Mystery Vegetable Answer and (Vegan) Caramelised Onion Tart

First of all I’d like to say thank you to everyone who responded to my last blog, I wasn’t expecting quite so much interest. Especially as I wrote it after about 3 hours sleep in a bit of a rush! (It’s been really hot here and we’ve had to sleep with the windows open, there’s…

When is Vegetarian food not Vegetarian?

…the answer is most likely to be when you haven’t prepared it yourself. I was reading this article today in the Guardian regarding how by 2015 “Vegetarian” and “Vegan” are set to be legally enforced terms that if used incorrectly on restaurant menus the establishment can be penalised. I see Parmesan on a lot of “vegetarian”…

Pumpkins and Guess the Vegetable

Our UK week long summer is surely nearly over so I’ve decided to man up, stop lounging around and make the most of it.  Part of this involves watching less television and actually going outside. Woah, steady on there. In this household, a depressingly large amount of time is spent in front of the goggle-box watching mindless programs (I’m talking Eastenders here, not the American…

Spicy Baby Aubergine Stew with Coriander and Mint

It’s very warm in the north at the moment so by rights I should be having soup or salad for dinner whilst sitting in the back garden being attacked by wasps. However, it’s impossible to do this when you have a glut of veg staring at you from the fridge/cupboard and recipes earmarked to make. I…

Indian-spiced Scrambled Eggs

Last night I went to see Dick Valentine do a solo gig in town and didn’t get home until well past midnight so today I’m paying the price of too much wine, rum and vodka. For me, there are only two options for food when dealing with a hangover: Option 1 is “Carb the Hell Up”,…

Slow Cooked Spiced Butternut and Lentil Soup

Ah, leftovers. Every now and then you have to throw something together that uses up that half a tin of tomatoes in the fridge or that onion that’s growing legs in the back of the cupboard. Soup is the ideal way to use up odds and sods you’ve got knocking around and this is a…

Provencal Butternut Squash Gratin, aka “You Can Never Have Too Much Garlic”

Lovely, lovely garlic; in my opinion you can never have enough. It protects against bacterial, fungal and viral infections and strengthens the heart and blood vessels. Luckily, in this household we are all big fans of the pungent bulb, but I realise this might not be the case for everyone so feel free to adapt this recipe…

This is my veg, show me yours

Saturday is our weekly shop day and the fridge was very much bare. I am pretty good at throwing together meals out of nothing (I once fed two people on one vegetarian sausage, a potato and half an onion and had leftovers) but by the end of last week I was struggling; a girl can’t get by with…

Slow Cooked Jamaican Red Bean Stew

By the time I get home in the evening, which given the state of Manchesters public transport can often be 7.30pm, i’m not really in the mood to hang around an oven for too long. This is where my slow cooker comes in, as long as I remember to switch it on in the morning and…

The Lowdown on Pulses and Beans

So let’s start with the basics – there are some things that every vegetarian kitchen needs. These include onions, garlic, a good set of knives (although you might regret this when you end up with a nice lumpy scar after a run in with an aubergine and a breadknife because you couldn’t find the chopping knife), tomatoes and…

Hello World!

Hello! This is my first public blog in a long time so I thought I should start by introducing myself and this blog. My name is Elisabeth and I live in Manchester, UK with my very much none vegetarian fiancee who i’m sure would have toast/cereal for dinner if I let him (which I don’t!)  I have…