Recipe | Costa Rican Rice

 Back last summer I was lucky enough to take a trip to Costa Rica and it quickly became one of my favourite places in the whole world.


Not only is it beautiful but it has a strong focus on renewable energy and protecting the local environment which is a bit of a passion of mine, so naturally I fell utterly in love!

Being a vegan and not speaking the language created a slight barrier when it came to eating, which was a shame as Costa Rica has some glorious offerings!
I ended up eating the very traditional dish of rice and beans every day... and no that is not an exaggeration. When staying in a lodge on an island I ended up having it for breakfast, lunch and dinner for two days as there were no other options to choose!
And although the rice was always flavoursome and filling I'm sure you can imagine why I didn't feel the need to eat it again once back in the UK.

However 8 months later I began to crave it and so tried my hand at re-creating what I'd eaten on my trip, in my own kitchen. It ended up going fairly well considering I threw random food together hoping to get a similar flavour. I wanted to share in case anyone else has experienced this joy and wants to relive it or if you just want to give it a go!

I recommend using leftover rice or microwave pouches to make it a super quick recipe! You could even play around with your own ideas, maybe add some extra veg like peppers or peas!

Ingredients:

2 tsps garlic
3/4 cup of onion chopped
1 tin black beans
1 veggie stock cube
1-2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (can get vegan options from thevegankind.com)
1.5-2 cups rice (pre-cooked or microwave)
0.5 cups boiling water
Salt and pepper to taste

Recipe:

1. Fry garlic and onions with a small amount of oil in a saucepan
2. Pour in black beans including water from the can, simmer for 5 mins
3. Break up and sprinkle stock cube into mixture and Worcestershire sauce then stir until the cube is dissolved
4. Add rice to the pan with extra water and simmer for 10 mins or until most of the water has evaporated/been absorbed.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve!

Yes, it's that simple - easy and delicious!

x

Recipe | Vegan Granola

Up until now I had always shop bought granola, simply because I hadn't realised just how quick and easy (not to mention cheap) it is to make at home!

After watching a couple of youtube videos and reading countless recipes I thought I'd amend them to make the perfect granola for me! 

Once I had looked at a huge number of combinations within loads of different recipes, I finally cracked exactly what I want in mine, and now I want to share it with you!

Now there were a few things I learned that I wanted from my granola before attempting the final mixture:

1. Not to add too many nuts, as well as being picky with the nuts I choose. A lot of recipes called for a huge amount of different nuts but I've never been the biggest fan of a strong nut flavour (don't judge me but I can't even handle peanut butter!) so I stuck with a lower proportion of nuts and only chose those with a subtle taste - obviously this can be mixed up to your own personal taste!

2. I need more liquid than other recipes suggested. As important as the proportions of flavours is, it turns out that the texture was equally as tough to get perfect and I like granola that's a tad chewy as well as crunchy.

3. It takes a surprising amount of time to get to the right level of crispiness when cooking. Oh, also raisins don't take as long to cook as the rest of the mix, so I add them in halfway through baking.



So without further ado here's what ya need:

Ingredients:

- 1.5 cups of nuts (I used walnuts, pecans and cashews)
- 2.5 cups oats (the bigger the flakes the better)
- 3 tbsp golden syrup
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 0.5 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 0.5 cups raisins (or other dried fruit)

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 170 oC
2. Mix all ingredients in a bowl except for the raisins. You will need to melt the coconut oil in the microwave first.
2. Cover tray with baking paper or a silicon mat and lay mixture out in a thin layer.
3. Bake in the oven for 20 mins
4. Remove from oven and turn over to ensure even baking. Also, add the raisins at this point.
5. Return to oven and bake for 10 more minutes or until all the mixture looks golden brown.
6. Allow to cool and enjoy!

This granola can be kept for at least a week in an airtight container. Let me know what you like to put in your granola or if you give this one a try!
x

Time for an honest chat.

It seems that every time I write on this blog I'm having to excuse the massive expanse of time that's past since the last time I posted.... but here we are again. Sorry.

I really have missed being on social media and online platforms and as predictable as it might sound life really has got in the way. There are multiple reasons for my failure to keep up with this blog and I want to address them fairly briefly in the hopes you don't get bored and wander off.

Firstly, like the vast majority of adult humans in this world I have a job and just like them, it is often the bain of my existence. I don't think that being able to earn a living wage by eating food, travelling and sharing my painfully average life with the world is too much to ask! Unfortunately, I have found that working life not only takes a toll on my free time but also my creativity but I'm really trying to turn that around and find a balance for both.

Secondly and probably the biggest hurdle for my writing has been my general health. Low iron is an issue I've had for many years and before anyone starts preaching that it's because of my diet, the issues began pre my vegan life so none of that thanks!
Whatever the reason might be, it turns out my levels are through the floor again which leaves me feeling pretty darn rubbish and only just being able to get through the work day let alone getting involved in any extracurricular activities! It also doesn't do much for my mental well being.

Clearly, I didn't want there to be something medically wrong with me but now that I might have a reason for feeling horrendous the past few months I can actually look at doing something about it! I don't want to place too much optimism into the idea that changing this one thing will immediately leave me feeling energised, happy and healthy but am sure hoping it will be a decent start. I just want to feel a little less rubbish and a little more normal after 8 years of health complaints.... please?

I want to end by making it clear that I give no promises that I'll be able to do this blog the justice it deserves but what I can promise is I'm going to give it a damn good try and so hope you'll stick around to see what's to come.

Oh, and if there is anything specific you'd like to see please do let me know in the comments.

x