Mango season is the time to make a Mango Lassi, the traditional Indian yoghurt drink which is as refreshing as the morning dew and perfect for a hot summers day. I’ve included the option to make this dairy free as well!

Mango Lassi – Dairy Free

Gavin Wren Drinks, Recipes

There is an abundance of mangoes in the world as the fruit comes into season across South Asia, flooding the streets of London with it’s sweet, sweet flesh. When life throws you lemons, you make lemonade. When life throws you mangoes, you make mango lassi.

Mangolia.

Mango season is firmly upon us. This is massive news in my swathe of East London, the entire area goes mango crazy for a few months, seeing shops transform themselves from DVD stores, perfume shops or clothes retailers into mango traders. Any shop whose mango range numbers less than 6 different boxes is passed over as amateur as the street buzzes with people sniffing, prodding and squeezing the mangolian landscape whilst weighing up prices between vendors. My naive innocence of the way of the mango was highlighted last year when I asked to buy just one. The vendor chuckled, explaining I needed… come and read more…

Ice cold and ready for summer, this dairy free banana milkshake with peanut butter is also vegan, perfect for a hot day and anyone's diet, it's a summer drink that will keep you cool and your tastebuds tantalised. Made with any non-dairy milk, frozen banana, a smattering of peanut butter and topped with crushed pecans, it's even more delicious than it looks.

Dairy Free Banana Milkshake with Peanut Butter, Shame and Sharing Life Experiences

Gavin Wren Dairy free baking, Drinks, Vegan

What’s more important in life? Honest, open connection to other people or a dairy free banana milkshake recipe mixed with peanut butter and topped with pecans? The answer lies in their similarities, as you’ll see…

I’m lost. Really, I don’t know what I’m doing. I hit two hundred blog posts just over a month ago, I’m about to hit three years of blogging and I’m reaching a creative hiatus. I promised myself at the beginning that blogging will be what I want it to be. I swore never to cling to a certain subject or style, simply because that’s what I did last week; it’s the creative freedom which brought me to blogging, so creative freedom is what I must defend if I’m to continue to thrive in my blogging.

To be frank, I enjoy writing about life the most. Food may feature, because there is something utterly compelling about… come and read more…

Virgin mojitos, or ‘nojitos’ are the most refreshing drink this side of a fresh lime soda. Perfect for a hot summer day or when you simply don’t want alcohol, these alcohol free cocktails are stunningly tasty, filled bashed lime and mint, topped up with chilled soda and ice cubes. The perfect mocktail for any occasion.

Virgin Mojito or ‘Nojito’ Alcohol Free Cocktail

Gavin Wren Drinks, Recipes

Today, I’m making a virgin mojito, or a ‘nojito’ as I call them. Alcohol doesn’t have a monopoly on awesome drinks and these alcohol free cocktails full of bashed up lime and mint make the perfect mocktail to tease your tastebuds, whatever the weather.

Alcohol Free.

I don’t drink alcohol, I stopped a few years ago. I wondered what the future of drinking would hold for me, was a destined for a life filled with fizzy water, squash and fruit juice? Had I just turned my back on the diverse, technicolour world of cocktails forever, consigned to boring, simple drinks forever more?

Well, no. That was clearly not the case and simply the ‘old’ Gavin wondering how any drink that doesn’t have alcohol could ever be exciting. The fact is, virgin cocktails still taste absolutely awesome, there is no need to have alcohol in them, unless you want

Hot, soul warming golden turmeric milk packed full of the spices turmeric and cinnamon, plus a fiery dose of ginger, a twist of pepper and some rounded honey to sweeten things up. This hot milk drink can be made with any milk, from cow and goat to any of the dairy free options you might like. It's the perfect way to kick off your day, or to round your evening off after a hard day.

Soul Warming Golden Turmeric Milk

Gavin Wren Drinks

Today I’m making my version of golden turmeric milk, a traditional hot drink made with turmeric, cinnamon and ginger to give your body a heart, body and soul warming hug from the inside. It’s simple to make and incredibly comforting, plus features a wide range of health benefits associated with the consumption of turmeric. This one’s a keeper! Winter Wonderland. When I made and photographed this recipe a few days ago, there was a clear …

Hot cinnamon milk

Hot cinnamon milk

Gavin Wren Drinks, Recipes

It’s not even deepest winter, yet there’s a chill breeze whisking it’s way through our creaky, draughty old flat. Last night, the air outside was so crisp and clear that it felt like every noise I made was amplified and the background clattering of London was gently quietened for a change. Our quaint Victorian home has wonky floors, parallelogram shaped window frames and a staircase with uneven height stairs which makes first time visitors stumble …

banana peanut butter smoothie

Banana peanut butter smoothie – dairy free

Gavin Wren Drinks, Recipes

It’s no coincidence that my previous post on this blog was how to make peanut butter. When you’ve got half a kilo of freshly made nut butter laying around, you suddenly start using it a lot more, for instance putting a few dollops into a smoothie, just to see what it’s like. I don’t normally publish recipes like this, they feel massively frivolous when I could be developing some long winded, boring piece about a …