tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44928161960609127622024-03-05T08:00:05.148-08:00Sophie and Mango's Wednesday Night KitchenMangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109551463817639247noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4492816196060912762.post-59981572704849667902010-04-23T11:19:00.001-07:002010-04-23T12:30:53.944-07:00Wednesday Night Kitchen Eats OutMango:<br /><br />Reluctant as we are to indulge in flagrant acts of consumerism, in the interests of pure research we found an excuse to spend a weekend in London. In the event it turned out to be somewhat frustrating and disappointing - as I should have expected from indulging in consumerism.<br /><br />I went up on Saturday lunchtime to meet my brother. Sophie and I had been terribly excited to discover a new vegan organic Japanese restaurant near King's Cross, Itadaki Zen. Finally some restaurant food that meets our exacting requirements of vegan-ness and refined taste? Possibly, but unfortunately closed on Sundays and Sophie wasn't able to make it until late Saturday night. The other exciting prospect was Zilli Green, run by a celebrity chef who became veggie after taking part in some reality TV show about getting healthy. Advertising imaginative, healthy food for relatively reasonable prices - and closed on Sundays. London on a Sunday started to look even less appealing than London on any other day. The place doesn't have much going for it apart from eating out and a few free museums. The other major finding from our pre-jaunt research was a slight feeling of apprehension about our beloved Pogo Cafe after reading about some factional ructions there. Were the winning faction really the bunch of joyless fanatics their opponents made out? More importantly, can they cook?<br /><br />Taking the risk of a threatened fit of petulant left-out sulking from Soph, I went to Itadaki Zen with my brother. The place is very nicely done out, with wood fittings, linen hangings and a hand-made-looking mulberry paper menu. Worryingly it was almost empty, so I hope they manage to keep it going. The food was really quite good, very subtle with high quality ingredients. A major problem for me was that the portions were much too small, and the buckwheat noodle dish I had was a bit too plain to stand up on its own. I left feeling like getting a portion of chips on the way back to the Tube. We could have ordered more side dishes, but I reckon you'd have to spend about 12-15 quid to get a decent feed. Then again, it does generally cost that much to get a really good meal in London - some of the best food I've ever had was at Carnevale. So I'll probably go back next time I feel like spending half my week's food money on one meal. My brother wasn't very impressed as he said he could get more and better food for less money at a few different Far Eastern restaurants - however I am often dubious of their vegan-friendly credentials.<br /><br />I visited my Gran, aunt and uncle, then back to my brother - who actually likes living in London - and his maniacally wisecracking collection of international housemates. They were going out to a 'sexually explicit performance art show' at a venue that sounded increasingly like a gentlemen's club the more he told me about it, especially when the woman who'd invited him dropped out at the last minute and warned him that the place was full of bankers. My initial curiosity wore off completely when he said it was called the 'Supper Club' so I left them to it and met up with Sophie in Camden where I had a quite acceptable falafel from a very affable young man at Funky Falafel (Affable Falafel? not bad).<br /><br />After the Tate Britain (charmingly sponsored by planet-killing, death-squad funding BP) on Sunday morning, we headed back north. With some reservations, we had settled on the Loving Hut in Camden for Sunday lunch, based on some good online reviews. I was briefly involved with the rather odd religious movement behind the Loving Hut chain (see my <a href="http://sourmangopowder.blogspot.com/2008/01/joy-of-sects.html">blog post</a>). I'd also had a few meals at the related Peking Palace which were tasty and imaginative if a little soya-heavy (I'm not against traditional soya products but you can overdo it). We liked the sound of the 'pay as much as you want' idea.<br /><br />The atmosphere at Loving Hut was nothing short of bizarre. A TV blared away with some patronising American vegan nutritionist relating an endless series of disconnected factoids to an apparently heavily sedated studio audience, while the staff and a couple of other customers shouted disjointed phrases at each other and failed to communicate very much. The food was average at best, quite a lot like the Tai etc chains but with less choice and without the starters and salads which are usually the best thing there. I appreciate the attempt to promote vegeterianism / veganism and the 'pay as much as you want' concept, but the overwhelming thought in my mind was 'get out as quickly as possible' - not conducive to the digestion. The promoting vegetarianism / veganism effort is done much better at the Islington £4 all-you-can-eat Indian, who pull it off with retro-kitsch style and a sense of humour, or by anywhere else that does decent food. I can't imagine Loving Hut doing much to convince the veg-curious of anything much except that vegans are a weirdly earnest and slightly creepy sect who don't eat many vegetables.<br /><br />We tubed south to Kensington for the afternoon, failing to achieve any of our objectives, which were to go to the V&A, to look in charity shops for that elusive pair of trousers to fit my skinny bum, and to meet some friends at Kensington High St station. We went to the park instead of the museum, couldn't find the charity shops, and the station was closed. We eventually found the friends at Earl's Court, an area with nothing to recommend it at all, and walked back through the park.<br /><br />We had a few options for Sunday evening before we got the only cheap train available at 9pm. Most of them were around Soho. After much dithering, we ventured into the Vegan Routes bus. The menu looked quite appealing, though probably similar to what we eat at home, and so was the idea of eating on a bus. Unfortunately due to our excessive dithering and the endearingly relaxed attitude of the cooks, we didn't have time to eat there and rushed over to Maoz falafel. My second falafel meal of the weekend was not bad, with a big pile of help-yourself salads, with the slight reservations that I prefer falafel wraps to pitta bread, and having all the salad on the top means ending up with a big lump of rather dry falafels and pitta at the bottom. Good for a quick, filling feed if you're passing.<br /><br />Lessons learned: avoid Sundays; avoid Loving Hut; leave plenty of time for Vegan Routes; you have to spend a bit of money to get really good food in London.Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109551463817639247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4492816196060912762.post-73043590953523963832010-03-01T12:07:00.000-08:002010-03-01T12:39:25.597-08:00Cupping muffcakes...Cake yayayay cake yayay!<br /><br />So, I've been baking. No surprise.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLwj2stG2902Kd-0kuFb1m7hImvdH_kUu5BtXFBvdFUeqL2PUGC0lLGIoAhmMo6kVj7c9B9xzrDdIl7-ks15DZ863_7mI3sbVC393ENPd4h0yaX2z9sNjFXt_RpNj66zPnIbM2BP7PShc/s1600-h/IMG_8301.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLwj2stG2902Kd-0kuFb1m7hImvdH_kUu5BtXFBvdFUeqL2PUGC0lLGIoAhmMo6kVj7c9B9xzrDdIl7-ks15DZ863_7mI3sbVC393ENPd4h0yaX2z9sNjFXt_RpNj66zPnIbM2BP7PShc/s320/IMG_8301.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443761156802558146" /></a>First, I tried a new number from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World - chocolate and vanilla marble cakes. These were particularly fun to make, blobbing two different flavours side-by-side in the cases (note the natty reusable silicone cases, thanks Mum!) and then swirling them about in various ways. Some techniques make better swirls than others. But I defy any recipe, vegan or not, to make better tasting marble cakes than these. They had a particularly pleasing dense-but-moist crumb, thanks to the addition of cornflour. <br /><br /><br />Yesterday I decided it was time to release from the freezer the bag of blackberries we picked last September. Long overdue, really! But what to do with them? Google provided many a mouthwatering option, but taking into account both my limited ingredients and desire to limit the sugar intake at least a little bit, I decided on <a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=319057">this recipe</a> for Vegan blackberry muffins.<br /><br />Well, sort of. I read the recipe, made a note of it and then largely ignored it. On Sunday, to go with the marble cakes, I decided to throw the box out of the window and attempt some kind of mashed banana-based topping, in the absence of margarine. Turns out, banana is not so much like margarine and does not make for good icing. As a result of this, I had in the fridge a bowl of mashed banana coagulated with cocoa powder, icing sugar and soy milk powder.<br /><br />Enter a new and more cunning plan. Being that the muffin recipe was banana based, I merely blended the chocolate/banana mess with a few tablespoons of oil, forewent the extra sugar in favour of a spoonful each of molasses and agave (also in the blender for ease of emulsification), and then poured the whole lot into the mixing bowl to add the flour and baking powder. Of course I'd also nearly run out of wholemeal spelt flour too, so I used the rest of the pack and topped it up with rye flour and some plain. Stir in the blackberries, plop them in cupcake cases and bake.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwvTa7DfHe9hb6dpG0hBquBggEg9S45sT8GL5W_bqiNDeCnKJ8gzNhTWbd7iUeDVJlZyBpXlkZ-JXj3qRFzUEpjH6DowwUNYKMEV5g1kwxvJ-Epok1hekL82KKoevE7xCGjcsHBg9AHbC/s1600-h/IMG_8308.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwvTa7DfHe9hb6dpG0hBquBggEg9S45sT8GL5W_bqiNDeCnKJ8gzNhTWbd7iUeDVJlZyBpXlkZ-JXj3qRFzUEpjH6DowwUNYKMEV5g1kwxvJ-Epok1hekL82KKoevE7xCGjcsHBg9AHbC/s320/IMG_8308.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443764142441818674" /></a><br /><br />And they were perfect! Not too sweet, not too chocolatey, tender and moist with lumps of sweet, soft fruit throughout.<br /><br />Here is my recipe as modified:<br /><br />1 mashed banana<br />1/2 cup sugar (whatever kind you fancy)<br />2 tbsp soy milk powder<br />3 tbsp oil<br />1 tbsp agave nectar<br />1 tbsp black molasses<br />2/3 cup wholemeal spelt flour<br />2/3 cup rye flour<br />2/3 cup plain flour<br />3 tsp baking powder<br />1 cup water<br /><br />Blend the banana, sugar, soy milk powder, oil and a drop of water until they emulsify. Add the other sweeteners and blend again. Decant into a mixing bowl and add the flours 2/3 cup at a time along with a tsp of baking powder. Mix in and then add a splosh of water to relax it again after each addition of flour. I pretty much judged by eye the amount of liquid needed. It should be your average cake/muffin consistency - gooey but spoonable. Stir in berries and bake for 25 mins at 200.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5_t7i8-KO6cL46P7UXmB0WGOkNWZi9-9nCzyLxGecoobckI4uO56zI7Jq0mwdRslKyPhnLbZ3PViTd1sALqdbww2Tv9YjOBwZQv3yX1NclXAuGesIbxZyuneLA5rmXAlpUIVT-0gHa3yI/s1600-h/IMG_8304.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5_t7i8-KO6cL46P7UXmB0WGOkNWZi9-9nCzyLxGecoobckI4uO56zI7Jq0mwdRslKyPhnLbZ3PViTd1sALqdbww2Tv9YjOBwZQv3yX1NclXAuGesIbxZyuneLA5rmXAlpUIVT-0gHa3yI/s320/IMG_8304.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443764693835027458" /></a>Sophie Millward Shoultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04921745633906899946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4492816196060912762.post-30498005601813415762010-02-26T10:50:00.000-08:002010-02-26T11:08:26.662-08:00Glaze of GloryThis follows on from Sophie's post with the lovely photos, but I had to get that title in so I've started another post.<br /><br />We had invited our friends Josh and Flo round (as well as a bedraggled refugee from Titnore Woods tree protest camp who I met at work but who didn't make it round) and as usual were wondering what to cook. I got a couple of free butternut squashes from work and some cheap beetroots, asked Sophie if she had any ideas, and she immediately replied, "glazed and roasted." She sent me a link to VeganDad's recipe for bourbon-glazed squash. I thought it was a bit unwise to buy a bottle of bourbon when neither of us drink, and suggested...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Blood Orange and Maple Syrup Glazed Squash</span><br />2 medium butternut squashes<br />2 blood oranges<br />Generous splosh of maple syrup<br />Salt<br />Olive oil<br />2 tbsp cornflour<br /><br />I peeled the squashes and cut them into medium chunks. Squeezed the juice out of the blood oranges and sliced off some of the rind, which I finely chopped. Mixed the rest together and whisked in the cornflour.<br /><br />I had heated the oven to gas mark 5, and put the squash in the oven in a tray with about 1/3 of the glaze. Roasted for about 15 minutes, then stirred in some more glaze, and kept doing this til it was cooked.<br /><br />Along with that we had beetroots roasted with rosemary and thyme, and the Basic Broiled (=grilled in British English) Tofu and Diner Home Fries (what a strange name - something you make at home that's supposed to taste like something they serve in a diner that's supposed to taste like something you make at home) from <span style="font-style: italic;">Veganomicon</span>.<br /><br />To top it all off perfectly, our friend Flo brought round a wonderful chocolate tart with an avocado-based topping.<br /><br />A successful and enjoyable evening, with lovely food and conversation - a very satisfying Wednesday Night Kitchen Thursday Meal.Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109551463817639247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4492816196060912762.post-33435317915734704222010-02-26T10:27:00.000-08:002010-02-26T10:43:37.273-08:00For your viewing pleasure...... a tantalising trio of 'tubbles... tangy tender tofu... and tremendously tempting tart... But you'll have to wait for the full write up - because it is DEFINITELY Mango's turn to contribute!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj19BD6Qg8ldK2FXtAd3qUtekE35mPRbe6IhA3TzIeSMHlNiYkCdeeseUjQ0K3Lfw0wjLfVWUK6_3OkFpRc68EjqzBaAlalAAJmA65T01e2cz-UPyhmWt0oPkIOefCdfQ0Pqylta2SZvQYi/s1600-h/IMG_8295.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj19BD6Qg8ldK2FXtAd3qUtekE35mPRbe6IhA3TzIeSMHlNiYkCdeeseUjQ0K3Lfw0wjLfVWUK6_3OkFpRc68EjqzBaAlalAAJmA65T01e2cz-UPyhmWt0oPkIOefCdfQ0Pqylta2SZvQYi/s320/IMG_8295.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442621443402981170" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOTlw3r48eA0YaFPYg9qyxnS3tcI6SfV_ry4R0Hf8corLKk0EH9RZYK58su7XZxPeQxXHoA2ytHflyGVFbpGlKZjpEQ9dJWvTcNmkqHDfJznUQvoOqiUnuJksuwFADA0J-yoIn8eBiy58X/s1600-h/IMG_8296.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOTlw3r48eA0YaFPYg9qyxnS3tcI6SfV_ry4R0Hf8corLKk0EH9RZYK58su7XZxPeQxXHoA2ytHflyGVFbpGlKZjpEQ9dJWvTcNmkqHDfJznUQvoOqiUnuJksuwFADA0J-yoIn8eBiy58X/s320/IMG_8296.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442621974341844530" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZGnVVan0dQLYc5DUd-qBWWHtZk_POb6z6hyf3SlOQ-6G_KmigF0d9hJ42OhaFiGSMaxwGQNB9KCKxo3m6ezEmhFRmr0ipiTCMr4vG2NRHoB_M_384ZDqtx9BpSAWL5S-rEANsp6Cqt3j/s1600-h/IMG_8297.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZGnVVan0dQLYc5DUd-qBWWHtZk_POb6z6hyf3SlOQ-6G_KmigF0d9hJ42OhaFiGSMaxwGQNB9KCKxo3m6ezEmhFRmr0ipiTCMr4vG2NRHoB_M_384ZDqtx9BpSAWL5S-rEANsp6Cqt3j/s320/IMG_8297.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442623370023725090" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-bHW-lZTadX997d8Uk7xLZGglwVq58hFTvcg_zVWH4kbZHLuV1qL9ggx3Y_ifxcxINV81zOkf5V9QqkwxYOeEOHJQASXyTvaB-bymW02zm6oXDa9CNXt04IW222Fnbs_R2Y2neML_nRe/s1600-h/IMG_8298.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-bHW-lZTadX997d8Uk7xLZGglwVq58hFTvcg_zVWH4kbZHLuV1qL9ggx3Y_ifxcxINV81zOkf5V9QqkwxYOeEOHJQASXyTvaB-bymW02zm6oXDa9CNXt04IW222Fnbs_R2Y2neML_nRe/s320/IMG_8298.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442624154601738738" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9TAGWXOe4ykaxSKcEOfT_ZB8vYIZhN6Z1W0UQXt3iaKp2zSmejrW_stLP16bjlFIWPzscTTKCyuhGPws2A2FIC-Mwc2V6woOjjV7l5wed1Hv0Z0ktar1uTkMY0xn0WDQAaeMyFznN-lnT/s1600-h/IMG_8300.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9TAGWXOe4ykaxSKcEOfT_ZB8vYIZhN6Z1W0UQXt3iaKp2zSmejrW_stLP16bjlFIWPzscTTKCyuhGPws2A2FIC-Mwc2V6woOjjV7l5wed1Hv0Z0ktar1uTkMY0xn0WDQAaeMyFznN-lnT/s320/IMG_8300.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442624631041043170" /></a>Sophie Millward Shoultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04921745633906899946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4492816196060912762.post-43953901304409876802010-02-23T11:31:00.000-08:002010-02-23T12:03:01.591-08:00Extremely belated Christmassy cake/snack picsI've just about recovered sufficiently from the trauma of the festive season to post these rather belated photos of my culinary efforts during said time. No, ok, that's a poor excuse for just having not got round to it yet.<br /><br />This is only a taster of the various goodies I produced to see myself through the holiday (my family having not really caught on to the concept of veganism - in consequence I spent many a troubled hour planning and preparing my Christmas goods, lest I be forced to survive on slices of stale bread for the week). A brave few deigned to sample them and were, I hope, pleasantly surprised.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4pmBSTrQryWcYRubO8Fb9S_MywYHCSoi04UhpPWUA9l2cLa6-GDQswkX2ptvD2VrNl9cj18dajTUNGGvH0aEcjTmDchZIRcFyAEc2tOhQ-bBzLWnC1v_9KLiHNrXkNVwCaUTl7T1Sj_OW/s1600-h/IMG_7288.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4pmBSTrQryWcYRubO8Fb9S_MywYHCSoi04UhpPWUA9l2cLa6-GDQswkX2ptvD2VrNl9cj18dajTUNGGvH0aEcjTmDchZIRcFyAEc2tOhQ-bBzLWnC1v_9KLiHNrXkNVwCaUTl7T1Sj_OW/s320/IMG_7288.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441530610047604194" /></a><br /><br />On the right, sprinkled delicately with icing sugar, we have my own variation on the mince pie, mince pie cupcakes - for which I adapted Isa Chandra's excellent jam doughnut (well that's not quite how she's put it, but I just can't bring myself to use the phrase 'jelly donut') cupcakes. It's a fairly basic vanilla cupcakes, with - and here's the genius - a dollop of mincemeat placed on top of the batter before they go in the oven. Like some kind of gastronomic wizardry, the filling gently sinks into the cake and winds up somewhere in the middle. Incredible, but delicious. <br /><br />On the left, an absolute marvel that was pulled together with the addition of lemony cream 'cheese' icing - gingerbread cupcakes, again Isa Chandra's recipe. I wasn't sure about these when I first made them (my complex scheme involved making the cakes ahead of time and freezing them til the night before), my un-iced test cake being somewhat...lacking. Fortunately the icing on the cakes was, well, the icing on the cake, and topped with a few raisins came together to form a not only visually delicious but really rather tasty creation. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVGIx5tFy5v7tAscEzfDZuzD67uYW-ctOyxmdReDF0aEGj3pbOwabmOg8T9golCkoyJ7ylVOgovxzkW_jblbHAm2nTmJacyfisDdjBJ7U5AofQstULOVi6RNvf5NPVDtGhGpw-0Dhk6Lj0/s1600-h/IMG_7284.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVGIx5tFy5v7tAscEzfDZuzD67uYW-ctOyxmdReDF0aEGj3pbOwabmOg8T9golCkoyJ7ylVOgovxzkW_jblbHAm2nTmJacyfisDdjBJ7U5AofQstULOVi6RNvf5NPVDtGhGpw-0Dhk6Lj0/s320/IMG_7284.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441531149907989538" /></a><br /><br />These immaculately wrapped golden filo parcels are a take on the Greek snack spanakopita - I'd made the recipe in Vegan with a Vengeance (I do have some recipe books not written by Ms Moskowitz and Romero, honest!) before, but less successfully, and faced with a much leftover filo pastry, spinach, silken tofu and a rare glimpse of that precious metal, the pine nut, I knew there was only one way to go. Having totally winged it I thought they came out rather nicely. My folding technique has definitely improved if nothing else.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzMl1HxhBt7OzlgqtMKKKPUJTcvOyB660xtTvkgKZZVT9OM7mYSyhO_ZUagMtSZK1if-s-aynyfnTt3Y91m_KfqhVqYC18q304UYnLE_kXIJ834PitY_uMLQ_BRi5ig7q7_8gRCgvHTow/s1600-h/IMG_7179.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzMl1HxhBt7OzlgqtMKKKPUJTcvOyB660xtTvkgKZZVT9OM7mYSyhO_ZUagMtSZK1if-s-aynyfnTt3Y91m_KfqhVqYC18q304UYnLE_kXIJ834PitY_uMLQ_BRi5ig7q7_8gRCgvHTow/s320/IMG_7179.