Joy's Banana Bread

My Love's Kitchen Play List: Nelly Furtado ~ Grass Is Always Greener
                                                         Muse ~ Time Is Running Out
                                                         Garbage ~ Run Baby Run
                                                         Norah Jones ~ Humble Me
                                                         Echobelly ~ Nobody Like You
                                                         Luke Morley ~ Face In The Crowd
                                                        
Yes..still on rest duties so really My Love should be writing this posting but is blog shy so it's a joint effort. lol. My Love found this recipe during a search for baking recipes that would be Salicylate Free or Low. The recipe was found on Mudspice.wordpress.com and for the original recipe on that blog click here.

2 Delicious Joy's Banana Bread Loaves..can you smell the banana? lol

My Love had to adapt it quite a bit but it wasn't a hassle..for the original recipe and all the various options..i.e Gluten Free..etc click the link above. I am posting the adapted recipe as My Love made it.

It's a beautiful banana bread..let me tell you. I've had two pieces so I should know..lol. It looks like it's going to be quite dense but it's not...it's light and so tasty. It would be easy to become addicted to this loaf. lol. My Love chose to make two loaves so there would be some to freeze for when a work snack is needed in the future. And it really did make two good size loaves. If you are struggling with willpower right now..this probably isn't the recipe for you..just yet anyway..lol. It smelt divine..

Joy's Banana Bread close up..it won't last long..lol

Joy's Banana Bread Makes 1 loaf
(Recipe adapted from Mudspice.wordpress.com)

3/4 cup golden caster sugar or 3/4 tsp powdered stevia
1/2 cup of vegan margarine or oil (ML used Sunflower oil)
3 bananas, mashed with 1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp soya milk
1/2 tsp baking powder or 1/4 tsp baking soda with 1/2 tsp lemon juice (ML used the latter)
1 3/4 cups wholemeal flour
pinch of salt

Pre-heat the oven to 350'F/180'C/Gas Mark 4 and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl stir all the ingredients together and when combined pour into the loaf tin. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Checking at the 40 minute mark as it depends on your oven etc.

Leave to cool in the tins and then turn out. Leave as long as your willpower will allow you before you cut into it. lol. Enjoy!

Thanks for Mudspice for sharing a great recipe...

~R~

Sweet Potato & Kasha Burgers and White Potato & Kasha Burgers (Salicylate Low Version)

Keeping Me Sane Play List:  Natalie Imbruglia ~ Big Mistake
                                                         Shakira ~ Fool
                                                         Whitesnake ~ Still of the Night
                                                         Slash ft Adam Levine ~ Gotten
                                                         Shakira ~ Underneath Your Clothes
                                                         The Eagles ~ How Long
                                                         Bobby McFerrin ~ Circle Song 6
                                                         Mark Ronson ft Lily Allen ~ Oh My God

Today is Mystery Ingredient Challenge day and this week the ingredient was Buckwheat Kasha. The fact that we found Buckwheat Kasha here in England was so exciting in itself as I have tried for years to find some..and I did, but it cost a small fortune. In the last few years in the towns and city closest to us we have had small communities of Polish people making a home. So the supermarkets have started to stock some of their homeland products and Kasha happened to be one of them. Thank you Polish folks..

So we picked up a box of the Buckwheat Kasha and a box of the Barley Kasha..and I was informed that the Buckwheat was my mystery ingredient this week. lol. But I was happy with that and began researching the uses of it. I found this burger recipe during a web search on Diet,DessertandDogs.com The blogger had adapted it from a recipe she had found in Nettie's Vegetarian Kitchen. And I've adapted the recipe again, as sweet potato is High in 'Sally' acids and so I rewrote a 'Sally' Low version. As I adore sweet potato, I shall be making both kinds.

Yes..you read that right. I 'shall' be making them at some point. Those of you who follow this blog will know that I have a health issue that frequently 'lays me low' and I have to abstain from kitchen work..which drives me completely insane..Urgh. This last week has been one of those times but today I was hoping to get back in there and get started. My mind is very willing...my body..is so not on board with this plan. I cannot wait to have my operation..lol.

