Warming. Aromatic. Robust. Easy.

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Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm acrylic on Saunders Waterford 100% cotton archival paper. A design in the style of the heraldic crests (kamon) of Japan. This is the strength, the shield, the warrior which protects against and wards off colds.

Original painting for you?

Did you know you can download images of the paintings for your own personal (not commercial) use? Computer wallpaper, Facebook profile picture, yes you can. Find your favourite painting on Flickr, go to actions, view all sizes, download the size you want to your device, set it as your wallpaper or profile. And tell your friends where it came from :)

Original artwork can be purchased in the Official Art Store. This particular piece is currently drying and will be available for $AU150 shortly. To find out exactly when that is, get on the mailing list, yellow box top left.

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The meatless meals recipe

All throughout asia there exists ginger tea as a warming, cold fighting drink. It's so common and popular that you can buy boxes of little sachets of it, ready at the addition of boiling water. They are very convenient, and also so very, very sweet and usually somewhat lacking in the robustness of fresh ginger. Here's how to make the real thing. It's much, much better.

50g fresh ginger, sliced. It can be peeled or unpeeled. Peeled will minimise any scum formation. Unpeeled will have more biting gingery warmth. It's up to you.

3 tablespoons honey

5 cups water.

Put all the ingredients in a pot together and simmer gently for half an hour.

This makes 4 mugs of fresh ginger tea.

The ginger can be reused once. It will still have it's ginger flavour, but no 'kick'. It may also require less honey. 2 tablespoons instead of 3 usually does the trick.

Warming. Spiced. Rich. Moreish.

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Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm oil on linen. According to Wikipedia: "in contrast to European dragons that are considered evil, Chinese dragons traditionally symbolize potent and auspicious powers, particularly control over water, rainfall, and floods. The dragon is also a symbol of power, strength, and good luck." This particular dragon is symbolizing the potency and power of the hot and numbing sichuan pepper integral to this dish. Consider yourself warned!

By the way, all the food painting artwork is available to own in the Official Art Store.

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The meatless meals recipe

Warming. Easy. Satisfying. Chunky.

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Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm acrylic on paper. The paper is no ordinary paper, it is textured Hahnemuhle 300 gsm 100% alpha cellulose which is acid-free fibre of vegetable origin.

Inspired by the style of Gus Leunig which absolutely makes me swoon and the symbols of Mexican folk art and pre Columbian petraglyphs.

By the way, all the food painting artwork is available to own in the Official Art Store.

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The meatless meals recipe

Apparently the correct title for this would actually be 'chilli sin carne'. However, 'chilli non carne' makes sense to those of us who don't speak Spanish and is probably understandable to those who do as well. This recipe is a vegetarian adaptation of my mother-in-law's recipe for chilli con carne which hubby insisted we had to make into a vege version as it had been a childhood favourite. I can see why.

1 medium to large onion, diced fine

2 cloves garlic, minced

100g stuffed green olives, sliced

1/2 cup white wine

400g tomato puree

1 3/4 cups or around 270g (400g tin) cooked red kidney beans

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder, or to taste

1/2 cup red lentils

1/2 cup TVP

1 to 1 1/2 cups stock

Fry onion until softened.

Add all the other ingredients. 

Cover and cook for 25 minutes.

Serves 4 on rice or mashed potato.

Warming. Easy. Thrifty. Aromatic.

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Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm acrylic on paper. The paper is no ordinary paper, it is textured Hahnemuhle 300 gsm 100% alpha cellulose which is acid-free fibre of vegetable origin.

Although the basic ingredients for this soup are ones that I think are very English, the added spices send the end result to a different part of the world. When I made this for friends the consensus was 'South American'. And so in looking for painting inspiration I researched the patterns and folk art of South America. If it looks rather 70's to you, it may be because that was the time that orange in designs and Mexican folk art were popular.

By the way, all the food painting artwork is available to own in the Official Art Store.

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The meatless meals recipe

We used to be fed a mash of carrot and parsnip as a side when I was a kid. It was an unusual change from our staples of boiled or roast veges and one of the few ways I actually enjoy the taste of carrot. In trying to concoct a recipe that has carrot as a main flavour (I was thrown down a challenge!) I remembered this parsnip and carrot mash and thought it would make a great soup. Yep. It does. And it's another way I can stomach carrots which are close to my least favourite vegetable.

