Long Overdue Update!

Hello everyone!

I'm sorry I haven't posted since the New Year, things have been quite hectic here! The reason for this, is I managed to get a new job! I start on Monday and I'm thrilled to bits that I'll actually be working close to home, with some really nice people. So I've been rushing around lately going to interviews and buying new work clothes, and consequently haven't had the time to update the blog at all. I am just happy that I'll now be able to get back into my usual routine and it also means that I'll be able to continue to afford to feed Gerry his vegan food :)

Talking of dog food, I ordered Gerry a new treat today. Now it's not strictly "vegan" and I don't know what other vegans will think about this - it is a dog chew made from Stag Antler. The difference with this animal product is that it is naturally shed and a sustainable resource. No deer were hurt in the process, and the chews last a long time and are good for dogs, providing them with lots of necessary vitamins and minerals. The company also makes sure that all their packaging is environmentally friendly and recyclable. I decided to order one because Gerry loves his chews and the vegetable-based or rice-based chews I've bought him in the past are gone in a matter of seconds, and I need something to keep him occupied when I'm away from home and that will last him a good while. He has a plastic bone with vegetable paste inside which lasts a long time, but sometimes I do worry about him swallowing little bits of plastic. These antler chews are 100% natural, beneficial nutritionally, help to clean the teeth, are ethically produced and are not harmful to any animals in the process.

I'd be interested to hear your opinions on this. I have no idea how these deer are kept. If I found out that they were not roaming free in an estate or parkland, and discovered they were intensely farmed or mistreated in any way, then I would stop buying them immediately. Does anyone have any insight into this?

















Gerry recovered well from his fractured paw. He was actually very well behaved during his 6 weeks house arrest - as if he knew exactly why he wasn't allowed out. He went through a pretty terrible time, poor thing. The bandage on his leg rubbed the skin and he got a few pressure sores and the skin started peeling off, which meant the bandage had to be removed, slowing down the healing time for the fracture. He's still being eased into exercise now (I think he overdid it a little today on a walk with a Sighthound Stroll friend and ended up limping a little) but he's doing well and his sores have nearly completely healed over.

In other news, I got a tattoo on my foot recently. I was planning on getting the other one done, but after the way my foot reacted to it I think I'll be leaving it for quite a while - I could not walk for about a week! It really swelled up and it was so painful. My tattooist Joe didn't do it this time, but my friend Anto, their apprentice, did an amazing job and used the same Eternal vegan ink as Joe uses. Here's the result, neat huh!

I also got my septum pierced. I've missed my nose piercing for the last few years. I only really took it out because of my work, but with a septum piercing you can tuck it up and hide it away inside your nose whenever you want. So that is what I shall do! It's very subtle, as it's only a small horseshoe and not a full ring. You can just about see it in this photograph.

And now for some lovely pictures I've taken recently:

And some yummy vegan food I had over the Christmas / New Year:

Homemade apple cinnamon crumble with nuts on top and vegan custard.

Black Bean, Apple & Soya Mince Chilli, which was really very good.

Christmas Dinner at my dad's with the Mulberry Bush's homemade nut and mushroom roast, with a wonderful sauce made with morello cherries and red wine, accompanied by sprouts and chestnuts, with maple roasted root vegetables. Mmmm!

My second Christmas dinner at home with the boyfriend consisted of orange and cranberry stuffing balls, root vegetable roasts (with yummy peanuts) from Goodlife, maple roasted root veg, sprouts and copious amounts of cranberry sauce and thick, delicious vegan gravy. Well worth waiting for!!

A chickpea tagine made with spicy sundried tomato and cinnamon sauce from Tesco, accompanied by some of Tesco's own Mediterranean Cous Cous. A quick and simple meal which tasted lovely!

So I'll update again soon and let you know how my new job is going. The words "Occasional Friday Pizza" and "Night at the Dogs" have already been thrown at me even at the interview stage, so we'll have to see how I cope with that! There will be no way I'm going to the greyhound stadium, so maybe when people ask why I can use it as an opportunity to educate them on sighthound welfare. As for the pizza, I'm sure I'll be able to order in something without cheese and educate a few more people about veganism when they give me some funny looks!

