BEAR'S ACKEE-DO DUBPLATE MASHUP

BEAR'S ACKEE-DO DUBPLATE MASHUP

Whoa! What have we here? This is an Ackee-Do Dubplate Mashup! I dared to experiment with Jamaican, Welsh and Chinese influences! It's a bit of this 'n’ that! Ha ha! But it works somehow! WOW!

Let's get to the…

INGREDIENTS

1 Tofu block in a carton

1 Garden peas can

1 Ackee can

1 Red onion

1 White onion

A handful of baby plum tomatoes

5 - 6 Chestnut mushrooms

1 Green chili

1 Red chili

6 or more finger chilies

Broccoli

The rest of the seaweed

3 Garlic cloves

PREPARATION

Wash the onions, chilies, garlic and tomatoes. Pat them down with a paper towel.

Wash the mushrooms and pat them down with a paper towel too.

Take about a handful of broccoli - 2 handfuls, if you're cooking for 2 or 3! Check the broccoli florets for infestation and give the broccoli a good rinse. Add the broccoli to pot/pan/dish on its own.

Get a deep pan/dish and put some coconut oil within. Of course, you can use a tablespoon of another oil such as extra virgin olive oil, rapeseed or rice bran oil.

Slice the onions into rings and add it to the pan/dish with the coconut oil.

Cut the chilies and garlic cloves in small pieces. Cut the tomatoes in half. Place the chilies, garlic, and tomatoes in one bowl for the time being.

Cover the seaweed with cold water for a minimum of 6 minutes

Slice the mushrooms and place on a paper towel.

Open the Ackee can and drain. And once drained place in a baking tray.

Open the garden peas can and drain. Open the tofu carton, carefully remove the tofu and rinse. I used a soft tofu but you could use a harder one. And cut in slices. If the tofu is soft then it doesn't matter how you cut it.

Drain the seaweed and place aside. I used a large mug to soak the seaweed and once drained, I placed the seaweed back into the mug.

Now we're ready to get cooking..,

THE METHODOLOGY

Introduce a high enough heat to sear the onions. Once the onions have wilted, add the mushrooms… Reduce the heat once the mushrooms have wilted and browned; add the garden peas.

Add the bowl of tomatoes, garlic, and chilies to the onions and mushrooms. Mix so that the ingredients get cooked evenly. Introduce a medium heat to the broccoli. Turn the oven on and preheat for about 5 minutes at 210 (electric). Stir the broccoli - don't let them burn. If the broccoli starts to brown then add a little bit of water to prevent burning; add about a tablespoon of water.

Keep mixing the onions, mushrooms, etc. Add the tofu and mix. Then place the Ackees in the oven and reduce the temperature to around 190 (electric). Now add the seaweed to the onions, mushrooms, etc. If you find that the mixture is burning and/or sticking to the bottom of the pan/dish, add about 2 tablespoons of water. Season with black pepper, turmeric, and coriander. You shouldn't need to add salt as the seaweed is salty enough. Give the mix one final stir to infuse the seasoning. Remove from the heat and cover.

Keep turning the broccoli and maintain its composure i.e. al dente. Once the florets are a darker shade of green, it's time to remove the heat and then transport to the main pan/dish to keep warm.

It's time to…

PLATE UP

Remove the broccoli and arrange them on a plate or plates. I placed the florets to the left in a line and then placed the stalk on the opposite side.

In the middle, I made a bed with the main dish. I then removed the Ackees from the oven and placed them on top of the main dish.

Enjoy!

It can serve 2 to 3.

FOOD BIGOTRY

Please, do not fear Ackees that come in a can that can be bought from any decent supermarket or specialist shop.

Ackees are only dangerous when handled incorrectly. Ackees come from a pod that opens up to reveal the fruit. If the pod is forced open then the toxicity will remain. The gasses are released when the pod opens naturally. And therefore, the Ackees, the yellow flesh - if you will - are safe to eat.

