"A Modern Way to Eat" by Anna Jones (and her amazing Banana, Toffee and Coconut Cream Pie!)

Oh my word. You really wouldn't believe this was a healthy dessert! Sticky nut and date base, sweet, gooey banana toffee and fluffy whipped coconut cream topping. It is truly amazing and just one of many incredible recipes from Anna Jones' new cookbook "A Modern Way to Eat" (Harper Collins publishers).

©Harper Collins

From the publishers: 

"Anna Jones is a brilliant young cook and food writer, who worked with Jamie Oliver for many years. Her first cookbook is a totally modern take on vegetarian eating – recipes that are healthy, nourishing, truly tasty and satisfying, introducing new dishes that are simple to make. Based on how Anna likes to eat day to day, A Modern Way to Eat covers everything from a blueberry and amaranth porridge to start the day to a quick autumn root panzanella or avocado, butterbean and miso salad for lunch; a tomato and coconut cassoulet, pistachio and squash galette, or mint, ricotta and courgette polpette for dinner. Packed with recipes that explore the full breadth of vegetarian ingredients – different grains, nuts, seeds and seasonal vegetables – and alternative approaches to cooking that avoid too much dairy or heavy carbs and gluten, this is a cookbook for how we want to eat now.

©Harper Collins

Anna Jones is a cook, food writer and stylist. One grey, late-for-the-office day, she decided to quit her day job after reading an article about following your passion. Within weeks, she was signed up on Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen apprentice programme. She went on to be part of Jamie’s food team – styling, writing and working behind the scenes on books, TV shows and food campaigns. Now freelance, she has worked with some of the country’s biggest food brands, including innocent drinks for whom she wrote the recipes for Hungry?: the innocent recipe book for filling your family with good stuff. She has also worked with other well-known chefs, such as Henry and Tom Herbert (The Fabulous Baker Brothers), Stevie Parle and Antonio Carluccio, and cooked for royalty, politicians and LA school children alike. A Modern Way to Eat is her first solo book."

I was more than happy when asked to review her cookbook as it sounded right up my alley. It is vegetarian but don't fret vegan friends, there are over 75 naturally vegan recipes in the book (Anna often cooks for her vegan brother and sister) and many more recipes are given vegan alternatives. Furthermore there are many gluten-free recipes, all listed in the back so no one is excluded.

Another great aspect of this book are they "how to build a...." pages which breaks down how to make almost anything in an easy formula using a huge variety of different ingredients. There are 'how to' pages on:

• Smoothies
• Morning Fruit
• Hummus
• Quick Sandwich ideas
• 1000 variations of soup
• How to make a great salad
• Go-to pasta recipes
• Pestos
• How to make a killer roast dinner
• Roasted Roots and 5 dressings
• Nut milks and butters
• 10 ways with avocado toast

It is a truly beautiful hardcover book with stunning photography and is just a joy to sit down with a cup of coffee and read. This would make an excellent gift to give to friends and family as it is so beautiful and the recipes are top notch. There are so many recipes here I can't wait to try like:

• California miso, avocado and butter bean salad

• Banana, Blueberry and Pecan Pancakes

• Deep Crusted Leek and Greens Pie

• Dosa Spiced potato cakes with quick Cucumber Pickle

• Maple Peanut Tempeh California Wraps

• Smoky Walnut and Cumin Muhammara

• Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Brownies

• Sage, Pumpkin and Potato Bake

• Lemony Lentil and Crispy Kale Soup

• Lady Grey Fig Rolls

• Carrot and Black Pepper Soda Bread

• Crispy Sweet Potato Fries with Chipotle Dipping Sauce

• Sweet Tomato and Black Bean Tortilla Bowls

• Walnut Miso broth with Udon Noodles

....and the list goes on and on! There is also a vegan burger in this book which looks pretty much like the most amazing vegan burger I've ever seen, based on portabello mushrooms and brown rice it looks to die for! I can safely say this will become one of my "go-to" cookbooks.

Now whenever I review a cookbook I like to pick a recipe from it and make that my tester. Needless to say just choosing one from this book was very difficult! There are so many mouthwatering sounding savoury recipes but once I got to this Banana, Toffee and Coconut Cream Pie I knew I had to make it. I've been wanting to try a banoffee type pie for years now and this one sounded perfect.

