Spicy Squash & Kidney Bean Stew

You know when you’re absolutely shattered and you can’t be bothered to cook? I totally get it! We’ve got a one pot dish that isn’t too involved, that will mean you can serve up something warm and comforting on these dark autumnal evenings. Plus this will serve up to 6 people, so you can either eat it for a couple of nights or is great if you got a few more mouths to feed.

Last weekend was a busy one, in fact I’ve been counting down the days to this weekend to recover from it! It was busy. Amy was here for the weekend and we spent Saturday and Sunday in the kitchen working on some exciting things! Then we had to cook dinner….the absolute last thing we wanted to do was cook a meal for 5 hungry people, so we needed something easy. This is what we created – a warm comforting stew that is tasty and won’t have you slaving in the kitchen for hours.

Olive oil
2 onions
2 garlic cloves
3 bell or sweet peppers (chopped)
5 potatoes (chopped into cubes)
2 tins of tomatoes
1 medium squash – I used Kabocha (chopped into chunked)
4 carrots (chopped into chunks)
1 1/2 cups cooked kidney beans (1 tin)
1 1/2 cups cooked black eyed beans (1 tin)
3 tsp cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp hot chilli powder
1 tbsp organic tomato ketchup
salt and pepper

• On a medium heat, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan and cook down the onions for 5 minutes until soft.
• Crush the garlic cloves and add to the pan. Add the cumin and paprika and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Add the squash, potatoes, carrots, pepper and beans and coat with the spices. Pour in the tomatoes and bring to the boil. Throw in the chilli powder and ketchup and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper.

We served it with couscous, mainly because we’d run out of rice, but also because it’s super quick to make. Although, to be honest you could just eat it on its own (although I’m a big fan of double carbing)!

Enjoy this super tasty, warming, throw it in a pan kinda meal that will definitely have you licking your plate (er…I totally don’t do that)!

Peace out.

Veronica x

Creamy Leek & Potato Soup with Polenta & Walnut Croutons

There’s nothing like soup on these chilly autumn days to warm you up and it only takes a little bit of effort to go from a basic soup to amazingly delicious, this is the best soup ever, soup.

This summer I went on an amazing and inspiring vegan permaculture course. I met some really amazing people and got introduced to some great, practical and positive ideas to create a regenerative, cruelty-free landscape and abundant future. (If you’re intrigued to know more next years course is now open for bookings.) One of the other amazing things about the course was the food, especially the soups. I had previously thought I made pretty tasty soups but these put mine to shame. So I decided it was time I upped my soup game!

Recently I’ve been getting tonnes of leeks in my veg bag and having helped myself to a field of left over potatoes that were “too small” for the farmer to harvest, leek and potato soup was just calling out to be made.

But how to up my soup game? Creamy cashew goodness complemented by crispy polenta croutons of course!

For the cashew cream
75g cashews, soaked for 4 hours, preferably overnight
100ml water
1 tbsp lemon juice

For the polenta croutons
60g dried polenta
375ml water
2 tbsp chopped walnuts
1tsp dill

For the soup
3 leeks
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 carrots
2-3 potatoes (approx 250g)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2tsp dill
1 1/2 tbsp bouillon stock
1 litre water
1tbsp olive oil

• Start by cooking the polenta in the water, according to the packet instructions. When the polenta is almost ready, stir in the walnuts and dill. Pour the thickened mixture onto a parchment lined baking tray and spread to about 1/2cm thick and set aside to cool.
• Roughly chop all the veg for the soup. Add the onions to a large saucepan with a little oil and cook on a medium heat until they start to soften.
• Then add the garlic, leek, carrot and potato and half cover the pan with a lid for about 5-10 minutes before adding the cumin and garlic.
• Stir for a few minutes then boil the water and add to the pan along with the stock. Leave to simmer for around 30 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
• Whilst the soup is cooking, prepare the cashew cream. Drain the cashews from the water the have been soaking in and rinse. Blend with 100ml of water and the lemon juice until completely smooth, this may take a few minutes. Set aside or make in advance and put in the fridge until your ready to use it.
• Return to the cooled polenta and chop into crouton sized chunks. Cool under the grill on a high heat for around 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally until the croutons are evenly crisp on all sides.
• When the soup is ready add in half the cashew cream. Then blend the soup until smooth, either in the pan using a stick blender or pouring it into a food processor.
• Serve in warm bowls, spooning over more cashew cream into each bowl and topping with the croutons.

