POP-UP RESTAURANT #6 - BUFFET

Come. Eat some jollof. See you there ;)

Tickets on eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-vegan-nigerian-pop-up-restaurant-6-buffet-tickets-28528116364

VEGAN FOOD AT BRICK LANE MARKET [VIDEO]

Who knew? Brick Lane Sunday market (in East London) is a hotspot for vegan street food and cake stands. From the wonderful @youngvegans to the delightful @organiclivity, this short video highlights some of my favourite finds...



And a few snapshots...

Vegan street food - @youngvegans

Burritos!

Beautiful...raw cake by @organiclivity

Eye-catching

Brownies...I got my fix

PARADISE UNBAKERY [VEGAN CAFE]

It's not everyday that a vegan cafe opens up in your neighbourhood, and I can't tell you how excited I am to share this find with you.

What: vegan cafe serving raw and cooked vegan meals, sweet treats, and beverages. They also provide catering/delivery services, workshops & events, and celebration cakes to order.

Where: 59 Chamberlayne Rd, London NW10 3ND.

Did you know: there will be a London Vegan Bloggers and Vloggers meetup at Paradise Unbakery on  Saturday October 15th. I will be there. If you're a vegan blogger/vlogger, come along too! :)

I first encountered Paradise Unbakery as a raw vegan stall at Brighton Vegfest back in 2015. I remember stopping to stare and marvel at the intricately designed raw cakes and the tempting display of raw vegan pizzas and tarts. Fast forward to early September 2016 and a friend casually mentions the opening of a new vegan cafe called Paradise Unbakery. I recognised the name instantly. When I looked it up and saw that it was a stone's throw away from where I live, I already had my mind set on visiting.

*

When I walk into Paradise Unbakery for the first time, I am immediately floored by the bright setting and charming decor. It is beautifully furnished with floral touches and pastel shades. I immediately think: "excellent workspace" (and I have since been back with a friend to do some work/reading there - with drinks and cakes for sustenance, of course. See images further below). There is a food photography session going on at the back of the cafe and Egle, the brain behind the establishment, looks occupied but still comes over to say hello.

After a quick introduction, I take my time ordering a salad from the deli display. The salads are colourful and inviting; there's variety - from avocado to beetroot to sweet potatoes and broccoli... an abundance of vegetables jump out at me. I settle on a combination of a green bean salad, an avocado salad, an artichoke salad, and though my salad bowl selection calls for three options, I am kindly offered a fourth choice and so pick some baked sweet potato wedges.

Lunch!

I settle down to my tasty salad and fresh juice, and when I am done, Egle comes over to have a chat. I've come with lots of questions and she kindly and generously answers each one.

@paradise_unbakery

@So meet Egle, founder and owner of Paradise Unbakery. Originally from Lithuania, she reveals that after moving to the UK with her family, she actually spent most of her formative years in the Kensal Green area. Years later, she never imagined that she would end up owning an establishment in the same vicinity.

Egle's background is in textile design (and you can tell from the aesthetically pleasing look of her raw cakes), but it was her sweet tooth and a desire to enjoy healthy versions of some of the desserts she loved that led her down the path of creating sweet vegan treats. Although vegan herself for over 10 years, she only started Paradise Unbakery a couple of years ago, taking her creations to food fairs and festivals around the UK. Like most food entrepreneurs starting out, she always hoped for a cafe of her own some day. What an accomplishment to have turned this dream into reality! When she shares the full story of how she came about acquiring the cafe space - purely from being at the right place at the right time - I am simultaneously gobsmacked and inspired. 

According to Egle, the local response to Paradise Unbakery has been mixed, though mainly optimistic. On the negative end of the spectrum, she's been confronted by someone claiming that the cafe is 'taking options away' from the community (whatever that means!) and yet another insisting more than a couple of times that they add 'a little chicken or fish' to the deli selection. Similarly, a few locals have found it difficult to warm up to the vegan milk alternatives used in the teas, coffees and other hot drinks. But Egle is not discouraged, and she shouldn't be. There has been an abundance of positive feedback from vegans and non-vegans alike, and I am glad to add my voice to the mix. 

Finally, I ask what her all time favourite raw dessert to make and eat is and she answers this easily: cherry and chocolate. She reaches for a recipe book and opens it to reveal the image of a beautiful cherry-chocolate dessert, adding that anything containing chocolate is a winner. I couldn't agree more!

If you get the chance while you're out and about in London, do make your way over to Paradise Unbakery. Let's support this new vegan venture!

Paradise Unbakery flyer

Blueberry cheesecake

2nd visit: work, work, work...and coffee and lemon poppyseed cheesecake

Close-up

I'M HIRING!

It's about that time really. I've got my mind on assembling a kick-ass team of people to join me on this journey... Kinda like the Avengers, but with food and minus the capes.

Over the next few months, I'm going to be running and taking part in various events. October alone is going to be packed with all sorts. And so the role is ideal for anyone who's after some freelance/flexible work to supplement their current job, or students after some part-time experience. Applicants must be based in London.

Successful applicants will be added to a database and notified in advance when I've got an upcoming event. If it works to your schedule and you're able to help out, you'll simply indicate your availability and we'll take it from there.

At this stage, it's all about hands-on, practical work. Not an office desk in sight, and certainly no suits, ties or pinstripe skirts. Not yet anyway. 

The sorts of things you'll be helping with include:

- the monthly Vegan Nigerian Pop-Up Restaurant

- food festivals

- catering gigs

These events will involve customer-facing service, so it helps if you enjoy meeting new people, are friendly, and have some experience in the hospitality industry (though not entirely essential). It will also involve the not so glamorous tasks of helping to set up and clear up at events. You might assist with running stalls at food festivals and get involved with food prep.

