Mexican menu

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This is a bit late seeing as the event has almost sold out, but below is the 5-course vegan menu I am serving at my 4th annual Day of the Dead dinner on November 1.

Aperitivos: Mini tortillas with guacamole, salsa verde & pico de gallo
First course: Esquites with Vegenaise, epazote, fresh lime juice and chile powder
Second course: Black bean & lime soup with smoked paprika, chipotle and cumin
Third course: Flautas filled with chorizo and potato served on a bed of lettuce, drenched in salsa verde and topped with marinated onion
Fourth course: Albondigas de lentejas (lentil meatballs) with adobo sauce
Fifth course: Chocolate cake with sticky spiced chocolate sauce, served with vanilla ice cream and hibiscus-chile sprinkle
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The entire menu is gluten free this year.
There is a 5:30pm seating where there is just one ticket remaining and an 8:00pm seating which has completely sold out.

Click here to buy the final ticket.

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Vegan in Kent

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The vegan message is spreading all over the UK!

If you are anywhere near Kent this weekend, get along to the first ever vegan festival held in the region.

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You can get all the details on the Kent Vegan Festival and let them know you are coming over on the Facebook event page.

Have fun!

Sadly, I can’t join you as I will be at the West Midlands Vegan Fest where I will be judging the Vegan Bake Off.

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Crispy newness

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Check out these fab new crunchy snacks I discovered in my local Co-operative supermarket.

They are not stunning, but they are cheap and cheerful. I didn’t stop eating once I tore the bag open, but I’m not sure that is a yardstick for quality.

You can also look out for the new lentil curls in the same range which will probably be sitting next to these on the shelf.

Have you tried these new snacks? What do you think?

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Gran Canaria

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One of the best parts of running this blog is finding out about awesome vegan things that I would never otherwise know.

Take the following as an example.

I received an email this week from a friendly person in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. Jose wanted to share news with me about a vegan group he is a part of and I was super impressed, so I asked him to write the following for you all.

Carabrecol was born out of the necessity of having more vegan places around the city of Las Palmas on the island of Gran Canaria. The only vegan options in bars and restaurants in the city tend to be potatoes with mojo (Canarian sauce), Padron peppers and salad. So a group of friends decided to start doing vegan nights in various venues. So far we have managed to do many vegan nights, and we have sold vegan tapas at gigs and cultural events.

Carabrecol is a totally voluntary DIY project, and the organizers receive no payment. Any profits are put into a fund to do more vegan nights and to bring bands to play in Gran Canaria and Tenerife.

People seem to like the project and are supporting it very well.

To date, we have been able to bring Active Minds, Brian Curran, Kronstadt, and Zounds. Doom are coming in January, and we have more bands lined up. We are hoping that we can do more vegan nights and bring loads more bands in the future.

You can checkout our Facebook page or our website here.

Wow. How fab does this group sound?

Not for profit, vegan tapas and bands! I adore activism like this.

Make sure you check out their pages if you are heading over for a visit. Get involved if they have an event on during your stay.

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Mildreds expanding

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There is a vegetarian restaurant in Soho that for many years has been a favourite hangout of London vegans. Mildreds on Lexington Street has just enough plant-based dishes to keep compassionate eaters coming back for more, year after year.

There normally isn’t much to report about Mildreds. It serves the same few vegan dishes. Some people adore it. Some people think it’s kinda OK. A lot of people moan about the rude head server (honestly, so rude on occasion but then other times can be pleasant).

But finally there is something new to share.

Read more

On the cover of a magazine

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Check it out, people.

The words ‘Fat Gay Vegan’ have been emblazoned across the cover of the latest issue of Vegan Life Magazine.

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I was recently interviewed by editor Maria Chiorando about my blogging history, vegan food in the UK, why I do what I do and so much more.

This issue is now available via the Vegan Life app which can be downloaded here.

Physical copies of the issue will be hitting shops on Thursday. You can find Vegan Life Magazine in Sainsbury’s, WH Smith and many independent and chain newspaper stores.

In addition, check out this story about my monthly Dear FGV advice column starting in Vegan Life Magazine this December!

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Vegan Sicily

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HUGE thanks to my friend Jo who has kindly offered us this tempting review of vegan Sicily.

Jo is someone who gets a kick out of discovering vegan food in unexpected locations and she certainly has stumbled across some gems in Sicily.

