Vegan southern Indian cooking class

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The fine people of Made In Hackney have put together another wonderful online cooking class taking place on Thursday November 12, 2020 between 6:30 and 8:30pm.

With a cost of £20 to join (£10 concession), all funds raised go towards the Made in Hackney community meal service providing free nutritious, tasty meals to households who need them during these challenging times. 

What is happening during the class?

Join chef Mark Breen for a tour of the taste, textures and aromas of plant-based Southern Indian cuisine, bursting with flavours from across this incredible region. The class will include:

  • Making a delicious tomato dal.
  • How to make the perfect citranna rice.
  • Making tasty coconut rotis.
  • How to temper and spice dishes using aromatic mustard seeds, curry leaves and chillis to give your dishes an extra burst of flavour.
  • Q&A
  • Recipe handout

Mark Breen is a classically trained chef who loves showing people how to cook what is seasonal, and at its best at any given time. His passion is teaching people how to cook with skill and enjoyment to create beautiful and tasty dishes that are good for your taste-buds, bodies and soul. When Mark isn’t working with Made In Hackney or as a private chef, he’s usually in the kitchen at home perfecting flavour blends or creating ferments and pickles.

Fee: £20 (£10 concession).  All funds raised go towards the Made in Hackney community meal service providing free nutritious, tasty meals to households who need them during these challenging times. 

If you are able to donate more than this, please visit the online fundraiser.

Once you have your ticket booked for the class, check out the ingredients list below to make sure you are prepared ahead of time.

INGREDIENTS LIST  

Andra Pradesh – Tomato dal (Serves 5) 

  • 200g red lentils
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • Spices – 1 teaspoon of cumin powder, coriander power and turmeric powder (or 3 teaspoons of curry powder)
  • 1 tablespoon of oil (preferably coconut oil)
  • 2 plum tomatoes, sliced (or half tin of tomatoes)
  • 1 inch of ginger, either chopped very small or grated (or one teaspoon of ginger powder)

    For tempering:
    1 tablespoon oil (preferably coconut oil)
    2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
    1 teaspoon of chilli flakes
    handful of curry leaves (fresh is best but dried is fine) 

Chitranna rice (serves 5) 

  • 300 grams basmati rice, washed
  • 1 of oil (preferably coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds. teaspoon turmeric
  • handful of curry leaves (fresh is best but dried is fine)
  • 2 tablespoons raw peanuts (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Southern Indian coconut rotis (makes about 5)

  • 200 grams plain flour
  • 100 grams desiccated coconut
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted
  • 2 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 1-2 green chillies, finely chopped (optional)
  • Sea salt 
  • 100 millilitres water
  • Coconut oil

EQUIPMENT LIST

  • Wooden spoon
  • Chopping board
  • Knife 
  • 3 Sauce pans
  • 1 frying pan
  • Hob
  • Teaspoon and tablespoon measure

Location: Zoom, details to be provided via email (usually the day before the class). Check your junk mail if need be!

Book your spot online now.

Follow Made in Hackney on Instagram.

Order vegan brownies for UK delivery

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Cake or Death bakery in East London sent me a box of the vegan brownies and I gotta say I was blown away.

The brownies were sensational and close to some of the best I’ve tried.

Cake or Death vegan brownies are available to order online and delivered hassle-free through your letterbox.

This paragraph from the Cake or Death website sums up the product perfectly:

Beautifully packaged in a hot pink leopard print, the Cake or Death experience is luxury treat, from it dropping on your doormat, right through to the last mouthful. These aren’t any ordinary brownies. Cake or Death brownies are everything a brownie should be and more; fudgey, indulgent and very moreish, all made with the very best quality plant-based ingredients. Both vegans and non-vegans alike are huge fans. They make the perfect treat for yourself or a friend.

I concur!

Cake or Death has a tempting range of flavours including:

  • Sea Salt X Biscoff
  • Biscoff
  • Sea Salt
  • Raspberry Caramel Blondies
  • Peanut Butter
  • Raspberry
  • Hazelnut
  • Fruit and Nut
  • Orange

Click here to shop for brownies or gift vouchers and be sure to follow Cake or Death on Instagram.

