Food for thought

Last week I visited Covent Garden, I've not be there for ages. My first ever job was in a recording studio on Floral Street and I used to go to Food for Thought or Cranks for lunch. This was back in 1981, I was so happy to see Food for thought is still there serving delicious veggie and vegan food.

This lovely bowl of soup and salad was about £6 . Really tasty and friendly kind staff. I even bought a vegan strawberry scone for the train trip home.


I stopped off at The Monmouth coffee company for a soya latte to be told they did not sell soya milk !!!!! I always like to support the smaller coffee shops and not visit chains so was very disappointed that they didn't support the minority vegan.

Have a great day everyone

Hooray for Bundt cake

Hooray for bundt cake , This came from the lovely book Vegan eats World . Its moist tasty and really easy to make. I bought these fab silicon moulds and they make it look especially pretty and tasty. Vegan eats world rocks, Great recipes easy to follow and good pictures. Its good to browse through use recipes and is inspirational for new ideas
This cake was ace, made with coconut milk, coconut and orange whats not to like. http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Eats-World-International-Savoring/dp/0738214868

Please call me by my true names

I first read this poem in 1989, and to be honest I had completely forgotten about it, till this week it came back into my consciousness. A friend of mine was on retreat in Thailand and when she walked past the notice board one day it was pinned on there, a few hours later it was gone. She shared it with me the day she returned to Koh Phang Gang. I remember copying it and feeling the strength of the words.

Having just returned from 5 days training this week these words found their way back to me, we were trying to understand stillness and how to approach clients as a witness. For some reason this resonated with me.

by Thich Nhat Hanh (1929 - ) Timeline Original LanguageEnglish

Don't say that I will depart tomorrow --
even today I am still arriving.

Look deeply: every second I am arriving
to be a bud on a Spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with still-fragile wings,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.

I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
to fear and to hope.

The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death
of all that is alive.

I am the mayfly metamorphosing
on the surface of the river.
And I am the bird
that swoops down to swallow the mayfly.

I am the frog swimming happily
in the clear water of a pond.
And I am the grass-snake
that silently feeds itself on the frog.

I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks.
And I am the arms merchant,
selling deadly weapons to Uganda.

I am the twelve-year-old girl,
refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean
after being raped by a sea pirate.
And I am the pirate,
my heart not yet capable
of seeing and loving.

I am a member of the politburo,
with plenty of power in my hands.
And I am the man who has to pay
his "debt of blood" to my people
dying slowly in a forced-labor camp.

My joy is like Spring, so warm
it makes flowers bloom all over the Earth.
My pain is like a river of tears,
so vast it fills the four oceans.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and my laughter at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up,
and so the door of my heart
can be left open,
the door of compassion.

Veggie delivery

soft ripe arvos and other tasty stuff

Having veggies delivered is fabulous, I've tried it many times but always end up with a load of rotten cabbage and a few soggy beetroot left in the fridge and the occasional edible root that I have no idea what it is or what to do with it. 

So now I have a huge list of veggies on my bad list, no broad beans, cauliflower or pears, the first 2 make me not very pleasant to live with and I end up parping more than the dogs and pears because I hate them. Yup I've tried them fresh off the tree, dipped in chocolate, poached and in a pie, yuk, its the weird grain texture that tickles the little buttons on the back of your mouth and make you pull a face like a gecko.

We had our lovely friends Richard and Mary-Jane over for dinner this week, both amazingly talented and fabulous people. I cooked a Chocolate Rasberry torte recipe. There's an amazingly talented chef that works at a retreat centre I work at and it was one of his recipes. Here's the link and the recipe

http://www.cashewcatering.co.uk/vegetarian_vegan_wedding_catering/recipes.php

raspberry & chocolate truffle torte

Makes 6 inch cake round

For the Base

200g packet digestive style biscuit

75g margarine

2 TBS agave (optional)

For The Chocolate Truffle Filling.

200g dark chocolate.

100g margarine

75ml coconut milk

2TBS agave (optional)

100g fresh raspberries

Prep time 10 mins

Chilling time 1-3 hours

Start by lining a 6 inch cake round with some greaseproof paper and set aside.

