Christmas

Chestnuts (pre-roasted in the oven and shelled), 'wild' hazelnuts (from a local woods, shelled and frozen) and some stuffing to hold it together, possibly cooked in a shell of delicious sweet squash, makes a great meat replacement, spiced up with fried onions and herbs to add flavour, and a bit of gravy or white sauce. The stuffing is just as good made from couscous. Cranberry sauce goes well with squash (not pumpkin!)

good luck

chris

For my main course xmas day I am having home made filo parcel which spinach, feta, pine nuts and a thyme, lemon & honey dressing (I haven't eaten meat for 20+ years). As I don't eat meat I don't like products that look like meat and I love to cook. Seasons Greetings

I'm very impressed - I'm still a beginner veggie cook and was never exactly a domestic goddess beforehand 😉

Hopefully I will get more adventurous as the years go by!

I'm very impressed - I'm still a beginner veggie cook and was never exactly a domestic goddess beforehand 😉

Hopefully I will get more adventurous as the years go by!

Do you like aubergine/egg plant?

quick recipe cut aubergine in half lengthways, score inside, cook 3/4 minutues microwave high or until flesh is cooked and easy to scoop out the aubergine. Scoop into a bowl (keep aubergine shells).

Meantime cook some rice, add some vegetable, mix together with aubergine mixture (add seasoning to taste), pile back into the shells and if you eat cheese a couple of thin slices on top, pop back in microwave high for about 5 mins until all is hot (can bake in oven)

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veggie sausages, if you are near a Holland and Barrett see if they do Wicken Fen glamorgan sausages (I personally like these the best), you can grill or oven cook them. Other companies like supermarkets do their own version, but they tend to be more potato and not so nice

I don't do Christmas, but a favourite Solstice meal is the 'Layered Cashew and Mushroom Roast' in Sarah Brown's 'Vegetarian Kitchen'. It has an egg in it, but works well if that is left out (I used to substitute one and a half tablespoons soya flour, but now I just leave it out). It goes really well with potatoes and veg.

The books fron 1984 and out of print but, if anyone's interested, I don't mind writing it out.

Thanks Crowan - would you mind typing that recipe out? I love mushrooms and cashews so it sounds fab!

Hi,
here it is...
Layered Cashew and Mushroom Roast
Sarah Brown's Vegetarian Kitchen (1984)
(Recipe says it will serve 6 to 8. I would say 4 to 6.)
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
225g cashew nuts, ground
110g fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg (As I said, I have left this out with no ill effects)
3 medium parsnips, cooked and mashed
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
(If using dried herbs use half as much)
1 teaspoon yeast extract
150ml hot water or stock
salt and pepper
25g butter (I substitute oil)
225g mushrooms, chopped
butter or oil for greasing the tin
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 180oC
Heat the oil and fry the onion and garlic until soft. Mix the ground cashews and the breadcrumbs. Beat the egg and add to the dry ingredients. Mix in the parsnips and herbs. Add the fried onion and all the juices. Dissolve the yeast extract in the hot water or stock. Add to the mixture and season. If it is too dry (it can be if you’ve left out the egg), use a little more.
Melt the butter in a frying pan and sauté the chopped mushrooms until soft. Grease a 900g (2lb) loaf tin (or I line it with greaseproof paper), then press in half the mixture. Cover with the mushrooms and then with the rest of the mixture, so that the mushrooms are sandwiched between two layers of cashew and parsnip mixture. Cover with foil and bake for one hour. When cooked, let the loaf stand for 10 minutes before turning out.
Serve hot or cold.

I like this hot, with potatoes and vegetables, with a gravy type sauce – made from vegetable stock thickened with cornflour. If there is any left, it reheats well, although I like it sliced then grilled and eaten with salad.

It works with other types of nuts and other root vegetables. I quite like almonds and carrots, and I quite fancy, but haven’t yet tried, walnuts and celeriac.

I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks so much - that was quick! Looking forward to trying it out.