My Vegan Blog

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Latest vegan news

Updated vegan news alert.

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Egg Replacer For Baked Lemon Tarts

I have a family recipe for baked lemon tarts, my daughter loved these tarts but they have eggs in them and she has since become Vegan. I would love to

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Top Secret Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe

I've had a few emails asking me for this vegan cheese sauce recipe and as I havn't had a chance to make it myself yet, I'm going to write down word for word what my friend told me:

1 1/2 cups unsweetened nondairy milk

2 cups nutritional yeast

1 cup olive oil

1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce

1/4 (12 ounce) block firm (not silken) tofu

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1/2 tablespoon vegesal or in lack of fancy product, just use salt

1 dollop mustard, optional

Blend it all together and voila! Makes a fantastic sauce for mac and cheese or veggie bake. Use less milk and it gets nice and thick as a cheezy dip! Dan's only requirement is that he gets feedback on what you or your readers think of it!

What we do differently here is that we smoke our tofu, most people won't have the facilities to do that and it does make a huge difference to the taste, although I would suggest not adding salt as smoking it makes it taste a bit saltier.

Good luck :-)

I then asked her about smoking the tofu and this is her reply:

We have a field oven for smoking food, it is really just a steel box, you could prob use a filing cabinet or something like that. Then stack two pillars of bricks and put another metal sheet on top of them to make like a mini table in it and put the tofu on top of that. Rubbing a small amount of salt into the tofu brings out the taste but is not necessary. Then we make the fire in a metal bowl and put that underneath the metal sheet so it is in between the brick pillars and close the oven so although the smoke can escape as it is not airtight, the lack of oxygen puts out the flames and it smolders. Sometimes you need to smoke it more than once.

I suggest trying that with chick peas too to make smoked hummus, it is delicious! Obviously boil the chick peas first, pref in salt water as that makes them extra yummy!

Oh and also it depends on the wood you use, just normal wood may make it bleuch, we use apple wood, maybe that makes all the difference?

Im sure you could just buy smoked tofu but if you want to smoke your own, here are some food smokers to try it out - please let me know how it turned out so I can relay back to my friend - thanks. :):

UK.

USA.

Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe

A friend of mine was telling me about her boyfriends' top secret vegan cheese sauce recipe the other day. I have heard such great reviews about this sauce and we think he is about to give in and reveal all. As soon as I get my greedy hands on it, I will add it to this page - hopefully in the next week or so.

Saying it as it is!!

Short video as to why vegan. Pulls no punches.....

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Vegan Products | Add Your Vegan Discovery

Have you found any great vegan products? If you have, submit them here or just browse what other people have found. Up to date vegan products.

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Vegan Cream Recipes | Best Vegan Cream

These are the best tasting vegan cream recipes I have ever tasted. I made them myself and they are perfect for trifles or other recipes which call for a creamy heavy vegan cream.

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I Want To Go Vegan | Becoming A Vegan

"I want to go vegan" advice and information. Question submited to the vegan community pages of this vegan website. Ask and answer questions here.

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Best Vegan Cheese | Best Dairy Free Cheese

THIS is the best vegan cheese I have ever tasted. I gve some to a non vegan and they said there was little difference between the vegan and dairy cheeses.

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My Opinion On The New Vegan Cheese

I ordered three of these vegan cheeses the other day. The Classic, the Walnut and the Mildly Aromatic versions. Well. I didn't know what to make of them at first. They taste so different to any other vegan cheeses I have tasted. I couldn't work out whether I liked them or not. Someone I know has just turned vegan and he said these were the closest thing tastewise to dairy cheese. I kept trying them and finally decided that the Mildly Aromatic vegan cheese tasted really really great!! I think my tastebuds were confused because they just tasted so "cheesy". I wasn't keen on the Classic style but I did like the Walnut version. I could still taste them two hours after eating them. Very strong so be warned!!

