Quinoa with Summer Roasted Vegetables and Harissa Marinade and a Giveaway

I thought quinoa was going to be the grain that finally defeated me.  I have tried to cook with it several times and never managed to get rid of the soapy taste.  When I saw this recipe in "At home in the wholefood kitchen- celebrating the art of eating well" I thought I'd give it another chance and I'm so glad that I did as this recipe for Quinoa with Summer Roasted Vegetables and Harissa Marinade was packed with flavours and none of them were soap!


The Blurb
With her love of whole food and expertise as a chef, Amy Chaplin has written a book to entice everyone to eat well every meal, every day. She provides all the know how for creating delicious, healthy dishes based on unprocessed, unrefined food - from the basics of good eating to preparing seasonal feasts all year round.

About the Author: Amy Chaplin has worked as a vegetarian chef for over twenty years. She is the former executive chef of New York’s renowned vegan restaurant Angelica Kitchen, a recipe developer, a teacher, and a private chef whose clients include Natalie Portman and Liv Tyler. Amy’s delicious vegan and vegetarian cuisine has appeared in numerous publications, including Martha Stewart Living, Vogue, the Wall Street Journal, New York magazine, the Guardian, the Vegetarian Times, Oprah magazine and the Washington Post. A native of Australia, over the last two decades Chaplin has worked as a chef in Amsterdam, London, Sydney, and New York. She currently resides in New York City. Find more of her original recipes at amychaplin.com.

What's in the book?
This is a large book and something of a wholefood primer.  My own introduction to wholefoods came about in the late 1970s and it was Gail Duff who influenced my interest in whole and healthy foods.  Amy Chaplin had the benefit of growing up on a community farm by parents who cooked and ate the food that they grew there. After Amy's introduction and biography, you move on to The Pantry, which for Amy includes vegetables and fruits that sit out on the kitchen worktop. Amy introduces us to whole grains, beans and pulses, nuts and seeds, superfoods such as goji berries and help seeds; oils, vinegars, seasoning and condiments.  But it doesn't stop there, we learn about seaweeds, spices, pantry vegetables and a feast of ingredients for the fridge and freezer.  Natural sweeteners, bottled and canned items and I doubt if the pantry door will close!

Amy then gives us a run down on equipment we should aim to have in our kitchen, although she does recommend slowly collecting good-quality pans to last a lifetime.  Two luxury items are included which Amy uses daily, a pressure cooker and a Vitamix blender.

Cooking from the Pantry, this section is divided into Grains, Beans, Nuts and Seeds and Roasting Vegetables.  Before you start cooking any of the recipes, each chapter has detailed instructions on how to prepare and the ingredients. Here are a few of the recipes I liked: Simple Quinoa (this was the basic recipe I followed for the featured recipe), Lemony Marinated Lentils sounds delicious, Tamari Toasted Seeds are bound to be a hit for snacking or sprinkling on salads.  The Roasted Vegetables are prepared with coconut oil and fresh herbs.

Pantry Recipes takes these basics a little further with a range of creative dishes such as Steamed Greens with zesty flaxseed dressing, Wholewheat fettucine with kale, caramelised onions and marinated goat's cheese, Dijon mustard marinated tempeh and garlic tamari-braised tofu. There are some really great Make-Ahead Condiments including the harissa, I made for my recipe, tahini sauce and toasted almond butter.

We are just about half way through 'At home in the whole food kitchen' and we are just starting with breakfast.  I wouldn't refuse spelt almond waffles, blackberry cornmeal muffins or pumpkin bread with toasted walnut cinnamon swirl or coconut and quinoa pancakes.

Soup is easy to make and easy to keep healthy and whole food, I really must make pea and courgette (zuchinni) soup with dill.  Miso soup was one of our 70's stand bys, Amy makes a hearty winter miso soup with adzuki beans, squash and ginger and I love the sound of the luscious spicy carrot soup with Kaffir lime leaves and coconut.

Salads doesn't herbed spelt berry salad with peas and feta sound good?  As does shaved fennel beetroot salad with blood orange and crushed hazelnuts and, of  course, the quinoa with roasted summer vegtables and harissa marinade (recipe below).

Everyone loves snacks, nibbles and drinks and this chapter doesn't disappoint, rustic pea spread, roasted red pepper macadamia pate, black sesame rice crackers and to wash it down rhubarb rose infusion or turmeric lemonade.

We are by no means finished yet, Whole Meals serves up dill roasted plum tomato tart with pine nut crust, tempeh portobello burgers, butternut squash lasagne with wholewheat noodles and sage tofu ricotta and heirloom bean bourguignon with celeriac mash.

Desserts can be whole food too, there is a range of tarts including fresh peach with walnut crust, coconut custard tart with toasted coconut crust, date pistachio praline tart and dark chocolate truffle tart with Brazil nut crust. Other sweet treats include apricot coconut bars, pistachio sultana cookies with cardamom and earl grey fruit cake.

At home in the whole food kitchen  finishes with a little essay on tea, in all it's forms, Amy's thoughts on cleansing and healing with whole foods, some guidelines and menu suggestions and finally why we should eat organic foods.


