Eating 'abroad'

Having just got back from a weekend in London I've learned a couple of things about their restaurants based on two things that ‘make’ London: multiculturalism and creativity.

1. Multiculturalism.

London’s cultural diversity is one of its major attractions and provides constant opportunities to shoot the shit with a plethora of earth's inhabitants. This is what makes it such a great place to escape to when the mundane becomes mundane.

That said, when eating out if you dare step away from ordering anything other than something you can point to on the menu you're screwed…

Some pals and I headed to a Chinese restaurant in Balham yesterday evening. I really fancied ‘something’ in black bean sauce so I asked the waiter for tofu, stating I was a vegetarian; he shook his head and offered me chicken or beef and this is when my heart sank. After a lot of gesturing and pigeon English I thought I'd succeeded. 20 minutes later, my food arrived: a plate of vegetables in black bean sauce with an explanation of 'we've sold out of tofu'. We were the only ones there and they had only been open for an hour. Really it was 'I'm not sure what you were on about so, here, eat something you didn't order'.

2. Creativity

Food, cooking and creativity, to my mind, must co-exist. In terms of my experience in London the three are clearly interchangeable.

The example here came from a visit to an Italian restaurant in East London. The creative side being the menu only. The menu scriber clearly had talent, the food sounded amazing. I opted for tagliatelle in a tomato pesto with chilli, almonds and pine nuts topped with smoked ricotta. 'Wow', huh?

That was where the magic ended, I got a plate of tepid pasta in an insipid sauce with a few bits of chopped almonds and chilli flakes. It could have been so good! Now I'm all for well executed food writing, obviously, but at the end of the day it is the food that matters - the writing is just there as a means of describing how great something was or is going to be. In this instance the creativity ended when the writer hit 'print' and I was forced to douse my plate in salt and pepper and nick a slice of pizza from my friends.

And to finish, some humorous menu misspells:

- Tomato and chilly sauce

- Sweat and Sour Vegetable

- Steamed white rise

…lovely stuff!

I should...

...be writing a short fiction piece as part of my creative writing portfolio for Uni. I should have also showered, put some washing on and be making my way to my parents’ house to wait on my mama. However food, the little minx, is distracting me again.

Each Sunday the cursed cursor on the screen of my laptop clicks the web-address box (I dunno what it's called!) and insists I check out the recipes and reviews featured on The Guardian's website. I hold two men responsible for this: Jay Rayner and Yottam Ottolenghi. The former is (alongside Nigel, Nigella and Tamasin) responsible for my obsession with food writing, the latter: cooking and eating. Imagine my excitement this Sunday morning when I find that Rayner has reviewed Ottolenghi's new London restaurant, Nopi.

Jay, Yotam and Lucy, the perfect threesome - in the context of scribing and eating that is.

In the review one of Rayner's main points is one I am already aware of, Ottolenghi is a vegetarian food wizard! The things this guy can do without meat are astounding! As Rayner put it in his review: 'Ottolenghi is brilliant at arguing against the imperative to eat meat'. Being someone who has prepared many of the recipes featured in Ottolenghi's 'The New Vegetarian' series in The Observer I agree with Rayner here. To borrow a term from one of my creative writing lecturers: 'show, don't tell'. Ottolenghi does not, now I need to tread carefully here, 'preach' about the virtues of eating veggie but instead provides stunning examples of why it is not essential to eat meat in the search for great food. This is my sentiment exactly and one of the reasons I started the blog. I am not here to convert anyone, I am not here to provide statistics and 'horror stories' regarding intensive farming and the environment but I am here to offer insight into what it really is, or can be, to eat veggie. It really isn't all nut roasts and lentils.

I visited London 2 weeks ago and intended to visit Nopi or any of Ottolenghi's deli-cafes but, alas, Camden would not release me. In honour of Ottolenghi, though, I cooked myself one of the recipes taken from 'The New Vegetarian' on Friday. In my previous post I prattled on about not eating exciting foods until my Uni. work was done; that lasted a few days. We all have our vices.

Don't let the grimace-inducing word 'tofu' put you off here, I don't like it in its natural state it either. However, in this recipe it is cooked in a way that makes most things desirable: it's deep-fried.

Black Pepper Tofu by Yotam Ottolenghi

800g firm, fresh tofu Cornflour, to dust the tofu

Vegetable oil, for frying

150g butter

12 small shallots (350g), peeled and thinly sliced

8 red chillies, thinly sliced

12 garlic cloves, crushed

3 tbsp chopped ginger

5 tbsp crushed black peppercorns

3 tbsp sweet soy sauce

3 tbsp light soy sauce

4 tsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp sugar

16 small, thin spring onions, cut into segments 3cm long

Cut the tofu into 3cm x 2cm blocks and toss them in cornflour, shaking off the excess. Pour in enough oil to come 0.5cm up the sides of a large frying pan, and bring up to frying heat. Fry the tofu in batches in the oil, turning the pieces as you go. Once they are golden all around, and have a thin crust, transfer to a paper towel.

Remove the oil and any sediment from the pan and throw in the butter. Once it has melted, add the shallots, chillies, garlic and ginger, and sauté for about 15 minutes on low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the contents of the pan are shiny and totally soft. While you wait, crush the peppercorns, using a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder. They should be quite coarse.

When the shallots and chillies are soft, add the soy sauces and the sugar, stir, then stir in the crushed pepper. Warm the tofu in the sauce for about a minute, then add the spring onion and stir through. Serve hot with steamed rice.

If the words 'deep fried' did not persuade you then here are some more:

The crisp yet tender tofu grips onto the flavourings with both hands. The spicing is interesting too, the red chilli is keen and racy, the crushed black pepper has a resonant haunting depth; whilst eating you are intermittently hit by both. Nigel Slater refers to eating something spicy, such as chilli, with something cooling, like yogurt, as a 'whip and kiss'. This recipe could be described as a 'whip and whack'. It is bawdy but if you eat it with some steamed rice then you may be afforded a little smooch.

What's Up?

I am 'off' food, specifically, eating. I still have shimmers of interest in reading and writing about it. However, preparing it/watching it being prepared (on one of my usually beloved T.V shows) and eating it? Not so much.

When I go off my food it is usually symptomatic of something more sinister than simply not being hungry. I use the word sinister because I enjoy drama, not because there is something seriously wrong (maybe). However, I am wondering where my food lust has gone...as I said to a friend the other day: 'I feel hunger, yet have no desire to sate it'.

Why?

Through the mass media we now all know about emotions and the link they have to food and our 'relationship' with it. You no longer need to be a psychiatrist to say that someone who eats when they are sad is 'filling the emotional void with food' or that someone who starves them self is 'looking for control amidst feelings of chaos'. You just need to pick up a copy of Cosmo. or Marie Claire for that kind of psycho-analysis these days.

I do have a history of controlling 'chaos' via my diet so can definitely identify with that. If you can't fix your life then don't fix yourself some supper - at least you had a say in the latter. It can be comforting. So I guess there must be some kind of power struggle afoot between myself and my life...it seems the latter controls me - more so than me 'it' - at the moment due to University and work. This could go some way to explaining the lack of interest in eating.

