One Happy Vegan

Lentil Snobby Joes over Polenta

2010-11-05T17:27:00.000-07:00

I have not been feeling well since I returned from Boston but I was still craving a nice homemade meal tonight. A few months ago I bought a huge bag of Puy French Lentils and have been itching to use them in recipes. This lead me to open Veganomicon and boom I found Lentil Snobby Joes. These have been on my list of things to try out for a while so I was excited to try them. The ingredients are super simple and even incorporate my favourite ingredient in this world...maple syrup! The end result was a nice smokey flavour. I plan on making a nice big batch and freezing some to have on hand.

I also recently purchased some polenta wanting to give it another shot. I sliced it up and fried it on my griddle. In the end we found it did not have much taste to it but the consistency was nice and the polenta paired very well with the Snobby Joes. It was a nice alternative to buns or bread.

The side salad was made with a Top-Secret salad dressing recipe which includes Tahini and Miso and then topped with Hemp Seeds.

Okay I cannot resist showing a picture of my furbabies...Moon and Zany :)

Boston Veg Fest 2010

2010-11-03T15:56:00.000-07:00

I had an amazing opportunity to go to Boston over the weekend to attend their 15th Annual Veg Fest. Wow was it amazing! It gave us amazing ideas on what we would like to do for our very own Winnipeg Veg Fest coming in August 2011. Here is some of the food we had in Boston.

Our first restaurant visit was My Thai Vegan Cafe. I was a little skeptical about this restaurant as we walked up a long set of green stairs. Once we got to the top though the inside was very beautiful. I guess you really cannot judge a book by its cover!

Golden Triangles...filled with veggie-chicken and veggies with a nice peanute sauce. They were delicious.

Vegan Pad Thai...was decent but not super.

Gaeng Kiow Wahn...green curry with veggie beef and veggies. This was one of the most amazing dishes I have ever had in my life. The green curry and coconut milk combination was so delicious and the combination of veggies made this a perfect dish.

There was tons of food choices within the Veg Fest and unforunately I did not get a chance to take a picture of all of them. This combo was a vegan curried goat and BBQ tofu. The Curry part was great but the bbq was nothing to write home about.

This company....Like No Udder...was one of the many soy treats available at the Veg Fest. We had milkshakes, coconut ice cream, peanut and butter ice cream and the topper...Vegan Soft Serve in a Twisted format with chocoalte and Vanilla.

Here I am enjoying my cone!

I absolutely loved Boston. It was so easy to get around the city with the subway and evereyone was so friendly. There were so many restaurants we could not get to but were happy with the restaurants we visited while in Boston.

Vegan Mofo 2010...Why I became Vegan!

2010-11-01T14:31:00.000-07:00

Vegan MOFO (Month of Food) 2010 is here and I am committing myslef to blog at least 5 times a week. There are over 375 vegan blogs all over the world participating this year which is awesome.

I thought it would be appropriate to start the month off with sharing my reason as to why I became vegan. I remember growing up and never loving the taste of meat. We never ate much of it and I was blessed with a mother who cooked an amazing variety of meals filled with fresh veggies. As I got older I dipped into vegeteraianism because of not liking the taste of meat and no other reason. Of course I lied to myself during this time while I labelled myslef a "vegetarian" but still ate chicken because I thought that was how it was done.

Fast forward to 2004 when I started educating myself. I started watching the videos, reading the pamphlets and it broke my heart. I consider myself a very compassionate person towards all animals and people and once I saw what the horrific torture these animals were experiencing the nightmares began. I made a vow to return to being a vegetarian with a transition of becoming a vegan.

On August 5th, 2004 I read about a cat nammed Kensington. The tears pour down my face as I remember the fate that this cat suffered. He died alone, scared and in pain at the hands of saddist. I cannot even bear to go into this story but you can read more about Kensington's story here.

Because of Kensington I made the decision to go Vegan over night. Kensington is the reason for my veganism. I never want another animal to suffer at the hands of humans. The nightmares went away and I never looked back. I love being a vegan and have explored so many new food options over the years. It has been over 6 years that I made the decision to become a vegan and I have loved every day of it.

To Kensington...I hope you are now living your life out over the Rainbow Bridge where no one else can ever hurt you and I hope you know you will always have a place in my heart.

2010 Thanksgiving Meal #1

2010-10-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

I know it has been forever since I posted last but work has been insane this summer. I had an amazing time working at a seasonal market called Crampton's Market. I had an amazing boss, worked with great people and ate some good local fruits and veggies. I also worked all the time which left me zero time to cook. All that is about to change as I said goodbye to my summer job this weekend. Now I am free to get back in the kitchen.

That being said I opted to order in for our Thanksgiving meal tonight. Boon burger, which is a local all-vegan burger joint was offering an all inclusive Thanksgiving meal. It included a "turkey" patty, maple yams, caramlized onions, stuffing,cranberry sauce and gravy.

I cracked the lid open and everything looked amazing. When we finally dove in I was amazed at the flavours that I found in the various dishes. It was simply amazing and I am glad that I got it. It is so awesome that we vegan's have more alternatives then just buying Tofurkey Roasts.

Rustic Bread and Zucchini Lasagna

2010-07-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

First of all I have to apologize for the lack of posting. I am now working full time so that is taking up most of the time. The amazing thing is I work at Crampton's Market which is an amazing place that sells local veggies, fruit and stuff. Anyhow to tonight's dinner...

I had to admit that I was quite intregued when I first read about this lasagna that uses layers of bread instead of pasta. Turns out it is friggin fantastic. This is perfect comfort food for winter. I modeled my recipe from the recipe for Rustic Bread & Eggplant Lasagna from the amazing Vegan Yum Yum Blog.

I started off with a homemade sauce simmering on the stove. I used portabellos, onions, carrots, roasted garlic, lentils, local tomatoes and Aussie Basil. I then sliced an old loaf of ciabatta bread and roasted it in the oven with Garlic Infused Oil. I sliced some local zucchini and layered the bread, zucchini and sauce with vegan Daiya cheese. The end result tasted amazing. I made one to freeze and will be looking forward to eating it very soon. This recipe is a keeper for sure!

We had a slice of this lasagna with local green and yellow beans steamed on the side.

2010-07-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

I have an amazing friend who went to Fargo, ND over the weekend and returned with these 2 large bags of Daiya cheeze. Enough to last for the rest of the year! I portioned them out into smaller 2 cup bags and now have 32 cups of Daiya cheeze waiting for me in the freezer. Now to start looking for recipes that I want to make :)

Dragonbowl Salad and Latkes

2010-07-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

I am trying to clean out the fridge and cupboards and found some mock chick'n strips hiding in the back of the freezer so we had those tonight with a nice refreshing salad made with lettuce right out of the garden, local baby carrots, local baby beets, shelled hemp seeds and a miso-tahini dressing. I also baked some grated zucchini and sweet potato on the side.

Local Salad, Baby Potatoes and Seitan Sandwich

2010-06-28T18:14:00.001-07:00

Vegan Reuben Sandwiches

2010-06-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

I have been craving these since I had amazing Vegan Reuben sandwiches in Portland, Oregon in 2007. I wanted to make a seitan recipe and found a great recipe for Vegan Corned Beef on Vegan Dad's amazing Blog. The recipe was super simple to make once I restocked my spice cupboard. This recipe makes a huge amount of seitan, is very economical and freezes well. I sliced the Vegan Corned Beef into thin layers and topped it with saurekraut, homemade Thousand Island Dressings (vegannaise, ketchup and chopped pickles) and a spread made up of tahini and miso, all on rye bread.

For the Love of Cherries!!!

2010-06-21T17:16:00.000-07:00

I was looking for something a little different for supper tonight and stumbled upon a recipe for Mexican Stuffed Portabellos from Herbivore Dinosaur's blog. Very basic ingredients, local tomatoes, onions and cilantro stuffed into portabello mushroom caps. I served this with a side of roasted corn and Jasmine rice tossed with cilantro and a splash of Lemon Grapeseed oil. It tasted very refreshing and delicious.

