MANGO CARDAMOM CAKE | VEGAN RECIPE

WIKI NOTE: The mango is native to South and Southeast Asia, from where it has been distributed worldwide to become one of the most cultivated fruits in the tropics. It is the national fruit of India, Pakistan, and the Philippines, and the national tree of Bangladesh. In several cultures, its fruit and leaves are ritually used as floral decorations at weddings, public celebrations, and religious ceremonies.

MANGO VEGAN CAKE

YOU WILL NEED:
DRY INGREDIENTS:
1 and 1/2 cups wheat flour (plain or all-purpose)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt
1 tsp cardamom powder or 3 cardamom pods (open the pods and use the seeds inside)
1 cup panela sugar or unrefined cane sugar
NOTE: add more sugar, depends on how sweet is the mango puree.
1/4 cup of shredded coconut (optional)
A bunch of chopped fresh mint leaves (optional)
WET INGREDIENTS:
1 and 1/2 cups mango puree or mango chunks in light syrup or 2  ripe mangoes
1/3 cup sunflower oil (or veggie oil, any neutral flavored)
1 tsp vanilla extract
NOTE: You can replace mango puree for peach halves in light syrup (medium size can - 420g)

NOTE: Homemade measurement units



LET´S BAKE!

1. Preheat the oven to 180 º C. Grease a bread pan with margarine or sunflower oil.
NOTE: Standard dimensions for bread and loaf pans start at 8 ½ by 4 ½ inches. It´s the perfect size for that amount of ingredients. If you multiply the amount by the number of times that you want, you will get a bigger cake. You have tons of different sizes of baking pans depending on the final amount.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl: brown sugar, flour, baking powder, shredded coconut, cardamom powder, chopped fresh mint leaves, and salt until well mixed.
NOTE: Sift the flour for cakes. Sifting helps to remove any lumps and/or unwanted debris from the flour and also helps to combine the flour with any dry ingredients. If you don't have a strainer handy, you can also mix flour with a wire whisk or a fork.
3. Peel and cut one or two mangoes. Put a bunch of roughly chopped mango into the measuring cup of the blender. Mix it well with the blender, until homogeneous liquid like puree.
4. Combine wet ingredients in a bowl:  mango puree, vanilla extract, and veggie oil until well mixed.
5. Pour the wet mix into the dry bowl. Mix everything just a little bit with a wooden spoon.
6. Pour the mix into the bread pan. Sprinkle brown sugar on the top.
7. Bake for around 45-50 minutes, until browned.
NOTE: Don´t open the oven, you can always leave the cake in the oven for a few more minutes.
8.  Remove from the oven. Leave to cool. Cut cubes of mango. Put the cubes and fresh mint leaves on the top. Sprinkle a little bit of shredded coconut (optional).
9. Serve with a scoop of vegan ice cream, vanilla flavor vegan source cream, or vegan custard.

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• JUNE MENU

  

MANGO CARROT EASTER SMOOTHIE | VEGAN RECIPE | EASTER MENU

 

WIKI NOTE: The origin of the tradition of eating eggs at the end of the winter is reminiscent of the Ice Age. After the harsh winter, as soon as they were provisions, with the arrival of spring birds returned from the south (this only applies to the northern hemisphere) and began to lay eggs, which human beings are fed until they can return to hunting with the advent of better temperatures.

MANGO CARROT SMOOTHIE

YOU WILL NEED:*vegan recipe

1 cup mango chunks or 3 peach halves in light syrup (medium size can - 420g)

2 medium carrots, grated
2 teaspoons of honey /*agave nectar, to taste
A splash of milk /*soy milk (optional)
1 cup cold water
Ground cinnamon (optional)

NOTE: The recipe is for one glass. If you want more than one glass, multiply the ingredients accordingly.

LET´S COOK!

1. Peel and grate the carrots. Peel and cut the mango. Put the grated carrot and the mango chunks into the measuring cup of the blender.

NOTE: You can put the mango chunks in the freezer. The mango need not be frozen, but it produces a thicker smoothie.

