 I love tempeh meatballs but I've got to say that the pecan nuts takes this dish into a crazy delicious territory! This is one that people ask me to re-make for them when they come for dinner, it is super easy and absolutely filling and delicious. Serve with tubular spaghetti or zucchini pasta ... or make a sub :) The possibilities are endless :)  Tempeh and Pecan Meatballs 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil ½ onion 3 cloves garlic 1 cup of pecans 300grams Tempeh ½ cup tomato paste 2 chia eggs (2 Tablespoons of Chia and 6 Tablespoons of water presoaked together in a small bowl for five minutes before adding). 1 tablespoon of cumin 1 tablespoon of garlic powder 1 teaspoon of dried basil 1/2 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes, more if you like it spicy! Salt and Pepper to taste Process: 1) Preheat Oven to 180 degrees 2) Sauté olive oil, garlic and onions together for 5 minutes on low – medium temperature. 3) Process pecan nuts until they become fine. 4) Add all other ingredients into food processor, and process until combined. 5) On an oven tray, lined with baking paper, make walnut size balls. 6) Cook for 20-25 minutes until brown and firm on outside. Garlic Tomato Sauce: 2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil 12 cloves of garlic, diced 1 jar of passata (700 grams) 1 teaspoon of chili Salt and Pepper Process: 1) Saute olive oil and garlic on a low heat for 3-5 minutes. 2) Add all other ingredients, and cook for 20 minutes. On a freshly steamed bowl of zucchini pasta, or normal pasta, add garlic sauce and five meatballs and garnish with fresh basil if desired.    My first sandwich recipe and I wanted to beyond delicious – I wanted pops of flavor, freshness, colour and palate vibrancy … and this, I promise, delivers  Vegan Asian marinated tofu and peanut slaw sandwich Recipe Type: Vegan Sandwich Prep time: 50 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 1 hour and ten mins Serves: 4 Ingredients Marinated Tofu
Peanut Slaw
Other optional salad ingredients:
Instructions Preheat the oven to 180C and prepare one baking tray with baking paper. Make marinade by whisking all ingredients together, except tofu: olive oil, tamari, lemon juice, maple syrup, liquid smoke, sriracha sauce and nutritional yeast. Press tofu, this allows for excess water to be eliminated and will mean a tasty tofu experience. If you haven’t pressed tofu before check spork food for further instructions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDK24td_BOM Cut tofu into ½ inch steak slabs, to create at least 8 slabs (2 for each sandwich). Now it’s marination time, so leave at least 30 minutes to marinate before baking! To make the peanut slaw dressing, add the peanut butter and warm water, and mix until there is a creamy consistency. Then add the tamari, lime juice, maple syrup, sriracha sauce, and mix all together. This can be particularly intense if you test taste it, especially the lime. This will mellow when you add it to the cabbage and carrot. Now, dress the cabbage and carrot with this awesome dressing. This can marinate while you get the tofu baking! Place the tofu on the baking paper, and bake for about 20-25 minutes. When it’s cooked perfectly, take out of the oven and place on serving tray. I love letting my friends prepare their own sandwiches, so I have gorgeous fresh bread sliced, the baked tofu, the peanut slaw and some additional options like coriander, spinach, avocado and extra fresh chilli so they can create their perfect sandwich. Everyone has different preferences so it’s great when you can cater and allow them to experience food the way they love. If you liked the recipe, or know someone who will, please share, like or comment via the social media links below. Love and light, Penelope     I adore pecans, the silky texture and subtle taste … it is the perfect nut. I was seeing a beautiful friend who has just been blessed with her third child, and I thought I’d take some children friendly muffins across as a way of saying CONGRATULATIONS! And these Double chocolate and pecan muffins were a hit! We ate them warm out of the oven, with a licorice and peppermint tea and we were both very happy … and her children were very lucky that we left some for them!  Vegan Double Chocolate and Pecan Muffins Recipe Type: Vegan muffin Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 34 mins Serves: 12 muffins Ingredients
