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Hello, I’m Lizzy. If you want to eat a healthier diet, are tired of eating the same meals, or just find recipe books too complicated, then Our Lizzy is the cooking school for you!
A wide range of themes delivered in a relaxed friendly setting. Small group, hands on vegan cookery courses in a specially designed kitchen in beautiful Malvern.
We had a great time on the recent Packed Lunches cookery course. The day involved a lot more than sandwiches! When making workday lunches, time is often of the essence. It’s good to be able to prepare a few things quickly, and also to plan ahead, so there are things in the fridge or freezer which can be pulled out to use.
In the morning we prepared quinoa, farro and wholegrain pasta salads. We then prepared a range of soups which we enjoyed with homemade bread.
Great fun was had making up the noodle jars, healthy pot noodle! There are some fabulous noodles available which don’t involve precooking and so are perfect for the jars. We added cooked shredded tofu.
We then made a selection of bean pates and dips which we used to make up some rather posh vegan sandwiches!
2019 has started really well for vegans! More and more people are signing up to try Veganuary. There has been great discussion about Gregg’s vegan sausage roll and new ranges of ready meals are appearing in supermarkets. I have mixed feelings about this as I’m passionate about teaching people to cook healthy meals for themselves.
One new product that has got me excited is a new locally made vegan and gluten free sausage. They really good quality and packed with flavour and texture. Chill your Beans https://chill-yourbeans.co.uk/ my customers are going to love them
If you are based in Worcestershire go and buy a pack and have a go at this recipe!
Sausage and Chestnut Casserole
Serves 3 or 4
Ready in 20 minutes
Add oil to a pan, sauté the onion and pepper until caramelised.
Add the sliced sausages cook until golden. Add smoked paprika and stir briefly.
Add the tomatoes/passata. Cook for 10 minutes until the liquid is reduced.
Add fresh herbs to serve.
Try adding a handful of borlotti beans instead of the chestnuts! Or add a splash of vegan red wine.
It’s always good to sample new products and the vegan Baileys has been out for a while but I’ve only recently sampled it! It’s great served chilled or added to a coffee.
I thought it would make a great partner with cheesecake so I had a little play and here it is!
Vegan Bailey’s Cheesecake
300g of hob nobs and Bourbon biscuits mixed
50g almonds
75g Pure sunflower margarine
2 tubs Tofutti vegan cream cheese at room temperature
75ml Alpro soya cream approx
75ml Bailey’s Almande approx
Place the biscuits, nuts and margarine in a food processor and mix until combined. Spoon the mixture into a flan tin and press down firmly. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Place the soft the soft cheese in a bowl, mix with a spoon until soft then add the Bailey’s Almande and soya cream. Mix until smooth and spread on top of the biscuit base.
Smooth the top using a palette knife and place in the fridge to set.
Street Food has continued to be popular with courses and at festivals. We use Jackfruit, seitan, tofu and tempeh to create some tasty dishes.
We have fun using vital wheat gluten to make our own seitan. It is the main protein found in wheat. It is traditionally made by washing wheat flour until all the starch has been removed, leaving a gluten dough. It was eaten cenuries ago by Buddhist monks in China in the from of mock duck. It is now much easier to make seitan, with the availability of vital wheat gluten flour. It is very much like meat in texture, and has a very high protein content.
It was a pleasure to cook with a group of young chefs from Malvern at Great Malvern Food Festival on Bank Holiday Monday. We worked Ready Steady Cook Style using local produce. I was very impressed with their chopping skills. One team were given tins of beans and chose to make a spicy chilli. The other team sliced vegetables and rustled up some fajitas featuring local chutney.
The audience got to sample the food and cast their votes. It was a draw! Everyone was enjoyed the food and there were lots of positive comments about the tasty the food and how well they worked together.
Here are the recipes if you’d like to try it at home.
Smoky Three Bean Chilli
1 chopped onion
1 clove of garlic crushed
optional chopped peppers, grated carrot,
3 tins of kidney beans/aduki beans/ blackeyed beans
1 tin of chopped tomatoes or a carton of passata
½ to 1 tsp crushed dried chillies to taste)
soy sauce to taste (optional)
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
Heat oil in a pan, sauté the onion with the chopped vegetables.
Add the grated carrot and garlic, if using, and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the dried chillies with the remaining ingredients, bring to the boil, and stir well.
