Tofu Thatched Pie

Hands up who loves tofu? Me, me, me!

I love it, in fact I will never tire of tofu! Its so versatile, I use it to make both savoury and sweet treats; mousse, cake frostings, cakes, oat bars, and for savoury everything from stir-fries, crumbled to add texture or just grilled. Check out my recipe page for more tofu recipes and I've even added a tofu board to my pinterest if you're looking for tofu inspiration.

I fancied a comforting dish for dinner tonight, so before I went to work I took out a block of tofu from my freezer, knowing that when I got home it would have defrosted and I could magic the block into a comforting dish for dinner.

When I got home I was in a real need for something comforting to eat after the day I'd had! I'm thankful that cooking after a long day at work is relaxing for me, it's a great stress buster too! You should see me stirring and chopping! Hee hee hee :o)

If you are a regular reader you will know that I love the texture of frozen and defrosted tofu, it almost looks sponge like and it crumbles fantastically after the water has been squeezed out, another stress busting action! :o)

What's better than a mash potato topped pie for comfort food? This is my take on a cottage pie without harming any cows. I call it tofu thatched pie due to the fact that the bottom layer of the pie is tofu based and the top layer of mash potato is ridged, well that's my reasoning and I'm sticking to it.

Ingredients  

500g Potato, diced
Splash of Almond milk
Knob of Vitalite
Salt & pepper
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Onion
2 Celery sticks
1 Red pepper,
1 Parsnip
1 Carrot
50g Kale
1 Tbsp Soy sauce100g Mushrooms, diced
1 Block of frozen & defrosted tofu, crumbled
1 Tsp Vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 Tsp Mushroom ketchup
1 Tsp Dried thyme
1 Tsp Garlic powder
½ Tsp Dried cumin
3 Tsp Vegan gravy granules
250ml Vegetable stock

Method
First boil your potatoes until cooked, drain and leave to steam in the pan to remove excess moisture. Add a splash of almond milk and a knob of vitalite, salt and pepper to taste and mash. Put to one side why you make the pie filling.

While the potatoes are cooking, add the Worcestershire sauce and mushroom ketchup to a bowl and stir in the thyme, cumin and garlic powder. Add the crumbled tofu and mix so the tofu soaks up the liquid and is evenly distributed. Set to one side to marinate.

If you have a food processor, use it for speed unless you are extremely fast at chopping. A food processor makes light of all that chopping. Add the onion and celery to the food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Add to a pan with olive oil and sauté for 5 minutes, whilst this is cooking use the food processor to chop the red pepper, carrot and parsnip. Add to the onion mixture and sauté for another 5 minutes.

Add the kale to the food processor and pulse until chopped. Note: I removed all the thick stems before I weighed the kale. Add the kale to the pan with the soy sauce and give everything good stir, if the vegetables are sticking add a splash of water too.

Add the mushrooms, and stir through and sauté for another 2 minutes.

Transfer the marinated tofu to the pan and stir to combine. Next add the gravy granules to the mixture and stir to combine thoroughly. Pour in the vegetable stock and stir through. Simmer for 5-10 minutes or until you have a loose mixture, but not too runny.

Spray an oven proof dish lightly with oil and add the tofu mixture. Top with the mashed potato and using a fork draw ridges in the potato topping.

Bake in a moderate oven for 30 minutes or until the mash potato has browned.

Serve with vegetables and onion gravy.

Jasmine x

Cow Appreciation Burger

Did you know that on the 11th of this month the world celebrated "Cow Appreciation Day"?

Well, I say world, rather I celebrated it, did anyone else? To celebrate I made a batch of my Cow Appreciation Burgers, where no cows were harmed in the making of these versatile burgers. I say versatile as they can be eaten with salad (if you're being exceptionally healthy), more traditionally on a bun, with fries & peas or alongside mash, vegetables and gravy. Once cooked they can also be crumbled and used to make a bolognaise or to stuff a pepper or other vegetable.

The recipe either makes 4 big fat burgers or 8 thinner burgers depending on how many you are feeding or how you are serving them up.

