VEGAN MALAWI COFFEE ICE CREAM WITH SALTED CARAMEL SWIRL (V+, CHF, GF, GRF, P)
To me a food blog is not 'just' a place to gather pretty and delicious content, such as this amazing vegan Malawi coffee ice cream with salted caramel swirl recipe. Sure it helps and it's important but I think a food blog can be sooo much more than that. For example it can be a place from which we send out positive energy into the world, a place from which we initiates change, spark an exciting idea, celebrate creativity or ignite a sense of compassion. Big stuff, right?
So with that in mind, I thought the month of December during which we aim to spread love and joy, would be the perfect time to host a virtual blog party entitiled #loveMALAWIcoffee. I am well aware that a virtual blog party might sound like a random event completely unrelated to the message normally associated with December. But rest assured there is a connection...
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ROASTED RED KURI SQUASH WITH SUMAC, POMEGRANATES AND GREENS (V+, GF, GR, V, P, NF)
#prayforhumanity
Hi everyone! If you're here for the yummy, autumnal and fresh vegan Roasted Red Kuri Squash with Sumac, Pomegranates and Greens recipe, please scroll down to the end of the blog post. You'll find the scrumptious vegan recipe there. If you're happy to read my musings on the state of the world and being thankful, please read on and get to the recipe later.
On September 11th, 2001 I was at my parents' house in Madrid, returning home for a brief stay whilst in my final year at university. We were in the living room watching some television when the news broke that something odd had happened in New York. We switched to a news channel and watched reporters frantically try and make sense of what was going on when suddeny, in front of my eyes, the second tower was hit by a plane. I remember feeling sick to my stomach and watching my dad move across the room in total disbelief. We'd never seen anything like it before.
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MINI VEGAN PUMPKIN AND ORANGE LAYER CAKE WITH RAW ALMOND FROSTING (V+, CHF, GF, R)
'' In the last few months I feel I have been peeling away layers, layers of who I think I was or wasn't, layers of (limiting) believes and convictions. I didn't know much about myself apparently. Maybe I still don't. The process felt and still feels so hard. And, that outer shell was so cozy, so protective. But inside I hope to discover a soft core, full of life and beauty.'' - quote slightly adapted from Silvia Bifaro
Hi everyone! If you're here for the seasonal, delicious and big on flavour mini vegan pumpkin and orange layer cake with raw almond frosting recipe, please scroll down to the end of the blog post. You'll find the yummy recipe there. If you're happy to read my musings on leaving my job to fully devote myself to The Little Plantation, please read on and get to the recipe later.
I quit my job. And though I felt relieved and elated when I handed in my notice, I also felt terribly sad. That surprised me.
I kept trying to figure out why I had felt a little upset that day and why I still continue to feel sad in the run up to my last day in the office (which is this Thursday BTW). I mean I hadn't been enjoying my work for a long time anymore therefore, surely, I should feel nothing other than joy, right?
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VEGAN FIG AND KALE PESTO PIZZA! AND THOUGHTS ON FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY 3 (V+, CHF)
Hi everyone! If you're here for the yummy, creative and fun vegan Fig and Kale Pesto Pizza recipe, please scroll down to the end of the blog post. You'll find the delicious recipe there. If you're happy to read me going on about my food photography journey, please read on and get to the recipe later.
As those of you who have been reading the blog over the past few months know, I have been eager to make food blogging, recipe development, food writing and all that goes with it more than just a hobby. In order to achieve that I have spent the last few weeks trying to formulate what exactly it is I want to do and how I can ultimately fulfill my dream. To help me find my way I did a blogger collaboration with Ceri from Natural Kitchen Adventures a few weeks ago (I shall touch on that again at the end of today's blog post) and I also attended the food blogger connect conference. Both experiences were immensely useful in assisting me to thrush out my path in the food blogging world. But, I knew that something was still missing and that I had to add another little piece to the puzzle to make it complete.
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APPLE AND TOMATO CHUTNEY (V+, CHF, GF, GRF, NF)
It feels as though so much has happened in the last two weeks and I am bursting to tell you all about it, even before I share this delicious vegan apple and tomato chutney recipe! Can I start off by sharing a little bit about my experience at Food Blogger Connect 2015 (FBC15)? If you've been following along, you'll know that I've wanted to become much more serious about my food blogging, writing, photography and recipe development. So as part of that 'want', I did a collaboration with Ceri about two weeks ago to broaden my food blogging horizons. I also attended FBC15 at Chiswick House and Gardens in order to get as many tips as I could on making my blog bigger and better.
