tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66669710911769882872024-02-21T05:41:42.396+00:00Peas and LoveDarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06045005671597996682noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-84220675713745662742013-03-09T20:15:00.000+00:002013-03-09T20:15:42.181+00:00Harissa explosion salad<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCxWM_zkDPxVXHOpkJx8Yhbbm8jodyIC6lQzPggFoZBlbQfjnd8HITDMdgntgFYcP2KYYM8waZ-Y_ECFmC_9kq-DWHNvHqV_LZMSqasnmTNhPWzPVfM5otTCHVaEMUaP83ihe-ZyB1hgPE/s1600/mobile+march+2013+182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCxWM_zkDPxVXHOpkJx8Yhbbm8jodyIC6lQzPggFoZBlbQfjnd8HITDMdgntgFYcP2KYYM8waZ-Y_ECFmC_9kq-DWHNvHqV_LZMSqasnmTNhPWzPVfM5otTCHVaEMUaP83ihe-ZyB1hgPE/s320/mobile+march+2013+182.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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What I really love about this salad is that each mouthful is an
adventure in texture, conducted while taste buds are thoroughly stimulated. </div>
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You need:</div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->One pickled red pepper, diced</div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]-->As many jarred mushrooms as you can handle (the
ones in oil)</div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->A sprinkling of toasted sunflower seeds, then
some more</div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Two handfuls of lettuce, finely shredded</div>
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For the dressing:</div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->An almost empty jar of harissa – about a
teaspoon left</div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]-->Olive oil to fill the jar (about a tablespoon
and a half)</div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]-->A dash of vinegar (about a dessert spoon and a
half)</div>
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Serve with:</div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]-->Cous cous bake</div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]-->Hardy bread</div>
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Ok, so here’s what you do – spread the
lettuce over a plate and add mushrooms, pepper, and most of the seeds. Add the
liquids to the harissa and shake up. Pour some dressing on it and mix it up
well. Sprinkle the remaining seeds over the salad, serve with cous cous bake
and bread and enjoy!</div>
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~Gwen</div>
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Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12859417303436766396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-48476930154256633522013-02-13T02:45:00.002+00:002013-02-13T03:04:12.606+00:00Dara's Sandwich no. 6: BBQ crispy tofu & seweed with pineapple relish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3HI74ovCfg1r2kHTEDB_pKuvkRmM1bj-Zqp247FukVdUNRXwOmvb-FjaE2s_-0_-2kKQ6OLwyP7iLpTaolt0iYZtq86NG6y529lI1Cr6KpC8BzTEr-1bTZ8sYMS5C2unP2hWXBhNq9Fri/s1600/IMG_4713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3HI74ovCfg1r2kHTEDB_pKuvkRmM1bj-Zqp247FukVdUNRXwOmvb-FjaE2s_-0_-2kKQ6OLwyP7iLpTaolt0iYZtq86NG6y529lI1Cr6KpC8BzTEr-1bTZ8sYMS5C2unP2hWXBhNq9Fri/s400/IMG_4713.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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There was some questionably old tofu in the fridge. It smelled pretty funky, so I wanted to cook the hell out of it. I fried it up in small pieces with some garlic and onion and a bit of bouillon. Inspired by my mother's love of using local Atlantic dilisk seaweed in sandwiches, I added some of that. And a tasty new pineapple relish, topped with some barbeque sauce. It was quite something!<br />
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- DaraDarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06045005671597996682noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-21399655049300285632013-02-01T02:44:00.000+00:002013-02-13T03:05:01.533+00:00Quick Tomato Soup/ Berlin Skipping<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmjqnWteq78JnDILnsjjglsdmU8XvrjQcxewG_0smIkdu2snwjSsnj1wZm4HC2st3xFPcQoPTLuEFThV6Qy8AchiFRtVcooYoBjD5LtlleH8kYKm09vNhAK_nAceiAggkhSFYqb5TgpQp_/s1600/tomato+dive.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmjqnWteq78JnDILnsjjglsdmU8XvrjQcxewG_0smIkdu2snwjSsnj1wZm4HC2st3xFPcQoPTLuEFThV6Qy8AchiFRtVcooYoBjD5LtlleH8kYKm09vNhAK_nAceiAggkhSFYqb5TgpQp_/s400/tomato+dive.JPG" width="400" /> </a></div>
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On the way to breakfast at my friends I couldn't help but stop off at the skip. It's sort of an addiction. I was pretty late for breakfast, but from the above skip haul, I whipped a quick and easy tomato soup for lunch. I basically chopped up all the tomatoes and simmered them with some garlic, basil and oil. And the freshly baked rolls from the skip went perfectly. This is basically my favourite way to cook, when the skip decides what I'll be preparing.</div>
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- DaraDarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06045005671597996682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-65669957580187431672013-01-06T02:08:00.000+00:002013-01-06T21:31:31.155+00:00Creamy Mushroom Tart / Skipping in DublinI went skipping in Dublin recently. There was a lot of food in the bins, but this is all we could carry.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMpwfc5UIgRB1JU7nbrvaaGHWRRTF9i8uPGDZnwLOij5FLVx4NycDfEo1rk4A8AfpAOfsxtcSlG8DD0cD-SU8kmz109Ghv-mAaZQsOt4uLZxQAtHuvEaWR19y-g7HG5PY2HJKf67qOgG9H/s1600/dublin+skipping.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMpwfc5UIgRB1JU7nbrvaaGHWRRTF9i8uPGDZnwLOij5FLVx4NycDfEo1rk4A8AfpAOfsxtcSlG8DD0cD-SU8kmz109Ghv-mAaZQsOt4uLZxQAtHuvEaWR19y-g7HG5PY2HJKf67qOgG9H/s400/dublin+skipping.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Among the skipping haul was a box of mushrooms, double cream, butter and pastry. Inspired by all these ingredients, I decided to make a creamy mushroom tart.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEDpQmqaxb1TzzCPk-OMuXBs7TjkFbH3oCB7OiTaZCUe98K3as97c0l55EWfjtwIaIUHAB0Vu4Lu9QhdXfBLHh-I4r93OEWJ19pWtpUu3ZjacudViTlRVr8OWfE1omOSlrtM6bKCxEQxGy/s1600/tartstopper.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEDpQmqaxb1TzzCPk-OMuXBs7TjkFbH3oCB7OiTaZCUe98K3as97c0l55EWfjtwIaIUHAB0Vu4Lu9QhdXfBLHh-I4r93OEWJ19pWtpUu3ZjacudViTlRVr8OWfE1omOSlrtM6bKCxEQxGy/s400/tartstopper.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I fried the mushrooms in some of the butter with plenty of garlic. I was bold and I added some salt. Once they were cooked to my liking/ patience, I added in the carton of double cream and let the mixture cook and thicken for a few minutes.<br />
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While all this was happening, I pre-heated the oven and flattened the pastry out in a baking dish (I'm lying, I just threw it in the oven - I despise waiting for pre-heated ovens). After the pastry cooked a bit, I took the pot of creamy mushrooms and spread it evenly over the pastry. I popped this in the oven for a bit until the pastry was crispy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji2jabLXVLaBiU2-G7_wG7n1I7-GevNFh2ETqRBhiqA2XIeZclBLL-glgY4rDb_FCkNaIUXwF-2qBh0ELrLolBGZwH4tCxl9qmtEUFP7MTmOQ1GdQb0ba5hKkL_ui3COiIoJMdRjlaDxlg/s1600/tartstopper+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji2jabLXVLaBiU2-G7_wG7n1I7-GevNFh2ETqRBhiqA2XIeZclBLL-glgY4rDb_FCkNaIUXwF-2qBh0ELrLolBGZwH4tCxl9qmtEUFP7MTmOQ1GdQb0ba5hKkL_ui3COiIoJMdRjlaDxlg/s400/tartstopper+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I also made some garlic bread with some skipped ciabattas. I cut them
