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Spiced coconut veggie stew and onion fritters

Spiced coconut veggie stew and onion fritters

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Last night, we decided to have a bit of an Indian lockdown feast. For the non-veggies, I did some very easy chicken tikka - chicken breasts marinated for a few hours in yoghurt, lemon, salt, garlic, 1/2 tsp chilli and 1/2 tsp ground coriander, then baked in the oven for 20 - 3o minutes until cooked through and a bit charred on the edges. I also cooked my spiced coconut veggie stew, which I’ve got written in my notebook but don’t ever seem to have published on here (I’m warning you now about these photos - I wasn’t expecting to write about this). We didn’t bother with rice (Charlie bought naan breads from the supermarket) and I made these yummy little onion fritters adapted from a recipe that a lovely (man! I’ll tell you more soon) friend told me about and wow - it was delicious. I wasn’t going to write about it but it was SUCH A FEAST, it needs to be shared. Read more

White and green pizza from Sal's Market Deli at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Universal Orlando Resort

White and green pizza from Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Universal Orlando

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How are you all? What is it, today? Lockdown day 44 or something? It’s not too bad here. We’ve settled into an uneasy truce where we’re mostly civil to each other, which is a lot easier for everyone. Anyhoo, I hope your lockdown home life is going okay. I’m missing travel and my favourite theme parks and hotels and restaurants and delicious food in general, so when the lovely chaps at Universal Orlando Resort mentioned that a few of their recipes have been put online for people to recreate at home, I jumped at the chance. Last night, I made the white and green pizza from Sal’s Market Deli at the beautiful Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, and woah, it’s delicious. I know a lot of people are talking comfort in taking time to create new dishes, so I’ve adapted it a bit from the US measurements so you can give it a go too.

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Peanut, coconut and chocolate chip flapjacks

Peanut, coconut and chocolate chip flapjacks

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If you’re looking for a sweet treat to bake at home right now (and if you’re lockdown parenting, something to keep the kids occupied for a while too), then look no further than these peanut, coconut and chocolate chip flapjacks. They weren’t supposed to have chocolate chips in, but Charlie requested them at the last minute, and they’re so good, I’ll definitely be adding them from now on. As long as you keep the basic fat/sugar/oat proportions in this recipe the same you can add or substitute ingredients for what you have handy at home. For the fat element, you can use butter, or coconut oil or plant based spread if you want to keep it vegan. Oh and if you don’t want to use peanut butter, just up the fat content to 175g.

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Turkey tips and timings for Christmas dinner

Turkey tips and timings for Christmas dinner

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I always love writing this Christmas Eve round-up post every year– I’m sure I say pretty much the same thing every year, which is don’t panic! It’s just a big roast dinner, but it’s worth reminding you that it’s your Christmas too, so enlist everyone to help, and do as much as you can before the big day. Here, then, without further waffle, are all my top turkey tips and timings for Christmas dinner. If you’re catering for a couple of vegetarians or vegans, I suggest doubling up on the stuffing (it’s delicious on its own, but you could even squish up some veggie sausages and add them into the mix).

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Vegan apple, red onion and chestnut stuffing

Christmas countdown: vegan apple, red onion and chestnut stuffing

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This vegan apple, red onion and chestnut stuffing (or dressing, if you’re American, as it’s not actually going to be stuffed anywhere) is my favourite stuffing recipe in the whole world. I gave up eating pork this year, so just substituted in the ground mushrooms instead, and after extensive taste testing by my resident veggies/vegans, we can confirm that it tastes just as delicious. It’s naturally vegetarian, and so easy to make it vegan by substituting the butter. If you’d prefer the porky original, though, it’s just here. We love it cooked in a buttered tin, so you get a big, crispy topped spoonful with your turkey (or instead of your turkey), but if you’d rather make yours a bit more delicate, it’s lovely rolled into balls and roasted. It also makes fabulous sausage rolls if you’re entertaining. I know it seems like a lot of butter (or plant-based spread, if you’re vegan), but it’s all sucked up into the ingredients and isn’t at all greasy, I promise.

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Smoky maple roasted halloumi bacon

Smoky maple roasted halloumi ‘bacon’

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Helloooo! And happy Tuesday. You’ll have been glad, this entire week, that this isn’t a YouTube channel, as I’ve been communicating entirely from my sick bed in my pyjamas. After a hideous week (oh my god, I wouldn’t wish shingles upon my worst enemy), I’m finally on the mend and even got dressed and went out with Charlie (who is back from uni - the dog is ecstatic) and Amy to get the Christmas tree. I’m now fully on Christmas duty and will be dedicating every day from now until Christmas to different Christmas recipes, tips and tricks. For day one, I’ve got this delicious smoky maple roasted halloumi ‘bacon’ for you.

