Welcome to the Blog

NOTE: The pictures were updated and the recipe improved in June 2015 :)

I am happily married and very much in love with my husband. He is wonderful and no other man can compare. BUT despite this I allow myself the occasional harmless crush. And one of these crushes just happens to be on the amazing Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall! His commitment to good, honest, wholesome food is infectious. His program on the exploitation of our oceans made me re-think my love of eating fish and his cookbook Veg Every Day is undoubtedly in my top 5 of best vegetarian cookbooks ever. It is on one of the recipes in that cookbook that the easy Summer Courgette Salad here is based. 

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‘Mama, can we ppplllleeeaaassssee make some lemonade? Pllleeaassee?’ My son asked as he gave me his best, cheeky smile and batted his enviable long eye-lashes. 

‘Yes of course!’ I said.

(Some more smiles and excited giggles followed, in case you were wondering).

So, hubby, my son and I got to work and the outcome of our nice, spontaneous team effort is this looker of a drink, full of vitamin C and minty freshness courtesy of our herb garden.

I can’t think of a better drink to enjoy whilst watching the World Cup. Can you ;)?

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NOTE: The pictures were updated, October 2015.

This post is dedicated to my husband and my mother.

My husband was born and raised in the Andes, the official birthplace of the potato. It is this fact that I think explains his utter and complete love - no actually let’s call a spade a spade - obsession for this root vegetable. So, when I want to make him really happy, I prepare a potato dish for him. It always does the trick. I’ve got a few recipes up my sleeve, but this Baked Potatoes with Red Pepper and Tomato Sauce is probably his current favourite and I like it a lot too, so I make it at least 2 times a month, perhaps even more often in winter time. It’s SO simple and really quick and utterly yummy!

I know that lots of potatoes have specific roles they fulfil like being the ideal salad potato, baking potato or mashed potato, but to be honest I’m not fussy when it comes to which potato I use for this recipe. It’s not an exact science and more about what you fancy. I’ve actually tried this specific recipe with a number of different varieties and it’s always been a winner. Having said that I do prefer using the slightly smaller ones like Anya or Vivaldi because they are ready in no time and have more skin/flavour, but it’s totally up to you which potato you choose.

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UPDATED! EXOTIC KALE SALAD (V+) (R) (GF) (GrF)

Note: The pictures were updated June 2015. Why? You can find more details here :)

About a year ago I did a little experiment – on facebook I chronicled what I ate and fed my family during our transition to a mainly whole food plant-based diet. Kale was a food that featured very regularly and attracted a lot of attention! Many people had never heard of it before or were made to believe that it doesn’t taste good! So I made it my mission to try and present kale in as many ways as I could possibly think of, hoping to show off its versatility and adapting its use so that there was a recipe to convert even the most sceptical of critics. This salad here was one of my star attractions. I LOVE it. I LOVE it! I LOVE it! And hereby challenge anyone to make either version of it (Summer or Winter) and not feel the same way about it! 

Adapted from a recipe by the brilliantly bold and creative mastermind that is Ottolenghi!

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UPDATED! Please note the pictures for this blog post were updated in December, 2016.

How do you get noticed in the competitive vegan food blogging world? It’s tough to make your mark I can now tell you from personal experience ;). But, it seems I may have cracked the code: #masonjars, or even better #bellheritagemasonjars. And the # is crucial, you see to get your followers (top tip ;)). Because, no respectable, honest, good and popular vegan blogger can do without it. And although I haven’t taken the exact stats on this, my guesstimate is that about 99.9% of all smoothies on most vegan blogs are presented in this attractive glass jar.

So, I won’t lie, I was pretty tempted to get one myself and jump full force on the band wagon. Until I saw the price tag (£10 including postage for a single jar, in case you were wondering) and decided against it. Surely, there must be another way;). Just a simple way - aha – how about the good old breakfast bowl? The 99p one you can get at your local supermarket or better still, the one that’s actually already in your cupboard with all the other old plates, cups and saucers. Perfect! So, being the stubborn person my friends know me to be, I decided to take the tough route in this game called blogging and try to win followers with a cheeky post and a cracked breakfast bowl instead of the #masonjar. :) #keepingitreal #rebelwithacause

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It’s funny because I actually had not planned to make this Elderflower and Pear Spring Green juice. But then there was a sort of competition on Instagram for ‘the best smoothie or juice’ and the competitive streak in me went into overdrive. Fuelled with adrenaline, my brain knew pretty much straight away what it wanted my body to do:

1. Go to the farmer’s market
2. Buy the most beautiful seasonal ingredients you can find
3. Challenge yourself and work with a fruit/veg you’ve never used before
4. Forage to add interest
5. Kick ass and make a GREAT juice you can be proud of and tell your grandchildren about

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SPRING PEARL BARLEY AND SPINACH RISOTTO (V+) (V) (NF) (ChF)

Sometimes I LOVE eating crunchy, raw food with crisp, fresh flavours. And sometimes, when the nights are still a little bit colder, I need a nice, warm foodie-cuddle. That’s when I seek out warm, yummy comfort food. Nothing too heavy, you understand, but just the right balance between naughty and nice to put a big smile on my face. 

As I write this post, London is making a slow but steady transition into spring. And, with spinach so in season at the mo’ I just couldn’t think of a better time to make and share this wonderful recipe; my first savoury dish on the blog. Cool! I call it my lovely Spring Pearl Barley and Spinach Risotto, based on a recipe in the amazing River Cottage Veg Everyday Cookbook! 

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 PRETTY VEGAN PEAR CAKE (V+, ChF)

I have a go-to recipe, a one-size-fits-all-yet-it-still-comes-out-totally-fab-and-is-so-easy recipe; this vegan pear cake is essentially it. Of course, I make minor changes to suit my mood, to adapt to what’s in the cupboards and adjust to what’s in season, but in essence it’s the same basic, fabulous, easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy recipe. 

When I was taking the pictures of this cake for the blog, my son kept trying to bite into the cake. True story. He was so taken by its lovely aroma and yummy presentation. After a good 15 minutes of begging and some serious competition worthy foot stomping I gave in and cut him a slice…and another and…Ironically, I particularly like the pictures where the cake is actually cut, so am utterly grateful for his impatience! Counting my blessings.

Inspired by a recipe from Abel and Cole!

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CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES (V+) (P) (GF)(NF) (ChF) (GrF)

What makes for a good match? In a marriage I believe you need friendship, respect and good communication. But I also think personally, another key feature of a successful partnership is having a husband whose strengths help mitigate my weaknesses, compliment my personality and bring out the best in me. And today’s recipe is indeed like the perfect partnership – here you have two star ingredients that were destined to be together. On the one side you’ve got the deep, rich, bitter creaminess of dark chocolate and on the other you’ll find tangy, juicy, sweet and fresh strawberries…YUM! 

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