Vegan & Gluten Free Recipe - Chocolate Cherry Muffins

 

Ingredients (makes 12 medium sized muffins):

- Approximately 3 cups of gluten free self raising flour. We used the 'I'm Free From' brand from Coles. You may find you need a bit more or less depending on the kind of gluten free flour you use

- 1/2 cup of cocoa powder

- 1 cup of caster sugar

- 3/4 cup of vegan chocolate chips. We used the dark chocolate organic Noble Choice brand

- 1/2 cup of oil of your choice

- Approximately 1 to 1 1/2 cups of soy milk or other milk substitute. You may require more or less milk depending on the flour you are using. You don't want the batter too stiff and dry, but also not too wet as the chocolate chips and cherry pieces may sink to the bottom of the muffins

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

- 1 bag (200g) of roughly chopped glace cherries. Leave some as halves to place on the tops of the muffins

- The equivalent of 2 eggs made up with a vegan egg replacer. We used the 'Yes You Can' brand

Method:

- In one bowl, combine the flour, sugar and cocoa.  

- In a second bowl, mix the oil, milk, vanilla and egg.

- Combine the two bowls and mix. 

- Stir through the chopped cherries and half a cup of the chocolate chips, saving back some chocolate chips and halved cherries for the tops of the muffins.

- Prepare a muffin tin with paper cases. We sprayed our cases with oil to prevent sticking. Add the batter to the cases.

- Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on the tops of the muffins and add the halved cherries.

- Bake for approximately half an hour at 180C, testing with a skewer to ensure the centre is cooked.

 These are delicious eaten warm (either fresh or you can reheat in the microwave) on their own or as a special dessert with vegan whipped cream or icecream.

Vegan & Gluten Free Recipe - Banana and Cinnamon Cookies

This sweet recipe makes approximately twelve cookies. 

 Ingredients:

- 2 to 2 1/2 cups of gluten free plain flour. You may require more flour depending on your choice of flour. We used a product called 'I'm Free From' available at Coles Supermarkets, however there are many variations of gluten free flour on the market now

- 2 or 3 ripe, mashed bananas. We used 3 small bananas

- 1/2 cup of white sugar

- 1/4 cup of melted butter substitute of your choice

- The equivalent of one egg substituted with vegan egg replacer. We used 'Yes You Can' brand

- 1 teaspoon of baking soda

- 1/4 teaspoon of salt

- For rolling the cookies in - 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 cup granulated white sugar

- You can also add chopped nuts to these cookies if you wish

Method:

- Combine the flour, soda and salt in a bowl.

- In a second bowl, mix together the melted butter, egg replacer, banana and sugar.

- Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix well. 

- The mixture will be sticky but should be dry enough that you can gather a small amount in your hand and roll into a ball before dropping into the white sugar and cinnamon mix. Coat each cookie then place on a baking tray and press down with a fork. Note that these cookies will expand so allow some space between them on the tray.

- Bake the cookies at 180C for around 12-18 minutes. We cooked ours a little longer for a crisper result.

 

Baby Alf

 

Baby Alf arrived in early August after falling from the top of a tall palm tree. Sadly, he was unable to be reunited with his mother and was delivered to the Sanctuary weighing in at a tiny 162g. 

 

 

Alf was not a fan of milk formula during his first week in care, and every three hours needed a great deal of persuasion to drink.  A visit to see Dr Tim, our wildlife veterinarian, ruled out any health concerns and x-rays reassured us that Alf had no bone breaks despite his fall. 

 After three weeks, little Alf developed a hefty appetite, taking a whole 10ml of formula at each feed and enjoying rose petals and leaf tips. Alf is now over double his weight at admission and loves his milk and all types of native plant treats. 

Alf is becoming good at climbing and jumping, although his favourite place is his fleecy pouch, clinging to his teddy.  

Soon Alf will be graduating to a larger cage, in readiness for a transition to outdoor life. We hope Alf continues to do well and can rejoin his wild possum friends in the forest very soon!

