Pan fried tofu and veg stir fry

When I order tofu in restaurants, it's so great. But when I cook it myself, it seems to end up a funny texture. All this changed with this amazing tofu and veggie stir fry recipe!

I was looking for a way to get super crispy tofu, and came across this guide. If you don't have cornflour to coat the tofu, you can just use plain flour.

Pan fried tofu and veg stir fry - inspired by Budget Bytes

Cooking with seitan: vegetable stew

Both Bella and I have wanted to try seitan for a long time (so many yummy sounding recipes for vegan fried chicken, hello!), and I surprisingly stumbled across it in a health food shop in Falmouth.

Today I decided to take the satanic plunge and made a veggie stew with it! As always, chuck any veggies you have into it. This evening's wildcard was a lone aubergine found in the cupboard.

Seitan vegetable stew - an Alice recipe

Super fruity banana bread

It's officially getting colder, darker and wetter, and I for one am feeling the autumnal blues. What better way to remedy this than by cooking (and eating) a massive loaf of banana bread? This recipe includes lots of yummy cherries, raisins and walnuts too, so it feels even healthier.

My recipe book says you should serve it buttered, but I find that idea a bit weird. Personally I enjoy a big slab of it with a cup of tea.

Super fruity banana bread - recipe from Katie Stewart's Times Cookery Book

Cherry and olive oil clafoutis

I must confess that I had no idea what a clafoutis was until my mum thrust this recipe in my hand. It's basically a pancake mixture poured on top of cherries, and was quite tasty when served with custard.

The recipe was part of a series of ideas for things to make on holiday, so doesn't require any particularly fancy ingredients. Why not give it a try and imagine you're still away in the sun?

Cherry and olive oil clafoutis - recipe from The Guardian

Dark chocolate fridge cake

Ok so, this is another of those recipes that doesn't look great in photos... but I promise it tastes amazing! It's also customizable to what you like/what you have in the cupboards. AND you don't even have to bake it! It's not even baking, its basically just assembly!

The only part of this recipe that actually looks nice in photos

 Dark chocolate fridge cake

Makes one small tray

Ingredients:
200g dark chocolate
Around 10 digestive biscuits
1 tbsp sweetener (I used agave, you can use maple syrup, honey, golden syrup etc.)
75g butter
Dried fruit of choice (I used a sour cherry baking mix)
Nuts of choice (I used pecans)

Method:

1. Line a tray with baking paper or cling film. Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt in a glass bowl over a saucepan of boiling water, or in the microwave. Add the butter and sweetener.

2. Once just melted and smooth, take straight off the heat and crumble in the biscuits. I like to leave bigger and smaller pieces for texture.

3. Add your fruit/nuts/any other bits and pieces.

4. Spoon into the lined dish and smooth flat. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

And you're done! Next time I think I'd make double as this didn't last long...

Bella

Easy lunches: Swedish 'quornballs' and veg

I was looking for a new lunch idea so bought these Quorn Swedish Style Meatballs when they were on offer.

This recipe is really just a case of throwing any veg into a pan and making a tomato sauce, and I found it very successful!

Date crunchie

Pretty much ever since I've known Bella, I feel like I've told her about this amazing creation. Despite this she's never actually tried it, so I decided to make it again this weekend.

It's basically a flapjack with dates in the middle, it's simple yet delicious. Serve it warm with custard for a filling dessert, or have cold with a cup of tea. The possibilities are endless!

This is an old family recipe so I've converted the measurements from ounces.

Date crunchie

Raspberry and almond muffins

Can't believe I'm actually posting a baking recipe that doesn't include chocolate... who am I?! (Though I can definitely find a way to incorporate chocolate into these!)

Raspberry and almond muffins

Bastille Day lunch: Onion soup, baked salmon and dauphinoise potatoes, tarte tatin

Joyeux 14 juillet (en peu en retard...) ! As I was spending my first Bastille Day away from France in three years, I decided to pay hommage to my second home by preparing a three course meal.

This meal can be made easier by preparing both the soup and tart the night before. It was a bit tricky to ensure everything was hot at the right times but hey, it's a learning curve.

Delia Smith was my saviour, providing all recipes I used. On the menu was:

Soupe à l'oignon gratinée (onion soup)

Saumon au four & gratin dauphinois (baked salmon and dauphinoise potatoes)

Tarte tatin (apple tart)

Chilli con quorn

This is another go-to recipe I used to make all the time at uni. If you don't fancy quorn mince, try adding a tin or two of lentils instead.

It's a great dish to make in large quantities and bring to work or school.

Chilli con quorn - recipe adapted from BBC

All-the-veg mac and cheese

This was my staple dish at uni, I like to think it's healthy because there are lots of vegetables in it but it's also covered in cheese, so win-win!

With regards to the vegetables, it's really up to you. The challenge is to get as much veg as possible in it. If you add enough frozen spinach to the cheese sauce it turns green which looks pretty funky.

Unlike my previous recipe, this one requires 3 pans and results in a lot of washing up, but it's worth it.

