Adventures in Veg....

Vegan eating in Barcelona

2011-07-27T21:54:00.000+01:00

If you love hummus and you ever visit Barcelona, it's very important to remember one thing.

Hummus is not - repeat, not - pronounced 'hum-mus'.

Oh no.

Learn from my mistake. You've got to pronounce it 'hooomooos', and thus avoid looking like a total eejit in a supermarket while trying to describe how to make hummus with the two words of Spanish that you have - "Er, garbanzo? Limon? Er, make hum-mus with garbanzo?" - in an attempt to explain what you're looking for.

So how did I end up in a supermarket trying to learn how to pronounce hummus like a Spaniard?

In May, I spent a glorious week in Barcelona. I was there with my boyfriend Cormac and friend Fiona (and met up with other friends there) for the Primavera Sound festival, four days of live music at the Parc Del Forum, but I also managed to cram in a little sight seeing.

And lots of eating.

My lovely cousin, Jill, lives in the city with her boyfriend Dave, and we stayed with them for two days before starting our Primavera adventure.

We flew in late on the Monday night in Barcelona, lugged our suitcases onto the bus and landed at Placa Catalunya thankful that we had a bed awaiting us. Our first stop though on that humid night was the Irish bar where Jill was working, where nothing tasted as good as my first rum and coke.

After hugs, kisses, drinks and much catching up, we made it to Jill's apartment, and to bed.

Truly, nothing prepared me for opening the glass doors in our room the next morning and feeling the blast of heat that hit me, hearing the sounds from the street below and getting my first glimpse of the mighty Barcelona.

The city is big and bustling, but still retains that sense of 'laidbackness' that Mediterranean countries tend to have. It's the sort of place where people don't roll out of bed until noon, and stay up into the late hours eating, drinking and chilling out. I absolutely loved it.

As my birthday fell on the Thursday that we were there, I decided to have a little get-together with some friends at the funky vegan café Juicy Jones, which I had already scoped out with Jill and Cormac the day before.

When I eat at places like Juicy Jones I just want to weep - with excitement but also frustration that we have nowhere like this in Ireland. It was ridiculously cool - a *huge* menu, fresh juices, smoothies, sandwiches, salads, curries, desserts....it was like vegan heaven. And the best bit? It was totally normal. Not some freaky 'vegan only place' or a crunchy hippy restaurant. Just a cool place to go grab a bite to eat. Amazing.

I went for the chocolate, banana and coconut smoothie and the incredible thali (Indian meal with a selection of items) - I had my compact camera with me, hence the terrible state of these photos, by the way!

It was so lovely eating with great friends (there were two veggies there besides me - hey Lauren and Sean! - as well as my friends, fellow food blogger Aoife I Can Has Cook and her boyfriend, Niall, Cormac, Fiona and Kim) in such a relaxed place.

A tip - if you eat at Juicy Jones, go for the 'menu del dia' - it's a three-course lunch for just €8. Bargain!

Eating vegan isn't difficult in Barcelona, thanks to vegetarian and vegan restaurants, but most of the time I did as I usually do, and ate in regular places. Due to the language barrier and my mis-reading one or two words, I ended up with egg in a stir fry once (I actually picked out the tofu and wiped off the egg! I was so hungry but too embarrassed to ask for another meal as it was my fault there was egg in it). I also ended up drinking some of a fruit drink with milk in it - who the hell puts milk in juice!?

Contains milk....deceptive. I never noticed the word 'leche', which means milk in Spanish. A definite lesson to read your labels!

Fresh fruit is absolutely delicious in Spain, so every morning - whether at home or eating out - I went for something like melt-in-the-mouth pineapple. Yum, yum, yum.

We did do some shopping for our self-catering apartment, but I ate the majority of my meals out due to being at the festival - and luckily enough, there was a vegan food stand in the (pretty small) catering area! You don't get that in Ireland, believe me.

I had to avert my eyes from the gloveless workers touching the food but hey, when there's vegan food, I've gotta try it. I went for the vegan burger, which was a vegetable patty on white hamburger buns with some salad - nothing outstanding but it totally hit the greasy-food spot. Fiona had a seitan 'beef' baguette which she said was really tasty.

It was the desserts that stole the show, however. Some of the best vegan desserts I've ever had. The only problem? I can't for the life of me remember what the name of the company that made them was....

I think that the key to the taste is the soya milk that's available in Spain. It tasted completely different to the soya milk here. Anyone know why?

I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to get vegan food in Barcelona, and I barely scraped the surface of the city. (I didn't, for example, get to go to Sesamo restaurant, which was recommended to me by Mary of Petite Treats and is supposed to be wonderful).

Between the health food shops....

The restaurants...

And the markets...

There is a lot to choose from. However, like in any country, not every restaurant will be able to cater for you perfectly. It's good to do your research before you go, look up the words for 'vegetarian', 'vegan', 'milk', etc in a good dictionary and learn some handy phrases to use in restaurants. Take advantage of the abundant fresh fruit and vegetables, and embrace the flavours and textures.

Above all: don't stress. You're supposed to be on holiday, so who cares if you can't get a 'perfect' meal every time? The key is enjoyment, and with a little research and preparation you can get that. And don't forget to see as many of the sights as you can. I'm already itching for my return to beautiful Barcelona.

And next time, I'll remember how to pronounce hummus.

Some more information on eating vegetarian and vegan food in Barcelona:
http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?7021-Being-Vegan-in-Barcelona
http://www.sincarne.net/barcelona-vegan-restaurants.htm
http://www.quarrygirl.com/2010/09/16/gopal-vegan-in-barca-youd-better-go-there-pal/

Tofu for Dummies and Hungry People

2011-05-20T13:05:00.000+01:00

I apologise for using the word dummy - but this tofu really could not be easier to prepare, and I've been dying to share this oh-so-simple recipe for ages. It's a keeper.

If you're new to tofu, then I know what you're thinking:

- Ugh! Its texture is weird!
- What is this mushy stuff?
- I miss chicken.
- This smells funny.
- What does it taste like?
- How on earth do I cook this lump of jelly-like white wobbly thingymajig?

It's OK. I've been there before, staring at the wet block of tofu and not having a notion of what to do with it. A lot of recipes require pressing, marinating, all sorts of malarkey.

And really, I'm more than happy to do that. But when I just want some crispy tofu, some filling protein to round out a meal, or something to nibble on, I go for this. And it has never failed me. It's practically foolproof, I promise.

I have baked tofu in a marinade before, but this recipe, which is adapted from the Gluten-Free Girl blog (one of my favourite blogs) is a whole other kettle of tofu-flavoured-fish.

This tofu is roasted.

What does this mean? It's roasted at a higher heat than if it was baked, which in turn means a crispier tofu, and no marinade - and no gooiness. (You don't need to press this tofu.)

Instead, you get crispy, browned tofu on the outside, and puffy, soft chewy tofu inside.

Yum!

Here's the original recipe and here's what I do:

One block of firm tofu (not silken tofu)

Salt

Pepper

1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil (optional)

Pre-heat your oven to 220C

Pull out a large roasting tin or baking tray and line with a sheet of greaseproof paper.

Take your tofu and cut into cubes about 1inch in size. As you can see, I'm pretty terrible at cutting tofu into uniform pieces...hey, I'll just chalk it down to being 'creative'. Ahem.

Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to your liking. You could even try some herbs and spices here if you like. I haven't tried this myself but doubt it would be a problem.

If using oil - spray your oil onto the tofu, if you have an oil spray bottle. Ensure all sides are coated.

If you don't have a spray bottle (I don't), then gently put the tofu into a large bowl, add the oil and very, very carefully toss with clean hands to ensure the tofu is coated.

You can do this without oil - the tofu is slightly less crispy but delicious just the same!

Place the tofu onto the baking tray/oven tray, slide into the oven and roast for 15 minutes.

Take out, flip the tofu over and roast until the tofu is puffed up, lightly browned and crispy.

(I was in such a hurry I took a blurry photo)

Try not to burn your mouth while sampling the first piece: I speak from experience here!

You can serve this with a dipping sauce, as per the Gluten-Free Girl recipe, or you can do what I did - serve with stir-fried vegetables, rice and a coconut-almond-curry sauce.

This sauce is an adaptation of my almond butter sauce and was made on the fly - I just mixed about 1/4 cup coconut milk with 1 tablespoon almond butter, a little tamari, a few teaspoons of curry powder and a dash of toasted sesame oil. Then I heated this on the stove until it was thick and creamy. Delish!

So, if you're a tofu newbie, or just someone hungry for a new way to eat tofu, try this. And I dare you not to eat the entire lot....

Worldwide Vegan Bakesale, Udo's Oil, and Naughty Vs Nice

2011-05-02T21:15:00.000+01:00

Hey folks!

Is it sad that I've been waiting a year for this day to come around again - the Worldwide Vegan Bakesale!? Last year I picked up quite the treats at the sale and I can't wait for this weekend when I can sample even more delicious vegan goodies. (Like vegan croissants!)

Here's the downlow for those of you living in Dublin:

It's taking place on Saturday 7 May, from 12 - 2pm at Exchange Dublin (on the outskirts of Temple Bar). The organisers say:

Proceeds will be divided between the Vegetarian Society of Ireland (to put towards World Vegetarian Day 2011 and The Irish Vegetarian magazine) and World Vision Ireland's Haiti Appeal

If you'd like to bake something or to help out on the day please email bakesale@vegetarian.ie.
We'd love you and your friends and family to come along on the day to purchase delicious vegan treats too!
There will be a small craft fair on in Exchange Dublin at the same time which will add to the sense of occasion!

If you are involved in a vegan bakesale in Ireland, please let me know and I'll add it to the bottom of this post. If you haven't heard of this event before, here's the official international site.

In other news, Udo's Oil is looking for people to submit recipes for a new competition. So if you have some excellent vegetarian or vegan recipes, why not submit them?

Udo Erasmus, who invented the oil - and who I interviewed last year - is putting together a new recipe book and wants a recipe to represent each county in Ireland.

There is a prize fund for this competition of €4,600 and the overall winner will scoop €2,000 and their recipe will be featured on the menu at the Cellar Restaurant in Dublin's five-star Merrion Hotel.

Naturally, all recipes must feature Udo's Oil as an ingredient (if you haven't used it before, here's some information - it isn't used to cook food, it's added at the end of cooking as it shouldn't be heated).

You have until 31 May to enter, so why not get your thinking cap on?

For more information, or to enter, visit www.udoschoice.ie.

And in more news, I've started writing for the Irish Independent again, this time with one of my favourite people, Aoife McElwain, who is a lovely friend of mine and a very talented food blogger and writer.

Plus she has ace taste in music, and is so supportive of my vegan lifestyle. I'm delighted to be writing with her and our column, 'Naughty vs Nice', is always a hoot to write. The aim of the column is to contrast our differing tastes in food and offer a meaty dish and a vegetarian/vegan dish so that readers can choose whether they would like to be 'naughty' or 'nice' each week.

Obviously we don't think want people to feel 'bad' for eating a certain way so we approach the 'naughty' and 'nice' tags in a light-hearted and fun way and show that you can indeed have your cake and eat it too!

It's great to be able to spotlight vegan or veggie food each week and hopefully it will show readers that healthy food needn't be boring. Plus Aoife Mc is so good at supporting local Irish producers and she is inspiring me a huge amount in this respect.

You can find Naughty vs Nice in the Weekend magazine of the Irish Independent, every Saturday.

Here's a recent column of ours.

What have you all been up to recently? Any new recipes or foods you'd like to share?

~Aoife

Savoury pancake Tuesday: vegan, gluten-free Pudla

2011-03-07T22:54:00.001Z

Happy almost-pancake Tuesday!

I must admit, I've never been a pancake/Shrove Tuesday gal (despite growing up in your typical modern Irish Catholic family) as eggs and I just don't get along. So that's partly why vegan pancakes are right up my street; there's no need for eggs but you can still enjoy a savoury or sweet pancake of your choice. (As an aside, if you do eat eggs, now is probably a good time to encourage you to please never buy eggs that come from battery/caged hens.)

Tonight I made an Indian pudla for the first time - it's a savoury pancake that's made with gram flour so is not only vegan but gluten-free. These are definitely going to become a regular meal around our house as they are incredibly simple to make. We served the pudlas with chana (chickpea) masala, which was probably chickpea overkill, so next time I might go with saag aloo or something similar.

Pudlas are doughy in texture but not stodgy, and with their yellow colour they are a little reminiscent of an omelette. They can be made with vegetables in the batter or left plain, and can be served with chutney, tamarind sauce, plain soy yogurt or even a big salad.

This recipe makes between 2 and 4 pancakes (depending on the size of pancake you make), and serves 2 people - but the recipe is easily doubled or even tripled depending on how many people you'd like to feed. If you don't have all of the spices or the same vegetables, don't panic. You definitely need a teaspoon of one or two spices like cumin or coriander, some salt and even a bit of basic curry powder if you have it, but don't feel you have to stick with exactly what I used.

Pudla

~vegan, gluten-free~

Ingredients:

1/2 very finely diced red pepper
Finely chopped spring onion - white part of about 5 or 6 of them
Large handful of frozen peas
1 cup (or mug) of gram flour (besan) [this is ground chickpeas]
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of asafoetida
1 cup (or mug, same as you used to measure flour) water
Olive oil for cooking the pudla

Prepare your vegetables, then cook your peas as directed on the packet.
While they are cooking, put a pan on medium-high heat and when hot, add a little water. Then add your pepper and lightly water sauté for about 3 minutes. Don't overcook.
Set vegetables (including spring onions) aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, spices and salt, and mix thoroughly.
Make a little 'well' in the centre of the flour mixture.
Take the water and pour slowly into the centre of the flour, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps.
Slowly add the water until the mixture is combined.
Add the vegetables and stir well.

Leave this mixture to sit for between 20 and 30 minutes to allow the spices to infuse.

I used this time to prepare chana masala.

Bring a large pan to a medium heat, then add a little olive oil and try to ensure as much of the pan surface is covered with oil as possible. If you have a non-stick pan you can probably cook this without any oil.
Ladle in the batter, (about 1/4 of a cup at a time) but take care not to put in too much. The mixture should be thin but will thicken up as it cooks.
After a few minutes, when bubbles start to form on the outside of the pancake, flip and cook the second side until lightly browned.
Serve immediately.

Hope you enjoy these tasty savoury pudlas!

What does a vegan eat...for breakfast?

2011-03-06T19:08:00.000Z

What do you eat for breakfast?

Are you worried that whatever it is, if you became vegan you wouldn't be able to eat it?

One of the worries a lot of people have when they choose to move to a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle and diet is to what level it will disrupt their usual routine. We're all creatures of habit to a certain degree, and the changes you decide to make when becoming vegetarian/vegan can seem daunting and quite scary.

So I've decided to do a little series of posts about what vegans eat - or, in any case, what I eat! Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, eating out, eating with friends, on the go, you name it.

If you're interested in transitioning to veganism, I hope you find these helpful. Perhaps you're a committed vegan already and just want to see what others eat; or you're an omnivore who wants to know what to feed visiting veggie friends. Here's my easy and affordable guide to eating vegan in Ireland, where we certainly are not a vegan country! I want to show that it really isn't that hard - most of the time - and that you do not have to be 'deprived'.

Above all, I want to dispel the myth that vegans only eat cardboard, or junk food. Sure, I like my crisps and chocolate, but I believe the core of any diet - vegan or not - is real, nutritious food. Not fake food. Not fake meat. Fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, etc.

If you're a picky eater and think there is no way you could eat all these 'foreign' foods, then take heart in the fact that three or four years ago I would have been the exact same. Putting pesto on my chicken wrap was probably the extent of the 'exotic' food I'd eat...and I'm only slightly exaggerating there.

So to kick things off, here's my guide to what vegans eat....for breakfast. Please chime in with any of your tips and favourite breakfasts, I'd love to hear about them.

Cereal and milk

Growing up, my sisters, brother and I ate bowls of cereal at least once a day. We wouldn't just have them for breakfast, we'd have them as snacks or as a supper before bed. We loved them so much that my dad used to call a bowl of cereal at night a 'bowla'...we'd pour lots of milk onto crispy Cornflakes or Coco Pops and settle down in our dressing gowns to watch TV (and probably fight over something silly).

Yes, you can still have comforting bowls of cereal and milk as a vegan - but with a slight difference, of course. Just choose a vegan cereal (some Kelloggs cereals are no longer vegan, so please double check) that has no added milk, honey or animal-based Vitamin D, and pour on lashings of non-dairy milk.

My favourite combination these days is organic gluten-free Nature's Path Mesa Sunrise cereal with Kara coconut milk (it's a milk made from coconut milk), a tablespoon of flaxseed and a sprinkle of chia seeds.

Why flaxseed? It's a source of Omega 3
Why chia seeds? They also contain Omega oils, protein and calcium

Non-dairy milks:
Alpro Soya range
Kara coconut milk*
Almond milk
Rice Dream rice milk

*My favourite as it has a sweet yet unobtrusive taste and has added calcium

Vegan Cereals
[double check ingredients]
Kelloggs Fruit N Fibre
Kelloggs Rice Krispies
Nature's Path
Kelkin corn flakes
Puffed spelt
Puffed rice
Spelt flakes
Dove's Farm - wheat biscuits, corn flakes

Lots more listed here.

Porridge

Oats look bland and unassuming, but cooked with water or non-dairy milk they become a filling and nutritious breakfast. I have mine cooked with water, then add flaxseeds, freshly chopped or stewed apple, and lots of ground cinnamon.

Experiment with toppings to find your favourite combination - adding some fruit and nuts is a great way of upping the nutrient content of the breakfast. Just don't add lots of white sugar...

Two days a week I travel by train to work at a newspaper in another county - along the way I see so many beautiful animals like these cute sheep below. The first thing I do when I get into the office is get my porridge ready. It's part of my routine and if I don't eat I turn into a very crabby co-worker....

Smoothies and Juices

I've written about Green Monsters before and they might seem like an odd thing to have in the morning but they're invigorating and a fantastic way to get a serving of greens in before you've even left the house. Non dairy milk, fresh or frozen spinach or kale, frozen berries and a banana are all you need to get started. Add some flaxseeds, chia seeds or almond butter (about a tablespoon) and you've got yourself a refreshing and filling start to the day.

Vegetable juices (juiced using a juicer) are another lovely way to start the day. But as they don't have any fibre in them, you should eat something with fibre as soon as you start feeling hungry. Why not have one an hour or so before a bowl of porridge?

Granola and yogurt

When I don't have the time to make porridge and I'm not in the mood for cereal, I go for granola and soya yogurt. Here in Ireland pretty much the only non-dairy yogurt choice that we have is soya yogurt, but I believe it's possible to get coconut-based yogurt in other countries, you lucky things! I either make my own granola - here's a good recipe - or I use a shop-bought one like Lizzi's granola.

My basic requirements for granola are: low to no-added sugar; no honey; added flaxseeds; no wheat; lots of oats; lots of seeds.

This makes a great snack too - you can even add some fruit. Yum!

Greasy Fry-up

Don't worry, I'm not advocating that you take Sundays off 'that vegan thang' and chow down on some pork sausages, but this section is here to prove that you can let loose and have a greasy fry up now and then without having to eat meat.

I had some friends (one of whom is vegan and the first vegan I ever knew - my inspiration for going vegan) stay recently and in the morning we had a feast of Redwood vegan sausages, white spelt bread and white sliced pan, baked beans and Ballymaloe relish - with lots of black tea and Kara milk (with a bit of sugar for me).

Man, it was so tasty....not the healthiest by any means but it really hit the spot. If you're having friends over who are vegan, or if you're staying at someone's house and you know they'll want a fry the next morning, why not bring some veggie sausages and be prepared? They look just like the real thing and taste delicious with relish.

Drinks

I have to have a hot drink in the morning. I start the day off with some hot water and freshly squeezed lemon and then after my porridge (etc) I have one of the following....

White tea
Green tea
Black tea
Nettle tea
Dandelion tea
Fruit tea

Fruit, Glorious Fruit

Whatever you have for breakfast, why not add some fruit? A crisp apple, sliced banana or juicy pear is what I usually reach for.
When berries are in season, I love them too - nothing like fresh raspberries in the morning!

*****
Those are my main choices when it comes to breakfast. Where I can, I go for organic or local options without added sugar. I usually go for porridge as oatflakes are wholegrain and don't have anything added to them (although make sure to read the label if they say they are flavoured).

But when I don't have porridge, I'll go for something that is a bit more processed (soya yogurt) or maybe has a bit of sugar (granola). Other mornings, I'm all about the Green Monsters or juices.

Although I have experimented with different breakfasts, I always go back to the simplest options. I'll usually have at least one piece of fruit with breakfast, and I always try to add ground flaxseeds too.

Vegan breakfasts...so much choice, eh? What's your favourite?

St Valentine's Day

2011-02-16T21:26:00.000Z

I've no problem admitting I'm a total romantic, so I love when St Valentine's Day rolls around.

I'm not all about getting presents or huge bouquets of flowers or any of that stuff - I just like the chance to spend some time with my boyfriend (feel free to puke) and get a bit mushy. Tragic, perhaps, but fun nonetheless.

