Bristol Vegan Fayre

I was hoping for the annual Vegan Fayre to have a few of my favourite stalls, and I wasn’t disappointed, first stop was vegan fish and chips, (mushy peas optionally) with a cuppa brew!

Something Fishy Vegan Fish and chips with a touch of seaweed;

This was followed by a few hours of sampling and browsing what’s new in the world of Veganism in the UK! Which included vegan peach gummies and moo free chocolate!

Bamboo Clothing:


Buddha Fields cafe, pancakes and Chai tea, yum!

I had a chat with some of the Sea Shepherds and the Royal Society for Protection of Birds, as well as a few other animal charities.


The atmosphere was chilled, as was the weather but it brightened up and the acoustic entertainment was a real treat, including music and poetry.

Family friendly and full of a diverse variety of food including veggie kofta’s, falafel, raw food, fresh juices, Indian bites and drinks, burgers, salads and stews.

For a sweeter tooth a choice of Booja Booja ice cream from a classic VW, or Rice Cream or Churros with chocolate sauce!

Healthy times

After a Trip to Ms Cupcake in London on Saturday before the Roller Derby Bout, I bought the long drooled over Appetite for Reduction by Isa, the amazing co-author of Vegan Cupcakes Take over the world, Veganomicon, Vegan with a Vengeance and Cookies Invade your Cookie Jar.
Since then I have been trying a new method to cooking, namely making a few days worth of something healthy for lunch and dinners.
I started on Sunday night with making a chickpea, spinach and tomato curry, finished off with some coconut milk. And preparing my lunch on Monday, I used the forgotten bag of Quinoa (Isa Raved about eating it lots) and it’s much better for you than couscous. So cook the Quinoa and when it’s cold add to a bowl of grated carrot, chopped tomato, cucumber, radish, coriander, pepper and spring onion.


I hope this doesn’t sound like a Craig David song but;
I made enough salad for lunch on Monday,
Taco’s with chilli soya mince, refried beans and salad for dinner on Monday,
Tuesday lunch leftover taco mix salad,
Tuesday Evening night Curry with Quinoa salad. Pudding of stewed rhubarb with vegan custard.
Wednesday lunch Quinoa salad with humous, lettuce and two tasty gherkins
Wednesday dinner, Thursday lunch, Thursday dinner, Friday lunch, Friday dinner to go!

Ms Cupcake and Roller Derby

Last weekend, I was heading to london to see a Roller Derby Bout hosted by the London Roller Girls. On our way we stopped at the newly opened (5weeks) for a few sweet treats. The lovely shop in Brixton, is very easy to find from the station and the staff were lovely.

Got there in time for a freshly made Vegan Doughnut, I urge any visitors to get one..or two!

The Strawberry Cheesecake cupcake was my first choice, and I tried a few samples too of the Crunchy Bar Cake and Ferrero Rocher Gluten Free.

The Gluten Free options are just as good!

Ms Cupcake herself attended the Roller Derby Bout.

I had a great time at Roller Derby and cant wait to go to the next one, the girls are amazing Skaters!

Seasonal Splender

I have again been enjoying the treats the Winchester Hampshire Farmers Market has to offer, it was briming with new delights this week, I think due to the early sunshine we've been having. Its Asparagus season and also there are a lot of seedlings on offer.
At The Tomato Stall there was a new arrival of Orange plum tomotoes which like the red plums taste good enough to eat like sweets.

Post Workout Food

Tonight I went out skating to train for Roller derby.
When I got in I decided to make something refreshing and satisfying, I craved a banana milkshake but didn’t want to load up on ice cream, and so came my post workout smoothie.
If the families bough too much fruit, believing I can eat 3 bananas a day, I slice and freeze them for such blending occasions
I haven’t yet made my own cashew milk, so I used shop bought oat milk. I know oats are very satisfying, good for slow release energy.

Ingredients:
Frozen sliced banana
Frozen slices strawberry/blueberries
Oat milk

Put the fruit and milk, leave sitting to chill it, and then blend to a smooth texture, thin enough to drink.

Avocados

If like me you love Avocados then I’ve got a few tips. I’ll be giving you the lowdown on where (in my local area – North Hants, South England) is best if you need some guacamole!

It seems you either find yourself with rock solid Avo’s that after two weeks are still not ripe, but when you cut into them are brown, not a good mix. Or you have the over ripe ones with a multitude of finger tip sizes bruises on them.

Supermarkets
Morrison’s offers pot luck; sometimes turns up a ripe one and if it’s the cheapest own brand your laughing, but mostly they have rock solid (I not patient enough to not eat an Avocado if I see it in my kitchen) and very little choice.
Tesco offer some overprices apparently especially ripe ones, but I often find them to only be average, again a bit of potluck.
My local Sainsbury’s and Co-op, my favourite supermarket, especially for their *Vegan Labelling, are no so local, and I can’t justify driving 7 miles, when I have shops on my door step.

So…

My Best advice is…[drum roll please]

Marks and Spenser’s, you may know that Marks’s is a notoriously expensive shop and only for getting “bits” not doing a weekly shop. But I recently discovered they do a great range of Avocado, which is evenly priced with Tesco and Morrison’s, and sometimes has special offers too!
They do a few varieties, which include the soya crème de la soya crème, Baby Avocado’s which aren’t all stone, like some you can buy and are lovely and in a pack of 4, and usually don’t all ripen at the same time! They are the perfect size to eat a whole one without it being excessive, meaning no half avocado in the Fridge turning brown!


Happy Shopping my little salad (or Mexican food) lovers!