Ingredients 
1 Block of tofu, frozen, defrosted and
 pressed to remove the liquid
2 Tsp Dried parsley
2 Tsp Dried oregano
2 Tsp Dried basil
2 Tsp Ground cumin
2 Tsp Paprika
1 Tsp Porcini powder
1 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
1 Tsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced
1 Tin Butterbeans, rinsed
1 Tbsp Olive oil
4 tbsp Panko breadcrumbs

Method
First crumble the tofu into a large bowl and add the herbs and spices. Mix well so everything is combined.

Fry the diced onion in the teaspoon of olive oil and add to the tofu mixture.

Puree the butterbeans and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a food processor until smooth and add to the tofu mixture.

Mix the ingredients with your hands to ensure everything is thoroughly mixed. Add the breadcrumbs and give everything another 'kneading' with your hands.

Pre-baked burgers

Shape the mixture with wet hands into the desired number of burgers and place on a lightly oiled baking tray. Bake in a moderate oven for 15-20 minutes turning once.

Burger and Salad

Burger with mash, veg and gravy

Burger with fries and peas

If you wanted to spice the burgers up replace the paprika with smoked paprika, the basil with chilli flakes and add ½ Tsp Chilli powder. You could even replace the butterbeans with refried beans (you may need to add more breadcrumbs). If you fancied a more 'herby' burger replace all the dried herbs with fresh herbs and increase the quantities and remove the ground cumin. 

Using the basics of this recipe the flavour of the burger can be changed in so many different ways; an Indian spice mix, Chinese spice mix or more Italian flavourings by adding chopped olives and sundried tomatoes. Give them a try and get creative in the kitchen.

Vegan Lasagne

Lasagne is a classic Italian dish which is based on meat, eggs and cheese, which is made by stacking layers of pasta, sauce and a meaty filling, so how do you create a vegan version? Easy! This recipe uses tofu and cashew nuts to substitute a ricotta cheese and then added to spinach, which provides a vegan version of a vegetarian spinach and ricotta lasagne.

You could use a ready made tomato sauce, which will cut down on your cooking time but a homemade sauce will taste better and you can control exactly what goes in it. You most probably have your own way of making a tomato sauce but I've included my recipe in case you want to try it.

Its easy to make and will serve 4 people with a large green salad and maybe some homemade garlic bread.

Ingredients - tomato sauce 

1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
1 Tin of chopped tomatoes
150ml Vegan Red wine
1 Tsp Paprika
1 Tsp Garlic powder
1 Tsp Porcini powder
1 Tsp Dried oregano
½ Tsp Dried thyme
1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
½ Tsp Sugar
½ Tsp Dried chilli flakes
1 Tbsp Tomato puree
2 Tbsp Fresh basil
Salt & Pepper

Ingredients - lasagne
1 Packet tofu (396g), drained & pressed
30g Cashew nuts, soaked in water for at least 4 hours
100ml Soy Cream
3 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1 Tsp Lemon juice
100g Spinach
Salt & Pepper
6 Lasagne sheets
40g Vegan cheese, grated (optional)

Method - tomato sauce
Saute the onion in the olive oil until translucent, add the garlic and saute for another minute.
Add the tinned tomatoes to the pan and stir. Next pour in the wine and give everything another stir. Bring the mixture slowly to a simmer and add the next eight ingredients. Simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce has reduced slightly then add the tomato puree and fresh basil. Season to taste and turn off the heat.

Method - lasagne
Add the tofu, cashew nuts and soy cream to a blender and blend to a smooth paste. Add the nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt & pepper and shredded spinach and blend again. 

Pour a third of the tomato sauce into the bottom of an oven dish then top with 3 lasagne sheets. Spread half the tofu mixture on top and repeat so you have two layers of everything. Pour the remaining sauce on top and add the grated vegan cheese, if using.

Bake in a moderate oven for 30-40 minutes

BBQ Tofu Strips

You can't get away from it, everywhere I look I'm reminded of the fact that its Superbowl Sunday. Apparently the Seattle Seahawks are playing the Denver Broncos. So, how does the saying go, if you can't beat them, join them.

Now I have no intention of playing American Football but I can get into the spirit of it all, by cooking up some Sunday Superbowl food and maybe watching a little on the TV later :o) 

This morning I made some BBQ sauce and pressed some tofu, then marinated it in the BBQ sauce for most of the day.

I served the BBQ tofu strips with spicy wedges and a stuffed mushroom. Whilst we weren't able to watch the game while we ate dinner, we sure enjoyed the food!

