Home-Made Houmous*

Tonight I tried my hand at making humous. Or houmous. Or even humus. Or however you want to spell it. (Or pronounce it.) I had tried making this a couple of times before, from a recipe I found in the Lebanese cook book I mentioned in an earlier post, but wasn't completely satisfied with it. I tried tweaking and still wasn't sure what was wrong, but it just wasn't quite right. The final time I tried that recipe, my hand blender broke in the middle of blending the chickpeas. That was the only sign I needed that me and houmous-making were not a match made in Heaven, and I should give up.

Until today. Today, I decided to ditch the old recipe and usher in a new one. My recipe of choice came from Inspired Taste, and I was sold the minute I read that it was supposed to be better than store-bought houmous. Wow! Also, I now have a food processor, which I reasoned should make the process that much simpler. I was pretty pleased with the results, though I suspect a little more salt or maybe garlic wouldn't go amiss - but this is definitely closer to what I expect from my houmous.

The finished product!

My only concern was that the ingredients weren't blending together too well until I added the chickpeas. And sure enough, when I scraped the finished product out of the food processor bowl, I found some un-mixed tahini. I am pretty certain that this is due to my food processor not being one of the more expensive, snazzy ones, and it probably just couldn't cope with the very small quantity of food I was wanting it to process at first. This is a minor gripe, but probably worth bearing in mind if you are going to attempt this one.

I used my houmous as a baked sweet potato topping, along with some griddled vegetables - yum!

*Side note: every time I talk about 'home-made' anything, I think of the cafe I spotted once in Berlin, which, in an attempt to demonstrate its exotic/multilingual credentials, had a sign outside, proudly proclaiming 'Cake Made Home'. Always made me chuckle!

Baked sweet potato with houmous and vegetables

My dinner :-)

Lentils with Caramelised Onion and Mushrooms

I love lentils. Yes, I know it's a bit of a stereotype, a lentil-loving vegetarian, but if you are vegetarian and don't already love these pulses, then I would suggest that you get out there and start to love them! In all seriousness though, vegetarian or not, lentils are a great food - they are packed with protein, very filling, and really tasty. They are also versatile, though many people instantly associate them with lentil soup, and then can't think of anything else they could make with them.

I mainly use red and brown lentils, but puy lentils are another type that I mean to try (whenever I see a recipe calling for puy lentils, I tend to substitute brown ones - but I should really get out of this habit!). There are plenty more types to discover, but the main thing I find you should bear in mind, is whether the recipe you are planning to make calls for lentils that will go mushy when cooked (like red lentils) or hold their shape a bit better (like brown and puy lentils) - then if you want/need to, it's easy to substitute another lentil that will cook in the same way.

When David and I moved into our first flat, the previous tenant had left behind a few books, including a Lebanese cook book (the Australian Women's Weekly Lebanese Cooking). Of course, I added it to my collection immediately! One of the meals that I discovered from the book was Megadarra, which, although it sounds like some sort of dinosaur or maybe some sort of robotic monster in a Hollywood blockbuster ("Oh no, it's....Megadarra - RUUUUN!!!!") is actually a lentil-based dish. I have altered it a wee bit to my own tastes, but a few years on, it is still very much part of my kitchen repertoire, and so I thought I would share it with you.

It is an easy recipe, but you need to focus on your timings, as you have to monitor two different pans at the same time. If you don't want to do this, you can make your onion and mushroom mix in advance, then make the lentil mix and combine the two at the end - just make sure you properly heat the whole thing through at that stage. This is a lovely dinner (you can serve it with a side salad of your choice) or a satisfying lunch (especially good since it can be eaten cold if you don't have a microwave to heat it up).

Lentils with Caramelised Onion and Mushrooms

(serves 2)

Ingredients:

100g brown lentils

650ml water (plus 2 tbsp water)

2tbsp oil

1 onion, sliced

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

100g mushrooms

100g mushrooms, finely sliced

50g long-grain rice

1/2 tsp ground allspice*

1/2 tsp ground dried coriander leaf

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp black pepper

*Confession: when I first looked for this, I accidentally bought something called 'all spices', which is a kind of spice mix - but you actually want a spice (not spice mix) called allspice. Confusing, I know! If you can't find allspice, try using cinnamon and/or nutmeg in its place.

