Tea and Sympatico

In keeping with my tea theme I'll be finishing off Veganmofo 2014 by raising a glass of Earl Grey beer to all the bloggers round the world who've taken part in this fantastic event. Well done everyone! I feel like I've only skimmed the surface of what's out there so I'll be doing what I do every year and that's using my lunch breaks at work to check out all the blogs that have taken part between now and Mofo 2015. This lovely Indian pale ale is brewed by a local Manchester brewery, Marble Beers . Their beers are available more widely though so keep an eye out for them. Although they carry the Vegetarian Society logo they are all in fact suitable for vegans. Check out the full range  and the lovely bottle designs. My mate Jan is their graphic designer and gets to taste all the new beers first, what a great job!

A few years ago the supermarket chain Lidl used to sell some great value interestingly flavoured redbush teabags. As well as the standard Redbush or Rooibos as it's also known there was caramel and orange flavours. My favourite was the orange and this recipe is inspired by the memory of it. Orange and Pecan Rooibos Teabread Ingredients 2 cups of plain flour 1 teaspoon of baking powder 1 teaspoon of baking soda 1/2 a teaspoon of salt 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 1/2 cup of caster sugar 1/4 cup of sunflower or melted coconut oil 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 1 teaspoon of orange extract 2 rooibos (redbush) teabags brewed in 1 1/4 cups (250ml or 1/4 litre) of freshly boiled water 1/2 cup of chopped pecans 1/2 a cup of candied peel 2 tablespoons of marmalade Pre-heat the oven to 350C/ 180F/ Gas 4 Grease and flour a loaf tin. Add the boiling water to the teabags and set to one side to brew. Sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda...

I'm usually more of a fan of herbal rather than fruit teas but I do love these Cherry and Cinnamon teabags from Twinnings. They make a lovely refreshing hot or cold drink and lend themselves well to use in a fruity cocktail. Make a strong cup of tea ahead of time (I used two teabags in a small cup) and allow to cool. Ingredients Serves 1 A double shot of vodka A single shot of orange liqueur A single shot of cherry and cinnamon tea A squeeze of fresh lime juice Ice Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake with ice. Strain into a martini glass and serve. Have you used tea in any cocktails?

I love to make truffles and really wanted to make a couple of tea themed truffle recipes for Mofo. Check out my White Chocolate and Matcha Green Tea Truffles as well. I based this recipe on this one I found at Epicurious, veganising it and adding the orange zest as it's a good compliment to the bergamot orange flavouring in the Earl Grey. This would be great made with loose tea leaves but it also works well with a high quality teabag such as Pukka's Gorgeous Earl Grey which also has added lavender, another flavour that works fantastically well with Earl Grey. Ingredients Makes about 30 truffles 2/3 cup of soya cream 2 tablespoons of vegan margarine 2 teaspoons of loose leaf Earl Grey tea or the contents of 2 good quality teabags 6oz of good dark chocolate 1 teaspoon of grated orange zest Powdered chocolate for rolling the truffles Method Heat the margarine and cream in a pan until melted. Stir in the tea and leave for 5 minutes. Whilst the tea mixture...

I've made tea poached pears a few times in the past but always with Earl Grey. I decided for Mofo to try a different tea. I came across this recipe online for Ginger and Jasmine Tea-Poached Pears . It sounded great and I was going to use Jasmine tea until I came across this organic Genmaicha 'popcorn' tea in my local Chinese supermarket. The popcorn flavours come from the addition of roasted rice and make the tea smell and taste great. First off I made some tea in our new teapot which was a house warming gift from our friend Sarah and her family. Isn't it fab! This then went into a large pan.  Alongside the strongly brewed tea there was Coconom Ginger coconut sugar and slices of fresh ginger. The recipe recommended serving with your favourite gingersnap cookies so I got on with making some whilst the pears stewed. My ninjabread cookie cutters were a Christmas gift from my friend Susan and this recipe seemed perfect for their first outing! Her...

The chamomile flower is well known for it's soothing relaxing qualities. It's distinctive flavours are not to everyone's taste though. In herbal tea form it is often paired with honey with the sweetness of the honey tempering the bitterness of the chamomile. As vegans avoid honey I've come up with my own version using coconut sugar instead. According to Barnivore the orange brand name liqueurs Grand Marnier and Cointreau are suitable for vegans as are some brands of triple sec. It's a cross between a cocktail and a medicinal drink as it would also make a great evening drink when you feel you've got a cold coming on as I do today. Chamomile Hot Toddy Makes 1 serving 2 teaspoons of loose chamomile flowers or one chamomile teabag Boiling water 1 shot of orange liqueur or if you don't have this try a shot of brandy and half a freshly squeezed orange 1 teaspoon of coconut sugar (I used Coconom coconut sugar with ginger) Make a mug of cham...

