'Cheesy' Broccoli Beer Soup with Smoky Sunflower Chorizo Croutons

Did you see the red sun yesterday?!

It was truly Amazing - I am not one of those people who throws the word around lightly, it really was amazing.  

Early on in the week I made a Red Tomato Curry, today I share a bowl red soup which by all means should have been green according to the both the photograph in the cookbook, but also the ingredients including broccoli.  Upon a little research on blogophere, I noted that other food bloggers had also made the Cheesy Broccoli Beer Soup and it was also not the vibrant green featured in the cookbook Street Vegan, so I felt relieved that I was not heavy handed with either the soy sauce  or tamari and smoked paprika.    

Anyway, this Cheesy Broccoli Beer Soup with Smoky Sunflower Chorizo Croutons was ridiculously flavourful, but in a very good way.  I especially loved the different levels of flavour from the topping the beer, the cheesiness from the nutritional yeas.  It was also very velvety.  Its definitely a soup that clings to the spoon.

I even loved the Smoky Sunflower Chorizo which I served as croutons, but I could easily eat it as a nibble in place of savoury nuts too. 

Vegan Cauliflower Parmigiana

I always avoid Aubergine Parmigiana when I see it on the menu at eateries, its common like mushroom risotto and vegetable lasagne - not that I don't like the idea of it, I do, I am often disappointed in the way aubergines are cooked or most of the time not cooked properly.  No wonder so many people have an aversion to aubergines.

But when I saw a Cauliflower Parmigiana version from Kristy Turners But I Could Never Go Vegan, I was interested.  I had already made Roasted Broccoli and Apple Salad  and BBQ Cauliflower Salad from the cookbook and knew it would be good.

Innocent Badger Cookbook Smoky Pepper Stew

I am so glad its Friday.  First week back at work after a week off was hard and this week seemed to be harder as every single day I was super busy, that is good as it makes the time pass, but I am tired and am so looking forward to a lie in and not having to get up 6am in the morning.  Thank goodness for weekends.   

I made this dish a little while back its a Smoky Pepper Stew.  The smokiness from paprika.  I served it with rice.  

I am sharing this with  Plant Based Potluck Party and Healthy Vegan Fridays hosted by Rock My Vegan Socks and V Nutrition; and and Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads .  

The Vegetarians Library: Sarah Beattie 'Meat Free Any Day'

I became acquainted with the rather beautiful and stunning Sarah Beattie in Glasgow.  I accidentally bumped into her in an Oxfam Bookshop on Byres Road, Glasgow - well not literally of course but I like to think so.  I found her first cookbook Neither Fish Nor Fowl: Meat Free Eating for Pleasure (1993) on the shelf and was charmed by the innovative recipes, the elegant presentation.  This was a stylish, sophisticated  and sumptuous vegetarian cookbook with recipes ahead of its time like Beetroot and Cranberry Consomme, Raspberry Soup, Avocado Soup, Stuffed Nasturtium Salad and that's just for starters.  It was a pioneering cookbook in my eyes, as it was the first vegetarian dinner party cookbook I came across that moved away from  the wholemeal way of cooking.  It also has Asparagus Eclairs and Chestnut Souffles and Raspberry Brulee and so so much more .   I have over the years adapted some of her recipes, such as Curried Peach Tartlets and Garlic and Shallot Risotto,

Her second cookbook The Table of Content: A Vegetarian Dinner Party Book for All Seasons (1995) is just as amazing... 'from the simplest vegetables to the more esoteric delights of borscht poached uszki with smetana...' but it is her most recent cookbook Meat Free Any Day (2014) which I received for Christmas from my husband that I have cooked from the most recently, as its foods that is calling to me.   

Meat Free Any Day is not like those glossy hardback coffee table cookbooks, that you will flick through but rarely cook from.  This is one cookbook you will use if its real proper food that you really want to eat.

Sarah Beattie was shortlisted for 2015 and 2013 Guild Food Writers' Awards Cookery Journalist of the Year.  Some of you may also know Sarah Beattie, she was a regular contributor to The Vegetarian Magazine until  a few months ago, Why Vegetarian  Living Magazine why?  

