vegetarian

No horsing around

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Horsemeat fever has taken over the UK as major retailer Tesco became embroiled in a scandal concerning their beef burgers.

If you feel like being disgusted on multiple levels, check out some of the news stories and exposés surrounding this topic. It is truly disgusting. Horses and pigs rendered into powder before being added to beef burgers. Revelations that beef burgers only need to contain slightly less than 50% beef to be legally named a beef burger. Approximately ten thousand live horses are shipped out of the UK every year once they are at the end of their working lives, destined to be chopped, pulverised and rendered into ‘food’.

The horror goes on and on and on.

Thankfully for people who choose to opt out of this death and despair cycle, vegan companies such as The Redwood Wholefood Company are here to make sure tasty treats are never off the menu just because someone rejects horrific cruelty.

My life got a whole lot tastier a few days ago when I picked up the new frozen beef style pasties by Redwood from a local retailer. I must admit, lately I have been a bit skeptical of the consistency of Redwood products. For every four products I adore, there seems to be a straggler that comes along that doesn’t do them any favours. I won’t name names as I’m not here today to criticise. It’s a big food love in.

Frozen beef style pasties
Frozen beef style pasties

However, the beef style pasties are vegan food perfection. Crunchy, flaky pastry gives way to a stunning filling consisting of beef style chunks, herbs, gravy, swede and potato. I was delirious with joy. I haven’t had a pastie in a very long time and certainly can’t recall ever experiencing one as tasty as the Redwood variety.

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Fill me in

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As you all know, there is a glorious vegan food destination located down in Brixton that has been keeping me well fed for over a year and a half. The Ms. Cupcake bakery is a world-class cupcake specialist that also supplies hungry people like me with chocolate, cookies, snacks and vegan ice cream.

If you haven’t managed to get down there yet, this piece of news I’m about to share with you will seal the deal. If you are already a regular, you might just want to prepare to do your happy dance for what is in store.

Read on…

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Tart with a heart

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Brixton is already a fab place for vegan food.

To start with, there is the amazing Ms. Cupcake vegan bakery with their huge range of cakes, savouries and packaged treats. You probably are also aware of the gorgeous vegan pizza options available from Franco Manca. I’ve even heard whispers of a new French vegetarian restaurant with vegan options.

Yes, Brixton is a fun place for vegans to go hunting for snacks and it just got a lot more exciting with the arrival of vegan cake stall The Vegan Tart.

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Leeds has gone global

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I get a lot of stick for giving bad reviews to restaurants. Some people are of the mind that it is detrimental to veganism to publish negative reviews of vegetarian establishments that serve sub-standard vegan food. Maybe they think a cafe deserves credit for just trying to include us. That attitude doesn’t fly with me.

Why shouldn’t we expect the best when paying for vegan goods and services? Why shouldn’t we speak up when we think what we received was less than the best?

Restaurants and cafes deserve to know and I have the right to voice my opinion in any way I see fit. And when a veggie restaurant serves me delicious and well-made vegan food, I’m the first one to get the news out. I don’t complain for the sake of complaining.

All I do is tell it like it is and the way it is in Leeds at the moment is very promising indeed! A new vegetarian cafe has popped up in this Northern city and their commitment to vegan options could teach many vegetarian eateries more than a thing or two.

Global Tribe Cafe in Leeds
Global Tribe Cafe in Leeds

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Tickets and tickets and tickets

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By now you are well aware of the giant fundraiser party called Bowl For Oceans taking place on Sunday January 6, 2013 from midday until 5pm. I don’t need to tell you that we will be raising money for Sea Shepherd UK while bowling, listening to awesome DJs, performing karaoke and playing pool in a Central London location. You know all of this!

And you also know the party is being sponsored by Fry’s UK and Barrow Boys Crisps. Your knowledge also extends to being aware of the Facebook event page where you have RSVPd and invited all your friends. I won’t waste your time by telling you this again.

SeaShepherd_logo_black

The only bit of info relating to the party that I’m not convinced you know is where to buy tickets. So here we go:

Tickets are available online here

Tickets can be bought at Ms. Cupcake in Brixton and Vx in Kings Cross

Tickets can be purchased from me (Fat Gay Vegan) at London Vegan Drinks

I think we have covered all you need to know. If I have missed anything out, fill me in. Otherwise, I will see you at Bowl For Oceans. I will be the one NOT singing karaoke!

Here comes the rising tide

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The weather in London at the moment is not suited to dining by the river. Winds are getting chilly as temperatures sink. We were even gifted with an ever so light dusting of snow a few days ago.

Being forced indoors has prompted me to recall my last meal by the Thames prior to the sad weather descending on the capital. Even more depressingly, the meal was just as dull as the current weather situation.

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That’s your bloomin’ lot

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There used to be a store I frequented as a younger person called Popcorn Palace. This maize emporium was located in a shopping mall on Australia’s Gold Coast and with my hometown just an hour or so away by car, my friends and I would often find ourselves buying bags of the good stuff.

Popcorn Palace was one of those places that believed in the mantra ‘more is more’. I used to marvel at the vast array of flavoured popcorn lining the shelves and always ended up buying more jumbo tubs than I could handle of the irresistible snacks. I remember the watermelon variety extremely fondly.

Thus commenced my lifelong love affair with popped corn.

Flash forward to a few years (decades?) later and popcorn still rules my roost. Popcorn is probably second only to potato in my most-loved category. I might not have Popcorn Palace in my life these days, but the good people of Bloom’s are working hard to keep my maize malaise at bay.

Nutty & Sweet by Bloom’s

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Alright, me old fruit?

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Some things are an acquired taste and whether you like them or not can depend on where you grew up. When I was a child, I adored Vegemite. I understand why people from outside Australia might not like it, but I couldn’t get enough of this savoury cousin of Marmite from down under.

I recently spoke with someone who couldn’t imagine anything more disgusting than fruit cake with marzipan frosting. I would eat so much of this at family weddings back in Brisbane that I would have to be carried to the car. The UK seems to share this history of wedding/Christmas cakes and I couldn’t be more pleased to discover Lazy Day Foods have launched this loved product in an accessible way.

Lazy Day Foods make me happy

My trip to As Nature Intended in Ealing Broadway a few days ago was a triumph in both nostalgia and deliciousness. Lazy Day have taken a slice of my childhood and turned it into vegan, gluten-free, finger-sized delights.

Cake and fruit and icing, oh my!

Get into your local health food provider or spend some time perusing the free from aisle in the supermarket to snap up these delights today. And when you are settled in with a few bars of marzipan-topped fruit cake and a cup of tea I want you to sit back, smile and think of FGV eating himself sick as a young wedding attendee back in Australia.

Small FGV not eating the cake on the table… yet!

Visit Lazy Day Foods online

Like Lazy Day Foods on Facebook

London needs to eat more Vedge

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London is a fabulous city, but it is missing a certain something… vegan fine dining.

I am aware that we have an amazing and growing array of plant-based foods to choose from, but I am talking about high end service and exquisitely hand-crafted cuisine. There isn’t anything, right? Well, now you can be part of a movement to help change this in the most marvellous way imaginable.

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Never again

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Sit back, relax and enjoy a brief review of one restaurant I will probably never eat in again.

Josh and I were on our way to the West Midlands Vegan Festival when hunger struck. A bit of vegan keyword searching, followed by a touch of Google mapping, and we were standing inside a vegetarian restaurant located in the town of West Bromwich. The name of the establishment? Jalapeños.

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