Garlic and chili rice soup with spring greens

This is a recipe I found on the internet It comes from Easy Vegan (Cookery) by Ryland Peters & Small. Like the books title it was easy to make and smelt and tasted delicious - the photo doesn't do it justice!
I fried chopped garlic and finely sliced spring onions in sesame and vegetable oils. (I usually only use olive oil but as this needed the Asian flavour I halved the amount and didn't heat it too hot). Then I added grated ginger, finely sliced chili and long grain white rice and stir-fried it before adding vegetable stock and soy sauce. Brought it to the boil, covered and simmered for 30 minutes till the rice softened and the soup thickened. Then I added shredded spring greens and cooked for 5 minutes until they were emerald and tender. Served in a warmed bowl with chopped coriander and black pepper.

Salad with nasturtium

This is the first time I have added nasturtium to my salad! Last year I tried growing edible flowers (nasturtium, calendula and marigolds) with little success. The only ones that flowered were the nasturtium. I forgot they were out in the garden (under horticultural fleece - protects the plants but it is opaque so you have to lift it up to see what's happening) and when I remembered to pick them they were all gone.
Today I noticed I had a single flower so I snapped it up to add some colour. Didn't notice a taste but some of my salad leaves are peppery so perhaps it couldn't compete.

The next day I found more nasturtium - this time in different colours!

M&S rice, lentil and roast aubergine salad

I love this salad. If I'm going to pay for a salad I want more than a few slices of cucumber, some iceberg lettuce, a hard tomato and some grated carrot!
Most M&S salads (pre-packed salads in general) have at least one ingredient I don't eat, such as couscous, pasta or mayonnaise, in them but this one uses rice and lentils and is delicious.
And it was on special, so I bought two!

Leek and broccoli soup

This recipe came from a great cookbook I bought years ago, "Best-kept Secrets of the Women's Institute" by Grace Mulligan and Dilwen Phillips.

It is quick and easy. You fry some onion and garlic, then add thinly sliced leeks and chopped broccoli.

Then you sprinkle in some flour (I substituted wheat-free) and add stock, bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 mins. You can puree or leave it chunky. Then you cool the soup briefly, add milk (works fine with rice milk) return to heat and season.

Stuffed peppers

This took longer than the hour and a quarter on the recipe...and I'm not sure it was worth it! The idea is good and the techniques are good but I didn't like the flavours - cumin, oregano, fresh coriander, lime and chilli with the shallots, red onion and tomatoes.

I also forgot to wash the basmati and I think there was too much water in the recipe so the rice wasn't fluffy. I'll probably try it again with other vegetables.

Leftovers are nice with salad.

Sweet potato curry

This was cheap and easy to make and tasted pretty good. The only problem I had was underestimating the pan size. It made a lot! The recipe said it served two but I froze two portions of curry and blended two into soup!
It was watery at first but I put a lid on it and left it while I cooked the brown rice and this improved it.

You fry chopped onion and crushed garlic in one pan and boil sweet potato chunks in another. Then you add curry powder, chopped tomatoes, chickpeas and stock and bring it to the boil. Then the sweet potato chunks go back in with chopped coriander and boil for 15 mins.

Asian prawn and pineapple salad

This is delicious and transports me to Asia. The recipes is from BBC Good Food.
Finely chop red chilli and garlic and mash in a pestle and mortar. Add lime juice and fish sauce and set aside. Chop the pineapple, core and slice the cucumber at an angle, and toss together with the halved cherry tomatoes, beansprouts and tiger prawns. Add the dressing and dress with cashews and chopped mint.

Minty pea and potato soup

Quick and easy. Just fry the onion, add stock and potato, then finally peas. Reserve a third of the vegetables and puree the rest before returning the vegetables. Add chopped fresh mint and season.

Tasty and filling.

Haricot bean loaf

 This recipe came from a cookbook but unfortunately I didn't note which. It took quite a long time - leek to slice, ginger and three carrots to grate, garlic and parsley to chop. It definitely is worth preparing all the ingredients first!
You cook the leek for five minutes then add ginger, cumin and coriander cook for a minute and then cool.
The recipe recommends a food processor for the next bit but I improvised with a mini chopper and a stick blender. You blend onion, grated carrot, garlic, parsle, sunflower seeds, oat bran, bouillon powder and a can of kidney beans until smooth. Then you add the leek mixture and a can of haricot beans. It all goes in a lined 900g loaf tin (I use a fab non stick baking parchment from Lakeland - no need to oil the tin or the paper) and bake at 150C fan for 40-45 minutes until golden.
The loaf turned out easily, it sliced well and wasn't too crumbly. Made great left overs with salad and I froze some for a rainy day.

Italian tuna balls

This recipe came from BBC Good Food. I substituted the beaten egg for egg white and used wf breadcrumbs and wf spaghetti and it worked out fine - after I realised I'd formed the balls before adding the egg white - no wonder it was crumbly! Need some practice making the ball shapes - mine came out a bit cubed but not bad for a first attempt and popular with my housemate! Also makes fab left overs for lunch.

Vegetarian chilli

This is a Vegetarian Society recipe I found on BBC Food.

I liked the recipe and had plenty of leftovers to freeze (serves 4-6). The sauce contains some unusual ingredients but it all tasted very good; green lentils, onion, garlic, chilli powder, cumin seeds, red and green pepper, carrots, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, peas, pesto, mushrooms, courgette and kidney beans.

Baked salmon on bed of rice and grains

 This was very tasty and easy meal using a new product I found in a health food shop - a pouch of 10 minute organic rice and grains with vegetables. Is is produced by a company called Lifestyle Organic and comes from Austria. You just add it to cold water, bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
I was very impressed but sadly after I ate it I discovered it contained wheat and spelt! I hadn't read the label properly and just saw quinoa, barley, red rice, turmeric, lovage and nutmeg.