....and it is! A dessert that actually makes you feel good with a sticky nutty date base, banana caramel and fluffy whipped coconut cream topping (I mean, who doesn't like coconut whipped cream???) It's altogether a gorgeous pie, each ingredient compliments the other, right down the little bit of lime juice the banana slices are tossed in - that little citrus kick is a beautiful addition, a nice counter to the rich toffee and cream. Another nice thing about this dessert is that although it is sweet it's not cloyingly so. Just perfect :-)

Disclaimer: Harper Collins sent me the book for review. All views expressed are my own.

~Recipe Notes~

♥ Where the recipe calls for honey or agave I used maple syrup, because, you know I'm Canadian and throw that stuff in everything ;-)

♥ She states that if you don't have medjool dates to use other pitted ones but to soak them first in hot water and use a couple extra. I didn't have medjool so did exactly that. I just soaked them until the edges turned white, maybe only 5 minutes or so.

♥ Instead of the seeds from a vanilla pod I used 1/2 tsp natural vanilla paste.

♥ As you can see I also opted for her recommendation of grating some dark chocolate over top - beautiful!

♥ I was a little impatient in cooking the caramel and it could have cooked longer and gotten firmer - that was my impatience and not a fault of the recipe! Just make sure you cook it as she states, until it is thickened and deep golden brown :-) Although, it doesn't matter if your caramel is a little runny like mine, the slices still hold together and the taste is still spot on perfect!

Anna Jones' Banana, Toffee and Coconut Cream Pie:

serves 6-8

FOR THE CRUST

75g almonds

75g pecan nuts

120g medjool dates

(6 fat ones, pitted)

1 tablespoon set honey or agave

a good pinch of ground ginger

FOR THE BANANA CARAMEL

12 tablespoons unrefined light demerara sugar

3 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed well

FOR THE COCONUT CLOUD CREAM

2 X 400g tins of full-fat coconut milk

1 tablespoon set honey or agave

seeds from 1 vanilla pod

TO FINISH

2 bananas

juice of 1 lime

First of all, make sure that your coconut milk is in the fridge chilling.

Next, get on with your crust. Put the nuts into a food processor and blitz until you have a chunky crumble. Add the dates, honey and ginger and pulse a few more times, until the whole thing comes together.

Tip the mixture into a 20cm springform cake tin and use your fingers to press it all over the base, making a lip around the sides about 1cm deep. Put into the fridge to chill.

(My personal note: I found it easier to grease my hands with some coconut oil while pressing it into the tin and stop the mixture sticking to my hands.)

Now make your banana caramel. Put the sugar into a pan with the mashed banana, place on medium heat and allow to bubble away until the caramel has thickened and is a deep brown colour. This will take between 3 and 5 minutes.

Peel the bananas and slice them into thin rounds. Toss them in the juice of the lime, then lay them evenly on top of the crust.

Once the caramel is cool, pour it over the bananas, spread it evenly and put into the fridge to chill.

Scoop the thick white top layer from your tins of coconut milk and put it into a bowl. Add the honey and vanilla seeds and whisk until thick, like whipped double cream. Put it into the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.

When you are read to eat, give the coconut cream a final stir, then spoon it on top of the caramel and use the back of a spoon to create pretty swirls.

If you like, top with some grated dark chocolate or, if you are feeling fancy, some chocolate curls.

♥

Recipe reprinted as is from the book with permission by Harper Collins Publishers. Food photos are my own :-)

World Food Café - Quick and Easy Recipes from a Vegetarian Journey

Cuban Moros Y Cristianos with Mojo Sauce

So, my second cookbook review and recipe excerpt for you comes from Chris and Carolyn Caldicott's "World Food Café - Quick and Easy Recipes from a Vegetarian Journey".

This is a simply stunning book, I mean look how gorgeous it is??

From the back:

"This is vegetarian cooking at its most delicious and imaginative. For over twenty years Chris and Carolyn Caldicott have been travelling the world, collecting recipes from home kitchens, street stalls, restaurants and roadside cafés - as well as taking atmospheric photographs and picking up travellers tales.

World Food Café Quick and Easy gathers together dishes from some of the world's most fascinating places, with a wonderful diversity of flavours. And each and every recipe is quick and easy to make at home..."

