Whopper of a Roast!

Nothing beats a big roast dinner, especially before you go out somewhere and need to fill your tummy for the day! This is what I rustled up before we went to see Battles play in Dublin on Saturday:

Fake chicken roast from Granose, with a layer of Tesco's sage and onion stuffing sandwiched in between, along with some dried chopped apricots added into the stuffing mix. I accompanied it with roasted potatoes and parsnips, sweetcorn and sprouts, with a serving of vegan gravy and redcurrant jelly...! It was soooo good! Granose products are really handy if you're pushed for time, like I was that evening, but still want to quickly conjure up something tasty for a roast dinner without going to much effort.


















I have used Granose products before. This is what is available at the moment in all Holland & Barrett stores:

- Lincolnshire Sausage Mix
- Nut Roast Mix
- Chicken Style Roast Mix
- Sunflower, Lentil and Vegetable Roast Mix
- Falafel Mix
- Soya Mince

























I have tried the nut roast, the vegetable roast and the sausages before and have enjoyed them all. Adding water is all you need to do to most of the products, which is just so simple and handy, and then put them in the oven for around 25 minutes. I think they mostly cost around €3, but they are currently €2.35 on the Holland and Barrett website. There are usually a couple of sachets per pack as well, so if you like to layer them together like I do then it will suffice for two dinners for three people.

The stuffing mix I used was Tesco value, along with Tesco value dried apricots. Yes I am not rich, I am going to buy value products where I can and am not ashamed to admit it!

Here's a very awkward photo of me with Ian from Battles rocking an impressive moustache... it was an amazing gig!

Logi's Been Forever Homed!

EXCITING NEWS!

The little stray lurcher I rescued wandering on my green and who was subsequently taken in by Erin Hounds and then sent to the UK to be rehomed... has found his forever home!

Logan (or Logi, as he is called for short) has been adopted by an elderly gentleman called Ray, who has promised to spoil him rotten. When Alex, his foster mummy, left him at his new home he was asleep on the biggest dog bed she had ever seen, worn out after playing with Ray's daughter's two bolshie little terriers. Hopefully Ray and Logi will bond quickly and soon be inseparable!

I'm so relieved he has found the happy home he deserves, thanks to several people's hard work and dedication :)

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!

Gerry's Vegan Transition

I can't believe that I have finally done it - I've taken the plunge and bought vegan dog food for Gerry!

In the past it has been difficult for me to find a good enough deal on vegan dog food to justify spending that amount of money when I have only had a part time job. How ironic it is that now I have been made redundant I am splashing out on it! Actually, getting this deal from Zooplus with the discount for first orders brought the total for 20kg of Yarrah down to just under €65, which is very reasonable indeed.

I really hope Gerry likes his new food, and I shall probably supplement it with rice and veggies depending on how he gets on (I've heard some dogs lose weight on vegetarian food, even though it does make their coats and skin a lot healthier), as well as his other treats. Of course, I can always go back to his normal good quality German organic food if the vegan lifestyle doesn't suit him... but it's worth a try for a couple of months at such a good price, isn't it?!

Chilli'n Out!

Today I made a lovely black bean, sausage and apple chilli. I found the recipe on my Vegan YumYum iPhone app and it looked so simple and tasty that I decided to give it a go. The recipe can be found below, but I used half a can of chopped tomatoes instead of two diced plum tomatoes. The TSP (Textured Soya Protein) I used was the frozen kind from Tesco so there was no need to rehydrate it and it was already lightly seasoned, and the sausages I used were Linda McCartney. It was really lovely! This made loads and there was no need for any rice as the beans were so filling. The Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce really soaked in and flavoured the sausage and mince, and the black beans and carrots were slightly al dente which contrasted the mushy texture of the meat substitutes. We will definitely be having this again as it's so cheap and easy to make!  

My boyfriend has been eating vegan with me for the past few days, after I had a little breakdown and told him that I didn't think I could cope any more with him eating meat around me. This may seem a little selfish on my part, as I've never been one to tell anyone what to and what not to eat... but he does love vegan food and it's going to make it so much easier for us to eat together. I think it will do him good to eat healthier too! What he does when he's out of the house is his own business, but I am glad that he's done this for me, and he's really taking it seriously as he loves to cook and has been enjoying researching new recipes.

Chipotle Sausage Chilli with Apple and Black Beans 
Makes two hearty servings

- 1 Can Black Beans, mostly drained
- 2 Carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 Plum Tomatoes, diced (1 Cup, scant)
- 1 Cup Rehydrated TSP, see directions
- 1 Veggie Sausage Link, diced
- 1 Apple, diced (any kind, really)
- 3 Tbs Tamari
- 3 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce (make sure the label says it’s veg)
 - 1 tsp Cumin

Heat 1 scant cup of water to boiling and mix it with 1 Cup dried TSP (or follow package directions). While that is soaking, heat a large skillet with some vegetable oil. Add carrot and stir every once in a while to soften. Meanwhile, dice apples, tomatoes, and sausage. Add these plus the beans and cumin to pan. Stir and cover.

Check on your TSP. Dump out excess water as soon as it is fairly soft and add to pan. Add tamari and Worcestershire sauce, stir well, and cover. Let simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes. Serve with fresh cilantro or parsley.

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In other news, I've booked my ticket to Wales for Christmas to see my father. It's going to be ever so quiet as it's just going to be the two of us for 4 days, chilling out and eating good food. I can't wait! It will make a change from Christmas at my boyfriend's parents' place where there is usually 11 of us around the table! I think it will be nice to have a more relaxing time, as Christmas is usually so manic. I will definitely miss my Gerry-pups though!
























