Gluten-free lentil and spinach mini tarts with quinoa crust

Breakfast: Spicy beans and rice...little addicted to this.

Lunch: Avocado and cous cous salad with bruschetta

Dinner: Gluten-free lentil and spinach mini tarts with quinoa crust

The older I get, the more I want to have larger groups of people over to eat food and chat and generally have a nice time. When I do this, though, I sometimes find myself stuff in the kitchen, sweating, as I try to cook Thai curry for 8 while making about 4 side dishes, and this is a bit crap.

My newest quest has been to find inclusive dishes - so vegan and gluten-free ones - that can either be made in advance and cooked at the last minute or that I can throw together in a flash. These will definitely be added to that list; served with a cous cous salad, some oregano-roasted vegetables and some dips, they'd be perfect for a night in with some friends.

You'll need:
(Makes 10 mini tarts)

1 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups water + enough to cover quinoa
2 tbsp ground flax
2 tbsp chickpea flour
1 tbsp oregano
black pepper
3 cups fresh spinach
1 cup red lentils
1 3/4 cups vegetable stock
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp paprika
oil

Method:

If using dried lentils, soak for at least an hour previous to preparing the meal, and drain
Preheat the oven to 230 degrees Celcius
Place the quinoa in a pan with just enough water to cover it and set aside for 5 minutes
Drain in a sieve, then place the quinoa back in the pan with 1 1/2 cups water and bring to the boil
Bring down to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed
Drain, cool, then stir in the ground flax, chickpea flour and oregano
Grease a cupcake / muffin tin with oil
Distribute the quinoa mix in 10 of the cupcake holders
Press the quinoa mix down with force; allow some of the mixture to go up the sides of the holders and press it firmly to create the crust
The quinoa mix should come up to the top of the cupcake holder
Place in the oven for 10 minutes, by which time the crusts should have started to brown
Set aside and reduce the oven heat to 180 degrees Celcius
In a pan, cook the lentils with the vegetable stock on medium heat for 10-15 minutes, until the stock has mostly been absorbed, then drain
Fry the onion and garlic in a little oil until translucent
Add in the drained lentils, tomato puree and paprika, and heat on low, stirring often
In a separate pan, boil the spinach in water for 5 minutes
Drain the spinach then blend into a paste
Stir this paste into the lentil mix, then remove from the heat
Spoon the lentil and spinach mixture between the quinoa crusts; each should just reach the top of the crust
Place in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until the top of the tarts is beginning to firm
Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing gently from the cupcake tin
Serve with a salad or roasted vegetables

The consistency of these mini tarts is not crusty or solid on top, like a quiche. Instead they are more like
the kinds of things that would be taken around a gallery opening by miserable serving staff. They are delightfully creamy, and the quinoa crust is lovely and crispy.

I judge my recipes by the praise they receive when I'm not needling people to tell me their opinions, and when I left these out I came home to a note that simply said "AWESOME SPINACH TART!!", so I'm going to say that these are pretty good and leave it at that.


Tweet

Vegan mint pesto

Breakfast: An almond butter smoothie

Lunch: Mushroom soup and crusty bread with vegan mint pesto

Dinner: Leftover vegan spaghetti bolognese

You know when you buy coriander, basil or mint, there's always heaps left over that goes bad really quickly? Well, I hate waste, so that proper bothers me.

I had to buy some mint for yesterday's tofu fried rice, and even after a day I could see it was just going to be thrown out without having been used. So I used it. This mint pesto is great on sandwiches or even just with bread, and you can even use it as an interesting pasta accompaniment. It's deliciously refreshing!

You'll need:
(Serves 2 as a pasta sauce or 4 as a dip)

2 cup fresh mint leaves
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup olive oil

Method:

Place the mint, garlic, lemon juice and almonds in a blender and blend to a paste
Add in the olive oil a bit at a time, blending and then tasting
Stop when it reaches your desired consistency and serve with pasta or crispy bread

I love pesto and very much miss buying the store bought stuff, as most of it has parmesan in it. The almonds in this help to create the same texture and bring a little bit of goodness to the final product.

If you are a meat eater, this would be great rubbed into the outside of a piece of lamb just before it's cooked; or if you want to go the English route you could stir it into mushy peas and serve with a veggie pie!

