Today was a day of firsts! My first cookbook and a cauliflower rice experiment...
I've been reading the Ddeliciously Ella blog for a while and after seeing Ella and her mum in The Times a few weeks ago I decided I HAD to get her cookbook.
Full of beautifully presented, simple, plant-based recipes with no baddies at all, ‘Deliciously Ella’ is the vegan starter kit of dreams. It’s also gluten free! I’m certainly going to be cooking up a bunch of stuff over the coming weeks.
Here are some of my favourites:
I can’t wait to get started!!
But for today...
Cauliflower rice!
Don’t click away now... I’m a big lover of all things cauliflower (especially cauliflower cheese) BUT - and this is a big but - this rice alternative is an amazing low-carb, low-gi meal base even if you don’t.
This is so simple, too!
All you need to do is either grate the cauliflower or blend it in a food processor (I chose the latter)
You can either cook it or eat raw, which gives a couscous-esque texture.
I combined mine with:
- courgettes
- chickpeas
- mushrooms
- chopped tinned tomatoes
- fresh spinach
- red pepper oil + coconut oil
- fresh tomatoes
- celery salt
I cooked my cauliflower rice in a big ol’ pan along with the rest of my ingredients and it. was. delicious.
This stuff is the BEST. None of the ingredients are derived from animal products, nor is it tested on animals. The most deliciously sweet creamy coconut smell ever. Put it in the bath, lather it on in the shower... Do whatever you want with it - and it's so super cheap too!!
I had an exam yesterday so as a treat made the most delicious, pretty mango, pomegranate, almond and coconut chia seed pudding for my dinner... And totally forgot to photograph it.
Instead, here’s my dinner tonight, featuring AVOCADO CREAM.
Avocado cream is incredibly easy to make. I was inspired by deliciouslyella (check out her blog and recipe book!! amazing) to whip (literally) this up today, with a few additions.
All you need is an electric whisk, a very ripe avocado and some lime. Mash the avo first so it’s easy to mix, squeeze in a dash of lime and pepper, and whisk it all up. Ta-dah: a delicious creamy extra to your meal.
This isn’t quite the same as avocado hummus but it could definitely be used to dip in chips or carrots. It’s slightly tangy but has all that smoothness that avocados are so loved for.
Doesn’t that look refreshing?
I added my avo cream to the risotto I had for dinner tonight.
Sometimes I get stuck in a bit of a risotto rut, and I made a different version of this a few days ago, but it was so delicious I had to tuck in again.
This recipe uses coconut oil, which is essentially my favourite thing in the world...
This little pot of goodness can be used for EVERYTHING and is so, so good for you.
I put it in my porridge in the morning, cups of green tea and use it for pretty much all of my cooking.
It’s solid at room temperature but melts into a clear liquid if you rub it between your hands. (and it smells delicious)
You can pick up a pot this size for about £7 from Waitrose.
I don’t eat white rice, so I used basmati brown rice for my ‘risotto’.
ingredients
- half cup of brown rice
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 3 tblsp yellow lentils
- half cup of chopped tomatoes
- 1/4 cup chickpeas
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- quarter cup coconut milk (the type in a tin)
- 3 or so stems brocolli
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 tsp red pepper oil
Heat the coconut oil until it’s liquid and then add the garlic.
Once this is clear, simply lob in the rest of your ingredients!
Here’s another little favourite of mine... Red pepper olive oil from Venice! This adds a little fire to any meal - you can always taste the flavour bursting through!
I also added some finely chopped basil leaves to my avo cream because, why not?
Brown rice takes a little longer to cook - about twenty minutes. Make sure your pan is covered but also check at regular intervals to make sure it’s not sticking -- you don’t want it to burn!
When it’s properly cooked you’ll have a rich gooey mixture, perfect for the evening.
Add the cream on top and ta-dah - full for hours and feeling awesome.
It’s almost summer, still light at 9pm, and I have the most delicious coconut quinoa bowl lined up. What’s not to love?
I’ve been cooking my little heart out and have SO many recipes lined up to share!! They’re all flavourful, filling and awesome for your insides.
