Butternut Squash 3 ways

Sorry for being super slow about this! Bonus 3 for 1 though! Here are my favouritest butternut squash recipes ever (They're all vegan too- booyah):

Butternut Squash Chilli

1 BNS
2 red onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 red chilli
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1 cup red lentils
1 jar sun dried tomatoes
2 tins tomatoes
1 tin kidney beans
salt and pepper

1) Chop up that BNS. Leave the skin on (don't waste your life peeling it :P ). Plop it in a roasting tray and roast it at a high temperature until it's a bit squidgey.
2) Chop and fry the onion
3) Crush in the garlic and some chopped chilli.
4) Throw in the spices
5) And the lentils, SDTs, toms and kidney beans. Maybe a bit of water if it looks a bit dry.
6) Simmer until the lentils are cooked
7) Stir in the BNS when it's all done.
8) EAT IT ALL!!!!

Actually don't, its even better the next day.

Butternut Squash Korma

1 BNS
1 onion
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds (or cumin seeds)
1 tsp Nigella seed (I'm pretty sure this is what makes it taste amazing)
50g grated fresh ginger
1 red chilli
1 tsp ground corriander
75g chopped dates
2 tbsp dessicated coconut (Or maybe it's this that makes it tasty)
2 tsp soft brown sugar (Oh no wait. Yeah it's the sugar that I like)
1 tin coconut cream

1) Chop'n'roast the BNS. Give it a 20 min head start.
2) Chop'n'fry the onion (and maybe some other veg: peppers, mushrooms, courgette etc.)
3) Chuck in all the spices
4) And the sweet stuff
5) Give it a few mins then add the coconut cream.
6) Add the BNS and maybe a bit of water to make it a bit saucier.
7) EAT IT ALL!!!!!

Goes super well with normal curry stuff (rice, peshwari naans, poppadoms etc.)

Butternut Squash Casserole

1 BNS
2 large onions
2 tsp sage
3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp flour
175ml white wine
1 can butterbeans
400ml veg stock
2 tbsp tomato paste

for the dumplings:
200g self raising flour
100g veg suet
2tsp mixed herbs
8 tbsp cold water

1) You know the drill. Chunk the onions and roast them at the same time too. This time the BNS doesn't have to be fully cooked as it will be going back in. So maybe only roast for 20 mins.
2) Make the dumplings by mixing everything together and making little balls.
3) When the BNS and onions are roasted put them in a casserole dish. coat them in the flour.
4) Then mix in everything else. You could add more veg here too. maybe carrots, peas, potatoes...whaaaaat....
5) Arrange the little dumplings on top. Aww.
6) Plop a lid on and stick back in the oven for a bit. Maybes 15-20 mins.
7) EAT IT ALL!!!! No seriously. I made this for the first time the other day and was super impressed. Am going to make it again next week. nyom.

Hope you enjoy them!

1) Adapted from Happy days with the naked chef
2) Adapted from Rick Steins India
3) Adapted from Cook Vegetarian- October 2014

pesto pasta

So, I'm veganing it up nowadays and it's super fun. It's giving me a reason to try new things and I like it! I've seen a lot of funky vegan recipes in the internet but they often contain things that I've never heard of before, in particular 'nutritional yeast'. It sounds crazy and gross but it's actually kinda cool. It has a cheesy taste without all of the fat! Sweet. I had a look in town for some but I couldn't find any. However, We went on an adventure at the weekend and found a really cool shop called The Honey Tree and they had some. Yay! So this is my first recipe using it. I think it's resulted in the best pesto I've ever made.

- Pasta

- Courgette

- Green Pepper

- Some frozen spinach

- 2 cups basil

- 1/2 cup walnuts

- 1/2 cup olive oil

- Juice of 1 lemon

- 2 garlic cloves

- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast

- Salt and pepper

1) Boil the pasta

2) Fry the courgette, pepper and spinach

3) Whiz the rest in a blender to make the pesto

4) When everything is cooked, mix it all together.

Eat it aaaaaaaallllll! hehehe!

xxx

Vegan coconut cake

Coconut cake is my fave! And It's super easy to make too.
- 100g vegan marg
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 cups desiccated coconut
- 2 cups self raising flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp corn starch or arrow root mixed with 2 tbsp water

1) Melt the marg, sugar and milk in a pan
2) Mix in the rest!
3) Bake at gas 5/ 190 degrees C for 30-60 mins

It's done when you poke it with a knife and it comes out clean.

