November already! Get those carved pumpkins washed and in the oven to roast before they go mouldy. You can scoop out the flesh and freeze it in portions to add to soups, curries, stews, pies etc. Here’s a delicious snack you can make with some, all you need is a sheet of ready rolled puff pastry, a tin of chickpeas (or any bean/lentil you like) and some seasoning. We went for Moroccan flavours this time which are very similar to our sweet, warming pumpkin spice mix (which also needs using up – find the recipe for that here). Will you put your own twist on this recipe? Let us know what worked well in the comments.
Liz x
Ingredients (makes 12 small rolls)
1 tin chickpeas, drained
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp pumpkin spice
1 salt & pepper to taste
1/2 a medium kuri squash, roasted and completely chilled (or any pumpkin or winter squash like butternut)
1 sheet of ready rolled puff pastry
oat milk for brushing and sealing
sesame seeds to sprinkle
Method
Mash the chickpeas with the spices, salt and pepper. If you don’t have pumpkin spice mix, just sprinkle in some cinnamon, ginger, chilli, cloves etc. Leave some chickpeas whole, they bring nice body and texture to the filling.
Add cold roasted pumpkin flesh and mix it in. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed with more salt.
Cut your sheet of pastry into 3 even pieces. Share out the filling between the 3 pieces and use a spoon to shape the filling into a sausage along the middle of each piece. Roll up the filling in the pastry, seal the edges with oat milk. Flip the sealed side over to the bottom and brush the tops with more milk. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and cut each long sausage into 4.
Space them out on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and bake at 200C for 10-15 minutes or until golden and hot through. Enjoy!
Halloween is creeping closer so its time to start thinking of some tasty treats to share! We are adding plenty of wholesome ingredients to balance the sugar overload at this trick or treating time of year! Make your own eyeballs too for that startled spooky MUMMY look!! I reckon these can even go into the school lunch boxes too! #nutfree
To make the task of decorating these flapjacks more enjoyable, I recommend making and baking them the day before and add the melted chocolate the next day along with the eyeballs. Adding the finishing touches is a nice job for kids. #kidsinthekitchen
Make them this Halloween and let us know what you think in the comments.
Homemade eyeballs – white fondant ready to roll icing and chocolate chips
Method:
Preheat your oven to 180℃. Line a square or rectangle brownie baking tin (8inc x 8inc) with parchment paper.
Begin by chopping or blending the dates.
Add the butter, brown sugar and chopped dates to a pot.
Put onto the hob and heat slowly to melt the butter and dissolve the sugar, , stir with a wooden spoon.
In the meantime measure the oats, seeds, coconut and cinnamon into a mixing bowl, give it a stir.
Check on the pot. Bring to a gently boil, mix well and take off the heat. The mix should be soft and sticky.
Tip the sticky mix into the bowl with the dry ingredients, mix well with a spatula or spoon or use your clean hands to coat all the oats and seeds.
Spoon it into the baking tin and push and smooth down. TIP: get a square piece of piece of parchment paper to and lay it on top and use your hands to smooth it out. Discard the paper.
Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, the top should be nice and golden.
Set aside to cool completely.
Slice into 12 even bars, a bread knife works best for these!
To decorate: Make some homemade eyeballs using some white fondant and chocolate chips. Roll the fondant into small balls and push in a chocolate chip for the pupil. Made 24.
Melt the white chocolate either in the microwave, check it every 30 seconds and give it a good stir to loosen or in a bowl over a pot of boiling water (baine marie) don’t let the water touch the bottom of the bowl . You need the chocolate to be fluid so its easy to spoon over the flapjacks. If it seems stiff melt it for a further 30 seconds and mix really well with a spoon again.
Line the flapjacks up on a chopping board lined with parchment paper and drizzle over the chocolate, add the eyeballs.
Allow the chocolate to set for 1 hour then devour!!!!
