vegan Haggis Sausage Rolls and Welshcakes for 25th January

....which in Scotland is Burns Night and in Wales St Dwynwen's Day  likened to Valentines Day.

l actually made these last year and took them into work for colleagues last year and the Welsh cakes came from a local place, though in the past I have made my own Welsh cakes many times.

The recipe for the vegan haggis filling came come from my dear friend Johanna who blogs over at Green Gourmet Giraffe.  The vegan Haggis Sausage rolls were popular at work, so much so that I got asked if I could make them again this year, but unfortunately as some of you have noted, I am hardly blogging which means I am not cooking much creatively, partly because I am lacking energy, partly because I have things going on in the background, so I declined.

Tell you what I have been making a lot recently though, is lots of soup!  So expect soup to make an appearance on my blog some time soon. 

Share with Us Your March 'Eat Your Green' Recipes

It is March and it's my turn to host this months Eat Your Greens challenge, but before I do I want to take the opportunity and say Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus - Happy Saint David's Day from Wales!

I also want to share a homemade vegan Welsh Samosa made with the addition of Laverbread, a Welsh seaweed ingredient descrived by Richard Burton as 'Welshman's caviar'.  You can find the recipe here. 

Now back to Eat Your Greens food blog challenge, to participate all you have to do is make either a vegan or vegetarian recipe with green vegetables or fruit on your blog.  Then copy the blog link to the comment section below.  The use of the #EatYourGreens logo is optional, but is appreciated.  The deadline is the 29th March and the Round up will be on the 31st March 2019. 

If your looking for some seasonal inspiration, then please do check out the Eat Your Greens Round Up hosted last month by my co-host The VegHog.  

For more details Follow this link on how to participate just please remember to link back to the host page (this page) and my co-host The VegHog.   

Welsh Laverbread, Leek and Potato Samosa

Happy St David's Day.

For St David's Day, I decided to give the Welsh cakes, Bara Brith and Cawl - all vegetarian and vegan versions of course -  a miss.

This year, I wanted to make something that both acknowledged and celebrates my South Asian heritage and my Welsh root and shoots - Yes, a little bit of fusion - It was going to be Laverbread Dal,  but I make that quite often, so I decided on making some home-made Welsh Laverbread, Leek and Potato Samosa, a bit more effort but so worthwhile.  Yes that favourite South Asian moreish snack filled with spicy goodness and then encased in a crispy and flaky pastry.

There is not much growing in my garden at the moment, but as a Welsh woman I am proud to say there are some leeks (and some red Chard). 

Welsh Laverbread Seitan Faggots (vegan) with Onion Gravy

I've featured vegan Welsh Faggots on my blog in the past, but have always wanted to enhance them textually and visually.  I was able to do this a few days ago for our homely St Davids Day Welsh Vegan Menu with the addition of another Welsh delicacy Laverbread.  

For those of you not  from Wales and not familiar with Welsh faggots, well in a nutshell Faggots were traditionally made with the innards of pigs. The pate like mixture was then wrapped in the lacy casing of the animals caul and oven roasted slowly.  

I remember reading a while back, that the Welsh faggots is what haggis is to the Scots and is often referred to as Welsh Haggis in some parts of Wales.  There may be some truth in this as The Scotsman also make reference to haggis being popular in the Welsh Valleys of Wales, but they still credit the Scots for the haggis jokingly writing that a Scottish haggis escaping to Wales in 1690, hence its popularity in Wales. 

Faggots are still made in Wales and are still quite popular.  Faggots are traditionally served with mushy peas and onion gravy or brown meaty gravy.  My Welsh Laverbread Seitan Faggots are of course is suitable for vegetarians and for vegans and so is the onion gravy. 

D absolutely loved the onion gravy.  He didn't mind the Welsh Laverbread Seitan Faggots either.

Welsh Laverbread Cakes and a Piece of Toast

If your a regular reader of my Welsh Vegetarian food blog, you will have seen laverbread featured many times, but for those of you who are not familiar with this Welsh delicacy, in a nutshell Laverbread or bara lawr  as it is known in some parts of Wales is simply cooked seaweed that has been pureed.  It has a pate like consistency, so perfect for spreading on toast.  Welsh Laverbread not to everyone's taste, but I recommend you trying it at least once if your ever in Wales, but saying that its not easy to get hold of, even for those of us who live in the Welsh valleys of Wales.