into slices and spread the butter on them, then rubbed in some diced
garlic and threw them in the oven. Delicious. Watch yer heart.<br />
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- Dara Darahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06045005671597996682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-37361983061691291462013-01-04T17:08:00.000+00:002013-01-06T21:31:15.115+00:00Vegan Banana Ice-Cream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh8YDaOXHiFrTR60LVEGAvlsJ76m5QCm9qlwsutbagAvaudHZIi0oBqhE753M4Ua0d2xdOWWvUkYlK3LnzXbVOKh7e7y3mfRjJiIWNpEOEwik79x4Lpi2HOCJz-VJ43FWfh1YfWCkXtt2A/s1600/banana+ice+cream.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh8YDaOXHiFrTR60LVEGAvlsJ76m5QCm9qlwsutbagAvaudHZIi0oBqhE753M4Ua0d2xdOWWvUkYlK3LnzXbVOKh7e7y3mfRjJiIWNpEOEwik79x4Lpi2HOCJz-VJ43FWfh1YfWCkXtt2A/s400/banana+ice+cream.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Time for another skip tip! If you go skipping/ dumpster-diving a lot, you're bound to find lots of bananas. I love bananas. They're great in cereal and smoothies. Sometimes they can be brown and squishy and some people don't like that. But, don't throw them out! They're perfect and sweet like this for ice-cream!<br />
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Peel them and put them in a container, then place them in the freezer. And the next time you feel like some vegan ice-cream, simply put them in a blender with a few spoons of soy milk and blend it all up until it's smooth. You can also add some cinnamon, and even cocoa powder to make chocolate banana ice-cream, if you like!<br />
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- DaraDarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06045005671597996682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-74184697763659746772012-11-28T00:13:00.000+00:002012-11-28T00:29:13.082+00:00Rice + Parsley PestoI was at a friend's house a while ago and they had a rather large amount of parsley. And I hear parsley has a rake of vitamins. So, this happened.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAJnBdHfNBvlo8TdbFIWnRNYgEWDkUgJgCKKuTkBjumSvvgiPghjKtYQSWXDJb1f6IEwHgu3fjd8-R8H1y6Il4FlWEmIVDdI_hmgbQKKkthiBu-YwUBj-sU-C6sSm7qNdKBXbA69mHnPbj/s1600/parsley+pesto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAJnBdHfNBvlo8TdbFIWnRNYgEWDkUgJgCKKuTkBjumSvvgiPghjKtYQSWXDJb1f6IEwHgu3fjd8-R8H1y6Il4FlWEmIVDdI_hmgbQKKkthiBu-YwUBj-sU-C6sSm7qNdKBXbA69mHnPbj/s400/parsley+pesto.JPG" width="400" /> </a></div>
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I blended up the parsley in a pot with some garlic, sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast and possibly a bit of balsamic vinegar. Some pepper also. Maybe you want to add salt, if you like it. I warmed it all up in a pot, but not too hot as I didn't want to kill the vitamins. I wanted to get that vitamin C in 2 me.<br />
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My friend made the rice part of the meal, first frying the uncooked rice in oil to get more flavour out of it (this was news to me). Then they added water to cook it. And also some onion, garlic, and bouillon powder.<br />
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The bread is there as I found a couple of loaves in a skip the day before, but it contrasted perfectly with the sloppy components of the meal.<br />
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- DaraDarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06045005671597996682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-89045376427375274862012-06-11T15:46:00.000+01:002012-07-30T19:46:29.397+01:00Hanging Bottle Herb Garden<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR6wFHNCgAs_RLgf3MXYLh91uFRsfe5ESrFumsEsFoADxU9XQIZhwjL3Ii4-9C4gmwi6S92EhFmc9Dt7U4IuJP6SUnSNFjNMcEoPPjuGUhekh31ru1-YAFNhunCXJr42Aix490B4huSrSN/s1600/bottle+garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR6wFHNCgAs_RLgf3MXYLh91uFRsfe5ESrFumsEsFoADxU9XQIZhwjL3Ii4-9C4gmwi6S92EhFmc9Dt7U4IuJP6SUnSNFjNMcEoPPjuGUhekh31ru1-YAFNhunCXJr42Aix490B4huSrSN/s320/bottle+garden.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Inspired by this photo, I have decided to create a hanging herb garden on my living room wall. Filling the base with gravel (for drainage) then covering with top soil should do it.<br />
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As well as herbs, small lettuces could be an option. Do you have any ideas which other plants could thrive like this?</div>Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12859417303436766396noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-63433644604242515262012-06-02T16:00:00.000+01:002012-06-02T16:07:11.150+01:00Using Stuff Up: OneUsing stuff up is one of my preferred ways of cooking. Especially if I'm a guest and cooking at somebody's house. I never feel bad about using ingredients if they 'need to be used up'. Same reason I like skipping. And it means I don't have to make big decisions about what to buy and deal with that horrible ordeal. So, this is one of those and I don't have a name for it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgac1tDDU1HuLPcAMXYrt_bkajFM27pLq8SM-AL8rcLETz7BrGwnevKF0o-qnAFLP3W-WI-Sr8dZYZ0scsnWW0-_sXNphOUNwq12K9gj-O5KiRB5KlAN6z4r7vOKUqTIw6prL17a_SjmG17/s1600/Leftovers+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgac1tDDU1HuLPcAMXYrt_bkajFM27pLq8SM-AL8rcLETz7BrGwnevKF0o-qnAFLP3W-WI-Sr8dZYZ0scsnWW0-_sXNphOUNwq12K9gj-O5KiRB5KlAN6z4r7vOKUqTIw6prL17a_SjmG17/s400/Leftovers+1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The base for this was the end of my <a href="http://peasandloveblog.blogspot.co.at/2012/06/skipped-rocket-pesto.html">rocket pesto pasta</a>. It was quite oily but there was a lot of flavour there. So I wanted to expand on it and make it something different. I threw in a lot of things that were around me and I'll try to recount them, mostly.<br />
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I chopped up the leftover, oily spaghetti pasta and heated up the pot. There was some really stale bread that needed using up, so I broke it up and stirred it around in the oily mixture, adding some tahini and some old juice that may not have been so nice to drink but worked to offset the bitter-but-creamy tahini and softened the bread. I threw in some tomato puree, some chopped carrots, possibly some vinegar and maybe nutritional yeast. I'm not sure. It's a bit of a blur. But I enjoyed it more that the original pasta. Don't follow this as a recipe. Just use stuff up.<br />
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It's fun to use stuff up.<br />
