evolved triangle

Hot and sour soup, you are wise

2012-01-07T18:15:00.000-08:00

We know that ordering vegan food can be challenging when we're eating with omnivores. We often have to eat at places with few vegan options, but we also don't want to cause a fuss, or make it seem like eating vegan is "difficult", but we don't just want to eat the salad either. So when I ordered delivery for dinner on New Year's Day with my family, I was expecting to have to compromise--a lot. But we agreed to get Chinese food, went online, and found a good Chinese food restaurant nearby that not only seemed authentic, it also listed all the vegetarian dishes. Bingo! My family got to order a few things for themselves, and I ordered "bean curd and vegetables" with steamed rice--and a small vegetarian hot and sour soup, for kicks. And we were all happy!
The soup was an afterthought--"Have I had hot-and-sour since I went vegan? I don't remember. I should have some!"--but I couldn't resist, since it was so clearly labelled and I knew I could eat it. It was delicious! I haven't had that many hot and sour soups, and those I have had have been very light--mostly broth with a few thinly-sliced pieces of cabbage, carrot and celery, if memory serves--but this was almost a meal. It was so packed full of veggie and tofu goodness I had to take a picture for sharing. I kinda want to go back there just for the soup.
But it reminded me of a few Things Vegans Should Remember:
--ethnic food is your friend! Since so many cuisines around the world developed with limited availability of meat, their menus often have vegetarian or even vegan options.
--try new things! It can be easy to eat the same things over and over again (when I go out for lunch I usually either eat from 1 of 2 regular lunch places) but when we try new things, we can be pleasantly surprised.
And one thing I should remember:
--I am spoiled! I live in a time when there are more and more vegan items available every day. Today I saw a posting about vegan "egg yolk". Yowza! I also live in a city with an incredible diversity of veg entrees, veg restaurants, and ethnic foods. I rarely have to eat "just the salad". I'm pretty lucky. thank you for the lessons, hot and sour soup! You are so wise.

Peanut butter cups of awesome

2012-01-05T18:13:00.000-08:00

I posted this photo on Tumblr and those Tumblr vegans loved it. Come on, I got 21 notes! I know that doesn't compare to the few thousand or so notes Animals Talking in All Caps gets. (And no, I'm not jealous, why do you ask?) But for me it's pretty good. Someone even asked for the recipe! It's not a recipe as such, but here it is, cross-posted from Tumblr:

It’s really easy! They’re just labour-intensive—it usually takes me an hour or so to make a batch. Mix some peanut butter with some maple syrup or agave—maybe 1/2 cup peanut butter to 1/4 cup agave. It’ll thicken and get hard to stir, but that’s what you want, so it won’t leak out of the chocolate cup when you bite it. Melt vegan chocolate chips or semi-sweet baking chocolate in the microwave—about a cup or one and a quarter cups. I usually nuke for a minute then stir and repeat until it’s melted and smooth. The key to getting them to look right is to use silicone muffin/cupcake cups. Smooth some melted chocolate into the cups until you’ve used up about half your chocolate. With a spoon, scoop out some of the peanut butter mixture and gently use another spoon to scoop it into a chocolate-d silicone cup. Repeat until you’re out of peanut butter mixture, or you’ve used up all your choclate-d cups. (If you have leftover melted chocolate or peanut butter mixture, you can make more of what you don’t have—until you run out of silicone cups!) Cover the peanut butter mixture scoops in the cups with more melted chocolate—just enough to cover. If the chocolate has cooled while you were scooping out the peanut butter mixture, do another nuke-and-stir to melt it again. When you’ve run out, you’re done! Just allow the peanut butter cups to cool so that the chocolate hardens, but if you’re impatient you can put them in the fridge for a few minutes instead of leaving them at room temperature. Pop them out of the silicone and if you’re not eating them the same day, you can leave them on the counter, but cover them with plastic wrap. Enjoy!

You are Every Vegan

2011-12-28T13:36:00.001-08:00

As vegans, we often feel the need to explain our beliefs, our food, our health and nutrition, and even all the one-off examples people tell us about. You know, that friend who used to be vegan but then all her bones started melting so she had to eat rare steak laced with Skele-Grow immediately to save her life. Because we are often the only vegan they know, we are therefore also Every Vegan--so we feel the need to be ambassador for veganism. All the time. Every day. Even when we're tired or cranky or hungry because the only thing the restaurant can provide us is green salad and dry baked potato. So when we cook for non-vegans, we feel pressure to make an amazing meal, lest the next day they're saying, "Yeah, we had weird vegan food last night. It was horrible! Dry and tasteless--it needed bacon." Because if they did say that, I might have to hurt them--which wouldn't reflect well on me as Ambassador for Veganism. So when I made dinner for 9 of my relatives over Christmas, I was feeling the pressure. Which I shouldn't--I can only do my best and then it's out of my hands. But luckily they it got very good reviews. The choice of dish may have helped. I picked Leek and Bean Cassoulet, from Veganomicon. It's deliciously warming and filling and comfort food-y, and it has biscuits on top. Who doesn't love stuff with biscuits on top?!? Even my anti-vegetable brother liked it. Make it for sharing with the non-vegans in your life. That way, when they meet another vegan, this time they'll say, "Oh yeah, I have a vegan friend. She made amazing cassoulet this one time!" And Every Vegan will thank you.

Minty chocolate presents

2011-12-21T07:43:00.000-08:00

I was told food is always a good gift. Seasonal food is even better, in the season of course. But soemtimes making food can be time-consuming, and you start getting tempted by the simplicity of just going to a store and buying stuff. But bark is easy. Melt and pour! And for seasonal goodness, crush some candy canes and sprinkle the bits on top while it's still melted. Wrap in a pretty seasonal bag or a nice jar and pop a bow on top an you're done!

Breadmaker focaccia

2011-11-29T19:16:00.001-08:00

I bought a breadmaker on the weekend. It was a great price, and my last one had long since given up. But we know what this means: a month of home-made bread, then intermittent neglect mixed with bouts of baking galore.
So, for my inaugural project: pizza dough. It actually tuned into three calzones and some focaccia. To keep me happy with minimal effort, I spread vegan pesto and Daiya vegan cheese on the focaccia before baking. I have yet to find a perfect whole-grain focaccia recipe, but yes, it's like sex and pizza: even if it's bad, it's still pretty good.

Un-photogenic butternut squash soup

2011-11-27T11:00:00.001-08:00

I used to be a waitress. It coincided with my discovery of the joys of cooking, and introduced me a whole new way of looking at food. One of the recipes I gleaned from my days there for butternut squash and mushroom soup. I kept pestering the chef what was in it that made it taste so good. I even made it at home, sadly concluded that no, it didn't taste the same, and asked him again. Finally he told me: black pepper. Seriously? Seriously. Just black pepper. It made all the difference. Add fresh ground black pepper (if you don;t have a pepper mill, you should get one--they're awesome) before eating, and your taste buds will thank you. A rough recipe is below. I used it to make the soup pictured, but added a triangle of focaccia to make it photogenic because let's not kid ourselves--pureed orange soup just ain't that pretty.

Butternut squash and mushroom soup
2 teaspoons cooking oil
1 onion, chopped medium-fine

1/2 cup wine

1/2 pound mushrooms, cleaned and quartered (chef's recipe called for shiitake, I used king oyester the soup pictured)
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 can vegetable broth, plus water

Saute onions in oil until golden, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms and cook until soft, 10 to 15 minutes, stirring every couple minutes. Add wine (whatever wine you have on hand, whether old or cheap, or even a full cup, no one will know unless you tell me, in which case I'll blog about how I do the same thing) and de-glaze pan, watching carefully. When wine has reduced, add broth and cut butternut squash and additional water to cover. Simmer until the squash is very soft, and mushes a little when you stir it, about an hour. Puree everything--I strongly recommend a stick blender, to avoid an accidental exploding blender incident. Add fresh ground pepper to taste, about half a teaspoon. Also tasty as leftovers.

Spicey noodle breakfast

2011-11-25T10:11:00.001-08:00

Late breakfst today: steamed bok choy and brown rice noodles with "dipping sauce" poured over top. Spicey, and suitable for chopsticks, and even healthy--some of my favourite things!! Recipe from Vegetarian Times (and makes 'fast pho' as leftovers too).

2011-11-23T19:19:00.001-08:00

Store-bought whole wheat gnocchi with garlic and vegan parmesan.

2011-11-22T18:44:00.001-08:00

Black bean burger from Veganomicon with cheddar-style Daiya vegan cheese.

Microwave vegan brownie

2011-11-19T08:15:00.001-08:00

Microwave vegan brownie. The video doesn't lie--it's not gourment by any means. But it's a single serving (okay, maybe two servings) and it's nom-worthy. Especially for those nights when you have no sweets on hand and sweets are definitely required--and you're comfortable eating a brownie out of a mug by yourself on the couch. While watching Buffy season 3 and crying.
...Enjoy!

Vegan gluten-free bookclub part 2

2011-11-13T17:24:00.001-08:00

Another successful mostly vegan and mostly gluten-free bookclub! I made two gluten-free items for this month's event (since I was hosting): curried potato-cauliflower from Vegetarian Times. I omitted the peas listed in the recipe because I forgot to buy them, but it was yummy! I also made walnut-mushroom pate from Veganomicon--I made a ton and expected it to disappear, but there were so many delicious things there is still some left over for me. The gluten-free bookclubber brought sandwich cookies from Bunner's Bakery. There was also two kinds of hummus and delicious spinach salad with red onion, pear and avocado. And yes, in addition to eating, we did talk about the book a little. I think this month, most of preferred the food to the book!

Grilled cheese breakfast

2011-11-12T08:11:00.001-08:00

Breakfast today: grilled cheese with cheddar-style Daiya, cooked in my panini press. An excellent way to start the day.

Of course he loved the sausage

2011-11-09T18:11:00.000-08:00

Like cooking, dating can be messy. You try something you thought you'd like and it goes horribly. Or something you were loathe to even contemplate turns out great. Either way, the fun is as much in the process as the end result. Which brings me to sausage.
Now bear with me as I resist the urge to giggle like a 13-year-old, but I bring up sausage because of a date I had on the weekend. I was cooking dinner for a date who indicated he preferred to stay in. Well, fine. But when a vegan hosts an omnivore for the first time, the question is always what to serve that will absolutely and in one fell swoop dispel the myth that vegan food sucks. As it is to so many things, the answer is sausage. Because I only had so many things in the house--my glass of wine after work with a colleague the night before had ended at 10:00 p.m., so I didn't manage to stop at the grocery store on the way home. Which left frozen tomatoes, an onion and some red peppers to form a meal. Pasta it is! With Italian-style navy bean sausage. Mmmmmm.
But when my date appeared I was informed he did not eat carbs. They made him gain weight. Well, fine. Despite the absolute lack of notice--even after a previous conversation about what to make for dinner during which no objections to carbs were raised--I modified the menu and served sausage with the red sauce and zucchini and one very small baked potato. (Even though I suspected his food anxieties were more about the flavour of my vegan dishes than the amount of carbs.) And upon tasting the sausage for the first time--I swear to god I have a straight face right now--my date declared it was delicious. I resisted the urge to scream I told you so and insist it would taste better with some kamut pasta. But it brings me full circle--my date thought the food would be mediocre and it was fantastic, and I thought the date was going to be awesome, and...Well, fine.
Just because things don't often go the way you expect them to, here's a recipe for pinto bean sausages instead.