Nom nom nom nom nom.
xxx

Macaroons

Macaroons are easy, yum and gluten free.

Ingredients:
- 3 egg whites
- 310g caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 3 cups desiccated coconut
- 50-100g chocolate

1) Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form
2) Add the sugar, beating constantly until thick and glossy

3) Fold in the rest of the ingredients

4) drop tablespoons of the mix onto lined baking trays and bake at 160 degrees (315F/ gas2 2-3) for 20 mins.

5) Allow to cool and then melt some chocolate.
6) Dip and drizzle away.
7) Eat all in one go because they're super yum and mainly air. I guess you could share them if you want.

How to make a wedding cake

Alex and Pippa got married! For those of you who don't know them, they are they awesomest, craziest, loveliest, generousest couple in the world. Their wedding suited them absolutely perfectly. It was mental and amazing and so. much. fun. And to top it all off, they let me make their wedding cake! Here's how I did it:

1) I borrowed 3 cake tins: 11", 9" and 7".

2) I filled them with my go to fruit cake mix. 2x, 1.5x and 1x mix respectively. I baked them FOREVER and then had my mum and dad looked after them and fed them with 1tsp brandy every week for the next month.

3) When I came back home a month later it was time to decorate! First I levelled them off to the same height. I made a big cardboard loop which was as high as I wanted the cake to be, then took a knife and levelled them off to that height.

4) I then flipped them and put them onto cake boards. For the small layers, make sure that the board is exactly (or as near as you can get) the same size as the cake so that it doesn't show when you stack them.

5) Coat the cakes with runny, sieved, apricot jam. The sieving part is very important! Otherwise you get lumpy icing! Just put a few tbsp of jam into a little bowl, microwave for a few seconds and pour it through a sieve into another bowl.

6) Now comes the tricky part: covering the cake with marzipan and fondant! eek! I was super scared of doing this bit so I did some research and found this thing called THE MAT. It's basically two massive sheets of plastic that you roll your icing between and makes it easier to pick up and move around. whilst it didn't work perfectly (the icing would often stretch out into a funny shape when I was peeling the back layer off, or it would stick to the mat a bit and ruin the smoothness) it did help a lot! Maybe it just needed some more conditioning? It was the first time I'd ever used it, so maybe that was it? Anyway, I rolled it out, plopped it on, trimmed it and smoothed it x6. It was hard work. My back and abs caned the next day!

7) I gave the icing a chance to harden over night and then piped the decoration on! Alex and Pippa had a crazy hat themed wedding so I doodled crazy hats all over the cake. I then realised that piped writing looked much nicer that hats so I filled in all the gaps with their names. I just used a piping bag and royal icing made up like it says on the box. Defo do a practise run before you pipe onto the cake!!!

8) Then I put plastic dowels into the cake to support the upper layers. Learn how to do that here.

9) Then for the really nerve-wracking part: transporting and assembling! My amazing daddy bought me some proper cake boxes and drove me all the way to Cambridge so that I could sit in the back making sure that they didn't slide anywhere and get crushed. fortunately the cakes are super heavy so it wasn't really a problem. then I just stacked them up! I used a knife to help me get my fingers under the boards- they're very hard to lift otherwise. I made sure that all the good bits were at the front and any mistakes were at the back. Pin some ribbon around the base of each cake and bob's your uncle! I actually made the ribbon myself from some red fabric so that it was exactly the width I wanted it.

I also made some other cakes (above) as did other people (below) nyom nyom nyom.

All in all a very cakey day! (btw, all of this cake was gone in about ten minutes of bringing knives out to cut it with!)

xxx

p.s. sorry about the terrible photos, I took them all with my phone not my massive camera.
p.p.s. It looks like my mum is growing out of the cake in one of the pictures! hehe!

Roast tomato risotto

I looooooove risotto. This one might even be my favourite....hmmm... no it's not but it's a close second! Super easy to make too!

Ingredients:
- Cherry tomatoes
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 onion
- 1 stick of celery
- 1 carrot
- 1 cup of risotto rice
- 1 cup of wine
- Vegetable stock
- Handful of basil

1) Halve the tomatoes and put them in a roasting pan with the oil and seasoning. Roast those bad boys for 30 mins or so.
2) Dice the onion, celery and carrot and fry them till soft.
3) Add the rice and fry for a min.
4) Add the wine and stir until it's absorbed.
5) Add a bit of stock and keep stirring until it's absorbed.
6) Repeat step 5 until the rice is cooked.
7) Add the tomatoes and basil.
8) Eeeeeeeaat!!!

