Thai New Year + Vegan Lunch Recipes

Today marks the start of the Thai New Year *13th April - 15th* and to celebrate, I'm going to be talking about easy cooking kits, food and quick and easy thai inspired lunch ideas. I'm a vegetarian (of almost 12 years now, I can't believe it myself!) so the two lunch idea recipes in this post are not only suitable for vegetarians but they are both suitable for vegans too.

I was very kindly sent a range of products and kits from Thai Taste and I was excited to try the products and see what recipes I could come up with. I received:

- Thai Taste Sweet Chilli Sauce
- Thai Taste Coconut Milk
- Thai Taste East Thai Green Curry Kit
- Thai Taste Easy Thai Red Curry Kit
- Thai Taste Sticky Rice
- Thai Taste Rice Noodles

I haven't tried anything from this brand or cooked specifically Thai food before until I received these products. I love the packaging, there is a great range of products to choose from, all of the products are widely available and I think the prices are really reasonable, especially the kits at only £2.29!

Rice noodles with mushrooms and carrot noodles in a creamy coconut, chill and tarragon sauce

Firstly, if you know me in 'real life' then you will know that I adore pasta and noodles so the rice noodles was the first product I received that I wanted to try. I haven't tried rice noodles before so I didn't know what the texture would be like but I ended up loving them!

I used my spiraliser to make some carrot 'noodles' and fried them along with garlic and mushrooms in toasted sesame oil. To make the sauce I use the coconut milk I received; I added light soy sauce, chilli flakes, taragon and...crunchy peanut butter, stick with me here. I adore Thai peanut noodle type recipes and I always try and make me own versions of recipes. You don't taste peanut butter but it adds sweetness and a nutty flavour to the sauce which if you haven't tried it, I'd definitely recommend it.

The noodle texture is different to 'normal' noodles that I'm used to and they won't be for everyone but I really liked them especially within the slightly spicy, tarragon and coconut sauce. I adore tarragon with coconut milk and chilli! This improvised recipe and lunch idea was so yummy, filling and really quick and easy to make; I will definitely be making this again!

 Thai sticky rice with vegan Quorn pieces, green beans, carrots and coconut milk

As with the previous lunch idea, I also haven't cooked with Thai sticky rice before! The rice cooks a little differently to 'normal' rice but it is a bit quicker to cook which is always a plus. I started by lightly frying green beans, carrots, garlic, ginger and mushrooms in toasted sesame oil *I love toasted sesame oil, if you couldn't tell already*. Half way through cooking, I added the coconut milk, chilli flakes, tarragon and Quorn vegan pieces - yes, Quorn have launched a range of vegan products!

I love the Quorn vegan products I've tried and they work well with so many recipes, this one included. It's a really tasty lunch idea, the rice is obviously different but I like it and it makes a really filling lunch which is something I always look for as I tend to snack throughout the day but more filling lunch ideas help with that.

Overall, I'm really happy with the products I have tried from Thai Tastes, I only used the rice noodles, coconut milk and sticky rice for these lunch ideas but I will have reviews of the Thai curry kits on my Vegetarian Food Blog soon so stay tuned for those reviews!

What do you think of my Thai inspired lunch ideas? Have you tried any products from Thai Tastes? 

Read More

Healthy Spring Recipe Ideas

The first week of spring has been so sunny and I love it! As well as autumn, spring is one of my favourite seasons as the lighter evenings are amazing *especially for bloggers!* and when spring comes around I tend to eat much healthier. I've been a vegetarian for almost 12 years so finding new spring recipes can be a little difficult but here are two of my current favourite recipes that are super healthy, delicious and so easy to make! I think these recipes would be great for the upcoming bank holiday, check out the Tesco Direct website for great bank holiday deals!

Green Vegetable, White Stilton & Dill Quiche 

Until a week or so ago, I hadn't made a quiche before but I've been obsessed with this one as it is so light, fresh and healthy but delicious. I used spinach, broccoli and asparagus in this quiche as well as white stilton and dill but you can use which ever cheese and herbs you want - I just prefer these recently and they are both very light/spring like to me.

