Vegan Mofo - 90 ways to show compassion... week 1

Welcome to Vegan Mofo (Month of Food!)

What's it all about, you ask? The concept is simple - vegans making, eating, sharing good food and then blogging about it!

I haven't signed up officially, as time will only allow me to do a limited amount of blogging in a week - BUT this page will be a record of some yummy, scrummy food ideas, to show just how diverse & exciting eating with compassion can be!

I'll post a different meal for breakfast, lunch & supper every day throughout this month!

Some may be simple ideas, 'cos we're all mega busy these days, some will be mini feasts that you can enjoy spending time creating.

But all are made with love - love of delicious, nutritious food, of people, animals and our planet. #vegan #plantpower #whatveganseat #veganMoFo

Enjoy!

p.s. Forgive the lack of 'glamour', I'm neither a professional chef or a photographer - just a passionate home cook! I haven't added recipes, but if something catches your eye and you'd like to know more, please get in touch and I'll gladly help :) Chantal x

Sunday: 01.09.13

A vegan 'sausage' bap, on a bed of fresh spinach in a wholemeal bap with ketchup, mustard and fresh tomatoes on the side.

The addition of spinach makes this a little healthier & the vitamin C in tomatoes helps the body to absorb the iron in the spinach :)

HM Dairy-free, egg-free chocolate cola cake with fudgy frosting & pecans.

What can I say about this?! It's moist, delicious caramelly choco 'heaven'! Has a habit of disappearing very quickly...

HM savoury 'mince' & mushroom puff piewith classic crispy roasties & root veg and steamed green veggies.

Vegan Sunday dinners can beat meaty ones hands down! Look out for 'JusRoll' pastry - this puff is vegan! and I filled it with soya mince & mushrooms in a rich veggie gravy. I love having a variety of veg with meals & on this plate alone there are 6 types accompanying!

Monday 02.09.13

Toasted wholemeal bagel with lashings of soya 'cream cheese', topped with fresh summer berries (raspberries, blueberries, white currants) and drizzled with agave syrup.

As the song goes (showing my age) I don't like Mondays! But I do like a delicious breakfast that makes it worthwhile getting up! So that's what I always plan for a Monday.

Asian spiced edamame rice, spicy potatoes & butterbeans, peppers, cucumber, toms, olives, onion, beetroot & sunflower seed bread. (vegan mayo on the side)

A 'leftovers' lunch! Some of the tastiest lunches are made by raiding the fridge for bits! So handy for a Monday when time is tight & I can eat at home or from a lunch box! 

Spinach and Lentil Grills (From Create a Goodlife) with gyo spuds, fresh salad leaves and some fresh salads mixed with vegan mayo.

For something quick & easy I always keep a few ready-mades in the freezer - these are some of the best & my plate is still full of fresh garden salads & veg too. 

Tue 03.09.13

Honey-free granola with soya milk, soya yoghurt, agave nectar and fresh sliced strawberries.

There are many healthier cereals available these days - I look out for more fibre, less salt, no sugar and no honey.  Better still, homemade granola is simple and yummy and you know exactly what's gone into it!

Hongos a la Mexicana! Mexican-style mushrooms with corn tortillas, 'sour cream' & fresh salad greens.

I LOVE Mexican food and most of it can be veganised! These mushrooms are aromatic as well as spicy & can be cooked in advance to take to work & make everyone jealous :) 

Crispy fried strips of marinated sesame tofu with stirfried sweet and sour mixed veg, on a bed of fluffy steamed basmati rice.

I adore Asian-inspired foods too and strirfries are great vegan meals to make with texture and flavour galore. 

Wednesday 04.09.13

A HM chocolate muffin and fresh raspberry muffin, with a banana and an obligatory coffee!

Dispelling the myth that you need eggs and butter to make great cakes/muffins! A delicious (and not as 'naughty' as you might think) start to the day.

Warm spicy falafel in a toasted wholemeal pitta with fresh HM coleslaw in vegan mayo & some lambs lettuce & cherry tomatoes on the side.

