Easy Vegetarian Recipes Kitchen

  Need to take a plate ? But what to take .... Looking for a quick and easy snack to take for  Shared festive lunches  or to add to a  Barbeque meal ?   Crostini is  the perfect solution.  A plate of freshly topped crisp Crostini  colorful and mouthwatering will have people heading back for more and it doesn't need to cost a fortune to prepare either.  Once you prepare your Crostini they can sit there until you need them and them top them fast and easy with whatever you have in the pantry.   How to ?   Turn oven on to 190 Degrees on Bake while you prepare your slices.  Slice one or two French Sticks or Loaves thinly - how thin depends on how crisp you like your Crostini or how fast they will cook.  Make a few loaves at a time so you always some on hand.  Brush liberally with Olive Oil.  Rub bread with fresh garlic and add to the Olive Oil  *T ip: use oil that already has garlic added to make it easier or you can sprinkle with garlic salt before baking. 

  Superfast and quick to make - it's great for a dip, a salsa to add to patties and fritters or to serve with Pizza or Garlic bread.  Chop  tomatoes, banana into small cubes.    Add finely chopped mint, a splosh of good quality extra virgin olive oil and an equal amount of rice wine vinegar,  this could also be Japanese vinegar, apple cider vinegar or your choice.   Season with salt and pepper - both fresh ground and add a teaspoon of brown sugar.   Chilli is a good addition to give a bit of a kick but this is optional.  Great with a Pizza with hummus on it or with Crostini - see next post. 

Vegetarian Cheese Sausages  Made these last week and they were yummy.  We also discovered they are very adaptable - try substituting  and adding different ingredients -  mushrooms, tomato and onion , garlic, make curried "sausages"   add horseradish or sage and our fave so far is the addition of fennel  but pineapple or apple and sage are yum too.     Here' s the recipe:   150 grams breadcrumbs -  use a lighter bread as heavily grained bread will break up and crumble too much - I used wholemeal for these 150 grams hard cheese - grated  1 onion, finely chopped  1 Tablespoon of herbs - thyme, or sage or your own choice  1 teaspoon mustard 1 Egg 4 Tablespoons milk  Beat egg and milk  Add other ingredients  Form into rissoles or sausage shapes Roll in flour  Fry in olive oil until golden  Experiment in using different coatings - scrunched up cornflakes make them very crisp, or any kind of cereal or stuffing mix -  give them all

Scarlet O Hara Beetroot Smoothie This smoothie is made with  a wee bit of left over red cabbage salad  and some beetroot whizzed up in a blender then sipped on the deck whilst watching hens forage around and peer enviously over the fence at us . Use a blender or whizz like a Vitamix Blender with plenty of grunt to make short work of chunky veggies  

Fresh Stinging Nettles  Nettle Nipper Green Energy Smoothie Nettles are amazingly good for you but they also taste delicious and this Smoothie is a great way to try out Nettles and get your fix of added goodness at the same time. How to:   One large bunch of fresh Stinging Nettles - I used a strainer full for two Smoothies One Peach Apple Juice 1 Banana Handful of Almonds Scrummy green additions:  Celery, Lettuce or any greens  Put the whole lot in a blender like a Vitamix and whizz it all up until blended and sit back and enjoy 

Tasty living salad,  so colorful it was a feast before we even started to eat it and it tasted as good as it looked  Grated raw beets, red cabbage, carrot, some white cabbage and raisins but add your faves and a dressing - I used sesame oil and cider vinegar for this one and sprinkle seeds over like sunflower and toasted sesame seeds are great with it too.  I recommend a Mandoline vegetable shredder to quickly and evenly slice the veggies and get a plastic one with a V-Blade rather than an expensive stainless steel one and please use the handguard if you don't want some of your fingers added to the dish - then it wouldn't be truly vegetarian ! Get Your Mandoline Slicer here