Planet Veggie

I had planned to make Lazy cheesy vegetable hotpot from the BBC Good Food website but I didn’t have any leeks and I didn’t want to cook it in the microwave, so I kind of did my own thing and I’m glad I did, as the result was The Meat Eater telling me to never cook it again, which translated to English means he enjoyed it very much and would like to have it again some time in the near future.

It was creamy and cheesy and crispy and everything else that makes a proper dinner.

Brie and potato vegetable bake (serves 2 if you’re too lazy to make anything else to go with it)

1 onion, chopped
2 potatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 small cabbage, chopped
2 large handfuls of spinach, chopped
8 chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1 pack of Brie, rind left on and cut into pieces
4 large tbsps of crème fraîche
Butter
Olive oil
Thyme

Put the oven on at 180C
Heat the oil and the butter in a frying pan
Add the onions and fry for a few minutes until soft
Add the cabbage and mushrooms and fry for a few more minutes
Add the spinach until wilted
Stir in the creme fraiche and season
Put the vegetable mixture into a dish
Lay the potato slices on top
Scatter on the cheese
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes

I don’t recall ever having stuffed a pepper before. Mushrooms, yes, and I vaguely recall stuffing a tomato some time back in 1994 but peppers? No. This is probably because I’m not mega keen on cooked peppers.

Well, I wasn’t mega keen on cooked peppers, but I’ve changed my mind. These were delicious.

This recipe was adapted from one I found on BBC Good Food, after a search for sweetcorn (that I needed to use up from my Riverford delivery) led me to it. I used fresh sweetcorn (their recipe asks for frozen) and left out the avocado (due to me absolutely hating avocado). I left out the coriander, too.

Well nice.

Peppers filled with corn, chilli and cheese (serves 2)

2 green peppers, tops removed and deseeded
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 courgette
Fresh sweetcorn (I used a cob’s worth)
25g vegetarian cheddar, grated

1. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, then cook the peppers for 5 minutes. Remove and drain, cut side down, on some kitchen paper.
2. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion for 3 minutes until tender. Add the cumin and chilli and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Add the courgette then cook for 4 minutes until tender.
3. Remove from the heat, then stir in the sweetcorn, cheese and seasoning. Spoon the filling into the peppers, then stand them in a baking dish. Drizzle with remaining oil, then bake for 30-35 minutes until the peppers are very soft.

After asking on Twitter for a number between 1 and 71 (inclusive), the first reply was 34 and therefore Laura is the winner (sorry to numbers 55, 27, 46, 42 and 71; you just missed out).

Well done, Laura!

Email me your address and I’ll get the book in the post to you.

After all the interest in my giveaway of Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar (see blog post below: hello all you freeloaders from the Money Saving Expert forums), I thought I’d make something out of it and having all the ingredients for the peanut butter blondies in the cupboard negated any need to go to the supermarket. Result.

These are very easy to make but as I’ve never had a blondie before, I’m not sure if they came out properly. They’re very soft and sweet and sugary; almost too sugary, but this is probably because I didn’t have enough brown sugar and so topped it up with white sugar.

Peanut butter blondies

3/4 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup oil
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup non-dairy milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup peanuts

Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Lightly grease a metal 8 x 8 inch baking dish.

In a mixing bowl, use a fork to vigorously mix together peanut butter, oil and sugar. Stir in the non-dairy milk and vanilla. Stir in the flour, salt and baking powder. Once you get the flour somewhat mixed in, it’s easier to just use your hands to knead the dough until soft. It will be very very thick and won’t spread on its own. Transfer dough to the baking pan and press it into place. Sprinkle on the peanuts and lightly press them into the top.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes; the blondie edges should be just barely darkened. The top will appear soft, and that’s okay. Remove the blondies from the oven and cool completely before slicing. 

I don’t make a lot of cakes or cookies or things. This is obviously  because I’m a finely tuned athlete. Ok, it’s because if I did make cakes or cookies or things, I’d eat the whole lot in one sitting like the fat pig bloater I really am.

But, if I did make a lot of cakes or cookies or things, I’d be sure to make some from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero (from the brilliant Post Punk Kitchen website and also authors of the even more brilliant Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook).

This lovely little book has over 100 recipes for cookies, bars, biscotti, brownies and more, featuring full-colour photographs throughout.

Going through this book and seeing such tempting things as

• chocolate chip chai spice shortbread
• espresso fudge brownies
• carrot raisin spice chewies
• peanut butter chocolate pillows
• macademia ginger crunch drops

is almost making me want to keep it!

