Banana Cake

I LOVE this banana cake! It was the second recipe I made after becoming vegan and over the years it has remained one of my top favourite recipes. Even without having tried other similar recipes, I can rightfully claim this is the best! Until now I haven't been able to find a topping that would complement this cake without overpowering its perfect blend of flavours.

Besan Dosa

Dosa is an Indian savoury crêpe made with fermented rice and black lentil (urad dal) batter and cooked only on one side until crispy. Besan dosa (also known as besan cheela or besan puda) is made with gram flour (chickpea flour), cooked on both sides and are easier to prepare as they don't require fermentation. They are traditionally served for breakfast with a variety of chutneys or as accompaniment to stews or gravies.

Veggie Burgers

Potato-based veggie burgers are absolutely delicious. I like them mildly spicy and double coated with golden breadcrumbs for extra crispness. I'm going to share with you two versions. The first one has two main ingredients and doesn't require much preparation, the second one is made with more veggies and takes a little longer to prepare.

Portobello Mushroom Burgers with Avocado

Portobellos (also spelt Portabellas) are fully grown crimini mushrooms. They are an excellent choice for veggie burgers, not only due to their meaty taste and texture, but also due to their health benefits. Of course, heat affects their nutritional value, but I know that many people eat them raw, marinated, and enjoy their full benefits. On a side note, some types of mushrooms are toxic for pets.

Portobellos are a low calorie food, packed with vitamins and minerals, with no cholesterol and very low levels of fat and sodium, making them a great addition to any weight loss diet, although mushroom consumption should be moderate. They are an excellent source of B vitamins (notably B2, B3 and B5), phosphorus, potassium, copper, selenium, and provide a good amount of folate, iron, magnesium, zinc and manganese, along with protein and fiber.

Whole Wheat Burger Buns

A couple of days ago I was in the mood for vegan burgers. With all the unhealthy, unnecessary extra ingredients in most breads on the market I decided to make whole-wheat buns from scratch. I found this great recipe on RecipeSource that was extremely easy to veganize, so I tried it. The buns were absolutely delicious, very light, fluffy and with a slightly nutty flavour from the whole-wheat flour. The best thing about the recipe is that it does not require to let the dough rise for a long time.

Apple Bread Pudding

Bread pudding is a rather unusual dish in my country and it's only during the past few years that it gained popularity. I learnt about it when I moved to the UK and after making it the first time it became a favourite treat in my family. I greatly enjoyed that simple bread and butter crunch with a thick layer of custard underneath and topped with raisins and almonds. I was using eggs and dairy at that time and it took me a while to make a vegan version.

Black and White Bean Fudge (soy-free, fat-free, gluten-free)

I got the idea of making a black and white fudge when someone asked me how she could make the Cheesecake Brownie soy-free. There's really nothing to it, with the help of a blender or food processor this dessert is ready in no time. It's very flavourful, not too dense and it's best eaten chilled. For the dark fudge I followed the Black Bean Brownie recipe and added melted chocolate for a deeper flavour (it came out darker than in the pictures). For the white one I doubled the amount of oats and added white chocolate and orange zest for extra flavour.

Mango Bread

The recipe for this luscious, moist mango bread comes from one of my favourite vegan food blogs - Holy Cow!. I found it shortly after going vegan and it became a great source of inspiration. Vaishali, the blog's author, takes us on a fascinating culinary journey around the world, featuring mainly traditional recipes from various regions in India. But she offers a lot more than just delicious vegan recipes, and that includes valuable information for new vegans, nutrition, animal rights, travel, traditions, book reviews, exciting giveaways and roundups.

Gözleme with cheese and sausage

Gözleme is a traditional savoury Turkish pastry with various fillings, mostly including cheese. The name is given by the brown spots that form during cooking and resemble eyes (göz = eye). Authentic gözleme is made from handmade unleavened dough that is rolled out into a thin sheet, filled and folded either in half or as an envelope and grilled until golden and spotted.

Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese used to be one of my favourite comfort foods a few years ago. One small box with all the ingredients inside and just a few minutes to prepare saved me many times. But I never got myself to make it from scratch, until yesterday. A couple of days ago I accidentally came across Kait's recipe for Baked Vegan Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese. It would never have crossed my mind to use butternut squash as the base for this dish and the thought of it was very intriguing. I had this squash in the pantry for a couple of weeks and didn't know what to make with it. The whole idea sounded perfect for a New Year's Eve dinner.