Back to school

Unlike January, I think September is one of the best months to start something new. Maybe it's the back to school feeling ingrained into what the start of autumn means, but I love making a new beginning at this time of year. With three months to go until the New Year and the warm nights still here, I feel like it's an ideal time to start a good habit or research a change you want to make.

I've had some amazing conversations with a load of people over the past few days that have really got me excited about being vegan and making further changes to my lifestyle. I've also been able to change my work balance specifically so I can spend what currently feels like an AMAZING amount of time working on all things Guac & Roll, and devoting way more time and energy to researching and making vegan food for me and the people around me. 

                      

So I thought it would be a great time to post the two things that got me here in the first place- Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals, which I cannot recommend enough, and have talked about here. Along with Foer's book is the interview above with Ellen DeGeneres, where she discusses why she turned vegan. It was these two pieces of information that made me make a decision to try being a vegan, and I still end up in tears every time I watch this video, Ellen is such a babe.

Finally- for all my friends trying out veganism over the next few months- here's a link to how Guac started out, as a tumblr diary of my first few months as a vegan- which included a disastrous mac and cheese, a lot of fry ups and marmite on toast before things started to get easier! 

Good luck everyone! I know there's a ton of resources and books out there to help vegans just starting out- if any of them speak as clearly to you as these did to me then please let me know, I always love some new inspiration! 

Summer nights: The Joy of Seeds

I picked up a hankering for seeds from my best friend Heather. The taste of that seeded bread I couldn't get enough of in Berlin followed me right back to London, so that when I returned I realised I, like many before me, had finally discovered THE JOY OF SEEDS.

No, I am not Gillian McKeith incarnate, I just think seeds are amazing; they're little but they pack a punch. You can top off most meals with them and they'll add protein, vitamins, fibre and iron to your food without you realising they're there.

I've tried munching on all manner of seeds at my desk before and it's ended in what a stranger would think were drawers full of abandoned bird-feed.  However, I've found that by adding a handful of different seeds to my meals each day, I've begun to crave them and now miss anything that doesn't include a bit of seedy goodness. So if like me, you're not someone who's easily wooed by seeds at snack time, I suggest adding some to breads, salads, porridge, museli, flapjacks, roast dinner stuffing, burritos.... well, anywhere. Here's a few of my favourite seed-embracing recipes for summertime. Yes, they're super easy, but it's a start...

For another summer night dinner I made a giant couscous salad with sunflower seeds, which are a good source of vitamin E, protein, and minerals, and broccoli with sesame seeds, which are a great source of calcium, magnesium and iron. Along with these two recipes I served marinate aubergine, toasted wraps, salad leaves, beetroot hummus and homemade falafel.

Giant couscous salad with grated carrot, spinach, radish and sunflower seeds
Makes enough for 4

Ingredients
300g giant couscous
Olive oil
1 large carrot
Handful of washed spinach
Handful of washed radishes
Handful of sunflower seeds
Seasoning
Juice 1/2 lemon (optional)

Heat the giant couscous in a pan with a little olive oil, before pouring in around 500ml of boiling water. Allow to simmer for around five minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the mean time, grate the carrot, chop the spinach if it is a larger leaf and slice the radishes. Once the coucous is softer (it has a totally different consistency to regular couscous, so instead you're just tasting to see if it is no longer hard as opposed to fluffy), drain, allow to cool a little, and mix in a bowl with the vegetables and the seeds. Top off with some seasoning and the juice of half a lemon if you like it.

Broccoli, sesame seed and soy sauce salad
Makes enough for 4 as a side dish

Ingredients
One medium head of broccoli
1 tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp sesame seeds

Chop the broccoli into florets, and boil in salted water until just al dente. Drain, then back in the pan add the soy sauce and sesame seeds and heat for about 30 seconds, just so the flavours can mix at a high temperature.

Breakfast like a king, notes on the best meal of every day

In the pub last night with some friends we got talking about how different diets can boost your mood- that classic "yeah live a healthy lifestyle okay" attitude we all take for granted. The main recurring issue seemed to be that everyone said they didn't have time to organise every part of their day to be healthy, and that's something I can defo agree with. Chips in the kebab shop are a way too-frequent occurrence on my weekly meals rota!

It was this sense of not having enough time that used to mean I never, ever ate breakfast. When I moved away from home and was studying I didn't eat until 5pm at the earliest. Crazeh times. In any case, I've realised through a few good pals that always seem to be switched on from dawn til dusk that breakfast is, in fact, the bomb.

