Broccoli and Feta Dip with a Basic ‘House Salad’

Served with Pitta Bread too!

I’ve been eating a lot of Hummous recently with my salads and I really fancied a change (even though I absolutely love hummous!). I decided to use my favourite vegetable, broccoli, to make a sort of dip, sort of thick salad dressing which will add some interest to my salads without too many extra calories. I’m really watching my weight at the moment just because the sun has started to come out and a few pub gardens were frequented…a few ciders and bowls of chips were enjoyed….a few lazy days turned into picnics etc. It all adds up and my shorts which I have finally pulled out of the wardrobe from last summer felt just that tiny bit too tight for my liking!!

The thing is, I love food! I’m not the sort of person that can just cut down on what I eat, I feel it is better to change what I eat instead. Now hummous is not bad for you by any means but I was more getting bored of it and wanted to swap it with something equally as healthy.

If you have just joined me after the virtual vegan potluck and you do follow a vegan diet then don’t worry as most of my recipes are vegan and I always try and offer an alternative vegan option to my recipes For example, I couldn’t resist using feta in this dip because it went so wonderfully with the flavours but you could use cooked white beans, vegan cream cheese, or even tofu! I rarely buy cheese so next time I make this I will definitely be using white beans such as cannelini beans.

You can serve it on the side or pour it onto your salad

I’ve used the term “House ” Salad here because it has a bit of everything in it! At restaurants they always have a house salad on the menu and it’s always different. I think it’s kind of a “used up everything in the house” salad! For my salad today I used lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, radishes, red onion, spring onion (only use one type of onion or no onion if you plan on breathing near people after eating!), black olives and celery. This is my standard list of salad vegetables that I put on my food shop list every week.

Serves 4

Vegetarian, Gluten and Wheat Free, Vegan option!

8 – 10 Broccoli Florets (approx 150g)
60g Feta/ Vegan Cheese – or a handful of Cooked beans
Large Bunch Basil Leaves
Salt and Pepper
Splash of Water

Steam the broccoli for 5 minutes until cooked but not mushy otherwise the dip will be quite watery. Place the broccoli along with everything else except the water and blend in a high power blender until smooth… or as I did in a really old blender for ages! If it needs it then add a splash of water until you have a nice creamy consistency.

Gluten Free Easter: Paleo Banana Muffins Recipe Review

Paleo banana muffins

As well as making a carrot cake for Scott’s mum I also made these amazing banana muffins for Scott’s dad. I chose another gluten free recipe because I didn’t want to contaminate the kitchen with flour but also because it is better for you. I imagine the cake and muffins will get shared around the family, always a scary moment when it’s your own cooking!

I found these muffins on ‘With Style and Grace Blog’, an absolutely stunning gluten free recipe blog. I have found loads I want to cook and the photography is inspiring.
I was really drawn to this recipe because there is no added sugar and it includes flax seeds, it is also sweet enough to be a nice present…healthy yet a treat!

I was really pleased with how crumbly they were!

I have read bits and bobs about the Paleo diet and I found it really interesting, but its not something I am going to be trying any time soon. It has some amazing health benefits but at the moment cutting out meat, dairy and gluten is enough for me to concentrate on!

You need really ripe bananas for banana bread, I quite enjoyed picking out the oldest looking bananas knowing I may have saved a few from being thrown away at the end of that day. I personally can’t stand eating ripe bananas by themselves but in baking they add a necessary sweetness.

I think the different sizes make them rustic…..

I doubled the recipe which made 15 and most made it up to the family but a few got eaten straight away…and I snuck 2 in the freezer to have next week

I’d definitely recommend these, they were really easy to make and they’d be perfect for a breakfast or snack!

Lemon and Chive Goats Cheese “Boats” – Deli Week

Creamy soft goats cheese quinelles in a tortilla shell with a decorative chive

This is my second “Deli Week” recipe, the idea being that these are recipes great to be piled onto a board in the middle of a table and shared amongst friends. These goats cheese ‘boats’ would also be perfect for canapes or a posh starter!

I’ve been eating goats cheese a bit more recently, I went off all cheese for ages but slowly I have begun to really enjoy it again! Goats cheese is great if you are lactose intolerant because it has no (or very small amount) of lactose! I find the soft creamy versions are not too strong in flavour, plus they are deliciously soft which makes them great to mix with flavourings such as lemon, herbs and chilli. You could make this meal vegan by using a nut cheese/ vegan cream cheese or even something completely different inside your tortilla shell like a little spoonful of avocado and salad.

