Red Pepper, artichoke and basil Tart

Prepare a 10 inch shortcrust pastry case (6 oz flour, 3 oz sunflower spread) you can blind bake the pastry first if you like, I don't always do that.

Slice and fry 1 medium onions with a bit of olive oil and a generous splash of balsamic vinegar.

You will also need: 

1 litre of soya milk

4-6 eggs

1 block of vegan cheese

4 roasted red peppers with skins removed, and cut into pieces

6 pieces of sun dried tomoatoes

 4 pieces of marinated artichoke.

A handful of fresh basil

(I slightly undercooked this one as I intedn to keep it till tomorrow and reheat it in the oven. I was in a rush as well and didn't arrange the veg prettily!)

Mix the cheese, eggs and milk in a jug

Once the onions have softened place them in the pastry case

Arange the peppers, sundried tomoatos, artichokes and basil in the pastry case. 

Pour the milk, egg etc mix over the onions

Bake in a hot oven (180 C with fan) for 30-40 min

Eat hot or cold, keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days

Stuffed Rice

Boil 300 gm of rice (not basmati) with a pinch of turmeric until well cooked, then mash with a potato masher to form a thick paste.

For the filling chop and fry one medium onion until soft, then add 200 gm of Quorn, a handful of raisns and sunflower seeds.

Allow both the rice and the filling to cool.

Take ball of rice around the size of a small apple and shape it into a flattened ovel shape, place a heaped spoon of the filling in the middle. Fold over and join the edges. Wet your hands to enable the shaping.

Brush with oil and bake in a hot oven for 25 minutes. Serve warm with salad. Keeps well in the freezer.

Roasted Chesnut & Brazil Nut Roulade

250 g cooked, peeled and finely chopped/blended chestnuts

100 g chopped Brazil nuts

100 g chopped and softened onions

20g chopped fresh coriander or parsley

150 ml of veg stock

Mix the above together using a food processor, or by hand.

Roll out 150 g ready made puff pastry into an oblong shape approximately 15 cm x 30 cm.

Place the filling along the centre of the pastry, fold the edges over. Transfer the roulade onto a baking tray with the pastrey join on the underside.

Slash the top of the Roulade with a knife and stab it with a fork to allow steam to escape and prevent the pastry from rising too much.

Bake in a hot oven for 30 minutes.

Serve hot with vegetables or cold with salad.

Baked Apples

Bramley apples with core removed, cut in half and partially hollowed out

 A handful of raisins mixed with equal amount of ground almonds and enough honey to bind the raisins and almonds together

Remove the core from the apples

 Fill the apple with the raisins, almond and honey

Bake in a hot oven for 30 min or until bubbly and soft

Serve hot on its own or with, custard, cream or ice cream

Nice cold too.

Rye Scones

Weigh out: 

10 oz Plain white flour
6 oz Wholemeal rye flouer

4 oz Sunflower spread

2 tsp Cream of tartar

1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and rub in the fat until the mixture resembles bread crumbs

Measure out: 

280 ml  Milk  (Soya or dairy) 

Create a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the milk and stir together gently, don't over mix otherwise you end up with heavy scones!

Once the mixture has bound together cut out 9 scones (3 cm diameter, 2 cm high) and bake in a preheated hot oven (180 C with fan) for 15 minutes (or longer if making bigger scones and varies with different ovens). 

Serve with soup as an alternative to bread; or with cheese and salad.....

Pesto Scones

Weigh out: 

8 oz Flour

2 oz Sunflower spread

1 tsp Cream of tartar

1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and rub in the fat until the mixture resembles bread crumbs

Measure out: 

140 ml of plain yogurt or milk or half and half (Soya or dairy) 

2-3 tbs Pesto (30-45 ml)

Mix the yogurt (or milk) and the pesto well

Create a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the pesto & yogurt mixture and stir together gently, don't over mix otherwise you end up with heavy scones!

Once the mixture has bound together cut out 6 scones (3 cm diameter) and bake in a preheated hot oven (180 C with fan) for 15 minutes (or longer if making bigger scones). 

Serve with soup as an alternative to bread; or with cheese and salad.....

Muesli Scones

Weigh out: 

8 oz Flour

2 oz Sunflower spread

1 tsp Cream of tartar

1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and rub in the fat until the mixture resembles bread crumbs

Then mix in 5 oz of muesli

Measure out: 

180 ml of plain yogurt (I used soya yogurt)

Add the yogurt to the flour etc and mix gently, don't stir it in a circular motion, fold it in a figure of 8 motion, don't over mix, once nearly all the flour is mixed in turn it out onto a piece of grease proof paper covered with flour, shape it into an inch thick circle and cut out 8 small scones.

Bake in the middle shelf of a hot oven (180 C fan oven, or 200 C without a fan) for 16 minutes. You may need to adjust the time and temperature.