What some of you may not know is that Sarah Beattie was also Food and Drink/Radio Times Mastercook 1990 and Masterchef of the North in 1991. I mean how many vegetarian cooks and chefs win high profile cookery competitions these days, hardly any.  She has loads to be proud about and lots she can boast about,but she never has and never will. Sarah Beattie is a RARE and REAL talent and I am saddened that she is somewhat overlooked in todays Vegetarian and Vegan world (not by me though, never by me).   I feel somewhat an affinity to Sarah Beattie and want to praise her more, but instead will direct you to this honest and heartfelt article by Michael Gray, he may be biased as he is her husband, but I am not related in any way and echo every word he writes as I have come to love Sarah's passion and creativity for good food through her books and more recently social media - check out Sarah Beatties Facebook Page. 

Here are some recipes that I have made from  Meat Free Any Day, many more to come.  

 Tandoori Butterflied Aubergine

Parsnip Tamarind Curry

Winter Vegetable Tagine

Leek and Brie Rostiflette

Once again, please do check out Sarah Beatties Facebook Page too.   I am linking this with Cooking Countdown hosted by Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking Foray.  

Street Vegan: Maple Mustard Glazed Seitan Strips

I have been oggling Adam Sobel's Maple Mustard Glazed Seitan Strips for a few good months now.  The awesome recipe can be found in his cookbook Street Vegan.  Every time I have gone to make these vital wheat gluten seitan breakfast strips, I have noted ingredients missing from my kitchen, first it was mustard, then tofu and then celery!

Well this weekend, I was determined to make them and ensured I had every thing I needed to create them in my kitchen.  I do like to dabble with recipes, but sometimes I have to respect the recipe author and follow the recipe word for word and I pretty much did here.  By the way this is the second recipe from the book, I made Adam's French Lentil Soup a little while back. 

From the photograph, the Seitan strips appear too dark, but these are a little naughty as these have been shallow fried before being coated in sweet grainy mustard glaze.  There is also a hint bitterness from the molasses.  I liked how the mustard seeds popped in my mouth, but I didn't like them sticking between my teeth. There is also plenty of bite, chew and texture - its like eating meat but without eating meat, if that makes sense - it will to vegetarians and vegans. 

Winter Vegetable Tagine

This Winter Vegetable Tagine is a super duper recipe for making the most of winter vegetables and chances are if your a cook that likes to dabble in spices from around the world, then you may already have Ras el Hanout in your kitchen cupboards too.  So what's stopping you - make this hearty  flavour packed dish.  

The winter vegetables include: carrots, mushrooms, parsnips, turnip aka swede, new potatoes and  some dates which melted into the thick sauce.  To finish off some nutty chickpeas and harissa.

D said this is perhaps one of the best Tagines I have ever made and that is high praise indeed as I have made many in the past.  I have to agree with him and I am not that into sweet root vegetables either, but here I was totally swayed.  I think the slow cooking benefited the dish big time as the flavours infused the vegetables.  Its best to serve this Tagine with couscous, but I didn't have any at home, so it was served with Basmati rice - twice!   

I have absolutely no doubt that Sarah Beattie would be gracious and grant me permission to share the recipe for this Winter Vegetable Tagine on my blog, but the cookbook: Meat Free Any Day is reasonably priced, not like those glossy hardback coffee table cookbooks.  This is one cookbook you will use if your a down to earth home cook like me, as its real proper food that you really want to eat.  You can find the full recipe in Sarah Beattie Author of Meat-Free Any Day: Food For All Reasons. Check out Sarah Beatties Facebook Page too.  I sharing this with Cook Once, Eat Twice hosted by Searching For Spice. 

French Lentil Soup with Capers and Fried Pine Nuts

I made this rustic French Lentil Soup with Capers and Fried Pine Nuts from Adam Sobel's Street Vegan a little while back. 

I've had many a French Lentil style soups in my time, but what was different about this one and what I loved about this soup other than the Puy lentils was the undertones of the Balsamic vinegar, enhanced further by a garnishing of minced piquant capers and in place of croutons, some fried pine-nuts.  This soup had real depth of flavour!

These pine nuts scattered over this soup were given to me by a friend who had just come back from Pakistan.  The pine nuts were still in there shells too so took time to shell, but I didn't mind it. I have never thought about it before, but Pine Nuts do have that cheesy greasy texture and I can totally now see why pine nuts are used in vegan 'Parmesan' cheese recipes. 

