Mushroom and ale stroganoff (NEW RECIPE #42!)

This was a delicious recipe that I would give 5/5. From the 15 minute vegan cookbook, it had 200 ml of ale making up the majority of the sauce, and the mushrooms became really tender and rich.

I served it with tagliatelle, and it was good – the sauce coated the pasta beautifully and it was a hearty and filling meal, but I am convinced that the best possible use for this stroganoff would be as a pie filling! I can’t wait to make this again, shove it in some puff pastry and serve with chips and mushy peas for a decadent pub-style meal.

As it stands, however, it wasn’t particularly unhealthy or extravagant; it was just a tasty, comforting sauce which would go equally well with rice, pasta or a baked potato.

Chickpea, maple and apricot tagine (NEW RECIPE #41!)

What’s that, you say? Tagine in fifteen minutes? Well, that’s what the 15 minute vegan cookbook promised, and that it approximately what it provided! If I had been timing, it would probably have taken longer than 15 minutes, but I am a very slow and careful chopper of veg, so I’d guess it’s quicker for most people.

I served this with cous cous and veggies, so as to add to the Moroccan vibe, and the whole thing worked nicely. The tagine sauce was really flavoursome, and dried apricots are a fabulous addition to a meal. I think the green beans should have been added much later, though, as they went a bit insipid (as you can see in the picture). That was my only quibble, though, and it’s a very easy-to-rectify one.

I’d rate this recipe as a 3/5, and I suspect that it would go up to a 4/5 if I stuck the green beans in at the end. When I cook it next, I think I’ll add a few more apricots, too, as they were such a highlight!

Piri piri bean grill (NEW RECIPE #40!)

This is what we had for dinner on bonfire night! We wanted something that would go nicely eaten from a bowl by the side of a roaring bonfire, and this did the trick.

Another 15 minute vegan recipe, this was really simple and a great high-protein treat. The spice combination was delicious and smoky, but not too hot, and we quickly scoffed the lot. It was a really large portion, too, which I always like!

This would probably be a popular recipe with children (or other veg dodgers), as it’s simple, and not too ‘healthy’ feeling (you know what I mean!).

We served it by itself as it was followed by a large pudding, but it would also go brilliantly on top of a jacket potato, or even a few slices of toast!

3.5/5 – I really enjoyed it, but it wasn’t quite special enough to hit that 4/5.

Toffee apples (NEW RECIPE #39!)

It was recently bonfire night, so I thought I’d give making toffee apples a go. The method in this 15 minute vegan recipe was pretty simple – stab a handle into your apples, make the toffee sauce and pour it over.

The recipe included a method for if you had a sugar thermometer, and a work-around for if you (like me!) don’t have one, which involved dipping some of the sugar coating in cold water – when it’s ready, it will go stiff. I boiled mine for absolutely ages, and it didn’t go stiff ever, so I decided to just give up and shove it on my apples anyway!

It never went completely hard, but stayed at that chewy-gooey stage a bit like a chewy sweet. It was absolutely delicious, but in reality it was a bit of a failure. Not sure if it was me or the recipe, but given that this is a once-a-year type of food, I probably won’t give it another go.

1.5/5.

Syrup sponge pudding (NEW RECIPE #38!)

This 15 minute vegan recipe might not be the prettiest thing I’ve cooked lately, but it was absolutely delicious!

The recipe was one to cook in the microwave, so it actually only took around five minutes to cook all in all, which made it dangerously quick for the future of my waistline!

The pudding was gooey and oozing with beautiful maple syrup, and the just the right level of stodgy and satisfying. It’s a shame that it looks slightly anaemic, but otherwise it is exactly the sort of pud that I would be delighted to serve at a big gathering after a roast dinner.

The level of moistness meant that no custard was needed, but I’m also fairly sure that custard would have gone brilliantly with it too.

4.5/5 (and it would be 5/5 if appearance didn’t count just a little bit!)

Vegetable box pie with butter bean mash (NEW RECIPE #35!)

This was a really good dinner. Loads of protein in the very large helping of butter bean mash, loads of veggies in the pie filling, and loads of flavour in all of it!

