RECIPE: Best flapjacks in the world ever

I appear to have invented the best flapjack recipe in the world ever so I thought why be selfish when I could share it with you lovely people. This is for anyone who has ever bought a stodgy, tasteless shop-made flapjack, taken one bite and turfed it in the bin.

*WARNING: if you make these you will want to eat all of them. If you eat all of them you will get fat. I take no responsibility for any flapjack related weight gain.

Ingredients

120g butter

140g soft dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons honey

175g porridge oats

140g dried apricots, chopped

25g pumpkin seeds

25g flaked almonds

25g desiccated coconut

1 teaspoon, pureed fresh ginger

Zest of 1 lemon

Melt butter, sugar and honey together over a low heat. Stir in ginger. Put all remaining ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Add in melted butter mixture and stir together. Grease a 20cm x 20cm baking tin and press the flapjack mixture into it evenly. Bake at 160 C (140 C in a fan oven) for approximately 45 minutes. Check it at 35 minutes and if it’s not completely set, give it the extra 10 minutes.  Allow to cool in the tin until it is lukewarm, then cut into 16 squares. Allow to cool completely before removing from the tin. Do not be tempted to take it out earlier no matter how lovely it smells because the whole thing will fall apart.

Enjoy!

Vegetarianism… week 4 and beyond

So the month long veggie challenge is officially over and Paul and I both made it without any cheating. No meat, chicken or fish passed either of our lips for 30 days from 4 may to 4 June. The funny thing is today is the 6th and neither of us has eaten any meat over the weekend and when I booked our flights to South Africa for our wedding I January, I requested vegetarian meals.

So am I a vegetarian for life? I have no idea. What I know is that I don’t have any overwhelming desire to eat meat right now and my ethical sensibilities have always been more on the veggie side. With the environmental, health and animal welfare implications of eating meat all pretty negative, eating no, or less, meat is surely a good thing. I just don’t think I ever believed I’d have the self control.

Whether at some point soon or further away in the future I’ll crack in the face of a beautiful piece of sushi or a sleek piece of fillet steak I can’t tell, nor can I promise that one crack will lead to fully fledged carnivorousness. Let’s just say I’ll keep you posted.

And for now… here’s another recipe!

Vegetarian chilli

150g dry soya mince
1 large red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
1tablespoon of olive oil
2tsp hot chilli powder or 2 teaspoons harissa paste
1stp paprika
1tsp ground cumin
1tsp marjoram
2 tablespoons tomato puree
Salt and pepper
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
500ml vegetable stock
1 tin of red kidney beans

Rehydrate the soya mince according to the package instructions, drain and set aside. Heat the olive oil and then fry onion until it starts to go a bit translucent. Then add the garlic chilli powder (or harissa paste), paprika and cumin and fry for a couple more minutes. Add the soya mince and fry for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Then add the garlic, tomato paste and marjoram and keep cooking for a couple more minutes. Finally add the stock and tinned tomatoes and simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. When 20 minutes has passed take off the lid, drain and rinse the kidney beans and add them to the chilli. Also add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer with the lid off for a further 10 minutes. Serve with long grain rice.

Vegetarianism Week 3: Asparagus temptations and a tasty pasta recipe

Towards the end of the third week of vegetarianism I had my two moments of disappointment. I normally bring my own food to work made up of leftovers of whatever I’ve cooked the night before along with fruit, Belvita’s and yoghurt. Having nice veggie leftovers has, for the most part, meant that I’ve not really noticed the difference.

Last week I had two days where there weren’t any leftovers so I had to go out and buy lunch. On the first day I went to Starbucks because I had some money on my Starbucks card that I wanted to spend. The veggie selection was laughable. I ended up with a cheese and mushroom croissant. Not exactly the food of champions.

The second day I went to Pret, which had a much better selection of veggie stuff but they also had a new sandwich with lemon chicken mayo and asparagus on it. I immediately wanted it. In the end I went with avocado salad, which was lovely, but it made me realise that a vegetarian life means being severely restricted in choice of food. Not because there is a lack of delicious, creative things you can do with non-meat food but more because most places that sell food that is already prepared, are focused on a meat-eating population. And this is in a country where being a vegetarian is widely accepted as a relatively normal diet choice. In mainland Europe, for example, the thought is pretty much abhorrent to most.

That made me wonder about what going on holiday as a veggie might be like. I’m thinking probably quite rubbish unless you were going somewhere where vegetarianism is more widespread like the Asian subcontinent.

All of that said, I am still enjoying my meat-free diet and undecided about what to do in the future. There are some pretty amazing meat substitutes out there, which make keeping the veggie dream alive a more likely reality. I’d suggest that anyone who wants a truly delicious veggie burger should check out Granose’s burger mix… and their falafel mix and soya mince aren’t bad either.

While I contemplate, here’s Paul’s new favourite recipe:

Paul’s Pasta Pomodoro

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 teaspoon sugar
150ml veg stock
Big handful of basil
salt and pepper to season

1) Gently fry onion in oil for 5 minutes add garlic and fry for a minute more

2) Add choppped tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar and veg stock.  Simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered.

3) Transfer to a blender, chuck in basil and blend only for a few seconds.  Season to taste.

4) Serve with freshly cooked pasta shells and lots of parmesan cheese and black pepper.

