vegetarian Archives - Page 2 of 4

Healthy Snacks. Parsnip & Brussel Invite Kale To Step Into The Ring - Who Won?!

January 30, 2014 by India Leigh

Kale is king. It has reigned for a few years now as the supreme raw food chip. Of course, other vegetables were going to want a slice of the action. So kale got competition!

I love brussel sprouts. I love parsnips. I heard they were being ‘chipped’. I had to sample them.

Wonderfully Raw chips were developed by a chef named Sequoia, a graduate of the Living Light Institute who began making raw foods after healing herself of Type 11 Diabetes through diet.

New Product Review

Generally, they were good. But, honestly, not all of the flavours rocked my world, but some defiantly generated a tremor! All of the line up contain raw coconut among their ingredients. Coconut is not only delicious but a metabolism boosting super food. Guilt free healthy snacking. Each pack is only approximately 120 calories and 8g of fat (but it is easily digested, healthy MCLA - medium chain fatty acids). According to Dr Oz coconut improves thyroid function, too. Vegan. Gluten free. Soy Free. Sugar Free.

Brussel Bites - Chili Pumpkin Seed Crunch
The chipotle heat is so good mingling with the slightly bitter brussel and the toasty flavour of the coconut. Loved!

Brussel Bites - Tamarind Apple Crunch
I could not detect the tang of the tamarind but the ginger and coconut were a divine mix. Loved!

Snip Chips - Cheezy Herb Truffle
I was excited about this flavour combination. However, I didn’t love this one. Too ‘parsnippy’ for my liking and not enough truffle and cheeze flavours.

Snip Chips - Chipotle Lime Cilantro
More chipotle flavour, please! If you don’t like heat then you may enjoy the subtlety of it. Otherwise, a good flavour.

Snip Chips - Dill Pickle
a lovely buttery taste with a gentle dill flavour. Loved!

So..the clear winner..does King Kale need to be nervous?? No. Competition is good. I think the healthy snack market has room for them all! I will definitely be buying these again.

Wonderfully Raw sell their Snips and Bites in many natural food markets, Whole Food and grocery store locations in North America.

The Best BBQ Food Truck In America

January 28, 2014 by India Leigh

This post needs few words. Here in Austin, sits one of the best food trucks I’ve ever had the good fortune to stumble across. It is BBQ. It is Vegan. All those components on the plate are gluten free. Is this nirvana?! I will say this now, I have never tasted potato salad so utterly, totally and incredibly good. I would eat it for breakfast, lunch AND dinner. The coleslaw and beans?…. well if I told you what I thought you’d think I was exaggerating.

BBQ Revolution‘s food is so sought after that when I arrived to get my fill they’d sold out of their BBQ ‘No Bull Brisket’ and Smokey Curlz. I’d had them before and the BBQ flavours were sensational!! But honestly, even without the BBQ ‘meats’ filling up the eco-friendly compostable plate, I was MORE than happy!

They are located up at North Loop. In a near all vegan food trailer park. I’m in love!

Blake. The owner and genius behind BBQ Revolution.

BBQ Revolution Food Truck

701 53rd St

Austin, TX 78751

Counter Culture. Food Activism At Its Most Delicious Best. Great Food Adventures In Austin.

January 24, 2014 by India Leigh

Whilst I was in Austin, this was the place I frequented the most for some good vegan comfort food. It is on the East side of town and close to the Capital City Bakery, a 100% vegan bakery that had just opened it’s first retail space. Pretty much like Capital City Bakery, Sue Davis, the founder of Counter Culture, began her vegan food business in a local food truck. That is not to put food trucks on a lower rung or anything. Austin’s food truck scene is pretty special, with several permanent food trailer parks around the city. One park I encountered over on 1st Street even had it’s own heated covered area with rest rooms and community tables.

Counter Culture is wholesome meatless food, cooked from scratch. Some dishes are raw foods ALL are dairy free. At the weekends they offer special brunch menus, which is when I tried their kale & wild mushroom omlete, made with tofu. On the side was perched a generous stack of the most delicious gluten free bread from Misty Morning Bakery. It ordered it with a side of chunky roasted potatoes, just to be sure I was going to be completely stuffed! The omlete was light and the flavours were incredible, the seasoning of the tofu omlete was spot on.

The founder Sue was usually around to say hello. Sue had a varied career and travelled extensively before she decided to open first her food truck, and now her ‘brick and mortar’ cafe. Just chatting with her briefly it was evident she puts her heart into what she does, and it shows (or should that be tastes) in her food. Actually, I spoke with many of the local vegan businesses and I really got a sense of close community between them and it was seemingly apparent they were having fun in their food ventures/adventures.

