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?’

Weekend Wanderings....

Despite the previous idea to venture out in celebration of ‘Wedding Anniversary Part II’ I actually wasn't expecting to leave my flat at all last weekend for anything more than a quick reccy for more food and wine; I ended up eating out twice.

The first outing coincided with a midnight release of a well known immortal romance movie. I would love to tell you that I was reluctantly dragged there by an overexcited/lovesick 14 yr old niece and that I sat through the entire installment listing the sexist symbolism like any decent, forward thinking 21st Century gal should, but that would be classed as lying. My husband and I 'dragged' OURSELVES there after spending most of Friday daytime giddy with excitement…..we have each other, at least.

I often make it my business to take (and give) the most pleasure from a social event such as a dinner party or meal out by considering all manner of details relative to the occasion. For example, when cooking a Middle Eastern feast I simply must waft spiced incence sticks around the dining room and the lighting must be solely provided by candles sticking out of heavily bejeweled holders dramatically dotted anywhere and everywhere...it may be cliche and could well be absurdly inaccurate to the food's origins but it sure helps everyone get into the swing of things!

To this 'rule' a Friday night trip to the movies is no exception; I become an unashamed American-girl-on-a-date wannabe and simply must go for a burger and a 'shake followed by a gargantuan popcorn with DIET coke all of which are, more often than not, forced down my throat before the first line of the movie has even been uttered!

With this in mind….first stop, The Handmade Burger Co. in Solihull’s Touchwood shopping centre.

The menu had a small column entirely dedicated to a selection of imaginative handmade veggie burgers to suit different tastes from the onion bhaji 'burger' with yogurt and mango chutney to cheese patties all sandwiched between good quality seeded buns with some crisp salad leaves. Sides are ordered separately and I can confidently recommend the handmade uber crispy chips double fried with bits of the skin left on to make them crisper still; their fluffy insides benefiting from a dunk in some ketchup (kept in glass bottles on the table…like all good burger joints). The coleslaw is also a fine choice, again, handmade with carrot, cabbage and red peppers encased in a light dressing.

On this occasion I opted for the lentil and spinach burger and my other half enjoyed the mushroom, mozzarella and pesto burger. My burger, formed into a patty and sealed on the grill, was toothsome and well seasoned, a far cry from the coated wallpaper paste offered at other restaurants in the past. My husbands consisted of alternate slices of portobello mushroom, melting mounds of mozzarella and flavoursome pesto; he gave it the thumbs up between chomps. Both burgers and sides were quickly devoured and washed down with bottled beer and wine…saving room for popcorn and ice cream.

The bill for the two of us was around £30 (service not included) comprising a large glass of wine, bottle of beer, two burgers and 3 sides so it’s a little more than your average late night burger van but what you lack in money at the end you’ll gain in many other ways (no disrespect to the burger van man at all….honest).

Oh and, yes, they do serve milkshakes; and, yes, they are in tall ridged glasses like a proper diner complete with bendy straw! The décor, however, is more funky British eatery with floral wallpaper and witty quips on the walls but they do a decent burger, the staff are genuine and it's spitting distance from the cinema meaning I could be gently rolled to my seat once I’d had my fill…

The second outing of the weekend, again, happened by accident…

My husband, my folks and I gathered in Birmingham's Brindley Place to cheer my sister and her partner on as they completed a half marathon in under 2 hours. Whooping, picture taking and sweaty hugs over with we were all in need of nourishment so we decided to take a seat in All Bar One.
　
Both the inside and outside areas of the restaurant were alive with happy faces out to enjoy the Saturday sun and , like us, cheer on the runners. The large oak tables surrounded with cubed stools and wooden benches made it easy to please a crowd of people looking to engage in lively conversation with each other across a table crammed with food and glasses of wine, cider and cold beer; the large glass doors had been flung open to let in the warm breeze reminding all Brits that we are actually having a Summer….I wont say anymore, though, in case I scare it away!

The menu, available on sheets of paper at each table and also on massive blackboards at either end of the restaurant (very gastro-pub), held a pleasing amount of choice for vegetarian and non-veggies alike and drink pairings were offered with a selection of the dishes listed.