Many independent high street shops like traditional green grocers and fishmongers no longer exist.  These were places where you can you could pick up fresh sea vegetables like samphire and laverbread are closing down in towns or have closed down due to economic downturn as people snub the High Street and flock to shopping malls stuck in some industrial estate, The places to get fresh laverbread these days in South Wales and South West are cities that have thriving indoor markets.  Cities like Cardiff and  Swansea (and perhaps large market towns like Abergavenny) where I have always been able to purchase fresh laverbread. 

I consider myself a progressive cook with fusion having in the past created vegetarian Welsh Laverbread Burgers aka Glorified Laverbread Cakes, and last year Vegan Welsh Woman's Laverbread Caviar, but today I decided to keep it pure, simple and traditional.

I made these little Welsh Laverbread Cakes, also known as patties this morning.  The recipe is so simple. Stir the fresh laverbread with rolled porridge oats, if you find the mixture too soft, just add some more oats to it and shape into round little patties. Put in the fridge to firm up, when ready to eat.  Shallow fray in a little oil or butter until crisp and a golden crust has appeared.  Serve immediately.

Cardiff Viva Vegan Festival

Over the weekend, we went into the city of Cardiff for the Vival Vegan Festival.  

This was Cardiff's largest vegan festival organised by the charity Viva!  Viva! is an animal and environmental campaigning charity that exposes animal abuse.  

Cardiff Viva Vegan Festival was held at Cardiff City Hall. 

St Dwynwen's Day Romantic Vegetarian and Vegan Menu

Many of my readers will know from reading my blog that Wales has its own Welsh Valentines Day known as Dydd Santes Dwynwens .  This is celebrated today - the 25th January.  

St Dwynwen is The Welsh Saint of Love and Lovers. For those of you who want to know more please follow this link that I wrote a few years back about Our very own Patron Saint of Love.

Also you may want to Visit Wales have written a bit more about St Dwynwen's Day and they also have a lovely St Dwynwen's Day card for you to print and give to your loved one/s.

We are so proud in Wales that we have a woman who is the Patron Saint of Love.  Her name Dwynwen translates to 'she who leads a blessed life' and her most well known saying is 'nothing wins hearts like cheerfulness'.  So if you want to show your loved one a little affection and celebrate St Dwynwen's Day with us today, I have collected some of the best vegan and vegetarian Welsh inspired recipes from my blog and have listed them here if you wish to create a Romantic St Dwynwen Vegan or Vegetarian meal in your own home.

Dydd Santes Dwynwen Haput!

Starters
Welsh Woman's Vegan Laverbread Caviar serve these with Cashew Cream Cheese and crackers or if you don't fancy crackers then perhaps a little on some Crempog Las .  

vegan Welsh Savoury Pancakes - Christmas Crempog Las

D said 'Is that supposed to look like a Christmas tree?
' Just take the picture' I told him.

Of course he is right, but lets not give him the satisfaction of knowing that.

This is a savoury and vegan take on Welsh Pancakes known as Crempog Las.  Crempog are more akin to American style pancakes in that they are thicker and a bigger than a blini and even pikelets. Crempog are often cooked on a Welsh griddle bakestone, which I am fortunate to own. There has been speculation in recent times that the word Crempog is a derivation of the word crumpet. I'm also quite  intrigued by the Las bit, as Lassi means savoury in Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi. Crempog is not the only word in Welsh to describe pancakes, there is also Ffroes, Cramwythen and Pancogen.

Anyway, top off these green Christmas Crempog Las in style with some homemade Welsh caviar; or failing that some cream cheese or cheese. 

I am sharing these vegan Welsh Savoury Crempog Las  with Gluten Free Fridays and also Treat Petite.  If you have any other green recipes please do share with #Eat Your Greens hosted by The VegHog, the rules are here;  My Legume Love Affair that was started by The Well Seasoned Cook and now administed by Lisa's Kitchen.  this month is is hosted by The VegHog;  Healthy Vegan Fridays hosted by Rock My Vegan Socks and V Nutrition. and finally The Food Calendar with Charlottes Lively Kitchen - Celebrating Christmas!

Curried Welsh Shepherds Pie with Turmeric Mash Topping

We took the car into the garage yesterday which scuppered the rest our plans for the day, but the car had to go in as it has a slow puncture and living in the Welsh valleys, we need a mode of transport to get us to and fro work and every where else in between and beyond.  

So when I got back home, I lazed around for a while, then it dawned on me - got to eat - so I went into the kitchen and decided to make an Indo Anglo Welsh version of Shepherds Pie.  What is Welsh about this?   There are leeks in this and a number of other Welsh ingredients from Blas Y Tir  including the potatoes mashed on top. And the cook herself, is very Welsh too.  

The yellow turmeric mash flecked with red chilli flakes and coriander  was really lovely, almost reminisce of a good vegetable samosa.  The filling is made with textured vegetable protein (TVP) that mimics minced 'lamb', it was mildly spiced.   Have a knife and fork ready to tuck in, but a spoon would work too. 

The colours of the Curried Welsh Shepherds Pie are spot on for the Autumnal seasonal colours around us which are really stunning at the moment.  I just wish I was motivated to step outside today, but I just wanted to snuggle indoors and doss around in the house. D did not protest too much about wanting to go out either, so we both just chilled - neither of us looking forward to going into work tomorrow. 

Vegan Mofo prompt today is Comfort Food.  I have to admit, I have already posted my idea of comfort food with the Samosa Soup recipe.  So I had to approach comfort food from a different angle.  Shepherds Pie and Cottage Pie are dishes that make my husband happy and that makes me happy and gives me comfort.  I have also been finding the  soft mash rather comforting and those of you who have been reading my bog for a long time will find that surprising as I don't do mash finding it close to baby food, but this weekend I have been finding it soothing for my throat which continues to be sore - another visit to the GP is on the cards.

As D was eating this Curried Welsh Pie he said it reminded him of another dish that I make. When prompted which one? He said the vegan Mexican Tamale Pies which is similar in filling but is finished of with a polenta topping, so I agree with him to some extent.   

Curried Welsh Shepherds Pie with Turmeric Mash Topping
Serves 6 generously or 2 people over 3 days
Ingredients
200g TVP reconstituted and then drained of excess liquid. Set aside

2 - 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, minced
2 medium leeks from Blas Y Tir, washed well of grit and sliced
2 - 3 garlic cloves, crushed
250g carrots, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1-11/2 teaspoon red chilli flakes (or fresh, minced)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon of fresh coriander, minced
1 x 400g tinned tomatoes, chopped
1/4 pint vegetable stock
Optional: 1 x 400g canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste

600g Blas Y Tir potatoes, mashed with vegan margarine
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 - 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, minced
Method
In a wide pan, heat the oil, then add in the leeks and cook on medium heat until it begins to soften, then stir in the garlic, cumin, coriander and chilli flakes and cook for a few minutes for the spices to mingle and the garlic to soften with the leeks.
Then stir in the chopped tomatoes, crushing them further with a spoon.
Leave to cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes are well integrated.
Stir in the carrots and reconstituted TVP and cook until tender and stock.
Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer until  it has thickened. 
Stir in optional chickpeas if using.
Turn off and transfer contents into a large ovenproof dish.

To the mashed potatoes, stir in the turmeric, chilli and herbs.  
Then carefully cover the pie filling distributing evenly. 
Bake in preheated oven, gas mark 5/200oc for 45-50 minutes or until golden and bubbling on the side.  
Serve immediately.  
Adapted from this Fiery Chilli Welsh Red Dragon Pie

I am sharing this  with Casa Costello and Mummy Mishaps for Bake of the Week;  Cook Once Eat Twice hosted by Searching for Spice;  and Simple and In Season hosted by  Feeding Boys;  

Welsh Vegan Festival

Wow, what a jam packed weekend I have had.  Yesterday we went to the annual Elvis Festival in Porthcawl and this morning to the first Vegan Welsh Vegan Festival in Cardiff. 

I apologise in advance, I know my photographs are not great, but one reason this time that is legitimate is that the venue The Tramshed which is a theatre was a dark venue. I did my best for the stall holders there to showcase their vegan offerings.  

I have to kick start with Cafe Atma which is based in Cardiff.  Here are three burgers Chakra Burger, Babu Burger and The Nutty One. 

 Falafel Wrap and Kofta Wrap

Gav and his colleague are from Tandoori Q .  On my wish list is one of their Tandoori Ovens, my father would be pleased.

  Mex It Up cooking up some Jackfruit on twitter.

Little Welsh Nibbles In My Kitchen

With today being St David's Day, I thought I would share some Welsh things and Welsh nibbles in my kitchen. 

 I treated myself to a cute new Welsh mug, this has found its way to the office. 

I've showcased this chopping board before on my blog, but I couldn't resist sharing it again.  It reads in Welsh 'Homemade Bread made with Love'.  It was given to me as a gift from my nephew many years ago and I still treasure it, no bread or bread knife has ever been near it. 

This is a novelty dish wash scrubby in the shape of a Welsh daffodil.  

Welsh Woman's Vegan Laverbread Caviar

Dydd Dewi Sant hapus! (Happy St Davids's Day!) Lovely readers.  

Laverbread is known in Wales as 'Welshman's Caviar'.  I first heard about an actual 'Welsh Laverbread Caviar' product from my nephew who came up to see me when I lived in Scotland (see here), and it had since got me thinking of making my own.  

The eureka moment came to me a when I made my balsamic beetroot pearls  and then it dawned on me  to try this with tapioca, basil seeds and even chia seeds.  These worked well as a substitute, the beady seeds swelled and became voluminous and gelatinous, however they lacked in flavour.  I had to find ways to inject flavours into these bobbly beads.  Natural colours were easy to impart, but flavours were a little harder to accomplish, but I eventually got there with: brine, tomato juice, carrot juice, smoked liquid and so forth.  

Even though I've been making vegan Caviar for a few years now, I have failed to blog about them.  Not all my experiments in the kitchen make it onto the blog due to poor evening lighting.  And although this vegan caviar is still not quite perfect (I need to drain the liquid a little more for a start), I think its good enough to share the concept/idea with my readers.  

Originally I had thought to call my vegetarian version 'Mermaids Pearls', but 'Welsh Gentlewoman's Vegan Caviar' sounds more cachet.  

Vegan Welsh Cottage Pie with Laverbread Mash

You will find many variations of vegetarian and vegan Shepherds Pie here, but I've never featured a Cottage Pie on my blog, not sure why as I have made them many times - perhaps its because it doesn't really look that pretty to photograph.

So what is the difference between a Shepherds Pie and a Cottage Pie.  Traditionally a Shepherd Pie made with minced lamb and Cottage Pie with chunks of beef, but for vegetarians and vegans this is often substituted with minced mushrooms or a mock meat substitute. 

Here is my version of a vegetarian Cottage Pie made with the addition of Welsh leeks which give it a little sweetness and topped with seaweed - Welsh Laverbread mash.  I was prompted to make a Welsh version of Cottage pie when I saw a Scottish twist on a Cottage Pie. 

I am sure you will find a Irish version and with respect, we all know there is no shortage of English variations of the humble Cottage Pie.

Indo Cymru Leek Stew with Dumplings that give you a Cwtch

Some of you will have noticed that in the past week or so, I have been gravitating towards Welsh recipes and Welsh things.  This is for the simple reason that next week many of us in Wales will be celebrating St David's Day, even the daffodils are coming out to celebrate, though to be honest they have been out posing by the side of the roads a month earlier.

As we enjoyed the Curried Root Vegetable Stew a couple of weeks back, I thought I would make it again, but enhance it further with the addition of spices and leeks and make it somewhat Fusion Welsh - yes we do like our leeks here in Wales, well I do.  Even though the daffodils are confused and finding the British weather warm, some of us are still finding it, so stew-like meals have been on the menu quite a bit.   

Cwtch means hug in Welsh and it a word you will hear and see a lot in Wales. And these light cloud like dumplings definitely give you a big warm welcome hug, who doesn't love a good hug. 

The topping of Welsh cheddar or Caerphilly cheese is purely optional.  

Vegetarian Welsh Cawl Hot Pot

In anticipation of St David's Day, I made this Welsh Cawl Hot Pot yesterday afternoon.

Most people in the U.K are familiar with Lancashire Hot Pot made more famous by a barmaid called Betty (now deceased) in a popular British soap drama called Coronation Street.  It was Betty's signature dish at the Rovers Return Inn - a English pub.   

Hot Pot is a slow cooked recipe traditionally made with lamb and vegetables, but as this is a vegetarian blog I made mine with some vegan mock 'lamb' meat pieces.  I also decided to give this Hot Pot a Welsh touch with the addition of leeks and good Welsh cheese.  

Actually this can easily be a vegan Welsh Cawl Hot Pot, if you omit the cheese, but as I had some Dragon Welsh Caerphilly and Colliers Welsh Cheddar I opted to use them.  Although not authentic in any way, I enjoyed my vegetarian Welsh Hot Pot alternative.  It delivered on flavour, texture and substance.  there was also some gravy juices sitting at the bottom of the hot pot when it came out of the oven that made for moist mock 'lamb' pieces.  I served the finished dish with some steamed broccoli heads. 

This is not a sponsored blog post

Five Welsh Vegetarian Leek Recipes

Many of you came by last week through Amy at Love Made My Home were really kind.  You seemed to have enjoyed my Five Welsh Castle posts, so in the same vain I thought I would share five of my favourite Welsh leek recipes with you. The Leek - as many of you will know is the national emblem of Wales alongside the daffodil and the roaring glorious red dragon.  

This short blog post is also a nod towards St David's Day that will shortly be here and my Welsh roots. Hope some of these Welsh Leek recipes inspire you to celebrate St David's Day whether your Welsh or not. 

Simple, but this Leek and Potato Soup with Chilli aka Welsh Dragon Soup remains one of my firm favourites.  

I created theseWelsh Leek, Caerphilly Cheese and Laverbread Burgers when I lived in Scotland and my lovely nephew came up to see me, they were a super success. 

You will find lots of versions of Red Dragon Pie, thisFiery Red Dragon Pie is mine.

Welsh Haggis Lasagne - Yes, the Welsh also have haggis!  

Not the prettiest, but these deep fried Welsh Leek and Caerphilly Cheese Pakoras aka Bhaji's are very tasty

So do you like leeks? Do you have any Welsh leek recipes to share. Do you celebrate St David's Day where you are? 

Cariad Sws for Dydd Santes Dwynwen

Dydd Santes Dwynwen Haput!

Cariad - Welsh for Love, Darling

Sws - Welsh for Kiss 

Tomorrow, the 25 January not only marks Burns Night in Scotland, but in Wales it marks St Dwynwen's Day. 

Yes we have our very own Valentines Day in Wales known as Dydd Santes Dwynwen.  St Dwynwen is The Welsh Saint of Love and Lovers.  Follow this link to read and learn more about Wales Patron Saint of Love, otherwise feast your eyes on some home-made vegan Welshcakes .   

Vegan at Home in Wales

Today you can call me a 'vegan taff', I won't mind.  Taff is a slang word that was often used to describe a person from Wales. There are a few different explanations to its origins, some say it refers to the River Taff (which sounds more likely) and others claim its is derived from the Welsh name David pronounced Dafydd in Wales.  I remember being called Taffy quite clearly when I was small, especially whenever I would visit distant relatives in England, their neighbours would hear our accent and shout out 'taffy's' here.  

Anyway, today's prompt is 'make or eat a traditional local dish' and tomorrow's is 'honour a human (or non-human) that inspires yours veganism'.  

So I thought I would take the opportunity to share a post that I shared last year for Vegan Mofo, as this touches on both: it is filled with lots of Welsh vegan goodness, some traditional and some original and its respectfully acknowledges St David, the patron Saint of Wales who was a vegetarian.  St David only ate bread, herbs, vegetables and bread and drank only water. 

Welsh Nosh and Welsh Things In My Kitchen

In the past, Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial who hosts In My Kitchen (IMK) series has been kind enough to give me the opportunity to showcase my new Welsh kitchen when I moved home.  

Now nearly a year on I am going to share some other Welsh things and nibbles.  So what's in my kitchen for March?!  As we just celebrated St David's Day in Wales I thought IMK this month would have a distinct Welsh influence.

I am not a beer drinker at all, but I had to have this glittery beer glass.  It will probably never be used for drinking, but it looks pretty.  I may just fill it up with pens and pencils and put it on a table; or fill it up with daffodils when they pop up in our garden.  Next to this big glass is a little Welsh shot glass, look close and you will see a little Welsh lady.  

I have some Laverbread: a traditional Welsh delicacy that is often just spread on toast.   I have made some vegetarian recipes in the past with it like vegetarian burgers and pie, but I have recently made some new ones over the weekend including this rather rich Laverbread Dal - fusing my Welsh and South Asian heritage. 

I will showcase some of the recipes in the coming days, if you interested.  In the dainty red ceramic jar, we have Halen Mon Anglesey sea-salt that was gifted to me a little while back.  

Lurking back at the back of my cupboards in the kitchen, I found two Welsh Lady jars, one contains Roasted Chestnut Chutney and the other Mincemeat. You may not the little red ceramic dragon sitting on top of the left jar, I picked the cute little dragon from a crafts fair around Christmas time.  

Next we have 100% Welsh Extra Virgin Rapeseed Oil by Blodyn Aur.  It's been a while since I've used Rapeseed oil, the last time was actually when I lived in Scotland and I picked one up from the farmers market then. I am looking forward to using this mostly on salads.  Next to it, we have a Welsh Dragon Chilli Sauce called Electric Mud.  I picked this up when I was in Cardiff from the Riverside Market.  It is extremely hot and to be used in very small drops.