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Showing posts with the label vegan hacks

How to Cook Dried Chickpeas

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There is no need to fear the humble dried chickpea! Dried pulses make for cheap and easy vegan yum yums, you just need to know how to prep them properly. Dried chickpeas take some time to prepare so it's best to plan in advance if you are going to use them. I've heard many complaints from people about the farty smell they give off when cooking, which also puts people off doing this. Don't worry - I've fixed this problem with this method and made them extra tasty too! Ingredients 1 cup dried chickpeas Water 1 stock cube or 1 dessertspoon of all purpose seasoning Method Place the dried chickpeas into a large glass bowl or jar. Glass is best because it allows you to easily see how much they have expanded, and whether you need extra water (or a bigger bowl...) Add about 1 pint of cold water. The chick peas will soak a lot up and expand to almost double their size - hence why I always say to use a large bowl or jug. In the video, I use a 1 li

Vegan & EcoFriendly Laundry

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I'm often asked what products I use to wash my clothes, and most people are surprised by the answer. I use an egg!  No, obviously not an actual egg , but a wonderful innovation called an EcoEgg Laundry Egg. Not my actual hand, I borrowed all the pics from the EcoEgg website! These were introduced to me by a friend who swears by them, and I have to say they are now my favourite way to wash clothes.  Vegan, approved by Allergy UK, allergy and skin friendly, these miraculous little eggs are also eco friendly and work out very cost effective too. They use essential oils rather than nasty synthetic scents and I am in love with their fragrances! I have the pink one which is the Spring Blossom scent, and I also treated myself to the limited edition Lavender one last year, because why the heck not.  The "eggs" contain pellets made from two different minerals (one is tourmaline - so you're washing with crystals!) and they can be used alone or alongside any

What is Gram Flour?

Gram flour is one of my newest and favouritest (is that a word?) flours to cook with. I was first introduced to it a few years back by a friend whose Persian mother was kind enough to teach me some of her delicious, traditional middle eastern recipes.  What is it? Gram flour is usually described a chickpea flour, but if you take a look at the ingredients on the packet of any of the brands you can buy, most also contain a percentage of yellow lentil flour too. It's a highly versatile flour made from pulses that has many uses. Where can I buy Gram flour? It's easier to get hold of than you might think. Pop into your local Asian food store, or if you don't have one nearby, the bigger supermarkets here in the UK normally stock it in their Indian/Asian food aisle. Failing that, you can always order some online from specialist food retailers or on Amazon. What is it used for? Being made from pulses rather than grains, this flour is higher in protein than your reg

Burmese Tofu (Vegan, Soy Free, Wheat & Gluten Free)

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A newly made batch of Burmese Tofu, cooling in the tin. I've accumulated quite a lot of exotic recipes since going vegan, but this one has to be one of my favourites, and as it only needs 3 low cost ingredients, it's a brilliant vegan hack too! Much as I really like the normal soya tofu products, tofu can be expensive and it's not something my rather tight budget can stretch to very frequently as I'd like. I came across Burmese tofu for the first time in Autumn last year, and I absolutely love it. It's easy to make, cheap and has a really satisfying texture that reminds me of boiled eggs. And best of all, it's made using one of my favourite vegan and wheat free ingredients - gram flour. The texture is firmer than silken soya tofu, but softer than the firmer varieties. And a word of warning - don't try to put it in a tofu press to make it firmer, that won't work. (I've tried, it was messy!) This tofu can be cut into slices or cubes, an