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Or at least it was. Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty was perfect for our Christmas food. To start a Winter slaw.
Chopped caramelised macadamia nuts (with added chili flakes), crunchy cabbages, coriander, chili, mint, and sweet juicy mango. Used a simpler dressing, than that in the recipe, of a mix of soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, sesame oil and freshly squeezed lime juice. Delicious.
For a main, Brussels sprouts. After all, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas, without sprouts. Marinated tofu, peppers, spring onion, sprouts, in a sweet and spicy sauce.
Served with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and rice. A very tasty Christmas treat.
This is becoming a bread themed blog! This time I used this recipe from Doves Farm, though made the flour 50/50 white and wholemeal, and added seeds during kneading. This recipe takes a little longer, as you leave the dough to rise twice, but I think this helps make the bread much lighter.
To go with this fresh bread I made three salads.
Firstly a tricolore salad - containing plenty of tomatoes, basil and mozzarella, topped with olive oil and pepper.
I served this in an amazingly kitsch bowl, which I found dumped in a box outside our building - don't worry it has been well washed!
Secondly a garden salad, including some lightly blanched broccoli.
And finally a salad of butter beans, red pepper, red onion and spinach, with a tangy dressing made of olive oil, juice of one lemon and a teaspoon of chopped red chili.
Very tasty indeed!
Last night we checked out Heavenly, a new vegan cafe/bar opened in Glasgow city centre. On a beautiful summers evening to discover they have Samuel Smiths wheat beer on tap is just a dream! The food was delicious and service fantastic. To start we had some brilliantly beetroot soup & a roasted stuffed pepper. Very tasty & great presentation.
For our mains we had a very creamy butternut squash risotto and tofu and vegetable kebabs with rice.
The tofu was smoked and tasted great, and pleasing the mushroom count in the kebab was low. Feeling pretty full & satisfied we skipped on dessert, in favour of more booze. However, we will be back to check out those sweets soon!
It's autumn, it's a bit chilly, all the more reason to create a big casserole of veggies & lentils to warm the cockles of you heart.
In an ovenproof dish add lots of chopped onions, carrots, leeks, swede, cabbage, cauliflower, potatoes (and anything else you have to hand). In a colander rinse a handful or two of red lentils, and then add to the pot. Make up some vegetable stock (I used a trusty veggie oxo cube), and pour into dish until all the veggies are covered. Add some herbs (parsley & rosemary work well here) and season. Put in the oven (about 180 degrees Celsius) for a couple of hours. During this time relax & put your feet up. When everything is soft and the lentils cooked, it is ready to serve! I served this with some veggie sausages (thank you Linda McCartney!). Vary the veg, herbs and pulses as desired. If you have lots of liquid left after serving, use this as a flavoursome soup base the following day. Enjoy!
This week I have managed to chip a tooth and develop a sore throat. This makes chewing food is not so desirable at the moment! Feeling sorry for myself, I made soup, using the ultimate comfort food, Baked Beans!
Ingredients:
- A tin of baked beans
- One red onion chopped
- One carrot chopped
- Handful of pasta shapes
- Vegetable stock
- Salt & pepper to taste
- A little oil
- A generous squirt of tomato ketchup
In a large saucepan, lightly fry the onion, once soft add the vegetable stock. To this add the tin of beans, chopped carrot, tomato ketchup, pasta shapes & seasoning. Cover and leave to simmer. When the pasta is soft, it is ready to serve. Simples. Due to my sore throat I served this with super squidgy soft white bread (another guilty pleasure!).
The ultimate in cold weather comfort food has to be bubble & squeak. A perfect frugal meal; recycling left over cooked greens into a tasty dish. Traditionally in the UK, bubble & squeak is reserved for Monday nights only (after the obligatory Sunday dinner). However, in a veggie household, any day can be a bubble & squeak day! Bizarrely a dish that is forever associated with day old leftovers, is also available to buy in ready-meal form in supermarkets!!!The basis for bubble & squeak is cooked potatoes and greens. For some reason (probably psychological) it tastes much nicer if they have been cooked the day previously! This version contained potato, brussels sprouts and cabbage. Roughly mash together with a little margarine.
Then, in a large pan, lightly fry the mixture. You may, if you are really, really lucky, hear it 'squeak' over the heat (hence the name!). Ensure the mixture is heated through & serve.
I am particularly fond of bubble & squeak with vegetarian sausages and lashings of brown sauce. Or if I am feeling adventurous, a generous helping of piccalilli.
Great, easy cooking for chilly evenings!
Mark Twain described a cauliflower as 'nothing but a cabbage with a college education'. I wonder what cauliflowers study? Cauliflowers are currently being sold at a bargain price of 39p each here! A credit-crunch vegetable if ever there was one. One idea to use up the big stock of cauliflowers was to roast them, with a little green pepper and tomato. Chili flakes & curry powder for bite. Put in the oven for about 20 mins, and om nom nom... a lovely veggie side dish. 