Instructions Preheat oven to 180C and line muffin tray. I like to line the muffin tray with bright colours to bring some vibrancy to the chocolate muffin. In a large bowl, sift and mix the dry ingredients: flour, cacao, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Then add the chopped chocolate and pecans, and mix all thoroughly together. In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients: chia egg, mylk, coconut oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until you have a smooth mixture, and all is well mixed. Don’t over mix though. Fill your muffin liners about 3/4 full with the batter, and bake for 20 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the middle and if it comes out clean, then you’re about to have the best morning, afternoon or snack attack! After 2-3 minutes, transfer to a wire rack to cool and then eat warm; and if you feel like sharing … share. If this bounty is all for you, then revel in these beautiful double chocolate and pecan muffins! If you liked the recipe, or know someone who will, please share, like or comment via the social media links below. Love and light, Penelope   I love potato salad and I love Mexican food … combine them and get an awesome salad that can be served as lunch, dinner, potluck or a side – it’s fresh, delicious, and you’ll be making this one over and over again!  Vegan Roast Potato and Mexican Salad Recipe Type: Vegan Main Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 1 hour 15 mins Serves: 4 mains Ingredients
Mexican lemon Vinaigrette:
Instructions Pre-heat the oven to 180C degrees. Add your cubed potatoes and olive oil to a roasting dish, cover (with lid or aluminum foil) and place in oven for 25 minutes. Take roasting dish out of oven, add cumin, garlic, salt and pepper, mix and then place back in over for another 15-25 minutes. You want these potatoes to be able to be cooked to your roasted potato preferences – I like them soft in the middle and lightly crunchy on the outside. Prepare vinaigrette – it’s as easy as whisking or mixing all the ingredients together. I like to do this even the day before so the flavours and chili can marinate. Shake well before use. In a large mixing bowl, combine all salad ingredients and vinaigrette. Mix well so dressing is applied evenly. If preparing salad early, then leave potatoes out at this point and allow the salad ingredients and vinaigrette to marinate. Add the potatoes just before serving, mix well, and then pour into the serving dish. Taste test time – are you happy? This is about what you find delicious, so feel free to add a little extra salt, pepper, chili, lemon or cumin as you prefer. Can eat with warmed potates, straight out of the oven, for a winter dish, or serve everything chilled in summer. If you liked the recipe, or know someone who will, please share, like or comment via the social media links below. Love and light, Penelope    Ginger is a wonderful spice, both for flavor and for the many healing properties it possesses. It can aid digestion, alleviating indigestion and even help with flatulence. It’s fantastic for nausea and morning sickness and motion sickness. During hurricane season, when I worked on the cruise ship, I used to take ginger tablets and never get sea sick – I converted all my team members and it was our saving grace! It can ease headaches and sore throats and help if you have a cold or flu. There are so many reasons to increase ginger in our diets, and you’ll find many more ginger inspired dishes on my blog! This is one of my favorite muffin recipes, and it’s so perfect in the autumn or winter months when you want something to warm you up from the inside out. I was inspired by Chef Chloe’s pumpkin spice cupcakes, but wanted to highlight the ginger aspect and turn it into a healthier muffin option!  Vegan Ginger and Pumpkin Spice Muffins Recipe Type: Vegan Muffin Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 35 mins Serves: 12 Muffins Ingredients
Instructions Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and line your muffin pan In a large mixing bowl, combine dry muffin ingredients; flour sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon nutmeg, and crystalised ginger. Mix well. In a different medium size mixing bowl, whisk together all of the wet cupcake ingredients; chia egg, apple cider vinegar, vaniall extract, coconut oil, mylk, and pumpkin puree. Pour the dry muffin ingredients into the wet, and mix together. Be careful not to overmix the batter. Taste test time – are you happy? The ginger will be stronger here, and mellow out when baked. If you’re ginger crazy, you can add a little more, or if you love another spice you can increase the potency. This is about what you find delicious, so feel free to add cardamom, cloves, or more nutmeg or cinnamon here. Fill your muffin liners about 3/4 full with the batter, and bake for 20 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the middle and if it comes