Category Archives: Dinners

by | June 7, 2013

Vegan Cornbread – Great Accompaniment to Mexican Chillis & Soups (Dairy free / Egg free)

What glorious weather we’ve had this week in the UK!  The blue sky and sunshine has been very welcome indeed.  I doubt that it will last but I’m determined to make the most of it while it’s here :)

Since it’s been so warm, we’ve had some lighter dinners this week.  On Tuesday, we had one of my all-time favourite soups – Mexican Black Bean Soup – which we served with some toasted tortilla segments and a side dish of cornbread.

Mexican Black Bean Soup

I’ve tried many cornbread recipes over the years, but they’ve never suited my family’s tastes.  The American recipes tend to be too sweet, while Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s recipe (which only uses cornmeal rather than a mix with wheat flour) was too overpowering for us.  It was also really dry (or maybe that was down to me).  M didn’t even think the ducks would like it, so we ended up throwing it in the compost!

Anyway, I’m relieved to say that my third attempt of the week turned out really well.  I revisited my old cornbread recipe and tweaked it slightly, adding more liquid and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar so that it was lighter and less dry.  I really liked the texture of this latest batch – it had a lightly crisped exterior and fluffy, moist interior.  It was perfect for dipping into the soup and didn’t need any margarine or oil on it.  The quantities made 9 large slices, so I’ve frozen the remaining slices for future Mexican dishes.

Vegan Cornbread

This cornbread recipe may not be authentic, but it’s got great texture and flavour (plus it’s 100% plant-powered!)  It’s very simple to make, requires little hands-on time and will be ready in 30 minutes.  Prepare the bread first and it can be baking while you cook your Mexican dish.

Here’s the recipe:

Makes 9 portions
Hands on time: 10 minutes    Cooking time: 20 minutes    Ready in: 30 minutes

Ingredients

480 ml / 16 fl oz / 2 cups fortified soya milk (or milk of choice)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
140g / 5 oz / 1 cup yellow corn meal
140 g / 5 oz / 1 cup fine wholemeal (wholewheat) flour (I use chapatti flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
50 ml / 1¾ fl oz / ¼ cup rapeseed (canola) oil
2 teaspoons unrefined sugar (or use more if you like sweet cornbread))

Method

1.      Pre-heat the oven to 200C (180C fan) / 400F / Gas 6. Lightly grease a 20cm x 20cm / 8” x 8” baking pan and line the bottom with non-stick baking paper.

2.      In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and vinegar and set to one side.

3.      Sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the milk, vinegar and oil. Stir until fully combined but don’t over mix! Tip the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.  Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container or slicing and freezing.

In this recipe, I used East End fine cornmeal and Tesco Chapatti flour.

If you need a gluten free recipe, check out my friend Candy’s Gluten Free Corn Bread Muffins.  They look really yummy!

Have a great weekend everyone! xx

Have you tried corn bread before?  If so, do you prefer it sweet or savoury?

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by | May 20, 2013

National Vegetarian Week 2013 & Quick Roasted Veggie Pasta Recipe

National Vegetarian Week 2013

It’s National Vegetarian Week here in the UK, and what perfect timing as I’m about to announce the winner of my Tibits at Home vegetarian cookbook giveaway :)

tibits at home cookbook

The valid entries were placed in chronological order and the winner selected at random (using random.org).

The winner is…

Nikki @ The Road to Less Cake.

Congratulations Nikki! The book will be in the post to you very soon x

NVW banner

I’m not sure how many of my readers are already vegetarian or vegan but, whatever your dietary tendencies, I’m guessing that you love your veggies otherwise you wouldn’t be reading my blog ;)

If you’ve been thinking of going veggie, or would like to increase the amount of veggie meals that you eat, then this would be a perfect week to start.  There are lots of activities, events and restaurant deals taking place all over the country.  You can find out what’s happening in your local area by clicking on this link.  Here in the South West, it’s the Bristol VegFest next weekend.

header-vegfestuk-logo
If you’re looking for veggie-related resources, there is a great selection of free booklets from the Vegetarian Society that can be ordered in hard copy or downloaded.  If you’re interested in trying a 100% plant-based diet, Viva produce a range of useful guides, many of which are free to view online.

Vegetarian Society Guides

If you have children and are concerned whether a plant-based diet can meet all their dietary requirements, rest assured that it most certainly can.   The Vegetarian Society and Viva have lots of great resources for parents on their  websites, including free guides and kid-friendly recipe booklets.

