NEW Alpro Fromage Frais

Tags

Alpro, Vegan, Vegan Desserts, Vegan fromage frais, Vegan quark, Vegetarian

Great new dessert from Alpro – in Sainburys for just 50p!

Just a super quick post to tell you about these delicious little pots.

They come in three flavours, blackcurrant, mango and passion fruit. I spotted them in Sainsbury’s yesterday on offer for 50p.
The texture is gorgeous! Really thick and creamy, like strained yoghurt. So far I’ve tried passion fruit and it’s a lovely combination of flavours and textures.
Each pot contains around 120 calories and 11g sugar. Compared to their other fruit yoghurts that’s less sugar but 11g is still just under 3 teaspoons! Personally I would save them for an occasional treat… but how cool to wander into a shop and pick up an indulgent vegan dessert!

Have you spotted these already in other shops? If you’ve tried them already I’d love to know what you think.

Lots of love,
Chava

Birds and Bunnies – Vegan Easter

Tags

Booja Booja, Dairy-free Easter, Hotel Chocolat, Luxury vegan chocolate, Moo Free, Plamil, vegan chocolate, Vegan Easter, Vegan Easter Eggs

This year’s selection of vegan Easter treats is bigger and better than ever before. With Easter just round the corner it’s time I shared a selection of my favourite chocolates…

The other day I walked into Holland and Barrett and couldn’t believe my eyes when I spotted the vast shelf of dairy-free treats. While they still have their Buy 1, Get 1 Half Price it’s well worth a look in your local store. But I also want to share with you some of the other unusual and exciting new treats on the market. Get ready for some chocolate induced happiness.

  
The Choices caramel egg includes some scrumptious caramel chocolates. Irresistibly cute bunnies are widely available too – we even spotted them in Tesco!
Choices also make a lovely, smaller-sized egg in white and ‘milk’ chocolate with a little bag of chocolate buttons. I don’t usually give my kids 150-200g of chocolate and say: ‘Here you go, enjoy!’. To me this child-friendly size somehow feels more consistent with the message I give them the rest of the year. I know, mean mummy! 😉
(left to right: £6.49, £1.25 and £2.79 Holland and Barrett)

Moo free Easter Eggs in ‘Milk’, Orange and Bunnycomb flavour (£4.99 Holland and Barratt)

 
Plamil are offering dairy free eggs (including a sugar free version) as well as a nice big bag of very pretty half eggs. Wouldn’t they look fab as part of an Easter afternoon tea? (£3.69 and 4.95 from Plamil)

If you are looking for a bargain, Holland and Barrett have already reduced their vegan egg to £3.50 and they are included in their special BOGOHP offer.

Surprise supermarket finds (left to right): Aldi dark choc bunny (£0.99 for 120g!), Marks and Spencers (£6), Sainsburys (£3.49 and £2.49)

Oh my goodness! Booja Booja Almond and Sea Salt Caramel Egg. Small eggs include three gorgeous truffles (I know, that’s never enough!), large eggs are filled with 12 chocolates. (H&B £9.99, Ocado £24.99)

 
Vegan Nougat, Strawberry or Cappuccino Eggs come from the Vegan Bakery in Germany. You can order them from the Viva! shop or Vegantown (from £4.00)

Pretty half egg filled with peanut butter eggs. (£6.95 Viva!)

My favourite vegan offering this year, so beautiful and lovingly made. The egg includes edible decoration made with raspberry, blueberry and pistachio. Mr Bunny has a secret superfood filling and is flavoured with cardamom, anise, cinnamon and chilli. Wow!
(Both £6.50 Viva!)

