Summer nights: The Joy of Seeds

I picked up a hankering for seeds from my best friend Heather. The taste of that seeded bread I couldn't get enough of in Berlin followed me right back to London, so that when I returned I realised I, like many before me, had finally discovered THE JOY OF SEEDS.

No, I am not Gillian McKeith incarnate, I just think seeds are amazing; they're little but they pack a punch. You can top off most meals with them and they'll add protein, vitamins, fibre and iron to your food without you realising they're there.

I've tried munching on all manner of seeds at my desk before and it's ended in what a stranger would think were drawers full of abandoned bird-feed.  However, I've found that by adding a handful of different seeds to my meals each day, I've begun to crave them and now miss anything that doesn't include a bit of seedy goodness. So if like me, you're not someone who's easily wooed by seeds at snack time, I suggest adding some to breads, salads, porridge, museli, flapjacks, roast dinner stuffing, burritos.... well, anywhere. Here's a few of my favourite seed-embracing recipes for summertime. Yes, they're super easy, but it's a start...

For another summer night dinner I made a giant couscous salad with sunflower seeds, which are a good source of vitamin E, protein, and minerals, and broccoli with sesame seeds, which are a great source of calcium, magnesium and iron. Along with these two recipes I served marinate aubergine, toasted wraps, salad leaves, beetroot hummus and homemade falafel.

Giant couscous salad with grated carrot, spinach, radish and sunflower seeds
Makes enough for 4

Ingredients
300g giant couscous
Olive oil
1 large carrot
Handful of washed spinach
Handful of washed radishes
Handful of sunflower seeds
Seasoning
Juice 1/2 lemon (optional)

Heat the giant couscous in a pan with a little olive oil, before pouring in around 500ml of boiling water. Allow to simmer for around five minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the mean time, grate the carrot, chop the spinach if it is a larger leaf and slice the radishes. Once the coucous is softer (it has a totally different consistency to regular couscous, so instead you're just tasting to see if it is no longer hard as opposed to fluffy), drain, allow to cool a little, and mix in a bowl with the vegetables and the seeds. Top off with some seasoning and the juice of half a lemon if you like it.

Broccoli, sesame seed and soy sauce salad
Makes enough for 4 as a side dish

Ingredients
One medium head of broccoli
1 tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp sesame seeds

Chop the broccoli into florets, and boil in salted water until just al dente. Drain, then back in the pan add the soy sauce and sesame seeds and heat for about 30 seconds, just so the flavours can mix at a high temperature.

Summer nights: Two tarts, two pestos, easy dinner

Here's two different tarts with two different pestos as a base. Plus a recipe for vegan potato salad which isn't too late to change your summer. This post is dedicated to a friend of mine who has served as inspiration to me over the years to follow my own heart, and who told me yesterday she is going to try a vegan diet- I hope it goes really well! Xx

Grilled courgette, pepper and onion tart with spinach and garlic pesto
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 medium courgette
1/2 white onion
2 small or 1 medium red pepper
2 handfuls of spinach
Olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped small
Juice 1/2 lemon
Seasoning
160g Jus-roll Puff Pastry (half a pack of pre-rolled pastry)
10g plain flour (to aid rolling out)
10ml soy milk

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line an oven tray or dish for your tart and set aside.

Chop and prepare the courgette, onion and pepper so they're ready to use as toppings and set to one side. Remember to keep things like courgettes thinly sliced so they will bake easily and won't weigh down the tart with juice.

Using a hand blender or mixer, blend the spinach, garlic cloves and olive oil into a fine paste, adding lemon juice and seasoning to taste. (This smells AMAZING when it's just been done. I nearly stopped cooking and just ate this for dinner.)

Roll out the puff pastry onto the tray (you may need a little plain flour to aid this, especially in hot weather!) and add on the spinach pesto straight on to the pastry. Then top with the vegetables, a little more seasoning or maybe some more olive oil. Brush the edges of the tart with soy milk so it will brown and place towards the top of the oven for around 20 minutes.

Tomato, onion and caper tart with basil pesto
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 ripe onions
1/2 white onion
2 tbsp capers
Handful of basil leaves and stalks
Olive oil
Seasoning
160g Jus-roll Puff Pastry (half a pack of pre-rolled pastry)
10g plain flour (to aid rolling out)
10ml soy milk

Follow the directions as above, using tomatoes and onions as the toppings. For the vegan pesto, blend the basil, olive oil and seasoning together, and add anything extra to taste. I left out the garlic as I thought there were enough flavours with the onion and capers- but by all means add it in if you feel like it.

Amelie's potato salad
Serves 4
Ingredients
200g potatoes, chopped into quarters and boiled
Seasoning
100ml soy cream
Handful of dill, chopped

Boil the potatoes in salted water and drain. Once they've cooled a little, mix in the soy cream and dill, and serve with plenty of salt and pepper.

Vegan fry ups take two: refried chipotle beans and herby spinach mushrooms

Vegan and fry-ups go together like- well, where to start? Hashbrowns and beans? Linda McCartney sausage sandwiches? Mushrooms with thyme and oregano? So here's my 2013 take on that bastion of weekend-ness- when two whole days stretch out wayyy into the distance and no-one needs to talk about things like commuting times and tube delays. And if you'd like to see the 2012 edition, just click here.

