Eating Out: Pho Bristol

Before a delightful evening of Classical Music at the Colston Hall, we decided to give the new chain restaurant Pho, which boasts a gluten free menu with vegan options a go. 

We weren’t able to book a table however this wasn’t an issue our hostess guided us to our table and we started by ordering fresh juices, each of the four of us opted for different flavours and no-one was disappointed. 

We ordered Gỏi Cuốn - rice paper rolls with a creamy peanut sauce to start which was very more-ish, and would be an ideal light bite option if you weren’t overly hungry.

For our main course we had Bun Noodles - rice noodles (my partner had veggie rolls, I had tofu and mushroom) with fresh herbs and veggies with a delicious rich sauce. These are incredibly generous portions and neither of us managed to get to the bottom of our bowls! We had a side order of Lotus salad with green beans and sesame seeds. Our friends tried the noodle soup, and the curry (which was quite spicy). Everyone really enjoyed their meals, and we would happily go again. One thing to bear in mind is the size of the portions, and if you are short on time make sure you arrive early because the restaurant can get very busy. 

The staff were knowledgable about vegan dishes, and other allergy queries and in general we were pretty impressed. It was an ideal option the centre of Bristol, and if you have a craving for excellent Vietnamese cuisine this is the place for you! 

find more:
http://www.phocafe.co.uk/locations/bristol/

Summer Barbecue Vegetable Skewers with marinade

vegan, gluten free, BBQ

Ingredients:
1 courgette

1 pineapple 

a big handful of button mushrooms

1 large Romano Pepper

rosemary branches (or wooden skewers if you don't have these) 

For the marinade:
2 tablespoons olive oil
a handful of chopped fresh coriander
a handful of chopped fresh tarragon
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoon agave syrup
salt and pepper to taste 

Home made tomato ketchup:
For recipe click here

If you happen to have a Rosemary plant, go and break off a few branches the ones you can see here are dried, but fresh branches are better. Then trim your branches so there are no bumps in your skewers.

Cut up your vegetables into equal sizes. 

Push your vegetables onto your new skewers, I decided to make a pattern with mine but you can put them on in any order you like. 

When the Barbecue Vegetables are ready, add it to the marinade, make sure the are completely coated. Leave to marinate at room temperature for at least 1 hour.

Barbecue your vegetables on a barbecue until the courgette is soft (this takes the longest) and serve with whatever you wish, we had veggie burgers, quinoa salad, crisps, houmous and leftover bean casserole with ours.

Book review: Riverford Companion - Autumn & Winter

This is a very exciting book. Guy Watson and his team of chefs have created a lovely cookbook that shows you how to create wholesome and delicious dishes using local, seasonal vegetables. There are two volumes of the Riverford Companion series; one for autumn and winter (which I am reviewing today) and a second for spring and summer. I am aware it is now spring, but the meals in the winter edition are delicious, the current rainy weather still permits a heartwarming dish and at the time of writing this I am receiving just the last of the winter harvest in my veg box.

The team were perceptive whilst designing the book; having a chapter dedicated to each vegetable makes understanding the flavour and potential of them accessible. This layout is innovative and more appropriate for the task of "taming your vegetables". The book gets its name from its intended purpose as a "companion" to a veg box; to enlighten customers and prevent them from feeling lost, confused and sad upon receiving, for example, a bag of Jerusalem Artichokes (make soup!) or Salsify (sautée!). I agree completely with this title.  

Using this book was very fun, educational and interesting. I do not regularly cook many British vegetables as vegan cooking hasn't adapted to incorporate them frequently. The Riverford Companion, however opened a lot of doors for me, though book is omnivorous, there are vegan dishes (vegetarian too). Also at the beginning of each chapter is an introduction that explains fundamental preparatory and cooking guidelines for the vegetable along with what other food said vegetable works well with. This feature makes it easy to use include new vegetables in dishes I am already comfortable with, for example using sliced parsnip in a curry as they recommend pairing parsnip with cumin, coriander and turmeric.

