Spaghetti and beanballs December 10, 2007

This is another recipe from Veganomicon. My husband is an absolute sucker for any kind of spaghetti and fake meatball dish when we go out, but I don’t recall ever trying to make one at home. There had been a lot of discussion on the PPK that people were having trouble getting their balls to stick together, or that they didn’t like the texture so I was a bit unsure but decided to give it a try anyway.

My first problem came with a 20oz tin of kidney beans. What on earth size of tin is that? I used 2 normal tins and hoped for the best. The other ingredients are simply herbs, spices, garlic, soy sauce, lemon juice and flour. They formed as balls perfectly, then you either bake or fry them with a bit of the tomato sauce that you use for the spaghetti. Of course, I opted to fry mine and they were a bit soft and squashy but held together OK.

I liked this dish but I didn’t totally love it. The flavourse were good but the balls were a bit soft for me; I’d have preferred a bit more of a crunch to them. I would try the basic idea again but play around with it a bit.

Derby County Away – Orechiette with lentils October 29, 2007

Sunday afternoon in Derby is not the most thrilling prospect for a vegan lunch, so I had a huge breakfast before I went. I had toast and marmite, with a sort of hash. I crumbled up leftover burger in with fried onions, potatoes, spinach and grated carrot, and served it with lots of hot sauce. It was delicious.

Result Derby County 0 – Everton 2 Man of the match – Mikel Arteta
Verdict – lucky hash!

When I got in from the match I decided to make a pasta dish from Millennium – orechiette with lentils, lemon and rosemary. It’s quite a straightforward recipe considering how complex some of the dishes in that book can be. The sauce is basically red lentils, chilli flakes, tomatoes, rosemary and lemon, then right at the end it has spinach, capers and parsley added to it.

Spaghetti with broccoli September 29, 2007

This was a really quick tasty tea. I cooked some spaghetti and steamed the broccoli over it. I heated some olive oil and added crushed garlic, chopped sage and chopped red chilli. Then I slightly mashed the broccoli with a fork and added it with some tinned chickpeas to the oil and sage  mixture. I added the drained spaghetti and let it all mix together, then sprinkled toasted pine nuts over the top. It couldn’t have been quicker but was very tasty.

Tahini and broccoli pasta September 22, 2007

This is a firm favourite with us. It’s definitely the dish I’ve enjoyed the most from “Vegan Planet”. I use wholewheat pasta, which is served with broccoli and a very simple sauce of chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, soy sauce and garlic. It’s quick, easy and tasty. I especially love dishes with plenty of sesame seeds. They’re a great source of calcium and tasty too.

Green chilli linguini September 9, 2007

This is a dish I made up after trying something similar at Santa Fe, a chain restaurant. I have tried twice to get them to tell me what is vegan on the menu, but they have ignored me both times, so I made this up myself.

First I smoke portabello mushrooms and green chillis in the smoker. Then I make a paste by blending lots of coriander, the green chillis, garlic, salt and olive oil, until it looks like a pesto. Toast some pine nuts, and cook the linguini. Stir the pesto into the linguini and mix well. Add a large handful of baby spinach and the sliced mushrooms, then divide between 2 dishes, and sprinkle with chopped sun dried tomatoes and the pine nuts. We like it hot but you can vary the heat as you like.

Orechiette with broccoli and chilli September 9, 2007

I’m not exactly sure when the purple sprouting broccoli is in season but whenever I see it I get it. This is a very simple pasta dish from Paul Gayler “Pure Vegetarian”. It’s not a vegan book but some of the recipes can be easily adapted. It’s basically cooked orechiette with red onion, sprouting broccoli, chilli flakes, chickpeas, basil, mint and lots of olive oil.

First match of the season August 12, 2007

Weekends in our house can be a bit and miss on the food front. We follow different football teams, so we’re travelling in opposite directions, and setting off and arriving home at strange times of the day. Everton were at home to Wigan and I was getting a lift. Normally on these occasions I make myself a decent breakfast before I set off, to avoid finding myself hungry in a football ground! (Funnily enough, football grounds do not seem to specialise in vegan offerings). This Saturday was no different.

I used the scrambled tofu recipe from “Vegan with a Vengeance” – the only difference was that I added a bit of spinach in at the end. I served it with toast and the wonder that is marmite, and some hashbrowns.

Football notes:
As an aside, Everton won 2-1. Man of the match: Mikel Arteta.
Verdict: lucky scrambled tofu

Portsmouth were away at Derby, so for a change we were both eating in the evening. It had to be quick and tasty. I used the Let’s Get Sconed adaptation of Macaroni Cheese, available here. It’s one of my favourite blogs so I guessed that the results would be tasty, and they were! They had to be, since my husband isn’t vegan, and he really liked it too.