Hopefully the burgers will get made tonight or Friday and so I will update this posting with the photos so you can see how lovely these burgers look. But I decided to post the recipes anyway...I also think that there is a lot of oil used in these recipes so will reduce the amounts greatly when I make them. I'll update the posting when I do...

Glorious Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potato & Kasha Burgers Makes 8 large or 16 small patties
(Recipe found on Diets,DessertsandDogs.com)

1 1/2 cups dry buckwheat kasha
3 cups water or veggie broth
1 tsp sea salt or 1/4 tsp if using broth
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 tbsp toasted sesame oil or extra virgin olive oil
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 large carrot, grated
2 large sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
1/4 cup almond butter or tahini
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 green spring onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce

Dry roast the kasha in a heavy skillet over a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon. Add 3 cups of water/stock and salt, bring to a boil over a high heat. Reduce the heat, cover and cook over a low heat until the water/stock is absorbed and kasha is tender, about 15 minutes.

Cook the onion in 1 tbsp oil over a medium heat until softened. Add the celery and carrot, cook for another 5 minutes until softened.

Stir together kasha, vegetables including the potato, almond butter or tahini, basil, green onions and soy sauce until combined. Keeping hands moist, form into 8 large patties or 16 smaller patties. Heat remaining 3 tbsp oil in large skillet over a med-high heat. Cook burgers for 5 minutes, turning once, until golden brown and crisp on the outside.

Authors note: I baked half and fried half of these, just to see how they'd hold up in the oven. They worked just fine with both cooking methods, though the baked ones never acquired that crispy blackened exterior that the fried ones had. Still yummy though..Diets,DessertsandDogs.com

Potatoes, Potatoes, Potatoes

NB: This is my adapted version which is Salicylate Low..hopefully..I'm still new at this! lol

White Potato & Kasha Burgers makes 8 large or 16 small patties
(Recipe adapted by Red for the Rocket and Roses Vegan Kitchen..from Diets,DessertsandDogs.com)

1 1/2 cups of dry buckwheat kasha
3 cups water
1 tsp sea salt
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 tbsp rapeseed oil or sunflower oil
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 large carrot, grated
2 large white potatoes, cooked and mashed
1/4 cup cashew nut butter
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 green spring onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce (Free of spices..)


Dry roast the kasha in a heavy skillet over a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon. Add 3 cups of water and salt, bring to a boil over a high heat. Reduce the heat, cover and cook over a low heat until the water is absorbed and kasha is tender, about 15 minutes.

Cook the onion in 1 tbsp oil over a medium heat until softened. Add the celery and carrot, cook for another 5 minutes until softened.

Stir together kasha, vegetables including the potato, cashew butter, parsley, green onions and soy sauce until combined. Keeping hands moist, form into 8 large patties or 16 smaller patties. Heat remaining 3 tbsp oil in large skillet over a med-high heat. Cook burgers for 5 minutes, turning once, until golden brown and crisp on the outside.
Enjoy!
~R~

Garlic Soup with Potatoes, Italian Style

Kitchen Play List: The Doors ~ Bird of Prey
                                       Placebo ~ Protege Moi
                                       The Cure ~ Truth, Goodness & Beauty
                                       Norah Jones ~ The Long Way Home
                                       Elvis Costello ~ Beyond Belief
                                       Dodgy ~ Prey For Drinking
                                       The Doors ~ When The Music's Over
                                       Neil Young ~ Cinnamon Girl

OK picture this...a steaming hot bowl of smooth, creamy soup with beautiful green flecks. The mellow scent of garlic and the savoury goodness of potato and the lushness of fresh flat leaf parsley. Look I know this isn't as good as a visual photo but I confess we forgot to take a photo of this gorgeous soup. Lol. OK so things aren't back to normal around here yet..lol. I'm still out of the kitchen but I am 'supervising' lol. This soup is adapted from a soup recipe in Donna Klein's cookbook The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen.

