A sweet vegan treat from Waitrose.

Waitrose has a vegan list.
I found on it, Iced Belgian Buns. Wow! Just had to try them.  2 for £1, very reasonable!
Checked the ingredients on the pack, just incase they had made a mistake - nothing to worry about.
Fabulous to have a shop bought iced bun with a cup of tea. Sweet and satisfying. Lots of currants  and a very sweet icing topping, with a glace cherry. Perfect. A big thank you to Waitrose!
next I want to try their vegan iced finger  buns.



The section of 'Morning goods' from the Waitrose Vegan list:


MORNING GOODS 57225 6 Hot Cross Buns 6s Essential Waitrose
76961 6 Fruited Teacakes 6s Essential Waitrose
82910 6 Iced finger buns 6s Essential Waitrose
89978 2 Iced Belgian buns 2s Essential Waitrose
489018 5 Plain Bagels 5s Essential Waitrose
495729 5 Sesame Seed Bagel 5s Essential Waitrose
637059 Organic Multi-grain Bagels (5 Pack) 5s Organic
758616 5 Cinnamon, Raisin & Apple Bagels 5s Essential Waitrose
793301 10 Mini Plain Bagels 10s Essential Waitrose

The most relaxing and refreshing weekend.

I recently participated in a weekend Meditation retreat at Fairfield House.
The house is situated in Williton, near Minehead, and a nice drive through country roads to get there (A39). As the evening was drawing in, it was dark, so I wish I'd have left earlier, as it's a bit daunting going somewhere new, in the dark! I made sure I left early enough to appreciate the scenery on the way home!

Upon arrival I was shown my room, a very comfortable, clean room, over looking the back of the house.
there was an introduction, followed by supper. the house is vegetarian, but the host, Shruti, provided delicious vegan food for me. Throughout the weekend we were provided with wholesome tasty food, that was very nutritious and satisfying.

The weekend was full of meditation techniques and practices that were both invigorating, and relaxing. There was so much more to meditation,  than I could ever have imagined. I particularly enjoyed the gibberish technique, the laughter therapy and the free form dancing.
There is a hot tub in the garden, and a sauna in the house, which was a welcome treat on Saturday night.
The meditation room was delightful. A large room, tastefully furnished/decorated, and very soulful, for a truly     amazing weekend. As the weekend progressed, I could feel the stress and tension, draining away from me. I could not have chosen a better venue or host to help me regain a sense of 'self'. Shruti was a welcoming host, and very encouraging to the participants on the retreat. I felt I had been in the company of someone who has an amazing spirit, something that doesn't happen very often.
There were tears, there was laughter, there were chants and silence. There was everything I could have wished for on my perfect weekend retreat. Since returning, I have joined 5rhythyms dancing, taken a yoga course, and have enrolled in a stress management course, all thanks to the wonderful experience I had at this amazing place, which not only de-stressed me, but gave me enthusiasm to help myself to relax and let go of stress. I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

My favourite bread recipe

Recipe using a bread machine.

Ingredients:
500g flour- made up of 250g wholemeal bread flour, 125g Rye flour and 125g Einkorn flour.
25g margarine- I use any vegan margarine that is in my fridge.
1tsp salt
1tsp sugar
1.5 tsp dried yeast
25g mixed seeds, I like to use a mix of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds, sesame seeds and a few pine nuts, however any combination can produce a tasty mix, try linseed, or chopped nuts or hemp seeds, or may be add raisins or chopped dates for a sweeter bread.
350ml water

Put the water into the bread machine first (unless your bread machine says otherwise).
Then add the flour, covering the water. I find that the above flour mix makes a condense satisfying wholesome bread.
Make a well in the middle of the bread, but don't go as deep as to reach the water.
Put the dried yeast into the well.
Put half the seed mix in one corner and the other half in the opposite corner of the machine.
Put the margarine in one of the remaining corners.
Put the sugar in the remaining corner, and the salt alongside one of the seed mix corners.

Set the bread machine to bake a medium loaf, with a light crust, my bread machine takes 3.5 hours to complete, and can be set to start up to ten hours ahead, so making it possible to wake to the smell of freshly baked bread- wonderful. On my machine, I use setting 3, which is for a basic wholemeal loaf.
I have found that the flour mix and seed mix makes a very tasty, textured bread.

Treat yourself.

My latest fabulously sweet chocolate discovery, suitable for vegans, are these delicious Dairy Free Chocolate Covered Raisins. Can be found in good health food shops, and ordered online from various places (which come up in a google search), including the Viva shop. 

They taste luscious. they are just the right amount of sweetness, and chocolateness, and they texture is soft. They are the perfect sweet fix. A bit pricey at approx £1.79 but worth every penny, and a fabulous treat for vegans and chocolate lovers everywhere.