Lebanese Green Beans with Tomatoes (Loobyeh)

We really enjoyed this meal of a cool fall evening. The flavors are mild, yet with enjoyable spiciness. It is a traditional Lebanese recipe, easily adapted to be vegan using the TVP medallions.

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Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces dried dried TVP medallions or large chunks
• boiling water
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 4 cups green beans, ends trimmed off and cut into 2″ pieces
• 1 15 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• salt and pepper to taste
• served on white rice
• chopped parsley as garnish

Directions:

1. Place the dried TVP medallions or chunks in a bowl.
2. Bring a pot of water to boil and pour the boiling water over the TVP.
3. Allow the TVP to swell for 10 minutes.
4. Wash the green beans.
5. Cut the ends from the beans and cut them into 2 inch pieces.
6. Place the green beans in a steamer and steam al dente.
7. Chop the onion and mince the cloves.
8. Heat the oil in large frying pan,
9. Add the onions and sauté until glassy.
10. Be sure to start cooking your rice at this point. (You will want enough rice for 4 servings).
11. Add the can of crushed tomatoes and the can of tomato paste.
12. Add the cumin, cinnamon allspice and stir well to mix.
13. Add the steamed green beans and the TVP pieces.
14. Season with salt and pepper.
15. Serve the meal over a bed of white rice, garnished with chopped parsley and plain non-dairy yogurt.

Related Posts:

• Bruschetta with Muhammara Spread and Chopped Tomatoes
• Artichoke Risotto with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Smokey Tofu
• Gnocchi with Creamy Vegan Tomato Sauce, Turnip…
• Barley Risotto with Fava Beans, Corn and Mushrooms

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Purple Pesto Pasta with Beets

We have been making various kinds of pesto this year. Last night we enjoyed purple beet leaf pesto on pasta with beets. It was really delicious and fun to make.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

• organic spaghetti for 4
• 3-4 medium red beets, peeled and cubed
• 1-1½ cups beet leaf pesto
• toasted sunflower seeds as garnish

Directions:

1. Peel and cut the beets.
2. Place the beets in a pot and cover with water.
3. Add a pinch of salt and cook until the beets are soft , yet al dente (about 20 minutes).
4. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil.
5. Cook the pasta al dente.
6. Meanwhile, warm the pre-made beet leaf pesto in a small sauce pan.
   If the pesto is too thick, you can add a bit of water to make it more as a sauce.
7. Taste a couple of handfuls of sunflower seeds in a dry frying pan.
8. Serve the pasta with the pesto sauce and soon the beets on top using a slotted spoon.
9. Sprinkle the toasted sunflower seeds and enjoy the meal warm.

Related Posts:

• Spinach and Purple Potato Casserole
• Review: Warm Potato And Purple Cabbage Salad
• Purple Potato Pancakes with Vegan Cheese Sauce
• Salad of Roasted Parsnips, Beets and Quince with Oranges
• Sweet Sour Salad with Beets, Rutabaga and Oranges

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Our New Home Compostable Packaging

It’s taken a few years of researching, testing and redeveloping, but we are extremely proud to re-introduce our 120-strong range of organic store cupboard ingredients, now in home compostable, 100% plastic free packaging.
 
Most plastic bags for store cupboard items are not recyclable, so we are delighted to now be using home compostable packaging for all of our Planet Organic store cupboard products, from red rice to apple chips and flaked almonds to gluten free oats.
 
Our new bags are made from two layers of material for strength; FSC certified sustainable eucalyptus chippings and GM-free corn, stuck together with home compostable glue. The bag has been certified by the TUV as OK Home Compostable and even though we hope they don’t end up here, they are certified as marine compostable too. When these bags break down, they will leave no toxic residue, unlike biodegradable or plastic packaging.
 
How do I dispose of it?
If your local council collects food waste separately, pop it in there, or chuck it onto your garden compost heap, if you have one. When disposing with food waste to the council, we’d recommend snipping it up into smaller pieces to avoid it being removed.
 
We know these options aren’t available for everyone, so if you dispose of these bags with your other waste, it will break down in landfill too and not leave any toxic residue. The bags will compost within one to two years, depending on the conditions.  
 
