The months of summer are what we've all been waiting for after a dark and bitterly cold winter, spring has given us hope of warmer weather and finally the sun has come out! We need to celebrate, after all, the sun may not stay out for too long, it seems rather shy at the moment.
To me summer means salads, picnics, long walks over the fields and through the woods, strawberries and other fresh fruits and the lighter nights allow us to go wild and enjoy the fresh air for just that little longer. I mean who likes going to bed when its still light outside - not me! Summer is inviting family and friends around and enjoying each others company, eating great food and drinking sparkling drinks. Get out the bunting and start enjoying those summer garden parties.
I don't know about you but a picnic or garden party is just not the same without falafels. I know shop bought falafels are easy to purchase and some of them are pretty darn tasty but you really cant beat making your own can you? If you've got a food processor then you have no excuse, these can be made in a matter of minutes. The recipe is super easy, just throw your ingredients into a food processor, roll the mixture into balls and pop in the oven.
Ingredients - makes 10 falafels
1 Tin of chickpeas, drained, washed
and picked over and patted dry
½ Onion, chopped
3 Cloves of garlic
2 Tsp Ground cumin
1 Tsp Ground corriander
¼ Tsp Chilli powder
Salt & Pepper
1 Tbsp Parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp Olive oil
Method
Place the first seven ingredients into a food processor and process until the mixture is coarse and it starts to stick together.
Turn the mixture into a bowl and add the chopped parsley. Stir to combine fully.
Add the tablespoon of olive oil and mix again.
Take a small amount of the mixture about a tablespoon and roll into balls in your hands. The mixture should easily come together.
Place each ball onto an oven proof tray and cook in a moderate oven for ten minutes. Turn each ball over and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
Enjoy on their own, with a salad or pop into a pitta.
Hands up who knew it was International Picnic Day today?
What a gorgeous sunny day it was too! Perfect for a picnic, unless of course you've been stuck in meetings all day like I have!
Weather reports are forecasting a glorious weekend so why not make my picnic recipes and head out into the great outdoors? The picnic recipes were supposed to be for two, but when I made them I was feeding four people. All you need to do is halve the recipes if you just want a picnic for two and of course double them if you're feeding 8!
My favourite item in the picnic hamper without a doubt was the porcini and sweetcorn tofu quiche which my sister couldn't get enough of. As you can see from below the filling can either be used in a quiche or as a filling for a pasty, both taste so good.
With all that pastry I had to balance it out with some spinach rolls which were equally as delicious and make a great change to sandwiches.
Picnic for Four
Porcini & Sweetcorn Quiche/Pasty
Ingredients
110g Jus Roll Puff Pastry or make your own
80g drained & pressed tofu
50ml Unsweetened almond milk
100g Sweetcorn
1 Tsp Porcini powder
1 Tsp Garlic granules
Pink Himalayan Salt
Black pepper
Method
Roll out the pastry if you haven't already bought pre-rolled to fit the size of a small pastry dish. Press the pastry into the dish and blind cook for 10 minutes in a moderate oven. The pastry will shrink a little, but don't worry about this.
While the pastry is baking blend the tofu and milk in a food processor until smooth and transfer to a bowl. Add the porcini powder, garlic granules, salt & pepper and mix to combine thoroughly. Add the sweetcorn and give the mixture another stir.
Remove the pastry case from the oven and pour in the tofu mixture, bake in a moderate oven for 20-30 minutes or until the pastry is fully cooked and the tofu mixture has 'set'.
Broccoli & Tofu Tart
Ingredients
210g Jus Roll Puff Pastry or make your own
2 Tsp Vegan Pesto
½ Yellow pepper, diced
100g Basil Tofu, diced
50g Broccoli, cut in to small florets
5g Nutritional yeast
5g Ground almonds
Method
Roll out the pastry if you haven't already bought pre-rolled and score a border about 2cm in from the edge all the way round.
Spread the pesto over the pastry up to the border you have just scored. Top the pesto with the yellow pepper, broccoli and basil tofu.
Put the nutritional yeast into a pestle and mortar and grind to a fine powder. Add the ground almonds and mix to combine. Sprinkle this over the top of the vegetables as you would Parmesan cheese. Back for 20 minutes in a moderate oven.
Spinach Rolls
Ingredients
½ Orange pepper, finely diced
1 Celery stick, finely diced
½ Onion, finely diced
100g Basil Tofu, grated
1½ Tbsp Vegan mayonnaise
Salt & Black pepper
8 Large spinach leaves
Method
Transfer all ingredients except the spinach leaves to a large bowl and thoroughly mix, you are looking for the consistency of a 'sandwich type filling'.
Place a spoonful of the mixture onto each spinach leaf, fold in the sides and roll up like a tortilla.
Summer Pasta Salad
Ingredients
60g Small pasta shapes
½ Yellow pepper
50g Sweetcorn
2 Tsp Vegan pesto
1 Tbsp Vegan mayonnaise
Method
Cook the pasta shapes as per the packet instructions, drain and rinse with cold water to cool and stop the cooking process and drain again.
While the pasta is cooking/draining, finely dice the yellow pepper.
Add the vegan mayonnaise and pesto to a bowl and mix. Add the yellow pepper and sweetcorn and mix again. Add the drained and cooled pasta shapes and give everything a good mix to combine. If the pasta salad is a too dry for your liking add more mayonnaise and pesto.
Vegetable Crudites & Harrisa Dip
Ingredients
½ Orange pepper
¼ Cucumber
2 Stick celery
4 Tbsp vegan mayonnaise
2 Tsp harrissa paste
Method
Cut the vegetables into crudites, you can use any vegetables you fancy really, why not try carrot sticks, babycorn or mange tout instead.
Mix the vegan mayonnaise with the Harrisa paste, add more Harrisa if you like a bit of heat and transfer to a dipping tray. Arrange the crudites around the dip and serve.
To finish off my picnic hamper I also made a green salad and sliced up ½ a watermelon for afters.
Pack up the food and venture outside, find a lovely spot and enjoy! Marco had his eyes firmly on the cucumber sticks AND the watermelon!
1 Tin of chickpeas, drained, washed 