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- DaraDarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06045005671597996682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-8327925549209594922012-06-02T11:08:00.000+01:002012-06-02T11:30:58.095+01:00Skipped Rocket PestoI'm in Vienna at the moment. With a friend, I found two packets of organic rocket (or ruccola in German) in a skip near an eco shop. The ruccola was on the way out, so I decided to make rocket pesto, so it would last a few days longer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTgOmD-JKkG9qY58Cuj3T-zoWUGe4PviQ71Re_m6UDGfZg0ZoaD9upqVtAoValRyzTRHG0FWNF8X2ttRgUiGnNOaRB4XS-3HzRwmXb-N7AN3QgZK5Sr_j6iye3AkSctdrQOr3FkzTKbhge/s1600/Rocket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTgOmD-JKkG9qY58Cuj3T-zoWUGe4PviQ71Re_m6UDGfZg0ZoaD9upqVtAoValRyzTRHG0FWNF8X2ttRgUiGnNOaRB4XS-3HzRwmXb-N7AN3QgZK5Sr_j6iye3AkSctdrQOr3FkzTKbhge/s400/Rocket.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIT22SA7vuVXg4bWjwY3VRMXBjpS0qwoUTEO-iZ1_dDPzd-n0ktMP8aTXIBEJI8RM8Rg_y5Z3wlBpxUeUl7IE0nvzNawBW753LO3d82vuQATF9-LZyDiAfKRsy61M2d_Qdz4dZYTX9U55-/s1600/Rocket+Pesto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIT22SA7vuVXg4bWjwY3VRMXBjpS0qwoUTEO-iZ1_dDPzd-n0ktMP8aTXIBEJI8RM8Rg_y5Z3wlBpxUeUl7IE0nvzNawBW753LO3d82vuQATF9-LZyDiAfKRsy61M2d_Qdz4dZYTX9U55-/s400/Rocket+Pesto.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I washed then sliced up the ruccola finely and add lots of diced garlic, oils (olive, peanut, and pumpkin seed), lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a few finely diced capers for extra flavour. I left it overnight to let the flavours get to know each other. Then, when the time came to feast (it is always time to feast), I just stirred it in to some nice brown organic (or bio as they say here) pasta.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMTWojMO1BvXQP_3iwOMDUooMvtDt4oSK695GwPsfGHAaaqX89W_-ULogfD4nGT2Npt-7S6NkNWPEtn89b4sAvCRr3hvMS7U04I5De9KVdPDkG2pZCotCXVkCtfBxdKwSqRKBBsGYqjSdK/s1600/Rocket+pesto+pasta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMTWojMO1BvXQP_3iwOMDUooMvtDt4oSK695GwPsfGHAaaqX89W_-ULogfD4nGT2Npt-7S6NkNWPEtn89b4sAvCRr3hvMS7U04I5De9KVdPDkG2pZCotCXVkCtfBxdKwSqRKBBsGYqjSdK/s400/Rocket+pesto+pasta.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I used 500g of pasta and it was still rather oily. I'd recommend bread for soakage. Afterwards I turned the remainder of oily the mixture into another meal, which you can see in the next post. Hope to see you there. Goodbye for now.<br />
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- DaraDarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06045005671597996682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-82820199735738954912012-05-24T22:54:00.000+01:002012-05-27T23:06:12.260+01:00Seaweed Burger with Fried Cabbage and Mushrom mix and a Tahini and Miso gravy.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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One morning, after more than enough beers the night before, a vegan
woke up with a bacon craving. This is the story of what happened next…</div>
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First I scrubbed, chopped and boiled some potatoes. It’s tempting to
dice them into small pieces so that they cook extra quickly, but this means
that they get a bit watery, so have a bit of patience and make them Aunt Bessy
sized. If you’re making this, have a beer while you’re waiting for them to
cook– the cheap Caribbean kind is best for breakfast. Finish your beer as the skin on the potatoes
starts to detach itself from the flesh and then drain them well. Mash them up
without adding any extra liquid. If you’re making this in a state like me, then
some extra liquid to yourself, liquid of the watery kind. Some fruit juice too.
One hair of the dog is just right: any more and you’re just delaying the
inevitable.</div>
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While this was happening I soaked some dried mushrooms and fried some
finely diced onion until it was soft and browning then added a load of garlic. In
the same water as the mushrooms I soaked some dulce and cut them up roughly
with scissors, then heated up the whole lot and when it came to the boil added
some TVP. The right amount is the amount that soaks up pretty much all the
water after a few minutes. Next I threw in a lot of nutritional yeast and then
mixed the whole lot up with the potatoes. Knead in a bit of flour, and that’s a
dough/burger mix.</div>
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Then I really had some fun: I covered a plate in flour and made patties
in my hands before covering them in a coating of flour and piling them up.
After so much effort it was a satisfying moment to see a pile of burgers,
uniform in size, and begging to be fried.</div>
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While they fried in much more vegetable oil than I would normally use,
I finely chopped up some savoy cabbage, mushrooms, garlic, ginger and a little
fresh chilly and stir fried that in toasted sesame oil. At the end I added a
significant amount of honey and tamari, which bubbled up satisfyingly. </div>
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To make the gravy I poured some boiling water in to the a jar of light
tahini which had just a few spoonfuls left, then stirred in some miso. Lazy
gravy. Nutrient packed gravy. Tasty gravy.</div>
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So! After patting the burgers with kitchen towel I served them up with
the veg and sauce. </div>
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Because they were so labour intensive to make I made a batch and froze
some. These were cooked by spraying with oil and grilling, and the freezing
melded the flavours and made them much more mellow and with a more consistent
texture. They reminded me of fish cakes. If you’d prefer a bit of bite then
keep decent chunks of mushroom and seaweed. </div>
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Much. Much. Better. Than. A. Bacon. Sarnie. </div>
</div>Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12859417303436766396noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-81750657100968831192012-05-24T22:52:00.001+01:002012-05-27T23:05:44.110+01:00Carrot, Cabbage, Dulce and Ginger Miso soup with Crispy Tofu and Pak Choi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwIOJsgH4hGST6_-Ay7JtEysT-4d7PUkYpHehhJ2-h3VRJLFI7NIaj2oz2LhBsu_fM6HHQqXEDGPDqAR3FPd9wbRkTLMsx2UPYWTeE8zG6te5cRFDgYADiejiX0OILld0OekLjpePgnq1r/s1600/spring+12+101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwIOJsgH4hGST6_-Ay7JtEysT-4d7PUkYpHehhJ2-h3VRJLFI7NIaj2oz2LhBsu_fM6HHQqXEDGPDqAR3FPd9wbRkTLMsx2UPYWTeE8zG6te5cRFDgYADiejiX0OILld0OekLjpePgnq1r/s320/spring+12+101.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<u>Crispy topping:</u><br />
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Half a packet of plain firm tofu, cubed into about 3.5mm cubes</div>
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Enough tamari for the tofu to soak up nicely</div>
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Two teaspoons of dried ginger powder </div>
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Toasted sesame oil, enough to cover the bottom of your best frying pan</div>
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About the same amount of pak choi as tofu, sliced into thick enough
slices to keep a good bite</div>
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A subtle squeeze of fresh lemon juice</div>
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<u>Soup:<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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½ an onion, finely sliced </div>
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4 small carrots, or 2 big ones, grated</div>
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A large fist sized amount of cabbage</div>
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A handful of dried dulce seaweed, soaked as per instructions on packet
and sliced thinly</div>
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A bit more than an inch of fresh ginger</div>
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A tablespoon or so of genmai miso</div>
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Marinade the tofu pieces in tamari and ginger powder for at least 10
minutes. If you want extra crispiness then squeeze as much water out of the
tofu first. Some people use elaborate contraptions of tea towels and heavy things.
