2022 Vegan Storecupboard Challenge

leftatthetrafficlights

It's been a busy couple of weeks but I've done pretty well on the food front! 😁 

I finally completed the cupboard inventory so I know what I have now and have reorganised it all so it's more easily accessible...

Yesterday I made pan-fried quinoa and sweetcorn with orange along with aduki beans with grapefruit zest and chocolate mint which I served with calabrese and pomegranate. We'll be eating it again  tonight as plenty of leftovers 🙌 Everything came from either the storecupboard, freezer or garden. 

Tomorrow I'm making buckwheat pasta and serving it with a courgette, tomato, olive and caper sauce along with a green salad - again, all from stocks 😁 

I'm going to write a meal plan tomorrow- not a 'daily' one as I'll probably have leftovers to repurpose from each meal but I'll think of 5 meals from what is available currently - we're away for a few days soon so 5 meals plus repurposed leftovers should see us through until then 😉

leftatthetrafficlights

Had a good cooking day yesterday so it will see us through until we go away for a few days...I made sage potatoes, potato pie, black turtle beans with sage and oregano which I used half of to make 'meatballs', beetroot and apple salad, steamed beetroot and pickled beetroot.

The pickled beetroot is for the cupboard - I just pulled it all up from the garden so used the larger beets for it and the smaller ones for steaming and the salad. 

Last night we had some of the meatballs with some of the sage potatoes and steamed beetroot, tonight I'm making enchilada 'pie' with the remains of the turtle beans along with the beetroot and apple salad, Saturday will be the remaining meatballs in the courgette and tomato sauce/soup from the freezer and the remaining sage potatoes, Sunday will be a combo of any leftovers we have plus some braised cabbage as we have half a cabbage in the fridge. I'm eating the potato pie for lunch with leaves and beetroot and apple salad (I love beetroot and apple salad! 😍) and have other lunch options should the leftovers not cover it 😉 

Once I get back I will be writing a new meal list - I'm planning on starting some rejuvelac when we return to make some macadamia and cashew cheese (if it doesn't work out I'll make the cheese anyway) then we can have a cheese and pickles/chutneys/preserves with hm olive bread on one weekend; I love having that with a glass of wine and the open fire roaring and the weather is certainly looking like it may be suitable for it soon 😉 

KajiKita

Just thrown together a batch of Frugalwoods rice and beans, gussied up with some spinach and extra mushroom ketchup. I first made this about a month ago and was pleasantly surprised at how good it tastes even after being frozen and then zapped in the work microwave 😊

I am hoping, in November, to get a full stock list of my vegan store cupboard bits (I have a freezer list but not this) and start thinking about meals to make around it. Anyone got any ideas for vacuum packed, precooked chestnuts? (And what are they actually like in texture and taste …? I’ve been trying to make myself eat them for a while, but I’m nervous because I have never had them before! 😂 And yes, I am a bit daft! 🙃🤷‍♀️😂)

KK

leftatthetrafficlights

@KajiKita I use the chestnuts in 'meatballs', loaves, casseroles etc - they also get eaten as a snack if I have munchies! 😉 texture wise they are softer than cooked fresh chestnuts but not by too much and flavour is pretty much the same as fresh chestnuts.. 

So, back from our time away now - we're having 'bolognese' from the freezer for dinner along with pasta and I'll be writing my meal list tomorrow after I've been veg shopping- I'm just going to go with whatever the supermarket has on offer and build the meal plan around that! I still have plenty of calabrese in the freezer; Cavalo Nero, swede and beans in the garden (and possibly some other bits and pieces but I'll need to check tomorrow) so won't need to buy too much hopefully 😁

leftatthetrafficlights

Ended up buying cauliflower, potatoes and onions...

Bolognese was eaten and leftovers turned into shepherd's pie once I'd reworked the bolognese with stockcubes, onions, carrots and broccoli stalks and mashed some potatoes with horseradish sauce 😋 Ate the leftovers from that the next day! 

Had roasted tomatoes, roasted cauliflower and cannellini beans with sage on Wednesday; Thursday dh was out so I had what was left; yesterday I made a sausage, potato and chickpea in basil oil dish. 

Today will be French onion soup (possibly with olive bread!) 

