Vegetarian for Lent.

I have done something. Something very silly. I have become a vegetarian for Lent.

My mum is a vegetarian and often I think; "pah... It can't be that hard."

It is hard. Very hard. This morning I went to a market. The first stall was a sausage stall, from Cumbria. The man was very lovely, telling me all about his sausages, how he made them just a couple of days before.

"Would I like to try?" he asked. This continued for many stalls. Chorizo untouched, Parma ham ignored.

I am not a vegetarian because I feel sorry for the slaughtered animals, or because I don't like meat. I have become vegetarian for a stupid reason.

And to make it worse, I am going to Paris at the end of the month. Before the end of Lent.

For Lent next year I will give up something easy, like... erm...

Veggie Sausage Rolls

Now I know that you can not beat a proper sausage. But my mother is a vegetarian.

Grate some strong cheese and mix with a carton of cream (full fat). Add a grated onion, mustard powder and plenty of pepper. Toast some bread and whizz into breadcrumbs and combine in the mixture too. Get your hands in and make some sausage shaped patties. Roll out pastry (lazy) and line up the sausages (or make one massive sausage along the pastry. Roll and trim. Egg wash and egg wash again. Chop into desired length and bake.


Many non- veggies LOVE these bad boys!

Posh Bacon Butty

Posh bacon butty. Bacon from arguably the best butchers in Wales; Edwards of Conwy (ah-mazing sweet cure, thick cut back bacon), vine tomatoes gently fried, french bread with butter (full fat). Done.

Choppy Egg

Now, I know that this looks a hot mess. I agree. But this is another favourite of mine, from when I was a kid and poor. My mum used to make it for my breakfast. It is basically fried egg on toast (with full- fat butter), but the magic happens when you chop each slice into 16 pieces. Bite-sized heaven. My mum says I should have grown out of finger food by now...

Some cute little cakes I made. I love piping icing.

Rib of Beef

This was a treat tea one night. Sorry about the poor picture, funny lighting. Anyway, this rib of beef was bigger than my head. I marinated it in rosemary and garlic (my favourite) and gave it a jolly good rub before sealing and putting it in the oven for the briefest of time; Served blue.

Fruity Cheesecake

I made this cheesecake for my stepdad's birthday. Needless to say he was rather impressed. However, it was nearly a disaster...

I had been very careful when making this cheesecake as I hadn't made one before. Once I had put it in the oven and I was clearing away, I realised I had forgotten to add the sugar. So I had to mix in the sugar in the cake tin, being careful not to mess up the base. Nightmare.

The fruit looks really pretty on top, I dipped each piece in caster sugar and it gave a nice glaze. 

And as well as looking good, it tasted fantastic.

Florentines

I made some florentines before Christmas. They were a bloody nightmare... I had to paint each of them with a different flavour of chocolate. I realised afterwards that it would have been easier to use white chocolate and add different food colouring. They looked fab though.

Scallops with Chorizo and Pea Puree

These were so easy. Cook peas in chicken stock. Drain off some of the stock and pulse the remainder with the peas in a blender with salt and pepper to taste. Fry the chorizo, then use the chorizo oil to quickly flash- fry the scallops. Heaven.

Blackberry Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Oh God these were so good. I love the cases and the fruit on the top. I put quite a lot of baking powder into the mixture so they were quite an 'interesting' texture inside. Delicious still though.