Oh and if you're looking to buy some Christmas treats, Lidl have some wonderful boxes of coconut ice... hint hint!! ;) The Turkish Delight in the picture isn't vegan as it's covered in milk chocolate, but they do sell a version with no chocolate. They are also selling their scrumptious dark chocolate Marzipan bars and raspberry liquor filled dark chocolate barrels again this year - hooray!

I'll leave you with some nice photographs I took recently:

More Ink!

Yup, he's done it again. Joe Deegan has exceeded all expectations and given me a bitchin' new tattoo! A very rare Welsh bird of prey called a Red Kite, with some daffodils and a pink ribbon. It's in memory of my mother and also a symbol of my nationality. I love it!

For those who haven't heard of them before: Red Kites are pretty awesome birds. There are breeding centres for them in the part of Wales where I am from, where there are now 600 breeding pairs. However at one time they were so rare that the entire population of Red Kites was down to just a few pairs and came from one single female bird! These birds have a wingspan of 5 and a half feet would you believe it... that's taller than me! 

Joe and I ate the yummy vegan croissants I made... and I forgot to take a photo! Oh well, I'll just have to go buy more pastry won't I? ;-) 

Aside from this, not a great deal has happened lately. Gerry is thankfully the coolest and most laid-back pup known to the history of dogkind, so the fireworks at Halloween didn't bother him one bit. In fact, it was me that was freaking out in the garden when on the phone to my dad and a few dozen fireworks suddenly went off over my house and rockets started landing on the patio!! The only time Gerry lifted his head was when he saw a beagle on the telly. And that was for about all of 10 seconds. I was quite shocked at how many dogs I saw wandering on the local green with no owners in sight, being left alone to sniff at burning bonfires and trot up to kids with fireworks. There were dozens of dogs barking like crazy, you'd think their owners would have the sense to bring them inside tonight.

My father also came to stay for a few days and even though Dublin had some pretty bad flooding we still managed to get out and do a few things like visit the Japanese Gardens at Kildare National Stud, go out for nice vegan food at Delhi O'Deli in town and Bits'n'Pizzas in Dun Laoghaire, and just generally mooch around and go to a few galleries and drink mojitos. It was a nice relaxing visit.

In other news, I have been made redundant so I have to look for a new job. Whoop-de-doo. Not really looking forward to that. I hate starting afresh. Luckily I kinda saw it coming so I'm quite prepared and not really very phased by it at all. Hopefully I'll be sorted with something by the new year.

Here's a few pics I've taken recently of random goings on :)

Wonderful vintage lighthouse necklace I got the other day.

The Japanese Gardens at Kildare National Stud - so beautiful.

Chilli Corn Soup, a veganised Jamie Oliver recipe, I'll post it up soon.























Gerry out on a walk early one morning.























Autumn leaves.

Remember Logan?

Do you remember Stretch? The little lurcher I rescued?

Well here are some more recent photos! He is now called Logan (Logi for short) and was transported from the rescue centre last month over to the UK by Erin Hounds. He was fostered by a lovely girl who I befriended on Facebook and who posted up these beautiful pictures of him. He looks so much better now and is really coming out of his shell, wanting to play with toys and always running over for a cuddle.

Logi is still looking for his forever home and a soft couch to sleep on and call his own... so if you would like to adopt him or know of someone who's looking for a new friend to share their home with, then get in touch with Erin Hounds today - his rescue information and more photos can be found here.

CROISSANTS!

I was just catching up reading through friends' recent posts, and I came across this entry over at Blueberries' blog about Jus-Rol's vegan home-bake croissants.

I love croissants. I think I could happily live off croissants and only croissants for the rest of my life - so finding out that you can make your own vegan croissants so easily has just totally blown my mind! And putting Spar's own vegan version of nutella inside would make them even more mind-blowing!

I am going to try this very soon and I'll post all about it here. This better not be a let-down. I am already salivating and dribbling all over my keyboard as I type. I am just SO excited.

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.

Yummy Gummies!

How glad am I to see GOODY GOOD STUFF sweets in Holland & Barrett!

This company sells sweets with no gelatin, no dairy, no artificial colours, no gluten... and they are fat free! All of their sweets are vegetarian, and a lot of varieties are also vegan. These are the vegan ones - take a look!

Fizzy Cola Bottles
Summer Peaches
Sour Fruit Salad

Holland and Barrett also now have a Reward Card. You can collect 4 points for every €1 you spend, so sign up today and get 150 points free! I just registered to create an online account so will be sent one in the post. You can also sign up for one at any H&B store.

New Ink!

Here's a picture of my new tattoos by fellow vegan and rescued lurcher owner, Joe Deegan... I was almost 6 hours under the needle and was ready to scream at the end - but it was well worth it as you can see!

I'm so happy! :)

There's my Gerry on the left, and a cute girlfriend for him on the right.

Chinese Sweet Porridge

I've often seen cans like these in the Asian Market, and I needed a snack at lunchtime and for breakfast tomorrow, so I decided to try something new and bought a couple of cans.

I'm SO GLAD I did.

Made from mixed beans, glutenous rice, oats, longan fruit and sugar... these are just a perfect balance between healthy and naughty! I will probably strain them in future as I found there was a bit too much syrup for my liking, but I shall definitely be having them again as they are filling and I can imagine it keeping me going for quite some time considering it's such a small can.

So if you love Asian food, have a real sweet tooth, but still want to feel like you're not being totally unhealthy - give it a go!

Git Me Some o'That!

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

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

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

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