Oh She Glows Easy Vegan and Gluten Free Crackers Part 2 ~ With Toppings

Kitchen Play List: Lady Antebellum ~ Need You Now Album

These vegan and gluten-free crackers have been enjoyed and eaten! Gone..all for the sake of this blog posting..Ahem. lol. As promised I chose three recipes to try out as toppers for these crackers. 

Easy Vegan & Gluten Free Crackers with a Trio of Toppings

The first topping I chose was Lydia's Pea Spread. When Chris from Vegelicious.com posted this spread recipe I knew I had to try it out. I had been wanting to try a 'pea' dip for a long time and the closest I'd got to that was Edamame Hummus..OK..so not close at all but it was a similar principal. Chris had been served this on holiday in Germany and loved it so shared it via her blog. At the bottom of this posting is a link directly to her posting of this recipe. Chris does warn you about the intense garlic hit and even halving the suggested amount we still got quite a kick but this spread is addictive. It's fresh and very pleasing.  

Lydia's Pea Spread on Oh She Glows Crackers - Delish!

The second topping, a Chilli Bean Dip, I had found on vegweb.com many moons ago and it had been sat in my tray waiting to be tried. I added an extra 6oz cooked black turtle beans to it and it's a very mild Chilli flavour and then after swallowing you get a tiny cayenne hit. It was ok but we both felt it was missing something and maybe a little too watery. But we still enjoyed it with the crackers. 

Chilli Bean Dip on Oh She Glow Crackers - Mildly tasty

And the final topping was also found via vegweb.com but one I found on the day of baking the crackers. Broccoli Dip with Marinated Sun Dried Tomatoes and Brazil Nuts. The photo on vegweb is much brighter red than mine turned out. I was using a very dark brand of dried sundried tomatoes so maybe that was it? My Love thought this topping was delicious and thought it was quite 'broccoli and cheesey'. For me, I would definitely use a different sundried tomato next time. I felt the chewiness wasn't really to my taste. But the other ingredients were very tasty. 

Broccoli Dip with Marinated Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Brazil Nuts on Oh She Glows Crackers

As toppings for OhSheGlows.com vegan and gluten free crackers...I think they all worked really well. The crackers didn't wilt when you topped them and they were the perfect accompaniment for the toppings. My favourite combo was Lydia's Pea Spread but My Love's was the Broccoli Dip. I am now inspired to make new toppings to team the crackers with..and may be even have a go at making my own gluten free crackers.

For Lydia's Pea Spread link:
http://www.vegalicious.org/2011/08/01/lidias-pea-spread/ 


For Vegweb's Broccoli Dip:

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=37951.0

For Vegweb's Chilli Bean Dip:

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=41632.0

Hope you give these crackers a try...even if you don't 'need' to eat gluten-free they are a seriously delicious cracker....

Thanks to all for the great recipes..I enjoyed making and testing all of them...

Enjoy! 
~R~ 

5-Spices Plum Chutney

Kitchen Play List: Classic Rock ~ Rock Eruption CD

I picked up a large bag of plums at my supermarket last week for the bargain price of 45p. I know I could have stewed them and frozen them but to be honest I'm not the biggest fan of stewed fruit...I would rather just eat the fruit in its fresh glory. But these plums weren't ripe enough to eat like this and I wouldn't be able to get through them all when they finally reached that stage. My Love is very loyal to the British plums so never eats imported ones. So I was sat with this rather hefty bag of bargain plums and wondering what I was going to do with them, for two days! lol. 

A few months ago I found a wonderful and inspirational site called Vegelicious.org It has the most amazing recipes and photographs and I often make meals from their extensive library. I was clicking through the pages and up popped this chutney recipe. They had served it with Tempeh and veggies which isn't to my taste but the chutney looked so tasty and as I had the plums sat waiting to be used I thought I would try it out.

The results were a very tangy, savoury, spicy and rich chutney. It was easy to make and a very good recipe. From the first taste I had many ideas for different ways to use it up. So thank you Vegelicious...once again!

5-Spices Plum Chutney
(Recipe from Vegelicious.org)

1 tbsp mustard seeds
2 lb plums, pitted and roughly chopped
1 tbsp oil
1 med onion, chopped
2-3 tsp 5-Spice
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup white vinegar
3-4 tbsp brown sugar
dash of cayenne
dash of cinnamon

In a medium heat the mustard seeds until they change colour and start to pop. Add the oil and the onion, saute until soft. Add the chopped plums and stir well. Add the seasonings, vinegar and sugar. Cook on a low heat until the plums have softened and the mixture is thick and syrupy. Leave to cool. 

Enjoy!