Three tried and tested places on Teesside to visit during Veganuary

At the start of a new year, everyone starts to eat a little greener, some even go full vegan for the month that is dubbed, Veganuary. Although I'm far from a Vegan, I've tried some delicious places on Teesside that specialise in fully plant-based cuisine. For anyone trying Veganuary this year, it might be wise to check these places out to try some yummy food and get some ideas to cook up yourself. Although no meat will be dished up at these places, your carnivore friends should definitely visit with you as they won't miss not having it on their plate with the culinary delights they'll be served at these three places.

First on the list is Alkaline Kitchen, a fully vegan health cafe located on Middlesbrough's up-and-coming Albert Street. Opened early last year, the cafe offers innovative food which is oil-free, preservative-free, gluten-free, soy-free and refined sugar-free. I've been on two occasions now and the food is always colourful, full of goodness and delicious. Offering a varied menu from lunch until teatime, everything about the food options is creative and exciting. There is so much goodness on the plate and it all works so well together. If you're looking to try something unlike anything you've had before, this is definitely the place to go.

Next up is The Waiting Room situated in Eaglescliffe right next to the station, not far from Preston Park. I've written about this place before as I've been a few times now and although I haven't been for a while, I'm eager to get back. The Waiting Room is promoted as a vegetarian restaurant, however, the staff here are happy to make most dishes vegan where possible, so vegans will have lots of choices when they visit.

Here you get some fantastic food that feels homemade and cosy. As it is all made with vegetables, everything you eat feels filling and good for you, although some dishes can be quite hearty. What I love about this place is that their menu changes depending on the season, although some dishes such as the enchilada stay year-round. Even from season to season they change up what they offer so often if you go back you probably won't recognise the menu.

Now it's time for dessert with Ellephant Vegan Bakery, a fairly new business established in 2019. Elle and her partner Alex whip up some amazing vegan treats from cupcakes and cookies to pizza rolls and quiche. Now with a unit in Stockton, they sell their products at farmer's markets and events across the region and take orders to collect. Their cakes are literally to die for, so rich and moist. You won't be able to tell they are vegan. 

There are plenty more vegan spots in the area and also places that cater heavily to people on a plant-based diet. With the popularity of this way of eating on the up, I can only see more places offering more delicious vegan grub. Do you have a favourite spot in Teesside for vegan/vegetarian food?

Getting crafty at the Make and Mend Festival

I've always thought of myself as quite a creative person; trying to find the best solution to a problem or making something look pretty. Although I wasn't really into crafts when I was younger, as I've grown up and got my own space, I'm always keen to do a bit of D.I.Y. Last month, I was invited to go along to the first-ever Make and Mend Festival, set up by two lovely ladies with a passion for creativity and mindfulness.

Held at Preston Hall Museum, the event brought together craft lovers from across the Tees Valley to take part in a number of workshops where we created some gorgeous and hand-crafted goodies. We were down on the morning to take advantage of the three different workshops we'd been booked on to. First up was glass engraving held in a classroom down the Victorian Street.

Led by Bloom in Art, the class allowed each participant to make either a pendant or a key ring. We each had to think of something that meant a lot to us, or that we want to be reminded of on a daily basis. I chose to etch 'Explore', as I love to travel and I want to do it a lot more. The process involved adding sticker stencils to you piece of glass, covering it in an acid paste and leaving it for around 15 minutes until the glass around your stencil had gone cloudy and your words remain clear and smooth. Once the acid was washed off, it revealed your design and we followed this up by drilling out a hole to then attach to our chosen fixing.

It was a very creative class which involved mediums I'd never used and methods I had never done. Although it was great to create my keyring, I don't think I'll be breaking in glass etching anytime soon. 

After this, we had some lunch from The Sitting Room in Guisborough's pop-up stall. They offered a number of gorgeous salads to be accompanied by meat or halloumi. I chose the tabbouleh with bulgar wheat, tomato, onion, parsley and mint, and the spicy tomato, onion and chickpea salad with a side of grilled halloumi and a dollop of mint yoghurt. It was so delicious and filling. I followed this up with a cheeky brownie but I ate this too quick to snap a picture.

