I started off the week on Sunday making vegetarian Haggis as it was Burns Night on Monday. I’d never eaten the meaty version in my pre-vegan days but I tried some of the veggie stuff when I visited Glasgow for work last year and bought a tin home with me. I decided to make some from scratch as I hadn’t seen it sold anywhere nearby. I did end up seeing some for sale at Vx near Kings Cross but I’d already picked out my recipe by then! I used this recipe from the lovely Sareta and then I stole an idea I saw on twitter and layered the haggis with neeps (swede) and tatties (potatoes) so it was sort of like a shepherd’s pie. I really liked the haggis with its spicy, peppery flavour and as its quite dense it was really filling.

For dessert I finished up my vanilla Swedish Glace ice cream with some chocolate agave syrup I had in the cupboard and saved on the washing up!

I had half a tin of kidney beans left from the haggis recipe so I ate them for breakfast the next morning mashed with some onion and garlic and a couple of samosas that needed using up.

As I now have an open jar of hoisin sauce from my mock duck dish (see last week’s round up) I had some in a roll for lunch on Tuesday with a couple of my oaty sausage patties and some cucumber and spring onion. This is was so tasty and such a treat at lunchtime!

I had a doctors and a hair appointment on Tuesday so didn’t have time to cook when I got home so it was more haggis pie, this time with baked beans.

On Wednesday I had dinner over Mum’s after swimming and she had made a recipe from “A Vegan Taste of India” which I had bought her partner for Christmas. Its always good to buy cookbooks as Christmas presents as hopefully the recipients will make you something from them! This is okra and peanut hotpot which was lovely and filling after a good swim.

On Thursday I made one of my now favourite quick dishes! This was so easy to make and tasted amazing! You simply put most of the ingredients which have been chopped and peeled etc into the pan, fast boil for 9 minutes and then add the cabbage to wilt at the end and you have a tasty pot of sweet chilli vegetable noodles. Dinner was served in less than 20 minutes (and probably eaten in about 3!) Find the recipe to try for yourself here.

At the weekend we traveled down to the coast to stay with my cousins Dan and Amanda. Amanda loves to cook and had picked out some vegan recipes to make especially for me! On Friday we had three bean chilli with some coated sweet potato wedges. The chilli was very tasty and not too spicy and the wedges were a nice change from rice.

On Saturday we went into town and did a bit of charity shop shopping (post to follow!) and stopped for lunch in a local cafe. I had jacket with beans (no butter) with a side salad. Unfortunately they’d put coleslaw on it right in the middle but I managed to eat around it!

For dinner Amanda made a great roast with a mushroom loaf as the main event for me. I love a good mushroom and this also had parsnips running through it which was gave it a lovely sweetness.

Later in the evening we were playing board games and eating snacks. I had a good few tortilla chips with this new Cucumber, Gin and Mint relish from Marks and Spencer. It says on the jar to have with fish but it is quite sweet so I’m not sure if that would go. It was also good on the garlic bread we were munching on. It’s £1 at the moment as an introductory offer so I woulld recommend you try it out although you may get addicted to it!

I had an almond milk hot chocolate before bed with this rocky road edition from Whittards, I enjoyed it and could taste the vanilla in it but I wouldn’t recognise it as rocky road if I didn’t know. I didn’t really taste anything particularly marshmallowy or cherry-like.

Over the weekend Amanda unfortunately developed a cold so made an Asian noodle dish she had found online to try and clear her sinuses. With the amount of chili she put in it I’m surprised she didn’t blow her head clean off! I am pretty much a weakling when it comes to spicy food and although this had some really lovely flavours I did have to glug down my drink afterwards!

When we went to Deal in November (you can read about it here) Amanda gave me some rose lemonade tea to try. I love anything rose flavoured (or scented) so this really hit the spot. She bought me a box to take home with me today and I can’t wait to have some with my breakfast tomorrow!

I can’t believe it’s the end of January today and of course also the end of Veganuary. I’m really interested to see the feedback from the campaign this year and how many people will be continuing with their vegan journeys. I challenged my Mum to go veggie for January and she has decided to carry on with it so I’m a very happy bunny! I’ll have her vegan in no time 😉

Plumes x

The week started on Sunday with a seitan stew my Mum’s partner made.

On Monday I used up one of my portions of lentil loaf from the freezer with some steamed carrots and parsnips that needed using up with a potato and frozen spinach.