Brunch at Fresh

2011-11-05T09:46:00.000-07:00

Food photo from the past: vegan brunch at Fresh in Toronto: blueberry pancakes, tofu scramble, and vegan sausage.

Oh baby, Babycakes

2011-11-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

Babycakes is renowned. RENOWNED, BABY. And I was there. I dragged my friend across New York City while we were on vacation and freaked the hell out. I bought two cupcakes and a sandwich cookie. And then I went to Moo Shoes and bought two pais of gorgeous vegan pumps. BOO-YEAH.

Vegan Ice cream; or, When in Rome

2011-11-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

Vegan ice cream. Believe it or not, I found more of it in Italy than in my own city. I KNOW!! I dragged my mother 20 minutes out of the way on thw way to our hotel on Rome so I could get the vegan ice cream mentioned on HappyCow.net. I was soooo worth it. They had many flavours of soy ice cream, and even...wait for it... vegan whipped cream! Yes, in case you were wondering, Rome is very much like heaven. ...If heaven has cute flirty waiters.

Sicilian ice in Cinque Terre

2011-10-29T19:49:00.001-07:00

When I was on vacation in Italy, I got a Sicilian ice in Cinque Terre. Which is weird if you know Italy, since Siciliy is an island in the south, and Cinque Terre is on the coast, toward the north, south of Milan. |But the restaurant we found when exploring the towns of Cinque Terre was owned by two brothers, Sicilians, who are famous for their desserts, and yes, made vegan Sicilians ice. They called is "slushie"--it is made of fresh fruit and nothing else. I had it with an espresso and a lettuce and tomato sandwich, thus proving that you can find vegan food everywhere if you try hard enough. Though you will probably have to explain what vegan is to a very nice Sicilian who wants you to try his desserts.

Pasta e fagioli saved my life

2011-10-26T18:18:00.000-07:00

Pasta e fagioli: this dish saved my life. Okay, so maybe not my entire life, it maybe just stopped me from being super hungry and cranky on vacation after a long day of sight-seeing. and maybe the particular restaurant I went to happened to also have a very cute and flirty waiter, but hey, it was Italy, so there were lots of cute and flirty waiters. But this dish certainly was delicious! And the waiter may have proposed to me in Italian while I was eating it, but hey, it was Italy!
This is one of those accidentally vegan foods that you mention when vegans say, "But what do you EAT?!?" (Have you ever heard of a little place called ITALY?!?) Of course, it can sometimes be made with meat broth, but unlike dishes you have to veganize, this one is easy-peasy without substitutions.
Some pasta e fagioli recipes you see are rather, um, chunky. But the picture shows the dish as I ate it when I was in Italy: the beans were partly pureed into smooth deliciousness and partly left whole, and combined with cooked pasta. That's it! A basic recipe follows, from my memory (which is why there are no quantities) but you can add herbs and spices as you like. More beans and less water will make the soup thicker. A side dish of grilled veggies rounds out this meal.
Cute Waiter Pasta e Fagiloi
Vegetable stock
Minced garlic
Chopped onion
Cooked pinto beans
Cooked pasta
In stock pot, saute garlic and onion until soft. Add stock and cooked beans and heat through. Using strainer ladle, remove 1 cup of beans and set aside. With stick blender, puree remaining stock and beans. Return beans to pot and add cooked pasta. Heat through, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with bread.

The most beautiful food

2011-10-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

The most beautiful food I ever ate was in New York. I was on vacation, of course, and my co-vacationer and I went down to the oh-so-funky cafe in our hotel. It's so cool in fact that even locals go there! The cafe is Moroccan-inspired, and as I glanced down the menu I noticed not one, not two, but several things I could eat--without even taking off the cheese/sour cream/bacon bits. So I ordered the couscous--and this was what I got. The heavens opened, light shone through the window blinds and illuminated my divine couscous! It had eggplant, pine nuts, raisins and red peppers, and was surrounded by an oil drizzle, and was topped with Delicious light fresh-made hummus. It was so lovely I almost didn't want to eat it. But eat it I did!

Pumpkin spiiiiiice

2011-10-24T19:02:00.000-07:00

Another day, another cupake! I went to Fresh today on a whim with a friend--I didn't even know she liked the place! She was ecstatic to go--she apparently has an ongoing love affair with the raw zucchini 'pasta' bowl. I ordered delicous carrot, coconut milk and lime soup-of-the-day with cornbread on the side; and also quinoa onion rings (which my friend agreed are The Best Thing) and they we got dessert. Of course! The cupcakes available--for autumn, presumably--were Pumpkin Spice! I don't like pumpkin enough to make a whole batch of cupcakes, even if I only end up eating a handful myself. But I'll order a pumpkin cupcake while I"m out. So I did! It was delicious--the icing was perfect. And I told my friend that I make awesome choclate-raspbarry cupcakes, and I have promised her baking lessons sometime in the future. Yay Pumpkin Spiiiiice!

Convince them with baked goods

2011-10-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

Baked goods are the thing that omnivores don't get. They understand beans; they understand tofu, even if they don't like it; the totally understand healthy benefits of eating more veggies. But whenever I talk to people about cupcakes, cookies, banana bread--even waffles--they ask, "But what about eggs?" In people's minds, everything with flour requires eggs. Or it will fall apart. EMERGENCY! THE VEGANZ BAKED GOODZ WILL FALL APART!!

Ahem. They won't. Cupcakes, cookies, banana bread and even my beloved waffles stick together fine--just various combinations of flour, liquid, oil, sugar and baking powder and baking soda. The only thing I can recall needing something to bind it is biscotti. I think it's because it's a much drier recipe--only 1/2 cup or liquid to 1 1/2 cups flour. And then, 2 tablespoons of flax seed beaten with water save the day.
And vegan baked goods surprise the hell of out people. I make lovely layered cupcakes, like the lemon-blueberry babies pictured (recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take over the world), and people can't figure out how vegan baked goods can be so scrumptious. I think once, a long time ago, someone made cookies with hemp seed and granola and kale and dried seaweed and fed them a thousand or so people and forever cemented in the public consciousness that vegan baked goods are gross. But no--I promise you, I don't eat things that aren't delicious. So I convince them with baked goods!
Convince them with cupcakes like these, by making lemon cupcakes, lemon icing and blueberry sauce. When the cupcakes have cooled to the touch, use a spoon or small knife to cut a piece out of the top of each cupcake. Pipe or spread in some icing, spoon in a little sauce, and replace the piece. Add some more icing and sauce and top, and serve within a couple hours so the sauce doesn't disintegrate the cupcakes. And they will be convinced.

The Bowl: just eat it

2011-10-22T18:04:00.000-07:00

The Bowl: it's a staple of vegan life. You know, when you have some rice or quinoa, and some stuff to it, and then eat it. It's so much a staple that Appetite for Reduction has a section on The Bowl. Fully one-fifth of the non-beverage menu at my hometown vegetarian resto is about The Bowl. Really, The Bowl is just an opportunity for you to put some things you like altogether with some sauce or dressing, and eat to your heart's content. The thing is: it's also really, really, healthy. Unless you add two whole avocados, way too much dressing, or a bowl bigger than your head, your Bowl is likely to be ridiculously nutritious and satisfying.
The other thing about The Bowl is: it's so versatile, it's almost mid-boggling. You are limited only by what you feel like eating. If you have leftovers, you can probably make into a Bowl! My bowl tends to be the same, because I tend to pick up the same things when I feel like making a Bowl: quinoa base, red peppers (they're not my favourite but they're nutritious), eggplant, mushrooms, chickpeas, avocado and usually store-bought Italian dressing. This time, I went crazy and added arugula and caramelized onion, and left out the chickpeas and the avocado. And you can see I put on a Plate--I mean a plate--and not a bowl, for better photo staging. But it was still delicious! I've listed some additional ingredients below--I had to stop because my fingers got tired. But The Bowl is your friend--make from scratch, use up leftovers, make a make-your-own-bowl spread for dinner. However you do it, it's always delicious!

Veggies:
Peppers
Zucchini
Sweet potato or squash
Kale or other greens
Mushroom
Eggplant
Bok choy
Bean sprouts
Corn
Broccoli
Beets
Cauliflower
Cucumber
Radish
Tomato
Carrot
Onions (raw or sauteed)
Brussels sprouts
Celery
Sun-dried tomato
Protein:
Chickpea, pinto beans,black beans, navy beans, kidney beans...beans!
Tofu
Tempeh
Lentils
Seitan

Vegan sausage or other 'meat'
Fruit and extras:
Mango
Peach
Apple
Strawberry
Berries, dried or fresh
Dates or figs

Walnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans. etc.
Fresh herbs
Dressing/Sauce
Basic balsamic vinegar and olive oil
Rice vinegar and sesame oil with chopped garlic and ginger
Store-bought Italian or Greek
Peanut sauce
Tahini-based dressing
Curry sauce

Lazy nachos

2011-10-20T17:28:00.000-07:00

Too lazy (tired/sick/self-pitying) to post any decent content. So here, have some oven-fresh vegan nachos with Daiya!

Easy cheesey

2011-10-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

Cashew cheese. Sounds weird, right? It's DE-LI-CIOUS. You'll make this every day. It's creamy and satisfying, and takes about 2 minutes of hands-on work. It's also versatile--you can treat it like goat cheese and roll it in "Stuff" to boost the flavour. Cracked pepper, herbs, spices, citrus peel, sun-dried tomato, dried fruit or even nuts--nut cheese rolled in nuts? I know, it's crazy--so crazy it's nuts! (Sorry, I can't resist...) And if you want to serve it as a trayed appetizer, you can make it all fancy by pouring something over the top, like those baked-brie concoctions that were popular a few years ago--only these will be more awesome because of their vegan-ness. Try red pepper jelly, antipasto, tapenade, pesto and pine nuts, caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms...seriously, I'm getting hungry just thinking of it!
But first, you have to make the cashew cheese. When you see the recipe, you'll realize it's basically soak, drain, puree, mold, chill. I soak overnight, which requires planning ahead a bit, but the link suggests only 2 hours. You can also add extras in before you wrap and chill --the recipe suggests lemon juice, garlic, and pepper, but you could add herbs, spices, etc. to the pureed cashews before wrapping and chilling. The recipe also suggests putting in a bowl before chilling, but if you scrape out the pured cashews into a sheet of parchment paper, you can roll it up and shape it like goat's cheese. Or line a ramekin or French onion soup bowl with plastic wrap and you can shape it like brie, for fancy pouring of stuff over top. Or you can do like I do--however it's molded, spread it over toast and then put the tapenade directly on top.
Considering how easy, delicious and versatile this is, I'm surprised everyone just doesn't serve this all the time. Easy cheesey!

