Just what I needed - lemon drizzle cake

I had a real craving for lemon drizzle cake tonight. No idea why, or what even made me think of it, but once I had, it had to be made.
Researching and trying out new recipes and ideas is great, but it  does take time - and sometimes it's just an excuse not to be doing something else as I'm very easily distracted, which in tonight's case was write some posts for this blog. So to appease my conscious, I've decided to share the cake with you (virtually that is - shame you can't taste it as well, it's gorgeous!).

Unfortunately, I can't claim that this cake is free from refined sugar and oil, because it's definitely not! But it is dairy free and egg free, and easy to swap to gluten free flour if needed, so it meets a whole variety of 'free from' needs. Making cakes without egg is always a challenge, as the protein in the egg binds the other ingredients together.
A great alternative is some ground flaxseed soaked in a little water for a few minutes. It swells and goes really gloopy, great for sticking everything together. However, I've found that for many cakes, you just need to whisk the wet ingredients together really well before you add them to the dry, and use an extra shaking of baking powder to make sure it rises and becomes light and fluffy.  It can be a bit hit and miss, as sometimes the mix is just too lose and light, and collapses as you take it out of the tin. Tonight was a lucky night though, and the cake stayed together beautifully whilst being incredibly light - no regrets about leaving out the flax.
One other great thing about flaxseed is that it is a fabulous source of omega 3 fatty acids. There's not many plant foods which provide such good amounts, so it's worth adding in to your cooking where ever you can.
Having already confessed that this cake is not free from refined sugars and oils, I feel the need to make a quick comment on agave syrup. Although it's marketed as a healthier sugar alternative, it's not. Apparently it has a higher fructose content than high fructose corn syrup, which is thought to be one of the major contributors to the obesity problem as it appears in a large amount of processed foods.  The agave syrup we buy is not a natural sap from the blue agave plant (a type of yucca plant - tequila is made from it too!) but a commercially produced highly processed, highly calorific sweet gloop. The problem with processed fructose is that it doesn't get broken down and digested in the gut like simple sugars; rather it goes straight to the liver where it's processed into fat, completely by-passing the energy producing molecule stage.
The fructose in these syrups is not the same as natural fructose, the sugar that's found in whole fruits. This type is ok, partly because it's accompanied by so many goodies like vitamins and fibre. It's the processing that creates the bad stuff.
So if it's so bad, why have I not just used normal sugar? It's still all nutrient-empty calories. For this cake, it's to help bind everything together. Plus there's not much of it - apparently, it becomes metabolically significant if you eat more than 25g of fructose a day*. So if you've been an eating angel all day, you can get away with it. Or, as I look at it, I only eat it on occasion so it's ok to use it now and then.
If I've put you off the agave, omit it and just add a little more sugar. Or replace the agave with flaxseed as mentioned above; can't say how it will come out though (that's my disclaimer!).
But if you just want to make a gorgeously light and tasty lemon drizzle cake that's vegan and 'free from' then do give this a try - it's worth it!
Lemon drizzle cake

250g self raising flour/gluten free flour

1 extra teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
170g unrefined caster sugar
2 tablespoons agave syrup
85mls organic rapeseed oil
1 cup non-dairy milk
zest of a lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
For the topping:
juice of a lemon
2 tablespoons demarera sugar
Grab a loaf tin, grease it and line with baking paper. Pre-heat the oven to 170oC. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Put the sugar, agave, oil, milk and lemon juice into a separate bowl and mix together well with a whisk. Add the lemon zest, stir well.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix together well. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 35 minutes or so until a toothpick comes out clean. Take out the the oven, but leave in the tin.
Mix the topping lemon juice and sugar together. Prick lots of holes into the cake with the toothpick and pour the mixture evenly over the top. Leave in the tin to cool for at least half an hour - it becomes easier to handle once it's cool.
Enjoy!

* http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/agave-this-sweetener-is-f_b_537936.html

Buckwheat pancakes for pancake day

It's pancake day today, or rather it's Shrove Tuesday in the church calendar, the day that traditionally all the yummy food is eaten up ready for Lent. It's another religious date that has been commercially hi-jacked; remember the slogan "Don't forget the pancakes on Jif Lemon Day"? 

Pancakes can be a challenge for anyone eating a free-from diet, whether it's due to excluding wheat, dairy or eggs. Fortunately, there are a number of alternatives out there; my favourite for savoury pancakes is buckwheat. Despite it's name, buckwheat is not wheat but the seed of a crop that's related to rhubarb and sorrel. It tends to be classified as a grain because of it's culinary use, but it is gluten free (some products such as soba noodles tend to mix it with wheat, therefore making it no longer gluten free). A great whole food source of protein and fibre, it's also got a good whack of magnesium, iron, phytonutrients and is really low in fat. It does have quite a distinctive earthy flavour though, so can be an acquired taste to some!

