Seaside Days - Weston-super-Mare

D had the day off from work, and having listened to the news followed by the weather person predicting dry skies, on impulse he decided to take a trip to the seaside, not in Wales but across the border in England.  To be more precise, Weston-super-Mare, across the Bristol Channel in North Somerset.  I have to admit, I wanted to go to Bristol, but hey it's his day off and he's driving. 

We arrived and although the sun was not out, it stayed dry throughout our visit.  Here are some snaps of our Sunday morning.

Donkeys getting ready to work.

  A beach shack.

  Entrance to the Grand Pier.   

  A leisurely stroll on the pier.

 On the way out...

Of course, we had to have some chips, heavily salted and soaked in vinegar. 

 Followed by plain vanilla ice-cream.

When we returned home, we enjoyed the last few slices of the 'Cauliflower and Cheddar Cake' I made a few days ago.  I've had Ottolenghi's 'Cauliflower Cake' bookmarked for a while, but the quantity of using 10 free range eggs made me hesitant.  Other than making frittata's or Spanish style tortilla's I have never ever used such a large amount of eggs for one recipe.  Well that changed when I decided to go ahead and make this to share with family.  

It reminded me of lots of different recipes, but combined into one hearty compact savoury cake. First it reminded me of one of my own recipes for a Cauliflower Terrine.  Then the Italian Cauliflower Sformato, the Afghanistan Egg Torte known as Khagina,  the Algerian Markode, the Kookoo  in Iran, and  of course a Quiche. My nephew even described it a little of cauliflower pakora's, even the Gujrati dhokla.  I can see what he means. 

I am linking this recipe with Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes. Jacqueline is hosting May's edition #12 of Bookmarked Recipes: a monthly blog event initiated by Ruth of Ruth's Kitchen Experiments.  I have seen the recipe reproduced on a number of blogs, so as well as providing a link to the original recipe, I have decided to go ahead and share it out here, with my very slightly  adapted variation.

Savoury Cauliflower and Cheddar Cake
Serves 8 - 10 depending on slices and appetite
Ingredients
1 cauliflower, weighing around 700g, stalks included
1 red onion, sliced
100g olive oil
½ teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
10 medium free-range eggs
20g basil, minced
180g plain flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
200g mature cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and black pepper to taste
Butter, for greasing baking tin
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds or black onion/nigella seeds
Method
Heat the oven to 180c/gas mark 4. Steam the cauliflower florets and stalks if using, and steam until soft. Allow the excess water to strain and allow to cool.
For the batter
Set aside some of the onion slices and then finely mince the remaining slices.. Heat the oil in a wide pan and sauté the onion and rosemary until soft. Remove from the heat and allow to cool, add the eggs and basil, and whisk to combine.
Sift the flour, baking powder and turmeric into a large bowl, and add the cheddar cheese.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Gently add in the egg mixture and whisk to remove any lumpy bits. Finally,  stir in the cauliflower to combine well.
Use a baking parchment to line the bottom of a 24cm round cake tin with a loose base. Grease  the the sides of the baking tin with the butter, put in the seeds and toss them around so they stick to the bottom and sides. Gently pour in the cauliflower egg mixture and arrange the onion rings on top.  Bake in the centre of the oven for 45 - 50 minutes, until golden and firm on top.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Original recipe can be found here.

The Cardiff Vegetarian Festival 2012

On Saturday evening, I went along with D and my niece to the Cardiff Vegetarian Festival.   Its in its fourth year and its one of the smallest vegetarian food events I have been too.  We stayed for a couple of hours.  There were talks on veganism and fruitarian lifestyle, as well as a DJ music and a pop up veggie circus (that I missed).

I especially applauded the Being Vegan Information Stall. It was the first time my niece has ever had a vegan cake and she liked it. So thank you to the Vegan Information stall for their lovely free tasters of which we enjoyed the brownies, a quiche and chocolate tart. 

I also enjoyed a vegan Lentil Pie (see below) and a vegan Lemon tart - both from Cafe Atma.  The lentil tart reminded me of my heavily adapted recipe for 3 lentil vegetable loaf.  I would loved to have tried the dishes from the other Welsh, namely Cardiff based vegan and vegetarian caterers there, but it would have been impossible - even for someone with my ravenous appetite for all things vegetable. 

Here is a list of the vegan and vegetarian caterers there: Cafe Atma (image 3 and 4) , Ethical Chef, Hipo Munchies (image 5), Hungry Planet (image 1 and 2), Milgi (an establishemnt that went completely vegetarian about 2 years ago), Parsnipship Co-operative and The Vegetarian Food Studio.  I am sure I will get to enjoy there food over the next couple of years.  As it was a small venue and quite tight, spread across two rooms and the courtyard.  I did struggle to take pictures of all the stalls present, so here are just a handful of edible delights spread out. 

Also, to celebrate the start of National Vegetarian Week a challenge was set by Great Green Eats (part of the Cardiff Vegetarian Festival) to submit an unusual, creative and delicious meat-free recipe and be with a chance of winning some prizes.  Well I decided to submit my Laverbread, Puy Lentil and Mushroom Savoury Puddings in a poster style(image 6) - original image below to the competition. 

The submitted recipes were displayed at the Cardiff Vegetarian Festival and judged by local vegetarian chefs.  To see how I did, follow this link  I look forward to the festival next year, when it will undoubtedly grow with even more veggie caterers, maybe, maybe even me with my new vegetarian cafe venture - see here.  By the way, I am still seeking help for volunteers - see here - if your interested or know of someone who may be. 

A2K Home Bistro aka Supper Club

To read more follow this link.