I think, for me, it is because I see food as sensual escapism, a transporter. Not 'mere fuel' as I once raged in a blog-gone-by. At this point in my life, however, I need to avoid basking in food's light and instead plonk myself in one of three places: the library, in front of my laptop or the office. It's as if I know food will want to whisk me away somewhere romantic and whimsical but I cannot accept it's offer and so I am residing myself to 'boring' food for sustenance rather than stimulation.

And so I have no recipes to post, except maybe:

200g dried spaghetti

1 x jar of tomato sauce

Boil pasta until al dente. Stir in sauce.

OR

2 slices of bread

2 tsp of butter

1 can of beans

If I need to tell you what to do with these then I'd worry if I were you.

This does not mean that I do not want to 'talk' to you; no, no. I still want to interact with food mentally, it's my 'thing', what makes me tick; hence me still posting despite my apparent hunger strike.

On the topic of food, I am completing a Literature Review on the link between food and sex by checking out what other academics are saying about it. So far? Stuff we are acutely aware of anyway: food is used a metaphor for sexual organs/food is an aphrodisiac /food as 'sin'...I like the last one, makes me think of dark chocolate and ruby wine next to a trance inducing fire. That previous sentence, in a nutshell, is why I am not eating anything that may arouse anything more than an 'urge to study' (sexy, huh?). I ALMOST 'carried' myself to Montpellier to drink wine with something handsome - in my mind, of course. Clearly I need to exercise restraint when it comes to my food/word dynamic, until the end of the Semester anyway.

And so, I am off to complete yet another essay and eat 'something'...roll on summer.

Take me away

A friend and I have been discussing the finer qualities of European living. So much so that I am aching to pack up and head off tomorrow. There is, however, a catch in my romantic notion. Now I'm not sure if I've mentioned this, I am financially bereft at this particular point in my life so indulging such dreams is not something I'm afforded.

And so, food shall rescue me once again, not only as nourishment but my passport to other worlds that are shamefully out of my reach.

Italian food is a common feature in my repertoire in the form of pastas, soups and homemade pizzas and so I am packing up and heading to France.

The best of France? Beef bourguignon, charcuterie, offal...this is somewhat problematic given my dietary persuasion unless (shudder) I consider a meat substitute. I could enjoy a feast of desserts but I want to prepare and eat something that transports me to a quaint, romantic bistro in Provence where I can linger over supper with a glass of wine next to someone special. All accompanied by music of love and torment, by candlelight...

Here's a recipe stolen from Ina Garten's appropriately named 'memory lane' collection of recipes. This recipe transports Ina and her beloved Jeffrey to the streets of Paris following a trip around Europe as poor youngsters rich in love.

Eggplant (aubergine) Gratin

Ingredients

• Good olive oil, for frying
• 3/4 pound eggplant, unpeeled, sliced 1/2-inch thick
• 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 extra-large egg
• 1/4 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan (a good vegetarian hard cheese will be fine here)
• salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup good bottled marinara sauce

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.

Heat about 1/8-inch of olive oil in a very large frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is almost smoking, add several slices of eggplant and cook, turning once, until they are evenly browned on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Be careful, it splatters! Transfer the cooked eggplant slices to paper towels todrain. Add more oil, heat, and add more eggplant until all the slices are cooked.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, egg, half-and-half, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

In each of 2 individual gratin dishes, place a layer of eggplant slices, then sprinkle with Parmesan, salt and pepper and spoon 1/2 of the marinara sauce. Next, add a second layer of eggplant, more salt and pepper, half the ricotta mixture, and finally 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan on top.

Place the gratins on a baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the custard sets and the top is browned. Serve warm.

This post is your plane ticket and it's on me.

Pleasure

I am skint. Skint.

I'm not unhappy about this really I just have to adjust to life as student/part-time employee/writer. It seems as the number of 'roles' I have increase my income takes a southern route...irony can be cruel.

Like I said, though, I don't feel hard-done-by or the slightest bit tempted to jack it all in and return to maximum pay, minimum satisfaction. Tougher times build character and, most importantly, inspire us.

A few Thursday's back I was tired and (you guessed it) skint. After a hungry rummage through my fridge I only really had bits and bobs that could be picked at alongside jars of jams, mustard, pickled onions and nowt much else. However, what emerged from half hour in the kitchen that evening turned out to be a special little something that was satisfying and made me feel like I was really treating myself. It was at this moment I realised the greatest thing about being financially bereft: simple pleasures. Pleasure is at its best unadorned: a warm bath, a good book, supper at the end of a long day – it’s cliché but I don’t care. The need to do something different, something new, crazy and exciting can render you anxious and unfulfilled.

The best way to illustrate it would be a New Years Eve equation: too much money + too much pressure = disappointment the antidote to this would be buying the Sunday papers, reading them with a cup of coffee and realising how good you already had it. The latter never disappoints as it's not trying to be anything other than what it is, it's not over complicated or marred by high expectations that often stem from little more than the amount of cash you've had to part with.

The recipe from that Thursday evening is a take on a goats cheese and onion tart - one of the vegetarian's most familiar restaurant/dinner party offerings - yet replaces the pastry with a seeded pitta base: sounds like 'diet food', it's not. I wouldn’t recommend the well known oval white flour pittas here, the bread needs to be damp and dense, the brand suggested in the recipe below was ideal.

Goats cheese & onion pitta tartelette with mustard dressed leaves

Serves One

Ingredients:

1 round seeded pitta (I used Food Doctor multi seeded)

1 tbl sp Dijon Mustard

1 tbl sp oil, (olive, vegetable etc)

1 red onion, thinly sliced

2 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked (optional)

1 tsp sugar

Salt

Pepper

1 x tomato, thinly sliced into rounds

50g goats cheese (the type with a rind), thinly sliced

For the salad:

Salad leaves (rocket, watercress etc)

1 tbl sp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbl sp lemon juice

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tbl sp dijon mustard

Salt

Pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 200c.

Spread the mustard on the pitta bread, leaving out approximately 1cm around the edge, and place to one side.

Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion, thyme, sugar and salt and cook until they soften and become 'jammy', season to taste.

Add the onions to the pitta and arrange the tomato and then the goats cheese on top, season.

Place on a baking tray in the oven for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden.

Whilst the tartelette is cooking make the dressing for the salad: add the oil, lemon juice and sugar to a bowl and whisk in the mustard, season to taste adding more sugar or lemon if needed. Dress the salad leaves just before serving alongside the tartlette, finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil over the tartelette.

Holidays are comin'!

Deep breaths, deep breaths! December aka Christmas Month is here and my excitement is building daily!

Unlike others, at this time of year, my jubilation does not reside under a tree wrapped in silver and gold, it does not stand expectantly beneath the mistletoe. It lives in Kilner jars, truffle cases and star shaped cookie cutters! The time has come to inhabit my kitchen for more than my nightly supper assembly; I now have an excuse to be in it for hours on end making jams, chutneys, truffles and biscuits for my nearest and dearest. The question is; who is really getting a gift here? Is it the recipients or me: pottering around my kitchen chopping, stirring, tasting and making cute labels to stick on jars of apple and cranberry chutney? I know what my answer is.

Around about this time of year I am hoping that my friends and family are eagerly waiting the moment I hand them a basket filled with jars and boxes, as I do each year, for them to feast upon over the festive period. I am also banking on some of them dutifully returning the jars from last year so that I may fill them before returning to their rightful owners; that part is not always as reliable.

The main reason my enthusiasm is reaching boiling point is down, in part, to my choice of bed-time reading. I decided, last night, that it was time to flick through one of the several foodie magazines I had already purchased this month and came across a Danish recipe for butter cookies, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar - I will be trying these out in a week or two and will, of course, post the recipe here. Also nestled within the pages were recipes for butternut squash pithivier's (French puff pastry pies; I will be having one for my Christmas Day lunch), ice-cream spiced with cinnamon, star anise and nutmeg and calvados mixed with spiced apples for a twist on mulled wine. I had to put the magazine down at this point, it was 1am, my head was spinning with ideas and I was approximately 2 recipes away from getting my notebook out and planning my (and my family’s) meals for the next 4 weeks!

So yes, yes, I know, I am in the grip of Christmas Food frenzy. I can’t help it, it happens every year -and many times throughout the year; it only takes a friend’s Birthday or a wander around a farmers market to set me off yet there’s something all consuming about food at Christmas. Whether it is to do with the fact that you have more time to linger over it or that it’s more ceremonial and luxurious than any other time of year is something to ponder.

One thing that is important to remember, though, is not to waste pity on veggies at this time of year. Over the coming posts I intend to show you that we can get as stuck in and gain the same 7, ok 10, lbs as everyone else this time of year and have a damn good time in the process!

Book Review

As promised, here's the review of Kitchen by Nigella Lawson:

The siren with a spatula is back with another abundant offering of inspired recipes mixed with her droll style of talking, and indeed, writing about her obsession with all things kitchen related. Nigella Lawson not only knows food but knows what to say about it. Kitchen is no exception.

In the Introduction, ‘Or what the kitchen means to me, and why I live in it’ Nigella mentions that this is the type of book she has wanted to write ‘for a very long time’ but that she didn’t feel ready to share details of her ‘love affair’ with her kitchen until she got to know it more herself; this is very much Nigella’s ethos. She revels in the whole experience of food from its preparation to the evocative powers it possesses; a simple roast chicken transports her to her mothers kitchen and the ‘ritual’ of cooking two chickens at a time: one to eat and one to pick at. Having read all of her previous offerings it is clear that Nigella would not be able to complete a book that was anything other than ‘memoirs with recipes’ a term she used to describe a fellow food writers’ book in her hugely successful ‘Nigella Bites’.

Being that this book is as much about the kitchen itself as it is about food there is a handy section entitled Kitchen Caboodle – this is not Nigella suggesting we need a ‘panic-inducing’ kit in order to appreciate our kitchens; quite the opposite in fact. She discourages buying anything that will gather dust; electric cheese graters and yogurt makers both feature in her tongue-in-cheek ‘ My Kitchen Gadget Hall of Shame’ section but still suggests that some items such as a mezza-luna (a half moon shaped double handled knife) are useful to those less dextrous when it comes to finely chopped herbs and vegetables. The ‘Kitchen Confidential’ section also provides useful hints and tips, such as how to remove tea stains from cups and how to stop your onions browning too much when frying them.

Being that, above all, people will part with their money in exchange for recipes and culinary-inspiration, it’s worth mentioning the food. The recipes are split into two parts each with their own sub-sections. The first, Kitchen Quandaries, looks at how to feed children without condescending their palettes but also speedily nourishing them from under your feet with offerings such as turkey meatballs in tomato sauce and chocolate chip bread pudding. A sub-section entitled ‘Off the Cuff’ also offers advice and recipes on how to rustle up a satisfying supper by having some simple store-cupboard essentials to hand.

Kitchen Comforts, the second part of the book, is true Nigella territory. Hassle free food that feeds the soul as well as your belly. An entire sub-section is dedicated to chicken and the place it has in not only Nigella’s culinary repertoire, but her heart; she writes, ‘I don’t really feel a kitchen is mine until I’ve cooked a chicken there’ recipes for said bird include Thai chicken noodle soup and ‘my mothers praised chicken’. In and amongst the traditional recipes, there are some inspired ideas such as spiced pumpkin chutney and no churn pina colada ice cream; sure to cause a stir in jaded rut-stuck home cooks. If you are a collector of her other books you may find some of the recipes repetitive – done before but with an added sauce or additional ingredient. This is no hardship though, really, they appear to have been revamped/improved and not simply recycled.

When reading this book you get the feeling Nigella is by and on your side as she encourages you to enter your kitchen both physically and emotionally – this may seem hokey to some but true foodies will relate to this entirely. Nigella is not out to intimidate but to reassure you that you should love your kitchen and all that you do in it whether it be cooking supper for 6, a bowl of something restorative for yourself or simply spending some time pottering about in a room Nigella describes as ‘part-hub, part-haven’.

Recipe - Tomato Curry by Nigella Lawson

(Serves 4)

2 tbl sp cold-pressed rapeseed oil or regular olive oil

2 large onions, peeled and chopped

1 tsp sea salt flakes or 1/2 tsp pouring salt

4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

1kg cherry tomatoes, halved

2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp English mustard powder

1 tsp hot chilli powder

1 tsp garam masala

200g frozen peas

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large pan, with a lid, and add the chopped onions sprinkling with salt. Stir frequently as they cook over a low-medium heat until softened (about 7 minutes).

2. Stir in the chopped garlic, then add the tomatoes before stirring in the spices and cook for about 20 minutes, with the lid on, over a low heat.

3. Cook the peas in another pan (as per pack instructions), drain and add to the curry for the last 5 minutes cooking time. By all means cook the peas directly in the curry but be prepared to sacrifice both the vivid red of the tomatoes and the bright green of the peas.

Notes:

The curry can be made a day in advance and chilled. Do not add the peas, though, until you are ready to reheat and eat.

The curry can also be frozen. Cook and cool the tomatoes as above and store in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost over night in the fridge and reheat, adding the peas.

I used vegetable oil when frying the onions as I had some handy; any oil with a high burning point such as sunflower oil, groundnut oil etc will be fine. Do not use extra virgin olive oil though.

Coconut Rice by Nigella Lawson

1 tbl sp garlic oil

4 spring onions, finely sliced

2 tsp nigella seeds or black mustard seeds

300g thai or basmati rice

1 400ml can of coconut milk

600ml freshly boiled water

1 tsp sea salt flakes or 1/2 tsp pouring salt

juice of 1 lime, or to taste

Method:

1. Warm the oil in a heavy based pan that has a lid, add the spring onion and the nigella (or black mustard) seeds and cook for a minute or so, stirring with a wooden spoon.

2. Stir in the rice, letting it get slicked with oil and thoroughly mixed with the black-dotted green shreds.

3. Pour the coconut milk into a measuring jug and top it up to the 1 ltr mark with the boiling water. Add this to the rice, stirring it in with the salt.

4. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to low and put on the lid. Cook for 15 minutes, by which time the rice should be cooked and the liquid absorbed.

5. Fluff up with a fork as you pour in the lime juice, add to taste to see if you need either more salt or more lime.

Notes:

I used nigella seeds as I had some stored away (along with za'atar, see previous posts for details) from my tears-of-joy inducing trip to Dean and Deluca in Soho, Manhattan - they are not as easy to get hold of this side of the pond though. Nigella seeds have an earthier taste than mustard seeds, however, mustard seeds would work as they go so well in many rice dishes used to accompany curries.

So...?

Glorious! So simple, not to mention pleasurable, to make. The mildly acidic/spicy curry dotted with sweet little peas was offset beautifully by the rich, sticky coconut rice that had depth of flavour from garlic oil and onions with the luxurious creaminess of coconut milk; the last minute spritz of lime lifted it out of and rice-pudding territory all together.

As always, I would recommend veggies and non-veggies try this. I guarantee it will be enjoyed alongside a few bottles of beer on a Saturday night. Try it guys and, if you do, please let me know your thoughts on it; I'm always happy to wax poetic about food and what it does to our kitchens, bodies and souls!

Bye x

Return of 'T.V.V'

Hey you!

I've been plagued with guilt for not posting on this here blog for a while and, to be honest, I am in no position to post what with Uni deadlines looming! That said, I started this blog to tell you about the life of a vegetarian foodie and food is still very much central in my lil' world so it is with that thought seared in my brain that I find myself tapping away this Saturday afternoon.

I enrolled at Uni with the view to nurturing my love of writing and getting intimate with the craft; I am currently working on an original short story along with various writing styles which are all well and good but leave little time for my true passion: food and all things linked to it. So, imagine my outright joy when one of my fabulous lecturers casually mentioned in one of the induction meetings that we would be focusing on food for one of the modules. Food writing, food in movies, reviews, a cookbook etc etc - to say I was chuffed is a shameful understatement...here I was getting an education, furthering my writing AND indulging my love of food!!! To give you an idea of what classes entail: last lecture we watched Pulp Fiction and had to identify and discuss the food that appears in the gangster flick and why...bloody brilliant, pun intended.

So, sat in my flat last night I was mulling over the prospect of actually posting on my blog and giving you lovely people something to delicious to get your teeth into...but what to do?? I have deadlines, assignments, reading!! Then it hit me, why not post some of the assignments I am given in my food related class? EUREKA!!

So, here's one to start you off,I was recently given an assignment where I had to create a biography of a particular food item/recipe. I immediately went for arrabbiata as the debate surrounding this sauce is as famous as the sauce itself...exactly what is the authentic recipe? Well I go with the Roman's on this one as this is indeed a Roman dish so one would hope they'd know their stuff.

Here's the food bio along with my favourite recipe:

Arrabbiata Sauce

Arrabbiata, or ‘angry style’ in its direct translation, is a racy tomato sauce for pasta; typically penne due to its tubular shape and surface ridges allowing for maximum sauce cling. It is fiery and unapologetic, treasured by Italians who squabble over its authenticity, whatever it may be.

Routed in Rome, there are literally hundreds of recipe variations. Roman’s will tell you that olive oil, garlic, dried chilli, fresh tomatoes and parsley are the ONLY ingredients required. Websites referring to the recipe’s origin, such as www.italyum.com and www.e-rcps.com seem to obey the ‘rules’ whereas www.wisegeek.com claims onions to be a principle ingredient and that some add a cup of parmesan before serving. If taken too seriously, it can become a minefield of accuracy insecurities.

Playfully described as ‘The Cantankerous Tomato Sauce’ by www.thedailyeater.com due to the heat from the chilli (and the fact that it evokes passion/preciousness/anger in its devotees), this recipe appears to be used to represent a person who knows their stuff, culinary speaking. An episode of I’m Alan Partridge shows Alan having lunch with a significantly more successful colleague. Alan, unsure of what to order, looks to his co-eater who asks for ‘penne all’arrabbiatta’ in a faux Italian accent with a side of superiority; ‘this guy knows where he’s going in life’ is supposed to spring to mind at this point.

It should be known, though, that the appeal of this dish does not lie cheaply in its sassy name or in its status among its groupies. It has a vibrant yet simple flavour: something Italians are serious about. Italians do not deal well with ‘fuss’ when it comes to food and instead put their faith in top quality ingredients simply brought together. This sauce is exemplary of this ethos…if you get it ‘right’!

Recipe:

(serves 3-4)

60ml extra virgin olive oil

3/4 clove of garlic, finely sliced

1tsp (or more, according to taste) crushed red chilli flakes

3 medium peeled tomatoes, chopped

2 tbl sp fresh parsley, finely chopped

salt

Method:

Heat the oil in a large frying pan. When hot add the garlic and chilli flakes, cook until the garlic is golden brown (not too much or it will be bitter). Reduce the heat and add the tomatoes and a good pinch of salt. Cook uncovered until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.

In the meantime cook pasta to packet instructions or until it is al dente. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce, stir to fully coat. Serve in warmed bowls with a sprinkling of parsley on each one.

Next up will be the review I did of the new Nigella Lawson book, Kitchen. This afternoon I am attempting her tomato curry with coconut rice so I will include that also, along with my opinion on it..naturally!

Until then x

Here I Am!

Hello, yes yes I am still here/somewhere.

My apologies for not fuelling you with a delicious, meat-free post for a couple of weeks but, wait, don't hit the little red 'x' yet...I have a semi-decent excuse…I started University; I’ve decided to take this writing lark seriously. It will benefit you all in the long run when I am spewing posts of a higher calibre, I promise.

Latest points of interest in the world of 'The V.V' have been geared to the thrill of the chase in both food and sex. I’m pondering the question: you can have your cake, but do you actually want to eat it? Alongside this we will be delving into the idea of meat being increasingly thought of as a vice, in the same league as smoking and drinking...

A full post will follow shortly and I'm wanting comments on this as I am eager to learn the thoughts of others on these topics. It is outside the realms of my usual posts so this will be fun! I will provide a recipe, as usual, that I hope you will not only chase but devour completely and still want more!

A little taste...and on that bombshell....

Be back very soon xxx

Sentimental Schmuck

Now that I have established a desire to transport as well as inform you with the written word I feel we can all move on together to new and exciting realms of food, memories, emotions and, above all, cooking and eating.

I appear to be on the verge of obsession with the idea of food memories and the emotions we attach to them whether they be jubilant, best forgotten, sensual or repulsive.

It seems I am not alone in this, having spent the weekend tirelessly rifling through the contents of my book shelves, specifically food related, I am becoming increasingly enamoured of the various authors’ ability to reach us on a level much deeper than appetite alone.

Nigella Lawson -one of my favourites - is vulgarly (and naively, I add) thought of as the curvy chick moaning and groaning her way through her T.V shows. She is an enchanting writer. Her extravagant use of adjectives along with a talent for evocation often leaves those teeny hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I was rendered furious when I read some thing’s comments on the use of adjectives: ‘material is littered with adjectives where normal people wouldn't bother; all in the name of making something sound better...’ er, is that not kind of the point?

If I told you nice people that I was going to prepare a cheese and potato pie and then insert said pie into the oven and apply heat for a pre-determined time, ingest it and continue with my life you’d be bored out of your minds, left cold. If I told you glistering individuals that I was going to generously fill a dish with mounds of fluffy, buttery, mustard spiced mashed potatoes in which handfuls of sharp cheddar cheese were hiding aching to be placed into an oven and baked for 35 minutes by which time the top of the pie would be scorched and crisp you’d be entertained and, more importantly, hungry!

It is with this sentiment that I find myself welling up as Ms. Lawson explains how, when preparing a retro classic of whitebait and deep fried parsely served with brown bread and butter, a childhood memory of eating the stuff with her late sister resurrects not only the experience but, for the brief moment she enjoys the little (poor dead) fishies, her sister too.

