Who doesn't love a sweet treat? And what could be sweeter than a sweet treat that has only four ingredients, involves no baking and takes hardly any time at all to make?!

These are delicious with tea or coffee and as they are also quite filling they are probably one of the few treats out there where you can happily say 'one (or two!) is enough'.

Ingredients:

• Medjool dates – as many as you like!
• Almond butter (or for a variation on a theme: peanut butter)
• Good quality vegan dark chocolate
• Salt flakes

Method:
1. Take the stones out of the date, fill in with nut butter and then seal the dates again.

2. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. Dip the dates into the chocolate, and spoon the chocolate over to completely cover them.

3. Sprinkle salt flakes on top.

4. Put in the freezer to set and then store in the fridge.

This vegan riff on Irish stew is great warming, nutritious comfort food and can be easily adapted depending on what’s in season. Stock flavoured with tamari, nutritional yeast, bay leaves and lots of thyme (fresh or dried), along with potatoes, onions and garlic form the base (I add leeks and celery too if I have them). I like to include vegan sausages (with a robust texture that won’t disintegrate in the pot) and lentils (tinned, or dried and rehydrated by pre-cooking).

Here are two variations of the recipe, one pared down and one with bells and whistles, plus suggestions for alternate veg to include. The method described at the end is the same for both. 

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)

Basic version:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable or mild olive oil
• 1 large onion, red or white
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 medium potatoes
• 2–3 firm vegan sausages
• 1 tin green lentils (400g) / or dried equivalent
• 1 litre vegetable stock (I use homemade stock made from saved frozen veg offcuts)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp thyme, preferably fresh
• 3 tbsps nutritional yeast
• 3 tbsps tamari or soy sauce
• Salt and fresh black pepper to season if required

Bells and whistles version:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable or mild olive oil
• 1 onion, red or white
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 leek
• 2–3 celery stalks
• 2 medium potatoes
• 1 large carrot
• 1 large parsnip
• 2–3 firm vegan sausages
• 1 tin green lentils (400g) / or dried equivalent
• 1 litre vegetable stock 
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp thyme, preferably fresh
• 3 tbsps nutritional yeast
• 3 tbsps tamari or soy sauce
• Salt and fresh black pepper to season if required
• Fresh parsley to garnish

Optional extras/substitutes:

• 250–400ml Guinness (reduce stock amount as appropriate)
• Mushrooms in place of sausages (or in addition to)
• Turnip (small size)
• Brussel sprouts (handful)
• Peas and sweetcorn (handful of fresh or frozen, add at the end and cook for 2–3 mins)
• Kale or spinach (fresh or frozen, add at the end and cook for 2–3 mins)

METHOD

Prep:

1. Roughly chop onion (and celery and leeks if using)
2. Finely chop garlic
3. Cut all other veg into bite-sized chunks
4. Drain and wash tinned lentils, or pre-cook to pack instructions if using dried
5. De-stem and chop kale if using
6. Cut sausages into bite sized pieces

Cook:

1. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat.
2. Cook onions till starting to soften but still have a crunch, then add garlic and cook for further 2 minutes.
3. If using celery, leek, carrot, parsnip, and/or turnip add to the pot with salt, then sweat with a lid on for 5 mins on medium-low heat.
4. Add sausages, potatoes and sprouts (if using) and continue to sweat with the lid on for another 10 mins. Add a splash of water or stock if needed.
5. Add stock, lentils, tamari, bay leaves, thyme and nutritional yeast. Give a good stir and turn up the heat.
6. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for 15 mins.
7. If using, add peas, sweet corn, kale and/or spinach, and cook for the last 2–3 mins till cooked through/wilted.

Serve:

• Ladle into bowls.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Garnish with fresh parsley.
• Serve with fresh, ‘buttered’ bread.

