tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80783129184788816292024-02-20T13:49:14.788+00:00What the hell happened to the kitchen?!Experiments from a vegetarian who loves to eat.Shellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15936418597875198519noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078312918478881629.post-64175601827624818522013-11-16T21:19:00.003+00:002013-11-16T21:20:13.333+00:00Caldo verde (Portuguese kale soup)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I ate this soup the first time I came to Lisbon, and had a slightly unpleasant surprise! I'd almost reached the end of my delicious green soup, when I discovered a large slice of chouriço sitting quietly in the bottom of the bowl! I was told that this was completely normal, to add flavour to the dish, so sadly I never ate caldo verde again... Until today.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm sure a soup just as good could be made without any chouriço, but I wanted to make it as close to the real thing as possible. I used a very strongly flavoured soya chouriço and I think it turned out great!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Ingredients:</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Serves 6)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon olive oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/3 vegan chouriço (I like the ones made from soya the best), cut into approximately 1cm thick slices</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 medium onion, diced</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 clove of garlic, sliced finely</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 medium potatoes, cut into smallish cubes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1tsp salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 cups water</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">350g kale, cut into very thin grass-like strips</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Method:</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fry the chouriço slices in the olive oil until browned on both sides, then remove to a plate and put to the side.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fry the onion in the same pan until soft, then add the garlic and salt and fry about a minute more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Add the potato and water and cook until the potato is very soft and beginning to fall apart (about 20 to 30 minutes).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Remove from the heat and puree, (check if there's enough salt at this point) then add the kale and cook for about 5 minute more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Serve with a slice (or two) of the pre-cooked chouriço in each bowl.</span>Shellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15936418597875198519noreply@blogger.com0Lisboa, Portugal38.7252993 -9.150036399999976338.6262223 -9.3113978999999762 38.824376300000004 -8.9886748999999764tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078312918478881629.post-62383866032342283542013-10-19T18:12:00.002+01:002013-10-19T18:12:57.111+01:00Awesome chocolate sandwich cookies<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I read an article recently that said that studies had proven that Oreos are more addictive than cocaine. How true that is, I don't know - they have been my favourite go to cookie as long as I can remember but addiction? No way. When I saw this recipe in <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vegan-Cookies-Invade-Your-Cookie/dp/160094048X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382199523&sr=1-1&keywords=vegan+cookies+invade+your+cookie+jar">Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar</a> I had to try it. Something that promised to be better than my favourite cookie, but without a ton of ingredients I can't even pronounce? Yes please! It didn't disappoint.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I must admit I was a little disturbed by the wetness of the dough. However don't fret! It all turned out just fine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Ingredients:</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>For the cookies:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/4 cup of non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening*</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 cup sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 tsps vanilla extract</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used plain soy milk)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1.5 cups all purpose flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3/4 cup cocoa powder**</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 tsps cornstarch</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 tsp salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/4 tsp baking soda</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>For the filling:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/4 cup of non-hydrogenated</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> vegetable shortening</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/4 cup of non-hydrogenated margerine</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 cups icing sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tsp vanilla extract</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">* I had no idea what vegetable shortening was, until I purchased this book. I found it almost impossible to find in Lisbon, the only place in the end being <a href="http://www.glood.pt/">Glood</a>, an awesome store that imports foods from all over the world!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">** I changed this from the original recipe, that asks for two different types of cocoa because I have no idea where to buy different types of cocoa!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Method:</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Make sure you have plenty of baking paper ready before starting!