I've got to go back to work! Sadly the happy interlude that is maternity leave is coming to an end. This means I won't be here to cook dinner at least three nights a week. That means S has to and he likes an easy life in the kitchen, so if it was up to hime we'd have oven chips every night. I can't let that happen, so my plan is to cook in bulk on the days I am around and leave a stash of food in the freezer. This means I need to be organised enough to get food out in the morning, but I plan the meals on a weekly basis so this is no problem.
The other thing is though that I have recently chucked away our microwave. To be honest the thought of microwaved food was making me feel uncomfortable so I had stopped using it. It was taking up space too, space that I could fill in otherways. So when I chucked out the microwave I bought a slow cooked instead.
I had a slow cooked a few years ago, but it was small and not very good. This time I did a bit of research and bought a good one with a large capacity. I am hoping that this will also help S out. I can chuck everything in the slow cooker in the morning before I go to work and then all he will have to do is cook up some rice or pasta and serve. Well, we'll see eh.
Anyway, this week I have three slow cooker meals planned. So here is this weeks menu.
Saturday - vegan chicken nuggets, chips and peas
Sunday - pie, new potatoes and veg. And there was pudding gooseberry and redcurrant crumble (using allotment fruit) with vegan ice cream.
Monday - BBQ tofu, veg and rice (slow cooker)
Tuesday - Stroganoff
Wednesday - Refried beans in tortillas
Thursday - Aubergine parmazano (well actually aubergine with Tesco vegan cheese)
Friday - Stew and dumplings (slow cooker).
It was a pretty good shop this week too. I spent £40 and somethign pence. I thought it would be much more as I bought vegan cheese, tofu, lots of fruit, Trex, veggie meat substitutes (chicken nuggets and cauliflower cheese grills) and lots of other expensive stuff.
And, the slow cooker is working out well too. I can smell my refried beans now and they smell good and everyone liked the BBQ tofu, especially N who has got really fussy lately.
Recipes to follow - E has just woken up!
Wednesday, 2 July 2014
No Knead Sour Dough
Bread, yum yum. I know, it's a guilty pleasure, I can't wean myself off toast. But do I need to? If I can make my toast with good quality bread, then that's OK right?
The thing is bread has got expensive and most of it is squashy, steam filled, additive laden rubbish. Artisan bread is expensive and not easy to get. I like a challenge though, and so making sour dough bread has been on my to do list for a while. I did have a stab last October, but the starter didn't froth eagerly, the loaves never really rose and in the end the starter smelled of paint! I gave up.
And then I had another go. . .
The big difference this time is that I've been using mineral water to get my sour dough starter going. When I looked into this last year I found posts saying not to as the minerals are too strong, but when I looked this time I saw mineral water being recommended as the chlorine in tap water can kill the yeast. Turns out that even though I was using filtered water my tap water is not conducive to growing yeast, so having overcome that hurdle I now have a lovely bubbly wild yeast culture. And despite what my web based research led me to believe, once I cracked this issue, cultivating yeast is surprisingly easy.
There's lots of good (and some confusing) advice out there. My favorite resource has been breadtopia. I have broadly followed the method for a starter here. I used a mix of whole meal and rye to begin with - no discarding, just two tablespoons of flour and two of water everyday for 8 days.
Since i've got my starter going there's been no stopping me, but my favourite method is a no knead one. I wrote about no knead bread a couple of years ago here, but I now use a method adapted again from Breadtopia.
My recipe is a bit more intuitive and involves a small knead. As it's a wet dough I was finding it got stuck to the bowl after proofing, but an additional little knead, a bit more flour and prove sorts that out. So here, it is.
My method and ingredients
c. 3.5 cups of flour (I use a mixture of white, whole meal and rye) plus a bit more for dusting and kneading.
1.5 tsp of salt
0.5 cup of starter
2.25 cups of mineral water
Mix the flour and salt together.
Add the starter and water and mix. Add a bit more flour if it's very very wet. You should have a wetish, but cohesive dough. Might take some trial and error.
Dust with flour and place in a bowl covered with cling film.
Leave to rise (ideally) somewhere warm for between 4 and 8 hours.
After the dough has risen, sprinkle on a bit more flour and knead a few times until smooth (say about 30 seconds, this isn't a laborious step).
Dust the bottom of the bowl with more flour and shape you loaf into a nice round shape. Place it back into the floury bowl and cover again with cling film. Put the bowl somewhere warm.
Turn on the oven and preheat to gas mark 8. Take a large oven proof pot with a lid and place in the oven. Heat it up for 30-40 minutes. At the end of this time put the bread in the pot, put the lid on and put in the oven for 30 minutes. Then remove the lid (be careful it's super hot) and bake for another 15 minutes. Voila! You have bread.
And actually, since originally drafting this post I have taken an even less rigid approach. Today I put a full cup of starter in my bowl (the starter had been in the fridge so I thought it might need a bit of extra yeast) along with 3 cups of organic white bread flour and 2 cups of water. When I mixed it it was a bit wet so I shook in some wholemeal flour until it was about right. I left it overnight (it wasn't particularly warm where I left it). This morning the dough was very sticky so I added more white flour until it was smooth and left it for about an hour to proove. Here is the result:
What I should also say is that as I add extra flour and another proove my dough is less holey than it would otherwise be. Some people are really after the holes in sourdough, but I don't have a sour dough basket to help with handling, so I forego the holes. It still tastes good and is a good texture though.
And the very best thing is, this good quality sour dough loaf costs about £1, less if I use just wholemeal and not organic flour.
The thing is bread has got expensive and most of it is squashy, steam filled, additive laden rubbish. Artisan bread is expensive and not easy to get. I like a challenge though, and so making sour dough bread has been on my to do list for a while. I did have a stab last October, but the starter didn't froth eagerly, the loaves never really rose and in the end the starter smelled of paint! I gave up.
And then I had another go. . .
