Vegan Easter Awesome

I always remember Easter as being a pretty fun time when I was a kid.  Easter meant egg hunts, chocolate, and decorating eggs.  This year, with my niece about to turn two, the fun times can start again.  My mom and I orchestrated her first egg hunt, which she was super good at!  We figured two was a little young for egg decorating, and let's face it, it isn't exactly a vegan tradition.  So I came up with a better idea.  A way better idea.  Let's decorate egg-shaped cookies!  Not only are they vegan and less fragile, but once you're done decorating, you get to eat them!

I made the sugar cookie recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, some simple icing, and I had purchased a whole lot of fun sprinkles from bulk barn.  I taped some parchment paper to the coffee table, and handed her some freshly iced cookies for her to sprinkle at will - and sprinkle she did!  As you can see, they are masterpieces! :)  The cookies were delicious (albeit crunchy with the copious amounts of sprinkles), and I think I've just found myself a new Easter tradition.

My family had our celebration on Good Friday, and we discovered at the last minute that my sister-in-law, who is catholic, cannot eat meat on Good Friday.  Good thing there's a vegan at the table!  I made the vegan quiche from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen, and put green onion, red pepper, and broccoli in it instead, and topped it with cheddar style Daiya shreds.  It was super yummy, and my sister-in-law thought so too (she even asked for seconds!).  Definitely omnivore approved! This quiche tasted just as good (possibly better?!) the next morning for breakfast, and I am going to start making it regularly as an easy make-ahead breakfast that is fast and nutritious for busy mornings.

What holiday would be complete without cupcakes?  These cute easter cupcakes are super easy to make.  First you take your basic vanilla (or chocolate if you prefer!) cupcake and fluffy buttercream icing from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.  Then you colour some shredded coconut the spring colour of your choice, and roll the cupcakes in the coconut to form a "nest" around the outside (leaving the middle un-coconuted).  Then stick some mini-eggs in the middle, and ta-da!  Bird Nest Cupcakes! I know mini-eggs aren't vegan, but they make the perfect decoration (I gave mine to my mom to eat).  If anyone know of any vegan mini-eggs or something that would take their place, let me know so that next year they can be truly vegan, decor and all!

Veganism is not Deprivation

Don't believe me?

BEHOLD!!:

om nom nom...

Disclaimer: While veganism is generally healthier, and many people lose weight when they make the switch, this is not one of those recipes.  This recipe is for over-indulgence purposes only. Proceed with caution, and at least a pint of water.

Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Cake
you will need:
Chocolate cake
chocolate mousse
raspberry jam
fresh raspberries
Piping bag

Here's how I did it:  Make one chocolate cake recipe, in my case I used a double batch of the chocolate cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (if you don't have this book yet, I don't know what you're waiting for.  It's truly indispensable).  Bake it in 3 8-inch round pans.  Make a double batch of vegan chocolate mousse (again, from VCTOtW).  Yes this mousse recipe has tofu in it.  No, it tastes nothing like tofu.  Even my incredibly skeptical and picky brother had no clue. I promise.  Let the mousse firm up in the fridge for a few hours, and make sure the cakes are good and cool.
Ice the first layer, and pipe a protective lip around the outside of the cake, this will keep the raspberry jam from oozing out of the layers and making your outer icing a big mess.  Apply a thin layer of raspberry jam.  Gently place the next layer on top, and repeat.  Once the top layer has been placed, ice the whole thing.  If you find it's sliding around (mine did) place a BBQ skewer down the middle.  Pipe a fancy scalloped edge around the top of cake and fill in the top with fresh raspberries.  Keep refrigerated until you're ready to indulge, devour, and slip into a diabetic coma.

World Peace

You'd have to be a fool not to love cupcakes.  I strongly believe that if there were more cupcakes in the world, we wouldn't have all the war and civil unrest, and general bad behaviour that humans seem to be so good at.  It would take a particularly evil person to eat a cupcake and then go blow up a village.  The point I'm trying to make is you need to make more cupcakes.  To do so, and possibly bring about world peace, you will need to pick up a copy of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.  Not only can $12 bring you boundless joy, but it will also bring joy to those you bake cupcakes for.  Need proof?

BEHOLD!!  Peanut butter chocolate chip mini-cupcakes with fluffy chocolate buttercream icing!!!

If I believed in heaven, I would also believe that upon arrival you would be served one of these cupcakes.  They're that good.

"Blueberries is one of the great forces o'good in the world" - James A. Owens

Late summer - and that's what we're at now, in case you blinked and didn't notice summer whiz by - is my favourite time of year.  There are many reasons why August is such a great month - cicadas are singing in the trees, meadows are in full bloom, back to school supplies are out, and nearly all of Ontario's produce is now available.  All summer long I await the arrival of two fruits more than any other: peaches and blueberries.  

Last week I paid a visit to Canaan Blueberries, which is located east of Ottawa.  It is a lovely, peaceful farm, boasting four varieties of highbush blueberries.  I have always enjoyed picking blueberries, I find them to be the most contemplative of berries.  I used to work on a berry farm when I was in high school, and the blueberry patch was my favourite.  Sitting quietly in the blueberry field, feeling the warmth of the sun pressing against me, listening to the birds chirping and the wind rustling through the trees, was like a kind of meditation.  In the blueberry field, my mind grows still (a rare occurrence), my heart swell with joy, and I am filled with appreciation. 

At Canaan Blueberries, the feelings of peace and happiness found me again.  With the branches bending under the weight of their fruit, picking was easy and plentiful - I came away with about 6 litres of blueberries!  A week later, less than a quart of berries remain.  So what did I do with them all?