Still, I’ve decided to part with it (it’s unused so in perfect condition) and all you have to do to be in with a chance of winning it, is to leave a comment here and I’ll pull the winning name out of a hat.

Good luck!

Terms & conditions
UK entries only*
Competition closes midnight Friday 24 September 2010
The winner will be announced on this blog, so make sure to check back over the weekend after the closing date

*If you’re not in the UK but have a friend here I can post it to, to post on to you, that’s fine.  If you’re not in the UK and don’t have any friends here but want to pay the postage, that’s fine too.

I love mushrooms. I don’t very often make stuffed mushrooms because a) I think it’s going to be a bit of a faff and I try to make my life pretty much as faffless as I can; and b) I’m never sure what to serve them with and although I’d be happy to have them on their own, The Meat Eater would probably look at his plate and ask where the potatoes are.

But, while going through the Easy Vegan cookbook, I came across this recipe for baked stuffed mushrooms and thought I’d give them a go. I didn’t quite stick to the recipe as I didn’t read the recipe properly and have a spare mushroom for stuffing with and I didn’t use any celery as I’m not a huge fan of it. Also, I used a red chili (fresh from the greenhouse) and used white breadcrumbs (fresh from the packet of Kingsmill white sliced from the freezer).

And in case you’re wondering if The Meat Eater was left asking where the potatoes were, don’t worry. I served them with mashed potato and baked beans.

Well nice.

Baked stuffed mushrooms (serves 4)

5 very large portabello mushrooms or 10 large cremini/chestnut mushrooms
2-4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 rib/stick celery, finely chopped
1-2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 fresh green chili, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cup/50g fresh whole-wheat breadcrumbs
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons freshly snipped chives plus extra to garnish
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350F/180C/Gas 4

Select 4 portobello mushrooms or 8 cremini mushrooms for stuffing. Remove the stalks from the mushrooms. Put the caps stem-side up in an ovenproof dish. Finely chop the remaining mushrooms and all the stalks. Heat a non-stick skillet/frying pan and add 2 teaspoons of the oil. Add the chopped mushrooms, celery, garlic, and chili and saute, stirring frequently, until soft. Let cool slightly, then transfer to a bowl.

Add the breadcrumbs, tomato, and chives to the bowl, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix well, adding a little oil to moisten, if necessary. Fill the mushrooms with the breadcrumb mixture. Pour about 4 tablespoons of water into the dish, then cook in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until the mushrooms are soft and the topping is crisp. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Credits:
Baked stuffed mushrooms
Recipe by Rachael Anne Hill, Easy Vegan, Ryland Peters & Small

Last week I was ill. Not very ill, but ill enough that I wouldn’t have gone to work, had I a job to go to in the first place.

So, because I was ill, I should have been eating healthy meals but because I was ill, I couldn’t be bothered to make any and so I lived on a diet of crumpets and packaged food. Why wasn’t The Meat Eater looking after me and making me healthy meals, you may ask? I also asked him the same question.

Bah.

What I should have had is this bean and vegetable soup. It’s one of those soups that make you feel healthy just by looking at it as it’s crammed full of, um, beans and vegetables.

It’s taken from The Vegetarian Student Cookbook which contains loads of quick and cheap recipes, more of which I’ll be testing and posting soon.

Bean and vegetable soup (serves 6)

1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1.2 litres vegetable stock
2 carrots, diced
150g mushrooms, chopped
2 courgettes, diced
700ml passata
400g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
150g green cabbage, shredded
3 tablespoons freshly chopped basil
salt and black pepper

In a large saucepan, soften the onion and garlic in 4 tablespoons of the stock for 5 minutes, with the lid on. Stir in the carrots, mushrooms and courgettes, season and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the passata and the remaining stock and bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Mix in the beans and cabbage, re-cover the pan and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Adjust the seasoning and stir in the basil just before serving.

Credits:
Bean and vegetable soup
Recipe by Tamsin Burnett-Hall, The Vegetarian Student Cookbook, Ryland Peters & Small

I don’t make a lot of bars or cakes or flapjacks or things like that, but as I was flicking through my new Easy Vegan cookbook, I came across these peanut butter bars and thought I’d give them a go. The book doesn’t contain any nutritional advice, but I would imagine although they’re probably quite high calories, they’d also be good for pre- and post-exercise, with the oats giving slow release energy and the peanuts being good for recovery. In other words, forget the calories and enjoy!