In the winter I'm pretty much a porridge or bust kinda lady. I don't even care about soy milk any more. Hand me the goddamn water and oats perlease. But by summer I guess there's reason to be a bit more adventurous- here are a few ideas for vegan breakfasts:

In reality, no one has time for freshly baked breakfast muffins or tracking down that bit of the smoothie blender that got used as an ashtray last time you had people round. Ta. Working on a five minute preparation-limit, the easiest thing for a vegan breakfast is to have some uber nice museli hidden away somewhere at your desk, some soy milk in the work fridge and some pieces of fruit in your bag. I usually add a vegan hot chocolate for extra decadence/motivation to see the day through to lunchtime. Be sure to pick a museli with plenty of nuts and seeds like almonds and brazil nuts and you'll be getting a good helping of protein and essential nutrients. Whack three pieces of fruit in and you're basically on the 5-a-day home run.

At the weekend I say no holds barred, go all out. Fried mushrooms with shallots and dried herbs on ciabatta are almost easy enough to make before your first coffee (almost, I said, almost) or there's homemade baked beans OR American-style pancakes with banana and cinnamon. Go on, go on, go on, go on.

Notes from a vegan picnic

At the start of the month Amelie had a picnic to celebrate her birthday and it was a BONANZA. I was running preeeety late by the time I got to the park, having decided to make homemade pizza and guacamole with pomegranate seeds half an hour before the picnic started. But it didn't matter- there was a feast to get through...

Amelie and Ruth had made falafel, potato salad with purple potatoes and vegan soy cream, homemade hummus with homemade tahini (mind blown), hard lemonade (it involved gin) and a whole lot of other stuff I can't remember, probably because of the hard lemonade. Joe and Becca made some amazing cous cous salads and an aubergine and tomato sort of stew with so much olive oil it was the richest, tastiest thing I think I've ever eaten at a picnic.

We finished with a gluten free, vegan birthday cake made by Ruth. Happy belated Birthday Amelie!!

Man cannot live on pre-drinks alone: vegan stop-over snacks

 

Sometimes pre-drinks on their own just don't quite cut it (I speak from experience), and maybe you need a little something to soak up some of that tequila. These three dishes make the perfect stop-over food- for friends to pick at en route to somewhere else, or while you're waiting patiently for the hair dryer.

The herb almond recipe is originally from Martha Stewart, who suggests teaming it with sherry and manchego cheese, but I went with white wine and processo, then gin with the figs, although vodka would also be a good match. These recipes are all really easy to prepare an hour before anyone arrives so there's basically no excuse to still be in your dressing gown/towel/the bath (ahem) when the doorbell goes.

Makes enough for 4

Herb toasted almonds
4 tbsp olive oil
200g whole blanched almonds
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
Salt, pepper

Heat 3 tbsp of the oil in a large pan and add the almonds and cook for about 12 minutes, until they turn golden and fragrant. Tip onto a baking tray to allow to cool.

With the other tablespoon of oil, drizzle over the serving dish you are using and add the herbs and seasoning, then pour in the almonds and mix until everything is thoroughly coated.

Coarse chopped bruschetta
4 tomatoes, roughly chopped and still in bite size chunks
Handful of basil leaves
Half a red onion, chopped small
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt, pepper
1 loaf of ciabatta, cut into chunks

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir. Allow to sit for an hour so the basil can mix in with the oil and tomatoes. In this time, toast the ciabatta chunks under the grill dry, as the oil from the almonds and the fig dressing will flavour the bread, whilst stopping it from being too rich.

Fig and leaf salad
Salad leaves, washed
4 figs, cut 2/3 of the way to the base into quarters, but so they still hold their shape
Fig vinegar- I used L' Olivier fig vinegar just to cut against the fig texture and the almonds, but if you can't get hold of this, a simple French dressing would work too.

Place the leaves on a serving plate, then arrange the figs on top, with enough per each guest. Drizzle the dressing over the figs, making sure the flesh of the fruit gets the flavour.

January rescue recipes

I've been working on a few rescue-recipes for January as pay cheques begin to reach the thin end of the wedge and the month shows no sign of ending. The silver lining is my new kitchen recipes notebook from Naomi as a quasi-Christmas present, along with Union hand roasted coffee and L'Olivier fig vinegar I'll be saving for some knock-out warm salads. How do you hold out through the most hated of months? Share the wealth below so we can all hurry the last two weeks along!

