Bountiful Brown Rice Salad Bowl with Melissa's Homemade Sriracha Sauce

Rocket & Roses HQ Play List:

Jamie Cullum ~ But For Now
Beware of Darkness ~ Sweet Girl
Buckcherry ~ Lit Up
Joan Jett ~ We're All Crazy Now
Anna Nalick ~ Drink Me (early demo)
Bonnie Raitt ~ Used To Rule The World
Artful Dodger ~ Twentyfourseven (Radio version)
Beyonce ~ Green Light
Brad Paisley ~ She's Everything
Audioslave ~ Sound Of A Gun
Pearl Jam ~ Jeremy
Brandi Carlile ~ Rise Again
The Union ~ Fading Out Of Love
Gin Wigmore ~ Happy Ever After

More often than not the best recipe creations are the ones you just throw together at the last minute. I made this salad for lunch yesterday. My Mum was here for her regular Wednesday afternoon visit and as quickly as I could chop the fresh veggies she was pinching them...like a Pick n Mix stand. lol. I don't mind as this recipe makes enough for 4 servings. I used brown rice as my starter base but you could use any cold cooked grain or seed. There was no thought to the selection of veggies used...I just grabbed what I could and chopped and threw them in. The star of this salad was the Sriracha Sauce I added at the end. Last week I found a recipe by Melissa over at mywholefoodlife.com and after a particularly horrid hospital appt I came home and boy did I take it out on my mountain of chillies...lol. Kitchen work is my therapy...always has been and that day I was grateful to have this recipe to test out and for Melissa's original recipe and posting about this sauce simply click here...

Now my only experience of Sriracha Sauce has been the standard bottled variety and to be honest I wasn't that taken with it. I was a great fan of sweet chilli sauce at that point so I found Sriracha just...well..hot. But since eliminating all refined sugars and most other forms too I've lost my taste for Sweet Chilli Sauce so I thought maybe now I would appreciate Sriracha (I just wish I could actually pronounce it...lol) Sauce but when I scanned the contents list on my shop bought bottle I was horrified by the ingredients. I have to admit that bottle went straight into the bin and I searched out a homemade recipe and that is how I found Melissa's recipe. I did have to make two minor changes...you cannot buy Fresno chillies here so had to use the regular reds you can buy in almost all supermarkets. Also Habanero chillies are hard to find so I swapped them out for Scotch Bonnet chillies. The one major change I made was using apple cyder vinegar instead of the white vinegar because apple is the only vinegar I can eat now. And although I was tempted to try using Stevia in this recipe I caved in and bought a bag of coconut sugar and I am happy to report it hasn't made me sick so phew..lol..but it was such a small amount I was hopeful my system could tolerate it. 

The sauce is nothing like the bottle processed kind although you could blitz it until it's smooth if that's your wish. I like that it's quite thick but would happily blitz some down if I wanted to make a Sriracha drizzle for a recipe. I enjoy this sauce...it has some heat, a warming heat as opposed to hot heat. It is very slightly sweet but that is maybe the difference between using white vinegar and apply cyder vinegar. I would also reduce the coconut sugar next time too...take it down to maybe 1/2 tbsp. Overall this sauce is great and stored in a glass jar in the fridge Melissa says it will keep good for a couple of months which makes it an economical homemade alternative to the store bought kind.

Bountiful Brown Rice Salad Bowl with Melissa's Homemade Sriracha Sauce

Bountiful Brown Rice Salad Bowl    Serves 4 

90g cooked brown rice, cooled 
1 med carrot, peeled and finely diced
2 celery stalks, trimmed and finely diced
6 red radish, trimmed and finely diced
handful mooli/diakon noodles, slightly chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
15 mange'tout, trimmed and chopped
7oz cooked green lentils, cooled 

Peel, chop and trim all veggies and place into a large serving bowl with the brown rice and lentils and toss to distribute and you have your salad bowl. 

