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!

Healthy Vegetarian Jaffa Cakes

Today for Meat Free Monday I am featuring a post from a reader who got in touch with me. Recently a lovely reader called Celia sent me her recipe for Healthy Jaffacakes. Celia writes a blog herself, although it not cooking related, so she wanted somewhere to share her recipe. She has just become a Vegetarian and loves cooking healthily.

I always love to hear from people who appreciate the recipes on the site, and also love to hear from those who may have a recipe they want to share purely for the love of cooking, so do feel free to send in your recipe if you have one you would like to share!

Here is Celia's recipe for Heathy Jaffacakes - Thanks for sending in the recipe Celia!

Healthy Jaffa Cakes

Ingredients:
150g flour (or gluten free alternative)
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 eggs
4 tbsp butter
Pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla flavouring
50g 85% dark chocolate
4-5 tbsp orange marmalade (I used St Dalfour, which has no added sugar)

Method:

1. Grease a large heatproof tin or muffin pan 
2. Mix eggs, butter, honey, maple syrup, salt, vanilla, baking soda and flour thoroughly. Pour into tin.
3. Bake at 180 c for about 10 minutes or until risen and golden. 
4. Turn out when cool. If you didn't use a muffin tin, cut out circles with a jar or even a cutter if you're that well equipped, and turn cake hole side up.
5. Melt the chocolate.
6. Pop a spoonful of marmalade on each circle. Place a small amount of chocolate on to each cake and spread evenly over the surface, covering all the marmalade. 
7. Let the chocolate set. You can speed it up if you put in the freezer for a few minutes.

There is only a very little bit of refined sugar in these and they can even be gluten free! Normal Jaffa Cakes have glucose fructose syrup in and the alternatives usually involve gelatin. These are veggie through and through!

I hope you enjoy Celia's Healthy Vegetauran Jaffa Cakes - What do you think of them?

November Finds: Activia, Howdah and Yu!

A round-up post today of some of the products I have been sent recently for review:

Activia Fruit Fusion Yoghurts
First Up - Activia's new range called "Activia Fruit Fusion", which features three flavours, Mango and Passionfruit, Blueberry and Acai, and Raspberry and Lychee. Available in 4 x 125g packs, these yoghurts contain a mix of five live cultures, which mean that they can be included as part of a balanced diet. They also make a fantastic snack at any time of the day or night! I was very happy to receive these, as we enjoy eating Activia yoghurts. My personal favourite was the Mango and Passionfruit, whilst other members of the family preferred Blueberry and Acai.

Activia Fruit Fusion Yoghurts are available at an RRP of £2.19 for four from all major retailers,


Howdah Indian Snacks
Howdah Gourmet Indian Snacks from Mumbai Foods have recently launched six new flavours of snacks: Bombay Puri, Masala Banana Chips, Peanut Pakora, Peppered Banana Chips, Bakatwadi Bites, and Onion Bhaji..All six flavours are authentically produced, free from additives, preservatives and 100% vegetarian and vegan. Some are also Gluten free.

We were sent Onion Bhaji and Bombay Puri to try. Both snacks we sampled are very rich and full of flavour  Hubby liked the Puri in biscuit form rather than bombay mix style. The Onion Bhaji snacks are very tasty and he loved the aftertaste as the spices kick in. These are great snacks for an Indian Buffet, or just a treat when you fancy it! Howdah Snacks are available from various local stockists.

Yu Fruit Chews
Yu! Healthy Snacks’ Just Fruit Chews are healthy snacks made with 100% real Fruit and with no added sugar. Unlike other fruit based products, Yu! Fruit Chews are suitable for vegans, vegetarians and those who are intolerant to gluten, wheat and lactose. We were sent some of the range to try, including blueberry, mango, raspberry and cherry. I love that these fruit chews look and taste just like sweets, so the kids were happy to pop them in their mouths and give them a try. All of the flavours were delicious, and these are something we will definitely be looking to purchase in the future.