It really is a beautifully made book with gorgeous photos of both the food and of their travels. The book is organised into chapters by places: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Chile, Cuba, Japan, Laos, Helsinki and Lapland, Namibia, Syria and Vietnam. I was initially concerned with this being a vegetarian cookbook that there might not be a lot of vegan recipes but that was quickly quashed - the vast majority of the recipes are actually vegan and those that are not are dead simple to veganize. It's also so much more than a cookbook, full of stories of their amazing travels and it really is an excellent read.

For my tester recipe I was drawn to the Cuban section of the book, in particular to the "Moros Y Cristianos" described by the authors as the following:

"Literally translated as Moors and Christians, this dish of black beans and white rice is still the mainstay of Cuban cuisine. The beans and the rice are either served separately or combined, usually with a simple fresh salad and fried plantain. Or you can enjoy them as we did, mixed together, topped with a fried egg and doused with zesty mojo sauce..."

Now, I obviously wasn't going to add the fried egg, and plantains are not too easy to come by here but I sure as hell wanted to try the gorgeous sounding Mojo Sauce! Which yes, I *do* keep saying in my head with an Austin Powers accent....Anyway, they describe it as the following:

"Mojo sauce, originally from the Canary Islands, is one of Cuba's most adaptable signature recipes. It adds zest to black beans or cooked cassava, makes an exciting marinade and is the perfect dipping sauce for malanga fritters and grilled Cuban sandwiches. There are many recipes for Mojo, often depending on what the sauce is being used for that day, but it's essential ingredients are Cuban bitter Seville oranges, garlic, a little cumin, black pepper and salt. For vegetarian dishes olive oil is also an important addition as is  finely chopped onion for a dip or condiment. The sauce is also delicious with chopped fresh oregano or coriander leaves stirred into it.

When Seville oranges are out of season, simply mix orange juice with lemon and lime. It's not quite the same but a good second best."

I made mine with freshly squeezed navel orange juice, limes and lemons, I didn't add the chopped onion as there was already onion in the Moros Y Cristianos, and I didn't have fresh oregano and can't take coriander so I added some chopped fresh leaf parsley, really just for colour and so those of you adding coriander could see how it would look.

And our verdict overall? An absolutely gorgeous meal!! My husband tucked into his while I photographed mine and his positive exclamations had me rushing the photoshoot! 

The Moros Y Cristianos is spicy and packed with flavour, went perfect with the rice and that zesty mojo sauce was just lush drizzled over top. 

I followed their suggestion and served it with a simple salad with leaf, tomato, onion and avocado but found myself drawn to taking the avocado from the salad and putting it on top of the black beans and I'm glad I did - it went so well with the whole dish. Of course, you could still add avocado to the salad as well - the more avocado the better I say!

Furthermore, like all the recipes in this book this was so simple and used all easy to find cupboard ingredients. You might worry that a "World Food" cookbook would be jam packed with ingredients making you run all over town trying to find or needing to buy online but no, that's not the case with this book at all which is a refreshing change.

Moros Y Cristianos
serves 4 - 6

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 large red onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 large red pepper, diced

2 dessertspoons paprika

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 generous tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

3 bay leaves

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

1 tablespoon tomato puree

2 ½ tins (400g/14oz size) of black beans, drained and rinsed

300ml / 10fl oz vegetable stock

1 ½ tablespoons red wine or cider vinegar

long-grain white rice (approximately 350g / 12oz, depending on appetite)

To garnish

finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

a generous drizzle of olive oil

To serve

a simple side salad of lettuce leaves topped with thin slices of plum tomato, radish, avocado and red onion, dressed with seasoned olive oil and lime juice.

fried plantain slices

     Heat the olive oil and sauté the onion, garlic and red pepper until soft but not brown. Add the paprika, ground cumin, thyme, bay leaves and chilli flakes, cook for a a couple of minutes and then stir in the tomato purée.

     Add the beans and gradually stir in the vegetable stock. Simmer on a low heat until the stock has reduced by half, and mash the beans until they start to break down.

     Add the red wine vinegar and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Simmer for a further few minutes, and then serve either on top of or combined with cooked white long-grain rice. Garnish with finely chopped parsley and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Serve the simple salad and fried plantain alongside.

