Berlin - A Brief Vegan Food Guide // Vegan Blogs

For my birthday Dixon took me to Berlin! I've wanted to go to Berlin for A LONG time so I was super excited to go. The first thing we ALWAYS do before visiting a new city, we headed over to Happy Cow to do some vegan food research annnnnnd there were so many choices we could hardly choose. You will be hard pressed to be hard pressed for vegan food in Berlin. Most place had vegan options on the menu. Soooo this is in no way a "guide" but more a skim on the surface of the places we had chance to visit.

Barcelona - A Brief Vegan Food Guide // Vegan Blogs

Barcealoooonnnna. So, we're just back from our forth trip to Barcelona, but the first time we have been  outside of the Primavera festival that we usually go to, which means the first time alone, the first time in the peak of summer and the first time where we can do exactly what we want without being dead after staying up until 4am at a festival. It gave us the chance to explore a little more, go to some new places, eat a little better and enjoy the whole of Barcelona. We swam in the sea, took the cable car (which sucked), went to see a football game, ate and drank. We wondered the streets and I got a bunch of blisters on my feet. It was our fourth visit to Barcelona and we've learnt a lot about some awesome vegan spots in the city. And here they are;

We got to enjoy so many places, some we've visited before, some totally new. We've been to Veggie Garden before; I got a huge sangria (photo 1) that was full of fruit! It had loads of watermelon it in which was so incredible. We sat outside and grabbed a burger whilst we were there which was pretty nice. As usual, whilst in Barcelona hired our own apartment which meant we cooked food at home a couple of days, so we headed out in search for Veganoteca that we found through the incredible useful Happy Cow. It was packed full of a bunch of meat substitutes I've never seen before, which we just had to get! Including calamari which was pretty strange, but surprisingly nice. Maybe my favourite part of vegan-Barcelona though, gelato! They make a point to have a few dairy-free flavours on offer, and knew straight away when I asked what was vegan. I choose coconut (made from coconut milk) and chocolate (made from rice milk) (photo 6), it was so so good. I never get to eat ice-cream, so it was special to me. Thank you Gelaaati! 
We made a trip to our favourite bar; Catbar (photo 7)! We have had a few beers there before but never eaten there, which is dumb seeing as it is 100% vegan. They do some awesome craft beer and, holy crap, honestly the best burger I have ever eaten. The one I chose had caramalised onions on, I can't even explain how good it was. We tried out two new coffee places whilst there too. Okay, so not vegan but good coffee is a holiday essential for us and they were so good I wanted to give them a mention too. Firstly, Satans Coffee Corner (Photos 4 & 5) a couple of times, it was really close to our apartment, it was super nice to sit in but we also got it to take away, they had incredibly friendly staff and even better coffee. We found out that a few places closed in August time so their staff can go on holiday, so when Satans closed we went over to Nomad Coffee as per their recommendation. Nomads roast their own beans so it wasn't surprising that their filter was the best I've ever tasted. It's tucked away in an amazing alley way (photo 9).

Before we made our visit we read about a bakery that had vegan options which were labelled really clearly. Its called Almirall 733; I think the address is Carrer de la Princesa 16, if you want to look it up when you're there, there isn't much online about it! I got a olive focaccia (photo10) and a slice of black sesame cake which was extremely good. There was no way we could visit Barcelona again without going to Gopal; a tiny place, that is totally vegan. The first place we ever ate on our first visit. We got burgers (duh!) with extra bacon, I also got a carrot cake which almost killed me it was so big, but I couldn't stop eating. They're also started doing ice lollies and juices! I got a coconut icepop on another trip which I could have eaten again and again. Next, we went to Ale & Hop, first for beers and then a second visit for more beers and food. They're vegetarian but label everything really well so choosing vegan was easy. We couldn't decide what to get so we got a few things to share; nachos, olives and sweet potato bravas, all were incredible. My favourite thing was the catalan bread (photo 11), oh man. too good! They grow a lot of their own vegetables too. When we had a day at the beach we went to visit Bar Celoneta, its only a couple of minutes walk from the beach which was awesome. It was a nice small, cool place; we got  burger (I know, again!) which was super fresh and tasty with fresh juice too. Other than the above, we also happened to be close to a regular-looking convenience store which had a bunch of veggie/vegan foods; including super tasty meatballs which made an awesome sandwich!

_____________________________

Homage to Bundobust // Vegan Blogs

 

I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that Bundobust is my favourite place in Leeds. Its been around only a year or so now, and I am obsessed. If you combined everything I love into one place, you'd get a Bundobust; beautiful vegan-friendly Indian food, an amazing (ever changing) craft beer selection, dog-friendly, awesome people and a lot of yellow. It's perfect. So, when I found out they had added some new bits to their menu I had to go give them a try. 

My absolute favourite addition was the Veg Rice Dry Fry, it reminded me a little of paella but spiced with Indian flavours and packed with veg. I could probably eat that until my stomach burst. We both couldn't stop eating the Far Far (little rice puffs) either, they were pretty perfect dipped in the black lentil Dhal (which was my second favourite!). I really really love a salad when I'm having Indian food, I use it as a a little crunchy palette cleanser so Kachumber Samharo was a welcome addition with its lemony dressing. Only two of the six new dishes aren't vegan; but I had Dixon there to give them a try. He seriously loved the Egg Bhurji and the Vada Pav (a spicy potato burger in a brioche fun! Incredibly jealous.)! The Vada Pav came with two fried and spice dusted green chillies which looked so so good. It all went hand in hand with one of my favourite beers; Five Point IPA!

One of the other great things about Bundobust is the portion size. They're perfect for sharing, Dixon and me usually get 3 or 4 dishes between us for a light meal. Bundobust is the perfect place to get a group of friends, have a few snacks, a few beers and an amazing time. If you're near to Leeds and haven't already been,  you have to make the trip, you will not regret it! (Find Bundobust on Instagram, Twitter and 6 Mill Hill, Leeds, LS1 5DG).

 ^^ I loved the Kachumber Samharo; A fresh, citrusy and crunchy salad ^^

 ^^ Egg Bhurji, Dixons favourite! Spicy egg scramble. ^^ 
__________________

Spicy Sweetcorn Grilled Breakfast Sandwich // Vegan Blogs

This was once of those 'I want something tasty for breakfast, whats in the house' recipe that turned out way better than a lot of the others. I am going through a serious sweetcorn stage (is that a thing?!) so it just made sense to make something based around the beautiful vegetable. It's sweet, spicy and super easy to make too. Not much beats a grilled sandwich in my eyes... To make 2 sandwiches you'll need:         - 150g of sweetcorn         - Half a diced white onion         - 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped         - Half a red chilli, finely chopped         - 2 diced tomatos         - Teaspoon of tomato purée         - A handful of spinach         - Thick sliced white bread         - Salt and Pepper Start my gently heating up a little oil in a pan and fry off your onion. Once your onions start to go transparent throw in your garlic and chilli, keep them moving so they don't burn. After 30-ish seconds add the chopped tomatoes and the purée too. Add a generous pinch of salt and a few scrunches of black pepper. Stir and mush up with your spatular; It wont look very pretty at this point! Now, add your sweetcorn and mix it all up. After a couples of minute give it a taste and add anything it might need, more pepper? More tomato?   Start heating up a griddle pan, you want it to be smoking hot. So you might want to open a window! Whilst it heats up start building your sandwich. On one thick slice of white bread put a handful of spinach and a pile of your sweetcorn mixture. If you have fresh coriander would be amazing to add at this point, as would be a sprinkle of smoked paprika. Press your second slice of bread on top and put it on the grill! Flip your sandwich over when it starts to toast, it wont be the most sturdy sandwich so be careful! Once nicely toasted, slice in half and you're ready to eat. The whole thing shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes. AND, if you're super prepared, you can make the sweetcorn mix the night before and store in the fridge. I only made one sandwich with my mix and plan on using the leftovers to make a pasta salad! I love left-overs.

___________________

My 5 Favourite (& super useful) Recipe Books // Vegan Blogs

Even though I don't follow recipes from start to finish too often, I have learnt so much from the recipe books that I have. It's super important as a vegan (or veggie... or anyone really) to have a few amazing recipe books close by. It's so easy to live on fake-meats and processed crap when you're vegan, which obviously is not healthy. These books will help your broaden your food horizons, discover something new that you love and improve your cooking skills overall. 

Veganomicon - The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook // If, as a vegan, you don't have at least one book by Isa Chandra on your collection there is something going wrong. Veganomicon is a monster book. Aside from the unbelievable recipes (Mac Daddy is the best mac & 'cheese' recipe ever) it tells you how to cook grains, how to cook beans and what you should have in your pantry. This book is absolutely perfect for anyone interested in improving their cooking. Or anyone interested in eating some beautiful food.

Vegan Pizza- 50 Cheesy, Crispy, Healthy Recipes // I love pizza. Duh, who doesn't?! But, it's pretty easy to get stuck in a boring-rut when it comes to vegan pizza, sooooo I bought this recipe book. What I really love about it is how it has in it all these amazing tips on what you can use (ingredient and equipment wise) to make your finished meal perfect. It has sections on different doughs, different cheesy causes and the best bit, on home-made 'meats'. So many different options to perfect your pizza party.

The Vegeterranean - Italian Vegetarian Cooking // The people who wrote this book run a hotel in Italy, it looks so dreamy there. The book is vegetarian, but has vegan options (or you can adapt). In Vegeterranean you'll find a break down of all the basics you need to make amazing Italian food, from sauces to pastries. Every single thing in this book shows you how amazing vegetarian food can be. If you want to take your cooking to another level and really impress someone, get this book. Each recipe is broken down into difficulty ratings so you can learn and improve on yourself!

Prashad - Indian Vegetarian Cooking // Prashad is my absolute favourite restaurant. Its a little trek away from us but totally worth it. If you aren't lucky enough to be within travelling distance of Prashad than I can't recommend this book enough.  Everyone knows Indian food but this recipe book will show you something you've never seen before; you wont find any boring curries in here. Although the book isn't completely vegan, its very easily adaptable. It has endless tips, pantry must-haves and there is even a meal planner at the back which gives you some amazing ideas from supper to a celebratory feast (which I'm going to convince Dixon to do for us and friends one day). Kaushy is one talented lady and I can't get enough of her recipes.

Chloe's Kitchen - 125 Easy, Delicious Recipes // My parents bought me this book, solely for the name. Ha. But I am so glad they did. The recipes in this book are classic meals re-interprited to be free from animal products. From burgers to noodles, from pies to cakes (Dixon actually made my birthday cake from one of Chloes recipes! Mocha Almond Fudge Cake, oh man). She has a little section on pantry essentials which is really helpful, but my favourite section has to be  'Eat with your Hands'... because thats the best way to eat, right? 

_______________________