I used my hand. </div>
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Fry this on a medium heat, ideally using a pan big enough for the tofu
cubes to not be touching its little tofu neighbours. It should get nicely
crispy after ten minutes or so.</div>
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Boil the onion and carrot in plenty of water until it’s soft and has
exciting looking orange foam. Add the
cabbage and seaweed and let them soften too. </div>
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At this point, throw in the pak choi with the tofu and give it a shake.
I see you baby.</div>
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Take away a bit of the water and mix it with the miso. Mix it up until
it’s dissolved and pour back into the soup just before eating time. Boiling
miso reduces its nutritional value, which is something really rather special,
so I advise you keep as much of it as possible by avoiding boiling miso. Some
people claim that miso reduces the risk of high blood pressure, although it’s
pretty salty so you’d have to conscious of sodium intake in the rest of your
diet. I used genmai miso which is made from brown rice, and has a nice sweet
flavour which goes really well with the ginger here.</div>
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Shake your tofu and pak choi some more and when it’s crisped to
perfection sprinkle just a bit of lemon juice over it.</div>
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Mix the miso stock into the soup, ladle it out and top with crispy tofu
and pak choi.</div>
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<o:p> </o:p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTXflAHWjIH3hVgrZovh0nEDCqEjbMzC9x6koQk5y0dYiINJPyJWPDv-jF0GaueaQ1nmJuXZeO2KNWlLa3k7dSnFnmDp5QzFGcgHXTQ2cbmTUjXuoyx1BTp2g92k0JsvoItsPbRFfpZvi/s1600/spring+12+104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTXflAHWjIH3hVgrZovh0nEDCqEjbMzC9x6koQk5y0dYiINJPyJWPDv-jF0GaueaQ1nmJuXZeO2KNWlLa3k7dSnFnmDp5QzFGcgHXTQ2cbmTUjXuoyx1BTp2g92k0JsvoItsPbRFfpZvi/s320/spring+12+104.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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“The best soup I’ve ever had.” Ian Cole, 22 March 2012, 7.19pm.</div>
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“Pretty good for a using-things-up soup.” Gwen Rowland, 22 March 2012,
7.20pm.</div>
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Yes, I’m smug about this one. Try it and you’ll see why.</div>
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<br /></div>Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12859417303436766396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-48793358447637287572012-05-24T22:49:00.000+01:002012-05-27T23:07:05.655+01:00Store Cupboard Risotto – Spinach, Mushroom, Butterbean and Brazil Nut Rice. Also: The wonders of a freezer.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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More than once
my kitchen has been referred to as a health food shop: it is pretty well stocked. I don't think this is overly luxurious, I think it makes my life a lot easier when I come in tired from work and haven't had a chance to plan a meal and buy fresh ingredients for it. This recipe's ingredients are all things
that can be kept for a long time and can be used in so many different ways. I
recommend that you challenge your definition of ‘stock essentials’. Goodbye
sliced bread and frozen chips, hello canned spinach and frozen rice. </div>
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This recipe involves:</div>
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Olive oil</div>
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Garlic (NEVER run out of garlic. This is an unimaginable situation.)</div>
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Frozen sliced mushrooms</div>
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Dried mushrooms</div>
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Vegetable stock powder (again, ABSOLUTE essential)</div>
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Canned spinach</div>
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Oat cream</div>
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Frozen brown rice</div>
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Frozen butterbeans<br />
Grated brazil nuts</div>
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Freshly ground black pepper</div>
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Fry crushed garlic in olive oil for a few minutes, then add the
mushrooms (having soaked the dried ones first). Stir in some veg stock when
they’re soft then add the spinach, oat cream, rice, butterbeans and brazils.
Keep it simmering until you can’t bear it anymore. Stir in the pepper then
serve with a bit of grated brazil nut on top to make it look fancy. </div>
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Sure, this would be amazing made with fresh ingredients, but sometimes
a busy life means a lack of fresh ingredients. Fortunately, a busy life can
still be once with tasty and interesting cooking in it.</div>
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A word on freezing: make friends with your freezer. Frozen foods are
truly liberating for someone who follows
a diet which makes eating out a little difficult sometimes. I’ve recently
acquired three whole shelves of freezer all for myself, which means that I can
have plenty of choice at any time, and can cook large batches of foods to
access in the future. This means less time spent waiting for things to cook and
more time being spontaneous. Pulses are perfect for this – cook three saucepans
at once then freeze them in portions which can be thrown into sauces where
they’ll defrost in minutes. I’ve been experimenting with freezing sauce bases
too: curries, chillies, herby sauces… To my mind a sauce base is a load of
flavours to which you just add some sort of liquid ingredient, e.g. water /
tinned tomatoes / plant milk / peanut butter etc.</div>
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The frozen rice in this recipe above is just that: a portion of boiled
brown rice frozen in a sandwich bag. It’s good to label foods with a date, as
bacteria can still multiply at those temperatures, just at a much slower rate than
at room or fridge temperatures. Rice should be cooled very quickly and put in
the freezer as soon as it is lukewarm because it can harbour a particularly nasty
type of food poisoning which is really best avoided. Some people avoid it by
doing things like cooling rice by spreading it on a baking tray or running it
under the cold tap. The number of times I have survived reheated rice not
treated in any special way demonstrates that this is probably unnecessary, but
just be extra careful whenever using pre-cooked rice.<br />
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Lovely bags of frozen foods in my freezer</div>
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My freezer contains:</div>
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</div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Lots of packets bread and crumpets that were
reduced to 10p each in a supermarket I am ashamed to have a slight fetish for.
