Chefs That Inspire Me: Ashlae W of Oh,Ladycakes!

Continuing my little interview series 'Chefs That Inspire Me' I had to include the amazing Ashlae from the beautiful blog, Oh, Ladycakes!
Ashlae's blog is one I find myself going back to time and time again, not only for her amazing recipes but also her wonderful photography! It's the kind of blog I love to sit and look at on cold rainy nights with a hot almond chai drink and be whisked away into her wonderful world of Salted Caramel Cake and Pumpkin Pretzels! So go check out her blog and find all her gorgeous recipe treats! Enjoy! X

DBB:  Not only are your recipes dairy and egg free, but I have noticed a lot more gluten free and raw recipes sneaking in! But they still manage to look decadent, naughty and delicious! Are you transitioning to a raw and gluten free diet?  

OLC: I could never eat completely raw, but I have been eating a mostly gluten free diet for the past year. In regards to recipes on the blog, I've always preferred raw, wholesome desserts to those loaded with flour, sugar, butter, etc. But I think that comes with the territory of being an athlete.

Caramel Apple Hand Pies.

DBB: Tell us about a meal or dessert that evokes a special memory for you and why!

OLC: The sauerkraut and mashed potato feast my family has every New Year's Day reigns supreme. Up until I moved to Denver (four years ago), I started every year with that meal. My guy and I do our own version of it out here, but it's just not the same without my wacky family around.

Roasted Blueberry frozen yoghurt.

DBB: What are three ingredients you couldn't live without?

OLC: Cacao nibs, Grade B maple syrup, and Madagascar vanilla beans.

Raw Cacao Truffles.

DBB: I give you a bag containing these ingredients, broccoli, cashews, orange, mango, miso, chilli and ginger, what would you make?

OLC: Raw broccoli slaw with a tangy cashew dressing.

Speculoos Swirl Brownies

DBB: What is your favourite recipe book?

OLC: An old address book that contains hand written recipes from my Great Oma. I was fortunate enough to inherit it after her passing, and it's what I study for most of my baking. But as of late, I've been pouring myself into The Sprouted Kitchen cookbook. It's incredibly beautiful.

Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream

DBB: One of the things I love about your blog is your photography! It's amazing! Did you study photography or are you a natural?

OLC: Thank you! I'm completely self taught - but I wouldn't mind enrolling in a photography class, or ten.

Maple Oat Scones

DBB: What would be your perfect afternoon?

OLC: My perfect afternoon only exists in October, when the leaves are falling and it's chilly enough for a coat. My handsome man and I would take a stroll through the park with hot cider in hand and - since it's perfect -  he'd rake a pile of leaves and let me jump in them all afternoon.

You can find out more about the lovely Ashlae and Oh, Ladycakes at:

www.ohladycakes.com

www.facebook.com/ohladycakes

October's Vegan Get Together!

Thank you lovely people who came along to the vegan get together tonight! We had such a great time and what a spread! Wowzers! Cupcakes, donuts, carob bites, white chocolate and raspberry cookies and  chocolate pie! One of the most nomalicious desserts of the night was Mark's Mocha Chocca cupcakes! They were amazing! See you all next month! X

If you would like to come along to the next Vegan Get Together check out the Deerly Beloved Facebook page or email us at deerlybelovedbakeryvegan@gmail.com for the upcoming dates! X

Matzo (Matzah) Balls Recipe

I love Matzo balls! Actually everyone in my family does too! Even my little 3 year old nephew loves them! I usually serve them in a hearty vegetable soup of carrots, kale, peas, leeks and fresh rosemary. They are so yummy and turn a soup into a main meal, which will keep you nice and full and warm! I use chia seeds in this recipe as they not only produce a good gelatinous binder to help keep these little dumplings light but contain huge amounts of omega 3, iron and calcium. Which can't be a bad thing!
You can happily make a big batch of these matzo balls and either store them in the fridge for up to three days or they happily freeze, so you will never be too far away from these tasty dumplings!

Ingredients:

2 Cups of Matzo Meal
1/2 Cup of Vegetable Stock
1/4 Cup of Olive Oil
2 Tbsp of Chia Seeds soaked in 1/4 of a Cup of Water for 10mins
1 Tbsp of Nutritional Yeast Flakes
1/2 Tsp of Dried Mixed Herbs
Pinch of Salt

In a bowl add the Matzo meal, yeast flakes, herbs and salt and mix together. Then add the olive oil, hydrated chia seeds and vegetable stock. Mix to form a soft dough. If it is very wet and sticky add a little more matzo meal, if it is dry and crumbly add a little more water. You should be able to mould it easily into a ball with your hands without it crumbling or sticking to you! Then roll the dough into cherry tomato sized balls. This may take a while, but it is so worth it and remember you need to roll them all roughly the same size so they all cook at the same rate, so have patience! When they are all rolled pop them into your pot soup when it has 5-10 minutes left to cook. Pop on a lid and they will steam cook and become tender and fluffy! The longer you leave them to cook the softer they will get, I find 5-10 minutes perfect as they have a wonderful al-dente texture, fluffy on the outside and just firm and cooked in the middle. Serve in warm bowls and enjoy!


