Nandos!

So Nandos have come to Dublin. We've heard some positive feedback from other people, both vegan and non-vegan, about this chain of restaurants so decided to give the one on Mary Street a shot. It predominantly serves chicken, but also has a lot of vegan dishes on its menu. I don't normally like to go to a place which is associated so widely with serving meat, but as they seem to cater so well for vegetarians and vegans and use separate cooking areas and utensils for vegetarian food, I thought this time I would give it a go.

We were greeted by a really friendly guy who explained how to order food and which sauces to choose. When we mentioned we were vegan he brought over a big booklet explaining what ingredients was in everything, which was great, but I would have preferred if he could have explained to us in person briefly what was/was not vegan, otherwise that booklet would have taken us ages to flick through if we hadn't already done some research prior to our visit.

I went for the Veggie Burger in a wrap with chilli jam (minus the mayo) cooked in mango and lime sauce with peri-peri salted fries on the side. My boyfriend had the same only in a pitta and cooked with a medium heat sauce, with an extra corn on the cob on the side. Our meals fell within the €10-12 range and were very filling, but we had to wait a long time to be served. It could have been because they had only just opened, but I noticed that people who ordered chicken after us got their food served a lot quicker.

Both my boyfriend and I were quite disappointed with the peri-peri fries, we thought they would have been cooked in the spices, but the flavouring was just sprinkled on top. I really enjoyed my wrap and the soya and tomato burger had a great texture. I think my boyfriend regretted getting it medium heat as he found it a bit too hot and lacking in any other kind of flavour. I normally love spicy food but decided to deviate from the norm as the mango and lime really appealed to me and it went so well with the chilli jam, so I had no regrets there!

It's also great that you can refill your glass with soda as many times as you like and the prices overall are definitely reasonable, but I did think almost €5 for some pitta bread and hummus was a little steep so we avoided the "appeteasers". I'd like to try the mixed olives sometime though as they sound like something I'd love. Other vegan options on the menu as far as I can see are the cous cous salad, mixed leaf salad (both available with chicken at extra cost) and some of the sides like their macho peas, ratatouille and possibly their new black bean casserole type dish and spicy rice. I would have to check before saying so for sure though. Their other vegetarian burger, the bean burger, is not vegan as it contains cheese, which is such a pity as it sounds lovely and is stuffed full of pulses and seeds.

We will most surely be paying another visit when we are in town again sometime soon, as the prices and service were very good and the portions were large - the wrap and fries are all I have eaten all day and I am still not hungry and it's gone 7pm!! It's great that there's somewhere for vegans to go and get a decent burger, but I'm afraid that if I am out and about with my fellow vegans/vegetarians I'd be more likely go to Deli O'Delhi or Govindas than to Nandos, for more flavoursome healthy food at better value. However, it's a great option if you are with friends who are meat eaters, so I'd definitely recommend giving it a shot!

Deli O'Delhi Update

If you remember my previous entries about Delhi O'Deli, the vegetarian and vegan Indian café on Moore Street, you will be glad to hear that the new version of their menu has everything vegan marked on it with a V! It's so useful that they have done this, and cuts ordering time in half! I've been in there quite a few times recently, but mainly to take advantage of their amazing "Five for a Fiver" offer, where you take a large plate to their buffet and help yourself to as much as you want from their five daily specials. You have to ask which ones are vegan, but usually four out of the five are free of dairy.

Yesterday I was doing some Christmas shopping in town and stopped here for a bite to eat. I had a huge plate of curried potatoes and green beans, chickpea saag (spinach), soya chunks with peas, with a little bit of pilau rice on the side and a few mini popadums. There was a vegan-friendly kidney bean dish as well, but I thought I had enough on my plate already!

If you haven't been to Delhi O'Deli yet, you're really missing out!

















Also purchased yesterday, my lovely little Maneki Neko.
Hopefully he's going to bring in some good fortune - I really need it!

Delhi-cious!

Over the weekend I visited the superb Delhi O'Deli on Moore Street in Dublin twice. I just had to go back for more!

This little vegetarian and vegan Indian café is tucked away just off Henry Street, the main shopping area in Dublin, so it's very convenient if you are out in town for the day and want a small (or large!!) meal at an unbeatable price.

The menu is quite extensive, and it was difficult to choose from, but the dishes are so cheap you can order a few and try several different things without breaking the bank. Most dishes are around €2.45-2.95, and some are even cheaper! They also have daily specials for €5, for which you get a really decent amount of food.

