[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.
Showing posts with label Salad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Salad. Show all posts
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
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...
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...
Saturday, November 20, 2010
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.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
I'm Back from the Valleys!
I had a lovely 5 days in Wales and ate so much good food. Dublin airport is pretty vegan-friendly, as a lot of bloggers (such as Vegan Backpacker) have already commented on. The cheapest vegan deal we came across, which was excellent value for money, was the Boots lunch time deal of a drink, snack and sandwich for €3.99. We opted for Fresh's carrot & hummous sandwich, with a vitamin water drink and some pineapple. Other vegan possibilities for food in the airport range from a custom made bagels to snacks from the Nutz stall.
One of the best places I ate in Wales was the Mulberry Bush in Lampeter. This little vegetarian café is at the back of a big wholefood store and has many vegan options at really decent prices. I was always very satisfied after eating here, not just with the taste, but with the quantity of food they piled on the plates! It has a deli type arrangement, like in Dublin's Cornucopia, so you can only really choose from what is on display at the time. We arrived quite late in the day and it's a popular spot to eat, so there wasn't much left. My father and I had a delicious vegan Lasagne, which came with cous cous salad, red cabbage salad and a tofu, olive & cucumber salad. My boyfriend had their butternut squash, tofu and sweet potato Thai Curry, which was very aromatic and tasty (yes I stole some while he wasn't looking!). I decided to take out some vegan Chocolate Torte because I was too full to eat it right away. This had a crunchy biscuit base and the chocolate topping was presumably made with a blend of tofu and was nice and creamy. However, it was a little more bitter than I was expecting, which was rather a disappointment, as I really fancied something sweet.
As you can see, the store itself is huge! I was very impressed by the array of products they stocked and preferred it to any health food shop in Dublin. Their refrigerated and frozen cabinets had a great range of fake meat products that I'd loved to have tried if I was staying longer. I did however pick up two new products - the Provamel Vanilla Soya Yoghurt, and a bar of vegan White Chocolate by Organica. I will definitely be buying these again. The yoghurt had a thick consistency, quite like the Irish made Glenisk gourmet vanilla yoghurts. It was a nice change to come across a soya yoghurt that wasn't too runny or lumpy. My father and the boyfriend both loved it. They also loved the white chocolate, which was pretty spot on! It had the sweetness and texture of dairy white chocolate, and the little black specks of vanilla pod added even more flavour. It was quite expensive though, at £2.99 for a 100g bar, but I just had to try it!
My father catered well for me when I was home. He'd bought lots of food from Marks and Spencers, including falafels, stuffed vine leaves, mixed bean salads, cous cous salads & hummous, and we ate produce from his garden such as cucumbers, sweet orange cherry tomatoes, french beans & baby potatoes. We didn't actually eat very much at home as we went out for quite a few meals. Here are some photos of one of the meals I ate at home: a salad filled onion bagel with caramelized onion relish, giant cous cous & wheatberry salad and a grape & melon fruit salad drizzled with elderflower cordial. It totally slipped my mind to take photos of the other things we ate at his house.
I saw a lot of friends while visiting. One of my friends gave me some green chillies from her greenhouse to take home. I intend to use these in a Thai curry soon. Her little girl showed me their greenhouse and the vegetables they were growing there - she's such a cutie! Their cat was also skulking around looking for some attention.
Another friend we visited went to a great effort to cook a vegetarian meal for us all, which was delicious. I managed to skip on the cheese/dairy in most of the courses, and the Butternut Squash and Carrot Cobbler she cooked for the main course was very fine indeed. I'm going to have to write to her for the recipe and post it on my blog for you all to see. Her dog Tasmin is a real sweetie and likes to carry around a teddy she's had for about 6 years now!
We visited the Mulberry Bush for lunch again the day before we left. This time I had the Butternut Squash & Mango Soup with a brown bread roll and a salad bowl. The salads were lovely - a chinese style one, a homemade vegan coleslaw, a carrot salad, a tofu and olive salad and a bright red vinegary beetroot salad. This was meant to be a small salad, but it was huge... I was so full afterwards that I couldn't possibly even think about buying a take-out dessert! The soup was one of the nicest I've ever tasted, probably because mango is one of my favourite fruits and squash is one of my favourite vegetables. They are both quite sweet and creamy so they really worked together. My boyfriend had salad with potato wedges, and my dad had the Cashew Nut Risotto with salad. I tasted some and it was indeed very nutty, with a wholesome, earthy flavour.
