Saturday 11 December 2010

Stuffed jacket potato with courgette and salad




Stuffed potato skins filled with red onion, vegan Chorizo, soya butter, salt and pepper, topped with vegan pepper jack cheese (from the Christmas party selection)
Serve with courgette reduction with tomato on a bed of lettuce.

Thursday 2 December 2010

Definitely a muffin - Chocolate and Cherry


Definitely a muffin, wholesome but tasty and moreish, not overly sweet, and not spongy. These muffins use lots of healthy ingredients, including flax seeds, whole wheat flour, oats and cherries (ok their not that good for you)

This recipe was developed from my vanilla blueberry muffins, which are developed from Veganomican by the PPK for oaty apple sauce muffins.

Glace cherries
Coco powder
Oats
Wheat flour
Flax/Linseeds (ground)
Soya milk
Cider vinegar
Brown sugar
Vanilla extract

Leek and potato soup with watercress and peas.


Leek and potato soup with watercress and peas.

Watercress and seeded granary bread from the Winchester Farmers Market.
This is get well soup to ward off winter colds, lots of garlic and full of goodness.

Watercress has lots of healthy properties, a great source of vitamins C, B1, B6, K, E, Iron, Calcium, Magnesium, Manganese, Zinc, and Potassium!

Whats more…
By weight, Watercress has more calcium than milk, more vitamin C than an orange and more absorb able Iron than Spinach.
Cut one big leek in half along the length and wash out any soil.
chop into small slices.
Heat a big saucepan with a little oil and add the leeks, place on the lid so that they cook and soften rather than crisp and fry.
After a few minutes add the potato chopped into very small chunks and top up with boiling water.
Add vegetable stock or stock cube to pan and simmer.
after about ten minutes of gentle simmering the potatoes should be near cooked (depends on size of potatoes, check with knife)
add chopped watercress and frozen peas,
stir in garlic puree, or if using fresh chopped garlic add just before pouring in the water.
gentle cook for another five minutes
Blend soup until fairly smooth a few lumps are OK.
Serve with lots of black pepper.
Yum Yum
This would also go great with a bit of mint or coriander.

Sunday 7 November 2010

Bruschetta


Bruschetta
Made during my gluten free two weeks.
Toasted gluten free bread rubbed with oil and garlic
top with onion and tomato and rocket.
Drizzle with balsamic vinegar glace and olive oil.

Green and Red Pasta.

Quick and easy and the tastiest pasta.
Brilliant midweek or lazy weekend dinner.
Pasta (from the Winchester Farmers Market)
mixed with home made pesto,
The Tomato Stall oven roasted tomatoes
Rocket
Avocado
Red pepper
Cook pasta in boiling water for about 10 minutes, stir in pesto, cooked red pepper, dried tomatoes and cook for a few minutes. just before stirring add avocado and rocket and season with black pepper.

Pesto made by blending cashews, basil, a little coriander and garlic, blend with olive oil. any leftover pesto can be frozen in ice cube trays and use one or two for pasta or panninis next time.

Winchester Farmers market and home grown

My home grown runner beans.

The Tomato Stalls yummiest tomotoes

Aubergine (white and purple) butternut squash, rainbow carrots, oven roasted tomatoes, parnip, beetroot, red spring onions, salad, rainbow swish chard.



Halloween special at the farmers markets.



Friday 1 October 2010

Dinosaur cake competitions

Today was Gemma's leaving do at work, a few weeks ago we got a little carried away with ideas and it snowballed...culminating in a Dinosaur cake competitions, both cakes were vegan and one had a gluten free tail. I've named mine TriSarahtops, making it harder to cut into it. Everyone at work was very lucky to have so much yummy cake, Gemmas raspberry and jam and my chocolate with choc butter cream and strawberry jam. Both covered in green ready rolled (but well mixed) icing and decoration. less of the words more of the picture:


Tuesday 28 September 2010

Taste, Season, Enjoy

Risotto:
Vegetable oil or vegan butter
Onion chopped
Vegan Vegetable stock, one to two cubes
Vegan White wine, about a glass
Risotto rice, carnaroli or arborio
Garlic chopped
Vegetables choose from:
Cook before adding: Roasted sweet potato, aubergine, courgette,
Cook in rice: Carrot, celery, sweet corn, peas
Salt and pepper

Use two saucepans, one small pan for the veg stock, which should be kept hot and one bigger pan for the rice.

Melt butter or oil in a pan,
Add finely chopped onion, cook for a few minutes on a low heat,
Add rice making sure it’s coated in the butter/ oil
Turn the heat up slightly
Add wine to saucepan until absorbed by rice
Start adding the stock a ladle at a time until it is fully absorbed, stirring fairly constantly to release the creamy starch, (yum)
Do this until rice is cooked, if you run out of stock near the end, top us stock pan with hot water.
Don’t add too much stock too quickly or the rice will boil.
It should take about 20 minutes one you start adding the stock.
Add the vegetable depending on how long they take, for example add Peas near the end, carrots and celery near the start.



Taste, Season and Enjoy!!

Saturday 18 September 2010

Chicago Diner; Best Milkshake Ever

I was lucky enough to be taken on a trip (albeit hockey focused) to Chicago in February, hasten to add the Blackhawk's games were really entertaining, the food was even more exciting.

I had read and seen videos raving about The Chicago Diner, and it didn't disappoint, even now my veggie boyfriend says the vegan milkshake (chocolate chip cookie dough with peanut butter, nom nom) is the best milkshake ever, full stop!

The food is amazing too! We went there three times in the week we stayed in Chicago, which kinda says it all. The foods really well prices, especially with the conversion from Pounds to Dollars, a hugely filling 3 course meal for two with muffins to take away would only come to about $50, we always walked away stuffed!







Friday 3 September 2010

Peanut, Choc Chip, Banana, Oat Cookie/Cake

Today i had a very sweet craving, and struggled to decide what to make, Muffin? Cookie?
It was definitely a chocolate moment, and peanut butter was calling me too.
Choc chip muffins?
Double choc chip muffins?
Choc chip cookie?
Peanut butter choc chip cookies?

In the end I raided my book shelf and had a good look through Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar , and came across two recipes Peanut Butter Oatmeal cookies and Banana Everything cookies.

As I'm going on holiday and have more Bananas than I can eat, I went for those cookies. i figured despite the peanut butter I added they were a little bit good for me; containing oats, banana, wholewheat flour, flax seeds and mixed seeds.

I didn't flatten them out enough, so have more little cake/ macaroon looking cookies. they are very yummy and very filling and satisfying.

Monday 30 August 2010


Vegan Blueberry Muffins, adapted recipie from Veganomicon's apple sauce and oat muffins.

Wheat Free Vegan Sweet Potato Curry.


Wednesday 23 June 2010

First Vegan Cookies



My first Cookies from the amazing duo who made Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, and now Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.
This was a recipe for Choc Chip Cookies, the first in the book. I had no choc chips so used chopped chocolate in half and raisins in the other half.
They were deliciously soft, moist with a light texture and buttery flavour, they didn’t last long and both veggie and the meat eaters I gave them too liked them lots too!