vegan sosmix sausage rolls

 An absolute family favourite with children and adults.

Make up whole wheat pastry, see previous blog, I think 8oz flour and 4oz vegan fat should be about right for 150grams of sosmix but it depends on how thin you roll the pastry so experiment with the quantities required. If you have left over pastry make jam tarts, if you have left over sosmix make a sausage sandwich. Place pastry in the fridge and while you wait for about half an hour then mix sosmix dry with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning or what ever you like at a ratio of 150 grams of sosmix to 250 ml of water and leave to stand for 10 minutes.

Roll out pastry into a rectangle and cut the edge nearest you to a straight line then form the sosmix into a sausage shape until you have a long sausage as long as the long straight edge of the pastry. Moisten the pastry on the other side of the sausage with a little water, I dip my fingers in a cup of water or you could use a pastry brush then roll the pastry over the long sausage until it overlaps by about 1 cm. Cut along the roll you have formed and then cut it into whatever size of sausage rolls you want, I usually make them about 2 inches or 5cm long and prick the long sausage with a fork before I cut it up at about 5mm intervals.

Once you have made this recipe a couple of times you will be an expert, some of us like these hot out of the oven with tomato sauce, some like them as they come, enjoy.

Vegetable soup

This recipe is a meal we have loved and eaten regularly for many years and it is extremely easy to make.It is also very nutritious. I would imagine that most cooks have their own version of veg soup but this is mine which has been tweaked over the years and resulted in this recipe.

2 onions or 1 onion and 1 leak 

2 large carrots

1 small swede

1 parsnip

2 medium potatoes

2 sticks of celery

about 12 brussel sprouts or a few chopped green beans

6 or more cloves of garlic

3 or 4 tablespoons of orange lentils

2 vegan veg stock cubes

3/4 tablespoons of sunflower oil 

salt, black and white pepper

chop all the veg to about 1cm cubes, carrots can be sliced if they are slim enough, if they are large go for the 1cm cube roughly. Garlic can go in whole but if the cloves are large just cut them in half. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and when hot put all the vegetables in and stir, cook for 5/10 minutes stirring now and then until the veg starts to soften a bit or just starts to take on a little colour. Boil a kettle of water and add enough water to cover the veggies, more water = soup less = stew so make it as thick or wet as you like. Add lentils, stock cubes, salt, black and white pepper to your taste and simmer for about 10 or 15 minutes or until the veggies are soft. a good variation is to make mashed potatoes instead of putting potatoes in the soup, they go really well together. So a bowl of soup with a portion of mashed spuds and a slice or two of whole wheat bread and marg, delicious. One last thing is try a teaspoon or so, to your taste of good quality cider vinegar sprinkled on the soup in the bowl,not for everyone but I find this very tasty. I also like diced fried bread croutons on top.

Easy chapati recipe

 When I started to make curries many years ago I made chapatis using whole wheat flour and they were edible but not good. I tried again every now and then but never really mastered it so would resort to poppadoms or frozen rotis or chapatis from the Indian shop, so long as they were vegan as some have milk in them.

So a few months ago I decided it can't be that hard as I watched them being made online and it seemed really easy, then I had a light bulb moment when I realised that all the online cooks were using a flour called atta which is available in a whole wheat form but is ground much finer than ordinary whole wheat flour and makes a much better chapati.

So put some atta in a bowl add a little salt and stir then you can add either a bit of oil and rub it in and then add water a little at a time until you get a soft dough or leave the oil out and just use water, I have done it both ways and have not noticed a difference (a bit more research needed). Once mixed and kneaded to a soft pliable consistency place the dough in a bowl covered with a cloth and let stand for half an hour, some online recipes say cover the dough with a damp cloth but I don't know if it makes a difference ?

Next shape the dough into a thick sausage and cut it into pieces about 3 cm long or about enough for a chapati, a bit of practice helps but it just means you get a smaller or larger chapati but so long as it fits in the frying pan it doesn't really matter. Roll one out to as best a circle as you can about 2mm thick using a little flour to stop it sticking to the worktop or the rolling pin. Brush of any excess flour and cook them on a medium heat in a dry frying pan. When you put the first one in the pan roll out the next one so you are keeping the ball rolling so to speak and when the one in the pan either starts to bubble, which is ideal, or starts to smoke or smell like it is burning flip it over and cook the other side, you can flip them over several times if needed until cooked.

The points to note are use atta flour, make a softish dough and when cooking them the flour can build up in the frying pan and start to burn so give it a thorough clean before continuing. I can say that after a few goes you get better at it. Also it is worth watching a few videos online to see the techniques being employed, watching an expert at work can be very helpful. Good luck with your experiments and your learning, these are worth the effort as they taste so good when made fresh, x

Vegan mince pie recipe

 Many of the commercial mince pies available from supermarkets have vegan options but they are so full of sugar that they hurt your teeth because they are made with sweet pastry, sweet mincemeat and then dusted with sugar so here is a vegan option that is wholewheat, light on sugar and delicious.

First buy a good jar of organic, low or no sugar if you prefer, mincemeat available at most good wholefood shops at this time of year.

Make 8 or 12 0z of wholewheat pastry (see previous blog) according to the size of jar of mincemeat you have. When the pastry has rested in the fridge for about an hour grease a couple of tart tins, I use a twelve and a nine tart tin, with vegan marg. Roll out a generous half of your pastry. If you have a set of three tart cutters use the largest to cut out the bases and the middle size for the lids. Place the pastry bases in the tart tins and gently press them into the bottom edges of each cavity. Next add about a teaspoon full of mincemeat into each pie, do not overfill or they will burst open, then roll out the pastry and cut out the lids with the middle sized cutter. Have a cup of cold water near the lids and either dip your finger a couple of times to wet around the edges of each lid or use a pastry brush, I use my finger which applies just enough moisture with two dips where as using a brush it is harder to just apply the moisture to the edge which is used to place the lid, moist edge down and gently press down onto the upright edges of the base to glue them together. Do this one lid at a time and when the pies are all made prick them with a pointed knife two or three times each to let the steam out and prevent them from bursting open at the edges.

Lightly paint the tops of the pies with soya milk and sprinkle on a little soft light brown sugar which gives a nice crunch when cooked. I have a fan oven and cook them in a preheated oven at 200c for about 10 to 15 minutes until just going golden, keep an eye on them. Adjust the temperature accordingly if you do not have a fan oven, I would guess they will take a little longer in a conventional oven but again just keep an eye on them. They will be very hot when you take them out of the oven so leave to cool for at least 15 minutes.

 

Vegan spaghetti sauce

 This dish was and still is a favourite with the whole family, so close on thirty people, and all our friends love it too.

My lovely mum spent her life cooking for three hungry men, she was a great cook so pies, cakes and all manner of dishes came our way and from an early age my brother and I were taught how to cook. We would spend Sunday mornings beating butter and sugar to make cakes and learning how to make and roll pastry as well as making lunches and dinners. In those days the man worked and the woman managed the home, she was determined to change all that by teaching her two burly sons to cook and keep house so we would not be a burden on our future partners

This was in the late fifties and the sixties so was mostly traditional Yorkshire cooking, mums birthplace, so meat, eggs, butter, cream and milk and any other animal products you could think of but by the time I reached my late teens I was becoming a vegetarian and after a year or two became a strict vegan for many reasons but mainly out of my compassion for all life. I have spent a lot of time studying nutrition and vegan food so made vegan versions of the traditional dishes that I had been taught and that we all know. This spaghetti dish is one of those adapted recipes from my mother which was taught to her by an Italian sister in law before I was born. My mum used to make it by frying onions garlic and bacon cut into squares with a pair of scissors then when it was all going brown in went tinned toms and lots of tom paste.

Here is my version.made to be as balanced and nutritional as possible so extra veggies as in red and green peppers and tofu which as a pulse (soya bean) combines with the grain of wholewheat pasta to form a first class protein. Also generous amounts of garlic, good olive oil and herbs.

 The recipe is simple and quite quick if you need a fast meal for four to six people, ingredients are:

 A generous amount of olive oil and then a bit more

2 large or 3 medium onions

1 red and 1 green pepper (capsicum)

10/12 cloves of garlic crushed

Italian seasoning which is a dried  mix of herbs that go well with most italian/mediteranean dishes, I like the Sainsburys version but even a few teaspoons of dried oregano will do if you have not got it

2 tins of peeled plum chopped tomatoes,  Even an equivalent amount of passata would do

About half a tube of tomato paste

about half a large packet of tofu cubed roughly or more to your taste. I have used a handful of hazelnuts when I had no tofu and it worked really well

Dice the onions and peppers as small as you can and fry on a high heat in the olive oil, I use a saucepan instead of a frying pan because I find it easier to stir when all the ingredients are in, add salt and black pepper to your taste Fry until golden and reduced stirring regularly.

Add  the garlic and stir for a minute or two then about 3 teaspoons of the herbs and stir. Next add tomatoes and tom paste and bring up to a boil stirring now and then so it does not burn. Lower heat add cubed tofu and simmer for about 10 minutes stirring now and then, adjust seasoning if needed. Serve with wholewheat spaghetti, vegan cheese, previous blog, sprinkled on top and Gomasio, sesame salt, previous blog.

 

Please remember this blog is called Adrian's vegan RAMBLINGS, thank you.

Vegan pizza

I should have put this recipe up earlier but it slipped by me so I am here to rectify my error.

This is so quick and easy to make, it is a real winner with kids because they can top it how ever they like.

So to start with the dough; to make two baking trays of pizza I do the following,

 16oz (1 pound) of whole wheat flour, any will do like strong bread flour or plain or self raising, they all seem to work.

2/3 medium teaspoons of dried yeast. I think the amount of yeast need varies depending on which flour you are using

1x teaspoon of sugar, I use light brown Muscovado but apparently you could use any sweetening agent to feed the yeast so use what ever you have to get those yeast bubbling.

2/3 tablespoons of good olive oil.

Salt to taste.

3/4 fill an average tea mug with very warm but not boiling water and stir in yeast and sugar, leave aside to bubble up on the surface.

Put the flour, salt, and olive oil in a bowl and give it stir, pour on the bubbly yeast mixture and stir, if it is too dry add a little more warm water, if it is too wet add a little more flour. You want to aim for a dough that is kneed-able but not so wet it is too sticky. Knead for a few minutes, place in a bowl with a tea towel over it in a warm place and leave to rise for about an hour.

Now make a sauce by chopping an onion finely and frying in a generous amount of olive oil, don't let it go brown, just translucent then add about 8 or 10 cloves of crushed garlic or to your taste and a generous amount of Italian seasoning, I like Sainsbury's but any will do, about 2 or 3 teaspoons or again to your taste. Salt and black pepper, as much as you like. Cook for a minute or two then add a tin of peeled plum tomatoes and chop in the pan or use chopped tomatoes, add about a good tablespoon of tomato puree/ paste, give it a stir and cook for about 5/10 minutes stirring now and then, remove from heat and set aside.

As any one who likes pizza knows you can top with what ever you like. This is my favourite topping,

Sliced onion rings, sliced tomato, red and green pepper slices and black and green olives (stones removed and halved). I then crumble over a generous amount of vegan cheese, see recipe on previous blog, salt and pepper and a drizzle of good olive oil.

Note

 I have found that using fresh tomatoes even thinly sliced can mean a soggy bottom because they hold water so have stopped using them as they are already present in the sauce. Also onions and peppers or any other veg are best diced quite small and sprinkled thinly which gives the crust a better chance of cooking right through.

So the method is when the dough has risen knead it again for a few minutes, lightly oil two shallow baking trays, some times called Swiss roll tins, with olive oil, halve the dough and press out each half to cover the tray, I made it recently and the base was too thick and stodgy so next time I make it I will roll the dough as thinly as possible to try and get a crispy base, spread the sauce, add toppings, I go with onion rings,tomatoes then peppers (see above note) and olives finishing with lots of vegan cheese sprinkled in small pieces and a drizzle of olive oil.

I cook them in a preheated hot oven heated to about 240 or full on so quite a high heat to try and replicate a hot pizza oven for 10 to 15 minutes until the crust starts to brown at the edges.

This recipe might sound a bit long but it's not because the dough takes 10 minutes, the sauce takes only a few minutes then you just put it together and place in the oven and kids love it.

I like to drizzle with chilli oil once on the plate and have it with a green salad with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, delicious, enjoy.

Smokey leak pasties

This recipe is from Vegan cooking the compassionate way of eating by Leah Leneman and was an absolute favourite of my children when they were young and would be still if there was a substitute for the smokey snaps that were discontinued 10 or 15 years ago because they were made from GM soya, I always thought why didn't they just make the same product but with non GM soya ???
Anyway I digress, I have tried several products to replicate the smokey flavour of smokey snaps but to no avail. If anyone comes up with a viable substitute please let me know via comments I would be extremely grateful, thanks.
So here is the recipe as it appears in the book,

1/2 lb of wholewheat pastry (8 oz flour, 4 oz vegan margarine, see my pastry recipe)
1/2 oz marg
1/2 oz w/w flour
1/4 pint soya milk
1/2 teaspoon sage
3 medium sized leaks
1-2 tablespoons smokey snaps
sea salt to taste

Heat margarine in small saucepan and add flour. Add soya milk carefully, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.
Chop leaks and blanche in boiling water for 3 minutes then drain well.
Roll out the pastry and cut into four rounds with a saucer.
Mix leaks, smokey snaps and sage with the white sauce, season to taste.
Spoon the mixture onto the centre of the pastry circles. Bring the edges up to meet on top and pinch together all round.
Bake in a hot oven at 425f/ 220c(gas mark 7) for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to moderate 350f /180c (gas mark 4) and cook for a further 20 - 30 minutes until the pastry is well cooked.

This recipe is slightly over complicated as I cook them at 180 or 200 in a fan oven until they look cooked and golden brown, about 15 or 20 minutes. I don't know why she cooks them at different heats and for so long, also if you make a bit more pastry like 12 ounces of flour you should get 10 to 15 pasties out of it as they are great the next day for lunch or dinner, reheated or cold

Please let me know if you find a suitable substitute for smokey snaps that works, thanks.

 I have just tried a product reccomended by one of my sons and it worked really well. The product is Quorn vegan smokey ham slices cut into small pieces and fried in a little oil until brown and crispy, it takes a while, keep an eye on it. When cooked place on a baking tray and sprinkle with smoked paprika and salt and mix then add to leeks and sauce and proceed as above. 

Vegan Onion bhajis

There are many versions of onion bhajis online with variations on the flour used, the combination of spices, some add butter ! and even eggs !! I think it best to make it once and then tweek the recipe to your own taste. The recipe below is how I would normally make them but I have found a couple of additions I will try next time we have them.
Some recipes mix dry ingredients first and make a batter then add onions and coriander leaves and some put everything in the bowl and mix in one go, I don't think it really matters as I have tried both and the results are the same. Also I saw a recipe that used wheat flour which may taste ok but I recently had a masala dosa made with wheat flour and it does not really work like the genuine article.
Ingredients as follows:

3 or 4 tablespoons of gram flour (chick pea flour)
1 and a half or 2 tablespoons of rice flour, basically half rice flour to gram flour
1 medium teaspoon turmeric powder
1 heaped teaspoon of cumin seeds (one recipe chopped the seeds which might release more flavour so I will try this next time.
half a teaspoon of chilli powder (optional)
about half a teaspoon of salt or more to your taste.
2 finely chopped hot green finger chillies, I leave the seeds in as I like it hot.
about 1 tablespoon of finely chopped ginger
4 or 5 cloves of garlic finely chopped or crushed in a garlic press
2 medium onions, peeled chopped in half top to bottom and sliced thinly
4 to 6 tablespoons of coriander leaves chopped or more if you like.
Add a little water and mix all together. The batter should be thick enough to loosely stick the onions together but not so thick like a dough, if it is too stiff add a little more water or if too thin add a little more flour.
To deep fry I use a medium sauce pan with 2 to 3 inches of sunflower oil, use a pan that you only fill by half to 2 thirds with oil, if it is too full it is dangerous. Heat the oil, online recipes say it should be heated to 180 degrees but if, like me, you dont have a kitchen thermometer when you think it is hot enough drop a little bit in and see if it sizzles and rises to the top, if it does then fry the mixture in small golf ball sized potions, do not overfill the pan as it reduces the temperature. Too hot and they are cooked outside but raw in the middle, too cold and they come out greasy and not very nice.
Practice helps and I can judge the temperature quite well, turn the heat up or down accordingly. Place on kitchen towel to drain

Two other ingredients that I saw online and will try are the juice from a quarter of a lemon and some curry leaves chopped up. A note on curry leaves I may have mentioned in a previous recipe is do not buy them dry as most supermarkets sell them as they lose ALL their flavour when dried, buy them fresh from most good Indian shops and freeze them, they retain all of their flavour this way. When I last cooked these bhajis there were some left over so I warmed them in the oven and they came out even more crispy

Vegan stir fry

A very nourishing stir fry that includes brown rice, tofu and a few raw cashew nuts so good protein combined with lightly cooked vegetables, soya sauce, ginger and garlic.
It is quick to prepare and tastes amazing.
I serve this with vegetable spring rolls and hot chilli dipping sauce both of which are available at most supermarkets and are vegan but do check the ingredients just to be sure.
The same applies to the Thai green curry paste that is also available everywhere and is mostly vegan but I have found some brands have fish oil or anchovies so beware and read the ingredients list carefully. My beautiful wife has made this dish with "Thai taste" red curry paste which is vegan, available at supermarkets and tastes great. When using a new product like this it is best to go with the instructions on the packet and then next time you can adjust to your taste, I like it hot so always add more.

  Spare a thought for the decimation of the oceans on this beautiful planet by the greed of humans because what we don't kill for food or sport we will poison with plastic and toxic waste.

 So put on enough organic brown basmati rice for however many are with you for dinner.
Put the oven on to preheat according to instructions on the spring rolls.
The vegetables that I use are all or a combination to your taste of the following, try any veg you fancy,asparagus is good
 At least 1 bunch of spring onions, I use more cos I like em
Half a green pepper and half a red pepper cut top to bottom into sticks.
1 carrot cut into thin sticks about 4 or 5 cms long.
1 packet of baby corn.
Some dwarf beans, topped and tailed and cut in half.
A packet of tenderstem broccoli.
About 8 or 10 cloves of garlic.
About 2 tablespoons of finely chopped ginger.
2 hot red finger chillies finely chopped.

You will also need some Thai green or red curry paste, a few raw cashew nuts, Tamari soya sauce, toasted sesame oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper, sunflower oil and a packet of plain tofu, cauldron tofu is in some supermarkets, avoid the soft tofu as it breaks up when you stir.
 As I have made this dish many times I put the rice and the oven on then prep the veggies, you may want to prep the veggies before putting on the rice so you can throw it all into the wok in a more relaxed manner.
 Method as follows,
Heat 4 to 6 tablespoons of sunflower oil in your wok, when hot add green curry paste, crushed garlic, ginger and chilli. A quick stir then add spring onions, carrots, beans, baby corn,cashew nuts and peppers and stir for a couple of minutes then add broccoli and stir Add salt and plenty of black pepper, stir. Add a couple of tablespoons or more of Tamari soya sauce, diced tofu, not to small, and a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil. Stir gently but well and cook for a few minutes and its done. Plate up and sprinkle of gomasio, sesame salt-see previous blog, add more soya sauce if desired, it's good on the rice

Vegan Potato salad

This dish is simple and tasty and gets eaten a lot in our house through out the summer

1kg bag of baby or new potatoes
1 medium to large onion
4-6 or more tablespoons of best olive oil
4-6 dessert spoons of light tahini
A good glug to your own taste of organic cider vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Boil the potatoes until just cooked then strain and leave until cool enough to handle but still warm, cut into roughly 1cm cubes and place in a bowl with finely chopped onion.
Add oil, tahini, vinegar, salt and pepper and stir gently but thoroughly.
Taste and add more of what ever you think is lacking like more oil, vinegar or tahini.
When you have made it a few times you will get it just right for your taste, it will last for 3or 4 days in the fridge.
This can also be made with vegan mayonnaise instead of using the oil, tahini and vinegar combination but it is not as nutritious as the tahini option.

Bean salad

I love this dish for being so simple, tasty and variable and it goes with almost anything. It is also very nutritiuos

1 tin of red beans.
1 medium onion.
1 or 2 sticks of celery.
plenty of good olive oil 4 to 6 tablespoons or more to your taste.
about 4 tablespoons of organic cider vinegar, again to your taste.
Salt and fresh ground black pepper, again as much as you prefer.

Rinse the beans and place in a bowl.
Chop the onion and celery, add to bowl.
Add salt, pepper, oil and vinegar and mix well.

You could use a red onion or add a small tin of sweetcorn or add some raw green beans or sweet red pepper(capsicum) chopped small.
Experiment and enjoy

Chick pea curry (channa masala)

This curry is very popular in India and there are many versions online. When I made it a few months ago I decided to do some research looking in books and online and combine the best of my favourite ingredients which are in most of the recipes I looked at but I adjusted the quantities of spices to make it quite chilli hot. This is obviously optional, if we have guests who don't like it hot I use 1 green chilli and a quater of a teaspoon of chilli powder and it still tastes great. Also a tin of toms can be used instead of fresh.



5/6 tablespoons ( a good glug) of sunflower oil
1 heaped teaspoon of Cumin seeds.
3 medium onions diced finely.
salt and black pepper.
6/8 cloves of garlic crushed.
2 tablespoons of finely chopped ginger.
3 hot green chillies finely chopped.
1 heaped teaspoon of ground coriander.
1 heaped teaspoon of ground cumin.
1 not so heaped teaspoon of turmeric powder.
1 not so heaped teaspoon of chilli powder 
3 medium to large tomatoes diced.
1 tin of chick peas including liquid
half a green pepper diced coarsely.
1 and a half heaped teaspoons of garam masala.
3 to 4 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves

Heat oil in a medium pan or frying pan, add cumin seeds and as soon as they start to go a little brown add chopped onions and stir.
Add salt and pepper, stir and cook the onions until they are just going brown, add garlic, ginger, chillies, ground coriander, cumin, turmeric and chilli powder, do not let it burn so keep stirring as you add the spices then quickly add the tomatoes and cook until they start to break down and become softened.
Add green pepper and chick peas and simmer for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
Stir in garam masala and coriander leaves and serve with brown basmati rice and a vegetable dish,
I make a lovely aubergine curry from the wonderful book fresh India by Meera Sodha (page 116). The recipe is called coal smoked Aubergine curry, I just make it without the smoking bit and it is delicious. One day I might try it with the smoke.

I have recently researched chana masala online again and found recipes adding cloves, cinnamon stick, cardamoms,amchur- which is green mango powder and kasuri methi-which is crushed dried fenugreek leaves.

So I have made this recipe with 4 cloves, 1/2 a cinnamon stick, 4 green cardamoms added at the begining with the cumin seeds and 1/2 a teaspoon of amchur which turned out really good and was loved by all. I also used a tin of chopped tomatoes instead of fresh but I have not got any kasuri methi yet but will try it soon. It all goes to show that it is good to experiment until you tweak a recipe to how you like it, happy cooking to you and remember to smile when you cook as it adds love to your efforts  

Best tofu recipe

This tofu recipe has really taken off with us since I adapted it from a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi. His recipe, while very good, is quite complicated with different soya sauces and a little too much black pepper.
So I thought about how to make a quick dish along the same lines so here is the result.

Peel and chop about 400 - 450 grams of banana shallots
Peel and chop 2 bunches of spring onions
Peel and dice finely a generous 2 inch piece of ginger
Peel and crush 8/10 cloves of Garlic
Chop 1 or 2 fresh green chillies finely
About a tablespoon or more of fresh ground black pepper

Fry the shallots and spring onions in 3 or 4 tablespoons of oil, I use sunflower oil. Stir now and then until  they start to turn brown then add garlic, ginger, black pepper and green chilli.
Then add 3 or 4 tablespoons of tamari dark soya sauce and some salt to taste.
Stir well and add 1 packet of Cauldron tofu or any firm tofu you can find cut into 1 cm or 1/2 inch cubes. Stir gently to cover tofu with the sauce until heated through and serve

This dish is excellent served with brown rice noodles and spring greens or pointed cabbage finely shredded, lightly steamed  and drizzled with toasted sesame oil.
The final ingredient is some finely chopped sticks of ginger (julienned) to sprinkle over the whole dish which really sets off all the flavours, delicious.

I did add a handful of raw cashew nuts to the tofu last time I made this and it was very good.

Vegan casserole with suet dumplings

This is a great dish to warm you on a cold day, it is so variable that after a few goes at it you will be able to make it just how you like it.
Ingredients :

1 tin of beans of your choice, I use cannellini beans. 
6/8 small button onions or shallots or a couple of large onions chopped chunky
6/8 peeled cloves of garlic
1 large carrot peeled and chopped into large chunks
1 parsnip peeled and chopped into large chunks
A couple of medium potatoes peeled or not, chopped into large chunks.

 About 10 sprouts peeled.

 About half a swede cut into smaller chunks than the potato as it takes longer to cook
A small handful of green beans topped and tailed cut into 1 inch pieces.

1 stick of celery cut chunky
4 cooked vegan sausages cut into thirds
2 vegetable stock cubes
3 teaspoons of Bisto powder, which is vegan, mixed with a little water in a cup. This makes a brown gravy or sauce but I prefer a clear or yellowish sauce so the stock cubes but instead of Bisto use a couple of teaspoons of cornflour mixed with a little water and added to the water the vegetables were boiled in
Dumplings:
100 grams/ 4 0z whole wheat flour
50 grams vegan suet
salt and pepper
dried herbs to your taste, mixed dried herbs work well
Enough water to make a sticky dough

Fry the sausages and set aside.
Place all the vegetables, except garlic, in a pan and just about cover with water, add salt and bring to a boil for 3 or 4 minutes or until at least half cooked. Strain the veg and keep the water or remove them with a slotted spoon.
If using Bisto mix it with a little cold water and add to the cooled vegetable water, bring to a boil stirring constantly. Add the stock cubes and a little salt and a generous amount of fresh ground black pepper. For a clear sauce add stock cubes and corn flour paste to the veg water plus salt and pepper.
Place the vegetables, garlic cloves, beans and sausages in a casserole dish, stir well but gently and pour over the Bisto/corn flour mix, it should just cover the goodies in the dish but if it does not add some more water until it does. Place in a preheated oven on the middle shelf at 160 fan for about 30 minutes.  If you have plenty of time do not pre cook the vegies just put them in the oven proof dish raw and cook for about 2 hours or until they are soft then add dumplings
Mix ingredients for the dumplings, remove casserole from oven and spoon on golf ball sized dumplings. Return to the oven for about 20 minutes or until the dumplings are going golden brown and serve. I should add my wife thinks the gravy should be thicker so experiment.

Garlic fried potatoes

Even though it sounds like a simple task to fry potatoes it took years for me to get this right. I read some recipes and blogs and experimented a bit until I cracked it and can now produce golden crispy fried potatoes.
Peel and chop potatoes into medium sized chunks, about 30cm or 1 1/4 inches, bring to a boil in plenty of salted water and boil until just softening and almost cooked through.
Drain in a colander and either leave them in the colander or spread out on a baking tray and leave to dry for at least an hour. Drying the potatoes is the secret to getting them crispy.
Now heat about 15mm/ 1/2 inch of sunflower oil in a large frying pan and when hot, drop in one piece and if it sizzles add potatoes carefully and stirring now and then get them golden all over, this takes about 20 to 25 minutes.
When they are about 3 minutes from ready add 6 to 8 chunky chopped cloves of garlic and cook until the garlic is just going golden then remove from pan onto doubled up kitchen paper and spread them out, add salt and serve. I recently tried roasting the potatoes and adding the garlic 5 minutes before they were ready and they were very good, I also think that different varieties of potatoes produce varying results so experiment.

These potatoes are excellent with Gigantes plaki (Greek baked beans, recipe on blog) and a good salad

Gigantes plaki ( giant beans in the oven )

This dish comes from Greece and is vegan so if you are vegan and in Greece this is a good one and very easy to make.
There are many versions of this online, this one is from the BBC good food website, if you Google Gigantes plaki it is top of the list. If you can't find giant beans butter beans are just as good.
I serve this with garlic fried potatoes (see recipe on blog).

Ingredients:
The BBC recipe says 400 grams of dry beans soaked but I get giant beans in a large jar from my excellent local whole food shop called Earth natural foods on Kentish town road, they come in a jar and are quite expensive. I also use 2 tins of butter beans sometimes and they are just as good as mentioned above.
Heat oven 180/160 fan

3or 4 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 large or 3 medium onions diced
6 cloves of garlic finely chopped or crushed
2 Tablespoons of tomato paste
The BBC recipe has 800 grams of skinned tomatoes chopped but I use 2 tins of plum tomatoes and chop them in the pan
1 teaspoon sugar
2 generous teaspoons of dried Oregano
a pinch of Cinnamon
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and add onions frying until softened but not browned then add garlic and tomato paste and fry for a minute or two.
Now add sugar, oregano, cinnamon and tomatoes. Chop them coarsely in the pan.
Next add the beans and parsley, which is optional. I have often made it with no parsley and it is fine with or without it. Season well and add more olive oil if you like

Pour into an oven proof dish and bake for about an hour until going brown and bubbling
As with most recipes on my blog they are extremely variable so make it with these amounts and then vary any ingredients to your taste i.e. more or less oregano or try with just one tin of beans

On Onion gravy

This method of making onion gravy I learned from my mother although I am sure it is a very common method. I have always used the original Bisto powder packaged in a box which is vegan but recently there are many more vegan products on the market which I have not got round to trying, any feedback in the comments section would be most welcome.
Put about 1 pint of water on to boil before you start to prepare the meal and add the following, 1 chopped onion, a glug of sunflower oil, a little salt and a generous amount of ground white pepper.
Leave this to boil and reduce while you cook the meal and 10 minutes before the meal is ready it has hopefully reduced to a rich tasty onion sludge which really concentrates the flavour. If it reaches the sludge stage before the meal is 10 minutes off being ready simply turn it off so it does not burn.
Mix 7/8 teaspoons of Bisto powder in a cup with just enough cold water to make it runny. Add about 3 quarters of a pint to 1 pint of cold water to the onion mix, more water makes a runnier gravy, less makes it thicker which is my preference. Put the pan on to a high heat and immediately add the Bisto mix, I plunge the cup into the pan of water and onions and get all the Bisto out of the cup as it tends to stick in the bottom of the cup so make sure you get it all out.
Once the Bisto is in the onion water and it is on the heat you must stir it constantly until it boils otherwise it will go lumpy and you don't want lumpy gravy. When it bubbles it is ready to serve.
A quicker method if you are pressed for time is to fry the chopped onion in sunflower oil and as it starts to brown add the cold water, salt and pepper and the Bisto mix and bring to a boil again stirring constantly.
I have added half a teaspoon of original Natex now and then and it adds to the savoury flavour, you could also add mustard or soya sauce to add more flavour or go crazy and add all 3. experiment and enjoy specially on a vegan roast dinner.

Spinach with spring onions, cooked in the Moghlai style ( Madhur Jaffrey)

This spinach dish is an excellent side dish to accompany a curry and tastes amazing, it is in Madhur Jaffrey's book eastern vegetarian cooking first published in 1983 and many reprints later is still available.

3lb Spinach, trimmed and washed, bunches of fresh are best but it works just as well with bagged ready washed baby spinach from a supermarket.
8 tablespoons of sunflower oil
6/8 spring onions finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated.
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh hot green chilli
half a teaspoon of salt. Madhur uses 1 and a half teaspoons of salt but I find this too much.
half a teaspoon of sugar
half a teaspoon of garam masala

Place spinach in plenty of boiling water until it has just wilted, do it in batches if it will not fit in your pan and place in a colander.
Squeeze water from spinach in your sink while still in the colander and chop finely.
Heat oil in a deep, wide frying pan and add spring onions, fry for a couple of minutes until just wilting. Now add the ginger and green chilli and fry for another minute or two then add spinach before the spring onions start to go brown. Add salt and sugar and fry on low heat stirring frequently for 20 minutes. Stir in garam masala and serve.
I drain the excess oil off before serving.  
 

My simple nut roast

This recipe is a very simple and quite extravagant nut roast and very tasty too. It is enjoyed by children and adults and like most of these recipes on my blog should be made to the recipe once and then adapted to suit you own taste. Some nut roast recipes use bread crumbs or a different combination of vegetables or stronger herbs and flavourings, there are many variations.
The extravagance is the use of lots of nuts which can be expensive but well worth it.
This list of ingredients is infinitely variable and is a rough guide only for you to tweak as you make it according to  your choice. One of the choices is which nuts to use to attain a different flavour and how much to blend them from chunky to powder, I like them blended with a few quick pulses while shaking the blender so you get some powder and some chunks I usually make this nut roast for Christmas dinner and serve it with all the roast dinner extras so roasted potatoes, parsnips and onions, mashed swede, sprouts, carrots and peas with a rich onion gravy. I fry a few vegan sausages for any one who does not like nut roast or want both. I also do some Paxo sage and onion stuffing which is vegan and delicious

2 to 3oz of Brazil nuts
2 to 3oz of Hazel nuts
2 to 3oz of Walnuts
2 to 3oz of Almonds
2 or 3 onions
300gms or about 12oz mushrooms
2 or 3 sticks of celery
1 generous teaspoon of original Natex yeast extract
a couple of teaspoons of tamari soya sauce
half a teaspoon or more of dried mixed herbs
about half a teaspoon of salt
black pepper
white pepper
4 to six tablespoons of sunflower oil

Chop the onions, mushrooms and celery medium small, if the veggies are chopped too big they may stop the mixture from sticking together.
Fry in the sunflower oil until golden brown. While the vegetables are frying blend the nuts, one variety at a time otherwise too many can overload the blender and you end up with fine dust at the bottom and whole unblended nuts on top so small amounts works best. We made this the other night and did not check over the nuts so some shell got blended as well which we only noticed when eating it, this ruined it as each mouthful was extremely crunchy and not a nice texture so worth checking your nuts before you blend.
Place each batch of nuts into a large mixing bowl then pour in the fried veggies with the oil when they are golden. Dissolve the Natex with a little hot water in a cup and add to the mixture along with soya sauce, herbs, salt and peppers. When thoroughly mixed spread mix into an oven proof dish and flatten with the back of a tablespoon, about 1to 1 and a half inches thick is ideal. Bake in a preheated oven at mark 7, 220C 425F for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Apple crumble

This recipe is from the Joyce D'silva book "Healthy eating for the new age". A simple recipe to make with a delicious crunchy top.

9oz (270g) self raising wholemeal flour ( start with 9oz and add a little more if it needs it until it is crumbling a bit and not one lump, if it stays as a lump after adding more flour just break it into pieces on top of the apples which works fine )
6oz (180g) vegan margarine, vegan block is best as it has less water in it so is better for this recipe and for pastry.
4 1/2oz (135g) soft brown sugar. I made this crumble this evening and added just 40 or 50g of sugar and it tasted fine so reduce the sugar as much as you can.