Handily enough, I got an unexpected payment on Monday (as a freelancer you can wait months and months for money to come through for articles) so I decided to treat myself and Cormac to a meal. It was one of those situations where we walked past a restaurant on the way home from work and went in on a whim, which made it all the more fun.

Dunne & Crescenzi was our choice for a romantic meal - an Italian restaurant nestled just off the bustling Nassau Street in Dublin city centre. It's the sort of place where you can imagine you're in a little restaurant in Italy, with its wall-to-wall shelves of Italian wine, cosy atmosphere and really delicious food.

Just like most restaurants in Dublin, there isn't a huge choice for vegans but Italian food is the ultimate in simplicity so it's always possible to veganize some dishes. I went for the bruschetta to start, which had mounds of fresh, sweet tomatoes piled on crusty white bread, while Cormac went for the minestrone. Some minestrone soups can be thin and watery but this was thick, creamy (but I don't think it had any cream or dairy in it) and full of beans and veg.

For the main course, I had what I always get at Dunne & Crescenzi - the pasta with tomato and basil. Utterly simple but so delicious. I always think 'what a small portion' when I get this dish and am absolutely stuffed by the end...what can I say, my eyes are bigger than my stomach! Cormac went for the beef lasagne.

All vegetarian dishes are clearly marked on the menu, as are dishes with egg in them (from fresh pasta) which makes it so easy to know what you're getting.

Afterwards there was only one thing to do - go to Cornucopia, where Cormac bought us some vegan dessert. He was definitely proving his worth as Awesome Boyfriend No 1 that night!

Vegan blueberry silken torte with ginger biscuit base from Cornucopia

Half-eaten (whoops!) vegan chocolate fudge cake from Cornucopia

Italian food, wine, vegan dessert....the perfect Valentine's Day!

Dakshin Restaurant, Donnybrook

2011-02-09T10:42:00.002Z

Pics courtesy of Dakshin

I'm not the type who usually wins competitions, but last week I was super lucky to win a competition run by the Irish Food Bloggers Association for a meal at Dakshin restaurant in Donnybrook, Dublin. The coolest bit was it was a food bloggers dinner, so I wouldn't look like a complete muppet for taking photographs. Although seven of us won, for some reason only four of us turned up - and let me tell you, the others missed out (sorry!).

Dakshin is an Indian restaurant located above Kiely's pub in the centre of Donnybrook. Its menu focuses on the Southern states of Kerala, Tamilnadu, Andra Pradesh and Karnataka, and it is a new venture by Saji Mathai, who is well known to many in Dublin from his years with the Jaipur group and Ananda (two excellent Indian restaurants).

At the meal, I was accompanied by the lovely Aoife from I Can Has Cook, David from Kitchen 72 and John from the Navigatourist - three hungry foodies who were, like me, eager to get on with the eatin'. We were greeted by the owner, Saji Mathai, who was a wonderful host and whose staff were extremely attentive throughout the evening.

As the only veggie in the group, I was curious to see what Dakshin offers vegan and vegetarian diners. The answer? There is a small amount of vegetarian/vegan food on the menu - about the same as most restaurants - but what they do offer is absolutely delicious. Plus, they are happy to be made aware of any dietary concerns you have.

There were two vegetarian starters on the menu - a salad with fried plaintains (which I think I'll go for next time) and the Aloo Bonda spiced potato cakes. I plumped for the latter because I love potato cakes - these were perfectly soft and plump cakes with mustard seeds and curry leaves, warm and spicy. Accompanying them was a coconut chutney and a fruit chutney, as well as some tamarind sauce. The coconut was cool, creamy and the perfect contrast to the spicy potato, while the other chutney added a hint of sweetness. Delicious, and not greasy or heavy like fried potato cakes can be.

Pic taken by Aoife I Can Has Cook

The others shared a starter tasting platter, with prawn, chicken, lamb and a small taster of the Aloo Bonda. Then Saji brought them out another two starters - both of them lamb - causing more moans of ecstasy to come from the carnivores at the table, heh! I helped myself to some of the pickled veg on their tasting platter (below, centre) while they finished their dishes. The starters range from €6.50- €12.50 and mine was €6.50.

Pic by Aoife I Can Has Cook

There are about three or four vegetarian main course options on the menu, but some have cheese, so I decided to go for the vegetarian thaali, Dakshin Shakahari Thaali (€18). I checked with the server if there was any dairy in the dish and he assured me there wasn't - when he brought it down, he said that he had not put some sauce on it that was on John's meat thaali, as there was dairy in it. Also, the waiters remembered I was the veggie diner and checked in on me periodically, which was lovely.

Pic by Aoife I Can Has Cook

So what's a thaali, then? It's ideal for people like me who get bored with eating the same dish and want to try a little of everything. My favourite bit is the dosa - a gluten-free (though you'd need to check with the restaurant regarding cross-contamination) lentils and rice pancake. The lentils and rice are soaked and then ground down to a paste, before being spread on a flat pan and made into a sort of crepe. There is an unusual, almost sour taste to dosas, but I find them scrumptious - Dakshin's dosa was crispy but not too thin and perfect for scooping up food.

Pic by Aoife I Can Has Cook

The dosa sat atop a small mound of pilau rice, and was accompanied by four dishes: curried vegetables, daal, crispy curried onions and a green curry, with rice and yellow lentils. None of these dishes were extremely spicy - they were all quite mild and naturally the flavours worked perfectly together. My favourite was the curried vegetables - it looked like they had been roasted and then spread with a sort of mild paste...so moreish. The rice was soft and pillowy - it practically melted in my mouth.

Pic courtesy of Dakshin

It was really lovely sitting down with fellow foodies and food bloggers and yapping about all things food - it felt like an episode of Come Dine With Me! Aoife is friend of mine but neither of us had met John or David before and they were great dining companions. Through food blogging I've met so many new people, it's wonderful.

Needless to say, after that huge feed none of us were in the mood for dessert. Would I go back to Dakshin? Absolutely. It's a really beautiful restaurant, the staff are extremely attentive (they explained each dish to us including what region it was from), the prices are very reasonable (they offer an early bird for €18) and the food is fantastic. This isn't your average Indian restaurant, with the usual meals - this is Indian food for the adventurous.

I would love if there were more vegan options but the restaurant is only open since December, so I imagine with time they might introduce more dishes. One thing I would say is don't be afraid to tell them you're vegan or vegetarian, as they are happy to help. The more demand there is for these dishes, the more chance they will be added. Also there are no symbols on the menu indicating 'vegetarian' etc - if those were added it would be great.

Thanks so much to the IFBA and Dakshin for the meal.

Dakshin 22-24 Donnybrook Road, Dublin 4
Reservations: contact info@dakshin.ie or 01-2028182/ 2028183

Guest post: Steven's Vegan Month

2011-02-07T09:35:00.002Z

It seems like 'going vegan' is spreading around the world - last week saw an entire episode of Oprah dedicated to veganism, Kathy Freston (who was a guest on Oprah) saw her book Veganist climb to the top of the Amazon.com charts, Kris Carr continued her media tour with her hugely successful vegan book The Crazy Sexy Diet, and the net was abuzz with articles on how you can 'go vegan' successfully.

Here in Ireland, one man who is heading down the vegan path for a month (with a view to possibly even longer) is journalist Steven O'Rourke, who is behind the music blog 4FortyFour and who wrote this great article about going vegetarian last year.

Steve and his wife are vegetarians and recently Steve decided to try and cut all animal products out for a month and see how he goes. And being a writer he has kindly agreed to fill us in here at Adventures in Veg as to how he gets on.

Whether Steve stays vegan or not, I'm delighted to see him try veganism for a month and can't wait to hear how he gets on. I firmly believe that even if you don't stay vegan, once you try veganism and tasty vegan meals, they'll stay part of your cooking repertoire. The proof for me of that is my own boyfriend is a chicken-wing loving omni - who cooks really delicious vegan meals for me at home (when I let him into the kitchen, ha!).

Kathy Freston says we should aim for "progress, not perfection" and personally I really love that. Every little step counts. And if that step includes homemade vegan haggis and cranberry sauce like in the pic above...then you can't argue with that.

Anyway, without further ado, here's Steve's post - thanks a million Steve and best of luck! Hope you enjoy some delicious animal-free food.

This is what it’s come to. The teen with a pathological fear of greens is turning vegan. Over three years after deciding to embark down the vegetarian route, it seems like the logical next step.

But let’s not start at the end, that wouldn’t make any sense at all. This story begins way back when; at time when the country was broke, had an inept Fianna Fáil government clinging desperately to power and could do little to stop its young people emigrating by the thousand.

In this strange, distant land; a blonde-haired, blue-eyed little boy was growing up in Kildare. He didn’t live on a farm – or a bog – but his grandfather, who lived next door, grew his own fresh veg. Well, he did for as long as he was able. Time and hip replacements wait for no man.

Forced – small town Ireland in the 80s didn’t offer a great deal of choice – to eat processed vegetables, this boy decided enough was enough and that if he couldn’t get home-grown veg, he wasn’t going to eat any at all.

Cabbage cried, mushrooms mourned and tomatoes – fooling nobody by pretending they were fruit – tearfully accepted that their time had passed.

This story has a middle, but it involves lots of awkward teenage mood swings whose shadows stretched far too long into adulthood to be healthy, so we’ll leave it trapped between the clowns and the jokers.

Three years ago, the boy, now a man – his ownership of a stick just for stirring paint was proof of this – decided it was time for a radical change. One simple question, ‘could you bring yourself kill an animal’; set in chain a train of thought that pulled up in ‘WoahWhyDidn’tYouThinkOfThisBeforeVille’.

Okay, that’s not a real place, but he didn’t care, his decision was made. If he couldn’t kill an animal, he wasn’t eating one.

However, more and more, it made less sense that he wouldn’t eat an animal but would still eat animal derivatives produced in equally horrific conditions.

Eggs, milk, cheese. He won’t lie, these are all things he’ll miss but they are products he really wants cut out because they just don’t sit comfortably on his conscience.

By the by, you needn’t worry omnivorous folk, he’s not a vegan nazi. You won’t be wiping blood out of your eyes only to find him at the other end of the bucket anytime some.

Life is about choice. This is his choice. Thanks to Aoife – and her mountains of recipes – this, already, looks like the right one.

Simple Creamy Almond Butter Sauce heals all (sorta)

2011-02-01T10:39:00.001Z

Ouch.

Ouch!

That was what I was saying pretty much all yesterday evening as my stomach decided to protest against whatever I ate the night before and cramp itself silly. (I said 'cramp'...!) I'm pretty sure the culprit was a curry I had in Saba - but it wasn't Saba's fault. I suspect there was dairy of some kind in the butternut squash curry and that's why I went to sleep last night with a hot water bottle clutched to my stomach.

I love Saba and usually go for one of their veg and tofu stir fries, but lately I've taken a shine to the Gaeng Karee Fuktong (ahem), but noticed that I don't feel the, well, 'Mae West' afterwards. Of course I always conveniently forget this and went and ate it on Sunday night...and boy did I pay for it the day after.

I've emailed the restaurant to see if there is dairy in the curry, but even if there isn't, I won't get it again just in case. Luckily they have lots of great vegan dishes on the menu and it really is a fantastic restaurant/take away.

I think the lesson to learn here is: if in doubt, ask. If there is dairy in the meal, it's my fault for not asking was it in it. I know I can't stomach milk / cream / ice cream etc so I should have asked.

But what do you do when you like creamy sauces but don't want to use dairy? You go nuts. In this case, almond butter nuts.

I've been banging on about this meal a lot on Twitter so as I was making it last night I thought I'd take a few pics and give my updated recipe. Fun fact: my first recipe on the blog was another version of this! But this is the recipe I use these days.

So here we go....

Simple Creamy Almond Butter Sauce
(Serves 2, easily adapted to serve more)

Utensils: Whisk or fork, saucepan

Ingredients:
2 tbsp roasted almond butter (1 tbsp per person, so increase the tablespoons according to how many are eating. You will need to adjust the rest of the ingredients accordingly)
1/4 cup - 1/2 cup water (you can use an ordinary cup for this)
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp tamari
1 tsp agave syrup

Stir fry ingredients of your choice
Rice or other grain of your choice

Directions

Prepare your stir fry ingredients - I used a red pepper, head of broccoli, leek and onion - and put your rice on. If it's brown rice (I used short grain brown rice), then put it on at least 20 - 30 mins before you start your stir fry.

Just before you start your stir fry, put two tablespoons (or more if there are more people) of almond butter and 1/4 cup (to start) of water into a small pot on a low heat.

Whisk the mixture together until it's all combined.

Start cooking your stir fry and occasionally whisk your sauce. Keep an eye on it and you'll notice it starts thickening up (make sure not to keep the heat too high or it will thicken too fast).

When it has thickened up, whisk and take off the heat.

Continue with your stir fry vegetables. When they're almost done, return to the almond butter sauce. Place over a low - medium heat and add the remaining water. Whisk while adding the toasted sesame oil (it must be toasted or else it won't have that lovely sesame taste) and tamari (or soy sauce), followed by the agave. Taste the sauce. Too salty? Add a dash more agave. Too sweet? Balance that with a dash of soy. Make the sauce to your taste, bub.

Pour over your stir fry vegetables and stir to combine. Serve immediately. I sprinkled mine with chia seeds and sesame seeds...

I'm sure I could have made this meal look a lot prettier, but I was damn hungry!

Juicy, Juicy

2011-01-28T22:49:00.001Z

Are you a smoothie girl or guy? Or do you like to juice?

I go through phases myself - sometimes the mere thought of having to clean my juicer sends me into a tizzy; other times it's the idea of having to clean my blender!

What can I say, I'm terrible for having lazy moments.

But once you start juicing or making 'green monster' smoothies, I really don't think you go back. I was first introduced to the idea of a fruit smoothie when a little company called Innocent introduced their fruit smoothies to the Irish market. From my first taste of an Innocent smoothie, I was hooked. As a fan of all things quirky, the fact they wrote pithy instructions on the bottles also appealed to me - plus, they seemed like a very eco-conscious company.

(I have to admit I almost shed a tear when I heard Innocent was partly bought out by Coca Cola in 1999 , especially as three years earlier the Body Shop, where I was then an assistant manager, was bought out by L'Oreal. But luckily for you, I'll save my rant about small companies being bought out by large corporations for another day.)

Fast forward to 2009, when I started reading Oh She Glows and discovered her green monster smoothies - I've written about these here before and they really were a pivotal moment in my food-life. For me, green monster smoothies are such a great way to get a portion of veg into your bod before you've barely woken up. Since the last post on them, I've gotten more adventurous - now I add a tablespoon of almond butter. It adds some protein, fat, and a nutty, almost chocolatey taste. Amazing.

My favourite combo?

Spinach/kale, 1 banana, Kara coconut milk (I must do a post on this product soon), 1tblsp roasted almond butter, 1tblsp ground flaxseeds or Udo's Oil, and a handful or two frozen mixed berries.

Then there's juicing. This is when you cram loads of veggies or fruit into a centrifugal or masticating juicer, which separate the fibre from the juice/water in the veg/fruit. So you get lots of goodness from the veg and it's a refreshing way to start the day. That doesn't mean you can go the rest of the day without your veggies - when you eat your vegetables whole you get all of the benefits including the fibre, so it's important to have them both ways.

Recently I had a juice with spinach, carrot, apple and ginger....zingy!

My dream is to own a masticating juicer, but for now my trusty Phillips juicer will do.

Above is a book I read last weekend - The Choice by Bernadette Bohan. I finished it in a few hours and it was a really moving and emotional read. In some ways, Bernadette is like Ireland's version of Kris Carr.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Bernadette last year for an article I wrote on raw food and she was a really wonderful interviewee. It wasn't until I read The Choice that I realised much she had been through - diagnosed with cancer twice, told not to have the third child she wanted (but she went ahead and did so anyway, giving birth to a healthy daughter) and then using a high-raw vegetarian diet to help her through her chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

She started off teaching people about juicing and other lifestyle changes in her kitchen, and after word spread she found herself inundated with calls from people. Today she gives talks and runs workshops - find out more at her website. Whether or not you have any interest in juicing or raw food, this book is an inspiring read. Bernadette is so personable and her writing style is very intimate; she doesn't sugarcoat her experiences and she emphasises the fact she is a normal woman living a normal life.

Before I bid adieu....Lest you think that all I do is sup on juices and smoothies, here's a pic I found of a some yummy spelt rolls I made recently. Or rather, half a small spelt roll as I had scoffed the other half of it. Remembering to take a photo after I've half-eaten something? A regular occurrence around here.

And then there's the very tasty dessert I made a few months ago, based on a recipe from the aforementioned Oh She Glows.

These were rather full of vegan butter, flour and oats (healthy ingredient *cough*) and er, sugar.

It's all about balance, eh?

How do you find balance? And are you a juices or smoothies person?

Delicious Dames: Irish vegan cupcake bakers

2011-01-24T21:16:00.001Z

All pics are of Petite Treats cakes

One of the best things about my job is getting to meet really interesting and inspiring people - and getting to write about them. My insatiable curiosity is one of the reasons I decided to become a journalist, even if by curiosity I really mean nosiness! Ahem.

Today I was so excited to have an article in the Irish Independent about three vegan cupcake bakers in Ireland who all run their own businesses (either professionally or as a hobby). The idea came to me when I met Mary of Petite Treats, an absolutely amazing new vegan made-to-order cupcake (and biscuit, and truffle, and biscotti...) business based in Dublin. She was an absolute delight to meet and her cakes, which she was so kind to bring me samples of, were out of this world.

I realised that Mary was the third woman I knew who was selling her vegan cupcakes - talk about inspiring and creative! So I pitched the idea to my editor and then asked Paula of Sugar Moon and Glauce of Sweet to chat to me for the article. They too make absolutely delicious vegan cupcakes that are proof that egg- and dairy-free food can be even more fun than traditional cooking.

The resulting article from Health & Living is below, and I think you'll agree they have some really interesting and positive things to say about their craft.

Real Life: Cakes with a conscience

Everyone loves a cupcake and these vegan versions taste better than anything else

By Aoife Barry

Gaze at the bright, candy-coloured cupcakes baked by Mary Doyle of Petite Treats and you'd assume these delectable delights would be filled with refined sugar, eggs and lashings of butter.
But you'd be wrong. Instead, these treats are cholesterol free, animal-product free and, says Mary, fit in with her vegan diet, where meat, fish, milk, eggs, butter and honey are all off the menu.
"I have to have a cupcake every day," smiles Mary, a fresh-faced 33-year-old Galway native who moved to Dublin with her husband in 2005. A decade ago, she decided to remove all animal products from her diet, and unknowingly paved the way for a major career change.
In August 2009 she was made redundant from her teaching job, a career she assumed she'd have for life. But this provided the spur for Mary to follow her dreams of becoming a professional vegan baker, and she opened her made-to-order business Petite Treats in October 2010.
Doing so, she joined a small but dedicated group of women who have put their own twist on the cupcake trend by selling vegan cupcakes, inspired by their health and ethical beliefs.
A vegetarian since the age of 12, animal lover Mary realised that no longer eating animal products meant she had to say 'no thanks' to traditional desserts, so she started baking using recipes from old vegetarian cookbooks. "They were like hockey pucks!" she remembers.

She soon discovered newer books like 'Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World' by American chefs Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terri Hope Romero. Then she moved on to creating her own recipes.
In 2009, she attended a vegan baking bootcamp at the National Gourmet Institute in New York. There she met the legendary vegan pastry chef Fran Costigan and took more classes at the city's Institute of Culinary Education. She hit it off with Fran and returned to spend six weeks as her intern. Mary says New York "really opened her eyes".

When she returned home, almost every night after work she would test recipes. Her heart was in baking, so when she found herself unemployed in 2009, she knew there was only one thing to do: start her own business. "At first I was saying, can I? I had a lot of doubt at first," she admits.

Recipes

Her family initially had similar concerns. "They asked me, do you know any other vegans? I said no, but I want to make cakes for people who like cakes, not just vegans.
"They asked me, are you sure there's a market, would you not stay with a pensionable job? But I think if something's inside you, you have to try it. I'm going to give this everything."
Mary spent nine months perfecting her recipes and had her kitchen HSE certified. She launched Petite Treats in October 2010.

Vegan cupcakes are a luscious treat, but Mary endeavours to make them healthier. "A lot of vegan baked goods out there are very high in oil, with loads of white sugar. I use minimal oil but you still need some for flavour so it's finding that balance. I use unbleached cane sugar and no artificial colourings or preservatives.
"I don't want a cupcake that just tastes good because it's vegan. I want to let the cakes speak for themselves. They just happen to be vegan, which is very important to me but I know it's not very important to everyone else."

A self-confessed perfectionist, she even creates the intricate toppers that decorate her cupcakes, explaining: "I think we eat first with our eyes."

Some of Mary's customers come to her because of allergies, with one woman ordering for her children who have severe dairy allergies.

"I love that they're standing up on their own. I don't say 'here's a box of vegan cupcakes,' I say 'here are cupcakes.' The word vegan does scare a lot of people."

