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I am proud to announce my new blog spot called Vegan in the Sun.
Do not remove this blog from your list as I will keep it open for people who want to see the old recipes. Feel free to add and check out my new blog spot which would be updated twice a week or once a week depending on the situation. I am still trying to work out the kinks on the site but it is good enough for the viewing public. Enjoy
Tay

Ground Food - Healthy Alternatives to Rice and Pasta

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I was lucky enough to be raised my my grandmother when I was young. She was from St. Lucia another island close to Barbados. The dietary habits of both St. Lucia and Barbados vary even if there are in close proximity to each other. St. Lucians eat more Caribbean roots than their Barbadian counterparts which is unfortunate as they taste much better than rice or pasta and have a higher nutritional value. Ground provisions include, yams, sweet potato, green banana, dasheen, tania, eddos, breadfruit, cassava even if green banana is not a root is is still considered in this category. They all are high fibre esp cassava one of my versatile favourites. When I was growing up in Barbados I would eat these ground provisions steamed with a protein at that time fish. I remember only wanting to eat these things and never pasta or rice. It was very strange for a child not wanting pasta and these things my mom said but very good none the less. When I went vegan I continued eating roots and my dad would make this spicy sauce with brussel sprouts and serve this in a bowl full of cooked green bananas. (GREEN BANANAS DO NOT TASTE LIKE RIPE BANANAS WHEN COOKED.)Unfortunately this meal was good but it lacked the protein to be balanced and in my opinion. I am yet to develop a recipe with beans and ground provisions. I was in the supermarket yesterday and I picked up some fake chicken strips by morning star which claim to be vegan. I am not a mock meat fan but I had bought some yam and some green bananas earlier and I was trying to decide what sauce I would make with it. I decided to do a spicy Caribbean style curry and serve the ground provisions whole or "stretched out" according to my mom. This is a no frills way of eating these just cooked with some salt and served with a flavourful sauce. You can served with other cooked veg like okra and carrots to make up the plate. You can also rub some vegan butter on the top of your ground provisions before adding the sauce. I tried out my homemade pepper sauce with this dish and it was so good. I finally perfected it after calling my dad who told me to add water, vinegar and sugar to the killer hot sauce. So when you are in the supermarket and you go to the so called "tropical" section and you see these roots do not get scared to buy one and try. If you need any help in cooking email me with your questions. I think I do not eat enough roots esp since I am close to the Caribbean region but I will eat more roots be4 I am somewhere where I can hope to find some in the "tropical" section.

Dinner and some tests

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I usually do a different lunch than dinner each day. In Barbados I would eat just lunch and then have something light at night like crackers and tea. I find myself getting hungry around 7pm so I cook something else. For dinner tonight my husband was craving okras so I decided to get some and cook them lightly with salt, garlic,onions and homemade salsa and a tip of pepper sauce. It was very tasty and I even shocked myself. I rounded up the meal with some Italian sausages for extra protein.

I am still trying to make the perfect carrot cake. Thanks for the recipe you know who I mean. I will try to do it this weekend. I use to go to this cafe in the past and they would serve a warm carrot cake but it was hard on the outside and chewy on the inside almost muffin like. By accident I think I created some kind of carrot cake brownie which words cannot explain how good this was. I will add some coconut in next time and try a higher cake pan to see how it goes. Here are two photos from tonight's dinner. I have some cream cheese to make the topping but I am not into toppings. I like to eat my cakes naked:) but if I am doing cakes for others I would make a topping to please. Plus the extra calories from these topping my body cannot afford.

Amazing Chickpea Burgers with Vegan Vodka Sauce

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I dabbled in the past with writing a vegan cookbook and it is funny as I penned 3 other cookbooks be4 and there were not vegan and I did them over a summer. I started writing a cookbook but I do not want to waste my time as one person told me last year people do not read cookbooks anymore. Maybe true in some places but I believed that there was still hope. Now my audience, who will be my audience... I could never aspire to be such a success like all the other cookbook "bibles" that others are reading. Who would really be my audience? Hmm. To be honest I do not know of many vegans other than the Rastafarian community in the Caribbean and they have their own way of cooking called Ital which is vegan but something like Kosher since Ital cooking has some rules esp with cooking utensils attached to it. I am not too sure I would have to ask a Rastafarian when I get a chance but I remember there was an article with a college student in the States who was suing because he wanted them to cater Ital or something like that. Anyways I do not think much of the Rastas will be buying my books unfortunately. Now my site gets ppl mainly from North America: I want to know what appeal does Vegan food with a Caribbean twist have to you? I think many people have a misconception about Caribbean food on a whole as they do not understand what the Caribbean is in the first place. Many people think of jerk food rice and beans and sometimes even pineapple and think that is what Caribbean cuisine is about.Actually Caribbean cusine is a mixture of many different types of cusine. Barbadian cusine has African and some Spanish roots mixed with British cusine which makes it very unique. I think people think that cooking Caribbean Vegan is something special and something they could not do everyday that to would hurt the success of my cookbook. I am not giving up my dream of writing it because now is a good time for me since I have more time on my hands. I have to think about product availability because somethings I use are only found in the Caribbean. I do think that if someone comes to my blog and tries a random recipe they would have these ingredients at home. Veganism in the Caribbean( in general ) in my opinion lacks public appeal more so than other places of the world, mind you places like Spain I could imagine lacking all appeal. Many people have social bonds with the food they eat in the Caribbean and these foods would not be given up as they believe it is their identity.What is try to do is keep my identity without killing animals. Many people close off their mind about veganism or sometimes feel threatened by it. Sometimes people eat a vegan plate and do not even realise what they are eating has no animal products inside. Do they even care? My thoughts about the future is that people would care more about animal rights like they fight now for gay right, civil rights etc. I think we have come a long way even in the last 20 years. We as vegans just need to keep strong and keep the demand up for vegan restaurants,vegan apparel etc.

Ok my little reflection is over.

I decided I would keep this one for the book because it is so good I promise you..where is the Caribbean or Barbadian influence?

I feel a little more confidant about the cookbook because even if it never gets published I would be happy because I completed it.

A Bajan cooked it!

Have a good day guys

The Tempeh Experience

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Well I did it. I finally tried tempeh. The taste was interesting to say the least. This is something I think I have to try it again when I get tempeh again or try it at a vegan restaurant so I at least have an idea of what I should be tasting. Vegan Gal suggested I do a hot sauce glazed tempeh but i had no wine or vegetable broth. I created a marinade slightly similar tot the one she suggested and I soaked the precooked tempeh for 2 hours. I grilled on the stove top and I served with vegan brown fried rice. The rice saved the day.My husband had a tempeh encounter be4 he met me and described it as very bad but he wanted to give it another shot since the chef was in the house lol. Apparently I think I failed big time. He said it was 100 times better than his first encounter but if that was good I am happy I did not try his first encounter. The marinade did not penetrate through this piece of soy but I could taste no bitter taste at all. The fried rice saved it!I will try tempeh again but I have not given up on it yet.

UPDATE: I left some tempeh in the marinade for 2 days and I cooked it again. Wow very tasty and flavourful.I would definitely work with tempeh now I know the secret. The texture is very strange I do not know if I would pair tempeh with something like mashed potatoes but I will see if I source some more and do more experimenting.

Seitan Italian Style Sausage with Yam Herbed Mash

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This weekend I made about 20 seitan sausages for us as my husband likes to take high protein snacks with him to work. I first knew about seitan sausage from the Julie Hasson but I was a little skeptical making them as I am not a big big fan of seitan ..I like it but I do not want to have an overload of seitan plus, sometimes these things taste too gluteny sometimes. I brought back a Field Roast Italian sausage from NYC and we really like the taste and texture but I notice that this is just a seitan sausage with some Italian Herbs inside..hmm . I went back to everyday dish website and I looked for the recipe and started to make it as directed but I added a bit more of whatever spice she used in hers. I also added roasted red peppers, roasted eggplant and an entire can or mashed white beans so it reminded me more of the one from field roast. After steaming it in my makeshift steamer I refrigerated them and I decided to cook up 2 tonight for the taste test. This sausage did not remind me of bread and it was strangely tasting like a big mixed meat sausage of my omnivorous past. Nothing is wrong with that right at least no animals were harmed:)

I cooked up the sausages with some onions and dying broccoli and some fresh red peppers. I added some extra non sodium Italian seasoning and some tomato sausage a squeeze of Braggs and some yeast flakes and salt to taste. I added some chili pepper sauce just because I want to feel some burn in my mouth. I had a yam see Yam( True) in my kitchen for a few weeks now so I decided to cook and mash with some vegan margarine and some parsley crushed garlic and salt. This turned out to be a great dish and not too heavy on the stomach since we eat small portions. For dessert I ate a carrot cupcake test I did from. It ended up tasting like a baked pancake but it was chewy and moist for a fat free dessert. I washed it down with cook your throat ginger tea which is fresh ginger grated and boiled in water and served with no sugar.

I still have the tempeh in the fridge any ideas people. I never tasted tempeh before I really do not want to ruin it.

This is not a pizza post. Onion Tarte with American/Canadian Tid bits

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When I first met my bf who is my husband now he made me a tarte of onion tomato and olive one night and it was so yummy. Since then he has never cooked for me again.

:)

This tarte had a look of a pizza but the dough was a kind of shortcrust e.g what you make quiche with. You must pre bake the dough then baste with French mustard not Frenches mustard. I use Maille which I hope is vegan:) I do not see how it could not be. We baste the dough in french mustard and add a bunch of slow cooked onions on the dough mixed with chopped tomatoes and then we top with olives. I wanted to show off the little sliced meats and cheese I got from NYC so I added some Yves pepperoni and some follow your heart cheese. I sprinkled his French tart with Italian seasoning and made it Frentalian. It was good none the less. I suggest that you made small individual tarts so that it can be thick like a tart and look poor like a pizza. The pic is an understatement to how this taste. I suggest not adding other toppings and keep this one very simple. It is even fine for a last min picnic and the taste is very good. For the dough you can make a short crust dough 1/2 fat to flour and iced water and overwork it a bit.

Since the oven was on I made some of Julie Hasson Chocolate Mocha Cakes which are my favourite but this time I made a chocolate peanut butter ganache it was very yummy. I am still scared esp when it comes to vegan cake baking. I am afraid to try new cupcake recipes. If anyone has a fool proof one please email me it so I can make another cupcake.

Tommorrow I am going to experiment with the sole pack of tempeh I bought back with me. I have no idea what it taste like how it is suppose to be seasoned... I will hope for the best

Vegan Cornish Pasties 2-Unbaked

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I only made the lentil carrot pastie as my husband did not want me to work to hard by making two types of pasties. I will do the tvp, carrot,potato version another time.





Vegan Short Crust Pastry


250 g of flour


125 g vegan margarine


about 6 to 10 tbs iced water





Method


Rub in fat to flour until it resembles breadcrumbs


Add tablespoon by tablespoon the water and quickly form into a uniform ball


Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 mins to relax





That's it





With this pastry you can add what ever fillings you choose and make all sorts of interesting shapes both sweet and savory.








Apple pie filling I love this so much with this pastry


Spicy tvp


For tofu lovers tofu herb with vegan sausage chopped


lentils and carrots with cumin and curry.





You can even use this pastry to wrap around small vegan sausage for "soy in a blanket" .


Use this as a pie crust for mini tarts and even a tofu style quiche.


Make ahead and refrigerate and if you are having guest over you just make a quick filling and toss them in the oven.





The short crust pastry has a crumbly texture but still soft. Sometimes I overwork my dough to change the texture of the pastry.


Here are some lentil pasties I made they are not baked. I made them ahead and refrigerated overnight. I will bake them in the morning and take them with me. I would suggest having some extra veggies with this as this does not supply enough vegetable servings for lunch.

Vegan Packed Lunches 1- Vegan Cornish Pasties

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I was speaking earlier about vegan packed lunches especially when we travel on airlines that do not provide meals anymore.
I have been tossing up a few ideas in my mind and I decided I should do some Vegan Cornish Pasties. This was the packed lunch I learned about at secondary school . It is a short crust pastry which I use most of the times for all my pastries and it is filled with grated potato,tvp and carrots. This is not only filling, but it should not get soggy, and it is something tasty. The original recipe I had used lard and even in pre vegan days I never used lard I always use to make vegan shortcrust pastry from since I was about 14 years old. I have selected 2 fillings for these Cornish pasties: lentil,carrot with a cumin and curry flavour.
and veganized Cornish pasties which is ground tvp,grated potato and grated carrots.
I will have the lentil and my husband would have the tvp one.
Note these can be miniaturized especially if you are having a party.
I was also interested in doing a Jamaican Vegan Patty. I loved Jamaican patties in my pre vegan days the spices and the soft yellow pastry. This to me was a fusion patty of British with a Jamaican influence. I work on developing the vegan Jamaican patty a little later.

Today I will post a mini tutorial on making shortcrust pastry and how to handle short crust pastry. There are a few faults in pastry making and there were drilled into my brain in secondary school. Many people are afraid to make pastry as they see this as something only for restaurants. You can make your own pastry and store it in the fridge and then use later.
I am pressed for time so I will make these Vegan Pasties in 2 days. Today I would make the pastry and store it in the fridge and a filling and tomorrow I would make the rest. It is better you bake these pasties just before you leave on a picnic or a flight and wrap in paper or a brown paper bag as it will not get soggy this way.

Other ideas for packed lunched is a slice seitan and vegan cheeze "platter" with grapes and vegan crackers.
Super stuffed potato is a potato that you bake and slice in half scoop out the inside and mix with chilli ,tofu ricotta(optional ) and veggies of your choice.Stuff the contents in the halves and re wrap with foil and bake again for another 10 mins. All you need to do is remove the top of foil and eat and this is not very messy.(Just remember to bring a fork if that is allowed in the plane)
Sandwiches are great too but try to avoid adding soggy causing ingredients like vegannaise and those things. You have to channel your inner sandwich artist and, if you want a condiment place it on the protein source and cover with lettuce. I cannot stand sandwiches with soggy mayo or ketchup on it always turns me off.
Hummus is not such a good idea because I think they consider that a "liquid"
A personal tofu quiche is great with spinach and this can be eaten at room temperature without tasting too yucky.
Cold noodle salad with vegan beef or seitan strips is lovely but be sure to eat this as soon as you can to prevent food borne illness.
There is a vegan lunchbox website as many of you know that has some interesting ideas for packed lunches with interesting lunchboxes which I wish I had because I would do more inspiring packed lunches.

Random Eats

In Barbados on Sunday many people over indulge in food to be honest. It is the time when family get togeter and have a big meal of many things like rice and peas, meat dishes, lasagne, fish etc.

It is very Barbadian to eat like this on Sunday. When I moved away from Barbados I began to do big vegan meals on Sunday but I thought it was silly because it is just 2 of us in the house. On Sundays I do the opposite now and I eat lighter than I do in the week. Sunday for me is a relaxing day not a day to slave over the stove.

Today I ate falafel and hummus in a pita very easy and I am less tired

I tried this box falafel and there is too much of something inside of it. I cannot tell what it is. It is Ok but something is overpowering. I have a short week this week so I had no time to share my homemade falafel recipe with you but I will get to that another time.

Off topic but when vegans travel there is some planning that goes into it as the airline may not serve a meal, it may not serve a vegan meal etc. I have a great recipes coming up of some pack lunches you can make that you can take on the plane. They will not go soggy or have some weird smell that has the guy in the seat behind you asking loudy whats thats smell. For me it is important to always take my food with me but I have a problem eating things that start to get too soggy. Even if I made it I cannot eat it when it goes yucky like that. So look out for this post midweek.

See you guys

Pepper sauce attempt

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I had plans to give some pepper sauce as giveaways but I cannot as this pepper sauce is way too hot as in killer spicy. I made a batch today but I have to wait for a few days to taste it. I tasted it right after I made it and the freshness does not allow you to taste the real flavour and spiciness of this hot sauce. I plan to taste it on Wednesday and I will report what happened.

I wore eye protection throughout the entire process and rubber gloves because when pepper juice gets on your hand it is over. It burns for hours depending on how much and how long you were exposed too. I think I will have to dilute this pepper sauce with water because this reminds me of the pepper I tried in Trinidad and Tobago on some doubles and I almost died in the taxi lol.I was like oh give me lots of pepper please and I was shocked at how killer insane hot the Trini pepper sauce was in comparison to the Barbadian version. The only major difference is that in Barbados they use American mustard.

This is a beautiful pepper sauce, rich colour,texture not too runny but I will know the verdict on Wednesday. Stay tuned

This is some serious peppersauce. Will save some for mum back home in Barbados. She will love this.

Thanks Cynthia for this recipe. I added ginger, eshallot ,oil and a large onion to the recipe.

Barbadian Vegan Split Pea Soup

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I remember when I was little I hated when my mother cooked soup and this was once a week. I would sit at the table and I would have a plastic bag under the table and I would pour this soup in this bag then throw it over the fence at the neighbours house. Yes I did that I was very very young don't kill me. Now I am not criticizing my mothers cooking it is just I never liked Bajan soup. There are a few of us out there like that. Bajan soup is a hearty mixture of potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, noodles,pumpkin and meat or poultry and, do not forget the dumplings which are sweet flour balls boiled in the soup. People in Barbados eat soup at least once a week and many small restaurants have capitalized on this and if you ever go to Barbados you would see workmen ,women and whoever carrying around large Styrofoam cups of their favourite meal. Barbados is warm sometimes hot and imagine eating soap in this weather! I remember my food and nutrition teacher at secondary school saying to me she did not like the traditional soup. All my life I avoided soup when it was presented to me no matter what type. Within recent times I have matured and I want to give soup a second chance. Not the traditional Barbadian soup but one I kinda liked which was a ham bone soup. Ok fellow vegans do not get scared I did not use ham in this soup but I loved the smoky flavour of this soup and the pieces of meat inside. I decided to give a split pea soup a try today for lunch since my husband did not come back for lunch I had some extra time on my hands to slow cook this soup. Let me tell you. I am so a soup person now I am not joking! This soup is good in so many ways. It is flavourful. The chopped seitan did not taste all gluteny like I would have expected and it was so satisfying. When I was taking the pictures I was a bit worried if I could afford to eat it and make the post about it. Not only did I eat this soup I went back for seconds. My husband would have this for dinner.This is a soup that most you can do because it does not call for so called "exotic" ingredients relative to you.

