Mushrooms, jacket potatoes, beans...with a twist!

So, for those of your who read right down to the last paragraph of this post on Saturday you'll have seen that my dad's '3 favourite foods were':

"Mushrooms

Jacket Potatoes 

Baked beans"

Pretty classic stuff... so how was I to turn these into some kind of special Father's Day meal....hmmm?

In the end it all came together with a twist to the tale... Jacket potato skins and juicy grilled mushrooms for stuffing with smoky baked beans on the side, complete with spicy 'cheesy' whipped mash and a big salad. The baked beans dish was inspired by this recipe from Susan at the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen, and the 'cheesy' mash inspired by Kathy's stuffed skins here at Healthy Happy Life.

Plus then there was a baked fruit custard dessert....cos I happen to know he loves custard too. I need to take some more photos of that as the light was fading! Recipe with you shortly ;-)

It was a great success! To top it all off I gave my dad a little package of dark chocolate (as he's also a dark chocolate lover) courtesy of the Real Food Source...yum!

Smoky apple baked beans

Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients:

2 onions- finely chopped
1 large red pepper-finely chopped
4 garlic cloves- crushed (I reduced the amount called for in original recipe as my dad is not a huge fan)
1 apple- finely chopped
1 ½ large cans canellini beans (or mixed beans)

sauce:
1 large tin tomatoes
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tbs molasses
A few drops of chipotle sauce to taste

Method:

Sliced or process the onion, peper, garlic and apple into small pieces. Saute the mixture for 5 mins until softening. Blend the sauce ingredients together in a seperate pan/blender and then add the the onion mix. Add the beans and stir through before cooking the mix for another 5 minutes.

In theory you could serve this mix as it is, but true to baked bean style I poured the mix into a pan and baked for approx 20 mins whilst preparing the remainder of the meal, I served it whilst the top was bubbling and beginning to form a golden skin at the edges.

Spicy cheesy whipped mash

Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients:

Approx 1 heaped cup cooked potato (middles of 4 potatoes)
2tbs hummus
2tbs nutritional yeast
2tbs salsa sauce
chipotle sauce to taste
¼ - ½ cup heated non-dairy milk to achieve desired consistency

For skins:
4 jacket potatoes- baked as usual
coconut oil
sea salt

Method:

Prepare the jacket poatoes in the oevn s usual. Alow to cool slightly before halving and scopping out the entres. Set centre aside. Generously cost the skins with coconut oil (or other oil) for a crispy skin and spinkle with salt. Place back in the oven for approx 20 minutes at 200C scooped side up, until golden. 

Meanwhile add the potato and remaining ingredients to a bowl and using a hand blender (I used my Thermomix throughout) blend until whippy and creamy, adding  little extra liquid as needed. If you use the potato whilst hot and add hot liquid the spicy mash should still be warm to serve.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Pure potato crisps...fat free!

I know some recipes are simple...but I think this one might beat the lot!

potato...slice...cook

Erm that's it. I'll be off then.

Not so fast. These crisps are a great alternative to regular crisps and chips that would otherwise find their way into the tub of salsa or hummus. I took this recipe from the Forks over Knives Cookbook I received as a Christmas present. It has a great number of recipes as well as the intro to a plant based lifestyle...amazingly (considering how many cook books I have) many of the recipes gave a new spin to things in ways I hadn't come across before, so lots for me to try. I won't talk about the book any further as this isn't intended to be a promotional post of any sort, simply a link back to the recipe itself.

I served the crisps with a bowl of soup, it was a variant of this recipe with the beans I had to hand at the time (black beans) hence it doesn't look quite so appetising as the original. Since there is no oil, the crisps don't 'crunch' in the same way that regular crisps or chips do, so please don't expect them to as you'll likely be a little dissapointed. I enjoyed them in their own right as they have a crisp yet soft quality all at the same time, and they are firm enough to scoop dip onto, or in my case, soup.

The crispsness and length of cooking time, does very much depend on how thinly you slice the potato, obviously the edges will crisp before the middle of the chip does. I would advise using a mandolin (or similar) so that you can get a thin uniform slice approx 1mm thick, I sliced mine by hand and they were less uniform and up to 2mm thick on average. 

Feel free to sprinkle a little seasoning if desired. I appreciate that microwaving a potato to this degree might not be considered theoptimal nutritional standpoint, and I would totally agree with you, but these chips have no oil, and no other additions...pure potato with a little seasoning. So as an alternative to a deep fried chip I think this is a pretty healthy option indeed. A day later I also tried oven baking these chips, this method also works well, just be sure to use a non stick liner so that the chips can be removed easily from the baking sheet.

Recipe: pure potato chips

Ingredients:

1 potato (or as many as you like to make a larger batch)
seasoning to taste (I used approx. 1/4 tsp mixed cajun seasoning)

Method:

Slice the potato thinly and evenly- the thinner the better (unless you are aiming for a softer chip). Wash the slices to remove the starchy coating and lightly dry with kitchen towel.

Lay the slices in a thin even layer on a non stick lined baking sheet (if baking), or on a microwaveable plate, season if desired and bake for approx 15-20 mins at 140C (lower temp for longer to prevent edges burning too quickly). Or for approx 10 mins in the microwave (checking twice to flip over). Timings will vary depending on thickness.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Hash Browns

When you think of hash browns you think of a full English breakfast (well I do!)  However neither of those things is typically healthy.

I now have to admit to a little guilty moment…. A few weeks ago on a lazy (ish) Sunday morning spent with a friend I fancied a proper cooked breakfast….not oats, not pancakes, but something more full on.  Time and experimentation did not factor into the equation on this particular occasion and I opted for potato waffles (they are vegan), anyone remember this picture on my Instagram at the time? (Note: this was my friends plate- I did not have that many sausages myself!!)

Ever since that day I told myself no more waffles…. I needed to make my own healthy equivalent. Oven baked hash browns were the obvious answer and they are a million time more satisfying than the waffles.  These little beauties are even baked not fried but still maintain a lovely crispness. The chia gel does all the work of an egg in terms of binding the potato mixture together and so they don’t fall apart too easily either.

I teamed mine with a single Linda McCartney sausage (I haven’t got round to making that part yet myself) and lots of tomatoes, mushrooms and beans.  All in all for a healthy ‘Full English’ (which filled me up till dinner) I think that is pretty good going!

Recipe: Hash Browns

akes approx. 8 hash browns

Ingredients

1 white onion very thinly sliced

2 large white potatoes grated

1 parsnip grated

3 tbs gram flour

¼ tsp salt

1 tbs olive oil

2 tbs flax or chia seed

1 tsp mixed seasoning of choice

Method

Grate the potatoes and squeeze out as much water as possible. Mix together with remaining ingredients until fully coated.

Form handful sized mounds and flatten onto a greased/lined baking sheet.

Bake at 180C for approx. 45 minutes until golden and crisp to the outside, flip a couple of times during baking. To increase the crispness lightly brush with a little olive when you flip the patties.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.
For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.