My eyes were immediately drawn to the impressive sounding dukka crusted goats cheese with mango and watercress salad, then to the falafal burger and then over to the duo of hummus with flatbreads…I could go on.

After some toing and froing I committed myself to the mushroom, red pepper and aubergine wrap with mozzarella and Asian style pesto mayonnaise accompanied with a side order of fries. However, I could have just as easily sunk my teeth into a mushroom quesadilla with red pepper and chilli salsa or maybe the asparagus, spring onion and pea risotto…ok, I’ll stop now.

The wrap itself was toasted and flavoursome and not at all doughy or chewy as I had feared it may have been. The filling was generous and well cooked with a decent ratio of bread to vegetables and cheese, however, there was a distinct lack of seasoning, even for my salt crazed palate and found myself having to sprinkle a little salt on the filling before each bite. Aubergine and mozzarella are both beautifully bland making them the perfect carriers for spices, seasonings or a spritz of lemon and I have to admit that a bit of extra oomph wouldn’t have gone amiss here.

The whole experience, however, from the hardworking, nothing’s-too-much-trouble waiter to the chic, stylish city-bar surroundings made the lunch a feel like a welcome weekend treat and the fact that the wrap and fries came in under a tenner left room in the budget for a glass or two of something fruity...

Speaking of which, how could I forget the Pinot Grigio rose, flowing as if from a tap, and gloriously described as an 'elegant bone dry stunner'?! Should they ever decide to pair a wine with a person instead of plate of food I’d jump at the chance to accompany this one….the words ‘modesty’ and ‘virtue’ should now come screaming to mind!
　
　
　
　

Magazine Meal 3

The last meal in my week of magazine testing - what to choose...what to choose?

Torn between going all out with an indulgent and time-consuming recipe or a light meal thrown together in a jiffy (leaving time to enjoy what was left of the evening sun) I opted for a recipe from July's Weight Watchers Magazine that was sin-free, simple to prepare but also promised on flavour; result!

The recipe under scrutiny this time was actually from a little book entitled 'Summer Sizzlers' given away with the magazine; also included in the book were ricotta stuffed mushrooms, bulgar wheat pilaff and broad bean and leek tortilla, to name but 3.

Recipe:
Chilli Corn Fritters from 'Summer Sizzlers' courtesy of Weight Watchers
(Serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a main)

50g polenta
200g sweetcorn (I used frozen and defrosted them before use)
1/2 - 1 tsp crushed chillies
3 tbl sp fresh coriander, chopped
1 tbl sp thai green curry paste
1 tbl sp fish sauce (I used wheat free tamari instead)
1 egg
low fat cooking spray

1. Place all the ingredients except the low fat spray in a bowl, and combine well. The mixture will be quite runny (adjust the amount of chillies used depending on how spicy you like your food).
2. Spray a non-stick frying pan with the low fat cooking spray and heat to a medium temperature. Use your hands to form the corn mixture into eight balls and flatten into cake shapes.
3. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side until cooked through and golden. You may find this easier to do in two batches. Serve immediately.

I served the fritters with broccoli stir fried in vegetable oil with slithers of garlic and a few crushed chilli flakes. For a more substantial meal cooked brown rice could also be added to the pan with the broccoli for a tasty side dish.

Now, you do have to watch out with some thai curry pastes as many contain fish sauce and/or shrimp paste, as standard. I used Suree Brand Thai Yellow Curry Paste from my local deli but have also found similar veggie pastes in major supermarkets...just be sure to read the label or even make your own if you have the time and energy after a day at work.

The fritters were spiced to the point of lip-tingling but balanced delightfully with the sweet 'pop' of the corn kernels; the salty kick of the tamari provided a needed savory note that made these little bites addictive. It was certainly a good thing that the entire batch was a mere 8 (Weight Watchers) points but truly a bad thing that I had to share them!

I hope that from this post and the two that preceded it you can see that there are some damn good eats to be had out there on the magazine stands of your local shop or supermarket and that they can be slotted into the weekday just as easily as a bowl of pasta or cheese on toast but with a much higher return!

Mazagine Meal 2

How to follow the aubergine....hmm....quite a daunting prospect.

After trawling through the 6 other magazines I've acquired this past couple of weeks I settled on a dish by 'all year round summer' guy - Bill Granger.

The recipe, Spinach, Watercress and Parmesan Cake came courtesy of a feature in July's Sainsbury's Magazine entitled 'Sunny Delights' so was an absolute must given the high temperatures, light evenings and all round holiday vibe we have been enjoying lately in the UK; had we the time I would have loved to pack it in a picnic basket with some crusty bread, chilled rose and a blanket. (Also in the feature was a recipe for baked eggs with three cheeses and tomato salad which looked tasty..another time maybe. It did, however, inspire the tomato and black olive salad below).

The 'cake' was actually a take on a frittata in that it relied on eggs and milk to set the mixture which was later cut into wedges and enjoyed with two salads; one, a simple selection of green leaves and the other, a tomato and black olive salad.

Recipes:

Spinach, Watercress and Parmesan Cake by Bill Granger

1 tbl sp olive oil
15g butter plus extra for greasing
2 leeks, trimmed and chopped
100g young leaf spinach
1 x 75g bag watercress, tough stems removed
a whole nutmeg, for grating
500ml milk
6 large eggs
50g parmesan
sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 180c, fan 160c, gas 4. Heat the oil and butter in a pan over a medium heat. Add the leeks and cook gently until soft; about 10 mins.
2. Butter the inside of a round ovenproof dish, about 25x6cm deep. Add the greens to the leeks and season with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and a grating of nutmeg. Cover and leave to wilt for five minutes. Using tongs, remove the leek and greens from the pan and put in a food processor. Reduce the liquid in the pan to 1 tablespoon and add to the greens. Then add the milk and eggs and blend until almost smooth. Pour into the greased dish and scatter with parmesan. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden.

Notes:

I swapped the leeks for an onion and few celery stalks (plus inner leaves) as I had them handy already and figured they would still offer the oniony/herbal hit provided by using the green and white parts of leeks.

I also forewent the parmesan in exchange for organic British cheddar as vegetarian parmesan is now only available sporadically in my local supermarket - much to my annoyance. The cheddar worked very well, though.

When transferring the wilted leaves to the food processor (step 2 of the recipe) there was no liquid left in the pan to reduce, therefore, this stage was not necessary to me in my kitchen.

The final product was light as air due to the ingredients being whizzed in the food processor which, incidentally, allowed the flavours from the vegetables and spice to permeate throughout the entire dish making the frittata intensely flavoured with iron rich leaves and mellow spicy nutmeg.

Tomato and Black Olive Salad
Serves 2

2 large plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
100g dry black olives, roughly chopped
Sunblush tomatoes (approx 8 quarters), roughly chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tbl sp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbl sp red wine vinegar
maldon salt
freshly ground black pepper

1. Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix thoroughly, season to taste. Adjust seasoning and oil/vinegar ratio according to personal preference. Leave to sit at room temperature for at least an hour to allow all the flavours to mingle and settle in.

The tomato salad gave balance to the soft, milky frittata with the acidity of the British tomatoes and red wine vinegar ensuring any richness was promptly cut through without removing any of the comfort factor.

This cake will definitely be called upon again as part of light brunch on a lazy Sunday or served cold straight from a picnic basket - a cake by name but virtuous by nature...perfect!

Magazine Meal 1

Its always a 'good idea at the time' scenario when you set yourself a task or goal on a Sunday/Monday; youre feeling refreshed and ready to tackle a new week of work and play in equal measure or, in my case, testing vegetarian recipes from June-Julys foodie mags.....

Upon arriving home on Tuesday evening after a day that can only be decribed as 99.99% hard graft and 0.01% play my intentions were geared more to beans on toast - and that was at a push - than roasted aubergines with a buttermilk sauce, however, my desire to write this post compounded with my need for something delicious to soothe my exhausted body and mind perked me up somewhat.

As it turns out this recipe was almost as simple as beans on toast but with results above and beyond.

Aubergines with Buttermilk Sauce by Yotam Ottolenghi
Serves 4 as a starter - or 2 as a main course.

