Archive for the ‘mains’ Category

Mushroom and White Wine Vol au Vents

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008

Mushroom and White Wine Vol au Vents

I love puff pastry, anything light and fluffy that you can fill with gushy food and tasty sauce is awesome. This is the second time that Nick and I made these, and unfortunately we bought the teeny wee puff pastries instead of the large ones. Still, they tasted great, and I’ll defiantly make them for the next dinner party. They’re super omni-friendly and easy to make buckets of.

Ingredients:

Packet of frozen vol au vents
6 large mushrooms sliced
1 regular sized onion chopped up quite fine
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Handful of parsley chopped up fine
1 glass white wine
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes (If you have them, tastes good without)
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions:
Glaze your vol au vents and cook according to package directions. It usually takes about 15 minutes which should give you time to make the filling. In a frying pan heat up some olive oil and add the onions. Once translucent, add the mushrooms and leave to sweat out the moisture tossing occasionally. Meanwhile, whisk the flour, water, nutritional yeast flakes and garlic salt in a pot. Turn on the heat and keep stirring until it starts to thicken. Add in the wine, stir until your mushrooms are starting to golden. Mix in the mushrooms and onions . Finally add the parsley, and ladle generously into your vol au vents. Best served with some big home made chips and a crispy salad, but that’s up to you :)

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Posted in baking, mains, ommnomnom, recipe, sauce | 2 Comments »

Easy Vegetable Paella

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

I haven’t updated in about week, but I have made so many dinners in that amount of time that I just wish I had time to take photos of them all! For one, using the tofu ricotta recipe in Veganomicon I made a roasted toasted lasagna that went down a treat with all the omnivores at a bar-b-que last weekend. If only they knew there was tofu in it! It’s so funny that sense of fear I have seen in a number of omnivores when it comes to eating tofu. That particular bar-b-que/party went on until the next morning and I offered to throw together some scrambled tofu to go with the breakfast for the masses. I altered between telling them it was tofu scramble and just getting them to taste (what they believed mostly consisted eggs) and they all loved the stuff! There were a good number, who on hearing it was tofu point blank refused to eat it. It’s a strange mentality. Mmm, I also made a sun-dried tapenade, also from Veganomicon that was eaten well before the bar-b-que even got started, so I’ll make sure to repeat that recipe again and post up the results.

Easy Vegan Paella with a Slice of Lemon

Today’s recipe was last nights dinner – Paella. We had made this once before, so this recipe is pretty much ad lib. There are several places where you can find vegetarian paella recipes on the net,and they all tend to be vegan. I think of it as similar to cooking risotto, except you just add all the stock at once. This is probably going to feature largely in my kitchen this summer as it’s a light and amazingly full of flavor dish. That and it’s super easy to do, especially because you should have most of the ingredients on hand. Nick and I threw together a large pot of Sangria to go with our Paella that kept us going all night. It’s amazing how good a cheep bottle of wine can taste when mixed right. Sooo good. omm.

On to the Ingredients: Paella with Artichokes

  • 250g / Half a bag of Paella Rice (You can use other types of rice if you can’t find paella rice)
  • 1 cup vegetable stock
  • 1/4 cup Olive Oil
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 4/5 cloves garlic loosely chopped
  • 1 red and 1 yellow Bell Pepper sliced
  • 1 courgette chopped
  • 6 large Mushrooms sliced
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 tin Chopped Tomatoes
  • A pinch of Saffron (You may substitute Turmeric if you don’t have any saffron)
  • Salt and Pepper to Taste
  • 1 lemon
  • Optional. You can get a tin of artichokes to garnish, but I wouldn’t eat enough of them to make it work buying the tin so didn’t bother.