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Cream together the shortening and sugar with a hand mixer until light and fluffy (about 1 minute). Add the vanilla extract and non-dairy milk and mix some more, until all is combined into a smooth mixture. Add the dry ingredients and mix until you have a uniformly textured dough (like I mentioned before, it will be very wet and sticky!). Put in the fridge to chill for around 10 minutes, and pre-heat your oven to 175ºc in the meantime.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Place a sheet of baking paper, the size of your cookie sheet, onto your surface. Divide the chilled dough into two (put one back in the fridge) and roll one half into a ball. Flatten it into the centre of your baking paper, and cover it with another sheet to stop it from sticking to the rolling pin (magic!). Roll out until the dough is almost the size of your cookie sheet (it should be about 3mm thick) and carefully remove the top layer of baking paper. Cut into whatever size you wish using a round cookie cutter, or the upturned end of a clean glass (I used a glass, making mine about 6cm across!), leaving around 1cm between each cookie. Carefully peel off the leftover dough, and put back into the fridge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Transfer the whole sheet of baking paper with the cookies to the cookie sheet, and bake in the oven for around 12 minutes. Take them out and leave them to cool for 5 minutes on the sheet, before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to fully cool. Be very careful, they won't seem very firm at this point!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Repeat with all of the remaining dough, preparing the filling while one of the batches is in the oven.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>To prepare the filling:</u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Cream the margarine and shortening together using a hand mixer. Add the sugar in 1/2 cup increments until a very firm, but smooth mixture is formed. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined. Chill in the fridge until you're ready to use it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Once the cookies are cooled put half of them onto a flat surface. Roll your filling into balls around the size of large grapes and squash each ball onto each cookie. Top them with the remaining cookies and squash together until the filling more or less reaches all the edges. Store in a tightly sealed container.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Shellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15936418597875198519noreply@blogger.com0Lisboa, Portugal38.7252993 -9.150036399999976338.6262223 -9.3113978999999762 38.824376300000004 -8.9886748999999764tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078312918478881629.post-54034052784784879372013-10-19T15:46:00.000+01:002013-10-19T15:46:42.714+01:00A new start<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After ten years of being vegetarian, I have decided to take the final step and go vegan. With my love for cheese it's proving a little challenging at times, but i'm getting there! So prepare for a possible barrage of recipes, as I try to fill the hole that cheese once occupied!</span>Shellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15936418597875198519noreply@blogger.com0Lisboa, Portugal38.7252993 -9.150036399999976338.6262223 -9.3113978999999762 38.824376300000004 -8.9886748999999764tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078312918478881629.post-89267418693607062262013-07-13T21:35:00.003+01:002013-07-13T21:36:51.471+01:00Banana chocolate muffins<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This was my first attempt at making vegan muffins, and they turned out pretty awesome!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Ingredients</u></b>:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Makes 12 muffins)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 ripe bananas</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/4 cup sunflower oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 cup sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 cups flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 tsp salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tsp baking soda</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 bar dark chocolate (100g), chopped into rough chunks</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Method</u></b>:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pre-heat your oven to 200º and line a muffin tray with 12 muffin cases.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a large bowl mash the bananas with a fork until they're completely pulverised, with no lumps.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Add the sugar and oil and mix until well combined.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking soda and then add to the wet mixture, mixing only enough to combine the ingredients and then stir in the chocolate chunks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Spoon this mixture into your prepared muffin cases - they'll each be about 1/2 full.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Put in the center of the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until they're risen and golden on top, and a skewer poked in the middle comes out clean.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Try to leave them to cool on a wire rack before eating them...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Shellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15936418597875198519noreply@blogger.com0Lisbon, Portugal38.7252993 -9.150036399999976338.6262223 -9.3113978999999762 38.824376300000004 -8.9886748999999764tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078312918478881629.post-79016779315845645362013-07-01T00:11:00.000+01:002013-07-01T00:11:45.139+01:00Lentil burgers (barbecue time is here!)<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's too warm at the moment. Like sitting on the surface of the sun kind of warm. Obviously that means it's time for lazy weekend barbecues.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These burgers love to be barbecued (and don't fall apart, bonus!) but they're just as happy to be grilled.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Ingredients:</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Makes 8 burgers)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 clove of garlic</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 small onion</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1.5 cups cooked brown lentils</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 tbsp nutritional yeast</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">0.5 cup wheat gluten</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 tbsp linseeds (omega-3 go!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 tbsp soy sauce (or substitute one of these for worcester sauce, but make sure it doesn't have anchovies!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tbsp tomato paste</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tbsp olive oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tbsp water</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">0.5 cup oats</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">0.5 cup breadcrumbs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">0.5 tsp ground black pepper</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">0.5 tsp chilli flakes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Method:</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Put the garlic in a blender and pulse until finely minced. Then add the onion and pulse until it's finely chopped.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Add the rest of the ingredients.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And then blend until well mixed. Easy, right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, throw this mixture into a bowl and kneed it for a few minutes to make a firm dough. Divide this dough into eight equal portions and shape into burger shapes. You can use one of those fancy burger presses if you have one, but I don't, so I use my hands. Very artistic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now you simply need to cook them until browned. Just make sure to brush the surface with a little bit of oil first or they will want to stay there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Enjoy!</span></div>
Shellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15936418597875198519noreply@blogger.com0Lisbon, Portugal38.7252993 -9.150036399999976338.6262223 -9.3113978999999762 38.824376300000004 -8.9886748999999764tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078312918478881629.post-901852929889349522013-06-30T21:29:00.001+01:002013-06-30T21:31:34.086+01:00Ridiculously easy to make seitan sausages.<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finding good tasting vegetarian products in Portugal is a little bit difficult (not to mention, somewhat expensive too!) so I was really excited to try out this recipe when I found it on <a href="http://vegandad.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">vegandad</a>'s blog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This recipe is pretty much foolproof, and very versatile - add whichever herbs or spices you prefer for something different (a teaspoon of chilli flakes, awesome!). I've modified it slightly from the original, and this is my favourite variation i've tried so far.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These are great to be eaten hot straight from the steamer, or cold in sandwiches, or barbequed, or grilled...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's how it's done:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Ingredients:</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Makes 6 sausages)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 cup cooked white beans</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 cup vegetable broth</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tbsp olive oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 tbsp soy sauce (low salt is preferable!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 cloves garlic (crushed)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 1/4 cups wheat gluten*</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/4 cup nutritional yeast*</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tsp paprika</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tsp oregano</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 tsp ground black pepper</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">* If you're in Portugal both of these can be found in Celeiro stores (and often Jumbo has nutritional yeast too).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Make sure your steaming apparatus is ready to go before you start and put 6 sheets of silver foil (about 20cm x 30cm each) to the side.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a large bowl, mash the beans until they're smooth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Add the rest of the ingredients in the order listed, and mix with a fork until everything is well combined. Don't worry that it looks a little bit gross, all will be fine in the end!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Divide this mixture into six, as equally as you can, and then spread out one portion to about 12cm lengths on each of the six pieces of foil. Don't worry about shaping them, the steaming will magically pop them into shape while they're cooking (really)!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now roll them up snugly, making sure to twist both ends tightly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And place them into your waiting steamer. Try not to squash them together too much! (If you're using a pressure cooker to steam them 20 minutes should do it.)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4PlGEDXk0GzHreJ7xIvd79h33iapPn2O8704B34HQplL9lprUZVCbeH8i0764ocoReU4VRZCEP7DVSo380Pm7FbpyXbwEdrG9VcoZmMA1jlcMz82uxUnO22VsTqIuN4CvMxUCzIQQhD8/s640/Sausages+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4PlGEDXk0GzHreJ7xIvd79h33iapPn2O8704B34HQplL9lprUZVCbeH8i0764ocoReU4VRZCEP7DVSo380Pm7FbpyXbwEdrG9VcoZmMA1jlcMz82uxUnO22VsTqIuN4CvMxUCzIQQhD8/s320/Sausages+006.