Quick Curried Potatoes with Roasted Broccoli

Hello lovelies. I mentioned on Facebook that my friend had gotten us both a Spice Advent Calendar and so I was looking back at recipes that might be good with certain spices. Lots of these spice combinations definitely have a curry sort of feel to them, so there will be lots of curry variations in the near future which is a-okay with me.

I remembered this recipe as one that Spiderman and I ate often. It involved boiled potatoes which were then cooked in a variety of things like spices, ginger and garlic, peanuts, sesame seeds and desiccated coconut, plus a tin of chickpeas to make it a meal. I realised I hadn’t eaten it since Spiderman died because I wasn’t sure if the potatoes would hold up with a reheating. I somehow had it in my head they would be mushy on day two, but they were not. A teency bit softer perhaps, but not turning into mash. And they were a doddle to reheat in the 5 minutes it took the broccoli to crisp up in the air fryer.

The beauty of doing this recipe with a friend is we both just used what we had—so I had little new potatoes which do hold their shape a bit better, but she had larger old crop potatoes which were a bit softer, but still good. I used chickpeas but she used butterbeans as that is what she had in her cupboard. She also realised that she was out of both coconut and sesame seeds at the last minute, but she reported that it was still delicious. So if you don’t have it, don’t sweat it.

If you want to read the original recipe go {HERE}

The spice that we used was basically about a Tablespoon of curry power which contained things like turmeric, ginger, cumin, coriander etc so feel free to do it like the original recipe or just use curry powder.

Quick Curried Potatoes with Roasted Broccoli

You need:

400 grams new potatoes, diced

Boil these in a pot of water until they can be pierced with a knife. It won’t take long. Meanwhile get your other ingredients in place.  Don’t roll your eyes at the thought of lots of little containers. It will make the next step go so much easier if you can just dump and go.

The other ingredients:

1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Container 1:

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp chili flakes if your curry powder is mild

1 TB finely chopped ginger-root

Container 2:

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed

Container 3:

1 TB curry powder (or the spices from THIS recipe)

¼ cup roasted salted peanuts

1 TB sesame seeds

1 tsp sea salt (if your curry powder doesn’t contain it)

Lots of black pepper to taste

To do:

When the potatoes are nearly done heat 1 TB oil in a different large pan. Drain the potatoes and reserve them over to the side.

When the oil is hot, add container one and cook for a minute stirring constantly. Then add container 2 and cook the garlic for another minute stirring constantly. Then add the potatoes and chickpeas and container 3 and cook for another few minutes stirring constantly until everything is hot and the potatoes are coated with the spice mix. If it starts to stick, then add a tiny splash of water.

Serve with something green on the side. I used broccoli I roasted 5 minutes at 200C/400F in the air fryer and my friend used steamed frozen broccoli. Do what you have. A handful or frozen peas into the boiling potato water would also work.

Today and tomorrow

This was delicious both days and quick to make and quick to reheat. I will definitely eat it again and I cannot believe I waited nearly two years (because it has been nearly two years since I lost my Best Beloved) to eat it again.

Make-It-Up-As-You-Go-Along Cream Sauce Paste with Roasted Broccoli and optional falafel

Hello lovelies! Last week I shared a recipe that used half a tin of cannellini beans. Which then makes a person think, “Now what do I do with other half of the tin?” When you live alone there is quite a lot of coming up with something to do with other half of a tin of beans. Should I just eat the same thing that I did the night before? Well, I could but I had already frozen the rest of the olive tapenade. Plus, I was out of both kale and sun-dried tomatoes. I did want to eat pasta because that is what I had (all potatoes had been used up earlier in the week) so I had to put on my thinking cap.

I stopped by M&S on the way home and grabbed a broccoli (cheapest place to get broccoli without plastic packaging) and planned a recipe in my head on the walk home from the shop.

In the end I made a sort of lemony cream sauce which was delicious, but it made much more than I was expecting so my pasta was a bit on the saucy side. Next time I will make a full batch using a whole tin of beans and freeze half and eat the other half over 2 nights. I can just vary the herbs (Za’atar instead of mixed herbs) or change up the vegetables or do one night over pasta and one night over potatoes.

Make-It-Up-As-You-Go-Along Cream Sauce Paste with Roasted Broccoli and optional falafel

The veg I used were:

1 onion

Handful of chopped red pepper (I chop a pepper at the start of the week and keep it in a container in the fridge to just throw in however much I want into meals that week)

A bit of carrot (I was slicing a carrot to feed the Bronte Snails and I just cut some of it into matchsticks.)

Cook this in a large pan with either a splash of water or oil

Make your sauce then let it simmer with your veg:

Half a tin white beans

¾ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used soya milk)

1 TB tahini

Juice of one lemon

3 TB nutritional yeast flakes

Whiz all that in a blender until smooth then throw into your veg pot to simmer.

Do your pasta:

Measure out your pasta (I used 1 cup GF pasta) and put your water on to boil in a second pot. When the water starts to boil add your pasta and cook as the package recommends.

Optional sides:

I was lucky enough to be gifted with an air fryer, so I just threw in some broccoli misted with oil and sprinkled with garlic powder in at 200C/400F for five minutes, stopping after two minutes to toss in a few falafel that I had in the fridge that needed to be eaten. If you are not lucky enough to have this wonderous contraption, then start with this first. Preheat your oven to 200C/400F and roast broccoli for 20 minutes until lightly charred. While it is roasting, cook your veg, make your sauce and boil your pasta.

The air fryer is genius because it cooks so quickly and you don’t have to turn on the oven just for one person so it really helps with cooking for one. Save up for one because they are totally worth it.

When the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the hot sauce. Top with your broccoli and falafel if you have some.  Like I said, I think this could have used double the amount of pasta in there and still felt saucy. So, if you are cooking for two this still would work. If you don’t have any broccoli or don’t want to turn on your oven throw a handful or 2 of frozen peas in the boiling pasta water so you get something green in you.

