planet vegan scotland - posts tagged 'vegan'

sweet things

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:45:07 GMT

Alpro soya milks and puddings

Have been sent some Alpro goodies to try We do like their soya milk. The only one I didn’t know about was the ‘milk alternative’ suitable from 1 year old. Lots of extra vitamins and iron in it (and surprisingly nice in nocaf!). The chocolate puddings are lush lush lush…

Blackcurrant smoothies, there have been a few more – here’s a before pic Layered up are borage flowers, gooseberries, blackcurrants, leaf beet, parsley, linseeds (flax), brazil nuts, bananas and apple juice.

smoothie to be

sweet red onion from garden - very pleased with these

blackcurrant cake - currants cooked in batter and raw squished into icing too

also made some banana muffins with lots of redcurrants in – no pic but very good

Charlotte's strawberry jam bubbling on cooker - taking 'sweet' to new levels!!

raw mom summit

woods, hands, feet, bread and soup…

catkins and cheeze

cup of tea, anyone?

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 08:09:53 GMT

Tetley for Soya

I was most intrigued during the week to be offered the above product samples for review on the site. It didn’t seem likely that a major company was producing something so accommodating to vegans and non-dairy drinkers. I googled to make sure it was true… and it was: Tetley for Soya

I don’t usually drink black tea now – I’ve had two cups this year. Once when out with a friend in a cafe and then again when visiting another friend after a long day out. I sampled this however and it is rather pleasant – it looked a bit pale after brewing and soya milk poured into it and I expected it to be mild tasting, even bland. But it has a strong flavour without being bitter. Basically I think it’s rather a better quality tea than standard Tetley. Davie is a more regular tea drinker and declared it “affa fine” (English transaltion: very good/nice) Currently available in selected Tesco stores, all of them in England, going by the Tetley website!

no delicate floral teacups here

While on the subject of tea and dairy alternatives we were sent another great product a couple of weeks ago: Good Hemp Dairy Free Alternative to Milk (from the makers of Good Oil that we use all the time), which I imagine would be nice in the above tea too. I tried it in Nocaf, Dan on cereal and we both really liked it, more nutty than soya milk. According to the booklet sent with it, it’s in Waitrose and health food shops from Monday.

Good Hemp Milk

mmm

walnut cake and sheep

pressies

The Graduate!

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:18:52 GMT

When Johnny and Jane were wee, we sometimes went to the Stirling University campus to feed the ducks, coots and moorhens which inhabit the beautiful lochs there. (The other day, when I went there specially to take a photo for this blog, there were mostly swans in evidence…)

‘When you’re big, you’ll maybe come here to study!’ I told them, as I held their little hands and made sure they didn’t get too close to the water. But I just couldn’t imagine that far ahead. It’s difficult to picture your toddlers as grown-ups…

Well, two years ago Johnny graduated from the university; this year it was Jane’s turn and, after four years’ hard work, she graduated with a BA (Hons) in English Studies and History.

A proud moment for her adoring family! John, Johnny and I were there, of course!

As were Nana and Auntie Syl…

A very happy, and loving, mother and daughter…

The next day was the Graduation Ball. Our fairy tale princess didn’t have a fairy godmother, but she did have the PDSA charity shop, who, for the sum of 20 gold coins (well, they accepted a £20 note…) supplied her dress…

… and a mother who, using a crochet hook rather than a spinning wheel, magicked her a matching bag, just the right size for her camera and phone to sit side by side.

Jane had a great time at the Ball. She had a delicious vegan meal and danced a lot. Sadly, there was no Prince Charming to sweep her off her feet, but on the plus side, she didn’t have to be back by midnight (apparently she rolled in at about 3 am) and the next day she was able to lie in bed as late as she liked and didn’t have to do any housework at all!

And the day after that, it was off to the JobCentre…

The Stirling newspaper always shows photos of local graduates, naming the school each attended before university. Jane has never set foot in a school. Her photo will appear with the caption, ‘Jane Veitch from Dunblane, who was home educated, graduated from Stirling University with a BA (Hons.) in English Studies and History’.

Today’s title: The Graduate, film starring Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hofffman.

Today’s smoothie Today’s soup Today’s allotment haul: raspberries, strawberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, red gooseberries, Swiss chard, peas, yellow courgettes and green courgettes. Lovely stuff! Courgette flan is definitely on the menu tonight and John and I have decided that we’re going to have to clear a space in one of our sheds and buy another freezer!

new designs in shop

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:58:39 GMT

borage being my favourite

Great program photoshop I’ve created a few new designs for the spreadshirt shop, some based on flowers from the garden, some ballet, old pictures and still the original vegan and home ed categories too. There is an offer on from today, 12th July to 30th July (2010 for future clarification) – if you buy £40 worth of stuff you can choose a baseball cap, messenger bag or apron for free with the voucher code ADDONFREE

Other designs:

pink

little flowers

rose

ballet shoes

purple pointes

sign at Findhorn

and the old faithfuls, gorgeous...

and not a school bag

shop front here

a toolbox of lettuce

good things going on in the world

books and dancemat

green soup and juice, raw chocolate pud

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:26:58 GMT

minty pea and nettle soup

recipe up here

wheatgrass

been drinking wheatgrass juice with friends

slight deviation away from green

Raw chocolate pudding teamed up with Swedish Glace (booja booja stuff in a tub is raw if you prefer). Pudding was made thus: grind up some raw chocolate nibs (could use cocoa though of course not raw) then blend with a large avocado and 2 ripe bananas with a squirt of agave nectar – makes enough for four people. I also added a little water for a smoother result.

Poppies:

inside a flower

seeds within

blackcurrants

mellow

knitted digestion

Oh, what a beautiful day!

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 20:18:52 GMT

Well, I’ve been sitting here this past week, composing this blog entry, with the rain chucking down from heavy grey clouds, but last Saturday WAS beautiful, thank goodness. Why ‘Thank goodness?’ you may ask. I’ll tell you. It was the day of the Meadows Festival!!! Last year I blogged about this special event here. This year all four of us managed to go. We had planned to take packed lunches, as there’s rarely anything suitable for us to eat there, but this year we were just too pressed for time…

There are lots of stalls at the Meadows Festival.

John was thrilled to find a plant one right at the start. But that meant him lugging lots of plants around… Johnny and Jane enjoyed book and CD stalls and made a few purchases and I was looking for interesting things for the house, as well as books, of course. I was thrilled to find a wicker basket full of magazines including special treats for me: Country Homes and Gardens and Period Living magazines, which were selling at 6 for £1!

I bought 18, which John carried for me…

I also found a present for Sylvia’s birthday, which was VERY HEAVY. That’s all I can say at the moment, of course… I carried that…

I was NOT tempted to buy this book! Can you guess which one? Honestly! This was NOT going to be an addition to my recipe book shelves… ‘Almost vegetarian’, indeed! Oops, gave the game away there, didn’t I? Oh, well, I wasn’t offering any prizes for the correct answer…

I DID buy a bumblebee badge to add to the collection on my bag…

… but decided to give these a miss! I mean, revolting, or what?

We had high hopes of something to eat when we saw this place…

but although I loved the decor (very ‘me’!)…

… because of some misunderstanding between John and me, we both thought there was nothing suitable. This turned out for the best, though, as you will see, if you read on… (Are you excited? I like to keep the suspense going…)

Just past the cafe we met, and made friends with, this gorgeous wee fellow. His name’s Alfie and he was VERY ‘dog-nappable’! We could just see him fitting into our household nicely. Sadly, but understandably, his owner wanted to hang onto him, however…

A couple of days before, Trudi, from Scottish Vegans, had written to me on Facebook to ask if we were going to be at the Festival and had given me her mobile number. Of course, I forgot to take a note of it with me. (You’re not surprised?) I was wishing we could phone up Molly, the cleverest of our cats, to ask her to check Facebook for me, but she wouldn’t have been able to pick up the receiver. This lack of opposable thumbs can be a problem… However, after wandering around peering at the faces of total strangers I thought might be Trudi (I’d met her only once before) I suddenly remembered that Jane can go on-line with her fancy, new, 21^st birthday phone! She logged onto my Facebook messages and there was Trudi’s number! I phoned her and we met up with her and her daughter and baby son. The wonders of modern technology!

By this time we were about to leave, as we all needed sustenance, but Trudi very kindly invited us round to her flat, which was only about five minutes walk away. There we had hummus and salad sandwiches, washed down with mugs of tea. Trudi said she couldn’t see vegans going hungry! Thank you, again, Trudi! It was very much appreciated!

