Connoisseurus Veg

I have been following  Connoisseurus Veg for some time now and these are some of the recipes that I have cooked.  Each one has been absolutely delicious, in fact lip smacking gorgeous.  Check out her blog here.

Mujadara – lentils, onions and rice – my three favourite ingredients 🙂

  
Pineapple and Smokey Baked Tofu Pizza with Hoisin BBQ Sauce 🙂

  
Fajita Vegetables served with Creamy Jalapeño Sauce served with jacket potato.  The sauce is to die for 🙂

  

Chickpea Scramble with Spinach and Mushrooms – the perfect way to start the day 🙂

  

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Vegan Stuffed Marrow

When I was little my grandad used to write my name on a tiny marrow in his garden.  As the marrow grew, so did my name and I have always loved marrow ever since.  Brilliant way of getting children to eat marrow!

This recipe is something I serve quite regularly.  It is very forgiving on timings, you can add pretty much any veg you have in the freezer, it freezes beautifully, what more can I say 🙂

Ingredients

• 1 marrow – peeled, halved (length ways) and deseeded
• Soy mince – soaked in water
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 chopped courgettes
• 1 large mushroom
• 2 carrots
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste (or ketchup)
• 1 tablespoon Italian Herbs

Method

• Gently sauté onion, garlic, carrot and courgette in a little water for 5 mins.  Then add all other ingredients (except marrow) and simmer for 20 mins.
• Put tin foil in a baking tray and put marrow on top.  Fill marrow with stuffing (it doesn’t matter that there is way too much).  Cover with foil and bake at gas mark 6, 180 degrees for at least an hour until the marrow is very soft (this will depend on the size of your marrow.
• Enjoy with mashed potatoes.

  

Free Food

It’s been a long time since I posted but life really got in the way with health scares, new grandchildren, full time work etc.  But I do want to carry on with this blog, so hopefully I will be posting more often.

This morning I went out on a foraging expedition.  The blackberries I went for are not quite ready yet, but I did find some beautiful cherry plums.  Last year I made jam with them, but as I am now on a very clean, living diet (I have to lose three stone for health reasons), this year I am going to just stew them and freeze in individual portions ready to add to breakfast, smoothies, yoghurt etc etc.

They are so pretty and I do really, really like free food.  Back soon.

  

What A Beautiful Day

It was so lovely when I woke up and, being as though I didn’t have to go to work today, I decided to spend this morning on the allotment.  It is the first time this year I have spent any length of time up there.  I have seeds growing on my bedroom window sills, namely several types of chillis, black and white Aubergines, Brussels Sprouts, and sweet peas.  I also have broad beans in toilet roll ‘pots’ outside on deck.  But I have been holding off planting anything directly, as in the past I have been caught out by planting too early.

Anyway, I planted red onions and shallots in to individual pots in my unheated greenhouse.  I mulched several of the raised beds with well rotted manure and had a general tidy up in preparation for the upcoming seaon.  My greenhouse has suffered a lot of damage over winter and I am going to have to replace it at some point.  I am considering investing in a small polytunnel.  I want a decent one, not a cheap one that is only going to last a couple of seasons.  If anyone has any suggestions I would be grateful.  I figure I can extend my growing season with a polytunnel.

It is so good to be working outside again, I get a wonderful sense of peace and achievement when I have spent time at my allotment.  The weather is slowly getting warmer as we get further in to spring and the earth is beginning to wake up.  I love this time of the year and its promise of renewal 🙂

Taste Heaven

Yesterday I discovered a food match that could have been made in heaven. It was so simple; a lovely creamy, buttery bagel with sliced advocado, salt and pepper.  I can see that this is going to be my breakfast for quite a few days ahead 🙂



Roasted Sweet Potato Wraps

Hi All, I have been very busy recently. My beautiful granddaughter, Jessica, was born was born three weeks ago and then my equally beautiful grandson, Bobby, was born two weeks ago! It’s like having twins, I am sooo lucky. There is nothing to compare with newborn kisses and that wonderful smell that tiny babies have 🙂

I just had to share this recipe for sweet potato wraps with caramelised onions, I swear it is the best thing I have put in my mouth for a long time.
Obviously I tweaked it a little (!); I added vegan cheese and I didn’t have any tomatoes so I just left them out. I opened a new jar of vegan pesto and, since I don’t use it very often, I froze the rest in individual portions an ice cube tray for future use. I will definitely be doing this again, perhaps next time experimenting with different vegetables. I also must look at making my own pesto. You can find the recipe here at The Kitchn blog.

Silent and Still

By first light, the decks were icy and the world around us was covered with a beautiful, but freezing frost. The skies are grey and damp permeates your body as you walk along the sea wall. There is not a whisper of wind and the incoming tide is strangely still. There is not one other soul around and you feel as if you could be the only person in the world. The mist has now descended on the water giving it an eerie covering, just as you imagine the River Styx would be. The forecast for later is stormy and windy, but for now the world is silent and still.