This vegan smoky cheeze sauce is a bit Marmite in that you’ll either love it or hate it – it has a VERY strong cheesy, smoky taste! Colin isn’t a fan and nor are the kids, which means when I make a batch I know it’s ALL FOR ME 🙂 I am obsessed with it and use it for everything from dressing a salad, spreading on crackers, stirring through pasta and drizzling over a buddha bowl. It keeps well in a tupperware in the fridge, or frozen, if you don’t use it all at once.
Ingredients
100g cashews, soaked overnight
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp liquid smoke
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup plant milk
Method
This is the easy part – just put all of the ingredients in a blender and whizz them together for 30 seconds – 1 minute till creamy! Add a little more water or plant milk if you like the sauce runnier.
There are so many things we both love about autumn. There’s that first moment of autumn – usually around the beginning of September – when you step outside, take a breath, and inhale something crisp, clear and cold – and know that summer is over and autumn is here. Autumn always seem to arrive so suddenly, rather than the gradual transition that happens between other seasons. You start to notice the leaves slowly turning red, and gold, and see them drifting down from the trees and onto the pavement and beneath your feet. And you watch the birds as they make their way south – a feat that never seems less incredible, no matter how many autumns pass.
It also feels like a time of new beginnings – new term at school and university, the reminder of stiff new school uniforms, pencil cases full of sharp pencils, new things to learn and new people to know.
I love these words from Ali Smith about autumn –
“November again. It’s more winter than autumn. That’s not mist. It’s fog. The sycamore seeds hit the glass in the wind like – no, not like anything else, like sycamore seeds hitting window glass. There’ve been a couple of windy nights. The leaves are stuck to the ground with the wet. The ones on the paving are yellow and rotting, wanwood, leafmeal. One is so stuck that when it eventually peels away, its leafshape left behind, shadow of a leaf, will last on the pavement till next spring. The furniture in the garden is rusting. They’ve forgotten to put it away for the winter. The trees are revealing their structures. There’s the catch of fire in the air. All the souls are out marauding. But there are roses, there are still roses. In the damp and the cold, on a bush that looks done, there’s a wide-open rose, still. Look at the colour of it.”
Autumn, like every season, is a time for self-care. We’ve put together some ideas for connecting with yourself and the world around you over the next few months.
Don’t hibernate – embrace the outdoors. It’s so tempting when autumn starts to wrap yourself up in warm clothes and hibernate in your home until spring, avoiding the cold and darkness. But next time you look out of the window and think it’s too cold, rainy or dark to go out, try going against your instincts, throwing on some waterproofs, and stepping out into the autumn weather. Letting the wind and rain and cold flow over you rather than cringing away from it is something I learned to do when I took up winter swimming, Enjoy the feeling of being alive, in your body, in autumn. As the rain lashes your face and the wind whips at your hair, take time to be in the moment and focus on the here and now, pushing away any doubts and worries that might be troubling you and just letting nature wash over you.
Take up a craft like knitting or crochet. I was lucky enough to be taught to knit by my wonderful Granny, who was a complete knitting guru and always on hand to fix my mistakes. But if you don’t have someone to teach you, there are zillions of YouTube videos that will show you how, from the most basic stitches and beyond. Knitting has seen me through more than one life crisis – I started off with scarves and progressed to toys and random items (our home is filled with knitted crabs, bananas and strawberries!). Taking time to make things is such a mindful way to spend time, as your attention is focused on your creation. Your mind slows right down as you lose yourself to the rhythm of each stitch – it’s truly meditative. And if you want to know how to knit a prawn, you know where to find me 🙂
Forage for food. Early autumn is the perfect time to forage as there’s such an abundance of berries, herbs, nuts and fungi. Take a bag with you, and some secateurs or kitchen scissors, and visit your nearest green area to see what you can find – even urban parks often have hidden treasures, so you don’t need to go all the way out into the countryside – you might even be surprised at what you find in your own garden! An app like Seek is a great way of identifying what’s edible and what isn’t – take extra care with berries and mushrooms and the wrong type will make you feel pretty unwell. The Woodland Trust has a guide to what to forage month by month – just remember to only take what you need as you don’t want to upset the balance of the ecosystem your’e foraging in.