All-the-veg mac and cheese (adapted from a well-loved student cookbook I had at uni)

Thai prawn & asparagus pilaf

Guess who's back, back again... I come bearing excitingly flavoured gifts. I noticed this recipe while in Waitrose but substituted a few ingredients because a) my mum doesn't love super spicy food and b) we didn't have them all. I present to you thai prawn & asparagus pilaf!

A bit like a spicy risotto, this dish is great cause it only uses one pan. I am definitely going to turn this into one of my go-to recipes, it's relatively quick and easy and tastes great.

Thai prawn & asparagus pilaf

Spicy cauliflower tacos

I never used to like cauliflower, however I've recently been finding myself eating more of it, and I feel like it doesn't deserve its bad reputation.

This is a healthy and vegetarian (can be vegan if you don't add cheese) alternative to chicken or beef wraps. I don't know if these count as tacos or fajitas (please can someone explain the difference!) but they're pretty great!

Frozen chocolate banana bites

I've been pretty busy over the past few weeks with trips to Bristol and Devon so there hasn't been much time for cooking... added to long days at work involving a lot of writing, sometimes the last thing I want to do is come home and write more! Anyway, I missed blogging and I'm back with the laziest "recipe" EVER.

This is not the neatest or most photogenic recipe but its quick and relatively healthy. I have a constant struggle with being addicted to chocolate and ice cream but wanting to be healthy, so I think this recipe is strikes a sort of balance.

Frozen chocolate banana bites:

When life gives you lemons... make lemon drizzle cake

If a bank holiday weekend doesn't give you enough of an excuse to bake, then when does? I was inspired to make a lemon drizzle cake after discovering 5 lonely lemons in the fridge. Perfect with a cup of tea, this is so ridiculously easy to make!

Brownies part 2 - Cheesecake brownies

To celebrate the return of our friend Martha (and also our return to this blog) we made these cheesecake brownies together. The cheesecake mixture was a bit watery so we couldn't expertly layer it, but overall they tasted good and went down a treat.

Chocolate avocado cookies

I could make you guess the secret ingredient... but I already wrote it in the title.

After a short absence (mainly due to me being busy/lazy in the evenings and weekends after writing all day, every day at work), I am back with another of my "pretend they're healthy because they have 1 healthy ingredient and that obviously cancels out all the unhealthy stuff" recipes.

Despite the sugar and chocolate in these, I guess they could be classed as relatively healthy as they contain an actual fruit(?) and no butter! As with many other bakes which involve a fruit or vegetable in an attempt to add some extra vitamins, this actually has the added benefit of making them super moist and soft.

The search for the best ever brownies - do they exist? Can we bake them? Part 1

I'm entitling this post 'Part 1' because I am 99% sure that Bella and I will return to brownies at some point on this blog. They are a food close to our hearts. I've made a lot of brownies in my time, while I was at uni I had a habit of vastly under cooking them so they tasted slightly eggy and frightened my housemate, but now I'm trying to be a more mature baker.

This is a foolproof recipe from our good friends at the BBC.

This was taken at work, nice change of scene for you.

Coffee and walnut cake

With the days feeling blissfully longer, I suddenly felt like I needed a hit of coffee and sugar so I baked this cake one evening after work. I apologise in advance for the poor selection of pictures, this was a quick bake, but I trust your baking prowess now. Once again, it's super easy and produces great results, hats off to the BBC.

Potentially not its best angle.

Quinoa pesto salad

Continuing with this weeks salad theme, here is my go-to packed lunch salad. This is really customisable with whatever veggies or ingredients you have in the fridge. If I have feta, olives, sun dried tomatoes or artichokes, they take it to the next level. Peppers and courgettes are the vegetables I usually use, as they're what we usually have. Spinach works particularly well also, and you can make other additions after its cooked such as tomatoes, avocado or sweetcorn. Basically, just chuck in whatever you have.

I was making this at around 9pm on a Sunday night, so please excuse the awful photographs. It tastes way nicer than my photos would lead you to believe.

It looks much better in real life, I swear!

Farro, kale and goats' cheese salad

This was a bit of a leap of faith for me, recipe-wise. My parents have a Waitrose calendar hanging in their bedroom and the photograph for April was of this salad. None of us knew what farro dicocco was (it turns out to be an Italian spelt readily available in Waitrose and I presume most supermarkets), but this was such a success! It was really delicious and there's even enough left over for my lunch tomorrow.

Bon appétit ! Restaurant findings from my trip to Paris

I had the chance to get back to Paris last week and it was generally pretty fantastique. The premise of the trip was officially business (I attended a trade fair) but I then had three full days to profit from the city that I called home for three years.

I spent 75% of my time eating and drinking and the remainder walking along familiar streets and loving the sunny weekend. Seeing as I haven't had the time to bake for myself this week, I thought I'd write a little bit about what I enjoyed eating in la ville lumière. With a few exceptions, these are mainly old favourites from my uni days.

