Home-made Houmous

The other day I posted a recipe for super easy oven baked falafels, and what goes hand in hand with falafels? Houmous of course! Now if you've made your own falafels you really should pair it with home made houmous, don't you agree?

Since transferring to a vegan lifestyle houmous has become my new 'cheese', not a week goes by without me devouring some houmous. This recipe makes your basic, standard houmous, but its far from boring! But if you want to jazz it up just add extra ingredients. If you want a little spice in your houmous just add some pri piri sauce, or you could add roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomatoes or caramelised onions. Whatever takes your fancy.

Ingredients - Serves 3-4

1 Small tin of chickpeas, drained weight 230g 
1 Clove of garlic, diced
1 Tbsp Lemon juice
½ Tbsp Olive oil
½ Tsp Ground cumin
Salt & Pepper
3 Tbsp water

Method
Wash the chick peas well and pat dry. I always remove their skins to make a smoother houmous but if you don't mind a little bit of texture or if you have a super duper food processor you can skip this part.

Add the chickpeas to the food processor followed by the remaining ingredients bar the water.

Process adding a little water at a time until you have reached your desired consistency.

Enjoy dolloped on crusty bread, or with carrot sticks or paired with your home made falafels in a pitta bread with salad.

Broadbean Houmous

Broad bean Houmous & Vegan Mofo Day 7

For my second Broad Bean recipe during Vegan Mofo I'm going to share with you my Broad Bean Houmous. It's delicious scooped up with crackers or if you're like me straight from the food processor!

Ingredients
235g Broad beans, shelled
3-4 Cloves of garlic, peeled
2 Tbsp Lemon juice
2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
4 Tsp Tahini sauce*
Salt & Pepper

* I use Tahine sauce rather than Tahini paste in this recipe as I don't want to drown out the taste of the beans but if you haven't got any tahini sauce you could use 2 Tsp of Tahini paste for similar results.


Method
Cook the beans and the garlic in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain the beans and remove the outer skin.

Add the beans and garlic to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Add the rest of the ingredients and process until you have a smooth puree.

In my last Broad Bean post I said that I would share some growing tips with you. All is not lost if you have missed out on my broad bean recipes, as you can sow broad beans as late as October for an early May harvest. I've not done that myself before but I'm giving it a go this year. 

A late sowing is best suited to southern facing gardens which are sheltered, but all is not lost if you aren't in this situation. Just remember to fleece or cloche your plants in cold areas or during a bad winter. Beans sown in October should take around 4 weeks to germinate and these will over winter and start to grow again as the weather warms up. By May you will have beans ready for the picking.

If you don't fancy taking your chances over winter then you will need to sow your beans in doors from February onwards. As soon as the plants have established themselves start putting them outside during the day to 'harden off'. Don't forget to protect them though if frosts are a problem by either bringing them back in doors or using cloches or fleeces.

You don't need any fancy equipment to protect your plants, I've used old quilt covers, table cloths and old net curtains before now!

A mixture of cloches and fleeces

Cloche tunnel and bought fleece

Old table cloth and quilt cover do the job just as well

Top tips I have found for a good crop of broad beans include:

• Prepare the soil before planting, good soil needs nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium to assist in the growing of your vegetables. I find that my own compost works a treat, which is vegetable peelings, tea leaves, garden matter and leaves. But well rotten leaves work a treat too.
• At the end of your harvest dig the roots into your soil as they are rich in nitrogen.
• As in my problem this year, protect young plants from mice, I used toilet rolls to do this and it worked fine.
• Water well, especially in dry spells, these plants are thirsty, but don't over water as this can rot your plants.
• Stake the plants to protect them from blowing over in bad weather
• Protect from cold weather or during bad winters with fleeces (see above)
• Pick regularly to promote new growth 

If you have any questions on how to grow broad beans please don't hesitate to get in touch I don't confess to being an expert but I have learnt from my own mistakes and I am willing to share the knowledge I have gained.

Here's a few snaps of my beans at various growing times.

Mice protection - plastic bottle cloches, toilet roll barriers and netting!

In bloom - not long now!

Here they are!

Garden in full swing

Picked and ready to cook

Lunches to take to Work

Well, like many of you I'm back at work tomorrow after 2 weeks off, which has been lovely. It's meant that I have been able to enjoy time with family and friends and take Marco on longer walks than normal, bliss!

Getting something to eat for lunch in the small town where I live is rather difficult so you need to be organised and take a packed lunch to work with you.

Whilst putting together a menu plan for next week I thought it might be a good idea to share my top ten ideas for a vegan packed lunch.

