Featured Post: Lemon, Basil & Mascarpone Pasta with Sacla

During the week, dinner is quite a hectic event in our house. The early evening is typically filled with visits to friends, after school activities, homework, or appointments. In between all of the chaos, at some point, dinner is expected to magically appear on the table too. On busy, hectic nights, pasta is our automatic go-to dinner, as I can get it onto the table in just twenty to thirty minutes. Often, I will turn to online recipes, like Sacla Italian Pasta Recipes for some inspiration as pasta is a fantastically versatile ingredient which can create a whole variety of dishes for Vegetarians.

Sacla invited me to create a Vegetarian pasta recipe using their Penne Giganti Pasta, and so I wanted to create an alternative to the default tomato based pasta dish, which is often served to Vegetarians. Despite the very un-spring like conditions, I am still holding out for warmer weather to come, and so the pasta dish I have created is a light, easy recipe which encompasses the colours and flavours of spring.

I love the taste of lemon and pasta together, and so I created a Lemon Basil and Mascarpone Pasta which is very quick and simple to prepare. The secret to the dish is it's simplicity. The sauce is just three basic ingredients - Lemon, Basil and Mascarpone mixed together in one pan - so no fuss, no mess, no chopping vegetables (although you can add them if you like). If the kids aren't a fan of the leaves, then perhaps leave them out, but the basil does add a great flavour to the dish.

Sacla have a range of Italian pasta recipes on their website, including some great Vegetarian choices, so do take a look and give their recipes a go, and I hope you enjoy my Lemon, Basil and Mascarpone Pasta.

Disclosure: I received payment for this post. All views and opinions are my own. 

Print This Recipe

Lemon, Basil and Mascarpone Pasta Serves Four: Ingredients 500g Sacla Penne Giganti Pasta 1 tbsp Olive Oil Five tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice Zest of one Lemon 225g Mascarpone Cheese Handful of Basil Vegetarian Hard Cheese Salt & Pepper Directions Cook the pasta, with one tbsp oil, in some hot water, over a medium heat for around 12 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente.  In a large pan, gently warm the lemon juice, lemon zest and mascarpone, stirring regularly. Season with salt and pepper. Drain the pasta (reserving about half a cup of the water), and add the pasta to the pan with the lemon and mascarpone. Add a tbsp of hot water to help the pasta and sauce to fuse together. Add more if desired. Add a handful of fresh, torn basil leaves, and stir quickly, without letting the leaves cook too much. Remove from the pan and serve immediately, with more fresh basil leaves, and grated vegetarian hard cheese over the top.

Featured Post: New Better Bunny Vegetarian Sweets

Sometimes, there are downsides to being a Vegetarian, one of these being that you typically have to be quite careful about the kinds of sweets that you buy as a family. Hidden animal products are rife in sweets, and unless you know what you're looking for, it can be hard to differentiate between those which are vegetarian, and those which are not. A seemingly innocuous packet of sweets can appear to be vegetarian, when in reality, there are all kinds of ground animal bones and beetle colourings contained inside. In the wake of the recent horse-meat scandal, even meat-eaters should be conscious of what is really going into the sweets they eat.

Recently, I found out about Better Bunny - a new vegetarian sweet made without animal gelatin, and aimed at encouraging customers to go veggie.  Launched by Katjes, one of the largest manufacturers of fruit gum & liquorice products in western Europe, these soft, chewy foam rabbits are a real treat for the taste buds, and are great for veggies, and non-veggies alike.

Better Bunny sweets are made from real fruit juice, contain only natural colours and flavours, and are also 99% fat free, so you can feel guilt-free (mainly) about eating them! They are also a great choice for Vegetarian kids. Vegetarian kids can eat them, without feeling that they are missing out on the likes of haribo and other jelly sweets, so also great for when they have friends over. My kids loved them when they tried them, as the sweets taste so delicious.

Better Bunny sweets are on sale at Tesco's for £1.00 per 170g packet - great value for truly vegetarian sweets!

You can find out more about Better Bunny on their facebook page, or the Katjes website, Better Bunny are hosting sampling in the east of England, so check out the schedule on their facebook page for your nearest tasting.

I would definitely recommend these tasty Vegetarian treats to all fellow veggies!

Disclosure: I received a review sample, and payment for this article.

All views and opinions are my own. 

Stuffed Mushrooms with Cream Cheese and Onion

Today, for Meat-Free Monday, I am featuring a quick and easy delicious light meal/starter in the form of Stuffed Mushrooms with Cream Cheese and Spring Onions.

I tend to reserve Stuffed Mushrooms as a treat for hubby and I, as the kids won't touch mushrooms (apart from when I hide them amongst other foods). Recently, hubby and I have begun to eat together a little later than the kids, which gives us free-reign to choose more interesting dishes, rather than having to appeal to the kid's tastes, and so I made these Stuffed Mushrooms last week for us.

Stuffed Mushrooms with Cream Cheese and Onion are a great option for a quick Meat-Free Monday lunch or snack. I love the taste of the cream cheese and hard cheeses together, and the crunchiness of the onions. You could try replacing the onion with spring onions. You could also use the mixture for potato skins as well as mushrooms.

Over the last few weeks, as well as working hard offline, I have been busy redesigning the blog, and trying to come up with an easier way for readers to access my recipes. To enable you to download and print my recipes a little more easily, I have come up with a recipe card format. I would love to know your thoughts, as if you like it, I will be redesigning all of my recipes to this format. Let me know what you think, and enjoy the Mushrooms!