4 large cooking apples
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 or 3 cloves (if you like them otherwise leave out)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Peel, core and chop apples coarsely. Place in pan with brown sugar, spices and a little water.
Cook gently for about 5 minutes or until the apple just starts to soften and place in an oven proof dish.
Melt the margarine and stir in sugar and flour. Mix well until a crumbly texture forms, you may need to add a little more flour. Place on top of apples, spoon on or crumble with your fingers if you need to so that it covers the apples and bake 350F, 180C or mark 4 for about 40 minutes or until browning well. Serve with soya cream or vegan ice cream or both

Vegatable biryani

This is a quick and easy biryani from the lonely planet restaurant recipe book from Kerala by T.Siva Prasannan (see dhal fry recipe). There are many variations of biryani in India and they all appear quite complicated which is ok, you just need to be completely prepared for a dish like this and it is worth the effort. However having tried quite a few veg biryani recipes this one is relatively easy and everyone loves it. The recipe in the book says it is for 4 people and as usual is open to your own tweaks to your own taste but I suggest making it to this recipe once and then adapting it to how you like it.

100gms, 4oz. cooked vegetables ( carrot, chopped small. green beans cut to1 inch pieces. Cauliflower, small florets and some frozen peas. I boil a pan of salted water and add carrot first for about 3 minutes then green beans and cauliflower after a couple of minutes add peas and cook for 2 or 3 minutes more then strain). Try to coincide the vegetables being ready when the rice is ready so it remains hot.
150gms, 6oz. cooked rice
1 onion sliced or chopped
3 or 4 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger sliced into thin sticks, julienned
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
4 green cardamoms cut in half
6 cloves
small piece of cinnamon minced or roughly ground in a mortar and pestle
1 slice pineapple chopped
10 gms cashew nuts, I use about 25 grams because I like them
10 - 15 grams raisins
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon salt, I use a little less, adjust to your own preference
30 - 40 grams vegan margarine

Heat the margarine, add onion, garlic and ginger fry for a couple of minutes then add fennel seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cashew nuts, raisins and fry for a couple more minutes then add pineapple, vegetables, turmeric and salt. Mix well for a minute and add the rice, mix well and cover for a minute then serve hot. One option not in the recipe but in most biryani recipes is to add a little hot water to a pinch of saffron and stir it in after the turmeric and salt stage, this gives a deeper flavour to the dish. Happy experimenting.
 

Dhal fry

This recipe is from a book we bought from the lonely planet vegetarian restaurant, nothing to do with lonely planet tour guide books, that is situated in the back alleys behind Kovalam beach in Kerala.
We discovered the restaurant on our first visit to Kerala and returned regularly on every subsequent visit. The owner/chef was a gentle, positive happy man, T. Siva prasannan. He ran a small cookery course when the restaurant was closed so along we went. There were 6 or 8 people in the class and Siva taught us all how to make a Masala dosa, my idea of bliss and we obviously got to eat the results of our efforts, yum. What an amazing guy, he instructed us that cooking with love and a smile was the route to success and he was right. When his students had a frown of concentration, including me, he was smiling at your side reminding you to smile and relax and everyone produced a perfectly edible Dosa. What a brilliant experience, but unfortunately he died a few years ago and now it is run by his protégé, whose name I can't remember, but the food is still excellent making this a must visit if you are near Kovalam. At the back of the restaurant there is a small lagoon with king fishers darting about trying to catch the small fish, we saw a little water snake resting his head on a water lily leaf with the classic song of the Asian Koel echoing through the trees, paradise. So here is Siva's dhal fry recipe which is delicious.
This recipe is infinitely variable but this is my take on the original ingredients to make 4/6 portions. 

About 200grms boiled red lentils
4/5 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
about 10 curry leaves (fresh or frozen, dried have no flavour)
1 large or 2 medium onions chopped
2/3 tomatoes chopped
4/5 cloves of garlic chopped fine or crushed
about 1 inch piece ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric
half teaspoon chilli powder or more to your taste
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
salt
water

Heat oil, add mustard seeds as they begin to pop and crackle add fennel seeds and curry leaves. Add onion straight away and fry for a minute or 2 then add garlic, ginger and tomatoes, fry for a couple of minutes.
Then add turmeric, chilli and salt. Stir well. Add boiled dhal and a little water if necessary to make it creamy and not too thick, cook for a few minutes and it is ready.
If you can, go to Kerala and eat it first hand it is a beautiful place and the food is amazing. 

Raspberry buns

This recipe is from What's cooking by Eva Batt first published in 1973 by the vegan society. I think it is the one of the first vegan recipe books I bought, I was 19 in that year.
These raspberry buns are very popular with the whole family, when you make them they will disappear very quickly.

10 oz. self raising whole wheat flour
Pinch of salt
3 and 3/4 oz. vegan margarine
3 and 3/4 oz. soft brown sugar
3-4 tablespoons soya milk
Jam

Heat oven to mark 5, 400F, 200C. Grease baking tray, sift flour and salt, rub in fat, add sugar and mix well, add milk to make a stiff dough.
Turn onto a floured surface and form a roll. Cut off pieces half to three quarters of an inch thick and place on a baking tray. make a hollow in the centre of each and use a teaspoon to fill with jam.
Brush round edges with soya milk and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.
Let me know when you are cooking them and I will pop round.
 

Vegetable curry

Being big fans of India and loving the food because a lot of every day dishes are vegan and it tastes great, this recipe has been made many times and has evolved over the years. In fact it is always changing. This is the latest incarnation and be creative to create your own version. As always I would recommend making it to the recipe and then making your own adjustments in the future. it can also be made with just potatoes and cauliflower to make aloo gobi.

6 generous tablespoons of sunflower oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
8 curry leaves
3 onions finely chopped
10 - 12 cloves of garlic crushed
2 inch piece of ginger chopped fine
1 - 2 fresh green chillies chopped fine
1 heaped teaspoon of ground cumin
1 heaped teaspoon of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
Half a teaspoon of chilli powder
Pinch of asafoetida powder, optional (my wife does not like it as you can easily let it overpower the whole dish as I did once so be cautious if you use it)
Half a teaspoon of salt
10 - 15 twists of freshly ground black pepper
About 10 baby potatoes halved, 2 carrots halved long ways and sliced, about 15 dwarf green beans cut into 1 inch pieces and half a cauliflower cut into medium florets.
A generous tablespoon of tomato paste or 3or 4 fresh tomatoes.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the mustard seeds, as they begin to sputter and pop add cumin seeds and curry leaves which will sizzle so add the onion and stir straight away to prevent the spices from burning. I add a little salt at this point and add more later after tasting.
When the onion is going transparent and just golden put in the ginger, garlic and green chilli and stir.At this point fry until the onions are reduced and a rich golden brown colour
Next add the ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli powder and asafoetida one at a time and stir each one in. Add black pepper. If using tomatoes instead of tomato paste have them ready chopped and add them now, stir and cook for a few minutes
Do not let the mixture burn as it will ruin the curry so add about half a cup of water and stir well.
Add potatoes and carrots and cook gently for 5 - 10 minutes stirring now and then and adding a little more water as necessary so it is a loose sauce. Add green beans and simmer for a couple more minutes then add cauliflower florets, check if it needs a little more water place lid on pan and simmer until cauliflower is almost cooked. Taste the sauce and add more salt if it needs it, add tomato paste if using and stir well and simmer until cauliflower is cooked. I often add a little more oil to make it a little richer but this is optional.
I usually make a dhal, see other posts for dhal recipes, and brown rice to go with this curry and of course fresh fried poppadoms' or chapatis frozen or home made(see recipe in blog), lime pickle, mango chutney and even a sprinkle of fresh chopped coriander leaves.
Experiment and enjoy.

Gomasio

Gomasio is an excellent condiment originating in Japan. It is much tastier than plain salt and is very nutritious. Rich in calcium, magnesium, iron, protein and fibre and tasting great means you can sprinkle it generously on to any savoury dish instead of salt which I do every night on my dinner.

To make Gomasio dry roast a few ounces of sesame seeds stirring to stop them from burning until they start to pop and start to go light brown, you can roast them until medium brown which gives a stronger flavour which is how I prefer them. Remove from the heat and pour onto a dinner plate or baking tray in a thin layer until cold. Pour into a blender and add salt at a ratio of about 10:1, so if you have 10 tablespoons of sesame seeds add 1 tablespoon of salt. My wife finds this ratio a little too salty so I make it with less salt then add more salt to my food if I choose.
When I blend it I hold the blender and shake and pulse until it becomes a course powder. Store in an air tight container and keep next to the salt and pepper so you remember and put it on every meal.