Tweet

Tofu fried rice, AKA the Manchester Melee

Breakfast: Rice and spicy beans with spinach

Lunch: A quinoa and bean salad

Dinner: Tofu fried rice, AKA the Manchester Melee

This recipe has origins in the far-too-nice-for-us flat I shared with my great friends Elly (who taught me how not to use Angel Delight) and Phil (who taught me how to make sushi) in my final year of uni at Manchester. We decided one day to make something kind of like a Pad Thai, but with rice instead; sort of a Rice Thai. We loved it so much that we probably had it once a week from then on, if not more.

The original recipe had shrimp it in and egg, so when I remembered this recipe this week I had to make a couple of replacements. I replaced oyster sauce with miso paste and used the tofu instead of egg, giving a scrambled tofu-fried-rice sort of effect which was as good as the real thing!

You'll need:
(Feeds 4)

2 cups white rice
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
1 small bunch spring onions, chopped
2 red chilis, deseeded and sliced
1/4 cup fresh coriander
1/4 cup fresh mint
2 tbsp miso paste
1 tbsp water
3 tbsp soy sauce
juice of 3 limes
1 1/2 cups firm tofu
oil
chopped peanuts to serve

Method:

Place the rice in a pan with 4 cups water and bring to the boil
Bring down to a simmer and place the lid on the pan
After 15 minutes, or when the rice is almost cooked, heat a little oil in a wok and fry the onion, garlic and chili
When the onion is starting to brown, add in the cooked rice, stirring continuously
Add in the lime juice and soy sauce, and mix the miso paste with the water then add that in too*
Place the tofu in a bowl and mash it with a fork until it resembles scrambled eggs
Make a well in the middle of the rice and place the tofu in this well
Allow the tofu to brown a little on the bottom of the pan, then stir into the rice
After 5 minutes, stir in the springs onions, coriander and mint
Stir well to combine
Serve with chopped peanuts on top, if you like

*Add more or less of each to your taste

This is quite a quick and easy meal, and it brings back a lot of memories for me. I had lots of culinary adventures with Elly and Phil, and one sobering morning in which I ended up in a dog cage pouring imaginary tea. None of these adventures tasted quite as good as this one though.

Tweet

The best vegan spaghetti bolognese ever

Breakfast: Carrot juice and a vegan muffin

Lunch: An avocado and tomato sandwich on round bread

Dinner: The best vegan spaghetti bolognese ever

I remember first making this recipe back in my carnivore days at a friend's cottage on the lake. Back then I made it with ground beef, and it must have gone down quite well as when I found it in my recipe book I'd labelled it "BEST SPAG BOL EVER".

Yesterday I was in desperate need of some great pasta dish and decided to veganise this one. TVP replaced the beef and had a real meaty texture which is perfect for a comforting meal - and great for feeding meat eaters when they come over!

You'll need:
(Feeds 4)

1 cup TVP
1 1/2 carrots, grated
1 large onion, diced
1 1/2 sticks celery
2 cups chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup veg stock
1 large glass red wine
tabasco sauce / hot sauce
1 heaped tbsp oregano
4 servings spaghetti
oil
black pepper
salt

Method:

Place the TVP in a bowl with just less than 1 cup water and leave for 5 minutes
Fry the onions and garlic in a little oil until they're translucent, then add celery
Season with black pepper
Add in the rehydrated TVP followed by the oregano and the wine
Allow the TVP to take up some of the wine, then add the tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and the tabasco / hot sauce
Add the carrots and veg stock and stir well
Simmer for 1 hour or cook on a higher heat for 10-20 minutes. It will taste better if you leave it longer, but if you're in a rush you won't lose out
Stir often
10 minutes before you plan to eat, place the spaghetti in boiling water with a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil
Heat on medium for 10 minutes, stirring well, and test if ready by throwing a piece of spaghetti at the wall. If it sticks, it's ready
Drain the spaghetti and dish out between the plates
Spoon the sauce on top and serve!

This is absolutely great for cold winter nights or after you've been skating / snowboarding / riding bike all day, as its full of carbs and very comforting. I will be adding it into regular rotation at our house now!

