Vegan MoFo Day 30: We Did It!! And Veganising Jamie too!

HELLOOOO and welcome to my last MoFo post for 2014! I can't believe we're done already, it's gone so quick. Also, this is the first ever time I've managed to blog every. single. day! I'm pretty happy about that.  

So my last post of MoFo is also my last veganising Jamie Oliver's 15 minute meals.  I've enjoyed these posts.  It's been fun to veganise the stuff I see being made on a non-vegan tv show. The main reason I wanted to do this was so that anyone looking for easy vegan recipes to make their vegan friends or family if they are not vegan themselves, will see that you can use the cookbooks you already have and just make a few simple swaps.  Obviously if you're not vegan I would't expect you to spend 2 days making almond feta but you get the idea.

I've had a few favourites, the one that springs to mind was THIS awesome dish, those buns!! Swoon! Can't wait to make that again soon.  There's been a few damp squibs but on the whole, most have been great.  To browse all of my Jamie posts, CLICK HERE! :)

So today I made the Winter Squash Penne and Mint & Avocado Chopped Salad.

 

Well kinda.  I didn't have penne so I used macaroni and my avo was mouldy :( so I left that out.  I also totally effed up the timing but I worked out by process of elimination (reading the time of a text I sent rigth before I set the timer off) that it took me just under 16 minutes, so I guess that is a 15 minute meal - win!!

Also, I forgot I was halving the recipe and made basically the full amount of sauce so there was WAY too much sauce for half the pasta, it's quite a liquidy sauce.  So I'm currently turning the leftover sauce into soup! (I added a bit more water, a few slack handfuls of red lentils and some curry paste - tomorrow's lunch sorted!)

Recipe Link: Not on Jamie's site, but the recipe can be found HERE.

Actual Time Taken: about 15 minutes

My Substitutions:

I subbed vegusto for both the cheeses

I left out the avocado cuz mine was mouldy

I used dried sage as I couldn't find fresh

I subbed macaroni for the penne

Overal Verdict: I thought this was tasty! It was nice change up to usual pasta sauces and a medium BN squash goes really far, so I still have 3/4 of the thing left!!  I added a bit of the stock to the processor when I was chopping the onions and squash and I'm glad I did because it helped get the squash finer. It still didn't feel totally cooked to me but it was good.

Also, if I were to make again, I might add the chickpeas after blitzing the sauce (or add half before half after) as I would've liked the squash fully pureed but not all the chickpeas.

Thank you to everyone who stayed with me throughout MoFo. I've been reading loads of blogs but not had the time to comment that much which is annoying.  But maybe I'll catch up with the posts soon. I'm going on holiday on Thursday (YAY) so if there's WiFi maybe I'll catch up then! haha.

Laterz

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Vegan MoFo Day 26: Veganising Jamie

OK I promised a belated Jamie post and look.... just LOOK!!! I did it I did it I did it!!  

AND that was the time from starting cooking to when it was in the bowl and the foofy piece of basil was on the top!! (Normally I stop the timer when I turn off the stove etc so it doesn't include plating up time.)

So for the penultimate veganised Jamie meal of this year's MoFo, I made...

Chicken Cacciatore

So this was pretty good!  I won't lie, it's not the most inventive thing I've ever eaten and I often make something similar. But it was a nice change to pasta bolognaise etc. It was super easy to veganise and as you can see, really effin quick to cook! The pasta sauce can be made in about the same time as it takes the spaghetti to cook.

Recipe Link: The actual recipe isn't on Jamie's site (an older non-15 minute meal one is), so here's a link to the one someone else has posted.

Actual Time Taken: Just under 14 minutes!

My Substitutions: 
- I subbed RealEat Chicken pieces for the chicken*
- I subbed a finely chopped hemp space bar for the smoked pancetta and added a pinch of smoked paprika
- I subbed whatever red wine was open for the chianti (I think it was merlot, I don't drink red so I have no clue)
- I used all chestnut mushrooms
- I left out the anchovies
- I used dried rosemary instead of fresh
- I used regular spaghetti instead of wholewheat
- I used the last of my almond feta from THIS post instead of parmesan!

Phew! that's quite a few subs, but nothing that would majorly change the flavour I think!

*I used fake chicken pieces but if you're not vegan/veggie and making this for someone who is but don't want to buy these, I think you could totally use canned beans (such as cannelini) and this would be good!

Overal Verdict: Not mind blowing but still very tasty and I love how easy and quick it was. AND no food processor or 10 gazillion pans to wash, just a knife and two pans! WIN.

I should probably branch out from chicken for the last one, huh? HAHA

Have a great weekend everyone.  Who's going to Vegfest (London) tomorrow?  If so, maybe I'll be lucky enough to run into you! :)

Laterz
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Vegan MoFo Day 23: Veganising Jamie

Tonight's veganised Jamie meal was his Golden Chicken with Braised Greens & Potato Gratin.