Johnny then set off for a demo, against real fur sporrans, with Ethical Voice for Animals (EVA) and John, Jane and I, heavily laden, staggered off for the train home to Dunblane.

After a VERY warm welcome from the pooches, John and I settled down in the garden. He had a new gardening magazine (do you see Molly in the background? Apparently she’d been out all day anyway, so wouldn’t have been in to answer the phone even if she’d HAD opposable thumbs)…

…the sun was blazing down and I relaxed on the swing seat and browsed in my new housey mags. Bliss!

When Johnny came home, I made one of our favourite meals: Italian marinated tofu (from Vegan With a Vengeance) with potatoes, broccoli, green beans, peas and gravy made from the marinade. Mmmmm…..

Yup! It was a beautiful day!

Today’s smoothie: orange juice, apples, apricots, half a bag of mixed green leafies, lettuce, alfalfa and a wee piece of kombu. Delicious!

Today’s title: from ‘Oh, what a beautiful mornin’!’, Oklahoma, Rogers and Hammerstein

Vegan Carrot Cake

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 22:01:33 GMT

Carrot cake is not something I have ever enjoyed. I never see one and want a slice, so I surprised myself with this recipe.

I was over at Katiecakes when I fell in love with this cake. It was lust at first sight. Katie had iced her cake so beautifully and I think that was it for me. I had to have one.

I have made this cake twice now. This first one was none too elegant. I spread the frosting over the whole cake and it wasn't the vision that Katie's cake was. I definitely need some practice at the old icing lark. The second time I made the cake, I just frosted the top and if I do say so myself, it looked gorgeous.

Yes, I love this cake so much I have made it twice and I am planning to make it again soon. The texture is gorgeous and it is lovely and moist. You get a hint of the banana and you can really taste the spices. The carrot is just an added bonus.

Hi, my name is Jacqueline and I am a carrot cake addict!

Vegan Carrot Cake

2 ¼ cups self-raising flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
½ cup + 1 tbsp margarine
¾ cup light brown sugar
2 ¼ cups carrots, grated
1 medium banana mashed
1 orange, grated rind and juice

frosting

1/2 cup vegan margarine
1/2 cup vegan cream cheese
4 cups icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

decoration

finely grated rind of 1 orange

Preheat the oven to 180c/350f/Gas 4.

Lightly grease or place a greaseproof cake liner into a 18cm round or 20cm square cake tin.

Sift the flour, baking powder and spices into a large bowl.

Melt the margarine in a pan, add the sugar and stir until dissolved.

Make a well in the flour mixture, then add the margarine and sugar. Mix in the carrots, banana and orange zest and juice.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level the top with the back of a spoon.

Bake for around 40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool before removing from the tin.

For the frosting, cream the margarine and cream cheese together until well mixed.

Add the icing sugar half a cup at a time, blending in carefully until you have used all the icing sugar.

Mix in vanilla extract and spread generously over the cake.

Sprinkle orange rind over the frosting for a pretty finish.

Thank you so much for this cake Katie and thank you for giving me permission to publish the recipe. My friends, family and colleagues would all like to thank you too. I took the second cake into my work and it was demolished within 2 hours and not everyone got a piece. I think you can safely say it was greatly enjoyed.

I converted the cake into cup measures as I am too lazy to get my scales out, if I don't have to, but you can drool over Katie's cake and find the recipe in metric over at Katiecakes.

Little owl would like to remind you, you could win a veggie haggis by entering this giveaway, you could win a cute little badge for your blog by entering this month's No Croutons Required and you can catch up on lots of other food blog events, challenges and competitions here.

Beauty and the Feast

Fri, 28 May 2010 19:38:40 GMT

Here’s the beauty…

…and here’s one of the items that featured in the feast…

You’ll have worked out what the occasion was? Our baby girl’s 21^st birthday!

What can I say about our wee girl? Well, at about 4ft 10ins, she IS wee! That, added to her sweet young face, has people thinking she is much younger than she is. She is not pleased about this! I tell her it’s hereditary!!!

She is, and has always been, the much loved wee sister of her big brother, Johnny,

(though the occasional spat is not unknown!) and they share many interests. She is very shy with strangers, but feisty and funny with people she knows well. Added to that, with her family she is very, very loving, kind and caring. She was, of course, home educated until she started university. It’s hard to believe that she’ll graduate in just over a month!

Johnny calls her a ‘geek chick’! In her last year at university she became involved in doing the lighting at the uni drama group, which she taught herself; she can work out how anything technical works without recourse to a manual; and she loves science fiction and fantasy. She also writes fantasy adventure books, which, now that her studies are over, she hopes to get ready for an agent. She is rarely seen without her iPod plugged into her ears. She has always loved reading and never goes anywhere without a few books in her bag…

Jane (or Jenny, as she’s known to family and old friends) has always been a very girly girl. Here’s a memory book page I made when she was younger:

When she was tiny, she loved dolls and pink clothes and cute wee animals. Now she squeaks over babies and, after a period when she would wear nothing but black, despite not actually being a Goth, still loves pink clothes and cute wee animals!

She is my darling daughter and I love her more than words can say!

So, on to the feast! Jane had asked for a strawberry birthday cake and who was I to deny her that? However, in my usual dotty way, I forgot that the syrup from the tinned strawberries would add a lot of sweetness and so I added the normal amount of sugar. (I tell a lie. I actually added a wee bit extra sugar because of a dotty mistake that would take too long to explain…). So when the birthday girl licked the bowl, she declared that it was very sweet indeed and suggested that I might make lemon icing to counteract this. So I did. Boy was that icing lemony! It brought tears to my eyes when I tested it! But it turned out to be a great combination and the sweetness and the watery-eye-ness complemented each other very nicely.

Yes, I did remember the candles this time, but our local shop didn’t have any ‘twos’, so it was back to the old-fashioned kind and ‘tens and units’.

Jane had her final exams at university on the two days following her birthday, so there were no high jinks with similarly harassed uni friends. Instead we had a family birthday lunch the day before with her Nana and her Auntie Syl …

I had ordered Sosmix, at Jane’s request, but it didn’t arrive in time, so we had chilli en croute instead, with potato salad made with Plamil mayonnaise; chopped salad (John’s special: spring onion, celery, red pepper and cucumber chopped up small); green leafy salad; tomato and basil rolls; trifle and the aforementioned cake…

… and on the day itself, she and I went to Glasgow and had lunch at Stereo, a vegan restaurant. Then we went to see Meet Me in St Louis at the cinema. It was so great seeing it on the big screen! My only problem was worrying about the lights coming on when there were still tears dripping off my chin!

OK! Let’s get down to recipes! What would you like? Will we start with the strawberry cake? And then follow that with the chilli en croute? And maybe the trifle? OK, then… But you’re a bit demanding, aren’t you? Sheesh!

Strawberrry Cake

Ingredients:

250g self raising flour

125g sugar

1 tin of strawberries

1½ teaspoons egg replacer

125g margarine

¾ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

Water

Method:

Set oven to Gas Mark 5/375F/190C

Mix egg replacer with the juice/syrup from the tin, made up, with water, to 200g. Put aside.

Mix together all the other ingredients and the egg replacer mixture.

Divide between two round cake tins.

Bake for 35 minutes.

When cool, sandwich with icing and ice the top. I used stacks of icing sugar, a large dollop of margarine and enough lemon juice to choke a whale. But I’m afraid that’s the most accurate measurements you’re ever going to get with my icing. I’m an instinctive icing maker!

Chilli en croute

Ingredients:

1 large onion

1 red pepper

250g mushrooms

500g passata

1 carton organic kidney beans

1 teaspoon Very Lazy Chilli

1 teaspoon molasses

Method:

Fry the onion, mushrooms and pepper together. I like to do them with the gas on full, stirring constantly until they’re getting nice and soft. Smells good, too!

Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a simmer and leave to cook for about half an hour. Preferably make it the day before you’re going to eat it to let the flavours develop.

Unfold some ready-roll puff pastry and cut it into two strips. Spoon some chilli down the centre of each, cut slits all the way down each side, and then cross the strips over on the top.

Bake at Gas Mark 8/450F/230C for about half an hour.

Trifle

The day before you want it, bake a chocolate cake, using the recipe I’ve already given you in my blog post about John (Penny has a Darling Lamb). Cut half off one of the layers and put it aside. Enjoy what’s left…

The next day, using your fingers, break up the piece of chocolate cake until it’s like bread-crumbs and then make up one of these

with the liquid from a tin of summer fruits made up to three quarters of a pint and brought to the boil in a saucepan. Mix in the jelly and stir. Leave to set.