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441531579381091906" /></a><br /><br />This last one has nothing to do with Christmas, except that they were made in December, but I thought they looked so cute I wanted to publish them anyway. This is the pumpkin and chocolate chip cupcake recipe from, you've guessed it, Ia Chandra's Vegan Cupcakes take over the World. I adapted it a little and used raisins instead of choc chips - the first time I did it according to the recipe and although nice, along the the pumpkin (I used a Kuri squash, actually) they were just a little bit cloying for my taste. Raisins added a little more bite and a fruity zing. Cinnamon icing and sliced fresh banana on top for the extra je ne sais quoi.Sophie Millward Shoultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04921745633906899946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4492816196060912762.post-8407551658807703462010-02-13T01:44:00.000-08:002010-02-13T04:23:51.913-08:00Cracking the crepe conundrumIn October, I became the proud owner of a carbon steel crepe pan. Such a wonder this thing is that I cannot tell you - perfect pancakes, almost without fail, almost without oil. So why has it taken so long to blog about it? Not through lack of delicious dishes, that's for sure - possibly more through the embarrassment of having eaten very little else since its arrival. <br /><br />But wonderful as it was to eat meal after delicious meal rolled into soft, fresh pancakes - vegetable curry with chutney, veggie sausage and tomato with white sauce poured on top, Isa Chandra's sweet potato crepes with coriander-tamarind sauce (the recipe that began the whole debacle) - for me, there was something missing from the equation.<br /><br />I grew up in a house where, when frying pancakes, the aim of the game was thinness. Thin, crisp, golden brown pancakes (and to clarify, I use the word pancake here as in a British or French pancake, what Americans call crepes), wafery, crinkled at the edges, and not a hint of doughyness. It was this that eluded me. Mango, the non-believer, perfectly content with the crepes of average thickness that we were rolling off the pan week after week, told me again and again that it simply wasn't possible to get the same level of thinness in an eggless pancake. And I was almost ready to believe him. I was so close to giving in and settling for second best.<br /><br />Until today. Yesterday, we made up a mix on the fly for brunch - I more or less melded two recipes from the Veganomicon and VWAV. The one in VWAV is tried and tested, but savoury - and today we were aiming for sweet, but the Veganomicon offering was over-complicated. So I took a little from each and winged it. Disaster nearly ensued. The first pancake stuck a little, refused to be turned, and wound up as a sticky, partially cooked mess on the plate. Mango thought the mix was too watery, and added more flour and a bit of oil. It worked after this, but the product was a little thick, though tasty. The mix went back in the fridge after we'd eaten our fill, and I brought it out again at dinner, after Mango had gone home. I decided to try to achieve the desired crispness. I turned the heat up under the pan a little more, used a little less batter, got some good swirly wrist action going - and the end result was in fact much improved. There were the beginnings of laciness at the edges, and a slightly more toothy bite to the outer layer. <br /><br />But when I revisited the batter for the third time this morning - that's when the magic happened. I decided to go completely mad, and thinned the batter down a little more so it was almost back to the original consistency. By now the starch would certainly have swelled enough to be able to handle a bit less saturation. Again I turned the heat up higher than normal, wiped the pan with the barest coating of oil, and swirled in the mix. There it was - the delicate, almost translucent crepe I'd been hoping for. But could I lift it and flip it without incident!? Yes! Once the edges had begun to pull away from the pan, I gently slid the spatula twixt steel and crepe... Ta da! And the proof was in the eating. Crisp, wafer thin, spread with a little apricot jam and a few raisins - delicious. <br /><br />Admittedly this isn't really an easily replicated recipe as it went through several alterations, but I think the key was in the long refrigeration - giving the ingredients time to bind, thereby gaining that all-important stretchyness. It's certainly going to be worth experimenting with! Now I know it can be done.Sophie Millward Shoultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04921745633906899946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4492816196060912762.post-53141404092460120152009-09-21T01:54:00.000-07:002009-09-21T02:27:39.610-07:00Potato & Tomato Thing and CrumbleAn improvised meal that turned into a four course feast.<br /><br />Sophie came round for dinner before we went to watch <a href="http://www.ageofstupid.net/">Age of Stupid</a> at <a href="http://lewesroadcommunitygarden.webs.com/">Lewes Rd Community Garden</a>. I prefer the straight documentary style of film, but I can see why they were trying to make a more entertaining type of climate change film with a bit of heartstring tugging thrown in. There was a lot of interesting stuff there, especially the Nigeria sections and the bizarre story of the oil industry geologist from New Orleans who stayed behind during the hurricane to rescue people in his boat. I like <a href="http://www.spannerfilms.net/">Spanner Films</a> as they also made the McLibel film and they helped me out with some footage I needed a couple of years ago. They're definitely coming from a grassroots perspective. However, the 'what to do about it' message from the film seemed to be 'put pressure on the government', which is a fruitless endeavour in my experience, because the government are a bunch of gangsters.<br /><br />Anyway, back to the food. I had a load of the same almost over-ripe tomatoes from the shop I work in that Sophie used in her pasta. So I made<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Potato & Tomato Thing</span><br /><br />Lots of very ripe tomatoes<br />Onion<br />Garlic<br />Fresh rosemary<br />Three large potatoes<br />Oil<br />Tahini<br />Miso<br /><br />I sauteed the onions, garlic and rosemary, then roughly chopped the tomatoes and continued to sauter / simmer until they fell apart, then transfered to a large deep baking dish. I made a white sauce from tahini, miso and water and poured that over the top. Then I sliced up the potatoes, dipped them in oil and laid them out on the top. I baked it for about 45 minutes at 180C. A simple, improvised recipe, turned out rather nice.<br /><br />Sophie turned up with some salad stuff and a corn cob that was desperate to be used up. The way the timing worked out, we ate each bit separately so ended up with 4 courses: salad, corn cob, potato thing and...