I have struggled to find a decent vegan cheese, so when I heard some raving reviews for veganic cheese I had to give it a try! Veganic foods supplies two type of cheese, pizza cheese and violife slices. I ordered both online from vx. They are quite pricey compared to normal cheese, but its worth it to have cruelty free tasty cheese.

First I wanted to try them cold. They both looked and smelt like normal cheese, so I had high hopes! I popped a violife slice into my mouth... hang on, I quickly flipped over the pack... this stuff was vegan right?!? Yep, clearly marked vegan, I couldnt believe it, this was the best vegan cheese ever. Buttery, and cheesy. They tasted very similar to the continental style cheese you would find on an all you can eat breakfast buffet, I loved it. I couldn't stop myself from eating another... but you only get a few in a pack, these would be gone all too soon!

Next the pizza cheese, it is very finely grated, so I pinched up a small portion and gobbled it up... I was actually very disappointed. Bland with a hint of salt was all I could taste. This really wasn't designed for eating cold.

I swiftly moved on to the meltability test. Cheese on toast, a traditional favourite. I popped two violife slices on a slice of bread and a generous helping of the pizza cheese on the other, under the grill they went. After a few minutes I could see the slices starting to bubble away, but the pizza cheese didn't appear to do anything. After a few more minutes the bread was threatening to burn so I took them out.

First appearances weren't great, they didn't look melted at all. I took a big bite of my violife slice toast. Mmmmm even better than cold, it had gone gooey inside and definitely melted really well. It tasted great, and was perfect on toast. Next up the pizza cheese, a little soft inside but the outside had gone a little crispy... and the taste? The same as it was cold... bland with a hint of salt, very boring.

I didn't want to give up on my pizza cheese though... I'd bought such a massive bag! I decided to give it a go with true purpose in mind... on pizza. At higher temperatures it seemed to melt much better, and created a gooey topping for my pizza, the lack of taste didn't really matter too much here, as it was more the texture you are after on a pizza which it worked really well for.

Overall I love love loved the violife slices, and cannot wait until they have released their upcoming new flavours. The pizza cheese however was overall rather disappointing, it was OK for its specific purpose only.. on pizza. Next time I may try MozzaRisella, which also has excellet reviews as a melty pizza cheese.

I have been volunteering for Wiltshire Wildlife Hospital for just over 4 months now. Every Monday I will help out at the hospital mucking out the endless amount of hedgehogs that were overwintered. I have also been out on a few visits, a road traffic accident deer, a couple of injured swans, and collected a wounded hedgehog.

I love knowing I make a difference to our wildlife, especially when you get to really see how it helps, when an animal goes back to the wild fit and healthy. Last week I got to do just that, Marilyn asked me to release a buzzard.

The buzzard had been discovered on the side of a busy road after a traffic accident so he had been brought in to the hospital to recover. After a few weeks he was strong and healthy again and was eagerly flying around his pen. He was ready to go back.

Marilyn swiftly popped him in a box and I went on my way with the buzzard destined for freedom. I made my way back to where he was found and drove a little off the main road to a gorgeous green field surrounded by woodland. Perfect.

As soon as I opened the box he easily took to the skies, he found himself a spot on a fence then as soon as he got his bearings he took off again and soared into the woodland in the distance. It really is amazing when you get to witness something so incredible. To know that Marilyn, Mike and the team at the Wildlife Hospital made a difference to this animal.

I look forward to continuing this hard work, and releasing more wildlife back to where they belong.

I'm not really that great at making desserts, but I wanted to give it a try as it is something deperately lacking in the dairy free world. I discovered this peanut butter pie on the Chocolate Covered Katie blog and it looked so simple.... and mouthwateringly tasty that I had to give it a go.

Ingredients

Base:
Cocoa powder
Chopped nuts
Shredded coconut
Salt
Pitted dates 

Topping:
Peanut butter
Bananas
Vanilla extract
Salt
Coconut Oil, melted
Sugar

Method
Blend the ingredients for the base together and firmly squish into a aluminium pie dish. Next simply blend the topping ingredients together and pour over your base. Pop into a freezer to set. When ready to serve defrost in the fridge and enjoy.

The base

On goes the topping

Verdict
Very very simple to make, just plenty of blending! I actually broke one of my hand blenders attempting to make the base... oops, so I recommend using a food processor instead. Its quite difficult to find coconut oil in the shops, and when you do its very pricey, but a little goes a long way!

