Muscle power: who says eating a plant-based diet can’t help you become a world class athlete/supertoned Rock Star?

Hi guys

I thought I’d write this post as members of my immediate family seem to suddenly be meeting famous and hugely fit vegans! They do say like attracts like 🙂 The above photo arrived in my inbox earlier this month. Pictured is my very own superfit sister with Frank Medrano, someone who I admit I’d never heard of before.  According to my sister he is a god-like figure who has inspired millions including her as he’s a top vegan athlete.  I’m not an expert, but to my layman’s eye, he looks the picture of health.  So, for all those who are concerned about a plant-based lifestyle not containing enough protein, eat that!

Also, below is a photo hot off the press tonight from my husband who is ‘hanging out’ with a major music hero of mine, Tim Commerford – bass player of the mightiest rock band on the planet, Rage Against the Machine.  They are doing a PR stunt in Parliament Square tonight (planting the Wakrat flag I believe) to plug Tim’s own side-project band, Wakrat. Check out their cool videos for some rocking tunes! Tim is a long time vegan and again, another picture of health.   Long live vegan bassists haha!

 

Barns Cafe, Abingdon

Hi guys

I wanted to share one of my favourite little cafes with you, The Barns Cafe in Abingdon. It’s a really lovely place for a relaxed cup of tea and bite to eat and the staff there are lovely.  I was also super impressed the other day when I saw they were offering free flowers and sweets yet again, as per photo above.  Needless to say I helped myself to a handful of these and of course am spreading the word so you can do the same:)  I’ve driven past a few times and seen this wonderful display so was chuffed that I finally got to take some freebie goodies home with me.

 

Discount codes for 2 of these 3 awesome things!

Hi guys

After today’s awesome Natural/Vegan fair in London here are 3 lovely things I am love love loving!

“Little Ondine” natural odourless peel off nail polish (genius idea and no catch so far and I’ve had it on all day! ), “Loving Natural” chocolate and “Soothe-me” skincare. All totally awesome & seriously good!

Discount codes for you here:

Little Ondine : ‘LITTLE TREAT ‘ – code valid for 1 week (15% off)

Soothe -me : ‘LNLY15’ – code for 15% off

 

Home made cashew and pine nut pesto

Hi guys

No photo of this one but here’s what I can decipher out of my post-it note for you!  I remember this tasting yummy and being a fraction of the price of shop-bought free-from pesto.

Ingredients for pesto paste:

60g fresh basil (stalks removed but you could keep them:)

150g cashew nuts

150g pine nuts

8 tbsp olive oil

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4-1/2 tsp salt

Method:

Whizz up all the ingredients in food processor.  You may need to scrape off the sides and whizz again several times. Store in the fridge if not using immediately (from memory this lasted a good couple of weeks).  If using immediately you may not need to add extra olive oil.  If stored in the fridge the paste will have absorbed all the olive oil so will need a bit more olive oil to get it looking like pesto again.  Add the pesto paste to some more olive oil in about a ratio of 1:2  (that’s 1 part pesto paste to 2 parts olive oil).

Enjoy with freshly boiled pasta for a quick and easy recurring supper!

Yellow Split Pea soup recipe

Hi guys

Found yet another bit of paper with random scribbles.  This turned out really well, first time I’ve cooked split peas.

Ingredients

500g yellow split peas

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp black onion (kalonji) seeds

1 litre (estimated!) vegetable stock (eg Marigold Swiss Bouillon vegan) – add enough to give the consitency you want for the soup ie thick/thin

1 x onion chopped

5 x garlic cloves crushed/chopped

Method

Cook the yellow split peas according to packet instructions – normally boiling up for around 30-40mins

Then in a pan fry up the onion and garlic on low-med heat until golden and add the spices.  Once ready, tip the yellow split peas and give everything a good stir.

Enjoy with a hunk of bread of your choice!

Note: The next time I try this I’ll wilt some spinach in at the end for extra vitamins, let me know what you try!

Butternut squash and chickpea korma recipe

Hi guys

Found another piece of paper with recipe scrawled on!  Here’s what I can make out.