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Blackberry and Apple Crumble</span><br /><br />My friend Antonia spent several days in the summer filling up my freezer with blackberries picked from our local area. When another friend gave me a bag of cooking apples from his garden, it was time for crumble.<br /><br />Half a carrier bag of frozen blackberries<br />Three large cooking apples<br />Handful of dried apricots<br />Handful of dried dates<br />Good pinch mixed spice<br /><br />Equal parts wheat and rye flour<br />Rolled oats<br />Sunflower seeds<br />Oil<br />Molasses<br /><br />I put the blackberries on a gentle simmer to defrost without having to add water, then sliced up the apples and chucked them in with the dried fruit, chopped, for a bit of extra sweetness, and the mixed spice. I left the lid on until sufficient water had come out into the pot to prevent it from sticking, then left the lid off to reduce.<br /><br />I didn't really know how to make crumble, so I guessed. I used a fork to rub the oil into the flour, then mixed in some oats and seeds, and finally molasses diluted with water. It looked like it might be crumble, but maybe a bit too crumbly. I baked the whole lot at 180C for about 25 mins or so. The topping was still a little tending to fall apart when it came out, but the taste and texture were good, if you don't mind crunching the occasional blackberry seed. The crumble consolidated a lot the next day, becoming more like what I imagined.Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109551463817639247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4492816196060912762.post-16848676650503804552009-09-19T11:14:00.001-07:002009-09-19T16:53:36.118-07:00An Italian affair (or two)It's been a tasty few weeks here at the not-so-Wednesday-anymore kitchen.<br /><br />The week before last I discovered <a href="http://mkascooks.livejournal.com/4435.html">this recipe for stuffed pasta shells</a> via one of the vegan communities I'm a member of on LiveJournal. I knew immediately that this was what I had to eat for my next meal. No substitute would be accepted. Except of course that I couldn't find any giant pasta shells at 6pm on a Saturday night. So I made do with medium-sized pasta tubes, maybe 3/4" long and just under 1/2" diameter. <br /><br />Let me tell you now, these are not big enough. It was only vaguely entertaining trying to scoop tofu 'ricotta' into these little tubes - as though made for the task, I found some miniature spoons in our cutlery drawer (I believe they are in fact 1970's coffee spoons) which made it marginally less difficult. However I think we'd have been a lot less frustrated, and certainly fuller far quicker, with the proper shape and size of pasta. <br /><br />We also messed with the sauce a little bit, being that we had no onions, but plenty of courgette. Plus we poured the sauce over the pasta prior to baking, instead of after baking as in the original post. Such heresy.<br /><br />It was really rather good, however, and neither of us regretted the seemingly endless 15 or so minutes of pasta-stuffing whilst we were stuffing our faces with it. I won't bore you by writing the recipe out again, seeing as it's already up on the link.<br /><br />This week I acquired my very own copy of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vegan-Vengeance-Delicious-Animal-free-Recipes/dp/1904943667">Vegan With a Vengeance</a></span>. Mango and I were both very excited - Isa is some kind of deity among vegan cooks, author of the magical and ubiqitous <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1569242739/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=471057153&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1904943667&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=0RXRQF5W02R19R2V6HM9">Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World</a></span>, amongst others. So this week, and on Wednesday no less, that's where we got our recipe.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Orecchiette with kalamata tapenade and cherry tomatoes</span><br /><br />225g orecchiette (that means pasta. Any kind will do, really.)<br />1 tbsp olive oil<br />1 medium red onion, sliced thinly<br />450g cherry tomatoes (they are yummy but any tomatoes will do if you can't afford/don't happen to have cherries!)<br /><br />Tapenade:<br />175g pitted kalamata olives<br />3 tbsp capers (I balked at the price but it really was worth it)<br />2 cloves chopped garlic<br />Handful fresh parsley<br />1/2 tsp dried oregano<br />1/2 tsp dried tarragon<br />pepper<br />1 tbsp red wine vinegar<br />2 tbsp olive oil<br /><br />First, make the tapenade by chucking everything in a blender. <br /><br />Put the pasta on to boil and then saute the onions and tomatoes in the oil for about 7 minutes (make sure you use a big pan - I didn't and had to swap over for the next step). Reserve 125ml pasta water before you drain it. Add the pasta to the tomatoes (hence the tip about the pan) and saute for a few seconds. Then stir in 250ml tapenade (we seemed to have about the right amount, though Isa says the recipe makes enough for double quantities) and the pasta water until it's heated through. Then eat it. <br /><br />I'm just going to throw in a quote from the recipe blurb here, as I like it and it seems to apply to us pretty well: 'This recipe is for 225g pasta, which is supposedly four servings. If you are like most people I know, four servings = two servings, so plan accordingly.' We always think there's going to be too much food - and yet somehow we always manage to eat it...Sophie Millward Shoultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04921745633906899946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4492816196060912762.post-14958782717571309052009-08-10T13:17:00.000-07:002009-08-10T13:35:54.435-07:00Collage, Risotto and PieThe food on this occasion took a back seat to our decision to have an evening of creativity: a collage evening. With three other friends, we arranged to collect some potential collage materials. We cut and glued late into the night. Before that, however, we ate:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Seakale and Wild Garlic Risotto</span><br /><br />2 mugs short grain brown rice<br />1 large bag of frozen seakale, defrosted<br />A slightly smaller bag of frozen wild garlic, defrosted<br />1 large onion<br />A large sprig of fresh rosemary<br />Coriander powder, quite a lot<br />Paprika, quite a lot<br />A couple of tablespoons of tahini<br />Half a tube of tomato puree<br />A big teaspoonful of yeast extract<br />A cautious dribble of cider vinegar<br /><br />Mango: My friend Antonia has spent many hours filling my freezer with wild harvested foods from our local environment. By spring this year I had finished off last year's blackberries, freeing the freezer for a bumper crop of blanched and frozen nettles, seakale and wild garlic. Warning: seakale is locally abundant in certain places but rare in others. Be considerate if harvesting.