Month: November 2017

The Vurger Co @ Lululemon

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When my friend Mitsu told me The Vurger Co were holding a pop up at Lululemon in Spitalfields market I knew I had to get down there one lunchtime. As yesterday was my last day in the office this week I thought I would treat myself and go down there.

I went for the aubergine burger called the Auberger with fries and a banana caramel milkshake. I drank the shake as I walked back to the office so I didn’t take a photo. It was thick, creamy and delicious. The burger was huge and little difficult to eat, I should have cut it in half really. I really enjoyed all the fixings, the cheese, the cabbage, the mayo. The actual burger was not what I was expecting I couldn’t really pick out the aubergine and it also had a kick I wasn’t expecting.

They are going to be doing a Christmas burger from 1st December so I’ll have to get down there again before they wrap up on 22nd December.

Have you tried out The Vurger Co? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

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The Vurger Co @ Lululemon

Vegan Nights 2

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I really enjoyed the first Vegan Nights event at the Truman Brewery in Brick Lane which I wrote about here so I had to go back for part 2. Unfortunately I didn’t have much time as we were leaving for our weekend away straight after so I dashed in grabbed some food and dashed to the station to meet my Husband.

I had looked online as to who was going to be there and was glad to see there were some new additions. I’ve been wanting to try Shakey Shakey Fish Bar for a while but thought the chips would get cold on the walk back to the station so I’ll have to get down to the boilerhouse one weekend to try their deep fried Oreos!

I was excited to see the Japanese stall from Hai Dozo so I went for their okonomiyaki which is an omelette filled with vegetables. They also had lots of sweet treats which I’ll have to try next time.

I also had to get a Santa burger from Pomodoro e Basilico which came with mashed potato, Brussel sprouts and cranberry sauce. I didn’t get a good picture as my Husband had already taken a bite before I could snap it!

No vegan meal is complete without cake so returned to my faves Venezuelans Dani and Vane at Vida Bakery and got some peanut butter chocolate cake, caramel vanilla cake, pumpkin spice cupcake and chocolate orange cupcake. We enjoyed these once we arrived at our holiday cottage. I loved the pumpkin spice which reminded me of carrot cake.

So that was my whirlwind visit to vegan nights, I was in and out in 20 minutes. If you go to a future event I would recommend getting there as early as possibly as the queue to get in only gets longer!

Did you go to vegan nights 2? What did you eat? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Vegan Nights 2

The Vegan Christmas Sandwich Battle!

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There was a time a couple of years ago when us vegans would have done anything to get our mits on a vegan Christmas sandwich and now places are falling over themselves to offer them to us. In my 5 minute walk from the station to my work I could buy vegan Christmas sandwiches from 6 different places (8 if i got one each from the 2 M&S’s and 2 Prets!) 

First up from Tesco we have bubble and squeak fritter with spiced cabbage in a carrot roll. I really enjoyed the cabbage but for me the fritter didn’t taste “fried” enough and the roll was too soft. I probably wouldn’t buy this one again.

Next up is Leon’s vegan Christmas wrap, this had the added bonus of being warm. I really liked the crispy onions and the sage and onion mayo pulled it all together. It did seem a bit strange to use their sweet potato falafel in this wrap but with the cranberry sauce and everything else it had enough of a Christmas twist. I would definitely buy this again although it is a pricier option at over £4.

Next up we have Pret. Stuffing, crispy onions, grilled carrots, spinach and cranberry sauce. This was really tasty and I would definitely buy this again and with a Pret opposite my office this is an easy lazy lunchtime option.

Now Boots, I was surprised I couldn’t find their vegan sandwich in the large branch in Liverpool Street station so I picked one up at the weekend from my local store. This one comes with parsnip fritter, butternut squash and vegan mayo. This had a good portion of filling but I didn’t feel like the butternut added much, saying that I would buy this sandwich again and getting it in the meal deal is great value as I also got some Hippeas and an Innocent protein smoothie for £3.39.

I had high hopes for the offering from Mark’s and Spencer but I was sadly disappointed with this chestnut roast wrap. I was surprised it came in a red pepper tortilla (not very Christmassy) and it all tasted quite sweet with the grape and cranberry chutney. I did like the texture but I probably wouldn’t buy this one again.

Eat’s sandwich seemed similar in description to other with stuffing, cranberry and butternut squash but this didn’t impress me and it goes in the “wouldn’t try again” file.

