Happy New Year!!!

Just a quick post today to wish you all a Happy New Year!! I hope you all had a good Christmas! We have been relishing in leftovers for the past week from the post-Christmas feast, and have been enjoying the essential 4 C's of Christmas - Cheese, Chutney, Chocolate, and Champagne!!

For tonight's festivities I will be staying in with hubby and the girls - a family new year evening in. The girls are besides themselves with excitement. I am doubtful they will make it to midnight! I might even catch you on twitter if you are around for New Year!

In terms of food, my rule is forget about the food for tonight! Keep it simple and easy, and focus on the alcohol for us and the mocktails for the kids!

I'm recommending a plate of crudities - Carrot, Pepper, Cucumber, Celery always goes down well with lashings of dip. Also a plate of blinis topped with cream cheese with chives, and of course the mandatory leftover Christmas crisps and chocolates to snack on.

I hope you all have a wonderful Vegetarian New Year - See you all in 2015!!

Vegetarian Christmas: Butternut Squash, Goats Cheese, Spinach & Walnut Wellington

I don't know what it is but nothing says "Vegetarian Christmas" to me like rich, delicious ingredients encased in pastry. Speaking to some fellow Vegetarians on Twitter this week I am well aware that this isn't the case with everyone, some preferring the fantastic homemade Nut Roast (such as this one from Penny over at Alexander Residence) over a pastry based recipe, but for me, on Christmas day, it has to be something pastry related which goes with the roast potatoes, veg and the rest of the trimmings. 

For Christmas this year, I will be having a puff pastry Wellington filled with Butternut Squash, Goats Cheese, Spinach and Walnut.  To keep things simple I am using pre-made pastry. There is enough to do at Christmas, so a few cheats along the way can help save you time and effort! You could also replace the butternut squash with pumpkin if you prefer. I will be serving my Wellington with a white wine sauce to accompany it.

If you don't have lots of time, or room in the oven on the big day or you don't want the dish in the oven with meat, this dish can be pre-made and frozen, or also pre-cooked, stored in the fridge and reheated on the day.

You can also make individual pies by cutting the pastry into four squares and filling them, then drawing the four end of the pastry up together in the middle. To make a smaller portion, half the ingredients and cut the pastry in half and then cut one half into two quarters and you can make two smaller pies.

I hope you enjoy this festive main for Christmas, please do let me know what you think!!

Butternut Squash, Goats Cheese Spinach and Walnut Wellington Ingredients 750g Butternut Squash cut into large chunks 1 large Red Onions, cut into chunks 1 Large White Onion, cut into chunks 2tbsp Olive Oil 400g Goats Cheese 200g Walnuts 2tbsp Balsamic Glaze 2tbsp Maple Syrup 1tsp Paprika 100g Spinach 1 Roll of Puff Pastry 1 egg, whisked Method Preheat the oven to 200 degrees or 180 degrees fan or gas mark 6.  Place the butternut squash and white and red onions into a roasting tin with the olive oil and roast for around twenty minutes. Add the walnuts and cook for a further ten minutes.  Set aside the butternut squash and allow it to cool Toss the walnuts and the onions in a non-stick pan with the maple syrup, balsamic glaze and the paprika. Cook until the onions and walnuts start to caramelise. Allow to cool.  Unroll the pastry onto a lined baking tray longways. Place the butternut squash in the middle of the pastry longways (see picture above).  Crumble the goats cheese over the top of the butternut squash. Place the caramelised walnuts and onions over the top of the goats cheese. Place the spinach leaves over the top of the walnuts and onions.  Brush the edges of the pastry with egg and then bring the two longer sides of the pastry together and seal with a pinch. Try and have quite a thick seal, or the pastry might separate (as you can see has happened in my picture - lesson learnt for next time!!) Tuck the ends of the pastry over so that the filling is encased, and cut off the excess .  Using the excess pastry cut shapes from festive cutters (I chose stars) to place on the top. Brush all over with the egg. Make a couple of small air holes with a sharp knife in the top of the Wellington Place the Wellington in the oven and cook for around 25 minutes. Cover the wellington lightly with foil and cook for a further 20 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for a further 10 minutes if required. (Ensure you check the Wellington whilst cooking to see how fast it is cooking as some will cook quicker than others).  Allow to cool for around fifteen minutes before slicing the Wellington or the Wellington may start to break up and the cheese may be too runny.  Serve immediately.  Make Ahead Tip: This dish can be made ahead and frozen before being cooked, or cooked  and then chilled in the fridge and reheated on the big day.

