White Chocolate and Citrus Loaf

One of my friends gave me a bag of the vegan white chocolate chips that she uses for her business and after munching more of them than I care to admit, I decided to try out a recipe I've been contemplating for a while. If you can't get hold of chocolate chips then a chopped up chocolate bar will work as well. The chocolate does melt into the batter during baking but gives little pockets of sweetness throughout the cake. I love the freshness of the citrus in this cake which cuts through the rich sweetness of the chocolate. I made this in 2 loaf pans and gifted one to neighbours as a doorstep surprise but the recipe could easily be made in one larger tin - be careful to keep an eye on your baking times if you change the tin shapes. We have had gorgeous sunny weather the last few days and this cake feels like a little slice of summer.

Ingredients:

1 large lemon
1 lime
1/2 cup white chocolate chips or 1 chocolate bar
400g self raising flour
250g caster sugar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
400ml soy milk
115ml sunflower oil
2 cups icing sugar - you may need more

Method:

Preheat your oven to 160c then grease and line 2 loaf tins with baking parchment.  Zest the lime and lemon into a large bowl and set the fruit to one side. Add all of the ingredients apart from the icing sugar and chocolate chip into the bowl and mix well until everything is combined and the batter is smooth and glossy. Gently fold in the chocolate chips the divide the mixture between the 2 tins. I use a ladle for this to try and make the cakes nicely even.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until the cakes are a dark golden colour and a skewer comes out clean when dipped in the middle. Leave in the tins for 15 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.

Once the cakes are completely cool, juice the lime and lemon. I find rolling them on a flat surface before cutting open and squeezing helps to release more juice. Strain the juice to remove and bits then place in a bowl or mixing jug. Slowly add in icing sugar, mixing all the time, until you get a paste resembling double cream. The icing should be sweet but still have a sharp freshness from the citrus.

Place a tea towel under the cakes cooling rack then spoon half of the icing over the top. Allow to set then spoon the other half of the mixture over the top to give a good layer of icing. If you add it all at once, I find most of it slides off and is wasted. The tea towel helps to catch drips and saves trying to scrub set icing off work surfaces later on.

I hope you enjoy this cake.

If you make it, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Big love and stay safe
The Defective Housewife

'Chicken' and Leek Pie

With all the time a lot of us have recently found ourselves with, (I work in clothing retail and am on furlough for the foreseeable future) I have been challenging myself to make something different for dinner each night and to cook outside of my comfort zone. I would normal use jackfruit cooked until soft in a little stock as a chicken substitute but I haven't been able to get hold of any for a few weeks so tried Tesco's faux chicken bits in this instead. I didn't mind the taste but I prefer to eat as little heavily processed food as possible. While I know these pies aren't going to give the wonderful Vegan Skinhead a run for their money, I was really pleased with the overall outcome. This should make 2 individual pies.

Ingredients:

For the pastry:
225g plain flour
100g dairy-free butter
4 - 6 tbsp water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp mixed herbs
soy milk to brush with

For the filling:
20g dairy-free butter plus a little extra for frying
20g plain flour
200ml soy milk
1 large leek
3 cloves garlic
1 pack faux chicken pieces
1 tsp grainy mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

First make the pastry as this needs to chill in the fridge for at least half an hour giving us time to prep everything else. In a large bowl, rub together the flour, butter, salt, pepper and mixed herbs until the mix resembles bread crumbs. Add the water slowly until the dough just comes together and holds, you may not need all of the water. Place onto some cling film and wrap well before placing in the fridge.

Mince the garlic and finely slice the leek, saute over a low heat in knob of dairy-free butter until soft then add the faux chicken to heat through and gain a little colour.

• In a separate pan, melt 20g of butter then add the flour and whisk together to create a paste and cook for around 30 seconds until golden brown. Slowly add the milk bit by bit, whisking constantly until all of the milk is incorporated. Keep whisking over a medium heat until the mixture is thick enough to well coat the back of ha spoon. Take off the heat and add in the leeks and faux chicken mixture along with the mustard and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper then set to one side to cool.

Preheat your oven to 180c and place a flat baking sheet in it to heat up.

By this time, the pastry should have had enough time resting in the fridge. Turn out onto a well floured surface and roll out into a large square around 3 mm in thickness. Take your pie tins and place them upside down on the pastry. Cut precisely around them to create the lids and about a 1cm outside the tins to create the bases. Lay the base carefully over each tin then drape it in until it fills the corners and bottom. Fill the cases with as much mixture as you can, a little dome is fine then place the lid over the top. Press the top and bottom together gently with your thumb then trim off any excess with a sharp knife. Press the edges with a fork to completely seal and to create a nice pattern.

Take any offcuts of pastry and roll out again before cutting into rough squares and placing on a baking sheet. These make great crackers and can be stored for a few days in an airtight container - a trick I learnt from Nadiya Hussain of Great British Bake-Off fame.

Place on the preheated baking tray and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and hot through. The baking tray helps to give an even bake and prevent the dreaded soggy bottoms.

I served these with buttery mashed potatoes, steamed cabbage and onion gravy.

If you make these, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Big love
The Defective Housewife

PS. For those of you who follow my blog but aren't vegan/veggie, I did make these with chicken and dairy for my other half and they turned out exactly the same - just make sure to precook your chicken.

Sugared Ring Donuts

This recipe was my most requested when I popped a picture of these beauties online earlier on. I have experimented with making donuts before and have the scars to prove it - whatever you do, keep your poor fingers well away from boiling oil. This is by far the easiest to make and the tastiest of all the recipes I have tried. I made these as basic rings but I will be trying them as filled donuts soon, once the previous food coma has worn off. I added a little cinnamon to the dough as its one of my favourite flavours and pairs really well with the sugary finish but this could be skipped if you aren't so keen. I found this made 12 small donuts so would double up the recipe if feeding a few or if you fancy something a little bigger. These were so popular I didn't get the chance to get a 'pretty' picture so please excuse the ones of them on the cooling racks.

Ingredients:

50g dairy free butter
120ml dairy free milk
2 tbsp sunflower oil - plus extra for frying
250g plain flour
50g caster sugar - plus extra for coating
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon

Method:

In a small pan melt the butter over a medium heat then stir in the milk and oil and heat through until its warm to the touch. Place all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix together. Add in the wet ingredients and bring together to create a thick and shaggy dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and flatten into a disc then cut into your desired number of pieces. Roll each piece between your hands to create a ball then gently press to flatten slightly. Pierce through the middle with a finger or thumb then rotate the dough around to reshape.

Prepare a cooling rack with kitchen roll over the top to drain the cooked donuts on and place around 80g of caster sugar onto a plate.

Heat around an inch of oil in a large frying pan (if you have a deep fat fryer then use this) until a small piece of dough dropped into the oil floats to the surface in with 30 seconds.

Gently place the donuts into the oil in batches, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. I cooked 4 at a time. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown then place on the paper towels to drain any excess oil. They will look a little craggy and imperfect but this is great for catching up sugar in all the little gaps.

While the donuts are still warm, roll them in the sugar and transfer them to a clean cooling rack. Allow to cool slightly before digging in.

These will store for a few days in an airtight container but I highly doubt any will make it that long unless your self control is far stronger than my family's.

I really hope you make these, if you do please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Stay Safe and at Home

Big love
The Defective Housewife

Chocolate Berry Banana Bread

I'm not going to lie - I've been struggling to know if and what to post in the current situation. I know ingredients are scarce so I've been racking my wee brain cell to come up with something that takes advantage of things you probably have round the house or that can easily be swapped out for other bits. I chose this banana bread as the basic ingredients are hopefully things you will already have and bananas always seem to go black on me really suddenly. I have made this with extra spices and some dried fruit as a kind of fruit cake, and can imagine it would be fantastic with extra cinnamon and some Biscoff spread. I buy big bags of frozen berries to add to smoothies and overnight oats and threw a handful into this recipe - I did give the strawberries a miss though as they hold a lot of water and take forever to defrost. Lots of people have been posting banana bread online and I thought I'd add my version to the party. I have tried to include alternatives to help with ingredients shortages.

Ingredients:

3 large black bananas
75g sunflower oil (or vegetable oil)
100g brown sugar plus extra for sprinkling
225g self raising flour (or use plain if its what you have and add 1 extra tsp baking powder)
2 tsp baking powder
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 bar dark chocolate
1 cup mix frozen berries

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180c and line a loaf tin with baking parchment and oil. Chop the chocolate bar into little pieces and place 3/4 into a large mixing bowl. Mash the bananas and add to the bowl along with the flour, sugar, oil, baking powder, vanilla and cinnamon and mix well until everything is combined.

