Tea and Sympatico

I was surprised the other day when I realised that this was actually my tenth Christmas dinner as a vegan! We started the day with a brunch around 10.30am opting to eat our main meal mid afternoon after a quick trip to our local pub for a drink. I helped with the planning but can take no credit for any of the cooking. The food you see is all Matt's work. For brunch we had these bagels . I recently discovered thin bagels which are the same width a normal bagel just half as thin and they are great for a breakfast sandwich. There was a layer of V Bites ham topped with chive studded scrambled tofu from The Starch Solution which was then drizzled with some Vegg . It was great and a good start to the day. There was much debate about what to have as the main in our Christmas dinner. In past years I've enjoyed things this Mushroom and Chestnut Wellington , Forest Foods Nut Roasts and V Bites Turkey . I've tried Tofurky before too but not at Christmas, it was when I was in

Mid Week Munchies takes place every week and is organised by Jennifer at  My Blissful Journey . Check out the link to find what bloggers round the world have been buying and eating. First up are these goodies that I found for fantastic prices last week at Home Bargains. The organic coconut oil was only £3.99 a jar! I've been using it to make my Pirate Bread with spiced rum soaked raisins to take along to various gatherings we've been to. The coconut water was 39p a tin and that's been going in smoothies. At 99p a box I picked up a few boxes of these chestnuts and we've enjoyed them on a pizza so far and I'm sure they'll be featuring in a pie soon. The chia seeds were £1.69 a bag, the cheapest I've ever seen them and a great find as I use them a lot in overnight oats. These snacks were on offer for £1 a bag in our local Co-Op. We ate the cracker crisps in one go as they were very moreish. The popcorn I'm saving for a film over the festive perio

Blimey! I can't believe that I haven't blogged since the start of December. Where has the time gone! Part of the reason is that my old laptop has finally died a death and Matt is working from home now so I have very little access to a computer. I'm hoping to replace the laptop in the January sales though. I've also been busy making stuff. I'm on a much more limited budget these days as I am working part time but I also have more time at home to make presents which I've always loved to do, so that's been taking up my time too. I bookmarked this blog post for a pom pom wreath ages ago and really enjoyed making it. The colours are actually red, white and green although the photo makes the green look a bit blue and colourblind Matt looked puzzled when I showed it him and asked me why I'd made a patriotic wreath! A few months ago Matt's mum gave me his Nana's old jam making pan and I spent a relaxing Saturday making Orange and Chilli Marmalade

Mid Week Munchies takes place every week and is organised by Jennifer at  My Blissful Journey . Check out the link to find what bloggers round the world have been buying and eating. Now we are into December who's had their first mince pie? Not only are mince pies all over the shops but jars of mincemeat are on offer now so I thought it would be a good time to share this seasonal recipe.  I've even used it to illustrate my Christmas cards for this year. I'm hoping that some of the people I send them too might save the recipe and make it, that way if they have any vegan friends, family or work colleagues then they've got something seasonal they can make and share with them. Today I have a recipe for you for a Winterspice tea loaf. This is bursting with seasonal flavours and is super easy to make. It's a big favourite in our house with a pot of tea. It would go well with my Winter Spiced tea in fact! Ingredients 2 cups of plain flour 1 teasp