The Vegan Thread

Hey @hoefla, no need to apologise! I like to think this thread isn't exclusive or closed to anyone.

Anyway, your input on things, All The Things, is always interesting and welcome. :)

Thanks MM, good shout. I've not thought of them. I guess I always think of them as a shop, not the eatery bit.

I commented on this on Fat Gay Vegan's page on this:

http://fatgayvegan.com/2015/03/05/get-it-straight/

He had a similar feeling to you. I don't think the article is too bad, it's just how the Evening Standard report just about everything--there's a new 'trend' born every minute. Phrases like 'the mung bean munchers have finally found their mojo' are just standard journalese to 'enliven' an article by means of bad style and no malice should be inferred. At the end of the day, the article, and its sister piece ...

http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/restaurants/londons-best-vegan-dishes-and-the-restaurants-where-you-can-eat-them-10090381.html?origin=internalSearch

... are positive, all things considered, which is what will have an effect, as the details of these transient lifestyle fluff pieces will soon be lost, like tears in the rain.

'Green is the new black: how veganism became sexy in London' - standard.co.uk/lifestyle/food­anddrink/green-is-the-new-black-how-vega­nism-became-sexy-in-london-10083206.html­

We had a lot of similar articles in Germany last year.
Hearing people say "yeah, that's trendy right now" when you tell them you're vegan is making you sigh when it's actually more than a trend for you.

Whatever.
I just tell people why I went vegan, not identifying myself with other people or trends or whatnot.

Actually I'd welcome anybody doing it just because it's "in" as well, because chances are the person stays vegan; at the least he or she will have the experience that it's actually possible, can taste awesome, is healthy, etc.

Besides - the animal doesn't care much why you don't treat it like shit & kill it dead
: ]

Also what hoefla said -
The faddy fashion diet thing is helping making it an easier option (supermarkets, cafes). Many factors are contributing.

I didn't like that article either, and yawned some times and thought "ah, fuck, this is such crap", but in the end it helps a lot more than it harms so yeah..

..oh, and by the way, happpy to hear that
Londoners are awaiting the arrival of Veganz, a German supermarket chain that stocks 6,000 vegan products. It’s due to open here at the end of the year.

: ]

http://fatgayvegan.com/2015/03/10/get-together/

This is tomorrow night. I can't go, but might be worth eyeballing as a future outing for LFGSS vegans? Gourmet food in a bike shop. £40 is about as much as I'm prepared to pay for a meal (and have done once), but that was simply excellent.

Or:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1590966704449624/

Free Vegan food in Covent Garden on Easter Sunday

Care for some vegan caviar with your flat-pack wardrobe?

Sfizy Veg Berlin

..apparently europe's first vegan pizza place!
Haven't been myself yet, but a friend of mine has his studio around the corner and says it's superb!

http://fatgayvegan.com/2015/01/19/best-vegan-pizza-in-europe/

^ ..from the comments of this -

When making a trip to Frankfurt we were delighted to find a branch of Veggie House there as well (and fairly close to the main train station). Frankfurt Veggie House does the famous (well it should be) UFO pizza which is a pizza, topped with another pizza.

: D

Even closer to where I'm from:

http://www.allgemeine-zeitung.de/lokales/mainz/nachrichten-mainz/tobias-franz-eroeffnet-im-ehemaligen-templer-das-vegane-lokal-gutenberger_15092030.htm

For those not capable of reading German (do such people exist?), a vegan restaurant is opening in Mainz, where I grew up. Definitely going soon. It's actually conceived as more of a wine bar, with only small dishes on the menu to go with the wine. What I like about it the most is that they'll be serving only vegan wines, and for the most part wines from the local area (a massive wine-growing area). Let's hope it's a success. Another restaurant that started a vegan menu two years ago (but was still an omnivorous restaurant) closed recently. I managed to eat there twice before they closed. It was good food, shame it had to close.

I realise I haven't exactly been posting/following the thread of late but it feels like ages since the last time I've been on a forum vegan outing.
Anyway, my wife (yes you did read that correctly, got married this Jan!) and I were thinking of checking out the vegan crepe place in Brixton this Sunday, if anyone would care to join us then please feel free, would be great to see some familiar faces and she has been pestering me to introduce her to you lovely lot.

Bloody hell, Sean's blog has been hacked and spammed:

http://fatgayvegan.com/

Completely missed this, Jamie. Congratulations on getting married! We should definitely do another vegan ride sometime soon. I actually just wanted to look at the Fat Gay Vegan blog to find the info again on some vegan food trucks and vegan snack places to try and piece a route together--the idea being that we eat just a little something at each stop. As you may have seen, I was foiled in that by various adverts for probably non-vegan pharmaceuticals. When I'm done with that, I'll post up a date and a route. Everybody feel free to suggest dates, of course.

Ah, good. I think he's already seen it and is deleting the spam.

.

Now it's barbeque season, almost, there's constantly a jug of this sweet sticky smokey BBQ sauce in my fridge, adapted from Post Punk Kitchen's. I find most of the bought ones so cloying and artificial tasting.

We serve it with grilled broccoli, roast squash, bean or mushroom burgers, seitan, rice, chips, you name it. Or mix it in to tofu/pepper/tofu type stirfry.

You need:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Fresh black pepper
Large pinch of salt (how I take most things, tbh)

Saute onion in oil, in small pan, until softened. Stir in garlic and cook for two-three mins more. Season. Take off heat. Leave aside.

Then, in a mixing jug, blend together all the following, until smooth:
1/2 US cup vegetable stock (or I often use Marigold)
2 tablespoons maple syrup (or Agave/brown rice/golden syrup)
2 tablespoons molasses/dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard (I use French or Dijon)
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke (I use Hot-Headz! - sold on Amazon & in WholeFoods)
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce (less/more depending on your preference)

Now mix in the cooked onion and garlic.
Blend again or leave as it is - I quite like the texture of the onion pieces.
Check seasoning.
Serve immediately, slather it over grilled or BBQed things, or chill for later.

I have an awesome Korean type marinade that's also featuring heavily in ALL THE DINNERS lately but I shall shut up for now.

I shall shut up for now.

No no, please keep talking!

This BBQ sauce sounds very good, will definitely try this!
Do you always make a large batch - any experience how long it stas well in the fridge?

I've been reluctant to post on here. Don't know if it makes people feel uneasy, given my fairly public struggles with eating disorders, but since most people are mature enough to realise these conditions aren't really about food or appetite anyway, and since recovery has to incorporate a healthy relationship with food, and being unashamed to eat, I feel OK to share.

I'm just wondering really if anyone has experienced South African cuisine? I'll shortly be going there for several months. All my meals will be prepared for me, I'll need to gain weight, and I've been told that although they "can manage to do a vegan diet...it is not an extensive menu, South Africa is a very meat-eating country!"

As there's nothing I can do to change these facts, I'm trying not to overthink it and hopefully, there will be plenty of different fruit, veg and grains to try but I guess I have to accept there'll be little in the way of dairy-free milk, yoghurt, cheezes, and tofu, seitan etc., let alone the array of blended nut/seed dips, marinades, curry pastes, dressings, etc. I have in my fridge on rotation. Am I right?!

Oh also - I was given this book for my birthday.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thug-Kitchen-Eat-Like-Give/dp/0751555517

Packed full of sweary, as the title suggests, but also great recipes, tips and the most convincing, least hippy vegan manifesto I've seen in a while. I mean, we all know you don't have to wear sandals, make your own soap, braid your hair, love quinoa, hate pizza, cake and chips, and avoid carbs - but I dare say many omnivores and veggies would give veganism a go if they had a flick through this. It's actually very funny too. I was about to say it's a bit like Jamie Oliver with expletives, but it's much better than that.

"Thug" vegan cookbooks, huh?
Nice.
Just had a look on their tumblr, and while I'll admit all the swearing sounds pretty pretentious, some recipes look very good.
Thanks for the tip!

Good luck in Africa!
Why will everything be prepared for you? Won't it be possible to shop / cook?

Loving the Thug.. been a fan for a while - I think with the book and them getting all huge has put me off a bit (quote from Jamie Oliver on the back of the book) but they still churn out some good stuff..

Beer and Bean Chilli

Have fun in SA! only thing I know about their cusicine is bunny chow - Which is fucking amazing.

Hi Oliver, I'm @clockwork_killa's wife and I love that idea! There are so many vegan trucks around where we live (Shoreditch)- we went to this fully vegan Italian truck yesterday and it was pretty good. Also, Essential Vegan has a truck nearby too. Think burgers and chips and cake. I have not been to Vegbar in Brixton yet, apparently they do hotdogs from scratch (ikr?!!) and nachos etc. Worth a visit I think. Let us know if any of you are up for doing a vegan ride soon :)

Do vegan rides happen on the forum? Id be up for that!

Apparently they used to but we just need to revive them now :)