The big difference this time is that I've been using mineral water to get my sour dough starter going. When I looked into this last year I found posts saying not to as the minerals are too strong, but when I looked this time I saw mineral water being recommended as the chlorine in tap water can kill the yeast. Turns out that even though I was using filtered water my tap water is not conducive to growing yeast, so having overcome that hurdle I now have a lovely bubbly wild yeast culture. And despite what my web based research led me to believe, once I cracked this issue, cultivating yeast is surprisingly easy.
There's lots of good (and some confusing) advice out there. My favorite resource has been breadtopia. I have broadly followed the method for a starter here. I used a mix of whole meal and rye to begin with - no discarding, just two tablespoons of flour and two of water everyday for 8 days.
 |
| My frothy starter, not as frothy as usual though as I've just reawoken it from being in the fridge. |
Since i've got my starter going there's been no stopping me, but my favourite method is a no knead one. I wrote about no knead bread a couple of years ago here, but I now use a method adapted again from Breadtopia.
My recipe is a bit more intuitive and involves a small knead. As it's a wet dough I was finding it got stuck to the bowl after proofing, but an additional little knead, a bit more flour and prove sorts that out. So here, it is.
My method and ingredients
c. 3.5 cups of flour (I use a mixture of white, whole meal and rye) plus a bit more for dusting and kneading.
1.5 tsp of salt
0.5 cup of starter
2.25 cups of mineral water
Mix the flour and salt together.
Add the starter and water and mix. Add a bit more flour if it's very very wet. You should have a wetish, but cohesive dough. Might take some trial and error.
Dust with flour and place in a bowl covered with cling film.
Leave to rise (ideally) somewhere warm for between 4 and 8 hours.
After the dough has risen, sprinkle on a bit more flour and knead a few times until smooth (say about 30 seconds, this isn't a laborious step).
Dust the bottom of the bowl with more flour and shape you loaf into a nice round shape. Place it back into the floury bowl and cover again with cling film. Put the bowl somewhere warm.
Turn on the oven and preheat to gas mark 8. Take a large oven proof pot with a lid and place in the oven. Heat it up for 30-40 minutes. At the end of this time put the bread in the pot, put the lid on and put in the oven for 30 minutes. Then remove the lid (be careful it's super hot) and bake for another 15 minutes. Voila! You have bread.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And actually, since originally drafting this post I have taken an even less rigid approach. Today I put a full cup of starter in my bowl (the starter had been in the fridge so I thought it might need a bit of extra yeast) along with 3 cups of organic white bread flour and 2 cups of water. When I mixed it it was a bit wet so I shook in some wholemeal flour until it was about right. I left it overnight (it wasn't particularly warm where I left it). This morning the dough was very sticky so I added more white flour until it was smooth and left it for about an hour to proove. Here is the result:
 |
| Bread - it nearly fills the bottom of my 5L pot! |
What I should also say is that as I add extra flour and another proove my dough is less holey than it would otherwise be. Some people are really after the holes in sourdough, but I don't have a sour dough basket to help with handling, so I forego the holes. It still tastes good and is a good texture though.
And the very best thing is, this good quality sour dough loaf costs about £1, less if I use just wholemeal and not organic flour.
Saturday, 31 May 2014
Salad Days
Just recently I made a pledge to myself to eat more veggies. You'd think that as a vegan I'd eat heaps of veggies, but sometimes I don't. I may have cereal or toast for breakfast, beans on toast for lunch, and then maybe only a portion or two of veg for dinner. Sure, I snack on fruit in between, but I resolved to do better on the veg front.
The answer was simple, eat salad for lunch and so for the last 8 weeks or so that's what I've done every day. And I really look forward to my daily salad, which contains a rainbow of raw veg.
I weighed my lunch a couple of times, and it averages around 450-500 grammes - roughly the equivalent of 5-6 servings. This also means I make good in roads into my 7 a day quota.
And best of all what I've realized is, is just how tasty a varied salad bowl can be. My salad rules are to include some kind of leaf, veg of a couple of colours (the more the better), something crunchy and a nice dressing. Last week I had some bean sprouts left over from dinner, so I made an chinese nspired salad, with lots of bean spouts, crunchy carrots sticks, avocado and a tahini and soya sauce dressing.
I also pretty much always add toasted seeds (usually a mix of sunflower, pumpkin and cumin) and I've just started making a dressing using a flax and hemp seed oil blend for added omegas. I like to have something special in the salad too, so griddled aubergine, or asparagus, avocado or toasted nuts often feature. I have also added in grains and beans if they're to hand. I'll go to my local greengrocer and have a browse to see what's in season and then chuck it in.
And I plan on keeping up the healthy habit all year round. I'm looking forward to some hearty winter salads full of crunch to keep me bright and healthy later in the year.
2 tsp of dark soya sauce
1 tsp of dark tahini
1 tsp of flax and hemp seed blend oil (sesame oil, or even olive oil would work well too)
2 tsp of fresh lemon juice
Put all the ingredients in a jar, put the lid on and shake. Pour over the salad (works well if the salad is nice and crunchy).
If you eat lots of salad, why not tweet it with the hashtag #saladaday and share the veggie love!
The answer was simple, eat salad for lunch and so for the last 8 weeks or so that's what I've done every day. And I really look forward to my daily salad, which contains a rainbow of raw veg.
I weighed my lunch a couple of times, and it averages around 450-500 grammes - roughly the equivalent of 5-6 servings. This also means I make good in roads into my 7 a day quota.
And best of all what I've realized is, is just how tasty a varied salad bowl can be. My salad rules are to include some kind of leaf, veg of a couple of colours (the more the better), something crunchy and a nice dressing. Last week I had some bean sprouts left over from dinner, so I made an chinese nspired salad, with lots of bean spouts, crunchy carrots sticks, avocado and a tahini and soya sauce dressing.
I also pretty much always add toasted seeds (usually a mix of sunflower, pumpkin and cumin) and I've just started making a dressing using a flax and hemp seed oil blend for added omegas. I like to have something special in the salad too, so griddled aubergine, or asparagus, avocado or toasted nuts often feature. I have also added in grains and beans if they're to hand. I'll go to my local greengrocer and have a browse to see what's in season and then chuck it in.
 |
| Three of last week's lunches, you can tell I had aubergine in! |
In case you want to try it here's my tahini and soya sauce dressing recipe.