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br />Antonia precooked the rice with 4 mugs of water while I was out swimming in the sea. Thanks! I coarsely chopped and sauteed the onion with the spices and rosemary, then added the rice. I gradually added more water as it got absorbed, and the yeast extract and wild garlic. When the rice was soft enough, with enough water to make it saucy, I thickened it with the tomato puree and the tahini. I put the seakale in right near the end not to overcook it. Finally, not quite satisfied with the taste, I dribbled in a little cider vinegar. That did it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Blackberry and Apple Pie</span><br /><br />Mango: this is a favourite of Antonia's. It's probably the most basic blackberry pie recipe you could possibly make. Sometimes she makes it just with blackberries. This time she included some unripe apples for some strange reason.<br /><br />A carrier bag full of blackberries<br />Some unripe apples<br />White flour<br />Spelt flour<br />Sunflower oil<br />A little molasses<br /><br />She boiled down the blackberries and apples together. To make the pastry, she rubbed the oil into the flour and added water to the right consistency. The whole enormous thing was baked in the oven. For me it was a little too sour but that's how she likes to eat. It was still enjoyable though, especially with lots of plain and blueberry soya yoghurt.Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109551463817639247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4492816196060912762.post-71101506150199218002009-07-26T11:43:00.002-07:002009-07-26T11:51:21.289-07:00The evidenceThe 'pizza', 'tarte tatin' and resulting splosh...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHEOhTVgf5dx0acm5CuBGJBWpwXg3c5vLki1DlopsQdJ4yYcClt0552r1F2frtzz84QlTcnrTV6jJ6nwA2AWgwXqFnp1l4OYGh1Vlflju6jjiVEVz0pRjqcqN2CvjQ5gbyP1nJsNui7Jw/s1600-h/pizza2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHEOhTVgf5dx0acm5CuBGJBWpwXg3c5vLki1DlopsQdJ4yYcClt0552r1F2frtzz84QlTcnrTV6jJ6nwA2AWgwXqFnp1l4OYGh1Vlflju6jjiVEVz0pRjqcqN2CvjQ5gbyP1nJsNui7Jw/s320/pizza2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362842117511427202" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJeg6uZzmf_zHvtkfPF_sEWE3J23ulWrauAoiMoKd_rWLg5dYSq3N573wNeRog1LYDUYRiQxLVC3KrbqF98SKvrhcqiD-JtjUswcX0WKJFI5-EcGA8cQLAPto2jryicabPiP8hmGixePjM/s1600-h/tart.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJeg6uZzmf_zHvtkfPF_sEWE3J23ulWrauAoiMoKd_rWLg5dYSq3N573wNeRog1LYDUYRiQxLVC3KrbqF98SKvrhcqiD-JtjUswcX0WKJFI5-EcGA8cQLAPto2jryicabPiP8hmGixePjM/s320/tart.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362842122958758274" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLCArMw5ScdhmH8_8Hx5GcWa_NcAcr7Ahbakv-DaYrSSP6v29xNpl3iTamUYEL12AmdX1Zth_LaJNDegCDfYGwwUyagDRJSrf2Y3KgQFGR4Ey8SWBHS-d-zgEMTGeZSCr1erIQAKb41uXx/s1600-h/splat.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLCArMw5ScdhmH8_8Hx5GcWa_NcAcr7Ahbakv-DaYrSSP6v29xNpl3iTamUYEL12AmdX1Zth_LaJNDegCDfYGwwUyagDRJSrf2Y3KgQFGR4Ey8SWBHS-d-zgEMTGeZSCr1erIQAKb41uXx/s320/splat.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362842128494249730" border="0" /></a>Sophie Millward Shoultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04921745633906899946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4492816196060912762.post-89004272460647489802009-07-23T10:37:00.000-07:002009-08-21T14:04:43.856-07:00A culinary odysseyLast Saturday my dad held a 'Teddy Bear's Picnic' in his garden, inviting 60 or so people (it's a big garden) to bring a hamper of food and a bear - drinks and silly games provided.<br /><br />Now, my family hasn't exactly warmed to my recent dietary deviations (announcing about 3 months ago that I'd turned veggie - although now I'm pretty much vegan), and this seemed like a good opportunity to prove my case by feeding them lots of nice things. There were many logistical pitfalls to preparing a large quantity of food several counties away in one evening after work and then transporting it all to the event, but I won't bore you with that tale. Suffice to say I devised a plan to take the Friday before off work, take just ingredients up with me and pillage my mother's kitchen.<br /><br />I spent an agonising evening earlier in the week with recipes, quantities and ingredients lists spilling out of my brain, never mind the elaborate operation of scheduling around work and other social commitments. I'd assumed it was a free-for-all type affair with the food, everyone brings something and we all share a bit of everything, and I was worried about having enough for myself plus who knows how many other people who may or may not eat any of it. This is the largest quantity of food I've ever attempted to cook in one job lot and frankly I can see why it is that people who work in kitchens get so stressed out.<br /><br />On to the menu. My selected savouries were a wild rice pilaff (the wild card, apologies for the pun, as I'd never cooked this recipe before), dhal (cheap and good in quantity with easily freezable leftovers) and a yummy smoked tofu, spinach and lentil salad Mango and I tried a couple of weeks ago. And of course a big batch of hummus. Cakes are much easier, I know where I am with them and there's never any worry that they won't get eaten! My little sister, whose graduation it also was on Friday (in Preston, hence my non-attendance and amelioration via the magic of cake), requested carrot cake (I used the recipe from the marvellous <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vegan-Cupcakes-Take-Over-World/dp/1569242739/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245346075&sr=8-1">Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World</a> - though she didn't know that); I also did the never-fail dead easy and amazing chocolate cake with a last minute addition of chocolate mousse topping (again thanks to the cupcake book), and oat and cinnamon scones.<br /><br /><br />Recipes:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Wild Rice Pilaff<br /></span>200g wild rice<br />40g margarine<br />1/2 onion, chopped<br />200g long grain rice<br />475ml vegetable stock<br />75 slivered or flaked almonds (I cracked them in a pestle and mortar for speed)<br />115g sultanas<br />30ml chopped fresh parsley (which I cleverly forgot to add in at the end)<br />salt and pepper.<br /><br />Warning: this is not a quick recipe. Boil a large pan of water and add the wild rice with a teaspoon of salt. Simmer for 45-60 minutes, until the rice is cooked. Meanwhile, melt half the margarine in a separate pan, add the onion and soften it for 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook for one more minute before adding the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes, until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Melt the rest of the marg in a small pan and fry the almonds until they start to change colour. Mix the two lots of rice together in a big bowl (I made so blinking much of it I had to mix it in the biggest saucepan I could find, before decanting to a tureen and a large tupperware box) and add the almonds, raisins and half the parsley. Stir it all up, season and sprinkle with more parsley to serve.