Potato Salad is a must at any BBQ, picnic or garden party. It's so quick and easy to make and is absolutely delicious with quiche, salad, meats and vegetables. You can, of course, use regular potatoes. But I think the tinned new potatoes taste really nice, and as there's no washing, peeling or chopping, they … Continue reading Vegan Potato Salad
A couple of years ago, my husband and I went to Mexico on holiday. The food was good at the hotel, though it was all aimed at tourists. There was a vast difference between the 'posh' version of Mexican food we were served in the hotel, and the street food we ate in the towns … Continue reading Refried Beans
This is a favourite weekend breakfast for me - a fat slice of crusty bread, lightly toasted, with Smashed Avocado slathered on it, topped with a veggie sausage pattie or a slice of cheese and a runny fried egg. Heaven! The Smashed Avocado recipe is vegan, so of course, serve it with whatever you like … Continue reading Smashed Avocado
OK, so I know what you're thinking, but jelly (or jello, for my friends on the other side of the pond) is definitely NOT just for kids; especially not this one! Made with fresh fruit, Pimms and prosecco, it's the perfect dessert to eat outside, in the sunshine, watching Wimbledon . Weather you're a tennis … Continue reading Wimbledon Jelly
This Grain Salad is refreshing, zesty, minty, and SO quick to make! It makes the perfect side to BBQ'd meat, fish and vegetables and can be made a few days in advance and kept in an airtight container in the fridge. Just serve it cold, with an extra drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil on … Continue reading Grain Salad
There's nothing more comforting on a cold, wet, winter's day than a steaming bowl of hot tomato soup. You can, of course, buy very good tinned soups, but if like me, you get a lot of joy, and take a lot of pride in cooking things from scratch, then you'll enjoy making your own. And … Continue reading Easy Homemade Tomato Soup
My inspiration for this dish came from a recipe I came upon by chance on Pinterest quite a few years ago. The recipe was Pumpkin, Spinach and Walnut Spaghetti by a blogger called Lazy Cat Kitchen. It was a simple recipe - just lemon juice and zest, chilli flakes, garlic, salt and pepper to accompany … Continue reading Pumpkin and Sage Rigatoni
These chickpeas are really quick and easy to prepare, and they taste fantastic. I like them on a wrap with lettuce, red onion and a squeeze of mayonnaise or with a simple mixed salad for an easy, tasty lunch. They would also make a great starter mixed with chopped fresh tomatoes and served hot on … Continue reading Spiced Chickpeas
My husband loves onion. Red, white, raw, cooked, it doesn't matter, he'll have it with almost any meal. So when I told him I was going to make beer battered onion rings he hovered around in the kitchen, stealing them off the pile as I was making them. I had to wait until he was … Continue reading Beer Battered Onion Rings
My husband and I used to live in Carlisle, in the very North of England, and there was a Thai restaurant there that we loved. Usually when we eat out I like to try something new, but here I would order exactly the same thing every time - Sticky Tofu Noodles to start, then Sweet … Continue reading Chinese Tofu With Fried Rice
A Vegetable Pasanda is one of my favourite takeaway curry options. It's a very mild curry, but it certainly isn't boring, it's packed with gorgeous nutty, aromatic flavours. Whilst on lock down, I was craving my Pasanda fix, but couldn't bring myself to order the full fat takeaway option made with ghee and double cream, … Continue reading Vegetable Pasanda
This is a regular mid-week breakfast for me as it's really quick and easy, contains 1 of my 5 a day (2 if I wash it down with fresh fruit juice) and it tastes so good! Yes, it's a bit more effort than just spreading the toast with jam, but not much, and it sets … Continue reading Pan Fried Tomatoes With Mushrooms On Toast
I have spent years developing this recipe. Every winter I give it another go, changing the recipe each time, and each time it was a bit . . . meh. I knew it would work eventually, sausages, leeks, onions, gravy, what can go wrong? Turns out, when you're using vegetarian sausages, it's harder than you … Continue reading Veggie Sausage Casserole
Happy new year everyone! Have you eaten and drank far too much over the festive period? Have you reverted back to your teenage years of happily grazing on junk food all day and forgoing proper meals? Of lazing about in your pyjamas all day and watching films? Me to! It's been great, but - sigh … Continue reading Veggie Mince for Tatties
My 6 Rules for a healthy, iron rich diet. A different sort of blog post today. Usually, when we decide to stop eating meat, it's a decision that's made with our hearts, not for health reasons. We don't research alternative vitamin and mineral sources or what our bodies need, we worry about craving bacon butties … Continue reading How To Be A Healthy Pesky/Veggie/Vegan
Finally in the Ultimate Toasty Series, we have my Spicy Bean Vegan Toasty. Just because you don't eat cheese doesn't mean you have to miss out on a yummy toasted sandwich! I am a bit of a cheese-oholic, but I really didn't miss it in this recipe. The veggies and toast provide all the textures … Continue reading The Ultimate Spicy Bean, Vegan Toasty
I love pizza. I've never been one for the 'American style' ones you get delivered from the likes of Domino's though. As a veggie I find there are rarely any interesting toppings that don't include meat, and supermarkets do lovely fresh and frozen pizzas now for a lot less than you can get a sub-standard … Continue reading Stuffed Dough Balls
In the first home my now husband and I bought together, I created a little veg patch in a sunny corner of the garden. It wasn't big, but it was enough for me to catch the gardening bug. The first year, I decided to plant some courgettes as they are notoriously easy and perfect for … Continue reading Caramelised Courgettes/Zucchini
Patatas Bravas is a Spanish tapas dish consisting of fried potatoes in a spicy tomato based sauce. Quite often in restaurants the sauce is served on top of the potatoes. This looks pretty, but you end up left with dry potatoes at the bottom of the bowl as everyone takes the ones with the delicious … Continue reading Patatas Bravas
The packet spice mixes you can buy at the supermarkets are great. They take all the guess work out of mixing your spices and they always have recipe suggestions on the back. However, I never feel like there's enough veg in these recipes. 1 tin of chopped tomatoes and 1 tin of kidney beans, like … Continue reading Meat Free Chilli Con Carne
These Tortilla Dippers are a great alternative to crisps or bread sticks at a party. They take literally minutes to prepare, look great on the table and are pretty darn tasty too. They also work out cheaper than buying packets of good quality crisps or bread sticks. They're really filling, I only manage 4 or … Continue reading Tortilla Dippers
I am a bit of a carb-aholic, and my favourite carbohydrate has to be bread. Chocolates, biscuits and sweets can go untouched for months with me, but I'd happily munch through an entire loaf of crusty bread in one sitting if I let myself. So of course, whenever I have a pasta dish, I always … Continue reading No Butter Garlic Bread
Briam is a tomato based Greek casserole that just happens to be vegan. We aren't trying to fake meaty flavours here, we let the gorgeous Mediterranean veg show off it's true potential with a few helpful herbs to take the flavour to the next level. It is one of my favourite dishes, as it is … Continue reading Briam
Scouse is a traditional stew from Liverpool made with beef or mutton, carrots and potatoes and was once a staple meal for working class Liverpudlians, as it's cheap, filling and really tasty! Both my parents are from Liverpool and when I was a child, my mum would make up a batch of Scouse and it … Continue reading Blind Scouse
These spiced wedges are so simple and easy to make and they always go down a treat. I serve them at pretty much every gathering we host, as a 'filler dish' - not the star of the show, but something to fill people up with if I haven't quite made enough food. (Which never happens, … Continue reading Spiced Wedges
Pesky Recipes 