Squash and potato burritos

For a while back in my teens I dabbled with vegetarianism for all the wrong reasons. Less concerned about animal welfare than impressing certain meat hating friends, I was eventually swayed back to carnivorous ways by 4 gargantuan prawns in Portugal and then a beef curry from the local Chinese takeaway. Most vegetarians I know say bacon is the meat they crave the most, probably for that sweet, smoky taste, but it was the actual 'meaty' mouth feel I really missed. 

Enlightening rainbow tacos for a birthday

Event: Neil's 39th birthday

Date: 4th August 2013

Location: Our roof deck

Guests: Juenessa, Karl, Frank, Shelley, Marcus, Deena, Roshni

Menu: Mexican tacos

Yucatecan pork 

Prawns in adobo sauce

Swiss chard and potatoes

Chipotle - tomatillo salsa

Mango - habanero salsa

Pickled red onions

Rosemary potato and harissa kale pizza

I didn't cook this on the BBQ, but I found the recipe in a book that did. Just when I thought I really didn't need another BBQ book, this one came along and seduced with the most beautiful recipes imaginable, including a whole chapter on pizzas. There are quite a lot of flavours that instinctively marry well, as this book illustrates perfectly, sometimes suggesting strange combinations that seem odd, (chocolate and cauliflower?), but my new taste discovery is potato and rosemary. Hardly something new, but the perfect compliment. Earthy meets floral and woodsy. Add some fruity olive oil, some salty Provolone and a bit of salt and you have a pizza to die for.

Butternut squash and potato salad with miso-harissa dressing

I have Heidi Swanson's blog 101 cookbooks to thank for this. Whenever I need to make something healthy and vegetarian, to her wisdom I will travel. The salad is what we're talking about here, not the fritters, which despite being delicious, have the unfortunate appearance of grass cow pats. Heidi made her version of this salad with delicata squash, a summer veg which can be cooked with the skin intact, giving it a pleasing stripey look, however, this being Winter, I adapted and used butternut. The combination of miso and olive oil was intriguing and had the most amazing nutty, sweet and tangy flavour, coupled with some spice from harissa. Toasted almonds added crunch and a toasty taste and the radishes helped cut through all the richness. Superb.