My best days are the ones that start with a smoothie. Really, I function so much better with this boost of nutrients! (In winter, I chase it with hot tea so my body temperature doesn’t take a dip.)
Peanut Butter Oat Cookies
After I made vegan dog cookies with peanut butter and oats and ended up scraping the bowl clean because they were so good, I thought I should make a version of the cookie for humans, just with a little extra sugar and oil because it’s a treat!
Vegan Dog Treats with Peanut Butter & Oats
It’s time to get the vegan dog treats out! There’s something really special about sharing your home with a furry companion, and learning each other’s quirks. As I mentioned in my post about vegan dogs, not only can dogs thrive on plants, but it’s way better for the planet, and for the wallet.
Vegan Spaghetti Carbonara
If you love a good Italian pasta, try this vegan carbonara. It’s not my recipe: it’s all Marco’s doing – he almost outcompetes my Italian friends in his love of pasta, and he knows how to cook!
Chocolate Sourdough Pancakes
Over the last few months I’ve been trying my hand at making my own sourdough – first in Cape Town with great success, and more recently in Berlin with mixed success (I used rye, which totally changes the bread obviously, something I need to get used to). Anyway: the one thing about homemade sourdough is the darn sourdough discard that just goes to waste unless you get creative!
Vegan German Cheesecake (Käsekuchen)
One of the most elusive culinary achievements in my vegan kitchen has been a baked cheesecake. I’d only ever tried a frozen cheesecake, which is super easy to make (using cashews) but very pricey and a different thing entirely.
Classic Hummus
I’m not one to make hummus exactly the same way twice, ever, but I figured I should write down a good hummus recipe to share! It’s such a ubiquitous vegan classic, easy and cheap enough to make at home that you’ll be kicking yourself for ever spending money (and wasteful packaging) on store-bought stuff.
Sunflower Mac
Mac ‘n cheese was a big favourite of mine as a kid, when I lived in Canada: the Kraft kind, from a box. Of course my parents never bought that stuff, I’d get it as a treat once in a while when I visited my best friend next door. And a few months after I moved back to South Africa, I received a big parcel in the post with a dozen boxes of Kraft mac ‘n cheese – best surprise ever!
Homemade Sesame Milk
I ran out of soy milk, and I’m a bit tired of homemade oat milk at the moment. I happened to have a big jar of sesame seeds in the cupboard (no idea why). I know that we can make “milk” from pretty much any seeds, nuts and grains… So.
French Toast
I grew up enjoying pain perdu (French for ‘lost bread) as a weekend treat: crusty day-old bread, soaked in a milk-and-egg mixture, fried, and served up with syrup and fruit. You might also know it as eggy bread (the British take), but it’s a classic dish known and enjoyed in different parts of Europe for ages: the earliest-known recipe dates back 1,600 years! Serve it as a sweet treat with syrup and berries, or as a savoury breakfast with ketchup and vegan sausage 🙂
Soba Noodles with Edamame & Shiitake Mushrooms
This is a new favourite of mine! Perfect for a weeknight dinner (because it’s quick & easy) or a dinner party (because it’s beautiful & tasty). Maybe a little tricky to find the ingredients, depending where you are, but check your local Asian grocer and other specialty shops. It’s worth it!
Easy Pesto with Beans
Pesto fans, rejoice! Here’s an easy blender-friendly recipe! It’s vegan, but packed with flavour and a cheesy tang. It’s quick and easy, and you can use whatever fresh herbs you have on hand: I used parsley, basil and coriander. No cheese necessary, because nutritional yeast packs a cheesy flavour punch.
Meaty Marinated Mushrooms
While I love a good store-bought vegan meat burger patty or seitan sausage, nothing beats a marinated portobello mushroom. It’s so flavourful, and full of umami: pop it on a bun for a burger, or have it alongside veggies and whole grains.
Turmeric Latte
Warm yourself up with a tasty and comforting Turmeric Latte, and get your anti-inflammatory boost. Did you read my post about the magic that is turmeric? I also explain why it’s a good thing to use black pepper and a bit of oil, when consuming turmeric.
Vanilla Ice Cream
I’ve been making this ice cream for years, ever since I bought my little Krups ice cream maker. The recipe works like a charm, as long as you follow the directions: freeze the bowl properly (the colder the better), make sure the custard thickens nicely, and cool it enough before making the ice cream.
Tofu Scramble
You could fool many an egg-lover with a couple blocks of tofu, a some turmeric, and kala namak (black salt from volcanic rock, with a sulphurous taste). I’ve made variations of this scramble so many times over the years, for vegans and meat-eaters alike, and it’s always a hit. Depending on the type of tofu you use and what you add to it, you can really get a very eggy scramble going: but without the cholesterol and saturated fat.
Vegan Crêpes
I had a bunch of fun in the kitchen trying out different ways to make crêpes (i.e. thin, delicate pancakes, in the French style). Flapjacks (the thicker version, what Americans call pancakes) are super easy to veganise and they’ve been my go-to for years, but somehow I was always intimidated at the thought of trying vegan crêpes, since I’d always thought that eggs were an essential ingredient, and making it work without them would be near-impossible.
Vegan Mushroom Risotto
If you’re looking for a bit of wintery decadence, try this. For mushroom lovers only, though: I did not hold back on the mushrooms in this one!