Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Hello and ‘happy thanksgiving’ to all you American vegans who use this site…I know who you are. Well I don’t really, but I know you are out there and I know you check up on me from time to time and I really appreciate that. So, my question is, what great vegan treats you are cooking up today? Maybe you could let me know so I can steal some of your ideas for Christmas dinner this year…only one month to go.

Mad I know, but the truth is, I don’t actually know any vegans in real life. Sad huh. I get all my vegan info and inspiration from you guys on the web. Which is great and all that, but you know how sometimes you can’t beat that human touch so to speak?

Well, today, whilst browsing in a health food shop, I bumped into a lovely lady who began chatting to me about seitan. Do all vegans do that, oh I do hope so.  I’d never made it myself and she kindly gave me her tried and tested recipe. We swapped emails and she has sent me the details already. How cool it that.

I haven’t tried it yet, and probably won’t get around to it for a while, but when I do, I’ll let you know how I get on. And if you’re out there Adelle, big thanks for your kind enthusiasm in spreading your vegan joy to strangers in health food shops, keep up the good work. You made my day.

I love cooking and eating, but even more than that, I love THINKING about cooking and eating. Because with the latter, there is no washing up, no forgotten ingredients, no culinary mistakes. And more importantly, in my cooking fantasies I have a spankingly gorgeous kitchen and speak in alluring husky tones while licking chocolate off a spoon. The reality couldn’t be more different. The forgotten ingredient is usually the ‘lemon’ in the ‘lemon cake’, my kitchen is a tip and I usually have an hour at the most before my daughter wakes up. But hey, that’s life, and I’m dealing with it.

Last night I cooked tofu. Not that surprising for a vegan you may think, but this time it was edible. At last. Like many people new to tofu, I have been proper scared of the white stuff. I have dabbled in the past and have been known to inhale, but last night was different. 

Check out this article on hubpages it tells you how to cook tofu like a pro. Follow it and enjoy. I marinated mine in a mixture of oil, vegan worcestershire source, marmite and basil. Yum. Do it.

As vegans we rely heavily on our local health food shop. That’s of course providing we know where it is. Until now I had been travelling to Cambridge for my monthly hunt for animal free delicacies, not realising that there is a wonderful little shop in Bedford called Pumpernickel.

Now, I realise that this post may seem irrelevant to 99.9% of you, seeing as Bedford is just one small British town in this big wide world. But the point is this. Find your local health food store and make them your best friend. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s 8.30pm. The Hairy Bakers are on the box. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure check them out here. They are two chefs trekking round the UK showing us how to bake traditional cakes, breads and puddings. Most of their offerings contain huge amounts of cream, cheese, and eggs, but I’m hoping that with a bit of imagination the boys’ buns can be veganised. Read the rest of this entry »

In the beginning, the very beginning, I planned to blog all my thoughts about becoming vegan. Yeah, I know, that would be boring for you to wade through, but it would also leave very little time for me to have all my wondrous thoughts. 

This however has led to a backlog. Sounds painful? Well, it is actually. I have all these thoughts, questions, ideas and recipes floating around in my brain and it’s getting a little cramped in there.

So over the next few weeks I am going to make a concerted effort to clear my backlog and get all my recipes out there. So be afraid, be very afraid…the chocolate cake is good.

Well, firstly my Mum forgot she was playing ‘vegetarians’. My fault really, I didn’t remind her as she’s had enough on her plate lately…she has promised to do it another time though, and I will keep you to it Moolie.

On the plus side though, Andy managed a whole week. Not only that, he did it with good grace too. I planned the weeks’ meals so he could see in advance what delights would await him. That way, when asked what was for dinner, I could simply point at the dog-eared A4 sheet on the fridge, rather than utter the words tofu or nutritional yeast. Read the rest of this entry »

He agreed…he agreed. Oh, and so did my Mum. For one week only, my husband and my Mum will survive without meat. 

“Does that mean no fish as well?”, my Mum asked sheepishly. “Sure shooting”, I told her…they have eyes don’t they, jeez some even have fingers.

Well, National Vegetarian Week is from the 19th – 25th May 2008. Give it a go, you might just like it.

Happy Easter. Hope you like the new look blog. Big thanks to Andrew for working so hard on it…nerdy husbands hey, they have there benefits. I’m lovin’ the animal graphics too, I bought them from istock, they’re by a cool gal called Jamie, you can check out her own site. I’ve been baking like the wind these past few weeks and have some recipes to list, some good, some not so good. Well, I have just polished off my Green and Blacks Easter egg with one eye on Terry Pratchetts ‘The Colour of Magic’…hmm not sure it’s my thang…the programme I mean, the Easter egg definitely suited me.