In the mornings I’ve been having soaked oats with chia and flax seeds. If I’m being a bit fancy I chop up a banana into it.

I had some seitan curry for lunch one day at work this week. I take my lunch in most of the time so I know what’s been used in it and it’s a lot cheaper!

The next day I had avocado simply with a bit of salt and pepper and my fave sandwich filling chickpea mayo. This is mashed chickpeas, mustard, mayo, capers, spring onions and black pepper.

We were running low on supplies so an easy dinner is dhal with rice. I bought some samosas on the way home to go with them.

On Wednesday I was suppose to go swimming with my Mum but unfortunately due to trouble with the trains by the time I got in it wasn’t worth it. I was really cheered up by this shepherds pie with chestnuts my Mum made.

On Thursday we had a Chinese and I had my favourite sea spice beancurd with rice. This was definitely a treat.

On Friday it was more tofu with this sweet chilli tofu with noodles from wasabi. This was really nice but a bit spicy for me.

On Friday night we went to my in-laws and had a roast with a spicy bean burger. I also had some raspberry ice cream which I had left over in the freezer from our last visit.

On Saturday I had a simple lunch of houmous and mini rolls. One was piri piri and the other came with an olive tapenade, which makes a lovely change.

On Saturday I went out for a Japanese meal with my Sister-in-law. You can read the full review here.

Today I had a vegetable pasty from West Cornwall Pasty Co. It’s great to be able to pick up something for lunch when going through a station. It even won an award.

My dinner tonight was something I’ve been looking to for a while. I got some mock duck and had Peking pancakes with Hoisin sauce. So tasty and easy to make at home.

Looking at my week’s food it seems I had a very Eastern week although I didnt plan it that way. I wonder what kind of week I’ll have next week!

Plumes x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having been cooking a lot last week I have a freezer full of food I need to start getting through!

On Monday I made the last of my batch cooks for a while with two veg curries I made using Spiced! South Indian spice paste. The one on the left had broccoli, butternut squash, courgette, pepper and celery, and the one on the right had tomatoes, potatoes, aubergines, chickpeas and mushrooms. The spice paste is lovely and well rounded and I used some fresh chilli and cayenne pepper in the right one for a hotter curry.

On Tuesday I started the day with baked bananas with some coconut cream. So tasty!

I had heard a lot about the new fruit crumble bar from Costa that is the first from a coffee chain to have the Vegan Society logo. Mum and I shared one with a soya latte each. It was lovely to be able to have a cake option in a coffee shop although I think I will keep it to the occasion treat!

Following that I had a healthy lunch before swimming. I showed Mum how to make houmous with cannellini beans and we enjoyed it with some salad.

In the evening I used up some of my fresh veg by making bubble and squeak and served it with the  new vegan Quorn spicy burger. I enjoyed the burger, especially the crispy crumb. Its nice to have something easy in the freezer, although I will probably stick to Fry’s products for that.

On Wednesday I had my second portion of Monday’s curry. I think I got about 4 portions of each from the pans in the earlier photo.

I stayed at my Mum’s at the weekend as we were spending Saturday together and my Husband was going to visit his family. So I did a quick, lazy dinner before she and her partner picked me up on Friday. You can’t beat burger, beans and hashbrowns!

On Saturday Mum and I went to a vintage fair which you can read about here. For lunch I already had the falafel stall Pilpel in mind, but we had a little look around and also found an Ethiopian stall serving vegan food so we got both and shared. I really like Ethiopian food and always get it when I go to the food market at St Katherine’s dock. I really enjoy the sour injera bread which is made with teff flour. I love how colourful this photo is and feel like I want to eat it all over again!

My Mum and her partner are just over half way through their vegetarian January so I asked her whether there was anything she was surprised by. She said she was surprised that she didn’t miss meat at all (!), how easy it was to plan meals and how excited by beetroot she was!

After we saw Miss Saigon we had dinner at Raw at La Suite West. You can read the full review here.

On the way home from the restaurant we stopped in an Asian supermarket which I also did on my previous two visits to La Suite West! They are great for vegan finds and I look forward to using these ingredients.

Today I raided my freezer and had some oaty sausage patties and marrowfat peas which I had cooked and frozen for easy reheating. I paired these with some mushrooms I had in the fridge which needed using up and potato.

