About Me

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Back in the 80s, I wrote a book called "Voyaging on a Small Income", which was published and sold astonishingly well. It’s become almost a “classic” and is probably why you’ve found this site! I’ve been living aboard and sailing since the 70s. Nine different boats have been home, sometimes for several months, sometimes for many years. I love the way of life, the small footprint and being close to Nature. I’m a great fan of junk rig and having extensive experience with both gaff and bermudian rig, I wouldn’t have any other sail on my boat. It’s ideal as a voyaging rig, but also perfect for the coastal sailing that I now do. I’d rather stay in New Zealand, not having to keep saying goodbye to friends, than go voyaging, these days. Between 2015 and 2021, I built the 26ft "FanShi", the boat I now call home. For the last 45 years or so, my diet of choice has been vegetarian and is now almost vegan. I love cooking and particularly enjoy having only myself to please. I am combining all these interests (apart, perhaps, from junk rig!) in this blog. I hope you enjoy it. I also have other blogs: www.anniehill.blogspot.com and http://fanshiwanderingandwondering.wordpress.com
Showing posts with label Walnuts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Walnuts. Show all posts

31 December 2024

A Christmas Table

To date, I've pretty much followed my plan of making this blog a version of my draft book,  The Voyagnig Vegetarian.  However, I wonder how many of the two or three readers who have looked at this blog, have even opened the pages under "Topics for Voyaging Vegetarians" and so I've decided to do something totally different: write what is really a blog post.


 

Christmas!  Some people love it, some people loathe it, some are quite indifferent.  I have very mixed feelings about it: I love the memories of Christmas past spent with my family, before most of them died.  I like that it's a special day and it's a fine excuse to buy myself something a little bit special and call it a Christmas present.  However, partly because I adored our own family rituals, I don't particularly like joining other people for Christmas. Obviously they do things their own way and to be honest, it's one day of the year when I really don't want to accommodate others.  Add to this the fact that I am a vegetarian, who finds the sight and smell of meat  offputting; that I'm used to dining quite late; that I can think of few things worse on a hot day, than a roast dinner or any heavy meal; that I dislike sweet puddings and prefer to avoid the giving of unwanted presents, and you can see that I am anyway, a far from ideal guest.  

Fortunately, I live on a boat, so a day or so before Christmas, I can sail away to an unpopular anchorage which I am likely to have more or less to myself and be fairly sure that no-one will miss me.  The anchorages are often very pretty, but have a very poor mobile phone signal which for many people makes them a bad choice at this time of the year, when they want to talk to family and friends.

Once happily anchored, forecast checked once more, I spend several pleasant hours preparing my own Christmas feast.  For the past couple of years, this has been what we used to call a 'buffet', and which now appears to be called a 'grazing table', ideal for idling away a hot summer's afternoon and evening.  For anyone interested in doing likewise, I am offering this year's spread for inspiration.

So what did I have? I  made seeded-bread rolls, and to go with them prepared two pâtés:

The first one is the variation on the lentil and mushroom pâté, where walnuts are used instead of the mushrooms.  I love this variation: indeed, I'm not sure that I don't prefer it to the mushroom version.  I had some fresh sage leaves, which I fried until they were crisp, and used to decorate it. It goes well with bread or crackers, but I also found it delicious wrapped in a lettuce leaf.

I made a lot of this pâté and finished the last of it off, by watering it down and serving it with pasta.  It was very good!

The second pâté I made is the really rich and luxurious mushroom and sunflower seed one, which I feel is on a par with any made from meat. 

It being Christmas, I had a generous hand with the brandy and added what I like to think was an authentic touch, by melting vegan ghee over the top of it.  Again, it was good with bread, crackers or wrapped in a lettuce leaf.  Incidentally, both of these pâtés keep for several days without refrigeration, even with the hot weather we had over Christmas.  There is no difficulty on my part, eating them for breakfast, either.

