Become Pro Vegetarian Chef

Many of you came by last week through  Amy at  Five Welsh Castle posts, so in the same vain  I thought I would share five of my favourite Welsh leek recipes with you.  The Leek - as many of you will know is the national emblem of Wales alongside the daffodil and the roaring glorious red dragon.   This short blog post is also a nod towards St David's Day that will shortly be here and my Welsh roots. Hope some of these Welsh Leek recipes inspire you to celebrate St David's Day whether your Welsh or not.  Simple, but this  Leek and Potato Soup with Chilli aka Welsh Dragon Soup   remains one of my firm favourites.   I created these Welsh Leek, Caerphilly Cheese and Laverbread Burgers   when I lived in Scotland and my lovely nephew came up to see me, they were a super success.  You will find lots of versions of Red Dragon Pie, this Fiery Red Dragon Pie   is mine. Welsh Haggis Lasagne  -  Yes, the Welsh also ...

I am not going to assign a gender on this androgynous stone carved statue, but it is rather beautiful and quite solemn in it own way.   I've been wanting to share this picture a while ago as it made me smile.  Someone had yarn bombed it, or at least lovingly adorned them a colourful crochet scarf  to stay warm and a pair of spectacles to ignite a little sunshine and humour into what I remember was a blustery grey day. It does certainly bring a smile to your face as well as a little magic into your life, well I think so.  We actually took this picture some time last year or maybe even a year before that, when we visited an area of Newport called Caerleon.  I will share more pictures of it tomorrow, but this is my contribution  for  Sunday Snap   hosted by  Sunday Snap ; a nd  Sunlit Sunday . If anyone knows any more about the significance of horns and the story behind this stone carved character, I'd love to know. I have two o...

This is a follow on from yesterdays blog post.  These picture were taken a couple of years back when we visited an area of Newport called Caerleon. I thought it would be a shame not to share them with my readers.  We think this is Paul Flynn Member of Parliament from Newport , but are waiting for it to be confirmed. 

Anyone who has used spirulina will know why I describe it as velvet.  The powdered form is textually very velvety.  Anyway,  I only made these velvet green Spirulina  Flapjacks as I was wishing to use up my very large packet of Spirulina  and the one thing I was adamant I would not make was another darn groovy green Smoothie.  Blogosphere  and cookbooks gearing towards healthy eating are laden with Spirulina  Smoothie recipes, so I gave that a deliberate miss and went for something completely different. I have plans on making a Green Goddess Granola, but that is on the back burner for other far more creative greeny bites.   Unlike other spirulina recipes that are super duper healthy: no butter, no sugar - this flapjack is made with both butter and sugar.  I have shared a link below of a healthier, vegan and raw version below, if you want to check it out.  Surprisingly, I actually liked these, but I don't often make the same fl...

The last time I made Goulash was last year around Halloween.  Today, it was an unexpected meal as I decided to pick up some 'beef' style pieces from a health shop.   It wasn't my favourite mock 'beef' meat as I found it a little powdery,  but it was interesting to try.  I adored the tones of lipstick red from the peppers and Merlot from the kidney beans in the bowl, and a warming orange glow from the carrots.  I think Goulash like most stews benefits being cooked a day before before tucking in as the flavours develop.   We had this 'Beef' Goulash simply with plain rice.   I am off work tomorrow - whoop whoop, so I am planning on making Thursday night my Friday night with some junk TV.  Have a good evening. Vegan Hungarian 'Beef' Goulash with Red Peppers and Kidney Beans Ingredients Serves 6 300grams mock 'beef' style meat substitute 4 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 medium onions, sliced 2  teaspoons Hungarian paprika 1 teaspoo...

So its Five on Friday and I am sticking once again with my Welsh theme especially as it is St Davids Day next Tuesday. I thought I would share five Made in Wales things in my home. I picked up this 'Made in Wales' framed picture from a crafts arts and fair market. Its handmade and upcycled with a  traditional Welsh blanket, almost tartan style  and some cute little alphabet cards.  I fell in love with it instantly and D bestowed it upon me within moments.  He has a terrible habit of spoiling me.  I love him. These graceful Welsh ladies are handmade by Kingsmaker  and carved from real welsh coal.  I  think they date back to the 1950s.  I know such things are terribly old fashioned but I like them.  I picked these charming Welsh ladies in full Welsh costume from a charity shop last summer, there is something quite solemn about them and somehow that impacts on my mood in a positive way.  I hold one in the palm of my hand when I...