That evening we went to a restaurant in Aberaeron called The Hive on the Quay. I've been coming to this place since I was tiny, as it is famous for its honey ice cream. Recently though, a friend has taken over the premises and has completely revamped the interior and the menu, and it's now quite a popular place to dine. My father rang ahead of our visit and the staff assured him that there would be vegan options for every course. We met some of my father's friends there and had a very enjoyable evening. I was very well catered for, as promised. I had a salad of chicory, mixed leaves, walnuts and pear for my starter. This was light and fresh, which was ideal seeing as I don't really like feeling too full before the main course has even arrived. It originally would have come with a blue cheese sauce and would have been served as a main, but they adapted this for me for my starter. I think I'd have preferred it if it had come with a different kind of dressing though, to add a bit more flavour. I opted for the (already vegan) vegetable Thai curry with sticky rice for my main dish, which was absolutely gorgeous. I think I drew the long straw with this course, as many of the others were saying that their food seemed far too salty. However, I really couldn't fault the curry. For dessert there was a plethora of sorbets and soya ice creams to choose from. I chose a scoop of strawberry sorbet and a scoop of raspberry soya ice cream. These were heavenly! I have no idea if they were made on site, as their honey ice cream is, so I may email them to find out... I assume they were though, because I imagine getting hold of so many varieties of sorbet and soya ice cream must be quite difficult as I haven't seen so many commercially available in health food shops before. So all in all, it was a very positive experience and I was impressed that a non-vegan specific restaurant could cater so well to my requirements.
While I was visiting, I also tried to cook my father some muffins. I don't know what went wrong - it may have been the baking powder, the muffin tin, the different oven, or the fact that we didn't have digital kitchen scales - but they didn't quite go to plan! After going on to him about how good I was at making muffins my father is never going to let me forget this and they will probably remain engraved on his brain for all eternity now, along with the ketchuppy-pasta concoction I once served him as a student!!
I was really sad to be returning home today. I won't be going home again until Christmas, which will make an interesting blog entry seeing as my father is a wonderful cook and always makes the most amazing Christmas dinners! If I still lived in mid Wales I'd definitely go to the Mulberry Bush on a very regular basis, and am very keen to return, to try out a few well-known vegetarian restaurants in Carmarthen and Aberystwyth.
One of the best places I ate in Wales was the Mulberry Bush in Lampeter. This little vegetarian café is at the back of a big wholefood store and has many vegan options at really decent prices. I was always very satisfied after eating here, not just with the taste, but with the quantity of food they piled on the plates! It has a deli type arrangement, like in Dublin's Cornucopia, so you can only really choose from what is on display at the time. We arrived quite late in the day and it's a popular spot to eat, so there wasn't much left. My father and I had a delicious vegan Lasagne, which came with cous cous salad, red cabbage salad and a tofu, olive & cucumber salad. My boyfriend had their butternut squash, tofu and sweet potato Thai Curry, which was very aromatic and tasty (yes I stole some while he wasn't looking!). I decided to take out some vegan Chocolate Torte because I was too full to eat it right away. This had a crunchy biscuit base and the chocolate topping was presumably made with a blend of tofu and was nice and creamy. However, it was a little more bitter than I was expecting, which was rather a disappointment, as I really fancied something sweet.
As you can see, the store itself is huge! I was very impressed by the array of products they stocked and preferred it to any health food shop in Dublin. Their refrigerated and frozen cabinets had a great range of fake meat products that I'd loved to have tried if I was staying longer. I did however pick up two new products - the Provamel Vanilla Soya Yoghurt, and a bar of vegan White Chocolate by Organica. I will definitely be buying these again. The yoghurt had a thick consistency, quite like the Irish made Glenisk gourmet vanilla yoghurts. It was a nice change to come across a soya yoghurt that wasn't too runny or lumpy. My father and the boyfriend both loved it. They also loved the white chocolate, which was pretty spot on! It had the sweetness and texture of dairy white chocolate, and the little black specks of vanilla pod added even more flavour. It was quite expensive though, at £2.99 for a 100g bar, but I just had to try it!
My father catered well for me when I was home. He'd bought lots of food from Marks and Spencers, including falafels, stuffed vine leaves, mixed bean salads, cous cous salads & hummous, and we ate produce from his garden such as cucumbers, sweet orange cherry tomatoes, french beans & baby potatoes. We didn't actually eat very much at home as we went out for quite a few meals. Here are some photos of one of the meals I ate at home: a salad filled onion bagel with caramelized onion relish, giant cous cous & wheatberry salad and a grape & melon fruit salad drizzled with elderflower cordial. It totally slipped my mind to take photos of the other things we ate at his house.
