Bran Loaf

October 15, 2009 at 5:35 pm (American, British, Cakes and Cookies)
Tags: , ,

PA030384

An old recipe from childhood – and it’s still as good now as it was then!

Ingredients

1 cup Asda’s High Bran Cereal (this recipe was originally made with Kellogg’s All Bran, but that isn’t vegan – they use animal products in the manufacture of the vitamin D3. The Asda version is vegan, and a lot cheaper)

1 cup soya milk

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup raisins

1 cup self-raising flour

Method

1. Soak High Bran, sugar and raisins in soya milk until High Bran is soft (overnight, or for 3-4 hours)

2. Add flour, and mix well.

3. Spoon into a greased loaf tin.

4. Cook in oven at 180C for 1hr. Check if cooked – may need up to 20 minutes longer, depending on oven.  (You can tell if it is cooked if a cocktail stick, inserted in the middle, comes out clean.)

2 Comments

Cardamom Coffee

October 15, 2009 at 5:08 pm (Middle Eastern)

You know how to make coffee, don’t you?

Here’s a quick recipe to add a little *pizazz* to your normal coffee. This is coffee, Middle Eastern style.

You will need a proper coffee maker or cafetiere.

Use 2-3 cardamom pods per cup. Crush them gently with a mortar and pestle or grinder.  ( If you use coffee beans, grind the pods with the beans.)

Add to your ground coffee, and brew as normal.

You can add more or less  cardamom pods.

Mmmm…lovely, aromatic coffee!

Leave a Comment

Scrambled Tofu.

October 15, 2009 at 4:37 pm (Indian)
Tags: , , ,

Scrambled tofu

Cook.  And taste.  Then tell me – why on earth would you ever want to eat something that comes out of a chicken’s nether regions ever again, when you can have this wonderful concoction instead?

Ingredients

1 block tofu, drained*

1 onion, sliced thinly lengthways

1 tbsp dessicated coconut

1 tbsp garam masala

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tbsp olive oil

salt to taste

Method

1. Heat oil in pan. Add onions, and cook gently for 5 minutes.

2. In the meantime, crumble tofu with your hands, or roughly chop with a knife.

3. Add garam masala and coconut to onion, and stir. Cook for 2 minutes.

4. Add tofu,  and turmeric.

5. Heat through, for about 5 minutes.

6. Season to taste.

This is obviously just one variation – you can add a variety of different herbs and spices instead of the garam masala/coconut** – making Italian scrambled tofu by adding basil, oregano, marjoram and garlic, or Mexican scrambled tofu by adding chilli powder. Get inventive, and let me know if you come up with some great alternatives to mine!

*To drain tofu well, cut open the packet, drain away the water, and then place on a plate, with clingfilm over the top, and some heavy books on top of that. Leave for an hour, if you can, and then pour away liquid. Prepared this way, you are not left with the squishy lumps you can get if you don’t drain it well.  If you don’t have time to drain it, give it a good squeeze instead!

**I used a home made garam masala called Maharashtrian, which includes peanuts, sesame seeds and nutmeg. Recipe to follow!

Leave a Comment

Black Bean Burritos

October 11, 2009 at 12:43 pm (Mexican)
Tags: ,

Burrito filling

The filling being prepared.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

250g black beans, soaked for 8 hours, and cooked as per packet instructions OR 2 cans black beans, drained

2 onions, sliced lengthways

250g passata (you can use a can of chopped tomatoes + 2 tbs tomato puree instead if you don’t have passata)

2 tsps sugar

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 red chillies, diced finely

2 tomatoes, diced

2 tsp paprika (I used smoked paprika)

salt to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

8 tortillas

Method

1. Heat olive oil in large pan, add onions and cook for 3 minutes.

2. Add diced chillies, cook for a further 2 minutes.

3. Take half of the black beans, and mash roughly.

4. Add passata, paprika, sugar and vinegar to onions and chillies. Add the whole and mashed black beans and tomatoes.

5. Add salt to taste, and cook on a low heat for 15 minutes.

6.  Heat tortillas in microwave or oven, until warm.

7. Serve black beans in the tortillas. Great with salsa, guacamole and tortilla chips on the side.


Black bean burrito

The finished burrito. Oh yum!

