Thursday, 16 February 2012

KITCHEN HELPERS: THE COOKING OIL COMPARISON CHART

Another little useful thing I found the other day was the Cooking Oil Comparison Chart by Eating Rules. It looks a bit confusing a first but you'll get the hang of it and it's a helpful little tool if you're trying to decide what oil to use. You can download the chart in PDF from Eating Rules and have it as a reference whenever you spot a new oil. More information on the chart and oil can also be found at Small Bites.
Note that it's not a comprehensive nutritional tool on oil, so follow up with your own research if you require more info

Wednesday, 1 February 2012

PARSLEY, SAGE ROSEMARY & THYME SCONES

These are what I like to serve with the Roasted Potato and Fennel Soup I blogged about last week. They are so easy to make and yummy. I have been making a batch of these weekly for snacks or as something to go with a bowl of soup. This recipe comes from The 30-Minute Vegan and the author calls them biscuits but to me they are scones. It may be cause I am making them wrong or it could be a lost in translation, USA vs. Commonwealth Country thing. Whatever you want to call them or however you want to make them, though, they are delicious. I love that they are super quick to make with things you would have in your pantry and there is hardly any mess. I have made a few modifications to the recipe (which you can find in a Google Search): 

My tips: 
  • To mine I added a little bit of soy or oat milk to get the consistency wetter as I used less margarine than required. I only use 55g of margarine, which already sounds like a lot.
  • I add a teaspoon of onion powder to my dry mix. 
  • I usually make 8 large ones, scone size rather than small biscuit size.
  • The first time I made these I didn't have any spelt on hand and just used normal all-purpose white flour (550). At the moment I am using spelt flour but normal flour all-purpose flour is cheaper so I will probably go back to using that.
These taste great hot or cold, smothered in vegan margarine or plain. If you need a bread side or are looking for a snack that you can make in a jiffy then I would recommend you whip a batch of these pronto.
This recipe comes from:
by Mark Reinfeld and Jennifer Murray