Those blueberries lended their antioxident power to blueberry-peach smoothies, pancakes, turnovers, tarts, soy-yogurt breakfast parfaits, and one epic blueberry pie!  The blueberry pie is a combination of three separate from around the web, and let me tell you - it was friggin awesome.  

Epic Blueberry Crumble-top Pie

Flakey Vegan Pie Crust

From Veganbaking. Also what I used to make my turnovers and tarts. Excellent crust!

This recipe would do for a crust topped pie - since this pie uses a crumble topping, you only need to make HALF the recipe.  Or, make it all and use the leftover dough for tarts and other such goodies!

2 ½ cups flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
¾ cup cold margarine
½ cup cold vegetable shortening
¼ cup cold water
3 Tbsp cold vodka 

Sift together flour, sugar, and salt (I like to cheat-sift by whisking my flour mixtures.  It blends everything really well and breaks up clumps).  Cut the margarine and shortening into the flour with a pastry cutter until crumbly (if you don't have a pastry cutter, a wire whisk also works really well! Whisks ftw!).  Drizzle half the water and vodka and toss.  The original recipe says to use your fingers, but I used a spatula to keep the warmth of your hands from melting the margarine/shortening.  Add the rest of the water and vodka and mix again.  Press the dough into a ball and refrigerate while you get the filling and topping ready.

Why vodka? The alcohol inhibits gluten formation (the protein in wheat flour that causes the stretchy breadiness), and it also provides moisture that will quickly cook off, both contributing to perfect flakiness!

Blueberry Filling

I used the recipe from The Joy of Baking. You really can't ask for a more perfect blueberry filling.

4 cups fresh blueberries

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp lemon zest

Combine sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and zest.  Add the sugar mixture to the blueberries and toss to combine.

Chemistry lesson: Pectin is a polysaccharide found in fruit and is used as a gelling agent when making jam.  In the presence of an acid (in this case, lemon juice), pectin chains bind together. Water is bound together by sugar and the pectin chains, creating a thick gel.  Blueberries are naturally high in pectin, thus the addition of sugar and lemon juice makes for a fool-proof pie filling.

Walnut Crumb Topping

I found this crumb topping on Epicurious. I'll be using this recipe for a peach crisp in the near future!

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

6 Tbsp margarine, melted

Mix together all ingredients except margarine.  Add the melted margarine and mix with your fingers until crumbly.

ASSEMBLE!!

Place oven rack at the lower third and preheat oven to 375 degrees.  

Roll out pastry.  The crust recipe suggests rolling it out between two sheets of parchment paper (this is a great idea as it won't add additional flour to the crust). I however, have always make pie crusts using the add flour as needed method, and that's what I did here.  It worked out wonderfully.  Pre-bake the empty crust for about 10 minutes.

Fill the bottom crust with the blueberry filling, then top with walnut crumb crust.  PLACE PIE ON TOP OF COOKIE SHEET LINED WITH FOIL!  If you choose not to put a cookie sheet under your pie, prepare for a sticky blueberry mess on the bottom of your oven (and subsequent oven smoke).  If you don't line your cookie sheet with foil, prepare to scrape sticky blueberry mess off your cookie sheet.  Consider yourself warned.

Bake for a good hour or so, or until the crumb topping is doing some serious browning and there's lots of filling bubbling up through the gaps in the crumble (and likely onto your cookie sheet).  Remove from oven, resist urge to shovel scalding hot pie into your mouth, allow to cool, impress your friends.

There's a new burger in town

Summer is the season of BBQs, and the king of the BBQ is the burger.  Veggie burgers are a staple among many vegetarians and vegans in BBQ season (and beyond) because they are easy - easy to find, easy to transport, easy to integrate into the BBQ scene because you won't find yourself explaining your food to skeptical omnivores because it looks "normal". 

Veggie burgers are not without their problems.  Most veggie burgers found in the freezer section of the grocery store are not vegan, and those that are vegan tend to be quite pricey and they aren't always tasty.  Some of us have tried our hand at homemade veggie burgers to varying success.  The greatest problem plaguing the homemade veggie burger is stability, aka they crumble, therefore making them not suitable BBQ fodder.  Not to mention that they often just taste very... uhh... homemade.

Vegan culinary goddess Dreena Burton has forever solved my homemade veggie burger woes with her Mushroom Pecan Burgers!  I made them exactly as she instructed and they were perfect!  Held together amazingly well (though I might grill them from frozen if I were taking them to a BBQ), and they were mega tasty.  I thought that they were a bit like a yummier version of a Lick's Nature Burger (which I do recommend if you're in a pinch).  My only complaint is that they are too big and too filling!!  Dreena recommends making 6 patties, which I did.  Next time I'll be making them into 7 or 8 patties, because I like to have room for side dishes or dessert.  Four hours after dinner and I still feel stuffed.

We topped our burgers with Daiya cheddar style shreds and No Meat Athlete's Vegan Bacon to create the most amazing VEGAN BACON CHEESE BURGER!!  Om nom nom!!

