Deliciously Dairy Free

 Almond Tartlets with Lemon Cream & Summer Fruits

Whilst more and more restaurants and cafes are catering for special diets, eating out can still be a "hit and miss" affair when you don't eat meat, eggs or dairy. So it's a real treat when the majority of dishes on the menu are plant based and there's even a choice of dishes to deliberate over!

This year Eric and I came across three such places on our travels and I can recommend them all. 

The Green Rocket Cafe, Bath

Bon Lloc, Palma, Mallorca

Wildebeest, Falmouth, Cornwall

For me, it's a luxury to be served exciting, appetising dishes created by talented chefs and to enjoy them safe in the knowledge that they are totally animal free.  There's no doubt that being vegan and eating a plant based diet is becoming trendier each year.  When you see queues of people waiting for a table, you know the menu and more importantly the food is going to be good. 

These vegan restaurants can be a huge inspiration to us home cooks and offer proof that it's possible to eat well whatever diet you choose to eat. The days of being offered a very basic fruit salad for dessert are hopefully long gone! 

Making your own dairy free dishes at home is hugely satisfying and simple too! We made the Almond Tartlets pictured above on my last cookery course in August.  

Health on a Plate August 2015

DELICIOUSLY DAIRY FREE 

My next course at Bodnant Cookery School is in just a few weeks so I have been preparing some equally fabulous recipes! If you think eating dairy free and egg free means missing out on luscious, creamy desserts and deliciously light cakes and pastries, this course will hopefully convince you otherwise and show that you can have your cake and eat it .... and look after your health too!  

"Deliciously Dairy Free" is on Saturday, 21 November 2015. The day starts at 10.45am with a welcome drink and ends at 4pm when you will pack up and take home all your dishes!  It costs £95 and includes all your ingredients and lunch.

You can find all the details on the Bodnant website here.

More photos from my last course ....

See you at Bodnant on the 21st!

Cook with Me at Bodnant!

  

I've loved sharing my recipes with you since starting this blog in 2010. My aim has always been to show that healthy eating is easy as well as appetising.  I have a lot of fun making each dish look tasty and tempting in the photos and now there's a chance for you to sample the food too!

Next Sunday, 25th August 2013,  I'll be giving a demonstration of dairy free cooking at the Cookery Festival being held over the Bank Holiday Weekend at Bodnant Welsh Foods Centre in the Conwy Valley.  

It's free to enter and there will be a variety of events going on each day so do come along if you live in North Wales.  I'll be there around 3pm on the Sunday and, if you like chocolate, you definitely won't want to miss sampling my Extra Special Chocolate Brownies!

Click here for more information about the Festival and, if you are there, do come and say hello!

Rhona's Cookery Course

In October, I'll be teaching a one day Cookery Course at the exclusive Bodnant Cookery School in Conwy.  If you would like to cook alongside me in the wonderful facilities, this is your chance and I would love you to join me.   

The course takes place on Saturday 19 October 2013 and is all about baking the dairy free way.   As it's National Baking Week, it seemed like the perfect time to offer some healthy alternatives to traditional baked recipes which are so often loaded with sugar, eggs, cream and fat.  

Over the years, I've lost count of the number of times I've been asked "How ever do you make cakes without eggs?" so I'm really happy to share with you my tried and tested methods of making cakes and cookies as well as savoury scones and tartlets.  As with all my recipes on this blog,  you won't find any eggs or dairy ingredients and very little sugar too. 

 Eating Well is a Way of Life

  
To me, choosing what to eat has everything to do with the impact it has on my health.  I love food and I love the pleasure I get from growing, preparing and eating it.  It's really not that difficult to enjoy eating a healthy diet. It's just a simple commitment to eat food that does my body, mind and soul good.

We all have different body types and different responses to food so no one way of eating is right for everyone. As more people are being diagnosed with food intolerances, it's even more important for each of us to adapt our eating habits to meet our individual health needs.

Far from being restrictive, changing our diet can be an opportunity to try out new ingredients and new methods of preparing food.  It can revitalise our taste buds as we become more conscious of each mouthful of food we eat. It can also open up a whole new way of cooking that can transform our life as well as our health!

When I stopped eating meat and animal products thirty three years ago,  there were few cookbooks that could teach me how to cook food free from animal ingredients.  However, I loved cooking (and eating!) so it didn't take me long to find new ways of making fantastic meals that even my meat-eating friends enjoyed!

   The Joy of Baking

Baking can be a wonderfully absorbing and creative hobby. When we bake mindfully, we put something of ourselves into the mixing bowl and this expression of love and care is like a magic ingredient that produces amazing results!

This course will appeal to anyone who cares about what they eat and who loves making food delicious.  Whether you are a complete novice or an experienced cook, newly diagnosed with a dairy intolerance or well accustomed to eating dairy free or maybe you simply want to expand your cooking repertoire, you will be inspired to create some fabulous food.

 Hands-On Experience
 

You will have plenty of hands-on practical experience as you prepare light and crispy pastry without animal fat, bake scrumptious cakes and savoury scones without milk or eggs and produce a creamy dessert without cream!  

