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Showing posts from January, 2009

Healthy Vegan - Welcoming March Eat Your Greens

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Wow, I really cannot believe its March and still the possibility of snow in this part of the world.   Well I am not looking forward to more cold weather, but I am looking forward to your submissions as its my turn to host the  Eat Your Green s challenge this month.   To participate this month, just post a vegan or vegetarian recipe that is made with green vegetables on your blog.  Then copy the link to the comment section below.   The deadline is the 30th March 2017. For more details  Follow this link on how to participate  just please remember to link back to the host page (this page) and co-host  The VegHog.    The use of the logo is optional, but appreciated. If you are tweeting your recipe, please use #EatYoursGreens #eatyourgreens and include @SeasonalShaheen @TheVegHog and we will retweet all those that we see.    If you want some Eat Your Greens inspiration, see what food bloggers from around the world sha...

Healthy Vegan - Welsh Bara Lawr Laverbread Seitan Sausage (vegan)

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Wales is still not popular for its vegetarian cuisine, its often seen as the land of Welsh lamb, cockles and mussels,  faggots  - a Welsh meatball made from offal and meat off-cuts.   But what many people do not know is St David, the Patron Saint of Wales was a vegetarian.  I speculate, but its possible that St David may actually have even been a vegan as he only ate bread, vegetables, herbs and only drank water.   The green green lush land of Wales has also given us leeks and laverbread. Laverbread or 'bara lawr' as it is known in these part of the Welsh valleys.  Laverbread is not actually a bread, its a seaweed, that is cooked down to a jet green paste famously described by the acclaimed Welsh actor Richard Burton as ' Welshman's caviar '.  Laverbread is often enjoyed with shellfish, buttered toast or as Laverbread Cakes .   The best laverbread comes from  Selwyn's  who are based on the beautiful shores of the Gower Peninsula....

Healthy Vegan - Welsh Laverbread Seitan Faggots (vegan) with Onion Gravy

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I've featured vegan Welsh Faggots on my blog i n the past, but have always wanted to enhance them textually and visually.  I was able to do this a few days ago for our homely St Davids Day Welsh Vegan Menu with the addition of another Welsh delicacy Laverbread.   For those of you not  from Wales and not familiar with Welsh faggots, well in a nutshell  Faggots were traditionally made with the innards of pigs. The pate like mixture was then wrapped in the lacy casing of the animals caul and oven roasted slowly.    I remember reading a while back, that the Welsh faggots is what haggis is to the Scots and is often referred to as Welsh Haggis in some par ts of Wales.   There may be some truth in this as  The Scotsman  also make reference to haggis being popular in the Welsh Valleys of Wales, but they still credit the Scots for the haggis jokingly writing that a Scottish haggis escaping to Wales in 1690, hence its popularity in Wales. ...

Healthy Vegan - Upside Down Sicilian Blood Orange Chocolate Cake

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This Upside Down Sicilian Blood Orange Chocolate Cake  is my second  Sicilian Blood Orange  recipe.  This cake, like the gluten free Blood Orange Almond Cake was also very  delicious and I say that with a bit of surprise.   Why?  Well for those of you who know me now, will know that I don't really do sweet cakes, and I don't go gaga  or doolally tap for chocolate either.  I am drawn more towards savoury eats and treats, but my man, my husband has a very sweet tooth - be it for cakes or chocolate.  He likes them both but not always together. This cake was wonderfully moist on the first day.  A couple of days later the chocolate sponge had got a bit cold and stiff, but it was still very good.  I think it is best served at room temperature too.   I especially loved the Blood Orange topping and the orange caramelised and became both sticky and chewy.  We enjoyed the cake without cream, but it could benefit with ...

Healthy Vegan - Day in Bath

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Weekends are so short, yesterday we went to  Bath, Somerset in England   and today has been a day of house chores, from dusting to laundry to ironing.  T he garden plot once again is neglected, though I am pleased to say that I have stuck some seeds in germination pots.   Now I want to rest - but have to prepare lunch for tomorrow and then make a Vegetarian roast dinner, then maybe, maybe I can finally rest my little feet.  I do sometimes wish we had a three day weekend.  Anyway, even though we have been there before, here  are some photographs of our day trip to Bath in England .   Here is also a   link to some photograph s of our past trip to Bath which also includes the inside of the  Roman Baths .   We gave a miss this time having done the tourist thing last time I love this, angels climbing up Stairway to Heaven, I guess, some were evening falling downwards. I like spotting ghost signs I ...

