Vegan Mini Puff Pastry Parcels (Mushroom, pine nuts, sundried tomatoes and rosemary)

Ok I made these at Christmas but just found the pics! So I thought I'd put them up in case anyone wanted to make some tasty summer comfort pies ;)

They are actually super easy but really delicious and moreish. So don't say I didn't warn you, when 20 pies later you are lying on the floor in a pie coma. I warned you, but I don't blame you.

As usual, feel free to chop and change the ingredients as you please.

Ingredients

• Pre-made puff pastry (most of it is vegan, just check the ingredients. I used Just Roll)
• Rosemary
• Sundried tomatoes
• Pine nuts
• Onion
• Garlic
• Oil 
• Mushrooms
• Vegetable stock power or salt

Method

You will also need a mini muffin silicone tray but feel free to improvise or just make bigger pies.

Firstly pre- heat the oven to about 200c or follow the guidelines on the puff pastry package.

Next, finely chop the onion and fry on a medium heat. While this is frying, chop up the sundried tomatoes, rosemary, garlic and mushrooms, also small. Add to the pan and cook through for about 5 minutes. 

While everything is frying, roll out the dough to about 0.5cm thick. Cut out squares that are bigger than the holes of the muffin tray. Place the squares in the muffin cases and push them to the bottom, the corners should be sticking out the top.

Stir the salt/ stock into the mixture and spoon it into the pastry. Put it in the oven and cook until the pastry is beautiful and puffed and golden. Will take around 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Nutty Salad

I'm ADDICTED to the "nutty salad" from M&S. Any vegans from the UK should be aware that M&S do an amazing range of salads and loads of them are vegan! Not like other supermarkets which all have either cheese or mayo in.

So I decided to try and recreate this beauty of a dish myself. I didn't have all the same ingredients that they had so I substituted some things but it worked out fine. There are a lot of ingredients in this so feel free to substitute as well, if you wish.

Ingredients

Cooked quinoa and bulgar wheat (about four tsbsp when uncooked)

Half a head of finely chopped broccoli
Two medium finely chopped carrots
Half a finely chopped aubergine (eggplant)
One- two tbsp sweetcorn
Finely chopped onion

Almonds
Pistachios or other nuts
Mixed seeds

Dressing:
One tbsp sweet chili sauce
One tbsp soy sauce
One- two tbsp olive oil
Black pepper
One tbsp lemon or lime juice
One tsp minced ginger
One- two cloves crushed of garlic
Fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped

Firstly, chop up the carrots and broccoli really finely. Put into a Tupperware box with the sweetcorn.

Next, dump all the dressing ingredients on top. 

Put the lid on the box and give it a really good shake so that all the dressing mixes and covers the veg. Put the box in the fridge- it will need to marinate for a couple of hours.

Now, chop the aubergine up really little. Fry it on a low heat in a little oil. I used chopped nuts because I didn't have pistachios which don't taste great raw, so I roasted them as well with the seeds. I left the almonds raw though.

When the veg has been sitting for a few hours, you can finish the dish off, yay!

In a big bowl, put the quinoa, the aubergine/ nut mix, the finely chopped onion, almonds and the marinated veg with all it's dressing. 

Serve it up, and enjoy :)

Nettle Soup

The best things in life are freeee!

I just went out and collected loads of nettles for the first time! I have always wanted to forage but have never really been successful and when I tried before it was too late for nettles. They need to be picked between March and April before they turn bitter and flower, and so I'm glad I remembered before it was too late. 

I am really proud of the fact I didn't get stung once :)

Go pick some nettles! NOW! 

Put on some thick gloves and long sleeved top. Take some scissors and find the younger, smaller plants. Only cut the first 5 inches down or so. 

Next, thoroughly wash the nettles. The best way to do this is fill a sink with water and put them in there, let the dirt sink to the bottom. I picked mine by the sea so I washed them about four times because I didn't want sandy soup.

(Sorry for awful pictures! My camera screen is broken and so I can't see what I'm photographing...)

Now make your soup! I fried and onion and some garlic in oil. Look how massive my garlic cloves were!

Then I added water, stock, herbs and the nettles! Boiled for a while then blended. It definitely needs a potato though, I just didn't have any.

SO GOOD! If you don't believe me, go pick some and try it out ;)

I also picked some dandelion flowers and made tea, it is tasty! 

Lentil Burgers with Homemade Aioli (Garlic Mayo)

I swear that lentils are classically synonymous with veganism. Like people think of vegan food, they think of lentils. Lentils or couscous. I can't tell you the amount of times I've asked for a vegan dish at a restaurant and they bring me peppers stuffed with couscous. I don't even really like couscous- it's boring! I barely ever use lentils either. But today I became the stereotype and made a glorious lentil based meal! May have to use them more often :)

So I bring to you: lentil, sweetcorn and carrot burger with garlic mayo! 

Burger Recipe:

Ingredients:

Two handfuls uncooked red lentils

Two tbsp sweetcorn

One grated carrot 

One small onion

One tsp garam masala (or whatever spice you wish to use)

Pinch of salt

One tsp vegetable stock powder

Dried herbs

Oil

One tbsp cornflour

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200c.

Firstly boil the lentils until they are a bit mushy. I just microwaved them in boiling water for 6 mins. 

Chop the onion finely and fry in the oil until soft. Add in everything else, including the lentils but not the cornflour, and cook for a further 5 mins. Turn off the heat and stir in the cornflour thoroughly.

Blob onto oiled baking parchment and shape into patties using a spoon or your hands.

Put in the oven for 15 mins, flip em over and then give them another 15 mins.

While they are cooking, make this garlic mayo!

This was mine: (mm what an attractive pic...)

I served with mixed veg, mushrooms (chucked them in with the burgers in the last 5 mins), fresh tomato, coriander, pickled peppers, aioli and my mothers DELICIOUS home made chutney :) 

So in other words, "can I have my veggie burgers with some veg, a bit more veg and some more veg please?"

Mother's chutney:

Fresh out the oven:

Yum yum!

RALPH! (Or as some might call it, vegan chocolate birthday cake!)

This is my Facebook page, if you haven't yet liked it :P

RALLPPPPPHHH!!! :)
This is Ralph! The vegan chocolate cake I made for my sisters birthday. (Happy 23rd Abbie!!)
We may have personified him a little too much :S Felt a bit guilty while eating him... Had to mop up our tears with more bits of Ralph.

>>> This is the recipe <<<

Yup... not my own. I didn't use their glaze recipe though, I just mixed icing sugar, cocoa, vanilla and vegan marg for that :) Also, I added soy milk instead of water in the cake, and more cider vinegar.

Ralph was decorated with dairy free chocolate buttons from Tesco.

Ralph was a special child... Named after a certain Simpsons character :) 

This is Ralph when he came out the oven.

I assembled Ralph by cutting off two bottom corners of the cake, cutting them in half and sandwiching them together to make the ears. I secured them with toothpicks.

More pics of Ralph :) 

My beautiful sister Abbie, lighting the ceremonial torches before sacrificing Ralph to our bellies.

No birthdays coming up?

Make it anyway...

Morocconn-y Style Noodles on a Bed of Spinach and Grilled Aubergine

Just a quick post, and sorry for the phone pic!

This was a random "chuck in everything and see what happens" dish but it turned out pretty well :) 

In oil, fry together:

Garlic

Broccoli

One medium tomato, eighth-ed

Olives

Handful of spinach

Almonds

1tsp Moroccan spices

1tsp tahini paste

Dash of soy sauce

Lots of lemon juice

Salt

Dash of cayenne pepper

Black pepper

Mixed dried herbs

Fresh coriander

Mushrooms

Fresh rice noodles

Grill:

Aubergine slices, rubbed with oil

Microwave:

Lots of spinach, on the plate you plan to serve on, for about 30- 40 secs

Serve:

With greed and love.

Beetroot Chocolate Brownies

Most of the cooking I do is experimenting. I don't really follow recipes and chuck stuff in. Which is why I don't actually know the recipe for these but I'll do the best I can!

My sister and I made these amazing brownies and I can proudly say they were the moistest brownies I've ever eaten! They have a deliciously different earthy flavour, which I loved. If you don't like this, use less beetroot.

Ingredients:

Brownies:

100g self raising white flour

50g ground almonds

250g sugar

2tbsp cocoa powder

180g dark chocolate

2 handfuls chopped walnuts

Vanilla essence 

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Pinch of salt

3/ 4 beetroots

100g oil

100g vegan marg

200ml soy milk

Glaze:

One tbsp vegan margarine

3 heaped tbsp icing sugar

Left over beetroot juice (see recipe)

Method: 
Firstly, cook the beetroots. Prepare them by removing the roots and skin (you may want to use gloves or you'll get stained!) and chop them. Put them in a large bowl with a splash of water, cover, and microwave for 12 mins. Alternatively, use prepared beetroot. There should be some juice from the beetroot left over in the bottom of the bowl. Save this for the glaze.

Blend the beetroot in a food processor. Then add the flour, almonds, vanilla essence, salt, vinegar, soy milk and cocoa powder.

Next, put a bowl over a pan of water and add 120g of the chocolate. When it has melted, add the oil, marg and sugar. Let it all combine (don't burn the choc!). Add this mixture to the blender and BLEND. 

Chop the rest of the chocolate and add that, with the walnuts, to the mixture. Stir!

Pour into a greased baking tin and cook at 165c for 40 minutes. 

To make the glaze, put the icing sugar and marg in with the beetroot juice. Microwave just until the marg has melted and whisk to combine. Drizzle over the brownie when they are cooked.