MoFo Day 20: Beetroot Burgers & Roasted Veggie Fries

These burgers didn't really turn out particularly well formed/cohesive. They really could have done with something extra to bind them, maybe beans or a grain, so I won't give you a proper recipe. However, what's in them is grated beetroot, carrot and onion, garlic, chopped parsley, salt and pepper and vital wheat gluten as a binder. I baked them for around 30 minutes. The fries are made up of carrots, purple potatoes, courgette and beetroot - they were seasoned with salt and pepper and roasted for 45 to 50 minutes. I served them with two types of hummus for dipping (sweet chilli and caramelised onion). Say what you will about shop-bought hummus, but I think it's kind of great.

MoFo Day 19: Ratatouille

I don't think I had eaten ratatouille in about 2 years, but when I was deciding what to make for dinner this week, I just felt like I really wanted to eat some. I read somewhere that it's best if you cook each vegetable separately and then combine them, so that each one tastes of itself... or something. So, I thought I'd give that method a shot, and it came out quite nicely.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 courgettes/zucchinis, chopped
• 2 medium aubergines/eggplants, cut into 1 cm/1/2 in cubes
• 2 red or yellow bell peppers (I used one of each), sliced
• 4 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
• About 1.5 cups basil (loosely packed), chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil for sauteing

Method:

• Saute the onions and garlic together, until soft, then set aside.
• Do the same for the courgettes, aubergines and peppers, individually.
• Put all the cooked ingredients in a large saucepan, along with the tomatoes and the basil. 
• Taste for salt and pepper and leave to simmer for at least 30 minutes, but up to an hour.
• Serve with crusty bread, or if you want to mix things up a bit, you can use it as filling for a crepe or tofu omelet.

MoFo Day 18: Chinese Style Noodle Sauce

I can't claim that this sauce is in anyway authentic, compared to actual Chinese cuisine, but it's close enough to Anglicised Chinese food to satisfy me if I feel like eating that kind of thing. Although I call it noodle sauce, you could really put it on whatever you like. It's pictured here over salt & pepper mock duck, broccoli and fresh noodles.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp hoi sin sauce
• 1 tbsp vegan oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp ginger, grated
• 150ml/2/3 cup light vegetable stock/broth or vegan dashi stock
• 2 tsp arrowroot powder
• 4 tsp water

Method:

• Put all the ingredients up to, and including, the stock in a saucepan over a medium heat.
• Mix the water and the arrowroot powder together and pour in with the other ingredients.
• Continue to cook until the sauce thickens, and keep warm until you're ready use it.

MoFo Day 17: Shepherd's Pie

I have abandoned my theme somewhat, as I was getting really bored of cooking British food, but I will return briefly to bring you Shepherd's Pie. I've always found this dish nice enough, but somewhat uninspiring. Plus, it seems like a lot of work for a dinner that isn't more than alright. But I dutifully made it in the name of mofo, and this is what I came up with. Excuse the slightly unappealing photo. It did actually taste pretty good.

Ingredients:

• 1kg/35oz potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 carrots, chopped small
• 1 medium courgette, diced
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 350ml/1.5 cups vegetable stock
• 1.5 tsp thyme
• 1 tbsp vegan Worcester sauce
• Large pinch black pepper
• 1 tbsp vegan gravy granules (like Bisto or similar)
• 1 cup TVP

Method:

• Boil potatoes until soft. When done, drain and mash, with a little oil or vegan butter, non-dairy milk, salt, and pepper, if desired.
• Meanwhile, saute the onions until they soften, adding garlic after 5 mins or so.
• Add celery, carrots and courgette and saute for a further few minutes.
• Pour in the stock, Worcester sauce, salt, pepper and thyme. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, before adding the TVP, frozen peas and gravy granules (if using). Simmer for a further 5 - 10 minutes, until the TVP is fully rehydrated. Add a little more stock if needed.
• Pour the veg/TVP mixture into a baking dish and spread or pipe the mashed potato on top. 
• Bake at 180C/350F for 20 minutes.

MoFo Day 16: Mac & Cheese, Enchiladas and Pizzas

Today has been another busy day. I have a couple of recipes scribbled down on bits of paper, but I don't have the energy or the inclination to type any of them up, so I'm going to share a few photos of things I made that don't necessarily have a recipe. I often just kind of wing it when cooking things that don't come from a cookbook, and have to make a real concerted effort to actually write my recipes down. I promise you a proper recipe tomorrow, though.

Seitan enchiladas topped with vegusto cheese stuff.

Mac & cheese with a sauce made from a roux with vegusto cheese, again.

With jalapenos, chorizo style sausage from Vegan Brunch, and onions.

With kalamatas, caramelised onions and mixed peppers.

With black olives, sweetcorn, peppers, courgette and onions.

MoFo Day 15: Aubergine and Courgette Pasta

I have been most busy today, so this is going to be a quick one. A sort of semi-recipe if you will. A quick fact about me - I love pasta is all its forms. I try to only eat it once a week, otherwise I'd be constantly eating pasta dishes and would probably gain weight like crazy, but I really do love the stuff. I try to blame it on the Italian side of my heritage, but I was born and raised in Oxford, so I think it's just me!

Anyway, one of the (many) things I love about pasta is that it's super easy to whip up a quick but tasty dinner. Here I sauteed an aubergine in olive oil with some garlic until the aubergine was really soft and yummy, then added a courgette and cooked for maybe 5 minutes more, until that had softened too. Then I added about half a jar of tomato and basil pasta sauce (but you could use home made marinara sauce if you were feeling less lazy) and stirred it all in to some cooked pasta. And, voila... dinner!

Happy MoFo Hump Day

Listen to a special hump day song by Leslie Hall.


Lyrics:
I eat the finest cuisines, in the finest of places  Stuff my mouth full and always say thank you.  But if it's raised in a cage, and it can't even move, if it's hormone filled and in a bad mood.  I'm gonna pass on that.  Reach for something better.  The only milk I'll drink comes from the nipple of a soy bean. Veggies make you live forever, and they seem to taste much better. when they're cooked and grown with love.  So give a chef who knows what's up a hug. Momma just can't seem to get it, Papa he just rolls his eyes. When I tell them I'm much healthier, they just say that it's all lies.  But beans, nuts, fruits and veggies can really fill the belly.  Get you vitamins you need, shiny hair and extra speed.  Don't take that meat-wich any further, I want a marinated, deep fried, hand-tied mushroom burger.  I like it!  We gotta stand strong for our feathered furry sometimes scaly animal friends and their little babies.  'Cuz I wouldn't want to live in a cage in a dark warehouse killed at an early age.  Pumped full of hormones, sleeping in my feces.  Never met my mother, raised by machines.  Never get sunshine never get green, but that's just me.  [That girl loves fruit leather.]  So ask us what we're eating.  Delicious and repeating, fruits and veggies are so nice.  With a slice of tempeh,  yes, I'll have that twice.  Don't forget the legumes!

P.S. If anyone knows how to make this GIF work, without it being full size (and thus not fitting in my blog properly), please would you be so kind as to let me know :)