What I Ate Wednesday--Tapenade Pasta with Kale and White Beans

 Hello lovelies. It has been two years since I blogged about food, mostly because when Spiderman died my eating habits changed. It is harder to cook for one person when what you want to be doing is cooking for two people. It has taken me two years to be able to write What I Ate Wednesday instead of What WE Ate Wednesday.  

After he died I was exhausted mentally and physically. I struggled with meal planning. Do I make something BIG and eat it all week? No, I have discovered that two nights in a row is about my limit. Unless it's nachos, then that can go three nights in a row because nachos. More on them in a few weeks.  But the act of cooking something fresh from scratch for one exhausted and sad person night after night was often too much. But these days I have things figured out.

These days I do a lot of small preps so that cooking from scratch goes easier. I plan to talk about these tips in the future. Today was one of those small prep days. 

I haven't eaten Black Olive and Walnut Tapenade since Spiderman died. It was always one that I made in HUGE amounts and filled our freezer with jars for an easy Saturday night dinner. A friend mentioned it to me that she loved my recipe and made it all the time and I suddenly thought, "Why I am I not making it all the time either?" 

And so I did. But instead of making insane amounts because my freezer is full up and being one person it will take me twice as long to get through the jars, I made a regular sort of amount. I saved up smaller jars that would have enough for one person servings, but of course if you are feeding more people you can freeze in larger portions like I used to. Also I changed up the way I used to do it. We always served it with roasted cherry tomatoes, but these are a bit pricy and I just can't be arsed to heat up my oven for 15 minutes just for one person so I just bunged in some oil packed sun dried tomatoes. I always keep these on hand in the fridge as they add a pop of flavour with little effort. Plus a jar costs about the same as a punnet of cherry tomatoes and I can get several meals out of one jar. 

We used to always serve it with kale and I still do. This time I added half a tin of cannellini beans just to make it more filling. I will use the other half of the tin of beans in another, slightly different pasta recipe tomorrow.

Tapenade Pasta with Kale and White Beans

First make your tapenade. You need:

1.5 cups black olives (this was a 330g /163g drained weight jar)

1/2 cup walnuts

4-5 cloves chopped garlic

2TB olive oil

Throw everything but the oil in a food processor and pulse until crumbly, then add the oil and pulse again a few times and divide into jars.

You need half a cup of the tapenade per serving. This made enough for me to have three pastas and one pizza (it made 1.5 cups plus 1/3 cup so I plan to use the jar with less on a pizza.) I labelled three of the jars and popped them in the freezer.

To make the rest of it:

This is obviously just for one person so feel free to double it. 

50g or thereabouts  of curly kale (3-4 massive handfuls)

half a tin white beans, drained

juice of half a lemon

more garlic

3 TB nutritional yeast flakes for a cheesy flavour

3-4 oil packed sun dried tomatoes, snipped into bits

half a cup tapenade

No need for salt because of the olives, but lots of black pepper

3/4-1 cup (GF) pasta of choice

Boil a pot of water for the pasta. I like to use water from a boiled kettle to speed things along. You can add a bit of salt or a stock cube to the pasta water if you like. When it is boiling, add the pasta and boil for however long the package says. 

Meanwhile, throw all the other ingredients into a Hugh Jass pot and cook with about 1/4 cup of the pasta water until the kale turns bright green and softens. 

Add the cooked and drained pasta to the veg mix. Eat.

If you have the tapenade already done this comes together in 20 minutes or less. 

Plus you have extras for future meals. Which is a life saver for when you are tired and need something healthy, cheap and fast. 

Be Less, Do Less

 Hello lovelies! I am still looking at ways I want to be better in the new year. But as the title suggests I am still rather busy and struggling with time and energy management. 

The problem is that I LOVE to DIY. If I see something in a shop that can be made, then I  make it. I pride myself on making it myself for less. It is one of my superpowers. But I am also TIRED. 

And so part of my resolution this year is that I do not have to do it all, especially if I am doing other creative things. 

1. IT'S OK TO OUTSOURCE

Since the Amazing Spiderman died I have struggled with energy management since it falls to me to do EVERYTHING. I try to do a lot of pre-portioning foods like kale or broccoli so I can just grab-a-green-and-go. I had been using plastic ziplock type bags with a slide lock, but they were wearing out and I didn't want to just keep using and throwing away bags with such frequency (see number 2 on my resolutions today) and so I thought I could make some cloth reusable bags.

I wanted them to have that food grade wipe clean PUL liner but that stuff is EXPENSIVE. I found a half metre of the fabric on sale for £15 (Ker-ching!) and then I would need to factor in outer fabric, velcro if I chose to add that, plus time and energy. I looked at my life and just thought I can't pull blood from a stone. I am currently making storytelling props for the shop's Youtube Channel and rehearsing my lines, getting ready to film and then edit and there just is nothing left in the creative tank. So i decided to OUTSOURCE. I bought some on Etsy from EMMA MARY BAGS N BOBS. It kind of hurt my heart to let someone else make these, but it would have cost me that much to make them myself and now I don't have to.

They are adorable with cute fabric and are perfect for dividing greens into portions in the fridge. And they are wipe clean as well as washable. 

So what have I been making instead? An apple tree, a baker's oven (complete with felt loaf of bread on a wooden paddle) converted from a Troll Bridge leftover from a previous storytelling  and a piece of cloth that looks both like feather bedding and snowflakes when you shake it. Can you see why I didn't have time to make those bags myself? And that's OK.

These leads me into resolution 2:

2. LESS SINGLE USE PLASTIC AND WASTE

I am already doing that with the lovely reusable bags. However, starting this month there are changes to our waste/recycling collection and I want to improve. 

Previously our collection alternated--one week recycling pickup and the next week black bag non recycled waste pickup. But starting at the end of January, recycling is picked up every week and black bag only every three weeks (basically once a month). Normally, it takes me 3-4 weeks to fill up a black bag. But now I really want to concentrate on stretching myself to see how long I can go before I have to put out a black bag. Can I go six weeks (two pickup cycles?) Can I stretch to nine weeks (three pickup cycles?) 