Yesterday after a busy morning baking, I went for a lovely walk about town with Kyle and enjoyed the autumn display the plants and trees had put on! Isn't autumn just magical!

I also made a special chocolate and vanilla marble cake for a special little boy who happened to share his birthday with one of his little friends! We hope you both had a wonderful birthday Dexter and Harry!

Autumn Clutter City!

Thanks to everyone who came and saw us today at Clutter City at Norwich Arts Centre and bought cakes! It is still such an amazing feeling when people say they have come specially to pick up a brownie, or they say 'Oh! You're the vegan lady!' Or 'Oh! You're the lady who makes the rosemary whoopie pies!' 

When I sat and created my little deer logo a few years back and set out on my little bakery journey, I could never have believed that I would have such a wonderful following of beautiful customers! So thank you! 

You rock! X

Here are some pictures of today and a quick reminder that next Saturday we will be having a pop up shop at The Magdalen Street Fair 10-4pm! Hope to see you there, it looks like it's going to be a great day full of fun! 

Coming Up This Weekend!

Just a little reminder that we will be at the lovely Autumn Clutter City Market this Saturday the 6th of October 11-4pm! We will have all your favourite vegan treats including, Green Tea and Pistachio Whoopie Pies, Rosemary Shortbreads, Chocolate Chai Banana Bread and Lots of Spiced Pumpkin Pie Brownies! So come down and see us!

Also we have Apple Rose Tarts being delivered to Biddy's Tea Room on Saturday, and as always our Rose and Pistachio Cake and Caramelised Red Onion, Tomato and Rosemary Crumble Tarts are available too!

Also at the Lovely St Benedict's Food Store there are always Classic Cinnamon Whirls and Whoopie Pies in stock! This weeks flavour is wonderful Lavender and Lemon!

To find out more about our up coming stalls and events, check out our facebook page!
http://www.facebook.com/deerlybelovedbakery

Chefs That Inspire Me: Lagusta Yearwood of Lagusta's Luscious!

For vegan MOFO this year, I decided to interview some of the vegan chefs who inspire me and my cooking, and who are true artisans and revolutionaries in their culinary field! I thought I couldn't start with someone better than Lagusta Yearwood of Lagusta's Luscious! She is a true inspiration to my cooking and chocolate making and her commitment to sourcing the best produce for it's taste as well as it's sustainability and ethics is something to be commended! 

Lagusta Yearwood of Lagusta's Luscious. Photo credit Shirvin Lainez. 

DBB: Hello Lagusta! I absolutely love your ethos, style and the passion behind the amazing chocolates and dishes you create. As a chef myself I get so excited and inspired when I see one of your new blog posts or a new chocolate photo pop up on Facebook! Where do you get your passion and inspiration from?

LY: Aww, thanks! I mostly take inspiration from the natural world...the seasons and the great farms in my town. I also always want to just make tasty candy that I crave. Not sure if that's an inspiration, but it's a passion! 

The Luscious Locavore Box

DBB: You champion and use local and 'beyond organic' produce for your chocolates and dishes. Could you explain why you think this is so important and what you mean by ''beyond organic''?

LY: Sure—when we say "beyond organic" we're trying to address the fact that, in the US at least, the USDA organic certification system can be really tough on smaller farmers and producers. The fees and paperwork can be really prohibitive. So, while we do use mostly certified ingredients, some of our local ingredients come from farmers who either used to have USDA organic certification but dropped it because of the issues with it (but didn't change any of their farming practices) or aren't interested in the certification but are certified under another system, some of which, like Certified Naturally Grown, are even more stringent than the USDA organic program, as well as more fair to farmers. Instead of relying on a simplistic seal of approval from a government agency, we try to really do our homework researching the environmental practices of the products we use. 

Similarly, the international Fair Trade certification system has some of these same issues...it's a tough situation. All our chocolate is fair-trade (some of our ingredients aren't fair-trade just because that standard only applies to products made out of the US and we use lots of local produce.), but what I'm really proud of is that the chocolate company we buy from, Tcho, is committed to much more than fair trade certification and independently ensures that human rights standards are being respected and that the people who pick the cacao beans that turn into our chocolate are working under fair conditions and receiving a fair wage. 

We try to buy our ingredients from other local businesses as much as possible—for example, our lavender is from a tiny lavender farm on an island off Seattle, our fancy sea salt is harvested in Hawaii, our vanilla beans come from a 1-acre vanilla bean farm on Maui. Our prices reflect this commitment, but our customers have come to rely on us for an ethical component, and we're grateful so many people get what we're trying to do. 

Peaches and Cream Bark

DBB: What are your favourite chocolates to make and why?

LY: Hmm...I love making truffles, because I love working with ganache. It's so fun and adaptable. 

DBB: What meal or dessert evokes a special memory for you and why?

LY: For some reason, I went through a phase of making udon noodles with a sesame peanut sauce for months once. I would change them slightly every time, but I couldn't get enough of it. I had just moved to New Paltz, where I live now, and I didn't know anyone. It was a homey, comforting meal for me, and whenever I eat that meal again I remember that time. 

DBB: What are three ingredients you couldn't live without?

LY: Miso, onions, and olive oil! 

Autumn Bonbon

DBB: I give you a bag containing these ingredients: Pasta dough, baby yellow courgette (zucchini), baby fennel, tomatoes, apples and balsamic vinegar. What would you make?

LY: Wow, yum! OK..I think I'd make a little ravioli with sauteed yellow courgette, fennel, and roasted apples inside, then I'd finish it with a tomato sauce made with a little balsamic vinegar. 

DBB: What is your favourite recipe book?

LY: Right now I can't get enough of the Alinea cookbook by Grant Achatz. It's like a cooking school education. 

DBB: What would be your perfect afternoon?

LY: Probably reading novels and eating a delicious meal with my sweetheart, Jacob, in the sun!

Lagusta's Luscious was founded in 2003 by Lagusta Yearwood and makes beautiful artisan chocolates in New Paltz New York. To find out more about Lagusta's Luscious and their inspiring chocolates check out 

http://www.lagustasluscious.com/shop/ 

http://www.facebook.com/Bluestockingbonbons

https://twitter.com/LagustaBonbon

Red Lentil and Butter Bean Dahl With Cucumber Raita Recipe

This is a huge favourite of mine, and takes me back to my days working in a professional kitchen with an amazing Indian cook who showed me how to make some wonderful dishes including dahl! As my tastes have evolved so has my dahl, and I now add even more spices and lots of fresh herbs! I love butter beans and I think the addition of them in this dahl makes it a bit more robust so that you can serve it as a main meal. Rice, a must here, is accompanied by a simple but yummy cucumber raita, just incase things get to hot!


Red Lentil and Butter Bean Dahl Ingredients:

1 Tbsp of Olive Oil
1Tbsp of Mustard Seeds
1 Tsp of Cumin Seeds
1 Tsp of Grated Fresh Ginger
1/2 Tsp of Turmeric
1/4 Tsp of Cayenne Pepper
1/4 Tsp of Cinnamon
1 Red Onion Sliced in a Small Dice
2 Cloves of Garlic Grated
2 Cups of Red Lentils Washed and Drained
2 Cup of Vegetable Broth (2 cups of water with a tbsp of bouillon powder added)
1 Tin of Tomatoes
1 Tin of Butter Beans Drained
2 Cups of Kale Washed and Cut into Strips
1 Orange Pepper Sliced into Medium Cubes
1/2 Cup of Frozen Peas
1/2 Cup of Fresh Coriander Roughly Chopped
Salt to taste

Cucumber Raita:
1/2 Cucumber Chopped into a Rough Small Dice
1/2 Cup of Vegan Natural Yoghurt
1/4 Cup of Fresh Mint Chopped Fine

In a pan gently fry the mustard, cumin, ginger, turmeric, cayenne, cinnamon, onion, and garlic in the olive oil, over a medium heat for two minutes. Stir constantly so the spices do not burn! Then add the lentils and coat in the gorgeous, fragrant golden spices. Add the vegetable broth, tomatoes and butter beans. Stir to combine. Then add the kale, pepper and peas and add salt to taste. Pop a lid on, and after 10mins remove the lid and stir. The red lentils should have puffed up and thickened. If the mixture is too thick add another cup of water. Cook for a further 15mins and then check the red lentils. If they are easy to squish between the fingers they are ready. If they are slightly hard in the middle, continue cooking for 5mins and then check again. Add the coriander and stir to combine. Now make your Raita! In a bowl add the chopped cucumber and mint and then add the yoghurt and mix. Now plate up your Dahl and Raita! Serve with steaming hot rice!