Of Poetry and Potatoes…

Tags

Brunch, dairy-free, English traditions, Gingerbread, Performance Poetry, Poetry, Twoem, Vegan, Vegan Full English Breakfast, Vegetarian, Vegetarian Breakfast, Village Fete

The forecast for this Bank Holiday Monday has been looking pretty awful for days and unfortunately they got it just right… But we certainly wouldn’t let a bit of rain spoil our fun!

Some of you may know that my partner is a writer and performance poet. He’s been working around the world for 25 years and has entertained in the most unusual, beautiful and unexpected places. His audiences include anyone from the Queen to Friends of the Earth and the Olympic Sailing Team… Feel free to check out his website www.judgethepoet.com. He’s really rather amazing and I’m not just saying it because I’m biased 😉

He did make me laugh today with this Twoem (Twitter poem) as we were getting ready to visit our local village fete:

Who needs Spain when you can shelter in a large marquee, admiring the longest runner bean, most perfect potatoes, best super hero made from scrap material and find out who’s made the best gooseberry jam? This will be our 12th Village Show since we’ve moved here and I still admire the quaintness of it all.
Getting the entries ready on Show morning is really quite an operation. I’d like to claim that it’s all calm and in control here…. but I’d be lying. One year I was holding my home-made scones out of the car window to cool them down enough! We made it just in time this morning and displayed the super heroes, Sam and Alex’s first photo entries, collage sunsets, gingerbread men and flower arrangements.

After all this excitement (and once David made it back from judging the poetry entries) we really needed something warming to set us up for an afternoon of wet outdoor fun.
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Despite the pretty relentless rain at the show we came back triumphantly: 5 prizes for Sam, 6 for Alex and even one for myself. Proud mummy moment!
Well done, Sam!

Fresh culinary herbs, 5 named varieties.

Gingerbread… I think the kids did really well with these.

After much deliberation and changing his mind, Alex went with simplicity for his flower arrangement. I’m looking forward to sharing all this quaintness, flower arranging and baking at Fiesta Friday.

And after braving the wet weather, we ended up winning an amazing raffle prize too. Of all the things we could have won…. this stunning hamper from a local farm shop was just made for us!

How did you spend your Bank Holiday? Did you curl up inside with a steaming mug of tea or did you manage to get out and have some fun?

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Don’t forget to enter my Vegfest ticket competition by Sunday, August 31st. Good luck!

 

 

 

 

Win a pair of Vegfest London tickets…

Tags

Giveaway, Ticket competition, Vegan, Vegetarian, Vegfest London

Next month is Vegfest month 🙂 Here’s your chance to WIN a pair of tickets to Vegfest London on Sunday 28 September?

I’m really excited about this post as I’ve got two lovely tickets sitting here on my desk, waiting to be sent out to a lucky reader.

As you may well know I LOVE the Vegfest events, in a ‘slightly overexcited, jumping-up-and-down’ sort of way – they’re a fixed date in my diary!
And this year is extra special for me as my blog has been nominated in the Vegfest awards, yeah!! For the first time, I’ll also be there in a professional capacity – camera in hand as official photographer – to capture the atmosphere, delicious food, exhibitors and speakers on both days. Come and say Hi if you see me there, it would be wonderful to meet many of you in person!

If you haven’t cast your vote in the Vegfest Awards yet, I would be over the moon if you’d vote for my Flavourphotos blog in the Best Blogger category. Have a little browse around if you’re new to the site – I really hope you’ll like my weekly recipes posts and stick around for a while 🙂 
I wonder if any of my VVLP friends fancy entering?

Is it a bit cheeky asking for your vote right now, after mentioning a ticket competition? 😉 Trust me, the two are not at all connected!

Here’s the important bit: To be in with a chance of winning these two tickets (worth £22 in total) tell me a fun fact about yourself. Could be food related, could be a special talent you may have, anything at all. I’ll pick a name at random on August 31st. Good luck!!!

Peach and Strawberry Ice Lollies

Tags

dairy-free, Fiesta Friday, ice lollies, Ice lolly moulds, peach and strawberries, Summer recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Vegetarian Living

Nights are drawing in… Who said that?!? I’m determined to squeeze out every single sunny hour of this year and nothing screams out summer more loudly then ice lollies!

Earlier in the year I was experimenting with lots of different flavours of ice lollies for my Vegetarian Living column. They always look so pretty and colourful as well. I’ve had a lot of fun making (and eating!) them with my two boys this year and I’m certainly not ready to pack those lolly moulds away just yet!