Lastly we have a late contender from Crussh which my friend Mitsu informed me about. This is a mushroom roast with carrots. I feel this was lacking a cranberry sauce and another I wouldn’t try again.

I tried to get Paul’s baguette but they didn’t have any when I went in this morning and I’m not back to the City until Tuesday, so I may update this post if I manage to snaffle one.

So although there are a fair few offerings there are only a handful I would try again. Top spot goes to Pret and as this is the closest to my office I will be probably have a couple more before the festive season is out. A special mention also goes to Boots for the amazing value of their meal deal.

What is your fave festive vegan sandwich? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

The Vegan Christmas Sandwich Battle!

Pickywops Nov 2017

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Yesterday I spent a fabulous day with my dear friend and former university housemate Samarra. We went to see the Balenciaga exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum (which runs until 18th Feb 2018) which I would highly recommend and as we were out west decided to grab some food at Pickywops which I had heard great things about.

The shop is quite small and in the back of the “shopping palace” so we missed it when we first went past. There is one big table which seats six and then a bar with a few stalls.

The guys at Pickywops are proud of the flours they use which are less processed than those usually used in pizza. You can choose from multigrain, tumeric, burnt wheat, spirulina or kamut. They also offer three cheeses, Violife (made with coconut), Mozzarisella (made with rice) or their homemade cashew cheese.

I chose a veg loaded pizza on burnt wheat base with cashew cheese and Samarra went for a classic Margherita on multigrain with cashew. Yet again the Husband couldn’t go without so I took him home a seitan sausage and mushroom on multigrain with Violife and some garlic bread.

The pizza bases were thin and crisp although some of the water from my vegetables sometimes made mine a bit soggy. The vegetables were really flavourful especially the olives. I’m not in this part of London much but I would return here although I would say I prefer the pizza I had at Fed by Water which I had earlier in the week which was a similar price. Also we found that the garlic bread, although having a lovely texture didn’t taste much of garlic.

I also snagged a couple of Kizzy’s Cookies to take home and now visit to West Kensington is complete without visiting GreenBay where I picked up some gyros a Rudolph round up and a can of rhubarb Cawston.

Have you been to Pickywops before? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Pickywops Nov 2017

Fed by Water Nov 2017

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My friend Jo and I returned to Fed by Water after about 2 years when we first started our monthly dinners. (I have been in-between with others).

Fed by Water is a fully vegan Italian restaurant in Dalston, just a short bus ride from work. 

I remember last time being very full from a starter and main so as I wanted to try their dessert menu we skipped the selection of homemade cheeses and went straight for the pizzas.

I had a sempre verde (always green) which came with cashew mozzarella, olives, capers, smoked tofu, rocket and lemon. Jo went for the Vulcano which had soy mozzarella, walnuts and pears. We both went for the charcoal base which doesn’t taste any different but does look pretty! I was very happy with my pizza and the pear on Jo’s added a lovely sweetness without being overpowering as it just thinly shaved.

For dessert Jo chose the chocolate mousse and I went for the matcha and an espresso martini. It was all delicious!

I couldn’t leave without a little something for my Husband so I got him some garlic bread to take away.

I really enjoyed our visit, the staff were lovely and it was a really relaxed atmosphere. It was quite quiet when we arrived as we had come straight from work but it soon started filling up and was jam packed by the time we left at 7.40.

Have you been to Fed by Water? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Fed by Water Nov 2017

Vegan spam-like fritters

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I must confess many moons ago in my pre-vegan days I was quite partial to a spam fritter from the chip shop so when we were coming up with dinner ideas using the Fry’s polony sausage we had bought it was no contest.

The frozen polony is quite large so you have to use it almost all at once or on consecutive days as you can’t re-freeze it. I think it would be worthwhile halving the size of this as 500g is quite a lot to get through.

I seasoned some self-raising flour with cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, salt and pepper and added sparkling water to make the batter. Next time I would add more flour as I found it quite thin. I deep fried the slices of the polony and then kept warm in the oven while I fried the chips. Served with mushy peas and ketchup this was a great easy tea.

I’m going to use the rest of the polony to make pea and ham soup.

What is your guilty food pleasure? Have you managed to make a vegan version? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Vegan spam-like fritters

Reducing plastic use

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One of my goals for 2017 was to reduce my plastic use and it is one I have found very difficult as plastic is everywhere!

