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Showing posts with the label Christmas

Vegan Stollen

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Written by McDonald, T.   |  Date 11th of December 2023   This is something I have heard of, but never tried before.  Usually, we have traditional Christmas cake in my house, but last year I wanted to try something different and this was it.  Rest assured, I will be having it again this year too! At first, it seems like a lot of effort, but you will soon see that it is straight forward to make and definitely worth it.  However, it will need proofing and the dried fruit will need soaking, which will all take time, so plan ahead.  Notes I used French Brandy Marzipan and so used brandy to flavour the raisins and cranberries. I used almond milk. A good tip is to dust the soaked fruit with a little flour before adding the dough. You have 3 options with the marzipan:  Roll it out  Chop it up Have a thick bar of it running through the centre I soaked the dried fruit in brandy, but you can make it without the alcohol is you wish or use rum instead. I used a silicon baking sheet to save on the

Christmas Dinner: No-gammon And No-Turkey Crown

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Written by McDonald, T.   |  Date 1st of December 2023 Actually, I had this dinner on New Year's Day at the beginning of the year.  However, it would make an excellent Christmas dinner and the leftovers can be used for Boxing Day dinner!  Providing these products are available, I would highly recommend them, which both came from Sainsbury's.   No-Turkey Crown Roast The No-Turkey Crown Roast in the image above was fantastic!  It cooked beautifully and maintained its moister making it juicy.  In addition, it calved really well and tasted so good.  It was great hot or even cold in sandwiches later. No-Gammon Roast The no gammon roast also cooked wonderfully!  It cut into slices without falling apart and had a great ham taste.  It was fine to have cold the next day too or even in sandwiches. I hope that you liked this blog and if you do try this recipe, please let me know how you got on and what it turned out like. You can leave a comment in the comments below.

Vegan Christmas Cake

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Written by McDonald, T.   |  Date 13th of November 2023 Christmas is just around the corner and you need to start your Christmas cake now!  Yes, it needs time to soak and feed.  You will have to soak the dried fruit for a week or so and once the cake is baked, you will need to feed the cake with more brandy.  Don't worry, all will be explained in this post.  This cake is completely vegan and has an amazing taste.  Holds together perfectly.  

English Apple Cake

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Written by McDonald, T.   |  Date 2nd of October 2023   What better way to celebrate a festival or just the weekend than with a slice of English apple cake?  This cake is flatter than most cakes, but is spread out more in a larger baking tin.  You can cut it into squares or into fingers. Notably, it is very easy to make and so tasty!

Brandy Sauce For Vegans

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Written by McDonald, T.   |  Date 23rd of December 2022   Getting frustrated with the lack of vegan options lately?  Well, this one is so easy to solve.  It has just four ingredients and is ready in minutes, and you can make it as strong as you like.  In addition, it goes great with Christmas pudding or Christmas cake and is fine hot or cold. Notes I used almond milk because almond and brandy flavours go nicely together. Keeps for about a week in an airtight container in the fridge. Check the brandy is vegan. Makes 5 – 6 servings. Time, 10 minutes.   Ingredients 400 ml of vegan milk 60 g of sugar 25 g of cornflour 6 tbsp of brandy Method Except for 2 tablespoons of the vegan milk, boil the milk with the sugar while stirring until the sugar has dissolved.  Take off the heat. Mix the cornflour with the remaining milk and whisk it into the hot milk and sugar and put back on the heat. Keep whisking. Bring back to the boil and remove.  Stir in the brandy.  Results It reminded me of custard

English Cuskynoles

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  Written by McDonald, T.   |  Date 16th of December 2022 Jingle bells, jingle bells… Yes, I am in the mood for Christmas and if you are too, this might be just the thing you were looking for!  It is sweet and fun, which is what people want at Christmas.  These little treats are the precursor to the mince pie.  You can serve them to your friends at your Christmas party and impress them with the history of the English Cuskynoles.

Christmas Dinner - No Turkey Parcels from Plant Pioneer

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Written by McDonald, T.   |  Date 5th of December 2022 I have had these at Christmas for the last two years.  Although they might not be available this year,  there is still the possibility that they will be, so it is a great idea to look out for them at Sainsbury's.  They are usually only available in the lead up to Christmas and you will likely have to order them to avoid disappointment.  Nonetheless, these No Turkey Parcels from Plant Pioneer are amazing! 

Growing Up With Christmas

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By McDonald, T.   |  Date 17th of December 2021 Christmas as a child was the most exciting time of the year. The build up to Christmas and the anticipation of being with family and getting wonderful and exciting presents was indescribable. One of the best things about Christmas, for me, was visiting family. I would go to my uncle's and see my cousins. I would get to see my Mum, brother, Sister and Aunties. Visiting family meant dressing up and getting ready for the occasion, which only added to the fun. As a Child, Christmas was a guaranteed joyous occasion, a time of fun and celebration for all. The build up to Christmas would start early in the year. Unlike today, children would receive gifts, main gifts; big expensive gifts, at birthdays and Christmas although we would get some smaller gifts throughout the year. Since modern children have gifts all the time, perhaps the children of today have lost the sense of excitement and lost the lesson of patients. Throughout the yea

Gift Ideas For A Vegan

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By McDonald, T.   |  Date 11th of November 2021 It's coming up to Christmas, yay, but you don't know what to buy for your vegan loved one.  Don't panic!  Most vegans like our little luxuries; however, please remember most of us try to be plastic free as well, so packaging counts. Nonetheless, it is not that difficult to find something super cool as a gift.  Toiletries     Every vegan I know is on the lookout for vegan toiletries.  These can be a bit expensive and so we consider them a treat.   Although we find the best deals and know where to get the cheapest stuff, any of the more up market soaps are appreciated.   Shampoo bars Body Soaps   Deodorant Women's stuff Shaving soap Body cream Many shops do gift sets and will even wrap them up for you.   Try looking for presents that are not in plastic.  Gift sets Pamper gift set    Other gift ideas  Candles  Interesting Shops  Enviroli Lush Clothing   Shirts  Jumpers Look at the labels and examine the fibres it is made of.

