The Anti-Vegan (Vegan MoFo 2018)

On By ClareIn veganmofo183 Comments

Life on the vegan internet in the last twelve months has been all ‘impossible’ this and ‘no bull’ that it’s just not that easy to feel deprived. I work at a vegan coffee shop but as far as we can work it out (we don’t quiz anyone or anything) most of our customers aren’t vegan. Most of them will stop short of ordering the facon (fake bacon, naturally) but they’re happy with the oat milk coffees and even the melted mozzarella-style Violife. Especially since we’ve switched to the gorgeous, silky, and fabulously foamable Minor Figures. (I remain awful at latte art.)

In my personal life there is one person who is the ultimate litmus test for the mainstream acceptance of vegan food. My Dad has typical northern working class taste buds. Pie, full English breakfast, and roast dinner on a Sunday. Last year though when we were on holiday Kate was too full to finish her Taifun hot dog. My Dad looked at it, put a puzzled expression on his face, and bit into it. “That’s just like a hot dog.”

So this one is dedicated to my Dad. One vegan Tofu Weiner, on a baguette with chilli and a sprinkle of Violife.

Inspiring Book: Street Vegan (Vegan Mofo 2018)

On By ClareIn books, veganmofo18

I have a lot of cookbooks. My book shelf devoted to cookbooks already has an annex and is still bursting at the seams. I have cookbooks that get weekly use, cookbooks where recipes never go wrong, cookbooks that are simple, cookbooks that are involved and cookbooks that fill me with nostalgia. Each one is a little inspiring and the collection as a whole I find very inspiring. But the one I’m talking about today is Street Vegan.

streetvegan

It’s a beauty of a book: well designed, lovely pictures, and the design is quirky without being distracting. Looking through it makes me reconsider vegan food and think about taking things beyond the simple everyday, and beyond the substitutes. There are some solid recipes. The Cinnamon Snails are my go-to cinnamon roll recipe. The lemonades are wonderful. The other recipes have been sadly neglected though. I’ve been looking at the pictures more than cooking.

snails

I started my day by making the Maple Mustard Breakfast Strips. These chewy, fried strips of seitan are glazed with a gorgeous maple and mustard mix. They came together unexpectedly quickly. It’s probably one of the least fussy seitan recipes I’ve ever made. the frying crisps up the outside but leaves the insides tender and there is no ‘gluten’ taste. It made a really decadent wrap filling.

strips

Then I made the raw brownies. Though technically, as they take 12 hours in the dehydrator I started them first. But then there was topping to make and… you know what, I’ve just lost all track of time. At some point I made raw chocolate brownies and spent a lot of time and money on them (agave, cashews, coconut; oh my!) but Oh My God they are glorious.

brownie

Like most of the recipes in Street Vegan they are a little bit different, they need you to put in the effort but the results are off the charts. That’s why this book is my number one when it comes to inspiration. And why I promise to cook from it more often.

Mary Blair Inspired Cookies (Vegan MoFo 2018)

On By ClareIn veganmofo182 Comments

I’m in the middle of Disney planning so the first thing that came to mind when the vegan mofo prompt was to be inspired by an artist was Mary Blair, specifically the mosaic in the contemporary. Though in the end I settled on the art for It’s A Small World because I thought it would be easier to decorate cookies inspired by this.

So I baked sugar cookies and drew up diagrams and mixed up icing. The intention was for six beautiful individually designed edible tiles using motifs from the picture. So as you probably notice there are only three tiles. Two with the same design. Yep. It’s my annual attempt at icing that goes badly. I am not a gifted decorator. Still I kind of enjoyed the challenge.

A Riverford recipe (Vegan Mofo 2018)

On By Kate MorleyIn veganmofo181 Comment

Today’s Vegan Mofo theme is food inspired by the “leader of a country, place, or group”. That sounds a little nationalistic to me, and after the Aung San Suu Kyi affair I’m struggling to see much inspiring in our current batch of national leaders (although I’m cautiously optimistic about Jacinda Ardern). So I’m going to write about a different kind of leader, and one more obviously connected to food: Guy Singh-Watson of Riverford.

Guy converted his family farm here in Devon over to organic framing in the 1980s, and started delivering vegetable boxes to friends and family. Thirty years later Riverford delivers almost 50,000 veg boxes each week all over the UK. For many companies that kind of expansion would lead to a creeping managerialism and inoffensive polished marketing, but Guy has keep Riverford true to its principles and a little rough around the edges. Each weekly veg box comes with a little newsletter containing recipes, ideas, and — most importantly — Guy’s News. Guys writes on topics ranging from local problems on the farm to big global issues such as pesticide use and climate change, and he isn’t afraid to share his strong opinions. It’s not just talk either: long before Blue Planet II brought the issue of single-use plastics into the British public consciousness, Riverford commissioned the University Of Exeter to investigate the sustainability of Riverford’s packaging.

The most significant development in Riverford’s history happened on 8th June this year. After years of ignoring offers from potential investors who were only interested in the company’s profit-making potential, Guy transferred 74% of the business into an employee trust, guaranteeing Riverford’s values will be be protected into the future.

And now for the food. When Riverford sends us green beans, I make this ragú (minus the Parmesan). It may not be much to look at, but the slow-cooked beans and tomatoes have a wonderful flavour. Clare isn’t keen on the farinata (chickpea pancake) so has her half on pasta instead.

ragu-farinata