Think vegan food is boring? Think again. These 4 Fabulous Vegan Recipes are ANYTHING but boring!! From Spanakopita to Smoked ‘Salmon’ Bagels, Chilli Con Carne to Nutella Cupcakes, these clever bloggers prove it’s possible to create incredible truly incredible flavours whilst still keeping it vegan…Plus find the linky for #CookBlogShare Week 10.
So how was last week for you? I don’t know what the weather was doing in the rest of the world, but here in the UK we had a mad week of snow, storms, floods, school closures, road closures (and don’t get me started on the trains!!) and general weather mayhem.
Luckily (Or unluckily depending on your feelings about snow) we didn’t get too much where I live in the South East of England…not that that didn’t stop the transport system from grinding to a halt at various points…but at least my kids’ school was open everyday (though my poor boy had to miss out on his first proper tennis tournament – apparently snow is NOT tennis weather…someone should try and explain that to my tennis mad husband – pahahahaha!).
I was stupidly grateful for this…I had a list of things as long as my arm to do last week and the idea of trying to juggle work and kids was not a fun one…it’s hard enough managing the school holidays!
So, what have I been up to this month? This month has been a little quieter than last month (!)…but I have still been pretty busy. I’ve been slowly working through my recipe cards to add US measurements and nutrition data…I’m working backwards and I’ve nearly got to the beginning of 2017, so I think it’s going to be at least another month before I’m finished. I’m fitting it in around other things, which is why it’s taking me so long…and I’m doing one or two other updates on each post as I go…it’s a long and tedious job, but it will be very satisfying when it’s done!!
I have also been re-photographing some of my old recipes, from when I first started blogging (nearly 3 years ago – eeeek). All great recipes, but the old photos really did not do them justice…here are a few ‘before and after’s for your amusement!!
Tomato Pasta
Butternut Squash, Chilli and Coconut Milk Soup
Easy Quorn Chilli Con Carne
I’ve also added extra information and notes to some of the old recipes…my blurbs were a bit short when I first started blogging…so I’ve gone back and added in extra options, guidelines for reheating, wine recommendations, that kind of thing. But don’t worry I haven’t changed the recipes (unless I have spotted a typo or something I thought it needed a bit of extra clarification), so if you have an favourite old EPF recipe, you can rest assured it’s still the same 🙂
The other big change I have made this month is to move ad company, it was a move that was long overdue…my old ads did not pay brilliantly and slowed my site down. My new ads take much less time to load, meaning my site loads up faster, and they pay me a more sensible amount of money, meaning I have to worry a lot less about where my next sponsored post is coming from! I am still fiddling about with the settings, so please bear with me while I get it right!!
And my final bit of news this month is that I am delighted to say I have been featured in an article on Champney’s website all about how to stay healthy at Easter time, which given the amount of cakes, hot cross buns and chocolate flying around at this time of year, is super useful for all of us!! I am in excellent company too as Vicki from Free From Fairy and Jenny from Mummy Mishaps, both regular CBS bloggers, are also featured.
So, let’s crack on with #CookBlogShare Week 10, shall we?
4 Fabulous Vegan Recipes
This week it was 4 fabulous vegan recipes that caught my eye…each from a different corner of the globe and which together really showcase just how exciting and adventurous vegan food can be…and how vegan food is definitely NOT boring!
I love how each of these bloggers has taken a real classic, that you wouldn’t normally associate with plant-based cuisine and shown just how possible (and easy) it is to veganise.
If you are not a #CookBlogShare regular and are wondering what an earth I am going on about, #CookBlogShare is a place for bloggers to share their recipes. If you are a blogger and have a recipe to share, you can link up your post by following the instructions below. If you are not a blogger, but love food and cooking, do check out the recipes that will be appearing below. If this week is as good as they usually are you will find some awesome recipes – the #CookBlogShare bloggers are very good at what they do!
Vegan Spanakopita
First up is this rather fabulous vegan take on the traditional Greek dish, Spanakopita, by Mandy on her new blog Cook Veggielicious (you may know her from her other blog Sneaky Veg). For those of you familiar with this dish, you will know it normally contains eggs and LOTS of feta cheese. Mandy has used silken tofu in place of the cheese and egg. The tofu is prepared with garlic, lemon juice and nutritional yeast to make sure this vegan spanakopita is still packed full of flavour. Whilst I love regular spanakopita, I’d really like to try Mandy’s vegan version…it sounds wonderful!
Vegan Lentil Chilli with Black Beans
From Greece we head to Mexico, and this delicious looking Vegan Lentil Chilli with Black Beans from Corina at Searching for Spice. I love how she has incorporated two kinds of lentils and black beans, not to mention tomatoes, onions, carrots and celery – this is a bowl chock full of goodness…and will take you a long way towards that 5 a day goal. You may also spot a lovely homemade flatbread on the side…Corina got a tortilla press for Christmas (jealous much!) and has been experimenting with it…she says she’s not quite nailed it yet…but when she has she’ll be sharing the recipe…I can’t wait!