Melissa's Homemade Sriracha Sauce

 Melissa's Homemade Sriracha Sauce  Makes 2 cups
(Recipe from mywholefoodlife.com)

1lb red Fresno peppers
2 Habanero peppers
2 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 cup white vinegar 
1 tbsp coconut sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Cut the peppers and mince the garlic. Add all the ingredients to a processor and pulse until everything is mostly broken down. 

Add the processed mixture to a saute pan and cook on high for about 5 minutes stirring constantly.  Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool. 

Transfer the mixture to a jar and store in the fridge.  This sauce should keep in the fridge for a couple of months. You can also freeze it for longer storage. 

Enjoy! 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your Thursday is a great one..

~Red~

NB: The Sriracha sauce recipe is not mine and therefore I take no credit for it whatsoever. It is the hard work and creation of Melissa @ mywholefoodlife.com and hers alone. I thank her for a great recipe. ~R~  

Righteous Salad Dressings (vegan and gluten free)

Rocket & Roses HQ Play List:

Melissa Etheridge ~ Yes I Am
Ram Jam ~ Black Betty
Evanescence ~ My Immortal
Auf De Maur ~ Head Unbound
Soundgarden ~ Kickstand
Extreme ~ More Than Words
UB40 ~ Cherry Oh Baby
Jacqueline Du Pre ~ Elgar; Lento Allegro Molto
Shakira ~ Estoy Aqui
Billy Joel ~ It's Still Rock and Roll
Chely Wright ~ Wish Me Away
Nicola Benedetti ~ Spiegel Im Spiegel
Otis Redding ~ My Girl
The Cranberries ~ I Will Always

I never...never!..buy pre-made salad dressings. I struggle with the preservatives they add to them or they are too oily or laden with hidden sugars. So I tend to make my own or add a spoonful of hummus to my daily salads I have every lunch time. Ooh or Red Lentil pate..now that's always pleasing. lol.

Quite by chance as I cruised a supermarket aisle I saw a range of salad dressings all claiming (well apart from the Blue Cheese one!) to be vegan. In this country that is rare. So ML and I started to pull the various bottles off of the shelf to do the usual...suspicious ingredients scan. And sure enough they were indeed vegan and one was even an oil free variety. Now as with anything boasting the vegan title...they weren't cheap! And as much as I would've liked to purchase all four of the vegan dressings. I chose two and stashed them in my trolley.

Righteous Salad Dressings

The first dressing I tested out was the Ginger and Toasted Sesame. And although it had some oil in it I found I really liked it. The ginger wasn't as intense as some ginger based dressings I have made in the past and the sesame was a pleasant supporting flavour. But the combination together made for an almost smokey flavour and livened up my salad greatly.

Tested score: 9/10

The second dressing tested out was the Lemon and Mustard Seed option. To be honest I had no idea what to expect from this dressing. I hoped it wasn't too acidic as some lemon dressings can be. And I was intrigued by the mustard seeds and what effect they would have on the taste. Again this one had oil in it but neither of the dressings I tried were 'oily'. The first couple of mouthfuls of salad I wasn't sure at all. Then by the third...I was in dressing love. lol. The hint of lemon combined with the slight heat from the mustard seeds make for one very enjoyable dressing. Again not overpowering so you can still enjoy the contents of your salad. Both dressings were more of a subtle lift to the natural beauty of the veggies. Everything a good salad dressing should be.



Tested Score: 9/10

And the bonus to this testing was that I didn't react to the preservatives or extenders in the dressings....because they weren't any!! So I will endeavour to have these dressings in my fridge door awaiting the days when I haven't got something to go on my salads. ,,or the days when I just want them instead! lol.

Now the two that I didn't try....Raspberry and Sweet Basil which if I'm honest I wasn't sure about being more of a savoury gal. But I will try it because it would seem rude not too! lol.

Untested as yet.

I do admit the dressing looks a beautiful colour and would be a visual treat on a salad or as an accompanying sauce to a starter. (Ooh just started off a recipe tumble in my head...wheres my notebook! lol) So I think it's likely it will be going in the trolley in this months stock shop. lol.

The final dressing was the Oil Free option.....Oil Free Caper and Hot Peppercorn. Now this one isn't so visually appealing. But I suspect what it lacks in appearance it will more than make up for in flavour. I am looking forward to trying this one a lot and if my budget had stretched to buying three bottles  this time I would most definitely have bought this one to test also. Next time...

Untested as yet.

My inner child picked up this bottle and thought....Yum swamp water in a bottle. lol. But despite that...I want to try this one soon.

They also have a Pro-Heart Oil in their range and I hope to try that out too. And although the fifth dressing is a vegetarian one they have used cheese that doesn't have animal rennet in it. So for our vegetarian brothers and sisters they have a fifth option to try.

OK folks..thanks for stopping by and I hope if you find these dressings available where you are that you give them a try. You won't be sorry.

I hope your weekend is filled with love and light....

~Red~

A Tale of Two Basil Dressings...

Kitchen Play List:  Europe ~ Start from the Dark Album
                                      (Don't judge..like I did! lol My kid bro lent this to me..
                                                                                                                and it's rather good!~R~)

OK... so it isn't lost on me that one day I am posting a new soup recipe and then the next day I'm posting two dressing recipes. lol. But in my defence I do have a salad and a soup for lunch each week day. lol. 

My Love came home last night with a large quantity of Basil which was a bargain at 42p. However we had had pesto twice in the last two days, once in our paninis during our picnic and the leftover pesto used with some wholemeal pasta for our evening meal yesterday. So I was a little pestoed out! But it needed using up very quickly as it was still lush but you could tell it wouldn't be for much longer. As I needed a dressing for my salads and a soup for the rest of the week, I started cruising the foodie sites online for inspiration. 

On the left ~ Lemon Basil Dressing....on the right Greek Basil Dressing

 

I found the first dressing for Lemon Basil Dressing on www.veggiebelly.com and it was part of a larger recipe. I had all the ingredients and was a very simple dressing to make. And it was refreshing and full of zesty goodness. 


Lemon Basil Dressing Makes 1-2 servings
(Recipe from www.veggiebelly.com) 

1 1/2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp lemon zest
salt and black pepper to season
10 basil leaves, finely sliced

In a blender or by hand blend the oil, lemon juice and zest and the salt and black pepper until it's a lovely lemon colour. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve. Add the basil leaves into the lemon dressing just before serving or it will go black.  

Serve.

The Greek Basil Dressing I found posted on www.food.com  and had no name attached to it so I can't give the credit where it's due...and I don't like that! Anyway....the recipe grabbed my attention because it had some of my favourite ingredients listed..olives, balsamic, lemon and garlic. So once again, I had all of the ingredients and thought.."What the hell! Let's have a dressings morning!" lol. As you do...ahem. lol. I didn't realise though, that I was out of shallots until after I had started to throw things in the blender but I did have very small, juicy red onion so I trimmed that and used half of it as a substitute. I loved this dressing with it's many different layers of flavour and it was creamy but not thick...delicious. 

Greek Basil Dressing Makes 1 cup 
(Recipe found on www.food.com)

1 garlic clove, chopped
1 shallot, cut into thirds (or half of 1 very small red onion)
6 olives, pitted ( I used black olives ~R~)
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 small tomato, chopped
3 tbsp fresh basil
1/4 tsp fresh black pepper
1/4 cup/4 tbsp olive oil   
salt to season to taste

In a blender at all the ingredients except the oil and salt. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Then gradually add the oil until it's very well combined and on the last pulse add your salt. 
Store in the fridge until ready to serve. If it's thickened up to much add water until desired consistency is reached.

Enjoy!

I liked both of these dressings and on a hot day (yeah right! lol) I would happily use the Lemon Basil dressing for it's freshness and zing. But I have sensitive teeth and I felt the lemon juice go to work half way through my salad. Not good but that's a personal observation. I like my teeth enamel where it is....lol. I would happily have the Greek Basil Dressing often as its savouriness and depth of flavours was very enjoyable with the salad. 

I hope you give them a try? 
Happy zesting...
~R~  

Rocket and Roses Light and Fluffy Avocado Dressing

Kitchen Play List:  Skin ~ How Lucky You Are
                                      Nicola Benedetti ~ Meditation From Thais
                                      Shania Twain ~ Whatever You Do...Don't!
                                      Sara Sant'Ambrogio ~ Air
                                      Guns N' Roses ~ Yesterdays
                                      Cogan & Howard ~ Isn't Life Wonderful?

Today I am busy making pots of Goo for my baby niece L or Chicklet as she's known to me. lol. Our evening meal is ready to go so all I needed to do as well as the Goo was a topping for my salads for the next couple of days. The kitchen is looking like a disaster zone with all the bowls for the many different Goo's so I needed a simple and very quick dressing. 

I had 4 little avocado's sat in my fridge and I had bought some ripe organic limes yesterday which looked very ripe. I also grabbed a bunch of spring onions as I shut the fridge door with my foot! lol. Out came my little blender and I spooned the avocado flesh from three of the little wrinklies as one had died. I hate it when that happens..ah well...I juiced up 1 1/2 of the limes and peeled 2 very tiny cloves of garlic and all got added to the blender. I trimmed and chopped down 3 spring onions and measured out 4 fl oz of water and they got tossed in too. I cracked some black peppercorns into the blender and added a very good slosh of Tabasco and the fingertip ends pinch of low sodium salt and set the blender going. 

The results were a very light and creamy dressing that was a vibrant green and also had a little kick to the end of each mouthful. It was lovely on my lunchtime salad and I hope to have it again tomorrow. It took 4 minutes from raiding the fridge to pouring some on my salad. It took me longer taking the photos..lol. OK better get back to the Goo production line...lol. 

Rocket and Roses Light & Fluffy Avocado Dressing...made in a few minutes!

Rocket and Roses Light & Fluffy Avocado Dressing
(Original recipe from the Rocket and Roses Vegan Kitchen)

3 small ripe avocadoes, halved, stone removed and flesh scooped out
3 spring onions, trimmed and roughly sliced
2 very small cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
Juice of 1 1/2 limes
4 fl oz filtered water
very generous slosh of Tabasco hot sauce, or to your taste
freshly cracked black pepper
tiniest pinch of salt, optional

Prep all ingredients as listed above and add to a blender. Blitz until smooth and creamy..you may have to push the ingredients down a couple of times but it's worth it! 

Enjoy! 
~R~ 

Sugar Snap Pea Salad with Sweet Ginger Soy Dressing

Kitchen Play List:  Maroon 5 ~ Hand All Over Album

I found this recipe when I was cruising Vegelicious.org. The photos of bright red and yellow peppers and sugar snap peas made my mouth water so I printed off the recipe and made it for lunch today. At the weekends I make a 'luxury' salad (Monday to Friday it's the standard large box of salad..) and I knew that both me and My Love would really enjoy this. 

The salad itself is easy to throw together...the minute cooking in boiling water of the sugar snaps isn't rocket science after all. But I do recommend draining them and tossing them straight into a bowl of ice water. 

Tossed salad ingredients

Probably the most tricky part to this salad is the first step of making the dressing. Heated sesame oil with ginger pulp isn't the easiest thing to not burn! But the two minutes pass quickly and the dressing comes together quite easily from there. 

Sweet Ginger Soy Dressing

The results were a very delicious salad. The veggies were crisp and the dressing had a great flavour. My only changes that I would make next time are that I would wait until serving before adding the mushroom slices because I have a 'thing' about slimy mushrooms and I would blitz the ginger to a paste instead of grating as I don't like 'stringy' ginger. But they are my issues and personal preferences. My Love doesn't agree and enjoyed it the way it was. 

