Hello MoFo 2015

So last year Vegan MoFo almost killed me. That - the fact that my computer finally died and so I lost most of the pictures that I needed- and the fact that I wasn't well. 

But it was very stressful. 

But so much fun. 

So much fun that I decided to sign up this year as well. And guess what? It's not even the end of the first day- I haven't even written my first post yet- and already it's stressful. Think we couldn't use the water without boiling it and so know I am 4 weeks behind because I wasn't allowed to do any cooking stressful. The best laid plan's of mice and men.... 

So I don't have much time to write (did I mention I was moving out and starting uni halfway through this?) nor do I have much time for editing photos (read none). And I'm burning oat milk on the stove. 

Now I have saved the oat milk- I'll begin. (Are you sitting comfortably?) 

So- Vegan MoFo is when bloggers (and Instagramers and Twitteres and Facebookers) all over the world spend one month (September) blogging all that they can in one month about vegan food. It's intense. 

This month- due to more bloggers using sites such as Instagram, they've changed it up a bit. MoFo is happening across all platforms- and instead of each blogger choosing their theme for the month- there is a universal theme for each day- so each participant is on the same page. 

And although I'm not vegan - I eat a lot of vegan food and I am going to have a lot of fun participating (when it's not stressful). So everything on this blog is going to be vegan for the next month.... (my parent's would say that there isn't much of a change...) 

So today's prompt is "Rise and Shine! It's MoFo time! Tell us about your breakfast!" 

Which should be simple enough - right? But is this my breakfast today.... or my usual breakfast. I mean... do I even have a usual breakfast. I mean - the only answer I can give to that one is that it's basically anything but toast.

So I decided to create my own 'spin' on the theme (that's totally allowed- right?) and based it upon .... Breakfast in the Chalet School books. As I said earlier today... I'm obsessed.

So.... The place to start with the Chalet School in terms of breakfast? Hot milk or hot milky coffee. It's something that seems to appear in practically all meals in the series, weather you like it or not.  Including breakfast. So it seems like a good place to start.

I've found that oat milk seems to heat up the best- and so if I have a choice- that's what I'll use for hot milk. It also works with almond and soy milk- but if I have a choice that's what I use (and so that's why Mom's not happy with me because I have a carton of oat and one of almond open at the moment!)

Another thing is that I don't like coffee. Kind of. I like the taste of coffee- but it's always to strong for me now- no matter how week it's made. So I cheated. Instead of making milky coffee- I made coffee flavored hot milk. I know it's not the best way to do things- but.... It tasted nice.

Okay - it must be a really big mug!! 

Hot Milk
Serves 1

• 1 cup of milk (preferably oat for me- but use your favorite!) 
• Optional: 1/4 of a teaspoon of coffee flavoring (this may need to be adjusted depending on how strong your flavouring is- maybe start with 1/8 of a teaspoon and increase slowly if you think yours is a strong flavoring)

• In a small pan (or the microwave) heat the milk until it is bubbling but not boiling. 
• Transfer to your favorite mug (it should be one that's nice to cradle in a way that gently warms your hands and makes you feel all cosy inside- even if it's summer!) 
• I used a mini milk frother because I've found that if I use it - it stops the milk from developing a skin while I drink it. It's only £1, very small and I've found it very useful. Even more so if it wasn't kept on a high shelf that I couldn't reach!!!! 
• If you're going to add the coffee flavoring- add this before you whisk it. If you don't have a milk frother use a normal whisk to make sure that your flavouring is mixed in evenly. 
• Take the time to enjoy your drink. It's worth it. 

The Chalet School

So this summer I have been obsessed with a series of books called the Chalet School books by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer. 

I've been borrowing the books from the library (and have bought one of my own!!) and they are VERY addictive. At least if you are me. And the people all over the internet who are also obsessed. 

They're a kind of school story. A bit like St Claire's and Malory Towers- except a bit more 'grown up'. Not necessarily because they contain things people know would associate with being a bit more 'grown up',  but they can be a bit more 'life like'. When people get ill.... they don't always get better. 

