Crafty Cork Coasters

Crafty Cork Coasters

Ever wondered what to do with those wine corks after the Xmas period. There are so many things we throw away but this should not be one.

Why not spend a few peaceful moments winding down after the hectic Xmas period crafting. This is a simple craft and will add something you made to your home.

Tools
1 Glue Gun (because it's fun to use!)
10 Wine corks
Card paper (for backing)             
1 kitchen knife

Crafty Cork Coasters by Justamumja.blogspot.com

Happy Crafting All! 

Kimchi (The Cheat's Way)

Kimchi (The Cheat's Way)

Love Kimchi but can't be bothered to buy the marinated cabbage or marinate yourself then use this cheat's guide.

Feeds 4 people

Incredients
2 bags pre-mixed stir-fry vegetables
4-5 tablespoons of kimchi sauce
4/5 tablespoons of soy sauce or tamari sauce (for gluten free version)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 cups of basmati rice
4 medium eggs

Method
Cook the rice according to instructions on the packet. General rule for basmati rice is 1 cup of water to 1 cup of rice. Tip: if you cover the pan with a lid or foil (if no lid available) and cook on a low heat for between 15-20 mins, you will get fluffy basmati rice.

Heat a wok with the sesame oil and add pre-mixed stir fry veg. Fry this for 15 mins on medium heat.
Next add 4-5 tablespoons (2-3 tbp if you don't like spice) of the kimchi sauce and stir in to the veg.

While this is cooking, start frying your eggs in a small to medium pan. Leave until the yolk is firm.

Add in the cooked rice to the vegetables in the wok. Then add in the soy/tamari sauce and stir through thoroughly.

Serve hot with the fried egg on top.

Kimchi the Cheat's Way 

Kimchi Sauce 

Enjoy!!

5 Vegan/Vegetarian Wines in Sainsbury's Local and Tesco Express

I used to think that all wine was Vegan. So it rather took me by surprise to learn that the refining process for wine involves the use of fining agents such as casein (a milk protein), albumin (egg whites), gelatin (animal protein) and isinglass (fish bladder protein).

What!!!! are you screaming too!!! 😮

Yes that's right. Wine is not just grapes folks! Although these items are not added to the wine, the fining process means that some allergenic substances may be found in wine. Therefore there are now labels on some wines to indicate those that are safe to consume for people with allergies.

It can be a pain reading all the labels to see if food is safe for you. But if you have allergies you have little choice. Imagine all the strange looks when seen turning every single wine bottle around just to look for the safe symbol.

So figuring I am not alone in this and to save myself future 'weird' looks. I put together a little infographic that will help when in a local supermarket local/express store that I'd like share with you.

Now for a nice glass of Vegan wine 
Enjoy folks!!!

Going Veggie Cheat Sheet!

Going Veggie Cheat Sheet!


We started our vegetarian journey as a family in summer or 2017 and a few things have stuck (like my family's attitude to eating), a few things have fallen by the way side (mostly ingredients like kale, my family hate it but I love it!) and a few habits have developed.

Today I would like to share what habits we have developed in our vegetarian lifestyle.

1. Limit the chopping and buy ready chopped
The first habit was dealing with all that chopping. I started to hate chopping. I mean after the 10th ingredient for this one meal my hands started to rebel and so did my head. The thing is, freshly chopped items in the fridge section of the supermarket are really expensive when your feeding four kids. Four growing kids, 3 of whom are teenagers!!! But there is an alternative... Frozen chopped food. Yes I said it. Frozen!!!

Many supermarkets now stock something they call frozen micro veg. My life saver. No more chopping. Well not so much chopping. It is already chopped normal veg and because it's frozen as soon as possible it still has all the nutrients if not more in some cases as the fresh veg in the food aisle. And the best bit is that you can get a 600g-750g bag of micro veg for under £2. 1 600g-750g bag paired with rice, pasta or potatoes is enough to make a good dinner for a family with four growing kids. Remember people it is just veg. You don't have to microwave it like it says on the package. It can be prepared as part of whatever dish you are making. Roast it, Fry it, Boil it or Saute it and it will still taste good. 

2. Add flavour whenever you can
As a former meat eater I would always flavour my meat with seasonings or herbs before cooking but would not do the same to the vegetables I cooked as part of the meal. I think that was because of the idea that the Meat was the main part of the meal so that had to taste good whereas anything that accompanied the meat could be mediocre and no-one would notice so as the cook I didn't have to care about the 'side dishes'. As a vegetarian, the vegetables are the main feature of the meal so why not apply the same idea to the vegetables and make sure they have flavour. So I now season my vegetables in the same way as I used to season my meat and bwoy what a difference a herb makes. 😊


3. Try different table sauces and dressings
Bbq sauce and Ketchup might be a favourite but they can really numb your palette and your kids palette over time. There are so many options available that make vegetarians dishes simply Pop. So one of the habits we have developed is putting different sauces on the table for everyone to try that would accompany the meal. For example when we are having a red onion and goats cheese quiche, caramelised red onion chutney will be on the table. Sweet potato fries will have aioli on the table for dipping. Pakora or Onion Bajis might have mango chutney or tamarind sauce for dipping. We have found that the sauce like the seasoning can tie a dish together


Hope you have enjoyed reading my cheating tips. Would love to hear yours. Please comment below.

Happy Veggie eating!!!

Stuffed Curried Pearl Barley and Chickpea
Butternut Squash with herb flavoured couscous

 

Quick Homemade Goats cheese, Red Onion and Mushroom Pastries

And so we have gotten over the start of the new school term in September, survived the October Half term holidays, Fireworks night & Guy Fawkes celebrations  (a British tradition) and are now approaching the Christmas holidays, all while remaining mostly vegetarian!

This is such a massive achievement considering our foray into vegetarianism only started as an experiment that was supposed to last 2 weeks!

Of course it would have been so easy to revert back but surprisingly the majority of my family members including myself have stuck to the vegetarian diet while only two of them have had an occasional chicken dish. I could blame the schools and the establishments that they go to but actually that is not the case. Think about it ...years ago it would have been much more difficult to maintain a vegetarian/vegan diet as a school child having school dinners because a) the school probably would not cater a hot meal for you and b) no child wants to be seen as different.

Thankfully things have moved on. So much so in fact that it's kind of seen as cool to have some kind of dietary requirement or another. Well this is more the view amongst middle class primary age school children. But it means that at least you can ask the school not to include dairy in your child's meals without being snared at or worried that your kids will get singled out in a negative way by the other kids. 🙌. If you find out who does the catering in your school, it is pretty easy to speak to the catering manager if your child has special requirements and you don't want to go down the pack lunch route. Catering managers are usually very helpful if you ask nicely.  More managers and catering staff are not only aware of foods nutritional value but they are also more aware of  allergies such as nuts, dairy and shellfish and are trained to handle food in ways that ensure our children's safety😊. Of course if you do not feel this is happening in your school, SPEAK OUT! Believe it or not teachers want parents to be more involved with school life.

And on those days when its not school...
here is a quick easy veggie at-home hot lunch that the kids will love too

Homemade - Goats Cheese, Red Onion and Mushroom Pastries 
with 'Cheats' Caramelised Red Onion Chutney in Jar for topping

Quick Homemade Goats cheese, Red Onion and Mushroom Pastries

Makes 6 portions

Ingredients:
1 Ready to Roll Puff Pastry (375g)
11/2 cups of Mushrooms - Any type
1 tsp pre-crushed garlic
1 Red Onion
1 bag of spinach - 200g
200g of cherry tomatoes
100g of Goats Cheese (Optional)

To Serve:
Caramelised Red Onion Chutney for topping
Rocket Leaves

Method:
Saute the red onion, mushrooms and garlic in a pan on medium heat for 10 mins or until onions are soft and the mushrooms are soft and brown.

While this is cooking, cut out pastry squares from your ready to roll sheet. Pinch the edges of each square. Then place a portion of the cooked mixture into each pastry square. Sprinkle on the goats cheese (optional)

Put into the oven at 200°/180°(Fan Ovens) for 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.

Serve immediately topped with caramelised red onion chutney and rocket leaves.

Enjoy!!!

Growing your own food in London

There seems to be a trend happening in London town and other cities around Britain for growing your own food. I have arrived a little bit late to this but I wanted to share my experience of starting out growing some your own food if you live in the city with  not much outside space.

We don't have huge back garden and I definitely don't have the desire to apply to a waiting list for veg plots on an allotment (as community minded as that is, its just not my thing). For me the odds of tending to a small patch in front of my kitchen were much higher than dragging myself and the kids in the rain to the allotment 😏. So under those circumstances we decided to try to grow 'up' and so opted for a vertical vegetable garden.


Sounds simple right. Well it could have been if I had bought one of these.- Plastic Wall Planter

Plastic Wall Planter 

 However, wanting a more natural looking solution so we opted to build one using pallets. Yes that's right! Pallets are made of very sturdy wood and are a great solution for lots of DIY projects. And buoy did we luck out with our pallets! We got all the material free from a local builders merchants 👍👏. They recycle the pallets there and were very happy to have a few (8 in all ) to be taken off their hands.

