Welcome, 2019

Over 15 weeks have passed since I last logged on to Blogger. I was open about my plans to step back from blogging, but confess that I surprised myself by just how easy it was to do so, and so fully. Now that I am online less, I don't know how I found the time for it before.

Nonetheless, I felt a tug to come on and reflect on the final few months of the year. I also wanted to wish you all a very happy start to 2019. I hope you enjoyed the festive season and that 2018 finished off well for you.

Peak District, near Alstonefield

We spent Christmas in the Peak District, a beautiful part of the UK that I hadn't visited previously. It is more accessible for us than the Lake District where we have spent two previous Christmases and less crowded. As usual, we hired a self-catering holiday cottage and with a toddler in tow self-catered our Christmas meal and evening meals across the week. This is Mini Bite's third Christmas but the first she has really understood and it was nice to celebrate with her, and soak up her excitement at presents and holiday food.

Christmas lunch

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In my kitchen - September 2018

I am linking this into the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

After missing a few In My Kitchen posts, it is nice to be back for September. Here are some recent highlights from my kitchen, from new products to old staples.

A new product and an old staple comes in the form of tinned barley by Napolina. I love barley, but don't always love the time taken to cook it. Having a tin on hand is excellent when I need a quick meal (which is often).

Tinned barley

Every work day I buy a coffee from the coffee shop at my local train station. (I know this is a luxury). While they are making my oat milk latte, I ponder the cabinet with pastries and muffins. It has been years since I had a Danish pastry, but recently, they have been taunting me and making me wish a vegan alternative was available. I'm not aware of any vegan Danish pastry offerings so I made a version myself with Jus Roll puff pastry, Alpro custard, stewed apples and strawberries. I can't pretend these were authentic but they were tasty.

Vegan 'Danish pastry' variants

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New product discoveries: Vegan eating when out and about

Most of my supermarket product discoveries appear in monthly In My Kitchen posts, but foods I buy out and about often get neglected. I thought I'd summarise a few recent highlights in this round-up, featuring two restaurant meals and two take-away items.

First up, Fego. Mr Bite and I had a day off together earlier in the year, enjoying some solo time while Mini Bite was in nursery. We enjoyed a long country walk and then headed to Sevenoaks, a neighbouring town, for lunch. Fego was a new-to-us discovery in the Sevenoaks centre and there are 8 other restaurants around England.

Fego vegan-friendly vegetable curry

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In my kitchen - May 2018

I am linking this into the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

We all say this regularly but...how is it May? We're more than one quarter of the way through 2018 and I don't know where the days and weeks are disappearing to.

With the new month upon us I am sharing another peak into my kitchen, which this month brings a mix of old and new products.

'Old' includes these red onion and chive bagels from the New York Bakery Co. I've enjoyed them at various points over the years, moving through phases when bagels appeal and then phases when I'm not too interested. Mini Bite actively disliked these, which is unusual for her, but I find them a nice (if denser) change to bread.

Another rediscovered product is kiwi fruit. I have spent the last 25 or so years actively avoiding them, after I ate a kiwi fruit every day for months as a child and then got thoroughly sick of them. It seems 25 years is enough time for my kiwi interest to return.

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New(ish) vegan lunch and convenience options

Vegan options are so readily available these days that I am taken by surprise if we are somewhere that doesn't have vegan choices. Generally this only happens in independent cafes or restaurants in relatively small towns. If you are somewhere big, or have access to chain restaurants, there are likely to be multiple vegan choices. Below are some of my recent discoveries and highlights.

An unexpected winner in my recent tastings is the tandoori style beetroot flatbread from Boots. This is one of several new vegan additions to the Boots meal deal range, and I have yet to try the other new flavours because I like this one so much. It features roast beetroot, spicy tikka hummus, a tomato, chickpea, onion and coriander 'kachumber mix' plus vegan mint and cucumber mayonnaise and spinach. I love the fresh flavours and the option of a lighter wrap, with this having half the energy, fat and salt of many options. Perfect for allowing room for snacks/dessert!

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In my kitchen - February 2018

I am linking this into the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

In my kitchen, the days are getting longer. Last week it even felt a bit like spring - but then this morning it snowed, proving we are not quite there yet.

