Cafe Boscanova, Bournemouth

I haven't posted in a really long time, but there is good reason for this. I've been off adventuring all across the land (England that is) The weekend before last I was in Bournemouth, then the weekend after that I was in Devon and I've just returned from the latest weekend in Wales. So I have a bit of catching up to do. So anyway, we're starting with Bournemouth. Bournemouth holds a special place in Mr Hefs and my heart, because way back, over 7 years ago we went there, before we were really a couple and had a little cuddle on the beach and a little kiss in the sea. Little did I know that 7 years later we would still be wanting to take trips to the beach together. A few weekends ago I begged him to take me back and camp in the new forest and go to Cafe Boscanova for breakfast. And as he is a super nice boyfriend, he agreed to all 3. 

So after work on Saturday, we hopped in the car, drove down to the campsite, set up camp, went to visit my friend Georgie, (this made me very happy) then got back to our tent, had a midnight snack and settled in to our blow up bed ready for the next day. After a good nights sleep we drove to Boscombe beach and parked there. It was at that point that I realised that the cafe was a 20 minute walk away, and we had already paid to park on the beach. So begrudgingly Mr Hef walked the 20 minute walk with me for breakfast. Cafe Boscanova is a super cute, kitsch cafe that serves what can only be described as incredible monster breakfasts. I had the Corn Stacks, organic polenta and sweetcorn pancakes
served on fresh greens, with cooked tomato and a poached egg, topped with chipotle mayo and chilli jam and also had a bit of extra halloumi on the side, because, why not! It was literally one of the best breakfasts I've ever had, I never wanted it to end. The flavours were amazing and it pretty much had all of the components I could ever need in a breakfast, so I was pretty happy. Mr Hef had the East End breakfast and said 'just those 2 bites were worth that stupid walk', so I guess he was pretty happy too! There are quite a few veggie and vegan options on the menu, so the next time I'm in Bournemouth (which I hope is really soon) I'll be trying something else on the menu!

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Smoky Butter Bean Burger with 'Pulled Pork' and Beer Braised Onions

As I mentioned in my last post, I had a BBQ last weekend and this is the beast of a burger I had. With a home made butter bean and smoked cheese burger, vegan pulled pork made from jack fruit and beer braised onions. It's not pretty, but it tasted blooming good and like they say, it's what's on the inside (of the buns) that counts. I've made vegan pulled pork before (the recipe is here) and this time I put a lot more love and a lot less ingredients in it and it was even better the second time around. If you want something that's a bit more (wo)man vs food rather than a tiny fake meat burger, this is for you. 

Makes 2 burgers

For the pulled pork:

1 can of jackfruit (I buy mine from a local asian shop)
1 bottle of vegetarian BBQ marinade
Yep that's really it

For the butter bean burgers:

1 large can of butter beans
1/2 a small white onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
25g smoked vegetarian cheddar, grated
1/2 a slice of bread turned in to breadcrumbs
A bun to serve it in

For the beer braised onions:

A large knob of butter
1 small white onion sliced
300ml vegetarian beer

1. Start by preparing your jackfruit, chop off all of the hard bits and the seedy bits and discard, then pop the stringy bits in to an ovenproof dish, coat in the BBQ sauce and pop in to fridge overnight to marinade.  
2. When you get up in the morning, pop your jackfruit either in to a slow cooker, or in to an actual cooker (covered in foil) for around 6 hours.
3. At around the 5 hour mark you can start making your burgers, basically just put all of the ingredients in to a bowl and mash with a fork until well combined. 
4. Use your hands to shape in to a burger shape, then put on to a lightly greased baking tray and pop them in to the oven for 20-30 minutes. 
5. While the burgers are cooking, make the onions by melting the butter in a frying pan, stick the onions in and fry them on a low heat until softened. 
6. Then cover the onions in beer and leave to simmer for around 20 minutes, until all of the beer has been absorbed. 
7. All of your burger components should be ready, so assemble any way you wish and enjoy! 

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Quinoa Stuffed Courgette

This recipe came about because I was feeling way too lazy to go to the shops after work, so it's pretty much made out of ingredients I happened to have in a fridge and cupboard at the time. My fridge is usually full of random odds and ends of vegetables and my cupboard is literally brimming with about 20 different types of rice, pastas and grains. So I stuck the odds and ends together, mixed them with some quinoa and stuffed it in to a courgette I had left over from my veg box, which actually made a really lovely hearty dinner. Perfect for a hot summer (lazy) day. 

Serves 2:

25g quinoa
500ml water
1/2 tsp vegetable bullion
2 medium courgettes
A glug of olive oil
1 small white onion chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
1/2 a green pepper chopped in to little bits
1/2 a tomato chopped in to little bits
25g grated vegetarian cheddar (I used smoked cheddar because I had some left over from my bean burgers)

1. Boil the water in a sauce pan and add the bullion and the quiona and boil for 20 minutes. 
2. While the quinoa is cooking, slice the courgettes in half lengthways, scoop out the soft insides and pop on to a baking tray. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle a bit of salt over them and pop them in to a preheated oven at 200 degrees for 10 minutes. 
3. Stick the onion and garlic in to a frying pan with a little oil and cook on a low heat until softened, then add the pepper and tomato and fry for around 10 minutes. 
4. Remove the courgettes from the oven and pop to one side. 
5. Drain the quinoa and add it to the vegetables and mix up well. 
6. Spoon the mixture in to the courgettes, then top with the grated cheddar and pop in to the oven for 20 minutes. 
7. When they're lovely and golden brown and bubbling on top, remove from the oven, serve them up with some season veg on the side and enjoy! 

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BBQ

Sometimes its hard being a vegetarian at a BBQ, I always feel like a bit of a burden and am usually faced with the 'but it's okay if I put your totally meat free burger on the BBQ and cover it with meat juices isn't it?' dilemma. Well, this week I had a BBQ at my house and I (hopefully) wasn't a burden to anyone but myself. And I was only a burden to myself because I have really poor time management skills and spent too much time playing with dogs and not enough time making food. Anyway, in the time I did spend making food I made smoky butter bean burgers, with vegan pulled pork and beer braised onions, halloumi kebabs, minted, honey and mustard potato salad and a ginger and cranberry cocktail. 

The burger was immense. I've made vegan pulled pork before, but this time I put a lot more love and care in to it an it turned out great. I will post the recipe for it sometime this week (hopefully, again my time management is pretty poor).

These halloumi kebabs have been a BBQ staple made by my mum ever since I turned vegetarian, it wouldn't feel right without them! I brought some handmade halloumi which I'm pretty sure I brought from Ashridge Delicious, you literally just stick it on a skewer with some vegetables of your choice, grill and eat.

A BBQ wouldn't be a BBQ without a potato salad, so I whipped up this one with the new potatoes from my Able and Cole veg box and also used their recipe for minted honey mustard potato salad. I love it, probably because mustard is one of my favourite things ever (especially when eaten straight from the jar!)

And last but not least a cocktail. I probably drink alcohol around once a month, maybe even less, but I am a sucker for a yummy cocktail every now and again. I was sent some Kings Ginger Liqueur along with this recipe, so I had to try it out. It's super yummy, refreshing and perfect for the summer.

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