Red Kidney Bean Hummus

Recently, in a attempt to eat healthier but also to economise, I unearthed my copies of vegetarian cook books from the 1980’s, a time when all may have been flash fast food and ready meals for the rest of the nation, but for vegetarians it was still very much D.I.Y.

I have a distinct feeling that I was a lot more healthy and, to a point, have eaten more healthily, the less money I’ve had available.  Only to a point, mind.  The months where I was living mainly off boiled barley and lentil soup mix (plain) and, a year or so before that, from flatmates’ donated leftovers, I don’t think I was getting much of a good balance food-wise.  But how different things are here and now where the cheap, processed food is everywhere.

My favourite veggie cook book ever has to be ‘The Vegetarian Cook Book 2’ by David Eno.  So old that there isn’t even an image of it on the Amazon listing (but you can pick up a used copy for 1p) and it’s DIY just about everything heaven for veggies.  Maybe I can learn something from the time of relative austerity, of health food shops with barrels of lentils and oats rather than shelves of food supplements and of eating in most nights because it’s only Pizza Hut that has any veggie options.

Buy the book (c’mon, I just said a used copy is 1p) and turn to page 31 and there’s a recipe for Hummus.   I’ve made it – it’s nice, it looks and tastes like hummus.  The variation below is something I thought I’d invented, until I looked online and discovered other people have had the same idea.

Kidney Bean Hummus 20140221_002529

  • 200g red kidney beans, cooked or from a can or carton
  • Little shake of salt
  • 2 small cloves of garlic or 1 large clove, chopped or crushed
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp tahini
  • Cayenne pepper to taste
  1. Blend

(that’s definitely the shortest set of recipe instructions I’ve ever written)

French Onion Soup

Some time ago, I attempted to veganize cream of tomato soup.  Today I attempted to vegetarianize French Onion Soup, which is traditionally made with a meat stock.  No mean feat, given the pre-warning that it is not nice if too salty and that I had been thinking Marmite would give it a meaty taste.  The mushrooms gave a bit of ‘meatiness’ to the stock without adding a ton of salt. Also, I can’t remember eating French Onion Soup.  I know I have done because I have a vague memory of making a version from a book I got when I was about 10; a version that I very much doubt contained alcohol – even if it was the seventies.  I’ll have to try the real deal at some point to see how the version below measures up but it all disappeared at the dinner table this evening so that’s a good sign.

  • 3 or 4 large onions
  • 3 or 4 cloves of garlic
  • Olive oil
  • Red wine (I used Merlot because it was open)
  • Stock: I used a level teaspoon of low-salt vegan bouillon, a handful of dried porcini mushrooms and 3-4 squirts of Bragg’s Aminos (soy sauce without added wheat or salt and made by some very strange people) to a pint and a half of boiling water
  • Agave nectar (sugar will do; I don’t know where ours is)
  • Bay leaves
  • Mixed herbs
  • Vegetarian hard cheese e.g. veggie Parmesan – Morrison’s cheap hard Parmesan-like cheese is vegetarian (although it comes from cows so I can’t have any)
  1. Slice the onions finely and cook in the oil over a low-ish heat for ages, stirring occasionally.  By ages I mean about half an hour.
  2. Squirt some agave nectar in after about 10-15 minutes to help the onions caramelize a bit
  3. When onions look just about ready (browning at edges and soft), throw in minced garlic and cook for another minute
  4. Add a splash of wine and the stock, herbs and bay leaves – simmer while you set the table
  5. Serve with grated cheese

I believe traditional French Onion Soup employs squares of cheese on toast instead of just a sprinkle of cheese, hence it looks interesting enough to take a photo of.  You may be reassured, however, that this tasted too nice for me to remember to photograph it.

 

 

Cream of Tomato Soup

Watching the lovely Peter warm up lovely Heinz Cream of Tomato soup has been known to fill me with envy.  The smell is one of those that is just so nostalgic and I can remember the taste even though it’s been years.  No home-made tomato soup I’ve ever attempted has come anywhere near that taste, neither has the colour ever been right – where tomato soup tends to be the colour of tomatoes, if you had no sense of smell and you opened a can of Heinz tomato soup you could be forgiven for thinking it was orange emulsion paint.  I wondered what was in this weird stuff and whether it would be possible to make a vegan version.

tomatosoup
The ingredients list for Heinz Cream of Tomato soup reads thus: Tomatoes, vegetable oil, sugar, modified cornflour, salt, dried skimmed milk, milk proteins, cream, spice extracts, herb extract, citric acid.  It goes against my mum’s advice of “never eat soup and milk at the same meal” (also don’t eat more than one apple a day – are you listening, people?) – whatever I made today, it was bound to be better on account of no milk and it doesn’t contain even one apple!