I wouldn't change the ingredients at all. All the veggies were perfect together and the dressing had just the right amount of flavour....Oh I just remembered I did change two things...the recipe calls for 1 tbsp sugar...I used 1 dsp Agave Nectar instead and 1 tbsp vegan Oyster Sauce which is hard to find in England so I used Mushroom Ketchup instead! All in all a great salad.

Sugar Snap Pea Salad with Sweet Ginger Soy Dressing...Yum!

Sugar Snap Pea Salad with Sweet Ginger Soy Dressing
(Recipe reviewed on Vegelicious.org)

Salad:
1 large red pepper, trimmed and sliced
1 large yellow pepper, trimmed and sliced
1/2 lb sugar snap peas, trimmed
3 little carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
3 med mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander/cilantro
A sprinkle of sesame seeds

Dressing:
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced or blended
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red chilli flakes
1 tbsp oyster sauce (I used Mushroom Ketchup)  
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or tamari for GF)
1 tbsp sugar (1 dsp Agave Nectar)
1/4 tsp salt


In a small pan bring some water to the boil and toss in the sugar snap and cook for 1 minute. Drain then straight away and 'shock' them in a bowl of iced water. When cold drain them thoroughly. 


In a large salad bowl, toss the peppers, mushrooms, carrots and sugar snap peas together. 


In a small saucepan gently heat the oil and then add the ginger and cook for 2 minutes (carefully as it will catch very easily),  add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar and salt. Stir constantly and bring the dressing to a simmer. Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl until needed. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss well. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve. Delish!

Middle Eastern Avocado Dip and Tahini & Yoghurt Dressing

Kitchen Play List: Joe Cocker ~ Bye Bye Blackbird
                                     Melissa Etheridge ~ Into the Dark
                                     Newton Faulkner ~ People Should Smile More
                                     Il Divo ~ Ave Maria
                                     Mr. Buble ~ Cry Me A River
                                     Foo Fighters ~ M.I.A
                                     Shelby Lynne ~ Breakfast in Bed

Now these are the wonderful final recipes from the Middle Eastern Inspired meal I cooked a few days ago. The Avocado Dip is simple to make and tastes good when used with the wholemeal pitta and carrot sticks which I served them with. The Tahini & Yoghurt Dressing tasted lovely with the hot meal but not so much the next day as a salad topping! Don't know until you try eh? lol I hope you try them...the recipes are from A Vegan Taste of the Middle Eastby Linda Majzilk.

Avocado Dip
(Recipe from A Vegan Taste of the Middle East)

2 medium Avocados
2 rounded tbsp light tahini
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, crushed
black pepper
paprika

Peel the avocados and mash them in a bowl with the lemon juice until smooth. Add the tahini, olive oil and garlic and season with black pepper. Mix very well, transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with the paprika. 

Tahini & Yoghurt Dressing
(Recipe from A Vegan Taste of the Middle East)

2 rounded tbsp light tahini
5 rounded tbsp plain soya yoghurt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 rounded tsp parsley
black pepper

Combine all the ingredients and serve chilled. 

Enjoy!
   

Rocket and Roses Avocado and Black Bean Dressing

Kitchen Play List:      Adele ~ 19 CD

Well the bargains are coming in so fast this week I really can't keep up! lol. I have three bags of Avocados to use. I am still at the 'getting to love it' stage with this green beauty.  I can't eat slices of it yet but I hope to one day. So I experiment with it in dips, dressings and sauces. Today I had some black beans to use up so I started throwing things in the blender and made a huge mess. One thing about avocado I don't like is the mess. lol.

The leftovers went into a stainless steel bowl with an tight fitting opaque lid and I also kept two of the stones from the avocados and pushed them into the dressing. I picked up this tip from the cookbook author Terry Romero and it actually works! Obviously it won't last for days but for a day or two it stops the avocado from going brown. 

The result was a creamy dressing that I put on my salad and it was delicious. 