Man in the Kitchen 131/366

Directions:

In a large pot heat up the olive oil and then add the onions and garlic. You can of course do all this in a large frying pan and serve the pan to the table. Just make sure you don’t loose many ingredients when you stir! Cook these until the onions are translucent. Add the rest of the vegetables, and cook for about 5 minutes then add the peas. Cook for a further 5 minutes.
Add the tin of tomatoes, rice and safron and mix well. Then add the stock. Cook for about 15/20 minutes stirring often and adding small amounts of water if necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with lemon slices and a large glass of Sangria

Easy Vegan Paella with a Slice of Lemon

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Posted in alcohol, book, dessert, mains, ommnomnom, recipe, review | 12 Comments »

Cheesy Bean and Cheese Enchiladas from VegWeb.com

Monday, April 21st, 2008

Vegan Enchiladas
I can’t believe I haven’t posted about this recipe yet. This is a stable in our house, eaten at least once a week. My boyfriend would have this every second day if he was allowed! Unfortunately, the only vegetables that we use in this recipe are onions and jalapeños. It is however a great source of protein and tastes fantastic. *yum*
VegWeb.com was a life saver when we first went vegan and were recipe book-less. It’s a great source of recipes and tips for cooking. These cheesy bean and cheese enchalidas are one of their top 10 recipes, with over 80,000 views and 125 reviews. There are tonnes of photos sent in by the users. I have ctrl+c and ctrl+v the instructions from the site and take no responsibility for it’s AWESOMNESS. Make this, you defiantly won’t regret it. 5 ommnomnom *s

Ingredients:

  • 1/2c flour
  • 1/2c nutritional yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon mustard
  • 4 tablespoon margarine
    • Or soya butter
  • 10 tortillas
    • The Old el Passo Salsa Tortillas are perfect for this
  • 2 small cans enchilada sauce
  • 3 cans beans (white kidney, pinto, black), drained
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 1 can olives, chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1/2 cup salsa (optional)
    • Tried this once, don’t bother adding these now

Directions:

In medium-large saucepan, combine flour, nutritional yeast, salt and garlic powder. Add water and mix thoroughly. Heat on medium heat until bubbling and thick. Remove from heat and add mustard and margarine. Set aside 1/2 cup of cheese sauce in separate container. Add onion, beans, olives, cilantro and salsa to sauce. Mix it up.

Pour a 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Place a tortilla in pan and cover in enchilada sauce. Spoon in filling. Roll and push to one end of pan. Continue until all tortillas filled. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce on top and then spread reserved cheese sauce on as last step. Bake at 350 until brown, 30-45 minutes.

Serves: 6

Preparation time: 45 min

Vegan Enchiladas

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Roasted Vegetable and Mustard Cream Pie

Sunday, April 20th, 2008

I love pie, pastry pie, puff pie, crumbly pie. Yum. There are three parts to this pie recipe, the base, a layer of creamy filling and the vegetables. There is something that feels so good about eating roasted vegetables, it seems to bring out all of their individual flavors so well. This makes a hearty 6 servings in a casserole dish.

Roasted Vegtable and Creamy Tofu Pie

For the base:

  • 1 and a half cups of whole wheat flour
  • Quarter cup of nice olive oil
  • A few tablespoons of soya milk
  • Salt and pepper to season

Filling:

  • Half a cup of tofu
  • 2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
  • 3 tablespoons Nutritional Yeast Flakes
  • 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper to season
  • 2 tablespoons soya milk

Top:

  • 2 large tomatoes
  • 2 peppers
  • 2 onions
  • 1 courgette
  • 6 large mushrooms
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 teaspoon celery seed
  • 1 teaspoon rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon thyme
  • 1 tablespoon nice olive oil

Directions:

  • Roughly chop up the vegetables
  • Mix with the herbs and oil in a container suitable for the oven
  • Roast for an hour on a very low heat (About gas mark 3)

In the mean time, make your base:

  • In a large bowl, add the flour to oil with your hands until crumbly in texture
  • Add the soya milk bit by bit until the mixture is damp
  • Pat into the bottom of the casserole dish
  • Put this into the oven after 20 minutes. Increase the temperature to 5 and put the vegetables on the bottom shelf.

