking and spoon-eating categories.

Chocolate Banana Spinach Cherry Smoothie Pudding

Serves 1 (this is more of a pudding-sized serve - see notes below to make it a larger smoothie)

1 medium frozen banana

1 generous handful baby spinach leaves

~100ml non-dairy chocolate milk, or plain milk + 1tsp cocoa

(I used chocolate hazelnut milk and didn't actually measure - approximately 100ml)

8 frozen cherries + 4 to garnish

Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor

Add extra milk if you would like it more smoothie-like, or protein powder or chia seeds if you would like it thicker

Serve with 4 extra frozen cherries on top

Cold chocolatey, banana-y, cherried deliciousness. The hidden spinach is a bonus!

How do you like your smoothies - spoon or straw?

And what are you like at "shutting the door" on work?

Tweet

A movie review and non-vegan chocolate mud cake muffins

Both components of this post are a little unusual for me. I don't usually do movie reviews (I don't see very many movies!) and most of the recipes I post are recipes that reflect my taste preferences.

Today, I'm branching out.

First up, a movie. I noted back in August that my book club group read The Help, which focuses on racial tensions in 1960s Mississppi, through the writing of a (fictional) book containing stories from the black 'help' who are employed, and controlled, by white families.

Last night, 5 of our group went to see the movie version. I was looking forward to seeing it, but didn't have very high expectations as I had read rather mixed reviews. The main criticisms seemed to be that it was too long, at well over 2 hours (not something I usually enjoy in a film), and that the ideas underpinning the book and film weren't explored as well as they could have been.

Source

As it turns out, I really liked this movie. I thought the actors did a wonderful job, particularly Bryce Dallas Howard as the unlikable but well played Hilly Holbrook, Viola Davis as the central Aibileen, and Octavia Spencer as sassy Minny. The movie didn't follow the book precisely, but I found the variations from the text to be understandable, and sensible for a film adaptation. It didn't provide any answers, but I thought it addressed the central issues and race conflicts with poise and consideration, and also humour.

The 1960s outfits were pretty impressive, too. Who knew I liked that time period so much for fashion?

Source

Amazingly, I also got through the movie without being bored. Given my usually short attention span for TV or movies, and the running time of nearly 2.5 hours, this was quite impressive.

All in all, it was a film I would recommend - although, as always, I would recommend reading the book first.

As the title of this post suggests, I also have a mud cake muffin recipe today. You see, Mr Bite doesn't always share my preferences for vegan, raw, and/or vegetable-based baking. He often likes the end product, but it probably wouldn't be his first preference.

These muffins were for him.

Chocolate mud cake muffins with a hint of peppermint

Adapted from this recipe

Makes 12 small or 6 large muffins

Ingredients:

For the muffins-

• 125g butter or margarine, roughly chopped
• 100g dark chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup plain flour
• 1/4 cup self-raising flour
• 2 tbsp good-quality cocoa powder
• 1 egg

For the icing-

• 1 medium avocado (ok, not quite traditional...)
• 1/3 cup good-quality cocoa powder
• 250g icing sugar
• Few drops of peppermint essence

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 160'C and prepare a 12-pan muffin tray (or a 6-pan tray if you're making large muffins).

2. In a heat-proof bowl, combine the butter, chocolate, hot water, and milk. Heat over a medium saucepan on low heat, or in the microwave, until the ingredients have melted and the mixture is smooth. I used the microwave on 50% power and it took about 2 minutes, in 30 second bursts.

3. Remove the chocolate mixture from the heat and add the peppermint essence and brown sugar. Stir to combine and set aside to cool slightly.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and add the flours and cocoa powder. Add the melted chocolate mixture to this bowl and mix with a hand whisk until ingredients are combined. 

5. Divide the mixture across the prepared muffin pans and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until the muffins are cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

6. When the muffins are cool, prepare the icing by combining the avocado, cocoa and icing sugar in a food processor or with an electric beater. Mix until smooth and the avocado is fully processed. 

I think next time I would add more peppermint essence, as Mr Bite didn't pick up on it as a distinct flavour. However, the muffins were definitely dense and chocolatey. They were also surprisingly easy, being made and baked within 45 minutes.

Hopefully they've gone some way towards countering the tofu dinners, vegan experiments, and quinoa side dishes!

Have you seen The Help? What are your thoughts on film adaptations of books?

Tweet

Comforting foods

Getting home after being away, even if just for 4 days, is rather comforting. Familiar surroundings, a proper kitchen, and a full cupboard of clothes are nice perks of home-based living, amongst other things.

Sunday was spent doing washing, visiting the supermarket, visiting my parents, going for a walk, and generally enjoying being home and hearing what Mr Bite had been up to whilst I was gone.

In the spirit of familiarity and comfort, I thought I would share some of my recent favourite foods and food combinations. Some of these are rather basic, but I enjoy them hugely nonetheless.

Puffed Kamut. Especially with berries and almond butter.

Kamut is a variety of wheat (sometimes referred to as 'ancient wheat') that is often tolerated by those who aren't suited to regular wheat. It has 20 - 40% more protein than regular wheat, and includes more vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

I like it plain and with toppings, for breakfast and for snacking.

Flavoured rice crackers with various sides for weekend lunches.

Lemon pepper wholegrain rice crackers with a drizzle of almond butter, a mandarin, and side salad

 

Mediterranean flavoured rice crackers, carrot, Special K fruit & nut blend (new!) with strawberries

I'm conscious these may not be the most balanced lunches, but my weekend breakfasts are often late - and come lunch time I want variety more than substance. The satisfying crunch of rice crackers pleases me greatly, even if the salt content of some flavours does not.

Fruit. This is always a favourite, but strawberries, apples (I'm a Pink Lady fan) and pears seem particularly good at the moment.

Sweet potato. Done just about anyway at all.

Carob. I like adding carob powder to yoghurt or oats, and enjoy the Lewis carob blocks as an alternative to chocolate.

 

Source

What are your current favourites stand-by foods? Or the things you miss the most when away from home?

I also updated my Books page on Sunday, with the following additions: Inverted World (Christopher Priest), Revelation (S. J. Sansom), and The Lady Elizabeth (Alison Weir). All were good!

Tweet