Our Greek Odyssey » Vegan in Greece

Holiday food

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:38:41 +0000

Here, finally, are a few pics of the things I ate in England starting with the best vegan breakfast around.

I did manage to eat all that, washed down with a pot of tea and I didn’t need to eat again for another 8 hours! Good value for money at £5.00 and well worth a visit if you happen to be in Manchester www.eighth-day.co.uk
We visited again a few days later, for lunch this time, and I had a very hearty, warming soup.

Whilst out and about we dropped into a pub for lunch because it looked so lovely and welcoming from the outside www.vintageinn.co.uk/thehoneybeewilmslow It was just as cosy inside and best of all they had a vegan special on! It was even marked as suitable for vegans which gave them a big thumbs up in my book. It helped that it was delicious as well

It was mushroom and saffron curry with coconut milk, served with basmati. The portion was just the right size and the smell…mmmmmm……..delicious. Thumbs up for a brilliant vegan dish.
I’m still planning what to make for Christmas Day meal – it has to involve things Junior will eat…….so, that will be carrots I’ve made the Christmas cake but I’ve yet to decorate it and then we have to make gingerbread Santa’s. I’m also planning a chocolate log but not the large oak tree log I made last year that was just a touch too big!

Slow vegan

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 08:56:17 +0000

I have been so slow in keeping this side of the blog updated. Blame it on the fact that once I’ve eaten, I forget everything!
Here then is a very belated synopsis of the food we enjoyed in Rome.
First of all it seems I should mention the fact that soya milk, margarine and ice cream seemed to be available in the vast majority of shops, even the small neighbourhood ones we visited. This made a very pleasant change to Greek shopping, especially the abundance of vegan cornettos. Not that we had to fall back on the shop bought ice cream because there were so many wonderful gelaterias dotted all around the city. We made a beeline for Il Gelatone on via dei Serpenti because I had read about the plethora of soya options they had. We were not disappointed, how could we be with all that ice cream in front of us?
I had chocolate and pistachio, Sean had coconut and something else and Junior’s ice cream can be seen in the background although she couldn’t keep off it long enough for me to take a picture!

We ate at two specifically vegetarian/vegan restaurants. The first one was Bibliothe near the Pantheon which serves indian inspired vegetarian food. As usual we ordered more than we could eat between us but everything was tasty and well prepared. The restaurant itself was very relaxing and cosy, a wonderful respite from the hordes of tourists in the city.
We had hummus, pakoras, puri and rice but as usual I only managed to get a picture of the first dish which was the hummus – oops!

The other restaurant was Il Margutta where we went for a buffet Sunday lunch. And what a buffet! For a set price you can visit the buffet bars as often as you like which, although good in principle, never works for me because I get full too quickly! However I’m more about the quality then the quantity and the quality was good. The place seemed very popular with locals and Sean and I agreed that if we lived in Rome we’d be in Il Margutta every Sunday afternoon.

I was full for quite a while after eating all that but it was worth it! We’re off to England next week for our pre-Christmas visit so I promise to try and remember to take pictures of food before I start eating

And for my next trick..

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 07:44:53 +0000

chocolate ice cream. I mainly made it so Junior wouldn’t be able to taste the coconut milk used in preparing it, figuring the strength of the chocolate would overpower the taste of the coconut. I was right and it tastes just like the chocolate vegan ice cream we used to get in Blighty. Strangely though junior still doesn’t seem that keen! Considering I bought the ice cream maker to placate her she’s showing surprisingly little interest in it – strange girl!

I scream, you scream…..

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 09:47:58 +0000

For the past couple of years I’ve been promising junior we would get an ice cream maker so she didn’t feel so hard done by in the summer months. It used to be okay in England where vegan ice cream could be picked up in the local Tesco but over here there is no chance of eating dairy free ice cream without making it yourself. So, on Saturday, we purchased an ice cream maker and prepared to be amazed. Now if I was a sneeky kind of person who lied without batting an eyelid I would say that the batch I’ve just made was the first one I’d tried and was a great success.

Looks good doesn’t it? It tastes great as well. However, this wasn’t the first batch I tried, I attempted a different recipe on Sunday which was a complete disaster. This was mainly due to the fact that I’d been cleaning the cupboards out in the kitchen. How can that affect a batch of ice cream I hear you ask? Well, do you realise how like brown sugar bulgur wheat looks? They could pass for twins! So my first batch of ice cream was sweetened with bulgur wheat and no amount of telling junior it was just chewy bits of banana would entice her to eat it. I won’t make that mistake again………probably

Easter Chocolate

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 10:24:07 +0000

As we all know Easter is about chocolate………and hot cross buns. My hot cross buns weren’t so successful; edible but not very photogenic. My Easter Monday cake however was – and still is as I’ve not finished it – simply divine. Sean found the chocolate a bit too dark for his taste but that’s okay with me as it just means I get to eat more of it!

I wanted to make a kind of large jaffa cake so I made a sponge, covered the top in strawberry jam (junior only likes strawberry) and then covered it in melted chocolate, then when it hardened

it was simply divine Normally the vegan sponge cakes I have made before have been quite dense but this one was really light. Junior complained there wasn’t enough jam on top but I was totally happy with it and I’m off to have another piece!

Self gratification

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 09:07:39 +0000

As it was Mothers Day the other week I baked a cake a few days before and then shared it with Junior and Sean! I tried to get them to do some baking together but it just didn’t happen.

I didn’t even get to eat the lions share of it – that honour went to the little monster with the sweet tooth and a predilection for pink icing!

A little bit different

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 08:51:08 +0000

It seems that somewhere new closes down every week at the moment, sometimes shortly after opening. It stands to reason that with less money around people are spending less and the number of shops, cafes and bars can’t feasibly survive. It doesn’t seem to stop people trying though and strangely enough opening a bar or souvlaki place next to or opposite an existing one. I’ve never understand that really, why place yourself next to your competitors? Is it so you can keep an eye on the competition or is it safety in numbers? Anyway, this thought does have a point because occasionally, just occasionally, someone opens something a little bit different and you keep your fingers crossed that they’ll survive.
On Saturday, after junior enjoyed her music and singing at Public in Volos, we met a friend who took us to a little cafe called ‘Petite Fleur’. I’d never noticed it before although Sean’s apartment was just up the road from it and he’d walked past it many times. Although the name would suggest France, once inside it actually felt like you were in an old English seaside town.
The decor was lovely with small tables and beautifully upholstered chairs. There was a turntable on a dresser which was playing jazz records – Junior had to go and have a look as she’s never seen one before, she’s a CD or ipod child. Sean took a photo of his and our friends hot chocolate but as usual he’s not here whilst I’m writing! The lady working there made Junior a special fresh apple drink which tasted like a cinnamon bagel – delicious. The attention to detail in the decor and the drinks was perfect, even the bathroom had folded individual towels.
It certainly made a change sitting somewhere so relaxing and it appeared very popular. We got the last table when we arrived and there were a stream of people coming in and having to leave because there was no room. I hope it’s a success because it’s always nice when something a little bit different manages to buck the trend!

Some eats

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 09:32:23 +0000

I’ve not posted at all this year and although we had lots of lovely food to eat in Blighty, I regretfully didn’t photograph any of it! Sean took a few pics but they’re on his iphone and that is on its way to Skopelos with him at the moment.
So here are the few pics I have taken of things we had over Christmas and more recently.

The Christmas cake after it was marzipanned, iced and cut – delicious

My first vegan Christmas log which seemed to end up resembling a small tree rather than just the log! Never mind, it was lovely and chocolatey and a big hit with Junior (unlike the Christmas cake).

Our special occasion trifle which everyone loves.

A warming winter soup which consisted of whatever I had in the cupboard. Sean and I really enjoyed it but will I remember how I made it so I can do it again? Probably.

Winter warmers

Sun, 28 Nov 2010 12:34:12 +0000

Now that winter is here, well maybe not here as it’s 22 degrees at the moment which still feels a bit chilly to me, it’s time for stew and dumplings.

We’re trying to fortify ourselves with warming foods before venturing to snowy England!

Christmas is coming

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 10:14:32 +0000

Christmas cake baked and stored, ready to be unwrapped and decorated when we return from our trip to Blighty next month