Who is it for?
This book would suit both the novice whole foodie and experienced vegetarian and vegan cooks.  The extensive information about ingredients, and how to prepare them, is well written and, so far, the recipes have worked for me.  The recipes themselves are interesting and varied, with some rather different combinations of ingredients to satisfy the most adventurous cook.

Pros
Well written recipes including instructions on how to prepare various pantry ingredients.  Lots of well styled clear photographs.

Cons
It is a big heavy tome of a book, certainly not for reading in bed!  When I first looked at the recipes I was a bit put off by some of the ingredients, but on closer inspection most are easily available and there are only a few that I would struggle to source.

The Verdict
If you want to eat more healthily or simply explore some different recipes, then this is a great place to start.  You will learn the how and why of whole foods as well as having recipes to follow, allowing you to create your own healthy vegetarian and vegan recipes.  I was so impressed by the recipe, not only was the quinoa perfectly cooked, the harissa was the best I've ever tasted with the combination of the ingredients making a fabulous meal.


Quinoa with Summer Roasted Vegetables and Harissa Marinade
Serves 4 - 6

2 courgettes (zucchinis), roll cut into 2.5cm (1in) pieces
2 red peppers (capsicums), deseeded and cut into 2.5cm (1in) pieces
300g (10 1/2 oz/2cups) cherry tomatoes, large ones cut in half
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea Salt
1 red onion cut into 1.2 com (1/2 in) wedges
720g (1lb 9oz/4 cups) cooked quinoa, cooled (see below)
80ml (3fl oz/1/2 cup) homemade harissa (see below)
40g (1 1/2 oz/1 cup) chopped flat-leaf parsley
140g (5oz) goat's milk feta, drained and crumbled
Olives, to garnish

Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F/Gas mark.  Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Place courgette (zucchini), peppers (capsicum) and cherry tomatoes in a bowl and toss with 3 tbsp of the olive oil and 1/2 tsp salt.  Divide vegetables between baking trays and spread out in a single layer.  Roast for 25 minutes.  Gently stir vegetables, rotate trays and roast 10 minutes more or until browning, Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Warm remaining 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  Add red onion and saute for 5 minutes. Lower heat a little and cook for 15 minutes longer, stirring every minute or so, until soft and caramelised.  Stir in a pinch of salt remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Transfer quinoa to a large bowl, fluff with a fork, add harissa and mix well.  Add roasted vegetables, caramelised onions and parsley; toss gently to combine and season to taste with additional salt. Crumble feta over top and serve garnished with olives.


Harissa
Makes about 80ml (3fl oz/1/3 cup)

1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp ground paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/8 tsp sea salt
 60ml (2 fl oz/1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Warm a small to medium frying pan over medium heat.  Add cumin, coriander and caraway seeds, toast seeds, stirring continuously, for 2 minutes or until fragrant.  Transfer to an electric spice grinder and grind until fine.  Place ground spices in a bowl then add paprika, cayenne, garlic, salt, olive oil and lemon juice.  Stir until smooth.  Store in a  sealed glass jar in the fridge for up to two months, or as mentioned above leave out the lemon for storing indefinitely.

Simple Quinoa
Makes 720g (1lb 9oz/4 cups) cooked quinoa

170g (6oz/1 cup) quinoa
240ml (8fl oz/ 1 cup) filtered water, plus more for soaking
pinch of sea salt

Wash and soak the quinoa in at least 720ml (24fl oz /3 cups) water for 8 to 24 hours.  Drain and rinse the quinoa.  Place in a 2 litre (3 1/2 pint) pan and add filtered water and salt.  Bring to the boil over high heat, cover pan, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.  Remove from heat and set aside, covered, for 5 - 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork and serving.  Once cool, quinoa can be stored n the fridge for up to  four days.

At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen Celebrating the Art of Eating Well by Amy Chaplin

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Labels: amy chaplin, at home in the whole food kitchen, cook, cookbook review, Harissa, quinoa, review, roasted vegetables, Vegan, Vegetables, vegetarian, whole food

posted by Janice @ 20:26 98 Comments

Lentil and Vegetable Soup

It may not look particularly exciting, but this was one of the tastiest bowls of soup I have made for some time.  I usually use red lentils in my lentil soup, but this time I used Crazy Jack Organic green lentils, as they were included in my box of goodies from Knorr for the Knorr Flavour Pot Product of the Year Challenge.  


Lentil and Vegetable Soup

1 tbsp sunflower oil
3 carrots, chopped
4 sticks of celery, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
4 Knorr vegetable stock cubes
3.5 litres of water
250g green lentils, washed in a sieve
salt & pepper to taste
1 Garden Herbs Knorr Flavourpot

1. Heat the oil to a medium heat in a large soup pan (I use my pressure cooker).
2. Add the carrots, celery and onion.
3. Add the water, lentils, vegetable stock cubes and Garden Herbs Flavour Pot.
4. Cook for 20 minutes in a pressure cooker or around 40 minutes in an ordinary pan, until the vegetables and lentils are soft.

