Veganuary 2019: Gousto Pecan, Sage & Vegan Cheese Risotto

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This was supplied with Danish blue cheese, which I substituted with Cheezly Edam Style vegan cheese. I find this one melts the best: even better than Mozarella Style. I wasn’t convinced by the supplied sage and if making this myself, I would substitute a different herb and possibly add dried apricots and substitute pine nuts for pecans. On the whole, apart from the sage, which I would definitely get rid of, this was a very good risotto – and now I know how to make one!

Veganuary 2019: Sainsbury’s Rainbow Veg Stew with Basil & Spinach Dumplings

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I have been enjoying some of the offerings from the new Sainsbury’s Love Your Veg range and as I’m also a sucker for dumplings, it was natural that this one would find its way into my shopping trolley sooner or later. I think I like the lentil cottage pie slightly better, but will be buying this again.

Gousto Simple Sticky Sausage, Apple & Root Veg Bake

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I ordered this meal from Gousto during Veganuary 2019 with the intention of cooking it with Iceland vegan sausages instead of the provided Cumberland sausages, however Stephen likes Cumberland sausages, so what I did was went out and bought more ingredients so that I could make this recipe twice. The picture in the oven shows the vegan version on the left and the Cumberland sausage version on the right. The other three pictures show only the vegan version.

We both enjoyed our respective versions of this recipe and this will definitely be cooked again in our household. Now that Veganuary is over, I might even do a version for myself with either poultry or beef sausages, as I don’t ever eat pork; however Stephen never eats poultry and doesn’t like beef sausages, so I will still be cooking this twice over! I may also do a vegan version again. I am keen to consume a significant number of plant-based meals on a regular basis.

Veganuary 2019: packet rice with olives and vegan cheese

Uncle Ben’s Golden Vegetable Rice with chopped black olives and grated vegan cheese

I wanted something quick to eat, so I microwaved a packet of vegetable rice and stirred in some sliced black olives and topped it with grated vegan cheese. Simple, quick and tasty!

Veganuary 2019: Gousto Chunky Roast Vegetables With Jewelled Couscous

Gousto Chunky Roast Vegetables With Jewelled Couscous

This was one of my less successful Gousto meals. It looks great here; and I enjoyed the first portion, but when I came to eat the second portion, I couldn’t finish the couscous. I now think that it was the amount of turmeric in the couscous that was at fault. Gousto like turmeric a lot and I have come to the conclusion that I only like it a little. It adds a great yellow colour, but the flavour just isn’t as good as the colour. I could recreate this, but I think I’d use ground coriander rather than ground turmeric in the couscous – and probably not in the quantity that Gousto seem to. It’s funny that Gousto put a warning with things like chilli flakes to go easy if you don’t like your food too spicy hot, but they never warn you about spices that don’t add heat to the food.

Veganuary 2019: Gousto Two-Lentil Dal & Spiced Aubergine with added home-made naan bread

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This two-lentil dal needed something more than what Gousto provided, so I went searching for a naan recipe I could make myself wthout using any dairy ingredients. I already had everything, including yeast, in my store cupboard, so I started a foray into yeast baking. The first naan I made was cooked in a pan on the hob and it broke as it went in, so I went looking for a different recipe the next day and found one which cooked under a grill. It only proved once and it puffed up during cooking. I think it might do better with a second prove. I also think I may have hit on how to cook pitta bread!

I wasn’t absolutely sure about the roast aubergine in this, but it was surprisingly good.

Veganuary 2019: Pasta, Flageolet beans & peaches

Pasta, Flagelet beans & pasta shells

This is a quick and tasty meal I enjoy from time to time. I cook some form of pasta, such as conchigli, heat canned flageolet beans and add some canned sliced peaches. I vary this with different forms of pasta or by substituting a different bean such as cannelini or borlotti. When I plate it up, I add some Jamaican Jerk seasoning or sometimes some Cajun seasoning.

If I’ve been overdoing it with the wrong sort of food, I find that this slides down easily and coats my stomach and eases it.

Veganuary 2019: Gousto Curried Cauliflower, Cashew & Potato Tray Bake

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Pretty good. I didn’t wilt the spinach enough on the first portion and I overtoasted some of the cashews. This did reheat, but not as successfully as some Gousto recipes. I also thought a serving of rice improved it.

Veganuary 2019: Couscous and salad

Couscous and salad

For lunch one day, I had some couscous with what seems to be cashews and sultanas added; served with Wensleydale-style vegan cheese with cranberries and an avocado. The avocado was getting pretty ripe and had to be used up or it would have been a science experiment within another day or two; but fortunately it was still good, if a little soft.

Veganuary 2019: Toad-in-the-Hole

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I would really like to eat Toad-in-the-hole, but I need a vegan batter for it – and for Veganuary, I wanted a totally vegan toad-in-the-hole using vegan sausages.

I’m afraid that this one went somewhat wrong: I found a recipe on a blog and tried to halve it and then decided that it wasn’t wet enough and probably overdid it with the additional liquid. My batter didn’t rise! I did eat it, but need more practice. The mashed potatoes (cooked and mashed myself) and the sweetcorn (from the freezer and microwaved) were better than the Toad-in-the-hole they accompanied.