supperclub

Ruby and Pickles 1st Birthday

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On Saturday I attended Ruby and Pickles 1st Birthday Supperclub with my Sister-in-law. I first attended one of their supperclubs last June which I wrote about here.

Ruby and Pickles have had supperclubs all over London, for their birthday celebration they had chosen to host at Blank 100 in Dalston which was great for us East London vegans!

We had a little trouble finding the industrial style unit and could have done with a board outside or a balloon! The space was gorgeous inside and there were a few benches to sit on. 

We started with a rajma masala (kidney beam curry) taco with pickled cabbage and cashew cream. This was mildly spiced and really tasty. Everything was homemade including the tacos themselves and the cream. This definitely added to the experience. I had read about this family recipe on Sareta’s blog and I’d definitely like to recreate this at home.

Our next dish was biryani another family recipe, this time from Jasel’s family. This was again nicely spiced for my mild palette. We had this with carrot and chilli pickle (which was too hot for me!) and a raita with pomegranate seeds. There was a vegetarian raita and a vegan raita but I’m not sure if any vegetarian would object to a vegan version and I would of thought it would have made sense to make just one.

For dessert we had chocolate and chilli truffles which were coated in crushed pistachios. This were very decadent and fudgey and little bit of heat at the end was nice. 


We were also lucky enough to receive a goody bag which included this cute ceramic and mango burfi. I couldn’t resist eating the burfi straight away and it delicious.

As always the hosts were very attentive, I couldn’t believe Jasel remembered that it had been my Mum’s birthday when we had been a year previously. 

I think this meal was great value for money at £12.50 and I look forward to seeing what Ruby and Pickles have in store for the future and recommend you try it out!

Plumes x

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Ruby and Pickles 1st Birthday

Review – Vegan Peasant Supperclub

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On Thursday my Husband and I attended Vegan Peasant Catering supperclub at The Grand Howl vegetarian cafe in Hackney.

The cafe’s windows were steamed up and they had their shutter half down so we walked past it before we realised that was the place.

When we arrived we were offered a glass of Prosecco which went down very well and soon the canapés were coming out.

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The aubergine was definitely my favourite which wasn’t a surprise and I am a huge fan of ghanoush. I hate grapefruit with a passion but the it was only a sliver and added a nice citrus burst which cut through the rich cream cheese. The ricotta was pleasant but I don’t remember tasting any fennel.

The dishes were placed on the counter and it felt like a bun fight to get in a grab one, not always being successful and having to wait for the next tray.

Next to come out were the bowls.

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The gnocchi was divine with gorgeous tomatoes and mushrooms. I had big leaves of basil which just added to the gorgeousness.

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The other bowl was my fave dish of the evening. Roasted veg with a sinus clearing horseradish sauce, what’s not to like!

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The desserts were bite size like the canapés and I think I could have done with a bowl size portion! The buttery biscuit with cream and fruit was lovely although I think the cream could have had a bit more flavour. The fudgey brownie squares were rich and intense.

This event was like a reception I would say, in that it was standing. This was the aspect of the evening that I found least enjoyable. We were there about 2 and a half hours and my Husband and I ended up leaning against the wall. It was also very warm and I had to step outside for a bit to cool down.

The meal was good value for money at £25 including the Prosecco and I left feeling satisfied without overly full.

We also got chatting to another who works close to me so we’re going explore our working area for vegan lunch options.

Vegan Peasant said they are starting monthly events with the next one at the end of March. I think this standing style isn’t for me and I would only go to a sit down event.

Have you been to a Vegan Peasant event? What did you think? Let me know in the comments.

Plumes x

Review – Vegan Peasant Supperclub

Round up of the week’s food 160911

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I’ve still been feeling under the weather this week. I’ve been very tired and had anxiety issues so I am going to see my doctor.

My Husband and I have been discussing how we can make small changes that will help our mental health. I think we are ok at planning our main meals but we definitely snack too much. I also buy the majority of my lunches out at work and I don’t have a regular breakfast routine. So hopefully we can save some money as well improving our health.

I swim most weeks and walk almost everywhere. I did do the Couch 2 5k a few months ago but felt it hard going in the heat of the summer and have let it slide so I hope to pick it up again as we get into autumn. I did feel it helped with my mental health and general wellbeing and I need to keep it up.