Any grazing table worth its name has to include hummus, of course.  I like to make mine by squashing the peas with a pestle, rather than blending them really smooth.  

I much prefer a bit of texture, personally and I also like to include plenty of cumin in the mix.  This year I added a drizzle of chilli oil, from the chilli peppers I preserved earlier in the year.  It added a delightful bit of zing.  Olive oil over the top stops it from drying out and adds richness to the flavour and texture.  Again, the hummus is great with bread, crackers or wrapped in lettuce.  This also keeps for several days without refrigeration - if it gets the chance.

My final creation was to make samosas.  I have just realised that, thus far, I haven't included a recipe for these.  As I have a very poor signal here (still in a deserte anchorage) and am pushing my luck writing this, I shall have to leave it for another day.  The recipe I used is made from smashed potatoes and freeze-dried peas.  A lot of people mash the potaoes, but again, I prefer to have some texture.

Additional food to browse on included: some fancy, truffle-flavoured crisps (although, I have to confess, I think I prefer simple, plain salted!), baby plum tomatoes, broccoli florets, baby carrots, the aforementioned lettuce and crackers, along with a bowl of vegan yoghurt, cherries and fresh dates.  Although I am largely vegan, for once I bought some locally-made cheese: a Gouda type.  Generally speaking, I avoid cheese because of the horrible lives that dairy cattle have, and the appalling way in which the unwanted calves are treated.  However, the Mahoe cheese comes from a farm that looks like something out of a children's book, with cows and a big bull grazing peacefully in the fields, the driveway lined with small paddocks full of pigs and piglets, pottering around in the sunshine.  If only all cheese were produced in such an animal-friendly setting ...

As you will see, all this lovely food was washed down with good wine and I very much enjoyed browsing and sipping - and reading the odd chapter of the new Richard Osman book I had bought for myself!  Perhaps, unsurprisingly, there was quite a lot left over, but it's all gone now, except for some of the cheese.  I can quite understand that most people don't want to spend Christmas on their own, but this grazing table also works will wit a cabin full of guests: we had a similar spread a couple of Christmases ago, with good friends on board.  To my mind, it's a far better choice in hot weather, than a sit-down, cooked meal.


21 April 2024

Broccoli sauce with walnuts and lemon



Blender alert (see Note)

This creamy broccoli sauce is perfect for pasta, and so easy to make. Whizzed together with walnuts and seasonings, it is both surprisingly satisfying and creamy. The first time I cooked it, my reaction was that it was hard to believe that it was dairy free.  Broccoli is by no means a voyaging vegetable, because it keeps so poorly, but it is readily available in many places. This recipe is a particularly good way of using up broccoli, when has started to turn yellow and it's great if you haven't been able to use up the stalk.


I like to serve it with spaghetti, but I think it would go well with most varieties of pasta.
 
Serves 2 
 
Ingredients
 
1/2 broccoli
1/3 cup walnuts
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp onion powder
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp nutritionalyeast
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
 
Instructions:
  • Add about half a cup of water to a saucepan and bring it to the boil.
  • Cut the broccoli into florets, and cut off the woody end. Peel the thick skin from the stalk and slice the stalk. (You can use a peeler, if you wish, but I find that you can loosen the skin from the base of the stalk and simply tear it off with your knife blade.) Boil the broccoli and stalk for 4-5 minutes until just soft.
  • Remove from the pan, reserving the cooking water, and tip it into a blender or food processor.
  • Add the walnuts, garlic, onion powder, lemon and olive oil to the blender with the broccoli and whizz them together until they form a smooth paste.
  • Season generously with salt and pepper, then add a little of the cooking water, whizz again, and continue adding more water until it reaches a sauce-like consistency.  Check the seasoning, once the sauce is the thickness you want..
  • In the meantime, cook your pasta of choice according to the instructions on the package. You can use some of the pasta water in the sauce to thin it to the correct consistency, if necessary.
Serve the sauce piping hot with the pasta, with more black pepper ground over it.
 