Oh, ASDA, delight of the yellow label whore. *sighs*</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Frozen berries – perfect for smoothies, and MUCH
cheaper than fresh</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Smilies (Just like potato waffles, you can cook
them in the toaster and they’re oh so satisfying with baked beans at the end of
a night out)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Sauce bases</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Tofu. As plain tofu is so much cheaper than that
with stuff added, I like to add my own stuff en masse then freeze it in bite
sized chunks. After being frozen, tofu’s texture alters considerable to be
harder and more chewy. I guess this is due to it losing water. I love the way
it comes closer to resembling meat in bite and mouthfeel, but some people
prefer to keep away from meatlike foods… It’s a matter of opinion. Try it and
see what you think</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Sorbet</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Processed things, e.g. mushroom kievs, nut
cutlets (Good Life, excellent company)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Linda McCartney’s veggie sausages (£1 for 5 in
Iceland. Go Iceland!)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Portions in sandwich bags of various pulses and
grains. Most plain for cooking with at will, some in sauces so that they can be
taken out of a morning and eaten at work for lunch. Chickpeas for batches of hummous
is particularly exciting</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Frozen veg. My favourites are peas, spinach and
mushrooms</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Ice. It’s a sad day when you make a gin and
tonic and there’s no ice. It’s also a good way to fill your freezer cheaply if
you don’t have food in it. This keeps the freezer’s energy usage down as
there’s less airflow when you open the door which means less need to cool down
the freezer each time you open it</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Herbs. All right, I admit it: this is a lie. But I
fully intend to freeze some fresh herbs and use them in cooking soon. My
mission in the next few months is to get good at herbs. Bring it on basil! Come
on coriander! Stand back sage! I am ready to take you all on.</span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
So what do you use your freezer for?</div>
<br /></div>Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12859417303436766396noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-57027893795258075052012-05-24T22:35:00.001+01:002012-05-27T23:07:24.284+01:00Eating out in Edinburgh: The Scottish Parliament<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Sometimes eating out as a vegan can get tricky, but sometimes it's wonderful and you get something specially made. Some of the best places to go are catered events held by very conspicuously inclusive and PC organisations. Not only do you get something interesting, but you get your own plate of it while everyone else has to politely fight over something which might be chicken, but equally might be cheese. The Scottish parliament is a prime example. Just look at this plate of canapes:<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Polenta towers with beetroot</li>
<li>Butternut squash with creamy coriander and plum fans</li>
<li>Sun blushed and cherry tomatoes with red pepper and olives on cocktail sticks mush</li>
<li>Lettuce boats stuffed with avocado and onion</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipjBXz19EwnGH5QGURBZDf0rvP0JU1jSZm9IMrZSgUrzUGn0QFau77rp9eWX7f46bAE1biGAjPJzE3hElVPSwlMBpy8F96IGd6FPDrWnPfNO2wVea2WAbgQAQyAzJjd6PoX6HMx0EDK_7G/s1600/spring+12+113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipjBXz19EwnGH5QGURBZDf0rvP0JU1jSZm9IMrZSgUrzUGn0QFau77rp9eWX7f46bAE1biGAjPJzE3hElVPSwlMBpy8F96IGd6FPDrWnPfNO2wVea2WAbgQAQyAzJjd6PoX6HMx0EDK_7G/s320/spring+12+113.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
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<div>
I'd vote for whoever made these! </div>
</div>Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12859417303436766396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-26559321598855835452012-03-24T17:09:00.004+00:002012-03-24T17:14:17.020+00:00Vegan Breakfast RollI'm not sure how widespread this is, but in Ireland breakfast rolls are quite popular. There was even a song about it that was somewhat popular. Normally they're filled with bacon, sausages and pudding. Maybe eggs. So it's a hash brown and ketchup roll for anyone following a vegan diet. That's nothing to turn your nose at, it's actually pretty good. But I thought I'd try a fancier one.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJp9fcy4AIgePlSxhCoZEv8o3qzT8P9YJ6oX-75TlC8A_YJp2MWJMzDAvR3yi-oluYClrD7jQixZzXQlI0tnQCqaIuLOHz8zQ6vCRXQzJp5k32BE_VphTKiHh8AbaasHSXJILR7mFFM8VD/s1600/Breakfast-Rol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJp9fcy4AIgePlSxhCoZEv8o3qzT8P9YJ6oX-75TlC8A_YJp2MWJMzDAvR3yi-oluYClrD7jQixZzXQlI0tnQCqaIuLOHz8zQ6vCRXQzJp5k32BE_VphTKiHh8AbaasHSXJILR7mFFM8VD/s400/Breakfast-Rol.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>This is beautiful! It consists of; Fried Cabbage (with Frank's Hot Sauce & Nutritional Yeast), Linda McCartney Veggie Sausages, Sliced Cooked Beetroot, Tomato Relish, and Lovage, served in a baguette. A great way to start a day. If you're not in a rush.<br />
<br />
- DaraDarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06045005671597996682noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-64094404411854258452012-03-23T21:02:00.002+00:002012-03-23T21:39:34.351+00:00Celebrated GranolaGranola would be nice. But organic granola is expensive. And ethically-sourced, organic granola is very expensive. Ethically-sourced, organic, sugar-and-honey-free granola? Forget about it, pal. What are you, a celebrity? Are you celebrated? You're not? No fancy granola for you. Have our sugary, unethical granola or get lost. That's the way things are. Don't get clever. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKoAXUKqgwvAxNtJcap_SyTE4RtN7zpHNv3cfuYUqcPLNbSuQTxBEWch4_CrhKkOWx-VN7MOmixVtpm_gq4dAvr5QgYxIO1ehPVXvvzU7Cr6deswpBQT0er-6oMstiWSG97bRxiRtcdpr/s1600/granola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKoAXUKqgwvAxNtJcap_SyTE4RtN7zpHNv3cfuYUqcPLNbSuQTxBEWch4_CrhKkOWx-VN7MOmixVtpm_gq4dAvr5QgYxIO1ehPVXvvzU7Cr6deswpBQT0er-6oMstiWSG97bRxiRtcdpr/s400/granola.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
But help is at hand, in the form of your cleverness. Yes, that's right. You always knew granola was over-priced. But you accepted it because the packaging is pretty and partially transparent and you can see the clusters and so it must be worth five times its weight in oats. Not so. Give your own granola a try. You can source all the ingredients locally and to your preference, so you know exactly what's going in.<br />
<br />
Instead of refined sugar, I mixed barley malt syrup and some other natural sweeteners (I had some maple syrup to hand - hey, big spender!) with some oats and vegetable oil. I threw in some sunflower seeds and nuts (and a hint of some spices) and mixed it all up till I got a cluster-like consistency. Or something close to it. Spread this evenly on a baking tray and bake for a while till you're happy. Just in general. It's important to be happy. Then check on your oats. They're done! Great. Add some raisins to the mix (don't bake them as they'll burn) and bam. You have a lovely granola. Serve as a cereal or with yoghurt or just on its own and realise that you are happier than any celebrity. You have just made your own granola and that is to be celebrated.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtBRPTlG-fBIPLwrsaB-ajaSbWQsSv6Tc0igV9s2SVNJ2GIO8qXDMCaNh618VeCQEpzes3bvS0z1j1yFGV6ieGtQ7S9YCRNvsVxr6Q9IQEG7cq2c1kQx7XWS4bq3t5Ph5aifRubVW94GkO/s1600/granola-served.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtBRPTlG-fBIPLwrsaB-ajaSbWQsSv6Tc0igV9s2SVNJ2GIO8qXDMCaNh618VeCQEpzes3bvS0z1j1yFGV6ieGtQ7S9YCRNvsVxr6Q9IQEG7cq2c1kQx7XWS4bq3t5Ph5aifRubVW94GkO/s400/granola-served.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Home-made Granola and <a href="http://peasandloveblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/soy-milk-soy-bread.html">Soy Milk</a></span></div><br />
- DaraDarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06045005671597996682noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-36964699615957777982012-03-14T19:42:00.006+00:002012-03-15T10:29:04.252+00:00Climate Week - Competition<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKfO2E4926JAurROYiaYTkdkOC9TtAQOxiaXEclMocpCrjw7zVJMV6JDMSNnptRTkzCcR_SLClMYBgYEiO63WV8KzvKKbQau0vHfNwwZZWD3A2dymi9QT-xt1JGe3YHfGa-UZxvPQCUvPz/s1600/cw-logo.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719840957241645410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKfO2E4926JAurROYiaYTkdkOC9TtAQOxiaXEclMocpCrjw7zVJMV6JDMSNnptRTkzCcR_SLClMYBgYEiO63WV8KzvKKbQau0vHfNwwZZWD3A2dymi9QT-xt1JGe3YHfGa-UZxvPQCUvPz/s400/cw-logo.gif" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 112px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 261px;" /></a>Just in case you didn't already know, this week is climate week. YAAY! Big up the awareness raising. They've got loads going on, so check it out.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>Kassie, who is one of the people organising the week, very kindly responded to my email and we are now on their list of blogs.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Something that may interest the free food fans amongst you is a competition to win a hamper of sustainable goodies from Tescos. Think of it like skipping, but without leaving the comfort of your own home... </div><div><br />
</div><div>What you need to do is register a meal that is low carbon. Low carbon meals include those made from locally sourced ingredients, those made from leftovers, or those which are low in meat and dairy. If you need inspiration just scroll down ;-)</div><div><br />
</div><div>Enter here:<br />
<a href="http://www.climateweek.com/eat-low-carbon/register-your-low-carbon-meal/" style="font-size: 100%;">http://www.climateweek.com/eat-low-carbon/register-your-low-carbon-meal/</a><br />
<br />
And check out the other recommended blogs here:<br />
<a href="http://www.climateweek.com/eat-low-carbon/food-blogs-we-like/">http://www.climateweek.com/eat-low-carbon/food-blogs-we-like/ </a></div>Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12859417303436766396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-90961181264435813712012-03-13T02:34:00.004+00:002012-03-14T18:28:35.835+00:00Spinach and Tomato Tart (Vegan Pizza)I miss pizza sometimes. Friends in places like San Francisco do not understand this, as they have things as amazing as vegan pizzerias there. I was a bit shocked. However, I am in Ireland. So, I'll have to make my own. I'm reluctant to call things like this a pizza. Vegan-phobic people then pounce on it as a fake, a poor replacement for the real thing. 'Vegan pizza,' they'd say, 'No. You can't have a pizza without cheese because you just can't and if we start challenging everything where would we be? You'd drive yourself mad.' That kind of thing. So, that's why I'm calling it a tart, mainly, with vegan pizza in brackets.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwK4QNXAF89iCL6O3pt7ScMtZ9nlOb-EwQC2bTVceqcZwLSVKeco28Dd842bVN8uTPAZCmVMkLmGegPguWSLzmfODE-PH7aNhehPYdLjy-qzICYzNXNLAF0KUraPSzcvbNW4uRhLXs1NTz/s1600/Vegan-Tart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwK4QNXAF89iCL6O3pt7ScMtZ9nlOb-EwQC2bTVceqcZwLSVKeco28Dd842bVN8uTPAZCmVMkLmGegPguWSLzmfODE-PH7aNhehPYdLjy-qzICYzNXNLAF0KUraPSzcvbNW4uRhLXs1NTz/s400/Vegan-Tart.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Spinach and Tomato Tart (Vegan Pizza) </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's very easy to make. The prep time is about 5 - 10 minutes, and cooking time is about 10 - 15 minutes. I mixed some strong white flour with organic olive oil and water and made a nice dough. I was hungry, and so dispensed with the traditional addition of yeast and the subsequent hour or so for it to rise. I rolled the dough out thinly on a floured board, then placed it on a baking tray (a good trick is to put it on the tray before adding the toppings - it's harder to keep it all together when it's overloaded), and pre-heated the oven.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>I made a quick tomato sauce from tomato puree, olive oil and oregano and spread it on the base. Then I made the thing that goes where the cheese would normally go (not a replacement, mind you). I blended up lots of baby spinach, some olive oil, nutritional yeast, capers and a bit of crunchy peanut butter. And I threw in some other things I had to hand till it tasted nice. I think there was carrot. There was definitely Frank's Hot Sauce. Always.<br />
<br />
Being silly, I put all the toppings on before I added this spinach-sauce layer. Underneath it and unseen there sits; onion, pepper, sweetcorn, tomato, and thickly-sliced (cooked) beetroot, which gives it a nice bite. I threw on a few cashew nuts and a bit of rocket to top it all off, and threw it in a hot (not cold - fool me once) oven till I was satisfied and could wait no more (about 10 - 15 minutes). It was surprisingly good and I ate the whole tart (pizza) at once. I say surprisingly, as I often do in these entries, as cooking for me and Gwen is always an adventure. Generally it turns out pretty well. Rarely do you get lost in the woods without a map and get eaten by a bear. And certainly not this time. <br />
<br />
- DaraDarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06045005671597996682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-11012456184689687892012-03-12T22:23:00.004+00:002012-03-12T22:38:09.780+00:00Ginger Chocolate Cake<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1IkRownqawebeJZZ4dOnKSeOHQQX78atU1abmXFHGYobLB1qlMZkj01CqhmgLREa7nDWHlF5r1pT4BOdHom7tJZ1R6Wa-C3zzAB5VNeVWpPAXx5dLk_8TBYQiesTy7JoyEq1O2DoTAao7/s1600/DSC_0067.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1IkRownqawebeJZZ4dOnKSeOHQQX78atU1abmXFHGYobLB1qlMZkj01CqhmgLREa7nDWHlF5r1pT4BOdHom7tJZ1R6Wa-C3zzAB5VNeVWpPAXx5dLk_8TBYQiesTy7JoyEq1O2DoTAao7/s400/DSC_0067.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719139918631076722" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; margin-left: 4.5pt; line-height: 12.75pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(254, 249, 241); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; ">Better than non-vegan chocolate cake. I swear on my next meal.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; margin-left: 4.5pt; line-height: 12.75pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(254, 249, 241); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 12.75pt; ">First I mixed the dry ingredients: 1 and a half cups of flour, a third of a cup of sugar (white makes a lighter cake, brown makes a tastier one), a teaspoon of baking powder and a third of a cup of cocoa.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: 12.75pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(254, 249, 241); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; ">While I was doing this, my willing helper grated three inches of fat ginger stem using the fine side of the grater. He then picked up the solid mulch, squeezed it hard in his man hands and threw it away. Other ways to do this include using a muslin cloth to strain off the liquid, but I prefer my way.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: 12.75pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(254, 249, 241); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; ">Adding water to the ginger juice, I brought its volume up to a cup and added that to the dry mixture. Next were a third of a cup of sunflower oil and a tablespoon of cider vinegar. Yes, vinegar. Don’t diss it till you’ve tried it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: 12.75pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(254, 249, 241); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; ">This was baked in a greased pie dish (in the absence of a cake tin) in a medium heat oven for about half an hour – until a knife came out clean. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; line-height: 12.75pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(254, 249, 241); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; ">After cooling it I covered it in organic dark chocolate and left it on the side to be discovered with delight.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12859417303436766396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-18431535938239588152012-03-12T22:20:00.001+00:002012-03-12T22:22:21.788+00:00Toasted Walnut Bread with Basil<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIBgRSV6zut3RwiXqQBybemhtKCAqWuqSucIN6RvObGzEinXjFt_58ZaZMMbJigRL20vSZ4sbzi20Nc71DPWUtWy_ScTI2ivJcSCvm6uoh_4t3xzsDuzXj3nd7WO3gn4btSFuKyIrhuurA/s1600/DSC_0051.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIBgRSV6zut3RwiXqQBybemhtKCAqWuqSucIN6RvObGzEinXjFt_58ZaZMMbJigRL20vSZ4sbzi20Nc71DPWUtWy_ScTI2ivJcSCvm6uoh_4t3xzsDuzXj3nd7WO3gn4btSFuKyIrhuurA/s400/DSC_0051.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719139251009703666" /></a><p class="MsoNormal">Wow, just wow. Maybe my favourite way to eat bread, and that’s really saying something. It’s a sort of bruschetta. With the nuts and the basil it’s reminiscent of pesto, so if you’re a pesto fan give this a go pronto!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Walnut bread is easy, easier if you have a bread maker: it is normal bread with crushed walnuts in it. This one had walnut oil too, but that’s just showing off.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So! Grill a a doorstop piece of bread – the difference in thickness will make for different textures as you get through the slice. If you’re a fan of loaves with straight edges then you could always even it up by slicing a doorstop in the opposite direction. It just means you have to eat two slices, but trust me, you will anyway.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">When the toast is golden and crunchy on top rub a clove of garlic over it, then rub a few basil leaves on. Sprinkle over some olive oil, salt and pepper and there you have it – a mouth watering delight.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Apologies for the photo – the glare was intense and I couldn’t see what I was doing.</p>Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12859417303436766396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-89086083125363616932012-03-12T21:48:00.004+00:002012-03-12T22:41:46.252+00:00Lemon Pesto Dressed Broccoli with Olive Tofu<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDI3W1c511dnZGejQ-f1Yj9VmH2fRooDtPCWKCD4g_gWWldgdRORQPhyphenhyphenuMGtASd41h7TAoBFbnPLHyx1acllYIn2988lAx-tEzMp3vAHD9M6YFz-0G4r95vxm9RSajiwTyNpvLNLCitus/s1600/DSC_0097.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDI3W1c511dnZGejQ-f1Yj9VmH2fRooDtPCWKCD4g_gWWldgdRORQPhyphenhyphenuMGtASd41h7TAoBFbnPLHyx1acllYIn2988lAx-tEzMp3vAHD9M6YFz-0G4r95vxm9RSajiwTyNpvLNLCitus/s400/DSC_0097.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719130842705856482" /></a><div style="text-align: center; "><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; ">Now then, this won’t do much for debunking the myth that vegetarians only eat greens and tofu, but it happens to be one of my favourite light meals.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; ">When I want to get my broccoli on, I steam a whole head – including the peeled stems – and add lemon juice and salt to it. In my opinion, good quality broccoli needs little more, but I am a broccoli head. Sometimes I have to be careful not to steam my own head. *Titter* This version is a little more elaborate – the lemon juice had hemp oil and veggie pesto added to make a tangy dressing, and just before the broccoli was cooked, I threw some cubes of olive tofu into the steamer to heat them up. Man, I love this olive tofu: it really makes giving up cheese a lot easier. I thoroughly recommend you explore this savoury soya delight: <a href="http://www.veggiestuff.com/acatalog/taifun-organic-olive-tofu.html">http://www.veggiestuff.com/acatalog/taifun-organic-olive-tofu.html</a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; ">High in protein, low in carbs and fat. Which means you get to have cake for pudding. Score!</p></div>Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12859417303436766396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-71361062488803587342012-03-12T21:46:00.002+00:002012-03-12T22:40:30.086+00:00Nutroast with Roast Potatoes, Beetroot and Garlic<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTCeGsTEZLElsB-6sM7CEYaOA5iyuhyVwFNgUddvrkgoi66l0rH6cGe1dK_LnboOFI6KQbaymOR4WdP485-0pDC4U3K2PCsohmskjMFld18tX4jsZ6i5nPfsv2N0wO9ncYv3XzM-GwsF9/s1600/DSC_0055.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTCeGsTEZLElsB-6sM7CEYaOA5iyuhyVwFNgUddvrkgoi66l0rH6cGe1dK_LnboOFI6KQbaymOR4WdP485-0pDC4U3K2PCsohmskjMFld18tX4jsZ6i5nPfsv2N0wO9ncYv3XzM-GwsF9/s400/DSC_0055.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719130362398956930" /></a><div style="text-align: center; "><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; ">This was made as a birthday dinner for an ill Ian with very little appetite. I wasn’t feeling great either, and didn’t really feel like eating. This explains the lack of green veg or gravy with the meal – I plain forgot that it would make it a better meal, and neither of us really felt like eating, let alone going back to the shop for more food. Strange really, as we munched our way through more than a plateful each when it was put in front of us. Something to do with the SUPER MEGA DELICIOUSNESS of it! Needless to say, we were revived after our meal and proceeded to take over the world.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; ">The nutroast was made from a packet of mixed nuts, ground finely with a coffee grinder. This was added to fried onion, garlic, courgette (grated) and American jerk flavouring. One of the reasons I bought it was because I wondered what an American jerk might taste like… Ha. Ha-ha. Jokes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; ">The mixture was baked until it was hard and starting to brown.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; ">The vegetables were cut up into reasonable sized pieces, placed on a baking tray and balsamic vinegar, honey , sea salt and olive oil sprinkled over. They needed about an hour to roast nicely, and I added garlic towards the end. I saved the beetroot stalks for another meal, and boy! was it worth it. They are tasty and make things pink. Excellent.</p><div style="text-align: left;"><span><br /></span></div></div>Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12859417303436766396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-87210148146426863372012-03-12T21:05:00.003+00:002012-03-12T21:41:07.624+00:00Eating out in Machynlleth: The Quarry Cafe<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWUUmDHcjRaNEnFwMvQAV1Lg3lRq1kUram8j-gd4tzphwdcztg00KYb6nTFWj-tVVzVEkK4_AhZ0kx90JwaMq42DzY-T-Bmj7-fJzEcV5q_rG9JkfJ9jRG0YsCHgADZ1HfHA8myzJJzO4j/s1600/DSC_0071.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWUUmDHcjRaNEnFwMvQAV1Lg3lRq1kUram8j-gd4tzphwdcztg00KYb6nTFWj-tVVzVEkK4_AhZ0kx90JwaMq42DzY-T-Bmj7-fJzEcV5q_rG9JkfJ9jRG0YsCHgADZ1HfHA8myzJJzO4j/s400/DSC_0071.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719120097554316370" /></a><p class="MsoNormal">I used to work here, so it’s always a bit strange coming back as a customer. The Quarry Café is responsible for quite a lot of my cooking style, and I find their food very comforting. Some things have been the same since it started in the 70’s, like the thick wholewheat pizza covered in so much cheese your heart almost stops just looking at it. The very best thing in my opinion are the baked potatoes – they go in the oven around 9am, and so come lunch time they have been cooking in their own skins for a good few hours so the flesh is sweet and soft and the skin is soft and starting to fall away. Perfect.