Then make up another jelly, as before, but stirring in the two tins of drained summer fruits. Pour it over the solidified bottom layer. Leave to set.

Spoon most of a tub of Swedish Glace vanilla ice-cream over the top and grate some chocolate over it. I used Organica rice milk chocolate. Mmmm….

As you can see, I also made up a separate custard. You know all about that… And if you don’t, you haven’t been following my blog properly!

And that’s it! Jane is now catching up with all the books she’s been wanting to read and the films she’s been wanting to see, but couldn’t because of her studying. And it’s off to the job centre in a couple of days!

So that’s the last of my birthday blogs! From now on it’ll be back to ordinary musings again… I’ll try to be more diligent! OU essays allowing…

Well, for goodness sake! That boy will hijack anybody’s blog post! I do apologise!

Today’s title: Beauty and the Beast – traditional folk tale

Today’s fruit salad: orange juice; apples; kiwi fruit; bananas; grapes.

Quinoa, Lentil & Bean Salad

Wed, 19 May 2010 20:02:38 GMT

This was a quickly thrown together dish for dinner tonight, just using what I had to hand. It was a hearty salad with a lovely fresh dressing and lots of lush green coriander.

This is my entry for this month's No Croutons Required. The challenge this month was to make a mexican style salad or soup. My salad isn't particularly authentic, but it gives a nod to mexican cuisine and it is very yummy. If you want to join in, you have until tomorrow evening to submit an entry.

Quinoa, Lentil & Bean Salad

250g prepared black beluga lentils
250g prepared quinoa
240g prepared kidney beans
2 large ripe tomatoes, diced
2 large avocadoes, diced
1 large handful fresh coriander, chopped

dressing

juice of ½ lime
6 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
freshly ground black pepper

There's not much in the way of preparation. Toss the avocado in some lime juice before adding to the salad, to prevent it from browning. Apart from that is just one of those salads, where you throw everything in and then toss in the dressing.

Serves 6

Chapatis and Playing With Fire

Mon, 17 May 2010 09:36:49 GMT

I thought I would try my hand at making chapatis to serve with our Indian meal. I found a simple recipe by Gayatri Verma on a BBC news page from way back in 2003 and converted it into cup measures. It was easy and it was great fun. Especially when I got to hold the chapatis over gas flames to make them puff up.

The chapatis were just perfect for mopping up the curry sauce and with such an easy and reliable recipe, you can't go wrong. I do think the chapatis could have done with some seasoning, fresh herbs or a little spice. I know they don't include any of these as they are just there as an accompliment to spicy food, but I will be adding a little extra flavour next time.

Chapatis by Gayatri Verma

Ingredients

3 ¼ cups chapati flour
1 tbsp oil
1 cup water approx
flour for dusting

Method

Mix flour and oil in a bowl and rub lightly. Add water gradually and knead it at the same time until a soft dough is formed. Cover and leave it for 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 12 to 14 small portions. Dip one portion at a time in the plain flour and roll it with a rolling pin on the board, dipping it in the dry flour frequently to prevent sticking.

In the meantime heat a griddle/frying pan and put the rolled chapati in the pan. Cook one side for 20 to 30 seconds, turn it over and then cook the other side.

Now remove the pan and put the chapati on a high flame for few seconds and soon it will puff up.

Using a tong, turn the chapati over and wait for few seconds until brown spots appear this side.

Remove from flame and put it on a kitchen towel. Repeat the process with rest of the flour balls.

Serve these hot with any curry.

To keep the chapatis soft and warm, wrap in foil. They can also be warmed in a microwave for few seconds just before eating.

planting log, sitting, eating, stones and sea

Sat, 15 May 2010 16:23:52 GMT

broad beans and leeks in one of the raised beds

I have just planted over 300 little leeks, lots of kale and purple sprouting brocolli seedlings, carrots, radish, garlic, basil, sunflowers and flat leaf parsley as an alternative to the madly (but wonderfully) continually self seeding curly

allotment bit at bottom of garden, greenhouse left

The thinking of the planting this year is to grow things that both do well up here and that we eat lots of, no experimentation with things like aubergines which only just manage to flower before winter! Also in are lettuce, rocket, mixed salad leaves, french beans, broad beans, peas, potatoes, onions and in greenhouse there are tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, courgettes and a giant grapevine obtained on freecycle and doing very well so far. Perennial things like rhubarb, chives, lovage, bronze fennel, mint and leafbeet are thriving. Fruit bushes and trees all look to be heading for a bumper year. Cold winter can’t have hurt them

sitting together continues, even in sunless situations

and the eating: chocolate sesame snaps now have thick chocolate stripes on them

chocolate sesame snaps

Made some gorgeous dandelion fritters to go with wild garlic pesto – saw them on home baked a while ago and used basic vegan pancake mix of soya milk and self raising flour beaten to a thick batter, a flower in each spoonful/fritter:

a nice lunch

no shortage of this ingredient in the garden

next wild food recipe on the list to try – Cat’s nettle pies!

stones and sea

broken arm update: after two weeks it has healed so well it does not need cast anymore and writing can take place again

660 Curries

Fri, 14 May 2010 23:22:47 GMT

No, calm down. I haven't made 660 curries. It is the title of a wonderful book by Raghavan Iyer bought for me by my dear friend Lisa.

At first I was a bit overwhelmed by this tome of a cookbook, until I realised how it should be used. It's not one of those coffee table books that you flick through looking at the shiny pictures. Instead it is a treasure chest full of curries, biryanis, breads, pickles relishes and raitas, to name but a few and the best way to use this book is to choose the ingredients you want to use and then have a browse through the index. You won't be disappointed.

You will be surprised to hear that the first ingredient I looked up wasn't mushrooms. I decided I wanted a curry using spinach and so I came to Spicy Potatoes and Spinach with Blackened Chiles and Coconut Milk. I changed it a little, using chilli flakes, instead of dried red thai chiles, baby new potatoes instead of russet potatoes and I changed the spices a little. Here is my final recipe.

Spicy Spinach and Potato Curry

2 tbsp oil
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
16 baby new potatoes, quartered (approx 1 ½ cm pieces)
240g baby spinach
400ml coconut milk

Dry roast the seeds in a hot pan for a few minutes. Don't allow to burn. Grind the spices in a pestle and mortar.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pan. Add the spices and allow to sizzle for a few minutes before adding the rinsed and chopped potatoes. The oil will sparks, so put the lid on until it settles, then stir occasionally for the next 5 minutes.

Stir in the salt, turmeric and chilli flakes. Then pour in the coconut milk and stir to deglaze the pan. Bring to the boil and simmer gently, with the lid on for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Rinse the spinach and then add to the pan. There is no need to chop it, it will wilt down as it cooks. Stir well before serving.

Serves 4-6

I served up this curry with our favouite Chickpea Curry, rice, chutney and chapatis. I will blog about the chapatis soon. They were great fun to make and I was very impressed when I realised there were flames involved. I managaed to make them without being burned, but I did smash a kilner jar reaching for my camera at the table. Ooops! Graham wasn't impressed as this is the third thing I have smashed this week, fourth if you include the teeny, tiny jam jar that fell out a cupboard as I opened it today.

I was ably assisted in the kitchen by my friend Andrew who had come for dinner and Graham, well he sat back and enjoyed the meal knowing he was in charge of clearing up afterwards. Cooper quietly supervised from the armchair in the corner, throwing in the occasional comment.

I am entering this dish into this month's SOS Kitchen Challenge, which is jointly hosted by my good friend Ricki over at Diet, Dessert & Dogs and Kim over at Affairs of Living, this month the challenge is to create a health conscious dish suitable for a vegan diet containing spinach.

If you would like to enter a dish, here are some of the guidelines:

* Simply cook up a recipe–whether yours or someone else’s with credit to them – using spinach
* In general, please use only whole foods ingredients (minimally processed with no artificial flavors, colors, prepackaged sauces, etc.)
* Use whole grains and whole grain flours only; no refined white flours or sugar (but either glutenous OR gluten-free flours are fine)
* Please ensure that recipes are vegan (no animal products whatsoever, including meat, fish, chicken, milk, yogurt, eggs, honey), or include vegan options
* Include only natural sweeteners (no white sugar, nothing that requires a laboratory to create–such as splenda, aspartame, xylitol, etc.). Rather, use maple syrup, agave nectar, brown rice syrup, coconut sugar, dates, yacon syrup, stevia, etc.

You have until the 20th of May. Email your submission to soskitchenchallenge@gmail.com

NCR - Onions etc Round-up

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:23:16 GMT

For this month's edition of No Croutons Required, I asked you to create a soup or salad suitable for vegetarians which features the allium family.