To offset the wintry weather and the reduced variety in winter fruit, my kitchen regularly has imported berries. I ease my guilty conscious slightly by trying to find ones that come from southern Europe rather than south America (fewer air miles).

In my kitchen are new vegan 'chicken' slices by Quorn. I was very excited to see this addition to the vegan Quorn range. The slices are very reminiscent of chicken, although a little too processed for my usual tastes.

 

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In my kitchen - January 2018

I am linking this into the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings

It is surprisingly easy to write 2018. We are a week into the new year and I am enjoying the freshness that January brings, even as the festive atmosphere of Christmas fades and leaves us with dark mornings and nights that are unadorned by Christmas lights.

In my kitchen this month are old favourites and new products. Berries are high on the 'old favourites' list. With winter fruit options revolving around apples and citrus, they are a welcome alternative.

Also welcome is soup. I have recently discovered the refrigerated range of soups in supermarkets, many of which are vegan. Clearly they are not as good as homemade, but they are much nicer than tinned and very easy for a quick winter lunch. Mini Bite is now able to manage chunky soups on a spoon so they are a useful new lunch option for her too. Sainsbury's lentil dhal soup, pictured below, was a recent favourite and we also love the Glorious Indian cauliflower, chickpea and turmeric option.

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In my kitchen - December 2017

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

I suspect a lot of December IMK posts will start with some reflection, or expression of alarm, about the end of 2017 drawing near. I too have no idea how we're at this point of the year. Winter is upon us and Christmas is on the horizon. Here is what is happening in my kitchen as we hurtle towards 2018. 

In keeping with Christmas, I recently brought home the M&S vegan Christmas chestnut roast wrap. There are quite a few vegan Christmas wraps and sandwiches about, and I have also tried the Pret a Manger and Boot's sandwiches. If I'm honest, I preferred both of those to this wrap, but it was nonetheless pleasant enough. I think the chestnut flavours were just slightly too strong for me. 

More successful was this vegan and gluten free pumpkin pie I found at Whole Foods on a recent journey across London (if I can manage it, any journey across London features a stop at Whole Foods).

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In my kitchen - November 2017

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, currently hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

In my kitchen, it is often dark. I mentioned in my last post the end of daylight savings, but when I wrote it, I hadn't yet had a post-daylight savings workday. I'm officially in the stretch of the year when I leave for work in the dark and return from home in the dark. (I have a long commute, so it is at least light when I arrive at and leave work.)

Despite the darkness, there are bright food features to be found. I had to laugh at this 'Leapin Lemurs' cereal. The name amuses me and its pretense at being healthy amuses me. I bought it to snack on and I love the puffed peanut butter and chocolate flavoured balls - effectively a vegan version of Reese's peanut butter cup cereal. However, I can't imagine eating it for breakfast.

Instead, I have been having quinoa porridge for breakfast at home and packaged up to take to work. It is something I used to do a lot but then forgot about. I make mine by cooking 1 cup of quinoa with 2 cups of unsweetened almond milk, a diced apple, some vanilla, and some cinnamon or mixed spice. You can add a little more milk on serving if needed and additional fresh fruit. It is delicious warm or cold and I'm glad I've brought it back into rotation.

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In my kitchen - October 2017

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, currently hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

In my kitchen are some old favourites and new finds. The old favourites include English muffins (topped with hummus, Marmite, jam, or nothing at all) and autumn-appropriate porridge. A decadent English muffin twist includes almond butter with raspberries and vegan-friendly, sugar-free chocolate sauce. A fork is required!

Other favourites include Nakd bars picked up on offer from Sainsburys, who currently have a 50p deal happening. I was able to try out the new cocoa coconut flavour, which is now my new favourite. It tastes just like I remember coconut rough chocolate! I expect I'll buy a few more bars before the 50p offer ends.

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New (to me) vegan lunches and snacks

It's been an exciting week in the Bite-Sized household. My sister is visiting from Australia and it is the first time I've seen her in over 3 years. It's also her first time meeting Mini Bite, and the visit spans Mini Bite's first birthday next week. I'm still at work this week but have next week off for birthday and visiting celebrations. So, with all this happening, I hope you'll understand if this post is short and sweet!