Tis the season

Farmer's Market season is well under way, and, here in Ontario, July and August offer the widest variety of fresh local produce for you to plunder.  Don't believe me?  Check out the availability of produce on Foodland Ontario's website. One of my favourite market buys is green beans.  Whether you eat them raw or steamed, green beans are tasty, low-cal morsels of goodness.  A cup of green beans offers 30% of your RDA of vitamin C, 15% of the RDA of vitamin A, and 4g of fiber, among many other vitamins and minerals.[1]

It may surprise you to know that green beans belong to the same species as black beans, navy beans, pinto beans and kidney beans (to name a few).  Phaseolus vulgaris was domesticated in Central America as early as 7000 B.C. [2] .  If you're thinking to yourself "Wait, green beans look nothing like kidney beans!" , that's because green beans are "immature" pods.  Just like pea pods, inside the green bean pod grows the round bean that would one day mature and harden into the "dry bean", which is the seed of the bean plant.  Unfortunately for the hard-working bean plant, and fortunately for us, we harvest green beans long before they mature, while they're still crisp and tender.

July and August is also prime BBQ and picnic season.  Potato salad, often in the form of a mayo-laden mush, is ubiquitous at such events.  But this is neither vegan nor is it healthy (or remotely tasty, in my opinion).   For your next summer potluck event, why not bring a big bowl of Green Bean & Potato Salad?  With local green beans and new baby potatoes available at the markets (or maybe even in your own garden, you lucky duck), it's a fresh and tasty departure from the old standby mayo-mush.

I scream! You scream! We all scream for Poutine!

Like any real Canadian, before I was a vegan, poutine was one of my favourite foods. For any of you readers who are not from Canada and have not heard of it, poutine is fries covered in fresh cheese curds and gravy. A heart attack waiting to happen? Possibly. But it would be the most delicious of heart attacks.

Sadly, one of the downfalls of veganism is a distinct lack of adequate poutine replacements. Last week, when I was in Kingston, we walked by a place called "the Poutine Place" at 343 Princess Street. Its sign boasts of organic burgers and smoothies. I looked at the menu, searching for a veggie burger and was shocked to see that there was a vegan poutine on the menu!! With veggie gravy and soy curds, there was nothing that would have kept me from ordering one of these wonders. I had heard rumours of vegan poutine in Montreal before, but I've also heard rumours of ghosts, fairies, and easter bunnies. But here it was. And I have to say, it was pretty good. Did it taste like real Canadian poutine? Meh. Was it fries smothered in gravy, a cheese-like substance, and decidedly unhealthy? Absolutely. Win. The thing the cheese like substance was lacking was the melty, stringy, get stuck to your chin gooeyness that usually accompanies poutine.

Enter Daiya.

Glorious, glorious Daiya. I was in Tara Natural Foods in Kingston a few months ago, chatting with the sales clerk, when he asked me if I had ever tried Daiya cheese. He, like me, had all but given up on vegan cheese, but informed me that vegans everywhere were going bananas for this stuff. I excitedly bought some, brought it home, and made the best vegan pizza I had ever eaten. I was in love.

So after my vegan poutine experience, I have decided to have a go at making my own for the first time in over 3 years. I found this gravy recipe a few years ago which I absolutely love (I use a little gravy browner when I make it). The first time I tasted it I immediately thought of poutine sauce (a particular kind of canned gravy you can find in Canadian supermarkets). Salty, tangy, and oh so good on potatoes, this gravy recipe has become a stand-by for holiday feasts. Pair it with some mozza style daiya shreds and some hand-cut homefries, and you've got yourself the perfect vegan poutine.  Seriously, seriously tasty.  This poutine was as close to perfect as vegan can deliver.  Make it.  Love it.

Best Ever Vegan Poutine!

Hey, remember me?

It has not escaped my attention that I have not posted since May. Nor has it escaped my attention that I was in the middle of a 52 week challenge that I abandoned outright. I also seem to recall vowing never to let another blog fall victim to my forgetfulness, busyness and general laziness when it comes to my hobbies. And yet here I am, in October, over 4 months later, returning to you, dear reader.

In my absence I have not abandoned cooking. On the contrary, I met a rather wonderful man who shares my undying love and dedication to food. The two of us have concocted many wonderful meals that we pat ourselves on the back for. I have often thought about how I should blog about those meals, and I have actually photographed many of them with that purpose in mind, but somehow life, laziness, and World of Warcraft always seems to get in the way. Well no more! I vow (again) to make an effort to be more dedicated. I will not, however, take up any more 52 week challenges, that force my creativity in a direction it is not always inclined. Blogging had become a chore, and it should not be that way. It should be a celebration of delicious. An adventure into new and exciting realms of taste. An exploration of world cuisine, tradition, and comfort.

I am a stubborn person, however, and therefore I intend to complete the 52 week challenge. I will make 52 salads. They simply won't be made in 52 consecutive weeks.

But this is not why I come to you today. I come to you with tidings of fall delights and easy-peasy awesomeness that will fill your belly with the joy and love that only the fall harvest can bestow. I am speaking, of course, of that most American of fruits - the apple. True, the apple is not native to North America, though neither are most of us. In this context, the apple is very much like we are. It didn't come from here, but it's adaptability allowed it to survive and thrive in our climate, our landscape, so much so that the apples we grow today bear little resemblance to its ancestors in Western Asia. They are Canadian. They are American. The apples of North America have a rich and interesting history that I cannot do justice to. For an engaging and eye-opening read, I strongly recommend "The Botany of Desire" by Michael Pollan (and no, the irony of the author's name has not escaped me).

Factoid: Apple trees in orchards are all clones! The seeds from an apple are so genetically diverse that they will never produce the same tree twice, so to grow a new apple tree that produces the same variety of apple it must be grafted.

Rick and I were on our way back to Kingston one sunny September afternoon. I occasionally like to heed the signs on the side of the road that would direct me to some local gem, seeking out an adventure, discovering what the side roads have in store for me. On this day I decided I would stop at that orchard that I had driven by several times on the drive between the Arnprior and Kingston. Perched high atop Rick's shoulders, I collected some of the most delectable and tempting of apples. The picking was so good and so easy, that I filled my reusable shopping bag. A shockingly small cost later, I had arrived home with an entire crisper drawer full of apples. What on earth would I do with all those apples? After all, I usually only like apples raw, I've never been crazy about apple pie or apple crisp.

One of the things I always have liked is hot apple cider. Sweet, a little tart, with the hint of cinnamon, hot apple cider is just the thing when you come in from a day of dreary fall rain. How hard could it be? As it turns out, not hard at all! I searched the internet for a short while and came across this recipe. It was so easy, and so perfect. I only wished I had a bigger pot, I would have made more! It's all kinds of easy, more kinds of delicious, though it does take some forethought and time. I made it while doing some homework. It filled the house with the sweet smell of apples, and when I was done my homework, this warm brew was my reward.

Absurdly Easy Hot Apple Cider

8-10 apples

1/2 cup sugar (optional)

4 tbsp each cinnamon and allspice (I don't think I used this much of each)

water

large pot (I had a 4.5 liter pot)

cheesecloth & string

Cut the apples in quarters. Don't bother coring or peeling. Place spices in some doubled up cheesecloth and bundle it up. Put apples, sugar and spices in a large pot and fill with water. Boil for about an hour, then reduce to low and simmer for another 2 hours.

Take off heat, pull out spice bundle, and mash the apples. Pour through a strainer lined with cheesecloth into a large bowl. Let it sit there and drip for a good long while. After it has dripped and cooled for a while, gather up the edges of the cheese cloth and give it a squeeze to get out any additional juice.

Voila! You've got yourself some fantastic apple cider! I added the 1/2 cup of sugar but I don't think it would need it. The apples were sweet enough, and if anyone disagrees, they can add a teaspoon or two to their own glass of cider.

For whom the Bhel tolls

Back in November I visited Burnaby, B.C. (that's British Columbia, not Before Christ for any Americans who may be reading this). While I was there I ate at a terrific Indian restaurant, the Bombay Bhel. I've had Indian food many times before, but this time I had something I'd never tried before. It's an appetizer called "bhel poori" (or bhel puri as it's sometimes written). Not technically a salad, but a "chaat". A chaat is a savoury snack usually consisting of crunchy bits, chutneys and cilantro. There are many variations on this theme, as I've come to learn. Bhel poori is essentially puffed rice, sev (crunchy noodle shaped bits made of chickpea flour), onion, tomato, cilantro, and tamarind chutney. A quick internet search reveals that no two recipes are exactly the same but those basic ingredients seem to be the standards that define this dish.

As I've said, bhel poori is a chaat, not a salad. But what is a salad, really? We cannot define it based on its ingredients, since a caesar salad, bean salad, and potato salad hardly share any of the same ingredients, and yet, we all know them to be salad. The word salad comes from the Latin word salata meaning "salty". Merriam-Webster defines a salad as:

1 : any of various usually cold dishes: as a : raw greens (as lettuce) often combined with other vegetables and toppings and served especially with dressing b : small pieces of food (as pasta, meat, fruit, or vegetables) usually mixed with a dressing (as mayonnaise) or set in gelatin

This definition, particularly part b, suits my concept of salad quite nicely. Let's think back to bhel poori: Usually cold? check. Small pieces of food? check. Mixed with a dressing? Hmmm... what constitutes a dressing? Merriam-Webster tells me that a dressing is "a sauce for adding to a dish". Well, I'd say that chutney counts as a sauce for adding to a dish. Thus, I deem that bhel poori meets the criteria qualifying it to be a salad, and thus, a valid entry in the Salad Challenge!

The recipe I more or less followed is found (ironically) at No Recipes. Funny that one should find recipes on a blog entitled No Recipes, but I'm not one to judge. It's actually an excellent blog with beautiful photography, I suggest you give it a browse.

The unfortunate thing about bhel poori is that proper ingredients are not always easy to find. The local superstore only carried mango chutney, and I couldn't find any sev. I did find a snack mix called "Jaffna mix" at the local bulk barn, and it did list the main ingredient as chick pea flour, so one can only assume that the little noodle-like sticks in this snack mix is indeed sev. I did come across the occasional bhel poori recipe that called for mango, so I thought the mango chutney would suffice, especially given the loose definition the dish has to begin with. With that, I give you my very own take on bhel poori.

Ash's Bhel Poori

Serves 1

1 small potato, cooked & coarsely mashed

1/2 roma tomato, chopped

2 tbsp red onion, chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup puffed rice

1/4 cup Jaffna mix

2 tbsp mango chutney (or enough to coat all the ingredients)

Mix all ingredients together and serve immediately. This recipe won't keep (the rice & sev will go all soggy). I really liked this recipe, it was quick and easy, but I would really like to try it again with tamarind chutney (this seems to be pretty important and I get the feeling that without it I'm sort of missing the mark a bit). Maybe I'll try to hunt some down in Ottawa sometime, cause I doubt I'll find it anywhere in Brockville.

Salad Challenge Countdown

Salads made: 18 Salads left: 34

Exploring Cilantrophobia

As I mentioned in my last post, there are people out there who have an aversion to cilantro. Maybe you know one of these poor unfortunate souls. Maybe you are one. Those who dislike it do so with fervor (there is even an "I Hate Cilantro" fanpage). The interesting thing is it appears that there is a genetic explanation for cilantro hating. In fact, they're not even experiencing the same taste - to them, this otherwise delightful herb, tastes like someone spilled soap in the food.

