Vegetarian Foods Archive

l have a confession to make.  I don't like mashed potatoes.  It is baby food designed for grown ups. I avoid making it, but if I have to t he only way I can eat it is if it is disguised in panko crusted  croquettes or dolloped over a good Vegetarian Shepherdess Pie,   but my dearest loves mashed potatoes, so it is for him I make them now and again.   Here the mashed potatoes are enhanced with herby dill and a good smack of horseradish powder or sauce. Once you've made it though, there is the question of presentation.    The mash was ridiculously smooth, so smooth that it almost melted in the mouth like snow - except of course it was warm.   Dill Horseradish Mashed Potatoes Serves 4 - 6 as an accompaniment Ingredients 500ml water 750grams potatoes, peeled and chopped into small bite size pieces 1 tablespoon horseradish powder or sauce 2 tablespoons dill, roughly chopped 30grams butter or vegan margarine 100ml - 150ml milk or ve...

Well, if you hadn't guessed it, I jacked in Veganuary.  I have been doing it loyally since the campaign began and have proved to myself in the past that I can maintain a vegan diet for a month and it doesn't have to be for the New Year resolution month of January, the challenge for me in the future is will it be longer?! And the reasons for doing so have to be genuine, not a gimmick to get blog hits or retweets.  So what really happened?!     Well I  I went out for a proper vegetarian experience and that's when I slipped.  When I am in control of my own cooking, I am focused - but invite me to go out for a meal, and I rarely go out for a meal especially to a exclusively Vegetarian restaurant where a vegetarian can be spoiled for choice, then anything can happen.  And it did, I was in Manchester recently with the lovely Choclette of   Tin and Thyme  ( formerly Chocolate Log Blog) and was tempted by something I saw on the menu at  1847 ...

You will find many variations of vegetarian and v egan Shepherds Pie here, but I've never featured a Cottage Pie on my blog, not sure why as I have made them many times - perhaps its because it doesn't really look that pretty to photograph. So what is the difference between a Shepherds Pie and a Cottage Pie.  Traditionally a Shepherd Pie made with minced lamb and Cottage Pie with chunks of beef, but for vegetarians and vegans this is often substituted with minced mushrooms or a mock meat substitute.  Here is my version of a vegetarian Cottage Pie made with the addition of Welsh leeks which give it a little sweetness and topped with seaweed - Welsh Laverbread mash.  I was prompted to make a Welsh version of Cottage pie when I saw a Scottish twist on a Cottage Pie.  I am sure you will find a Irish version and with respect, we all know there is no shortage of English variations of the humble Cottage Pie. For those of you who read my blog will know that...

A lot more cooler today, thank goodness - but I still  didn't really want to be in the kitchen.   I made something relatively simple: I baked these Spice Herb Baked Potato wedges in the oven.  I was just going to serve them with some beans, but then changed my mind after finding some ready made veggie meatballs in the freezer.  To make my life easy, I decided to throw the vegetarian Quorn* 'meatballs' into the oven with the spice herb coated wedges.    I would normally have Sriracha and D goes for brown sauce, but  I had already planned to serve these wedges with a  Salsa, but no ordinary tomato salsa.  No these potato wedges were going to be served with Chilli Chocolate Salsa.  I was prompted to make this recipe after finding a bar of Dark Chilli chocolate, so the whole meal ended up revolving around this.  Chilli Chocolate Salsa is an acquired taste.  It was devilishly rich. This plate is further enhanced with salad...

This Winter Beetroot Potato Horseradish Gratin is perhaps something best served around Halloween when loud bold colours seem more acceptable on the dinner plate, though I must add orange is the real colour of Halloween, not Gothic blood wine colours.   This a dish that was made from scratch, from peeling and cooking the beetroot (which were from my own garden plot) to making the sauce, the only shortcut I used was horseradish sauce from a jar.  I have seen fresh horseradish root in the city of Cardiff, but its very expensive and I would only want a tablespoon or two, not the whole root - so its from a jar, no shame in that.   You could make this grating completely with beetroot, but I thought it might be too overpowering and alternated it with sliced potatoes.  This recipe is vegetarian, but it can easily be made vegan. I served the Beetroot Potato Horseradish Gratin enjoyed it with Cauldron Lincolnshire sausages which I prefer to the other supermar...

We don't do Halloween in our home, but with the weather turning all miserable and cold in the last week, I have been making hearty dishes like potato gratin.  Potato gratin has been on the menu a few times and this time I just could not resist adorning this vegan Potato Gratin with some creepy black olive spiders I know I am childish, but there is a kid in all of us - right?!  I was actually inspired to top the gratin with the spiders from a recipe I had seen last year  (see here) where bread is topped with flavoured cream cheese and topped of with black olive spiders, it had obviously impressed me as I had it lodged in the back of my head to try. I am sharing this recipe with  Healthy Vegan Fridays  hosted by  Rock My Vegan  Socks and  V Nutrition . Other Halloween Recipes to inspire you. Those that are vegan are marked with a v, otherwise everything is suitable for vegetarians.   Bloody Massacred Beetroot Men Pies   v...

