Veganuary Eats

As I'm sure you know from previous posts I do like a competition and I entered several Veganuary ones. It was Matt who was the winner this time though. He won these ace cookbooks - Defensive Eating With Morrissey and Comfort Eating With Nick Cave in a twitter punning competition where you had to combine food with lyrics from their songs. I thought my Barbecueim Begins At Home entry was pretty good but he pipped me with Girlfriend in a Korma. They've only just arrived so we haven't made anything form them yet but I shall have to report back.


I've blogged before about Glossop business The Pie Parlour. It goes from strength to strength and Diane who owns and runs it did herself proud with her Veganuary offerings. We managed to sample quite a range this month! As well as being vegan the following were all gluten free too.


First up is a raw cheesecake. This had delightful fresh strawberry flavours and was nice and rich in that way that raw cheesecakes are.


One of my favourite cake flavours is coffee and walnut and this did not disappoint. Sticking with the coffee theme we also sampled this stunning looking tiramisu gateaux.


Diane is a very innovative cook and is constantly trying out new things. I was over the moon to try this month two things I've never had as a vegan. It's over 10 years since I've had lemon meringue pie and these were tarts we were of my favourite things to date from the Pie Parlour.


I was also delighted to have a vanilla slice. When I was a kid and we were allowed to choose a cream cake from the cake shop I always bypassed anything with cream and went for a custard tart or vanilla slice. Thanks to the wonder of the new Jus Roll vegan and gluten free puff pastry Diane was able to make these and they were soooo good.


I was even inspired to do a bit of baking myself. Cheltenham Drippers came up in conversation at work and I had to google them to see what they were made from. 


They are a yeasted bread bun filled with raisins that are also known as Lardy Cakes. I used this recipe and veganised it by using melted coconut oil instead of beef dripping.


There was lots of rolling the dough and folding and brushing oil into the different layers. It was a fun lazy Sunday afternoon project and they were pretty tasty.


We also spent January using up stuff we'd got in for the festive season. We'd managed to visit one of the Sainsbury's back in December that stocked 'Gary' and we'd bought a few different ones to try. I think my favourite has to be the caramelised onion cheddar which melts really well as does the feta which Matt used as a filling in these arancini balls made from leftover risotto.


A big change for me in January has been going back to full time hours. It's just for a few months and it's going ok. I'd be lying if I said it was a breeze as fatigue is an issue with being on morphine but I'm doing all the right kind of self care things and it is definitely helping. That means practicing my cold prevention tips I blogged about here and getting early nights. I'm also trying to do some yoga most days too. An important part of self care is food and in line with that I have declared Fridays, my last working day of the week to be Pieday. This involves Matt who works form home popping down to the Pie Parlour in the day to pick up a couple of pies which we warm up in the oven in the evening whilst he nips round to the chippy for a large bag of chips to share, a pot of mushy peas for him and a large gravy for me.



And finally from pie and chips to super posh food. We had vegan friendly champagne and caviar with Matt's sister and brother in law to celebrate us getting engaged. I'd forgotten I had a jar of caviart lurking in the pantry waiting for an occasion and I'd also forgotten how nice it is. I'm also pleased to see that Holland and Barrett now stock it.


So that's it for January. I'm usually ok with winter but it has felt really cold and wet the last few weeks and I will be glad to see Spring this year. We have some fun things planned for February though and are going to Nottingham this weekend and are planning to visit Sneinton Vegan market so I'll be reporting back!

Comments

  1. Oh wow, look at all that amazing food! I'll have to get to Glossop at some point.

    I'm particularly impressed by your arancini. I've never braved making it before!

    I hope you enjoy Sneinton Market. It's really good!

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    1. I've never made arancini either. It's one of Matt's dishes. I need to get him to show me. This was the first time we've had it stuffed with cheese and it was delicious. We had it as a starter with some leaves and some onion marmalade. I'm so excited about the market and a new donut shop in the centre. We are going for an art show preview and a birthday party but it's going to be a real foodie weekend too!

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  2. OMG, I love Joshua Ploeg's cook zines, and I didn't know about these!!! I must get the Morrissey book!

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    1. They are beautifully produced little books, square in shape, full colour and hard backed. Definitely treat yourself! Some interesting looking recipes in both too for stuff like sandwiches and cocktails as well as mains and cake. I will try to make some in the next few weeks as it's all good comfort food perfect for winter.

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  3. Those Zines are hilarious.
    I think Pieday sounds like a fabulous tradition! It is very important to have good self care in place. <3

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    1. I agree, I think Pieday needs to become a lasting tradition. We have to miss it this week as we are away Friday night and most of the weekend so I have moved it to Sunday night when we get back instead.

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  4. Girlfriend in a Korma is awesome! I can't wait to see what you make with those cookbooks!!
    Those sweets look so decadent, I am feeling food envy in full effect!
    I'm definitely ready for spring too!

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    Replies
    1. I usually quite like winter but I am not feeling it this year. We have definitely been spoilt by having the Pie Parlour so close to where we live.

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  5. Congratulations on your engagement, and on eating so much amazing food in January! Declaring Friday Pieday would make the world a much happier place. I can't wait to visit Pie Parlour one day, everything they make looks delicious!

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  6. Congratulations on getting engaged, and what a way to celebrate the good news! it sounds like things are on the up and you're doing all the right things you can. I'm with you on Friday Pieday too! Savoury or sweet, you've had some cracking ones recently.

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  7. Congratulations once again on being engaged; and going to f/t hours, eek . so interesting to read how Matt comes up with Piedays, i rally thought he was going to cook for you :) The two zines Matt won were on my wish list for Christmas and my husband did look to purchase them at the time but they were out of stock, so look forward to seeing what you cook from them. Ah also one of the reasons I went to the Viva festival i was hoping the caviart stall would be there, bit disappointed - wonder if anywhere in Bristol sells it now.

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  8. Vegan Treats & Desserts!!!!! YUMMO!!!!!!! Congrats, too!

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  9. Thanks for stopping by a few days ago! Looking forward to your next post here, too! AND thanks for visiting Sororitea Sisters, too!

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