BBQ Tofu Strips - Serves 2-4

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Olive oil
½ Onion, finely diced
2 Cloves of garlic, crushed
¼ Chilli, finely diced
25ml Bourbon (I used Jim Beam, its listed as vegan)
25ml Water
1 Tbsp Soy sauce
3 Tbsp Tomato ketchup
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tsp Mustard powder
1 Tsp Smoked paprika
1 Block of tofu, pressed and cut into strips (I use Cauldron - 396g Net weight)


Method
Saute the onion, garlic and chilli in the olive oil until the onions are translucent, turn the heat down you don't want to burn the garlic.

Add the bourbon, it will sizzle like mad! Stir, then add the water and stir again.

Add the soy sauce, tomato ketchup, maple syrup and cider vinegar and bring to the boil, stirring all the time.

Reduce the heat so the mixture is simmering and add the mustard powder and smoked paprika. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes until the mixture thickens.

Pour half the sauce into a bowl and add the tofu strips. Add the remaining sauce and gently turn the tofu so that it is covered in the sauce.

Let sit for at least 2 hours or longer if you have the time.

Turn the tofu strips onto a greased baking tray and bake in a medium oven for 40-45 minutes.

I served mine with spicy wedges and a quick & easy stuffed mushroom, recipe coming soon. Perfect Sunday Superbowl food!

Basil Tofu and Garden Pea Cannelloni

The weather has been horrid today, rain wind and more wind! I work on the top floor of a 6 floor building and around 3pm today the building wobbled! Yes wobbled! My heart goes out to the areas that have been hit the hardest.

With all this horrid weather I needed cheering up and fancied a bit of sunshine. No I didn't book a holiday, I created a sunshine meal! Using summertime ingredients thanks to frozen peas and the gorgeous amazing basil tofu I purchased at Waitrose at the weekend I could do just that.

I've been meaning to try the Vegusto Cheese that was included in my vegan swap box for ages too, so that also needed to be included in my creation. So what can you do with basil tofu, garden peas and vegan cheese? Something Italian - cannelloni.

Ingredients
200g Basil tofu
185g Frozen peas, cooked and drained
½ Bunch spring onions, finely sliced
1 Red onion, finely chopped
1 Garlic clove, minced
500g Tomato passata
2 Tsp Paprika
2 Tsp Mixed herbs
½ Tsp Sugar
½ Tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Tomato puree
12 Cannelloni tubes
60g Vegan cheese, grated

Method
First cut the basil tofu into cubes and add to your food processor, next add the cooked frozen peas and the spring onions. If you don't have a food processor you can mash the tofu then add the peas and finely shredded spring onions and mash again.

Next make your tomato sauce, fry the red onion and garlic in a little olive for 3-4 minutes. Pour in the tomato passata and stir through. Next add the paprika, mixed herbs, sugar, salt and tomato puree and slowly bring to the boil. 

Stuff the cannelloni tubes with the basil tofu, garden peas and spring onion mixture. 

Spread a little tomato sauce in the bottom of an oven dish and place the stuffed cannelloni tubes on top. Pour the remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle over the grated cheese.

Bake in a moderate oven for around 30-40 minutes, until the cheese has 'melted' and the food is piping hot.

'Stir' Fry-Day - 3 Bean Black Bean

Welcome to the second Fry-Day of Vegan Mofo where I post recipes which have been fried. Today sees another Stir Fry-Day, 3 Bean Black Bean, try saying that 10 times fast!

I was craving a Chinese tonight but there was nothing on the menu which was vegan that included beans unless of course you count black bean sauce. So I decided that I'd make a black bean dish with yep you've guessed it beans. Tonight's beans are green beans, runner beans and bean curd. 

I raided the store cupboard and thankfully found a sachet of Blue Dragon Black Bean Sauce so my tea was going to be made super fast! Good because I was starving!

Ingredients
125g Green beans
125g Runner beans
1 Packet Bean curd (Tofu)
(Mine was 396g with water)
Small bunch of coriander
1 Tbsp Groundnut oil
1 Green Chilli
1 Onion
1 Sachet Blue Dragon Black Bean Sauce
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

Method - Serves 2 hungry people
First, press your tofu any which way you choose, I normally use my laden fruit bowl as the weight!