Stir in the berries and spoon into the prepared loaf tin. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate on top along with a 'healthy' dose of brown sugar. Place in the oven for 20 minutes then cover the top with tinfoil if the top of the cake is browning too quickly. Bake for a further 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Turn out onto a cooling rack and leave for at least 15 minutes to cool before cutting otherwise it risks crumbling. This cake will last a few days in an airtight tub or tin and becomes slightly gooey and browny-like with age.

Please take a picture when you make this and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Enjoy and stay safe.

Big love
The Defective Housewife

Dark Chocolate and Ginger Fudge

In cooking, my nemesis for a long time has been anything that involves caramel or boiled sugar. Having had the successes earlier this year with jams, I decided to tackle my ultimate adversary... fudge. I can't work out why this recipe has worked when loads of others have failed but it did and I'm not going to question it too much. I added ginger to this recipe but I would imagine you could swap it out for many other classic fudge flavours - rum and raisin, chocolate orange, perhaps a caramel and pecan. Now I have this recipe I will be experimenting with loads of different flavours and I have a feeling this will feature in a lot of peoples Christmas presents. Please be careful when making this, hot sugar obviously will burn and it hurts A LOT.

Ingredients:

120ml soy milk
250g dark brown sugar
56g plant based butter
100g dark chocolate
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 balls ginger in syrup

 
Method:

Line a loaf pan with baking paper and set to one side.

Chop up your chocolate into small pieces and place on a plate with the butter. Finely chop the ginger and pop on the same plate. In a large pan, mix together the sugar and milk and bring to the boil. Keep it boiling for exactly 7 minutes ( I dont know why this works but it does) stirring continuously. The mixture should thicken and darken, it will bubble quite viciously so be careful not to splash yourself with molten sugar.

Immediately take the pan off of the heat and stir in all of the other ingredients. Keep stirring until everything has melted together then pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Smooth it out with a spatula to create an even layer.

Place the tin in the fridge for at least 30 minutes until set and then turn the fudge out. Chop into bite-sized pieces and enjoy.

I would recommend keeping these in the fridge once cut for the best results but they don't last very long  with people scoffing them so I wouldn't worry either way!

When you make this, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Thank you.

Stollen Swirl

Christmas seems to be all to fast approaching this year with a scant 3 weeks to go. I have been trialing different traditional Christmas cakes over the last few weeks with varying degrees of success and then realised, my family don't do Christmas in the traditional sense - especially not when it comes to the food. The Stollen swirl was then born; mashing up my love for a good cinnamon swirl, my other halfs new found love of stollen (which I'm yet to find a vegan version of) and the total excess of Christmas with the finished product sizing well over the average dinner plate and stuffed with treats. You could also skip coiling the dough round to create a giant swirl and cut through the rolled dough to create a more traditional cinnamon bun look but I love seeing people's faces when presented with a slice of this. The dried fruit measurements are a rough guide - use your favourites to personalise the cake to your family. I really hope you make this giant bun and that it brings some festive cheer to your kitchen.

Ingredients:
Dough:
800g strong white flour plus extra for dusting
7g fast action yeast
1/2 tsp salt
100g caster sugar
500ml soy milk
150g plant based butter

Filling:
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp clove
2 tbsp raisins
2 tbsp cranberries
2 tbsp mixed peel
1 tbsp crystalised ginger
3 tbsp glace cherries
4 tbsp cinnamon
75g plant based butter
75g caster sugar
1 block marzipan

Icing:
6 tbsp icing sugar
2 tbsp water
1 tsp orange extract

Method:

Pop the butter and milk for the dough into a jug and microwave fora  couple of minutes until warm and the butter melted. Place the other dough ingredients into the bowl of your mixer and combine before adding in the warmed milk and butter. Mix for around 10 minutes until the dough is stretchy, bouncy and has a spring to it. The dough should feel like the lobe of your ear!

While the dough is mixing, chop the cherries and crystallized ginger then add to a bowl with the other dried fruit, ginger, clove and nutmeg. Stir well to ensure all of the fruit is coated. In a separate bowl, mash together the cinnamon, butter and sugar then place to one side.

Roll out the marzipan as thin as you can, around 2mm thick then place to one side. I would recommend rolling out out between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper to stop it sticking.