Maple Syrup Pie featuring Aldi Specially Selected Products

Following on from my previous Aldi post, here is the Dessert I created using the Aldi "Specially Selected" range. "Specially Selected" products are chosen for their outstanding quality, ingredients, provenance and recipe. There are many fantastic products in the range. 

When I came across Pure Canadian Maple Syrup and Ready Rolled All Butter Sweet Shortcrust Pastry whilst browsing the range, I instantly knew that a Maple Syrup Pie was in order! I also found some delicious Cornish Clotted Cream to serve with the Maple Syrup Pie.

A wonderful Winter Pudding, this would also make the perfect dessert for Christmas. You could serve the Maple Syrup Pie with custard also. Personally, I prefer Maple Syrup Pie warm, with clotted cream but it can also be eaten cold. This dish is also completely vegetarian.

Give it a try and please do let me know what you think!!

Maple Syrup Pie  Serves 2 Ingredients 1 Roll of Aldi All Butter Sweet Shortcrust Pastry 1 Bottle Aldi Specially Selected Pure Canadian Maple Syrup 1 Free Range Egg 200ml Double Cream 3 tbsp unsalted melted butter Specially Selected Clotted Cream to serve Method Lay out the Aldi All butter sweet pastry and fold it in half. Next, roll out the dough with a floured rolling pin until it is the right size to cover a fluted pie tin with the pastry.Using a flat edged knife, cut off the excess pastry over the edges of the tin Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.  In a food mixer or by hand, beat together the eggs and cream until well blended. Beat in the maple syrup and butter and continue to beat until the mixture thickens a little but is still runny enough to pour. Pour the maple syrup mixture into the pastry and ensure that the mixture is even. Bake for around thirty minutes until the pie filling is set. Serve while still warm with Clotted Cream.

Aldi's new Organic and "Specially Selected" Range. Vegetarian Tagliatelle with Organic Broccoli, Onion and Red Pepper

Aldi has become a major player on the supermarket scene in the UK over recent years, so much so that there have been two new Aldi stores built in our town over the last year. Aldi typically has the reputation of being a budget supermarket filled with budget brands. However, recently Aldi has introduced new lines including affordable organic food and ‘Specially selected’ products. 

Aldi's new organic range features Broccoli, Onions, Carrots, Cauliflower and Potatoes. The new organic range is very affordable, in fact, shoppers may find that products are 25% cheaper than in other supermarkets. I was able to find lots of organic products in my local store and the vegetables were all reasonably priced and visibly cheaper than other supermarkets. 

"Specially Selected" products are  chosen for their outstanding quality, ingredients, provenance and recipe. In the local store I found the premium brands in curry sauces, fajita sauce, , pasta and pasta sauce, chutneys, beetroot, oil, cheeses, and lots more.  I was really impressed with such a wide range of products and interesting and varied ingredients. 

Aldi challenged me to create some Vegetarian recipes using their new Organic and "Specially Selected" range to see what I thought of the premium ranges. Voucher in hand, I had a good look around the store at the ranges before deciding what to make. I was surprised to find that there was a such a big premium range, with lots of Vegetarian products in. Plus, they have a fantastic Christmas range in at the moment, with lots of delicious cheeses too.

I am featuring a main course here made with Organic and Specially Selected ingredients, and will also feature a dessert in a separate post. 

With the Organic and Specially Selected range I chose to make Broccoli, Onion and Red Pepper Tagliatelle served with Sicilian Olive Oil and Farmhouse Vintage Cheddar. I used the Broccoli and Onion from the Organic Range. I also chose the Sicilian Extra Virgin Olive Oil and some soft cream cheese to create a sauce, along with Farmhouse Vintage Cheddar.

I am really impressed with the new Aldi Organic and Specially Selected ranges. There are lots of fantastic products to choose from and all at very reasonable prices. I shall certainly be visiting Aldi again to purchase from their premium ranges. 

The recipe for Tagliatelle with Broccoli, Red Pepper and Onion served with Olive Oil and Vintage Cheddar can be found below. Do let me know what you think!!