The course starts at 10 am and finishes at 3.30pm and, at the end of the day, you'll take home a wonderful assortment of baked goodies that you have made yourself, including:-

• Basil, tomato and olive scones
• Butternut squash and mushroom tartlets
• Baked lemon tofu cheesecake with summer fruit topping
• Blueberry muffins
• Apricot and pecan cookies

A light lunch is included which we'll eat together in the spacious dining area overlooking the beautiful Conwy estuary.

Click here for all the details on the Bodnant website and to book your place.  While October may seem like a long way off, make sure you reserve a place for yourself now as numbers are limited. 

Look forward to seeing you there!  

Fruity Chocolate Florentines

After a break from posting recipes,   I'm back with a little treat for you just in time for Christmas.   These fruity chocolate florentines are amazingly quick and easy to make and are particularly good served chilled from the fridge - or even straight out of the freezer!  

Florentines are traditionally full of sugar and cream so, in my recipe, I've reduced the sugar, cut out all the dairy products and added maple syrup, dairy-free dark chocolate and plenty of naturally sweet fruits and nuts.   As it's Christmas, I've added dried cranberries and some naturally red glace cherries but you can use any combination you like!

  

Ingredients          Makes about 15

55g dairy free margarine

27g light brown muscovado sugar

1 tbsp natural maple syrup

140g mixed dried fruits, cranberries, glace cherries, mixed peel

40g mixed nuts e.g. almonds, brazil nuts, pecan

25g plain white flour

100g dairy free dark chocolate

Method

 

Preheat the oven to 170C/150C fan/Gas Mark 3

Prepare two baking trays by greasing with a little margarine or use non-stick baking liners. 

Start by placing the margarine, sugar and maple syrup in a saucepan and melting them over a low heat, stirring constantly until smooth.   Remove the pan from the heat. 

Roughly chop the dried fruit and nuts, then add them to the pan with the flour.  Stir well.  

Drop small spoonfuls of the florentine mixture onto the baking sheets allowing plenty of space between them.  They do spread out during baking so, if you don't leave enough room, you'll have one very large florentine instead of about 15 smaller ones!  

Place in the oven and bake for about 10 - 12 minutes until they are golden brown.

Leave for about 3 minutes to harden slightly before loosening carefully with a knife or spatula. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  

If your florentines have merged together whilst baking, they can still be rescued!  As soon as you take them out of the oven, separate them carefully with a knife or scissors and ease them into a circular shape. 

Break up the chocolate into pieces and place in a small bowl.  Microwave until completely melted, stirring frequently to avoid overcooking.

  

(Alternatively, place the bowl over a small pan filled with a couple of inches of just boiled water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water) 

When the chocolate is glossy and smooth, spread a thin layer over the back (i.e. flat side) of each florentine, using a knife or pastry brush.  If you like, you can make a zigzag pattern using a fork whilst the chocolate is setting.

  Have  a wonderful festive season and see you in the New Year!

Healthy Vegan Cupcakes

  

 
These little cupcakes are full of good things, including fresh and dried fruit and even a vegetable too!  The surprise ingredient is pumpkin, handy when they are in the shops at Halloween, but at any other time butternut squash is fine too.

Keeping sugar to a minimum, there's no sweet icing on these fruit cupcakes but I'm sure you won't miss it as they're already scrumptious and much healthier too!

Ingredients                            Makes 12 cupcakes

Zest and juice of an orange

100ml sunflower oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

75g light brown muscovado sugar

200g peeled pumpkin or butternut squash

100g sultanas

200g self-raising flour

1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 level tsp cinnamon



Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas Mark 4.    Place 12 paper cupcake cases in a muffin tray.

Finely grate the zest of an orange.








Coarsely grate the peeled pumpkin or butternut squash.







Pour the sunflower oil into a large bowl and add the grated zest and juice of an orange, the vanilla extract and the sugar.  Whisk the ingredients together and then add the grated pumpkin.

Mix in the other ingredients - the sultanas, flour, bicarbonate of soda and the cinnamon.

The mixture should be moist but not wet.  If it seems too dry, just add a little cold water.
  
Spoon equal quantities of the mixture into the paper cases.   Give the tin a few light taps to settle the cake mixture. 

Bake for 25 minutes until the cupcakes are golden and feel springy in the centre. 

 Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.   Eat fresh or freeze for later.

Blackcurrant Muffins

With less sugar content than traditional cupcakes, these American style muffins are delicious and couldn't be easier to make.  They are entirely free of eggs and dairy too!

Made with sunflower oil instead of vegetable fat, all you do is weigh out your dry ingredients into one bowl, combine your liquid ones in a measuring jug, then mix the whole lot together and throw in some blackcurrants and, hey presto, beautiful fresh fruit muffins!

Thanks to a couple of productive bushes in my garden, I always have plenty of blackcurrants in my freezer.  Raspberries, diced strawberries or blueberries would do just as well, fresh or frozen. 

Ingredients      Makes about 12

250g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
50g golden castor sugar
3 fl.oz sunflower oil
9 fl oz soya milk
1 tsp natural vanilla extract
(e.g. Nielsen-Massey Madagascan)
120g fresh or frozen blackcurrants

Topping:
25g golden castor sugar
1 tsp mixed spice

Method

First prepare your muffin tin.

If you have paper cases for muffins, place in the tin. Otherwise, grease the muffin tin well.

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas Mark 6.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together into a large mixing bowl.

Measure the soya milk and sunflower oil in a measuring jug. Whisk together with a fork and stir in the vanilla essence.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ones and combine well but don't overbeat the mixture if you want super light cakes.   I generally use a fork to incorporate everything and press out any lumps!

Carefully fold in the blackcurrants.

Using a spoon, divide the mixture into the 12 muffin cases or tin.   

Mix the sugar and mixed spice in a small bowl or empty margarine container box.

Using a teaspoon or the corner of the container as a pourer, sprinkle over the top of the muffins.

Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until well-risen, springy and golden.

If using paper cases, transfer the muffins immediately to a wire rack to cool. If not, leave in the tin for about 5 minutes before turning out.

Extra Fruity Fruit Cake

When you want to cut down your intake of sugar, eggs and dairy, you might imagine cakes are out of the question, but that's not the case at all. This Extra Fruity Fruit Cake is absolutely delicious despite the fact it's fat free, sugar free, egg free and dairy free! 

What it does contain is plenty of healthy ingredients.  Dried fruits, dates, ground almonds and fruit juice provide natural sweetness and give the cake a lovely moist texture.  Don't feel you have to use the same dried fruits as I have.  Apart from the dates which are an essential ingredient, any combination of dried and ready to eat fruits such as raisins, sultanas, apricots, prunes, peaches and pears will do as long as the total weight is around 450/500g.

One thing I discovered years ago is that cakes made with wholemeal flour can be heavy and not to everyone's taste.  To lighten a cake, I use half wholemeal, half white flour, as I've done in the recipe below.   

Ingredients     

250g stoned dates,  chopped  
300ml water
150g raisins
150g sultanas
100g ready to eat dried apricots
50g dried peaches
50g mixed peel
85g plain flour
85g wholemeal flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 rounded tsp mixed spice 
50g ground almonds
80ml orange juice  (either freshly squeezed or from a carton)


Method

Preheat the oven to 170C/150C fan/Gas Mark 3.  

Grease a 900g (2lb) loaf tin and line the base with greaseproof paper. 

Place the chopped dates and water in a pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for a few minutes until the dates have softened and the mixture has thickened.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

Using kitchen scissors, cut up the dried apricots and peaches into small pieces and place in a large bowl with the raisins, sultanas, mixed peel, plain/wholemeal flour, baking powder, mixed spice and ground almonds. 

Then add the cooked date mixture and orange juice and mix well.

Spoon into the prepared tin and level the top.

Bake for about an hour and a half or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  After an hour or so of baking, I place a small piece of foil loosely over the top to avoid the cake going too brown.

Leave in the tin for 15 minutes, then slide a knife along the side to loosen and turn out on to a wire rack to cool.   

     
Eat one, freeze one! 
If you want to make two smaller cakes instead, split the mixture into two 1lb (450g) loaf tins and bake them for about one hour.

Spiced Apple and Date Cake



People are often surprised when I say I make cakes.  Just because I don't eat eggs or dairy products doesn't mean I can't make delicious cakes, muffins and cookies!  

This is a lovely moist cake, full of natural ingredients and ideal if you have lots of windfall apples to use up.  I prefer not to eat too much sugar so this is a fabulous recipe as it contains no eggs or sugar, though you'd never know. The spicy apple and date flavour is delicious enough on it's own! 

Ingredients
170g (6oz) peeled and chopped eating apples
115g (4oz) chopped dates
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp pear and apple spread
55g (2oz) dairy free margarine (e.g. Pure, Sainsbury's Freefrom)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
170g (6oz) self-raising flour
1 tsp cinnamon
Grated nutmeg

You can buy pear and apple spread at Health Food shops (like Holland and Barrett)  It adds natural flavour and sweetness and contains only apples and pears.

You'll need a 20cm (8") sandwich tin, preferably with a loose bottom, about 4cm (1½") deep.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas Mark 4.

Put the chopped apple and dates into a saucepan with the water.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook gently until the apple is tender.

Add the pear and apple spread and mix well.

Cool slightly, then whizz the mixture with a hand-blender, or mash well.

Add the margarine and stir until melted. 

Then add the bicarbonate of soda and mix well.  You will see the apple and date mixture froth up a little.

Add in the sifted flour, the cinnamon and a good grating of nutmeg and mix well.

Transfer to a well-greased sandwich tin and level the top of the mixture. 

I sometimes sprinkle a little demerera sugar over the top (about half a tablespoon) but it's entirely up to you.

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a cooling rack. 

Suggestions ..

This is lovely to take out as a snack on a winter walk. 

For a quick dessert, peel and slice some extra apples into a bowl and microwave or cook until soft.   Serve a couple of spoonfuls with a slice of cake. 

 
Bon Appetit!