Caroline Horan is a vegetarian and Petite Treats customer. "My husband had no idea -- when I told him it was a vegan cake he couldn't believe it. Instead of bringing a bottle of wine to a friend's house, I order Mary's cakes. What appeals to me is the fact they're healthy but they're a treat."

Claire McElligot is another customer, who describes the cakes as "food for the eyes as well as the belly". She was looking for healthy treats to suit all her family. "The fact it was vegan didn't put me off. It's like guilt-free food; that was the big appeal to me. You never expect something so healthy to taste so bold. I think Mary is an inspiration to young people in today's climate."

Celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres, Emily Deschanel from 'Bones' and Lea Michele from 'Glee' have all embraced veganism."They're bringing more positive press. Traditionally the word vegan has scared people," says Mary. "People are starting to understand better what vegan is."

What are its health aspects that appeal to her? "It's cholesterol free, low in saturated fat. It's a more varied diet; you have to become more aware of your diet. It is higher in wholefoods.

Benefits

"My health is great -- I rarely get coughs or colds. I have a lot of energy. Dairy used always make me feel stodgy. I find it easier to manage my weight, my health, while still enjoying my treats."
These health benefits also appealed to 27-year-old Paula Larkin, who sells her vegan cupcakes and treats as a hobby in Cork city.

She turned to vegetarianism after struggling with stomach issues that reduced when she cut out red meat and dairy, and then eliminated all animal products a year later. "It was a life choice that just made so much sense to me," she says. That was two years ago, and though she initially found replacing eggs and dairy difficult, "the situation has become much better here in Ireland".

She discovered vegan baking when she lived in Toronto in 2007. Two years ago, her friend Vicky Langan set up an experimental music showcase in Cork and Paula started selling her cakes at them under the name Sugar Moon.

Paula says that the majority of her customers "are non-vegans who just really like how the cakes taste" but says "the response from the vegan community has been so positive". Some of her customers are lactose intolerant.

"Most people are very surprised to hear that the cakes are vegan, probably because they assume anything vegan is flavourless and dry." Has veganism improved her health? "I think so, yes, mainly because I have become more aware of what I put into my body and how I impact on the world around me.

"Being vegan is no different to any other form of diet -- you can choose to be healthy or you can choose not to be.
"I can be vegan and spend my days eating chips, bread, pasta and meat replacements, or I can be vegan and eat fresh vegetables, pulses, nuts and wholegrains. For me, being vegan is about trying to treat my body with respect, and treating my environment with respect."

In the future, she would like to open her own vegan café. In the short term she wants to take Sugar Moon from hobby to business, gaining HSE certification and working around her existing job.
Another young vegan baker is Glauce Ferrari, a 35-year-old Brazilian student. She lives with her Italian husband in Dublin and both are vegan.

She moved to Ireland in 2008, and says: "Dublin has a good number of vegetarian places, but they are not that vegan friendly in my opinion. It's always better to buy vegan products and cook at home."

Customers

So she started baking vegan cakes, which she sold at gigs and then under the name Sweet to Govindas on Dublin's Aungier Street, and later its Abbey St branch, as well as taking orders for home delivery. Due to her studies, she currently only takes private orders.
Glauce says a lot of her customers are not vegan or do not have allergies, and come to her through word of mouth. Of her vegan customers, she says: "I love to bake for them because I know how hard is to find vegan options in Dublin."

For these women, vegan cupcakes are the ideal way of sharing their health and ethical beliefs with people.
"I think they are the best way of introducing people to vegan food," says Mary. "I think that's my mission: to show people that a vegan cupcake is just a really good cupcake. You don't have to sacrifice anything."
Mary hopes that in the future she will start supplying coffee shops with her cakes, so more people can access these tasty treats.

Though the number of vegans in Ireland may be small, one thing is clear -- it looks like there's a big market for vegan cupcakes. After all, who could say no to a delicious dessert?

Crazy Sexy Diet adventures, roasted sweet potato cubes recipe

2011-01-22T19:56:00.002Z

If there is one woman who is responsible in a large part for my huge interest (er, obsession?) in eating healthy food and living a healthy and happy life, it's Kris Carr. If you're American, or tuned into American blogs, you'll have heard of her before - but she's not as well known in Europe, so for those of you like myself who came to her story late: Kris Carr is an American former actress and dancer who was diagnosed with inoperable stage IV cancer around eight years ago.

Talk about a shocking diagnosis...her world changed in an instant and she decided that to take control over her situation and her canSer (as she spells it), she had to change what she ate, what she drank and what she thought. So she assembled a team around her - doctors, oncologists, nutritionists, yogis and more - and said bye-bye to the Standard American Diet and hello to a vegan, high-raw diet crammed with fresh organic juices and embraced a life of positivity and power. Deciding that 'life is too sweet to be bitter', she grabbed her camera and made a film about her experiences along the way. Called Crazy Sexy Cancer, it introduced others to her lifestyle and life approach and spawned two books and a website. Eight years on, she's living well - her cancer has not advanced and she says she's in great health.

It was through her website, Crazy Sexy Life, that I first heard of Kris Carr, around two years ago. I am very fortunate in that I have never had cancer but like everyone I know, I have had family members and friends diagnosed with various forms of the disease. So my interest in Crazy Sexy Life was optimising my health and hopefully reducing my chance of getting cancer. You don't have to be a veggie to benefit from the tips on this site - it's a great place to visit if you want to check out some recipes for veggie food or to read some thought-provoking articles.

So why am I telling you all this? Well, Kris has just released her third book - and her first that's aimed at a broad market. It's called The Crazy Sexy Diet and just reached No 1 on the Amazon list, which is a pretty amazing feat. My friend Jo bought me a copy for Christmas (and one for herself too!) and in the past week I've been trying to follow the Crazy Sexy Cleanse, by adding more raw juices and smoothies to my diet, keeping very low to no gluten, low to no sugar and lots of healthy foods. I'm not doing it to lose weight but to get me back into the swing of cooking healthy food and eating more vegetables after the Christmas break.

Crazy Sexy Diet tells you all about how Kris eats. And it's funny - to me a few years ago this would have seemed impossible. No meat, no chicken, no dairy, no (or low) gluten, no (or low) white sugar, fresh green juices, gluten-free grains like quinoa, lots of beans and raw vegetables. Back when I was in university, I lived on a diet of Special K for breakfast, chips for lunch (I didn't eat bread for a year back then and there was nothing on campus to eat but chips that didn't have bread or cheese with it), Lucozade to drink and a few Dairy Milk bars in between. Not to mention all the other crap I ate too. I'd say there were weeks that a vegetable didn't pass my lips! But because I was slim I thought I was fine...despite having IBS and later discovering I had extremely high cholesterol.

I probably wasn't any different to most people out there when it came to food, especially comfort eating. And it took years for me to change - and I'm still changing. I'm still finding out about healthy foods and how to prepare them, still getting rid of unhealthy foods out of my diet, or at least reducing how often I eat them...but I'm conscious too that it's important to not be dogmatic about it. While I no longer eat Dairy Milks, I couldn't live without high-quality dark chocolate; and I do love Kettle chips, and probably eat them more than I should. It's that 80/20 thing...having treats (like vegan cupcakes) but eating well the vast majority of the time.

But as I really and truly believe you are what you eat, and that eating this way has brought my cholesterol down to normal, keep IBS at bay, my weight stable and helps me feeling in good shape, I know this is not just a temporary thing.

So back to the cleanse.What have I been eating?

Well, fresh juices and smoothies at home, and some lovely lunches...homemade nutty granola, Nakd bars, fruit, a soy yogurt here or there (not included in the official cleanse) and, well, when my friend Kim sent me a bar of dark chocolate as a pick-me-up...it would've been rude to not sample some!

It can be hard to get a quick healthy meal together so one thing I've found really handy this week is Dee's Wholefoods burgers. These Omega burgers are jam-packed with vegetables, gluten-free grains and hemp seeds, and I've eaten about four this week already...!

On Tuesday I had these with half a small avocado, homemade salsa, Irish gem lettuce and sweet potato cubes.

These cubes are so easy.

Sweet Potato Cubes
Serves 2

You just need:
1 Sweet Potato
1tsp - 2tsp coconut oil (or olive oil)
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

If not using organic sweet potato, peel then cut into cubes (if organic you can scrub and leave the skin on).
Place 1tsp of coconut oil into a deep baking pan and place into the oven while pre-heating to about 200degrees (celsius).
Take out the pan after a few minutes - the oil will have melted, so add the sweet potato and toss to ensure it's covered.
Then sprinkle on your spices and toss again to ensure they're all coated. Dot with the remaining coconut oil if you wish.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the edges have begun to brown. Delish!

The following day, I had them with polenta, greens and sprouts - and lashings of sundried tomato pesto. This pesto is expensive but so utterly delicious!

Do you find the taste of sprouted beans a bit too intense? I add a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar - it sweetens them right up!

I think what this shows is that healthy eating doesn't have to be boring, or take ages, or full of bland foods. It is so easy and fun to eat this way. I wouldn't go back to the Special K and Dairy Milks for anything.

What have you been eating this week?

Vegan Curried Scrambled Tofu with Bok Choi

2011-01-11T21:02:00.002Z

I have to keep telling myself it's 2011 because I simply don't believe it. Is it really 28 years since I appeared on this planet? Has it really been 11 years since we all thought the universe as we knew it would collapse because every computer in the WORLD wouldn't recognise the year '2000'? Am I now nearer my thirties than I was yesterday? I'm frightened, hold me!

Ahem. Minor freak out over. It's 2011, and I welcome the year with open arms, well the food I am about to eat this year anyway. I'm loving how my tastebuds have evolved over the past few years and in particular how they totally changed in 2010. Last year was my first full year as a vegetarian, I tried my hand at a vegan diet, embracing it more and more each month, and I can't wait to see what 2011 brings, even if I'm sort of in denial about turning 28 in May.

For this, my first blog post of the new year, I thought I'd bring you a very simply but oh-so-satisfying dish that I have gotten very fond of: scrambled tofu.

The only thing is, it sort of looks like scrambled eggs.

Do you like eggs? I don't. I've never eaten scrambled eggs - well, maybe I nibbled at a bit once but it was enough to put me off for life. I think I might have tried a fried egg once too, but I've generally been of the opinion that eggs were simply not for me. I did eat (lots of) cakes with egg in them, and I even had a crepe once or twice - but I was never able to finish one. And then there was an incident with a cheesecake-chocolate muffin that had a distinctly eggy taste and was followed by hours of vomiting out of a car window while travelling from Galway to Sligo....I never quite looked at a muffin the same way again.

So, as you can see, I'm not an egg fan. But I love this recipe, even if it is usually seen as a vegan alternative to scrambled eggs. Trust me, even if you can't stand eggs, you'll love this. And if you like eggs - well, let me know what you think!

What's so great about this recipe? Well for starters, there's a serving of greens in it - not just any old greens, calcium-rich bok choi. Vegans generally eat a lower amount of calcium than lacto-ovo veggies or non-vegetarians, so it's something they - I! - really need to keep an eye on. I learned this while reading the excellent vegan nutrition book, Becoming Vegan, last night (really, I can't recommend it enough, whether you're vegan or veggie - or even if you're an omnivore. It has so much fantastic nutrition information in it).

As I'm pretty lactose intolerant I was never too hot on dairy products growing up so I'm keen to keep an eye on my calcium intake. Bok choi is a great source of calcium, as is calcium-set tofu, so if you use both of these with this recipe, this goes far towards your recommended level of calcium.

For this dish, if you use one cup of bok choi per person, (around two heads of bok choi each), you get 74mg of calcium. While calcium in calcium-set tofu varies, it can go from 120mg to 750mg. Snack on a few figs after, drink a glass of calcium-enriched orange juice later in the day and you're doing well! Not to mention all the other vitamins and minerals you're getting. It is better to space out your calcium intake then eat it all at once, by the way, as your body absorbs calcium better that way. Also, too much acidic foods or drinks - meat, coffee, fizzy drinks - can inhibit calcium absorbtion. So it's all a matter of balancing intake of calcium with the rest of your diet.

Nutrition...a minefield or what?!

But back to the recipe.

Here's what you need for 2 servings:
1 - 2tsp olive oil
One medium onion
One standard block of tofu (firm)
Four heads of bok choi
Curry spice mix - you can use a pre-mixed powder, as I did here, or a combination of turmeric, ground coriander, ground cumin, garam masala, etc. Around 1tsp of each should do you but don't be afraid to use more! Tip - about 1/8 to 1/4 of a teaspoon of turmeric is a must for the yellow colour! This is usually included in pre-mixed curry spice packets.

Get scramblin'!

Dice your onion, then chop your bok choi. I like to gather the leaves together, roll them up and do a sort of rough chiffonade. The leaves will reduce when they are cooked but it's nice to chop them into bitesize pieces. Sit your block of tofu on a clean kitchen towel to soak up some of the moisture (you can press it if you'd like).

Add a little oil to the pan, then bring to a medium heat.When it has reached the desired temperature, add your onion (if it starts to sizzle, it's hot enough). Sauté your onion until it starts to go translucent and soft.

Add a couple of teaspoons of your curry powder - sometimes I add up to a tablespoon but I'm a fiend like that.

Mix your onion around into the powder so it is all coated. The turmeric will turn the onions a pleasing shade of yellow. Then continue to cook for another 2 minutes, while it's doing this go and grab your tofu.

Here comes the fun part. I want you to - with clean hands, please, my dear - take the tofu, grab a large chunk, hold it over the pan and squeeze. Crumble it in as if you hated tofu with a passion, while knowing you secretly love beancurd to bits.

Once you have all of your tofu smushed into the pan, mix around with the onions until your tofu is coated in the lovely yellow curry. If it's looking a bit pale, just chuck a little more powder in. Unless you're using extra-hot curry powder (which I probably wouldn't do for this dish), you can't go too wrong with adding more. You want your tofu to be sunset-yellow and looking scarily like scrambled eggs.

I usually leave this to cook for about five minutes, stirring every minute or so. Tofu cooks quite quickly. Then add the chopped bok choi. Stir to ensure it is all combined.

What I do next is a bit unorthodox - I usually put a lid on top of the dish for few minutes. I'm sure I read to do that in a macrobiotic book once....! I usually just leave it steam for another minute or two before taking the lid off and stirring again. If you think I'm crazy, ignore this step.

You know your tofu is ready when your greens are wilted into the tofu, and bits of the tofu have started to crisp up a little.

When it's done, you want your tofu to look like this:

I caught a little bit of the steam rising off the tofu in this pic, which I took at a very odd angle!

Serve for brunch, and marvel at the fact you have already eaten your greens that day.

Have you eaten tofu scramble? What's your favourite way of cooking it?

Vegan cook off in Dublin - and all for a good cause!

2010-11-30T12:37:00.000Z

Dublin is currently laying beneath a blanket of glistening snow (which is rapidly turning into slush, but I digress...) so spare a thought for those who have organised gig events this week. One which I am hoping to make is on this Thursday at the fantastic Exchange venue in Temple Bar.

www.vegantasticcookingcontest.blogspot.com

Called the Vegantastic Cooking Contest, it will be a vegan tasting competition where amateur vegan cooks will display around 25 different dishes for members of the public to judge. There are two categories, sweet and savoury and the winners will receive prizes donated by the Hopsack health food shop (one of my favourite shops).

The price? Just €9 in at the door or €6 with a student card. Bargain! The event is in aid of the Dublin Simon Community, which does sterling work for those who are homeless in Dublin.

Hope to see you there!

Vegan MoFo: A Visit to Edinburgh

2010-11-24T11:20:00.002Z

Ah, Edinburgh...what a city!

Last August, I spent five days there for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival - which I wrote about here - and last week I spent another five days in what is swift becoming one of my favourite cities. This time around, I went on a budget trip with my boyfriend Cormac and we stayed at my sister Laura's house. Laura's studying fashion design there and lives very near the old town so we spent most of our time ambling around the cobbled streets, gazing up at the castle in awe, and checking out the many quirky little bookshops tucked away down alleyways.

It being Vegan MoFo, I had my eye out for tasty vegan food when eating out for the weekend (which inevitably we did every day besides a trip to Cormac's granny's house in Glasgow). A caveat: if you're a vegan and eating out in the venues I mention here, you might want to double-check that every item is vegan as I don't want to mislead anyone. But when I realised something wasn't vegan (as in the case of an aspect of one or two dishes) I point it out below.

I had a plan for when we arrived in Edinburgh: once we got off the bus at Waverley Bridge, we were to head up Cockburn street (my favourite street in the Burgh!) and head straight to The Tatty Shop...for a baked potato with vegan haggis.

Cormac is half Scottish (his dad is from Glasgow), so his childhood food memories from trips to Scotland include lots of Irn Bru and haggis - he was in his element here! Given that Irn Bru has 'sunset yellow' in it and has a warning that it 'may have an affect on attention and activity in children', I gave it a skip.

From what I could see, the vegan haggis is made with red lentils, barley, oats and lots of black pepper. It turned out this wasn't the only veg haggis I'd eat during my holiday....

The next day, we got up bright and early and headed back to the Old Town for a wander around. Here we are in our winter finery!

Here's a crappy shot of me outside the Beehive Inn - yes, beehives are not Vegan MoFo-friendly but I am *obsessed* with beehive hairdos which is why I took this picture! (Ironically, my hair is flat as a pancake here!)

Some of the shops had really quirky vintage window displays:

We stopped off at Hulu café in the Grassmarket, which has a decent selection of veggie food but only a few vegan breakfast options. As it was nearing 'brunch' time I went for a bagel with hummus and salad. Sadly it turned out this wasn't a side salad as I had hoped, but raw peppers and raw red onion smooshed into my hummus...yuck! I picked out the onion (who wants raw onion breath all afternoon!?) and ignored the fact the hummus looked like egg mayonnaise (which I hate with a passion).

Delicious ginger and lemon tea:

Sad-looking bagel! I discovered Hulu do the Lazy Days range of gluten-free vegan cakes, so stock up on them if you visit.

We were particularly lucky with the weather at the weekend as we didn't have much rain until the Saturday night, so on Friday we were able to take in the sights of the old town with ease. Edinburgh has such a rich history, every time you turn a corner you discover something new. It's like a little treasure trove for the history-obsessed. We visited the Writers' Museum, which is just off the Royal Mile - we weren't allowed take pictures but it's a lovely place to stop off and it's free to enter. The Robert Louis Stephenson exhibit is fascinating and gave me a new insight into his life.

At the top of the Royal Mile, just before the castle, is the Scottish Whisky Experience. Lured in by the promise of yet more veggie haggis (and non-veggie for Cormac) we went to their Amber restaurant, which is quite a posh yet affordable little place. I went for a hot whiskey while Cormac browsed the whisky menu - yes, menu - which included more than 300 whiskys from around Scotland. I had no idea there were so many whiskys in Scotland!

The veggie haggis comes with a whiskey sauce - but this has cream in it, and you can ask for it on the side. It also comes with vegetables that were definitely glazed in butter, so be aware of that if you're vegan or avoid dairy.

I love the way 'haggis, neeps and tatties' are presented in Edinburgh (neeps are turnips) and I've even seen it sliced like a cheesecake in one place! It's so easy to get veggie haggis that you really don't feel you're missing out on an essential Scots experience and thankfully you don't have to eat the animal stomach skin that the non-veg haggis comes in.

With our bellies full of food and whisky, we wandered up to the castle grounds and took in the unbelievable view:

That night, we went to the Italian restaurant Piatta Verde in for a bite to eat. I went for the bruschetta (as I discovered, you need to ask for it without butter) and the spaghetti aglio e olio - garlic, chilli and olive oil. Simple but scrumptious!

We went back to Piatta Verde on Sunday night for pizza - I had it cheeseless and with garlic oil and peppers. Cormac tried his cheeseless for the first time (which for him is huge as he loves cheese) and loved it - it probably had something to do with the fact it wasn't veggie though, ahem ;)

On Saturday we took the train to Glasgow to visit Cormac's relations - who are really lovely and welcoming people - and then we headed to the city centre to visit Mono. This, quite frankly, is my dream: a veggie restaurant AND record store. If I won the lotto I would open one of those tomorrow! Mono has a bar, a full vegan menu and absolutely delicious food - it was so hard to pick what to eat...so we went for the mezze option! That included thai noodles, deep-fried vegan haggis (amazing), falafels, chilli, Indian spiced potatoes and hummus. Total foodgasm.

It was also one of the best record stores I've been to - it had a really comprehensive and up-to-date vinyl section but as we were on a budget for the weekend (cheap flights, free accommodation etc) and I had already been bold and bought two 12" records in Underground Solushn in Edinburgh I just went for the Jim Sullivan record, UFO.

Not content with all of our eating out adventures, on our last full day in Edinburgh we went to Mother India's café, which serves Indian tapas. To say we were stuffed after this huge meal is an understatement. We went for four tapas options - three veg and one meat - and shared (obviously I didn't eat the meat, lest you wonder!) vegetable samosas, chickpea and potato masala, dosa stuffed with saag aloo (spinach and potatoes). The dosa (a lentil and rice-based pancake) came with dahl on the side while the samosas came with chickpeas on the side, so we got even more food than we had bargained for. And it was all absolutely delicious...so filling. A word about their paratha - they definitely come with ghee on them (clarified butter) so you need to ask for them without butter when ordering.

