Vegetarian Chilli

...with Veganuary well and truly with us and after Christmas indulgences we are all ready to tuck into some tasty, spicy veggie dishes.

We were given this whilst visiting family who tried it during Veganuary last year and some of us didn't realise it was veggie! You can make a big pot to last a few meals, you can freeze it and its easy on the budget.

Eat it with wholemeal rice & Greek plain yoghurt with a green salad or put into tortilla wraps (wholemeal) with sour cream, salsa and guacamole with melted cheese. Or with tortilla chips....

I love adding coffee into chilli it gives the dish a new depth of flavour - and there's not a carrot in sight!

Vegetarian Chilli

Serves 6

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions (diced)

1 tbsp fajita seasoning

4 cloves garlic (crushed)

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 x 400g kidney beans

1 x 400g black beans

1 x 250g pouch of pre-cooked lentils

1 x 400g chopped tomatoes

1 green chilli chopped

1 tbsp instant coffee

1 tbsp instant yeast

1 tbsp brown sugar

200ml boiling water

1 tsp salt & ground pepper

Coriander to serve

1. Heat oil and add the chopped onion

2. Add the fajita seasoning and coat the onions and fry on a medium heat for a few minutes

3. Add the garlic, cinnamon & paprika– stir thoroughly

4. Add the beans, lentils and chilli, coffee, yeast and sugar

5. Add the hot water and season well

6. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20-25 minutes

7. Serve with plain yoghurt, rice & sprinkled with coriander

According to a study by Oxford University if we all were to switch to diets that rely less on meat and more on fruit & vegetables greenhouse gases could be cut by two thirds!

Loving Black Beans - they can be added to anything....for nutrition for flavour and for budgets...spaghetti bolognaise/curry/cottage or shepherds pie/stews...

Linzer Biscuits

...The 6-12 year old cooks LOVED making these "jammie dodgers"...Austrian style Christmas biscuits last year in our classes.

The toasted hazelnuts give them a rich flavour and cutting out the dough shapes is great fun.

You can cut them into any shape...a star or circle (for a Christmas bauble) or a Christmas tree or a snowman or angel shape!

The little cut out on the top biscuit which shows the jam can be any shape too; - a piece of holly, a star or a mini Christmas tree. 

Thanks to Nigella for introducing us to these amazing cookies through her 'Cook, Eat, Repeat' book and T.V. series that got us through the lockdown of December 2020, I have adapted her recipe below;

Austrian Christmas Biscuits - Linzer Cookies

Makes 22 cookies (sandwiches)

125g sugar

200g unsalted butter (soft)

100g skinned toasted hazelnuts or ground almonds (at whatever ratio suits – 60% ground almonds/40% ground hazelnuts works well)

300g plain flour

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp fine sea sat

1 large egg (room temp)

1 large egg yoke at room temp

Icing sugar

Redcurrant Jelly (60ml)

Raspberry Jam (60ml)

1. Grind the toasted hazelnuts in a food processor until you have fine sand.

2. Cream butter and sugar together

3. Add the nuts, sieved flour, cinnamon and salt

4. Separately, whisk together the whole egg and egg yolk

5. Then gradually add to the butter mixture

6. Cover with clingfilm and rest for an hour in the fridge

7. Take out and allow to stand for 15 minutes

8. Roll out with not too much flour and fairly quickly and use a 6 cm cookie cutter

9. Cut out a shape in the middle of half of them using a small cookie cutter, bottle top or knife

10. Bake for 9-10 minutes at 180/160 F until they are just lightly golden at the edges (but they will still be pale)

11. When cool make the sandwiched biscuits by mixing the jelly and jam spreading it in the middle and then once sandwiched together sprinkle with icing sugar.

Any jam can be used; - cranberry/blackcurrant/cherry/strawberry

Add some orange zest to the mixture to add a Christmassy orange flavour, it goes particularly well with the hazelnuts (and cranberry jam)

Rocky Road

...Need I say more ? With the darker, colder nights and mornings, the busyness of the longest school term and the run-up to Christmas we all need a little comfort food, a little sweetness to ease the rush and so why not prepare some rocky road...

No oven is needed - just a saucepan and you can freeze it too          
 (cut it up in squares before you do)

Use a sheet of greaseproof paper over the tray to set the rocky road in to easily access it! 

I try and make this Rocky Road a little healthier (!) and crunchier and tastier by adding raisins, sunflower & pumpkins seeds....

Rocky Road

Enough to fill a small take-away foil container

3 portions

2 digestives biscuits

2 rich tea biscuits

1 ginger biscuit

2 tsp. marshmallows

2 tsp. each of sunflower and pumpkin seeds

1 tsp. raisins

Syrup – 1 tbsp.

Unsalted butter – 30g

Cooking milk chocolate – 45g

(Children prefer milk chocolate but you can use dark cooking chocolate if you prefer)

Decorations – sprinkles/edible stars/silver & gold balls and/or sprinkle of sieved icing sugar

1. Bash the biscuits in a small plastic bag with a rolling pin until either fine pieces or chunky pieces - as you wish!

2. Add the pumpkin & sunflower seeds & raisins

3. Melt gently the syrup, unsalted butter and chocolate

4. Mix into the dry ingredients thoroughly and carefully

5. When the chocolate has cooled a bit add the marshmallows

6. Put into a tray on greaseproof paper and flatten with the back of a spoon

7. Decorate with sprinkles/edible stars/silver & gold balls or sprinkle with sieved icing sugar

8. Chill in fridge (or freezer if in a rush)

Decorate with a mixture of: edible silver & gold edible spray/chopped hazelnuts/squiggles of white melted chocolate

Give the Rocky Road a sweeter feel by adding extra chocolates; Revels/Smarties/Broken pieces of Crunchie/M&M's/Broken Mint or Orange Matchmakers

Give the Rocky Road a Christmassy feel by adding in 1 tsp of cranberries and pieces of honeycomb. 

Give the Rocky Road a nutty feel by adding roasted & chopped hazelnuts, flaked almonds and topped with partly crushed pistachios