I did want to share some recent phone-snapped photos (please forgive quality) of new-to-me vegan products. One of the benefits of being back at work is having access to a new range of vegan lunch options in London, and the excuse to buy lunch and snacks on the go again. There are a surprising number of new options given my absence of only a year. M&S and Pret a Manger have branches near where I live or visit regularly, so today's post covers some of the less widespread options, albeit not necessarily London specific.

First, and starting away from lunch, did you know that Leon restaurants now stock vegan baked goods from Ruby's of London? I raved about Ruby's products in 2014 when I encountered them at the Greenwich food market. Sadly I don't make it to Greenwich these days, so having access to the items in central London is fantastic. I stopped at the London Bridge Leon restaurant and they had an assortment of vegan iced baked donuts and cupcakes.

Iced rose and pistachio donut by Ruby's of London, courtesy of Leon Restaurants

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In my kitchen - June 2017

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, now hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

June. The mid-point of the year, with long days and the commencement of summer. The weather is warming up and it won't be long before smoothies and frozen banana soft serve are present in my kitchen. They aren't here yet - but here are some things that are featuring this month.

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In my kitchen - May 2017

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, now hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

Despite the above photo, in my kitchen there are no more spring flowers. I was delighted to grow tulips for the first time this year, but they are finished and local daffodils are looking rather tired. We are fortunate to have lots of bluebells flowering near us, but it seems spring bulbs flower earlier each year and so finish before spring is over.

My In My Kitchen posts often feature novel products or treat items, and so I thought I'd share an insight into my 'normal' products this month. As the photo below shows, we are not one to have an empty fridge (!) and at any given time there will be several Tupperware-style containers filled with leftovers or washed fruit.

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In my kitchen - April 2017

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round up, currently hosted by Lizzy of Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things.

Another month and another peak into my kitchen, thanks to the fun round-up currently hosted by Bizzy Lizzy.

It is officially spring in the UK and with the warmer weather comes an embarrassing amount of ice cream in my freezer. No, really, a truly embarrassing amount:

In my defense, all of the above items were new-to-me options that were dangled in front of me by Ocado. In an example of good marketing, Ocado offered me 3 months of free home grocery deliveries and, like a good consumer, I have made multiple orders that I otherwise wouldn't have done. (To non-UK readers, Ocado is an online grocery chain that offers lots of gourmet and vegan items.) I love all of the above ice creams, although the two Fry's tubs are not very sweet and Mr Bite was not a fan.

In addition to new ice cream flavours, the Fry's company have released some new frozen savoury items. I loved their stir fry strips made from rice protein and chia seeds (you can't detect either in the flavour, which is of rosemary and sage) and also enjoyed their Asian spiced burgers. Both are very faux meat-y and so aren't something I'd eat too regularly, but as faux meat products go they are excellent.

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In my kitchen - February 2017

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round up, currently hosted by Lizzy of Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things.

We are through January and into the second month of the year. In our part of the UK, January was cold with maximum temperatures often around 0'C. In contrast, my Australian family have described 40'C temperatures in Perth. My long term readers will know what I prefer! Whatever your current weather is, I hope you are keeping appropriately warm or cool.

Indoors from the cold, my kitchen has seen some new vegan products from Marks & Spencer. An M&S foodhall has opened within walking distance of us, which is exciting for me if not for our finances. Fortunately it is a half hour walk so my visits and spending will be moderated! I was pleased to pick up their new vegan sandwiches, shown above, after a long period where M&S lagged behind other food chains in providing vegan sandwich options. I expected to like the Rainbow Veg option best, with its red pepper bread and chilli squash filling, and it was enjoyable. However, I preferred the Super Greens pack with minted edamame and pea crush on linseed and chia bread.

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Super dark chocolate blocks: Reviewing 85% to 100% cocoa options

It's no secret that I love chocolate and my In My Kitchen posts often feature my lastest chocolate discoveries. However, it has been many months since I've done a proper chocolate review. Today's post aims to make up for lost time with reviews of four dark chocolate options. And by dark I really do mean dark - these blocks range from 85% to 100% cocoa.