As you can guess, after all of that eatin' and drinkin', I'm in the mood for a bit of a detox this week! I'm off to the shop to stock up on veg and make some soup. But I give a big 'bottoms up' to Edinburgh for its veggie friendly food and beautiful city. And a huge thanks to my wonderful sister for being a fantastic host! Miss you Laurs xx

Vegan MoFo: Interview - Udo Erasmus

2010-11-10T22:09:00.000Z

Taking part in Vegan MoFo has been a great challenge over the past week and a half- it has (nicely) forced me to blog more often and gotten me out of the cooking rut that I was in for the past few months.

On Monday, I told you about the food styling workshop I went to, and today I have an interview for you - with none other than Udo Erasmus, the creator of Udo's Oil. As I'm a journalist I jumped at the chance to do an interview with him for the blog, as he was in town to promote his new cookbook, Omega 3 Cuisine: Recipes for Health and Pleasure. He wrote the book with the chef Alan Roettinger and I have a recipe from the book below.

The best bit? The cookbook is entirely vegetarian with lots of vegan recipes, and recipes that can be veganised. And Udo's oil is a certified vegan oil. You can buy the oil in health food shops around Ireland and you can purchase the cookbook in Eason or from this site. If you've been curious about this oil, but have been even more curious about how to use it - it is to be used cold and not heated so you cannot fry with it - then this book is for you.

When we met in Dublin, Udo told me he has been coming to Ireland since 1998 and his product, Udo's Oil, is brought to the country by the company Natural Life. Udo's Oil is an oil made up of a combination of unrefined oils such as coconut oil and flax seed oil, and Udo says it is in the perfect ratio of Omega 3 : Omega 6 oils. These oils all contain 'essential fatty acids', also known as EFAs - they are termed essential because our body cannot produce them. Udo is a fervent believer in the power of good fats and wrote the book Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill.

When did he first realise that good oils were so important? "In 1980 when I got poisoned by pesticides," he told me frankly. "The doctors couldn’t help me and I had a very good background in biological science, biochemistry, genetics." This set him off on the quest to learn about the links between nutrition and people's health - are we what we eat?

Udo told me that he began to realise that our "body is a reflection of what we put in it". "So," he said while sipping some hot water and lemon,"if we put in garbage we end up with a garbage body." He believes that we need to give the body what it needs and our body will know what to do with it. "Life knows how to make an amazing body but life has to have the building blocks. The only responsibility we have is to make sure we bring in all those building blocks. The absorption of those building blocks, life takes care of that."

Udo told me that as humans we have a choice in what we eat: "There’s a deliberate choice we make – we can make so many bad choices or we have to be more deliberate. I guess it’s a choice." This extends to businesses also. "Do you want to make a lot of money? You try to throw together something that is really cheap, and you try to find a way to cut corners on the production, you try to figure out how to pump it up with advertisers and marketers so it sounds like something really fabulous that makes you sexy or makes you this or makes you that," said Udo, speaking about a fictional business. "And then you charge as much money as you can for that because all you’re really interested in is making a lot of money."

However, there is an alternative to this: "If your goal is improving quality of life, or making people healthy, or giving the possibility of making choices that make them healthy, your starting point is different," Udo said passionately. "You want the best raw materials, you want to take the most incredible care of what you’re making." Udo's Oil products are housed in dark glass bottles to protect them from light, oxegen, and heat, and they're stored in a fridge at every stage in the production process. When you buy a bottle of Udo's Oil, you're instructed on the box to make sure you store it in the fridge. The oil is not to be heated.

"We start with organically grown seeds because to get pesticides out of oil takes a lot of processing which causes damage to the oil," added Udo. "We put them in glass. We figure out what is the best ratio between omega 3 and 6 that are essential building blocks." How Udo's company treats the oil - each step is deliberate and well-planned - is how he sees life and health.

"If you think about what we’re doing it’s very deliberate. And I think because these days we have so many bad choices, negative choices, deliberate choices are very important – living deliberately is very important," mused Udo. "Living deliberately is like living consciously, and if you’re unconscious then what’s the point of being alive? So I think life is about consciousness, about being deliberate, about being really clear what is your goal: wherever you want to go, whoever you want to be, and where you spend your time on earth."

When Udo first became interested in this link between healthy oils and healthy bodies, he says it was seen as a radical idea by some. "It wasn’t a radical point of view from life’s point of view, because life has always been about fresh, organic food. From the point of view of the social system in which I lived in North America, it was radical. Why would you want to make oils for health, what about the oils we already have? Why shouldn’t we fry? Why should we think about what frying does to the body? If taste is the only thing you’re interested in, and then your taste buds have been corrupted by bad food, because a lot of our tastes are required...so it was radical from that point of view. And my friends were partying while I was writing the book. And I would sit there and say ‘why am I doing this?’ but there was always something that would happen to say no, no you’re on the right track, keep going."

After Udo released his book, he set up his company and soon began producing Udo's Oil. The company also offers other products like digestive enzymes. "It was unique in a way, but once you get fired up for something, you don’t really care if everyone agrees with you or not. I’ve been fired up about it for 30 years now! To have the possibility to do something unique that helps a lot of people is really a good thing to live for."

Udo told me that people who use Udo's Oil have experienced weight loss, weight stability, better skin, more energy and healthy appetites. "We knew most people don’t get enough [good fats] so there have to be consequences. But when the results started showing up, that was exciting," he enthused. Alan Roettinger's cholesterol went down and he lost weight over the months he was testing his recipes containing the oil.

I put it to Udo that many people today believe that fats make you fat. He laughed. "The good fats actively help you lose weight," he said, going on to say that carbohydrates can in fact make people put on weight. "Carbs turn on fat production in the body and they turn off fat burning," he said. While he does advocate that people get their carbs from green vegetables, he added: "Or if you want to keep eating the carbs you need a monitoring system."

"The good fats give stable energy, suppress appetite and improve virtually every major degenerative condition," said Udo. But his pro-fat stance only applies to these good fats, Omega 3 and 6, not saturated fats, hydrogenated fats or fats used for frying.

Foods that are damaged by processing or by food preparation Udo terms "the ugly fats"."I say to people the body needs an oil change just like a car. You dump the dirty oil, the ones that have been damaged by processing and we need to replace it with good oil. But you can't fry with this oil because when you fry this oil you damage it and when you damage oil you damage your health," he says.

So, if you can't fry with this oil, how do you use it? Many people, including me, have been curious about how to use this oil. This is where Alan Roettinger, a celebrity chef from America, comes in. He and Udo met in Los Angeles in the Bonaventure Hotel, when they were coincidentally seated at the same table at a busy restaurant.

They got chatting about their respective careers - and you can guess what happened next. "I explained to him how to use oil in food preparation without using the oil and he then created the recipes. It's amazing his sense of taste and smell. He's the kind of guy who says I don't care how healthy it is; if it doesn't taste good I won't eat it. And I'm the kind of guy who says I don't care what it tastes like, as long as it's healthy I'll eat it!" Laughs Udo. "You want to eat his recipes, you don't want to eat mine!"

There are 140 recipes in the book and I've chosen a vegan one to share with you all.

Dal Saag

From Omega 3 Cuisine: Recipes for Health and Pleasure by Alan Roettinger with Udo Erasmus
Omega 3 Cuisine, Roettinger and Erasmus, Book Publishing Co

Makes 4 to 6 servings

(For cups, if you don't have US cups just use a normal cup but use the same one for each ingredient that is weighed in cups)

1 cup dried moong dal (skinned)
4 cups water
1 small tomato, grated
7 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 green chiles, chopped or sliced
2 tablespoons peeled and minced (very finely chopped) ginger
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon asfaoetida (ground)
1 pound fresh spinach, chopped
1 bunch scallions, chopped (note: these aren't included in the dish in the picture below)
11/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 cup Udo's Oil

Pick over the dal to remove any small stones or other debris, and wash well.
Bring the water to a boil in a heavy pot and add the dal.
Return to a boil and cook uncovered for about 5 minutes, skimming the foam frequently.
Add the tomato, garlic, green chiles, ginger, coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric and asafoetida.
Return to the boil, lower the heat to maintain a slow, steady simmer, cover and cook until the dal is soft, about 40 minutes or longer.
Check often during the last 10 minutes or so and stir frequently to prevent sticking.
Add a little more boiling water if needed.
When the dal is tender, raise the heat to high and stir in the spinach, scallions and salt.
Cook just until the greens are tender - no longer than 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in the oil. Serve at once, in bowls as a side dish or with rice and vegetables

Copyright: Omega 3 Cuisine, Roettinger and Erasmus, Book Publishing Co.
Please do not reproduce without permission of the publishers.

Vegan MoFo: Food Styling, Food Photography and L Mulligan Grocer

2010-11-08T22:15:00.001Z

Blogging can be a rather solitary pursuit - just the blogger, their computer, and their thoughts. Once people begin commenting on your blog, you feel a little less alone, but sometimes there can be a disconnect between the blogger and the outside world.

But, thankfully, when it comes to food blogging, you don't have to feel alone. Food is about community, family, friendship; people breaking bread together and partaking in a ritual that nourishes their body and soul. So it makes sense that food bloggers would come together and create their own little community.

(That's Gimme The Recipe nearest you and Like Mam Used to Bake)

What helps me feel less alone when blogging is the burgeoning 'Irish Foodies' community that has formed over the past year. I feel lucky that within a few months of starting my blog, I was invited to an event that Bord Bia (the Irish Food Board - 'bia' means food in Irish) held specially for food bloggers. It was the first of its kind held in Ireland and showed that the food blogging community in Ireland had really started to take off.

Food blogging had, of course, been going for a number of years in Ireland already - Bibliocook for example was started in 2005 - and most of the food bloggers (many of whom were already working in the food arena, as food writers for example) knew each other. But it was quite a small community and until this year not many organisations such as Bord Bia had tried to bring food bloggers together for an intiative.

After meeting their fellow food-nuts at the Bord Bia event, Kristin of Dinner du Jour and Caroline of Bibliocook got thinking: what if an organisation was started to represent food bloggers and give them a virtual home where they could meet, swap ideas, and where their websites would be available to interested blog readers and companies? They kept their idea secret but after many months of hard work, they unveiled the Irish Food Bloggers Association (IFBA) last month. At last, Irish food bloggers had somewhere we could call home.

This weekend was the first official IFBA event, a food styling and food photography course followed by a meal at the fantastic gastro pub, L Mulligan Grocer. The workshop was organised by Kristin, with 20 bloggers meeting at the Digital Depot to be taught tips and tricks by Sharon Hearne Smith (a food stylist, food writer and home economist who has worked for Gary Rhodes amongst others) and Donal Skehan (a young food blogger and food writer who has just finished his second book).

Bloggers watch on as Sharon demonstrates some chopping techniques

Donal shows us some of his favourite cookery books

I love finding out about 'behind the scenes' in the media world and it was hilarious to discover that food stylists often use tampons soaked in hot water to add steam to a dish, that soups with toppings often have little ramekins inside them to prop ingredients up, and that pies are sometimes baked with foil or kitchen towel inside if they're not going to be cut into for photos!

Sharon told us about the 'magic stick' she always has on hand at shoots and Donal admitted that he has come up with creative ways of fixing a food mistake.

We looked at lots of beautiful food photographs, many of them of shoots that Sharon worked on, and she was able to point out where she had propped up a lettuce leaf or used olive oil to make food look shiny and freshly cooked. It's fascinating to think that we assume that photographs of food (in cookbooks, magazines, et al) represent reality, when in fact they are a polished, primped and often manipulated version of the 'real thing'.

But at the same time, food styling is a form of art, isn't it? A food stylist's job is to make food look beautiful and appealing, to make us salivate and yearn to eat the burger or the cake in the photograph, so why should they not employ whatever tricks they want to make the food look good? Perhaps not everyone will agree with me, but I don't feel entirely cheated by food styling, especially when the resulting photographs are as appealing as the ones Sharon showed us. They turn food into art.

One of my favourite parts of the day was when Donal showed us how he sets up his shots and the various props he uses to make his photographs look so colourful and fun. He has a huge collection of materials, jars, utensils, and wooden boards that he brings together to create stunning shots of his dishes, and it really spurred me on to add more props to my photographs.

It was heartening to see that you don't need to spend a fortune to style a photograph well, and that you don't have to be an expert either. That said, you do need a good camera, which is one stumbling block for some of us. At around €600 - €1000 for a good entry level DSLR camera, the cost could be prohibitive for some .

Donal's set up was top-notch - I could only dream of having a camera like that! Here he is talking about setting up shots:

To finish off the day, we were given our own chance to style photographs using props and food we had brought in ourselves. I brought some crumbly brownies and Sharon showed me how I could see how the unbleached parchment paper as a good base for the shot (though as you can see I clearly don't have her skills!).

Above all, what Sharon and Donal taught us was to use what we have (like wrapping paper, tea towels, and parchment paper), to think outside of the box, and to take photographs as we go. For example, if you're taking a photo of a cake, and want to add some icing, you should take a photo at each stage - that way, if the final product doesn't work out, you still have a photograph of the cake pre-icing.

Donal and Sharon were a hilarious team, keeping us entertained with jokes about their perfectionist streaks and making us laugh with some cracking double entendres (Donal told us at one stage to make sure we never burn our nuts...). I hope they work together again soon as their combined experience and fun approach to the presentation made for a really engaging day.

So, what are some hungry food bloggers to do after a day dedicated to making the best of food?

Visit one of Dublin's best new spots for tasty grub: L Mulligan Grocer. This 'gastro pub' (though I cringe using an over-egged phrase for such a cosy and down-to-earth pub) was opened by food blogger Neen of 9 Bean Row, her husband and their friend earlier this year and is fast becoming one of the top spots to visit in the city for scrumptious food.

As a former vegan, and knowing my fussy dietary preferences, Neen ensured there was a vegan option for each course on our set menu. It was so kind of her and meant the night was totally fuss-free. The menu included beetroot and cumin soup (earthy, moreish and something I must try to recreate!), butternut squash tagine (which had chunks of roasted almond on top), and raspberry sorbet with dark chocolate (the best end to a wonderful meal).

Every time I go back to L Mulligan Grocer I find they've added something new, a little touch to mark them out from other pubs - like egg timers with coffee, menus housed in old books, railway sleepers as seats and the nicest staff I've ever met.

People probably thought they were taking a huge risk opening the pub during a recession, but they are proof that if you take care of your customers and really care about your food (they support Irish suppliers from around the country) then your business will be a success.

A huge thanks to Kristin for organising the event, to Donal and Sharon for passing on their skills, to all at L Mulligan Grocer for making our evening meal one to remember, and to my fellow Irish foodies for proving that there is no better recipe than combining friendship with food.

Vegan MoFo: Food stylin'

2010-11-06T17:57:00.000Z

Hello there! I'm just back from a fantastic food styling/food photography workshop that was organised by Kristin from Dinner du Jour - I picked up so many amazing tips from food stylist extraordinaire, Sharon Hearne Smith, and food blogger/food writer/all round nice guy Donal Skehan.

There were around 20 food bloggers there and it was great to catch up with people I hadn't seen in a while and meet some new faces. We're all meeting in a few hours for a meal at L Mulligan Grocer, and I have a feeling it'll be a late night!

I'll fill you in on all the tips I picked up during the day on tomorrow's post - but just wanted to let you know about a lovely meal I had in Yamamori restaurant in Dublin on Thursday night. I love Japanese food - it's so fresh and usually veggie friendly - so I was very excited to meet my friends Joanne, Kasia and Angela for a bite at Yamamori on George's St before a Popicalia! event.

Instead of getting a main course, I usually get two starters - ganmodoki and yasai gyoza. The ganmodoki are fried tofu patties made with shiitake and toasted pine nuts and served with a ginger shoyu dip, while the yasai gyoza are vegetable dumplings. I wasn't too sure about trying the ganmodoki but they were outstanding - the tofu was really 'meaty' and the ginger shoyu dip was just perfect. The starters come in extremely generous sizes, so along with a small bowl of rice I had a pretty substantial meal.

If you're at a restaurant and don't see a main course you like, why not have two starters? It can be easier than picking at a main course half heartedly. Plus, it's often lighter on your wallet - or if you're a bit of a glutton like me, it's a way of trying a few dishes without feeling stufffed.

Have a fantastic Saturday evening, whatever you're up to!

Vegan MoFo - Brown Rice, Butternut Squash and Burritos

2010-11-05T23:40:00.000Z

Has it really been two days since I last blogged?

Forgive me Vegan MoFo, for I have sinned! Sadly the last few days have been quite busy - I left the house at 7.15am yesterday and got back at 1am (don't worry, it wasn't all work - my boyfriend's band had a gig) - so I haven't been able to blog.

But, of course, I have been eating some delicious vegan food.

The best thing about Vegan MoFo so far is that it has really spurred me on to cook during the day (rather than at evening time) and to try a few different things.

On Wednesday morning, I made some brown rice for breakfast, with some leftover brown rice, oat milk, cinnamon, a little agave syrup and some chopped apples. I put around 1/3 of a cup of oat milk in with the brown rice, added chopped apple, cinnamon and agave and simmered until all the oat milk was absorbed. It really brought out the sweetness of the rice and was a lovely and filling breakfast.

A cup of lemon and hot water is a must in the morning!

I'm slightly obsessed with butternut squash at the moment - I can't believe I went most of my life without eating it. Right now I can think of nothing better than butternut squash in a thai curry - especially a yellow curry. So on Wednesday I whipped up a yellow curry with butternut squash (from The Runner Bean), potato, spinach, and chickpeas...heaven!

Served with quinoa (cooked with turmeric and cumin seeds), it was such a filling and delicious lunch. I'm trying to be more mindful these days about the nutrition in my meals, hence the mix of pulses, grains and vegetables.

I packed up the leftovers and had them the next day in work for lunch. Nothing gets me through the day in the office better than knowing I have a lovely lunch to look forward to!

A few weeks ago I was sent a fajita kit from Old El Paso, a popular range that you can pick up in supermarkets here in Ireland. While the entire kit isn't vegan, it's extremely easy to make a vegan meal with it. My boyfriend loves burritos and I'd been promising for ages that we would have burritos at home, so before we went to see The Social Network that night we made some quick burritos for dinner.

We used the tortillas supplied in the pack as well as the stir-in spicy tomato sauce. I used firm tofu as the 'chicken' and panfried the slices before simmering in the stir-in sauce - it was surprisingly authentic! Served with spinach, mashed kidney beans, julienned red pepper, quinoa and salsa it was a really fun meal for a dreary Wednesday evening.

The best bit? Wrapping the burritos in foil....simple pleasures!

Tomorrow I'm off to a food styling and photography course organised for Irish food bloggers, which I am seriously excited about. A very kind friend loaned me her Canon Rebel so I really can't wait to learn how to take better (much better!!) food pictures with it. As someone with absolutely no photography training, this is a course I badly need.

Following the course, we're having a meal at L Mulligan Grocer pub in Stoneybatter - where there is a vegan option for each stage of our three-course meal - how fantastic is that? I'll be back with all the news, and food pics, tomorrow.

Have a great evening!

Vegan MoFo: Easy Carrot & Parsnip Soup

2010-11-02T20:13:00.004Z

Day 2 of Vegan MoFo - and the rain is still going...

How was your day? As I wasn't working in the office, I was able to go to Dublin city centre to run some errands. But I also went to call into the The Runner Bean, a deli that had piqued my interest some weeks ago. Mark, the owner of the deli, which is located at 4 Nassau St, had made contact with me on Twitter - he mentioned he sells vegetables at the deli that he grows in his own garden, and asked did I want to call in to try some.

So, not being one to pass up the opportunity to meet an enterprising business person, or the kind offer of some vegetables to sample, I trudged through the rain to meet him.

Our chat was extremely illuminating and gave me a huge amount to think about. To say Mark was generous when I was in there was an understatement - I left with a bag full of home-grown vegetables and a bottle of some delicious Irish pressed apple juice made by Iona. Below you can see a leek, butternut squash, tomatoes, apples, beetroot, onions, rocket, spinach, parsley and chilli, all grown by Mark at his farm.

Mark is a man who is clearly extremely passionate about food, especially homegrown food and local produce, and bringing the best products to his customers that he can. Though not a vegetarian, he is very keen to make sure vegetarians are catered for in his shop. Everyday there is the option of a vegan soup at the deli and the salads at the deli counter (for sandwiches etc) include vegetables from his garden.

He has recently added noodles to the list of hot food available at Runner Bean, and there is a veggie option for those who don't eat meat. While his own veg is not certified organic, he says he does not use any chemicals on his vegetables except for potato blight. He told me that growing up on a small island off the Dublin coast really shaped his view of food - the idea that you should know where the food you eat comes from, and be responsible for what you are eating.

The coffee served at Runner Bean is organic, fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance certified, and supplied by Imbibe Coffee Distributors. Gary at Imbibe is a fantastic person to deal with - if you'd like to buy a bag from him to use at home, or if you are a business person who is interested in getting triple certified coffee for your business (why wouldn't you?) then visit his website or tweet him. Tell him I sent you!

There was a time when I thought 'shopping local' was buying food from my local supermarket - be it Tesco, Dunnes or somewhere else. I grew up in the city and was never 'in touch' with my food. Food was something you bought from a shop, or a supermarket. In a way, it's ironic because I nearly grew up in the country - my parents moved to a country town after they were married and I was raised there for two years. Plus, my grandmother has a great knowledge of gardening - as does my mum - and I come from quite green-fingered stock. But I never made the link between what people farm or grow, and what I was eating.

It was really interesting talking to Mark and hearing what he had to say about vegetarianism. I usually shy away from the 'political' side of vegetarianism as I believe every vegetarian or vegan has their own reasons for their choice. For me, why I eat what I eat is a combination of health reasons (intolerances) and ethical reasons. But I will say that I don't expect everyone to have the same opinion as me and Mark made some very interesting points that gave me a lot of food for thought (excuse the pun!). If more omnivores were like him, there would be far less animals slaughtered for food and those animals would not spend their short lives in intolerable conditions.

I'm extremely thankful to Mark for his generous gift of the vegetables and I'm already planning what I can do with them this week - I definitely think bruschetta is on the cards tonight.

It was great to talk to an entrepreneur who is doing their best to support local businesses - Mark sells Irish chocolate, Irish apple juice and many other Irish products - and who is passionate about customer service, healthy food, and catering for vegetarians. To find out more about Runner Bean, visit the website or say hi on Twitter.

Carrot & Parsnip Soup

I was in a very energetic mood this morning, so I made some carrot and parsnip soup with vegetables that were coming to the end of their life. This is a simple soup that is wonderfully warming and hearty.

Serves 3 - 4
10 mins preparation
30 minutes cooking

Ingredients
Dash of rapeseed oil (canola oil)
1 medium onion, diced
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped into rounds
5 carrots, peeled (or unpeeled if organic) chopped into rounds
1 small potato, diced
Vegetable bouillon/stock (about 1 pint)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper

Drizzle a dash of rapeseed oil (about a teaspoon or so) into a medium - large saucepan. Turn to a medium heat and leave for a minute or two to heat the oil. Add your chopped onion and sweat for around five minutes. Don't allow to brown.

When the onion has begun to go translucent, add your carrot, parsnip and potato. Turn to a low heat and then put the lid on. This is to sweat and steam the vegetables slightly. Stir every few minutes.

After about 5 - 7 minutes, you'll notice the vegetables have really started to sweat and become softer. Add the vegetable bouillon/stock until it covers the vegetables.

Next, add the thyme, and the sprig of rosemary.

Simmer gently for around 15 minutes, until the vegetables have softened.

Remove the sprig of rosemary.

Blend with a stick blender (mine is on its last legs!)

What is your favourite soup?

Do you try to buy locally produced food?

Surviving autumn...Vegan Mofo Day 1

2010-11-01T22:42:00.000Z

Autumn has arrived...and in Ireland, that means a few things:

The rain gets heavier...

The wind gets colder....

And the days get shorter.

But the changing of the seasons means that even in the darkness, there's a beauty that we don't see at any other time of year. Russet-coloured leaves; bare-branched trees; nature shedding its skin to prepare for the stark winter.

As autumn takes hold, things can seem a little darker.

Whether it is commuting at 7pm and feeling like it's past midnight...

Or getting home and discovering your recent Ebay purchase is stuck in customs (and you owe more money for a $20 purchase)....

Or simply fearing that you might fall on slippery leaves at any second.

But sometimes, the littlest things can perk you up...like reaching into your handbag and discovering an (upside-down) bar of (vegan) chocolate someone special bought for you the day before...

Or getting home and trying a birthday present for the first time (my birthday was in May...!) and discovering it works like a charm. Thanks, Dad!

Or getting excited that it is your first time taking part in Vegan MoFo - the vegan month of food.

Yes, days have their ups and downs, but a quick, comforting meal makes it all worth it. Tonight, it was organic brown rice cooked in the rice cooker, The Happy Pear's sundried tomato pesto, and basil tofu panfried in a dash of Irish unrefined rapeseed oil.

Vegan MoFo is a chance to write about vegan food for one month, so I'm going to embrace this opportunity to brighten up the dark autumn nights and cook, bake, and write the blues away. It's a way of getting back into the blogging mode and also challenging myself in the kitchen.

I can't wait.

Are you taking part in Vegan MoFo?

What do you do to brighten up the autumn and winter?

Going Veg

2010-10-26T09:47:00.004+01:00

It has been one year now since I 'went veg', and I have discovered a lot of things along the way. It's interesting how I've changed in that time, and how my outlook on food and vegetarianism and veganism has changed in that time too. Reading, researching, observing and talking to others has helped me shape my opinions and feelings, and I am sure they will change further.

Some times I'm more focused than others - sometimes I eat something that I wouldn't normally eat (but never meat, I hasten to add). I think one thing I've learned is that, for me, sometimes labels help and sometimes they don't. Above all, the label I am most comfortable with is vegetarian, though most days to all intents and purposes I fit the vegan label. That's just my individual choice.

Whether you want to label yourself or not, you might be thinking about becoming a vegetarian. Or maybe you want to cut down the amount of animal products or meat you consume, and want to know how to replace your lunch-time chicken sandwich. How about a roasted veg sandwich with pesto on foccacia bread?

In my last blog post, I asked people what their advice to 'wannabe' (for want of a better phrase!) vegetarians or vegans would be, and this is what they had to say:

Jacr13: Perhaps the best advice I can give is to ask vegetarians/vegans questions and don't be afraid that the question seems daft. I went vegetarian last November and Vegan a couple of weeks later, it would have been so much more difficult if I had not actually asked for advice.

Pure2Raw Twins: I would tell someone to start small. Look at vegetables differently, and do not be afraid to experiment until you find what you like. I am eating vegetables that I used to hate a few years ago, but now cannot get enough. The biggest thing is for someone to not give up, keep trying and playing around in the kitchen, seek inspiration from others, and just have fun.

Sarah @ Gluten-Free Tries Vegan: My tips for going veggie- prob the same as the ones I gave in the guest post; take it slowly, and become as informed as possible.

Tea & Sympatico: My tip would be plan out your menu and do a weekly shop if you can then you've always got the ingredients on hand to make lovely veggie food. And, although you will find favourite recipes that you'll make again and again, keep looking for new ones so you don't get bored and you're getting a wide variety of foods and not missing any nutrients.

Amy: I went veg four years ago. I feel like it was easier to do it in a big city where there were lots of fake meat options and ethnic restaurants to help me transition. Now I rarely use fake meats or go out to eat... I learned to cook other foods and moved to rather rural Ireland from an urban US city and here the dining out options are quite limited.
I also got a lot of support from online message boards, where I read about what other people ate! veggieboards.com is pretty good.

Sharon: I would recommend that new vegetarians try to change their attitude to food. We are so used to thinking of meals as meat, potatoes and two veg (or some such formula) but that's not how it is in lots of other countries.
So, what I would say is to look to those other countries for inspiration, particularly to countries with a more veggie friendly culture such as India, Italy and Thailand. You'll get all sorts of ideas for delicious meals from veggie curries and rice dishes to pastas and salads. I'd also recommend buying a cookbook or two. I just got Plenty by Ottolenghi and it's great. Also, pay a visit to cafes/restaurants such as Cornucopia in Dublin and Cafe Paradiso in Cork to see just how creative and delicious vegetarian food can be!

Lou: My advice is to buy cookery books (I think Robin Robertson and Bryanna Clark Grogan are two of the very best for new vegans/vegetarians) and get set up with measuring spoons and cups and not be afraid of trying out American measurements (I honestly find them easier than what I grew up with, who needs a measuring scales when you can grab a cup!) - you can google ingredients that sound strange or just ask other Irish food bloggers who've probably already figured things out already. jacr13 is right...asking questions is a really good idea!

Thanks so much to all of you for your input! I think it's really invaluable to read what other people have to share, and to see how everyone has different things they can pass on.

It's tempting to jump in with two feet first when it comes to vegetarianism - but for most people it really isn't as easy as getting out of bed one morning and knowing instantly how to 'be' a veggie.

Here's how I did it:

Reading and researching online: I read lots of veggie blogs and vegan blogs, I read the Vegetarian Society of Ireland website, message boards, and watched videos (I still haven't watched Earthlings though, as I am extremely squeamish). I wanted to know more about what I was eating.

Using meat replacements: Around two or three years ago, I started eating more quorn. These days I don't usually eat Quorn - unless I'm at a friend's house and they serve it, etc - as it's not something I feel I need, but it was very helpful in the beginning. (Note, Quorn is not vegan - it contains egg whites.)

Falafels were another thing I started eating that worked as a great meat replacement. I have to say though that I rarely ate red meat anyway as it makes me pretty unwell when I eat it, so I was replacing chicken.

This week, why not buy a block of tofu, drain it, press it and slice it - then marinade it in something like sweet chilli sauce, and bake for 20 minutes, or simply pan fry it with salt and pepper. Serve with rice and a side of salad - simple and tasty!

Or how about some tempeh buffalo wings?

Choosing vegetarian meals when eating out: Instead of going for chicken (my go-to food for so many meals) I would start going for vegetarian meals. Baked potato and veg, a veggie wrap, pasta, salad, that sort of thing.

Don't expect to be perfect straight away: We live in a world where perfectionism is prized - but no one is truly perfect. You might slip up - especially if you are very new to the veggie world.
Jonathan Safran Foer recently said that vegetarianism is one of the few things that we expect people to never slip up with - but the truth is, people do slip up. Sometimes it starts people down a slope where they end up eating meat again. Sometimes people hop back on the vegetarian wagon.

If you make a commitment, the aim is to stick to this commitment - and let's be honest, eating a steak every few months does not make you a vegetarian. But when you're starting off, you could be more likely to slip up. Decide how you're going to react to these slip ups.

Sometimes it makes you realise that you never liked that product in the first place! I ate sweets with gelatin a few months ago - something I try to avoid when possible - and they tasted pretty gross. Knowing that gelatin is made out of bones and cartilage only cemented my decision not to eat it.

Embrace vegetables

Learn how to treat them well, dress them nicely and consume them whenever possible. When you can, go for organic vegetables. And fruit too - an apple a day is indeed good for you! It might not keep the doctor away but it will keep your system working well and is a sweet treat that is good for you rather than a chocolate bar.

Listen, I hated vegetables growing up. I used to laugh at side salads, sometimes telling waiters not to bother bringing it down if a side salad was part of a dish I'd ordered! I didn't mind carrots, and lettuce, but I drew the line at anything fancier.
Now? I love nearly all vegetables! (I'm still not too gone on brussel sprouts or cabbage, to be fair) I just had to learn how to cook them well. Which brings me on to the next point...

Recipes, Recipes, Recipes

Treat yourself to one really good vegetarian or vegan cookbook, read it from cover to cover, decide what recipes you'd like to try, and get cracking! Google your favourite ingredients and 'vegetarian recipe' or 'vegan recipe' to see how you can make a nice meal using whatever products you have on hand.

There is nothing like making a meal yourself and showing off your twist on a chickpea curry. You really don't have to be a whizz in the kitchen - just keep trying. You can do it! And once you've started cooking, the world is your vegetarian oyster.

Chuck a few vegetables into a baking tray, drizzle with oil and balsamic vinegar and look what happens...

Be mindful of nutrition

Here is a great post by Choosing Raw on how to build a nutritionally balanced vegan meal, which is a must-read.

There is no point being a vegetarian if you're just going to subsist on meat-replacements (they're often high in salt and wouldn't be recommended to be eaten every day), pasta and potatoes.

For me, eating a balanced diet means eating fresh vegetables and fruit every day, going for wholegrain versions of rice and bread when possible, eating wholefoods, eating spices, beans, pulses, quinoa, nuts, seeds, oats, etc.

Yes, sometimes I eat copious amounts of chocolate,crisps and not-so-nutritious treats too, so I try to eat well most of the time as 'insurance'! If you feel you need to, why not speak to a dietician or nutritionist? Or research vegetarian/vegan nutrition.

If you tend to be low in iron, B12, calcium, or any other vitamin/mineral, you should speak to your doctor about supplementing your diet. I take a B12 supplement and calcium and magnesium. I also take omega oil supplements (which I will be bringing you a blogpost about soon).

Don't Stress

Finally, I would say don't stress. I know I did at the beginning, and when I'd go shopping for food I'd have a knot of anxiety in my stomach as I was getting used to what products were vegetarian or vegan. That's a bit counterproductive, and can make being veggie feel like a massive chore. Try to focus on what you can have - so much food! - instead of what you can't (not that much when you think about it).

You may come across some negative opinions, but there is no need to fight or be aggressive. Everyone has their own opinion about everything and your job isn't to 'convert' people. Your job is to be happy with your decision and eat lots of yummy, cruelty-free food!

Have you 'gone veg' recently? How did you find it? What is your advice for people?

Veggieversary

2010-09-19T14:55:00.001+01:00

Dearie me - it has been a while, hasn't it? I moved house earlier this month, just after I came back from my holidays, and ended up taking an unscheduled break from the blog - I hope that you've all been well in the past few weeks and am happy to report I'm back in veggie businesses!

What have you been up to in the past month? I've been trying to sort out the new apartment (we moved to a new house, but there are five apartments in it!) which is a lot smaller than our last place - but so much nicer. And the new area is so lovely too. Check out the pic above of our old spice cabinet....oh dear. That was FUN to tidy, I swear...

Moving has meant one significant thing: A new freezer. I can't actually describe how delighted I am to have a freezer, even if it's a tiny one! Our freezer in our last place was broken and this one works like a charm. So I've been busy stocking it with frozen spinach and berries for smoothies, and of course vegan ice-cream - my new favourite junk-food treat.

I've also been eating a lot of dried mango - it's so sweet and chewy and damned delicious. And calorific - which is why these packs from Forest Feast were so handy. I got them from a the kind folks behind the SHOP 2010 event, which is taking place from 28 - 30 September in the RDS. The hamper was packed with foodstuffs from Irish companies - some of which wasn't suitable for me (not veggie or contained lots of butter & eggs) so I gave them to C's workmates who reported they were lovely.

I've also been using the rapeseed (canola) oil from the hamper, I'll bring you more info on that in another post.

We also have a new kitchen, which is in bad need of organising, but it is nice and relaxing to cook in, and I've been whipping up some easy meals. One bad thing is our oven is broken - the horror!! - the hob works so I've been using that but haven't been able to bake anything. If anyone has any tips on a good small cooker to buy, please let me know as I have been charged with picking the new cooker. And I know nothing about cookers, I'll be honest. I do know that gas is ideal for cooking but sadly that's a no-go in this house.

So what have I been eating?

Phad King with tofu and vegetables - take away from Saba Thai restaurant. I always get it with Saba brown and red rice. Absolutely delicious!

Falafel sandwich with hummus and spinach on spelt wholemeal bread from Craft Bakery. Drool.

Drinking my favourite Carpe Diem kombucha. Refreshing!

Smothering spelt pasta with sundried tomato pesto from The Happy Pear. Absolutely delicious. If you spot this in your local health food shop, snap it up straight away. It is made with sprouted almonds and is delicious spread on toast.

Enjoying the pesto and pasta with basil tofu - very handy when you don't have a lot of time to cook.

Chowing down on Dee's amazing veggie burger - vegan, gluten-free, organic, no fillers, all quality ingredients. On Friday I had them with garlic stir-fried broccoli and sprout salad with a sweet balsamic and agave dressing. I must do a separate post on Dee's products - her veggie burgers are a triumph and proof that pre-made vegetable products do not have to be high in fat, salt or sugar. She's an inspiration.

I am officially obsessed with these granola snack packs: Bear granola nibbles. Vegan, low-calorie, all natural ingredients. And damn tasty. I've been known to buy 4 packs in one go so that I don't run out...

And reading Vegetarian Living, a new magazine which is a great read, even if it has a lot of cheese and egg-heavy recipes, which doesn't really suit me personally. Still, pretty much anything can be adapted! And it's great to see a vegetarian lifestyle magazine that's fun and bright and has lots of interesting features.

One very significant thing that occurred this month was...my veggieversary! It has been one year since I went veg! I'll be back in my next post to tell you why I love being veg, and to offer tips for if you want to go veg, or simply want to eat more veggie meals. It took me around two years to go veg so believe me, I understand how hard it can be. But I think it is one of the best decisions I have ever made.

With that in mind, if you have any advice for anyone who wants to go veg or eat more veg, why not comment below - and I'll feature your comments in the next post.

I'd love to hear from long-term and new veggies and vegans about their experiences and pass on any tips you have.

Well, I'd better get back to that article I have to write. It's good to be back in foodblogland.

Aoife x

Edinburgh Eats

2010-08-23T13:11:00.008+01:00

Edinburgh is a magical, mysterious city, home to cobblestone streets, narrow alleyways, haunted vaults, castles and turrets, a fantastic history and wonderful people.

Wander down the Royal Mile and you'll find treasure after treasure - little alleys that snake off the main thoroughfare, crumbling steps guiding you down to another street; tiny restaurants tucked away beneath stone buildings.

When it rains, it can be treacherous, as a layer of moisture settles on the cobblestones and threatens to whisk you off your feet and onto your posterior. It's a city for walking around slowly, with one eye on the cobbles and one on the historic buildings that surround you.

The past is very much alive in Edinburgh - you can imagine what it felt like to stand on Waverley Bridge a century ago, before the buses and planes and noisy automobiles took over. Staring up at the 'old town', the weather-beaten buildings rising above the ancient trees from behind the protective walls, you come to understand the meaning of the word 'breathtaking'.

During the Fringe festival, the streets are thronged with guidebook-toting visitors, tourists from other towns and countries who have come to immerse themselves in the many arts on offer. There are plays, musical shows, comedy performances to enjoy; comedians pass you on the street; friends meet at the Pleasance Courtyard for a pint and a chat; your bible for the stay is the huge Ed Fringe guide.

Last week was my second visit to Edinburgh, and my first as a vegetarian. The foodie highlights? Scoffing a steaming-hot vegan haggis and baked tatty from The Baked Potato Shop on the winding, steep Cockburn St; slurping down a divine roasted garlic and tomato soup, followed by udon noodles and smoked tofu, at the David Bann vegetarian, and thankfully very vegan-friendly, restaurant, accompanied by omnivore friends who all were in raptures over their meal; demolishing a bar of sea-salt and caramel vegan dark chocolate from a local company (The Chocolate Tree) in under a day; eating far too many bags of my favourite Sea Salt & Vinegar Kettle Chips, at all times of the day; drinking an Innocent smoothie every morning in an attempt to get something nutritious into my system; eating out and not spending one minute in front of the stove. Coming home slightly fatter, but happy.

Thanks to everyone who gave me advice & tips for my trip to Edinburgh! And thanks to my wonderful friends for being great housemates for the week x

Adventures in Edinburgh

2010-08-16T10:45:00.000+01:00

My bedroom is a mess, I have clothes everywhere, piles of books and headphones and random bits and bobs, shampoo bottles wrapped in plastic bags, I'm wandering around with no shoes on and trying to finish some last minute work...why? Because I'm going on holiday today!! Yes, holiday...man, it has been too long. I have gone on a couple of weekend trips in the last year (London is the furthest I have gotten, sigh) but not had any proper holidays to speak of, and myself and the mister haven't even had more than a few days away together. Unfortunately he isn't coming with me on this trip, but we will be holidaying together soon I am sure.

So where am I headed? Edinburgh! For the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I'm going there to meet friends including comedy-expert-and-amazingly-talented-writer Anna (aka Anna Waits). I'm a little nervous (OK, really nervous) about the flight as the last two flights I took were a bit scary, mainly because I let myself be completely overtaken by fear. I really, really want to be calm and cool as a cucumber on the flight today so I'm fighting against all my scaredy-cat instincts!

I'll arrive in Edinburgh at 7pm and my adventure begins then. The last time I went to Edinburgh, exactly a year ago, I was just about to go 'proper veg', so while I did eat veggie food there I think I ate chicken too, from what I remember. No, I didn't have any haggis! But I didn't really investigate the veggie scene there and so, dear lovely readers of mine, I am asking for your recommendations. They don't have to be purely vegetarian, of course, just any shop/café/location that you think a foodie would love. Somewhere that sells anything from chocolate to cookbooks, or even some cute but affordable kitchenware.

Also, if you have any show recommendations do send them my way! I have shows booked but am hoping to catch a few more.

Whatever you're up to this week, I hope it goes brilliantly. I'll be blogging throughout my week keeping you up to date on all things Edinburgh!

See you soon
Aoife x

Image source

Procrastination Pizza

2010-08-11T21:43:00.000+01:00

Right now, I'm procrastinating. I do that a lot. It's one of those habits that I would dearly love to break, yet it doesn't seem to diminish as the years go on....! I'm trying to put together a radio show and finish an article, and both are taking far longer than they should. But they'll get done tonight - to take my mind off them for a few minutes I'm here to post some yummy pics of delicious roasted vegetable pizza.