Ingredients

1 x Butternut squash

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 x 350g tub of coconut yoghurt   (I used Pudology.  I haven’t tried this with coconut milk but it should work if you can use something like cornflour to thicken it)

1 x onion, chopped

3 x garlic cloves, chopped/crushed

2 x tins of chick peas

1 tsp turmeric

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp ground cumin

Salt & pepper to taste (optional)

Coriander to garnish (optional)

Heat oven to 180C. Roast the squash with the cumin and ground coriander for approx 30 mins until golden. Meanwhile, in a pan fry up the onion and garlic on low-med heat until golden then add the spices/curry powder and fry for another minute or so.  Add the chick peas, yoghurt and a splash of water if necessary to thin.  Once the squash is roasted, tip it all, including the lovely juices into the pan and stir.

Serve with your choice of rice/chapati/bread and perhaps coconut yoghurt tzaziki (recipe to follow once I’ve made it up!)

Pea-tato Tagine recipe

Whoop whoop, finally a recipe for you!

I’ve taken lots of photos but haven’t then managed to a) write the recipe down and b) if I have scrawled it down, been managed to find the piece of paper.

Here’s an easy one that I will leave you to adapt in your own way.  Enjoy!

Serves a family of 4 with leftovers

Ingredients:

6 x large (baking size) potatoes – peeled and sliced to 1cm circles

3 onions, sliced into circles

4 tomatoes, sliced into circles

2 courgettes, thinly sliced

1 tin chick peas

1 cup peas (I used frozen, fresh should be fine too)

1 cup broad beans  (I used frozen, fresh should be fine too)

For the sauce:

1 litre of (Marigold Swiss Bouillon) stock

1 tin of tomato puree

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

6 cloves garlic , crushed/finely chopped

2 tsp garlic puree

Olive oil, drizzle

Salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Put all the ingredients (not the sauce ingredients yet) into a large baking tray. Make the sauce by mixing up all the sauce ingredients in a jug then pouring over everything.

Bake at 180C for about 40 mins or until the potatoes are cooked.

Serve on its own or with lemon pickle as pictured. I am a massive fan of pickled lemon!

The perfect afternoon tea

Hi guys

It’s been a while and I hope you’re all well.

Afternoon tea, it’s a great British institution.  A freshly-boiled pot of tea – it has to be a pot not a cup right? Accompanied, needless to say, by a slice or three of cake.  But, could vegan afternoon tea really be possible or, more to the point, any good?  Up until now I have thought about it (I’ve been invited out to a few but there has sadly never been an option eating out so far) but I’m not much of a baker so haven’t got around to making anything other than flapjacks.  I did however see an eye-catching vegan afternoon tea going for around £25 per person in London which was and still is on the cards for one day but I had my doubts about forking out for what could be a disappointment.

I was kindly invited to afternoon tea a few weeks back and had to share these amazing photos of a friend’s totally awesome vegan baking with you.  I say baking but in most cases it’s non-baking ie raw (squished up stuff like dates and nuts). They tasted every bit as good as they look –  enjoy feasting your eyes on these!

And if that London vegan tea is half as good as this, then I shall definitely be up for it 😉

 

“What exactly do you eat?” – a rough answer to this much asked question

Hi guys

I’ve been asked a few times now the question, “What do you eat?” when I have told friends/ people that I currently eat solely plant-based food.  The truth is I don’t really remember what I generally eat, especially once I’ve eaten it!  So, over the last couple months I’ve taken random photos of stuff I’ve eaten at home, to provide you here with a visual answer to this question.

I hope to add to the selection of photos in due course so hope to take some more shots of the coming months, and provide you with some recipes.  Apologies the recipe sharing is taking longer than I thought.  This is mainly because I don’t generally measure quantities of spices etc I put in, which I guess would be helpful in a recipe write up!

 

Best Vegan Dumplings in Oxford!

Hi guys

Just got back from another super trip to Oxford’s best Green/Eco/Alt festival, Wood Festival and wanted to share these amazing momo dumplings with you.  Well, not the actual ones pictured as I devoured those earlier but the really, really good news is that these are available to you in Gloucester Green’s street market every Wednesday in central Oxford.  The stall to look out for is called Taste Tibet . I’m totally going to be a regular there!  Think of the veg dumplings that Wagamama do only much better.  Served with your choice of fresh coriander, soy sauce and selection of chilli sauces – yummy!