How to make the boats!

You could also make this gluten free by simply using gluten free tortilla wraps!

To make the shells is really easy! Take your flat tortilla wraps and slice them in to 8 wedges. Lightly grease a muffin tin and then place each wedge in one of the muffin holes so that you are creating a curve with a flat base in the middle (see my photo above for guidance). Then pop in the oven at 200c for 5-6 minutes untill they have hardened and browned slightly on the edges.

The ‘boats’ once cooled and removed keep their shape however I found that they fell over due to the thick side of the wedge being heavier than the rest of it. Once you have delicately placed a goats cheese quinelle on to the flat base you will find that it balances out nicely and will then stay up right!

Presented on a long board these canapes look quite visually exciting!

I chose chives and lemon to flavour my goats cheese because I wanted fresh flavours which would go nicely with my spiced polenta chips and other items you might find on a deli board. These are light enough to be eaten in abundance on their own or as part of a larger spread.

You could add garlic, dried chilli and other herbs it is completely up to you! For the purpose of making 8 boats I used 1 tortilla wrap (cut into 8 wedges), 8-10 chives finely chopped and the zest of 1 lemon mixed in with 1 small tub of goats cheese with a pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper and 6 chives as garnish. Double up to make 12 boats etc!

Paprika and Oregano Polenta Chips – Deli Week

Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside!

I’ve named this week “Deli Week” because I had some nice recipe ideas which would be perfect presented on a big wooden board as part of a vegetarian deli board! When you see deli boards in a pub they include cured meats, slabs of baked cheese, pickles, olives, roasted peppers and selections of breads. Although absolutely delicious I think they could be much more interesting!

This week I am offering you ideas including paprika and oregano polenta chips, lemon and chive goats cheese tortilla boats and quinoa stuffed peppers. The idea behind deli dish recipes is that it needs to be a bit more substantial than a canapé but not as complete as a full meal.

Things that can be shared easily are perfect! This is why I decided to start with these gorgeous polenta chips, stick a bowl of these in the middle of any platter and I guarantee they’ll be gone in seconds!

These can be baked of fried!

I added paprika to the polenta mix because it creates this beautiful deep orange colour and I added dried oregano because I felt it would compliment the paprika nicely. I also like the little specks of herbs you get running through the chip.

Serves 4-6

Vegan, gluten and wheat free

150g polenta
800ml water
1 tspn Paprika
1 tblspn dried oregano
Pinch dried chilli flakes
Salt and Pepper

In a large saucepan bring the water to the boil then slowly pour the polenta into the water in a constant stream stirring constantly. Keep stirring for approx 5-6 mins until the polenta has thickened and become creamy. Once cooked add the paprika, chilli flakes, oregano and salt and pepper and stir to combine so that the flavourings are completely mixed through.

Pour the polenta out into a small square or rectangle cold baking tray or plate and spread out so you have an even level layer around 1cm thick. Leave to cool down until completely set.

Once set slice the polenta into 1cm thick chips. At the point you can either heat your oven to 200c or heat a little oil in a frying pan until very hot. If baking in the oven then sprinkle with salt and pop them in for around 20-25 minutes until crisp on the outside. If frying then give them around 6-8 minutes turning them frequently until crisp and golden on the outside.

Garlic and Black Pepper Pickled Onions – Technique of the Week!

I’ve never pickled anything before but I love pickled onion, beetroot and gherkins! It’s about time I learnt how to make them myself! I don’t eat them enough to count this as a money saving exercise but I do like the feeling of satisfaction it brings to create your own food and know exactly what is in it.

I felt a little silly this weekend when I set out my ingredients and thought “I’m looking forward to some pickled onions with my lunch tomorrow”…then I read the recipe and realised that onions don’t get pickled over night! These take 1-2 months before they are ready to eat. So I’m looking forward to eating pickled onions with my lunch next month

Peeled shallots ready for pickling

Since this is something I have never tried before I followed this recipe from the BBC Good Food. The method was very simple but needs a little patience. First soak the onions, I chose shallots and small red pickling onions, in boiling water and leave it to cool. This makes it incredibly easy to peel the skins off, just slice each end off once soaked and then either peel the skin off or squeeze one end and the shallot will pop out.

Then place the onions in a bowl and salt them lightly and leave over night. In the morning you have to rinse them well and then pat dry ready to be pickled.