The soup improves on keeping and I make such a large pot as it provides lunch for several days after the weekend, but you could scale it down.


I'm entering this soup for No Croutons Required, the blog linky for vegetarian soups and salads run by Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa at Lisa's Kitchen. Jac is hosting this month.


Knorr Flavour Pots have just collected first prize in the Sauce and Seasoning category for this year’s Product of the Year awards. Knorr Flavour Pots allow you to easily infuse your cooking with the flavour of fresh herbs and spices but with the handy convenience of dried. The range features nine different tantalising flavours, including Mixed Herbs, Three Peppercorn, Curry, Garlic, Mixed Chillies, Garden Herbs, Ginger & Lemongrass, Paprika, and Mexican.

Labels: carrots, celery, Garden Herbs, green lentils, Knorr, Knorr Flavour Pot, Lentil Soup, Vegetables, vegetarian

posted by Janice @ 18:59 19 Comments

Sweet Potato and Greens Burger - Greens 24/7

Jessica Nadel's blog, cupcakesandkale and Facebook page  will be well known to vegetarian and vegan cooks and now Jessica has had a book published,  Greens 24/7: Delicious Recipes for Green Veg at Every Meal.

Greens 24/7 has more than 100 quick and easy recipes for turning leafy greens into delicious vegan meals, snacks, smoothers and cakes as well as nutritional information, and helpful ingredient factfiles.


About the Author
Jessica Nadel is a freelance writer and blogger at Cupcakes and Kale, she is also the owner and baker at Oh My Bakeshop, a natural organic bakery.

Introducing Greens - Jessica admits, that like most kids she didn't really like greens, however she changed her mind once she was shopping and cooking for herself and found creative ways to cook and serve them. Jessica is on a mission to get us cooking and eating some of the more unusual greens as well as those we are familiar with.

Green Fact Files - Here you learn all about the different greens, which vitamins and minerals they contain and a mini index of recipes in the book containing each different type of green vegetable. The most popular greens get a little 'recipe card' style entry and then there are a couple of pages information about  'other greens'. This is followed by a sort of glossary of other ingredients used in the book with which you may not be familiar.

Typical Day Green Menu Plan - Jessica has helpfully put together some menus using the recipes in the book, each day has a recipe for breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner and dessert.

And so to the recipes...

Smoothies and Breakfasts presents a wide range of smoothies including Chocolate Superfood Smoothie, Lemon Ginger and Parsley Smoothie and Hello Sunshine Smoothie. I really liked the sound of Cinnamon and Courgette Waffles, Kale and Herb Cornbread Muffins and Breakfast Sandwich with Avocado and Rocket.

Green Sides and Small Bites contains some really fun, simple to make recipes including Cucumber Pesto Canapes, Pesto Polenta Fries with Aioli, Dandelion Colcannon, Spicy Garlic Bok Choy and Kale and Walnut Pesto (which seems to feature in quite a few other recipes).

Green Soups and Salads is full of creative ideas for this tradtional home of green things.  Soups such as Mexican Tortilla Soup, Raw Summer Soup and Curried Dahl with Chard.  In the Salad bowl you will find Beetroot Greens, Pear and Maple Walnut Salad, Kale Waldorf Salad with Avocado Astoria Dressing and  Rocket Watercress and Stone Fruit Salad with Jalapeno Dressing

Green Main Meals is absolutely packed full of great ideas for green dinners, the following recipes particularly caught my attention. Spicy Peanut Noodle Bowl, Orichette with Chard, Sundried Tomatoes and Toasted Almonds, Stuffed Baked Sweet Potatoes with Broccoli, Swiss Chard and Hummus and Sweet Potato and Greens Burger which I chose to make for this review.

Green Cakes and Desserts, who knew there were so many ways to green up the sweet stuff?  You can feast on Chocolate Dipped Kale Crisps, Chocolate Hazelnut and Avocado Tart, Avocado and Kiwi Iced Birthday Cake, Lemon and Parsley Olive Oil Cake and Vanilla Mint 'Cheesecake'. There are a couple of beverages to wash down all this green goodness Sage and Lavender Tea and Dandelion Mimosas.

Who is it for? Vegetarians, vegans and anyone who wants to eat less meat and more green vegetables.

Pros
The recipes are interesting and varied, they are also well laid out with the ingredients on the left and instructions on the right.  I liked that each recipe included nutritional information, very nicely done. The photographs are good although not every recipe is accompanied by a photo, I was more attracted to read the recipes that did have a photo.

Cons - this is one of those very annoying books which won't sit open flat.  I  used my cook book stand to hold it open when I was cooking, but I can see that the spine wouldn't last long as you are forcing it to lie flat.  Many of the greens are easily available but I felt this book would be more useful in late spring and summer when most green things (other than cabbage and kale) are in season.

The Verdict
The jury is out on this book, I'm not Vegan or Vegetarian although I do enjoy meat free recipes and I really like greens, I think what is holding me back here is the availability of different types of greens so I'm going to hang on to the book and have another go when the weather is warmer and there is more variety of green things for me to use in the recipes.