Remuneration:

- national minimum wage

- free food at events (lunch/dinner covered)

If you're a foodie at heart, have an interest in vegan/Nigerian/healthy cuisine, are able to take initiative and be a fantastic team player, then I want to hear from you! Please email me at: vegannigerian@gmail.com with your CV and a short message introducing yourself.

NIGERIAN FLAG CAKE WITH POPCORN FROSTING [VIDEO]

Tie-dye cake

Today marks Nigeria's 56th Independence Day and I thought it would be fun to create this flag-themed cake with green-white-green layers on the inside and a green-white-green popcorn frosting. I've used the popcorn technique before on this tie-dye cake I made a while back...Not only does it cover a multitude of frosting sins, but it instantly creates an eye-catching texture with very little effort.

As I only have two large rectangular cake tins at home, I made four times the basic sponge cake mixture and trimmed them into four equal rectangles, leaving me with one extra layer of sponge. I would recommend using square tins if possible so that you only need to triple the sponge mixture.

To make this cake, you'll need:
- basic sponge cake mixture (click for recipe)
- green gel food colouring
- popcorn

POP-UP RESTAURANT #5 IN PICTURES

Monday 26th September. My day started at 8 am. After cancelling my third or fourth morning alarm (because one alarm is never enough when you're a deep sleeper), I got up to embrace the long day ahead.

A short bus ride to this month's venue of choice: Maida Hill Place. Located right next to a large fruit & veg store AND an outdoor market, I was able to pick up a couple of last minute ingredients (a.k.a. enough plantain, bell peppers and vine tomatoes to feed a famished army) before launching into food prep. 

An hour or so later, I was joined by my mum and sister - ah the relief! I'm learning to treasure all the extra quality time I get to spend with my family as a direct result of these events. We managed to squeeze in a week's worth of chatter into those few hours, all the while cooking up a storm.

Mel arrived a few minutes after my mum and sister left. I'd frantically sent her a text around 13.30 pm to pick up some kale on her way over because I'd been careless enough to assume the store and market next door would stock it. Mel's kale expedition was successful...yeah, she pretty much saved the entire dinner :p Simon arrived a while after. What did I do to deserve friends as supportive as these two?? :) I had my team for the evening. Along with the helpful manager at the venue. 

Photo credit: Richard Duebel

The pop-up began officially at 18.30 pm, with guests trickling in one after the other until it was almost a full house. We got into service mode, starting with canapés, working our way all the way through to dessert. I'll allow the rest of the pictures to complete this narrative...

Photo credit: Richard Duebel

Photo credit: Richard Duebel

Photo credit: Richard Duebel

Photo credit: @vegannigerian

Photo credit: @vegannigerian

Photo credit: @vegannigerian

Photo credit: Richard Duebel

 A big thank you to all my guests, family & friends for making the evening so wonderful <3

Breakfast Blueberry and Brown Rice Muffins | Easy Vegan Recipe

Following on from my last video on how to make brown rice milk, this week I'm sharing an inventive way to use up the leftover pulp after straining the rice milk. It doesn't add much in terms of flavour, but it does give a fibre boost to the muffins. With the bananas and blueberries thrown in, you're left with a succulent, classic muffin with a tiny bit of a twist. Perfect for breakfast, as a snack or after dinner treat.

And if you haven't made any rice milk, this recipe isn't completely inaccessible. Simply blend 1 cup of cooked brown rice with 1 cup of rice milk)

To make it gluten-free, simply substitute with a gluten-free flour blend and add an extra 1/4 cup of vegan milk or an extra mashed banana for added moisture. 

Like the video? Cool. Subscribe :)

Ingredients
(makes 12)
- 3 cups self-raising flour
- 1/2 cup sugar (use brown if possible)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 cups leftover brown rice pulp
- 2 bananas (mashed)
- 3/4 cup sunflower oil
- 2 cups rice milk

- handful fresh blueberries 

VEGAN LACE PANCAKES

Inspired by last night's episode of The Great British Bake Off, I decided I would try my hand at making vegan lace pancakes. I never knew such a thing even existed but I was captivated by what I saw: dainty, edible heart shapes made entirely from pancake batter. It spoke to me, I tell ya.

As you can see from my pictures (above and below), I haven't aimed for perfection with my lace designs (hey, I'm not getting judged by Paul and Mary!) so don't let that stop you from giving this a try. Keep the design simple enough, but add a couple of swirls and touches here and there to make it pass for fancy. No matter what your lace pancakes end up looking like, my pancake recipe tastes totally bomb so it will be worth the effort when you finally get to tuck into them.

A word of warning before you delve into this recipe: only make these if you've got a lot of time to spare and nowhere to get to. These delicate pancakes are time-consuming as...
To be completely honest with you, after making about ten or so of these, I just made regular pancakes with the rest of the batter (again, not getting judged here!)

Top tip: this is no time to be overly ambitious. Make your heart pancakes small-medium sized as this makes them easier to flip over. And keep an eye out on the heat. Too hot and the pancake will burn too quickly...
Oh, and your first attempt WILL most likely be a disaster...mine was an eyesore. Don't be put off - it gets much better :)

If you like this recipe, make it, share it, and all that good stuff.

Ingredients
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup sunflower oil
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 tsp vanilla essence

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until you have a smooth batter.
If mixing by hand, make sure you whisk/mix well enough so you don't have any lumps of banana in the batter.

Pour the mixture into a piping bag (cut a small hole at the tip) or a squeezy bottle. Over low-medium heat, pipe your heart lace design in a non-stick frying pan. (If using a regular frying pan, lightly grease the surface with a little sunflower oil before frying). Wait for it to brown before gently turning it over with a spatula.

Repeat the process with the rest of the batter until you have a gorgeous stack of warm, delicious lace pancakes.