Seeds'N' Smiles!

Chocolate swirl buns - before and after baking. (Recipe can be...

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:34:00 +0100

Chocolate swirl buns - before and after baking. (Recipe can be found here.)

As you can probably tell, I’ve been on a bit of a baking binge as of late! Baking is my favourite thing in the world to do, and we have some yeast that’s almost out of date, so we can’t waste it, can we? ;D

I say this just about every time I try a new recipe, but I think this is one of my favourite things I’ve ever made. It’s up there with the cinnamon/toasted pecan plait, I tell ya.

Healthy recipes/food will be back soon, haha!

Wholewheat waffle and seasonal vegetable stir fry with lemon...

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:48:57 +0100

Wholewheat waffle and seasonal vegetable stir fry with lemon grass, ginger, chilli & dark soy sauce, served with toasted cashew nuts and sesame seeds.

From the Waffle House, Norwich. :)

Orange, polenta, almond and olive oil cake. (dairy and gluten...

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:36:29 +0100

Orange, polenta, almond and olive oil cake. (dairy and gluten free)

A few weeks ago I made a selection of baked goods and jewellery to sell to raise some money to go towards my art foundation in September - and this was one of the ‘goods’!

I also made some chocolate Hungarian biscuits, sandwiched with chocolate buttercream, Swiss carrot cake muffins with cream cheese icing and walnuts and some lemon shortbread. I was left with very little at the end of it, and what was left was soon devoured by my family! :)

The recipe for the cake above can be found here. (I left out the rosemary and it was still beautiful!)

Dark chocolate chunk cookies! (vegan) I’ve used this...

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:44:15 +0100

Dark chocolate chunk cookies! (vegan)

I’ve used this recipe before (from ohsheglows, as always) and I remember them being much crisper than these. These are nice, but they’re quite soft, despite cooking longer than required, and remind me more of muffin tops. Oh well, they still taste good. :)

And yes, there were 12. You can’t expect me to take a picture of cookies without eating at least one first, can you?

My attempt at tiger bread! The top didn’t crackle quite...

Sat, 18 May 2013 01:10:33 +0100

My attempt at tiger bread! The top didn’t crackle quite like tiger bread does, but it is crispy and and a little crackly, so it could be worse! :)

I don’t really make bread too often so it’s always a pleasant surprise when it turns out fine! I’m somewhat of a bread fiend so I’ll have to use all of my willpower to stop myself from eating the whole, beautifully crusted loaf, with a delicate, fluffy interior… unf. I’m starting to sound like Nigella, so I better end this post here…

Soy/lemon/ginger/honey salmon and baby courgettes, sautéed in...

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:41:00 +0100

Soy/lemon/ginger/honey salmon and baby courgettes, sautéed in coconut oil, with diced red bell pepper, plum tomatoes, pecans and mixed salad leaves.

My free Graze breakfast box came through today! :D I don’t...

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:33:02 +0100

My free Graze breakfast box came through today! :D

I don’t think I’ll order this one after the trial ends, though. The idea is lovely but the portions are tiny and oatmeal is one of the cheapest foods to make - I don’t need tiny fancy packets charging me £4 for four boxes… which may be 2 portions at most. I love you Graze, but I won’t be buying these, I’m afraid!

Breakfast - wholegrain English muffin, half with soya butter,...

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:28:42 +0100

Breakfast - wholegrain English muffin, half with soya butter, half with blackberry jam, banana slices and raspberries.

Quinoa pops with cinnamon, banana, raspberries, strawberries,...

Thu, 16 May 2013 22:05:00 +0100

Quinoa pops with cinnamon, banana, raspberries, strawberries, passion fruit, pumpkin seeds, shredded coconut and almond milk.

Banana pancake scramble (made with ground hazelnuts instead of...

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:49:00 +0100

Banana pancake scramble (made with ground hazelnuts instead of almonds this time) with almond butter, pumpkin seeds and a little maple syrup, a passion fruit and some raspberries.

Sorry the lighting is a little off, the sun can’t make up its mind today!

Braided cinnamon roll twist with a lemon glaze and crushed,...

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:31:34 +0100

Braided cinnamon roll twist with a lemon glaze and crushed, toasted pecans.

I’m really pleased with how this turned out! I don’t think I’ve ever worked with enriched dough before, only plain and simple bread dough, so I was a little worried but everything turned out perfectly. The top is crispy and delectable but the inside is soft, fluffy and just oozes cinnamon goodness. It was meant to be a wreath but I didn’t make the strips long enough, so instead it’s a twist, but I still think it looks pretty impressive! :)

Recipe can be found here.