I was lucky enough to be gifted a case of cherries and spent most of my day off pitting these little round beauties. I then invested in a cherry pitter and it made my life so much easier. I froze around 3/4 of the cherries, kept some fresh cherries and made these amazing Cherry and Almond Muffins from Vegan with a Vengeance. I love that these only have a small amount of oil and sugar. The recipe uses soy yogurt which I rarely buy but wouldn't you know when I went shopping they had tubs on sale for 0.99 today because they expired today! These taste amazing and I will be freezing most of them so I can grab one for a quick snack.

Homemade Perogies

2010-06-19T17:33:00.000-07:00

I have been craving Perogies lately and with a little bit of Daiya cheese I decided to give these a whirl. I followed a recipe from Where it all Vegan. The dough was very simple to roll out. I filled these with roasted potatoes, Daiya and caramalized onions. We had a few for supper and the rest went into the freezer for a rainy day. They tasted great with a dab of vegan sour cream.

Peach & Nectarine Upside-Down Cakehat

2010-06-16T17:37:00.000-07:00

With an excess amount of peaches and nectarines I searched online for an easy Peach upside down cake and found one on the Fat Free Vegan Blog. I made 3 cakes all together and really enjoyed this recipe. The only thing I would chance would be to make the cake a little thinner. We enjoyed this cake while the remaining 3 went into the freezer. We will be all ready for winter this year :)

Daiya Vegan Cheese in Canada!!!

2010-06-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

IT is here! Daiya cheese has only been a rumor in my life until now. I had some relatives driving from Minneapolis who graciously brought me 2 bags of the coveted Daiya vegan cheese. It melts! It stretches! It's Daiya!

The first attempt was on toast to see if it would melt under the broiler and I was surprised and amazed that it did. The taste/consistency of Daiya in your mouth is quite interesting. It tastes and feels amazing.

Next I tried it cold in a 7 layer dip. There are refried beans, salsa, vegan sour cream, chopped mixed greens, green onions, olives and Daiya cheese. It was delicious. I would make this for my next potluck dish. The flavours all worked well with each other.

Last but not least....potato skins! These were Fabulous! I don't think I have ever had a potato skin since being vegan but now I can enjoy them on a regular basis! I baked some Russet Potatoes and scrapped out the flesh. I think filled them with chopped green onions and Daiya Cheese. I baked for about 15 minutes at 425 in the toaster oven and they came out perfect. I topped each with a dollop of vegan sour cream.

I really hope that someone in Winnipeg starts carrying Daiya cheese. For now I am at the mercy of friends/family who visit the USA.

Vegan Potato Salad

2010-06-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

We attended a family picnic this weekend so I brought my Vegan Potato Salad. I absolutely love this recipe and have not met anyone who does not enjoy it. Low in fat and high in flavour!

Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce and Cannelloni

2010-06-08T18:45:00.001-07:00

So what do you do when you come into some locally grown hot house tomatoes that are not in great shape? You roast them and make Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce. I was excited to use our small toaster oven for this recipe because I knew it would be cooking for a while. In the end 2 large pans of produce made this:

This tasted like a million bucks. The roasted veggies had a nice charred-taste to them

Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

8 large local tomatoes, roughly chopped

2 large onions, roughly chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

10 large basil leaves, minced

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

dash of salt and pepper

Roast in 425 oven for 1 hour. Stir Often

For supper we had homemade cannelloni stuffed with tofu and fresh spinach. A tossed salad with local mixed organic greens, local cucumber, nectarines, cranberries, sunflower seeds and a Meyer Lemon dressing.

Pear-Cardamom Sorbet

2010-06-06T18:58:00.000-07:00

I recently ran into some bruised pears and I immediately thought of the recipe for Pear-Cardamom Sorbet from the Millennium Cookbook. This is super simple to make with my Cuisinart ice cream maker and tastes so refreshing. The combination of pear and cardamom together is very delightful!

First Vegan BBQ of the Year!

2010-06-05T18:41:00.000-07:00

We refilled the propane tank and dusted off the BBQ. It is my goal to start using it weekly this year instead of monthly. I love the taste of veggies, tofu, etc on the bbq. Tonight we had Tofurky sausages. We tossed baby new potatoes from B.C. and local asparagus with a new Infused Grapeseed oil that I bought and topped it with a squeeze of lemon. The taste was amazing and I was very proud that my husband made most of this meal himself.

Chickpea,Cauliflower, Potato and Greens Curry

2010-05-31T19:28:00.000-07:00

My parents came over for supper tonight which was really nice. I wanted to make a nice curry and I think this one turned out so-so. I soaked some dried chickpeas overnight and cooked them in the pressure cooker. I cubed some baby potatoes and kept their skin on. I cut up a whole cauliflower and washed some baby spinach and baby arugula. I cooked the cauliflower and potatoes in boiling water for about 6 minutes.

Later in the day I opened one can of coconut milk and added 1/2 can of Organic Tomato sauce with various curry spices. I added the veggies and chickpeas and warmed everything up. I added the greens a few minutes before the dish was done. I served mixed grains on the side.

My mother brought this amazing strawberry-rhubarb crisp. It tasted like a little piece of heaven. I truly am blessed to have such amazing parents!

Tofu and Broccoli Stif-Fry

2010-05-27T19:24:00.000-07:00

This meal was super easy to throw together and was very inexpensive. I bought the tofu which was pre-marinated in teryaki sauce when it was reduced to clear for $1.00 and froze it. The broccoli was only a few dollars and the noodles were 0.50 each. I threw some peanuts on sauce for a yummy belly warming stir-fry

Vegan Chili

2010-05-25T19:12:00.000-07:00

Now that I am working full time I am trying to fill the freezer with grab and go meals. I have been craving chili which is one of the easiest things to make. I added various veggies and beans that I found in the fridge and cupboards.

This chili has:
1 large can of whole tomatoes with juice (crushed by hand)
veggie stock
corn
1 large can of kidney beans
1 large can of mixed beans
1 red pepper
1 onion
1/2 cup tvp
4 large celery stalks chopped
4 large carrots chopped
various seasonings

Put everything in the pot, boil and then simmer for about 1 hour. Enjoy:)

Ahhh....Bliss!

2010-05-22T17:21:00.000-07:00

Life has been a little different since I returned back to work full time. I absolutely love my new position at Crampton's Market selling good food to great people! I come home exhausted though. To my amazing surprise my wonderful husband had this supper waiting for me. Beautiful local asparagus baked in the oven, baked potato and marinated Korean tofu made on the George Foreman Grill. It tasted like bliss since I did not have to make it myself. I am looking forward to what will be waiting for me next weekend :)

Tempeh, Basil and Tomato Sandwich

2010-05-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

The weather has warmed up considerably and that makes me not want the oven on so I need to find alternatives to make for supper. I defrosted some tempeh, boiled it and added some of the new Bakon Yeast that I purchased. Then I lightly fried it in some shallot/garlic canola oil. I sliced up some local, beautiful ripe tomatoes, red onion, local basil and pickles and served it all on whole clove garlic bread. The basil added a nice bite to this sandwich which was perfect for a nice warm evening.

Sock Dreams

2010-05-17T17:22:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love coloured socks. Very few of the sock I own are boring one coloured socks. They have designs, stripes, kitties, penguins etc. I was very excited to be able to make another order through Sock Dreams. Sock Dreams is an awesome Portland, Oregon based business that sells the most amazing socks. They have knee highs, over the knees, short socks, wrist socks, leg warmers and so much more.

I have not placed an order with Sock Dreams for a few years so I was so impressed with their new selection of socks. I got some amazing Dreamy Knees in Nightshade and Dark Brown/Teal, Foggy Stripes, Fox in Trees, Stripy Cats and the ultimate Chat Noir knee highs! These match perfectly with the Chat Noir canvas I have hanging in our living room.

So if you like quality, funky, reasonably priced socks visit Sock Dreams today.

Happy Birthday Mom & Dad!!!

2010-05-15T22:12:00.000-07:00

Both of my parents celebrate their birthdays within 2 weeks of each other. This year we took them out for supper to Affinity. Then we came home for dessert. I made these Coconut, Lime and Banana mini loaves. I absolutely loved these. They stayed moist overnight on the counter and they were a perfect combination of flavours.

My beautiful and awesome parents!

My brother sent my mom a beautiful fruit bouquet from Edible Arrangements. It was a nice treat to have something different for Mother's Day instead of just flowers. There was even some kale surrounding the bottom of the container. Now that I know their secrets next time I will make my own Fruit Bouquet to give as a gift. The fruit was good but for the price of this bouquet I could have made a much larger one with ripper fruit.

