Vegetation

I've been taking the easy way out with dinners lately and eating a lot of my old favourites. I have done some new cooking however none of it has been very blogworthy. It would seem that I am the only person on the planet who can kill a recipe from Veganomicon. From here on in, I will always remember to trust my instincts.

As most of you who follow my blog know, due to my IBS (and other reasons, one being that I am just a big chilli wimp), that I don't eat chilli. Well, I up and decide the other day that I will make Chocolate Chilli Mole with seitan and rice and maybe some veggies. Soooooo I spend hours making up spice mixes (okay I exaggerate, not hours but still...time) and getting everything together. I get to the bit where it says 2 tsp Cayenne Chilli Powder and hesitate. Should I sub it for Paprika like I always do or use the chilli? In the end I decide it IS chocolate chilli mole after all and put in half the chilli.

Too damn hot. Like I nearly choked to death kind of hot. I don't know how anyone on this earth could eat 2 tsp of Cayenne Chilli Powder in anything but I ended up trying to save it. In my quest to repair this fiery disaster I end up throwing in a whole jar (yes, you read that correctly) of peanut butter and an extra entire tin of tomatoes.

Still too hot so in the end, I'm sorry to say, there was no where else for it but the bin :(

The following meal however was good. I think the dressing could do with one less ingredient (I found it on recipe zaar somewhere), maybe the capers, as much as I love them, it was just a teeny bit too busy. But it was really good none the less. For those of you who are vegan, I can't guarantee it (because of the soy thing obviously) but I suspect it would be nice with some fried tofu instead of the Halloumi :)

Fried Halloumi Cheese with Lime and Caper Dressing

Serves 2-3

250g Halloumi Cheese
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2-4 Tbsp Seasoned Flour

Dressing:
Juice and Zest of 1 Lime
1 Tbsp Capers, drained and chopped finely
1 Tbsp Verjuice or White Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Wholegrain Mustard
1 Tbsp fresh Coriander Leaves, chopped
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Mix all ingredients for dressing together in a small bowl.

Slice the Halloumi as desired, coat lightly in the seasoned flour and fry 1-2 minutes each side until browned and crisp.

Serve the dressing on a bed of couscous and top with Halloumi slices.

Yesterday I picked up a bag of tomatoes and decided to make tomato jam. It's good, but I added a touch too much ginger (if you google Tomato Jam if you want a recipe plenty come up, this one was basic, tomatoes, sugar and ginger boiled for about 25 minutes until dark and glossy then put into sterilized jars).

Posted by Vegetation at 3:03 PM |    

Labels: Grains, Mains, Sweet Stuff, Vegetarian