Vegan Beetroot and Raspberry Jelly

I made a Carrot Jelly infused with Pomegranate Seeds a little while ago, and then thought why not give it a go with some Beetroot Juice and some homegrown raspberries.  

I've had some Beet It Beetroot Juice in the fridge for the past couple of weeks. It is quite velvety and smooth and really strong in flavour, that you sip it slowly like good wine.  I have been drinking it on and off, in small 'shot' portions.  

As well as drinking it, I have also used for a couple of recipes such as the vegan BBQ Beetroot Seitan 'Steaks'.  But wanted to go one step further and enjoy it for what it was, rather than just use it as an additional ingredient so a grown up version of jelly came to mind, but at the same time bearing in mind the potency of the beetroot hit, I knew it would be madness unless you are a true lover of beetroot to make pure beetroot jelly, so to cut down on the intense deep beetroot richness, I decided to throw in a lot, and I mean a lot of fresh raspberries from the garden and it worked fantastically, as well as beautiful to look at.  

Whilst making it and stirring in the agar agar, I got a tad nervous wondering if it would actually set as the juice was quite velvet thick.  But there was no need to, it worked well, there was that wibbly wobblyness that you expect from a jelly. Taste wise the beetroot juice jelly was now mellower in flavour and very enjoyable, even I liked it and those of you who have been reading my blog will know that I have come to like and appreciate beetroot over the years and shown how versatile a vegetable it can be in both savoury and sweet dishes: from currys to cakes and desserts.  

I will be making this Beetroot Jelly again come October for Halloween, and I may call it Vampire 'Beet Blood and Guts Jelly' or something like that to get the nephews and nieces attention.  Anyway, feel free to top off the Beetroot Raspberry Jelly with a little cream or vegan alternative, but D said he did not think it was necessary and I have to agree. 

I will post the recipe later today. Makes 4 - 6 portions depending on trifle dish sizes. Recipe can easily be halved. 

Autumnal Raspberry Chia Pudding for Breakfast

I've been ogling over Lucy The Kitchen Maid most recent blog post for Chocolate Coconut Chia Pudding and Sudha's Mango Chia Pudding.  Coincidentally last week, I made my own Chia Pudding with home grown Autumnal raspberries, as well as Raspberry Chia Jam (still to be posted).  

In the last year or so, in the U.K chia seeds have become the trendy ingredient with some food bloggers, especially as the ingredient has become more readily available.  I have a number of chia seed recipes bookmarked, but never seemed to get my mitts on the seeds or found them a little too expensive to bother with at the time, until last year when I was fortunate to find a packet of them in my 'vegan food swap' that came from Claire who blogs over GreatVegan Expectations; since then Chia seeds have found a place in my kitchen.  

One recipe that has been sitting in the background for years, 4 years in fact has been from Oh She Glows for Strawberry Chia Jam, since then many variations of it with both fruit and vegetables, (or combination of both) have appeared on blogosphere.  My lovely blogger friend Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe has beat me to it and recently made her own version of Strawberry Chia Jam  for VeganMofo2014. Please go on over and check out her lovely blog, I have been following her recipes and reflections ever since I started blogging; and she without fail continues to inspire me.

Well no Chia Jam today, instead I have a Autumnal Raspberry Chia Pudding to share.  I enjoyed this over the weekend for breakfast, though it felt more like a dessert eating out of this glass (trifle style) bowl.  It was rather a large portion for me, so I ate it slowly - over an hour.  It is very reminisce of sago and tapioca pudding, so if you dislike those, then perhaps this pudding is not for you, but you have to admit - it looks quite intriguing. 

Two Tone raspberry cakes

I picked the last of the autumn raspberries on Sunday. These canes had only been transplanted to plot 45 early in the year, so had not yet established properly as the raspberries on them were flavourless, unlike those I had growing at plot 11
So instead of eating these fresh, I decided to make these two tone raspberry cakes based on the Double chocolate and raspberry cakes I made a month or so ago.

These little heart shaped cuties are much lighter. They did not last long, as D gobbled 4 in one go.

Two tone raspberry cakes
Make 8 - 10 individual portions
Ingredients
175g self raising flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

175g caster sugar

175g butter, at room temperature

3 organic, free range eggs, beaten

50g white chocolate chips or chunks, chopped into pieces
2 tbsp cocoa powder
100g fresh raspberries

Method

Heat oven to 180C. Grease a 8 - 10 holes of a muffin tin. Sieve flour and baking powder into a bowl, and stir in sugar. Blend the butter until soft, then add the eggs and beat or whisk together until the mixture is light. Then divide mixture into two bowls. In one bowl gently fold in the white chocolate. In the other bowls, sift in the cocoa powder and stir to combine, then gently fold in the raspberries. Spoon the mixtures one by one and evenly into the muffin tin, alternating the colours if you wish. Don’t overfill as the cakes will rise. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, remove (you may need to use a palette knife) and leave to cool completely.