Vegan

Coconut everywhere

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Coconut-based foods are taking over the world. I literally can’t get my head around how many new coconut products are popping up each week.

One of the leaders of this surge is Bessant & Drury. Th company has been producing one of the best vegan ice creams in the UK for a few years and are now branching into the yoghurt field with their Coconut Co-operative brand.

The owner and founder Steve Bessant generously supplied March London Vegan Potluck attendees with a special tasting of their mango and passionfruit variety of yoghurt. 350 tubs of the stuff were hand delivered to the event by Steve himself!

Coconut Co-operative
Coconut Co-operative
Mass serving
Mass serving

You can check out Coconut Co-operative on Facebook and follow the company on Twitter.

Other coconut favourites of mine recently have been the milk products from Rebel Kitchen. Not only are these drinks delicious but they have the cutest packaging and graphics I have seen in a long time. Check out their website.

Rebel Kitchen
Rebel Kitchen

To wrap up coconut appreciation post, I wanted to make a quick mention of the Trek cocoa coconut flapjack bar. It is chewy and chocolatey and perfect for a snack on the go. It is shown below with both the Rebel Kitchen and Coconut Co-operative products.

Long live the coconut!

A selection of my favourites
A selection of my favourites

Newcastle goes vegan

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It seems you can’t go anywhere in the UK without tripping over a vegan festival. Plant-based get togethers are multiplying at a rapid pace and a northern city has joined the trend.

Get ready for the Newcastle Upon Tyne Vegan Festival this July.

This event is the brainchild of a full time student and vegan catering business operator named Louise. Louise has decided to spend the minuscule amount of spare time she has to create a fun and educational day-long event in the northern city.

The Newcastle Vegan Festival is set for July 26th, 2014 in a large hall located a short walk from the central train station. More than 100 stalls are expected and will include food, films, local food producers, ethical clothing and many more services and goods from the world of veganism.

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Entry will be a lowly £2 for adults and £1 for children with profits from ticket sales being donated to charity.

If you live in the area, make sure you get on in to the Newcastle Upon Tyne Vegan Festival for food, fun and information. If you live elsewhere, this is surely a perfect opportunity to visit the city.

More cake

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There is a lot of vegan cake in London, but is it ever enough? I say no.

Congratulations to the people of Archway in north London. Their suburb is the location of the latest in a long line of 100% vegan cake stalls taking over the street markets of the capital.

A stroll around Archway on Saturday 15th March, 2014 could very well land you with a handful of gluten free, vegan cake if you make time to visit the outdoor market on Holloway Road.

Maria will be working behind the table and selling her homemade creations on a stall called Lilla Gull Cakes. The food-curious will be able to buy brownies topped with caramel corn, savoury muffins, coconut oat balls and more.

The plan is for the home business to be at that location every fortnight before making it more permanent once they are established and have a following.

Is there a vegan cake stall in your local market?

balls crackers cupcake popcorn savoury shoppers sign

Photos from paradise

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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

Overeat with friends

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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.

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Treats for me

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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?

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Ice cream defeated me

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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.

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Cupcake competition

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Living in London, it is easy to feel like you are at the centre of all things vegan in the UK. We have a monthly potluck, a monthly drinks event, a yearly beer fest, amazing vegan bakeries, vegan friendly restaurants and countless social events.

We have it pretty good in the capital and can often be guilty of overlooking the rest of the country when it comes to vegan good times. Take the upcoming vegan cupcake competition in Leeds. It sounds fab and should be celebrated.

Iron Cupcake: Leeds is a baking competition that has been happening for a few years in the Yorkshire city. Every time it runs, participants follow the designated theme to create 12 cupcakes in order to impress judges and take home a prize.

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People not baking are welcome to buy tickets so they can take part in the excitement by watching the action unfold and getting a taste of the entries.

On March 9, 2014 the competition pushes the plant-based agenda by making the theme of Iron Cupcake: Leeds vegan. Yes, that right. Every single entry in the competition needs to be completely free of animal derived products.

Get over to the official website right now to book your place in the competition or grab a ticket to be a spectator.

Enjoy!

Chicken and rainbows

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My Instagram account got a good workout today. I spent a large part of the day in north London and managed to snap a few photos of things that caught my attention.

Here are two of my favourite things from Saturday March 1, 2014.

Plate of vegan chicken at Loving Hut, Archway – deep fried balls with sweet & sour sauce, smoked chicken and salty chicken
Super cute rainbow cardigan in ethical cotton made by Komodo – seen in The Third Estate boutique, Kentish Town

 Follow me on Instagram!

Breakfast was lovely

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So much has been going on since I returned home from Mexico City. It has been a whirlwind of activity.

But certainly one of the highlights for me since arriving back in the UK was hosting the mammoth London Vegan Breakfast Club in conjunction with Shambhu’s Vegan Catering.

40 people packed into the kitchen and canteen known as The Food Chain in King’s Cross to enjoy one incredibly satisfying morning meal. The plates were piled high with vegan breakfast delights such as fried bread, baked beans, sausages, greens and hash browns. Attendees guzzled record amounts of fairtrade coffee, tea and orange juice while the organic olive leaf tea was a smash hit, too.

Many thanks to all who came along. It was a wonderful community event.

Huge thanks to the companies involved in feeding the masses. Please click through to follow these people on Twitter and let them know how much it means that they support the vegan community: Fry’s Vegetarian (sausages), Mr. Organic (baked beans), Soyfoods (tofu), Vx (discount vouchers) and Mirabilia Olive Leaf Tea (tea, obviously!).

Finally, enjoy the photos below!

Nishma of Shambhu's serving Soyfoods tofu and prepping Mr Organic baked beans
Nishma of Shambhu’s serving Soyfoods tofu & prepping Mr Organic baked beans
We served a LOT of sausages on the day
We served a LOT of sausages on the day
The scramble was a hit
The scramble was a hit