Southern Fried Chickenless Nuggets

Seitan:
Dry Ingredients:
1 cup Vital Wheat Gluten
3 heaped tbsp chickpea flour
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried sage
Lots of fresh ground black pepper

Wet Ingredients:
¾ to 1 cup cold vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce

Coating:
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp corn flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chilli powder

Mix the dry seitan ingredients in a large bowl then add the oil, soy sauce, and ½ cup of the veg stock. Mix well adding more stock as needed (this will vary from batch to batch) until you have a stretchy, moist lump of seitan dough. Knead for a minute then cut/rip into pieces half the size of how big you want the final product to be.
Boil a large pan of water/veg stock with a tbsp of soy sauce then turn down to a very gentle simmer (the surface of the water should barely be moving). Drop the seitan pieces into the water and partially cover. Leave to cook for 45 minutes then turn off the heat and leave for another 15 minutes.
Mix the coating ingredients in another large bowl.
Drain the seitan and leave to cool in a sieve until you are able to handle it without burning yourself (don’t allow to cool completely though) then toss them in the coating mixture. Give a good mix to ensure every piece is fully coated and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
Heat a deep pan of oil until a piece of bread dropped in turns brown in 10-15 seconds then fry the seitan, in batches, until golden brown and crispy. Drain on a wire rack.

This recipe has been entered into the Virtual Vegan LINKY Potluck

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

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

Low-Fat Veggie Pasta Sauce

This is probably the easiest pasta sauce I have ever had but stills packs a flavourful punch.

1 medium bell pepper (any colour), roughly chopped
1 medium carrot, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 stick celery, roughly chopped
3 fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tin tomatoes
1 vegetable stock cube
1 large courgette, sliced into rounds and quartered
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp olive oil
Salt & Fresh black pepper to taste

Curried Cauliflower with Cumin Roasted Vegetables

600g medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 medium cauliflower, cut into florets
1 medium red onion, halved and cut into thin wedges
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into chunks
1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into chunks
1 orange pepper, deseeded and cut into chunks
2 medium courgettes, cut into 1 cm slices
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp garam masala
1 fresh green chilli, finely chopped
1 tin tomatoes, blended
salt & black pepper

Preheat oven to 210C/Gas 7.

Boil the potatoes in water for about 5 minutes. Just parboil them, you don’t want them cooked through. Meanwhile, place the cauliflower florets in a bowl and cover in cold water to soak for 30 minutes.

In a large non-stick frying pan toast the mustard seeds and 1 tsp of the cumin seeds over a medium heat for about 30 seconds. Stir in 2 tbsp of the oil, the garam masala and 1/2 tsp of turmeric. Cook for a few minutes to release the fragrance before adding the onion. Fry the onion in the spices for 1-2 minutes, stirring often.

Drain the potatoes then toss them in the pan with the onion and spices, season with salt and fresh black pepper. Tip everything into a large baking tray and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.

Take the tray out of the oven and add the peppers and courgettes. Toss together gently to coat in the spiced oil and place back in the oven for a further 30 minutes.

While the potato and veg mixture is roasting, put the rest of the oil into a large pan and set over a medium heat. Add the rest of the cumin seeds to the oil and allow to sizzle for a few seconds. Now drain the cauliflower and add to the pan. Stir constantly for about 2 minutes to coat the cauliflower well in the spiced oil and is starting to brown in places. Add the ground cumin, coriander, green chilli, and the rest of the turmeric as well as some salt and black pepper and gently mix while cooking for 30 seconds. Add the blended tomatoes, bring to the boil then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the cauliflower is cooked but still has some “bite” to it. (Feel free to add peas, beans or greens so the pan for extra tasty vitamins and minerals)

This serves 4-6 people and can stretch even further if served with a cup of cooked rice per person.

Virtual Vegan LINKY Potluck

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