Our recycling is even better than it used to be. Many more things are accepted locally to fill the blue recycling bags and now large supermarkets like Tesco have collections for things like crisp packets and certain plastic food bags that can't be recycled kerbside. 

I would love to be able to buy more naked fruit and veg, but it is not always available or affordable. Broccoli I can get plastic free, but kale I cannot. Kale comes in a crinkly plastic bag that can't be recycled so I try to use them as a bin liner in the bathroom before it goes into the black bag. 

Also when you try to throw away crinkly plastic bags they will not scrunch. Or rather they won't stay scrunched. This means that they take up a lot of space (very light air-filled space) but space none the less in your black bag filling it up quicker. The trick is take one minute to cut it into strips so it takes up less space. Another trick is to designate one crinkly bag as the "fill bag" and put all your strips into it before you put it in the black bag. 

And the last resolution for the day is:

3. ACTIVITIES AND EXPERIENCES

Let's be honest--the Amazing Spiderman was my EVERYTHING. We had lots of fun experiences over the years, but now I need to do them differently. Now I do them on my own (which is not as bad as i thought it might be. I was afraid I would look like Billy-No-Mates, but truthfully--nobody cares) and some I do with my FRAMILY. 

I got some birthday and Christmas money and so I have bought myself tickets to have a variety of experiences throughout the year. I will see three NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE at the cinema by myself (The Crucible, Othello and a play called Good starring David Tennant) and two comedians at the LYRIC THEATRE (Rich Hall and Mark Steel) with my Stand Up Comedian Friend (and Spiderman's former supervisor) Bettina. I also have tickets to see the Peatbog Faeries in concert. I have tickets to Swansea Comic Con with my Geek Friends the FT Gang and have already started going out with my Cinema Friend Pearl--we went out on Monday night to film club at the Lyric to see The Muppets Take Manhattan. 

That's all I have time for today as I need to finish making props so i can go and do a dress rehearsal for the storytelling. 

I hope you have lots of fun this year and don't feel like you have to do it all by yourself. 

What We Ate Wednesday--BOSH Katsu Curry Sauce with Roasted Vegetables

Hello lovelies! I checked out the cookbook BOSH! Healthy Vegan from the library before lockdown and I am so glad I did. It was full of delicious recipes, but this one was my favourite. We used to really enjoy a Katsu Curry dish at Wagamama and when I saw this, I knew I wanted to try it right away. It was an easy sauce to make and I made multiples and froze a few for easy nights in the kitchen. They defrost beautifully. Just move them from the freezer to the fridge and let them defrost overnight. 

 Their recipe used roasted aubergine and courgette (eggplant and zucchini to my American peeps) but we don’t really dig those vegetables, so I just subbed in whatever veg we had on hand. The first time it was red onion, sweet potatoes and red pepper, this time it was red onion, carrots and parsnips (because they were leftover from Christmas and needed to be used up ASAP.) It was all good. The sauce is a bit on the runny side, but it tastes gorgeous.

BOSH Katsu Curry with Roasted Vegetables 

Preheat your oven to 200C/400F 

  

1 onion, chopped 

1 large carrot, chopped 

1 large parsnip, chopped 

Half a red pepper, chopped

 1 tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

 1 TB oil Fresh ground pepper

Put all these in your big roasting tin and drizzle on the oil and stir to coat. Topped with some black pepper. Roast for 15 minutes, then remove from oven and stir and roast a further 15 minutes. Meanwhile make your sauce:

  BOSH Katsu Curry Sauce

1 onion, sliced

 3 cloves grated garlic 

½ TB oil or a splash of water 

 2 TB curry powder 

1 TB tamari or soy sauce 

2 tsp liquid sweetener like maple syrup/agave/golden syrup 

½ tsp turmeric 

½ tsp garam masala

 160 ml coconut milk (I use these little tins that are 3 for £1 at B&M Bargains) 

1 cup (250 ml) vegetable stock

Cook your onion and garlic in ½ TB oil or a splash of water until softened. Add the curry powder, tamari/soy sauce, liquid sweetener, turmeric and garam masala and stir to coat. Then add the coconut milk and vegetable stock and bubble away for 10 minutes. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to the pan to keep warm. 

 When the veg are through roasting, add them to the hot curry sauce and serve over brown rice.

 I actually made my curry sauce earlier in the day and made three servings worth then divided it up and put two in the freezer in sandwich boxes (they stack portions so well!) and put one in the fridge for later that night. Then I just reheated the sauce while the veg was roasting and the rice was cooking. It made it easier than trying to make it while the food was cooking and gave me time to read a chapter of a book while the food cooked.

2021 Vision

 Hello lovelies! Happy new year! 2020 was rollercoaster year, wasn't it? But it did allow me to see some things clearly:

1. I need routine. And it is hard to impose it on myself, but I must try harder especially as we are yet again in lockdown. 

2. I love my job. I mean I REALLY love my job. I miss it when I can't go to work. I am more productive and happier when I have been at work. I have a really good work-life balance and like to be having both halves of work and life. 

3. I am recharged by interacting with people. I knew this before, but I REALLY learned it over the big lockdown. The Amazing Spiderman is perfectly happy working from home as people drain him, but I was like a flat battery for months. I don't ever want to go out in big noisy groups in crowded spaces (not even before COVID) but I really thrive on some one on one conversations. I like meeting a friend for a hot chocolate in an independent café or going for a picnic in the park to save money. I also really enjoy interacting with customers. We have lots of regulars who pop in regularly (that is the definition of a regular, Spidergrrl!) that I look forward to seeing. Interacting with customers and being helpful is a huge part of my happiness. 

4. I have some control issues. Quite a lot of control issues, and this year has been out of control which has been really hard to cope with. This also ties in with routine because  with Spiderman working from home I could not keep to the routine I liked and found it very hard to take his suggestion to "please just do that some other time." 

5. I have trouble accepting help. I am often out helping people while my battery is on low (another issue I am continually working on) but find it harder to allow someone to help me. My dear old dad once said to me, "Why are you making things harder for yourself?" to which I replied "But it is so much easier to make things difficult!" by which I meant it is so much easier to do it myself that to ask for help. More on this in a bit. 

