* This recipe was originally posted in March 2014. The page was updated in February 2020.
It’s Shrove Tuesday tomorrow and I am really looking forward to making a big pile of my family’s favourite vegan crepes. They are so easy to make and use basic pantry ingredients. We don’t even use an egg replacer! I’ve always loved French-style crepes but I love this vegan version even more. They taste amazing and they’re cruelty-free too ❤️
In today’s post, I’m sharing the recipe for a delicious plant-based alternative to halloumi. Simple to prepare, this Tofu ‘Halloumi’ is highly versatile. We love to add it to Greek-style salads, sandwiches, pittas, wraps and mezze platters.
It was the Greek Vegan Deli guys that first introduced me to Tofu ‘Halloumi’ back in 2018 at Bristol VegFest. It was absolutely delicious!! Since then, every time I see the Greek Deli guys at a festival, I really look forward to tucking into their Tofu ‘Halloumi’, either stuffed into a pitta or as part of one of their incredible Greek platters.
I love Greek food and halloumi used to be one of my favourite cheeses. However, once I’d tried the tofu version, I was hooked. I loved it even more than the original!
And if I’d known just how easy it is to make, I would definitely have tried making Tofu ‘Halloumi’ a long time ago!
It involves three simple steps …
Job done!
I especially love to use a griddle pan to get those beautiful grill lines.
For the marinade, I used five ingredients that are basic staples my kitchen – nutritional yeast flakes, lemon, oregano, extra virgin olive oil and salt. The resulting tofu was so flavourful. It was salty, tangy, cheesy and herby – all the flavours I associated with Greek halloumi (for Cypriot halloumi you could switch the oregano for mint instead).
I’m really looking forward to seeing how you would use this Tofu ‘Halloumi’. Today, I added it to a toasted sandwich with baby leaves and shredded beetroot, sun-dried tomatoes and mayo. It was so delicious! If you make it, remember to take a photo and tag it with #bitofthegoodstuff on social media – I always love to see your creations! You can also connect with me on my social media channels here: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest.
With love,
Sharon xx
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* This post was originally published in July 2013. The page was updated in August 2019.
Today I’d like to share another one of my family’s current favourite dishes – Moroccan Fruity Couscous. This is such a pretty dish, full of flavour and ready in just 20 minutes!
It makes a lovely summer weekend lunch or speedy weeknight supper. It’s equally delicious served hot or cold, making it perfect for al fresco dining, picnics and buffets. As a main meal, we love to serve it with strips of warm pitta or garlic bread, some baby salad leaves and a large dollop of hummus. Moroccan-spiced or roasted red pepper hummus is especially good!
July 30 2013 – I made this dish for dinner last night, and was intending to blog it in the evening and join in Meatless Monday. However, after a day of thunder, lightening and heavy rain, the weather had finally cleared by 7pm and the three of us were itching to get outside and make the most of the ‘best part of the day’. Our short stroll turned into a 6 mile circular walk along the Kennet & Avon Canal & across Bath City centre. It was such a beautiful evening! Everything smelt so fresh after the rainfall, and the late sun was making everything sparkle.
So here’s the recipe, a day late but I’m sure you’ll forgive me 😉
If you make this Moroccan Fruity Couscous (or any other recipes on my blog), I’d love to hear your feedback and any suggestions for adaptations! Tag your photos with #bitofthegoodstuff on social media – I always love to see your creations! You can also connect with me on my social media channels here:
Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest.
With love,
Sharon xx
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In today’s post, I’m sharing a Moroccan-inspired dinner that my family has been loving lately. It’s super easy to make, highly adaptable and a great make-ahead option. These past couple of weeks have been scorching hot in the UK, so we’ve really enjoyed this dish at room temperature. It’s equally delicious served hot or cold.
Check out all those beautiful colours!!
And those vibrant colours are an indication of all the wonderful health-boosting antioxidants and phytonutrients in this dish. It is especially rich in carotenoids (which give the sweet potato and bell pepper their vivid orange and red hue), vitamin C and vitamin E.
This is one of those meals that leaves me feeling incredibly energised and fantastic on the inside!
The inspiration for this dinner was a recipe that featured in this month’s Vegan Life magazine for ‘Jewelled Cous Cous with Harissa Roasted Vegetables’. I’ve tried Harissa paste a few times in the past, but I personally find it way too spicy… I can literally feel my lips and throat burning even with the tiniest amount.
Since I’m a complete wimp when it comes to handling chilli heat, instead of using Harissa, I created my own spice blend mix which has the aromatic flavours that I associate with Moroccan cuisine, but is mild enough for me (and, by default, children!)
N.B. The above values are estimates. The actual nutritional values will vary depending on the brands and ingredients used.
