How to Make Healthy Vegetarian Foods Recipes

Early in the week, whilst I was doing some research for work (honestly I was), I stumbled on The Best Jollof Rice Competition held in Brixton, London today.  It the UKs first ever Jollof competition, in past there have been Best Rum Cake. Its hosted by The Afrikan Family Works . I  love these grassroots community spirited competitions.  I thought I would compete virtually with my vegan Jollof variation, but I sincerely wish the hosts and the participants the best and hope the event is a success.   For those of you unfamiliar with Jollof.  Jollof rice or Benachin which means 'one pot' originates in Senegal.  Jollof  is eaten all across West Africa and has recently become appreciated alongside the South Indian Pilaf and the Spanish Paella. So here it is my vegan Jollof  rice.  I added peppers, okra and chickpeas to the Jollof rice only because I didn't have an accompaniment with it.  I am no expert at making Jollof, in fact this is ...

Autumnal reds and coppers - so pretty. I made these sweet potato, pepper and kale in a paprika galette last month for Vegan Month.   The galette is filled with a little bit of Cavolo nero aka  black Tuscan kale from my garden.    These were the only stems from my garden that had not been transformed into shredded green 'lace' by the ferocious white cabbage butterflies.  I decided to add some smoked paprika to the galette pastry so that it gave it that faint copper like colouring.  I have done this in the past with turmeric and even spirulina powder, so it also imparts a little flavour too.  The individual galettes are quite substantial like a tartlet, but were served with a side of green salad, though a salad of Quinoa or mixed beans would have been most welcome too.  I am sharing this with Karen and Bonfire Night/Halloween edition of Tea Time Treats a nd also Jennifer at Vegan Midweek Munchies and Vegan Yofo . Here is a close...

It must have been a subliminal message of sorts that got me hankering for a Veggie Sausage Casserole.  For days I went onto D 'I need to pick u some veggie sausages...'  yet always seemed to forget and then I repeated myself all over again 'I have to pick up some veggie sausages', but yesterday - I remembered!   And so here it is, a rich thyme and smoked paprika infused tomato sauce based casserole with kidney beans and Romano red peppers.  It turned out very red indeed. You can choose to use any vegetarian or vegan sausage you like, I am not loyal to any particular brand and like to try them all.  If your not a veggie, of course you can opt the real meat variety.   The smokiness from the paprika was just right, not overwhelming at all.   I served this very red vegan casserole with some crushed roasted new potatoes.  It was grand I tell you and well worth the wait. So some of you may wondering why do I showcase a leek here?!  Well I w...

Yes, I share with you another stew of sorts.  Though I have to admit this is a much lighter stew compared to those features a couple of weeks back. I guess its a sign that Spring is here.   Contrary though, the ingredients are not spring like at all, mostly autumnal.  Squashes, sweet potatoes and red and yellow peppers have been featuring quite a bit on my plate recently, I think its the colours that shout and make me feel all warm and humble.   Or maybe its accidental, as I want a change from the drudge brown-beige and greens.   I normally squeeze some fresh lemon juice when eating dishes made with black eyed peas.  Its something my mother taught me as it enhances the dish and I love it.  This time I decided to add slithers of  home-made preserved lemons  to the dish instead to infuse the nutty black eyed beans. The black eyed peas certainly did take on the zing from the preserved lemons that had almost deteriorated in the pot. ...

This marigold yellow pasta with marmalade coloured roasted peppers and butternut squash was lunch for work - twice, last week.   As I was tucking in, it got some of my colleagues all intrigued and curious 'Gosh, that pasta is glowing'. The pasta is simply infused with turmeric powder.  I've also tried this method with beetroot See HERE .   Although I have used ready made penne pasta here, you could easily make vegan Turmeric pasta from scratch too, just add a teaspoon or half to the flour when your mixing and kneading.  Anyway, the turmeric pasta on its own was a bit bland, so I decided to make make a vinaigrette dressing for it with some Blood Oranges that were mingling with the lemons in a bowl. The Blood Orange Chilli Oil was spicy and quite tasty elevated by the addition of my bottle of Welsh Blodyn Aur Rapeseed Chilli Oil.    Of course, you can make your own Chilli Oil at home and I probably would had I grown my own chillies, but sometimes whe...

The weather has been so changeable today.  Bursts of rain followed by bursts of sunshine and its been like this on and off all day.  On the way back home to the bus stop, I even got caught under the cold sharp hailstones that hurt my cheeks feeling like sharp glass that would cut.  My ears are aching too from the gusty wind.   As you can imagine, I am glad to be finally home.  This Chilli Pickled Sweet Potato Stew was a bit like the weather today.  Bursts of sweetness and then bursts of spice, but it was welcomed.   I have been making  light stew like  dishes and have been drowning in sweet potatoes at home that have been part of my meal most of last month.  So here is another, but this one is infused with a generous dose of Chilli Pickle:  Mr Naga Hot Chilli Pickle to be more precise .  D will eat anything I give him, okra, aubergine and even ... but he draws the line when I present him with a little dish of Achaar aka I...

I do love the superman red vibrating from this dish naturally.   Red from the tomatoes (and yes, tomatoes are a fruit) and red from the peppers.  I actually made this dish around the same time as the Portuguese Potatoes, but got distracted by the pointy red peppers  and fabulous fat tomatoes caressing each other in my bowl, that i had to throw them in the pot together - not to have done so would have just been plain wrong.   These days I always seem to have some Ramiro pepper and Black Bean Chilli  last month,  I had originally planned to make these Portuguese Potatoes, but got distracted by the pointy red peppers  and fabulous fat tomatoes caressing each other in my bowl, that i had to throw them in the pot together - not to have done so would have just been plain wrong.   These days I always seem to have some vegan VPud Black Pudding in my fridge too.  Every time I go into the city of Cardiff I pick some up.  I decided just...

We had plans to go into Bristol this weeken d, but D felt we had been there too recently and didn't fancy it.   Then our plans to go exploring elsewhere were still scuppered as the rain came spitting down, so it was to be a day indoors for yet another week.  No gardening either, so its down to a bit of housework and some cooking for the week ahead. I wanted a change from the rice accompaniment that we normally have to this Fava Bean Carrot Chilli, so I decided to make some Turmeric New Potatoes.   Some of you may remember the last time I made Turmeric Potatoes they were Atomic Yellow and belonged to a fictitious world far and beyond... These ones are far more acceptable to the discerning eye.  The turmeric not only imparts colour, it does impart flavour too and worked well with the Whole Fava Bean and Carrot Chilli.  These  Turmeric New Potatoes  are so simple to make. I cooked 500grams new potatoes with 2  teaspoons ground turmeric ...

Its been a while since I have cooked with polenta .   Its often Polenta Chips or my favourite Mexican style  Tamale Pie , and then other times  maybe  a gluten free Polenta Pizza , or simply as polenta bites a sort of free-style rough gnocchi.  I wanted to be creative with this time round and decided to make a Savoury Polenta loaf studded with diced red, green and orange pepper.  Then I remembered having picked up a vegan Black Pudding and decided to incorporate that into the loaf and this was the result.      It looks just like a gold churned butter slab or Mexican style cheese, but wait ....  Slowly slice into it and surprise. D loved it and said I could even try these with the vegan chorizo  I make at home.  Or if you must other sausages would work too I am sure; or not, you can make this Savoury Mosaic loaf without the vegan black pudding.  Just experiment that is what I do. Sometimes they work, sometimes ...

August has brought us high winds and rain and a wanting for bowl food . Have you ever had whole fava beans?  If whole fava beans had a personality, it would be the fictional character Fonzie from the American sitcom Happy Days biker in a leathery rugged jacket, all tough on the outside - but a sweetheart on the inside.   So h ere is my second recipe with whole fava beans still in their handsome jackets.  The last recipe I made with whole fava beans was  Somalian Fava Beans  and they were utterly delicious.  Anyway, as the fava beans were bubbling away in the pot, it struck me that it was just a bowl of brown beans and not particularly appealing, looking a bit plain.  I decided to throw in a red and yellow pepper just to give it more colour.  It worked visually.  However, taste and flavour wise this Fava Bean Stew was okay, yes just okay.  Although it made for a pleasant change from spicy stews, I still prefer spicy stews or...

Yes, we have had  Japan that actually sells Strawberry Curry, but it comes in a packet. I assure you this one is home made and not fruity sweet at all.  It made for a nice change from the traditional Indian style Dal.  You can even eat this curry as a Soup or stew if you want, its quite versatile.  If you don't have Puy lentils feel free to substitute it with green lentils. For more unusual Rhubarb Curry ,  Japan that actually sells Strawberry Curry, but it comes in a packet. I assure you this one is home made and not fruity sweet at all.  It made for a nice change from the traditional Indian style Dal.  You can even eat this curry as a Soup or stew if you want, its quite versatile.  If you don't have Puy lentils feel free to substitute it with green lentils. For more unusual Watermelon Curry ,  Japan that actually sells Strawberry Curry, but it comes in a packet. I assure you this one is home made and not fruity sweet at all.  It ...