I’ve always had this impression that jam and jelly were incredibly tricky to make. I’ve never properly used pectin, and any discussion of disinfecting and sealing Ball jars provokes anxiety. And yet, I’m well versed at compotes and fruit sauces to top pancakes and French toast in the morning! And they’re not so different. The ease with which every contestant on the Great British Bake Off whips up a jam for their cakes or trifles inspires me, and I’ve wanted to make some strawberry jam for a while.

Strawberry season here in New England is so short and sweet that I’d always rather have these fruits fresh - as they are, or maybe sliced atop a cake or chopped and used for strawberry shortcake. But! This week my CSA share (like a veg box) included some frozen strawberries from earlier in the year. And I knew the time had come. The time for jam.

I struggle to get excited about desserts without chocolate, so naturally my strawberry jam had to top a double-chocolate brownie cheesecake! 

The small size means its sweetness doesn’t overwhelm, and the tang of the cashew-coconut “cheesecake” marries the brownie and jam perfectly. You’ll love the contrast of textures in this dish. For the average vegan chef I think it’s classy enough to be a showstopper!

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Need a cooking conversion guide for this recipe? Get one here!

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Makes 18. Takes about 3 hours total!

Brownie Base

Adapted from Adapted from neverhomemaker’s Change-Your-Life Vegan Brownie 

• 2 Tbsp flaxseed meal + 3 Tbsp warm water 
• 1 3/4 cups flour 
• 1/4 tsp baking soda 
• 7 Tbsp cacao powder
• 6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (or chocolate chips)
• 1/2 cup hot coffee
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 Tbsp margarine (I use Earth Balance - any butter substitute will work!)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla 

Chocolate Cheesecake Filling

Adapted from Minimalist Baker 

• 1 1/2 cups soaked raw cashews (pour boiling hot water over the cashews, soak for 1 hour, then drain)
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 14-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
• 7 ounces melted dark chocolate
• 1/4 cup maple syrup or agave nectar

Strawberry Jam

This jam doesn’t require pectin, as it cooks down to a consistency perfect for topping!  

• 16 oz strawberries, leaves removed
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 18 muffin cups and add two strips of parchment paper to each cup in an X, so your bites can easily be removed! 
2. Make your brownie bases. Start by combining flaxseed meal with warm water. Let sit. 
3. Combine flour and baking soda. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, combine cacao powder, dark chocolate, and salt. Add the hot coffee and mix to form a paste.
5. Add sugar and margarine and mix.
6. Add flaxseed mixture and vanilla. 
7. Stir in flour & baking soda. This batter will resemble cookie dough more than baking powder!
8. Press your mixture into muffin tins - making sure to fill less than halfway. 
9. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
10. While your brownie bases are baking, make your jam!
11. In a heavy bottom saucepan, mix strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice.
12. Stir over med-low heat until the sugar is dissolved.
13. Increase heat to med-high and bring mixture to a rolling boil.
14. Stir frequently mashing the strawberries as you stir, continuing to boil, until jam is thickened and bubbles completely cover the surface of the jam. (about 10 minutes.)
15. Transfer jam to a jar and let cool to room temperature.
16. When brownies finish baking, let cool to room temperature.
17. Blend all your filling ingredients in a blender on high for 2-3 minutes, or until smooth.
18. Pour filling into muffin tins. Fill to the top.
19. Put muffin tins in the freezer to firm up, 1-2 hours. Then, remove to fridge until ready to serve.
20. Once your bites are firm and jam is at room temperature, use your parchment paper tabs to remove from tin. Then, top with jam and serve!

I split a weekly CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share - a veg box! - with my husband and another friend. I love that it gives us local produce throughout the year, connects us to the landscape and the seasons where we live, and the farmers who provide our food, and is much more environmentally friendly than getting all our fruit & veg from the grocery store. 

In our last November share, we were given a surprise bag of fresh cranberries. While cranberry sauce is integral part of the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S., I knew I would be making a pot pie that evening, and went looking for a savory recipe that incorporated the singular tartness of these berries.

