Vegetarian Foods Archive

Welcome to October's round up of  The Vegetable Palette  and  Fruit Palette :  natures colours - natures goodness' '.  The theme for November was  White Vegetables   and we had three fantastic contributions .   (Please scroll to the bottom of the page for the new theme if you would like to take part this month). I begin with a stunning salad that will fool you at first glance.  Is it fried eggs in a salad - No, not at all, this is a Coconut Sweet Potato Pie - this pie is made with white fleshed sweet potato and coconut milk!  I would so love a slice of this right now, its been a long day. and this would make the evening a happier one.  The recipe comes from a new cookbook called   True to Your Roots: Vegan Recipes to Comfort and Nourish You by Carla Kelly.  I want my own copy please! If you would like to participate in the Vegetable Palette, then please follow Turnip and Lentil Salad .  It comes fr...

The weather in Wales is so strange at the moment.  For the past two days its been heavily foggy, only to clear and then smack us in the face with a mini heatwave.  It does make a change from the rain though, so I better not complain.   I made this Golden Mushroom Loaf a couple of weeks back at the weekend when D brought home a lot of mushrooms.  It is golden partly from being baked, but also from the addition of smoked paprika.   I garnished the mushroom loaf with homemade smoky coconut flakes aka 'coconut 'bacon'.   We enjoyed this Mushroom Loaf as a Nut Roast with one meal, the others with a side of salad. It was tasty.  It was firm and crunchy on the outside, and soft on the inside, but not a claggy soft. It made a nice change from the occasional mock 'meat' sausages we pick up for  during the working week for easy meals.   If you do make this allow to cool in tin before attempting to remove.  This savoury loaf c an be r...

I know its spring and I should be sharing elegantly presented light green dishes with all manner of micro green garnish, instead I share an autumnal looking one.    This Curried Butter Bean dish hit the spot that evening when I came in from work feeling like a little fed up with stuff going on around me at work, but I don't want to talk about 'office politics' and favouritism.  No I want to talk about this naturally 'buttery' bean bowl that melts in the mouth with a hint of tomatoey spice and the kale is almost seaweed like.  This recipe can be more soup like if you add more stock or water to it, but I enjoyed the thickness of it wrapped up in a tortilla bundle like a big warm hug. I had some mushrooms left over from the Smoked Paprika Mushroom Loaf and threw them in, but its not necessary other than it gives this dish additional texture.    I am joining in for the first time with Butter Bean Curry recipe . 

A generous portion of   Creamy Chestnut Mushroom Blue Cheese L asagne . Lasagne is not the easiest to photograph, its a flat dish for a start. So the best way to sell it to you is with its flavours, but that is a little hard when one of the main ingredients is mushrooms and I am not big on mushrooms, but here goes....  This Creamy Chestnut Mushroom is smothered in Blue Cheese and fresh dill herb.   I actually made this  Creamy Chestnut Mushroom Blue Cheese L asagne early on in the year, when we had load of cheese left over from the Christmas and New Year - this Creamy Chestnut Mushroom Lasagne was made around the same time as the vegan Pickled Mushroom Strogonoff with Watercress .  Though it can be, this lasagne is not vegan, its made with blue cheese, milk and butter and a garnishing of fresh dill. I have to confess I don't often make Lasagnes at home that often.  It its one of those dinners that is Ds makes, like weekend breakfast or brun...

Its been a busy month for me with work mostly.   I have to admit I haven't had much energy or enthusiasm for cooking when I got home.  In fact, t wice last  week we have had Chilli and Potato Pierogi, not homemade but from a  packet.  I have mad e pierogi in the past and would love to have a go at making them again. Today though, I got home and had a little energy to cook.  I made a relatively quick Smoky Black Kale and Mushroom Stew.  Many of the ingredients in this were left over from the Black Kale and Chickpeas Pot Pie I made over the weekend.  I think this  Smoky Black Kale and Mushroom Stew i s one of those dishes best enjoyed a day or two later, as it was just okay.  Smoky Black Kale and Mushroom Stew Serves 2 - 3 Ingredients 2 tablespoons olive oil 200grams mushrooms, sliced 2 clove garlic, crushed Sprig of fresh thyme 1/4  teaspoon chipotle flakes 1 x 400grams tinned tomatoes, crushed 100grams black k...

