dinner ideas
Fajitas with homemade guacamole
I love to make fajitas when friends come over for dinner. I enjoy the relaxed 'help yourself to whatever you want' arrangement of putting everything in the middle of the table. I always make my own guacamole - its such a simple thing to do, but tastes so much better than anything in a jar (most of which aren't vegan anyway) and I've had compliments on it every single time.
This is also a really easy 'just for me' dinner, perfect for a week day evening - and by cooking extra veggies, and whipping up some cous cous, I've got a tasty lunch sorted for the next day. My veg/salad box last week gave me two avocados, which HAD to be made into guacamole, which naturally meant fajitas for dinner:
Chop up whatever vegetables you have/want. I would normally cook a mixture of peppers, onions, mushrooms, and maybe some mange tout/baby corn (as its veg box delivery tomorrow, my stocks were low, so I enjoyed a couple of peppers and some nice hot red onions). Fry/griddle/oven roast as you prefer, until they are lightly charred.
While the vegetables are cooking, you can make guacamole in (genuinely) two minutes:
When making your fajitas, add whatever you fancy. Usually I would add some home-made salsa (there is something about the texture of salsa in a jar that puts me off...), a big handful of salad leaves, guacamole - of course - and your vegetable mix, then squeeze a chunk of lime all over, fold and enjoy! I don't add fajita seasoning/mix to my vegetables, because I think these fresh flavours are delicious as they are.
This is also a really easy 'just for me' dinner, perfect for a week day evening - and by cooking extra veggies, and whipping up some cous cous, I've got a tasty lunch sorted for the next day. My veg/salad box last week gave me two avocados, which HAD to be made into guacamole, which naturally meant fajitas for dinner:
Chop up whatever vegetables you have/want. I would normally cook a mixture of peppers, onions, mushrooms, and maybe some mange tout/baby corn (as its veg box delivery tomorrow, my stocks were low, so I enjoyed a couple of peppers and some nice hot red onions). Fry/griddle/oven roast as you prefer, until they are lightly charred.
While the vegetables are cooking, you can make guacamole in (genuinely) two minutes:
- mash two avocados
- squeeze in the lime of one or two limes
- mash a couple of cloves of garlic
- add a finely chopped, deseeded red chilli
- mix together - job done.
When making your fajitas, add whatever you fancy. Usually I would add some home-made salsa (there is something about the texture of salsa in a jar that puts me off...), a big handful of salad leaves, guacamole - of course - and your vegetable mix, then squeeze a chunk of lime all over, fold and enjoy! I don't add fajita seasoning/mix to my vegetables, because I think these fresh flavours are delicious as they are.
Satay sauce and the works
I may have mentioned before - cooking is like therapy for me. If I've had a REALLY bad day, I cook a roast dinner, with all the trimmings - I enjoy the concentration needed, and quickly forget whatever is on my mind.
Today was one of those days, but with Grant out for the evening, decided to try something different... so I chose to make Satay Sauce from scratch. I found a recipe on the BBC Food website, by Simon Rimmer. I had been expecting a runnier, creamier sauce, so I added some coconut milk to it, which worked really nicely.
I did improvise on the ingredients a little, for example, no shrimp paste went anywhere near my dinner! and unless they turn up in my veg box, I don't buy shallots, so I substituted the 4 shallots required, for half a red onion (which made the sauce a reasonably interesting pink shade!). The sauce took a maximum of 15 minutes, during which time I was prepping the tofu, and thought it was worth it. the ingredients were mostly things I had in the cupboard too.
Today was one of those days, but with Grant out for the evening, decided to try something different... so I chose to make Satay Sauce from scratch. I found a recipe on the BBC Food website, by Simon Rimmer. I had been expecting a runnier, creamier sauce, so I added some coconut milk to it, which worked really nicely.
I did improvise on the ingredients a little, for example, no shrimp paste went anywhere near my dinner! and unless they turn up in my veg box, I don't buy shallots, so I substituted the 4 shallots required, for half a red onion (which made the sauce a reasonably interesting pink shade!). The sauce took a maximum of 15 minutes, during which time I was prepping the tofu, and thought it was worth it. the ingredients were mostly things I had in the cupboard too.
There's plenty of information on the internet already, about the various ways you can cook tofu. Tonight, I had a go at cooking it in our air frier and was pleased with the results. I didn't marinate the tofu, because I wanted to enjoy the flavour of the satay. I squeezed as much moisture as I could from the tofu, and spritzed it with olive oil before cooking. If, by any chance you have an air frier, I cooked slices of tofu at about 170c for 15 minutes, which gave a nice crispness to the edges, but fluffiness to the centre.