1) Bean & Noodle Salad

I made this during Vegan Mofo on a Work with it Wednesday theme. I never used to like peanut butter, I'm still not a massive fan but I have come a long way. I used to retch after tasting just a little dollop, I'm sure this stems from a very early memory. At my friends 6th or 7th birthday, we were all blindfolded and given something to eat and we had to guess what food it was. I was sick after tasting peanut butter for the first time! However, I am pleased to inform that it's a work in progress and I am using it more and more.

2) Houmous
Houmous is so versatile and so easy to make yourself in no time at all. You can eat it with vegetable sticks, such as carrots, celery, red pepper or cucumber. Or eat it with crackers, I like it with the No-No Guacamole crackers, but any vegan crackers are good. My all time favourite though is in a sandwich or granary baguette with lettuce, tomato, spring onion, beetroot, pickled gherkin, olives and vegan mayonnaise. Absolutely delicious. If you fancy making your own houmous try this recipe.

3) Refried Beans
Like houmous, refried beans can be used as a dip with vegetable sticks or crackers. I also use it when making fajitas, chillis or even a spicy cheese sauce! For lunch though when you need a go to lunch that is quick, you cant beat a wrap with refried beans, salad leaves, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and a drizzle of sweet chilli sauce. This is easy so easy to put together using store cupboard and fridge staples.

4) Falafals
These can easily be sourced in most supermarkets but be careful some brands aren't vegan. They can easily be made at home too although I've never posted the recipe that I always use. [Note to self must photograph and post recipe]. Again these can be enjoyed with salad or in a wrap with rocket, homemade tomato salsa, sweet chilli sauce and vegan mayonnaise. They always feature as part of a picnic too! Whether it is a simple lunch for Mum or a vegan girls lunch!

5) Bean Sushi
Now you don't have to use beans in your sushi, but once again I put this together during Vegan Mofo and the beans worked really well. Try it and see what you think. In this version I used green beans, avocado and grated carrot but there are plenty of other ideas out there. I've also used shredded lettuce mixed with a little vegan mayonnaise instead of the beans which works well too. Other combinations include cucumber, carrot and smoked tofu strips or basil tofu strips, red pepper and marinated aubergine. Just try a combination of three ingredients and serve with a little wasabi or pickled ginger and you have a very tasty lunch. Your work colleagues will be envious.

6) Mushroom Tart
Puff pastry is a handy thing to have in you fridge or freezer, especially the ready rolled version. It can be used to whip up a tasty tart in just a few minutes. Be careful which puff pastry you buy though as not all are vegan, I use the 'jus roll' puff pastry which is vegan as long as you don't buy the "all butter" variety! The mushroom tart can be enjoyed hot or cold and I've used leftovers as a packed lunch many a time. This recipe uses just three ingredients to whip up a tasty topping and is seasoned with salt & pepper. There are plenty of other tasty combinations you can use to top puff pastry, why not try Mediterranean vegetable medley, red onion caramalised tart, or puff pastry pizza. 

7) Broad Bean Pate
This is one of my more popular recipes and I'm not surprised because it is delicious even if I say so myself. I have been know to eat it before it even makes the plate! Serve with crusty bread, salad or as one of a number of dips. 

The plus side is that I have found broad beans are one of the most easiest vegetables to grow. You can't get fresher than picking your own and within 5 minutes cooking them and making a delicious pate. 

If you haven't tried this then it's a must, go buy some broad bean seeds and sow to your hearts content.


8) Olive Tapenade
Yet another vegan pate come spread depending on how smooth you like it. You can buy this ready made and even vegan varieties, but in my experience it tastes so much better when you make it yourself. Serve with crusty bread and enjoy your lunch in a sunny place, it will transport you back to Greece in an instance, well it did me! Of course when you make it yourself no fish are harmed, the majority of Greek tapenade contains anchovies, so I'm told. 

9) Guacamole
Yet another dip, I feel there is a pattern emerging here! Dips are so easy to transport, and all you need is a vehicle to scoop them up with! When that dip is guacamole there is no other vehicle than a tortilla chip in my eyes. Now, that doesn't mean you have to go out and buy a bag of chips full of nasty MSG, you can make your own using pitta bread or flour tortillas. Cut them up to the desired size and bake in a low oven until crisp, simples. If you want to jazz them up a little spritz with a little olive oil spray and sprinkle with paprika, chilli, garlic or mixed herbs.

10) Lettuce wraps
I suppose you can stuff anything into a lettuce leaf, but I rather like them stuffed with a Thai coleslaw. It is crunchy, light and refreshing with a hint of spiciness. Of course you don't have to use it as a stuffing it's very nice on its own with salad and grilled tofu. 

If you don't fancy the Asian variety coleslaw you could always make the traditional variety but make it more colourful by using red cabbage instead of the traditional white cabbage. 