Once the tofu has been pressed cut into 1 inch pieces length ways and fry in the ground nut oil in a frying pan, browning both sides, about 4 minutes each side if your pan is hot. Transfer to an oven proof dish, which has been spritzed with a little oil to stop the tofu sticking. Sprinkle with a few chopped coriander leaves, salt and freshly ground pepper and 1 table spoon of soy sauce. Bake in a moderate oven for the time remaining to cook the beans, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile slice the onion and chilli and top, tail and slice the runner beans on the diagonal. Top and tail the green beans and slice them into 3cm pieces. Finely shred the coriander.

Add the remaining groundnut oilto the pan and heat till hot. Throw in the onion and green beans to the pan and saute for about 5 minutes over a high heat. Add the runner beans and finely sliced chilli and stir fry for another 5 minutes. Its up to you whether you remove the seeds or not - it really depends on how hot you like it.

Add the Black Bean Sauce and 1 table spoon of the soy sauce and stir to combine. Continue to cook for another 3 minutes being careful not to let the veg stick to the pan and burn. Add a splash of water if it starts to stick.

Remove the tofu from the oven and cut into pieces (Leave two strips of tofu for the final touch of the dish). Add the cut pieces of tofu to the pan and stir to combine all the ingredients, if the mixture is a little stiff add another table spoon of soy sauce.

Add the remaining coriander to the pan and stir to combine. Serve straight away on a bed of fluffy rice and top with a tofu slice.

'Stir' Fry-Day - 4 Bean Stir Fry

Today's daily theme is called Freaky Friday and the definition published on the Vegan Mofo website was "trade with a fellow blogger". I wasn't 100% sure what this meant. Do you trade recipes?

The Vegan Mofo website also gave some other ideas for daily themes which were brainstormed at the Vegan Mofo workshop at the Vida Vegan Conference in Portland earlier this year. I liked the Fry Day for Friday's daily theme and today I've added a bit and made today's theme Stir Fry-Day, with of course beans!

Today is a 4 bean stir fry with a chilli, garlic and ginger sauce. Extremely tasty and super quick to prepare. The 4 beans in this stir-fry are, green beans, runner beans, bean sprouts and bean curd, otherwise known as tofu. See, beans get everywhere!

Ingredients
1 Packet Bean curd (Tofu) - Mine was 396g with water
1 Clove garlic
1 Thumb sized piece ginger
8 Tbsp Soy sauce
1 Tbsp Groundnut oil
1 Onion
150g Green beans
1 Red Chilli
150g Runner beans
200g Bean sprouts
2 Tbsp Sweet Chilli sauce150g Noodles of your choice
20g Fresh coriander

Method
First, press your tofu by placing it between a folded T-towel on a plate. Place another plate upside down on top of the tofu and add weight to the top. Cookbooks work a treat or a laden fruit bowl!

While the tofu is pressing make the sauce/marinade. Finely grate the garlic and ginger into a dish. Add 4 Tbsp of soy sauce to the dish with the ginger and garlic.

Once the tofu has been pressed cut into 1 inch pieces length ways and place in the dish containing the marinade. After 5 minutes flip the tofu strips and leave for at least half an hour more if you can afford the time. Sometimes I do this part in the morning before work and leave it covered in the fridge.

Add the groundnut oil to a wok and heat till smoking hot. Fry the tofu in the groundnut oil until golden brown on both sides and transfer to an oven proof dish. Bake in a moderate oven for the time remaining to prepare the stir fry, about 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile slice the onion and chilli and top, tail and slice the runner beans. Top and tail the green beans and slice them into 4cm pieces.

Next throw in the onion and green beans to the pan and saute for about 10 minutes over a moderate heat. Add the runner beans and finely sliced chilli and stir fry for another 6 minutes. Its up to you whether you remove the seeds or not - it really depends on how hot you like it. Next add the bean sprouts and stir fry for a further 3 minutes. 

Add the other 4 Tbsp of soy sauce and a splash of water now and again to stop the vegetables sticking to the pan. When the bean sprouts have softened add the sweet chilli sauce and stir to coat the vegetables.

Cook the noodles of your choice as per the packet instructions and drain if required. Add the noodles to the wok and toss so that the noodles and veg are incorporated. 

Remove the tofu from the oven. Transfer the noodles and vegetables to a serving plate and top with the crispy tofu.  Sprinkle with coriander leaves and serve at once.

Cold Sore Busting Smoothie 2

I used all of my remaining strawberries yesterday so I had to use something else in my cold sore busting smoothie today. After doing a little more research I found that pineapple is an excellent source of vitamin C and manganese. It is also a good source of vitamin B1, vitamin B6, folate, copper and dietary fiber.

So I replaced the strawberries and apple with half a pineapple, the result; it looked the same but tasted a little sweeter and I preferred it.

A quick recap, the smoothie needed to contain Lysine, Zinc, Vitamin C and Bioflavonoids to combat the cold sore outbreak and nourish my skin with essential nutrients:

Beetroot - Lysine
Spinach - Bioflavonoids
Tofu - Zinc
Pineapple - Vitamin C

Not that long ago I would have cringed at the thought of including vegetables and tofu in my smoothies, but its amazing how your taste buds change over time. I don't bat an eyelid these days.

Cold sores; the good, the bad and the ugly!

Yep cold sores are all those things bar 'the good'! 

It seems my run of bad luck in the health department is ongoing, I now have a bottom lip full of cold sores! Yep it hurts to talk, eat and drink and I'm really starting to feel very sorry for myself now!

I've been googling what foods I should be eating to combat cold sores and it appears that foods high in arginine should be a no no and foods high in lysine are recommended. So what foods contain these two amino acids:

Arginine

• Chocolate
• Nuts including peanut butter
• Oats including porridge
• Seeds
• Grains

Lysine

• Milk
• Yoghurt
• Cheese
• Eggs
• Brewers yeast
• Sardines
• Cod
• Chicken
• Beef lamb

As you can see from the two lists above, my first research into what foods to eat wasn't looking too promising as none of them were vegan! Even worse the foods I should be avoiding were regulars in my diet. But I carried on with my research and I did find that most vegetables are also high in Lysine, especially:

Vegan Lysine

• Apple
• Apricot
• Avocado
• Beetroot
• Fig
• Mango
• Papaya
• Pear
• Tomato

My research also informed me that I should also be nourishing my skin with essential nutrients to help ward off the cold sores. It is recommended that you ensure you are getting plenty of zinc, vitamin C and bioflavonoids. These will help you protect, nourish and strengthen your skin. 

Apparently zinc is not found in large amounts in plant foods, but the best, common plant sources of zinc are legumes, nuts, seeds, and oatmeal. Which if I believe the research I've undertaken so far are mainly foods to avoid because they also contain arginine. However, legumes aren't listed as an arginine food so I figured they need to make a larger appearance in my diet. 

Bioflavonoids, are also sometimes referred to as “Vitamin P,” and they are super-antioxidants found in many natural foods. Apparently bioflavonoids are found in many of the same foods that contain vitamin C, which is good news for me.

Zinc foods not containing arginine

• Tofu
• Chick peas
• Pinto & kidney beans
• Lentils
• Corn, peas and broccoli

Vitamin C

• Fresh fruit, especially, oranges, kiwis, papaya, strawberries
• Leafy vegetables; kale, spinach, mustard greens, garden cress, lettuce, bok choy
• Bell peppers and red & green chilli peppers
• Thyme and Parsely
• Broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts

Bioflavonoids

• Bell peppers
• Citrus fruits, oranges, lemon and lime
• Tropical Fruits or Exotic fruits, like mangoes and papayas
• Strawberries, peaches and nectarines
• Broccoli, spinach and brussel sprouts
• Garlic
• Black and Green Tea

So I now knew what foods I should be eating and what I should be avoiding, the dilemma was to cook something up with food I had at home as the last thing I felt like doing was going shopping! To top things off, hubby is in bed with a chest infection and cold, so he didn't feel like shopping either. Because its easy to drink through a straw at the moment I decided the first thing I would do is whip up a cold sore beating smoothie.

Ingredients

100ml Beetroot juice, I used 'beet it'

Handfull of Spinach

85g Tofu (drained weight)

1 Apple, peeled

5 Strawberries, hulled

100ml Cold water

Method

Add all ingredients to the blender in the order above and blend until smooth. Easy!

