I made these fritattas to take on a beach picnic yesterday with my daughter. She recently moved to Worthing, on the south coast, and there are several beaches within easy driving distance of her flat. The sun was very warm and the sea was a gorgeous shade of blue but it was a bit windy….
Tag: Vegetarian
Slow cooker butternut squash and bean chilli
Do people still use slow cookers now that air fryers are taking over the world? I don’t have an air fryer but I love my slow cooker. It can come in very handy, especially at this time of year when you’re rushing around getting ready for the festivities. With most slow cooker recipes I usually…
Huevos rancheros
This is an improvised (and lighter) version of the famous Mexican breakfast which is pretty much my staple brunch at least twice a week these days. I use it with whatever ingredients I have in stock – if I don’t have black beans I’ll use kidney or cannellini beans. I don’t always have tortillas or…
Haricot bean and halloumi bake
This was a recipe I made a couple of Saturdays ago, conjured up at the last minute based on ingredients I happened to have in the cupboard and fridge (a typical ‘Cheap, Fresh and Easy’ approach). I usually plan for the week’s meals in advance and shop accordingly, as it’s cheaper that way. But lately…
Creamy cauliflower tagliatelle
Here’s another recipe to celebrate Veganuary (although I should say I’m not doing the full vegan diet this month, just using this time as an incentive to cut down on meat). This recipe is from Miguel Barclay’s book Vegan One Pound Meals – part of his fantastic One Pound Meals cook book series which is…
Black bean vegan burgers
I’m not a big fan of processed, shop bought vegan burgers – I am still on the hunt for one that I really like, both in texture and taste. In the meantime I prefer to make my own with pulses or as I did once with beetroot. This recipe using black beans is nice and…
Butternut squash lasagne
I love this recipe because it is so seasonal – the butternut squash was in my Oddbox recently and I already had most of the other ingredients in stock (including sage from my garden). I just needed to buy the ricotta and mozzarella. One of the pleasures of subscribing to Oddbox is that I start…
Jackfruit in barbecue sauce
This is the first time I have eaten jackfruit. I’ve had a tin at the back of my cupboard for a while and fancied creating a vegan alternative to pulled pork – and last night I finally got around to it. I wanted to make a completely vegan recipe so had to improvise with the…
Chargrilled baby gem lettuce
I’m always trying to avoid food waste but so often I don’t succeed and I get very annoyed with myself. Just this evening I threw out half a big bag of spinach I’d completely forgotten about – the spinach was way too yellow to salvage. And I’m always finding bags of soggy and yellowing bags…
Puy lentil salad with aubergines and broccoli
Puy lentils make a fantastic base for any salad and go very well with most vegetables. Try circles of carrot cooked Vichy-style (simmered in water, butter, salt and sugar until nicely glazed and soft) or courgettes and red peppers, brushed with olive oil and griddled. You could try stirring some cauliflower florets in olive oil…
Courgette omelette
Sometimes I think I veer away a bit from the ‘easy’ part of the ‘cheap, fresh and easy’ philosophy of this blog. So here’s a quick and simple recipe that only takes about 10 minutes. My tips for a successful omelette are: use a non stick frying pan pour the beaten eggs into the hot…
Sticky shiitake mushrooms
This is a vegan recipe from Bosh! which I made yesterday and devoured greedily. I swear this is one of the most delicious meals I’ve ever eaten and my photo doesn’t really do it justice. As the Bosh recipe says ‘If you’re a fan of sticky, sweet, pan-asian cuisine you will absolutely LOVE this dish. (Seriously,…
Mushroom frittata
I made this frittata two weeks ago over the Easter (and Passover) weekend because I was observing Passover, so not eating any bread or flour based products otherwise I might have made a quiche. I was out and about a lot over the long weekend and wanted to grab something ready prepared for quick snacks,…
Slow roasted tomato and pepper soup
Here’s a very easy, spicy (and vegan) soup that’s perfect for these cold days of early spring. The slow roasting really helps build up the flavour which means you can use the cheaper tomatoes rather than the tastier vine ripened ones. I served the soup with crunchy rosemary croutons, made with my own sourdough bread…
Spicy chickpea croquettes
I made these last weekend and intended to freeze them in batches. But they were so tasty I found I was eating a few every day either as a starter or when I came home hungry from work and needed a quick snack. They are particularly nice with a range of dips and would be…
Chickpea curry
I’ve been stocking up my freezer with home made ready meals. This is partly to reduce my food costs (and batch cooking is one of the easiest ways to do that) and partly to have a big selection of quick meals to choose from in January when I know I’m going to be busy. I…
Latkes
Nothing says ‘happy Chanukah’ like a plate of piping hot latkes, straight from the frying pan and glistening in oil. I made these latkes early one morning at the beginning of Chanukah last week and was even greedy enough to guzzle some of them down for breakfast (I’ve never done that before but just couldn’t…
Meat free moussaka
My holiday in Greece this year was wonderful. I stayed in Vassiliki on Lefkas, a pretty and laid back harbourside town and watersports centre where I windsurfed for the first time (proof that I can get out of my comfort zone). I also spent one morning on a tour of the nearby olive groves (where…
Chilled watercress soup
The heatwave continues. It was around 30C yesterday so I took the day off and went to Brockwell Lido, a massive open air pool in Brockwell Park, Herne Hill (aka ‘Brixton Beach’). I love the lido – in this kind of heat I just want access to an outdoor pool and to feel like I’m…
Pasta bake
With the temperature plummeting it’s time to roll out some comfort, carb heavy recipes. As pasta bakes are cheap, tasty and very easy to make they can be top of your list. I say easy but I have just remembered an occasion years ago when I was cooking with my then teenage niece and we…
Roasted cauliflower steaks with vierge sauce
This is a surprisingly substantial and filling dish and at about £1.50 a portion is incredible value. The cauliflower retains a firm texture and the vierge sauce is fresh, crunchy and colourful. Adding capers to the sauce gives the dish a sharp and piquant flavour. This is a very easy meal to make and only takes about…
Pretty herb pasta
I’ve started making my own pasta. I bought a pasta making machine for around £25 a few weeks’ ago and I love it. It’s a relaxing and therapeutic process and you can prepare pasta dough to keep in the fridge for a few days so you can make it in advance for when you are…
Spaghetti with minty aubergine and sun-dried tomato sauce
Aubergines are cheap and nutritious and make a great base for a spaghetti sauce. I watched Rick Stein make something similar to this recipe based on a Sicilian dish but he used tinned tomatoes which I didn’t have (very unusual for me) so I made it with a few sun-dried tomatoes and tomato puree instead….
Stuffed aubergine rolls
I made this regularly when my children were growing up because my son used to be a vegetarian. Aubergines are cheap (45p each at Aldi), versatile and nutritious. They absorb different flavours very well and provide enough bulk and fibre on their own so you don’t really need to serve an additional carbohydrate. Having said that…
Cheap, fresh and easy 