Yu! Fruit Snacks can be found in Tesco, Sainsburys and Waitrose priced at rrp 65 pence per pack.

Please Vote for Us in the QHotelsFamily Ambassador Competition

A few weeks ago, I entered the QHotels Family Ambassador Competition, and along with all of the other applicants, was shortlisted. You can see our entry here . Our entry was made before the first initial closing date, and so the girls were the first of the competition applicants to make videos, and others followed suit after seeing our videos on how the girls would revamp the Quackers Packs.

It would be great to win, and get the chance to help improve the Quackers Pack, and improve a stay at a QHotel for families, and hopefully for vegetarians and those with special diets too. 

We would LOVE a vote to help us to win if you would be willing. Just click on the badge below, and search Clare Rudd. 

If you also want to tweet "I just voted for @veggiexperience (Clare Rudd) in the QHotelsFamilyAmbassador Competition - You can too http://www.qhotels.co.uk/family-ambassador/" it would be much appreciated 

Thanks so much!!

Featured Post: HouseTrip UK Vegetarian/Vegan "Where to Eat" Guide

I love travelling, and especially enjoy indulging in a city break with the family. I also love eating out when we go away, however finding places to eat with good vegetarian food when you are travelling can be a bit like searching for a needle in a haystack. The Vegetarian Menu in restaurants can be so hit and miss, and so sometimes it can be tricky to decide where to go and eat. 

Recently I was introduced to a new eating guide from HouseTrip UK, one of Europe’s leading home rental companies. They have published an exclusively vegan and vegetarian ‘Where to Eat’ guide for London, Berlin and Paris and will hopefully be adding more cities in the future.


I think that this is a fantastic idea, as it enables you to research places to eat before you travel to your city of choice, and plan where you are going to eat. It also gives you an idea of how much your meal might cost for those traveller's who may be more budget conscious.

You can view the guide in "Location View", which helps you to work out what restaurants are near to the part of the city, or the sights you are visiting. In Location view, you can search by "best for families", "best for occasions", and "vegan". You can also view the guide in "Directory View", enabling you to peruse all of the restaurants, and search them A-Z. The website also gives a picture, bio of the restaurant, and top tip. It also includes links to their website, so there is lots of information included to help you make your choice of restaurant.

The London Guide is clearly well researched as it features some of my favourite London Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants including The Gate, Tibits, and Mildred's.

I would thoroughly recommend taking a look at the HouseTrip UK Vegetarian and Vegan ‘Where to Eat’ guide for London, Berlin and Paris as it is a great resource for those who like to eat out when they travel, but may be struggling to find meat or fish free restaurant options.

Disclosure:I received payment for this post. Please see my Featured Post Policy

Vegetarian Meatballs with Peanut and Tamarind Sauce

Another spicy recipe to celebrate Curry Week today, made from The Spice Tailor Chutni range developed by Anjum Anand. Today, I am featuring the range's Peanut and Tamarind Chutni, which can be transformed into a delicious sauce for a tasty Vegetarian dish with just a bit of help from a few other ingredients. The recipe I am using is adapted from Anjum Anand's Lamb Kofta in Peanut and Tamarind Sauce recipe. I have basically replaced the Lamb Kofta's with Vegetarian Meatballs instead, to make the dish vegetarian friendly. This dish is fantastic served with plain rice or naan bread, or it could form part of a bigger Indian buffet. How are you celebrating Curry Week? Any tips for Vegetarian Curry?

Spiced Vegetarian Meatballs with Peanut and Tamarind Sauce

Ingredients

For the Sauce: 

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp. cumin seeds

1 tsp. sweet paprika

¼ tsp. red chilli powder

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp. tomato purée

½ jar The Spice Tailor Peanut and Tamarind Chutney

200ml coconut milk

300g Meat Free Meatballs 

Method

• Fry the meatballs in a little oil for a few minutes until browned. 
• Removed from the heat, drain the oil and leave on a plate with kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil. 
• Fry the onion in some oil, and cook until golden brown. 
• Add the tomato purée and stir well for a minute or so. Add the spices and a splash of water and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Stir in the chutney and coconut milk and a little splash of water and bring to a simmer. 
• Add the veggie meatballs to the sauce and partially cover the pan with a lid. Lower the heat and gently cook for 15-20 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce has thickened. Serve while still hot.

