What We Caterin'

Kreck here.  For the last few weeks I've been spending a ton o' time preparing for my final planning studio presentation at school on farm innovation and land use planning in Ontario.  Exciting!  Because my studio group is looking at food, we offered to do the catering for our presentations.

We went to St. Lawrence Market and picked up a ton of local vegetables, cheeses and ingredients to make this spread.  After hours (and hours) of washing, chopping, blending and displaying we came up with this:

Here are the veggie platters we made up with local produce, including white and purple carrots and orange and purple cauliflower...

And the dips...

Cilantro Dip

Spicy Sundried Tomato Dip

Hummus (with a lovely garnish)...

Local food: It's what we caterin' with!

What We Makin': Roasted Vegetables

Kreck here.  A few weeks ago I bought these PURPLE (!) potatoes from the farmer's market without knowing what I'd do with them.  Today it was their time to shine, because I decided to try my hand at roasting vegetables.  And believe me readers: if I can do it, so can all of y'all.

I started off by cutting up potatoes, carrots, celery, onions and a couple of garlic cloves, as well as a couple of apples, just to be adventurous.  I tossed them in a large bowl with olive oil, cayenne pepper, paprika and oregano.  Then I put everything in a large casserole dish, covered it with aluminum foil and put it in the oven (at 375 degree Fahrenheit) and let it cook for 75 minutes.  It may take more or less time depending on your oven, so just keep checking to see if the harder vegetables are cooked.

Behold the result:

This was so good, especially the apples!  (And all of the produce was local!)  The next time I make this, I will definitely add more apples, onions, garlic and herbs.

Give it a try!

Vegetables:  It's what we roastin'.

What We Eatin': Jen's Famous Carob Peanut Butter Cups

Kreck here.  Jen made a vegan, gluten-free version of Reese chocolate peanut butter cups this evening, and lordy they were good!   The cups have a layer of peanut butter, icing sugar and shredded cocunut between two layers of melted carob chips -- that's all there is to it!

Warning:  These are really delicious, but they are super sugar and filling -- one bite is probably all you need.  I decided to save half of one for tomorrow (which I never, ever do!).

Jen's Famous Carob Peanut Butter Cups:  It's what's givin' us a sugar high!

What We Eatin': Pickled Green Beans

Today I paid my bro a visit, and left with a jar of pickled green beans!  They were pickled with two cloves of garlic, pepper corns and a small chili pepper, so they definitely had a kick.  Mmm!

What We Makin': Eggplant Parmesan

I absolutely love making warm hearty meals when the weather gets cooler, and this eggplant parmesan is perfect for cooler days.

First, slice your eggplant into 1/2 inch slices.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and let sit for 15 minutes or so.  While that is working, you can get to work making a sauce.  Canned pasta sauce is great for when you're in a rush.  This time, I opened a jar of pasta sauce and added some onions, garlic, grated zucchini and red peppers.

For the "parmesan," I made up a simple substitute that I really like.  I added 1 cup of sesame seeds, 1/2 a cup of almonds, 1/2 a cup of nutritional yeast and 1 tsp of sea salt into a food processor and blended until it became a fine crumb mixture.

After the eggplant is ready, rinse it off in a colander and pat dry.  Next up, you'll need to bread and fry the eggplant.  I mixed egg replacer with hemp milk and some water together and put it into a wide bowl.  For the breading, I mixed spelt flour with some corn meal and some Italian seasonings.  First dip the eggplant into the milk mixture, then the breading.  Shake off any excess breading and drop into a frying pan heated with a layer of oil.  After the slices brown, transfer them to a paper towel to blot excess oil.

Once all of the slices have been fried, you can move onto layering the eggplant with cheese and sauce.  I also used some grated soy mozzarella along with my parmesan mixture.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven covered with foil for maybe half an hour or so.  Then take the foil off and broil it until it starts to brown.

--Jen

Kreck's Vegetarian Food Fair Diary

Dear diary,


Today Jen, Greg and I went to the Vegetarian Food Fair down at Harbourfront.  I ate some awesome food and scored some sweet deals...


First I'll tell you about the deals:

The New Moon Kitchen, a bakery specializing in all-natural, vegan baked goods made with spelt flour was in full force today with samples of their super wicked awesome cookies and treats.  Their booth was offering 3 items (cookies or granola) for $10 (!).  Usually one bag of cookies alone is $5 or $6 in the store, so I jumped on this one.  It was a hard choice, but I settled on the gluten-free, vegan macaroons, the vegan mint chocolate cookies (made with spelt flour), and a huge container of granola.

Then I ran into Ella from Ella's Botanicals, with her all-natural, handmade soaps and lotions.  You've probably seen them at Whole Foods and other health food stores around the city.  I've been lovin' these soaps for the last year, since meeting Ella on the craft show circuit.  My mum and dad are also fans!  I took full advantage of her 5 bars of soap for $20 deal (I had a request from my dad to hook him up with a couple of bars, so this saved me a trip to Noah's!).  The soaps I bought were the Almond Scrub, Lemon Eucalyptus, and Lavender Rose, but I'd also recommend the Chai Latte and Anoint Me soaps.  

  

Now, on to the eats!

I'll briefly mention an awesome (non-gluten-free) Jamaican Patty I had with collard greens and hemp seeds from a booth whose name escapes me.... it was super tasty.

Oh diary, I think I'm in love... with a plate of salads.  Okay, I'm exaggerating, but yeeesh, this was good.  Hearty Catering was offering samples of their different organic, vegan dishes for $2 a pop, or full plates of their salads for $10.  It was well worth it.  I had the cold plate which consisted of beet salad, pecan and apple salad, a green salad, quinoa salad and a roasted tomato slice slathered with tapanade (!) -- there was also a hot plate option with rice and stew.  Holy lord, this was good and super filling.  

Finally, what better way to finish off a visit to the food fair than with a sample of vegan ice cream?  This scoop of green tea ice cream was only $1!  Mmm mmm.

Well diary, thanks for listening.  

Until next time....

Kreck

Where We Eatin': Vegetarian Haven

Vegetarian Haven

17 Baldwin Street, Toronto, ON

http://www.vegetarianhaven.com/

Kreck here.  My mum made the trip to Toronto to visit me today, and we went for lunch at Vegetarian Haven in Baldwin Village.  It boasts a wide selection of vegan appetizers, entrees and desserts, and has several wheat-free and wheat-optional items.  There is also a daily lunch and dinner special, which the staff will bring to the table and describe.  The wait staff were incredibly nice and friendly.  Veg-Haven offers a roomy front patio (for taking in the bustle of Baldwin St.) and a cozy interior.

Let's just say, Mary (my mum) has a new favourite restaurant in Toronto...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I ordered the avocado salad ($12) with maple syrup dijon mustard dressing on the side.  The presentation itself was beautiful -- it was hard to take the first bite of this salad!  It wasn't hard to keep eatin' it though, because the salad was so tasty.  It was an interesting mix of avocado, corn, cucumbers, apple, sprouts, lettuce, shaved carrot, apple, nuts and raisins.  The salad was a smidge bland, but with the dressing it was a-mazing.  I'd love to try this salad with all of the other dressings on the menu (ginger sesame vinaigrette, creamy miso tahini, olive oil rosemary balsamic vinaigrette...).  Yum.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My mum opted for the lunch special ($10) -- a salad with oil and herbs, lo mein noodles (with tamari?) and three baked sweet potato and taro root pieces with a savory sesame sauce.  The noodles could definitely be switched for rice noodles or rice to make this gluten-free. 

In Mary's words:

• it was good "comfort food"
• there was a "good assortment" and "nice arrangement" of flavours
• it was "pleasant" to eat
• it was "good to the last morsel"
• she "would recommend"
• (she could have kept going, but I stopped her)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The verdict:  Vegetarian Haven is quite possibly my fave vegetarian restaurant in Toronto.  Added points for the vast menu, amazing service and switchin' it up with the daily specials.

Vegetarian Haven:  It where my mum's eatin'!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(We also went to High Park!)

Where We Shoppin': The Farmers' Market

Although these cooler temperatures are making me fear the cold days ahead, I still love this time of year for the awesome food that is available.  Check out this load o' stuff I got at the farmers' market the other day:

Red veined spinach, pattypan squash, baby zucchini, heirloom tomatoes, purple Russian potatoes, sprouts and peaches.

You know you wanna piece.

--Jen

What We Makin': Rice, Bean & Corn Salad

Kreck here.  This is a recipe for all of you Level I cooks out there.  This salad is super cheap, hearty and healthy!  I found it in the Toronto Star a couple of weeks ago and finally tried it out today.

Dressing:

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp hot sauce

1 large clove garlic, minced or pressed

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup olive oil

Pepper to taste

Salad:

1/2 cup rice

1 cup water

2 540mL cans black beans, rinsed, drained

2 cups fresh or frozen thawed corn kernels

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

1 small green pepper, diced

1/4 cup chopped parsley

• Whisk dressing ingredients together in a bowl, set aside.  
• Cook and cool rice, fluff with fork.  
• Combine beans, corn, onion, pepper and parsley in large bowl, and add rice once it has cooled to room temperature.
• Add desired amount of dressing
• Makes a lot... 8 cups!

You could definitely substitute ingredients and modify the quantities used based on your own preferences and what you happen to have on hand.  The original recipe called for red pepper and green onions, but I only had green pepper and white onion, and it is still delicious.  You may want to reduce the amount of olive oil a smidge, and add more chili pepper and hot sauce for more heat.

I may not be able to turn an avocado into a pie, but apparently I can turn rice, beans and corn into a tasty salad! 

What We Grillin': Veggies!

It is tempting to dismiss barbeques as something only non vegan and wheat eating people can enjoy, but there are so many other things you can barbeque!

You can even step it up a notch and try grilling some fruit or making some tofu and veggie kabobs.  Don't forget the sides!  Pasta salad, bean salad, gluten-free buns or breads and anything else you can think of!

--Jen

Where We Eatin': Montreal!

I went to Montreal a little while ago and decided to share what I managed to find to eat in Montreal.  I think I'm a little spoiled living in such a vegetarian-friendly city because I couldn't find as much to eat in Montreal as I could here.  I did find a couple of good restaurants, though!

Zero8

First up, I went to Zero8.  Zero8 is a restaurant that is entirely gluten-free.  They make all of their foods free from the main allergens, which includes not only wheat, but also shellfish, eggs, dairy etc.  The menu itself had a lot of non-veggie friendly items, but all of the vegetarian items but one were vegan.

I got a gluten-free beer called La Messagere. It was "ok," but it tasted kind of like a cross between 50 and 

champaign to me.

For my main, I ordered a tomato and basil pasta. It tasted really good! There wasn't anything really fancy about it, but the pasta tasted like real fresh pasta!

I also got a side of bread. The bread was also pretty good. It tasted like the inside of a bagel. Yum!

I opted to wait a while before getting dessert and came across and ice cream store that sold Tofutti! I think the 

flavour I got was espresso.

Aux Vivres

Next up, I went to a vegetarian restaurant called Aux Vivres. I originally wanted to go because they had vegan 

poutine, but when we went, they were serving brunch. They kind of reminded me of Fresh here in Toronto, but withsome extra items that you might not find on a Fresh menu.

I got a mexican-inspired dish, with polenta wedges, tofu scramble and salad. The beans were a little bland, but 

overall, it was pretty good! The polenta wedges were crispy on the outside, yet still moist on the inside.  

My boyfriend Greg got a tofu scramble with sweet potato slices, a salad and tempeh bacon. They both came with a coffee or chai latte, so I went for the chai latte!

I also decided to try their veggie lox because I was curious to know how it tasted. Lesson learned: I don't like veggie lox! It seemed to be the leftover carrot pulp from a juicer mixed with way too much liquid smoke. I guess it is a flavour hard to replicate out of vegetables, but still, it could have been made to taste way better!

My experience at this restaurant ended on a happy note, when I got a ginger cookie for the road. Most of the cookies they had for sale were made with spelt flour, but none seemed to be gluten-free. This cookie was huge! And I think it was one of the best cookies I've ever had!

Aux Vivres, you aiight!

Carlos and Pepe's

Finally, I must end this voyage of culinary delight with a sad tale. This tale involves the restaurant that will remain nameless, although I'm sure you can figure it out by noting the pretty purple font up above. We were just looking for a close place to eat by our hotel and came across this hidden "gem." We had to line up to get a table and it was packed! I don't know if everyone else was also in our situation or what, but this was one of the worst meals I have ever eaten. I also felt extremely ill after. :(  

At least the margaritas were big and cheap....

Overall, I found the food in Montreal to be good when I could find something that was both vegan and wheat-free, 
but it wasn't always easy!

--Jen