2 tsp of dark soya sauce
1 tsp of dark tahini
1 tsp of flax and hemp seed blend oil (sesame oil, or even olive oil would work well too)
2 tsp of fresh lemon juice
Put all the ingredients in a jar, put the lid on and shake. Pour over the salad (works well if the salad is nice and crunchy).
If you eat lots of salad, why not tweet it with the hashtag #saladaday and share the veggie love!
Sunday, 11 May 2014
May's meals
Menu this week (sorry didn't manage photos)
Saturday (spontaneous) Barbecue
Sunday Spag Bol
Monday Lentil Flan and Salad
Tuesday Shepherd's Pie
Wednesday Sausage casserole and mash
Thursday Baked potatoes, beans and sausages
Friday Bean casserole.
Err recipes another time I'm afraid, got to catch the wind in the washing!
Saturday (spontaneous) Barbecue
Sunday Spag Bol
Monday Lentil Flan and Salad
Tuesday Shepherd's Pie
Wednesday Sausage casserole and mash
Thursday Baked potatoes, beans and sausages
Friday Bean casserole.
Err recipes another time I'm afraid, got to catch the wind in the washing!
Organic or cheap?
I've been having an internal tussle recently. Do I buy as much organic produce as I can for my family, at a greater financial cost, or do I try and save the pennies and buy the cheaper stuff? I spent a full five minutes on Friday picking up the normal brocolli and then putting it back and choosing organic and vice versa. In the end I chose the organic brocolli, it was 76p more than the normal stuff, but as I looked at E smiling at me in the trolley I knew what choice I wanted to make.
E suffers from ezcema and I've just made the decision to upgrade his vests and sleep suits to organic cotton for the next size. This is a pricey decision, but if it helps his skin then it's a no brained. And if I want what he wears to be organic then of course what he eats should be too. The question is will it make a difference?
I used to think organic was a waste of money - pesticides are still used, so it's not really any better. However, far fewer pesticides are used and crucially organic farming practices are different. Organic matter (poo) is an important part of the cycle, soil quality is important as is rotation. Many people have attributed modern industrial farming practices as one of the reasons Somerset flooded so badly in the winter.
Where does this leave my budget? Well, it means food is costing me a bit more. Me and E don't drink milk, eat cheese or eggs, but N and S do and I don't want them to have the hormone filled, super dairy, GMO stuff, both for health, social and political reasons. So I buy organic, but expect them to eat a but less of it.
Eating less veg is not an option though. In fact, I've been eating a large and varied salad everyday for lunch for the last six weeks and upping our veggie in take all round, so our veg spending is significant.
There is a budget busting light on the horizon though, summer is coming and seeds are a sprouting. We are very lucky to have an allotment. We've neglected a bit over the last few years, but this year it's looking good. We've got carrots, radishes, parsnips, leeks, broad beans and beetroot in now. There are redcurrants, blackcurrants, and gooseberries ripening on the bushes. In the garden we've got more radishes, rocket, mixed leaves and strawberries appearing. There are peppers, chillis, beans and courgettes germinating in pots on the window sills. Through all this we've greatly reduced our food miles, given the bees something to pollinate (we've got companion flowers too), and supplemented our organic vegan in take.
In addition I've been making no knead bread and started a sour dough starter. Organic flour is pricey, but cheap compared to organic bread.
Having said all this though I did buy the cheapest pasta and tinned tomatoes in the shop this week. It's all about compromise I guess!
E suffers from ezcema and I've just made the decision to upgrade his vests and sleep suits to organic cotton for the next size. This is a pricey decision, but if it helps his skin then it's a no brained. And if I want what he wears to be organic then of course what he eats should be too. The question is will it make a difference?
I used to think organic was a waste of money - pesticides are still used, so it's not really any better. However, far fewer pesticides are used and crucially organic farming practices are different. Organic matter (poo) is an important part of the cycle, soil quality is important as is rotation. Many people have attributed modern industrial farming practices as one of the reasons Somerset flooded so badly in the winter.
Where does this leave my budget? Well, it means food is costing me a bit more. Me and E don't drink milk, eat cheese or eggs, but N and S do and I don't want them to have the hormone filled, super dairy, GMO stuff, both for health, social and political reasons. So I buy organic, but expect them to eat a but less of it.
Eating less veg is not an option though. In fact, I've been eating a large and varied salad everyday for lunch for the last six weeks and upping our veggie in take all round, so our veg spending is significant.
There is a budget busting light on the horizon though, summer is coming and seeds are a sprouting. We are very lucky to have an allotment. We've neglected a bit over the last few years, but this year it's looking good. We've got carrots, radishes, parsnips, leeks, broad beans and beetroot in now. There are redcurrants, blackcurrants, and gooseberries ripening on the bushes. In the garden we've got more radishes, rocket, mixed leaves and strawberries appearing. There are peppers, chillis, beans and courgettes germinating in pots on the window sills. Through all this we've greatly reduced our food miles, given the bees something to pollinate (we've got companion flowers too), and supplemented our organic vegan in take.
In addition I've been making no knead bread and started a sour dough starter. Organic flour is pricey, but cheap compared to organic bread.
Having said all this though I did buy the cheapest pasta and tinned tomatoes in the shop this week. It's all about compromise I guess!
Friday, 7 March 2014
Weaning
I've sort lost track where I am. I've been away quite alot in the last fortnight, so haven't had two full weeks to report on our meals. However, the big news is that we've started weaning E. He's over 24 weeks old now, can sit up and was showing lots of interest in food. Well I say he was showing interest in food, he certainly seemed transfixed when we ate, but as he puts everything in his mouth I'm not entirely sure this counts!
We're going with baby led weaning - we did this with N too. It's messy, but fun and easy peasy and cheap. There's no need to buy specialist baby food and no need to prepare any purees. E just eats what we eat. We started Tuesday lunch time and this is what he's had so far.