It was one of the  first recipes I tried out when I bought this cookbook...oh at least 6 years ago and is one of My Love's favourite soups. I've adapted it because in it's orignal format it had quite a lot of 'Sally' stuff in its ingredients. So I kept to the overall flavour but re-wrote the recipe and My Love made it and it tasted just great. And you aren't bowled over by garlic as the title suggests..it's a mellow flavour that blends in with the other ingredients really well.

Please forgive the lack of photo but it's safe to say..it's creamy and smooth...has depth of flavour and is just...Yummy! lol.

Garlic Lovers Unite! lol

Garlic Soup with Potatoes, Italian Style Serves 3-4
(Recipe adapted from A Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen/Klein)

1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 1/4 lb potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 " cubes
1 large head of garlic, separated into cloves, peeled
6 cups water
low sodium salt to season
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

In a large deep sided skillet heat the oil and then add the onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the potatoes and garlic and stir well to coat. Then add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and then cook until the potatoes are soft. Then season with the salt and blitz the soup until it's smooth and creamy. Serve.

Enjoy!
~R~

Rocket and Roses Super Rooty Soup

Kitchen Play List:  Nickelback ~ The State Album

Some of my best creations come from me just grabbing ingredients and winging it. That is true for this soup recipe. I needed to prove to myself more than anything that I could create a Salicylate Low or Free recipe and it would be tasty and a recipe I would want to make again. I am slowly..very slowly getting my head around this new necessary food change in our lives. I am still going to cooking a dual menu come the New Year but it would also be great if I could make some recipes that were good for both of us. 

For the last couple of years we have following the Eat to Live eating plan in which starches are very restricted..1 cup a day. And it worked for me..I quickly felt better and so did for My Love it seemed. But not on the inside apparently as all the fruits and vegetables we were eating in great quantities each day were slowly doing My Love's system a lot of damage. So now pretty much the only veggies that are 'Sally' Low or Free are roots. Getting used to cooking with root veggies (These are starches on the E2L Plan) has been a shock to the system and although they are great for My Love...they are not so good for me. *sighs* lol. 

Here's the rub though..I do love root veggies and all the different ways of cooking them. So constantly cooking them for My Love and not partaking should be interesting in the New Year..lol. 

This soup came to be after I was given 2 small Swedes to use up. My Love had picked them up from a Reduced Bin for 2p each. And although they weren't the prettiest specimens they were still in a good state. I decided to go all out and come up with a soup that was packed with veggies and flavour. As I can't use any spices, most herbs, stock or black pepper anymore...it felt like a huge challenge. 

I was soon in chopping nirvana..I know..but I find chopping veggies very relaxing..lol. And I was pulling root veggies from every corner of my kitchen and throwing them in the pot. I had the strangest reaction to cooking this soup..I found I was grinning from ear to ear. Why? Well the sensory memories had kicked in big time. I had forgotten just how truly pleasing the smell of cooking roots could be. It sent me straight back to my childhood and the veggie stews that my Nan and my Mum had cooked for me. All that was missing was some little dumplings and some sprinkled on curry powder at the end. lol. At the end of the cooking time I must confess that I pulled out one piece of each root I had used and stood in the kitchen blowing on them to cool them..and I devoured each cube and felt like a small child again. lol. Ah memories,eh? lol It was almost heartbreaking to blitz it smooth. After all, this was a soup for My Love's lunches this week and it would've been considered way too chunky! lol I reluctantly got my stick blender out and got blitzing. 

The soup tasted divine and was packed with flavour. The smell in the kitchen was quite heady and my windows were steamed up as they should be when cooking roots in winter. lol. It made 7 good servings and it could've been thinned a little more and it could easily serve 8-9 people. It's a great recipe for the deep freeze. 

