Spiced Blueberry muffins

A simple twist on classic blueberry muffins. :)  Absolutely yummy with honey or jam.

Ingrediants:

Gluten-free flour, 2 cups
Soy Milk, 3 cups.
Egg replacer, 2 teaspoons
Bicerbonate of soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons
Sugar, 1 cup
Blueberries, 1 1/2 cups
Cinnamon, 1 1/2 teaspoons
Nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon
Ginger; minced, 1/2 teaspoon

Directions:

Pre-heat the over to 180 degrees. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and stir the egg replacer, sugar, bicarb and spices.  Mix in the soy milk thouroughly; an electric mixer may need to be used as gluten-free flour has a tendendcy to form lumps.  Gently stir in the blueberries,  with care as blueberies bruise easily.  Grease a muffin tray or two.  If you have muffin paper cups it is advisable to line the muffin tray with these as it makes it easier to remove the muffins from the tray.  Place the muffin mixture into the lined trays and pop into the oven. The Muffins will be ready when a poker through the center comes away clean.

Cafe Koba, Brighton UK

I have decided it's time to start sharing with people all the lovely experiences Brighton has to offer.  To begin, I thought I would start with Cafe Koba; a lovely place just of western road, city central.

Atmosphere

Cafe Koba had a earthy yet modern feel to it.  From till to kitchen the cafe is decorated in earth tones, wood work and tiles.  The building itself, like the majority of Brighton, is of 1800's design and as such certain feature have been kept.  I sat opposite a wall with original brick fire place.  The front of the fire place had been remove so the coal stains could clearly be seen up what was once the chimney.  Cafe Kobe is built across two separate buildings that have been merged in one establishment.  This gives the cafe a quirky nature and, if the map in the customer toilets is anything to judge by, means an interesting experience for concerned; whether trying to find your way back to cafe, bar or bistro.

Dining Experience

Good use has been made of faux-worn wooden furniture.  The tables, a little on the small side, are well organised to make the best use of the floor space while allowing easy passage for patrons and staff.  Seating was minimal, and could use seat cushions to make the chair backs more comfortable.  When we were seated, we were immediately served water.  All in all, it was a comfortable experience, ignoring the chairs.

Food and drinks

The menu was simple, yet contained a range of options to appease any appetite.  There were a range of options suitable for any diet - Vegan, vegetarian and allergen alike.  I was slightly surprise that this information wasn't on the menu as most places in Brighton mark the menus for food items that are Gluten free, Vegan or Vegetarian.  I found myself making educated guesses as to what was safe; fortunately the menu did include a list of ingredients for each option!  The food was delicious and excellently presented.  My vegetable soup came with a dollop of pesto in the centre and was presented on a lovely board with toasted sour-dough on the side (Which I couldn't resist nibbling on for the taste).  Serving portions were also decent for the price.  My pear and Walnut salad was so generously made, I struggled to finish it!

Accessibility

This is not the most accessible building, so it is fortune that the store front is ground level.  The rest of the building is riddled with stairs.  I was unable to see a lift at any point; although it is possible there is one in the other building.  I also did not a disabled toilet, although, as with the lift, there could be one in the other building.  Over-all, this is not the most wheel-chair friendly place.

Customer Service

The staff were all very friendly and polite.  It seemed like every time I looked around there was someone asking if we needed anything.  Everyone was neat and well presented; certainly an achievement when working with food.

Location

The cafe entrance comes right of Western road. This means it is very central and easy to find from Brighton Station.

Cafe Koba

135 Western Road

Brighton

United Kingdom

BN1 2LA

http://www.kobauk.com/

Another review can be found at The Graphic Foodie. http://thegraphicfoodie.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=koba

Toffee almond Muffins; Dairy, gluten, and egg free

These taste so nice with some margarine.  Making me hungry.

