Doctoral study and Snacks

I have been completely snowed under lately. I mentioned during the year last year that if it doesn't have to do with my doctorate then I struggled to think about it but I didn't realise how bad that was going to get. Now, one month out from my hand-in I am completely under-water. I'm working on this thing 7 days a week and the fact that I could work this weekend while watching television because the work I was doing was mindless admin type of stuff. It was a huge treat! So that gives you a flavour of where things are.

                                                                 Video property of Sigur Ros

I'm not complaining however as I am feeling increasingly excited to see an end to all this and as I've been reminded several times - if getting a doctorate was easy, it wouldn't mean as much. So if and when I get this it will mean a helluva lot to me.

So I thought that I would bring you some of the interesting or delicious snacks that I have been enjoying. There are two options - the first is a bit more involved but can be put together in an hour and the second is super simple and can be completed within a 15 minute study break.

On Sunday night I burned out at 6pm and called it a night on the study. All day I had been craving tortilla chips but by 6pm the local shop was closed, because Britain, but my craving had to be satiated and I decided to make my own. This was no small undertaking as we didn't even have any tortillas. So these are completely made from scratch. The dough comes together in a few minutes and then needs to be rested. You may want to rush this but I would highly recommend it because once I rested the dough I choose to fold it over a few times and although this does not make for very soft tortillas it made for fantastic chips.

Handmade tortilla Chips

150g plain flour
180g strong wholemeal flour
3 tbsp golden flax seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp olive oil and more for frying/baking + coconut oil
230ml water

1. Mix together the flours, salt, baking powder and flax seeds

2. Add the olive oil and half the water and mix to cobine

3. Slowly add more water bit by bit until the dough is fully combined but not excessively wet.

4. Knead the dough for 5 minutes

5. Divide into 8 balls and allow to sit for 15 minutes

6. Fold in on itself a few times and then roll as flat as possible between two sheets of parchment.

7. Heat a frying pan or griddle with a very small amount of coconut or another high smoke point oil and then fry the tortillas for a few minutes on each side until browned in spots.

8. Allow to cool on a wire rack

9. Once cool, spray the tortillas with a drop of coconut or olive oil and spread it around so that each side has a very very small amount of oil on it. Then sprinkle with salt before slicing into triangles.

10. Bake on 180' for about 10 minutes until crisp.

11. Serve with vegetables and hummus

These tortilla chips were so so delicious. They are quite filling and so much better than any commercial brands I have had.

So the second snack is much easier and all you need is

200g nuts
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp agave nectar

1 - Preheat your oven to 180'

2 - Line a baking tray with tin foil

3 - Pour out the nuts and roast for 10 minutes

4 - As the nuts are baking mix together the agave nectar and spices in a large glass or metal bowl

5 - Pour the warm nuts into the bowl and mix until all the nuts are covered in a tiny amount of the mixture

6 - Pour back out onto the tin foil and allow to cool

These are so simple and so so delicious! Even if you don't make the tortilla chips, if you like nuts and you like spice then these are a must.

Now....back to the writing. Talk to you soon

Vegan Ice-cream! All of the yum and none of the dairy

This past weekend we went for a visit to my sister's place. The weekend was filled with lots of enjoyable outings (tamper included) and some local sight-seeing but my favourite part had to be the vegan ice-cream. We had discussed ahead of time that we would be preparing this and I was very excited at the notion. I had never made traditional ice-cream (with an ice-cream maker) before, let alone a vegan variety, so needless to say I was very excited about this activity. Given my severe lack of experience and my sister's relatively little experience we decided to consult an expert - Isa Chandra Moskowitz and adapt her pumpkin vegan ice-cream recipe.

This recipe is surprisingly simple and although it requires specific pieces of equipment, it is relatively simple. The longest parts are the boiling of the cashews and the churning and chilling of the ice-cream. However these do not require your attention so you can be doing other things while your ice-cream is being made for you, almost!

In terms of flavours we went for a coconut and cashew ice-cream with hazelnut croquant pieces inside. The flavours come together deliciously and could be augmented with some vegan caramel, I found a delicious looking recipe here but on to our recipe.

Hazelnut Croquant Vegan Ice-cream

Equipment: Ice-cream maker, blender and saucepan

2 Cups Unroasted Cashews
2 cups Coconut Milk (1 can)
1 cup distilled water
3/4 Cup maple syrup
1/4 cup golden syrup
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt

1 cup hazelnuts
3/4 cup sugar

1 - Boil your cashews for 45 minutes.

2 - Meanwhile to make your croquant - melt your sugar in a thick bottomed saucepan and swirl, do not mix, until golden brown, then add your hazelnut and stir quickly before pouring onto a piece of greaseproof paper and let cool.

3 - Once your cashews have boiled, drain the water and add them to your blender. Now add your coconut milk, water, vanilla extract, maple syrup, golden syrup and salt. The blender will look like a delicious ombre bubble tea!

4 - Now blend until completely liquified. The finished product should coat the back of a spatula and hold a line if you run your finger down the middle.

5 - Follow your manufacturer's instructions to churn your ice-cream, first for 20-25 minutes.

6 - Meanwhile chop up your hazelnut croquant with your blender on the chop setting.

7 - Now add your chopped hazelnut croquant and continue churning for another 20-25 minutes.

8 - Move to an air-tight container and eat now, like a soft serve ice-cream or freeze overnight for well frozen traditional looking boules.