Back from Blackpool!

Just back from my hols to Blackpool with Jay!

Sadly we never got to go to the all-vegan wildlife hotel that we'd booked over a month in advance after all On booking, the hotel owner asked us to call in the event that anything come up and we couldn't make it for any reason so she could rent out the room- which of course I would have done anyway.

Shame really that she couldn't take her own advice, because when we called on the morning to say we'd be arriving after 6pm, she asked if we could come later in the month instead? Apparently her companion dog had been ill a few weeks ago and so no staff were working in the hotel atm, and fair enough, it's understandable that these things happen- but we wouldn't have minded so much if someone from the hotel had at least been professional enough to give us a call and let us know all those weeks ago so we had more time to make alternative arrangements!

She said over the phone that perhaps she'd be able to let us just stay in the room at a discounted rate if we were unable to find alternative accomodation and that she could give us a call back later so I said I'd call if if we couldn't find anything else, though luckily we were able to find somewhere else at the short notice with less than half an hour to go before we left for our trains- the omni Chequers Plaza hotel. While it was a bit more expensive and had little in the way of vegan options, although to be fair we didn't actually expect any at such short notice, we did get a room with a great view, as you can see from our first pic! Although if we'd had more time we'd probably have tried to find self-catering holiday flats with a kitchen, or went to another entirely vegan hotel altogether in a completely different location.

However, we still had a good time anyway despite all the stress of sorting this out at the beginning, and Blackpool was a very nostalgic holiday for us since we'd both been there as kids
And, we've decided that we're going back as we've got a hot date in 2033 to visit Blackpool when we're older! :D

If anyone's looking for a good place to eat with vegan options in Blackpool, we can personally recommend Michael Wan's Mandarin, where they made us a vegetarian banquet, making it vegan by replacing the egg fried rice with boiled rice, or Wah Wah's Oriental Noodle Bar, and their gorgeous, but spicy Tofu and chilli dish with which my Jay has officially lost his spice wimp title by gobbling all up!

Let the holiday pics commence!

Jay bumped into Gordon Ramsay at Louis Tussaud's Waxworks but wasn't too happy to see him... btw, does anyone know what kind of wax waxwork figurines are made from? Never occured to us till later that it might possibly be non-vegan beeswax or something... :( I googled but couldn't see anything...


Here's one of me beside the seaside- please excuse the messy hairdo- it was windy!
Another from the waxworks of me dispensing some good advice on my T-shirt to Hannibal Lecter...

Veganomicon and VWAV goodness- and some leftovers!

Last night's dinner was baked curried tofu served with messy rice, both from Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. I served this alongside the yogurt dipping sauce (not pictured, sorry!) and saved my tofu marinade in the fridge for later as Isa and Terry advised...
These are Vegan with a Vengeance's quinoa and black-eyed bean croquettes. It's my second attempt at this recipe, since the first time I tried it they fell to bits! While they're quite photogenic here, as soon as I cut them they begun to crumble :( They were, however, quite tasty :) I've served them with onion rings(Morrisons' own brand frozen) and a cauliflower and broccoli bake in a "cheesy" nutritional yeast sauce(recipe in archives).

I had leftover cooked quinoa from making the croquettes and marinade from the curried tofu, so I made these into a quick stir fry for my lunch with some broccoli, an onion and a couple of spring onions, which was very tasty indeed :)

If I don't have an ingredient, sometimes I just replace it almonds...

Apologies for the quality of this photo, but this was a seriously yummy dinner! It's my take on the coconut rice recipe from Alternative Vegan by Dino Sarma with a couple of alterations- I've used brown rice and owing to the fact I didn't have any, I replaced the cashews with chopped almonds. I've served it alongside a korma with tofu and mixed veg(there's asparagus, boccoli, mushrooms, leeks, bell pepper and spring onions in there!)
And these here are almond muffins from Vegan with a Vengeance, well, the cherry almond muffin recipe without the cherries anyway! I just used a few extra almonds in it.

I've ran out of almonds now... whatever shall I replace them with...?

