welcome vegan and non-vegan friends

love a good natter? are you vegan or curious about the vegan lifestyle? then you have come to the right place..a blog about being vegan,with recipes,tips and just general chit chat :-)

Monday 8 August 2011

Peas in a Pod

Peas are a wonderful tiny little explosion of flavour that are full of goodness. They are high in fiber, vitamins, minerals and protein so are definatly a good green food to have on your plate. You can buy peas fresh, frozen or in tins and any type is good but I personally like to buy them fresh in their pods. There is nothing more satisfying then 'popping' the pod and finding all those tiny little gems inside :-) the only draw back to me doing that is that my dog Rufus hears the 'popping' sound and comes running into the kitchen giving me his best 'puppy' look he can master until I give him some peas and if Im not carefull he ends up with more peas than we do!

So what can we do with peas.....we can steam,boil,saute them or even eat them raw (like Rufus does) all ways taste yummy but sometimes I like to do something a little different with them........
Peas in batter
Heat up some vegetable oil in a heavy based pan (enough oil to cover about a 1/3 of the pan) until nice and hot. 
150g S.R fllour, 1tsp baking powder, salt n pepper to taste,50ml/2floz soya cream. Mix flour,baking powder,salt n pepper and add cream, then mix to a batter. Add roughly 100g fresh or frozen peas and mix into batter. Put spoonfulls of the pea batter into hot oil and fry until golden (about 1-2 mins) remove with a slotted spoon and serve warm with a crisp salad and potato wedges or chips and a good dollop of tomato ketchup (vegan of course)
Rice and peas (this was given to me by a Jamacan friend)     (no measurements just however much you want)
Rinse rice of your choice (I usually use about half a pkt of a standard size pkt of rice) and put in a large pan with enough water to cover all the rice,bring to the boil and simmer,at this point add a piece of solid creamed coconut about the size of a matchbox (depending on how much rice you are using) and stir until melted,then add the juice of a large tin of kidney beans,then add a large handful of fresh/frozen peas (if using tinned peas dont add yet) When rice is cooked to your liking add the kidney beans (and tinned peas if using,juice drained) stir together and serve hot with crusty, buttered bread
Bubble and squeak peas
Mashed potato, onion which has been fried in little oil until golden and cooked peas. Mix altogether with a little pepper and place in a frying pan that has about 1tbls of oil in it. Cook of a medium heat until bottom is golden a crisp looking,remove from heat and (cover with dairyfree cheese optional) place pan under hot grill. Grill until top of bubble and squeak peas is brown in colour. Done :-)

Enjoy peas! :-)

Wednesday 3 August 2011

All creatures great and small

Summer time is here!
 We all enjoy sitting out on our garden, alone enjoying the rays and getting some needed quiet time or with family and friends, enjoying good company, good food and cooling refreshing drinks sparkling in the rays of the sun. And of course there is nothing better than a good BBQ to make summer feel even more like summer. If we are enjoying the warmth of the sun alone or with others, we always have more company than we think we would have....insects of all shapes and sizes :-)
Insects are fabulous little creatures who are good for our garden and plants and who all have an important job to do, but if like me you have an allergy to certain ones or just cant cope with insects crawling around you, then what should we do? Obviously it is absolutly unneccesary to harm them but we can keep them at a distance we are comfortable with, without harming or causing them stress and giving ourselves peace of mind :-)
There are many vegan insect repellents you can buy of the internet from sprays, soaps to candles but if like me you like to 'have a go' at making your own here's a natural insect repellent recipe that I found which works pretty well......
  • 10-25 drops (total) of essential oils
  • 2 tablespoons of a carrier oil or alcohol
The essential oils that work well against biting insects (mosquitoes, flies, ticks, fleas) are:
  • cinnamon oil (mosquitoes)
  • lemon eucalyptus or regular eucalyptus oil (mosquitoes, ticks, and lice)
  • citronella oil (mosquitoes and biting flies)
  • castor oil (mosquitoes)
  • orange oil (fleas)
  • rose geranium (ticks and lice)
Safe carrier oils and alcohols include:
  • olive oil
  • sunflower oil
  • any other cooking oil
  • witch hazel
  • vodka
Mix the essential oil with the carrier oil or alcohol. Rub the natural insect repellent onto skin or put in a spray bottle and spray on skin or clothing, using care to avoid the eye area.Re-apply after about an hour or after swimming or exercise. Any unused repellent can be stored in a dark bottle, away from heat or sunlight. You can also combine the oil with aloe vera gel to make more of a 'lotion' you can rub on your skin.

Different insects are repelled by different oils, so you'll get a more effective repellent if you combine a few different insect-repelling natural oils. If you are making large amounts of insect repellent, a good rule to remember is to mix the repellent so it's 5-10% essential oil, so mix 1 part essential oil with 10-20 parts carrier oil or alcohol.
( The essentials oils don't mix with water, so you'll need to add them to other oils or to alcohol. It's important to use an oil or alcohol that is safe for your skin. Also, don't go overboard with the essential oils. The oils are potent and could cause skin irritation or another reaction if you use too much. If you are pregnant or nursing, do not apply an insect repellent, natural or otherwise, until after you've gotten it cleared by your physician.)

The sun makes all creatures great and small come out and want to have fun so lets have fun together.HAPPY SUMMER TO ALL :-)