On my first visit, with my lovely friend Katie, we were greeted with a smile and everything vegan on the menu was explained to us. There certainly was a lot that was already vegan or easily veganizable. I opted for the Papri Chaat (a mixture of homemade Indian crisps with chickpeas, potatoes, green chillies, chutney and fresh spices - without the yogurt) and the South Indian VADA Samber (lentil donuts in a spicy sauce served with coconut dip). 

The VADA Samber arrived first. Two large donuts in a sauce which was very flavoursome and not too spicy. My friend had the IDLI Samber which was the same kind of dish only the donuts were made mainly from boiled rice. It was a filling dish but I think the donuts were quite heavy and stodgy, but it was nice all the same. I was extremely impressed with the Papri Chaat though, the chutney was deliciously sweet and the puffy little crisps at the bottom provided an interesting texture. I really enjoyed this and wanted more! My friend had a paneer dish and she said it was the best Paneer she had ever tasted (and she is a big paneer fan).

We decided to get dessert as well (why not?!) and although the only dessert on the menu that was vegan was the Gajar Ka Halwa (carrot pudding drizzled with fruit and cardamom) I was also offered a plate of Soan Papdi - wonderful little sweet square biscuits with almonds and pistachios in them, which reminded me a little of a drier version of the Turkish Baklawa. They had boxes of Soan Papdi behind the counter for sale for €6, and I was very tempted to get one... but I knew I'd eat them all at once as they were just too good, so my tummy advised me otherwise! My friend had the Pistachio Kulfi, which is an Indian ice cream (but is not vegan) and she was also raving about this, saying it was the best kulfi she had ever had.

The chai tea that I ordered was very nice also, but unfortunately I cannot give an accurate opinion on this because the food was so spicy I couldn't actually taste the Chai!!!

On my second visit, I took my boyfriend. I was so eager to get eating that I don't think I gave him enough time to browse the menu so I think he would have chosen differently if he'd had more time. I really wanted to get the Papri Chaat again, which was as good as before, although had a little less chutney than last time. He ordered the same thing but with the yogurt. Unfortunately he didn't really like it, he said that the yogurt didn't mix well with the flavours of the chutney and he'd have preferred the vegan version. I shared my Onion Bhajis with him (such good value for €1.95 as there were two and they were huge!) which were the best bhajis I've ever tasted. They were light and fluffy, not at all like the dense bhajis I've had before in takeaways (or even some of my favourite Indian restaurants!). My boyfriend was very impressed with them too. He also got the Aloo Chaat which was a serving of shallow fried potato cubes in chutney and spices, and we ordered an Onion Parantha to share.

The Onion Parantha was.............. VERY HOT. I had to eat it all as my boyfriend just couldn't cope with it! It was soooo nice, but at the end of it I had to get him to ask for some water. I drank over half a large jug...! This is unusual for me as I rarely need to drink while I eat, and I am a big fan of spicy food. This though, really blew my mouth off, and my stomach was actually burning about an hour afterwards! I just can't believe that it was a breakfast item!! I'd be tempted to get it again though, if I could share it with someone and have a jug of water at the ready at the time of consumption!

We both ordered one of their non-alcoholic cocktails - a Strawberry Mojito, made with fresh strawberries and mint... and "loads of labour"! It was so good that I wanted another, but the whole "loads of labour" bit on the menu made me feel a bit guilty to ask them to go to the effort to make me more ;)

I just can't wait to go back there! I might try a five euro special next time, or go for the Chole Bhature, which is a dish of seasoned chickpeas with onions and cilantro, served with fried breads and served with salad and chutney. I think someone on the table opposite had this and it looked amazing!

The staff were so friendly and helpful, made us feel at home and were very helpful in explaining to us what was and was not vegan on the menu. I think I am going to keep returning here until I've tried everything vegan that they have to offer.............. and then I'm going to start from the beginning all over again ;)

Here's their Facebook page for those who are interested.

Fun in the Sun!

Hi Everyone!

As always, apologies that things have been so quiet here at Velovegan. The weather is just too nice to be inside blogging. Gerry and I have been out on walkies in the sun and I have a new macro lens for my camera, so we've been wandering around exploring the local countryside. Gerry has also been terrorizing the neighbourhood, stealing bread rolls from families out on picnics and knocking small children over in excitement... I didn't know whether to laugh or be mortified!!! I guess dogs are there to embarrass you occasionally, just like children! Gerry's skin condition is getting much better, he really is on the mend now, and we went on an organised walk for Sighthounds up at the Hellfire Club in the Dublin mountains the other day which was amazingly good fun and made lots of new friends.