If you make this Moroccan Roasted Vegetables with Jewelled Couscous (or any other recipes on my blog), I’d love to hear your feedback and any suggestions for adaptations! Tag your photos with #bitofthegoodstuff on social media – I always love to see your creations! You can also connect with me on my social media channels here: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest.
With love,
Sharon xx
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In today’s post I’m sharing a sandwich filling that is tangy, crunchy, creamy and oh so delicious! It reminds me of the Heinz Sandwich Spread that I used to love as a kid in the 80s, but this home-made version is way fresher, tastier and healthier too!
If you’re looking for a new sandwich to liven up school or work lunchboxes, I’d definitely recommend giving this recipe a try. It would also be great for picnics and buffets. As well as a sandwich filling, you can also use it as a topping for crackers. Perhaps even as a jacket potato topper too?
It’s really easy to make and takes around 12 minutes to prepare a large bowl, which will fill about five sandwiches. I tend to make one batch of chickpea smash at the start of the week, which we then use on the following days for Lucien’s school sandwiches, as well as our own.
The inspiration for today’s recipe was this Garden Veggie Chickpea Salad Sandwich from Jenn @ Peas and Crayons which I came across back in 2017, and have been making adapted versions of ever since. Jenn, in turn, credits Angela from Oh She Glows for inspiring her recipe, so it sounds like Angela is the original recipe creator. I’d like to thank both Jenn and Angela for inspiring the recipe I’m sharing today and for giving my family so much sandwich joy these past couple of years!
This recipe is highly versatile, so feel free to switch up the ingredients. I would definitely recommend keeping the dill pickles in though, as they give this recipe its signature tangy, crunchy bite. In England, dill pickles are called ‘gherkins’. It’s such a funny name isn’t it? Even funnier, my mum still calls them by their old slang name ‘Wallies’. Personally, I prefer to call them dill pickles as it sounds much more appealing to me than gherkins or wallies. How about you? What do you call them?
N.B. The above values are estimates. The actual nutritional values will vary depending on the brands and ingredients used.
If you make this Chickpea Smash, I’d love to hear your feedback and any suggestions for adaptations! Tag your photos with #bitofthegoodstuff on social media – I always love to see your creations! You can also connect with me on my social media channels here: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest.
With love,
Sharon xx
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Hey lovely people! Today I’m sharing a vegan version of the classic Indian dish Murgh Makhani (‘Butter Chicken’). While the chicken, cream and butter have been replaced with plant-based alternatives, there has been no compromise in flavour or consistency. The dish is filled with beautiful Indian spices and is really flavourful, but mild enough (heat wise) to be appealing to all members of the family.
As well as being a tasty, cruelty-free version of traditional ‘Butter Chicken’ it also happens to be packed full of nutritional goodness. It’s rich in B vitamins, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E and a whole array of minerals, including iron, calcium and zinc. It is also super high in protein. A single serving contains around 35 g and that’s without the rice or flat bread! Unlike the traditional dish, this vegan version is low in fat and contains zero cholesterol. It’s a winner all round!
The inspiration for this dish came from this month’s Vegan Life magazine. As soon as I spotted the recipe for ‘Butter Chicken’ (p53) I couldn’t wait to give it a try. The author of the recipe is the incredibly talented Sasha Gill who blogs at The Sasha Diaries and has recently authored her debut vegan cookbook Jackfruit and Blue Ginger … all the while studying medicine at Oxford University!
The recipe I’m sharing today is an adaptation of Sasha’s original recipe. Rather than heading out to buy new ingredients, I decided to use the spices I already had available in my pantry. I was also a bit short on time, so I tweaked the method to enable me to have it on the table within 30 minutes. The resulting dish was so tasty that I quickly jotted down the amendments I made, then re-made it a few days later to check it wasn’t a fluke. Nope. It was equally delicious the second time.
After pan frying the onion, garlic and spices for a couple of minutes, I blended all the sauce ingredients in my high speed blender. Literally within seconds it was silky smooth! I poured the sauce back into the pan and heated it through. Job done!
Instead of chicken, we used seitan (as recommended by Sasha), which is chewy, succulent and soaks up the flavours of the sauce really well. Lately, I’ve really got into making seitan from scratch. Not only is it easy to make, but I find it works out far cheaper than the store-bought meat alternatives. This recipe cost me £3.11 to make, which equates to 78p per portion. Bargain!
N.B. The above values are estimates. The actual nutritional values will vary depending on the brands and ingredients used.
Big thank you to Sasha Gill and Vegan Life magazine for the inspo! ✨
If you make this Vegan Style ‘Butter Chicken’ (or any other recipes on my blog), I’d love to hear your feedback and any suggestions for adaptations! Tag your photos with #bitofthegoodstuff on social media – I always love to see your creations! You can also connect with me on my social media channels here: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest.
With love,
Sharon xx