Giant bowl of guac

2011-10-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

Guacamole. It's one of those things that makes me happy to live in the time that I do. Yeah, ther modern age gave me my beloved smart phone (which found that vegan pizza photo eventually), lolcats, and birth control--but without the availabilty and diversity of the foods I now know and love, I would be a less smiley person. Especially as a vegan--I've said it before and I'll say it again, but ethnic foods are a vegan lifesaver when you're eating out, since are often accidentally vegan. Inari sushi anyone? Chana masala? Stir fry? Cheeselss basil and tomato pizza? Hummus or falafel? Bean burrito..with guacamole?
I've brought guac to office pot lucks a couple times. It's been wildly popular. It might be because I buy a bag of 5 avocados and make a giant batch, and everyone loves a bowl of guac the size of your head, but...I also like to think I make a decent guac too.
It's easy. You can vary this recipe if you want (variations are listed), but it's basics, and makes everyone happy. And if you've never made guacamole before, this'll help you awaken to how easy and satisfying it is!
The only critical ingredients is ripe avocados. They're ripe when the skin is dark green and they yield a little to the pressure of your finger. If they yield a lot they're over-ripe, and will be brown inside. There's nothing wrong with the brown bits, they just taste bad, and look bad. If you're planning on making guac for an upcoming event, plan ahead. If your grocery store usually stocks unripe avocados, go to the store 5 days or so in advance, and buy unripened avocados and leave them on the counter until you need them. If you're making the gauc in advance, put it in a bowl, smooth the top, squeeze half a lime over it and cover it with plastic wrap so that no guac is exposed to the air. In a pinch, this way you can keep the guac over night with minimal browning.
Otherwise, the rest is easy!

Recipe makes a bowl of guac the size of your head.

5 avocados, halved, seeded, skins removed and mashed
half a red onion, chopped very fine
bunch of cilantro (coarse stems removed), and chopped
one lime, at room temperature, juiced (they yield more juice a room temperature)
optional: 1 or 2 fresh tomatoes, seeded or unseeded, chopped; 1/2 cup salsa; fresh (seeded or unseeded) or jarred chopped jalapenos to taste; chipotles and adobo sauce to taste; 1 or more cloves of garlic, chopped fine; hot sauce to taste more onion
Combine all ingredients, and whichever optional items as you wish. Clearly, tomatoes and salsa kinda cancel each other out, as do jalapenos and chipotles, so use your judgement. Serve with tortilla chips, home-toasted tortilla shells, crackers--whatever your heart desires! And if you have margaritas with it, then so much the better.

Delicous, delicious bookclub

2011-10-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

Rice crackers.

I had my bookclub today. It was great! Everything was delicious! And the book was pretty good too.
In my bookclub, we have me, the vegan, someonewith celiac, a pescetarian, and 2 very supportive omnivores without any food allergies. So bookclub is often vegan/gluten-free bookclub. For some reason I found today especially delicious--maybe because I could eat almost everything we had today; or maybe because we started this cold day off with a hot comforting bowl of chilli; maybe because our designated non-cook made absolutely delicious vegan and gluten-free cupcakes. Maybe it was because I had two cupcakes--who knows?
I took a ton of pictures. Yay vegan/gluten-free food porn!

Guacamole. It's always delicious.

Super-garlic pickles that the hostess got at the farmers' market.

Fan-freakin'-tasic cupcakes.

Vegan and gluten-free English muffins, for bruschetta.

Bruschetta. Nom.

Hot, comforting chilli.

Cashew-cheese stuffed figs, drizzled with maple syrup.

Lazy mofoing

2011-10-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

I'm a lazy veganmofo tonight. I am tired after a long week and uninspired by my food photos. I know! Ridiculous, right? My food photos are awesome. Lack of inspriation with my awesome food photos clearly indicates a vitamin deficiency. Let's go with vitamin D, it's less annoying than discussing how I get my B12.
Instead of a decent post, I present you with a picture of homemade black bean and sweet potato tamales, with store-bought too-expensive organic salsa. The recipe is from Viva Vegan. Author Terry Hope Romero promises that they take a long time, but they will be worth it--she's totally right!

Vegan pizza FTW!

2011-10-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

I made some pizza and took it to a friend's as munchies for a clothing swap tonight. I ran out of time to make anything else, so when I was making pizza last night, I eventually realized that two crusts came in the package--so fine, I'll just make two!

When the hostess asked what I brought, I said, "Vegan pizza." She said, "That's great!" We re-heated it in the oven, then I cut it into inch-wide slices and put it out.
It went over very well. I was actually expecting to apologize for the pizza--cheese is one of those things that people say they can't live without. So I wasn't sure vegan cheese would cut it. But the hostess said it was fantastic; I heard someone proudly saying, "It's totally vegan pizza!"; another guest said she didn't realize it was non-dairy cheese until I mentioned it; someone else even authorised me to describe the yummy food noises she was making as "orgasmic". Yes, organic noises over vegan pizza!
Unfortunately, the pizza pictured is not the pizza I brought. I took a picture with the camera phone, but now it doesn't seem to exist and...I don't want to talk about it. (My smart phone has never before been so cruel...)
The pizza I took to the party was ridiculously simple; it takes about 10 minutes to assemble. I use Shasha spelt pizza crusts, which handily come two in a package. Instead of tomato sauce, I used store-bought tapenade over the crusts. As with all packaged food, check the ingredients to make sure it's vegan! You can also use store-bought pesto, bruschetta, etc... Anything with flavour will do the trick. Top with mozzarella-style vegan cheese and heat in a 350-degree oven until is melted to your preference. Then take to a friends and impress the hell out of everyone there!

When in doubt, roast

2011-10-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

I tried roasted Brussels sprouts yesterday. It was a revelation! Try this: clean sprouts, cut in half if they're really big, toss is oil and whatever spices you like, and roast at 350 until they're cooked through. I thought these ones would be burnt-tasting, but the dark bits were crispy and didn't taste bad. I hear roasted beets are also delicious.

Would you like a side order of religion with that?

2011-10-10T17:20:00.000-07:00

If you're vegan, you've probably heard of Loving Hut.If you're not, you probably haven't--or at least it doesn't ring a bell.
Loving Hut is a chain of restaurants affiliated with a group I can only conclude is a cult. I first run into this group in the food section of the Green Living Show in Toronto, alomst 4 years ago. The group had a booth and proudly advertised that their food was vegan. The name of their venue was hard to find--I think they were promoting a store in the suburbs--but I couldn't help noticing signs for the Supreme Master. Sketchy...
And then I heard more about Loving Hut restaurants. Apparently they are opened by Supreme Master's devotees, and they feature all-vegan food. What a conundrum--on the one hand: Food I can eat! I can anything there! ZOMG!! But on the other hand: is any of my money going to this woman who had the cojones to call herself Supreme Master? And if it does, does it matter, anymore than when I buy vegan food from giant international food companies, or from restaurants that also sell meat, or any of the thousand other food choices I make every day?
It's a tough call. The photo shown is from a restaurant called Green Earth Vegetarian Cuisine in Toront's east end. I kindof love it. The dish pictured is "Orange Chicken", and I think I've ordered it all three times I've been there. But there is a TV screen showing Supreme Master Television (seriously!) and the display area has some pamphlets and other materials as well. I don't think it really makes a difference whether I suport this business or not, but going there makes me uncomfortable. Until I get my Orange Chick'n, that is.

So simple, anyone can be vegan

2011-10-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I let a photo inspire me--this is one of those times. I came across a photo taken on a vacation in Italy. It is very simple--mushrooms on toast. They were probably sauteed in oil, which added a little richnees, but that's it. So that's three ingredients, maybe four? This is one of those dishes that makes a point with its deliciousness. It's easy, and it's fantastic. Even the die-hard omnivores among us love mushrooms, so it destroys that idea that vegan food can't be delicious. And with a dish so simple, it shows that vegan food can be as easy to prepare as what they've always eaten. So if anyone gives you grief for veg food being flavourless or complicated...BAM! mushrooms on toast proves your point.

Plug in, eat up

2011-10-08T13:17:00.000-07:00

I do love my kitchen gadgets. I always toast bread, because keeping a loaf in the fridge means it always needs a little heat before eating. I use my stick blender almost every day to make smoothies. A coffee frother makes delicious faux-lattes with foamy soy milk. And then there's my panini pres...
A panini press is definitely more of a luxury item. Unlike my stick blender, it really does only one thing--make sandwiches, or sandwich-like foods. Unlike my coffee frother, it costs wayyy more than a latte. But it makes cooking so easy.
Tortilla shells are something I pretty much always keep on hand. I have been buying sprouted grain tortillas, which need to be kept frozen, so it makes them slightly less instant, but the added benefits of having something other than plain wheat tortillas makes it worth it. Why? Because my Mexican-style dinners can ready in minutes with my beloved panini press.
With tortilla shells on hand, the only other things I need for an almost-instant meal of vegan quesadillas are chedddar-style Daiya and salsa. If I have cooked black beans on hand, add them and I up the heartiness by half. Add avocado and you double the decadence. To really bring on the delicious glam and the nutrients too, I add cubed sweet potato and kale for a huge, panini-pressed stuffed tortilla. When I make it with that many ingredients, I fold the shell in three so I can press the whole thing but still hold the goodness in.
...I may have a somewhat-unhealthy relationship with my panini press, but the healthiness (and speed!) of the resulting meals more than makes up for it. Happy panini-ing!

The catered vegan

2011-10-06T16:40:00.001-07:00

So I was out of town for work. With catered meals. In a small town. The upside: I could see all the stars! The downside: I worried about what to eat.

It didn't turn out too badly, thank goodness! However, everytime I asked the caterer what was vegan she instead told me what was gluten free. ...Um, thanks, but could you tell me about the whole animal product thing? Fortunately, she did have lovely curried chickpeas, but without rice. So I ate it with bread--but she had pumpernickel and caraway rye--definitely a weird flavour clash. Do I sound like a spoiled vegan? Well, maybe a little bit. She made vegan things and gluten-free things but it was not a menu, it was a collection of things she could make to satisfy all diets, but without cohesion. Day 2's lunch spread was hamburger casserole for the omnis, eggplant moussake (vegan and gluten-free( and chickpea curry (vegan and gluten-free) with Cesar salad and garden salad. And the eggplant moussaka tasted rather like eggplant and tomato. I suspect she didn't open her spice drawer for that dish.

All this being said, it was definitely far better than the re-heated hungry-fest I had a five-star resort a couple years ago. And partly it was because she made us hummus from scratch, for lunch on Day 1. It was lovely!