Sweet Potato and Greens Burger
Serves 4 (Prep 40 minutes, Cook 100 minutes)

1 large sweet potato
170g (5 3/4 oz) cooked pinto beans, drained and rinsed if canned
50g (1 1/2 oz) greens (beetroot greens, radish greens, turnip greens, chard etc) chopped
2 green onions, diced
50g (1 3/4 oz) rolled oats
1 1/2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp umeboshi vinegar
2 tbsp tahini
3 tbsp tamari
juice of a lemon
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
4 burger buns to serve
sprouts of fresh rocket, to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 200C (400F).  Skewer the potato with afork several times and place in a suitable dish.  Bake for an hour or until fork-tender.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before peeling and mashing the potato in a large bowl.
2. Add the pinto beans to the bowl and mash them in too, then add the greens, onions, oats Worcestershire sauce, umeboshi viengar and seasoning and mix to combine. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Reheat the oven to 200C (400F). Form the mixture inot four burgers, place on a baking sheet and cook for 0 minutes, then flip over and bake for another 15 minutes.  If desired you can then pan fry them for 2-3 mintues on each side.
4. Whisk together the tahini, tamari, lemon juice and a pinch of sea salt until smotth. Thin out with a little water to the desired consistency, if necessary. Serve the burgers on the buns, topped with the lmon tahini suace and sprouts or rocket.

Farmersgirl Kitchen Tips

• Microwave the sweet potatoes to save on fuel
• I couldn't get the greens mentioned in January, so used kale but wilted it with a little water before chopping. 

Greens 24/7 by Jessica Nadel
Published by Apple Press, 8th January 2015
RRP £14.99

I have one copy of Greens 24/7 to give away, follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter widget to enter.


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Labels: Burgers, Cupcakes and Kale, giveaway, Greens, Jessica Nadel, Kale, Vegan, vegetarian

posted by Janice @ 07:03 42 Comments

Vegetable Burritos and a Box of Delights

These Vegetable Burritos are easy to make and make a great for all the family, they are packed with vegetables and helped along with a 'shot' of spices which I'll tell you about in a moment, but first...
Let me tell you about the Degustabox I received which inspired the Vegetable Burritos.  Degustabox is a monthly subscription food box which costs £12.99 a month including delivery.  Each month there is a new box of delights for you to try, with between 9 and 12 products for you to try, great for a bit of inspiration.  Degustabox make sure that you will pay less for these products than you would in the shops.  A subscription to a monthly Degustabox would make a great present, it would be like Christmas every month!

• My box contained Kettle Chips in Salsa and Mesquite flavour a combination of tomatoes, chillies and peppers and the aroma of barbecues. £2.19
• The small cans contain Cool Dawn Recovery drink a herbal detox drink that helps to prevent and cure hangovers.  It presents a complex an unique combination of citrus and liquorice flavours and does not contain stimulants. Very handy to have around after your Christmas parties. £1.49 each
• Five little Lindor My Melting Moments, well you can't go wrong with chocolate and the snowflake shaped Lindor My Melting Moment melts in your mouth. £0.65 each
• Kent's Kitchen flavour shots are a a quick and easy way to jazz up diced meat or prawns, or in my case vegetables for the burritos.  £1.85 for pack of four shots

• We all know Branston Pickle but now there is a new chutney from Branston, Mediterranean Tomato which goes well with smoky meats, cheddar and biscuits.  We love chutney and this one is chopped nice and small so perfect for sandwiches.  £1.50
• Pip Organic produce pure organic juices and smoothies. The Pip Organic Cloudy Apple Juice tasted good, but not outstanding and I felt it was expensive at £1.50 for a small bottle. 
• More apples, but this time fermented into cider. Montano is Italian Cider made from apples grown in the foothills of Trentino region of Northern Italy, it's refreshing and medium dry, a good price at £2.79.
• For that work night when you need good food in a hurry, the sachets of Holy Cow authentic Indian Curry Sauce are ideal.  They are made from all natural ingredients with no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.  And a bonus that they are gluten free and suitable for vegetarians and coeliacs, just add your own ingredients to the sauce and serve with rice, naan bread or chapattis £1.89 each 

There was also  a Sample Present of a sachet of Drink Me Chai, a blend of exotic spices milk and sweetened tea, just add water or milk.  I haven't tried this as I don't like sweetened or milky tea, but it may be popped in someones Christmas stocking!



Vegetable Burritos
serves 4

1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced into strips
1/2 red pepper, sliced into strips
1/2 yellow pepper, sliced into strips
2 courgettes, cut into batons
100g sliced mushrooms
2 Kent's Kitchen Fajita Flavour Shots
400g can kidney beans
8 flour tortillas
100g cheese, grated

for the Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp sunflower oil
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
400g can tomatoes, crushed
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onion, cook on a low heat for about 5 minutes until it starts to become translucent. Add the peppers and courgette batons and stir round, cook for a couple of minutes then add the mushrooms and the Fajita Flavour Shots.
2. Cook until the mushrooms soften, then add the kidney beans.
3. While the vegetables are cooking, heat the oil in a separate pan and gently cook the sliced garlic, then add the crushed tomatoes, cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes until slightly reduced and the flavours have combined.
4. Fill each tortilla with the spiced vegetable mixture, roll and place in a large ovenproof dish. Once all eight tortillas have been filled, if there is any vegetable mix left pile it on top of the tortillas, then cover with the tomato sauce and sprinkle with grated cheese.
5. Bake in the oven at 180C for 20-30 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and golden.