Tuesday - Homemade houmous on rice cakes for lunch. A few pieces of mozarella pasta and some undressed tomato and cucumber from the salad for dinner.
Wednesday - banana mashed on a piece of rice cake for breakfast, avocado and a cherry tomato for lunch (I just cut a wedge of avocado off to suck straight from the skin). Some shepherd's pie (filling and mash) squidged on a rice cake, steamed carrots and a piece of frozen banana for tea
Thursday - peanut butter and banana mashed on a rice cake for breakfast. Avocado and vegan mayonaise mini sandwiches and plain home popped popcorn for lunch. Pasta in nut bolognaise sauce for dinner.
Friday - vegetarian pate on toast fingers for breakfast. Plain tofu and houmous on rice cakes followed by a piece of satsuma for lunch. Tarka dhal and rice on rice cakes and a small piece of home made onion bhaji for dinner.
Most of the food ends up smeared on the table, E's bib or on the floor, but that's ok. Milk remains the most important food a baby eats for the first year - food for fun until they're one, the saying goes. This weaning malarky is about learning about taste, texture and importantly how to chew. I read recently that when you spoon feed a baby they learn to swallow first then chew, but with baby led weaning it's the other way round and that means the baby is in control. Our daughter was a brilliant eater (well until she found sweets sometime around the age of two) and I think that's because she was allowed to control the food herself - we certainly never had any fights over food with her as a baby or refusals to eat.
Check out the baby led weaning website for more info or Jill Rapsley's book on the subject.
My top tip would be don't worry about the mess and think of rice cakes, toast and celery as edible cutlery and plates. I will move on to splodges of mashed potato by themselves, but at this stage, when E is just learning and experimenting with getting the food to his mouth it helps if he has something edible to convey the food (I've already dispensed with plates as he tried to eat them too).
I never cook vegetables, potatoes or pasta in salted water, I don't add salt to mash potato either and will from now on leave it out of stews etc (I had just started adding a bit back in now N's a bit older). Salt can be added at the table for people like me who have no taste buds left. This means the whole family can eat the same foods together.
I did steam extra carrots on Wednesday for dinner and saved them for a quick snack later on - this means I have cooled food handy at a moment's notice too. That's the trickiest thing really, making sure the food for E is cool enough, but as long as I serve his food first it's normally not an issue.
As I made my own houmous (so I know what's in it) and E loves it, I thought I'd include the recipe.
Half a can of chick peas
3 tablespoons of tahini
2 cloves of garlic
Juice of half a lemon
Glug of olive oil
Water
Put the first five ingredients in a blender or food processor and whizz.
Add enough water to reach a consistency you like.
Store in a pot
This makes about the same as a regular supermarket tub.
Enjoy!
n.b. sorry about the orientation of the photo - I can't seem to rotate it and make it stick and haven't got time to sort it out now. Will try and amend later.
We're going with baby led weaning - we did this with N too. It's messy, but fun and easy peasy and cheap. There's no need to buy specialist baby food and no need to prepare any purees. E just eats what we eat. We started Tuesday lunch time and this is what he's had so far.
Tuesday - Homemade houmous on rice cakes for lunch. A few pieces of mozarella pasta and some undressed tomato and cucumber from the salad for dinner.
Wednesday - banana mashed on a piece of rice cake for breakfast, avocado and a cherry tomato for lunch (I just cut a wedge of avocado off to suck straight from the skin). Some shepherd's pie (filling and mash) squidged on a rice cake, steamed carrots and a piece of frozen banana for tea
Thursday - peanut butter and banana mashed on a rice cake for breakfast. Avocado and vegan mayonaise mini sandwiches and plain home popped popcorn for lunch. Pasta in nut bolognaise sauce for dinner.
Friday - vegetarian pate on toast fingers for breakfast. Plain tofu and houmous on rice cakes followed by a piece of satsuma for lunch. Tarka dhal and rice on rice cakes and a small piece of home made onion bhaji for dinner.
 |
| E chasing satsuma and carrot |
Check out the baby led weaning website for more info or Jill Rapsley's book on the subject.
My top tip would be don't worry about the mess and think of rice cakes, toast and celery as edible cutlery and plates. I will move on to splodges of mashed potato by themselves, but at this stage, when E is just learning and experimenting with getting the food to his mouth it helps if he has something edible to convey the food (I've already dispensed with plates as he tried to eat them too).
I never cook vegetables, potatoes or pasta in salted water, I don't add salt to mash potato either and will from now on leave it out of stews etc (I had just started adding a bit back in now N's a bit older). Salt can be added at the table for people like me who have no taste buds left. This means the whole family can eat the same foods together.
I did steam extra carrots on Wednesday for dinner and saved them for a quick snack later on - this means I have cooled food handy at a moment's notice too. That's the trickiest thing really, making sure the food for E is cool enough, but as long as I serve his food first it's normally not an issue.
As I made my own houmous (so I know what's in it) and E loves it, I thought I'd include the recipe.
Half a can of chick peas
3 tablespoons of tahini
2 cloves of garlic
Juice of half a lemon
Glug of olive oil
Water
Put the first five ingredients in a blender or food processor and whizz.
Add enough water to reach a consistency you like.
Store in a pot
This makes about the same as a regular supermarket tub.
Enjoy!
n.b. sorry about the orientation of the photo - I can't seem to rotate it and make it stick and haven't got time to sort it out now. Will try and amend later.
Saturday, 22 February 2014
Not Quite Mozarella Pasta, Pizza and Shepherd's Pie
So this is my first retrospective week. We went to Aldi for our weekly food shop and spent just over £32, which is a cheap week. Although the other day I was looking back at some old posts and finding this would have been an expensive week, which just shows you how much food costs have risen in the last few years, oh well!
Anyway, what did we eat:
Saturday - Chiara's Mozarella Pasta
Sunday - Vegan Roast Beef and Yorkshire Puddings.