Use different vegetable combinations and make your own, influenced by flavours from a different country. Why not try Chinese Five Spice with water chestnuts, babycorn, spring onion and beansprouts.[Note to self, must try this combination!]

I hope this has given you some great healthy lunch ideas, of course if you have access to a kitchen and a microwave to heat food up the world is your unharmed oyster! 

Dips Galore

I had some french-like bread left over from yesterday, which was part baked so I treated myself to a range of dips/spreads to eat with it for lunch.

I made 5 dips and did way too much for just me, I'll be eating these all week I think! The dips I settled on were:

• houmous, of course it wouldn't be the same without it, 
• olive tapenade, which was thoroughly enjoyed yesterday so I made another batch
• creamy celery, ditto the olive tapenade
• baba ganoush, an aubergine dip
• red pepper houmous

I've never really had a success with making baba ganoush at home, but after eating it at a local restaurant (the vegan and vegetarian night) I was tempted to give it another try. To make it a little sweeter I added some roasted red pepper to the blender. The verdict, not bad, but could do better, I'll have to work on the recipe before I post it. It was a little on the bitter side, I thought that these days there was no need to salt your aubergines but maybe I am wrong, its back to the drawing board for that recipe. 

The red pepper houmous was lovely though, I made up a batch of my standard houmous and halved it and added 1½ roasted red peppers to one half and blended again.

Ingredients

1 Tin of chickpeas (skins removed)*

1 Clove garlic

1 Tbsp Tahini

½ Lemon - juice only

1 Tsp Cumin

Salt & Pepper

1½ Red Peppers (roasted, skins and seeds removed)

* This is a little tedious to say the least but so worth it for the extra creaminess it gives the dish.

Method
Blend together the skinned chick peas (drained, juice reserved), garlic, tahini, lemon juice, cumin and a little of the drained liquid. Blend to your desired consistency adding more of the reserved liquid as required. Add salt and pepper to taste and blend again. Halve the mixture and blend the roasted peppers with one half.

Lunch for Mum

As you all know, I think my Mum is Superwoman! Whilst Hubby and I were ill she did so much for us both. So as I was feeling a little better I decided to make her lunch yesterday. Because we still haven't been shopping though I had to make something out of nothing!

Once again, I raided my 'tardis like' store cupboards and came across a packet of falafel mix, which was way past its 'best before' date, but I figured it would be fine. I also came across a small tin of chick peas hiding at the back of the cupboard, so the protein side of lunch was sorted. Houmous and falafels, it was a shame I didn't have any parsley, because I could have made tabbouleh to go with it. 

However, also hiding at the back was an old packet of Mediterranean couscous and after checking the ingredients were suitable, it soon became a part of the lunch. Plus, it was easy to rustle up.

I also had some wholewheat pasta and an avocado so I made Angela's avocado pasta again, but used chives again instead of basil.

To finish the lunch off I chopped up some beetroot and made a simple salad of chicory leaves, chopped spinach, cucumber and carrot ribbons and added a bowl of seeds to sprinkle over the top.

Mum really enjoyed the lunch, especially as it was her first all vegan lunch. 

Simple Salad

Today, all I fancied was a salad, although I was starving hungry, so it needed to pack some calories. I raided my fridge and through together some salad leaves, tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, beetroot, avocado, houmous and falafels. I then dressed the salad with a squirt of garlic vegan mayonnaise and salt and pepper. It was heavenly, sometimes the most simple things in life are the best.

Beetroot Houmous

Almost three weeks ago I blogged about my houmous salad sanga and I told you that I would be pairing up beetroot and houmous sometime soon as I thought they were a perfect match.

Today, I did just that, let me introduce you to beetroot houmous............

Using two thirds of a can of chickpeas make a standard houmous using chickpeas, tahini, garlic, cumin, lemon juice and chickpea water. 

Remove half of the houmous to a pot and keep for another day. Add 1 chopped beetroot to the food processor and blend. The houmous goes a lovely pink colour, great to use as part of a valentines dinner. I also added about 10 basil leaves which I chopped finely and added to the processor and gave it another quick blend

If you look closely you will see little flecks of green. The flavour was just as I imagined it, the basil balancing out the beetroot.

Use on a wrap with other salad ingredients or as a dip with crudites and enjoy!

  

Houmous Salad Sanga

Readers of my blog will know that I used to be a cheese addict and since turning vegan I have tried many vegan 'cheese' but nothing has taken me by storm. However recently I ordered Teese after hearing about how good it was and how well it melted. I will update you all on my findings once I use it.

My cheese replacement however, is houmous! Today I enjoyed houmous on a granary baguette with lettuce, tomato, spring onion, beetroot, pickled gherkin, olives and vegan garlic mayonnaise. Delicious!

I think houmous and beetroot are the perfect partners and I need to experiment further with these two ingredients. Watch this space..................