Category Archives: dill

Baked tofu and bean balls

Posted on by

These balls are ideal for either Loinfruits or as party finger food. They bake to a lovely dark golden colour. To ensure that they were easy to remove from the tray once cooked The VegHead cooked a batch in a large muffin (or “cup cake”) tray – and used a load of the happy little paper cup cake whats-its. The Loinfruit saw the uncooked balls sitting in the gaily coloured trays before they went into the oven and there was a near riot in the kitchen ….

“Look! It’s cakes for dinner!” , said The Loinfruit
“Oh no it is!”, said the Nasty Ogre, cruelly crushing their happiness *

Ingredients:

  • 1 block of medium tofu
  • 1 cup of giant Baked Beans
  • 2 slices of bread, finely crumbed
  • 1/3 cup of cashews, finely crushed
  • 1/3 cup of sunflower seeds, finely crushed
  • 1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh dill
  • 1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons of light tahini
  • 1 tablespoon of tamari
  • pepper to taste

To do:

  • Mash everything together to an even mixture
  • If too wet, crumb another slice of bread and mix through thoroughly
  • Form into firm balls of approximately 5cm diameter, place into prepared paper cups
  • Bake in a hot oven for 35 minutes

(*) “The Nasty Ogre” is a.k.a. “The VegHead”

Vegetable stew with polenta dumplings

Posted on by

SheWhoMustBeFed made a batch of polenta a day or so back. She might have been a little ambitious with the amount she made – we seem to have more dishes of polenta in the fridge than we know what to do with. One with onion and garlic mixed through it, another with a dash of ras-ek-hanout, another plain with corn nibblets mixed in.

This casserole is made from whatever vegetables are to hand, some haricot beans, and a few big lumps of polenta which act as dumplings, soaking up a big slurp of flavour from the sauce.

You need…

  • SheWhoMustBeFed to come and make you some polenta. If she isn’t available, then go ahead and do this step yourself. Each “chunk” of polenta ought to be a fair size – say about that of an egg
  • a random delection of vegetables (sweet potato, carrots, brassica…)
  • a cup of cooked haricot beans
  • 1/2 a medium onion – chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic – chopped
  • 1 teaspoon of chilli powder (or more…or less)
  • big handful each of fresh parsley, dill, rosemary, thyme – chopped
  • 1 tablespoon of light miso paste
  • 2 cups of white wine
  • 2 cups of water

To be, to be, do be doing…

  • lightly saute the onion, garlic, and chilli in a generous splash of olive oil
  • add everything else except the fresh herbs and the polenta
  • bring to a boil then reduce to a low simmer and allow to bubble gently away until the vegetables are nearly cooked
  • add the herbs and give it a few minutes more
  • add the polenta. If you just dump the polenta in and stir it through it will likely break up and dissolve so a little care is required. Place the polenta on the top of the stew, and then get each to sink into the sauce by pushing aside the vegetables under each piece with a spoon. Leave covered, off the heat, for 5 minutes for the polenta to soak up some juice
  • serve, eat, get out of washing up if you can

A dill homecoming stew

Posted on by

Returning from Cannes was heartened by a Thursday Stew, made by SheWhoMustBeFed. Friday’s are the main shopping days for the The VegHead’s larder, so Thursdays are always “What’s left in the fridge and cupboard day”. Dill is a lovely, soft, flavoursome herb. I wonder why the word is also used as an insult?

Serve with Quinoa.

Things that will need to be left over in the fridge come Thursday…

  • a few slices of onion – chopped
  • two cloves of garlic – crushed
  • one cup of cooked haricot beans
  • a small courgette – chopped
  • one medium sweet potato – chopped
  • 3 medium cup mushrooms – chopped
  • 1/4 cup (loosely packed) of chopped, fresh dill
  • tablespoon of dark miso (dissolved in water)
  • pinch of cumin
  • ground pepper to taste
  • olive oil

Making the stew…

  • Saute the onion and garlic
  • Add all the vegetables, the pepper and cumin. Saute for a few minutes, then cover with water. Bring to a low boil and simmer for 10 minutes
  • Add the miso and beans and simmer for an additional 5 minutes
  • Add the remaining herbs and simmer for a few minutes more