Mrs. Chicory: recipe

Protein bread + vegan toast 2 ways

If you're into healthy food blogs this bread won't be new to you. I have seen it pop up on every blog I follow but I think I first read about it on Sarah Britton's vibrant blog My New Roots. She calls it life changing loaf of bread and it really is. The concept intrigued me but I couldn't ever find psyllium, which is an essential ingredient of this vegan protein-rich bread without flour. Since there's no flour AND no eggs in it, there must be something else holding it together, and that's psyllium. When I finally found psyllium I still needed a gentle nudge to try the recipe, sometimes I'm just so cautious, which is really weird since I love experimenting in the kitchen.

This vegan protein bread is dense but not in a bad way - it's just bursting with flavor and nutrients. And it also does a great job inspiring you to make more healthy choices which Sarah Britton is all about. It sure inspired me to make a very healthy vegan toast with spinach, avocado and black salt, and then also a sweet little version with persimmon. I wish I could bite into any of those two right now!

Since I didn't adapt her recipe, I will send you off to Sarah's blog (you can also buy her book full of similarly genius ideas here), but when the protein bread is baked, come back and check my two toasts, ok?:)

Avocado spinach and black salt toast

Avocado toast was such a revelation for me! I love avocado and putting it on toast just makes it so much better - from a mere fruit it becomes a whole meal. Black salt is also a wonderful addition to a vegan diet (or any other, except for low sodium diet maybe) if you can find it. Avocado and black salt make a delicious combo that may remind some of you of boiled eggs (the creamy texture of avocado+the slightly sulphury taste of black salt). If you don't have black salt, try using gomashio instead (or even just sea/Himalayan salt).

2 pieces Sarah's protein bread
a little knob vegan butter (optional)
a few leaves baby spinach
half avocado
pinch black salt

Toast the bread on the grill so it gets nice grill marks.

While it's toasting, wash and dry the spinach leaves and peel and slice the avocado.

Butter the bread, place spinach leaves on it, top with avocado slices and a pinch of black salt.

Persimmon vegan toast

This is so simple but so so good! Persimmons are naturally so sweet they are like natures preserves. No sugar needed here! Just be sure you buy Fuyu persimmon for this toast. "You need to know which you're dealing with: while non-astringent varieties can be eaten, firm and crisp, while barely ripe, the astringent kind – rich, sweet, spicy – are mouth-puckeringly tart until fully ripe. Fortunately, it's not hard to tell when a Hachiya persimmon is ripe, a process that may take several weeks: they should be so soft that their sweet, almost jelly-like, flesh practically bursts through their skins" says The Guardian.

2 pieces Sarah's protein bread

a knob of coconut butter/oil or vegan butter

Half Fuyu persimmon (the hard variety)

Toast the bread, spread some butter or coconut oil on it and top with ripe Fuyu persimmon. A dash of vanilla powder might be nice if you're feeling extra fancy.

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by Zulejka

In cake, lemon

Vegan Lemon Cake

There was a time when I read blogs every day and it was a very nice time. I never got to know most of the bloggers I admire so much, but I often feel like we're friends, I take the time to comment on their posts or even drop them a note, I am genuinely happy when they succeed or have a baby, I buy their books and dream about attending their workshops.

One of the bloggers I admire most is Molly Wizenberg of Orangette, which was also one of the first blogs I started following. Her first book, Molly Wizenberg: A Homemade Life, is one of my favorite books, and not only cookbooks but books in general. Her style is just beautiful, and she is an extremely well-read woman. Her life seems fabulous (she reads The New Yorker and attends pottery workshops while running a family business and being a mom), but she always down to earth.

I also love her book because it's filled with vegetarian recipes. That's probably due to her husband being vegetarian. So that makes it a very useful book for me. Lemon cake has a special place in her book because that's the recipe that brought her together with her husband (who was just a reader of her blog when she posted the recipe! How romantic is that? Way better than Tinder, heh?). This is a classic French recipe with lots of eggs but it surprisingly doesn't feature butter. :) I didn't think I could successfully veganize it, but then I thought of a magical ingredient - chickpea. I'm pretty sure you would never have guessed it.

Vegan Lemon Cake recipe

1,5 cups (250 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 cup granulated sugar

2 handfuls candied orange peel (completely optional)

0,5 cup soy yogurt (plain or vanilla flavored)
3 tbsp canned chickpea
6 tbsp aquafaba (canned chickpea brine)

0,5 cup canola oil

juice from 1 lemon

For the glaze:
Juice from 2 lemons
1/4 cup (100 g) powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 °F (180 °C).
In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients. Mix with a spoon, just to combine.

Place chickpeas and aquafaba in a blender, add soy yogurt and oil and blend into creamy paste. Mix in the wet ingredients, stirring to incorporate.

Pour and scrape the batter into a buttered 9-inch round cake pan or whatever small-ish pan you have lying around.

Bake for 35-45 minutes at 350 °F (180 °C). Let cool completely, then pour lemony syrup all over it. To make it, mix lemon juice with sugar until it dissolves. Alternatively, you could just sprinkle the cake with some powdered sugar and garnish with pommegranate seeds.

Would you try it? Or does putting chickpeas in dessert scare you? (I know Martha Stewart makes brownies with black beans ..). Let me know:)

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by Zulejka

In dinner, lunch

Creamy vegan pea soup with fresh herbs

When I was a little girl, I didn't like peas. Well, I would eat fresh peas straight from a pod, but whenever they were cooked, I just hated them. Now I really like peas! They're a great way to add plant protein and fiber to your diet. And they're really cheap, they cook in no time, and you can always have them in your freezer, ready to cook a delicious, creamy, hearty and fresh soup, packed with protein and fiber.

I really like this vegan pea soup, and so does my husband. As for the kids, the votes are split. ;) The youngest one loves it, the older wouldn't even try it. If you're not a pea-hater, you'll probably like it, too! Especially with a swirl of organic sour cream or creme fraiche or vegan sour cream and maybe some homemade croutons ...

This soup is:
- vegan
- creamy
- protein-rich
- fiber-rich
- aromatic
- fresh
- easy to make
- quick!

Creamy vegan pea soup recipe

adapted from Ina Garten

serves 4-6

2 handfuls cashews
200 g/2 cups leeks
500 g/5 cups peas, fresh or frozen
1 tbsp olive oil
1 litre/4 cups vegetable soup
a few sprigs lemon balm
a sprig tarragon
lemon juice to taste (about a half lemon)
salt and pepper to taste
chives, to serve
sour cream, to serve

Dry toast the cashews in a skillet on low temperature. Set aside.

Chop the leeks and set aside. Heat olive oil in a pot. Add leeks and saute until leeks soften a bit (do not let them brown). Add peas, cashews and veggie soup. Let boil and cook for about 5 minutes or until peas soften.

Add fresh lemon balm and tarragon. Transfer the soup into the blender and blend into creamy deliciousness. Taste and add lemon juice to taste (be careful not to make it too tangy).

Swirl in some sour cream or creme fraiche, if using, and sprinkle some chopped chives on top. Serve with croutons - or as it is.

So, how do you like your peas? Do your kids eat them at all?;)

PS: come join me on my Facebook page! I'd love to hear from you. And if you're pleased with the way you made your pea soup look, tag me on Instagram!