Delicious 'Festive Nut Roast'

Last week after the 'Vegetarian Debate' in this house I think we have decided to be 'Part time Omnivores'.  This has already taken effect and involves reducing the meat that is consumed in the house.  Last week I made my first 'Nut Roast' in years.  I was very pleased with the results it had a great flavour, sliced well and made a substantial meat-free main meal.  I decided to create this 'Festive Version' for the holidays.
This is a hearty, nutritious 'Festive Nut Roast' flavoured with Cranberries, Chutney and Mixed Spice.  It is delicious served as a roast meal and is equally delicious served cold with pickles.  It will keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days.  It can be mixed in advance and kept in the fridge until ready to roast.  It also freezes well.  A very versatile Vegetarian option, perfect for the festivities.

Ingredients
400g Wholemeal Bread crumbs
600g Chopped Mix Nuts
100g Dried Cranberries
1 large courgette (grated)
2 Carrots (grated, no need to peel)
1 large onion (grated)
3 tablespoons of a good quality Chutney (I used Tomato and Chilli Jam)
2 tsp of Dried Mixed Herbs
1 heaped tsp of Ground Mixed Spice
Salt and Pepper (Season well)
4 Eggs (from you bestest clucky friends)
2 tablespoons of Olive oil

Method
Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix until all the ingredients are really well combined.  I use my hands.  Turn the mixture into a buttered roasting tin or loaf tins.  Cook in a medium to hot oven for 1hr  30 mins.  Check the Nut Roast to ensure it isn't burning and adjust the oven accordingly or cover the top with tin foil..  It is good to make sure the Nuts are roasted throughout the dish as this brings out maximum flavour.  It smells so good while it is Roasting.  Serve hot with vegetables and a Vegetarian Gravy.   It is also delicious to serve cold in slices or chunks with pickles, crackers and cheese.

         On the Craft Front, Euan is collecting UFO's (Unfinished Objects) at the almost the same rate as his Mom!  He has several Yarny things on the go too.  Today we had a quiet moment of fun using this book:

We have not had the snow that the 'Weatherman' practically promised us, so we have had to make our own, ours is very pretty.

To be or not to be...is that even a question?

Today has been a baking day.  Euan and I like the idea of 'Pie Day Friday'.  I have bought a new cook book.

I like Hairy Bikers and I like pies.  Euan read this to me last night as his 'Reading Book'.  Inspired by my new book I made a large batch of wholemeal pastry.  We have had some recent debates in this house about us consuming too much red meat.  In the past I spent about eight years as a Vegetarian, but during pregnancy craved 'Bones and heart!' I know it isn't nice but anyone who has experienced pregnancy cravings knows their is no reasoning with them, so I went with it and chewed on 'Spare rib bones' and did eat braised lambs hearts!  I felt a bit like Hannibal Lecter.  I never went back to vegetarianism.  If I keep my head in the sand I am fine eating meat but if I educate myself with online sites and worse videos, the meat industry horrifies me.  I try to be a conscious consumer.  I am not sure if I will be vegetarian again or not, but eating less meat has to be good.  Euan's argument is, I quote him 'It is ok to eat animals that we don't know personally'.  Obviously he thinks farms are like 'Old Macdonalds' farm with happy critters running around living a blissful life in sunny fields.  Todays baking in preparation for our first Pie Day Friday, was an old favourite from my veggie student days.  Wholemeal Vegetable Pasties.  They are like the good old 'Cornish Pasty' with a filling of root vegetables, onion and beans.  They sure are tasty and filling.

I made about eight hefty pasties.  The vegetables cook sealed in the pastry case and the flavours are delicious.

I had enough pastry left to make a pastry case that I will do something with tomorrow and also I made some 'Cheese Straws'.  My Dad is very partial to a cheese straw.  I will save him some.

I think all this talk of vegetarianism has unnerved a certain seven year old.  I found a 'silent protest' on my bed.  Somebody has asked his big brother for spellings and left me a couple of 'Post it' notes:

The first reads 'I want to be an Omnivore'.

Then just to clarify the second reads 'I don't want to be a vegetarian'.  Shame as I have made a huge 'Nut Roast' in place of a joint of meat for the weekend!  

Frittering Away!

