The Vegan Thread

We just ended up staying north and going to Soho Mildred’s. Excellent as usual, the road is closed, so they are using it as their terrace.

adventures in cakes this week. The better half made fig tart and it was great thet pastry was a little heavy but she used spelt flour as we ran out of white so that may be why.
recipe here highly recommended

https://www.lazycatkitchen.com/vegan-fig-frangipane-tart/

I dunno about banging but my normal recipe involves steeping some dried shiitake mushrooms in boiling water, leaving them to soak overnight. You use the water as stock, along with some miso paste. Add loads of garlic, ginger, chilli, lemongrass and spring onion to that juice and you're on to a winner.

i know Mildred's never fails, but i was wowed by their new bahn mi burger. it almost made up for them removing the mushroom and ale pie off the menu

Had dinner at Club Mexicana, an all vegan Mexican place off Regents Street last night. I think they have another restaurant in Covent Garden and used to have a kitchen in a pub elsewhere. On Tuesday they do all you can eat (within an hour) tacos. We tried all of them and they were all pretty good, particularly the tofish ones. I would recommend them at all you can eat for £15 (I managed about 8 after a long ride earlier in the day and not much to eat otherwise) but would be a bit steep at £4 a pop.
I forgot how much I like Mexican food so if anyone has suggestions for other Mexican places with a decent vegan menu that'd be great!

their new bahn mi burger

That's what I had, it was definitely the best burger they've ever had on the menu. Had the arancini to start, they were decent.

Anyway, it's the time of year to start thinking about some good walking shoes for the winter - any recommendations? Have had a couple of pairs of Merrell Moab 2 in the past, but the most recent pair fell apart pretty quickly, so not sure if their quality control is what it used to be.

and used to have a kitchen in a pub elsewhere

It was the Spread Eagle which, I was disappointed to find out, they are no longer at. Was going to go a couple of weeks ago, but the current menu looks a bit meh (for my tastes). Hopefully they mix it up soon.

And I second, really tasty vegan Mexican.

I’m wondering about these - https://finisterre.com/collections/footwear

Know nothing about them (the shoes) really, but I like what Finisterre do.

Anyone made vegan rice pudding? What milk should I go for?

Rice milk. Guaranteed to go with rice.

Or more seriously, no I haven't but I'd imagine something thicker/creamier with a neutral flavour like oat would be my go to!

Oat, or coconut milk would be my choice. The tins of coconut milk that more typically get used for curries (at least in our house), are great for rice pudding.

Coconut milk from the can is a great shout actually! Creamy af.

Cool. Will report back.

Pretty sure we used coconut milk on a Thai cookery course for an authentic rice pudding-y Thai dessert. Obviously coconut isn't neutral on the flavour front but goes really well with rice.

It's been all potatoes here, what with our first ever allotment harvest of five different varieties proving very successful. (And all coming at once!) Following mashed (in vegan shepherd's pie), roast, potato salad, jackets, and Bombay aloo, I had my first go at gnocchi this evening. Very nice, but a right old faff and sticky as hell to work with. I think I need to let the potato cool and dry off a bit more before mixing with the flour. Served with a completely made-up concoction including cashews, mushrooms, onion, and carrot tops, (Usual obligatory food photo withheld, on account of it tasting a lot better than it looked!)

I made gnocchi once, was amazing but such a mess to do.

Gnocchi with sage and garlic oil 😋😋😋

According to Jay Rayner, Vanilla Black is gone for good. That was a really good option for a more upmarket night out. It had got a lot less pretentious over the years. Or maybe I'd got more pretentious, who can tell?

Off having a look at those I bought the plain black palladiums (non finisterre collab). Bit cheaper and was on the lookout for water proof /resistant boots for winter cycling. Hope they’re dece

Let us know what you think. I’m still deciding!

I'm cutting out gluten for a bit (I won't disgust and appall you all with the reason why). Has anyone got any top tips for easy GF meals? I eat a lot of stir fries with rice and things like that so dinner is probably less of an issue, more thinking about non boring/repetitive breakfasts and lunches! I like porridge/overnight oats as much as the next guy but not 7 days a week.

lunches

(Cornmeal) wraps / tortillas come to mind.

Salads.

Breakfast-wise how about a couple of reds and a mug of coffee?

I got a takeaway from a place called Global Fusion Vegan Creole last night. It's on all the major food delivery apps.

It arrived late and I don't think the order was correct and not everything arrived that was supposed to but honestly I didn't care, it was so so so good. I got the gumbo platter. It was really some of the nicest food I have eaten in a while.

Apparently they have been doing food stalls/farmers market type things for around 30 years. I'm not sure if they have an actual physical restaurant but I will be going to check for sure. Lots of things on the menu I will be trying out over the next few weeks.

Hadn't even thought of non wheaty wraps, good idea!