Tea and Sympatico

It's a bit of cheat today as I'm re-blogging something from last year's Mofo but I'm time short and it seemed to fit well with the prompt. Here we have a recipe that's a fusion of baked goods - there's the flavours of the German Black Forest Gateaux teamed with an American style Cinnamon roll (minus the cinnamon). To further add to the fusion I would recommend serving these with a pot of good old British tea rather than coffee! I based my recipe on this Easy Cinnamon Roll recipe from Minimalist Baker.  Ingredients 1 packet of instant yeast 1 cup of soya milk 1/2 a cup of vegan margarine + 3 tablespoons 1/4 teaspooon of salt 3 cups of plain flour 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon of sugar (I used Coconom coconut sugar) 50g of dark chocolate 50g of dried cherries, chopped in half Seeds from inside a vanilla pod Black Forest Chocolate Icing Sugar from Sugar and Crumbs Heat the milk and half a cup of margarine together until melted. Let it cool until j

It's been a while since I did a proper road trip. I used to do lots of Eurolines coach trips to Europe when I was younger staying in Youth Hostels on a very limited budget. I'd book somewhere that included breakfast and eat as much as possible and then the rest of my meals would consist of tomatoes, apples and crusty bread smothered with tubes of   Tartex pate that I'd have brought with me. This would actually be a vegan meal way before I became veggie! These days we tend to book a cottage somewhere in England and do self catering. We are off to stay in the grounds of Harlech Castle in Wales a few weeks and I can't wait! With this in mind I've focused my post for today on what we'll be taking with us to eat during that week. For me on holiday breakfasts feature heavily and I like to have stuff I wouldn't normally have in the week. I'll be making a batch of favourite granola recipe - the chocolate, coconut granola from the Vintage Tea Party b

Firstly I have to admit that I do not have much familiarity with Mexican food or at least Mexican vegan food. I did travel a bit in Mexico 12 years ago but I wasn't veggie then. Also, in the meantime I have developed a condition called Hyper Sensitive Cough Reflex Syndrome and chillis amongst many other things can be one of my triggers. Incidentally it seems like the condition likely stems from a horrendous virus that I caught during that trip that caused neurological damage and this condition! When I have a coughing attack it can be quite scary and I can be sick and nearly pass out. People with this condition have even been known to break ribs from a coughing attack! I've developed quite a bit of anxiety around food that can trigger attacks but I'm ok with mild chilli powder and things like chipotle though so all is not lost! Also, where I live in England Mexican food is not really a thing. Just recently though this has started to change and there's a couple of b

I've picked something that I very rarely use but I love - star anise! I'm not actually sure if it is a herb or a spice. In my internet research I saw it described as both! There were also all sorts of health claims made for it but only if it's the Chinese kind, apparently the Japanese type is poisonous! My favourite type of cuisine is Chinese and it's a spice that pops up in some Chinese dishes due to it's inclusion in 5 spice powder. Good vegan Chinese food is not always that easy to come by though. Luckily we have the Red Dragon takeaway in Glossop which does a pretty decent selection and includes mock meats and tofu on their menu (it's surprising how many places in England still don't). We also have my favourite restaurant Lotus Vegetarian Kitchen a thirty minute drive away in South Manchester. The food is so good it has even converted Matt to being a fan of Chinese cuisine. Here's a picture of the Stuffed Three Treasures we enjoyed last tim

Back to my original theme today which was Carol Vorderman -    Accidental Vegan Hero, blogging about recipes from a series of Detox Recipe books that the television presenter and maths whizz put out with nutritionist Anita Bean in the noughties. The answer to the blog title question -  Dahl with Sweet potatoes and Coconut from Carol Vorderman's Eat To Be Cellulite Recipes. This was the first recipe I made from Carol and Anita's book - Eat To Beat Cellulite Recipes . I remember the first time I ate dahl was back in the mid nineties. My friend Tracey came over from Wales to visit me in Manchester and she cooked some dahl for us.  I remember it being a taste sensation! I love sweet potatoes and I love dahl so I was immediately drawn to this recipe. I've had cooked lentils in coconut milk before - there's a nice coconut dahl recipe in the Tibits cookbook . Where this recipe differs from other recipes is that there is no oil at all. You cook the lentils with

Back to my original theme today which was Carol Vorderman -    Accidental Vegan Hero, blogging about recipes from a series of Detox Recipe books that the television presenter and maths whizz put out with nutritionist Anita Bean in the noughties. Bit of a cheat today as really my favourite cuisine is Chinese but it's not something I really cook at home. What I wanted to focus on is my favourite type of meal to make instead. Risottos and pilafs are one of the things I like best to cook after a long day at work. Bung everything in one pan, add your liquid, stick some music on and then indulge in some meditative stirring for twenty minutes or so. This Pepper and Cashew Pilaf from Detox For Life - The 28 Day Detox Diet and Beyond fits the bill perfectly. Actually this dish calls for brown rice so you might want to check the cooking time of the rice on the packet as this can vary from 20-40 minutes depending on the brand and you don't want to end up with RSI! This pi

Back to my original theme today which was Carol Vorderman -    Accidental Vegan Hero, blogging about recipes from a series of Detox Recipe books that the television presenter and maths whizz put out with nutritionist Anita Bean in the  noughties . Autumn to me always feel like a time of big changes when it's important to look after energy levels and not burn out in the run up to Christmas. This pilaf is from the Detox for Life - The 28 Day Detox Diet and Beyond book and is a staple in our house. It comes together quickly and easily and is nice and filling with lots of protein from the inclusion of chickpeas, quinoa, flaked almonds and pumpkin seeds. Although the photo looks a bit beige there's plenty of flavour in there. As well as onion and garlic there's red pepper and courgette, a cinnamon stick, cardomon pods, stock and fresh coriander. I love toasted almonds and pumpkin seeds as a topping. They add a lovely crunch and smell fantastic whilst you're dry

Back to my original theme today which was Carol Vorderman -    Accidental Vegan Hero, blogging about recipes from a series of Detox Recipe books that the television presenter and maths whizz put out with nutritionist Anita Bean in the  noughties . This is one of my favourite soups ever. It feels like Autumn in a bowl although as you can see from the daffodils I took the picture in the Spring! There's quite a bit of chopping involved in the prep but it's so worth it. And in terms of cooking it's an easy 20 minute simmer before a blitz in a blender. I quite often sub butternut squash for pumpkin as it's more widely available in the UK. The flavours are gorgeous and so comforting. Ingredients consist of onion, garlic, sweet potatoes and pumpkin along with stock. The inclusion of some freshly grated ginger and some ground coriander give it a nice warming kick and made it the perfect soup for when you're feeling a bit under the weather. In fact this would b

Ok, I was glad when I read that our nutritional needs were met and these were extra items. I don't know what I would have chosen otherwise! First up is what I would think of as my luxury item. It's rare that a day goes past when I don't have a little bit of chocolate. Often a couple of sqaures of a good dark chocolate is enough to take the edge of that craving. There is always chocolate in the door of my fridge, it has it's own special section. If I had to choose a particular type of chocolate for my island I would choose raw chocolate as I'd feel I was getting extra nutrients from it. I've found raw chocolate to vary in style and taste. British wise I'm a big fan of the snappy varieties that Om Bar and Raw Chocolate Company make and also the latter companies chocolate covered raisins, gojis and mulberries. I've also really enjoyed the raw chocolate my Aussie pen pal Sally has sent me which are brands that we can't get here. I discovered Sally

My initial thoughts for this prompt were some of the meaty dishes I loved that my mum made when I was growing up like steak and kidney pudding and Lancashire Hot Pot but I've still not really dived into the world of seitan making so I decided to opt for something sweet. We used to have a big roast dinner every weekend with the traditional joint of meat and loads of veg and gravy. My mum always gave us a pudding after every meal. In the week it was usually something simple like tinned fruit and evaporated milk (sometimes the two were blended in the liquidiser to make 'fool') or packet mix Angel Delight, just a little something sweet to finish the meal. My mum worked full time but had weekends off so that was the time she used to bake desserts. These would include things like fruit pies and crumbles, Victoria Sponge, Coffee Cake and the one I'm going to feature today Cornflake Tart. I don't usually eat cornflakes so I didn't realise how difficult it would

I'm interpreting this prompt as lunches I can grab from a well known chain when I don't have time to make my own. It's still pretty difficult to buy a decent sandwich in England from any of the chains and I think your best best at most places is a salad. This is especially true of Marks and Spencer where despite having a massive sandwich range there is none suitable for vegans. However, they do have a great salad range in their 2 for £3 salad pots. Quite a number of the salad pots are suitable for vegans and even more if you are happy to leave off the dressing (some are vegan but come with dressing pots that contain honey). The selection can vary greatly depending on which branch you go in but the Marks and Spencer Food store at the end of our road carries the full range. The pots are nice and filling too incorporating ingredients like quinoa, rice, beans and potatoes and I like to put a couple of different ones together. I prefer to make my own packed lunches

For me the internet was a big part of becoming vegan. Around 11 years ago I was having some hormone related problems. I had a surgery that didn't help and my doctors basically told me I'd have to live with the constant bleeding and lower back pain. Great ! I turned to the internet and started to read about how making changes to my diet could help re-balance my hormones and maybe straighten me out. I gradually started to tweak items in my diet such as eating more tofu and beans and less dairy and meat. I've always been really conscious about trying to have a balanced diet so I did loads of reading and enjoyed exploring new foods and finding new recipes. Within a year my problems had disappeared and after an incident on holiday in Peru where I had to sit opposite someone eating a guinea pig something just clicked in my brain. I looked down at my plate of fish and decided that was it, I was going vegan. Nine years later I still feel it was one of the best decisions I've