Vegan Breakfast Roll

I'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.

 

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.

- Dara

Spinach 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.

 

Spinach and Tomato Tart (Vegan Pizza)

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.

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.

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.

- Dara

Spinach and Sun-dried Tomato Pancakes

I'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.

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.

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:

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.

Get it into ya.

- Dara

Cabbage Bake

That Christmas Eve skipping haul I posted a while ago went a long way. I made some nice dishes from it, though I think I've had enough of dairy again for a while (then again I may skip a wheel of cheese next, so who knows). This recipe has some superfluous cheese, but apart from that it's delicious and vegan and entirely from the skip (condiments and seeds aside).

So, I chopped up the entire head, steamed it for a bit, then fried it up in a pot with some chopped garlic and oil. I added lots of sesame seeds, some Frank's Hot sauce (we don't work for them, really), tomato puree, and black pepper. The mixture was delicious and vegan just like that, but I went one step further, as I had cheese to use.

I put the mixture in a baking dish, used my last few slices of (at this stage extra mature) cheese, and stuck it in the oven. I served it with some garlic bread and (purchased!) veggie sausages. It was one of the nicest things I've created in a while, and I sort of regretted using the cheese as it would have been just lovely without it. But I don't regret it that much.

- Dara

Dara's Sandwich no. 2

 

Vegetarian sandwiches are the best sandwiches in the world. When done correctly, of course. This one is nice and warm in the middle, but not toasted, and so still soft on the outside. It's pretty amazing. And garlic mushrooms are certainly in the top 20 reasons to be alive. This one is not vegan, I'm afraid, but lose the cheese and you're set.

Here's how to:
Get some brown bread.
Add all of your houmous to it, more piled than spread.
Add some strong cheese and some torn spinach/ baby spinach.
Fry up some mushrooms with chopped garlic.
Place the hot mushrooms on the cheese so it melts slightly.
Top with Frank's Red Hot Sauce to set it all off.
Put it together and EAT.

- Dara

Dara's Sandwich no. 1

As a lifelong sandwich-lover, I couldn't think of much things worse than a life without a sandwich. It is a stereotype that veggie sandwiches are boring. I find it makes you much more inventive and, in fact, I find plain, old meat sandwiches pretty boring and uninventive now. So I'm going to throw up some photos of my sandwiches. They're a little odd sometimes, and different every time, so most of them I've only had once. I usually just use whatever ingredients I have to hand. Here is number 1.

It consists of chopped celery, sliced tomato, a couple of Linda McCartney sausages (vegan-friendly), all served on toasted wholemeal bread, and topped with some Frank's Red Hot Sauce. This was a delicious cold sandwich to enjoy with a cup of tea. I was surprised at how good it was; the celery gives it crunch, the tomatoes make it juicy, and the sausages and condiments make it tasty. Some houmous would also be nice in there, but I did not have any at the time. Hope this fuels your creative sandwich-making. Feel free to share sandwich ideas. More to come.

- Dara

Controversial Crumble

Why is it controversial?

Because it's savoury.

Open your mind.

Eat.

Love.

Be happy.

Take a look:

Savory Crumble Topping:

Rub together a smallish handful of flour, a biggish handful of oats and an in-between handful of butter or margarine until it looks a bit like bread crumbs.

Then have some fun adding things in. This one here has some curry spices and sunflower seeds in. Controversial....

Aduki Bean Base:

Aduki beans are hard red beans so you'd better not mess with them. What you'd better do is soack them overnight then boil them up in a big pan for about an hour. they don't really get too soft (I TOLD you they're hard) but by tasting them you'll see when they're ready.

This lot were added to a load of fried onions, carrots, celery, garlic, fresh ginger, corriander and cumin.

Put the bean mix in an ovenproof dish, add as much crumble mix as you like then bake it till it gets golden and looks happy. Eat. Love. Be happy.

For extra happiness add Franks red hot sauce.

Dara's Houmous

Is it houmous or hummus? Or Hummus or Hamas? Whatever you call it, it sure is tasty, and it's pretty easy to make as well. I shall guide you now in making Dara's Houmous. Here are the main ingredients:

Chickpeas

Garlic

Olive/ Veg oil

Lemon Juice
Light Tahini
Frank's Red Hot Sauce

First, soak some chickpeas in the fridge over night. Barely half-fill the containers (I just use washed out jars) with chickpeas, then fill them up the rest of the way with water and put the lid on. They'll expand overnight. Alternatively, you can just use pre-soaked, tinned chickpeas, but soaking your own is normally cheaper. The next day, boil them up in some fresh water until they're nice and tender. It may take a while, maybe half an hour or more, or nothing at all for tinned chickpeas. But do make sure they are nice and tender, as Gwen tells me under-cooked chickpeas (and other pulses) make you fart. Personally, I don't know what she's talking about. But... do watch out for that

So, when they're nice and tender, strain them off. Add them to a bowl along with lots of crushed garlic (the amount is up to you - I'm a fiend), a small bit of tahini (not too much - it's bitter), and a dash of oil and a bit of water to start.  Blend them up if you have a blender - it will make things much smoother - or if not just mash them up. You can gradually add more oil and water to the mixture (more oil is better, depending on how healthy you want to be) and continue mixing until you're happy with the consistency. Don't throw the liquids all in at once, as your houmous may end up too watery or oily (if it does though, don't despair - oily houmous makes a good base for a curry). Now, squeeze in some lemon juice to your taste. As well as giving it a zesty twist, the citric acid also helps preserve the houmous, or so Gwen tells me. Then add salt and pepper to taste. And, the secret ingredient of Dara's houmous, a secret no longer - add lashings of Frank's Red Hot Sauce! Oh yeah.  Mix it all up and you're done! Good work!

You generally get a jar of houmous per jar of soaked chickpeas used, so you can just store your houmous in those jars in the fridge for a few days (4 - 5, maybe more) till it goes stinky. Not that I need to tell you how to serve your delicious houmous, but serve your delicious houmous on some bread, in a sandwich, or with some crisps. Sometimes I just eat it from the jar. That's completely normal, too.

Try also: caramelised onion houmous. Same recipe, but with onions fried in oil with sugar.

- Dara