Taglietelle with Organic Brocolli, Red Pepper and Onion served with Olive Oil, Cream Cheese and Vintage Cheddar Serves 4 Ingredients 500g Aldi Specially Selected Tagliatelle Whole Aldi Fresh Organic Broccoli, cut into small pieces 4 Organic Onions peeled and chopped into small pieces 2 Red Peppers, peeled and chopped into small pieces 2tsps Garlic (crushed or minced) 150g Soft Cheese 150g Aldi West Country Farmhouse Vintage Cheddar Good Glug of aldi Specially Selected Sicilian Extra Virgin Olive Oil Method Bring a pan of water with a splash of oil in to the boil and then cook the Tagliatelle for around 8-10 minutes. Drain once cooked and toss to separate. Steam the broccoli with four tablespoons of water in the microwave for around five minutes or until "al dente".  Heat the oil in a pan and add the garlic and onion, and a little rock salt to prevent the onion from burning. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the red pepper also. Continue to cook until the onion is golden.  Once the broccoli has finished cooking in the microwave, drain the water and add to the onion and pepper. Cook for a couple more minutes until all of the vegetables are soft. Stir the soft cheese and half of the vintage cheddar into the tagliatelle pasta and toss to combine. Add a good glug of the olive oil and toss once more. Add the vegetables to the pan and combine. Serve immediately, sprinkling the reserved cheddar over the top to serve and adding more olive oil if required. You could also add some vegetarian hard cheese over the top if you wanted, or leave out the soft cheese and just add the olive oil and vintage cheddar or hard cheese to the dish.

December Finds: Radnor Preserves, Bannisters Farm Range and Nothing But Snacks

Some festive finds for you all today, these lovely treats will make great Christmas additions to your festive season so snuggle by the fire and have a look at the December Finds which have made it into my kitchen!

Radnor Preserves

Radnor Preserves which was founded by Joanna Morgan in 2010, is said to be one of the finest Artisan Jam and Marmalade makers in the world. The ingredients are all locally sourced and hand prepared in small batches. Best of all, they are suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans!

 Joanna has a real passion for creating unique and special flavour Jams, which include ‘Strawberry & Champagne’, with whole strawberries, ‘Rhubarb & Caramelized Fig’, ‘Blackcurrant & Vanilla’, the award winning ‘Raspberry & Crushed Cardamom’ and many more. Radnor Jams have even been featured on HM the Queen's table!

I was sent some Blackberry and Cracked Pepper Preserve to sample. I was blown away by the taste and the texture of the jam. The jam was packed full of fruit, with large chunks of blackberry - berry delicious! I would definitely recommend sampling some as it is definitely a cut above other jams a preserves.

Radnor Preserves would make a fantastic Christmas Gift. A gift box of three costs £15 plus postage and packing and can contain a personalised message if wanted.


Bannister Farm Foods
New from Bannisters Farm Range are Bannisters Farm Bites, tasty mini Potato Skins which make a great creative canape at dinner parties, or just simply a great snack over the Christmas season. Available in Vegetarian-friendly  Cheese and Onion, or Cheese and Jalapeno flavour, all you need to do is just pop them in the oven for about twenty minutes before they are ready to serve.

We were sent a packet of each vegetarian flavour to try, and I was suitably impressed at how easy they were to prepare and serve. They also tasted absolutely delicious, not like the traditional cooked from frozen potato. There was masses of flavour in there. I think that these potatoes would make a great quick to prepare snack for unexpected guests over the festive season and would definitely warm you up! We served the Farm Bites as part of a hot buffet on a particularly cold day, and hubby loved the Cheese and Jalapeno flavoured ones, whilst the kids devoured the cheese and onion flavoured potatoes.  Bannister Farm Bites are available from most major retailers priced around £2.30 per pack.

Nothing But

Nothing But - A brand of The Premium Snack Company have just been announced as sponsors of National Vegetarian Week 2015. Nothing but are a range of healthy freeze-dried fruit and vegetable snacks, with flavours such as Beetroot and Parsnip, Pea and Sweetcorn, Mangetout and Red Pepper, Strawberry and Banana, and Grape and Pineapple. The packs contain fruit and vegetables with nothing but the water removed. Freeze dried foods are fast becoming the popular food of choice. "Nothing But" snacks taste great, and also last for much longer by being freeze dried. i would definitely recommend picking up a packet from your local supermarket. 