Find out more about Degustabox on their website, on Facebook and follow them on Twitter


I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own. 

Labels: Branston, Burritos, Cool Dawn Drink me Chai, degustabox, Food, food box, food delivery, food products, Holy Cow Curry, Kent's Kitchen Flavour Shots, Kettle Chips, Lindor, Montano, Pip Organic, vegetable, vegetarian

posted by Janice @ 07:00 9 Comments

Moroccan Vegetarian Haggis Scotch Eggs

Macsween, the award winning haggis and black pudding producer, have just launched three new Special Editions: a Wild Boar Haggis, Moroccan Spiced Vegetarian Haggis and Chocolate and Chilli Black Pudding. The haggis can be microwaved for 3 minutes on medium, simmered for 20 minutes in boiling water, or simply sliced and fried, however I decided to do something a little different with the Moroccan Spiced Vegetarian Haggis and made these delicious baked Scotch Eggs. 
Apologies for my 'Moroccan' accessories, the plate came from Spain and the cloth from Indonesia!

I received samples of the special edition haggis from Macsween, I was not paid and all opinions are my own. 

Labels: eggs, haggis, Macsween Haggis, moroccan, Scotch Egg, spiced, vegetarian

posted by Janice @ 21:24 20 Comments

Ruby Red Strawberry Crumble - Mouthwatering Vegan Review

About the book
Mouthwatering Vegan is promoted as a book of vegan recipes for everone's favourite comfort foods.  Miriam challenges herself to replicate dishes that are usually impossible to include in a vegan diet and opens up the scope for what vegan eating can be.  Included in the book are recipes for vegan cheese, cream and mayonnaise; Chilli Con 'Carne', Shepherd's Pie, Mince and Ale Pie, Stroganoff Supreme and the Perfect Roast.

I was rather surprised by this approach to vegan cooking, surely the point of being vegan is not to eat or use products from any living thing?  So why would you want to recreate recipes which are based on meat and dairy?  Many of the recipes use substitutes for meat and dairy products such as vegan bacon, vegan ground meat substitute, vegan burgers, vegan beef strips or textured vegetable protein (TVP) it is perhaps a matter of semantics but it still seems a little strange to me.

The Chapters
The Introduction tells you a little about the author and her reasons for choosing a Vegan diet.
Vegan Nutrition and The Vegan Pantry are very well laid out and would be extremely useful for anyone starting out as a vegan.
Breakfast, Juices and Smoothies includes Blackberry Muffins, Scrambled Tofu with Mushrooms, Sizzle-Sozzle Sausages, Banana Oat and Cinnamon Smoothie and Rose Coconut and Cardamom Smoothie.
Appetisers and Sides includes Moroccan Smoked Eggplant Dip, Pecan and Cognac Pate, Chilli, Olive, Garlic and Rosemary bruschetta and Mouthwatering Vegan Pastizzi.
Soups and Salads includes Greek 'Chicken' and Lemon Soup, Creamy Coconut Broccoli Soup, Cherry Tomato Soup, Cherry Tomato, Chickpea and Orange Pepper Salad and Rainbow Rice Salad.
Pasta, Pizza and Burgers includes Five Perfect Pesto Variations, Nutty Ragu Bolognese, Cheesy Cauliflower Pasta Bake, State-of-the-Art Lasagne, Stir-fried veggies with Cashews and Noodles, Fast Layered Tomato Cheese Burgers and Wacky Hot Dogs.
Curries includes Fastest Thai Curry ever, Orange and Chocolate Knockout Curry,  Sweet Potato Fusion Curry and Tandoori Kofta Masala.
Mouthwatering Mains includes Chilli Con "Carne", Greek Garlic Bean Stew, Spicy Rice and Quinoa Bake, Juicy Portobello Steaks in a Peppered Cognac Sauce, Lemon Spiced Dolmades, Sweet Potato Moussaka, Cornish Style Sausage Pie, Mince and Ale Pie and The Perfect Christmas Roast.
Desserts, Cakes and Treats includes Raw Chocolate, Fruit and Nut Balls, Maltese Date and Fig Bars, Chocolate, Kahlua and Orange Trifle, Ruby Red Strawberry Crumble (see recipe below), Double Chocolate Coke Cake and Bountiful Coconut Chocolate Bars.
Decadent Cheese and Dairy Alternatives includes Happy Milk, Vegan Mozzarella, Mature Cheddar "Cheese", Nutty Parmesan and Bechamel Sauce.

The final chapter is "Why Vegan?" where Miriam explores the ethical, dietary and environmental reasons for being vegan.

There are over 130 recipes and I found myself drawn toward the Appetisers, Salads and the Desserts and any recipes which didn't use substitutes.