1 large onion, chopped

1 tablespoon butter or oil

1 teaspoon cumin powder

2 teaspoons coriander powder

5 cups stock

4 pinches hot paprika

1 pinch dried thyme

1 bay leaf

about 185g carrot, diced

about 185g parsnip, diced

1 3/4 cups or 270g cooked chickpeas

Melt butter. Soften onion with cumin and coriander.
Add all the other ingredients.
Simmer on low, lid ON, until everything is nice and soft.
Remove the bay leaf. Puree.

Warms 4.

Moreish. Satisfying. Aromatic. Warming.

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Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm acrylic on paper. The paper is no ordinary paper, it is textured Hahnemuhle 300 gsm 100% alpha cellulose which is acid-free fibre of vegetable origin. 

Let's celebrate sequins, Indian style! Dots and dangling glitter and sparkle and bright cheerfulness everywhere.

By the way, all the food painting artwork is available to own in the Official Art Store.

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The meatless meals recipe

Just gobsmackingly amazing. If you have had some bad experiences with Indian food, this recipe will show you how good the cuisine can really be.

2 1/2 large tomatoes, pureed

around 250g cooked chickpeas

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 large tomatoes, diced

3 large bay leaves

5 large curry leaves

5cm stick of cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3 teaspoons dried fenugreek leaves

Put the pureed tomato, salt, turmeric, chickpeas and 2 teaspoons of the garam masala in a pot with 1/4 cup water and bring to the boil.

After bringing to the boil, add the garlic, 1 teaspoon of the ginger, the chopped tomatoes, coconut milk, onion and more water if necessary to maintain a thick sauce and prevent sticking.

Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring regularly and adding water if needs be.

Then add the bay leaves, curry leaves, cinnamon, cumin, 2 teaspoons of the fenugreek leaves and the rest of the garam masala.

Simmer for 30 minutes, adding water as necessary. Do not skimp on the cooking time. Lots of time is the magic ingredient in this dish.

Take off the heat. Add the remaining ginger and fenugreek leaves.

Serve on rice.

This makes a large meal for 2 or a light meal for 4.

 

4 (cooking) apples
1 citrus fruit
1/2 cup dried fruit (sultanas/raisins/currants)
4 teaspoons honey
4 dobs butter (1 teaspoons total)
approx 1 cup water

Juice the citrus and soak the dried fruit in this, squeezing the juice through.
Grease a baking tray with sides or use a baking dish.
Core apples.  Score an equator around each one, just to break the skin so it doesn't burst (the skin contracts on cooking).  Place the apples on the tray.
Half stuff each apple firmly with the soaked fruit.  Put 1 teaspoon of honey in each and then complete stuffing them.  Top each with a dob of butter.
Tip any spare citrus juice into the tray and top up with water up to (max) 1/2 cm.  This creates a nice juice to serve with and prevents the apples from drying out.
Put in a 180 C/375F oven for 30 mins or until apples have started to brown.

Serves 4 with custard.

Hearty. Chunky. Satisfying. Warming. 

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Food painting artwork

30 x 30 cm acrylic on canvas. The Ukrainian folk art of egg decorating, known as Pysanky, interpreted as a bowl of soup.

By the way, all the food painting artwork is available to own in the Official Art Store.

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The meatless meals recipe

As you may well be aware, Borscht is a Slavic recipe that celebrates beetroot. What's there to get excited about when it comes to beets? Well, the Oracle at Delphi (of Greek mythology, not of software companies) claimed that beetroot was second only in mystical potency to horseradish, and that it was worth its weight in silver. Beetroot contains betaine, which in other forms is used to help treat depression, and trytophan, which is that woohoo-feel-good chemical in chocolate. If these aren't enough, in many cultures there is the belief that if a man and a woman eat from the same beetroot they will fall in love... A pretty good outcome from a Meatless Monday? This recipe is my adaptation of the Borscht in The New Covent Garden Soup Company's Book of Soups.

500g raw washed beets, grated

500g red cabbage, finely shredded

360g potato, diced small

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 tomatoes, pureed or diced fine

125g butter

1.2L strong stock

1 medium onion, grated

1 carrot, grated

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon raw sugar

Put the beetroot, cabbage and potato in a large pan with the tomato, vinegar, HALF the butter and all the stock.

Simmer for one hour.

In another pan, melt the remaining butter and saute the carrot and onion until golden.

Add to the beets.

Cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the sugar.

Makes 6 very red bowls.

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More vegetarian cookbook goodies

Need help with conversions? Download this handy dandy pdf of cooking conversion charts for every cooking measuring system I could find. It should make your life easier.

Want to check out more vegetarian dinner recipes? They're all in the Table of Contents.

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Warming. Spiced. Moreish. Easy.