Here are a few photos I've taken recently:

That's Gerry's new girlfriend Stig, who belongs to my friend Jeni :)

I've not really been doing much cooking recently, although we did make the Cottage Pie again yesterday, but added some sweet potato to the topping as well, which was delicious. I also went to my boyfriend's sister's house over the weekend, who gave me some lovely homemade vegan soup and some roasted vegetable cous cous.

The only place I've eaten out at lately is Cornucopia - here's a photo of what I got: Delicious stuffed aubergine, spicy mash and lots of different salads. YUM!

Hope everyone's having a lovely time in this nice weather! :-)

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!

Dada Moroccan Restaurant

The boy and I had a lovely meal the other night, to celebrate 7 years of eachother's wonderful company. I'd never been to Dada before but love Moroccan food so I knew it was going to be good. This restaurant is situated at the top end of South William Street, just down from Dunnes Stores and around the corner from the Hairy Lemon pub.

For starter I had fried spinach with olives and spices. It was so tasty, with a salty flavour and subtle spices. It came with a small side salad and three small slivers of pitta bread, which were soft and delicious - although this wasn't really enough bread for the amount of spinach to be honest. The boy had the harira, a soup made with lots of different beans, chickpeas and vermicelli noodles. This came with pitta as well and he enjoyed it very much, saying it was a warm, hearty starter that he would definitely order again.

Our food was served promptly, which was good, as we hate waiting ages between courses. The starters were not very large so they left us with a real appetite for what was to come! I ordered the pumpkin and carrot tagine with lentils and I really wasn't disappointed - to look at, it wasn't very exciting, just three slices of carrot and three slices of pumpkin with a tomatoey lentil stodge surrounding it. However, once I tucked in, I was really impressed at how tender and tasty the pumpkin and carrot were, and when cut up into smaller chunks and mixed in with the rest of the tagine there was a lot more carrot and pumpkin than I originally thought there was. It certainly was very good and I think it was actually a really healthy option too. The flavours were simple, not at all spicy, but went well together. Sometimes I think simple, healthy food works best, instead of those dishes with too much going on that confuse your palate. The boy got chicken cous cous with sultanas and caramelised onions, which he said was also quite plain but with a nice sweet kick to it. We also had a lot of lovely homemade bread with the meal, which was brought out to us after I'd finished the three small pieces that came with my tagine. Three pieces definitely weren't enough, so it was a nice gesture of the waiter to bring out more. I only asked for a couple extra but he brought out a whole small loaf, which was warm and freshly baked!

After our meal we were brought some traditional Moroccan mint tea, which was delicious. The boy isn't a big tea drinker but even he was dismayed when he finished the small shot glass and would have had more if he could!

I will definitely be coming here again. The two course early bird menu for €19.90 is pretty decent value, and with the bill we got a stamped menu offering us a complimentary glass of wine with our next early bird meal. The staff were very welcoming, friendly and attentive. Oh and I almost forgot to mention the décor! It was very traditional with lots of plush, velvety cushions. We had a corner table which was very comfortable indeed and it was nice to lay back and relax and have a chat after we'd finished. The Moroccan lanterns made fantastic patterns on the ceiling of the dimly-lit restaurant, and there were dried chillies and bottles of wine lining the walls above our heads. I'm going to bring my father here when he visits next month and try the seven vegetables tagine for my main with the Zaaluk for starter (here's a recipe, how good and easy does this sound?!) with a selection of Moroccan dips and breads to share. NYOM!

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.

Ikea Goodies!

We went to Ikea today, to get a few Christmas presents, some of their adorable wrapping paper and gift bags, as well as some food. Here's a picture of my haul:

















From the left, clockwise:

Elderflower Cordial - I love Elderflower and it's normally so expensive to buy the cordial, so this decent sized bottle at under €3.00 was a steal.

Applecider Vinegar with Lingonberries - I've never actually used applecider vinegar. Does anyone have any ideas what I can do with it? It looked really nice and was only about €1.25 if I remember correctly.

Oat Biscuits & Cappuccino Thins - I've had the spiced orange version of these so I expect they will be just as yummy. The Oat biscuits are gorgeously crumbly and very moreish. They are quite rusk-like and not too sweet, and I tried them with some jam spread on top of them - delish!

Sour Cream and Onion Kettle Crisps - These are vegan despite the "cream" mentioned in the title. They are so good, really crunchy and crispy. I've had the ready salted version of them too, in smaller packets from their canteen.

Filter Coffee - For only €2.00 I couldn't really resist buying some.

Mustard Dressing with Dill - Surprisingly vegan, this is usually served over smoked salmon. I love it so much, it's so tangy and sharp, with a sweet mustardy taste. I'm not sure what I'll do with it, maybe use it as a raw vegetable dip or a salad dressing.

Dark Chocolate - The usual Ikea favourite, I can't not get one at only 45c a bar!

Strawberry Laces - My German friend, if you remember, sent me the toffee version of these and I hadn't seen them in Ikea before, but they were there this time so I decided to try a different flavour.

And below is a Non-Alcoholic Mulled Wine and some Blackcurrant and Raspberry Jam. The wine can be mixed with vodka and served hot with raisins and almonds... can't wait to try this traditional Swedish drink!









































And guess who couldn't stop looking at me as I ate my oatie biscuits with blueberry and raspberry jam??? YES... GERRY. He had a taster and give it the Gerry Seal of Approval (the GSA).

Here he is in his new little Christmas jumper! ^_^
He doesn't look impressed...

Field and Vine Salad Bar

I went to sample the salad bar at Field and Vine that I blogged about here a while back. It was sooooo good! Not that expensive either. I was quite cautious at how much I put in to the tub at first, but it only came to €2.50... so next time I filled a medium sized tub and it came to just over €3.00 which was still decent enough. Their chickpea salad is gorgeous, it comes with roasted red peppers, mint and parsley (from what I can deduce), and the tabbouleh is really nice too.

Gorgeous Grub at Govinda's!

I love the Hare Krishna café Govinda's so much, I really must go there more often. The food is SO CHEAP and they really pile it on the plate. I don't think there's anywhere you'd get so much tasty food for so little money. The boy and I spent the day in town together today and went to the café on Aungier Street for lunch (there are 3 Govindas around Dublin). He got the spring rolls and chilli dip, which I assume were vegan, and were filled with grated carrot, beansprouts, and peas, amongst other things. I ordered the vegan Subji with salad instead of rice. The vegan Subji of the day was a mildly spicy, tomatoey concoction of cauliflower, aubergines, peas, onions, french beans and carrots, and I chose the peanut cous cous and the apple, celery and beetroot salad as accompaniments. This huge plate came to just under €7.00 - what a bargain!  Govinda's also have samosas which are vegan, and a veggie burger which can be veganised on request. I think their soups are often vegan as well. I really can't wait to go back again, it's the place to visit if you're ravenous and want somewhere where you'll be served quickly and with a smile.

Yes, I am aware that I look a bit of a piglet eating all this compared to my boyfriend's plate!! It's his loss for not liking subji!

I also picked up this book for only €2.99 - 30 Minute Indian. It has a lot of recipes involving meat and dairy, but the vegetable (mostly vegan) and bread/rice sections are really worth picking this book up for. I'm sure even the recipes that are not vegetarian can be veganised. I can't wait to give the mushroom korma, stuffed okra, dahl tarka, bhajis, coconut fudge and pumpkin curry a whirl!

Weekend Wanderings

I've had a fantastic weekend! On Saturday I met up with a very good friend and we went to the Hugh Lane Gallery. On the way we picked up a soya latte from Insomnia and some sushi and a curry from Kokoro, to eat in the Gardens of Rememberance opposite the Gallery. Kokoro didn't seem to have all its veggie and vegan sushi on the shelves, so all I got was the avocado, cucumber and sweet tofu rolls with a ginger soy sauce dip. My vegetarian friend got their tofu curry and we totally forgot to ask if it was vegan for the purpose of the blog! She said it didn't taste like it had any dairy in it though. The sauce tasted like a much better version of chip shop curry sauce, and the squash, cauliflower, peppers, onion and courgette were tenderly cooked. At just over €6.00 she was really impressed as it was a very decent, filling portion. My sushi cost €5.95 for 10 pieces and the dip, although when all the vegan sushi is available it usually comes to around €8.00 for a fuller bento with more pieces. I would have been so much happier if they'd had the oshinko and kampyo rolls available, as I find cucumber sushi quite boring...

We passed by the Nutz stall in the Ilac shopping centre. I am not sure how I managed to resist buying bags and bags of their treats, but I did! I love their dark chocolate brazils, peanuts and pieces of ginger. They also sell Japanese rice crackers, dried fruit and roasted / coated nuts.