The thing I have most succeeded in is cutting my use full stop by taking my lunch into work most of the time so I am not buying any disposable packaging. I have also been using my re-usable travel mug as most disposable coffee cups aren’t recyclable due to their plastic lining to keep them water tight.

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One area I have really succeeded in sourcing alternatives is the bathroom. I have long used bar soap to wash my hands and now have forgone shower gel in plastic bottles for soap as well. My Mum bought me a pack of soap ends (so they are reducing waste as well) from Bomb Cosmetics once and I have been working my way through these at bath time.

For shampoo I was tempted by Lush’s bars but was put off by the Sodium Laureth Sulphates so I found this alternative bar which is also free from palm oil.

Then we have toilet paper. I saw adverts for this Australian company Who Gives A Crap online. They sell toilet paper and kitchen paper which is either made from recycled paper or sustainable bamboo. Each roll is wrapped in recycled paper in funky colours and half of all their profits go to Water Aid to build toilets in the developing world. When ordering your toilet paper online you have to keep track of your supplies before you run out, but as the smallest number you can buy is 24 rolls it’s pretty easy to keep well stocked.

In the kitchen we get most of our vegetables in a Riverford veg box so they are naked and we order our shopping from Ocado. The shopping is delivered in bags with where the food goes labelled on it (fridge/freezer/cupboard) for easy unloading and they collect the plastic bags back including non-Ocado ones and take 5p off your shopping for each bag.

I have seen articles online about Hackney’s Bulk Market which I am tempted to visit, my only reservation being how much I would be able to carry back on the train!

I am always looking for more tips and hints about reducing my plastic use so if you have any recommendations let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Reducing plastic use

Vegan Lunch for One

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During the Canada Goose protest I had to take a break to get some food, refuel and rest my voice! I headed over to Wardour Street as I know they had lots of vegan options.

I had my main course at Banana Tree, I love that they automatically hand you a vegetarian menu with the main one to make things easier. I went for the tamarind aubergine combo which comes with rice, corn cakes, salad and a sesame cracker. The curry was the right level of spicy for me and I mixed in the rice to balance it out for me. The dressing on the salad was also really nice and I do love a good corn cake!

I headed over to Yorica (pronounced Eureka) for dessert and had waffles with mint choc chip and salted caramel topped with passionfruit and caramel sauce. I thought it was a little pricey but but it’s such a rare treat I didn’t mind so much. The flavours were fab and mint was a definite fave of mine pre-vegan and it’s so hard to get hold of a vegan version!

I know when I’m in the West End there’s always plenty of options for me down Wardour Street so I’ll return time and time again. 

Have you been? What would you recommend? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Vegan Lunch for One

Canada Goose = Animal Abuse

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On Thursday Canada Goose opened their flagship London store on Regents Street so today about 400 of us showed them how welcome they are!

Photo credit – Vegan Blogger 78
Photo credit – Vegan Blogger 78

You can search the atrocities that go on to make these costs but it basically involves pulling feathers from live birds repeatedly and trapping cayotes for periods on time so they struggle and can become dehydrated before the hunters come and to shot them so their future can trim these fashion items.

It’s not fashion it’s violence.

Plumes x

Canada Goose = Animal Abuse

A Vegan Meal @ Zizzi’s

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Zizzi’s were one of the first major chains to being out a vegan menu and living in a London suburb with no exclusively vegan or vegetarian restaurants you have to rely on the chains to get your vegan eats.

I went with my friend Louise who has a taste card so we got a main free which was nice.

We shared a bruschetta to start. This was really nice and it would good to have a vegan pesto and this was a tasty start to the meal.

For main I went for my favourite lentil ragu, this is another tasty well thought out dish which I return to time and time again.

I’d never had the praline torte before so I went with that along with my americano and soya milk. It was really rich and the ice cream was nice with it to cut through that richness. My friend tried a bit and enjoyed it too. The honeycomb was a great addition too.

There’s a Pizza Express very close to Zizzi’s in my town but they only have sorbets for dessert so the Zizzi menu pips it for me! With Pizza Hut trialling vegan cheese at the moment it might soon be difficult to find a chain pizza restaurant that doesn’t often a vegan menu! We’re taking over people!

What’s your favourite dish from Zizzi? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

A Vegan Meal @ Zizzi’s