Other food writers, or mouthy cooks, I adore are Nigel Slater, Tamasin Day-Lewis and Antony Bourdain: supremely described as ‘Elizabeth David meets Quentin Tarantino’. You’ll remember Tony from my first post in which I re-told his fond words for people of my dietary persuasion…‘the enemy of everything that is good and decent in the human spirit’ – DELIGHTFUL, and I mean that...“treat ‘em mean, keep ‘em keen” my babysitter told me when I was 7.

On the subject of my childhood, and in keeping with my vigour for providing you with recipes to make up for my ramblings, here’s the aforementioned cheese and potato pie recipe. I must add that I delved deeper than I usually like to into my memories in a bid to pluck out some exotic, snobby recipe to regale you with – but, truth be told, this one persisted. True nursary food, up there with rice pudding and bananas and custard. I have pimped it, somewhat, with the addition of some caramelised onions and a spoonful of Dijon mustard. As a child I would find my mother’s version comforting yet tiresome to eat after a few spoonfuls.

Cheese and Potato Pie by The Vigilant Veggie

600g potatoes (use one that’ll give a decent mash – I used Maris Piper, King Edward is also a fine choice)
1 tbl sp vegetable oil
3 tbl sp butter
2 medium onions, finely sliced
2 tsp caster sugar
200ml milk
2 tbl sp Dijon mustard
200g cheddar cheese, grated
2 medium tomatoes, finely sliced
Salt and pepper

Method:

Bake the potatoes, left whole with their skins rubbed with a little oil and placed directly onto the bars of a preheated 200c oven, for 50 minutes to an hour, or until the flesh is completely tender; this will depend on their size.

Meanwhile, heat the oil and 1 tbl sp of the butter in a medium frying pan and add the onions. Once softened sprinkle over the sugar and a little salt and pepper and leave to caramelise for approximately 15 minutes by which time they will be dark brown and candied – set aside.

Once the potatoes are tender throughout allow them to cool slightly before cutting in half and scooping out the flesh into a spacious bowl. Mash the potatoes (using a fork or masher) to remove any lumps and set aside.

Heat the remaining butter and milk together (I popped them in a bowl and into the microwave for a couple of minutes) and stir the mixture into the potatoes using a wooden spoon to ensure they are thoroughly combined. Add the mustard and season to taste – don’t add the butter, milk, mustard and seasoning all at once, add it bit by bit until you are left with a taste and texture of personal taste.

Once personal potato perfection has been obtained stir in the cheese, reserving a little to sprinkle on top.

Decant the onions into the base of an oven proof dish and top with the potato mixture, a layer of tomato slices and a final scattering of cheese. Bake in an 180c preheated oven for 35 minutes or until burnished and bubbling.

Serve alone or with a green salad or, as I did as a child (and still do) with baked beans and ketchup.

Notes:

If you haven’t the time for baking potatoes I suggest boiling them in their skins to avoid them becoming water logged creating an insipid mash.

A few spoons of onion jam mixed into the onions, once cooked, would provide a great depth of flavour, as would a few sprigs of thyme.

You could use any mustard you enjoy; be it wholegrain, English or, indeed, none at all.

Cheddar is a classic in this, for me, but this also works well with a mixture of gruyere and hard goat cheese – the sweet nuttiness of the former balancing out the lactic sourness of the latter.

Now, some homework for you; gather some friends and family and initiate a conversation motivated by a culinary memoire.

There are few things I am certain of in life, very few, but I can almost guarantee that participants will fight for air-time whilst reliving and reviving a point in their life where food made them feel a certain way. Another guarantee is that the stories will be largely romanticised from a childhood filled with strawberry picking and Nan’s bread and butter pudding – the childhood we all wished we had. Who cares? If I cared about such intricacies then I would agree with Mr. Paragraph 4’s idea that getting the point across is more important than creating a stir. I would believe that food is mere fuel!!!

In this instance the distinguishing factors of both the eats and emotions they will create do not lie in origin but in efficacy.

Enjoy, wholeheartedly.

Barely Bacon

Next up, spaghetti carbonara with Quorn Bacon Style Pieces £2 for 250g bag (found in the freezer section).

I originally wanted to do steak and chips with roasted vine tomatoes and a glass of red using Quorn Peppered Steaks but my local supermarket was ‘fresh’ out. I have since checked them out online, though, and the ‘serving suggestion’ shows steaks served up alongside some chips and vine tomatoes…typical!

Once I’d gotten over my initial disappointment of not sampling the veggie version of a bistro classic I picked myself up and, after almost freezing my fingertips off rifling through the contents of the meat-free freezer section (new territory to me), happened upon the Bacon Style Pieces. I immediately thought of carbonara and low and behold on the back of the package there was a recipe provided for carbonara! I wonder if Quorn are hiring…

This little discovery was actually double whammy in terms of my research, not only did I get to try the product but I would eat it in a way recommended by the manufacturer. Speaking of which, I did actually have a mooch around the Quorn and Cauldron websites and there appears to be some decent enough recipes listed such as Samosas, Stroganoff, Malaysian Curries and pasta dishes.

‘Simply Carbonara’ by Quorn
(Serves 2)

100g Quorn Bacon Style Pieces
175g dried spaghetti
2 Eggs
2-3 tbl sp Vegetarian Italian Style Hard Cheese, finely grated
2 tbl sp crème fraiche
Pinch of nutmeg
1 tbl sp parsley, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Fry the Bacon over a medium heat for 6 minutes

Bring a large pan of water to the boil, add the spaghetti and cook according to the pack instructions

In a small bowl whisk together the eggs, cheese, crème fraiche, nutmeg and parsley. Season to taste.

Drain the pasta, reserving 2 tbl spoons of the cooking water. Return the pasta to the pan adding the bacon and cooking liquid, mix together.

Stir in the egg and crème fraiche mixture using a fork to ensure even distribution.

Serve immediately with extra cheese and freshly ground black pepper.

Notes:

I heated a little oil in the pan before adding the bacon pieces as fat won’t render out of it the way it would with real bacon lardons or chorizo, for example. I felt it needed a shove in the right direction.

Once again, my supermarket was bereft of veggie parmesan so I opted for a Cheshire cheese that promised to be savoury with citrus notes and a dry crumbly texture.

When tasting the sauce, remember it contains raw eggs so use eggs you feel confident about and that are as fresh as you can find.

Other than a few tweaks I followed the recipe to the letter and it was decent enough. I made sure I used the best full fat crème fraiche and the cheese worked well in the place of parmesan.

One less than desirable quality was that after about 10 minutes or so on the plate it did begin to seize up and turn claggy. Carbonara should be silky and sumptuous, not grainy and sticky!

Now, enjoy that recipe as it’s the last of its kind. I doubt highly that I will be treating myself to anymore synthetic, watery, additive laden foods again for a while! In the interest of being fair I did try other products along the way such as Quorn Mini Savory Eggs pack of 12 £2.28, Quorn Deli Style Turkey and Stuffing 100g £1.44 (watery with a gritty texture), Batchelors Beanfeast dried chilli (tasted like a cuppa soup with bigger chunks and more powder) and a Linda McCartney Meatballs With Pasta microwave meal 400g £1.89 and none of them have inspired me to cook or write. In fact, they’ve given me a bout of indigestion and writers block!

