This week's video is in collaboration with my friend and fellow blogger, Elisabeth (Red Violet blog). Before I arrived in Paris, I reached out to find out where I could get my hands on some vegan crepes while in the city. I wasn't going to leave until I had some. Seriously. Words cannot describe how much I love the stuff. After some investigation, Elisabeth reported back to say that there was at least one place that could provide vegan crepes on request, but she also mentioned that she had an amazing recipe that we could use to make our own crepes if all else failed. I liked this idea a lot, and so we decided we'd set aside some time to make some before I left. Best part? Elisabeth kindly agreed to share the step-by-step process. And so, come Saturday evening (I believe it was close to midnight!) there we were in her little Paris kitchen whipping up a stack of delicious crepes.
For the full ingredient list and recipe, visit Elisabeth's blog. If you give the recipe a go, don't forget to show some love by leaving a comment on there.
Fun fact: my vegan journey began when I was living in France for a year, and over the weekend I had the opportunity to return to the scene of the crime!
My friend and fellow blogger, Elisabeth (Red Violet Blog) invited me to a vegan Japanese cookery workshop, and so I made a weekend of it, arriving Thursday evening and staying until Sunday. Waves of nostalgia hit as I retraced some of the steps I'd taken with my family when we visited Paris for the first time back in 2004, and a second time in 2011. I was particularly dying to visit Montmartre and oh boy, it did not disappoint. Pure beautiful vibes, exactly as etched in my memory. Easily my favourite part of the entire city. It's no exaggeration to say that Paris will always have a special place in my heart.
What made this trip so vastly different from our family vacation though was that - now as an adult - I chose all the places I visited, stayed in a residential area as opposed to a hotel, and did a heck of a lot more walking through the busy streets. I packed so much into the weekend, it's actually borderline OTT. I had an amazing time with my friend (and her cat, Sésame!) and met some lovely people along the way.
Naturally, I created a hit list of vegan places to visit. I hope you enjoy this week's video as much as I enjoyed editing it. And if you're planning a Paris trip, scroll down for my top picks of vegan places worth checking out.
1. Le Faitout - vegan bar and bistro. We enjoyed stunning French (vegan) cheese & desserts. Go for the live music too. It's a whole vibe.
2. Jah Jah by Le Tricycle - vegan restaurant serving hearty Ital food.
3. VG Pâtisserie - do not leave Paris without visiting this pastry shop. I'm serious.
4. Hank Burger - one of a few chains (including Hank Pizza) serving up scrumptious vegan fast food.
5. Ara Chocolat - if you've got a chocolate-covered heart, be sure to stop by this cute, family-run artisan chocolate shop. As soon as you walk in, you'll be hit by the most intoxicating chocolate scent. I could have spent an hour in there.
6. Le Potager du Marais - my final restaurant stop of the trip. Go here for veganised classic French dishes. The customer service is also on-point.
And a couple of other pics worth sharing...
Apple-Miso turnovers made by Elisabeth. Can you say delicious! Find the recipe here.
Chef Miho serving up bite-size mont blancs. If you're ever in Nagoya (Japan), stop by her restaurant Grains!
This week, sink your fork into this no-fuss pasta dish. I made this on a whim one day after work, when I wanted something quick and hearty. Do give it a try, and don't forget to tag @vegannigerian on Instagram or Twitter if you share it online! Full recipe and video below!
Ingredients (Serves 1-2)
- 200g spaghetti
- Water
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 red onion, chopped
- Handful green peas
- Handful sweetcorn
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 ripe avocado
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp ground cashews (optional)
Boil the spaghetti in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water until cooked.
Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan and add the onion. Sauté for a couple of minutes, then add the peas and sweetcorn. Add curry and chilli powder, stir in the mashed avocado and splash of lemon juice. Add the cooked spaghetti to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot with a generous sprinkling of ground cashews.
In a bid to eat more greens, I made a batch of efo riro (spinach stew) over the weekend, piling in loads of mushrooms and aubergine to give it a lift. When it comes to 'veganising' Nigerian dishes, I've come to realise that it's often not enough to simply remove the meat. Mushrooms and aubergines are a great substitute if you're after something that's hearty and chunky.
This recipe is a much-needed update on my original efo riro recipe from 2013. Wow, I've come a long way with the photography and general presentation hehe. Hope you enjoy making and eating this!
Ingredients (serves 4)
200ml red stew mix (blend of red bell pepper, tomatoes, onion and scotch bonnet)
2 tbsp palm oil or coconut oil
800g chopped spinach
1 aubergine (chopped)
250g mushrooms (chopped)
Salt, to taste
Bring the red stew and palm oil to a boil. Add the chopped spinach and chopped aubergine. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add the mushrooms and simmer for another 5 minutes. Season with salt.
Summer vacation in Thailand (Bangkok and Pattaya) and you KNOW I went ready to eat everything vegan in sight! ;) Check out parts 1 and 2 of my travel vlog below:
I'm just catching up on updating my blog posts, and so much has happened since the end of July.
First up, this epic vegan barbecue organised by pal and fellow YouTuber DunguBook (follow him for some stellar vegan bodybuilding & nutrition tips, motivation, and more) at The Aeronaut pub in Acton, London. Some may say that a successful vegan barbecue can only be the stuff of dreams, but this party was a massive testament to the contrary. His barbecue from last year (read all about that here) was already impressive enough, but this year was off the scale.
There aren't enough words to describe everything that was amazing about it, so I'll let the short video below do the talking. You'll also notice in the clip that I had a stall at the party, selling some of my vegan cupcake creations - honoured to have been given the platform and thrilled to have met so many wonderful people and hear all their feedback!
Light and fluffy. Ready in one minute. Almost too good to be true.
Mug cakes are nothing new, but it's taken me a while to try them out myself. In this case, I used my set of teacups, and how cute do they look!
I've tried out three different flavours: 'chilli chocolate', 'emon drizzle' and 'vanilla confetti'.
If you own a microwave then you're just a few steps away from having these delectable treats. Adjust the quantities below in proportion to the mug/teacup size. Enjoy!
Mix all the dry ingredients together first. Make a well in the middle and add all the wet ingredients. Combine to form a smooth batter. Microwave for 1 minute. Drizzle some syrup over the top and throw some more sprinkles on.
For the drizzle:
- icing sugar
- lemon juice
- candied lemon peel (to garnish)
Mix all the dry ingredients together first. Make a well in the middle and add all the wet ingredients. Combine to form a smooth batter. Microwave for 1 minute. Create a lemon glaze by combining equal parts lemon juice and icing sugar. Garnish with candied lemon peel. Chilli Chocolate
- 2 heap tbsp self-raising flour
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp sugar
- pinch baking powder
- pinch crushed chilli flakes (plus extra for garnish)
- 8 tbsp vegan milk (coconut/almond/soya/cashew/oat...etc)
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp syrup (maple/rice...etc)
Mix all the dry ingredients together first. Make a well in the middle and add all the wet ingredients. Combine to form a smooth batter. Microwave for 1 minute. Drizzle some syrup over the top and throw some more chilli flakes on for an extra kick.
