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Gold Crème Brulee Liqueur by Marks and Spencer

January 21, 2017 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

Groovy bottle

If you’re after something a bit special for a celebration or even just something fancy to sip in front of the telly of an evening, you could do far worse than this yummy liqueur from M&S.

Gold sparkles!
Gold sparkles!

It’s not sparkling in the traditional sense, as in it doesn’t have bubbles, but it does have something altogether different. If you invert the bottle before pouring (make sure the top is still on!) when you pour it out you’ll notice little edible gold sparkles!

It tastes lovely and smooth and has vanilla and caramel flavourings as advertised. The bottle, unusually, is opaque gold and has an attractive, classic design.

Groovy bottle
Groovy bottle

I’ve seen it for sale as an individual bottle in the store, but online it seems you can only buy it in cases of six. It would make a nice gift, but if you’re not planning on buying six, try going into the shop itself.

I’m noticing more and more vegan friendly alcohol on the market these days and it’s nice to see Marks and Spencer getting in on the act. If liqueurs are your thing, do give it a try and let me know what you think.

Filed Under: Product Reviews Tagged With: alcohol, celebration, Christmas, drinks, gift

Thanksgiving

November 26, 2014 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

Baby turkeys (poults)
Turkey portrait
Turkey portrait – Jo-Anne McArthur/We animals

I’m not American, and so have never celebrated Thanksgiving, but given an excuse I’ll have a party anytime. Pumpkin pie looks yummy, and it’s always nice to stop every now and again and think about those things in your life that you appreciate, or are thankful for. For the record, I’m grateful for the love of my family and friends; living in a peaceful neighbourhood (this wasn’t always the case); I feel lucky that I enjoy the work I do and am so glad to be near to nature and to know that many people around me care for both the environment and our non-human animal friends. What I’m most definitely not thankful for is the fate of turkeys at this time of year. It seems odd to me that folks in America sit down to a turkey dinner with their family only a month before they, um, sit down to a turkey dinner with their family at Christmas.

Two rescued turkeys
Two rescued turkeys – Jo-Anne McArthur/We animals

Has anyone seen the bizarre ritual of ‘the pardoning of the turkeys’ (they usually bring two, as one’s a spare) at the White House each year? This so-called tradition was only formalised in 1989 by the then president George Bush Senior. Before then there had been talk of ‘pardoning’ by John. F. Kennedy and Regan, but these were just throwaway lines. Every president from eighties Bush (ooh, that sounds wrong…) to Obama, has gone though this pointless charade. I say the word pointless advisedly, as because turkeys bred for eating are usually too fat for their fragile skeletons to support, the ‘pardoned’ turkeys don’t normally live to see the next Thanksgiving. They used to be sent off to a faraway farm, or take part in the Thanksgiving parade at Disneyland (I bet they were thrilled…) but since 2010 they head off to a farm near the White House to live out the rest of their, short, lives.

There’s something else. Why on earth do the turkeys get pardoned? What crime have they committed or even been accused of? (I charge you with, er……being a turkey) I mean really, what kind of screwed up logic is that? It’s all a bit weird considering that Benjamin Franklin wanted to have the wild turkey as the national bird of the USA, instead of the bald eagle.

Baby turkeys (poults)
Baby turkeys (poults) – Jo-Anne McArthur/We animals

In the wild, male turkeys can fly up to 50mph, whereas modern males who are farmed for meat are force to fatten up so quickly that they can’t fly at all. A turkey’s natural lifespan is ten years. Most from farms are slaughtered at ten weeks.

The abuse of turkeys isn’t just an American problem of course, as coming up to our own festive season there will be around ten million turkeys slaughtered here in the UK, just for the Christmas rush alone. This is when most of them haven’t even been outside -they spend their short lives in cramped sheds.

