Wednesday Wants

This week winter has really set in so I have got some wednesday wants to cheer us up!

1) Moomin Hot Water Bottle - £12 from Topshop

How cute is this and who doesn't love Moomins? Cuddle up with a Moomin hot water bottle at night and keep toasty warm. Get yours from here.








2) Rocket Dog Faux Fur Boots - £99 from Littlewoods

Don't these look cosy and wintery? I had a similar pair from Primark last year but they didn't last very long. I think it might be time to invest in a pair of Rocket Dogs! Get yours here.







3) Cartoon Skull Tunic - £21.99 from New Look

Well this takes me back to my emo schooldays (only 5 years ago!). I love jumper dresses and I love the cute pattern on this one. Perfect with some wooly tights and some knee length boots for a lovely warm outfit. Get one from here.






4) Venomous Villians Mineralise Eye Shadow Duo - £16 each from MAC

Mac have just released their Venomous Villians Disney Collection and this is the product which interests me most. The colours are awesome and wintery and I love the design. Check out the rest of the collection here.



5) Maddy V Neck Cardigan - £50 from Monsoon

Some cardigans are practical but make you look chunky and a bit silly! This chocolate coloured cardigan has a very flattering cut and I love the length of it too as it can be easily worn with leggings. Get one here.







6) Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Mug - £10 or 2 for £16 at Whittards

I love Alice In Wonderland and I especially love the Mad Hatter. This mug encapsulates the magical story without being garish and childish. There is a whole set of these on the Whittards website and I think they are beautiful. Perfect for drinking your cocoa out of on a cold winter night Get one here.





7) Teal & Gold Fulia Silk Scarf - £28 from Traidcraft

I'm not sure how warm this scarf would be so it might not be very practical but look how pretty it is! You might think that £28 is expensive for a scarf but this is handmade in India by a lady called Sasha. Read about her and buy your own scarf here.







8) Chai Shower Gel - £12.50 from Lush

Chai is my winter staple from Lush but unfortunately I haven't had any money to order it yet! It is a gorgeous spicy shower gel that smells like Chai tea. It is warming on the skin and the smell lingers all day (especially in the hair!). Chai is only available online as it is a retro Lush item. Get a bottle here.





9) Long Sleeve Tunic - £34.99 from River Island

This top is just lovely. I really like the style and the colour, it would brighten up those winter days! If you like it as much as I do then get one from here.







10) Soup Maker - £138.99 from Lakeland

I love making homemade soup in the winter but often don't have time to do it all. This machine looks amazing because it chops, boils, simmers and blends. It basically carries out all of the soup making steps and at the end you have some gorgeous homemade soup. I can't in any way afford this but I can dream! If you can then get one from here.

Blueberry Muffins

Yesterday I made these:

Awesome Blueberry Muffins

They were amazingly yummy. I got the recipe from here but used vegan margarine instead of butter and soya milk instead of ordinary milk. I also added some mixed spice to give them a bit more flavour.

I highly recommend them! They're more cakey muffins than breakfasty muffins (if that makes sense) so they're not very filling but this only means you get to eat more! I think next time I will use wholemeal flour as I think that would make them even nicer.

Billiesue

Summer Vegetable Casserole

I just made an awesome casserole using a recipe from one of the lovely vegetarian blogs I follow Veggicurious. I adapted the recipe a bit by:

1. Leaving out the courgette (I don't like it!)
2. Using a green bell pepper instead of yellow (I thought this might add a new flavour so it wasn't all sweet)
3. Using red onion instead of white (I prefer red)
4. Using cherry tomatoes instead of sliced salad tomatoes (chopped them in half and chucked them on top of the other veg) 
5. Adding sweetcorn and mushrooms.

The result? An amazing variety of flavours and textures. It was absolutely gorgeous. I had it with brown rice which added to the texture. I suggest you check out the blog for other fab recipes! 


Billiesue

Banana Oat Cookies

So we have quite a few over-ripe bananas in the house. Usually I will use them to make Banana Bread but this time I thought I'd find some new ideas! I got this recipe from http://vegweb.com which is full of every vegetarian/vegan recipe you can think of! I adapted the recipe a bit so here is my version:

Ingredients

1  mashed banana

1 cup of brown sugar

1/2 of a cup of regular sugar

slightly less than 1/3 of a cup (about 1/4 of a cup plus 1 teaspoon) of oil

1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1 1/2 cups of self raising wholemeal flour

1/2 of a teaspoon of salt

2 cupsof oats

3 tablespoons of water (I needed some more once I had added the oats)

Method:

1. Add the brown sugar, white sugar, oil and water to a large bowl and mix together. 

2. Add the Banana and Vanilla.

3. Mix together the flour, cinnamon and salt. Stir it into the banana mixture.

4. Stir in the oats.

5. Use a tablespoon to drop the mixture onto a greased baking tray. Bake at 175 degrees celsius for 10-15 minutes until brown on the bottom.