Brownies - pre and post baking. (Vegan AND gluten free! :D) On...

Tue, 14 May 2013 20:36:16 +0100

Brownies - pre and post baking. (Vegan AND gluten free! :D)

On ohsheglows’ site she has a recipe called “Brownies Two Ways” and I’ve tried the gluten containing ones before and thought they were the best brownies I’d ever made, so I decided to make the gluten free ones this time.

I’ve made gf baked goods before, but only with things like ground almonds or polenta - never with a gf flour. This recipe calls for a mix of ground almonds, brown rice flour and cornflour. Surprisingly nothing seemed to go wrong, and as soon as I shovelled the just cooked mix in to my face I knew that these were now the best brownies I had ever baked. These are the gooey, dense, crispy topped brownies you dream of.

You really can’t beat a good brownie and maybe the Cookies ‘n’ Scream ones in Camden are still my #1 (also vegan and gluten free, actually) but these definitely come in at a close second! I’d be lying if I said I didn’t eat 5 brownies in one afternoon. Sorry, Ma. (not sorry. really, really not sorry.)

Broccoli quiche with buttery new potatoes, pesto pasta salad,...

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:59:00 +0100

Broccoli quiche with buttery new potatoes, pesto pasta salad, orange and carrot salad and creamy sweetcorn and pepper salad.

I went out to lunch today with one of my oldest friends (I can’t believe I’ve known you 12 years, Elise!) to a lovely delicatessen called Peppers. They have separate vegetarian/vegan and gluten free menus too if you so require them, which is always nice, as I know having a ‘restrictive’ diet can feel like you’re being a pest - this way your options are already laid out in front of you, woo hoo! :D

Breakfast - scrambled eggs with paprika and some...

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:52:54 +0100

Breakfast - scrambled eggs with paprika and some strawberries.

I’m so glad strawberries are back in season! Gone are the days it’s £4 a punnet, hurrah!

Baked banana quinoa flake ‘oatmeal’ with...

Fri, 10 May 2013 22:19:57 +0100

Baked banana quinoa flake ‘oatmeal’ with strawberries, coconut, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, walnuts, almond butter and agave.

I know I had almost the exact same thing the other day but it’s so tasty I couldn’t help myself. :3

Breakfast - quinoa pops with banana slices, red grapes, chia...

Thu, 09 May 2013 17:22:51 +0100

Breakfast - quinoa pops with banana slices, red grapes, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, crushed walnuts, cinnamon and almond milk, a braeburn apple and a glass of orange and carrot juice.

I love starting mornings like this. :)

Elimination diet/acne update -

Wed, 08 May 2013 22:02:42 +0100

I saw my GP today about my acne (again) and he has prescribed me a new set of antibiotics together with an antibiotic topical cream, and to give those 3 months to see if that works.

I have been on different antibiotics and a different cream before, but at separate times. Hopefully together they will work! And if not, he said I can be referred to the dermatologist. (Woo! I’ve been waiting to be referred for years now, haha.)

He also said recent studies have found that diet has very little impact on acne, and that my diet (prior to the elimination diet) sounded perfectly healthy and so I should keep doing that. If my diet beforehand wasn’t curing my skin, this one definitely wouldn’t.

Long story short - I don’t have to just eat fish, eggs, vegetables and quinoa any more! Woo hoo!

Now gimme some tofu! :D

The apple almond cake recipe, for those who asked!

Tue, 07 May 2013 22:49:00 +0100

The apple almond cake recipe, for those who asked!:

(I used coconut oil in place of butter and almond milk in place of dairy.)

Prawns sautéed in coconut oil with baby courgettes, baby corn,...

Tue, 07 May 2013 20:46:26 +0100

Prawns sautéed in coconut oil with baby courgettes, baby corn, red bell pepper, spinach, brown rice and flaked almonds.

Sauce/marinade - ginger, soy sauce (well, tamari), agave, orange juice, cumin, paprika, chilli flakes, sesame oil, paprika and pomegranate molasses. Sounds weird but totally works. :D

We had some egg whites to use up and as many of you know,...

Tue, 07 May 2013 20:22:09 +0100

We had some egg whites to use up and as many of you know, I’m currently not eating gluten, but still wanted a sweet treat and thus - these macaroons were born!

It’s just coconut, egg whites, sugar and cocoa! I added a pinch of cinnamon and some ground hazelnuts as there wasn’t quite enough coconut and they came out perfectly. Top with flaked almonds and a drizzle of dark chocolate and nom away. :D

(The recipe comes from sortedfood.com - they are called ‘chocolate chews’.)