Products Offered in consideration for review

National Curry Week with "The Spice Tailor"

This week is National Curry Week, which is running from the 13th - 19th October. Traditionally, many curries have always been Vegetarian, although in the UK, we tend to add meat and fish to our curry dishes.

Curry Week is a fantastic time to celebrate Indian Cuisine, and indulge in some of the premium curry sauces and chutneys which are available in the supermarkets. Unless you have grown up cooking curry from scratch, it can be tricky to know where to start, and so getting a helping hand from something pre-made can be a great idea.

To celebrate Curry Week, I was sent a selection of sauces and chutni's from The Spice Tailor range, which is produced by TV chef and cookery writer Anjum Anand. Anjum features in the hit BBC2 series Indian Food Made Easy and has a best-selling book of the same name.

As well as the fantastic sauces in the range, I was really interested in the chutney range, which comes in really delicious, interesting flavours I haven't cooked with before, including fruity and sticky Green Papaya, fragrant and zesty Mama’s Lime Chilli Pickle, bright and herby Mint Leaf Chutni, spicy and tangy Tomato, Garlic & Chilli Chutni and roasted and savoury Peanut and Tamarind Chutni.

To celebrate Curry Week, I will be featuring a few different recipes using The Spice Tailor Range this week, starting today with Goats Cheese Beetroot and Papaya Chutni Tartlets, featuring The Spice Taylor Green Papaya Chutney. I know these are not strictly curry related, but they would make a good addition to an Indian themed meal!

I found these tartlets so supremely quick and easy to make. I loved the idea of mixing the green papaya with the chutni to form a paste as the base to place beetroot and goats cheese on, and to give the tartlets a lovely spicy twist. They also tasted absolutely delicious - fruity and yet creamy at the same time. You could also possibly use mango or another fruit chutney to make these.

You can find the recipe for Goats Cheese Beetroot and Papaya Chutni Tartlets here.

Check Back tomorrow for another Vegetarian recipe to celebrate Curry Week

Disclosure: Products offered in consideration for review. All views are my own.

Vapiano Restaurant Soho - A Review

Recently we were invited to Vapiano in Soho to sample the Vegetarian menu. Vapiano in Soho is newly opened, and is one three Vapiano restaurants in London. There are around one hundred and forty Vapiano restaurants around the world. Vapiano is a restaurant which is a little different from the rest, in that it operates on a card system. You go to the counter to order your food and drinks, and you pay for the food at the end. The restaurant sells Pasta, Pizza, Antipasti and Salad which is ordered directly from the counter with separate counter's for each type of food. The food is prepared fresh in front of you, and then charged to your card. The restaurant's system reminded me of an upmarket fast food chain or modern school cafeteria. I quite like this idea in principle, however, I wouldn't say it works for everyone. There is also the danger you may lose track of what you are spending and get a surprising shock at the end.

Our Experience

Decor/Feel of the restaurant - I really loved the decor of the restaurant. The counters are bright, fresh, and enticing. The dining areas are spacious, and yet intimate, and there are beautiful oak tables to sit at and dine. I also loved the lighting. There is a lovely mural on the back of the wall in the downstairs seating area.  

The Service - The service at this restaurant wasn't amazing. The manager and staff at the front desk were very friendly and helpful, but those behind the counters serving food and drink were a little surly and rude, and didn't really ooze customer service. 

