What do we want? We want PIE.......

When do we want it?

NOW! OK so this wasn't the cries of my Salad overdosed family but they wanted something good and hearty and by gads they were going to get it! Served with Salad of course. In all honesty this isn't really a Pie. It is a Tart. But there's something about saying "I made a Pie" that deeply satisfies me where as saying "I made a Tart" just doesn't cut it. So I shall name this Tarty Pie. It's a Pie with it's summer wardrobe on - i.e no top. Or a skimpy tarty little top at that. I was inspired to make this from a little book called - 101 Veggie Dishes but that recipe called for Feta Cheese - YUK! So in true heathen vegan style - I completely re-worked it and me and my family were totally bowled over by it's deliciousness. You shall be too. Ingredients serves 4 2 tablespoons Olive Oil 2 large yellow Onions, thinly sliced half teaspoon Salt 1 tablespoon Demerera Sugar 1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar Sheet of ready made Puff Pastry 4 Sundried Tomatoes in Olive Oil, drained a little bit 8 Black Olives, sliced Fresh Basil to garnish Method Preheat your oven to 200ºC or 390F. Heat the Olive Oil in a frying pan and add the Onions along with a teaspoon of Salt. Fry gently for 10-15 minutes until the Onions are caramelised. Add the Sugar and stir then add the Balsamic Vinegar and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring all the time. Roll out the Pastry and use it to line a rectangle dish 6 inches by 10 inches or there abouts. Chop the excess Pastry off so as the crust is only about an inch and a half high. Of course if you have a swiss roll tin then this would be even better to use. Cover the base of the Pastry with the Onion mixture, scatter over the Sundried Tomatoes and Black Olives and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Scatter over the Basil Leaves and serve.

served with Patatas Bravas (recipe to come soon) and fresh Corn Salad

GO VEGAN!

Kiwi Adventures

I had recently bought a HUGE tray of Kiwi fruit from the Supermarket because I do like a good kiwi. I had been having one every day as a snack but realised today that the remaining four would need to be used up pronto. So I thought I'd make Kiwi Jelly. Why not? No good reason I could think of. Not even not having a jelly mold wasn't enough to dissuade me. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. It's not very sweet (you might want to add some sugar if you like sweet jelly) it is clean and fresh tasting and would be superb after any meal - to...ya know...clean the palate and all that.

Ingredients 1.5 Tablespoons Agar Agar Flakes Half Cup Boiling water 4 Kiwis, peeled Tblsp Maple Syrup 1 Cup Bottled Water (or filtered - whatever you have) The easiest way to peel a Kiwi (giggle) is to cut the knobbly end of and using a vegetable peeler peel downwards from the cut off end. Peel all 4 Kiwi's and slice 5 or 6 slices to line your jelly mold with later, set them aside and place the rest of the fruit in the blender. Blitz for 3 or 4 mins until smooth. Scoop out all the pulp and place in a mixing bowl. Take the cup of cold water and put it in the blender - swilling round to get all the last pulpy bits up. Pour that into the mixing bowl with the pulp and stir. Add the Maple Syrup and stir again. Place the Agar Agar in a saucepan, add the boiling water and stir continuously for 3 mins. Add to the mixing bowl with the fruit pulp and stir well. Line a jelly mold (I used a big pudding dish) with the kiwi slices you reserved earlier. One on the flat bottom and the others round the edges. Pour in the jelly mix and refrigerate. I left mine in the fridge for 3 hours. Lunch was some Besto Pesto tossed with some pasta. Simple but delicious. Dinner was pizza with tomato, olive and more Besto Pesto. I tell ya, whilst my taste buds will lament when the Basil has all gone from my garden, my waist line will, at least be grateful. This stuff is addictive.