When I sit down to share my many, many views on an ingredient, recipe or dining experience I can go on for ages – previous posts will confirm this.

This ‘mission’ not only exposed me to a world of fake food but it took me to a place lacking in any inspiration or creativity; it’s tough mustering passion for food you don’t believe in.

I could easily sit here and wax on and on about the food and how you could do different things to it to stop the taste/texture/smell of coming through but I would be mugging us all and with this thought fresh in my mind I must now wave the white flag, abandon the mission and go back from whence I came – a world of analysing not just how food tastes but how it makes us feel and the places it can take us...I’ll leave decoding packet ingredients and value for money to someone else as it sure as hell aint my bag!

Normal business will resume shortly….

Chicken...sort of.

A weekend of a little too much wine mixed with little decent sleep had me feeling jaded, tired and ready to say ‘sod it’ to the weekly food shop and ‘sod it’ to the meat substitute mission. I was about ready to cuddle up with a baguette filled with strong cheese and pickle and feel sorry for myself!

However, I am remarkably resilient when it comes to the subject of food, cooking and writing with an ability to spring into action should their involvement in my week be in jeopardy; self inflicted or not. It was with this fighting spirit that I headed to the supermarket to stock up.

As mentioned in my previous post I had a myriad of products to try out. I was a little concerned that my shopping bill was going to sky rocket given the fact that most of the products are £2+ as opposed to a can of pulses that are about 60p or a couple of aubergines for around £1.50 but, surprisingly, my bill was around the same as it usually is; still too high, some might say. There was less food in my trolley than normal, though, but this was most likely to do with the fact that I was going to be indulging in the easiness of a ‘meat and two veg’ lifestyle instead of the 10 different ingredients I often use to make a stew, curry or interesting salad.

The journey up the stairs to my first floor flat was somewhat easier with around 2 large shopping bags less than usual to wrestle with. So far, so good.

First up, Quorn Lemon and Black Pepper Escalopes £2.48 for a pack of 2.

Initially I was going to do a chicken, chips and peas pub grub meal but I cannot resist turning it up a notch. For inspiration I turned to the Queen of notch turning, Ina Garten aka the Barefoot Contessa. I love her! ‘How bad can that be?’ she often asks the salivating yet slightly shocked TV audience when listing the ingredients in a recipe all of which inevitably contain butter, cream and loads of salt and pepper. When you want comfort you go Contessa.

I settled on using the sauce from a chicken picatta recipe. My research shows that my initial thinking of this as an Italian dish is actually poppy cock and that it was actually created in the U.S around the 1930s; usually served with something starchy, be it rice, pasta or potatoes.

In the recipe chicken (or often veal) is pounded flat and dredged in flour, egg and seasoned breadcrumbs. I had been spared this job with the Quorn escalopes; already flattened, already breaded. Once pan fried the meat is then doused in a sauce of lemon and capers, flavours common to Sicilian cooking; the sauce is the reason I selected this recipe.

I have a sour-tooth opposite, unsurprisingly, to a sweet-tooth in that I love all things citrus flavoured- be it food or drink. Hand me a margarita alongside a bowl of lime drenched guacamole and nachos and I’m in culinary heaven, a squeeze of lemon over a curry will make it (and me) sing!

Quorn Piccata
(Serves 2)

2 Quorn Lemon and Black Pepper Escalopes
3 tablespoons butter
Juice of 2 lemons (a few thin half moon shaped slices reserved before juicing)
125ml veggie stock or white wine
2 tablespoons capers, drained if in brine/rinsed if in salt and roughly chopped
Salt and pepper
Flat leaf parsley, finely chopped for serving

Method:

Cook the escalopes as per the pack instructions, I baked them in the oven for 12 minutes by which time they were golden and crisp.

Meanwhile, in a medium frying pan melt 1 tbl sp of the butter and add the lemon juice, lemon halves, stock or wine, capers and salt (not too much, capers are very salty) and pepper and leave to simmer over a high heat for 2 minutes or until reduced by half.

Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 2 tbls spoons of butter, parsley and seasoning, if needed.

Serve the escalopes with a mound of buttermilk mash (recipe below) and greens; I used steamed purple sprouting broccoli, the iron richness balanced the buttery mash perfectly. Spoon the sauce over the escalopes and vegetables bringing any surplus to the table for further spooning.

Buttermilk Mash
(Serves 2- 3)

700g potatoes (I used red-skin desiree potatoes for a creamy mash)
¼ cup of milk
60g butter
½ cup of buttermilk
Salt and pepper

Method:

Peel and chop the potatoes into 1 1/2 inch chunks and add them to salted boiling water for around 10-15 minutes, until very tender.

Meanwhile, heat the milk and butter in a pan (don’t add the buttermilk, it will curdle) until hot, but not boiling, and set aside.

Once cooked, drain and mash the potatoes (Ina recommended you use a food mill but I am lacking in one of those so my trusty masher was utilised) and stir in the milk and butter mixture along with enough of the buttermilk to provide a creamy consistency. Season well with salt and black or white pepper.

Against the buttery yet ever so slightly sour mashed spuds (thanks to the buttermilk, if you can’t find it use a little natural yogurt thinned with some milk) the densely salted and lemon drenched sauce provided a glorious contrast that satisfied my aforementioned sour-tooth no end.

More importantly, the escalopes were a surprising pleasure to eat. Before popping them into our mouths you would have sworn they were dressed in arsenic not butter and lemon.

Once decidedly poison free we found the texture to be toothsome yet tender almost like a very firm tofu – I say very firm as regular firm tofu makes me gag a little as it’s a bit jelly like, nice deep fried though. Taste-wise it was delicately seasoned and ever so slightly sweet, ideal for this recipe. The crisp breadcrumb coating, again was well seasoned with a lemony hit to counter any richness from the protein inside. Reasonably priced, low in calories and saturated fat yet high in protein, I will buy them again for times when I’m at a loose end or only have time to 'hit the kitchen running' as Nigella would say.

In that you’re reading this post shows I survived, and that, yes, I am a little dramatic. In that I am now preparing the next post on the other products I tried shows the escalopes filled me with enough promise to carry on...

Come back soon.

Mission Update 2

Saturday….hazaar! Feeling a little more refreshed, not to mention a little smug that I’d done all my housework the night before, I headed to my local supermarket in search of food stuffs for supper that night.

It was actually my husband’s birthday but he cruelly had to work until 9pm so I had the job of feeding and entertaining his best friend at our place until he was done toiling. The best friend in question, like all but two of our friends, is a meat eater who enjoys a good steak and rack of ribs so I spent a good half hour thinking of what to cook that was vegetarian yet meat eater friendly i.e. no tofu, lentils, grains or any other ‘hippy’ foods.

My ‘EUREKA!’ moment arrived when I recalled the time I made Mr. Best Friend quesadillas and, upon returning from a trip around the U.S, declared my offerings to be the ‘best quesadillas he’d ever tried!’ How could I go wrong?

Also, there was some left over Chili Con Quorne from a midweek meal we had previously enjoyed; the scene was set.