The subtle hint of cumin and dill really bring the flavour of this simple soup to life and the easy to make, cashew cream makes it rich and delicious. Add to this a bit of exciting crunch from the walnut and polenta croutons and you’ll never think soup as dull and boring again!

Enjoy!

Amy x

Apple Bakewell Tart

Whoop whoop it’s apple season and I’m celebrating with this hearty vegan and gluten-free Apple Bakewell Tart. 

I’ve just returned from my holiday from a sunnier, warmer land (now I’m back wearing socks – boo!) and I definitely feel like Autumn has gotten into full swing. The difference within the week is quite dramatic, the leaves have turned more, they’re dropping daily AND it’s meant more apples have dropped from our apple tree. We never used to do anything with the windfall apples, they’d lie on the grass and go rotten – what a waste! Well things have changed around here, and I’m picking up these apples, picking out the bad bits and slicing up these bad boys, because these are too good to waste.

For the pastry:
4 oz ground almonds
4 oz buckwheat flour
1 oz xylitol
4 oz margarine
A couple of spoonfuls of non dairy milk of your choice

For the filling:
4 oz buckwheat flour
4 oz ground almond
4 oz margarine
1 oz xylitol
3 tbsp oat milk
1 tspn agave syrup
1 tspn baking powder
1 tspn bicarbonate of soda
2 tspn almond extract
1 cup of apple sauce
2 apples sliced thinly
Toasted flaked almonds
3 tbsp strawberry jam – I use one with no added sugar

• In a mixing bowl, rub the margarine together with the ground almond and buckwheat flour. Stir the xylitol through and then add a couple of spoonfuls of non dairy milk until it comes together to make a dough. Leave it in the bowl and pop it in the fridge for an hour or so.
• Once chilled, roll the pastry out onto a floured surface, you have to be quite careful as it is quite a fragile pastry so it may break up quite easily. Line your tart tin with the pastry, prick the pastry with a fork all over and then line with greaseproof paper and baking beads (I use scrunched up foil balls). Blind bake for 10-15 minutes at 190C. Leave to cool for a while then spread the jam over the pastry.
•  In another bowl, mix together the xylitol and margarine then stir through the other ingredients. Pour over the jam and cover with the mixture, add the sliced apples (I left them with the skin on) and sprinkle with the toasted almonds. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 160C until golden and a skewer comes out clean when you insert it.

This is best served with custard or soya cream or soya ice cream.

With a little effort, these fallen apples can make a delicious pud, perfect to enjoy on these chillier days.

Laters!

Veronica x

Squash Gnocchi

Autumn is all about those golden tones. Browning leaves, warm golden afternoon sunlight and a host of yellows and oranges that equals squash season. Yes, October is here and it’s time to think of a million and one uses for all the squash that is coming our way.

Hang on a minute, October?? Is it just me that is freaking out at how quickly this year is going? It seems like everytime I sit down to write a post I’m like ‘Oh my god, where the hell is the year going!’ Well I’m doing it again…. argh!!

Keeping focused on the exciting things that October brings rather than the fact that it will be Christmas the next time you blink, this recipe is awesome! It has simple, subtle flavours and brings those golden colours of the season right onto your table.

Over the years of squash inundation that comes with getting a seasonal veg box, we’ve made stews, burgers and tagines. This recipe however, is one of my favourites. It’s not the first thing that springs to mind when you think of squash but it’s oh so delicious. Especially as I’m a massive gnocchi fan! This recipe has all the comforting goodness of gnocchi but with extra flavour and without the stodge.

It’s a simple recipe to make, although rolling out and shaping the gnocchi is a bit of a faff. However, it can easily be made in advance, simply store the uncooked pieces in the fridge for a few hours or even freeze them for a few months.

Serves 3

450g Squash (Harlequin, Crown Prince or any that you can find)
175g Brown Rice Flour
1 tbsp Flax Seeds
3 tbsp Water
1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
10 Cherry Tomatoes
2 Large Handfuls of Spinach
1 Clove of Garlic
Olive Oil

