Showing posts with label Vegetarian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vegetarian. Show all posts
We were supposed to go to a Pot Luck lunch today (Tuesday) but we ended up not going because Todd had had a bad night's sleep. I ended up with a big bowl of this delicious salad, but no worries. I won't mind having it for lunch for a few days. Its quite healthy, and low in fat, high in fibre and well, just really tasty!
I love salads made with Israeli couscous. Also known as Ptitim , Israeli couscous is a type of toasted pasta shaped like rice grains or
little balls developed in Israel in the 1950s when rice was scarce.
Outside Israel, it is typically marketed as Israeli couscous, Jerusalem
couscous, or pearl couscous.
When we lived down South, I used to pick up a butternut squash, couscous and rocket salad at one of the local shops that I really, really liked. It just really lends itself to these types of salads.
The recipe is one that I adapted from a newsletter I get from Simple Nourished Living. It is a weight watchers friendly recipe as well as being very high in fibre and diabetic friendly. She used Orzo pasta. I did not have any orzo pasta, and used the Israeli couscous instead. It worked perfectly.
I also didn't have any feta cheese, so I used coarsely grated Parmigiano Reggiano, which worked very well, and it lower in fat than the feta. It has a lovely salty, cheesy flavour also.
Marinated artichoke hearts. Yum. I adore artichokes. I rinsed mine under hot water so that I could get rid of as much oil from them as possible. Doing this in no way affects the flavour. You don't need to do this, its just what I always do.
She used whole plum tomatoes, but I chose to use baby plum tomatoes. I picked up some really lovely ones in M&S yesterday that were lovely and sweet. I love the vegetables you get at M&S. I know you pay more, but they taste better. Sometimes its worth it, especially when you are talking about tomatoes. These were fabulous!
I got my spinach at M&S as well. Look at that beautiful colour!
With some spring onions or a bit of sharpness, and a punchy lemon and tarragon vinaigrette, this is a fabulously tasty salad. I confess, I kept dipping my fork into the bowl, for one more bite. Naughty me!
*Couscous Salad*
Serves 6
Combine the tomatoes, artichoke hearts, spinach and spring onions in a large bowl. Add the capers and couscous. Toss together well. Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour over the couscous and vegetables. Sprinkle on the cheese and toss together again, until everything is well coated and mixed together. Serve at room temperature.
Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.
I am pretty sure that this recipe could very easily be cut in half. You are just going to love it. Any leftovers can be refrigerated, but bear in mind the lemon juice will cook the spinach leaves a bit. No worries, its still pretty tasty! Bon Appetit!
My husband is a real meat and potatoes man. This transition to a more plant based diet isn't an easy one for him. I am out to prove to him that he won't really miss some of his old favourites, like sausage and mash. This is what I did today!
Of course you can use regular sausages instead of vegetarian ones if you want to, they will be equally as delicious and will also work well. I used Linda McCartney vegetarian sausages and they were really nice.
I did a simple glaze of honey and soy . . . whisked together and drizzled over the sausages prior to baking in a moderately hot oven . . . I turn them in the mixture every now and then while they were baking so that they glazed evenly. The trick is to keep them from burning. That's why you keep the temperature only moderately high and why you keep turning them.
I paired them up with a delicious root vegetable mash . . . potatoes, carrots, swede and parsnip . . .
Simply boiled in lightly salted water until they are meltingly tender, drained well and then mashed together with a nice nob of butter and some seasoning . . . so good.
The two went together perfectly. This mash would go with just about anything . . . I can only imagine how tasty it would be with gravy or topping a cottage pie. The veggie sausages were really lovely also, with that delicious mix of salty sweet in that sticky glaze!
*Honey & Soy Glazed Sausage*
with Root Vegetable Mash
Serves 4with Root Vegetable Mash
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Line a small baking tray with aluminium foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
While the potatoes are cooking pop the sausages onto the baking tray. Whisk together the soy and honey. Drizzle over all of the sausages. Pop into the preheated oven and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, turning them occasionally to coat in the honey/soy mixture and glaze. (If you are using pork sausages, cook until the juices run clear. They may take a few minutes longer.)
Divide the hot mash between four heated plates and top each with two glazed sausages. Serve immediately. A green vegetable goes nicely with these.