The book starts of being set in Austria- on the Tirol. It's an English school (originally) but Madge (the headmistress) chose to start the school there due to the fact that, as well as being cheaper, she thought the climate and atmosphere would do her younger sister, Joey, some good. For a time the school moves to the Chanel Islands, then to Wales, and finally to Switzerland. At some point (I REALLY want to read about when if anybody can tell me which book it is) the school becomes trilingual. Having a day each for French, German and English. Sunday is reserved for 'whichever tongue wanted' - which can mean Italian, some Scandinavian languages, Belsornian, Russian, Spanish.... Which is basically... write up my street. A trilingual school? Why couldn't I go? 

An abnormal number of adventures happen in the stories- I guess if there weren't then the books wouldn't have been half as interesting. But expect a lot of fun (and not so fun) adventures. 

Also -this is possibly the only school I know were skiing and tobogganing (coasting) are positively on the curriculum. You may do either- but you must do one! 

The books were written between 1925 and 1970- and you could definitely say that they are 'of there time' in places. Towards the end of the series they may even of been bordering on slightly old fashioned- I don't know. I wasn't around then.

This enormous time span is quite fun- you get to see the children of old girls come and have adventures at the school themselves. Joey has triplets. And Len, Con and Margot all have their fair share of adventures. Madge's girls all come as well. It's... it has a strange sort of appealing atmosphere- were the girls out of hours will quite often call the mistresses "aunt" because as well as being their history teacher- they are also their Godmother. 

Also - interestingly compared to the Malory Towers and St Clare's I read when I was younger - Brent-Dyer chose to 'keep the books real' by implementing what was happening at the time into the books. This means that when war came for her readers- war came to Joey, Madge and the Robin (Joey's adopted sister). This may be because- as the school was set in Austria- Brent-Dyer, unlike Blyton, would have struggled to ignore it. After Austria became a Nazi country - it would not have been in keeping with the 'war spirit' to read about a school happily enjoying life in 'enemy territory'.

This meant that the school had to move. Of course (and in keeping with the many drama's and catastrophes that happened over the course of the Chalet School) this could not be done quietly. Which make's 'The Chalet School in Exile' possibly the least favorite of the titles that I've read. Not because it's not the best. In terms of quality- I'd definitely rank it higher than some of the later titles- but because it's slightly too..... real. It's..... a bit like 'The Sound of Music'. But without the singing to make it alright. There are many not so pleasant run in's with Nazi soldiers. People are threatened. People go missing. People are put into Concentration Camps. People die. A group has to flee the country in secret and smuggle themselves across the border. The school is forced to close- it looses many students because the government won't let them go to a English run school- and more because parent's don't feel it's safe for their children to remain there. Which it isn't.

When the school re-opens in Guernsey they still aren't safe from Nazi spies. But when a pupil is found out to be a German sent to retrieve information- the school's first thought is 'the poor thing'. They don't blame her- that is one thing that everyone is very clear on. In the books I've read that take place in 'the War years' - the school and it's pupils make a big thing of making sure that everyone appreciates that the German's aren't the enemy. The Austrians aren't the enemy. It's the Nazi's who are the enemy. They pray for their friends who are not with them - both those who are native German's and Austrians who are now under the Nazi regime, and those who have died because of it.

And when the war's over- there is a great effort to meet up with old friends. In some cases it just isn't possible. But the members of the Chalet School seem to have a great skill for finding each other again, apparently the tight knit community of the Chalet School lasts well into adulthood.

There are over 50 Chalet School titles... but I definitely prefer the earlier one's than the later. I don't know... I still love the later ones, but the earlier ones are the ones that I prefer. Maybe it's just because I prefer the setting- or that it's because as a smaller school at that time- they are a more tight knit community. 

One thing I do like about the books though- is that you get to see what the Chalet School made the girls into- you get to see the girls when they are grown up, and have careers and families. Sometimes thais get's a bit annoying (you are reading a school story- sometime it would be good if there were a bit more of the actual exploits of the school girls in there) but as a general rule- it's nice. 

There are still plenty of school girl tricks, plenty of prefects and head girls and school rivalries (although not so many as they are often quite a way away from the nearest school), plenty of shows, plenty of exams. There are fines for speaking the wrong language, fines for slang (and they are big on not using slang) and fines for getting splashes on the table cloth. And if you don't like traditional folk dancing..... what's wrong with you? 

The other thing that is big in the Chalet School is the Girlguiding movement. There are several Guide units, and Rangers and Brownies as well. Which basically just makes the books the best ever to me. Because Guides makes everything the best. Almost all the girls are involved in one way or another- and the Guiding is quite deeply ingrained in school life... it's a big part of who a lot of the girls are- and sometimes whole weekends are reserved for Guiding activities- when visitors come they are more likely to show off what they have learnt in Guides as opposed to what they have learnt in lessons, and they actually use a lot of what they learnt in Guides and Brownies- especially first aid and tracking symbols. 

Overall- I really like these books, and I could probably go on all day about how great they are- but I have other things to write and you have other things to read. So I'll stop know- but if you ever have a chance to read one- they're really cool. 

Vegan Overnight Oats

Okay- this is a totally 4th of July inspired post. 

It has nothing- and I mean ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the fact I was watching Captain America. 

Nothing WHATSOEVER!

This is totally 4th of July inspired. 

Happy 4th of July to those who are celebrating by the way! 

Okay- so this is very regularly my breakfast. Even more so now I just bought a 16oz jar of Chia Seeds. Cause that's totally something 'normal' people do. 

They're called overnight oats. I have the vegan version- cause.... I just do. 

Essentially- it's a mixture of oats, milk (I usually use almond, sometimes I have oat or coconut) and chia seeds. You combine the ingredients, cover, and leave overnight in the fridge. You wake up in the morning (although if you decide to have a midnight snack I'm sure they would be good then too) and you have a really yummy breakfast.

Chia seeds are one of the wonder foods going around at the minute- but I can't tell you exactly what their wonders are because everyone disagrees slightly. But they all agree that they pack a BIG nutritional punch- and some say that they are one of the only sources of all the amino acids in one go. Basically- they are a little seed- usually black but can also be white (and there is no difference between the colors apart from aesthetics) that can do wonderful things. They absorb liquid- like a lot of liquid. Different people claim different things- anywhere between 8 and 20 times their weight in liquid- but however much it is (and I'm sorry that the Internet failed me this time) ... it's still impressive. And as they absorb liquid like that, they are very good at turning a mixture of oats and milk into a yummy breakfast. If you want to know more about chia seeds- just Google it. There is loads and loads of stuff about them on the Internet. Chia seeds are pretty expensive- however you only use a little bit at a time, so it's not that bad per breakfast- and if you shop around you can usually find some at an okay price (surprisingly, try Waitrose or the Internet).

Okay.... you are going to have to use you're imaginations here guys- cause there is only one way I can think of to describe overnight oats, and to be honest- it sounds like something that's come from a Dicken's novel. So... use you're imagination cause it's actually really good....

Possibly the best way to describe is to say it's like cold porridge. 

There you go- I told you it sound's like it came straight out of a Dicken's novel. You thinking of Oliver Twist right now? Please don't. It's not that bad. To be honest- it's more like a cross between cold porridge and muesli. Does that make it any better? Maybe you could think of it like Bircher Muesli without the apple. There- that better? 

Okay- possibly not. But the best thing about overnight oats? The add ins and the toppings. Cause you can go crazy. Like, real real crazy. We're talking about uber amazingly absolutely crazy. Which trust me, is really fun. I bet anyone they could have overnight oats every day for the rest of their life- and never have a repeat combination. I mean - you can seriously- do anything!!!!!

Except today I went with the really plain (okay slightly boring) overnight oats so that you could see how simple they are at their best.

Cause really - they are simple. I mean- real simple. Add oats and chia seeds- shake- add milk- leave overnight in the fridge- eat. We're talking that simple.

No time in the morning to make breakfast? This is the answer- all you need to do is take the lid of your container.

Too hot to want to turn on the stove top? No cooking required.