This bowl is choc-a-bloc full of goodness, helping out your skin, heart and bones.
Ingredients:
- coconut milk
- kidney beans
- quinoa
- red split lentils
- kale (or spinach - whichever you have in the cupboard, or both!)
- aubergine
- cumin / turmeric / coriander / curry powder
- one clove garlic
- one cup boiling water
- coconut oil
Get a medium sized pot and heat up a tablespoon of coconut oil. then crush your garlic cloves and cook until clear.
Meanwhile, chop up the aubergine and add it + the beans to the pot. Next, add your quinoa, boiling water and coconut milk.
Mix it around so that nothing’s sticking to the pan, then after around 5 minutes add the spinach / quinoa and lentils.
It makes a really pretty creamy green colour which eventually thickens as the quinoa and lentils absorb the liquid. This takes around 15 minutes.
If the mix is getting too thick then add a little more coconut milk or water so it retains its soupy texture.
(Not the best picture above)
When your lentils and quinoa are soft - give it a taste to check!! - pour the pot’s worth into a bowl and ta-dah! a warming, filling and downright delicious meal to end your day.
This keeps you satisfied for hours and makes you feel GREAT.
Happy earth day and happy ‘I’m back on the internet’ day...
It’s a sunny day in England and it’s also a day to celebrate the planet we call home, so I thought I'd whip up an earth-friendly, sunshine-embracing lunch to put on here.
This is a colorful vegan salad made up of
- brocolli
- quinoa
- beetroot
- button mushrooms
- watercress
- ginger
- red pepper oil
And that’s all.
Quinoa (keen-wa) is a flavorsome, nutty alternative to rice or pasta and is especially great in summery salads like this one. It takes about 15-20 minutes to boil, so whip this on about 5 minutes before you start cooking your veg.
I have three little bottles of oil my mum brought me back from a trip to Venice. They’re all delicious, but my favorite is the pepper oil - it adds a bit of fire to any meal. pour some of this into a pan, add your brocolli (this takes a while to soften if you aren’t boiling it) then gradually add your other veg.
Combine, sprinkle some watercress on top and... There you have it, a ridiculously healthy, cruelty-free lunch worthy of mother earth.
Did you know that:
- 51% + global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture
- Producing 1 calorie from animal protein requires 11 x more fossil fuel input as does producing a calorie from plant sources
- The meat, dairy and egg industries account for 65% of nitrous oxide emissions
- You don’t need to eat meat, dairy or eggs to survive
Read this for more info:
should we all become vegans to stave off climate change?
here are a few snaps from the ever changing clouds of today.
i love english weather. i do i do i do. it's sparky and inventive and exciting and it's always changing. but at the mo i would love love love a little more sunshine and a leeeettle bit less rain.
Looking for some fun, quick and colorful vegan recipe ideas for summer?
Top Left
Vegan sausage, pepper and tomato wholemeal pasta
This takes about 15 minutes from start to finish and is a pretty awesome, filling dinner to have when you've not got much time or energy to make something fancy.
To serve one:
Handful of wholemeal penne/spaghetti
Two vegan Quorn sausages
Half a red pepper
Half a tin peeled tomatoes in sauce
One clove of garlic
Two tablespoons olive oil
One tsp lemon juice
One cup spinach
Two tbsp tomato paste
Heat olive oil in a small pan. Chop up your sausages into chunks and chuck 'em into the pan, along with your garlic and lemon juice. Keep it on a low to medium heat.
Meanwhile, boil water and add in your pasta. Cook for ten to fifteen minutes. As the pasta and sausage chunks are cooking, slice up half a red pepper into small pieces and add this to the pan. Follow this with your chopped tomatoes, spinach and lemon juice.
When the pasta's done, your tomatoey-sausage mix will be, too. Drain the pasta using a skillet and toss it with the sauce. Then, tuck in!!!
Top Right
Vegan olive, mushroom and chickpea summer salad
Chickpeas are great for bulking up a meal and the fact that they don't taste of much means they work really well with pretty much anything. I especially love them in salads, like so.