2. Add the water, honey/syrup, a splash of milk/soy milk, and a pinch of ground cinnamon. Mix everything with the blender until foaming. Taste the smoothie and add more honey/syrup to sweeten if you wish.

3. Serve in a glass,  place carrot grated around the glass like a bird nest. Put random milk chocolate eggs in a crisp sugar shell in the carrot nest.

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• EASTER MENU

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• MARCH MENU

• APRIL MENU

   

TORRIJAS (FRENCH TOAST) | ALTERNATIVE VEGAN RECIPE INCLUDED | EASTER MENU

WIKI NOTE: Torrija is a typical dessert of Easter time in Spain. However, desserts similar to Torrija exist under different names like French toast, pain perdu, arme ritter, etc in other parts of Europe, where its presence has been documented since the Middle Ages. Emigration has popularized them in South and North America.

TORRIJAS (FRENCH TOAST)

YOU WILL NEED:*vegan recipe
A piece of stale bread (approx. 160g), to slice
1/4 l milk / *almond milk, to soak
1 lemon rind
1 cinnamon stick
2 eggs / *4 tablespoons of chickpea flour plus 4 tablespoons of water, to dip in batter
wheat flour (plain or all-purpose), to dip in the batter
Olive oil or vegetable oil, to taste
1 or 2 tablespoons of caster sugar /*panela sugar or unrefined cane sugar, to sprinkle
Ground cinnamon, to sprinkle

NOTE: Depending on the type of bread, there will be different sizes of torrijas. The most important thing is that the bread has to have a lot of crumbs.

LET´S COOK!

1. Cut the bread into thick slices (around 2 or 3 centimeters wide) and place them in a tray/baking pan.

NOTE: It is important to use thick slices of stale bread, that way the slices rarely break at the step of soaking.

2. Clean the lemon and cut the rind without the white part. Cut in half the cinnamon stick, if it's too long.

3. Put the milk, lemon rind, and cinnamon stick in a saucepan over low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let it warm.

4. Pour the milk mix over the slices and let them soak until there is no milk in the tray, at least 5 minutes per side (approx. 10 minutes). If there is not milk enough for all the slices, do a little more.

NOTE: The timing of the soak will depend on the type of bread, just be careful because too many soaked slices will break.

5.  Put flour on a plate. Beat eggs or mix chickpea flour and water in a bowl.

6. Drain the milk from bread slices, if it's necessary. First, batter the slices of bread into the flour. Second, dip it into the beaten egg.  It is a double action.

7. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Fry the slices of bread, one by one depending on the size, until golden brown on each side.

8. Remove them from the saucepan and drain with kitchen towels
9. Mix sugar and ground cinnamon in a bowl. Sprinkle each side with the mix and let them cool a little bit.

10. Serve the torrijas on a tray or by unit placing the torrija in the center of a plate.
NOTE: You can spread honey or agave nectar over the torrija to make it sweeter.

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• EASTER MENU

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• MARCH MENU

• APRIL MENU

   

EASTER BUNNY (VEGGIE BURRITO) | ALTERNATIVE VEGAN RECIPE INCLUDED | EASTER MENU

WIKI NOTE:  The word burrito means "little donkey" in Spanish. The name burrito as applied to the dish possibly derives from the appearance of bedrolls that donkeys carried.

The difference between a Burrito and a Taco is basically the shape. So a Burrito is a wheat flour tortilla wrapped or folded into a cylindrical shape to completely enclose the filling in contrast to a Taco, which is generally formed by simply folding a tortilla in half around a filling, leaving the semicircular perimeter open.

EASTER BUNNY (VEGGIE BURRITO)  

YOU WILL NEED:*vegan recipe
8 soft flour tortillas
REFRIED BEANS FILLING (approx. 4 units)
2 cups of drained red beans (approx. 400g)
1 cup of Oaxaca grated cheese, to taste /*vegan grated cheese
NOTE: If you don´t find Mexican cheese, you can use any kind of grated cheese.
1/4 red onion, to taste

3 tablespoons of vegetable oil

A pinch of salt

Chili chipotle sauce (optional)
NOTE:  The tortillas have to be soft because it will be easy to blend them and make the rabbit hear.