The New York Times ran a great article exploring cilantro aversions entitled: "Cilantro haters, it's not your fault." According to this article, the specific mechanism by which cilantrophobes taste this horrible soapiness is not yet known. There seems to be some unconfirmed speculation about the web that people of European descent are more likely to be cilantro haters. A quick search of recipes from the world would seem to confirm this fact, as most recipes containing cilantro seem to be from Asia, the Mediterranean & middle-east, and South & Central America.

Factoid: When Julia Child was asked if she would ever order a dish with cilantro she replied: "Never. I would pick it out if I saw it and throw it on the floor."

Fortunately for me I am not a cilantrophobe, and it appears, as promised, in tonight's salad recipe as well. This recipe is also a re-creation of a recipe I had whilst away in Bracebridge. During the course our lunches were provided. One day after a bizarre miscommunication with the caterers, lunch for the group consisted of pizza. For myself and a celiac in the group, a local health food store, the Muskoka Natural Food Market, was charged with the task of handling our special dietary needs. One of the things they brought us was a delightful rice & cashew salad. I have done my best to duplicate it here, and I think I've hit the nail on the head. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Sesame Cashew Rice Salad

Serves 2-3

2 cups cooked brown rice

1/2 cup cashews

1/4 cup dried currents

2 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup (loosely packed) chopped cilantro

1 tbsp sesame oil

1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice

salt & pepper

Salad Challenge Countdown

Salads made: 17 Salads left: 35

Double Whammy

I'm blogging to you now from

Brockville, Ontario, my new home base for the next 6 months. In case you were wondering why I dropped the ball again and missed yet another week of my salad challenge, I will use the excuses of moving to a new city, and starting a new job (which means adjusting to a new sleep schedule). So this post will be a 2 for 1 deal of salad fabulousness.

Earlier this week I decided to try my hand at veganizing the Caesar salad. Perhaps one of the most popular salads around, and decidedly not vegan, this dressing traditionally contains egg, anchovies, and parmesan cheese. Needless to say, making this salad animal-product free is no easy task. I started by searching what else was out there on the internet. I came across several variations, but the one I decided to go with was found on Recipezaar. I chose this recipe since conveniently the recipes on this site are rated by those who have tried them, and this one was given a nearly perfect score.

Vegan Caesar I: Julius

Greenery of choice (romaine is traditional, but all I had was spinach)

croutons

Veggie Bacon - fried and crumbled

Vegan Ceaser dressing

This salad was definitely tasty, and the dressing had some zing (and Caesar style garlic breath) but I'm going to have to classify this as a food fail because it really tasted nothing like a real Caesar salad. It didn't even look like Caesar dressing on account of the soy sauce. On the up side, it tasted really good on roasted potatoes!

Tonight's salad was anything but traditional. I'm not sure why, but I started thinking of how I could incorporate chocolate into a salad. I remembered that Susan over at FatFree Vegan Kitchen has made balsamic chocolate cookies before. She explained that balsamic vinegar actually enhances chocolate flavour, and so I figured that a chocolate balsamic vinaigrette would have to be delicious. When I was in the grocery store I spotted raspberry flavoured balsamic vinegar, and I was sold. I'm sure that you could make this recipe with regular balsamic vinegar, but I highly recommend this raspberry flavoured vinegar if you can find it.

Strawberry Salad with Chocolate Vinaigrette

Serves 1

4 or 5 strawberries, sliced

2 tbsp sliced almonds

greenery (I recommend baby spinach)

Dressing

1 tsp cocoa

1 tsp raspberry balsamic vinegar

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp honey/agave nectar

This salad was seriously decadent. Seriously. Go out and make it.

Salad Challenge Countdown

Salads made: 15 Salads left: 37

Turmeric and Coriander and Cumin, Oh My!

Last night I attempted to introduce my cat, Skrabble, to my friend Brett's cat, Lily, in a hope that they would become the best of friends and have an outrageously adorable play date. This didn't occur. They generally just growled at each other and avoided each other for the majority of the evening, punctuated with the occasional screaming encounter.

You may be asking yourself, what does this have to do with food? Be patient, all will be revealed to you at the proper time. Lucky for you, that time is now. While over at Brett's place for kitty party (aka kitty growl-fest) I made a curry and onion bahjis for us for dinner. I decided to use this as inspiration for this week's Salad Challenge. The onion bhajis got me thinking about these battered fried onion bits that they put on the veggie burgers over at Darcy McGee's, a chain of pubs in the Ottawa area. Not only are these the best veggie burgers I've ever had, but atop their already fantastic burger, they put a grilled portobello cap and onions that have been battered in a curry-spiced batter, then deep fried. SO GOOD. Seriously, if you're in Ottawa you HAVE to go to one of these pubs and get their veggie burger. They also have some very good beer on tap - I recommend Erdinger.

Ok, I'm getting off topic again. The point is, I was thinking to myself that these crispy onions would make a super tasty salad topping. And so the idea for Bahji salad was born! These crispy fried onions would be an excellent topping for salads of all kinds, veggie burgers, sandwiches, portobello or tofu steaks. They're basically just delicious.