There’s no way that this could possibly be vegan, right? Well, I did read the ingredients on Hotel Chocolat’s website and it really is luxury dairy-free indulgence! (£15 Hotel Chocolat)

 
Awww, look at these little faces! My lovely friend Jane let me and the boys try some of hers (that’s real friendship!). Hotel Chocolat advertise this range as ‘Milk-Free Milk’ and use almond powder instead of dairy milk powder. Personally, I think the chocolate tastes like a very nice dark chocolate. So if you prefer something a bit ‘milkier’ I would opt for Moo free or similar instead. (£5.50)

A square Easter Egg instead? Pure indulgence and perfectly cruelty-free.
(£25 Hotel Chocolat)

If you could pick anything from this list what would you choose?
Or did you spot something irresistible that everybody just has to see?
Hope you have a very happy Easter!

Lots of love,
Chava

 

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If your business could benefit from fabulous meat-free recipes and photographs I’d love to hear from you.
Keep in touch via Twitter (@flavourphotos) or Facebook
and look out for more scrumptious food photography here: www.flavourphotos.com

Vegan Cake fit for a royal visit…

Tags

Leamington Spa, The Garden Shed Cafe, vegan cafe, vegan chocolate cake, Vegan Food photography, vegan Jaffa Cakes, vegetarian cafe

A new veggie and vegan cafe is opening its doors in Royal Leamington Spa.

When you live in London or Glasgow or one of the other ‘vegan heavens’ around the UK you could get a bit blasé about finding delicious chocolate cake or sweet potato falafel…
Well, when you find vegan food in Warwickshire that’s as good as The Garden Shed Cafe’s Jaffa Cakes (YES, seriously!!) you would want to see newspaper headlines and street parties too!

On Saturday the Garden Shed Cafe opened its doors for the first time for a celebration party before the official launch on Monday (9th February). The little cafe was buzzing with chatter, laughter and some very appreciative noshing.
Stephanie, the owner, with some of her delicious chocolate cakes on offer. The quick snap of the cakes above turned out rather lovely too.

The menu includes all day vegan breakfast options (including home made baked beans) as well as fresh soup, sandwiches, puff pastry bakes and daily specials… and of course there’s cake! Did I mention the vegan Jaffa Cakes?!

With a wonderful organic health food shop just metres away, this will put Leamington Spa firmly on the vegan map. Queen Victoria thought the spa town was lovely enough to visit twice… So if you ever find yourself in this part of the country do pop in!

Incidentally, David and I used to live a 2 minute walk down the road while I went to college back in 1999. Gaia was the first place where we would stock up on cruelty-free groceries and find treats such as Swedish Glace (anyone remember the pear flavour?). All these years later it’s still run as a co-operative with knowledgeable staff and a great choice of whole foods and organic fruit and veg.

Check out the latest news from the cafe on Twitter and Facebook.

Where’s your favourite vegan cafe or restaurant? I’d love to hear all about your recommendations and make a list of ‘Must Visit’ places.
Lots of love,
Chava

 

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If your business could benefit from fabulous meat-free recipes and photographs I’d love to hear from you.
Keep in touch via Twitter (@flavourphotos) or Facebook
and look out for more scrumptious food photography here: www.flavourphotos.com

 

Ethical companies come up trumps!

Tags

Equinox Kombucha, Ethicoco, food photographer, Great Taste Award 2014, Kombucha, Vegan, vegan chocolate, Veganuary, Vegfest London, Wise Owl Tea

Happy Veganuary everybody! A new year starting full of promise and hope as 10 000 people have pledged to go vegan for January.

Last September I met Matthew, Jane and Clea (aka Team Veganuary) at Vegfest London…. sparkling with enthusiasm and full of drive to make Veganuary the best thing since vegan chocolate fudge cake!