It's also given me a little more confidence that I can come up with some 'Sally' Low or Free Recipes for My Love. After all what is a cook without her muse to create for...Yikes does that sound as soppy as it reads?? lol. Anyway......lol..better get on with the recipe...Ahem..lol 

Rocket and Roses Super Rooty Soup ~ Delicious!

Rocket and Roses Super Rooty Soup Serves 7-9 
(Original recipe from the Rocket and Roses Vegan Kitchen)

1/2 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 large onions, roughly chopped
2 stick of celery, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 sm swedes, peeled and small dice
4 lg potatoes, peeled and small dice 
4 lg carrots, peeled and small dice
4 lg parsnips, peeled and small dice
1/2 cup of loosely packed flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1600ml/7cups of boiling water
low sodium salt to season to taste

Heat the oil in a large soup pan and add the onion and celery and stir well. Cook for 5 minutes or until beginning to soften. Add the garlic and cook for a further 3 minutes. 


Add the roots and stir to coat in the onion mix. Add the parsley and stir once again. Then pour over the boiling water and stir well to combine. Turn the heat up to high and cover the pan with a lid and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer, recover and then cook until the roots are tender. Season with salt to your own personal taste. 


Using a stick blender blitz the soup until smooth. 


Enjoy! 
~R~

 

Sunday Brunch ~ Seeded Bagels with Pimento Cashew Cheeze Spread & Mushroom Spread

Kitchen Play List: BBC Radio 2 ~ Steve Wrights Sunday Love Songs

Well..a simple Brunch I decided upon today. Simple. Yes..I bought the bagels yesterday as they looked too good not to! We haven't had a bagel for a while. And then my thought turned to the toppings...My Love wasn't feeling well with the Salicylate blues so I didn't want to risk making that worse by having any of our vegan sausages and tofu scrambles. No problem...I'll make a couple of nice spreads. Yeah..well that was where the simplicity ended. lol. 

I got up an hour before My Love to make this lovely brunch and then found an hour and a half later I was still making the bloody toppings! lol. "Ah well.." would usually be my response...but today it was almost a cooking disaster zone. My fault as I chose to try out two recipes I haven't used before. Yep I know..Rookie mistake..lol 

I had a tin of Pimentos in my stock cupboard and the exact amount of cashews needed for this recipe. So the first job was making this 'cheeze' spread for my bagel. I followed the recipe completely and ended up with a very saucey 'cheeze' spread. I poured * groan* it into a container, put the lid on and stashed it in my fridge...hoping that it would thicken up whilst it chilled..lol 

Next I moved onto the Mushroom Spread which was very simple to make..except that by the time I had trimmed the large punnet of mushrooms I had only 3/4 lb as opposed to the 1lb requested. The time consuming part of recipe wasn't down to the recipe at all..it was down to my rapidly declining blender. So it was A LOT of stop starting and spatula work. Great for this patient cook..lol. And personally for me...and those of you who are regulars will know this already...the smell of mushrooms and look of cooked mushrooms really aren't settling to this gal's stomach...lol And as cooked mushrooms resemble slugs to me...I spent the whole time feeling like I was blending slugs...Slug Spread...Nice! lol 

The Pimento Cashew 'Cheeze' Spread alas didn't thicken but the taste was good. I would maybe use a lot less Pimento and juice next time and slightly more cashews. But I enjoyed it on my bagel. The Slug Mushroom Spread..I can report from My Love..was really good. Smooth and mushroomy! But the first words were.."You would hate this!..." So true! lol The things you do for love. eh? 

So a Sunday Brunch that didn't exactly go to plan. But it was tasty and I definetely worked for it. The spread recipes come from Leah Leneman's cookbook Easy Vegan Cooking...lol..I know! 

If you have tried this recipe for Cashew cheese spread and had different results please feel free to contact me and offer advice..