My vegan Mayonnaise free cole slaw

Cole slaw is traditionally made with mayonnaise which has eggs in it. You can buy vegan mayonnaise and it is very good but for this recipe the mayo is replaced with good quality olive oil, organic cider vinegar and tahini (sesame paste).
All three of these are very good for you, regular use of olive oil helps people live longer as noted in countries around the Mediterranean, cider vinegar is still being researched but has been proved to lower blood sugar, lower cholesterol and is anti bacterial amongst many other things and tahini is very rich in calcium, iron, magnesium and much more.

Half a white cabbage
1 medium onion
1 carrot
about half a cup of olive oil
about a third of a cup of organic cider vinegar
1 quarter to a third of a jar of tahini
salt and fresh ground black pepper

Cut the half a cabbage in half top to bottom and then shred by cutting across at a right angle finely.
cut the onion in half top to bottom then in half across the middle then shred like the cabbage at a right angle finely. grate the carrot and mix together with your hands. Once mixed pour on olive oil and cider vinegar and spoon on tahini, add salt and pepper. I use a fork and a spoon to mix it all together which takes longer than you think for the tahini to be evenly distributed. You can add more oil, vinegar or tahini to suit your taste but be generous to get a rich creamy texture. This, like all my recipes are infinitely variable so make it as per recipe first time and then adjust to suit.

Butter bean and tomato soup

This recipe comes from The bean book by Rose Elliot (1979). My wife has made this since I have known her and our children always loved it and still do. In fact friends and family all love it. When eaten with a good whole wheat bread it creates an excellent source of protein due the combination of a pulse and a grain. Also it is quick and easy to make.

1 tin of butter beans
1 to 1 and a half pints of water
3/4bay leaves
2 large onions
1oz vegan margarine
a glug of olive oil
2 tins of peeled plum tomatoes
1 vegetable stock cube
salt and fresh ground black pepper
A little sugar (optional)
chopped parsley, optional garnish

Fry onions in the marg and olive oil until soft then add water, tomatoes, butter beans, bay leaves and stock cube.
Season with salt and pepper and a little sugar if using, bring to a boil then gently simmer for 10 minutes.
Take off the heat, remove bay leaves, a word of warning, if you do not count your bay leaves going in and then obviously count the same amount coming out and you blend a bay leaf in the soup it is not good, in fact inedible and ruined so do count how many, and blend in batches until all done then return to pan and simmer for a few minutes, taste to check if it needs more salt and pepper and serve with whole wheat bread or croutons or both !

vegan quiche

This recipe is very easy. Make short crust pastry using my previous blog with 8oz flour and 4oz marg etc. After refrigerating for half an hour or so roll out and line a greased 8/9 inch cake tin or pie dish, I use a quiche dish which you can buy and is the perfect size, and bake for about 10 minutes at gas mark 7 - 220c. The short crust pastry does not need grease proof paper and rice or any other weight to stop it rising, that method is used for puff pastry when you do not want it to rise but with short crust I just prick the base a few times with a fork

While it is baking fry a chopped onion and some broccoli florets cut into small 20cm pieces for a couple of minutes or until it is just starting to go brown then remove from the heat. Last time I made this I used a large leek instead of an onion and it was very tasty, I made this yesterday with sliced mushrooms, sliced red onions and tenderstem broccoli chopped, this also tasted great.

Place a large block of tofu into a blender ,the Cauldron brand in most supermarkets is fine, I used silken tofu yesterday and it was very good as it did not need any added milk and was very creamy. Add 4 tablespoons of yeast flakes and 4/6 cloves of garlic, half a teaspoon of turmeric and salt and pepper and a little soya milk if needed to make a creamy paste, about a quarter to half a cup or enough so it will pour but is still quite thick, blend until creamy. The pastry should have cooled off a bit so add the vegetables and spread to cover the base then pour the tofu mix over the top. Bake for about 10 / 15 minutes or until it is golden brown and the pastry is not burned, keep an eye on it

This is an infinitely variable recipe, you could try different vegetables like sweet corn or chopped capsicums or you could use a cashew nut cream instead of tofu. Also if you Google vegan quiche you will get lots of ideas but which ever way you go it is quick, easy and very tasty.

Dhal curry with coconut

This is a mild dhal so perfect for children, my children have always loved it as it has a creamy coconut taste.You can make it hotter by adding more fresh green chilli or chilli powder or both if you like it spicy.

4 tablespoons of oil
1 and a half onions chopped
3-4 garlic cloves crushed
1-2 green chilli chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
half a teaspoon chilli powder
8oz red lentils
3 cups water
half a teaspoon of salt
2 oz. creamed coconut

Heat oil in a medium pan and fry onion till just going golden and soft. Add garlic and green chilli, fry for a minute or 2 then add cumin and stir, turmeric and stir and chilli powder and stir.
Add lentils and fry stirring constantly for a few minutes then add water and salt and boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for about an hour stirring occasionally to prevent sticking or burning. If it does stick a bit just remove from the heat for a few minutes after which when you stir it should be unstuck then return to a low heat. If it gets a bit dry just add more water a little at a time or you may end up with a watery lentil soup, the consistency should be thick and creamy.
When the dhal is nearly ready chop the creamed coconut and stir in, it will melt, with a stir now and then, in a few minutes,  and the dhal is ready.

Mixed pepper (capsicum) curry

This is another quick and clever curry side dish from the new tastes of India by Das Shreedharan. This goes really well with rice and dhal.

3 or 4 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon chilli powder or more to taste
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
5 or more curry leaves
500g/1lb2oz mixed bell peppers seeded and thinly sliced top to bottom
salt.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, I use a flat bottomed wok with a lid.
Add the mustard seeds and as they begin to pop add the turmeric,chilli, cumin seeds, curry leaves and salt to taste. Cook stirring for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the bell peppers and 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and cook for 15 minutes on a low heat, stirring occasionally until the peppers are tender. Serve hot.

Okra thoran

Thorans are south Indian vegetable dishes from Kerala.
About 15 years ago when Timeout was a weekly magazine reviewing cinema, theatre, TV, books and more there was a review of a book by Indian, Kerala, chef Das Shreedharan called the new tastes of India. He had opened an Indian vegetarian restaurant in Stoke Newington so along we went and we were very impressed with the food, fresh and delicious. We went many times taking friends and family although we have not been for a couple of years but just writing about it makes me want to go again. We bought the recipe book from the restaurant and this okra Thoran recipe is in it.
This book has little stories between the recipe sections that were so inspiring we decided to go to Kerala and enjoy the food first hand, we have been back many times since and I would recommend all vegetarians/vegans to make a pilgrimage to India and Kerala where you are not considered insane as in most of Europe but normal as a vast amount of the population are vegetarian and it is respected. We have both fallen in love with India and know we will visit as often as we can, on our last visit we toured around Rajasthan with a guide, Ravindra Shekhawat who made the 15 days a magical pleasure with his knowledge of the area and the food.
I have heard Michelin starred chefs berate okra as unpleasant because of the slimy texture but this recipe is delicious and proves that okra, when cooked properly is not slimy at all.

Bhindi (okra) Thoran:

200g/7oz okra
5 tablespoons oil
1 and a half tablespoons mustard seeds
10 curry leaves (fresh or frozen, not dried as they have lost their flavour)
2 dried red chillies, I use 6-8
1 onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
50g/2oz freshly grated or desiccated coconut, I use desiccated and it works fine

wash and cut the okra into 1cm/1/2 inch pieces on the diagonal ( about 45 degrees)
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the mustard seeds, as they begin to pop add the curry leaves and chillies then the onion.
Cook, stirring for 5 minutes until the onion softens.
Stir in turmeric and a little salt. Stir for a minute or two then add okra and cook for 3 to 4 minutes stirring constantly.
Remove pan from heat, add coconut, stir and serve.

This recipe works very well with dwarf green beans instead of okra, shredded cabbage or even beet root. 

Black eyed bean curry

This recipe is a mild curry that is very popular with family, young and old, and friends. It is quick and easy to make and goes great with Okra or green bean Thoran (recipe to follow soon), rice and a poppadum or two. This dish is very tasty the next day, I like it placed on toast and grilled until golden brown.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 inch or 2 of a cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 medium onions chopped fine
250 to 300 grams mushrooms coarsely chopped
4 to 6 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1        "              "      cumin
1       "               "      turmeric
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne
1 tin black eyed beans
1 tin peeled plum tomatoes
salt and fresh ground black pepper
3 tablespoons fresh chopped coriander leaves

Heat oil in medium sized saucepan, add cinnamon and cumin seeds and as soon as they start to change colour and smell good add onions and mushrooms. Fry until golden then add garlic and ground spices one at a time stirring each one in. At this point be careful not to burn the spices, turn down heat if necessary then add tomatoes and coarsely chop in the pan. Put the beans in, add salt and pepper and simmer gently, stirring now and then. Add the coriander leaves just before serving.