Monday - Chilli (from the freezer)
Tuesday - Our version of Stroganoff
Wednesday - Homemade Pizza
Thursday - N and S had cheesy pasta (real cheese) and I went out for a curry with friends.
Friday - Shepherd's Pie
I have a confession though. Although I officially spent £32 on the food, I made a sneaky purchase from my weekly allowance on some vegan melting cheese called Vegusto. I bought a melting version (anyone who's tried knows that meltingness is not a strong point of vegan cheese) and it was expensive - a whopping £7.49. I had wanted to try a different brand I had already tried, but they didn't have that at my local health food shop. Anyway, I've worked out that I have had 11 meals (and extra snacks) from this purchase, so at just over 70p per portion that's more acceptable.
It actually tastes quite nice (also not guaranteed with vegan cheese) and melts in things reasonably well. I used it in the mozarella pasta to good effect. It didn't melt quite so well on my pizza, but it was acceptable. I would buy it again, but I still prefer Mozarisella so I'll be picking some of that up next time I see it.
We also had vegan roast beef for a second Sunday running. That's because my brother works in an independent health food shop and had two free packets to give me, which he sent via my parents who came for a visit. Thanks little brother. It also gave me the chance to perfect my yorkshire puddings. I used to make lovely light yorkshire puddings, but I don't know what recipe I used, and in this case the internet isn't much help (until now where I step in). I have tweaked a traditional yorkshires recipe, which I will share with you now.
4 oz of self raising flour
1 tablespoon of gram flour
1 tablespoon of soya flour
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons of water
half a pint of soya milk
Oil for the tin
1. Put a little oil in each of he holes of a patty tin and swirl.
2. Turn the oven up high (I go for gas mark 8) and preheat the oil in the tin for at least 20 minutes)
3. Mix the dry ingredients together.
3. Pour on the wet ingredients and give a good whisk to make sure all the flour is incorporated (I do this in a tall measuring jug).
4. Pour the mix in the patty tins and put the tin in the oven for about 20 minutes. DON'T open the oven door before this time.
This I am happy to say makes pretty good vegan yorkshires puddings. I will try and add a photo some time.
Anyway, what did we eat:
Saturday - Chiara's Mozarella Pasta
Sunday - Vegan Roast Beef and Yorkshire Puddings.
Monday - Chilli (from the freezer)
Tuesday - Our version of Stroganoff
Wednesday - Homemade Pizza
Thursday - N and S had cheesy pasta (real cheese) and I went out for a curry with friends.
Friday - Shepherd's Pie
I have a confession though. Although I officially spent £32 on the food, I made a sneaky purchase from my weekly allowance on some vegan melting cheese called Vegusto. I bought a melting version (anyone who's tried knows that meltingness is not a strong point of vegan cheese) and it was expensive - a whopping £7.49. I had wanted to try a different brand I had already tried, but they didn't have that at my local health food shop. Anyway, I've worked out that I have had 11 meals (and extra snacks) from this purchase, so at just over 70p per portion that's more acceptable.
It actually tastes quite nice (also not guaranteed with vegan cheese) and melts in things reasonably well. I used it in the mozarella pasta to good effect. It didn't melt quite so well on my pizza, but it was acceptable. I would buy it again, but I still prefer Mozarisella so I'll be picking some of that up next time I see it.
We also had vegan roast beef for a second Sunday running. That's because my brother works in an independent health food shop and had two free packets to give me, which he sent via my parents who came for a visit. Thanks little brother. It also gave me the chance to perfect my yorkshire puddings. I used to make lovely light yorkshire puddings, but I don't know what recipe I used, and in this case the internet isn't much help (until now where I step in). I have tweaked a traditional yorkshires recipe, which I will share with you now.
4 oz of self raising flour
1 tablespoon of gram flour
1 tablespoon of soya flour
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons of water
half a pint of soya milk
Oil for the tin
1. Put a little oil in each of he holes of a patty tin and swirl.
2. Turn the oven up high (I go for gas mark 8) and preheat the oil in the tin for at least 20 minutes)
3. Mix the dry ingredients together.
3. Pour on the wet ingredients and give a good whisk to make sure all the flour is incorporated (I do this in a tall measuring jug).
4. Pour the mix in the patty tins and put the tin in the oven for about 20 minutes. DON'T open the oven door before this time.
This I am happy to say makes pretty good vegan yorkshires puddings. I will try and add a photo some time.
Homemade Soya Yoghurt
There's a big brand soya yoghurt available in most supermarkets, but it's sweetened and thickened and isn't that nice. It's also no good for making labneh (a sort of yoghurt cottage cheese).
So instead I make my own, it's easy peasy and very cheap.
.JPG)
I measure out half a litre of soya milk (I usually use organic soya milk, so that's about 50p's worth). I heat this until it boils and use a jam thermometer to measure the temperature. When the temperature reaches 40 degrees it's ready. A friend of mine without a thermometer just waits for it to cool a little and then pours it onto to her hand, when it's cool enough to hold she knows it's ready.
While I am heating the milk I fill a wide necked flask with boiling water. When my milk has reached the right temperature I stir in a couple of teablespoons of live soya yoghur, pour the boiling water out of the flask and replace with the milk mixture. I put the flask in the airing cupboard (not really neccesary, but it feels authentic) and wait overnight. The next morning I have lovely yoghurt.
I can keep a mix going like this for ages, but reknew the process with fresh yoghurt every once in a while. I use a good quality soya yoghurt from the health food shop as my starter and when I buy it, I use a couple of spponfuls, but freeze the rest in an ice cube tray to use later on.
I would like to make some coconut yoghurt, but I don't think you can use soya yoghurt to start it. I'll give it a go sometime and when I do, I'll let you know.
So instead I make my own, it's easy peasy and very cheap.