In anticipation of St David's Day, I made this Welsh Cawl Hot Pot yesterday afternoon. Most people in the U.K are  familiar with Lancashire Hot Pot made more famous by a barmaid called Betty (now deceased) in a popular British soap drama called Coronation Street.  It was Betty's signature dish at the Rovers Return Inn - a English pub.    Hot Pot is a slow cooked recipe traditionally made with lamb and vegetables, but as this is a vegetarian blog I made mine with some vegan mock 'lamb' meat pieces.  I also decided to give this Hot Pot a Welsh touch with the addition of leeks and good Welsh cheese.   Actually this can easily be a vegan Welsh Cawl Hot Pot, if you omit the cheese, but as I had some Dragon Welsh Caerphilly and Colliers Welsh Cheddar I opted to use them.   Although not authentic in any way, I enjoyed my vegetarian Welsh Hot Pot alternative.  It delivered on flavour, texture and substance.  there was also some gravy j...

Some of you will have noticed that in the past week or so, I have been gravitating towards Welsh recipes and Welsh things.  This is for the simple reason that next week many of us in Wales will be celebrating St David's Day , even the daffodils are coming out to celebrate, though to be honest they have been out posing by the side of the roads a month earlier. As we enjoyed the  Curried Root Vegetable Stew  a couple of weeks back, I thought I would make it again, but enhance it further with the addition of spices and leeks and make it somewhat Fusion Welsh - yes we do like our leeks here in Wales, well I do.   Even though the daffodils are confused and finding the British weather warm, some of us are still finding it, so stew-like meals have been on the menu quite a bit.     Cwtch means hug in Welsh and it a word you will hear and see a lot in Wales. And these light cloud like dumplings definitely give you a big warm welcome hug, who doesn't lov...

You will find many variations of vegetarian and v egan Shepherds Pie here, but I've never featured a Cottage Pie on my blog, not sure why as I have made them many times - perhaps its because it doesn't really look that pretty to photograph. So what is the difference between a Shepherds Pie and a Cottage Pie.  Traditionally a Shepherd Pie made with minced lamb and Cottage Pie with chunks of beef, but for vegetarians and vegans this is often substituted with minced mushrooms or a mock meat substitute.  Here is my version of a vegetarian Cottage Pie made with the addition of Welsh leeks which give it a little sweetness and topped with seaweed - Welsh Laverbread mash.  I was prompted to make a Welsh version of Cottage pie when I saw a Scottish twist on a Cottage Pie.  I am sure you will find a Irish version and with respect, we all know there is no shortage of English variations of the humble Cottage Pie. For those of you who read my blog will know that...

I am delighted to announce that I will be hosting the 93 edition of  My Legume Love Affair  for March 2015 .   This is a diverse food blogging event, so any worldwide cuisine is welcome, as long as the main ingredient are legumes.  This can be beans, lentils, pulses.  Peanuts are legumes, as are carob, fenugreek and tamarind.  Foods made from legumes such as chickpea flour and tofu are permitted.  Whatever your chosen legume is, please just ensure that it is the predominant ingredient of the recipe.   My Legume Love Affair  was started by  The Well Seasoned Cook .  Lisa of  Lisa's Kitchen  is now the administrator of MLLA, as well as the occasional hostess. For the rules please link to this announcement page and read  Lisa's MLLA information page  as well.   Please link your entry below.   I will post the MLLA Round up in the first week of April 2016. I would also like to take this opportunit...

Dydd Dewi Sant hapus!   (Happy St Davids's Day!) Lovely readers.   Laverbread is known in Wales as 'Welshman's Caviar'.   I first heard about an actual 'Welsh Laverbread Caviar' product from my nephew who came up to see me when I lived in Scotland  (see here ), and it had since got me thinking of making my own.   The eureka moment came to me a when I made my balsamic beetroot pearls  and then it dawned on me  to try this with tapioca, basil seeds and even chia seeds.  These worked well as a substitute, the beady seeds swelled and became voluminous and gelatinous, however they lacked in flavour.  I had to find ways to inject flavours into these bobbly beads.  Natural colours were easy to impart, but flavours were a little harder to accomplish, but I eventually got there with: brine, tomato juice, carrot juice, smoked liquid and so forth.   Even though I've been making  vegan  Caviar  for a few years now, I ha...