A review of my Etsy purchases.

I am going to do reviews of my Etsy purchases, so that I can share the delights that I find.
My first review is an Etsy Shop called Karramandi
http://karramandi.etsy.com/

I came across this seller through one of my Etsy teams Etsyveg . http://etsyveg.blogspot.com/
Our team has posts on google and Yvonne from Karramandi introduced herself there, so I took a look at her shop. It is a wonderful Etsy shop, filled with vegan friendly soaps, creams and lotions among other luscious items. The seller is UK based, the same as me, so it cuts down on my carbon footprint if I buy 'local'. Yet another good reason to treat myself :)
After pondering which of the lovely sounding items I should buy, I decided on
Rose Otto and Frankincense Face and Body Cream
and Grapefruit, Ginger and Lime Shea Butter Soap.

The delivery time was quick, and the parcel arrived safe and neatly boxed.
As I opened the parcel, I could smell the wonderful scents arising from the packaging.
Firstly I opened the Rose Otto and Frankincense Face and Body Cream. It smelled divine. I had to try it immediately. The cream was light and delicate. I put a small amount on my hand and my skin devoured it with pleasure. It was easily absorbed, and left my skin feeling soft and lightly scented. I have since used it on my face, just before bedtime, and in the morning my face is very soft and feels wonderful. The consistency is just right, the aroma is perfect. I will probably use this cream on my face more than my hands, as it's such a wonderful find to have a face cream that actually doesn't leave a greasy face, yet still moisturises really well.

The Grapefruit, Ginger and Lime Shea Butter Soap, was beautifully presented. I could smell the fresh scent of lime as i opened the packaging. It was delightful. It almost seemed a shame to open the pretty packaging! The soap is delightful to use, and feels creamy on the skin, and leaves it feeling fresh. The smell is wonderful.

I also had a lovely surprise of a sample of Frankincense soap, which again, smells gorgeous, although I haven't tried it yet, I'm sure it will be just as wonderful.
I can truly recommend Karramandi as a fabulous shop for delightful creams and soaps.
http://karramandi.etsy.com/

Well here it is, or rather there it was.......

To my delight, the Co-Op in Pontllanfraith stock these wonderful raspberry iced buns, which are vegan. So of course whenever I'm there, I stock up on them. To my delight, they also had apple lattice slices. How fab is that. probably non vegans see these as everyday accessible products, but being VEGAN, they are not. They are such a treat.

So here is my review of them:

Raspberry iced buns- a delicious sweet , oh yes sweet, fix. White 'bread' or 'dough' or whatever it is called, with a raspberry jam filling, topped with a PINK icing. Junk heaven! delicious! one is never enough - need I say more.........

Apple lattice slice. I like this. Puff pastry, sweet apple filling. Not as sweet as r.i.b. (raspberry iced bun), but very nice with a cup of tea, and again being Vegan, a real treat. probably would have been better re-heated, but hey, i wasn't gonna waste time! Another fabulous vegan delight from the C0-Operative.

http://www.co-operative.coop/food/

both come in multi packs, so as they say 'one is never enough' - don't worry- there's a whole pack!

Vegan Ready Made Meals - no problem at the Co-Operative stores

Today I'm talking about convenience food, not always so convenient if you're vegan. Luckily the Co-op are good at labelling foods as suitable for Vegans, they're also good at labelling other products 'no animal ingredients', so it's fab and easy to shop there.

Today I tried the ready made Orzo Salad. i didn't know what orzo salad was, but it looked nice, and it's not often i find convenience foods that are vegan suitable. a little on the pricey side for my budget (it was £2+), but maybe not everyone would think so? it was colourful, and had small pasta bits that looked like large rice. It contained sundried tomatoes, onions, chives, tomatoes and pepper, and it said spinach, although there was really not much evidence of that. I liked the taste and texture, it was slightly on the vinegar side in places, but i made the mistake of adding a pinch of salt, when all it really needed was to be mix up a bit. an excellent light lunch, and very convenient.

General website and store locator:

http://www.co-operative.coop/ check out if there's one near you!

Orzo salad packed.

Beautiful array of colours.

Vegan Haggis - one answer to the worn out question "what do vegans eat"

I have decided to write reviews of products, this is the first, so a bit of background comes with this post. there will be several categories :- food, products, places, etsy purchases. The food will all be vegan, since I am vegan. the places will have a vegan slant on them, as it'll include places to eat, accommodation, days out and such. And of course products and etsy purchases will all be vegan suitable.

Tonight we tried Vegan Haggis. It took quite a long time to cook, as I do not have a microwave, and the instructions said 45 minutes in the oven. I have never eaten haggis, nor will I (being vegan), but when I saw this in our local health food shop, I thought I'd give it a try.

I would like to point out that i duid not buy it to see what Haggis tasted like, since I have no desire to know. I have been asked why vegans eat thing that imitate meat or animal products such as milk cheese, all I can say to that is, to me, it's just a savoury taste, and in no way do i miss or crave 'the real thing', I enjoy a nut roast as much as a veggie sausage if it is tasty and well made.

I cooked vegetables to go with the haggis, as several internet searches led me to some interesting sites about haggis and Scottish tradition, here are some of the sites i read:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080121190845AAZ1d0v

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haggis

http://haggishunt.scotsman.com/haggisclopedia.cfm?part=9

Very interesting stuff- address the haggis ??????? tatties????????

I think haggis is traditionally eaten with mashed turnips and mashed potatoes. Since i didn't have turmips, and the potatoes were 'new potatoes', I decided just to boil/steam some potatoes and veg, including - runner beans, green beans, carrots, broccoli, courgette, and to saute some mushroms and onions, adding some herb salt and black pepper. I used a quick, sure thing for gray - Bisto, which incidentally the original one is vegan suitable, yay! I also topped the dinner with crushed garlic mixed with a little freshly squeezed lemon juice and olive oil.

The dinner was delicious. the veg and gravy fabulous as usual, as I always say 'nutricious and delicious'. The Haggis was unusual, slightly sweet, grainy (tasting that is, not texture), on it's own, not my kind of thing, but with the veg and gravy it was nice. a bit different at first, but by the end of it, i would say delicious, and I'd certainly have it again.

Check out your local veggie/health food shop and see if they stock it:

The Veggie haggis in it's wrapper, it states 'vegan' on the back!

Makes website: http://www.macsween.co.uk/product-range/cooking-tips/vegetarian-haggis

the veggie haggis out of it's wrapper, ready to cover in tin foil and bake.

The end result was a very tasty satisfying dinner. The veggie haggis broke up a bit in the cutting, but that didn't matter.