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Vegan Cake Experiment 1

I'm trying out some new vegan cake recipes. I have learnt a new tip for making vegan cakes which rise better than I have seen before. Basically I am adding apple cider vinegar to soya milk and letting it curdle slightly. This happens when it is left for a few minutes or so. The vinegar gets "baked out" of the cake so you don't taste it. As you can see from this photo, the cake has risen quite well. And it tastes gorgeous. Super moist, if slightly denser than a non vegan cake.

New Vegan Cheese Available In The UK

I have just ordered a load of this vegan cheese and will report back here with my views when Ive tried it. A friend of a friend has tried it and it comes highly recommended. I think it's high time we got a decent vegan cheese in the UK. The only one I really like so far (out of all Ive tried) is the Redwoods Super Melting which I think tastes great - but only when it's melted on toast or in lasagne recipes etc. It doesn't taste so great UNmelted!! But still, this is personal choice and I have heard recently that a new vegan tried it out and didn't like it at all.

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Vegan Cheesecake Recipe Measurements

Hi! I want to make your cheesecake recipe but I don't know the measurements for a tub of caludron tofu or a carton of alpro cream. Do you have a cup measurement

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How Funny...

I was just reading in the paper about Paul McCartneys wedding yesterday and in the paper there was a section titled: Vegan cake, 2 vans of roses and Paul singing Let It Be. Then there were ingredients to the vegan cake listed as:

Sugar

Soya Milk

Apple Cider Vinegar

Wheat Flower

Cocoa Powder

Vanilla Cream Paste

So someone was given the ingredient list to report in the paper and obviously thought a vegan cake required a flower made out of wheat!! I suppose a lot of people think that vegan ingredients are a bit out there. ;)

Note: The missing ingredient was wheat FLOUR!!

Washington Restaurants Amerawcan Bistro | ameRAWcan Bistro

Washington restaurants amerawcan bistro. Vegan restaurants in Washington USA. ameRAWcan Bistro (pronounced American) 745 St. Helens Avenue

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Vegan Restaurants Guide | Free Vegan Restaurant Listings

Vegan restaurants guide. Submit your restaurant at my free vegan restaurant listings page. High traffic website.

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Vegan Friendly Restaurant In California - M.G.El Jaliciense

M.G.El Jaliciense is a very good Mexican restaurant located in 24458 MISSION BLVD.,HAYWARD,CA 94544.

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Best Vegan Melting Cheese

What's the best Vegan cheese that melts suitable for pizza's? Hi Mike, I see you live in the UK, so I can answer this one for you. The best vegan cheese

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Help A Vegan | Ask And Answer Questions Related To Veganism

Would you like to help a vegan and answer questions related to veganism? Ask and answer vegan questions here so we can learn from each other.

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New Alpro Yoghurt Flavours

I had to add this. I popped into my local health food shop yesterday and spotted two new Alpro yoghurt flavours. Lime and apple. Now I really thought these flavours wouldn't work - but I was wrong. The lime is now my favourite flavour. They are so new, I don't think they have even added them to their website yet. Now all I want is a hazelnut flavour. I think I might email them with this request.

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Creating A Business Website That Generates Great Traffic And Earns You Money

Creating a business website the RIGHT way will secure your financial future. Simple website builder with amazing keyword profitability system all built in. This is how I built my website.

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Best Vegan Cheesecake Recipe

For the best vegan cheesecake recipe, try this. I am always asked how I make this cheesecake and non-vegans don't realise it is egg and dairy free.

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New Vegan Mushroom And Ale Pie

Can't wait to try this. Available in Sainsburys from the 7th of August!!

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Vegan Alcohol | Vegan Beer | Vegan Wine

Are you looking for a list of vegan alcohol? Information on vegan wine and vegan beer. What makes alcohol non vegan? And most importantly, where can you buy it?

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Fighting Cancer With A Vegan Diet

This is a page written by one of my readers "fighting cancer with a vegan diet". Diet and disease are related as you probably know, and a vegan diet can be very beneficial to your health.

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Innocent Veg Pots

Dear readers,

Take part in this very quick Innocent survey about loyalty schemes & you could win 1 of 50 free Innocent Veg Pot's Click here for the survey.

