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!

Getting my Falafel Fix

Al'Fez make some really good Mediterranean and Moroccan products. Today I tried their Falafel mix, purchased from Tesco. It's ever so easy to make and one packet (which costs under €2) made 12 decent sized falafel nuggets. I shallow fried them briefly, and they tasted much nicer than any pre-made, shop-bought falafels I've tasted before. I would make my falafels from scratch, but at that price and with such a healthy ingredients list why bother going to all that effort?! ;)

I will have to check out more in their range. They have a lot that is vegan - Kofta spice, Tahini, Houmous and Harissa sauce to name but a few... I shall definitely be on the look out for these. In the meanwhile, I think I will be having falafels on a regular basis! They are so delicious in a Mediterranean pocket wrap (like a thinner, but slightly larger pitta), with grated carrot, onion and sweet chilli sauce. Mmmmm!

Delphi Delights

I really love Delphi but have not been able to find a website for them, which is odd seeing as they make so many delicious products. I have tried everything from their fake chicken pieces to their stuffed vine leaves, and have enjoyed them all. I was in Field & Vine today in Rathmines Upper and came across this - their Avocado & Houmous dip:

I am going to try it tonight spread on some bread with some salad. I can't wait to see what it tastes like as I'm a big fan of avocados but it is very rare to find ready-made guacamole which is vegan, and being a big fan of houmous too I think I really can't go wrong with this! I also feel a homemade experiment coming on... Houmous is so easy to make and I've tried making beetroot, red pepper and of course original recipe houmous in the past. I think I should start getting more creative!

It's Just Food...

There's a company that have recently come to my attention called JUST FOOD, who's soups and salads have been popping up lately in Supervalu and Superquinn. They are a 100% organic food company who were established in 2004 by Deirdre Hilliard who began selling her homemade food on a stall at the Midleton Farmers Market in Cork. Since then she has expanded her company, but still believes in cooking fine quality food in small batches from her commercial kitchen in Cobh.

I decided to try a couple of their products as they are currently on offer for €2 in Supervalu. The Spicy Lentil soup and the Moroccan Chickpea soup are both vegan and the ingredients lists are very impressive indeed. There's absolutely nothing artificial in there at all, and everything is organic, right down to the very tiniest ingredient. Yes, even the seasoning and oil are all organic.

The Spicy Lentil soup is probably one of the nicest soups I've ever tasted. If you like curry, you're going to love this. And it is literally packed full of puy lentils. The Moroccan Chickpea was blander and more tomatoey but you could still taste how good and fresh it was. I popped some chana massala spice in there for a bit of an extra kick, because I just love spicy food.

I think I'm going to be buying the whole of Supervalu's stock of the Lentil soup while they are on offer because they are so handy for work. I think I could even make it quite easily myself, so I'm going to give it a go in the near future.

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.

Innocent Veg Pots

As Tesco had Innocent Veg Pots for sale half price last week I bought five of them to review on my blog. Only one in their range isn't vegan, so I was excited to find a selection of readily-available vegan ready-meals that I could eat on the go at work or for dinner when I was feeling lazy or not too peckish. They are all advertised as low calorie (around 300 cals a pot) and certainly do pack a lot of healthy veg and pulses into one serving. I've just finished the last one, so here's my verdict!

The Thai Coconut Curry pot was the first one I opened. I was a bit apprehensive about this one as it seems to have quite a few negative reviews on their website. Some people even described it as being overpowering, tasting like Lemsip! I can imagine, however, that these people probably don't eat Thai curry very often and may have been put off by so much lemongrass. I love lemongrass, so that isn't a problem for me! I really did enjoy it - it tasted quite fresh and authentic for a readymeal, with lovely crunchy water chestnuts and filling split yellow peas and edamame beans. I'd definitely have it again. The smell from the kitchen at work was divine!

I wasn't very impressed with their Thai Vegetable Sweet Chilli though. To me, it lacked flavour. It seemed a bit watery and wasn't spicy enough or sweet enough... very mediocre indeed, although it did fill me up adequately and was still quite enjoyable. If I'd have tasted this one first of all, however, and had not already bought more of the range, I don't think I'd have been that keen to try the others, especially if it had been at full price (€3.99) instead of €1.99.

My faith was restored when I tried the Mexican Sweet Potato Chilli pot. This was definitely one of the nicest. I absolutely adore sweet potatoes and this pot was packed with them! The flavours really complimented eachother and it was just as tasty as any Mexican dish I have made at home. I love that pinto beans were also thrown into the mix and not just the usual kidney beans, and that the rice was brown.

The Portugese Piri Piri was another hit as well. Lovely sweet red peppers, potatoes that were not fluffy or soggy, and again a good mix of different beans, such as black turtle beans, which I would not normally expect to see in a ready-meal. I think that this pot could have done without the added demerera sugar though, as the chilli sauce had plum purée in it which would have sufficed for sweetness.

