In case I haven’t bleated on enough, I have a book coming out in July – 17th July to be precise. To say I am excited is the understatement of the century. I am nervous, excited, worried, having sleepless nights… you name it, I am feeling it. It feels very exposing. Does that make sense? You see I am so used to immediate feedback on facebook, twitter and instagram (and pinterest when I can remember to post) that waiting for an anonymous Amazon review is frightening.
On facebook and the like folk have to be slightly accountable for their opinions – they’re usually showing their face and definitely showing their name. Amazon is quite obviously different. Anyway. I’m scared. Reassuringly I am told (by proper authors who know this kind of thing) that this is entirely normal.
On to the point of this blog post (not a therapy session – as much as it seems like one at the moment); a lady on facebook asked me how veggie friendly my book will be and I thought, what a great question. Instead of buying the book and being disappointed she’s asked before she votes with her purse. So here’s a bit of a low down on what’s veggie friendly in the book.
First off, the idea behind the book is very similar to the ethos of the blog – lots of recipes that don’t cost the earth, take too long or involve having to hunt for specialist ingredients. Food from a ‘normal’ mum with a normal budget and normal amounts of time and energy. If you want to find out more about each chapter in a general way then take a look here. Otherwise here’s a round up of the veggie friendly recipes:
1) The more the merrier – feeding a crowd, but not in the dinner party sense. Veggie friendly recipes include Mysteriously meaty veggie chickpea burgers (not mysterious in a ‘surprise! we contain liver way…), French bread monster toastie, Caponata tart, Banoffee hazelnut cookie crumble, Chocolate orange trifle, Ginger, mango, pear and papaya ripple no churn ice cream and Chocolate chip lime meringue pie.
2) Feeding Goldilocks and baby bear too – a chapter for when the kids are eating separately, which on week nights happens a lot in our house. Veggie friendly recipes include a very quick McCauliflower macaroni cheese, Snakes and ladders toast, easy no fry chips, Rice with peas, broad beans and bacon (but you can totally leave the bacon out), Nanny’s Yorkshire all-sorts, DIY fruit (dip it yourself), Mini mash ups , Cowboys and girls fastest pudding in the west, Whizz bang chocolate banana steamed pudding and Spotty dog pancakes.
3) Dinner for two in a flash – chapter 2 kind of explains this one. I often eat later on week nights with my husband so need recipes that are quick, easy and filling. Veggie friendly recipes include Garlic mushroom crackle pie, TV dinner miso chicken ramen (where the chicken can happily be left out) and an easy, meal in a bowl soup featuring butternut squash and butterbeans – just leave out the chorizo.
4) Food for the Great British outdoors – This is picnic food, barbecue fodder and stuff that just tastes better outside. Veggie friendly recipes include Soothing rosemary and walnut pockets filled with cheese, Backyard chargrilled carrot salad, Tortilla traybake (if you leave out the meat which you so easily can), Pimms and lemonade cheesecake, Summer’s eve elderflower and gooseberry frangipane tart, Mark’s moreish roasted vegetable, lentil and halloumi salad (leaving out the bacon bits), Goat’s cheese, mint and broad bean pate on chilli toasts, Burger relish style coleslaw, Orzo and minted pea pasta salad, Holiday hammock pecan and date loaf and Turkish delight friendship cake.
5) Switching to baking mode – well, come on, I couldn’t write a recipe book without a whole chapter dedicated to baking could I? Veggie friendly recipes include Peasant’s pretzel brownies, St. Clements breakfast swirls, Toe-warming whisky sour treacle tart, Falafel ‘sausage’ rolls (with not a meat product to be seen), Seeded granary rolls, My best high hat scones, Hex family stollen, Thomas’ syrupy vanilla muffins, Stilton and walnut bread rolls, My Mum’s classic 1970’s coffee and walnut cake, Orange, fig and sultana flapjacks, Leicestershire stilton, caramelised onion and potato pie (yes this is a Bake Off recipe – well Paul Hollywood actually gave me some praise for this, so I had to include it), Man quiche, Ribena love cupcakes and Momma’s Cornish ginger fairings.
6) Recipes for chefs in the making – This chapter holds hands with chapter 2 – so lots of sweet and savoury easy for kids recipes. Veggie friendly recipes include Banish the breadsticks grissini, Mix it up breakfast muffins, Blue Peter badge winning tiffin, Sandwich bake (leave out the ham), Mexicana bubblegum bread, Baa Baa’s British veggie paella, Popcorn and white chocolate all American chewy cookies, Scrunch-it-up apricot and pistachio stuffing balls, Cut-out sandwiches, ‘Easy as’ cheese biscuits and Peach and pecan vegan smoothie muffins.
7) Children’s party food, because you’re only old once – a chapter of recipes meant for children’s parties, but frankly I’d serve them any day of the week to kids and adults alike. Veggie friendly recipes include Rocky road Florentines, Cheese and onion straws, Over the rainbow meringues, Squidgy spiders web cakes, Sticky little fingers chocolate bar cake, Pizza, Chocolate orange rice crispy cakes, Cupcake decorating, Strawberry milkshake honey butterflies, ’99 ice cream cakes with buried treasure and Chocolate gingerbread barn with pigs in the mud.
8) Presents from the heart – a whole chapter dedicated to bits and bobs you can easily make and bestow to those you love. Veggie friendly recipes include Lemon button biscuits, Chocolate, rum and raisin fudge, Bell blend garam masala, Raspberry vinegar marinated olives, Lady Grey’s Gin, Double quick strawberry and rose jam, Dukkah, Warm your cockles ginger vodka and Christmas red cup gingerbread biscotti.
So out of 100 recipes a whopping 77 recipes are either vegetarian or are adaptable to be veggie. I hope that helps with any decisions to click on the ‘buy’ button if you’re a non meat eater or just someone who likes to eat less meat.
If you think you’d like to pre-order it then here’s the link. I really hope you like it.
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Holly Bell 
Question about the Mysteriously meaty veggie chickpea burgers. If not wanting to use egg, could I bind them with just the oil or do you think I need egg substitute? They look really really good in your book so I want to try them but egg-free.
I think they will need something. You could try egg sub or yoghurt – are you going for vegan burgers? X
It sounds fantastic, especially chapters 2 and 3 because that’s the way the meals work in our house a lot of the time. I have a very picky toddler and I’m always trying to find new ideas that she might actually like rather than turn her nose up at.
I think it’s the way most houses work unless they’re very very lucky. I am beyond bored of reading preachy books about eating together as a family. Any sensible person know this is a good idea, it’s just not possible most of the time… xx
What a great-sounding book. Brilliant to have a chapter on recipes for feeding children separately. Most family food books assume you all eat together which is great in an ‘ideal world’ but with a husband not back from work until post 7pm, it isn’t the reality in our household (plus I relish grown up evenings!). Look forward to buying a copy when it comes out!
It so isn’t the reality for a lot of people but I do think that a lot of books miss the point. In a perfect world we’d all have chickens and eat together 3 times a day but unfortunately life isn’t perfect! Really hope you enjoy the book. x
All sounds great Holly. Will you be making any TV appearances to promote the book? Let us know with plenty of notice to set the tape!
I have a couple of things lined up which is very exciting but can’t say what yet! I am trying not to think about the idea of being interviewed on TV at the mo. It makes me feel slightly sick. x