I measure out half a litre of soya milk (I usually use organic soya milk, so that's about 50p's worth). I heat this until it boils and use a jam thermometer to measure the temperature. When the temperature reaches 40 degrees it's ready. A friend of mine without a thermometer just waits for it to cool a little and then pours it onto to her hand, when it's cool enough to hold she knows it's ready.While I am heating the milk I fill a wide necked flask with boiling water. When my milk has reached the right temperature I stir in a couple of teablespoons of live soya yoghur, pour the boiling water out of the flask and replace with the milk mixture. I put the flask in the airing cupboard (not really neccesary, but it feels authentic) and wait overnight. The next morning I have lovely yoghurt.
I can keep a mix going like this for ages, but reknew the process with fresh yoghurt every once in a while. I use a good quality soya yoghurt from the health food shop as my starter and when I buy it, I use a couple of spponfuls, but freeze the rest in an ice cube tray to use later on.
.JPG) |
| Homemade yoghurt, homemade granola and extra raisins |
I would like to make some coconut yoghurt, but I don't think you can use soya yoghurt to start it. I'll give it a go sometime and when I do, I'll let you know.
Wednesday, 19 February 2014
Chemical light toiletries
I've decided to make a bit of a change to how I post. I have been posting my weekly menu on a Sunday. Given that our meal plans run Saturday to Saturday so that means I can only post photos of Saturday's dinner. So I've decided to tweak things so I will post our meal plans retrospectively so I can include photos with recipes.
This means I have a week in hand, so I'm going to fill that gap with a post about chemical light/frugal toiletries. I did post about this some time ago, I having reviewed that post I see that I've gone much further now and I thought I'd share that with you.
Teeth
I previously mentioned that I use a tooth powder mixture made of crushed myrhh, sage and bicarb. It's fab, cheap and most importantly fluoride free. Hmm, but isn't fluoride important for your teeth I hear you say. Well apparantly the science behind that assumption is highly flawed and in actual fact fluoride is seriously toxic and bad for you. Check out this post by Dr Jay Gordon, a Californian pediatrician for more details.
The powder is definitely an aquired taste and a bit salty for N. Instead she uses a nice fluoride free tooth paste by Green People.
Hair
I had my hair cut really short about two years ago and it was the perfect opportunity to give up shampoo. Why give up shampoo? Because it's full of parabens and phthalates, I knew I wanted another baby and I wanted to cut out as many of these nasty chemicals as I could. I wasn't ready to completely give up washing my hair so instead I chose a 'no-poo' method. Basically I wash my hair with about two tablespoons of bicarb mixed with a little water to make a paste. Then I spray a diluted mix of apple cider vinegar on my hair, leave it for a few minutes and then rinse. It doesn't make me smell of vinegar, instead my hair is shny and soft and I only need to wash it once, maybe twice a week. If I blow dry my hair it gets a bit dry, but I just use a bit of coconut oil and then it's smooth and shiny again.
It takes a bit of experimentation to find what works best and I admit I'm not loving my hair at the moment. I have to tell myself though, that's my hormones rebalancing and my hair would probably dissapoint me even if I washed it with pantene at the moment.
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago I use tea tohide my grey hairs. I've done a bit of experimentation with that and have tried coffee too, but the best mix for me is strong tea boiled up with some sage.
Face
My initial push towards moving chemical light was a prograame on Channel 4 a few years ago called How Toxic Are You. I was really stunned by this programme and threw out most of my cosmetics as a result. To be honest I don't wear make up every day, but for days when I do I use Lily Lilo products.
Their mineral foundation is amazing, so light! And the minerals are good for you, so it actually counts as skincare.
I haven't tried their mascara yet, but I'm going to give making my own a go, using cocoa powder. I'll let you know how it goes. Actually, this is an interesting point. At first when I tried to go chemical light I looked for new products, but increasinly I find I have what I need already in my food cupboards.
I also use food to wash and moisturise my face. I used ground up oats to simultaneously cleanse, exfoliate and moisturise. Amazing! If I need a bit of extra moisture or want to remove eye make-up I use coconut oil.
Body
I use olive oil soap to wash and a crystal stick deoderant. It's the most effective natural deoderant I've used. It costs about £4.50, but literally lasts years. I also use oats in the bath and ground up as a body polish.
Women's stuff
Still being in that 'not quite back to normal' post baby phase I haven't had to think about sanitary wear again yet, but when I do I will go back to using my mooncup. Ok, so a menstrual cup sounds really weird, but probably not as weird as the normalised bleached products that I used to use. It takes a little practise, but then is much better and gives you a much better idea of what's really going on with your body. The initial outlay seems expensive, but given that two of these will probably last a woman's entire menstruating life, then they're really actually a very good deal.
Kids
N uses olive soap when she's dirty, but mainly I just use plain water, maybe with a few drops of lavender oil, in the bath for my two children. N has some shampoo and conditioner from the health food shop, but I just use water on E's hair. I massage E everyday with coconut oil. I use homemade wipes with water to clean his bottom and reusable nappies. The wipes are just squares cut from an old towel double zig zag sewn around the edge. Squares of fleece also work well and I'll use fleece as resuable liners when he starts on solids. The great thing about reusable wipes is that I can just check them in with the nappies when I wash them and never run out.
So that's it basically, oats, vinegar, bicarb and coconut oild are our staples here. I also use a lot of these things for cleaning, but that's another post.
This means I have a week in hand, so I'm going to fill that gap with a post about chemical light/frugal toiletries. I did post about this some time ago, I having reviewed that post I see that I've gone much further now and I thought I'd share that with you.
Teeth
The powder is definitely an aquired taste and a bit salty for N. Instead she uses a nice fluoride free tooth paste by Green People.
Hair
I had my hair cut really short about two years ago and it was the perfect opportunity to give up shampoo. Why give up shampoo? Because it's full of parabens and phthalates, I knew I wanted another baby and I wanted to cut out as many of these nasty chemicals as I could. I wasn't ready to completely give up washing my hair so instead I chose a 'no-poo' method. Basically I wash my hair with about two tablespoons of bicarb mixed with a little water to make a paste. Then I spray a diluted mix of apple cider vinegar on my hair, leave it for a few minutes and then rinse. It doesn't make me smell of vinegar, instead my hair is shny and soft and I only need to wash it once, maybe twice a week. If I blow dry my hair it gets a bit dry, but I just use a bit of coconut oil and then it's smooth and shiny again.