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">This one was served with humus – made on site to an age old recipe –unchanged since hippy began, and yet different every time. Just one of the café’s charms! This one was roughly blended and extremely garlicky. Once when I was washing up in the kitchen, my colleague who was serving out front came in with a bewildered look on his face and said “a woman just made a complaint because she found a chickpea in her hummus.” Erm…</p> <p class="MsoNormal">But if you think that’s dim witted, how about the time when a tourist excitedly told me about the ‘vegetarian butchers’ a few doors down - there’s a sign in the window which reads:</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“All the meat in this shop is vegetarian. The animals eat the green green grass and we just speed up the process.” </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Somehow this woman had failed to see the carcasses on show, or grasp that the meat was still made from animals, and wanted to tell me what a great town it was where even meat is actually vegetarian. Although I’ve never really understood the logic of this notice, I do admire the philosophy behind the statement. If the majority of the meat trade were like this enterprise, then the world would be a much better place. It’s a family run business, with its own abbatoir which only sources from local farms. They pride themselves on traceability, and you can ask for the contact details of the farmer who reared the pig who was made into your herb chipolata. Check it: <a href="http://www.wil-lloyd.co.uk/philosophy.htm">http://www.wil-lloyd.co.uk/philosophy.htm</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, back to the meat-free lunch… my potato was complimented by an interesting salad of roast butternut squash, tangerine, dry roast cashews and desiccated coconut. It was delicious, and really good to have an experimental salad. Peeking out from behind the potato there is a bit of red onion coleslaw, made with homemade vegan mayonnaise. The whole thing was pretty damn tasty, in fact, the only thing that made it better was eating the skin with my fingers.</p>Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12859417303436766396noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-39428431727144217282012-02-24T14:03:00.005+00:002013-02-12T20:54:02.017+00:00Spinach and Sun-dried Tomato PancakesI'm not sure what the tradition is in non-Catholic countries, but in Ireland people traditionally give up things for Lent (the 40-days before Easter) usually food products they enjoy. And so I assume that's where Pancake Tuesday comes from - people using up all their nice cupboard items the day before Lent (butter, eggs, sugar), and coming up with pancakes. Of course, in our consumer age, people go out and buy new ingredients or ready-made pancake mixtures, forgetting that such inventions originally came out of necessity or practicality.<br />
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When making vegan pancakes, there isn't really a whole lot to use up. No butter or eggs, and since I'm avoiding refined sugar there's none of that either. I did have a whole bag of baby spinach to use up though. And some white cabbage and stray bits of veg. So, I decided I'd make Spinach Pancakes.<br />
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First I blended the spinach with some sun-dried tomatoes and oat milk in a bowl (water is also fine - I used oat milk I made by blending oats and water - simple!). Then I added some wholemeal flour and some solid oats for texture. You want a nice sloppy consistency, so it'll spread on the pan. I fried up my pancakes and kept them warm in the oven, then served them with a sort of creamy topping, made thusly:<br />
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I fried up some cabbage, garlic, a bit of onion and some capers. As I went along I threw in some spinach I had left, as well as a bucket-load of nutritional yeast and Frank's Hot Sauce. Also, more sun-dried tomatoes and the oil that they come in. The nutritional yeast makes a nice creamy sauce with the oil (I normally add it late in the cooking process as heating it too high can kill off some of the vitamins it contains). I also threw in good few spoonfuls of soy yoghurt and grated a small amount of carrot in, but that's just what I had at hand. Any small amounts of tasty veg will go nicely in this. Throw a generous helping of the sauce on top of the pancakes and dress with some grated carrot, capers, spring onion and a sun-dried tomato.<br />
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Get it into ya. <br />
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- DaraDarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06045005671597996682noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-77103653684516026352012-02-12T14:51:00.006+00:002012-02-24T14:10:02.127+00:00Roast Potatoes & Sun-dried TomatoesIn keeping with the belated Christmas dinner posts, here are the roast potatoes I dined on. Roast potatoes are a lovely Sunday dinner treat (growing up in my house anyway) and my mother always seems to make them perfectly. As I was home for Christmas, these ones were a co-production with my auld one.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKzRAC92yfpyesDp6gGgu2W6YnbWs8R-hr_iST1yoH9Hfy5kMYt1igQjQ62T2KvrvZYuBNDGt7n5tZm1SUj52bZx2Wf3tw-RuFWpZaKcAGnW8gDr4Ky9MURtatsLmhZG1o0kZtVomX_Kj6/s1600/roast-potatoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKzRAC92yfpyesDp6gGgu2W6YnbWs8R-hr_iST1yoH9Hfy5kMYt1igQjQ62T2KvrvZYuBNDGt7n5tZm1SUj52bZx2Wf3tw-RuFWpZaKcAGnW8gDr4Ky9MURtatsLmhZG1o0kZtVomX_Kj6/s400/roast-potatoes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Her method (which in turn she took from my uncle) is to peel them, then boil them for ten minutes, then drain them, put them back in the dry pot and shake them round to get them fluffy. The fluffy bits make them deliciously crispy when roasted. Next, stick the shaken spuds in the oven with lots of oil. Since my family are partial to sundried tomatoes which usually comes in herb-y oil, I thought I'd use up the leftover, already-flavoured oil for roasting the potatoes. Roast them for 20 minutes or more, till you've got a crispiness level that satiates you and your diners. And about 5 minutes before they're done add in the sundried tomatoes themselves (maybe even less than five minutes as they burn easily).<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Serve it with whatever you like. Or on their own. I love them cold as well - they're like really, really chunky crisps. In this case, they went together with the breadcrumb stuffing (in my previous post) and lots of veg to make up my Christmas dinner. But they are not exclusively festive. In fact, I have to wrap up this post as I'm about to have some more right now!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Bye!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">- Dara </div>Darahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06045005671597996682noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6666971091176988287.post-62533974153741323192012-02-12T14:37:00.003+00:002012-02-12T15:07:36.238+00:00Breadcrumb StuffingSo, stuffing is a strange vegan food. Being that it is normally stuffed into a dead thing. I've always loved stuffing, even back when I ate meat, stuffing was always my favourite part of a fancy Sunday or Christmas dinner. So, it is only natural that it has become the main focus of my Christmas dinners these days. Here's one I made last Christmas, that I've only put up now - because stuffing is not just for Christmas.<br />
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It's very simple, and a great way to use up stale bread that's too far gone for toast (but still not green). Blend up lots of bread (or if you don't have a blender and don't mind some bloody knuckles you can grate it, though I'd recommend the former). I add lots of fresh herbs from the garden; parsely, sage, rosemary, thyme, and anything else Simon and Garfunkel recommended in the song. Add a good glug of olive oil and some black pepper (and salt if you like). That's your standard there. Pretty good. Now to customize it: I diced up lots of apple and added it, along with cashew nuts (<a href="http://peasandloveblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/skipping-christmas.html">all from this</a>), as well as some raisins. And then I added... orange juice! It makes it lovely and moist, gives it a bit of flavour and means you don't have to use as much oil (unless you want to). And it's a bit of natural sweetness that really brings out the raisins.<br />
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That's it, stick it in the oven for as long as you like (maybe a half hour or more) along with the rest of your dinner. You can cover it to keep it moist, or leave the top off to make it a bit crispy. Or both.<br />
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- DaraDarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06045005671597996682noreply@blogger.com0