Simply Delicious Coleslaw

Nothing tastes better than homemade coleslaw so here is a very quick and easy ‘slaw to stuff in your maw

Coleslaw

1/4 medium white cabbage, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, grated
400ml vegan mayo (you can also use half mayo, half dairy-free yoghurt if you want to reduce the calories slightly)
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional)

Throw everything in a large bowl and give it a good mix. Chill for 30 minutes before serving.

(I told you it was quick and easy)

Everyone Loves Houmous

I don’t know about you but I find I am at my most creative in the kitchen when my purse is empty and all I have to work with is what I have in the house (the longer I have to go without buying fresh ingredients the more creative I get). For this reason I always have dried beans and lentils in the cupboard along with plenty of dried herbs and spices, and a bottle of lemon juice in the fridge. One thing I’ve recently started doing is freezing vegetable waste (peelings and the like) in a bag to use to make vegetable stock which in turn is frozen until I need it. (Thank you Thug Kitchen for that idea!) Today has been one of those days where I haven’t been able to go grocery shopping since before christmas and I really really want some snacks. I had a bar of dairy-free 70% dark chocolate that had bloomed past being edible as is so that was melted down and mixed with some vegan puffed rice to make crispy cakes, then I whipped up some oatmeal cookies using the porridge oats and whole wheat flour I had sitting at the back of the cupboard. Finally, I made this simple and lower-fat version of houmous which uses vegetable broth to replace most of the oil.

Simple Lower-Fat Houmous

1/2 cup dried chickpeas
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove, finely diced
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup cold vegetable stock
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Mock Duck Spring Rolls

300g Mock Duck
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
5-6 spring onions, sliced
1 tbsp cornflour
8 spring roll wrappers
oil for frying

Marinade:
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp chinese 5-spice powder
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp Shaohsing rice wine

Vegan Cinnamon French Toast

Tastes even better with a rustic loaf!

2 tbsp self-raising flour
1 tbsp cinnamon powder
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp Vegg (optional)
1 small banana, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt
4 tbsp non-dairy milk (plus extra)
2 slices thick bread
1 tbsp vegan butter/margarine

Mix the flour, cinnamon, nutritional yeast, salt, and Vegg (if using) in a bowl and add the vanilla, bannana, and milk. Mix thoroughly then pour into a wide dish.

Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add the butter/margarine. Once hot, dip a slice of bread into the batter coating both sides and place in the frying pan. Cook gently without touching until the botttom is golden brown (3-5 mintutes). Turn and repeat for the other side. Repeat with the other slice.

Serve warm, sprinkled with a little icing sugar (powdered sugar).

Carrot and Potato Gnocchi

This simple recipe is very time-consuming but definitely worth the effort if you have an afternoon free. This makes a large amount but, if you line the formed gnocchi on a lightly dusted tray and pop in the freezer for a couple of hours, you can store the extra in bags in the freezer for future use.

450g potatoes, whole and unpeeled
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
450g plain flour

Delicious Parsnip Soup

This recipe came about because I had some vegetables that needed to be used up and I had quite a few parsnips. I had made parsnip soup before but this has got to be the tastiest version I’ve ever had!

Parsnip Soup

5 parsnips, peeled and diced
1 small carrot, peeled and diced
1 small onion, peeled and diced
1 medium leek, roughly sliced into rounds
1 small to medium potato, peeled and diced
1 large clove garlic, roughly chopped
1.5 ltrs vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive/rapeseed oil
2 tsp dried mixed herbs
Sea Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Easy Peasy Potato Cheesy!

This is a recipe for a delicious cheesy flavour dip made from potatoes. Yes, you did read that correctly POTATOES! I found a recipe for potato based cheesy dip by accident and have now developed my own version. I wish I had bookmarked the page but unfortunately I didn’t however full credit for the initial idea goes to that person!

Potato Based Cheesy Dip

500g Potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup olive/rapeseed oil
1-2 cups nutritional yeast (adjust to taste)
1 tsp mustard powder (or 1/2 tsp english mustard)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper (or more for a bit more kick)
1 cube vegetable stock

Pea & Asparagus Soup

Pea & Asparagus Soup

1 bunch asparagus (or two bunches of asparagus ends) minus the white part, sliced
hand full of frozen peas
1 small potato, diced
1 pint mushroom or vegetable stock
1 small onion, diced
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chives, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

Heat the oil in a pan then add the onion. Cook until translucent.

Add the asparagus, potato and stock to the pan and bring to the boil before turning down to a simmer. Alow to simmer until the potatoes are cooked through then add the peas and chives.

Use a blender to blitz the soup until smooth, add more water if too thick, then add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with warm crusty rolls.

Buffalo Cauliflower

Buffalo Cauliflower

1 cup water or plant milk of choice
1 cup plain flour
2 tsp garlic powder
1 head of cauliflower, broken into pieces
1 cup hot sauce (I like Frank’s Buffalo Sauce)
1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 450F/232C/Gas 8

Combine the water/milk with the flour and garlic in a bowl, mixing until smooth.

Coat the cauliflower pieces in the batter and place in a single layer on a shallow baking dish. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Combine the hot sauce and oil thoroughly in a clean bowl.

Once the cauliflower is baked, pour the hot sauce mixture over the top, coating each piece completely (you may wish to use a pastry brush to get in all the nooks and crannies). Place back in the oven for a further 5-8 minutes.

Delicious served hot dipped in Vegan Sour Cream & Chives.

Thai Style Sweet Potato Cakes

This recipe is great for when you have left over sweet potatoes from the day before.

Thai Style Sweet Potato Cakes

1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes, cooked

1 garlic clove, minced

1 handful coriander, chopped

1 medium green chilli, chopped and deseeded (unless you like the heat)

2 tsp plain flour

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

Oil for frying

Remove the skin from the sweet potatoes and place the flesh into a bowl with the garlic, coriander, chilli, flour, salt, and pepper.

Mash together thoroughly.

Divide the mixture into 6 balls and flatten each while coating in the bread crumbs.

Fry each of the cakes in the oil for 3-4 minutes, or until brown, flip and fry the other side for a further 3-4 minutes.

Serve warm with Coriander & Mango No-Yoghurt Dip