Roasted Portabellos, Zucchini and Potato Salad

2010-05-14T17:52:00.000-07:00

Spring is finally here and I am sure summer is just around the corner. I have been craving potato salad and remembered the amazing recipe that I tried out last year with tahini, dijon mustard, pickles, onions, lots of fresh dill and baby potatoes. I let the flavours mix together for a few hours in the fridge.

I coated the zucchini with a little of the new Roasted Garlic and Shallot Saute oil I picked up. A little goes a long way and has amazing flavour.

I marinated the plump portabello mushrooms in a little of the same oil and a Italian Fiesta Rub filled with paprika, rosemary and garlic. Wow what a flavour combination. I did not pull out the BBQ but grilled these on my Forman Grill inside. Served over a toasted baguette. This truly was a great meal.

Pictures of my new Roasted Garlic and Shallot Saute Oil and Italian Fiesta Rub.

The Miracle Cat Hair Remover!

2010-05-12T17:38:00.000-07:00

I love my kitties unconditionally. Their little wet noses, big furry hugs...well I can go on. Their hair though drives me nuts. If you have ever been to our home or seen me in a t-shirt you know I have shedding kitties. Their hair is everywhere.

I was recently re-introduced to Norwex by my new boss. I joked and said what I really need is something that removes cat hair and was surprised when she said she had just the tool I needed.

This tool is called the Norwex Rubber Static Brush. I was a little skeptical when she lent me her own personal brush. I thought how is this brush going to remove cat hair from my furniture, carpets and such. It has such big rubber bristles and nothing sticky on it to attract the cat hair. Well seeing is believing. In a matter of minutes this is the pile of cat hair I pulled out of one of the cat beds I have that has been impossible to clean.

So I am sold and bought one today. I cannot wait to see where else I can use it. I am sure this will be one of the best $20.00 investments I ever made.

Corndogs and Local Asparagus!!!

2010-05-10T17:18:00.000-07:00

It is time....for local Asparagus! I have the honour of working at Crampton's Market this year which is super awesome! They sell local produce and products. I can always tell spring is officially here when 3 local products show up...Morel mushrooms, Fiddleheads and asparagus!

Our local asparagus tastes amazing! Never tough and always bursting with flavour. My favourite way to cook asparagus is actually to bake it in the oven at a high temperature to make it a little crispy. Maybe a little salt and pepper. I served some delicate little baby potatoes on the side with a little EVOO, salt and pepper and freshly cut BBQ rosemary from my patio garden. Yummy!

Okay so I have been vegan for 5 years 8 months and one of the few things I miss...corndogs! I use to love Pogo style corndogs. I know hot dogs are the most disgusting things in the world but I miss the batter. I have never been able to satisfy that craving. I love Yves chili soy dogs but cannot get the batter right. I have tried several different types of dough which turn out good but just don't cut it. I was excited when I went to Everyday Dish TV and saw a recipe for Quick & Easy Corndogs

I made these for supper tonight and the dough was very easy to work with. I might even try to use the leftover dough for pizza. It was so easy to roll out and had a nice taste to it. These turned out nice and golden and coated the soy dogs well. Hubby enjoyed them and I did as well but I think I am looking for something with even more cornmeal in the batter.

Satisfying but the search will continue for the perfect Pogo-style vegan corndog!

Tofu/Avocado/Mango Sushi

2010-05-09T21:13:00.000-07:00

Our weekly sushi with a little twist. I had some fresh mango that I thought I would roll into the mix. I discovered that mango and wasabi make an excellent flavour combination when mixed together.

Star Grill Conservatory Review

2010-05-08T03:57:00.000-07:00

When I found out that Star Grill Conservatory in the Assiniboine Park boasted a Vegan Tofu Scrambler I was excited to try out a new vegan breakfast option somewhere hubby could enjoy eggs for breakfast. Their menu only has a handful of items that are vegan but it is still nice to see the word vegan on a menu at a restaurant.

Our first impression of the restaurant was not a very positive one as they could not find our reservation and the inside was very dingy and had the appearance of a very old restaurant that had not changed their carpet or tables for years.

Our server was less then friendly when she came over to fill our water glasses. She took our orders and asked me what type of toast I wanted. I asked her for the vegan option and she looked at me like I had just asked to meet the Queen. She said I don't think we have one we get our bread from somewhere else. I pointed to the menu and said well if your restaurant offers a Vegan Tofu Scrambler there must be a vegan bread option. She left in a huff to "find out". Surely with so many allergies they would have a list of what is in their breads even if they are not baked in the store.

It took about 40 minutes before we received our food and no one came by in the meantime to check on us. When our food arrived it was nice to see such large portions but to be fair most of the dish was potatoes or tofu with very little veggie. I would have liked to have seen more veggies on my place. The fresh herbs were nice but unless you took a bit of the dish with the herbs it was pretty bland in flavour.

Another small thing I would comment on would be the lack of quality control that went into the potatoes in both of our dishes. We both picked out around 4 potatoes that were black with rot. These clearly should have been eliminated from our dishes.

I was also a little surprised that the "Preserves" that were to be served with out toast was nothing more then strawberry jam or orange marmalade in little plastic containers. I am really not sure why they would go through the effort of printing the word "preserves" in their menu unless it was to dupe customers into thinking they were actually going to get something a little more better then Kraft Jam.

The cleanliness in this restaurant was less then par. This is definitely not a place my mom would have eaten at. When I looked into the little white dish the jam was served in it was filled with old crumbs and dirt. The Ketchup bottle put on our table had product smeared on the top of it. It really did not improve my impression of this restaurant. At least our cutlery was clean.

One thing I really loved about this restaurant was the scenery. We watched the squirrels and beautifully coloured birds fly around. They kept us well entertained as we waited for our meals.

All in all I present the Star Grill Conservatory with the following:

Vegan Selection: ♥♥ out 5 possible ♥

Taste/Quality:♥♥♥ out of 5 possible ♥

Cleanliness: ♥♥ out of 5 possible ♥

Service: ♥♥ out of 5 possible ♥

Total: 9♥/20♥

Star Grill Conservatory

15 Conservatory Drive

Winnipeg, Manitoba

My trip to Calgary...Part 2 The Adventure!

2010-05-07T17:34:00.000-07:00

During my visit to Calgary I was treated to a mini-vacation within my vacation when my awesome friend took me to the Fairmont Hot Springs in Radium, BC. The drive was only about 3 hours from Calgary and it was so scenic, peaceful and beautiful!

I snapped this picture because I thought it looked neat driving through the mountains. When I got home and showed it to my husband he started laughing until I looked at the picture again...do you see it? A crosswalk in the middle of the mountains?! I am not sure who would be risking their life to cross between 2 blind corners but obviously someone thought it was necessary to put a crosswalk in the middle of nowhere!

Here is a picture of our resort and private Hot Springs pool for guests only.

The public pool in the morning. You can see the beautiful steam rising from the very warm and soothing waters.

We saw a lot of wildlife on the trip up and in Radium. Lots of elk, deer and mountain goats.

This was a sign posted on the resort doors. Thankfully we did not see the cougar or her cub. We did see the following kitty but it proved to be harmless :)...

Thank you Audra for an amazing getaway in the mountains. This trip really made me miss living in Calgary and being so close to nature. We really do not get the same scenery or fresh air while living in the prairies of Manitoba.

My trip to Calgary...Part 1 the Food

2010-05-06T22:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the amazing food I had in Calgary. There are a few reasons that I go to Calgary...friends and food! The first restaurant we visit is Buddha's Veggie. Now I was a little sad to see that as of this year they introduced meat on their menu. Even though everything is cooked in separate kitchens it was nice to have an all vegan restaurant in Calgary. These are their famous Veggie Dried Ribs and I ate more then my fill while I was here...I even brought some back with me!

Crispy Veggie Eel with Spicy Salt, Veggie Ginger Beef, Pan-Fried Green Beans with Spicy Soy Sauce.

These Coconut-Yam Rolls were simply amazing! The flavour was so sweet with a combination of soft and crunchy to please your mouth!

Vegan Dim Sum! Not as great as I remembered it being a few years ago but some of it was amazing with so many choices!