LET´S COOK! 

1. Chop the onion to cook the refried beans. Heat a saucepan with vegetable oil. Fry the chopped onion until transparent. Add the beans and a pinch of salt.

2. Smash everything with a masher/fork until it is pureed.

3. Put vegetable oil in a hot pan, and fry the bean puree for about 5 minutes until it gets thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

4. Put the filling of the refried beans in the middle of the tortilla leaving without filling the top of the tortilla. Put a layer of refried beans and another layer of grated cheese for the filling. Add chipotle chili sauce, to taste.

NOTE: Mix the refried beans with grated cheese to make a spreadable paste for the filling.

5. Fold the tortilla into a cylindrical shape to completely enclose the filling. Cut in the middle the top of the tortilla. Cut the top of the burrito without filling it in half to make rabbit ears.

6. Fold the rabbit ears or keep them, to kids' taste.

7. Brown the burritos in a hot saucepan without vegetable oil.

8. Remove from the saucepan. Decorate them.

• LET'S MAKE THE EASTER RABBIT!

1. Rabbit face: black olives (eyes), tomate cherry (nose), and grated carrot (whiskers and hair).

2. Serve the burrito with salad:: flowers (carrot) and grass (rocket salad).

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• EASTER MENU

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• MARCH MENU

• APRIL MENU

   

CRUNCHY CARROT WITH HUMMUS FILLING | ALTERNATIVE VEGAN RECIPE INCLUDED | EASTER MENU

WIKI NOTE: The biggest carrot in the world weighed 8.6kg and was cultivated by John Evans in 1998 in Palmer, Alaska.

CRUNCHY CARROT WITH HUMMUS FILLING

YOU WILL NEED: *vegan recipe
PUFF PASTRY (CONE SHAPE)
1 sheet of puff pastry /* vegan puff pastry
1 egg /*eggless
A handful of rocket leaves
*Baking cone-molds
NOTE: *Cone-molds - make small cardboard cones (A5 sizes) and cover each with the aluminum roll. 
CARROT HUMMUS FILLING
3 grated tender carrots
1 or 2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons ground hazelnuts
2 handfuls (approx. 100g) of cooked chickpeas
A generous splash (approx. 50g) of extra virgin olive oil or olive oil, to taste
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste

NOTE: The puff pastry is great for this recipe because you can make a sweet or a savory filling depending on the ingredients that there are at home.

LET´S COOK!
1. Preheat the oven to 180º C.  Cover the baking tray with baking parchment.
2. Roll out the sheet of puff pastry with a floured rolling pin.
NOTE: The puff pastry can be either store-bought or homemade.
3. Cut the sheet of pastry lengthwise into 3cm pieces.
4. Grease the cone molds with vegetable oil. Roll the strips of pastry around the cone molds.
NOTE: Leave 1cm on the top of the cone mold without puff pastry, it will be easy to remove later.
5. Beat an egg and brush cone-puff pastries.
6. Put the cone-puff pastries on the baking tray. Bake them for around 25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden.
7. Let it cool completely.  Remove carefully one by one the cone-puff pastry from the cone mold, trying not to break them.
8. Mix the ingredients for the carrot hummus in a blender until you have the desired texture.
NOTE: Another filling for the cone-pastry puff could be a sailor filling and/or a ham filling. You can find the recipes in the Sandwich House post of the August Menu.
9. Fill with carrot hummus and each cone-puff pastry.
10. Serve a crunchy carrot on a plate. It depends on the cone-mold size.
NOTE: Be careful not to break the puff pastry if you do small-size units.
11. Decorate the top with sesame seeds and baby spinach leaves. Voilà, the yummy crunchy carrots are ready to eat.