So with pallets in hand (well in 2 hands at a time!😜 ), the journey to start a vertical vegetable garden began.

A few DIY cuts and nails later plus some landscaping fabric to line the areas chosen as boxes- the vegetable garden has started!
This frame took nearly 2 days to make from start to finish. 2 Pallets were nailed together to create the 2 bottom sections of the frame. Some of the slats at the front of the doubled pallets were then cut to create some growing space for larger veg. When it came to planting, YouTube instructions suggested lining the back, sides and bottom section of your pallet and then stuffing with your chosen soil/compost mix. However, we decided to create these fabric boxes as the inches between the slats on these pallets did not seem small enough to ensure that the soil would hold in enough moisture without some kind of guarding. This kind of landscaping fabric which we found in our local DIY shop is strong enough to hold the soil, very flexible and at the same time permeable. It is made of a type of plastic but has the look of a burlap fabric with very tiny overlapping squares and looked very similar to some bags used to grow potatoes. The size of the space was measured and the fabric boxes created to fit the space. An overhang was left on each fabric box so that it could be easily stabled to the wood. This created a more sturdy box for the soil to be kept. The whole idea behind using this kind of landscaping fabric is that it will keep the moisture in that is needed, yet allow any roots to grow without being suffocated. For extra stability, extra slats of wood could be fitted under each box area.

Hopefully this time next summer, it will be burgeoning with lots of Yummy vegetables! Watch this space!!

Let me know if you have tried this and your experiences.

From a fledgling gardener just a mum looking to learn more....

See you soon!!

A taste of vegan/vegetarian living

Over the last 4 weeks my family and I have been trying to eat a more plant based diet. For the last few months I reduced the amount of meat I eat as a part of my journey to help my PCOS (Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome). But since watching more programmes like 'What the Health' and reading more articles about the damage that excessive meat and dairy consumption can do the human body we decided as a family to give up meat and reduce dairy intake for at least 2 weeks. And somehow those initial 2 weeks has now stretched to 4 weeks with some bumps along the way (the school barbecue being one of them!). I have also been inspired at which members of my family have taken on the challenge which certainly helps when you have spent 30 minutes chopping vegetables (my least favourite part of cooking!)

If you have young kids who are used to eating meat and dairy, this is difficult switch to make. Ok way more than difficult in the face of a determined 3-6 year old or even a stubborn teenager. But it can be done!

The thought that I would be helping my children's future health by reducing the risks of heart disease, inflammatory diseases and a possibly a whole host of other issues was a good motivator to at least give it a try. I am not advocating giving up meat and dairy altogether and going cold turkey. That is not for everyone and I don't think it is for all of my family. But we can make small changes in the family routine so that you eat more vegan or vegetarian dishes for most of the week with meat dishes and dairy foods as a treat once or twice a week. Its a huge reduction if you are used to eating meat and dairy every single day but your taste-buds become used to it and your body adjusts (for the better). Its about changing habits isn't it. What we eat and how often we eat are really formed through habit. Changing a habit to form another habit is not an easy task but it is possible and knowing that there is an entire community of vegan and vegetarian families to get advice definitely helps

With this in mind I'd like to share this easy couscous dish I've discovered and adapted for my family which can either be eaten on its own or served with baked sweet potato or roasted half butternut squash.

Easy Vegetable Couscous

Ingredients
1 red onion
500g couscous
1 cube vegetable stock
handful of pistachio nuts (optional)
3/4 ready roasted red peppers (you can buy these in jars)
2/3 ready sun-dried tomatoes (also available in jar)
handful of fresh mint
1 large aubergine (eggplant)
1 large or 2 small courgettes

To serve with
Sweet potato or roasted half butter nut squash (optional)

glass of wine (optional) 😏

Method
Put your sweet potatoes or half butternut squash (no need to peel) in the oven at 200/180 degrees (for fan asssisted ovens) for 40mins

Next, slice and roast the aubergine and courgette under the grill for 20 mins. While that is roasting. Chop the red onion and mint and put to one side. Then chop up the ready roasted peppers and sun-dried tomatoes and put in a separate bowl. This will be added to the roasting aubergines once finished and returned to the oven to warm through. In the meantime, boil a kettle and add the vegetable stock to 1ltr of boiling water. Stir until dissolved and then add the couscous and cover for around 10 mins or until all the couscous is soaked through. Fluff the couscous with a fork. Remove the roasted ingredients from the oven and mix in the couscous and the chopped red onion and mint. Add chopped pistachio nuts for crunch if you wish.

Pour yourself a well earned glass of wine for all that hard work and serve with the baked sweet potato or roasted half butternut squash.

Happy Healthy Eating!