Desserts – Vegans.UK

Toby Carvery 2016

August 18, 2016 by Tofu Temptress 1 Comment

As I’ve said before, a carvery isn’t the obvious dining option for the vegan-about-town, however, it may surprise you to learn that there are more vegan options to choose from here than at many similar styled establishments. If you wander into a typical pub you’ll be lucky to get a baked potato and beans. More often than not, you’re simply offered chips (and who knows what fat they were deep fried in…) Cheerfully, Toby Carvery is a UK-wide chain who seem to have observed that meat-eating people have vegan mates who should be catered for.

And so it has come to pass that on their menu they have three main meals suitable for vegans. When you order them though, be sure and ask for a plate of veggies, as the ones in the main carvery area are cooked in butter. The roasties are fine though, as they’re cooked in vegetable oil.

First we have the Spiced Carrot and Chickpea Wellington (they used to have a nut roast wellington, which I remember being nice.) I’ve not tried the new version, but it looks good and I’ve had favourable reports from companions. To be honest, I rarely turn down pastry.

Next there is the Lentil Cottage Pie, which is my favourite. The lentils are always big and tasty, never a mush, and the gravy and crunchy crustiness round the edge would have most meat-eaters sold I reckon.

Last but not least, there’s the Butternut Squash Crumble, which manages to taste both healthy and yummy at the same time, which, let’s face it, is rare. Most types of crumble are fine with me. I’m quite partial to the rhubarb variety, but that’s another story…

Another thing that sets this place apart from most of its rivals is the fact they have a vegan dessert on the menu that isn’t fruit salad! Praise be! Not only is it not fruit salad, it’s chocolate! Chocolate and Cherry Torte to be exact. It’s moist enough not to need any of the dairy add-ons they have, so you can happily enjoy the torte naked. (No, not like that.)

So there you have it – a very vegan-friendly carvery. My local one now even has pictures of vegetables on the walls! So, even though you may be forced to walk past a counter full of heated up dead animal parts, it’s no worse than accidentally finding yourself in the meat section of the supermarket. Just walk on by. Nobody is forcing you to eat anything you don’t want to and you don’t have to wait long for vegan sustenance as the service tends to be fairly quick. All this plus a cheeky beer made for a very pleasant night out with friends.

You can find your local Toby Carvery here.

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.

What on earth do you cook for a vegan?

November 20, 2014 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

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.

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.

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.

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