Spinach, Red Pepper & Mushroom Tofumlette

Carrying on my theme of cooking with the top five nutritional vegetables, I decided a tofumlette was the perfect breakfast this morning. This looks a bit like an omelette but uses tofu instead of eggs, hence the name.  

I needed something substantial as hubby and I had decided, as the weather was nice we would clear out the garage. This has needed doing for some time and I'm happy to report it is done! The car is loaded to the brim with stuff to take to the tip, mainly old boxes and cardboard! Now the garage is clear, we intend to keep it that way! I wonder how long that will last.

This recipe makes three good size tofumlettes, after making one two this morning I stored the remainder of the mixture in a beaker in the fridge, ready to go for another morning.

Ingredients
1 packet tofu
1¼ Cup soy milk (unsweetened)
½ Cup gram flour
3 Tbs nutritional yeast
2 Tsp arrowroot
2 Garlic cloves, minced
½ Tsp tumeric
¼ Tsp salt
¼ Tsp ground black pepper
½ red pepper
Handful of spinach
5-6 Mushrooms
Tomato salsa

Method
First of all blend the ingredients for the tofumlette. Break up the tofu into a food processor I use, Cauldron Original Tofu and add the soy milk, gram flour, nutritional yeast, arrowroot, garlic, tumeric, salt & pepper and blend until smooth, until the mixture is thick like yoghurt. Pour into a jug or spouted bowl.

Finely chop the red pepper and mushrooms and finely shred the spinach and add to the mixture, stir to combine thoroughly. Get your frying pan really hot and add a little olive oil, I used a kitchen towel to wipe the oil over the bottom of the pan. When the pan is smoking hot add 2-3 ladles of the mixture and smooth out, so the mixture is even. Leave to cook, try hard not to prod and poke it, otherwise you will end up with scrambled tofu instead. I'm speaking from experience the first one I did ended up just like that, hence the second photograph is a different shaped tofumlette to the first! After about 3 minutes take a sneaky peak and if the edges are starting to brown and the the top looks almost set, quickly flip, patching up if needed! Squash it down with a spatula and cook for a further 2 minutes. Slide onto a plate and spread tomato salsa over the top if desired.

Ready Steady Cook Challenge 1

A few days ago I asked readers to either facebook me or leave a comment on the blog which listed three ingredients and I would post a recipe which I believed showcased these ingredients. Now I haven't had hundreds of people suggesting three ingredients, phew, but I have had a couple and the first person to challenge me was Kiera.

She listed the following ingredients:

• Tofu
• Chickpeas
• Beetroot

She also told me that she wasn't a huge fan of tofu and wanted something to tempt her into trying it again. The only time she had tried chickpeas was in houmous and beetroot didn't tempt her at all! This was a hard challenge, I needed to make something tasty which included three ingredients that Kiera wasn't very keen on.

Now, you will recall that I have been reviewing ready made vegan burgers and I decided that I should be making my own instead of buying processed food. So I thought I could roll the two challenges into one and make a burger with the ingredients Kiera had challenged me with. Everyone likes a good veggie burger don't they? The ingredients may not be showcased as such in this recipe but I thought to tempt Kiera back to the wonderful world of tofu we had to take fairy steps.

Well, Kiera here is the recipe that I hope tempts you to try tofu again.

BCT Burgers - Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Small onion, thinly sliced
150g Tofu, pressed and grated
1 Cooked beetroot
80g Mushrooms, chopped and fried
50g Chickpeas
½ Carrot, grated
1 Garlic clove
2 Tbsp Garam flour (chickpea flour)
1tsp Smoked Paprika
½ Tsp Dried thyme
½ Tsp Chilli flakes
2 Slices jarred jalapenos
Salt and Pepper


Method
Fry the thinly sliced onions in the olive oil until they start to turn a caramel colour, add the chopped mushrooms and continue to fry until they have released their liquid and cooked through. Meanwhile grate the beetroot, tofu and carrot into a bowl and add the spices, garlic, herbs and salt & pepper. Mash the chickpeas and add to the bowl along with the cooked onion and mushrooms. Sprinkle over the garam flour and stir to combine thoroughly. The mixture should start to form a dough like ball, if not add more flour. With damp hands shape the mixture into two large patties and place on a greased baking tray. The mixture does make two very large patties so you may choose to divide the mixture into three or four patties. Bake in a moderate oven for 30 minutes turning once.