Mojo Sauce

180ml / 6fl oz Seville orange juice or 120ml / 4fl oz orange juice, 30ml / 1 fl oz lime juice and 30ml / 1 fl oz lemon juice

1 flat teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon crushed black peppercorns

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ small onion, very finely chopped (optional)

60ml / 2fl oz olive oil

8 garlic cloves, crushed

chopped oregano leaves (optional)

chopped coriander leaves (optional)

     Combine the citrus juice, salt, black pepper, cumin and (if you want a thicker sauce) onion.

     Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan. When hot, add the crushed garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes until soft but not brown. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before pouring in the citrus mix (stand back a little, just in case it spits). Return to the heat and bring to the boil; then remove from the heat once more and allow to cool, when you can add the herbs if you wish.

     The mojo sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days.

Excerpted with permission from "World Food Cafe - Quick and Easy Recipes from a Vegetarian Journey" ©2013 Chris and Carolyn Caldicott. Published by Frances Lincoln. 

Published with permission of Frances Lincoln http://www.franceslincoln.com

♥

My Notes

For the Black Beans:

• I used a regular onion in place of a red onion and an orange pepper in place of the red, simply as that's what I had on hand.

• I was only making the bean dish for my husband and I so I halved the recipe and cooked up 150g long grain rice for the 2 of us. This served us generously.

• I didn't have any fresh thyme so added ½ teaspoon dried thyme (for half the recipe).

• I just used 1 tin of black beans for the half recipe I was doing.

• I didn't add the garnish as I was drizzling on the Mojo Sauce.

• I also used the Mojo Sauce as my side salad dressing - it was perfect for it!

For the Mojo Sauce:

• I used the fresh orange juice, lime and lemon juice option.

• I didn't add the onion.

• I used chopped fresh parsley in place of the other herbs.

• Make sure you stir it up well before drizzling as the garlic, pepper, cumin and parsley like to settle on the bottom!

Disclaimer: While I was given this cookbook to review I was not paid to review it and all views expressed here are my own, as are all the photos.

♥

....and coming up next on the blog...

Raspberry Bakewell Tarts!!
(my own recipe)

♥

The Sexy Vegan's "Happy Hour at Home"

Corn Dawggies with the Most Wonderful Ketchup, Okra Fries with White Barbecue Sauce and a Pomarita Cocktail.

Well hello again!! Yes, I am back from my somewhat extended holiday :-) First, I should explain that we spent 4 weeks in Canada this summer, back to my hometown to visit my family. We had an absolutely fantastic time, it was my first time back in 6 years and it was SO good to be back. 

We returned late July but then unfortunately the old lupus decided to act up and I just haven't had the energy to blog. At all. So, that's why the break was a little longer than expected but I'm feeling OK now, it comes and goes but I'm happy to be back for the time being anyway! I would also like to apologise for all the late comment posting, responding to emails/twitter and book reviews....everything gets put on hold when I have a flare up.

Speaking of book reviews, I was contacted way back when, just before we left for Canada if I would mind reviewing Brian Patton's (aka - The Sexy Vegan) new cookbook "Happy Hour at Home - Small Plates, Big Flavours and Potent Cocktails" and I was only too happy to oblige. After all, I love cocktails and anything snacky - this sounded right up my alley! 

It's a great, fun book combining diverse cocktails with small bites, great for parties and small get-togethers. The book is divided into menu's like: "Little India" with samosa pizza, roasted chana and stuffed dates or "Really Little Italy" with rigatoni poppers, grilled asparagus and figs and grilled basil-mint watermelon skewers or "Satay-day Night Fever" with tempeh satay with peanut sauce, grilled baby bok choi and teriyaki almonds....just to give you an idea. Each menu also comes with a cocktail recommendation with all the drink recipes in the back. And of course the whole book oozes with Brian's fantastic sense of humour :-)

It's quite simply a great cookbook, I loved the sound of all the menus but when choosing which one I was going to test there was no contest - I went with the "State Fair Fare" menu: Corn Dawggies with the Most Wonderful Ketchup and Okra fries with White Barbecue Sauce. The reason is simple - I've actually never in my life had corn dogs (!) and have been wanting to try them for AGES now. Corn dogs being of course hot dogs dipped in a cornbread batter, deep fried and eaten on a stick, a common fair food in America. On top of that, brace yourselves, I've never had okra before (!!) So, how awesome was this menu for me??? 