For one medium bowl:
1/3rd can of chickpeas in water
2 large mushrooms of your choice (agaricus, porcini or portabello would work best)
4-5 cherry tomatoes
Handful of green olives
1/4 apple
One cup lettuce
One teaspoon lemon juice
One teaspoon cider vinegar
Make this as you would any salad: drain the chickpeas, chop the ingredients up small and shove them into a bowl.
The sweetness of the apple works really well with the olives (think cheese and apple - classic combo!) and the crunchiness of the lettuce leaves.
I also love a zesty dressing, and lemon juice is a great one; it's super healthy and brings out all the different flavors in the bowl.
Bottom Left
Light 'chicken', bean and cucumber salad
This is one for those of you who miss a bit of meat in your salads. I used vegan 'chicken' pieces in this one; they're small, juicy and taste a lot like the real thing. Combined with a variety of beans, this is a winner.
For one medium bowl:
1/3rd pack of vegan 'chicken' pieces
Half a tin of mixed beans (available from any supermarket for as little as 99p!)
4 cherry tomatoes
1/8th a cucumber
1/2 a romaine heart
First up, drain the beans. They often do come in a nice salad dressing but I find this to be a little overpowering and it's often loaded with sugar and salt. Not really what you want when you're makin' a salad.
Chop up the cherry tomatoes and cucumber and mix these with the beans. Then add your 'chicken' and toss it with the romaine.
Mix it all up a little and tuuuuuck in. Yum.
Bottom Right
Tomato-mushroom roux with wholemeal pasta
One of my favorite meals is lasagne, so it's pretty self-explanatory that I love a good roux. I figured the other day that you could easily make a veganised version of this sauce, so I set about doing it.
For the roux:
Half cup of soy milk
One tbsp vegan butter (I used olive butter)
One tbsp flour (I used rye)
For the tomato sauce:
1 cup mushrooms
1/3rd can of chopped tomatoes in tomato sauce
Two tbsp tomato paste
One cup spinach
Handful of wholemeal penne/spaghetti
Heat your soy milk in a saucepan, over a low heat to make sure it doesn't burn (yuck.) Once it's heated, add in the butter and sift in flour, whisking vigorously and constantly so it doesn't get lumpy. Keep whisking and stirring until the sauce has thickened, then leave to simmer.
When the sauce is warm, boil a pan of water and add your pasta in to cook. As this is bubbling up, chop up your mushrooms (not too small; they decrease massively in size when they cook) and add them to the roux.
After this, dump your chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and spinach into the roux. Carry on stirring until the sauce becomes red and everything's mixed up together.
Leave the sauce ingredients to cook on a low heat for ten minutes, until your pasta's done. Then toss it all together and gobble it up.
This hot weather has reminded me to post a very overdue, snap happy blog about my gorgeous, sunny day at Wimbledon last month.
With coffee, water and snacks in our systems the five of us sat down in the queue, prepared for a very long wait until we got into the grounds.
I was rather feeling the effects of the night before so didn't jump straight on the alcohol train, but Conor, Tien, Paul and Celin all enjoyed a mix of beverages - champagne, white wine and Pimms were shared between them while we sat in the sunshine.
Smatterings of rain hit when we got into the park, but luckily we were prepared - Wimbledon gives you a free poncho when you get in. Obviously they know the British weather better than we do!
Conor loved his poncho (actually from LSE) a bit more than the rest of us.
Wimbledon is an experience like no other. For just £20 you get to roam the grounds and can pick and choose from matches on courts 3 and below.
The grounds are beautifully manicured and look even more spectacular in the sunshine.
Everyone was in high spirits, enjoying strawberries and cream and an array of other delectable delights at not too shabby a price.
It was an especially happy day that Saturday because Britain's own, Andy Murray, was playing on Centre Court.
Here's Djokovic after a very impressive win.
Those clouds are a tease! Conor and I got home looking like Rudolf and his equally shiny red pal. Next year, suncream is a must.
We got to 'Murray Mound' a whole two hours before his match started - a wise move on our part considering how packed it got. People crammed into every available space trying to get a glimpse of the big screen.
Before watching Murray, though, we wandered between lots of different matches, seeing plenty of live tennis to get our fix.