This is my least favourite of all the meals I've made from this book so far. Not because I didn't like - I did!  I just think I'd make a few tweaks if I were to make again.

Firstly, I used RealEat chicken pieces and Jamie uses whole chicken breasts that he slices in half. I think this would've worked better with seitan cutlets.

Secondly, I only used 1 onion, instead of the 3 he called for in the gratin recipe and I think I should've listened to Jamie and used 3!  I liked this dish though and will definitely remake the gratin (maybe with a few tweaks); the potatoes were a little under-done!

I liked the greens but don't think they really needed the facon, I just used this as Jamie used bacon. They could use a little something too, just not sure what!

Gratin

Chickeny pieces

Greens

Recipe Link: Golden chicken with braised greens and potato gratin


Actual Time Taken: Just under 23 minutes until I switched everything off. More like 25 til it was on the table.

My substitutions:
- I subbed realeat chicken pieces and vbites rashers for the chicken and bacon.
- I subbed alpro single cream for the dairy cream.
- I subbed vegusto mild cheese for the parmesan.
- I subbed a veggie stock cube for the chicken one.

Verdict: I liked it but I prefer meals that have a bit more of a flavour punch.  Also, I picked this recipe because it seemed super easy but with all the pans you need it was actually kind of tricky and even though it took 10 minutes longer than it was meant to, the tatties still weren't totally cooked.

I think this would be good to serve to omniverous friends (possibly leave off the facon though if they're not into that!), if you were to change up the chicken pieces to a cutlet or something like that; my mum and brother both liked the potatoes and greens (they had actualy chicken with theirs though).

See ya tomorrow! :)

Laterz
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Vegan MoFo Day 18: Veganising Jamie

OK so tonight's veganised Jamie Oliver 15 minute meal is his feta parcels and modern greek salad.  I have to start by saying that technically for us vegans, this cannot be a 15 minute meal unless you live somewhere where they sell vegan feta!  I've never seen this so I made my own almond feta and although the work involved is minimal, it takes a couple of days because of soaking time, draining time and baking.  You could always replace it with another vegan cheese though if you wanted.

 Here is my almond feta after baking - not that pretty but really really tasty.  I used this recipe from Vegetarian Times, but just left off the herb oil. I think this recipe is great and totally worth the effort and I will be making it again!

Also, I knew that without another side dish, the parcels and a salad wouldn't be enough for us gluttons for dinner, so in keeping with the 15 minute meals mindset, I cheated a little and knocked up a couple of packets of Ainsley's instant flavoured cous cous, which went really well.

 Parcel close-up

 Salad close-up

 
Recipe Link: Modern Greek Salad and Feta Parcels again this one's not on his site, so here's a link to the recipe that someone else has posted.

Actual Time Taken: As seems to be about average with these '15 minute' meals, about 19 minutes.

My Substitutions:
- I subbed almond feta for the dairy feta
- I subbed soya yoghurt for the dairy yoghurt
- I left off the honey
- I left out the red onion because I forgot to buy one, plus my mum's not a massive fan of it raw 
- I used mixed olives with sun-dried tomatoes instead of black olives and I served them on the side instead of mixing them in with the salad.

Verdict:
YUMMY!! I loved the parcel filling, I was eating it off the spatula, it is great. And the mint in the salad was a lovely addition.  I think next time I wouldn't scrunch the filo, I'd wrap it more like a present, as I don't like the floury soft texture of filo when it isn't crispy, like the bits under the scrunchy top were.  Aside from that, aweseome. Also, as I said before, this needed an extra side dish to make it dinner, but I think it would be perfect as is for a lunch!

See ya tomorrow MoFos! :)

Laterz
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Vegan MoFo Day 16: Veganising Jamie

Tonight's recipe from Jamie Oliver's 15 minute meals is one that I've been fancying ever I first watched the episode where he made it. I love soup and I love nachos. WIN!  Also, I thought I might actually be able to manage this in 15 minutes* because it's so simple. This recipe was already vegetarian and I only had to make a couple of dairy swaps to make it vegan.

(*I didn't!)

Mexican Tomato Soup

 
Recipe Link: It's not on Jamie's site, but someone has posted the recipe HERE.

Actual Time Taken: This took me just under 19 minutes from when the ingredients and equipment were all out and ready.

My Substitutions
- I subsituted soya yoghurt for dairy yoghurt
- I substituted some vegusto mild cheese for the feta
- I subsituted Violife cheese for pizza for the cheddar

Verdict
This was yummy and easy.  I loved the crispy cheesy nachos that went along with it and the toppings. My tortilla chips were a little saltier than I'd like but overall they were great.  I fed this to my Dad, Bro & Sis-in-Law and if we hadn't scarfed the leftovers, it would've comfortably fed mum too!

My favourite part was the jalapeno/mint yoghurt! Damn this shiz was good! I'd make that again to go with any Mexican inspired dish, it was awesome!

So, the cheese....
I bought this when I was in Infinity in Brighton at the weekend (seriously, if I lived in Brighton I would be bankrupt and it would be that shop's fault!!) and it was great.  It was a son of biatch to get out of the packet but it tasted very mild and it melted beautifully. Can't wait to try it on pizza!

Hope you're having a good week!

Laterz
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Vegan MoFo Day 11: Veganising Jamie

Today's veganised 15 Minute Meal is thai chicken Laksa with mildly spiced squash broth.  I made the full recipe which is meant to feed 4 and not only did it comfortably feed me and my bro & sis-in-law, but there are enough noodles left to do 2 more portions.  

I used RealEat Chicken style pieces in place of the chicken and I left out the fish sauce (just added a bit more soy to compensate).  

I used less noodles than it said to but I think that there were too many for 4 and I only used 1 bunch of asparagus not 2, as a second wouldn't have fitted in my pan.  There definitely wasn't as much liquid in mine as Jamie's seemed to have. So I'd add a bit more water (or less noodles next time).

Also, it's not a very specific recipe when it comes to the amount of squash; mine was kind of a monster and I didn't even cut half of it off, but it still completely filled up the bowl of my food processor, packed.  I used about 3 good handfuls of it, the rest is gonna go into my freezer for future laksa emergencies! :)

As 3 of us loved this, as demonstrated by the 3 empty bowls!

Recipe Link: Thai Chicken Laksa

Actual Time Taken: 19 minutes ish (well about 17 minutes till I turned off the stove top and about another 2 minutes to tip out the chicken and scatter with the garnishes) once all the ingredients were out and the food processor was ready etc.  I cheated a wee bit... I stopped the timer twice when I forgot to get a couple of ingredients out. But I figure had I got them out in the first place this would be about right.

My substitutions:
- I subbed Real eat chicken style pieces for the chicken.
- I left out the fish sauce and added a bit extra soy sauce
- I subbed agave for the honey

Verdict: Awesome, really really awesome.  AND omni-family approved.

Bonus dumb selfie of the day... do you guys like my new tiny mug?  Excuse me, I believe I ordered the large cappuccino! HELLO!?

Laterz
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Vegan MoFo Day 9: Veganising Jamie

Tonight, another installment of Veganising Jamie!  And this is the recipe that made me want to do this as my theme in the first place. Yes, I've been lusting over Jamie's steamy soft buns for months now. Steady!! I'm talking about coconutty, bready goodness here! Dirty birdie.

This was sooooo easy, plus I got to use a new toy - my food processor.  Maybe I should name him Jamie, as that's pretty much why I bought it!!  And if it wasn't for the fact that I needed a little more flour than called for, I think I could've got this done pretty much within the 15 minutes, if not slightly over!

I subbed vegan chicken style pieces (Realeat ones) for the chicken but that was the only non-vegan item in the recipe.  Although check when you're buying hoisin sauce that you get a brand without honey.

SWOON! Sweet sticky chicken & mushrooms, fluffy buns and tangy pickle. This was freakin FREAKIN amazing!  The buns are seriously easy and I would have no qualms serving this up to any of my omni family or friends, even with the vegan chicken pieces.

Chicken Dim Sum with Coconut Buns & Cucumber Pickle

Recipe Link: It's not on his site (WTF Jamie?), I can't find the episode on youtube and I'm not about to post someone else's recipe without permission. But someone has posted the recipe here so I'll just link you to that if you don't wanna buy the book!

Actual Time Taken: 18 minutes from when all my ingredients and equipment were out and ready to go. I actually think this could be done in 15 minutes, but my bun dough was too wet and I had to go search for more flour and wash my hands about 4 times because the dough was so sticky.   

My substitutions:
I subbed Realeat Chicken Style Pieces for the chicken
I couldn't find mixed mushrooms in my crap local sainsbury's (that's becoming an issue!) and so I just used chestnut mushrooms, as that's what I had.
I subbed black sesame seeds for regular ones because I'm too lazy to toast them (and by that I mean wash an extra pan!)

Verdict:
Love LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this dish. I think it will become a regular and I plan to feed it to people next time I have someone to cook for. So ridiculously easy, as long as you don't mind washing up a food processor.  And a lot of the ingredients were already in my fridge or store cupboard, so I didn't really need to go to a decent supermarket. Win win.

A Few notes:
My buns are in pink cases because I didn't have any white ones and the pattern did transfer a bit. Also I ignored when Jamie said to put the chicken steamer under the bun steamer because my chicken wasn't raw meat and I figured it would be fine. They were fine but some of the hoisin mixture leaked onto the top of the buns beneath. No biggy, just an aesthetic thing.  And also foils my plan to eat the leftovers with jam.  OK it doesn't but I'm lazy and cutting the top off is just gonna but me!

