Yummy potato salad

-Boil 20 small new potatoes in salted water until tender
-Meanwhile prepare vegan mayo
-Mix in a food processor 60ml soya milk, 2 crushed garlic cloves and 1 tsp cider vinegar
-Slowly add 150ml sunflower oil while the food processor is on medium speed until the mayo has a creamy consistency
-Add a generous twist of salt and black pepper, mix and taste
-Drain the potatoes and add to a bowl with a big bunch of chopped mint and 4 finely sliced spring onions
-Add the vegan mayo and stir to combine

Serve preferably on a sunny day with bbq veggie sausages and burgers!

The best vegan cupcakes I have ever tasted!

I was getting frustrated with claims that this recipe or that recipe was truly the best vegan cupcake only to end up with stodgy/weird smelling/lumpy cupcakes. So i bought Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World and was delighted! These are the basic vanilla ones - the first recipe in the book - that I made on Easter Sunday :)

Mushroom and seitan pasta

A nice hearty winter warmer dinner. It was however 25 degrees celsius when I fancied making this so with the heat in the kitchen and the heat in the pasta I nearly boiled to death!

- Cook 200g brown fusilli pasta in a big pot of boiling salted water with a little oil for 20mins
- Meanwhile chop and fry 1 red onion, 10 mushrooms and 5 garlic cloves until brown and sticky
- Add 1/2 tsp salt, lots of black pepper, 1 tsp dried rosemary and 2 tsp chili flakes
- Add about 20 thin strips of your favourite seitan, I defrost frozen black pepper mock chicken from Veggie World
- Fry for about 10 mins whilst stirring
- Add 1 cup red wine and allow to cook off for 5 mins
- Stir in 2/3 cup low fat crème fraiche and taste/adjust for seasoning
- Drain and add the pasta to the sauce and serve

Paneer skewers and stuffed mushrooms

This is a nice snacky dinner when you fancy something warm but not too filling/too much hassle

- Soak some wooden skewers in water and prehat the oven to 200 degrees celsius
- Cube 200g paneer
- Cube half a red pepper
- Thread onto the skewer alternating between paneer and pepper
- Brush with you favourite chilli sauce and a bit of tikka masala paste and bake for 20mins
- Meanwhile scoop out the middle of 7 chestnut mushrooms
- Put 1/2 tsp butter in each followed by a sprinkle of garlic powder and as much grated mozerella as you can squeeze in
- Place on a baking tray, brush each with a little oil and sprinkle with my new favourite veggie seasoning Bacon Salt!
- Place in the oven for 15mins and serve

Veggie Tacos

This dish starts with a boring shop bought pack but turns into something much more fun and tasty!

- Prepare the salad with 2 chopped avocados, 4 chopped tomatoes, 3 chopped spring onion, a big bunch of chopped coriander, juice of half a lime, salt and olive oil
- Peel 3 sweet potatoes, chop in rough chunks, place in a roasting dish and then drizzle olive oil over and sprinkle salt and garlic pepper. Roast at 200 degress celsius for 30mins
- Open the Old El Paso Taco kit. Lay the taco shells on a baking tray ready for heating later and pour the salsa in a bowl
- Lay out a handful of grated cheese in another bowl
- Defrost 1 pack soya mince in the microwave for 5mins
- Meanwhile in the food processor blitz - 1 tomato, 1 red pepper, 1 onion, 4 garlic cloves and 2 green chillies- Fry the vegetables in oil until fragrant and add the defrosted soya mince
- Add the spice mix from the kit, some salt and paprika to taste and 3 tbsp water and cook for a further 5 mins
- Put the taco shells in the oven for 3 mins
- Assemble your taco with the soya mince on the bottom of the shell, then a sprinkle of cheese followed by salad and salsa
- Serve with the roasted sweet potatoes

Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Cake

Very dense but very tasty. I served it with fresh raspberries and a soya raspberry icecream! Unfortunately the husband had eaten a slice by the time I took the photo!

- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. In a medium bowl mix 1 cup plain flour, 5 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tspbaking soda, 1 tsp egg replacer powder and 1/4 tsp salt
- In the blender, combine 3/4 cup water and 1/2 cup raspberries and blend until smooth
- Make a well in the dry ingredients. Add 1/2 cup agarve syrup and the berry mixture. Stir until completely mixed. Pour into an oiled 9-inch round cake pan
- Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean
- Drizzle with golden syrup and serve with fresh raspberries

Easy Daal

This is a nice quick recipe, very fullfilling and it keeps well in the fridge for a good few days.
- Rinse 1 handful of channa daal and 1 handful of urid daal under the cold tap
- Tip into the pressure cook and fill 1/3 with water
- Cook on medium gas for about 20mins
- In the mean time fry in a large pan 1 chopped onion with 5 cloves chopped garlic, 1 knob sliced ginger, 2 sliced chillies and 2 tsp salt
- When golden add 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp turmeric and 1 tsp garam masala and cook for a further 2 mins. Stir in 2 tbsp tomato puree
- Put the pressure cooker in the sink and run the cold tap on it for a minute
- When cool open and test the daal - if soft enough add the daal and a little of the liquid to the onions and spices (if not return to the heat for another 5 mins)
- Stir the daal and add more liquid until desired consistency is reached.
- I add about 2/3 of the total liquid
-Test for seasoning and add a handful of chopped coriander

Pad Thai

A very tasty dish if I do say so myself!

- Soak one nest of flat rice noodles in a bowl of boiling water
- Defrost 6 veggie shrimp in the microwave
- Chop 5 garlic cloves, 2 chillies, a knob of ginger, half a green pepper, half a red onion and slice about 6 mushrooms- Fry all of the above for about 8 mins
- Slice and add the defrosted shrimp and cook for 2 mins
- Add a good splash of soya sauce, shaoshing rice wine, a squueze of lime juice and 1 tsp sugar
- Drain and add rice noodles and stire
-Taste for seasoning and sitr in a handful of chopped coriander

Chickpea Cakes

I started with Vegan Dad's recipe and ended up modifying it quite a bit based on what I had at home. I absolutely adore his recipes! They are always tasty and pretty - not always the easiest with veggie food.

- Dice and fry half a white onion with half a green pepper for 5minutes
- Drain and rinse 1 can of chick peas and blitz until broken down but still lumpy in a food processor. Add the onion mix and blitz once more
- Transfer to a bowl and add: 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tbsp cornflour, 2 tbsp regular flour, a squeeze of lime juice, 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander and 1 tbsp garlic chilli sauce
- Mix really well and put in the fridge for 20min
- Make 10 patties from this mix and shallow fry in 2 batches turning half way until golden
- Serve with a salad made from 3 chopped tomatoes, handful of coriander, 1/4 chopped onion and 1 sliced avocado. Dress the salad with a splash of olive oil, lime juice and salt

Winey and creamy halloumi penne

This is dish is one of my husband's favourites and we often have it on special occasions - I thoroughly recommend you try it. For some reason despite a relatively standard ingredient list the result is exceptional! Serves 4 people generously.

- Cube and shallow fry a 225g packet halloumi. Remove from the pan to a bowl
- Chop 1 large red onion and 1 red pepper and fry in olive oil until soft and slightly brown
- Chop and add 5 garlic cloves to the vegetable mixture
- Boil the kettle twice and add water to a large pan with some olive oil
- Add 500g dried penne to the boiling water and cook until done - al dente works best with this dish. The pasta will probably be done just as you finish the sauce but keep an eye on it
- Grind in a pestle and mortar 1.5 tsp mixed peppercorns and add 1.5 tsp dried chilli flakes. Add this to the pan and fry for a few mins
- Measure out and then add 150ml red wine and 200ml double cream to the vegetables, allow to come to the boil gently and then simmer for a couple of minutes
- Microwave a 250g bag of baby spinach according to instructions and add this to the pan
- Drain and cut into strips a small jar of mixed roasted peppers and add to the sauce
- Add the prepared halloumi, stir sauce and adjust for seasoning
- Drain the pasta well, mix pasta and sauce together and serve!