There's no way Ackees would be commonplace in good supermarkets if it was a danger. Think of Ackee as you would rhubarb; the rhubarb leaves are deadly and people have been known to die from rhubarb leaves poisoning. Yet we can pick rhubarbs from our gardens and prepare it ourselves or buy it in a can at the supermarket.

Don't be afraid to give Ackees a try! If you're new to Veganism and you miss eating scrambled eggs then Ackees will do it for you! Or it should do!

THE INFLUENCES

My folks are from Jamaica and I used to be a lover of Jamaica's national dish, Ackee, and Saltfish which is usually served up with boiled or fried dumplings, green banana, and yams.

Being a Londoner, I used to love my Chinese takeaways. I appreciated how the vegetables were cooked, al dente. And, the Welsh influence came from watching a food show that featured the use of seaweed in popular Welsh dishes. I would love to go to Wales to learn more about the use of seaweed in cooking. That's it. I still have lots to learn and I love learning!

I called this dish “Ackee-Do Dubplate Mashup” because the tofu got mashed in the process; I thought the tofu would be harder. Plus, I enjoy the martial arts; Aikido is a Japanese martial art and tofu comes from both Japan and China. It takes me back to watching martial arts movies growing up. I also used to listen to Dub Reggae a lot in my youth.  

Love,

Bear XOXOXOXOXO

BEAR'S SPICY MUSHROOM GRAINS

BEAR'S SPICY MUSHROOM GRAINS

In this über-delicious recipe, I'm raising the fridge to use up all those gorgeous vegetables that I've picked up over the last couple of weeks. I hate wasting good food! Don't do it! I went mushroom crazy last week because they were marked down and if I left them any longer, they'd be spoiled. Here's the list of ingredients…

INGREDIENTS

1 Mushroom punnet

1 Petit pois can

1 Wheatberries quinoa and mung beans packet

1 Red onion

1 Red chili pepper

4 to 6 finger chilies

3 Garlic cloves

The rest is the Cavolo Nero cabbage

PREPARATION

Wash the mushrooms, remove the debris and use a paper towel to pat them dry. Leave the mushrooms aside. Peel and rinse the onion along with the chilies and Cavolo cabbage. Pat dry with a paper towel. You might want to tail the cabbage.

Get your deep pan/dish out and place about half a tablespoon of solid coconut oil within. Chop the onion finely and add to the pan/dish. Slice the mushrooms and add to the pan/dish. Slice one garlic clove and add to the pan/dish.

Cut the Cavolo cabbage in thin strips. Cut the red chili, finger chilies, and garlic cloves into small medium thick slices.

METHODOLOGY

Add a frying heat to the pan/dish. I think it's wise to use a searing heat to fry the mushrooms and onions together as I got the punnet at a marked down price and are well past the sell by date! Once the mushrooms are well cooked, remove from the heat - if need be - and from there add the chilies and garlic cloves. Season to taste with turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. I used about half a tablespoon of each.

Reduce the heat and mix all the ingredients together. When you see the chilies starting to wilt, add the Cavolo cabbage. And when you see the cabbage starting to wilt you add the wheatberries, quinoa and mung beans. The mushrooms should have produced enough liquid for the wheatberries, etc to soak up. You shouldn't need to add any water. Mix well and break up any wheatberry clumps.

Reduce the heat further if you're finding that some of the ingredients are sticking to the pan/dish. After about a couple of minutes, give it a taste. You might want to add a sprinkle of Himalayan salt if you find it too fresh. Turn off the heat, give it a final mix to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan/dish, cover and leave to stand for about a minute or two.

Plate up!

If can serve 2 - 3 people - depending on the portions you're used to eating. I wouldn't reheat mushrooms that have gone past the sell by date. That's one thing I don't like about being single - I've cooked too much! As you can see, cooking the whole punnet of mushrooms was a necessity! It just means I've gotta workout more! Lol!

As you can see, I've added a whole avocado. I guess you could purchase the smaller avocados so that all three guests get one each. Or if you're cooking for two, it's one big avocado each! Yummy!

