Asparagus and smoked cheese salad

This is a very simple but tasty salad.  I put lettuce, spinach, red pepper, cucumber and spring onion in a bowl. Then added some smoked soya cheese chunks.  I then blanched some asparagus tips and drained and put on top then covered with freshly ground black pepper.

Strawberry and vanilla shortbread

This is my normal shortbread recipe with a teaspoon each of vanilla essence and strawberry flavouring. I wasn't sure if the flavour would work but judging by how quickly they were eaten it obviously did.

Spicy mushrooms with spinach salad

This is such a quick lunch but really full of flavour.  I lined the bottom of a bowl with spinach. Then I fried chopped mushrooms with cherry tomatoes and spring onion. I added some italian herbs and chilli powder for some flavour. Then I served it with some soya cheese sprinkled on top and some freshly ground black pepper.

Fried Marrow

I cut the marrow into small chunks and fried in vegetable oil until it started to brown. Then I added a covering of ground almonds, some finely chopped garlic and some salt.  Stirred it all together till it was crispy and served with raw fresh peas.

Noodles and Stir Fry

This is just a stir fry of onion, red peppers, fresh peas, cashew nuts and mushrooms with wholemeal noodles.

This meal takes about 10 minutes to make and can be seasoned with soya sauce, black pepper or sweet chilli sauce.

Birthday Cake

For this cake I used this recipe: 

http://www.recipesforvegans.co.uk/display/Grandma%20Jewell%27s%20Chocolate%20Sponge%20Cake

and simply added more flour instead of the cocoa powder.  I split it into two tins and when it was cooked left the two cakes to cool.  Then I put one half on a plate and covered with strawberry jam. The other half I added butter cream then I sandwiched them together.  I then put more cream on the top and added vegan sprinkles.

The buttercream was made by mixing Trex and icing sugar.

Spicy pepper and beans

Chop and small onion and fry in olive oil with some italian dried herbs.  Add two green peppers chopped quite small.  When they are startimg to brown  add a tin of red kidney beans (drained) and 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped). Then add one large chopped tomato and a quarter of a courgette, also chopped.

Season with salt, chilli powder and black pepper.

Sweet Coleslaw

This quick coleslaw takes just minutes to put together.
Take one medium carrot and grate it, add an eighth of a grated cucumber and one small grated apple.  Sprinkle on some lemon juice and serve.

If the coleslaw is to be kept for later then soak the grated apple in water with a few drops of lemon juice added for 5 mins before draining and adding to the salad to stop it going brown.

Simple Lunch

I often find that lunchtime is when I have least time to make food so just grab something easy out of the fridge.  Today I have had Redwood cheatin' ham with Sainsbury cheap sweet pickle in the middle.  Quick but also tasty and filling!

Which dinner would you choose?

Today I made the kids a dinner of vegetarian choice sausages, mashed potato and baked beans.

















I made myself an aubergine and mixed vegetable curry which contained courgettes, mushrooms, tomatoes, mixed herbs, paprika, chilli, curry powder and turmeric.

Which do you think you would choose to have?

Oaty chocolate bites

This morning I made a chocolatey treat for my son. I mixed together the following ingredients:

1tsp peanut butter
1tsp margarine (melted)
1tsp cocoa powder
1tsp agave syrup
4 tsp oats

I mixed it well and he ate it with a spoon, but if I made a bigger quantity I would have rolled into balls and put in the fridge for later.

Shortbread

This isn't my recipe but I had to share it as it made delicious shortbread that everyone enjoyed:

http://www.messyvegetariancook.com/2009/12/16/vegan-scottish-shortbread/

Next time I think I will coat them in chocolate or add some flavour like lemon or vanilla.

Lovely texture.

Banana Milk Shake

This milk shake was made from real milk, not from cows though, from humans. I used 150ml of breast milk with a banana and blended them up.  Was a bit strange drinking my own milk, but it worked!

Busy....

The lack of recipes on the site is mainly due to trying to organise events and design a new website for the Shropshire Veggies and Vegans group. However, I'm still cooking and will have some new recipes soon.

Trying to save a baby rabbit

Our cat often brings in dead rabbits and mice to the house and eats them.  It's pretty horrible as a vegan but we accept that it is natural and we can't stop it happening.  Our cat is a feral cat and we couldn't keep him inside.
Today he brought in a live rabbit kitten as a gift for us so we had to decide what to do with it.  I didn't want to release it back o the field where it had come from as chances are the cat would catch it again and it wouldn't be so lucky next time.  My husband didn't want to cage it as that is going against what nature intended.  So we phoned up Cuan House Rescue centre who are going to look after it for a bit then release it into a safe place in the countryside with 2 other kittens they already have. 

Lemon cheese cake bites

This is another really quick idea.  I mixed 2 heaped tsps of cream cheese with a few drops of lemon essence and a level tsp of agave syrup and spread the mixture onto oat cakes.

It's not something you could serve up at a dinner party but certainly made a great treat.

Red bean fry up

I needed a really quick meal last night so I opened a tin of red kidney beans a fried them in some chilli infused olive oil along with a finely chopped carrot, green pepper and some garlic. I seasoned it with paprika, salt and some dried mixed herbs.

Fruit Cake

Here is some delicious fruit cake I made. Just a normal sponge cake recipe with mixed spice and sultanas added.

Response from Costa

According to the response I got from Costa all their nutritional information is on their website.
It is very hard to navigate but the hot drinks that are vegan are:


Caffe Latte
Flat White
Cortado
Expresso
Babyccino
Ristretto
Caramel Latte
Cinnamon Latte
Gingerbread Latte
Roasted Hazelnut Latte
Vanilla Latte
Sugar Free Caramel Latte


Obviously these are only vegan if you choose the soya milk option (if there is milk). Hope this is helpful. Rather disappointing to me as my favourites that I thought were vegan - Chai Latte and Hot Chocolate aren't.

If you want a summary of the nutritional information that I have been emailed from Costa which is much easier to use, please let me know.

Simple and Delicious

You could hardly describe this as a recipe, but a current favourite of mine is cooked apples with sultanas, covered in soya cream.  I simply take a large bramley apple, core and peel and cut up into small squares. Then I add a tiny amount of water and microwave it until it is soft and smooth in texture. Then wait for it too cool (even better if it has been in the fridge overnight) and serve with soya cream.  Lovely, and healthy too!