Vegan Mofo: Teatime Collective, Manchester

Posted on September 25, 2015 by Jenny

20150219_123456

UPDATE: THIS RESTAURANT CLOSED IN 2018

Day Twenty-Five:  Share your Favourite Cuisine

So, British cuisine probably isn’t my favourite, but it’s got a pretty good breakfast in its favour (and it’s not nearly as bad as foreigners seem to think!).  Also, see how beautifully it ties into my MoFo theme?  Let’s look at another full English.

The big breakfast at Teatime Collective is everything you would expect:  hearty, a bit greasy, and very satisfying.  Teatime Collective itself is a wonderful little place.  I first went when it was fairly new and only had a bare minimum of indoor seating:  a wee table for two, and a counter with three stools.  Everyone else was left to dine at the picnic tables outside, which is remarkably pleasant on a bright, sunny day – but in Manchester such days are few and far between.  Happily, sometime last year they picked up a freight container than has been cosily converted into a little seating area and even on a cold February morning it was warm and pleasant in there.

20150219_114449

Situated in Hulme, Teatime Collective isn’t the kind of place I’ve ever been easily able to just pop into – it’s a bit out of the way.  And as it’s closed in evenings and on Sundays, I was always very limited as to when I could actually go.  On the rare occasions I did make the trip, though, it was certainly worth it, and it’s nice peace of mind to go somewhere that is 100% vegan (and staffed by some of the friendliest people imaginable).  It opens at 11am but only serves breakfast for one hour, so we were anxiously checking our watches as we made our way there.  Fortunately we made it with half an hour to spare and ordered our big breakfasts (there are a few other options, but my dining out breakfast policy is very much ‘go big or go home’, so we didn’t waste time pondering) and I got a hot chocolate, which always comes topped with cream.  Delicious!

Alas, even trying to eke it out, I could not make the hot chocolate last the thirty minutes it took for breakfast to arrive.  I don’t like giving waiters/chefs a hard time, least of all in a vegan place, but we were the first customers of the day, so it was a bit irksome.  When the breakfast plate finally arrived, though, our grumbles quickly disappeared.

20150219_120638

Look at that plate!  (Although actually, one final grumble:  there should never be a situation in which beans touch anything vegetably or scrambled.  I had to do some pretty rapid scraping.)  The grilled tomato is surplus to requirements, in my opinion:  a bit of spinach on there might have been nice, but all my tomato needs are covered by the beans.  But the mushrooms were tasty good, and always have a place on a breakfast plate for me.  The sausages were nice but nothing special, and the beans a bit too numerous for my tastes (I like dry food too much to be impressed by beans), but I know that’s just personal preference.  The black pudding and the hash browns looked to have been deep fried, they were so crispy – definite plus points.  Hiding under the hash browns was a tasty little potato cake, something I’d never tried before but would definitely have again.  As a lot of this was likely ready-made rather than homemade (hash browns, sausages, beans, black pudding, bread), the tofu scramble added a nice unique touch.  It had a surprising spiciness and was closer to scrambled egg in appearance and texture than any I’ve had.  I’m somewhat spoiled by the fact that my fellow makes the best tofu scramble ever (though as he dutifully says, he learned from the best), but I still enjoyed this a lot.

In conclusion, this is exactly what I expect from a big breakfast and I left with a heavy belly feeling very satisfied, and a bit disappointed I’d eaten too much to have room for some of the chocolate tiffin on the counter.  Personally I prefer a little more creativity and flair, but Teatime Collective tends to save that for their burgers and cakes and just let a straightforward breakfast speak for itself.

Speed of service:  pretty poor.  I know the staff are busy, but a thirty minute wait is pretty long and it messes up the whole timing of the hot drink+food combo.  2/5

Value for money:  only £6.50 for this gigantic plate?  Yes please!  5/5

Quality of cooking:  everything was toasty hot, no burnt toast, nice crispy hash browns and black pudding:  no complaints.  5/5

Creativity:  hearty, but unimaginative, and not that different to what we cook up ourselves when we’re having a full breakfast in bed.  2.5/5

Total:  14.5

Posted in Travel, Vegan Mofo | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Vegan Mofo: Vegan Afternoon Tea: Steel City Cakes, Sheffield

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Jenny

Steel City Cakes Afternoon Tea 002

UPDATE: THIS RESTAURANT CLOSED IN 2018

Day Twenty-Four:  What Mary Berry Would Eat If She Were Vegan

Today’s prompt is a fun one, and I’ve chosen British national treasure Mary Berry so I can take a break from breakfast and tie this in to my usual afternoon tea posts.  For any Vegan MoFo newcomers to the blog, every month I write about an all-vegan afternoon tea I’ve had.  I must not be derailed from my mission, and this prompt is perfect:  Mary Berry spends a lot of time trying cake, she delights in all things quaint and “scrummy” and in free-from week on the Great British Bake-Off she seemed game to try anything.  And I think she’d be pretty impressed by the sheer scale of this operation.

When I set my ‘one afternoon tea per month’ goal for this year, I wasn’t expecting quite so much variety.  But so far, it’s been full of surprises and delights, little twists on the theme.  And when I walked into Steel City Cakes in Sheffield for my afternoon tea, my mouth actually fell open in surprise at the sight that awaited me.  What a spread!

Steel City Cakes Afternoon Tea 001

At £25 for two, with free refills, I thought this was a real bargain, and a lovely special occasion.  The cafe is in a nice part of Sheffield that reminded me of Chorlton in Manchester, with its abundance of nice independent eateries and vintage shops.  There weren’t many customers on a Saturday afternoon, but there was a vegan hot dog and burger grill going on outside, and service was perfect:  friendly, but unobtrusive.  I sent them a message on Facebook to see if they could do a vegan afternoon tea, and they said they just needed a few days’ notice.

Steel City Cakes Afternoon Tea 003

There were a lot of sandwiches, with two different fillings:  cucumber and cream cheese, or salad.  These were accompanied by some delicious sausage rolls, reminiscent of sage and onion stuffing, wrapped in lovely flaky pastry.  We even got a hot dog from the grill thrown in as well!  However, with so much food before us, we decided not to fill up on bread and only had a couple of sandwiches along with the pastry and hot dog.  Let’s face it, the sandwiches were never intended to be the highlight of this feast.

Steel City Cakes Afternoon Tea 004

The sight of this scone plate made me giddy.  There are two big scones per person, one with raisins and the other with cherries, both topped in sugar which just makes them extra delicious.  And then there are four tiny, non-sugary scones each as well – two cherry, the others a combination of chocolate, raisin and hazelnut.  The scones weren’t very high (this is also my problem when making scones), but they were really good.  They were served with spread and jam, though we only managed to eat the cherry ones in the cafe – the others were all taken home as leftovers.

Steel City Cakes Afternoon Tea 005

And then the petit fours.  The lemon tarts were a wee bit burnt, but were really zingy.  The florentine-style tarts were full of sticky caramel and nuts – it was the first time I’d had anything like that, and I loved it.  The lattice-topped tart was blueberry, and was also really delicious.  The flapjack was really syrupy and firm, I loved it (flapjack is one of my greatest weaknesses), and the brownie looked like it might be a bit dry, but wasn’t.  The real highlight was the millionaire’s shortbread, just because it’s such a novelty.  I might grumble that the proportions weren’t quite ideal (too much biscuit, not enough caramel and chocolate), but good lord, it was good!  There was a nice hint of coconut to it as well, which was unexpected.

Steel City Cakes Afternoon Tea 006

And finally, the cake plate.  The big one was vanilla, with really sweet icing on top of a layer of jam.  The sponge was light and moist.  It was delicious!  I took the other ones home, as I couldn’t manage another bite in the cafe:  there was raspberry, cherry, coffee and walnut, and chocolate.  All of them were scrumptious!

All in all, it was a wonderful experience and I can’t recommend it enough.  I’d never expected to get so much food, nor to have four boxes of treats to take home with me!  It’s very rare that I am bested by a sweet dish, but this was one of the few occasions.  My mum and I both loved it, and Dr HH was delighted when I returned home with a stack of leftovers.  I think Mary Berry would be similarly happy if she could try this feast.