Heinz Squeeze & Stir and Knorr Mealmaker Curry

I just discovered that two of the new Heinz Squeeze & Stir soups are vegan! My boyfriend bought a couple for us to try the other day, and they aren't bad really. The Mediterranean Vegetable and the Minestrone are vegan but "may contrain traces of egg". Great though for a little snack when it's cold outside!


















We also discovered that Knorr's Chicken Curry "Mealmaker" packet is now vegan! It was one of my boyfriend's favourite quick curry sauces before he went vegan, and I always loved the smell of it but it pointlessly contained milk powder! I say pointlessly, as you have to mix it with milk to make it up anyway. We saw it was on offer in Tesco and it said "New Improved Recipe!" on the front, so we checked... and lo and behold, they have taken the milk powder out!! My boyfriend was over the moon about this and made us a big chickpea curry to celebrate :) All he did was add soya milk (or you may add coconut milk if you wish), onions, chickpeas and some extra fresh coriander. I had mine with grated cauliflower rice, which I adore, and the mealmaker packet with one can of chickpeas made a really substantial, tasty, quick meal for two. There may be more in the Mealmaker range that are suitable for vegans but I haven't checked as my boyfriend only really used to like the curry.

Git Me Some o'That!

They have a bit of a funny name alright, but Gits Food Company make some lovely products so they do!

I was at the Asian Market a few days ago and happened upon this lovely sachet of Chana Massala for only €1.65. As a fan of Chana Massala I just had to try it. One sachet serves two people, and the boyfriend went crazy over it! The chickpeas are so super soft, and it's obviously been marinading for so long in the packet that all the spices are soaked right into the tender pulses. WOW. Loads of their other Ready Meals are vegan as well, but be careful to check as some contain milk solids...

Gits also have a range of many different Bombay Mixes, which look fantastic! Check them out!

The site also has videos on how to make up their savouries and desserts. Easy Peasy :)

The Boyfriend is Quite a Chef!

My better half has made some lovely meals this week. First is a Ginger and Lemon Chickpea Curry (adapted from a Chicken recipe), and secondly a Vegan Cottage Pie using this recipe from the Quorn website but substituting the Quorn mince with Soya. There are quite a few nice recipes on the website, which I think I may try using other vegan ingredients instead of the Quorn.

My dad also came to visit this week and we got up to loads of interesting things! We went to Airfield Farm and Gardens in Dundrum, and Russborough House in Co. Wicklow. I took a lot of beautiful photographs, my favourites of which you can see below.

We also ate at quite a few vegan places with good options. I got a Veggie Soup and Chips at the IFI Cinema Café, some Crisps and a Vegetable Samosa from M&S, a Vegan Pizza from Hell, lovely Vegetable Fajitas from The Speaker Connolly, and of course we went to Govindas and I had a very tasty Veggie Coconut Curry with mixed Salads (pictured below).

Gerry behaved himself well, it was the first time my father had met him and he's allergic to dogs... but he didn't sneeze at all and he loved him! So in all, it was a lovely week!

Valentines Day, Pies, And Stuffing Kongs!

Just two more days to go til Valentine's Day! I'm not really a big fan of this over-hyped and overly-commercialised event and would never bother going for a meal out - but hey it's an excuse to spoil my Gerryboy and have fun making homemade cards. I really couldn't wait until Monday to give Gerry his treats, so I gave them to him today as he was such a good boy and because we are going out later to celebrate two family members' birthdays so I thought it would be a nice idea to leave him with some gifts.

Here he is totally enjoying his new LOVE pillow in fine greyhound style!

And his other Valentine's treat is a new Kong toy:

Er, yes, you non-doggie people must be thinking "what the HECK IS THAT"... yup, it does look a bit freaky/weird/dubious/scary... but I can assure you, it is the best present he could ever wish for! Kongs keep doggies entertained for hours. You stuff them with whatever food you want and it keeps them busy for ages trying to get at the food while they chew on the rubber and clean their teeth and gums!

Now, Gerry had a Kong ages ago, but it was a knock-off unbranded version and it slowly started to fall apart under the constant pressure from his greedy jaws, so I decided to go all-out and spend €14.99 on a super extreme strong Kong. I'd never really known what to stuff it with before, peanut butter was the only vegan thing that came to mind and that I'd heard worked well in a Kong, but with more research (namely THIS page) I have become really inspired to make Kongs Gerry's new vegan heaven! I have so many ideas.