Teetotal Italian Tofu

This is an adapted version of the Italian Marinated Tofu from Vegan With A Vengeance. It's teetotal, because instead of using the white wine in the recipe, I've just used vegetable stock instead. Not that I'm teetotal or anything, I'm just not a wine drinker(vodka ftw!) so never have any in the house! It's served here alongside a leafy green mixed leaf salad, some baby potato salad(in vegan mayo, with spring onions and some dill) and a mixed bean salad(tinned stuff from Morrisons).

These are cinnamon rolls. I adapted the pastry recipe from Veganomicon's Maple and Brown Sugar pinwheels, by omitting the orange zest and replacing the cardamom with cinnamon. For the filling I used 4 tbsp margarine, 4 tbsp brown sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon, and the icing is just ordinary icing sugar and water. Very more-ish... so not very great for the old waistline! >.<

Braised tofu stew with roast baby potatoes

I adapted this hearty stew myself using the best features of various stew recipes. For the potatoes I just roasted some baby potatoes, (with the not-so-baby ones chopped in half to make em smaller!), in a couple tablespoons of olive oil, a teaspoon of thyme, and some whole cloves of garlic at 220C for 45 minutes.

For the stew(serves 2-4, takes about 25 mins)...

1 tin braised tofu, drained and sliced into bite sized pieces
2 large onions, sliced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large leek, sliced
500g brussels sprouts OR a cup of peas-frozen are fine(optional)
about 8 sundried tomatoes chopped into bitesized pieces(usde kitchen scissors to do this- it's easier! :))
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
a few pinces of sea salt
300ml vegetable stock

-saute onions, braised tofu and garlic in olive oil over high heat for 5-1o mins
-add leeks, brussels(if using) and saute for a few more minutes
-add salt, pepper, herbs and sundried tomatoes, then pour in stock and peas(if using)
-mix, and then, once it boils, reduce heat to lowest and simmer for 10 minutes, then serve

PB squares and homemade rolls!

These were made using this super-easy RecipeZaar recipe for PB squares. They're extremely sweet, but the peanut butter makes them tasty and more-ish. Lovely, but fattening, so I'd better not make these too often!
These are homemade "breakfast rolls" (although I'll be serving mine with lentil soup!) I adapted the recipe off the back of a packet of flour, so here it is...

450g wholemeal flour
225ml warm water
6g baking yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp agave nectar (or you could use 1/2 tsp sugar instead)
2 tbsp olive oil
100g sesame seeds

-dissolve yeast and agave nectar or sugar in warm water
-sieve flour and salt
-add flour, salt and oil to wet ingredients and mix into a dough
-knead dough for about 5-10 mins
-put dough in clean bowl, cover and leave for 30mins-1hour
-divide into 16 rolls, dampen tops of rolls slightly with a little water using your finger, then press into small bowl of sesame seeds
-leave rolls for another 30 mins
-bake at 230C for 15-20 mins, then serve!

Restaurant review- The 78, Glasgow

The 78 is a fairly new-ish, 100% vegan restaurant located at 14 Kelvinhaugh Street, Glasgow. It's under the same ownership as their King Street place, Mono, but has a different menu.

Not the easiest of places to find, Jay and I got slightly lost getting there! However, it was worth the walk! The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated in a retro style, and has a nice, relaxed feel to it.

We both had spring rolls for starters and an all-day breakfast for our main courses. The presentation of our food was beautifully done, with the chilli and soya dipping sauces, for example, made into an arty squiggle on my plate and a heart-shape on Jay's (which led to his being teased by me that either the waiter or chef fancied him! :D). I wished I'd brought my camera to take pictures!

Both courses were lovely, though I must admit that I prefer Mono's all-day breakfasts since the 78's lacked the tempeh rashers and potato scones! The herby sausages, beans, toast, tomatoes, asparagus and mushrooms it had were still very tasty however.

I had the chocolate torte, with mocha ice-cream and a cappuccino for dessert- it's gorgeously decadent! I felt so sorry for poor Jay being diabetic while eating this! :(

The staff gave good, friendly service, and eating here was a very pleasant experience indeed. I'll still eat in Mono more frequently, but that's simply because it's nearer and there's not that much of a difference between the two, although I'd most certainly go back to The 78 now and then for a change.

The 78 gets a thumbs up from me, so go check it out! :)