When I like certain food, I end up eating it or cooking it a lot - so this week was the week of roasted vegetables marinated in balsamic vinegar, olive oil and garlic.

First I took the veggies - 2 peppers...

And about 10 cherry tomatoes...

Then I added two cloves of minced garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar...one tablespoon of each...

Then I added some chopped red onion, which I had forgotten to add. Whoops.

I roasted the tasty sweet veg in an oven at 140degrees celsius for around 1hr, until they were charred at the edges.

They are sa-weet like candy!

Because I hadn't the time to make dough, I took a pre-made spelt pizza base and added tomato puree mixed with dried Italian herbs....

And added a layer of spinach

Topped with the roasted veggies

And popped into the oven for about 15 minutes

It was pure perfection. Seriously. Man, it was so sweet...and the tomatoes were so juicy. It really hit the spot.

I had some salt and vinegar potatoes with the pizza, but as you can see I ended up under-cooking these! :( Pity. Next time, instead of using our griddle pan, I'll bake them in the oven. But I can see how a salt and vinegar fan would adore these. They did take an entire bottle of white vinegar to make though!

Right, time for me to get back to work.

What have you been eating this week?

Changing the way you see yourself

2010-08-06T20:38:00.002+01:00

Image via Operation Beautiful

Before I even dreamt of being a food blogger, about two years ago, I stumbled across some food blogs that had an amazing impact on my life. The first was Oh She Glows, which fast remains my favourite health/food blog, the second was the lovely Fitnessista site, and the third was the wonderful Healthy Tipping Point. I loved all of these blogs because it was the first time that I had read healthy living blogs that weren't all about what weight you 'had' to lose, or calories in your food. They made food fun, health a priority and positive body image a must.

Caitlin Boyle, who runs Healthy Tipping Point, has just published her very first book, called Operation Beautiful. Operation Beautiful came about after Caitlin decided that she was sick of 'fat talk' (more on that later) and wanted to do something to make herself, and other people struggling with their body image, feel better. So she stuck a body-positive message on a post-it note, posted it in a public place...and the rest, as they say, is history.

Since that day, thousands upon thousands of young women have contacted Caitlin to tell her they too have taken on board the spirit of Operation Beautiful, and posted messages in their towns, workplaces, homes and even weighing scales. I'm so delighted to see this book being released as it's a really positive message about body image for men and women of all ages.

Caitlin has designated from 2 - 7 August as 'Operation Beautiful - Change the way you see, Not the way you look' week, so I thought I'd write about my experience with 'changing how I see'.

While there are people out there who are extremely confident in how they look, or accepting about themselves and all their good and 'bad' points, there are others who give themselves a rough time. I can't remember a time when I didn't worry about my appearance or not think negatively about myself - it just feels like it is very ingrained into my psyche. But after I started reading blogs like the ones named above, and explored other, similar blogs, I began to see myself in a far better light.

In Ireland, we can be a bit too afraid of 'getting above our station'. If someone says you look nice, the acceptable response is usually 'Oh gosh I look like something the cat dragged in!' / 'Ah I just pulled this out of the dirty clothes basket' / 'Crikey would you look at the size of my thighs!'. It's a self-effacing attitude that is far more acceptable than 'Why, thank you'. We're a nation that has pride in dragging ourselves through centuries of hardship, so we don't always like when things come easy. We have to prove ourselves first. And, God forbid, we don't want people to assume we actually think highly of ourselves!

When I was a young teen, I always felt like I was the last to do everything. I wasn't cool and I wasn't the girl all the boys fancied. I was a bit of a swot, yet loud, confident yet easily embarrassed. Like most teenagers, I didn't always feel like I fit in. How we feel about our outside appearance is an extension of how we feel about ourselves inside. The teenage years are confusing for most of us - we're not sure who we are, where we're going in life, or how long that spot on our nose will last for. So it's natural that some of us will become a bit obsessed with our weight and outside appearance, especially as our bodies are developing and changing.

Now that I'm 27 and thankfully well out of my teenage years, I'm far more accepting of who I am than I was back then. But it wasn't until the last year or two that I actively tried to stop hating what I saw when I looked in the mirror. Now, I know I'm not a troll, and people generally don't recoil in disgust when they see me walking down the street - but no matter how you look you'll always find something to dislike if you want to.

It's hard to stop thinking negatively about yourself. When you're used to looking in the mirror and thinking 'Ugh, cellulite', or 'Agh! I have definitely put on weight!' you have to work very hard to turn it around. What helped me was realising a few things, so I thought I'd share them with you.

*Magazines & advertisements do not feature 'real' women.
It doesn't matter what magazine you read - every single woman in it is photoshopped. Even if they are a 'plus' size model, they will be photoshopped (link). You don't see cellulite, pores, stretchmarks or thread veins, not because they don't exist, but because they have been smoothed away by a picture editor.
So you know when you look at photos in magazines and think 'Why don't I look like that?'
Guess what.
Those women don't look like that either. Take heart in that very fact.

Image via Jezebel

*'Fat talk' sucks
Fat talk is so easy to do. And the more you do it, the more ingrained into your brain it gets. Soon you believe that the fat talk is true. You believe you are fat, overweight, cellulite-ridden, have wobbly thighs, a double chin, flabby arms.....see, it sounds pretty horrible, doesn't it?
Next time you find yourself fat talking, just stop it. Try and turn it around - turn a perceived negative into a positive. 'I love my curves', 'I have a nice athletic figure', 'I am healthy'.
This takes time. But it's really wonderful what changes in you when you try this. It's like a switch goes off in your head and you give yourself the permission to feel good about yourself. And you know what? It feels great.
It's easy to fat talk but nothing beats the feeling of feeling good about yourself.
And no matter what size, shape, age, colour, level of fitness you are, you don't deserve to beat yourself up and talk 'fat' about yourself. Tell yourself you rock!

Image via Bombshell Bride

*Eat for health, not for weight.
Food is not the enemy. But the wrong food can make us feel crummy. Too much sugar can make us crash and feel depressed and tired, or too little food can sap us of energy. Our bodies are machines that require the best fuel - so it's up to us to give it to them. I'm no saint - I eat crisps, chips from the local chipper, and lots of dark chocolate. But I try to eat a lot of food that tastes good and is nutritious, because I know I feel better about myself when I do.
I've eaten 'for weight' and it sucked up every ounce of energy I had. I think it is important to know about the nutritional benefits of the foods we eat, because eating low-fat crisps all the time won't make anyone feel good. Try and have balance, have fun with food, and eat lots of vegetables. Your body will thank you for it.

*Chasing the 'perfect' weight is a waste of time
Angela at Oh She Glows has some great things to say about this here. We all have that 'number' in our heads of what we think is our 'perfect' weight. You know the one - and chances are you think that when you finally get to that weight, you'll be happier/sexier/healthier.
You know what?
You can be happy/sexy/healthy when you are not that weight too. And that 'number' may not be the right one for you.
I have always had a certain weight in my head that I thought was the 'best' weight for me. I was that weight last year and believe me, it wasn't a good time. I'm half a stone heavier and much happier. When I was thinner, I fretted over every pound I thought I'd put on/lost. What a waste of time!
I realised recently, I've only been that weight a handful of times, and it's never been a brilliant time in my life.
So take that number and throw it away!

Image via chewzlife.blogspot.com

*Thinking badly about yourself takes up energy.
Lots of energy. And you can be using that energy to do other things - forming a band, writing a book, studying, spending time with your friends, cooking, volunteering, starting that small business you always dreamed of, customising that dress you've wanted to change.
Why waste energy thinking about how awful you supposedly look when you can go out and kick ass and do something positive?

Pic credit

*Are you eating your emotions?
When you feel horrible about yourself, you want to punish your body. That might mean restricting food, or eating too much food. I see it like eating your emotions - or depriving yourself of your emotions. Each way means you don't have to face up to that emotion. I can be an emotional eater so have to be mindful of that. It gets easier when you realise why you are eating something.
If you think you are an emotional eater, look at why you are eating. Ask yourself does it make you feel better, or worse? Ask yourself why you are restricting food. Does it give you power? Or make you feel powerless.
If you feel this has become something you cannot just 'turn off', then on to my next point.

*Asking for help is OK.
If you cannot deal with how you feel on your own, please never be afraid to ask for help. Don't be embarrassed. People are out there to help you.

*Always remember - you rock!
You do. Trust me x

What do you think about this issue? Have you any tips or stories you would like to share?

Marks and Spencer's Wholefood Shaker Salad

2010-08-06T19:01:00.002+01:00

If you're out and about, in the mood for a healthy bite to eat but don't have time to sit down for lunch, pop into your local Marks & Spencer for their new Wholefood Shaker Salad. I work two days a week in an office and on the (way too frequent) days that I don't bring in lunch, I usually go for this salad as it's a great way of eating well on the go.

The shaker salad is a bit gimmicky (and consequently is quite wasteful too in terms of the amount of packaging used, which I am not happy about personally) - the idea is that you get a little tub of salad dressing, which you pour into the salad, and then put the top back on and...(you guessed it) shake it. The dressing is mainly oil, so sometimes I use half of it rather than all of it if I want to cut back on the fat.

This salad is vegan and is a mix of quinoa, wild rice, lentils, butternut squash, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, cucumber, red pepper and tomato. It's quite light on the veg but the lentils and quinoa are protein-packed so will definitely tide over your hunger. As far as pre-packaged lunches go, I'd go for this above something like their samosa, as it's a wholefood meal and would be even better accompanied by a big salad. That said, I do love the samosa ;) Recently M&S did a little offer where you got a free smoothie when you bought a salad, which of course I took advantage of!

Marks and Spencer do some great vegan food (though it's usually not marked vegan specifically) and vegetarian food, which makes it a great place to shop for prepared foods. Plus they do Irish vegetables - if only they didn't use so much packaging!

Vegan Fruity Ice-Cream Parfait recipe

2010-08-03T23:17:00.000+01:00

Hey there! How's your week going?

Today I'm here to talk about ice-cream.
Nom nom.
But not so nom when you are lactose intolerant or, in my case not-officially-diagnosed-as-lactose-intolerant-but-definitely-can't-eat-ice-cream...because it makes you feel utterly terrible. I didn't really miss ice-cream that much in the last few years as once or twice a year I'd have a little, and then feel like crap afterwards. But when I tried Swedish Glace, a soy-based vegan ice-cream, I finally got to understand why people become obsessed with ice-cream. I bought some while staying at a friend's house and actually had a bowl for breakfast with chocolate vegan biscuits on top. Whoops! I don't regret a second of it.

Swedish Glace sent me some ice-cream samples recently and as my freezer is on the blink I sent them to my friend's house, and had a little tasting night. There are still some flavours left to taste so I'll fill you in on them soon. (Hint: one easy recipe may be for a chocolate milkshake...)

But for a recent column I featured a very simple parfait using the vanilla Swedish Glace (or non-dairy ice-cream of your choice) and am sharing it here.

Do you like vegan ice-cream? What's your favourite?

Vegan Fruity Ice-Cream Parfait

When you think of summer foods, ice cream will always come to mind. We all have memories of slurping down melting cones at the beach and ending up with more of it on our faces than in our bellies.
Unfortunately for some people, a lactose intolerance means they can't enjoy ice cream. Because they are deficient in lactase -- an enzyme released from the small intestine that is needed to break down lactose (the sugar in milk) -- eating dairy products can lead to an upset stomach and bloating.
While some people can tolerate yogurt or butter, ice cream and cream can bring on the worst symptoms.
Thankfully all is not lost, as there are now dairy-free and vegan ice-cream selections. One of the easiest to find is Swedish Glace, and I was recently sent some samples to try.
I was a little unsure as to how it would measure up, but the good news is that it was a hit, even with my friends who love dairy ice cream -- they told me they couldn't tell the difference at all.
While Swedish Glace is available in a number of flavours, my favourite was the vanilla, which is comparable to the luxury ice creams I used to eat.
While Swedish Glace is dairy, gluten and cholesterol-free, it isn't fat-free, and, like any good ice cream (dairy or not), contains sugar. So I wanted to see if I could add a bit of nutrition to this snack, and decided to make a fruity parfait.
An American-style parfait consists of layers of different ingredients of varying textures, so here I have used fresh fruit and oats. Feel free to play around with this recipe as you wish -- try different fruits, or use granola instead of toasted oats.
It's a lovely easy recipe that is as fun to put together as it is to eat!

Serves four

1 tub Swedish Glace vanilla ice cream
2 punnets raspberries
1 large punnet strawberries
100g jumbo oats
4 medium glasses

1 Place a layer of oats in a dry (non-oiled) pan on the hob and bring to a medium-high heat. Gently heat the oats, stirring regularly, until they begin to brown and become fragrant. Take care not to burn them and, as soon as they are done, put them to one side in a bowl to cool. Repeat until all of the oats are toasted. You can do this in the oven, but it will take longer.
2 Take your ice cream out of the freezer so that it softens slightly but doesn't melt. Wash your punnets of raspberries and strawberries. Put the raspberries to the side in a bowl. Remove the leaves from the strawberries and put them in a blender. Blend until they are completely liquidised.
3 Spoon a layer of cooled oats (about one to two tablespoons) into a glass. Follow with a layer of raspberries, then a layer of the blended strawberries. Follow this with a tablespoon or two of the ice cream, depending on the size of the glass.
Repeat the layers until you reach the top of the glass with an ice-cream layer. Sprinkle with oats and finish off with a few raspberries and a drizzle of strawberry juice. Serve immediately.

- Aoife Barry

Irish Independent

Guest Post by Sarah, the Gluten-free Vegan

2010-07-28T20:34:00.000+01:00

Good evening m'dears! You might have noticed that on Adventures in Veg I try and have as many gluten-free posts as possible, as though I'm not a coeliac I like the blog to appeal to as many people as possible. I read lots of great gluten-free blogs and have so much respect for coeliac bloggers because they are often the most important source of gluten-free information for their readers. Plus in a world that is not coeliac-friendly, it must be so hard to go out to eat and not know if you're going to be 'glutened' or to have to give up your favourite foods because they are making you ill.

I hope to have lots of guest posts in the future, and this is the first one - it's written by Sarah, who runs the Gluten Free Tries Vegan blog. It's a lovely positive blog and is great for those who are coeliac, gluten-intolerant, vegan and/or have IBS. Take it away Sarah!

Hello there!
My name’s Sarah and I write a little blog called Gluten-free tries Vegan. A couple of months ago (or possibly longer, oops) lovely Aoife asked me to write a guest post. Since I have finally gotten around to it, here it is. I thought I’d share a little bit about how my diet’s evolved over the years to not only help me gain greater health, but also learn about how it is possible to celebrate a love for food by following a vegan diet.

Firstly, let me just say, I love food. I love eating it, reading about it, thinking about it, creating it, and writing about it. I’ve almost always loved food and am fortunate enough to have been brought up in a family where food has had positive connotations. However, food hasn’t always loved me and we’ve had an interesting time together. I’ve suffered with chronic digestive problems for most of my life. I was diagnosed with lactose intolerance during childhood (but was too young to pay any attention to this and continued eating dairy products), was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome at 20 years old, was anorexic between the age of 20-23 years old, and then diagnosed with Coeliac Disease at 25 years old. I also adopted a vegetarian diet as a teenager. So food and I have had a diverse journey so far! But it has been one where food can have a positive effect on the body (and mind) as well as a negative one.

I would say that there were two major turning points in my journey with food so far: needing to follow a gluten-free diet and choosing to adopt a vegan diet. Whilst eliminating all traces of gluten from one’s diet can seem like a daunting and miserable task for me it was one of liberation, and even pleasure. Food became a source of healing, nourishment and creativity. I chose to see the challenge as a positive one. I thought about all the new foods that were gluten-free I could have in order to diversify my diet. I thought about all the fresh produce and tastes that could be cultivated through a bit of time and effort. I became reacquainted with my kitchen since many quick, go-to meals were no longer available. I found my true love of food again that anorexia had stolen from me. Thus, through anorexia and Coeliac Disease I learnt of food’s ability to both harm and heal, and in both cases I had to take the healing routes. The former was through including foods, the latter through eliminating foods. Happily, both gave me certain degrees of wellness.

Veganism was the next step to wellness. For me, as a former vegetarian and lactose intolerant, it was almost an organic evolution in my diet. Eating a vegan diet is one of the best decisions I have made. Initially I was worried about whether I could give my body all the nutrients and energy it needs in order to thrive. And, for a while, I fell into the stereotypical way of thinking that a love of food cannot be synonymous with a vegan diet. How wrong I was! Hopefully, you have already seen this on Aoife’s blog. And this is what I seek to show on my blog; that it is both possible and fun to follow a gluten-free and vegan diet. I truly see this way of eating as a pleasure rather than a limiting hindrance. Whilst I love salads and loads of vegetables in my diet, I also LOVE sweet treats. I have a massive sweet tooth! For example:

So that’s a snapshot of me and how I came to veganism. Thanks for reading!

I asked Sarah a few questions to give an insight into her life:

1. What's the best part of being vegan?

Vegan food blogs/bloggers and dark chocolate (love it). The hardest part is eating out, for sure. Catering for a gluten-free vegan = a nightmare (for the uninformed/inexperienced).

2. What's your best advice for someone wanting to go veg or vegan?

Educate yourself as much as possible and transition into it slowly; be kind to yourself. Some can make the transition overnight, but most have to take it gradually so don't beat yourself up if you have some cheese or chicken.

3. What are your three dessert island foods?

(Chosen for the pleasure they bring and the ability to almost never get tired of them) dark chocolate, peanut butter, and apples.

4. Who are your vegan heroes?

... hmmm... in terms of food philosophies I most resonate with, along with their delicious recipes, I would say Gena from Choosing Raw, Tasha from The Voracious Vegan, and Averie from Love Veggies and Yoga.

5. What's your favourite album?

Oh no! Not a music question! I am deeply uncool when it comes to music, deeply uncool. Ok, fave album, it changes all the time but one of them is Stevie Wonder ~ Song Review A Greatest Hits Collection. He's just amazing.

Vegan, skin-friendly make-up by Everyday Minerals

2010-07-25T22:09:00.001+01:00

Gosh, it feels like absolute ages since I've last blogged! Ever have one of those weeks that seems to disappear in a flash?

Last night I made a very special cake that I'm itching to tell you about - I'll blog about it very soon. Let's just say it was inspired by one of my favourite female sleuths...

Here at Adventures in Veg I usually blog about food but I wanted to tell you about something a little different today - make-up! Growing up, I was never really into make up - I didn't know what to do with it or how to use the different bits and pieces. When I was about 17 or 18 and in university I ended up working in a large pharmacy on the cosmetics counters at the weekend, so I had to swiftly school myself in the ways of beauty brands like Chanel, Clinique, Estee Lauder, Lancome and more. Although I had been aware of animal testing from a young age, I didn't put this knowledge into practice back then, so I used whatever products came my way. I also didn't really pay much attention to what ingredients went into the products and didn't care what chemicals were in them.

When I finished up at the pharmacy, I moved to Galway where I worked in a record store for a while, and then I got a job as an assistant manager in The Body Shop. The shop on the right hand side of this pic below , four shops down (you might have to squint!) is where I worked - Galway is a really beautiful and historic city in the West of Ireland:

This was where I got an even greater realisation about the cruelty that is behind many beauty brands and started to seek out products that I knew were from companies that didn't test on animals. The Body Shop has always had an anti-cruelty policy and they do loads of staff training so that everyone who works there is up to date with what they sell. During the time I was there, the company was bought by L'Oreal, so a lot of customers were really concerned about whether the Body Shop's ethics would change - I left not long after that but I could totally understand why people were conflicted about the buy-out. It was sad to see the company being bought out by a cosmetics giant that didn't have the same ethics as it.

What working at The Body Shop left me with was a love for creative make up (not that I think women have to wear make-up, by the way!) and the knowledge that beauty products don't have to be tested on animals or contain animal products. Plus, I did some reading online and realised that I wasn't happy using products with lots of chemicals in them, so I wanted to cut down on that too. (If you want to find out what kinds of chemicals the products you use have, you can find out on the Skin Deep website.)

That led me on to trying the Everyday Minerals range - and I haven't tried a foundation I've loved more since. I have pale skin but it's prone to redness and sensitivity and this is the only thing that doesn't irritate my skin. It's not too heavy, it looks natural and it's easy to apply. And the best part? It is cruelty free, vegan and all-natural. They have a no animal testing promise and the founder, Carina, describes Everyday Minerals as "Bohemian at heart and eclectic by nature" - I love that!

If like me you baulk at spending lots of your cold hard cash on make up when you could be spending it on things like food you'll be rather stoked to hear that it does not cost a fortune to stock up on Everyday Minerals. My recent haul cost me around €40 including shipping to Ireland (EM is an American company), will keep me in make up for months and came with free goodies too! I buy these products a few times a year, as I don't have a big wage packet, just like most people these days.

Have you tried mineral make up or Everyday Minerals? What were your experiences?