Sushiken
12 rue Ernest Renan, 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

If you happen to find yourself on the outskirts of the 15th arrondissement with a craving for sushi, I'd definitely recommend you come here. Sushiken prides itself on offering an authentic Japanese experience. I somewhat blindly ordered a tasting menu where the chef decided what fish I'd be trying.

As you can see above, the plate was certainly aesthetically pleasing. The sushi tasted great and was one of the best eating experiences I've had for a long time, but there was slightly too much wasabi for my taste.

Price: 14 sushi, salad, miso soup and beer came to 25€.

Double chocolate coffee cookies

This is a recipe I adapted from a basic cookie recipe. I wanted these to be the type of cookies that are super soft and melty. The coffee flavour is subtle and enhances the richness of the chocolate but not overpowering, so I think people who aren't coffee fans would still enjoy these.

Healthy orange drizzle bars

I came across this super simple recipe when browsing blogs to find something relatively healthy to bake. Usually when trying new recipes with ingredients I don't usually use they never come out as good as I was hoping, so I was really surprised at how well this recipe turned out. The ground almonds give the cake a great texture, and the chia seeds provide a bit more added nutrition (though if they're not something you usually have in the house I'm sure you could leave them out).

Mexican Monday: Vegetarian burritos

To mix up our weekly pub trips, Bella and I decided to make some veggie burritos last week. They are really easy to make and tasted great, if not that spicy... Have a go and let us know what you think!

Ingredients for 4 burritos:

Quorn mince (we used most of a small packet, so approx 200g)
400g kidney beans
Mushrooms
Guacamole
Salad
BBQ sauce
Cheese
250g rice
Your choice of spices - paprika, herbes de provence, chilli

The quantities are pretty much up to you, we had a LOT of cheese but maybe you'd prefer less. 

Chocolate chip banana bread

This is another of my go-to recipes. I made this a couple of weeks ago when we had a sprinkling of snow outside, and a couple of overly squishy bananas which needed using up.

Cheese and parsley scones

Having spent years preferring sweet to savoury, recently both Bella and I have developed stronger cravings for the latter. As a result I made these delicious cheese scones. They are probably not the best if you're trying to be healthy because they contain approximately a block of cheese, but they are really good.

Pro tip: use the strongest cheddar cheese you can afford, it makes the taste so much better.

Cheese and parsley scones - adapted from The Guardian

Sweet potato veggie sausage rolls

Part 2 of the veggie sausage roll-off. This is a recipe I created myself as it's so difficult to find a good veggie sausage roll recipe. It's mostly simple ingredients and you don't have to make any pastry. I make these every Christmas for when family come round, however they work well all year round and are really good for packed lunches.

Veggie sausage and apple rolls

For some people it's bacon or roast chicken, but for me one of the few things that I really miss from my meat eating days is sausage rolls. I first made these in December and they were so successful that my family asked me to make another batch.

They are simple to make, if a little frustrating at points (but that might be my fault because I am quite impatient).

Valentine's jam tarts

Whether or not you're sharing this Valentine's day with a significant other, there's always time to enjoy a good bake. I like the slightly tragic aspect of the finished product, I think it reflects the pressure and ultimate failure to conform on this commercial 'holiday' (is it even a holiday? I still had to go to work today.)

This is a foolproof family recipe, originally in ounces so have provided rough conversions too!

Bella's first bake: Chocolate chip oat cookies

This is one of my favourite go-to recipes, as you can probably tell from the grimy state of the recipe page.

I love these because you can basically pretend they are healthy as they have oats in. I often eat them for breakfast which is definitely not healthy but I just tell myself they're basically porridge, right?

Alice's first bake: Tea soaked fruit cake

After three years living in Paris, I thought it would only be fitting to attempt a French-themed bake for my first post on this blog. Unfortunately this plan altered when my mother thrust a National Trust recipe into my hand this morning. Oh well, I thought, France can wait another week. After all, we'll always have Paris. 


I present to you a 'tea soaked fruit cake' (for original recipe click here). Before baking, I was under the impression that any cake could become a tea cake when accompanied with said beverage, but it appears I was mistaken.

Ingredients. You can just spot the tea bags infusing the fruit.

Who are we anyway?

Welcome to Bake Swap, where we're going to be sharing new recipes we try and old favourites we swear by, every week. Before we start posting, it would probably make sense to introduce ourselves. Here we go...

Alice

I'm on the right.

I grew up in Kent, temporarily moved to Paris for three years to study French at university, and then ended up back in the UK last September. While in France I endured one year living in a flat without an oven or microwave, so my hob skills are on point.

Currently working as a journalist for an electronics magazine, I enjoy many forms of escapism including gigs, reading and alcohol. You can see some of my favourite artists on our Spotify playlist here.

Bella

Pretending to be busy in the kitchen.

Mainly trying to avoid becoming an adult after graduating in Events Management, when I'm not baking I'll be (attempting) yoga, listening to crime podcasts, drinking gin and tonics, and eating pizza.

After being vegetarian for nearly 10 years, I've finally managed to get Alice to swap the medium-rare steaks for veggie burgers.

We hope you find our baking adventures mildly interesting, feel free to comment any suggestions you have!

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