Super Quick Tri-Colour Pasta with Tomato, Chive and Walnut Pesto!

This is such a quick meal but has so much flavour! It is an uncooked sauce that is heated when it hits the boiling hot pasta which is what helps make this meal so quick to make! It's just blitzed in the food processor and can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days, ready for when you need a quick pasta fix! In this recipe I use a tri-colour pasta but you can use just about any kind you have lurking in your cupboard!

Serves 4
Ingredients:

Enough Pasta to feed 4 (depends on appetite! Use 1 1/2 cups per person as a guide)
1 and a 1/2 Cups of Fresh Cherry Tomatoes
1/2 Cup of Walnuts
1 Cup of Fresh Washed Spinach
1/4 Cup of Fresh Chives
1 Large Garlic Clove
1/4 Cup of Fresh Parsley
2 Tbsp of Nutritional Yeast
1 Tbsp of Dark Miso Paste
1/4 Cup of Olive Oil
Squeeze of Lemon

Bring a pan of water to the boil and add your pasta. Cook to the packet instructions.

In a food processor, add the cherry tomatoes, walnuts, spinach, chives, garlic, parsley, nutritional yeast, miso, olive oil and lemon juice, blitz until a chunky pesto comes together.

Check for seasoning. When your pasta is cooked, drain and place back in the pan. Add the pesto and stir to coat everything in the fresh sauce!

 Serve immediately and mop up any left over sauce with fresh sour dough bread! Enjoy!

Magdalen Street Fair 2012

Today we had our pop up shop at the wonderful Magdalen Street Fair! It was very cold so we wrapped up warm and we were so glad it didn't rain! Thank you to everyone who came down and saw us! We had such a fun day! When I got back home the Deerly Beloved Oven went back on to make 70 small cakes and bakes for tomorrows Vintage Fair so excuse the small post, but I am very sleepy now! Here are a few snaps of today! Night y'all!

Tonight's baking, with naked cupcakes to ice in the morning! Night X

Coming Up This Weekend!

Tomorrow we will be at the wonderful Magdalen Street Celebration! We will have all of your favourite cakes and bakes including, Pecan Crumb Cake with Gingerbread Icing, Apple Rose Tarts, Vanilla and Rose Whoopie Pies, Classic Green Tea and Pistachio Whoopie Pies and Rosemary Chocolate Dipped Shortbread! Hope to see you there 10-4pm! Our Pop Up shop will be near Roys!

Pecan Crumb Cake with Gingerbread Icing! Vanilla and Rose Whoopie Pies! Apple Rose Tarts! Rosemary and Chocolate Dipped Shortbread! 

Pecan Crumb Cake with Gingerbread Icing!

Then on Sunday our cakes will be available at the wonderful The Vintage Fair at St Andrews Hall! As part of Biddy's pop up tea room we will be supplying our wonderful Apple Rose Tarts, Caramelised Onion Tomato and Rosemary Crumble Tarts and Chocolate and Rose Cupcakes! 12-5pm!

Have a great weekend! 

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!