Next stop...The Coup. This place is always hopping! During this visit they opened up a small bar on the side of the restaurant where we had appetizers and drinks before we could get our table. The Coup is worth the wait. Their food is fresh and delicious with many vegan options.

I enjoyed a Rootbeer Float with tofullati. It was devine. We also shared some rosemary yam fries with garlic aioli made with veganase.

We finally got in around 9:30 and I got the Upstream burger made with yam, smoked tofu and cashews served on warm focaccia with a side of baked yam fries. The burger was divine with so much flavour. Next visit I promise to try something new :) Unfortunately neither of us had room for dessert but their menu did look awesome!

My latest Additions...

2010-05-03T16:45:00.001-07:00

My new Klean Kanteen bottle! I have had a SIGG bottle for many years but when the company refused to replace my bottle which was found to have BPA in the liner the boycott began. This new bottle is an awesome orange colour and holds 40 ounces of water. It was on sale and I absolutely love it!!!

Thanks to my amazing friend Serena who showed me an amazing blog from Kitchen Boutique. They have amazing kitchen products and were having a few giveaways so I won an onion and tomato savers. I love the tomato saver because it can hold a decent sized tomato and is super easy to open and latch. The onion one is a little trickier to open and close since it is so slippery. These are definitely going to come in handy in garden season!

Last but not least....my new Brown Turkish Fig tree! I am hoping it will produce some figs this year. This amazing Fig tree comes from Sage Garden Herbs. The owner is very friendly and knowledgeable. I am sure it will be so much happier once I replant it this week and can put it outside for the rest of the summer. It has only been going outside during the day for now since it is still pretty cold at night. My 2 rosemary varieties and chocolate mint are peaking through in the background.

Steel Cut Oats

2010-05-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

There is something about a nice bowl of steaming oatmeal that brings me back to my childhood. It is one of the few memories I have with my grandparents...sitting on my grandpa's lap eating oatmeal. Obviously very oblivious to what the true form of oats are I never knew that the old fashioned oatmeal I ate was so processed. It is cut, cooked and then flattened and then processed again. It still is very nutritious but then I discovered Steel Cut Oats and my mornings changed. This is the form of oatmeal I remember. It takes longer to cook but it makes a much creamier bowl of oatmeal.

I searched the internet for a rice cooker recipe for my Steel Cut Oats. Most advised the same thing...add 1 part steel cut oats to 3 parts water and let them soak overnight. I tried this and it took about 45 minutes in the rice cooker the next morning. I don't have a fancy rice cooker with all of the settings on it or anything like that but the oatmeal came out perfect. It made 2 huge servings. The next morning I heated up my second serving with an extra cup of water on the stove and it turned out perfect again.

I wonder if I can make oatmeal in the pressure cooker...

Vegan Tourtiere and Strawberry Almond Milkshake

2010-04-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight for supper we had the leftover vegan Tourtiere (meat pie) that my mom made for Easter. This is the very last piece so I had to savour every last bit of it. My mom truly is amazing when it comes to any type of pie!

I am also trying to make room in the freezer so that means I have to eat all of last year's hoarded berries. I took out a huge bag of frozen strawberries, added some almond milk and made a nice Strawberry-Almond Milkshake.

Pizza Night!

2010-04-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

I finally got a hold of my precious Soy Curls. I have been out of them since my return trip from Portland and they are impossible to find here in Canada unless you want to pay ridiculous shipping costs. Well I have some now...lots of them! I made pizza for supper with my favourite combination of earth balance and Frank's Red Hot Sauce for the base with soy curls tossed in Hot Sauce, sliced portabellos and green onions. Yummers!!!

St. Patrick's Potato, Fennel and Leek Soup

2010-04-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

I bought Vegan World Fusion Cuisine way back when I was in Portland, Oregon and have not used it for many years. This soup attracted my eye a few months ago but I never had all of the ingredients together under the same roof at the same time. Well today I did and I am glad I remembered to make this soup. The taste was very nice and comforting.

Spaghetti and Mock Meatballs

2010-04-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

I tried out a new recipe for "meatballs". These are losely based on a recipe I found on a blog which I will insert here as soon as I remember where I found it. I changed the recipe and these have minced onions, rolled oats, wheat germ, wheat gluten and various other spices. I was not too optimistic about these going into the oven but they actually turned out to be pretty decent. They would probably taste very nice simmering in a sauce so they could absorb its flavour. I realized once I got home that the organic pasta I got was not whole wheat but I cannot complain since I got it for free :)

Hot Sauce Glazed Tempeh, Rice and Corn

2010-04-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

I bought a few extra packages of tempeh when they were reduced to clear and froze them. Well now that I am trying to make room in the freezer I decided to use them up. I have not found a recipe that enjoy more with tempeh then Veganomicon's Hot Sauce Glazed Tempeh recipe. The Tempeh comes out soft, moist and bursting with flavour. We had some brown basmatti rice on the side with corn from the freezer. I had to eat on the go so this is what a vegan meal to go looks like :)

Tofu Stir Fry with Soba Noodles

2010-03-24T16:33:00.000-07:00

Tonight's diner was not only inexpensive, tasted great but was very quick as well. Superstore now sells marinated teriyaki tofu so I bought a bag. They were on sale for $2.00 plus they were 50% off since they expired in a few days so I bought a few to freeze. $1.00 for a bag of marinated tofu was a steal of a deal! I also found some leftover veggie shrimps in the freezer and cut those up. The veggies were in a pre-cut bag for $2.00 and the soba noodles were $1.67 making this a pretty decent meal for $4.67 for four servings! The only thing about the soba noodles is I had to rinse them under cold water for a long time to get them not to stick together.

Veggie Corn Dogs and Salad

2010-03-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

I have been eyeing a mini loaf pan for quite some time now and Canadian Tire had them on for 40% off so I picked one up. They are perfect to make Veggie Corn Dogs in. The cornbread recipe is taken from Vegan Lunch Box. I really love these and have not had them for a while. They also freeze very well and get nice and crispy when reheated in the toaster oven. I served a nice green salad on the side.

YoSo Soy Yogourt Review

2010-03-12T06:17:00.001-08:00

As a vegan I get very excited over finding new products in the stores which I can eat. I first noticed a new Soy Yogurt on the market a few weeks ago and finally wrote the company this week. I received a quick response back from customer service confirming that all of their products are vegan including this soy yogurt. Well you guessed it...I was over the moon.

I found their soy yogurt at both Vita Health and Price Choppers. They come in 2 different packaging...440ml container and a 6 pack of assorted variety (125ml) each. It was actually cheaper to buy the assortment pack so that is what I did so I could try out all of their varieties. The larger containers were around 4.59 and the 6 pack was 6.99

The soy yogurt comes in Vanilla, Blueberry and Strawberry. Now I have tried my share of soy yogurts in the past but with extremely limited success. Without naming names one was always too sour for my taste and the other was way too gritty and left a weird after taste in my mouth. Well now I have YoSo soy yogurt....

I tried the vanilla yesterday and was impressed with the consistency which was not watery but nice and thick. The small container was perfect for a one size portion and has a lot of good nutrition packed into it. 20% DRI of calcium, 6% DRI of iron plus, omega 3 -polyunsaturates and Chicory Inulin which is a prebiotic.

So...how does it taste? Amazing. It was extremely smooth, creamy and tasted great. The vanilla bean flavour was not overpowering which was perfect. I did not find this yogurt overly sweet either.

I definitely give this yogurt 2 thumbs up and recommend it to vegans out there looking for a good soy yogurt. I cannot wait to try their sour cream and spreadable products next.

Homecooking: Manicotti

2010-02-17T20:02:00.001-08:00

Okay we finally get our new camera back tomorrow so hopefully the pictures should start to look better. What goes best when you are not feeling good...comfort food. Tonight I wanted to drown myself in a homemade dish of manicotti so I made a few batches of them. I followed the recipe from the Uncheese cookbook. These are pretty basic. Cooking manicotti shells filled with tofu, spinash and spices. For an extra layer of "comfort" I added a homemade cheeze sauce on top. They turned out great and tasted amazing. I am glad I made an extra one to freeze.

