Gridled Artichoke and Red Onion Paella. But, not...

So, I've realised, reluctantly, that if I don't actually organise myself, I'm going to end up either starving this week, or eating exclusively tinned soup and toast; both outcomes would've somewhat defeated the whole point of the exercise. I'm also someone who's quite prone to get quite ill very quickly if I don't watch what I eat. So, today was recipe researching, meal planning and food-shopping. The BBC food pages were my first port of call. The BBC website seems to be my first port of call for most things; weather, news, idle evening entertainment, and now advice on veganism. My confidence was fairly well placed. There was a relatively long list of recipes (if maybe a few too many curries).

I've never written such a long shopping list in my life. I guess if I were properly organised I could've then sourced these ingredients from much better, local shops but, I'm somewhat disappointed to say that I just grabbed a rucksack and headed to tesco. Don't worry, I got my comeuppance; there were no artichokes. I did, however, feel quite smug, walking around the supermarket with a basket full of fruit, vegetables and herbs. I guess it's the same kind of smugness a New Year's Day jogger feels...how long does it last?

One of the reasons why January seems the best time to do this experiment is that Tom will be transatlantic for most of the month. It's one thing trying to negotiate this thing by myself, but inflicting veganism on an innocent boyfriend seems unfair. And difficult. Far too difficult. However, he's not in America yet, and today I had to cook for the both of us.

So lunch was a Gridled Artichoke and Red Onion Paella. Except that it wasn't, because there were no artichokes.Worrying that Tom's carnivorous side would be unsatisfied if I presented him with, what to all intents and purposes, was flavoured rice, I decided to go for some mushrooms to add something meatier to the meal. I made up a marinade of 2dsp veg oil, 1tsp chilli powder, one small squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt. Once the mushrooms were entirely coated in this (and, the rest of the paella was ready), I cooked them on a very hot gridle pan. It was pretty nice, and seemed to go down well with the reluctant vegan. I always thought paella was a really complicated dish (which it may well be when you actually have to put fish and chicken in it), but this recipe was really easy, and needed surprisingly little skill - most of it was just occasional stirring. I would say, make sure you use fresh (or frozen) peas. I tried to use tinned peas and they were unpleasant to say the least. It was fun to finally get back into cooking something again, to have kitchen worktops covered in various spices and vegetables. Most of all, though, there was a nice kind of domestic pride in being able to present my over-worked other half with something warm, edible and (according to him) actually quite tasty.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/griddledartichokeand_91479

P.S. Disturbing news has come to light. Apparently Quorn is not vegan, and thus most of yesterday counts as a pretty epic fail. Still, better to learn now, I guess.