Vegan chat thread

[Springswallow]

Just wondering if anyone is interested in a vegan chat thread , inspired by a reply I gave on another vegan thread ,I don't know any vegans to just chat to.
We are a vegan family,but other than that ,I don't know any vegans,I'm not in any vegan groups.
It's actually a big part of my life ,that I don't really get to talk about at all.
Be nice to chat to any other vegans, especially at night when I often can't sleep

Morning
I have never tried baking tofu in oven so thanks to two above posts for mentioning it. Might try it in air fryer too
Nor did I know there was a tofoo book. Ill b getting that!
I'm making a simple lentil Sheperless pie later for tonight

I think one of the issues that meat eaters who decide to give up meat find is they miss the texture of meat, so the baked tofu is an excellent way to get used to not eating meat.

We all need to have food that requires a good chew to keep your jaw muscles strong, stimulate bone density and hold teeth firmly in place.

i don’t like tofu unless it’s baked or fried. Tried scrambling it but I just don’t enjoy the texture. I’m going to try some of the recipes below, I make something similar but good to vary the sauce.

Ah fab, report back!

It's gorgeous food if to your taste. Quite a small place, more like a nice cafe than a restaurant inside but the service is fabulous. Corkage fee so take your own wine if you want alcohol (unlicensed). If I can ever persuade someone to come with me (rare) we always get one of the platters.

The reason I like 'spoons is there's choice! Not just one vegan meal or 'this can be made vegan if you don't have this but we'll charge you the same'.

I can cope with sticky carpets, makes me feel at home

@Snowyowl99 I am envious of your foxes! I would love that. I think the dog would scare them off though.

We do get them around here, I am not rural but lucky enough to be ensconced in-between fields with a lovely country park a 5 min walk away.
I find birds so random,in that my parents who live practically next door have lots of little birds, whereas I get mostly pigeons, crows and magpies. Not complaining of course, but why?

I have tried to attract lots of insects and biodiversity in my relatively small space. Next spring will be more telling as to whether it has worked.

I saw a small mammal while locking up last night, at first I thought it was a small rat, but it had a round face and found ears and seemed a bit lighter in colour.

I had hornets in my bird box (they were fascinating) and an ant colony in my conservatory.

Also if you're interested in ethical gardening, read 'The Garden Jungle' by Dave Goulson. I read it when it first came out and it has stuck with me!

I am making a spinach salad with roasted sunflower seeds, nooch, black olives, tofu and a sprinkle of grated 'cheese' today. And leftover seitan dipped in hummus. Will probably live off similar for a couple of days as I have several salad bags that need using up!

@RampantIvy I'm trying that tofu tonight now- thanks or posting it!

I have to say I do love an air fryer jacket potato and beans and marmite with some vegan Lurpak.

God, I didnt even know there was vegan lurpak.....

I'm heading for the shops later!!!!

Do you get the Grubby meal kits or the ready meals?

@Snowyowl99 I chose ready meals as I have quite a lot of ingredients and tend to just find a recipe whereas sometimes I’m running late and just need food so can’t wait to cook.

@NoHangoversTodayphoto of Lurpak pending

Is the lurpak nice? I used to love the dairy version 😢

It’s brilliant. I don’t buy anything else now

I find it ok only.
Naturli vegan block is much better imo.
They do a spread too but I haven't tried that.

Great thanks

Ok well my Grubby excitement has gone out the window. DPD meant to deliver by 5.30 and the tracking app says it was refused as damaged! Obviously not, I’ve been in near the door and no activity on the ring doorbell either. No photo - it’s just blank when you enlarge it. I’ve emailed Grubby so will see what they say. DPD utterly useless when I rang.

If anyone is interested in a nice vegan burger I can recommend the co op Incredible burgers. I realise these may not be to everyone's tastes and UPF but they are very nice and don't have that ghastly smokey hot dog taste. They keep their shape so probably okay for barbecue if you have them. Nice in a roll with salad and sauce. I usually have vegetable or spicy beans burgers but they make a nice change

DPD say the driver was 20km from my address when the refusal was logged 🧐

Oh I feel your pain! Hope it gets sorted soon

Have to say Grubby have sorted it asap and are resending. So I can’t fault customer service.

Thats really goo to hear @TofuTuesday .

I'm going simple tonight - spagetti and soy meatballs for the DCs. I am going to blend cooked red lentils through the sauce as well Ds1 in particular has a dislike for anything cooked and green so I grate the skin off courgette and then grate the white bits in also and he eats that quite happily. Usually this works though. Needs must sometimes.

For us I am thinking spinach lasagne and I will use crumbled tofu instead of ricotta. Not tried that myself before so an experiment.

Wow ..your all such amazing cooks clearly..I'm in awe 😍
Everything sounds yummy
I'm just not in the frame of mind to be trying new foods on them at the moment
And I can't face the inevitable waste .
DC 1 to 4 all have current issues needing support with ,so it's just the right time for new recipes..it will be a miracle if I can keep every one fed and the house in a reasonable state .
Although I'm going to attempt vegan rice crispy squares ..after I've done some cleaning..if I manage to make so e edible ones it will lift the mood of the house

We are .... looking to book to go to the vegan camp out next year ..but not actually camp ,book an air b and b near by ..just waiting for DC number 1 to check her work hours and DC number 2 to decide if he's coming or staying home .so that's definitely something to look forward to

Great idea for a thread, I don’t talk about it much but people are interested and ask what I eat etc and why I’m vegan. I tend to keep it high level but actually I’m desperate to be passionate and send them links etc but I don’t 😏 I’m even worried about sharing petitions on social media, I’m not sure why it’s crazy what we’ve accepted and take as normal and why not doing it is the weird thing!

Anyway, primarily came on to share a recipe for rice pudding! This is what I have missed the most and not been able to nail it but this works every time and I could eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner!!
https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/vegan-rice-pudding-recipe

Well, i have already changed my mind @Springswallow !!

I decided I couldn't cope with the idea of learning a new recipe today.

So tonight I am cooking a potato, mushroom, courgette and sweetcorn dauphinois using an oat milk bechemel instead.

Dcs will still have the vegan meatball pasta.

I did blend a can of cannellini beans (still with can juice) with a tablespoon of tahini, a heavy dollop of garlic paste out of a tube, salt, pepper and lemon juice as a 'hummus'. I am sick of chickpea hummus, tbh (and don't like cumin) so thought I'd try somethig new. Its too sloppy though so DH is going to use it as a salad dressing rather than a dip. It;s not bad!! (Though it's very garlic heavy).

I truly believe in the mantra 'everyone fed... no-body's dead' when it comes to parenting. You have to do what you need to do sometimes - especially when real life makes life in general just hard.

DS1 has autism and adhd and sensory issues around food. So his diet is terrile often. He had a good three or 4 days last week where not a single vegetable crossed his lips- jammy dodgers for breakfast and either sausage and chips or Mcdonalds for the other meals. It stresses me out enormously, I'm not going to lie. But sometimes I just need to know he has eaten.