gluten free

Oil free full flavour roasted veg

Oil free full flavour roasted veg

At this point in the winter all us vegbox people are up to our ears in root veg. Soups, stews, raw as crudites, I’ve tried it all. I had a whole bunch leftover and decided to just roast it all up. I don’t cook with oils so instead I tossed each in a special combination of juices, herbs & spices.

  • Carrots with orange juice, marmalade, italian herbs, salt & pepper
  • Parsnips with honey, soy & chinese 5 spice
  • Pumpkin & onion with fresh chili, garlic, lemon juice & cumin
  • Jerusalem artichokes with balsamic vinegar & thyme

I lined them up but the juices mingle together a little which is fine. The Jerusalem artichokes take the longest to cook so if you want to put everything in at the same time cut those the smallest. All ovens vary, as do the veggie sizes so really you have to stab them and cut them and taste them to know when they’re done. Definitely over an hour and usually under two. Stick around gas mark 3, 160c, 325f.

Top tip: If you have leftovers you can use it for a fab & super easy breakfast! Just mash it all up together and spread it in a shallow baking pan. Make a depression for each egg using the back side of a spoon. Crack an egg in each depression and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the egg is done to your liking.

 

 

 

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Polenta stuffed peppers

Polenta stuffed peppers

This was a bare cupboard sort of throw together meal that turned out just excellent!

Roast couple of red peppers in the oven on high until the skin starts to bubble and brown.

Meanwhile on the stove top boil 1/2c polenta per person. Flavour it however you like but I added:

  • 1 can chick peas
  • big handful fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • salt, pepper & dried chili flakes to taste

Once that is done slice open the peppers, take out any large pieces of membrane and spoon in the polenta mixture.

Close the pepper back up and finish it in the oven for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

 

 

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Singapore Noodles

Singapore Noodles

A combination that is so wrong, it’s right. Indian curry powder & Chinese 5 spice are the main flavours of this popular noodle dish.

For 4 People:

Start out by dry frying a block of tofu cut into 1in/2cm triangles. Dry fry an onion and a hand ful of halved mushrooms as well.

In a wok or frying in use a bit of soy sauce to fry 2 cloves of minced garlic and a teaspoon of minced ginger. Add in half a head of shredded cabbage and fry using soy sauce. While it cooks add in a teaspoon each brown sugar, Chinese 5 spice and dried chili flakes.

Use the whole pack of the rice vermicelli noodles. Just pour boiling water over to cover them and let them sit for about 5 minutes, just until they’re al dente. Only make them when you’re about ready to add them so they don’t go mushy or stick together.

Add the noodles in a bit at a time, sprinkling Indian curry powder on them as you do, about a tablespoon in total. Most recipes call for madras style. I use a combination that I keep on hand that has madras, garam masala, & turmeric.

Taste them and add a bit more spice or soy sauce as needed.

 

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Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Cabbage is abundant in an English vegbox, no matter the time of year. This is great way to use the whole head and have leftovers for days. It freezes and re-heats well also.

Start off by cooking some lentils. Rinse them and boil with twice as much water.

Add in the below while they’re cooking:

  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 minced chilli
  • 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
  • 1 small chopped onion
  • salt & pepper

They should be ready in about a half hour, just leave them to the side until the rest is ready.

You’ll need to blanch & core the cabbage. Hit it on the hard counter top, stem-side down. This will loosen the stem then you can just pull it out. Boil a large pot of water and toss in the whole cabbage. As it starts to soften, gently peel away each leaf, using tongs. Try to keep them whole and toss them into a bowl of cold water as soon as they come off. Any broken leaves or small bits from the middle can be chopped up and added to the lentil filling.

While you fill & roll the cabbage leaves, warm up two cans of chopped tomatoes. Add in salt, pepper, a sprinkle of sugar and a dash of red wine & mixed Italian dried herbs.

For the cabbage rolls you’ll need a large baking dish. Put each cabbage leaf in front of you and in the bottom section put a pile of lentil mixture. Fold it over, fold the sides in & finish the roll up. Place seam side down in the baking dish. Cover with the tomato sauce & bake on 180/375 for 20 minutes. sprinkle a little extra virgin olive oil & sea salt to serve.

 

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Vegan Bailey’s & Chocolate Treats

Vegan Bailey’s & Chocolate Treats

It’s holiday time! Tomorrow evening I will sit down to my yearly Christmas ritual of extravagant food & drink, paired with a viewing of It’s a Wonderful Life and the original cartoon version of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas! This will be my first year doing it as a vegan though!

First up Vegan Bailey’s:

  • For every shot of whiskey (Jameson & McCallum are both great choices)

Add in:

  • 1 shot soy cream
  • 1 shot simple syrup mixture:

On low heat warm 2 parts water to 1 part sugar until dissolved in a pan containing a few coffee beans.  Add in a couple drops of vanilla & a quarter teaspoon cocoa per shot.

Keep it in the fridge & serve over ice – tastes remarkably like the real thing!

On the side will be a sweet chocolate treat that you don’t have to feel guilty about!

Blitz 1/2 cup hazelnuts or almonds in the food processor, leaving them quite chunky, and sit to the side.

