CREAMY WINTER CAULIFLOWER, PARSNIP AND GARLIC SOUP (V+, GF, GrF, ChF, NF, P)
CREAMY WINTER CAULIFLOWER, PARSNIP AND GARLIC SOUP (V+, GF, GrF, ChF, NF, P)
I love January! Sure it's cold and dark and I'm always short of cash, but there is something so fresh and promising about having the whole year ahead of me; it's what makes me January's biggest fan. You see, I feel the beginning of the year gives us a chance to reinvent ourselves, to dream of all the things that weren't possible the previous year and to make them happen this year. With that sense of hope in mind, I've been thinking loads about the direction of the blog for 2016. What do I want this space to be and how can I make it better still? That's not to say that I haven't been incredibly pleased and proud of what I've achieved in the last 12 months. I SO have, but I know that I haven't reached my destination yet and that I am STILL moving towards my own creative peek. So what does this mean for the blog in 2016 and what can you expect to find here over the coming year?
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RAW VEGAN TENDERSTEM® PESTO (V+, R, GF, GrF, ChF, NF, P)
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a safe and fun journey into 2016. May your new year be filled with joy, happiness and great health!
I don't know about you, but I sure feel ready to get back onto the healthy bandwagon with this delicious raw vegan Tenderstem Pesto, as Christmas was a feast of utter indulgence *ooops*. That's why I love the fact that the start of a new year and the opportunity to renew my commitments to healthy eating come so close after Christmas. I think that's because the universe knows a thing or two about perfect timing :).
As I was putting my blog schedule together for 2016 I was certain that I really wanted to start the year with a raw and savoury blog post (anyone else had enough of baking?). So when I was asked to do a sponsored blog post for a raw recipe including Tenderstem®, I jumped at the chance. Now, before I delve into the recipe, I wanted to say something about doing sponsored posts, as well as about Tenderstem® itself. I hope that's ok.
In terms of sponsored blog posts - over the past 12 months I have been approached a few times by companies asking me to do sponsored posts or review their products; those of you who visit the blog regularly will know that I have never accepted any of these offers. That's because none of the companies that contacted me were selling products that I would ever eat, would consider healthy or could wholeheartedly recommend to you. So please rest assured that if ever I write a sponsored blog post or review something, it is because I genuinely enjoy the items featured and think you will too. I have no plans of making sponsored blog posts a habit, but when I do one I'll be totally open and upfront about it. Sound cool?
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NOURISHING WINTER RAINBOW SALAD (V+, P, R, GRF, GF, NF)
Perhaps, on the surface of it, nothing much has changed in 2015. This is still a plant-based blog (for today's raw Nourishing Winter Rainbow Salad, please skip to the end of the post), I am still living in London and I am still very much studying nutrition (counting the days though, getting so near now to the end!). But once you take a closer look it soon becomes evident - I feel - that this blog as well as I have gone through a major transformation.
I mean, let's start with the biggest change of all – I quit my job and have now spent the last month (YIKES) at home, focusing on the things I realised mattered so much that it became impossible to keep neglecting them for the sake of following the wrong career path. Though I still wake up some days rather perplexed by the fact that I don't need to rush to the office, I am happy to report that resigning from my job was very, very clearly the right decision for me and my family.
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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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