Tag: vegetarian

Smoky Yellow Split Pea Soup

Published on by Sharon7 Comments

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope you had a wonderful break over the festive holidays. I spent a magical five days with my mum and her three dogs in Verwood, Dorset. It was so relaxing, which was just what I needed after a busy year finishing the cookbook.

We went for daily walks in Verwood Forest, had a glorious day on Bournemouth beach, and spent our evenings watching films and munching our way through all the Christmas goodies. As you may have seen on my social media channels, I was totally spoilt by family and friends this Christmas and received lots of beautiful boxes of vegan chocolates. Needless to say, most are empty now.

And after all the excesses of the festive season, this month I’m looking forward to getting back to my favourite way of eating – simple meals filled with natural ingredients and packed full of flavour and nutrients.

To kickstart my recipe shares for January, I have one of my family’s favourite winter-warming dishes – Smoky Yellow Split Pea Soup ❤️

Not only is this soup easy to make, but it’s incredibly cheap too. A 500g bag of Suma yellow split peas costs £1.15 and we only use half a bag in this recipe. Add in the remaining ingredients and this soup costs about £2.25, which works out at 56p per portion. Bargain!

Continue reading “Smoky Yellow Split Pea Soup” →

My Top Picks of Festive & Winter Vegan Dinner Centrepieces

Published on by Sharon6 Comments

For the past six years or so, my family has eaten our Cranberry Glazed Nut Loaf as the centrepiece to our Christmas dinner. It’s our favourite nut loaf and I only make it once or twice a year to keep it special. I originally posted the recipe on the blog in 2013 and it fast became a reader favourite. If you have the Bit of the Good Stuff cookbook, you’ll also find the recipe on p141 along with my favourite easy vegan Red Onion Miso Gravy.

The loaf stores really well (in fact I think it tastes even better a day or two after its made) so I’m planning on making it today (Christmas Eve). Then, tomorrow, all we need to do is cut some slices and heat them up either in the oven or in my mum’s microwave. Easy peasy and minimal time spent in the kitchen, which means more time for fun, games, films and forest walks. That’s how I like to spend my Christmas day!

While I have our main Christmas meal sorted for this year, I am really looking forward to trying out some new recipes during our week off. There are a handful in particular that have caught my eye and I thought I’d share them in today’s post in case you’re looking for some recipe inspiration too.

It wasn’t intentional, but all the recipes I’ve picked happen to be pastry-based. I do love a tasty pie or tart this time of year!

Let’s kick off with a couple of puff pastry pies that would make fantastic centrepieces for festive or winter dinners. Continue reading “My Top Picks of Festive & Winter Vegan Dinner Centrepieces” →

Easy Vegan Pecan Pie

Published on by Sharon8 Comments

In today’s post, I’m sharing a recipe for an easy vegan pecan pie. This dish will be perfect for serving in the upcoming festive season. It looks impressive and slices beautifully.

Pecan pie hails from the southern US states. After a google search, I discovered that it’s traditionally made with eggs, butter, refined sugar and corn syrup. I decided to ditch all of these and use some of my favourite plant-based ingredients instead.

Easy Vegan Pecan Pie

For the crust, I use my ‘go to’ sweet pastry recipe (which I first shared in my Mince Pie post). I’ve never had a fail with this pastry and I love how crisp it turns out. Unlike many pastry recipes, it’s also palm-oil free as it uses coconut butter (the aroma-free/culinary kind) instead of dairy-free spread/vegan butter.

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Curried Vegetable Pasties (Vegan / Dairy-Free)

Published on by Sharon8 Comments

Here in the UK, the temperatures are starting to cool off and there is definitely change in the air. So to celebrate the start of another beautiful season, for this month’s entry to the Suma Blogger’s Network I’d like to share my Curried Vegetable Pasties ❤️

Curried Vegetable Vegan Pasties

I’m a huge fan of pasties, especially the home-made variety. You can fill them with all manner of vegetables, herbs and spices. One of my all-time favourites is this curried pastie. With its warming flavours and beautiful golden and red hues, this has to be the perfect pastie for Autumn. Continue reading “Curried Vegetable Pasties (Vegan / Dairy-Free)” →

Nourishing Noodles & Recipe for Carrot & Beet Noodles with Ginger Sesame Dressing

Published on by Sharon6 Comments

If you managed to get your hands on this month’s Vegan Life Magazine, you will have seen some stunning shots of noodle and smoothie bowls from Chris Anca’s recent publication Nourishing Noodles. I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of this book from the publisher and I’ve been spiralizing like crazy ever since.

You may know Chris from her fabulous blog Tales from a Kitchen. Her newly released recipe book contains nearly 100 plant-based recipes featuring spiralized vegetables and fruit. The seven recipe chapters cover breakfasts, appetisers, snacks, soups, entrees*, desserts, condiments, toppings and more. So, if you’re looking for some spiralizing inspiration, this is definitely a book to check out.

Nourishing Noodles

Continue reading “Nourishing Noodles & Recipe for Carrot & Beet Noodles with Ginger Sesame Dressing” →

Easy Vegan Choc Chip Cookies

Published on by Sharon6 Comments

Choc Chip Cookies

For over five years now, my Wednesday Workshop children have requested these cookies as their end of term treat. Who would have thought that a vegan wholemeal cookie would be such a hit!

I must admit, the children were a little surprised when I first admitted that they were vegan, but it didn’t deter them. To be honest, I got more cautious looks when I told them they were wholemeal, but even this wasn’t enough to put them off. They enthusiastically tucked into them, then proceeded to give me lots of lovely compliments. Some even told me they were the ‘Best Choc Chip Cookies Ever!’ Now that’s an impressive accolade for a humble home-made cookie! Continue reading “Easy Vegan Choc Chip Cookies” →