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• MARCH MENU

• APRIL MENU

   

ALMOND CAKE | VEGAN RECIPE

WIKI NOTE: The almond is native to the Mediterranean climate region of the Middle East. It was spread by humans in ancient times along the shores of the Mediterranean into northern Africa and southern Europe, and more recently transported to other parts of the world, notably California, United States.

VEGAN ALMOND CAKE 

YOU WILL NEED:
DRY INGREDIENTS:
1 and ½ cups wheat flour (plain or all-purpose)
½ cup ground almonds 
1 cup panela sugar or unrefined cane sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon, to taste
A handful of chopped almonds (optional)
WET INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of almond milk
¼ cup peach jam
6 tablespoons sunflower oil (or veggie oil, any neutral flavored)
2 tsp lemon zest, to taste

NOTE: Homemade measurement units



LET´S BAKE!

1. Preheat the oven to 180 º C. Grease a bread pan with margarine or veggie oil.

NOTE: Standard dimensions for bread and loaf pans start at 8 ½ by 4 ½ inches. It´s the perfect size for that amount of ingredients. If you multiply the amount by the number of times that you want, you will get a bigger cake. You have tons of different sizes of baking pans depending on the final amount.

2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl: unrefined cane sugar/brown sugar, flour, ground almonds, baking powder, ground cinnamon, chopped almonds and salt. Mix them well with a wooden spoon.
NOTE: Sift the flour for cakes. Sifting helps to remove any lumps and/or unwanted debris from the flour and also helps to combine the flour with any dry ingredients. If you don't have a strainer handy, you can also mix flour with a wire whisk or a fork.

3. Combine wet ingredients in a bowl: almond milk, peach jam, veggie oil, and lemon zest until well mixed.

4. Pour the wet mix into the dry bowl. Mix everything slowly with a wooden spoon.

5. Pour the mix into the bread pan. Sprinkle brown sugar on the top.

6. Bake for around 40 minutes or until browned.

NOTE: Open the oven and prick the cake in the middle with a needle. You can check it many times until the needle comes out clean. It means that the cake is well done.

7. Remove from the oven. Leave to cool. Serve as is or with a scoop of vegan chocolate custard (optional).

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• JANUARY MENU

     

CHOCOLATE TURRÓN / XMAS SWEET | ALTERNATIVE VEGAN RECIPE INCLUDED

WIKI NOTE: Turrón (Spanish), or torrone (Italian), is a southern European nougat confection and is usually shaped into either a rectangular tablet or a round cake. It is frequently consumed as a traditional Christmas dessert in Spain and Italy as well as Latin America. 

Turrón itself can take on a variety of consistencies and appearances, however, they traditionally consisted of the same ingredients; the final product may be either hard and crunchy, or soft and chewy. 

Thirty years ago almost all turrón recipes followed the same specifications, but since the diversification of products, there are currently dozens of varieties: chocolate with puffed rice or whole almonds; all kinds of chocolate pralines, with or without liquor, candied fruits or whole nuts; fruit pralines; and even sugarless variations (sweetened with fructose or artificial sweeteners).

PUFFED RICE CHOCOLATE TURRÓN

YOU WILL NEED: *vegan recipe

250 g of dark chocolate chunks /*vegan chocolate
50 g of lard / *vegan margarine
50g of crispy puffed rice (Rice Krispies by Kellogg's)
25g of flaked almonds or chopped hazelnuts (optional)
--
1 aluminum container,  small-size rectangular 
Cling film

LET´S COOK!
1. Put the chocolate chunks in a saucepan. Warm gently, stirring until it's all melted. Add lard and stir for a while.

2. Pour the content into the bowl and mix with crispy puffed rice (Rice Krispies) all together.

3. Cover the aluminum container with cling film.

4. Pour the mixture into the aluminum container. Cover it with cling film, press and put weight on the top (a package of caster sugar or a pocket dictionary or whatever works well). Leave it like that until is hard (approx. 4 hours).
5. Keep it in the fridge. Cut it into thick pieces to serve.

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• DECEMBER MENU