Ingredients:

Gluten-free flour, 2 cups
Soy Milk, 3 cups.
Egg replacer, 2 teaspoons
Sugar, 1/2 cup
Bicarbonate of soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons
Toffe syrup, 1 cup
Almond flakes, 1/2 cup

Directions:

Pre-heat the over to 180 degrees. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and stir the egg replacer, sugar, bicarb, and almod flakes.  Mix in 2 cups of soy milk thouroughly; an electric mixer may need to be used as gluten-free flour has a tendendcy to form lumps.  Swirl the toffee syrup through the mufin mix, don't allow it to mix in completely.  Grease a muffin tray or two.  If you have muffin paper cups it is advisable to line the muffin tray with these as it makes it easier to remove the muffins from the tray.  Place the muffin mixture into the lined trays and pop into the oven. The Muffins will be ready when a poker through the center comes away clean.

Little Error with the Muffin Recipes

I was playing with he setting on my blog when I realised I'm made a little mistake with my Muffin recipes.  I had forgotten to include bicarbonate in every recipe.  This is major gaff on my part as the recipes don't rise without it (however, they will taste the same).  I apologised for this.  I have gone back through all of my recipes and altered them to include a raising agent.

Again, Sorry about that. :)

Mud Muffin

Breakfast sized mud-cakes.  Who would resist these. :)

Ingredients:

Gluten-free flour, 2 cups
Soy Milk, 3 cups.
Egg replacer, 2 teaspoons
Bicarbonate of soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons
Sugar, 1 cup
Vegan Chocolate block; broken into chunks

Directions:

Pre-heat the over to 180 degrees. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and stir the egg replacer, sugar and bicarb.  Mix in 2 cups of soy milk thouroughly; an electric mixer may need to be used as gluten-free flour has a tendendcy to form lumps.  Half fill a pan with water and cover with a glass bowl.  Place the pan on the stove to boil and melt the chocolate chunks in the bowl.  As the chocolate melts mix in the remainder of the milk.  When the chocolate as completely mixed ith the milk remove the pan from the stove.  Allow the choclate to cool slightly and then mix it into the muffin batter.  Grease a muffin tray or two.  If you have muffin paper cups it is advisable to line the muffin tray with these as it makes it easier to remove the muffins from the tray.  Place the muffin mixture into the lined trays and pop into the oven. The Muffins will be ready when a poker through the center comes away clean.

The scary To-do lists

To-do lists are a very good way of keeping a record of everything that needs to be done in day. They keep you on target and in control.  I use them everyday. Of course, mine aren't always on paper.

The biggest problem with To-do list is that the list can become slightly formidable.  There's so much to do and so little time to actually do it.  There is a really quick way to combat this, I believe it was in my earlier post regarding organisation; be reasonable about what you put on your list.  If it is something that can't be reasonably achieve in that day, leave it off for another day.

This seems like a good alternative, doesn't it?  You would think so, but sometimes it's not an option.  There are things that must be done on that day that cannot wait.  My way of dealing with this is to get that damn pressing problem over with.  It's the only way.  Then you can go on with getting everything else done.  Simple enough, isn't it.  But it doesn't necessarily make the list seem less formidable.

The other option is to begin adding items to the list that you know you are going to be doing anyway - such as having a shower.  This will create the effect of having done more on the list then it actually seems like. Using this tactic will double the length of your list, but it will mean that the majority of the list will contain things you have already done. That makes the list look a whole lot less scary.

And final tip: Don't be afraid to take items off you list.  There are a lot of little jobs that it won't hurt to be left off for another day or another week.  This is my favourite way of beating the list.

Classic Choc-chip Muffins

Who doesn't love choc-chip Muffins in the morning? :)

Ingredients:

Gluten-free flour, 2 cups
Soy Milk, 3 cups.
Egg replacer, 2 teaspoons
Bicarbonate of soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons
Sugar, 1/2 cup
Chocolate chips, 1 cup

Directions:

Pre-heat the over to 180 degrees. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and stir the egg replacer, sugar, bicarb, and chocolate chips.  Mix the soy milk thouroughly, an electric mixer may need to be used as gluten-free flour has a tendendcy to form lumps.  Grease a muffin tray or two.  If you have muffin paper cups it is advisable to line the muffin tray with these as it makes it easier to remove the muffins from the tray.  Place the muffin mixture into the lined trays and pop into the oven. The Muffins will be ready when a poker through the center comes away clean.