6. I am not good at sharing. I need my own computer. This was a serious issue during the big lockdown. I am a writer. Blogging takes up a lot of time and research and I am an author who needs to work on her own stories. This was a HUGE issue between myself and the Amazing Spiderman over the big lockdown. I was like Vesuvius waiting to erupt, always boiling and seething under the surface as we both needed to be on the computer at the same time but in the rock/paper/scissors of life--work trumps personal reasons. We have solved this by investing in a second laptop and it has CHANGED MY LIFE. I have written more in the last two months than in the whole rest of the year. 

7. I need more creative outlets. This too was a struggle during the big lockdown when I couldn't go to work.  I started to think about what made me happy and what I missed from my life in England when I worked in a school. There was lots of time for laying about ruminating on what I enjoy that I was not allowed to do while I waited (im)patiently for my turn on the computer. Once I determined what it was, I made damn sure to start doing it the moment I got back to work. More on this later. 

Having gained some extraordinary insight into myself in 2020, I wanted to reflect that in my Vision Board.

What is a Vision Board, I hear you cry? Well, it is part woowoo, part arts and crafts. I like to really think on new year's day what I want to do in the upcoming year and who I want to be (striving always to be a better person). It is not about new year's resolutions--which are easily broken--but just some personal growth goals and a reminder of what makes me happy. By making a tangible reminder of what brings me joy, I can make sure to do it. I then hang it in a prominent place in my craft room and look at it every morning to remind me of what it is important. 

Want to see it? Of course you do.

So what am I doing this year? In no particular order:

1. Being vegan--this is the core of my values. Does it cause death and suffering? Then it is to be avoided. Does it bring life and kindness? Then it is to be celebrated. Compassion is so much better than cruelty. 

2. What am I doing in the world to make it better? Making sure to look for opportunities to make a difference in the world. This has been more important in lockdown....how can help others (making sure that what I choose to do energises me rather than depletes me--setting boundaries.) 

3. I am the chief cook in our house, but this was not always so. When we were first married and I was a full time student and then a full time teacher with a terrible work-life balance, Spiderman did all our cooking. When I wanted to become vegan I learned how to cook (and cook well!) Spiderman is a great cook. he is just much slower than me. I swear the man gets a ruler out when he chops potatoes as they are all identically sized! Since I am often tired from work, he has offered many times to share the burden of cooking. I do not take him up on it nearly as often as I should and then feel resentful as I am tired or my back hurts and it is me doing it. We had a long talk about this and I am going to work harder to relinquish some control in the kitchen. So in 2021, we will be taking turns more. We also will be cooking together more. I can do food prep MUCH faster while we chat about our days and then I can bugger off and do some yoga or have a nap while he does the cooking. Also, I want to make sure to do more advance food prep to make cooking for whoever's turn it is, easier. 

4. Keeping to a loose routine especially in times of lockdown. I don't have to do EVERYTHING in a day, but it would be nice to tick a few things off my enjoyment list (see below) every day. Also writing down a few things in my 2021 diary that I would like to accomplish (or need to be done--I cannot tell you the amount of times I have realised at midnight that something needed to be done for the morning.)  Better organisation and loose routine (especially in lockdown) but also for when I am working to use my time more wisely. 

5. Doing things that bring me joy--making crafts and creating art, reading (and discussing--this year Spiderman will be a judge for the Carnegie and Greenaway awards and so we will get upwards of a hundred books to read and talk about...I made us our own little book club symbol!), making films with my new stop motion animation app. These are all things I am doing for me...but there are several things I do at home that bring me joy that involve work. Sewing fancy dress costumes to wear at the Bookshop (after the big lockdown I have gone to work dressed as Hercule Poirot, the witch from Narnia and a Christmas elf) as well as storytelling. I realised how much I missed storytelling--the research of finding a story that feels right in my mouth, adapting it, memorising it, making costumes or props for it, performing it. Right now it is not possible to have children in the shop for an actual audience but we have gotten round this by having my faithful camera crew Spiderman film me telling tales. Which leads me neatly on to my next intention.

6. DIY. I used to be such a luddite--I only got my first smartphone in 2017 and I always feel like I am behind on technology but this year I taught myself to build a website because some friends with an animal sanctuary needed help. I also taught myself to use video editing software so that we could put up films of my storytelling on the the Goldstone Books YouTube Channel. I used to think that I was not smart enough to do "computer things" but it turns out I was wrong. So this year, with my new laptop that I don't have to share, I am finally working on a project that has been on hold since 2016--turning my epistolary novel into a graphic novel. Yes, I will be teaching myself how to illustrate online by using my my new tech skills to tell my story. Then we will publish my second book! Hoorah! 

7. Coming out of the big lockdown (but still in cautious mode) I was reminded who was in my tribe and who I enjoyed spending time with and who I hadn't missed at all. There are several people I let fade away because they drained me and several people I made an active effort to spent (socially distanced) time with because they energised me. Even now, in our third lockdown, I am making time to have phone calls and texts with people I care about (or send make and send a card if they are struggling) and that connection is keeping my going. 

8. The lockdowns put such a strain on small businesses and several independent vegan businesses have had to close. I work for an independent bookshop and I am all too aware of the national chain right down the road who can sell at a bigger discount than we can. I tried last year to support more small businesses (especially ones that help us cut our waste) and this year I will try even harder. We just booked in an order with Cegin Mam Gu for a three course Greek meal that is vegan and GF and delivered to our door which I am very much  looking forward to since we can't go out for a meal. Which leads me to my next point.

9. Drink more tea. This ticks the box of supporting Tea Traders ( a great independent business in town run by two lovely blokes which sells loose tea) as well as keeping me hydrated. Fruit tea is good hot or cold and I am guaranteed to have less pain and be less cranky if I am drinking some delicious tea.  