Todd was pleasantly surprised and even went back for an additional sausage. That made me happy. If there is one person I want to make happy through all of this, its Todd. Bon Appetit!
This is a beautiful supper dish with lovely fresh flavours and colours. I love recipes like this. Its simple, easy and uses things I normally have in my kitchen . . .
Fresh bell peppers . . . I used golden yellow peppers. I like to peel the skin from them as I am not overly fond of cooked pepper skins, which can oftimes be somewhat bitter. They are not that hard to peel. I have a soft skin vegetable peeler which makes it very easy.
They are really great for peeling things like pepper and tomatoes. I like to pick peppers with straight sides for this dish. They cut and peel much easier than overly rounded ones.
As well as the peppers there is a large red onion, cut into half moons. The peppers and onions are cooked in a skillet together, until the edges begin to caramelize, at which time you add garlic and a bit of dry white wine. (I used water with a pinch of sugar as we don't do alcohol) You let this bubble up while you scrape up any sticky bits in the skillet.
Next you add some chopped black olives and capers. Black olives and capers go very well with all of the other ingredients . . . both are kind of salty and the capers are a bit tangy as well . . .
Of course your pasta is cooking while you are doing all of this right? A scoop of the pasta water is added to the sauce along with some cherry tomatoes . . . and flat leaf parsley . . .
both of which are only briefly cooked . . . so that when you are eating the finished dish those cherry tomatoes pop in your mouth with a beautiful burst of flavour! Yum!
There is a temptation to use more parsley than you need to . . . don't. Trust me on this. None of the flavours in the dish should overpower any of the other flavours. Flat leaf parsley can sometimes be really strong in flavour, so taste it and then judge accordingly.
I only use whole wheat pasta these days. I really like it. It has a subtle nutty flavour and really doesn't look all that different than regular pasta. But, if whole wheat pasta doesn't float your boat, then use regular pasta, no problemo.
Altogether this is a really delicious dish. I would recommend serving it with some crusty bread if you aren't watching the carbs, and maybe some soft goats cheese on the side. Yum yum!!
*Spaghetti with Peppers, Olives & Tomatoes*
Serves 4
340g dry spaghetti (3/4 pound, I like whole wheat)
2 TBS olive oil
Cook the sauce while the pasta is cooking. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet. Add the peppers and onions. Cook over high heat, tossing them with a wooden spoon to sear the edges, for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and the wine, allowing it to bubble up, scraping up any pan juices. Lower the heat to medium ad add the olives, capers, half of the parsley and a bit of water from the cooking pasta. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the cherry tomatoes and simmer for a minute, then turn off the heat and set aside.
Drain the pasta, then toss with a bit of olive oil. Divide amongst 4 heated serving bowls. Spoon some of the pepper mixture over heat. Garnish with the remaining parsley and serve.
I am loving this new emphasis I am making in my diet on plant based foods. Todd's not so sure, lol, but you shouldn't be surprised. He's a WW2 baby and he likes his meat. Its okay, I made him a cottage pie which he enjoyed very much. We were both happy. Its okay, he knows I won't always be doing this for him. Bon Appetit!
We love baked beans in this house. When I was growing up baked beans were often on themenu on Saturday evening suppers, and there was nothing tastier. Good baked beans do take long slow baking. My mom always started hers early Saturday morning, and by about noontime onwards, we were tortured by the tantalising smell of them cooking. By the time we tucked in at supper time, we were all more than ready for them! They were so, so SO good! 😋
This recipe I am showing you today is a bit of a cheat in that you don't have to bake them for all day in a slow oven. Instead they cook to taste perfection in about 2 hours, and surprisingly do taste very similar to the ones my mother used to bake back in the day.
This is a vegetarian version however, adapted from a recipe that I got from a book published by Ryland Peters, entitled "The Vegetarian Pantry", by Chloe Coker and Jane Montgomery.
It makes use of store cupboard ingredients I always have in my larder . . . good tinned tomatoes, tinned cooked haricot beans . . . Dijon mustard, brown sugar and dark treacle . . . with a hint of a good balsamic vinegar . . .
You begin by softening some onions over low heat in a bit of oil until they are lovely and almost meltingly soft. Into that goes some garlic, just enough to give them a lovely subtle layer of additional flavour without going over the top . . .