Ideas For Vegan Christmas Dinners

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By McDonald, T.   |  Date 10th of December 2021 Christmas is on the horizon and it is your first vegan Christmas.  What do you have for Christmas dinner?  Most people are going to want something traditional and mega exciting.  So, what do you prepare that is not going to disappoint yourself or your family?  You could leave it to the last minute or just take a chance on the day. However, everyone else will be doing a  rehearsal  of the big day in order to be sure of success.  Families never mind doing this.  You don't ave to pull out all the stops; nonetheless, its perfectly fine to test out the centrepieces for your Christmas dinner, such as the meat alternatives.  By this, I mean you can just test it out one Sunday for dinner or have it in the week with some low-key boiled veg.  Whatever you decide to do, I strongly advise that you start testing out ideas now if you are not certain what your diners will like. No Beef Wellington Wicked Wellington From Wicked Kitchen You can make y

Vegan Turkey Dinner

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Written by McDonald, T.   |  Date 3rd of December 2021     Looking for a tasty vegan festival dinner for Christmas or New year?  This Turkey Style Roast from Vbites could be the answer.  It cooks in about 45 minutes and you can carve it up like a joint.  Although it did seem a little strange at first when I took it out of the oven, it did taste really good.  I had it with some cranberry sauce, roast potatoes and vegetables.  Although it was not too much like turkey, I thought it was still all right and I would have it again. 

What Christmas Is Really About

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By McDonald, T.   |  Date 15th of December 2020 Every year almost everyone gets in a fluster over Christmas.  The shops will be packed out with frantic last minute shoppers looking for that ideal gift for a loved one.  In addition, many will moan and complain about Christmas because they don't know how to afford the expensive gifts or are just grumpy for a hobby.  With all this in mind, what is Christmas really about?  Christmas is a Christian festival that's about the birth of Jesus, the messiah and is celebrated on the 25th of December in the UK.  First let's outline the whole story with a timeline of events. Mary is visited by an angel and agrees to carry the child of God (Luke 1:26-38). Mary visits her cousin Elisabeth (Luke1:39-45). An angel tells Joseph, in a dream, it will be OK to take Mary as his wife (Matthew 1:18-24). Jesus is born in a stable because there is no room at the inn (Luke 2:7) An angel visits the shepherds (Luke 2:8-20) The three wise men visit the

Why the West is Unhappy?

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By McDonald, T.   |  Date 12th of December 2020 Growing up I would often hear things like, 'Cleanliness is next to Godliness.'  This has deeper meaning than it first seems.  We can clean the house, tidy the rooms and we can rearrange things in a more organised way, but what about inside our hearts and minds? Cleaning the mind and house First, lets look at how we clean our homes.  We declutter areas, getting rid of all the things we don't need.  We tidy the shelves, we tidy the cupboards, we clean the cupboards under the stairs, but what about the cupboards and shelves in our minds?  What about all the stuff we have shelved for later because we can't deal with it now? What about the broken relationships that we leave to fester in the back of our minds?  If it was something in the house we would aim to fix it right away, but if it is a broken relationship we don't?  Could this be that we don't know what to do?  If you had a broken sink in the house and you didn&#

Christingle Oats (Vegan)

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By McDonald, T. | Date 1st of December 2020 Breakfast will never be the same with this delicious treat. You can eat this at any time of the day and it will be both stratifying and filling. The cranberries represent the blood of Christ who is the light in the world, the fruit and nuts represent the fruits of the Holy Spirit and the four seasons. The orange represents the world. 100% vegan. Serves 1 Ingredients 1/2 a cup of Rolled oats 1 cup of soya milk 1 tsp chia seeds Orange segments 1/4 of cinnamon 1/4 of nutmeg 4 Crushed walnuts 10g of pine nuts Steam ginger pieces 10g Cranberries berries 10g Sultanas A sprinkle of vegan chocolate beans 1/2 tsp of vanilla essence Salt to taste 1/2 tsp of sugar Apparatus A jar  A metal spoon  Method Put the 1/2 a cup of oats into the jar with the cranberries, sultanas, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and the salt. Poor the milk in, add the vanilla essence and give it a good stir. Place in a fridge overnight.

Best Vegan Websites

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By McDonald, T.   |  Date 2nd of November 2020 If you are looking for that special present for someone or even just yourself, take a look at these sites. All the sites in the blog have vegan and plastic free products and some even sell some food. All sites, however, are mainly about the bathroom and kitchen.  Although each site is similar and provides similar products and brand names, all are a little different.  All sites do gift packs and have a good selection of men's toiletries. Being vegan and going plastic free has never been so easy. Enviroli   What does it sell? Eco-friendly and plastic free products. Sells a reasonable range of goods for a new or experienced vegan form a range of different brands. Vegan toiletries. Bathroom stuff.  Kitchen stuff. Home Baby things. Pets stuff.  This is perhaps my favourite in that I have used it many times and it has my washing detergent which is TruEarth.  I found great gifts for people at this site. Animal Aid    What does it sell? Anima