It takes a bit of experimentation to find what works best and I admit I'm not loving my hair at the moment. I have to tell myself though, that's my hormones rebalancing and my hair would probably dissapoint me even if I washed it with pantene at the moment.
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago I use tea tohide my grey hairs. I've done a bit of experimentation with that and have tried coffee too, but the best mix for me is strong tea boiled up with some sage.
Face
My initial push towards moving chemical light was a prograame on Channel 4 a few years ago called How Toxic Are You. I was really stunned by this programme and threw out most of my cosmetics as a result. To be honest I don't wear make up every day, but for days when I do I use Lily Lilo products.
Their mineral foundation is amazing, so light! And the minerals are good for you, so it actually counts as skincare.
I haven't tried their mascara yet, but I'm going to give making my own a go, using cocoa powder. I'll let you know how it goes. Actually, this is an interesting point. At first when I tried to go chemical light I looked for new products, but increasinly I find I have what I need already in my food cupboards.
I also use food to wash and moisturise my face. I used ground up oats to simultaneously cleanse, exfoliate and moisturise. Amazing! If I need a bit of extra moisture or want to remove eye make-up I use coconut oil.Body
I use olive oil soap to wash and a crystal stick deoderant. It's the most effective natural deoderant I've used. It costs about £4.50, but literally lasts years. I also use oats in the bath and ground up as a body polish.
Women's stuff
Still being in that 'not quite back to normal' post baby phase I haven't had to think about sanitary wear again yet, but when I do I will go back to using my mooncup. Ok, so a menstrual cup sounds really weird, but probably not as weird as the normalised bleached products that I used to use. It takes a little practise, but then is much better and gives you a much better idea of what's really going on with your body. The initial outlay seems expensive, but given that two of these will probably last a woman's entire menstruating life, then they're really actually a very good deal.
Kids
N uses olive soap when she's dirty, but mainly I just use plain water, maybe with a few drops of lavender oil, in the bath for my two children. N has some shampoo and conditioner from the health food shop, but I just use water on E's hair. I massage E everyday with coconut oil. I use homemade wipes with water to clean his bottom and reusable nappies. The wipes are just squares cut from an old towel double zig zag sewn around the edge. Squares of fleece also work well and I'll use fleece as resuable liners when he starts on solids. The great thing about reusable wipes is that I can just check them in with the nappies when I wash them and never run out.
So that's it basically, oats, vinegar, bicarb and coconut oild are our staples here. I also use a lot of these things for cleaning, but that's another post.
Monday, 10 February 2014
What’s the Point of a Fishless Fish Finger?
This week I bought a box of Quorn fishless fish fingers. I also have a packet of Quorn ham in the fridge, veggie sausage mix in the cupboard and soya mince, veggie bacon and veggie sausages in the freezer. I know what you’re thinking, “just what sort of vegetarian is this woman”. If you are a vegetarian yourself, you might be disgusted that I am eating these processed foods which are designed to resemble meat and if you eat meat you might be wondering why if I am prepared to eat something parading itself as meat why don’t I actually eat meat itself.
So, here’s my answer. I am under no illusion that my veggie sausages are anything like real sausages (having said that a fellow mum didn’t realise the sausage rolls at N’s birthday party were actually vegetarian) and I don’t care. I haven’t eaten ‘real’ meat for 25 years. I know I used to like the taste of meat (I became a vegetarian for ethical and financial reasons not for culinary ones), but I can’t actually remember what meat tastes like. I do know I don’t like the smell of meat now, so I am personally quite glad that ‘fake’ meat isn’t too close to the real thing. Fake meat does however, lend protein and variety to my diet and sometimes a welcome short cut.
I do like lentils, nuts, rice and beans and curiously, if cooking for non-vegetarians these are the sort of ingredients I’ll stick too. I only very rarely and with extreme caution give them ‘fake’ meat because although I do know some meat eaters who eat vegetarian sausages and mince through choice (it tending to be lower in fat than its meat counterparts), why compete in a losing race – I can choose meatless cuisines from all over the world that were designed to be that way rather than dressing soya up in lamb’s clothing.
Plus S really likes fake meat. He was a confirmed vegetarian long before we met, but he came to it at an older age than me and he’s not keen on cooking; he’d happily eat veggie burger and chips every day if I let him. I don’t, but cooking for a family’s is about compromise, so this week fishless fish fingers are on the menu.
Speaking of which here is the menu this week:
Saturday – Chiara’s mozzarella pasta and tomato, red onion and cucumber salad (with enough for the freezer)
Sunday -Steamed suet pudding (or stuffed marrow if there are any when I go to the allotment) with roast veg (parsnips, potatoes, carrots and beetroot)
Monday – Mixed pepper fajitas and guacamole
Tuesday – Fishless fish fingers, chips and peas
Wednesday – Veggie sausages, mash, veg and onion gravy
Thursday – Baked potatoes with cheese and baked beans
Friday – Pasta with (veggie) herb and meatballs
Crikey, there’s a lot of comfort food in there. I suppose that’s a feature of the nights drawing in!
So, here’s my answer. I am under no illusion that my veggie sausages are anything like real sausages (having said that a fellow mum didn’t realise the sausage rolls at N’s birthday party were actually vegetarian) and I don’t care. I haven’t eaten ‘real’ meat for 25 years. I know I used to like the taste of meat (I became a vegetarian for ethical and financial reasons not for culinary ones), but I can’t actually remember what meat tastes like. I do know I don’t like the smell of meat now, so I am personally quite glad that ‘fake’ meat isn’t too close to the real thing. Fake meat does however, lend protein and variety to my diet and sometimes a welcome short cut.