Method:

Combine lentils and 350ml water in a pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the lentils are just tender (do not overcook - the lentils will continue cooking after this stage!). 

As soon as you have your lentils on, start frying your onions: heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, then add the onions and sugar and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next, add the balsamic vinegar and one tablespoon of water. Cook, stirring, for 10 minutes. Add another tablespoon of water and cook, stirring, for a further 5 minutes or until onions are caramelised. At this point, add the mushrooms and cook until they are nicely browned. Take off the heat and place to one side.

When the lentils have been cooking for their initial 20 minutes, add the rice, 300ml water, the allspice, coriander, salt and pepper to the lentils and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the rice is tender and the liquid has gone. 

Add the onion and mushroom mixture to the lentil and rice mixture, heat through, and serve either warm or cold.

Mushrooms just added to the pan

Mushrooms browning nicely!

Aim for a nice reddish-brown mushroom colour

The Perfect Snack or Side: Delicious, Nutritious, and Soooo Easy Sweet Potato Chips

Sweet potato chips as a side, with a lovely risotto

Ok, I have now had too many compliments and requests for the 'recipe' for this one not to blog about it - the incredibly simple, yet impressive AND delicious sweet potato chips! I have heard a lot of people talking about sweet potatoes being better for you than 'normal' potatoes, but a little research (read: Googling*), I found this to be not completely true - both potatoes and sweet potatoes have great nutritional value, but sweet potatoes have a lower GI index, so won't spike your blood sugar levels as much as ordinary potatoes. They are also a good source of vitamins A and C, and fibre. (I should point out that I am no doctor or nutritionist, but I have tried to get my information from as reputable sources as the internet will allow.) So they may not be better than regular potatoes, but there is no getting away from the fact that sweet potatoes are really pretty good for you.

* Unrelated thought: should the 'g' of Google still be capitalised when you're using it as a verb rather than a proper noun? Being a language geek is my other interest, outside of the kitchen!

If I had to list some reasons I love these sweet potato chips, these would be my reasons:

1. They are healthy (see above - plus, only a little oil or low-cal oil spray is needed, so even better!)
2. They are so, so easy. Really, I can't think of much that tastes this good and takes so little effort.
3. They make a great side dish, or a snack in their own right. If one more person than expected turns up for dinner, you can quickly make some sweet potato chips as a side dish, and bingo! - your meal for four just became a meal for five. But they are also great as finger food when the girls are over for a glass of wine.
4. If you aren't so bothered about being healthy, they are great paired with a nice dip - even just mayonnaise. Or you could mix a crushed garlic clove into the mayo to turn it into garlic mayonnaise - yum!
5. They are quick. Half an hour in the oven, during which you can be cooking your main meal or chilling with your guests/family.
6. They are impressive - despite being about the simplest thing I can rustle up (oops, my secret's out now), these always go down really well with friends and family, and the number of compliments and request for the recipe just prove this.

So, to share my secret with you, here is what to do!

Sweet Potato Chips

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes
a little olive oil or low-cal oil spray
1 1/2 tsps smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC. Wash the sweet potatoes. There's no need to peel them, but you can if you like. I prefer them with the skins on, as they go crunchier, I think. Next, chop the sweet potatoes into chips or wedges, however you prefer them. I normally make mine a bit thinner than a potato wedge. Place into a roasting tin and drizzle with the oil (or spray a couple of times with the spray). Toss the chips around the tin a bit to coat them in oil, and if you feel it needs it (especially if using spray), add a tiny little bit extra oil/spray. You don't want to be able to see puddles of oil lying in the roasting tin, but you are aiming to get as much of the surface area of the chips covered with a thin layer of oil. Ensure the chips are lying in one layer and not on top of one another (see the picture below).

