Green Spirulina Coconut Macaroons

Have you noted my absence?!  I haven't had Internet since Friday thanks to BT, until this evening when I got in from work.  

I made these vegan coconut macaroons at the weekend.  With St Patricks day nearing us, I decided to add a teaspoon of spirulina to half of the mixture.

Vegan Mofo Begins Again for This Vegetarian

I have decided to participate in Vegan Mofo all over again.   

Not because of the potential new readers or possible extra traffic, though that is nice.  I do it more as a vegetarian who still considers herself on the path to veganism.  If your already vegan, then yes - Vegan Mofo is a way of life, as every day is Vegan Day and every month is Vegan Month, but for a vegetarian like myself, its a little challenge and I hope you will enjoy my read this month. 

Many of you will know that I am not a vegan, but a vegetarian, however a lot of what I do cook from scratch happens to be vegan friendly.  Therefore, September 2015 this blog will be free of all animal products such as cheese, dairy, eggs and  honey. 

I do not  have a theme for Vegan MoFo, but if there was going to be a theme it would be seasonal vegetables, of course and I might even throw in some recipes inspired by my Welsh roots too, such as the Welsh Lady's vegan laverbread caviar that I promised last year.

So let it begin, the first question asked by Vegan Mofo is Rise and Shine.  Tell us about your favourite vegan breakfast/brunch.  Depending on my mood, its a toss between this Cacao Nibs, Raw Chocolate and Cocoa Muesli  with this dairy free alternative to milk and this vegan 'facon' bacon, lettuce and tomato (vBLT) sandwich.     

I just love everything about it.  And it is for this reason, I made some in readiness at the weekend for Vegan Mofo 2015. 

Vegan Smoked Paprika Capsicum and Broad Beans Tartlets

What we know as peppers in the U.K, bell peppers to be more precise, my mother has always called them capsicum, so it is with her in mind that I am calling my peppers in this recipe Capsicum.

I picked up some colourful dainty capsicums from the markets the other day, only because they looked rather cute.   I was going to slit them open, deseed and then roast them in the oven with a little olive oil and seasoning, then the plan was to stuff them with a grain, something like quinoa or couscous, but then when the day came to cook with them, well I couldn't be bothered.  I think I just felt hot and bothered, well that is my excuse and I am sticking to it.  So I changed my mind making these Capsicum Tartlets instead, a little bit more easier as the pastry was ready made and the rest was quite straight forward, well I think so.  

Instead of throwing the sliced capsicum on to the paprika infused tofu batter, I decided to take time and make them sunburst style, the blanched broad beans however were just thrown on.  

We enjoyed these over two days, first warm from the oven.  The second day, at room temperature. The smoked paprika really lifts what could easily be described as a plain Capsicum Tart.  It made a pleasant change from the traditional egg and cheese based tarts.  

Vegan Rhubarb, Vanilla and Pomegranate Tart

Remember the rhubarb that I harvested from my garden early this month?  Well, here is one pretty awesome dish that I made with some of it - Rhubarb Vanilla and Pomegranate Tart.  I am really really chuffed with it. 

Once the tart had cooled down and removed from its fluted tin, I thought it looked pretty plain and required something more to make it visually appealing.  Fortunately for me I had some pomegranate seeds in the fridge.  I decided to scatter some over the creamy vanilla tofu topping.  It gleamed and shimmered like edible rubies and looked absolutely beautiful.  But we all know that beautiful looking tarts, and a vegan one for that are not there just for the admiring, this tart had to be sliced carefully, first to see if it had set and yes it had.  And secondly for the taste test.

And I have to say, hand on heart it was very very good too.  My spoon hit the creamy vanilla tofu topping, then the soft rhubarb and then the hard crust. The rhubarb sitting at the bottom, did not make the pastry base soggy at all.  All in all the flavours and textures came together wonderfully.