Through my blog, I’ve hopefully shown you just how tasty and colourful veggie food can be…

BitoftheGoodStuffCollage copy

… as well as being simple to make, quick to prepare and cheap.

Today, I’d like to share one of our favourite, super quick, low prep meals that’s perfect for a busy weekday night.  We ate this meal tonight and Lil’ L absolutely loved it.  He’s already ‘bagsied’ the leftovers to take to school tomorrow ;)

Sun-dried Tomato Pasta with Roasted Veggies

Serves 4
Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ready in: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
½ medium courgette (zucchini), sliced
½ medium head of broccoli, cut into small florets
1 large handful mushrooms, chopped
1 large carrot, cut into thin julienne sticks
4 tbsp pumpkin seeds
300g / 10½oz wholewheat pasta (or use GF pasta, if required)
3 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste
4 tbsp pine nuts (or use sunflower seeds instead)
nutritional yeast flakes or cashew parmesan*, for sprinkling (we use Marigold Engevita Nutritional Yeast Flakes with Vitamin B12)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 220C (200 fan) / 425F / Gas 7.  Prepare a large saucepan of boiling water.
  2. Coat the veggies and pumpkin seeds in olive oil, place in a large non stick baking tin and cook for 15 minutes or so, until lightly roasted (we like our veggies to retain a ‘bite’ rather than be super soft).  Stir half way through the cooking time.  
  3. Meanwhile, add the pasta to the pan of boiling water and simmer until al dente (10-12 minutes).
  4. Lightly toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan (skillet) on a medium heat, stirring frequently.
  5. Drain the pasta and mix in the sun-dried tomato paste and roasted vegetables.  Sprinkle on the pine nuts and parmesan.
  6. This dish is delicious served on its own or with a slice of warm garlic bread.

* Here’s how we make cashew “parmesan”: 4 tbsp raw cashew nuts and 4 tbsp nutritional yeast, pulsed in grinder, mini chopper or food processor to make a course powder.   Stored in an airtight container, it will keep for a week or so in the refrigerator and longer in the freezer.

Have a great week everyone!  I hope the sun is shining wherever you are xx

p.s. If you have any veggie-related questions, don’t hesitate to give me a shout.  I’m not a dietician, but I’ve been veggie since the age of 12, so I have a fair few years’ experience ;)

 

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by | May 2, 2013

tibits at home book review & giveaway

tibits is a group of popular vegetarian restaurants that were launched ten years ago in Switzerland by three brothers – Reto, Christian and Daniel Frei – together with Rolf and Marielle Hitl (the owners of Hitl, the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the world according to the Guiness Book of World Records!)  In 2008 they opened the first UK tibits restaurant in Heddon Street (off Regent Street) in London.

To celebrate their 10th anniversary, last year they launched their first cookbook, tibits at home, which includes fifty of their favourite recipes.  Recently I was asked whether I would like to receive a copy of the cookbook to review.  I was delighted to accept the invitation.  While the book is vegetarian cuisine, many of the recipes are in fact vegan, which suits our family perfectly.

tibits at home cookbook

The book arrived the other day and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading it.  It’s one of those cookbooks that’s filled with stylish photography, making it a great pleasure to browse through.  The photographs were actually taken at the homes of four patrons of tibits and, in addition to the shots of food, you also get to glimpse into the beautiful, stylish homes of these Swiss families.

Whilst the book is described as ‘stylish vegetarian cuisine’, the authors emphasise that all the recipes are easy to make at home, which I was pleased to hear.  The recipes are organised by season, with an introductory paragraph that encapsulates the essence of each new season.  I do love cookbooks that are arranged by season but, to be honest, I’d happily eat the recipes in this book all year round! 

tibits at home cook book

One of the first recipes that caught my eye – cavatappi pasta with courgettes curry sauce – was in the Autumn/Fall chapter.  If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that my family are huge curry fans.  However, I must admit that we’d never tried curried pasta before.  I was intrigued to discover whether this combination worked.

tibits at home cook book

Inspired by the tibits recipe, last week I made a curried pasta dish for the first time.  The family loved it!  In fact, it was such a hit that we chose to make it again this week.  We rarely eat the same meal twice in the same month, so this one is definitely something special! I loved how quick and easy to make it was too.

I’ve made the recipe below mild enough for small children but, if you prefer, you can increase the spice quantities to add more heat.  The tibits recipes calls for 50g freshly grated ginger (which equates to around 2 x thumb size pieces).  I used this amount the first time I made the recipe and it gave the dish a distinctly ginger-spiced flavour.  We love ginger but this amount could make the dish a little too spicy for some children.  The second time round, I halved the amount of ginger and Lil’ L preferred it.  

Fusilli Pasta with Lightly Curried Vegetables

 

Here’s how I made it:

Fusilli Pasta with Lightly Curried Vegetables

Serves: 4

Ready in 20 minutes

Ingredients

250 ml / 8½ fl oz / 1 cup coconut milk
250 ml / 8½ fl oz / 1 cup fortified soya milk (or other non dairy milk)
1 x thumb size piece of fresh or frozen ginger, finely grated (or add more if you’d prefer a stronger ginger spiced sauce)
1 tsp mustard seeds
½ – 1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric
1 medium courgette (zucchini), sliced into julienne sticks
2 medium carrots, sliced into julienne sticks
½ medium head of broccoli, cut into tiny florets
2 tbsp corn flour mixed with 2 tbsp water to form a paste
300g / 10½ oz wholewheat fusilli pasta (use GF pasta for those with a gluten intolerance)

Optional ingredients for a nutrient boost (we add all three):
handful cashews
handful sunflower seeds
sprinkling of nutritional yeast flakes with added B12 (we use Marigold Engevita)

Method

  1. Prepare a large pan of boiling water and cook the pasta until al dente (about 10-12 minutes).
  2. Meanwhile, combine the coconut milk and soya milk in a large pan and bring to the boil.  Mix the ginger and spices to form a paste, then add it to the pan and stir to combine.  Add the vegetables and simmer for 5 minutes.  Stir in the cornflour paste and continue cooking for a couple of minutes until the sauce starts to thicken.
  3. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and stir it into the sauce.  Add a sprinkling of cashews and sunflowers seeds, if desired.  Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste.  (Once removed from the heat, we also like to sprinkle in some nutritional yeast with added B12 as a nutritional boost. It also adds a lovely savoury flavour).
  4. This dish is delicious served hot in warmed bowls for a main meal.  We also like the pasta cold and pack any leftovers into lunchboxes for the following day.

 

There are many more recipes in the tibits cookbook that I’m looking forward to trying, including the vegetable jambalaya, red rice salad, coconut and peanut fritters, and goa curry.  All sound utterly delicious!

Giveaway Time!

It didn’t seem fair that I was the only one to sample this beautiful cookbook, so tibits have kindly offered another copy that I can give away to you, my lovely blog readers :)

There are three ways of entering:

  1. Leave me a comment below.
  2. Share this post on FB, by clicking on the ‘like’ button below (and leave me a comment below stating that you have done so).
  3. Share this post on Twitter with something like “Check out @Goodstuffsharon for tibits at home cookbook giveaway” (and leave me a comment below stating that you have done so).

If you enter all three ways, you’ll triple your chances of winning!

Sorry international readers, but this giveaway is UK only.

The closing date is Thursday, 16th May 2013 at midnight GMT.  Good luck everyone!

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by | February 27, 2013

#WIAW – Fruit and Nut Pullao Rice

WIAW Party Time!

Thanks, as always, to Jenn over at Peas and Crayons for hosting our virtual foodie feast. Jenn wrote an awesome post last Friday on the Glorification of Sugar, which really is worth a read.  I’m loving her Play with your Produce Pinterest board.  I can’t imagine how any kiddie would be able to resist veggies when displayed in such fun and attractive ways ;)

Right time to get with my submission for this week’s WIAW party (I’m already so late!)  This week, I thought I’d share our eats from Sunday.

Breakfast
As per usual on a Sunday, Lil’ L asked whether we could have a ‘special’ breakfast.  As a change from pancakes, he asked whether we could have Apple & Cinnamon Monkey Bread.  We used to eat this a lot as a ‘treat’ breakfast, but I’d totally forgot all about it!  I remember taking this shot last time we ate it … back in September!

Lil L & Monkey Bread

These little apple cinnamon bread balls really are delicious, and a great breakfast/brunch treat to make with the kids.  I’ll type up the recipe and post it on Friday.

Apple & Cinnamon Monkey Bread


Lunch
For lunch, we  had Thai Vegetable Curry, leftover from Thursday evening.  This is one of our absolute favourite home-made curries.

Thai Vegetable Curry

I make my own Thai curry paste, so that it’s mild enough for Lil’ L (I also prefer it to the shop-bought pastes AND there’s no waste as I freeze it in portions ;) )   This time round, I doubled the quantities and I’m planning to use the second portion next week to make Thai Sweet Potato Soup.