There is no bacon to give that smokey flavour home baked beans usually have . . . instead some smokiness is imparted by using paprika, along with the above ingredients and some vegetable stock.
Once you get it all mixed together and simmering, you cover them and bake them in a slow oven for about 2 hours, which condenses all those flavours down and gives you a beautifully flavoured sauce . . .
We enjoy them, hot . . . with a grating of a good cheddar on top and some warm crusty bread to mop up all of these delicious juices . . . these are a real taste treat. Low in fat. High in fibre. Healthy, and delicious! What more could you ask for?
*Homemade Baked Beans*
Serves 2 as a main
4 as a side
pinch dried chili flakes (how much you use depends on how spicy you want them)
1 TBS Balsamic vinegar
Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3.
Put the onion, oil and 2 tsp of water in a flameproof casseroe and cover with a lid. Cook gently over low heat for about 10 minutes, without allowing the onion to take on too much colour. Add the garlic, brown sugar, treacle, mustard, paprika and vinegar. Stir to combine. Stir in the beans and tomatoes, as well as the stock. Bring to the boil and cook for two minutes. Cover with a lid and then transfer to the oven.
Bake in the preheated oven for 2 hours. If at the end of that time you think the consistency is too liquidy, you can simmer over gentle heat and reduce the liquid to your desired consistency. Season to taste and serve hot with crusty bread or corn bread.
We enjoyed them with some sliced cucumber, but a salad would go also go very nicely on the side, as would coleslaw. (Oh, I do so love coleslaw.) Once we get into really warm temperatures I won't want to be heating up the oven, but for now, while we are still enjoying the Spring weather, these went down a real treat. Bon Appetit!
Note - I have never doubled this recipe myself, (there are only two of us) but I imagine that it would work very well to do so.
My husband and I recently decided that we are going to eat a more plant based diet, having fish or chicken only occasionally. I have been experiencing some real digestive problems over these past few months, and we really feel inspired to incorporate some healthier eating principles into our life style. I am also going to be experimenting with fermenting. We will see how that goes! I admit I am a bit terrified of poisoning myself, so I am somewhat hesitant, so if any of you has any advice along those lines to share, I would be most grateful. I still do have meat to use up in the freezer so there will be occasional forays into that area until it is all gone, and I will be the first to admit that I don't think Christmas would be Christmas without a roast turkey for me, and I do adore roast chicken.
Today I cooked us a delicious vegetable curry for our dinner, just using what I had in the refrigerator and larder. It turned out beautiful! I incorporated cauliflower, sweet potatoes, onions, fresh tomatoes, and courgettes (zucchini) along with some frozen peas and fresh spinach.
I made good use of some fresh ginger, plenty of fresh garlic and a variety of spices to bring plenty of flavour into the mix.
There is ground coriander, ground cumin, turmeric for colour, cayenne, cinnamon, salt and pepper and a touch of tomato paste.
Very fragrant and very delicious. I also used a mix of vegetable broth and a creamy coconut milk for a lovey richness that we both enjoyed very much.
I served it simply, in heated bowls, with some cooked brown rice (protein there!) and a dish of a good Indian chutney on the side. Neither one of us missed the meat. This was probably one of the most delicious curries I have ever made.
*A Delicious Vegetable Curry*
Serves 4
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp turmeric
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions. Cook,
stirring, until golden brown. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook
until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the coriander, turmeric, cayenne
pepper, and ground cumin. Cook and stir for about 30 seconds then stir
inthe tomato paste, stirring it in completely to incorporate. Add the
vegetable broth, coconut milk, cinnamon, salt and black pepper to taste.
(About 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper) Bring to the boil, then reduce
to a low simmer and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add the cauliflower, sweet potatoes, courgette and chopped tomatoes. Bring back to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in the frozen peas and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the spinach one handful at a time, stirring it in to wilt the spinach. Stir in the lime juice and zest. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. Serve immediately.
Note - Don't cook for too long when you add the spinach. You will want to maintain the green colour, so only a couple of minutes is sufficient. You only want to wilt the spinach.
There are plenty of leftovers for us to heat up and enjoy tomorrow as well. I might try making my own Naan or Chapati to go along with it. Now that would be fun I think! I hope you will give this a go. Vegetarian food need not ever be boring and I am on a quest to prove that fact to Todd! Bon Appetit!
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