Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Serves: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsweetened dairy-free milk alternative - I've used rice milk, oat milk, soy milk, watered down coconut yoghurt, almond milk...
• ¼ cup oil - I use rice bran oil
• 1 egg (if I double the recipe and the eggs are small I'll use 3 instead of 2)
• Fruit (optional): about 1 cup of chopped stone fruit or berries
• Chocolate (optional): about 1/2-3/4 cup of chocolate chips or bits

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 200C and grease 12 muffin cups or line them with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
3. Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl or glass measuring cup, milk first, then add the oil and egg, and whisk to combine.
4. Pour the liquid mixture into the well of the dry mixture. Gently whisk or stir the ingredients together, just until moistened. Some small lumps are okay; you do not want to overmix.
5. Add
6. Divide the batter between your prepared muffin cups. They will be about ¾ full without any bulky add-ins (like fruit or chocolate chips).
7. Bake the muffins for 20 to 24 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
8. Let the muffins cool for a few minutes, and then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or freeze them to enjoy later.

Ingredients

• Potatoes (however many you have, peel off any green bits/chop off eyes/etc., I usually make these when I have random potatoes hanging around that need using up)
• Smoked paprika (about 1-2 tsp per tray of potatoes, or to taste)
• Garlic powder (about 1/2-1 tsp per tray of potatoes, or to taste)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Cornflour (about 3 Tbsp per tray of potatoes)
• Neutral oil (about 3 Tbsp per tray of potatoes)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180-200 C fan bake, depending on how hot your oven runs.
2. Chop the potatoes into thick chips, then lay out on a baking tray in one layer with no double ups to ensure they crisp up nicely.
3. Sprinkle over the cornflour, then spices, then oil, and toss with hands or spoons.
4. Spread the wedges out again into one layer.
5. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and toss before baking for another 10-30 minutes depending on the size of the wedges and heat of your oven. They're done when they're golden and crispy, a few might have a bit of bubbling on the top.

Ingredients

Herb roasted potatoes

• 600 g potatoes
• 1 tbsp Garlic infused oil (can sub plain)
• 2 Tbsp dried chopped chives
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½ tsp Dried oregano (optional or alternative to chives)
• ½ tsp Dried thyme (optional or alternative to chives)

Salad

• 2 cups lettuce, shredded (220 g)
• 1 cucumber, roughly 1 ½ cups/240 g

Dressing

• 3 tbsp Mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• ½ tsp pure maple syrup (to taste)
• Black pepper (to taste)

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC bake or 180ºC fan forced.
2. Prep the potatoes: Scrub the potato skins and slice the potato into small bite-sized pieces. Place in a bowl and drizzle over the garlic infused oil, sprinkle with thyme and oregano, then season with salt and pepper. Gently toss until the potato is evenly coated. Then place in a lined roasting pan.
3. Pop the potato in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are golden and crispy.
4. Cook the chicken nuggets or tenders according to packet instructions (I usually use my air fryer) or follow the instructions at the link to make your own.
5. Prep the salad: While the potato cooks, prep the remaining ingredients. Slice the iceberg lettuce and peel and chop the cucumber. Pop the lettuce and cucumber into a salad bowl.
6. Make the maple mustard dressing: Mix the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and maple syrup in a small bowl and season with black pepper.
7. Once the potato is cooked, remove from the oven. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
8. Assemble the salad: Add the potato and chicken to the salad bowl, toss gently to combine and drizzle in maple mustard dressing. Sprinkle with a little bit of chopped parsley if desired!

Ingredients

• Rice

Stirfry

• 450 g chicken thigh/breast, cut into bite size pieces
• Chopped veges to taste, e.g., capsicum, carrot, corn, broccoli
• 1 green onion, cut into 4 cm lengths (I frequently substitute onion/red onion/leek/whatever allium I have, but that definitely begins to lose the original intention of the dish)
• 1 cup Thai basil leaves, loosely packed (Holy Basil if you can find it or regular basil if neither are available)
• 4 garlic cloves, large, finely chopped
• 1 birds eye or Thai chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (or less to taste)
• 1 1/2 tbsp oil (peanut, vegetable or canola)

Sauce

• 3 tsp oyster sauce
• 1.5 tsp light soy sauce (don't sub dark soy sauce in here, it will be too intense)
• 1.5 tsp dark soy sauce (or all purpose/light if not available)
• 1.5 tsp sugar
• 3 tbsp water

Instructions

1. Put sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix to combine.
2. Heat oil in wok or pan over high heat.
3. Add garlic and chilli and cook for 10 seconds.
4. Add the white part of the green onions and chicken and fry for a couple of minutes until not quite cooked.
5. Add the veges and fry until lightly cooked and chicken is fully cooked.
6. Add sauce and cook for 1 minute until the water reduces to make a thick glossy sauce.
7. Toss through green part of green onions and basil leaves.
8. Stir until just wilted, then serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice.

Notes

I make this so often when I get a lot of beetroots from my vege delivery box. It's liberally adapted from this recipe. I double it for efficiency and because a double recipe fits perfectly in my large baking dish. The original recipe includes a chocolate ganache which I don't usually make.