The Set-Up - You have to queue up for different courses and mains, at different counters at this restaurant, so you queue up for pasta in one place, pizza in another, drinks somewhere else and starters in another place. Personally, this wasn't my cup of tea as I found it really disjointed and the restaurant was really busy, so we spent ages queuing for different things. The mistake we may have made when going to this restaurant was taking our children with us, as the premise of this restaurant is not really geared up for children. Although there is a nod to children with a children's menu, and colouring, the fact that you have to keep jumping up and down every two minutes to get food from different queues is not conducive to having children with you since you can't really leave them. Also, if one person wants pizza, and one person wants pasta, you then have to queue up twice, meaning that everyone gets their food at different times which does not really make for family friendly dining. 

However, I would add a caveat here and say that we were probably not the demographic who the restaurant is targeting themselves. The market this restaurant is targesting is most likely the London suburbanite or "lovey" who wants a healthier alternative to a fast-food joint, and perhaps just wants to pop in for a quick bite and leave. Indeed, there were quite a few actors/actresses who were "in between" their matinee and evening performances eating in the restaurant when we went. I am guessing that the set-up of this restaurant works in principle if you are on your own, or with a group of friends as it saves splitting the bill as you all pay for what you had. It does not work with children though, or if you are perhaps disabled or find it hard to walk or stand for long periods of time. I would have liked to have seen a table service option offered for those who may not find counter queuing an easy experience. 

The Menu - There are separate menus for pizza and pasta. However, a big negative to the menu for the Vegetarian/Vegan is that nothing is labelled. There is no labelling system to tell you what is and isn't vegetarian. Of course some ingredients are quite easily decipherable as vegetarian but some aren't - such as Pesto. I asked one of the chef's if he knew whether the pesto was vegetarian, and he didn't know. There needs to be clarification on the menu. Additionally, the vegetarian selection is a bit hit and miss, especially the antipasti options. It actually took me quite a while to even decide what to order, as I had to scrutinise the menu so much. 

The Food - The food was a little above that of a typical buffet self serve fast food restaurant, however, being out on display all day, the quality and the freshness wasn't what I would expect of an Italian restaurant. It was evident nothing was covered to retain freshness, as things did have that "been out slightly too long" taste. The food was reasonably priced for a London restaurant, and was also quite pocket friendly too. We started off with the antipasti. I was disappointed there was not a vegetarian version of this, as the dish on offer was very meat heavy. The components to the antipasti were all just thrown on a huge plate in front of me without much care and attention. I was a little disappointed to find when I tasted the dish that cheese tasted a bit hard since it had been left out for a while and the bread was a little stale too.  The vegetables were also off and I had to push them to the side of the plate. Additionally when preparing the Antipasti server, the girl behind the counter used the same gloves to put everything onto the plate - meat, cheese, bread and all, and didn't use serving implements. This is not great if you have vegetarians who will be sharing the platter due to cross contamination. I also ordered a Punpkin Soup, which was really delicious, but on the whole was a bit of a rubbish portion size, and was also not hugely warm. 

After ordering the Antipasti for us, hubby then left the table and queued up to order the kids Pizza's. The pizzas were made in front of him, and then we were given a buzzer take back to the table to wait for them to cook. My kids ordered ham and pineapple, and as you can see from the picture, the ham was just sloshed on the pizza, and two random pieces of pineapple chucked on as an after thought. It would have been nice to have them spread out evenly, or even cut into smaller pieces. Again, it felt very conveyor-belt like, with not much attention given to the end product. 

When we had finished our Antipasti. Hubby went up again to order our meals, whilst I stayed with the kids and helped them cut up their pizza's which had cooked and which I had collected. For main course, I chose the Mozzarella Pomodoro with Tagliatelle. He waited twenty minutes to get to the front of the queue, by which time, the kids had finished their pizza's and were starting to ask for dessert. 

After waiting twenty minutes to get to the front of the queue, hubby ordered my pasta, and was just about to order his, when the server went onto the next person's counter order, and said he could only order one meal at a time, and would have to queue again for another dish. You can guess what we thought of that. He had waited so long queuing anyway, and it seems that the server was unable to deal with making two meals for the same person at the same time. He bought my Pomodoro back to the table and was not happy. However, we decided to share the dish. 