Sriracha is an absolutely addictive hot sauce which originated in Thailand. It’s so good that it has broken in to pretty much all food shops worldwide. If you’ve not squirted it over your noodles or rice or mixed it with mayo to dunk chips in, you are missing out. There are countless recipes online to recreate your own version, but being the ferment-obsessed chef I am, I make it raw and lacto-fermented. Sounds complicated, but it’s actually easier than cooking the sauce and it lasts better too! This seasonal pumpkin version is really really good. A fab way to use up your carved pumpkins shortly after halloween? Or for even more flavour just use any winter squash like butternut or our own grown Kuri Squash.
Liz x
Ingredients
pumpkin or winter squash – roughly 300g
natural salt – 3% of the pumpkin weight so 3g for every 100g pumpkin
chilli – to taste, I used 6 red chillies
garlic – to taste, I used a whole bulb
ginger – optional and to taste, I used a thumbs worth
Method
Ensure you have a clean work surface, large mixing bowl and glass jar. You will also need a clean chopping board, knife, grater and small blender.
Grate the squash into a large bowl. Weigh how much you have grated then work out what 3% of that weight is.
Add the 3% weight of natural salt and mix it well into the grated squash.
Remove the chilli stalks and peel the garlic. Then blend the chilli, garlic and ginger into a paste in a small blender or smoothie maker. You may need to add a splash of water to help it blend.
Using a utensil or gloved hands, mix the chilli paste into the grated, salted pumpkin.
Then tightly pack the mixture into a large jar. You want to avoid creating air pocked in the mix so use a spoon or a rolling pin to ensure everything is squished in nice and tight.
Add a ‘follower’ and a weight to hold the mixture below the brine and prevent exposure to air. A good example of a follower is a cabbage leaf and you can use a glass ramekin or a small water glass to weigh it down.
Put the lid on the jar (or if it doesn’t fir over the weight then cover with a tea towel and secure with an elastic band or piece of string) and allow the mixture to ferment at room temperature for at least 1 week.
If your lid is secure, you will need to ‘burp’ your jar once or twice a day to allow gases to escape. Simply loosen and re-close the jar. If you are using a clip top jar it will self-burp. Remove the rubber ring to help it breath easier.
After a week your sriracha will be tangy and facto-fermented. Scrape it out into a clean blender or a jug and blend into a smooth sauce.
Pour into a squeeze bottle or any vessel you prefer and refrigerate. The sauce should last well in the fridge, at least 3 months.
Here are some fiendishly fun and easy ideas for your Halloween table. There is a 100% guarantee that there will be a LOT of sweets being guzzled at the weekend, so this table is a fun way to balance out all that sugar. Delight and disgust your guests with this grisly spread of ‘finger food’. See what I did there?
Liz x
Freaky Fruit
Use sunflower and pumpkin seeds, nut butter and celery sticks to make some freaky fruit platters. We stock a wide variety of organic fruit all year round and have organic seeds in compostable bags to add to your order here.
This is so fun to make with the kids: – Peel clementines and poke little slivers of celery through the centre to make ‘pumpkins’. – Use pumpkin seeds to make the faces on banana ghosts. – Make apple monsters. Cut apples into quarters and remove the core. Then carefully cut a wedge out for the mouth. Fill with nut or seed butter, sunflower or pumpkin seed teeth and eyes and return a bit of the apple for the tongues. To stop the apples turning brown, rub the cut sides with a wedge of lemon. – The kiwi Frankenstein’s monsters are so cute. Carefully peel off the bottom 2/3rds of the kiwi leaving a head of ‘hair’. Poke thin celery sticks into the sides for bolts and use pumpkin seeds to make the face.
Green Skeleton Man
Use fresh green veggies and guacamole to make this spooky skeleton snack platter. Our organic celery crop is huge this year. Get them discounted while they’re in season now here.
Finger Rolls
Veggie sausages cut with nails and knuckle marks with ketchup in a roll? Finger lickin’ fun! We have a few different veggie sausages to choose from here and a really nice organic ketchup in a glass bottle.
Pumpkin Puke (Hummus)
Is it even a party if there is no hummus? Whip up this simple pumpkin version to go with your obligatory Jack’O Lantern. It’s delicious scooped up with the green man skeleton or tortilla crisps! We have organic chickpeas, tahini, olive oil and more in the grocery section of the shop.