Notes

Servings: 24
Prep Time: 20 minutes 
Cook Time: 35-50 minutes depending on pan size etc.

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups (230 g) plain flour (can use gluten-free)
• 1 cup (80 g) cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• a pinch of salt
• 1 cup (250 mL) rice bran oil (or other neutral oil)
• 1 cup (200 g) sugar (I prefer brown, YMMV)
• 5 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or a smaller amount of vanilla paste
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 400 g beetroot
• 200 g chocolate chips, buttons, or chopped chocolate (approximately, vary up or down depending on taste; this is quite a lot of chocolate) (here I use the best chocolate in the world, Whittakers 50% dark, but if you're a pleb from overseas... get whatever doesn't use slave labour or palm oil)

Instructions

• Prepare the beetroot. I generally chop into 2 cm cubes and then steam until soft. If I have too many beetroots and not enough time I will freeze the cubes and then steam straight from frozen. This can take up to an hour from frozen - I usually leave it going while I do other chores or work. 
• Preheat the oven to 180ºC (fan 160ºC). Prepare your tins - I line a large brownie pan for this recipe, which I doubled from the original, or two 12-hole muffin trays.
• In a bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Toss the chocolate chips/chunks through to coat with flour. This helps them not sink to the bottom while cooking, although this recipe can run on the lighter side and suffer from a bit of sinkage.
• To a food processor or blender add the olive oil, eggs, vanilla extract, cider vinegar, and the chopped beetroot (make sure the beetroot has cooled a bit and the eggs are added last to avoid cooking the eggs directly in the blender). Blend until smooth and creamy.
• Add the blended ingredients to the dry ingredients and give a good stir to just combine. Pour into the prepared cake tin/s and bake for 30-50 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean. (Alternatively, to make cupcakes spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tray and bake for 20-25 minutes.)
• The original recipe includes a chocolate ganache, which I don't usually make, but may be of interest if you don't use chocolate bits.
• This cake keeps well for several days, covered at room temperature, a bit longer in the fridge, or frozen indefinitely.

Ingredients

Brownie mix:

• 1 cup plus 1 tbsp (125g plus 1 tbsp) plain flour
• 1/2 cup minus 2 tsp (45g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice (I used 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp ginger and a sprinkle of cardamom)
• 1 cup minus 1 tbsp (185 g) sugar (I used white)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 70g pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) sunflower seed oil (I used rice bran oil)
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) nondairy milk (I used rice milk)

Pumpkin swirl:

• 150g pumpkin puree
• 3 tbsp thick, plain vegan soy yogurt (I used Greek-style coconut yoghurt instead; you could also use regular yoghurt if not vegan, I'm sure)
• 3 tbsp melted vegan butter or oil
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 20 x 20 cm baking pan with baking paper. Make sure you leave paper hanging over the sides of the pan to make it easier to lift out later.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and sugar.
3. Next, add the vanilla, pumpkin puree, sunflower seed oil, and milk. Thoroughly mix with an electric hand mixer (I just mixed well by hand, again, I hate cleaning beaters and blenders).
4. Pour the batter into the baking dish, reserving 5 tablespoons of batter in the mixing bowl. Smooth out the top of the batter in the baking dish and set aside.
5. In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the pumpkin swirl mix.
6. Spoon the pumpkin mixture over the top of the unbaked brownie batter in small dollops. Next, spoon the brownie batter that was set aside into the spaces between the pumpkin dollops.
7. Carefully drag a butter knife in a wavelike motion over the top to create a swirl pattern. Be sure not to swirl the mixtures together too much, as you still want to distinguish the separate layers.
8. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (I cooked it in a more loaf-shaped tin and needed around 50 mins. Let cool on the counter for at least 20 minutes, then transfer to the fridge to cool for an additional 2 hours. Enjoy!
9. Mina Rome suggests crushing vegan black and white sandwich cookies (such as Oreos) and sprinkling them along the edges of the brownies before baking to add an extra layer of sweetness! I didn't do this because I don't have too much of a sweet tooth.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups (320g) granulated sugar
• 1 ½ cups all purpose gluten-free flour blend (mine contained rice flour, starch from maize/tapioca, and xantham gum - if your mix doesn't contain xantham gum, I would recommend adding some of your own. Don't use a flour blend that contains chickpea or legume flour, the texture will be bad).
• ½ cup almond flour
• ¾ cup (65g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup almond milk (260g)
• ½ cup (110g) light olive oil (or other oil of your choice)
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¾ cup (150g) boiling water (for activating the cocoa)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Position the rack in center of oven. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until there are no visible clumps.
3. Add eggs, almond milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat with a mixer on medium speed for two minutes (I beat vigorously by hand until there were no visible lumps; this step also adds air to the mixture so don't underdo it).
4. Stir in boiling water (this apparently helps the cocoa bloom to a full chocolate-y taste).
5. Spoon batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for 35 to 38 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool on a rack.
7. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week.