Recipe for wholesome and healthy soup in 25 minutes

This soup was a creation of my own. I'm not quite sure what happened but I found myself wanting something hot, something wholesome and something that would use up some of our vegetables. So I began putting things together and it turned out really yummy!

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients for vegan soup

•    2 mugs of water – 700 ml of water
•    1 cube of vegan stock
•    1/2 a bunch of broccoli – chopped into small pieces
•    1/2 a head of a small cauliflower – cut into small pieces
•    2 handfuls of kale – remove thick stems
•    175 of baby corn – cut into thirds
•    1 handful of capers
•    8 cherry tomatoes – left whole
•    1 small (200g) can of sweetcorn
•    1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
•    2 handfuls of cashew nuts – about 250g
•    100g of tofu - diced
•    1/2 a teaspoon of vegan margarine

How to make vegan soup 

1.    Put the water in a pan and let it boil
2.    When it’s boiled, add the stock, letting it simmer on the heat when it’s dissolved
3.    Add the broccoli and cauliflower
4.    After 2 minutes, add the kale and stir
5.    After 1 minute, add the capers and baby corn and stir
6.    After 10 minutes add the cherry tomatoes and sweetcorn
7.    Let it cook for another 5 minutes and then add a handful of sesame seeds
8.    Cook the tofu in a 'dry' frying pan
9.    After 1 minute, add the margarine and mix with the tofu
10.    After 1 minute, add the tofu to the soup and let it cook
11.    Put the cashew nuts in the pan that was used for the tofu and mix
12.    Turn the heat off when they become brown and remove the pan from that hob
13.    Serve the soup in a bowl and garnish it with the cashew nuts

The feedback was from my hubby who said he could eat this at least three times a week, because it was so healthy and tasty.

Recipe: Cauliflower Salad within 10 minutes

This recipe is for a versatile salad.

It may be eaten at room temperature, or refrigerated and served cold.

It's also, not the typical salad, which always sparks interest and livens things up. :)

This recipe serves 4.

Ingredients for cauliflower salad

• ½ a head of cauliflower - raw
• 2 diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon of Canola oil (also known as Rapeseed oil) or vegetable oil
• 1 bunch of chopped parsley
• 1 lemon - juiced
• 1 teaspoon of dry dill weed
• 15.5 oz can of chick peas

How to make cauliflower salad

1. Dice 2 large tomatoes
2. Finely chop 1 bunch fresh parsley
3. Mix the ingredients together in a medium sized bowl
4. Add pieces of raw cauliflower, which have been cut into small pieces
5. Wash and drain the chick peas
6. Add them chick peas to the bowl
7. In a small mixing bowl combine the oil with the lemon juice
8. Season with the dill weed

Recipe and photo courtesy of Ruth Gougian.

Recipe: Butter Beans Shaak (curry) within 15 minutes

This Shaak is simple, filling and quick to make. It involves minimal preparation and tastes delicious.

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients for butter beans Shaak

•    1 (240g) can of butter beans or use dried butter beans which would need to be soaked for 12 hours, the water drained and then boiled in fresh water
•    2 tomatoes - blended
•    1 fresh chilli – blended
•    3/4 of a tablespoon of sunflower oil or olive oil
•    1/2 a teaspoon of mustard seeds
•    1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
•    2 sweet neem leaves
•    1 pinch of asafetida
•    1 pinch of turmeric powder
•    salt to taste
•    1 teaspoon of dried coriander powder
•    1 handful of freshly chopped coriander
•    6 wholemeal mini wraps

How to make butter beans Shaak

1.    Heat the oil in a pan and then add the mustard seeds, cumin, sweet neem leaves and asafetida
2.    After the seeds have popped add the tomatoes and chilli
3.    After a 2 minutes, add the butter beans, turmeric powder, salt and dried coriander powder
4.    After 3 minutes add the chopped coriander, stir and let it cook for 5 - 7 minutes
5.    Fold each mini wraps in half and serve the butter beans alongside it

We enjoyed this with mini wraps. It can also be eaten with rice or Rotli.