10. The self care checklist. Even just 15 minutes a day makes all the difference in my physical and emotional wellbeing. Yoga and strength training for my body (I have let my ab work go this year and I feel it in my lower back), deep breathing and mindfulness (I tend towards hyperventilating and overthinking), more orgasms (they are truly the best pain relief and mood booster I know) and a 15 minute tidy every day instead of letting things pile up until it takes hours to put everything back where it belongs will save my sanity. 

11. Patience. About everything.  Enough said.  

What did you learn about yourself in 2020? What do you hope to do with your life in 2021? 

What We Ate Wednesday--Umami Spaghetti

 Hello lovelies! We first had this recipe last week when I was so tired after work. Working in retail in the holiday season is no joke, but especially during a pandemic--all that extra work of wiping stuff down and keeping track of numbers of customers makes for a very tired Spidergrrl. Now as the virus has mutated, I am suddenly off work as nonessential shops are closed. I am still quite tired so it is great to have something quick and easy and delicious in my pocket. 

 I saw THIS RECIPE on the BBC website recently--it was a Nigella Lawson recipe so I wasn't holding out much hope. But I was pleasantly shocked that at the bottom she listed a way to make it vegan. 

Her recipe called for 

Spaghetti--yep

Garlic--yep

Water from a just boiled kettle--yep

Chili flakes--yep

Parmesan cheese--no problem, use a vegan substitute

3 TB olive oil--no problem, use some vegetable stock

Chard--no problem, substitute my old favourite kale

8 anchovy fillets--nope! But these were there to give a punch of umami flavour so I knew I could substitute something. Can't remember what umami is? Click {HERE} to refresh yourself. 

It sounded fast and it sounded delicious--and it was on both counts. This will definitely be added to the rotation. To substitute for the umami of the anchovies I used mushrooms cooked in tamari/soy sauce and a bit of yeast extract (Like Marmite...but the Tesco brand one which is gluten free.)

 

Umami Spaghetti 

1 white onion, diced very small

6 cloves crushed garlic

100g button mushrooms, diced small

2.5 TB tamari or soy sauce, divided

3/4 tsp yeast extract, divided

1/4 cup vegetable stock

1/2 tsp red chilli flakes

100g kale, destemmed and torn into bits

200g dried (GF) spaghetti

2 TB parmesan cheese (and more for serving) like Good Karma or make your own (see recipe below) 

1. Fill your kettle. Fill your pasta pot with 1/2 cup water.

2.  In a larger pot, cook your onion and mushrooms in the vegetable stock until it is softened and most of the liquid is gone. Add the garlic, chilli flakes and 1 TB of tamari/soy sauce and 1/2 tsp yeast extract. Stir to coat.

3. Start your pasta pot water on high and boil your kettle. Add your boiling water to the pasta pot and put the lid on and in a minute you will have a pot of boiling water. Add your pasta and set the timer for whatever the recommended cooking time is (mine is 8 minutes). Stir for a few minutes until the pasta releases some starch and turns cloudy. Scoop 1/2 cup of that starchy water and put it in with the umami mushrooms and add the kale and turn up the heat  to medium. Keep stirring the kale in the starchy water until it wilts and reduces.

4. Before you drain your spaghetti, scoop out another half a cup pasta water. Drain your pasta and put it in with the greens and umami mushrooms. Add the additional 1.5 TB tamari/soy sauce and an additional 1/4 tsp yeast extract. 

5. Add a TB or two of the saved pasta water if it seems claggy and doesn't stir well. 

6. Stir in 2 TB parmesan cheese. Use additional parmesan to taste. 

That's it. This was crazy delicious, full of flavour, filling and done in under 30 minutes. 

Parmesan Cheese

3 TB ground almonds

3 TB nutritional yeast flakes 

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Blend together. Store leftovers in the fridge. 

What We Ate Wednesday--Leek and Potato Soup

 Hello lovelies! I cannot believe I  have never blogged this recipe. It is my special holiday recipe. We eat it every year on my birthday and Christmas eve. I am not sure why we don't eat it more to be honest. Every time I eat it, it just feels like a warm soupy hug. 

It is easy to make and just feels special. It became our go-to holiday soup from the first year we were married because it reminded us of England because we ate it at the Café in the Crypt at Saint Martin in the Fields church on the day we got engaged in 1990. Maybe it was also the leeks. Which now also remind us of Wales as leeks are part of the national emblem of Cymru. We used the soup as a sort of talisman to help us get back to the UK and here we are, so it must have worked. 

In the US it was much harder to find leeks (this was nearly 30 years ago, times may have changed) but we had to go out to Albertsons to buy them as I recall.  

This recipe makes 4 big bowls of soup. Also, I don't normally cook with vegan butter, but I like the leeks cooked in a TB of melted vegan butter, but it is not a necessity. 

Leek and Potato Soup

1 TB vegan butter (or a splash of water)

2 large or 3 smaller leeks (the white parts only...not the thick green leafy bits at the top)

garlic 

500g potatoes, diced

3.5 cups vegetable stock

splash of tamari or soy sauce

1 tsp yeast extract like marmite

1 tsp mixed herbs 

1/2 cup unsweetened plant based milk

black pepper to taste 

1. Melt your butter or heat your splash of water in a big pot. Cut the root end off your leek and slice lengthwise. Check for dirt. leeks love to hide dirt in the crevices. Then slice your leek into lots of pieces (they will be a sort of C shape) and throw them in with melted butter. It will look like a lot of leeks but they will cook down. When they have softened and reduced a bit throw in some garlic. 

2. Add in your diced  potatoes, tamari or soy sauce and yeast extract and stir to coat. Add your vegetable stock and mixed herbs and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer with the lid on for 25 minutes. 

3. Remove from heat and add your milk then using an immersion blender puree until as smooth as you like--we like it smooth with some whole chunks in there, but you could make it completely smooth. 

4. Check to see if it is warm enough (does it need a little more heating since it has been off the hob for a few minutes?) and top with black pepper. 

This is delicious and simple to make. It tastes like your dreams coming true (if your dream was to someday emigrate to the UK.)  