2 large and long aubergines
80ml olive oil
1 1/2 tsp lemon thyme (I couldnt get any so used 1 tsp dry thyme)
1 pomegranate
1 tsp za'atar spice blend
maldon sea salt
black pepper

For the sauce:
140ml buttermilk
100g greek yogurt
1 1/2 tblsp olive oil plus a little drizzle to finish
1 small garlic clove, crushed
pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 200c/400f/gas 6. Cut the aubergines in half lenghtways, cutting straight through the stalk. Use a small sharp knife to make three or four parallel incisions in the cut side of the aubergine half, without cutting through the skin. Repeat at a 45-degree angle to get a diamond-shaped pattern.

2. Place the aubergine halves, cut side up, on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Brush them with the olive oil - keep on brushing until all of the oil has been absorbed by the flesh. Sprinkle with the thyme and some salt and pepper. Roast for 35-40 mins, at which point the flesh should be soft, flavoursome and nicely browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool down completely.

3. Meanwhile, cut the pomegranate in two horizontally. Hold one half over a bowl, with the cut side against your palm, and use the back of a wooden spoon or a rolling pin to gently knock on the pomegranate skin. Continue beating with increasing power until the seeds start coming out naturally and falling through your fingers into the bowl. Once all are there, sift through the seeds to remove any bits of membrane.

4. For the sauce, whisk together all the ingredients, taste for seasoning, then keep cold until needed. To serve, spoon plenty of buttermilk sauce over the aubergine halves without covering the stalks (they are just for decoration). Sprinkle za'atar and plenty of pomegranate seeds on top and garnish with thyme and a drizzle of olive oil.

As I had no thyme I sprinkled chopped fresh mint to echo the middle eastern vibe of this dish...coriander or parsley would also be great.

I have to confess that I was concerned the dish would be overly rich and creamy for my citrus and spice loving palate with the densely oiled aubergine and creamy sauce; boy was I was worng!

The aubergine was not at all greasy but instead lucious and tender. The garlic spiked sauce was complimented beautifully with pomegranate seeds that literally burst little intervals of perfumed fruitiness into the mix. The addition if the za'atar seasoning with its lemony tang courtesy of the ground sumac, to name but a few of the spices included in this unique blend, was inspired.

Now, za'atar is not as widely available as it should be and my own pot came from Dean & Deluca on a recent trip to Manhatten. Now I am not suggesting you fly around the world for this but it is worth tracking some down online, not only for this recipe but to be sprinkled on hummous topped toasted bread or mixed with olive oil to dress tomato, cucumber and parsley salads as part of a mezze type affair. The buttermilk sauce could also serve as a stand alone dip or the whole recipe (with the cooked flesh scooped out of the aubergine and the pomegranate omitted) plonked into a blender and whizzed up ready to be smeared on hot toast or gobbled up with some flat bread as a tribute to baba ganoush. This is what makes this recipe a new favourite, it has inspired me to create a handful of other recipes from its basic idea...I could go on.

I am pretty sure I have made myself clear now and I urge everyone to try it whilst I go about hunting down more recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi.

My husband agreed and, as we reclined on the sofa, was rubbing his hands together in anticipation for the rest of the week.

Magazine Meals

Those that know me will not be shocked to learn that I ADORE food and lifestyle magazines...to the point where I will automatically go to the latter pages of all non-food related mags in search of the recipes, food news...anything!

It's been the same since I was old enough to read and its gotten worse now that we live in a world obsessed with TV chefs, Come Dine With Me and, now uber trendy, dinner parties (think Jo Wood's country pad with dinner guests such as Kate Moss et al lingering over bowls locally-grown-watercress-soup).

It's got a lot to do with the recession nibbling away at everyone's bank accounts and desire to leave the house. Either way, the market is full of these magazines now and I love everyone of them!

So in tribute to these inspired and thoughtful magazines I have decided to cook 3 of my 7 suppers this week from 3 different magazines..the first being this evening's supper courtesy of July's Cook Vegetarian (as mentioned in my previous blogs for bringing the fabulous apple and cinnamon muffins to my attention).

The recipe - Aubergine with Buttermilk Sauce (offered by Yotam Ottolenghi; vegetarian columnist for The Guardian) which I intend to serve with a simple green salad and granary bread from a gorgeous little bakery near my office.

I'll let you know I how get on....