Thai Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup

After lunch, we had a hot chocolate made with Alpro Hazelnut Drink.  It’s the first time I’ve used hazelnut milk in hot chocolate and it was delicious!  I also blended in some ground almonds and chia seeds to add protein and other yummy goodness.  I’ll definitely be making this one again :)

Hot Chocolate

In the afternoon, we munched on pretzels whilst watching Monster House on DVD (a very bizarre film IMO!)

Dinner
For our main meal, I made a Fruit and Nut Pullao Rice.   I was amazed to discover that the last time I made this dish was in 2011!!!

With its fragrant flavours, fruit and nuttiness, M and I love this dish… unfortunately Lil’ L isn’t so keen.  I thought I’d try again but alas no, it was still a thumbs down :(   He just doesn’t like fruit flavours in his savoury dishes.

Fruit & Nut Pullao Rice

I had the leftovers today for lunch and it confirmed for me how much I like this dish.  Perhaps, when I try again in the future, I’ll just add the fruits after I’ve taken out Lil’ L’s portion. That might work ;)

I know it says on my blog that all recipes are road-tested and approved by Lil’ L, but I thought I’d publish this one anyhow.  I’m sure he’ll approve of it one day ;)

Here’s how I made it…

Serves 4
Hands on time: 15 minutes    Cooking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups brown basmati rice, rinsed and soaked for 20 mins – ½ hour
1 tsp ground cumin
3 cardamom pods
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
4½ cups vegetable stock (divided)
pinch saffron, steeped in a little hot water
juice and zest of 1 orange
3 medium carrots, cut into julienne sticks
handful green beans, trimmed and chopped
12 dried apricots, chopped
42g /  1½ oz / 1/3 cup pistachios
42g / 1½oz / 1/3 cup almond flakes, lightly toasted / dry-fried
1½ tbsp sweetener of choice  (I use Sweet Freedom)
sea salt & ground black pepper, to taste
sprinkling of hemp seeds (optional, for a nutritional boost)

Method

  1. Rinse and drain the rice.  Gently heat the oil in a large saucepan.  Add the rice and spices (except the saffron), and stir until coated in the oil.  Add the saffron, 4 cups of stock, orange juice and zest.  Bring to the boil, and boil rapidly (uncovered) for 10 minutes.  Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and gently simmer for 20 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, add the remaining ½ cup of stock to a pan.  Add the vegetables, dried fruits and sweetener.  Cover with a lid and gently simmer for about 8 minutes or so, until the veggies are cooked through, but still retain a ‘bite’.
  3. When the rice is ready, remove from the heat and allow to stand for 5 minutes, still covered.  Remove the cardamom pods, and mix in the veggies, fruits and nuts.  Add salt and ground black pepper, to taste.  Sprinkle on hemp seeds (if using) and serve in warm bowls.

I’ll be back again on Friday with the Monkey Bread recipe and to announce 3 winners of the Good Hemp Seed Giveaway.  The giveaway is open to UK residents until midnight tomorrow (Thursday 28th February 2012) so do make sure you enter if you haven’t done so already!

Enjoy the rest of the week everyone! xx

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by | February 6, 2013

#WIAW – I’ll Bring the Sweet and Sour Vegetables (and recipe!)

Hi everyone! I hope you’re having a great week so far.

What’s the weather like where you are?  Here in Bath, we’re finally getting to see the odd glimmer of sunshine.  I find blue skies so uplifting :)

Bathampton Meadows February 2013

Now the snow and ice has finally gone, I’m back into my 30 minute morning jogs after I’ve dropped Lil’ L off at school.

River Avon

I never been ‘a morning person’ but I find these runs are really helping to energise me.  I still find it much harder to run in the morning than at night but I guess that’s just the way my body works.  At night it seems effortless, while in the morning I feel like my trainers are glued to the ground.  Hopefully, one day, my body will get used to running in the morning and it won’t feel like such an effort.  Until then, I’ll keep plodding along ;)

For this week’s WIAW party, I though I’d share my eats from yesterday, including a recipe for one of our all-time favourite stir fries… ‘Sweet n Sour’.

Breakfast

- Warm water & lemon

- After my run, I made myself a large bowl of cinnamon porridge, made with Mornflake Superfast Oats, Alpro Almond Milk and a sprinkling of ground cinnamon.  When it had cooled down slightly, I’ll sprinkled in some hempseed, ground linseed, chopped walnuts, flaked almonds, goji berries and candied citrus peel, and a light drizzle of Sweet Freedom natural sweetener.