What We Ate Wednesday--Roasted Sweet Potato with Macaroni Cheese and Savoury Kale

 Hello lovelies! Times are busy and I am tired (Working retail is no joke in the run up to Christmas!) so I wanted a meal that I could do without a recipe to follow--one I knew how to do all the parts off by heart. Plus one that didn't require extra shopping. 

We had 2 sweet potatoes and a red onion--I knew how to roast those in the oven.

We had kale--I knew how to sauté it with a splash of tamari/soy sauce. 

I had just made cheese power using THIS RECIPE and so we could have Macaroni Cheese. This sauce is great--you make ahead so always have cheese powder ready for action. The ratio is 1/3 cup powder to 1 cup milk per person (also 1 cup pasta per person, but sometimes we just make it as a cheese sauce for nachos) 

Dinner is sorted.

Roasted Sweet Potato with Macaroni Cheese and Savoury Kale

1 large or 2 smaller sweet potatoes (about 400 grams), cubed

1 red onion, cut into large chunks

1 TB olive oil

100g kale (3 big handfuls)

splash tamari or soy sauce

2 cups macaroni (or other) pasta--use GF pasta if you need to

2/3 cups cheese powder--just make THIS RECIPE and you have instant cheesy sauce at your fingertips

2 cups unsweetened plant based milk--we used soya

1 TB lemon juice--bottled is fine

1 tsp wholegrain mustard (optional, but nice)

1 TB vegan buttery spread (optional to make it richer)

Preheat your oven to 200C/400F

1. Put your chopped sweet potatoes and red onion in a big roasting tin and drizzle on the TB of oil. Stir to coat. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, then take it out and stir and roast again for another 15 minutes. 

2. Meanwhile, in a medium sized pan boil your macaroni according to package directions then drain and set aside. While your macaroni is boiling, in a large pot sauté your kale on medium high with a splash or two of water until it wilts and softens. Then add a splash of tamari or soy sauce and stir to coat your greens. Then take off the heat. Put on a lid and set aside. 

 3. In the same pot you cooked the macaroni, add the TB of vegan butter if you wish and let it melt then add the 2 cups milk, 2/3 cups cheese powder and the TB lemon juice and mustard (if using.) Whisk together and continue to whisk until the cheese sauce thickens. Add back in the pasta and stir to coat.

4. By this time the roasted sweet potatoes should be done. Remove from the oven. Mix the hot macaroni cheese with the kale you set aside and then spoon into two bowls and top with roasted sweet potatoes. 

5. Nom nom nom while putting your feet up. 

What We Ate Wednesday--Chocolate Peanut Butter Krispies (three ingredients!)

 Hello lovelies! Sometimes you just need an easy treat that comes together in a snap and doesn't have a tonne of ingredients. Am I right???

I used to love Rice Krispie Treats as a child, but they rely on marshmallows to stick them together and marshmallows aren't vegan because they are made with gelatine (which if you don't know is made from boiling animal bones and hooves. Even if I wasn't vegan that is just gross.) Sure, there are cruelty free vegan marshmallows out there, but they are wicked expensive for a tiny bag. So I thought "I wonder if you can stick them together with peanut butter?

After consulting google, it is indeed possible. There were many recipes out there with varying degrees and amounts of ingredients. Simpler is better here and I have hit upon the right combination. 

These are a wee bit delicate--you might need to use a small plate or cup your hand underneath as you eat, but they taste delicious. 

We used Tesco brand Free From Choco Snaps cereal to make it gluten free but any chocolate Rice Krispie cereal will do. As for the liquid sweetener, it needs to be thicker than maple syrup so something like agave, rice syrup or golden syrup (what we used) would work, If you are in the US something like Karo syrup might work if you can't get agave or rice syrup. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Krispies

2/3 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup thick liquid sweetener (see above for suggestions)

3 cups chocolate crisp rice cereal

optional: 2 TB coconut oil (might help this stick together more...I never bothered)

Gently warm the peanut butter and liquid sweetener (and coconut oil if using) on the hob or in a microwave until more pliable and less stiff. Remove from heat and add the 3 cups of cereal and stir to combine making sure all pieces of coated. Stir carefully or you will smash all the krispies. Then spoon them into a greased 8 x 8 pan and press down with the back of a spoon. Then decide the spoon isn't working and press down very firmly with dampened fingers. 

Refrigerate for a few hours to firm up and then slice. Makes 8 slices if you are greedy or 16 if you have self control. Store in the fridge. 

That's it! 

What We Ate Wednesday-- Salted Caramel Dipping Sauce

 Hello lovelies! Ever since Halloween I have been thinking about caramel apples. As you do. They were everywhere a few weeks ago-- in shops and on adverts--everywhere but in my belly. But I wanted a low sugar more natural vegan version so I dove into Google  and it turns out it is surprisingly easy to make using dates.

I made mine with the sweet soaking water from the dates, but other recipes used plant based milk or even coconut milk for a really rich and decadent version, but even my stripped down version was delicious. 

Try to get the best dates you can--medjool dates are king but can be expensive. I used some decent soft and squidgy deglet noor dates which are smaller. Softer, moister dates make a smoother product but you will be soaking them so it is OK if they are a bit on the dry side. You might just have to blend longer.

 

Salted Caramel Dipping Sauce

1 packed cup of pitted dates--medjool dates would probably be about 15 dates.  I used about 20 deglet noor dates 

boiling water to cover the dates

pinch sea salt (bonus points for smoked sea salt)

1 tsp vanilla essence

Optional: plant milk or coconut milk

Optional: 1 tsp peanut butter

1. Put your dates in a heatproof bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let them sit for 30 minutes.

2. Scoop out your dates with a slotted spoon and put in a food processor with the salt and vanilla and optional peanut butter. Pulse until broken down. Then run the machine and drizzle in liquid through the chute 1/4 cup at a time. I used the sweetened soaking water, because waste not-want not. But it could be milk here. I found that 3/4 cup was the right consistency for me. It will thicken up the fridge so 3/4 cup liquid was a tad on the loose side (I had a momentary blip where I doubted myself and thought I had messed it up, then after an hour in the fridge was PERFECT.) 