Several of these are suitable for vegans. I have heard of the Innocent range but didn't know about the veg pots. I was contacted by someone who asked me to post this on my website and so here it is. Always happy to help spread the vegan word!!

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Mike Tyson promotes veganism

Info

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Choccy Cheesecake

I made the most gorgeous chocolate cheesecake the other day. You will have to excuse the photo as it was an experiment I did. I made one a month or so ago and instead of adding cocoa powder, I added a few shards of broken dark chocolate to the mix before placing in the oven. Of course, when it came out and cooled down. the chocolate was hard and I couldn't cut slices properly. So this time I did it differently.

On my cheesecake page, I have a basic recipe for cheesecake which you can then turn into different flavours:

Two packets of Cauldron firm tofu (I get mine in Sainsburys).

Drop or five of vanilla essence.

I carton of Alpro single soya cream.

Two tubs of Toffutti cream cheese.

I block of dark chocolate.

Cup of sugar or other sweetener.

For the base, it is two packets of vegan biscuits (try Hobnobs) and some soya spread.

This is what I did:

Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl on top of some boiling water, and when cooled slightly, add some soya cream. Put to one side.

Do the biscuit base by blending the biscuits into crumbs and mixing with melted soya spread.

Add the rest of the ingredients into a large bowl and mix well with a hand blender.

In the above picture, I poured the cheesecake mixture onto the biscuit base and then squirted the choclate into the mix with an icing bag. Next time, I will add the melted chocolate into the cheesecake mix and just stir it once or twice before adding the whole mixture onto the biscuit base. I am hoping this will give a vanilla cheesecake but with melted chocolate whirls.

Bake for half an hour or so and allow to cool completely before serving.

The chocolate will be soft and rich when you bite into it. If you want to try this, let me know how it goes.

I didn't add any topping to the cake, as you can see from the photo but I think shards of chocolate or maybe some melted chocolate with just a small amount of soya cream will work well.

Next time I make this, I am going to try having the biscuit base around the sides of the cake tin. I will add some tin foil under the bottom of the tin and fold it over the top. When the cake comes out of the oven and cools down, I am hoping that when I peel the foil away, I will have a biscuit base which comes to the top of the cheesecake and which will hold in place a gooey chocolate topping!!

Veganic Gardening Tips | Vegan Gardening

Do you have any veganic gardening tips that you can share on this page? Vegan gardening is all about how we achieve and maintain a garden without intentionally killing anything.

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Had to add my latest soup. Tomato - scroll to the bottom.

No potatoes, no cream or soya spread. Just a basic recipe which I think tastes lovely.

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Sorry I'm quiet.....

I am working on a project right now plus I am updating all the pages of BVG. I will be back posting in a week or two.....

Krista

Vegan Vitamins | Vegan Health

If you eat a varied vegan diet, you shouldn't need extra vegan vitamins. However, how many of us (vegan and non vegans not alike) manage that on a daily basis? These are the vitamins you may need.

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My favourite books - these are non vegan

I know this is a vegan webiste and I have vegan books listed on it. BUT, I have always been an avid reader and wanted to share my favourite all time reads with you.

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Famous Vegans | Celebrity Vegans

Looking for a list of famous vegans? Vegans come from all walks of life and here are just some of them in the form of celebrity vegans.

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Free monthly vegan ezine - The Laughing Cow.

Sign up for my free "occasional" ezine "The Laughing Cow. Snippets of information on an occasional basis!!

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Raw Vegan Diet | Raw Vegan Recipes

Ever considered a raw vegan diet? It's not as extreme and limited as you might think. Link through to more information and amazing raw food recipe books.

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Delectable vegan dessert recipes - veganise classic dessert recipes

Want to know how to veganise classic dessert recipes? This delectable vegan dessert recipe e book is a must have for showing off to your friends and family. I have it and I recommend it.

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Vegan icing recipes, vegan royal icing

Vegan icing for cake decoration is simple. It is vegan royal icing that causes confusion but you can make it easily with two simple ingredients. Lemon juice and icing sugar is all you need.