out clean, then we’re good to rock and roll. Eat warm from the oven with your favorite cup of tea or a fabulous coffee. If you liked the recipe, or know someone who will, please share, like or comment via the social media links below. Love and light, Penelope   My favorite cookie has to be the snickerdoodle, it’s a cinnamon donut turned into a cookie and amazing. This recipe is adapted from Nigella Lawson’s recipe in her phenomenal book ‘How To Be a Domestic Goddess’. And Nigella, I’m trying! The key is definitely the creaming stage of the vegan shortening and sugar stage! I love, love, love these cookies and the simplicity of the nutmeg flavor inside the cookie that compliments the cinnamon sugar on the outside, with the right amount of sweetness is divine. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do! .  Vegan Snickerdoodle Cookies Recipe Type: Vegan Cookie or biscuit Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 30 mins Serves: 24-32 cookies Ingredients
Instructions Preheat oven to 180C and line two trays with baking paper. In a large bowl, cream the vegan shortening with the 1/3 cup sugar until light in texture and pale in color, then beat in the chia egg, vanilla and liquid coconut. An electric beater is best if possible as vegan shortening can be quite hard. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until you have a smooth mixture, and all is well mixed. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon - this will be your cinnamon sugar outer layer of the cookie. With your fingers, separate pieces of the dough into walnut sized segments, and roll them into smooth balls. Then roll each ball in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, it should stick on the outside like it’s a cinnamon sugar donut (if the sugar isn’t sticking, add another tablespoon of liquid coconut). Arrange on your prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, this is essential, I’ve accidently overcooked them and had to thrown out a batch. So put an alarm on! Take out of the oven and leave to rest on the baking sheets for 1 minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Eat warm from the oven with your favorite cup of tea or coffee. These keep for a few days, but are best warm from the oven. If you liked the recipe, or know someone who will, please share, like or comment via the social media links below. Love and light, Penelope    When I turned 30, I went to Europe for three weeks and celebrated! One of my best memories is doing a Tuscan cooking class, it was all vegetarian and uber-delicious, and I’ve decided to take this original Tuscan recipe and turn into an easy, delicious plant based meal, perfect for lunch or dinner served with a fresh, crispy salad! The one thing I was taught is to keep onion and garlic separate when cooking pasta sauces, as in if you use garlic you don't use onion, and vice versa. It allows for stronger flavour identification for your palate, and gives that home cooked, simple, rustic truth to your dish. Sometimes I mix that up with other recipes, but never for authentic pasta sauce recipes. I hope you love this as much as I do!  Thyme and White Bean Cheesy Pasta Recipe Type: Vegan Lunch or dinner Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 35 mins Serves: 4 Ingredients
Optional garnish: Fresh sprigs of Lemon Thyme. Instructions Bring a pot of salted water to boil, and cook pasta as per their directions. Sauté the oil and onion with a medium-low heat in a large skillet until the onions are soft and translucent. About 3-5 minutes. Add cannellini beans and the brine from the can, and cook for a further five. You can use a hand held blender or mash the beans, the blender will make it a smoother texture. Add nutritional yeast, fresh thyme, lemon zest, lemon juice, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Mix until taste. Ensure you’re happy with the level of salt, pepper, cheesiness and chili. Some people like to add a teaspoon of mustard to deepen the flavors of cheese, but it’s an optional addition. When the pasta is cooked, drain and add to bowls; then dress with the thyme and white bean cheese sauce. You can garnish with sprigs of lemon thyme if desired. Now enjoy, this cheesy, white bean and thyme sauce! If you liked the recipe, or know someone who will, please share, like or comment via the social media links below. Love and light, Penelope  Original recipe for Two People   Soup is one my favorite meals – I adore the variety, nutrition and fabulous flavors you can create. This creamy soup is fantastic for winter, with the addition of Rosemary as it increases your circulation, stimulates digestion and strengthens your immune system. Cauliflower not only has a silky texture and delicate creaminess, but is rich in Beta-carotene, Vitamin C and manganese.  