 

Peach and Strawberry Ice Lollies

Here’s one of my favourites: These two-tone lollies are such a great way to cool down and the combination of peach, strawberry and creamy vanilla yoghurt is just a match made in heaven.
Makes 4

Could you resist these super-cute snowmen faces? Luckily my sister couldn’t and bought them for her nephews.

You’ll need:
125g tinned peach (drained)
100g strawberries
zest of ½ orange
75g dairy-free vanilla yoghurt (e.g Alpro)
icing sugar

Use a handblender to whizz the peach pieces until smooth. Divide between four lolly moulds. Now blend the strawberries with the orange zest and yoghurt. Sweeten to taste with a little icing sugar and pour into the moulds. Pop these into the freezer until they’re solid. Enjoy! Get those sunglasses and big hats out while you can 🙂
Can’t wait to share these at Fiesta Friday and the VVLP this week.

Do you remember these fabulous Zebra lollies? Recipe here:
https://flavourphotos.wordpress.com/2014/06/17/umbrellas-on-a-sunny-day/

The joy of being a food photographer! I’ve currently got 4 (or is it 5??) different lolly moulds. Thank goodness for my walk-in prop cupboard where I can hide all my crockery and fabrics 🙂

Have you ever tried making your own lollies? What’s your favourite flavour?

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Website www.flavourphotos.com

The Best Vegan Dessert Ever!

Tags

baking with kids, best vegan dessert, Chocolate Fudge Cake, dairy-free, Demuths, desserts, Rock Cakes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Have you noticed how restaurants are now so much more skilled and willing to cook tasty vegan fayre? but when it comes to dessert there’s still a lot of fruit salad around…

Don’t get me wrong, I really like fruit salad but when I go out for a meal I want to be wowed by my dessert. A couple of weeks ago I was taking part in the #veganrecipehour on Twitter and we were chatting about the best vegan dessert we’d ever had in a restaurant. This is IT for me – Demuths’ Chocolate Fudge Cake!
Well, at least my re-creation of it!

This cake is deeeeeelicious. My gratitude goes to the wonderful Rachel Demuth who picked up on our conversation and generously shared the link to the recipe here. You can either serve this Chocolate Fudge Cake cold as an iced cake or hot, in a pool of warm, lip-smackingly good chocolate sauce.
When we went to Demuths Restaurant in Bath for the first time I would have been vegan for a year or two. The memory of being served something so outstandingly delectable has stayed with me to this day.
In fact, when we visited one year with a very tiny baby Sam he wouldn’t settle at all during our meal and we had to miss out on dessert. I assure you that we went back the very next morning to have our cake then… definitely worth it!

When I tried out the recipe, we certainly had our cake and ate it too… I got a bit distracted when making the first cake and accidentally forgot to add oil. With all that swirly icing it was still quite successful. But here is the real thing:

Simply delicious with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream… and good enough to share at Fiesta Friday and VVLP.

 

It’s not been ALL about food in our house this summer, but somehow ‘foodie things’ have even managed to sneak into our artwork.

Sam’s sunset with lentils, turmeric and paprika

And here is Alex’s version… Isn’t it great how they have created entirely different pictures with the same ‘ingredients’? A lot like cooking really 🙂

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Finally, as we’re getting ready for a few days of camping by the Welsh seaside (a proper break from work, blogging and social media!)…
These ‘Rock Cakes’ are great to bake with young children. They may not make it in my food photography portfolio because of their good looks! But with a little added cinnamon and ground cardamom they are the perfect treat for a beach holiday.

So pleased that I still kept some of the candied lemon peel and kumquat peel (!) my mum had made and sent over to me from Germany. I’ve been saving this for a special occasion as the flavours are really wonderful.

What’s been the best dessert (vegan or not) you’ve ever eaten in a restaurant? Go on, make me envious 😉 I look forward to catching up again after my break.
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A Make-Over for Veganism: VeganLife Magazine

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Vegan, VeganLife Magazine

When I first became vegan nearly 15 years ago, only in my wildest dreams could I haved walked into my local supermarket to find a dedicated vegan magazine…

Dreams do come true! A few weeks ago I was contacted by VeganLife, a bi-monthly magazine that will hit the shops on August 21st. I’m delighted that they asked me to join their team of resident bloggers as this looks to be a real gem….

