Peanut noodles

 

I hope you are all doing fine. I don’t have anything new to update, but just wanted to stop by with a small dish. I’ve been just working, cooking and going out for walks, as there is not much else to do. It has been quite relaxing though, but I do miss an occasional restaurant visit and seeing my friends and family. Tell me what you’ve been up to?

These quick vegan noodles were made with peanuts, peanut butter, soy sauce, chilli, spices, carrot ribbons, garlic and onion. They were very tasty and it was nice to have some chunky udon noodles for a change.

Have a nice weekend!

Your VegHog

 

Chickpea and potato curry with homemade naan

 

The weeks are again all the same and quiet, just work, home and walks. I don’t mind it too much though, I just need to start with some other hobbies again, like reading and arts/crafts. The good thing is that there is plenty of time for cooking, but I’ve still been very lazy on the blog side. I will try to share some more recipes with you shortly.

This is just a basic, comforting chickpea and potato curry with homemade naan bread. This sort of curries are always a great choice when it gets a bit cooler. And doesn’t one of the naan breads look a little bit like a hedgehog, or am I seeing things here already?

I hope you are all well and finding some interesting things to do. Have a nice Sunday!

Your VegHog

 

In my kitchen in January

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you got to the new year just fine. I spent rather quiet Christmas and New Years with a little work in between, but it was relaxing. I now want to share some of my Christmas cookings with you, just to close the circle. I know that not many might want to see these anymore, but I’m still in Christmas mood and it’s only Epiphany today.

Here are first of all some lovely foodie gifts that I received from my family. My mum had made wonderful hedgehog and willow grouse oven mittens and she also sent me my favourite cheese Oltermanni.

 

 

Then there was a balcony seed kit containing radish, lettuce, pea, courgette, beans and tomato seeds. I’m ready to go for the gardening season.

I also got Yotam Ottolenghi’s new vegetarian cookbook Flavour, quality teas and a marzipan and dark chocolate pig.

Then we ate loads and loads primarily vegan food, but we also had some cheeses. Here is our little Christmas table for two and my Christmas dinner plate.

This year’s food highlight was our homemade cold hay-smoked tofu “ham”. I found the recipe on a Finnish webpage, but instead of using smoked tofu, we made a small smoker out of foil take-away containers. We gathered the hay in a field nearby and then came home to work on that tofu. It was a great process and I’m sure we’ll smoke some more stuff when we feel like it.

 

We also had some Danish Christmas snacks like “Isalamande”, vegan ice-cream made in the style of a popular Christmas rice pudding dish “Risalamande”. And Æbleskiver, aka apple slices, that do not contain any apple. They are round pancake balls eaten with icing sugar and strawberry jam. I selected the vegan variant. I’m glad that we got some Danish traditions fitted in as well, now that we spent our first Christmas in Denmark.

 

This aronia kombucha was also very refreshing and in an appealing bottle with a swan on the label. Perfect refreshment with a heavy cheese platter.

 

Before Christmas I cooked an upside down brussels sprout and potato pizza with lingonberry. I made something similar last year. 

 

Just before Christmas I also made a pasta dish with fresh organic and artisanal take-away pasta from the brilliant local pasta makers Il Mattarello. They were incredibly tasty smoked mozzarella and beetroot tortelli. 

 

So this was my foodie Christmas in a nutshell. I’m curious to see yours. I’m sharing my post with Sherry from Sherry’s Pickings, who is hosting the In My Kitchen blogger event.

Your VegHog

Merry Christmas

 

Merry Christmas my friends! 

Have a lovely time and enjoy a lot of nice food. 

Blue potato focaccia

I’ve done some savoury baking again and there will be more of it getting closer to Christmas. I got some marvellous blue potatoes from a local shop, so I made this focaccia with them to showcase them properly. They would add a nice splash of colour to any dish. This was just a fluffy focaccia with pre-cooked blue potatoes, onion slices and garlic.

Your VegHog

 

Cheese and onion pie

 

How are you all getting on in this pre-Christmas time? I’ve been busy at work, so can’t wait for some quiet time at home and in the nature. That’s probably what it will have to be, as all places are closed. I’m quite looking forward to it though. First there are still three working days to go.

A cheese and onion pie is currently one of my candidates for the Christmas table. It would be a very filling thing, even if I made them on this smaller scale like here. I might make the pies on Boxing Day or on the between days rather than on Christmas Eve or Day. I served these pies with steamed sprouts, fondant potatoes and a side salad.

Have a nice weekend!

Your VegHog

 

Finnish Christmas tarts

 

I baked Finnish Christmas or star tarts with puff pastry, but a less traditional version, as I used Finlandia marmelades as the filling, which traditionally is prune jam. I also made savoury tarts in the same shape with cheese and smoked paprika filling. Both versions were very tasty and disappeared in no time. This means I’ll have to make another batch closer to Christmas.

 

Your VegHog