VEGGIE MOUSSAKA

It's been almost two years since Graeme stopped being a vegetarian and started eating meat, but this vegetarian version of moussaka is still a favorite at ours. It's delicious, super easy to make and pretty much the perfect comfort food to beat the winter blues. So when Graeme suggested we have moussaka for dinner, I was all in.

I did my fair share of experimenting with vegetarian recipes while Graeme was a vegetarian, and quickly found that I wasn't a big fan of most fake meat products. Most of them seem to get their flavor from whatever sauce you add anyway, so I prefer omitting them all together and focusing on the flavor from the vegetables instead. So this recipe doesn't contain any meat replacement products, but I really don't think it needs it—it's got plenty of aubergines to make up for it. And aren't we all supposed to be eating less red meat? Meatfree Mondays and all that?

Veggie moussaka recipe:
2 aubergines, sliced
500 g potatoes, sliced
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
400 g cherry tomatoes, halved
200 g feta cheese
300 ml greek yogurt
3 eggs
1 tin chopped tomatoes
parmesan
olive oil

Directions: Start by preparing the aubergines and preheating the oven to 200 degrees celcius. Slice the aubergines, and place them on a roasting trey with a Jamie Oliver sized glug of olive oil and some salt. Roast for about half an hour, flipping them over halfway and adding more olive oil if necessary. Meanwhile, quickly boil the potatoes for about 5 minutes. Once the aubergines are done, put them aside and roast the potatoes along with the onion and garlic with a bit of seasoning for about 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes and roast for another 10 minutes. In a bowl, mix yogurt, eggs and half of the feta cheese. To assemble the moussaka, start by layering with half of the roast vegetables in an oven proof dish, add a layer of the the remaining feta cheese and the tin of chopped tomatoes. Add the rest of the roast vegetables, and then pour over the yogurt mixture. Top with some grated parmesan. Pop the whole thing back into oven for about 20 to 30 minutes, until the top starts to go golden brown. Serve with some freshly baked focaccia! (This one's my go to focaccia recipe)

APPLE CHUTNEY

I didn't get a massive amount of apples in the garden this year. My poor tree only produced a total of 11 apples, and two apples were lost to Bo once she realised that apples are toys you can eat once you're done playing with them. I'm not entirely sure why there was such a bad apple harvest, considering a few years ago there were so many apples my mom managed to fill half the basement with jars of apple jelly, and considering the plum tree was full this year. I was determined to make something out of the apples though, so I bought a couple of extras and decided to turn my tiny little harvest into chutney.

This chutney is both quick and simple to make, and it'll make your whole house smell delicious. It'll mature and the flavours will develop in the jars, and will last up to a year in the sealed jars. Though obviously if you want some straight away, I wouldn't hold it against you.

Apple chutney recipe (makes about 1 kg of chutney):
1 kg cooking apples
1 large onion
250 g raisins
250 g sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp nutmeg
500 g cider vinegar

Directions: 
Peel and core apples, and cut into chunks. Finely chop the onion. Combine all the ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then let it simmer for half an hour until thick. Transfer to sterilized jars, and seal.

Apple chutney works great with a pork roast, or even just with some cheese on toast or crisp bread. Cheesy toast and chutney is always a winner.

LINN'S SWEET POTATO SALAD

I think if it was up to me (and I lived somewhere a bit warmer), I’d BBQ and eat outside every day and never wear any shoes. Unfortunately I live nearer to the arctic circle than the equator though, which means I get a somewhat limited amount of hot and sunny days (and I have a suspicion that not wearing shoes in the office might get frowned upon). However, now that it’s summer we’ve been taking full advantage of the sunshine and the long light days. This weekend in particular was fantastic, and as Graeme and I recently got a BBQ and

are now totally in BBQ mode and aim to eat as many meals as possible outside in the garden. Is there anything more summery?

This sweet potato salad is, as the title suggests, based on a recipe I got from my friend Linn. She served it at her BBQ last weekend, and it was so delicious I had seconds, and then thirds. I love the soft sweet potato mixed with the crunchy peppers and almonds. Lots of textures, lots of flavours, lots of deliciousness. It’s a perfect side for a BBQ and has been my go to dish since I got the recipe. I have changed the recipe slightly since I got it, so here’s my version of Linn’s sweet potato salad.