I will give you the alternative

Vegan Split Pea Soup

4 cups of water or salt free vegetable broth

1 1/2 cup green split peas

1 eshallot (the ones that look like mini onions with the purplish flesh) chopped

1 medium onion chopped

1 potato ( I used a frozen hash brown because I was out of potatoes)

1 celery stalk chopped finely

2 cloves of garlic (1 for the sautee and the other crushed at the end of cooking the soup)

1 medium carrot chopped to your desired shape

few pieces of chopped seitan or vegan ham ( does that exist??)(I made vegan dad's seitan loaf for the week)

1 tsp bajan seasoning (chopped green onions a little pinch of clove)

1 tsp fresh or dried thyme

1 tsp fresh or dried basil

2 drops of Tabasco sauce( you add this when you add the second garlic clove at the end of cooking)

1/2 tsp chili ( you can tone it down if you wish this is optional)

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp black pepper or you can bring it down to 1/4 tsp

2 tbs yeast flakes I am using one with a nuttier flavour and not as cheezy as the one I am accustomed to.

1 tsp celery salt or an all in one seasoning with celery salt inside

piece of habenero pepper just a little piece about 1 cm long

salt( salt is entirely up to you some people like low sodium I used about 1 tsp salt)

1 tbs olive oil

liquid smoke optional ( unfortunately my liquid smoke is in Barbados oh well)

Method

Saute vegetables until limp

Add the split peas

Add half water and cook.

Add all other ingredients except the garlic for the end and the Tabasco sauce

Add the other half of water and cook for about an hour

If the water is boiling out add a half cup and lower your heat

Serve with crusty bread or a sprouted tortilla

SUPER YUM!

Turnover recipe

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I had a few request for this recipe so I decided to post it.
Please review my previous post on turnovers

Barbadian Coconut Turnovers
6 oz flour
1 oz sugar
2oz vegan margarine
1/2 cup soy milk (warm)
2 tsp yeast ( I use instant)
1/2 tsp salt

Filling
1 cup grated coconut
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp almond essence(You could leave on the skin on the coconut but I prefer to take it off because it burns my stomach lol)
Method

Sieve flour and salt.
Rub fat into flour.
Mix the yeast, milk and sugar.Make a well in the centre of the flour and add your yeast mixture.
Beat well until the dough is smooth and leaves the side of the bowl clean.
Turn on a floured board and knead well.
Put dough in a bowl and set in a warm place to rise until dough is twice the size.
Prepare the dough by cutting it into 4 or 6 equal pieces.
Mix coconut sugar and essence for the filling.
Roll out each piece on a floured board and spoon the filling on the dough.
Fold the ends and press tightly so that the filling stays inside the roll.
Place uncooked turnovers in a greased square pan and leave to rise for an hour or so.
Brush with a mixture of sugar water and bake at 220 degrees C OR 350 F for 20 mins ( I usually brush many times with sugar so that the top of my turnover is very sticky
I sprinkle with sugar at the end of cooking but some people sprinkle with sugar before baking it is up to you)
Brown sugar is my preference but once I made with white sugar only and the turnovers turned out great.

Turnovers last about 3 days maximum when stored at room temperature so do not write me telling me that yours turnovers got hard after 3 days. Turnovers are meant for eating.

Recipe Test:Vegan "Fish" cakes and vegan "beurre blanc" sauce

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It is Sunday and it means that I have to prepare some food that we would consume for the week. I was looking at the Vegan Dad website and he made some chickpea cakes that had more of a seafood spin to it even if it was not intentional for him.I tried them and I loved them. I grilled them instead and I made a vegan butter sauce from scratch. I am developing this recipe still but you can give it a try with a mild tasting protein. I do not think this would be great on tofu but someone can prove me wrong.

"Vegan Beurre blanc"

Soy milk,tahini,eshallots,brown vinegar,lemon juice, black pepper and garlic crushed. You can mix in some vegan margarine if you want to thicken this sauce. This sauce was so good. It tasted like something you would get in a fine restaurant. I did not like such a spicy chickpea cake with it though. I would in the future ease off the pepper sauce in his recipe so that the cake would be more mild so when you pair it with the vegan butter sauce it would be so great. This was so good. Please try it. Vegan Dad did a good job with developing the chickpea cakes. So try it with cooked vegetables as it is a good dinner meal especially if you are having omni guest over.

For those who wrote me about the turnover recipe I will post it this week on the blog.

Barbadian Vegan Coconut Bread

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I am not too much a sweet dry bread fan but I had some extra coconut from the turnovers in the fridge so I said why not lets make some wholewheat egg less coconut bread. I was a bit worried because my father tried it a few years ago and it was a little different from what we were use to. I called up dad and he said well you would have to increase the fat in this bread if you want it to be dry..but for me I am on a healthy lifestyle so increasing the fat was not for me. I was upset because I cannot find flax meal here...Oh how I miss Barbados.


This bread is as Bajan as it gets. It is eaten at Christmas in large quantities lol, we take this to picnics and you can get this at bajan parties and even in the shops. This bread is not vegan normally but I veganized it and it was a hit. The outside was sweet and crunchy and the inside was soft yet dry. Even if this bread was perfect I still want to try it with some flax meal to see if I can even get it better.

Here goes the trail run recipe

250 g whole wheat flour
around 100 g sugar brown or a mix of brown and sugar replacer
around 100 g vegan margarine
1 tsp almond essence
some coconut sorry I didn't measure but it was around 150- 200g but more is better
1/3 cup of wheatgerm
2 tbs apple butter optional
1/2 tsp salt

some sugar and water and almond essence to brush the top of the bread

Method
Very easy
1. Cream your fat and sugar and essence and apple butter
2. Add your flour and coconut to this mixture and mix well with your fingers
3.Add wheatgerm
4.Slowly add you 1/2 cup of milk until your bread mixture
Your mixture should not me sticking to your fingers at all anymore so add the milk until you see your dough moist but not sticky
5.Shape into a loaf of course and put into a grease loaf pan
6. Bake for around 1 hour and 10 mins at around 190 and 220 C
7 . Brush constantly with sugar mixture and essence
8. You want to bake this very brown and crispy
9. Add raisins and chopped baking cherries if you wish

Voila
We had this as a snack with a glass of soy milk
I know my husband will have this again for breakfast and tonight with his tea.
This is a great bread not too over powering with coconut and something many people would appreciate as a dessert

Croquettes de haricots noirs

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I did not have a clue of what to pair my quinoa with . I mean it is complete in itself so it was ok but I need extra protein. I decided to crack open a can of black beans which I was trying to avoid and make something strong that could pair with the light cold salad. I may pair gluten slices with it next time. I really enjoyed quinoa for the first time in a long time and black beans which I tend not to like too much. I am a big red bean fan.


My French is really improving. I am even writing letters and emails in French. If I see an increase in French visitors to this blog I would post the French and English versions to the recipes.That is a big IF.





1 can of black beans drained


some salt to taste


pinch of cayenne pepper


some bajan seasoning optional


chopped shallots (in France they call it eschalots I hope I am referring to the same thing)


crushed garlic


little tomato paste


paprika


black pepper


yeast flakes





The breading you mix some wheat or gluten free flour and some sesame seeds ,breadcrumb and some more yeast flakes


I use a little bit of olive oil to grill these and I served with salsa


I do not think it would be a good idea to pair this with quinoa but we wanted it so who is stopping us.


I would pop these in some pita with salad and avocado instead


They are full in flavour trust me and if you are like me add some extra pepper lol

Some French product reviews

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I really like some of the beans I am not use to in the Caribbean. Could someone tell me the name of these beans in English or does it go by flageolet beans as well?

I am currently going through a box of quinoa and I really like this brand. The one I was buying in Barbados did not taste as good as this one honestly! Maybe it is the way I prepared it today I don't know ...but I am going to stick to this organic brand for now. I just realised that I can make a lovely porridge with this in the morning. I will see how it goes. I am tired of rolled oats. I may even mix this with flax seed, rolled oats and barley...hmm maybe not:)

No bake oatmeal cookies

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I really hate to light my oven. It does not cooperate with me. It is embarrassing as hubby would come and light it and give me "the look". I usually have a glass of soy milk directly after my workout. I also have something sweet, may it be juice or whatever. I decided since hubby was at work I would make some sticky, hearty chews to keep in the fridge for post training. I came across many post of the no bake vegan cookie...Great! no oven. I whipped up a little batch of these and I must say the taste is heavenly. I used some high quality dark chocolate,peanut butter, oats, wheatgerm, golden flax seeds, sesame seeds and pecans and I was very pleased. They did not hardened up as much as I expected but we like chewy treats.


Here is a photo of these treats that should not be over indulged in cough.. cough

Vegan Burger

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I have gotten lazy these past months and stop making my burgers from scratch but, those days are over. I have craving sometimes of something unhealthy and greasy and wrong in so many ways but when I look at my figure in the mirror I backtrack and I come to some middleground.


The middle ground is grilled tvp homemade burgers, homemade sugarfree wheat bread and 1 tbs of oil baked french fries.


Should I say more?


I usually use sweet potato instead because I know at least it gives me a little more than plain white potatoes.


The sweet potatoes at the supermarket look like if 20 horses ran through them so that was a big no no for me.


The bread was ok for me great for hubby.