Finally, I had the Indian Vegetable Massala, which smelt very appetising and attracted Gerry to my side as soon as I plonked my bottom into my chair! Fantastic combinations of flavours and vegetables in this one - I love aubergines, carrots, lentils and chickpeas so it really appealed to me from the offset. This is another I'll definitely be having again soon. It would have been nicer if there were more than two spinach leaves, though!

So on the whole, I really do recommend Innocent's range of veg pots. I'm still not sure if I'd pay full price for them, but if I was stuck somewhere and unable to find a vegan lunch in a supermarket then I'd definitely consider one instead of a sandwich, seeing as nowadays in Ireland even a dull, boring, wrap can be almost as expensive and not half as nutritious or flavoursome. They really do fill you up and it's great that you get your five a day in one pot. I'd say if more omnivores packed a couple of these in every now and again they'd be a lot better off, seeing as many meat eaters I know seem to not eat as much veg as they should! One let down, however, was the amount of sauce. I feel that even though the pots are sold as low-calorie, they could have been made even healthier by cutting down on the sauce and upping the amount of veggies and pulses, and adding less sugar. You have to bear in mind that, even though they are sold as a healthy snack, they are still technically ready-meals and should not be consumed on a regular basis in place of good, decent home cooking!

I'd love to try the Indian Daal Curry pot and the Moroccan veg pot with giant cous cous (pictured below), but Tesco does not seem to stock them!

And So It Begins Again...

Hi Everyone! So good to be back...

I had a wonderful time in Wales, full of gorgeous vegan food as always.

First stop was the Mulberry Bush - the little organic shop and vegetarian/vegan café in Lampeter. I didn't actually manage to take a photo of my food as it totally slipped my mind when we wandered upstairs and bumped into an old friend. I had the vegan dish of the day which was a creamy mushroom pie, accompanied by some very tasty beetroot, carrot and broccoli salads. My father opted for the vegetarian quiche, spicy potato wedges and a salad.

We did a bit of shopping afterwards, as my father hadn't got any supplies in, so I got some gorgeous Sojade blueberry yogurt from the shop downstairs and then went across to Sainsbury's to stock up on tomatoes, cucumber, bread, and some Good Life nut cutlets. These cutlets were extremely good, I'd really like to sample more in their range. I have discovered they are available in the Health Store at the Square in Tallaght so I'll definitely be buying some again in the near future. We cooked the cutlets in dad's halogen oven (the wonder-oven!!) and topped them last minute with some cherry tomatoes and Cheezly vegan cheddar cheese, and ate them with dad's homegrown parsley and vegan butter-covered baby "charlotte" potatoes, baby broad beans and peas. Perfect!

Another meal I ate while at home was a mixed salad with two savoury vegan pastries we picked up at the farmer's market in Aberystwyth. This stall, run by a company called Parsnip Ship, was the only one to label its food as vegan. I think there were about 4 different things I could have chosen from, but I decided to bring home the mini Thai butternut squash pie, and a type of Indian bhaji that contained beans and many different grated vegetables. They were both really good and I shared them with my dad who loved them too. I'd definitely go back and get more on my next visit!

While in Aberystwyth we also popped into Lidl and I found that they now sell bags of vegetable crisps and a lentil soup which is labelled as suitable for vegans. I bought this soup but didn't get around to eating it, so I'm going to purchase a tin in Dublin and will let you know what it's like. Other snacks I picked up were some maple syrup roasted cashews, macadamias and almonds... WOW. These were fabulous! A really good find for vegans as they're quite like honey roast nuts but even nicer, and totally guilt-free! The cracked black pepper and salted cashews and macadamias in the picture were nice as well, but I have a sweet tooth so definitely preferred the maple ones. After shopping we stopped for a well earned drink at a café where they sold Teapigs products where I had one of the nicest chai soya lattes I've ever tasted, so I decided to buy a box to take home. My dad had never tried chai before as he doesn't drink tea, but he says he's going to order one next time he's at the Mecca. I seem to have got several people into chai over the last year or so, but wasn't expecting to convert a seasoned tea-hater into a chai-lover! The café also sold mint and vanilla versions, which I haven't heard of before, although I think it may just be a regular chai with a dash of flavoured extract or syrup added to the mix.

One of the evenings, one of my father's friends invited us over for a meal. I was seriously impressed at the lengths she went to, seeing as I think she finds it difficult to understand what I can/can't eat! We had a large mushroom stuffed with hummus, topped with crispy breadcrumbs, encircled with cherry tomatoes. The main was a version of Glamorgan Sausages, a well-known traditional Welsh dish. These sausages were wrapped in pastry and made with vegan cheese, breadcrumbs, leeks, herbs and spices. I must get the recipe and post it here, as they were delish!! My father loved them too, but the other non-vegans weren't too impressed. Dessert was a sweet gooseberry crumble, made with fruit from the gardens at local National Trust property, Llanerchaeron, where our friend is a volunteer. I never used to be keen on gooseberries from our garden as a child, but then again when I was younger I didn't like cooked fruit very much on the whole... this time though, I could have eaten it until I popped!

After eating such wonderful homecooked meals I was very disappointed with the one restaurant we did go to. I was expecting great things of the Belle Vue, seeing as this pub/restaurant caters for vegans on request. One of my father's colleagues is a vegan and eats there regularly, so imagine my shock when I received the most dry, bland and inedible dish imaginable. This "maize cake", as it was called (although it looked and tasted more like a lump of clay to me), was so dense and stodgy with no flavour to it whatsoever. It came on a bed of buckwheat (which is also quite dry, so you can imagine these two combined was not at all good) accompanied with roasted peppers, garlic, onions, tomatoes and olives. There was no sauce to moisten it at all, and when offered sauce I was only given the choice of mustard, ketchup or brown sauce! I'd have been happy with just a larger portion of the buckwheat and the vegetables, to be honest, and I left pretty much all of the maize cake, so I hope the chef got my point!! I very rarely like to make a fuss and complain about something when someone else is paying, but in hindsight I really should have said something, especially as my father and other people who tried it also thought it was rather disgusting. I was very glad that I managed to eat quite a bit of the starter - shared platters of crusty bread, olives, pickles, hummus and balsamic syrup. This was the meal's only saving grace! I certainly won't be asking to go back to the Belle Vue ever again, not just because of the food, but because service was terribly slow as well. Everyone else ordered meat and seemed to like their dishes, but there seemed to be a bit too much mashed potato heaped onto the plates. Everyone else's food came with some sort of lovely looking sauce, so it was quite annoying that mine came with nothing. Even a plain tomatoey sauce would have been very welcome.

It's a real shame when you go out somewhere and have a disappointing meal which cost quite a bit, then go somewhere else the next day and hardly pay anything for a huge plate of delicious vegan food. We went to the Royal Welsh Show during my visit, and I immediately spotted an Indian Cuisine stall selling lots of vegan/vegetarian options. For £8.50 dad and I shared a huge mixed platter of vegetable curry, lentil curry, onion bhaji, pilau rice, and naan bread (which he ate as I wasn't sure what was in it). We were so stuffed! It was such a good find. I suppose the Royal Welsh isn't a very typical place for a vegan to visit, seeing as it's an agricultural show and you're surrounded by meat and cheese from local farms, farmers showing their livestock in the ring and row upon row of stalls promoting dairy products and cattle feed supplements. I'm not sure why, but this doesn't really bother me at all. I guess it bothers me a bit that the money you spend on the entrance fee goes to the NFU, but then again not all farmers are dairy and animal farmers, so I try to put it to the back of my mind. Going to the Royal Welsh has been a family tradition since I was small and I wanted to go there and experience it again. The main reason also being to take photographs of the event. It was very enjoyable walking around the flower and vegetable tents, watching the Section D stallions in the main ring, talking to the people at the Greyhound Rescue Wales stall, sampling the world's first organic whiskey made by Da Mhile, tasting the Co-op's new Moroccan chickpea hummus, eating some yummy fresh cherries, meeting some cute otters, and wandering around various wildlife conservation and alternative energy tents and stalls. We were lucky with the weather and it didn't rain too badly, although there was still quite a bit of mud!

So I had a very enjoyable time. Gerry was ecstatic to see me when I returned, bounding all over the place. My dad got him a present - a ball that makes about 20 different zoo animal noises - so it was hilarious watching his reactions to it. I was also quite shocked to see that he'd put on a bit of weight, seeing as my boyfriend (who couldn't make it to Wales this time as he couldn't get time off work) is afraid to let him off the lead in case he doesn't come back to him, so he hadn't been burning off much energy. I've had to put him on a little diet, with restricted treats, and am going to take him on extra long walks to places where he can start running with other dogs again! Poor little Gerry!!

Since being back, I've been researching starting my own photography business, which I'm extremely excited about. There will be more news to come on that when I've actually got the ball rolling. On my return I also did a big food shop and have discovered that Tesco are selling Innocent's new Veg Pots half price, at only €1.99 each. I bought five of them and shall review them in my next blog post. All of them are labelled vegan and look like they are going to be really good - a brilliant idea for a healthy, quick, work lunch. I don't think I'd pay full price for them though... well I suppose it depends on how much I like them. Watch this space! :)

I'll leave you with a few random photos from my visit.

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!