Tag: Vegan

Counting on…day 227 

28th June 2022

The yellow split peas have become this week’s sandwich spread. This is a type of hummus ( true hummus is made from chick peas). The drained peas are blitzed to a paste with the juice of a lemon, some olive oil, garlic and a couple of spoons of tahini. Exact quantities vary as necessary  to achieve the desired texture. If it becomes too runny, I add pumpkin or sunflower seeds to thicken things. Extra flavours come by adding pepper or paprika, lemon zest or herbs: I especially like dill.

Counting on … day 226 

27th June 2022

The cooked chicken peas I have combined with chopped mushrooms and Brazil nuts and wrapped in a flaky pastry case, adapting a recipe from Betty’s Cookery School (of Harrogate tea room fame). 

Flaky pastry made from250g flour and 225g vegan butter

Filling made from a chopped onion, fried with garlic, to which I added about 250g of chopped mushrooms, flavoured with black pepper and rosemary. After a little more cooking, I added 100g each chick peas and chopped Brazil nuts. To add more flavour, I added a spoonful of quince jelly and some poppy seeds. Finally I added a couple of spoons of polenta to absorb any moisture, before laying the filling in the middle of the rolled out pastry. The edges of the pastry I cut into and plaited, before baking 30+ minutes at 200C. 

Counting on … day 225

26th June 2022

In an earlier blog I explained how I cook a week’s worth of beans/ pulses at a time. This includes chick peas, red Carlin peas, wrinkled green peas, yellow split peas and marrow fat peas. How will these  turn into meals?

The cooked marrow fat peas I put in a dish and baked in the oven (30c minutes at 200C) with chopped tomatoes, olive oil and black pepper, and served with roast cauliflower and potatoes. 

 Counting on … day 222

23rd June 2022

Kew Gardens in the sun is the place for an ice cream treat. The ice cream stand not only offers three plant based flavours, but also compares the carbon footprint of the different flavours on offer. The vegan strawberry ice cream has half the carbon footprint of its clotted cream sister. 

I wonder if they would sell more vegan ice cream if those flavours featured at the top of the bill board? 

Counting on ….day 213 

14th June 2022

Strawberries and raspberries are in season. Now is the time to preserve their flavour for enjoyment later in the year. I have been making jam and bottling these soft fruits. As strawberries and raspberries are quite delicate fruits, I bottle them with rhubarb. I precook the rhubarb till it is soft, mix in uncooked soft fruits and fill the jars with this combination before sterilising them in hot water. 

For tips on preserving fruits and vegetables, including jam making and bottling,  see https://greentau.org/tag/jam/

Counting on …day 191

23rd May 2022

Marking Rogation-tide yesterday, we walked round the parish boundary and finished with tea and cake  in the church garden. 

Vegan fruit cake

8oz flour plus raising agent

3oz vegan butter

3-4 oz sugar

12 oz dried fruit

Nutmeg

1 tbsp egg replacement powder

1 sliced banana

Oat milk

Rub butter into flour. Add nutmeg and egg replacement powder, sugar, fruit and banana.

Add milk and mix to achieve a firm dropping consistency.

Put into a lined loaf tin.

Bake 160C for 40 – 50 minutes or until cooked!

Counting on … day 181

13th May 2022

Eating less meat is good for the environment, for the climate and for releasing resources to ensure everyone across the globe can be fed. An environmental newsletter, The Conversation, provides tips  to help people reduce the amount of meat they eat, based on research by the LEAP team (Livestock, Environment and People) at the University of Oxford. 

  1. Make at least one of your main meals vegetarian.
  2. Double the veg, halve the meat in your meals.
  3. Set a maximum number of animal products to eat today and stick to it.
  4. Try a new vegetarian recipe.
  5. Make your lunch and dinner vegetarian.
  6. Eat only plant-based snacks throughout the day.

https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/the-daily-2

 Counting on …day 179

11th May 2022

One victim of the war in Ukraine, is the global supply of wheat. Ukraine is usually a major exporter of wheat but this year will only produce a fraction of their normal harvest. This short fall in wheat supplies will affect many countries across the world – eg Lebanon, Egypt, Somalia and Laos. Across the globe wheat is grown not just for human consumption but as animal feed too. If more people followed a plant based diet, we would be better able to feed everyone. 

Counting on …day 158

20th April 2022 

At the heart of a plant based diet are beans and pulses. Hodmedod’s is a good place to source these as they specifically stock ones grown in the UK – both supporting UK farmers and reducing food miles. Variety is good for the diet – split green and yellow peas; blue, wrinkled, marrow fat, Carlin and black badger whole peas; fave beans, chick peas, haricot beans, green and red lentils …..

To save on electricity and cooking time, weigh out daily amounts (approx 30g dried weight per portion) half-filling glass jars. Then fill up with hot water, secure lids, and leave to soak for an hour or over night. Place the jars into a large pan and fill round the jars with water. Bring to the boil and simmer  for about an hour. Leave to cool. These jars of cooked beans are now ready for use – and because they have been boiled with lids on, don’t need to be stored in the fridge. 

NB cook red kidney beans separately as they need to boil vigorously for ten minutes to remove natural toxins.