I think I need to tweak that recipe a bit....I am thinking of using a flax egg and it needed some more gluten. I like my bread bouncy!


I remember I use to invite a few friends over in Barbados and I would serve this homemade Bajan vegan burger and sweet potato fries....now I just make this for me and hubby when we want junk food but do not want all the extra calories that come with it.


I tried to add some gluten flour in this burger and what a disaster.


I had to bake it out first to fully cook the gluten and then grill.


Cost me an extra 30 mins as I left all my binding agents in Barbados. I did use wholewheat breadcrumbs but I think it needed some flax meal or something to hold it together more. These burgers are soft in texture but full of flavour.

Curry Obsession:Roti

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I know some of you are tired of my roti post. Roti for me is in its own food group. I just love roti so much and after going vegan I was worried I would miss my favourite dish but I have not. I make roti once every 2 months even if it is my favourite it is carb heavy and I would only eat this after a big weight lifting session. You can lighten the carbs by omitting potato but my mom would say a roti without potato is not a roti lol.

Many people would think I am crazy as roti is big work.

I have made a record of preparing the "skins" the roti and the filling in 1 hour. Right now I am still struggling with perfecting the skins but this weekend the skins were better than ever.

1. I reccomend soaking the tvp in seasoned water..did I say seasoned water? Yes. I add heaping tablespoon of bajan seasoning to the tvp.

2.Adding green splitpeas gives body to the roti

3. Cook as long as you can the tvp,vegetables and onions. I reccomend cooking for 1 hour as this thick sauce forms something I call "roti juice". If you do not cook the roti filling long enough your sauce would be weak and not full body like what you see in the above photo.

4. Flavouring is your friend. Try adding yeast flakes, marmite, Braggs liquid amino acids and salt to your sauce remember the roti is a full flavour dish do not skimp on the flavour.

5.Gram masala in the sauce gives it a nice flavour

6.Do crush at least 1 clove of garlic at the end of cooking the stew. I cannot believe what a big difference this made.

7.Do include at least 2 beans, peas...I used chick peas and green split peas. I made sure I cooked the chickpeas for a long time even if they were canned chickpeas. I do not like firm chickpeas. I like them soggy full of curry and flavour.

8.Roti filling can be use as a condiment to boring rice but I would only indulge in this carb load after a workout.

Well enjoy these photos of my weekend roti.

Bajan Coconut turnovers: "Turnovers"

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE TURNOVER RECIPE WAS POSTED IN THE NEXT 5 POST SO I HOPE I DO NOT GET ANY REQUEST TO POST IT WHEN I DID.THE RECIPE IS HERE.

ANOTHER NOTE IS THAT THIS BLOG HAS BEEN MOVED OR SHOULD I SAY RELAUNCED SO CLICK HERE TO GO TO MY NEW BLOG
THANKS

I remember on Sunday evening in Barbados as a child you would be looking forward to icecream from the truck or "bread". When we say bread in Barbados it doesnt mean a measly slice of bread. It is the numerous pastries that we enjoy on the island. I think Barbados has some of the best pastries there are. There are a mixture of British and Caribbean flavours. One that is a favourite of mine because it is not too too sweet is the coconut turnover which is just called "turnovers" in Barbados. I am not sure they are vegan as the recipe calls for milk and I use soy. I know one or two small bakeries in Barbados do not put cows milk in theirs but I cannot be too certain. I just love turnovers . Ok ok a turnover is a sweet dough filled with sweetened coconut with almond essence. It is baked and brushed with sugar water and sprinkled with sugar at the end. I love it warm with a cup of tea and I like my coconut dry. Some people like their coconut mixture a bit wetty or juicy but I love mine dry and not too sweet.


I am sorry I did not cut the inside of the turnover so you can see the lovely swirl of coconut mixture inside. I use wholewheat flour as I am not a white flour lover. These are usually brown or white you can find both easily in Barbados. Here is a photo of some I made during Easter for the hubby. He really loved them. Mine did not have a long shelf life though as they got hard after 3 days.


If anyone is interested in this recipe just leave a comment and I would post it.


I am a bit fed up sometimes as I post long winded recipes and I do not even know if anyone has a use for it. So let me know if anyone is interested in making some turnovers.

What's Bajan Seasoning and Bajan Pepper Sauce anyways?

PLEASE VISIT MY NEW BLOG HERE IF YOU WANT TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE BAJAN SEASONING AT HOME

Well most of you that read my blog always hear me mentioning bajan seasoning.

It is a staple in my vegan kitchen because it is full of flavour and after adding a little bit to your stews,tvp,tofu or whatever it gives big flavour. Bajan seasoning recipes vary from household to household. Most people in Barbados buy from someone who they think makes the best while others buy from the supermarket. Most of the bajan seasoning I have tried are very tasty. I do not have a favourite but Amandas Bajan Seasoning is one I have been using for a while. It is actually my last as I am waiting for a shipment from my mother. For those who are worried about pepper many of the Bajan seasoning come without pepper and I even saw a no salt version of it. The main ingredients are chives which is like those green onions you would find in the states with the bulb,habenero peppers,onions, garlic, powdered clove, lime juice, tyme, marjoram, blackpepper, paprika. Some people add parsley . I will make my own when I have time to gather all these fresh herbs but I do not see this happening soon. Here is a photo of a packet of seasoning. I keep it in the fridge even if it is very strong. Bajan seasoning is used in most Barbadian cuisine. Do not get this seasoning mixed up with jerk seasoning which is from Jamaica (which is good too). I prefer bajan seasoning in my cooking though as it is not as overpowering as the jerk. I do think jerk tofu would be great.

Bajan Pepper sauce is a condiment you would find in most local restaurants

The flavour is amazing but it is not as hot as the Trinidadian pepper sauce. However I have been eating this pepper sauce since I was 3 years old. I remember as a child my mom would put it over her rice and I would not eat my rice until she give me a little. Bajan peppersauce can save a very bland dish but it packs a lot of heat so becareful. The main ingredient is mustard...yes seriously and habeneros, onions and vinegar and some salt. I am yet to make my own peppersauce. I am afraid some would get into my eyes!

Here is a photo of a bottle of peppersauce I have been picking at for the last couple of month. Mom sent me a care package. If you do go to Barbados these are 2 condiments you should pick up as they come in unbreakable containers and there are easy to put in your suitcase. Grace Pepper sauce is one most people would find overseas, I really love that one too even if it is not Barbadian. I miss Barbados

:(

Stay tuned

Coming up
Season veggie burger, coconut turnovers, and ultimate curry addiction with revamped roti .

Easy Lunch Ideas

What is easier than pouring some hot water over couscous and pairing some curried chickpeas and cooked vegetables. Hubby made this for me a few Sundays ago after our workout. I was happy to find wholewheat couscous here. Very easy lunch idea especially when you are pressed. There is a company in the Caribbean it is called Matouk ,they make great chickpeas already in curry sauce. I miss having this around but it is very easy to make your own curry.

Great Eats

I have been watching my weight these days.

Many people think that vegans do not have problems with weight but it is easy to eat too many carbs when you are a vegan and this is not always the best for some of us.

I have been making some hummous using any bean I can find. This one is white flava beans that I had left over from falafel making. I had some regular chickpea hummous so I mixed it in. I find that flava beans when paired with garlic some tahini and some salt and garlic taste like a high protein mash potato. I even suggest eating this hummous warm. Here you can see 2 homemade falafel at the side, spelt bread and some veggies with yeast flakes and golden flax seed.

I think I put some cold pressed oil on the carrots...

hmm

Easy Lunch Ideas 2

I fell in love with falafel a few months ago and hubby and I started to buy a box of dried one.

Little did I know that after 5 days of soaking some flava beans I too could make this tasty treat.

Before we get on to that falafel post I found a cool recipe idea at the back of the dried falafel box.

They suggested using it as a the sole protein source in a hearty tomato sauce to top pasta.

I said why not.

I admit the taste was a bit strange at first but after several bites I started to love it with some hot sauce.

I only eat pasta dishes and high carb dishes after weight lifting so I suggest this dish for lunch.

I topped this with yeast flakes and some salsa.

I think this is one for a rainy day.:)

Easy Dinner & Lunch Ideas 1

Well I am back

I have started taking pics again and I have many post pending. My first one will be easy dinner and lunch ideas.

I have perfected a falafel recipe and I have revamped my roti recipe ..finally I have made the perfect vegan roti in my opinion.

Anywho.. I really loved shepards pie in my pre vegan days . It is a great comfort food and easy to prepare. Took me 20 mins preparation and another 15 mins of grilling the top. My mom posted me some dehydrated tvp chunks from Barbados but she forgot to send me the minced ones. I made some tvp stew and had some leftovers of it so I just place this stew at the bottom of my baking dish and some herbed mashed potatoes at the top. I added rosemary and olive oil for extra flavour. I served it with string beans.

Black bean stew

Black Bean stew is something my dad would do at home for sunday lunch. I have changed it up a little and used loads of garlic carrots and spinach. My husband really loved this on Sunday and he ate it with brown rice. Now we are using the left overs as protein snacks for during the day and eating it hot in a thermos

I will post my final black bean stew soon I just would like to make it even more hearty.

Tutorial on Vegan Roti Making

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I will not post the full recipe now until I perfected my roti "dough" making skills and the perfect curry filling but I will in this tutorial show you how much work it takes to make roti esp when your hubby says to use purple potatoes instead of the regular white ones (lol).