Crispy Bahji Bits

1 onion, cut in half, then thinly sliced

1 tbsp water

2 tsp cornstarch

3 tbsp chickpea flour

1/2 tsp each turmeric, coriander, cumin and chili powder

cayenne pepper to taste

olive oil

Mix cornstarch and water together. Add onions and toss to coat. In a tupperware container mix chickpea flour and spices. Add the onions to the container, put the lid on, and shake to coat.

Heat about a half centimeter of oil in a pan or pot over medium heat (I like pots cause they contain the oil splatter better). Put in only as many onions as the pot/pan will hold in a single layer. Fry until onions are crispy, turning once so that both sides are browned. Remove with slotted spoon and place on paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Bahji's are often served with Cucumber Raita for dipping. Raita is usually made with yogurt, but I replaced yogurt with soft silken tofu, and it turned out pretty well, but I think it still needs improvement. I used the raita I made as a salad dressing, and constructed my salad with baby spinach, grated carrot, sliced cucumber, raita, and of course, topped it all with a generous helping of bahji bits!

I rounded out dinner tonight with this Rice & Lentil Pilaf which was SO delicious (I used kale in place of dandelion greens), and Sweet Potato Falafel from my favourite vegan food blog, FatFree Vegan Kitchen. Also, totally delish. All in all, this was a kickass meal, even if I do say so myself!

Salad Challenge Countdown

Salads made: 13 Salads left: 39

Eat Your Sunshine!

It's been a dreary, cold, blustery week here in Eastern Ontario, which is particularly disappointing after we had an unseasonably warm spell a few weeks ago. So this kind of weather usually makes me want to make soup (which I did), but for this second of this week's two salad challenges, I decided to bring summer into the kitchen by making my friend Laura's Sunshine Salad. Made with spring greens and fresh fruit, this recipe is sure to fool your tummy into thinking that the sun really has returned. This week strawberries and blackberries were on sale, so those are the berries I've opted for. The last time Laura made this for me she used strawberries, blueberries and grapes. Any berries will do. She topped it with raspberry vinaigrette. We always have frozen raspberries in the freezer (stored from the previous berry season) so I made my own dressing, but one from the store will work just as well.

Sunshine Salad

Spring greens or baby spinach

Berries of choice

Oranges, supremed

Red onion, thinly sliced

Sunflower Seeds

Fresh Raspberry Vinaigrette

Makes about 1/4 cup

1/4 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp raspberry or red wine vinegar

2 tsp honey (or to taste)

1 tsp orange juice

Mash raspberries with a fork. Add the oil and blend until smooth. Add remaining ingredients, adding more orange juice if you want a thinner dressing.

Salad Challenge Countdown

Salads made: 12 Salads left: 40

Thriving for Gold

So, I don't know about you, but the Olympics have completely consumed my life these last few weeks. So much so that I nearly forgot about salad of the week. I wanted to create some kind of salad inspired by Canada's 14 gold medals.... or maybe something to symbolize both of our fabulous hockey teams that conquered their american foes. I really wanted to.... but I couldn't think of any way to represent hockey in salad form. And I don't have the money to make a salad dressing with real gold flakes in it.

So I decided to be inspired by fitness instead. One of my favourite vegan Canadians is Brendan Brazier, a professional ironman triathlete. He is living proof that you can be a top athlete and a vegan, getting all the protein and nutrients you need from plant based sources. He takes it one step further, he gets his nutrition from mostly raw, whole foods. He wrote a book on vegan nutrition, the Thrive Diet, one on fitness, Thrive Fitness, and created his own product line, Vega, of vegan meal replacement powders and energy bars. He's pretty impressive, and I may or may not have a wee crush on him. I have the Thrive Diet, and it's an excellent book, filled with the knowledge amassed by Brendan on his quest for ultimate fitness, treating himself as a guinea pig to find the best food, not only for athletes, but for all of us who want more energy and better health.

After last week's cake-filled binge-fest, I was feeling pretty lousy about myself, and decided to get inspired again, and he is usually my go-to guy for healthy inspiration. I noticed that he has a new program, called "Thrive in 30". It's a 30 day program in which you get emails, lessons, and videos featuring our favourite vegan/triathlete/hunk. I've signed up for it and I'm hoping that this will help me stay healthy, and avoid mug cake temptation. One of the basic tenets of the Thrive Diet is to have a nutritious smoothie and a large green salad every day. The book contains a number of recipes for tasty salads and dressings.

Unfortunately, I was unable to go to the store to get any ingredients I needed to make a snazzy salad because I was too engrossed in the hockey game. So, I made the one recipe that I had all the ingredients for - Creamy Ginger dressing, and put it on a basic salad of romaine, cucumber and carrots. Now I know I can't reproduce the recipe here, I will tell you it's creaminess is created by the addition of tahini, with apple cider vinegar providing zing, and of course, ginger. The recipe didn't contain any sweetness, so I added a bit of honey to take away the bitter edge that tahini often has.

I'm not going to say it was my favourite salad dressing in the world, but it did have a satisfying richness that I'm sure will inspire future recipes. It was also a fully guiltless salad, as Brendan never puts anything frivolous into his food, everything is nourishing. Now that I've eaten such a healthy salad for dinner... does that mean I get to have mug cake tonight?

This is kind of a weak entry for the salad challenge, but let's face it, I was bound to drop the ball sooner or later. I was just hoping it would be later.

Salad Challenge Countdown

Salads made: 8 Salads left: 44

Heaps of Ruination

You know when you make weight loss or diet goals and everything is going well, you feel great about yourself and your excellent will-power, and then something happens. It can be any number of things - you injure your foot, derailing your running regimen, or you go through a busy spell causing you to eat entirely too much falafel. These set-backs can often be overcome after an undetermined period of moping and regret. Sometimes something happens that threatens your entire future health, no end in sight, no foreseeable solution, and you feel that you might as well give in to a life of muffin tops and flabby arms. This has happened to me.