Tomorrow I'm cooking puy lentils with buckwheat and serving it with cavolo nero in a pomegranate dressing and celeriac salad. 

I'll do the rest of the weeks menu plan once I go shopping tomorrow- need to see what is on offer first! 

shandyclover

Anybody have any ideas what I can do with millet? I bought if for a time when I wasn't working and had more time in the kitchen to make burgers - now I'm just looking for a quick easy recipe

leftatthetrafficlights

shandyclover said:

Anybody have any ideas what I can do with millet? I bought if for a time when I wasn't working and had more time in the kitchen to make burgers - now I'm just looking for a quick easy recipe

You can use it as a grain to replace rice, quinoa etc...I used to cook it in stock as a brown rice, quinoa & millet combo - very tasty! 

It's been a while since I've updated - it's been a bit busy in rl so I've just stuck to the basics and freezer surprises! 

Yesterday I made a potato & tomato dish - onions and leeks softened, fajita spice added along with tomato puree and a tin of tomatoes, cooked out for about 15 mins then added par-boiled chopped potatoes and a bit of water then covered and cooked for roughly another 15 mins. Pressure cooked black turtle beans in the instant pot with smoked paprika, chipotle chilli and tomato puree. Served the two together with some soya yoghurt and salsa. Will make enchilada 'pie' with the remaining stuff for dinner tonight...

This week I'll be using up some more of the spaghetti squash and celeriac from the garden - I'm planning on:

whole roast celeriac with garlicky green beans, roasted spaghetti squash, roasted peppers and cannellini bean mash

Celeriac and spaghetti squash soup (using all the leftovers) with hm rosemary and sea salt focaccia 

Puy lentil 'bolognese' stuffed buckwheat pancakes 

'Shepherds pie' (altering and repurposing the leftover bolognese) with carrots, swede and leeks

Roasted red onions, aduki bean and butternut squash saute with quinoa 

Veg casserole with chickpeas and dumplings

Freezer surprise or repurposed leftovers 

A simple week with not much going on but all tasty! 😉

leftatthetrafficlights

Didn't get round to the enchilada pie yesterday- had a couple of tortillas dry fried and filled with the potato and bean combo plus some cheese and salsa served with soya yoghurt and still have a bit left which may go tonight but lots going on at the moment so may be a lunchtime thing tomorrow instead! 

I cooked the roast celeriac along with some roasted veg (I'm putting the roasted veg in the soup) but I'm not convinced that the result was worth the time it took 🤔 we'll eat it for dinner tomorrow and I'll make the soup with the leftovers but I won't cook it like that again....

I've cooked the lentils ready for the bolognese and shepherd's pie later in the week- I think that I will be carrying forward a couple of the meals to next week though! 

goldfinches

I've just finished making and scoffing this Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for store-cupboard spaghetti | Pasta | The Guardian for dinner. It was delicious and easy so thought I'd put a note on here so that others can have a look at it. I've got lots of the breadcrumbs and nooch mixture left over so that's gone into the back of the fridge for tomorrow.

leftatthetrafficlights

Thanks @goldfinches - that looks interesting! 

As you know, I have a buckwheat mountain to go through and am looking for a variety of options to use it - I've discovered a vegan youtube channel which had buckwheat bread on it so I've made some - I like it a lot (plus it's gluten free which is an added bonus) so I'll be doing more of that. 

I've been eating short grain brown rice in stock, chickpeas and leeks in a wholegrain mustard dressing, green beans with garlic, spaghetti squash, roasted peppers, salad leaves and buckwheat bread for the past couple of days - I'm trying to lose weight so I've been having smoothies/fruit for breakfast and my main food at lunchtime- it's definitely helping me feel less bloated. 

I've got my grandbaby this weekend so would usually end up with a plant burger for lunch tomorrow but we're going out collecting leaves and pinecones to make some solstice deccies in the morning so I'm going to make a veg casserole (carrots, parsnips, celeriac, potatoes, leeks, swede and black beans) in the IP to be ready for when we get home (we'll get the fire ready to light too! 😍) I'll add some dumplings for dh and the grandbaby...

Sunday I am making roasted cauliflower and serving it with a beetroot and apple salad, cumin fried potatoes with olives and salad leaves.