Porridge with nuts, gojis and candied citrus peel
- This was followed by a black coffee

- Lil’ L had three apple & cinnamon pancakes (left over from the weekend), sprinkled with ground linseed, chopped pecans and walnuts and a drizzle of Clarks original maples syrup

Lunch

For lunch, I had some creamy Red Lentil Dhal, which was left over from Saturday night.  This is still one of my all-time favourite dishes and it’s so easy and cheap to make!

Red Lentil Dhal with Butternut Squash

For our main meal on Saturday, I’d added butternut squash, red pepper and chopped chestnut mushrooms to the dhal.  We loved this combo so much that I think I’m going to have to change my original recipe.

Lil’ L took some Sweet Kale Soup for his lunch today (one of his latest favourite soups ;) )

Snacks

- 1 organic apple
- nettle & peppermint teas

When Lil’ L got in from school we both fancied a ‘Raw’ Hot Chocolate.  This time we used 1 tbsp each of the Elements for Life Original Chocolate Blend and Spiced (Cinnamon) Blend, 2 tbsp ground almonds, 2 tbsp chia seeds and 2 cups Alpro Almond Milk.  We first blended the ingredients smooth in the blender, then gently heated it through.  Delicious!

Raw Hot Chocolate - Original 1

We drank the chocolates whilst playing Lil’ L’s current favourite board game called ‘Dungeon‘.   M visited his parents last week and returned home with a whole array of board games, books and toys from his childhood.  You would not believe how excited Lil’ L was.  It felt like Christmas had come again!

I have no interest whatsoever in computer games, but old board games, now they’re something else ;)   I’d never heard of ‘Dungeon’, but I can imagine it’s classified as a ‘Boy’s Game’ as you have to combat monsters for treasure.  While our game is from the 80s, you can still buy it in the shops.  Obviously our version looks way different to the modern one.

Dungeon Game 1

And check out the family on the back of our box.  Now that does make me feel old!!!

Dungeon Game 2

Dinner

For dinner, we had Sweet ‘n’ Sour Vegetables with Cashew Nuts and Marinated Tofu.  This is a quick and simple wok-based dish.  You don’t have to include the tofu if you’re not a fan of it, but we love the additional texture that it brings to the dish.

Sweet n Sour Vegetables 7 - 500

Here’s how I made it…

Sweet ‘n’ Sour Vegetables with Cashews and Marinated Tofu

Serves 4
Hands-on & cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive or groundnut oil
1 onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 thumb-size piece of fresh or frozen ginger, finely grated
1 large carrot, cut into julienne sticks
2 bell peppers, chopped (use a mix of red, yellow and green)
2 large tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
100g / 3½oz / 1 cup chestnut mushrooms, chopped
½ medium head of broccoli, cut into small florets
200g / 7 oz / 1 cup pineapple chunks
36g / 1¼ oz / ¼ cup unsalted cashew nuts
160g / 5½ oz marinated and pre-cooked tofu (you can either make your own or buy pre-made. Here in the UK, the Cauldron Organic Marinated Tofu Pieces are available from major supermarkets.  If you prefer not to use tofu, simple double the quantity of cashews instead)
120ml / 4¼ oz / ½ cup vegetable stock
2 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp sugar or agave syrup (or to taste)
ground black pepper
2 tbsp corn flour, mixed with a little water to form a paste
Tamarind or sweet chilli sauce, to taste (optional, gives a spicy kick)

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan (skillet) and sauté the onion until it starts to soften. Stir in the ginger and garlic. Add the remaining veggies, pineapple, tofu, stock, rice vinegar and ketchup. Bring to the boil, then gently simmer for five minutes. Taste test, and add a little sweetener and ground black pepper, if required. Stir in the cornflour paste and cook on for a further minute or so.
  2. If you’d like to spice up the dish, first remove any children’s portions, then add some tamarind or sweet chilli sauce to the wok.
  3. Serve on a bed of brown rice or wholegrain noodles.

[This recipe has been submitted to Ricki Heller's #Wellness Weekend]

Dessert

For dessert, we ‘taste tested’ one of these chocolate black bean brownie hearts.  They were oh so good!  Recipe coming very soon ;)

Valentines Chocolate Black Bean Brownie with Almonds & Gojis - 500

Thank you so much to our lovely WIAW host, Jenn over at Peas and Crayons.  I’m off to hook up with all the other enthusiastic foodies and check out their yummy eats.  Hope to see you there ;)

When it comes to games are you high tech or old school?

 

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