We tucked in, only to find that although it looked very appetising and delicious, underneath, the taglliatelle was congealed, and stuck together, because it was cooked in boiling hot water in a deep fat fryer. There was also so much pepper and chilli put into the dish that we couldn't eat it - which is rare for both of us as we use lots of seasoning in cooking. At this point, we decided to cut our losses and leave. 

On the whole, I wouldn't say that we had a great experience here. However, as I said before, I don't think that we were the right demographic for the restaurant. I think if you were just nipping in for a quick bite, and were happy to get your own food, and, you eat meat, you would probably fare better. 

I would like to see the Vegetarian food improved - firstly by indicating on the menu what is vegetarian and what isn't. Then by introducing some more vegetarian friendly dishes. Also by encouraging good food handling practices in staff.  

I probably would return to a Vapiano restaurant again, but I would return without children as I didn't find visiting Vapiano a relaxing family dining experience. It was really stressful having to jump up and down, leaving the kids, to then have to go to different places for drinks, starters, pizza and pasta, never mind the toilet trips all the way downstairs at the back of the restaurant. I think this is a good concept, but it doesn't work for everyone. 

Disclosure: Meal offered in consideration for review. All views are my own. 

Vegetable Soup for the Soul

After a lovely summer, we currently seem to be entering the season of coughs, colds and sickness in our family. All of us have fallen victim to the dreaded sickness lurgy over the last week, and I also picked up a rather nasty cold, which wiped me out for around ten days.

I always find when I'm ill that all I want is someone to put a plate of wholesome, hearty, healthy food on the table in front of me for me to tuck into. Meat Eater's seem to thrive on Chicken Soup to cure all ills, but us veggies obviously need to find a different alternative.

At the point of the week where I felt my worst, and after two days of being sick, all I wanted was to put some "proper food" inside my body. Something which was made from scratch and which had some good nutrients in it was calling out to me. After feeling ill for so long, I decided to make some vegetable soup to try and make me feel better. Eating a meal with some vitamins and nutrients, and which was quite light was a good idea as it made me feel much better.

I have featured the recipe before, under the banner of Tomato Soup, However, you can pretty much add whatever root vegetables you have available to the pot. This time around, I left out the pepper, and added a potato to make the mixture a bit thicker. Here is the recipe below.

What do you like to eat when you are feeling poorly?

Ingredients
1 Onion, peeled & chopped
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 Garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 Potato, peeled and chopped
2 Carrots, peeled and sliced
2 Parsnips, peeled and sliced
1 x 400g chopped Tomatoes
700ml Vegetable stock
1 tsp caster Sugar

Method

1. Fry the onion in the olive oil for a couple of minutes until transparent. Next, add the garlic, carrot, pepper and parsnips and cook for a further 5 minutes
2. Add the remaining ingredients, bring up to the boiling point and then simmer for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.
3. Allow to cool a little, and then puree in a blender and reheat gently to serve.

An Entry for QHotels Family Ambassador Competition

A bit of a different post from me today. I normally concentrate on food these days over here, but I always think that food and travel goes hand in hand, and so I wanted to talk about travel today, and specifically, write this as an entry into the QHotels Family Ambassador Competition.

We have visited quite a few hotels as a family over the last few years, as I sometimes travel for work, and we also like to travel for leisure. As a family, we have stayed a lot at the QHotels brand as a family - both in a group and individually.  Most recently, we celebrated Hubby's 40th and Youngest turning 5 at a QHotel. I have mentioned Q Hotels before on my parenting blog and reviewed them via tripadvisor.

QHotels have launched a competition to recruit Family Ambassadors to review their hotels and we would be really honoured to be considered. QHotels are a brand that we know well as consumers, and so we know what they really do well, and also what they could perhaps improve for families and for guests in general. Having stayed at different hotels, we are also aware of the discrepancies in the brand. Some cater for kids much more fantastically than others. We would love to be able to improve the experience for families staying at QHotels, by reviewing the different hotels, and giving our feedback to make things better, and more consistent for all.