I do like lentils, nuts, rice and beans and curiously, if cooking for non-vegetarians these are the sort of ingredients I’ll stick too. I only very rarely and with extreme caution give them ‘fake’ meat because although I do know some meat eaters who eat vegetarian sausages and mince through choice (it tending to be lower in fat than its meat counterparts), why compete in a losing race – I can choose meatless cuisines from all over the world that were designed to be that way rather than dressing soya up in lamb’s clothing.
Plus S really likes fake meat. He was a confirmed vegetarian long before we met, but he came to it at an older age than me and he’s not keen on cooking; he’d happily eat veggie burger and chips every day if I let him. I don’t, but cooking for a family’s is about compromise, so this week fishless fish fingers are on the menu.
Speaking of which here is the menu this week:
Saturday – Chiara’s mozzarella pasta and tomato, red onion and cucumber salad (with enough for the freezer)
Sunday -Steamed suet pudding (or stuffed marrow if there are any when I go to the allotment) with roast veg (parsnips, potatoes, carrots and beetroot)
Monday – Mixed pepper fajitas and guacamole
Tuesday – Fishless fish fingers, chips and peas
Wednesday – Veggie sausages, mash, veg and onion gravy
Thursday – Baked potatoes with cheese and baked beans
Friday – Pasta with (veggie) herb and meatballs
Crikey, there’s a lot of comfort food in there. I suppose that’s a feature of the nights drawing in!
Vegan Donner Kebabs!
Here’s our menu for this week
Saturday – Suet pastry crunchy pasties with boiled potatoes
and peas
Sunday – Cheats roast beef with yorkshire puddings, roast
potatoes and veg.
Monday – Vegan donner kebabs and chips
Tuesday – Thai Green curry (from a couple of weeks ago in
the freezer)
Wednesday – Chick pea curry
Thursday – Stroganoff
Friday – Cashew nut teriyaki
This week’s spend - £38, but I had vouchers for £6, giving a
grand total of just over £32.
The pasties were filled with a swede, onion, carrot, celery and red
lentil mix. I used half marg and half veggie suet to make the pastry. I made 10 pasties, so that's at least two more meals stashed in the freezer.
Sunday and Monday’s dinners were made possible thanks to a
vegan beef roasting joint. The ingredient list for this anomaly is pretty small
and is based on wheat gluten. It’s not cheap at nearly £4.50 per joint, but my
Mum spotted these in a well known health food shop before Christmas reduced to
a £1 each, so I bought a couple and stashed them in the freezer. One joint will
do two dinners for us – a roast on Sunday and kebabs on Monday (S says the
veggie meat is quite like donner meat, but without the horror of having to eat
an unspecified meat that’s been rotating for an unspecified amount of time.
We’ll have these in pitta breads with salad and jalapenos.
I haven’t made teriyaki sauce before, but I’ve got some
fresh ginger which needs using up and still have garlic from N’s mum and dad’s
allotment, so I thought why not give it a whirl.
I’m hoping to supplement our diet with our first foraged
food of the year this week, alexanders and hairy bittercress, but more on that
another time. . . .
No Egg Cakes
Twice in the last week I have observed Facebook statuses
which tell of baking crises during which baking is forestalled by a lack of
eggs. No eggs, no problem, I say. On one occasion I recommended a tablespoon of
vinegar for each missing egg (reacts with the bicarb in self raising flour to
produce bubbles and hence a rise – you may need to add extra bicarb if using
plain flour) and on another I promised to pass on recipes. So since the weather
outside is stormy, I’ve decided to bake a cake with N and this is a perfect
excuse to blog two of my favourite cake recipes for my eggless friend.
Both these recipes use citrus instead of vinegar, which
gives a nice flavour, but I promise you, if you use vinegar instead (as many
vegan chocolate cakes call for) you won’t taste it in the finished product.
Mum’s Lemon Cake
This is my mum’s invention and doesn’t call for any weird
ingredients like soya flour (soya milk is readily available, but you could
substitute for normal milk if you’re not concerned about being dairy free).
8 oz of SR flour
2 tsp of baking powder
3 oz of cornflour
Pinch of salt
4 fl oz of oil (I use sunflower)
2 fl oz of soya milk
Rind and juice of 2 medium lemons*
9 fl oz of water (including the juice of the above)*
6 oz of caster sugar*
*I couldn’t get unwaxed lemons so I used all lemon juice instead
and in my efforts to reduce my sugar intake I cut the sugar down to 4 oz
(futile really as I’m going to smear the cake with butter cream).
This is the easiest method ever!
1.
Grease and line the cake tins.
2.
Preheat the oven to c. 180 degrees or gas mark
5.
3.
Weigh out the dry ingredients and mix.
4.
Measure out the wet ingredients and pour into
the dry ingredients.
5.
Mix and pour into the cake tins.
6.
Bake for c. 30 minutes.
7.
Cool and sandwich with lemon buttercream (I use
vegan marg) or lemon curd.
On reflection having made this cake, the cornflour makes the cake slightly chewy. Next time, as I have it in the cupboard, I'll use soya flour instead.
N did the piping on this. Not bad for a 3 year old.
Coffee Cake
This is one of my best cakes. Every time I make I get lots
of requests for the recipe and I have been told by more than one person that
it’s the best coffee cake they’ve ever tasted!
10 oz of SR flour
2 oz of soya flour (many big supermarkets sell this, or you
can get it cheaply from your local health food shop – I’ve known people to just
substitute flour or cornflour, I haven’t tried this myself)
1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
8 oz of sugar
8 fl oz of oil
5 fl oz of orange juice
5 fl oz of boiling water mixed with a heaped teaspoon of
instant coffee, then cooled.
1.5 tsp of vanilla essence.
1.
Grease and line the cake tins.
2.
Preheat the oven to c. 160 degrees or gas mark
4.
3.
Sift the dry ingredients together.
4.
Measure out the liquids and whisk.
5.
Mix wet and dry ingredients together.
6.
Bake for 30 minutes.
7.
Cool and sandwich together with coffee butter
cream and decorate with walnuts.
The consistency of the batters for these cakes will probably
be looser then you are used to. Don’t worry, it’s completely normal and will bake fine.
Give them a try and let me know what you think.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)