 

I tried a few recipes from the book, all the meals were successful, without confusion and with a wholesome, satisfying and quality taste, which seems to be their style running throughout the dishes. My favourite was the Squash and Black bean chilli, it had a lovely mix of flavours and just the right amount of heat. The roasted Beetroot, Carrot, lentil and cumin seed salad comes in second, a dish I foresee being a regular in the work lunchbox. 

One of the best cookbooks I have used.  It is honest, accurate, enthusiastic and full of brilliant content. Although a picture of every dish would be nice. The Riverford Companion reconnects us with our local environment by teaching how to use seasonal food grown in our surroundings. They seem to be starting a revival of the British cuisine, unfortunately I don't know many who regularly include jerusalem artichoke, dandelion leaves, fennel, squash, pumpkin, cabbage in their daily diet. Yet these are all things which grow around us. And as the book illustrates, it can definitely be delicious and nourishing.

To buy this book click here

Price £12.99

Vegan and Gluten free 'Chicken' Nuggets!!

vegan, gluten free

Vegan and gluten free chicken nuggets.

This is a very easy recipe for vegan "chicken" nuggets. It has two main ingredients and seasonings. You will love to do this recipe for any occasion, it's easy, quick, cheap, and gluten free! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
250g oyster mushrooms
1 large cauliflower
500ml oil for frying

For batter:
250g chickpea flour
250g gluten free cornflakes
Aprx 500ml water.

Method.

Cut the cauliflower into small florets, no more than 5 cm across in any direction.
For the batter, mix all ingredients. Slowly whisk in 500 ml water whisk to combine and get rid of any lumps.

Heat about 10 cm depth of oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat. When the oil is hot enough to turn a cube of white bread light golden brown in 30 – 40 second.

Prepare two bolls. One for gram flour, second for cornflakes. Coat cauliflower and mushrooms with the gram flour and dust with a little cornflakes.

Start frying the "chicken", a few nuggets at a time. Fry for about 4 minutes, until crisps and golden brown on the base, then turn over and cook for another minute or two.

 

 

Eating In: Miller Green Takeaway Review

Miller Green is a local Bristol business that delivers freshly cooked veggie meals, which you can choose from their daily menu selection on their website. 

We met Miller Green at Vegfest last month and have been waiting for the opportune moment to order. 

Today was busy and we didn’t have time to go shopping and the cupboards were bare as we just got back from visiting relatives. 

Their website had plenty of vegan and gluten free options, with all dietary information and allergy details clearly marked. We rung up and ordered the Moroccan Stew and Thai Curry, and arranged a time that suited us (we needed time to go and vote to remain IN the EU). Our order arrived on time, with clear instructions on how to reheat as the dishes are delivered pre-cooked but not warm. 

Everything had been prepared perfectly, and was extremely tasty. The Moroccan Stew had a rich tomato flavour but with exotic and fruity undertones. The curry was so smooth and the vegetables tender and precisely seasoned. 

We have ordered from various Chinese and Indian takeaways for gluten free and vegan food within Bristol, many came very highly recommended and we were disappointed pretty much every time. We had never heard of Millers Green before and we believe it to be the best takeaway we have ever had. The service was professional and efficient, everything was extremely well designed and prepared for those with allergies and intolerances and quite frankly no other takeaway business in Bristol comes close. 

High praise we know, but we advise you to investigate next time you fancy a takeaway in Bristol. 

Riverford Organic Farmers

Farm interviews

Today we were lucky enough to speak with a few of the Riverford Farm workers, pioneers of the organic veg box scheme. They have been growing organic produce for over 35 and are now one of the biggest veg box suppliers in the country. Keep checking onto our blog because over the next few weeks we will be reviewing some scrumptious, yet accessible recipes their latest cookbooks.

JP: Could you give a summary of your farm and its history, how big is it, what sort of model you are running?