If you haven't finished my Sweet Choco Sensation already, you could have that for dessert! Mmmmm… Don't worry, I'll be coming up with some über-yummy desserts very soon!

The last of my Sweet Choco Sensation… My life won't be the same again - until I make another!

Enjoy!

Love,

Bear XOXOXOXOXO

BEAR’S ULTRA-RUSTIC ROOT VEGETABLES

BEAR’S ULTRA-RUSTIC ROOT VEGETABLES

I don't know about you, but sometimes I get fed up of the flatulence that comes with eating meals with onions in 'em. It's a pain when my botty constantly exhales to the point where it feels like I'm not using my lungs anymore. “Hey, that guy's ass is moving all by itself!”

Also, I get tired of trying to do something special with my food. Once in awhile I just want to be able to taste my veggies, pure and simple! Don't you love the taste of your veggies as nature intended? Mmmmmmm… Yummy!

INGREDIENTS

1 Root Vegetable Medley pack! It costs less than a Pound!

METHODOLOGY

Remove wrapping and set the onion aside for another meal!

Give them a quick rinse! Top 'n’ tail the carrots and parsnip. You might want to slice off the top and bottom of the Swede as I did. If the carrots were organic, I would have not peeled them. I left the parsnip unpeeled as my past attempts ended in disaster! I also left the skin on the Swede; a bit of roughage won't hurt!

I placed the veggies in a Pyrex baking tray, added a bit of water to avoid burning and placed in the oven on a high-temperature setting, 191, for around 30 minutes.

Plate up! No seasoning - not even a pinch of Himalayan salt! Plain and simple roasted veggies! Enjoy! Butt belch no more!

Love,

Bear XOXOXOXOXO

BEAR'S MUSHROOM BUTTER BEAN PARSNIP COCONUT CREAM DUBPLATE

BEAR'S MUSHROOM BUTTER BEAN PARSNIP COCONUT CREAM DUBPLATE

In this recipe, we're going to use some of the Ingredients purchased last week! Do you still have them?

INGREDIENTS

Cavolo Nero Cabbage

1 Mushroom punnet

1 Parsnip

1 Red onion

1 Paprika

4 Finger chilies

2 Garlic cloves

Knob of coconut cream

1 Butterbean can

“P” FOR PREPARATION

Wash the Cavolo cabbage, tail them, cut as seen in the picture above. Add to a baking tray and add a bit of water - enough to slightly cover the bottom of the tray. You don't need to immerse the cabbage. Place in the oven without turning the heat on for now.

Peel the red onion and place in a colander along with the parsnip, garlic cloves, and finger chilies. Give them a quick rinse. You might want to pat these ingredients dry to avoid popping in the hot oil. Place these items in a bowl.

Wash the mushrooms thoroughly! Remove any remaining debris with a paper towel and pat dry. We have to use all the mushrooms to avoid it going bad.

Get a large pan or dish and place a good bit of coconut oil in it. See pic below. Slice the onions into rings and add to the pan or dish. Don't apply any heat just yet!

Dice the parsnip and add to the pan/dish with the onions. Slice all the mushrooms in a medium thickness - slightly thicker than what you'd get on a pizza! Add the mushrooms to the pan/dish.

Slice 'n’ dice the paprika. And cut the finger chilies and garlic into thin slices. Don't add them to the pan/dish! Just add a garlic clove to the pan/dish!

Open the can of butter beans, drain in a colander and give them a quick rinse under cold water. Leave to drain.

THE METHODOLOGY

Once the onion rings, diced parsnips, and sliced mushrooms are in the pan/dish apply enough heat to fry! Don't worry, the mushrooms will wilt down to half the bulk. Keep mixing to ensure that all the ingredients get cooked evenly.

See? The bulk is no more! Remove from heat.

