Have I ever mentioned that Boyfriendlovlie is quite a great cook? After blogging for so long, I am quite surprised that I have never blogged about and praised Boyfriendlovlie's culinary skills. Mind you though, when we first met, more than a decade ago, he could barely even cut vegetables, let alone cooking. I remember his first attempt, which was way back during our pre-vegan days, at trying to cook me something. He made a big fry-up with meat burgers, sausages and potato chips. At that time he really thought he was going to impress me. Bless him. I did appreciate the gesture but it was just not my type of food even before going vegan. So, gradually he made the effort of learning how to cook real food and he can now master vegan curries, bechamels, pasta dishes, noodle dishes, rice dishes, soups and not forgetting delicious low-fat stir fries.
Quite candidly, I must admit that a spaghetti stir-fry is one dish that he masters better than I do. He makes it fried-noodle-style; I guess it may be because chow mein is one of his favourite food. We use spaghetti instead of noodles because we can never find a good quality Chinese-style noodle brand (that is also healthy). I am always concerned of the wax coating and the unwaxed noodles just turn to mush in a stir-fry. Homemade noodles is probably the way to go but I can never get to it; sadly, the pasta machine just sits in the cupboard.
For now, let's just sit back and enjoy this cooking demo of a low-fat Stir-fried Vegetable Spaghetti from my personal Chef at home (aka Boyfriendlovlie).
Fall is quite the time to be lured into rich chocolatey finger-licking indulgence. And believe me I've got one recipe that is just right for this time of the year plus (and that's a big plus) it comes sans the fat! But that is not the only plus, it can also be made sugar-free if you use stevia or date syrup (for a lower glycemic index). We all know that being vegan is not automatically synonymous with "skinny" and when it comes to that, I am one of those who have always carried a few extra pounds. Going vegan has actually made the extra pounds to accumulate a little more -- vegan food is so delicious! So, while I don't try to eat a low-carb diet, I do however considerably cut down on fat. I do believe that the fat that we get through natural foods like bananas, avocados, seeds is by far superior to processed oils and margarine. Oils are however not completely eradicated from my recipes; I try to use the healthier ones like coconut oil as far as possible. However, when I can avoid them, by all means, I do.
A long overdue video which should probably have been posted a few years ago along with what has now become my most visited post to date - Homemade Oat Milk. However, not until when I recently stumbled upon this post from The Tropical Vegan, that I gave my homemade oat milk a whole new spin. It's those moments when you can't help tap yourself on the head thinking why haven't I thought of that before. Seriously, I do sometimes make coconut milk from the desiccated flakes but never have I thought of mixing the two. Indeed, a tablespoon of coconut flakes along with the oats makes a whole lot of difference to the milk. It helps the oat particles hold together better and lessens the sliminess. I never make oat milk any other way now, definitely a keeper. Since both Boyfriendlovlie and I are allergic to most nuts and we have reduced our soy milk consumption to almost zero, the Lovlie Cocoon never goes by a week without at least three batches of oat milk made. We use it in our teas, smoothies, cereals, sauces, baking, you name it.
I've used quick oats, which require no soaking, in the recipe but I have recently started to use oat groats soaked overnight, drained and rinsed before grinding in the same way. Organic oat groats, that I have started to buy in bulk, make a tastier milkier consistency and are cheaper too. If you are allergic to gluten, use gluten free oats.
Ever since I've made this bread for a previous Daring Baker's Challenge, it has become a regular at the Lovlie Cocoon! It is THE only way Boyfriendlovlie actually ENJOYS eating sweet potatoes. I try to sneak a few pieces of roasted sweet potatoes on his plate from time to time but there is just something about their sweetness which he thinks doesn't go with other savoury food. I enjoy eating sweet potato in various dishes from salads to desserts. But this bread is surely my favourite of them all!
Bread-making is something I never really gave much time into before until I started feeling the grubbiness of store bought ones. Those breads don't get any moulds for over a month! What do they put in them, I wonder!
The recipe in the video is more or less the same I used for the Daring Baker's Challenge with a slight variation - I omitted the rice milk and just used water.
Also, in the video I am using quick yeast which does not require proofing. If you are using active dry yeast, do proof it first by dissolving it in 100ml warm water with 1 teaspoon sugar and let stand for 10 minutes until frothy. (Then this is the water you are adding into the recipe).
2 1/2 cups (275g) strong white flour
2 medium sweet potato (350g)
1 sachet / teaspoon (7g) quick yeast
80 - 100ml warm water (depending on moisture content of sweet potatoes)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons coconut oil (melt first, if hardened, then take 2 tablespoons of the liquid oil. Vegetable oil should also be fine)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Place sweet potatoes with the skin on a deep pan. Fill with water until 3/4 the level of the sweet potatoes. Boil for 15 -20 minutes or until soft. Prick with a fork to test.