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, wait patiently for 40 minutes while they steam. Cook the rest of your meal. Go read a comic. Whatever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Carefully(!) remove the foil parcels from the steamer and unwrap your sausages. Like I mentioned before these are awesome as they are, but my favourite way to eat them is grilled until they're slightly charred.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All done:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Try it! (They taste way better than they look, believe me!)</span>Shellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15936418597875198519noreply@blogger.com0Lisbon, Portugal38.7252993 -9.150036399999976338.6262223 -9.3113978999999762 38.824376300000004 -8.9886748999999764tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078312918478881629.post-76565800242738779332012-04-21T21:48:00.003+01:002012-04-21T21:48:55.389+01:00Lentil meatballs<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
I've been craving pasta and meatballs for months, but never had the time/energy/whatever to make them. Finally I decided that Monday was the day, and after work I got out the pressure cooker and cooked up a big batch of lentils... Sadly, it was not meant to be, and they went straight into the freezer. [Fastforward to today].</div>
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So, a while back I found this incredible recipe for lentil meatballs on <a href="http://www.theppk.com/2011/03/spaghetti-nos-with-mini-lentil-meatballs/" target="_blank">The Post Punk Kitchen</a>. I never had the desire to make the whole recipe, sauce and all, though I must say that the "meat"balls themselves are pure genius. Perfection!</div>
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Now this recipe, taking around 45 minutes to make, isn't the quickest thing in the universe to do, though the effort is well worth it!</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Ingredients:</u></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">(Serves 4)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 clove garlic</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 small onion, quartered</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1.5 cups cooked green or brown lentils</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">3 tbsp nutritional yeast</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 2 tbsp vital wheat gluten flour</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 2 tbsp soy sauce</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 1 tbsp tomato paste</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 tsp </span>olive oil<br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2 tbsp water</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 0.5 cup breadcrumbs</span><br />
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1. Pre-heat the oven to 180ºc. Use a blender to mince the garlic (or you could use a fine grater, like I do because I find my blender isn't that great with garlic). Add the onion and blend until it's very finely chopped. Put into a large mixing bowl with the breadcrumbs.</div>
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2. Put the rest of the ingredients in the blender and pulse until they're in a smooth paste. Add to the mixing bowl and mix with your hands for around two minutes. At this point it doesn't look too appertising. But don't worry!</div>
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3. Roll into whatever size balls you'd like. Usually I make around 20 pingpong sized balls, which work out perfect for four meals.</div>
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4. Heat around a tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan. Then place around half of the balls at a time (don't overcrowd your pan!) and let them cook, turning regularly, until slightly browned on the outside.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mCNkIE1wlqGtObnp-j0jdb1LwYyG_AMiNYRH_AaBVCofpIusI_Gh9_6KAbrNMxARdmtKkUH3Isgc_Eg3Ts_tZWadnytUwu8TYf1STUFuiMxNwP0l_K21jV-J2-XndBnY6HHkosMRhSo/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mCNkIE1wlqGtObnp-j0jdb1LwYyG_AMiNYRH_AaBVCofpIusI_Gh9_6KAbrNMxARdmtKkUH3Isgc_Eg3Ts_tZWadnytUwu8TYf1STUFuiMxNwP0l_K21jV-J2-XndBnY6HHkosMRhSo/s320/004.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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5. Transfer the balls to a baking tray and bake them in the pre-heated oven for approximately 20 minutes, turning every once in a while to make sure they cook evenly.</div>
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6. Serve with pasta and your favourite sauce!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Ax4_hx3iaAj_yIoXxZ0DaCC0wctPRo8Wn_8R_eOdjhRtFEm3vVUMpmMVpgRXIvY7HbtWz_yNRYm0j5dYRqji6eUdb8ibumSGXvIaSHGuLW3yEr7siSmjE6zxWxu5Tlabg0YE_R9iT48/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Ax4_hx3iaAj_yIoXxZ0DaCC0wctPRo8Wn_8R_eOdjhRtFEm3vVUMpmMVpgRXIvY7HbtWz_yNRYm0j5dYRqji6eUdb8ibumSGXvIaSHGuLW3yEr7siSmjE6zxWxu5Tlabg0YE_R9iT48/s320/008.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<u><b>The sauce:</b></u></div>
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My sauce was incredibly simple, because I wanted to enjoy the full beauty of the meatballs. Here's the recipe, just incase you're un-inspired today:</div>
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<u><b>Ingredients:</b></u></div>
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0.5 tsp olive oil</div>
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2 cloves garlic, sliced</div>
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250g mushrooms, sliced</div>
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2 medium carrots, grated</div>
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pinch of rock salt</div>
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0.5 tsp freshly ground pepper</div>
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1 tsp paprika</div>
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0.5 tsp chilli flakes</div>
