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The most recent world events

/ thevegancatlibrarian / 2 Comments

Hi everybody, I hope you are well. In the past weeks, there has been a lot of tumult caused by recent events in the Middle East. After an attack by Hamas on Israel, which killed 1400 people, Israel has been continuously attacking Gaza and now the death toll for Palestinians is around 12,000.

With this, the world has been divided between anti-Palestinians and anti-Israelis. This is a complex situation, and inevitably there are sides to take. In the past days, I have tried to look into this difficult topic and I will show you what I have found.

Pro-Israel

The more mainstream media usually has pro-Israel views and U.S.A., U.K and Europe are supportive of the Israeli government. Media and Western governments mostly endorse Israel as they claim that that’s the only safe place for the Jewish people: historically, Jewish communities have been made unwelcome in all the countries they tried to settle and the land where Israel now Israel has the strongest religious and cultural connection with the Jewish people.

So, the State of Israel is a recent invention, it was created in 1947 thanks to the Balfour Declaration. With this, were also created the two regions of the Palestinian territories, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with Jerusalem being divided into East Jerusalem (as part of the Palestinian territories) and West Jerusalem (for Isreal). This was done without consideration of those who were already living in that area who were displaced in nearby countries.

While Israel was granted determined territories, it started expanding its territories by building illegal settlements and taking lands from the Palestinians. the claims that the Israeli government has a right to defend itself from Palestinian attacks.

Strategically, Israel is the only non-Arab nation in the Middle East so all the Western Countries like to have it there. Israel is also the recipient of millions of dollars worth of arms from the U.S. (read also here and here).

So it makes sense that Israel is where it is.

Pro-Palestine

Those who are more pro-Palestine, do so because for years, Israel has been attacking Palestinian houses and buildings with the excuse that terrorists live and hide in civilian places and illegally annexing Palestinian territories.

There is also the issue that the places inhabited by Palestinians have been cut off water, food and basic necessities for years (more here and here).

Despite Israel’s behaviour has always been condoned by Western countries, many people are calling out Israel as well as calling for a ceasefire.

It is not a matter of religion

The main issue in this conflict is that it is being passed as a religious war, between Jewish and Muslims, but it is actually political. Israel has been governed by Zionists, a nationalist movement that claims that the homeland for the Jewish people should be in Palestine. Zionists are not a religious group, but political. Their ideology has nothing to do with the Jewish religion.

They are a far-right group that seeks to get as much land from Palestinians as possible.

On the other hand, Palestinians did vote for Hamas: this party came to power in 2006 with the vision for a two-state solution and to accept the 1967 borders with Israel. However, this position has changed since Hamas came to power with more extremist heads of Hamas saying that as Israel wants to eliminate Islam, all Muslims should destroy Israel.

This means that what Palestinians voted for in 2006 is not what is now in power.

There is also the issue of the disproportionate response by Israel, one of the most powerful armies, against what essentially are the Palestinian paramilitary forces.

And as said above, Israel continues to receive military and financial support by most of the Western countries.

How Can You Help Palestine – Avoid These Companies

It feels so frustrating and powerless when these events are unfolding. When it is clear that human nature and greed are the cause of all this suffering. You might think that you cannot do anything to help, apart from sending money to the relevant charities operating in the affected places. But there is something else that you can do – hit them where it hurts – don’t give money to those supporting this mass murder.

I wasn’t surprised to find out that some of the big multinationals that are most cruel towards animals and less respectful of workers and the environment are also those supporting the Israeli government. In this post, you will find an image of the main food companies and the ones they own.

Following are articles or pages showing the connections of these companies with Israel, or having a presence in the illegal Israeli settlements:

On top of this, there are other companies on boycotting lists (such as here, here, and here).

It might not be surprising that these companies are also the same ones connected to Monsanto and that this one is famous for the creation of Roundup pesticide (you can read more on this here, here, and here).

These companies also have questionable practices regarding workers’ and animals’ rights.

Other resources

Please consider reading this clear BBC article, the fact-checking website MISBA.