Ingredients
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained (reserve the aquafaba for another recipe)
250g roasted pumpkin (use a kuri or butternut squash for extra flavour, or use up the flesh from a carved pumpkin)
1 clove of garlic, peeled
3 tbsp tahini
the juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tbsp ground cumin (optional)
1 heaped tsp of salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 ice cubes
Method
Place all the ingredients except the olive oil and ice cubes into a food processor and blend until pretty smooth.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed with more salt or lemon juice.
Then add the ice cubes and olive oil and blend again until silky smooth. The ice cubes are a secret ingredient which really helps lighten and whip the hummus into a gorgeous texture.
Keep the hummus in a container in the fridge until you are ready to serve. It should last for 3 days maximum.
Pizza Fingers
Pizza dough stuffed with cheese and tomato purée, baked with an almond and dipped in a simple tomato sauce? This is perfect finger food if you can get past the squeamish feeling that you are eating trolls toes! We stock tomato purée, flour, yeast, cheeses, almonds and more in our grocery section.
Here’s how to make 16 pizza fingers:
Dough
500g spelt flour
7g quick yeast
10g salt
2 tbsp olive oil
325ml warm water
Filling
16 sticks of cheese
tomato puree
16 almonds
Mix the ingredients above into a sticky dough then knead on a clean work surface until smooth. You may need to add an extra dusting of flour if your dough is too sticky to handle.
Form into a ball and cover with a clean, damp tea towel. Leave to rise until doubled in size – depending on the temperature in your kitchen, this should take around 1 hour.
Divide into 16 even balls. Turn the oven on to 200C. Find a large baking tray and line it with baking parchment.
Stretch each ball of dough into a rectangle. Smear a 1/4 tsp of tomato purée along the middle then add a cheese stick. Fold the dough around the cheese and pinch to seal. Roll the parcel into a finger and pop it seal-side-down onto a lined baking tray. Repeat with all the balls of dough.
Then dip the almonds into tomato purée and stick them on the ends of the doughy fingers. Use a butter knife to make knuckle marks.
Then pop the tray into the hot oven for 20 minutes or until the fingers are golden brown and cooked through. Serve with a simple tomato dipping sauce (recipe below).
Sauce
1 onion, peeled and diced
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and diced
3 tbsp olive oil
Italian style herbs (I use a bay leaf, a few fennel seeds and a pinch of dried oregano)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
Sauté the onion in the oil until soft and starting to take on some colour. Add the garlic and herbs and stir until very fragrant. Then add the tin of tomatoes and season well. Simmer until the sauce is rich and delicious. At least 10 minutes but the longer the better. Alternatively use pesto as the dipping sauce or a jar of ready made pasta or pizza sauce. We stock a few option in the shop which can be added to your veg order.
Trick AND Treat Brownies
Didn’t get to go trick or treating this year? Here’s a spooky brownie recipe that is both a treat AND a trick!
These deliciously dark, squidgy brownies are an absolute treat (and shhh! contain a few tricks too). Make these for the little monsters in your life and trick them into eating beetroot, sunflower seeds and black beans. Hahahahahaaaaaaa! *evil laugh*
This tricky treat is packed full of plant protein and fibre. It is gluten, nut, dairy and egg free, but most definitely not flavour free! So it’s perfect for everyone to enjoy at your Halloween party. These are seriously good, let us know if you make them. All the ingredients can be added to your next order. Did you know we have compostable bags of nuts, seeds, oats etc in the grocery section of our shop? We deliver to every address in Ireland. Happy Halloween!
Liz x
Ingredients
100g sunflower or pumpkin seeds
100g porridge oats (gluten free if needed)
100g sugar (or your choice of sweetener)
100ml oat milk (or any dairy free milk)
1 tin of black beans (including the liquid)
5 tbsp oil or butter
6 tbsp cacao powder
2 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
250g cooked beetroot
250g melted dark chocolate
Method
Preheat your oven to 180C and line a baking dish (I used a 20x28cm one) with baking parchment.
In a food processor, blend the sunflower seeds and oats into flour.
Then add the rest of the ingredients except the melted chocolate. Blend until smooth.
Mix in the melted chocolate then pour the batter into the dish. Even it out, getting into the corners, then bake for 40 minutes or until cracked on top and still a little wobbly.
Allow the brownie to completely cool in the dish. Then remove onto a chopping board to decorate and slice as you like.
You’ll find countless iterations of this recipe on repeat in our house this time of year. Always hearty and wholesome, stuffed full of gorgeous autumnal vegetables and various pulses and grains. A pot of chilli is so versatile. Stick it in a bowl with rice or roasted potato wedges, scoop up with nachos, serve in wraps burrito style or make a batch for a messy-fun taco night. How do you serve your chilli non-carne?
Liz x
Ingredients (serves 8)
4 tbsp olive oil
1 large or 2 small onions, peeled and diced
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and diced
750g diced root veg (I used swede, carrot and beetroot this time)
1 tsp chilli flakes (or to taste)
2 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp each, ground cumin and coriander
3 bay leaves
100g each, dried lentils and quinoa
2 tins of black/kidney beans, drained
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
500ml water or veg stock
salt and pepper to taste
*optional extra few tbsps of a ‘flavour bomb’ eg: soy sauce/coffee/cocoa
Method
In a large, heavy bottomed pot, sauté the onions and garlic in the oil until soft and starting to colour.
Then add the root vegetables and spices. Stir for a few minutes to release the flavours.
Add the lentils, quinoa, tin of tomatoes and water/stock. Season well with salt and pepper then simmer until the lentils are soft. This should take around 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure nothing is sticking and burning on the base of the pot.
Then add the beans, taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. I usually add about 3 tbsp of soy sauce or a tbsp or two of cocoa powder to enrich the chilli.
Serve with rice or wedges, in tacos or burritos or however you like! It’s even better the next day so make a big batch and get some in the freezer for a rainy day?
Well, it is that time of year when you can legitimately have some fun with your food. As well as putting pumpkin in everything, let’s make our food a little spooky too! This pumpkin pasta sauce is a doddle, just bake it in the oven while you get on with something more important – making an elaborate Halloween costume perhaps? Then either serve the pasta and sauce as they are, or if you want to go the extra mile, bake some meatballs (my plant based recipe is below) and top with sliced cheese and olives to make them into eyeballs.
I’ll be sharing some other Halloween food inspo soon, but I would love to know your Halloween classics. Let me know in the comments.
Liz x
Pumpkin Pasta Ingredients (serves 4-6 people)
1/2 a kuri squash pumpkin (or butternut), gutted and diced
6 cloves of garlic to ward off the vampires, peeled
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
Olive oil, salt & pepper to taste
500g dried pasta
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Find a deep baking dish.
Tumble the diced pumpkin/squash and peeled garlic cloves into the dish.
Drizzle generously with olive oil and seasoning with salt and pepper. Mix with your hands then bake for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
Remove the dish from the oven, mash the vegetables with a fork then tip in the two tins of chopped tomatoes. Season again with some extra salt and pepper to taste.
Stir well then return the dish to the oven for another 20 minutes or so until hot and bubbling. Meanwhile cook your pasta in boiling water according to the instructions on the packet.
Drain the pasta and stir it through the hot sauce. Enjoy as it is or with meatballs, cheese slices and olives (see below for my vegan meatball recipe).
Vegan Meatballs Ingredients (makes approx 40 small balls)
50g nuts (walnuts are brilliant here but any fatty nut will do)
50g pumpkin or sunflower seeds
150g porridge oats
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 onion & 4 cloves of garlic, diced and fried in a little olive oil until soft
2 tins of cooked lentils, drained
4 tbsp olive oil
a handful of chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Method
You will need a food processor with an S blade attachment. Pulse the nuts and seeds first until they resemble course flour.
The add the remaining ingredients and pulse together, stopping to scrape down the sides occasionally, until you have a thick, rustic paste. Don’t over-blend, it’s nice to retain a bit of texture.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed with more salt, pepper or herbs.