After our lunch, we had a little bit of time before our next session which we used to wander around and have a nosy at what everyone else was doing. A few of the classes we spotted were brush lettering, floral painting and papercutting which all looked very interesting. Our second class of the day was embroidery which was led by Make and Mend's own Rachel. We all had the chance to embroider our own hoop which was pre-marked out with the words 'choose happy'. Rooting through Rachel's box of threads, all of our hoops came out very different due to the varied colours we chose. As I'd already done a bit of embroidery, this was familiar to me but it was great to be able to do more and practise the stitches I'd already learnt.

The final class of the day took place in the conservatory which was unfortunately like a sauna as it was an extremely hot day. Nevertheless, we got stuck into making terrariums with Hoes & Ditches. As I'm not very green-fingered, it was great to have the chance to put together my terrarium adding stones, soil, picking the plants I wanted and then adding the finishing touches with pebbles and moss. I was really proud of my final effort which wasn't as hard to put together as I first thought.

I was extremely pleased to have been invited along to Make and Mend festival to try out all the exciting classes. There was a great turnout of advanced crafters and beginners, all wanting to learn new skills. Holding this in Preston Hall Museum was a fantastic idea and the venue worked wonderfully for what they needed. This was the first event that Make and Mend had run, and I'm hopeful they will organise others so I can try more crafts. If you want to keep up to date with Make and Mend, see if they decide to run further events or purchase one of their craft kits, follow them on Facebook or keep an eye on their website.

Going Vegetarian at The Waiting Room, Eaglescliffe

For two birthdays on the trot now I've visited The Waiting Room and on both occasions, the food has been delicious. The Waiting Room is a vegetarian restaurant located a stones away throw from Eaglescliffe train station. 

Its menu changes seasonally and is always full of amazing creative items that won't make you miss having meat for the night. We visited on Friday night and this year sat in the back conservatory area. With its reclaimed cinema seating and eclectic decor, this area sits away from the main eating area at the front, giving you a feeling of privacy.

Having already surveyed the menu before we visited, I was pretty sure of my choices. For our starters I picked the hazelnut, mushroom and parsley pate and Matt chose the goats cheese, spice red onion and almond baklava. Both were very nice, but I kind of wish I'd picked Matt's dish as mine was a lot of hazelnut and not as mushroom flavour as I'd hoped. 

For our mains, I wanted to go with something that I knew I would enjoy. Last year I decided to go for items that sounded nice and were a bit of a different meal for me, but I ended up being disappointed as I'd gone too far out of my comfort zone.

On our most recent visit, I chose the infamous and highly-recommended puy chilli wholemeal enchilada and Matt went for the roast garlic, courgette and spinach buckwheat galette with an organic poached egg.

When mine arrived it was massive! It tasted amazing, so full of flavour and heat from the chilli. I didn't manage to finish it all but they kindly packed it up for me to enjoy the next day (which I did). Matt thought his dish was gorgeous with a good mix of flavours and the addition of the egg on top really tied it all together.

Although we were both bursting at the seams, for a birthday meal it would be rude to not get dessert. Matt went for his regular, sticky toffee pudding, and I chose the chocolate pecan brownie. The sticky toffee pudding did not disappoint and the brownie was super decadent and gorgeous with the ice cream.

Overall I really enjoy visiting The Waiting Room. There is always something different to try and as I'm a fussy meat eater, I know I'm always going to enjoy all the vegetables!

Have you visited The Waiting Room?

Dining at the Lotus Lounge, Yarm

How exciting is winning a competition? Getting pulled out of the hat to win something for nothing is a pretty epic feeling and I did just that last month on Facebook. Lotus Lounge randomly selected me to go for a two-course dinner with a plus one with a bottle of wine thrown in for good measure.

Before going for our meal, neither myself or Matt knew much about Lotus Lounge as a restaurant. It's a pretty well known establishment as a bar, but as for food, I wasn't convinced. When we walked into have our meal to where I thought we might be sat downstairs in the bar, we were then shown upstairs to a part I never knew existed. Upstairs was clearly where the majority of the Lotus Lounge's food is served, if not all, as it was bright, full of tables, boasting its own bar.