The final result was much more cheescake than pie, which was a pleasant texture. The topping was still firm but creamy and the base lovely, crumbly and chewy. Personally I was not overstruck by the taste. It didn't feel very dessert like, it was something I could see myself eating at breakfast, but perhaps thats because I associate peanut butter with breakfast. The base was the best part, chwey and chocolately. My family all really enjoyed it however, and even wanted the recipe, so perhaps it was all personal preference. I served it alongside dairy free ice cream and soya cream but it may have worked better with a chocolate sauce.

After making vegan pancakes I started wondering what else I could possibly make without eggs, so I searched for vegan omelettes. I immediately discovered the blog vegan magic, by Adriana, giving a description of various vegan omelettes she made, and boy did it make my mouth water! The recipe came from Andrea on her blog, chocolate and beyond and it looked so easy I decided to give it a go myself.

From Vegan Magic

Ingredients
Oil
Onion
Garlic
Peppers
Mushrooms
Sweetcorn

For the batter:
Soya milk
Chickpea (gram) flour
Turmeric
Curry powder
Nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper.

Method:
In a jug blend the batter ingredients together and set aside.
Gently saute the vegetables in oil over a medium heat in a frying pan.
Once veggies are cooked pour over the batter mixture and swirl around to coat pan.
Once firmed up and slightly browned around the edge you can either flip to cook the other side or place under the grill.

Verdict:
It was very easy to put together, I did have a little trouble with cooking though, the underside was very slightly overcooked to ensure the omelette had firmed up all the way through, I think perhaps I made it a little too thick. It was only just lightly over browned though, so still very much edible, and boy was it tasty. It has a very distinct chickpea taste, not much like traditional omelette, but actually even yummier! I made this again for my vegetarian mum and she loved it too. This will definitely become a regular meal.

Edit 23/4/2013: I made this again today but made the batter much thicker (less milk more flour). I then cooked over a low heat and firmed up the top under the grill. No overcooked bottom and it was a little heavier due to the thicker batter which I preferred. Yummy! 

Half way through eating I thought how great this would have been with some aioli, a traditional Spanish garlic dip. I decided to attempt a vegan version.

Vegan aioli
Blend together two parts olive oil to one part soya milk with garlic, a splash of lemon juice, salt and pepper. If you need to thin it out more, add more soya milk, to make it thicker add more oil.
I was really pleased with how this turned out. It was a little creamier than the traditional version, but I actually liked it even more. Perfect with my omelette!

Kipper, a gorgeous silver shorthair cat has gone from this world at just 5 years old, he will be forever missed.

Kipper, or KP for short, joined our family when my mum met her partner, Clive. Clive brought with him his beloved two year old cat, Kipper. He immediately became one of the clan, which includes 4 Bernese Mountain dogs and two other cats, Mia and Panther. Mya and KP hit it off immediately and would spend hours rolling aroud on the floor together. Panther and KP took a while to bond, but eventually they warmed to each other and KP even let Panther join him on his favourite chair.

KP had a really strong character, with a hint of attitude. If he wanted to be fed, he was going to get fed! First he'd try the affection. He would sit on your lap and purr, if that didnt work he'd edge closer, lean right into your face and lick your nose. You would often wake up with a fright! If you pushed him to the side he'd have a back up plan. Plain annoying. With a swish of his tail he would puposefully knock something over. Whether it be a tin of firelighters (what a racket) or your favourite ornament. Then he would sit there and glare at you until you got up... It worked and he knew it! He was a little devil!

Kipper peeking out from the top of the wardrobe

So when I went home last Friday evening I was shocked to find he had been missing since Tuesday, 4 days. It was not uncommon for KP to wander, but he would eventually return after a day or two spent in a neighbours house! This was longer than usual though, and we had begun to worry. My mum and Clive had searched the village, knocked on doors and left notices, but still no news. So I decided to go on the search.

Early Saturday morning I walked around the village, calling for KP but to no avail. Then a horrible thought hit me. The road. I walked up and down one side with no signs so I crossed over and repeated. Then I felt the blood drain from me as I saw something, and I realised it was directly opposite the house. I rushed home and pulled Clive out, surely it had to be a badger... it couldn't be our Kipper. But Clive knew immediately and found his collar. It was his boy. Our Kipper. We were heartbroken.

We quickly took him to Raystede, a pet crematorium so Kipper could go on his way peacefully. Clive is planning to place a plaque there in his name.

Kipper will always be cherished, and it was so tragic for a cat of just 5 years old to be taken from us.

We love you Kipper, and you will always be missed.

 

Kipper in his favourite chair