Sunday Market and Afternoon Tea

When the lady who makes the delicious Mallownuts locally posted on facebook that she was organising a vegan market I knew I had to go, and when an afternoon tea was announced I was beyond excited. I took my long suffering friend Mhairi with me as she is always happy to try new foods, share food and makes THE best faces when shes surprised by the epicness of vegan foods. The market was held in the Old High Church Hall on Academy Street in Inverness. By the time we got there around 45 minutes after the doors had opened the place was packed with people (and a few dogs - Yay!) and there was a fantastic atmosphere. With a mix of food to eat there and then as well as some to take away,  homewares, and eco-friendly products there was definitely something for everyone. Please excuse the photos - the market was wonderfully crowded and we all know my skills are interesting! I have linked to all of the Facebook pages I could find so please go and Like, follow and shop.

Left Coast Culture:

Anyone who knows me, and probably plenty who don't, will have heard me drooling over the incredible cheeses hand crafted by the amazing Ella. I genuinely can't get enough of them and having introduced Mhairi too them a few weeks ago she had apparently been dreaming about them! We hit up Left Coast Culture as soon as we got to the market as we know how fast everything sells out. Only 45 minutes after opening, Ella had sold out of around half her cheeses and the rest sold within the next hour with her going home for more supplies. I grabbed some of her Cheddar spread which is like crack and makes THE BEST macaroni cheese you've ever wrapped your gob around as well as a good hunk of brie which melts like a dream. Mhairi took some of the Havarti and cream cheese, slightly gutted that the garlic and onion cream cheese had already sold out but we will get some next time. I stole the pictures of Ella's stall from ones I took at a previous market as the crowd around her stall was too big to get one!

Alleycat:

Next on our hit list was the Alleycat restaurant. I reviewed both their pop up (Friends not Food) and the restaurant when it newly opened but Mhairi and I are due a dinner date there to check out the evening selection . Selling their incredible pies along with a selection of sweet treats and hot dogs, my dinner is sorted for a few days. We both took whisky and haggis pies as well as their classic scotch pies. Added to our piles were snickers bars and ginger scones which I'll dig into later as while writing this I'm still cradling my food baby!

Juicy-ness:

We had both strategically skipped breakfast this morning, so we decided that smoothies from Juicy-Ness were an excellent plan. As we approached the stall, a passing customer told us we HAD to try the mango madness - a blend of mango, pineapple, passion fruit, apple and banana - and the Green Goddess  - Spinach, cucumber, apples, celery, carrot, ginger and avocado - caught our fancy on their menu board. I'm not usually a fan of savoury juices and smoothies with my major sweet tooth but I was surprised to like the Green Goddess for its fresh and clean taste while the Mango Madness was heaven in a cup and totally up my street.

Keltic Kitchen:

Up next was the Keltic Kitchen, another stand I am familiar with from other local markets had an incredible selection of their dairy-free fudges. These bags of happiness are simply divine and while not all of their selection is always vegan friendly, the owner had totally pushed the boat out for this market and had an incredible range of flavours which had been carefully researched and sourced. I bought a bag of the cherry, kirsch and dark chocolate fudge while there were little bites of what I think were the raspberry, gin and chocolate fudge as part of the afternoon tea.

Highland Tea Box:

Next door to the Keltic Kitchen was the Highland Tea Box selling all kinds of flavours of tea beyond our wildest dreams. I picked up a bag of Choc-la-tea for my brother who adores anything with a good dose of chocolate and a bag of the Fruit medley for myself for drinking and baking with. Mhairi took a bag of the Blood Orange tea which is apparently excellent both hot and cold. They also had a fantastic selection of tea accessories which were very tempting.

Eco-Ness:

Our next stop was Eco-Ness to have a look at their range of plastic free, sustainable products, everything from tin lunchboxes to skin care to dish soap! Passionate about sustainability and zero waste, the team make its really easy to shop and were knowledgeable and helpful. I went home with a facial scrub, as my previous has just run out and I'm on the hunt for my new favourite, as well as a cherry lip-balm as a girl can never have too many.

Cheeses//Sliced:

Our last stop before afternoon tea was at Cheese Sliced for toasties - I know we were just about to have a full afternoon tea but we had spent a good hour and a half wandering around by this point smelling these toasties being made and seeing people scoffing them with huge smiles on their faces and we simply couldn't miss out. This was the first ever event for the team and while they had a few technical issues the toasties were 1000% worth the slight wait. All of the toasties were made using cheese from Left Coast Culture, the perfect collaboration. I had the macaroni cheese toastie - pretty self explanatory with the sublime cheddar spread enveloping perfectly cooked pasta all sandwiched in nutty, crunchy brown bread. Mhairi went for their Nice and Spicy which blended cream cheese with slices of the Left Coast Culture Muenster, jalapenos and peppers in a delicious package, I'm not big on spicy things but this was beautifully balanced.

Afternoon Tea:

We were part of the first sitting for the Afternoon tea, which we had understandably had to book ahead. The food itself was delicious with each stand holding two of each treat to share with your neighbour. I would say that while the food was excellent and Mhairi was particularly impressed with the 'salmon and cream cheese' there wasn't really enough tea and coffee to go around, there were several different milks on offer but no indication of which was which and it would have been great to have had a couple of jugs of water on the table as the food, while delicious, was quite rich and sweet. I still absolutely loved the food and the experience having never had a high tea before.

Also at the market were:

Gut Feelings - selling Kombucha, we had some of the samples and they were fantastic but by this time we had run out of cash and both blown our budgets- ooops

LOOK - selling ethically sourced curtains and soft furnishings

HRM - ceramic and glass artist

Plants etc - fantastic succulents and other plants in really unusual pots and containers

Lets Go Lentil - selling loose dried goods, jars of delights and other edible goodies - I have bought from them at previous markets and their caramelised onion houmous is drool-worthy.