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WARM JAPANESE BLACK NOODLE SALAD (V+, GF, CHF, NF)
Hi everyone! If you're here for the delicious, easy and fun Warm Japanese Black Noodle Salad recipe, please scroll down to the end of the blog post. You'll find the yummy vegan recipe there. If you're happy to read me going on about the food photography workshop I attended with Ceri, please read on and get to the recipe later.
If you've been following along on instagram, you know that I got REALLY lucky a few weeks ago cuz I got to share my kitchen with the sweet and super talented chef Ceri from Natural Kitchen Adventures. Not only has Ceri rubbed shoulders with Jamie Oliver (as you do!) and run a successful blog for more than 4 years, she also has a very non-dogmatic approach to healthy eating which resonated with me from the moment I stumbled across her blog.
Oddly enough, I first got to 'know' Ceri through instagram but only actually met her face-to-face in May of this year. How did it all come about? Well, Ceri mentioned in her ig feed that she was attending a food photography workshop just as I was at a point on my food blogging journey where I desperately needed some guidace and direction. Hence I gladly tagged along to the workshop and not only did I learn loads, I also got to meet Ceri in real life, which was a lovely added bonus.
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RAW VEGAN COOKIE DOUGH + BERRY BARS (V+, CHF, GF, P, R, GRF)
Warning: This is yet another long post about food blogging. (Sorry I know I sound like a broken record). If foodie talk is not what you came for, just scroll down to the end of this blog post and you'll find the recipe for easy and delicious Raw Vegan Cookie Dough + Berry Bars. No offence taken.
Gosh so what am I on about this time? Well, to answer that question I need to take you back a few weeks to late June . It was the My New Roots Cookbook Supper Club, which I attended with two friends, one of whom knows me really well. Seeing this was a supper club hosted by gorgeous plant-based blogger Sarah Britton, it was impossible to escape food blogging talk. So when I was asked about my blog I mentioned nonchalantly that it was a lovely, pleasant hobby of mine, but certainly nothing else. My friend interrupted, looked me straight in the eye and said: 'But Kimberly, The Little Plantation means soooo much more to you than that.'
What? What was she talking about? I just shrugged it off at the time and thought nothing more of it.
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VEGAN CEVICHE (V+, R, GF, GRF, NF, P)
Hi everyone! If you are here for the raw, easy and fresh vegan Ceviche recipe, please scroll down to the end of the blog post. You'll find the yummy recipe there. If you're happy to read me rambling on about coming home from my summer holiday, please read on and get to the recipe later.
After 6 long weeks 'on the road' and a rather bumpy, arduous and exhausting 20-odd hour trip door-to-door, we're home. Though it hasn't quite sunken in yet, I must confess. You see, I still keep getting confused about what time of the day it is and what day of the week it is. I am getting all muddled language-wise and speaking more Spanglish than ever. And when I wake up in the morning it takes me a second or two to remember where on earth I actually am.
But that will all pass, I know, as will this mix of emotions I am currently experiencing (saying goodbye is horrible, but coming home is the most amazing feeling ever). Well, it's got to pass presto because I'm going back to work tomorrow and the little one is returning to school on Wednesday :(. So I just have to get on with it, right?!
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SIMPLE VEGAN BLACKBERRY CRUMBLE (V+, V, GF, CHF, NF)
WARNING: This is a long post mainly about food blogging, food styling and food photography whilst abroad. If that's not what you came for, feel free to scroll down to the fresh, yummy and sunny vegan blackberry crumble recipe. I won't be offended ;).
As those of you who read the blog regularly know, I'm on a 6-week adventure this summer. My first stop gap was the beautiful island of Curaçao where I stayed for a week. Thereafter, my son and I continued our journey and headed to our second destination for the summer: Ecuador. Our first week was spend in Quito, the capital city where we stayed with numerous relatives and friends. It was a joy seeing my son run riot with his cousins, but I was starting to miss my time in the kitchen and the creative process of blogging.
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