Tonight his Kong is going to be stuffed with a frozen mixture of Mashed Banana, Peanut Butter and "The Organic Pet" Mini Biscuits.

Other ideas include:

- Mashed Peas, Broccoli & Potatoes
- Cooked Pasta & Mixed Beans
- Frozen Banana & Plain Soya Yoghurt
- Chopped Apples & Peanut Butter
- Frozen Oatmeal & Unsweetened Apple Sauce
- Chopped Carrots & Celery with Kibble

Yes, you read that right... Celery. He goes bloomin' mad for the stuff!! Is there anything my Gerry won't eat?! ;)

Anyway, What about human food for once?, I hear you cry! Well ok then, here's a few pics of things I've eaten recently.

First off, a bloody amazing pie the Boyfriend cooked for me - Curried Chickpea & Lentil. HELL-OH...!! SO GOOD! Mmmm - just fry some onions and garlic in a pan until browned, throw in a can of chopped tomatoes and loads of pulses and coriander, cook them for a while with some chana massala spice powder until some of the liquid has been absorbed, line a pie dish with pastry, pour in the yummy mixture, cover the top with more pastry and let the oven do it's magic:

(Yes The Boy was even artistic on the top, EXTRA KUDOS!!)

And here is my variation on the Veganomicon's Pineapple & Cashew Nut Quinoa. I used red quinoa and served it over a grilled portabello mushroom. I am a huge fan of pineapple in cooking (much to the disgust of many friends and the boyfriend), so this was right up my street. It's cooked in pineapple juice too which gives it a lovely sweet flavour, and the cashew nuts go so well with it and lend it a nice, crunchy texture. I will definitely be making this one again!

I'm going for an Indian meal tonight at the Royal Tandoori in Terenure. Pretty excited to try their Chana Massala and Mushroom Bhaji. They also have Chana Rice and Mushroom Rice... NOM! I'll be posting pictures! Then we're having a Chinese takeaway for Valentine's Day (Sczechuan Tofu here I come!) and going for a meal in a Moroccan restaurant in town on Wednesday which I'm particularly interested to try out - their Pumpkin, Carrot and Lentil Tagine sounds divine as does their Seven Vegetable Cous Cous. So look out for my next blog entry!! :D

You Can't Beat the Beatty!

[Picture has disappeared?!! No idea where it went!! It was here for weeks!!]

So a friend and I went to the Chester Beatty Library in town today and decided to try out the Silk Road Café in the building. The staff were quite helpful when I mentioned I was a vegan and told me that the Falafel Sandwich and the Salads were fine for me to eat. I ended up getting a lovely big plate of mixed bean and chickpea salad, roasted vegetables, lettuce and different types of olives. It was a little pricey at just over €8.00, but it did taste very good! My friend is a vegetarian and he chose a puff pastry covered spinach pie. I'm not sure what was in it that made it unsuitable for vegans as I didn't ask - all I could really identify as unsuitable was a tiny cube of feta cheese on the top. I'd definitely eat there again if I was at the gallery but wouldn't go out of my way especially to eat there again, even though the atmosphere is pleasant and there is free guest wifi.

More Cheap Eats, Fun & Friends

I went to Govinda's again last night... yes I know what you're thinking, I'm addicted. You'd be right too, I really am - what do they put in their food? I swear there's some sort of narcotic in there that keeps drawing me back in!

I met with my good friends from Kildare, Rob and Katie. They are not vegan, but love veggie and vegan food. Katie has successfully been a vegetarian now for the last 6 months and admitted to being surprised that she hasn't missed meat one bit. She is an excellent cook so I'm not surprised! It was the first time I'd seen my friends since Christmas so we exchanged gifts over a lovely meal. They gave me a book you're all probably quite familiar with called Vegonomicon, which I was ecstatic about! I've never managed to obtain a copy and have only heard good things about it - it's meant to be the Bible of vegan cookery books and I can't wait to start trying out the recipes.