Raw donut holes. Nice as a tiny morsel of sweetness to end the meal.

Their black eyed pea salad. They call it Texan caviar!

Again, the bread was Misty Morning Bakrey. I opted for the pac man salad as a side in an attempt to put a little colour on my plate. The reuben was made from marinated tempeh, from local artisans The Hearty Vegan, with heaps of sauerkraut (perhaps a little too much for my taste) and creamy mustard.

My friend had the spicy beet burger, and they really weren’t kidding. Woo, such a kick!

Of course there was room for dessert! Coconut cream pie with a chocolate crust and crumble topping.

The service was always perfect. You’ve got to hand it to the people from Austin, they are good hearted, down to earth types, who make you feel like you are their most welcomed guest!

Counter Culture Restaurant

‎

2337 East Cesar Chavez Street

Austin, TX 78702

(512) 524-1540

Could Tempeh Eventually Replace Meat At Our Kitchen Tables? Let Me Hear Y’All Say Yee-Haw For Texas Tempeh

January 18, 2014 by India Leigh

Beth & Becky founders of The Hearty Vegan

I arrived in Austin, promising myself I would lay low so I could complete a project I’ve been meaning to do for some time. But, I guess my curiosity for vegan artisans runs too deep. I was at the natural foods store, filling up my basket with ingredients for a recipe I was creating and I could not help but notice, in the chilled foods section, a local Texan company making Tempeh. After a brief search on the internet I find it is made by The Hearty Vegan, and run by a mom and daughter team, right here in Austin. With numbers of people adopting a plant based diet increasing steadily year on year, and the increasing population highlighting issues of landmass, meat alternatives are becoming ever more popular (and innovative with flavours and their uses), I’m all for spreading the word. So,I wanted to meet them. I sent a message and asked if they would like to get together. Thankfully, they replied that they would.

We arranged to meet in the cafe I ended up frequenting the most whilst I stayed in Austin, Counter Culture. It is a homey, vegan cafe. The painted bright turquoise interior is as bright as it’s servers. The owner, Sue, is a fellow world traveller who has put down her backpack and tied on her apron to share her love of food. I was sitting watching the world go by and sipping on hot tea when Beth and Becky breezed in, armed with a box of their tempeh goodies for me to try. They had that typical Austin warmth and easiness about them as I probed them with a million questions about their mutual tempeh obsession.

For those that don’t know. Tempeh was first made in Indonesia as a food protein, made from fermented beans. High in fibre, low in saturated fat and zero cholesterol, Tempeh is now becoming more and more popular as people seek tasty meat alternatives. It is incredibly versatile, ‘meaty’, with a firm texture that absorbs flavours well. Many prefer it over tofu for it’s firmer, more substantial texture. If you’ve not yet tried tempeh ‘bacon’ then do. You’ve got a treat in store.

The Hearty Vegan

Beth, the mom, told me how she turned vegetarian in college after choosing a topic to debate in class. She had to convince her classmates that being vegetarian was not only beneficial to health but morally responsible. She researched this subject that she had previously known nothing about, and formed her argument so well that she ended up convincing herself and became a vegetarian. Taking up many causes to help educate others to the vegetarian lifestyle. It really opened her eyes and made her live far more consciously. When Becky was born, she fed her a vegetarian, then vegan diet. She also decided to ‘un-school’ her for the majority of her education. Becky is a breath of fresh air. Her confident, passionate nature is obvious and infectious. My reserved British counterparts could benefit from her outlook and worldliness. Un-schooling obviously did her no harm, or judging by her sparky exuberance, neither does her being vegan.

Beth had been making tempeh for 25 years for herself and her family, and generously giving it to friends. Just over three years ago in 2010, she and Becky began forming a dream of selling their tempeh and their business becoming part of the local economy. So they founded The Hearty Vegan which is steadily growing as word spreads. They sell in many of Austin’s vegetarian friendly and vegan restaurants, food trucks, natural markets, local CSA’s and Whole Foods. Perhaps one day the big red heart logo of The Hearty Vegan’s Texas Tempeh will be as synonymous a lighted sign as that big old M used to be. It doesn’t take too much of a paradigm shift to see this as a possibility. The Beth & Becky team obviously is working. The girls have their own personal strengths that they bring to the company, and they clearly have a relationship that many mothers and daughters might wish they could have.