Add a knob coconut cream as seen in the pic above. And return to the heat and stir. The coconut cream should start dissolving. Don't let it burn! If need be, remove from the heat. Not all of it will dissolve and it's tempting to add water straight away. Don't! You could drown the mixture. When it starts to thicken and get sticky is the time to add a tip of water. Reduce the heat!

As you can see, only a small amount of water is needed. It's kind of similar to a white sauce for pasta dishes. You don't want it to be too fluid. Give it a good stir.

Once the water is stirred in, add the butter beans! Mix and, if need be, add a little bit of water to loosen the mixture. You want to keep the mixture quite thick or it'll be like a mushy soup. Uh-uh! No! Then add the paprika, finger chilies, and garlic clove.

Now it's time to do the Cavolo cabbage! Turn the oven on and set the temperature to around 190 (electric). The aim is to let the water evaporate without drying out the Cavolo cabbage completely! Admittedly, I was busy taking pictures and let the cabbage overcook slightly! But you have no excuse! Lol! Alternatively, you could lightly steam the Cavolo cabbage.

While the cabbage is being cooked, season the mix with a teaspoon of black pepper, turmeric, a bit cinnamon - maybe half a teaspoon, a sprinkle of thyme and a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Mix well, turn the heat off and cover. The residual heat will keep it hot until the cabbage is ready. The cabbage will only take around 5 or 6 mins to cook. Any longer and it'll be too dry and possibly burned. A little crispiness is just right!

To plate up, create a bed of cabbage and place the creamy vegetables on top!

Enjoy!

Serves 2 - 3.

Love,

Bear XOXOXOXOXO

BEAR'S SWEET CHOCO SENSATION

BEAR'S SWEET CHOCO SENSATION

Gosh! I love to experiment in my Vegan food creations and it's such a wonderful surprise when the experimentations yields in good, if not great, results!

This tart turned out spectacularly well in terms of the structure and super-sensational in taste! I add cinnamon to my coffee!

I bought a bunch of ingredients with a rough idea of what I was going to do with them! And, here they are…

INGREDIENTS

Oats

1 pack of almonds

1 jar of tahini

Maple Leaf syrup

Desiccated coconut

Vanilla extract

2 bars of Vegan chocolate bars

Cinnamon

Mixed spice

Pitted dates

Vegan cocoa powder

4 large sweet potatoes

METHODOLOGY

Well, I made this up as went along… My measurements are by eye 'n’ taste. I'll explain…

I roasted 4 large sweet potatoes and left them in the oven to cool overnight. I placed the sweet potatoes on a Pyrex roasting tray and added a bit of water in order to not dry them out.

Let's make the base! I used a cake tin with a release catch. I poured out some oats to cover the bottom of the tin.

From there, I placed the oats into a large mixing bowl. Next, I grounded my almonds (200g) and added them to the large bowl.

Pour all the tahini into the bowl and fold the contents with a large spoon. Do not try this with a hand mixer as it'll burn out the motor! You've been warned! Do not do it!

While you're folding the contents of the bowl, add the vanilla extract and Maple Leaf syrup to make a dough-like substance. Add the mixed spice! I used about half a tablespoon.

When it gets to this stage (as in the pic above), you have to remove the “dough” and place on a clean surface. I used greaseproof paper. You have to use your hands to work the “dough” so that there are no unmixed “powder” i.e. loose oats and ground almonds.

Work the “dough” so that it becomes smooth as in the pic below.

Once you have the “dough” as it is in the pic, you are now ready to use it as the base. Place in the baking tin, flatten out the “dough” so that the entire base is completely covered. Use the back of a tablespoon to make the edges even; it doesn't have to be perfect. Place in the fridge to harden…

Now we're ready to work on the tart… You'll need another mixing bowl. Get your sweet potatoes out, peel the skins and add the flesh to the bowl. Then add a splash of vanilla extract - a tablespoon and cinnamon. Use a hand blender to make the sweet potato smooth. When the hand mixer gets too warm take a break. Oh! I used a stainless steel mixing bowl and the hand mixer scratched the heck out of it! Still, it's better than plastic shavings. Next time, I will use a glass bowl!

