Vegetarian Foods Archive

Yesterday's prompt was reach out! make a new vegan friend and tell us about it.  Its one of the reasons I am participating in Vegan Mofo and for me that is reaching out.  Saying that its also nice to be reacquainted with Rose from Dandylion Vegan Blog and if I had to tell you about a lovely vegan friend, there are quite a few in my real life and quite a few that I have met on blogosphere, so to single one out would be unfair. I love them all in different ways, they know who they are.   And today's prompt is most retro recipe.  I have a couple of recipes that I consider to be retro on my blog, some are vegan like this Lemon Cherry Tofu Cheesecake and this  Chilli Chocolate Tofu Cheesecake , but many other retro recipes are vegetarian.  Some of course can easily be veganized like this retro Kiev's , but instead I am sharing these two rather large vegan Hand Raised Pies, its irrelevant what is in these vegan pies, its more about the size, because this tim...

What I like about this Roasted  Balsamic Beetroot Galette with thyme is its appearance.  It looks warming, with its fiery flame red and sunset yellow colours.  This is perfect as it compliments Vegan Mofo prompt today which is  'Its cold and rainy and there's a snow drift outside your door. What are you going to make using the ingredients you have.  I usually have lots of dried beans, pulses and grains - but the one veg that shows its versatility during the autumn and wintry season is the beetroot - from cakes to  steaks . curries   to wobbly jelly. I have used two different beetroots in the galette.  A  Golden Beetroot and the traditional crimson-red .  I sliced the beetroot, then doused it generously with some good olive oil and good balsamic vinegar and allowed it to roast until it was tender.  I must emphasize the importance of good olive oil and good balsamic vinegar here, its essential as these two ingredients make the b...

Autumnal reds and coppers - so pretty. I made these sweet potato, pepper and kale in a paprika galette last month for Vegan Month.   The galette is filled with a little bit of Cavolo nero aka  black Tuscan kale from my garden.    These were the only stems from my garden that had not been transformed into shredded green 'lace' by the ferocious white cabbage butterflies.  I decided to add some smoked paprika to the galette pastry so that it gave it that faint copper like colouring.  I have done this in the past with turmeric and even spirulina powder, so it also imparts a little flavour too.  The individual galettes are quite substantial like a tartlet, but were served with a side of green salad, though a salad of Quinoa or mixed beans would have been most welcome too.  I am sharing this with Karen and Bonfire Night/Halloween edition of Tea Time Treats a nd also Jennifer at Vegan Midweek Munchies and Vegan Yofo . Here is a close...

I've been a long time fan of Cranks - The cookbooks  an I am a member of the  Vegetarian Society,  so you can imagine my delight when I learned that Cranks have officially been Approved by the Vegetarian Society, a UK brand as longstanding and veggie obsessed as Cranks are and to celebrate this new partnership, as well as raise awareness of vegetarianism and veganism this season, I thought I would create an old fashioned Vegetarian Hand Raised (moulded by hand) Pie made with hot water crust pastry. There have been some negativity around vegetarian classics like nut roasts, and traditional vegetarian fare in favour of fancy named grains, pretentious jazzed up salads dressed up with exotic sauces and festive green shake smoothies topped with cranberries.  I note this snobbish attitude often comes from those that are neither vegetarian or vegan, but lifestyle foodies who jump on the bandwagon of the next foodie gimmick or fashionable grain.  Please don't get m...

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...

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 ...

I do miss growing my own Black Kale .  It was only when I started growing my own that I learned Black Kale had so many interesting names.  Dinosaur Kale, Palm Tree Kale, Palm Tree Cabbage, Black Cabbage, Cavolo Nero , Tuscan Kale translated Toscana di Nero. I was hoping to sow some more seeds this weekend, but the weather forecast halted our gardening plans once again. I have the sniffles and did not particularly want to be out in the garden being hit left right and centre by the gusty winds that was furiously rattling the greenhouse threatening to damage it further and the drip dripping of rain falling in every direction. So instead, I stayed indoors and pottered about in the kitchen,something I have to admit I have not done much of this week.   I made some Pot Pies with Black Kale that I picked up from the supermarket.  Its actually quite nice to find Black Kale in supermarkets now, a few years back, kale crisps and kale smoothies made it a food trend. ...

This is not the first flavoured Shepherds Pie on my blog, there are many variations of both vegetarian and vegan Shepherds or Shepherdess Pies on my blog, however this one is actually an enhanced version of my Curried Welsh Shepherds Pie recipe.  The only and main difference is the potato topping.  Instead of the usual mashed potato topping, I decided to go all fancy and shape the potato into balls. I got the idea whilst flicking through The No Cook Cookbook .  I won't be doing it again in a hurry as it was very time consuming, but well worth it - I think you may agree.  The yellow turmeric mash balls are flecked with red chilli flakes and coriander was really lovely and reminisce of a good vegetable samosa. The filling is made with textured vegetable protein (TVP) that mimics minced 'lamb', it's mildly spiced so won't upset those with a low tolerance of chillies.  The recipe makes one large pie to feed a family or a group of friends; or you could...