Beavertown Stingy Jack Spiced Pumpkin Ale

Here comes a quick drink recommendation for the season: Beavertown Brewery's Stingy Jack Spiced Pumpkin Ale. I just had to push this post in before October ends.

I always tend to like the Beavertown beers, but with this pumpkin ale they really have outdone themselves. It's a very spicy drink with many different flavours. There's a background of heavy nutmeg and juicy fruit esters, a gingery tingle on the tongue and a banana flavour. The colour of the beer is deep orange, suitably for the season. The mouthfeel is oaty with some barley, nutmeg and spicy flavour. I strongly recommend this beer and am quite sad that I have none left for this evening.

Once again, have a good time with your Halloween celebrations!

Your VegHog

Spicy pumpkin soup

I guess it could be too late to post a pumpkin recipe for Halloween now, as everybody has probably already made their plans. I didn't have time to post this earlier, as I was on holiday, but here it is anyway, maybe pumpkin recipes are needed after Halloween too. I know that I will be cooking loads with pumpkins and squashes still this autumn and winter, as I just can't get tired of them.

I have already posted the recipe for this vegan soup here: Thai inspired pumpkin soup. It's my partner's signature dish, with which he tired to win me over many years ago and succeeded. It may not have been the soup alone, but I can't deny that it had something to do with it. 

This time I added some fresh thai basil leaves to the soup to give an extra anisseed type of flavour, but otherwise I followed the originally posted recipe pretty closely. The seasoning was made more to taste and I added the ingredient amounts pretty much randomly. However the result was great and I soon want to make this again!

Have a nice All Hallows' Eve everyone!

Your VegHog

Bratkartoffeln – German style fried potatoes

I'm off to Germany tonight!! I'm so happy to have holiday and be able to visit my old home country. I try to post something from there, but if I don't manage, please don't wonder where I am, I'll be back very soon.

Before I'd leave, I wanted to make a vegetarian German dish and chose the good old Bratkartoffeln (fried potatoes) this time. They can be close to heaven when made correctly with a crispy surface and soft middle with an extinct taste. It helps, if the potatoes are cooked the previous day and then directly fried in hot oil and butter. I prefer adding some butter, as it gives them some extra flavour, but you can easily veganise this dish by using plant substitutes for butter. I served the Bratkartoffeln with some fried chestnut mushrooms as a side and here's how I made them.

Ingredients

500 g potatoes

1 large onion

2 garlic cloves

1 tbsp vegetable oil

25 g butter

Salt

Ground black pepper

Parsley

Method

Boil the potatoes in water on the previous night, cool down and store in the fridge overnight. The next day cut them into generous slices or wedges. I left the skins on on mine, but you can also peel them, if you prefer.

Heat the oil and butter in a pan and add the potatoes. Fry them until they are crispy and golden brown.

Chop the onion and garlic finely. Fry them in a separate pan in some oil and add them to the potatoes once they are soft and slightly browned.

Season the dish to taste and enjoy!

Bis bald!

Euer vegetarischer Igel

Broccoli nuggets

I made these broccoli and cheese nuggets last year and now I made very similar ones to have a nice Saturday night meal while watching some Nordic noir on TV. These nuggets were baked in the oven, so they don't have any cooking fat on them. Of course I added cheese to make them extra tasty. I have to say that they went down pretty well. They had a crispy surface and were fluffy and cheesy inside with a nice broccoli flavour. I served the nuggets with chunky oven chips, barbeque sauce and cheese dip. 

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

1 broccoli

1 onion

3 garlic cloves

Olive oil

Salt

Chilli flakes

1 tbsp spelt flour

100 g Cheddar and Red Leicester cheese mix

2 eggs

Breadcrumbs

Method

Cut the broccoli into florets and steam them until they are soft.

Chop the onion and garlic finely and cook them in olive oil until soft.

Let the components cool, combine them and add the salt, chilli flakes, spelt flour, grated cheese and the egg yolks.

Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl and also put the breadcrumbs into another bowl.

Shape nuggets from the broccoli mix and roll them in the egg whites first and then in the breadcrumbs.

Place them onto a baking tray and bake in the oven at 200 C for about 15-20 minutes until the surface is crispy and golden brown.

And they are all done!

I'm entering this recipe for this month's Eat Your Greens, which is a vegetarian cooking challenge hosted by Shaheen from A2K- A Seasonal Veg Table. Although my photos look more like eat your beige, but as broccoli is in the nuggets, I think it'll be fine. I'm happy that I finally cooked something with a green vegetable to be able to participate this month, as my cooking has been quite a bit about squashes, potatoes and cauliflower recently.

Have a great week!

Your VegHog

Butternut squash pasta

The other day I cooked this butternut squash pasta recipe and it was a beautiful dish. The original recipe is here: Nigel Slater’s butternut squash with orecchiette and tomato recipe. Frying the squash in butter and oil mixture just gives it such a great taste. Nigel really is on to something here. I love the warmth that comes from the cumin seeds and the slight heat from the chilli flakes. All in all this is a great vegetarian dish, and super easy to make! 

I made a few changes to the original recipe. Instead of orecchiette I used spelt tagliatelle, nice organic pasta that I snapped with me from the health food shop, and I'll have to buy it again. It stayed nicely al dente and added some nuttiness to the dish.

I added a clove of garlic to the dish, which wasn't in Nigel's recipe, but I don't think that it made things worse.

I had to use fresh basil instead of sage. When I shopped for this recipe, my shop unfortunately didn't have any fresh sage, so I opted for basil, which was also lovely, but I really hope to taste this dish with sage as well.

Have a good weekend!

Your VegHog

Oat biscuits

This is one quick and easy baking recipe when you feel like making a small batch of something sweetish to gnaw on. These are also great to take to work as a snack or just have with some coffee or tea. This is quite a Finnish style oat biscuit, thin yet little chewy in the middle and crispy around the edges. Here's the recipe.

Ingredients

50 g butter

1 dl sugar

2 dl oat flakes

1 tbsp wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg

Method

Melt the butter and sugar together in a pan. Take off the heat and mix in the other ingredients quickly to make an even dough.

Place about 1-2 tbsp of the dough for each biscuit onto a baking paper. Leave enough space between them, as they will spread in the oven.

Bake them in the oven at 200 C for about 5-8 minutes. And all done!

Your VegHog

Enchiladas with soya mince, sweetcorn and black bean chilli filling

Don't mind if I do have some lovely Mexican food, as I often do. This time I made these enchiladas filled with spicy soya mince, sweetcorn and black bean chilli. That is quite a basic mix for me and I really enjoy it, as it's such a comforting dish especially at this time of the year.

Ingredients

½ cup dried soya mince

1 large onion

3 garlic cloves

1 small chilli

1 romano pepper

500 g tomatoes

240 g / 1 can black beans

240 g / 1 can sweetcorn

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cocoa powder

Fresh coriander

4 tbsp tomato purée

100 g grated cheddar

8 tortillas

Method

Prepare the soya mince as described on the packet and fry it for a while in oil.

Chop the onion, garlic and chilli finely, also chop the romano pepper and tomatoes into cubes.

Start cooking the onion, garlic and chilli in olive oil, after a while add the romano pepper followed by the beans and sweetcorn.

Season with ground coriander, ground cumin and paprika.

Add the tomatoes and simmer under lid until you have a nice hearty mixture.

Then add the cocoa powder, fresh coriander and the soya mince.

Wrap the filling into tortillas, place them into an oven dish, cover with cheese and bake until golden brown.

I also served them with spicy chilli paste for some extra heat.

Enjoy!

Your VegHog

Blueberry pie

Sunday is the best day for baking for me. I don't seem to have time or desire for it so much during the week, but on Sundays it's nice to bake something special. Now I made a blueberry pie with exactly the same recipe by Paul Hollywood as the recent blueberry muffins that I posted. The recipe worked well in the pie format as well and it turned out to be really tasty. 

Have a good Sunday!

Your VegHog

Roasted cauliflower in tahini sauce

Earlier this week I promised to post the dish that I served with the Lebanese rice with vermicelli. This yet another vegan recipe for Cauliflower in Tahini and Coriander Sauce (p. 170-171) is also from A Lebanese Feast of Vegetables, Pulses, Herbs and Spices by Mona Hamadeh and I have cooked it several times since I detected it. It's an extremely nice dish, and a bit different from my usual cooking.  

 

Here's the recipe.

Ingredients

1 cauliflower

Olive oil

2 onions

6 garlic cloves

2 lemons

Salt

400 ml tahini

Fresh coriander

Method

Cut the cauliflower into florets, brush them with olive oil and roast in the oven until browned and softened. The florets don't need to be fully cooked, as they will return to the oven.

Chop the onions and garlic and cook them in a pan until little browned.

Make the sauce by mixing the juice of the lemons with the tahini, salt and little water into a smooth sauce. Also add some fresh coriander into the sauce.

Add the onions and garlic to the cauliflower and pour the sauce over them. Return to the oven for about 20 minutes.

Scatter some more fresh coriander on the top for serving and you can also dust the dish with smoked paprika (which I also did, but unfortunately only after I took the photos).

This is really good served with rice, and so easy!

Your VegHog

Pattypan squash stir fry

I made a simple and light stir fry. It's a vegan dish, where the pattypan squash replaces the noodles, and I would like to think that this dish is also fairly healthy. There is a little bit of chopping and cutting to be done, but otherwise it's a quick and easy dish. I exaggerated slightly with the chilli, as it happened to be a very hot one and I even left the seeds in it. Nevertheless the spiciness I was able to enjoy this dish.

Have a look at my recipe below.

Ingredients

1 pattypan squash

200 g smoked tofu

1 large carrot

1 large onion

2 garlic cloves

1 green chilli

1 cm fresh ginger (similar amount to garlic when chopped)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp sesame oil or to taste

3 tbsp soy sauce or to taste

2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or to taste

Method

Cut the pattypan squash into thin strings with a vegetable cutter.

Also prep the other vegetables: chop the carrot and onion into thin strips, and chop the garlic, chilli and ginger finely.

Cut the tofu into small dices and cook them in hot oil until firm and golden brown and set to side.

Quickly fry the carrot stripes in hot oil and set to side. Do the same to the onion.

Start cooking the garlic, chilli and ginger in a pan in vegetable oil. Then add the pattypan squash, pre-fried carrot and onion and the tofu dices.

Pour the sesame oil, soy sauce and Shaoxing rice wine into the pan and cook for a few minutes. Taste the seasoning and add anything that is needed more. The pattypan squash doesn't need very much cooking, such some seasoning through the sauce and most of the other components are pre-fried.

Serve instantly and enjoy!

Your VegHog

Lebanese rice with vermicelli

Howcome did I never thought of this, to combine rice with vermicelli? It's so simple, but so good. Instead I had to detect it in my recent favourite cookbook: A Lebanese Feast of Vegetables, Pulses, Herbs and Spices by Mona Hamadeh. There is a recipe for Lebanese Rice with Vermicelli (p. 264-265) in the Basic Recipes section. I have often eaten this combination in koshari, but making it as a side to a lovely Lebanese vegetable dish was new to me. It turns out that in Lebanese cuisine vermicelli is very often added to rice. 

To make this rice, just take a nice rice, like the mixture of a few rice sorts that I used here or healthy brown rice. Put the rice (about 250 g) into a saucepan with little added salt and cover it with water, just about 1 cm above the rice. More can be added, if needed, but this method should keep the rice fluffier. The Lebanese don't seem to like sticky rice very much. Simmer until the rice is done.

Simultaneously break the vermicelli (about 70 g) into about 1 cm long pieces and fry the pieces quickly in hot oil until they turn golden brown. This happens very quickly. Remove the oil and put the vermicelli in with the rice and cook there until the rice is done.

I scattered some fresh coriander on the top and it looked like an attractive side dish. I will soon post also the dish that I served this with, but I think that this rice could also be a stand-alone dish.

Your VegHog

Chickpea and butternut squash Schnitzel with kohlrabi mash

For a change I made some vegan Schnitzel. I normally use eggs for Schnitzel binding, but this time I decided to go without them and cheese, so I created these chickpea and butternut squash patties. They were quite soft in texture, but they still stuck together. I served them with kohlrabi mash to have a change to potato mash and also some roasted purple carrots.

Here is my recipe.

Chickpea and butternut squash Schnitzel:

½ cup dried chickpeas

1 butternut squash

1 vegetable stock cube

1 large onion

3 garlic cloves

A bunch of fresh coriander

Salt

Pepper

Ground cumin

Smoked paprika

Breadcrumbs (if needed)

Vegetable oil for frying

Method:

Soak the chickpeas overnight and cook them until they are done.

Peel the butternut squash, cut it into pieces and cook with a vegetable stock cube until it's done. Then mash it.

Chop the onion and garlic finely and cook in olive oil until soft.

Combine the components and mash them a little bit. I still like having some whole chickpeas in there, so I don't make too smooth of a burger material.

Shape burgers from the mixture and cook on both sides in oil.

Kohlrabi mash:

2 kohlrabi

1 garlic clove

2 tbsp butter

Salt

Pepper

Method:

Peel the kohlrabi and cut it to pieces. Cook the pieces in water until they are soft and mash them.

Chop the garlic finely and mix it into the kohlrabi.

Add the butter, salt and pepper.

Combine the components on a plate and enjoy!

As it happens, the theme for the vegetarian cooking challenge Vegetable Palette is orange this month, so I would like to share this vegan Schnitzel recipe with the challenge. Shaheen from A2K - A Seasonal Veg Table, who hosts this challenge made a good choice with the colour, as this season is full of orange veg, at least in my kitchen with all the squashes, pumpkins and carrots.

Have a great week!

Your VegHog

Autumn in my neighbourhood

I had the day off yesterday, which was very good. I decided to take my camera with me on my stroll to the shops. Luckily I didn't have to rush anywhere and the weather was wonderful. Well, in the morning at least, towards the midday it got almost too hot, as I prefer the crisp autumnal air. Autumn is my favourite season and I was delighted to look at its colours more closely yesterday. It's not this green everywhere around here, but I walked mainly through the parks, and I'm also lucky enough to live directly next to a small park.

So here are my photos from yesterdays town stroll, I hope you like them.