Conclusion

This is a very difficult situation, saddening and frustrating. With all respect to all the lives involved, what has been presented above, are just facts. In 1947, the British created the State of Israel and two regions for the Palestinians. Since then, Israel has kept attacking these territories to then build Israeli settlements in Palestinian lands. The most recent response of Israel to the 7th October Hamas attack (where 1400 have been killed), has been to use missiles, rockets, etc. on hospitals, schools and civilian buildings (having killed indiscriminately military and civilians for an ever-increasing death toll of 12,000).

This is not a measured response – this is a genocide. And little is done to condemn the actions of a bully.

You have plenty of resources that you can check, but these are the facts.

Talk soon,

TVCL xx

Recipe Sunday – Almond Flour Cookies

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Hey, cats! How are you these days? Here it’s been a good week – I was working yesterday but I went to deliver a course in one of the nearby libraries and it’s always a pleasure going there, the drive there is very scenic and yesterday could have not been a better day to go as it was a cold, clear-skyed day, with all the autumnal colours around! Really a beautiful view that made my day, one of those views that recharge the spirit. When I came back I felt energised and managed to do quite a lot of things – feeling very positive. And these Almond Flour Cookies by ElaVegan were just what I needed for this lovely day!

Almond Flour Cookies by ElaVegan

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup (100 g) almond flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 4 Tbsp (40 g) date sugar (or sugar of choice)
  • 1/4 cup (64 g) almond butter softened (see notes)
  • 1 Tbsp water
  • 1/4 cup (45 g) dairy-free chocolate chips

Method 

  1. First, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Then, mix the almond flour, baking powder, and sugar in a medium bowl (or a food processor) until there are no lumps.
  3. Add the almond butter (or nut/seed butter of your choice) and mix well. If the dough is dry, which it likely will be, add a tablespoon of water and mix again.If it’s still too dry, add more water, a teaspoon at a time, mixing thoroughly in between.
  4. Fold in the chocolate chips, reserving a few for the top, then use a small ice cream or cookie scoop or tablespoon to divide the dough into 6 cookies.
  5. Spread the cookies across the prepared baking sheet with space in between, using your fingers to flatten them gently, and press the reserved chocolate chips into the top.
  6. Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes until they’re lightly browning on the edges. They will be soft right out of the oven, but firm up as they cool. Leave them to cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

I hoe you’ll enjoy them!

Love,

TVCL x

A Vegan Macrobiotic ‘Detox’

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Hello kittens! How are you? It’s finally getting colder and it makes me so happy! It’s time for cozy clothes and comforting food and after the madly hot summer, Autumn couldn’t come any quicker! And while I was enjoying the mindless scrolling on Instagram of a weekday night, I found this account of a vegan macrobiotic person and she was suggesting that in order to prepare our bodies for the colder months, it would be good to do a “detox” for a week following a macrobiotic diet. Since it was ages I wanted to go back to my macrobiotic practice, I thought this would have been a good time to do that. I signed up for the detox, and decided to extend it to the whole month.

Years ago, in 2012) I attended a course on Macrobiotics and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t quite agree with the teacher of said course as he said that it’s difficult to be a vegan Macrobiotic: bizarre because Macrobiotic is very much a pescatarian diet that can easily be turned into vegan. The course itself had a nice structure with a theory part followed by a dinner and lo and behold, all the dinners had only vegan dishes! I liked the theory part, very holistic and made you understand the interconnection of how what we do and what we eat has a significant impact on our lives. After the course was finished, I tried to maintain some of the Macrobiotics principles, but I slowly lost touch with it. The occasion of this detox was the perfect chance to go back and refresh my practice.

Why have I done this? I thought “I can do the Limpia for 50 days, meaning not being able to eat chickpea flour, so I can do this”. Mmmh, well. It’s not that easy. True, I can make vegan omelets but I can’t have potatoes! Oh goodness.

This is difficult. And I’ve fallen into the temptation of chips, once a week – potatoes are a big no-no in macrobiotic! But before I talk about this experience, I’ll explain what a macrobiotic diet entails.