Next set up a bain marie or double boiler on your stove by heating up some water in a 

saucepan to a gentle simmer.

Then weigh out the margarine for the base in a heatproof bowl and place on the boiling 

water until it has melted and then set to one side.

Next weigh out the chocolate and margarine for the filling in a heatproof bowl and place 

on your simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted. It's important that the water 

doesn't make its way into the mixture, so don't let it get too hot and boil over. Once these 

are melted then stir the coconut milk and agave if using and the filling is ready.

Whilst the filling is melting place the biscuits for the base in a food processor and blend until

 they become crumbs or alternatively you can put them in a plastic bag and then wrap a tea 

towel around this and 'whack' them with a rolling pin until they are in crumbs. Once in 

crumbs stir in the melted margarine and agave if using and then place them in the bottom

 of the cake tin and press them down and smooth over with a small palette knife or similar 

utensil.Once the filling is ready pour it over the base, then you can scatter the raspberries 

onto the filling making sure that they are evenly distributed and leave a few to gently place 

on top, so that when it sets they act as decoration.

Now place the torte in either a fridge or freezer and leave until set.

Heres a pretty terrible picture,
will retake it next time I make it

I made a simple raspberry coulis to go with it, 

just whizzed a handful of raspberry's a small 

spoonful of icing sugar to taste and pushed 

through a fine sieve.

Sushi with cous sous

Well it was worth a try, who says its got to be rice?  Quick soak of some cous cous, then a stir with coriander pesto and a few veg lined up.  Quick roll on the sushi mat = major lunchtime success.

Friends for a feast

My poor husband is having to contend with the mess that I keep creating in the kitchen. He sees my mission to use every pan and bowl that we have as my mission in life. The bonus is he gets to eat some great food along the way. 

Sweet Potato and arancini

A couple of nights ago we had a great friend of ours come to supper, my mission to create a meal that he didn't realise was vegan. So on the menu was arancini ( left over risotto rolled in breadcrumbs and shallow fried) my new favorite thing, sweet potato fritters, lentils al la  Ottolengi ( one of my favourite cook books is Ottolengis Plenty) A pesto made out of coriander, watercress, olive oil and pine nuts, all whizzed together. Then vegan strawberry tarts. Which were a bit of a hit, probably should have got them out of the oven about 3 mins earlier so the the pastry was less dry. Filled them with roasted balsamic strawberry's, spoonful of soya yogurt and topped with fresh strawberries and a plain chocolate button.

strawberry tarts

Taking the leap

Me with Molly and Dolly

So I have finally made the leap, from being a veggie for the last 27 years to the world of veganism. There's a mixture of reasons but the main one is the way we treat animals, the lack of love in looking after them and how even a glass of milk somewhere down the line has killed another living creature.  

We have been feeding the lambs next door for the last 3 months, "Molly and Dolly", their  mum died in lamb birth, they are so friendly with there own little characters, Molly is a bit bolshy and poor little Dolly is a bit lopsided but she goes at her own speed - theres a lesson to be learnt there.  I was walking Esther (thats one of my dogs) this morning and the local pub has local South Downs lamb on the spit this weekend. Breaks my heart, Molly and Dolly are safe as they are going to be used as lawnmowers for the rest of their life. 

Looking at our diets now we pretty much live a vegan lifestyle, but I have a weakness for a good milky cup of coffee in the morning and soya milk does that weird separating thing. So this morning I invested in the premium BonSoy milk. Its £2.79 a carton and worth ever drop, Its creamy and rich and very lovely. It still separates a little but a quick stir and its fine.

A while ago we ate at the fabulous Aloka in Brighton so I tried last night to recreate an amazing risotto I had there. A garden vegetable medley of home grown courgettes, organic broccoli, french beans and onions, served on a pea puree with a touch of mint. Side order of tomato bruchetta . Not bad and tasted delicious, almost to delicate, next time I will add a few chives or a hint of a spring onion to give it a little more punch. I

Garden vegetable risotto with pea puree