6. Turn onto a wire rack to cool.

They are so nice, I have eaten three already! 

Billiesue

Wholemeal Bread

I really wanted some hummus today but didn't have enough money to buy bread and hummus! Then I remembered that I had Wholemeal Bread Flour and Yeast downstairs! I found this recipe online and tried my hand at baking bread. I got this recipe from http://www.cookitsimply.com/ which is a good website with lots of bread recipes. I think I will be making more bread from now on!

Ingredients:

15 g (1/2 oz) dried yeast

1 tsp (5 ml) sugar
275 ml (1/2 pt) warm water
4 cups (450 g) 1 lb wholemeal (whole grain) flour, plus extra for kneading
2 tsp (10 ml) sea salt
butter or oil for greasing

Method:

1. Dissolve the sugar in half the water and sprinkle the yeast on top. Put the yeast into a warm place to froth about 10 minutes.

2. Put the flour and salt into a bowl and make a well in the centre.

3. Pour in the yeast mixture and the remaining water and mix everything together with a flat-bladed knife.

4.  Turn the dough onto a well-floured work surface and knead it until it is smooth.

5. Return it to the bowl and make a cross-cut in the top.

6. Cover the bowl with a clean cloth. Leave the dough in a warm place for one hour to double in bulk.

7. Heat the oven to gas mark 6/200‚°C (400‚°F).

8. Grease a 900 g (2 lb) loaf tin (5-cup bread pan) or two 450 g (1 lb) loaf tins (3-cup bread pans).

9. Knead the dough again and either keep it in one piece or divide it into two.

10. Roughly shape it and press it lightly into your bread tin(s) (pans).

11. Put the bread on top of the stove and cover with a clean tea cloth. Leave for the final rising for 15 minutes, or until the dough has risen 1.5cm (1/2 in) above the edge of the tin(s).

12. Bake the large loaf for 50 minutes and the small ones for 40 minutes.

13. Turn the bread onto a wire rack to cool and leave it for 12 hours before cutting.

It smells lovely! I shall report back on the taste!

Billiesue

Blueberry Currant Loaf

I wish I could do more vegan baking but the lack of money means I cant! However, this recipe from www.vegan-food.net uses very few ingredients. Most of which you probably have in your cupboard! I didn't have any Blueberry teabags so I had to use Blueberry and Apple teabags instead. I also used wholemeal self raising flour instead of white self raising.

Ingredients:

2 blueberry and apple tea bags
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 cup currants
2 cups wholemeal self raising flour
1/2 cup caster sugar

Method:

1. Grease a 14 x 21 centimeter (5 x 9 inch) loaf tin. I did not need to do this as I have a special loaf tin that doesn't need it ;)

2. Add the boiling water to the teabags in a jug and add the currants. Cover the jug and leave the currants in the teabag mixture overnight.

3. Throw away the teabags and pour the currants and water into a bowl. Sift the flour and sugar into the bowl.

4. Mix well and pour into the loaf tin.

5. Cook at 160C for about an hour. Until cooked when tested with a skewer.

6. Turn onto a baking tray and serve hot or cold.

Leek and Potato Soup

I have just made and consumed a very nice soup that I thought I'd share. I got the recipe from http://www.parsleysoup.co.uk/ and only changed a few things. This website is fabulous for vegan soup recipes!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 large leeks (I didn't have 2!)
1 red onion (I prefer these to the white ones)
2 medium potatoes

1 clove of garlic (I use garlic in everything!)
25g (1 oz) margarine
750ml (1 1/4 pints) vegetable stock
200 ml (7 fl oz) soya milk
Salt and pepper

Method:

1) Chop the onion and leeks. Peel and dice the potatoes.

2) Heat margarine in a pan over a low heat and cook the vegetables for 10 minutes, until soft

3) Add stock and simmer for 20 minutes then purée with a blender.

4) Pour it back into the pan with the soya milk. Season and reheat before serving.

This is a gorgeous soup for winter. It made enough for two bowls so I shall put the other half in the fridge for later!

Billiesue