As with all my recipes you can adjust all ingredients to suit your own taste, with this recipe you can add another tin of tomatoes if you like it to be more tomato based

vegan sausage tomato balls (scotch tomatoes)

This is another recipe from the excellent recipe book "Healthy eating for a new age" by Joyce d'Silva which I think is still available so well worth getting a copy. In the book she calls this recipe scotch tomatoes. It is very quick and easy to prepare and tastes GREAT.

 2 packets of Granose sosmix. I recently found the original sosmix available from alternative stores in Newcastle by post at https://alternativestores.com/collections/meat-alternatives - copy and paste this link.

 ( when the recipe first appeared about 40 years ago sosmix came as 2 sachets in a box then the company was bought out by granose and they changed the recipe which was no longer vegan. There was quite a large campaign to reinstate the vegan recipe which was surprisingly successful. The only change was that it comes in individual sachets)

2 packets of Granose sosmix or 200 grams of original sosmix.

Generous salt and black pepper
6-8 medium tomatoes
2 oz. vegan margarine, I use the vegan block fat as it doesn't spit so much, I think it has less water in it ?

Mix the sosmix as directed on the packet, 200 grams of Sosmix to 320 ml of water you can add flavourings to it like salt and pepper or English mustard powder, garlic or anything you fancy, one to experiment with. The last few times I made this I added a good amount of salt and fresh ground black pepper and about 2/3 teaspoons of Italian seasoning herbs, I like the Sainsburys one, really tasty. Mix the dry ingredients well before adding the water.

Pre heat oven to about 375f, gas mark 4 1/2, 190c, the recipe states gas mark 6 but I find it too high as it makes the margarine too hot so it spits and sputters and makes a mess of your oven so I just cook it on a lower heat for longer. I have cooked this on the recommended heat setting using the vegan block as it spits a lot less.

Place margarine in a large oven proof dish and put in the oven on middle shelf. While it melts cut the sosmix into 6 or 8 depending on how many tomatoes you have and gently shape it around each tomato to form a ball. This is easier to do if you wet your hands to handle the Sosmix. When you have made them all remove the dish from the oven and roll each ball in the margarine until coated. Place them in the dish so they are not touching and bake for about 40 minutes or until going golden brown, basting once half way through cooking.

These are lovely with boiled baby potatoes and a good salad maybe with a few fried walnuts and a Balsamic dressing added

my lentil pasties

This recipe was devised with first class protein for vegans and growing children in mind. Taking my lead from such classic combinations of first class protein as beans on toast, rice and dhal, rice and stir fry containing tofu, pasta with tofu in the tomato sauce and I am sure many more. So lentils and whole wheat pastry, a pulse and a grain, were combined in a tasty way below.

half a packet of red lentils (about 250gms)
2 medium /large onions
250-300gms mushrooms
 2 sticks of celery
1 teaspoon or more of Natex original yeast extract
sunflower oil
salt and fresh ground black pepper and ground white pepper

Make short crust pastry as in a previous blog using 12oz. whole wheat flour and 6oz. marg, place in a bowl, cover with foil and refrigerate.
Bring to a boil then stir and simmer lentils in enough water to cover them plus about 1cm more above their level, stir every few minutes to prevent sticking and add a little more water now and then until you have a thick creamy consistency when they are cooked, which takes about 20 minutes.
While the lentils are cooking chop and fry veg in a generous amount of sunflower oil until golden brown and the oil separates stirring regularly to prevent burning, this gives the dish a rich savoury flavour. Add the fried veg to the lentils and stir in Natex, simmer for a few minutes, add salt and peppers and set aside to cool
Sprinkle flour on work top and roll out pastry as thin as you can, I usually roll out half at a time. Cut into circles using a 6 inch bowl. Have a cup of water next to your rolling area, take a circle of pastry, dip your finger into the water and moisten the outer half inch of the circle, place a tablespoon of the lentil mixture in the center and fold over to seal the edges shaping the filling as you go, be gentle as you can rip the thin pastry. Place them on a greased baking tray (I use 2 baking trays for this amount of ingredients) and prick each pasty about 6 times with a knife to let the steam out as they cook.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at gas mark 7, 450f, 230c for about 20 minutes until golden brown, great with tomato sauce, hot or cold and can be reheated the next day. I like them with small potatoes and salad.

best vegan chocolate cake

This recipe is from Healthy eating for a new age by Joyce D'silva and it is brilliant, this is the cake that our kids always wanted for their birthday cake. it is full of sugar and bad for you in every way but most importantly nothing had to die to make it so indulge and enjoy as it is cruelty free.

9oz 81% self raising whole wheat flour which can be obtained by sieving whole wheat flour which removes some of the bran.
1oz cocoa powder
5oz soft brown sugar
4 fl oz. oil
10 fl oz. water
2 teaspoons baking powder

Filling:
3oz margarine
5oz brown sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Gently heat water, oil and sugar until the sugar dissolves, and cool completely because if it is hot still it will activate the baking powder too soon and your cake will not rise.
Sift dry ingredients into a bowl and add liquid stirring well.
Pour into two greased and floured sandwich tins, it is important to grease and flour thoroughly to prevent sticking when cooked.
Bake at 350f mark 4 for about 20/25 minutes. Two tests if you are unsure, first is stick a knife in and it should come out clean second is if you press your finger gently into the centre it should spring back up, you can also check it by sight, it should be just going darker at the edges but a combination of all three will give you perfect results. When cooked turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool.
To make filling , cream the margarine and sugar. Dissolve the cocoa in a little water and beat it in. When the cake is cool sandwich it with the mixture.
Melt plain chocolate cake covering, Sainsbury's sell a really nice Belgian chocolate cake covering that is vegan, by breaking it up into a cup/mug in a pan of simmering water like a Bain Marie, and pour/ spread it over the cake until it is covered all over then place in the fridge for 30 mins to an hour until it set and hard. Serve by cutting with a sharp bread knife and pour on a little soya cream or soya milk.
If you follow this recipe carefully it works really well, if it does not work you did not pay enough attention to the detail, when it works it is delicious so worth perfecting, very moreish, enjoy

Vegan shepherds pie

This recipe is a robust winter warmer and goes great with any plain boiled veg like sprouts, spring greens, cauliflower, carrots, green beans or peas. I usually serve it with a combination of what I fancy veg wise and onion gravy. English mustard goes well with it. When I make this pie I always make more than needed as it can be reheated the next night which saves time cooking or my favourite way of using it up is to put it on toast with margarine spread on it under the grill until golden brown and serve it with tom sauce and a knob of melting margarine on top adding salt and white pepper, my mouth is watering as I write.
And so to the recipe.

generous glug, 4/5 tablespoons sunflower oil
3 medium/large onions diced
2/3 sticks of celery chopped
8oz mushrooms chopped
300gms green lentils boiled until soft
1 teaspoon Natex original yeast extract
salt and pepper
2.5kg potatoes
vegan margarine
a little soya milk

Fry onions, celery and mushrooms in the oil, stirring now and then to prevent burning. This mix must be well fried until it is golden brown to give the rich flavour that makes this taste so good.
Add a little salt ( not too much as the Natex is quite salty) and several good twists of black pepper then add the mixture to the lentils which should be soft and simmering gently. Add Natex and a little water to make a gravy, do not add too much water but you want it to be moist and juicy so add gradually until you have a "creamy" consistency.

Once the veggies are on to fry, peel, chop and boil potatoes with a little salt then mash when cooked with some margarine, 1/2 tablespoons, and a splash of soya milk. I add a little salt and white pepper.
Pour the lentil mixture into a large glass or ceramic baking dish and gently spoon on the mash until the lentils are covered. Level the mash with a fork to leave a ridged appearance which helps it go golden on top and place in the oven for about 1/2 an hour at 200-220 or until it is golden brown

Adrians intro

Hello,
this blog is primarily for my children, so that they can recreate the flavours of their childhood.
A few of these recipes came from recipe books 30 or 40 years ago but many are vegan versions of my mother's cooking or made up by me to nourish growing children and family.
As the years have gone by and fortunately there have been quite a few, the vegan way of living is even more essential and obvious. Seventy billion yes SEVENTY BILLION is the estimate for animals bred and killed for nothing other than to make money for massive corrupt corporations and indulge the jaded ignorant taste buds, not the needs of badly informed indulgent human beings. This is madness.
There are many people in the world who live perfectly normal lives on a meat free diet, like the Hindus of India, most Asian Buddhists, and many people in Africa and Europe. So why do we create and terminate 70 billion, consuming so much food and water when we could consume the food and water ourselves and feed every one on the planet without destroying it.
Every life form on this planet is in hell, if you are not enslaved you are exterminated as a pest or in most cases treated horrendously then eaten. Please read "Doctor Rat" by William Kotzwinkle.
So enough of the rant, I could go on endlessly about veganism and the primitive need of humans to KILL and lie and dominate, I hope there is still scope for us to evolve into compassionate, caring and intelligent animals.
Before I close PLEASE READ one of the best books to prove the case for veganism which is "Food for a Future" the complete case for vegetarianism by Jon Wynne Tyson. An excellent book.
He also wrote "The Extended Circle" a dictionary of humane thought, wonderful reading.
Enjoy the recipes x

29/02/2020 UPDATE

As I have grown older, monitoring my body over many years, I have reconfirmed the conclusion that whole foods are definitely the best. Having eaten some white bread, white pasta or white rice I realised that the effect on my system was unpleasant so now avoid where ever possible.
So whole wheat bread and pasta, brown rice and brown flour in cakes and pastries, everything whole grain. Processed foods of any kind should be kept to a minimum so the less processes a food goes through the better quality of balanced nutrition available.