I did some research and found chicken and cranberry pie recipes that could be adapted. I had intended originally to use white beans as the protein, but forgot I didn't have any left in the pantry! I used tempeh instead, but the recipe should work well with either. Mustard and nutritional yeast are both essential to give this pie its rich umami flavor. 

This dish takes about 3 hours to come together. You can prepare the pie crust ahead of time and store it for several days to make it an easier after-work meal, or you could also use a store-bought vegan pie crust. This is the first time I’ve tried the Bon Appetit recipe, and it was the best pie crust I've ever made, and probably the easiest to work with.

This pie will feed 6-8 people with a nice side salad. We even had the leftovers the next day as a savory breakfast! It was THAT GOOD. 🥧 

It is a perfect recipe for the holiday season if you're looking for something special to make for lunch or dinner with friends and family!

Crust
Adapted from Bon Appetit Test Kitchen 

• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Earth Balance (or your favorite butter alternative!)
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 Tbsp ice water 

1. Dice butter and put on a tray in the freezer to chill for 20 minutes.
2. Mix flour and salt in a large bowl. 
3. Toss butter in flour mixture to evenly coat. Working quickly and aggressively, use your fingers to rub butter into flour to create large, shaggy pieces of dough (the idea is to smash the butter into the flour, creating some pieces that are flat and thin and some that are large and chunky).
4. Combine vinegar and 3 Tbsp. ice water in a small bowl and drizzle over flour mixture, running your fingers through the flour as you drizzle to evenly distribute (think of running your fingers through your hair). Knead dough in the bowl until it starts to come together (it will still look a little dry).
5. Turn dough out onto a work surface and knead 1 or 2 more times, pressing to incorporate shaggy edges. Divide dough into 2 pieces and press into about 1"-thick disks. Put in Tupperware containers and chill at least 1 hour.

Filling

• 1.5 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion - diced
• 4 cloves garlic - minced
• 2 large carrots - diced
• 1 small sweet potato - diced
• 1.5 tsp mixture of dried basil and rosemary
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 1.5 cups vegetable stock
• 2.5 cups tempeh - diced
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 3/4 cup frozen peas
• 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast

1. In a pan on medium heat add olive oil. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
3. Add carrot, sweet potato, herbs, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Cook veggies 5 minutes until they start to get a little tender, stirring often.
4. Stir in Dijon mustard. Sprinkle flour over top and stir to combine. Stir to combine.
5. Add vegetable stock, bring to simmer and cook 3 minutes. Add tempeh, cranberries, peas and nutritional yeast. Stir to combine. 
6. Remove filling from heat. Add more herbs, salt and pepper to taste! 

Assembly

• 3 Tbsp non-dairy milk 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. (177 degrees C, or Gas Number 4)
2. Sprinkle a clean tea towel with flour. Roll one crust out to a few inches wider than your pie plate.
3. Flip towel onto pie plate and allow the crust to sink into the dish. Place in the refrigerator.
4. Roll out the second crust using the same method. Leave on tea towel for now.
5. Remove dish from the refrigerator
6. Fill your pie with filling - it should look like a raised mound, but you may have a little extra filling. This can be used for a weekday lunch!
7. Brush the edges of the bottom crust with non-dairy milk. Cover filling with second crust. 
8. Use kitchen scissors to trim excess crust, then use a fork to crimp the edges of your pie to seal. Cut three slits in the top of the pie to vent.
9. Optional: Use the scraps of the crust to cut small shapes to adorn the top of your pie!
10. Brush outer crust with remainder of non-dairy milk.
11. Place on a sheet tray in the oven. Bake for 60-90 minutes, or until crust is golden brown! 

Whether you're eating with fellow vegans/veggies or sharing the holiday with meat eaters, why not offer some lovely, kind and inclusive food that everyone can eat? I cook vegan every year for 'mixed' friends and family, all of whom love the all vegan dinner, desserts and everything! 

http://www.viva.org.uk/christmas