This is one of my Mum’s specialties, which I have veganised. It worked out really deliciously well, so I’m hoping that Mum will take note and make it for me this way next time I visit her! *hint hint*

If you are looking for a healthy banana loaf, try this link for a sugar-free, wholemeal version, because this loaf is filled with sugary & (vegan)buttery goodness!

Mum’s Banana, Date and Walnut loaf

Ingredients:

125 g vegan butter/marg (I use olivani)
3/4 cup castor sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 very ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped, pitted dates
3/4 cup SR flour
3/4 cup Plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Mash bananas finely with fork (should be about 1 cup of banana).  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add oil, mix well. Add bananas and vanilla, mix until well combined.  Stir in sifted flours and soda in two lots. Mix well. Add walnuts and dates, mix, and then spread mixture into a well-greased loaf tin, bake in moderate oven for 60 – 80 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.  Stand for a few minutes before turning onto a wire rack.

*Mum actually uses a 20cm ring tin to bake this one, and baking time is greatly reduced with the ring tin because you don’t have to wait for the middle to cook through. I don’t have one though so I used a regular tin.

Well after the success of slow-cooker week I think I’m going to declare next week slow-cooker week too. All of these recipes were so easy and SO cheap as well, which is good because the foodie car needs new tires!

All-Day Minestone:
(Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion leek, minced
1 celery rib, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 garlic cloves, minced
4 ounces green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 medium sized zucchini or yellow summer squash – diced
6 cups vegetable stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup raw ditalini or other small soup pasta
1/4 cup pesto

Method:
1. Pour the oil in the bottom of the slow-cooker. Add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Cover and cook on high while you assemble the remaining ingredients.

2. After they’ve been prepped, add the green beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, zucchini and stock. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for for 7 to 8 hours.

3. About an hour before you’re ready to serve, add the raw pasta to the slow cooker and cover.

4. Just before serving, stir in the pesto.

NOTE: you can use cooked pasta if you prefer instead of raw, just add it to the soup when you add the pesto.
The omnivore of the household sprinkles grated parmesan cheese on top for extra delish.

Another recipe with just an end result photo.. sorry about that! Will make sure I am better prepared with a charged up battery next time!!

This recipe is from The Joy of Vegan Baking.

I really LOVE this cook book and anyone who is even remotely interested in vegan baking really should get themselves a copy, it never ceases to amaze me. This pancake recipe is SOOO good.. even just thinking about it makes me want to make up another batch! Now if I could just invent a vegan nutella to slather my pancakes with I’d be all set!

Vegan Pancakes
(The Joy of Vegan Baking)

Ingredients:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (or half all-purpose and half whole wheat)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup non-dairy milk (we used soy)
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons liquid sweetener such as maple syrup or apple juice concentrate (we used orange juice)
Additional oil or vegan butter for cooking (optional – depends on your pan)

Method:
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, oil and sweetener.

Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and mix just until moistened, a few lumps are okay (Don’t overmix or the pancakes will be tough).

Heat a nonstick pan over a medium head. (add some oil if required but with a nonstick pan you won’t need it)

Pour the batter onto the griddle to form circles about 10cm in diameter. Cook the pancakes for a couple of minutes on one side, until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip the pancake and cook the other side until golden brown.

This recipe makes 8 to 10 (super delicious) pancakes.

I served mine with fresh fruit and some vegan choc chips.. OMG! Delish!

Another slow cooker recipe tonight, a nice accompaniment for the snow storm that unexpectedly swept over us this afternoon! Unfortunately due to technical difficulties with the camera (ie: a dead battery) I don’t have any progress pictures to go with this recipe, just the end result.

Almost Irish Stew
(Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion leek, chopped
1 1/2 cups baby carrots, halved lengthwise
6 very small white potatoes, halved or quartered
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons tamari or other soy sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 large kale leaves – or other dark leafy greens, chopped, cooked until tender and drained

Method:
1. Heat the oil in a large frypan over medium heat. Add the onion, cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Transfer the onions to your slow cooker. Add the carrots, potatoes, garlic, beans, stock, bay leaf, wine, tamari, thyme and salt and pepper, Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

3. About 10 minutes before serving stir in the cooked kale (we also added some browned vegan sausages at this point). Serve hot.

Serve up with some fresh bread rolls.. yum!

I got a bit distracted while making this one and ended up making it over two nights instead of one, so rather than toasting the crumbs in a frypan and putting them on top of the cassoulet mixture like it says to do in the recipe below, I put the mixture in the fridge overnight and then reheated it in the oven with the breadcrumbs on top. Either way will work fine, and the oven idea might work best for any cassoulet mixture you are reheating from leftovers.

Slow and Easy White Bean Cassoulet
(Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion leek, chopped
10 baby carrots, halved
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can white beans drained and rinsed (we used cannellini)
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup white wine
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

Method:
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frypan over medium heat. Add the onion leek, carrots and garlic, cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Transfer the onion mixture to your slow cooker. Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, wine, bay leaves, and thyme; season with salt and pepper, cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

3. While the cassoulet is cooking, lightly toast the bread crumbs in a small frypan, with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat.

4. When the cassoulet is ready to serve, remove and discard the bay leaves, top with the crumbs, serve hot, garnish with the parsley.