 

 

Recipe: Orange & Almond Tray Cake

This orange cake is a delicious treat served for afternoon tea,  or as a dessert with dairy free icecream, cream or custard. It can be baked in a cake tin, or in a tray, as we have done here. 

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup of (soft) butter substitute

- 1/4 cup of soy milk, or any milk substitute you prefer

- 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice

- The equivalent of 2 eggs made with egg replacer

- 3/4 of a cup of caster sugar

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

- 1 1/2 cups of self raising flour. This recipe can be made gluten free however you may require extra flour to achieve the same consistency as gluten free flours can be lighter

- 1 tablespoon of orange zest, or the zest of one orange

- Slivered almonds to decorate

Method: 

- Using a mixer, cream the soft butter and sugar.

 - Add the egg substitute and vanilla and continue to beat.

- Add the orange juice and zest. Beat some more.

- Now add half of the flour and half of the milk and beat, then the remainder of the flour and milk and continue to beat the batter.

- Line your tray with baking paper and pour the batter in. Sprinkle the slivered almonds on top.

- Bake at 180 C for around 40 minutes and check with a skewer to ensure the cake is cooked through.

 

Recipe: Apple and Walnut Soft Cookies

 

This recipe makes a delicious soft cookie. You can also substitute ingredients if you prefer other flavours, such as pear, berries, sultanas or almonds.

Ingredients

- 3/4 of a cup of vegan butter substitute

- 1/2 cup of white sugar

- 1/2 cup of brown sugar (packed down)

- The equivalent of 2 eggs using an egg replacer

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla

- 2 cups of plain flour. This recipe can be made gluten free. You may find you need extra flour to achieve a cookie consistency as gluten free flour is often lighter than plain flour

- 1 teaspoon of soda

- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon of salt

- two small finely chopped granny smith apples

- walnuts - some chopped to stir through the cookie batter and some whole to decorate the tops of the cookies

Method:

- Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and two sugars.

- Add the egg replacer and vanilla.

- Mix through the baking powder, salt and soda.

- Now use a wooden spoon to stir through the flour. 

- Finally, stir through the chopped walnuts and apples.

- Line a tray with baking paper and place spoons of the batter on the lined tray. We made larger cookies by using two tablespoons of batter for each cookie.  Place a walnut half on the top of each cookie.

- Bake the cookies for 12 to 18 minutes at 180 to 200 degrees, depending on the heat of your oven and how dark you would like the cookies to be. 

- Note that you should check the cookies during baking and see if they have spread out on the tray.  If so, wait until they are around three quarters cooked and use two spoons to re-shape them into higher rounds to be more cookie shaped. Continue to bake them.

 

Bat Walk in the Valley

 

A big thank you to Kelly Sheldrick from the WA Bat Network for hosting an incredibly interesting and informative event at the Sanctuary on Sunday the 15th of September.

We were excited to identify four different bat species on our walk in the Valley’s forest using bat detectors, and learn so much about bat ecology and conservation.

 

 

 

 The bat species recorded in the Sanctuary forest were:

- white striped freetail bat (this is the one you can hear without a detector)

- southern forest bat

- Gould’s wattled bat

- a long eared bat species (it could be one of three species, but difficult to separate acoustically)

 

Be sure to head to the WA Bat Network Facebook page to learn about the importance of bats and what you can do to help our bat friends! 

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/2RzVSD5x25Dh869w/?mibextid=K35XfP

 

Winter in the Valley

The rains may have been late coming, but now winter is certainly here! 

Misty mornings, mossy logs, green paddocks and spectacular sunrises are just some of the winter highlights at the Sanctuary.

Gorgeous fungi can be spotted in the undergrowth...

...as can cute winter visitors.

 

 

It can be weather for ducks in the Valley!

 

 

 

 

 

   

The beauty of a sunny winter's day in the Valley.