cheese – Vegans.UK

Sainsbury’s Vegan Cheese

March 16, 2017 by Tofu Temptress 2 Comments

The full range (minus the pre-grated cheddar)

Everyone had a bit of a laugh some time ago when vegans got all excited about Sainsbury’s stocking vegan cheese. A now infamous post on Facebook went viral when a cheese lover suggested in the strongest terms that vegans should not call it cheese, but ‘Gary or something’. Henceforth, Sainsbury’s vegan cheese was casually and affectionately known in vegan circles as ‘Gary.’

Made by Bute Island Foods (who make ‘Sheese’) from coconut milk, I can highly recommend them all. There are a few different varieties in Sainsbury’s, something for most occasions.

My favourite's the caramilsed onion flavour... — My favourite’s the caramilsed onion flavour…

There’s a cheddar style, which comes as a block, or as a bag of pre-grated cheese, which I’ve found brilliant on pizzas. It melts really well and the block is good for toasties.

The cheddar also comes in a block of caramelised onion flavour, which is my favourite of the solid cheeses. It’s crumbly to slice, but goes well in toasties too, or in a salad sandwich.

...it can be a bit crumbly when sliced though. — …it can be a bit crumbly when sliced though.

The other two solid cheeses are a Wensleydale-stye one with cranberries which is lovely on crackers. It’s quite creamy tasting too, so perhaps a good one for converting the cheese lover in your life.

The last solid cheese is the Greek-style, which is great in a bowl of salad or anywhere else you’d normally use Feta.

My favourite soft cheese is the garlic and herb flavour

There are also two cream cheeses, original and garlic and herb flavour. I love both, but I must admit that for me, the garlic and herb one has the edge on bagels. There’s nothing like a freshly toasted bagel smothered in this stuff – just heaven.

So there you have it. I must admit to being a bit disappointed in vegan cheese when I first went vegan, but it just shows you what progress can be made in just a few years. I’d happily give all these cheeses to non-vegan friends, especially the Wensleydale and cream cheeses. Innovation in this area is improving all the time, so expect to see more varieties hit the mainstream shops soon. This particular range exceeded Sainsbury’s projected sales figures by three hundred percent, so even if profit is the only driver, things are looking good for vegan cheese.

Sainsbury’s Deliciously Free From Vegetable Lasagne

November 18, 2016 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t like lasagne. As a vegan though, unless you go to some super cool vegan Italian restaurant or have the time and patience to make one for yourself, lasagne can be a bit thin on the ground. There are recipes out there, some good ones too, but the list of ingredients tends to be long and the time required to prepare also tends to be, well, long. There are some lovely vegan cheese sauces that can be used or you can make your own. Most traditional lasagne recipes can be easily veganised, using soy mince as a substitute for beef, or perhaps lentils or maybe even veggies. But again we come down to the time element. It’s all very well if you have ages to lovingly assemble a homemade Italian classic, but if you don’t, Sainsbury’s have come up with the answer.

My Mum is always asking what she can have in the fridge or freezer that’s just ready to go if I come over and decide to stay for dinner. Sainsbury’s new vegan lasagne has been added to the list of possibilities that includes vegan sausages, pasta and dairy free pesto amongst other things. The lasagne is in the fridge section of the supermarket and it looks just like a normal ready meal-style lasagne, except of course, it’s cruelty free.

I must admit to being quite thrilled when I saw it in my local Sainsbury’s. It just seems to be one of the many little signs I’ve noticed recently that veganism is becoming more mainstream. I normally have it with a few vegetables on the side and it makes for a satisfying meal.

Each pack is one portion and it only takes 35 minutes to cook in the oven and you can also do it in the microwave. Priced at £3 it’s much the same as any other ready meal and it tastes really nice. It’s a vegetable lasagne, so no mince or anything, but the pasta’s good, the flavour’s good and it’s super easy to make. You have to peel the film off part way though cooking and it comes off easily, like a dream! There’s many a ready meal where the film is so stubborn I’ve been hacking away at it with a knife and still end up with some in my dinner. No such problems here. It’s the little things that please me you know…

