Just Humans Being...

Friday night, instead of leaving Hugo to make his own way home - we decided to pick him up from a circus event at Falmouth University. We were all hungry & thought it would just take too long to cook anything by the time we got home, so we  popped into Falmouth for a bite to eat... As we walked into the Gurkha restaurant, we discussed contacting the girls - but thought it would be too short notice... Sime said wouldn't it be funny if they were already in there & guess what? A lovely little face was peering from a behind a partition... It was Sal!   She thought she'd heard us talking, so what a great surprise... She & Ryan had just arrived themselves. Sal got in touch with Rose & Asa, but they were just about to eat at home... Sal & Ryan had a veggie thali... Hugo & I had vegan bhuna... And Sime had a vegan dhansak. Lovely kidlets... And lovely chap... Yesterday, we had to work - the weather was amazing...

We've had the vegan month of food & today it's the start of world vegan month - so more excuses to be sharing yet more vegan food, recipes & stories... And on Saturday November 17th, we will have a stall at the Free Vegan Food Fair at City Hall in Truro. The fair is open from 11am until 3pm, so come along if you can. We are enjoying having the house to ourselves... No guests in at the moment, which explains the tip! Hugo's away too, so no-one to keep an eye on us either... We will catch up properly very soon. Kay & Sime xx

We've been making hippy slop ever since we became veggie, back in 1988! It took a few times to learn how to cook lentils, but since then - we probably eat them more than anything else... If asked, both of us would say - lentils are our favourite food! They are warming, comforting & just delicious... Not only that, but they are nutritious too... Lentils not only lower cholesterol, they can also prevent blood sugar levels from rising rapidly after eating. Lentils contain B vitamins, important minerals, fibre & protein. We cook them gently with onions & garlic, herbs & spices. And just adore them! We're going to Hugo's home education group for a day long Halloween party... Hope you all get plenty of treats! Kay & Sime xx

This cake is also gluten free... The recipe is adapted from a hand out at our local farm shop. Lemon Polenta Cake 3 oz polenta 6 oz natural caster sugar 4 1/2 oz ground almonds 1 oz dessicated coconut 1 teaspoon baking powder Zest of 1 lemon Juice of 1/2 lemon 2 teaspoons ground linseeds 6 oz apple purée Topping 2 oz unbleached icing sugar Juice of  1/2 lemon Method Preheat oven to 180C & line a 7 inch tin. Place all cake ingredients into a bowl & mix well. Transfer into the tin & bake for 30 minutes. Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl & stir in the lemon juice. Pour onto the warm cake & leave to cool. Hope you enjoy it! Kay & Sime xx

Pease pudding cold, Pease pudding in the pot... Nine days old. Only kidding, they wouldn't last that long here! Tonight's dinner was a strange concoction... Bean burger, sweet potato wedges & mushy peas. Sime had mustard & houmous on his too! We absolutely adore mushy peas... & they are so easy to make... For 3 of us, we use 300g split green peas. Put into a large bowl with a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda & cover with at least a litre of boiling water. Leave for 2 or more hours to soak. Rinse the peas thoroughly & place in a large pan, cover with cold water & bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 - 40 minutes, stirring frequently. You can add any herbs & spices, but tonight - we kept them simple & added a dollop of miso, a pinch of herbamare & some black pepper. The sweet potatoes were just dry baked in the oven for 45 minutes, shaking the pan every 15 minutes, so they didn't stick. The burgers were b

We often turn leftover pasta sauce into a chilli... We added some quinoa, tofu, more kidney beans & a fresh chilli. Then instead of  serving it with cornbread... We topped the chilli with it...  Added some pumpkin seeds... And baked it in the oven for 30 minutes. Cornbread 150g polenta 100g whole wheat self-raising flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon ground linseeds 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley or coriander a teaspoon of the dried leaves 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder 2 tablespoons agave syrup 2 tablespoons apple purée 250ml plant milk Method Line a 20cm tin if baking separately. Preheat oven to a medium temperature (180C). Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until it has become like a thick batter. Transfer into the tin or spread over pie filling. Bake for 30 minutes. Chilli Pie... With all the trimmings... In between jobs yesterday. We're off again in a

                                                                      Butternut squash, mushroom, kale, red lentils & creamed coconut. With lots of sliced onions & garlic. Served as usual with brown basmati rice, cooked with turmeric.  The lentils & coconut make the sauce naturally thick & creamy, especially when left to  simmer nice & slow with your favourite spices... Make sure you make a large pan full - as it always tastes better the next day! Kay & Sime xx