Tag Archives: vegetarian

Gourmet Vegan Cheese!

October 19, 2020 lucy 7 Comments

Vegan cheese. There’s a lot of it out there these days, from the cheaper supermarket own brands, to old trusty steadfasts made by vegan companies like VBites and Scheese. But sometimes you need something a little bit different, a little bit special.

From Vegan Supermarket GreenBay (online and in store), vegan Camembert and Herbes de Provence! They have many other gourmet and hard to find vegan products… go see!

These were absolutely fabulous on Christmas Day, the cheeseboard being the star of the show. The Camembert was particularly impressive, being a truly pure product with only four ingredients, and so authentic and real tasting. You have to try it. You really really do 😀 Vegan cheese FTW!

Don’t miss our Vegan Christmas section for LOTS of recipe and gift ideas!

Ailish Sinclair‘s debut novel, THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR, set in a fictional castle in Aberdeenshire, and featuring the 1597 Aberdeen witchcraft panic, is out Autumn 2019. From Amazon UK or Amazon Worldwide or Waterstones

See Author website for more details.

books, food, raw, reviews, vegan products

A Bit of a Pickle! #vegan #plantbased

October 14, 2020 lucy Leave a comment

Just launched at M&S, with the aim of getting people eating more plants, this range of pickles and kimchi from Vadasz Pickles and Ferments is absolutely delicious.

Our favourite were the fresh pickle with garlic and dill. They were magnificent in a sandwich which went thus: green lettuce from garden, layer of braised tofu, sprinkle of nori flakes, thick layer of pickle (pictured are the red onion, also great here), red lettuce from garden (or shop of course). Yum.

vegan sandwich with red onion pickle and braised tofu

The kimchi is also lovely; we found it great as a component of a salad. From Vadasz: “Importantly, Vadasz Raw Kimchi is live culture, a result of the magical process of lactic acid fermentation, meaning it contains probiotics which are beneficial to the gut and are not found in many existing products that are preserved using vinegar. Similarly, Vadasz Red Onion Pickles, and Vadasz Garlic and Dill Pickles use a traditional cold brine process, keeping them unpasteurised and retaining their crunchiness and fresh flavour. Together, they offer anti-inflammatory and immune boosting properties, at a time when awareness is growing regarding the link between gut health and overall wellness.”

Try them. You won’t regret it 🙂

Meanwhile, Autumn is well and truly underway, in fact it may be almost over. Soup season is definitely upon us though: do explore our many many recipes…

A creepy and romantic read for October, Lucy’s novel THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR blends an often overlooked historical event, the 1597 Aberdeen witchcraft panic, with a love story. Available in paperback and kindle and free on Kindle Unlimited (Amazon offer a free trial of KU).

See Amazon or Waterstones or Author website

food, reviews, vegan products

Squeaky Bean: Ready to Eat Goodness

August 26, 2020 lucy Leave a comment

salad with Squeaky Bean Sweet Smokey BBQ chicken-style pieces

Squeaky Bean sent us some delicious, ready-to-eat, vegan products to try. And so we did! Above is a simple salad made of their Sweet Smokey BBQ chicken-style pieces, cucumber and yoghurt.

The Kick of Tikka style pieces were amazing in sandwiches with hummus and some lettuce from the garden. They were also great thrown into a curry. The ready-to-eat element of these products makes them so very easy to use. You can just eat them right out of the box (and some of that went on here; they are really tasty on their own). The chicken-style pieces pack quite a protein punch, coming in at over 20% protein.

sandwiches with Squeaky Bean chicken-style pieces

There’s also a delicious vegan tortilla, which can be eaten hot or cold.

We had it cold on top of a savoury rice dish.

Squeaky Bean products are available widely in UK supermarkets. You can read more about the full product range on their website.

Meanwhile in the garden… there’s just enough summer left to make some more redcurrant and rosemary jelly!

books, food, garden, reviews, vegan products

A French Fancy and a Watering Can

May 21, 2020 lucy 1 Comment

Those are gorgeous vegan cakes and biscuits from local business Veg Oot. Do check them out if you’re in the UK, they’re amazing!

We hope you’re managing to spend some time in the sun, soaking up that Vitamin D, and doing/eating other wonderful things to boost your immune system.

Here, we’re reading Terry Tyler’s Wasteland and highly recommend it.

Look after yourselves. Stay safe. Stay well. Stay informed. Eat the odd cake 🙂

Lucy’s novel, written under her pen name of Ailish Sinclair is now free on Kindle Unlimited! Amazon do offer a free trial of KU. Also available in paperback.

Amazon UK

Universal Amazon link

Set in a fictional castle in Aberdeenshire, the book features the Aberdeen witchcraft panic of 1597 and a love story.

beach, books, food

A Simple Vegan Stir-fry

August 31, 2019 lucy 6 Comments

Sometimes that’s all you need. Vegetables in a stir-fry. Broad beans from the garden. A good book.

And some sea and sand…

food, vegan products

#vegan toad in the hole

July 29, 2019 lucy 16 Comments

Our vegan Toad in the Hole turned out soft and light and delicious and filling and tasty. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did 😀

Partly cook sausages in oven at 200C for about 10 minutes: toad1

Batter made thus: mix 5 tablespoons of self raising flour with 3 tablespoons of gram (chick pea) flour, a pinch of salt and a pinch of bicarb. Beat in enough soya milk to make a creamy pouring batter. This quantity was to cover 12 sausages, adjust as needed. It would be far less ‘spongy’ if you used plain flour, but we like it like this 🙂

Pour over hot sausages:
toad2