On Monday we started with a vegetable stir fry. I like this at the beginning of the week to get a good injection of veg.

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On Tuesday I went to a supper club hosted at Black Cat Cafe by vegan clothing brand Ethics and Antics with my Sister-in-law. I did feel really tired on Tuesday and could have easily gone home to my bed but we had prepaid and I was glad I went. We paid £35 each for a three course surprise menu with a goody bag.

The goody bag was laid out on our place settings when we came in and I was impressed by what we were given, including two full size drinks, two snack bars, crisps, chocolate, superfood powders and some discount vouchers.

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For starter we had a raw pad thai. This was really fresh and the peanut sauce was great.

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For main we had a sweet potato lentil dhal with rice, kale, roasted chickpeas and half an avocado. The curry was quite mild but tasty and filling. I wasn’t quite sure what the avocado added to the dish and thought it could have presented better.

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For dessert we were served a chia pudding. This was nice and light after the curry although I usually see chia pudding as a breakfast rather that an dessert!

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I did enjoy the food but if I had seen the menu before I don’t think it’s something I would have left at. I do like a supper club and I think it’s a great way to try new food.

On Wednesday I had a Linda McCartney quarter pounder with sweet potato fries and salad. I didn’t really have much appetite so hadn’t eaten much in the day but I did enjoy this.

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On Thursday we had a simple pasta dish with aubergine pesto and veg.

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We were cat sitting on Saturday so on Friday we decided to get a takeaway so we take the leftovers and wouldn’t have to cook while we were there. I had vegetable noodles and sea spice beancurd (my favourite!) Unfortunately it took nearly an hour and a half to get to us so I had well and truly stuck in before I thought to take a photo!

I’m looking forward to making soups and stews in the autumn and winter and feeling really nourished by vegetables.

Hope you have a good week.

Plumes x

Round up of the week’s food 160911

Review – Ruby and Pickles Supperclub

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I first became aware of Sareta of Sareta’s Kitchen when I was searching for a vegan haggis recipe (Sareta’s is fabulous click here to try it for yourself!) Since then we have been commenting on each other’s blogs and conversing on twitter, so I was really excited when I found out she was going to be hosting a monthly supper club with her friend Jasel under the name “Ruby and Pickles”.

Their first supper club was on my Mum’s birthday so we weren’t able to attend, but as soon as I saw their second date I got Mum to pencil it in to her diary!

We walked to The Joker near Angel from Liverpool Street and got a drink at the bar before heading upstairs.

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We were seated on a table with four other guests near the window and we were all looking forward to the meal.

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We started off with Indian style arancini balls, marinated olives, Turkish pide bread and a gorgeous tomato and tamarind chutney which was a recipe of Jasel’s Father. We all really enjoyed the starters but were a bit wary of filling up on bread before the main course! We were served a very refreshing lemon and mint drink with went well with the spice of the starter.

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For mains we had a ratatouille with various salads, an aubergine raita (I had my own dairy free version), couscous and as the name suggests we had a pickle, this month it was lemon. Again everything was fabulous, I particularly liked the garlicky potato salad and the raita. I’m not a huge watermelon fan, but the salad with olives, onions and mint was really refreshing.

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For pudding I was served minted pineapple with a dairy free yogurt infused with cardamon. This was lovely and light at the end of a big meal! The non-vegan option was an Eastern mango Eton mess and my Mum says it was absolutely delicious!

We felt well and truly spoiled! All the food was great and I loved how many fruits and vegetables were included in the dishes. All this for the bargain price of £22.50!

If you get the chance to attend one of Ruby and Pickles’ supper clubs I’d really recommend you go. You can follow them on Twitter, Facebook or contact them via rubyandpickles@gmail.com

Plumes x

Review – Ruby and Pickles Supperclub

Review – Afternoon Tea by The Vegan Ronin

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On Sunday I went for afternoon tea prepared by Jhenn, The Vegan Ronin. If you haven’t seen my review of her Japanese Supper Club you should check it out. When I saw the list of her upcoming events I knew I wanted to try out her afternoon tea.

I was supposed to be going with my Mum but unfortunately she had come down with a heavy cold. The good thing about supper clubs is that they are social events so it doesn’t matter if you go alone as you will be happily chatting aware to the other guests in no time!