Day 5: Jerusalem Bowl and Sushi

2010-02-05T19:59:00.000-08:00

In celebration of having a very successful week at hot yoga I treated myself to a Rice Bowl from the Calm Unity Cafe which can be found in Moksha Yoga on Waverley street. I definitely made an excellent choice with going with their Jerusalem Bowl. I brought my own dish and they loaded it with brown jasmine rice, grilled falafel, parsley, red cabbage, celery, avocado and an amazing Tahini sauce. It was so beautiful and tasted amazing! It took all I had to resist buying one of their yummy looking desserts!

For supper we had leftover rice wraps from last night and a few pieces of avocado sushi. Unfortunately the organic soy sauce I bought was way to salty to be paired up with this sushi but the wasabi I whipped up tasted amazing on top of these little beauties.

Day 4: Rice Wraps and 2 Hot Yoga Classes

2010-02-04T17:49:00.000-08:00

Hot Yoga totally kicked my butt this morning. I thought I was ready to take 2 classes back to back so this morning I went to a regular Moksha and a Hot Hatha. Halfway through the second class I was so exhausted I could not even hold myself up anymore. I am glad I pushed myself because by 4pm I was ready to go to another class.
Breakfast: Homemade Breakfast Bar
Lunch: Leftovers from last night in a sprouted tortilla
Snack: pistachios and dates
Supper: Rice wraps (rice noodles, assorted greens, carrots, green onion, cucumber and cilantro with a peanut dipping sauce (almond butter, agave, tamari, rice vinegar, sesame oil and Frank's Red Hot Sauce)

Day 3: Sweet Potato Salad and Breakfast Bars

2010-02-03T17:31:00.000-08:00

The Quantum Wellness Cleanse book is proving to have some really good recipes in it. I made some Cherry Coconut Breakfast bars and they are awesome. I looked at them when they came out of the oven and thought these are never going to fill me up for breakfast but boy was I wrong! These are filled with steel cut oats, coconut, apricots, cherries and much more. One bar fills me up until lunch and really gets your jaw working as you chew through it.

For supper we had Middle Eastern Sweet-Potato Salad over mixed greens with Hot Buffalo Tofu. I was a little sceptic when I read combining green olives with sweet potatoes but wow what a flavour combo. This was super easy to make and tasted amazing. I was a little disappointed in the organic sweet potatoes that I bought at Superstore because they were white. I am sure a nice orange sweet potato/yam would make these supper even more pleasing to the eye.

Hot Yoga this morning was 75 minutes of Moksha Yoga. It totally kicked my butt again!

I am back in action!

2010-02-01T16:53:00.000-08:00

Welcome to February...the month of change for me. The first exciting news is I joined a hot yoga studio. Moksha Yoga had an amazing deal where you can attend unlimited classes for the entire month of February for $40!!! There was no way I could pass that up. I took my first 75 minute Moksha class this morning and loved it. Secondly February will be a detox-type month. I am trying to follow recipes from the Quantum Wellness Cleanse book (cutting out 95% gluten, sugar etc)
Breakfast: Slow cooked oatmeal with 1/2 chopped apple and cinnamon...yummy!
After Yoga Snack: almond milk, banana and raspberry smoothie

Lunch: tomato, avoado, cucumber, lettuce, beans on Eziekiel sprouted tortilla with a pickle
Snack: 1/2 apple and 8 rice crackers

Supper: Corn Fritters with Fresh Guacamole and Fennel/Carrot Slaw. This was so flavourful, filling and amazing!

Totally MIA!

2009-12-08T06:17:00.000-08:00

Sorry I have been missing in action but life has been one hectic ball of craziness. The good news is we leave for Australia very soon and I could not be more excited. Although I will not be able to update my blog while away I will be bringing back tons of pictures with me and will do many posts when I return. I hope everyone has many happy holidays!

Day 2... the cravings almost got me!

2009-10-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

Well day 2 brought on the cravings especially when I went to Costco with my dad. I managed to control myself for the most part. Then my dad brought over a cake that my mom had made. I ate a small sliver of it this evening. Sigh....there is always tomorrow.

Breakfast:oatmeal

Lunch:Leftover Tofu and Broccoli Stir-Fry

Snack: Rye crackers with peanut butter, almonds

Supper: Hummus, Tomato Brushetta, cucumbers, carrots and celery.

Day 1...getting use to life without sugar

2009-10-28T20:40:00.001-07:00

I have decided to try something a little different and am hoping I have enough motivation to stick to this change. I am trying to cut most sugar out of my diet (and for those of you who know me you know I love my sugar!) This line of cooking follows a lifestyle change called First Line Therapy where you eliminate sugars and eat foods that have lower glycimic index values. First day and so far so good.
Breakfast: oatmeal with blueberries and Almond Milk
Morning Snack: 3 rye crackers with almond butter

Lunch: Butternut Squash soup with a salad (romaine lettuce, artichoke hearts, cucumbers, chickpeas, tomatoes and olives)

Afternoon Snack: Hummus and veggies

Supper: Tofu Stir Fry with Ginger Broccoli, Portabellos and Red Peppers over quinoa.

Let's see what tomorrow brings...

Vegan Thanksgiving #5 2009

2009-10-12T20:57:00.000-07:00

We celebrated our 5th Annual Vegan Thanksgiving Sunday evening and there was a lot of food to go around. I loved everything this year and we definitely now have staples that will be made each year.
The menu looked something like this:

Tofurky Roast

Stuffed Mushrooms from Tofu-N-Sprouts Blog

Grean Bean Casserole

Baked Brussel Sprouts

Homemade sage Stuffing

Roasted Poatoes done 2 ways (one with Tofurky roast the other in a maple/dijon sauce)

Chesepeake Tempeh Cakes (from Veganomicon)

Homemade cranberry sauce

Homemade Gravy

Everything on my plate! My mom also made me a beautiful birthday cake with crazy candles for my birthday but none of the pictures turned out..:( The cake is gone now in my belly. It was an amazing chocolate cake with raspberries with this amazing creme-caramel sauce on it. It tasted so yummy especially since I did not have to make it myself :)

Needless to say we have enough leftovers for the next week so I will have to find something else to blog about for the next few days.

So what am I thankful for this year...for my amazing family who is so supportive in so many ways. I love my parents and brother so much. I am thankful for change and for hope because sometimes without hope I would just give up. I am thankful for a loving husband, two amazing kitties and great friends.

Sushi

2009-10-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

So what happens when you are craving Sushi on a sunday night at 5:45 and the stores close at 6pm? Well you get 2/3 of the ingredients you really wanted to make sushi with since the avocados are all hard as a rock. I have been craving sushi for a few days now but I was trying to make it until tuesday when the stores have their 10% off days. Anyhow...tonight we had sushi with roasted asparagus and veggie mock shrimps. In retrospect the mock shrimps made the dish a little too fishy so I probably would not use them again. They were perfect for rice wraps but maybe not so much for sushi. The asparagus was perfect though...it was no avocado but was okay none the less.

Why did I become vegan...for Kensington

2009-10-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

Everyone has a reason for why the became vegan or what lead them there. Mine is a very personal story that I do not always share with people who ask. My original reasons for turning vegetarian was because of the literature I began to read about the slaughterhouses, the transportation of animals, the torture and misery that these animals lead. My reason for veganism however is Kensington the cat. His story brings tears to my eyes and I will not repeat it. His story has nothing to do with the food that I eat but has everything to do with how people treat animals. He is the reason that I am vegan because I want to personally ensure that his suffering brought along change. If you are not the type that is weak of heart you can google is story. I will warn you it is painful.

I just celebrated my 5th year of Veganism in August. Each day I keep Kensington is in my thoughts and he is always in my heart.

VeganMoFo III

2009-10-01T19:06:00.001-07:00

Welcome to VeganMoFo 2009...this is the month where we go nuts about blogging all about vegan stuff. I promise to blog at least 20 days in October. So here goes...

I am still working through recipes from The Vegan Brunch. Tonight I tried out the recipe for a Lemon Cashew stuffed Crepe with Whole Berry Sauce. I also made some homemade vegan Chorizo sausages and baked some blue potatoes on the side. All I can say is WOW! This was my first time making crepes and although the first few were big time flops I got the hang of it towards the end. The cashew lemon stuffing is simply divine! This is a perfect make ahead recipe since everything can be made the day before and assembled the next morning.

