Nut roast

This is quite a simple standard vegetarian dish. It is not an exact science. I don't use a recipe for this- I just make it up as I go along, but here I will attempt to represent what i made for Xmas day dinner as my contribution to a huge feast including many roasted vegetables, sauces and gravy.
This version is Vegan.

I bought whole nuts for this, which I was going to chop/ blend, but I thought they had been eaten by the children and managed with only ground and flaked ones. Chopped mixed nuts are fine, but I prefer hazels or almonds.

Ingredients:
Nuts: 200g ground hazlenuts
100g flaked Almonds
(or ground almonds and chopped hazlenuts or... basically 12oz nuts)
1 cup oats
1 slice bread, crumbed (if not stale, lightly toast, leave to cool, then grate)
I onion, finely chopped
2 sticks celery finely chopped
6 mushrooms finely chopped
1 carrot, grated
sunflower oil
Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon
herbs- mixed, or pref, fresh, eg, thyme, small amounts of sage, rosemary
1/2 pint stock made with:
water
Soy sauce- 2-3 dessert spoons
Boillion/stock cube
yeast extract (Marmite)
Seeds for topping- eg sesame, sunflower, pumpkin
optional- cranberries for decoration

In large pan fry onions, celery and mushrooms in oil for about 5 minutes.
Turn off heat and add all other ingredients, the stock last, making sure the mixture is moist and sticky but not runny.
Press into a baking tin or loaf tin
Top with generous amount of seeds
Bake in moderate oven for about an hour to 1 1/2 hours, till firm and seeds start to brown. If in loaf tin, it may need longer and covering with foil so top doesnt burn.

Urm... that's it, i think... never written it down before...
I like it with roast potatoes and parsnips and gravy and cranberry sauce. You can eat it cold in sandwiches if there is any left over.
Quantities- the feast was for 12 but I need to make this much to fill the heart-shaped tin! And it keeps for days.

mince for pies!

1 lb Cooking apples, grated with peel on
12 oz Raisins
8 oz sultanas
8 oz currants
8 oz mixed peel (or use mixed dried fruit of course!)
12oz soft brown sugar
grated rind and juice of 2 oranges
grated rind and juice of 2 lemons
2 oz chopped almonds (I get flaked and crush them with hands. This is instead of suet)
2 oz ground almonds (I only had hazel)
4 teaspoons mixed spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tspn nutmeg
Brandy- optional

Just mix it all together!

here's the recipie for mince pies!

Lammas Focaccia loaf

I wanted to make a loaf for Lammas, and somehow came up with this, it seemed appropriate. leave out olives and herbs for plain focaccia.










7/8 cup water
3/8 (or 1/3) cup olive oil, plus extra for brushing
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp dried oregano (or other herbs)
3 cups strong white bread flour
2 1/2 tsp instand dried yeast


100g or so black olives, quartered


rosemary sprigs
5 cherry plum tomatoes
sea salt


Put first lot of stuff into breadmaker, switch onto dough setting. (or do whatever you do to make dough by hand- presumably mix, leave to rise, knead, leave to rise).
Add olives at begining of second mixing cycle.
Roll out dough into a round bread shape about 1" thick and prod with fingers.
Add halved tomatoes, sprigs of rosemary, sprinkle with salt and brush with oil.
Allow to rise for 10- 20 mins
Bake at gas 6 for 20-25 mins
Brush with olive oil again, or dip broken off pieces in when you eat it!

Dawn's Crazy Cake

This is a vegan chocolate cake. Very simple and very yummy. For a large party cake like this double the quantities, otherwise it will make a 7" round sandwich cake. I use a special cup-measuring cup, which is like an old-fashioned teacup, and a large dessert spoon for the tbsp.

Sieve together:

1 1/2 cups SR flour

3 Tbsp cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

make 3 holes in dry mixture and add:

5 tbsp cooking oil

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 cup cold water

beat with spoon and bake in moderate oven (180C, 350F, Gas4) for 30 mins in oiled/lined tin(s)

My lunch: fried mushrooms and tomatoes on rye toast spread with miso, with wilted spinach.

This is a bit of a departure from my usual rye/sunflower bread with tahini and avocado.

the Quick Brown Pie

The melt-in-your-mouth pastry for this pie was made with 2 oz each of plain flour, spelt flour and butter, a bit of sunflower oil and water. I'm sure have made pastry with just oil and wholewheat flour, I seem to remember using hot water- I'll have to investigate this one; haven't done pastry for a while, so it makes a change. I'd like to try pasties next.

Brown Pie is what I call Linda Mccartney meaty style pies. The filling was:

4 small onions, chopped small
1 large carrot, diced
1 or 2 pototoes, diced
a few green beans, chopped
A tin of, or ready- cooked brown lentils
1 tomato
-sauted in a little oil, water added, and pepper, pinch of herbs, boillion, yeast extract and soy sauce, and simmered from a while.
Topped with the pastry in a casserole dish and baked for 15 mins at 200C

This was served with leftover mash and tinned petit pois and carrots! It was quick and is was yummy and not heavy on our sensitive stomachs! Well, Joy and Meg ate it all, Fergus mainly the pastry, and Freddie, well, he's not really decided whether or not he really likes pie, but he ate the veg, anyway!

cookery in colour

here are my lovely new measuring cups: I cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup and 1/4 cup. useful for... muffins? I use 1 cup of water when making bread, but I do tend the weigh the flour, straight into the breadmaker pan on the electronic scales.
But they do look nice, hanging there, don't they? and they will always be there when I need them.

(the book is Marguerite Pattern)

romanesco cauliflower

This picture is for my mum and anyone else who doesn't know what one looks like. Not a perfect specimen, and we have eaten some of it (the kids loved it!), but they never cease to amaze me: each floret is like a mini head of cauli and within there are infinite smaller heads swirling round in a pointed spiral.