Of course, galettes in France are traditionally made from buckwheat. Whenever I think of galettes though, I picture India rather than France, due to the wonderful creperie in Bangalore, Chez Mariannick. An oasis of European familiarity in the crazy overstimulation of an Indian city, it's well worth a visit if you happen to find yourself in the area (they're on TripAdviser).

To make a truly free from buckwheat pancake, all you need is some buckwheat flour, baking soda, salt and water mixed together. You can use non-dairy milk and vanilla if you want slightly creamier and sweeter pancakes - just use one to one measurements i.e.: one cup of buckwheat flour to one cup of milk, one teaspoon vanilla and one of baking soda.

If you fancy something a bit more healthy (and hippyish according to my daughter!), then try these buckwheat and sunflower seed pancakes instead. Using the whole buckwheat groat ensures you are eating the whole food with all the nutrients available. Soaking makes the buckwheat more 'alive'; you can soak this up to three days allowing it to sprout, releasing even more amazing nutrients. That's if you plan ahead of course. If you're more like me and plan things at the last minute, 20 minutes soaking will be just fine.

Buckwheat pancakes

2 cups buckwheat groats

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch salt

(apple sauce, cinnamon or vanilla if 

you want sweet)

First, rinse the buckwheat groats well and place in a glass jar or bowl. Cover with water and leave to soak - somewhere between 20 minutes to 3 days! When you're ready, pour out into a sieve and rinse well. Pop into a blender along with the other ingredients. Add enough fresh water to cover the top of the the buckwheat and blend until smooth. Poor a ladle full onto a hot pan coated with a little oil. Cook as normal pancakes and enjoy!

The brightest hummus ever!

Packed lunches can be a bind, but buying food at school or work can be a challenge when you're eating a free-from diet. Choice is limited, expensive and often just junk, which is OK from time to time, but not on a daily basis. So hummus is a permanent feature in our fridge, but even that can get a little dull after time - variety is the key.

This beetroot hummus can never be described as dull; the vibrant, almost neon bright pink of the hummus can brighten up any packed lunch, lighting up the senses with colour and taste.
Beetroot is a fabulous vegetable to munch on in the winter months. Sweet and juicy, it's packed full of nutrients that help get you through the short, wet days and fight off those winter bugs. And if you manage to find some with the leaves still attached, then even better, as this deep green foliage contains even more nutritional goodies that will boost your immunity.
Beetroot is great for your liver, helping it to detoxify, perfect at this time of year when the body is still recovering from excesses over the festive season! Its high fibre content is good for gut health, helping to relieve constipation - it also contains good amounts of the amino acid glutamine, essential for the health of your gut lining. As well as the fibre, beetroot also has good amounts of folic acid, manganese and potassium; the leaves zing with calcium, iron and vitamins A and C.
Beetroot and chickpeas combined make a super-nutrient packed dish. Chickpeas are one of my favourite beans, with it's strong earthy flavour and high fibre content, they're good for your taste buds and your body, and an essential ingredient of a whole food, plant based diet. Although they're not a complete protein, chickpeas are still a good source of protein and packed full of fibre, manganese, folate, iron and zinc as well as other phytonutrients that are beneficial to gut and heart health. And for those with blood sugar problems or looking to lose weight, research shows that chickpeas help regulate blood sugar levels as well as keep you feeling full for longer, so reducing the need to binge on other sugary foods.  Phew!
So if you're not too worn out thinking about how amazing these ingredients are, give this beetroot hummus a go and taste their amazingness! It's easy to make, and definitely easy to eat!  A perfect snack or lunch companion, dairy free and super healthy.
Beetroot hummus.
400g cooked chickpeas (rinsed if from a tin or soaked and cooked)

2 medium sized cooked beetroot (not in vinegar)
1/2 - 1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini
1 small clove of garlic crushed and chopped
1 - 2 teaspoons ground cumin
salt
up to 100ml olive oil
Combine all the ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor and blitz until combined. Keep the processor on, add the olive oil gradually until you reach a good texture and 'dippy' consistency. Serve garnished with parsley and a little sprinkling of cumin.

* If you cooked the chickpeas rather than use tinned, retain some of the cooking fluid and use this to replace some of the oil. This reduces the fat content, plus adds in some of the nutrients lost in the cooking fluid. Never do this with tinned chickpeas, as the fluid often contains added salt and sugar.