A year in vegan meals

A year today I decided to try being a vegan for a little while. In January I read 'Eating Animals' and mostly ate a lot of chickpeas.

February meant my first vegan birthday cake, made to order by my long-suffering Mum. Thanks Mum!

Before I signed up to Growing Communities, I had to track down all my vegetables and fruit myself. So March was full of trips to the market.

Easter came around and I cooked the first of many vegan feasts for my family- roasted tomato soup, spring vegetable pie and mash potatoes.

In April I got down to veganising some of my favourite recipes from Wahaca and discovered Leffe is vegan. Big revelation.

I also managed to sign up to Growing Communities, the best thing I've ever done for my eating habits. I had to start scouring cook books to find ways of using all the new and unheard of vegetables we are given each week, and of course began taking A LOT of photos of fantastic vegetables.

In May I went to my first BBQ as a vegan and seemed to start a lentil burger factory. I also made carrot cake and lots of cups of tea for best friends.

Discovering apricots in the fruit bag one night in the park, and working out lunch box recipes to make on Sunday evenings.

In June I went on my first holiday as a vegan, to Krakow. I ate a lot of fruit, crisps and bread...

... but when I came home the vegetable bag had been transformed by all the gorgeous summer produce- I carried on making a lot of lentil burgers and sweet potato wedges for my family.

In July I picked edible flowers to add to salads and perfected a brownie recipe, which I will probably rename Gone in Sixty Seconds for 2013.

I also popped over to help my friend Alice at her tomato stall, and experimented with Bundt tins and Sunday baking like a woman possessed.

August meant lots of late night dinner parties and Mexican food, like Thomasina Miers' black eyed bean soup.

 September saw the last BBQ of the summer and the first squash soup...

...While October bought granola and more pumpkins than I knew what to do with!

The roasts began in November, my main objective being to use every shelf in the oven and every ring on the hob. I also made some ludicrous brunches and drank a lot of cava. But you already knew that.

The farmers' markets were in full bloom with all of November's produce, like the endless rows of apples at Borough Market. I made sweet potato and red lentil soup to combat blustering bike rides.

And finally it was December. When, with the help of a small army, I managed to cook a seemingly never-ending gluten-free Christmas dinner, and average at least four roast dinners a week.

So so long 2012 and Happy New Year to all my readers! I can't wait to see what 2013 holds for Guac & Roll.

Supper fit for a tree

One of my ultimate favourite new-traditions-in-the-making is our yearly journey to get the Christmas tree. Last year we got a 5ft tree, this year they only had 6 ft trees left so it's now taking up half the flat. I really hope we can afford a 7ft tree next year. 

As you can probably tell by how cold I look in the photo above, it was freezing work. It became pretty clear on the trek home that a big dinner was in order, not a Christmas dinner per se, but something with the same zest for FEST.

I chopped up a few of the leftover roasted chestnuts from the other day, and added these to Sainsbury's sage and onion stuffing- which is clearly labelled as vegan making things much easier in the supermarket aisle! 

If you're looking for something a little different from roast potatoes, hasselback potatoes are fun to make and give a nice crunchy texture when you've got lots of vegetables in the mix. Get these in the oven before anything else as they take a deceptively long time- around 50 minutes to an hour. 

While trying out various ways of making the tree stand up (no dental floss this year, thankfully) I also chopped and roasted some apples, parsnip, carrots and onions, along with a few Linda McCartney sausages. Once these, along with the stuffing, where all set in the oven, I started on the gravy: chopped mushroom and onion, along with chopped cabbage. Finally I cooked through haricot beans with rosemary, crushed garlic, seasoning and olive oil, mashing lightly once bubbling and allowing the beans to thicken a little as they cooked. Cobbled together and all the tastier for it!

Braised red cabbage, apples and onion

Maybe it's my Polish roots coming through, but to me, there are few flavours more perfect than salty cabbage and tangy vinegar, especially against comfort foods like mashed potato or sausages. For my first go at braised red cabbage, I adapted a Delia Smith recipe, making it vegan, shorter in preparation time, and without the need to bake it in an oven.

It might take a bit of time to do all the layers, but I found if you're roasting vegetables, once they are all in the oven and cooking away, this recipe can be done in the meantime while the rest cooks, and will keep in the fridge for about 3 days, and freeze even better. The sugar creates the most amazing caramalised burnt bit happening at the bottom of the pan, while the cabbage at the top is really pink and flavoured with onions and the spices.

