My Vegan Wedding

Yes it’s all vegan!

When planning my wedding for the summer of 2017, both my husband (a veggie) and I were on the same page - the food had to be superb and it had to be vegan.

Choosing a venue that could cater to our needs was essential. Initially I wanted to bring in a specialist vegan caterer. However after visiting several wedding fairs we discovered that most venues only allowed you to choose from a small list of their approved caterers. None of them were particularly exciting menus; ratatouille and a fruit salad. We were after something a little more special. We spoke to a a local hotel who said they were prepared to 'give a vegan menu a go' - erm no! A bit of internet research of 'vegan wedding venues in West Sussex and Hampshire' and up popped the beautiful Upwaltham Barns near Chichester with its own vegan menu! Hurrah!

The menu offered all sorts of mouth watering choices including a vegan chocolate brownie for dessert and we were drawn to the venue's willingness to be flexible. We were keen for our food and our wedding to be remembered for all the right reasons - and excellent vegan food was a key one.

Our menu for the whole day was entirely vegan, and the team at Upwaltham Barns out did themselves. After the ceremony we celebrated with Pimms and a selection of nibbles including popcorn and olives - perfect for a scorching hot day.

For the wedding breakfast we served our guests a starter of a caramelised onion tart followed my a nest of Mediterranean balsamic vegetables with wild rice. The trio of desserts were particularly tasty; chocolate brownie, lemon ‘cheesecake’ and sorbet.

For our cake we had a tower of vegan cupcakes and a little top cake to cut decorated in fresh flowers. We had four flavours - the top cake was chocolate and hazelnut, while the cupcakes were elderflower and lemon, chocolate and raspberry, and strawberry and cream. Our cakes were made by the very talented Purely Scrumptious and they were absolutely delicious!

In the evening we served chips in a cone and I put together an epic sweet table overflowing with Love Hearts, bon bons, lollipops, Millions and more.

We compromised on a few small things - we made sure as much of the alcohol was vegan as we could, but we weren't able to source all vegan wine within out budget. I don't drink wine but spending out on it when it wasn't vegan was something that bothered me. Unfortunately time and money were against us in the end. The other compromise was the venue did serve milk with the tea and coffee, but we made sure that there was soya milk available too. All the little chocolates that the venue served with the tea and coffee were vegan - scrummy Montezuma's chocs! 

It was a really magical day and I just love reminiscing about it all! Even the staunchest of meat eaters present commented on how great the food was and several of our guests had dairy allergies and were delighted that they didn't need to worry about anything all day!

Tips for planning a vegan wedding

Don't be afraid to ask when planning your menu - a good venue will be flexible and happy to accommodate to your needs. We requested a vegan cheesecake which wasn't on the venue's existing list and they were more than happy to make one. I gave them my trusted recipe and was confident, having tasted their food, that they could do a good job on it.

Do a taste test - if you have found the most picturesque venue but they haven't got an existing vegan menu then ask for a taster evening. Most venues provide this as part of the experience. It may be a private afternoon meeting or you may be invited to a larger evening gathering with other couples. If they don't then you are within your right to ask before you hand over thousands of pounds. It's important that you get to try out the food, especially if the venue usually relies on meat or cheese-based dishes. Believe me, I've been served some odd dishes as a vegan at friends' wedding in the past!

Stick with your morals - you'll find that a lot of people will have opinions on how and what you should do on the day. Remember that is your day and should be a reflection of you two as a couple.

All photography by Laura Mott
Cake by Purely Scrumptious
Venue - Upwaltham Barns
Food by Nibbles 2 Nosh at Upwaltham Barns

Vegan Santorini

Oh my Greek food is amazing! So fresh, so healthy and so delicious! With plenty of fresh salads, dips and gelato to choose from you certainly won't go hungry as a vegan when holidaying in the beautiful Greek island of Santorini.

Mmmm fava bean dip! Santorini had so many fabulous vegan dishes I was spoilt for choice! 😊🙌 #vegan #vegantravel #honeymoonfood #travelfood #fava #santorini #greekfood #greece #veggie #dairyfree #veganlife #whatveganseat

A post shared by My Fair Vegan (@myfairvegan) on Jun 30, 2017 at 3:45pm PDT

Stuffed vine leaves FTW! #greekfood #vegan #veganlife #vegantravel #santorini #veggie #whatveganseat #honeymoonfood #eatfresh #dolmades

A post shared by My Fair Vegan (@myfairvegan) on Jun 30, 2017 at 3:48pm PDT

More flavours of Santorini! Stuffed courgette and pepper! So delicious! It's never this tasty when I make it myself! #greekfood #zucchini #courgette #vegan #whatveganseat #vegansofig #vegansofinstagram #vegantravel #wunderlust #travelfood #veganlife

A post shared by My Fair Vegan (@myfairvegan) on Jul 3, 2017 at 2:47pm PDT

Vegan pizza hits the high street

Pizza chain Zizzi is the first UK restaurant chain to offer a vegan cheese substitute on its pizzas.

Last year Pizza Express released the very tasty cheese-less Pianta but now Zizzi has gone one step further with its mozzarella alternative which is vegan and gluten free.

Welcome to the family, vegan pizza! Find out more - https://t.co/4T5qnl8vbH #ColourMeZizzi #Vegan #Pizza pic.twitter.com/Bo9CqX9gbI

— Zizzi Ristorante (@WeAreZizzi) March 15, 2016

According to Zizzi's blog, the dairy free Mozzarisella is 100% vegan, 100% organic and made entirely from germinated, Italian whole rice.

 For those keeping preservatives to the minimum or with other intolerances to worry about, you'll be happy to know this new menu option is also free from soya, gluten, lactose, food colouring and preservatives!

Zizzi, we salute you and can't wait to check out the new big cheese in town!

More info on this and the other new additions to Zizzi's Italian inspired menu can be found here.

Veg Fest Brighton

The south's biggest all-vegan festival is over for another year. This inspiring two-day event is colourful, mouth-watering and let's face it, a little overwhelming!

Veg Fest takes place at The Brighton Centre; it's the second year it's been run at this venue and once again it was a packed event. Each year thousands of vegans and vegetarians flock from all over - to sample food, meet up with friends and make the most of this unique shopping experience.

Here you can find vegan cupcakes in myriad colours and flavours, raw sweet treats, cruelty-free clothes and shoes, cooking demos, and even vegan comedy!

It's a little pricey to get in; £10 on the door - or £7 in advance (plus booking fee and postage), but it's easy to make a whole day of it, making it well worth the money. Many of the stalls offer show specials; I came away with bags of goodies for renewing my Vegan Life magazine subscription and signing up to Vegan Society membership. Plus there's many a free sample to be had and sneaky taster to be tested.

Veg Fest really is a must for all veggies and vegans. The next Veg Fest event happens in Bristol in May. Full info can be found on the website.

Vegan Caviar from Veg Caviar Club

Ms Cupcake's tempting treats!

Marshmallow lollies from my
favourite Ananda Foods

A rainbow of 4-1 spiraliser results!

Mallows vegan marshmallows

Tyne Chease's nut cheese 

Piles of deli treats

Juices to go (to balance out the cake!)

Faux meat from Grown Not Born

The latest issue of Vegan Life

The March issue of Vegan Life popped through my door this week and it's another jam packed magazine.

Highlights of this edition include:

• Vegan wedding planning; there's a series of articles which make ideal reading, if like me, you're planning a meat-free wedding. It includes tips for a green-themed wedding, drinks and even eco-friendly flowers.
• An interview with cartoonist Vegan Sidekick and actress Evanna Lynch (aka Luna Lovegood)
• The great fig debate; apparently figs can contain wasps - who knew?!

Recipes to look out for include:

• Sweet potato roulade with tofu ricotta
• Spelt oatmeal raisin cookies
• Soba peanut noodles
• Easy Peasy Crepes

I have to say the crepes are first on my list to make! Yum!

A photo posted by Vegan Life Magazine (@veganlife_mag) on Feb 1, 2016 at 2:52am PST

If you've not seen Vegan Life before then look out for it in Sainsbury's, Tesco and all good newsagents. You can also subscribe here: http://veganlifemag.co.uk/

My favourite place

One of my favourite things about my blog is sharing my favourite veggie places! The Alley Cafe in Nottingham has to be top of my list. Their food is fab, the atmosphere is really relaxed and the staff are all friendly. Most importantly there's plenty of vegan options.

When I lived in Nottingham I was a regular but sadly now I live on the south coast I don't get to visit as much. One year I went there for my birthday meal and got a sparkler in my dessert, ace. Plus their chocolate biscuit cake is to die for! Needless to say when I do get back to Notts I always try and engineer a visit!

Easter weekend I was teaching back in my favourite city so managed to combine dinner with some good friends, with a visit to the Alley!

As well as a brilliant menu covering sharers, mains, light bites and sandwiches there's, always a specials board and a choice of vegan desserts which includes a 'cheesecake'.

While I was waiting for my friend I ordered a refreshing juice. The Alley offers a huge menu of fresh juices and smoothies. My favourite is the banana and chocolate smoothie if I'm in the mood for something sweet, in fact this could be a dessert in itself! This time however I went for a refreshing orange, carrot and ginger. I've always been afraid of trying carrot juice before but it was really refreshing and tasty - I felt much more awake afterwards! 

I went for something light and simple for my main - baked Alley nachos with soy cheese. Just what I fancied and it left plenty of room for dessert. Different to normal nachos these are an Alley special and are brill if you don't fancy a huge rich meal.

For dessert I chose vanilla and rhubarb cheesecake which was a wonderful sweet ending. In the past I've tried mint choc chip, Baileys, and various fruity ones, they really are yummy!

So if you're ever in Nottingham the Alley cafe is definitely worth a visit. It's quite small inside so can get pretty busy,  and there's can a bit of a wait for food, but it's well worth the wait! If you're going for a special occasion it's worth booking a table just to be safe. If you're heading out in the evening then make sure you check out their cocktail menu and look out for special events like Jumpers for Goalposts which are held regularly.

Check out their website for more info www.alleycafe.co.uk

Lattice Tart Experiments

Inspired by a wonderful lunch I had a few weeks back at the Beech Cafe at Petersfield's Sustainability   Centre, I was determined to have a go at creating a tartlet of some kind! As most of my cooking tends to be, this wasn't hugely planned out, I had no recipe, but figured I'd just give it a go and see how it turned out!

Amazing lunch at the Beech Cafe.

Deciding to cheat, I bought ready made pastry (who needs to be making pastry from scratch after a long day? Not me!) You can pick these up from the fridge aisle in the supermarket, I found mine in Sainsbury's. I'd never used this before but was delighted when I turned it over and found a recipe for a vegetable lattice tart on the back! Sainsbury's we salute you!

I had most of the ingredients called for, even the cream cheese, as happily I had discovered these super cute pots of Mini Tofutti in Holland and Barrett the day before!

I didn't have all of the ingredients though, so decided some improvising was needed! The recipe called for sun dried tomatoes (nope) and onions (not a huge fan) so I decided to raid the fridge and use up what I had. Here's what I used:

• 500g block of Sainsbury's Puff Pastry
• Box of chopped tomatoes
• Tbl spoon of tomato puree
• Half a green pepper
• Good handful of mushrooms
• Half a courgette
• 2 Cloves of garlic
• Mixed herbs
• Soy milk

The recipe asked for roasted veg, but I was hungry and it was late so I opted for a bit of gung ho recipe ignoring and scrapped this stage! I bet it would have been even tastier if I had roasted the veg, and sweet potato or butternut squash would have rocked!

First I cut the block of puff pastry in half and rolled out one half until it was roughly 30cm x 35cm. I greased a baking tray with marge (grease it well!) and laid this piece of pastry out on the tray.

Next I rolled out the other piece to the same size. This is a GREAT arm workout! Sainsbury's do a ready rolled version too though, phew! (Note: For some reason they don't seem to have the non-butter block I used on the website, just the ready roll - look out for Jus' Roll brand as many of these are vegan).

Following the recipe I chopped the garlic and fried it for a couple of minutes. Skipping the onion, I threw in the tomatoes, puree and some mixed herbs and let it all simmer for a bit, around 5 minutes. Next time I would do this for longer until the sauce was thicker, as I did end up with sauce running everywhere when I transferred it to the pastry. Oh dear! See recipes really do know best sometimes!

Next I threw in the veg and mixed it all up, before spooning it on to the tray, and added a couple of dollops of Tofutti on top. 

Then I folded the second sheet in half and cut diagonal lines in the pastry. I smoothed it over the veg and squished the edges together. Make sure these are pressed well together and that your tart has breathing holes, you may find the lines you cut have stuck back together again in the moving process.

Before you pop it in the oven brush soy milk over the top of the tart. Bake for around 25 minutes until golden (FYI it smells AMAZING whilst cooking). Mine was ready just in time for Game of Thrones, perfection! I served it with a side salad but had the leftovers the next day and it was equally awesome all on its own!

I've definitely been inspired to try more pastry recipes, maybe something sweet next time! If you have any recipes of your own, or ones that you've tried out I'd love to hear them! Have you ever had a go at making vegan puff pastry from scratch? Let me know!

For now, I'm off to catch some rays with my furry buddy Harry.

x