Well, I'm glad to report that everything turned out beautifully, perfect first try and everything was so easy to do as it's clearly written and well explained. 

The Sexy Vegan's Corn Dawggies with the Most Wonderful Ketchup

Now, as I mentioned above I have never actually had corn dogs before so I had nothing to compare these too, but they looked just like them, cooked up a charm, had perfect texture and most importantly, tasted incredible!! I will definitely be making these again...and I will give him this - that really is "The Most Wonderful Ketchup"! Soon to be a staple in this house :-)

Corn Dawggies:
Canola, vegetable, or any other high-heat oil, for deep-frying

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons unrefined granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup unsweetened nondairy milk
1/2 cup arrowroot
4 veggie dogs, cut into thirds
Toothpicks
Yellow or whole-grain mustard, for serving
The Most Wonderful Ketchup (recipe follows), for serving

Pour oil to a depth of 3 inches into a pot, high-sided pan, or deep fryer. Line a plate with paper towels and set it next to the stove. Heat the oil over medium heat until it registers 375°F on a deep-frying thermometer. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, chile powder, paprika, salt, sugar, and baking powder. Stir in the nondairy milk and keep stirring until you have a batter that is slightly thicker than pancake batter. Let rest for at least 5 minutes.

Spread out the arrowroot on a large plate. Working in batches, roll the veggie dogs in the arrowroot until completely coated, tapping the dogs to remove the excess, and immerse the dogs in the batter. Using a fork or chopsticks, take the dogs out of the batter and gently lower them into the oil. Fry for 3 to 5 minutes, or until golden on all sides, making sure to turn them a few times for even cooking. Transfer the dogs to the paper towel–lined plate. When they’re cool enough to handle, cut them in half crosswise, and serve with toothpicks, mustard, and the Most Wonderful Ketchup.

The Most Wonderful Ketchup:

1 cup ketchup

2 teaspoons pomegranate concentrate

½ teaspoon agave nectar

Whisk all this stuff together in a bowl.

Excerpted with permission from The Sexy Vegan’s Happy Hour at Home ©2013 by Brian Patton.  Published with permission of New World Library http://www.newworldlibrary.com.

♥

My Notes for the Corn Dawggies

• I used Fry's brand veggie dogs which come frozen so I defrosted them at room temperature first.
• I cut the dogs in half only as I wanted the more traditional looking corn dog on a stick here.
• I couldn't find ancho chile powder here so I just used a "hot chile powder".
• I used smoked sea salt in place of the salt.
• I fried them in vegetable oil.

My Notes for the Ketchup

• I used pomegranate molasses as it's called here. (Same diff).
• I used Sweet Freedom in place of the agave as it's my vegan syrup sweetener of choice :-)

The Sexy Vegan's "Pomarita" Cocktail

This.Was.Gorgeous!!! Now, the drink recommendation for this menu was actually the lush sounding "Starburst" with citrus juices and strawberry vodka that Brian describes as tasting just like starburst candy (which I would LOVE!) but, I didn't have any strawberry vodka and that stuff is expensive, haha, SO I went with the Pomarita (think pomegranate margarita) as it called for some pomegranate concentrate which I already bought to make the ketchup and well, I liked having another recipe to use the stuff in! 
An amazing cocktail, another regular for sure, and while I would usually shake my margarita style cocktails with ice and pour into a martini glass, I quite like the rustic look of it in my mini beer stein... (which yes, IS a former mustard pot!)

♥

The Sexy Vegan's Okra "Fries" with White Barbecue Sauce

Like corn dogs I also have never had okra before, I heard that they can be slimy and I think this has been putting me off trying them; but thankfully there was no slime whatsoever here, they had a nice crunchy cornmeal coating, were slightly chewy inside and went perfectly with the white barbecue sauce.

Altogether this was a great menu, fun to make and easy to do and I look forward to having some people over and trying the other menus in the book!

♥

Disclaimer: While I was given this cookbook to review I was not paid to review it and all views expressed here are my own, as are all the photos.