3. That's it. Serve with apple slices. Feel a bit smug about being naughty and healthy simultaneously as you eat it. 

Google says it lasts for up to a week in the fridge but we ate it in about 3 days. It makes about a cup's worth so feel free to double or triple if you have a family to feed. 

What We Ate Wednesday--Jalapeño Nachos

Hello lovelies! Sometimes you are just craving “dirty” food—like spicy nachos with a gooey cheesy sauce that you eat with your fingers and get really messy which feels like you are twelve again and splitting and order of loaded nachos with your bestie at the roller rink. Just me, then?

Jalapeño peppers always remind me of dear old dad. He always had a jar of pickled jalapeños in the fridge.

This recipe comes together in a snap if you have lentils already cooked. Lentils are my go-to substitute for ground meat. They are hearty and wholesome and a whole food. They freeze well too so I cook up 2 cups of brown lentils at a time in a strong broth make with 5 cups vegetable stock, a glug of tamari, a teaspoon of yeast extract, 6 cloves of garlic and a teaspoon mixed herbs. Boil then simmer until the lentils are tender (about 20 minutes) and most of the liquid is absorbed. If you plan to freeze then cook them slightly al dente. If you get distracted and they overcook they just lose their shape a bit and melt down a bit softer. They still taste good, so don’t worry. Make sure you use green lentils, brown lentils or black Puy lentils for this—not red or you will be left with mush. 2 cups dried lentils makes 4 portions of 1.25 cups each of meaty goodness. I divide mine into click lock sandwich boxes that stack well in my small freezer. Just defrost overnight in the fridge.  

This also uses my go-to cheese sauce mix—it is a dry powder mix that takes 5 minutes to make. You just add 1/3 cup dry mix to 1 cup plant based milk and whisk. You can make macaroni cheese or cheese sauces like this one. It is so easy. Find the recipe HERE.

Jalapeño Nachos for Two

200g bag of tortilla chips (100g for each person)

1 onion, diced

Garlic (we used 4 cloves) 

3 tsp Mexican spice mix—like taco seasoning

1.25 cups cooked lentils (or a tin of black beans or kidney beans, drained and rinsed)

Jar of salsa

Squeeze of lime juice—bottled is fine

For the cheese sauce:

1/3 cup dry powder—find the recipe HERE

1 cup unsweetened plant based milk—I used soya milk

1/3 cup chopped pickled jalapeños

Optional:

If you have some vegan sour cream or plain natural yogurt with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice that works too if you want a cooling topping. We have eaten it both ways-- with and without sour cream-- and it is all good.

1. Divide the tortilla chips between two plates or large bowls.

2. Cook the onion and garlic in a splash of water or oil until softened. Add the Mexican spice mix, lentils and salsa and put the lid on to heat it up.

3. While the meaty sauce bubbles away start heating the cheese. In another smaller pot add the powder, the milk and the jalapeño peppers and turn up the heat to medium high, whisking constantly until it bubbles and thickens. This sauce gets lovely and gooey.

4. Add the meaty mixture to your tortilla chips and then top with cheesy jalapeño sauce and the optional sour cream.

5. Eat with your fingers and make a huge mess while laughing about your misspent youth wanting to be a roller disco queen despite the fact that you cannot skate. Just me, again?

 

 

What We Ate Wednesday--Korma Carrot and Butterbean Soup

 Hello lovelies! It's lockdown here again in Wales, so I didn't do a food post last week. Partially because we had not been eating new recipes (staying with safe foods as times are uncertain) and partially because I had lost track of time being in lockdown. 

However, we recently ordered from a local independent business called Case for Cooking (think Penzeys Spices to my American peeps but made in Carmarthen)  and got a Kicking Korma Curry Spice Kit. This is a special spice blend that you use to make fresh curry paste by adding a few ingredients such as tomato puree and ground almonds. Since it arrived we have had curry twice! The first time in a traditional lentil curry and this was just a clean out the fridge sort of soup and I decided to try out the korma paste in a soup and I am so glad I did! If you want to visit their website click on CASE FOR COOKING.  They only ship within the UK, so sorry my American friends! Did I also mention all their spice pots are vegan and gluten free? I cannot love this company enough. 

If you can't get any Case for Cooking curry paste then just use regular Korma curry paste. 

Korma Carrot and Butterbean Soup

1 onion

2 large carrots

half a red pepper

garlic

1 fist sized potato, diced

3 cups hot vegetable stock

half a tin (or a whole tin) coconut milk --I used one of those little 165ml tins

2-3 TB Korma curry paste

1 tin butterbeans, drain and rinsed

black pepper

1. Use a food processor to chop the onion, carrots and red pepper into pea sized amounts. If you don't have a food processor, then just chop really small. 

2. Add the onion, garlic, carrot and potato to a large pot and cover with the hot vegetable stock. Bring to the boil then turn down the heat and add the coconut milk and the curry paste. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the veg is tender and then add the butterbeans and cook for 5 more minutes. Grind on black pepper. 

3. That's it. It was quick and easy. And super delicious. 

What We Ate Wednesday--A Sort of Pizza Bowl

Hello lovelies! This meal came to me in a dream (as so many meals do.)

What? You don’t dream of food? Just me then?

I was craving pizza, but we were out of flour to make a crust. I thought about the things I would have liked on a pizza (tangy red sauce, sausage flavoured mushrooms and onions, kale on the side, cheesy sauce) and thought about what I had which was an onion, mushrooms, potatoes and kale. I had cheese powder for a sauce. I had everything to make an amazing meal.

So I cooked onion and mushrooms with sausage spices based on a tempeh recipe from the PPK (Post Punk Kitchen) and added sautéed kale. I boiled potatoes on the side and then coated them with a tangy red sauce. Then I made up a batch of cheese sauce and drizzled it on. Hoorah! Pizza flavours!

You can find the original recipe from the PPK HERE. Tempeh is way more expensive than button mushrooms and this tastes just as nice.

