Vegan Sausages and Mash

Last Friday night, my dad and I were left to cook for ourselves (as opposed to me just cooking for myself), and we had 4 leftover Linda McCartney red onion and rosemary sausages from when I'd cooked myself a veggie hot dog the previous night.  Dad had suggested making mashed potatoes, so I looked up how to make vegan-friendly mashed potatoes, with a preference of a recipe that didn't involve using a milk alternative, and I found this recipe from the Minimalist Baker that is completely vegan and doesn't use a milk alternative.  These mashed potatoes were actually pretty tasty, and to preserve how they should look, I've taken pictures of the meal.  When put together, the sausages and mashed potato make a really easy vegan meal (apart from the fact that I really struggled with peeling the potatoes with a really rubbish peeler!

Ingredients (serves 4)

6 Linda McCartney Red Onion and Rosemary Sausages
6-8 potatoes
3 tablespoons vegan-friendly margarine, such as Pure or the new dairy-free Flora
a pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
lettuce

Instructions

1. Cook the sausages according to packet instructions, adjusting the temperature and time of cooking in accordance with whether you are using an oven, a fan-assisted oven or a grill.
2. Peel the potatoes, and if they're large, cut them into halves.  Bring them to a light boil over a medium-high heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt, cover and cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until very tender.
3. Once tender, drain the potatoes of water and transfer the potatoes to a large mixing bowl.
4. Using a potato masher or a hand-mixer, mash the potatoes until fluffy.  Be careful not to overmix to the potatoes when using a hand-mixer.
5. Add the margarine, salt and pepper and mix into the mashed potatoes well.
6. Serve mashed potatoes with the sausages and lettuce.

Katie's Christmas 2015 - Potato Gratin

I may be a couple of days late with this post, but it's because I've just finished uni until after Christmas.  This time last week, I was in the middle of trying to finish my Engaging the Audience project by only taking a few well-timed naps of between 20 minutes and 2 hours in length.  I must point out that I wouldn't recommend having as little sleep as I did in 2.5 days (possibly less than 8 hours).  Anyway, after my other deadlines, I spent Tuesday and Thursday night at the first BUSOM rehearsals for Back to the 80s after auditions, Wednesday night at our Christmas party where we ate at Brewhaus before seeing two of our members in a pantomime of Aladdin at Kala Sangam, Friday at the uni Christmas fayre and a friend's house (covered in my first This Is Not A Book post), and Saturday night at the Gledholt Male Voice Choir's Christmas concert with the Lindley Band.  So after a busy few weeks, I'm looking forward to relaxing with some Christmas videos, crafts and foods for a few days, before doing some holiday work and writing a couple of reflective essays due in January. 

Potatoes are probably my favourite vegetables, especially jacket potatoes or roasted potatoes with herbs.  It's something about the crispy outside and soft middle that I really like.  Mum's recently started making roasted potato with herbs slices as parts of meals, and I always seem to miss going for extra slices after I've finished the rest of my food.  I found this recipe on Superfood Siobhan's website.  It's fairly easy, healthy and vegan-friendly, so if you're wanting a vegan Christmas dinner or just like potatoes like I do, you can add this deliciousness to it!

Ingredients (serves 4 people)

500g white potatoes
75ml / 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon water
2 large cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons mixed herbs
salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius.  Wash and peel your potatoes, and cut them into slices of about 1/2 a cm thick.
2. Arrange the slices on the bottom of the tray, stacking the slices in flat and even layers across the tray.
3. Place the garlic, olive oil, water, herbs, salt/pepper, mustard and nutritional yeast (optional) in a blender or food processor and blend until it makes a smooth paste.  Pour this over the potato slices, spreading evenly.
4. Place the tray in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the centre of the potatoes are soft when a knife is inserted.  Serve with other vegetables or anything else!

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

Another recipe card that I found at the Food Festival back in February, this one being for rosemary roasted potatoes to promote the range of herbs and other foods that can be grown, harvested and eaten on campus.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs small red or white-skinned potatoes (or a mixture)
1/8 cup quality olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cut the potatoes into halves or quarters and place in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary.  Toss until the potatoes are well-coated.
3. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and spread out into one layer;  roast in the oven for at least 1 hour, or until browned and crisp.
4. Flip twice with a spatula during cooking to ensure even browning.
5. Remove the potatoes from the oven, season to taste, and serve.

Potato & Cauliflower Curry

Today for lunch, my grandma made this potato and cauliflower curry that she found in the January 2015 edition of the Asda magazine.  It's full of delicious vegetables and is good to eat both on its own as well as with rice.

Ingredients (to serve 4 people)

1 level teaspoon fennel seeds
1 level teaspoon mustard seeds
1 level teaspoon ground cumin
1 level teaspoon ground coriander
1 level teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 medium onion, halved and sliced
1cm piece root ginger, peeled and grated
2 green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
400g potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
1 bay leaf
225g pack cherry tomatoes on the vine, removed from the vine and quartered
1 cauliflower
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander, plus leaves to garnish

Instructions

1. Crush the fennel and mustard seeds in a pestle and mortar, or put in a small bowl and carefully crush with the end of a rolling pin.  Mix with the cumin, coriander and turmeric.  Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion until soft and translucent.  Add the ginger and chillies and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Reduce the heat, add the spice mixture and stir for 1 minute.
3. Add the potatoes and the bay leaf and stir to coat.  Add the tomatoes and 400ml water and heat until simmering.  Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, cut the cauliflower into florets, discarding the tough stem and any leaves.  Add to the saucepan, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Gently stir in the chopped fresh coriander.  Garnish with extra coriander leaves.