vegan London

Vegan Christmas hamper from London independents

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Wanna put your money where your plant-eating mouth is and support independent business before this disastrous year comes to a close?

Mooshies London has launched a hamper filled with gorgeous vegan items and you can buy it for yourself, a friend, or an enemy. Hey, I don’t know how you get your kicks!

Each company involved in building the hamper is paid retail price for their item, so your money is directly helping these independent companies after what can be best described as an extremely tough year.

Launched from the Mooshies shop on Brick Lane, the hamper can be delivered nationwide. The hamper can currently be ordered via the Mooshies website with delivery scheduled for December 16 and 17, 2020.

Companies and products involved include:

Breakfast pot by @bexfast_
Jackfruit wings by @biffs_uk
Vegan chocolate by @darksugars
Kimchi by @eatchayclub
Cranberry cheese by @kindaco
Pesto sauce by @pickywops
Mochi balls by @vegan_yes
Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix by @vidabakery
Pick ‘N’ Mix by @sweetlifeldn @plantpoweredprince
Set of 5 sauces @mooshieslondon
Pick ‘N’ Mix by @mooshieslondon

Each company is a small independent business and local to Mooshies.

Instead of buying the products at cost price, Mooshies is purchasing them at retail to give each company a sale via their hamper. Mooshies takes no profit and does all the labor and dispatching themselves. It’s a way to keep all the small businesses in people’s mind while supporting each of these amazing companies.

Do it. Buy one!

The hamper can be bought via the Mooshies online shop at www.mooshieslondon.com/shop

Vegan things I was given for free this week

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PR gifts flowed through my front door this past week and I wanted to share them with you all.

Maybe there is something you like the look of in the selection below?

If you use Instagram, be sure to click through to the individual posts so you can follow the companies I mention.

Also, be sure to scroll through the posts to see all the photos included.

I was sent a few bags of granola and some granola bars from Keto Hana. I really don’t know what the keto food trend is about, but I do like granola!

Super fancy London restaurant Pied a Terre sent me their vegan feast for two box. It wasn’t exactly the five star experience I was expecting but it was tasty, especially the French onion soup.

The Cornish Sea Salt Co made my week with these gorgeous tubs. I’m very excited about the garlic while Gil has his eye on the chilli salt.

Planthood send vegan meals around the UK and I found this gift of three meals for two people to be pretty impressive.

Easy to follow instructions are included.

The Vurger Co carried on the trend of sending out DIY meal kits. This burger and fries for two was tasty, but a little on the strange side.

I got more lettuce than I needed and the fries needed cooking in a fryer, which I don’t have. Everything was tasty, though.

Anything in this week’s list catch your attention?

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 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

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!

Hummus in glass jars UK delivery

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Many companies are listening to the concerns of consumers and are trying to get their products onto shelves without depending on as much plastic as they did previously.

One such food manufacturer is Chickee Food.

The London-based company recently sent me a care package of their fabulous vegan hummus flavours and I was thrilled to see them all house in glass jars.

I got the Spicy Pumpkin Hummus, Spinach & Herb Hummus, Beetroot & Rosemary Hummus, and Roasted Garlic & Thyme Hummus.

They are tasty!

You can buy Chickee Food hummus for UK delivery via their online store.

Extra news: you can visit the Chickee Food market stalls around London to reuse your jars! Eco friendly hummus for the win. Check out their other products and look out for new flavours coming soon by following them on Instagram.

Vegan ice cream made with coconut milk

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Apparently their is another heatwave coming for this weekend in London, so you probably should know about this vegan ice cream option in Angel.

Launched this summer by Copperhouse Chocolate, the rich and smooth ice creams are coconut milk-based. In even more tempting news, the chocolate ice creams on the menu are flavoured with their very own Copperhouse Chocolate drinking chocolate mixes.

That’s right, London. You have a vegan chocolate shop. You knew this, right?

Exclusively available in the Copperhouse Chocolate cafe in Angel, you can have a scoop with a brownie or waffles, try a milkshake, or they can fill a take-home tub for you.

Mint Chocolate ice cream, made using their Mintchievous Hot Chocolate, is one of the most favourite flavours for milkshakes. Other rotating flavours include Coffee Caramel, made with Monmouth Coffee and swirled with Coconut Salted Caramel, and Raspberry Chocolate made with Raspberry Dream hot chocolate and swirled with a homemade raspberry puree.

It all sounds fabulous!

You can see the exact location of Copperhouse Chocolate thanks to Google Maps.

You can follow Copperhouse Chocolate on Instagram.

Vegan beer out of Brixton

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I got a taste of Brixton delivered to my house a few days ago and it was delicious!

Brixton Brewery sent me a few cans of their Coldharbour Lager and they went straight into the fridge to chill. They didn’t survive too much longer.

Do you like beer? Keep reading.

What do the Brixton Brewery style/taste notes say about this vegan beverage? It’s a lager that is crisp, clean, and floral. It is fresh, vibrant, and alive with flavour. The ABV is 4.4%.

You can order online for UK delivery and get free shipping for orders over £30. You can also buy takeout from the Brixton Brewery Taproom on Station Road, right in the heart of Brixton.

Follow Brixton Brewery on Instagram.

Buy vegan ramen sauce

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Itadaki Zen is a unassuming legend on the London vegan scene.

Not a lot of people know there is a vegan Japanese restaurant just a few minutes walking from Kings Cross Station, but the people who do know are unwavering fans.

Jump on any review site and the comments are almost universally glowing.

You can follow the restaurant on Instagram to stay updated with their food adventures.

But I’m not here today to simply remind you about the legendary vegan restaurant, I’m really here to let you know about a product they are selling that I think you will love.

Itadaki Zen is now selling jars of ramen sauce and you can order for delivery or buy in person!

You can choose from the miso based sauce or the spicy version. I was extremely fortunate to have been sent one of each by the restaurant and I am excited to try.

I adore ramen and I’m happy to have the gruelling broth process taken care of by Itadaki Zen. These sauces look simple to use and are packed solid with tasty ingredients such as ginger, garlic, dates, and sesame oil (plus lots more!).

You can buy these ramen sauces from the Itadaki Zen online shop, or from Natural Natural supermarkets around London.