Linn's Sweet Potato Salad recipe:
750 g sweet potatoes, cubed
100 g almonds, chopped
1 red pepper, sliced
½ red onion, thinly sliced
zest and juice of half a lemon
1 tblsp olive oil
handful of rosemary
handful of parsley


Directions: Start by cubing your sweet potatoes. Spread them on a baking sheet with some oil and season with salt and pepper, and let them roast for about 20-25 minutes. While your potatoes are roasting chop the almonds, and then throw them in with the potatoes for the last 5 minutes to toast them. Combine pepper, onion, parsley and lemon zest in a bowl, and add the roasted sweet potatoes. To make the dressing, combine lemon juice, chopped rosemary and olive oil in a small bowl, and whisk together. Pour it over the potato mixture and toss gently to coat. Sprinkle the toast almonds on top and serve with whatever you decided to throw on your BBQ today.

CIDER FONDUE

It was about 6 years ago, when me and my then flatmate Eb were standing in Urban Outfitters and saw a fondue pot on sale. I forget if we paid a total of 5 pounds for it or if it was 5 pounds each, but I remember wondering when we were buying it if this was going to be one of those things you buy and then it just sits in your cupboard and never gets used. There was no need for me to worry though. Plenty of cheese fondues (and one chocolate!) have since been had, so the pot has seen its fair share of action. I particularly remember Eb and I having a couple of romantic flatmate dates complete with a bottle of wine and the fondue pot, enjoyed on a blanket on the floor in some candle light.

These days though, as the pot lives with Graeme and I. Graeme doesn’t like wine (not even in a fondue!), so I’ve been trying out a few cider fondue recipes. This one with Guyere and Emmental, from BBCGoodFood is my favorite. The recipe calls for a dry cider, but if you use a relatively sweet cider, it works really well as well.

Cider fondue recipe:

1 garlic clove

250 ml dry apple cider

Juice from half a lemon

250 g Gruyere cheese, grated

250 g Emmental cheese, grated

2 tsp corn flour

Cubed Ciabatta bread, apple wedges and mushroom wedges (washed, uncooked) to serve

Directions: Halve the garlic clove, rub the inside of the pot and discard the garlic. Add cider and lemon juice, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and add the cheese, bit by bit, and whisk until melted. Add the corn flour and allow it to grow thick. Serve immediately, with the bread, apples and mushrooms ready for dipping. Blanket and candles optional.

GRAEME'S VEGETARIAN PULLED PORK RECIPE

Graeme is a vegetarian. I am not. I love vegetarian food though, and generally don’t eat a lot of meat. I don’t think I’d struggle too much if I were to follow a vegetarian diet, but the commitment phobe in me refuses to limit my diet in such a drastic way. If I crave meat, I eat meat. But if Graeme craves meat, sometimes he cooks up some vegetarian pulled pork. This is actually something he's started cooking after I moved out, but he tells me about it all the time. So now that he's visiting I decided to make him make it for me to see what all the fuss was about. And I must say it was pretty delicious! But what is in this vegetarian pulled pork recipe, you say? You’ll be happy to hear there’s no imitation meats or anything like that (I’m not the biggest fan of imitation meats myself). Instead, the recipe uses unripe jackfruit in place of the pork. I’ve never really used jackfruit in any cooking before, but as I understand it’s generally sold either as ripe jackfruit or as unripe jackfruit. Ripe jackfruit is generally used more for dessert recipes like custards or cakes, while unripe jackfruit like this recipes uses is often used in curries in various countries in south east Asia. It has a meat-life taste, hence why it’s the main ingredient in this vegetarian version of pulled pork.

The whole process of making this dish is pretty simple. You prepare the fruit, shallow fry it and then grill it in the oven for a few minutes. Majority of the flavor in this recipe relies on the sauce, so I’d recommend using a good one!

Graeme's Vegetarian Pulled Pork Recipe: 
1 tin unripe jackfruit (young green jackfruit in brine)
150 ml of your favourite BBQ sauce
cooking oil
rolls/buns/whatever you'd like with your meal

Directions: Start by preparing the fruit. First, drain each chunk by squeezing out any excess water. Use a grater to grate the core and any seeds onto a kitchen towel (to further drain any liquid), and separate the flesh of the jackfruit into shredded pieces.

Once you have your jackfruit all shredded up, fry in a lightly oiled pan on a medium high heat for about five minutes until it starts to go a little brown. Once you’ve got a little color, add the BBQ sauce and stir well to coat all the pieces, and fry for a further five minutes. Once the BBQ is well incorporated into the jackfruit, transfer to an oven tray lined with oiled aluminum foil, and spread it so that you have a relatively thin layer so the heat gets distributed evenly. Grill on a high heat for about 10 minutes or until it begins to get a little charred, occasionally stirring so that it gets evenly cooked.

Depending on what you serve this with (and your BBQ sauce), this could easily be adapted to suit a vegan diet. Serving this as a pulled pork sandwich with a side of coleslaw is a classic, but it also works great with pita bread or potato salad. We had ours with buns and grilled corn on the cob,  as I’m personally not a massive coleslaw fan.