Seeded Bagels with Pimento Cashew 'Cheeze' Spread and Mushroom Spread

4 seeded bagels ~ lightly toasted 

Pimento Cashew 'Cheeze' Spread

Pimento Cashew 'Cheeze' Spread
(Recipe from Easy Vegan Cooking/Leneman)

115g/4oz/ 3/4 cup cashew nuts
1 tin (200g/8oz) pimentos
1 tbs sesame seeds
1 tsp nutritional yeast 
 1/2 tsp onion salt
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp lemon juice

Grind the cashews and sesame seeds finely in a blender. Add the pimentos (including the juice) and the rest of the ingredients and blend thoroughly. 

Mushroom Spread ~ Salicylate Low Recipe

Mushroom Spread
(Recipe from Easy Vegan Cooking/Leneman)

455g/1lb/8 cups mushrooms
2 onions
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 tbsp vegan margarine
1-2 tbsp soy natural yoghurt
Sea salt to taste

Chop the mushrooms and onions and saute them in the oil and margarine until tender. 

Finely chop, mash or blend the mixture in a blender. 

Add the yoghurt and season to taste. Chill. 

Update 19.12.11 The pimento cashew cheeze used as a stir in sauce to freshly cooked pasta was delicious. Really very good. Just needed to share! ~R~
 

Enjoy! 
~R~ 
 

Mini Banana Muffins

Kitchen Play List: Shall We Dance ~ Movie Soundtrack Album

I'm back..well..kind of! As you will know if you are one of my regular readers (Thank you!) that I have been having some major technological problems. So bad, that I had to walk away or throw the laptop and all gadgets related against the nearest wall. And my webmaster..(My Love) thought that we had it all sorted out but alas..only partly. So I cannot bring you the Thrifty Thursday recipe today. All photos and information are currently being held hostage in a file.

I am getting a great deal of Expletive Therapy this week and there just isn't enough Chamomile Tea in the world to help keep me calm when these techno problems arise. I seriously think I repel all electronic gadgetry and I will admit it has pushed this woman to the very edge of sanity this week. It means not only can I not do my R & R blog but I can't write either. And unfortunately pen and paper just don't keep up with my mind. lol. Maybe that is the problem..I've worked my technology to a stand still! lol. 

Glorious Mini Banana Muffins

Yesterday I took a day off and had every intention of not entering my work room or the kitchen. But still found myself in the kitchen up to my ears in flaxseed goo, curdled soya milk and mashed bananas. lol. Why? Well, I had recently purchased a very cool 24 cup mini muffin silicone pan and I had a little stack of recipes to try out in it. But the main reason was I had found a Salicylate Low muffin recipe that I wanted to test out for My Love...who is struggling with eating anything at the moment. I wanted to put a smile on that face I love. 

They were light, fluffy and moist..just delicious.

I found the recipe during a web search for mini vegan cupcake recipes. The original recipe called for chocolate chips too but they were optional so I didn't use them. I made my own applesauce using Golden Delicious and water as they are the only apples My Love can eat now. Using the information we have, we think this is a Sally Low recipe and I'm pleased to report My Love didn't have any reactions to them at all and took some to work as a snack. lol. I think they are a keeper! lol. 

The website I found them on is www.divinecaroline.com and for the excellent recipe just click here! 

The gratuitous shot..well...why not, eh? lol

This time I used the oil and applesauce combo but Caroline does say that just using applesauce works really well too and gives you fat-free option. I also used all wholemeal flour and not the refined white flour/wholemeal mix option. I look forward to experimenting with this recipe and I hear walnuts calling to be used. lol. 

And the recipe says the batter makes 18 mini muffins..well I got 36 using a heaped tbsp as the measuring cup...lol..I suddenly had to dive into my baking tin cupboard and drag out my original mini muffin 12 cup pan and start filling that one too! Ah well. lol 


So thanks to Danielle Foster@DivineCaroline for an excellent recipe! And I hope to bring you the Thrifty Thursday recipe as soon as I can. 


