Vegetarian Foods Archive

Delectus meaning  noun  a body of important works of art, an influential body of literature. It has been a long time coming, but l have been intending to compile a list of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks that inspire me.   Welcome to my delectus! To make what would otherwise be a generic list of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, I thought I would offer a personal review of sorts, not the kind of reviews to encourage you to rush out and pick up a copy (though that would be nice), but more how they came to be in my possession, what I like about the book and what I don't like so much.  I will also cook a recipe or two from the cookbook.  I hope to do this once a week. Please do join me if you wish and I will share your link in my side-bar (see rules below). There was another reason that spurred me to do this now, I was actually a little surprised that my  Top 5 vegetarian and vegan cookbooks from 2015  were unknown to a number of readers. I think this ...

I made this rustic French Lentil Soup with Capers and Fried Pine Nuts from Adam Sobel's Street Vegan a little while back.  I've had many a French Lentil style soups in my time, but what was different about this one and what I loved about this soup other than the Puy lentils was the undertones of the Balsamic vinegar, enhanced further by a garnishing of minced piquant capers and in place of croutons, some fried pine-nuts.  This soup had real depth of flavour! These pine nuts scattered over this soup were given to me by a friend who had just come back from Pakistan.  The pine nuts were still in there shells too so took time to shell, but I didn't mind it. I have never thought about it before, but Pine Nuts do have that cheesy greasy texture and I can totally now see why pine nuts are used in vegan 'Parmesan' cheese recipes.  And yes there is rosemary in the soup too, hence my soup bowl posing with it. This is the first of many The Vegetarian Library chall...

In more of an effort to make use of my cookbooks from my Vegetarian Library, today we have Mildred's The Cookbook.   I  was fortunate to win Mildred's The Cookbook last year.   I've made a few recipes from it including  the most delicious vegan  Brownies with Peanut Butter   and a smoky  Lapsang Chestnut Mushroom Strogonoff .   This time I wanted  to try something with piquancy.  I decided on the Cauliflower and Green Olive Tagine.  I like olives, it wasn't always this way and to satisfy D it had his favourite white vegetable.   Although the Tagine was filling and full of different textures from the cauliflower, carrots and chickpeas, we both felt the sauce lacked depth.  Why? This recipe does not have onions, but is substituted with celery sticks.   I do understand the need for such recipes.  When I did a bit of freelance vegetarian cooking, one of my customers had an allergy to alliums: the onion famil...

I became acquainted with the rather beautiful and stunning Sarah Beattie in Glasgow.  I accidentally bumped into her in an Oxfam Bookshop on Byres Road, Glasgow - well not literally of course but I like to think so.   I found her first cookbook Neither Fish Nor Fowl: Meat Free Eating for Pleasure (1993) on the shelf and was charmed by the innovative recipes, the elegant presentation.  This was a stylish, sophisticated  and sumptuous vegetarian cookbook with recipes ahead of its time like Beetroot and Cranberry Consomme, Raspberry Soup, Avocado Soup, Stuffed Nasturtium Salad and that's just for starters.  It was a pioneering cookbook in my eyes, as it was the first vegetarian dinner party cookbook I came across that moved away from  the wholemeal way of cooking.  It also has Asparagus Eclairs and Chestnut Souffles and Raspberry Brulee and so so much more .    I have over the years adapted some of her recipes, such as  Curried Peach Tar...

I am so glad its Friday.  First week back at work after a week off was hard and this week seemed to be harder as every single day I was super busy, that is good as it makes the time pass, but I am tired and am so looking forward to a lie in and not having to get up 6am in the morning.  Thank goodness for weekends.    I made this dish a little while back its a Smoky Pepper Stew.  The smokiness from paprika.  I served it with rice.   I am sharing this with  Plant Based Potluck Party  and  Healthy Vegan Fridays  hosted by  Rock My Vegan  Socks and  V Nutrition ; and  and  Weekend Cooking  hosted by Beth Fish Reads   .   The recipe comes from  Innocent Badger Cookbook :  The Tried to Bury Us...But They Didn't Know We were Seeds.    I picked up the Innocent Badger Cookbook when I went to  Cheltenham Vegan Festival early this year,  but its the first reci...

It is the Blood Orange Season. I had picked up some Sicilian Blood Oranges from a supermarket and wasn't completely sure what to do with them other than just peel and eat them, of course. It was only when I started reading  an on line article by Claudia Roden for sharing the recipe with the Western world. Sicilian Blood Orange Almond Cake   9 inch round baking tin Ingredients 4 blood organic oranges, rinsed 6 free range eggs 250grams ground almonds 250grams caster sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder Method 9 inch spring form round tin, with a removable base, buttered and floured Place 3 or the oranges, unpeeled, into a saucepan and cover with water and allow to boil for 1 ½-2 hours, until the oranges have completely softened. Drain water and allow the oranges cool, then cut them open and remove the pips.  Make the oranges into a pulp by putting them in a food processor. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl, and then add these along with the ground almonds,...

I know what your thinking Olives for dinner , but this Turmeric Risotto has more than just olives, it also has preserved lemons . The late Karen Hubert Allison , cookbook Author of The Vegetarian Compass was so right when she wrote All roads to Preserved Lemons lead to Paula Wolfert classic cookbook Couscous and Other Good Foods From Morocco (1973) and who am I to disagree. I sometimes make my own Preserved Lemons, but there is nothing wrong with picking up a jar of ready made, there are quite a few good brands about.   I was inspired to make this Turmeric Risotto with Preserved Lemons and Green Olives a little while back when I had limited fresh vegetables in my home, much of what went into this was store cupboard ingredients or those often found in my fridge.  I had picked up a packet or organic tempeh the last time I went into the city.   The tempeh served almost like crispy croutons and made for an interesting contrast against the soft rice grains. ...

The weather was fantastic over the weekend and like many people with gardens or allotment plots, I was out working in mine.  Between the two of us, we got loads done including a lot of weeding including dandelions . The potatoes have gone in.  I have sowed many seeds.  The seeds I sowed two weeks ago have germinated, tomatoes, courgettes, chard, broad beans and some have not.  I will up-date my Sowing The Seeds page to let you know what I am attempting to grow this year, bu t today, I am sharing my dinner plate of v egan meatballs on a bed of wilted dandelion leaves.  I was inspired by a recipe for Fried Dandelion Greens with Lemon and Garlic Potatoes I saw in Street Vegan by Adam Sobel .  My food presentation is not good, a little corny I think but the finished dish was delicious.  The meatballs were zinging and the spicy herby coating infuse the crispy brown exterior of the veggie meatballs.  The sauteed dandelion greens were not at all bi...

Are you getting tired of my Courgette -  Zucchini recipes?! If so, I am not that sorry as I am still set to continue with this seasonal vegetable. Today, I share with you Stuffed  Courgette Tondo di Piacenza with Ricotta. This  Courgette Tondo di Piacenza   with Ricotta with Pine Nuts is a little fancy to eat and sounds like a lot of faff to make, but it is actually quite  simple to assemble.  The time consuming part is the hollowing out, the rest is a breeze. I am not a huge fan of ricotta.  I find it flavourless.  Also it often gets overcooked and the consistency changes and that puts me off, however I was not going to let a past experience put me off and was willing to give ricotta a go again.  The ricotta filling in these round stuffed Courgettes is inspired by one of my favourite food writers Nadine Abensur from her cookbook Cranks Fast Food.   So how do I feel about ricotta?! Well, it was all very impressive ...

I have been admiring Johanna's efforts over the festive season .  She got round to making everything that I wanted to, but did not from nut roast, mince pies to fudge and even panforte .  However, it  was after seeing Johanna's homemade Sweet and spicy nuts that I was prompted to make some  savoury nibbles at home. The recipe for roasted Rosemary Cashews comes from  fellow blogger Sharon'  who blogs over at Bit of The Good Stuff,   and this title is also the name of her first cookbook, I say first as I hope she will muster up the energy to write another.  I had the pleasure to meet Sharon in person  at  Gloucester's First Vegan Market  last month.   I have also made Sharon's  Banana Bread  and   Apricot and Butternut Tagine.    and now these Rosemary Cashews. The only thing I did differently from Sharon recipe was use fresh rosemary from the garden plot, afterall I don't call my blog allotm...