And do you use vegan, natural or cruelty-free products? (I do have some way to go before 100% of my household cleaning products etc are natural etc, but I'm getting there!)

BBQ Tofu & Veg Skewers

2010-07-21T16:07:00.000+01:00

Hey there veggies!
Barbecues can be a bit of a pain when you're vegan or vegetarian - or at least, that's what you might think. Thankfully you'd be very wrong about that, as this recipe proves. A really nice reader of my column in the Independent recently sent me some books (how nice is that?!) so I adapted this recipe from one of them. They were soooo delicious, so enjoy if you try them!
How's your week going - are you doing anything fun or eating anything interesting?

Aoife
x

BBQ Tofu & Veg Skewers

Tis the season of barbecues, a time when people traditionally load up on sausages, red meat and chicken to cook over the hot coals. With that in mind, it might seem as though a barbecue is the last place that you will find good vegetarian or vegan food, but you'd be wrong.

Sure, there are prepared and frozen vegetarian faux 'meats' that can replace chicken breasts or sausages, but the joy in barbecuing is that it is perfect for vegetables too.
If you're a new vegetarian or vegan, you might not realise how veggie-friendly barbecues can be, or, if you're holding a barbecue and expecting some guests who don't eat meat, you might be panicking about what to serve them.
Thankfully, there are lots of veggie (and gluten-free) options to be cooked at a barbecue, though it's advisable that you cook non-meat products in a separate area to the meat.
A par-boiled potato wrapped in foil, for example, will cook nicely on a barbecue, and can be topped with veggie chilli, soy cheese or baked beans, and served with lots of fresh salad.
You can roast whole peppers, tomatoes and vegetable slices, and serve with hummus and pitta bread (you can even toast the pitta on the barbecue). Homemade bean burgers (I will have a recipe for one in the coming weeks) are also a big hit at barbecues.
Some of the most fun things to cook on a barbecue are vegetable skewers -- they're so colourful and nutritious, and taste great with rice or a baked potato. Here's a recipe for vegetable and tofu skewers that are lightly marinated in a sweet sauce.
A very kind Adventures in Food reader recently sent me a copy of Vegan: Over 90 Mouthwatering Recipes For All Occasions by Tony Weston and Yvonne Bishop, and this is an adaptation of a recipe I found inside this great book.
If, like me, you are an apartment dweller without a garden, rest assured these cook wonderfully in the oven too.

Barbecued Vegetable and Tofu Skewers

Serves 4

2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
1 tbsp tamari sauce (or soy sauce)
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 pineapple rings, cut into chunks
8 mango chunks
1 red pepper, cut into chunks
1 green pepper, cut into chunks
1 yellow pepper, cut into chunks
125g tofu, cubed
1 courgette, cut into rounds
1 sweetcorn cob, cooked and sliced into eight rounds

1 Put eight wooden satay or kebab sticks in cold water to soak for at least 20 minutes (if not an hour or more to prevent them burning), and pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees or Gas Mark 4.
2 Cut your vegetables, fruit and tofu. In a large bowl, mix the lime juice, molasses, tamari (or soy) sauce, sweet chilli sauce and oil together. Add your fruit and vegetables and stir until well coated with the marinade.
3 Thread the chunks on to the soaked kebab sticks (this can get a bit messy, so be warned), alternating the ingredients so the kebabs look bright and have a mix of texture and colour.
4 Grill or barbecue until browned, or alternatively place on a baking sheet and cook for around 30-35 minutes.
5 Serve with rice, salad or baked potatoes and a dipping sauce of your choice.

Irish Independent

Homemade Vegan Spelt Pizza

2010-07-14T21:48:00.002+01:00

Hey folks! How's your week going? I've been trying lots of new recipes, some have been successful...some not so! I have lots on this weekend - I'm going home to Cork to see my wonderful mum and to DJ and take part in a turntable orchestra, how exciting!

Today's recipe is from a recent Adventures in Food column I wrote for the Irish Independent's Weekend magazine. It's my take on a spelt homemade pizza - and vegan to boot. I can see the non-vegans among you screaming 'WHERE IS THE CHEESE?!' but trust me, cheese-free pizza is not the torturous experience you think it is. My stomach hates cheese so I really don't miss it - and no cheese means more room for delicious veggies. It means that pizza becomes a healthy meal rather than a 'naughty' meal, which is always a bonus.

Before I give you the recipe, here's something a little new - I've been 'tagged' in a post by the super-sweet Sarah from Gluten Free Tries Vegan (great blog!) and asked to give 10 facts about myself. So for a bit of fun, here they are!

1. I'm the eldest of four children and a pretty typical oldest child - bossy, moi?!
2. I'm slightly obsessed with my sister Steph's puppy, and am desperately sad that we can't have dogs in our apartment.
3. Speaking of apartments, myself and Cormac are moving to a new place soon and though it is small, it is so cute I have to pinch myself when I think about it!
4. I've known Cormac since I was 15 - we met at a record fair!
5. I used to get into the pub when I was underage by pretending I was Australian...
6. I tried to go veggie a few times before I finally 'cracked it'.
7. I've never eaten scrambled or hard-boiled eggs, so nope, I don't 'miss' them!
8. I'm obsessed with beehive hairdos and love doing them for big nights out.
9. I worked on beauty counters for a few years and used to do make-overs on people - sometimes they actually looked human afterwards ;)
10. I'm a music nerd and have a music blog and music show on digital radio too. My favourite musician of all time is Elliott Smith.

Now I have to tag three bloggers, so I'll pick three great Irish gals:

Vegan But Not Scary
Velovegan
The Full Irish Vegan

Get a slice of the action

By Aoife Barry

Pizza is often seen as an indulgent treat that's for weekend nights when you're not in the mood to cook, and it's also regarded as a health-conscious person's worst menu choice.
But did you know that homemade pizza is simple to make, and can be crammed full of vegetables? This week I have a recipe for homemade spelt pizza dough that, while it may take a few hours to prepare, is utterly worth it - and as you can see it's the perfect base for lots of brightly coloured seasonal vegetables.
This dough isn't gluten free but spelt is often more easily digested by people than wheat. It has a lovely taste and is a great alternative to wheat, and can be used identically to it. Here, I've included both white and wholegrain spelt flour so that you get the benefit of fibre in your pizza base.
While this isn't a meal that you can whip up in 15 minutes, once you have your dough made you can put it in the fridge to use the next day, so it's a great one to prepare on a Sunday night. What could be better than having homemade pizza on a Monday evening? It would certainly get rid of the Monday blues.
The pizza pictured here is a vegan pizza, with no cheese. This might seem bizarre to those of you who love cheese - but why not give it a try? You'll probably find it easier to digest than a cheesy pizza and you'll be cutting down on the saturated fat and calories in the meal. By adding lots of vegetables you'll also get to have most of the five-a-day that doctors and nutritionists recommend.
My favourite pizza toppings are roasted peppers and red onions - the chopped peppers are tossed in olive oil and dried Italian herbs and then roasted for about 30 minutes. I also love broccoli, which is blanched and then lightly roasted. But of course the ultimate choice is up to you. When it comes to the tomato sauce, all you need is some passata (blended tomatoes), dried or fresh herbs (such as basil and oregano) and a little tomato puree. Usually a few table spoons of passata, mixed with the herbs and a teaspoon or two of the puree, is sufficient for four medium sized pizzas. A good tip is not to use too much tomato sauce or the pizza base may get soggy. For an extra twist, add a little sundried tomato pesto to your tomato sauce before spreading it on the pizza dough.
One of the joys in making pizza at home is that each pizza base is unique - but if you practice you can make a round base just like they do in your favourite pizza restaurant. I made a rectangular base here that as you can see has a few quirky edges to it! Why not get your children involved by helping them put the pizza topping on, and making the pizza as colourful as possible.
So don't think that pizza is only for lazy days - a nutritious homemade pizza could be yours for dinner this evening, and making it will be far more fun, and cheaper, than dialling your local takeaway.

Homemade Spelt Pizza Base
Serves 4

20 mins preparation
2 hours rising time
15 mins baking time

Ingredients

250ml warm water (105F)
300g white spelt flour
150g wholegrain spelt flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons honey / agave syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fast action yeast

1. Pour the warm water into a large bowl. Add the salt and honey and mix. Add the yeast and leave for 10 minutes. The mixture should start to foam slightly.
2. After ten minutes, add the flour and oil slowly to the water, mixing with a wooden spoon. As the mixture starts to come together and gets heavier, you can start mixing by hand.
3. Knead your dough - it should be smooth; if it has cracks, this means it is too dry, so you will need to add water. Do this by the teaspoon. If it is stringy and sticks to your fingers, it is too wet - add a little more flour until it is drier.
4. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes.
5. Cover the ball of dough in a little oil and place in a bowl. Cover with cling film or a tea towel and place in a dark location - not the fridge.
6. Leave for one hour. After one hour, take out the dough - it should have doubled in size. 'Punch' the dough back and knead again for a few minutes.
7. Replace in the bowl and cover for another hour. After this second hour is up, your dough is ready to be used - or kept in the fridge for another day or two.
8. Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees
9. Break off the dough into quarters. Take one quarter and shape by pulling it into a small oval. Using your rolling pin, roll this out until it is thin but does not break easily.
10. Place your dough on a baking tray or pizza stone, and prick with a fork a few times. Add your tomato sauce, then your toppings.
13. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the pizza crust is beginning to lightly brown.

Suggested toppings:
Roasted peppers
Red onions
Broccoli
Mushrooms
Asparagus
Artichoke hearts
Courgette
Basil

Chocolate Taste Test - Cocoa Bean Chocolate Co

2010-07-14T21:35:00.001+01:00

Food blogging is such a strenuous task...having to buy chocolate....taste chocolate...and give your verdict...
It's a wonder I didn't give up ages ago, eh?

Just after Christmas time, I was over in my friend Fiona's house (she took the banner pic above!), where we listened to some great music (she has an amazing record collection) and nibbled on some rather delicious and extremely unusual chocolate.

She had picked up the bars in Fallon & Byrne, a gourmet deli-style food shop in Dublin that carries all sorts of (expensive) eats and treats. Its chocolate section is particularly impressive, and it was there that Fiona found the bars by the 'Cocoa Bean Chocolate Co'. Never one to turn down the chance to eat chocolate - especially Irish-made chocolate, for the Cocoa Bean Chocolate Co is based in Co Kerry - I tucked in. In hindsight, I probably gobbled the bars in two seconds flat, but that's the price you pay for giving a chocoholic chocolate!

There's nothing about chocolate I don't love, and I truly think it cures all ills. My day isn't complete without some dark chocolate, and hey, if it has as many antioxidants as they claim, I'll be forever young!

One of the bars Fiona bought was a Lime Zest & Black Pepper bar, and when I found a miniature version of it in Fallon & Byrne today, I decided to pick it up and taste test it again. I also bought the Gin & Tonic flavour, because I was extremely curious about how that would taste.

For fairness' sake, I got my boyfriend Cormac to try these too while he was picking out tracks for his DJ set this weekend. The poor fella is sick to death of me pleading 'don't eat it all in one go!' when I give him dark chocolate so he gingerly ate the Lime Zest & Black Pepper bar first. He described it as "dark chocolate with a burst of lime every now and again" (surprise!) but said there's "a bit of a kick at the end like there's chilli - just when you least expect it - bang!" That would be the black pepper, which gives it a real kick and a nice bit of heat.

This bar has a really lovely zesty lime aroma and the black pepper comes to the fore when you let it melt in your mouth - which I really would recommend you do. The lime gives a fresh contrast to the pepper and it was both our favourite bar. Highly recommended! The bar itself is fairly thin and has a nice 'snap' to it; it's about 70% chocolate and vegan (though not marked vegan - both bars are marked 'vegetarian'). The small bars are €1.50 while the large bars are €3.95.

Cormac thought the Gin & Tonic bar smelled like "Toilet Duck....yeah, Toilet Duck, mountain fresh? Am I close?" He couldn't believe it was gin and tonic - "really?!" and said he preferred the lime zest bar.

Personally I didn't think the bar smelled like Toilet Duck - it had a light lime fragrance. This, it turns out, is no surprise as the ingredients are very close to the Lime Zest & Black Pepper bar. It didn't taste like alcohol, but had a nice silkiness to it. It was nice, but I preferred the actual Lime Zest & Black Pepper bar.

It's excellent that there is an artisan Irish company producing such delicious chocolate - I'll definitely be sampling more of their products. As far as I remember they even had a Christmas-themed bar which had lots of lovely spices and herbs in it. If you see the Cocoa Bean Chocolate Co bars in a shop near you, definitely give them a try. They also do other products so I'll be keeping an eye out for them.

Have you tried this chocolate yourself? What's the most unusual chocolate you have tried?

PS. A quick plug: If you're in Cork on Friday night, I'm DJing with my friend Niamh downstairs in the Pavilion bar from about 10.30pm. Then on Saturday I'll be joining 19 other Technics owners for a very special turntable orchestra as part of the Sonic Vigil. There are loads of other events happening for Sonic Vigil, so if you're in the area, please do check it out.

Low-Fat Vegan Nectarine & Brown Sugar Muffins

2010-07-07T13:47:00.009+01:00

aagdsddghaddfldfkfdld

*clears throat*

Ahem, excuse me - I was just polishing off my third muffin there. Glutton, moi? I was in the mood for baking last night so instead of eating dinner I decided to bake a few muffins - hey, sometimes a girl's gotta have a muffin for dinner. And what a dinner it was! Dessert for dinner should be a regular thing, I reckon.

In this week's organic veg delivery, we got four lovely nectarines. Rather than eat them raw, I got to wondering how I could include them in a baked dish. My first thought was a crumble, but I knew I'd be on my own in the house tonight and the temptation to eat the whole thing would be too much.

After a quick google of possible nectarine recipes, I decided to go for a muffin. Using this Vegan Yum Yum recipe as a guide, I made some low-fat muffins topped off with a nectarine glaze (well, it was a bit syrupy for a glaze, so maybe nectarine 'glyrup' would be more accurate!)

Unfortunately I was all out of 'good' (ie brown or spelt) flour tonight so I had to use plain flour - that is why I added the oat flour to give a little boost of fibre. If you don't have oat flour (I didn't) - just measure out 1/4 cup of oats and whizz them in your food processor or blender until they're a floury consistency. Because I used banana in place of oil, the muffins had quite a banana-y flavour. If you don't want that, then I'd advise adding applesauce instead of the mashed banana; or another oil substitute. These didn't rise as much as normal muffins because of the oat flour & banana, but were lovely and moist.

Low-Fat Vegan Nectarine & Brown Sugar Muffins

Makes 10 - 11

1 and 3/4 cups plain flour (or wholewheat/spelt but I haven't tried these)
1/4 cup oat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup soymilk (+ 2 Tbs more for all-purpose flour)
1 tbs lemon juice
1/3 cup mashed banana plus one teaspoon canola/sunflower oil OR 1/3 cup of applesauce (for a lighter taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 – 2/3 cup nectarines, chopped (I used fresh)
Extra brown sugar to sprinkle before going into the oven (I forgot about this bit, whoops)

*Preheat oven to 180degrees centigrade

*In a large bowl, combine your flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

*In a medium bowl, add your soymilk and then lemon juice, followed by the banana, teaspoon of oil, and vanilla extract. Mix well.

*Gently fold your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients. When they are mixed, gently fold in the chopped nectarines.

Nectarine Glaze/Syrup

Using this recipe as a guide I combined:
- 1.5 mashed nectarines
- half a tablespoon of cornstarch
- 1.5 tablespoons of brown sugar
- and simmered on the hob, stirring all the time, until it reached a thick consistency.

Pour the glaze on top of the muffin...

And eat with a knife and fork!

A mammoth eats and treats post...juicing, hummus, tofu scramble and cakes...

2010-07-06T10:59:00.003+01:00

Hey folks, how's your week going? Anything fun planned for the next few days? I'm working from home today and have a few errands to run before I submit my Independent column, so I thought I'd tell you a bit about some eats and treats I've had in the past week.

Juicy, Juicy!

I absolutely adore fresh juicing, and try to have a juice a few mornings a week if I can. It all depends on the time I have in the morning though as it requires a bit of prep!

Today's juice has (all organic, thanks to Home Organics) 4 carrots, 2 apples, 3 small sticks of celery, and a lot of spicy ginger (not all of what's pictured - just the smaller bit of ginger).

Last week I made a smoothie with cherries, banana, spinach and a little raw cacao, inspired by Kristen's Raw's cherry chocolate bomb. It turned out looking like this....

Sludgy! Here were the yummy goodies that went into it:

I washed the cherries the night before and put them into the jar in the fridge and used half of them for the smoothie. The spinach was looking a bit old but I didn't want to waste it - I stored it in a 'green bag' that helps trap the gases it gives off, and keeps it fresher for longer.

Eating Out

My cousin is staying with us for a week or so while he starts an internship in Dublin, so my aunt and uncle came up from Cork to drop him to the house. It was brilliant to see them and we went out for a bite to eat that night to Elephant & Castle. It isn't really a brilliant place for veggies, but when I go there I always go for this:

I usually get fries on the side too - they do the most delicious fries there! The rest of the menu is very cheese and egg-heavy and as I don't eat either I don't have much to choose from sadly.

They do a spaghetti dish that I think is veggie but I've never tried it; they also have a veggie sandwich but when I got it without the cheese they put mayo on it so I haven't gotten it since. But that hummus is so delicious I'm always happy with that, to be honest. It tastes like a mixed pepper hummus with a very slight kick to it, and there's nothing I love more than toasted pitta bread!

Tofu Scramble

I'm trying out tofu scramble recipes and last night's was a curried tofu scramble with bok choi - I'm trying to get lots of calcium in my diet! Even C, who had a look of confusion on his face when I said I was making 'tofu scramble' was won over. I never thought I'd eat scrambled tofu but it is so addictive! I served it with ginger and lemon rice.
Have you any favourite tofu scramble recipes?

Baking up a Storm

Last weekend I spent all of Friday night and most of Saturday morning in the kitchen baking. On Friday I made a few batches of vegan cookies as I was going to a friend's house the next day; then on Saturday I baked a vegan chocolate cake for a party at Aoife Mc aka I Can Has Cook's house.
I was in a ridiculously klutzy mood on Friday and managed to drop a huge glass bottle of sunflower oil in the kitchen....d'oh! I made some chocolate chip, coconut and oat cookies and brought them along the next day for everyone to nibble on while watching the match.

Then on Saturday I made a chocolate cake for a birthday party - it was my first time making an entire vegan cake for friends and thankfully it turned out alright, although the icing was a bit hard as I added melted chocolate. But the sponge was nice and moist, and the buttercream was tasty too - next time I'll add more buttercream definitely! Gotta get practicing my chocolate ganache though.

Aoife made a delicious Indian-inspired meal for us - curried rice with black eyed peas, and a potato dish served with chapatis. Thanks so much for the delicious veggie food, miss!!

Ready to eat! Have you any nice eats planned this week?

Vegan Café & Gig in Seomra Spraoi

2010-07-06T09:47:00.002+01:00

Hey Dubliners - if you want to eat some yummy vegan food while chilling out to the strains of music inspired by the great Django Reinhardt, head along to Seomra Spraoi tomorrow (Wednesday) night.

Seomra Spraoi is a fantastic social centre in Dublin City Centre run by volunteers and there are always loads of events going on there. The café is a vegan café and every Wednesday night tasty vegan food is served from 7.30pm to 8.30pm. To my shame, I've only been to Seomra Spraoi a handful of times and I'm always saying I really should go more. So if you're around the area this Wednesday, then pop into Seomra Spraoi for some great food and music!

Recipe: Easy-Peasy Bruschetta

2010-06-30T21:25:00.001+01:00

Hey there vegheads!

How's your week going? I said last Friday that I was going to have a quiet weekend - well that was a complete fail! It was a great fail though as it meant lots of nights out with my friends and sleeping on my friend Kim's couch for two nights after some partying. I love getting home to Cork and catching up with friends, although sometimes it can be hard to see everyone! My sister has recently moved back to Cork for the summer (she's studying fashion design in Edinburgh) and it was great to see her too. My other sister has just moved to London so I must go over and visit her soon. It's so weird now that we're all (I have a brother too) in our twenties and moving on and doing our own things - thankfully we don't fight like we did when we were kids, we all get on so well now (usually, ha!).

Do you like Italian food? I love it - even though I've never been to Italy! I really want to go there soooo bad, it's not even funny. Maybe one day....

This recipe is for an easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy bruschetta - you don't have to even cook anything (well, except toasting some bread)! It's all about fresh food and fresh flavours and can be made in a cinch. I really hope you enjoy it - all feedback welcome as always.

What do you have planned for this week?

Cherry Tomato & Basil Bruschetta

By Aoife Barry

Italy is a country that I have long wanted to visit - mainly, I’ll admit, because of the food. Any country that considers pizza, pasta and wine dietary staples is a country that I want to visit, I’ll tell you that much.

While I save my pennies and dream of a sun-soaked trip to Rome, I take my own little mini-holidays to Italy through the food that entices me to visit there. Italian food is an example of what happens when you combine fresh ingredients with a little seasoning and herbs – there are explosively delicious results.