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1kg tomato pulp</div>
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2 bay leaves </div>
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<u><b>Method:</b></u></div>
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1. Heat the oil on a medium heat in the same large pan you originally browned the meatballs in. Add the garlic and saute for around a minute, until softened. Add the mushrooms and carrot and the seasoning, and cook until they reduce a little.</div>
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2. Add the meatballs, tomato pulp, and bay leaves and mix.</div>
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3. Simmer on a low heat whilst you cook your pasta (or for around 15 minutes).</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">4. Hunt out and remove those bay leaves, and enjoy!</span>Shellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15936418597875198519noreply@blogger.com0Lisbon, Portugal38.706932 -9.135632138.607805 -9.2935606000000011 38.806059000000005 -8.9777036tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078312918478881629.post-20824331668538142782012-04-15T22:43:00.001+01:002012-04-16T19:22:09.842+01:00Not quite breakfast time<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
For my first post I only found it right for it to encompass two of my favourite food things:</div>
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1. Breakfast</div>
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2. Bread</div>
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Late this evening I came to the realisation that there was nothing in the house for us to eat for breakfast tomorrow. Oh no! After franticly flicking through my recipe book I came across an old favourite; bagels. Deliciously chewy on the outside, and soft and fluffy inside their shiny crust. Very simple and quick to make, perfect!</div>
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The finished product: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8za2eyU_SSUOa9tVhPJSlGW8Hck85xp2scvqv9GIYjFAEvdjI2KsyXNTD_r5W9T0Nn4c1kbZpeW5piVOKwPdwZAPvTs9jZWzY9Cj_A8epeJlIUfcQa2lAKAD6F5L7uqSlhN48bnrOFhE/s1600/Bagels+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8za2eyU_SSUOa9tVhPJSlGW8Hck85xp2scvqv9GIYjFAEvdjI2KsyXNTD_r5W9T0Nn4c1kbZpeW5piVOKwPdwZAPvTs9jZWzY9Cj_A8epeJlIUfcQa2lAKAD6F5L7uqSlhN48bnrOFhE/s320/Bagels+001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The recipe:</div>
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I searched far and wide for the perfect bagel recipe, with memories of ones purchased from the bakery back home years ago. I almost gave up hope. Almost. Until this one. Sadly, I have no idea which saviour created this recipe or even where I found it (if it was you, please let me know so I can credit you!), but here goes: </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">(Makes 8 generous size bagels)</span><br />
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<b><u>Ingredients</u></b></div>
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4 cups plain flour (you could use bread flour, but I never did and they turn out great!)</div>
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1 tbsp sugar</div>
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1.5 tsp salt</div>
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2 tsp fast action yeast</div>
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1 tbsp olive oil (or whichever oil you prefer if you don't like the taste of olive oil)</div>
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1.25 - 1.5 cups warm water</div>
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<b><u>Method</u></b></div>
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1. Mix all of the ingredients into a stiff dough. It should be stiffer than a normal bread dough and pretty hard to knead. Basically, just add enough water to bind all of the dry ingredients together.</div>
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2. Knead for at least 10 minutes, until you have a smooth homogenous dough. You could use a dough hook on a mixer, if you have one, but this really is best done with your hands. Yes, it's tiring and your arms <b>will</b> hurt at the end of it but hey, it's a great way to take out the frustrations of the day. <a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Knead-Dough" target="_blank">Wikihow has a great tutorial on kneading dough, if you're not too familiar with how it's done. </a></div>
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3. Divide dough into 8 equal balls and leave it to rest for 20 minutes.</div>
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4. Take each ball of dough and roll it on your counter top into a rope just a little longer than the width of two of your hands. Wrap the dough rope around your dominant hand and with the help of a dab of water on the end, pinch the two overlapping ends together to seal them into a loop. Leave them to rest for another 20 minutes.</div>
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5. Meanwhile pre-heat your oven to 220ºc and set up a large pan of boiling water. Either grease, or line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper. Greaseproof paper is my best friend when baking!</div>
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6. Gently lower your almost-bagels into the pan of boiling water (try not to do more than half at once because the temperature of the water will lower too much when you put them in) and let them float for 1 minute on each side. Then place them on your already prepared baking tray.</div>
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7. Put in the middle of your oven and cook for 10 minutes. Flip them over and cook for 10 more. They should look lightly golden on both sides.</div>
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8. Put them on a rack to cool. Then enjoy!</div>Shellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15936418597875198519noreply@blogger.com0Lisbon, Portugal38.706932 -9.135632138.607805 -9.2935606000000011 38.806059000000005 -8.9777036