It’s Guy Fawkes night, time for bonfires and fireworks, toffee apples and fairground rides, gunpowder, treason, plot and Catholic burning. Or something.
It’s all very English. But even if you don’t remember the 5th of November where you live you can celebrate with a traditional recipe – veganised of course. Think of this recipe as your yoga flow for the day. Bake it mindfully. Breathe. Be thankful for the good stuff in life, like syrup. And cake. Do an extra round of sun salutations tomorrow! 
Back when we were kids and health and safety didn’t exist we used to have a bonfire and fireworks at the bottom of the garden. Nobody thought twice about lighting paper cylinders stuffed with gunpowder only mere feet from their own homes. These days, rightly or wrongly, we are all more cautious and tend to go to organised displays, but I still like to make the treats Pa Yogini used to make for us as kids – especially parkin.
Parkin is half cake and half biscuit. Like a squishy flapjack. It tastes a thousand times nicer than it sounds. If you would like to make the non-vegan version (my family’s traditional Lancashire parkin) click here. For veganisation read on….
Firstly a word on Flax Eggs – because you will need one.
A flax egg is an alternative to egg for baking made simply from ground flax seeds and water.
For each egg you are replacing you will need 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds and three tablespoons of water. Beat them together until they look something like this.
OK so for now you only need one of them – make it, put it to one side.
Then in a saucepan you will need: 100g/4oz vegan margerine, 100g/4oz sugar, 1 large tablespoon of black treacle (molasses) and 2 large tablespoons of golden syrup.
Melt them all together over a low heat.
In a separate bowl sieve together 200g/8oz self raising flour with a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, a teaspoon of cinnamon and 2 teaspoons of ginger. Add 100g/4oz of rolled oats.
Stir in the syrupy treacly mixture and your flax egg along with a splash of soya milk – now when I say splash I mean splash. Then maybe another splash. Just until you get a nice consistency rather like cookie dough. Mix it all together well, with a wooden spoon please, not a fancy mixing machine! 
Then put it all into a greased and lined baking tray.
You will need to bake it at 150*C/300*F/Gas Mark 2 for about one hour. Then take it out of the oven to cool for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a board.
When it’s completely cool you can chop it up into squares. Don’t be tempted to eat it straight away however. It tastes so much better if it’s stored in an airtight container for about 2-3 days!
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OK so time for some unrelated blanks from Lauren. This week it’s on my favourite obsession. Hair. My hair is the absolute bain of my life. You will see why….
5. My go-to hair do is either air dried and curly or straightened and down. When it’s longer it is always worn up. It’s kind of boring. I feel like I really need to do something more exciting with it.
10. My hair is truly terrible although, despite everything I’ve put it through, in wonderful condition and always shiny.
note taken…i will never bleach my son’s hair
xo
monica
You know, I’ve lived in the UK for over 13 years now, and I’ve only ever been to one bonfire celebration – my first year in London that was. I haven’t celebrated since, and I’ve never eaten parkin! Your recipe looks so nice though, I might have to try it this weekend!
Funny you are talking about hair… I’ve been on the fence about whether to let my hair grow long again. I skipped my last hair cut that was due and it’s growing. The transition period is driving me mad… not sure how much longer I can stand it before chop it off.
i adored the movie- V- and sadly that was where I learned a hollywood version of the 5th of November….. weird cuz usually Canada has a lot of British history and holidays.
In any case- very fun to have bonfires!
Also, I LOVE your hair. I know it may seem convenient that I’m telling you this now- but I’ve always noticed your hair. How pretty the colour was, how shiny and healthy it looked. I really like your hair
Hello
For unruley hair while doing yoga I use a buff. They are amazing things which can be used in multiple different ways, but for yoga (And the rare occasion when I get to climb) I turn it into an ultra wide alice band. Then it doesnt get int he way when lying on the floor or hanging upside down – the hair or the buff!