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Super easy vegetable curry

Ugly super easy vegetable curry

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I am currently poorly. I’m trying not to bang on about it, but I think this is possibly the most rotten I’ve felt in a while. On the upside, it means I’m confined to bed and have had to cancel absolutely every engagement, which is strangely freeing. I’ve had a couple of days where I haven’t been able to eat anything, but as my appetite’s come back, I’ve been craving something really simple and nourishing and it made me think of this curry. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made it, and every time I make it I think that I really must write up the recipe. Trouble is, it never looks good. Food photography and dark evenings never really mix and - well, it’s just not photogenic. BUT it tastes delicious and a couple of people have asked me for the recipe, and I guess it’s bad to always strive for perfection, so it’s going up anyway. As the name suggests, this super easy vegetable curry is super easy to make. It’s naturally vegan, and basically just a case of chopping loads of stuff and whacking it all in a big pan. It’s such a lovely thing for those times when you’re craving something really soothing and easy to eat, perfect if you’re under the weather or need something warming on a cold night. It’s also fab for using up any leftover veg you have hanging about - the bonus being it’s never quite the same any time you make it. Anyway, enjoy, and sorry for the hideous photos. I promise when I’ve got my energy back I’ll take more pics and make it look a bit prettier.

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Dark chocolate and cherry Christmas pudding

Dark chocolate and cherry Christmas pudding

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Morning all! If you’re a regular, you’ll know this weekend coming is one of my favourites of the year because it’s Stir-up Sunday! For me, it’s a weekend full of all the things I absolutely love: I’m never happier than when I’m pottering in the kitchen, but add in the fact that this recipe fills the whole house full of gorgeous, Christmassy orange and spice scents and it’s an absolute winner. If you fancy making your own Christmas puddings this year, I’ve added the ingredients list nice and early so you can make sure you have everything ready. Do remember that this is a two-step recipe as I steeping the fruit overnight – you could just start really early on Sunday but remember that steaming the pudding takes about five hours. This year, I’m embracing two of my absolute favourite flavours with a dark chocolate and cherry Christmas pudding. It’s not overwhelmingly chocolatey, but the chocolate just adds an extra depth and bittersweet flavour, and the cherries add a pop of colour and sweetness too.

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Vegan dining options at Walt Disney World Florida

Vegan dining options at Walt Disney World, Florida

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You all know how I feel about the food at Walt Disney World. The dining there is some of the best in the world, and the restaurants - in the parks, the resort hotels and at Disney Springs, are some of my favourite in the world. If you follow a plant based diet, don’t eat meat, dairy or both, or have other dietary requirements, it can be daunting visiting a new place, so I thought to celebrate World Vegan Day, I’d take you through some of the brilliant vegan dining options at Walt Disney World, Florida. Read more

Vegetarian and vegan dining options at Universal Orlando Resort, Florida

Vegan dining options at Universal Orlando Resort, Florida

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Did you know that today is World Vegan Day? In fact, the whole of November has been designated World Vegan Month, and to celebrate, I thought I would do a few vegan things throughout the month. I thought I’d start by creating a bit of a guide to eating vegan at some of my favourite places. I’ve started with a roundup of the vegan dining options at Universal Orlando Resort, Florida. I’ve been lucky enough to have eaten at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida quite a bit recently, what with the opening of Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, and then Halloween Horror Nights, and then filming the Universal resort hotels with Attraction Tickets Direct (big roundup coming soon). Generally in our group there’s at a vegan or two, plus weird people like me who still occasionally eat meat but like to order the plant based options, and it’s been interesting to experience how brilliant the serving staff and chefs are in all of the restaurants at accommodating different dietary requirements.

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Sweet sticky bbq tofu

Sweet, spicy, sticky barbecue tofu

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I have to be honest, I nearly gave up on tofu. The couple of times I tried it, it was flabby and cardboardy and kind of spongy, and didn’t really taste of a lot, so I’ve done a bit of research, and with the help of Charlie’s lovely Amy, who is on her own vegan journey, I’ve now got a couple of tricks up my sleeve to make it super delicious. This recipe takes the sauce from my breaded baked barbecue cauliflower recipe, and teams it with crispy tofu to make a delicious sweet, spicy, sticky barbecue tofu that can be served in wraps with salad, or piled onto rice or baked potatoes, added to a stir fry or even stuffed into sandwiches.

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Veggie dinner inspo from Mindful Chef

Veggie dinner inspo from Mindful Chef

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From chatting to people who send me messages every time I post a Mindful Chef dinner on my social media (they’re obviously very popular - I always get a flurry whenever I mention them), it seems that people’s reasons for using a recipe box service can be as varied as the meals themselves. Recently I’ve had chats with people who were stupidly busy at work but still wanted to eat well, people who were trying to kick start themselves into a healthier eating regime, and - increasingly - people who are interested in eating less meat (for whatever reason). Think about it: if you’re planning dinner, most of you will generally have quite a few meat-based recipes that you cook on a regular basis (I would always fall back on chicken breast roasted with veg in the oven, a chilli, shepherds pie, that sort of thing), but if you’re making a change, you don’t have those recipes to hand, so it’s really helpful to get some veggie dinner inspo from Mindful Chef.

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Vegan coconut and peanut butter flapjacks

Vegan coconut and peanut butter flapjacks

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So I chatted a while ago about the fact that Charlie in particular is keen to give up meat and dairy. I was just about to make flapjacks the other day when I realised that they obviously contain quite a bit of butter. Oops. Happily, I’m quite into cooking with coconut oil at the moment, so I tried that instead et voila - vegan coconut and peanut butter flapjacks were born - and oh my goodness, they’re SO good! The texture is the perfect amount of chewy and the peanut butter adds a lovely little sweet/salty flavour too. Regular readers will know that he’s also a dried fruit hater, but feel free to add some in if you like it - chopped dates would be amazing, ooh, or dried pineapple - it would be like a pina colada flapjack! Also, a quick word about peanut butter - I used the Meridian Crunchy Peanut Butter because it’s just 100% peanuts and doesn’t contain palm oil - but if you’re concerned obviously just check the label.

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How to make a classic mushroom risotto

How to make a classic mushroom risotto

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Risotto is one of those recipes I like to cook when I’m really in the mood to take my time and potter in the kitchen. I think all the chopping and stirring is the best, gentle form of therapy. I cook the mushrooms (with lots of garlic) really slowly before I start (anyone else a bit weird about mushrooms? I love the flavour, but they have to be cooked well - a flabby mushroom is nobody’s friend). This is a great one for serving a crowd, as although it’s relatively easy, the flavour is fabulous, and it’s also quite forgiving as it will sit for a while once it’s made. You can tart it up with garlicky, buttery chunks of toasted sourdough and a fresh green salad, or just eat it in big greedy bowlfuls in front of the telly. Here’s how to make a classic mushroom risotto.

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Creamy vegetable bake with a cheesy topping

Creamy vegetable bake

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This is such a good recipe if you’ve got leftovers. In fact, we like it so much that I’ve started deliberately cooking too much roasted veg on Sunday so we can use the leftovers for this one on the Monday. I’m not a vegetarian or a vegan (but did you know that next week, 13th - 19th May is National Vegetarian Week?), but I always try to do a couple of meat free meals a week. If you are, I’m sure you have all your favourite brands/substitutes for things like stock, cheese and cream. I would imagine coconut milk would work okay, but a dairy-free friend of mine has told me that Oatly do an actual crème fraîche substitute. There’s a bit of prep to this recipe, but once you’ve got it down I promise you’ll make it again and again, and probably personalise it too. If you like more sauce, add more stock, or maybe you’d prefer it without the topping. I think it would make a delicious filling for a pie too. The thing I love about this dish is that it’s always slightly different, depending on what you have in the fridge.
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Lentil and vegetable hotpot 3

Lentil and vegetable hotpot

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Although we’re not vegetarians, I try to make several meals a week that don’t include meat, so when Hello Fresh asked me if I’d like to try one of their recipes, I went for the veggie option and chose this lentil and vegetable hotpot. I would imagine this would be really easy to make into a vegan dish by changing the cheese too, so it’s a really good staple supper recipe to have under your belt if you’ve got a houseful of people who all have different dietary requirements. I’ve changed the recipe a tiny bit (we love a bit of spice), but feel free to leave it out or add your own tweaks too. I guarantee this will end up being one of your favourite veggie dinners. These amounts are supposed to serve two but we had a ton of leftovers - just double up if you need to.

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