Left over tortilla tortilla chips

I don't know if you are like me but a pack of 8 tortillas is always too much for me so I usually end up freezing the odd one here and there. Today when searching through the freezer I found two in there and thought I could put them to good use before they became freezer brunt. What better use for tortillas than tortilla chips! So simple and so easy. 

Ingredients 

Tortillas
oil (for two tortillas I used 4 tablespoons - just make sure it is enough to coat the chips)
salt
pepper
chilli powder

Method

1. Pre heat the oven to 180c (fan) and place into the oven whilst it is heating up your frozen tortillas (if frozen, if they are not, simply pre heat the oven and move on). 

2. Whilst the oven is heating up, in a large mixing bowl the oil, salt, pepper and chilli powder (the seasoning can be done to whatever taste you want it to be). 

3. Take the now deforested tortillas out of the oven (they will only take about 2 - 3 minutes to defrost) and cut the tortillas into triangles. I tend to get approximately 8 triangles from each tortilla.

4. Take your tortilla triangles and mix them in the bowl. I do this by simply swirling and tossing them in the bowl (less messy than getting your hands in the oil).

5. Once the tortilla triangles are covered, place them onto a baking tray and cook. Make sure you watch them whilst they are cooking as they can quickly catch and become burnt. They will only take about 7 to 10 minutes to dry out and be ready but make sure you take them out every couple of minutes to move them around and turn them over to make sure they all cook evenly.

Plant based foods do not have feelings.

I am usually so good at staying off my vegan high horse and letting people get on with whatever they want in life. Most of my friends are meat eater so I am used to peoples ignorance when it comes to being vegan and not eating meat etc but on Friday radio 1 mentioned people who think food such as crisps and sausage have feelings and how some people will throw another crisp on the floor if they drop one so the one they dropped isn't lonely. Madness in my mind. 

Plants do not have feelings. They have no nervous system and therefore cannot feel pain or any other emotion. That crisp is simply a cooked potato. It will not get lonely on the floor but that steak you eat was once a cow who had a mum and wanted to live but you see no problem eating that. I really do not understand peoples logic on the matter. If you really cared about the 'feelings' of food, then maybe you would not be eating animal products. 

If you want to eat meat for whatever your reason is that is fine, it is everyones choice but do not go around making stupid comments about plant based foods having feels and worrying about them being lonely etc. What a joke. You don't really care it is all rubbish. 

Rant over. 

Home Made Pizza Dough

Who doesn't love pizza and who doesn't love making food. Pizza dough is so simple to make and very impressive! 

Ingredients 

2 cups of strong white bread flour

1/4 of a cup of wholemeal bread flour

Pinch of salt

3/4 of a cup of warm water

1 packet of dry yeast 

Method

1. Mix warm water and dry yeast and set aside for 10 minutes 

2. In a food mixture combined flour, salt and yeast water

3. Mix for 5 minutes and set aside in a cling filmed bowl (this can be left to one side for between 1 hour to 4 hours)

4. Take the dough mixture out of the bowl and kneed on a floured worktop

5. Place back into bowl and set aside for 20 minutes

6. Roll out the dough and shape into a pizza shape

Any topping can be added to this pizza and then simply pop in the oven at 180c (fan) for 15 to 18 minutes. 

Vegan Doughnuts

Ingredients 

1 cup of self raising flour
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of soy milk
1 Flax egg (1 tablespoon of flax seeds + 3 tablespoons of water)
1/4 cup of vegan margarine
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Method

1. Pre heat the oven to 150c (fan)

2. In a large mixing bowl add flour, sugar and salt.

3. In a small saucepan heat milk, margarine and vanilla. Heat until margarine is melted.

4. Add to the dry ingredients the flax egg and then the wet ingredients

5. Spoon mixture into doughnut tray

6. Bake in the oven for approximately 12 minutes. The doughnuts will not turn brown.

This mixture will make approximately 10/12 doughnuts.

Once the doughnuts are cooled, they can be topped with whatever you fancy. I used a dark chocolate icing and a vanilla icing.

Vegan Scaremongering

This is one topic I am very passionate about. Vegans have a very bad name for themselves. We are crazy outsiders who have wild outlandish views and shove those views down peoples throats. 

For most of us that isn't true. We are just regular people trying to lead a less damaging and more healthy lifestyle. 

There are a few Vegan out there who for whatever reason feel they are above everyone else, I like to call these people the Vegan police. You know what I am talking about, the people that comment on someone's photo on Instagram calling them a fake vegan or just hating on them for their simple and easy mistakes. 

Being vegan isn't about who can do it the best or be the purest. It is a community who should support anyone who wants to give it a go even if they only go vegan once a week or live the most Vegan lifestyle ever. 

A woman at work today asked me about being Vegan etc and said she had been put off doing it in case she did it wrong! How crazy is that. She was already a veggie but didn't want to make the leap for fear of being judged if she did it 'wrong' whatever that is. 

Being Vegan comes with guidelines but no set in stone rules. People should not be feeling like they cannot join the group because we will judge them when we find out they are not using Vegan shampoo because they cannot afford it! That is madness. 

We all know the harsh reality is that we will never be able to get everyone in the world to go Vegan but by making it such a selective group only open to the Vegan police we are stopping people from doing their bit to help even if it is simply meatless Mondays or going veggie. 

As a community it is our responsibility to welcome and help as many people as we can and not let newbies feel like they are outsiders or as if we will judge them for whatever aspects of being Vegan they try and take up. 

I don't want to be pigeon holed into a freak who hates people who don't follow the unspoken rules.

Fuck all of that. I am Vegan but I also make my own rules to go along with that and screw anyone who tried to tell me that I am not doing it right or what I do doesn't make me a Vegan. 

Rant over!

Almond Vanilla Granola

Yet another one of my favourites for breakfast. 

Ingredients 

3 cups of rolled oats

1/4 cup of chopped pecans

1/4 cup of dried cranberries

1/4 cup of flaked coconut 

1/4 cup of flaked almonds 

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

pinch of sea salt

1 tablespoon of agave 

1/4 cup of oil 

1/4 cup of water

Method 

1. Pre heat the oven to 150c (fan)

2. In a large mixing bowl combined oats, pecans, cranberries, coconut and almonds

3. In a small saucepan, mix and heat brown sugar, vanilla, salt, agave, oil and water. Bring this to a gentle simmer until all of the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, pour the liquid into the dry ingredients. 

4. Combined the wet and dry mixtures well and spoon out onto 2 lined baking trays. 

5. Cook in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until golden brown and dry

6. Leave to cool and then store in an airtight container for approximately 3 weeks. 

This recipe will make approximately 10 to 12 servings