Principles of Macrobiotics

Macrobiotic is a philosophy that takes a lot from the principles of yin and yang. The world and everything in it need balance in order to function properly. When there is a good balance between yin and yang in an organism, then it will have a good energy. For example, people should also have a balance, but many times they might have an imbalance and be too yin or too yang. Then there are also the dichotomy of acid and alkaline and the 5 elements (Earth, Fire, Water, Metal and Wood) – if you want to learn more about all this, the Macrobiotic.org.uk website has a clear and short page on the Principles of Macrobiotic.

The very positive thing about Macrobiotics, is that it’s basically intrinsically pescatarian so it’s very easy to make it into a vegan diet.

A Lifestyle, not just a Diet

You can see that Macrobiotics is much more than a diet – it is a lifestyle. It seeks to create a balance in your life and in your body by thinking of what is your body type (are you more yin, or more yang?), and then by thinking of the characteristics of what we ingest and how we cook this food.

We should open at least one of the three main meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) with a miso soup so to prepare our digestive system to receive the food. It shouldn’t surprise that there is also a lot of mindfulness involved in Macrobiotics because we should eat without distractions and very importantly we should chew each bite for a long time – possibly more than 20 times, until the food is smooth and the digestive system won’t have to work for too long, in doing so to make digestion easier. One “experiment” or “exercise” when starting Macrobiotics is to chew a spoonful of plain boiled/steamed whole rice for 100 times!

Main Foods for a Macrobiotic Diet

When preparing a Macrobiotic dish, another big rule is to compose the food as 1/3 cereal, 1/3 protein, and 1/3 veggies. For example, at dinner, you could eat wholegrain rice, sauteed tofu and onion, celery, carrot.

So, what can you eat?

All the wholegrains: rice, millet, pasta too if wholegrain;
All veggies;
All legumes (especially adzuki beans and chickpeas);
Seasonal fruit;
Fermented dressings (i.e.miso);
Seaweed;
Brine food (Olives, sauerkraut);
Gomasio;
Ginger and turmeric.

What can’t you eat?

White flours;
Nightshades (potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant);
Refined oils;
Meat;
Cheese;
Dairy products;
Tropical fruits and vegetables (bananas, avocados, mangos etc.)
Coffee, tea and alcohol;
Refined sugar.

In moderation

Olive and sesame oil;
Tofu and Tempeh;
Good quality bread like sourdough;
Raw fruit;
Wholegrain pasta, cous cous and bulghur;
Cereal malts;
Nuts.

Methods of cooking

There is some theory also on how to cook stuff. In order to maintain or alleviate the yin/yang characteristics of the foods, the best way to cook is by steaming or lightly sauteeing. Baking is another acceptable cooking method.

When preparing any combination dish using more than one ingredient (i.e. soup), we should start with the ingredients that are closer to the soil and going up: for example, the order in which we would make a soup would be to start with onions and carrots (closer to earth) then celery, cabbage, broccoli etc (above earth).

What Have I Been Eating?

Breakfast

  • Porridge with apples and raisins
  • Rice pudding with seasonal fruit and raisins
  • Baked oats with apples and raisins

Lunch

  • Wholegrain rice with veggies and hummous;
  • Pumpkin soup with cereals + sauteed tofu and veggies
  • Millet with spiced chickpeas and steamed veggies

Dinner

  • Broccoli soup + sour and sweet tempeh and baked onions
  • Miso soup + scrambled tofu and steamed veggies
  • Chickpeas and broccoli soup

These are just some examples of what I have been eating: there are many different things that you can do!

My Findings

The “Not so good”

I have tried to follow this detox as best as I could, although I found some difficulties: it was really difficult to let go of coffee especially because I had 3 big events just after the start of the detox and I needed all my mental faculties to organise stuff at work. The potatoes (or more correctly, the lack of) were another issue for me – as I said, I fell into the temptation of chips once a week. I love potatoes, in every form and I use them to make cozy soups as well as roasted or mashed, etc. So that was difficult, but except for the Friday chips I haven’t used any.