These were incredibly quick and easy to make and as I had all the ingredients except the golden syrup in the cupboard, sort of free. Result.

Peanut butter bars (makes 8 bars)

4 tablespoons organic crunchy peanut butter
4 tablespoons light corn syrup or golden syrup
1 1/2 cups/100g whole rolled oats
1/2 cup/50g golden raisins/sultanas
1 tablespoon whole-wheat/wholemeal flour, preferably stoneground

A non-stick cake pan/tin 6×9 inches/23 x 15 cm

Preheat the oven to 375F/190C/Gas 5

Put the peanut butter and corn syrup in a saucepan and heat very gently until melted, about 3 minutes. Add the oats, golden raisins/sultanas, and flour and stir well until thoroughly mixed and the mixture has the consistency of breadcrumbs.

Pour the mixture into the cake pan/tin and press in with the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes (the original recipe says 15 but our oven does them quickly, so keep an eye on them). Score into bars or squares with a knife while still warm, then allow to cool before cutting through and removing the bars from the pan/tin. Once cool, the bars can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Credits:
Peanut butter bars
Recipe by Rachael Anne Hill, Easy Vegan, Ryland Peters & Small

After not being mightily impressed with the meals so far cooked out of The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook, I thought I’d choose what had to be a foolproof recipe. A recipe containing leeks and potatoes cooked in cream, milk and cheese can’t go wrong, can it? No, it can’t. It got a rating of ‘yum’ by The Meat Eater and didn’t get put in the bin.

Here it is pre-oven

and post oven

and on the plate.

The blurb said (yes, I know, why do I take so much notice of what the blurb says?) that it didn’t need much in the way of accompaniment other than a light salad but I had been tempted to have it with a burger but took a trip to the tip while it was cooking and had it on its own when I got back. A burger or sausage would have gone nicely with it, although, at 719 calories per portion, maybe stick to the light salad they suggest.

Potato and leek boulangere (serves 4-6)
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 1 hour
Suitable for freezing
Calories per serving (4 portions): 719
kj 2996
Protein 18g
Fat: 51g (saturated fat 32g)
Carbohydrate: 50g

Ingredients
25g (1oz) butter
500g (1lb) leeks, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
875g (1 3/4 lb) potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced
4 tomatoes, sliced
300ml (1/2) pint double cream
300ml (1/2) pint milk
125g (4oz) smoked cheese, grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Use the butter to grease a large, deep 30 x 30cm (12″ x 12″) ovenproof dish. Put in half of the chopped leeks and garlic, cover with half of the slices of potato and season well.
2. Cover with a layer of the remaining leeks and garlic, then the remaining potato slices and season well again. Cover with the slices of tomato.
3. Mix the cream with the milk and pour over the top.
4. Cover with grated cheese and bake in a preheated oven, 180c, Gas Mark 4, for 1 hour or until the potatoes are cooked and the cheese well browned.

I love buying new vegetarian cookery books and recently I bought The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook. It’s big and heavy and glossy and each recipe is accompanied by a big colour photograph. On the downside, the first 129 pages (out of 384) are hints and tips about vegetables, kitchen appliances, nutrition, etc. Plus the index is a bit crap and I haven’t been over-impressed with the recipes I’ve made from it so far. The first recipe I tried from it (sorry, no photo) was baked eggs with mozzarella and fresh tomatoes, which was very easy to make but NO WAY was it going to serve four people. It barely served two.

Next up was pasta with spinach, shiitake mushrooms and tofu.

Upon reading the ingredients (tofu, shiitake mushrooms, spinach, soy sauce, sesame oil and garlic), I wasn’t keen on having it with pasta, feeling it was more of an oriental dish and I had to restrain myself from having it with rice or noodles, but the blurb assured me it went perfectly well with pasta, so I thought I’d be brave. Wrong choice. It didn’t really go with pasta (especially not the big shells I’ve been unsuccessfully trying to cook for a few weeks) and the leftovers will be served with rice.

Last night’s meal wasn’t much of a success either. I don’t usually make fancy or fiddly food but it said preparation was 10 minutes. Was it heck. More like 30 minutes. Still, it looked pretty.

Unfortunately The Meat Eater wasn’t keen and although I said he wasn’t getting tonight’s potato-based meal unless he finished his dinner, half of his roulade went in the bin. I thought it was ok, but the soufflé-type texture got a bit boring after a while. Thinner slices as a starter or as a side to something more substantial would have worked better.