Products offered in consideration for review

Easy Peasy Vegetarian Mince Pies

Mince Pies are a Christmas staple and I have to say that I much prefer a home made mince pie rather than the shop bought ones. Shop-bought mince pies always seem too stodgy and dry to me and seem to stick in the mouth.

Today I am featuring my recipe for easy-peasy mince pies. I suppose my recipe isn't hugely different to anyone else's as there is only so many ways you can make Mince Pies, but I like to make mine a little special by adding a few extra ingredients.

Whilst I would love one day to make my own Mincemeat filling from scratch, unfortunately time does not allow me such a luxury at the moment (perhaps I need to start my Christmas planning earlier!). However I do like to have some Mince Pies handy for when guests come calling at Christmas, and so I combine a mincemeat filling with some other ingredients to make them a little more interesting. That's why I call them easy-peasy - Perhaps I should call them cheat's mince pies!

In addition to the ingredients below, you could also try adding some small cubes of apple or pear, or even make them a bit boozy by adding 50ml of brandy.

How do you like to make your Mince Pies?

Easy Peasy Mince Pies Makes 24 Ingredients 350g Plain Four 150g Butter (room temperature) A pinch of salt Cold Water to combine 1 Jar of shop-bought Mincemeat (411g) 200g Fresh Cranberries or 200g Cranberry Sauce 2 tsp Cinnamon Juice of 2 Satsumas Method Sift the flour and salt in a mixing bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add cold water a tablespoon at a time, and mix until the ingredients start to form a dough. Eventually, you should have added enough water to leave the bowl clean.  Place the mixture in a polythene bag and refrigerate for around thirty minutes.  Meanwhile, place the Mincemeat, cranberry, cinnamon and satsuma juice into a separate bowl and mix to combine. Lightly grease two pastry tins using butter or olive oil. Once the dough has cooled, split the dough into half, and roll half of it out. Using a 6cm pastry cutter, cut circles out of the dough and line the pastry tins with them. You should get a least 24.  Fill the pastry with the mincemeat mixture. I find a teaspoon and a half is normally about right. Next, roll out the second half of the pastry, and using a 6cm star cutter, cut star shapes out of the pastry to act as your lid. I like to have some of the mincemeat showing, but if you don't then use a 7.5cm cutter.  Press the points of the star down onto the sides of the pastry circle. Brush with milk and bake near the top of the oven for around 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container, or freeze until required.

Warm Winter Halloumi Salad

I am always rather partial to a Salad during the summer, but during the winter, it often feels much to cold to be eating salad. This week I decided to create Winter Salad, with a base of new potatoes and vegetables. I wanted a hearty cheese such as Halloumi which would hold it's own with the other ingredients, and I wasn't too bothered about which vegetables I used, so when I found a carrot and green bean vegetable pack on offer, I decided to use this. 

This is a really easy salad to throw together, and you could use any vegetables which you fancy. When I cook this again, I will add some red onion, or maybe some butternut squash to make the flavour a little richer. 

Here is my recipe for a Warm Winter Salad. I hope you like it. 

Serves Two:

Ingredients

225g Halloumi

250g Salad Potatoes, boiled

200g Mixed Bag Beans and Carrots

Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar and Onion Seeds to dress

Method

• Boil the potatoes until cooked.
• Cook the Beans and Carrots either in a microwave pack, or via hot water on the stove and drain.
• Cut the Halloumi into small chunks, and grill on both sides until cooked.
• Once cooked, transfer all of the ingredients to a bowl and combine evenly.
• Drizzle with Olive Oil or Balsamic Vinegar, and perhaps also add some Onion Seeds for  Flavour.
• Serve immediately perhaps with some crunchy bread.

Vegetarian Experience featured on Tesco Real Food Blog

This week I am very excited to have been featured on the Tesco Real Food Blog talking about Vegetarian Christmas. I was recently interviewed, and enjoyed talking about how meat eaters can incorporate Vegetarian Food into the festivities. There are lots of great ideas on my website for a Vegetarian Christmas, so please do feel free to have a look around!