GOJI BERRY COCONUT CAKE

It’s during long dark weeks like this that your mind suddenly decides to sack reality off and bolts out to places where you can wear clogs every day without socks and you can cycle around without hitting cars nor having to go to work and where people first allow each other to hug and be hugged and then months after that they meet.

It is very unfortunate however that we also have a body (no matter how full of mucus and disgusting it may be) and you will find that they are incredibly more difficult to reposition than minds. In fact, my one is stuck in a very cold windy environment and it’s not coping well (see under mucus and disgustingness), plus it really doesn’t help that Pret’s gingerbread men there are not vegan and can’t be shared.

Thankfully, in this very same environment you can find goji berries and coconut and vegan cake, and a combination of the above makes it so worth it to tell your thoughts and dreams to resign. It worked a treat for me (ha), you let me know.

SEEDY FRUITY FLAPJACKS

On Sunday I made muffins to take to work because I’m nice, but as I’m also forgetful I left them at home. Therefore yesterday I made flapjacks to take to work because I’m nice, and wasn’t on this occasion forgetful. Here they are in all their seedy fruity golden-syrupy goodness for all you nice people out there (and not-so-nice, I’m not here to judge). Gluten-free and everything, and so so easy to make.

APRICOT & GOJI BERRY PUFFED RICE BARS

These could be considered a fancy version of kitchen-sink bars. After a disastrous attempt at making vegan white chocolate cookies with a veeery watery fake white chocolate bar the other night, I ran out of flour, oil and pretty much everything you need to bake something edible. However, upon inspecting the kitchen cupboard looking for treats yesterday evening after work (I did find treats by the way. And consequently ate the treats. A lot of them. BAD), I also discovered a sad-looking pack of puffed rice lying there at the back, together with two little bags of equally sad-looking dried apricots. I also had a pack of goji berries, and I actually had been looking for some nice recipe to use them in. Add an opened jar of peanut butter and ta-daah. Mission accomplished. No more abandoned puffed rice. No more forgotten dried apricots. This has cleared some space in my cupboard (and officially allows me to refill it asap), and after throwing everything in a pan (everything but the kitchen sink, as they say), has brought to life some lovely, quite healthy puffed rice bars, which are also vegan and gluten free. I can’t really complain, can I! Should you want to experiment with these bars yourselves, feel free to throw in whatever you have in your cupboard (yeh ok, within reason): dried fruit/nuts of any kind all work a treat (!) here.