As the weather has turned colder I’m glad I have lots of meals ready in my freezer for when I get home from work and can heat up quickly. Brrr!

Plumes x

I started off the week on Sunday using up some red pepper risotto from the freezer and topped with some almond feta.

One of my favourite products at this time of year is Bottled Green’s spiced berry cordial. This is lovely to have hot or with sparkling water and on Christmas day we had it topped up with champagne. It’s a lovely non-alcoholic alternative to mulled wine.

I made some leek and potato soup this week with some left over mashed potatoes. I always think its really important to use up leftovers and if you can do it in a different way even better! I paired this with a lovely fresh salad so I didn’t fill up too much on bread.

My husband received a trio of meat rubs as part of his Christmas presents so I marinated some seitan I’d made last week with creole spices. It was very tasty and definitely something I will do again.

I don’t drink many hot drinks at home but I do love a matcha latte. Matcha is the concentrated Japanese green tea powder. When we went to Japan last April for our honeymoon I was in heaven as I love matcha and could get so many different products flavoured with it! I picked up some more powder as its so much cheaper out there so I have a supply for a while. I love to pair it with vanilla soya milk so its slightly sweeter and I use my mini electric whisk for coffee shop style froth!

I’ve been filling my freezer with easy meals this week in anticipation of going back to work on Wednesday. These are oaty sausage patties which are so easy to make, I liken them to a savoury flapjack. I try and have them with mashed beans rather than starchier veg due to the high carb content.

This is a product I’ve seen on social media and I’m so happy to have picked it up in my local Tesco – vegan Vienetta! This is a Jewish product, as it is not Kosher or Parve to eat meat and milk in the same meal there are many dairy free products, which is also great for us vegans! This is pricier than a regular Vienetta at £5.50 although it is also larger. My Husband said he couldn’t taste any difference, but I told him hands off! and I’ll get him a regular cheaper one if he wants any!

I order my shopping online and when I ask for sweet potato I normally end up with a huge monster, but this week it was the smaller one I ever had. so I baked it and paired with a seitan steak and veg.

I used up the last of my almond feta in a toasted sandwich with salad and another matcha latte.

More soup! This time creamy parsnip, with a tin of chickpeas to thicken it.

I made more bread this week, hopefully something I will continue once I go back to work. I didn’t get a chance to have any of this, so sliced and put it in the freezer to use in the week. I find it very therapeutic making bread and its so much cheaper, tastier and none of those nasty additives!

My Mum’s partner made a couple of lovely curries this week, a jalfrezi and a rogan josh. They were served with brown rice, yogurt and pitta as the naan weren’t vegan.

I loved looking through these classic vegetarian cookbooks my Mum had, especially the photographs!

We had my Aunt and Uncle over for dinner on Thursday. My Aunt had requested a tasting menu so I decided to make this Caribbean feast. I made jerk seitan, rice and peas, ackee and tomatoes, fried plantain, boiled green bananas, callaloo and fried dumplings.

For dessert I made a Jamaica ginger cake which was adapted and veganised from a Delia Smith recipe. My guests also brought some gorgeous flowers including my favourite gerburas.

When we went to Berlin in January 2014 my Husband tried some curry wurst but wasn’t very impressed. When I came across a vegan recipe I thought I’d give it a go. To make the sausages you make a dough with vital wheat gluten wrap in foil (as it is quite soft) and bake in the oven, then you slice and fry. I used them in pittas with white bean houmous, salad and the curry ketchup drizzled over the top.

I had some apples I needed to use up so I stewed them and had with custard and crumbled ginger cake one day and coconut cream the next.

I had some more of the white bean houmous I had made with warm pitta and salad for lunch with french dressing.

I made a moussaka which I had the recipe for in my internet bookmarks for a while. I used to bookmark a lot of recipes and then never make them so I try to get round to it a lot quicker nowadays. I really liked this dish although my Husband wasn’t so keen so I have the leftovers in the freezer ready to take to work for lunch.

Lastly on the food front I made this pizza last night using butternut squash rather than tomato in the sauce and topped with red onion, broccoli, chickpeas and cashew cheese. I found the sauce a bit too sweet so I might adapt it next time.

Yesterday we visited my Dad’s grave for the first time since his funeral and then had a long walk around the forest opposite the cemetery. We saw some lovely views looking over London as the sun went down.

Plumes x