See the recipe Tomato soup is the ideal comfort food. As we head into February, weather predictions are that we’re going to hit minus temperatures again here in London. So, when you come home from this cold, an easy but comforting tomato soup is just what you need to warm you up. There are probably as many recipes for tomato soup as there are fish in the sea at this point, and I’m sure everyone will claim theirs is the best. Recipes will vary wildly from using cream, spices, to using a vegetable base such as carrots and celery. Some people only use fresh tomatoes while others will swear that…
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Peach Caramel Rice Pudding (Vegan & Gluten Free)
It’s the weekend and we all need a little bit of a reward for making it through another week in lockdown. This is the perfect compliment to those few occasions when I want to finish dinner with something a little sweet. I don’t often make dessert so on these days I’ll turn towards rice pudding as a quick solution. Pulled together in the instant pot rather than the oven, this is the modernised version of the rice pudding I grew up on that takes so much less time. I watched my mother throwing rice pudding in the oven in a fairly regular basis, it’s one of those dishes she always…
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Leek & Potato Soup – Three Ways (Vegan & Gluten Free)
There are few things more comforting during cold, damp weather than a bowl of steaming hot soup. A few simple ingredients, cooked together to make something special. The best soups are ones you can throw together with a few kitchen basics and come out with something everyone will love. Leek and potato soup is one of those French classics that everyone has heard of. It’s incredibly simple and only a needs a few simple touches to make it a success that anyone can make. Lets a look at some of the important points here; Leeks – I’m not always a great fan of leeks since they’re so difficult to clean.…
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Marinara Sauce (Kitchen Basics)
I have a somewhat paranoid method of managing my kitchen. With my various health conditions, I’ve had many periods where I’ve been too ill to make dinner so I tend towards making sure I’ve always got backup. This takes many forms from piles of leftovers in the freezer, to recipes so easy I can make them when ill. My marinara is part of this. Every now and then I’ll make up a big batch then save in individual portions. Want to make some pizzas, pull together some easy pasta, or have a sauce ready for (vegan) meatballs? Then you’ve already got a lot of the heavy lifting done. I’ve given…
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Instant Pot Lentil Sloppy Joes (Vegan & Gluten Free)
Sloppy Joes is one of those iconic American foods that you see on TV but don’t really get over here in the UK. Originating in the early 1930s, the basis of this dish is cheap mince meat in a tangy, barbecue or tomato based sauce, served in a white roll. It’s one of those cheap dishes that was created during the depression to serve hungry workers and it’s survived all this time by being greater than the sum of it’s parts. Incredibly tasty and comforting, it’s perfect for those days when you need to make something filling from basic pantry stores – in other words, perfect for during lockdown! There…
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Jackfruit Carnitas (Vegan & Gluten Free)
Lets do some real talk folks, I’m a white girl living in suburban London. Authentic Mexican food can be a little hard to track down round here and I’ve never been to Mexico so I’m left to look at pictures on the internet and imagine. I’m not going to be your most authentic source of Mexican food but I can tell you whats tasty and these carnitas are so tasty! Inspired by the traditional Mexican dish of pork carnitas where a shoulder of pork is slow cooked until it starts to fall apart, then grilled to crisp up the edges. Cooked with tons of aromatics, this tender and flavourful dish…
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Tomato Risotto with Basil & Garlic Breadcrumbs (Vegan, Gluten Free & Nut Free)
Risotto is one of those comforting recipes that can seem so unapproachable when served in a restaurant but it’s really not! The secret to a traditional risotto is hot stock, and stirring – never stop stirring. it can be an extremely soothing way to end a stressful day to stand at your hob and gradually nurse a risotto to life. On the other hand, if you don’t have the time or inclination to stand there, constantly stirring, then just leave it to your pressure cooker. Seriously, with very little work you can have dinner ready in 15 to 20 minutes by just leaving the risotto to your pressure cooker. This…
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Vegan Spaghetti Alfredo
Carbs are my comfort food, and there’s no mistaking it, some days you just want a big bowl of pasta with a creamy sauce. But its a weeknight, so you want it to feel decadent but to be relatively healthy too, and well, I’m still me, so vegetables were going to have to be involved here. So in response to that urge I revisited Pasta Alfredo with the thought of putting my own stamp onto it. Done right, with a cauliflower and cashew base, the sauce is wonderfully smooth and creamy. However, I like a little bit more depth to my meals – it needed more than your standard pasta…
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Instant Pot Cauliflower and Black Bean Masala
My mother has always had this vast, Aladdin’s cave of herbs and spices that she viewed as essential in food and equally essential in our cooking education. An old coffee grinder, that is likely older than me, serves as a spice grinder for an array of whole spices that live on the top shelf before being toasted, ground and decanted into the jars for the ground spices on the bottom shelf. In my childhood memories I can still remember being taken to the Bangladeshi food shops in Yorkshire, so that she could get spices you couldn’t find in supermarkets in those days, bulk bags of rice, beans, pulses and the…