Posted in Afternoon tea, Travel, Vegan Mofo | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Vegan Mofo: My Raw Cafe, Prague

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Jenny

My Raw Cafe 003

Day Twenty-Three:  Autumn Equinox Eats

I don’t even know what an autumn equinox is, nevermind what one should eat on such an occasion.  So, prompts be damned, I’m reviewing another full English breakfast!  This is truly one with a twist, though:  the Raw English Breakfast from My Raw Cafe, right in the heart of Prague.  After my last encounter with a raw breakfast, this was quite a gamble.  But it definitely worked out better this time around.

The dehydrated aubergine crisps in the front left corner look so inviting.  Alas, they were too soft and difficult to chew through – in no way as crisp as they looked.  The courgette and pumpkin rounds in the ramekin behind them were better and still had a great flavour, but also weren’t as crisp as I would have liked – is it possible to get raw food crispy?  Still, they were delicious with the spicy tomato dip in the middle, whereas the aubergine was inedible.

My Raw Cafe 002

In the middle was what we dubbed ‘the potato substitute’:  tasty, crunchy bites of Brazil nuts, tomato and herbs (and probably lots of other things we couldn’t identify).  And in the back right corner were the tiny little sausages, full of sun-dried tomatoes and flavour.  These were my favourite part of the dish, they were good and chewy.  And right at the front was the ‘scramble and toast’:  guacamole and seedy crackers!  There were olives in the avocado scramble, and it was really cool and creamy.  The crackers were crunchy and good.  All in all, besides the aubergine, it was a real hit and has restored my faith in raw breakfasts!

My Raw Cafe 001

The drinks menu was great – lots of smoothies and shakes.  I went for the vanilla hot chocolate, because, well, I must.  It was a small cup, but it was rich and sweet, and I loved it.  My Raw Cafe was a great find in Prague, with an excellent array of cakes and a tempting menu for the rest of the day too.  I’ll definitely be back for more!

Speed of Service:  It was fairly busy on a Sunday morning, but the food was ready in about 15 minutes and service was really friendly.  4/5

Value for Money:  It was 165kroner for the breakfast, which is pricey for Prague but pretty much normal for raw food.  3/5

Quality of Cooking:  The ‘crisps’ were a let down, but everything else tasted delicious and was well made.  4/5

Creativity:  Taking on a classic breakfast is a very bold move, and I think it paid off.  It was unlike any of the other breakfasts I’ve had, and a lot of thought went into it.  It has made me reconsider my stance on raw breakfasts, so it must have done something right!  5/5

Total: 16/20

Posted in Travel, Vegan Mofo | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Vegan Mofo: Moment, Prague (Part Three)

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Jenny

Moment (4)

NOTE: CLOSED DOWN IN 2023

Day Twenty-Two:  Make a Dish Using all Seasonal Produce

It’s time to play fast and loose with the daily prompts:  this isn’t all seasonal, but the staff at Moment changed the vegetables in the omelette based on what they had in, so I’m going to call that a seasonal choice rather than anything else.  Dr HH tried this omelette when we visited Prague in May, scoping it out as a place to live.  I did not have such a satisfactory breakfast, though I thought I had a foolproof plan:  cake for breakfast!  I was on holiday, I’d already ticked the pancakes off the menu and was unsure about trying the omelette myself, and the cake counter is phenomenal.  Why not have a little breakfast treat?

Moment (3)

Alas, “little” was the operative word.  This was my teeny tiny sliver of bundt cake.  It was nice, of course, but I ate it in about three mouthfuls and then sat mournfully watching Dr HH devour the omelette above.  “Order another piece of cake,” he encouraged me.  “Two pieces of cake for breakfast?  I’ll never be able to show my face here again!” I protested (let me point out here that it was about 10am and there were other people eating proper slices of cake as well, so eating cake was acceptable.  But more than one slice?).

