Whats in lunch box? Led by the veg

After feasting on this at lunchtime I think I can conclude that vegetables really my ideal lunch. This selection filled me up. Plus I was free of afternoon cravings for snacks. Not great when you have a 30 minute round trip from your desk to have any hope of fulfilling them.

Clockwise from top right:

Corn on the cob - soaked in water for 10 minutes and then baked. Highly portable and highly tasty.

Mixed vegetable Wat - from The Vegan Lunchbox. I'd expected this to be different. Richer? Creamier? More like a roux? However after my initial misgivings this did indeed prove to be a. Rey tasty way to consume vegetables. I'd definitely make again although I'd up the spice next time.

Bob the Book by David Pratt - I haven't been reading this short, sweet story about relationships between books for over a week. Well, I have but I got side tracked by The Watchers by Stephen Alford. It's about intelligence gathering and spies during the Elizabethan era. It shows a very dark side to a time that it usually looked at as bring golden and enlightened. Bit of a contrast to Bob.

Plums - served chilled, a wonderful combination of sweet, sour, and juicy.

Bread - I had a crack at my favourite bread recipe from long ago. It's just my style. You bung some yeast in hot water, leave it for a bit and then add flour until you have a dough of the right consistency. Then knead, prove and bake. Very pleased with the rather filling results.

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Massively distracted by Vegfest London

I had every intention of returning from the opening day of Vegfest London 2013 and proceeding to write a comprehensive blog post documenting the wonders that were to see be seen, heard, and eaten. I started off well.

I shared a photographs of a Yasai dog from The Mighty Fork, some vegan ice cream from Razzle Dazzle, and the samples I was tasting following a cookery demonstration.

Then I got lost in the two floors of stalls, talks, and demonstrations. Just as well I'm not a journalist or my copy would have been a bit lacking.

Searching my memory I came up with the following highlights:

Food

• Cakes from Vegan cakes and treats, a vegan coffee shop in Camden – this requires further investigation.
• Finally tried the desserts from Pudology.
• A tasty new take on Setain involving lentils from Muscolo di grano.

• A cake stall with cream cakes. Yes that's right a stall with amazing cream cakes on offer from J.P. Turner foods.They tasted wonderful, and were huge. I failed to eat more than half of my cream slice (the other half made an excellent Sunday breakfast).
• Vegusto is still my favourite vegan cheese.

Drink

• Orzo Coffee made from Barley – a great taste with no caffeine.
• Mirabilia tea made from olive leaves – tasted like green tea and is apparently amazingly good for you.

Shoes

• I found the perfect pair of boots at The Third Estate.
• Having viewed Will's vegan shoes I'm very keen for them to launch.

Contacts

I chatted with Thomas from the London vegan and vegetarian societies about setting up a group in Chelmsford (watch this space!).

Entertainment

And finally after watching Fat Gay Vegan pick up his well- deserved award for best blog, I watched a band.

Goldblade were clearly more used to turning up the volume and crowd surfing. Instead they were faced with delivering an acoustic set to an audience who had been gorging on carbs and sugar. With a cardboard box standing in for a massive drum kit we had possibly the world's first seated mosh pit, although by the end of the set we'd thrown off out stupor for energetic dancing.

All in all a splendid way to spend a Saturday. Roll on next year where I shall endeavour not to get too distracted by delicious things and shoes.

Wishing you all things green, 

Annastasia

What's in my lunchbox? Chew well

This was a fabulous lunch. A great mix of flavours and texture. I should warn anyone thinking of cooking along similar lines that it's advisable to chew the polenta fries well before swallowing. Failure to to do could put you in the same situation that I found myself in on Friday lunchtime. I'd decided, as part of my learning new things, to start attending the Friday lunchtime concerts at the Cathedral. I'm not into religion but appreciate the community aspect.

I was surprised by the large audience, but found a seat and began tucking into my lunch as I listened. Alas as I closed my eyes and tipped my head back in appreciation of the piano I began to choke. I tried to suppress it which seemed to make the jalapeños in the polenta burn more fiercely.

So either chew well or don't consume with live music.

Clockwise from bottom left:

• Plum cake - rather a lot of plums in this one resulting in a very soft texture
• Polenta fries - the recipe from The Vegan Lunchbox with added jalapeños.
• Bob the book by David Pratt
• Home made guacamole
• A fresh fig cut into quarters
• Shredded sweetheart cabbage

What's in my lunch box this week? Inspired by the season

This was one of those lunches I aspire to where I see what is in season, and then cook accordingly.
Clockwise from bottom right:

• Plums - as they are because you can't have plum cake every week.
• Pan bread - made with gram flour and somewhere between a bread and a pancake.
• Dal - made with a super easy recipe from Rose Eliot's Vegan Feasts. I added spinach and rocket. The former worked better than the latter.
• Death of a Pirate: British Radio and the making of the Information Age by Adrian Jones. After an exciting start this is proving to be a more academic work than I anticipated. However I'm learning all kinds of things about the set up of the BBC, and the goings on at rival broadcasters.
• Roasted romanesco cauliflower - I'd forgotten how good this was roasted. It's a wonder it survived to go in my lunch box.