Tea and Sympatico

My partner Matt is a singer songwriter  with the stage name Quiet Loner and our weekends are often taken up with him playing at gigs, going to gigs and sometimes hosting gigs. We put on a bi-monthly show in Glossop called Defiance Sessions with musicians from all over the UK coming to our little town and staying with us. The next one is May 28 and features Chris TT and fellow vegan Efa Supertramp . Here's Matt talking more about it. Tomorrow Matt is playing at an all day festival in Barnsley. I've been cooking food today that will also double up as wrap fillings to keep us going tomorrow. First up is this recipe from Isa Does It . The book just fell open at this page and as I'd never made it before and had all the ingredients it was a must try. Rather than fry the tofu I tossed it in sesame oil, salt and pepper and then oven baked it. It came out great with a lovely texture. Under the tofu is wasabi, edamame hummus and the green stuff is pea shoots. Lovely, flav

If you're a regular reader of the blog you may remember that we had a really lovely break in Harlech in Wales last October. We stayed in a wonderful apartment right next to Harlech Castle and we had such a fantastic time we took to selling our worldly goods on eBay in November and December to raise the funds to go back for New Year. Sadly when we got there at New Year there was water damage to the apartment and we were unable to stay. We were given some alternative accommodation and also 4 free nights at the Castle apartments to take this year. We used these two weeks ago. We stopped at the Rhug Estate Farm shop and cafe on the way for a comfort break and had a look round the shop. There's not usually much for vegans so we were delighted when we spotted these indvidual nut roasts baked like muffins on the deli counter. With some mash, roasted sprouts, carrots, parsnips and gravy that was our first evening meal sorted and very good it was too. When I go on holiday as

I struggle daily with a neurological condition called  Hyper Sensitive Cough Reflex Syndrome . It's taken me around 10 years to get a diagnosis and an understanding of why I have random violent coughing fits throughout the day. Recent tests also showed a type of bronchitis in my lungs. I am now under the care of a specialist hospital team in Manchester who are world leaders in research into this condition. That's the good news. The bad news is that there isn't anything that can be taken to reverse the damage to the nerves in my throat (probably caused by a bad virus way back in time. I think it all stems from getting really sick on a trip to Mexico in 2004). I concentrate on trying to manage the condition and the things that can trigger it. That's not always easy when triggers include eating, drinking, a change in air temperature when going from indoors to outdoors (and vice versa), exercise, walking past open fridges in shops, acid reflux and post nasal drip. It's