Once the dough is ready, flour a large sheet of baking paper and tip out the dough onto it. Roll out the dough, adding more flour as needed, to a large rectangle around 4 mm in thickness. Gently spread on the cinnamon butter - I find using my fingers gets the best results over a knife or pastry brush. Sprinkle on the dried fruit then tear of little pieces of the marzipan and lay over the top. Leave some gaps between the marzipan so its not in every bite so as not to overwhelm the cake.

Beginning at one long side, carefully fold the dough over to create the start of the roll, pulling gently to keep the dough taught and to help it release from the baking paper. Keep rolling until you reach the other side then smooth the edge of the dough onto the roll with your fingers. Create a spiral from the dough on a well floured baking sheet and leave to rest for half an hour.

Preheat your oven to 160c fan then bake the swirl for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and slightly crisp on the outside. Allow to cool for 15 minutes once baked.

Mix together the icing sugar with the orange extract then slowly add water until the mix resembles single cream, Drizzle over the still warm swirl to help the icing melt in.

Serve warm with ice cream for desert or a drizzle of plant based cream for a christmas appropriate snack!

Please make this and take a picture, tagging me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Enjoy!

Friday Night Takeaway at the Alleycat

I know that if you've been around for a while (thank you if you have), you absolutely will have heard me raving about Inverness' one and only fully vegan restaurant - The Alleycat. Serving amazing food all year round, they have recently come up with a new initiative -  recreating everyone's favourite takeaways, vegan style. They recently hosted a 'fish' and chip shop night which I was gutted to miss out on so when they announced they would be recreating classic chinese takeaway dishes I grabbed my food bestie and off we went.

The absolute worst part of the entire evening was having to try to decide what to have, so we didn't and ordered just about one of everything off the menu to share between us (yes, we are VERY fond of food). The food was delivered to our table in takeaway containers and the staff even 'forgot' an item from each diners order to ensure the true takeaway experience.

We shared a portion of spring rolls which were perfectly stuffed and oh so deliciously crispy that my mouth is watering again just thinking about them. Alongside those we had a noodle, beansprout and mushroom dish which had an excellent balance between the noodles and beansprouts and somehow also had them evenly distributed which I struggle with when cooking.

I ordered the vegetables in blackbean sauce as soon as I spotted it on the menu, I LOVED the Alleycat's tempura veg with black bean dipping sauce when they were 'just' a pop-up restaurant and knew that this would be a massive hit. The dish was a mix of green and red peppers, mushrooms and baby corn in a beautifully balanced sauce. I have to admit, I normally hate green peppers and my heart sank a little when I opened the dish but I would happily eat them in this sauce every day of the week. My order came with a portion of wonderfully crispy little fries, ideal for mopping up any sauce left over.

My friend ordered the sweet and sour 'chicken' which I nabbed a few pieces of. I don't remember, having been veggie for 20 years, what chicken tasted like but I can vouch for this being delicious. My friend is an Omni and happily tucked into her portion leaving not a trace on the plate. This came with a lovely and fluffy fried rice which was the perfect accompaniment to the sauce.

The drinks menu at the Alleycat has a brilliant selection of soft drinks, most of which are now made in house. We had a smokey cherry sparkling juice as well as a mango and orange one both of which were a treat for the taste buds.

The Alleycat is a stockist of the wonderful mallownuts and teafakes from Prissy Queen of Deserts so we finished off the meal with a chocolatey treat, or two.

We did order a lot of food but it was all so delicious that our plates were scraped clean and our waistbands were fortunately elasticated!

Rumour has it that the Alleycat are planning a pizza night and I would thoroughly recommend cancelling all plans to be there. I know I will.

Apologies for the lack of photos, I was far too busy stuffing my face!

If you haven't heard of The Alleycat before check out these posts...

http://whatsaffydid.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-alleycat.html

http://whatsaffydid.blogspot.com/2019/08/sunday-market-and-afternoon-tea.html

http://whatsaffydid.blogspot.com/2018/08/jvnk-pop-up-by-friends-not-food.html

Biscoff Blondies

It was my Other Halfs birthday and, as you should all know by now, "it's not a birthday unless theres a Saffy birthday cake". Work had been hectic and I hadn't had time to create anything elaborate and he had kept mentioning my Biscoff and Cinnamon cupcakes recently so I thought I would do something similar that I could whip up quickly after work and these blondies were the result. Soft and incredibly morish, everyone I have fed these too has instantly requested more along with the recipe for them as well. The hardest part of making these was trying not to eat all of them at once, they are rich and high in sugar but oh so worth it. I have slightly damaged my camera so apologies for the dodgy quality of some of the pictures.

Ingredients:


250g plain flour
350g caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
250ml water
250ml vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 tsp raspberry jam
5 tbsp icing sugar
1 jar lotus biscoff spread 
6 lotus biscuits

Method:

Preheat your oven to 160c and grease and line a 30cm by 15 cm baking tin. Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into a large bowl and mix together. Take roughly half the biscoff spread and microwave for 1 minute until runny like single cream then add to the bowl along with the oil, water and vanilla. Mix thoroughly until everything is well combined then pour into the baking tin. Dollop in spoonfully of raspberry jam and swirl through the mixture with a knife then crumble the biscuits over the top.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and just set to the touch but still with a little wiggle to keep the blondies moist. Turn out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool.

Once the blondies are cool, microwave the other half of the biscoff spread and mix in the icing sugar then spread over the top of the blondies and leave to set before cutting. I would recommend popping some kitchen towel under the cooling rack before icing to prevent the biscoff icing sticking to your counters.

Slice into generous chunks and scoff with a cuppa.

Please take a picture when you make these and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Enjoy!

Chocolate Fondants

With Christmas looming ever nearer, I wanted to make handmade gifts this year and have been experimenting with different edible treats. These are my take on a recipe given to me by one of the team I work with - I realise making chocolates using potato is a little odd but these genuinely taste amazing and no-one has been able to guess the 'secret' ingredient. Because each potato is different, I have left the amounts for a lot of the ingredients blank so you can achieve the flavour you like best, just add slowly and keep tasting. I gave a bag of these to one of my friends as part of her birthday and she loved them which is always good!

Ingredients:

1 large potato
Icing sugar
5 bars dark chocolate
orange extract
vanilla extract
cinnamon
coffee extract

Method:

Peel and chop the potato into small pieces then boil until soft. Place in a blender and puree until smooth and silky. Slowly add in the icing sugar until the mixture becomes reasonably stiff like whipped cream. Separate out into 3 bowls and add orange extract to one, vanilla to another and coffee and cinnamon to the last.

Beat the flavourings into the mixture adding more as required. Add a little more icing sugar until the mix becomes a paste. Place in the fridge for half an hour or so until it can be moulded.

Melt the chocolate and form small bite-sized balls of the mixture then dip each one into the melted chocolate, making sure they are well coated. I then placed them into petit four cases but you could set them on a sheet of baking paper. Repeat until all of the mixture is used up then place in the fridge to set.

I left these plain but you could drizzle them with more melted chocolate or roll them in coconut or citrus zest.

When you make these, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Thank you!

Lotus Biscuit Rocky Road

I was talking to the team at my work about childhood favourite treats and Rocky Road came up so I had to try making my own version. Everyone probably knows by now my love of Lotus Biscuits and my Other Half very kindly bought a box of 300 off Amazon recently so logic clearly dictated they should be the biscuit used. This recipe is beyond easy to make with the hardest part being unwrapping all the biscuits, luckily they don't need to be kept whole. I cut this into 16 pieces as it is pretty rich but just see how you feel on the day and how many you are feeding. The addition of the vanilla extract and cinnamon help to balance the dark chocolate which in turn prevents these being too sweet.
 

Ingredients:

200g dark chocolate
200g lotus biscuits
3 tbsp golden syrup
130g dairy free butter
100g Glace Cherries
1 bag marshmallows
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
Icing sugar for dusting

Method:

In a large bowl, crush your Lotus biscuits into a mix of dust and small chunks. Chop the marshmallows and cherries into small pieces and set to one side. Line a square baking tray with baking paper.

In a large pan, melt the butter, chocolate and golden syrup together over a low heat then stir in the cinnamon and vanilla extract. Add the biscuits, marshmallows and cherries and stir thoroughly until everything is well coated.

Tip the mixture into the baking tray and smooth out with a spatula to level off the top. Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours until set or if you need it quickly place in the freezer for 20 minutes. Sprinkle the rocky road with icing sugar then cut in to chunks and serve.

