How to Make Your Own Vegan French Food
Learning to cook your own food is empowering, as you no longer have to rely on expensive plastic-wrapped ready-meals and takeaways. Master your favourite cuisines at home. Then every night is restaurant night!
The Two Spoons Cookbook is a super book by a Canadian who lived and cooked in France for several years. She went vegan in her early 20s after losing a loved one to cancer, and also struggling with severe IBS.
Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets (many foods are unsafe near animal friends). Just bin allium scraps (onion, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives) as like tomato/citrus/rhubarb scraps, acids could harm compost creatures.
For tinned ingredients, pop lids inside cans (or pop ring-pulls back over holes) to avoid wildlife getting trapped).
The book offers a show-stopping blend of over 100 dishes including:
- Baked ‘Brie’
- Classic Flaky Croissants
- Buttery Brioche
- Herb Garlic Cheese
- Mushroom Bourguignon with Buttery Mash
- Summer Rainbow Ratatouille
- Pear Tarte Tatin
- Sweet Cherry Frangipane Tart
Hannah Sunderani is a self-taught cook and mother of two, who has mastered how to make simple plant-based meals to feed families quickly, especially those with a French flair! All her recipes are carefully crafted and thoroughly-tested.
Make Your Own (vegan) Garlic Bread
Vegan Garlic Bread (The Veg Space) is a nice treat, crusty white baguettes dripping with garlic vegan butter.
Garlic can increase bleeding, so check medication if you have any medical conditions or are due for surgery.
Garlic is one of England’s favourite vegetables, although it has more of a Mediterranean history (it does however grow in England, including on the Isle of Wight, where there is a famous garlic farm).
Garlic first arrived in England back in 1548, and was used to treat skin disease, cholera and even helped soldiers during the 1918 influenza epidemic. It fell out of favour until Victorian times, when people discovered French food.
How to Buy & Store Garlic
Soft-neck garlic is most common (elephant garlic is less strong – a type of leek).
Fortunately, garlic is one of the vegetables in supermarkets that often is not in plastic packaging, so try to buy it loose. Or visit a farm shop to buy organic garlic.
Farm shops are also more likely to sell wild garlic, which is milder in taste and delicious with pasta.
How to Prepare & Cook Garlic
Store fresh garlic in a cool dry place (not the fridge). You can chop garlic with a knife or if you’re not a natural chef, a good garlic press is a tool to last a lifetime.
How to Mince Garlic with a Knife
- First of all, invest in a good knife, that’s half the battle over!
- Once you’ve removed the skin and separated the garlic bulb into cloves, just hold the tip of your knife in one hand, and use the other to ‘rock’ the blade back and forth.
- If you prefer minced garlic, it’s best to use a garlic press (unless you’re a professional chef).
Garlic bread – it’s the future. I’ve tasted it. Brian Potter, Phoenix Nights