• Begin by chopping the squash into smallish chunks and cutting or peeling off the skin.
• Place the squash on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and season. Roast for around 30mins at 180C until soft when you cut with a knife.
• Set aside to cool slightly. Meanwhile make the flax egg by grinding the flax seeds in a spice grinder or food processor and whisk together in a cup with the water. Leave for around 5 minutes until it becomes gelatinous.
• Put the squash into a large mixing bowl and mash until only a few lumps remain.
  Add in the flax egg and combine, the slowly add in the flour and bring together.
• Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed gently adding a little more flour if necessary to form a smooth dough that isn’t too sticky.
• Divide into 4 and roll each piece out with your hands to a form long, thin sausage.
• Cut into 2cm pieces. Pinch the ends together with your fingers to create a slight crescent shape and imprint with the back of a fork.
• Bring a large saucepan of water to boil, add in the gnocchi and simmer for 2-3 mins. When they rise to the top and float, they are done.
• Whilst the gnocchi is cooking, wash and chop the spinach and tomatoes. Gently cook together in a frying pan with the garlic until the spinach wilts.
• Spoon the gnocchi onto a warm serving dish using a slotted spoon and gently mix in the spinach and tomatoes.

Enjoy the changing colours of Autumn and all the delicious produce the season has to offer. No doubt we’ll be bringing you at least one more squash recipe between now and spring! : )

Amy x

Spiced Plum Muffins

Well we’re currently basking in the glory of being crowned the winners of Peta’s Great Vegan Bake-Off, which is all very exciting, and slightly overwhelming. Thank you to everyone that voted for us – we’re proper chuffed.

We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than with another seasonal cakey, tasty treat! Soft fruits can be a bit of a pain, because no sooner have you bought them, they’re going off. So why not put your slightly squishy plums to good use with these spiced plum muffins, which are ideal for an 11 o’clock snack or make a tasty pud (especially while still warm from the oven). They’re also super easy.

150g Spelt flour
150g Ground almonds
2 tsps Ground ginger
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
50g Xylitol
50g Agave syrup
115g Vegetable oil
250ml Soya yoghurt (preferably organic)
150g Plums (stoned and chopped into small pieces)
A sprinkle of toasted chopped almonds

• Pre-heat the oven to 180C. In a mixing bowl, add the flour, ground almonds, ginger, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda  and xylitol and stir through.
• Add the agave syrup, vegetable oil and soya yoghurt and mix – but not to thoroughly because you don’t want to overwork the mixture. Stir through the chopped plums.
• In a muffin tray, place 12 muffin cases and spoon the mixture to evenly fill the cases.
• Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until cooked through. Pop a skewer through one of the muffins and if it comes out clean, they’re cooked.

We really are grateful to everyone who voted for us and we absolutely LOVE seeing you make our recipes.

I hope you enjoy these tasty muffins – do share your pictures with us on all the social medias!

Veronica x

Oat & Calendula Face Mask

If all this changeable Autumnal weather is just too much for your skin then you might be heading to the shop to pick up a face mask to soothe your stressed skin. Well, stop right there!

Shop-bought face masks are mostly full of nasty chemicals, preservatives and fragrances but I’m sure this isn’t shock horror news to you. Most of us know this but we just keep buying them. Maybe it’s the adverts promising us air-brush, “perfect”, pore-free skin or maybe it’s the convenience but whatever the reason it’s time to break with our old habits and create some new ones!

It is super dooper easy to make your very own face mask from simple ingredients. Not only are they free from nasty additives making them better for your skin, they are free from packaging!

This oat and calendula face mask is perfect for soothing weather stressed skin. Calendula is well known for it’s skin calming and soothing properties and it’s also anti-microbial. Oats are a great, gentle exfoliant and contain a host of skin nourishing nutrients like vitamin E and selenium.

I’m sure nearly all of you have oats in your cupboard but calendula is also fairly easy to find. Known commonly as marigold you may even have it growing in your garden. If not you should be able to find the dried flowers at a good health food shop.

20g Oats
3tsp Dried calendula flowers
50ml Water

• Place the dried flowers in a small bowl or cup and pour over 50ml of freshly boiled water and set aside to cool.
• Grind the oats to a fine powder in a food processor or a pestle and mortar.
• Strain the cooled, calendula infused water through a sieve into a bowl. Slowly add the oats a bit at a time, stirring until you achieve a good consistency. Not too thick but not too watery.
• Smooth over freshly cleansed skin with your fingers, avoiding the delicate eye area.
• Leave for 5 to 10 minutes and rinse off with warm water and finish using a warm flannel.

So when your skin is next in need of some deep cleansing nourishment, don’t head to the shops, open up your kitchen cupboards and make your own!