This is a classic, but rightly so, 'cos it's tasty, easy to make and can be eaten on the move if needs be. My nan used to make a mean falafel, learnt from time living in Egypt, & they always bring back fond memories of her.

Creamy wild mushroom stroganoff with coriander basmati rice and steamed tenderstem broccoli.

Bit of a 70's flashback, but a great vegan option - use vegan brandy, soya cream & plenty of smoky paprika.

Thursday 05.09.13

Multigrain seeded toast with vegan spread - 1 slice marmite, 1 slice HM damson jam.

I used to love butter, but there are several great vegan alternatives - sunflower, soya margarine etc. and if you're in the 'love' brigade - Marmite provides a good Vit B hit.

Warm aubergine and asparagus salad with wheatberries and a sweet mustard dressing.

This is a fresh, vibrant, tasty dish - I love mixing warm vegetables with cool crisp salads & seasonal leaves from my garden.

Yuk Sung - savoury mince with garlic, ginger, water chestnuts, spring onions & soy sauce wrapped up with crisp fried rice noodles in crunchy iceberg lettuce leaves.

This is such a tasty & fun dish to make - I use Soya mince & my tip actually would be to use romaine lettuce if you're short on time - a LOT easier to separate the leaves!!!

Friday 06.09.13

Mixed wholegrain cereals with chocolate almond milk and fresh nectarine slices.

Chocolate 'milk' is a bit of a revelation, and it's #bravedave's secret favourite! bless :)

Light lunch of Mediterranean tomato bread topped with hummus and with some salads and grapes on the side.

A little bit of a strange combination, but I quite like to have a light lunch on a Friday, then I can treat myself in the evening!

Oven-baked breaded veggie fingers with crisp golden potato wedges and good old baked beans.

Now come on - who didn't love this kind of food as a kid?! It's quick, tasty, no fish were harmed, and it's perfect for a Friday night :)

Baked Bramley apple stuffed with boozy apricots, almonds and brown sugar - served with 'cream', 'custard' and fresh raspberries.

Whilst we're on a nostalgia trip - these are simple to make, and oh so delicious! I'd forgotten just how delicious, so these go back on the menu every September from now on!

Saturday 07.09.13

'Creamy' tofu scramble on toasted amaranth rye, topped with snipped spring onions and peppers.

#BraveDave prefers this to scrambled eggs! The secret, I've found, is to dry the tofu thoroughly and sautee with a little vegan 'butter' then add a touch of soya cream & a pinch of turmeric for colour.

Malaysian-style Laksa soup - an aromatic coconut broth with fresh vegetables, rice noodles and a hint of chilli.

Everything You'd like to know about this incredible soup can be found in my recipe write-up for it here!

HM spicy thoran curry with cauliflower bhajis, mushroom pilau rice and mango chutney.

Now this has got you all going! The most RTs and Faves on Twitter by far!! Everyone loves a curry it seems and this one is a little different because of the dry sweet cabbage and fresh coconut combination. It's delicious.



And so that's the end of #VeganMofo week 1!

Some simple soul-filling - belly-filling nostalgia foods.
If you're looking at this and you're not vegan - did it occur to you, where's the meat?
Plant-based foods can be so incredibly diverse and tasty and yet at the same time, as I think this shows, you don't need to forgo any of your favourite classics and comfort dishes.

So - back into the kitchen I go - get ready for week 2!

Love

Chantal xx

Recipe - My Malaysian Laksa-style Soup (for the Soul).

Everyone has their own way of making this wonderful soup. 

This is mine.

I love the aromatics, the colours and the textures in my version of it.

See what you think - lets compare Laksas [she said]... 

my lovely Laksa

Vegetable variations you can use include: fine green beans, broccoli, mangetout, beansprouts, leaf spinach, bok choi (Chinese cabbage), cucumber, you could also add some firm tofu pieces and garnish with deep fried shallots, finely sliced red peppers and/or lime wedges. p.s. I do not recommend adding onions or shallots to the broth - for me they spoil the delicate flavours.

Serves 4 (heartily) but is best eaten the same day.

Gather

150g rice noodles (usually about 3 'nests')

2-3 tbsp sesame oil

1 heaped tbsp Vegan Thai red curry paste (*warning - Laksa paste often contains shrimp)

1 red chilli - cut in half, deseeded and finely sliced

200g assorted mushrooms - thinly sliced (shiitake are traditional but I'm not so keen on these so I tend to use white, chestnut and forestiere, for example)

400ml can coconut milk

600ml water (you can fill the coconut milk can with water 1 and a half times)

1 aubergine - sliced into 1cm thick rounds

150g baby sweetcorn - cut in half or thirds on a diagonal slant

2 pak choi - leaves separated and halved if large (leave small ones whole)

freshly ground black pepper to taste

salt to taste (I use about half a teaspoon - which seems a lot, but does bring the flavours alive)

garnish - small bunch of fresh coriander leaves (no stalks) - finely chopped

Create

1.  Put your grill on to warm and add 1 tbsp of sesame oil to a large pan on a medium heat.

2.  Add the curry paste and fresh chilli to the pan and stir to sizzle and release aromas.

3.  Next add the mushrooms and coat in the sauce. Then add the coconut milk and the water - bring to the boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer.

4.  Brush the aubergine rounds with the remaining sesame oil and place on a baking tray under the now warm grill for 5 minutes.

5.  Wash and slice the sweetcorn. Wash and slice the pak choi (pak choi can be a little dirty lower down the stems, so this is important.) Chop your coriander ready to use.

6.  Turn the aubergine slices over, add the sweetcorn to the soup pot and turn up the heat a little to simmer more vigorously. Put a full kettle on to boil.

7.  Add the pak choi leaves to the soup and pour enough boiling water over your rice noodles to cover them.

8.  Taste your soup for seasoning and add black pepper and salt to your preference.

9.  Your aubergine will have grilled on the other side for another 5 minutes now and should be golden - so remove it from the grill and chop each round into 4 pieces.

10.  Stir the rice noodles with a fork to separate and drain in a large sieve.

11.  Add the aubergine to the soup, add the noodles to the soup, give it all a good stir to combine and re-test for seasoning if you want to double check.

Enjoy!

Serve into hot bowls using tongs to make sure everybody gets a share of noodles and veg and then a ladle to top up with the coconut broth. Sprinkle with just a little of the coriander. Serve with a soup spoon and a fork!

Cooks tip: If you have the time and the inclination, you can make your own curry paste by blending this list of ingredients. [recipe by Yotam Otolengi]

100g peeled baby shallots
8 garlic cloves
25g peeled ginger, sliced
15g lemongrass (soft white stem only), sliced
2 tsp ground coriander
3 large dried red chillies
2 tbsp sambal oelek (or other savoury chilli paste) 

2 tbsp vegetable oil 

25 g fresh coriander(stalks and all)

Campaign Corner - keep badgering for our badgers.

I'd like to be able to start this page with words like 'on the back of all the publicity...' or 'following extensive media coverage of...' you'll no doubt be aware of the horrendous badger cull currently taking place in our countryside.

But sadly, owing to the usual government media restrictions, this issue hasn't had nearly enough media attention in my opinion and the government certainly hasn't listened to its electorate, or indeed the actual hard facts of the science. And so the senseless killing has begun.

If this is news to you, then I invite you to find out more from these links below and to then add your voice to the campaign against the cull.

And although you may be thinking it's too late because the cull has already started, then my message to you is that it's NEVER too late. As you'll see below we still need to make our opinions heard (as they affect future plans for this wildlife species,and others) and help those brave people willing to risk everything in the field delaying shootings, gathering evidence and rescuing injured badgers. It's gruelling, harrowing work and they need our support.

These are just some of the things that I've done to lend my support - they are quick, easy and could make all the difference.

BE the change. Thank you.

First, catch up on some background information:

keep up with latest badger news

http://allanimalrights.org/News-813-Badger-Cull-Latest-News

undecided about whether to help?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z6omoYH6Ks&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Petitions and campaigns to sign:

Brian Mays UK petition (the UKs largest online petition, ever...)