After visiting the Hugh Lane - having a good nose around Sir Francis Bacon's studio and having fun deciphering the strange artwork of Ronnie Hughes - we went to the Live Food Market in Temple Bar. I love this place! My friend got a raw vegan cocoa & coconut energy bar from Natasha's Living Food stall to take home with her - I'll have to find out how she liked it. I remember getting it when my father was over and I really liked it, although I must admit that I can make nicer and cheaper ones at home from my Rawvolution book, and at the time I was really jealous of the blueberry cashew raw "cheese" cake that my father got! The fake cheesecakes and tarts were melting in the sun, which is why my friend opted for the more solid looking bar - but I guess that's not usually a problem in Dublin! I had to content myself with trying a few samples of their raw vegan flaxseed crackers and kale crispies, as I'm not rich enough to justify buying such decadent treats. Their salads and burgers always look so appealing though, so I'm determined to try these in the near future.

I decided to get some Indian snacks from the vegetarian Indian stall at the market, but as we were there quite late in the day most of their food had gone, which demonstrates just how good it is! I managed to nab the last Spicy Kofta, which they confirmed was vegan, as well as a vegan potato savoury. I think their samosas are also vegan (as most samosas are), and all their ingredients are listed on the labels. My friend bought a block of traditional Indian fudge, made from condensed milk. I used to love fudge and find vegan fudge rather expensive, so I just have it as a birthday or Christmas treat... I'm sure my teeth thank me for that!

We went for dinner at the famous Dublin vegetarian and vegan restaurant Cornucopia. I cannot emphasise enough how amazing this place is! If you ever come to Dublin, this is the place to go. I was still quite full from lunch (and my breakfast of BBQ baked beans on toast) so I asked for a small salad. I wasn't really expecting much for €4.50, but I ended up with a HUGE bowl of sprouted bean salad and a rice salad with tofu and mixed vegetables! The dressing on the sprouted bean salad was heavenly (lemon and ginger from what my tastebuds could determine?) but I wish I'd chosen a different salad to the rice one as it was nowhere near as nice as the sprouted beans and was rather heavy. My friend got the Lentil Dhal (for around €12.00), which came with brown rice and a choice of two salads. She struggled to finish it, so luckily for her I was on hand to help! We were both busting at the seams after this so we didn't get a chance to try dessert this time. I love their tofu cheesecakes. In fact I love ALL their vegan cakes! I think next time I go there I'll just go for a coffee and a cake :)

We visited the Secret Book and Record Store, a very well hidden little shop just down the road from Cornucopia which also houses Freebird Records, and I managed to pick up a virtually brand new copy of How it All Vegan for €6.00. I love this book and can't wait to try it out! Not only does it have the usual food recipes, but it also tells you how to make vegan toothpaste, lip balm, cleansers, cleaning products, face masks, scrubs, baby oil, sunburn lotion, perfume, bug repellant, mouthwash and treats for your pets, amongst loads of other really cool things! We stopped into Lush as well and my friend bought some of their solid Karma perfume and some Vanilla soap. We love Lush, there are so many vegan friendly products there that it's impossible to choose what to get!

Sunday was another good day. I had the Marks & Spencers Vegetable Curry  for lunch, that I purchased last week, along with the Kofta I got in the market the day before. It was really good! The Kofta was really crispy on the outside and tasted quite like an onion bhaji, but the inside was soft and full of mashed carrots, sweet potato and laden with the usual lovely Indian spices.

 
I was going to cycle out to Ikea this afternoon, but when I met the boy from work I was already dripping in sweat from the mostly downhill cycle, so we decided it was WAAAY too hot to cycle all the way out there. Instead we moseyed into town to do a bit of clothes shopping. Look at the lovely stuff I got below, from H&M, Top Shop, Pull'n'Bear and Awear - and it was all vegan, even the knitted hat (made from acrylic fibres).   We grabbed a quick bite to eat from M&S and had a picnic in the sun - I had falafels with a hummus dip, some oven baked crisps, and an orange and raspberry smoothie. The boyfriend had a brie, cranberry and grape salad sandwich (a vegetarian option - I'm so impressed with him!!), some of their vegan onion bhaji crisps, and a vanilla yoghurt drink (booooo!). I liked the falafels, I've had them before, but I was NOT impressed at all with their baked crisps. They tasted like cardboard, no lie! They also didn't taste very vinegary, so I was very disappointed. I hijacked the boyfriend's onion bhaji crisps instead and they were really good, I wish I'd got those instead!

I'm spending this evening sitting in the garden with a couple of cold Scotch whiskeys and some coke... this weather is just too damn good to be true! I wish we could have predicted it and had a barbecue! :) Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend.