Author: Clare

Cruelty free cook, crafty lady, obsessive reader, animal babysitter, and mistress of lego

Recipe: Battered Vegan Sausages

On By ClareIn recipe1 Comment

Edited 12.06.2020: New Pictures with Better Lighting.

Battered sausages are a chippy classic but you can basically never find a vegan version. So I figured I’d learn how to make a decent egg-free batter and make some myself.

battered on plate

Three things need to happen for you get an awesome batter. Chill your batter ingredients in advance. I measure out the flour, salt and baking powder in advance and put it in the fridge. Because they have to cook quickly I used the chilled Linda McCartney sausages rather than the frozen ones. If you use the frozen ones you’ll need to defrost them first. The third is temperature of the oil. You want to cook the sausages at 190°C.

battered

Battered Sausages

1 pack of Linda McCartney Sausages

130g flour

180ml sparkling water

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Lots of vegetable oil for frying

Get everything ready to go. Set up a plate with a couple of paper towels ready to put the sausages on when they’re done.

Put enough oil to cover the sausages into a large, heavy-bottomed pan and heat it to 190°C

While the oil is heating, mix the batter. Don’t get too enthusiastic with the mixing: you want to have a few lumps left in.

Cover the sausage in the batter, and when the oil is up to temperature drop in the sausages. You may need to work in batches. I do three at at time.

The sausages should be cooked after three minutes or when the batter is golden. Turn them once or twice while cooking to make sure they cook evenly.

When they’re done place them on the kitchen towel to drain before serving.

Vegan Review: Chai by Mira

On By ClareIn london1 Comment

It occurs to me now that all of the places we visited this trip were featured in the book Vegan London but most of that was an accident. This one was on purpose though: the picture was so gorgeous that we had to pop in.

If you go off the exceptionally busy Carnaby Street into the exceptionally busy Kingly Court then go up to the second floor and pop in to Triyoga you can find peace even on a Saturday afternoon at Chai by Mira. There’s a small menu of sweet and savoury snacks alongside hot drinks with a focus on bright and healthy dishes. Kate healthily drank a cacao and avocado smoothie. It tasted like milkshake so she was super happy.

I broke the habit of a lifetime and ordered a tea with milk in it (choices of oat and coconut, I went oat). I thought I’d better order one of the chais and went for the rosy chai. It was warming, calming and delicious.

I also had a little bit of avo toast to snack on. It had tahini, tamarind and tasty seeds on top. I was a little sceptical of the tahini but it worked really well. And honestly anything with tamarind on is absolutely perfect.

Chai by Mira is wonderful. It’s a great place to pop into if you need a break or if you need a light bite and a hot drink. My one regret? They sell chai mix and a cookbook by owner Mira Manek. Why didn’t I buy them? What was I thinking?

Vegan Review: Purezza (Brighton and London)

On By ClareIn Brighton, london1 Comment

When we decided to head to Brighton we asked our friends for recommendations for a place that didn’t just serve ice cream. She told us to head to Purezza and we ended up doing that twice because they also have a Camden branch and we needed more pizza.

In Brighton Kate ordered herself the Couch Potato without the aubergine. It had the stunning smoked mozzarella, shaved seitan, and smooth, creamy garlicky mayo. Thumbs up from us.

I went for the cheese steak calzone with more of that amazing seitan, onion chutney and mozzarella. It also had red and orange peppers when I think it would have been a little better with green. Still I loved it.

We rolled up to the Camden branch the next evening. Dark by the time we got there but thankfully with one table left for us. It was busy. We had to wait a little while for the food. We ordered a cheese board to start. I was expecting a couple of different textures but it was more like the same cheese with four different flavours. One was super garlicky and Kate gobbled it down, another full of chilli and that was my favourite. But I don’t think we’d order this one again.

For the main course Kate had the margarita. We were disappointed with the margarita (I say we because I have never refused a bite of anything): the tomato sauce was a little too sweet. And she regretted not paying extra for the smoked cheese.

Speaking of extra stuff I ordered the green supreme with extra salami on top. I wish I’d asked for the salami instead of the sausage crumbles. I found the sausage crumbles to taste a bit too much like stuffing. I enjoyed the greens and the smoked mozzarella so much. The chillies a little less. They broke my tolerance.

We enjoyed both our visits to Purezza and I’d recommend both, but Brighton was the better one for us. Though it could just be because it was less busy. Whichever one you visit though I recommend the smoked mozzarella. That stuff is amazing.

Vegan Review: Artbox ✕ Pusheen (Brighton)

On By ClareIn BrightonLeave a comment

I wasn’t originally going to post this review because the day after our visit the cafe closed for re-theming, but we actually had such a positive experience that we’re going to recommend you go even if you can’t get giant ice cream sundaes any more. It reopens tomorrow (Saturday 9th) with a Winter Wonderland Theme.

Everything in the cafe comes decorated with Pusheen and pals. At least Stormy and Pugsheen. I didn’t see any Bo, which is slightly disappointing. Bo is my fave. Anyway. All your food and drinks come decorated with little Pusheen bits for you to take home. If you’re like me you’ll be impressed by this regardless of the quality of the food and drink in question. A little Pusheen on my Summer Sunrise (£4)? Yes please.

A Pusheen stencilled into Kate’s hot chocolate (£3.50)? Also yes. But they were also pretty good drinks and the staff aren’t shy with the marshmallows.

Then came or sundaes. Most of the sundaes and the waffles on the menu could be made vegan and we hope this continues. Kate had lavender, rose, and vanilla ice cream on hers (Flower Garden, £9). Each of them richly flavoured and looking gorgeous with sugar flowers and Pusheen on top.

Mine was kiwi, apple, and coconut (Pusheenosaurus, £9). The apple was my favourite, so fresh and bright. As we were eating we couldn’t help but reflect that the quality of these sundaes was miles above the dessert we had at Farmacy the night before. For one thing they tasted of something, they weren’t melted, and the flowers and the apple flavours would have easily fit in with Farmacy’s seasonal/home grown ethos.

As well as all the Pusheen bits that come with your ice cream there’s also a boutique downstairs for all you Pusheen merchandise needs. And we did take a little Plusheen home with us and well as three cards, some stickers, and a necklace. Food and merch combined cost much less than the entire meal we had the night before at Farmacy. For cuteness, quality of food, and the price it wins hands down. And we really can’t wait to see the Winter Wonderland menu.