I don’t attempt to recreate the recipe but I have attempted to recreate the taste (not bad, quite similar) and the colour (no chance, unless I add orange or lemon peel I suppose)

Ingredients (enough for one serving)

  • 5 large-ish tomatoes
  • 1/2 a leek
  • 2 teaspoons of olive oil
  • Stock made with 1 teaspoon of vegetable bouillon (reduced salt version – if using other stock, leave out the salt)
  • Agave nectar (1 teaspoon)
  • Salt and pepper (tiny amount of each cause this is only for 1 person)
  • 1 bay leaf and 1 basil leaf (you can add more basil for decoration)
  • 1 tablespoon tomato puree
  • 4 tablespoons of Oatly oat milk
  1. Chop the leek and gently fry in the olive oil, then add the tomatoes (cored, peeled and quartered) and fry for a bit more
  2. Cover with stock, bring to boil then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes – add basil and bayleaf during this time
  3. Blend with handheld blender
  4. Return to pan and bring to boil
  5. Reduce heat and add agave, tomato puree and oat milk – stir in well over heat
  6. Add salt and pepper to taste (shouldn’t need much)

I then did SUMS to see how my version equated with the Heinz canned version for various factors (because I’m like that).  We reckon the amount of soup I made was equivalent to about a 400g can of Heinz tomato soup.  The home-made soup has a few more calories but not significantly more, it’s also a bit higher in protein and fibre, a bit lower in sodium and a bit higher in fat.  People wanting less fat could reduce the amounts of oat milk or olive oil.

Lastly, one serving of this soup, as made, is 6 WWPP, exactly the same as a can of Heinz tomato soup.  I think this means I’ve won 🙂

Onion Squash Soup (served in an Onion Squash)

Here’s something you could make for Halloween.  Please NO carving of scary faces into the squash before serving up – it makes the soup fall out.

sssooop

 

For each serving you’ll need:

  • One onion squash – about 550-600g whole weight
  • 1 and a half teaspoons of olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 15g creamed coconut  and half a teaspoon nutritional yeast  flakes OR  30g goat’s cheese
  • Vegetable stock
  • Parsley or chives to garnish
  1. Cut small amount from base of squash so that it stands flat
  2. Make another cut right through the squash about 2/3 of the way up and remove that section
  3. Scoop out seeds and discard
  4. Armed with a sharp knife and a metal spoon, excavate chunks of squash as you would if you were hollowing out a pumpkin – however aim for chunks all being approximately same size
  5. Put chunks of squash in a bowl and mix well with olive oil
  6. Transfer to baking tray and bake at 200°C, checking every 10 minutes, till chunks are soft (cooking time will vary depending on how big chunks are)
  7. When soft, transfer to blender and blend together with all other ingredients except for garnish (you can vary amount of stock to get a thinner or thicker soup)
  8. If soup not warm enough, transfer to saucepan and warm through
  9. Pour into hollowed-out squash to serve and sprinkle with garnish

Please note: onion squash also tastes amazing just on its own

WWPP: 5

Sweet Potato Curry

The area of London where I used to live and the area of London where I live now have something in common – good South Indian restaurants.  Hence I know the delights of dosas, sambhar and coconut chutney and would take them over poppadoms and something eye-watering with rice any day.  Last time I went to my favourite South Indian Restaurant I was informed that their dosas contravened my no-dairy rule, which made me go ‘meh!’.  Then I thought “I bet I can make my own and make it dairy-free!”.  And I nearly did.  By the time I’d got the hang of how to fry the dosas there was only enough mixture to give everyone a tiny one by the side of their plate.  Fortunately the curry got the seal of approval from everyone who tried it, including the lovely neighbours, who have provided me with the photo below.

