Meat Free Sausage Casserole via Linda McCartney Foods

It has been snowing here in Edinburgh, so tonight I’m making a veganised version of this hearty feast:

http://www.lindamccartneyfoods.co.uk/tastiestmeatfree/recipe.php?id=69

Sage and Onion Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 4. Large Flat Mushrooms (stems trimmed)
• 85g (1 standard size small pack) Sage and Onion Stuffing
• 1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp. Vegan Margarine
• 1 Medium White Onion diced
• 1 Garlic Clove crushed
• 2 T. Fresh Parsley chopped

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Brush oil around a medium sized baking dish.
3. Heat the margarine in a pan over medium high heat.
4. Add garlic and onions and sauté for 6/7 minutes. Stir in stuffing and parsley.
5. Evenly distribute mixture to mushroom caps.
6. Bake for 40-45 minutes on the middle shelf of your pre heated oven. Stuffing should appear lightly browned and crisp.

I served this with a light babyleaf salad.

Very Quick Tomato Soup

Once again I’ve been guilty of neglect. In truth it has been several months since I cooked something that wasn’t nabbed from a recipe by someone else.

But tonight I made some adjustments to my favourite quick & easy tomato soup recipe, I thought this to be worth sharing.

Ingredients:

• 1 Medium Onion, Diced
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (or to taste)
• 4 cloves roasted garlic
• salt  to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar (optional)

Method:

1. Sauté onion in the olive oil using a medium non-stick saucepan. When the onion is translucent, add the tomatoes, oregano, rosemary, cayenne and stock cube. Simmer on low heat for 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Transfer half of the soup to the blender, add the roasted garlic, and puree until fairly smooth. Add salt to taste, and simmer for 10 minutes, then add the brown sugar.
3. Allow to cool slightly & serve.

As easy as that.

Portobello Mushroom Bake

I’ve been neglecting this spectacular little blog of mine over recent months due to life, work and domestic stresses. But I’m back and plan to update more often as I still have so many readers (which is terribly humbling!).

Tonight I made a Portobello Mushroom Bake from a recipe in one of my favourite cook books The Garden of Vegan (which you can get here). As the recipe is available from its creator I shan’t plagiarize here but post an, albeit slightly grainy, image of the finished result. Needless to say it was delicious!

This recipe called for ‘Braggs’ which is a soy sauce-like liquid amino. This is available via mail order in the UK but not easy to get hold of in Edinburgh, so I substituted with (vegan) Tamari.

Cakes for Japan in Edinburgh

Images from Edinburgh Cakes for Japan event.
Thanks to all who came, donated, ate & were merry we made £2,330 for the Japan Tsunami appeal. Simply stunning!

Vegan Cakes for Japan

Cakes for Japan, Edinburgh 26th March

Cranachan

Cranachan is generally a fancy Scottish breakfast dish, like a posh porridge, but is more commonly served up as a dessert. The recipe here is one that can be used for either, though you may prefer to omit the whisky if you start the day off with it.

A Vegan Burns Supper (Includes Cock-a-Leekie Soup, Vegan Haggis & Clootie Dumpling)

As I’m Scottish and Burns Night is just a couple of days away (25th Jan) I thought I’d share recipes I’ve penned for our home-made Burns Supper.

Traditionally a Burns Supper is a bit of an offal fest and a fair number of meat eaters prefer a veggie or vegan option to the traditional Scottish Fayre. I created these recipes with that in mind. The meal consists of:

• Starter: Cock-a-leekie Soup
• Main: Haggis Neeps & Tatties
• Dessert: Clootie Dumpling

Sweetcorn Fritters

I served these up as a starter (along with a tangy salad) to a Caribbean-themed meal and adapted the recipe from one that features in Linda Majzlik’s fantastic A Vegan Taste of the Caribbean book, which I recommend highly.

This made 8 – 10 small – medium sized fritters which were delicious.

Mexican-style Chili Feast

As it has been far too many weeks since I blogged one of my own recipes I must write up the Mexican inspired feast we enjoyed for dinner this evening, which consisted of:

• Three Bean Chili
• Tomato Salsa
• Home-made Tortilla Chips
• Veganised Sour Cream