Rosemary, Cauliflower and Broccoli soup Recipe Type: Vegan Soup Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes Total time: 30 minutes Serves 4 people as mains, or 6 people as entrée size. Ingredients: 2 tablespoons of olive Oil 2 large leeks, or 3 small leeks, chopped. 1 full large cauliflower, chopped 1 head of broccoli, chopped 2 medium size succhini, or one large, chopped 2 cups of vegetable stock 2 cups of nut mylk pepper *I usually find stock is salty enough but can add more if needed 2-3 Tablespoons of fresh rosemary, off stem. 1 cup of parley, not chopped. Optional garnish Drizzle of olive oil (rosemary or garlic infused if possible) Small sprig of rosemary Method: In your favorite skillet, leek and sauté until soft, I prefer a medium – medium-low heat so that the flavors are slowly released and you don’t overcook the leeks. Add cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, stock and mylk, pepper, and ½ the rosemary. Bring to boil, and then change to a medium-low heat for twenty minutes. To make the soup smooth, either blend or process – but add the parsley and left over rosemary before the process begins. You’ll find that adding the fresh herbs after the main cooking is done will make the flavors stronger and more potent, and it will give the soup a really fresh and beautiful taste. I love a thick soup, but add another cup of water or nut mylk if you want to have a thinner version. I find water softens flavours and nut mylk will add richness and creaminess. Pour into bowls, and you can garnish Italian style by drizzling your favorite extra virgin olive oil or infused olive oil, and then place a small sprig of rosemary in the middle of the bowl. Serve with crunchy sourdough or garlic bread, and enjoy!     A sophisticated, fine-dining style entrée to impress the foodies and non-foodies alike. This decadent pate has a delicate palate that ensures you and your guests will savor every mouthful. The mushroom blend is up to you, but for the most robust flavors shitake is king of the mushrooms for a reason and deserves to be included. People will ask you for this recipe for sure! Vegan Truffle and Wild Mushroom Pate  Baked dip? Yes please! I love a baked dip – it’s perfect for a chilly night touch of elegance to begin a meal. Recently, to celebrate Easter I had my tribe around and made this for everyone, served with Rosemary and sea salt crunchy grissini bread sticks and it was a HIT! Everyone loved the creamy, cheesiness combined with the freshness of basil, delicacy of artichoke and hint of chili. I pared it with the Truffle Mushroom Pate on the evening, and they greatly complimented each other whilst having different flavor profiles.  Warm Basil, Spinach and Artichoke Dip. Recipe Type: Vegan starter or dip Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook time: 45 minutes Total time: One hour Serves 4-6 people. Ingredients: 2 tablespoons of olive Oil ½ onion, roughly chopped 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or minced ½ teaspoon of dried red chili flakes 150 grams of Spinach 2 tablespoons of nut mylk (soy, almond, etc). 250 grams of Tofu, silken if possible 1 bunch of fresh basil, you can reserve some for garnish. 280 grams marinated artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed. ½ cup nutritional yeast ½ lemon squeezed Salt and pepper to taste (1 – 2 teaspoons). Optional garnish Lemon Zest 1 Tablespoon of fresh basil, finely chopped. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Lightly grease baking dish or ramekins. In your favorite skillet, add oil, onions and garlic and sauté until soft, I prefer a medium – medium-low heat so that the garlic doesn’t turn crispy and all the flavors are slowly released. Add dried chili flakes and spinach, stirring gently until the spinach is wilted. In a food processor or blender, add nut mylk, tofu, basil, artichokes, yeast, lemon, salt and pepper and blend until relatively smooth. If you need to you can add extra olive oil (for richness) or nut mylk (for creaminess) to help the mixture blend. Add spinach mixture and process to you personal preference of smoothness versus texture. Transfer to baking dish or dishes. Bake for 30 minutes, until it brown on top. For extra wow points from your friends, you can zest some lemon rind on top and garnish with some freshly chopped basil leaves. Serve with crunchy bread, tortilla chips, or grissini breadsticks and enjoy! If you loved this recipe, or knows someone who will, please share from the below social media links.  |
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