I saw a lot of friends while visiting. One of my friends gave me some green chillies from her greenhouse to take home. I intend to use these in a Thai curry soon. Her little girl showed me their greenhouse and the vegetables they were growing there - she's such a cutie! Their cat was also skulking around looking for some attention.
Another friend we visited went to a great effort to cook a vegetarian meal for us all, which was delicious. I managed to skip on the cheese/dairy in most of the courses, and the Butternut Squash and Carrot Cobbler she cooked for the main course was very fine indeed. I'm going to have to write to her for the recipe and post it on my blog for you all to see. Her dog Tasmin is a real sweetie and likes to carry around a teddy she's had for about 6 years now!
We visited the Mulberry Bush for lunch again the day before we left. This time I had the Butternut Squash & Mango Soup with a brown bread roll and a salad bowl. The salads were lovely - a chinese style one, a homemade vegan coleslaw, a carrot salad, a tofu and olive salad and a bright red vinegary beetroot salad. This was meant to be a small salad, but it was huge... I was so full afterwards that I couldn't possibly even think about buying a take-out dessert! The soup was one of the nicest I've ever tasted, probably because mango is one of my favourite fruits and squash is one of my favourite vegetables. They are both quite sweet and creamy so they really worked together. My boyfriend had salad with potato wedges, and my dad had the Cashew Nut Risotto with salad. I tasted some and it was indeed very nutty, with a wholesome, earthy flavour.
That evening we went to a restaurant in Aberaeron called The Hive on the Quay. I've been coming to this place since I was tiny, as it is famous for its honey ice cream. Recently though, a friend has taken over the premises and has completely revamped the interior and the menu, and it's now quite a popular place to dine. My father rang ahead of our visit and the staff assured him that there would be vegan options for every course. We met some of my father's friends there and had a very enjoyable evening. I was very well catered for, as promised. I had a salad of chicory, mixed leaves, walnuts and pear for my starter. This was light and fresh, which was ideal seeing as I don't really like feeling too full before the main course has even arrived. It originally would have come with a blue cheese sauce and would have been served as a main, but they adapted this for me for my starter. I think I'd have preferred it if it had come with a different kind of dressing though, to add a bit more flavour. I opted for the (already vegan) vegetable Thai curry with sticky rice for my main dish, which was absolutely gorgeous. I think I drew the long straw with this course, as many of the others were saying that their food seemed far too salty. However, I really couldn't fault the curry. For dessert there was a plethora of sorbets and soya ice creams to choose from. I chose a scoop of strawberry sorbet and a scoop of raspberry soya ice cream. These were heavenly! I have no idea if they were made on site, as their honey ice cream is, so I may email them to find out... I assume they were though, because I imagine getting hold of so many varieties of sorbet and soya ice cream must be quite difficult as I haven't seen so many commercially available in health food shops before. So all in all, it was a very positive experience and I was impressed that a non-vegan specific restaurant could cater so well to my requirements.
While I was visiting, I also tried to cook my father some muffins. I don't know what went wrong - it may have been the baking powder, the muffin tin, the different oven, or the fact that we didn't have digital kitchen scales - but they didn't quite go to plan! After going on to him about how good I was at making muffins my father is never going to let me forget this and they will probably remain engraved on his brain for all eternity now, along with the ketchuppy-pasta concoction I once served him as a student!!
I was really sad to be returning home today. I won't be going home again until Christmas, which will make an interesting blog entry seeing as my father is a wonderful cook and always makes the most amazing Christmas dinners! If I still lived in mid Wales I'd definitely go to the Mulberry Bush on a very regular basis, and am very keen to return, to try out a few well-known vegetarian restaurants in Carmarthen and Aberystwyth.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Culinary Disasters!
Tonight I was left alone in the kitchen and things went kinda wrong! First of all when I got home I decided to use up the rest of the mock pork seitan with a nice salad. I thought frying it with a sprinkling of Chinese Five Spice was going to be good... but it was actually disgusting! I've heard wonderful things about this spice, so I don't know if I've used it incorrectly, but it's meant to be nice on chips and wedges and to flavour stir fries, so I don't know if I just hate it altogether, or if I just used it in the wrong manner. It was WAY to cinnamonny/clovey for me... don't get me wrong, I LOVE cinnamon, but this did NOT go well with the salad at all. I was quite miffed that I actually managed to ruin a perfectly good meal.
