Tea and Sympatico

I really love the flavour combination of fresh zingy lemon and dark chocolate. I used it here in this Choc Chip Lemon Cake. It's the cake in the first photo from Saturday's post. Really quick and easy to make with minimal washing up! Choc Chip Lemon Cake Ingredients 2 cups of plain flour + a bit extra to dust the baking tin 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder 1/2 teaspoon of salt 1 cup of caster sugar 1/2 cup of soya or other non dairy milk 1/2 cup of sunflower oil finely grated zest of an unwaxed lemon 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 1 teaspoon of lemon extract 100g bag or 3/4 cup of dark chocolate chips Vegan margarine for greasing the pan Preheat your oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas 4 Prepare your baking pan (I used an 8 x 8 inch brownie pan) by greasing with vegan margarine and then dusting this with a little flour. Sieve together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt and sugar and stir well. Add the milk, oil, lemon...

Wow, this has felt like a long week. I was more than ready for spending some time with friends and having a few laughs this weekend! Saturday mornings are my time to bake and make a few meals ahead for the week. Today was a big pan of sweet potato and black bean chilli and a lemon and chocolate chip cake. The lovely stained glass in the background was made for me by my friend Sarah who I went to visit in Vancouver and travelled to Portland with last October. Next up was a breakfast/brunch and leisurely cups of tea at the Thirsty Scholar with the Manchester Vegan Society crew. The weather turned out nice so at 4pm a few of us ambled across town to Afflecks Palace to the Cocoa Emporium for more tea and their fabulous vegan cupcakes. Back home it was chilli with all the trimmings for tea - guacamole, salsa and nachos with a cheezy sauce. I'm planning a cocktail do in a few weeks for friends who have birthdays in April. It's going to be a tropical theme and I've been tryi...

Are you an adventurous cook who can happily experiment in the kitchen without the aid of cookery books? Or are you like me, someone who likes the security of a recipe, knowing that if you follow it there's very little chance of things not turning out right? I've always been a firm follower of recipes but I've surprised myself since starting my blog in that I've become a bit braver and have come up with some original recipes. Mind you I like to make variations on tried and trusted basic recipes particularly when baking so I know the science of it won't fail! My preference for following recipes did once actually get me a job! I went for an interview for a position many years ago at The Christie which is the big hospital in Manchester that treats people with cancer. I didn't get the job but during the course of the interview we'd got onto cooking, I must have listed it as a hobby on the application form, and they offered me a different temporary 3 month post. O...

Giving people samples of delicious vegan cake has got to be one of the easiest and most successful ways to change people's perceptions of a vegan diet. For the last couple of years I've also used it to entice people to buy raffle tickets for the annual Animal Aid Christmas prize drawer. For every £1 ticket people buy they get a 'free' cake. I usually have the cake there at the same time as the raffle tickets but I wasn't very organised this year and only ended up bringing in the promised cakes, well muffins actually, this Monday. I invested in one of these Cupcake Couriers a couple of years ago. I've put a link to the cheapest one I can find on line. It's brilliant for using on public transport although bus drivers often seem to think I have a cat in it, lol, and start telling me all about their cats! Mine is affectionately known as the Cupcake Car Park whilst my sister calls hers the Cupcake Hotel. They always cause a stir when we take them into work. In ...

Today my blog is 1 year old! This co-incided with receiving a Stylish Blogger award from Belgian blogger Tofuparty . Thanks Tofuparty ! I hope you get to visit Manchester someday, I can recommend it as a fun, friendly city! As part of the award I have to write 7 facts about myself. 1 I've been a vegan for 4 and a half years. I had been drifting towards it for a couple of years then I went to Peru and sat opposite someone in a restaurant eating a Guinea Pig. I looked down at the fish on my plate and decided that was it. I've never looked back and love eating this way. 2 I was born and grew up in Salford in the UK and now live just down the road in Manchester but spent a year at University in upstate New York as part of my degree and also worked for a short time teaching in a school in Chile 3 I started out wanting to be a fashion designer but changed my mind at college. I've had a varied career to date, initially as a Primary School teacher, followed by a stint in the win...

This week I was looking for links to treats that can be made for Valentines Day to post to the Cake Liberation Front Facebook page when I came across these intriguing biscuits on Fat Free Vegan . I tried out the first recipe yesterday. Ooh these are very good - just had one with breakfast as I couldn't wait til elevenses! You don't taste the vinegar at all but they are definitely different to a normal chocolate cookie, very rich and fudgy. A good recipe to file away for bake sales or when you want to impress someone!

These are named after the old tv advert for Frys Turkish Delight. Looking at them now the adverts are quite bizarre and nothing to do with Turkey! Turkish Delight is a tricky one for vegans as some kinds can contain gelatine or in the case of the Cadbury's it's covered in milk chocolate. The other hidden thing to look out for in the ingredients list is the colouring E120 also known as carmine, cochineal, natural red or crimson lake which is actually made from crushed insects. It is possible to buy brands without it such as the Koksa brand which often crops up near the tills in my local TK Maxx of all places! The cookies are subtly flavoured and ideal as an afternoon pick me up with coffee, Earl Grey or mint tea. Eastern Promise Cookies Makes 20 3/4 cup of sugar 2/3 cup sunflower oil 1/4 cup soy milk 1 teaspoon lemon extract 1 tablespoon of arrowroot powder 1 teaspoons of vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups of plain flour 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda 1/2 teasp...

A few of us at work started a Come Dine With Me Night last year and every couple of months one of us hosts a meal for the group. Richard was first, followed by Paulette and last Wednesday was my turn. After finding a jewelled lantern when I was tidying out a cupboard I was inspired to go for a Morrocan/Turkish theme. First up was Pomegranate Cosmospolitans which got the evening off to a good start. The starter was Muhammara - a Turkish garlic, roasted red pepper and walnut dip flavoured with pomegrante molasses. I served this with carrot sticks and baked, spiced pitta chips. I forgot to take a photo of the main course which was the Spring Vegetable Tagine from Vegan With A Vengeance served with couscous and wedges of lemon. I made this the night before to give all the flavours chance to blend. In fact I made all the food the night before so on the day I only had to prepare the couscous and make the cocktails. Dessert was Rose and Pistachio cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over Th...