A substantial vegan chilli made with sweet potato and beans and some surprising ingredients that add oomph and meatiness.
How can a vegetarian chilli have the same oomph as the meaty original? You have to pack in as much savoury flavour as possible. I raided the kitchen cupboards for this, finding anything with that rich umami flavour to add in to the mix.
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Chickpeas are homely food to me – a simple chana masala after a long day, or all manner of pakoras, bhajias and celebratory snacks are how I love to eat chickpeas. I’m pretty sorted on for Indian ways with chickpeas, but recipes from further west seem to allude me. (more…)
Quick, healthy and simple vegetarian food has made up about 90% of my cooking for some time now. As much as I love baking, I’ve recently found the challenge of producing nutritious and speedy weeknight meals to be much more enjoyable. It’s low stress (depending on the day) and very satisfying, and it allows me to stretch my creative brain on a daily basis.
When my husband became vegetarian we both tried really hard to include plenty of vegetables in our diets, not too much over-processed faux meat. We found ourselves indulging in carbs and cheese a bit too much in the early days, but 5 years on, we’ve got a good repertoire of vegetarian meals. Sure, there are some days where we pull veggie sausages out of the freezer or order a takeaway, but mainly we manage to eat well. Plus, when you live in a village the takeaway options are grim.
This tomato orzo is one of my favourites at the moment. (more…)
I’m keeping a New Year’s Resolution! This never happens to me, or anyone? I’ve been keeping up my resolve to use my cookbooks more, and since January I’ve cooked a recipe a week from a cookbook I own. There have been a couple of weeks where I missed out but I’m glad to say I’ve kept going, and more importantly, enjoyed the cookbook crusade. (more…)
How many of you actually use your cookbooks? I don’t think I’m alone in having a cookbook buying addiction yet hardly using them once I’ve put them on the shelf, relying on Google for recipes instead. Or, if we’re being honest, just making it up as I go along.
I rarely make New Year’s Resolutions because they’re so hard to keep (especially the ones about giving up cake) but I quite like the one I’ve made this year – to use my cookbooks. (more…)