Starting with the 85% choices, one of my Christmas presents was the M&S 85% cocoa 'Intense Dark Chocolate' block. I featured it in my January In My Kitchen post but didn't elaborate on flavours then.

For a long time I avoided 85% cocoa blocks because I don't like the Lindt 85% cocoa option, and it put me off other chocolates of the same cocoa level. Happily, I am now a convert and know that the Lindt flavours don't generalise to other brands. This M&S 85% cocoa block is delicious. The packaging describes the flavours as bringing "aromas of ripe fruit and a flavour of mixed berries, with the slight acidity balanced by overnotes of honey". I wouldn't have come up with this exact description but agree that the tartness of the berry-cocoa tones is offset by a more mellow sweetness.

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In my kitchen - January 2017

Lizzy of Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things is taking a break from hosting In My Kitchen this month but the central round up will be back in February.

2017. In many ways, to my surprise, it feels less odd to write that than I might have expected. 2016 was such a full year (featuring the significant milestones of pregnancy, birth and maternity leave) that it seems appropriate to be into a new year now.

Dairy free Marks & Spencer truffles; Caramel Choices truffles; Mini Moo flavoured chocolate bars

With the new year, there are some exciting products in my kitchen. I was extremely fortunate with Christmas chocolates, as featured both above and below. These complement birthday chocolates from earlier in December, meaning I am doing well in the chocolate stakes at present!

Marks & Spencer 85% cocoa chocolate; Montezuma orange and geranium dark chocolate

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In my kitchen - December 2016

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen event, hosted by Lizzy of Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things.

It is most surreal to find myself writing a final In My Kitchen post for 2016. I'm sure I'm not alone in finding it hard to conceive that 2017 is on the horizon. Here is what my kitchen features in this final, December edition of the year.

Besan flour pancakes with Choc Shot chocolate syrup and banana

In my kitchen were some besan flour (chickpea flour) pancakes. We periodically have a pancake night for dinner where Mr Bite makes traditional pancakes and progresses through a reliable string of fillings (tuna and cheese, followed by banana and nutella, jam, lemon and sugar, and/or chocolate syrup). I vary my pancakes each time and on this occasion made a batch with besan flour - simply 1 cup of flour with 1 cup of water. I had enough for dinner and some the next day, so enjoyed various savoury (tahini, sweetcorn and paprika) and sweet (diced apple with cinnamon and vanilla soy yoghurt; lemon and maple syrup; banana and Choc Shot chocolate syrup) fillings. The banana chocolate version, pictured above, was probably the best.

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In my kitchen - November 2016

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen event, hosted by Lizzy of Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things.

Another month and another peek into my kitchen. November brings cold weather, dark evenings (daylight savings has ended) and Christmas items in shops (but not yet in my kitchen). It also brings lots of autumn colours and there are some gorgeous scenes around us.

To balance out the dark and cold days, November sees even more new vegan products in my kitchen. It is a good time to be vegan in the UK! The Linda McCartney range has several new vegan additions, including the pulled 'chicken' pictured below.

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In my kitchen - October 2016

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen event, which has a new host in Lizzy of Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things.

Another month! I am reluctant to start with the stereotypical "I can't believe it's [new month]" but I really can't. Life with an infant seems to drag incredibly slowly at times, but then in a bigger sense time is disappearing. It's nearly 3 months since I started maternity leave and nearly 2 months since Mini Bite was born. It's also well and truly autumn, with the long hot days of summer fading into memory as cooler temperatures arrive and autumn leaves become more prominent.

In my kitchen this month there are rather a lot of store-bought items. Our local Sainsbury's had two flavours of Nakd fruit and nut nibbles on a clearance special for 40p per pack. They usually retail for £1.50 each and I'm not sure I could make an equivalent for 40p, so I snapped up rather a lot!

I also tried Sainsbury's 'Free From' fruity granola slice (vegan although the marketing is about being gluten free). They aren't new, but in the past I figured I could make an equivalent myself easily. Making things myself is a bit harder now my time in the kitchen is governed by Mini Bite's naps (or lack thereof!) so I was pleased to give them a try. They were nice, but I do think homemade would be better. I'd favour more fruit and a softer texture.

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