Chili Quesadillas
(Serves 4 as a snack)

8 soft flour tortillas
¼ Chili Con Quorne recipe (see below), heated in the microwave/on the hob
200g mild cheddar cheese, grated (mature cheese can over-power here)
4 spring onions - white and green part, finely sliced
1 red chilli, finely chopped
4 tbl sp fresh coriander, roughly chopped

To Serve:

Sour cream
Tomato Salsa (shop bought or homemade)
Ice cold beer (optional/essential)

Method:

Place a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add one tortilla, spread a small amount of the chili on the base and sprinkle with a little of the cheese, spring onion, chilli and coriander.

Place a second tortilla on top and leave for a minute or so. Once the base of the tortilla is golden brown and crisp flip it over and toast the other side.

It’s ready once both sides are toasted and, when opened, the cheese has melted and looks gooey.

Slide the quesadilla onto a chopping board and start the process again until you have used all ingredients and have 4 quesadillas. If you place each finished quesadilla on top of the previous one on the chopping board it will keep the one underneath it warm.

Once done cut into quarters, arrange on a plate and serve with dips and beer.

Chili Con Quorne
(Serves 4-6)

2 medium onions, peeled and cut into chunks
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tbl sp vegetable oil
2 heaped tsp ground coriander
2 heaped tsp ground cumin
2 level tsp hot chilli powder
2 large red chillis cut in half, seeds left in or removed – I leave them in
100g sundried tomatoes, rehydrated as per pack instructions and soaking water reserved
2 400g cans of chopped tomatoes
1 cinnamon stick or ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbl spoon best quality cocoa
Salt and Pepper
1 350g pack of fresh Quorn mince
1 410g can of kidney beans in water, drained and rinsed

Method:

Place the onions and garlic in a food processor and whizz until finely chopped, this can be done by hand also if your eyes can handle it.

Heat the oil in a large pan and stir in the onion and garlic mix, allow to soften in the oil for a few minutes.

Add the dried spices and cook for a further minute. Finely chop the fresh chilli, again I use the food processor, and add this to the onion and spices.

Whizz the rehydrated tomatoes and a little of their water in the food processor until you have a burnt orange paste, add this to the pan along with the tinned tomatoes, cinnamon, cocoa, salt and pepper and about 250ml water. Cover and allow the sauce to gently bubble away for about 1 hour giving the flavours time to mingle.

About 45 minutes into the 1 hour cooking time stir in the mince and beans, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or so. Once done, leave the lid on and turn the heat off; allow the chili to sit and relax for about 10 minutes; you can't taste all of the flavours in piping hot food plus this allows yet more mingling.

Check for seasoning and serve with rice or soft flour tortillas.

Also great on top of a chilli:
- grated mild cheddar
- sour cream
- coriander
- limey red onions
(slice a peeled red onion into fine half moons, pour over the juice of two limes and a large pinch of salt, leave to macerate for an hour or so by which time they will have mellowed out and pickled…careful, they are addictive! I actually do the same with white onions, mint and lemon and strew them over a bowl of hot, hot curry with some natural yogurt)

If cooking for vegans you can substitute, as I often do, the mince for a few cans of mixed pulses. I add these at the same time I add the tomatoes so that they take on as much flavour as possible.

Right, the gloves are now off…I’ve shared my Chili Con Quorne and quesadilla recipes with you; the circle of trust has been drawn. Please do try them though as they are delicious. The chili gets better and better and will happily sit in the fridge for a few days ready and waiting to be shoved in the microwave and scoffed with some nachos in front of the T.V.

If I am honest with myself I need to stop being a wimp in terms of these darn meat substitutes! I actually eat Quorn mince and the odd veggie sausage anyway so now’s the time to cook up some of the other products stashed in my fridge/freezer following last night’s shopping trip.

Delights include Quorn Lemon and black pepper escalopes, scotch eggs, sandwich meat and bacon ‘style’ pieces and Linda McCartney Roast (for Sunday) and a READY MEAL for my husband to try whilst I’m out of town on Friday; I’ve told him he needs to eat it with a notepad close by and to be as descriptive as possible!

I think I’ve purchased a varied selection of what’s on offer to vegetarians and, truth be told, I am actually looking forward to trying them out. That said, you would not have guessed it if you saw my face whilst at the supermarket last night…I don’t really think people are supposed to wince when selecting items for their weekday meals!

Be back very soon…..

Mission Update 1

Friday evening and I was exhausted. Not content with a full day’s work at the office I decided it was a smashing idea to clean the flat from top to bottom, strip beds, insert piles of washing into the appropriate machine and make the flat a haven of calmness in readiness for my husband’s return from work (calmness is merely an illusion, though. Those that know me will tell you ‘calm’ is not the most appropriate way to describe me; ‘neurotic’/‘restless’ now they are good ones but with clever lighting, pillows, blankets and incense sticks I can fool anyone!). Either way I was hell bent on getting it all out of the way so I could enjoy a weekend of lying down, yoga-ing, cooking and eating.

At around 9.15pm, husband safely home from a day’s graft, it was time to think about eating something. Personally I was ready to order take-out from anywhere willing to cook and deliver but my husband wasn’t keen on the idea and instead wanted to eat in as my food ‘is so much better than a take-out and half the price’…creep!

After some toing, froing, sulking and an agreement that I wouldn’t wash up I made my way to the kitchen. Needing something more substantial than pasta and sauce I decided to make use of the Cauldron veggie sausages bestowed upon me by Mr. Business Associate last week.

Pasta with sausage in tomato and chilli sauce
(Serves 2-3)

1 pack of Cauldron Sausages
1 tsp oil (olive/vegetable)
350g dried whole-wheat penne pasta (use white and/or alternative shape if preferred)
1 jar of Sacla Cherry Tomato and Chilli pasta sauce
120g Sunblush tomatoes in oil, roughly chopped
75g bag of British watercress, roughly chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Cook the sausages (I brushed them with a tsp of oil and baked in the oven) and pasta as per the package instructions.

Once cooked slice the sausages at an angle, to produce a larger surface area for sauce to cling to, and add them to the cooked drained pasta along with the sauce and Sunblush tomatoes.

Once heated through add the watercress and stir until slightly wilted. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Decant into warmed bowls and drizzle over a little olive oil followed by a good grinding of black pepper.
I’m usually quite iffy about using jarred pasta sauces and I’m down right purest when it comes to arrabbiata (roman pasta sauce using olive oil, garlic, dried chilli flakes, fresh tomatoes and parsley ONLY) as it’s a classic and should be treated so. However, I can happily say that I regularly make use of items that will save time and effort but still provide a satisfying supper. The tomato and chilli sauce used in this recipe is a great example of this as it provided depth of flavour and heat from the chilli that, to make at home, would take a little more effort than opening a jar. The sauce was great mixed in with the pasta and sausage and the little oily bursts of the Sunblush tomatoes rammed with herbs and garlic only made the situation better. The watercress almost acts like the herb in this recipe. Wilted watercress is a revelation, by the way. I used to use it purely as a salad leaf or whizzed up with butter, potatoes, veggie stock and cream in a soup but once you’ve tried it wilted into hot crushed new potatoes with lemon juice, olive oil and tones of salt and pepper you won’t look back!

And yes, it was better than a take-out, not to mention cheaper as the sausages were donated. And no, I didn’t wash up!

My mission, pledge, dread, whatever.