I had bookmarked the Cherry Tomato, Chickpea and Orange Pepper Salad but in the end decided to make the Ruby Red Strawberry Crumble


Ruby Red Strawberry Crumble 
serves 4
1 1/2 lb (750g) fresh strawberries, washed and sliced into 3-4 slices each (I used frozen strawberries, which I baked from frozen and left whole, it worked perfectly well.)
2 tsp (10ml) turbinado or raw sugar
2 tbsp (30ml) maple syrup
1 cup (250ml) unbleached all purpose or wholewheat flour, or a combination
1 1/2 tbsp (22.5ml) rolled oats
3 tbsp (45ml) vegan white sugar or turbinado sugar
3 tbsp (45ml) vegan margarine
1/2 tsp (2ml) almond extract

1. Distribute the strawberries evenly in a 9 x 13 inch (3.5L) greased casserole dish, then cover with the sugar and pour the maple syrup over the top.
2. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C)
3. Place the flour, oats and sugar in a food processor and process until crumbs are formed.
4. Add the margarine and almond extract and process for a few moments.
5. Tip the mixture into a large bowl and continue to crumble by hand.  You should be left with a crumble mixture, not a dough, it if over thickens, add a little more flour to dry it out.
6. Distribute the crumble as evenly as possible on top of the strawberry filling, cover in aluminium foil and bake for 20 minutes (baking covered helps the filling to cook and yield its nectar).
7. Uncover and cook for another 15 minutes, until the crumble turns golden.  Serve hot.


This is an excellent recipe and very forgiving.  I did the first 20 minutes with the foil lid earlier in the day when I had the oven on anyway, then reheated the crumble for 15 minutes to crisp up the crumble.  The frozen strawberries worked really well, I don't usually freeze strawberries, but they were given to me on a day I had already bought some strawberries and didn't have time to use the for anything else. 

I served the Ruby Red Strawberry Crumble with vanilla icecream on the first night and then with custard the second time I served it.  I can thoroughly recommend this crumble, it's the first time I've used strawberries in a crumble and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.  There is no overwhelming taste from the Maple syrup nor is the fruit too sweet. The crumble is not very crisp but I know from experience that that is the oats in it, but it is quite light and not cloying at all.  I got five generous helpings from the dish, so I think it could easily stretch to six.

Pros
There are many interesting and varied recipes in Mouthwatering Vegan, each recipe has a page to itself with a bit of introduction, ingredients on the left and instructions on the right. The photographs are excellent and really do make your mouth water.

Cons
I definitely struggled with the concept of meat and dairy style recipes, but as I said at the beginning, I'm not a vegan and as Miriam says "each of us should take responsibility for our food choices" so each to their own.  My only other comment is that the book does not sit open easily, it's a large paperback and I think the spine would eventually break from pressing it open. 

The Verdict
If you are a vegan or are interested in becoming a vegan, I would suggest you start with Miriam's blog and if you like her style of cooking then you will love having all the recipes organised into a book.  I'll certainly make some of the  recipes, at least those which don't use processed substitutes, as that is my choice.

Mouthwatering Vegan by Miriam Sorrell
Published by Appetite by Random House
A special US import distributed by Turnaround
RRP £19.99

Labels: cookery book review, Miriam Sorrell, Mouthwatering Vegan, Random House, Strawberry Crumble, Turnaround, Vegan, vegetarian

posted by Janice @ 08:19 2 Comments

Mixed Vegetable Curry - A Random Recipe

Now, I know we are supposed to randomly pick the recipe were going to cook, but in this case I had a lot of vegetables in the fridge so I picked randomly from the Vegetarian chapter and came up with 'Mixed Vegetable Curry' on page 228.

Labels: Cinnamon, coconut milk, curry, Random Recipes, spices, vegetarian

posted by Janice @ 20:13 7 Comments

The Vegetarian Pantry - a cookbook review

Although I'm not a vegetarian, far from it, I have always enjoyed meatless meals. The Vegetarian Pantry by Chloe Coker and Jane Montgomery aims to teach you how to create stunning dishes using the best of fresh produce and a well stocked kitchen pantry.  I have a number recipes bookmarked already.

Chloe Coker grew up in a vegetarian household and is passionate about encouraging people to cook with and enjoy local, seasonal food. Previously a lawyer in the city, she turned her passion into a profession and retrained as a chef at Leiths School of Food and Wine.
Jane Montgomery had a previous career in advertising but turned her creative flair to her love of food and trained with Chloe at Leiths School of Food and Wine. Since then she has spent time cheffing and cooking for private clients as well as teaching classes. In 2010 Chloe and Jane launched Citycook, www.citycook.co.uk a boutique teaching and catering company specialising in bespoke events.

Introduction
The introduction tells you a bit about Chloe and Jane and their inspiration for writing the book. This is followed by some sound advice on staying healthy as a vegetarian with details of key nutrients required and how to get them in a vegetarian diet. The authors also, helpfully, describe the requirements for a well-stocked vegetarian pantry and how to store your ingredients.

