Roasted broccoli is a revelation! It’s a great way to cook this green, adding a welcome texture which can easily be ruined by boiling. Coated with garlic and olive oil, along with slightly crisped and browned edges, it brings a completely different flavour to this Brassica. Throwing in some chickpeas and a herb yoghurt rounds it off beautifully, making a truly engrossing vegetarian side dish to bring to the table.

Roasted Broccoli with Herb Yoghurt

Gavin Wren Recipes, Side dishes, Vegetables, Vegetarian

A Big Day.

Today is spectacular milestone in the history of my blog.

It’s the day that I publish my two hundredth blog post. I can feel a huge surge of pride and satisfaction having created such a significant body of work. This is a very special moment for me, I feel a sense of joy, in recognition of the commitment required to reach two hundred blog posts.

I love a few stats, so here’s what 200 posts consists of, since 31st July 2014…

33 months, 1003 days, 193408 words, 1325 images, approximately 1280 hours writing, cooking, photographing and editing

…not to mention untold hours researching, using social media or swearing at Wordpress and my theme.

What have I learned?

A lot, I’ve learned a phenomenal amount whilst creating this blog. I have gained a heightened knowledge, not only about writing, photography, cooking and creating a

A quick, versatile and tasty vegetarian carrot and chickpea salad that you can add your own ingredients to for if you want to experiment. Made with carrots, chickpeas and parsley, it's a simple base that gets flavoured up with sumac, yoghurt, lemon juice and tahini so that there's no chance of your taste buds left wanting. It makes a great side dish or just fill your bowl and have it as a main course!

Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Sumac Yoghurt

Gavin Wren Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads, Side dishes, Vegetarian

Today I’ve made a quick, versatile and tasty vegetarian carrot and chickpea salad that you can easily play around with and add your own ingredients if you want to experiment. Made with carrots, chickpeas, red onion and parsley, it’s a simple base that gets flavoured up with sumac, yoghurt, lemon juice and tahini so that there’s no chance of your taste buds left wanting. It makes a great side dish or just fill your bowl …

A bright, citrus and sweet courgette and orange bread salad that just screams summertime! Tangy, sharp orange and sweet dried apricots mix perfectly with olives, capers, pine nuts, parsley and sweet red onions to create a flavour filled salad. The roasted courgette and onion sit with the orange dressing and play against the added crunch from the stale bread at the bottom. It's the perfect make ahead summer lunch or side salad to sit with some grilled fish, meat or squeaky halloumi.

Courgette and Orange Bread Salad

Gavin Wren Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads, Side dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian

A glut of courgettes has descended on our world. If you grow your own you’ll found the cheeky blighters hiding behind leaves and sneaking up on you. Even if you don’t grow your own, you can walk into a supermarket and pick up a large pack for very little because they are one of the most abundant vegetables in the UK at this time of year. Today’s recipe makes use of these abundant, seasonal vegetables, …

Zingy barley, squash and parsley salad

Zingy barley, squash and parsley salad

Gavin Wren Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads, Vegetarian

Method: Chuck it all in a bowl. Mix it up. Eat. If only all recipes could be that simple! You want dinner, you want it to be tasty but you don’t want to spend hours doing it. With a little bit of forethought, recipes like this one can fall straight into that category, they’re really easy to make and fit around your life with a little bit of ‘mise en place’. In case you’re wondering …

How to make vegetable stock

How to make vegetable stock

Gavin Wren Basic Ingredients, Food Techniques, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Writing

Vegetables boiled in water. Yep, that’s all it is, easy peasy. Making your own vegetable stock at home is one of the fundamental kitchen processes that you just have to do now and again. It’s so easy, it doesn’t use up much time and it’s basically impossible to overcook. And if you have left over vegetables, peering over the edge of the compost, it’s a super efficient use of them before they go. Now, although …