The pickling liquid is a very simple combination of malt vinegar and honey. I used sugar instead because I did not have any honey so I’m hoping this doesn’t affect the flavour too much, I assume it was just a sweetness needed.

When we were having a chat with our friend I happened to mention I was making pickled onions which led to an enthusiastic comparison of our favourite pickled items and he mentioned that he puts a red chilli in with his pickling liquid. When you eat the onions you get a warm heat mixed with the pickled flavour.

I’m too cautious (and a bit chicken) to add a chilli but it got me thinking about flavours I could try instead, I love garlic so this was an absolute must! We also decided that black pepper could be good to add some heat without the chilli burn.

I added 4 garlic cloves to one jar and I didn’t have any peppercorns so I ground pepper in to the vinegar of the other jar. In 1-2 months I will post again with the verdict on the recipe and the taste!

What is your favourite pickled vegetable? Any suggestions on what I should pickle next? I’d love to hear any unusual suggestions as well as the good classics!

Sundried Tomato and Cannellini Bean Dip

This started off as a humous recipe but turned into a more simple bean dip because I decided to just use ingredients I had in the cupboard instead of going shopping again and I actually much preferred it!

Butterbean and Sundried Tomato Dip

A few weeks back I put on the Veghotpot facebook page that I was struggling to think of some healthy snacks but I was feeling peckish and I had some great suggestions including home made hummous and veggies! Such a perfect snack, great for parties or even a great addition to a salad for a different flavour and texture.

1 Can Cannellini beans
6 Sundried Tomatoes from a jar
1 Large Garlic Clove
1 tspn Dried Thyme
1 tblspn Oil from the Sundried Tomatoes jar
1 tblspn Water

The method is pretty simple ….. whizz it all up in a blender until you have a smooth consistency. I add oil and water to this to make it a bit lower fat! I think the water tones down the strong flavours a bit too.

You can experiment with the quantity of each ingredient to see whether you prefer a stronger or weaker flavour. I added two garlic cloves the other day and it was delicious, although I think you could smell it from a mile away!!

My favourite veg to dunk into this dip is carrot sticks and celery! Delicious and fresh.

Raw Masala Carrot Dip (Leon Naturally Fast Food recipe): Friday Challenge!

Raw Masala Carrot dip with crudites

I decided to focus on spices for October’s Friday Challenge, I have my favourite spices which I use all the time but there are so many I have never tried and wouldn’t know how to blend together. I used a recipe from the LEON; Naturally Fast Food cookbook. It’s such a brilliant book with hundreds of recipes and ideas, so much to look at you can easily lose an afternoon browsing through.

When I think of spices I think of hot, comforting curries but then I stumbled across this recipe which was a cold raw dish and I was extremely interested to see how that could work and whether I would like it or not. I have always “sweated down” the spices with onions etc to bring out the flavours and I was worried that using them without cooking would taste powdery or too one-dimensional. As it turns out it was delicious and I did like it, although I didn’t have any tahini so it was quite sweet. I think if I made it again I would make sure I had tahini to balance out the juices from the orange and lemon.

My favourite crudite to dip in was celery, I found cucumber a bit watery and carrot abit carroty!

The dip is made from carrots, cumin (one of my favourite spices), Garam Masala (a spice mix I have never tried before), lemon juice, orange juice, onion, fresh ginger, dates, olive oil, coriander and raw tahini (which I didn’t have but will add next time!).

Garam Masala is a spice mix made up of cumin, bay, cloves, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and coriander which have been roasted and then ground and blended to make a dark coloured rich smelling spice… but you can buy it pre made in jars from the super market, luckily! It goes perfectly with the sweet carrots and wasn’t too spicy either. It made the dish very fragrant and fresh which is surprising for a spicy recipe.

The recipe calls to blend untill smooth and I got it as smooth as I could in my very old blender but I actually quite liked the texture a bit rougher, more of a rustic dip, And the colour is just beautiful!

Fresh colours make this dish perfect to serve up at a party!

What I have learnt about spices:
I was so impressed to find a recipe which uses a spice I have never tried before AND it’s vegan and raw, which are two things I’m really into at the moment. I learnt that spice does not equal curry and you can use spice instead to create fragrance and interest in a cold dish. I also learnt from looking at loads of recipes trying to find something to cook that most recipes use a blend of spices and do not just concentrate on one particular spice. I think by the end I will have quite an extensive spice collection in my cupboard.

What’s you favourite spice? 

 

Tricolour Pitta Pizzas

This is a recipe for those times when you just fancy having something quick and easy like a pizza but you don’t want the calories of a takeaway pizza and you don’t have the time to make a pizza base yourself. Pitta breads are perfect because they are flat and round almost like a pizza base although you can use any kind of flat bread even naan bread and add some chillis!

Delicious fresh tomatoes are used as the base of the pizza

No sauce required, this pizza just has fresh slices of tomato and mozarella (or a vegan alternative of your choice) layered onto the pitta bread then grilled untill the cheese is melted and the pitta toasted. Then you can pile all sorts of salad items on top, I have chosen avacado, basil and sprouted alfafa seeds.

Layer tomato and mozarella onto the pitta breads and place under the grill

I actually first tried this recipe as a pie with filo pastry however the pastry became too soggy with the juices of the tomatoes so then I decided to use a pitta bread as it is much more sturdy. I kept the principal the same though – hot base topped with raw salads. I’m really excited about my alfafa sprouts because these are my first attempt at ever sprouting seeds and it was much easier than I thought.

A Platter of Pitta Pizzas

Together with the avacado these pizzas are deceptively healthy! I made a dressing to compliment the tomatoes, it is based on the dressing I made for my Butterbean Nicoise Salad but I swapped the mint for basil and it worked very nicely.

These could be a great party snack for the kids too!

Serves 4

2 Tomatoes
1 Mozarella Ball (Or a vegan cheese)
4 Pitta Breads

1 Avacado – peeled and sliced
Basil Leaves
Sprouted Seeds/ Cress or even small salad leaves

Dressing:
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
1 tablespoon Caper
Juice half a Lemon
6 Basil Leaves

Thickly slice the tomatoes and thinly slice the cheese. Place two slices of each onto each pitta bread alternating each slice of tomato with a piece of cheese (see photo above). Place under the grill for around 5-6 minutes untill the cheese has melted and the pitta breads have begun to brown.

Make the dressing by blending all of the dressing ingredients together and put to one side.

Take the pitta breads out from under the grill and top with a few pieces of avacado, some basil leaves, a few drizzles of the dressing and then some sprouted seeds.

Serve hot by themselves or with your choice of side dish (Salad/ garlic bread etc).

Vibrant Colours make this pizza look so appealing!

In Toronto we tried Deep Fried Pickles…

I thought after my offering of Poutine from Montreal I would share another food experience that I couldn’t resist recreating but this time from Toronto.

We got a train from Montreal to Toronto at about 6.30am and arrived in the amazing busy city at the hottest point of the day, then we walked to our hotel which, after misreading the map, took us nearly 45 minutes…with 2 suitcases! Needless to say we turned up looking rather dishevelled and just a tad irritable. So after freshening up, unpacking the essentials and deciding we needed a beer we headed down Queen Street West hoping to find the nearest pub.

We found an English styled pub which was packed because it was the day of the England match and we slid into a booth, ordered tall pints of ‘Canadian’ and asked for the bar menu. The first thing that caught my eye was “Deep fried pickles”, I had never heard of this before but they were offered in a lot of the pubs we drank in that week and I personally thought they were delicious, Scott wasn’t quite convinced but still tried them anyway. They were sliced thinly, coated in a non greasy batter and served with tatziki and the taste of all the different flavours combined really worked, especially with the cold beer to wash it down with!

I decided to make my own version of this bar snack but slightly differently, mainly because I don’t like to deep fry anything at home and also because the batter they made was so different to anything I’ve tried before it was almost spongy and I don’t think I could do it justice. I also decided to play around with different flavours so I have done “Dill and Lemon Baked Pickles” and “Spicy Chilli Baked Pickles”.

Left: Chilli baked pickles. Right: Lemon and Dill baked pickles

This really is the easiest snack in the world to make and it is relatively healthy when compared to the deep-fried version! I only made 1 pickle of each flavour because Scott wasn’t sharing this with me and well there’s only so many pickles a girl can eat with no real reason except I wanted to share the recipe!

I sliced the pickles (gherkins) and lay them on some kitchen towel to dry them off a bit then I prepared a plate of beaten egg, a plate of lemon and dried dill breadcrumbs and a plate of chilli flakes breadcrumbs. To make breadcrumbs I toast a slice of bread untill it’s very crispy then blitz it in a blender with the flavouring and tip out onto a plate. Any leftovers can be frozen! You can vary the amount of flavouring you like to your own taste but as a rough guide I used 1 teaspoon of chilli flakes for 1 portion of breadcrumbs (1 slice of bread) and then I used 1 teaspoon dried dill and 1 lemon zest for 1 portion of breadcrumbs.

Fresh organic breadcrumbs with lemon zest and dried dill mixed in

Fresh organic breadcrumbs with dried chilli flakes mixed in

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dip your slice of pickle in the egg and then in one of your breadcrumb flavours so it is completely coated and then place it onto a baking tray. Continue (alternating the flavours) untill all of your pickle slices are coated and ready to go in the oven.

Pickles ready to be baked!

Bake in a preheated oven at 190c for 10 minutes then turn them over for a couple of minutes to brown the underneath. Serve on a big plate or a bowl with plenty of cold beer and maybe some friends and a sporting event on TV!

Lemon and Dill Baked Pickles 

Spicy Chilli Baked Pickles

Graze: Nature Delivered! Product Review

Firstly I should just point out that I was not sent any free Graze boxes or contacted in any way by Graze, I just enjoyed writing the last product review on Pelagonia’s Pumpkin Jam so thought I’d go ahead and do another one

I have known about Graze for a while now but I resisted ordering it because I thought it would just be extra money being spent on food that we don’t need. Then I realised that my snacking patterns would probably benefit from having a healthy option handy at all times – especially because I am usually starving when I get in from work and I always reach for some toast and peanut butter! Well that has now stopped and I am instead eating a handful of nuts or fruits!

 

 

 

 

 

 

For those of you who don’t know Graze is a company which sell healthy snacks such as crackers, seeds and nuts delivered once a week. They only deliver to the UK however please still have a look because some of the combinations of flavours are really fun and would be great in a home made flapjack etc! The food is delivered in a box which fits perfectly through the letter box (so none of those annoying red post office letters saying they called but you weren’t in even though you were!) and within the box are 4 punnets with a variety of treats ready to be ‘grazed’!

I signed up to receive the Graze box after buying a Groupon deal but I have since kept it going because I realised I actually do need this service in my life (I do!!!) and also you pay per week so there is no pressure if you’re feeling a bit tight for money one week! I have mine delivered on a Monday and the first week I excitedly demolished the box within a day (= an hour) but I now sensibly open one punnet at a time and so far the longest it has lasted me is 4 days!

I also assumed that it was just fruits, seed and nut mixes however the creativity of the graze box has got me hooked! Here are a few of my favourite flavour combinations which really took me by suprise:

Jaffa Cake: Roasted hazelnuts, Dark Chocolate Buttons and Orange infused Sultanas

This is seriously delicious and probably my favourite so far! Take a little bit of each element and pop it all in your mouth to get the full effect! Healthier and more filling than a real jaffa cake.

Pina Colada: Coconut, Mango and Pineapple

This was on the edge of being too sweet for me however the coconut just balanced it perfectly! It’s just missing the rum

Pear Tatin: Pear, Raspberry infused Cranberries, Yoghurt coated sunflower seeds and Almonds

Again this is a good one to eat a bit of everything all at once, although me and Scott did pick out some of the yoghurt covered sunflower seeds to munch on because they were soo good!

Here are some of my favourite boxes which have something a little different or fun:

Banana Cake with an Afternoon Tea Infusion:

I took this into work with me and felt very extravagant having a tea and cake break – although I had mine mid morning not afternoon because I couldn’t wait!

Green Olives with Basil and Garlic

When I saw I had received olives I thought “oh that’s nice but I do eat olives quite a bit so I’m not that bothered” and then when I tried them I nearly gobbled the whole lot down! I haven’t ever had basil olives before but they are delicious and so very very morish! Luckily I got them again this week

Vanilla Seeds

These look boring but they are PACKED with vanilla flavour and have a lovely texture. I like to suck the vanilla flavour off then eat the seed but that’s just me…..

And last but not least -

Wasapeas!!

These are some of my favourite snacks so I was really happy to see them in the selection! I like seeing how many I can eat without my head exploding

Anyway there is my round up of my favourite Graze Box options so far, I imagine in 6 weeks I’ll have a tonne more! That’s if I keep remembering to photograph them before they disappear! I’m very hungry after writing all of that, luckily I have this weeks graze box to keep me going

ps I just wanted to point out my gorgeous plates that I got from a charity shop for 20p each!!! I am always hunting for nice little plates and bowls to make my food look even prettier and it just goes to show what treasures are out there – although I do now have a lot of mis matched plates