You want to get the mixture as smooth as possible before adding the cocoa powder.

In the pic above, you can see that I've roughly measured the cocoa powder to fill the base of the container I used to ground the almonds. Then slowly add the cocoa to the sweet potato mix, add a tablespoon or 2 of Maple Leaf syrup to counter the bitterness of the cocoa powder.

Keep adding the cocoa powder bit by bit along with the Maple Leaf syrup. Taste to ensure it's not too bitter or too sweet. Keep mixing until you have a mousse-like texture.

Now melt the chocolate bars… You can use the steam or microwave method. I used the microwave for expediency. If you use a microwave, make sure you stop and mix the melting chocolate every 45 seconds. The smell or burning chocolate is horrid! Once fully melted, add to the sweet potato mix. This helps the mousse to set.

And when you're happy with the taste you're done! Remove the cake tin from the fridge containing the base and pour the sweet potato into the cake tin. Smooth out the sweet potato mix - no need for perfection. Return to the fridge to set.

Above: The next day…

I then used the desiccated coconut and dates to decorate. See below.

Enjoy!

With Love from Yours Truly,

Bear XOXOXOXOXO

P.S. Be sure to check out my other blog about Vegan Life: Bear's Vegan Lifestyle

BEAR’S SUPER-MUSHROOM REDEMPTION SOUP

BEAR’S SUPER-MUSHROOM REDEMPTION SOUP

Do you love mushrooms? I love mushrooms! I also love it when I spot a bargain in the supermarkets! Earlier on this evening, I picked up 3 large punnets of beautiful mushrooms at 9p each! Awesome!

THE FRIDGE RESCUE SQUAD

“Help! Save us!” How could I ignore the cries coming from the fridge? Remember the Savoy cabbage? The radishes? A few more days and they'd have perished! I got to vegetables just in the nick of time! Zero Waste!

INGREDIENTS

2 Mushroom punnets

1 Red or white onion

All the leftover Savoy cabbage you see in the pic

1 Paprika

3 cloves of garlic

6 chilies

Cream of coconut

Radishes

2 Mushroom stock cubes

THE METHOD

Place about a tablespoon of solid coconut oil in a deep dish or pot. Cut the onion in a quarter and place in the deep dish or pot. Slice all the mushrooms in fairly thin slices. I first did the ordinary mushrooms and then the Chestnut ones. The Chestnut mushroom has a lovely nutty flavour and I prefer to cook them gently.

The standard mushrooms go in the pot or dish and medium heat is applied. I want the onions and mushrooms to sweat it out! It looks like an awful lot but it wilts down to half its uncooked size. Once that happens you remove from the heat and finely cut the Savoy cabbage. And if your pot/dish is large enough you can add all the other ingredients - leaving the Chestnut mushrooms last. Once the Chestnut mushrooms start to wilt add a bit of the creamed coconut (as seen in the pic below).

Then add 2 mushroom stock cubes. Did I tell you how much I love mushrooms? Lol! Because of the high salt content in the stock cubes, there's no need to add any additional salt. Mix everything together until it cooks evenly. Now pour a cup of cold water in the mix, just enough to slightly cover the mixture. I like my soups thick and rustic!

See? That's the amount of water I added. The Chestnut mushrooms and radishes were the last to go in. Oh! Maintain a medium heat until it simmers! You don't want to bring it to a quick boil. Once it starts to boil it's time to add cayenne pepper, turmeric, black pepper, and thyme. Mix the seasoning in and remove from heat. Get your hand blender out and blend until smooth.

Alternatively, you can make it as lumpy as you like. How about cooking the Chestnut mushrooms punnet separately after cutting them in a thickness to suit and add to the blended soup? I started cooking late and didn't bother. But it would've given the soup a nice dimension.

Serve! It should serve 2 to 3 at a stretch!

Enjoy!

With Love from Yours Truly,

Bear XOXOXOXOXO