<br /><br />This was pretty tasty actually, even without the parsley. The long grain rice took on a risotto-ey texture, and the whole thing was sweet and nutty. <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><br />Dhal</span></span></span><span><span><span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>250g lentils<br />1 tbsp raisins<br />2 cloves garlic, chopped<br />1cm cube ginger, chopped<br />2 green chillies (I chopped them but I can't remember if that's what</span></span></span><span><span><span> the recipe said or not! Did have quite a kick so amend according to taste)</span></span></span><br /><span><span><span>1 bay leaf<br />pinch asafoetida<br />1/2 tsp cumin seeds<br />3/4 tsp red chilli powder<br />1/2 tsp turmeric<br />1 chopped tomato<br />teaspoon of sugar, optional<br /><br />Soak the lentils for 20 mins. The original recipe (from another awesome book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Great-Curries-India-Tenth-Anniversary/dp/1904920357" 50="" great="" curries="" of="" india=""></a>) uses chana dhal, but I used green lentils because already had some and I'm too miserly to shell out unless absolutely necessary. Fry the raisins in a bit of oil (sounds odd but it's pretty tasty!) for one minute - careful not to burn them - and set aside. Cook the lentils for 20 minutes, add half a teaspoon of salt and take off the heat. Saute the garlic, ginger, bay leaf and chillies for 2 mins, then stir in the cumin, chilli powder and turmeric. Add the tomato and sir fr2 minutes more. Add this mixture to the dhal with the sugar (if using), raisins and asafoetida (just a tiny bit, it's unbelievably pungent - stick your nose in the spice jar and you'll know what I'm talking about, you'll still be smelling it a week later!). Bring to the boil and cok until very soft, but not mushy. Garnish with coriander leaves and raisins if you can be bothered.<br /><br /><br />Smoked tofu salad<br />100g puy lentils<br />200g spinach or similar leafy green stuff (last time we forgot to buy spinach so we used lettuce instead, to no detrimental effect)<br />bay leaf<br />200g sliced smoked tofu<br />sliced avocado<br />12 cherry tomatoes, halved<br />50g green pitted olives<br />50g beansprouts<br />4 tbsp sunflower seeds<br />1tbsp + 50ml tamari<br />200ml apple juice<br />1 tbsp apple concentrate<br />2cm cube ginger<br />1 tsp vegetable bouillon powder<br /><br />The original recipe has some nonsense about roasting the sunflower seeds on a tray, coated with oil and the tablespoon of tamari, for aeons of time - but having neither the patience or the money for the electricity bill, we elected to dry toast the seeds in a pan, then gave them a splash with oil and tamari in a bowl whilst still hot. Boil the lentils with a bay leaf and a teaspoon of bouillon for 35 minutes. Mix the apple juice and concentrate with the 50ml tamari in a bowl, then grate in the ginger. Mix together the lentils, sunflower seeds and all other salady ingredients, then pour the liquid over.<br /><br />Important lesson learned here at the weekend - I cleverly left the creation of this dish til the Saturday morning to minimise wilting/mushyness/brownness; however, I ruined it irrevocably by sploshing the (quite copious) dressing all over it a couple of hours before we had even left for the party. By the time we got there, the spinach had wilted, leaving the other ingredients swimming about in a rather unappetising soupy swill. To me it still tasted nice, but it wasn't exactly the stuff of legend - and certainly not the thing to convince my carnivorous clan of the merits of tofu and lentils. My 13-year-old niece asked what it was with a turned up nose, then ran away when I proffered some lentils for her to sample. I don't blame her really.<br /><br />The carrot cupcakes... Well, as one could probably predict, I tempted fate thinking they'd be the easy part! In fact, they warrant another post entirely.<br /><br /></span></span></span>Sophie Millward Shoultshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04921745633906899946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4492816196060912762.post-29802162930219999322009-07-22T10:18:00.000-07:002009-07-22T10:49:36.017-07:00So you think you don't like cauliflower?Sophie:<br /><br />Such a mundane little vegetable... Hated by millions who have been scarred for life by the floppy, grey, sulphurous mass served up in canteens everywhere. Including me.<br /><br />It took a long time for me to get around to cooking it myself, so that it was still fresh and crunchy and really quite nice.<br /><br />This recipe, however, takes it one step further... I always thought that potato and cauliflower curry was the best way to cook it, until one evening, with a fridge full of cauliflower (thanks to my veg box) and an empty tummy, I set about with the aid of Google to find a way to make a meal of it.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Roasted cauliflower</span><br />Cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets<br />Olive oil (or any kind of oil if you don't have it)<br />Garlic, sliced - as much or as little as you like<br />Chopped almonds<br /><br />Put all the ingredients into a roasting dish, cook at 200c for about 20-25 minutes, and prepare to be dazzled.<br /><br />The original recipe may have used pine nuts rather than almonds, and squeezed lemon juice over at the end, but we didn't have any.<br /><br />Mango:<br /><br />There was little chance I could equal the glory of roast cauliflower, of which this was my first experience. However in my own small way I was able to repay Sophie with her first taste of gazpacho. Note that this is what I call gazpacho, loosely adapted from what I remember of my mum's recipe (one of my dad's favourites). My gazpacho has been severely criticised by a Spanish person. However, since said person turned up to 'help' me cook for 30 people about 20 minutes before serving time, then when I asked him to go and get 3kg of ripe apricots from the market, came back with 1/2kg of unripe apricots from the supermarket, I didn't take his criticism very seriously. It's one of my favourites too, although I've been disappointed the last few times I've made it.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Gazpacho</span><br />1 cucumber<br />1 red pepper<br />1/2 red onion<br />2-3 cloves garlic<br />6-8 ripe medium tomatoes<br />Olive oil, lots<br />Cider vinegar, good splash<br />Unrefined salt<br /><br />I know there is a proper way of doing this where you soak stale bread in vinegar and so on, but I can't be bothered and don't ever have any stale bread. I did idly wonder if any delicatessens sell ready-staled bread at inflated prices, but I don't particularly want to find out. I keep back half the cucumber and pepper, then chuck everything else in and liquidise it. You can adjust the oil, vinegar and salt according to taste at the end. Then I finely chop the remaining pepper and cucumber and stir in for crunch. This time it turned out not bad at all, even if I do say so myself.