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/38257

Avaaz

http://avaaz.org/en/petition/Stop_the_badger_slaughter_and_save_British_wildlife/?twi

IFAW

http://www.ifaw.org/united-kingdom/get-involved/stop-badger-culls#.Uh-jOqi0x3A.twitter

call on Owen Patterson to be removed from his post of Environment Secretary - as all he seems to want to do is decimate our wildlife...

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/47727

Contribute financially if you're able to:

the general fund helping people in the field carry out vital work

http://www.gofundme.com/43vl24

purchase equipment for the people on the ground from this Amazon wishlist

http://www.amazon.co.uk/registry/wishlist/9LDN9HPOF3UR

support the Animal Welfare Enforcement Agency (who say they will be active on the ground)

 http://awea.org.uk/getactive/donate/

Sing along while you're doing all this! 

download the badger support song

https://itunes.apple.com/album/Save-the-badger-badger-badger/id649387057

Get involved with organisations and work on the ground if you're able to:

join the next badger patrol - info here

https://twitter.com/2Vexed/status/373154048616452096 

phone the stopthecull activists to offer your support and see how else you can help

Gloucester Office 01386 761455
Gloucester Field Phone 07891639803

Social media activity:

join in tweetstorms and raise awareness using hashtags such as

#badgercull

#savethebadger

#stopthecull

#sabthecull

#stopthebadegrcull

#theslaughterhasbegun

#savethebadger

#supportoursabs

 

and use these hashtags to search for badger conversations and those other campaigners you want to follow

**Share this page with friends, family, followers and as many people as you can!**

Additional info and courses of action:

sign and send this form direct to your MP expressing your outrage at this unjustified killing

http://e-activist.com/ea-campaign/action.handleViewInBrowser.do?&templateId=22684

more info / contacts here

http://www.badger-killers.com/who/

LAST BUT NOT LEAST:

Make the strongest stand that you can and consider going vegan. It's easier than you think, and you'll be joining a growing number of 1000's of conscientious and compassionate people in the UK. In doing this you will send a clear message that taking life unnecessarily is wrong. Badgers are just one example of life that's being killed in order to temporarily (so say) protect another species that is subsequently abused 24/7 and then killed - all for the sake of products that humans don't need. Products that are, in fact, bad for us. 

It's an insane circle of injustice and death - but you can play a part in stopping it.

Please contact me if you'd like to talk about this.

Anything that I've missed? PLEASE let me know asap and I 'll update this page.

Paws for thought:- 'Alone in Veganville?'

There are days when, even though I have the support of my husband, I feel alone at sea, without a friend in the world and that no-one understands me. People don't understand the vegan lifestyle I'm living and the reasons why I'm living it. They don't understand the pain and scars that viewing/reading endless welfare stories have left on me...

Of course this totally disappears the minute I get back online and either tweet or read my email and the shared philosophy, warmth and love comes flooding in and lifts my soul (that is true 'veggie soup for the soul', for sure!)

Vegans do attract vegans, as one of my online friends said recently, and, for the most part, they are a great crowd - full of fun and sharing and solidarity. It's no exaggeration for me to say that these folk (none of whom I've ever met, yet, face to face) keep me going some days, giving me a ray of hope that people, and the world, can change for the better.

And if I thought there was a God, I'd thank her for them...

Within my real life day to day circles of family and friends, David and I are the only vegans and I cannot imagine what it would be like to be either on my own or the only vegan in a household. We stand alone in a group of people who now (I suspect) think we've 'gone too far' (hell, they thought we were crazy when we went vegetarian!). I know for a fact that some of them have always thought I was a 'bit out there / quirky' and have found it probably mildly amusing, quaint, even eccentric, that we keep chickens, grow veg and have thoughts different to those touted in the Daily [brainwash] Mail. WOW - aren't we radical???!!!

But my point is this: despite gentle explanations of our way of thinking / living, despite feeding people delicious vegan foods and despite looking (if I say so myself) pictures of far better health now than we ever did, none of them have have adopted any of the ways of our new compassionate life.