Next, enter the stir fry veg of your choice (I chose an edamame bean stir fry pack from the supermarket, because I'm low on stir fry veg, but only a day away from my Abel and Cole delivery) and noodles - I went for Clear Spring organic udon noodles, which take about 5-6 minutes to cook, in a pan of boiling water.
Everything cooked, I put it all together, and threw some torn coriander over the dish, and a generous squeeze of fresh lime.... and washed it down with a Tiger beer, which seemed like the only decent thing to do!
Everything cooked, I put it all together, and threw some torn coriander over the dish, and a generous squeeze of fresh lime.... and washed it down with a Tiger beer, which seemed like the only decent thing to do!
Hey Presto...Punchy Pesto!
Here's a take on the 'original'. I looked in the fridge last night, and found a bag of watercress, and a bag of rocket I'd forgotten about - luckily, discovered them while still fresh enough to enjoy.
I chucked both bags into the food processor with some olive oil, and got blending. I thought I had some pine nuts in my cupboard, but by the time I realised I didn't, I'd already blitzed the green goodies. I did have a bag of mixed seeds: pumpkin and sunflower seeds, with pine nuts, so threw in a handful along with a pinch of sea salt and generous grinding of black pepper. Blitzed it some more - and hey presto, Punchy Pesto!
I really liked the flavours together, and it made pasta a whole lot more interesting for my lunch.
I chucked both bags into the food processor with some olive oil, and got blending. I thought I had some pine nuts in my cupboard, but by the time I realised I didn't, I'd already blitzed the green goodies. I did have a bag of mixed seeds: pumpkin and sunflower seeds, with pine nuts, so threw in a handful along with a pinch of sea salt and generous grinding of black pepper. Blitzed it some more - and hey presto, Punchy Pesto!
I really liked the flavours together, and it made pasta a whole lot more interesting for my lunch.
Ninja Sauce
I wanted to make a sauce I could use for bolognese for my Grant, and also for me. Normally, I'd have two pans on the go, but decided I'd make one batch of sauce and split it for us both. Unfortunately, Grant doesn't particularly enjoy many veg (its a texture thing) so I wanted to think of a way to sneak in as much goodness as I could... hence Ninja Sauce...
I fried 2 onions, 3 cloves of garlic, a yellow pepper, 4 carrots - all chopped up nice and small, then added 2 cans of chopped tomatoes to simmer it all in until soft, a big squeeze of tomato puree, and finally some seasoning and some oregano. Then I blitzed it!
The quantity made enough for 5-6 portions of sauce, which I've frozen in batches, to use for bolognese base, adding to pasta etc.
Last night, I enjoyed this sauce with a handful of black olives, and some more fresh black pepper. Delicious. And, it got the thumbs up from Grant :)
I fried 2 onions, 3 cloves of garlic, a yellow pepper, 4 carrots - all chopped up nice and small, then added 2 cans of chopped tomatoes to simmer it all in until soft, a big squeeze of tomato puree, and finally some seasoning and some oregano. Then I blitzed it!
The quantity made enough for 5-6 portions of sauce, which I've frozen in batches, to use for bolognese base, adding to pasta etc.
Last night, I enjoyed this sauce with a handful of black olives, and some more fresh black pepper. Delicious. And, it got the thumbs up from Grant :)
Perfect Pesto!
My goodness, this tasted good!
Take heaps of fresh basil, pine nuts and olive oil, and add a handful of fresh mint, and some parsley - sensational.
I didn't bother with a parmesan substitute, because it really didn't need it - the flavours are so fresh. Who needs cheese?!!!
Take heaps of fresh basil, pine nuts and olive oil, and add a handful of fresh mint, and some parsley - sensational.
I didn't bother with a parmesan substitute, because it really didn't need it - the flavours are so fresh. Who needs cheese?!!!
Mexican Rice
Ok, so this may not be substantial enough for an actual dinner (why not just add a tin of mixed beans?), but this stuff is so tasty! I make it to go with chilli, and it works especially well in a burrito. I've mixed Linda McCartney sausages in it, and it is awesome for lunch the next day.
Who needs plain rice?!
The recipe comes from a Women's Weekly cookbook 'Mexican'. This isn't a vegan cookbook, but the recipe was worth sharing with you. Very simple to cook - all you need is one pan, a 'cup' measuring bowl and a small chopping board. Definitely camper van friendly!
Who needs plain rice?!
The recipe comes from a Women's Weekly cookbook 'Mexican'. This isn't a vegan cookbook, but the recipe was worth sharing with you. Very simple to cook - all you need is one pan, a 'cup' measuring bowl and a small chopping board. Definitely camper van friendly!
stage one
Chop up a fresh chilli (deseed it), crush some garlic, and fry gently in a pan.
stage two
Add a chopped onion, and a chopped, deseeded pepper.
stage three
Add the rice (1 and a half cups), and stir for a minute
stage four
Add the vegetable stock (2 cups). Cover, and leave to simmer for about 20-25 minutes, until the rice absorbs all the stock.
and it's ready!