What could possibly have occurred to ruin years of hard earned health and fitness? What could be so epic so as to cause a blog entry of such extreme melodrama? A part of me warns me not to tell you, for it will no doubt destroy you as well, but like those who sucked me into the swirling void of diet-ruining bliss, I must share this bittersweet epiphany. It can be none other than...

THE 5-MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE!!!!

Yes folks, just 5 minutes stands between you and chocolate cake at almost any moment. I was infected with this affliction via it's facebook page. I tried it later that night, and at that moment I knew, it would take all my will power to avert obesity. 4 days and 4 warm, melty, chocolate mug cakes later, my will power has yet to even show up for battle.

The accused is pictured here, accompanied by SO Good vanilla soy ice cream, and a dollop of coconut whip. Take note of the still melty chocolate chips. I already have a head full of ideas of different variations that I want to try out. I'm doomed. At least by sharing it with my mom I'm only ever eating half a mug each time... that justifies it right?

Edit: So obviously on facebook this is not vegan, so I used soy milk and commercial egg replacer. I have also discovered that nuking it for 3 minutes and 20 seconds is perfect in my microwave. Your microwave may be different still.

Pancake day!

Today I found myself on Facebook, as I often do, while procrastinating and watching Olympic curling. I noticed that a lot of people were posting messages about pancakes, more specifically, about pancake day. I had never heard of this, but it sounded like a delicious idea. Wikipedia informed me that what these people were talking about was "Shrove Tuesday", aka Fat Tuesday, aka Mardi Gras. It's the day before Ash Wednesday, which I can only assume is a day created to celebrate my birth, since I was born on a Wednesday, and my name is Ashley, but they seem to have their seasons all wrong.

Evidently in the UK, and by extension Canada and our other commonwealth cousins, celebrate Shrove Tuesday by eating pancakes. How, in 26 years of life, I had never heard of pancake day is beyond me. I'm no fan of religion, but when it involves an excuse to eat pancakes for dinner, you're darn tootin' I'll be jumping on that bandwagon!

I had pancakes just a few days ago for breakfast, so I needed to do something extra special to celebrate the day before my holiday. In my research on this flap jackin' holiday, I learned that in Sweden they celebrate by eating a pastry called "semla" which is a decadent little pastry bun filled with almond paste and whipped cream. This sounded pretty awesome and I wondered if there was some kind of almond based vegan whipped cream. Instead, I came across this recipe for vegan whipped cream, which would be more appropriately named whipped coconut cream. Sold. I made this recipe and added a spash of almond extract and vanilla extract to give it a little extra somethin'.

This whipped coconut cream was HEAVEN! It had a decadent fresh coconut taste and just the right stiffness. Unlike the recipe said I only left the cans of coconut milk in the fridge for about 2 hours, and whipped it using a chilled metal bowl and beaters and it came out perfectly. It also stood up well to the heat of the pancakes, better than real whipped cream I'd say. It might not be your first choice on a hot summer day, but it served me well today.

I served this whip on a stack of pancakes with lots of sliced banana, which made for a fresh tropical taste. I also made a side of Yves veggie breakfast links since pancakes aren't the most nutritious of foods. I was pleasantly surprised, they were quite tasty! I had tried Yves veggie bacon before and wasn't overly impressed, but I would buy these sausages again. Even my mom, who fears fake meats of all kinds, said they weren't bad.

Then I celebrated Ash Wednesday by eating leftover pancakes this morning with strawberries and coconut whip! MMmmmmm..... And as you can see it kept well in the fridge overnight, came out exactly as it was when I put it in last night.

You can't stop the Beet... or can you?

You thought I forgot about Beet Week didn't you? Not so! I had one last beet recipe in store, but I only just got around to making it today.

I found this recipe for Crispy Beet Chips and thought it sounded like a good idea. I love sweet & salty food, and I love chips, how could I go wrong. Armed with a newly purchased mandolin and an apron, I excitedly sliced my beet potato chip thin, lovingly arranged them on my cookie sheet, oiled and salted them and popped them into a toasty oven.

Remember how I said "How could I go wrong"? Well, I don't know what I did, but it went wrong. They curled up causing them to cook unevenly - some bits were singed while other bits were still soft. As you can see, not that appetizing.

Ok, so a few turned out well, and they were quite tasty. Since half burnt beets don't taste very good the batch as a whole gets a fail. Maybe my oven was too hot, I'm not sure, but this wasn't one of my shining moments in the kitchen.

So why am I sharing it with you? In the scientific community, negative results are almost never reported, and I suspect that food blogs follow this same pattern. The Journal of Negative Results was created to counteract this deceiving practice, so I am trying to do the same for food blogs by sharing with you my culinary failures as well as my triumphs. Also, they photographed well, so maybe not a total loss eh?

"Men are like wine - some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age." - Pope John XXIII

While the former pope was using vinegar in a negative context he really couldn't be more wrong. Vinegars are wonderful culinary delights. They can come from a great many sources from barley to coconuts. They are found in a great number of foods, particularly condiments and pickling, and make an excellent cleaning product owing to their acidity and antimicrobial properties.