R: Riverford was one of the pioneering organic vegetable box schemes, founded nearly 25 years ago by Guy Watson, who still owns and runs it. Riverford, the Watson family farm in Devon, is at the heart of Guy’s veg box scheme, and various other Watson family enterprises: a dairy herd and award-winning dairy which produces our milk, cream, and yoghurt; a farm shop, kitchen and bakery; the meat box business and the Field Kitchen restaurant. The farm has a 25 year history of producing high quality fresh seasonal food and building the connection between consumer and grower (Riverford was the first farm in the country to open to the public back in the 1970s). Riverford now deliver their iconic organic veg boxes, meat and more to 47,000 homes a week across England and South Wales.

JP: Is your produce organic?

R: Yes, all 100% organic.

JP: What are you most proud of about your farm and why?

R: We are one of the larger box schemes, which enables us to offer varied box contents, flexibility, good value and service. We grow the vegetables ourselves, giving our customers a real connection with the farm, which customers are welcome to come and visit. All deliveries are by our local vegmen/ladies, not couriers. As well as our original farm in Devon, we have regional farms in Cambridgeshire, Yorkshire and Hampshire, so that vegetables can be grown and distributed more locally. There are a few outstanding local box schemes that grow a good range and distribute locally and should be supported. For a bigger box scheme, we believe ours is a really good model. We are also really proud that despite our growth, our original company ethos to look after everything from the land, to the wildlife, to our growers and customers, has never been compromised; we never cut corners or take the easy route, but do the right thing.

JP: What services do you offer?

R: We have a wide range of veg boxes, fruit boxes, meat boxes, and recipe boxes (everything needed to make seasonal home-cooked meals). We also sell a range of dairy (from our own dairy herd) and organic cooking staples (grains, oils and vinegars etc).

JP: Are you open to vegetable enthusiasts visiting?

R: Yes! We do farm tours.

JP: What are you currently growing?

R: At the moment we have been busy picking pak choi, kohlrabi, summer turnips, rhubarb and more. We’re looking forward to broad beans, sweetcorn and lots of other lovely summer veg that will soon be ready for harvest.

JP: Do you have a favourite vegetable to grow?

R: Guy’s favourite vegetable is the cardoon.

JP: Thanks again for your time, good luck for the seasons to come.

Interviewed by Jan Philips 
To follow Riverford Organic Farmers visit their website and FB page. 

Aqua faba merignues

vegan, gluten free

Vegan meringues

"Hey guys I've made these great Vegan meringues using the water from a tin of chickpea. They're delicious!"

Unless you're talking to a seasoned Vegan, this is not an attractive way to market the result of today's adventure with chickpeas. You might receive responses such as, "Oh dear! It is a sad and desperate time in the vegan world. The EU referendum has affected you badly!"

If you are met with no curiosity at all, then that just means more meringues for you. There is no doubt about it, this simple 3 ingredient recipe produces meringues as delicious as the original egg-heavy counterpart; I have fed these successfully to vegetarians. 

You will need:

An electric whisk or 3 people with strong whisking arms

The liquid from a 400g can of cooked chickpeas (aqua faba)

½ - 1 cup granulated sugar (depending on your taste preference)

½ - 1 tsp. vanilla extract

You will save a lot of time and energy if the aqua faba is cold. 2 hours in the fridge will be enough. Depending on your strength, you will need an electric whisk

• Preheat the oven to 100C 
• Whisk the aqua faba until it forms firm peaks 
• Slowly pour in the sugar, whilst whisking quickly 
• Once the mix is firm enough so that you can turn the bowl upside down without losing any, put 2-3cm dollops onto a parchment lined baking tray 
• Bake for 1.5 hours

This recipe is not my own creation, nor an adaptation, but a truly wonderful development in plant-based cooking developed by Goose Wohlt and Joël Roessel. Click here to learn the history of aqua faba, or 'bean water' if you translate it from latin. Or, click here for a brilliant, lively facebook community dedicated to aqua faba (there are a lot of good recipes to try, more than meringues and pavlova!)