I somehow managed the make the Chorizo sausages a tad too spicy for our liking but they turned out really good and what I love about them is that they are soy free. It is very difficult to find a vegan sausage that tastes good and is soy free. I plan to make a bunch of these and have them ready in the freezer to grill up on the bbq or throw into various dishes.

So if you have never made crepes because you were too intimidated now is the time to throw caution to the wind and give them a whirl! I promise they are worth it and you can impress your family and friends.

New Cookbook: Vegan Brunch by Isa handra Moskowitz

2009-09-29T17:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, I waited my turn patiently in the line up at our local library to get my little paws on this amazing new book and boy was it worth it. Isa is also the author of Vegan with a Vengeance, Veganomicon and Cupcakes Take Over the World which are all amazing cookbooks.

I thumbed through this book and have decided to buy it once I return this one to the library. Tonight I made her Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes and I absolutely loved them. I improvised a little on the sauce since I did not have the ingredients she requested for it but it turned out amazing. This was my first stab with panko as well and I love it. I served some fresh local corn and squash on the side with a Sunrise Mix of lemon orzo, sweet potato orzo, mustard seeds and red rice on the side. It was yummers!

My Mom and Dad Came!!!

2009-09-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

My mom and dad came this weekend. It was so amazing because my mom brought all of this food with her and I never had to cook once. Plus everything tasted so amazing that I was in heaven. My dad also put 6 new windows into our home which was awesome. My parents are amazing!
Friday night we had portabellos, rice and lentils wrapped in filo dough with a chickpea salad filled with veggies from the garden.

For dessert...homemade vegan donuts!!!

Saturday my mom had made fresh homemade naan bread filled with potatoes and vegan cabbage rolls. They were so amazing! I am lucky to have been blessed with great parents like mine.

Pizza

2009-09-07T20:16:00.001-07:00

Tonight we had pizza! I made a half batch of Vegan Dad's amazing no fail pizza dough. I made one small subsitution and added some veggie stock instead of water that I needed to use up and cut back on the salt. I topped the pizza with fresh minced garlic and olive oil for the base and added shredded zucchini, yellow tomatoes and homeade seitan on top. As usual it was delicous!

Pita Pouches

2009-09-02T16:46:00.000-07:00

Tonight's dinner were nice pita pocket sandwiches. I bought some nice fresh pitas from the store today and packed them with mixed lettuce, avocado, red onion, fresh corn off the cob, cucubmers, salsa, vegan sour cream and Garden mock chick'n breast. These really hit the spot and it was nice to not have to warm the entire kitchen up.

Tofu and Green Beans

2009-08-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

What to do....what to do. I am really feeling less and less creative about making meals lately. I am not sure why with the abundance of summer around us. I hummed and hawed over what to make for dinner tonight and came up with this dish. It was actually quite delicious and not too spicy. I pressed some extra firm tofu for about an hour then fried it in a little bit of olive oil until brown on all sides. I then sauteed an onion and garlic, added some curry spices, veggie stock and soy milk. On the side I steamed some green and yellow beans. Once the mixture came to a boil I added the tofu back in with the green beans. Mixed it all up and served it over brown rice. I crumbled some pistachios over mine for a treat.

Now what am I going to make tomorrow...

Gnocchi and Sauce

2009-08-21T21:46:00.001-07:00

I am completely addicted to gnocchi. This use to be another food that I hated up until a few years ago. I will confess that I attempted to make this once myself. It turned out pretty decent but boy was it a pain in the @ss to make! The counter gets stuck with flour and potato residue and you really have to be committed to making a billion batches at a time if you want to make it...just my opinion. Tonight I opted to buy it premade. I served it with some fresh tomato sauce and garlic bread on the side. Perfect comfort food.

Beets, Beans and BBQ Skewers

2009-08-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

I have to say I am proud of myself with this beet dish. Now, a few years ago I never would have touched beets no matter how they were cooked. When I was young I remember my mom making beet dishes and hating even the smell of them. Now I love them!

This recipe was inspired by Farmer John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables. When I was in Portland, Oregon in 2006 I saw the documentary made on Farmer John and actually got to meet him which was amazing. He talks about generation of farming and CSA's. It really is a great documentary. Well he sold a book which I absolutely love. It is divided by seasons (which means nothing here in Winnipeg!!) but each vegetable has a page dedicated to it about storage, flavour companions etc plus amazing recipes. This beet recipe was tweeked a little from his original one.

Beets in a Creamy Sauce
6 med beets
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup veggie stock
1/4 cup soy milk (or almond/rice)
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped

Cut the tops and bottoms off of the beets and scrub them clean. Place them in a glass dish with half cup of water and cover with lid or foil. Place in oven at 425 for about an hour (you can also roast garlic in the oven at the same time for another use). When you can pierce them easily with a fork they are done! Take them out and let them cool a bit before running them under cold water. Their skins will easily come off. Slice beets in half and then in quarters. All of this can be done ahead of time.

In a pan sautee the onions in evoo, add flour and cook for 2 minutes, add stock, soy milk and dijon mustard and stir to combine. Let thicken for 1 minute then add the cut up beets. Let simmer over low heat for 10 minutes until the beets are warm again!

On the side I reheated some rice and onions with local green beans and Gardein BBQ Skewers. I had a coupon to try them for free and they were actually pretty decent. I found them filling and only actually ate one of them.

Fresh Garden Sandwiches

2009-08-17T18:07:00.000-07:00

A trip to Crampton's Market and a visit from my parents yielded me some nice local veggies. I got an eggplant, tomato, red pepper, zucchini, cucumber and red onion. I sliced everything up and roasted it, added some fresh red pepper hummus, sliced up some fresh ciabatta bread and came up with the following creation:

Cold Pasta Salad with Lemon-Dill Dressing

2009-08-04T16:37:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had a cold pasta salad. I cut up some cucumbers from a friend's garden, local carrots, baby onions and celery. I used Eden Organics pasta shells, cooked up some chickpeas from scratch and added some of Crampton's Lemon-Dill sauce. This is the perfect summer salad. Plus we have tons of leftovers so I won't have to worry about lunch for the next few days.

Boca Spicy Chick'n Burgers and Potato Salad

2009-07-29T18:50:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to take a quick trip to the USA on Monday with a good friend so I loaded up on some Boca burgers that I still cannot find here. Tonight for supper we had one of the Spicy Chick'n Boca burger on whole wheat buns with tomatoes. Sides of fresh local carrots and celery and I made a quick potato salad that had a lemon/dill dressing from Crampton's market and cut up green onions topped with a few bacon bits.

Pizza

2009-07-24T23:44:00.000-07:00

I was buy myself tonight so I splurged and bought some flour....have you seen the price of flour these days!!! I topped it with a combo of earth balance and Frank's Red hot sauce for the bottom layer then added artichoke hearts, black olives, pineapple, left over ground seitan and some Blue Sheese. yummy!!!

Seitan "ham" stuffing, potatoes and asparagus

2009-07-20T20:51:00.000-07:00

Even though it was super warm out today I made Bryanna's Setian "ham" in the toaster oven. It turned out pretty decent even though I was missing 1/4 of the ingredients. I was craving a sunday night dinner but did not have time over the weekend so we had it tonight. I pan fried some baby potatoes and steamed some local asparagus with some homemade cranberry sauce and stuffing on the side. YumYum

Taco Salad

2009-07-13T18:52:00.000-07:00

My mother brought me some fresh Romain lettuce out of her garden and I had some veggie ground round mexican flavour so decided to make a salad. I served some salsa and tofutti "sour cream" on the side with chopped up olives and tortilla chips. yummy

Potato Salad and Sandwiches

2009-07-01T18:02:00.000-07:00

My parents were over for supper tonight and we wanted to have something nice but does not require hours of cooking in the oven. I have not made too many potato salads in the past but must say I am very impressed with this one. 95% of the ingredients tonight were picked up from Crampton's Market. If you still have not been to Crampton's....drop everything right now and go to the corner of Waverly and Bishop Grandin. I assure you will not be disappointed. Excellent selection and amazing customer service!
The sandwiches are on delicious whole clove garlic bread (a must for when you go to Crampton's), with dill hummus, local cucumbers and tomatoes, lettuce and garlic sprouts.