Peel and discard the skin. Mash the sweet potato to a fine puree. Use while still warm; it actually helps the dough to rise.
Add yeast, salt and sugar to flour. Mix well.
Add sweet potato to the flour. Mix and knead to combine.
Add the warm water. Mix and knead.
Add coconut oil and knead. The dough should come together better by now and should be less sticky.
Then, transfer onto a floured board and knead for 8 - 10 minutes. You may want to add a little more flour if too sticky or 1 - 2 tablespoons more water if too dry. (This also depends on the moisture content of the sweet potatoes.)
Oil a large bowl and place in the dough. Cover with cling film and leave to rise for 1 and a half hours in a warm place.
The dough should double in size.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Take one part and roll into a log. How long or thick you roll it will depend on the size or length of bread you want. Repeat with the other 2 pieces.
Join the 3 pieces at the top and start braiding. Press to secure them at the end, then reshape to nice rounded smooth ends.
Place on greaseproof paper on a baking tray and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour (rotate bread 180 degrees on itself halfway through for even baking).
When bread is baked through, it will make a hollow sound when tapped on the top, otherwise it will sound a little 'compact'.
Remove from oven and allow to cool a little before slicing.
Nutrition facts based on 1 slice of this bread, one bread loaf yielding 12 slices.
A nice cup of tea in the mid-afternoon becomes a little feast when accompanied by a piece of this scrumptious banana pie. Indeed, much loved by young and old alike, this banana pie is a very popular pastry in Mauritius. Dessert or afternoon tea time snack, for me this is just an anytime heaven in the mouth.
Banana pie is something I make quite often at the Lovlie Cocoon. It has made its way a number of times to bake sales and friends' parties. So, it's about time I share this recipe.
Right. Now, not just the recipe, I have also made a video. Yay! This is my first recipe video and I had so much fun doing it. I hope you like it too! A million thanks to Boyfriendlovlie who encouraged me in doing this. And for his patience behind the camera while I was turning the kitchen upside down (which he cleaned afterward, niahahaha!) Well, what? Ok, I helped him a bit, but banana pie is his favourite sweet treat after all. So, I deserved some pampering for it, no?
Enjoy!
Ingredients (for a 28-cm pie mould) Shortcrust pastry:
400g plain flour
175g vegan margarine (cold)
100ml water (cold)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Banana filling:
5-6 ripe bananas
1/2 cup soft dark brown sugar
water as required
Oats milk for glazing
Prepare banana filling:
Peel and slice the bananas.
Add sugar and mix well until sugar starts to melt.
Place in a thick bottom pan and cook over medium for about 20 minutes.
Mash and stir bananas occasionally.
Then add about 1/2 cup water and stir well.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
To make the dough:
Place flour in a bowl. Add salt.
Cut margarine into small pieces and fold into flour. Keep cutting and folding until margarine are small and well mix. Then work the mixture between the fingers by rubbing in and lifting the flour. Mixture should ressemble fine breadcrumbs.
Add water and knead to form a nice and smooth dough. The dough should not be sticky and the inside should look like the texture of the inside of bread. Divide roughly into 1/3 and 2/3 portions.
Refrigerate for 1/2 hour.
Prepare the crust for pre-baking:
Preheat oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Farenheit).
Then, take out the larger dough and spead out to 4mm thickness and large enough to fit into a 28-cm pie mould.
Transfer dough into mould by loosely rolling it around the rolling pin then unroll into the mould.
To work the fluted edge, take a piece of dough and dip into some flour. Press into the fluted edge to shape it.
Line the dough with baking paper and place some dry beans onto it. (I am using mung beans, but any dry beans will do, even rice). This is only to prevent the dough from rising or forming bubbles during the pre-baking.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Make the strips for the lattice top:
Meanwhile, prepare the strips for the lattice top.
Take the other portion of dough and roll out to approximately 30cm diameter.
Cut strips of 1cm width.
Fill and make the pie:
Remove crust (after 15 minutes) from the oven.
Save the beans for later use in other pie baking recipes. These beans can be used a few times.
Fill the crust with the banana paste, even out.
Make the lattice top:
Take the longest strip and line it in the middle. Press to secure on one side only.
Take every other strip and line a little distance apart.
Then, lift and pull back alternating strips.
Place one strip across (to make a criss-cross pattern).
Fold back the strips.
Then lift alternating ones (i.e. the strips that are now under) and place another strip across.
Continue in this way of alternating each row until lattice is complete.
Trim off excess strip length.
Brush with some non-dairy (I used oats milk) milk.
Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes or until crust is golden.