 

Rocket and Roses Avocado and Black Bean Dressing

(Original recipe from the Rocket and Roses Vegan Kitchen)

4 ripe avocados, skin removed

2 small cloves of garlic, grated

4 spring onions, peeled and roughly chopped

2oz cooked black beans

juice of one lime

3 fl oz filtered water

Place the avocados into a processor and pulse until broken down a little. Then grate in the garlic cloves, toss in the spring onion and black beans and pulse for 1 minute. Then pour in the lime juice and leave the processor running as you slowly add the water in through the feeder tube. Keep processing until the mix is light and fluffy. Serve. 

If you require a thinner dressing then add 1-2 fl oz water more. 

NB: Don't forget the avocado stones to go in the dressing until ready to use or to keep leftovers fresher. It's a good tip because it actually does work! lol. 

Enjoy! 

 

Tri Pepper Dressing

This is a very late Mystery Ingredient Challenge recipe. I apologise for its lateness but due to illness and a hectic schedule (believe me that is a rarity! lol) I ran behind on all kitchen stuff.

Tri Pepper Dressing

My mystery ingredient last Wednesday was the very pretty Pink Peppercorns. They should be in your spice rack if only for the fact that they look great there. lol. I love pepper and use it a lot but oddly had not used the Pink kind before. So when I was given my mystery ingredient, I set about looking for inspiration to create a new recipe. But then I found the perfect recipe already created by Susan V of FatFreeVegan.com so I printed off the recipe and my mind was set that I would try her recipe. Then I got sick...

Are they not pretty?? lol

It was whilst I was reading Susan's blog for this recipe that I learnt they aren't peppercorns but seeds? But they sure do pack a kick like a peppercorn. lol. I finally got around to trying the recipe out last night and I had to sub Chia seed for Flax seed but other than that I stuck to the recipe. 

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2011/03/creamy-tri-pepper-dressing.html#more-2291 

For the recipe click on the link above and I suggest you read the entire blog as Susan has included some other salad dressings that look great and I intend on trying.

As good a close up as I could get folks...but it doesn't do it justice! 

The results was a really good dressing. It was easy to put together and I made it the night before I needed it. There was a little shock on my part when I came to use it today as it had separated a lot...so much so I jumped on to Susan's site and asked if I had messed it up but was reassured that it does do that. But I confess by that point I had shaken it up and used it on my lunch time salad. It was thinner than my usual dressings...but delicious and I will be making it again. Once again...thanks Susan V...and if you like pepper...please try this dressing.

Moroccan-Infused Vegetable Phyllo Rolls & Balsamic Maple Dressing

Kitchen Playlist - Caro Emerald ~ Deleted Scenes From the Cutting Room Floor Album

Since becoming vegan I have had the opportunity to  study the vegan cookbook world. And I have come to greatly admire a many of these creative and talented authors/cooks. Dreena Burton is one of these folks, her cookbook Vive le Vegan is a favourite of mine. But Eat, Drink & Be Vegan is a cookbook I would save in a fire! It was the first time I had tried the Phyllo Rolls from the later cookbook and I loved them. They weren't as fiddly as I thought they might be and I enjoyed making them. Next time I would increase the spiciness as I felt it was a 'whisper' of spicy and I think they could take a little more. The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup Apricots which i have to say is not something this woman can eat - Yuck! (I know I'm in the minority here lol) so I substituted this for 1/2 cup of finely diced Aubergine. The smell that was coming from the oven as all the veggies and spices slowly roasted made my mouth water. lol. Dreena suggests in her book to serve it with a salad and her Balsamic Maple dressing, which is exactly what I did. The result was a very good meal which I greatly enjoyed. 

To share the meal with me last night was two very excellent people. There are people in my life  that i could cook for daily and it would be a pleasure to do so. D & B are two of these people and I get great joy from spending time with them. I can relax in their company and serve up the food for us and simply enjoy. They are also great for giving me honest feedback which helps when you are creating. lol. It was the first Annual Rice Pudding Club (blog about this event to come) and I wanted something light to have as our main course. 

Moroccan - Infused Phyllo Rolls Serves 6
(Recipe from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan by Dreena Burton)

2 Cups of a combination of yellow, orange and red pepper, chopped
3 cups of courgette, chopped
1 1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 cup of fennel, chopped
1/2 cup aubergine, finely diced
5 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup of cooked chickpeas or bean of choice
1/2 cup fresh basil, minced
12 sheets of Phyllo Pastry
3 tbsp olive oil to brush the pastry
1/4 cup chopped or slivered almonds, lightly toasted (for garnish)

Preheat the oven to 425'F/220'C/Gas Mark 7. Line a wide-rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place peppers, courgettes, onion, fennel, aubergine and garlic in a large bowl. Mix together the spices in a small dish until combined. Pour the oil over the vegetables and mix to ensure all are coated. Then sprinkle over the spices and again mix to coat. Pour the vegetables onto the baking sheet and even out. Then place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, tossing a couple of times. The vegetables should be caramelized in some spots and softened. Remove from the oven and toss in the chickpeas and the basil, and let cool slightly. 
Reduce the oven temp to 375'F/190'C/Gas Mark 5. Line a fresh sheet with parchment paper. Place a dampened tea towel over the Phyllo pastry to keep moist while preparing rolls. Lightly  brush a sheet of pastry with oil and then place a second one over it and gently smooth flat. Spread a sixth of the vegetable mixture down the centre of the pastry. Fold up and over the bottom of the sheet and fold over both sides, then gently roll upwards until you have a sealed roll. Then place the roll, join side down on the baking sheet. Repeat this five more times. Brush the rolls with olive oil and sprinkle. Bake for 24-28 minutes , until golden brown.
Serve with a large salad and dressing. (Recipe below)

Balsamic Maple Dressing Serves 4-5 (makes 1/2 cup)
(Recipe from Eat,Drink & be Vegan by Dreena Burton)

1/4 cup Pure Maple Syrup
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp vegan marg
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1/8 tsp sea salt
1 tsp arrowroot powder
3 tbsp tamari (wheat free soy sauce)

In a saucepan on a low heat, combine the syrup, vinegar, marg, garlic and salt, and heat for several minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the arrowroot and tamari, stirring through until well incorporated. Add tamari mixture to the saucepan, whisk to combine, and increase heat to bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Let it boil gently for one minute, then remove from heat and let cool slightly (the mixture will thicken more as it cools down) Serve. 

Rocket and Roses Avocado Dressing

I eat a large salad every lunch time, come rain or shine..and no, I don't get bored with it because I have a topping with it. And that holds plenty of variety. Today I made up a dressing when I realised that the pate topping I had planned to have wouldn't be cooled or set in time. 

I am a recent convert to  the Avocado  love and I confess it's still a battle of mind over matter. Mushed up in something and I can manage. Nowhere near eating slices of it and going, "Yum!", for all to hear. I know it's good for me, in moderation. So I've been experimenting with it in the guise of good old Guacamole. So this is how I ended up with this dressing. The ingredients are things I would always have hanging around.

The result was a smooth, creamy, zesty fresh salad dressing. Not once did I think, "Oh hell...no!", as I have been known to with Guacamole. Lol. I am fortunate to have a little mini blender but you could just throw it all in a regular blender but be prepared to keep getting in there with a little spatula.  And it really does need blending to achieve the creamy lightness.

Avocado Dressing Serves 1 -2
(original recipe from the Rocket&RosesVeganKitchen)


1 very small avocado, peeled and roughly chopped
1 reg tomato, chopped 
2 spring onions, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small clove of garlic, roughly chopped
Juice of a small lemon
1 1/2 tsp of Rotino Healthier Cooking Oil (or olive)
1 pinch of Cayenne pepper


Optional - salt to season. (I don't add any but the choice is yours)


Put all the ingredients into your blender and blitz until smooth. Be patient. Its worth all the spatula work. 


Enjoy, Red