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Food painting artwork

30 x 24cm acrylic and pen on cotton. Heavily influenced by Medieval illuminated manuscripts which seemed rather appropriate for such an ancient and traditional winter potation.

By the way, all the food painting artwork is available to own in the Official Art Store.

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The meatless meals recipe

What better way to kick off the season of winter but with the happy warm glow of a mug or two of mulled wine? This recipe was collected and refined during my Scottish years but actually reminds me of late December afternoon at work in London when the whole office would get mulled wine ingredients together and the pot would brew away ready for knock off time. 

2 bottles red wine (1.5 L)
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds
5-7cm cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
4 tablespoons sugar
12 cloves
1/2 L orange juice or more to taste

Put all the ingredients in a pot and heat gently for at least an hour.  Do not simmer or boil.

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More vegetarian cookbook goodies

Need help with conversions? Download this handy dandy pdf of cooking conversion charts for every cooking measuring system I could find. It should make your life easier.

Want to check out more vegetarian dinner recipes? They're all in the Table of Contents.

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Warming. Homely. Easy. Zesty.

One evening about two years ago when the rain was pouring and the house was freezing, I was looking for a way to both warm up the house and keep me warmly fueled through the night. Putting the oven on as well as the fire was very inviting. And so I took a look at what I had in the fridge that could go into my grandmother's magic cast iron casserole dish to be transformed into tasty cold night fuel. The result was a roaring success:

Put the following ingredients in a casserole dish with a lid and cook for 1.5 hours at 160C, stirring every 30mins. It will look like a lot in the pot at first, but I assure you, it cooks down!

400g cooked butter beans

2 medium sized fennel (bulb only), cored and sliced/diced

1 onion, sliced or diced

1 small - medium sized red capsicum, sliced or diced

400g tomato, diced or crushed in a blender

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

400ml or 1 3/4 cups vegetable stock

zest of half a lemon

juice of a whole lemon

a generous sprinkling of cracked black pepper

Serve on a pile of buttery mashed potato.

Feeds 4 hungry people.

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More vegetarian cookbook goodies

Need help with conversions? Download this handy dandy pdf of cooking conversion charts for every cooking measuring system I could find. It should make your life easier.

Want to check out more vegetarian dinner recipes? They're all in the Table of Contents.

+++

Tangy. Hearty. Warming. Chunky.

Food painting artwork

30x30cm gouache on canvas. Inspired by the Campbells tomato soup cans of the very famous Andy Warhol.

When I was little and went to the football with my dad, we always seemed to end up taking a thermos of tomato soup with us. It was revolting tinned stuff that I wouldn't usually enjoy eating but after sitting in the cold for an entire afternoon, it was just wonderful. This tomato soup recipe is just as hearty and delicious and doesn't require the eater to be damp and hungry for it to taste great. And it's an easy way to use up some of those gazillion tomatoes that have grown over summer.

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 onion, diced small

3 bay leaves

3 whole cloves

2 teaspoons dried tarragon

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon sugar

4 cups or 1L medium to strong vegetable stock

1kg fresh tomatoes, diced small

1-2 cups cooked, tinned or fresh (but not dried) beans such as borlotti, haricot, cannellini etc

black pepper to taste

All the ingredients need to be finely chopped as there is no pureeing. This is a chunky soup.

Melt the butter and oil together.

Saute the onion in the oil and butter until soft.

Add all the other ingredients.

Simmer very gently for an hour with the pot lid on.

Remove the bay leaves (and cloves if you can find them).

Serve with cracked black pepper.

Makes 4-6 bowls.

Aromatic. Easy. Warming. Spiced.

Food painting artwork

30x30cm gouache on canvas. My defining memories of chai tea involve sitting in a very hippy tent with a random shaped returnable mug of warming spicy chai and having equally random conversations with total strangers who each had a different shaped returnable mug. Hence all the various mugs in this picture.

If you love chai tea and always wanted a solid recipe to use at home instead of buying the stuff in the packets, here it is. And this one is free of caffeinated black tea, too.

Lightly boil together for about 20mins:

3 cups water

10cm cinnamon

8 cloves

4 cardamom pods

up to 2.5cm fresh ginger, sliced and peeled (peeling helps stop the scum that unpeeled ginger generates when boiled)

up to half a teaspoon grated nutmeg

Then add one cup of milk or soy milk and heat through.

Pour into mugs and sweeten with honey to taste.

The spices can be used up to 3 times. Obviously the tea is weaker each time.

Don't try and use ground spices. They just make a revolting sludge.

This will make enough for 2 cups.