As for the meal - Govinda's impressed me as always. I got Sweet & Sour Veg, Cous Cous, Broccoli & Carrot, Beetroot, and Chickpea Salad. OMGosh it was good. My friends also got the Vegetarian Lasagne and the Paneer dishes, which they said were really tasty. Here's a picture of my plate, the Broccoli & Carrot mix was actually my favourite part. I have no idea how they managed to make it taste so amazing, but it really was! The Sweet & Sour was not like the conventional type of Chinese Sweet & Sour that immediately springs to mind when you think of that kind of dish, but had a more subtle "curry-esque" flavour which was neither too sweet nor too sour. Perfect!

Give Me Govindas!

I've been to Govinda's a few times recently while out and about in Dublin doing some shopping in the sales. I'm even due to go AGAIN tonight to meet a couple of friends. Here's a photo of a typical plate, costing €8.50 - a bargain if you ask me - Spinach & Butterbean Bake, Curried Chickpeas and two salads. The bake was utterly delicious, with its creamy butterbeans blended with wholesome spinach and topped with crispy breadcrumbs. The curried chickpeas were nice and rather like a mild chana massala, but kinda average, a dish I could easily cook at home... not that that's a complaint, it's a compliment seeing as it's hard to get a meal when you're out and about that is healthy, hearty and has that homecooked feel about it. The salads were a nice accompaniment as they were very fresh tasting and provided an excellent palate cleanser when alternating between the two dishes.

I've had a couple of mouthwatering soups there too in the recent past - including Garden Pea soup, and Lentil soup. The lentil was quite salty and they warned me of this beforehand and offered me a taster before ordering it, but I love salty things so it went down well with me. It was very comforting, warming food. A dish I've sampled there recently that I also do not have a photo of is their Vegan Shepherd's Pie, made with lentils, which was definitely another hit.

Pop along to the Govinda's on Abbey Street if you get the chance - I really do prefer it now to the one on Aungier Street which I always used to go to. They always seem to have a better selection of food, the staff are lovely, it isn't overly busy (maybe a forgotten gem?), and their seating arrangement is far nicer with little booths or alcoves made with back-to-back sofa type seats, which makes it much more intimate. If I worked in town I'd eat here all the time as it's always super tasty and you get a good variety of food on a huge plate, at an astounding price.

Monday Meal from Marks

I love Marks & Spencers food! I went there this morning to pick up a few bits, and I thought I'd show you what I got. Tonight's dinner was a Large Vegetable Samosa (filled with onion, chunky potato, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, spinach and peas), with their Giant Cous Cous, Wheatberry and Butternut Squash Salad.

These are two of my favourite things to eat from M&S. The samosa is probably the tastiest I've ever had, I prefer it even to any authentic Indian samosa I've had out at restaurants. It's got a great mix of veg and isn't too heavy on the potato as most samosas tend to be. I love the combination of the cauliflower and spinach filling, which is seasoned with cumin, coriander, garam masala, chilli powder, cardamom and bay leaves. The overall taste isn't too spicy however, and is even quite sweet to an extent - and the garam masala has some of my favourite spices in: ginger, cinnamon, cloves, fennel and nutmeg. The pastry is flaky and light and there are no artifical colours, flavourings or preservatives in the product. It's pretty much a perfect snack!

The giant cous cous salad is divine, in my eyes, because of the roasted butternut squash. I also adore balsamic vinegar and lemon juice, and this salad uses these two ingredients as a dressing. It's fun to eat because I love the texture of the giant cous cous - it's so much more satisfying than the smaller grains of cous cous too.

While I was in Marks I also picked up a couple of cans of cupboard-fillers: their new Chunky Vegetable & Bean Chilli Soup and a Fragrant & Spicy Vegetable Curry. I'm not really holding high hopes for these two, I've tried M&S canned soups and curries before and haven't been overly impressed. I'll just have to wait and see!

Other finds for the day were in Tescos. Here are a few pictures of their own brand Guacamole, Olive & Sundried Tomato Houmous and a bag of their lovely Dried Soya Bean Snacks. I've had to edit this post as I just this very moment discovered that the guacamole contains milk, so I will have to give the tub to my boyfriend (which I'm sure he'll be happy about). I am slightly annoyed by the fact that Tesco have thought it necessary to put dairy products into their guacamole - avocados are so creamy that dairy shouldn't really be needed.

