Quick noodle soup with crispy tofu

My boyfriend is deceptively fussy. He doesn't come across that way but over time, I have learnt that he's not too crazy about tomatoes, noodles, pasta, cous cous mushrooms, tofu and anything too crispy. So on nights like this when he's out and I'm cooking for one, I'm free to experiment with any ingredient without stressing if my other half will enjoy it.

I was feeling quite lazy tonight but still determined to make something un-boyfriendly so I threw together a quick noodle soup, topped with some crispy tofu and fried shallots. Tasty.

Baking Up a Storm

In June last year, my friend Stacey and I went to a cupcake decorating class in Brighton. While I have by no means perfecting the art of piping, my decorating has gotten a lot better! Practice makes perfect, so even though Nat and I live alone, cupcakes are still baked by the dozen, giant bags of icing sugar are ripped open with a flourish, chocolate is melted and turned into ganache, piping bags are filled and icing flows through my fast growing collection of plastic and metal icing tips.

Vegan chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Vegan chocolate raspberry blackout cake with raspberry icing and chocolate ganache

Carrot cupcakes with cream cheese icing

Coffee cupcakes with chocolate and coffee icing

Banana cupcakes with banana icing, chocolate and dried bananas

Baking for Halloween: Vegan chocolate cupcakes with coconut icing

Vegan Speculoos cupcakes

Back on it

I've had all the best intentions of keeping this blog updated, taking photos of virtually every meal, making mental notes of the places I've dined at, downloading the right apps on my phone... And yet here I am a year later, tending to its neglected posts with a heap of photos and memories to sort through.

I've made a few changes over the past year, one of is which is that I'm now a pescatarian. This decision was a difficult one to make, which was a few years in the making and I basically came to the decision to change my diet for my health. That is not to say you cannot have a healthy lifestyle on a vegetarian or vegan diet alone; I am still predominantly vegetarian and I often prepare vegan meals for my boyfriend and I, but noticed a significant change in my energy levels and well-being when little amounts of fish were introduced to my diet (namely salmon) which I did not get by taking vegan DHA. My stance on animal welfare has, of course, not changed.

I found this site really interesting: http://www.fishfight.net/

Manna, Primrose Hill

Sunday roasts are everywhere over here. Sometimes you just can't walk down a high street without tripping over a blackboard special! But it's always the same old offerings: chicken, pork or beef. Now, I love the idea of Sunday bringing families and friends together over a lovely meal; chicken, pork or beef however, I really do not love.

After doing some research, my bff-fellow-foody-partner-in-crime Anton and I went too Manna in Primrose Hill, after seeing that they offered a seasonal vegan Sunday roast. For starters, we ordered the crisped ravioli filled with wild mushroom & walnut pâté with fennel cream sauce, sundried tomato pesto & balsamic reduction. This was devine, and luckily also available as a main.


And of course, the Sunday nut roast with lentil sauce.

Saf, Shoreditch

I've lived in London for just over a year, some parts of that year were absolutely lovely, and of course some parts were freakishly difficult. One of the highlights, I must say, is the food. I cannot get over how amazing the selection of cuisine is here! It is not difficult to be a vegetarian or a vegan in this city. It is perhaps, more difficult, to be able to afford everything I want to eat though. That being said, it certainly has not stopped me gaining what feels like 10 kilos since I lived in New Zealand.For my first 6 months here, I lived in a warehouse. One night I made over £300 by running coatcheck out of my bedroom during a rave that was on in the front section of my flat. After waking up at 7pm, groggy and a bit dazed, I celebrated by taking my old flatmate Maddy from NZ out to dinner to Saf in Shoreditch.

We ordered mushroom gyozas to share. I had the Rustic Farinata: Slow roasted seasonal vegetables and mushrooms in chickpea crepe topped with a tarragon aioli, while Maddy had the tempeh salad. Absolutely delicious and the cocktails are devine.

Soup on a Houseboat

A while ago, my friend Bernice and I were walking along the canal to Broadway Market when we discovered this little gem. While we were standing around ogling (cos you know how subtle we are), we were invited aboard to wait for our Chai tea.. and even though we were seconds away from the market, we decided to pig out anyway.

We were pretty excited!


B's cake

.. And my lentil soup.

I couldn't decide what bread to get so the lovely woman asked if I would like to try them all. And you know I said hells yes.

Mock Chicken Laksa

MOCK CHICKEN LAKSA

1 small sliced onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
3 cups of veggie stock
400g rice noodles, precooked in warm water and drained
2 cups coconut milk
1 Tbsp sugar
Black pepper & salt to taste
1 tsp curry powder
½ to 1 tsp chili powder
Handful mock chicken, fried (eg. rehydrated TVP fried in 'chickn' seasoning)
Broccoli
Large carrot
125g bean sprouts

Heat a little oil in a wok, and sauté the onions until they’re soft and translucent, stirring in the chopped garlic. Add the ground coriander and cumin, let it blend in for another minute and then pour in the veggie stock. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the noodles, coconut milk, sugar, black pepper & salt, curry powder and chili powder. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Add the broccoli, carrots, bean sprouts and the pre-fried mock chicken. Continue simmering, covered, until the carrots are cooked but still crisp.

Garnish with coriander and spring onion.

Enjoy!