Ensure the chips are laid out in one layer

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, checking on them halfway through and tossing them to ensure they cook evenly on both sides. You can leave them in for longer if you want them crispier, but they will be nicely cooked and a little crispy after 30 minutes. While they are cooking, mix the smoked paprika and salt in a small bowl or ramekin. Once you have removed the chips from the oven, slowly pour the paprika and salt mixture over the chips as evenly as possible, then toss the chips to try and ensure each chip is coated in the paprika and salt mixture. Your sweet potato chips are now ready!

You can, of course, experiment with the spices or other toppings you use. Let me know if you have any other good ideas for amazing sweet potato chips!

Happy New Year!

Happy new year! I hope that you had a great time bringing in 2014, and wish all my readers all the very best for the year ahead. Perhaps one of your resolutions is to cook more, or to reduce your meat intake, or even to go vegetarian - if so, I can help! One of my resolutions is to continue to post regularly on this blog, and to continue to improve it in any way I can. I really enjoy writing it, and hope that you enjoy reading it and maybe trying out some of my recipes. Another, non-food related resolution for this year, is to conquer my fear of motorway driving - and my goal is to drive to a friend's wedding which is about 250 miles away, in the summer. I think it's always good to have a goal in mind along with your resolutions, so you can judge whether you have achieved what you set out to do.

Last year's resolutions included getting fitter, and I think I have kept to this one, as I am (fairly) good at going to one Body Attack class per week and going swimming once a week. And now I have changed jobs and walk to and from work every day, that is a help! 2014 should be even better for fitness, as one of my Christmas presents was the 10 Minute Solution Pilates for Beginners DVD, which I am loving so far. Just need to get into the habit of using it regularly. I love pilates (have been to a few classes in the past) but find it expensive and the teacher I really loved taught pretty far away from me....and then moved to another city altogether. So I think this DVD might be the way forward for me!

What new year's resolutions do you have, and how do you plan to keep to them? Do you have anything you would like me to blog about to help you? (Like maybe recipes that are suitable for allergy sufferers, or recipes containing your favourite veggie ingredient, to help inspire you?) If so, please do let me know!

I thought I would just finish my first post of the year by telling you about my last meal of 2013 (wow, sounds very final and dramatic when I put it like that!). My family and I went to The Lansdowne Bar and Kitchen,  a local west end bar with restaurant area, where we had a meal, then celebrated the new year with a few drinks. I have to say, it was one of the most delicious meals I have had in a long time (and I've had some really excellent ones recently, with all the Christmas dos I've been at). To start, I had vegetarian haggis, neeps and tatties. For those of you unfamiliar with Scottish cuisine, the neeps are mashed turnips and the tatties are mashed potatoes. The 'haggis' was really delicious and the portion size was large (I almost could have had this as a main and been full....though I do have a fairly small appetite). My main course was a mushroom wellington, and it was a-MAZ-ing! Every mouthful brought a new burst of flavour, and it was accompanied by some really tasty vegetables. For dessert I chose a sticky toffee pudding. This was tasty, but to me, the wellington was definitely the star of the meal, and even for someone with as sweet a tooth as me, no dessert could top it. The meal came with a lovely glass of prosecco, and was served by friendly waiting staff.

My only minor quibble about the whole night was that there was no countdown to the bells at midnight - music was playing, and more music, and then suddenly with no announcement, the music cut and we realised it was new year! So a slight disappointment in that respect. But food-wise, I would give The Lansdowne top marks. I have always loved it in the past, but last night really proved that even at busy times like Hogmanay (that's Scottish New Year's Eve), this place can really impress.

As I don't have any photos of the food last night, here is my parents' dog, Molly!

Day Trip to Whole Foods Market

Giant meringues - pistachio and (I think) raspberry flavour

My friend Anna (from Pink Pom Poms) and I had been talking for a long time about how much we wanted to visit Whole Foods. Now I don't mean just an ordinary 'stock up on some organic/speciality ingredients' trip, but our first EVER trip to Whole Foods Market! The first (and so far, only) Whole Foods in Scotland opened just outside Glasgow a couple of years ago, and I had been wanting to go ever since. But it was not until this weekend that I finally made the pilgrimage (in my defence, although it is fairly local to me, it still involves getting two buses and a journey time of almost an hour to get there). I went with Anna and her mum, and it was well worth the wait! We had lunch in the cafe - delicious sandwiches (though challenging to eat due to how fully stuffed with filling they were) and wee cakes (I had pumpkin pie, yum!) - and bought lots of great goodies in the store itself for sampling later.

Our lunch - half demolished!

Whole Foods, for those not familiar with it, offers a luxury and organic approach to supermarket shopping, with a great range of more unusual and varied fruit and vegetables, a bulk bin section with lots of nuts and grains, and plenty of speciality and healthy foods (e.g. sushi ingredients and coconut water). There was also an impressive selection of cakes and sweet delights, including the giant meringues that I just HAD to take a photo of to share on here! Not surprisingly, perhaps, there was a lot on offer for vegetarians - both raw ingredients and ready meals, plus kind of 'in-betweeny' stuff like pre-marinaded tofu. So partially prepared raw ingredients, I suppose you could say. 

I came away with the following:

1. Polenta - I was given a lovely new cookery book (Vegetarian by Susan Abbott) for Christmas from my brother, and one of the recipes I want to try calls for polenta. I have tried polenta in restaurants before, but never actually cooked with it. I thought I'd go all out and actually prepare the polenta myself, rather than get the ready to use stuff....so that's a kitchen experiment I'll be trying soon. It worked out much cheaper to get the polenta from the bulk bins than pre-packaged (£1.19 per kg in the bulk bins, and I can't remember exactly how much it was pre-packaged, but I think it was about £1.99 for 500g - so a lot more expensive!). 

2. Tempeh - this is something that I have been reading about recently and as a result have been curious to try. As far as I can tell it is somewhat similar to tofu, in that it is a soy product and can be used in place of meat in dishes. However, it has higher levels of protein and vitamins than tofu and apparently a different texture, so I am really excited to try this one out! If anyone has any recipes or ideas of what to do with the tempeh, please let me know. Otherwise, I will most likely just be trying out whatever a wee Google search suggests.

3. Brown lentils - normally I get these from a local Asian grocery store, but I had run out on this particular day and needed them for dinner (my yummy lentil 'meatballs'), so thought I would take advantage of my trip to Whole Foods. Again, I got these from the bulk bins, which is nice to be able to do, as you can buy as much or as little as you like. I can't remember how much the lentils normally cost at the Asian store, but they did not seem overly expensive to me at Whole Foods, at £1.62 per kg.

4. A brew-your-own ginger beer kit. I thought this might be fun for David to try out, as he likes ginger beer, and I always think it's interesting to know how your favourite food and drink is actually produced.

  

I also noticed they sold Tofurkey, which I wouldn't mind trying one day (though it could never beat my amazing nut roast as a Christmas dinner!), but you could only buy the whole thing for £29.99, which was a bit steep for just wanting a quick taste. Speaking of tasting, we were given some smoothie samples in the store. However, it only served to remind me of the fact that I really don't like smoothies that much. The sales girl was very nice when I said I didn't like it and handed the half-finished shot glass back to her! 

Actually, as well as a great range, I would have to compliment Whole Foods on its great customer service. We were served by a very pleasant lady at the check-out, which just added to the feeling of a real luxury shopping experience. 

I would highly recommend a trip to Whole Foods to any foodies, anyone with special dietary requirements who may need more specialist ingredients, or anyone who prefers to eat as healthily/organic as they can. Overall, we all really enjoyed our trip to Whole Foods, and are just hoping that they open a Glasgow west end branch of the store (though it may bankrupt me if they do!).

Christmas Nut Roast

The finished product!

