Cheese and Mustard Pretzels with Cider Dip

After seeing the soft pretzel recipe on Flourtraders blog, I was struck down with food envy. It reminded me of having massive cheese pretzels in America and I suddenly had a craving for them. Carrying on my love of mustard, I couldn't resist the addition to the savory pretzel and thought it would be perfect with cheese as well. I also really wanted to somehow get cider in there, but decided it might end in disaster so came up with the cheese and cider dip. This was one of those recipes where you just add some ingredients that you think might work and hope for the best, luckily they came out soft, doughy and tasty! 

Cheesy pretzel with cider dip 

For 8 pretzels:

Yeast

450g plain white flour

150g wholemeal flour

100g butter

150g grated cheese

2 tbsp mustard

A cup of water

100 sugar

1 tsp sugar

1tsp salt

beaten egg

extra grated cheese for topping

For cheese and cider dip:

100ml vegetarian dry cider 

100g cheddar cheese

1 tbsp flour

Pretzel dough awaiting the oven (and cheese)

1. Start by combining the yeast with a tsp of sugar and 3 tbsp of warm water and leaving for ten minutes.
2. Cream together the butter, mustard and cheese.
3. Mix the flours, sugar, salt, and butter mixture together with your finger tips to make bread crumbs.
4. Make a well and pout the yeast mixture in, then mix together. Keep adding small amounts of water and mixing until it forms a firm dough.
5. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, then put in an oiled bowl covered in cling film to rise in a warm place for an hour.
6. When risen, chop into 8 equal pieces and roll in to very long thin pieces.
7. Fold them into a pretzel shapes, brush with egg, top with cheese and bake in the oven at 200 degrees for 15 minutes.
8. Make up the dip by boiling the cider for 3 minutes, then mixing in the cheese and flour until it forms a smooth dip.
9. Serve the pretzels straight from the oven with the warm dip.

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Leek and Mustard Toad in the Hole

The first meal my boyfriend and I ever cooked together was toad in the hole (aww) and it's been our go to meal ever since. This time I thought I'd try something a bit different and as I am a full on mustard addict, I had to fit in in somewhere. So I ended up with this, the leeks and mustard go really well together and bring something a bit more exciting to the good old toad in the hole.

For 4 you'll need:
Olive oil
8 vegetarian sausages (I use cauldron)
2 leeks chopped
1 egg
100g flour
250ml milk
2 tsp whole grain mustard
Some veg to serve (and mash if you can handle it)

Like so...

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Get a large dish (big enough for 8 sausages) or a few small ones and pour enough olive oil in to cover the bottom, then scatter the chopped leeks over. 
2. Pop the sausages on top and roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
3. While they're roasting, make the batter by mixing the flour, egg, milk and mustard together in a large bowl.
4. After 20 minutes, pour the batter around the sausages and return to the oven.
5. Cook for 40 minutes, until lovely and crisp on top. 
6. Serve with vegetables of your choice and enjoy! 

I Shouldn't be allowed to serve food, it ends up looking like this.

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The Ultimate S'more

I love a good BBQ (weather permitting) but there's been something missing recently. The toasted marshmallows. Fire somehow makes them about 100% better, the crisp caramelised shell containing a hot gooey mess. Delicious! 

When I brought a pack of sweet vegan marshmallows, they only had to fulfill one criteria, to toast well. So what better recipe to try it out with than the s'more! I've had them on my brain ever since the marshmallows came through the post and so I finally put them to the test. My verdict? Perfect, they crisped up so well on the outside and brought back lovely BBQ memories.

What you need:
Cookies - you can make these with the cookie dough recipe here (just leave out the oreo unless you want a really indulgent s'more!) or buy them if you're feeling lazy!
4 vegetarian marshmallows
4 chunks of your favourite chocolate
Maybe some strawberries if you feel like adding a tiny health factor (I didn't)

1. Place your one of your cookies so the top is facing down.
2. Toast your marshmallows on the BBQ, a gas ring on a cooker or campfire and place them on top of your cookie.
3. Fill the gaps with chocolate chunks (and strawberries if you want) then sandwich with another cookie.
4. Pop in the microwave for 10 seconds to melt the chocolate a bit.
5. Fatty on down

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Pad Thai Noodles

I said in the tofu thai green curry post that you may have some paste left over, well this is the perfect recipe to use it with (especially if you also have tofu left over). I first found it in Cook Vegetarian magazine, and luckily it's now been posted online. It is definitely my favourite recipe of theirs, it's so easy to make and full of flavour. It was also the first recipe I made with tofu that actually worked, so it holds a special place in my heart. So here it is, I promise it is the best stir fry you will ever try!

P.s I did take a picture of my pad thai noodles, but it pales in comparison to Cook Vegetarian's so I couldn't bare to put it on!

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