The boyfriend also came home from Tescos today, clutching this lovely little find (bless him, he was so excited to have found something I can eat!!): Moroccan Chickpea Tagine Sauce. We're just about to go for a cycle together now, the weather is gorgeous...

Camping!

I went camping with the boy and two friends for 5 days this week, in Salthill, Co. Galway. It was so much fun! I was quite worried as a vegan about what I'd eat, but we got a lend of a wonderful little stove and managed to concoct a few lovely one-pot recipes. The first evening the boy and I had chana massala, using the Meridian tikka massala dairy free sauce. It was very good, much nicer than their Korma. I also made a Mediterranean mixed bean and olive tomato stew one of the nights, which turned out very well (both dishes are visible in the photo below):
















The rest of the time I snacked on salads from Supervalu's salad bar (I wish our local Supervalu had one!), bourbon and pink wafer biscuits (I had no idea these were vegan!), apples, soup, bread, peanut butter, Tuc crackers (another thing I never knew was vegan), some Nakd bars, a Julian Graves flapjack and delicious Marks & Spencers food... and I even discovered a vegan chocolate nougat bar at Evergreen. I would have taken a photo and reviewed this rare find - if only I hadn't consumed it whilst very, very drunk! Imagine the horror when I got up in the morning finding the empty wrapper on the floor next to me and exclaiming "NOOO! I  CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER EATING IT! I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT TASTED LIKE!!" ;)

It is worth mentioning that Joyce's supermarket in Knocknacarra is probably one of the best supermarkets I've come across in a good while. They have a very wide range of health foods, an excellent deli which even sells Indian snacks, and are very vegan friendly - quite unusual for a large supermarket. We had 3 amazingly sunny days and even managed to swim in the sea. However, the other days were absolutely miserable and we thought we'd blow away in our tiny tent at night! I really can't wait to go camping again though, this was my first time so next time I'm going to be much better prepared!

Hello people!

I thought I'd start this blog because I really have trouble tearing myself away from other people's vegan food blogs, and I thought I'd do something productive so other people can see what I eat! I'm not some kind of masterchef, nor do I cook everything 100% from scratch all the time - but what I do eat I try to be adventurous with and make it super tasty, healthy and good to look at! There are so many blogs out there written by people who have loads of time to cook amazing dishes and by people who obviously have a lot of talent in the kitchen - my aim is, however, to show you what the average vegan person eats: nothing too fancy or complicated, food that can be made easily by anyone on any kind of budget.

I'll also be documenting various new food products that I discover, restaurants and cafés around Dublin, and anything else of interest that is relevant to my life as a vegan.

I'll start with a few random pictures of things I've made in the past for you to see:

Here are some roasted chickpeas I made. All you have to do is get a can of chickpeas, drain them off and pat them dry, toss them in olive oil and sprinkle them with seasoning of your choice. Then roast them in the oven, turning occasionally, until crispy and golden. Leave them out to dry in the air so that they harden and become all crunchy... mmmm!














I love making bento boxes and taking them to work for my lunch. I really need to do this more often! Here is some sczechuan marinated tofu with brown rice and some Japanese umbrella cookies and peanut brittles for afters. I used to be pretty creative with my lunches, they were often concocted with leftovers from the previous evening's dinners.



I made this stirfry because I wanted to try out the lotus root that I'd bought from the Asian Market. There's mushrooms, onions, baby corn and sugar snap peas in there too. It was fried up in a bit of teriyaki sauce. The root is pretty hard to slice thinly. I served this with polenta cubes on the side, which were coated in southern fried style spices.



This is Moser Roth chocolate, available in Aldi stores. It is vegan, although is made on a line with chocolate that could contain milk, so that is mentioned on the package. I am totally addicted to this stuff! They make excellent varieties of dark chocolate, including mint, chilli and my favourite - almond and orange. They come in packs of 5 small, thin bars, perfect for snacking!



And of course... PANCAKES! Made from a simple batter of flour, baking soda, soya milk, cinnamon and a little bit of sugar. Who needs eggs? Decided to make these smaller, thicker American style pancakes instead of thinner ones. The toppings are warm red berries with agave nectar, peanut butter, and blackcurrant jam. I loved the way the hot juices from the berries soaked into the pancakes, it reminded me of the upside down summer fruit bread pudding my mum used to make when I was little - deelish!