Four Yellow Dishes

Around this time last year I shared a blog post of photographed dishes not worthy of getting their blog posts in their own right.  

This blog post is a continuation of that theme.  I share four very Yellow recipes I made last year, that tasted okay but not very well presented as I just plonked in the bowl.  

The first is Turmeric Pilau with Yellow (aka Split Pea) Lentils and Curly Kale.  It was nice, but not very well photographed as I just hurriedly plonked the food in the bowl.

The second yellow dish was Cauliflower, Fenugreek and Yellow (Split Pea) Dal.  It came about when my darling husband wanted me to make Cauliflower Curry and I had a hankering for the most delicious of pauper dishes - Dal, so I decided to combine the both.  Combing dal with a vegetable is not that unusual, many families of South Asian heritage or diaspora do this, to add either add more flavour or texture or to bulk it up to feed a family.  It was really delicious and quite comforting to eat, but as it was served late in the evening - the lighting was poor and my kitchen table top is not the best either.  

The third yellowish Lemon cheesecake was made over Christmas in place of my traditional Christmas Cranberry Cake.  It did not turn out well.  For a start, look at the scary googly eyes on that angel figure. The cake itself, although edible was a bit of a flop - the biscuit base to hard, the whipped cream too fluffy (and not set) and then I went and smothered it and made it look even messy and clumpy with Prosecco Apricot Jam with edible glitter. 

The fourth Yellow recipe is for Coconut and Lemon Cake.  We liked it.  Its simple and has no airs or graces about it, and its own golden topping is glistening with nature bling, but it was too simple to share - even the lemon sweet slice on top could not make it fancy.

Food Photographs Not Good for Blogging

In the past I have seen fellow bloggers share blog post of their fails in the kitchen, I  thought I would share some food related photographs that did not make a blog post in their own right.

Here is a vegetarian roast dinner with mock 'meat' slices.  I loved the colours but the presentation let me down.

World Refugee Day : Syrian Cauliflower Zahra Mnazalet

I do feel my calling is to work in a big community kitchen with people from diverse, cultural and ethnic backgrounds.  I even dream one day if I win the lottery big time to start a community canteen where people from all backgrounds can come together, share and eat food and mostly talk with each other to break down preconceived ideas and challenge misinformation disseminated often by cheap paper tabloids.  I would not want it to be one of those places, where people come along, a bit like so-called 'Diversity days' 'eat the food from different countries, dance to the music, have their hands painted in henna', then go back to their homes continuing to still carry those prejudices.  I've seen that way to many times and always avoid it as tokenism.  Anyway, today (and the rest of this week) is not about me.  This week I give my blog space freely over to Refugee Week in the hope that it will raise some awareness of refugees and asylum seekers across the world for what its worth.

Today it is the 20th June and today is World Refugee Day.  World Refugee Day marks a collective acknowledgement across the world to raise awareness  of the plight of refugees and asylum seekers across the world.  

When I started this blog I lived in Scotland and through some of my work in the voluntary sector I was involved with the Scottish Refugee Council.  It was in the 1990s and many vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees from Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan and  Eritrea were homed in the Red Road flats in Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland.  Previous to that my only experience of refugees was through books and history lessons.  And the only real life encounter I had up until then with a refugee was when I was a child in Wales.  I learned of 'the boat people' - Vietnamese people who came to Wales in the  1970s.  If you are a regular reader, you will know that dotted throughout my blog are thoughts on how 'we are all foreigners somewhere'.  

In 2011, an estimated 9 million Syrians were forced to flee their homes because of the outbreak of the Civil War.  This is the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War. The rest ...we all know.  

The theme for Refugee Week for 2016  is Welcome. On a daily basis I engage and interact with people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, some are from an asylum seeker and refugee background, some are not - but the one thing we all have in common is that we are all human beings looking to better our lives.  But for the purpose of my blog my Simple Act is to Cook A Dish from Another Country and try and raise some awareness that way among some colleagues and some of my readers.

In Syria Zahra means cauliflower, it is also the same word for flowers.  Kano - The Syrian Foodie writes, and the word Mnazalet is a generic word for vegetable dishes.  

I have adapted the meat version which is made with minced lamb with reconstituted soy mince, but you can omit it all together if you wish.  For those of you who like mild flavours, then this one is for you.  I liked it, for me the fresh coriander elevated the dish.  You will find the recipe below if you wish to recreate it at home. 

On another note about Syria, I went to an exhibition called from Syria With Love. 

This is a UK based initiative.  The exhibition shared artwork created by Syrian children living in refugee camps in Lebanon.  Here are some pictures I took on that day.

If you get the chance, visit Savouring Syria - A project that tells the stories of Syrians and Syria through food.  Also if you have time, please watch Queens Of Syria.  

In 2013, 50 Syrian women came together in Jordan to create and perform their own version of The Trojan War, a take on the Greek tragedy about the plight of women in the war.  It is Arabic with English subtitles and is directed by Yasmin Fedda. Here is a review by The Guardian.

Cheltenham Vegan Festival

I've never been to Cheltenham, England but when I saw that there was Cheltenham were hosting a Vegan Fair, well I thought this would be the weekend to go and make a whole day of it.  

It was icy cold, but the hospitality of the Cheltenham people was very warm that it was a delight to explore the city, but also the stalls at the Cheltenham Vegan Fair.   Although it was small,  I loved it as it made a fabulous and genuine refreshing change from the usual suspects in South Wales.  So here are some of the delights that my eyes (and belly) were able to feast on.  I apologise sincerely in advance if I have missed your stall here, it was getting busy so I was unable to take pictures of all that were there, but I did visit each and every one of them. 

 Lovely little Badger flower pots

I know a friend who would love this in her kitchen.  I regret not getting it for her now, it would have been a nice house warming gift.

Kind Cakes, Mean Bakes in Bristol

Did I tell you we had 1 inch of snow in the Welsh valleys at the weekend.  It was a bit of a surprise, to look out of the bedroom window to find the greenhouse and dirt ground covered with the cold white stuff.  It took us a little while to scrape the ice of the car too.

Anyway, to escape the cold and being stuck indoors, we took a drive and made a day trip of going into Bristol.  I love Bristol for many reasons, when I graduated from University all those years ago  - I applied for jobs in Bristol, Brighton and Birmingham, but ended up finding a job in the city when I went to Uni - Glasgow.  I do love exploring Bristol as well as trying out the many vegetarian and vegan eateries.  I also enjoy taking a lazy wander around Stokes Croft for the graffiti art - but there was not much new there this time round, just a handful around the #RefugeesWelcome.  

This is the only one that I managed to capture on camera.  Its Paddington Bear - Migration is Not a Crime.  Instead of Cafe Kino, we decided to try a different place -  Wise Beans Cafe -  the coffee was real good.  

We were not ready to eat, but I was restraining myself as we had walked passed the Market at The Moon and I spyed some beautiful handmade crafted gifts, as well as Kind Cakes, Mean Bakes and I was suddenly tempted by all of their sweet and savoury bites.  

Sometimes, I miss my own vegetarian culinary adventures and admire and live precariously through others.  If I do return to grassroots cooking, I often imagine it will be something like Mazi Mas or The International Peace Cafe, both recently featured in The Guardian; or even just a 'Pop Up Supper Club'. 

I am very cautious when I tell vegetarian and vegan stall holders that I used to do some catering (and sometimes that I even have a food blog). The response closer to home has not always been welcoming.  I am often snubbed and perceived as a competitor.  Sadly even the non-vegetarian stalls that knock out one sad 'cheese and onion' vegetarian option, give me that sly look, but I have to be honest, its the first time that I got a bit of warmth and it came from two funky vegan women behind Kind Cakes Mean Bakes.  I applaud that kind and genuine warmth that they exuded, they were even generous in sharing a recipe with me.   Thank you so much Caroline and Jane. 

I really really wanted to try everything made by  Kind Cakes Mean Bakes, but at the same time I didn't want to be carrying fragile fresh bakes in my bag and wandering the eclectic streets of Bristol for another few hours, so I went for one - the most eye-catching bake on the table, saying that most were incredible - but it was the beetroot topping that made me opt for the vegan Savoury Cake with 'cream cheese'. 

Above - Caroline lifting up a generous slice for me to take home.  And boy, oh boy it was Awesome - even D gave it the thumbs up. 

My one regret on the day was not getting some Jaffa Fakes - some with orange and some with raspberries!  I consolidate myself in the knowledge that I will visit  Kind Cakes Mean Bakes again, but it may now be next Year, unless we go back in December for some Christmas shopping...   You never know....

The Friday Before Halloween

So it's the Friday before Halloween.   I thought I would share this post Five on Fridays hosted by Amy at Love Made My Home.

Last year I was humbled to judge some cakes at a community event in the city centre.  I never got round to sharing the pictures on my blog last year, so here are a selected few from Halloween last year.

One - This one by the way is not one of the entries, it was the prize for the winner. 

Two - These Halloween cupcakes were the winners, for taste but also for visual impact and effort.  I love the individual pumpkin, the witches hat, the grave-stone heads, and look close there is even a spider and a ghost!

 We had this Chocolate Bundt cake covered in skull heads.

Three - There were also plenty of savoury nibbles, such as these creepy black olive spiders.  Not the best picture, but don't they look like they are moving - they were delicious to eat.

Another savoury morsel topped with peppers, olives, sweetcorn and gherkins.

More black olive spiders.

Four - Now we have some home-made spooky up-cycled tins (see first picture); DIY bats made by the children.

DIY Halloween bunting. I love individual and personal touches like these so much.

Five - A little while ago I made this Smoked Chilli Roasted Butternut Squash and Red Onion pastry tart.  Although still to be baked and turned golden, I think the colours are very seasonal!  

On a side note, a work friend is going tomorrow night to Fear Fest Halloween Night.  I am envious a it will be an awesome spooky night, but haven't been able to convince D to go with me, so I am excited for her and look forward to hearing from her come Monday.

Please do pop on over to Five on Fridays hosted by Amy at Love Made My Home to see what other bloggers have shared.

Swansea VegFest

This time last week I had come back from Swansea Veg Mini-Fest.  

We were there quite early, but it was a good sign as people were beginning to gather. 

Booming and Busy Bristol VegFest 2015

I had a good time in Bristol at the weekend, what made it even more enjoyable was the company of my nephew and niece.  Before heading down to the Harbour side for Bristol VegFest, we went into Stokes Croft not only to check out the graffiti art, but also to get some breakfast at Cafe Kino.  Then we winded our way to the city centre, when we decided to wander through St Nicholas Market and I treated myself to some Psycho Chocolate Chilli Salted Caramel with Naga Jolokia from the Hot Sauce Emporium. 

When we eventually got to Bristol VegFest it was super busy, I knew it would be so as I attended last year too.  Anyway, I had to go round twice, maybe even three times to absorb what was there, but I am sure that I miss loads in the hustle and bustle.  It was also quite hard to take pictures, so I only have a few to share.

The fabulous Ms Cupcake aka Melissa Morgan in person who was more than happy for me to take a photograph of her.  I have her The Naughtiest Vegan Cupcakes in Town, but have to admit that I have yet to bake from it.  The selection below has me tempted and I am not overly a cupcake girl, but I am happy to bake them for others.  

From baked vegan cupcakes to raw cakes and raw pizza from Paradise Unbakery which I was truly bowled over by. 

I really did not know where to look first.   Everything looked amazing.  

These were perhaps the most beautiful raw vegan cakes I have ever and I mean set eyes upon

 And you could see that they were truly made with love and edible flowers.

My nephew was tempted to try the Raw Thai Nam Home Coconut Water from Coco Face. 

I have box of vegan Marshmallows from Ananda's to make at home, but it was good to try a sample of how the successfully made vegan marshmallow would taste.

There were so many vegetarian and vegan caterers on site, that we were spoiled for choice of world wide cuisine.  I was really tempted by Brownins Caribbean vegan food, but the free samples of vegan cheese crackers and chocolate had me feeling quite content, that I wasn't quite ready to eat lunch. 

There were massive queues for the Happy Maki  (that specialised in vegan sushi wraps) and The Loving Hut, and as much as I would have loved to tried their offerings (of vegan 'fish' and chips with 'fish' sauce), I don't have the patience to line up for food.  

I was excited to see The Spotted Leopard there, but look forward to enjoying their grub some other day when I am in Bristol.

Momentarily I lost D, but when I looked back again he appeared with a cone of Smoked Jerk Spices chunky chips from The Happy Chippy.  I must admit, the last thing I expected to eat at the Vegfest was chips!

I have to admit, I did not come back home laden with goodies, just a few things amongst them Bengal Spice Tea and Koko Dairy and Soy Free milk, but all in all it was a good day and one I would be happy to do again, come next year. 

April Sunshine In My Kitchen

I picked up these gorgeous enamel vintage pots and pans recently from a charity shop for a super duper bargain price.  I love the golden roses embossed on the sides.  I don't know if I will ever use them, they will probably sit on the top of the kitchen cupboards as ornaments.  Who knows?!

Bookmarked Vegetable Cakes, Desserts and Sweet Recipes

There used to be nights when I would lie awake at night thinking about what to create with my home-grown organic vegetables, For those of you who have been following me since the inception of this blog, will know that I was putting vegetables into everything - Rhubarb and beetroot in curries, courgette and parsnip in cookies, avocado and pumpkin in mousse, spinach and kale in smoothies, beetroot in cakes,waffles and pastry crust, carrot in muesli, flapjacks and jams and jellies, butternut squash in ice-cream, and much more, now I lie awake with real life distractions. I also seem to have lost my mojo, before the inspiration would just come naturally ...life was much kinder then. I know it will return in time.

I was looking over some of my bookmarked recipes from years back.  It occured to me that raw food and vegan blogs have been a fantastic source of inspiration for many mainstream foodies whether or not we like to admit it.  Many raw and vegan food bloggers cook outside of the boundaries incorporating ingredients that mimic meat and dairy products flavours, textures and tastes.  Raw and Vegan cooks have introduced mainstream cooks and chefs to new techniques and ways of cooking with ingredients that they would never had considered.  Avocado Chocolate Mousse for a start - need I say more, and Kale and Spinach in Smoothies that have now evolved now to ice-creams and yogurts. Many of these recipes have been around for years, but are only just being discovered here in the U.K. 

Here are a handful of bookmarked recipes made with vegetables from around blogospere that I hope to make in time.  I have provided links to the original source.  I do hope the bloggers I've linked to don't mind me sharing the images with you. 

Beetroot Ice-cream by White on Rice Couple.

Here are Lagusta's amazing vegan Beetroot Truffles. She has also made other flavours, such as Chipotle, Wasabi, Curry and Miso! 

Beetroot and Coconut Terrine featured on Va Va Voom.  I know this one is savoury, but I am planning on sweetening it up a little when I make it at home. 

Red Chocolate Hot Chocolate by Yuppie Chef!  I was thinking of making this one with beetroot and making Red Beetroot Hot Chocolate!

I also have Beetroot Meringues bookmarked from Canal Cook, as well as vegan ones by Eddie Shepherd; and also Carrot Meringues bookmarked from Love the Garden Competition in 2011.

Here are some sweet recipes made with cauliflower.  For a start Chocolate Cauliflower Shake from The Green Forks which can easily be frozen and turned into a lollipop; and even a Cauliflower Rice Pudding from Maria Mind Body Health. 

Hulk Smoothie aka Green Smoothie from Carissa at Attached At the Nip.  Carissa introduced me to Green Smoothies in 2009.  She has so many variations with mangoes, apples, all with appealing names such as Green Goddess, and Simply Green Juice. 

This amazing vegan Kale Cake with Sweet Potato Filling from Lancaster Fresh Farm CSA website shared in 2011 by a CSA shareholder, Laura Forer.  I so want to make this with my homegrown kale.

Sweet Pea Cupcakes with Soured Cream Frosting from Vanilla Garlic as above (2009) and also Garden Peas and Ricotta Cupcakes  (no image) bookmarked from Cupcake Project (2011).

Another one from the Cupcake Project, this time its Cucumber Cupcakes.  So gorgeous. 

The Baker of Brighton also has Cucumber Cupcakes this time topped with Elderflower Cream.  But if you want to make one big cake, then check out this Cucumber Cake recipe bookmarked from Honest Cooking.  It shows that cucumbers can be substituted for courgettes. 

There is a sweet Turkish cake called Ispanakli Kek made with Spinach.  I had it when I was in Turkey but have never got round to making it at home.  I've had this Sweet Spinach Cake bookmarked by Binnurs Turkish Cookbook.  A similar Spinach Cake and Spinach Cupcake recipe appears in Mom Whats for Dinner !  I was also intrigued by Binnurs Mushroom Cookies.  

Spinach Ice-cream from Chocolate Covered Katie.  I was also recently reminded of this Mint Chocolate Frozen Yogurt with Chocolate Chips also made with spinach by Circardian Wellnesss via Jessica Seinfields book Double Delicious, you can find the original recipe here.

Peruvian Sweet Corn Cake from Peru Delights.  Follow this link for  22 Peruvian Recipes that vegans and vegetarians should try. 

Mexican Sweet Corn Cakes from Marcie at Flavour The Moments.

 Home-made Sweet Potato Latte by Grace Su featured on MichellePhan.com.  Sweet Potato Latte is a Korean cafe speciality that will soon be made in my kitchen come Autumn.  The recipe can be easily adapted, and has also been made with Japanese Purple Sweet Potato. 

Spiced Sweet Potato Doughnuts by Leanne Bakes.

Sweet Potato Cheesecake Squares from Seasonal Veg Head via Everyday Food.

Or maybe something a little more cooling with these Pumpkin Lollies or Popsicles depending on where you are in the world, bookmarked from a Healthy Jalapeno. 

And these don't even include those from my well thumbed raw food, vegetarian and vegan cookbooks such as this one from which I have already baked Celery Cookies.