Themes and meal ideasHere are selections of recipes presented as hyperlinks to those listed in the individual category pages, grouped together as ideas for a themed meal (e.g. a particular cuisine) or as a special occasion meal (e.g. a picnic). IndexChristmas dinnerCurry night Extreme picnicking Feast from the East Festive food ideas High summer picnic Its all Greek to me! Mexican meal #1 Mexican meal #2 Mexican meal #3 Picnic recipes #1 Picnic recipes #2 Summer celebration Tapas Evening Whisky with food? Christmas DinnerAll you need for a very traditional-style rich dinner. Festive Loaf* Christmas Pudding Pudding: just buy a decent one (ensure a good alcohol
content - our regular has cider and rum - and scrutinise the ingredients for
those non-vegan hidden ‘extras’ like egg or dairy products) and steam according
to instructions; flambé with cognac# and serve with vegan ice cream (Swedish
Glace vanilla is it).
Now I've finally ventured to create a couple of dishes of my favourite cuisine, I thought it worth gathering them together in their original setting. To start: To follow: Extreme picnickingThis began as a joke: our chosen site commanded a view of two people indulging in an 'extreme sport', namely free-climbing a sheer rockface. Then the idea seemed to take on a meaning of its own: how many people, after all, would lug a full picnic over 2 bus journeys, a couple of miles on foot and a cable-car ride? Not many, I'll wager. So extreme picnicking it is. The recipes that follow were helped on their way by a rather good Crémant de Loire and a very appealing English rosé. Fake tuna chickpea salad Tomato and Olive Quiche (half, cut into 4 slices) Conchiglie with shiitake and SWR* pesto (variation 2, served cold) *spinach, watercress and rocket 
Feast from the EastAlthough I don't possess a large collection of Japanese recipes, it is a cuisine that I very much enjoy: it's very healthy (tofu, seaweed, miso...), flavour-intense and unique. These recipes bear all the hallmarks of the cuisine, plus they're very easy to prepare. Serve all the dishes at the same time. Black Beans with Rice Noodles Festive food ideasA selection from the archives for use over the festive season. Cream of Butter Bean Soup with Caol Ila
- suitable as a starter for any dinner party, especially a Hogmanay celebration High Summer PicnicThis little feast only took about an hour to prepare. Then a 3-leg journey (2 buses, 1 train) and we were at the great dams of the Upper Derwent. 30 minutes walking and we found a wonderful spot, out of earshot of the occasional passer-by and with stuunning views of water, hillsides and forest. Then the long-awaited food, so grateful to our sharpened appetites, washed down with a sparkler (Crémant de Loire) and a red (a shiraz-cabernet blend from Penfolds) - bliss! All quantities provided a very generous meal for 2. 
Eggless Cobs It's all Greek to me!Time to feature some recipes from our latest cookbook, A Vegan Taste of Greece. They're easy to prepare, use no really fancy ingredients and taste better than you might expect from just looking at the components. This is inspired cooking! Walnut-stuffed Mushrooms Mexican MealThis was very quick and easy to make considering the size and long lists of ingredients; both dishes had that proper Mexican taste as well - bargain! Bold Vegan Chili Mexican Meal #2For entertaining-in-a-rush, try these 2 dishes of my own devising. Most of the ingredients are store cupboard items and the whole thing, bar the bean cooking (use a can for a mega-rush job!) can be on the table in an hour!
Barbecue Black Bean and Smoked Tofu Enchiladas Mexican Meal #3Time for another Mexican! Chill a crate of Sol, stock up on the limes and cocktail ingredients (tequila and triple sec/Cointreau) for those Margaritas and get cooking! Two wholly original recipes: Picnic RecipesThese are all excellent for make-ahead, the sandwich the day before and the others on the morning - they're so quick you'll still have plenty of time to think about last-minute items; now where's that corkscrew? Hot Tofu Sandwich The recipes in the quantities given provide a generous picnic for 2 (big appetites!). Picnic Recipes 2It's that time of year again - long, warm days (we hope!) deserve long, relaxing alfresco lunches, either in the garden or out in the country, far from the madding crowd. This selection of recipes provides a broad spectrum of tastes, and are all quick and easy to prepare - pick and mix for that perfect picnic. Arugula-ceci Salad Summer celebrationHere, in its entirety, is Janga's birthday dinner (2006), served outside in perfect weather. All quantities given serve 4, except the pudding, which will comfortably stretch to 6. For drinks: Ice-cold Manzanilla sherry (Las Medallas) with the crostini and soup Wither Hills Pinot Noir 2003 for the main course Kir Royale (sparkling white wine laced with creme de cassis) for dessert Crostini selection 
Tapas EveningFor an off-season taste of warmer times, or to kindle a holiday spirit, enjoy a meal of smaller dishes imbued with the flavours of Spain. 'Tapa' means 'to cover', and the origin of the name of this type of food is said to derive from the use of an edible morsel as a cover to a glass of wine to keep out flies. Enjoy with ice-cold Manzanilla and robust red wine (crianza Rioja or Navarra). Marinated Mushroom and Kalamata Salad Whisky with food?And why not? This is pretty trendy at the moment, so I thought I'd try my hand - it worked rather well. Don't be tempted to substitute cheap whiskies; with the quantities required, there'll still be plenty left to drink! Make sure you accompany each course with its constituent whisky - Caol Ila for the soup, Talisker for the main. Cream of
Butter Bean Soup with Caol Ila |
Drinks: we
usually warm up with a decent