Just looking for a really yummy breakfast that is really customisable? Overnight oats are the answer.

Okay- so bear in mind that this is overnight oats at their very bare bones- and because of that mine are a bit runny (they'd be thicker if I had lots of add in's like I normally do) so they do NORMALLY look thicker.

And this recipe is a guide- it's how I like my overnight oats- but you may wanna play around with it till you find what's best for you. Want less- scale it down (try 1/4 cup of oats and 2/3 cup milk). Want more- scale it up (try 1/2 cup oats, 1 cup of milk and then add a splash for luck). Too runny/too thick- adjust the milk- add more/less by a couple of Tablespoons.

Also- yeah- I didn't leave it plain cause I had a load of fresh berries in my fridge..... and I like berries.

Vegan Overnight Oats

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1 cup milk
• 1 Tablespoon of chia seeds
• Add in's (literally whatever you want)
• 
  

Method

• Combine oats and chia seeds in a lidded container.

• I find the easiest way to combine them is to put the lid on and give them a really good shake - and trust me- you want to combine them cause otherwise you get these strings of chia seeds and they can freak you out a bit if you're not used to chia seeds. 

• Add the milk- and give it a good shake again (you're gonna have to take the lid OFF to add the milk and then put it ON again to shake)
•  
• If you're using add ins (and you should- cause there are a lot of yummy things in this world to add in) - add any dry ones in AFTER you have shaken the oats and chia seeds together but BEFORE you add the milk. Add any wet ones (including things like fresh fruit) in AFTER you add the milk but BEFORE you shake it again. 
• Place in the fridge overnight- or at the very least a few hours. 
• When you're ready to eat it take it out of the fridge- if it's too thick you can stir in a bit more milk- it it's too thin it's harder to solve- but you can add more chia seeds and wait 10 minutes for it to thicken up a bit. 
• 

• If you want to add any topping- feel free- nothing's stopping you!
• Enjoy (and if you don't- try it again. You'll love it once you get the fact that it's cold porridge out of your head!) 

Nothing, what so ever, to do with Captain America guys!!!!

You Don't Bring Desert to a Barbecue

Apparently- you don't bring desert to a barbecue. 

Trust me- if you turn up to a 4th of July Barbecue with disposable pie dishes covered in tin foil- you will get told that you don't bring desert to a barbecue. 

This. Is possibly. Not the best. Time. To tell someone this. 

Ya know- with the them just having turned up with dessert and all. 

I mean- at least they haven't brought a melon for once (cause that's what my parents usually and infamously did) (and at least they had a different reason for turning up late). 

But it's okay- this was dessert that went on the barbecue (cause what else do you take to a barbecue? Apart from a melon- and why would you do that cause you only then have to cut it up at the hosts house and then isn't that a pain?) 

And FYI- desert that goes on a barbecue goes down very well. The three trays we bought weren't enough. 

And it was MY plan to take desert to a barbecue- ha ha ha!!!

So I thought I'd recreate those tinfoil pie dishes.

The original dishes were chopped fruit coated in butter, sugar and cinnamon- with a lot of emphasis on canned peaches (that was obviously what we had in).

This time tho- I didn't want to make dessert.

Because you don't bring dessert to a barbecue.

Veggie-dog Barbecued Peach Relish

Makes Enough for 8 Veggie-dogs

1 can of Peaches

1/2 a small Red Onion

Marinade

2 T Sriracha (or other hot chili sauce)

1 T Soya Sauce/Tamari

1/2 t Dijon Mustard

1 T chopped Jalapenos

Directions

Chop the canned peaches into bite sized pieces. 

Whisk together the first 3 marinade ingredients till well combined- then stir in the chopped jalapenos. 

Chop the red onion into a fine dice.

For Barbecue Method: 

Combine the peaches, onion and marinade in a disposable pie dish, cover with tinfoil and place on the barbecue until caramelized slightly and 'piping hot'. 

For Grill/Broiling Method:

Combine the peaches, onion and marinade in a ovenproof dish, and place under the grill/broiler on high for half an hour. 

Best served hot- although delicious cold with leftover sliced veggie dogs the next day.