Vegan convenience

2011-10-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

When I first becamse vegan I was a little in the dark. It was months before I bought a vegan cookbook. (I know!! What was I thinking?) I cooked everything from scratch and gave on the idea of anything remotely cheese0like. And then slowly but surelly I saw the light. I bought Veganomicon, a new grocery store opened up nreaby and stocked a myriad of veg-friendly foods, and I started branching out. I was losing weight when I went vegan; I was torn between buying whatever vegan treats I could find and not spending calories on "junk". It was only two years into being vegan that I realized I didn't need to buy every vegan thing I saw. Yes, the health food store up the street from work has vegan pastry, but it will have them next week too--I don't absolutely need to buy them today.
But god are these vegan products ever convenient. Tonight, I would rather run 5K than cook; and lo and behold I have some Gardein Chipotle Line Crispy Fingers waiting in the freezer. With heat-and-serve vegan foods easier than ever to find, I am saved from actually cooking--and my tummy can still be happy.

My vegan heart, part 2

2011-10-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

As vegans, our expectations for restaurant dining become dramtically lowered. Anything above plain salad and fries/baked potato seem like a miracle. So when I go to a restaurant and see something--nay, not even just "something", but a bona fide prix fixe menu--labelled "vegan"... it makes my vegan heart leap with joy.
That happened this summer when I went to lunch at Tabule, and found their vegetarian/vegan prix fixe menu clearly labelled. Thank you, dear restaurant, for erasing all doubt about whether the falefel has eggs in it! And thank you for not simply telling me I could instead order three vegan items off the menu at twice the price of the prix fixe option! And what's more, my meal was so delicious I threatened to go in the back and kiss the chef. (I didn't. But it was a struggle.)

The best things in life are simple

2011-10-03T05:34:00.000-07:00

They say the best things in life are free. After spending two blissful but expensive weeks in Italy last spring, I have to say I don't necessarily agree with that statement. However, I think the Italians would agree that the best things in life are simple. A long walk in nature, spending time with loved ones, sharing a delicious meal: these are things without which life would be far less happy.
And so this brings me to panini: considering the intro, you might think I was going to go into the history of panini, what's considered a "real" panini, how all those inauthentic panini-makers out there are disgracing the name...But no.
While I did eat some sandwiches in Italy-- some flat and heated, some not--I am by no means an expert. And besides, I tend to consider myself a contemporary foodie: I borrow from other cultures and traditions at will, take what works for me and what I like, and adapt as needed for what's available and what is, of course, vegan. So I don't really know that much about traditional panini. I belive traditional panini includes meat and cheese, but when I make panini I fill it with veggies. Panini are an excellent way to jam my meal full of vegetables, and a panini press is an excellent way to cook those veggies.
If you don't have a panini press you can use your oven for both grillign the veg and making the sandwich itself. But if you do have apanini press, here's how I do it:
Slice your preferred veggies--I prefer zucchini, eggplant and peppers of various colours-- about a quarter-inch or half a centimeter thick. Grill them on the panini press until softened, then layer them in your bread of choice--lately I've been using the thin-style burger/sandwiches buns you can fnd at the grocery store these days. Add your favourite vegan cheese (mozzarella-style Daiya is pictured) and some kind of flavour, like pesto, tapenade, or dressing; then assemble and grill until warmed through and melty.
It is such a simple meal, but is one of the best things I eat--share it with loved ones, and it can be one of things in life.

Break out of your recipe rut

2011-10-02T14:34:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we find ourselves doing the same thing over and over again. Habit can be comforting but it can also be boring. Often we don't even realize we're stuck in a rut until we're on the verge of the umpteenth iteration and we think, "Of course. This again."
I do that with food a lot. I'm sure I'm not the only one--they say most of each person's diet consists of the same 20 foods. And that wouldn't surprise me. There are a few foods I have in the fridge all the time--two of them being toast with hummus and fruit and soymilk smoothies. Both of which I eat for breakfast almost every day. There are sound reasons for this: I don't have a lot of time on weekday mornings and it's simply easier to make the same thing time and again. However, it definitely counts as a breakfast rut. So I was pleasantly surprised when I tried Polenta Rancheros from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan Brunch. It was something I could make on the weekend and heat up in the morning, and it would shake up my morning routine enough that it would get me on a new track for breakfast. And frankly, it's delicious. When fresh, the polenta (in place of eggs in the non-vegan huevos rancheros) is soft and creamy, and the contract with the spicy, saucy rancheros is divine. I also love the chance to cram more avocado into my day. So join me, get out of your rut--polenta rancheros for breakfast!

The best meal I ever had

2011-10-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

Picture it: Florence, 2011. (Okay, so it doesn't have the same ring as when Sophia from Golden Girls says it, but I got stuck for an opener.)
I was on vacation in Italy with my mother. Before out trip, my mother had been worried I wouldn't get enough to eat in Italy. She even said she thought I might have to "forget about" being vegan while I was in Italy. Hellz to the no, mom!
But it wasn't always easy. The first place we visited, Venice, had plenty of vegan things to eat, though everything was ridiculously expensive. Next we went to Cinque Terre, a series of small towns on the Ligurian coast in Italy. As vegans know, finding non-animal foods in small towns can be a challenge. Whether this was the cause or whether it was just the style of food in this area, I did have trouble finding food. I lived on veggie sandwiches and plain pasta for 3 days. Thank god I took an online vega'ns advice and brought peanut butter with me! Otherwise I would have been starved for 3 meals a day instead of 2 and a half.
So the most delicious meal I ever ate was our first meal when we arrived in Florence. Taking our guide book's advice, we generally tried to find non-touristy places. Since we were usually in touristy areas, this was difficult. Especially because mom let me scan the menu and see if there anything I wanted before we went in. On arriving in Florence, we checked in to or hotel and walked down the street almost the first restaurant we saw had a ton of things I could eat. And I was so hungry! I didn't realized how hungry I was for real food, after three days of eating protein bars and instant shakes. I order three dishes, and let me tell you, I ate every single bite. My appetizer was olive tapenade; mom didn't get an appetizer but I don't think I shared with her. I also got white beans in love oil--I found this dish throughout Florence and sometimes beyond, so I think it's a typically "Tuscan" dish. Thank god for beans! I gobbled it up. And finally I had pasta with veggies. It had pasta with veggies throughout my visit, but after 2 solid courses before the pasta, I finally was full. Grazie!

Flavourful old favourites

2011-02-21T11:25:00.000-08:00

Vegan foods have come a long way. I've been told that 10 years ago it was even hard to find vegan hot dogs. Lately I've seen recipes veganizing everything from escargots to the infamous Double Down. (I have no doubt that the cruelty-free version is nonetheless just as disgusting as the original.)

The trick with veganizing main course dishes is we try to remain faithful to the original without the meat that is often the dish's primary ingredient. Pardon me for the next couple sentences, but I'm going to have a self-righteous vegan foodie moment: cooking with meat is easy with minimal effort, because it has lots of flavour. And cooking--with meat or animal products or not--is about balancing a few crucial elements: flavour, presentation, texture, and culture/memory. So when we veganize things, we have to up the ante a bit to compensate for the fact that we're taking out something that contributes to all of these things. In veganizing French Onion Soup, you take out the beef in the stock and the cheese on top. So how to compensate for this? Well, stretchy, melty, yummy Daiya takes over for cheese quite nicely. But the broth requires a little bit more dedication: I learned this a few years ago when I took beefless French Onion soup to work and a co-worker bluntly declared it lacking. Truthfully, it was lacking, so when I made it again today I carefully took steps to bring back the flavour. If you make stock from scratch, ladle out a liter or so for this recipe and then proceed with the additions to the stock. The result is a rich, brown stock with lots of flavour, and a veganized dish that satisfies.

Veganized French Onion Soup

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon oil
2 cans vegetable stock, plus water according to directions; or 1 container of ready-to-use broth
1 to 2 cubes mushroom bouillon, plus water according to bouillon directions
3/4 of a teaspoon 'browning liquid'
2 to 3 dashes of liquid smoke
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, or 1/3 cup white or red wine
Approximately 1 1/2 cups mozzarella-style Daiya

Heat sauté pan with the oil. Add the onion to the heated pan and sauté over medium-high heat for a few minutes, then then reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have become a rich dark brown, anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes.
While the onions are sautéing, prepare the broth. In a large stock pot, add the stock, mushroom bouillon, 'browning liquid', liquid smoke and the garlic.

When the onions are browned, de-glaze the pan with the balsamic vinegar and a ladle-full of the broth (or with wine), then add the onions and liquid to the stock pot.

To bake, use oven-proof bowls and ladle in enough broth and onions to fill each two-thirds full. Add a slice of crusty bread to each, or toast whatever bread you have on hand, and gently place on top of the broth in each bowl. (Denser bread, or whole grain bread, better resists getting soggy during baking than white bread. But toasting helps too.) Top each bowl with 1/3 cup of mozzarella-style Daiya and put in the oven under the broiler until melted, watching carefully so as not to burn it.

Makes 4 to 5 servings, depending on how big your bowls are, and how big your appetite is. :)

My Vegan Heart

2010-10-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

Vegans spend a lot of time thinking about food. Partly, it's because we're foodies, which contributed to the decision to become vegan in the first place. Or vegans become foodies after the fact, because in exploring new things to eat, we discover a whole new world of food that we never knew existed. Or we're forced to bake and cook more simply because the choices in the big, wide world are limited. (Incidentally, that's how I started with cupcakes. And then biscotti. Then ice cream. Mmmmm, ice cream.)

So the disappointment we feel upon going to a restaurant and checking their menu is invariably great. I'm an optimist, so I always go in hopeful. When I realize I can have the salad, with one or two things taken off, or the pasta, with the plain red sauce, I am always saddened.

And also pissed off. How hard is up to come up with one decent vegan meal in an entire menu? Or to have handy off-menu go-to recipe that you can make to accommodate vegan, gluten-free, or lactose intolerant vegetarian diets? Because while I go to non-veg establishments with friends, family and co-workers, the places I go to willingly--and bring others to--time and time again are the places that go the extra mile to make me feel welcome. I should say, to make me feel welcome as a vegan.

Once, I was taken to an expensive restaurant in Toronto. I asked my friend to call ahead and let them know I was vegan, and to check that they could accommodate me. He didn't of course; so I made (yes, I said made) him call on the way there. They said fine, no problem, they'd tell the chef but of course they could accommodate me. I was optimistic--this was one of the most expensive restaurants in the city. If you work in Toronto, make more than six figures, and want to shmooze a client, this is where you take them. I asumed that between the fridge and the pantry, and the skill of what must be an experienced and, you know, awesome chef, I would be served something fantastic. So, optimistic readers, guess what I got? The complicated, exotic, delightful dish worthy of a high-end restaurant who had a couple hours' notice? Nope. Pasta, with grilled veggies....Insert sad face here.

Even worse was when I went to a fish'n'chips place in a small town. I asked if the batter had egg in it. The waitress didn't even move. She looked at me, pen and pad in hand, and said, "I have no idea." Okay then--I'll fries and a salad please.

At the opposite end of the spectrum was my first visit to a vegan restaurant. I was almost dumbstruck by choice. I could eat anything on the menu. I didn't quite know what to do with myself! It was almost divine. *stares wistfully into space*

While I don't expect to be overhwlemed with choice at an omni restaurant, something above veggies on pasta would be appreciated. Yesterday, at a bakery/cafe (Bubby Rose's in Victoria, for the curious), I could actually eat the chili. She checked their handy book of menu items' ingredients, and when she couldn't find it she asked the cook. And then she checked on the bread for me too! Might I add, this was voluntary--all I said was, "is it vegan?" and she was off. And I even forgot to check on the bread--she remembered and checked completely and came out to tell me. As a consequence, I will go back there--again and again. (And again--that chili was goooooood.)