Makes easily enough for four
Ingredients
Half a large red cabbage, or as much as you fancy, shredded to give long, thin strands
2 red onions, chopped small
2 red apples, no need to peel, but chop small
1 clove garlic chopped tiny
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
3 pinches brown sugar
Glugs of vegetable or sunflower oil
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper

Chose a pan with as high sides as possible, like a wok or I used a pressure cooker, as it needs a lid also. Pour a glug of oil in the bottom of the pan, to cover it and stop the sugar burning. Then cover the bottom with the shredded cabbage, a third of the apple, onion, garlic, nutmeg, cinnamon, and brown sugar and then season. Repeat this two more times or until you've used everything up. It doesn't need to be totally even, it will get stirred around no doubt- but it means all the flavours will combine in the most tasty way in the pan.

Finally, pour another glug of oil and the white wine vinegar over it all, and place a lid on top. Every ten minutes or so, come back and stir, making sure nothing is stuck to the bottom, but otherwise this can simmer away for half an hour, until everything else is done.

I had this with vegan mash, spinach, roasted carrots, parsnips, onions, and Linda McCartney sausages and I would do it ALLLLLLL AGAIN.

Polenta paradigm shift

You know what they say about inheriting your parents' fears? Well polenta used to be one of mine. After the amount of trial and errors I'd seen at Sunday lunchtimes, I steered clear for five long years, not knowing quite what I was missing out on. Never quite salty, flavoursome or set enough, it seemed like polenta was just not one for me.

However. This all changed last Sunday, when I found this recipe from Skinny Jeans Food- although I couldn't follow it exactly (I have no idea where to find a jar of veganaise for starters) I used it as inspiration for brunch with Liz and Sabrina and it was YUM. Mixed with Sabrina's Ultra Super Food Rainbow Salad, the polenta was absolutely scrummy, gluten free, and so easy to handle on a Sunday morning when most things (ie the London Undergound) are not so easy to work with.

nb. As Skinny Jeans Food mentions- the lemon in the polenta won't effect the taste, just makes it so much more brighter and sunny-looking, always a bonus on a dreary Sunday.

Serves four (obviously, generously)
Ingredients:
1.6 cups of polenta
2 cups water
1 cup almond milk
1.0 cup of vegan margarine (such as Vitalite or Pure)
Juice of 1 lemon
Pinch of salt

100g per person of mushrooms
100g per person of cavolo nero (or kale, spinach, greens would also work)
Handful of pine nuts
1 chopped onion
2 chopped garlic cloves
Glugs of olive oil

You can make the polenta way before time and just heat it in the oven once you're ready to cook the mushrooms and greens.

In a saucepan, place the polenta and almond milk in, along with the water, and allow to heat through until it thickens. This could take anything up to 10 minutes so just be patient and keep whisking. Once you can see the bottom of the pan by stirring the thick mixture, turn off the heat and add the margarine, salt and lemon juice. Pour into a heat-proof dish and allow to cool.

Sweat the onion and garlic in a pan for five minutes, before adding the chopped mushrooms. Try to use a large pan where the mushrooms wont sit on top of each other, as this makes them go soggy.

Whilst waiting for the mushrooms to cook, heat a saucepan without any oil and toast the pine nuts- this will only take 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

Once the mushrooms are browned, add the cavolo nero and any seasoning. Finally plate up with chunks of the polenta and pine nuts on top. A salad is great to add to this dish to counteract the oil and lighten up the polenta, or just a few grilled tomatoes and black coffee.

Summer Lovin'

A summer spent on fire escapes and roof tops that may or may not be yours is still a summer spent outside, and that's all that counts. Before departing for a few weeks in Scotland, I went with Nina to see Charlotte at her amazing flat in Brixton. Each armed with a chopping board and a mixing bowl, we somehow managed to whip up this roof top vegan picnic before 7pm, leaving as much time as possible to devour it before the sun went down!

Charlotte mixed a tin of chickpeas with two teaspoons of mint sauce, a handful of cherry tomatoes, half a red onion and a little fresh mint.  A combination I've never even heard of and absolutely delicious- perfect for cutting through a rich guacamole and oily olives.

 I made a rough and ready guacamole with avocados from Electric Avenue.

 We mixed tomatoes and artichoke for something to top our doorstop bread with.

Charlotte chopped herbs from her windowsill and mixed with olive oil, boiled potatoes and salt and pepper, for a quick, warm potato salad.

All eaten alongside the Brixton skyline.