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.

 

The original recipe used ground cumin and coriander, but I decided to add in a spoonful of Chermoula. I also didn't have the exact vegetables they specified, so substituted the onion, carrot and celery for a combination of leek, capsicum and celery.

Chickpea Harira with Noodles

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.

 

Here are three dessert ideas. While they're not every day foods, each is delicious, but also has an eye to healthy eating: