Sunday, 8 September 2013

Vegan Mofo - REAL freedom food - Week 2

OK lovely foodies:

Week 2 of VeganMofo!

What's it all about and what did you miss on week 1? Please check here!

What's coming up? 21 more delicious meal ideas - wait 'n' see :)


Sunday 08.09.13

Hot pan-griddled wholemeal soda bread with sausage, roast portobello mushroom, fresh tomatoes and '5 bean' baked beans.

You've got to love bread that you can mix, cook & eat hot in just half an hour!



Blueberry and almond muffins. Dairy-free, egg-free, but flavour-full.

A MsCupcake special, easy to make and even happier to eat - because they're cruelty free :)


Lentil and vegetable roast with gyo new potatoes, mixed steamed vegetables, cranberry sauce and veggie gravy.

 I'm lucky I guess that I've always loved my veg and sometimes the simplicity of a meal like this is just wonderful. Perfect before either a Sunday afternoon or evening nap!

 



Monday 09.09.13

Creamy herby mixed mushrooms on organic seeded rye toast.

To me, mushrooms are an amazing food - versatile, more nutritious than you'd think and VERY low calorie! (I use them a LOT!)


Caribbean spiced butternut squash with wild rice, pilau rice, marinated tofu pieces & other nibbly bits (cherry tomatoes, olives, sugar snap peas, artichokes & pate).

Another example of a 'fridge-raiders' delight! But this is always my favourite type of lunch and makes sure nothing is ever wasted. 



Puff pastry pizza with tomato salsa then Mediterranean vegetable toppings - artichokes, olives, peppers, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms & marinated tofu pieces.

This is such a quick and simple meal for when you've had a busy day and you can add anything you have in the fridge / freezer or even a jar! Serve with chilli oil, nutritional yeast flakes & a large crisp salad.

Tuesday 10.09.13

HM Raspberry and banana smoothie with a crispy cereal bar (goji berries, sultanas, cashew butter, maple syrup, cinnamon).

I don't have smoothies very often, but in the peak of summer when there are so many berries to chose from - they're a delicious treat.
Toasted wholemeal bagel with savoury toppings - sweetcorn relish & sesame tofu, Mexican tomato pate & cucumber.

 Another lunch created from "what do I have in the fridge?" and it turned out to be very tasty!


Louisianna chicken tenders with gyo new potatoes, HM coleslaw (using vegan mayo) and lots of salad.

 Whilst I rarely eat processed ready-made vegan foods like this now, they're still handy when time is tight & I found them very useful when I first stopped eating meat and became vegetarian.



Wednesday 11.09.13

Olive bread toast with hummus and some home made fresh raspberry (sugar-free) yoghurt on the side.

 Shop bought yoghurts are so full of sugar (and not much fruit) that I usually prefer to add fresh fruit to plain soya yoghurt instead. Delicious.


Griddled hot polenta with warm balsamic wild mushrooms and toasted walnuts. Served on a bed of fresh mixed garden leaves.

 I've never really got to grips with polenta & this could have been griddled on a higher heat - but with these fabulous tasting mushrooms it's the perfect 'simple' lunch!

Golden sesame roasted tofu with vegetable fried rice, steamed broccoli and a coconut satay dipping sauce.

 This is an adaptation of a Rose Elliot recipe and I cannot recommend it enough - it is delicious! The sauce may seem runny but trust me you'll finish it all! DM me for details.


 

Thursday 12.09.13
 

Vibrant fruit salad with 7 different summer fruits and some plain soya yoghurt on the side with added cinnamon and dark agave nectar.

As usual, I love the variety of a fresh fruit salad - I could eat bowls of it! 

Oriental-style rice noodle salad with crunchy raw shredded vegetables, toasted cashews, sesame seeds and hm sweet chilli sauce (added after the pic - oops!).

I don't follow a raw diet, but a large percentage of what I eat just happens to be raw & I love the fresh flavour & crispness of this type of salad. 

Homemade mushroom & lentil burger, in a toasted seeded bagel with fresh garden salads and vegan coleslaw.

 This burger was a recipe by a vegan athlete - healthy, delicious and far more flavour than a meat burger!





Friday 13.09.13

Homemade muesli with goji berries, pineapple, apricots, oats, barley flakes, ground flax, nuts and seeds (pumpkin, sunflower etc).

This is great to use up bits n pieces & to have in the cupboard as a standby brekkie, PLUS you know what went into it! Delicious with yoghurt and grated fresh apple.


Classic hotdogs in buns with fried onions, ketchup and American mustard!

 There are a couple of vegan brands of great hotdog sausages - I like Taifun Tofu and Vegusto. A million miles away from the junk that goes into frankfurters.

Home-made Thai green vegetable curry with coconut rice.

 I adore the flavours of Thai food. It's relatively simple to cook and you can add any vegetables that you like. I'm not keen on coriander as a rule, but I love it in this curry!





Saturday 14.09.13

Breakfast bap: A vegan sausage pattie hiding under fresh tomato slices, a grilled portobello mushroom and topped with BBQ sauce.

What can I say - delicious, but messy to eat! 



Thai-style spicy butternut squash soup with a fresh coconut, pink grapefruit and coriander garnish.

 This is a wonderful soup to have as autumn starts setting in. Beware of using the Thai chillis - they're small but pack a punch.1 will be plenty for most people - but try 3 if you love it really ho-ho-hot like I do!

Peanut and mango stir-fry with wheat noodles, shredded greens and fried tofu.
Thia is quite a light and fresh- tasting stir-fry and actually doesn't need the tofu if you want to reduce it.






And that's the end of Vegan Mofo Week 2 here at Veggie Soup for the Soul.
But there's more to come - 16 days to go yet and another 48 delicious vegan meal ideas!
Don't forget - whilst I haven't posted recipes here (not enough hours in the day!) I will happily send you recipes for any dishes that catch your eye and that you'd like to try.
Enjoy the diverse and tasty world of cruelty-free vegan cuisine.
Chantal xx














 


 
















Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, 4 September 2013

Conversations with a vegan... the cattle 'prod'.

Well I wondered how long it would take...
Here's little old me doing my utmost to be all compassionate and thoughtful and try and save the planet and the human race (mostly from themselves) and yet someone feels the need to challenge my veganism (in a rather unpleasant way). Of course that someone might have been doing so because they felt their business was threatened - she is the daughter of a cattle farmer in Montana, USA.

This little conversation played out on Twitter and if your life's not too short that you have time to look at some of her tweets, you'll see that in her role as 'Media Relations Specialist' (!) for the family business, her campaign consists of pretty much attacking and questioning people in the vegan community.

What follows isn't so much of a conversation - (as detailed debate within Twitter character limitations isn't advisable) - but this post is an analysis of thoughts, ideas and coulda, woulda, shouldas that can be safely discussed on this blog (or via email!)


Place: Twitter
Situation: Ms K tailgating in on a conversation I was having with a friend about PCOS & Paleo to Vegan diet and attempts to lose weight.




A deliberate 'dig' to tell us that we need to eat meat then.

At this point I wish I had picked up on the fact that as a cattle farmer's daughter she would have been brought up eating beef so a) why didn't she stay slim if it's a miracle slimming food and b) why has she only just lost the weight now? 

Yes the cutting carbs will probably have helped her lose the weight - it's what happens (short term) when you remove a whole vital food group from your diet! But to be fair she does mention 'veggies'. Could these have been the miraculous little slimming aid? 
oh the coulda woulda shoulda...




Once I had composed myself, I then thought - perhaps her body is addicted to the antibiotics and other drugs she is over-consuming in all of the meat she has eaten / eats? Hence the seizures (if they exist?).
It's hard to answer something like this without a body of scientific research to hand. When I have finally published my research directory I will have a huge body of independent evidence that I can point people to. The problem is that much of the science in support of meat is biased because it's funded by agri-biz and big-pharma and it quashes the independent unbiased research that supports cutting out meat and dairy.




Now I look at the 50lbs in 5 months again and think she must have gone into ketosis to lose that much so quickly and it will have been caused by the removal of dietary carbs. Any seizures now may even be caused as a result of carb deprivation, not by meat deprivation, as this is what lack of carbs can do to the neurotransmision in the brain. Unfortunately she's equated the weight loss success (conveniently) with her eating meat. If a lack of meat in our  diets gave us seizures, veggies and vegans would be piling up on the floor everywhere.
If her statement is at all true - she needs further medical investigation.




This is either quite a naive (bordering on ignorant) comment in that she thinks the UK is so backward, compared to the US, that we have no choice but to eat plant-based diets, or it is a subtle attack on veganism by using the word 'choice' - because myself and many others don't like this word, as you'll see by my reply! Oh and I  think her use of the word 'honestly' is interesting - as language psych students will know - an unnecessary use of a word such as this often indicates a subconscious belief in the opposite of what is being said.....






Again I would say it's really difficult to have these type of conversations - that should be reasoned debates - in the Twitter arena, because you just can't say enough. None-the-less, it's also really important to me to get some of my views across and to not ignore even subtle challenges.
There was A LOT I would love to have replied with - most of it pretty sarcastic and the odd swearword may have been involved...

But I bit my Twittering lip, because it's also my obligation to remain calm and reasoned and to demonstrate that my lack of meat eating hasn't given me a blood lust for vengeance on those who chose to have a go at my lifestyle in public.
I always believe, hard though it may be, that becoming angry and defencive in a situation like this can weaken your argument, and that it plays into the hands of the bullies. It could cause great harm to the perception that people have of vegans and veganism if I were to retaliate in as unpleasant a way.

And experience through life has also taught me that there's always more to it when people are so ready to attack unprovoked - think, for example of vocal homophobes, who often turn out to be gay themselves, and you'll understand what I mean.

So I looked at her family business website. Here it says that she's at Uni studying Animal Science (?) and Ag Education, and then the penny drops for me. This young lady is surrounded by a culture, a community, a family and now a university all indoctrinated (and indoctrinating) with the belief that eating meat is the only way to live. I would imagine she's never known anything else.

So referring back to my very first comments - faced with a fast-growing global community of vegans and the prevalence of health reports on the dangers of meat eating, she's in a world of conflict with all she's been brought up to believe. It's threatening and therefore her attacks are her defence.
This is my perception and understanding of it.

I don't wish to sound patronising at this point, but now I feel sorry for her. She talks about choice, but she almost has none. Almost...

I think, at some point in the future, I will check her Twitter again, maybe send a few gentle, kind, informative comments and links.
A comment or two on her blog post 'Are you really vegan?' might be just the place too (I see one lady has already written an excellent reply).

This will give her the chance to learn more, see more and understand more about Veganism.

Chantal x


What do you think? 
Has something like this happened to you within either social media, or indeed outside of it in 'real life'?
How did it make you feel? How did you respond and what were your coulda woulda shoulda's?


Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, 1 September 2013

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
Posted by at 6 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, 31 August 2013

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)


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)