"Creamy" Dilly Vegan Potato Salad
2-3 lbs of baby potatoes cut in half
1 tsp salt for boiling water
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
2 dill pickles, chopped
1 bunch of fresh dill, chopped
3-4 tbsps tahini
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp vinegar (I used Apple Cider)
1 tbsp pickle juice (straight from the jar)
1 tbsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste.

Boil potatoes in salt water for 15-20 minutes making sure not to overcook. Add chopped onion, dill and pickles into a bowl. Add the rest of ingredients right into the bowl and stir to incorporate all ingredients. Drain potatoes and add to sauce coating all pieces. Top with vegan bacon bits just before serving. Enjoy.

Sweet and Sticky Wingz

2009-06-29T18:59:00.000-07:00

I was craving some gluten tonight and had found a bag on sale last week. I have been wanting to make a seitan ham but the heat is preventing me from doing so. Enter Sweet and Sticky Wingz. You can find the recipe on the amazing Vegan Dad's Blog. Vegan Dad has so many amazing recipes that I wish I could try them all (hopefully one day I will!)

These things are super simple to make and I could not believe how amazing the sauce tasted. Granted it is filled with maple syrup and sugar but OMG you need to try it! I served some quinoa/couscous/orzo on the side with a salad. I will definitely be making these again but I think next time I will make them in small one bite sized chunks.

Pasta Primavera?

2009-06-28T16:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight was not exactly what I had in mind for dinner but we needed to use up some leftover veggies so voila. Now I am not exactly sure what pasta primavera is but I always assumed it was pasta with veggies so this is what I will call tonight's dinner. I sautéed some onions and 2 Tofurky sausages in EVOO, added zucchini, asparagus and mushrooms. I added a little veggie stock thickened with 1 tbsp of flour to about 1 cup of veggie stock and then mixed everything in with 1 bog of wholewheat rotini. I added some fresh chopped tomatoes at the end. It was actually pretty decent and the only herb I added was some basil.

Annie Chun's Udon Soup

2009-06-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

I have seen these for sale before and have always been curious to try them but they have always been super expensive. Well they had them on sale at London Drugs for 3.69 and I had $1.00 off coupons so I bought a few. I have to say that I am actually pretty impressed. The bowls are biodegradable which is amazing and the soup is actually quite filling. The broth is very tasty. The only drawback is that the noodles are very long and difficult to eat with a spoon and end up making a mess everywhere. As well there are little red chili flakes hidden in the soup and if you bite into one...yowsers! Overall though for 2.69 it is a great deal for convenience food that is vegan.

Baked Beans and more beans.

2009-06-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had some baked beans with green and yellow beans and a Tofurky beer brat on the side. For some reason the sausage did not taste as it usually does so I did not really like it. I was impressed with the beans although I did find them a little too sweet.

Way too hot to cook!!!

2009-06-24T20:37:00.001-07:00

It has been getting too hot to cook lately so that is why there are a lack of posts. Tonight we had tacos with Mexican ground round, shredded butter lettuce, Blue Sheese, sweet vidalia onions and chunky salsa. yummy!

Taquitos, Potatoes and Zucchini

2009-06-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

I love our little toaster oven that we got last year. It means we can still enjoy warm food even once it gets super hot out. Tonight we had taquitos with zucchini and homemade potato wedges. I seem to be running out of motivation to cook but maybe we just need to find some inspiration.

Picnic Food

2009-06-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

We went out for a Birth Roots Doula Collective picnic today which was so much fun. We each brought our own lunches and they supplied a vegan cake (unfortunately was not vegan but DH had a piece for me!). I made some sandwiches on a loaf of sourdough bread. I added hummus, mustard, marinated artichoke hearts, cucumbers, vidalia onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and grated blue Sheese. We had some nice peaches and popcorn (who knew popcorn was a good picnic food!) on the side. For dessert I made some of Kittee's amazing peanut butter fudge. It was such a beautiful day out but we went to a pool party right afterwards and were dead tired by the time we got home! What a fun day :)

Sloppy Joes and Fries

2009-06-10T16:37:00.000-07:00

I have been craving these for a while now and still remember how great the recipe I use to make them is. I think they come from the Garden of Vegan (the green book by Sarah Kramer). I cannot remember the title right now. They are super simple to make tvp, onions, red peppers, seasoning, tomato sauce but they taste amazing. I even shredded up some zucchini to boost up the veggies.

Here is the cake I worked on today for hubby's birthday. I usually make it a 4 layer cake but I thought we could cut out some calories by halving the recipe....yeah right! It is a Chocolate Raspberry Torte to Live for! I have made it before and only making a half recipe makes it go much quicker. I cannot wait to dive into it later on tonight!

Stuffed Chik'n Breasts, Aspargaus and Spaghetti Squash

2009-06-07T20:51:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had an array of items for supper. Many of the items came from Crampton's Market. Seriously if you live in Winnipeg and have never been drive down there tomorrow. They are friendly and amazing. I roasted some potatoes in various spices, roasted the local asparagus with some salt and pepper and cooked up a spaghetti squash. This squash is special because I purchased it at Crampton's Market last September! It lasted this long on my counter. I made a alfredo-type sauce to go on top of it because I did not want to serve it with a tomato sauce. The main attraction was the stuffed Chik'n breast and some really amazing Potato-Rosemary bread from....Crampton's Market! We were stuffed after this meal which is good because there was no dessert :)

Mock Alfredo Sauce
1/2 box Silken Tofu
1 cup almond milk
1 tsp salt and pepper
1/4 of a small onion, minced
handful of grated Blue Sheese
pinch of nutmeg
1 tbsp earth balance (vegan butter)
2 tbsp flour

Melt earth balance and flour and let it brown for a few minutes. Meanwhile put everything else in the blender and blend. Pour into pot, whisk until no lumps and heat until it boils. Makes quite a bit of thick sauce. Thin it out with water if too thick.

Veggie Dogs and Fries

2009-06-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

Lazy Dinner today after a day filled with meetings. We had Yves Veggie Chili Dogs with various toppings and french fries. I guess we are missing some veggies...potatoes and minced onions are veggies right?

Perogies and Snap Peas

2009-06-04T20:30:00.000-07:00

I found some perogies at the back of the freezer so I sliced an onion and sauteed these with some organic snap peas. I have never had these peas warm before but they were actually quite good.

Pizza and salad

2009-06-01T17:50:00.000-07:00

We really need to go shopping because it is getting slim-pickings in the fridge. I whipped up a batch of pizza dough smothered it with tomato sauce added some sliced red onion, 1 crumbled veggie burger, black olives and vegan parmesan cheese. Mixed salad on the side with raspberry poppy seed vinaigrette (from Cramptons which is simply amazing and flavourful!).

Chickpea Cutlets, asparagus, roasted potatoes and salad

2009-05-31T17:53:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon. Have not had these in a while and I really missed them. I love making them into little nugget sized cutlets. We had some local asparagus on the side, this was roasted in the oven with a little bit of evoo and salt and pepper, roasted potatoes with seasoning and evoo and a nice mix of salads on the side. We had some agave for a dipping sauce. Yum.

Brinner

2009-05-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

With little to no groceries left in the house I had to improvise for dinner tonight...so we had brinner. I made some homemade roasted potatoes (cut potatoes, little evoo, rosemary and salt and pepper and baked in the oven) with some Brainless Banana and chocolate chip pancakes with strawberries and maple syrup on top. Yummy!

Potato and Tofu Stew

2009-05-18T18:10:00.000-07:00

I was craving the rich sauce from Vegan With a Vengeance's Potato and Tofu Stew in Miso broth. I was shocked to discover that I only had half of the miso required to make this recipe but it still turned out great. I used fresh creamer potatoes from California and local mushrooms and carrots. This stew really hit the spot and has truly become comfort food to me.

Pretzel Bites a la VeganDad

2009-05-17T18:06:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had Pretzel Bits a la VeganDad blog. His blog is filled with amazing recipes which are all kid and adult friendly. His recipe for Pretzel Bites is super easy. We had some Yves Chili dogs that I cut up in 4 and wrapped some of the pretzel dough around them. They tasted amazing!

Of course Pretzel Bites taste better when they are dipped in both mustard and ketchup!

Avocado and Cucumber Sushi

2009-05-14T18:01:00.000-07:00

Kind of a simple supper tonight. I rolled up some sushi with avocado and cucumbers. Very tasty and we had some nice watermelon for dessert.