You could choose one or feature several. Onions, shallots, leeks, spring onions, garlic or chives.

This is what you came up with:

1. Spinach with Fried Garlic and Caramelized Onions
Soma (eCurry)

Soma came up with a vision for the eyes and the senses with this salad. Onions slowly caramelised with sesame seeds, garlic and dry red chili, then add to this some wilted spinach and add a squeeze of lemon and you have a dish that Soma describes as "simple, comfort food from home", but I would call it a delicacy.

Plano, Texas, USA

2. Potato Salad with Shallots and Chives
Lucie (Cooking at Marystow)

There is almost nothing I love more in the summer than a good potato salad. It just conjures up picnics and barbecues in my mind and makes me think of long, hot summer days (this is the optimistic part of my brain).

There is no mayonnaise to be seen in Lucie's potato salad, which is good news for our hips. Just new potatoes, shallots and chives in a lovely vinegary, mustard dressing. Mmmmmmmm!

Midlands, UK

3. Roast Onion & Lemon Thyme Soup
Me (Tinned Tomatoes)
(not in vote)

For my entry, I decided to make an onion soup. It's been ages since I enjoyed a good onion soup and with my dad coming for a visit and his love of onion soup, it seemed like the perfect choice. I decided I would roast my onions to give the soup a more intense flavour. I roasted red and white onions, garlic and lemon thyme, before whizzing up and adding vegetable stock, dried thyme and seasoning. I served my soup topped with cream and chives. Much slurping and contented sighs followed. An exceptional soup for little cost or effort.

Dundee, Scotland

4. Bean & Barley Soup
Usha (Veg Inspirations)

Like all good soups, Usha's Bean & Barley Soup is started off and flavoured with onion, followed by a host of lovely ingredients, including, ginger, barley, tomatoes, carrots and pinto beans.

A really hearty and nutritious meal in a bowl. Gorgeous!

North Carolina, USA

5. Roast Onion Soup
Lucy (Nourish Me)

Another Roast Onion Soup, but very different from my soup. Although Lucy started her soup of the same way by roasting the onions for maximum flavour, she went off in a alternative direction with her flavourings. This is a creamy onion soup, spiced with kaffir lime leaves, garlic, ginger, chilli and tamari paste, smoothed out with coconut and rice milk and finished off with a squeeze of lime. Doesn't that sound amazing? It puts my simple onions soup in the shade!

Melbourne, Australia

6. Very Garlicky Vegetable Soup
Johanna (Green Gourmet Giraffe)

Let's get the question of "how garlicky?" over with first. 16 cloves of garlic yes, you heard me right, I said 16 cloves of garlic! But do not fear, these cloves are thrice blanched which mellows the flavour. Along with all that garlic there are leeks, carrots, celery, swede, potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes and cannellini beans. All cooked into deliciousness and topped of with a lip-smacking amount of parmesan and parsley. Nom, nom!

Melbourne, Australia

7. Creamy Potato Leek Soup
Inji (My Cookbook Notes)

Inji made her own vegetable boullion for this soothing soup and it sounds just as tasty as the soup itself.

This is another simple, but comforting soup of few ingredients. Potatoes, leeks, thyme, milk, salt and pepper. Just what you need on a wet day, here in Scotland.

Atlanta, USA

8. Italian Onion & Bean Soup with Parmesan Toast
Lisa (Lisa's Kitchen)
(not in vote)

Doesn't that look amazingly good? And look at that crusty toast smothered with parmesan. I am drooling here! Cannellini (white kidney) beans, are cooked with a bay leaf vegetable stock and a whole red chilli, before joining the rest of the soupy goodness. Sweet onions, garlic, arugula (rocket) leaves and lots of lovely wine, red and white. This soup just gets better and better!

London, Ontario, Canada

9. Creamy Onion Soup
Sweatha (Tasty Curry Leaf)

This is the simplest soup you could imagine, a great soup for a beginner to try out. Easy, but full of flavour and creamy, but not full of cream, instead Sweatha has been kind to our waistlines and finished her soup off with milk.

Bangalore, India

10. Roasted Shallots and Apricot Salad with Goat's Cheese
Mangocheeks (Allotment 2 Kitchen)

I was bowled over when I saw this salad. I don't know what it is with Mangocheeks, but sometimes I think she is in my head. She always makes just what I want to eat. It's spooky, I am telling you!

Long Echalion shallots roasted in balsamic vinegar, add these to baby beetroot and marinated goats cheese. The goat's cheese was marinated overnight with, orange juice, apricots and walnuts. Oh good golly!

West of Scotland

11. Potato, Corn & Leek Chowder
Sarah (The Ordinary Vegetarian)

You probably won't believe this but I have never tried chowder. I have never eaten it or cooked it, but this recipe is making me see the error of my ways. It is lighter than what I thought a chowder would be, but I do like it for that. Leeks are the star of the show and celery, potatoes and corn are his backing singers. Flavoured with thyme, sage, mustard, parsley and a bay leaf and made creamy with rice milk. Last, but certainly not least!

Chicago, USA

Another successful round-up and a plethora of delectable recipes for you to try. Do take the time to vote for your favourite, using the poll on the right or by emailing me at tinnedtomatoes@googlemail.com. The winner will be announced on Friday 30th April 2010.

growth

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 07:38:09 GMT

colour

Planted my berry bushes from Suttons yesterday, well protected there from the rabbits Potatoes are going in today… Dipping into the Anastasia series again to get truly inspired again with growing, so different from anything else I’ve ever read.

honey berry bush, in beside goji and blue

Made wonderful leek, potato and wild garlic soup from the recipe on Cat’s blog

pond flowers

fairy all springlike now beside the Archangel dead nettles

rabbit bones

daff

new leaves on sweet chestnut

flowering currant - is full of bees, lovely noise

new mint

Penny has a darling Lamb

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:54:41 GMT

No, unlike my sister, Sylvia, I DON’T have a rescue male sheep. Here’s my Lamb here (in sleepy mood!):

John, my husband, known to me as Lambie!

John celebrated his 50^th birthday last month,

so what better time to immortalise him in a blog entry? (Well, a better time would have been earlier than this, but I’ve been writing essays… And acting as his secretary… Something’s gotta give! But he wanted me to get on with it as he said it was a strain being on his best behaviour for so long, in case I said something nasty about him! So, here we go…)

You’ll have noticed the candles? Yes, true to form, I forgot to check the candle situation beforehand…

When John and I first got together, I was part of the junior management in the Civil Service office where we both worked and he was (and still is!) 13 years younger than me and a member of the clerical staff. Although he was very clever, he hadn’t gone to university, as his father had been ill and the family needed John’s income. I knew he was very shy… What I didn’t know was that he fancied me! (Yes, dear readers, I was slim but curvy and quite fanciable in those days. Luckily he thinks I’m now curvier and even more fanciable, a piece of rose-tinted-bespectacled-ness, but I’m not complaining!)

One evening, at an office ‘do’ for some people who were leaving, we found ourselves sitting next to each other. I was recently separated and in no rush to get home, so when he told me that he hadn’t brought his car, had missed the last train home and didn’t have enough money for a taxi (!!!), I offered him a lift. We talked for hours, both on the journey and after I stopped near his house. We liked the same books and films and most of the same music. He loved the 60s and was very impressed that I’d seen the Beatles live! We supported the same causes. We had the same sense of humour. I was a Quaker at that time and he knew Quakers were pacifists, not just pictures on a cereal box! This time I was the one who was impressed! A couple of days later we walked my dog, Sammy, together. A couple of days after that I took him to an Amnesty International meeting. Soon after that he moved in with me!

Earlier that year, John had seen an advert for the Open University in the Radio Times and had started studying. He had also given up smoking, thank goodness, or this love story wouldn’t have happened! Since then he has completed his BA honours degree with the OU, a Masters degree in Education at Stirling University and a diploma in Philosophy at Glasgow University. He was promoted in the Civil Service and then, a few years later, decided to change career and become a teacher. He has become head of his department, a lecturer with the Open University and, one day a week, he trains student teachers at Stirling University. And he’s the principal exam setter and marker in Scotland for one of his subjects. He’s done all his studying while working fulltime and looking after me and our babies. In fact, he sat his first Open University exam the day before Johnny was due to make his appearance. He expected to be called out of the exam room at any moment, but our boy waited!

He is an adoring husband and father, which is nice, because we’re pretty fond of him, too!

John loves his allotment where he grows lots of vegan-organic fruit and vegetables but so that he could bring stuff on nearer to home, the extended family clubbed together to buy him a greenhouse for the garden. John is NOT handy, but here he is, pleased as Punch, after having built it up all by himself! He says it’s the best 50^th Birthday present he’s ever had!

He is and has been devoted to all our cats and dogs, past and present, but his favourite companion animal of all time is … Bobby!

John is a thoroughly modern male, but feels that it’s his duty to be the main bread winner, since I’ve raised and home educated the offspring and looked after our home. He works very hard for us all and is loving, kind and considerate. He’s also great company and VERY funny! He makes us all laugh A LOT!

Happy (very belated!) birthday, Lambie!

Oh, sorry, did you want the chocolate cake recipe? OK! Here it is! I adapted it many years ago from a muffin recipe sent to me by an American omni friend. It has graced most of our birthday celebrations since then!

Penny’s chocolate cake:

Ingredients:

130g margarine

130g sugar

1 ½ teaspoons egg replacer

26g cocoa powder

224g self raising flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

166ml soya milk

Method:

Set oven to Gas mark 5/375F/190C

Whisk the egg replacer into the soya milk and put to one side. Mix together all the other ingredients and then add the liquid last.

Because this recipe uses margarine instead of oil, the mixture is stiff, so I prefer to start it off in the mixer, as I get a very sore arm otherwise – but it can all be done by hand.

Once everything’s mixed through, I get a silicone spatula and wallop it about in the bowl a goodish bit, to get plenty of air in there, to make the cake nice and light.

Divide the mixture between two round cake tins, lined with baking parchment (I use round cake tin liners from Lakeland) and bake for 35 minutes, until the top is cracked and a skewer comes out clean.

Cool in the cakes in the liners.

Once they’re cold, spread jam on the bottom one (blackcurrant jam is nice and sharp and contrasts well with the sweetness of the cake) and then sandwich the cakes together with ‘butter’ icing. Slather more icing on top.

Now, I’m afraid you’re on your own with the ‘butter’ icing, but you know how to make it, don’t you? I never measure it; I just chuck together margarine, icing sugar and cocoa in vast quantities and blend them together. I’m sure you’ll manage…

Well, for goodness’ sake! How on earth did that picture slip in here? Sorry about that….

Today’s smoothie (Yes! It’s smoothie time again, folks!): orange juice; kale; rocket; lettuce; apricots; apples; broccoli stalk; celery. Mmmmmm……

Todays’ title: I won’t insult your intelligence!

walnut cake and sheep

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 16:21:09 GMT

Vegan Easter has been updated

Walnut cake with a tablespoon of Nocaf added to the mix. It is not coffeeish as had intended but is very nice:

1st of March tomorrow, so will it get more springlike?

Sundae Wednesday! Happy (Birth)day!

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:26:05 GMT

You remember Rhona, don’t you? My rescue roasting tin? Well Rhona’s talents don’t stop at granola baking.

Here she is filled with a yummy mixture of the following: a sprinkling of olive oil; chopped onions; some cloves of garlic, left whole; chunks of carrots, sweet potato, butternut squash, red and yellow pepper; some mangetout, broken in half; a mixture of half and half olive oil and maple syrup, with a wee spot of salt. She’s about to do duty in the oven at Gas Mark 8/450F/230C for an hour.

When the hour was almost up, we heated some tortilla wraps and smothered them in hummus or Tofutti Cream Cheese, according to taste (Jane had one of each) and then we filled them with the roasted vegetables and rolled them up.

Oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So good!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m planning on making these OFTEN!

‘But wait!’ I hear you say. ‘What’s that got to do with Sundae Wednesday Happy (Birth)day?’ And the answer is, ‘Nothing at all! That bit comes next.’

Read on…

It was my birthday last Wednesday (10^th February) and I had forgotten to buy the jellies for the trifle. This trifle is the standard pudding for birthday teas in our family. Here’s how I make it…

In a trifle bowl I make up one-and-a-half strength jelly with half a (usually chocolate) sandwich cake layer crumbled into it and leave it to set. I then mix up another one-and-a-half strength jelly with some tinned ‘fruits of the forest’ mixed in. Then I top it all with a huge mound of vanilla Swedish Glace ice cream. And I sometimes grate some chocolate over it. Recently I’ve also been making a big bowl of vanilla custard. Here’s how I make the custard…

First, I heat up most of a pint of soya milk with about a tablespoon of margarine and two tablespoons of sugar. In the measuring jug, I mix together the rest of the milk and two tablespoons of custard powder. Then I stir the custard mix into the pan and whisk as fast as my aching muscles will allow until it’s all thick and bubbly. It’s then put in a bowl and allowed to cool.

I’m sorry. I was SURE I had a photo of a trifle I made before, but just can’t find it anywhere. I must organise my photos SOON!

I would actually like to have the custard on top of the jelly as part of the trifle, but Jane, who’s a creature of habit, loves the trifle the way I traditionally made it, without the custard, so she doesn’t want me to change a winning formula. She does sometimes have some custard with it, though…

Also, a note on tablespoons… We’re not talking wee measuring spoons here. This is the type of chap you want for this recipe.

Available at any charity shop near you… (If you live in Scotland, that is. I can’t speak for other parts of the world…)

Anyway, back to 10^th February 2010, 63 years since my birth on a cold, snowy day in Glasgow… And no jelly… As far as trifle was concerned, I was snookered…

So, first I thought of just having the custard and ice cream.

Then I thought of my favourite pudding in the whole, wide world: chocolate custard and ice cream. I could eat bucket-loads of this, with or without a sliced banana on top, if my weight weren’t such a problem. I make the custard as above, but with two tablespoons of cocoa powder added to the custard powder mix. OK, so there are probably several days’ calories in a small bowlful…

Then, however, I had such a good idea that if I’d been a cartoon drawing a wee light-bulb would have appeared over my head. CHOCOLATE NUT SUNDAES!!! Now, I’d never made these before, but necessity is the mother of invention. Here’s what I did.

I made half a pint of chocolate custard, but as I didn’t have custard powder I used vanilla rice milk and cornflour. I also made some chocolate sauce thus:

84g margarine

90g golden syrup

About 30g cocoa powder (more or less, depending on how strong you want it)

I melted the margarine and sugar together and then added the cocoa, all over a low heat.

Then, in our two sundae dishes plus two tall mugs and a pint beer mug, I layered ice cream, chocolate custard, chopped nuts, ice cream, chocolate sauce, chopped nuts and so on to the top.

It was SO GOOD! Unfortunately the camera didn’t like photographing it with flash and it was too dark to get a good picture without the flash, so you’ll just have to make do with this one and imagine its chocolate-y goodness, because I’m afraid that not even for you was I going to keep it till the next day, to take a photo in daylight!

So, what could have been a disappointment on the pudding front was turned to unmitigated delight! I’ll be making these again! But not too often… Just for birthdays…

I must tell you about the wonderful home-made birthday card I received from the offspring. Last year they themed my card around my new Vita-Mix; this year it was themed around my new studies and it featured a cartoon bear, created by Johnny, who stars in most of his home-made cards. There was a chart showing grades for ‘sweetness’; ‘compassion’; ‘inspirational qualities’; ‘sense of humour’; ‘chef skills’ and ‘devotion to family’ and I was awarded the top grade of ‘excellent’ for all of them! I’ll be honest with you. The tears were streaming down my cheeks, sentimental old fool that I am! There was a lot more sweet and loving stuff in it, too… (sniff)

And here, just to finish with a nice picture, are two people who also tick all the boxes (though not exactly the same ones as me!): Tom and Mimi… (What do you mean, ‘Oh, not HIM again!’???)

Today’s title: Sunday, Monday, Happy Days – theme song from the series Happy Days. John suggested Sundae Girl by Blondie, but I’m not going to pander to his adolescent fantasies about Debbie Harry…

Today’s soup: onions; red lentils; chunks of carrot, turnip (Swede/rutabaga), leeks, celery; passata and water all pressure cooked together, with some salt added at the end. Mmmm… Perfect for a cold winter’s day!

swan lake

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:44:43 GMT

There were swans on the loch yesterday

Had a lovely day with friends morphing into a very balletic afternoon which was great fun. It’s been wonderful rediscovering ballet being for enjoyment, rather than an eternal striving (not to mention starving) for perfection. Looked out the old class music etc. I have but it’s all on cassettes – technology moved on a bit fast for me there

Watched Fast Food Nation (quite good trailer there on amazon), fictional film based on the non-fiction book – strong stuff, a round of exploitation to go with the fries… good cast, making it very watchable though gradually more horrifying.

Easy as Pie (Pasties)

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 22:25:09 GMT

You can always tell that Burn's Night is on the horizon when the supermarkets start stockpiling haggis on groaningly full shelves. They are everywhere you turn! I really don't mind though, I quite like haggis, well veggie haggis, obviously (I wouldn't eat the timorous wee beastie), but I tend to forget about it during the year, until this not-so-gentle reminder appears.

This year I wasn't stuck for ideas as I threw a couple of vegetarian haggis in my trolley. Back in December Mangocheeks made some truly inspirational Clapshot Vegetarian Haggis Tikkia, which is on my make-soon list and Johanna went haggis-crazy and made nachos, pasties and crepes with her veggie haggis.

I just wanted something quick and easy to make, so I bought some ready made shortcrust pastry and some nachos, salsa, guacamole and sour cream. I didn't really enjoy the haggis with nachos, but I am not a great lover of nachos at the best of times. Graham enjoyed them, so that was the main thing. However, the pasties were fabulous! So tasty, very filling and so quick and easy to make.

Here is my how-to-guide for quick veggie haggis pasties:

Easy Vegetarian Haggis Pasties

Preheat the oven to 200c/400f/gas mark 6. Roll your shortcrust pastry fairly thinly and cut into discs. I cut mine using a small glass bowl measuring 13 cm/5 inches, but you can make your pasties any size you want depending on your whim.

Spread mustard across half of your pastry disc. I used wholegrain mustard, a favourite of mine. The mustard is optional, but it works so well with the haggis and potato.

Spoon some haggis onto the pastry, being careful not to add too much or you will have problems later when you come to seal the pasty.

Add a few cubes of boiled potato to your filling, then season with pepper. Brush the edge of your pastry disc with milk to seal.

Fold the pastry over the filling to make a half moon shape and seal by crimping the edge with your thumb and forefinger. Cut slits into the pastry to let out the steam and them brush the pasty with milk or an egg wash for a lovely golden finish.

Bake the pasties in a preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden.

Break open and enjoy while they are still hot, then enjoy the leftover pasties, if there are any, the next day cold for lunch.

These pasties are great made this quick and easy way, but do make your own pastry and haggis, if you have the time. I use Delia Smith's recipe for shortcrust pastry, which is always successful and if I was going to make my own haggis, I would definitely use Johanna's recipe.

Here are a few other recipes to help your Burn's Night go off with a bang:

1 Clapshot and Vegetarian Haggis - Allotment to Kitchen

2 Clapshot Vegetarian Haggis Tikkia - Allotment to Kitchen

3 Haggis with Warm Butter Bean and Spinach Salad - The World Famous Burns Supper

4 Vegetarian Haggis Pakoras - Food Lovers Britain

5 Vegetarian Haggis Nachos - Green Gourmet Giraffe

6 Haggis, Neeps & Tatties Pasties - Green Gourmet Giraffe

7 Haggis, Neeps & Tatties Crepe Stack - Green Gourmet Giraffe

8 Vegetarian Haggis and Winter Tzatziki Wraps - Mostly Eating

9 Baked Onions with Vegetarian Haggis - The Foody

10 Vegan Haggis - Veg World

Deck the walls…

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:52:12 GMT

… and the ceiling and the tables and the shelves and the furniture and the stove…. People are surprised to hear that we don’t have a Christmas box to bring out at this time of year… No! We have a Christmas CUPBOARD! That’s how Christmassy we are in this family! And that cupboard is full of not just Christmas decorations, but Christmas books, old Christmas issues of magazines, Christmas CDs, Christmas DVDs, Christmas cushion covers…

But, let’s start at the very beginning. (It’s a very good place to start!) When the offspring were wee, Christmas, for us, started in November. This was because we made our own Christmas cards and so November was filled with a flurry of folding card, rubber stamping the chosen Christmas designs onto paper, sprinkling them with embossing powder, wielding the hot air gun, colouring in the pictures and then sticking them onto the cards. We had quite a production line going and, of course, being a home educating family, this led to discussions about factory conditions past and present etc.!

The children also, for a few years, produced a Christmas scrapbook followed by a magazine, which they distributed to home-educating friends, and the Christmas edition was very special, with themed puzzles, stories, pictures, reviews etc.

And every year, they made their own advent calendar. Here’s how… Firstly we would mark off 23 2cm by 2cm squares and one 4cm by 2cm oblong. Each year they’d take either the odd or the even numbers and secretly draw a Christmas picture in each box. Then, after designing and executing the front of the calendar, they’d give their pictures to me to stick onto another piece of card. I’d also cut out the slits on the cover. Then, in December, they’d each open the other’s picture. This gave us HUGE enjoyment over the years. (Sentimental sigh…)

Now we buy our cards from charities, the magazine remains only as back issues, and we don’t have Advent calendars any more….

So now Christmas begins for us on the first Sunday in Advent. Perhaps I should explain something here… We’re not religious, so our Christmas is a secular one, though we use the usual Christian terminology, as most people do, and we love Christmas carols… OK… Where was I? Ah, yes! The first Sunday in Advent… We’re a food-loving family. There’s no point in trying to deny it! And Christmas dinner, we reckon, is far too delicious to be confined to Christmas Day alone. So we eat it on the four preceding Sundays as well! And what do we eat? Well, nut roast, roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots, sage and onion stuffing, bread sauce (recipe on request) and cranberry sauce. Mmmmmm….

The next stage is the first day in December when we start listening to Christmas music. When my sister, Sylvia, and I were young, our family owned one Christmas record: Mantovani’s Christmas. Now, every 1st December, it’s the first Christmas music we put on. My mother, sister and I phone each other in the morning to play it over the phone and in our house, whoever of us has been out at work or university hears it playing on the CD player as s/he comes in the door! We also start decorating the house apart from the tree.

After that, we read Christmas books and magazines, listen to our other Christmas music and, whenever we can be together, we watch Christmas films. And about a fortnight before Christmas Day, we put up the tree and decorate it with mostly home-made decorations. Now we can watch White Christmas.

We also make Christmas biscuits and mincemeat pies… And we eat tangerines by the dozen and put the skins on top of the stove. It makes a lovely smell added to the one emanating from the red saucepan filled with hot water infused with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves… (Sorry, a photo can’t demonstrate that, so you’ll just have to use your imaginations or, better still, do the same, if possible!)

Over the years my Christmas crafts have included patchwork and quilting

cross-stitch

and, of course, memory booking.

This year was The Year of the Bunting, which I made for the sitting room and the dining room. Thank goodness for rotary cutters!

Also, this year has been the third that we’ve hosted the Scottish Vegans Yahoo Group Christmas potluck, a feast of vegan tastiness and congenial company. Here’s the sweet stuff we had this year…

When the kids were wee, another thing we did was go out one evening before Christmas and admire all the pretty Christmas trees in people’s windows. Now we’re a tad more cynical and, instead, we go out to the expensive housing estates nearby and mock the over-the-top decorations on roofs and in gardens!

On Christmas Eve, there is no sign of that very brief burst of cynicism, as we settle down together to watch It’s A Wonderful Life, our all-time favourite film in the whole… wide… world. Of course, we cry all the way through, apart from Johnny, whose eyes, nonetheless, grow a bit misty. The rest of us sob unashamedly and, in fact, as soon as the first scene hits the screen, one or other of us will mutter, ‘Well, I’ve started…’ and the others will agree that so have they…

When Sylvia and I were children, we always had bridge rolls made up with butter and corned beef mixed with tomato sauce on Christmas morning. I wanted to replicate this, but without the dead animal parts, obviously, and one year I hit on how to do it. So, on Christmas Eve, we make up bean paste, which is fried onion, equal quantities of kidney beans and chickpeas with tomato ketchup to taste. We love it!

Then, after the offspring have gone to bed, John and I lay a treasure hunt. We’ve had these at birthdays for many years and although Johnny hasn’t bothered with one for the last few years, they both enjoy a Christmas treasure hunt. Unlike the birthday clues, the Christmas ones, traditionally, have to rhyme, which requires a bit more ingenuity (though I do sometimes recycle old favourites!)

Jane insists that 6.30 is quite late enough for Christmas morning, and nothing will budge her, so John and I are pretty bleary-eyed when they both come through to open their stockings and receive the first clue! And after that it’s presents and hugs and kisses and enjoying our presents!

Sometimes my mother is at home and we pick her up and bring her over to our place to spend the day. The last couple of years, though, Sylvia has come through on Christmas Eve, stayed for lunch, and then taken her away to her cottage in Ayrshire. We have Christmas lunch and then, in the afternoon, we all watch The Muppets’ Christmas Carol: Michael Caine’s finest hour, in my opinion! And who would have thought that we could cry over the death of a wee frog puppet? (Anyone who knows us, actually!)

After Christmas Day, we go through to Sylvia’s for her Christmas Dinner and we all exchange wee extra presents, the ones from us including my famous (in the family!), home-made, vegan (obviously!) tablet! And then that’s Christmas over, for us, for another year…

So yes, we’re a very Christmassy family and I just hope that whichever partners Johnny and Jane end up with will be just as Christmassy!

Now all that remains in this Christmassy blog is for me to hope, dear readers, that you have the kind of mid-winter festival YOU like best and that 2010 is filled with love, happiness and the fulfilment of at least some of your dreams…

Title: Deck the halls – traditional carol

Our favourite Christmas films: It’s a Wonderful Life; The Muppets’ Christmas Carol; The Cheaters; White Christmas; Trapped in Paradise; The Bishop’s Wife; The Preacher’s Wife; Miracle on 34th Street (both versions); National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation; Scrooge (Alastair Sim); Scrooged; Silent Night; While You Were Sleeping…

It’s Johnny’s Birthday!

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:58:41 GMT

Well, no. I’m lying. It was his birthday last month. But I didn’t want to rush this, just to get it out on time, so I’ve waited till now. His early development is inextricably tied up with our ‘journey’ to veganism and home education and I wanted to do it all justice. Anyway, on we go…

It was 24 years ago last month that my baby boy was born! From the moment I knew for sure I was pregnant, I morphed from a woman who had no interest at all in human babies (kittens, puppies, piglets, etc. were much more interesting!) to someone who read every available book on pregnancy and childbirth. I plotted his development in my womb so that I knew at any given point when his nails had developed, when he could suck his thumb, what size he was, etc. However, nothing could have prepared me for the overwhelming love I felt for him once he was born.

Johnny was a very bright wee boy and by the age of two he was desperate to be able to read. From his buggy (stroller) he would point to every sign and poster we passed. ‘Words! Words!’ he would say and I had to read them all out to him. So I decided to see if he could learn to read for himself. I used a mixture of phonics (letter sounds) and whole words, using his favourite topic of steam trains to make a picture book with captions dictated by him. I also covered the doors of a cupboard with blackboard paint and every night I would write his ‘new word’ for him to discover in the morning. He LOVED this! In fact, any misdemeanour on his part could be halted in its tracks by a sad shake of my head and the sorrowful words, ‘I’m afraid there won’t be a new word tomorrow for a naughty boy…’ By the time he was about three and a half he was a fluent reader and got enormous pleasure from this.

I know some people say that children shouldn’t be taught to read before the age of seven, but not allowing Johnny to read would have been like not allowing a baby to crawl or a toddler to speak in complete sentences.

When I became pregnant with Jane, Johnny was ecstatic! He would put his face on my tummy every day and say, ‘I love you, Jenny*! I can’t wait for you to pop out!’ John and I had been trying for some time to go vegan, but we kept back-sliding. Just before Jane was born, we decided to attempt it again. This time I explained to Johnny what we were trying to do. I reminded him that I had breast-fed him and told him I intended to do the same with Jenny. Then I asked how he’d feel if someone said, ‘Wait a minute! Jenny can’t have that milk! WE want it!’ and stole it from me. He didn’t like that idea at all! ‘Well, that’s what they do to mummy cows and baby calves,’ I said. He was horrified, and, from that moment, there was no way we could have backslid. We were committed to veganism!

I’d read that your older child’s first sight of his/her new sibling shouldn’t be of the baby in the mother’s arms, in case it causes jealousy, so when Johnny was due to arrive at the hospital to see us, I made sure his new wee sister was in a cot on the far side of my bed. I needn’t have worried! Johnny couldn’t understand why I wasn’t holding her. ‘Where’s Jenny?’ were his first words to me and he rushed over to gaze into the cot. He has remained an very loving, kind and protective big brother and their relationship has always delighted John and me.

They have fierce arguments on occasion, but they have mostly the same interests (in the films, books and music they enjoy) and ideals (veganism and pacifism) and are devoted to each other.

When it was time for Johnny to go to school, he was very excited, but it just didn’t work out. He was expected to ‘learn’ stuff he’d been doing since he was a toddler. He was reprimanded for putting his arm round the wee boy sitting next to him. (We’re a very demonstrative family and he didn’t understand it when the teacher said, ‘No cuddling in school!’) He missed Jenny and me and our cats and dogs. The list could go on… In the end, after six weeks of misery, John and I decided we should give home education a try. We never looked back! Johnny continued to follow his interests and, as Jenny grew out of babyhood, they learned together.

From my memory book...

Johnny is now doing a post graduate degree, at Glasgow University, in Museum Philosophy and Practice, as well as working part-time as a museum assistant, to fund his studies. He’s also a volunteer at the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and the museum. The latter often involves taking round school groups!

He is an extremely loving, kind, caring and considerate young man. He would no more hurt anyone’s feelings than pull the wings off a fly. He is also very funny and, as well as his own-brand humour, he can find a suitable Simpsons’ quote for almost all of life’s experiences!

Laughing with Nana!

*‘Jenny’ is a Scottish pet-name for ‘Jane’ and is what our sweet daughter is called by family and very old friends…

Today’s smoothie: We didn’t have one… Sorry….

Today’s title: ‘It’s Johnny’s birthday’, recorded by George Harrison for John Lennon’s birthday.

Comfort Food

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:50:13 GMT

When it comes to comfort food, there’s nothing like a big ol’ lump of seitan. I’ve been tinkering with a basic seitan recipe from Penny and so far this week have made cottage pie, stir fry and a roast, but none of them come close to this little slice of gluten perfection – breaded seitan burgers.

I’ve been experimenting with breadmaking and that leftover heel of crusty bread I’d thrown in the freezer came in handy when I was looking for something to coat the burgers in. We ate them with roasted potatoes and a melon/banana/orange smoothie. Not very summery, but neither was the weather! Absolutely delicious, and definately one for B’s cookbook project.

My latest cooking jag has just about used up all the recipe ideas I had floating around in my head so I’m looking for inspiration! Tell me in the comments: What is your favourite comfort food?

or, since I’m up for a challenge: What recipe would you like to see made vegan? Send me that pesky recipe and I’ll give it a try!

Vegan Society’s Pledge

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:33:58 GMT

Interested in trying veganism but don’t know where to start? Think vegans eat only lettuce and twigs? Take the Vegan Society’s Pledge. Pledge to give it a try for 7, 14 or 30 days and you’ll receive an information pack full of yummy recipes and free advice from mentors.

Something I’ve Been Meaning To Do…

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:23:20 GMT

B and I have been vegan for over six years now, and while I’m still as committed as I was when we first began, over the past couple of years I’d started taking it for granted. It had become a familiar part of me, like having green eyes, or liking olives, and I didn’t question it anymore.

When we got pregnant, instead of the usual What do you eat??, people I didn’t even know all that well started telling me ZOMG YOU’VE GOT TO EAT MEAT YOU’RE KILLING YOUR BABY!!11! and pointing out various newspaper articles about malnourished children with brittle bones to make me ’see sense’.

Then I was misquoted in a popular parenting magazine in an article about vegan pregnancies, and I started to get angry. It occurred to me that the confidence and comfort I had in being vegan was being mistaken for complacency and ignorance and I knew I had to do something about it.

I’ve always described veganism as a lifestyle – something you are rather than something you do like a diet, but for years I’d been limiting my participation in veganism to what I consumed and the occasional potluck. When Breanna was born I had a lot of time to think about what I want to do with my life and where my priorities are, and I’ve decided that vegan outreach is one of them.

This journal is the start of that with plenty more to come. Thanks for reading.

Curried Parsnip & Sweet Potato Soup

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 15:22:26 GMT

Here is my entry for the No Croutons Required, March challenge, to make a spicy soup that will tingle on the tongue.

Curried Parsnip & Sweet Potato Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped,
1 red chilli, finely chopped
2cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
6 parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 heaped tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp hot mango chutney
6 cups water
juice of 1 lime
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat a small pan and dry roast the cumin and coriander seeds then roughly crush in a mortar and pestle.

Heat the oil in pan and when hot add the spices and allow to sizzle for 1 minute. Add the onion, garlic, chilli and ginger and cook for 5 minutes, on a medium heat until softened.

Add the parsnips and sweet potatoes and cook for another few minutes. Add a splash of water before adding the turmeric to stop it sticking to the bottom of the pan. Stir well and then add the mango chutney and the water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes until the parsnips and potatoes are tender. Stir in the lime juice.

Spoon out a few of the vegetable to decorate the soup with and then whizz the rest of the soup until fairly smooth.

Serves 4-6 (I think, but I wasn't counting!)

If you want to enter a soup into the March Challenge, post it and send it to me at nocroutonsrequired@googlemail.com by the 20th March. Please include your name, the name of your blog, your location and the name of your dish. Remember to link here and mention No Croutons Required in your post.

Happy Soup Making!

Spicy Aubgergine & Tomato Soup

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:34:06 GMT

This is my entry for No Croutons Required, the new monthly soup and salad challenge, which is going to be jointly hosted by myself and Lisa at Lisa's Kitchen. When I say entry, I mean that I don't want to miss out on all the fun! Lisa and I's entries are not up for voting.

I want to say a big thank to Lisa for all her hard work in starting the event and thank you all for contributing. We have been absolutely blown away by the enthusiasm everyone has shown!

So without further ado, here is my soup.

Spicy Aubergine & Tomato Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped,
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 heaped tsp toasted, crushed cumin seeds
3 aubergines, chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2/ ½ pints vegetable stock
juice ½ lemon
handful fresh coriander, chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper

Sizzle the cumin seeds in hot olive oil and then add the onion, garlic and chilli and cook for a few minutes. Add the aubergines and tomatoes. Next add the stock and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the lemon juice and coriander before whizzing the soup in a blender. I personally don’t like it too smooth.

Taste and season.

Serves 4 – 6

The challenge is now closed for the month. Lisa is kindly letting me submit my soup a day late, I know, I know, not a good example to set!

Make sure to visit Lisa's blog to see all the entries and vote for your favourite in the comments box!

Love
Holler

Charred Tomato Soup

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 23:28:39 GMT

Charred Tomato Soup

1 red onion, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 chilli pepper, finely chopped
900g/2lb ripe tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 pint/300ml vegetable stock
pinch of sugar
handful basil
salt & freshly ground pepper
a splash of yogurt or cream or soya milk (optional)

Heat the grill to medium high.

Meanwhile, mix together the tomatoes, onion, garlic, chilli,a pinch of sugar and olive oil in a large bowl.

Scatter the tomato mixture onto a baking tray and grill until the tomatoes are starting to brown.

Whizz up the tomatoes, add the basil at this point.

Pour the smooth mixture into a pan, add the stock, mix well and season. You can strain the mixture, but I like there to be a little texture, even in quite a smooth soup. Reheat gently.

Serves 4

I reserved a little of the soup, before the basil was added and spooned it on top before serving, with a little chiffonade of basil. Boy, did I have too much time on my hands at the weekend! I swirled some cream I had left in the fridge, through the soup for Graham and he loved it! It is definitely a new favourite and so quick to make!

It's Snowing, it's Soup Time!

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 12:54:05 GMT

Butternut & Spinach Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
5cm piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped,
2 tsp turmeric
1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
3 handfuls spinach, chopped
1 handful fresh coriander, chopped
2 - 3 pints vegetable stock

Saute the onion, garlic and ginger in the olive oil until the onion becomes translucent. Add the turmeric and a little water to prevent from sticking. Add the other vegetables and cook for a few minutes, mixing well. Add the vegetable stock and spinach. Bring to the boil, them simmer for 30 minutes. Add the coriander and whizz the soup until smooth. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Serves 6

I made this yummy soup for a small dinner party last night. It was simple fare.

For starters, we had soup with some crusty brown bread, then we had Penne with a tomato & chilli sauce (I made way too much pasta as usual, I never learn!) and we finished with chocolate cheesecake. No booing and hissing please, it was a shop bought cheesecake! I arranged the dinner party at the last minute, so out of the freezer it came, just waiting for such an occasion.

I bet the soup will taste even better today! I am going to have some for lunch.

I am having a lazy, indulgent day today, snuggled up warm in the house with the cats, looking out at the snow as it drifts down. Back to work tomorrow! Sigh!

Middle Eastern Stew

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:07:49 GMT

This Middle Eastern Stew of Chickpeas, Potatoes and Carrots is from World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey.

A good friend of mine, very kindly, gave me a copy as a gift. It has been great bedtime reading so far, but it was time to try out some of the recipes and time to stop drooling over them.

Middle Eastern Stew

3/4 cup dried chickpeas, picked over, washed and drained (I used 1 can of chickpeas)
2-3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp finely chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3/4 lb potatoes, cut into chunks (I used 3 medium potatoes)
1 medium carrot, cut into slices (I used 2 medium carrots)
4 canned plum tomatoes + 1 cup liquid from the can
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp finely chopped parsley (I used coriander for more flavour)

Soak the chickpeas overnight in cold water to cover by about 3 inches.

In a medium pot, bring the chickpeas and 2 1/2 cups of water to the boil. Cover, lower the heat and simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until the chickpeas are very tender.

Heat the oil in a medium pan over a medium-high heat. Add the onions and stir and fry until the onions are brown around the edges. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Put in the potatoes, carrot, chickpeas with their cooking liquid, tomatoes, tomato liquid, salt, thyme and 1/2 cup of water. If the tomatoes are very tart, add the sugar to taste. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, cover and cook gently for 45 minutes. Sprinkle parsley over the top before serving. Serve hot.

Serves 4 - 6

I left it to the last minute to decide I was going to make this recipe. I didn't have time to soak the chickpeas, so I used a can of chickpeas instead. Therefor, I didn't have cooking liquid, so I just added a little extra water. It worked fine.

This was a lovely stew, I liked the fact that the carrots and potatoes were in large chunks and the chickpeas held their shape. I only cooked the stew for about 50 minutes and this worked because I used canned chickpeas. I think I would like to add a little turmeric and chilli powder next time, to spice it up a little, but I will definitely make it again!

Weston's Premium Organic Cider

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 22:23:53 GMT

Well, drinking cider really takes me back to my student days, although the cider we drank back then, was nothing like this nectar! You could probably strip paint with the cider we used to drink! Price was the main concern, It was cheap!

I am usually a wine drinker, but something made me stop in my tracks at the cider shelf. So I have had this little gem cooling, for a few days in the fridge. I came home from a lovely lunch with Graham and my parents (in honour of Father's Day, unfortunately we couldn't take Graham's mum and dad as they have moved somewhere hot!)and the sun was actually making an appearance, so I was straight out in the garden with a glass of cider and my book! We won't mention the change of glass to make the photos look better and the time spent trying to get a photo of the cat, while he viewed the cider in complete mystery and disgust!

Anyway, the cider was really soft, with a lovely appley bite and no catching in the back of the throat. It smelled gorgeous too! I would definitely recommend this one! It is made by Westons, in Herefordshire, in a village called Much Marcle (great name!). It is organic, suitable for vegetarians, vegans, coeliacs and has won a few Organic Food Awards. It is endorsed by the Soil Asscoiation , that was enough to persuade me to try it!

How Great Would This Be...?

Wed, 30 May 2007 00:33:47 GMT

The Secret Plans to Turn Us All VegetarianBy SEAN POULTERSecret plans to encourage the nation to give up eating meat are being examined by the (UK)Government.A leaked e-mail expresses sympathy for the environmental benefits of a mass switch to a vegan diet - a strict form of vegetarianism which bans milk, dairy products and fish. The change would need to be done "gently" because of a "risk of

Polenta and Baba Ganoush

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:41:45 GMT

I read Susan at FatFreeVegan.com’s recent post about baba ganoush and her enthusiasm for it made me really want to try it. It’s super simple to make. I think it’s a taste that takes a little while to get used (for me anyway), but the more I ate the more I liked it!. Even though it gives you mega garlic breath I really enjoyed it with my celery and carrot sticks :)As I was already toasting the

A Whole Lotta Food

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 21:24:12 GMT

First up is an amazingly yummy curry posted originally by Fairly Odd Tofu Mom a while back. It’s Aloo Mutter Gobi (Spicy Cauliflower, Potatoes and Peas). I saw it again on Veg-a-nut's blog and she was raving about it. Like veg-a-nut I used less oil and light coconut milk. I also used edamame in place of the peas. I have to agree with veg-a-nut, it is soooo good! Anytime I have made Indian food

My Veganniversary

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 20:45:14 GMT

Inspired by Bazu’s post last month, I thought I would post about how I came to be a vegan as this month is my one year veganniversary. Also like Bazu this is actually my second time around being vegan. I wish I had stuck with it the first time, but here’s how I got there in the end:I’ve always liked animals and when I was around 15 I used to see animal rights stalls in the city centre of Glasgow

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