We took the car into the garage yesterday which scuppered the rest our plans for the day, but the car had to go in as it has a slow puncture and living in the Welsh valleys, we need a mode of transport to get us to and fro work and every where else in between and beyond.   So when I got back home, I lazed around for a while, then it dawned on me - got to eat - so I went into the kitchen and decided to make an Indo Anglo Welsh version of Shepherds Pie.  What is Welsh about this?   There are leeks in this and a number of other Welsh ingredients from Blas Y Tir  including the potatoes mashed on top.  And the cook herself, is very Welsh too.   The yellow turmeric mash flecked with red chilli flakes and coriander  was really lovely, almost reminisce of a good vegetable samosa.  The filling is made with textured vegetable protein (TVP) that mimics minced 'lamb', it was mildly spiced.   Have a knife and fork ready to tuck in, but a spoon would ...

These  Fishless Japanese Sea Vegetable and Nori Cakes would make a fantastic light starter  I think these Fishless Sea Vegetable Cakes look marvellous without the panko coating that its a shame it has to be cover the colourful seaweed shades of greens.    This is my submission to # EatYourGreens  food challenge .  Please do join in with you Green Vegan Mofo blog  post,  the rules are here. Before I give you the recipe, I want a little bit of a rant.  Yesterday was not the day we had planned.  All our good plans went pear shaped.  We were on our way to Bristol to celebrate and have a little fun with my nephews, but the icy weather played havoc with our car that we had to turn back home and go to the garage.  It cost us £300.00.  Happy Birthday. There was no point in grumbling but I was very mift and wished we had never left the house in the first place.  All the signs with the weather were warning us to stay in...

It been an extremely busy week at work, so my blog post this evening will be short.  My evening dinner today is Pizza, don't diss me - its homemade pizza!  Check out my Instagram for the photograph, I promise you it will be very different from other pizzas you've seen. Right now though, I am sharing a fusion snack of Aloo Tikki Bagel .  I am constantly amazed at how much i eat is accidentally vegan.  Aloo Tikki is a South Asian snack made from spicy oniony mashed potatoes ( aloo ) that is shaped into cutlets or burger shapes, then coated in a spicy blend of chickpea batter and deep fried.  It important to eat it whilst it is still hot as that is when it is at its most deliciousness.   You can eat the Aloo Tikki as you wish, we and I mean my siblings would often stuff it in roti aka chappati slathered in tomato sauce, it had to be a red sauce to temper the spices, then rolled up like burrito and munched on.  These days I tend to either stuff it in...

This Zucchini Frittata is made with   Courgette Tondo di Piacenza - a round  globe variety  from the garden plot. You can see some  harvested  Courgette Tondo di Piacenza   in the photograph below.  I used my mandolin to slice them thinly, so the finished Zucchini Frittata looked a little more impressive and pleasing to the eyes before it was sliced into triangles and shared.  This may look like an ordinary Zucchini Frittata but it is very flavoursome, as it has been magically transformed by a generous sprinkling of   Outback Spirit Tasmanian Pepper Salt  that I got sent by fellow blogger Johanna who lives in Australian.   The  Outback Spirit Tasmanian Peppercorn Salt  really enhanced the Zucchini frittata slice making it super tasty.  Zucchini - Courgette Potato  Tortilla  with Tasmanian Peppercorn Salt Serves 6 - 8 depending on appetite and cut slices Ingredients 4 tablespoons olive oil 1 ...

I joke you not, but this was our dinner this evening -  Jack Skellington - Shepherds Pie, vegetarian of course.  Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas never looked so happy.  What do you think? !   Yes, I know there needs to be more slices of black olives for his mouth.  I know...Sometimes you have to laugh at yourself and you can still give me some credit for trying today - Halloween of all days.  Jack Skellington - A Shepherds Pie for Halloween  Serves 6 - 8 generously Ingredients 200grams TVP reconstituted and then drained of excess liquid.  Set aside 2 - 3 tablespoons olive oil 2- 3 medium onion, minced 2 - 3 garlic cloves, crushed 2 teaspoons dried oregano 1 x 400grams tinned tomatoes, chopped 1 tablespoon tomato paste or Harissa paste for spice 250grams carrots, peeled and diced 1/4 pint vegetable stock 60grams black olives, sliced Salt and pepper to taste 600g-800g potatoes, mashed with butte...