<br /><br />I also made<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Potato salad</span><br />Salad potatoes<br />Red onion, not too much<br />Fresh basil<br />Soya cream<br />Olive oil<br />Tamari<br /><br />Chop the potatoes into quite big pieces and boil or steam until cooked but not too soft. Finely chop the red onion and basil. Cool the potatoes when they're cooked, then mix everything together. This simple recipe originally came from another community I lived in in France. The lady who did most of the cooking was actually a raw-foodist but cooked food for other people. The potatoes were our own, grown in well-rotted toilet compost (yes, that's human poo). The yield was incredible; digging a patch of soil yielded lovely handfuls of golden potato nuggets. They don't seem to have many slugs in the South of France, only the long stripy ones that live in the woods and don't eat potatoes. I wasn't that impressed with it this time, but sometimes it's really nice. Maybe one day I'll work out why.Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109551463817639247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4492816196060912762.post-31270927143183731172009-07-15T11:42:00.000-07:002009-07-22T10:47:48.602-07:00Fruit TartMango:<br /><br />This was very loosely based on guessing how to make my own version of what my Mum called Tarte Tatin (very delicious but possibly already of dubious authenticity). The first time I tried to make it was while living in a community in France. I got it the wrong way up, but fortunately only one French person was there to notice the error. The second time was in Manchester with a load of organic pears from the free box at Unicorn Grocery, at a famous Christmas party whose highlights included Chip 'n' Gravy Pie, a stodge-fest possibly more fun to talk about than to eat. I also managed to poison myself with a salad containing red cabbage seed sprouts, which contain an awful lot of whatever chemical makes mustard and wasabi pungent. The pear tart disappeared before I had a chance to taste it. The next day we went to the cinema and sneaked from screen to screen watching various blockbuster Christmas films, including King Kong, no mean feat when a dose of red cabbage irritant is burning its way through your system. It eventually left via the urinary route, burning my urethra on the way out (apologies for talking about my urinary system in a recipe blog).<br /><br />Sophie:<br /><br />I was charged with the heavy responsibility of pastry making. I had to admit, rather shamefacedly, that I didn't know how to make it... I got a bowl and followed Mango's slightly haphazard verbal instructions. How much flour? Erm. I don't know. How much oil? Erm. I don't know. That much (he measures out a blob). Then add water gradually. I gaily continue to add water while chatting away, then look down at the grey sloshy mass I've created. Hmm. Maybe too much water. There wasn't enough anyway so fortunately was able to salvage it by adding more flour and oil mixed up separately. Needless to say it wasn't the greatest pastry in the world! I was a little disadvantaged with non-pastry wholewheat flour and a somewhat vague tutor, but I'll know better next time!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Pastry</span><br />1 cup of the wrong kind of flour<br />Some oil<br />1/4 cup water<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Filling</span><br />1 apple, sliced<br />1 ripe pear, sliced<br />1 peach, sliced<br />2 tbsp blackstrap molasses<br />A little water<br /><br />Mango:<br /><br />I arranged the fruits in concentric circles in opposite directions, and was extremely concerned about the destruction of my neat algorithm by some left-over pieces of fruit, but realised that it would be alright to put them on the top because the top would end up on the bottom. I rolled out the pastry with a bottle, forgetting to empty the water out of it first, some of which ended up on the floor. The pastry goes on the top. I baked it at 150C for about 25min.<br /><br />I removed it from the oven and left it to cool, then put a plate on top and nervously flipped it over. I didn't drop it all over the floor, but a significant quantity of liquid slopped out over the counter and the floor. We managed to salvage the tart by clearing space and putting it down on the draining board. It was actually rather nice in the end, served with (Mango) or without (Sophie) soya cream.Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109551463817639247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4492816196060912762.post-70166833089449813132009-07-15T11:02:00.000-07:002009-07-15T11:18:11.935-07:00It started as pizza...Sophie and Mango were just an ordinary charity shop manager and semi-qualified quack healer, until they tried to make... Polenta Pizza.<br /><br />The original improvised recipe involved a vegan pizza with a base of polenta. For some reason we were overwhelmed by an attack of ill-advised inspiration and decided on a fancy multi-layered arrangement. One layer of polenta, one layer of tomato sauce, topped with another layer of polenta... There was a problem though - we didn't have time to let one layer set before adding the next, and it failed to solidify in the oven. What resulted was tasty, but even further removed from anything resembling pizza than the original plan...<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Base</span><br />250g polenta<br />1.25l water<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sauce</span><br />Half an onion, finely chopped<br />3 cloves garlic (or less for the less addicted), chopped<br />Tin of tomatoes, chopped<br />2 tsp dried oregano<br />Good handful fresh basil, finely chopped<br />1 tbsp sunflower oil<br />Large pinch unrefined salt<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Topping</span><br />6 mushrooms, sliced<br />"Tofu Rosso" (fancy biodynamic tofu stuff), sliced<br />1/4 tin sweetcorn<br /><br />We made up the polenta according to the instructions, but with a bit extra water as Mango thought it was too dry last time we made it (it certainly wasn't this time!!). To make the sauce, we fried the onion and garlic in the oil and then simmered with the tomatoes, herbs and salt. The polenta probably would have solidified if we'd left it to cool after assembling in the tray, or maybe it would be necessary to lay out the layers separately to cool. Layer of polenta, layer of sauce, another layer of polenta, another of sauce, then the toppings. Cooked at 180C for about 20 minutes. Quite nice and almost, but not quite, entirely unlike pizza (thanks to Douglas Adams).Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109551463817639247noreply@blogger.com0