Firstly, here are some of the reasons we like QHotels:

The Service
Having worked many years ago in the service industry, bad service is one of my real bug bears. I can honestly say that QHotels are the only hotel chain we have ever stayed with where we consistently receive good service. Everyone is always kind and welcoming, and keen to help in whatever way they can with a smile and a "can do" attitude. During our last stay, the staff went above and beyond the call of duty when my little one hurt her foot and were so brilliant.

The Kids Experience
My girls always have an amazing time when they visit QHotels. It's the small things that make the big difference for them. Firstly, the Quackers Pack - they love the fact that they get their own pack when they arrive. I would love to see it improved - more ideas on that later! Last time we stayed, they also received a wrist band which entitled them to free squash during their stay at the bar. They felt very grown-up going and ordering their own drinks, and it was a really nice touch. The girls were given their own mini room with a TV last time, and they were in absolute heaven. They also had their own huge bed with a TV the time before, so they really felt like there was a part of the room which was just for them, and they didn't feel squashed on top of each other like in other hotels. The kids menu is also fantastic, there is lots to choose from for little and big eaters. Youngest had a dippy egg as a starter last time we stayed, which she was over the moon with. Then there is the swimming pool! Lots of the hotels have a health club attached and so a dip in the pool is a luxury that we all like to enjoy during our stay. The girls get to show off their swimming skills to Daddy, and I hget to relax on the sun loungers! Last but not least is the Hotel Breakfast! Hotel Breakfast is always a big deal for the kids whenever they stay anywhere, and when we last stayed, they were both able to go and help themselves to whatever they wanted. Boiled eggs with Nutella dip seems to be a popular choice!!, (well. they are on holiday!!)  We always manage to find something interesting for the kids to do when they stay at a QHotel also, as there is typically a suitable kids attraction nearby.

The Free WIFI!

If Abraham Maslow was still alive, his Hierarchy of needs would definitely feature Free Wifi right at the bottom as the most basic human necessity. QHotels has this completely sewn up with Free Wifi offered throughout the hotel. There is no limit on time or devices, and the connection is brilliant too - no loading pages, or long waiting times to connect, it all just connects automatically. This is great for when you need to load Peppa Pig on Youtube in a hurry to silence a screaming child, or are looking for ideas of what there is to do for kids in the local vicinity. 

The Food

Being as this is a food blog, I guess I do have to mention the food a little! One of the reasons I would personally love to be a family ambassador is hopefully to help improve the food for those on special diets, Whilst my meat-eating hubby and kids are brilliantly catered for at QHotels, some of the food offerings I have been offered as a Vegetarian have been a little disappointing, so it would be great to be able to hopefully help QHotels improve their catering for Vegetarian or Vegan Families, or those who eat a special diet, so that they felt they were catered for equally to others guests. 

Improvements

There are things that QHotels could improve on to be more family friendly - such as making the room more child friendly in terms of safety (plug socket fillers/door wedges to protect trapped fingers/stair gates/ pillows to put on the floor in case kids fall out of bed) could all be options that might be offer to families at check-in. Perhaps removing a small glass table if kids are staying in a room on their own, or having signs at a child friendly level could all be other options - the small things really matter to children. There could also be the hire of games consoles if the chain wanted to stretch to it!!

As an entry to be considered as a QHotel Family Ambassador, QHotels asked entrants to redesign the Quackers Pack which is given to children upon arrival.  I asked my two girls (7 and 5) what they would put in a Quackers Pack, and they came up with some ideas. Whilst some of the ideas/requests may be a little unrealistic (eldest initially wanted an Ipad in each pack!), they actually came up with some good ideas. Here are their ideas below:

Youngest (Age 5)

With a little help from me, youngest made a video of the things she would like. 

