So a Low Fat Low Sugar Vegan & a Salicylate Sensitive go into a pub..

Workroom Play List:

Thunder ~ I Love You More Than Rock & Roll
Kings of Leon ~ Sex on Fire
Natalie Imbruglia ~ Torn
The Eagles ~ James Dean
Queen ~ Radio Ga Ga
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss ~ Trampled Rose
Natalie Clein ~ Brahms: Cello Sonata #1 in E Minor, Op.38
Santana ~ (De La) Yaleo



...and that folks...is the joke!

Gotta laugh because we were tempted to cry..with hunger..and frustration! 
Image taken from the net...not my creation

My Love and I dared to try and eat out this weekend and trying to find somewhere that met both of our foodie needs, was just impossible. Admittedly it was our first venture out there in the real world..lol..but we were fairly confident that we would find at least one place out there. Nope..Thai is now out as My Love can't do spice and seasonings...so that knocks out Indian and Chinese restaurants too. Which were our most favourite places to go when dining out. And also the Mexican restaurant couldn't accommodate our needs.

So the places that would sell something My Love could eat, didn't cater for vegetarians let alone vegans. We were in despair..My Love couldn't face another fish, white rice and garden peas meal..poor thing and we were both too tired to contemplate cooking once we got home...well..I can't but that's another matter.

So where did we end up? Sat in a car park that had builders working on it. Subway was the place of choice...me? Salad on wholewheat...My Love turkey on white baguette. And did we enjoy them? Nope. It was a disaster.

We were both saddened that in this day and age that we couldn't find one place that would help us. There aren't any vegan restaurants or cafes in our surrounding area and I stay with a few regular restaurants that will happily cater a vegan meal but what it would be to have a choice. My Love is now stuck with Carvery restaurants as the list of things that can be eaten without causing a nasty reaction for days, is getting smaller and smaller. Poor love. And for me Carvery restaurants are a nightmare..can't stand the smell, peoples plates piled high with meats and chicken and obviously as a vegan it goes against everything I believe in. But I suffer in silence so My Love can try and enjoy a meal.

Have to say..it will be a while before we try this again. We naively thought in a city we would find somewhere..and it's nice to eat out occasionally, isn't it? But it does seem to be the case that if we want to eat out together..I have to compromise my beliefs and sit there with a lettuce leaf whilst My Love and other guests chow down on a plate of meat...or I enjoy a spicy vegan heaven whilst My Love sits with...nothing..as everywhere seasons everything with pepper. Urgh!

If I was at supreme health and had the financial backing I would open a vegan restaurant in the city and cater for couples just like us..lol. There is such a massive gap in the market. It is so sad.

*deep breath* Vent over..lol. Hope your Tuesday is a good one? And thank you for stopping by and indulging my rant..lol

~R~

A Weekend with an escape, chance meeting, bargains, markets and love

Workroom Play List:

Nickelback ~ Here and Now Album

Happy Monday to all of you out there..How was your weekend? Ours was busy but fun and it started on Friday afternoon. We planned our regular trip to the local library to drop off books which we did but then I seemed to come away with 10 more..lol. But when we got into the car we just kept driving until we had fled our town and headed off to the nearest larger town for some bargain hunting. I was feeling dreadful but the feeling of freedom was heavenly and once we got there I didn't really achieve much as the pain took over very quickly but it was more about being out of the house and out of our town.

Saturday was different to our normal days as it's usually family day and the house is filled with little ones running around playing and the big kids trying to keep up..lol. But my sister and the little ones were at a friend's birthday party so we had a free day. The weather was beautiful so we headed out and over to the city in search of rye bread and sandals..lol. We had a lovely surprise of bumping into friends at a shop and then passed a pleasant hour or so in a coffee shop with them. Then we were away our local health food store to pick up a few items and then on to our friends D & B for a cuppa and catch up..all of which sounds rather mundane written down but the weather was great, the shopping a success, time with friends was much needed and the feeling of being more than a sick person...priceless.

This sign made us howl with laughter...lol

I love children and have no problem with being in a room full of them and watching them riotously play...but I know a few people who this sign would be a deadly serious threat! lol.

Saturday night was a very bad night for me and I spent most of it being very, very ill so when the alarm went off I was already feeling grim.

But Sunday, it was the Farmers Market and we had arranged to have a pootle around with my Mum so I dragged myself together and off we went. The sun was shining brightly which was great because last month it was pouring with rain. There were the usual meat stalls which I always give a wide berth..naturally. But there was a great food stall that was selling Chickpea & Coriander Felafel's, Veg Samosas and Veg Pakoras and they were all homemade. It wasn't a hot stall and everything was on trays to be bagged up so we purchased some of the felafel's and a samosa which I had for my evening meal..they were divine! And I hope they are they are there next month. Another stall we purchased from was a Maple Syrup stall..it's really expensive to by here and the tiniest bottle can cost £5 and it isn't the best grade either. So it's definitely a luxury product. Mapley Foods www.mapleyfoods.com were selling grade three bottles of maple syrup..quite sizeable for £5..and it was delicious. They also sold maple teas, liqueurs and various other maple related foods. A good find indeed...

My Mum is and always will be a fudge junkie and found the best fudge stall and she quickly purchased a slab (small!) of Coffee and Walnut and munched it as we walked around the market. The mmmmm's were quite funny to hear..apparently it was mind blowingly good. lol. We go to this market because we can usually pick up fantastic organic greens and awesome veggies but alas our stall wasn't there this time. But we did pick up a fantastic dark rye loaf from one of the many bread stalls. My Love stood in line for a crepe with maple syrup as a mid morning snack and treat..lol. We were then onto the craft section of the market...and although a lot of the stalls were busy and the goods were lovely and a lot of hard work went into the products..it left me cold this time. It just wasn't the kind of craft products I really like..if that makes sense? lol

We had lost Mum at one point and as we were walking back to the car she suddenly grabbed me and pulled me over to a stall I had missed on our way round. It was a photo stall...does my Mum know me or what? lol It had very beautiful photos varying from flowers and nature to wedding samples..the photographer was a very talented woman called Anna McKenzie from annamckenziephotography.co.uk but sadly you couldn't talk to her because she had a rather overbearing husband stood next to her the entire time..which was rather sad as I thought her work was brilliant and would have liked to tell her. My Mum grabbed my hand and brought my attention to an mounted A4 black and white photograph of Loch Lomond..."This was the one I wanted to show you...it's just so you!" she said as she placed it into my hand. Now this very beautiful and atmospheric picture was a shot taken over the lake with storm clouds bearing down from above, magnificent mountains in the distance and it's taken from the lakeside. (Trying not to take that..it's so you the wrong way..Ahem! ) lol. But she was right..the photo was going home with me and going up in my office. It was a very reasonable £4 too...So it's now sat on a shelf in my workroom awaiting a frame.

I was completely wiped out by the time we sat back down in the car but I had had a lovely time and it was great to spend time with my Mum. We then decamped to a coffee shop for much needed refreshments. An hour later we dropped my Mum off to get herself ready for an afternoon Easter Egg hunt with my sister and the little ones..lol.

We then enjoyed a movie afternoon watching an interesting movie called Last Night with Kiera Knightly and Eva Mendes starring and I enjoyed my first bowl of natural air popped popcorn in ages.

Sadly the weekend ended with My Love having a very bad reaction to something and was laid low watching 24 to keep sane. Docs today...here we come..

I am sorry about the lack of photo evidence of this weekend and there were many times when I could've kicked myself..like at the country park where the Farmers Market is held..the beautiful carvings that have been made into old tree stumps..Next time..promise. And I shall share the 'Stormy' photo with you when I'm feeling a little better.

Thanks for stopping by...I hope your Monday is being kind to you?

~R~

A Tale of Fireworks and Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Kitchen Play List - The Union ~ Sirens Song Album (so good! lol) 

Good morning/afternoon folks. Well there are times when all the best laid plans can go screwy..isn't there? And for me that was last night. Today's post was supposed to a wonderful blog about the food I served last night at our gathering of our friends. In England November 5th is known as Bonfire Night. Most of us get together and have a small bonfire in our garden, enjoy many fireworks and consume foods like baked potatoes, soups and basically anything you can stand around outside eating. Many go to the town or city large professional shows but we prefer to have the fun at home. 

So yesterday we lit our brazier fire and fired up our 'veggie' bar-b-que' (Yes we do have two...one for me..one for the very rare...in fact it's only ever happened once..occasion I have agreed to a meat bbq) And I spent most of the day prepping and cooking for our guests. I did manage to have a lovely time with my sister and her little ones plus other nephew J. Multitasking or what? lol. I was cooking for 8 people, including us, and I was set on how I wanted this to go. I turned to an very old cookbook for inspiration Sue Ashworth - The Vegetarian Barbecue. 

This was my menu and what we all ate and enjoyed greatly. Now I wanted to share with you lovely photos and the recipes.....but here is where my plans kinda went screwy...we ate everything before I had the chance to take any photos! Except for my Chocolate Covered Pretzels! Darn! or as My Love so eloquently put..."Oh Doh!.." Charming..lol. But I say it just gives me the excuse to cook them again and then I'll share them then...Ahem! lol. 

First up was Curried Vegetable Kebabs with Wholemeal Chaptis which had new potatoes, baby aubergine, courgette, chestnut mushrooms, cherry tomatoes cooked on a skewer and basted with a rich spicy yoghurt sauce. They were really good. D & I agreed just a skewer with the potatoes and sauce would've been great. The general consensus was that these were the hit of the night. 

Next up was Turkish Vegetable Kebabs with Spicy Chickpea Sauce which had a fresh bayleaf at both ends along with lemon quarters, red bell pepper, green bell pepper,aubergine chunks and plum tomatoes that were brushed with a little olive oil. The Chickpea Sauce was more or less a hot hummus that had yoghurt in it. These were completely different from the Curried ones and were good but the curried ones just had that something...more. 

Sides and snacks were...Roasted Corn on the Cob (which was my pal B's highlight of the night..they were delicious.) Baked Potatoes and a huge salad bowl with mixed green leaves, ripe cucumber slices and grated carrots. I also tossed in the leftover plum tomatoes once I'd finished skewering. Snacks were a bowl of mini popadoms with a bowl of yoghurt and cucumber dip...a bowl of tortillas with a bowl of dipping hummus...a bowl of Rocket and Roses Roasted Cauliflower and Butterbean Pate with a huge bowl of carrot sticks. For a sweet/salt combo I made some chocolate covered pretzels (which were a hit too! lol) and I found some vegan sweeties called Meercats and we all enjoyed the sugar rush that came with them.It's rare thing to find vegan 'sweeties' and I think we all regressed back to our kiddie selfs when we ate them. lol That was fun to see...lol. 

Now dessert..I wanted something very easy to make and that could be made in advance and be sat waiting to be eaten at the appropriate time. So...my pals are made up of serious chocoholics and keen chocolate enthusiasts...lol and I have made many chocolate desserts for them over the years. All greatly appreciated and drooled over..lol. And last night I didn't fail them...I tried a new recipe out called Chocolate Lover's Pudding from Lois Dieterly's Sinfully Vegan. And I added raspberries in the bottom of the pot and garnished with raspberries too. This dessert lead to a marriage proposal...many "OMG's!"...and one headache...lol It was so chocolately my poor sister who tested one earlier in the day left with a headache. Ooops. I didn't have mine until after everyone had gone because I don't really like chocolate desserts but even I swooned over this dessert. And with the raspberries as a zingy sharp contrast to the chocolate...this dessert was heaven! Heaven I tell you. This dessert will be a very...VERY...rare treat! lol Tomorrow I post the recipe and the photos for this dessert. Given the advance making of this dessert..I remembered to take some shots..lol. 

Chocolate Covered Prezels...a huge hit! lol

This recipe is so simple it doesn't require a underlined title or ingredients list and cooking instructions. I first had this 'snack' when I was staying in the US and my partner at that time was addicted to them! lol. I put off trying them for a long while and then caved in and found I loved the sweet chocolate and salty pretzel treats..dammit! lol. But theses days I eat them once every few years and I now make them with bitter dark chocolate. 

So to make them is as easy as this; take one bag of vegan salted pretzels and one cup of dark vegan chocolate. Have two lined baking sheets at the ready. Break the chocolate up into small chunks and melt into a sauce either over hot water or in the microwave (choice is yours..) and place the pretzels into a bowl. When the chocolate is melted simply pour over the pretzels and gently stir them to ensure each pretzel is coated. Then spread out over the two baking sheets and try to flatten into one layer or you will get clusters of pretzels (Yeah..like that is tough..pals were enjoying those clusters! lol) Leave them to harden and cool and serve...simple. Obviously you could make these with vegan milk chocolate or white chocolate if you so wish. 

Finally I must say...the Fireworks were amazing and thank you to our pals who brought them. And the bravery and hardwork of My Love & D who set them up and set them off and for giving the rest of us who were snuggled next to the fire a fantastic show. I loved the name in particular of two of the fireworks...the Guinevere and The Goddess of Companionship...lol..both very excellent fireworks and I have to say watching the gang playing around the Glitter Sparklers and the Coloured Glowing Sparklers was very funny..I was sat watching them with the Sock Stealer as they did various things like Yoga Sparklers movements...played Harry Potter wand battles with the Coloured Glowing ones and just larked about having fun. It's really good to get intouch with your inner child sometimes..lol. 

Happy Sunday All
~R~


If there are any of the recipes above you wish me to blog then drop me an email and I'll make it happen. ~R~

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies and Banana Milkshake

Kitchen Play List: Newton Faulkner ~ Rebuilt By Humans 

On Saturday I spent a few happy, mad and chaotic hours with my sister and her little ones. My Love was around but buried deep in the darkest jungle that is our garden..armed with a 'bush wacker' to take down all the nettles, brambles, thistles and other unwanted green things from the veggie garden and fruit trees area. lol. So I had decided to be pro-active and weigh out all the ingredients for the 'little ones cooking session'. I had also decided to make lunch before they got here and I had a lovely tomatoey and cheezey pasta bake sat waiting to finish off baking in the oven come lunchtime. So I was set..neat little bowls with everything in. Trays ready...all set! Nothing could go wrong...eh? *sighs* lol. 

The little ones arrived bringing with them their wonderful enthusiasm and hugs and kisses. When I asked if they still wanted to make cookies, they threw off their coats and bags and jumped up and down with excitment. N was pointing up to where their aprons sat and asked for hers straight away and was a very big girl and put it on herself. M and I chatted about his morning as I tied him in. There was the usual tussle as we got set up at the work counter. My sister was with us by then with a sleepy little L who kept smiling at me as I got them started. Nothing could go wrong eh? lol 

And for a while it didn't. The little ones did their jobs well and with only minor disagreements lol. There was the whole 'dropping of the chocolate chip bowl and losing a quarter of the chips to the kitchen floor incident'...but after manic sweeping and grabbing of the spoiled chips by myself and the little ones before the Sock Stealer could get to them...hey...we coped with that! lol  

My sister was busy sipping a lovely hot chocolate and cuddling L...things were going so well until it came time to put the mix of choc chips in the dough...which was looking decidedly like pancake batter. M held the bowl of chips over the mixing bowl..N was busy trying to 'taste test' one or two...I reached behind me and held up my little measuring jug to suddenly realise that instead of 6tbsp of water..I had used 6 fl oz...I managed to grab the chips as M began to pour. Phew! I explained what I had done and the little ones thought it quite funny...especially M who through his giggles, told me with a reassuring hand on my arm....."Silly Auntie R...it doesn't matter...it's ok!". Auntie R was feeling a little embarrased...let me tell you. But a cutie, eh? lol. So the contents of the mixing bowl were quickly dumped into a glass pie dish and left to one side for M and I to experiment with when we had finished making the cookies. 

So we engaged in a serious attempt at speed cookie making..lol. My sister needed to feed L so had abandoned the madness, for the peace of the lounge and eventually N had gotten bored and asked to be let go....so M and I faced the cookie mission alone. But he was a little trouper and finally we had two batches of cookies in the oven baking, one more to go in...so we had a quick tidy up and we joined the girls in the lounge.  

Then my oven decided to act up....I was a little frazzled at this point...lol..but the good kind lol. So my cookies that should've taken 8 minutes to bake took 18 minutes...finally I had them all out on wire racks to cool. The oven got turned up to 'damn hot' as that is now one of its only settings when it's playing up...Pasta got thrown in the oven and I went and had some time with my sister who was trying desparately to stay awake on the sofa. Bless her. 

Lunch was finally served up and M had his usual pepper mountain with his pasta and N had her 'Matoe mountain. lol. My Love was called in and we all sat down to our lunch watching The Aristocats...heaven. The little ones and the big ones were all waiting eagerly to 'test' the cookies and I quickly blitzed up some Nana Shake (N's name for it) with the help of the N. I was so over these cookies by this point..lol. Then I remembered we still had the batter from the failed batch and I threw it in the hot oven and left it. Everyone loved the cookies and enjoyed the shake. And then shortly after, My Love went outside to play with the machine once more and my sister, L and N were all snuggled safely snoozing on the sofa. So M and I sat at the dining table and drew up a Questing Map...it was a lot of fun. 

Chaotic...complete madness...but I wouldn't swap this time for anything.  Very precious moments. 

The Epic Cookie Making shall be a thing of family history..I fear. lol. But finally I present Double Choc Chip Cookies with a fresh Banana Milkshake.

The chocolate chip cookie recipe I used is from Colleen Patrick-Gourdreau's great cookbook The Joy of Vegan Baking

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies Made 18 very large cookies
(Recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking/C.Patrick-Goudreau)

3 tsp Orgran No Gluten Natural Egg replacer (equivalent to 3 eggs)
6 tbsp water (NOT 6 fl oz lol R)
1 cup/225g vegan butter
3/4 cup/150g sugar (I use white caster)
3/4 cup/170g tightly packed light or dark brown sugar (I use half & half)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups/280g unbleached plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 to 2 cups/175g to 350g vegan choc chips (I used half dark half white choc)
1 cup/150g chopped nuts-optional (I didn't use)

Preheat the oven to 375'f/190'c/Gas Mark 5. Line cookie baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a mini blender blitz the egg replacer and water until it is thick and creamy.

In a med combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Set to one side.

In a large mixing bowl add the vegan butter, sugars and the vanilla extract and then using a hand held electric whisk, beat until light and fluffy. Add the thickened egg replacer mix and mix in.

Gradually add in the flour mix to the batter and combine thoroughly.

Then stir in the chocolate chips and stir until a soft dough forms.

Using a 1/4 cup measure scoop out portions of the cookie dough and place onto the lined baking sheets. (I put 6 to a tray to allow for spreading.)

Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes (or 18 if using a rapidily dying oven! R) Place the trays onto a wire cooling tray for a few minutes to allow the cookies to set. Then carefully take them off the trays and onto the racks to cool completely.

The Cookies...I am told they were delicious...lol

Rocket and Roses Banana Shake 4-6 servings
(Original recipe from the Rocket and Rose Vegan Kitchen)

2 pints/4 cups of soya milk or milk of choice
4 large ripe bananas, peeled and stringy bits removed
Drizzle of agave nectar (no more than 2 tsps)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Break up the bananas and place into a large blender. Drizzle over the agave nectar and the vanilla extract. Pour the milk on top and then blitz for a few minutes until very smooth. Serve immediately or store in the fridge until wanted. 

It was an epic battle but we got there in the end. lol. And you may be asking what happened to the batter in the pie dish. To quote M...."OMG we've got the world biggest cookie everyone!" It came out of the pie dish easily and went home with them to have with custard as a pudding later in the week..it had turned out a little sponge like. lol. Ah well...now we know! 

Enjoy! 

~R~