Conor and I also watched a bit of the Bryan brothers doubles match before heading to the hill.
We were all a little sleepy after such an early start...
Celin, Tien and Paul all dozed off so Conor and I got busy taking some 'juicy' pics.
(I hope he'll still want to be my friend.)
We even managed to sneak in a visit to the site of the longest match of tennis ever. A whopping 11 hours and 5 minutes:
And got a photo with the man himself!
I know Wimbledon's long gone now, but I couldn't recommend a visit more.
For a little cash you get an entire day of fun. You can even take a picnic and your own alcohol to make it more friendly for the student budget. I'd say that's pretty ace. (Ha)
Last saturday, my gorgeous friend Eve and I decided to be tourists for the evening and go on a very romantic Southbank date.
Isn't my date lovely?
Feeling a bit full of food meant we sauntered along by the Thames looking for somewhere to have a few drinks.
We came across the most amazing busker, a girl with a gorgeous voice who'd drawn a crowd of dozens of people. They were even watching from the bridge.
After we finally managed to break away, I decided we should check the vibe out at Udderbelly again.
I've raved on about this in a previous post but this time I managed to take a few more snaps, and we stayed for even longer.
We sat outside the main area to start off with, and drank a glass of blackberry and elderflower pimms.
This girl can do no wrong.
Excuse the rubbish pics, but I seem to only go to Udderbelly when it's getting dark!
You just aren't doing Southbank properly unless you take some photos of or by the river… As we waited for Eve's friend Sarah we got involved with the tourists around us and had some snaps taken.
(One of the only photos where the wind wasn't blowing our hair over our faces.)
Southbank is one of my favourite places to hang out. I'm so lucky to live only a few minutes walk away from such a diverse area… I'm always finding new restaurants and bars and other fun things to do.
And as most people who know me and Eve are aware, a night out together was finished off at The Roxy as always.
Cheesy tunes and £8 pitchers? It's no wonder we find ourselves there most nights of the week.
On Tuesday we also went to the Portobello Star in Notting Hill. This was a teeny tiny little bar that serves an array of exotic cocktails.
Not the place to go if you're looking for a bargain, but if you do give it a visit you'll be hanging out with fun people and drinking in one of the loveliest areas in London - Eve and I felt a little intimidated when we realised we were the only two who didn't design for Burberry menswear (literally.)
Think of a drink and the Portobello Star will offer it. It's especially cool because it also runs the Ginstitute - a masterclass in creating your very own, personalised gin, and 'the second smallest museum in London.'
Best way to cure a hangover? Breakfast at The Albion.
It may have been 10am and I may or may not have had 3 hours sleep, but this cafe just down the road from me is always worth the trip.
The Albion prides itself on offering healthy meals and, if very overpriced, fresh produce - fruit, veg and even chicken - from inside the cafe itself.
They also offer breakfast, lunch and dinner and it's all scrummy! It's not cheap, but it's worth paying a few extra pennies for it, promise.
Some of us had scrambled sweet potatoes and egg - a combination I've never heard of before, but that looked fab - whereas I went for plain ol' porridge with prunes.
And some extra toast.
Laughs were shared, as was the fruitiest and most delicious raspberry jam I've ever eaten! You can buy gigantic jars of it for £15 and boy was I tempted.
Ruth even flashed me a grin...
I promised my aunt I'd blog about this on the day but I've only just managed to scrap the few pics I took together. Hope it's up to scratch!
If anyone's looking for a great breakfast spot by the Tate, this is certainly one I'd recommend.
One of my oldest friends came up to London for the day.
Her main aim was to be featured on the blog so we got a little camera-happy as we spent our day eating and chatting in the sunshine.
After wandering down Southbank with some ice coffee, our first pit stop was Busaba Eathai in Leicester Square. This affordable Thai restaurant is sleek, chic and delicious. Walking in feels like you're about to pay much more for your food than you actually do.
We started with some much-needed and very refreshing drinks that came in kooky glasses.
Mine was a ginger ice tea with citrus fruits.
And Becky had a guava collins - guava, coconut, lime and lime. I promise I was only a bit jealous.