The website (www.veganuary.com) they’ve created is outstanding and I was singing its praises to my friend Zoe on our way to a night-out dancing.
I was over the moon when she told me that she had actually signed up to a month of trying vegan and was busily planning meals and snacks. It’s so much fun sharing my tips and telling her about my favourite vegan treats. And as I’ve had some fabulous products sent to me to review recently I couldn’t wait to share the love…

At Vegfest London I had also bumped into two great guys from Equinox Kombucha and they got in touch and kindly sent me four of their drinks to review.
Kombucha (a fermented green tea drink) is a well-known source of probiotics with lots of vitamins and detoxing properties. When you read a bit more about the Equinox story you’ll get a real sense of their passion, commitment and kindness. Equinox Kombucha choose ethically sourced ingredients, Fair Trade wherever possible, and alway certified organic.

I will admit that I was already a little biased as I love the gorgeous bottle design. Also these drinks don’t scream ‘artificial colours’ with their pretty pastel shades.

 
 

If you’ve never tried Kombucha before you’ll notice the tangy flavour, a little bit like a slightly tart cider. The Original flavour immediately made me forget my teenage memories of my mum’s attempts to brew her own Kombucha (brrrr!). In fact, I really liked all four varieties.
Ginger is refreshingly fizzy without the full-blown spicy heat that some people don’t like in ginger. Raspberry and Elderflower and Wild Berry add delightful fruit flavours. I’m particularly keen on these two. I love the way the Wild Berry looks like a sparkling rosé wine in a champagne flute. This would make a sophisticated and indulgent alternative to alcohol.
I’ve never been keen to let my boys have sweet fizzy drinks – they’ve tried them on a couple of occasions and luckily didn’t go crazy for them. Sam and Alex were really curious to try Kombucha and I’m going to hand over the mic to my seven year old who gave me his eloquent review:
“I like it more than lemonade because lemonade has hardly a taste and is just sugary. This has more flavour and (is) less sugary. I love it!” Good point, well made 🙂

Equinox Kombucha picking up their Best Vegan Drinks award at Vegfest in September.
Pretty cool, huh?

 

While I’m on the topic of tea please let me point you to the Wise Owl Tea company. Steve Ellis got in touch and kindly sent me some samples. He and Lucy combines their deep passion for travel and love of fragrant herbal tea infusions perfectly. Ingredients are organic and the delightful little tea bags are hand made. Last year the two ‘Wise Owls’ have seen their efforts rewarded in the Great Taste awards with three gold star winners!

I was very excited to try the Corsican Olive Leaf Tea. Blended with apple and pineapple it looked very elegant in the little pyramid shaped silky bags. It’s become my favourite of the Wise Owl teas.
Tahitian Night is a full blend of flavours with Liquorice Root, Chamomile flower, Lavender flower, Lime flower and Valerian Root. The liquorice adds sweetness, while chamomile, lavender and valerian root make this a great drink to aid deep, refreshing sleep.

The packaging is so beautiful that I couldn’t bring myself to recycle these pretty containers. They make lovely storage jars for all sorts of bits and pieces.

 

And finally, I was lucky enough to sample some exciting vegan chocolate from Ethicoco. (I know it’s a tough job…)
Ethicoco is a new vegan chocolate business that is handcrafting a variety of bean-to-bar chocolates.

I got to try the Ecuadorian With Oat Milk and a 72% Peruvian Dark. Here’s another company that really celebrates ethical values and care of our planet. All the ingredients are organic, with beans certified by the Rain Forest Alliance, FairTrade, or sourced via direct trade.
Given the choice, I would usually go for a vegan ‘milk chocolate’ first so when I tried this one I really enjoyed it. But it was the 72% dark variety that surprised me the most. There was none of the ‘bitterness’ that I was expecting and the longer the chocolate melted in my mouth the more the flavours developed. Absolutely gorgeous and a huge success with all the family. I’m really looking forward to trying the other two flavours soon.

Have you discovered some exciting new products during Veganuary? And have you got any Top Tips for staying plant-based this month? It’s always great to hear from you…

Lots of love,
Chava

 

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If your business could benefit from fabulous meat-free recipes and photographs I’d love to hear from you.
Keep in touch via Twitter (@flavourphotos) or Facebook
and look out for more scrumptious food photography here: www.flavourphotos.com

Vegan Halloween treats… no tricks here!

