Let me introduce you to semla, the Swedish cream bun that people devour in vast numbers around this time every year.
Traditionally, semla is a cardamom-spiced bun, sliced open and filled with almond paste and a ridiculous amount of whipped cream. Originally eaten just before Lent, this treat has become a seasonal staple in Sweden, with bakeries churning them out by the thousands.
But here’s the problem. They’re almost always not vegan.
Enter Dauns Scandi Café, swooping in like a glorious Nordic pastry hero with a vegan semla so good it’ll have you questioning everything you thought you knew about cream buns.
The following is an excerpt from Fat Gay Vegan: Eat, Drink and Live Like You Give a Sh!t. (Nourish Books)
Why should vegans (and all citizens!) work hard to build healthy communities?
Community is not all about vegan beer festivals and eating as much as you can at a potluck. We vegans also need to take action for other members of our community in order to foster solidarity and resist oppression. That might result in you having to extend yourself into situations that don’t directly benefit you personally, but being part of a healthy community is sometimes watching your neighbours succeed or be lifted up instead of you.
Every Tuesday morning, Josh and I post a new episode of our very DIY and low-effort podcast to YouTube and Spotify.
In episode 32, we discuss the concept of malicious compliance. This refers to doing the correct thing or following the rules even when it causes hardship or concern for someone else. I love this term so much and the discussion had me chuckling about an example involving ABBA’s Dancing Queen.
Take a listen!
You can also watch/stream on Spotify.
You can order my book ‘Fat Gay Vegan: Eat, Drink and Live Like You Give a Sh!t’ online now. It has been out a while now but is still a good read. You can also listen to the Audiobook read by me!
You can watch/stream all past episodes of the Tell Me Where I’m Going (Wrong) podcast on YouTube and Spotify.
Fifteen years ago when I started this very blog, if you wanted to be social as a vegan in London you had to make it happen yourself. There were no vegan pubs and certainly no high street chains with dedicated plant-based menus.
This wilderness forced me to launch London Vegan Drinks, a monthly gathering where we carved out a space for ourselves in a world that barely acknowledged we existed. London Vegan Potluck was another community-driven event I curated, where people cooked and shared food because there weren’t many places to eat out.
Back then, if you wanted a vegan meal, you might get lucky at Pogo Café in Hackney (if they were open and serving something edible) or a measly number of eateries that weren’t always great. Other than that, it was whatever scraps you could cobble together from independent health food stores and Holland & Barrett. There were no vegan ready meals, hardly any supermarket own-brand plant milks, and certainly no Gregg’s vegan sausage rolls.
Then the independent vegan revolution happened. Slowly at first and then rapidly.
My ex-partner Josh and I got together again online to discuss a few pop culture moments and in this episode of Tell Me Where I’m Going (Wrong) podcast, we both get a little bit worked up about Emilia Pérez.
We discuss out collective disbelief at the huge number of Academy Award nominations this film has garnered, as we both feel it is one of the worst movies we have ever seen.
Truly shocking.
There are a few other pop culture moments discussed in the episode such as legendary award show musical performances, as well as Josh’s ongoing fight against his chest infection! Is everyone in the UK seriously unwell, or just everyone I know?
You can watch and/or listen on YouTube:
And click through below to watch or listen via Spotify:
There was a time, not that long ago, when I struggled to keep up with newly-opened vegan food businesses in London.
There was a green culinary boom taking place in the UK capital that was tough to track and I’d often find myself being the last to know about a new eatery.
Sadly, there now appears to be another new trend rapidly spreading around town which is equally as exhausting to document.
Vegan restaurant closures.
I’m not here to do a deep dive into why these businesses are closing (mostly because I’m too lazy for investigative journalism) but I did want to take this opportunity to give a shout out to a few locations that had been feeding the vegan and vegan-curious in London but which have now turned out the lights for good.
The huge (and hugely-popular) Club Mexicana on Commercial Street, Shoreditch recently closed quite abruptly. This loss came as a shock to the community as the restaurant had been promoting its offerings almost until the day it was shuttered.
Fans of the Mexican-inspired eatery can still enjoy their favourite menu items at two continuing locations, Soho and Mayfair. Click here to get more information and booking details. Use it or lose it people!
This listicle isn’t my favourite thing to do, but let me rush through these recent closures.
Hey London, are you looking for a new experience? Perhaps something off the beaten path?
You can join wild food enthusiast, Ken Greenway, for a foraging experience at the amazing award-winning Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park this February!
Ken will share his love and deep knowledge of foraging and will introduce you to the everyday plants you can eat, opening your eyes to a new world of possibilities and flavours. He will share his knowledge of seasonal wild foods as well as where and when to pick them.
These outdoor adventures in foraging happen semi-regularly throughout the year and are curated by food security charity Made In Hackney with the next date scheduled for Saturday February 15, 2025.
Let me tell you a little more information and show you where to book.
I haven’t done any sort of supermarket product update in a while but this news certainly got me in the mood to share with you all.
I’ve documented my appreciation of the Squeaky Bean brand quite a bit over on my Instagram account and have even collaborated with the brand on a few pieces of content.
They sell really fab, ready-to-eat meat alternatives that are filling a big gap in UK supermarkets… and my belly.
The latest products to join the Squeaky family are these sandwich-friendly Tofu Slices.
Available in either Spinach & Basil or Red Pepper & Tomato, these slices are ready to go and will improve your sandwich game.
Food security heroes Made In Hackney are finally dropping their first-ever cookbook, and it’s an absolute must-have.
We Cook Plants is more than just a recipe book. It’s a love letter to plant-based cooking, packed with 100 global recipes from the incredible Made In Hackney chefs curated by the charity’s founder, Sarah Bentley. And if that wasn’t exciting enough, the book features contributions from celebrity supporters like Andi Oliver, Sami Tamimi, Dr Rupy, and fermentation king Sandor Katz. Fancy, right?