Reduce the heat and simmer for at least 10 minutes.
Taste; add more dried chillies if required.
Works well with soya mince; use 100g to replace 2/3 of the beans
Sizzling Fajitas
red onion sliced
mixed peppers sliced
mushrooms or courgettes sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp crushed coriander seeds (or to taste)
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
lime juice
soy sauce
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
Heat some oil a wok or griddle pan, when the oil is hot add the sliced vegetable. Stir fry until cooked. The vegetables should still be fairly crunchy.
Add the garlic and lime juice along with crushed coriander and chillies.
We used Sarah’s Feisty Flavours Spicy Tomato chutney on the day in place of the chilli flakes.
Spring was a long time coming this year. The month of May has been really uplifting. The month of May is always special in Malvern and it’s been a pleasure to share the beauty of it with lovely B and B guests.
The apple and cherry blossom was stunning. My cherry tree was laden with flowers so hopefully lots of delicious fruit to come. The bluebells and the wild garlic flowers looking amazing as ever. I’m enjoying using the wild garlic leaves in the cookery school.
The wells were decorated for May Bank holiday weekend. The theme this year was celebrating the anniversary of women gaining the right to vote.
The Weavers Well was my personal favourite: it reminded me of Our Lizzy HQ!
Vegan Street Food Our Lizzy style was launched this month! Fast food favourites with a healthy twist.
My cookery course had a lot of influence from South East Asia but with British and American classics mixed in.We used vital wheat gluten flour to make homemade seitan.
Seitan is made from gluten, the main protein found in wheat. It is traditionally made by washing wheat flour until all the starch has been removed, leaving a gluten dough. It was eaten centuries ago by Buddhist monks in China in the from of mock duck.
On the course we make seitan steaks, sizzling strips, and used the ground form to make burgers.
I enjoy using jackfruit and was keen to share ideas for using it. We cooked one batch with local cider, made a lime and chilli version and Sloppy Joes.
We also used tofu and tempeh with a range of homemade sauces and dips.
The Christmas course here on Sunday was rather special as we had snow in Malvern. I was absolutely delighted to meet Faye who made it through the snow to attend. Already a keen cook she has recently won the Rotary Young Chef of the Year Award.
After a hot drink, mince pies and shortbread we prepared desserts then set to work on pastry dishes. We made a Roasted Red Pepper and Chestnut Strudel and a Sweet Potato and Veggie Sausage Pithivier. Lots of careful pastry rolling and filling took place.
We used filo pastry to creative some little baskets for starters and money bags filled with Mushrooms and Almonds. With the help of Faye’s parents we prepped and cooked crispy roast potatoes, root veg with cranberries and cider, red wine gravy and a batch of Brussels sprouts cooked with sesame seeds and soy sauce.
We then sat down to enjoy our snowy festive feast!
Here at Our Lizzy it’s a pleasure to help people with food allergies and intolererances.
At a recent gluten free cookery course I was asked to make gluten free pizza bases. I’ve used Hodmedod’s pea flours in baking and pancakes and wondered if they would work for a pizza base. I wasn’t keen to add xanthan gum and other binders. Some supermarkets sell gluten free pizza bases but the list of ingredients and taste can be very off-putting.
I was really pleased to find the fava bean flour worked so well. The dough came together well, it didn’t rise as much as strong wheat flour but was still light and airy. I used a little polenta to roll it out. I topped mine with a little homemade tomato sauce and sliced vegetables. I sometimes make my own vegan mozzarella, but this time I used MozzaRisella which is a popular rice based pizza cheese.
Our Lizzy pizza made with fava bean flour
Pizza dough
300g fava bean flour
1 ½ tsp fast acting dried yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
170ml water
extra flour or polenta for rolling
Place the flour in a large bowl, add the yeast. Add the salt to the other side of the bowl.
Slowly pour in the water and olive oil then mix well.
When the mixture forms a dough, take it out of the bowl. Sprinkle a very small amount of flour on the work surface and gently knead the dough for 3 -5 minutes.
Sprinkle some flour or polenta onto a work surface. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin or with the heel of your hand.
Place on baking sheet cover with a plastic bag or cling film and leave for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to Gas Mark6/200°C
Top the dough with tomato sauce and toppings of your choice.
Bake in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes.
Hodmedod’s bean flours are milled in Essex from British-grown beans, peas and quinoa.
