Cool places in Leicester: The Lansdowne

This image source here - all others my own

There are so many cool places to eat and drink in Leicester, and I've been meaning to start a blog series about them for ages.  First on the list is The Lansdowne, a large bar on London Road, about 8 minutes walk from the city centre and a couple of minutes from the train station.  It's a favourite with The Boy and I for numerous reasons: amazing playlists, great lagers and ciders on tap (neither of us are real ale drinkers, but I'm pretty confident they'll have decent ales too), incredible retro furnishings (including lots of sofas to chill out on), and perhaps most importantly, plentiful vegan food options.

 

They always have at least four vegan, and numerous more vegetarian, options on the main menu, plus veggie or vegan specials from time to time.  Yesterday, The Boy opted for the red pepper houmous and roasted vegetables ciabatta with potato & sweet potato wedges, which was the weekly sandwich special, while I had a Brie ciabatta.  The photograph above is minus one half of the sandwich - we'd already tucked in by the time I remembered to get my camera out!

 

There are loads of options for drinks on tap, including Aspall cider (my favourite), plus a plentiful cocktail list and fridges bursting with interesting soft drinks and fruit juices.  The food is reasonably priced considering the portions are hearty, with a sandwich costing around £6, plus a bit more if you want wedges, and main meals hovering around the £9-£10 mark.

 

Most important to me in a bar is the atmosphere and the Lansdowne always delivers, with friendly staff and great music (on Saturday's visit it went from Johnny Cash's Boy Named Sue to Fleet Foxes to the Sam Cooke soul classic You Send Me in the space of minutes).  As it's very close to the city centre and train station, but also to the university and Clarendon Park (a lovely, if gentrified, residential area to the south of the city) it tends to have a nice mixture of customers, from young families eating lunch to groups of office workers, lecturers from the uni, students, or people killing time before their trains.  One thing that can be guaranteed is that The Boy and I will be found there regularly, chowing down and enjoying a couple of pints before making our wobbly way home.

 

 

 

Day 4: More vegan treats

Just a few weeks ago I wrote about how being with a vegan has changed my cooking habits.  One of my favourite things to do has been to find alternative versions of recipes I would make anyway; the vegan lemon cake recipe I posted then is a big hit in this respect.

Once the nights start drawing in and it gets chilly, I like to keep warm in the kitchen baking calorific treats.  One of my favourites has always been rocky road, using this recipe of Nigella's.  But how to veganise something that includes lashings of butter, chocolate and marshmallows?  I experimented this weekend, and I have to say the finished article is - in my brother's words - scrum-diddly-umptious.

Photo via the BBC, because I forgot to take pictures yesterday.  So imagine these without marshmallows (god, I'm a crap blogger sometimes!)

Vegan rocky road squares

 

300g plain chocolate (but make sure it contains no milk powder, which lots of plain chocolate does)

100g soya or vegetable margarine

3 tbsp golden syrup

120g rich tea biscuits (again, ensure they're vegan; they almost always are)

70g raisins

50g glace cherries

50g pistachios

The last four ingredients can be messed around with to your heart's content.  Fancy dried cranberries?  Wack them in.  Want more biscuit and less nut?  Not a problem.  Just aim for about 300g of dry ingredients overall.

Melt the margarine, chocolate and golden syrup in a Pyrex bowl over a pan of simmering water.
Remove from the heat, scoop out about 125ml/4½fl oz of the melted mixture and set aside in a bowl.
Place the biscuits into a plastic freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin until some have turned to crumbs but there are still pieces of biscuit remaining.
Fold the biscuit pieces and crumbs into the melted chocolate mixture in the saucepan, then add the pistachios, raisins and glace cherries.
Tip the mixture into a 24cm/9in square baking tin (lined with greasproof paper) and smooth the top with a wet spatula.
Pour over the reserved 125ml/4½fl oz of the melted chocolate mixture and smooth the top with a wet spatula.
Refrigerate for about two hours or overnight.
To serve, cut into squares. And try not to eat them all at once.

Weekend in Brighton

 

And so to Brighton, to celebrate our first anniversary.  Quite where the last year has gone, I don't know, but it was almost twelve months ago that The Boy and I met and so this weekend we took ourselves off to Brighton - home of plentiful vegan food, fairground attractions, hipsters, and pebbled beaches - to celebrate.

 

Thanks to the heavy rain, we spent a large portion of Saturday in the pub (The Prince George, a vegetarian and vegan pub in North Laine) eating delicious food and drinking cider before heading to our rather posh hotel (The Old Ship) on the sea front, where we lay on the bed for quite some time claiming we could never eat again, before doing just that.  Brighton might be the only city in the UK where even the 4* hotels have vegan options on their menu, so we dressed for dinner and stuffed our faces a bit more. 

 

On Sunday morning, there was time for a very windy stroll along the prom (prom prom) and down to the pier, before some shopping in North Laine and then returning to the pub to meet two of T's Dutch friends, who happened to be visiting.  Another downpour tethered us to the pub (we're not very imaginative in our excuses, are we?  It might be more honest to admit that we actually just really like hanging out in pubs), so there's a lot that we didn't manage to do or see.  I think a return visit might be in order.

 



 

 

 

Top five vegan recipes: part two

Because I didn't quite have the room on yesterday's post, here are my final two fail-safe vegan recipes.  One thing that going out with The Boy has taught me, is that things that seem scary or difficult - making curry from scratch, or attempting dairy-free baking - are actually not only fun but also super-easy.  Even if you're a proud meat- and dairy-eater, I'd urge you to give vegan cooking a go once in a while.  Lower in fat, lower in cholesterol, generally high in nutrients (this channa masala, for example, is packed with good stuff) and much more sustainable and kinder to the environment: it's a win on all levels really.

 

 Photo via maduja.com

 

Channa masala

The best thing about this curry recipe is how endlessly adaptable it is.  Chickpeas (channa) make a great base ingredient, but you could try spinach or sweet potato (or both) in place of the aubergine.  You can also mess around with the spices, tomato and coconut milk until you find a blend that works for you.

1 large white onion, chopped

A thumb-sized piece of ginger, chopped

Three cloves of garlic, chopped

Cold water

1 teaspoon each (approximately, adjust to taste) of coriander, cumin, garam masala, mild chilli powder, cardomam

1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric, cinnamon, mace and paprika

Two cans of chickpeas, drained

A large aubergine, diced

Vegetable oil

Tomato passata to taste

1/2 can of coconut milk OR 1 cup of soy yoghurt

1. Heat a tablespoon of oil and fry the onion, garlic and ginger for 5-10 minutes or until soft.  Add a splash of cold water, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan, and continue to cook over a low heat for another 5-10 minutes.

2. In a separate pan, gently fry the aubergine in a little oil (be carefully, it will soak up as much oil as you throw at it, so less is more).  Set aside.

3. Pour the onion mixture into a blender and pulse until a smooth paste forms.  This is your curry base (we tend to make double quantities and freeze half, for days when making curry from scratch seems too much hassle).

4. Return the base to the pan and add the spices, heating through until gently sizzling.  Stir to ensure it doesn't burn.

5. Add a splash of tomato passata to the sauce; I generally go for about two generous tablespoons, but adjust to taste.  Stir through the coconut milk, if using.

6. Add the cooked aubergine and the drained chick peas, and simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes, or until everything is cooked through.

7. If using yoghurt, stir through when you take off the heat.  Serve with rice and naan or chapatti, and a little fresh coriander sprinkled over the top if you have some to hand.

Photo via thevanillabeanblog.com

 

Chocolate cupcakes

 

The recipe for these delicious chocolate cupcakes comes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.  With a light and moist texture, I honestly think they're superior to 'normal' chocolate cake.

1 cup soy milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup caster sugar

1/3 cup oil (vegetable, rapeseed, sunflower, etc)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup plain flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder (ensure it is dairy-free)

3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 180c/gas mark 4/350F.

2. Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar and leave aside for a few minutes to curdle. 

3. Add the sugar, oil and vanilla extract and beat until foamy.

4. In a separate bowl sift together the remaining dry ingredients.  Add in two batches to the milk mixture and beat until no large lumps remain.

5. Pour into cupcake cases until three-quarters full and bake for 18-20 minutes.

I found these were great topped with a vegan buttercream: vanilla extract, soy or sunflower margarine and icing sugar beaten together.  Add some cocoa powder, made into a paste with water, for chocolate icing.  

Top five vegan recipes: part one

Meeting The Boy has changed my life in all sorts of ways, but probably one of the most immediate impacts has been on my kitchen.  I've always loved cooking, but meeting a vegan has meant I've had to change my ways somewhat.  Coincidentally, at about the same time I met T, I was diagnosed with IBS (for which one of my main triggers is dairy), which posed the problem: what's a keen cook and baker to do when suddenly a whole host of ingredients are denied to her?  Find new recipes, of course!

Over the last year, I've become a lot more experimental in the kitchen; having to cook vegan food has been a fun challenge.  I've also had some not-so-great experiences (a fairly terrible apple cake springs to mind).    For me, the best vegan cooking is food that you don't even notice is vegan.  And here are some of my top five recipes which definitely fit the bill.

 Photo via weheartit

 

American-style pancakes

A breakfast favourite, the addition of fruit lets us fool ourselves that it's healthy.  I think these are easily as good - if not better and lighter - than non-vegan pancakes.

1 cup plain flour
2 tablespoons caster sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup soy milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Add the soy milk and oil slowly, stirring until it is all blended into a smooth batter.
3. Lightly oil a pan and heat on medium.  Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the pan and cook until bubbles begin to form on top.  Flip, and cook on the other side until brown.
4. Keep the cooked pancakes warm on a foil-lined plate, and return briefly to the pan to warm through properly before serving with sliced bananas or blueberries and lashings of syrup.

Guacamole

Tex-Mex is probably one of my favourite things to make at home, and when I first met T I was worried about whether I'd still be able to continue eating chillis, fajitas, enchiladas, and nachos.  Of course, with meat substitutes like soy mince (of which there seems to be a shortage at the moment; Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsburys all having empty freezer compartments), soy 'chicken' and tofu, the main bulk of a Tex-Mex meal is easily done vegan-style.  But what about the trimmings?  Sour cream is obviously out, as much for my IBS as for his veganism, although we've found a fabulouse vegan cheese to replace cheddar.  However, almost all mass-produced guacamole contains yoghurt or cream.  And that's where this homemade guac comes in.  Easy to make in ten minutes, it keeps well in the fridge, and tastes so good that you'll never go back to store-bought again.

1 red chilli, partly deseeded
Small red onion
Two very ripe avocadoes
The juice of a small lime
Large clove of garlic
Salt, to taste
Small tomato (flesh only) - optional

1. Whizz the chilli, onion and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped.  If you are using tomato, whizz this in the processor too.  We have begun to leave it out recently as it doesn't seem to add much to the overall flavour.
2. Scoop the flesh from the avocadoes and mash in a bowl with a fork.
3. Stir in the chopped vegetables.
4. Squeeze in the lime juice and add salt, to taste.

Photo via The Ethical Chef

 

Lemon cake

I found this recipe on The Ethical Chef, and absolutely love it.  For very little effort you get a deliciously light, tangy and tasty cake.  We found it very sweet with the amount of sugar suggested on the website, so cut it down a little in this version, which works just as well.

275g self-raising flour
150g caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
Zest & juice of 1 lemon
100ml vegetable oil
170ml cold water

1. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder and zest into a bowl and mix well.
2. Add the oil, lemon juice and water and mix until combined thoroughly.
3. Pour into a lined cake tin and bake for around 30 minutes (or until a skewer comes out clean) at 200c/gas mark 6.
4. When the cake is cool, make a glaze from 150g icing sugar and the juice of a second lemon (or, at a push, bottled lemon juice).

Made: Sloe gin

As much as I love spring and summer, I have a real fondness for autumn, "season of mists and mellow fruitfulness," not least because of the glut of fruit with which to make cakes, crumbles, jams and this, the crowing glory of a fruitful harvest: sloe gin. 

You will need:
1 litre of gin (because of all the extra flavour being added here it really doesn't matter if it's quality gin or not: Aldi is great for cheap spirits)
1lb of sloes
3oz caster sugar
A large, air-tight jar or bottle

1. Pour the sugar into the bottom of the jar and top with the gin. 
2. Prick each sloe with a (clean!) pin and add, giving it a good stir (this is why I like to use a jar rather than a bottle, as you can fit a spoon into it).
3. Shake the jar/bottle daily for a week, and then once a week for at least two months, at which point...
4. DO NOT SHAKE before filtering.  Filter through a muslin cloth into sterilised bottles.  You should be left with a gloriously fruity, sweet purple liquor.  The thick gunge at the bottom of the jar can be used to add an unusual edge to a boozy trifle.

If gin is not your thing, sloe vodka works just as well using exactly the same method.  I'll be using the lion's share of this autumn's gin to give as gifts in Christmas hampers, but should you want to hog the whole litre yourself, it keeps for years and years.

Day 14: Food glorious food

I absolutely love pottering in the kitchen, the radio playing as I chop, fry, stir and bake.  One of my favourite things to do with The Boy is to cook together; we have perfected our vegan fajitas and do a mean curry, too. 

Left to my own devices, I tend to cook from scratch three or four nights a week, relying on frozen portions of home-cooked meals for the evenings when I'm too knackered to get creative.  One thing I always have the time and energy for, however, is baking.  I have such a sweet tooth and am somehow convinced that homemade treats are better than shop-bought ones.  Here are some of my favourite recipes...
 
Mouthwatering Macaroons, which are surprisingly easy as long as you obey the recipe to the letter.

Rocky Road Bars adapted from a Nigella recipe.

The most incredibly fudgey, gooey, clog-your-arteries Chocolate Brownies.

And my favourite, easy-peasy Lemon Cupcakes. 

Ingredients

- 4oz caster sugar
- 4oz self-raising flour
- 4oz butter
- Grated rind of one lemon plus a squeeze of juice
- 2 medium free-range eggs

Method

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4, 170 degrees C.

2. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs a little at a time and beat well.

3. Stir in the flour and the lemon rind.  Add a squeeze of lemon juice to the mixture and stir.

4. Put into cupcake cases and bake for 12-16 minutes, until very pale brown and firm to the touch.

5. Mix the rest of the lemon juice with a tablespoon of softened butter and 6oz icing sugar. Beat to form a smooth icing (adding a splash of water if required).

6. When the cakes are cool, ice them, and try not to eat them all in one go.

Not long ago I read a (hopefully tongue-in-cheek) socialist critique of cupcakes that suggested they represent the ultimate triumph of the individual over the collective, a sort of cake version of Thatcher's "There is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women...".  It went on to say that the departure from traditional British confections (such as the more restrained scone and rock cake), and the growing popularity of cupcakes (with their extravagant decoration and gaudy colours) somehow represented the increasing influence of a capitalist and consumerist society.

Now I like I good socialist critique as much as the next person, but as far as I am concerned any foodstuff in which the cake to icing ratio is often approaching 50/50 is ok with me, and politics be damned.

A week of making

A few weeks ago, B & E over at Make, Do & Spend did a Week of Making.  Like them, one of the reasons I began to blog was to share my love of creative projects, but when work and life get busy, making things is often the first pastime of mine to go by the wayside.  So I decided to be inspired by B & E and try my own week of making.

 

Saturday

 

Made... lemon cupcakes, purely to use up a single leftover lemon that had been lurking in my fridge for weeks. They went down very well at school on Monday.

 

Sunday

Made... homemade arrabiata sauce (slightly cheating by using tinned tomatoes, but it was delicious nevertheless).

Monday

Made... plans for my upcoming trips with The Boy. Paris in April, Berlin in May... I am so excited, not least because I love planning things. Any hints or tips for either destination would be very gratefully received.

Tuesday

Made... yummy pancakes with raspberries and maple syrup. I love long, leisurely breakfasts on my day off. 

Wednesday

Made... blinds for my friend, Emma's, kitchen windows. As I got to work I thought, "I really miss sewing, I should do more." Half an hour in, and I was cursing as I untangled threads and battled with my sewing machine.

Thursday

 Made... a ticket collage to fill the final gap in my hallway wall, which is lined with similar collages. 

Friday

Made... a coffee cake for my mum's 65th birthday on Sunday.

My weekend shenanigans

I am ever so tired this evening after a fab weekend full of fun.  I started early, with a night out on Thursday (to the ace Craftwerk session at The Crumbling Cookie in town: it's a bit like competitive Blue Peter crafting, with added alcohol and music.  Basically, my perfect night out), which left me slightly tender-of-head for work on Friday.

Saturday found me in Stratford-Upon-Avon with Leanne, where we saw an ace pavement trail with cryptic/odd/funny messages carved into the paving slabs.  My favourite was one I didn't get a photo of: "That pigeon's looking at me funny".  A lovely lunch at Othello's (highly recommended) was followed by a trip to the theatre, dah-ling.  Much Ado About Nothing is by far my favourite Shakespeare play, and the production at the RSC did not disappoint.  Fabulously funny and lushly staged, it had an all-Asian cast and an Indian setting.  Wonderful music, staging and performances.

Today I dropped in to the Leicester Good Food Fair at Belgrave Hall and bought myself some goodies, before driving up to Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire to meet my brother.  The ensuing three hours stumbling around the woods couldn't really be called hiking; there wasn't one moment on the entire walk when we knew where the hell we were, and the map book was no use.  We were just one candy cottage away from it all going a bit Hansel & Gretel (and the spooky, dead trees did not help one bit!).

Cupcakes

Photo via http://www.weheartit.com/

Not long ago I read a (hopefully tongue-in-cheek) socialist critique of cupcakes that suggested they represent the ultimate triumph of the individual over the collective, a sort of cake version of Thatcher's "There is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women...". It went on to say that the departure from traditional British confections, such as the more restrained scone, and the growing popularity of cupcakes, with their extravagant decoration and gaudy colours, somehow represented the growth of a US-influenced consumerist society.

Now I like I good socialist critique as much as the next person, but as far as I am concerned any foodstuff in which the cake to icing ratio is often approaching 50/50 is ok with me and consumerism be damned.

Lemon Cupcakes

- 4oz caster sugar
- 4oz self-raising flour
- 4oz butter
- Grated rind of one lemon plus a squeeze of juice
- 2 medium free-range eggs

Beat all the ingredients together, put into cupcake cases and bake at gas mark 4, 170degrees C for 12-16 minutes, until very pale brown and firm to the touch. Mix the rest of the lemon juice with a tablespoon of softened butter and 6oz icing sugar. Beat to form a smooth icing. When the cakes are cool, ice them and try not to eat them all in one go.