Healthy Vegan - Turmeric Risotto with Preserved Lemons and Green Olives

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I know what your thinking Olives for dinner , but this Turmeric Risotto has more than just olives, it also has preserved lemons . The late Karen Hubert Allison , cookbook Author of The Vegetarian Compass was so right when she wrote All roads to Preserved Lemons lead to Paula Wolfert classic cookbook Couscous and Other Good Foods From Morocco (1973) and who am I to disagree. I sometimes make my own Preserved Lemons, but there is nothing wrong with picking up a jar of ready made, there are quite a few good brands about.   I was inspired to make this Turmeric Risotto with Preserved Lemons and Green Olives a little while back when I had limited fresh vegetables in my home, much of what went into this was store cupboard ingredients or those often found in my fridge.  I had picked up a packet or organic tempeh the last time I went into the city.   The tempeh served almost like crispy croutons and made for an interesting contrast against the soft rice grains. ...

Healthy Vegan - Black Kale and Chickpea Pot Pies

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I do miss growing my own Black Kale .  It was only when I started growing my own that I learned Black Kale had so many interesting names.  Dinosaur Kale, Palm Tree Kale, Palm Tree Cabbage, Black Cabbage, Cavolo Nero , Tuscan Kale translated Toscana di Nero. I was hoping to sow some more seeds this weekend, but the weather forecast halted our gardening plans once again. I have the sniffles and did not particularly want to be out in the garden being hit left right and centre by the gusty winds that was furiously rattling the greenhouse threatening to damage it further and the drip dripping of rain falling in every direction. So instead, I stayed indoors and pottered about in the kitchen,something I have to admit I have not done much of this week.   I made some Pot Pies with Black Kale that I picked up from the supermarket.  Its actually quite nice to find Black Kale in supermarkets now, a few years back, kale crisps and kale smoothies made it a food trend. ...

Healthy Vegan - Smoky Black Kale, Chickpeas and Mushroom Stew

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Its been a busy month for me with work mostly.   I have to admit I haven't had much energy or enthusiasm for cooking when I got home.  In fact, t wice last  week we have had Chilli and Potato Pierogi, not homemade but from a  packet.  I have mad e pierogi in the past and would love to have a go at making them again. Today though, I got home and had a little energy to cook.  I made a relatively quick Smoky Black Kale and Mushroom Stew.  Many of the ingredients in this were left over from the Black Kale and Chickpeas Pot Pie I made over the weekend.  I think this  Smoky Black Kale and Mushroom Stew i s one of those dishes best enjoyed a day or two later, as it was just okay.  Smoky Black Kale and Mushroom Stew Serves 2 - 3 Ingredients 2 tablespoons olive oil 200grams mushrooms, sliced 2 clove garlic, crushed Sprig of fresh thyme 1/4  teaspoon chipotle flakes 1 x 400grams tinned tomatoes, crushed 100grams black k...

Healthy Vegan - Creamy Carrot and Sweet Potato Rice Pudding with Blood Oranges

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Some of you may remember last month I made a Beetroot Rose Rice Pudding , my husband loudly asserted  You can make that again !  Well I have been looking for a reason to make  a variation of it again and it came with the   Wendy at A Day In The Life on a Farm . The movie chosen this month is  The Martian .   I had not watched it, so we picked it up when we were in Bath, Somerset for the day.  I watched it that evening.   The Martian is about an astronaut  Mark Watney (played by Matt Damon) a Botanist who is accidentally presumed to be dead and is left by his crew on Mars.  When he wakes up, he realises he is all alone and has to survive.  He embarks on a journey, a journey of survival where he attempts to grow potato crops on a land where nothing grows, biding time for his colleagues to come and rescue him.   Here is a trailer to the movie if you have not watched it.   The most obvious food reference was of cour...