Next make your filling:

  • Blend the lot
  • You may wish to add more soya milk to ensure a creamy texture
  • After another 20 minutes, add a thin layer of this filling to the crust

Cook for another 20 minutes, then add the layer of veg

Serve with potatoes or salad.

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Falafel & Hummus Wrap with Bean Sprout Salad and a Cayenne Salad Dressing

Tuesday, April 15th, 2008

Falafel & hummous wrap, garlic mushroom and a bean sprout salad with cayanne dressing

Firstly, I have to admit that I’ve never made a falafel in my life. These falafels were made form a box. You know the “just add water” types. However, they were amazing and quite cheap, about three quid in the the Asian Market on Drury St.. They bake in the oven for about 10 minutes either side. I would like to try and make these from scratch, if anyone has any good recipes let me know.
I put them in a wrap with some lettuce, hummus, vegan mayonnaise (That is available in the Tescos “free from” section), and some bean sprouts and shoots.

On the side, is a tossed salad with more sprouts and shoots and a spicy salad dressing. This was a bit of an experiment. Usually I make my dressings using mustard, but we accidentally bought mustard with honey, and that definatly wasn’t going on my salad.
Ingredients:

  • About 4 rough tablespoons of nice olive oil. You know when you let the oil keep pouring as you measure out the next spoon
  • To two tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • A teaspoon of cayenne
  • Teaspoon of celery seeds
    • Which have been used to mild anxiety and agitation, loss of appetite, fatigue and coughs
  • Teaspoon lemon juice

I threw the whole lot of this into a jar and shook. This was so tasty that we’ve had it twice since. Drizzled on salad, it’s in small enough doses that I can handle the spiciness.

The mushrooms are classic garlic mushrooms. I use about a clove and a half of garlic for each mushroom, blended with a large teaspoon of soya butter and the stalks of the mushrooms. These are baked for 20 minutes or so, but sometimes I like to bake them for an hour until the mushrooms are a tasty garlic mess.

Bean sprout salad with cayanne salad dressing

Edit: Tuesday 15th 20:30 vegan.com has blogged about my falafel photo. They say I had my first pita and falafel sandwich shortly after I began transitioning to a vegetarian diet, and my first thought was, “Wow, this tastes so much better than hamburger!” and boy is that so true. A falafel with tasty sauce is so much more satisfying that any of the hamburgers I’ve had in the past. nomnom

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Posted in mains, ommnomnom, products, recipe, salad | 1 Comment »

Quinoa and Red Lentil Stew

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

Qunioa and Red Lentils
Here’s another recipe inspired by my nutritional kick. Quinoa and lentils with any sort of vegetables and a good lashing of stock makes a super comforting food to curl up with but can also be a great source of protein and vitamins. There is a similar recipe over at eatpeacepleaserecipes.blogspot.com, but they have made theirs quite spicy. My spicy threshold is pretty low, and I try to avoid it as it gives me itchy ears!
For this one, I really wanted to sneak in some of vegetables that are good for you but a lot of people hate, in particular my boyfriend. I used celery, cauliflower, and even carrots, probably three of the vegetables that he dislikes the most, but the stew went down a treat!

Quinoa, Red Lentils and Celery

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup quinoa rinsed
    • Quinoa is a great complete food. It has a very high protein content, a balanced set of amino acids, good source of fiber and iron and phosphorus and magnesium as well as being gluten free
  • 1 cup red lentils
    • Like I said in my Sweet and Spicy Lentils, these guys taste great and are a good source of protein and dietary fiber
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic crushed
  • 2 celery stalks chopped
    • Good if you are interested in weight loss because it is a negative calorie vegetable. It is high in dietary fiber, vitamin A, C, K, Potassium, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Magnesium and Phosphorus
  • 1 cup frozen baby carrots
  • 1 cup frozen cauliflower
    • Has a high nutrient density. It is low in fat and high in fiber and vitamin C. There are claims that it improves liver function as well as slow or prevent cancerous tumors in the breast and prostate.
  • 1/2 tin chopped tomatoes
    • Good for the heart and high in antioxidants.
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon basil
  • 1 teaspoon fennel