When you make this, please take a picture of the results and tag me using #dairyofadefectivehousewife

Enjoy!

Marshmallow Pumpkin Pie

This recipe feels like a mash-up of all things American and Canadian with maple syrup, pumpkins and marshmallows. If I'm being honest, I have never tried a traditional pumpkin pie but I wanted to create my take to celebrate a seasonal vegetable that is very much underrated as a food source in Scotland and usually sits, carved and going mushy, on our doorsteps to welcome guisers. Lots of people this year seem to be buying pumpkins and having them just as they are as decoration - if they havent been treated with anything for longevity, this recipe would be the perfect way to use them up after halloween. I would have loved to have made my own marshmallows to top this pie but me and molten sugar don't seem to mix well and previous attempts have been rather disastrous!

Ingredients:
225g plain flour
100g dairy free butter
4-6 tbsp cold water
1 tsp nutmeg

1 large pumpkin
1 ripe banana
3 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp dark brown sugar

marshmallows to top

Method:

In a large bowl, mix together the flour and 1 tsp of nutmeg then rub in the butter until the mix resembles bread crumbs. Slowly add in the water until the dough comes together and holds. Place in some clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

While your dough is chilling, pop your pumpkin (if you can fit it) into the microwave in small bursts until soft to the touch. Don't microwave it for too long like I did or you'll be cleaning exploding pumpkins off everything! Once the pumpkin is soft, cut in half and remove the seeds then scoop the flesh into a blender. Add the banana and whizz up in the blender, adding the other ingredients slowly as each pumpkins flavour will differ and you may need slightly more or less of each. Once you are satisfied with the flavour of your pumpkin puree, place to one side and turn your attention back to the dough.

Preheat your oven to 160c fan. Remove the dough from the fridge and place the unwrapped dough onto a floured surface and roll out to just larger than your tart case. Carefully lift the dough into the case and press down into the edges. Remove the excess dough and use to patch any cracks. Place some greaseproof paper on top of the dough and fill the case with baking beans or rice and blind bake for 10 minutes.

Once the dough has blind baked, remove the greaseproof and weight and fill with the pumpkin puree, smoothing it right out to the edges. Top with marshmallows (I cut mine in half) and bake for a further 10 minutes until the marshmallows are golden brown and gooey.

We enjoyed this with vanilla ice cream but I imagine it would be equally nice with whipped coconut cream.

When you make this, take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife.

Enjoy!

Homemade Gnocchi with Maple roasted vegetables

This recipe is a combination of my love for roasted brussel sprouts topped with cheese and the fact that, as always, as soon as autumn hits everyone goes pumpkin crazy. I couldn't find a small pumpkin so used a butternut squash but I'm sure this would be delicious with either. I have also wanted to try making my own gnocchi for a while as my brother and I loved them as kids but I find suitable ones really hard to find. They were surprisingly easy to make once I worked out how much flour to add. Mine were a little on the big side so make sure your version of 'bitesized' is more delicate than my overlarge gob!

Ingredients:

1 small butternut squash
2 white onions
1 bulb garlic
1 tbsp mixed herbs
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp maple syrup
4 medium potatoes
8-10 tbsp plain flour plus extra for dusting
1 bag brussel sprouts
olive oil
salt and pepper
your favourite cheese to top - I swear by Left Coast Culture

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180c. Peal your squash, sprouts and onions and cut into bitesized chunks and pop into a roasting dish. Mince the garlic and add in along with the herbs, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar and a good drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

While the vegetables are roasting, peal and chop your potatoes and boil until soft. Mash and place into a large bowl. Slowly add flour a tablespoon at a time and knead in to create a soft dough thats pliable but not sticky. Turn out onto a floured surface and cut into 4 pieces. Roll out each piece to form a sausage then cut into bitesized pieces.

In a large pan, bring some salted water to the boil and place some of the gnocchi in, cook them in batches to prevent them sticking together. The gnocchi will float to the surface when they are cooked, scoop them out with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen towel to drain. Once all of the gnocchi are cooked, pop them in with the roasted vegetables and return everything to the oven to caramelise slightly and brown the gnocchi a little. I topped mine with some Left Coast Culture cheese just before I took them out of the oven so the cheese melted... drool.

We had this as a meal in itself but it would work equally well as a side dish.

When you make this, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife