Meat Free Mondays #4.
There hasn't been one of these blog entries in a while and the simple explanation is purely because I'm no longer vegetarian. Yes I do feel guilty for not sticking with it (I really did try) and lecturing won't make me feel any better either (I despise Veggie lecturers / PETA morons - I always have). I will probably go back to vegetarianism at some point as it seems to be the dietary trend that I've subconsciously followed since I was 12 or 13 (where I'll be veggie for anything between 4-6 years then I'll start eating meat again for a year or so and then switch back for another 4-6 years). It still works out that I've been veggie for over a third of my life (I'm 31) and that still, in my opinion has to count for something.
Anyway moving on. My boyfriend and I made this relatively simple and delicious pasta dish recently. Super easy, super tasty and relatively cheap as chips to make. I was tempted to say that this would be a nice summer dish but our British summer seems to have ended, as usual, prematurely (booooo).
Fusilli Mediterranean Style
Ingredients for 4 persons:
* 320 grams of fusilli pasta.
* 200 grams of buffalo mozzarella (we just used normal mozzarella).
* 30 pachino tomatoes (we substituted these with cherry tomatoes).
* 2 cloves of garlic.
* 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
* A handful of minced fresh parsley.
* A handful of capers.
* Some red pepper (we think the chef used crushed chilli flakes in the video so this is what we used).
* The juice of 2 lemons.
* A pinch of salt.
Hope you enjoy.
A week of debauchery…
At the beginning of May I went on a week long adventure which saw me in Leeds, London, Glasgow and of course my hometown of Sunderland.
The trip to Leeds was purely for Deathfest which was a rather enjoyable day out. Discovered a band there called Volition who I rather dig and also got to see Negura Bunget "Post Sol and Hupogrammos". Negura Bunget are still excellent, still atmospheric but there is a certain magic lacking since their departure. The new Negura Bunget album came out the other month and I'm patiently waiting for this limited edition box set to arrive from Transylvania. I'm a sucker for fancy packaging.
I went to London for a few days to essentially catch up with some friends and to finally see Hole, who I've been a huge fan of since I was about 15 years old. Lots of good food (I love Bodeans), lots of singing and lots of shiny new hair courtesy of Angel Emma (I got some camouflage coloured extensions put in amongst my normal hair). As you can see from the photo's I'm not a veggie any more either. I may explain why in a later post.
L to R: Me having a snout on Emma's patio, The warning sign in the Crobar and Gumbo in Bodean's, Soho.
L to R: Pulled & Burnt End Pork at Bodeans (Needless to say I couldn't move afterwards and I didn't finish it all - boooooo), Ms Courtney Love @ Brixton Academy and my first ever Krispy Kreme doughnut.
Later on in the same week I went up to Glasgow to see KISS with a friend and was blown away. Best gig of my life hahahahahha. Paul Stanley is the man. Check out the goofy video too (I never said I could sing either).
Awesome times.
Happy Birthday To Me…
It was my 31st birthday yesterday and as a treat my rents said they would take me anywhere I wanted for a meal. I chose the cool retro American Diner on the A19, near to where I live. Their milkshakes are amazing.
Meat Free Mondays #3.
In an attempt in frugality I've been trying to use up items in my cupboards/freezer that I've had for ages in the hope that it will a) save me money and b) force me to try different things. I seem to be one of these people who always seem to have a lot of food in their cupboards yet continue to buy more "just in case". In case of what who knows? For the sake of argument my excuse is that I'm stock piling in case of a zombie apocalypse.
This week I noticed I had a tub of breadcrumbs and a pack of firm tofu that were nearing their best before date so these have obviously been the foundation of this week's MFM. After a quick internet search I decided on this only I used a lot more olive oil, 3/4 of a tin of chopped tomatoes (instead of the tomato sauce) and grated mild cheddar (I had no mozzarella). Those of you who are on a diet I apologise as this is definitley not for you (I didn't even try to point it). Same goes to the vegans (due to the cheese). In my opinion this has been the best meal I've ever had with tofu in it as the base ingredient, it was utterly delicious and I will definitley be making this again in the future.
Seriously it was that good I had seconds.
Meat Free Mondays #2.
Red Borscht
Ingredients
- 1 celeriac
- 2 carrots
- A handful of fresh parsley
- 1 leek
- 1 onion
- 1 large parsnip
- 4 red beetroots
- 10 black peppercorns
- 2 grains of pimento (or allspice)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 glass and a half of red wine
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- juice of 2 lemons
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Put a pan with 3 pints of water on the boil. Peel and chop the celeriac, carrots, leek, onion and parsnip, wash them and add to the pan. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Peel and thinly slice the beetroot and place in a separate pan with the peppercorns, pimento (I had none but found this as a good substitute) and bay leaves. Simmer, uncovered, in 1 pint of water for 30 minutes.
Sieve the vegetable and beetroot stocks and combine the clear liquids, discarding the vegetables. Return the borscht to the heat. Add the red wine, lemon juice, salt and pepper, sugar and garlic. Simmer for 20 minutes. Serve with Sour Cream.
Preparation time: Around 60 minutes.
Serves: 6
Meat Free Mondays
I decided last week that, since a) I love to cook, b) am Vegetarian and c) following the Weight Watchers program that from now on I'm going to post either a recipe or a veggie discovery each Monday and thus call it Meat Free Mondays (very original no???). This week I thought I would kick off MFM's with my favourite ever pasta dish which is cheap, easy and best of all vegan. If you're following the Weight Watchers program this works out at 5.5 points with the oil or 3 if you use the no points low calorie spray oil. Parmesan (dairy or vegan) is optional and obviously you will need to point it.
Carrot Pasta
If you like you can use flavoured oil (I sometimes use garlic infused or chilli infused olive oil) or you can use the low fat spray oil instead. Also ASDA do tins of chopped tomatoes with chilli which work well with this if you fancy your meal with a bit of a kick.
Ingredients
- 120 g pasta (dried)
- 4 medium carrots
- 1/2 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons of Olive oil
- 300 g Passata / 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh or dried herbs
Instructions
Boil a pan of water (for the pasta) and whilst waiting for it to boil wash and peel the carrots with a vegetable peeler. Set the pasta off to boil and slice the carrots into thin slices (literally as thin as you can make them). Finely dice the garlic and the onion.
With another pan, coat the bottom with oil and heat on medium-high heat. When hot, add the carrots, stirring frequently. When the carrots start to soften, add the garlic and onion. Keep stirring for a couple of minutes until some of the carrots get brown around the edges and the garlic is golden. Next add the passata/tin of chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper and herbs until it's all warmed through and serve with the cooked and drained pasta.
Preparation time: Roughly 30 minutes if that.
Serves: 2
If you like the idea of MFM or you actually cooked this dish then I would love to hear from you. I do love this pasta dish and must eat it at least once a week.
Ey Up Lad…
Today is the 20th Birthday of Wallace and Gromit. This makes me feel very old. It only seems like yesterday that ‘A Grand Day Out’ first came out and I'll have been 10. Fast forward a few years later whilst at uni, I went to a guest lecture conducted by a nice lady from Aardman where I had the opportunity to meet Gromit (well one of the many models of him anyway). Good times. The 'Cracking Contraptions' are my favourite Wallace and Gromit animations, the best of which is "Shopper 13" in my opinion and my other favourite Aardman character is Angry Kid. A quick web search spat this out from last year which I think is fabulous and Google have also wished the two cheese lovers many happy returns too. I think I'll be getting my Niece this
Hookers & Needles…
Last week I finally got my finger out and applied for an invite for Ravelry, which arrived yesterday and so far I'm loving it. I'm hoping it'll help inspire me enough to get the yarn and needles out again, which looking through the free pattens I doubt it'll fail. Hopefully it will give me the kick up the backside I need to finally organise the Stitch & Bitch I've wanted to establish for a while as well. I've also celebrated my 30th birthday and have had an amazing time. Lots of excellent presents received and lots of alcohol consumed.
Today is going to be spent doing some odd jobs and I am planning on doing some baking this afternoon. I did some on-line shopping recently with ASDA and I must have done something wrong as I ended up with far too many bananas as I have a ton of them which are slowly going black so I think some Banana Bread, Banana Muffins and some Banana Biscuits are in order. Today is going to be a good day.
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