Best Sandwich Ever and fruit salad

2009-05-13T20:19:00.000-07:00

Here is the amazing sandwich I made for supper. I went to Crampton's Market again today to pick up a few things. This sandwich is made with local multigrain bread, local tomatoes, local cucumbers, lettuce, local hummus, homemade cranberry sauce and pickles. I served a nice fruit salad on the side. Now I know you are thinking what!?! cranberry sauce and hummus!?! Try it...it is an amazing combination. I could eat a sandwich like this every day.

Kamut Spirals with Kale Sauce and Salad

2009-05-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

I had a nice bunch of Kale that had to be used up so I lightly boiled it, pureed it and added it to my spaghetti sauce. It made the sauce look like a nice dark pesto but did not overwhelm the taste which was nice. We had a nice mixed salad on the side with some salad dressing I picked up from a local market called Crampton's Market. The dressing is a raspberry poppy seed vinaigrette and it is amazing.

Happy Mother's Day and Happy Birthday to both my Parents!

2009-05-09T23:20:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Mother's Day and both of my parents' birthdays a little early this year. We pulled out the bbq for the second time this year! We grilled those stuffed chick'n breasts that I mentioned in a previous post found at Costco. They were amazing on the grill! Served with grilled zucchini, baked potato and a mixed salad with raspberry poppy seed dressing. It was a nice summer meal. I wish we could have eaten outside!

For dessert I made coconut cupcakes from When Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World with a nice coconut lime frosting and I sprinkled them with toasted coconut. I really liked the coconut-lime flavour combo.

HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY MOM!

and

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM AND DAD

I won!!!

2009-05-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

Okay this has absolutely nothing to do about vegan eats but I won!!!! I won a trip to see my favourite band U2 in New York this September! I am so excited and kept telling the guy over the phone that I did not believe him! Hubby and I get a dream of a lifetime with paid airplane tickets, 2 nights in an upscale hotel, 2 tickets to the U2 concert plus a library of all of their CDs and DVDs. I cannot wait to find out where we are staying so I can scope out all of the New York vegan restaurants. If anyone has any suggestions please send them my way. I can finally pick up some teese, soy curls and Pirate Booty! YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Baked Tofu, Maple-Dijon Potato and Green Beans

2009-04-20T19:41:00.000-07:00

I made the famous Maple-Dijon Potato and Green Bean dish from Vegan with a Vengeance. This is one of my absolute favourites. Super simple to make and tastes like it has been baking all day. I breaded some tofu slices and sliced up some more cucumbers to serve on the side.

Maple Garlic Tempeh Balls, Rice and Cucumbers

2009-04-19T20:58:00.000-07:00

I am back...finally! Here we kick off our promise to eat at least 7 servings of fruits/veggies a day. Should not be hard for vegans! With the promise of spring around the corner I cannot wait to start planting my garden this year. My parents built me a raised flower bed last year and I get to break it in this year!

Anyhow...tonight I tried out a new recipe from the Vegan Dad blog for Maple Garlic Tempeh Balls. These turned out amazing! I love the sauce and the tempeh balls stayed together so nicely. The only thing I noticed is that I used Yves tempeh to make these and their product seems to be more beanier (hope you know what I mean). I could not grate it, the tempeh just fell into little pieces of soybeans which was fine but I might try these again with Green Cuisine Tempeh. On the side we had some nice brown basmatti rice with celery and grated carrots mixed in and a green salad with cucumber slices marinated in salt and pepper and apple cider vinegar.

I would definitely recommend making these balls. The sauce will blow you away!

Taquitos, Potatoes and Swiss Chard

2009-03-31T16:58:00.000-07:00

I made a trip to Vita Health today to use the last of my coupons which expire today. Since I get a nice little discount there I decided to pick these up for a treat. They are the taquitos that I sometimes get. I think these one were Chick'n Chipotle flavour wrapped in a flour tortilla. I roasted some potatoes with fresh rosemary and pepper and sauteed some nice swiss chard in red pepper flakes and garlic. Swiss chard always amazes me. I passed by it for years and I know that many people still do but please give it a chance! So if you have been avoiding it, go ahead and try it tomorrow!

Curried Chickpeas and Rotti

2009-03-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had chickpeas in a light curry sauce with a few potatoes and peas. I served it over brown basmatti rice and shelled Edemame on the side. I even tried making some homemade Rottis that turned out pretty good for being 100% wholewheat. I halved the recipe from Veganomicon and would make these again.

March's Daring Baker's Challenge: Lasagna

2009-03-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

This was a fun challenge to make our own noodles. I made some spinach and some regular noodles to add to my lasagna. I also made a nice hearty vegan ragu to layer in between the "stuffing". All in all this was an easy challenge since I love making lasagnas but it is always nice to alter existing recipes and try something new.

Chickpea Cutlets, Fries and Salad

2009-03-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

I defrosted some organic chickpeas from the freezer that I had cooked up last week and decided to make Veganomicon's Chickpea cutlets (but I made them into nuggets). I tried baking these in the oven instead of the usual pan frying. You could definitely taste that they were made the "lower fat" way but were still pretty good. I also discovered that homemade cranberry sauce is the perfect dipping sauce for these little nuggets.

Eden Organics Kamut Vegetable Spirals

2009-03-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

I love Eden Organics products but to be realistic I do not buy them very often because they are very expensive. I found these on sale at Shopper's Drugmart and also had a 0.50 coupon so I decided to give them a try. They were really good. The spirals get their colour from spinach and beet, are all organic and they have tons of fiber, carbs, protein and other good stuff without having to add extra ingredients into the mix. We had some garlic bread on the side and salad.

Potstickers, Rice and Salad

2009-03-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had veggie potstickers with brown basmatti rice and a side of salad. Quick and easy meal.

Garden Stuffed Chick'n Breasts

2009-03-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

I found these new (well new to me) Garden Stuffed Chick'n Breasts at Costco and decided to give them a try. I have seen the regular Garden Chick'n Breasts and while they are okay I do not purchase them very often. I was actually quite impressed with these. They are stuffed with a black bean/corn mixture and come in a flavourful tomato sauce. At 9.99 for 6 Breasts the price is not too bad although the portions are pretty small. I attempted to make Susan's Colcannon Puffs from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen. I used the handheld immersion blender on the kale which pureed it and I think that is where it went wrong. For my attempt I give these a 1 for presentation because they looked just like blobs of green mush but 10 for taste. I would make these again in a heart beat. The kale tastes good paired with the potatoes and it was super simple to make.

Broccoli/Cauliflower Cheezey Soup

2009-03-16T18:21:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty laid back supper tonight. I tried out the Broccoli/Cauliflower Cheezey Soup form the Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. Turns out it is super simple to make and tastes really thick and creamy even though I only used veggie broth and water. No soy creamer, soy/almond milk etc. On the side we had slices of baguette with Olive Hummus and Almond Butter and Jam. Not sure if it was the best combination but it was like having dinner and dessert all on one plate.

Portabello Cheezesteaks

2009-03-15T18:01:00.001-07:00

I have been eyeing this recipe for Portabello Cheezesteaks for a while now and to my happiness I found some overlooked portabello mushrooms in the crisper drawer that desperately needed to be eaten. I thought what the heck. First thing...I did not have more than a few tbsp of olive oil so I used a combo of evoo and canola oil. Secondly...I did not use even close to the same amount of oil in the recipe.

Overall verdict...fairly easy to make (just slice veggies), a little time consuming (at least 40 minutes on the stove). In the end it was good but I probably would not revisit it too often because it was so "rich" and greasy. Great way to use up my portabellos though!

Lasagna

2009-03-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

I know...I have fallen back into the route of being a bad blogger. I miss summer! Not for the weather but for the abundance of fresh fruits and veggies. Everything I use now is from so far away and lacks that fresh taste. Sigh...just a few more months, right?! I made a lasagna last week that pretty much kept us in meals for the entire week. I used part of the recipe from The Uncheese Cookbook. Their lasagna recipe is amazing in there. I layered it with spinach and crumbled tofu. Simple salad and bread on the side.

I guess while I complain I will say something else I really miss...Soy curls! They are impossible to get up here in Canada and I am nowhere near any place that sells them. I need a Soy Curl angel to have pity on me and send me some. Hopefully a trip to Minneapolis is in my near future...