Enjoy! 
~R~ 


And please..if you are aware of Salicylates and I'm approaching this all wrong..please feel free to offer advice..I won't take offense. I want to learn..Red

Rocket and Roses Potato & Fennel Seed Soup

Kitchen Play List: The Levellers ~ One Way of Life Album

Oh my goodness..is this Salicylate food awareness a mighty huge learning curve? I am attempting to get my head around it and putting out tiny creative creepers and make up some of my own recipes so when the big elimination happens in January it won't be such a shock! (It's a big enough shock right now! Yikes!) So far I've managed one brunch recipe..Hey it's a start..lol.

Today I wanted to come up with a soup for My Love to have at lunch times. We eat a lot of homemade soup and once you take out every ingredient that has Salicylate in it...well..it leaves a very, very small list to play with. It's a roller coaster of emotions every day as we stop and call out random vegetables, spices, herbs, fruits to see whether they are allowed or not. And sometimes it can be a moment of elation as we find something that is allowed...but sadly most of the moments go something like this

Me: What about courgettes? 
My Love: Death Courgettes!
Me: Noooo! 
My Love: Sorry!

or

Me: What about tomato puree?
My Love: Death Tomato puree but fresh and tinned tomatoes are fine!
Me: Oh come on!..Oh really..OK I can work with that..

and rarely..

Me: What about beans and pulses? 
My Love: Yeah...
Me: No.Way! *sobs* for dramatic effect ;o) 
My Love..No! I meant Yeah they're OK....
Me: YES!!!!! Wehoo!! 

We are beginning to laugh about it...sometimes...OK we are working on that too. But for My Love it means cutting out all favourite foods...and for me it's like being an artist/painter and being given an easel, paint brushes and being given a pot of water and being told...there you go..create! Urgh! You would not believe where Salicylates can be found..every blinking where..that's where!

So...large white potatoes are Low and as long as they are peeled they can be used. Onions and garlic are Low also and we have been advised for now to try and keep to the Low or Free lists. Potato Soup was the only thing that came to mind today. And veggie stock isn't allowed now either so it felt a little strange making this soup. Fennel Seeds on some lists are Moderate whilst on others it's Low. So I went with the latter advice because I could not bear to season with just salt. I've used more salt in my cooking in the last few weeks than I have...well..ever! And I'm really, really not liking it!

The soup is silky smooth, pale and the fennel seeds gave it a more pleasing aroma then I thought it might. Naturally it's going to be a very heavy potatoey taste but the fennel seeds work well and cut through that giving the soup a delicate taste. And despite it being a potato laden soup it was surprisingly light. My Love said the fennel gave it a clean taste which wasn't expected and would happily eat it often...which may be the case! lol. 

If you are a Salicylate Free vegan and have recipes that you can recommend or want to me try out and blog about...feel free to email me...Please? lol It's very strange not being the 'faddy' eater in the house. Very weird...

Pale and interesting!

Rocket and Roses Potato and Fennel Seed Soup Serves 6
(Original recipe from the Rocket and Roses Vegan Kitchen)

1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 large onion, sliced
2lb potatoes, peeled and chopped
8 cups of water
1 tsp fennel seeds
salt to season to taste

In a large soup pan saute the onions in the oil until soft. Add the chopped potatoes and stir well to coat them in the onions and oil. Add the fennel seeds and water and stir well. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the potatoes are tender. Season with salt and then blend until silky smooth. 

Enjoy!
~R~  

A Sunday Brunch ~ Rocket and Roses Garam Masala Lentil Filled & Parsley and Garlic Mushroom Filled Pancakes

Kitchen Play List: BBC Radio 2 ~ Steve Wrights Sunday Love Songs

Good morning! I'm sat at my desk feeling a little blurry eyed...shame I didn't feel 'the tired' when I was wide awake at 5am lol. Typical. 

Yesterday we had a very busy fun filled family and good pals day. My Love, who is struggling with adapting to the new Salicylate Sensitivity hell was just exhausted after reacting to most of the things we ate yesterday. Poor thing. So when my 5am pain alarm clock hit, I decided to get up and clear up and then make us a lovely brunch. I wanted to make sure My Love had as 'Sally' free a meal as possible to start off the day. 