In these chilly months there is nothing more comforting than the taste of freshly baked bread to dip in piping hot soup. Luckily for me, Tapa is just round the corner, providing a delicious array of breads. Perfect for dipping into a spicy cauliflower soup.Ingredients:- 1 onion chopped
- 1 head of cauliflower chopped
- 1 carrot chopped
- 1-2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
- 1 teaspoon of curry powder
- 2 teaspoons harrisa paste
- a generous squeeze of tomato ketchup
- 2 pints of veg stock
- a little oil for frying
Gently fry the onion with the spices, then add the cauliflower and carrot.
Once the onions are soft, the all the veggies are coated with spices, add the stock. At this point add the tomato ketchup & harrisa paste too. Cover and simmer until the cauliflower and carrots are soft. Leave to cool for a little while.
Once cool, blend until smooth. I like a super thick blended soup, but add more stock if the consistency is too thick for you. Reheat & then serve with bread.
Finally, ever wondered what to do with the remaining cauliflower leaves & heart? Donate to a hungry guinea pig called Godber, he will be very happy!
After spending the majority of the day hungover and zombie-like, a spicy tasty noodle broth is needed to perk me up and make me feel alive again!
Ingredients:- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped in to small pieces
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 1 onion, chopped
- handful of beansprouts
- fresh coriander
- 1 teaspoon of coriander seeds, ground in a pestle and mortar
- 1 garlic clove - crushed
- Approx 2cm grated fresh ginger
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 10 spring onions chopped (scallions / salad onions - whatever you call them)
- 1 chili chopped finely
- Creamed coconut (I used a 50g sachet)
- Noodles (I used a super cheap 15p packet from the supermarket)
- 1 stick of lemongrass
- Juice of 1 lime
- Oil
- Black pepper
In a large saucepan heat oil, gently fry the chopped onion, chili, garlic, ginger, lemongrass and ground coriander.
Make up 2 litres of vegetable stock (I just use one stock cube, so the stock flavour doesn't overpower) and add this to the onions once soft. Also add the carrots, sweet potatoes and creamed coconut, cover and leave to simmer.
Once the veggies are almost soft, add the noodles, beansprouts, lime juice and almost all the spring onions and fresh coriander. You may need to add a little bit more stock here.
After a few minutes the noodles should be soft, season with black pepper. Serve with the remaining spring onion and coriander sprinkled on top.
Relax & enjoy the goodness... and as if by magic my hangover is cured!
Dear blog,
I have neglected you for too long. Please accept my apologies by sharing my delicious dinner with me :)
This is a tasty meal that will use up those root veggies that are harboring at the back of the fridge (and vegan friendly).
Firstly chop 2 red onions into quite large chunks, add to a pan with hot oil, on a low-to-medium heat. Add a tablespoon of cumin seeds, teaspoon of curry powder and half a teaspoon each of turmeric and chilli powder. Add one clove of crushed garlic, one finely chopped green chilli and about 1cm of grated fresh ginger. Allow the onions to soften.
Once the onions have started to soften add one chopped parsnip & two chopped carrots. Stir and leave for a few minutes. Then add half a can of chickpeas and a couple of handfuls of spinach (roughly chopped). Give it all a big stir then add about 2 cups of water (till everything is almost covered) and a squeeze of tomato puree.
Stir once more, cover and leave on a low heat for about half an hour. During this time have a nice potter about, read a magazine, check your emails, generally just dilly-dally (though at some point remember to put some rice on!). When you return to the pan the water should have mostly disappeared & your veggies soft.
Serve with boiled rice, some yogurt (just in case your chillis are fiery) and a chapati or two. 
Simple, tasty soup (and suitable for vegans too!). Ingredients:
- 1 onion, chopped
- about 5 celery sticks, chopped
- about 600g sweet potato, peeled & chopped
- 1.5 litres of veg stock (I used an oxo cube)
- black pepper
- a little veg oil
In a large saucepan add the onions & celery to the oil, soften gently. Then add the sweet potato and black pepper.
Add the stock, cover & simmer for about half an hour. The sweet potato should now be lovely and soft. Blend the soup, personally I like this soup to be super smooth, but if you prefer you could just blend half the soup. Put the soup back on the heat & ensure it is warmed through, then serve with crusty bread. 
Chopped caramelised macadamia nuts (with added chili flakes), crunchy cabbages, coriander, chili, mint, and sweet juicy mango. Used a simpler dressing, than that in the recipe, of a mix of soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, sesame oil and freshly squeezed lime juice. Delicious.
For a main, Brussels sprouts. After all, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas, without sprouts. Marinated tofu, peppers, spring onion, sprouts, in a sweet and spicy sauce.
Served with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and rice. A very tasty Christmas treat.