One of the most common questions I get asked when people find out I'm a vegetarian, especially at this time of year, is 'but what do you eat for Christmas dinner?'. People seem genuinely interested in hearing about this, and lots of people tell me that they could imagine giving up meat to a certain extent, but could never give up their Christmas turkey. All year round I can meet people who say they can't imagine giving up meat, but I think that these feelings are magnified at Christmas time, when the contemplation of a meat-free Christmas dinner is just too much for some!

So I am really excited to tell you all about my stilton and nut roast, that I made this year and last year, and thoroughly enjoyed both times. The best thing is that as I'm the only one eating it, there are always plenty of leftovers, which is good, as it's really delicious! The recipe comes from a book called The Vegetarian Cookbook: From Earth to Table by Nicola Graimes and Fiona Biggs. I love this book, and have tried a few of the recipes so far, but after years of searching for the perfect Christmas dinner recipe, it is their nut roast recipe that I love the most. I have made some minor changes, so the recipe below is not the original, but the slightly tweaked version. 

A few things I love about this recipe:

It calls for roasted chestnuts. So now I have an excuse to roast chestnuts on Christmas Eve and eat the leftovers....yum! This really gets me in the Christmas spirit - such a simple, old-fashioned tradition - and so tasty. Sadly I do not have an open fire on which to toast them, but even in the oven, they're still good.

I prepare this nut roast the day before, getting everything chopped, mixed, and layered into the tin and covered with foil, but I don't cook it until the next day (Christmas Day!) - so all the more time to chill out and enjoy a bit more time with the family on the day. No matter how much I or anyone else loves to cook, who wants to spend Christmas Day slaving away in the kitchen?

Making my own nut roast may take a little time, but I feel that makes it all the more special to eat on Christmas Day. As soon as I have got the raw ingredients in the tin on Christmas Eve, I can't wait to get my Christmas dinner the next day!

It is very forgiving - as I already mentioned, I have changed some ingredients and quantities from the original recipe. But I even adjust the oven times and temperatures to suit the turkey that my mum is cooking in the oven at the same time. And the nut roast still turns out great*. 

I should also admit something that may shock cheese lovers here, but will appeal to anyone who is a savvy shopper watching their pennies: I used Morrisons Savers blue cheese rather than actual Stilton....and it tasted great! So even with more budget-friendly ingredients, this roast is still a yuletide winner, and it won't break the bank.

* It's best if you can adhere to the times and temperatures in the recipe as this makes the roast hold together better, but if you can't, due to conflicting temperatures of other food in the oven, it is still possible to cook the roast nicely and it will still taste lovely.

I hope that you all had a very merry Christmas, and that Santa was good to you. I'd love to hear what all the other veggies out there eat for their Christmas dinner - please leave a comment below and let me know! And if you are looking for new inspiration for next year's Christmas dinner, or simply a nice vegetarian roast to serve up at another time of the year, then look no further than the following recipe.

I made the mistake of not lining the tin...

Christmas Nut Roast

Ingredients:

2 tbsps oil, plus extra for greasing tin

2 onions

5 garlic cloves, crushed

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

150g roasted and peeled chestnuts (about 250g unpeeled, uncooked chestnuts)

200g mixed chopped nuts

55g ground almonds

55g fresh breadcrumbs

215g Stilton (or another blue cheese), crumbled

30g Cheddar cheese, grated

a handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 egg, beaten

salt and pepper

1 red pepper, finely sliced

115g courgette (for me this was about half a fat courgette), cut into rough chunks

Method:

If you are cooking the roast on the same day as preparing it, start by preheating your oven to 180ºC. If you are cooking it the next day, leave the oven off just now; you're not going to need it. Lightly grease and line a 900g loaf tin.

Finely chop one onion and fry in a little oil with the celery and three of the crushed garlic cloves over a medium heat. Fry for about 5 minutes. If you are making your breadcrumbs from a slice of bread, this is  a good time to make them in the food processor, while you wait for the onion, celery and garlic to cook. 