I found this recipe at 'Alia's Creative Life' Blog, they are quick and crispy Vegetable Fritters.  I have never made anything like these before and ignoring the 'deep fried' aspect thought they are a good way to get the kids to consume vegetable.  They made a nice weekend snack in front of the T.V.  It is almost essential to have something to dip them into.  I used Home made 'Tamarind Sauce' the kids preferred Ketchup.
Ingredients
1 small cabbage, finely shredded
2 carrots, grated
2 onions, finely sliced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 small can of drained sweetcorn

Plain flour 125g
A mug of water.

Method
Mix the flour and water to make a thick pouring consistency, you may need to add more water or more flour.
Stir the batter in to all of the vegetables and mix well.

Plop spoonfuls of this mixture into a hot deep fat fryer, until the fritters are golden.  Drain well and enjoy!  Next I would like to try Pakora, by adding Curry Powder to the batter mix and making spicy fritters....

Garbanzos!

My friend was very proud of this little plant and sent me the photograph.  It is a 'Chickpea' plant complete with cute little pods.  I did not know you can grow these in the UK.  I love the fat little pods.  I also love chickpeas.  I buy the dried variety as this works out more economical than the canned and use my 'Slowpot' / 'crockpot' to prepare them in bulk.  When they are tender I then put them in to little bags in the freezer, so they are ready to drop in to soups, curries, stews, and salads.  I will also have to have a go at 'falafels'.  I love the Blog 'Alia's Creative Life' and really enjoyed the photographs that accompanied this recipe here Masala Garbanzos.  Garbanzos are good on 'Healthy Eating Plans'!  Inspired by Alia's recipe, I tweaked it a little to make 'Aloo Chana Chaat' in my trusty old 'Slowpot'.  I think this is a great healthy, tasty and thrifty recipe.


Aloo Chana Chaat

Garbanzos, (Chick Peas) 2 Cups (You can use them straight from the can or just boil Chickpeas)
Onions, 3, finely sliced
Tomato, 3, finely chopped
2tsp Garam Masala
2 red chilies finely chopped
six cloves of garlic finely chopped
Boiled Potato, 3 Medium, Peeled and Cubed
Coriander Leaves/Cilantro, 2 Tsp, Chopped
Oil
Salt

Method:
1) Heat some oil in a sauce pan or a wok.( I used that spray oil honest Guv!)
2) Saute the onion it becomes tender.  Put it into a slowpot on the hot setting.
3) Add the Garlic, chilies, Garam Masala, Chopped tomatoes and Potatoes.
4) Add the Garbanzos (Boiled Chickpeas) and stir well.
5) Cook on hot for 3 hours then turn it low until ready to eat.   Garnish with Coriander Leaves!
6) Serve Hot, with Tamarind Sauce or Chutney.


I also had a block of dried 'Tamarind' at the back of the cupboard.  I have never used Tamarind at all.  The same friend with the 'Chickpea' plant said her Hubby bought a block too and wondered what you do with 200g of the stuff.  I 'googled' and found a recipe for a sauce, the sauce apparently keeps really well.  Again I tweaked the recipe to suit my store cupboard.  


Tamarind Sauce
200g of Dried Tamarind
500ml of hot water
1tsp of chilli powder
2tsp Garam Masala
1tsp Salt
75g of sugar
1 large dessert spoon of Black Treacle


Put all the ingredients together and soak for 30 minutes.   Using a liquidizer or hand blender whizz until smooth.  Now for the labour intensive bit...rub the mixture through a sieve.   Bottle and store in the fridge.  This makes a delicious tangy sauce to add to curries or to eat as an condiment.  

Aloo Chana Chaat served with Homemade Tamarind Sauce

Mimi's Mommy, Medha's Delicious Indian 'Potato Recipes' (Vegetarian)

I enjoyed reading Medha's Blog about daily life and her young son in Bangalore.  http://mimismommy.wordpress.com/  I find it fascinating that we can share each other's cultures without leaving our own homes, we also have things in common with women around the globe, Motherhood, Cooking, Crochet and Ravelry, to name a few!  Medha posts some delicious recipes, I must try her Cashew Nut sweets, but will wait for Diwali.  I love cooking and eating authentic Indian food.  I requested some potato recipes and these are the ones Medha posted.
        The recipes are as Medha wrote them, I will note any alterations I made with a photograph of my finished dish.  Medha has posted additional photographs that help explain what it is you need to be doing. (well worth popping to her website)
 