Tweet

Vegan chocolate chip cookie dough truffles

Breakfast: Pumpkin porridge with chai tea

Lunch: Lentil and bean salad

Dinner: Soba noodle stir fry followed by vegan chocolate chip cookie dough truffles

I'm not afraid to say that I almost wet myself with excitement when I discovered the existence of cookie dough truffles. Everyone knows that cookie dough is better than actual cookies, and when I was a chunky teenager I used to top off my weekends at the shopping centre with Sarah (during which we would eat baked potatoes and balk at those going to McDonalds) by having one of those horribly unhealthy, sickeningly sweet Baskin Robbins milkshakes made with cookie dough ice cream. Getting those leftover little bits of dough at the end was heaven.

Now, I know I couldn't drink a tenth of that milkshake without being sick; I could, however, still eat the dough, especially if it was vegan and covered in vegan chocolate. Ta da!

You'll need:
(Makes 25-30 truffles)

1 cup plain flour
2/3 cup Earth Balance / vegan margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
3-4 tbsp almond milk
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips / vegan chocolate chopped into small chunks
2-3 cups dark vegan chocolate
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, if using

Method:

Cream together the Earth Balance / vegan margarine and the sugars
Sift in the flour and mix well
Stir in the vanilla essence and almond milk to create a sticky dough
Stir in the vegan chocolate chips evenly
Line a baking tray with tin foil or baking paper
Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls and place them on the tray
Put them in the fridge for at least 1 hour to set
Chop the dark chocolate into chunks and place in a double boiler
Melt over a medium heat and remove from heat as soon as it has all melted
Using a fork or 2 toothpicks, dip the balls into the chocolate and make sure they're totally covered
If using the coconut, roll some truffles straight into the coconut after the chocolate
Place back on the baking tray and leave to cool for at least 1 more hour
Serve and enjoy!

You can also pipe lines and patterns of white chocolate on to the top of these, or roll them in hundreds and thousands, ground almonds or even dark chocolate shards after the first chocolate layer. Let's face it, the possibilites are endless - and when treats are as decadent as this you might as well go the whole hog!

I am obsessed with these, but I think that goes without saying. Who isn't?

Tweet

Bloomfield's Badass Foods: Saturated Fats

Mmmm......fats!

Are you as healthy and safe as possible living the vegetarian life? Part 1

Hey ho all! It's nice to be back after a short hiatus of working my wee cotton socks off. Actually, they are only 5% cotton, because us tough manly types don't require mollycoddling. Well, only 5% mollycoddling.

This article is on a subject very close to my heart (if you'll pardon the pun), and I'm going to break it down into 2 parts so it doesn't take you a year to read it all. I know that you're all busy little bees! This first part will focus largely on saturated fats, as it is a hugely misunderstood grey area and also because I am desperately in need of a rant.

As I've mentioned before, I am a carnivore and statistically that makes me more likely to suffer from colon cancer, prostate cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis and a whole other assorted bag of hideous ailments that require long periods spent in a room with a man with a detatched, brisk manner and very chilly hands (oh joy!). At this point, you might be leaning back in the smug beanbag of vegetarianism (or the hard unforgiving pouffe of veganism) and thinking to yourself that this argument is done and dusted and that you are nice and safe, munching away on your rhubarb and quinoa mash. I hope so, but as I am going to discuss here, there are a number of things that even vegans need to be aware of to make sure that they are reaping the optimum benefits of the meat-free lifestyle. So off we trot on the first part of our journey of discovery!

One of the most noticable things about the vegetarian diet is that the consumption of saturated fats tends to be lower. Many think this is a good thing; not quite. Fats are crucial for our bodies to remain healthy, especially saturated fats. They get a very bad press and really don't deserve it - and they'll be getting their own blog post from me soon to be saved from this misrepresentation! One misconstrued study by Nathan Pritikin decades ago and a whole lot of marketing money by vegetable oil companies have led us to accuse poor old saturated fat of being the enemy. As self appointed counsel for the defence, I will now point out some of the benefits that our poor defendant actually brings to our bodies:

1) Saturate fats are chemically very stable, having all of their carbon bonds occupied!

