Photos from paradise

Posted on March 11, 2014 by

The first Friday night of my month-long Around the World with FGV supper club series took place last week and it was a vegan meal of epic proportions.

Adrian and Diana of Vegan Peasant Catering came up with the vegan goods (and then some!) during their Caribbean themed dining event. It was a truly world class affair.

You only need to see the photos below to understand that Vegan Peasant are one of the finest catering companies on the planet. You don’t often get vegan food of this quality in the UK. It’s a rare treat, indeed.

Follow Vegan Peasant on Twitter and like them on Facebook to make sure you keep updated with all of their upcoming events and culinary adventures. I can’t recommend hiring their services highly enough if you are planning a special event that requires catering.

Your guests will be blown away. Mine were!

Cinnamon spiced plantain

Cinnamon spiced plantain

Toasted nori, thyme & aubergine accaras

Toasted nori, thyme & aubergine accaras

Spicy potato & callaloo corn empanadas with Trinidadian coconut chutney & hot Bajan chutney

Spicy potato & callaloo corn empanadas with Trinidadian coconut chutney & hot Bajan chutney

Chiffonade savoy, daikon & scallion salad with ginger miso dressing

Chiffonade savoy, daikon & scallion salad with ginger miso dressing

Christophene ratatouille, cajun sweet potato fries, coconut rice with pigeon peas & avocado aioli

Christophene ratatouille, cajun sweet potato fries, coconut rice with pigeon peas & avocado aioli

Candied mango frangipan & piña colada cream

Candied mango frangipan & piña colada cream

Posted in Haus of FGV, I'll pay you to cook for me, London can you wait?, London Vegan Events, Vegan | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Overeat with friends

Posted on March 10, 2014 by

A recent trip to Loving Hut Archway resulted in a mammoth amount of vegan food being ordered. Seriously. So much food.

I was hanging out with Ange and James of glorious ethical boutique The Third Estate and we were all hungry. Even though we all knew we would be unable to show any form of restraint, we boarded the 390 bus in the direction of north London suburb, Archway. We ate everything.

James has spent the most part of the time I have known him raving about the vegan duck rolls at this Loving Hut location. He had convinced me my life was a devalued experience without them. I succumbed and it was the first thing we ordered. Old Jimbo might just be onto something. The build-you-own pancake rolls were tasty.

But the food didn’t stop there.

For some reason we ordered three types of crispy vegan chicken, a sizzling dish of vegan beef, side of rice, a vegan chicken burger with fries and a vegan fish burger. We all had to pull together as a team to chomp through the mound of deliciousness placed before us. Vegans united in greed.

Check it out below. Continue reading →

Posted in I'll pay you to cook for me, London can you wait?, Vegan | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Treats for me

Posted on March 9, 2014 by

Josh has been in the USA for the past week and a half in Tampa and Philadelphia. I missed him greatly and it was wonderful to welcome him home today… especially when I saw the jumbo bag of vegan snacks and treats he brought with him!

Check out the drool-worthy photos of my bumper haul below.

Are any of your favourites here? Anything you are curious to try? Continue reading →

Posted in I love sugar, Vegan | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

Tacos sin carne

Posted on March 7, 2014 by

I can’t believe I forgot to tell you about this wonderful organic food cafe and grocery store Josh and I visited in Mexico City.

Origenes Orgánicos is an extremely pleasant restaurant chain with two locations in Mexico City. The Colonia Roma setting fed us during our recent vacation and we enjoyed it so much, we went back for seconds.

A sign of a decent eatery is how well their menu is marked when it comes to vegan choices and how confidently the servers talk about those options. Origenes passed with flying colours on both counts. Our server even told us that the chipotle mayo accompanying our our complimentary bread basket was soy-based.

I found the prices to be a little on the steep side for Mexico (although inline with what I’m used to paying elsewhere), but you can’t argue with the quality, taste and freshness of what we were served. Check out the photos below and make sure to pay Origenes a visit when you are next in the city (c’mon, you know you wanna go!). Continue reading →

Posted in I'll pay you to cook for me, Mexico, Taking the long way around | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Gardening comp

Posted on March 6, 2014 by

Here is some interesting news for the gardeners amongst you.

A television production company is in the process of recruiting keen gardeners for a new show focussing on people who are confident when it comes to turning home grown produce into meals. The BBC2 endeavour is being called The Big Allotment Challenge and the makers have put a call out for amateur kitchen gardeners to take part. The show even plans to be inclusive of home flower growers.

If you think you have what it takes, ask for an application form via grow@silverriver.tv or 0207 907 3401. Applications close March 13, 2014.

It would be fantastic to see a vegan on the series, to show people what plant based eating is all about. Somebody do it!

Posted in Competition girl | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Ice cream defeated me

Posted on March 5, 2014 by

The Vegan Ice Cream Wars have left many casualties throughout a long and tumultuous history. Sadly, the FGV himself (that’s me!) is the latest in a long line of the fallen.

I should learn restraint, but I don’t have an off switch when presented with a full tub of chocolate ice cream. I keep eating until there is nothing.

Yi is the newish kid on the block when it comes to dairy free dessert and I was keen to get my chubby paws around a tub. The container I purchased in Whole Foods Market was a substantial price and came with the warning usually associated with the ingredient xylitol. You know, too much will result in frequent trips to the toilet. Continue reading →

Posted in Vegan, Vegan ice cream wars | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Dull

Posted on March 4, 2014 by

Meals on flights seem to belong in two camps. Either they are awful or they manage to be just OK. My recent British Airways flight back from Mexico City to London involved food of the fairly awful variety.

My expectations were high after the decent dishes I was served on my way over to Distrito Federal, but the reality was disappointing.

The main meal was an uninspired and unenjoyable mix of rice and vegetables, a cup featured barely ripe fruit pieces while the salad was overfilled with slimy mushrooms.

I didn’t even attempt to eat the dessert as it looked like it was made with dairy milk and was not labelled as vegan. Actually, my entire meal was labelled vegetarian as opposed to the vegetarian/vegan label on Josh’s meal. This is why we pack out own snacks, right plant eaters?

The only thing worse than the meal was the movie I watched during the trip. If you get a kick out of dreadful films, watch Austenland.

Check out the photos below and see all my inflight meal posts here.

Uninspired

Uninspired

Slimy salad

Slimy salad

Unripe fruit

Unripe fruit

Dairy dessert?

Dairy dessert?

The film was the perfect match for the meal

The film was the perfect match for the meal

Posted in Food in the air | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments