As a Vegan…..

I have had this book by Isa Chandra Moskowitz for sometime now and have enjoyed many recipes from it. As it is now finally summer there are lots of great summer dishes to be enjoyed on warm evenings ect. I have already posted about the Fresh Tomato Salsa Dressing p.23 which I find great in this heat hot and yet refreshing.

I made Buffalo Tempeh p.161 a few day ago a simple yet great tasting dish and accompanied it with ‘Prospect Park’ vegan potato salad from Veganomicon. The Buffalo Tempeh has just 5 ingredients that give the tempeh a spicy kick.

Other wonderful recipes that I have tried and tested and enjoyed thoroughly are;

Pasta de los Angeles p177.  A fresh pasta salad with black beans and coriander.

Red Wine and Kalamata Tempeh p157. I have made this a few times now and would definateley recommend marinating the tempeh over night as it really adds to the rich flavour of the wine and olives, great served with mash or rice.

Black-Eyed Pea and Tempeh Beanballs p.191. This recipe makes 12 beanballs so I like to serve some hot as an evening meal with spaghetti and a hot tomato sauce, then have some for lunch cold in salad wraps. A simple recipe and thees beanballs are baked not fried making them much healthier that some alternatives.

Masala Baked Tofu p.146. This is great recipe for tofu that you can marinade the night before and just pop in the oven when you get in from work and then serve with rice or noodles. The Masala Baked Tofu is full of flavour and oven baking gives the tofu extra chewiness.

Buffalo Tempeh p.161

I would highly recommend this book for its ease of use and the interesting flavours. A vast amount of the recipes take under 30 mins or can be prepared the night before, so this book will appeal to those short of time too.

My Vegan Salad

With all the hot weather of late I thought I would post an idea for a fast nutritious salad. This salad basically consists of torn lettuce, spring onions,  Taifun basil tofu cubed and lightly fried, My Easy Vegan Croutons, cubed red pepper and cucumber.

I made a tasty dressing from the Juice of 1/2 a Lemon, 1/4 cup of Olive Oil,  a good squirt of Agave Nectar and a 2 tablespoons of unsweetened soya milk.

I also made some Fresh Tomato Salsa Dressing which gives a really good spice kick whilst being refreshing, the recipe is from the book ‘Appetite for Reduction’ p.23.

Fresh Tomato Salsa Dressing p.23 Appetite for Reduction

My partner requested croutons to be served when I make salad and my quest began. I must admit I am sometimes one for shortcuts so I looked for ready made croutons only to discover most of them contain milk for some unknown reason! This helped me to decide to try and make my own and was pleased with the result, here is what I did;

• I very lightly toasted fresh bread in the toaster
• Cut it into cubes
• Minced  2 cloves of garlic
• Heated some vegetable oil in a wok
• Added the cubed bread and minced garlic the wok
• Fried til golden brown

These croutons are great in salads and with soup, try cooking with chilli oil for spicy croutons.

Further to my earlier post named ‘As a Vegan I have discovered The Railway Hotel, Southend-on-Sea’ I thought I would add this picture of some tasty falafel eaten at a recent visit. Unfortunately I forgot to photograph the vegan chocolate cake as could not wait to eat it!

Fresh and tasty, the Railway's Falafel

From Mark Reinfield and Jennifer Murray the authors of “The 30-Minute Vegan”, this book has tasty, healthy, vegan recipes inspired by the cuisines of China, Japan, Korea, India, Thailand, and more.

Having received this book as a gift a few weeks ago, I thought I would share my experiences of it. I have tried lots of the recipes and I have found them all easy to prepare and delicious. The book features recipes from Indonesia, Nepal, Vietnam, Korea, Tibet, Iran, and Afghanistan and everything I have made so far has been enjoyed by both my partner and myself.

So far my favourite dishes have been the Kung Pao Tempeh p.123 which involves baking the marinated tempeh in the oven, then it is sautéed with bok choi and cashews yummy!

The Tibetan Noodle Soup, p.202, prepared by my partner was delicious, a very warming, enjoyable soup, however I would probably prefer soba or udon noodles in it rather than the recipes spelt ones.

Peking Seitan A.K.A Dafy's Relief page.129

The ‘Peking Seitan A.K.A. Daffy’s Relief’ which also involves baking in the oven giving the sauce a lovely texture and making the seitan melt in the mouth.

And, pictured below, ‘Seitan and Broccoli’ which was really simple and quick to prepare, I added soba noodles to the mix at the end and served, delicious.

Seitan and Broccoli page.125

I would highly recommend this book to both those who need to prepare meals quickly and those who enjoy cooking as the books ease of use and easily sourced ingredients I’m sure will appeal to all.

*A quick update to this post, I have now tried the Seitan with Black Bean Sauce and it was really tasty too. It says on the recipe to marinate the seitan in spices and I would highly recommend doing so as it really adds flavour.

Seitan with Black Bean Sauce page. 118

I visited Bobby Jo’s Diner today for lunch and thought I would post this picture of the wonderful vegan sundae I had there!

Decorated like an authentic 50′s diner, Bobby Jo’s is a truly special experience. Each booth is named after a 50′s star and the seats are like those from hotrods. Although Bobby Jo’s feed meat eaters too it is refreshing to see that they have a vegan menu with burgers, hotdogs, milkshakes and of course Ice-Cream Sundaes!

Super 1950's decor and a Vegan menu!

A truly unique experience, Bobby Jo’s Diner 11-12 Eastern Esplanade, Southend-on-Sea, Essex SS1 2ER.

I wish other Southend eateries would follow suit and offer vegan options, please contact me if you do and I will happily add a review!

Well done to Tory Mark Pritchard for standing up for a ban on circus’s with animals and telling on David Cameron’s dirty circus tricks.

Channel 4′s Fact Check Blog stated today:

“There was a feral atmosphere in the Commons on Thursday as MPs of all stripes showed their claws on the emotive subject of circus animals.

After an afternoon of fierce debate, MPs agreed to a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses, something protest groups have long been calling for despite legal objections from the Government.

In one extraordinary twist, Conservative backbencher Mark Pritchard, who led the backbench call for an end to the practice, claimed he had been threatened by the Prime Minister’s office unless he pulled the plug on the idea.”

I believe I know exactly why Cameron is so worried of animals being banned in entertainment. His own love of  fox hunting for entertainment would probably come under the ban too?! Making his favourite sport/entertainment banned twice!

Ah it is all becoming clear now!

I thought I would share another chocolate recommendation as I have just discovered Caramel flavoured Choices. These individually wrapped sweets taste rather like those caramel ones I can remember from Cadbury Roses but better as they are vegan! Caramel flavoured Choices also are wheat and gluten free.

I got mine from Ocado who stock lots of vegan items and sometimes add products upon request.They contain: Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Fondant (Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Water), Cocoa Mass, Rice Powder (Rice Syrup, Rice Starch, Rice Flour), Invert Syrup, Inulin, Water, Coconut Oil, Natural Flavourings, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin).
Enjoy!!

Last night I went to Nu Aysia restaurant for dinner and a catch up with a good friend. The staff there, as usual, were very helpful and accomodating. The menu is full of interesting dishes with many vegetarian options of which the staff are more than happy to adapt for vegans. They serve a variety of tofu dishes, even a sizzling one! I love Nu Aysia’s rice with pineapple and cashews!

The restaurant is very modern, stylish and clean and Nu Aysia pride themselves on providing a healthy dining experience.

Nu Aysia, 128 Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff-on-Sea SS0 7LN

Please help to end Bullfighting join PETA’s campaign and email the prime minister of Spain, His Excellency José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and make your opinion known that this sick torture should not be entertainment for anyone.

“Bullfighting is a cruel, abhorrent blood sport that should have been relegated to the history books a long time ago. We need your help today to stop the torment, mutilation and death of these magnificent animals”. PETA