Over the years that awesome ‘at home’ baking and cooking has created a long list of recipes loved by many. Beth and Becky decided it was time to share them, and so put together the Vegan Duet cookbook. This news is fresh off the press, so I promise I will let you know when you can go buy the book for yourself. I think you will want to, with recipes like Asian Meatballs, Spanakopita, Southern Fried Tempeh, Blackened Burgers and Beth famous and delicious Dill Tempeh (‘Tuna’) Salad. They pride themselves on keeping it simple but delivering flavour with few ingredients. Tuna salad and meatballs are Beth’s particular pride and joy. I tried the salad and I’d have to concur it is pretty darned good!

They believe in offering people more choices. Alternatives to meat. They promise that they are never putting any weird stuff in their food and keep as close to the original Indonesian methods as practically possible. Their beans are non GMO, gluten free and 100% organic. I wondered what made their tempeh so delicious Becky told me,
‘We don’t pasteurise our tempeh. Instead, we sell it frozen. Freezing doesn’t kill this amazingly healthy fungus and so our tempeh is still alive. Our tempeh is white because it’s completely covered with mycelium. Beans are delicious by themselves, but the mycelium adds a a layer of rich, complex flavour that puts tempeh in a class by itself’.

Beth Taylor of The Hearty Vegan

After exhausting the girls with my barrage of questions it was time for us to part ways and for us to go back about our business. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. It is heartening to me when I see that businesses can be ethical, profitable, employment generating models, that can be a touchstone for all. I’m sure you will agree that’s happy making. The Hearty Vegan are one of several local food artisans I came across in Austin that are run by families, couples and friends. Their food served up with the characteristic joy and pride, bordering on obsession that food artisans usually embody.

Spicy sausage, sizzling in a pan.

I used the garbanzo tempeh for my original vegan and gluten free Haggis Neeps & Tatties recipe.

Their spicy sausage tempeh was turned into sausage crunches and topped my vegan breakfast tacos (I will share this recipe soon!)

Do I really believe that tempeh can be the high protein choice of many that can eventually overtake consumption of animal products? After tasting the likes of tempeh ‘bacon’, chewing down on a BBQ ‘rib’ made from The Hearty Vegan Garbanzo Tempeh, and my recipes of my own of Haggis, and Breakfast Taco’s with Sausage Crunchies, among others (not to mention the health benefits of plant based eating)…I’d have to shout out a whole hearted..’you bet ya’. And, I am sure Beth & Becky will be doing their darndest to make it happen.

Holding A Candle To Vegan Dining In New York

January 7, 2014 by India Leigh

I am in Austin, Texas, right now, attempting to catch up on posts that have been stacking up as I flit from country to country, State to State. Right now, I am happily ticking off another New York dining experience I wanted to share with you. I’d heard a lot about Candle Cafe, from friends and fellow bloggers, so I was eager to give it a try. I went with a friend to celebrate his birthday. He is an NYC native so he had visited many times. This was great as we managed to get a table without pre-booking, and also he had overtime eaten his way around the menu so was a competent advisor.

The menu is entirely vegan, mostly local, seasonal, organic and the cafe is proudly environmentally aware. All elements usually precursors to a splendid dining experience. I was well catered for as the menu had a good selection of gluten free dishes to choose from.

The restaurant is kind of upscale but not grand. The lighting and seating make for a relaxing, intimate atmosphere. The staff were super attentive. The Candle story began in the summer of 1984, when Bart Potenza purchased Sunny’s, a landmark health food store and juice bar located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. In honour of the previous owners’ nightly ritual of lighting candles to bless their establishment, Bart renamed it the Healthy Candle and made it his own. Candle Cafe’s story is an interesting one. You can read more here.

This is what we ate.

AVOCADO-QUINOA SALAD
Black beans, jicama, cucumber, radish, pumpkin seeds, field greens, chipotle dressing

LIVE LASAGNA
Tomatoes, zucchini, wild mushrooms, cashew cheese, pumpkin seed pesto, balsamic-black pepper reduction

INDIAN CURRY VEGETABLE CAKE
Sautéed greens, caramelized onions, red pepper-coconut curry sauce, lemon-date chutney, almonds.

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE CAKE
Chocolate sauce, chipotle candied walnuts, vanilla coconut ice cream (sadly..this was my friend’s dessert and I couldn’t even reach over with my fork to sample as it was not gluten free). I could tell by the look on his face just how good it was! I nearly choked on my saliva!

