Versatile passion fruit protein cream {vegan + gluten-free}

Greetings one and all! The hiatus is somewhat over at last! 😀 I’ve missed baking, blogging, and bugging all of you on Instagram and beyond, so I’ve decided the time is nigh to set aside procrastination and other foul things to bring you an easy but versatile recipe. Let me say this, naming is not easy. It was initially a spread, then a drizzle, then a mush… needless to say, not at all tempting. The thing is, depending on how much soy milk you add, it could be any one of those things. Ah well, tuff life choices when you can smear something with kick and creaminess on top of toast or swirl it into homemade nice-cream :p In this post I’m highlighting three ways in which I’ve used the protein cream to give you ideas, not that you aren’t ridiculously creative all by yourselves 🙂

Passion fruit curd {vegan + gluten-free}

It’s Friday, thank goodness! I figure I should celebrate that fact with as much glee as I can muster, which is surprisingly quite a lot, thanks to this curd. Curd for breakfast, lunch and pudding! 😀

Shepherd’s pie quesadilla {vegan + gluten-free}

Phew! When is it holiday?? These days every moment, even those in which I am supposedly bored, are basically booked or planned for. I’m not exhausted per se, just rather grumpy. Anyway, all that being said I did some meal prep on Sunday which helped with stress relief and I felt much better, not to mention the house was nicely stocked again for a week’s worth of munching. This is more of an idea that a straight-up recipe, because the ingredients are plain and simple but the result tasty and filling!And once again remember to download the free Chocolate Cleanse Riot ebook! (I promise it’s a celebration of chocolate and not at all a traditional “cleanse” :p)

Vegan pecan paté and jam sandwiches on cauliflower oat bread {gluten-free}

I’ll explain the madness behind this combination below, but trust me – it’s bladdy tasty! Man-thing really enjoyed it – he even ate 90% of my little oat loaves in one day, the rascal, despite knowing his dreaded nemesis (cauliflower) is the main ingredient. MUAHAHA!

Handheld carrot “hot dogs” {vegan + gluten-free}

Since I’ve been designated a no-wheat, gluten-free zone by the ER doctor, I’m suddenly in a panic about all the things I’ll have to rethink. We stopped last Monday at the shops after hearing the gory news and tried to find GF bread. Nope. No luck. I’m not a bread monster, but of course that’s now all my brain thinks about. And hot dogs, of all things. So this is my delicious compromise, and I can tell you I had a lot more fun with this version than I ever would with a “real” hot dog. Yum!

Chocolate hummus, roasted beet chips + crackers

It hasn’t escaped my notice that V-day is fast approaching and the blogosphere is practically squealing in delight for an excuse to break out the chocolate powder, sugar and smooches. Man-thing and I don’t celebrate it because he’s not into it and we both think it’s a waste of money, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate all the food porn. Sometimes, though, I like to mix in some savoury with my sweet to make it a little less cloying or nap-inducing. Hummus is always a firm favourite in our little kingdom, so I figured a chocolate-y version to keep around to dip stuff in (seductively or not) would be rather spiffy.

WIAW + BBQ mocha fig sauce with baked sweet potatoes

Ok, so it’s no big secret that our garden turned out to be the most amazing thing ever and that we were gifted with a tree full of figs. A lot of people piped up and suggested jam, which of course is a delectable suggestion, were it not for the fact that I’ve made balsamic fig jam before and wanted to try something different and more savoury. Enter the best sauce I’ve ever made! Oh, and WIAW!

Before we get ahead of ourselves, however, remember that the international NuNaturals competition ends on Friday 16 January at 06H00 GMT +2, so be sure to enter – it’s super easy and there are 4 winners!

Blog anniversary + stewed fruit custard cake

Marfigs’ Munchies turns 2! 😀 In the midst of so much chaos (see below) I figure it’s important to take stock of what makes you happy and gets you through difficult times, and this blog is certainly my form of therapy. I’m so exited to still be blogging and amazed by food, because my personality type is usually YAY-then-yawn in a rather short period of time. I started the blog as a way to stop bugging my Facebook friends with food (though admittedly it’s gotten worse for them!), so I could never have guessed I’d end up still eagerly blogging on and learning so much about food, nutrition, and general well-being in the process.

Thanks to everyone who puts up with my exclamation marks, my silly ideas, and my wonky photography – you guys are great!

Salted caramel + berry carrot cake

The other day my family came over for a visit and we got gifted with some delicious and amazing treats from their jealousy-inducing garden: carrots and green peppers. We also got catnip seeds to plant in the garden, though I can’t imagine what hell will break loose with the neighbourhood meows if we let that stuff grow.

Anyway, carrots! I adore them with a passion, so I simply had to whip together this super easy and immensely decadent cake. I’m also short on time so this cake is the perfect treat to serve up if you’re dashing about, as is most likely the case for everyone this time of year!

Stuffed vegan “tuna” cabbage bake with mushroom gravy

Today is a super lazy day which started off with a very high-paced visit to the vet for three of our foster kittens. We’ve got them in a separate room, but we’re advertising their siblings from this week on and will keep the three munchkins until they’re feeling better. With all that up and down I wasn’t in the mood for anything complicated today, so I made the laziest but most delicious Sunday supper.Of course, you have to be the kind of person that sees cabbage as comfort food, as I do, but even if you don’t I’m sure this could convince anyone so silly otherwise! 😀