To start we had a cashew nut ball with homemade kale and chili crackers. I really enjoyed the nut cheese and although I enjoyed the crackers as well, they were a little bit too spicy for me. I enjoy the taste of chili but unfortunately my body doesn’t handle it too well!

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Next course was the sandwiches. We were treated to queso blanco and watercress, Avocado creme with cucumber and spring onion slaw, Seitan with tarragon mustard and baby kale and Coronation mushroom with mango chutney. The queso blanco  (white cheese) was soft and creamy with a delicate flavour and went well with the watercress. I enjoyed the seitan and I am a massive mustard fan but like the chili in the crackers this was a bit strong for me. My favourite was the coronation  mushroom, the sauce was really tasty and creamy and went well with the mango chutney. I also enjoyed the different breads the sandwiches were served on.

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Next up we had the traditional scones with jam and cream. The scones were still warm from the oven and tasted lovely with the homemade strawberry jam and cream. They were so good I just had to have two although at this point I was starting to feel a bit full!

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Our final course was dessert. We had a mango crumble, chocolate torte with a caramel sauce and meringue nests with blueberries and pomegranate. The mango crumble was nicely spiced and the fruit was lovely and sweet. The chocolate torte was really rich and quite bitter but this went well with the sweet caramel sauce. It was my first time trying aquafaba meringues and they didn’t disappoint. They were crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle.

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I really enjoyed all the food, perhaps a little too much as I felt I would need rolling out of there by the end!

My advice would be to serve the sandwiches as fingers so you get to try all the different flavours of the filling without too much of the very filling bread. Also the desserts could have been smaller portions, although I didn’t complain about my doggy bag of chocolate torte and extra meringues!

I would really recommend attending a supper club if you get the chance to go to one and I’m already looking forward to the next time I get to sample some great food.

Plumes x

Review – Afternoon Tea by The Vegan Ronin

Review – Japanese Dinner by The Vegan Ronin

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Last night my Sister-in-law and I attended a Japanese supper club hosted by Jhenn AKA The Vegan Ronin. I had heard about the night on the blog of a mutual friend Fat Gay Vegan and was aware of the work Jhenn had done when she was head chef at Veg Bar in Brixton which my Sister-in-law and I had visited in the Summer. We booked the dinner through Social Belly, a new site linking diners with hosts in London and at £24 it was great value for money.

Having never been to a supper club before we weren’t quite sure what to expect. Jhenn and her husband Ed were both very welcoming and told us lots of stories about their time living in Japan. There were 3 other guests, 2 of which I was aware of online as we followed eachother on instagram. It was great putting names to faces and loving getting to know new interesting people.

For our first course Jhenn had made us a selection of soya dishes. This included a soya cake, a salad and some spongy tofu that had been frozen and then defrosted to change its texture. We also had some warm fresh soya milk which was really tasty and creamy.

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Next up we had a potato salad with soya beans, braised daikon, bamboo and spinach, squash with adzuki beans, millet “eel” wrapped in nori and stuffed dumplings. Everything was so delicate and beautifully presented.

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Following that we had a dish made by Ed known as Ed’s balls! In Japan it is common to get battered octopus as a snack, so this is the vegan version. A cube of konjac is battered and deep fried and topped with a brown sauce similar to HP/Worcestershire sauce, Japanese mayonnaise and nori flakes. This was a real treat and very different from the other dishes we had tried.

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To end the meal we had miso soup, rice and sweet potato and pickles. This reminded me of the traditional breakfast I had had in Japan and is designed to fill you up if you are still hungry. I definitely wasn’t so I had a half portion of rice!

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Lastly we were treated to some Japanese sweets. We had coffee jelly made with agar served with soya cream. Two rice balls one of which was covered in sweet adzuki beans and a sesame seed crisp.

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All the food was amazing and I’m so glad we tried it out. Jhenn helpfully wrote up out menu so we could remember what we had.

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If you’ve never been to a supper club before its something I’d really recommend you do. You get great food and get to meet other people in a relaxed environment. I can’t wait to book out next one!

Plumes x

 

 

 

 

Review – Japanese Dinner by The Vegan Ronin