April Round Up

How have I been feeling? 

My medication and herbs have really kicked in and this last week I’ve been able to up my running, so I’m running during the week now as well as weekends. At parkrun this weekend I was 15 seconds above my pb so I think I should be able to beat it this coming weekend.

Look at the effort in that tomato face!

What new foods have I been trying?

I went to Temple of Seitan at the beginning of the month which I reviewed here.

I ordered some wild garlic in my veg box and made a lovely risotto with it.

I bought my Mum 15 Minute Vegan and she’s made me a couple of delicious meals from it, butternut and sage macaroni and butterbean mash topped root veg pie.

For Easter my boss got me a Sainsburys white chocolate egg that went down very well!

I picked up a chocolate and coconut bar from Coco Di Mama which was rather tasty.

I went to Ask with my Mum to try out their new vegan menu which I reviewed here.

I tried the Suma beans and sausages which were really nice but a bit pricey so I think I’ll just chop up sausages into beans in future!

I bought the Quorn fishless fingers which are a new vegan addition. I had had the vegetarian version in years gone by and these were just as good. I made me own tartar sauce too!

I made some tempeh from scratch and I wrote about the process here.

I made this gorgeous banana bread from Sweet Simple Vegan.

I tried the new Cauldron vegan burgers but I wasn’t particularly impressed so I don’t think I’ll get them again.

I had one of my favourites smashed chickpeas but this time on purple potatoes that I bought from Ocado. They taste the same as white potatoes but have more antioxidants and look pretty!

What have I been enjoying?

This month has been much more low key than March. We went down to visit my cousin and his wife who is pregnant so this was our last visit as the four of us. We just hung out and played cards and board games and was all pretty chilled. Over Easter I spent a lot of time at church, attending Thursday, Friday and to the vigil on Saturday. We spent the following weekend at my in-laws and this past weekend was chilled at home, I did some sewing on my handmade dress at my Mum’s and did a couple of runs.

What am I looking forward to next month?

I am going to Ruby and Pickles supperclub on Saturday with my Sister-in-law and to a kilo vintage sale on Sunday. 

I’ve just booked to see the play The Philanthropist with a friend next week, I haven’t seen a play in a while so I’m really looking forward to it especially as it’s directed by Simon Callow.

I am taking part in Bubble Rush a 5k run at the Olympic Park in Stratford where there are foam bubble stations pumping out bubbles at various stages of the run. This is in aid of four hospices in East London including the hospice my Dad passed away at in December 2015.

How was your April? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

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April Round Up

Review – Ask Italian 13th April

I was glad to see another chain restaurant has introduced a dedicated vegan menu and decided to try it out yesterday with Mama Plumes.

I had looked on the menu online and had already decided on the vegetable fettuccine which came with spinach, courgette, tomatoes and a black olive tapenade on top.


My Mum ordered to grain salad but I forgot to take a photo of hers!

I was pleased to see we had vegan stickers on our plates and on the menu it said to make sure you ask for the vegan version. I assume there are non-vegan versions of some of the dishes. I was disappointed that when the waitress put the dishes down she asked if I wanted cheese. I assume this is an automatic phrase as they always ask if you want cheese and black pepper but a bit of training wouldn’t have gone amiss. 

The dish was nice but nothing special, I would have a liked a couple of fancy ingredients like pine nuts or artichokes included. 

The pasta was very filling but I wasn’t missing out on dessert so I ordered the chocolate orange tart to take home.


The tart was really rich and I think there could be a bit more orange running through it as it is just on the top. If you have this at the restaurant it comes with raspberry sorbet which sounds really good! It’s nice they have a proper vegan dessert and you can’t go wrong with chocolate.

Overall I enjoyed my meal but I wasn’t blown away. I would go back to Ask if I was in a pinch but with more offerings all the time from restaurants I think they could up their game a bit.

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

Plumes x

Review – Ask Italian 13th April