Fluffy, tasty, mexican rice :o)
Black Bean Chilli
Cooked 'al-fresco' (check out the luxurious set up!), this black bean chilli is really simple to make - you can use whatever beans you like, and often I do (a three bean mix works well, as does the well-known kidney bean) but the black beans give a different texture for a nice change.
With every chilli I make, I start with frying a chopped onion, a chopped pepper, and add in a finely chopped fresh chilli. This is the time to sneak in some extra veg - on this occasion, I added chopped celery, but usually add a grated carrot or two.
Fry until the mixture has softened, and before it browns, add tinned tomatoes. Drain and rinse your beans, then add them to the pan. At this point, I squeeze in the juice of a lime, and add 4-6 squares of dark chocolate, finely chopped - it adds a real richness. if you like it as it is (and it is very tasty like this) then you can stop right here. I, however, like a 'Face Melter' chilli so I sprinkle in a generous amount of Crazy Jack organic chilli powder - undoubtedly the best stuff you can get.
The longer you leave this simmering, the better the flavours will be, but that's not so practical when you are camping and using a little bottle of gas, so serve it up over some brown rice, and you are good to go.
It is triumphant the next day, so keep in an airtight container, and find a good Chip Shop - pick up a bag of chips, reheat your chilli as quickly as you can, and pour over the chips. PERFECT.
With every chilli I make, I start with frying a chopped onion, a chopped pepper, and add in a finely chopped fresh chilli. This is the time to sneak in some extra veg - on this occasion, I added chopped celery, but usually add a grated carrot or two.
Fry until the mixture has softened, and before it browns, add tinned tomatoes. Drain and rinse your beans, then add them to the pan. At this point, I squeeze in the juice of a lime, and add 4-6 squares of dark chocolate, finely chopped - it adds a real richness. if you like it as it is (and it is very tasty like this) then you can stop right here. I, however, like a 'Face Melter' chilli so I sprinkle in a generous amount of Crazy Jack organic chilli powder - undoubtedly the best stuff you can get.
The longer you leave this simmering, the better the flavours will be, but that's not so practical when you are camping and using a little bottle of gas, so serve it up over some brown rice, and you are good to go.
It is triumphant the next day, so keep in an airtight container, and find a good Chip Shop - pick up a bag of chips, reheat your chilli as quickly as you can, and pour over the chips. PERFECT.
Tofu and Vegetable Curry with savoury donuts
I'd like to give you a fancy recipe for this, but I like the Geo Organics Korma Curry Paste, from Abel and Cole. Add to that a great selection of vegetables, and some tofu of your choice. Serve with wild rice.
I have no idea what these are meant to be called, but an old friend from work, Nita, told me about these - she cooked amazing authentic Indian food, and even she didn't know what to call these!
There are no weights/quantities for these, just put some self raising flour in a bowl, then mix in lemonade (yes, lemonade!) until you get a doughy, dumpling kind of texture. Roll into balls (a bit smaller than a golf ball) and deep fry just for a minute or two. PLEASE be careful if you are deep frying in your camper van... if you can take your cooker out, to use outside, I'd really recommend it.
These are SO nice if you miss naan bread (which, of course, is mostly made with eggs) - they are a nice fluffy texture, good for soaking up delicious curry sauces.
There are no weights/quantities for these, just put some self raising flour in a bowl, then mix in lemonade (yes, lemonade!) until you get a doughy, dumpling kind of texture. Roll into balls (a bit smaller than a golf ball) and deep fry just for a minute or two. PLEASE be careful if you are deep frying in your camper van... if you can take your cooker out, to use outside, I'd really recommend it.
These are SO nice if you miss naan bread (which, of course, is mostly made with eggs) - they are a nice fluffy texture, good for soaking up delicious curry sauces.
Curried Split Pea Soup - from Vegan With a Vengeance
Its not fair for me to post the recipe here - you need to go an get yourself a copy of this book from the library, or treat yourself to it!
I will confess that I did something wrong (definitely my error)- I'm not sure what (maybe I used the wrong type of split peas... mine were yellow) but the whole soup thing didn't work out. I chucked in some rice, and it turned into a delicious curry, that was perfect for freezing in batches.
I will confess that I did something wrong (definitely my error)- I'm not sure what (maybe I used the wrong type of split peas... mine were yellow) but the whole soup thing didn't work out. I chucked in some rice, and it turned into a delicious curry, that was perfect for freezing in batches.