Smokey salad

This is another recipe adapted from Jamie's 15 minute meals. Man I love that book. It was really nice to start eating salad again too! Springtime is here!

Ingredients:

- Salad leaves of your choice
- cucumber
- carrot
- jarred roasted peppers
- Quorn chickeny bits
- smoked tofu
- smoked paprika
- garlic
- 4tbs greek yoghurt
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 bunch of basil
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- cress

1) Chop and wash the salad and jarred pappers
2) Fry the quorn, tofu and garlic in some paprika
3) Put the yoghurt, lemon juice, chopped basil, vinegar and salt and pepper in a jar and shake it up to make the dressing
4) Serve and top with cress.

Chocolate orange cookies

Cookies are awesome. Chocolate orange is awesome. Need I say more?

Ingredients:
- 170g butter
- 200g dark brown sugar
- 100g sugar
- 1 egg
- 1tsp vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 orange
- 250g plain flour
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- chocolate chips!

1) Beat together the butter and sugar.
2) Add the egg, vanilla and orange zest
3) Mix in the flour, bicarb and salt

4) Add the chocolate chips
5) Splodge onto a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 mins at gas 6 ish.
6) Try not to eat them all. But then do.

Gardener's pie

Ever wondered what the difference between shepherd's pie and cottage pie is?  Well, apparently shepherd's pie is made with lamb and cottage pie is made with beef! Who knew? (well lots of people probably...) Anyway, this is neither! It's just super yummy beans and veg so I called it gardener's pie!

Ingredients:
- 1kg potatoes
- 2 onions
- 1 pepper
- 1-2 carrots
- A few jarred peppers
- 1 can of kidney beans
- 1 can of lentils
- loads of Englishy herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme)
- Can of tomatoes
- Goats cheese
- Milk
- a tiny bit of hard cheese

1) Peel chop and boil the potatoes
2) Slice and fry your onions until soft. Chop and fry the peppers and carrot.
3) Add the lentils, beans and herbs. Season!
4) Plop in a baking dish
5) Layer the tomatoes over the top

6) When the potatoes are done, mash with some milk and the goats cheese until creamy and yummy. Season these bad boys too.
7) Spread over the tomatoes. Fluff up the top with a fork. Grate a little bit of hard cheese over the top.
8) Bake for half an hour or so at gas 6 ish.
9) Eat all the pie!

Pea and asparagus tart

It's springtime!!! Yay! I am enjoying the warmer weather and lighter evenings ever so much. I am also enjoying springtime food. I'm talking asparagus.

You have to be really careful with asparagus. It's only in season for a brief period of time in the UK. When it's not then it gets shipped in from all over the world (often from Peru I think) which isn't very good! So- make the most of it!

Ingredients:
- Puff pastry
- Green veg (spinach, peas, spring onions, asparagus, beans etc)
- 170ml double cream
- 90ml greek yoghurt
- 3 eggs
- Salt + pepper
- Chives
- Feta
- Hard cheese
- Salad (I had some leftover beetroot in mine)

1) Roll out the pastry and put it in your flan dish. Bake at gas 6 for 10 mins or so until it is just starting to go brown.
2) Take the case out of the oven, squish the puffed up base down and pour your veg in (the only thing you need to pre-cook is the spinach if you're using it.
3) Mix the cream, yoghurt, eggs, salt, pepper, chives and hard cheese together then pour it over your veg.
4) Artistically plop some more veg onto with some crumbled feta and maybe a bit more hard cheese.
5) Bake at gas mark 6 for 30 mins or so, or until it is golden on topand not wobbly in the middle.
6) Eat with a whole bunch of salad and think of summer!

Best fruit cake ever (if I do say so myself...)

This is quite simply the easiest and tastiest fruit cake ever. I make it ALL the time. It's my Christmas cake, my Easter cake, my dad's favourite cake etc. I have kept the recipe secret for many years but I'm feeling generous today so here it is....