Now clearly, Bubby Rose's has made an effort to accommodate different diets in their menu. They not only had vegan brownies clearly labelled as such in their dessert case, but that've also labelled gluten-free and dairy-free items as well. And they've obviously emphasized with staff that customer service is a priority, even for those of us with sometimes-challenging diets.

But it's the effort--if waitstaff know off the top of their heads what on the menu is vegan, I'm sold. If there is more than one vegan option on the menu, I'm usually ecstatic. If staff go out of their way to check on things for me, I'm coming back. Because the key to my vegan heart is trying. Just make an honest effort, and I'll heart you forever.

VEGAN <3 4 EVAH.

Thankfull of phyllo

2010-10-11T21:47:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving isn't the same by yourself. You can make the same delicious, home-cooked comfort foods; you can get yourself second portions of everything and undo the top button of your pants, and it's still not the same. Last time I was home for a holiday, I helped my mom and brother cook the turkey (yuck)--but it was still better than eating a vegan meal by myself. But as someone living 3 big provinces away from my friends and family, I was resigned to a solo celebration this year. So when a co-worker invited me to her Thanksgiving dinner... well, I was thankful.

But I didn't know quit what to bring. I wanted something delicious, omni-friendly--that my hostess and the other guests wouldn't to smile politely while I made them eat--and suitable for smothering with gravy. Inspired by a stuffed phyllo recipe from a Vegetarian Times recipe, I made up my own.

Thankfully (!), it went over well. They were definitely smiling when they ate it, and not just to be polite. In fact, leftovers may have been happily scooped up (pun intended) by the other guests.

Holiday stuffed phyllo

1 teaspoon oil
1 onion, diced
4 cups sliced mushrooms (I used portobellos, because it was all that was left and not crazy expensive at the grocery store, but use whatever kind you like, or use a few different kinds)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup cooked wild rice
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon summer savory
8 sheets phyllo
oil for brushing (I used garlic oil, but I'm not sure you could taste the difference)

Caramelize onions with oil in a large pot. (Instructions here.) Add mushrooms and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the cranberries and stir, so they steam and plump up while the rest of the liquid evaporates. When all the liquid has evaporated, stir in the wild rice, sage and summer savory. Taste at this point to make sure there's enough herbs for you. Add more to taste if necessary.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush oil over the bottom of whatever you're going to use for the phyllo--I used a casserole dish, but you could also use a cookie sheet too, and just fold the ends and sides over the top.
When everything is in place, unwrap the phyllo. Lay one sheet in the casserole dish and brush with oil. Repeat with 5 more sheets. Fill with the mushroom mixture. Top the mixture with another sheet of phyllo, probably folded in half to fit the dish, and if so, brush in between the layers with oil. Repeat with last sheet of phyllo. Gently fold the edges of the first six sheets of phyllo over the top, and brush with oil.
Bake for 45 min or until the phyllo is browned. Serve with gravy--I made Mushroom Gravy from Isa Chandra Moskovitz's Vegan Brunch.

You could probably get away with more cranberries, if you wanted; or switch up the herbs for whatever you prefer. I also think there could be some protein--if I hadn't been serving to omnis I would have added steamed, cubed tempeh when I added the cranberries. Mmmm.

The Cutest. City. Ever

2010-09-03T19:25:00.000-07:00

My tenure in Victoria started this week. The vegan food forays are successful so far; my only fault is excitement. I have to keep reminding myself that I am here for two months. Accordingly, I do not have to try everything on the very first day.

So far, I have:
--settled into my apartment in the James Bay neighbourhood, including figuring out a Murphy bed,
--gone for a run and gotten rather lost,
--bought groceries at Thrifty's, the big grocery store down the street from me,
--acquired a loaner bike from a co-worker who happens to live a few blocks from me,
--bought (vegan) cupcakes at Pink Sugar (Sin-a-mint and Toasted Coconut; I have only tried the former and it was yummy, will report on the latter...later)
--discovered my local Lush store, mere minutes from my office
--tried a spin class at the Y (which was less than successful, though I attempt again Saturday morning)
--bought some locally-roasted coffee for my morning caffeine buzz, which I will try tomorrow morning and report back.

My initial observation is mostly that Victoria is really, really cute. Maybe it's just the neighbourhood I've been in so far, but the city seems mostly comprised of cute little bungalows with cute little gardens and cute little friendly cats. Really forking cute. And cute parks. And cute crosswalks at intersections, instead of stoplights. Even the city on a map--it looks like it's big and spread out, but really, it's small. Small and CUTE.

Should I find any non-cuteness--waitstaff who swear like truckers? a traffic jam of more than 3 vehicles? pets that aren't sweet-faced and fuzzy? Or, god forbid, a little old lady who makes cookies from a mix--I will advise you immediately.

Ah, Paris! Veganized chèvre chaud

2010-06-06T14:09:00.000-07:00

Paris is in fact everything they say it is. The city is just as beautiful as they say, the Eiffel Tower is just as impressive, the bike culture is just as awesome, the food is just as good, the waiters are just as surly. It's fantastic. Paris was my first vacation outside of North America, and I would go back again in a second. It's true: seeing places around the world changes your perspective on home, in ways both fantastic and slightly bubble-bursting. (Yes, bubble-bursting: see the afore-mentioned comment on bike culture. And then ponder North American bike culture.)

The highlight of many vacations is the food. And for Paris this is especially true. Yes, you pay through the nose for everything (unless you learn to shoot espresso while standing up) but everything is fantastic. I went to Paris with my mother, and also with a friend who met up with friends of hers who were in Paris at the same time. She came back from their lunch reporting her friends had said they hadn't had any good food since being in Paris. The three of us shook our heads in disbelief: we hadn't had one BAD meal since coming to Paris. Crepes, salads, gorgeous crusty baguette everywhere—these were food memories that would stay with us long after flying back home.

But after becoming vegan, I started to think all those memories of good food would remain memories, since the French load every single meal up with cheese and ham (and sometimes chopped egg for good measure). I was especially sad about losing one of my favourite meal, chèvre chaud. Literally “hot goat's cheese”, chèvre chaud is a simple salad, with some kind of dressing and the simple-yet-delicious toasted bread and goat cheese on top. It's one of those meals that prove the old axiom: a fantastic dish is often made up of simple ingredients, and becomes more than the sum of its parts.

I wasn't even thinking about veganizing this dish, since vegan cheeses are rarely fantastic, and as a vegan, cheese dishes are something I have learned to modify but never replicate. So when I was at work on Friday, thinking about what I could eat as my pre-gym snack, the thought of my cashew “goat cheese” on toast did occur to me as an option. But only when I started craving the greens I had in the fridge did I realize that greens + cashew goat cheese on toast = vegan chèvre chaud.

And yes, it was delicious. It was almost like being back in Paris, except there were no surly waiters in sight!

Recipes for vegan cashew cheese abound: I'm sure google can help you there. I recommend crusty bread or chewy whole-grain bread, with a simple dressing. And please use green greens (not white, limp lettuce), for maximal texture as well as nutrition—baby arugula or spinach would be a wise choice. Slice off a bit off cashew cheese, put on top of toast, and put under the broiler until warmed. At this point, the last step is to dream of Paris.

Burst o' sunshine

2010-02-02T18:41:00.000-08:00

January sucks. I know it's not January anymore, but I spent all of January missing the sun, sleeping in and being rather unproductive, so I'm still bitter.

February is a little better, because now when I leave work at a reasonable hour, it's not yet pitch black outside. There's also Family Day, for some provinces at least (including mine), and as much as Family Day sounds like a holiday to celebrate right-wing propaganda, it is actually nice to have a long weekend to look forward to in the dead of winter. And for some reason, Groundhog Day, which is really the silliest day of the year--based on folklore that is actually contrary to logic, yet we all play along--at least gets me thinking about the end of winter, even though it's six weeks away.

Even with the increased daylight recently, I've been craving a little sunshine. So when I remembered I had a mango--purchased last week and at that point over-ripe--sitting in my kitchen, waiting to be eaten, I got a little excited. "A-ha! I can make mango popsicles." I had some soy-yogurt in the fridge that would blend nicely with over-ripe mango, and make a delicious frozen pop.

So I did. It is ridiculously easy.
1. Clean fruit.
2. Put fruit and and soygurt in a bowl.
3. Blend with hand blender.
4. Pour into popsicle molds.
5. Freeze.

Popsicle molds cost a couple bucks. They're well worth it, especially in the summer (especially in humid, sticky Toronto) when all you want is some way to get come cool back to your body. Even in the middle of summer, mango popsicles are a yummy burst of sunshine.

The stuff of life

2010-01-31T15:15:00.000-08:00

Mmmm, bread. The smell of baking bread is unparalleled. But I would venture to say that most people don't know how good baking bread smells. Or how a shmear of margarine melts into a slice cut off a still-warm loaf. Because no one bakes bread anymore.

When I take bread to book club or to work, it goes over well. Most people freak right out. "You actually made bread!?" It lessens the wonder somewhat when I say it's easy. But not much, because people don't actually believe me.

I think I had somewhat of an odd childhood--my parents actually cooked. From scratch most of the time. I know--and since you're a loyal, dedicated follower of my blog, you know too--my mom didn't really cook, but she did bake. We had fresh home-made muffins almost every week. And she made noodles from too, like my dad. And Dad always cooked from scratch. (Except for canned mushrooms. *shudder*) So it's not that weird to me that I make cupcakes and pasta and soup and pizza and bread all from scratch. But apparently it's weird to others.

So I say, "No really, it's easy. It takes a little time, but it's not hard." And no one believes me. So I expound, "The hardest part is having 3 or 4 uninterrupted hours to start the bread, let it rise a couple times, and bake it. But the process it self is easy." I think people may believe me a little at this point, but I doubt many of them are yet making bread from scratch.

But I want you to make bread from scratch. DO IT. It's delicious and very satisfying, and will impress the hell out of everyone, including your significant other, your boss, your boss's boss, and your mother-in-law. To facilitate this, I have summed it up into several E-Z steps, with helpful hints where necessary.

Step 1: combine ingredients.
This is pretty self-explanatory. The most important factor is remembering to stock enough flour and active yeast. It's a little messy: you will end up with dough on your hands.
Step 2: knead.
This one should be self-explanatory. If not: kneading allows the yeast to start working and allow the gluten to develop. It gives the bread its texture. Don't neglect the kneading.
Step 3: rise.
This one is easy. Once you've kneaded the bread, you have to leave it in a warm place to let it rise. I accomplish this by turning the oven on just enough to get a little warm (around 200 degrees), opening the oven door and placing the dough in its bowl on top of the stove.
Step 4: knead again.
Should be self-explanatory by now.
Step 5: rise again.
This time, when you're done kneading, the dough goes into a pan to rise.
Step 6: bake.
Make sure you pre-heat your oven and that you leave enough room above the pan so that when the bread rises it doesn't hit the element. Trust me: stupider things have been done.
Step 7: cool.
This is important: turn out the bread from the pan. Otherwise, as it cools moisture will be trapped between the pan and the bread, and the bread will get get moist on the outside. In case this comes as a surprise, I'll warn you: moist bread is bad.