Roti is ideal for a packed lunch because once the dough is made well you can eat in some paper or foil and u do not have to use any forks or whatever to eat it. This is why for a day trip to St. Barts I decided to make some roti for us to take. It is hard for find vegan dishes other than salad when you travel so it is a good idea to bring your own food and store it well. As a microbiologist I am also thinking about proper food storage especially if you will get back to your food 3 hours later. Once you take care you can store you vegan roti in some paper or foil for ur trip and sometimes I like to keep it in this kind of grand thermos if they are not wrapped.

LETS GET STARTED!!

My husband likes his roti with tvp chunks chick peas and other vegetables and unlike me he does not like alot of potato in his.

I like hot curried potato in mine and some protein.

In a medium saucepan I would usually put in some oil and some curry and cumin and let it roast up a little.

I would then add my onions garlic and chives and let them cook for a while.

I add some chick peas , spinach because I had extra and some chopped carrots.

Hydrate my tvp and add some marmite and a little bajan seasoning to it and add this to the pot.

For me at this stage I would add a few cups of water some tomata anything may it be paste some sauce I had I would add a little to add a little sweetness to balance out the spice in my roti.

I would let this cook for 20 mins and add my potatoes and salt.

I cook my roti until my potatoes dissolved a little some people like their potatoes firm. It depends. You know me I love pepper so I would add some sauce of scotch bonnet or haberno peppers and some salt some cumin some black pepper, onion powder whatever us spicy I have i add.

I remember making roti dough at home when I was 13 years old and I never used a recipe yet my dough use to be soft and flavourful

Now I suck so much at this but I am trying

I am getting somewhere.

I used 3 cups of flour to 1 cup water.

I added some fat to my skins something I did in the past but not usually now.

I added some margerine to the flour at first and some salt and slowly worked in the water.

This time I added some baking powder to my dough. I let my dough rest and I formed 6 to 8 pieces. I rolled out my dough very very very very thin and I cooked in a skillet that the French use to make crepes with because that's all I had. I cannot make the roti dough on the crepe pan by myself so I usually ask my husband to help me with this step we do not cook it too much. I cook it for a few seconds until I see faint brown spots appearing on the dough.

My dough this time was a half of a disaster but I will try again.

In the Caribbean a lot of countries in the south like Trinidad and Guyana and Barbados eat roti but it is an Indian dish that many countires in the Caribbean have adopted and did their own thing with it. I had a roti in the French West Indies and it was just as tasty as the ones I got in Barbados. Unfortunately I did not get to eat a roti when I was in Trinidad:( which people say has the best roti. Let me clear up the roti is just the dough but in Barbados we call roti the entire thing.It is not a vegan dish usually because they usually curry meat but many roti shops have vegan fillings like tvp, chick peas and whats not. The roti is served piping hot in Barbados and I serve mine hot. Since I was going on a day trip I will wrap mine up and wrap some clean towels around them and serve.

I hope this cleared up what roti actually is for some of you who never heard of it and are afraid to make it at home because there is so starting block for this.

I will post my final roti recipe soon when I did some more test runs.

au revoir

Random meals

I am sorry that I did not come through this xmas but it has been weeks and I am waiting for an internet connection so I can start back blogging. I hope to get the net in a weeks.France takes some time with paperwork...

First pic is falafel burger and a gaucomole salad with vegan cream sauce i made from scratch.The falafel was from a box.

Second pic is tvp stew with left over curry chickpeas with seseme seeds and yummy fresh vegetables with herbe de provence.

Third pic is my spaghetti and soy balls .

I do not have much time now so look out for new developments from me

hmm anyways I have been taking some pics during lunch and dinner with my husband

New Years Feast somewhat..

Finally I am in a different country. I still do not have the internet here yet but I have taken loads of pics and i have many interesting things to share. This one is not so interesting but it was tasty.

We had a French feast last night since my hubby is French. For the starter we had some somasas i threw in there because i needed some spice but after it was totally french lol.

I will post the Christmas lunch we had ahich was very Barbadian but I am still not settled yet

Anyways this dish was just some wedges baked and some veggie steak pieces we found in the Asian section and I made a sauce with it which turned out beautiful. Then just French bean with garlic. For dessert we had an assortment on mini tarts will show this later ...we ended the night with some soy dream and tea.

I didnt love this dish it was too meaty for me the richness of this fake meat was too much for me but hubby loved it

Barbados Vegan Street Foods

Hi all

PLEASE VISIT MY NEW AND EXCITING BLOG HERE as I in the process of adding more caribbean vegan guides.

Sorry for not posting in a while but I am relocating in a few days.

Trinidadian Doubles

This is one of my favourite Barbadian Street foods and it is from Trinidad. (smile). This is called doubles because it is made of two savoury sweetish pastry and the inside is curried chickpeas and there are alot of condiments that you can choose from. I got pepper cucumber pickled and spicy green onion seasoning. They are so good that you cannot just eat one. My double looks like Christmas but that is just because I asked for extra pepper.

Roti

So when I get to my final destination I will be cooking again.I went out today and I stopped for lunch at the Swizzle Pot In Warrens St. Michael and I decided to get a veggie roti. Roti is just the pastry but we call the entire thing roti here. This roti here has a split pea based skin in flour and water and some margarine and salt. It is soft and flavourful. You can buy the skins just like that and put in whatever. My roti today was chick peas and potato. You can have okra,pumpkin whatever you want inside and it is spicy if you want. I love roti so much. I will miss it. This is about $4.50usd or $9.00 Barbados dollars. This dish is very filling and it is curry based.

Vegan/ Veg*n/Vegetarian Guide to Barbados

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I RELAUNCED THE BLOG . Please click here to go to my new blog

I have been getting a few emails from people who are coming to Barbados, some for the first time who are veg*n and wonder what they are going to eat for the time they are in Barbados. I decided that I would give a full guide for anyone interested in coming to the island but who is a little worried about not having vegan options.
I will be telling you about some dishes I know that are vegan for sure,supermarkets, names of foods that you are not familiar with and beaches to go with nearby vegan friendly restaurants.


Casual dining/Fast Food/Bajan Food

For casual dining you can check out a health food store in Bridgetown. It is on the left hand side opposite RBTT Bank. It is called Jenn's Health and Beauty. It is actually a grocery store,book store and cafe in one.
It serves breakfast from 7:30 and you have veggie sausages and tofu scramble all sorts of things like plantains,muffings etc (Update there is a sign saying they have discontinued their breakfast)
Be sure to try the lentil patty it is a pastry filled with spicy lentils and it is very filling. There is a spin off to this pastry called the super and it is filled with pineapple and peas and more veggies and this pastry is called The SUPER ! There is another pastry called a granburger rolland this is actually minced tvp which is seasoned in a savoury pastry .In Barbados they do not call it TVP they call it granburger or burger chunk.
From 11 Jenns has a variety of Caribbean inspired dishes,brown rice,eggplant stir fry,tvp stew,bean stew,garlic potatoes and their daily vegan soup and even a starch that you may be unfamiliar with which is called eddos and they have sweet potatoes and yam sometimes depends on the season. It is a hot meal place but not much seating but u can walk to the beach near Pelican village 5 mins away and eat on the picnic tables if you want a tan. I surely do not want one:)
They also serve vegan cakes and gluten free cakes and a whole range of roti and samosas.
There is also affordable shopping for the groceries.
They sell a variety of protein shakes and fresh fruit juices just tell them soy protein when you go. At Jennsit is a pay first and then serve and it is not a big places and it is noisy because of the shake making. I do not mind this very much but as I say you do not have to eat there you get a takeaway container and the beach is down the street with tables.

In the city there is a place called The Balcony restaurant. Here it is a kinda buffet but not the American style buffet . It is all you can put on to your plate LOL. and that's it. It is a fully stocked salad bar which has many vegan options and your can really enjoy it because there is always Barbadian peas and rice and gravy which is an onion gravy. If you go around 1 pm there is long line heading into the clothing department store yes! It moves quickly and the Bajans usually do not dine in and they go along their merry way so there is seating and the plus of eating here is that there is a wonderful view of the city of Bridgetown.

(Fast Food)I do not like fast food but there is a Cheffette restaurants which is yellow and purple building they sell a vege burger with a pickle tomato and that's it. It is very good.:)
Cheffette sells an all potato roti which is Indian inspired curry potatoes in a thin tasty dough. I would not eat this because there is no protein inside so I would get my roti from elsewhere.

Indian Grill is just on the tip of Bridgetown and it is in Baystreet on the coast. My hubby (who is not Barbadian) and I really enjoyed the roti from here. Even the skin is tasty. They really do it right. They make about 14 different types of roti both meat and vegan and, there is a wide variety. You can have all chickpeas or chickpeas and potato. My hubby loves the vegetable which a mixture of vegetables and chickpeas and he says it has a very good taste as the sweet pumpkin and curry work well in the roti and you have some potato and chickpeas to balance it out.

Oh another place Big John's they have a roti which is more nutritious and it has tvp chunks,chick peas,carrots,green peas with or without potato in a thin dough. There is a Big John's in Hastings near Accra beach on the south coast

Well let me get to Accra Beach. This is a very popular beach in Barbados but not the only one. I think the reason people like this beach is that it is close to so many restaurants and food stalls.You can spend all day at Accra rent a chair and sleep and you can leave your chair and come back but just leave your towel in the chair. On the beach itself there are many restaurants but I never checked any out for vegan treats. We usually go across the street to Quay side center which is a mini shopping and restaurant area. There is a coffee places and you can ask for soy milk in your coffee treats. There is also a grill which does fish but do not worry they have some wicked sides like peas and rice grilled potatoes and vegetables and it is about 3 usd for a side and I am telling you it is hefty. This place with the hefty sides is called Just Grillin.
I was never a fan of Chinese food until I got desperate and ate at the Chinese Restaurant over there and boy was I happy. I had mock duck and fried rice. What a treat and you can always ask for no MSG. Next to the Chineese place there is Picasso's they have a vegetarian menu which has no cheese and so I will dare to call it vegan. It is around 10 usd and it is full of protein as it has TVP as the main course!
Down the street from Quay side next to the Greek restaurant Opa there is an icecream place that I frequent with my hubby and it is called dolce gelato I hope it did not interchange the words. It has a daily soy icecream which is always a treat. He also makes sorbets too and there is an extensive Italian treats menu but I did not see much vegan stuff . It is lovely inside and I promised myself I should take pics of these places next time so you can see how lovely Barbados is.



Bubbas sports bar Worthing Christ Church has a veggie burger made of vegetables. I tried this burger and it was decent they served it with fries and some sauce and it cost me 17 Barbados dollars not bad. Bert's Bar down the street boast of a veggie burger I never went to Berts!

Apsara which I review is a good Indian place to dine with a beautiful bathroom (smile) The staff is fairly attentive just tell the reservationist u are a vegan like the last girl who came there with her friends me (just kidding) Just make sure you say no milk . I do not think their naan was vegan. I tasted a little piece and it taste buttery maybe I was wrong.

Grocery Shopping in Barbados
Well I worked for a company that makes some vegetarian products as a side thing. They make Farmers Choice veggie burger which in my opinion taste better than Morningstar. They make a veggie nugget which is decent and a love bite which is breaded veggies with a samosa flavour. I work there for now( 2morrow is my last day as I have to do one more course at uni to graduate). They do not fry in oil which is used to fry animal stuff. They make their veggie stuff first thing in the morning monday mornings and all the machines are clean. The plant is HACCP certified which means it has international standards. You may want to try those especially if you are on a self catered holiday.

I shop at Super Centre or Big B mainly for my ingredients for cooking as they are the more Americanized supermarkets so they have everything u can find overseas except tempeh we do not use this here...
If you are coming from the UK or America you would you would see all of your familar brands. There are vegan stuff all over just ask them to point you too the right place. They sell fresh produce kinda and baked peanuts. They would have local Barbadian mangoes now which are all organic. Some of the stuff is imported so you would have to read the labels.
All supermarkets in Barbados carry TVP,granola and soy milk,vegan microwave products,tofu all brands the fresh ones and the ones in the tetra pak and they sell premade hummous and chick peas and all sorts of things u will not be bored or hungry I assure you.
Fresh fruits and veggies

Trimart also has a few vegan items and it is a cheaper than the other supermarket but if you are coming from the USA the dollar is 2 to 1 so it will be fine for you.


I personally get my fresh fruits from Pricesmart which is a membership only thing and it is located in Warren St Michael 2 mins away from a big Super Centre supermarket and Food Court. There is also a roti place there and downstair in the supermarket have a restaurant which has vegan options ..hmm oh yeah supercentre has a subby station where u can get a salad sandwich .

On Sunday in Barbados there are fresh coconuts on the highway for sale. They cost for abt usd 50 cents for one and it full of sweet juice and soft flesh. You can buy a litre of coconut water which we call it here for 5 usd and you can bring a baggie to get free soft flesh which they give u if you ask for free. Do not let these ppl fool you because you are a tourist(smile).If you have a rental car you can get up on Sunday morning down ABC highway near Deighton Griffith school and there is a nice man who sells there. When you come in ask the taxi to show you Deighton Griffith school I live 5 mins from the airport driving.


I think I covered many places if you have any questions you can email me at my yahoo address provided.

I was looking through my cam for a pic of Barbados but I have none.
I promise all my reader I will provide some soon.

Hiatus- Veggie Roti Post

Hi all
I know I have been a bad person for not posting but I am in the process of some major changes in my life so I will not have time for this blog for the next few months. Once I get settled I would be fine.
Here I leave you with a little dinner I made for the hubby. It is called roti. I kinda cheated this time and bought the skins from the supermarket but I made the filling with tvp chunks,curry,chickpeas,potato,cumin and sweet peas. It can be spicy to mild. The roti is just the dough but in Barbados we call the entire thing with the filling roti.
I will be back soon during the holidays so look out for some new holiday post.
Coming from....
I will tell you that later.
The Barbadian Vegan may be coming to a city near you
lol

Barbadian vegan eats Thai (Yummy)

CLICK HERE AS THIS BLOG HAS BEEN MOVED
Hi all,
Sorry for my little absence. I have been very tired from work this week and had no energy to cook all week.
On my way home yesterday I stopped into an Asian supermarket to see what cool new things they would have for me to try.
I found some easy cook wheat noodles and some Thai sweet chili sauce.
I was a little hesitant as it contained sugar and I do not like sugar but I decided to pick it up as I think I would be able to use it in a dish I had in my mind. The supermarket was called Nature Foods and it has some interesting sauces and located on the outskirts of Bridgetown. I even managed to get some chop sticks to have my meals and the owner was very kind to sell me some as it is a bulk place I did not want 100 chopsticks just a few.

The dish I had in my mind was mock duck and noodles and this sweet Thai sauce but I could not find mock duck anywhere.
I knew I had some gluten flour at home so I decided I would make do and try to make my own fake meat.
I decided I was not going to get mock duck made from scratch and after looking online I found nothing. I turned to Vegan Dad's post on beef seitan.
I did not have many of the things he had so I decided to create a new recipe but I liked his recipe a lot. I hope to try it when I get everything. I did my own seitan beef pieces and surprisingly it turned out great. I really cannot believe it as I was saying what another seitan ( gluten) disaster!

Beef Seitan( Gluten) for Stir Frying

Dry Ingredients
1/4 cup hydrated TVP (which I always have on hand in my cupboard)
1/2 cup gluten flour
1/8 tsp ground star anise
Extra gluten flour to add when dough is sticky
Wet Ingredients

1 cup water
2 tsp Braggs Liquid amino acids
Soy Sauce to taste
2 tsp peanut butter
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp of melted brown sugar to be used as a browning ( If you do not have browning you can burn some sugar and make your own but please watch the pot and use an old pot)
1 drop of liquid smoke

Note: I think you can use some red wine here to give a good flavour too but I had none but you can try to substitute some of that water with some red wine and I think it would turn out great.

Method
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and add some additional gluten flour to make a dough
Roll out in a log and slice in 1/2 inch pieces
Before frying these seitan pieces I usually flatten them out with a cup because I like them a little thinner.
Fry for 7 mins in some canola oil or olive oil and set aside in the fridge after cooling
I find the fridge firms them up some more

Now you have your beef seitan
If you taste it it taste ok but to me at this stage it did not taste like much


Lets move on to our instant pasta stir fry

I got 10 cakes of instant pasta for 2.50 usd =5.00 Barbados dollars from this Asian supermarket which to me is a great price.
There are 3 ppl I am currently cooking for so I used 3 cakes which turned out to be a bit much in the end.
Pasta stir Fry
1 cup of shredded red cabbage
1/2 sweet pepper cut into thin strips
2 small onions diced
1 large garlic clove chopped finely
1 small carrot diced finely
1 cup of green onion with stalks ( the stalks we call eshallots/ ecshalots sp.)
1 tsp chopped lemon grass ( I have some growing in my back yard)
1 tbs olive oil
3 cakes of pasta cooked and drained in cold water
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/8 cup sweet Thai chili
1 tsp dried crushed chili

Method
Heat oil and add veggie
Cook those for 7 mins
Add seitan beef and cook for an additional 2 mins
Add pasta,soy sauce and sweet chili sauce and some dried crushed chili ( I like some heat and some sweet)
Garnish the top with some green onion stalks.
Serve hot
I sometimes add even more soy sauce to my pasta as the brand I use is not very salty

That is it ! You can play around with ginger and some bean sauce. This is so easy to make it does not take a chef to make this.
My mom told me to take some pics outside as it would give me better pics.
She picked the flowers and I made the table setting
In the 2nd pic you scan see it better. It is very good and what really takes up the time is making the seitan(gluten) and cooking it.
You can make the seitan and store in the fridge and then make the pasta dish when you want.
As I said before I had this dish in my mind for a while but I could not get it on paper.
Thank you Thailand for a wonderful inspiration

Barbadian Vegan eats Guacamole?

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Howdy,
I decided I wanted to make some guacamole since I had some avocado( on the street you can hear the vendors calling it avocado pear). I decided to make some guacamole because I always knew about it but I never tried it in my life. Barbadians eat avocados just like that with rice as a side thing. I need your help as I do not know if I got the taste right.
Is it suppose to be limey because my mom said it was too limey for her. I do not mind lime or lemon as I usually drown my hummus in lemon but is guacamole suppose to be predominant lime or predominant onion and spices.
Let me know
I want to try it again
I used lime,cilantro,salt,onion,tomato and some black pepper or cumin..Hmm I don't remember

Tay's Dhal and Basmati Rice

Hi all,

Me again cooking away on a Sunday afternoon. Normally in Barbados the lunch is eaten again at dinner time on Sundays. I was very inspired by Indian dishes that I decided to make a dhal at home. Now unlike baking this is one thing I am good at. I make mine different each time as I throw in what is around. This time I paid special attention to the type of curry I used, I used star anise in my dhal to give it a special flavour. I added some tomato sauce to my dhal yes, very untraditional and I also added some american mustard and Bajan seasoning. I guess you would not call it dhal anymore but the taste is very special, very spicy and very good overall. I have decided to restart my book which was on pause for a long time and include this wonderful dish. I cannot stand bland dishes at all esp vegan dishes which need a helping hand to be up there with the other dishes so my dhal is super spicy and full of wonderful flavours of clove,garlic and cumin.

Basmati Rice Cooking Tips

I have noticed that some people cook Basmati rice very badly

The rice ends up sticky and poor in flavour. Here are some tips to perfect basmati rice from scratch. Most people in Barbados cook rice from scratch. I have noticed when I travel around the world that many people use the so called instant rice. This is very nice but some people are afraid to cook rice from scratch.

1. Soak basmati rice for 30 mins prior cooking.

2. Infuse oil with cardomom, clove and cumin seeds

3. Fry up your soaked rice with this oil and add your water and salt.

I came across a site that had some wonderful tips a few months back

If you google it you will find it.

I am yet to find good place mats.

My placemats at home are xmas or valentines or some brown ones that ruin my pics

I know the banana leaf looks tacky but I will be back with a wonderful kitchen set soon.

I love curries but we do not usually do curries with coconut milk here.

I am yet to try this. I also need to seek out different curries and more interesting ingredients which I will showcase to you.

Cheers

Tay

Apsara Restaurant (Indian Food)

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I do not really go dining out as I do not trust most restaurants with my meals.
You say you are vegan and people do not understand and it is difficult. I almost had to go to Greek restaurant tonight and that would have been a disaster as I called and there was no vegan options. I found a nice restaurant which was a North Indian and Thai restaurant in one. What a wonderful idea there are sure to be some vegan options.
They boast of over 18 vegetarian dishes but I would have to find out if some were vegan or could be veganized by the chef.

First of all this place is beautiful !!! I usually go to some Indian restaurants and the layout sometimes is a bit cold inside but this place was better than home. I did not want to leave. The service was excellent and my dinner was good. Next time I would be more adventurous and try to from Thai menu. My dished called the Dhingri Matar with mushroom and peas. At first they bought a vegetarian one which was pretty but not what I wanted. They quickly remade the dish in a few mins and I had my vegan version. I have a pic of both. The service was excellent. Even my omi feasters had a great time and I admit their dinner smelled really good too.
It was a good trip had by all
I am sorry I did not get pictures of this beautiful place even the bathroom was beautiful!!!
I hope to bring more restaurant reviews again. I may very well go back to Apsara soon to try a different dish. The prices are quoted in Barbados dollars which when you divide it by 2 gives u the US dollars.
I am tired now.
Until next time
Tay

To Slaw or not to Slaw

Coleslaw a big favourite but also a fattening favourite.
I admit even in my meat eating days I always passed at the slaw as I always saw it as a fat laden sweet dish that I could have avoided.
Today was baking day so I wanted a quick dish but I have not been vegetables shopping in 2 weeks now so there was not much to choose from.
I decided to develop a slaw that can be used to top veggie burgers and sandwiches or it can be used as a side dish.
The coleslaw in Barbados is very very very simple.
I have seen some alternatives using apple and onion but the way I know is this

Traditional Bajan Slaw
1 cabbage head shredded
1 large carrot shredded
2 tbs or more of mayo
1 heaping tablespoon sugar
pinch of black pepper

Now as you can see this is a horribly fattening recipe so I tried to veganize it and also reduce the fat because I do not want to be a fat vegan!

My Vegan Coleslaw
1/2 head cabbage shredded
1 large carrot shredded
1 tsp vegan mayo yes 1 tsp you can be a bit genourous with it
1 tbs. agave nectar
1/8 tsp star anise ground
1 small onion minced
1/4 cup scallions
1/2 tsp black pepper
Chopped walnuts and chopped pumpkin seeds
1/2 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

Method
Mix all ingredients together for at least 10 mins until your veggies start to wilt
Use this as a side or a topping for your sandwiches and burgers
It is a sweet and spicy taste but if you want just sweet your can omit the chilli flakes

Happy eating!
Tay

Chocolate Birthday Surprise

My friend is having a little get together tonight so I decided I should give this chocoholic a birthday cake. Unfortunately I have never done vegan cakes in my life. I tried last Christmas but it was a disaster. So I told her I would make her a vegan cake for her birthday. Since I have not developed any recipes on baking I turned to Julie Hasson Chocolate Mocha Cakes.

I was a bit skeptical I admit because here I was promising my friend cakes when I never tried vegan baking. I followed her recipe step by step and voila the most delicious moist not overly sweet cakes I have ever had. Now I do not want to give them to my friend because there would be none left for me! I did not have a nice heart pan or even a cup cake pan. I manage to find disposable muffin pans and they worked well. I just followed her pan release and the cakes popped out well. I did not want to give my friend dry cakes hey it is her birthday so I did the topping Julie did and here we have some of the best chocolate cakes I have ever had so far!

I need to take a photography class as my pictures are really horrible these days.

I have confidence in vegan cakes now so I will be buying My Sweet Vegan and also Julie Hasson's Book.

Cheers

Tay

Cookie Mania

Well I decided to try my hand at some more cookies tonight.

Lessons learnt from cookie making

1. Brown rice syrup makes your cookies hard and poor flavour

2.Brown sugar esp the one I have at my house makes ur cookies super hard.

3.Agave nectar makes cookies hard

4. Maple syrup is amazing in cookies and gives them a wonderful flavour

5. Fructose is a better tasting sweetener and you use less as it has a more sweeter taste than sugar

I made dutch chocolate and walnut again but as you can see it is a nice rich colour. I realised that dutch chocolate is amazing and these cookies remind me of brownies.

I found a really nice blend for a cookie mixture. Almonds, walnuts, chocolate and vanilla.

This is excellent and it gives such a how should I say this. High classed bakery taste.

The dutch chocolate is amazing when paired with walnuts.

I will try pecan next time and use black strap molasses to give a "butter pecan" flavour.

My mom told me I should sell these cookies to the vegan restaurant in the city as they have loads of cakes and stuff but no cookies.

I will take some to work again 2morrow and see how it goes with the co workers.

I will post the recipe very soon for you soon but I am working on the perfect cookie still.

These are soft and have a slightly hard exterior what we call american style cookies that chewy soft feel.

There is still a lot of work to be done.

Anyone has some suggestions.

I see many visitors to the blog but no feedback.

What is wrong ??

If anyone has cookie advice for me please share it.

Thanks

Tay

Cookie Virgin

Hi all,
Today is a big day for me. My first vegan cookies. We eat cookies in Barbados but it is not very common to make them at home. That is a more North American thing. Some of us do but not me until today. I whipped up a batch of 3 different cookies.
1. Chocolate walnut
2. Mixed nut and carob (I cannot find just black unsweetened chocolate chips at all)
3. Carob chip

I should have gone a little heavier on the dutch chocolate but I was scared it would become bitter.
Oh well next time
I am still perfecting the recipe as I am a sugar hater.
I prob will only eat 1/2 of these cookies as I packed them in little baggies as gifts for my co workers.
I wish you can smell them from here.
I am excited about vegan baking now.
I am still on a healthy path so I would just enjoy the view for now.
I really never have a sweet tooth and when I do I have a mango!
Cheers
Tay

Remake of the classic lentil loaf with sweet onion gravy

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Lentil Loaf

3 slices toasted bread

1 cup green onion chopped

1 medium carrot

1/2 cup breadcrumb

2 cloves garlic crushed

1 tbs black pepper

1 tsp paprika

2 tbs thyme

1 tsp bajan seasoning (optional)

1 large onion chopped

3 cups cooked lentils

1 tbs salt (variable)

1 tbs amino acids

1 tbs soy sauce

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 tsp crushed chilli

1/2 scotch bonnet pepper (habanero pepper)

1 tbs yeast flakes

1/2 cup bulgar

1 tbs molasses

1 tsp sage

Method

Add toast to food processor

Pulse

Add all the other ingredients except cooked lentils

Pulse on low for 2 mins

Add in lentils an pulse on slow.

DO NOT EMULSIFY LENTIL THIS IS NOT A DIP

Put loaf in a greased pan

Cover top of the loaf in tomato sauce

Bake at 400 degree for 1 hour

Slice and serve

Note this is full of flavour so you can reduce the amount of pepper

Tay

Vegan Roast "Beef" Sandwich

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Looks yummy huh??
I want vegan to be yummy, healthy and appealing to everyone.
Veganism is very versatile and tasty.
I do not recommend using this as a packed lunch as it tends to get soggy so I think it is something if you are having some guest over you whip it up .
Or you want to have a filling lunch.
I will try to post on some finger food using this sliced mock meat in the future.
Just keep on reading and pass this blog on to your veggie friends or veggie curious friends.