The “Very Good”

Despite these little setbacks, I quite enjoyed the simplicity of the dishes and I liked to think more about what I was going to make, how it was going to affect me, was I making something too yin or too yang? Did I do a lot of exercise and so I was too yang? Was it cooler or warmer outside? And so on.

The past weeks I have also used a lot of apples, a fruit of which I am not too fond, but using them in porridge and rice dishes made me appreciate them more.

Energy-wise I wasn’t totally 100%, but again I had a lot on my plate at work, so that surely impacted how I felt.

Conclusion

While I wouldn’t follow a Macrobiotic lifestyle full-time, would definitely recommend this detox. The Macrobiotic lifestyle is something that adheres to principles of balance and mindfulness, something that most of us need to lead a healthy life. Similarly to the Limpia, you can try it for a short period and see how you feel.

Let me know what you think or if you would like to see other Macrobiotic recipes!

By for now 🙂

Love,

TVCL xx

Recipe Sunday – Creamy Vegan Noodle Casserole

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Hi beautiful cats! How are you? Are you enjoying your weekend? Last week, I finished the macrobiotic detox, but I keep making miso soup and drinking kukicha tea just to keep me right. However, I am also reintroducing the food that I couldn’t eat during the detox, i.e. pasta. And this Creamy Vegan Noodle Casserole by ConnoiserusVeg is exactly what I needed! Easy and delicious with minimum effort – perfect for a weekday lunch.

Creamy Vegan Noodle Casserole by ConnoiserusVeg

Ingredients

  • 10 ounces dried rotini pasta (about 3 ½ cups of pasta)
  • ½ cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4 to 8 hours, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup water
  • 3 tablespoons vegan butter, divided
  • 8 ounces button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 medium celery stalks, diced
  • 2 medium carrots, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
  • 3 vegetable bouillon cubes, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • ½ cup frozen peas, thawed
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • ½ cup panko breadcrumbs

Method

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook it according to the package directions. Drain the pasta into a colander when done.
  2. Place the cashews and water into a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
  3. Coat the bottom of a large skillet with two tablespoons of the vegan butter and place it over medium heat.
  4. When the butter has melted, add the mushroom slices in a relatively even layer.
  5. Cook the mushrooms for about 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove them from the skillet and transfer them to a plate when done.
  6. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the skillet. Once the butter melts, add the onion, celery, and carrots.
  7. Cook the veggies for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until they begin to soften.
  8. Add the garlic and flour. Stir the mixture well to coat the vegetables with flour and continue cooking the mixture for about 1 minute.
  9. Slowly begin adding the non-dairy milk, stirring in just a bit at a time to prevent the flour from clumping. Once all of the milk has been added, stir in the cashew mixture, bouillon, thyme, and cooked mushrooms.
  10. Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a low boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened slightly. Preheat the oven to 350°F while the sauce simmers.
  11. Remove the skillet from heat and stir in the lemon juice.
  12. Combine the cooked pasta, sauce mixture and peas in a 2-quart casserole dish.
  13. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
  14. Cover the casserole dish and place it into the oven. Bake the casserole for about 20 minutes, until heated throughout.
  15. Remove the foil from the dish and sprinkle the casserole with panko breadcrumbs. Bake 5 minutes more.
  16. Let the casserole sit out for 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Love,

TVCL x

Recipe Sunday – Chickpea Blondies

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Happy Sunday beauties! How are you enjoying the autumn weather? Last night we changed the clock and I had just a long lie in this morning, I felt very rested and managed to do so many things! Also, I am coming to the end on my “Macrobiotic Detox” that I felt I could celebrate with a nice dessert which is still mostly Macrobiotic. In case you are interested, I am preparing a post explaining a bit the macrobiotic diet. In the meantime, I leave you today’s recipe: Chickpea Blondies by Rainbow Nourishments.

