Spiced courgette fritters

Life is returning to normal in the Bite-Sized household. My parents are now back in Australia, we are all back at work and nursery, and Christmas feels a long time ago (and Spring a long time ahead).

In the middle of winter, it can be nice to eat summery foods as well as relishing warm stews, soups and porridge. These fritters offer a summer feel whilst still being hot and comforting. The only downside is that they are best eaten straight after cooking, as they go a bit soggy if stored over multiple days.

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Zucchini noodles with a creamy turmeric dressing

My last post welcomed summery weather. This post would moan about it, if it wasn't for my prickly awareness that at least I have a house to be hot within. Non-UK readers may not be aware of the London fire that hit Grenfell Tower block last week, killing an estimated 79 people and injuring many more. Hot weather isn't anything to complain about when placed in that context.

There is no avoiding, though, that it is hot in England this week. Weather records have been broken and it isn't even summer yet. Regular readers will know how much I dislike the heat (one of the key reasons for my move from Australia to England) and so dishes that keep me cool are high on my priority list right now. Ice cream is good. So are cold meals.

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Zucchini noodles with orange and cashews

I was recently browsing my own Recipes page and was surprised to see, first, just how many recipes are on there (well over 200!) and, second, how many dishes I have made, loved, and then not made again. My various courgette / zucchini noodle dishes are a case in point. Whilst I haven't recreated one of them here, I was inspired to pull my spiralizer out again and make a new zucchini noodle dish to match the spring weather.

This salad is dominated, in a good way, by orange. It features an orange-soy-ginger dressing as well as orange segments. A scattering of cashews rounds out the dish and I also included tofu (ginger flavoured for good measure) that I enjoyed in the mix. If you left the tofu off this would be a nice side dish but with it you can easily consume the salad as a main meal.

My tofu was the new-ish sweet ginger tofu made by Cauldron foods. If you aren't in the UK or don't have access to that, any marinated tofu would work, although one that compliments an orange-soy-ginger dressing would obviously be best.

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Made over creamy mushroom pasta {vegan sauce + raw noodles}

After making Mary Ellen's Thai slaw salad last week, I was in the mood for more vegetable spiralising. I love my spiraliser but, as with so many things, go through phases with it. When it comes out it tends to stay out for a while, so you may see some more spiralising over the coming weeks!

I was very pleased with this dish, especially as it is different to my previous raw noodle recipes (which include courgette / zucchini noodles with a spicy peanut sauce, a tahini lemon sauce and a tomato basil sauce, and the Thai beetroot noodles featured in my header). Here, light courgette noodles are topped with a creamy sauce made from hummous, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and paprika. With the addition of mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes, it really is reminiscent of a creamy pasta meal. Unlike traditional versions, though, this one won't leave you feeling overwhelmed by heavy ingredients. 

I used sun dried tomatoes that are dried without oil, which are my favourite type. They are particularly flavoursome but you can obviously use the oil-based variety if you need to. Don't skip them though, or the mushrooms - both are crucial to this dish! Whilst my version of this isn't fully raw (on account of using hummous made with cooked chickpeas), you could also use raw hummous if you're so inclined.

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The best vegan chocolate courgette (zucchini) cake

To claim something as the best is a big claim. It is especially grandiose when you do so without any official contest, judging or rankings! However, this cake is so good that I have allowed myself the title. I have previously shared chocolate courgette muffins, and a whole host of apple courgette baked goods, but this cake is in a category all of its own. It is moist, fudgy and rich but also light in texture. Mr Bite loved it as much as me, even after hearing it had a vegetable in it (you really can't tell).

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Chocolate zucchini breakfast pudding

It seems that this week I am all about chocolate. I hope you don't mind too much. This chocolate zucchini breakfast pudding would make a good prelude to the chocolate cake of my last post, but it would also make a good prelude to just about anything at all. Basically, it delivers slow release carbohydrates and a serve of vegetables in the form of warm fudgy chocolate. I like it rather a lot.

Prior to yesterday, I actually didn't have a Breakfast section on my Recipes page. I had quite a few breakfast-y recipes, but they were easily integrated into my Baking section or the leftover 'Other' category. Of late, though, I have had more time to devote to breakfast, a nice consequence of not yet starting work in the UK. Creations from my new NutriBullet have featured prominently in the mornings, but there have been other types of breakfast too. Suddenly, it seemed that my Recipes page really ought to have a Breakfast component. I am pleased to announce it with this recipe!

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Sun dried tomato and mushroom zucchini noodles

I think this is the last recipe hanging on from my Australian kitchen. I say think because sometimes I forget about posts until I find a set of photos and/or scribbled recipe notes, in blog draft format or somewhere less sensible. Probably, though, this is it.

This is the fourth zucchini noodle recipe that I've shared, and it is one of my favourites to date. It was directly based on The Raw Kitchen's "live zucchini pasta", which I raved about back in May. The restaurant version featured raw tomato sauce, mushrooms, kalamata olives, avocado, basil, nutritional yeast and black pepper. My adaptation used sherry vinegar and soy sauce instead of the tomato sauce, and dropped the olives and avocado in place of sundried tomatoes. 

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Lightly cooked zucchini noodles with a tomato basil sauce

In my zucchini noodle experiments to date, I have used the noodles fresh and raw. To be honest, it never occurred to me to eat them in any other way. Recently, though, I saw a reference to zucchini noodles being lightly cooked. Last week, I decided to give that approach a go, and added noodles to a hot pan for just under 2 minutes. The result? Slightly softened, nicely warmed noodles that were a lovely change from the standard raw variety.

Complementing the noodles were tomatoes, basil, sherry vinegar and nutritional yeast. The flavours were wonderful. Broccoli and tofu featured too, as did a smattering of other herbs. If you had sun dried tomatoes to hand, I think they would be an excellent addition (or replacement for fresh tomatoes) as well.

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Apple and zucchini muffins - the buckwheat version (vegan, GF, refined sugar free)

I imagine I'm not the only blogger with a recipe or post that, well, niggles. It may be that you have never mastered a particular recipe, or that you mastered one version but want to make an adaptation that goes a step further. It may be that you made a great meal but dislike the photos you took, and haven't found the time to re-make and photograph the dish. Perhaps you haven't found the time to write things up at all, or you lost your scribbled piece of paper with the ingredients you used, or you can't remember if you baked things for 20 minutes or 40. Please tell me I'm not the only one who can relate to these scenarios?

Today, I hope to lay one of my niggles to rest: whole grain apple and zucchini muffins.

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Raw zucchini noodles with a spicy peanut sauce

When I posted this recipe for zucchini noodles with a tahini-lemon sauce, I mentioned that I'd first planned a Thai-style sauce with peanut butter and lime. A month later, I'm pleased to be back with that sauce. Carrying Thai flavours beautifully, the mix of peanut butter, chilli, ginger, lime and a dash of salt and sweet makes for a highly enjoyable dressing.

I made this dish somewhat on the spur of the moment, so my recipe is scribbled in very vague form on a piece of scrap paper. I hope I have copied it accurately below. It's a fairly simple dish, so I'm confident that you can switch ingredients to your tastes and pantry if required.

I had planned to top the salad with nuts, but in the end used chickpeas simply because I had them on hand. Obviously cooked chickpeas are not raw, so if you want a fully raw dish, you will want to revert back to nuts for your topping.

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Zucchini noodles with a tahini lemon sauce

What makes an ideal dinner on a 40'C (106'F) day? Last night, my answer was raw zucchini noodles with a tahini-based sauce, followed by soy vanilla ice cream.

I'm sure you can figure out soy vanilla ice cream by yourself (hint: visit a store) but the zucchini dish deserves sharing. There are lots of similar recipes around, but I think that speaks to how well veggie spirals pair with creamy nut and seed-based sauces.