And yes there is rosemary in the soup too, hence my soup bowl posing with it.

This is the first of many Adam Sobel's Street Vegan recipes to make an appearance on my blog.  For those of you who have the cookbook already will know what I am about to say - but I cannot wait to make his Maple mustard breakfast seitan strip.  Every time I have gone to make it I discover I am short of an ingredient, first it was tofu, then grainy mustard and more recently celery. I will make it soon though - its bookmarked. And Jalapeno Corn Chowdah will be the next soup! I am linking this with Cooking Countdown hosted by Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking Foray.  You may be interested to note that I am hosting The Vegetarian Library challenge launched early this month, follow this link to find out more. 

The Vegetarian Library: Introducing My Vegetarian Delectus

Delectus

meaning noun a body of important works of art, an influential body of literature.

It has been a long time coming, but l have been intending to compile a list of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks that inspire me.   Welcome to my delectus!

To make what would otherwise be a generic list of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, I thought I would offer a personal review of sorts, not the kind of reviews to encourage you to rush out and pick up a copy (though that would be nice), but more how they came to be in my possession, what I like about the book and what I don't like so much.  I will also cook a recipe or two from the cookbook.  I hope to do this once a week. Please do join me if you wish and I will share your link in my side-bar (see rules below).

There was another reason that spurred me to do this now, I was actually a little surprised that my Top 5 vegetarian and vegan cookbooks from 2015 were unknown to a number of readers. I think this is a shame, as often celebrity endorsed and glossy vogue coffee table style cookbooks seem to steal the limelight.  I want to put the spotlight on vegetarian and vegan books that get pushed to the bottom/back or are simply overshadowed for whatever reason. These will not only include new publications, but publications of the past that are still relevant and full of inspiration - you just have to look. 

To start of with I begin with Cranks Fast Food   Its a vegetarian cookbook that inspired and helped me through my University student days.  I wasn't your typical student living off baked beans and jacket potato.  Its also my most stained and splattered cookbook!  I have to admit, it wasn't always this way.  For the first few months, it sat on my bookshelf next to academic books largely being ignored, I wondered why I had picked it up sold by a review, but then one day when it was my turn to cook at the shared student flat, I decided to cook from it. I made the Thai Green Curry, and oh my goodness - the feedback I got from my diners was fabulous and encouraging.  It also gave me a boost of confidence in the kitchen and in myself as a cook.  I swooned my student boyfriend, now my husband on so many recipes in this particular cookbook - well then the rest is really history.

Nadine Abensur's cookbooks opened my eyes to new ingredients then such as balsamic vinegar, black sesame seeds, couscous, halloumi cheese, harissa, miso, pesto, polenta, preserved lemons, sumac, tahini , tamarind, tapenade and even zhug, ingredients that we take so much for advantage now.  Nadine  Abensur is perhaps the number one innovative vegetarian chef who has influenced me and got me cooking out of the so-called culinary vegetable box, injecting bold flavours into traditional fare, but also encouraging me to explore worldwide ingredients.  As a self taught home cook, I often wish that Nadine Abensur still lived in the UK, if she did then I would have loved to have attended one of her cookery classes.  Without meaning to boast, I think I have all of Nadine Abensur's cookbooks from her first Secrets From A Vegetarian Kitchen to Enjoy: New Veg with Dash and will write more about them in time. 

I positively blame Nadine Abensur for starting my love affair with experimental vegetarian cooking, exploring the diversity of vegetables and worldwide cuisines and towards my vegetarian delectus!. 

Here are some recipes that I have made over the years. Some blogged, some not, but more importantly many that I often return to time and time again - I know them now off by heart!
Braised Baby chard and Broad Bean Pilaf
Black Eyed Bean Burgers
Broad Beans with Cumin, Paprika and Olive Oil
Carrot and Thyme Risotto
Chermoula
Coconut Dal with Raita, Cardamon rice and Paneer Tikka
Cream of Fennel Soup with Pernod
Dolcelatte Gnocchi with Broccoli and Squash
Feta Cheese Souffles with Black Olive Toasts
Filled Courgettes with Ricotta and Toasted Almonds
Harira (Chickpea Soup) with Harissa

Linguine with Asparagus and Truffle Oil
Mushroom Strogonoff
Orecchiette with Broccoli, Almonds and Taleggio
Porcini Risotto
Preserved Lemons
Roasted Tomatoes with Parsley, Breadcrumbs and Garlic
Sweet Potato and Tamarind Soup
Tabbouleh with chickpeas and garlic Tzatziki
Thai Green Curry

Sweet Potato Chips with Coriander Pesto
Spanakopita
Vegetarian Paella

Do you have a vegetarian or vegan cookbook that you go to time and time again?!