It was super-exciting to take a little peek at the pre-launch issue… One hundred pages dedicated to cruelty-free living –  from vegan celebrities, green living, travel, beauty products and fashion to the all-important recipes. Editor Jane Hughes, who ably edited the Vegetarian Society’s magazine for 14 years, has all the expertise to bring the right people and quality content together to make this a keeper!
She says “The time is right for a really stylish and positive magazine that celebrates every aspect of vegan living. Interest in veganism is soaring, with celebrities advocating a plant-based diet, sportspeople smashing records and new vegan and raw food restaurants mushrooming across the capital. What started as a niche movement is now ready to go mainstream.”

I’m particularly thrilled to find a dedicated plant-based magazine appearing on our shelves after veganism has become the hottest new food trend in my native Germany.
(Read all about it here: Sausage-Sizzling Germany. An unexpected vegan paradise!)

The magazine will be available from places like WH Smith, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and independent whole food outlets and also as a digital subscription on August 21st. That’s only 11 more sleeps!!!
As I mentioned, it’s published bi-monthly and the cost will be £3.95 but it’s particularly good value when you subscribe for the year.
(At £14.50 for six issues that’s only £2.40 every other month and will last me much longer than a soya cappuccino to go 😉 )

Obviously, with my food writer and photographer hat on, I’m going to flick to the recipe pages straight away. But I’m just as excited to read about new products on the market and travel ideas.

Now, over to you: What would you like to see in a new magazine? Do you need more cupcakes in your life or is it green issues and the latest book reviews?

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Watercress, Mango and Pecan Salad

Tags

Arugula, Best Blogger, dairy-free, Fiesta Friday, Mango, pomegranate, spicy salad dressing, Vegan, Vegan Food photography, vegan recipes, Vegetarian, Vegfest awards, watercress salad

If you’re bored and tired of the same old lettuce, cucumber, tomato combo, I’ve got a real winner for you. Whether it’s steaming hot BBQ season or whether you’re snuggling into a warm blanket… this tastebud-tingling salad is sure to brighten your day!

Last week I came across a curried potato salad at the Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck and it triggered a delicious memory. Many years ago, straight out of photography college, I spent a week assisting in a commercial photo studio in Manchester. The main assistant was a gorgeous girl from Brazil who kindly offered to put me up for a few days. On our first evening, we were making dinner plans and she remained completely unfazed by my vegan diet.

She created a salad dressing that was unlike anything I’d ever tasted before and I have re-created it over and over again. With its unusual blend of mango chutney, curry powder, English mustard and dairy-free cream this dressing really is a bit of a taste sensation! And to do it justice I’ve plated up a mouth-wateringly good salad to show it off.

I’m looking forward to joining in again with VVLP and Fiesta Friday this week.

Let me just pause for a second to say a massive ‘Thank you’ to all of you lovely people who have already voted for my blog in the Vegfest Awards, including the incredibly supportive Fiesta Friday crew. I have been truly touched by your generosity and kindness!

If you haven’t had the chance to vote yet, please just click on the flashing banner, scroll down to the bottom of that page and vote for ‘Flavourphotos’ -Best Blogger category… You know you really, really want to!
🙂 Thank you 🙂

But now let’s get back to the really important business…

Watercress, Mango and Pecan Salad

Serves 4-6

about 100g watercress
1 perfectly ripe mango
1 handful of pomegranate seeds
3-4 mini cucumbers, sliced
pecan nuts

Curried Mango Dressing
50ml dairy-free cream
2 tbsp water
1 tsp mango chutney
1/2 tsp English mustard
1 tsp mild curry powder
1/4 tsp turmeric for extra colour (optional)

Arrange the salad ingredients in a big bowl or on indiviual plates as a starter. The colours are so striking – have some fun creating a feast for your tastebuds and your eyes!

For the dressing blend the mango chutney, mustard, turmeric and curry powder with the cream and water. English mustard is really hot so you may choose to use slightly less. I’ve picked peppery watercress leaves to go with this recipe but rocket (arugula, rucola) would make a great alternative too.

Turmeric is a super-healthy spice and I’ve added it to this dressing because of it’s wonderful healing benefits. When I spent a couple of months travelling through India with my boyfriend we brought back a bag of turmeric that listed all its health giving properties, from powerful anti-inflamatory and antioxidant to cancer and heart disease prevention, to name but a few. There’s lots of interesting reading online, here is just one article that you may find interesting.

Summer is such a great season for flavourful salads! Do you like to add fruit or do you prefer veggies and salad leaves? I’d love to hear about your current favourites.

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