The long period of inactivity has probably cost me my one, solitary reader (hi Mum), but contrary to popular rumour and the terrible smell, I’m not actually dead. Real Life and holidays got in the way a bit, but today I’d like to share a recipe for Vegan Yakisoba. Yakisoba (or Sosu Yakisoba to give it its full name) is Japanese for “fried noodles in sauce”. It’s quick to make, and tastes very good. Make sure you get good quality Japanese Soba (buckwheat) noodles. You can use whatever vegetables you have to hand, but we used cabbage, carrots, onion and mushroom. Read the rest of this entry »
The poor, much-maligned brussels sprout. Traditionally served grey and mushy with roast dinners, children are told to “eat your sprouts – they’re good for you” despite the strong, bitter flavour which comes from overcooking. If that’s your opinion of sprouts, then you’re missing out on a lot! Brussels sprouts – a cultivar of wild cabbage – are sweet and tasty if cooked properly, as well as being high in iron and vitamin C.
Here’s a very tasty recipe, which we served with a roast vegetable salad. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: brussels sprouts, cooked, recipe, vegan
Being from Yorkshire, you have to know a bit about onion gravy…it’s genetic! Anyway, we had a lazy, vegan comfort food evening tonight – vegan sausages, potato wedges, and delicious onion gravy. I’m sure you can figure out how to cook the vegan sausages and wedges, but here’s my recipe for a very satisfying vegan onion gravy. I need to perfect my vegan Yorkshire puddings now! Read the rest of this entry »
This is a quick and tasty, everything-in-the-cupboard kind of a dish. I made it exactly as below, but you can use whatever vegetables you feel happy with. It may be nice to add some fresh bamboo shoots or water chestnuts as well. Add a bit more chili sauce if you want more heat. You could use smooth peanut butter if you prefer, but I think that crunchy gives a bit more texture. It tastes much better with some nice, natural organic peanut butter – rather than the high in palm oil and sugar supermarket varieties. Read the rest of this entry »
Umeboshi – or Japanese pickled plum – is an acquired taste. It has a strong and salty flavour. Umeboshi is also reputed to be an excellent alkalising food, with numerous health benefits including (allegedly) a potent cure for hangovers! For many Japanese, it’s an umeboshi a day that keeps the doctor away, but for the rest of us – their strong and full-on taste can be just too much. My mission – should I choose to accept it – was to come up with a recipe that makes umeboshi palatable for even the most sceptical (such as Kim 
and, by experimentation…I did! Read the rest of this entry »
Having already extolled the virtues of chickpeas, I’m turning to another favourite use for them – in curry. Actually, curry is my favourite use for most foodstuffs, but chickpeas especially so.
This curry is quick and easy to make, also it’s tasty and filling. You can add more chili to make it hotter if you wish (I have to scale mine back a bit to cater for people who don’t like nuclear-hot food). For speed, we’re using canned chickpeas, but I’ve included details about using dried chickpeas at the end. Read the rest of this entry »
Now that you’re an expert at sprouting chickpeas (or garbanzo beans, if you prefer), then you can use them to make this delicious raw hummus.
Chickpeas are high in fibre, zinc, folate and phosphorous. They’re also a good source of iron. The addition of tahini (ground raw sesame seeds), makes this a snack that’s high in iron and calcium – as well as tasting great. Read the rest of this entry »
The more raw food you can eat, the better you’ll feel. This recipe is for a raw nut “meat”, which – I agree – sounds unappetising, but actually tastes really good. It’s easy to make and so versatile that you can use it as a base for many more raw dishes.
We served it with a Pak Choi salad. Pak Choi is high in Vitamins A and C, and is also a good source of Calcium. It has a delicate, slightly sweet flavour, so you don’t want to overpower it with the dressing. Read the rest of this entry »
Did you know that the sweet potato is only distantly related to the potato? Although it has similar characteristics, it’s actually from a different family. Regardless of its relatives, the sweet potato has a sweet, warm flavour. And it goes beautifully with the earthy cumin in this recipe, which I’ve adapted from a recipe sent by the wonderful people at Home Organics. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: rocket, salad, sweet potato, vegan
I love the earthy and pungent flavour of Chinese black beans. They smell so good when they’re cooking – and taste even better.
This recipe is quick and easy – cooking the rice will actually take you longer. Don’t use the commercially available jars of black bean sauce, but try get proper dried Chinese black beans from your local Asian supermarket. This is definitely one of our regular favourites. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: black bean, mushrooms, sauce, vegan