Being the shameless self-advertiser that I am I've been thrusting the link to my blog at anyone I feel may enjoy it as a resource for information and recipes or just a read of something different to a credit card bill, tabloid magazine or anything else that we are forced to look at on a daily basis. So after reading my post on the plight of all veggies out there ('Poor Little Veggie Girl') a business associate of mine, in a fit of generosity, compassion or annoyance sent a little package to my office containing some examples of the meat substitutes I claimed to all but loathe in my previous post.

I actually have eaten meat substitutes before and did scoff some Cauldron veggie sausages at a friends BBQ last Sunday. Oh and, FYI, there were two other veggies at the party so we got to use the BBQ first whilst those around us had to wait...so that’s how it feels to be a meat eater everyday! Anyway, the sausages were rather nice; dotted with sage and well seasoned with black pepper. Admittedly I sandwiched them between a wholemeal roll with some onions and ketchup so cant really go into the intricacies at this stage.

Fear not, though, as the package lovingly posted to me by said 'business associate' contained a packet of those very Cauldron bangers so I will be trying them again with perhaps some chips and peas (covered in ketchup of course!) and report back along with the Bachelors 'Beanfest' dried chilli, complete with dried soya mince, also in the package. I am SO trying to reserve judgement until I try it; really, I am.

Also in my sights are Quorn 'chicken style' goujons and satay sticks. I've had a poke around the internet and they have received promising reviews generally centred around the fact that they taste like the ‘real thing‘. Now, I may be dense here but I just don’t get this, if you don’t eat meat for either moral reasons or because you just don’t like it then why would you want to be reminded of it? Plus, anything that’s a 'style' of something fills me with dread along with things labelled 'flavoured', i.e. vanilla flavoured ice-cream (no vanilla pod or extract but a synthesised alternative) or cranberry flavoured juice drink (5% cranberry 95% everything else) but, again, in the name of veggie vigilance I will go with the flow. I might go to the supermarket in the dead of night to purchase the items (which may include Quorn 'pork'pies or scotch eggs) as I don’t usually buy processed foods or meat substitutes in breadcrumbs....'Hello, my name is Lucy and I'm a food snob' but also very willing to be proven wrong should the opportunity present itself.

In addition to the supermarket I'm also going to venture into Holland & Barrett as a good friend of mine, who's a vegetarian who also omits eggs from their diet, mentioned that the health store stocks a range of meat AND egg substitutes...ok I'm breaking out in a cold sweat and will leave now and return after I have sampled a substitute, or seven.

Poor Little Veggie Girl

Rick Stein was grilling some beef in the background a few weeks back and I was half watching him, half focusing on my laptop when suddenly my ears pricked up. I plonked myself in front of the T.V to witness Rick succumb to a feeling of pity. When salivating over his chunk of BBQ’d cow he turned to the camera and said to all vegetarians within earshot ‘you poor people, you’re missing this’. I simply smiled. To hear this comment is nothing new in the life of a vegetarian, especially one who dares to call themselves a foodie.

It’s often thought that veggies are repressed carnivores who secretly yearn for a bacon sandwich and dream of sinking their teeth into a slice of rare roast beef alongside goose fat crisped potatoes and a Yorkshire pud; not to mention Christmas, just how CAN you celebrate Christmas without turkey and chipolatas?!

Fast forward a few weeks to a conversation with a friend in connection with a magazine article we are working on, specifically the topic of vegetarianism. My friend, a meat eater, was suggesting ideas for the article and commented that in order to eat a balanced and, above all, interesting diet veggies do have to put in a little more graft. I have to say, I agreed with her.

The observation was made that the process of rustling up a mid-week supper, as a meat-eater, is generally a simpler and less time consuming one than us carnivorously challenged folk can hope for. For example, steak on the griddle, rocket salad dressed with olive oil, chunk of bread and glass of red…sorted! A vegetarian could have this same experience but it would either be a synthetic substitute or a bland block of tofu charred to perfection…yum?

Believe me when I say I am not a vegetarian who pushes my lifestyle choice down people's throats, it’s as much your choice to eat meat as it is mine not to. It’s the simple fact that I couldn’t face the day knowing that I didn’t have a plate of something wholesome yet indulgent to look forward to when I get home from work. That vegetarians have it harder at times, whether it be at home or when eating out, makes me work harder to research recipes, techniques and ingredients. It also makes me think about nutrition ensuring I am still getting the protein and iron I need to be healthy. The hard working, highly talented chefs I look up to and admire would have a field day with me here, telling me that I have no idea the effort that goes into sourcing and creating the recipes they superbly turn out day after day, I would agree with them100%. In this instance, however, I am not talking about professional chefs I’m talking about everyday folk who want to feed themselves well after a tediously exhausting day of being responsible grown-ups.

We are now in the midst of summer and enjoying some damn fine weather; as a result, out come the BBQs, al fresco dining and boozy weekend afternoons in the garden. Now, if you’re a meat eater, you most likely grill and are perfectly happy with sausages, burgers and chicken portions etc all sandwiched between bread rolls with a few sauces and salads. However if, like me, you’re a vegetarian who loves to cook and is used to fresh homemade food the veggie burgers and sausages available on the market don’t really cut it. I don’t actually eat meat substitutes that often in any case. I don’t choose to eat meat so why would I want to pretend to choose to eat meat? One exception to this is Quorn mince. Added to a sauce bursting with butter, onions, garlic, thyme, red wine, Dijon and some seasoning it can produce a pretty decent shepherd’s pie. Chili is also a good option, use a basic chili recipe (I’ve adapted a Jamie Oliver one over the years) and replace beef mince with Quorn mince. You may have to increase the seasoning when using Quorn mince as, obviously, it doesn’t contain animal fat and therefore doesn’t provide a huge depth of flavor on its own; you just have to help it along a little but I am yet to meet a non-vegetarian who doesn’t enjoy my Chili Con Quorne!

On the subject the summer eating, last weekend the sun was doing its thing and I fancied a light salad for lunch so I headed out in search of ingredients that would make for a something more inspiring than the usual vegetarian offerings aka a side salad on a bigger plate or the chicken-salad-without-the-chicken. As it were I also needed a few essentials for the week so I grabbed my eco friendly, smugness inducing jute shopper and headed out.

A little over £70 later I had satisfactorily justified that French brandy, dark chocolate and pecan brownie torte were essential items, alongside several others, and headed home to make my lunch:


Melon with mint and Feta (use room temperature ingredients)
Serves One

½ honeydew melon peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
50g feta, roughly crumbled
2 celery stalks, peeled (fennel would work well too) and sliced on the diagonal
2 sprigs mint, leaves picked and finely chopped
1tbl sp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp cider vinegar
Maldon salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Place the melon, feta and celery in a large bowl.

Add the mint, olive oil and vinegar and toss all ingredients together.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

This is a really spin on Nigella Lawson’s watermelon, feta and black olive salad from her ‘Forever Summer’ book. In her own words ‘as improbable as it may sound, this combination is utterly fantastic, both savory and refreshing at the same time’.

None of the recipes I use and often post on this blog would be utilized without my ‘why should vegetarian’s be an after -thought?’ attitude. Monday mornings would not be spent at my desk, pen in hand, thinking up meals and researching recipes for the week ahead for not only my husband and I but for friends and family. All meat eaters, they frequent our dining room each week often leaving with a parting statement: ‘I could give up meat no problem, until the smell of bacon hit me then I’d be lost…poor you…how do you do it?’