Read and be jealous!

Vegan Sicily

If anyone is looking for a vegan-friendly corner of the Mediterranean for a get-away, I can thoroughly recommend the south-east of Sicily.

The provincial capital city, Catania, is not only close to the airport (about 15 minutes by taxi, car or bus), has Mount Etna as its backdrop and is full of history but it also boasts three exclusively vegan restaurants as well as three vegetarian restaurants with extensive vegan options.

Food in this part of the world is reasonably priced and of super flavoursome. I was told that Catania was particularly vegan-friendly because it’s a university city but vegan food was pretty easy to find outside the city. Ordering a roasted vegetable sandwich or pasta ‘senza fromaggio’ seemed to raise not even a flicker of surprise.

My food highlights were:

  • ‘Seitan Alla Piestra’ (which I think translates as ‘medalions of seitan’) at Zenzero & Salvia

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  • The ‘Anthony Kiedis’ pizza (spicy seitan, tomatoes and vegan cheese) at Haiku (http://www.haiku-ct.it/). It took a while to chomp through the pizza, partly because the mushroom carpaccio starter turned out to be the equivalent of the size of a UK main course but also because the pizza was generously deep filled and automatically comes with a salad. The setting at Haiku is lovely as they have a beautiful courtyard garden. Despite being happy to slowly plough through my Anthony Kiedis whilst enjoying the lovely surroundings I couldn’t manage to finish. They very kindly offered to give me a box to take the rest home. I soon realised that these large portions are the norm in Sicily.

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Haiku also runs a small vegan shop next door to the restaurant where you can buy tofu products (including Taifun), nut milks and a vegan version of ‘nutella’

  • My meze meal of roasted aubergine, chick pea fritters and seitan schnitzel at La Cucina Dei Colori, (http://www.happycow.net/reviews/la-cucina-dei-colori-catania-23581, washed down with an unfiltered local craft beer called ‘Tari’, and followed by a very rich chocolate and pistachio mousse. This is a vegetarian restaurant but almost all of the dishes were labelled as vegan. It’s a popular restaurant and wasn’t easy to get a table.

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Other highlights include:

  • Nicosia Winery’s ‘Nero D’Avola’ wine – made from grapes grown in the Etna valley. They sell a red and white wine both labelled as organic and vegan and can be bought in supermarkets.

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  • Stecco Natura: they sell a large range of vegan ice lollies and have branches in Catania, Taormina and Syracuse. My favourite was the ‘mandorla’ (almond) flavour. Other Gelateria sold vegan gelato and the Sicilian ‘granita’ (a bit like more natural tasting slush puppy).

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  • ‘Latte di mandorla’: this is a traditional home-made almond milk drink made as a spring and summer cooler drink from almonds grown locally and served in cafes and bars. Some are sweetened with honey though so you need to check
  • Maccu – a traditional ‘peasant’ dish made of fava beans and wild fennel. It’s like a thick soup served with pasta;
  • Vegan ‘artisan’ chocolate in Modica

My food highlight though has to be Moon restaurant in Syracuse (http://www.moonortigia.com). Not only is it a beautifully-styled restaurant (it felt a bit like sitting in a contemporary art gallery) with a fantastically chilled ambiance and right in the centre but all the dishes are vegan. I had the most delicious seitan ‘kebab’ and almond parfait for desert. They also serve the Nero D’Avola wine and the restaurant doubles as a music venue in the evenings.

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desert

Thank you, Jo!

I’m sure I’m not alone in being amazed by these glorious vegan food options in Sicily.

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Thank you

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I’m taking a moment out of my busy overeating schedule to say thank you.

I was nominated in the recent VegfestUK Awards for the Best Vegan Lifestyle Website category. It was an unbelievable playing field which saw me going up against the giants of the vegan world such as Animal Aid, The Vegan Society, TeenVGN and Viva! Campaigns.

I want to give a sincere and heartfelt thank you to every single one of the 970 people who voted for me, placing me as runner up. This is a tremendous result and it has humbled me greatly.

To be only 200 votes behind a 70 year old society with over a quarter of a million fans on Facebook is staggering and I am moved by the number of people who wanted to put my name on their ballot. Second place feels like first with such overwhelming support from my readers.

Also, thank you to VegfestUK organisers for placing my blog within a field of such hardworking and highly respected groups and organisations.

See you all at VegfestUK Scotland in December!

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