Taking pity, Dr HH fed me a bit of omelette, and it was delicious.  “Order one for yourself then,” he urged.  “No, it’ll take too long and we’ll waste half our day here,” I refused.  “Then just get some more cake, you’re never going to see these people again,” he pointed out.  “But the staff will think I’m a pig.  And you’ll never let me forget it,” I lamented.  He denied that, but he reminisces about this incident at least once a week, rejoicing in my terrible breakfast choice, my folly in choosing cake (or the smallest cake in the world, anyway) over omelette.

In the end, we got two cookies to take away and I scoffed them as soon as we left while Dr HH laughed and clutched his happy, full belly.  I learned two valuable lessons on that day:  1) cake for breakfast may not be the winning idea it sounds like, and 2) vegan omelettes are pretty darned tasty!

Posted in Travel, Vegan Mofo | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Vegan Mofo: Moment, Prague (Part Two)

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Jenny

Prague Elbe Flat Hike 001

NOTE: CLOSED DOWN IN 2023

Day Twenty-One:  What three endless food supplies would you take if you were going to be stranded on an island? (Imagine your nutritional needs have been met, these are a bonus!) 

Every vegan probably hates any reference to desert island scenarios.  How many times now have I been hypothetically stranded somewhere with only a bloodthirsty cow for company?  But finally, here’s a scenario I can get on board with.  There’s fruit and veg aplenty, the free-range tofus are running wild and I have all the lentils a girl can dream of.  So, what would my three luxury foods be?

Waffles.  Cream.  Chocolate.  I might even let that snarling carnivorous cow so often found on desert islands have some too.  I had this dish in Moment in Prague as part of their weekend brunch (it has replaced the pancakes I talked about yesterday), and it was extremely hard-earned.  We arrived just after the 11am opening and knew what we wanted, so ordered immediately.  Our drinks came, and we sipped away, trying to eke them out until the food arrived.  It could not be done.  After 30 minutes, pondering whether Dr HH’s rudimentary Czech had somehow backfired on our ordering, the waitress cleared our mugs away and we checked on the progress.  There was a problem in the kitchen, but they were on their way.  Meanwhile, other customers received their burgers without delay, leaving us to speculate as to what the problem could be.

Prague Elbe Flat Hike 002

Twenty minutes later, at last, the waffles arrived.  They couldn’t have looked more inviting!  Alas, the waffles themselves were tepid.  Again, we speculated:  what was the problem that resulted in them taking fifty minutes to prepare, yet also being served cold?  Still, the cream was delicious and the chocolate was a nice touch, and the waffle itself was good – just not as good as if it had been warmer.  On my desert island, the waffles will be warm and the chocolate will be melted and drizzled on.  The cream will remain just like this:  cool and plentiful.  Delicious!

Posted in Travel, Vegan Mofo | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Vegan Mofo: Moment, Prague (Part One)

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Jenny

Moment (1)

NOTE: CLOSED DOWN IN 2023

Day Twenty:  Veganise an Old Family Recipe

Pancakes weren’t a big part of my childhood.  We only really had them on Pancake Day, and even then only if my brother and I badgered our mum enough to persuade her into the kitchen.  Pancakes in those days were thin and crepe-like, served with lemon juice and sugar.  It wasn’t until I was in my twenties that I discovered thick, substantial pancakes, first of all when I was backpacking and banana pancakes were the ultimate breakfast in Asia, and then when I discovered Simon Rimmer’s recipe using cottage cheese to make nice American-style pancakes.  And finally last year I discovered the joys of vegan pancakes.

So this isn’t really a family recipe, but I’ve eaten pancakes throughout my life, and here they are as served to me in a cafe in Prague.  Ordering pancakes can be quite a gamble, as you never really know what to expect.  I certainly hadn’t expected to get four tiddly little pancakes on this plate, but they were so cute and tasty, and dotted with nice gooey chocolate chips.  There was a veritable mountain of cream on the plate, but also one of my five a day in the banana, so it was still comfortably healthy.  Ah, this was a good breakfast!  It’s no longer on the menu in Moment, which is a really nice vegan cafe just a few minutes from my flat in Prague.  But its replacement will be mentioned tomorrow, so stay tuned for more vegan Moments!

Posted in Travel, Vegan Mofo | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Vegan Mofo: Muesli Flapjacks

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Jenny

Prague Day 1 (9)

Day Nineteen:  Lunch (or Breakfast) on the Go

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and I always aim to be well-prepared for it.  When breakfasting in a new place, I always like to know what my food options are beforehand, but sometimes this is a little tricky.  So today I’ll talk about the emergency breakfast I always pack when I’m on the go.

I’ve moved abroad several times now, and I always take supplies for the first breakfast, just in case I don’t have time to find a supermarket on arrival: a few teabags and the perfect breakfast snack, a flapjack.  Before anyone can claim that flapjacks aren’t breakfast-worthy, let me point out that they contain oats, which are a breakfast staple, ergo they’re a legitimate choice (I may have had to defend this choice before).  But they’re also a treat, which is exactly what you want on your first morning in a new place, when you’re feeling somewhat apprehensive.

A few months ago I discovered this muesli flapjack from Unicorn in Chorlton, and it is ideal.  It’s sweet and tasty, but it’s got “muesli” in the title, so it’s perfectly acceptable to eat it for breakfast.  So this is what I brought with me for the move to Prague.  The city was in the middle of a heatwave when we arrived just over a month ago, and the balcony of our Airbnb was the only place we could bear to sit for any length of time.  It was hideously hot, but a wee bit cooler in the mornings, when we sat outside with our tea and flapjacks and wondered what the future held.  Hopefully it holds more sweet, treat breakfasts like this!

Posted in Vegan Mofo | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Vegan Mofo: Isa Does It (at Breakfast Time)

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Jenny

Coconut French Toast (10)

Day Eighteen:  Honour a Human who Inspires your Veganism

It could only be Isa, couldn’t it?  Isa Chandra Moskowitz, along with Terry Hope Romero, has written some of the greatest vegan cookbooks in the world.  My favourite is Isa Does It, which I’ve already talked about here and here, but let’s have a little reminder of all the amazing breakfasts she has introduced into my life.

Coconut French Toast (10)

It’s been a long time since I last made this coconut French toast.  Just looking at the picture makes my mouth water!  It’s another one of those that takes a while to make, and involves a bit of waiting around to have everything ready to serve at the same time, but it’s worth the effort.  I remember making this for my mum’s birthday breakfast last year, and she was very happy.  They’re really delicious with some fresh fruit.

Mediterranean Scramble (5)

And Isa introduced me to the tofu scramble!  This Mediterranean Scramble is what inspired Dr HH’s excellent breakfast creation.  The flavours are difficult to argue with!

Thai Scramble (9)

More exotic was this Thai Scramble.  It’s an overnight one, so the preparation is done the night before and it’s just a matter of heating it up in the morning.  Easy, exotic and flavoursome!  Generally, I prefer something sweet in the morning, but occasionally a fiery bit of curry is a fantastic start to the day.

Puffy Pillow Pancakes (13)

I’ve already talked about these puffy pillow pancakes this week – they’re lovely!

005

As are these carrot cake ones.  It’s such a simple way to add more flavour to pancakes.

Hash (11)

And back on a savoury note, the chipotle sausage hash was delicious.  Miso and tahini are great additions to the breakfast table, apparently!

All of Isa’s books are fantastic and have seen a lot of use in my house.  The recipes are solid and her introductions are always warm and funny, but my favourite thing is that they highlight how varied a vegan diet can be.  The recipes range from healthy to decadent, traditional dishes to exotic new combinations, from mock meat to vibrant veggies.  When people speculate that a vegan diet must be very limiting, I just want to show them my collection of cookbooks and watch them change their minds.  Making veganism accessible and easy is a great achievement, and I thank Isa for that!

Posted in Cookbooks, Vegan Mofo | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Vegan Mofo: Healthy Spirit, Manchester

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Jenny

20150218_103149 (1)

Day Seventeen:  Make (or Eat) a Traditional, Local Dish

Here’s a prompt that fits in beautifully with my theme for MoFo:  what is more traditional than a Full English?!

This is a tolerably healthy take on the full breakfast from Healthy Spirit, a nice little cafe at the back of a health shop in Didsbury.  It was just a ten minute walk from my old flat, and I miss it dearly!  Breakfast comprised of homemade beans, a big juicy mushroom, wilted spinach, tasty avocado and a bubble and squeak patty.  I loved that it was a twist on the usual breakfast, though initially I was worried that it wouldn’t be enough to fill me up.  The beans were really tasty, and you can’t go wrong with the beautiful simplicity of avocado or mushrooms.  I’d expected the bubble and squeak to be the highlight, but found the patty a wee bit cold – if it had been piping hot, it would probably have been my favourite element.

20150218_103154

The breakfast was £6.95, including toast and a brew.  The toast was delicious sourdough bread from local Uprising Bakery, and it was very good.  The ketchup was tasty when I dipped my knife in, but I’m not really sure how it was intended to be eaten – the thought of ketchup in the same vicinity as toast is enough to turn my stomach, and even my fellow, who will mix all kinds of food, merely had the ketchup separately.  Much better was the other pot: tell them you’re vegan and they give you a mixture of coconut and olive oil, which was spreadable and tasty.

20150218_102540

And the chai tea I went for – the cafe’s own brew, available to buy right there – was really nice too, and accompanied by a little bottle of coconut milk which went down a treat.

Value for money:  it doesn’t look like a lot of food for the price.  I know avocados aren’t cheap, and I didn’t really mind paying for good fresh food, but still, for £6.95 there wasn’t much.  3/5

Speed of service:  I find it exceptionally difficult to leave the house without having eaten, so if I go out for breakfast I need my food to be served rapidly.  We went on a week day, right at the 10am opening time, and as the only customers we were scoffing within 15 minutes.  Very pleasing!  4/5

Quality of cooking:  the bubble and squeak patty was a little cold, but everything else was spot on, and it was all home made food.  3.5/5

Creativity:  it felt really fresh and a nice twist on the usual, somewhat greasy cooked breakfast.  For being unique and a touch lighter, and for the sensational bread, it’s earned a high mark.  Just a smidgen more food would have been nice!  4.5/5

Total:  15/20

Posted in Travel, Vegan Mofo | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Vegan Mofo: Tri Ocasci

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Jenny

Brno Sunday 003

Day Sixteen:  What’s your Favourite Late Summer Food?

Last weekend I popped along to Brno, the Czech Republic’s second largest city.  There were slim pickings for vegan breakfasts, until I sent a Facebook message to the good people at Tri Ocasci and they informed me that they have a daily all-you-can-eat vegan breakfast buffet for 50kroner (under £2).  It was warm and sunny, it was late summer, and it was a very good breakfast, so it just about fits this prompt!

It was the very essence of simplicity:  they did a few things, and they did them well!  There was a bread basket with slices of a few different kinds of homemade bread, including this nice brown one that I had and an even better yellow one with seeds scattered on the top.  These were accompanied by homemade strawberry jam and a really good coconutty spread.  Lovely!  There was also a salad plate (obviously I avoided that, but everything was good and fresh), some delicious, marinated, garlicky tofu and this yellow concoction that tasted kind of like coleslaw:  creamy, cold and mayonnaisey.  Everything was freshly made, regularly replenished, and easy to peck on.  We had two helpings, and were more than satisfied.

Coffee refills were included in the breakfast, but I stuck to tea.  My camomile brew came in this humongous pot, and was accompanied by a little vegan heart-shaped biscuit, which made for a lovely breakfast dessert.  While the food was all-vegan, Dr HH’s latte automatically came with dairy milk, so vegans should probably specify if they want soy.

Brno Sunday 002

Brno Sunday 001

Tri Ocasci is such a lovely place to have a lazy breakfast.  The atmosphere is really laid-back and friendly, everything is simple and welcoming.  Our fellow patrons had dogs curled up beside them on the sofa or were working on their laptops or reading peacefully by themselves.  It was such a nice space, with mismatched furniture, origami cranes and exciting light fittings dangling from the ceiling, and (my absolute favourite thing) vintage crockery.  Go to Brno, and go now!

Posted in Travel, Vegan Mofo | Tagged , , | 7 Comments