Tags

Best party bag sweets, Best Trick or Treat sweets, dairy free halloween treats, dairy-free chocolates, dairy-free sweets, halloween, Healthy lunchbox treats, Healthy treats for kids, Vegan, Vegan Halloween Sweets, vegan kids, Vegan Party Bag Sweets, Vegan Sweets, Vegetarian jelly sweets

If you’ve got a vegan Halloween trickster in your house or if you are looking for party bag inspiration, this round-up of the best cruelty-free treats is an absolute must-read!

I promised my lovely Vegetarian Living Magazine readers to search the stores up and down the country to bring you the best selection of vegan goodies – just in time to get organised for spooky Halloween fun!

Those of you who know me through the column or from following my blog, are aware that for me occasional treats can certainly be part of a balanced vegan childhood.  For this post, I’ve chosen a wide selection of different sweets and treats for every taste. I hope you’ll find something that tickles your tastebuds and will bring a smile to your mini vegan. I’ll be sure to prepare our neighbours with some gruesome goodies before Sam and Alex go for their very first Trick or Treat mission.

 

Jelly Sweets and Tuck Shop treats

I’m a big fan of these cute mini sized treats. Goody Good Stuff have been creating gelatine-free sweets for the last 15 years. We always keep a few bags of these at my boys’ school so they don’t need to miss out when their little friends bring non-veggie birthday sweets to share.

For more heart-warming and star-winning jelly sweets, check out the Fruit Factory’s range that include fruit flavoured stars and strawberry hearts, amongst many others. Fun website for kids too!

Small Love Heart rolls are very cute and a great size for a Halloween treat.
If you want to buy these online, here’s a link.
Another useful size for mini treats are Pez refills.

Starburst chews are vegan in the UK and available in pretty much any supermarket, petrol station and corner shop. I’m not 100% certain about the US variety as they may be made to a different recipe.

Lollypops and boiled sweets are always a useful Trick or Treat staple. Good value and I’ve yet to hear of a child who doesn’t like lollies. The mini Chupa Chups are great for party bags too and they often bring out a larger ‘Halloween bag’ when it gets nearer to October.

 
Raspberry and Strawberry Millions are another unexpected vegan find. They are officially approved by the Vegetarian Society but I had to double check that these pretty bubble sweets don’t contain animal products. They come in different pack sizes, including a mini 25g tube. Another success for mini vegans.

 

The Healthy Treats

No urban myth, there really are some tasty snacks for kids that are packed with goodness and some even provide kids with one of their 5-a-day.
Packaging can make all the difference!

Humzinger Fruit Sticks. 100% fruit and individually wrapped in colourful foil wrappers. I feel slightly mean to admit this now, but we cheekily told our son that these were ‘cake’ for quite a while. Only works with the first child, I’m afraid.

Gingerbread is always a firm favourite with kids and these teeny weeny men are organic, baked with wholemeal flour and sweetened with organic grape juice.
Better hide them from the parents… they’re very moreish.

While mini raisin boxes may not sway an older gremlin or witch at Halloween, many younger kids still love these. Makes a nice change with the added apricot or apple pieces.

Grrrrrrrrr, let’s hear it for the bear! The Bear fruit nibbles are another pure fruit snack that is beautifully packaged. Their Fruit Yo-yos come with fact cards to collect too. My 5 year old thinks they are really cool!

Amended 25.09.14:
Look what arrived in the post today… perfect timing for the Halloween post. The Yu! fruit chews are a great fit for this healthy treat section.

These little sweets are made from 100% fruit and the 24g bags are a really nice snack size. For some reason they have a zip-lock to reseal the pack. I wonder if anyone has that kind of self-restraint because I certainly couldn’t have stopped after just a couple! Strawberry, mango, blueberry and cherry… yes please!