Then form the balls by squishing a small amount of the mixture together using your cupped palm and fingers. Gently roll between your palms into balls and place on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment.
Toss with a little vegetable oil and bake until hot. Around 20 minutes at 200C is sufficient, these veggie meatballs can get a little drier than their meaty counterparts so be careful not to overcook. Turn the meatballs halfway through cooking. Serve in pasta sauce or with mash and gravy.
This humble half-soup, half-stew (stoup?) is so delicious. One of those perfect easy, one pot, mid-week meals that soothes and satisfies. Smooth, blended soups are great but this Autumnal twist on a minestrone is all about the combination of textures. Crunchy, delicate cabbage, floury, hearty beans, nutty, sticky brown rice (or swap with pasta) and melt-in-the-mouth pumpkin, all suspended in a silky broth.
All the ingredients can be delivered by us to your door. We have an abundance of autumn vegetables coming out of our fields at the moment. Why not cook up a few batches of this soup and freeze for a rainy day?
Liz x
Ingredients (serves 4)
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small leek, rinsed & chopped
250g kuri squash pumpkin, diced
250g celeriac (or celery), diced
4 cloves of garlic, peeled & chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme (or herbs of your choice)
1 tbsp dried mushrooms, chopped
100g short grain brown rice (or 200g pasta)
2 x 400g tins of white beans
1/2 a Savoy cabbage, rinsed & sliced
1/2 a lemon, juiced (or 1 tbsp vinegar)
salt & black pepper to taste
pesto/cheese/olive oil/pepper to serve
Method
In a large pot, sauté the leek, pumpkin and celeriac/celery with the olive oil until the vegetables start to soften.
Add the garlic, thyme and bay leaves, season generously with salt and pepper and stir for 2 minutes.
Then add the dried mushrooms, rice (or pasta) and cover with a litre and a half of water. Stir briefly then put the lid on and simmer until the rice (or pasta) is cooked through.
Add the beans along with their starchy cooking liquid, and the chopped savoy. Brighten with the lemon juice (or vinegar) and add another litre or so of water so you reach the consistency you prefer.
Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt if needed. Reheat to wilt the cabbage and serve.
This is delicious as it is or give it a little lift with a drizzle of good olive oil or pesto over each bowl. For added richness and flavour add grated cheese (or a sprinkle of cheesy nutritional yeast flakes if you want to keep it dairy free).
Overnight oats are so creamy and delicious, they fill you up and feel a bit special. Make these and give your past self a pat on the back in the morning! This autumnal version is probably my favourite. A creamy and sweetly-spiced pumpkin and cashew cream layer topped with an apple, oat, chia and pumpkin seed layer. I eat mine with a dollop of natural yoghurt on top.
Overnight oats last well in the fridge for 3 days. Mix up the ingredients and layer them up in jars or glasses and that’s breakfast sorted for a few mornings. This recipe makes 6 portions. Enjoy! And don’t forget to share your recreations with us in the comments or over on our friendly communityFacebook group.
Liz x
Ingredients (serves 6)
Pumpkin Cashew Cream:
500g kuri squash pumpkin (or sub with butternut squash or similar)
100g cashew nuts
6 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
Apple Overnight Oats:
180g porridge oats
3 tbsp chia seeds
6 tbsp pumpkin seeds
2 apples, grated
500g milk (any milk you prefer)
pinch of salt
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tbsp maple syrup
Yoghurt to serve
Method
Chop the kuri squash into bite sized chunks, no need to peel but do remove the seeds, and roast at 200C until soft. This usually takes around 20 minutes.
Spoon the cooked squash into a blender with the rest of the Pumpkin Cashew Cream ingredients and blend into a smooth, thick cream. Taste and add more maple syrup if you prefer it sweeter.
Mix all the Apple Overnight Oats ingredients in a large bowl.
Divide the pumpkin cream between 6 bowls/glasses/jars. Top with the apple-oat mixture.
Cover the portions and refrigerate overnight (or eat right away). They should stay fresh for 3 days in the fridge.
Serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt. Scoop down to get a bit of both layers in each bite!