Unusual Vegan Ingredients – Nutritional Yeast

November 4, 2016 by Tofu Temptress 1 Comment

Many people see going vegan as giving up certain foods. While that may be strictly true in that animal products of any kind are most definitely off the table, other foods sneak their way into your diet and you’re all the richer for it. What do I mean? Well, there are many foods I eat now that I wouldn’t have eaten before I became vegan. The only reason for this was that I simply didn’t think about eating creatively. Even as a vegetarian, which I’ve been for most of my life, I didn’t consider the wide spectrum of food available to me. It’s funny, even going veggie aged twelve, people asked me (as indeed they do now) ‘What do you eat?’ as though all they do all day is stuff meat into their faces. Come to think of it, maybe that’s not so far fetched…Anyway, what I’m saying is that far from sacrificing flavour for your principles or health, as a vegan you tend to discover a whole new range of tastes that more than make up for any you’ve had to give up.

If you’ve even flicked through a vegan cookbook you may have thought to yourself, what on earth do these people use as ingredients – weirdos. Well, although I’m discovering new food all the time, I’d like to give you a rundown of some unusual vegan ingredients that you may not have heard of, as well as more familiar ones that we vegans use in non-traditional ways.

I’m going to kick off with Nutritional Yeast, or nooch for short. It’s a savoury, almost cheesy tasting non-active yeast that comes in the form of flakes and you can buy it at your local health food store or online. You can use it for all sorts of things, but I like to sprinkle it onto a pasta dish for some extra B12 (some nooch is fortified with it) or spin it into a homemade salad dressing to round out the flavour. There are various recipes for blending nooch with flour, water, mustard and cashews or suchlike to make cheese-style sauces.

This is one of the best from vegan chef Isa Chandra Moscowitz. I also love the one from her cookery book Appetite for Reduction, although she has several others on her website, check them out. I also love to stir nutritional yeast into a risotto at the end instead of parmesan (although vegan parmesan is coming on in leaps and bounds.) See my recipe here. So really, it’s a flexible ingredient that’s great when you’re after that cheesy taste. A little goes a long way, so my advice is to buy yourself a tub and search around for some fun recipes or simply experiment yourself.

Scottish Vegan Festival 2016

October 17, 2016 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

Cupcakes from Pitxu's — Cupcakes from Pitxu’s

When you go to a vegan fair, take my advice, arrive hungry. I mean skip breakfast and get down there with a proper appetite. If you don’t, you may regret it. There’s so much more to a vegan fair besides food of course (what do you mean, ‘is there?’) but there’s nothing quite as frustrating as that feeling of being too full to try that pie, that donut, that sizzling burger. So, do yourself a favour and make sure you at least get a decent run at it.

There's even vegan steak... — There’s even vegan steak…

As I entered the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh on a sunny October day, it was a great prospect to look at all the stalls and know that every single one of them was not only vegan friendly, but TOTALLY vegan. Oh, bliss. I mean, in this non-vegan world it’s a fabulous novelty.

...and vegan steak sandwiches. — …and vegan steak sandwiches.

I’ve done reviews of vegan fairs before, so if you’ve read them you’ll roughly know the drill. There are loads of stalls – from charities, to cupcakes, from beauty products to t-shirts and jewellery. This particular fair was in aid of Farplace Animal Rescue, a no-kill shelter located in County Durham who campaign for the rights of animals. I bought one of their anti-badger cull t-shirts and spoke to some of their volunteers. They’re running a campaign at the moment to try and raise some money, see here for details. They also re-home animals, from rabbits to pigs!

Everything was in aid of Farplace Animal Rescue

One of the first stalls I stopped at was a charity called Pounds for Poundies who raise money in order to help rescue charities save more dogs from an uncertain future in the pound. Another t-shirt was purchased and they told me about their current campaign which aims to get people to consider re-homing a staffie, as there are so many in pounds at the moment.

Ponds for poundies — Pounds for poundies

I was pleased to finally meet the faces behind Humblestuff, the makers of environmentally friendly, vegan cleaning products. The fizzing sticks that are used to clean toilet bowls can also be used as a bath bomb! I’m pretty sure it’s the only loo cleaner that can make that claim!

I’m constantly amazed by the wonderful quality of modern vegan cheese. Both Tyne Chease and Nutcrafter Creamery were there, with some fabulous examples. They had firm cheeses, cream cheeses and even vegan butter. Gone are the days when an excuse not to go vegan was ‘I’d miss cheese’ thanks to companies like these. Bute Island Foods was also doing tastings and their range just keeps expanding. They’re the ones responsible for Sainsbury’s new hit vegan cheese (or ‘Gary’ as it’s been christened by the internet…) It does me good to see products like this filtering through to the mainstream.