Worse still, I feel that when I speak with them, although I'm bubbling evangelically inside with all I've learnt and how they too could benefit, I don't feel like I can tell them, because they will think I'm trying to 'convert' them or force them into a 'cult' or something...

Now you can't chose your family, obviously, so one might expect them not to be as receptive - but you tend to chose friends based on the fact that you have things in common and an empathy with them. That being the case, why is it then that they are all carrying on eating meat and using animal products despite my new persuasion? 

It baffles me. 

It upsets me.

In the early days, I used to send the odd round-robin email about animal campaigns I felt strongly about or health issue pieces etc and not once did anyone ever sign, or even reply to me for that matter.

When David and I tried to help his mum with a health issue that was being affected by her (poor) GP recommended diet (even sending her scientific research that more dairy would be bad for her rising cholesterol) we were derided for our efforts and his brother even called his email 'spam'!

It was hurtful beyond belief - because all we wanted to do, all we ever wanted to do, was help.

Similarly, when I sent some info on the benefits to heart attack victims of eating less meat to one of my oldest closest friends (because her very carnivorous partner had not long suffered a heart attack) she said she'd read it and then I never heard any more. I didn't follow it up because to me, this silence meant they didn't want to hear what I had to say. I feel like they will think its just more vegan 'propaganda'. But how can it be, if all I'm trying to do is good in the world and to help others? Help, that I may add, is based on scientific fact NOT on meat / dairy / media / government-driven propaganda.

And when our invite to the annual family xmas meal wasn't for the meal, but was simply for popping by for a cup of tea in the afternoon (everyone else went to the main meal) we felt excluded and like the proverbial lepers. And a 4 hour drive to have a cup of black tea with people you're starting to feel less 'related' to - wasn't our idea of a happy xmas day. We politely declined and retreated into our little vegan shells.

My experiences so far are starting to make me think that Veganism has had such an unbelievably bad press, that the people we know think we're complete loony radicals. Perhaps our friends and family are scared that we've changed so much that they won't be able to relate to us?

The irony is that I would say we are far BETTER people now than we ever were - we're not corporate cogs any more, we're more chilled and we live with more consideration to all animals, people and the planet and with more compassion for all of these things.

But the increasing feeling that I no longer have the same connection to people who really mattered to me in my previous 'meaty' life is quite a high price to pay.

I'm feeling alone in Veganville.

Saddest of all, the one person who would have remained my constant companion through all of this, is no longer with me. Sally, my best friend of 35 years died of a very aggressive breast cancer just over two years ago. Her illness, in part, sparked my change of lifestyle - because together we researched into the whys of how she got cancer and the hows of curing it, and we both came up with a vegan diet as being a potential cure. For her it was too late, but for me, their was still only one lifestyle decision to be made.

So I'm lost in the middle of the town and need to know: where do I go from here?

Well, I need to keep hearing Sally's chirpy curiosity-filled encouragement in my head. She'd say, 'don't take it too personally, focus on the positives Chantal...'

So I must remember to be grateful for a loving husband, who, as a man, naturally isn't going to understand me 90% of the time, but, who DOES get me where veganism is concerned! And I need, and want, to stay connected to all of the fantastic new people that I've met through the likes of social media - people, who, like me, are trying to change the world with a passion.

I also need to work on helping to change the perception that people have of veganism - demystifying it, answering questions clearly and calmly, educating. spreading the word in a positive and modern way, wherever and whenever I can.

And I have to remember that I wasn't always vegan. I used to be like my friends and family too and just as I've thrown 1000% effort into changing my personal world, I need to make more of an effort with all of my old friends too.

I must never give up. Perhaps through compassionate, gentle persistence then, some of them might understand, and see what I see.
Perhaps one day, some of them might even move into Veganville with me.

Chantal xx

If you can relate to my reflections then consider yourself as having a new friend :) Is this potential reaction from others stopping you from becoming vegan? How are you finding it as a new vegan? If you've been vegan for years - how have you coped and what's your advice?
Don't let me be lonely on this issue too - please get in touch if you'd like to!