Satay Stirfry

Hubby has gone pizza mad since the night we made pizza. He had some friends round the other day and they went shopping and bought lots (and I mean lots) of pizzas. He is still scoffing his way through them all as they didn't manage to eat them on the day! He's going to look like a pizza soon!

I on the other hand wanted something loaded with veg, quick and of course tasty. What else could it be other than a stir fry. I didn't want to use a packet of stir fry sauce as I wanted it to be fresh, crisp and unprocessed!

I decided to make a satay sauce, now when I've made this in the past its turned out stodgy so I knew what NOT to do. Today it turned out brilliantly and I still have some left to use for another day. OK so its not 100% unprocessed as I used ready made peanut butter, but it sure was tasty.

I also made some garlic bread to go with the stir fry, this time I used olive oil instead of a vegan margarine and, my oh my it come out so garlicky and buttery it was untrue. It was truly delicious. I will definitely make garlic bread this way again. Plus its much quicker than the margarine version I have done previously.

Ingredients for stir fry - serves 2-3 people depending on how hungry you are

2 nests of wholewheat noodles

1 onion, finely sliced

1 red pepper, finely sliced

1 green pepper, finely sliced

1 carrot, cut into matchsticks

1 courgette, cut into matchsticks

Handful of green beans, top and tailed and cut in half length ways

Packet of marinated tofu pieces (OK these are processed, but they're organic)

1 chilli

Knob of ginger

2 Garlic cloves

Ingredients for Satay Sauce

5 Tbsp crunchy peanut bitter

2 Tbs Soy sauce

3-4 Tbsp Warm water

3 Tsp Red Thai Curry paste (OK this is also processed-but you could make your own)

½ Can of coconut milk

Ingredients for Garlic Bread

1 Baton of crust white bread

5 Tbsp Olive oil

4 Cloves Garlic

Fresh Parsley

Method

Before you start cooking the stir fry you need to make your garlic bread. Cut into your chosen bread and split open. I chose to do diagonal cuts but this wasn't that successful and I ended up cutting through the bread completely and working with the round pieces of bread individually!

However you choose to do it, all you need to do is finely chop the parsley on a board, then crush the garlic onto it and finally pour over the olive oil. Give everything a mix with your fingers and stuff the mixture into the bread. Use the bread to soak up any remaining oil. Or if you're like me rub each piece of bread in the mixture on both sides. 

Get a rectangle of baking paper and wet it under the tap scrunching it at the same time. Wring out the water with your hands and transfer the bread onto the paper. Fold the paper over the bread and transfer to a baking tray. Pop it in the oven that's been preheated to a moderate temperature about 180°C. It will be ready by the time you've chopped and stir fried all your veg and made the sauce.

Bring some water to a boil in a saucepan and when the water has reached a rolling boil add the two nests of wholewheat noodles. Cook for 4 minutes and drain.

Finely chop the garlic, chilli and ginger and stir fry in a little olive oil with the onion. After 3 minutes add the carrots and green beans and continue to stir fry for another 3 minutes. Next add the green and red pepper slices and stir fry for another 3 minutes. Add the courgettes and tofu and stir fry for another 3 minutes. 

Whilst you are stir frying the vegetables make the satay sauce. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add more water if its too thick for your liking, and more peanut butter if its too thin. You won't need all of the satay sauce for the stir fry. 

Add the drained noodles to the vegetables and toss to combine. Pour in the satay sauce, I used about half of what I made and using tongs carefully mix through. Serve straight away with the garlic bread.

Green Thai Vegetable Curry

I fancied something spicy tonight, it needed a kick but I also craved true flavour, my mind was cast back to a memorable night out in a gorgeous Thai restaurant that catered for vegans and I was in heaven when I tasted their version of a green Thai vegetable curry. Then I remembered in my February vegan food parcel Caroline from tea and sympatico had included a vegan Thai green curry paste! Lets rock and roll!

I fried an onion in a little olive oil and added butternut squash, sweet potato, cauliflower, broccoli, baby corn and marinated tofu pieces. Next I added the Thai green curry paste and stirred to combine fully. Swiftly followed was a tin of coconut milk and I let everything simmer until the vegetables were tender. The taste was extremely authentic and I enjoyed every mouthful.