This soup is Marco’s – he made it the way he remembers his grandmother’s soup, but without peeling the potatoes (because who has time for that, and there’s so much fibre, vitamins and other good things in the peels!)
5 reasons not to peel your fruit & veg
To peel, or not to peel? That is the question of many a home cook. You know how it goes: that recipe you saved looks so simple, so quick, and then you notice that sneaky extra step: “wash and peel the potatoes” and you think “uhhh… I’ve got better things to do with my time than peel potatoes!” I hear …
Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
Who doesn’t love the classic combo of lemony tang with poppyseed crunch?
On vegan allyship
I set out to write a little opinion piece on the concept of vegan allyship – but since I don’t have enough knowledge on the relevant topics, I asked my social network for their thoughts on the concept. Some astute comments followed, and I’ve learnt some things. As a result, this article is taking a different direction to what I’d …
Crispy Potato Skins
I don’t peel potatoes unless a) someone else is in charge of the cooking, or b) I feel like making crispy potato skins. These are one heck of a greasy indulgence, a very occasional treat.
For the love of soy
I’ve been vegan almost 10 years, and even now, I hear the adage about soy being unsustainable (or a health threat) almost as often as I did back then. The livestock industry has done a pretty good job at vilifying this little bean. Nowhere in the history of agriculture has a bean caused so much upset in the world – …
Chocolate Protein Power Smoothie
This one is for the runners, the gym bunnies, the climbing nuts. A delicious, milkshakey chocolate smoothie with a whopping 29 grams of protein to power your workout.
Powering your workouts with plants
So you want to power your workouts with plants, but conventional wisdom (i.e. the guy at the gym) is telling you that you need way more protein than you’re already getting, and that protein == meat (or dairy, or egg whites). This is far from the full picture. Muscles are made of protein Muscles are made up of water, protein, …
Berry Breakfast Smoothie
My best days are the ones that start with a smoothie. Really, I function so much better with this boost of nutrients! (In winter, I chase it with hot tea so my body temperature doesn’t take a dip.)
Where to find ‘specialty’ vegan ingredients
Have you graduated from the “regular” categories of plant-based foods (vegetables, fruits, beans, grains)? Are you venturing into more creative vegan culinary pursuits? If so, you’ll need to start looking out for some specialty “vegan” ingredients that might be less common in more traditional recipes. It can be tricky to find these items, for the very reason that they’re not …
How to make your own nut butter
Growing up, peanut butter was a sandwich standard (of course) and I only encountered other ‘nut butters’ as an adult. Almond butter could be found in the health food aisle as an expensive alternative to peanut butter, and later we could find cashew butter and macadamia butter. Nut butters are a convenient and delicious way to get a good dose of healthy fats, and protein, …
Peanut Butter Oat Cookies
After I made vegan dog cookies with peanut butter and oats and ended up scraping the bowl clean because they were so good, I thought I should make a version of the cookie for humans, just with a little extra sugar and oil because it’s a treat!
Vegan Dog Treats with Peanut Butter & Oats
It’s time to get the vegan dog treats out! There’s something really special about sharing your home with a furry companion, and learning each other’s quirks. As I mentioned in my post about vegan dogs, not only can dogs thrive on plants, but it’s way better for the planet, and for the wallet.
Vegan Spaghetti Carbonara
If you love a good Italian pasta, try this vegan carbonara. It’s not my recipe: it’s all Marco’s doing – he almost outcompetes my Italian friends in his love of pasta, and he knows how to cook!
Eggs: should we be eating them?
Eggs have been the topic of some heated debate in recent years. Should we be eating them? From a health perspective, there’s quite a lot of controversy in the media, as one study contradicts another, every other year. There are definitely some points in favour in eating eggs. They’re a convenient source of nutrition, they can be used in myriad ways to …
Can dogs be vegan?
It looks like I may soon be sharing my new home with a beautiful big diva of the canine persuasion. Therefore, I figured it would be a good time to read up about dogs and a vegan diet – and share my learnings here. Companion animals globally have a massive environmental footprint. So if it’s possible to reduce their impact …
Chocolate Sourdough Pancakes
Over the last few months I’ve been trying my hand at making my own sourdough – first in Cape Town with great success, and more recently in Berlin with mixed success (I used rye, which totally changes the bread obviously, something I need to get used to). Anyway: the one thing about homemade sourdough is the darn sourdough discard that just goes to waste unless you get creative!
Kiss the Ground: a review
I just watched the documentary Kiss the Ground on Netflix, and figured I’d share some thoughts on it. If you’ve watched it, it would be great to hear if it’s inspired you in any way. If you haven’t watched it, the ideas I’ll share here are worth a quick read anyway (I hope!). The theme of the film is soil …