P.S  This face mask won’t just nourish your skin, it may also make you look 10 years younger. After using the mask I went out to meet friends and got asked for my I.D. Now that’s not happened to me for a while… True story! : )

Amy x

Roasted Beetroot & Raw Green Salad

This week is all about beetroot – you may have seen this tasty looking Chocolate Beetroot Cake Amy made last year…

Well the recipe has made it into the final of PETA’s Great Vegan Bake-Off with this delicious cake and we are alongside some tasty looking creations, so we need your vote, because winning would be amazing! Voting is open until the 18th September, so please click through and place your vote (for us incase that wasn’t clear!)

Thanks!! :)

So back down to business, the thing with beetroot is it’s underrated. I’m ashamed to admit that it wasn’t that long ago until I didn’t realise the only way to eat it wasn’t out of a jar full of vinegar ready sliced or out of those plastic trays. We didn’t buy fresh beetroot, why bother when it’s already been cooked for you?! How wrong I was!

I have grown my own and now we get bundles delivered in our veg box. It can be delicious just simply grated in a salad like this, or indeed made into a cake. But, in my humble opinion roasting this vegetable brings out the sweetness and takes out the more earthy taste that can put some people off it – not me though I love this vegetable no matter what way it is cooked, plus the leaves make a great addition to this super tasty salad.

 

Roasted beetroot and raw green salad with garlic tahini dressing

(Serves 2)

A handful of kale
A handful of beetroot leaves
A handful of spinach
Olive oil
2 medium sized beetroots
Garlic clove
Thyme
1/2  tin of chick peas
A handful of pumpkin and sunflower seeds

For the dressing
3 tbsp tahini
1 clove of garlic (crushed)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
75ml water
Salt & pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 180C , in a roasting pan drizzle some olive oil and heat for 5 minutes. Slices the beetroot into chunks then add to the roasting pan along with the garlic clove, chick peas and sprinkle some dried thyme over the top, roast for 50 minutes.
2. In a bowl mix together the tahini, lemon juice, garlic and water.  Stir until the dressing is mixed together and smooth, then season with salt and pepper.
3. Wash and dry the kale, spinach and beetroot leaves then drizzle with olive oil then massage into the leaves – this ensures the kale isn’t as tough to eat.
4. In a pan toast the pumpkin and sunflower seeds for a few minutes.
5. Once the beetroot is cooked, mix together with the leaves then drizzle with the tahini dressing. Sprinkle the seeds over the top.

Ok, yes it is a little more work than opening a jar of beetroot but give a little time and a little effort and this nutrient filled vegetable can be something truly scrumptious.

Veronica x

 

Elderberry & Echinacea Tincture

September has arrived, drawing Summer to a close. Things are slowly starting to change, the temperature is getting that bit cooler, the evenings are drawing in. It’s time to think ahead to those even colder, shorter, darker days when flu rears its head.

Why, you might ask…

… because the elderberries are out and they are well known to help prevent and ease symptoms of colds and flu. So although Summer has barely had a chance to say goodbye, it’s time to prepare for Winter!

At the first sign of a cold or flu many of us run to the pharmacy to buy some concoction of paracetamol and caffeine. But never mind those nonsense chemical lemon sachets, elderberries are readily available (more than likely not very far from your doorstep) and with only a little bit of effort, they make the perfect, natural cold and flu prevention tonic.

Last year I made an elderberry syrup which I froze in ice-cubes but this year I have a new found skill that I want to put to the test, tinctures!

Tinctures are a way of preserving plants and berries in a way that is longer lasting and more portable than syrups and teas. They are essentially concentrated, alcohol-based extracts or in other words, a natural medicine.

The key with tinctures is to be prepared as although they are incredibly quick and easy to make they take a long time to mature, so bear in mind your medicine won’t be ready for weeks or even months.

50g elderberries
20g dried echinacea root
200ml good quality vodka (or to fill jar)

• Pick the elderberries off the stalk, ensuring all the stalk is completely removed.
• Place the elderberries into a sterilised jam jar (I place a clean jam jar in an oven for 5 minutes before leaving to cool) with the echinacea root and pour over the vodka. Fill the jar completely with vodka so that no air will remain when you put the lid on as this may cause it to go off, better to over fill and spill a little than ruin your tincture.
• Shake the jar and top up if necessary on a daily basis to remove any pockets of air.
• After three weeks, strain the liquid through some muslin and pour into a glass amber bottle. (Amber bottles look pretty but they also help preserve the tincture longer by blocking out light.)
• Take one teaspoon daily when cold and flu season is rife.

There are so many plants and “weeds” growing in hedgerows, along canal towpaths or around the edges of parks that have been used for hundreds if not thousands of years as natural medicines. With just a little know how we can make use of these plants and lessen our dependancy on pharmaceutical products. Tincture’s are just one easy way we can put these plants to use. I promise it’s super easy, give it a try!