Start with bread recipe from a cookbook or a website you trust, using ingredients you are familiar with. In only a few short hours you will have the smell of delicious warm bread wafting through your kitchen.

Dad's noodle soup, updated

2010-01-26T19:25:00.000-08:00

When I was growing up, things in my family were a little different. My dad stayed at home and took care of us when we were young; between that and his wee perfectionism, he did all the cooking too. Let me be clear: my home was no fish-out-of-water slapstick sitcom, because my dad is a good cook. While he does tend towards WASPy meat-and-two-veg cooking, most things he makes are delicious, and there are a few things he makes that are out of this world. Soup is one of those things. Through example, Dad taught my brother and I that soup doesn't come condensed, from a can; it's a serious business. And really serious soup takes two days to make.

Dad makes stock the first day, simmering onion and carrot and celery--plus whatever bones he has saved and frozen in the past little while--and cooks them on the stove, all day, until the house fills with the pungent, rich scent of home cooking. He takes the pot of stock and cools it in the garage overnight, cold enough so that the fat hardens on the top of the stock so he can ladle it off the next morning. Then the next day if we're really lucky, he makes noodles, rolling out thick noodles and cutting them into fat strips by hand. It is slurping noodle soup, with broth splashing everywhere as noodles fall off the spoon.

When I became vegan I realized that some of my old familiar foods would change. While the things I learned from watching Dad cook have stuck with me, I know I will never again have his chicken noodle soup. Luckily, my palate had expanded, so I can now look beyond the handful of basic soup recipes I learned from my dad to curb my comfort-food cravings. So this week, with winter's chill deep in my bones, I wanted soup. I flipped through my recipe books and was rescued by Asian-inspired Sesame Shiitake Noodle Soup in Laura Matthias' ExtraVeganZa. Whe I don't have time to make pasta by hand, the thick udon noodles satisfy my comfort-food cravings and the hearty, filling vegetables nourish me. The only thing better than eating noodle soup? Eating noodle soup with chopsticks.

Conscious cooking

2010-01-24T18:02:00.000-08:00

As a reward for making it through the holiday season, I bought myself The Conscious Cook, by Tal Ronnen. Since I lasted six months of being vegan without buying even a single cookbook (gasp!), I have, of late, been buying myself almost every vegan cookbook I even remotely coveted. But The Conscious Cook is different-- in a very intimidating way. It bills itself as French-style vegan cooking, and it really is. A lot of the dishes involve multiple steps, with several prep-heavy items being combined on one plate. It's really complicated. You know, sauteed something on a bed of something beside something else, on top of pureed-something sauce, sprinkled with diced something. The kind of thing I would never make for myself.

So I put off buying the book. When I did buy it, I thought of it as food porn, something I could look at, and drool over, but not partake in myself. (Remember, this is food porn I'm taking about here. Get your mind out of the gutter, and stop picturing me covered in pureed something.)

But I was wrong. I have made several of the dishes. While some of them didn't turn out quite right, and some of the fake-meat ones were not as divinely-inspired as the book claims, the one I made tonight is already a staple. It has become, in my iteration, spinach pesto; and tonight I'm planning it for a weekday lunch, with kamut rotini and a bowl of butternut squash and shiitake soup. I'm sure it will be delicious, despite not being on a bed of something and sprinkled with something, diced and sauteed.

Comfort me with chocolate (for I am sick of love)

2010-01-23T19:44:00.000-08:00

I don't know exactly why the quote is "comfort me with apples, for I am sick of love." Anyone who has ever been dumped, or perhaps had their heart a wee bit bruised, knows that chocolate is best for comforting where love is concerned. Apples are delicious, but not exactly on my top-5 list of comforting foods. (Apparently, the precise wording depends on the translation. It could also be "Refresh/fill/stay me with quinces/citrus/melons." But I digress.)

A boy is making me sad today. I can't say it's necessarily his fault, for I have not only seen He's Just Not That Into You (three times), I have also read the book (for book club, even). And yes, his signals were mixed, at best. We met through work--his, not mine--so it's possible he is interested in me, yet bound by a company rule about dating customers. A ridiculous policy, clearly--especially when this particular boy has beautiful happy-sad puppy-dog eyes that are prone to making me melt. ...Melt like, perhaps, chocolate.

However, given ample time to either express his disinterest or find a way around this hypothetical anti-fraternizing rule, I can draw only one conclusion. I am sad to think that this particular boy, in whom I had invested actual emotions, is actually Not Into Me. Accordingly, I came home today and not only was happy that I had the ingredients for a yummy, chocolate dessert, I was also--dare I say--taking comfort in it.

But I digress.

So I made chocolate-almond-cherry bark. And chocolate-sea salt bark. Because sometimes just one chocolate won't do. Luckily, President's Choice makes accidentally-vegan chocolate chips, with which one can make delicious barks of all flavours, that can be found in Loblaws and The Real Canadian Superstore.

The basic recipe came from Eating Well magazine--a subscription I almost cancelled, due to its ginormous quantity of meat recipes, but didn't because of the abnormally high proportion of yummy tofu recipes. And I'm glad I didn't. (Partly because a boy with beautiful happy-sad puppy-dog eyes helped me find the sea salt for the chocolate bark. But I digress.) ...Once you get hold of vegan chocolate chips, the recipe is a cinch. Start to finish, it was about 15 minutes, mostly due to the time it takes to melt the chips in the microwave. And it is very comforting.

Brunch for dinner, Part 2

2010-01-17T17:08:00.000-08:00

As we already know, I am fond of brunch. As in my pre-gan (that's pre-vegan, for you newbs out there in Blogland) days, I am fond of mixing up the proper order of meals. Call it a rebellious streak, call it a Saturnalia-style upending of things from their proper places, call it what you will: I love ending my day with breakfast foods.

Today, it's waffles. Straight outta Vegan with a Vengeance, I used my carefully-planned over-ripe bananas (I bought them last weekend for waffles this weekend) to make banana-oatmeal-raisin waffles. However, I dislike raisins, so mine are just banana-oatmeal. Due to a fortunate bout of cheapness some time ago (whole nutmeg was less pricey than ground) and the brilliant purchase of a kitchen rasp, I get to enjoy fresh-ground nutmeg goodness in my waffles. I suspect I may be bucking a trend here, since I prefer nutmeg to cinnamon. Don't judge.

Lest you think making waffles is difficult, let me be clear: it isn't. It takes a little time, but it's mostly waiting time, during which you can make berry sauce, tofu/tempeh bacon, hash browns, scrambled tofu, etc. In fact, it's so easy I'm making a double batch, so I can freeze the waffles and toast them for mad-rush weekday breakfasts. (See, I told you I was brilliant. And humble. And pretty.)

Here are E-Z steps for those of you who remain unconvinced.

1. Turn on waffle maker. Depending on your waffle maker, it may not take very long to warm up, or it may take a while. Either way, I feel confident saying you can make the waffle batter while the waffle maker heats up.

I also feel confident saying that you don't need to spend $100 or more on a piece of kitchen equipment to enjoy yummy waffles. My waffle maker was $15, and I love it. I've made bazillions of batches, and it's still going strong.

2. Make your waffle batter.

3. Pour batter into waffle maker (according to your waffle maker's instructions).

3. While your waffles cook, you can make your side dishes, etc. Or you can, you know, spend some very productive time on the interwebs. I won't judge.

Total time: about half an hour, depending on how long it takes to cook your waffles.

Taste of yummy waffles for dinner: priceless. (Or, you know, $15, plus ingredients.)

Unrequited Market

2010-01-16T13:18:00.000-08:00

I've fallen in love. Ohmigod, I've fallen in love, and I'm really, really full.

So in an effort to patch things up with my brother, we decided to voyage to the Green Barn Farmers' Market at Wychwood Barns, in the heart of Toronto. He raved it over Chirstmas, so to get in some quality time together, it seemed like a good idea to go somewhere that celebrates what we have in common: a deep and abiding love for food.

I'm always cautiously optimistic about finding vegan food, but the market blew me away. I found flatbread (which I'm not linking to because, frankly, it was a wee bit pricey), coffee and vegan chocolate, vegan muffins, samosas, kale chips (all that's left for the photo is the empty bag), and of course loads of winter produce.

I devoured 2 of the 3 samosas that I bought while still at the market, in order to further fill my belly with coffee (available without soymilk, but still very, very smooth). I ate the last samosa and the whole bag of kale chips mere minutes after getting back from the market... at which point I have realized I will have to build in bulk purchases of the stuff into my grocery budget. I am now drinking coffee made from the beans I bought at the market, and lok forward to the chili-chocolate later tonight.

Needless to say, I will be going back next week (which is good for my chip cravings and good for my relationship with my brother). Not only are kale chips and vegan chocolate calling my name, there is a cute, verbose young chocolatier who I now have a wee crush on. ...Looks like I will have to build bulk chocolate purchases into my grocery budget too!

On Ode to Guinevere

2010-01-15T18:11:00.001-08:00

I love biking. I love my bike. I love them both so much, that I even named my bike: Guinevere. Silly, yes, but after my last bike was stolen I was trying to find a way to connect with her. Naming her seemed like a good idea. And a delicate white bike with pink curlicues can hardly be called Bertha, can she?
I'm reading a book now called Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists are Changing American Cities, by Jeff Mapes.

So far, I kinda love it. I've only read the first 20 pages are so, and it's already spoken about how cycling defeats many of North American society's ills. Cycling battles obesity and its associated ills (diabetes, heart disease, etc.); reduces traffic; decreases pollution and traffic; and even turns an everyday commute into a mood-boosting endorphin high.

So, why don't more people do it?

If I look at my very own (admittedly non-American) city, I can see many, many reasons.

People don't think cycling is safe. People think it's too expensive. People think their destination is too far, that they're too out of shape, that cycling is for athletes or couriers, that it's just not worth it.

Or maybe they just used to. With the price of gas ever-increasing (no, I mean the price at the pump, not the cost of two oil-based wars), cycling for short trips is becoming more and more viable. With more people biking, the roads get safer. And the more people bike, the safer they become as cyclists. And people who try cycling quickly realize that they don't have to ride any faster than they want to. And they learn that cycling is awesome.

Picture this: I leave my apartment at 8:15. I get on a bus at 8:20, and put in my token, which is now worth $2.50 per ride. I get a transfer, get off at the next major intersection, wait for the next bus and get on at 8:30. If I can get a seat, I can read on the bus. If not, I get bumped by backpacks the whole way there. I get off the bus at 8:50 or so and walk the few blocks to my office, just in time for work.

Or picture this: I leave my apartment at 8:15. I go down to the parking garage and pull out onto the street about 8:20. I drive up to the next major intersection at about 8:25 and hang a left. Then I sit in traffic, fume, swear, mumble and arrive a few blocks from work at about 8:40. I pull into the parking garage there and walk out a couple minutes later. I walk to work, and get there at about 8:50. For this experience, I would pay for the car, the gas, the insurance, and for parking at work, and depending on where I live I might pay for parking at home too.

But then again picture this: when I dress in the morning, I put on my bike clothes, which are the same clothes I'll wear to the gym later that day. I carry my bike downstairs and leave at about 8:30. I feel the air on my skin, get to coast and spin my pedals, and by the time I get to work, I'm wide awake and ready for the day. It's a six and a half kilometre ride to work, and yes, I ride pretty durn fast. So I'll get to my building, and stash my bike in the office bike parking spot (an empty office we use for storage) by about 8:50 or 8:55. I change clothes and am at my desk by 9:00. For this I had to buy my bike—you've been introduced, her name is Guinevere--fix a flat every now and then, and get a tune up 2 or 3 times a year.

Tell me, really, which is the better picture?

Level 6 vegan: hummus

2010-01-03T07:12:00.001-08:00

When I went to stay with a friend for a week last summer, I said that I needed to get some hummus. "Hummus is a necessity for vegans. It's like oxygen. Soon, I'll be able to breathe it." If being a level 5 vegan equals pocket mulching, level 6 is breathing hummus.

For a long time I had a love-hate relationship with hummus. I loved that it is cheap, nutritious, available almost everywhere and delicious with almost everything. But I hated that whenever I made it, it wasn't as yummy as the store-bought version and inevitably languished in my fridge. Everything else that you make tastes better than the store-bought stuff. But not hummus--it's such a bad-ass vegan food, it refuses to follow the rules!

One evening I went to a party (where the only vegan edibles were the cupcakes I brought and, fortunately, the hummus) and completely freaked out over the hummus. I couldn't get over the texture: smooth and creamy, just like the store bought stuff. I think I ate most of the bowl myself. (Sorry about that, Cara.) I was talking with someone there (okay, so I was gushing over the Perfect Hummus) and she said two things that stuck with me: Don't think of it as hummus, think of it as chickpea dip. And: don't be stingy with the oil and the tahini.

I decided I needed to delve further into the true meaning of hummus. Of course, I turned to Google. Fortunately, this time I managed to filter out the inevitable internet crap and actually find useful tips. And I finally became one with the chickpea and made Perfect Hummus. To help you in this noble endeavor, I have four rules for Perfect Hummus.

1. Cook the crap out of the chickpeas.
2. Refrigerate the chickpeas overnight.
3. Add lots of the yummy stuff.
4. Get a good food processor.

If these are self-explanatory, or if you already make perfect hummus, you can stop right here. Otherwise, here's the full Perfect Hummus rules.

1. Cook the crap out of the chickpeas.
I used to be impatient with my chickpeas. I would cook the little darlings until they were just done, and proceed to make hummus. Hummus is like foreplay: never rush it. Now, I cook the chickpeas until they're really, really soft. If I take out a beautiful little chickpea and can squish it with even a little pressure, they're done. If not, I keep cooking.

2. Refrigerate the chickpeas overnight.
I'll say it again, because it's really true (for both hummus and sex). Hummus is like foreplay: never rush it. My hummus googling told me that if you make hummus with still-warm chickpeas, they will never be creamy. I don't know the scientific basis behind this, but since doing this I have creamy hummus. If you are religious, take this on faith, like water-to-wine, the burning bush. If you're not religious, join me in the Church of Eternal Garbanzo and don't question it. Cook those little chickpeas until they're squishy and refrigerate them overnight before making your hummus.

3. Add lots of the yummy stuff.
I watch what I eat. I used to skimp on tahini and olive oil when making hummus because they were calorific. I had to stop worrying about this to get Perfect Hummus. Now I add a bunch in the food processor and if my hummus isn't creamy, I add more and blend until it is creamy. I don't eat giant portions of hummus at a time, so even if there is lots of high-calorie stuff in the hummus, that item alone won't be an issue.

4. Get a good food processor.
I have killed two hand blenders making hummus. Seriously. I am one hand-blender-corpse away from starting an Appliance Sematary (and when I bury the dead hand blenders, they will arise three days later and do diabolical things like purée heads of lettuce. OMG, not PUREED LETTUCE!!) .

At one point I decided hummus was worth the investment in a serious, grown-up kitchen item, and bought a decent food processor. Besides enabling me to make cashew "cheese", my food processor allows me to finally make good hummus. Yes, it's big and it's a pain to clean, but I can tackle even the most complex recipe with it and know it will not need to be buried (and re-buried, after arising from the dead). And it allows me to make make Perfect Hummus.

So with these rules in hand, I encourage you to proudly tackle making hummus at home. Once you get the hang of it--and learn not to rush--it's well worth washing the food processor. "Bon appe-chickpea!"

The triangle returns; the lotus tattoo

2010-01-02T14:28:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm back. I started this three-pointed blog very enthusiastically, and faded quickly. Sigh. Sometimes we fickle humans are like that.

But the new year has spurred my urge to write--yes, a need that somehow even Twitter can't fulfill (twitter.com/thosearepearls). And since I got a bee-yoo-tiful new tattoo this week, I may as well start with that.

It's a lotus. I know, a lot of people are getting lotus. That's because they frickin' rock. I even know someone at work who got a lotus tattoo on her forearm. Sheesh, the cheek of people who copy my tattoo before I can get it done!

I've wanted this tattoo for ages. I dreamed about getting a lotus tattoo years ago. No, seriously. I dreamed about myself with an lotus tattoo, then looked it up online and thought, "Yep, I should really get a lotus tattoo." This does make me sound like a wee bit of a flake, but I'm not concerned. Not only am I telling the triangle's honest truth, there are far greater flakes on the interwebs than me!

I got it done at New Tribe Tattoo on Queen West. I've had all my piercings and tattoos done there since I've been living in Toronto. This one and the last one were done by Dave, who looks like your average bad-ass tattooer, with almost visible flesh covered in various inks, but on the wall right above his tattoo table is a beautiful photo of him and his wife. What a cutie!

Because not everyone in the universe has tattoos, I'll tell you how it happens. Without the pain and the blood and the partial nudity, it's definitely not the full experience, but you'll get the gist of it.

I made the appointment a couple week ago. I was happy not to have to wait too long, because the last time I emailed for an appointment with Dave I was told it was a two-month wait. Luckily, over the holidays people are apparently not thinking of getting tattooed...

I emailed the image over when I made the appointment; Dave got back to me with a quote. I dithered about the size a little, but Dave said we could settle it when I came in, no rush. Which was great, because the one person I showed the tattoo to said, "It might be a little big. You're little, you know!" I am--at 5'1" a 5-inch-wide tattoo might look out of proportion. (In case you're curious, the one my ribs is just over 4 inches wide.)

When I got to the shop (late, unfortunately...stupid streetcar...), we settled on the size and I waited for a few minutes while Dave got things ready. I had emailed him I wanted it in blues instead of pinks, so he picked out some inks for me and let me pick. I unzipped my skirt, untucked my shirt and peeled back enough clothing to bare my left ribcage. Dave cleaned the skin and carefully placed the stencil. I checked the placement, okayed it (really, a good tattooer knows better how to place it than I do, so really I was just pretending not to implicitly trust him).

And then the fun began. I lay down on the table on my back, then twisted to the right until Dave was happy with where the stencil ended up. I ended up in a side/back laying down position, but I was comfortable. Which was my main job from then on: breathe, be comfortable, and don't flinch.

Before I continue, a mini-primer on tattoo, piercings, and pain. Yes, tattoos hurt. A needle is going in your skin repeatedly for an hour or so. A quick internet search tells me no one has a clue how many times a minute it is, but let's just say that when it comes to needles and your skin, anything more than once is a lot. However, my lower back tattoo barely hurt: I could've been tattooed like that for days, if I wanted. It felt like being scratched by a sharpened fingernail. The only time it felt sharp was when it was over my spine, and that was fleeting. Piercings are more painful, but they last seconds. Seriously: by the time you count to two, you're done. Easy-peasy.

So I lay down on the table thinking I was prepared. I knew it would hurt more on my ribs, but I could handle it: 4 tattoos and 6 piercings, and I'm a tough chick. Tough. I was full of shit.

In the beginning it was fine, when he was tattooing on the fleshier part of my upper waist, but when he got higher up on my torso, onto my actual ribs, it hurt. Yes, hurt. The image that kept running through my mind was a scalpel drawing a line up my skin. Which probably didn't help at all.

It's important to breathe, and not tense when getting a tattoo. I kept trying to breathe and unclench my hands, with some success. It was bad enough at the very top of the tattoo that I had to ask for a couple breaks. Just 10 seconds or so, to relax and re-focus, but I felt like a wimp. S'okay, I'm still tough... right?

He finished the outline, which I've heard--and Dave confirmed--is more painful than filling in. So he switched to a different needle (I assume, because I wasn't watching) and loaded it with colour and started at the bottom of the tattoo again.

I was shocked at the difference. The pain at its worst had felt like a scalpel, and even when he moved back to a fleshier spot, it had diminished somewhat but I still had to concentrate on working through it. At the bottom of the tattoo, with a new needle, it felt like a cat's tongue. You know how a cat's tongue is rough, to pick up fur? And if a cat licks you a few times in one spot, it gets a little sensitive, but not really, you know, painful? That's what it felt like. I was pleasantly surprised.

And then he moved around and up the tattoo and the pain got steadily worse until we were back with the scalpel again. Then back to the bottom again, another colour, around the circle once more (I admit, the last time I was feelin' the scalpel-pain I started getting whiny) and we were done. I apologized for the whiny-ness and Dave said it was fine--I didn't flinch, and that was all that mattered. Which made me feel better.

Dave let me check it in the mirror before bandaging it up--which I assume is just politeness on the tattooer's part, since it's, you know, permanent, but since the bandage is supposed to stay on overnight it's nice to get a look first. Dave kindly said he liked the blue better than the pink in the original.

He cleaned my skin--to get rid of the ink and, you know, the blood--and put on an ointment. The net tells me it's antibacterial ointment, but I'm sure it's also so that the great giant tattoo-wound doesn't stick to the bandage. He had to go to the next room to get a bandage big enough (which made me feel like a tough chick for getting a giant tattoo--until I remembered Dave's fully tattooed arms) then he taped it on and I was done.

I took the bandage off the next morning, and cleaned it with soap and water, following aftercare instructions.
Now, it's three days later, and it still hurts. I don't remember my last tattoo hurting this much, but it's lines surrounded by blank space. This is a four-inch wide piece of filled-in tattoo, so it makes sense that it hurts more. It's peeling, which is normal, and I'm moisturising it, according to instructions. It should take about two weeks to fully heal.

I still love it. I think it helps that I make myself consider a tattoo for at least a year before getting it done. After that long, getting the tattoo feels like putting a piece of your soul directly on your skin.

