Keane ~ Everybody's Changing
Nickelback ~ Just For
The Cranberries ~ Promise (Live)
Toyah ~ I Wanna Be Free
Buckcherry ~ These Things
Rudimental ~ Hell Could Freeze Over
The Stranglers ~ European Female
Pearl Jam ~ Just Breathe
Gin Blossoms ~ 29
Nerina Pallot ~ Halfway Home
Thunder ~ Out Of My Head
Zac Brown Band ~ Can't You See
Shakira ~ The One
Wiser Time ~ Blame It All On Me
I am escaping R & R HQ tomorrow and heading off to the seaside, with lovely Ann, to sit by the beach and take in some of those healing vibes that we both badly need. Nothing compares to being sat by the water...listening to the waves and feeling (hopefully) the sun on your skin. Not in a strip to a bikini and bake until crispy type of visit but a peaceful sitting together taking in the natural wonder that is the beach...and feeling it relax every muscle but mostly the mind. We are just hoping that the sun stays with us but to be honest I could sit under an umbrella in the pouring rain as long as I was next to the sea. But I am need of a good dose of Vit D at the moment so I am hoping for sunshine...
It is a British tradition when at the seaside to indulge in fried fish and chips...ew! It's never been a tradition for me as I've never eaten them. Ever! People find this so hard to accept for some reason even being a vegan they still ask, along with what do I eat on Christmas day...lol. People are strange. My seaside tradition was always a beach picnic which usually included various white bread sandwiches...mine being cheese up until I went vegan...mixed with tasty sand from the beach. lol Warm bottles of fizzy drinks and crisps..and some form of homemade cake which had been reduced to crumbs by the time we were allowed to eat it. Oh and an apple or two was always thrown in for good measure. I hasten to add this is what made up my childhood picnic...ah the good old days (shaking my head at the many bad things about that picnic...). These days I am thankfully strictly vegan and gluten free and I actively seek out the wonderful salads and snacks you can make freshly for yourself. Although I do miss the afternoon ice cream cone...not so easy to do it yourself, eh? lol.
I was cruising vegan dips and spread ideas online when I found today's recipe. It is from the lovely lady who writes Bakebikeblog.com and she adapted it from a recipe she had found. I enjoyed her posting and for that please click here...but please know her blog isn't vegan but still has plenty of great ideas. And the kid in me loved the name she'd given these crackers. I was channelling Marty from Madagascar all the way..lol. I love those movies...anyway....
I made one substitution when making these crackers...I used coconut oil instead of olive oil. And I didn't have any fresh thyme so used dried. I have to say they were so easy to make except for one thing..I had just finished my morning yoga and therefore my arms were a little..erm..shaky/weak. Hey! It's been a while..lol And so the rolling out of this particularly stiff dough to a thinness needed had me trembling by the end but what a sense of achievement I felt afterwards..lol..when the shaking had stopped. Ha! I chose to keep mine on the parchment paper as BBB did and use a pizza wheel to cut them in. In minutes the baking sheet was in the oven and I was onto making Kathy's Lucky Leprechaun Dip from over at lunchboxbunch.com. I had chosen this as my gluten-free wrap filling for my picnic so I feel very happy to have a tub of that stashed in my fridge now. I wanted the crackers to have in my lunch box for a snack later in the day. And they were perfectly cooked in 16 minutes and have a great cracker texture which means I'm gonna have to be very careful not to break a tooth! ;-) Just kidding BBB. They are great and there is no mistaking they are chickpea in origin but for this chickpea addict that's just fine. I enjoyed the hit of thyme and the gentle heat from the paprika and now I know how simple this recipe is I can't wait to start trying out my own additions.
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| BBB's Crack-tastic Besan and Herb Crackers (V & GF) Apologies for the photo..strange light today! |
Crack-tastic Besan and Herb Crackers
(Recipe from Bakebikeblog.com)
1 cup of besan flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsps fresh thyme leaves or 1 heaped tsp dried
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tsp olive oil (I used coconut)
1/4 cup water
Preheat the oven to 17o'C/325'F/GM 3 and make ready a baking sheet.
Sift together the chickpea flour and salt into a medium bowl. Stir through the sesame seeds, thyme and paprika. Make a well in the centre.
Mix the water and oil together, then pour into the well.
Stir until combined into a dough, then form a ball.
Place the ball of dough between two pieces of parchment paper, and roll out until as thin as possible.
Remove the top layer of parchment, then cut into desired shape using a pizza cutter. Prick the surface of each cracker with a fork, then transfer the sheet to a baking tray. Bake for 16 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven, then allow to cool before breaking crackers at pre-cut edges.
Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope your week has started well and with much sunshine. I'll be back Wednesday as tomorrow...I'll be by the sea!! Namaste.
~Red~
NB: This is not my recipe and therefore I take no credit for it. It is the adapted creation of Bakebikeblog.com. I thank her for sharing such a great recipe. ~R~
