Chocolate ponderings

My family have a massive sweet tooth, it's definitely some kind of gene, we are all choc-aholics! So, whilst visiting York everyone was desperate to visit The Chocolate Story - an interactive experience which explains York's part in chocolate making history.

Rowntree's was founded in York, although unfortunately it's now owned by ethically dubious corporate giant Nestlé. The Chocolate experience is sponsored by Nestlé and promised lots of chocolate tasting - so apart from not wanting to buy into it, I wasn't sure I was actually going to get much out of it, expecting it all to be the more kid-popular milk chocolate.

So when my family went off to get their chocolate fill, I headed off for a mooch around the shops of York, and treated myself to some scrummy chocolate and ginger tiffin from vegetarian deli Goji. An hour and a half later I got a call to say that they hadn't actually managed to get into the tour as it was fully booked so they had given up and decided to try again tomorrow! *sigh*

So today, after learning all about the grusome history of the Vikings at Jorvik it was time for take two. After umming and ahhing for a bit I decided I didn't want to walk around on my own in the cold again and to stick with the fam. It turns out I was pleasantly surprised! 

The chocolate tour

I learnt a whole lot about the history of chocolate in the UK (and beyond), more about the process of chocolate making, how to taste the full flavours of chocolate and lots more! There was plenty of chocolate tasting, including an Aztec drink. Nearly ALL of the chocolate offered throughout the tour was vegan, the only bits that weren't suitable were the lolly making, which I simply ducked out of, and the handmade chocolate demonstrated right at the end. I was very pleasantly surprised!

There was a fair amount of pro-Nestle, corporate self-promotion (to be expected) but despite this I actually really enjoyed the tour.

My favourite part was the chocolate demonstration at the end - the chocolatier Alison was so knowledgable and made the process look so easy. She was also more than happy to answer questions and even said if I had any difficulties in my experiments at home that I could email her! I love creating handmade chocs to give as gifts and made some for friends for Christmas this year, and while they usually taste fine they never look very pretty. Now I have have lots of new tricks to try which I'm looking forward to giving a go! I also now know how to create filled chocolates so am determined to be brave and try it myself!

Of course no good attraction is complete without exiting via the gift shop. Most of the chocolate in the shop was from UK based companies and there was a huge amount of vegan options to choose from including Booja Booja truffles, MooFree, Divine and Montezuma. It also has a chocolate bar which makes proper hot chocolate and has soya milk available. Of course I had to get a cup!

UK Vegan Food Swap October

Yay! My goodies from this month's food swap have finally arrived!

There's lots of healthy treats from this month's partner and I can't wait to try these Sweet Potato and Buckwheat noodles with the Chilli and Garlic Sauce in a stir fry.

The ground Hemp and Flaxseed are perfectly timed as porridge season is officially upon us now that the clocks have gone back. In fact I've been meaning to look out something like these as they are ideal for adding to porridge for an extra omega kick to your breakfast! So this is great!

The chai smells amazing and is currently filling my kitchen with a mouth watering aroma. I'll definitely be taking this with me to work for chilly days. I adore chai and haven't bought any in ages!

For more info on the swap or to join visit 

http://www.tohappyvegans.com/wordpress/uk-vegan-food-swap/

Steampunk Tea Party

So, my lovely friend Jema is the queen of steampunk! As well as making beautiful and whimsical jewellery she is also a mean cook! Her latest book 'Steampunk Tea Party' is a veritible wonder of yummy sweet and savoury treats essential for any elegant affair - or just for munching on when you want a snack! It's beautifully presented and has lots of quirky additions along the steampunk theme.

Lots of the recipes in the book are vegan, like the pear loaf, or easily veganised by replacing butter with dairy free marge, like gingerbread.

I decided to be adventurous and try two recipes in one day! I thought I'd try Gingerbread Woppits and Oriental Fruit Cheese! Oooh!

For the gingerbread I didn't have any bunnies but I thought squirrels were an excellent substitute. I substituted the butter with Stork (the hard block stuff that comes in the foil packet is vegan and great for baking). These turned out perfectly! :) I decide not to ice 'em but I love the colours Jema used for hers!

For my fruit cheese I chose raspberries and cranberries which Jema assured me was a great combo. I'm still waiting for these to set - I'm not 100% sure how successful these were but I put this down to my cooking skills and my rubbish hob, rather than Jema's instructions. If they don't set I'll definitely use them as jam! :)

*Amend - for anything like this a sugar thermometer is recommended to make sure your fruit and sugars get hot enough. If they don't then like mine they won't set.

Chilli-tastic

I love making chilli! It's easy, quick and great comfort food, plus it's fairly healthy too. Not to blow my own trumpet but I make a mean vegan chilli that will satisfy meat eater and veg lover alike!

Here's how I do it...

This will serve 3-4 and takes around 10 minutes cooking time. A perfect Friday night meal!

• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tin of kidney beans (I cheat and use the supermarket own-brand ones which come in a chilli sauce, as it gives a really nice flavour and thickness to the sauce.) 
• If you're not into cheating then use chilli powder, paprika and a stock cube
• Large handful of chopped mushrooms 
• 1 courgette 
• Soya mince (I use the dry TVP from Holland and Barratt as it is wheat free and less processed than some of the other brands - plus one bag goes for miles)
• Rice or plain nachos

1. Chop all your veg. Chilli is great for using up veg from the fridge or left-overs, so you could also throw in half an onion, carrot - whatever you like!

2. In a medium to large saucepan lightly fry off your veg in a small amount of oil. If using spices sprinkle some over your veg at this point to allow it to absorb the flavour.

3. Add your kidney beans and stir in. You could really use any type of beans - even baked beans (these also make a tasty sauce!). Add your tinned tomatoes.

4. Give it all a stir. Sprinkle in your mince until you have enough to fill the sauce. Stir again. If it looks very thick add some water as the mince will soak up some of the sauce. I usually fill up about a third of the empty tomato can, and use that, this way you get every scrap of tomatoey goodness!

5. If you're not using the cheatin' beans then add your spices now and your stock. Or add spice if you want it extra hot! Make sure you do a taste test. 

6. Simmer for around 5minutes. Serve over rice or plain nachos. Add some guacamole or salsa to make it extra fancy!

Tips:

• The Sainsbury's Be Good Guacamole is vegan friendly!
• Leave out the kidney beans and spices, add a bit of garlic and serve over pasta for an equally quick spag bol!
• This tastes even better the next day - stick your leftovers in the fridge - then simply re-heat and serve on toast for a cracking brunch

Treats!

Oooh I received a food package from my family in the USA this weekend - it was mainly chocolate themed woohoo!

I haven't tried any of these items before, here's what was inside:

• Bobo's oat bars - cinnamon raisin and banana
• Vegan carob chips - if I'm totally honest I'm always a bit scared of carob but it will be interesting to see how it tastes if I use these chips in cakes
• Golden energy nuggets - from Chatanooga TN (woo woo *train noise*) 
• Salted peanut and chocolate and nutty cinnamon - these are definitely coming to work with me today!
• And finally these super cute mini bars of raw chocolate by Righteously Raw; Divine Mint, Pure Dark and Synergy Spice. Something tells me these are going to be dark - perhaps that's the reason for the teeny packets!

Let the taste testing commence!

Risotto

Tonight's dinner was a quick and easy risotto using up left over bits and bobs from the fridge! I threw in mushrooms, carrot, white wine, garlic and some wild rice (just for fun!). Then I added some of my new mushroom ketchup from the food swap. It was ace, even if I do say so myself!

Cooking with friends

I had a lovely Saturday afternoon this weekend! My friend Soukina is a wonderful cook! She has a real passion for it and her food is always amazing! Earlier this year she threw a dinner party and made me some really amazing vegan food that had all the meat eaters' mouths watering. Check out my dessert:

So Saturday afternoon I popped round the corner for a cooking workshop with Sou!

The plan:

🍩 Tempura sweet potato and avocado Bahn Mi baguettes 

🍩 Caramelised onion 'sausage' bites

🍩 Chocolate pudding!

Sou had pre-prepped the 'viet' as it needed time to steep and I got a lovely jar of it to take home! It was so easy to make though and I'll definitely be having a go myself. Sou used turnip instead of the daikon in the recipe and it tasted fab and will be great with salads.

Other than that I did everything myself (with Sou's guidance) and was really surprised how easy it all was, and most importantly for me, all the ingredients were fairly standard and easy to come across. The only ingredient that I may not be able to find in Sainsbury was rice flour.

We had so much fun and a great natter too; it was a brilliant bonding opportunity! 

After the fun of the cooking was the best bit; eating it all! Everything tasted brilliant! The pudding was very rich and turned out differently to last time Sou had made it - we think this is because we got carried away with the chocolate and perhaps it could have done with some soy cream. It still tasted lush though!

I've come away with lots of ideas and more confidence too. Before now I'd never made caramelised onions and who knew such a great pudding could be so easy (simply blend and go!) I finished off the sausage bites tonight with mash, beans and gravy, perfect for a Sunday night tea! 😊 

Kipper wanted to help but he was in disgrace for massacring a pigeon - naughty Kipper!

Here's where you can find the recipes...

Bahn Mi - www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/02/tempura-sweet-potato-bahn-mi-vegan-Vietnamese-sandwich-recipe.html

'Sausage' bites -

Http://Thevegpod.wordpress.com/2012/11/14dees-caramelised-onion-sausage-bites-vegan-Christmas-party-food/

Goodies!

What really spurred me on to creating a blog was joining the UK Vegan Food Swap. A friend told me about it recently and I just couldn't wait to join up! All you have to do is put together a package of vegan treats, send it to your designated swap partner, wait, and then you receive a box of goodies back! Amazeballs! A great way to disover new food and connect with some fellow vegans!

This month was my first month taking part and I was ridiculously excited! I have recently been to America, so whilst there I stocked up on loads of vegan goodies ready to send my swap partner. They included giant vegan cookies, fake jerky, sweets and other non-healthy varieties of exciting vegan treats not available in the UK! My swap partner Chrissie is a new vegan and was dead chuffed with them! Yay for sharing the vegan love!

So I was over the moon when my food parcel from Sasha turned up. Here's what she sent me:

Jammy Dodgers! Only one of my favourite biscuits! (The chocolate ones are vegan too). Needless to say these won't last long.

I had to stop myself ripping open the popcorn long enough to photograph it, I really love popcorn, and I've not seen this make or flavour before.

Love Hearts *sigh*need I say more!

The package also included Lemon Sherberts by Monty Bojangles, and Wasabi & Soy sauce flavour almonds (intriguing!).

The Halva was a revelation to me. A Greek desert, I'd always thought halva contained honey, so have never tried it, but it turns out that this variety is sweetened by grape juice! Brilliant!

The final item in my amazing box of food was Mushroom Ketchup! What? Well according to the bottle it can be added to stews, sauces, soups and gravy - so stay tuned to see what happens with this!

Hi there!
I've been talking about starting a blog for ages, so here it is! Often when I meet people and they find out I'm vegan, their first question is 'What do you eat'. My answer is always 'Loads of stuff!' So because of this I started an album on my Facebook page chronicling some of my favourite dishes, snacks and sweet treats eaten in restaurants, cooked at home or discovered on shopping expeditions. Often friends are amazed by what I can eat, so I thought I would share this in more detail. I also often get asked for tips, recipes and advice from new vegans or those looking to go dairy-free. So here you will find regular updates from my vegan foody adventures!
Stay tuned!
x Chloe x