5. You may also like to serve with some browned vegetarian/vegan sausages.. delish!

I’ve decided that this week is going to be slow cooker week in the foodie household, starting with Vegan Lentil Bolognese.. and oh wow, this recipe was good! And I don’t just mean that in the being polite to the cook kind of way, I mean that in the oh my goodness I need another bowl even though I’m so full I can barely move kind of way. Bolognese was always one of my favourites when I was a kid and it’s one of those dishes that I have really missed as a vegetarian (that and the Hainanese Chicken Rice I used to love to eat when I was in Singapore – Anyone got a good vegan substitute for that recipe?). Well, I will no longer be pining for the bolognese of my past because I’ve definitely found a replacement for this particular comfort food.

The inspiration for this recipe came from “Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker” but I’ve modified it quite a bit.

Note: Although I used fettuccine in this recipe I actually prefer to use a shell pasta, that way the lentils are cupped in the pasta and more evenly distributed throughout the meal.. with fettuccine or other long pasta then you are likely to end up with a pile of lentils on your plate at the end.

Vegan Lentil Bolognese

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium leek, minced
2 carrots, minced
2 celery rib, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small red chili, minced
1 800g can of crushed tomatoes
1 cup dried brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
2 tablespoons tomato paste dissolved in 1 cup of hot water
Pinch of mixed spice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Fettuccine or other pasta of your choice
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese or soy Parmesan to serve

Method:
1. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the leek, carrot, celery, chili and garlic. Cover, and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the wine and simmer for 2 minutes.

2. Transfer the vegetable mixture to the slowcooker. Add the tomatoes, lentils, tomato paste mixture, mixed spice and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours (couldn’t be easier!!!)

3. When ready to serve, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally. Drain well.

4. Just prior to serving, stir the parsley into the sauce. Place the cooked pasta in a serving bowl, top with the bolognese and serve immediately with the cheese (or not, it’s just as good without it!).

Tomorrow I’m pulling out the slow cooker again but I’m not sure yet whether I’ll make White Bean Cassoulet, Minestrone, or Irish Stew, they are all on the menu for the coming week.. any requests?

This is an old favourite of mine that I’ve been making for years. It’s not very pretty, but it sure is delicious!
Note: This recipe is fine to make and eat right away but is INCREDIBLE when made 24 hours before hand and left in the fridge overnight to let the flavors really mesh.

Lentil Cottage Pie

Ingredients:
800g potatoes
40g vegan butter
1 medium onion leek, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, crushed
100g button mushrooms, quartered
415g can of crushed tomatoes
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/3 cup dry red wine
2/3 cup red lentils
2 medium carrots, chopped finely
1 small red chili, chopped finely
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Boil, steam or microwave potatoes until tender. Drain and mash in a large bowl with half the butter.

Melt remaining butter in medium saucepan. Cook leek and garlic, stirring until leek is soft. Add mushrooms and chili, cook for 2 minutes. Add undrained tomatoes, vegetable stock, water, tomato paste, wine, lentils and carrot. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add peas, parsley, salt and pepper, cook, uncovered for 20 minutes. Stand pie for 10 minutes before serving.
NOTE: If you’re not concerned about keeping this dish vegan, you can stir 1/2 cup of finely grated parmesan cheese into the potato mash.

Yum!

This is such an easy recipe! And delicious too. I wasn’t really able to get a good photo of the end product, the loaf tin I used was a bit too wide so my loaf ended up flatter than I would have liked, also, I was too busy eating it to take photos – but rest assured it was very yum!

Banana, Date & Walnut Loaf

Ingredients:

4 large, ripe bananas
200g wholemeal flour
75g oats
100g chopped dates
50g chopped dried cranberries (optional)
50g chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon baking powder

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Mash the bananas and combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Grease a loaf tin and bake mixture in oven for between 50 – 80 minutes (start checking it after 50 mins and take it out once a skewer or knife to the center comes out clean).

It’s as simple as that! Enjoy!

This vegan chocolate cupcake recipe is soooo good that even the non vegans of the world will love them (that means you Tennille!!).

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
(Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World)

Ingredients:
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond or chocolate extract (I prefer chocolate – almond extract has quite a strong flavor)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

2. Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil,  and vanilla extract and other extract, to the soy milk mixture and beat till foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to the wet ingredients and beat till no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are okay!)

3. Pour mixture into liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake for 18 – 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cupcake comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before icing.

For the icing, I just used a plain chocolate icing: 2/3 cup of cocoa powder, 3 cups of icing sugar and enough warm water to make a paste.. ice your cupcakes and sprinkle with some 100s and 1000s and you’re all done!

I have had a bit of a slow cooker fetish lately, I think it has to do with the cold New Zealand weather, there’s nothing like the smell of comfort food wafting through the house all day long while you sit by the fire.

This one is one of my favourites from the slow cooker so far, it’s super easy and very delicious!

Bean & Vegetable Ragout
(Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 medium sized onion, leek, finely chopped
1 large carrot, halved lengthwise and sliced into half moons
1 large turnip, peeled and sliced
1 large parsnip, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced into half moons
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups of cannellini or other white beans (or one can)
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp dried
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup cooked chopped collards or other dark leafy greens (we used silver beet)
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot, cover, and cook until softened – about 5 minutes.

2. Transfer the cooked vegetables to the slow cooker. Add the turnip, parsnip, sweet potato, beans, stock, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover, and cook on low for 6 – 8 hours.

3. About 30 minutes before ready to serve, stir in the collards or leafy greens.

4. Serve hot! (for the non vegans, top with some grated parmesan for extra yum!!)

Nice and easy!