RECIPE 1: Aloo Paratha (Aloo = potato, Paratha = regular chapati made with a stuffing)
 Here’s what you need:
For the filling:
 *4 medium sized potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
 *1-2 green chillied, finely chopped. Alternatively you could use red chilli powder (vary the quantity as per your taste)
 *Salt to taste
* A sprig of finely chopped coriander
For the chapati dough:
 *250 gms of wheat flour
 * Pinch of salt
 * 1 tablespoon of refined oil (vegetable, sunflower oil)
 * Water
To make dough, mix all ingredients well in a bowl. Slowly add water and knead the dough. Make lemon sized(or slightly larger) balls and keep aside. Mix the ingredients for the filling together. Make sure there are no lumps from the potatoes. You could squeeze in a few drops of lemon juice to this filling. A fourth of a lime will be enough.
Roll out the dough into to make a chapati. Make sure the chapati is thin. Now add a spoon full of the filling and spread it out evenly with a spoon making sure you don’t tear the chapati. Add this filling onto one half of the chapati. Fold the other half and press the edges. Slowly lift this and place it on a tawa/griddle. Sprinkle a few drops of oil and roast the paratha well on both sides.



My Chapati skills need improving, the filling was delicious, I did not have coriander and used finely chopped Spring Onion and red chilli instead.  Delicious with Lime Pickle.


RECIPE 2: Potato and Raw banana cutlets
Here’s what you need:
* 1 raw banana (cook/steam the banana, remove the peel and mash it)
* 2-3 boiled, peeled and mashed medium sized potatoes
* 2-3 green chillies / red chilli powder (depending on your taste)
* Salt to taste
* 1 finely chopped onion (0ptional)
* A sprig of finely chopped coriander
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Make sure there aren’t too many lumps from the potato or banana. Make a ball and press it into a cutlet shape between your palms. Coat with bread crumbs on either side (you can work without the bread crumbs too). Shallow fry on a griddle.
Very, very tasty…
You could completely do away with the banana and make just pototo cutlets. Or you could add boiled and mashed carrots, beans, peas and make veggie cutlets. Use your imagination to vary the veggies..



I was a little sceptical about banana and potato as a combination, but I trusted Medha and made these to the recipe, of the three dishes, that were all delicous, these were my favourites.


RECIPE 3: Aloo Mattar (Potato and Green peas curry)
Here’s what you need:
*4 medium sized potatoes, cut into cubes of about a 1 inch
* 1 cup of green peas
* 2 finely chopped onions
* 2 ripe chopped tomatoes
* 1 tea spoon of ginger and garlic paste
* 1 teaspoon of red chilli powder
* 2 teaspoons of garam masala powder
* 2 tablespoons of oil
* Salt to taste
* Pinch of sugar
In a deep pan heat oil. To this add the ginger garlic paste and onions. Once the onions are soft, add the tomatoes. Stir and cook well till the tomotoes are completely soft. Add the garam masala, chilli powder and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the peas and potatoes. Add about 2 cups of water and close the pan. Cook on medium heat till the potatoes turn soft. The peas will cook very quickly, so no need to worry about them. Keep checking once in a while to make sure the water has not evaporated. Add salt and sugar (I always add a pinch of sugar to all my dishes as I feel it balances out the spice). It’s your choice if you wish to leave out the sugar.
***Alternately you could boil the potatoes before hand and cut them to cubes. Then add them at the last stage when you feel the peas are cooked. After adding potatoes just cook the curry for a couple of minutes. ***
The consistency of the curry is how you would like it. Add more water if you want it be watery or if you wish to savour it with rice.
Serve hot with chapati or white rice.

Note: If you don’t have garam masala powder, just add the salt, chilli powder and pinch of sugar. It will taste equally good.



I followed the recipe for this curry but I included a cupful of chopped spinach.  This made a great meal with the accompaniments.  Delicious with Mango Chutney.

I am not vegetarian however I do support the idea of eating less meat as a family we have discussed vegetarianism as a family but as yet no one has made the commitment (I have been vegetarian for a number of years in the past).  We all care about animal welfare greatly and the environment so eating less meat is a positive choice.  It is also a healthy dietry option and eating a meal like the 'above' recipes is very economical.  My youngest help me with the chapatis and liked his hot with butter.  He also tucked in to all three dishes quite happily, even with my addition of red chilli.  I hope you try them and enjoy them.  Do pop over and say hello to Medha she will be pleased to see you.   :)