When do you ever order tea to go with your meal in a restaurant? Answer - in a Japanese or Chinese restaurant you do. Very excitingly a Chinese vegetarian restaurant called Lotus Vegetarian Kitchen has recently opened in the South Manchester area of Withingon. They don't serve alcohol, it's bring your own booze, but they do serve beautiful Chinese teas. We went for this three flower tea and the pot kept us going throughout the meal. It was really refreshing as well as being beautiful to look at. We were really excited to get vegan prawn crackers! These are something that I used to love before I was vegan and never thought I'd have again. We munched on these whilst we picked from the extensive menu. It was a treat to have so much choice. Everything is vegetarian with a large percentage of the menu also being suitable for vegans. I'd recommend going for this starter combo plate if you're dinning as a pair. There's crispy seaweed, samosas, sprin...

This is a really easy truffle recipe that gets great results. I've adapted it from the basic truffle recipe that I've used time and time again with multiple flavour variations . White Chocolate and Matcha Green Tea Truffles Makes about 20 truffles Ingredients 100g of vegan white chocolate (I used 4 of those little bags of buttons) 50g of vegan margarine 1 teaspoon of matcha green tea 25g of ground almonds 1 tablespoon of soya cream 150g icing sugar Ground almonds and cocoa powder to dust Melt the white chocolate and margarine in a pan over a low heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the matcha powder and cream followed by the icing sugar and ground almonds. Leave the mixture to cool. Once cool take teaspoonfuls and roll into balls. Then roll half in ground almonds and half in cocoa powder.

I've recently fallen totally in love with Lapsang Souchong tea and like to take a mug of it in my travel cup on my train journey into work in the mornings. I add a splash of soya milk and sometimes a bit of agave or Sweet Freedom. If you've never tried it, it's a very smokey tasting and smelling tea. Matt hates it and calls it ashtray tea! It's definitely a 'marmite' tea. I first tried it as a teeenager and thought it was disgusting but now I can't get enough of it! The smoke flavour is entirely natural and comes from the pine trees in the area where it's grown. The smoke from the pinewood drifts through and permeates the tea as it dries out on bamboo trays. One way I've managed to get Matt to imbibe some is by infusing a cake with it. I found a couple of recipes on the internet that helped inspire this vegan Lapsang Souchong cake. There's the famous Nigella Marzipan Fruitcake which uses rum rather than tea (I've had great success vega...

This seems an apt drink for today as there is mist covering the hills round Glossop and it feels like Autumn is well and truly here. I'd never heard of London Fog Lattes until I spotted them on the menu in the cafe in Oklahoma in Manchester a couple of years ago. Oklahoma is a fab gift shop with adjoining veggie friendly cafe in Manchester's Northern Quarter that is definitely one to check out if you're visiting the city. For my homemade version I use a tea bag from Pukka. I love Pukka teas, threy're always such great quality and their earl grey has the bonus of an added hint of lavender. I used sweetened soya milk which I heated then frothed up with my mini battery operated whisk. I picked up this whisk for about £1.50 on eBay and it's had endless use. Ingredients 1 strongly brewed cup of Earl Grey (I made about 1/3 of the mug) Soya or other plant milk of your choice 1 teaspoon of Sweet Freedom or agave syrup Cinnamon to sprinkle (o...

It's the weekend so here's this week's tea infused cocktail recipe. I used to work in the wine and spirit industry and I can remember being at a rum tasting and it being a real revelation to see cheap white rum being transformed for use in a cocktail after it was muddled with an Earl Grey tea bag, muddling being the mixologists term for giving it a good old stir. My friend Julian reminded me of this when he told me all his many uses for peppermint tea bags including iced tea, cocktails and even gravy! I've taken the idea here to make a quick and easy mint julep. So, if fresh mint leaves are not available as long as you've got some mint teabags in your store cupboard you need never go without a julep or mojito. I just love cocktail accessories. She's not very clear in the picture but on the end of the stirrer is an Hawaiian hula dancer. I have a set of these and a set of monkeys wearing fezs. Mint Tea Julep Serves 1 Ingredients 1 peppermint teabag 5...

The only time I've tried bubble tea was about 6 years ago in New York. I remember being excited when shortly afterwards a bubble tea cafe opened in Manchester's  Chinatown but alas the drinks were dairy based and not suitable for vegans. I thought vegan bubble tea must just be a New York thing. With that in mind I've often walked past Bobo Tea, the bubble tea bar in Manchester's Arndale Shopping Centre without giving it a second thought. With my Mofo theme as tea though I started thinking about bubble tea and sent Bobo a tweet just on the off chance they could do a vegan option. To my delight they tweeted right back saying all their drinks could be made vegan and recommending the iced tea with jellies (coconut flesh). The bubble teas are made up from a flavour, a creamer (ask for soy powder instead of dairy), black or green tea, ice and tapioca balls (these are the bubbles). The result is a sweet, milky tea drink that you drink through a w...

When I decided to do tea for my Mofo theme I started having a look around the internet to see what kind of savoury tea related recipes people have created. One that caught my eye was this Smoked Tea Infused Tofu from the wonderful blog Seitan Is My Motor. I tweaked the recipe changing a few ingredients whilst hoping it would come out like a almost bacon like tofu I once made with tofu that had been frozen first. Ingredients A 250g block of tofu, frozen and then defrosted 150ml of lapsang souchong tea (2 teabags), brewed and left to cool 1 dessert spoon of Henderson's relish (if you can't find this Sheffield delicacy then veggie Worcestershire Sauce will do) 1 dessert spoon of soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon of salt 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika 2 dessertspoons of maple syrup 2 cloves of pressed garlic Once the tofu has defrosted, press it with kitchen towels to get the water out. Slice the tofu and place in a large dish. Pour over the marinade and leave overnight. Heat so...

This is an old favourite recipe of mine for a super fast and tasty shortbread cookie that can be whipped up and on your plate in less time than it takes to walk to the shop to buy a packet of biscuits. They look and sound fancy too so they make a great gift. They are very easy to make and if you're not an Earl Grey fan try subbing it with chai. Ingredients Makes 16 biscuits 1/2 cup of vegan margarine 1/2 cup if icing sugar (confectioners sugar) Couple of drops of vanilla extract 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of plain flour 1/8 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda 1/8 teaspoon of salt The contents of 3 Earl Grey teabags Preheat the oven to 350F/ 180C/ Gas Mark 4 Grease and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper or use a silpat mat Beat the margarine until creamy. add the vanilla extract and icing sugar and beat again. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and bicarbonate of soda. Stir in the contents of the teabags. Fold this mixture ...

I love a good smoothie for breakfast. I'd never added tea to one until I made last week's Green Tea Smoothie but after the success of that I thought I'd try another tea based smoothie. I used a red bush chai but if you fancied a morning caffeine boost a black tea based chai would work just as well. I brewed the tea the evening before and left it in the fridge overnight. For the milk I used the new M and S coconut milk. Ingredients 1 banana 2 small or one large peach or nectarine Half a teaspoon of cinnamon 1 cup of strong chai tea (I made it with two tea bags) Half a cup of coconut milk A teaspoon of Sweet Freedom or other honey substitute When you're ready to go add all the ingredients to the blender putting in the wet ingredients last and blend away. Of course there's loads of add in extras that would go well with this. I added half a teaspoon of my favourite pre and pro biotic powder Prime Selection and superfood powd...

I've been testing some flavoured chocolate icing sugars for a company called Sugar and Crumbs . They sent me two flavours to try - Jaffa Twist which I've used to make these chocolate, orange biscuits and Black Forest which I've used here in my take on cinnamon rolls. The chocolate flavour in the icing is quite subtle and more like milk chocolate to a vegan palate but with the black cherry flavour it makes a nice compliment to the dark chocolate, cherries and vanilla which are in the roll filling. I'd never made cinnamon rolls before, partly as I'm only recently getting over my fear of things requiring yeast and rising times and partly because I live with a cinnamon hater. When I found this easy recipe on line for cinnamon rolls by The Minimalist Baker I knew I wanted to have a go at my own cinnamon free version. I'd been thinking about a recipe to go with English Breakfast Tea and rolls seemed perfect for a lazy Sunday morning breakfast when you hav...