How a Thanksgiving turkey should look!
How a Thanksgiving turkey should look! – Jo-Anne McArthur/We animals

So if you do celebrate Thanksgiving, tuck into the pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes and stuffing, (or any of the other yummy vegan dishes out there) but spare a thought for the turkey, who is after all a highly intelligent and sensitive bird, and think about having tofurkey instead. Or check out the movie Free Birds for a fun alternative.

Free birds
Free birds

Filed Under: Animals Tagged With: birds, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Turkey

What on earth do you cook for a vegan?

November 20, 2014 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

Vegan Junk Food
Vegan cheesecake I baked myself!
Vegan cheesecake I baked myself!

Hello non-vegan friends. Welcome. What’s that? You’re teenage daughter has decided to become a vegan just weeks before Christmas? You’ve invited the new neighbours over for dinner, but discovered they’re a couple of hippy vegans? Maybe you’re considering going vegan yourself, but don’t know where to start. Never fear, the tofu temptress is here.

The first question many people ask me on discovering I’m a vegan is ‘What do you eat?’ The easiest way for anyone new to veganism to think about vegan meals is to consider first what they themselves eat and see how it can be veganised. What did you have for dinner last night? Steak and chips? If so, veggie burger and chips isn’t that much of a stretch, is it? Most veggie burgers are fine for vegans, but do check the packaging as some will sneak milk in there somewhere. If they do, or even chuck an egg in the mix just to be awkward, it should be listed on the back of the packet under allergens. Or even better, you can make your own! Did you have spaghetti bolognaise? How about making it with soy mince, or lentils or just having penne al Arrabiata instead? See, it’s not that difficult really. The recipe selection is far too vast for me to list here, but try looking up some of these terms – bean burger, vegan sushi, vegan stir fry, vegetarian pasta, vegan mushroom risotto, vegan pancakes, stuffed peppers, vegan curry, vegan soup, vegan fillings for baked potatoes, vegan pizza – and you might find a few recipes that will become your vegan staples. Most pastry is vegan (like Jus-Rol) so puff pastry mains or short crust pastry tarts should be a breeze.

Vegan Junk Food
How about dessert? Well, the list is endless really. Believe me, once you get into vegan baking, you’ll wonder why you ever bothered with milk and eggs at all. (For more info on milk and egg subs in baking, head over to my How to be Vegan section.) A vegan apple crumble is easy is you just substitute vegan margarine, like Vitalite, for the dairy stuff. Tray bakes and fridge cakes are just as easy. I have this book Vegan Junk Food and there are recipes in there that require three or four ingredients whizzed up in a food processor and voila, you have an instant sugar hit. I will say that where there’s melted chocolate, coconut oil often follows. You may look at the price of coconut oil in the supermarket and faint in shock. There is a cheaper way though. I get my coconut oil from Coconoil, where you can buy it in bulk. If you feel like you’re not going to be doing a lot of vegan baking, then you don’t have to bother, but do consider it, as when they’re not cooking with it, many people smear it on themselves for better skin! Win win. There’s also the legendary (in the vegan world) Vegan cupcakes take over the world. I took some chocolate orange cupcakes I made from this book into work last weekend and my non-vegan colleagues gratefully scoffed the lot.vegan cupcakes

What to remember when cooking for vegans is that they know they’re presenting you with a challenge. Many will offer to bring their own food, or maybe just one course, so don’t be insulted by this as they’re trying to be helpful. Also, don’t panic. If you’re having a group of people just substitute the meat item for, perhaps, something mushroom-y and delicious in pastry – I’m thinking of having this yummy thing at Xmas. And remember not to honey roast vegetables or cook them in butter or dog forbid, goose fat. Just think, you’ll be providing for a very grateful vegan at the table, while doing your heart a favour. I mean, goose fat, urgh…

If you’re not sure what to cook for a vegan then simply ask what they like. There’s no shame in it. Any vegan should be more than willing to help out, and who knows, once you’ve tasted what they’re having, you may never go back to meat again.

Filed Under: What can vegans eat? Tagged With: Christmas, Cupcakes, Desserts, Non-vegans, Sweets, Veganising

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