SONY DSC

The dosa and sambhar are from a packet I bought at Morrisons although you can buy them online here
The dosa is based on rice and lentil flours but there’s a disclaimer on the pack that says it’s packed in a plant that processes wheat flour also so I don’t know if that counts as safely GF
The curry’s fine though – the amount below makes 3 portions

  • 350g sweet potato (one large one)
  • 125g carrots (I think about 3 medium-sized)
  • 1 red onion
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • Teaspoon sunflower oil (or other neutral oil)
  • 125g red kidney beans, cooked or canned and drained
  • 80g french beans (or dwarf or runner beans)
  • 100ml coconut milk
  • Teaspoon curry powder
  • Teaspoon stock powder
  • 2 medium tomatoes
  • Squirt of agave nectar
  1. Boil the sweet potato and the carrots till almost soft, steam the french beans over the same saucepan if you’re lazy (I am, BTW)
  2. Fry the onion and garlic in the oil in a wok or substantial frying pan
  3. Transfer potato and carrots to the same pan
  4. Add curry powder, tomatoes and (both lots of) beans and stir in
  5. Pour on enough hot stock to cover and simmer
  6. Add coconut milk and agave nectar
  7. Keep simmering till liquid reduces and potatoes and carrots go a bit mushy

In the interests of learning to make things that tend towards the healthy, I’ll be marking some of these recipes with Weight Watchers Pro Points values.  I know a number of my friends are doing Weight Watchers and I’d like to put recipes on here they can try so you’ll see at the bottom of some recipes the letters WWPP and a number.   People who are unconcerned with or even anti the whole Weight Watching thing are welcome to ignore the letters and the number.

WWPP: 6

Spring Rolls

Vietnamese spring rolls are not fried and thus a more salady option; if you’d like to make spring rolls similar to those you’ve had in restaurants and takeaways then brush these with oil and bake or deep or shallow fry.  If you’ve used too much water preparing the pancakes then there is a danger they’ll fall apart during the cooking process (this is why there isn’t a post-cooking photo in this post – ALL of the ones I put in the oven burst open, fortunately they still taste great).

springrolls

Yes, well spotted, they’re not perfectly formed tubes.  When the spring roll folding machine at the factory can do my job, be a good companion/family member/colleague, look good in jeans and be able to sing in a Welsh accent, then and only then will criticism be permitted.

Almost all of the ingredients for these I had in the cupboards and fridge already.  The wrappers for the spring rolls are Rice Flour Pancakes from a company called Blue Dragon and they contain rice flour, tapioca flour starch, salt and water.  The packaging does not say that they are gluten free but, as far as Wikipedia can tell, all of the ingredients are so I’m including this recipe as gluten free.

Mixture in the middle bit
Start with some salad ingredients in a bowl; I used leftover salad comprised of carrots, lettuce, cucumber and tomato with the carrots grated and the tomato, lettuce and cucumber cut up finely …and tomato seeds removed.  I added a pinch of Chinese 5 spice and a splash of soy sauce also some home-sprouted mung beans (although the ones you can get in the shop are fine too) and mixed it all together in a bowl.

Pancake rolling bit
Rice flour pancakes are kinda stiff, like poppadoms before you fry them.  In order to fold them around your mixture you need to get them a bit wet so they’re more pliable.  If you’re not intending frying them then go for it and stick them under running water.  If you want them more rigid then try pressing them against a damp tea towel (a clean one, not the one you’ve been using for a week).  With your pancake damp, place about a handful of your mixture into just off the middle and roll the pancake around it, sealing the (approximation of a) tube in place with a bit more water.  Now roll up the ends and seal in the same way.

Serve with dipping sauce of your choice.  And run an image search for Vietnamese Spring Rolls to see how lovely they can look when prepared by someone who isn’t me 🙂

 

Koftas

Some years ago, when I worked in Hackney, there was a family-run health food shop near to the office and I was a fairly frequent visitor. Alongside Decaffs with soya milk (don’t do it – it curdles), fruit and veg and branded health foods, the shop sold lentil koftas as made by one of them and lovingly presented with a slice of lemon. I found recipes for them online and tried making my own only to discover that online recipes tell you how to make a million koftas when you actually want 6 or 7 max and they all require you to use bulghur wheat which I can’t find in the shop. The recipe below uses quinoa, which is everywhere and makes enough koftas for a packed lunch plus a few extra to wait in the fridge for you and greet you when you get home.

koftas

It’s quinoa, not worms – it just looks like that, OK?

  • 50g lentils
  • 50g quinoa
  • small onion
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic
  • Olive oil for frying
  • tomato puree
  • fresh herbs (I used dill but mint and coriander are good too)
  • Pinch of cumin
  • Lemon juice
  1. Cook the lentils and the quinoa, drain and then mix together in a bowl
  2. Add lightly fried onion and garlic, tomato puree, herbs, cumin and lemon juice and stir in well
  3. Form into sausage shapes and leave in the fridge – they should become solid enough for you to pick up to eat (with luck!)
  4. Serve with lettuce and a squeeze of lemon

Gluten-Free White Sauce

photo

I’ve been looking at a bag of brown rice flour in the cupboard for ages (with pauses to go to work, watch TV, go to sleep etc.)  and wondering if t would be possible to make a decent white sauce with it.  Having suffered the indignity of having to pretend to enjoy cauliflower cheese  made with dairy free cheese sauce mix (just because it’s fake, does it really have to taste like it?) and having half a cauliflower left, I thought about how much better I might be able to do.