To be honest, I make this up every time, it changes with whatever needs using up or whatever I want to use that day. I don't use specific measurements apart from that I use just over half a pack of pre-made shortcrust pastry (I always make my own pastry but this is just so much easier and quicker) and I use three eggs per quiche so it will set.

1. Leave the pastry out of the fridge for half an hour so it can reach room temperature (or put it in the microwave for 5-8 seconds but no longer than that). Chop up the broccoli, asparagus, spinach, herbs and cheese - make everything fairly small/flat or it will be too big for the tart/quiche tin. I don't cook the vegetables in this recipe prior to baking the quiche in the oven but you could if you wanted although they might end up too soft/mushy.

2. Roll out the pastry onto a floured surface into a circle big enough to cover the tin and to cover the sides too. I had only just enough pastry so a little over half a packet will be perfect for a shallow tart tin like the one I used. Grease the tin lightly and lay over the pastry, pressing it to the base and sides. Prick the pastry base with a fork. You don't need to blind bake the pastry.

3. Place your vegetables onto the uncooked pastry where you want them.

4. Combine three medium eggs and single cream with garlic, herbs and salt/pepper and mix well so you have enough mixture to almost cover all of the vegetables - it's better if you don't fully cover everything as I think it looks better.

5. Gently pour the egg/cream mixture over the vegetables and top with whatever cheese you want. Don't over fill as it will spill out over the edges as it bubbles up and cooks in the oven. If you need to add more liquid, then add a little extra cream or milk.

6. Bake at 200 degrees celsius (fan ovens) for about 30-35 minutes. Turn half way through the cooking time so the quiche is baked as evenly as possible. To prevent the uncovered vegetables from catching, cover lightly with tin foil while baking. It will be baked when there is no wobble in the quiche. Allow to cool slightly before serving, it would be great with a fresh rocket, lettuce and lemon salad.

Vegan Spinach Pesto Penne 

I have been referred to by my family, for all of my life, as the 'pasta queen'. I adore pasta, I eat it pretty much constantly so there isn't a vegetarian pasta combination that I haven't tried. However, last year when I had a period of being vegan, I came across a new idea (cashew cream) which I adapted and loved. Creamy, spinach pesto pasta with no dairy in sight! Although if you wanted to add cheese you could with vegan cheese or vegetarian parmesan cheese.

As with the previous recipe, I don't have specific measurements as neither recipes are from books, they are just mash ups of ideas and they are always changing to make something new. The rough measurements will make enough for two or just one Heather...

1. Soak 1/4 cup of cashew nuts and a small handful of pine nuts in a mug full of hot vegetable stock (check the packet to make sure it's vegan as some contain milk) for about two hours, stirring every so often.

2. Cook whatever pasta you want and while it is cooking, add the now cool cashew nut/stock mixture to a food processor - make sure it is fully cool. I use my NutriBullet as it makes the pesto sauce incredibly smooth! So I'd definitely recommend using a NutriBullet or it won't be as good/creamy. Add a good handful or two of spinach, garlic, salt/pepper and a lot of basil to the NutriBullet along with half a teaspoon of nutritional yeast to make it slightly cheesy but this is optional.

3. Blended everything in the NutriBullet for blasts of ten seconds until the mixture is completely smooth. At this point you can adjust the ingredients, I usually add more garlic and basil; also sometimes I add cornstarch dissolved in a tiny amount of water to thicken it later.

4. Drain the pasta when al dente and add the pesto sauce to the pan to heat through slightly. Add the pasta to the sauce and that's it! It's so easy but so delicious and very creamy even though it doesn't contain dairy. It is very filing and very healthy! This is a sponsored post.

What do you think of my healthy, spring recipes? Will you try and make them? What are your favourite spring inspired recipes? 

Read More