It was quiet when we arrived around 6.30pm on a Saturday, but as we ate more people filtered through. When offered the wine menu, we both had a nosy but not knowing anything about wine or really liking it, we were at the mercy of the waitress but in conversation, I did mention I like Prosecco and asked if it was an option. At first, she said that it wasn't part of what we'd won, but then when she went away to get our wine she came back with a bottle which was a lovely surprise.

We both decided to have a main and a dessert and funnily enough, we picked the same for both. For our main meal, we decided on the 8oz sirloin steak which was accompanied by chips, salad and a red wine and thyme butter. I also had a Bearnaise sauce whilst Matt had Poivre. I thought the steak was delicious. It was super tasty and I loved everything that went with it.

For our dessert, we chose the chocolate pudding with peanut butter ice cream. The pudding itself was very cake-like but came away very smoothly and with the ice cream it was divine. The only let down was the plate, or rather the slate which was a bit awkward to eat from.

At the end of the meal, I briefly spoke to the lady I'd been chatting to on Facebook to arrange my visit and she was lovely, as were all the staff. I'm really pleased I had the chance to visit the Lotus Lounge as it wouldn't have been first on my list to try for food but now I'd happily go back.

Have you tried the Lotus Lounge for food?

Indulging in a whole load of Mexican food - Mohujos, Stockton

As you may well know, I'm a lover of Mexican food. Whenever there is an opportunity to get a burrito I'll take it. I'm always cooking up chicken fajitas or chilli con carne at home and knocking back the guacamole and tortilla chips. It's my favourite cuisine. In Middlesbrough, there aren't many independent places that I know of that serve good Mexican food. We have Chiquitos of course, but quite frankly it's pants.

I've written on my blog before about Mohujos Burrito Bar on Bedford Street which is a descendant of the original Mohujos which sits across from the River Tees in Stockton. Before Christmas myself, my Mum and Sister all paid a visit to the OG to see if it was any good.

As it was the festive season, we decided to go all out and start with the Grande Nachos to share between the three of us. This was a large plate of nachos covered in chipotle chicken, salsa and loads of delicious cheese. On the side we had guacamole and sour cream, these could have gone on top but my sister is super fussy!

These were delicious, we stuffed our faces and soon realised the mistake we'd made as we were pretty full. Our leftover nachos were taken away and our main courses came pretty soon after which none of us were ever going to finish.

My sister picked Chicken Enchiladas (oven-baked tortillas with cheesy enchilada sauce filled with chipotle chicken and smothered in more sauce then topped with Jack cheese), I had Chicken Tostadas (fried corn tortilla baskets filled with refried beans, mixed beans, red pepper finished with guacamole, sour cream, cheese and salsa) and Mum chose Nacho Chicken (chicken breast with salsa, cheese, tortilla chips, guacamole and sour cream). Each of our dishes was very yummy with lots of good quality meat, fresh salad and tasty sides it was just a shame we were all too full to finish!

Although we were literally bursting at the seams, my sister said she needed some churros. I mean to come to a Mexican restaurant and not have churros is pretty much against the law, so she got some. Myself and Mum had been on the cocktails having around three each including Daiquiris and Mexican sunrises. There was a good list of choices, but they didn't come out looking pretty enough for any photos. Instead of dessert, I asked for a hot chocolate with a shot of Kaluha which was a little too strong for my liking!

We left Mohujos full of delicious Mexican food, feeling a little bit tipsy and vowing that we would definitely visit again.

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Top 5 restaurants for a nice meal in Teesside

Eating out in Teesside has gotten progressively better over the past couple of years. More new eateries have been popping up serving up some delicious grub. Whenever people ask me if I'd like to go out for a meal, my answer is always YES. As I've said before, I do love to cook, but being out and getting your food cooked for you is always a treat.

Although I haven't visited all the restaurants I want to in the area yet, I have compiled my list of my top 5 restaurants to visit for a fancy meal. If you're in need of a place to eat which will provide great food for a special occasion or date night, these are the ones to visit!

Cena, Yarm
Cena (I think pronounced Chena) is a serious hit in our household. A modern Italian restaurant situated on Yarm high street with a menu full of delicious carbs. They have an authentic fire pizza oven in which they do some brilliant pizzas with a whole host of toppings. On our most recent visit, I had a starter of butternut squash arancini balls, which seriously amazing, then I had mushroom rigatoni bake (below) for mains. It was oh so creamy and delicious. I'm obsessed with mushroom pasta dishes so this ticked all the boxes. This is somewhere I'd visit every week if I could.

Crathorne Arms, Yarm
Crathorne Arms is a country pub hidden away in the little town of Crathorne. Boasting some delicious choices, this place is super cosy and perfect for a romantic meal or a family outing. Always an option on the menu for all the family, this is quality food in a picturesque setting.

Meze Lounge, Middlesbrough
Meze Lounge is a Turkish restaurant situated just out of the centre of town on Linthorpe road. It's a small space that serves some amazing authentic food. I always fall a little bit more in love with this place every time I visit. I must admit, I only ever go for chicken or falafels but they do them so well and the extras you get are so good!



The Curing House, Middlesbrough
One of my most recent finds, the Curing House is a charcuterie bar and restaurant serving up some quality cuts of meat and unique cheeses as well as a selection of other fantastic meals. The interior of this restaurant is gorgeous with a stunning retro-feel that is definitely a place to get dressed up for. Don't think that this is only for meat-eaters. I had an amazing butternut squash risotto (see below) with blocks of little blue cheese and breaded tofu.

Peking Garden, Stockton
Okay, so this one maybe a little bit more low-key, but definitely a good place for a celebratory dinner. Peking Garden is on Stockton high street and boasts all you can eat Chinese food. With a buffet concept, but a menu ordering system, at the Peking Garden, you can order as much food as you want and they will bring it all fresh to your table. Be sensible with this, as they may charge you for wastage, but have fun with it. Going in a big group is definitely advised so you can try a bit of everyone's choice!

These are my top five but you may have some other favourites. Let me know as I'd love to visit all the best restaurants on Teesside!

Have you been to any of these already? If you haven't already visited, which is first on your list??

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Autumnal walks along the river

On a lovely Autumnal afternoon, which happened to be Mum's chihuahua Penelope's first birthday, we went for a walkout along the River Tees. Starting out at the Tees Barrage, we followed the route all the way to the Newport Bridge, which has just been painted red and silver from a ghastly green colour. It took a while to paint but now it's done it looks very smart and a perfect tribute to the area and our football team. I decided to take my camera along on our walk and snap away.  

The walk took about an hour and fifteen minutes starting at the Tees Barrage walking to the Newport Bridge, over and back down the other side of the River to the Barrage again. It's a nice long walk with some great scenery, perfect for walking with or without dogs, running and cycling.

Do you know any nice walks in the area?

Muse, Yarm

I've recently made a conscious effort to try more restaurants in Yarm, Stockton. There are so many gorgeous-sounding trendy places to eat that I haven't had the chance to visit so I've been trying to put that right. First of all, I went to the Purple Pig and now I've visited a place just over the road called Muse.

Before arriving at Muse I hadn't heard much about it except that looking at the menus I knew the food was pretty expensive but also that it sounded appetising. I went along with my friend Danni and I was really pleased we'd chosen Muse when we walked in to find a lovely clean, open and brilliantly styled restaurant.

We both chose what we wanted to eat pretty sharpish - I went for garlic and rosemary marinated chicken whilst Danni went for smoked duck risotto. It was served with rocket on top. Whoever thinks that just rocket is a salad is out of their mind! Grinds my gears. Once I'd taken it off I tried my chicken and it was a bit strange - not really what I was expecting but not really bad. I finished off my chips and bearnaise sauce before starting to decide which dessert to have.

We both went for the same thing - I believe it was a milk chocolate and hazelnut frozen parfait with praline cream and raspberry sauce. It was very yummy! Although it was frozen some parts had started to melt and it was so creamy and chocolatey I could have eaten ten.

If you are out in Yarm, want some pretty snazzy food and are prepared to pay the prices I'd definitely recommend Muse. They also have outside seating for the summertime.