15/04/2020 UPDATE

Corona virus originated from a mutated animal virus possibly from overcrowding and overbreeding and being kept in appalling conditions APPARENTLY. Or maybe it was manufactured in a laboratory in China.

Climate damage/warming that is detrimental to our existence is happening mainly because of breeding 70 BILLION animals a year.
Both of these facts that seem undeniable if you do just a little research tell us that we have to stop using animals in such a disrespectful brutal manner. Obviously I would say the whole world should be vegan, wouldn't that be amazing, but I am a realist so while people fight their addiction to meat just to slowly cut down would be a start because once on a path curiosity should inspire further advances.
So its not any longer an elephant in the room but a cow, pig, chicken, baby lamb or any other unfortunate victim of ignorance in the room that is not being debated let alone being acted upon. Maybe there is a chance for change but I have a sneaking suspicion that there is too much money and power involved with banks and corporations who invest in, among other things, PORK BELLIES.
I can only have hope and optimism for my children, grand children and all people younger than me as I will not be here by the time change does come, if at all, good luck to a species with incredible potential.

16/09/2020 how to be a vegan

So just a few things to think about to help dispel the scaremongering of being a vegan. I am 66 years old and have been a vegan for 46 years, I have never taken a supplement as there is no need to waste your money when you can get everything you need from food and after all these years I am still working physically hard as a gardener . I was talking to a friend today who was concerned about protein in a vegan diet to which I replied that if you combine a pulse and a grain, and there are many examples like beans on toast or rice and dhal which millions in Asia depend on, you will have a first class protein without all the negative energy of eating a corpse.

Also vitamin B12 has been flagged up as a problem in a vegan diet because apparently it is only available from meat sources BUT I read recently that B12 is only in the flesh of animals because they ingest soil as they browse and the B12 is in the soil so don't scrub your veggies too much and remember that many vegan products have B12 in them like my favourite yeast extract, NATEX original, soya milk and other things, another good reason to read the packaging.

Do not worry about being a vegan, with common sense, a little research and a varied balanced diet you will be fine, in fact you will feel a lot better in every way. You are not part of a daily holocaust of suffering, you will think a lot clearer and be more positive for having adopted a truly compassionate life/principal.

With love, have a wonderful life with a clear conscience and a peaceful death confident in the knowledge that you did the right thing and stopped being party to killing of any kind because we all consider our lives to be very precious including all other living things.

vegan lasagne

Tomato sauce

I adapted my mothers spaghetti sauce to a vegan version and would make it to go with spaghetti when the children were small and they still love it
I then decided to use the same sauce to make lasagna and it worked really well.
If you do not like tofu you can replace it with a handful of hazel nuts which also tastes great.

 

6/8 tablespoons olive oil or more if you like

4 medium /large onions diced

1 green pepper diced

1 red pepper diced

10 - 12 cloves garlic

2 - 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning [herbs]

3 tins chopped tomatoes

1/2 tube tomato paste

1 large block tofu

 

Packet of lasagna sheets (vegan lasagna is available from most super markets and whole food shops

good salt and pepper

fry onions and peppers till golden, the oil should separate.

add crushed garlic and herbs fry for 1 minute stirring constantly to prevent burning  then add chopped toms and tom paste and  simmer for about 10 minutes stirring now and then.

next add diced tofu,I cut it to about 1cm cubes, if it is too large it will stop the lasagna sheets laying flat and too small means it could disintegrate, simmer for 5 minutes.

option is to add some chilli oil to make it spicy

 

heat oven to 180 degrees

 

Make white sauce by melting 2/3 tablespoons of margarine and stir in 3 or 4 tablespoons whole wheat flour then add about 3/4 carton of soya milk a bit at a time each time stirring until it goes thick. Add salt and black pepper and about 4 tablespoons of nutritional yeast to give the sauce a savoury flavour.

Place a layer of tom sauce in deep oven proof dish then a layer of lasagna sheets then a layer of white sauce repeat so that you have maybe three layers  but end with a layer of the white sauce.

I crumble vegan cheese on top but it works fine without it.

Bake for 45 mins to an hour until just golden brown.

 

this is great with boiled small potatoes and salad or cold or reheated the next day

vegan cheese

Hello everybody,
vegan "cheese" has often been a contentious issue but to me it always meant something that replaces cheese but is not necessarily a direct substitute.
It could be a creamy cashew cream acting like a cream cheese but with a completely different (better) flavour or it could be nothing like cheese but still have a tasty melting quality as in the recipe I am going to write about.
Despite my ramblings the last couple of years have seen new products on the market that resemble real cheese that are quite nice, I had a cheese and Branston pickle sandwich for the first time in over 40 years and it brought memories flooding back. I also grated a Parmesan impersonator onto my pasta and it tasted really good.
So this recipe is from an old recipe book by Eva Batt I think or it could have been Joyce D'silva or Leah Leneman, just 3 grand dames of early vegan cookery books, well worth a look.
When I was beginning my journey of compassionate living and veganism I read a lot about nutrition most of which made a point about vitamin B12. or a lack of it associated with a vegan diet.
After all these years of reading and talking it appears that the amount needed is miniscule but needed regularly and apparently the daily intake can be helped by not washing your vegetables too thoroughly so that small amounts of soil are ingested I also found that I had  a love of Natex original yeast extract which has added B12 and now many foods like vegan margarine and most plant milks have it added and from what I have been reading B12 is in mushrooms and fermented foods like miso and tempeh in very small amounts.
The recipe is very simple:
melt a couple of generous table spoons of vegan margarine in a sauce pan but do not let it boil or bubble.
Add a large tea spoon of Natex and stir until the Natex melts, this can be done off the heat, and then add a couple of table spoons of soya flour.
Stir until creamy, add more marg if it to thick, transfer to a pudding bowl and refrigerate until firm.
This recipe is obviously adaptable to your own taste so more marg = more creamy and more Natex gives a stronger taste, experiment with it.
Spread Natex onto toast with margarine topped with a spread of Tahini with slices of cucumber or finely chopped spring onion is not only extremely nutritious but tastes amazing just as this vegan "cheese" can be spread onto toast that has a smear of margarine and topped with spring onion and then grilled until the cheese goes golden brown, try it it's delicious.
This cheese is also excellent crumbled finely onto the top layer of white sauce on a vegan lasagne the recipe for the lasagne will be the next one I write up, enjoy the cheese












  

vegan short crust pastry

Hi all, I thought I would start with home made vegan short crust pastry which always works if you follow a few simple steps.
Firstly I always use whole wheat flour, best to avoid all white flour, bread, rice, pasta, in fact any processed food where possible, although some times unavoidable, kept to a minimum and ALWAYS VEGAN being the priority.
So flour and vegan margarine at a ratio of 2:1, for example 8 oz. flour to 4 oz. marg and so on.
Weigh flour, self raising whole wheat or wholewheat spelt flour which I have found really good, used because of my sister in laws wheat intolerance, I recently used wholewheat atta chapati flour which also worked very well but spelt seems to work best, and add some salt to your taste, in an 8:4 mix I would use half a teaspoon, and mix together.
Weigh the marg then rub in gently to the flour using your fingers, it starts off a bit sticky but as you progress it will slowly take on a finer texture. As you rub it in you should lift your hands above the bowl as you rub, letting it fall back into the bowl to aerate the mixture, this is how my mum taught me when I was a boy and it seems to work even though it can most likely be disproved by science.
Once thoroughly rubbed in add 2 or 3 table spoons of cold water and mix gently, I use the flat side of a dinner knife, it may need a little more water but add it carefully as if it is to wet it will need more flour to make it workable but it will make the pastry heavier so go cautiously with the water.
When it sticks together like a bread dough roll it in a little flour to stop it being too sticky, gently form a ball of it and wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 1/2 an hour to an hour.
Sprinkle flour on to worktop and roll out as required, for pasties or tarts roll it as thin as you can, for pies or quiche/flan base roll out a little thicker. Sprinkle flour as needed as you turn it when rolling, a little on top as well to stop it sticking to your rolling pin. If it sticks a bit to the worktop if your lucky it will peel off, if not you will have to roll it out again.
When estimating how much pastry to make too much is better than to little, be creative and make something with the left overs like a jam roly poly or a flan sized jam tart with oats sprinkled on it.
Hope it works, be back soon. x