Meat free week 2 and a recipe for veggie shepherd’s pie

It’s been two and a half weeks since Paul and I started experimenting with vegetarianism and surprisingly neither of us has cracked. While Paul has had some bacon cravings, there is a part of me that is starting to think that I could probably be a vegetarian with a relative amount of ease. The problem for me is more about the fact that I’d feel like I was missing out on a lot of variety.

I love food. Fresh, high quality, well-prepared food. I’m not someone who revels in the idea of a take away or the time-saving powers of things that come out of tins. I like the idea of a meal being made from fresh with love and care and using the best possible ingredients. I can’t deny that some of the ingredients I love the most are ones that used to have faces.

All of that said, I am definitely going to cut down on meat in the future. Not only is a mostly vegetarian lifestyle considerably cheaper, I can’t deny that I feel much healthier and more energetic without a half a cow doing the tango in my digestive system.

I’m considering being a “home” vegetarian… eating veggie at home but being less limited when eating in the homes of and cooking for others and when eating out. While I continue to ponder this, here’s a new recipe for you to try out at home.

Veggie shepherd’s pie

150g dried soya mince
1 onion, finely chopped
2 large carrots, sliced
A large splash o f vegetarian Worcestershire sauce (who knew the normal kind had anchovies in it)
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
500ml vegetable stock
900g potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
3 tablespoons of milk
85g butter
Salt and pepper

Rehydrate the soya mince according to the packet instructions. Set aside. Fry the onions and carrots in a little vegetable oil over a medium heat. When they have softened, add the rehydrated soya mince, turn up the heat and fry for a couple of minutes. Stirring continuously. Add Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste and cook for 3 or 4 more minutes. Add stock, turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the lid, stir and continue to simmer for a further 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. You may need to add a little more salt than you would usually do if you were cooking with meat.

In the meantime turn on the oven to 180C and make the mash. Boil the potatoes in salted water for about 10 minutes. Drain, add the milk and butter and squash with a potato masher.

Remove the mince mixture from the heat and pour into large rectangular baking dish. Make sure it is even spread across the dish. Cover with mash. “Riffle” with a fork and bake for about 20 minutes in the oven.

YUM!

The musings of a temporary vegetarian… plus how to make killer veggie lasagne

For the last week Paul and I have been trying out being vegetarians. Not for any noble PETA or Greenpeace type reason but mostly just to see if we could do it for a month. We’re not madly carnivorous in the kind of way that we can’t manage without three red meat meals a day but I think it’s safe to say that we’re both of the adage that if we weren’t supposed to eat animals the universe wouldn’t have made them taste so good.

It hasn’t been that hard cooking vegetarian food. I have quite a few veggie recipes up my sleeve but I have to admit that eating out is a bit of a minefield and I now really sympathise with my veggie friends when it comes to having a decent selection of food when going to restaurants.

The pro’s so far are that it’s become a lot easier to get my five a day. With most meals being vegetable based, dinner pretty much delivers three servings (did you know chickpeas are one of your five a day i.e. humus counts!) I also find that I’m sleeping better and I have more energy.

The major con is that I find I’m hungry a lot of the time. Despite eating mountains of veggies, they digest fast and a couple of hours after a meal I am ravenous. Today at work I ate:

• 4 breakfast cereal biscuits (low GI and high fibre so they’re supposed to keep you fuller for longer)
• 1 tub of yoghurt
• 1 large fruit salad made up of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and grapes
• 1 portion of leftover veggie lasagne (see recipe below)

By 4pm I wanted to chew off my own arm. Added to that I am definitely eating way too much cheese (mmm… cheese) and it can only be a matter of time before the meat cravings set in but I am adamant that I am going to finish the month and report back on any further effects of the change in diet.

It would be great to get some recipes from any veggies out there, in exchange this is my favourite (self invented) veggie recipe:

Three layer veggie lasagne

250g fresh lasagne sheets
600ml reduced fat crème fraiche
1 butternut squash, deseeded and roughly chopped
300g baby tomatoes
2 red peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped
2 large packets of baby spinach
200g mushrooms roughly chopped
2 handfuls of grated parmesan cheese
A sprinkle of chilli powder
A sprinkle of dried coriander powder
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
200g mozzarella cheese
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Rub the butternut pieces with olive oil and place in a baking tray. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, chilli, coriander and 2 cloves of the garlic. In another baking tray rub the peppers and tomato with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and add the remaining garlic. Put both baking trays in the oven.

While the vegetables are roasting wilt the spinach in a large pan or wok over a low hear, stirring regularly. When the leaves have gone soft, add about 100ml of the crème fraiche and a sprinkle of salt and pepper and keep stirring after a couple of minutes add the mushrooms and allow to cook for a couple of minutes until everything is well-combined. Set aside.

After half an hour remove the peppers and tomatoes from the oven and set aside. 10 minutes later remove the butternut from the oven. Allow it to cool for a few minutes and then peel off the skins and mash it up a bit with a fork. Leave the oven on

Take the remaining crème fraiche and mix with the parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Take a large rectangular pyrex dish and place a layer of the lasagne sheets at the bottom. Cover with the spinach mixture and press flat. Add another layer of the lasagne sheets. Then spread the roast tomatoes and peppers over that layer and top with a layer of the crème fraiche mixture. Add another layer of lasagne sheets and then the butternut and another layer of crème fraiche. Finish with a layer of lasagne sheets and a layer of crème fraiche. Tear up the mozzarella roughly and spread over the top of the lasagne. Sprinkle over a little more parmesan. Bake in the over for 30 minutes. Allow the lasagne to stand for 10 minutes before serving as it is easier to cut.