Her ideas included: 

• Loom Bands
• Sweets (Gummi Bears and a Lolly)
• Colouring Pens
• Music CD
• Chess (not sure on this one myself!)
• Treasure Hunt Map for the hotel, with a small "prize" upon completion
• Blocks (wooden blocks like Jenga!!)
• Stickers
• Cuddly Plush Toy to hug at night (perhaps the Quackers family characters!)
• A small Torch for night time 

Eldest (Age 7)

Eldest also had some good ideas on how the pack could be redesigned, and also what QHotels could provide for kids. Here are her ideas:

;

• Wristband for Free Squash
• Complementary Kids Bathrobe and Slippers
• Nightlight/Torch
• Timetable/Local Guide for Kids ("what's on for kids" in hotel, breakfast/lunch times/local attractions, kids TV channel numbers etc)
• Loom and Loombands (or similar toy for boy!)
• Charm on a keyring to use as a luggage tag or bag identifier
• Quackers Duck Bath Toy
• Activity Sheet
• Treasure Map of Hotel with Activities
• Card Game
• Playing Cards
• Pencil
• Review Card (we stayed somewhere recently where kids could review the hotel and got a badge in return - she loved this!)
• Teddy/Plush
• Postcard of Hotel
• Quacker Hotel
• Certificate for staying
• Sweets/Lollies

I quite like the £20 off stay which is currently in the pack, although would prefer something you could use during the stay - maybe a free drink for Mum or Dad, perhaps a manicure/pedicure for the kids, or free kids sports activity for those hotels offering sporting options. I also think a "for kids, by kids" online tour or video of QHotels would be a really cool thing to do, or "top tips for staying in a hotel for kids" video by kids. I think that whilst my kids are complete veterans, some other children may be a bit more apprehensive about what to expect, so anything that helps them feel more comfortable, or helps them get more sleep is a bonus for parents and children!

I really hope that we can be considered as QHotels Family Ambassadors, it would be a great experience, I hope that we would be of benefit to the brand, and would help improve their services for families. Writing a food, and a Parenting Blog, means that I could guarantee coverage on two blogs to two different audiences. I am also very active on Instagram and other social media, so hopefully I would reach a wide audience with our experiences. Our girls are real hotel veterans, so they know what they like when visiting a hotel, and they are not afraid to express their opinion, or suggest ideas for how to improve things. Hubby and I are the same - we are not afraid to praise what is good, and express our opinions on what maybe needs improvement. We would really value the opportunity and we would really try hard to do a good job too, and be thorough with our reviews!

You can view all of the entries for the QHotels Family Ambassador Compeition by searching #QHotelsFamilyAmbassador on Twitter. 

Stuffed Peppers with Goats Cheese

Recently we had the situation where we had friends coming round at short notice, and I had to raid the fridge to find something to give them. Luckily, I happened to have some sweet baby peppers in the fridge, and also some goats cheese, and so I rustled up some Stuffed Peppers with Goats Cheese for us all to enjoy. Stuffed Peppers are a great dish as there are lots of ways you can vary them. You could use larger peppers, or small baby peppers, but I think the sweeter baby peppers taste nicer. You can also vary the herbs and spices, and types of cheese that you use too, so they are quite versatile. 

Here is the recipe below. As this was a quick recipe on the hop I didn't have time to take any fancy pictures, but I have included a quick snap I took below. 

Let me know what you think! What is your favourite stuffed pepper filling?

Ingredients

500g Mini Sweet Peppers

125g Goats Cheese
100g Cream Cheese
1 Egg, whisked with a fork
½ tsp Oregano
1/2tsp Chilli Powder
2tsp Fresh Chives
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil

Directions

1. Cut the peppers in half and scoop out the seeds.
2. Whisk the Egg, and add the Goats Cheese and Cream Cheese to the bowl, stirring together until the ingredients have combined. 
3. Add the herbs, spices, salt and pepper, and mix together. 
4. Using a teaspoon, scoop the cheese mixture into the peppers, pressing down with your fingers to ensure the pepper is fully stuffed.
5. Either drizzle with olive oil, and cook for around fifteen minutes at 200 degrees centigrade, or cover, and place in the fridge to cook later. 
6. Serve immediately when cooked.