I am looking into the whole 'Sally' free or low food world and collating together information ready to start the move over to a dual menu kitchen come the New Year. At the moment My Love is working through the drug trials...*sighs* But in the New Year we can start to eliminate the high 'Sally' foods then the moderate etc. It's going to be difficult but having had some time to process the entire implications I am fairly confident we can make this work. But it is definitely going to be a dual menu kitchen. I will post the vegan 'Sally' low or free recipes on here when I get started. Well..actually...I guess I have started that this morning....so onto the recipes...lol

I decided to make pancakes and not the sweet kind. I made a pancake batter of chickpea flour and water..cooked them on my crepe pan and the first batch were a disaster. lol. So I made a fresh batch..sieving the flour and using slightly less water. And they came out really well. They cooked easily and stayed 'nice' keeping warm in the oven while I re-heated my fillings. A good start...

For the fillings I started with My Love's first and I kept it very simple. I had a pot of nice mushrooms, lots of fresh parsley and as My Love loves garlic and can still have garlic..I cooked them together in some rapeseed oil. (Now I would hate this dish...but My Love loves mushrooms..) The second filling was for me and I started with a red onion and a tin of green lentils and then just threw things into the pan as I went along. It was a very delicious filling and worked really well with the pancakes. 

Rocket and Roses Chickpea Flour Pancakes Made 5 7" pancakes
(Original recipe from the Rocket and Roses Vegan Kitchen)

20 tbsp sifted chickpea flour
18-20 tbsp fresh water

Sift the flour into a bowl and then add the 18 tbsp water and whisk until you have a smooth texture and then depending on how thin/thick you want your pancakes..add the extra 2 tbsp water. 

Using a 1/3 cup/80ml measure, pour the batter onto a very hot griddle/skillet or crepe pan. Tilt the pan then run the batter out to the 7" pancake size. Wait for a couple of minutes for it to cook underneath then flip it over and cook for 3 minutes. Flip once more and cook for 2 minutes and then place on parchment paper covered plate and keep warm in an oven on low until you have all 5 pancakes. 

Rocket and Roses Garam Masala Lentils filled Pancakes

Rocket and Roses Garam Masala Lentils Serves 1-2
(Original Recipe from the Rocket and Roses Vegan Kitchen)

1 tsp Rotina Healthier cooking oil
1 med red onion, peeled, quartered and sliced
1 garlic clove, grated
1 14oz tin of green lentils, rinsed and drained
1 14oz tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tsp garam masala
low sodium salt and freshly cracked black pepper to season to taste

In a skillet heat the oil and then saute the onion for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes and garam masala and over a high heat cook until the tomato liquid has cooked away. Then add the lentils and season and cook until the lentils are warmed through. 
Serve.

These would be good as a topping for jacket potatoes, filling for a Tofu Omelette or just on their own in a bowl. ~R~ 

Rocket and Roses Parsley & Garlic Mushroom Filled Pancakes ~ Trust me they are in there! lol

Rocket and Roses Parsley & Garlic Mushrooms Serves 1
(Original recipe from the Rocket and Roses Vegan Kitchen)

A Salicylate Low or Free Recipe

10-12 mushrooms, prepped and cut into quarters
3 small garlic cloves
1/2 tbsp rapeseed oil
Good handful of fresh parsley, chopped
Pinch of low sodium salt

Heat the oil in a skillet and then add the garlic and saute until it is fragrant. Then add the mushrooms and stir well to coat them in the garlicy oil. Heat over a low heat stirring often until they begin to release their juices and darken. Season with a pinch of salt ~ Optional! Then toss in the parsley and stir well to combine. Cook for a further 2 minutes. 

To assemble the pancakes: Take a warmed pancake and spoon filling onto one half and then carefully fold over the pancake and place it on a warmed plate. It's all about keeping the whole things warm..lol. Then repeat with remaining pancakes and fillings. Serve...

Enjoy! Hope you are all having a good weekend? 
~R~