 

Chocolate Treats

Moo Free. This deliciously creamy chocolate comes in individual bars in four funky flavours: Cheeky Orange, Minty Moo, Original Organic and Bunnycomb Bar. Moo Free also offer some scrumptious organic chocolate drops in 35g bags. Click here for stockists.

For a chocolate treat with a mouth-watering caramel centre you should look no further than these fantastic gold-wrapped treasures. Made by Celtic Chocolates (who are based in Ireland with the fairy-tale address of ‘Summerhill’!) these are available in Sainsburys, health food shops and also online.
As far as we know, they are actually made by Father Christmas’ elves as they appear in Sam and Alex’s stockings every year!

More dairy-free chocolate buttons than you could shake a witch’s finger at!
Humdingers dairy-free chocs and particularly the white buttons are a firm favourite in our house too. They look super cute on miniature chocolate muffins!

 

At this point I could happily stop and feel that I’ve found some great inspiration for all the veggie and vegan parents out there but I’m having sooooo much fun 🙂
So…. here’s even more:

Oreos in the UK are vegan – did you know!?! I like these individual packs for party bags or occasional lunchbox surprises. They’d make a great treat for a trainee wizard or zombie too.

Remember tic tac and Vimto bars and Raspberry Ruffles?

 

Now, at the very end of today’s post I need to add a little disclaimer:
Where refined sugar and occasional E-numbers are involved there’s no fooling ourselves… Obviously, sweets are not health-food! Only because they’re vegan does not mean that they are good for you.
Please double-check the ingredients, just in case a recipe has changed recently. And if you find something really fabulous that I have missed, then please do write a comment to let us all know straight away 🙂

I hope you’ve had as much fun looking as I had when putting this list together. I’d love to know what’s your #1 favourite vegan sweet 🙂

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Keep in touch via Twitter or Facebook
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A Make-Over for Veganism: VeganLife Magazine

Tags

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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All you need is l💜ve… and Vegfest Brighton

Tags

Aneesh Popat, Bristol Bakehouse, cake, Cat & The Cream, Chocolate, Dosa Deli, Dragonfly, Ms Cupcake, Soapnut powder, Sunshine Kitchen, Teen VGN, The Honest Carrot, Vegan Society, Vegfest, Vegfest Brighton, Vegfest Bristol

Another fantastic event from the organisers of Europe’s largest vegan festivals.

Long overdue! Visiting the Viva! Roadshow in Gloucester has inspired me to pick a few photos from last month’s Vegfest in Brighton to share some of the sights with you.
I am a huge (no, try that again… HUGE!!!) fan of the Vegfest events that take place in Bristol, Brighton and London.
My journey to Brighton was somewhat turbulent but it was definitely worth the trip and every minute of waiting for the recovery van 😉

The gorgeous ladies from the Sunshine Kitchen

Alix Meek, the Vegan Society’s Business Development Assistant

The TeenVGN stall. Truly inspirational, you’re superstars!

Soapnut powder – a truly environmentally friendly choice. Probably the most innovative product I’ve seen at the show this year.

Soapnut powder in laundry tabs… ultimate convenience

Merryhill Mushrooms – Grow your own. Looks such fun. I wish I could have taken some home with me.

Caught ‘blue handed’: Ms. Cupcake with her ever popular cakes.

These stunning cakes were for sale on the VBites stall.

It appears that vegans don’t just eat nuts and leaves 😉

Incredibly fast, this man is a master of the Woks

Bangwok toppings.

Great name, great food 🙂

Nice as pie!

Dosa Deli. If you get the chance… just do it! Mmmmmm 🙂

Part of my Dosa lunch… there was something deliciously crunchy in there. Never got a chance to ask what the secret ingredient was.

Lunch… Oh my goodness this was so incredibly tasty. Full of flavour, variety of textures and just all round yummy!

Looking good!

Vegan Catering at its best. Cashew Catering from Lewes.

