loving a roast the most!

There is something incredibly satisfying about a good roast dinner and what a particularly fine example of this meal my boyfriend Jon produces! There were of course the essential roast spuds along with roasted veg (parsnips, pepper, onion, courgette, carrot, mushrooms, garlic), steamed peas&sweetcorn, balsamic vinegar gravy and for me a beany tofu burger (my dinner was g/f, jon had wheaty burgers & sausage) Unfortunately these photos really don't do the food justice...the meal was quite simply magnificent!

Cruelty Free Summer Fair

Brighton Animal Action's Cruelty Free Summer Fair was held in a church hall in Hove. What a fantastic day! There were stalls from many groups such as Sea Shepherd, Hugletts Wood Farm, Animal Aid, Home & Abroad Animal Welfare, Cats Protection, etc.. There were also games for children, a tombola, second hand books, badgemaking, bric-a-brac, information stall and a wonderful array of great vegan food. I was mostly on the tombola stall (some of which is in the photo above)which was very popular, people were attracted by great prizes (such as boxes of Booja Booja chocolate & wine from Infinity Foods, vouchers from Red Veg/Veggie shoes/Aloka restaurant/Punktured/Vegan Cakebakers/Neon vegan boutique/Vegan Cake Girl/The Natural Store, toiletries from Lush/Faith In Nature/Green Valley Trading/Simply Soaps,chocolates from Raw Gaia/Theresa Webb Raw Chocolatier/Plamil/Raw Living, cuddly toys from The Animal House shop/t-shirts from Viva!/Wildcat shop, veg basket from Nature's Way, book from Vegetarian Guides, Veganicity and much, much more...) and met loads of great people who were visiting the fair or running stalls. Everyone i spoke to seemed to be enjoying themselves, the favourite being the food, particularly the lasagne and variety of cakes.

Left are some fairy cakes i made...gooey choc icing with big choc buttons :)
Choc orange cake at top of page

Left is some of the great food from the day (though i took the photos a bit late..a lot of the food had already been devoured!)

Other companies who donated items for the day were Just Wholefoods, Bute Island, Redwood and Off The Hoof magazine.

More pub grub

Returning to The George which is recently under new management. I was very lucky to have a free meal as they were trying out their new menu on me and some fellow vegans..in return we had to give our opinions on the food...seemed a fair exchange! I had the nachos with melted 'cheese', salsa, guacamole, mayo and a big dollop of chilli. A huge meal (a couple of friends helped out!) which was tasty, especially the way they'd piled the chilli on top. Have to admit though that my favourite food of the night was cheesy chips..big fat crispy chips with loads of melted vegan cheese on top...fantastic, i'll definitely be going back there to have them again! Quite fancy trying out their curry night too, think all the curries are vegan, certainly lots of vegan options... yep food is definitely one of my favourite things in life!

Vegan Cake Group

The Vegan Cake and Chocolate Appreciation Society is a really great social group that meets up for monthly vegan feasts! We meet in the Brighton area, in the Summer in parks/on the beach and when it gets colder/rainy go to someones house. Not everyone is vegan but only vegan food is brought along so that everyone can share (it can be sweet or savoury.).

This photo shows just a small amount of the fantastic spread.

This time i made a trifle (strawberry jelly with peach pieces, topped with a layer of custard, then a layer of 'cream' and chocolate buttons & marshmellows on top...first time i've had marshmellows since being vegan!) Lots of fun making it but very wobbly! I got a bus & walked to the park where we were meeting, by which time the layers had all mixed together :( .though i still got a great response from people, lots of excitement about the jelly especially!

We met on a gorgeous sunny Sunday, 25 of us in total which is the biggest group yet. I love these meetings as it's always laid back, still an option even if you're skint, always a friendly bunch of people and lots of amazing food. What a wonderful way to enjoy a relaxing afternoon. Everyone is welcome so come along!

The George...veggie pub grub

I love The George. There's something great about pub grub...big tasty meals in laid back surroundings and the special thing about this place is that it's totally vegetarian with clearly labelled vegan meals. Have to admit though over the past months the food there has been a bit hit and miss but it's recently under new management so time to try it again. I had a Sunday roast which was absolutely enormous and more importantly tasted fantastic! There were a few vegan options and i went for the nut roast. Very good it was, as was the huge range of veg and delicious gravy. I personally would have liked more gravy but i still enjoyed every mouthful and would definitely love to return for future roast dinners here.

My boyfriend went for the 'chicken' burger and chips which looked really good and he said he enjoyed very much..though i think he may have been a tad envious of my roast with it's huge variety!

The George is on Trafalgar Street in Brighton.

V Bites

I was so excited when V Bites opened in Hove last month. A totally vegan cafe opening in my area doesn't happen every week (if ever!) The launch day was packed, full of people inquisitive to find out how the new cafe was looking (and some probably wanting to catch a sight of Heather Mills who owns the cafe!) I sat in the sunshine and had a burger with salad from their bbq which they had there specially for the day as there was just so many people. I enjoyed myself so much sitting outside that i didn't actually see the inside of the place! I have gone back since though and was really impressed with the place. It looks stylish and still friendly, i think it would appeal to couples, families... everyone really. My favourite meal there has been the refried bean tacos with salad, olives, salsa, guacamole and brown rice. So nice having lots of variety on one plate and every single thing being great. Can see myself becoming a regular there.

RedVeg...vegan fast food heaven!

I love this place! I had a RedVeg burger and spicy potato wedges, both really tasty and i felt incredibly satisfied after filling up in there. It's a great place if you're really craving fast food. The entire menu is vegetarian with many vegan options, the staff being helpful knowing which items are vegan. Previously i've had their Mexican burger from their specials menu, i find it really hot but wonderful, one of my favourite vegan burgers ever! I've been told their vegan cakes are great too but i've not actually tried any as i'm always totally stuffed from their huge meals. It's on Gardner Street in Brighton.