I am having a thing about veggie meatballs at the moment, its features in my diet three times this month. Not that I am grumbling, the weather in this part of the world has turned a little cold, that we have had to scrape ice of the car most mornings.  And coming home to comfort food that sticks to your ribs has been welcoming. The vegan meatballs in this dish are steeped in a thick mushroom sauce served with mashed golden swede enhanced further with fresh thyme from the garden plot. This recipe was actually inspired from Nigel Slater's recipe for  Braised Pork Meatballs with Rib Ragu Sauce i that was featured in   The Guardian   early on in the month.  I  adapted it to make it suitable for vegetarians and vegans alike.   Look I even copied his style of presentation, yes I am a fan of Nigel Slater - who isn't?! But the vegan meatballs are made in a completely different sauce.  D enjoyed this meal very much.  He liked the thick dee...

Today was my last full working day at work and so the holidays begins. Like many I am looking forward to the festive break.  We are travelling tomorrow, to spend Christmas with my mother in law.  I am looking forward to seeing her, but no so much the travelling there, but it must be done.  I cannot remember the last time I made or had mushroom pate, so with Christmas beckoning, I thought I would make some enhanced further with some  Black Truffle oil  - its Christmas after all. I would also and to wish my readers a Happy Christmas with your family, true friends and loved ones. Perfect for crusty bread or on crackers.

These Mushroom Wellington Roast Spirals  were inspired from my time in Glasgow and when we went to The 13th Note was my favourite vegetarian/vegan  eatery i n Glasgow, plus it being a popular music venue too.   At the time there were not that many vegetarian or vegan eateries in Glasgow,  there was  The 13th Note, Mono and Stereo which was well  hidden in an alley way, unless of course you knew where to look and of course we did.    And there was  The 78 Cafe Bar near  Kelvingrove Art Museum.  but it was relatively new.  There was also  Grassroots that was close to the University of Glasgow but the the vegetarian - vegan cafe closed down in 2009 , though I have recently learned that it has re-opened once again .  It was one of my haunts in my University days. However, it is only in the last 5 years, that  a number of meat-free eateries have appeared Glasgow, so much so that i n 2013, PETA vo...

April weather has been teasing us - a peek of sunshine, followed rather quickly by a burst of rain - I know its not called 'April Showers' for nothing.  The point is, its still not very warm and we are still tucking into autumnal coloured food.  In fact, let me forewarn you in advance, this week my blog will feature food that is mostly orange in colour.    Here is my One Pot Curried Butternut Squash, Red Chard , Chestnut Mushrooms and White Beans.   Food that glows and food that warms the belly. I really dislike using the word 'curried', as its used so lazily these days, but this  One Pot Butternut Squash, Red Chard, Chestnut Mushrooms and White Beans recipe is actually curried .  The recipe is also inspired and adapted from Anjum Anand.  It was surprisingly quite good.   The original recipe has cobblers on top which are a sort of scone, but I had some puff pastry in the fridge and to make evening meal a little easy, I...

A few weeks ago I went on a fungi forage, except it wasn't a fungi forage - 'why would you want to eat them?' exclaimed the fungi expert when he heard one of the participants (not me) ask her friend 'are these edible?'.   The reason I am talking about mushrooms is because my  Bourguignon here looks a bit like an autumnal forest ground - mushrooms, green grassy colours from the long needle shaped leaves from rosemary herb, leaves in the form of bay leaf and lots of autumnal colours, but here everything is edible - I wonder what Alice in Wonderland would think?! I think this dish is best made on a day like today wh en it's awfully dreadful, damp and dreich outside in Cymru aka Wales.  I am so glad its the weekend and I don't have to be in work or anywhere else today and can stay in the comfort of my home.  I am glad of it actually as its been a rather busy week at work too.   As well as a medley of mushrooms, I had also picked up some rainbow carrots...