Getting adventurous in the kitchen!

 I got adventurous in the kitchen again today, inspired by the many vegetarian/vegan blogs that I read. Alternative pancake recipe are huge in this particular blogging sector, and also in the fitness world (PROTEIN PANCAKES), but I've never had the guts to go there. Sorry, but I love my breakfast too much (smoothie or porridge) to experiment with it . Most nights I soak my breakfast oats and seeds so that they are easier to cook, and are apparently healthier this way. That's 30g of oats, 10g of golden flaxseeds, 10g of sunflower seeds. So I had a cup of soaked  and seeds and the moment took me to be experimental (the passing of my poorliness, perhaps), and I ended up with my own invented recipe of wheat-free, dairy-free, egg-free pancakes:

• I drained off the excess soaking water
• Mashed in half a small banana and added some vanilla extract and cinnamon
• Fried them one by one (I made 3, each smaller than the next :-P) them in a hot pan spray in olive spray.
• Topped with some berries, and served with a portion of yoghurt (Ok, not dairy-free) and fresh fruit.

...trying to disguise how they gradually got smaller and smaller ;-)

This success gave me the confidence I needed to try Lucy's 'Surprisingly Rich Double Chocolate Brownies', which is the main thing I wanted to share today. They are double chocolate. They are goo-ey. They are perhaps my greatest ever baking success (OK, it wouldn't take much to beat some of my past disasters...). And you would never ever guess that they were free from butter and eggs. The secret ingredient? Tofu. Take a look and see if they wouldn't fool you!

I can't take credit for how these turned out. I followed Lucy's instructions to the letter (with the exception of subbing almond milk for oat milk, and coconut oil for sunflower oil).

I can't even find the words to describe them. I'm just going to go off and pine for them since I baked them and left them behind at James' house :-(

I guess I wanted to share with you how I have learned today not to be afraid of getting experimental or deviating from your usual cooking methods. I don't want to walk before I can run, but I would like to challenge myself to try something new in the kitchen every week. Feel free to join me on this, and share your success!

Hope your weekend was a a good one,

Hannah xx