2) If that doesn't impress you, remember that 50% of the membrane of EVERY CELL WALL in your   body is made up of saturated fats. A stable saturated fat makes a top quality defensive wall against invaders and improves the physical composition of your body!*

3) Saturated fats are absolutely essential for effective absorption of vitamins and minerals. Without these fats, attempted absorption can be a tortuous and unrewarding process for the body! Calcium and Vitamins A, D, E and K all need these fats to be properly assimilated into the body. Leafy greens might be a fantastic substitute for milk in terms of raw vitamin and mineral content but if you aren't getting a decent amount of saturated fats to help digest this, it could be an issue.

4) Saturated fats help the liver absorb medicines and prevent excessive toxicity after drinking a glass of wine or two (or twelve). A healthy liver is like an obese mouse: a little fatty.

5) Saturated fats can help with allergy reduction and prevention. Polyunsaturated fats (the common substitute for saturated fats, found in margarine rather than butter, for example) can prmote the formation of prostaglandin E2, something that causes inflammation. it also releases a nasty protein from the immune system that stimulates and allergic reaction!

6) Saturated fats help with the absorption of Omega 3, a polyunsaturated fat that helps improve your health in many areas. It also increases the retention of Omega 3 in the body greatly, unlike other mono or poly unsaturated fats.

7) Amongst other things, saturated fats help with energy levels, hair quality, nerve ending protection and nerve signal effectiveness. They also act as a buffer against disease, help your hormonal system keep in shape, make up most of your brain tissue, coat the inside of your lungs, keep you from developing breathing problems and help you to lose weight and maintain a stable metabolism.

Now, there are a million more reasons to rethink your opinion of saturated fats - too many to list without boring you silly and making you resent them. The point I am trying to make is that these are essential things, crucial for everyday operation in our normal lives. Saturated fats aren't the devil; neither are they a superfood. They shouldn't be removed or increased in an exaggerated fashion in our diets. They are much too important for that. Make sure you get enough good quality saturated fat in your diet and the difference will be incredible. The fact that I have given a whole part of this two-part article over to them shows the value that I place on them. It's a shame that they have fallen so far from grace. Please, help restore them to their rightful place and yourselves to your rightful fitness!

"But David!" I hear you cry. "Where do I get these saturated fats from in my diet? I have no desire for butter as a vegan and I don't eat meat!" Have no fear, dear reader, for I have some suggestions below. Take a peek and see if you can squeeze some of these into your diet. If you don't like them, there are more out there still, and just a little research or a question thrown my way will uncover them.

Non-animal based sources of saturated fats:

Palm oil
Palm kernel oil
Coconut oil and milk
Certain fish, such as herring and sardines (if you're pescetarian)
Eggs (if you're lacto-ovo vegetarian)

As ever, if you have any questions about this article please feel free to ask me in the comments section or on the Everyday Veggie Facebook Page and I'll be pleased to help!

Peace and good luck til part two, Everyday Veggies!

David

Vegan chocolate and cashew cookies

Breakfast: A carrot, celery and apple juice with some toast

Lunch: A veggie panini with salad and vegan chocolate and cashew cookies for dessert!

Dinner: A lentil bake with steamed greens

All this week I've been wrangling with my Halloween outfit, having completely over-reached myself in terms of almost everything involved with it. I was determined to make a Quorra from Tron outfit, and having finally got the EL wire, circuitry and clothes, I realised I had to solder some stuff together - seriously, who's done that since GCSE metalwork?

These cookies were a thank you to Jack and Joe, who came through with the right soldering equipment and made my light-up Tron outfit a success! Well, until we got into the club and the batteries died after half an hour, but still, it worked!!

You'll need:
(Makes 8-10)

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/3 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup cashews, chopped
1/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup flax seeds

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius
Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon, and sugar
Stir in the flax seeds and mix well
In a separate bowl, mix together the almond milk, vanilla essence, water and canola oil
Add the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined
Stir in the cashews
Lightly oil a baking tray and drop the cookie mixture on 1 tablespoon at a time
Bake for 5 minutes, turn the tray around and then cook for another 3
Leave to cool then enjoy!

These are really fat, cakey cookies that are amazing when dunked into a tea or something milky. They might not seem quite done when you take them out of the oven, but they'll firm up while they cool, and baking them for any longer will leave them with a crispy outer shell that's not quite as tasty.

Tweet