Mouthwateringly beautiful

Chocolatier Aneesh Popat

Some of Aneesh’s chocolates. How fabulous are these!?

Aneesh with his lovely fiancé

A day out at Vegfest is like elixir for the weary vegan traveller’s soul… When I arrived at the Bristol venue last year, I felt an incredible sense of ‘coming home’ and belonging! My family and I live in a tiny little community in the Cotswolds and we don’t usually mind being the ‘only vegans in the village’. But just occasionally I wish I could simply sit down to a vegan meal in a cafe without lengthy explanations. Sometimes, it would be amazing not having to explain why I choose not to eat animal products, where I get my protein from or whether I eat fish!
But here I find no judgement, no critics… simply a crowd of caring, open minds.

Just a small selection of images from Bristol 2013.
Blue skies, sunshine, live music and over 140 stalls, caterers and talks.

Amphitheatre with live music

Cat and the cream

Stunning colours in the May sunshine

Dragonfly

Ms. Cupcake

The Bristol Bakehouse

Aneesh Popat

Live music, a bar and blue skies… Life is good!

Another view over the Amphitheatre.

I’m incredibly lucky to work with organisations, charities and magazines who feel just as passionately about living without cruelty as I do. Because of that and thanks to this blog, Twitter and Facebook, I’ve got a real sense of connecting with ‘my community’. Click here to follow me on twitter and catch my latest Facebook updates… It would just make my day 🙂

How do you link up with like-minded people? I’d love to hear what works for you.

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Hope to see many of you at the next Vegfest event!
Vegfest Website
Twitter @VegfestUK

Lemon Ginger Cheesecake Shots

Tags

Alpro, Cheesecake, cream cheese, dairy-free, dessert, Food photography, ginger, Gourmet Garden, herbs, low fat, recipe, recipe development, spices, Vegan, Vegetarian

Dairy-free and fabulous! If you’re a big fan of Cheesecake here’s the quickest, easiest recipe (with a little help from my friends).

Spring has truly sprung here in the UK! Vibrant blossoms wherever you look, bees buzzing busily and a windowsill full of green shoots getting ready for the greenhouse.
With the recent sunny weather my tastebuds seem to have changed from warming comfort food to lighter and more delicate flavours.
These bite-sized mini Cheesecakes with hints of summery lemon and ginger are just perfect for an eye-catching dessert and best of all… they’re ready in minutes.

Recently, Gourmet Garden kindly offered to send me a selection of their herbs and spices to review. This Australian company produces ready-to-use tubes of herbs and spices that offer a convenient alternative to fresh herbs. During the winter months, when I can’t just pop out into the garden to pick my own, I often end up with shop-bought herbs that never quite get used up or make it to the freezer. The Gourmet Garden products struck me as a great idea to avoid food waste as the packs will keep for up to three months in the fridge.

It turns out that most of the herbs and spices contain lactic acid from milk as an ingredient which makes them ideal for vegetarians. Currently only the ginger is suitable for vegans.
Obviously, there are endless options to use ginger in savoury recipes such as curries, stir-fries and marinades but I wanted to try something a bit different!

Lemon Ginger Cheesecake Shots

Makes about 12 shots
The gorgeous little shot glasses were lent to me by a friend and I’ve been thinking about the perfect recipe to photograph with them. These cute little desserts are exactly what I was looking for.
Are you ready for an incredible 6 ingredient recipe?

 

3 ginger biscuits or Hobnobs
75g dairy-free cream cheese
50g dairy-free vanilla yoghurt (e.g. Alpro)
1 tsp Gourmet Garden ginger puree
zest of 1/2 lemon
2 tsp icing sugar (more or less to taste)

Crush the biscuits in a pestle and mortar and spoon the fine crumbs into the shot glasses. Cheesecake is often made with a base of biscuit crumbs and melted margarine. If you prefer you can do that too but I wanted to opt for a lower fat version in this recipe. This way, it reminds me a bit of the Mueller yoghurts where you could snap a corner with granola into a creamy yoghurt dessert. Are they still around? I haven’t looked for a very long time!