Breakfast and Brunch includes Quick Cornbread, Saffron and Pepper Frittata with roasted garlic aioli, which would make a great lunch or even main meal, as would Herby Chickpea Pancakes with Halloumi and roasted corn and red pepper salsa. For the sweeter toothed breakfaster how about French Toast stuffed with bananas or Honey and Apricot breakfast muffins?

Small Bites is a chapter of snack, starters, tapas or mezze ideal if you like to entertain. Choose from Lemon and Mushroom risotto balls, Vegetable Dumplings with dipping sauce or indulge in Samosas with lemon and garlic dip. There are some great buschetta toppings and one recipe I've particularly bookmarked: Breadcrumbed Halloumi goujons!

Dips, Salsas and Sauces provides some recipes to help your vegetarian dishes along. I liked the look of Sweet Potato hummus with breadsticks, there are four punchy pesos: roasted beetroot pesto, watercress pesto, mushroom and walnut pesto and a ricotta and herb pesto. The three fresh salsas look great too: apple, celery and mint salsa, Carrot, orange and mint salsa and Asian cucumber salsa. The chapter is rounded off with a Spicy Tomato Ketchup and a Sweet Chilli Jam recipe.

Soups and Salads promises us light refreshing summer dishes and warming winter comfort food. There are both hot and cold soups and some interesting salads including Beetroot Quinoa and green bean salad with spicy ginger dressing and shallot crisps, I bookmarked the Winter salad of pearl barley, mushrooms and walnuts as I love the nutty taste of pearl barley. There is also an Italian tear and share bread and a Soda Bread recipe to accompany your soup or salad.

And so we move on to Main Dishes, possibly the most visually appealing is the Carrot and Leek Tarte Tatin with the caramelised vegetables atop a layer of light puff pastry. The Beetroot Risotto is a glorious deep pink and the Individual Baked Cheesecakes with salted honey walnuts are worthy of a special dinner party. I have to say I found this chapter the weakest in the book, there are a number of one-pot dishes which look rather uninspired alongside the delicious ones I have mentioned.

We all love Sweet Treats and there are some real crackers in this chapter. Always on the lookout for rhubarb recipes, I will be trying the Rhubarb, Orange and Vanilla Fool with shortbread cookies. Plum Frangipane Tart with ginger cream also sounds good and, as a sucker for all things almondy, Poached Amaretto Peaches with Amaretti cookie creme fraiche is on my list for the summer. There are few baked sweet treats too including Orange, almond drizzle cake, Chocolate Orange Brownies and Pistachio, white chocolate and Cranberry Biscotti.

Who is it for?
This is a book for an established vegetarian who is looking for some inspiration and new ideas particularly for entertaining. It would also appeal to adventurous non-vegetarians with good cooking skills who would like to try something different.


Pros
The book is well laid out with large clear photographs to tempt you to try the recipes. The recipes themselves are well written and easy to follow with symbols indicating where they are suitable for vegans and those recipes which are gluten-free which I thought was an excellent idea.

Cons
I felt that the recipes were aimed at summer eating and most of the recipes that are "comfort food" were a little predictable and would already be in the repertoire of most vegetarians. Nor do I think this is the best book for new vegetarians as it features a lot of bits and pieces rather than main meals.

As my featured recipe, I chose to make these Honey and Apricot Breakfast Muffins which are easy to make and incredibly soft, moist and delicious. They also kept very well in an airtight cake tin which is a bonus. 

Honey and Apricot Breakfast Muffins
200g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
21/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tsp mixed spice
50g chopped dried apricots
50g pecan nuts chopped
100g porridge oats
50g sultanas
2 bananas (preferably soft)
2 unpeeled apples, grated
2 eggs
5 tbsp veg oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp honey
6 tablespoons milk
100g light brown sugar

12 hole muffin tin filled with muffin cases (my mix made about 17-18, but I think it depends on your paper cases and how full you fill them!)


Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
Sift the flour into a mixing bowl.  Add the bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and mixed spice and stir to combine.  Add the dried apricots, pecans and oats to the flour mixture together with the sultanas and set aside.

In a separate bowl, mash the bananas with a fork.  Add the apples, eggs, oil, vanilla extract, honey and milk and stir to combine.  Add the sugar and stir gain.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Pour int he wet ingredients and gently stir from the centre, gradually drawing in the dry ingredients to make a smooth batter.

Fill the muffin cases two thirds full and top with chopped pecans for added texture.  Bake in the top half of the preheated oven for approximately 30-40 minutes until the muffins are well risen, golden and springy to touch.  Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack then serve with cups of hot coffee. These muffins are best eaten fresh but will keep in an airtight container for 3 or 4 days.


I'm entering these moist, fruity and delicious muffins for Tea Time Treats.  The Tea Time challenge hosted by Karen at Lavender and Lovage and Kate at What Kate Baked.  Kate is hosting this month and the theme is "Fairy Cakes, Cup Cakes and Muffins". 

Labels: Apricot, cookery book review, Muffins, Peters and Small, Ryland, Tea Time Treats, The Vegetarian Pantry, vegetarian

posted by Janice @ 20:29 3 Comments

Bean Bake with Cornmeal Topping - Retro Random Recipe

First let me apologise for the quality of the photographs.  My DSLR camera has had to go for a minor repair so I had to resort to my ancient compact camera which does not take good photos in low light  and at this time of year, there are only a few hours of decent light. 



And so the Retro Random Recipe, that's not the theme for the monthly challenge, run by Dom at Belleau Kitchen , just my interpretation.  No, this month Dom has taken himself off to California (lucky so and so!) and is borrowing his Random book from his step-mum's kitchen.   He has asked us to join in and borrow a book from someone else's kitchen,.a good friend or a neighbour,  parents or grandparents anyone who has an interesting collection of books.

I asked my friend, Avril, if she would choose a book for me. She brought two books into work and put them behind her back, she asked me to choose left or right and  my random book choice was...

In case you are wondering, the other book was a Robert Carrier one, full of rich creamy dishes, so I was really quite pleased to get the Sarah Brown book.

For those of you not old enough to remember, Sarah was TVs Vegetarian Cook in the 1980s.  Her recipes were healthy, wholefood dishes and introduced veggie cooking to many people who had no idea how to go about cooking healthy meals without meat.  I used to own a different book by Sarah Brown, but gave it away as it wasn't being used, however it was good to revisit and there are some really tasty dishes in this book.  I used the random number generator to find my recipe and came up with Savoury Cornmeal Topping for Vegetables.

I'm on a bit of a mission to eat up all the food that seems to have accumulated in my larder, fridge and freezer and did a big 'audit' at the weekend.  So  instead of using the recipe as a topping for vegetables I decided I would  use it to top a Bean Bake with roasted carrots and parsnip.

Savoury Cornmeal Topping For Vegetables

This is a very quick and tasty batter topping that can be used to cover most mixtures of vegetables.  Remember to make the vegetable base quite moist so that it complements the sponge-like topping.  When making the topping, don't forget that the amount of liquid you need may vary according to the type of flour you  use and how long you have had them. Simply add more liquid gradually until the mixture reaches a pouring consistency.  Once made the batter should be cooked immediately.



The Bean Bake is based, very loosely, on a recipe for 'Butter Beans in brown onion sauce' from another old favourite Gail Duff's Vegetarian Cooking, this one has survived all book shelf culls and is well worn and much loved.  Gail's recipe doesn't have vegetables in it, just beans and a miso and onion sauce but it gave me the inspiration and the wrinkly carrots and parsnips in my vegetable rack and half used packets of dried beans, nearing their use by date, gave me the motivation!

Bean Bake with Roasted Carrots and Parsnips (serves 8)

500g beans (I used about 300g black eyed beans and 200g Butter Beans) soaked overnight in cold water, drained and cooked until just soft. 
6 medium carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
5 parsnips, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 tbsp oil
1 large onion
1 1/2 tbsp wholemeal flour
1 pint vegetable stock

1. Heat the oven to 200C
2. Blanch the carrots for 4 minutes,  either in a pan of simmering water on the stove or in a suitable container in the microwave with a tablespoon of water.
3.  Put the oil in a roasting tin and add the parsnips and blanched carrots and stir them around to cover with oil.
4. Roast for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and slightly crispy round the edges.



5. Put the beans, parsnips and carrots into a baking dish, I used my Mermaid Roasting tin which is ideal for this type of bake, and set aside while you make the sauce and topping.


6. Use the oil from the roasting tin or use another tablespoon of oil and place in a sauce pan. 
7. Peel and finely chop the onion and saute gently in the oil until it is soft and slightly coloured.
8. Add the flour and cook it with the onion for a minute or so until it starts to change to a golden colour.
9. Take the pan off the heat and add the stock slowly mixing well.
10. Put the pan back on the heat and heat gently, stirring until the sauce has thickened, cook for another 5 minutes, season to taste, then pour over the beans and vegetables.

For the Savoury Cornmeal topping

6oz (150g) wholemeal self-raising flour
3oz (75g) fine cornmeal
pinch of salt
3 eggs
4oz (100g) butter or margarine
8floz (200ml) milk
1 tablespoon sunflower seeds (or mixed seeds)

Preheat the oven to gas mark 6, 400F (200C)
Mix the flours and salt together.  Using a food processor or blender, blend in the eggs and fat, then add enough milk to make a thick batter-type dough. 


Spoon the batter over any prepared vegetable mixture, or your Bean Bake, and sprinkle with seeds, then bake for 20-25 minutes.

Another Random Recipe, both the bake and the topping were really tasty and filling.  The roasted vegetables added texture and sweetness to the beans and the topping was crispy on the top and soft underneath.  I would probably cut the quantities back by half if I hadn't been 'using up' the ingredients but we had some reheated tonight and I think the beany part was even better and the cornmeal topping stood up well to being reheated in the oven with a bit of foil over the top.  I'd definitely make this topping again, it would go well with many dishes and makes a nice change from a cobbler or mashed potato topping.

Labels: Black eyed beans, Butter Beans, cornmeal, Gail Duff, Random Recipes, roasted carrots and parsnips, Sarah Brown, storecupboard empty, vegetarian

posted by Janice @ 20:32 4 Comments