Roquette Science: Vegan Sweet Potato Burritos with Cashew Cheese

Ingredients

CHILLI

2 tablespoons of coconut oil

2 small brown onions, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, diced

2-3 fresh chillies, to taste

1 sweet potato

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

a dash of cinnamon

a pinch of salt

1 teaspoon of vegetable stock powder

1 tin of tomatoes

1/2 cup of boiling water

1 tin of kidney beans

6 tortillas (I used store-bought but you can make your own very easily)

4 tablespoons of almond milk

CASHEW CHEESE

2 small cloves of garlic

1 cup of raw cashews

1 yellow capsicum, chopped

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 cup of nutritional yeast

a pinch of salt

1 tablespoon of maple syrup

1/4 of a red onion, coriander, lemon juice and an avocado to serve

You will need one large pot, a food processor, a large baking pan and a pastry brush.

METHOD 

In a large pot, heat coconut oil and add onions and sauté on a medium heat until transparent, then add diced garlic, salt, cinnamon and chillies to taste. 

Cut the sweet potato into 2 inch cubes and add to the pot. Pour the boiling water over the vegetables and add your stock powder, stirring. 

Preheat oven at 150 degrees celsius.

Add the tinned tomatoes, strained kidney beans and tomato paste, stir and cover with lid. Let simmer for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until sweet potato is soft. 

While the chilli bubbles away, combine all of the ingredients for the cashew cheese in a food processor until smooth. Pour into a container and place it in the fridge to let the flavours infuse.

Fill tortillas with the chilli and leave open, placing them on the large baking tray. There should be room for about 6. Spoon the cashew cheese onto the chilli and spread it evenly over the top. Use your pastry brush to "seal" the burritos, folding one side over, brushing with almond milk, folding the other side and then brushing the top as well. This will help your tortillas to brown nicely in the oven. Put the snugly nestled parcels in the preheated oven for approximately 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. 

While they are cooking, make a simple guacamole with diced red onion, avocado, coriander and a squeeze of a lemon to serve.

Like most foods, these are best enjoyed drenched in hot sauce!

Roquette Science: Vegan Sunshine Chocolate Cake

About 6 months ago, Steve and I decided that we would take the plunge and go completely vegan. I have been vegetarian for 12 years and Steve 6, so it seemed like the natural thing to do. I did a lot of research, read a lot of recipes and found out what we would need to stock our pantry with and we just stopped eating eggs and dairy. 

I love baking and I have always thought vegan baking was pretty cool so that's one of the things that excited me about going vegan. I have decided to sporadically put some vegan recipes up on the blog whenever I get the time to photograph them and when it is an especially interesting version of something. I have also decided to call this section of my blog 'Roquette Science'. Keep an eye out for a new button on the sidebar sometime this week.

Vegan Sunshine Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup soy milk

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 cup flour

3/4 cup of dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon bicarb powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 heaped tablespoons of raw cacao

a dash of salt

1 cup of nut meal (any kind should be fine, I used hazlenut)

a dash of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

1/4 cup of coconut oil

100 grams of good quality dark chocolate

grated zest of a large orange 

1 1/2 cups of water

1 cup of caster sugar

I orange, sliced thinly into rounds

1 tablespoon each of raw cacao and coconut oil

You will need a 9" cake tin

Method:

Preheat oven to 150 degrees celsius, grease and line cake tin and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy milk and the vinegar. Set aside for ten minutes. 

In a larger bowl, sift together the flour, bicarb and baking powder, cacao, salt, cinnamon and then add the nut meal and combine. 

Melt the oil and chocolate together and whisk quickly into the bowl with the milk and vinegar. Then add vanilla essence and orange zest. 

Combine wet and dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix. Pour the cake batter into the tin and chuck in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour or until a skewer inserted comes out mostly clean (it's okay to leave it a bit fudgy in the middle).

While the cake bakes, bring the water and sugar mixture to a boil in a large pot. Place the orange slices in so they are evenly covered and simmer on a medium heat for about 30 minutes or until the rinds are translucent, turn them every 10 minutes or so. Cover the pot and let simmer on low for 15 - 20 minutes and then remove the slices and place them on some baking paper. Pour the remaining syrup into a bowl and set aside. 

When the syrup has cooled a little, stir in a tablespoon each of oil and cacao and let it cool further.

After the cake has cooled and been taken out of the tin, place it on a plate and pour the syrup over it. Then arrange the candied orange slices on top and Voila! You have a beautiful cruelty free cake that looks impressive too!