We spent a lot of time umm-ing and ahh-ing over which mains to pick - and ended up being so indecisive we got sides, too.
I had a gorgeous pumpkin curry with coconut rice and some vegetable rolls on the side. Sweet, filling and light, just right for a summer day like yesterday.
Becky on the other hand picked the scallop and prawn stir-fry with sticky rice - but didn't notice the spicy sign and was faced with a bit of a challenge! Thank god for free tap water.
We also loved these cute boxes the rice came in. It was so tempting to steal one - luckily neither of us had a bag big enough!
It was all in all a bit of a feast, but at such a reasonable price who wouldn't want to stuff their faces full of Thai food?
Although, Becky and I have slightly insatiable tummies and it was a gorgeously sunny day so we decided to look up the best ice cream parlours in central London and see if one took our fancy!
It turns out that we were a short stroll away from Freggo, on Swallow Street. This is a cosy little nook just next to Regent Street and I'd love to explore it a bit more and see what it has to offer!
Freggo is a bit different because it offers take away (who'd have thunk it?!) ice cream in boxes of 6 different flavours. And boy are the choices delicious.
This was a very naughty day vegan-wise, but I just couldn't turn down a double scoop banana and chocolate (with almonds) ice cream like this.
They even give you a double cone! And all for the very reasonable price of £3.95.
This ice cream reminded me of my favorite place in the world - Salcombe Ice Cream in Devon. If you're ever in this little town be sure to check it out. It's a tiny ice cream parlour that I've been going to ever since I was little and I'm pretty sure they sell the best treats in the world.
Freggo was still pretty delectable, though. Colourful and fun, and cool enough that your ice cream didn't melt away before you had a chance to eat it.
Becky was chuffed with her choice: dulce de leche and white chocolate.
As if that wasn't enough, after a brief stint on Oxford Street pancakes came calling.
If you know me, you'll know I love pancakes so the My Old Dutch restaurants situated all over town are a dream come true.
I used to have pancake eating competitions with my brothers on pancake day and I would always win. My record is 12 big crepes - not bad, right?
My Old Dutch offers £5 Mondays (which I have actually yet to go to - oops!) and has a menu so big it's nearly impossible to pick what you want.
A date next to us wisely went for two savoury pancakes for their main and ordered a sweet sharer for dessert. Clever!
I made my own, because it's cheaper and I wanted to avoid excessive amounts of dairy. I chose my second favourite (after lemon and sugar) - banana, maple syrup, and chocolate chips.
I didn't try Becky's but it looked great: salmon and a creamy mushroom sauce.
She said she wished it had been twice as big! I agree with that statement.
Of course, we both finished in about 5 minutes.
My Old Dutch: you impress me once again.
I love Becky and I seriously love good food. All in all a great day, right?
I have an entire month in London with absolutely no commitments.
If this doesn't kill you too much, you might want to hear about Udderbelly's fantastic outdoor bar and food area that's currently plonked on the Southbank.
I discovered this magical garden space with a few lovely girls yesterday as we wandered along the Thames.
It was a gorgeous, warm and clear night - perfect for light boozing in a buzzing popup.
The downside of nighttime blogging inspiration is that it's not great for taking photos! Nevertheless, Udderbelly is all a bit mysterious and there are so many different areas that it would have been impossible to capture them all.
It's free to get in here and the alcohol is all very reasonably priced - £17.50 for a yummy pitcher of pimms shared between the four of us (individual glasses were £6.50.) You can also buy burgers, hotdogs, pizzas and gorgeous rosemary salt chips - a hearty packet for only 3 squids!
Udderbelly is a bit of a mixed bag - I think they do comedy, music and, according to Joanne, 'feminist apple juggling' - but no matter what they offer, the great vibe in the outdoor section is worth a trip.
What's summer for if not sipping at some Pimms in great company and stealing a quick glance at the London Eye? Udderbelly can give you all of that.
I'm sure I'll be back, even if only to take some better snaps!
On a total side note… I thought I'd mention the wonder that is Vapianos. This is a pretty common Italian restaurant that you'll find all over London but I thought it was worth giving the time of day.