Extra note: European shipping outside the UK can be selected for £5 at checkout and gluten free options exist!

Vegan things I got for free this week

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It’s that time again.

I love showing you all the samples and PR gifts I get sent… and not just because I love to gloat!

I share because I want to let you know about some of the great vegan products available. My list of gifts always includes products from independent vegan businesses, so it give me a chance to support them with a little bit of exposure.

Check out my haul from this week and let me know in the comments if you have tried/enjoyed anything listed.

Be sure to click the multiple images on some of the posts, otherwise you might miss some sweet treats.

Extra note: to see all my latest food photos, follow me on Instagram.

Veganuary gets global sponsors

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To mark World Vegan Day on 1 November, 2020, popular vegan food brands The Fry Family Food Co. and Oumph! have announced their official sponsorship of Veganuary 2021.

International Marketing Director at Fry’s and Veganuary ambassador of six years, Tammy Fry, will be spearheading the month-long challenge on behalf of the brands to encourage people worldwide to try a plant-based diet for January and beyond.

“As a lifelong herbivore, mother and business leader in the plant-based food space, Veganuary is an opportunity to share my years of knowledge and support people regardless of where they’re at in their plant-based food journey,” said Tammy Fry.

She continued, “Fry’s has a history of leading plant-based initiatives, like Veganuary, in South Africa. This is the first year we’ve been able to step up as a global sponsor and I cannot wait to work with our sister brand Oumph!, to use our collective reach and resources to help drive record participation around the world to make plant-based eating the new normal.”

The Veganuary pledge works by signing up participants who will receive 31 days of recipes, shopping guides, meal plans, restaurant suggestions, social media community groups, and more to take them on a taste adventure full of new flavour experiences, as well as a kinder way of eating.

The LikeMeat brand will also be amplifying the initiative in Germany.

“We are excited that Fry’s and Oumph! are part of a growing movement, joining forces as our official sponsor brands of the Veganuary 2021 campaign to inspire people to move to a plant-based diet as a way of protecting the environment, preventing animal suffering, and improving the health of millions of people”, says Ria Rehberg, CEO of Veganuary.

Click here to discover more about Veganuary.

Order pies from the North for delivery

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I received a gorgeous delivery a few days ago and wanted to share the news with you all.

Magpye is based in Newcastle and their pies are all about being as ethical as they can. Of course they are all vegan, while they stay clear of palm oil and send everything out in eco-friendly packaging.

Here are a few of the vegan pies I was gifted by Magpye.

Check out the line up of pies currently being made and sold by Magpye:

  • Chick’n, Leek & Bacun
  • Garlic Mushroom
  • Jerk Jackfruit
  • Mince & Onion
  • Squash & Sprout
  • Vegan Steak & Ale

You have got to hand it to that line up of flavours. Top shelf stuff right there.

You can order from the online Magpye shop for frozen delivery to most parts of mainland UK.

Be sure to follow Magpye on Instagram, too.

Vegan butcher to open in London

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The team behind Rudy’s Vegan Diner in Camden have cooked up a new surprise for you.

A vegan butcher!

London’s first permanent vegan butcher is opening its doors on World Vegan Day 2020. To celebrate the grand opening, Rudy’s will be giving away 100 pounds of free baycon on the day (November 1, 2020) to celebrate their new bricks and mortar spot on Islington Upper Street.

Wowsers.

Every customer gets a half pound of baycon until it lasts, so get that date in your diary.

Rudy’s Vegan Butcher will be selling homemade pastrami, dirty burger patties, cheeze sauce, and chilli-non-carne. You can recreate the specials you’ve had at Rudy’s and fill your cart with a rack of jack, lobstah salad, meatballs, chick’n lover pate, or shredded BBQ pulled porc.

Make sure you get your Christmas roast turk’y, too!

And if you are not located in London, you can order from the Rudy’s Vegan Butcher selection online as they deliver nationwide. All online orders made on World Vegan Day include a free pack of baycon.

You will be able to pile your online cart high with homemade scramble v-egg, black puddin’, and soysage patties.

Perhaps their new charcuterie selection will be to your liking. Smoked ham, salami de Provence, pepperoni, and of course the pastrami.

This is a lot of excitement to take in!