Classic white sauce involves butter, flour and milk – this one follows the same principles but uses oil, rice flour and water, although if I was making it for someone else then I’d make it more creamy with soya or nut milk or nut cream.

  1. Heat up a tablespoon of oil and mix in a heaped tablespoon of brown rice flour
  2. Stir well over a medium heat till the flour is bubbling, cook for a few minutes taking care not to let it burn
  3. Pour on hot stock, a ladleful at a time (check the stock you’re using is also gluten-free)
  4. Bring to the boil then simmer, sauce should thicken – when it can coat the back of a spoon, it’s done

I’ve added fresh dill but for a cheesy sauce you could add ketchup, marmite and yeast flakes or vegan cheese to taste.
To make an onion sauce, start by frying onions in the flour then proceed with adding rice flour.

 

 

How to survive preparing Globe Artichoke

IMG_0155

Globe artichoke, not to be confused with Jerusalem or any other type of artichoke, is a small, alien being that will fight you every step of the way as you attempt to dismember it.  At the end of this grueling and painful process, once you are covered in plasters and committed to never ever bothering again, you are rewarded with dinner that tastes like heaven and you may do a quick about-turn, decide the preparation wasn’t so bad after all and then wonder how soon you can go out to buy another one.

Knowing what to do and in what order can help a lot when tackling one of these beings.  I hope the explanation below will be of assistance.

IMG_0156 Holding the artichoke by the stalk, use the scissors to chop the spiky ends off the leaves leaving them cut flat across – imagine you’re cutting toenails.  When the leaves get smaller near the top of the artichoke, ignore those because you’re going to cut the pointy end off anyway.
IMG_0157 Chop the pointed end off completely; this should reveal a centre with purple leaves.  You’ll need to pull all of these leaves out, which is tricky because they’re stuck in with superglue and have spikes that want to hurt your fingers.  Maybe bet someone they can’t get them out in under a minute … “Your minute’s not up yet…. no, not now either, keep going!”
IMG_0159 Your next challenge, hiding underneath the purple leaves is a load of spiky hair, which you can dig out by being vigorous with a metal spoon.  Remember to scrape it all off – it’s not edible.
IMG_0160 Stop digging when you hit hard ground – you have reached the heart of the artichoke.  It gets a lot easier from here.
IMG_0161 Place artichoke into a large pan of boiling water with a squeeze of lemon.  If you’re looking to save water, boil it in the same water you used to prevent it from browning.  Boil for about 35 minutes.  When you’re done, the water will have turned dark green – no need to be alarmed.

Drain upside down and serve drizzled with oil or with vegan spread / butter or margarine equivalent.
Eat by peeling off outer leaves, dipping into whatever you’ve put in the centre and then stripping the leaves with your teeth.  You can eat the heart as well – if you’ve prepared and  cooked it, you deserve the best bit.

IMG_0162

Vegetable Burgers

IMG_0154 Trish's veggie burgers

I wanted to make something like the vegetable grills, burgers and fingers you can buy frozen in supermarkets but without the coating, which is my least favourite bit.   This recipe makes about 6-8 burgers depending on how big you make them.  Warning! They do fall apart quite easily – and that’s because there’s no chemical weird stuff holding them together, just love.

  • Couple of small potatoes or 1 big one
  • Vegan butter equivalent (or whatever you usually mash your potatoes with will do)
  • 1 carrot
  • Green beans (I mean small ones like these)
  • Handful of mushrooms
  • 1 onion
  • Almond flakes or other nuts of choice, chopped
  • Very small amount of marmite (optional)
  • Oil for coating / frying
  1. Boil potatoes ready for mashing
  2. Meanwhile chop green beans into small bits, cook and set aside
  3. Grate carrot
  4. Fry onion and mushroom in a little oil
  5. Mix all ingredients together in pan with wooden spoon till well and truly smushed up together then leave to cool
  6. When cool, wash your hands and shape mixture into burger (or sausage) shapes
  7. Brush with oil and grill or fry