Chickpea Blondies by Rainbow Nourishments

Ingredients

  • ~1 ½ cups (250g) chickpeas, canned or fresh and drained well (I got this amount from one 15oz or 440g can)
  • ½ cup (125g) cashew butter, or nut/seed butter of choice
  • ½ cup (45g) oat flour,
  • ½ cup (170g) maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • ½ cup (85g) mini dairy-free chocolate chips plus extra to decorate

Method

  1. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).
  2. Add all the ingredients except the chocolate chips to a food processor or blender Blend until the mixture is as smooth as possible. It should be slightly runny.
  3. Remove the blade of your food processor. Add the chocolate chips and mix with a spoon or spatula. Make sure your blondie batter isn’t warm when you add the chocolate otherwise the chocolate will melt.
  4. Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan. Smooth the surface with a spoon or spatula. If desired, sprinkle additional chocolate chips on top of the batter and press them in.
  5. Bake the chickpea blondies for 23-28 minutes. The blondies are ready when they have puffed up and the surface is golden brown. If you insert a toothpick in the middle, it should come out clean (a few moist crumbs are fine but there shouldn’t be any wet batter).
  6. Place the square baking pan on a wire rack. Allow the blondies to cool completely in the baking pan for at least 1 hour. The blondies are very soft when they’re warm.
  7. When the blondies have completely cooled, remove them from the baking pan and cut them with a sharp knife. The blondies are very fudgy so it may help to run your knife under hot water before cutting them. If desired, sprinkle the blondies with flaky sea salt or enjoy with vegan ice cream.

Enjoy!

Love,

TVCL xx

Recipe Sunday – Happy Holiday Salad

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Happy Sunday everybody! How are you? The past two weeks have been really busy: 3 events in 3 weeks and I’ve been needing a bit of time to recover. I didn’t want to risk burnout and feeling overwhelmed like it happened last year, so I took some much-needed rest this time. Also, this month started with a “Macrobiotic Detox” – it was supposed to be only a week, but decided to extend it to a month. I am preparing a post to explain what can be eaten when following a vegan and macrobiotic diet. In a way, it has some similarities with the Spring detox that I’ve been doing for the past 2 years (“Limpia”), but the main difference is that the Macro lifestyle has a very interesting principle of balance between Yin and Yang. Anyhow – will explain all this in my next post, so stay tuned! As we are definitely into Autumn, pumpkins are everywhere and they are also a beloved ingredient in the Macro diet. So here is a recipe that I have been enjoying without getting bored – Happy Holiday Salad by The Macrobiotic Association.

Happy Holiday Salad by THe Macrobiotic Association

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Winter Squash Cut into chunks
  • 2 tablespoons Basil Finely chopped
  • Olive oil 

  • Sea salt
  • Black Pepper Freshly ground
  • 2 cups Mushrooms Thickly sliced
  • 4 cups Arugula
  • ½ block Firm Tofu Crumbled

  • ½ cup Pomegranate seeds

  • 1 tbsp Umeboshi vinegar
  • Balsamic vinegar

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.  
Put the squash in a roasting tin with 1-2 tablespoons of oil, and season well.  
Roast for about 40 minutes, stirring once, until the squash is soft and colored round the edges. 

  2. Add the umeboshi vinegar to the crumbled tofu and mix well. 

  3. Place a tablespoon of oil into a skillet over a medium heat. Add the mushrooms and a little salt and pepper, and sauté for a few minutes, until any liquid they release has evaporated, and set aside. 

  4. In a bowl, combine the squash and the just-warm mushrooms with the arugula and tofu.  
Add the basil and a generous dash of balsamic vinegar.

I hope you’ll enjoy this!

Love,

TVCL xx

Recipe Sunday – Vegan Apple Cake

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Happy Sunday, beautiful kittens! How are you? Autumn is definitely here and it couldn’t be sweeter! Again another super busy week as we’re getting the last things ready for a big event next Saturday at the library. But I wanted a homemade, sweet something that I could eat for breakfast or as an after-dinner treat. Since I’ve been so lucky as to be gifted literally bags full of organic apples from a customer of my partner, and the weather has really been so autumn-y, I couldn’t resist to the temptation of an apple cake. This is the go-to cake for my mom, everybody loves the apple cake that she makes almost every Sunday, but I’ve never been too much of a fan even before going vegan (after that, I couldn’t have it because she uses eggs). And now, I had this craving, for a comforting homemade apple cake: maybe I am turning into my mom or maybe it’s the Autumn – who knows. What I do know, is that I am here to share the recipe that I followed (not all of it, I didn’t have the yogurt, but it came out just lovely) to make a very easy yet delicious Vegan Apple Cake by AVirtualVegan.

Vegan Apple Cake by AVirtualVegan

Ingredients  

  • 3 cups (375 grams) all-purpose flour, (plain flour in the UK)
  • 2½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda, (bicarbonate of soda in the UK)
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, not table salt
  • ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (144 grams or 150 mls) vegan yogurt, vanilla or plain, preferably unsweetened
  • ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (180 grams)sugar, cane, white granulated or light brown
  • 1 cup (240 ml) unsweetened plant milk
  • 5 tablespoons (75 ml) liquid oil , any neutral tasting oil like sunflower, vegetable, canola or melted refined coconut oil. For oil-free see the recipe notes.
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla extract
  • 5 medium apples, about 700g (1.5 lb) of apples weighed before peeling/coring

For the topping

  • ¼ cup (50 grams) coarse sugar, like turbinado or demerara
  • ¼ cup (25 grams) flaked almonds, OPTIONAL (omit for nut-free)

Method 

  1. Preheat oven to 360 °F (182 °C) and make sure you have a shelf placed in the middle of the oven.
  2. Grease a 9-inch springform cake pan that’s at least 3 inches deep or a 9 x 13 dish/pan. If using a cake pan cut a circle of parchment paper and put it in the bottom.
  3. To a large bowl add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Whisk them up to combine.
  4. In another bowl, add the yogurt, sugar, milk, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Whisk them all up until well combined.
  5. Peel, core and chop the apples into chunks of about ¼ inch.
  6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir them together. Don’t over mix or beat it vigorously. Just stir gently until you can no longer see any dry flour.
  7. Pour in the apple chunks and fold them gently and evenly through. Again don’t over mix.
  8. Spoon into the prepared pan and level the top with a spatula. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds and the coarse sugar and place immediately in the oven on the middle shelf.
  9. If in a cake pan bake for around 1 hour and 15 minutes. It might need up to 1 hour 20 minutes. Insert a toothpick or skewer into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean then the cake is ready. If you see any signs of wet batter return to the oven for another five minutes. If baked in a 9 x 13 pan/dish check it at about 55 to 60 minutes. It might take a little longer though. The time will vary depending on whether you’ve used a metal pan or ceramic. Insert a toothpick or skewer into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean then the cake is ready. If you see any signs of wet batter return to the oven for another five minutes.
  10. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave for at least 15 to 20 minutes in the pan to settle. Before attempting to remove from the pan carefully run a knife or long spatula around the edges to free up any sugar or caramelized apple pieces that might have stuck to the side. Leave the cake to cool on a wire rack. If you baked it in a 9 x 13 pan/dish, allow it to cool in the pan/dish and serve straight from the pan/dish.

I hope you’ll enjoy this for your breakfast, snack, after-dinner treat or any way you want!

Love,

TVCL xx

Recipe Sunday – Easy Vegan Broccoli Soup

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Hello my beauties! How are you? Another week has gone by and to be honest, apart from work I haven’t been able to do much. Yesterday I had my Taek Won Do grading – it was a fairly big one as I went for the blue belt so it’s a bit of an achievement. But I wasn’t feeling it, I wasn’t feeling the same as I used to when I was doing Kung Fu and I’ve been feeling this for a while. But it’s the only martial art available in the rural area where I live, that could be sustainable and I am able to do it in winter too – so I do it. But yesterday I wasn’t feeling it. Oh well, it is what it is, right? I’m not saying anything against TWD, every martial art is different – yes, there are similarities among most of them, but they have different applications and especially different theories, so sometimes it might be more difficult to get into that TWD mindset after 7 years of Kung Fu. So, not complaining, just some reflexions. Anyway, the main thing here today is food! Lovely, delicious, easy-to-make food that satisfies your senses! And I’m presenting you the easiest yet most delicious broccoli soup – this is my go-to soup (almost at the same level as the Potato and Leek one!) and I’ve learned how to make it by PlantBasedFolk. Without further ado, the Easy Vegan Broccoli Soup by PlantBasedFolk.

Easy Vegan Broccoli Soup by PlantBasedFolk

Ingredients

  • 750 grams Broccoli chopped small
  • 3 medium Potatoes peeled and chopped small
  • 1 teaspoon Black Pepper freshly cracked
  • 5 Cups Vegetable Stock or enough to just cover veggies

Method

  1. In a tall pot, over hight heat, boil potatoes, vegetable stock for 5 minutes.
  2. Add broccoli and pepper, cook for another 10 minutes. Turn off heat.
  3. Allow pot to stand for 10 minutes. Then pour contents into a blender and blend until completely smooth (or use a handblender). Serve warm.

Right, people, how easy is this?! And trust me, it’s all flavour and deliciousness, a warm hug from within.

I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Love,

TVCL xx

Recipe Sunday – Vegan Victoria Sponge

/ thevegancatlibrarian / 1 Comment

Hiya my cats! And Happy Sunday! Last week was mental and I had an extremely busy weekend doing some more cleaning and tidying up, meaning that I wasn’t really able to sit down at my laptop for long. And while I had this week off, it was my birthday and my parents came to visit so I have been focused on spending time with them. Because between me being vegan and my mom being allergic to many various ingredients, I decided that I would make the birthday cake, or to be fair, cakes: I made a variation of the Pear Galette with Rooibos Glaze and also a Victoria Sponge by LazyCatKitchen. They both were a success with my parents! To make it more special, I used a homemade strawberry jam that a colleague made for my partner and me – delicious! So here is the recipe for this cake.

Vegan Victoria Sponge by LazyCatKitchen

INGREDIENTS

CAKE

  • 450 ml / 1½ cups + 2 tbsp soy milk*
  • 30 ml / 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 150 g / ¾ cup softened coconut oil or vegan butter block
  • 300 g / 1½ cups sugar (coconut sugar for GF version)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp lemon extract (optional)
  • 430 g / 3½ cups AP flour or GF flour mix
  • 30 g / ¼ cup cornstarch/cornflour
  • ½ tsp xanthan gum (only if using GF flour)
  • 2½ tsp baking powder
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt

FILLING / TOPPING

  • 250 ml / 1 cup vegan whipped cream (like Oatly)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract or paste
  • 2 tbsp icing sugar, to taste
  • 160 g / ½ cup quality strawberry jam
  • 500 g / 1 lb fresh strawberries

METHOD

  1. Heat up the oven to 180° C / 355° F (without the fan function) and grease and line two 20 cm / 8″ round cake tins.
  2. Combine soy milk and lemon juice in a small pot and warm up until just barely lukewarm. It will curdle – that’s what it is meant to do.
  3. Beat softened coconut oil (or vegan butter) and sugar with an electric mixer until nice and fluffy.
  4. Once whipped, fold in about a third of the lemon soy milk mixture and both extracts.
  5. Place a sieve over the bowl and sift in approximately a third of flour and all of the cornflour. Gently fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients by making small circles in the middle of the bowl with your spoon to minimise lumps. It will take a while to incorporate well, don’t rush this step. Alternating dry and wet ingredients like this prevents the batter from being too runny to begin with and therefore lumps from forming.
  6. Next, fold in another third of soy milk, followed by another portion of sifted flour.
  7. Finally, add the last of the soy milk followed by both raising agents, salt and xanthan gum (for GF version) with your third batch of flour. Fold really gently so that you don’t knock too much air out of the batter.
  8. Divide the mixture between two tins and bake until a toothpick comes out clean of cake crumbs, about 30-32 minutes.
  9. Allow the cakes to cool down completely before removing from the tins and icing.

FILLING / TOPPING

  1. Whip chilled vegan whipping cream in a clean bowl according to the instructions on the packet. Add vanilla and a bit of sugar to taste.

ASSEMBLY

  1. Spread jam and cream on top of the first sponge cake, decorate with a few fresh strawberry halves.
  2. Top with the second sponge cake, decorate the top with more cream and strawberries or if you are after a more traditional look, simply sprinkle the top with some icing sugar.

I hope you’ll enjoy this cake, whether for your birthday or for another Sunday 🙂

Love,

TVCL xx

Recipe Sunday – Sheet Pan Tofu with Spring Vegetables

/ thevegancatlibrarian / Leave a comment

Happy Sunday, beauties! The past week has been so busy, managed to see a dear friend and the weather was so lovely we went for a walk and then for a delicious lunch at the local vegan cafe. But I’ve also felt overwhelmed at work as I had 2 meetings and a training day where I had to deliver a short presentation: at the time I felt like I maybe put too much stuff on my plate, but then I look at my colleague, she’s always meeting existing or potential partners, always organising events, delivering talks etc. and she seems so serene and calm. And I thought that I should try to be more relaxed with my work-life: I do my job and at the latest meeting with my manager he clearly said that I do even more than what my work entails. So, why am I taking things so personally? Like, I am way too involved with my work stuff. Yesterday was my Saturday on, and I wasn’t feeling well, almost the beginning of a cold – then all these thoughts came into my mind and I stopped, paused while I was creating the graphics for an event, and I started breathing in and out, mindfully. I spent 5 minutes, just trying to clear my head. Then I came back home for lunch and since it was sunny, I spent the break in the garden, doing nothing, just enjoying that time. Before going back to work, I made myself a lemon and ginger tea with a splash of apple cider vinegar to sip while I was finishing work. After work, I had a quick 20 minutes nap and decided to not do anything but rest. Made a quick dinner and had some green tea, then went to sleep. I kid you not, this morning I woke up quite rested but mostly no signs of a cold! I know, I probably am not telling you anything new, but maybe you forgot to “take it easy” and be more compassionate to yourself so this is just a reminder – you are doing great, you are doing your best, and even if your best is just getting out of bed, this is enough! You don’t have to prove anything to anyone.

That’s way too much chit-chat! So I leave you with a simple but nutritious recipe for those days where you can’t be bothered to cook but still want something tasty: Sheet Pan Tofu with Spring Vegetables by FromMyBowl.

Ingredients 

 

For the Lemon Garlic Tofu:

  • 14-16 ounces extra firm tofu pressed
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Vegetables:

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Black pepper to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 bunch asparagus ends trimmed and cut into 2” pieces
  • 8.5 ounces canned artichoke hearts drained, rinsed, and cut in half
  • 4 ounces radishes ends trimmed and cut in half
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
  • Lemon Pepper Orzo or cooked rice for serving (optional)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 415F. Set a large baking sheet aside and line with a silicone baking mat if it is not nonstick.
  2. Cut the tofu into small triangles and place in the bottom of a small container. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt to a small jar and shake until emulsified. Pour the marinade over the tofu and gently toss the container until the tofu is coated. Let marinate for 15 minutes, or overnight in the refrigerator for a stronger flavor.
  3. Transfer the tofu to a large baking sheet, leaving about 2” between each piece. (Note: discard the extra marinade behind or save it for drizzling on the tofu just before serving, if desired). Bake in the top rack of the oven for 20 minutes.
  4. In a medium bowl whisk the oil, mustard, garlic powder, pepper, and salt together. Add the asparagus, artichoke hearts, and radishes and mix well. Set aside.
  5. Take the tofu out of the oven, flip it, and scoot it all over to one third of the baking sheet. Transfer the vegetables to the baking sheet and spread them across the remaining two thirds. Return to the top rack of the oven and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.
  6. Remove from the oven and top with fresh dill.

Enjoy!

Love,

TVCL xx