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Vegan meat replacement products

Have a look at these vegan meat replacement products. Updated to show picture of my favourite vegan chicken.

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Vegan Royal Icing

I have had a few emails from people asking me about vegan royal icing for their cake decorations. I havn't had time to write a page on this yet as I have been very busy but.....

I have an email here from Silver Spoon telling me how they process their sugar and they assure me that their icing sugar (not their royal icing sugar as that contains egg) is suitable for vegans. So to make a vegan royal icing, just mix icing sugar and lemon juice. You want it to be a thick and gloopy consistency - slowly dropping off the spoon (when spoon is help upside down). Add vegetable glycerine if you would like a softer royal icing.

Very very easy and very effective.

:)

Delicious vegan trifle recipe with picture

Vegan trifle recipe with picture. Including my own special vegan cream recipe which will really make your trifle stand out.

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Vegan Christmas | Vegan Thanksgiving

Ideas for the vegan christmas holiday season. Vegan roasts and vegan dinner ideas, plus a great choice of vegan presents.

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Royal Icing - Update

Well I am still trying out different ingredients on and off and will be back with the results in about a week or so. What I have discovered so far is that you do not need glycerine. Plain old icing sugar and lemon juice (lemon juice sets harder than water) is enough. The trouble is that the unrefined icing sugar (which hasn't been processed through bone char) is a beige colour so if you want a pure white royal icing then this will not work. I am still working on it and will post back later next week.

Vegan Royal Icing - Update

I have finally sourced some vegan food glycerine and will have a go at making vegan royal icing with that when it is delivered. I have tried various recipes for royal vegan icing but none of them came out quite right. I will report back with my results.

My Vegan Royal Icing Experiment

I have a few key ingredients in my kitchen and sometime soon I am going to be experimenting with royal icing recipes. Before I start, does anyone have a favourite vegan royal icing recipe that they use? I will report back in due course what my results were.

Site undergoing revamp at moment

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Fantastic Vegan Pasta Dish - With "Fish" Sauce

When I was a vegetarian, I regularly made a pasta dish with tuna fish sauce. I dug out the old recipe book the other day and decided to veganise the recipe - it came out very very good. The bechamel sauce just makes this so tasty.

For the "fish", vegan tuna or the vegan fish steaks you can get are ideal for this.

This recipe is also very easy.

Ingredients

1 onion

1 garlic clove (I don't usually bother)

1 sprig of parsley (optional)

Olive oil

1 Tbsp soya spread

1 Tbsp flour

Pint of vegetable stock

Handful of capers

Pasta ribbons

Vegan fish (for this recipe I used vegan salmon but tuna style will work better)

Method

Chop the onion and garlic and fry in a little olive oil for a few minutes. Add the mashed (or semi mashed) vegan fish to the pan and continue to cook for a few more minutes.

Prepare a smooth bechamel sauce by melting the soya spread in another pan, stirring in the flour and adding the hot stock. Mix this sauce with the vegan fish, onion and garlic. Add the capers and leave over a very low heat while you cook the pasta. Cook the pasta in another pan and add to the "fish" sauce. Add chopped parsley and serve.

Hot Breakfast Smoothie

The three main ingredients you need are:

1 pint of plant based milk

2 Tbsps of breakfast oats

2 Tbsps sweetener such as agave nectar

Optionals are:

Ground nuts (bakery section at local supermarket

1 ripe banana

Soya milk powder

Ground flaxseeds

Ground cinnamon

Heat the milk in a pan until almost boiling. Remove from heat and add the breakfast oats and sweetener. Blend well. Add any other ingredients you fancy and blend again. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon or dip the heatproof glass in water and dip into the cinnamon powder for a fancy effect.

This is really nice and warming. Handy too if you are in a rush as you can drink while getting ready.

Best Vegan Whipped Cream Recipe

This is the best vegan whipped cream recipe I have ever tasted. I made the recipe myself and it never fails to impress.

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