Print This Recipe

Stuffed Mushrooms with Cream Cheese & Onion Serves Two: Ingredients Two Portobello Mushrooms Three tbsp Cream Cheese Half a Red Onion, finely chopped Half a White Onion, finely chopped 75g grated Vegetarian Hard Cheese 75g grated Cheddar Cheese 1 Garlic Clove, crushed Salt & Pepper to taste Olive Oil Directions 1.     In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, onion, hard cheese, and garlic, along with 50g of the cheddar cheese. 2.     Mix together well, and season with salt and pepper to taste. 3.     Destalk the mushrooms, and fry them, in a little olive oil over a medium heat for a couple of minutes. 4.     Remove the mushrooms from the heat, and dry on kitchen towel to remove excess oil. 5.     Fill the mushrooms with the cream cheese mixture, Refrigerate or freeze any excess mixture. 6.     Top the mushrooms with the reserved 25g of cheddar. 7.     Bake in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius, for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked. 8.     Remove from the oven, and leave to cool for five minutes before serving. Tip: Try substituting regular onion for spring onions Tip: You could also use this topping in potato skins Tip: Print recipe on cardstock for durability.

V-Delicious - New Vegetarian & Vegan Food Show Launched!

Recently, I was excited to find out about V-Delicious through a Vegetarian friend.

V-Delicious is a new National Vegetarian and Vegan Food Show which celebrates it's launch this year. The show will be held at The Olympia in London, from the 7th to the 9th of June 2013.

A groundbreaking Vegetarian, Vegan and Meat-Reducer show, V-Delicious looks to be a gastronomic and culinary entertainment day out, where visitors can revel in their passion for vegetarian and vegan food, drink and living. There will also be celebrity chef classes, and seminars to attend, along with exhibitors including Vegetarian reailers, restaurants, artisan producers and brands.

The V Delicious, V-Living area will also be a one-stop-shop for Vegetarian and Vegan Living, featuring ethical and organic cosmetics, shoes, clothing, accessories, household items, perfume/cologne, healthcare, body/hair products, all on show for visitors to see, touch, try and buy.

V Delicious will be co-locating with the already well-established Allergy & Free From Show. Visitors can also attend The Allergy & Free From Show free of charge.

Those nice people at V Delicious are offering The Vegetarian Experience unlimited FREE Tickets to the show!! To access unlimited free tickets to the V-Delicious Show, please book through this readers link.

To get FREE tickets to the allergy and free-from show, please visit this readers link

More details about exhibitors, seminars and chef demonstrations will be released on my blog as they are received.

It looks to be a great show, and I for one am excited about attending!

If you do decide to come along, leave me a comment below to let me know, or tweet me:

"I booked tickets to @vdeliciousShow with @veggiexperience".

Mother's Day: Hotel Chocolat Selection Box

As Mother's day approaches, Hotel Chocolat have made it easy to buy for the mother in your life by providing a great range of mother's day gifts, starting from only £4.

Although they might have you believe otherwise, I think most mums are secretly happy to receive a good quality box of chocolates to enjoy, I know I always am!

Hotel Chocolat recently sent me the "All about Mum" H Box Selection to sample for Mother's day. I love the spring-like feel to the box, the shape of the chocolates, and the bright, appetising colours featured, they literally scream "eat me".

The selection of chocolates include Champagne Truffles, Pralines with rich Chocolate Mousse, and melt-in the mouth Caramels. There are also some interesting and exciting flavoured chocolates like blueberry and lemon. One of the best things about this selection box is that it is suitable for vegetarians, meaning that vegetarian mum's can eat the chocolates guilt-free, without having to worry about any nasty hidden flavours or colourings.

The "All about Mum" H Selection Box retails at £12.00, It would make a fantastic gift for mother's day, and I would thoroughly recommend it for the Mum in your life.

Disclosure: Product offered in consideration of review

Ideas for Meat-Free Monday

Hi! I'm back after a short hiatus of study, and today I am celebrating "Meat Free Monday" by featuring my top 5 tried and tested Supermarket Vegetarian choices to cook and eat for Meat Free Monday. With the recent horse-meat scandal still dominating the headlines, there is now even more reason to consider going meat-free for at least one day of the week. The food ideas featured are in no particular order, as they are all great Meat-Free Monday Choices, and they are all tried and tested by our family.

1) Linda McCartney Vegetarian Burgers with Peppered Mushroom Melt.

These burgers are my ultimate Meat-Free Monday choice. They are a perfect choice for Vegetarians and Carnivores alike. Meat-lover's will not know they are missing out with these burgers as they are so tender and juicy, and taste like a small piece of heaven! The peppered mushroom melt is a divine addition to these burgers. Our family loves them. They taste great with potato wedges and tomato ketchup!

2) Quorn Hot Dogs
Sometimes Meat-Free Monday can be a bit of a rush - certainly in our house where we have after-school activities and so have to squeeze in cooking and eating tea before bed time. My kids love these Quorn Hot Dog's, which cook in around twelve minutes. Serve with Hot Dog Rolls, ketchup and Mustard and some crunchy pepper, cucumber and carrot sticks. 

3) Tesco Cheese and Spring Onion Bakes
These Cheese and Spring Onion Bakes are great for those who like a lighter meal. You can bulk up a meal with potato and veg, or serve the bakes on a bed of salad for a lighter meal. 

4) Butternut Squash and Goats Cheese Tartlet
Another great choice which you can dress up or down depending on how hungry you are, and an option which cooks quickly. Plus I think these Butternut Squash and Goats Cheese tarts look so pretty on the plate!

5) Quorn Ready-Made Lasagne
Perhaps not very family friendly, as this Lasagne is served in individual portions, but there is guaranteed to be no horsemeat in this pre-packaged food. Serve with garlic bread and a fresh salad for a great MFM meal!

So those are my favourite Meat Free Monday ideas- what are yours?