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Chocolate zucchini muffins

As my last post may have conveyed, we had a lot of fun camping on the weekend. As my first time sleeping in a 'normal' tent (versus a shared open-ended hootchie on the traumatic experience that was year 8 camp, and a smaller hootchie on the enjoyable but short-lived Duke of Edinburgh year 10 camp), it was also a novel experience for me. I still have some reservations; I loved sleeping amongst trees, but was less enamored with the bugs, and I loved walking for 5 hours on the Cape to Cape track, but would have liked a shower at the end of it! However, I can definitely imagine more camping in my future.

After leaving work early on Friday and returning home on Sunday to the usual weekend requirements (shopping/washing/ironing...), I am also thanking myself again for bulk baking muffins last weekend. A few posts ago, I shared the pumpkin, apple and cranberry variety. Today, we have chocolate zucchini.

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Super snack balls

There were a few possible titles for this post, and the snack balls that form its focus.

Oat, carrot, zucchini, almond and sultana balls won out in ingredient list accuracy, but didn't sound very appealing.

Vanilla oat balls won out in taste accuracy, but seemed a bit misleading given the longer ingredient list.

Oat cookie balls didn't sound quite right.

Balls with a twist sounded quite wrong.

Super snack balls it was.

In truth, these are super snack balls. They are incredibly easy to make. They include both carrot and zucchini. The sweetener is limited to sultanas. They are not particularly portable, going soft if left out of the fridge for too long, but as an easy snack (or even an easy breakfast) - they work very well indeed.

I'm not sure what prompted me to put zucchini in the ingredient list, other than the success of the carrot, nut and date balls I made back in August. I have found that zucchini works well in just about every baked product that carrot works in, and it seems that part of me wanted to see if the same was true of no-bake products.

It is.

These reminded me slightly of carrot cake, but only very slightly. The taste was really of vanilla but with a texture and depth that went far beyond that. There was no zucchini taste, and other than the small occasional flecks of green, you wouldn't know it was in there.

In all, I am really quite enamored with these. I can also see zucchini having another resurgence in my kitchen. It really is a very versatile vegetable!

Super snack balls

These have a super ingredient list and deliver super flavour

Makes about 16 large balls

Vegan

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Ingredients

1/2 large zucchini, grated (~1/2 cup grated)

1/2 large carrot, grated (~1/3 cup grated)

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup raw almonds

1/2 cup sultanas (small raisins)

1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Grate the zucchini and carrot and then set aside (I did this using the grater attachment on my food processor).

Combine the oats, almonds, sultanas and vanilla in a food processor and process until well mixed and the ingredients are starting to clump together. Add the zucchini and carrot and process briefly, until combined.

(If you don't add the zucchini and carrot at the end, they are likely to end up over-processed and the mixture will be too moist.)

Roll into balls and refrigerate for 2 - 4 hours before serving. Store in the refrigerator.

I'm submitting this to Ricki's Wellness Weekend 22nd - 26th November 2012.

What do you think of zucchini in 'sweet' / baked products?

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Pre-holiday vegetables and spinach and 'ricotta' zucchini fettuccine

I usually eat a reasonable amount of fresh produce, but over the past two weeks that amount has been ramped up. In the week before the wedding, I was mindful of eating well; in the week since, I have been mindful of the possible reduction in fresh fruit and vegetables as we travel over the next month.

There have been large salads, leftover sweet potato, chickpea and hemp seed veggie burgers (they were still good after 3 weeks in the freezer!), vegetable ratatouille, and a tofu and broccoli stir fry not dissimilar to the one in this post.

In the week before the wedding, I also threw together a dish that was inspired by a spinach and ricotta fettuccine my mother made when we were growing up. I have never been a huge pasta fan, and never a creamy pasta fan at all, but spinach and ricotta pasta was an exception.

This version uses tofu instead of ricotta, and zucchini noodles instead of pasta (for me at least...I didn't think Mr B would be pleased with that swap so he had regular fettuccine). Despite the changes, the dish was reminiscent of the one I remember. It managed to be filling as well as light, and the spinach tofu mix was the star of the plate in a way that might not be the case if regular pasta was used.

As a child, I always added sweet chili sauce to the spinach and ricotta mix, and as we didn't routinely have sweet chili sauce, I can only assume that it was a recommended pairing. It worked with this dish too. To make the flavours 'pop' a little more, I would probably add chili to the dish in future, but if you aren't a fan of spicy dishes (or live with someone who isn't) then the recipe without spice is still pleasing. It definitely gives a good hit of vegetables!

Spinach and 'ricotta' zucchini fettuccine

Adapted from a recipe I remember from my mother

Vegan

Serves 2

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Ingredients

1 packed cup spinach and/or kale leaves (I used about half of each)

1 tbsp dried basil

1 block (350g) tofu (note: soft tofu would be better than firm for this recipe, but I used firm because it is what I had, and it did work fine)

1 onion, diced

Salt and pepper, to taste (I used a shake of salt and a few cracks of pepper)

Ground paprika or chili powder, to taste (I would recommend 1/2 - 1 tsp)

1 large zucchini

Sweet chili sauce, optional, to serve

Method

Wash your spinach / kale leaves and process in a food processor until roughly chopped. Add the dried basil and process until combined. Add the tofu and process briefly to mix. Set aside.

In a large non-stick pan, saute the onion over medium-high heat until golden. Reduce heat and add the spinach-tofu mix. Stir over low heat for approximately 5 minutes. Add water if needed to thin out the mixture (this should only be necessary if you used firm tofu).

Meanwhile, use a vegetable peeler (or spiralizer if you have one) to create zucchini noodles. Angela at Oh She Glows and Sarah at Peas and Thank You have both done helpful posts on this recently if you need tips. I use a regular vegetable peeler to create thin, wide zucchini strips.

Add the salt, pepper and paprika or chili powder to the spinach-tofu mix and stir through. Leave over low heat for a further 5 minutes and then serve atop the zucchini (which can be lightly heated in the pan if desired).

This is a really easy dish, and a simple way to eat a filling vegetable-based dinner. Of course, it would also work on top of any pasta, or even as a filling for a baked potato.

Vegetables aside, I am pleased to say that we are now nearly off! The house is clean, I think we have remembered the crucial things, our bags are packed, and we fly out tonight (all going well, please all going well) to Madrid, where we spend 6 days before moving on to Portugal.

I am sure pictures will appear along the way!

Do you miss vegetables when travelling? And are you a fan of spinach-ricotta type pasta dishes?

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Apple, zucchini and sultana loaf

I was quite amazed, on reading the comments on my last post, to realise just how non-summery the Eastern states of Australia have been this year. With Western Australia welcoming autumn with some >35'C days, I'm left thinking that it would be rather nice if we could just average things out. This picture of the Australia Day forecast at the end of January seems to sum it up rather well (excuse the language...);

Source

I'm sure it didn't used to be like this!

Sadly, none of us have much direct control over the weather (unless you have a skill I don't know about, in which case I'd be delighted to hear from you). However, I'd like to think that this apple, zucchini and sultana loaf could suit most forecasts. A warm slice, with optional almond butter, a cup of tea and a good book, would be a nice match for rain peltering down outside.

A slice from the fridge, optionally crumbled into yoghurt, would be an enjoyable inside-out-of-the-heat snack.

In fact, it could work in a lot of ways, because this loaf is rather versatile.

Inspired by several of my existing recipes (namely, apple and zucchini muffins, ugly duckling muffins, and apricot and sultana bread), this reminds me most of the ugly duckling muffins that featured earlier this year with apple, zucchini and carrot. In this case, sultanas provide some added sweetness to the loaf, and allow it to stand alone as a plain-ish snack.

If you want something a little more decadent, honey, the aforementioned almond butter or yoghurt, or even some drizzled icing would be worthy serving companions.

Apple, zucchini and sultana loaf

Slightly sweet and easy to adapt to taste and occasion

Vegan, low in fat and with no added sugar

Makes 1 loaf - approximately 12 serves

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Ingredients

1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup non-dairy milk (I actually used unsweetened plain coconut milk, but any would work)

1/3 cup apple sauce

1 tsp vanilla

1 zucchini, grated (leave the skin on)

2 medium apples, peeled and diced

Method

Preheat the oven to 180'C and prepare a non-stick loaf tin.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, milk, apple sauce and vanilla. Mix well to combine.

Add the grated zucchini and diced apples and mix through thoroughly. Pour into the loaf tin.

Bake for 25 minutes at 180'C, then turn the oven off and leave to cool in the oven for an additional 20 - 30 minutes. This should allow the middle to set without the top becoming crispy.

I don't think you can go wrong with a loaf that includes fruit and vegetables and is still enjoyable to eat. Chocolate it isn't...but it will leave room for some chocolate later.

What is your favourite vegetable to make baked goods with? I think zucchini has come to rival carrot as mine!

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Book club baking - Apple Zucchini Slice and Apple Rhubarb Pie

Book club baking Part 1 covered chocolate beetroot brownies and chocolate marshmallow truffles.

In this post, we welcome apples. And more vegetables. And still get dessert.

Apple Zucchini Slice

The combination of apple and zucchini has captured my imagination since I made these muffins earlier this year.

This slice might overtake the muffins as a favourite.

I adapted this Taste of Home recipe for Apple Zucchini loaf, and, as with the chocolate-beetroot brownies, was amazed at how moist the result was. Baking with vegetables really does have advantages.

This isn't the most attractive product in cake / loaf form, which is why I sliced it for serving. But you could leave it whole and drizzle it with icing.

Adapted from Taste of Home

Makes ~16 slices

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Ingredients:

• 1 zucchini, grated
• 1 400g tin of canned apples, no added sugar (or ~1 cup stewed apples)
• 1 tbsp apple sauce
• 1/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used soy)
• Egg replacer to the equivalent of 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1/2 - 1 cup sugar, to taste (depending on whether you want this to be neutral or sweet: I used 1 cup, given I was baking for diverse tastes and it was meant to be dessert)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

• ~2 tbsp brown sugar, extra for topping
• ~1 tsp cinnamon, extra for topping

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180'C and spray a loaf tin with non-stick spray.

2. Grate the zucchini in a food processor or by hand and set aside.

3. Mix the dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt).

4. Prepare your egg replacer and combine with the apple sauce and soy milk. Add to the dry ingredient mix. Stir to combine (the batter will seem too dry at this point).

5. Add the canned apple and zucchini. Mix through well, until all ingredients are combined.

6. Pour batter into the loaf tin and sprinkle the extra brown sugar and cinnamon over the top.

7. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

So. Incredibly. Moist.

The edge of the cake is cakey, whilst the inside is all apple. No evidence of zucchini.

I will be making these again!

Apple Rhubarb Pie

Prior to this, I had never made pie before, even using a store-bought crust. Why? I guess it always seemed complicated, and pie has never been my favourite dessert.

It still isn't my favourite dessert, but after discovering how easy this was to make, I think it will be made again. It looks much harder than it is!

I made the dough in advance, and if you do this, the rolling and filling of the pie takes only 20 minutes or so before going in to the oven. Simple.

Dough recipe from The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes (Kris Holechek)

Filling adapted from She Knows Rhubarb Strawberry Pie, featured in a post on vegetable desserts

Serves 8 - 10

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Dough ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 cup cold dairy-free margarine (I used Nuttelex), chopped into chunks
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup cold water 

Dough instructions:

1. Pulse flour, salt, sugar and margarine in a food processor until well blended and the mixture resembles a coarse meal. 