They have so many great vegan options here and it's fantastically priced!
Their pasta is wholesome and totally yummy, but they also do pizza, salads and soups. Impossible to go wrong.
There's a Vapianos located in Southwark right by the Tate, which is also where I live, and I can't get enough of it. Today my friend Harriet and I treated ourselves and sat in the sunshine to devour some pasta. So worth it.
Here's my brother James tucking into a whopping plate of Vaps goodness.
I've been there with pretty much everyone I know. My friend Pete and I took a trip before he whizzed off to South America for 9 months, and I've taken two out of my three brothers.
I'm sure you've all heard of it before but if you're umm-ing and ahh-ing over somewhere to find reasonably priced Italian grub, Vapianos is for sure the place for you.
The sun seems to have finally buggered off, so instead of larking about in the warm pretending like I've got nothing to do I thought I'd procrastinate in a different way and share another bunch of food pics on here.
Trafalgar Square in the sun really helped brighten my mood. Londoners - and holidaymakers! - were out in full flock to enjoy the sunshine and it was great. A guy was fully snoozing away next to me, newspaper covering his face and all. I love that people can be that free and happy in such a busy, hectic space.
A bit of a crap photo above, but we've all got to be a little tourist-y sometimes, right? Yesterday my lovely mum popped up to London to be a bit geeky and see a Viking exhibition (I wonder where I get it from)… As she was in town I nabbed the opportunity to drag her to go and eat some veggie grub in an old school hotspot.
We went to Food For Thought, just off Covent Garden, which is actually vegetarian but has plenty of good options for vegans too.
Yes, that might look like a gross green soupy lump but it tasted good. Quick note: FFT is cash only - don't make the mistake we did and have to scuttle out and look frantically for a cash machine!!
I actually got my mum to smile for a photo, and she's going to hate me for putting this up here but I think she looks pretty wicked so it's staying.
It's always great to see her and to catch up… Even if it's just on the progress of my brother's moustache.
Today, my favorite three ladies and I battled the rain to go to Bill's, which is a chain of restaurants/cafes across London. There happens to be one pretty close to where we live so we decided to check it out for breakfast.
With 5 minutes to spare before we thought they stopped serving, it was a relief to find out that being a student does have some benefits… Our everyday laziness meant we had no clue it was a Bank Holiday and our hungry tummies could be filled up after all.
Here's Ellie looking teeny tiny and obviously gorgeous as she's grubbin away. This was all to satisfy a niche 3am pancake craving and I'm going to hedge my bets and say Bill's performed.
Great service and even better prices mean I'm thinking this place might become a bit more of a regular go-to!
If you're ever feeling a bit bummed out, do what I do and share a meal with those you love. You'll be sure to feel much more positive vibes afterward.
I've been meaning to go here for - the shame - a few years now and never have. They've recently revamped their Hammersmith restaurant so my mum took me there for a nice, veg friendly treat.
(Nabbed the pic above from their website)
The Gate Hammersmith is inside a gorgeous courtyard, tucked away from the busy London streets but within arms reach of the Apollo.
I picked the Teriyaki Aubergine and mummy Huggett went for the Thali, which looked delicious. Kicking myself for not nabbing some!
I of course tried to snap her smiling but she refused, so here's a rather forlorn picture of her digging into her grub.
The Gate's staff are friendly and their meals come out really promptly. It's not cheap but, as with most vegetarian places, they can offer slightly lower prices for great quality because meat tends to be the most expensive ingredient.
We also tried to take advantage of our Friends card at the Royal Academy but were a little late… Everything was closed! Here's my view in the sunny courtyard as I waited for my mum to get there, all on my lonesome! Love the wacky chairs and those silver sculptures.
Earlier in the day I also went for a riverside drink with my loveliest friends. We took advantage of our local (Starbucks) 1/2 price Frappucino happy hour - the happiest of hours - and got some cool sugary goodness to go.
They messed up Silke's order so she got two. I had to include this picture of her happily repping LSE and her Frappes! Lucky girl.
Thursday saw another lot of laughter and good food. I'm liking the new, sunny you, London.
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