Bruschetta (pronounced brus-ketta) is so simple to make, but tastes utterly divine. Here is my twist on it, using cherry tomatoes mixed with garlic and basil. To bring this dish, which works as a light meal or a starter, to the next level, I added rocket leaves and pine nuts, drizzled with a sweet balsamic reduction. At home, I served this bruschetta on a gluten-free ciabatta roll, which I sliced into three and then toasted. You can of course replace this with crusty white bread or ciabatta.

I am a huge fan of garlic, not least because of its health benefits. It is a heart-healthy ingredient that can help to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and has anti-fungal properties. Basil, meanwhile, is deliciously fragrant herb, while fresh tomatoes are juicy and great for your health – as is extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil comes in a number of different varieties, but unrefined extra virgin olive oil is wonderful when used raw, on salads or with fresh vegetables.

Balsamic reduction is a super way of turning your meal from a humdrum dish into a gourmet delight. It is ridiculously simple to make and can be bottled and kept in the fridge, where it will keep for weeks and weeks. Drizzle it over salads, fresh vegetables or even bread, and you’ll be in food heaven. Use it when cooking for friends or family and they’ll be amazed at your cooking prowess – little will they know that it took minutes to make!

Cherry Tomato and Basil Bruschetta Ingredients

450g cherry tomatoes (or equivalent in large tomatoes), chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil
50g basil leaves, finely chopped
1 pinch of salt
1 loaf of ciabatta bread or gluten-free equivalent, sliced
1 large bunch of rocket leaves
50g pine nuts

Balsamic reduction
60g Balsamic vinegar

Method

Combine your chopped tomatoes, basil, and minced garlic in a non-plastic bowl. Add your olive oil and mix. Leave to stand, unrefrigerated, while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
Wash and chop the rocket leaves.
Heat a cast-iron pan or wok, and add the pine nuts, without oil. Gently stir them over the heat, until they become fragrant and lightly browned. These can burn easily so watch them closely. Once toasted, add to the rocket leaves and toss together.
Prepare the balsamic reduction – add the balsamic vinegar to a pot and bring to a simmer. Whisk and turn down the heat, whisking occasionally until the vinegar has reduced by a half or ¾.
It should taste sweet and rich.
Toast your bread. When done, spoon the bruschetta mix over each slice. Drizzle the balsamic reduction over the rocket leaves and serve the salad and bruschetta together.
Close your eyes and pretend you’re eating it in the Italian sun.

Adventures in Veg on Facebook

2010-06-29T11:05:00.000+01:00

Hey folks! If you use Facebook, you might be glad to hear that Adventures in Veg now has its own Facebook page -
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Adventures-in-Veg/103603963023940
Pop over and say hello!

In other news, I've just joined a group blog called The Anti Room. To say I'm excited is an understatement, as it was one of my favourite blogs before it wound down last year. Now it has started back up again with a huge team of really talented female Irish writers (and little ol' me) and there are already some amazing posts on it. My first post is on weight and self esteem, a subject close to my heart.

Make This Weekend A Great One

2010-06-25T12:16:00.004+01:00

Pic by J Kealy

Hello there veggies! Hope that you've been having a great week so far? I was at a few gigs this week (Philip Glass on Tuesday, Black Sun on Wednesday and Stevie Wonder on Thursday!) and as I love music as much as I love food this meant it was a great week indeed. After all those late nights I'm looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend and particularly to working on some new recipes.

One of the highlights of my week was selling vegan cakes for the first time at the Black Sun gig. Black Sun is organised by one of my dearest friends, Vicky, who is a kick-ass vegan (you've probably heard me mention her here before) and one of the coolest people I've ever met. When she started putting on Black Sun gigs (with her friend Paul and partner Dave) she had the idea of holding a vegan bake sale at each event. Our friend Paula was drafted in to supply her delicious vegan cakes and the bake sale was an instant hit.

Black Sun visited Dublin for the first time this week and Vicky asked me could I step into Paula's shoes so I nervously said yes! I've never sold my vegan cakes or cupcakes before and I was pretty nervous about how they'd be received. As I didn't have a huge amount of time to cook, I decided to make some cookies as well as cakes as they're so simple.

I made: honey-oat cookies (not strictly vegan because of the honey - I had run out of agave!); chocolate-chip cookies; gluten-free choco-coconut cake with edible glitter icing; gluten-free choco-coconut cupcakes; vanilla-hazelnut cookie sandwiches.

As you can see from the pics, I forgot to bring a tablecloth - but it was a DIY gig so the I think the look of the table completes the DIY theme....ahem.

By the end of the night I only had a few cookies and cakes left over and a few people had come back for seconds, or to buy cakes to bring home. Now that's a result!

If, like me, you want to have a relaxing weekend (no matter how busy you are) where you have some moments to yourself, or moments to centre yourself, here are some links for you.
These are recipes, vlogs and articles that will help you focus on making this weekend a great one.

*Cook a vegan bean burger this weekend, using this simple recipe. Can't wait to try this! Serve with a whole-wheat or gluten free bun, a heaped salad with lots of greens, sliced avocado, and a yummy relish for a filling and healthy meal...

*Do you ever struggle with anger? Health guru and inspirational woman Kris Carr is here to help you deal with that, in her latest vlog.

*Are you travelling soon - and a vegetarian or vegan? Need some advice? Well, Jill over at Vegan Backpacker has some great tips for you. There may be a familiar face (actually, two familiar faces) in the first picture, ahem!

*Do you live gluten-free? Take a few minutes to listen to this interview by Meghan Telpner with Elana Amsterdam, author of Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook, on the great site (especially great if you have ulcerative colitis, crohns or other bowel conditions/issues) Making Love in the Kitchen.

*Need some comfort food? Don't turn to a bar of sugary chocolate - whip up a bowl of creamy vegan pesto pasta, sit down and savour each mouthful. Try this recipe from the wonderful Oh She Glows blog for inspiration or why not try my Sundried Tomato Pesto.

*Need to reaffirm the reasons why you went veg? Have a read of these two personal stories on the lovely Kiss Me, I'm Vegan! blog.

*Feeling stressed and need five minutes to yourself? Sit back, put on your headphones, and listen to this:

What are your plans for this weekend?

Adventures in Food: Vegan Sundried Tomato Pesto

2010-06-21T22:45:00.000+01:00

Hey there veggies - hope your week is going well! If you live in Ireland you may have noticed I have an article in the Health and Living section of the Irish Independent today. It's on a subject close to my heart - health food shops. I spend an inordinate amount of time and money in them, often popping in for 'just one thing' and leaving with a bag crammed with goodies. I recently changed direction slightly in my career as a journalist and it's so exciting to be taking on new feature articles, something I have wanted to do for many years.

Here's the link if you'd like to read all about health food shops in Ireland.

Do you visit health food shops often?

I adore pesto - adore it! I usually plump for basil pesto but for a recent recipe I decided to make sundried tomato pesto. As always, this is vegan, and very simple to make, I promise.

Adventures in Food: Sundried Tomato Pesto

By Aoife Barry

Whether smeared on soft crusty bread, drizzled over a fresh salad or dolloped on to roasted vegetables, pesto is a deliciously versatile sauce that tastes so much more complicated than it is to make.
Its name comes from the past participle of the Italian word 'pesta', or 'to crush', which is where the English word 'pestle' comes from. Pesto is indeed crushed herbs and pine nuts, with the addition of olive oil.
While traditionally made with one of my favourite herbs, basil, it's also possible to make pesto with coriander, for example, and this week's recipe is for a simple, rich-tasting sundried tomato pesto, made with just a few ingredients.
The health benefits of raw garlic and olive oil could be enough to draw you to this dish; its intense taste will have you hooked.
The most wonderful element to pesto making is its adaptability. Not enough garlic? Add another clove. Too thick? Drizzle some more olive oil into it. No pine nuts? Try walnuts or almonds.
Here, the pesto is served with wholegrain spelt pasta. Why spelt? Well, it is an ancient form of wheat with a low amount of gluten and a nice amount of protein.
It's nutty, slightly sweet, and in the form of pasta is a perfect match for wheat -- but many people find it much easier to digest. Plus, the wholegrain version means you get the benefit of the fibre that the refined grain lacks.
You can find organic spelt products in health food stores and many supermarkets. If you are a coeliac, simply replace the spelt pasta with your favourite gluten-free pasta.
This meal is simple yet so delicious, especially when served with a glass of white wine and crusty bread. Buon appetito!

Takes: 10 minutes
Serves: One to four people

Ingredients

Wholegrain spelt pasta (around 100g per person)
1 jar of sundried tomatoes in olive oil (approximately 280g including oil)
60g organic pine nuts
2 cloves garlic (crushed or minced)
1 tsp dried basil/1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 Put on enough spelt pasta for you and your guests, and prepare according to instructions. As a general rule, one serving of pasta should be around 80g-100g.
2 Put all of the sundried tomatoes in a blender, leaving the oil in the jar (used later). Blend until combined.
3 Drizzle in a few tablespoons of the oil and add 40g of the pine nuts, and blend. While some people prefer their pesto chunky, others like it smooth -- it's up to you! If you need more pine nuts, add the remaining 20g, followed by the herbs and blend to the desired consistency.
4 Add the oil from the sundried tomato jar by the tablespoon until the pesto reaches its desired consistency -- I found eight tablespoons (90g) were enough for me, but you might like to add more or less.
5 Add the pesto to your cooked pasta. Why not store leftover pesto in the empty sundried tomato jar? Top it with the leftover oil before covering. This will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.

A disappointing experience at Gourmet Burger Kitchen

2010-06-14T22:23:00.004+01:00

I received an email today from the operations manager of GBK in Ireland apologising for the incident and offering me a voucher to use in a GBK restaurant of my choice.
He also said that the staff member will receive re-training and other staff will also be informed about the best way to deal with this sort of situation.
I really appreciate his sincere email and I'd like to say thank you to him for replying and offering an apology.

Here on Adventures in Veg, I try to focus mainly on the positive factors of being veggie. But it's important to be honest and talk about the bad as well as the good, so when it comes to reviewing restaurant or food experiences, I'd rather not say something's great when it isn't.

This evening, as you'll know if you follow my tweets, I had a pretty embarrassing experience at a restaurant in Dublin. I went to the restaurant, which is called Gourmet Burger Kitchen, with my boyfriend and two of our friends as the guys were heading to see Stone Temple Pilots in the Olympia. I've been to GBK loads of times - it's a 'gourmet' burger joint that has a nice selection of veggie burgers and I usually go for the lentil burger or the falafel burger. I've never had a problem ordering the burgers without cheese or mayo, and similarly when I order the rocket and parmesan salad I never have an issue getting it without parmesan. It's a great place to go with a mixed group of omnis and veggies as there's lots of choice and even though it isn't cheap despite being a casual place, it's nice for a treat.

But tonight, I had a bad experience at GBK. After waiting 15 minutes for service (there were two staff looking after the entire restaurant), a waiter finally arrived to take our order. I was first up and ordered the falafel burger without raita and the parmesan and rocket salad without parmesan (please).

As soon as I said "without parmesan please" the waiter asked, "are you vegan?" We all sort of laughed as I hummed and hawwed and said the usual "ugh, I suppose, eh technically yes, ha ha". "Well we had two vegans from America in here last week and they couldn't eat that salad," announced the waiter. "Um, I can eat it if I don't have parmesan..." I faltered. "And anyway, parmesan is not vegetarian, never mind vegan," I mumbled. I was a bit confused. How could I not eat a salad that was just made of rocket leaves, tomatoes and basil vinaigrette?

But that wasn't all. "You can't have our burger bun, because it's sourdough and THAT isn't vegan either," the waiter interjected. At this point, I was getting annoyed. I've been eating at GBK for at least a year. It's my choice if I eat the bun or not (sourdough is usually vegan anyway) and it's none of his business whether I do eat it. "I'll just take the falafel on the salad then," I said, getting more embarrassed by the minute. Then it was on to my friend to order. "I'll have onion rings," he said. What did the waiter do then? Only turn to me and say "You can't eat any of those, those have breadcrumbs in it, and the bread isn't VEGAN."

Yep, I didn't order the onion rings, but I was still told I couldn't eat them.

Talk about embarrassing. It's hard to convey the waiter's attitude throughout our short conversation but suffice to say it left us all a bit gobsmacked. This wasn't a case of him helpfully pointing out that some items contained dairy/egg ingredients. This was a guy telling me what I could and couldn't eat, unasked, and being smug about it. It was pretty appalling to be honest. I'm no wallflower, but I wasn't about to challenge him. I did, however, tweet about the incident and got lots of supportive replies - thanks to all who contacted me.

I'm not in the business of rubbishing companies or telling readers they shouldn't go to certain restaurants or establishments. That's each individual's choice. But what I will say is I won't be going back to that particular branch of GBK anytime soon. I worked in retail from the age of 16 to 24 - I did everything from serving on tills and mopping the floor at my local corner shop to doing make-overs in the Body Shop and even working on a hot food counter. I've been assistant manager of a shop and experienced all sorts of customers - from the friendly to the downright nasty. I know what it's like to have a bad day and take it out on a customer, and then regret it; I know what it's like to have to deal with a sticky customer or a mean person. I know it's not easy working with the public.

But if you're a waiter, I don't see why you have any business asking what a customer eats and then being nasty to them about it. It's not cool, it's not nice and it will only serve to make them feel extremely uncomfortable.

Thank you to that waiter for ruining what should have been a lovely meal and making me feel like crap. Next time you have a veggie customer, I hope you treat them better than you treated me.

Have you ever had a bad experience at a restaurant? What did you do?

Recent eats and treats - and my first vegan milkshake...

2010-06-14T13:25:00.001+01:00

I don't usually need any excuse to eat - I was the sort of child who would secretly nibble biscuits during classes in school - but having a food blog means that I have even more reason to try new and different foods. It's great as it takes me out of my comfort zone and forces me to try things, but it's bad as it puts a stretch on my finances and waistline. But hey, as long as I'm eating healthy food for the most part, and supporting local businesses it's all good with me right now.

I always find it quite funny that people assume those on vegetarian, and especially vegan, diets eat boring, tasteless or unadventurous food. My first reason for finding it funny is that I once thought that too - when my friend Vicky went vegan about 3 years ago I was very curious about what she would eat. Even though at the time I didn't eat much dairy or red meat myself, I didn't eat beans, pulses, etc so my narrow frame of thinking about food influenced what I thought she must eat. Now that I've ended up transitioning into a mainly vegan diet myself, I feel as though my love for food has increased tenfold. I eat so much more and different foods, I cook a lot and instead of thinking 'ugh I hate that!' about plant-based foods I'll think 'I don't like the taste of veggie sushi (for example) now, but I'll try it and hopefully will like it in the future'. I've seen how tastes change once foods are tried a few times, and it's wonderful thing. Believe me, I never thought I'd crave vegetables. But now I do, and I love it.

Of course, I don't mean to suggest that anyone who's not a vegetarian or vegan eats a bland diet - far from it! It's just that I was unadventurous with foods - as many people are, veggie or not - and the catalyst for change was going veggie. I have encountered many people who assume I eat a 'strange' diet, and I do understand why they make that wrong assumption. I just hope that when they look at veggie blogs or cookbooks, or try veggie food that their friends have prepared for them, they realise that you can be as adventurous as you want with food - without having to use an animal product in the process.

Do people think you eat a 'strange' or weird diet? Do you eat more foods now that you are veggie, or do you eat a similar diet?

Here are some recent eats and treats:

Myself and C went to Luigi Malone's in Dublin yesterday, and I went for the bean balti - which was more of a casserole. It was a pretty strange dish, in that it came with a choice of garlic bread or fries. I picked the fries but they were a pointless side dish. This meal would be so much better if it was half the size and accompanied with rice. It was really tasty, with a little spicy kick, but needed rice with it. It also looks really gross in photos - sorry!

I'd heard lots of things about Shakes milkshake bar in Dublin (on Dame St) so for dessert yesterday we gave it a try. For dairy eaters it offers a huge range of milkshakes with lots of add-ins (chocolate bars, etc) that get blended into the milkshakes.
For non-dairy eaters, they do offer a soy alternative - Swedish Glacé ice-cream and soya milk - and a handful of treats that can be blended in. I got the soy milkshake with chocolate bourbon biscuits blended in (yep, they're vegan!) and it was so creamy and delicious it would have fooled any dairy lover. My main qualm however was the price - €4.98 for one soy milkshake!
I asked the manager why it was so expensive and he politely explained it's because Swedish Glacé ice cream is expensive to buy and it takes half a tub of the ice cream to make one milkshake. It's 99c extra for a regular soy milkshake, or €1.99 extra for a large soy milkshake. I ordered a regular, which should have been €2.99 plus 99c....so I presume I was overcharged accidentally, but I didn't realise at the time. I completely understand that it costs more to get a soy milkshake, but the price may be prohibitive for some. Shakes doesn't always have soy products in stock, so perhaps if more of us request them, they will be able to buy Swedish Glacé at wholesale prices.
I did absolutely adore the taste of the milkshake though - so chocolatey! - and I'm delighted they serve a soy alternative, but it's not cheap.

I mentioned in my last blog post that I met up with Vegan Backpacker's Jill a few weeks ago - we went to Dakota Bar on South William St in Dublin which is fast becoming one of my favourite places for a bite to eat. It's a bar that has a pretty extensive menu and some lovely vegetarian options, most of which can be made vegan. My favourite thing on the menu is the roasted vegetables and pesto on foccacia bread - it's delicious. It's actually a goat's cheese foccacia but they take out the cheese if you ask them. The waiters call it the 'goat's cheese foccacia' regardless so don't panic if you order it sans cheese like me and they refer to it as still having cheese.
When I met up with Jill I went for a salad of 'Chargrilled Artichokes, Roast Vegetables, Cherry Tomatoes with Feta Cheese, Pine Nuts and Pesto', replacing the feta with avocado. The avocado was a bit creamy though, and I didn't like it much - but the artichokes and roasted veg were delicious. Can't beat some roasted vegetables!
The hummus and pitta bread also comes recommended as a light bite to eat.

Finally, on our way home last night we walked along the canal and I spotted a duck (at least I think it was a duck...!) with his or her little ducklings. I tried to get a picture without using the flash, but all I got was this blurry pic below. They were so cute.

What did you do this weekend? Have anything nice planned for next week?
I'm djing on Tuesday night in Cork, which I'm really excited about.

Pick 'n' Mix

2010-06-12T13:23:00.002+01:00

You may have noticed that I have updated the look of the blog - I was thinking recently that it needed an overhaul and then blogger introduced a new design feature, so it was quite serendipitous! There may be a few more changes here and there to come. I know I went for a very pink look, as it goes with the main picture in the blog header, but hopefully that isn't too pink for some people, ha!

What blogs and sites have you been reading lately? Come across any interesting recipes or articles? Why not let me and the other Adventures in Veg readers know by commenting below - comments are always so welcome!

Here are some things I've been reading lately:

*You might have heard of sprouting seeds and pulses, but have you heard of sprouting grains? Gena at the wonderful Choosing Raw site has the lowdown for you.
*A huge thanks to Angela at Oh She Glows for mentioning Adventures in Veg in her recent blog roundup. Every link is really appreciated! Hello and welcome to all Oh She Glows readers who have visited the site in recent days.
*We all know The Gluttonous Vegan makes amazing desserts - but did you know she makes awesome vegan savoury dishes too?
*Kiss Me I'm Vegan has an interview with The Shannons, who are veganising Betty Crocker's cookbook.
*There is a family vegetarian day taking place in Dublin today (Saturday).
*The delicious Dee's vegetarian (vegan) burgers are now certified gluten-free (pdf)! You can get them in supermarkets (Dunnes), health food shops and Centras in Ireland. Highly recommended.
*Lions and Tigers and Sara, Oh My! isn't a food blog, but I have to recommend it to any woman who is interested in fashion for women who aren't a size 10, body image, and the revolt against photoshopping. It's run by the fabulous Sara who is a really funny writer and whose attitude I totally dig.

*What's it like to travel the world as a vegan? Jill and John are finding out as they backpack their way around the world. Their blog, Vegan Backpacker, is crammed full of essential information for any vegan or vegetarian backpacker - after reading it I now have a long list of places I want to go to in London and New York next time I visit (after I plant that money tree....).

They are running a competition (closing date tomorrow, Sunday 13 June) for one lucky winner to scoop some Coconut Bliss ice-cream. Yum!

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of having dinner with Jill and John at Glauce (of the fab blog Food in My Life) and her husband Matteo's house in Dublin. It was so lovely to meet them all (I had gone for a drink with Jill the week before, it was so great to meet up) and Glauce's traditional Brazilian meal was utterly delicious. Glauce, I must get the recipe from you as I've been craving the black bean dish all week. We even had Glauce's delicious cupcakes for dessert. It was a fantastic night - thanks to Glauce for the invite.

Finally, I went home to Cork for my birthday last month and got to eat some delicious Indian food (I always go for chana masala, it's my favourite) and spent some time with Dexter, the cutest bichon frise ever. Here are some gratuitous pics of him being his cute self.