I liked the idea of swapping potato mash for butter bean mash, as it’s always important to try and get your portions of beans and pulses in when you’re vegan. The texture was very similar to potato mash, and it had the wonderful comforting creaminess that meant I could have eaten it forever.

The combination of veg was also a pleasing one, as it focused on nice cheap staples such as carrot and celery, rather than fancier and more expensive luxuries.

The sauce had a little bit of red wine in it, which brought a bit of depth and indulgence to the straightforward pie. I will definitely make this again!

4.5/5

Orange and ginger stir fry (NEW RECIPE #34!)

This was the first recipe I tried from my new BOSH! cookbook that was less than amazing. And that’s not to say that it was bad – it wasn’t! Rather, it was just okay.

I love stir fry, and really approve of the double-page spread in the BOSH! cookbook about putting your own stir fry combinations together, where you choose options from shortlists. I loved everything about the stir fry I made, except for the orange and ginger sauce, which was fine, but a bit heavy on the orange and a bit light on the ginger for me. It was a little too sweet, and definitely not zingy enough.

So, I don’t think I’ll use that sauce again, but there are a number of other sauces on that double page spread that I am excited about trying, so watch this space for me to try another one soon!

2.5/5

Black bean, sweetcorn and avocado quesadillas (NEW RECIPE #31!)

First things first, I must admit that I did not follow this exact recipe. I meant to. I measured out my sweetcorn and defrosted it in the microwave, and then made the rest of the recipe, which I ate and enjoyed, although I did think that sweetcorn was not a prominent flavour. Then, when I went to make my hot chocolate later that evening, I found the poor sad sweetcorn still in the microwave, and suddenly everything made sense.

The recipe was fairly simple – I made one swap, which is that I didn’t use barbecue sauce (which I don’t like); I replaced it with chipotle ketchup, which worked perfectly. The quesadillas were creamy enough to stick together nicely, and although the fiddliness made me feel a little worried (I’d never made them before, vegan or nay), everything went to plan, and we ended up with a plateful of greasy, hot, chewy quesadillas, robust enough to eat with your hands.

We will definitely make these again – next time, I’ll try to remember the sweetcorn. I also think they’d be supreme if I swapped the chipotle ketchup for black garlic relish, which I adore.

4/5

Field mushroom and red pepper fajitas (NEW RECIPE #28!)

Yet another 15 minute vegan recipe, this easy wrap meal appealed to me by virtue of its familiar veg and homemade spice mix. I love a deep-filled wrap, and this certainly was one. It was quick, easy, filling and tasty.

I reduced the chilli in the spice mix as my husband isn’t a fan of the ultra-spicy, but actually, I think the full amount of spice would have been pleasant rather than hot. The recipe calls for vegan mayo, which I don’t have (tried one and didn’t like it, on the hunt for a better one), so I replaced it with soy yoghurt. The yoghurt and the lettuce had a lovely cooling effect which set off the spice mix.

As is a fairly frequent occurrence, I thought the meal would have benefited from some sort of protein, so next time, I’ll throw in a can of beans – kidney or black beans would work particularly nicely, I think.

4/5

One-pot chilli with cinnamon (NEW RECIPE #27!)

I was a little hesitant to try this recipe, because I already have a chilli recipe I know and love (this one). However, given that that one takes over an hour, and this one takes fifteen minutes, and the general level of pleasure I have been getting from the 15 minute vegan recipe book, I thought I’d give it a go.

Firstly, there was a really good amount of veg in it (slightly more than in my old faithful BBC recipe, although there weren’t as many beans). Coupled with the fact that, as a chilli, it contains kidney beans, this is another ‘proper’ meal with everything you want in terms of nutrition.

The taste of the recipe was good, although not as nice as my BBC recipe. However, given how quick, cheap and easy this was to cook, we’ll have it again.

Without a doubt, though, my favourite thing about this recipe was the way it is served: topped with a sliced avocado. I love avocado, and the soothing creaminess counteracted the spice of the chilli, and made it such a well-rounded meal. I think that from now on, I’ll be topping most of my chillis with avocado!

3.5/5.