So far I've made this T ofu and Mushroom Pot Pie. I downscaled the recipe from its twelve portions to six, used a combination of reconstituted shiitakes and button mushrooms, and added some white miso to the filling - the flavour just needed a little more oomph. I also ignored what I can only believe is a typo, where it says the pastry crust will be "one inch thick". Mine was about 75mm and quite biscuity enough. It was absolutely delicious, did us for several meals and I will definitely be making this again.

 

For our New Year's Eve picnic I cooked a Tomato and Pesto Tart based on Martha Rose Shulman's recipe. I made the yeasted olive oil pastry - which turned out really well. Rather than using mustard and goat cheese I spread the base of the tart with home made pesto, topped that with fresh tomatoes and then put a few more dollops of pesto on top. It was a big success.

 

For the same picnic I also made this Giant Couscous and Chickpea Salad, again by Martha Rose Shulman. I wanted this to have a bit more vegetable content and variety, so I doubled the red capsicum and also added three big handfuls of mixed rocket and baby English spinach leaves. I also wanted it to be dairy free, so I left out the yoghurt and feta. I completely forgot to add the pine nuts and ended up doubling the lemon juice, as to my taste buds it needed a little more sour. Again, this was delicious and the leftovers the next day were even better.

 

This spinach pie from Vegan Latina. I reckon next time I'd add more dill, lemon juice and green shallots, as I wanted it to be even more tasty. However it's a simple, interesting recipe, which produces a lovely pie. We had it for dinner one night and then I put the other six serves in the freezer.

I could not tell you how many times I've made this Lettuce and Potato Soup by Martha Rose Shulman. Whenever I mention it to other people they think it an odd combination, however this soup is thick, delicious and highly satisfying. This time round I didn't have enough potatoes, so I added half a cup of red lentils, which boosted the nutritionals and protein content. Again, the leftovers have made it into our freezer.

I've had this peanut sauce bookmarked since I first spotted it back in 2010 and it's taken me this long to actually make the recipe. Which is a shame, because it's really, really, really good. I poured the sauce over a salad and then made it again on the following two nights to spark up otherwise dull steamed vegetables.