The hardest thing about being vegan....

The hardest thing about becoming a vegan is not giving up meat or animal products, it is finding a good place to eat out with friends. 

None of my friends are vegan so it can be a real struggle at times. A few will try vegan places with me but others are total meat eaters and would freak if I told them I was taking them somewhere where ribs would not be a staple on the menu. 

My advice for my fellow vegans who struggle with this is to do your research! A lot of places have vegetarian options on the menu that can be adapted to be vegan for example salads with cheeses or veggie burgers with cheese. And if all else fails, chips are always a winner! Restaurants are usually very accommodating to any changes you make to the menu so don't be afraid to ask, after all if you had a nut allergy or were lactose intolerant, you would make damn sure there was no peanuts or cheese in your food. 

Be careful with some menus though as I have noticed quite a few restaurants will say that have veggie/vegan food but then state on the menu they have no designated place in the kitchen to prepare this food. Does that really make it veggie/vegan then?! That is a little bit of a grey area. 

In this world we are never going to get away from meat and animal products, all we can hope to do is reduce the amount that is consumed. So if my food is cooked on the same surface as meat does that make it non vegan? I am sure some die hard vegans would say that it doesn't but to be able to still enjoy a social life, I have decided that for me, as long as the actual food I am eating does not contain meat or animal products then that is good enough for me. 

I would be so grateful for your thoughts on this and any helpful tips you have for eating out with vegan and non vegan friends. 

Vegan Lasagne

I am a great lover of food you can make lots of and freeze because some days when I come home from work I really cannot be bothered to stand in front of the cooker and make food. Lasagne is one of those dishes. Make it in a large tin, eat some and then have enough left for 2 or 3 more meals. It also keeps for quite a while in the freezer to meaning if you make loads, you don't have to eat it for the next 3 weeks solid to use it up! 

Ingredients

500g of button mushrooms (sliced)

1 onion (chopped)

1 clove of garlic 

1 tin of chopped tomatoes 

2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar 

100g of vegan butter

100g of plain flour

1/2 pint of soya milk

vegan cheese to grate 

Lasagne sheets

Method

1. Pre heat the oven to 160c (fan).

2. Add a splash of oil into a large pan (I use a wok because of the amount of mushrooms) and add the chopped onion and pressed garlic. Allow these to cook until they start to brown (approximately 5 minutes). Next add the sliced mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are soft. 

3. To the mushroom mixture add the tin of chopped tomatoes and dark brown sugar. Allow this to simmer until the tomato sauce has reduced. (if it doesn't, simply add a tablespoon of cornflour to thicken). If the mixture is to wet, your lasagne will be soggy. 

4. In a saucepan melt the butter and then add flour. Mix continually until combined. Next add in small amounts of the milk, do not add it all in one go because this will stop the natural thickening of the roux. Once all the milk is combined, take off the heat. 

5. For my lasagne, I used a 9cm by 9cm deep tin (like one you would use to make brownies). Add a layer of the mushroom mix followed by lasagne sheets. Add a layer of your béchamel sauce and then a layer of cheese. Continue this layering until you have used all of the mixtures. I usually tend to get two layers. 

6. Cook in the oven for approximately 40 to 45 minutes. If your cheese begins to brown cover the tin with foil. 

This dish is really great because you can make it in the morning and then simply cook it in the evening or make the day before etc (just pop it in the fridge). 

Like I said, I make this dish to freeze because it is so simple and easy.