Put the onion, celery and garlic into a food processor and add the breadcrumbs, all the nuts, half the Stilton, the Cheddar and the basil. Pulse until combined, then add the egg and gradually blend to create a stiff mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

Finely slice the remaining onion and fry over a medium heat in a little oil with the courgette, red pepper and remaining garlic. Fry for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally. Take off the heat and season with salt and pepper.

In the tin, ready to be cooked!

Place half of the nut mixture into the loaf tin and smooth down. Next, add the courgette and pepper mixture as the middle layer, crumbling the remaining Stilton over the top. Finally, top with the remaining nut mixture and smooth down. Cover with foil. If you are cooking the roast the next day, pop the tin in the fridge at this point, until you are ready to cook it.

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 25 - 35 minutes, or until cooked and firm to the touch.

Slice and serve with roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, bread sauce, cranberry sauce, veggie gravy, veggie stuffing.....and anything else that is part of your favourite Christmas dinner!

Deli-Style Aubergine, Roasted Red Pepper, Mozzarella and Pesto Sandwich

I haven't blogged in a while, probably due to general laziness brought on by the festive season. Christmas - the perfect excuse to eat too much, drink too much, not go to the gym, and just generally laze about doing not too much at all. I love it! Anyway, despite not blogging much, I have been busy in my veggie kitchen, and today I thought it was about time to stop being so lazy and actually write about some of the yummy food I have been creating.

Going hand in hand with the whole 'taking it easy' part of Christmas, I took a couple of days off work this week. On days when I'm not working, I love that I don't have to plan and make my lunches in advance, and so yesterday I took advantage of this by popping to the supermarket for a few random ingredients and experimenting to come up with what may now be my favourite sandwich EVER! Aubergine, roasted red pepper and mozzarella all go together so well and instead of butter, I used pesto to really make this sandwich something special - like something you'd order out of a deli. I loved it so much that I also figured out a way to turn it into a packed lunch (well, almost - a kind of cheat's packed lunch) which I'll explain after I've told you the main recipe.

Deli-style sandwich - ignore the fact that the pepper looks like a tongue
(thanks to David for pointing this out!)

Aubergine, Roasted Red Pepper, Mozzarella and Pesto Sandwich

Ingredients (per sandwich):

2 slices (sliced lengthwise) aubergine

1 ciabatta roll (or other fancy bread roll)

1 tbsp pesto

2-3 slices mozzarella

1/2 roasted red pepper (from a jar, unless you can be bothered roasting your own, which I never can - wash it under running water first to get ride of all the oil, then pat dry so it doesn't soak into the bread)

Method:

Pre-heat a griddle pan and place your aubergine strips onto it. Wait until the lines are charred into the under-side, then turn over and cook on the other side until also charred. Remove from the griddle pan. At this stage, you may like to chop the strips into smaller pieces, to make them more manageable to eat once they're in your sandwich (I find that, much as the whole strips look prettier, when I take a bite out of my sandwich, the whole strip can get dragged out, rather than just the bite I wanted to take!). Cut the roll in half and spread the pesto over the bottom half. Layer all remaining ingredients on top - aubergine, then mozzarella, then red pepper. Close the roll and there you have it - the perfect sandwich!

Packed lunch method:

If you want to make the filling ahead of time, simply place the aubergine (definitely chop it into smaller pieces, in this case), mozzarella, red pepper and pesto into a small plastic tub and mix together. To get the full deli effect, if you work close enough to a supermarket or bakery where you can buy a fresh bread roll at lunchtime, buy the roll just before you prepare your sandwich. Ok, so you still have to pop out to buy it, but you only spend 30-50p as opposed to £3-£5 on a full deli sandwich. If you don't have the option of popping out to buy a fresh roll, I would suggest taking a roll with you and only assembling the sandwich right before you eat it, rather than putting the filling on at home and allowing it to soak into the bread. This way, you still feel like you're eating a fresh sandwich rather than a crushed lump out of the fridge.

If you try making this, please let me know what you think. What other deli-style sandwiches have you made DIY versions of? I'd love to hear your ideas!