All I tasted was very good and lovingly plated. The Indian dish and the artichoke appetiser were my personal favourites. My friend spent much time raving about the raw lasagne.

Candle Cafe West is one of three Candle eateries in NYC. Candle 79 is located on 79th Street in between Lexington & 3rd. I had visited Candle 79 the week before and I think, to be honest, my expectations were a little high. The little place had a really nice welcoming atmosphere and was packed with diners at lunch time when I visited. I arrived after my first walk through Central Park. I had to pinch myself that I was there..in New York (at last!) visiting the most famous and visited urban park in the USA. I headed to the park for a bit of a respite from the craziness of the city. I had to laugh at the irony. The sky had a helicopter zig zagging across the park and about 2 million people and 34,000 runners where in and around the park for the New York Marathon (failed to research that little fact of the day!) It was good fun though, so I couldn’t mind!

With such a wonderful variety of dishes on offer, I went with the proffered tempeh entree as suggested by my waitress. It was nice but not outstanding. The menu listed their ‘famous’ split pea soup. I sampled it and honestly, I was not wowed. It was because of this experience that I was so pleased to eat at Candle again and come away with fonder memories. Of course, unless your debut dining experience at a restaurant is majorly whacked it is always good to go back another time and try something different from the menu. Sometimes you can be pleasantly surprised.

such fun!

a finisher strolling back through the park.

Haggis Neeps And Tatties Recipe

December 30, 2013 by India Leigh

Christmas is over, my thoughts now turn to the New Year. My thoughts, of course, involve food. I’ve been thinking about putting together this recipe for a while. I finally got around to it. You can make this recipe ahead of time. Haggis Neeps And Tatties Recipe

Many myths abound around one famed savoury pudding. What savoury pudding?? Haggis. As the legend goes, the recipe was supposed to have originated from Scotland..WRONG. According to a food writer (Historian Alan Davidson), haggis was being cooked upon the fires of the Ancient Romans. Another myth is that the Scots consume tons of the sheep offal stuffed stomachs of farm animals, known to us as haggis. WRONG! apparently, the English actually enjoy tucking into this boiled dish far more than their Highland brothers. And lastly, the myth that vegans cannot eat it. WRONG! If you want to join in an age old tradition of eating haggis to ring in the New Year in the spirit of Hogmanay (what the Scots call New years eve), and/or gather with friends to eat and be merry for the anniversary of the birth of Scottish poet Robbie Burns each January 25th, I’ve just the recipe for you. It is gluten free, too. It is a great recipe that you are going to love!

My recipe is made with tempeh. For those that don’t know, tempeh has it’s origins in Indonesia, here it is traditionally made from fermenting soybeans in a compacted or caked form. It has no cholesterol, it is high in protein and fibre with a nutty flavour and chewy texture. It takes on flavours well and is really versatile. For this recipe I used a delicious garbanzo tempeh, for a soy-free haggis, made by a company in Texas called The Hearty Vegan. If you cannot get hold of this then any tempeh will work.

Haggis

1/3 cup lentils cooked

1 pkt tempeh (I used garbanzo tempeh by

3/4 pinhead oats

grating nutmeg

5 cremini mushrooms

1 med white onion

1 tbs cilantro dried

1 tbs chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp fresh marjoram

1 tsp fresh rosemary

1 vegetable bouillon in 2 1/2 cups of water

1 bay leaf

1 tsp freshly grated horseradish

1/8 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp black pepper

salt to taste

2 tbs olive oil for sautéing

parsley rosemary marjoram

finely dice the onion. sauté in the olive oil. add tempeh and break it down to crumbles with a fork

add the oats to allow them to toast slightly

add the bouillon, water, herbs, nutmeg, lentils, mushrooms, salt & pepper

Gently simmer for twenty mins. Keep a watchful eye on it, if the oatmeal gets too stiff during cooking add a little more water.

Allow to cool so the oats can absorb any remaining liquid and become drier. You don’t want a sloppy mess.

If possible, pop a lid on the pan and leave in the fridge (or a cool place) overnight to allow the flavours to fully develop.

Now you have two choices. Place the mix onto foil to make a dome. Cover with foil and seal the edges and roast for 30mins, cut open the foil at the lid and then bake for a further 10 mins uncovered.

or,

Heat oil in a pan and fry. Roasting is of course healthier and easier, no fry pans to scrub!

It is traditional to eat haggis with ‘neeps’ and ‘tatties’. The ‘neeps’ are turnips. This is a little confusing as the turnips are actually boiled and mashed swede. Just boil and then mash with a pinch of white pepper.
The ‘tatties’ are, of course, mashed potatoes. I made a creamy mash from cauliflower, parsnip and potato in equal quantities. When cooked, about 20mins, sprinkle over some salt and then mash with lots of black pepper. It needs nothing more. Delectable.

The following day (one of my favourite things) leftovers. Fry the haggis in oil. Grab two slices of bread, spread a thin layer of vegan butter, spoon on some leftover mash and slather to cover to the edges. Add a generous layer of the crumbly, crusted fried haggis, and then close it up with a slice of bread onto the top. You can lift the lid and squeeze on a zig zag of mustard if you so desire. Get ready with a napkin, it is a messy business, and sink your teeth into it. The layers of flavour, the peppery swede, the fluffy mash and the chewy, savoury ‘meaty’ haggis, the hot and the cold things going on, are delicious!

The perfect New Years Eve or New Years day dinner. If you can rustle up a kilted bagpipe player or two, all the better.

Happy New Year!! Of course, Auld Lang Syne was written by Burns himself. No doubt you’ll be singing it at some point.

As for 2014. My hopes for thee? That you enjoy a great, nay utterly FABULOUS year. To assist the deliverance of the nub of my wishes…as penned by Master Burns….

“Hope Springs Exulting on Triumphant Wing.”
― Robert Burns

and Lang may yer lum reek! (Scottish for live long and happy).

An Exceptional French Vegetarian Restaurant In NYC Where The Vegetable Is King

December 5, 2013 by India Leigh

I love it when you happen across a restaurant by chance, don’t you?

On my recent visit to New York. This is exactly what happened to me. It was at the end of a whirlwind day of sightseeing, as a school friend marched me all over Manhattan, taking the sky car to Rosevelt Island, marvelling at the Universe at the Planetaruim and generally making me laugh like a drain. I took over the reins and dragged him to the Lower East Side to see if we could wangle a table at a tiny little vegan place that is usually booked up EIGHT weeks in advance. We arrived outside just before opening. I pasted on the best ‘pleading’ face I could muster and asked if they could squeeze us in, ‘seeing as we are so early and me visiting from London, and all’. Only to find that they didn’t open on Monday’s as it was their prep day for the week ahead. Not to be knocked from my shameful lack of research or dissuaded from showing my strapping, carnivorous friend the delights of good vegan grub, I asked where the owner/chef went to eat (figuring she knew good food when she came across it). She didn’t hesitate to let me in on some local knowledge.

So, a few minutes later we entered the softly lit, ambiance of Table Vert. It had a nice atmosphere and the server was really attentive and knew her menu. We followed her recommendations (I bowed unhesitatingly to my obsession with kale), knowing, with friend in tow, we’d be able to share. When I travel so much, I am not always with the good fortune to have friends to dine with, so it is great that I not only get to share and sample two starters, entrees and desserts..but I enjoy great company too. My friend B is a great story tellers and speaks with the rapidity of a New Yorker with London twang, which never fails to amuse! Dinner AND entertainment.

I had a feeling the food was going to be good. You know it will be when your server speaks of the dishes and their preparation with an air of respect. The little French bistro smelled so good too. If you ever walk into a restaurant and the air doesn’t meet approval with your nostrils then take heed and leave. I had no idea just how good it was going to be though!

I admit, upon spearing my fork into a roasted brussel sprout AND an oven softened strawberry, even my adventurous palate was a little wary. It took a few stabs at it but the flavour began to win me over. This curiously to flavours had the effect of making us both ‘tune’ into the nuance of the infusions. Carnivorous friend B, declared after the 2nd bite of our shared starter that he’d eat there again. I shared his enthusiam.

Our entrees were even more pleasing. I found myself taking smaller forkfuls to savour and prolong the experience. The rich sauce and tender mushrooms complimented the kale to perfection. It was like each element was handing over the limelight in turn.

I LOVE roasted cauliflower and B’s dish was incredible. By now we were raving enthusiastically and our conversation had become a a stream of contented murmurs accompanied by both theatrical eye rolling and eye closing, with sighs of deep satisfaction.

The desserts hit the spot, too. The tarte was rich and fudgy, the crispy, salty, raisin crust was a wonderful contrast in textures. The pineapple was deeply sweet and refreshing, the coconut sorbet both bright and creamy. It had that ‘cold and warm’ ‘creamy and tart’ thing going on that is exciting to our palates.

As each dish was cleared by the waitress I was raving to her like a loon. Throwing out praise like confetti. So much so the chef - Ken Larsen, came out to say hello. Ken is a chef, trained in France and his many years in the restaurant business have not cooled his ardour about food. He told us the began to make vegetarian and vegan food several years ago, after deciding an unwelcome weight gain and lack of energy made him explore plant based eating. He demonstrated so much passion for the vegetable that he wanted to share it with his dining guests. It’s all about praising the vegetable and not making it a substitute for meat. It is exactly what he does.

I couldn’t wait to tell you about it. Recommend it first on your list of places to dine in New York. However, Ken and his fellow chef, Matt Roth have now morphed their business into a personal chef service Simply Home NYC that creates their delicious dishes in the comfort of your own home. I wish them lots of luck in their new venture. But with food and flavour delivered of this calibre, I am sure luck will have nothing to do with it.

Simply Good Vegetarian Food In London. Dished Up With The Warmest Of Welcomes

November 27, 2013 by India Leigh

Much as I try not to be judgemental in life, (or should I call it discerning?), I do sometimes make false assumptions. Like ‘Bradley Cooper always makes a good movie’, and ‘a classy looking vegetarian restaurant a mere hop skip and jump from the sweeping curve of the legendary Regents Street, is going to have an atmosphere spawned from a transient crowd of diners and not be a place I’d want to linger. My assumptions tripped me up once again, when I visited tibits vegetarian restaurant in London recently. Not only did I find the food tasty, imaginative and comforting, on a cool November day but also the atmosphere was more redolent of a cozy, welcoming cafe in Devon!. The staff are exceptionally helpful, and friendly. The seating, soft mood lighting, chandeleirs and layout make it for such a sweet space to relax and dine with friends.

tibits was established in London in 2003 by three vegetarian brothers – Christian, Daniel and Reto Frei, together with Rolf Hitl. Rolf Hiltl is the owner of Hiltl restaurant in Zurich, that is according to Guinness World Records, the oldest and longest running vegetarian restaurant in the world.

They are now regularly scheduling Vegan Days, when all of the hot dishes are vegan.
A self serve ‘pay by weight’ restaurant, bar and (for the busy City worker) take away. All the food is cooked fresh each day (and throughout the day) with a huge array of hot entrees and salad dishes. Most being created with seasonal ingredients.

Children are welcome and downstairs they have a great little area where the kids can play happily. I spotted lots of cute wooden toys and trikes for them to entertain themselves with.

Being a buffet type affair, there is a method to employ to get you to the eating stage. First, bagsey a table. Plant a hat or something from your person to say ‘hey, walk on by, that’s my table’. Then..

Grab a plate from the warmer,
check out the comprehensive product info if you have special dietary requirements.
do a drive-by recce of what is on offer
decide what you are going to have
load up
take your plate to the bar and put it on the scales. The meal will be charged by weight (bread is complementary).
Take it to your table and eat. Simple.

There is a HUGE variety to choose from. Even for the gluten intolerant, coeliac among us. Dhal’s, pumpkin lasagne, a couple of curry dishes, roasted aubergines, risottos and lots of fresh veg and quinoa salads, lentil salads, tofu based dishes, crunchy falafels, tempura (boo! currently not gf)…and soup! A good selection of sauces, chutneys and condiments to drizzle, dollop and ooze. I did try and exercise restraint and just eat what would actually just fit comfortably in my stomach!

they serve a large selection of vegetarian/vegan wine and cocktails.

I was a bit disappointed with the selection of desserts for vegans with gluten sensitivities. Although I love fresh figs and other fruits, once my eyes have spotted apple crumble, cheesecake and sticky toffee pudding, I want to be able to place genourously heaped spoons of the like into my mouth! Knowing as I do how easy it is to create gluten free vegan puds I would have thought that they would have had at least one indulgent dessert on offer. Alas no. But the silver lining was I left feeling comfortably satiated instead of filled up to the brim, as so easily can be done.

Typical entree costs £10-12

They published a cookbook on their 10th anniversary. tibits At Home, it’s seasonally compartmentalised, and is full of beautiful photographs with simple recipes to try. One of the staff told me that all the photos in the book were taken in the homes of regular diners in Switzerland.

It was ironic that the recipe I wanted to try first had ‘dried green beans’ I am sure I have an inbuilt tuner that alerts me to unusual ingredients. A brief surf online failed to turn up with a supplier. Luckily, I had been sent the cookbook to review before I went to eat at the restaurant, so I enquired about the recipe and asked where I could buy the dried beans. ‘Right here’ was the reply. So I grabbed a bag and took them home to recreate one of their iconic recipes.

It was so simple to make. Yes, you could make it with fresh green beans but I so enjoyed the chewy texture of the dried beans after they’d been cooked in water and mixed with the other ingredients.

This is the recipe from the book that intrigued me so much. It’s a tangle of flavoursome lusciousness.

Dried Bean Salad with Walnuts

Ingredients:

100g dried string beans (1 bag from the restaurant)

½ onion, chopped
8 tbsp rapeseed oil (I used 1 2tbs walnut oil)
25g vegetable bouillon (1 1/2 vegan stock cubes)
1 garlic clove, crushed
70g walnuts pieces
4 tbsp red balsamic vinegar (red?!..not seen this before..I used ‘normal’ balsamic)
5g Fresh coriander leaves

cook the dried beans in boiling water until soft, drain well and allow to cool.

sauté the onions and garlic in the oil and set aside.

once the beans have cooled mix all the ingredients together to complete the recipe.

spoon into a serving dish. Enjoy! (and we did!!)

Other recipes in my (backlogged) catalogue of ones to try from tibits At Home, are the passionfruit lemonade (just because I’m dreaming of days of sunshine, warm breezes and chinking ice cubes), the exotic Goan curry, the light and intriguing coconut and pineapple tiramisu, and the white asparagus with orange sauce. 80% of the dishes are vegan, so some I will have to adapt. But I love a challenge.

There are currently five tibits’ restaurants in Europe. So, for me, that’s one down and four left to try! Any excuse to travel (and eat).

tibits

12-14 Heddon St, London W1B 4DA

Deep Filled & Rich, Chestnut Mushroom & Ale Pie

September 18, 2013 by India Leigh

day 18 of Vegan MoFo 2013. It has driven me to drink. Thirteen years of straight-edge, teetotal.ness down the drain. Well, not quite. It doesn’t count when it’s cooked in food. Because I have been a non-drinker for longer than my love affair (yeah, what’s one of those..but that’s a whole other story) with vegan cooking began, I have never had food laced with alcohol. Until now, this MoFo, for me, has been about breaking down some barriers and trying the new, or experimenting with recipes I’d been putting off because they seemed complicated and thus doomed to failure. Failure has become the new success. Really, there is no way to bypass it when skiing along a learning curve.

I wanted to make food with beer. I’d make food with lashings of cider and wine in my pre-vegan days, but never beer. What better way to begin than with a classic, good old fashioned pie! Rich and earthy. The perfect transition to Autumn eating.

There a few steps involved in this recipe, but worry-ye-not, I’ll walk you though it best I can.

Deep Filled & Rich, Chestnut Mushroom & Ale Pie

Filling

1 bottle 330ml Greens Beer - vegan & gluten free

1 block tempeh & a little gf flour for dusting

350 g organic chestnut mushrooms

1 large organic carrot chopped in rounds

1 medium onion diced

3 cloves garlic minced

1 stick of celery chopped

1/2 cup gluten free flour (I used Bobs Red Mill GF garbanzo & Fava mix, but sorghum would be perfect too)

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbs whole grain mustard

2 cloves garlic

2 tbs tomato paste

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp dried or fresh thyme

pastry

3/4 whole grain teff

1/4 cup almond flour

1/2 cup garbanzo & fava flour

1 tsp salt

2 tbs arrowroot flour

3/4 tsp xantham gum

2 tbs solidified coconut oil (the flavourless one is best for this recipe…or use vegan shortening)

vegan milk. enough to form a dough.

Method

Fry the onion & celery on a low heat for about 10 mins, until caramelised. If you sprinkle a little salt over the onions whilst cooking it helps them to release their water and encourages caramelisation. Add garlic & thyme. Cook on a low heat for a further 1-2 mins. Careful not to burn. Set aside.

Clean any soil off the mushrooms with a dampened piece of kitchen towel(don’t wash), slice (leaving a few cut into halves) and then fry (in quite a large pan..I will explain why further down) in a little oil until soft. Sprinkle over 1/2 cup gf flour and mix with a spoon. Set aside.

Make the pastry

sift the flours, salt and gum into a food processor or a bowl and cut in the coconut fat or shortening. Rub lightly with your fingertips (or slowly pulse in the dough mixer) until the mixture is crumbly. The tiny bits of solid/cold fat are what makes the pastry ‘short’. Slowly add the cold water to form a ball of dough. The amount needed will depend on the humidity, and the flours that you use. I used about 7 tbs in the end.

Chill the pastry for 15 mins. Heat your oven to 180 degrees, whilst the pastry is chilling.

On a sheet of parchment paper, roll out your pastry to fit your pie tin. Body & lid. Line your tin with the pastry (keep the lid aside). Pop into the oven to blind bake. About 5-8 mins depending on your oven. We do this as the filling is already cooked and so a short overall cooking time may not properly cook the pastry.

While the pastry is blind baking…

Cube the tempeh and dust in a little gf flour. Oil and heat a pan and fry the tempeh until golden. Remove the tempeh and set aside. Add the carrots and fry for a couple of minutes. Next, deglaze the pan by slowly pouring the bottle of Greens Discovery into the pan. With a wooden spoon dislodge any remaining crispy bits from the tempeh. Cook on a low heat for 2 mins.

Now to bring it all together. Add the onion mix, & beer carrot mix to the mushrooms and stir on a low heat until it thickens.

Remove the pie tin from the oven. Spoon the mix into the pie tin. Gently pop on it’s pastry lid and with wet fingers, crimp the sides to seal.

Cook in the oven for 25-30 mins. The top will take on a lovely colour. Careful not to let it burn.

At this point I made a quick garlicky spinach and pea mash. No potatoes just the veggies quick fried with a bit of veggie stock and lots of cracked black pepper.

I have never eaten anything cooked with beer. I was surprised, it tasted so good. My (dyed-in-the-wool) carnivorous dining companion said he’d choose my pie over any meat and ale pie he’d eaten before. After years of ~~forcing~~ encouraging him to favour honesty over being nice (with me anyway), I take this as gospel.

I will be making this again very soon.

Special thanks goes to Green’s Original Gluten Free Beer available in Europe and a few countries outside. Approved by the Coeliac UK and The Vegetarian Society UK for making my alcohol infused foray into food possible. Have you heard of Barnivore too? They have an online vegan, beer, wine and liquor guide.

Just a few more days and Vegan MoFo 2013 will be in the bag!

See you tomorrow! xx

Raw Butternut Squash And Kiwi Soup With Chilli Apple Croutons

September 14, 2013 by India Leigh

I have been wanting to make this soup for a while. I love butternut squash. Really love it. I love the way it is just about the most patient vegetable there is. It sits, looking pert and lovely upon my shelf until I decide to use it. It doesn’t sag or deflate in despondency. Sometimes weeks can go by and it stays as fresh as a daisy. As September brings that sweet smell of falling leaves and shorter evenings I am far too inclined to cook everything, it’s all about the comfort and the salads and raw foods come second best. I try to do my utmost to stop this. My body craves nutrients, not lost in the steam of long cooked stews. I’ve wanted to make raw butternut squash soup forEVER but I didn’t have a kickass blender that could whizz it up to a sweet thick cream. Well, now I have one (I’ll tell you about that another time).

It’s Vegan MoFo Day 14 (my life already!). I’m plunging on. Most other bloggers take a break at the weekends but I’m travelling again soon and am not sure I’ll get chance to post.

This recipe was the very first thing I made with my new kitchen gadget.

Raw Butternut Squash And Kiwi Soup With Chilli Apple Croutons

1 medium butternut squash

1/2 organic kiwi (leave the skin on..this is good if it is organic

1/4 red onion

1/4 inch piece of fresh ginger

1/2 hot(ish) red chilli pepper, seeds removed

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp of cracked black pepper

apple croutons

dice 1/2 a dessert apple really small, keep the skin on

dust with salt, cracked black pepper, hot chilli powder (or chipotle powder if you have it).

Use a vegetable peeler to peel the squash. Chop into chunks and remove the seeds (you can dust these with seasoning and roast for a healthy snack).

Use a garlic press to mince the ginger (I know, isn’t this a great tip..I was busy the other day and a lightbulb moment struck and I popped it in and hopped up and down at my discovery. So much easier than grating!) mince it straight into your blender. Throw all the other ingredients in along with it and blend on high speed for about 2 minutes. In this time, the centrifugal force of the blender will transform into a warm silky soup.

Serve into bowls, placing the chilli, apple croutons in the centre. Shake over a few chilli flakes too.

The kiwi just gives it a slight edge to cut through the sweet squash. It is also a great boost of vitamin C. With the colder weather it is a good idea to up your intake. Stay healthy.

I don’t know, sometimes I just feel so smug that I wised up to vegan food so long ago. To coin a phrase, ‘it’s the nuts’!

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