Highland Fairy - selling clothes and jewellery

Back into Balance  - sound baths and therapy

Ti Handicrafts -  bags and crockery made by and benefitting women in SE Asia.

I could happily have spent an absolute fortune and bought easily from every stall there if my budget had allowed. I am really impressed with the selection of traders that had been brought together and delighted that Inverness was so supportive of the venture with it rammed from start to finish.

Fingers crossed there will be another - I'll be there and I would highly recommend you are too. oh, and if you do go - wear something stretchy for all the food!

Plum and Spiced Custard Tart

When we found our first home and Defective Housewife HQ, we were lucky enough to fall in love with one that has well established fruit trees in the garden. The apples and pears are still a week or two off eating but the plums have been sublime. Our tree is laden with them and while I probably will make the classic crumble and possible some jam if there are enough left, I wanted to challenge myself and create something beautiful and more unique. I had been planning to make a cheesecake but most vegan ones require nuts and I simply can't justify how much they cost so I decided to make a custard tart instead. I've been watching a lot of Chetna from the Great British Bake Off on instagram and got the inspiration for the addition of cardamon from her. I'm really proud of this bake and everyone I fed it to loved it as much as I did.

Ingredients:

For the pastry:
225g plain flour
100g butter - i use dairy free
1 tsp ground nutmeg 
4-6 tbsp cold water

For the custard:





300ml soy milk
75g icing sugar
25g corn starch
3 tsp vanilla extract
200g full fat coconut milk
5 cardamon pods

9 small plums approx 
4 tbsp granulated sugar 

Method:

In a large bowl, carefully rub together the flour, nutmeg and butter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add the water a tablespoon at a time until the mixture comes together to form a dough. Wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

While the pastry chills, take a medium sized saucepan and place over a medium heat with 200ml of the soy milk in. Bash the cardamon pods with something solid - I used the end of a spurtle - and pop into the milk. Simmer gently until the milk is reduced by around half and flavoured with the cardamon and the sieve the remove the pods and any skin that may have formed on the milk. 

Using cold milk, top up the soy milk to 200ml and place back in the saucepan along with the icing sugar and corn starch and whisk until there are no lumps. Place back on a medium high heat and add the vanilla and coconut milk. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens and becomes stiff to stir. Place the custard to one side. 

Take the dough from the fridge and roll out on a floured surface to around a 30cm circle. Take a loose bottomed tart tin and carefully drape the pastry over. Take a small piece of excess pastry and use this to push the pastry into the tin, getting into all the corners. Trim the pastry to the top of the dish.  Line the pastry with baking foil and blind bake for 10 minutes, at 160c.

While the pastry case bakes, cut the plums in half and remove the stones. Once the case is lightly golden, remove from the oven and take out the foil. Pour in the custard and smooth out to the edges using a spatula. Place the plums cut side up over the top of the custard and then sprinkle with the granulated sugar before returning to the oven. 

Bake for a further 20 minutes or until the plums have softened and the sugar has started the melt and caramelise. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before carefully removing and popping on a serving plate. 

We ate this as is but I imagine it would be lovely with a side of ice cream or drizzled with cream for an extra spot of indulgence. 

Please make this as I know you will love it. When you do, take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Thank you 

Jaffa Fakes

One thing I've really missed since going vegan/dairy-free is Jaffa Cakes. A friend of mine recently created her own wagon wheels and tea cakes and so I decided to follow suit and create a me-suitable version of everyone's favourite treat. I genuinely don't think I've ever met anyone who didn't love a Jaffa Cake. I used a lemon marmalade and dark chocolate in mine for a slight twist on the classic - I found the lemon balances the chocolate more evenly. This bake is a little more labour intensive than some of my others but I think it's worth it and hope you do to.

Ingredients:

400g self raising flour

250g caster sugar
1 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
400ml soy milk
115ml sunflower oil

5 lemons (500g)
500g caster sugar
1 1/2 pints water
2 tsp lemon extract

9 bars dark chocolate
3 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
Preheat your oven to 160C and grease your muffin trays. Mix together the caster sugar, self-raising flour, bicarb, vanilla extract, soy milk, oil and golden syrup to create a loose cake batter. Place a tablespoon of the mix into the bottom of each of the muffin tins. Bake for 10-15 minutes until springy to touch and golden brown. Set to one side in the tins.

While the cakes are baking, place a large pan over a medium heat with the water and whole lemons in and boil for 15 - 20 minutes until the lemons are soft. Take the lemons out of the water and measure out 1 pint, discarding the rest. Place the water back in the pan along with the sugar. Scoop the insides out of the lemons and pass through a sieve over the pan to release all of the juice. Finely chop half of the rinds and add to the pan along with the lemon extract.

Place the pan over a low heat until all of the sugar has dissolved then bring the pan to a rolling boil where the bubbles can't be calmed with stirring. Keep at a rolling boil until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. This can also be tested by placing a little on a cold plate and leaving for a minute then pushing with a finger. If it wrinkles then the marmalade is ready.

Spoon 1-2 tbsp of the marmalade over each of the cooled cakes and leave to set.

Once the marmalade has set, melt the chocolate - I used the microwave in 1 minute increments and stir in the vanilla extract. Spoon over the marmalade and cake making sure each has a good layer, I found 1 tbsp was about enough for each cake.

Allow the chocolate to set on the cakes then carefully remove from the tins - some of mine did crack a little but as this doesn't affect the taste I wasn't too worried!

Please try making these - its worth the effort. When you do, take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Enjoy!