Then later on this evening I got inspired by Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar to make their Peanut Butter Blondies. Everything was going swimmingly until I left them unattended, deciding that the full 25 mins at 200C would be fine, seeing as our oven is pretty dire... so as you can see, my blondies are not so much blondies, but more like a brownie! :( The boy loved them though, they still managed to taste good and soft on the inside. Next time I'll know what to do, to make them more aesthetically pleasing!
Then later on this evening I got inspired by Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar to make their Peanut Butter Blondies. Everything was going swimmingly until I left them unattended, deciding that the full 25 mins at 200C would be fine, seeing as our oven is pretty dire... so as you can see, my blondies are not so much blondies, but more like a brownie! :( The boy loved them though, they still managed to taste good and soft on the inside. Next time I'll know what to do, to make them more aesthetically pleasing!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Field & Vine
There's a chain of health food shops in Dublin called "Field and Vine". I've only ever visited the Rathfarnham and Rathmines Upper branches so I'm not sure exactly how common they are in Ireland. However, the times I have visited have been very positive experiences.
They sell anything from fresh organic veg (I was rather tempted by the large, plump artichokes although am not sure yet what to cook them with so managed to resist!), fresh sandwiches and cakes, and a fresh salad/olive bar, to gourmet meats/fake meats, fairtrade chocolate, preserves and extensive dairy produce/dairy alternatives.
The shop is not entirely veggie or vegan, but as you can see has a few lovely vegan options at the salad bar. Their chickpea salad, the tabbouleh, and the fresh courgette salad look nice (pictured below), as does their seedy grated carrot and coriander salad. The other side of the salad bar is dedicated mainly to different types of olives. I remember before this shop in Rathmines Upper became "Field and Vine" it was called "The Olive Branch", and I used to go here to get tubs of sundried tomatoes and several decadent varieties of stuffed olives: a real treat!
As I have so much food in the house at the moment I opted for a couple of things I could keep in the fridge for a long time: some Tofu Breaded Nuggets by Provamel, and this Smoked Seitan Steak by Wheaty. The seitan was quite expensive for such a small burger-sized portion (at just under €3.50), but I do love seitan so I couldn't resist. Seitan is hard to get hold of in Ireland, as is vital wheat gluten, so it's even more difficult to make it! I plan to have these little delicacies next week and would like to buy some mozerella style Cheezley to melt onto the seitan and add it to a bagel or a bun with some BBQ sauce and rocket. NYOM! :)
I also found this ginger dark chocolate by Butlers (an Irish chocolate company) in the picture below on the left. I was unaware that they did this ginger bar, and have only really tasted their almond and orange chocolate before... which I may add is really worth checking out!
They sell anything from fresh organic veg (I was rather tempted by the large, plump artichokes although am not sure yet what to cook them with so managed to resist!), fresh sandwiches and cakes, and a fresh salad/olive bar, to gourmet meats/fake meats, fairtrade chocolate, preserves and extensive dairy produce/dairy alternatives.
The shop is not entirely veggie or vegan, but as you can see has a few lovely vegan options at the salad bar. Their chickpea salad, the tabbouleh, and the fresh courgette salad look nice (pictured below), as does their seedy grated carrot and coriander salad. The other side of the salad bar is dedicated mainly to different types of olives. I remember before this shop in Rathmines Upper became "Field and Vine" it was called "The Olive Branch", and I used to go here to get tubs of sundried tomatoes and several decadent varieties of stuffed olives: a real treat!
As I have so much food in the house at the moment I opted for a couple of things I could keep in the fridge for a long time: some Tofu Breaded Nuggets by Provamel, and this Smoked Seitan Steak by Wheaty. The seitan was quite expensive for such a small burger-sized portion (at just under €3.50), but I do love seitan so I couldn't resist. Seitan is hard to get hold of in Ireland, as is vital wheat gluten, so it's even more difficult to make it! I plan to have these little delicacies next week and would like to buy some mozerella style Cheezley to melt onto the seitan and add it to a bagel or a bun with some BBQ sauce and rocket. NYOM! :)
I also found this ginger dark chocolate by Butlers (an Irish chocolate company) in the picture below on the left. I was unaware that they did this ginger bar, and have only really tasted their almond and orange chocolate before... which I may add is really worth checking out!
Monday, August 9, 2010
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...
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.
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