Now blitz until combined:

  • 2 cups walnuts
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup cocoa

Now add in slowly while it’s on:

  • 1 and a half cups dates

It should be a crumbly texture that sticks together when you squish it. Mix it together with the larger chunks of nuts from before. Press it into molded cups or any pan and let it sit in the freezer for an hour. Best served straight out of the freezer or else it gets quite crumbly.

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 Lucky for some I’m off on holiday until mid January so have a great one & I’ll see ya’ll in 2014!

 

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Miso Soup With Soy Mushrooms & Rice

Miso soup is super quick & tasty. To make it more of a filling meal I put it next to some leftover rice and topped it with some mushrooms.

You can find miso paste in the Asian food section of most supermarkets and it’s great to have around, not just for the soup but also a really yummy stir fry.

Put 3 tablespoons miso paste in a pot and add a litre of water. Mix it all together over low heat.

Add in:

  • 1/2 a block of silken firm tofu, cubed
  • 2 sheets nori seaweed torn
  • 3 spring onions, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons wakame seaweed if you have any

Slice 5 mushrooms for each person and fry them in a hot, dry pan. When they’ve browned turn the pan off and pour 2 tablespoons soy sauce on them and stir them around.

Put the rice up the side of the bowl and put the mushrooms on top. Pour the soup around the bottom & enjoy!

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Baked Potato topped with Kale Salad & Tahini Lemon Dressing

Baked Potato topped with Kale Salad & Tahini Lemon Dressing

I’ve posted this Kale Salad before but the other night I made an updated wintery version and put it on top of a baked potato. It was so healthy and yummy! Just scrub and poke your potatoes with a fork and cook them on 180 for 50 minutes. Cut them open and put the kale salad directly on top. Double the dressing recipe so you have a bit more to pour over as well.

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Cashew Pineapple Mushroom Fried Rice

Cashew Pineapple Mushroom Fried Rice

This is an especially quick dish to throw together if you use leftover rice. Put a handful of cashews per person in the oven on 180 for 15 minutes. In the meantime cook the rice if you need to and grill up the pineapple & mushrooms.  Rip up some stir fry greens, just toss them in raw and they wilt as you cook it. Add the rice to the pan and then just “fry” it all up using the sauce to your taste. I start with half a cup of soy sauce diluted with 1/5 water, a teaspoon brown sugar, some fresh ginger & garlic & sesame seeds. Add the toasted cashews at the end.

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Red Lentil & Celeriac Burgers

Red Lentil & Celeriac Burgers

Just because it’s no longer BBQ season doesn’t mean you have to stop eating veggie burgers! This is absolutely my favourite thing to do with this brain like vegetable!

This recipe always makes a ton and I usually shape them into falafel type balls and keep them in the freezer for a super easy dinner over a salad.

  • Boil 1cup red lentils (when they’re done drain them and leave them on a paper towel for 10 minutes to soak up the excess water)
  • Steam 1 peeled, cubed celery root (celeriac) with 1 chopped onion
  • Toss into a bowl
  • Add in a sprinkle salt & pepper and some herbs & spices for flavour

This is really plain mixture at this point so you can make it whatever kind you like; I’ve done roasted garlic & thyme, parsley & red wine, coriander, chili & cumin, garam masala & turmeric, be creative.

  • in a small cup mix 2 tablespoons milled flax seed with 3 tables spoons water as an egg replacer and add that in
  • mash it all up and add in bread crumbs until it’s a consistency that sticks together (use gluten free if you like)
  • shape them into burgers or falafel balls
  • coat with polenta/semolina (keeps them from sticking together and makes a nice crust)
  • grill, fry or bake at 180 for 20 minutes

Keep them in the freezer for a quick & healthy meal but I usually brown them all at once first to keep them in better shape in the freezer. If you don’t cook them first be sure to use a foil or plastic wrap between the layers otherwise they will freeze together.

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Spinach Salad with Mexican Spiced Roasted Squash

Spinach Salad with Mexican Spiced Roasted Squash

All varieties of squash have started coming in the vegbox but sometimes I tire of the classic wintery dishes they usually turn into. This salad is great for about any sort of squash; I’ve used pumpkin, butternut squash, kabocha & acorn.

Start off by whisking your marinade in a large salad serving bowl:

  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons citrus juice (orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon mixed Italian herbs
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • sprinkle salt & pepper

Peel (if necessary), core and cube your squash and toss in the marinade. Pour it all, including the leftover marinade, into an oven dish. Cook on 180 for about 45 minutes, until soft, stirring occasionally.

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You can see in the picture I tried to roast the cashews with the squash this time but I wouldn’t recommend it. A real quick toss in a pan with sugar & spices (cumin & cayenne – maybe a bit of nutmeg) will liven them up, or toss them in raw, but the marinade in the oven made them too soft for my liking.

Now whisk together the dressing in the same bowl:

  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons citrus juice (orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit)
  • 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • sprinkle salt & pepper

Now throw in all your salad ingredients:

  • spinach
  • tomatoes
  • onion
  • avocado
  • mixed seeds
  • black beans
  • mango slices

Throw the nuts & squash on top & mix together.

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