This was really delicious and easy to do, but it did require 3 pots so a bit more washing up—but totally worth it.

A Sort of Pizza Bowl

Sausage Mushrooms

1 onion, sliced into rainbows

Lots of garlic, crushed

300g button mushrooms

Sausage spice mix (see below)

Juice of half a lemon

2 TB tamari or soy sauce

100 g (several handfuls) kale

 Sausage Spice mix

1 TB fennel seeds

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp mixed herbs (mine has thyme, sage and marjoram)

 

Pizza Potatoes

400g potatoes, cubed and boiled until easily pierced by a knife

Red sauce—a few cloves finely chopped garlic, ¼ cup tomato puree, ½ tsp basil, ½ tsp oregano, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, a TB water to thin it out

 Cheese Sauce

1/3 cup powdered cheese sauce FIND RECIPE HERE

1 cup unsweetened non dairy milk

1TB lemon juice

1 tsp wholegrain mustard (optional)

1. Cover your potatoes with cold water and bring to the boil. Cook until they can easily be pierced by a knife, then drain and set aside. Meanwhile, in a large pot sauté the onion in a splash of water or vegetable stock until softened. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook down a bit and starting to brown.

2. Whisk all the ingredients for the cheese sauce into a small pot and heat on low heat. When the potatoes are done crank up the heat to medium and heat until sauce is bubbling and thick, stirring every few minutes. Remove from heat when thickened.

3. When the potatoes are done and you have turned up the cheese sauce, add the spice mix to coat the mushrooms and the kale and the lemon juice and tamari/soy sauce. Cook the kale and keep stirring until the kale wilts and turns bright green.

4. Add the drained potatoes back to their pan and add the tangy tomato sauce and heat on low until warmed.

5. Serve the kale and sausage mix next to the pizza potatoes and drizzle with cheese.

6. Take a photo and then smother with more cheese.

 That’s it. It was easy…but you do have to be watching three pots simultaneously. If you can’t cope with that then cook the sausage mushroom and kale and the potatoes, then heat the cheese sauce after.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mexican Polenta with Cheesy Sauce

Hello lovelies! We have had quite a bit of “something yummy over polenta” lately. Polenta is cheap and filling and warm and cooks quickly. What’s not to love?

This was a bit of a mash up of things we had in the house…black beans, salsa, frozen corn and some powdered cheese sauce. So it was Mexican Polenta drizzled with cheesy sauce. Yum!

This was also quick and easy. Made in about 20 minutes. Normally, when I make polenta, I add vegan parmesan cheese to it, but I didn’t this time as I was making cheese sauce to drizzle on top. This would take longer if you didn’t have the powdered cheese sauce made, but I always have some on hand for macaroni cheese or nachos. Find the recipe for cheese powder HERE.

Mexican Polenta

Mexican topping:

1 onion, diced

Garlic

Tin of black beans (or kidney beans), drained and rinsed

Jar salsa

1 cup frozen corn

Squeeze of lime juice (bottled is fine)

Cook the onion and garlic in a splash of oil or water and then add everything else and bubble until the corn is no longer frozen. Meanwhile start the cheese sauce.

Cheese sauce:

1/3 cup cheese powder Recipe HERE

1 cup unsweet non dairy milk (we used soya milk)

1 TB lemon juice (bottled is fine)

1 tsp wholegrain mustard (optional but nice)

Whisk all together and heat on low while you make the polenta.

Polenta:

4 cups vegetable stock

1 cup polenta

splash of non dairy milk

 Bring the stock to the boil. I like to boil 3.5 cups water in the kettle and then add some stock powder/cube to 1/2 cup that you heat in your pot whilst the kettle boils. then add the boiled kettle and it all comes to the boil much quicker than waiting for it come to boil from a cold pot. Does that make sense? 

Stream in the polenta to the boiling stock and whisk constantly until it thickens. When it starts to spit, take it off the heat and add a splash of milk. If it seems too stodgy, add another splash of milk then return to heat and make sure it is heated and then remove from heat, add a lid and let sit until the cheese sauce is hot.

Once the polenta is done, crank up the heat on the cheese sauce and stir constantly while it heats, when it boils it will thicken.

Serve the polenta with the Mexican topping and drizzle with cheese sauce. Then take a photo and drizzle on more cheese sauce.

This was quick and delicious after a long day at work. Yum!

What We Ate Wednesday--Hummus Pizza with Leftovers and Munchy Seeds

 Hello Lovelies! We like to have pizza quite a lot—I make my own crust out of spelt as wheat does not agree with me (it gets very shouty in my tummy) but any crust will do for this—store-bought, handmade, Gluten Free…whatever you use, just try this pizza!

This pizza uses hummus…again homemade or store-bought. It is made from a bit of leftovers in my house—one tiny new potato, a few cherry tomatoes leftover from a pasta, a few sad mushrooms lurking in the back of my fridge, a sliver of red pepper, and leftover munchy seeds from another meal.

My crust needs to be cooked 5 minutes at 250C/500F and then add the toppings. Then cook for another 12 minutes. But if yours just goes straight in the oven put your toppings on straightaway and cook according to package directions. 

Hummus Pizza with Leftovers and Munchy Seeds

You need

1 pizza crust 

1 white onion, cut into rainbows

a bit of red pepper, diced small

1 small new potato sliced wafer thin

2 mushrooms sliced thin

6 cherry tomatoes cut in half

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

hummus

Mixed herbs

Munchy Seeds

Cook the onion in a splash of water or vegetable stock until softened then set aside.

Marinate the cut cherry tomatoes in the balsamic vinegar.

Layer your pizza like this:

hummus

cooked white onion

mushrooms and peppers and potatoes

tomatoes, cut side down around the edge

Sprinkle on copious amounts of mixed herbs on the top and any remaining balsamic vinegar from the tomatoes. Grind on black pepper. 

Bake in a very hot oven according to package directions. When it is ready, top with Munchy Seeds.

This was really delicious...lots of flavours and textures  going on.