One place that really wowed us this weekend was The Runcible Spoon.

A tiny place that was originally Cafe Kino (a vegetarian collective-run cafe), which has now moved down the hill and across the road. The service was too-cool-for-school nonchelant but it didn’t matter. It’s a tiny place, with a small kitchen and it was pretty busy. They gave us free appetisers (Stitchelton and Brocolli Soup) served in wee vintage cups. I hate blue cheese, but this was rocking. I then had a Stitchelton, apple, celeriac and walnut salad (my idea of hell due to the blue cheese) but I was hungry and wanted to line my stomach. This salad was banging. The creamy mild blue cheese was beautiful and the combo of the nuts and fruit with my favourite celeriac was lovely. My main was a vegetarian suet pud with sweet potato puree and purple sprouting brocolli, again, very very nice indeed. This was served with a red onion marmelade with is pretty ace and similar to one of mine – recipe blog to follow.

It’s worth mentioning at this stage that there’s only one vegetarian option on the menu, because it’s a tiny menu with just three options. It’s worth checking before you go, just in case you don’t fancy what’s on offer.

The two other places we ate were not so spectacular. The Social in Stokes Croft was good, more interesting than usual pub grub, so thumbs up there. I had an open sandwich (cheese on toast) with some very lovely chutney and chunky chips.

The Old Bookshop in Bedminster was disappointing. This new venue is very easy on the eye. Full of trinkets and magical things to look at and a beauty of a tiled bar. The menu read beautifully. I chose tapas dishes to sharesy with my mate Sian. The risotto-stuffed peppers weren’t cooked – the risotto needed another 10 minutes. There is nothing quite so yuck as an over-nutty risotto. The mushrooms were soggy. The Patatas Bravas were too sweet. It did not hit the spot. Did I say anything? Nope. I was too hungover. It’s a fairly new place though, so I’ll let them settle in and give it another go as the venue was ace, staff friendly, and it’s only a 10 minute walk from my best bud’s abode.

I didn’t go to specific vegetarian eateries in Bristol this time around as I have been to all of them before and we all wanted to explore and venture to places none of us had ever been (three of the girls reside in Brizzle). I’ve listed my favourites below…

I do love Bristol. In all its culinary glory.

Thali Cafe – began in festivals (if you go to Green Man Festival, you’ll have eaten a Thali Cafe dish or two for sure) and now there’s three cafes in Bristol. Beware though as they’re not all veggie any more. I really hate the smell of fishy fish, so I usually avoid the Thali Cafe that serves fish dishes. Eeek. But now I’ve heard all venues serve meat AND fish. Not happy.

Cafe Kino – A vegetarian collective cafe. Nice food. Shiny new venue.

Cafe Maitreya Social  - Maitreya was one of my favourites in its old home in Easton, but I have yet to visit the new place.  They now “showcase some of the city’s thriving artistic talent through live music events, performances, and exhibitions of local art & illustration” sounds a-ok to me.

Souk Kitchen - one of my favourite Bristol eateries. Halloumi to die for. Nuff said. If I’m really honest, this is the place I stole my halloumi and pear recipe from…

Bordeaux Quay – A splurgey-place to eat for a special occasion (in my world) drink desert wine with deserts that are to die for. Not the best array of vegetarian choices, but what’s there is pretty ace. At the moment, one of the vegetarian starters is a salad of deep fried globe artichoke & radicchio with roast garlic purée. I heart artichoke.

I first cooked this recipe to get me and Spike into the groove for our Morocco trip (like we needed any help) and I cooked it again for my friends a few weeks ago, in my brand-new tagine straight out of the Marrakechi souks.  It’s a based on a James Martin Recipe from the BBC website, but as always, I have adapted it in my special Kinchin-way (I really can’t stick to recipes, it feels like cheating). I think this serves two. Normal folk may think it serves four. I’m not usually a huge fan of fruit in savoury food, but please add the apricots…LUSH!

Ingredients:

For the tagine: 2 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, thickly sliced 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp smoked sweet paprika, ½ tsp ground cumin, ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper, 1kg/2lb 4oz sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks, 1 x 400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes, 1 x 400g can of chick peas, 2 tbsp sundried tomatoes, 2 tbsp honey, ½ tsp saffron, 200ml/7fl oz water, 40g/1½oz preserved lemons, finely chopped 125g/4½oz dried apricots, halved, 110g/4oz green olives, stones removed, 40g/1½oz whole almonds, 1 small bunch coriander.

For the couscous:  200g/7oz couscous 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 10g/½oz preserved lemons, rinsed, drained, pulp removed, flesh finely chopped ½ lemon, juice only 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves, to serve

Method:

1. For the tagine, heat a large, deep frying pan with a lid until hot. Add the olive oil, onions and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. 2. Add all of the spices and fry for one minute. 3. Add the sweet potatoes and stir well. 4. Add all of the remaining ingredients, except the coriander, stir well and simmer. 5. Chop the coriander stalks, reserving the leaves for later, and add the stalks to the pan.

Reduce the heat, cover with a lid, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the sweet potato is just tender. Or use your tagine!

6. For the couscous, place the couscous into a heatproof bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover the couscous by 1.5cm/½in. 7. Add the olive oil, preserved lemon and lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir well, then cover and set aside for 3-5 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed. 8. Remove the cling film and fluff the couscous up with a fork. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 9. To serve, spoon some couscous onto each plate. Spoon the tagine onto the couscous and sprinkle over the reserved coriander leaves. Serve with yoghurt and roast tomatoes. Play some North African Desert Blues and enjoy…Happy New Year folks and thanks for reading my blog in 2012.  Stay tuned as I plan to have my own TV show in 2012…! X

The country was mighty incredible and everything I hoped it would be, and I loved every minute of the time we were there, but unfortunately some of the food for vegetarians was pretty poor and lacked inspiration and choice. At the end of the 10 days, I was close to shoving a vegetable tagine where the sun don’t shine.

The problem was – vegetable tagines are a side dish, so everywhere I ate, they consisted of exactly the same vegetables – carrots and potatoes, with some green olives thrown in for good measure. Beautiful – but not every day! For someone who loves food, and variety in food – this is deeply disappointing. In some parts of Morocco, the poverty is very apparent. Probably the most poverty I’ve ever experienced whilst travelling. Bringing in some more exciting veggie food could be a much cheaper way to eat and is clearly one of the most obvious ways forward in a world that’s exceeding 7 billion http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ (check this out for crazy, terrifying stats!) and help curb Global Warming http://bit.ly/4wAemy - this was written 4 years ago and more and more proof is coming out that Vegetarianism could be the answer in our lifetime. I was there during Ede too, so the slaughter of sheep left, right and centre during my stay certainly made for an interesting juxtaposition from my dreaded hippy-vegetarian perspective!

We travelled far and wide in the time we were there – hitting the brilliantly bonkers and vibrant city of Marrakech, the slightly more peaceful, rugged and yet charming sea-side town of Essaouira. Then we headed for the desert in Ouarzazate and did some glamping in a tent in the middle of the sahara desert in Erg Chigaga. Next stop was high up in the Atlas Mountains in an idyllic spot with views of mountains and the nearby village and then we had one more night in the bustle of Marrakech before heading home. The scenery was as diverse and spectacular as any I’ve ever experienced. I felt like I was experiencing incredible cinematography with every step.

All of our accommodation,  was incredible (bar one crazy place in Ouarzazate which was terrifying and like the hotel out of The Shining). In each riad we stayed in, we were served mint tea and delish Moroccan sweet treats on arrival. The Moroccans really love sweet stuff. And carbs. Breakfasts were a feast of pancakes, honey, yoghurt, cakes, jams and freshly sqeezed orange juice of the Gods.

