VEGAN FRENCH TOAST

For some silly reason I've never really given much thought to french toast, it's always pancakes this and waffles that, I feel like french toast is the under-sung hero of breakfast tables everywhere (well my breakfast table anyway).

I guess it's because I've always associated French toast with egg but not anymore! Of course vegans being the clever bunch that we are (way to toot my own horn), have come up with a healthier banana based alternative.

If your a fan of quick and easy recipes like me - especially at silly o'clock in the morning, this one is definitely for you. After whizzing it all up in the blender your ready to dip in your bread, fry it up and go.

Oh yeah, soak in that butter baby! Don't be shy it's dairy-free. 

Ingredients:

-  Bread of your choice

-  3 ripe bananas

-  4 cups unsweetened almond milk

-  1.5tsp cinnamon

-  1tsp organic vanilla extract 

-  Vegan margarine to fry (I used Biona organic sunflower spread) 

-  Maple syrup, icing sugar and fruit to serve

Instructions:

1. Blend the bananas, milk, cinnamon and vanilla together in a blender or food processor.

2. Pour the mixture into a deep dish. 

3. Heat up a frying pan and grease it with the vegan margarine.

4. Take a slice of bread and dip it into the mixture, coating both sides, before placing in the pan to fry. Turn over once brown on the under side. I fried two slices of bread at a time and added approx a tsp of butter before cooking the next pair.

Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup or agave if desired and garnish with some fruit of your choice (I recommend strawberries and blueberries or even more bananas). You could also add a handful of nuts and a sprinkling of icing sugar to your stack, which I feel makes it look more fancy and quite festive, ideal for Christmas day brunch.  

 Those layers though...

It snowed on my plate!

Let me know if you've made vegan french toast before or give this recipe a try and tag me on instagram @theveganvirgo or twitter @veganvirgoblog - look forward to seeing your creations!

TOFU FRIED RICE

This has to be the easiest and most versatile meal you can make! All in all it must have taken me about 15 mins to make.

Serves 4/5

Ingredients:

- 4 cups of brown rice
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1inch cube of ginger, grated
- 6 spring onions, chopped diagonally
- 1tsp turmeric
- 1 block firm organic tofu
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen sweetcorn
- 3tbsp soy sauce
- Sesame/olive oil to fry
- Soy sauce for serving

Instructions:

1. While the rice is boiling away, fry 2 cloves of garlic, a 1inch cube of ginger in a wok or large pan.
2. Next chop the block of tofu into little squares and fry them in the same pan as the garlic and ginger.
3. Add a tsp of turmeric to give the tofu a yellow look (I prefer this to pale tofu, plus turmeric is so incredibly good for you!).
4. In a separate pan fry the spring onions and any other veg you'd like to add.
5. Once the rice is done, pour it all into the same pan/wok and begin to stir fry.
6. Add the cup of frozen peas and sweetcorn.
7. Next pour in 2tbsp soy sauce.
8. Add 1/2-1tsp of basil and chives at the end.

I love that the combination possibilities for this are endless, next time I want to try adding mushrooms and mange tout just like my old favourite Wagamama's dish, Yasai Cha Han. 

OKRA MASALA

Just a quick one today and the last in the series of Vegan Eats World pics, I promise. I have lot's of exciting new posts in the pipeline and feel excited to share all my ideas with you.

I had to share this last dish as I love okra, I usually make it in a standard tomato and onion sauce but the masala was an interesting twist and added a whole new dimension to my idea of okra! I would never have thought to put the two together but it works perfectly, the okra makes this a substantial vegan meal while the spices and comforting (optional) brown rice, make this an ideal Winter warmer.

On a side note I'm currently recovering from a chest infection so I'm craving lots of healthy food, now more than ever - and strangely lots and lots of tomatoes.  This dish was great for that, it was also relatively quick and easy to make so this one will be going in my book of favourites for sure. 

PAD THAI

Here she goes again with another Vegan Eats World recipe post, sorry guys I just can't get enough! The more I use this book the more I want to make, which is great for me as I'm a lazy cook! This one was a bit of a tough recipe as there's a lot to coordinate - think chopping, stirring and boiling all at the same time. However I'm sure your all much more coordinated than me in the kitchen and the extra effort is so worth it for a wow factor meal. This one's sure to impress at dinner parties especially when you serve each one fresh off the wok as it's ready, authentic style! 

We sadly overcooked our noodles on this one, we left them in the water far too long so they became quite dense and heavy (you can see from the mass pile of noodles on our plate!). So long as your quick on your feet with this dish and follow the recipe it should turn to perfectly, the flavours are amazing. Like all good pad thai's the crushed peanuts, beansprouts and lime were used to garnish the plate at the end, we decided to omit the spicy greens and avocado as the dish has so many flavours already (maybe if our portions were smaller we might have been able to manage it huh!...). 

I'm more than willing to give this another whirl as Pad Thai is a fav of mine so would like to perfect it. Let me know if you've used the Vegan Eats World recipe book before and what your fav dishes are, or perhaps you have another awesome pad thai recipe to share?

VEGAN EATS WORLD

Vegan Eats World by Terry Hope Romero

I had to share with you my new recipe bible that is Vegan Eats World. This book came into my life recently and I'm so glad it did as I haven't been able to stop cooking/drooling over it's pretty plant based pictures ever since. 

This food is comforting, wholesome, filling and really flavourful. The instructions are clear and easy to follow and with over 300 international recipes there's bound to be something to take your fancy on any given day of the week.

Here are 3 of my favourite dishes so far:

Eggplant Shakshuka with Green Tahini Sauce

Egyptian Lentil Soup  

 Tofu and Potato Adobo Stew

This weekend I'll be making a Pad Thai from the book but what I really can't wait for is the dessert section (insert smug emoticon here). If this lot is anything to go by then they're bound to be incredible! Does anyone have any recommendations?

LIMECRIME VELVETINE REVIEW

Limecrime is a vegan, cruelty-free make-up brand that offers an array of unique shades from rainbow brights and unicorn pastels to witchy autumnal hues. I love their velvetine range of lipsticks that go on as a liquid and dry completely matt. I get so many compliments when I wear it and at least a dozen people a day ask me where it's from - strangers will even stop me in the street!

The application is a little trickier than normal lipstick as you have to apply it right first time, any error around the lip line will result in a smudge on your face that's hard to remove without taking the rest of your face off! However it's worth spending a bit of extra time getting that outline right as the result will be a perfect lip that lasts all day. Saying that I can still apply this on my bumpy tube journey to work every morning, it just needs a bit more concentration than your bog standard lippy.

Left: Wicked, Right: Red Velvet

Above: Wicked, Below: Red Velvet

As you can see in the pics above the colours are so bright, it's this pigmentation along with the liquid to matt formula that makes the velvetine really stand out from the crowd. I've also previously tried the Suedeberry shade which is a lovely orangey red and perfect for the Summer months. I'm totally in love with this brand and won't stop until I've tried everything they have to offer! I'm contemplating the black velvetine next, which would also be ideal for Halloween. Have you ever tried Limecrime make-up? If so what's your fav product and shade?

BRIGHTON BIRTHDAY

I wanted to get away from crazy city life for my Birthday this year (I must be getting old), so my boyfriend took me on a trip to Brighton for the day. The sun was shining and it couldn't have been a better day to have fun and enjoy the last of the Summer sun.

First we had a little stroll around the lanes then went for lunch at a vegetarian restaurant called Terre a Terre (sorry don't know how to do the accent on the a!). We opted for the sharing platter which comprised of mini versions of all the popular main dishes - we were blown away! There were mini nachos and guacamole, sesame tofu, wasabi cashews, aubergine zhuganoush and a teeny weeny glass of kale soup to name a few. 

All of this was followed by a chorus of Happy Birthday which was sung to me by the waiter (highly embarrassing but very sweet) and an amazing dark chocolate ganache and mixed berry birthday cake to take home - all vegan of course. 

The food was out of this world and we will definitely be visiting this restaurant in the near future (if not just to sample the churros). I'd recommend this place to everyone from veggie to meat eater as the quality of food is top notch, the service is excellent and presentation is incredible - what's not to like! All in all it was the perfect Birthday meal.