Amy x

Apple & Blackberry Cobbler

I was a little eager with my blackberries this year. I spotted a few on the way to the car park at work and declared to my work buddies that we, “MUST go blackberry picking during our lunch break the next day!” (I work in the countryside). We walked to the field where we had picked them last year, and were bitterly disappointed with the lack of blackberries ripe for picking. We managed to gather a few and I declared a cobbler was in order. It is around now that you should start to find plenty to forage and use to make this delicious apple and blackberry cobbler.

There is something much more satisfying about eating your pud when you have picked your own berries, got scratched by the brambles, stung by a couple of nettles and have washed any potential creepy crawlies away! I promise I’m not lying!

I’ve not made a cobbler before and didn’t really know the difference compared to a crumble. My version probably isn’t a traditional cobbler, from what I gather they usually are a bit more scone-like, but I think I prefer this to crumble!

Apple & Blackberry Cobbler
400g blackberries
2 apples (I used granny smiths)
A splash of water
1 tbsp xylitol

For the topping
170g spelt flour
60g rice flour
60g oats
115g vegan margarine
60g xylitol
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
70ml oat milk (or any other non dairy milk)
A drizzle of maple syrup

1) In a saucepan stew the apples and blackberries with a splash of water and the xylitol – this will take about 10-15 minutes (until soft). I drained a lot of the liquid to use as juice once served.
2) Whilst the fruit is stewing, in a mixing bowl add the flours, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, xylitol and mix the margarine in (I used my fingers). Add the milk and stir in to create a scone like mixture.
3) In an oven proof dish spoon the stewed fruit and evenly distribute it. Add the cobbler topping and ensure all the fruit is covered. I drizzled a little maple syrup over the top of the cobbler but that is totally optional.
4) Bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 180C until golden brown. Serve with the extra juice from the stewed fruit and some vegan ice cream.

So, keep your eyes peeled and some tupperware handy because you never know where you might find an abundance of blackberries.

Enjoy!

Veronica x

Mallorcan Tumbet

We seem to be racing through August, yes it is August… You may have indeed forgotten it is actually Summer with all these cloudy grey days and rain. But luckily for us the crops are still managing to realise what season we’re in!

So yes, hello August, hello Mediterranean vegetables!

There’s tomatoes, courgettes, peppers, aubergine galore. If you get a seasonal veg bag no doubt you’ve already had plenty of British grown med veg : ) If you don’t, get yourself down to your local farmers market and taste the delights, it’s a world away from the stuff you buy in a supermarket in the middle of winter imported from who knows where!

Now the Mediterranean isn’t normally associated with vegan cuisine but I discovered a traditional vegan dish in Mallorca when on holiday there earlier in the year.

With all these wonderful Medeterrean vegetables in season in the UK, I can now finally recreate it at home. Wohoo!

This dish is wonderfully simple but oh so delicious!!

1 aubergine
2 courgettes
1 onion
2 potatoes
6 medium sized tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
3 cloves garlic
3 bay leaves
Olive oil
Good quality salt
Black pepper to taste

• Begin by making the tomato sauce. Crush the garlic and gently fry in a large saucepan with a little olive oil for a minute or two.
• Roughly chop the tomatoes and add to the pan, also add the bay leaves and tomato puree. Stir and leave on a low/medium heat with a lid askew. Leave to cook gently whilst you prepare the vegetables, checking and stirring occasionally.
• Heat a large frying pan to a medium/high heat. Thinly slice the potatoes and fry them off until cooked and starting to brown.
• Layer the potatoes in the base of an ovenproof dish and sprinkle with a little salt. Thinly slice the remaining vegetables.
• Add a little more love oil to the frying pan before frying the onions until soft and starting to brown. Then layer on top of the potatoes and sprinkle with a little salt.
• Repeat with the courgettes and then the aubergine, layering each in turn.
• Return to the tomato sauce, season and pour over the layered vegetables. Press down with the back of a spoon to ensure the sauce soaks through all the layers.
• Bake at 180C in a pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes and serve with a side of wilted chard.

It’s pretty easy to forget that produce like courgettes and tomatoes only grow in a fairly narrow window in this country when we can buy them all year round in supermarkets. By eating locally grown food we can connect with our own region and climate, and truly value the variety and seasonality of local produce. Not only does home grown, local produce taste better, it makes you value the ingredients all the more and can inspire you to make something that extra special : )

Amy x