Also, hot buns makes me think of THIS, which is never a bad thing!  If you'd forgotten about this too, then you can thank me later for the reminder!

Laterz
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Vegan MoFo Day 4: Taco or Beer Challenge & Veganising Jamie Oliver

So today's a double whammy because my good friend Jojo tagged me to do the Taco or Beer Challenge and I accepted. So as Thursday is my day to veganise Jamie Oliver, I had a scout through the book and found the perfect recipe: Ultimate Pork Tacos.

I swapped out the pork for seitan and the dairy yoghurt for soya but that was actually all I had to change to make this vegan and you know what, it was pretty effin good!!

Before I crack on with the food pics / info, the point of the Taco or Beer Challenge is similar to the ice bucket challenge; do something rad (much nicer than chucking iced water on ya heed!) and then donate to a pro choice charity.  I've donated to Abortion Support Network.  They help women in Northern Ireland to travel to England for a safe & legal abortion, as abortion is still illegal in NI.  This boggles my mind as much as it boils my blood!  I'm tagging Katie from Don't Eat off the Sidewalk to do the challenge next.

OK so back to the tacos.

All ready to shcoff!

I added potatoes because Jojo's taco post made me want to do this. I didn't regret it!

I couldn't find black beans in my crap local tiny sainsbury's so I went with the nearest thing I could find: Kidney beans. So my refried beans were purple instead of black! haha. Still yummy though.

I also couldn't find the chilli sauce Jamie specifies so I used Franks.

I'm goin in!

Recipe Link: Ultimate Pork Tacos 

Actual Time Taken: about 20 minutes

(Today, I did what the book says and got everything out and ready and then started timing. So in reality, with getting the stuff out, it took more like 30 minutes.)

My Substitutions:
- I substituted seitan for the pork

- I substituted soya yoghurt for the dairy

- I substituted kidney beans for the black beans

- I substituted Franks for the chilli sauce I've never heard of

- I added some chopped potatoes (I used tinned to keep in the 15 minute meals mindset!) in with the seitan

Verdict:
There was too much filling for 2 taco shells, as there always is when I make tacos. So I ended up just kind of throwing it all together and it was seriously good.  I actually think with the potatoes added, this would be great without the taco shells just as a salad.  I was skeptical about adding apple to the salad but it worked really REALLY well, especially when some of the fennel seeds from the seitan mixed in with it.

All in all, I really enjoyed it and would definitely make it again.  A less faffy person could definitely do it in 15 minutes too!

See ya tomorrow!

Laterz
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Vegan MoFo Day 2: Veganising Jamie - Veggie Chilli

Hello!

Today I am kicking off my Veganising Jamie Oliver's 15 Minute Meals Series. I need to come up with a catchier name for that!  

Anyway, I have been a fan of Jamie ever since the Naked Chef came out and recently I really enjoyed rewatching all the episodes of 15 Minutes Meals that are replaying on the Food Network. It does make Buffalo Stance get stuck in my head on a loop! But aside from that I like the premise of it.  So I bought the book and there's lots of veggie stuff in there and even a lot of the meaty stuff is veganisable.

That said, I went for a bit of a cop out last night, because it was the only thing I had most of the ingredients for already and it was 7.30 before I was finished work.  

So I made the Veggie Chilli.  I didn't make the accompanying salad as I didn't have all the components and I made a few subs that I will list below.  All in all, this was nice and super easy of course and was mainly composed of store cupboard staples.  The recipe is for 4 portions, so I have a couple of lunches in the fridge. :)

Also, I'm going to tell you how long it actually took to make, as I'm not convinced I can do any in 15 minutes - I'm a bit of a faffer. But if it's done in 30 or less, then I'm happy!

Recipe Link: Veggie chilli with crunchy tortilla avocado salad

Actual Time Taken: about 30 minutes

My Substitutions:
- I didn't have an ancho chilli or a chipotle. Or even a fresh one (I suck I know) so I used sriracha, a healthy dose of it!
- I didn't make the salad, I put some cubed up avocado on top to serve instead and served the crunchy tortilla strips on the side.
- I substituted soya yoghurt for the fat free dairy yoghurt called for.
- I didn't have passata so I subsitituted a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes that I whizzed in the processor after the base mix was done and also added a good tbsp of tomato puree and about half of the empty tomato tin's worth of water.
- I left out the coriander because I didn't have it.
- I didn't have wild/long grain rice mix so I used a pack of ready made brown basmati.

Verdict:
Yummy & filling and easy. Will definitely make again as it's meant to be made.

See ya tomorrow!

Laterz
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