Finally I am introducing the basic recipe for arepas on my blog! Arepas are a flatbread made from cornmeal. They are most popular in Colombia and Venezuela. As a German I have to say that these countries offer the same kind of varieties of arepas as breads are offered here. I already introduced arepas boyacenses, however, so far the basic recipe was missing. The reason being simple, I just felt I still didn’t know how to make perfect arepas even though it only consists of three ingredients, cornmeal, water, and salt. But now the waiting is finally over, below I am offering many tips. Hopefully they will make you confident enough so that your first arepas turn out great from the start. If making the very basic recipe, arepas are naturally gluten-free and vegan.
What did you say? Sourdough in brownies? Seriously??? Yes, this was my reaction as soon as I saw a recipe calling for sourdough in brownies on the Internet. Why do you need to add sourdough to brownies, that sounds so strange! I have been pondering that ever since and it is slowly making more sense. If you think about it, sourdough is basically fermented flour, which is much easier to digest than regular flour. IDuring Corona times it looks like everybody was making bread and I had heard of people lamenting the fact that they had to discard so much sourdough, so why not use instead? After a while I was sold and thought, if the sourdough is a little old and may smell just a little like alcohol, even better, I definitely wanted to give these brownies a try!
You don’t want to turn on the oven, but would like to impress your guests with a two, three, or even four-tier cake? If possible, it should be healthy and nice to look at? Look no further, you need to try this melon cake! Yes, this is basically serving fresh fruit, but not just a salad or simply on a plate, no, here you stack melon onto each other and produce a tiered cake! So here you have it, a tiered cake with no gluten, refined sugar, and completely vegan. This is something for health-conscious people. And it is nice to look at and definitely a show-stopper. No matter if you make this in a large size or as I did in a smaller version, I am sure that your guests are going to be impressed.
I don’t know about you, but suddenly I am forced to cook all the time. So the other day I made a chickpea curry which lasted a few days and was really delicious. It has taken me a while, but now I know that you shouldn’t throw away the chickpea water, this can be beaten into meringue. Truly delicious meringue. For me this still is such a surprise, every time I beat this weird liquid into meringue, it is like a true miracle. Called aquafaba, I have to say, I am excited each and every time. It truly tastes just the same as meringue made with egg whites. And since I am a huge fan of meringue, I wanted to make a vegan version of it. Hence these vegan meringue nests for Easter were born.
Guys, I find it amazing how easy it is to make this two-ingredient vegan pumpkin pasta! Seriously, even if you are not into making your own pasta, I can definitely recommend making this one. You don’t even need a pasta machine, the dough can be rolled out by hand with a rolling pin, cut it into long stripes, and voila, you’ve got yourself delicious tagliatelle! I tried both options, tagliatelle by hand and also using the pasta machine to make spaghetti, both work wonderfully. As stated, this is vegan pumpkin pasta as it only contains pumpkin puree and all-purpose flour as its two ingredients. I find that so awesome!
I have to admit, I am not that much into vegan cakes, but with this vegan chocolate raspberry cake I may be converted. I honestly can’t say whether I prefer this one to the non-vegan version. It all starts with a moist chocolate layer cake. I love the fact that you basically have to throw the ingredients together, whisk them and that’s about it. The raspberry filling is also the perfect companion for the chocolate. And don’t get me started on the frosting. It only contains two ingredients: chocolate and coconut cream, yum! And don’t worry, the coconut flavor is very subtle, I don’t really like coconut and I had a hard time tasting it, so I am sure you will be fine.
I already blogged about the Paraguayan version of cheese bread. But today I want to introduce you to Colombian cheese bread: pandebonos! Pandebonos are, as many Latin American recipes, gluten free as they are prepared with tapioca starch. Pandebonos take very little time to prepare and are easy to make with regular ingredients.
Have you every experienced this? You want to bake something you ate during your holiday, but then you can’t find the right ingredients. This is what happened to me when I tried to make achiras, this is a gluten free cheese snack from Colombia. My first problem was the cheese being used, it is called queso campesino and simply is not sold in Germany. Feta is probably the closest you will ever find, but it is firmer and much saltier. So I thought I couldn’t make achiras.
On top of that, Colombians use a special starch for achiras. It is extracted from the Sago palm. I was very certain that regular grocery stores in Germany wouldn’t offer Sago starch. At least this is what I thought.
Disclaimer: If you are a strict vegan, Oreos may have had milk cross-contact. In this instance, this recipe is not for you.
Today I am introducing a delicious and vegan Oreo layer cake because I feel like celebrating. You may wonder why? Well, today exactly one year ago I had a horrible bike accident including hemorrage. I am sure glad I didn’t google damages you may get from hemorrage, I would have cried my eyes out.
I am extremely grateful that I don’t have any permanent damages and I can live a normal life. That’s why I am in celebratory mood. Hence this delicious and vegan Oreo cake. I was so excited introducing this cake here. I am always happy when I see people sneaking back helping themselves to a second piece. I have never seen a layer cake disappear so quickly, let alone a vegan one. That tells you how good this vegan Oreo cake is.
Today I brought along some porridge, the best basic recipe, which is gluten free and can be made vegan. You may think that this is a simple recipe, but I let me tell you, I tried many versions before I was finally happy to post. You know, because I only want to post the best. But I think that’s the tricky party about basic recipes, for them to really be versatile, for them to work in many different kitchens, you need to have it bullet-proof.
I have come to enjoy porridge when I spent a gap year in Canada after highschool. Porridge was not really in fashion in Germany at that point, the literal German translation of porridge is oatmeal slime. Do I need to say anything else? Who calls food slime? Anyway, so I am delighted to say that fifthteen years later porridge has become much more popular again in Germany, probably also because it is a gluten free breakfast, which can be made vegan very easily and it is extremely healthy and keeps you going.
I love eating warm breakfast, I find it extremely satisfying. For that reason porridge is really meant for me. Overnight oats are not that bad either, but I will always go for porridge instead. I find it is the perfect way to start the day.