PLEASE PARTICIPATE

As I mentioned earlier, if you want to join in and share with me your favourite vegetarian or vegan cookbook, please do.
Share an image of the cookbook and cook a recipe from it (you don't have to share the recipe - please be mindful of copyright)
Mention The Vegetarian Library in your post and link back to A2K - A Seasonal Veg Table.
Then leave a comment on this blog post with link to your blog post.
I will do a Round Up at the start of the following month.  
Please tweet @SeasonalShaheen #VegetarianLibrary #vegetarianlibrary 

A Vegan - Vegetarian Christmas Centrepiece Hand Raised Pie

I've been a long time fan of Cranks - The cookbooks an I am a member of the Vegetarian Society, so you can imagine my delight when I learned that Cranks have officially been Approved by the Vegetarian Society, a UK brand as longstanding and veggie obsessed as Cranks are and to celebrate this new partnership, as well as raise awareness of vegetarianism and veganism this season, I thought I would create an old fashioned Vegetarian Hand Raised (moulded by hand) Pie made with hot water crust pastry.

There have been some negativity around vegetarian classics like nut roasts, and traditional vegetarian fare in favour of fancy named grains, pretentious jazzed up salads dressed up with exotic sauces and festive green shake smoothies topped with cranberries.  I note this snobbish attitude often comes from those that are neither vegetarian or vegan, but lifestyle foodies who jump on the bandwagon of the next foodie gimmick or fashionable grain.  Please don't get me wrong I do love the versatility of vegetables and admire the creativity of cooks and chefs alike, but I don't like pretense or pretentious food.  I want proper hearty food full of flavour and textures on my festive plate not just a scattering of this, that and the other.  

You don't have to be a vegetarian or vegan, maybe you just want to reduce your meat intake. Take a gander at the Cranks Kitchen for some inspiration. But here is my festive offering for the season...not a mushroom nut roast though...  sorry to disappoint.  A homemade Vegetarian Christmas Raised Pie is also a Vegan Christmas Pie filled with vegetable goodness.  

Bring on the Yorkshire pudding, stuffing, roast potatoes and good veggie gravy.  If you still want to serve it with a slice of mock turkey, that's fine - but no need for the side of vegetables as this pie is filled to the brim with carrots, parsnips, sprouts and chestnuts. Jewelled coloured fruit - a mixture of fresh and dried cranberries and apricots.   If you don't like dried fruit, then feel free to omit them.  This centrepiece pie is best made a day in advance which makes it easy to remove from the tin.  It can be eaten at room temperature, or feel free to reheat it in the oven to maintain its crisp pastry. 

Gumbo Z'Herbes aka Green Gumbo

A week or so late, because this bowl of Green Gumbo would have been perfect to showcase during the Easter holidays. Green Gumbo is a Creole dish often made on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday.     

My reason for making it was very different though.  I have lots of greens in my overgrown garden: chard, curly kale and leafy purple sprouting broccoli, so these greens had to go into the pot along with spinach, celery, spring onions, green peppers and the most essential green vegetable: okra which came to me from my mothers (after her visit to the South Asian grocers).  Okra, a vegetable not to every ones taste and I have to admit I never liked it up until a few years ago, I guess with age your tastes change.     

I actually  have two vegan Green Gumbo recipes bookmarked to make, but I chose the one from Celia Brooks World Vegetarian Classics, simply because I have had the cookbook longest. Celia Brooks suggests serving it with some grated cheddar cheese, but we had it simply with some plain white rice.  The gumbo was interesting, it had thickened up by the okra, but it was not gloopy or stringy.  It was actually quite palatable, to enjoy it more though I did have to douse it heavily with hot sauce, but I am a sucker for hot sauce and spice.