The Best Vegan Bagels and Lox (with Cream Cheese)
I am constantly impressed with Nico from Yumsome and the way she manages to veganise some of the least likely candidates…like these Vegan Bagels and Lox with Cream Cheese. I am super impressed with how she has done it. The clever bit it is the vegan smoked ‘salmon’ (lox), which she has made by slow-roasting carrots which have been marinated in smoky olive oil to bring out their sweet and smoky flavour, and smooth texture. Super clever-huh? She has also used her homemade vegan ricotta, in place of the cream cheese, which she makes using cashew nuts…and her homemade vegan bagels complete this vegan bagel experience. Yum!
Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes
Last, but by no means least…we have these Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes from Cat at Curly’s Cooking. How awesome do they look? And apparently, they are so good she has had people telling her that they were the best cupcakes she has ever made (better than her non-vegan ones). I love how she has used hazelnut milk in the mix and roasted hazelnuts on top for the maximum hazelnut experience. These cakes are a must make for all Nutella fans!!
#CookBlogShare Linky Week 10
And so we come to this week’s linky. You can link up any foodie post that you have – both old and new posts are welcome. All you need to do is:
- Link up a recipe or foodie post by clicking the blue ‘add your link’ button below and following the instructions (maximum of 4, please).
- Add a link from your post back to this post (so everyone else can find it and link up too!) and / or add the #CookBlogShare badge to your post (you can find the code below).
- Comment on one of the host’s posts and a minimum of 2 other posts linked up here, and generally share the love with a bit of social media action!
If you wish, you can tweet a link to your recipe to me @easypeasyfoodie and also (if you have room on the tweet!) my co-hosts Kirsty @k_phillipson, Jacqui @jacdotbee and Monika @MonikasRecipes, using the #CookBlogShare hashtag and we will retweet them. You can also post your recipe on the Cook Blog Share Facebook Page.
Need some help on Instagram? You and me both…so let’s help each other! Whenever you post to Instagram, use the #CookBlogShare hashtag, then quickly hop over to the #CookBlogShare feed, liking as many as you can and commenting on any that particularly catch your eye. Not a big job at all, but if we all do it, it would make a BIG difference!!
I will comment on all the posts this week and pin them all to the Cook Blog Share Pinterest Board. I can’t wait to see what you’ve all been making!
[inlinkz_linkup id=762345 mode=1]
Just to remind you, by joining in, you are giving the #CookBlogShare hosts permission to use your pictures in a round up and on social media, if your recipe is selected as one of our favourites!
Pin 4 Fabulous Vegan Recipes for later
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
All that snow! I was starting to get a little cabin fever after of a few days of not being able to get out! I finally took the car out for it’s first spin (not literally thankfully) in a week yesterday! I love looking at before & after images Eb – it’s always so interesting to see the improvements people make over time. Brilliant!
Angela x
Eb Gargano says
‘Spin’ hahaha – thank goodness NOT literally. I hate driving in snow. I’ve had a couple of bad experiences in the past and now I avoid it as much as I can. Luckily everything I need I can get in the village (in our amazingly foodie village shops) and hubby loves driving in the snow, so he can drive if we need to go further afield!! Eb x
Nico @ yumsome says
Isn’t it great to compare our old pics to what we do now? Some of mine I’ve looked at, and shaken my head in despair.. what was I thinking?! Ha ha! Mind you, if you see how rubbish the pics I take in restaurants are, you’d be forgiven for thinking there’s been no improvement!
Congrats on being featured in Champneys – go you!
Thank you so much, not just for featuring my bagels, but for having a dedicated vegan week. Roundups like this really do help to draw attention to the fact that vegan food doesn’t have to be boring, freaky, or faddy.
Now, I’m really hungry! xx
Eb Gargano says
Where are these pics you speak of??? One thing that has always impressed me since you bounced into my consciousness is your beautiful photos…I don’t remember any bad ones!! Oh I know what you mean about restaurant photos…mine always look terrible too. But then if you give me bad lighting and only a smartphone to play with…urrrgh. Thank goodness for filters, eh? A pleasure to have a vegan week – I would do it more often if the right recipes came up at the same time!! Eb x
Nico @ yumsome says
Oh, Eb you are far too kind… I could show you some utterly tragic photos from when I first began blogging! LOL! xx
Mandy says
Thanks SO much for including my spanakopita Eb. It’s the perfect recipe for spring actually – now that the horrendous weather last week has gone away again! I am dreaming of making those chocolate hazelnut cupcakes too.
Eb Gargano says
A pleasure Mandy…it’s a fab recipe! Yes it really does feel like the weather has ‘done’ winter now…with one last all singing all dancing finale!! Spring is finally here #famouslastwords Eb x
Patrick@looneyforfood.com says
Thanks for hosting! The weather were I live was a little crazy last week as well with a crazy wind storm and snow. I love your updated pictures, they are all beautiful! Have a great rest of the week.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Patrick. Sounds crazy!! I think we got off pretty lightly down here in the South East!! Eb 🙂
Monika Dabrowski says
Oh, why didn’t I make my vegan dessert sooner:) Great roundup! Just wondering, when you reshoot your old recipes, do you just swap the photos in the old blog post repost the old recipes too?
Eb Gargano says
Hahaha – yes that often happens to me too. When I update, I change the photos in the old post, and sometimes the text too. I check the recipe is correct and clear, but I never change the recipe substantively (I am well aware it could be someone’s favourite recipe and they wouldn’t thank me for chaging it!) And I check all the formatting is how I currently like it, make a new pin and usually check the links too and then just hit update. I don’t change the publish date, as I like to keep my recipes in the order they were published originally…and if you republish it makes the dates in the comments look weird. Plus I don’t see any advantage in it. All my posts are undated so unless you know my site very well or view by month, it’s not obvious when they were first published. I do reshare it on social media, Pinterest and linkies though. Which really helps give the new look recipe a boost. Eb x
Corina Blum says
Thanks so much for featuring my chilli Eb! It really is delicious and I am so tempted by the other picks too. I am also slowly going through my recipes and adding the nutritional information – It does take so much time but I’m also hoping it’ll be worth it in the end. I love the fact that you’re showing some of your old picture for comparison. I have some really terrible ones hidden away on my blog and although I’m trying to update them it takes a lot of time. The snow didn’t help last week as Master Spice missed a morning of pre-school and that was going to be my updating day!
Eb Gargano says
A pleasure Corina. I feel your pain…it’s such a long job…but so, so worth it in the end!! Eb x
Donna says
Your photos are so good! This is something I really need to work on this year! Practice is needed I think!
Eb Gargano says
Aw thanks Donna…I really recommend getting the Food Photography book written by Nagi on recipetineats.com It is brilliant!! And getting your hands on a decent camera, if you haven’t already. It made all the difference for me. I just have an entry level DSLR but it was several steps up from the point and shoot I was using before. Eb x
Jessica says
I can vouch and say that Corina’s veggie chilli is SO good! I had it for dinner last night 🙂 That’s great that you’ve managed to get onto Mediavene.. I can’t wait to be able to use them instead of AdSense! x
Eb Gargano says
Oooh yay…it sounded really good. Very much my kind of thing. I was so pleased when I finally got to be able to have Mediavine ads…and then a whole bunch of things got in the way that meant I didn’t implement them for months after that. Seriously kicking myself now…especially as the process was so easy. Mediavine are a really good company. They look after you so well…and they pay well, which is also nice!! Eb x
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
These 4 vegan recipes are anything but boring. Great choice for a round up.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Jacqui 🙂
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food says
Thanks for the great roundup and linky, Eb! These recipes are pure genius, particularly Nico’s smoked “lox”. These all look so wonderful: I’m continually impressed at how clever veganized meals and treats are! Although I would never be able to convince my family to go vegan, these strategies are PERFECT for the Meatless Monday meals I’ve introduced over the last year.
Eb Gargano says
A pleasure – yes isn’t Nico’s recipe clever? Good luck with Meatless Monday 😀 Eb x
Cat | Curly's Cooking says
Thank you for including my cupcakes in your roundup. I’m quite new to vegan baking but am loving it – especially vegan buttercream!
Your old photos that you are updated are still far better than my first photos! Mine truly are shocking!x
Eb Gargano says
A pleasure Cat – they look so good! I’m sure your old photos really can’t be any worse than mine…mine are shocking!! Eb x
Choclette says
I’m so impressed with your dedication. I’d love to redo all my recipe, most of them aren’t even on a recipe card. But I’ve over 1,000 and goodness knows how long that would take me.
Recipes all look delicious.
Eb Gargano says
Haha – not sure if it’s dedication or madness!! …but I am determined to get them all looking reasonable at the very least! I think I probably wouldn’t bother if I had 1000…though it is very good for SEO. And also it makes me sad that there are really good recipes on my site that aren’t getting any love because the photos are bad. Eb x
Jo Allison / Jo's Kitchen Larder says
Vegan food has come a long way and your round up definitely proves it! All 4 recipes are fabulous and I wouldn’t think twice before devouring them 🙂 Congrats on your Champneys feature too! x
Eb Gargano says
Oh definitely! I remember when getting decent vegetarian food was difficult, let alone vegan food!! Eb x
Sadhna Grover says
Four vegan recipes are really fabulous, I bookmarked the vegan lentil chili with black bean to try soon. Thanks for hosting.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Sadhna – it looks amazing doesn’t it?? Eb 🙂
Marilyn Lesniak says
Thank you for hosting such a fun party each week. I think parties are the best social media strategy around!! I linked my Irish Soda Bread, St Paddy’s Collection and BBQ Beef Brisket Shepherds Pie for the Crock Pot. I hope you enjoy them. Have a happy week! #OverTheMoon #WWBlogHop #ThursdayFavoriteThings
Eb Gargano says
Thanks for joining in! 🙂
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
I have so many old photo to update too – it’s a mammoth task!
Eb Gargano says
Tell me about it…I’ve been doing it all month and I still have loads left – aaaargh!! Eb x
johnrobb says
Thanks for this. Definitely plan on trying it!!