Brunch for dinner

2009-10-04T18:50:00.000-07:00

Breakfast and brunch are a meal and a half that vegans don't have easy. I organize events at work and planning breakfast for the vegan guest is the most challenging. Let's just ponder a moment and think about all the dishes that vegan unfriendly in the usual state. First off--duh!--there's eggs. And omelettes, also known as "eggs with stuff inside it." Sausage and bacon are not only corpse bits, they are also drenched in pending-coronary sauce (saturated fat). Cereal can be difficult depending on the availability of non-diary milk. French toast, pancakes and waffles should be safe--don't waffles even look innocent? I would never suspect them!--but those sneaky little bastards hold more than just sryup in their nooks and crannies. Muffins just emanate home-baked goodness, but don't fall for it--that's their ploy. And let's not get started on butter.

And then along came Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, who finds the empty holes in my meal planner and fills them with vegan cookbooks. I had previously pondered--brief, fleeting thoughts with no basis in reality, like wondering what it would be like to walk on the moon--about eating French toast again, or breaking out my waffle maker and making Saturday morning into the spectacular start to the weekend that it always should be. But alas, it did not happen. (As much as I love the Interweb, googling recipes does not always yield delicious results.)

Unlike Google's "I feel lucky!" button, Vegan Brunch never disappoints. Purchasing this book re-ignited my love affair with brunch, which was doused when I went vegan and came to terms with the fact that my old Saturday morning standby (fried eggs and toast) and I were going to "have a break." (It's not you, eggs, it's me--no wait, it's you. Yuck.)

But it is Fronch Toast that has taken hold of my heart (from Vegan With a Vengeance, not Vegan Brunch. I know, the old bait and switch!). I make it all the time. I buy whole grain baguette at my grocery store and try not to use it all for brunch (it's great with hummus, too). Today, I slept in, lazed around (a boy is making me sad today), got groceries, dashed off to bike downtown (in the rain) to my yoga workshop, and when I came home I happily realized I finally had time for Fronch Toast. I don't know how bread soaked in a mixture of chickpea flour and soymilk can turn into golden, crispy fried goodness, but it does. Let's call it a Vegan Miracle. (Every time you eat Fronch Toast, an angel gets its wings!)

One last Very Important Comment: use real maple syrup. Anything else is an afront to maple trees everywhere.

Vegan Holy Grail

2009-10-03T18:05:00.000-07:00

The vegan Holy Grail is the quest for good cheese-like foods. Everything else is readily available: soy/almond/rice milk, soy yogurt, chick'n patties, bean/soy sausage, even marshmallows... If there's an animal-product product that you're craving a vegan version of, chances are you can find it. Many are at the grocery store, some are at your health food store, and rarely you need to go to a specialty store or order online.

But vegan cheese is something else.

I have bought vegan cheese. The only time I have liked it was when I used the vegan cheese-slice type for grilled cheeze sandwiches. Yes, it's good. But you can't really taste the middle part of grilled cheeze, or even grilled cheese, for that matter--it mostly serves as a gooey texture contrast sandwiched (see what I did there? boo-yeah!) between two slices of fried bread. So it served its purpose in the grilled cheeze--gooey middle layer, check!

Other vegan cheese has proven more challenging. I am told that there are definitely yummy, melty, satisfying pizza-topping cheezes out there. The two I bought were both supposed to melt but didn't, had a slightly rubbery texture, and took away from the food more than added to it. I have pretty much given up my search and accepted lovingly-made pizza topped with olive oil, herbs and assorted veggie items. It's still delicious, it just doesn't have that gooey, melty texture I sometimes have a hankering for.

I can, however, get my cheeze fix taken care of in other ways. For example, vegan mac'n'cheese. Nutritional yeast provides the cheesy flavour, and as a carb-a-riffic pasta dish it was truly satisfying. It's now a favourite!

VeganMofo Day 2--A MoFo'n survey

2009-10-02T19:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, already it has come to this: I am posting my completed VeganMoFo survey. I got home after 9:30 and had no creativity left to write. I am a bad MoFo! (Punny. You love it.)

1. Favorite non-dairy milk?
Soy.

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?
Seitan--I've only made it once and it was still second-best
Fronch toast--it is fucking amazing. Nuff said.
Cupcakes. Love 'em.

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?
Nooch. Haven't tried it yet, but it's first on my list!

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?
The time I was making multi-step, multi-ingredient veggie loaf with curried mushroom topping, and I knocked everything off the counter. Sad face.

5. Favorite pickled item?
Pickles. (I'm a simple girl.)

6. How do you organize your recipes?
I don't.

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?
Trash. Worms are on my shopping list. Why must I order them online? Why can't I buy worms locally?!?

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods...what would they be (don't worry about how you'll cook them)?
Fronch Toast.
Pasta with garlic, mushrooms and toasted bread crumbs. (You meant dishes, right, not foods? Yeah, let's go with that.)
Coffee.

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?
Mom making muffins. She didn't really cook, because did most of it, but she made muffins a lot.
And Dad's soup. Making soup was elevated to an art form, a two-day process imbued with everything good. (And some carcass, but I skip that step now.)

10. Favorite vegan ice cream?
Soy Delicious Coconut Milk Bars with Almonds. I said it at a vegan meetup last people: those things are good people it will could people wish they were vegan.

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?
stick blender

12. Spice/herb you would die without?
cayenne pepper

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?
Vegan cookbook? Veganomicon.
Any cookbook? The cookbook that I first bought myself was one called Pasta Menus that I bought at a cheap/used place downtown. I used it to cook for a date--the date went well, the food was good. (I kept the cookbook, but not the boy.)

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?
Raspberry.

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?
Chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon. I made it for bookclub at Christmas last year and two people asked for the recipe.

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?
Tofu. I heart it.

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?
All the time.

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?
The mini-cupcake pan I bought at a garage sale, and the pan I use for Fronch Toast. They need to handy at all times.

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.
Edamame. Frozen ready-made chickpea side dish, for food emergencies (bad things happen when I am really hungry). ...And I can only remember 2.

20. What's on your grocery list?
Nothing yet--I haven't looked through my pile of disorganized cookbooks and magazines.

21. Favorite grocery store?
The Real Canadian Superstore. There's only three in all of Toronto, but one of them is a twenty-minute walk away from me. It has a kick-ass health food section (apparently it's called the "Natural Values" section) and a very cute Natural Values manager that I enjoy pathetically flirting with over soygurt. Don't judge.

22. Name a recipe you'd love to veganize, but haven't yet.
Beef stroganoff. There's probably one out there, but I haven't searched yet.

23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa's because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?
VeganDad.

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?
Cocoa Camino Chocolate Mint.

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?
Raspberry syrup (the kind for coffee) for $15.99. It was purchased solely for cupcakes. I should probably try it with coffee too.

26. Ingredients you are scared to work with?
Nothing, yet. Give me a month!

Vegan Mofo

2009-10-01T17:59:00.000-07:00

Yay! VeganMoFo is finally here. For the uninitiated, that's a month in which blogs (and now Tweets too) dedicated themselves to posting about vegan food. (More info and to sign up here.)

My first VeganMoFo post will be about cupcakes. Ah, cupcakes, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways... Cupcakes are single-serving size, versatile, and abounding with cuteness. I bring cupcakes to bookclub, to work, and to the gym (yes, the gym) and they make people sooo happy. A colleague today was almost giddy with delight when I offered her a cupcake; my bookclub friends were a little overwhelmed when I provided two kinds of cupcakes (chocolate mint and chocolate orange); and my trainer gobbles up my cupcakes so fast that one of his other clients asked where I got the recipe.

Being vegan, one has two choices: eat whatever ready-made vegan food you can find; or cook. I live in the biggest city in Canada, and I list on two hands the vegan food choices within walking distance of my workplace. Living outside the core of the city means the options near my home are far, far fewer. And when it comes to dessert, vegan treats are as scarce as rednecks doing downward dog. There are exactly two vegan dessert choices near work. So, I cook. And I make cupcakes.

I wasn't really a baker before I went vegan: I didn't really have a sweet tooth. However, going vegan happened to coincide with my year-long weight-loss journey--during which I realized that the salty, crunchy snacks I so loved completely decimate my willpower. If I buy a bag of chips, it disappears before you can say "just one portion." So I tried to eat them less. And then after going vegan and realizing how scarce vegan desserts were, I began to crave them. Human nature is a funny thing: we always want what we can't have!

So I bought Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World, by vegan cookbook author extraordinaire and founder of VeganMoFo, Isa Chandra Moskowitz. It's fantastic. I've made a dozen cupcakes almost every week since I bought it. Since I really shouldn't eat 12 cupcakes before they turn into little iced hockey pucks (ooooooh! cupcake pun--you love it), I save 4 or 5 for myself and give the rest away.

This week I skimmed the cookbook, searching for I recipe that I hadn't made before but for which I had the ingredients. It was a success: I discovered peanut butter cupcakes. My co-workers and my spin instructor were happy to help me eat the dozen!

Evolving Triangles

2009-09-30T19:39:00.000-07:00

Well. Isn't it quite the punny/witty amuse-bouche-for-the-brain title I've got here. (And quite the inflated ego, incidentally.) I was going to go with "thosearepearls" but this guy already has it. Oh snap. That's okay--at least he references T. S. Eliot in his blog, which is one of that particular quote's two allusions. (The other is The Tempest [scroll halfway down for the speech] by good old Billy Shakes. But didn't we all just already know that, with our useless degrees in Eglish lit.) However, he hasn't posted since August, and has only posted three times ever. Sigh--such a waste of a good allusion, but more on that later.

Why Evolved Triangle? Because of the yoga pose, first and foremost: I have been doing yoga for ten years and still love it. It's the one pose that made me fall the first time I tried it, and it's one that gave me immense satisfaction when I could finally do it properly, with my hand on the ground.

Also, I like the notion of evolution--through trial and error, and time (and giant amounts of patience), we eventually get better. I like the blending of the concepts of science and yoga. I like how it fits with how I conceive of veganism--because one of the things people say is that humans 'evolved' to eat meat. I've seen arguments that go both ways, but to me it comes down to our moral evolution--we have highly evolved brains that allow us to choose what we eat.

To link the title into strict fitness as well (not just yoga, a blend of physical and mental most of the time), I'd have to say I think the triangle kinda looks like me now, after a year's consistent work at the gym--my shoulders have certainly become wider since I started weight training. It was one of the most dramatic changes I saw in my body, aside from the weight loss itself. (More on that later too.)

Finally, it does raise other spiritual implications as well. Firstly, the quote, "If triangles had a god, he would have three sides." Which I've always liked--we may have been made in god's image, but that sure as hell goes both ways. And in Wicca, there is the Triple Goddess, and the triangle is her symbol.

So, there it is. A breakdown of my ever-so-precious blog title. The next one will be about about food and VeganMoFo, I promise!

Welcome!

2009-09-29T18:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog! I hoped to have some long, profound, deeply personal first post...but it is late and I am tired. Long, profound, deeply personal first post coming tomorrow. And then after that, bring on lame, ranty, mostly food-related posts in which I wallow in the self-indulgent depths of whatever's handy. Rawk!