Here, I’ve compiled my favourite eaty/drinky places in Morocco -

Marrakech –

Earth Café - full-on vegetarian world food and fusion feasts with ace fresh juices. One of my favourite meals of our travels. From the website, I can see there are three. We found one down a lane not far from the main square and it was 100% veggie.

Jemaa el-Fnaa – at night, this bonkers square in the heart of Marrakech; also a world heritage site, overflows with cheap food and a fair amount of choice for vegetarians, including olives galore, grilled vegetables, spicy sauces tagines and cous cous. Very Moroccan. The orange juices you can get for 40p are also a taste sensation, like sunshine in a cup and there are snacks a-plenty with stalls brimming with dates, apricots, nuts and more.

Terrace Des Epices - The food here wasn’t great, but the booths are ace and it’s a wondrous way to relax and have a mint tea above the hustle bustle of the souks below.

Essaouira -

Elizir – This pad combined two of my favourite things – food and vintage. The dude who owns it has been collecting vintage Moroccan nik naks since the 60′s and the result is swell. The food is equally as delicious and we drank Moroccan wine. WIN. WIN. WIN. I can’t find a website, but if you Google “Elizir Essaouira” you should be able to find all the info you need.

The tastiest tagine I had was in the Sahara dessert at the Erg Chigaga sand dunes when we did a bit of posh Tuareg camping with Sahara Services. They cook the tagines in a hole in the sand.

So, there we are. My Moroccan adventure in a nutshell. I’ll add the names and links to the riads we stayed in after NYE. I wanted to share Morocco before 2011 was over, so a happy NYE to ya’ll. Next up is the recipe for my favourite vegetarian tagine…

Some of my all-time favourite Vegetarian cookbooks

Cooks books I don’t have (hints at family!) but would dearly love to own!

Terre a Terre The Vegetarian Cook Book

Meat Free Monday cookbook

For The Love of Food by Dennis Cotter

The Gate Vegetarian Cook Book – Easy Vegetarian

Accidental Vegetarian by Simon Rimmer

Other gifts ideas -

Kitchens - anything from this shop. For any foodies, this is the place to go for weird and wonderful kitchen trinkets. From pasta machines to cup cake moulds, they have everything. It’s porn for foodies.

Happy Shopping!

My Mum has always cooked me Glamorgan sausages for Christmas lunch, so it’s nostalgic for me and they are pretty easy to make. Leeks are seasonal too, so another big win. Even the meat-heads around your festive table can enjoy these beauties. These recipes serve 4, so you’ll need to adjust the recipes accordingly. My first Christmas blog will be based on speed and taste as I’ve been mega busy, I wanted to show folk how quickly you can rustle-up something home-made and vegetarian!

Here’s what I’ll be cooking on Christmas Day….

The Recipes

Glamorgan Sausages with maple roast parsnips and red onion gravy. (Serve with any seasonal veg)

Glam Sausages Ingredients – 25g butter 115g leeks, trimmed| finely sliced (prepared weight)|100g fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs|75g polenta grains|2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (flat leaf and curly)|1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme|75g Caerphilly cheese,75g Welsh Cheddar, finely grated 2 free-range eggs, separated, 1 tsp Welsh mustard, 1/2 tsp paprika, ½ tsp sea salt 5 tbsp sunflower oil, freshly ground black pepper.

 Melt the butter in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the leek gently for 8-10minutes, or until very soft but not coloured. Put 75g of the breadcrumbs, the parsley, thyme and cheese in a large mixing bowl and mix until well combined. Beat the egg yolks with the mustard, salt and plenty of black pepper in a separate bowl.