There were some spectacular sauces and chutneys on display too. My particular favourites were The Spice Witch (the mango and chilli chutney I bought was as good as any I’ve had in an Indian restaurant, if not better) and MaRobert’s Taste of Tanzania (I only got the medium spiced sauce, as I’m obviously too wimpy for hot or extra hot. It was delicious though.)

All this is to say nothing of the cake! I was so encouraged to see many local bakers there with stands. The interest in vegan cakes is always high and bakers have nothing to lose by catering for us. Believe me, I don’t know any non-vegans that would turn their noses up at these delectable offerings.

I could go on and on, but let’s just say I spent most of the day here and was not even slightly bored. It was a lot busier than many expected it to be and I’m so glad it was a success. As more and more people turn to veganism, I can only see these events getting bigger and better, and that is a very happy thought.

Bread Street Brasserie, Edinburgh

May 2, 2015 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

I’d dined at the Bread Street Brasserie before on a weeknight, as they always have vegan options on their regular menu, but tonight was busier as it was their monthly vegan evening. The high ceilings and beautiful light fittings made for a lovely ambiance.

The restaurant is attached to the Hilton hotel and very centrally located. We met friends there who are new to Edinburgh and, although not vegan themselves, were keen to try out the special menu. Between us we sampled almost everything on offer.

The waitress kindly pointed out the vegan wines available, all from Fair Horizon vineyard in the Western Cape. Although there was a Sauvignon Blanc, a Pinot Rose and a Cab- Petit Verdot to choose from, I went with a soft drink as I was driving and the blokes sampled a very pleasant bottle of vegan lager called Edinburgh Gold. (It’s worth noting that all their bottled products are vegan friendly, but their cask ones are not, using as they do the dreaded isinglass.)

We were served bread with vegan butter and as soon as one of our friends asserted that she was gluten free, some gf bread was produced with a flourish. The entire menu on this particular evening was gluten free, so there was a brilliant range of options not only for vegans and the lactose intolerant, but for celiacs too.

Lightly charred asparagus spears with maple tahini dressing

To start I had the lightly charred asparagus spears and, although somewhat minimalist, it was a tasty appetiser with a lovely sesame dressing. My fellow diners were equally impressed with both the nettle and spinach soup (which we nicknamed ‘spiky soup’) and the watercress, orange and avocado salad.

The soup was a brave choice for one who had only been stung by nettles while out running and never eaten the things. It was a pleasant surprise to find out they were not just for assaulting one’s knees when out wearing shorts, but could be harvested to be made into something pretty yummy.

Our friends both opted for the red lentil and spring vegetable-stuffed roast peppers for their main, while my other half chose the leek and chestnut mushroom pie. I picked the steamed cauliflower with cashew ‘cheese’ sauce as, not only do I think the cauliflower is a much maligned vegetable and demand needs to be encouraged, but I’m a sucker for cheese fakery. I wasn’t disappointed.

Cries of ‘yum’ emanated from our table, not least from me. The portions were delicate, but the taste was fantastic. Each plate of food was beautifully presented and at £17.50 for three courses, I’d say it was a bargain.

The dreadful news came as we were about to order our desserts. They had run out of chocolate nut lava cake. What to do? It had been so popular that we were just too late to sample any. Still, with two other options, all seemed well. My hubby went for the tangy rhubarb sorbet.

I don’t know about you, but when I imagine sorbet, I think of a somewhat icy, bitter experience unless you’re somewhere that specialises in desserts, and even then it often has to be loaded with fruit to save it from being really boring. Well, the Bread Street Brasserie just tore up the rule book. It was the creamy, sweet, flavourful dessert that vegans so often have to miss out on, and the portion was generous.

Myself and the others decided to be even more adventurous and try the quinoa and banana pudding. I’ll be honest, I’d never have though to put quinoa in a pudding and I was somewhat apprehensive. But do you know what? It worked. It really worked and all three of us tucked in with gusto. In the end we were all almost glad the chocolate cake was missing, as it would have stopped our voyage of very pleasant discovery.

If you’d like to attend the Bread Street Brasserie’s next vegan evening, check them out on social media, or visit their website.

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