Friends, family and a food haul

It's felt like a really busy few weeks with the time flying by! We had a lovely visit from Jojo of Vegan in Brighton blog and her partner, Nick a few weekends ago. We loved having them to stay and it was amazing hearing about their travels and plans for the future. We managed to fit in taking them to the Globe, our town's vegan pub and whilst they were here I also knocked up a 'carb buffet' or as Nick renamed it a 'beige banquet'. As well as burgers there was mac and cheese made using my favourite Oh She Glows recipe that uses roasted butternut squash which is topped with toasted pumpkin seeds.


I also made one of my favourite pizzas. I can take no credit for this as it used to be on the menu at Odder in Manchester a few years back but I would urge you to give it as try. The base is covered with hoisin sauce then topped with sliced par boiled potatoes and slices of red onion. Simple and delicious.


I made some more ice cream this week with my recently purchased Aldi ice cream maker and the 20p cans of coconut milk from last week's Netto closing down sale. I was really pleased with how this came out. I used this recipe for Coconut, Almond, Choc Chip which is based on Ben and Jerry's Coconut, Almond Fudge. I never had the Ben and Jerry's when it was available to make a comparison but this was really good, especially served in Aldi's chocolate dipped waffle cones.


We had my nephew and niece to stay on their first sleepover at our house. It was a lot of fun and I got them to make dessert. They had fun choosing from my cookie cutter collection to make these lemon shortbread biscuits and I introduced them to a tradition I remember from being a kid of using the last bit of dough to make your initial that also acts as a 'tester' biscuit.


We also had a bit of a science lesson and observed what happens to chocolate when it is heated and cooled. It was the first time they had tried honeycomb and they loved it. The honeycomb is a traditional English sweet which doesn't contain honey at all. I picked up a bag for 65p from Home Bargains the other week which was even labelled as suitable for vegans.


Last Saturday Matt and I had a shopping trip to Ashton, home of many great bargain stores. We popped into B and M's, Fultons and our favourite vegetarian Asian Supermarket - ASM. We came away with a great haul and have a well stocked pantry again.


These noodles were labelled as vegetarian and there was nothing I noticed in the ingredients to suggest that they weren't vegan. For 50p they've been a nice snack/ easy lunch.


We can't go to ASM without picking up some Cofresh Cheese and Onion curls. We also found these pressels (39p) and almonds (69p) in B and M's. I love Smokehouse Almonds and am excited to try the Wasabi and Soy flavour which I've never seen before.


The noodles were from Fultons and we stocked up on some bargain teas there too. I am really enjoying the Vital Rooibos and Honeybush which are also organic. All five boxes came to a total of £1. The beige box on the left is some darjeeling from Bellevue Tea Company and is lovely too and a bargain at 39p!


Another thing I was pleased to pick up from B and M's was this Vita Coco coconut oil at £2 less than the usual price. Since reading about how monkeys are used in coconut farming I'm trying to be more aware of which brands are ok and this is a make that I'd spotted on an ok list.


Our big exciting news in our little town is that a new artisan bakery has just opened called Grains Bakehouse. We finished up the last of our Vegan Egg on some of their sourdough and it was wonderful bread.


In even more exciting news this is also about to open! Can't wait to see what the Pie Parlour will be selling. I'll be sure to report back. Have a great weekend everyone.

Comments

  1. That is a seriously great haul - you seem to manage to find such great bargains!
    The pizza topping combination also sounds great. I will have to try it one day.

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    Replies
    1. I am really in love with pizza making and trying non tomato sauces at the moment.

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  2. That is a lot of great shopping!

    Your ice cream looks awesome.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. I'm on the hunt for more vegan Ben and Jerry's style recipes!

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  3. I read about the carb buffet on Jojo's Instagram and it just sounds AMAZING!

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    1. It was fun. We had a bit of token salad but it was mainly beige but sometimes beige is best!

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  4. The pizza sounds really good!

    I was in Glossop while I was back in the UK and was very excited to see the Pie Parlour sign - and swiftly devastated by the opening date! I'm looking forward to hearing what it's like and if I should squeeze in a visit over the Christmas holidays.

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    1. I will definitely report back! I don't know the owners at all but fingers crossed it's going to be a good one!

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  5. Thanks for the links about monkeys picking coconuts. I knew about it, but the article I read was really vague, and I couldn't find anymore information. I guess maybe it was early on with making people aware of the practice?

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    1. Yes, I only heard about it recntly. I think it's one of those things like palm oil that people will become gradually more aware off.

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  6. We had so much fun visiting you guys! Next time you'll have to take me bargain shopping, you always find the best stuff. Thanks for the link to the article about how Monkeys are used to pick coconuts, that's terrible and I'll definitely be looking out for the ethical brands from now on.

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    1. We will definitely take you bargain shopping to Ashton. There are some great vegan places to eat there too.

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  7. i want that ice cream! i wish we had ready made chocolate dipped cones here!

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    1. They are really good. I hope Aldi keep doing them!

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  8. Ooohhh your pizza looks delicious I never thought of adding potato to a pizza (I must do this soon). I LOVE the follow your heart eggs - it's allowed me to make delicious yorkshire puddings, pancakes and of course eggs! xo

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  9. That pizza sounds right up my alley, will be making that for sure! I love topping pizza crusts with very non pizza toppings!
    Thanks for sharing about the coconut oil, I had no idea, now I know to be more careful.
    Homemade ice cream?? Amazing!

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  10. A vegan who loves to cook. I could see being married to someone like that (in the interest of good food, health, and ethics), but then I would have to leave my wife of 44-years and move to England from America's Pacific Coast (that's assuming you didn't want to come here)...hummm, it would be nice to live near All Consuming (who I will offer as my reference on the off-chance that I strike you as being completely insane) though, so there is that. Well, what do you say? Do you feel that we know one another well enough, or should we give our relationship two or three more minutes before making a firm commitment?

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