Ingredients:
- 3oz butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup of milk
- 3/4 bag of mixed fruit
- 1 tub glacé cherries
- 1 1/2 cups self raising flour
- 1 free range egg
- 2 caps of vanilla extract

1)  Grase and line a 6" cake tin.
2) melt the butter, sugar and milk in a pan.
3) Add the fruit and stir.
4) Add the flour and stir (don't worry about it being a bit lumpy at first, just keep mixing!)
5) Add the rest and stir.
6) Plop in your cake tin and bake at gas mark 3 for aaaaaaaaages (probably about 1.5hrs). Check it after 30 mins. If it's brown on top already you might want to cover it with some tin foil so that it doesn't burn. After an hour in the oven, check it very 10 mins or so to see if it's done (stick a knife in it and if it comes out mostly clean then it's ready!)
7) Let it cool then ice with a layer of marzipan and a layer of fondant icing. Decorate as you please!
8) EAT IT!!!!

Beany Splats

Super tasty, beany falafel recipe adapted from Jamie's 15 minute meals

Ingredients

For the splats:

- Can of mixed beans (it's fine if they're in tomato sauce- I think it makes it yummier, drain it off first though)

- Can of chickpeas (drained)

- Lemon zest

- 1/2 a chili

- 2tsp allspice

- 1 tbsp plain flour

- Bunch of fresh corriander

For the fun bits:

- Some spring onions

- A pepper or two

- Some mushrooms

Extras:

- Salad

- Red pepper humous

- Wraps

- Cheese (grated/crumbled)

1) Blend the ingredients for the splats in a food processor (chop up the chilli first!)

2) Fry up the fun bits. Put them in a bowl.

3) Dollop 1tbsp size splats into the frying pan. Flip them when crispy.

4) Chop your salad

5) Build your super yummy wrap!

My Favourite Cook Books

One of my favourite things to do is cook (pretty obvious from the food blog huh?) so I thought I'd share some of my fave cook books with you. Being a vegetarian doesn't mean that I only buy veggie cook books. In fact, I hardly have any! They always seem to have the same stuff in them; vegetable lasagne, stuffed mushrooms, goats cheese tarts etc. Yummy foods of course but I know how to cook them already. I much prefer getting a cookbook by a great chef and adapting their meaty recipes (I'm going to write a post about how I do this soon!)

My absolute favouritest chef ever is Jamie Oliver. Not only does he cook fast, tasty food but he is on a mission to save the world! (Well at least to teach people how to eat better). All of his books are great but "Jamie's 15 minute meals" is the business. Easily the best cook book ever. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstal's "Veg Everyday" comes a close second. So many noms. He's great too because his food is much more seasonal than Jamie's - much better for the environment! Sophie Dahl does this too. Her meals are nice and light. the Cook Vegetarian magazines are also great for seasonal cooking and they keep me updated with what's available/trendy at the mo. Delia's vegetarian collection is basically a veggie bible and cheesetastic to boot. For those of you who love to bake, you need look no further than the Humming Bird Bakery.

Sushi- veggie style!

I love sushi! It is super yum and tastes so different to everything else I eat. What I don't love is how expensive it is and how much packaging it comes in. So now whenever I get a sushi craving I make my own! It's not that hard at all!

Ingredients:
2 cups sushi rice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
4 sheets of nori
2 eggs
1tsp sugar
1 carrot
2 spring onions
1/4 cucumber
soy sauce for dipping

1) First things first, cook the rice! Put 2 mugs of sushi rice in a pan and cover with 2.75 mugs of water. Allow the rice to soak for 30 mins then simmer for 25 mins (or until the rice is cooked and the water is absorbed). Don't let the rice burn! Add 1/3 cup of rice vinegar and stir. Allow the rice to cool.

2) Prep your filling. I finely sliced 2 spring onions, a carrot and some cucumber. I also cooked some tamago (sweet egg). Beat 2 eggs with a teaspoon of sugar. Pour a thin layer into a hot frying pan. When its mostly cooked, roll it up, squishing it down as you go! Move this roll back to the edge of the pan and pour another thin layer of egg in so that it joins up. Roll again and make sure the egg is cooked but not too brown. Remove from pan and allow to cool.

3) Lay a sheet of nori shiny side down on a sushi mat. Run your hands under cold water and grab a big old handful of rice and squish it on. The thickness of this layer will determine the size of your sushi roll! Leave a big gap at the top of the sheet.

4) Lay your filling of choice in the middle of the rice

5) Roll and slice. Easy but a little time consuming! Serve with a pot of soy sauce for dipping. Yum!