Note:
  • If you don’t have a blender, you can still make this into a delicious sauce, but of course it won’t be as creamy.
Variations:
  • Leave out the salt and/or lemon juice and add some salted lemon at the blender stage.
  • Add freshly-grated nutmeg just before serving.
  • instead of blending in the walnuts, chop them, to add additional texture to the sauce.
  • Instead of using onion powder, chop a small onion and cook it with the broccoli.
  • Rather than using this as a pasta sauce, pour it over vegetables or any main course dish.

01 April 2023

Lentil and mushroom pâté


 
 
I’ve adapted this recipe from one of Rose Elliot’s creations. Most people are pleasantly surprised at the flavour and after a tentative spoonful, come back greedily for more. In fact, I like it so much that I usually make double the amount in the hope of having some left over the next day. All too often, I don’t!

Serves 4
 
1/2 cup whole lentils
1 cup water
4 button mushrooms
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp butter OR olive oil
1 tsp green peppercorns
1/2 tsp tarragon
1/4 tsp dill or fennel seed
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt
parsley 

Method:
  • Cook the lentils for 12 minutes in the pressure cooker and allow the pressure to reduce naturally. Beat them vigorously with a cook’s spoon until they have become a purée.
  • Meanwhile melt the butter in a small saucepan. If you have no butter, use olive oil, but the butter gives a richer flavour. 
  • Dice the mushrooms and garlic and cook for a few minutes, until they’re softened.
  • Add these to the lentils and mix well.
  • Crush the peppercorns in a mortar or with the back of a spoon. Add to the lentil mixture, along with the herbs and lemon juice. Mix again and add salt to taste.
  • Scrape into a crockery bowl, smooth over the top and garnish with some parsley, if you have such a thing.
Variations:
  • For an elegant presentation, pour a little melted butter over the pâté.
  • If you have no mushrooms, add 1/4 cup chopped or ground walnuts, which work surprisingly well.
  • Use any fresh herbs instead of the dried, if you have them.

Mushroom and sunflower seed pâté

 

 
This is truly delicious and certainly good enough for a special occasion.  It's also inexpensive, keeps several days in a covered bowl, without refrigeration and leftovers go well in a sandwich. They can also be thinned with a little water, milk or wine to make a great pasta sauce.

Serves 4
 
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 onion, diced
3-6 cloves garlic (depending on size), minced
2 cups (200 g) mushrooms, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
2 tbsp soy sauce
salt to taste
water as needed for blending

Method:
  • Toast the sunflower seeds in a frying pan, over a medium high heat until they are golden brown. Stir frequently. Set aside.
  • In the same pan, heat the olive oil and then add the onion and fry for a couple of minutes until it's starting to turn translucent.
  • Add the garlic, mushrooms, pepper and herbs.
  • Continue to fry until the mushrooms have shrunk down and their liquid has evaporated. If the mushrooms are a bit dry, add a splash of water (or wine) to start them off
  • Remove from the heat, and stir in the soy sauce 
  • When the seeds and mushroom mixture have cooled down enough, combine them in a blender. Blend whilst gradually adding a splash of water until you have a spreadable uniform texture. Scrape down the sides as needed The amount of water you need will vary, so start off slowly. If you have a high speed blender, you may not need to add any.
  • Add salt to taste and blend once again before serving.
Variations:
  • Add extra coarsely-cracked pepper 
  • Add Dijon mustard 
  • As with traditional liver pâté, this is quite strongly seasoned with thyme.  If you're not fond of that herb, you might want to add the herbs at the end and taste as you go.  
  • Add sherry or brandy to deglaze the pan 
  • Use deodorised coconut oil instead of olive oil for a richer texture. 
  • Make ‛butter’ to pour over the top with deodorised coconut oil, a touch of turmeric and a pinch of salt. 
  • Use toasted walnuts instead of sunflower seeds.
  • Try the pâté with different types of mushrooms.