Composability is a characteristic of a product or packaging that allows it to biodegrade under specific conditions. Composting can reduce the volume of organic waste quite significantly, while the compost produced can be used for agricultural and horticultural purposes. About 50% of all domestic waste comprises organic material, a percentage that is set to grow in the future due to the growing popularity of biodegradable products like packaging, disposable cutlery and plates etc.
 
So, what’s the difference between industrially compostable, home compostable and biodegradable?
 
Biodegradable means it will eventually break down. It is not going to stay at landfill for decades or hundreds of years.
 
Compostable, on the other hand, means it is not only going to break down, but it is also not going to leave any toxic residues during the process of breaking down. There are different levels of composability which depend on time, temperature and oxygen levels.
 
Industrially compostable means that packaging can only be broken down in an industrial composting plant. It requires very high temperatures and very low oxygen levels during this process. It can be broken down in around 180 days under the right conditions.
Unfortunately, there are not a lot of Industrial Composting Sites available in the UK. Most councils also cannot deal with industrially compostable materials due to lack of infrastructure.
 
Home compostable does not require higher temperatures or a lack of oxygen to break down, therefore it can break down without special industrial conditions.
 

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Vegan Sage Biscuits

Sage has such a lovely “musky” aroma and taste. It is an amazing herb, it can withstand the freezing temperatures, and grows lush in the summers. It really should be used more often than just stuffing at holiday time.

I harvest sage throughout the summer, drying some and freezing others. And this year I will also make sage syrup so it is on hand for cough and cold season. We really enjoyed these sage biscuits last Sunday. They are a basic baking powder biscuit or scone recipe with a generous addition of fresh sage.

Yield: 6-7 medium biscuits

Ingredients:

• 2 cups AP flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup fresh sage, minced
• 4 tablespoons vegan margarine
• 1 egg replacement
• 4 tablespoons non-dairy milk

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 475°F/245°C.
2. Place baking parchment on a cookie sheet.
3. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and minced sage in a medium large bowl.
4. Cut in the vegan margarine and blend until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
5. Mix the egg replacement (I used Orgran No-Egg), and add the non-dairy milk.
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until the moisture forms a dough ball. Don’t over-work the dough.
7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured workspace..and fold over 3-4 times to make a consistent mass.
8. Flatten by hand until it’s about ½-¾ inch thick.
9. I used a water class to “cut out” the biscuit forms.
10. I placed a small sage leaf on top of each biscuit.
11. Set on the baking parchment lined baking sheet and place in the oven to bale 15-18 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
12. Remove from the oven and serve warm with vegan margarine or a vegan spread.
13. The biscuits are best warm.

Related Posts:

• Vegan Cheesy Zucchini Biscuits
• Vegan Pea Salad
• Borscht - the Vegan Version
• Vegan Dandelion Pesto
• Vegan Pea and Kale Patties

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Fresh Spinach Ravioli with a Mushroom Sauce

We harvested the first of our organic spinach of the season this morning and enjoyed these delicious ravioli for dinner tonight. it was really lovely having our own home grown vegan meal.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

for the ravioli pasta:

• 1 cup semolina or pasta flour
• ½ cup AP flour
• pinch salt
• ½ cup warm water
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

for the spinach filling:

• 1 lb. fresh spinach, washed
• 1 leek white and light green parts only, chopped
• 1 tablespoon oil
• splash lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• dash nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

for the mushroom sauce:

• 1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 cups soy yogurt
• thyme
• pinch red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste

Garnished with basil leaves, chopped chives and vegan Parmesan.

Directions:

1. Prepare the pasta first. To make the dough:
   1. Mix the ingredients with a mixer using dough betters.
   2. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and allow to sit for 1/2 an hour.
2. To make the filling:
   1. Wash the spinach.
   2. Chop the leek.
   3. Heat a large frying pan with oil.
   4. Add the chopped leek and begin to sauté.
   5. Add the spinach and sauté until it wilts.
   6. Add the splash of lemon juice and the thyme and nutmeg.
   7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
   8. Remove from the frying pan and allow to cool.
3. To make the mushroom sauce:
   1. Chop the onion.
   2. Clean and slice the mushrooms.
   3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan.
   4. Add the chopped onion and sauté.
   5. Add the mushrooms and and garlic.
   6. Cook on a low heat until the mushrooms have soften and release their liquid.
   7. Add the soy yogurt and gently mix.
   8. Season with the thyme, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper.
4. To make the ravioli:
   1. Roll out a portion of the ravioli dough on a lightly floured workspace.
   2. Roll out enough to make a couple of ravioli top and bottom pastas.
   3. Using a ravioli form indent markings for the ravioli bottoms.
   4. Place a spoonful of the spinach filling within the indented markings.
   5. Place the pasta top over the filling and press together with your fingers Using the ravioli form, press the form through both top and bottom pieces thus making a seal of the edges and cutting the form.
   6. Lay the ravioli on a lightly floured plate and continue making the ravioli until all the dough and filling has been used.
   7. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil.
   8. Cook 3 or 4 ravioli at a time. They are done when they float.
5. To serve the ravioli:
   1. The ravioli can be served plain with just a bit of vegan Parmesan sprinkled on top and garnished with chopped chives, or place a generous serving of the mushrooms sauce on a plate, and top with 2 or 3 ravioli. Garnish with the chopped chives and vegan Parmesan.

Notes:
Making ravioli from scratch is not difficult, joust a bit time consuming, but it is well worth the effort. The more often you make ravioli from scratch, the easier it becomes.

Related Posts:

• Vegetable Ravioli and Mushroom Salad with Kale, Walnut Pesto
• Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Crepes
• Vegan Spinach Gnudi dressed with Tomato Sauce
• Semolina Pudding with Fresh Berries
• Creamy Vegan Tortellini with Fresh Veggies

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Cashew, Sweet Potato and Tamarind Curry

Our friends at Rude Health have teamed up with ultimate vegetarian foodie and author of The Modern Cook's Year, Anna Jones, for this comforting plant based recipe. 

‘This recipe is a version of a recipe that has become a weeknight classic in my house. The sweet potato and tamarind come together to make a vibrant curry perfectly balanced between sweet and sour.’ – Anna Jones

Serves 4?
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons of garam masala
- 800g sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
- 1x 400g tin of good chopped tomatoes?
- 400ml Rude Health Cashew Drink?
- 2 tablespoons tamarind paste

From the store cupboard: 
- 1 onion (red or white)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- coconut or groundnut oil.
- Brown rice or chapatis to serve

Optional Toppings:
- Toasted coconut flakes
- Lemon wedges for squeezing
- Fresh coriander
- Toasted cashews 

Method:

1.  

1. Peel and finely chop your onion and finely slice 2 cloves of garlic. Heat a little oil in a large deep saucepan, add the onion and garlic and a good pinch of salt and cook for 10 minutes until soft and sweet. ?

2. Next add the garam masala and cook for another couple of minutes. ?
3. Add the sweet potato, tinned tomatoes, cashew drink and the tamarind, together with a good pinch of salt, and allow this to simmer on a low heat for 20-30 minutes until the sweet potato is cooked and the sauce is rich and thick. ?
4. Taste and add more salt if needed and a little more tamarind if the curry needs more of its sour kick. ?
5. Divide between four bowls and serve with brown rice or chapatis and top with add ons above if you like. ?

 

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Planet Organic Queen's Park

 
Planet Organic is extremely excited to open its eighth store in Queen’s Park, Northwest London this August. The shop will be part of Queen’s Studios on Salusbury Road in the heart of Queen’s Park.
 
The pop-up café outside is already set up outside the store serving organic coffee, vegan affogatos and kombucha on tap while we work on getting the store ready for opening. The pop-up will be open 8am-4pm Monday to Friday and 9-5pm Saturday and Sunday for the whole of July, so stop by and say hello to the new team.
 
Our Queen’s Park store is already set up online for click and collect orders during the coffee bike’s opening hours, so simply order online and collect from the team at our pop-up café.  
 
In store, we’ll have fresh juices and organic coffee, wholesome hot food and superfood salads, our unpackaged range of store cupboard essentials, organic fruit and vegetables, a natural health and beauty section and plenty of eco living products for your home. 
 
With a strong, family orientated community, we feel that Queen’s Park is a perfect location for Planet Organic and we are very much looking forward to meeting our new neighbours.

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