Recipe: Cauliflower Shaak (curry) within 25 minutes

Cauliflower Shaak is a nutritious dish which can be enjoyed with wraps, rice, Rotli or even on its own. This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients for the cauliflower Shaak

• 1 small cauliflower
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 fresh chilli
• Oil
• 1/2 a teaspoon of Rye
• 1 teaspoon of Cumin seeds
• 2 Sweet Neem Leaves
• A pinch of Asafetida
• A pinch of Turmeric powder
• Salt
• 1 teaspoon of dried coriander powder

How to make the cauliflower Shaak

1. Chop the cauliflower up into small pieces - it's tastier if the pieces are small
2. Chop the tomatoes and blend
3. Add the chilli and blend it all for another 5 seconds
4. Heat some oil - I use sunflower oil or coconut oil
5. When it's heated, add the Rye and Cumin seeds
6. Add the Sweet Neem Leaves and Asafetida
7. After the seeds have popped add the blended tomatoes and chilli
8. Let it cook
9. Add the cauliflower
10. Add the Turmeric, salt to taste and the dried coriander powder
11. Stir and let it cook until you feel it's ready to be served - some people like it very soft and others like to eat it when it's semi cooked
12. Garnish with fresh coriander

Recipe: Savoury toppings on toast within 10 minutes

This was a creation fuelled by desire! I fancied something different and I knew I wanted to use certain things, so I put it together and made this light snack.

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients

• 4 slices of brown bread
• Cheezly Pepperjack Style cheese
• 1 fresh chilli
• 2 fresh tomatoes
• Vegan sausage
• Salt
• Pepper

Method

1. Turn the grill on
2. Toast some brown bread
3. After it's lightly toasted add thinly sliced cheese - I used Cheezly Pepperjack Style vegan cheese
4. Let it melt a little and then add chopped chillies, tomatoes and sliced vegan sausage
5. Put it back under the grill until it's ready
6. Add salt and pepper to taste

Savoury toppings on toast

Cheezly Pepperjack Style - my favourite vegan cheese!

Recipe: Sweetcorn Shaak (curry) and rice within 30 minutes

This is one of my favourite dishes.
It doesn't take long to make and it's full of flavour and texture.

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients for sweetcorn Shaak

•    1/2 a tablespoon of coconut oil
•    2 tomatoes – diced
•    1 fresh chilli – finely chopped
•    1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
•    1/2 a teaspoon of mustard seeds
•    2 sweet neem leaves
•    a pinch of asafetida
•    sweetcorn - frozen or a 340g tin
•    1 teaspoon of dried coriander powder
•    less than 1/4 of a teaspoon of turmeric
•    salt to taste
•    a tablespoon of lemon juice
•    1 handful of freshly chopped coriander
•    a handful of raw red skin peanut kernels  – about 30g

Ingredients for the rice 

•    a small teacup of brown rice
•    2 & 3/4 teacups of fresh water

How to make the Shaak

1.    Heat the oil in a pan, and add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, sweet neem leaves and asafetida when it’s hot
2.    Put the lid on and wait until the seeds begin to pop
3.    When the silence in between pops is longer, add raw peanuts, chilli and tomatoes and put the lid back on the pan – don’t be alarmed if it sizzles
4.    After a 2 minutes add the sweetcorn, salt, dried coriander powder and turmeric
5.    Taste it after it’s cooked for another 5 minutes and add the lemon juice if desired
6.    Finally, garnish with freshly chopped coriander 

How to make the rice

1.    Wash the rice, drain the water and put the rice in a pan
2.    Add 2 & 3/4 teacups of fresh water and leave it to cook on a high heat, keeping the lid off the pan
3.    When it begins to froth, place the lid on the pan, reduce the heat to its lowest setting and leave it for 20 minutes
4.    Keeping the lid on the pan, tilt the pan with the rice in it, to see if there's any water left in it - if there's a little left, cook it for another 5 minutes, otherwise turn it off

To serve, spread the rice across the plate to create a circle with a hole in the middle, where you can put the sweetcorn and enjoy

Serving suggestion

Put the rice in a bowl/cup and then tip it upside down on the plate, to create a mound of rice.
Place the mound on one side of the plate or in the centre and place the sweetcorn around it.
A variation
To mix it up a bit, add 1 teaspoon of desiccated coconut to the sweetcorn, 5 minutes before serving it. 

Recipe: Savoury Tomatoes with Cous Cous within 15 minutes

This is a quick, healthy and light meal which is full of flavour.

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients for the savoury tomatoes

•    8 tomatoes – chopped into small pieces
•    1 finger chilli – finely chopped – reduce or increase the amount of chilli you use depending on how hot this particular chilli is, whilst considering your love of spice
•    1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds
•    1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
•    1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil
•    salt to taste
•    1 pinch of turmeric
•    2/3 teaspoon of ground coriander powder
•    1 handful of freshly chopped coriander

How to make the savoury tomatoes

1.    Put the coconut oil in a pan
2.    When it warms up, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and put the lid on the pan
3.    When the seeds begin to pop, add the chillies and cover the pan again
4.    After 15 seconds, add the tomatoes, salt, turmeric and ground coriander powder
5.    Let it cook for 7 minutes
6.    When the tomatoes are as soft as you'd like, add the fresh coriander – I usually do this after 5 minutes

Ingredients for the cous cous

•    1/2 a cup (125ml) of cous cous
•    1 cube of vegan stock
•    1 tablespoon of olive oil
•    water
•    freshly ground salt
•    freshly ground pepper

How to make for the cous cous

1.    Boil the kettle
2.    Put the cous cous in a bowl
3.    Crumble the stock on the cous cous ensuring there are no lumps and mix
4.    Drizzle the olive oil on it
5.    Add water so that the level of water reaches about 1cm above the cous cous
6.    Add freshly ground salt and pepper
7.    Stir a little
8.    Cover the bowl with a plate and leave it for 3 minutes
9.    The cous cous will be ready when the water has been absorbed completely
10.    Put the cous cous in a little bowl and turn it upside down to create a mound of cous cous and serve the tomatoes alongside it 

Serving suggestion

Suraj put the cous cous in a little bowl and then turned it upside down to present the cous cous as shown in the photo

Recipe: Cheese on toast with pesto within 10 minutes

Here's another quick recipe for something warm, quick, filling and tasty.

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients for vegan cheese on toast with pesto

• 4 slices of brown bread - I use Hovis because I know it doesn't have any non-vegan ingredients
• About 10 strips of sliced vegan cheese - I used Cheezly Pepperjack style
• 2 large tomatoes
• 2 fresh chillies
• Salt
• Pepper
• Vegan pesto

How to make vegan cheese on toast with pesto

1. Put some slices of bread under the grill for a few minutes
2. When they're a little cooked i.e. not anywhere near fully toasted, spread the pesto on the toast
3. After about 30 seconds, add the of cheese
4. Chop the tomatoes and add it to the toast when the cheese has begun to melt
5. Add the chopped chillies when the tomatoes have cooked a little
6. Add salt and pepper to taste

Recipe: Pizza on toast within 10 minutes

Fancy something warm, quick, filling and tasty? How about this cheese on toast with a few extra ingredients?

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients for vegan cheese on toast

• 4 slices of brown bread - I use Hovis because I know it doesn't have any non-vegan ingredients
• About 10 strips of sliced vegan cheese - I used Cheezly Pepperjack style
• 2 large tomatoes
• 2 fresh chillies
• Salt
• Pepper

How to make vegan cheese on toast

1. Put the bread under the grill for a few minutes 
2. When they're a little cooked i.e. not anywhere near fully toasted, add the cheese
3. Chop the tomatoes and add when the cheese has begun to melt
4. Scatter the chopped chillies when the tomatoes have cooked a little
5. Add salt and pepper to taste