Remove the frying pan from the heat and tip the leeks into the bowl with the breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and mix together well with a large wooden spoon until combined. Divide the leek mixture into eight portions and roll into sausage shapes. Place the sausages onto a tray lined with clingfilm. Whisk the egg whites lightly in a bowl with a large metal whisk until just frothy. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and polenta grains over a large plate. Dip the sausages one at a time into the beaten egg and roll in the breadcrumbs and polenta until evenly coated, then place on the baking tray. Chill the sausages in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Heat the oil into a large non-stick frying pan and fry the sausages over a medium heat for 10-12 minutes, turning regularly until golden-brown and crisp. The leftover sausages are amazing served with red onion marmalade.

Red Onion Gravy

Ingredients:  4 red onions, very finely sliced| small knob of butter| Olive oil| 250ml red wine| 2 sprigs of sage leaves picked and finely sliced (or any wintery herbs)| 300ml vegetable stock| a spoonful of marmite.

Gently fry the onions in the butter and a splash of olive oil and cook very slowly for about 40 minutes, until they’re gooey. Add the wine and reduce by half, then add the sage and stock with the spoonful of marmite. Season to taste. Bring to the boil and serve. Use flour to thicken depending on how you like it!

Maple Roast Parsnips

Ingredients 1kg parsnips| 125ml vegetable oil| 80ml maple syrup| springs of lemon thyme.

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6. Peel the parsnips and then halve them crosswise, then halve or quarter each piece lengthwise. Pop the parsnips into a roasting tin. Pour the oil over the parsnips and mix them well so that the oil covers all of the pieces. Pour the maple syrup over the parsnips, scatter with sprigs of lemon thyme and transfer the roasting tin to the oven. Roast the parsnips for 35 minutes, or until they are tender and golden-brown. You can do the same with sweet potatoes and squash and they are equally as delish (see pic).

Hot Chocolate Orange Pud

Yes I know; veggies can eat veggie Christmas puds, but I don’t like them, and this is better – Chocolate and orange is a festive flavour, so it’s chocolate all the way for me. You can make these in advance and pop them in the over. I’ve kept them in the fridge for days…you just need to keep them in the oven a little longer.

This is my mate Jojo’s Mum’s recipe, adapted by me and it’s super-quick.

Ingredients: 200g quality dark chocolate| 100g chocolate orange| Grated rind of one orange|75g Unsalted butter 50g soft light brown sugar| 4 table spoons of thick cut orange marmalade

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6. Butter 6 x 150ml capacity pudding tins or ramekins. Place the chocolate and orange rind in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Once melted, stir until smooth. Allow to cool slightly. Place the butter, sugar, eggs, flour and orange marmalade in a food processor and blend to make a smooth batter. Add the melted chocolate and whizz again until well-combined. Divide the mixture between the dishes. Place on a baking tray and cook for 9 minutes.

Serve with a little chunk of chocolate orange as decoration and a sprinkling of icing sugar, along with any festive trinkets you may have lying about.

That’s all for now. I think you’ll be suitably full and festive by this point. I hope you have a bloody marvellous Christmas and I’ll blog you next week! Please tell me about any festive vegetarian delights you’ve been cooking up too!

Just a really quick post from me to remind all Welshy Foodies (or anyone who happens to be in/near Wales today) that this weekend is a food lovers dream = Newport Food Festival (Saturday 29 October) and Cowbridge Food and Drink Festival (Saturday 29 October and Sunday 30 October).

I attended Newport Food Festival Supper last night in the Indoor Market and it was a gorgeous event, with especially gorgeous food. My main of Halloumi Wellington was one of the best main courses I have had in yonks. It is something I will most certainly be trying to re-create for a We Love Bites recipe very soon. Halloumi is the best cheese on the planet. FACT. Put it in a pastry overcoat and this, it seems, is a posh cheese pie to die for. My (vegan) stuffed tomato starter and desert by Gemelli’s were also excellent, but it’s all about the Halloumi Wellington for me. I could eat it again now for breakfast and not feel guilty.

Each course was created and chefed by glorious eateries in Newport; The Bell Inn , The Waterloo  Gemelli’s

More from me about all of the Welsh Festivals I’ve been to this year when I return from Morocco, where I’ll be having a vegetarian Moroccan cooking class and coming home with lip-smacking, Tagine-tastic recipes to share…

I was very cordially invited by Freshwater PR to attend the opening evening of the Cardiff branch of Red Hot World Buffet- a chain that specialises in food from across the globe and boasts over 300 dishes.

Immediately, alarm bells were a-ringing, as this isn’t the kind of dining experience I would usually opt for. Being a vegetarian in this scenario is usually just a bit embarrassing as I often have to explain why I don’t eat prawns, pigs, etc…even if they are cut up real small. I like to think of myself of an ethically-aware, conscious eater/chef/diner for the most part. Others might call me a horrible snob. I care about animals and their welfare and I try and care about where my food comes from by eating seasonally and responsibly as much as I can. This is not easy coming from a big, giant family like mine. Eating out is a bit of a mare as we range in age from 4 – 73 and I am very much the only vegetarian, the black sheep (albeit one reared on organic blades of grass), of the family. My family LOVE all you can eat. The Kinchin Clan are BIG eaters. When we dine out, there are usually at least 10 of us, and often more like 20. To please the masses, we opt for buffets, like Spice Route, and to be honest, put a Dosa in my mouth and I’m as happy as an ethically-raised pig in poop.

Red Hot World Buffet is probably the best all you can eat chain banquet you’ll ever eat, for many reasons. I love something a bit out of the ordinary, and this night was by far the most 80′s-tinged, bizarre, camp, kitsch, wonderfully mish-masp-up of an event I have had the pleasure of attending in a long while and the service was ace. My buddy Jojo came with me, who also does not indulge in meat-eating, and agreed that it was indeed “brilliantly bonkers and insane”.

Before I get to the food, I need to explain another reason why you must, at least once, go to this restaurant… It has mirrored walls. Its has black and red decor. It is like an 80′s casino/nightclub, and the midnight buffet ball room on the QE2. I was immediately transported back to my 80′s childhood dining experiences in hotels in the Med. Literally all that was missing was the sugar swan. I was gutted I hadn’t put my hair in a side pony and donned my ra-ra skirt. Even the food was served in this retro fashion that my Mum (in the 80′s) would have been proud of.

And so to the cuisine… There was  A LOT of vegetarian options. We started with the salads which were almost all vegetarian. The mango salsa and caprese salad were my favourites. After walking around with a sense of utter wonderment, we went for a second-helping of Indian. One of the chefs made us a dosa on the spot. This was delicious, as was the buttery Dahl Makhani. Next up was the Tex Mex, which wasn’t such a delight for veggies, but we enjoyed the quirky Nachos scoop machine. Our fourth plate was a mass of deserts. There were more mini-puds here than anyone could ever hope to chomp. The mini chocolate tart, the pavlova and a few other deserts were pretty nice. I forget what they were, because at that point, I was drunk on food. I had slipped into a food coma and I can’t quite pin-point what it was I ate. I know it was sweet and there was lots and lots and lots. Too much. No-one needs this amount of food.

Will I go again? On a family eating-fest, I just might. The Kinchins will love it. They are all about quantity. It is most certainly the best of this brand of eating experience that I have tried, but I am no expert. It was certainly a vegetarian adventure that I enjoyed, but maybe not one I’ll re-visit too often.

Ingredients - 8 tbsp plain flour|2 tbsp caster sugar|2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter|1 free-range egg yolk|50g/1¾oz butter, softened| icing sugar, for dusting|raspberry/strawberry jam.

Method –

This recipe is easy peasy and hella cheap too! I’ve poshed it up a touch by making a mint and walnut pesto to drizzle over it and I’ve thrown a few toasted pumpkin seeds on. The mint is from my little garden and the onion was plucked from the ground by Keith, my boyfriend’s kind, green-fingered Pa.

Soup – 4 cloves of garlic|1 white onion|1KG pack of frozen or freshly podded peas|vegetable stock|plain/soya yoghurt|salt and black pepper|fresh mint

Pesto – handful of fresh mint|handful of walnuts|1/2 lemon juice|drizzle of unfiltered, green olive oil|1 clove garlic – whizz the ingredients up in a blender. Smooth or nutty, the choice is yours. 

Method

Fry the garlic and onions for a couple of minutes. Add the bag of peas 1.3 litres of water (with stock). Simmer for 15 minutes, add a good fat pinch of rock salt and some freshly ground black pepper and then let your blender work its magic. Return to the saucepan for five minutes and add more seasoning to taste. Add a dollop of the yoghurt, some toasted pumpkin seeds (dry fried), a little pile of pesto and a grind of pepper. Done.

Beauties.

I do so love a Scotch Egg. In fact, I adore British food, but it’s often pretty hard to find a vegetarian equivalent when eating out.

I’ve tried this company’s http://www.handmadescotcheggs.co.uk/ Vegetarian Scotch eggs many times as they are often have stalls at food festivals and in Riverside Food Market in Cardiff. Every time a vegetarian Scotch egg passes my lips, I swear I will try making them, but I always thought they looked super-difficult. They are not! I finally got around to making some earlier this year and these literally were whipped up in less than 30 minutes.

They are an ace, sociable piece of delish to cook with friends and me and my buddy Andrew whipped these up on a production line for two, a few months ago for a picnic I organised.

This is a Simon Rimmer recipe. You’ll know him from Something for the Weekend and he owns Greens in Manchester – my bestest vegetarian restaurant. I’ve added Sundried tomatoes and polenta as you probably all know by now, I never follow a recipes to the word! I feel like that’s cheating. He also serves his with picallili but I serve mine with a home-made red onion marmalade or Jojo’s chilli jam (recipe to follow!) Sometimes it’s a disaster, but this time it was not… I think you could use almost any lentil or bean and root veg combo as the “Scotch” – I’m going to try and create a Glamorgan Sausage Welsh Egg next…

Ingredients

4 free-range eggs|vegetable oil, for deep frying|2 tbsp olive oil|knob of butter|1 onion, finely chopped|1 carrot, grated|1 garlic clove, chopped|½ tsp chilli flakes|400g/14oz canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained, blended to a paste in a food processor|1 raw beetroot, peeled, grated|8 sundried tomatoes|1 tsp fresh thyme leaves|salt and freshly ground white pepper|100g/3½oz plain flour|2 free-range eggs, beaten|175g/6oz breadcrumbs|polenta for rolling after the breadcrumbs. 

Method:

Start by boiling the eggs for nine minutes, then plunge into cold water to cool. You may want the yolk slightly more yolky, so take a few minutes off if you do.

Half-fill a deep, heavy-based pan or wok with the vegetable oil and heat until a breadcrumb sizzles and turns brown when dropped into it. (CAUTION: Do not leave unattended.)

Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan. When the butter is foaming add the onion, carrot, garlic and chilli flakes and fry until the onion has softened.

Purée the chickpeas and sundried tomatoes together and place the purée into a large bowl. Add the fried ingredients and mix together well. Add the beetroot and thyme and season very well with salt and freshly ground white pepper. Peel the eggs then dunk them in the flour.

Wrap the mix chickpea mixture evenly around each of the boiled eggs, making sure there are no gaps and mould into balls. Roll the coated eggs in the beaten egg, then roll in the breadcrumbs to coat completely, followed by the polenta which will crisp them up a treat.

Carefully add the coated eggs to the hot oil with a large set of rubber-ended kitchen pincers and deep-fry for 3-4 minutes, or until crisp and golden-brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Serve with rocket salad and a heap of Red Onion and Chilli Marmalade or a rocket pesto (pictured)