Although I guess refried beans might sound a little strange pre-midday, they're a key part of traditional Mexican breakfasts, just as baked beans are to English ones. Refried beans aren't actually fried twice, as the English use of the prefix suggests, but just 'well' or 'very' fried, as the Mexican Spanish use of 're' means when translating frijoles refritos, or 'well-fried beans'.

Makes enough for two or three

Ingredients
For the refried chipotle beans:
2 tins black eyed beans
1 onion chopped small
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp Sainsbury's chipotle paste (or use a chopped chipotle chili if you have one!)
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1 clove garlic, chopped
Vegetable or sunflower oil
Seasoning
-plus lemon/lime juice if you are so inclined!

For the herby mushrooms:
Few sprigs of thyme
Dried oregano
Spinach
Mushrooms, chopped into chunks
Seasoning
Olive oil if you have it, or vegetable or sunflower oil

...plus hashbrowns (Sainsbury's are vegan), Linda McCartney sausages, tomatoes  to grill, bread for toast and of course a Bloody Mary or five.

In a pan with a few glugs of oil, gently fry the onion, garlic and chili flakes, adding some seasoning and the chipotle paste. Once the onion has softened, add the two tins of beans with a little more oil and the bay leaf and allow to simmer.

(While this is happening get everything that needs cooking in the oven on the go, as the beans can take as long as you like.)

Once the beans are cooked through, turn off the heat of the pan and transfer 3/4 of the mix to a mixer, or if you're like me and don't have one, use a hand blender or potato masher in a bowl or jug to blend up the beans. Make sure you leave the bay leaf and a few beans in the pan, as I think these add to the final texture.

As soon as the beans are just blended, add back to the frying pan and cook on a low heat to allow all the flavours to intensify. Add a little more seasoning or even some lemon juice if you fancy it. This will happily fry away for about 10 more minutes.

In a large pan begin to fry the mushrooms with the thyme and oregano. I do them in batches with just a little olive oil to make them really dry, but cook to your preference. When the mushrooms are almost done, gently wilt the spinach over a pan of boiling water, and add to the mushrooms once they are off the heat.

Plate up with the refried beans (which are great on toast), grilled tomatoes, hashbrowns, sausages and whatever else you fancy. Bingo, le weekend.

Braised red cabbage, apples and onion

Maybe it's my Polish roots coming through, but to me, there are few flavours more perfect than salty cabbage and tangy vinegar, especially against comfort foods like mashed potato or sausages. For my first go at braised red cabbage, I adapted a Delia Smith recipe, making it vegan, shorter in preparation time, and without the need to bake it in an oven.

It might take a bit of time to do all the layers, but I found if you're roasting vegetables, once they are all in the oven and cooking away, this recipe can be done in the meantime while the rest cooks, and will keep in the fridge for about 3 days, and freeze even better. The sugar creates the most amazing caramalised burnt bit happening at the bottom of the pan, while the cabbage at the top is really pink and flavoured with onions and the spices.

Makes easily enough for four
Ingredients
Half a large red cabbage, or as much as you fancy, shredded to give long, thin strands
2 red onions, chopped small
2 red apples, no need to peel, but chop small
1 clove garlic chopped tiny
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
3 pinches brown sugar
Glugs of vegetable or sunflower oil
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper

Chose a pan with as high sides as possible, like a wok or I used a pressure cooker, as it needs a lid also. Pour a glug of oil in the bottom of the pan, to cover it and stop the sugar burning. Then cover the bottom with the shredded cabbage, a third of the apple, onion, garlic, nutmeg, cinnamon, and brown sugar and then season. Repeat this two more times or until you've used everything up. It doesn't need to be totally even, it will get stirred around no doubt- but it means all the flavours will combine in the most tasty way in the pan.

Finally, pour another glug of oil and the white wine vinegar over it all, and place a lid on top. Every ten minutes or so, come back and stir, making sure nothing is stuck to the bottom, but otherwise this can simmer away for half an hour, until everything else is done.

I had this with vegan mash, spinach, roasted carrots, parsnips, onions, and Linda McCartney sausages and I would do it ALLLLLLL AGAIN.

The Vegan Brunch Holy Trinity

Three is the magic number...

If you're not feeling a fry-up or the fruit bowl is looking a little scarce, these little Antipasti-style dishes wrapped in tortillas are the perfect way to see in a Saturday morning. Each of these dishes also happens to be chock-a-block full of goodness to send you on your way if you're feeling the effects of the nigh before. Your plate will be full of protein from the chickpeas and mushrooms and iron from the spinach. Not to mention the potassium in the avocado will help fight fatigue, depression, and work as an all-round nutrient booster. Basically it's a no-brainer.

For this time around I just fried mushrooms and garlic and added spinach at the end. Chopped tomato, and avocado, added salt, pepper and olive oil. After a delve through the fridge I found a pack of M&S chickpea and sweet potato salad, which I added a whole tin of chickpeas to, so it would go a little further when shared.

You could add salad or cucumber slices- or anything else you have vying for attention in the fridge. But most importantly, grab the hummus and maybe some limes, and find that sun!