Leave a Comment

Chana Daal with Soy Fried Onions

October 11, 2009 at 12:13 pm (Indian)

channa dal

This recipe was based on one fromthe Hement-Trivedis Cookery Corner blog. Here’s the original recipe:

http://hemant-trivedis-cookery-corner.blogspot.com/2009/10/saboot-masoor-egyptian-lentils.html

I used chana daal as these do not need soaking mainly because they are split: the daal used in above blog is whole, hence the need to soak first.

I served it with rice and a side dish of onions, fried in olive oil and soy sauce.

Ingredients

200 g chana daal
I medium onion
2-3 cloves garlic,
1″ piece ginger, peeled and grated.
2-3 green chillies*, cut into thin round slices.
1 tomato, chopped
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp asafoetida
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder
2-3 tsp coriander finely chopped
2 tbsp oil
3-4 cloves
1-2 small pieces cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
Salt to taste

*I buy lots of chillies at the same time, and just throw them into the freezer, whole – perfect for cutting into the thin slices required in this recipe.

Method

1. Cook lentils for about 30 minutes – you want them just cooked, but don’t cook them too long as they will go mushy.
Drain and set aside when cooked.

2. Slice onions, green chilies and set aside.

3. Slice garlic in thin rounds and set aside.

4. Add grated ginger to cooked lentils.

5. In a frying pan, heat oil and add cumin seeds, asafoetida, cloves and cinnamon sticks.

6. When cloves puff up,add green chillies and onion on a medium flame. As soon as onion starts becoming brown, add garlic slices.  Turn up the heat for about 20 seconds at the maximum. Do not over fry garlic .

7. Pour this mix on top of the lentils and mix.

8. After five minutes, add salt , cumin powder, turmeric and lime juice on top of the lentils and mix gently with a ladle. Cook for a few more minutes, then turn off heat.

9. Let the Lentils sit for about an hour before lunch or dinner. Re heat before serving.

10. Garnish with chopped coriander before serving (NOTE: you will never see me garnish anything with chopped coriander, I hate the stuff!)

11. Serve with rice, chapattis, and fried onions.

Fried Onions

Onions in soy sauce

You can serve these with anything – I do!

Ingredients

3 onions, sliced lengthways

2 tbsp olive oil

soy sauce.

Method

1.  Heat oil in frying pan.

2. Add onions.

3. Add soy sauce, as much as necessary.

4. Cook on medium heat until onions are cooked through. Add more soy sauce if necessary, and also a touch of water if needed.

1 Comment

Spinach, Aubergine and Chick Pea Curry

October 11, 2009 at 11:31 am (Indian)
Tags: , ,

Aubergine-Spinach curry

A quick and easy curry to make midweek when you’re short of time.

Ingredients

1kg/2¼lb fresh spinach
4 tbsp olive oil
2 medium red onions, chopped
200g/7oz tinned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 fresh hot green chillies, halved and thinly sliced, seeds included
1 tbsp coriander seeds, ground
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 large aubergine, approx. 400g/14oz,cut into 2cm (3/4in) dice
400g/14oz tinned chopped tomatoes
salt

Method

1. Cook the spinach in boiling water for two minutes, then cool it under cold running water and squeeze gently to remove most of the liquid. Place in a food processor and chop the spinach to a coarse purée.
2. Heat half the olive oil in a large pan and cook the onion, chickpeas, garlic, chilli and spices for five minutes over a medium heat.
3. Add the remaining olive oil and the aubergine. Cook for ten minutes, stirring often, until the aubergine is coloured.
4. Add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt, then cover the pan, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes until the aubergine is soft. Stir in the spinach purée and serve.

Leave a Comment

Vegan Macaroni ‘Cheese’

September 29, 2009 at 7:30 pm (American, Italian)
Tags: ,

Ultra simple to make, using storecupboard ingredients. Don’t expect it to taste really cheesy, and be exactly like macaroni cheese – it doesn’t, it actually tastes more meaty than cheesy. But it is still the ultimate comfort food!

Ingredients

1 + 1/2 cups* soya milk

1/3 cup* soy sauce

1 + 1/2 cups nutritional yeast powder (available from health food shops)

1 tbsp paprika

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1/2 tbsp salt

1/2 block tofu, crumbled

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp mustard powder

1/4 tsp cayenne powder

500g dried macaroni or similar tubular pasta.

Method

1. Cook macaroni as per packet instructions.

2. Meanwhile, blend all other ingredients. Heat in saucepan or microwave until boiling.

3. Drain macaroni, put into large baking dish.

4. Pour sauce over macaroni, and mix well.

5. Slice tomatoes and use to decorate.

6. Put in oven, 200 C, 400 F, Gas Mark 6, for 15 minutes, until lightly browned on top.

* a ‘cup’ (American measurement) is 240 ml/grams. You can buy ‘cup measures’ on the internet, or in any good cookery shop.  Otherwise, find a cup that holds 240ml/gms, and use that!

Leave a Comment

Vegetable Paella

September 28, 2009 at 7:00 pm (Mediterranean, Uncategorized)
Tags: , ,

Vegetable Paella

A simple recipe – you can use any vegetables you have around, but go for lots of different colours!

Ingredients

2 tbsps olive oil

1 small onion, chopped finely

2 crushed garlic cloves

2  tomatoes, halved and sliced

400g rice (basmati or any long grained)

a pinch of saffron

1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper cut into pieces

2 handfuls of peas (frozen is fine, but defrost/cook lightly first)

2 handfuls of cut, cooked, green beans or spinach

3 vegetable stock cubes

1 can beans, drained (I used gungo beans, but any coloured beans would be fine)

1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan and fry  onion and garlic

2. When the onion has softened, add the cut vegetables and cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat.

3.  Add the rice, beans, salt to taste and saffron. Mix well and add 2 cups of water.

4.  Cook on low to medium heat stirring occasionally until rice is cooked, adding water when necessary.

Serve hot, with a large salad.

Leave a Comment

Spinach and Houmous Spaghetti

September 27, 2009 at 7:37 pm (Mediterranean)
Tags: , ,

Easy and quick to make.  And very tasty!

Spinach and Houmous Spaghetti

Serves 4

Ingredients

For Houmous

2 cups cooked chick peas (garbanzo beans)
3/4 cup  water
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice of two lemons
4 cloves of garlic crushed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method
Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. For this recipe the houmous needs to be quite runny, so add a bit more water if necessary.  Set aside until needed.

Ingredients

For spaghetti

400g dried or fresh spaghetti

200g frozen spinach, defrosted

1 red onion, sliced

chopped parsley

1 tbsp olive oil

Method

1.  Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, sauté onions, spinach in olive oil.

3. Add onions and spinach to pasta and stir.

4. Pour houmous over pasta and mix well.

Serve with black olives, roasted red peppers and roasted garlic.

Leave a Comment

Ari Solomon: Who you calling Vegangelical? article

September 27, 2009 at 7:48 am (Education, News)

“When a vegan is talking to a meat eater…..he or she is not ‘preaching’ or ‘trying to convert’ or any such thing.  We’re not telling you what to eat.  We’re telling you what you’re eating.”

“If, as a meat eater, being exposed to this reality bothers you, it’s not the fault of the vegan.  Lashing out or making up endless excuses doesn’t change the stark scientific fact that animals are suffering because of our taste buds.  Your neatly packaged chicken breast, all wrapped in pristine plastic, was once part of an animal that felt fear and pain.  It’s called responsibility and culpability, and we’re all to blame.”

“You may try to argue that eating animals is a matter of personal opinion or choice, but again I’d have to disagree – this is not about your opinion versus my opinion, this is about animal suffering.  You can’t discuss your ‘personal choice’ of eating animals while leaving animals completely out of the conversation.”

“Who’s the real extremist? The person who tries to stop unnecessary suffering by cutting out animal products, or the person who says, ‘I like the way that tastes, so a sentient being needs to suffer and die’.?”

From the Huffington Post:

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ari-solomon/who-you-callin-vegangelic_b_290582.html

Leave a Comment

« Older entries