Embrace the change of autumn by making some resolutions. Yes, January is usually the time to make resolutions – but as F.Scott Fitzgerald once said, life starts all over again once it gets crisp in the fall. Maybe now is the time to try to give up a bad habit that you’ve never managed to lose in January, start a new sport (winter swimming is a brilliant one!) or promising yourself you’ll set aside a few minutes every day for self-care, such as yoga or a mindfulness meditation. Always set intentions with an open mindset – it’s ok not to achieve them, and there are no rules apart from the ones that you make for yourself about how long you give yourself to get there, or how many times you allow yourself to try.
Try this outdoor mindfulness exercise. Go and sit somewhere really quiet, maybe a bench in your local park, or in your garden if you have one. Just sit in silence for a moment and connect with your breathing, bringing awareness to your feet on the ground, finding a comfortable posture. Close your eyes and focus first on what you can hear – the sound of the wind, water running nearby, dogs barking, leaves crackling underfoot. You’ll notice that some of these sounds are constant, while others fade away. Then move on to what you can smell – perhaps the scent of a bonfire, the earthy smell of the leaves, the fir trees beside you. Open your eyes slowly and focus on what you can see – the beautiful colours of autumn, the leaves on the ground, the wind rustling the leaves left on the trees. And finally, choose something to pick up and hold – a nut fallen from a tree, or maybe a particularly crisp leaf on the ground. Notice the shape and colour object, running your hands over it and noticing the texture – is it wet, or dry? Hot or cold? Smooth or bumpy? If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the moment and enjoy this time you’ve given yourself to be fully immersed in the moment of where you are now.
We love this vegan jambalaya recipe for camping – it does take a bit of time to cook, but the smell of it cooking over a fire is amazing, and it can be made using the tomato tin for measurement, so no extra equipment required. It’s also one of those recipes that improves with age – it seems to taste even better once you reheat it.
Once you throw everything into the pan, you just need to keep an eye on it to ensure that the rice doesn’t boil dry – so it’s a great excuse to sit by the campfire and do nothing as you ‘watch dinner’!
It’s also delicious with potatoes and broccoli roasted in a little olive oil and salt.
This serves 6.
Ingredients
6 chopped vegan sausages – we used Richmond’s.
2 tins chopped tomatoes
2 tins water
Half tin red wine
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp oregano
1 white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 celery sticks, chopped finely
1 red pepper, chopped
1 tbsp vegan stock (we used Bouillon)
120g brown basmati rice
400g butter beans, rinsed and drained
Parsley to garnish
Olive oil to cook
Method
Heat a large pan with 2 tbsp olive oil and fry the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes.
Add the celery, chopped tomatoes, pepper, 1/2 can of stock, beans, paprika, oregano, sausages and rice the cover the pan and simmer, adding more stock and wine until the rice is cooked and stirring every so often.
I first made this vegan lentil dhal when I was ill with the dreaded coronavirus, so wasn’t fully able to appreciate how good it smells and tastes! It’s such a comforting dish and really easy to put together, as well as being full of nutrition and goodness.
Ingredients
500g red lentils
1 litre vegetable stock
1 can (400g) chopped tomatoes
2 white onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped or minced
1 tsp dried turmeric
1 tsp dried coriander
1 tsp dried paprika
1 tsp dried cumin
2 tsp dried ginger
Vegetable oil for frying
Fresh coriander to garnish
3 chopped cherry tomatoes to garnish
1 tbsp lime to season
Salt and pepper to season
Method
Heat a large pan with the vegetable oil and brown the chopped onions.
Add the garlic and spices and fry for another minute or two.
Add the vegetable stock and lentils and simmer for 10 minutes till the lentils have absorbed the liquid.
Then add the can of chopped tomatoes and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Season with salt, pepper and lime and garnish with fresh coriander and the fresh chopped cherry tomatoes.
This vegan pasta arrabbiata is one of those staple recipes that’s great for days when you’re too busy to think about what to make for dinner and just need something you can throw together now. ‘Arrabbiata’ means ‘angry’ in Italian, and this chilli-spiked tomato sauce does have a kick, but not one that will blow your head off. Native to Rome, it’s something I used to eat a lot when I lived in Italy many years ago.
These days, we have a lovely Italian neighbour who often brings us fresh tomatoes from his greenhouse that I use to make this sauce. Make a batch for now, and a batch to freeze, so you’ve always got some of this zingy sauce ready to go.
Ingredients
4 tbsp olive oil
1 kg fresh tomatoes
1-2 tsp chilli flakes, depending on how hot you like it.
Handful basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 white onion, chopped finely
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Handful sliced black olives
You’ll also need a blender.
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees(fan)
Place the tomatoes in a baking dish and toss in 2 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme and oregano. Roast for 15-20 minutes.
Once the tomatoes are ready, heat the other 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan or wok over a medium heat and fry the onions and garlic for five minutes.
Then blend the tomatoes with the onion and garlic, plus the balsamic vinegar, in your blender, to make a sauce. Serve with your favourite pasta – we like this with penne or rigatoni – and garnish with the fresh basil and sliced black olives.
The other day I noticed some amazing looking, but not vegan, pecan Danish pastries in the supermarket and was overcome by a craving to have some for breakfast. This is what I came up with – vegan Danish pecan plaits. The pecans toasted in maple syrup are to die for – enjoy!
Ingredients (makes six plaits)
375g sheet of vegan puff pastry
5 fl oz maple syrup plus 3 tbsp for frying the pecans
300g pecans
80g soft or melted vegan butter
2 tbsp warm water
1tsp cinnamon
Method
Put 250g of the pecans, butter, water and maple syrup in a blender and blend to form a smooth paste.
Roll out the pastry sheet and cut into six equal rectangles.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
On the long side of each rectangle, cut a ‘fringe’ on each side, making four cuts on each long side. Leave a central strip in the middle of each rectangle.
Take a teaspoon and spread the pecan paste over the central strip of each rectangle, then fold the side strips into the centre of the rectangle.
Bake the pecan plaits in the oven for around 15 minutes until golden.
While the plaits are baking, fry the remaining pecans on a low heat in the 3 tbsp of maple syrup, stirring often so the syrup doesn’t harden.
Top the plaits with the fried pecans, sprinkle with the cinnamon and eat! They’re also delicious cold for breakfast or a snack the next day.
We were lucky enough to have a week’s holiday in the Black Isle this July. The Black Isle isn’t actually an island – or black – but an isthmus just north of Inverness in Scotland, surrounded by water on three sides. It takes its name from the deep dark woodland that used to cover it. Before our holiday, we’d driven through it but never actually spent time there, and were keen to fit as much as possible into our week. It’s a beautiful part of Scotland, and virtually midge free, which is a huge bonus if you’ve ever spent a holiday in Scotland plagued by midges!
If you’re thinking about visiting this wonderful part of Scotland, here are some outdoor things you might like to do.
Dolphin watching at Chanonry Point. Chanonry Point, jutting out into the Moray Firth, is one of the best places in the UK to spot dolphins. When we arrived on a slightly drizzly Tuesday morning, there was a large group of people on the beach, some of whom had been waiting for hours. We decided to give ourselves an hour waiting on the beach, to see if the pod of dolphins that make a regular appearance to feed close to the shore might decide to show themselves. And we weren’t disappointed – just before our hour was up, two bottlenose dolphins swam towards the shore, and stopped only about three metres away from the shoreline. It was absolutely enchanting watching them jump and play in the water, and we felt that we’d witnessed something very special. The best time to see them is on a rising tide, which is around one hour after low tide. It’s really difficult to get parked at Chanonry Point, as the car park is very small and a LOT of people turn up there every day. If it’s possible for you to do, try to park in nearby Fortrose, or get a bus from Inverness to Fortrose – it’s one mile from Chanonry Point, and you can walk the rest of the way.
Sylvia Duckworth / Dolphins at Chanonry Point.
If dolphin watching makes you feel like a dip in the sea yourself, just along from Chanonry Point is Rosemarkie Beach, where we spent an afternoon kayaking and swimming. Facing out onto the Moray Firth, this wide sandy beach is fringed by woodland and has tennis courts, a play area and the Rosemarkie Beach Cafe (which has vegan options, including vegan ice cream) – everything you need for a perfect day at the Scottish seaside.
Kayaking off Rosemarkie Bay
Ecoventures run wildlife watching tours in the Moray Firth, including a two hour trip to see the bottlenose dolphins of the Firth. There’s no guarantee you’ll spot them, but you’ll be in safe hands as local Sarah takes you out on the Saorsa on a trip that’s designed to minimise impact on the surrounding wildlife.
Ecoventures
Poyntzfield Herb Nursery is also worth a visit. They have been growing herbs organically and biodynamically since 1976 and offer an opportunity to buy over 400 varieties of plants and seeds from a local, agro-ecological producer. Open from March to September.
Poyntzfield Herb Nursery
On the second day of our holiday, our munro loving cousin suggested an ‘easy, four mile walk’ up to the Fyrish Monument near Dingwall. Built by Sir Hector Munro in 1782 on Fyrish Hill in order to provide employment for the locals, the monument is certainly a four mile walk, but ‘easy’ was probably an exaggeration to get everyone off their feet and up a hill! Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful walk, though the upward part is steep in places and the ground isn’t the smoothest – so wear decent boots and take plenty of water. It’s worth the effort though – after emerging from the still green forest, you’re rewarded at the top with stunning views of the Moray Firth to your left and the Cairngorm mountains to your right.
Fyrish Monument
The Fairy Glen is another Black Isle highlight, and it looks just as beautiful as you’d expect from the name. A 25 minute gentle walk from Rosemarkie takes you through woodland and past burbling streams to this magical glen with its beautiful waterfalls and abundance of local wildlife – if you’re lucky, you might see a heron or buzzard at this RSPB reserve.
Loch Ness isn’t actually in the Black Isle, but a 40 minute drive away – it seemed rude not to visit the UK’s top wild swimming spot while we were in the area. After a visit to Nessieland in Drumnadrochit – and I’m still not really sure what to say about that as it was such a bizarre experience, so go and check it out for yourself – we headed to Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle. If you’re visiting Loch Ness, after getting your fix of history at the castle, choose your spot to take the plunge in the waters, which are icy in winter and tepid on the hot July day we were there. Fort Augustus is a popular spot to swim from -and if you’re feeling tempted to do some serious swimming, there’s a charity relay swim in Loch Ness next year to raise money for Aspire. As always with wild swimming, do take extra care – Loch Ness is hundreds of feet deep in places, and the water can get very cold.
There are plenty of campsites and B&Bs in and around Inverness. Black Isle Yurts have beautiful individually built and fully furnished yurts in private woodland with stoves, beds with duvets and pillows, and gas cookers. Fortrose Bay Campsite has stunning views over the Moray Firth, offers electric hook up and welcomes well behaved dogs, and you can eat your breakfast on the beach – you might even spot some dolphins if you’re lucky. And Loch Ness Glamping located just down the road in Glen Urquhart has tent pitches and hobbit houses where you’ll wake up to the sound of the river and birds and surrounded by bluebells, willow herb, foxgloves, daffodils, gorse, broom and any number of less well known Highland wild flowers.. There are BBQs for every hobbit house, and a children’s play area – bliss!
If you liked this, check out our guide to camping in Shieldaig in the Scottish Highlands.
We have a big patch of sage growing in our garden in Cambridge. I have never used sage much in cooking, but knew that it worked really well in pasta. This vegan lemon spaghetti with chickpeas and sage is an easy to throw together vegan lunch or dinner that really brings out the flavour of the sage. The quantities below make two large bowls.
Ingredients
1 can chickpeas, reserving the chickpea juice (aquafaba) too
6 fresh sage leaves
4 tbsp aquafaba
100ml vegetable stock
Pinch salt
Tsp dried sage
Juice of 2 lemons.
250g spaghetti
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
Method
Cook the spaghetti to your taste.
Heat the olive oil in a wok and add the garlic. Fry for a couple of minutes.
Add the aquafaba and stock, dried sage, the sage leaves and the chickpeas. Simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes.
Add the spaghetti and the lemon juice to the wok and combine with the chickpea sauce, then serve!
These vegan choc chip cookies are one of my easy go-to recipes when I feel like something baked that’s delicious and easy to make. This recipe makes 12 – 14 cookies.
Ingredients
150g vegan butter (I used Pure)
150g caster sugar
150g brown sugar
200g plain flour
Tsp salt
80g ground almonds
100g bag of Dr Oetker chocolate chunks or other dairy free chocolate chips.
Method
Pre heat the oven to 180 C.
In a bowl cream together the sugars and butter.
Add the flour, salt and almonds to make a dough, then the chocolate chips. Add a little warm water if needed to shape the dough.
Form the dough into small balls and cook on a baking sheet for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and put on a cooling tray and leave to cool down – try to resist the temptation to eat them while warm – unless you like them extra gooey of course 🙂
There’s something about food eaten outside that just makes it taste better – especially vegan camping food! And luckily for vegans, going camping and cooking outdoors doesn’t need to mean that you’re stuck at the side of the campfire with a lettuce roll while everyone else tucks into BBQ’ed sausages and burgers. Here are three recipes for vegan camping that need only a campfire and a little prep – happy camping 🙂
Tacos
Ingredients
1 box vegan tacos
Grated cheese – we used Applewood smoked
Iceberg lettuce
180g dried lentils, soaked overnight
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 litre vegetable stock
1 white onion
2 cloves garlic
Method
Chop the onion and garlic and heat some olive oil in a wok over a medium heat.
Add the onion and garlic and fry til starting to brown.
Add 1/4 of the veg stock and the lentils and simmer till the stock has been absorbed. Repeat until the stock is finished and the lentils are almost cooked.
Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for another ten minutes.
Spoon the mince into the tacos with the lettuce and cheese.
Peanut butter curry
Ingredients
Tin chopped tomatoes
Tin coconut milk
Tin chickpeas
1 head broccoli, cut into small stems
4 tbsp peanut butter
Half litre vegetable stock
Handful coriander
1 chopped white onion
2 minced cloves garlic
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
250g basmati rice
Soy yogurt to serve.
Method
Heat some vegetable oil in a wok. Fry the onion and garlic till they are beginning to brown.
At the same time, cook the basmati rice in a pot with a teaspoon of vegetable stock powder in the water.
Add the coconut milk and vegetable stock, the ginger, turmeric, cumin and paprika, the peanut butter, and the broccoli and chickpeas. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring regularly.
Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for a further five minutes.
Garnish with coriander and serve with the cooked rice and some vegan yogurt on top.
Mexican salad
This can be prepared mostly beforehand if easier – keep the avocadoes and the tortilla chips until you’re ready to eat, then chop the avocadoes, open the tortilla chips, and add them to the dressing and salad
Ingredients
2 corn on the cobs
Packet vegan tortilla chips
15 new potatoes, peeled and boiled
3 ripe avocadoes
2 limes
100g finely chopped coriander
Method
Cook the corn and allow it to cool. Slice it off the cob and into a bowl.
Cut the new potatoes into quarters once boiled and cooled, and add to the corn.
When ready to eat, open the avocadoes. Scoop out the flesh of one and add it to the juice of the two limes and half the chopped coriander to make a dressing.
Chop the other two avocadoes into cubes and add to the salad.
Add the dressing, and garnish with the rest of the coriander.