Mix the cream cheese, yoghurt, lemon zest and ginger puree until you get a smooth, creamy consistency. Add icing sugar to taste and a little more ginger for an extra zingy flavour.
Spoon the cheesecake mix into the shot glasses and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Could this be any easier?!

Over the years I’ve attempted many dairy-free versions of Cheesecake. I’ve graduated from my first pretty strange attempts of baked silken tofu versions to my current favourites… Eating a vegan diet is definitely not about missing out but about finding the most delicious way to live life without causing unnecessary harm.

 

I love berries to top my Cheesecakes! What’s your favourite version? I’m keen to try out new suggestions.

Are we connected on Twitter or Facebook? I’d love it if you pop over to say Hi!
For food photography and vegan recipe development contact me via my website www.flavourphotos.com

Homemade Vegan Chorizo

Tags

Absolute Cooking, chorizo, dairy-free, orzo, Orzo Salad, seitan, Vegan, vegan sausages, Vegetarian, wheat gluten, Wheaty

If you love the spicy punchy flavour of Chorizo in your vegan recipes I’ve got great news for you. There’s now a DIY Chorizo kit to make at home… And it’s great fun too!

A couple of weeks ago I came across Absolute Cooking, who produce a range of meat-free DIY sausage kits. Alison Challoner-Jones kindly sent me two samples to try (a vegan Chorizo and a vegan Maple Bacon mix) and both have been a big success in our house.

As I grew up in a very sausage-savy part of Germany and I can usually speak with great authority on all things sausage. 😉 However, even though I used to eat other meats, I have never tried pork in my life and therefore couldn’t tell you if either the Chorizo or Bacon were ‘authentic’. What I can say however, is that the flavours are excellent and I’ve been tempted back to the fridge several times for a slice or three to munch with some crackers. Very moorish!

The kits couldn’t be easier to make! The Chorizo simply required the addition of 200ml water, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar and 2 tbsp vegetable oil. (The Bacon mix was equally easy with added water, soy sauce and vegetable oil.) I used a measuring jug for my wet ingredients and added the dried mix. Within seconds of stirring, the soft mass came together perfectly in a slightly springy ‘dough’ that could easily be separated and shaped.
I formed the Chorizo sausages, wrapped them in foil and baked them at 180˚C/350˚F for half an hour, turning once.

Most people who are new to meat-free eating prefer the slightly denser and chewier texture of seitan/wheat gluten. For example, whenever the German company Wheaty have a stall and samples at a UK veggie festival they always get raving reviews and unanimously positive feedback.
Alison’s products have got the same lovely texture and here comes the best bit… the ingredients list of Chorizo mix:
Vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, chickpea flour, herb and spice blend, vegetable bouillon, natural hickory smoke flavour…. THAT’S IT!

For this colourful Orzo salad I picked juicy tomatoes, spring onions, chives and Chorizo pieces – the flavours and textures complemented each other beautifully. My trusted ‘taste testers’ were particularly keen on the spicy smokiness of the sausage.
As the kids were hungry after a busy day at school I didn’t get the chance to write down a proper recipe. All I managed was a handful of photographs and “DINNERTIME!” before this vibrantly coloured dish vanished at lightning speed.

As a guide though:
I cooked enough orzo pasta for four in vegetable stock and a little turmeric to give this fabulous yellow colour.
In a separate pan I briefly fried chorizo pieces and some sliced spring onions, added the drained orzo, more sliced spring onions, chopped chives and sweet cocktail tomatoes. Together with an olive oil-vinegar-garlic vinaigrette this made a stunning dinner which would look equally fabulous on a buffet or picnic.

I was sent the samples by Absolute Cooking without a request for this review. But as I thoroughly enjoyed making and eating the sausages I felt it was only fair to share! 😉