All That I'm Eating

Recipe ideas for budget meals, everyday cooking and a little indulgence. Travel inspiration and restaurant reviews too.

Carrot Falafel and Quick Pickled Onions

By 13 Comments

carrot falafel, pickled onions, cucumber and all the sides

I’ve tried to make falafel a few times before without much success; it seems to fall apart when I cook it. Experimenting with this falafel recipe, a bit more of this and a bit less of that, means that I’ve now ended up with a pretty sturdy recipe. These carrot falafel are really easy to make; everything gets blended together, and I’ve served them with all my favourite sides. Quick pickled onions will be appearing on everything from now on!

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 100g carrots, grated
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
  • Zest 1 lemon
  • 1/4 tsp chilli powder
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • Sesame seeds
  • Oil for frying

For the Pickled Onions read more

Runner Bean and Tomato Stew

By 14 Comments

runner bean and tomato stew with crusty bread

It’s bean season at the moment. There’s runner, French, broad and all manner of other beans popping up in the veg box, at the farmers’ markets and in friends’ gardens. I love a perfectly cooked and simply dressed bean salad; a little drizzle of oil, a squeeze of lemon and a little seasoning. However, from time to time it’s nice to do something different and this runner bean and tomato stew is a much slower way of cooking with green beans.

Ingredients

You will need (for four servings):

  • 1 onion, sliced
  • Olive oil for cooking
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp dried chilli
  • 8 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • Large handful runner beans, sliced into finger sized pieces (you can use other beans here, French beans would just need halving)
  • 2 tins borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
  • 150ml vegetable stock
  • Salt and pepper
  • Few sprigs fresh marjoram or oregano

Method

Get a large frying pan onto a low/medium heat, add a little oil and the onions and fry gently for 15-20 minutes until well softened and just starting to turn golden. read more

Jerk Carrots with Rice and Beans

By 9 Comments

Jerk seasoning has to be one of my favourites. No matter what time of year it is there’s always room for something to be cooked up with it; sticky jerk chicken in the autumn, a fiery casserole in the winter or when the new season arrives, jerk carrots. This recipe came out of a need to use up a whole load of carrots and I certainly didn’t want to make soup. I can see it working really well on the BBQ as a spicy veggie side in the coming weeks too. If you can get hold of new season spring carrots they are sweeter and smaller than carrots available later in the year and are ideal for this recipe. read more

Carrot, Chickpea and Harissa Soup

By 10 Comments

I meal plan. Only the dinners mind you. I’d like to think I was organised enough to plan fantastic breakfasts and fabulous lunches but I’d much rather have longer in bed each morning than fuss around with an avocado and quickly grab something easy for lunch in the week. However, there are consequences to this nonchalant attitude of mine. What if disaster strikes? What if, as I enjoy my chicken sandwich for lunch I realise that chicken is on the meal plan for that night? It doesn’t bear thinking about. So I don’t; I have a very simple way round this predicament instead. Make lunches vegan, and if not vegan, vegetarian. Hello Carrot, Chickpea and Harissa Soup. read more

Tomato, Butterbean and Spinach Pesto Soup

By 11 Comments

Sometimes I make something like a veggie stew or pasta sauce and realise that it could become a delicious soup with just a little extra water. That’s exactly how this Tomato, Butterbean and Spinach Pesto Soup came about. I had made it as a sauce for baking with gnocchi, similar to this recipe, and I thought it would make a great soup; something a bit different from a normal tomato soup. And I was right. Full of flavour, colour and easy to make from a few ingredients you probably already have in the cupboards. read more

Chipotle and Bean Soup

By 11 Comments

mixed bean, sweetcorn and chipotle chilli soup

I really struggle to know what to have for lunch sometimes. Usually I am scrambling round in the cupboards trying to find some sort of suitable sandwich filling but I do get terribly bored of sandwiches. If I’m lucky I’ll have some keptovers to warm up and I do pay a visit to a local independent café from time to time too. Well enough is enough. I have decided to batch cook and freeze a range of healthy, filling, vegan soups; one of which is this Chipotle and Bean Soup. So that I can grab whichever soup I fancy and not have to think about what’s on the meal plan for dinner I am making them vegan, stuffed full of veg and flavour packed. I hate to have the same thing for lunch and dinner you see! read more

Autumn Vegetable Minestrone

By 14 Comments

The weather has certainly changed, although I do consider November to technically be in autumn things have started to get much wintrier. With ice in the mornings, digging scarves and hats out of the drawers and the fire blazing it’s definitely the time of year for soup. The more filling and comforting the soup the better and my autumn vegetable minestrone is exactly that; a restorative bowl of loveliness. Filled with six different vegetables including beans to bulk it all out it’s simple, speedy, cheap and delicious. read more

Black Bean Quesadillas

By 17 Comments

I have made these black bean quesadillas a few times and I am always surprised how filling they are! They are deliciously full of black beans, spices and cheese and are really simple to make. You could add different beans, leftover chilli (or maybe leftover vegan chilli) and serve with your favourite dips. I love scooping up a big load of guacamole; but then I am a guacaholic. Sour cream, chilli sauce, salsa or whatever you like would be amazing on the side of these. One quesadilla each might not sound like a lot, but they are seriously filling. read more

Squash and Chickpea Tagine

By 16 Comments

This is actually surprisingly quick to make and I normally have some or most of these ingredients in the kitchen so it’s a great recipe to keep coming back to. My squash and chickpea tagine is a great way to use up some spices and a few tins from the cupboard. The fennel and paprika aren’t perhaps the most traditional tagine ingredients but I really think they add to the sweet squash and earthy chickpeas. If you roasted the squash before adding it I think it would be even tastier. Try and find apricots that aren’t completely dry, when they’re still a little soft they have a beautiful honeyed flavour. A few toasted flaked almonds on the top would give a lovely crunch to the dish. read more

Mexican Black Beans

By 10 Comments

Mexican Black Beans

I tried something similar to these Mexican black beans at a restaurant a few weeks ago. They were so tasty and I loved the frugality of them that I really wanted to try and make them at home. Attempt one tasted fine but the texture was all wrong, attempt two was an improvement but the spicing wasn’t quite right. By the third attempt I’d got it; tasty, slightly spicy, cheap and easy to make. Does it get much better?

Ingredients

You will need (for 2):

  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed £0.65
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed £0.10
  • 1 small chilli, halved £0.15
  • 150ml chicken stock (you could use vegetable stock to make these vegetarian or vegan) £0.30
  • ½ tsp ground cumin £0.05
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika £0.05
  • oil for cooking £0.10
  • salt and pepper £0.05
  • fresh coriander, chopped £0.30
  • Rice to serve £0.30

Total for two: £2.05

Method

Heat a little oil in a saucepan on a medium heat and add the garlic. Fry for a minute or so and don’t let the garlic catch. Add the chilli and spices and keep everything moving. read more

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