Follow Rudy’s on Instagram. Shop online via the Rudy’s website.

Rudy’s Vegan Butcher
206 Upper Street, London, N1 1RQ

Rudy’s Vegan Diner
729-731 Camden Stables Market, London, NW1 8AH

Vegan cake mix for UK shipping

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Anna & Arthur’s is a home-run business in Northern Ireland specialising in vegan-friendly baking mixes.

They kindly sent some to my house to try and just look how great this cake turned out!

I take no credit as my partner Gil did all the hard work. He said it was super simple to use and the cake baked to perfection.

I can attest to its deliciousness. I worked hard at eating it. That counts for something, right?

The other mixes I was sent were pancakes and seitan. The pancakes were flawless and we served them with vegan butter and fruit syrup. At time of writing we were yet to try the seitan mix.

These really are handy kits for people just getting into vegan baking.

I think the Anna & Arthur’s kits would be a great gift for a vegan in your life, no matter if they are well-seasoned like me or new to the lifestyle.

You can order directly from Anna & Arthur’s by messaging them via Facebook or Instagram. UK and Ireland shipping costs between £3 and £6 depending on how many packets you want!

Perfect vegan boots for winter

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Say hello to my new winter boots.

And yes, they are vegan!

My new boots were a present from Will’s Vegan Shoes. This eco-friendly and socially-minded footwear and fashion company is selling some of the best footwear I have worn.

And I’m not just saying that because I got these for free.

The boots feel supportive, strong, and flexible. I could walk for miles. Now that I live in Sheffield, I really need to get out on some country walks and these are going to be perfect.

Will’s is a fantastic place to shop online for vegan footwear. Not only are the styles comfortable, but Will’s has also morphed into one of the most sustainable and ethical fashion brands on the planet.

Workers making the footwear are looked after because they are employed under European Union employment, discrimination, and health & safety law.

The online store operates a plastic free, carbon neutral supply chain using sustainable materials. And there is a free returns and exchange policy for 365 days.

Follow Will’s Vegan Store on Instagram and head on over to the online shop to see their massive range of footwear and accessories.

Free vegan things I was gifted this week

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I love getting products to try (for free!) and I love sharing them with you, too.

Take a look at this batch of goodies I was sent by vegan companies and PR people this week.

If you want to see anything more about the products, click through to the original Instagram posts as I have all the tags so you can visit the relevant pages.

Some of the posts have multiple images, so be sure to make use of the little arrows to see them all.

Ready? Let’s go!

If you want to keep an eye on all the products I get sent, you can follow me over on Instagram.

DIY vegan Reuben sandwich kit

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I am still recovering from the massive vegan feast I enjoyed thanks to Rudy’s Dirty Vegan Diner of Camden, London.

I wasn’t at the diner, but rather I had one of their impressive DIY kits delivered to my house as a gift from the much-loved food business.

Check out this amazing line up of ingredients that we used to recreate their peerless Reuben sandwich.

You can see the quality in that shot. Everything was simply perfection.

The DIY kit to recreate the Rudy’s Reuben contains:

Vegan seitan pastrami x2
Sliced cheeze x2
whole loaf rye bread 600g
Pickles
Sauerkraut
Grilled onions
Russian dressing
Parmesan dressing
Crispy onions

All of this for £18 (£1 of which is donated to Friend Farm Animal Sanctuary) means it is sensational value. Everything is artisan and we had enough for four sandwiches.

The packing was very thoughtful with recyclable plastic bags used, as well as cardboard and glass.

The DIY kit comes with an instruction card featuring a QR code that takes you to an instructional video online.

All the guesswork is taken out of the preparation!

Here is a shot of Gil watching the video before he made the sandwiches.

And the finished product?

Check it out.

I got this DIY Reuben kit as a gift but the truth is I wouldn’t even hesitate to buy this again legitimately for myself. If I had the money, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend it.

Other DIY kits from Rudy’s include Broccoli Mac ‘n’ Cheeze, Dirty Burger, and Grilled Chick’n Caesar Burger.

Visit the online shop for Rudy’s right now to order your own kit.

And be sure to follow Rudy’s Dirty Vegan Diner on Instagram for all their latest news, including a new deli opening in Islington very soon!