Additionally, some vinegars also get better with age. A prime example is Balsamic vinegar. Like the wines of Bordeaux and Champagne, real Balsamic vinegar can only come from a specific region - the Modena and Reggio Emilia provinces of Italy to be exact. It is made from a reduction of the syrup, aka "must", of Trebbiano grapes (a sweet white grape), which is then aged in wood barrels for at least 12 years. The result is a sweet, rich vinegar bearing the complex flavours imparted by the woods. The balsamic vinegar industry is very much like the wine industry, with different companies producing more expensive vinegars than others. Needless to say, real Balsamic vinegar isn't cheap. In fact, 100 mL of 12 year old Balsamic can set you back up to $100 or more. But if you're feeling really indulgent, spring for some of this 25 year old vinegar, at a price tag of $255.95. That's about $12 per teaspoon.

Factoid: Use non-reactive cookware when cooking or marinating with vinegars - reactive pots, such as those made with aluminum or copper, will alter the taste! Use glass, ceramics, or stainless steel instead.

So let's get real and talk about the "balsamic" vinegar the vast majority of us actually use. Until some time in the 1970s, nobody had ever really heard of Balsamic vinegar. But when it broke out on the culinary scene, demand for this vinegar was high, and vinegar artisans just couldn't keep up. Cheaper vinegars aged for less time, often in steel barrels, were produced, making "balsamic" available to the masses. Instead of 100% must, as in traditional balsamic vinegars, most vinegars you'll find in the grocery store are made from a combination of must and red wine vinegar. The higher the percentage of must, the higher the quality. White balsamic vinegars are made using white wine vinegar, and are not caramelized, giving the vinegar a golden colour. This is good if you want to put it in any kind of light coloured dish or sauce without imparting an ugly muddy colour typical of balsamic vinegar.

As you may have guessed, this week's salad challenge recipe makes use of balsamic vinegar. I got the recipe from the February 2010 issue of Vegetarian Times. It is based on the traditional South German dish Kartoffelsalat, which is a potato salad that is made with oil & vinegar and served warm, unlike its mayo-based, cold counterpart of the North.

German-Style Warm Potato Salad

8 0z. baby red potatoes, sliced

4 oz. green beans, cut in half

3 tbsp olive oil

3 green onions, chopped

2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley*

1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon or dill*

4 cups baby spinach leaves

*If you're using dry herbs (like I did) you'll need to use less, so use teaspoons instead of tablespoons.

Boil potatoes until tender. Add green beans during last minute of cooking (you still want them to have some crunch).

While you're waiting on the potatoes, saute your green onion in the oil on medium for a few minutes until tender. Remove from heat and add the vinegar.

Drain beans & potatoes and add to the pan with the onion. Add your herbs, salt & pepper to taste, toss to coat, then serve warm over baby spinach.

Salad Challenge Countdown

Salads made: 3 Salads left: 49

Thanksgiving and Glorious Mornings

Well I've done it again! Over a month has gone by without a post, though I've been thinking about blogging all the while, alas, I never found the time to get on here and write about the delicious foods I've discovered since our last meeting.

During my absence, Canadian Thanksgiving came and went. Holidays often pose problems to vegans and vegetarians, especially when their families cannot conceive of celebrating a holiday without the slaughter of millions of unsuspecting turkeys.

Factoid: According to PETA over 45 million turkeys are killed each year at Thanksgiving(I assume in the USA), and over 22 million are killed at Christmas time.

But fear not, fellow herbivores! There are many delicious foods that you can make that you and your family will enjoy. During holiday season I like to make VegCooking.com's Cashew Nut Roast. The nut roast is very rich and takes the place of turkey well. I like to add a bit of poultry seasoning to it as well, and I make it all in one instead of adding the stuffing layer in the middle. Even my staunchly omnivorous brother once said "It's not bad". I'll take that as a good review from him! Served along side my mom's stuffing and the usual veggie sides, this will be a dinner you can really give thanks for!

Thanksgiving dessert in my family has always been pumpkin pie. We always use E.D. Smith's canned pumpkin pie filling, which always turns out delicious and perfectly spiced. However, the recipe calls for evaporated milk and an egg. This year I decided to go out on a limb and veganize this classic. I know there are many vegan pumpkin pie recipes out there, but I really wanted to make a version so that my family would not even notice the difference. So I made my own evaporated milk by simmering soymilk in a saucepan until it was reduced by half, and putting a couple of tablespoons of ground flaxseed into the pie instead of the egg. I put it in an all vegetable shortening pie crust, and voila! vegan pumpkin pie from a can! I expected it to be runny and not set properly, but no, it was perfect! It was just like the real thing. I don't know why anyone would go through the fuss of making tofu pumpkin pie!

Another exciting event that occurred during my absence was the opening of a new coffee shop beside campus, the Green Bean. Better yet, they have a few delicious vegetarian options that are easily veganized. One of my favourites is their Morning Glory breakfast wrap. It is a simple recipe you can easily make at home, but something that had never occurred to me before trying it there. It is sinfully delicious, and one of my new favourite foods.

the Green Bean's (veganized) Morning Glory wrap

1 tortilla

1 banana

Peanut Butter

Granola

Honey (or agave, maple syrup or other non-honey syrupy sweetness if you're anti-honey)

Spread a generous amount of peanut butter on your wrap of choice. Slice bananas and arrange on top of peanut butter. Sprinkle a handful of granola and drizzle honey on top. Roll up tightly and you have yourself an easy, nutritious, and filling breakfast that you can take with you on the bus, in the car, or on your walk to school or work!

Note: I advise wrapping wrap in some waxed paper or something if you are taking it on the run so you don't end up with honey dribbling down your hand or into your lap!