Eco Veggie Fayre and other stuff

Our summer bookings are shaping up and the next one is a biggie. The Bristol Eco Veggie Fayre, on 29-30th May 2010 is the re-branded Vegan Fayre which will now more family focused and include more ethical and ecological talks and displays. We will have our unit in the main arena and will be serving an all Vegan Middle Eastern themed menu including Mezze platters as well as our ever popular Berber Sauce and couscous.

On another note our Website is finally live. Its very much a work in progress and I can't believe it has taken a year to get it off the ground. These things always seem simple from afar. Needs more photo's for sure. Might get a nice new shiny camera on my insurance. We'll see.

Trinity Garden Party

We had a successful weekend at the Trinity Garden Party. There was music, workshops, stalls, food and drink to be had. The weather had initially looked pretty awful, but the rain stayed away and we even had some sunshine as the day got on. I have to say the music was awesome this year, so we were bopping away as we sold our stuff. The veggie hotdogs once again proved a popular choice. Thanks to Jan. Liz and all the Trinity crew for helping out.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos as I was mugged on my way home and had my camera nicked. A very strange set of photo's they will find including stylised above-mentioned hot dog!

On a positive note, the cafe looked as fab as the food so we took some nice pics.

Trinity Cafe Mark II

Well it was our second outing at the Trinity Centre. I got very excited and baked up some wonderful muffins and quiches. Delectable as they were, the sun was shining bright and a lot of punters . . . stayed away :(

Our next outing at the Trinity will be their annual Garden Party which takes place on Sunday May 9th from midday until 9pm. Its completely FREE and includes outdoor music, amazing food from ourselves and others as well as workshops and stalls. All in aid of fund-raising for the fabulous work done at the community centre for the year ahead. So come along, buy some food and drinks and (hopefully) enjoy the sunshine!

* 5 Stars*

We finally had the paperwork back from our first environmental inspection from Bristol City Council and we have been awarded 5 stars (that's top marks folks!). Yay, that's worth shouting from the rooftops. Especially as the food safety inspector said they didn't award 5 stars to new businesses to keep us on our toes.
I just need to sort out the website now.

Love Food Festival

Visited the Love Food Festival yesterday afternoon in Temple Meads for a look around and to catch some tasty bites.
Met some lovely girls at a stall called Veganic selling raw and healthy food which was vegan and delicious. Also bought a delectable cake from Crumpet - I think they won top prize for presentation. There was a good selection of different stall holders, a great alternative to Sunday dinner to catch a range of tasty nibbles, I think we would definitely be up for doing this next year.

Very Rich Organic Chocolate Brownies

This recipe I baked for the event last Sunday, the Sport Relief sponsored mile run. It was adapted from a recipe by Nigel Slater, however I realised that the chocolate I had bought was not rich enough, being only 53% cocoa solids. Out came a jar of delicious vegan Organic Fairtrade Dark Chocolate Spread by Essential Trading Co-op and I adjusted the other ingredients accordingly. The results were delectable and very moreish!

I used a food processor with beater attachment to make this but a hand held electric whisk is just as good. Unless you are very patient, I find using a wooden spoon just means cutting corners and I don't beat it for long enough. You can make this with dairy free margarine for a completely dairy free recipe, but remember it does contain eggs so isn't vegan.

Here's the recipe...

300g organic golden caster sugar
250g organic butter or dairy free margarine
250g organic dark chocolate
1 (600g) jar Essential Dark Chocolate Spread
4 large organic eggs plus 1 extra egg yolk
80g organic self raising flour
80g finest quality cocoa powder

1. Grease and line two Swiss Roll trays (20cm x 30cm) and preheat the oven to 180 c. (Gas mark 4, 170 c for fan assisted ovens)
2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the chocolate spread and continue to beat in until creamy.
3. Meanwhile break up 200g of the chocolate and put in a bowl standing over a pan of very gently simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water underneath. When it is melted, take off the heat and put to one side. Take the remaining 50g chocolate and cut up into small choc drop sizer chunks.
   
4. In a separate bowl, sieve the flour and cocoa together.
   
5. Beak the eggs into a jug and lightly whisk with a fork. Add the beaten egg to the butter and sugar mixture a little at a time and continue whisking between each addition.
6. Now, removing the bowl from the processor, use a large metal spoon to carefully fold in the melted chocolate, chopped chocolate and then the flour and cocoa mix.
7. Pour it into the trays, smooth over and cook for 25-30 minutes. It will still be a little soft (but not runny) in the middle. Leave to cool and cut into squares. Makes 24 servings. Enjoy!

This will be available at our next outing at the Trinity Centre Cafe next time we are running it.

Our first spring outdoor event.

The Sport Relief Mile at College Green in Bristol on Sunday 21st March was a great success. Lots of enthusiastic runners, supporters and spectators were out in force raising money for Sport Relief. We chose a simple menu of homemade cakes and filled pitta's, and our healthy food went down a treat. We found that most people just wanted a quick cuppa and nibble.

It was the first outing for our new look trailer too. There are more changes to come- its a work in progress!

My chocolate brownie's were certainly a hit, as was the organic carrot cake. Couldn't have asked for better weather, especially as it has rained all week. The only problem was there wasn't much cake left over at the end of the day for us...

Hmmm...Maltezer Cake.

Trinity Cafe Success

We had our first outing running the in-house Cafe at the Trinity Arts Centre, Bristol on Saturday which was well received. The event was an all-dayer celebrating Free Parties and exploring the creeping corporatisation of festivals within the UK.
But anyway, onto the food... We went full out to produce as much baking from organic sources as possible. The luxury chocolate cake was certainly a hit, as were the goats cheese and red onion tarts. Lots of enthusiasm especially from the Trinity Arts Committee members so thanks out to them.