I just made 4 for my parents today and I will have mine tomorrow since I already ate the green banana salsa. My omi mom was totally against seitan. She thought the taste and texture was horrible until today. To make this monster of a sandwich you need to use my Vegan Roast "beef" recipe.
The choice is really up to you in terms of filling. I used what was in the fridge that was vegan and that was it.

Vegan Roast "Beef" Sandwich
6 slices of Vegan Roast "Beef"
2 tsp margarine (vegan)
2 oz vegan cheese ( I am yet to find one which taste good and that melts properly)
2 tbs of creamy vinaigrette dressing (I found a brand and it was vegan surprisingly)
The options here are fat free vegan spread or Nayonnaise which sells here in Barbados.
1/2 cup fried onions ( I did not use any oil I just rolled them around in my frying pan
Ketchup
Sweet relish
Drop of hot sauce
1 tsp French mustard of your choice or Dijon
1 small tomato chopped
3 slices of bread

Method
Butter the outside of the bread and sprinkle with dried sage
Arrange all your sandwich fillings accordingly
Place sandwich in frying pan and you would hear it start to sizzle
Leave it for 1 min
Turn over and brown the other side

Note for Pressed sandwich: You can use a small brick wrapped in clean cloth to press your sandwich

If you want to try seitan for the first time I recommend you try it like this.
Do enjoy and start making some sandwiches

Tay

Warm squash and green banana salsa with sliced Vegan Roast "Beef"

Ok, now you know how to peel green banana we can now use it in a dish which incorporates Barbadian and international cuisine all in one. This dish is totally delicious but the prep time can be long as I was doing my Vegan Roast "Beef" sandwich which I would post after.
I admit I was not a big seitan lover until today. I must say that experimenting in my kitchen I have come up with a juicy seitan (gluten for my Barbadian readers) sliced meat.

I was impressed by Brian P McCarthy dish on Seitan Corn Beef.
I decided that I wanted to try a seitan loaf at home but I did not have all of the ingredients to make his corned beef so, I came up with a delish recipe that people in Barbados can do that does not call for some of these hard to find ingredients. The only down fall here was that I think my seitan has too many holes. I think I know how to deal with this. Next time instead of using cheese cloth I would steam in aluminium foil to make it more dense. Anyways the taste as I say makes up for this lovely dish that can be used in sandwiches and anything you like. I plan to make a batch again for my boyfriend and we will grill it and see how that comes out.
Anyways to the recipe

I shop at Jenn Health Food store in Bridgetown to get all my stuff most of it.
Most supermarkets here carry many vegetarian things as many Rastafarian's live here and many young and old people alike that avoid animal products. Barbados is fairly vegan friendly as there are things in restaurants that you can get that are vegan so you do not have to just eat sides all the time.

Seitan Roast Beef (Sliced Mock Meat)

Dry Ingredients
1 cup of wheat gluten
1 tbs onion powder
1 tbs crushed chilli
1 tsp salt
1tsp dried sage
1tsp ground clove
1 tsp paprika

Wet Ingredients
1 cup of water
1 tsp liquid amino acids
1 tbs Bajan Seasoning ( Tutorial on how to make this at home in North America or any country out of the Caribbean is coming up soon)
1/4 olive oil
1 tbs Barbados Molasses

Method
Combine wet ingredients to dry ingredients
DO NOT KNEAD
I did it by mistake and then the gluten started to get activated
Place your big chunk of seitan on cheese cloth of any cooking cloth
Fasten ends of the cloth and place in simmering water and cook for anywhere over 1 hours
Cool and slice
Serve however you like it

I will do a tutorial on making seitan at home again

Remember Barbadians you can get gluten flour from the health food store. It is fairly cheap and easy to work with and a nice alternative to fatty sliced meats.

Warm Squash and Green Banana Salsa

1 large squash sliced and cut into fours( raw)
1/2 zucchini sliced and cut into fours (raw)
1 1/2 cup of green banana sliced
1/2 cup green onions chopped ( fresh green seasoning)
1 large clove garlic chopped finely
1 large onion chopped
1 large tomato chopped
1 tbs dried parsley or fresh
1 tbs black pepper
1 tbs amino acids
1tsp cumin
2 tbs crushed chilli's or less I like it spicy ;)
1 large sweet pepper chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup water for steaming
1 tsp sea salt for pre-salting vegetables
Method
Salt the squash and zucchini with some sea salt
In an oiled frying pan combine onions garlic,sweet peppers and green onion
Add all the remaining ingredients except the banana and water.
Cook for 5 mins
Carefully add your cooked green banana
Add water to the side of the dish
Carefully add cooked banana which should have been cooked in a little salted water for about 15-20 mins
Add the water to the side of the frying pan
Cover and cook for 25 mins until all the water evaporates

This is such a yummy dish that I could eat it over and over
For those who do not have green banana in your country see if you get a green plantain
Slice plantain and cook in olive oil and add back to the salsa 3 mins before your turn off the heat.

There you have it a warm summer salsa with a Caribbean twist

Tutorial on peeling green bananas

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Now I asked my mom to help me with this since she is more of an expert than me on peeling green banana.
I think many people do not know how to peel the hard skin without destroying the green banana so here it is.
Green banana can be used like potatoes and sweet potatoes as it is starchy and delicious
For those who are reluctant to eat green banana trust me there is no banana smell or sweetness. I cannot eat raw banana because it makes me sick from the smell but I love to eat green banana because it is a totally different thing.

1. Remove the two ends from the green banana.
2. Score the banana skin but do not cut into the banana
3.Carefully peel back the skin
4. You are done

Thanks again mother.

Attempted Gardening

I love the idea of planting my own vegetables around the house but within recent times there has been a lot going around the house thus limiting the space I have available so I cut 2 garbage cans up and made a portable garden for now until I get more space. I attempted to grow Romaine lettuce, thyme, marjoram and parsley. I also have some green onion around that the grass is taking over but they are surviving.
As you can see I have many green banana and plantain trees around
Aloe vera which I sometimes eat raw on mornings
I have many lime trees and orange trees
I had a grape tree but it was cut down due to prowlers trying to steal
Anyways do enjoy the pictures.
Cheers
Taymer

Juicy Black Bean & Mushroom Burgers

Hi all,
I am a little busy these days doing nothing but I will share today a new burger I am developing.
I am not finished perfecting it yet so I will not post a recipe today.
However I will share what I am having for my early dinner.
It is black bean burgers with some mushrooms.
I had some left overs from my previous post so I threw that in there.
Enjoy

No that is not ketchup just some tomato sauce I threw on because I made them too spicy!

Tay

Black bean, mushroom and quiona medley

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Hello again people,
I said before that I am trying to maintain a more healthy website so I will share with you a lovely fat free high protein dish that I will be having for lunch tomorrow.
It took me 20 minutes to make.

1cup left over quiona or fresh one
1/2 cup mushrooms
1/4 cup green onions chopped
1/2 cup black beans
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 carrot diced
1/2 zucchini diced
1 tablespoon amino acid I used Braggs by the way
1 clove garlic
1 onion chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsb parsley flakes

Method

Throw in the vegetables except the beans and the tomatoes in a frying pan just like that
Add the liquid amino acids and cumin
Add quiona
Carefully add black beans and tomatoes
Stir in the parley flakes and cook for an additional 3 mins and thats that
Game over!

Healthy Horizons- Homemade Granola

Hi I am back
I am on a different scene right now in terms of health.
Gone are the days of comfort food ...
I will try to post as much fat free or low fat high protein low carb dishes for my post.
I am starting a healthy lifestyle and I want it to reflect in my cooking
So here you go

I honestly never knew that I can make my own granola because it is nothing I ever saw my mother doing.
Thanks to the internet and years of reading I realised that I could make these cereals at home for a fraction of the cost and less sugar and more organic ingredients.
To be honest food manufacturers and restaurants want the product to taste good
Some health is not the order of the day.
I came across this website called Everyday Dish
The chef called Julie Hasson did this granola on video and it really inspired me to try my own.
Her granola was full of healthy things like wheat germ, oat bran and she used natural sweeteners.
I changed up her recipe totally to suit me and I did not go so heavy on the sugar.
I added some pumpkin and flax seeds which I knew would give a kick.
I did not use maple syrup because I had none
I used agave and brown rice syrup as my sweeteners and a pinch of brown Barbados sugar!
Anyways let me get to it before I fall asleep.


Granola
Dry Ingredients
5 cups of rolled oats
1/2 cup almonds( I did not realise that I had to use raw ones no wonder mine turn extra crispy)
3/4 cup millet ( I had millet once cooked at this restaurant and it was really good)
1/8 cup Barbados sugar (lol)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup apple juice
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
1/3 cup agave nectar ( I have the dark kind this time but next time I would use the light coloured one as it tends to give the granola a dark cast which I do not appreciate)
1 tbs soya bean oil (I cannot afford canola :) )
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup flax seeds
1/2 raisins or dried apricots ( try to get the reduced sugar ones)

Method
Mix the dry ingredients to wet ingredient
Bake for about an hour or a little more in a 250 degree F oven
I checked every 15 mins to stir it around so my granola did not turn brown.
Take out and cool
Some people leave it in the oven overnight to cool which is cool
Store in an airtight container
Enjoy