2. With the food processor running, add water gradually, until the mixture forms a soft dough.

3. Divide dough into two balls and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or until ready to use.

Filling ingredients:

• 3 stalks rhubarb, sliced
• 3 granny smith apples, peeled and sliced
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp cornflour
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1 tbsp apple sauce

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180'C.

2. On a floured surface, roll out one half of the dough mix until it's just larger than your pie dish (I don't have a dedicated pie tin so used a suitably sized round casserole dish, lined with baking paper).

Drape the dough into your pie dish, allowing some to overhang the edges.

3. Mix the filling ingredients together in a saucepan. Stir over very low heat until the ingredients are well combined and the fruit starts to produce juice (~5 minutes).

4. Pour the filling mix into the pie dish.

5. On a floured surface, roll out the other half of the dough. Slice into 6 strips with a sharp knife.

6. Weave the dough strips across the top of the pie. By using fairly thick strips, you don't have to worry about the pastry breaking.

7. When the strips are in place, roll the edge of the pie crust inwards and pinch into place. Trim any excess dough if necessary.

8. Cover pie with foil and bake for 30 minutes, and then remove foil and bake for a further 15 - 25 minutes, until the crust is crisp and golden and the filling is starting to bubble.

This was well received, and is a nice example of something that is (virtually) naturally vegan. Swapping dairy free margarine for butter is all that's required.

Do you have a favourite pie recipe? Or, like me, are you more of a cake person?

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Apple and Zucchini Muffins

I find it slightly unfortunate that after proclaiming the benefits of various Google products, Blogger crashed for what is reportedly the longest period ever. Oops. I guess even Google isn't immune to technical glitches.

Now that things are back up and running (although I apologize to those of you who left comments on my last post - I read them through my inbox, but they have since disappeared from the system!), I wanted to share a recipe.

Last weekend, in addition to a failed carrot cake, I made apple and zucchini muffins for our Mother's Day picnic.

As I hadn't made these before, or even baked with zucchini before, I was a little concerned about how they would turn out. But I needn't have worried. They turned out beautifully.

In fact, I could almost say that they are the best muffins I have ever had. They are certainly the best muffins I can remember having. Which is a big claim, as I have had a lot of muffins in my time!

They aren't the most attractive product (definitely a muffin and not a cupcake), but if you like apple, I don't think you could not like these. And if you make them, I don't think you will regret it.

Apple and Zucchini Muffins

Adapted from All Recipes. Makes about 16 standard sized muffins.

Print recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar (or replacement to taste)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Egg replacer to the equivalent of 2 eggs
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup apple sauce
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 medium to large apples, grated
• 2 medium zucchini, grated

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180'C and prepare a muffin tin (I made 12 regular size and 12 mini muffins, but I think this would equate to 16 regular muffins. Or 12 jumbo muffins).
2. Combine flour, sugars and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
3. Beat together egg replacer, oil and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
4. Stir apple sauce and grated apple and zucchini into the wet ingredients; add in dry ingredients and stir to just combine.
5. Spoon into muffin tins and bake for 20 - 25 minutes (less if you make mini muffins).

These muffins were incredibly moist. And delicious. There was no discernible zucchini flavour, and the taste and texture were really just that of an apple muffin, but better! An apple muffin with punch.

A little on the bland side in appearance...but definitely not in taste

My main modifications from the original recipe were to reduce the brown sugar from 1/2 cup to 1/3 cup; reduce the oil from 1/2 cup to 3 tablespoons; add in the 1/3 cup apple sauce; and use egg replacer instead of real eggs. I also used slightly more apple and zucchini.

Because I was making these for a diverse group, I stuck with the white flour and refined sugars. When I make them again (and I will be making them again!), I think I'll try half white and half wholemeal flour, and replace the white sugar with honey.

Given they were so moist, I also think I could have reduced the oil even further. The addition of the apple sauce seemed more than sufficient.

I see a re-run happening in my kitchen soon...

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