Directions:

  • Heat the oil in a fairly large pot
  • When hot, add the onions and cook until translucent then add the garlic
  • Add the rest of the vegetables, the tomato, and spices and give a good stir until everything is coated
  • Add the stock, lentils and quinoa and stir
  • Cover and simmer until the lentils are soft
  • You may need to add more water as the stock is absorbed
  • Once soft, blend to the consistency you prefer. I like to blend the whole lot, but you can do half and half if you like a chunky stew
  • Serve with a large slice of bread and soya butter

Quinoa and Red Lentil Stew

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Sweet and Spicey Lentils

Thursday, April 3rd, 2008

I was in hospital back in October for some scans, everything came back clear, but I got the impression that some of the doctors were not necessarily happy about my vegan diet and signed me up for an appointment with a nutritionist. I didn’t realise until the appointment letter came in the post, but figured that it was probably a good idea. I have to admit that I was a bit apprehensive at first. My boyfriend has had one GP tell him that he should do back eating liver (*yuck*), but the lady was lovely. She herself was a vegetarian and she even managed to root out some information about the levels of calcium and iron in vegan foods. Awesome.Pretty much what she was telling me I knew already, but hadn’t been putting into practice. It was just the boot up the butt I needed to start experimenting more in a more healthy way. My obsession with vegan enchiladas (Recipe coming soon) must end!

To sum, I need get back on the vitamin tablets, in particular iron, B12 and calcium. I also need to be more conscientious about my protein intake. Meat is a whole protein and is absorbed into the body very quickly, whereas in nuts seeds and pulses it is released more slowly so it is necessary to incorporate some carbohydrates into each meal.

So I came up with this, the reasoning behind some of the ingredients are listed after them :)


Sweet and Spicy Lentils with Neutritional Mash

Ingredients:

  • 1 onion.
    • I pretty much put and onion in every dinner. They do contain antioxidants, which lower the risk of heart and neurological disease.
  • 1 pepper (Whichever you prefer).
    • I can’t eat too much peppers, the seem to irritate my stomach, but they are a good source of vitamin C
  • 2 garlic cloves.
    • I love love love garlic, but I don’t use it enough. It’s good for cholestoral and high-blood pressure
  • 1 can chickpeas (or about a cup if you are soaking them)
    • Taste great, good source of protein and carbohydrates
  • 2 cups of cooked red lentils
    • Protein and good dietary fiber
  • 1 can tomatoes
    • vitamin A & C and a whole bunch of other good things, tasty too ^_^
  • 1 tablespoon chilli powder
  • 1/2 tablespoon fennel seeds
    • Good for digestion
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon tumeric
  • 1 tablespoon
  • 2 tablespoons of molasses
    • This portion contains 400mg of calcium, which is more than a cup of collard greens
  • 1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter
    • Protein, reduces cholesterol, reduces the chances of heart disease and even cancer
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • Rice or pasta to serve

Directions:

  • Pour the oil into a pot and let it heat
  • While it is heating, chop up your vegtables and crush the garlic
  • Add all three to the hot pot, and cook until the onion is translucent
  • Stir in the mustard and all of the spices
  • Add the lentils, chick-peas, tomatoes, molasses and peanut-butter
  • Mix well, and leave to simmer on a low heat for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally
  • Serve with some rice or pasta

This makes two massive servings, so there will be plenty left over for lunch. It was inspired by a recipe called Sloppy Lennys sandwich spread that I found in one of my favourite vegan cookbooks: Vegan Vittles. Oh, and even though I’d recommend this with brown rice, the picture above is with mashed potatoes, some soya milk and nutritional yeast flakes. Nick wanted some comfort food the night I was cooking so I did mash instead, and it tasted fab too. A big pile of spuds doesn’t fair as well on the healthy scale although ^_^

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