HEAVENLY NANAIMO BARS

I'm surprised I haven't posted about these before. I have made them several times now, using this recipe. My brother who is the biggest meat and potatoes man and my toughest judge LOVED them. I made these with mint extract and dark chocolate for a little extra somethin' somethin'.

VEGAN SURVIVAL IN MUSKOKA

I figured I should dedicated at least one post to my battle against this very unvegan-friendly town I temporarily am residing in.

There are a few great spots for the handful of herbivores that inhabit these parts. The health food store in Bracebridge is essential to any vegan's survival. This would be the best place to stop for a prepared vegan meal, although some dishes are only vegetarian. They mostly have specialty items that you would not find in grocery stores (loads of different flours, beans, lentils & rices, dried fruits, chocolate, yeasts & tons of various other helpful powders), spices, vitamins and supplements, few fruits and veggies and other canned and packaged items.

For the rest of your supplies, despite my bias towards A&P/Dominion, I would suggest stopping at YIGS/Loblaws/whatever that damn place is called. They have a great health food section with organic items, rice/soy milk, Purely Decadent ice creams and other frozen items.
I'm very skeptical of their produce, thanks to this article. So I purchase all my produce and Yves products at A&P.

For all your caffeinated beverage needs, the Muskoka Bean will graciously create any drink with soymilk. All of their machine premixed liquids are "lactose-free", I recommend the Muskoka Mocha.

Soul Sistas Wellness Kitchen in Huntsville seems like a great spot also. I had a yummy smoothie there yesterday with vegan protein powder and a bite of one of their muffins, fresh out of the oven. They have rice AND soymilk (a rarity for even Toronto).

These are all my tiny town vegan discoveries so far, but I am here for far too many more months so I will keep updating my findings.

UPDATES & EXCITING NEWS!!!

So.. it has been quite awhile since my last post. I had to take a bit of a break due to some health concerns, which of course were presumed to be the result of my vegan diet.. but alas many tests have proved my doctor and concerned family members wrong.

I will be soon be embarking on a great adventure across Europe and promise to journal my experience and post it up on here. Traveling with non-vegans (one unwilling to compromise her meat-eating ways) may prove to be tricky. I'm eager to discover how easy it is to find animal-free food while visiting 9 different countries and will have a full report to share upon my return. I have been accepted into a BA program at Central St Martins in London (UK) for Sept 08 and am quite excited to relocate to that scene.

Other news: I received a bread machine for Christmas and have been making and devouring french loaves like it's going out of style. I've also been making some succulent vegan pizzas with homemade dough. That is all i've pretty much subsisted on lately.

Since moving home to good old Bracebridge in order to save up funds for my $20G tuition and trip, i've had to make several sacrifices in vegan convenience food. We have one health food store, which is pretty incredible for its size, however it is lacking in meltable cheese. I have been sprinkling nutritional yeast and vegan parm on my pizzas and can honestly say it is just as satisfying.

More about pizza... my brother who makes the best pizza I have ever tasted and is unwilling to share his secret... inspired me to add herbs to my crust (oregano, basil and red pepper flakes) and it really makes all the difference. Another of his tricks is using Classico Spicy Red Pepper pasta sauce for his pizza.

Thanksgiving Potluck Dins!

My good friends and I decided to do a potluck thanksgiving this year. We veganized most dishes, aside from scalloped potatoes and cheese sauce, and it was a complete success. I made stuffing, tofurky and cheesecake for the meal.


The vegan plate.......


Mmmm.. strawberry/chocolate blob cheesecake


Tofurky... baked at the wrong temperature

Stuffing

Pasta a la mmm!

I had a chunk of zucchini leftover from this amazing pasta sauce my friend whipped the other night - sadly not quite enough for zucchini bread (one of 3 zucchini recipes I know!). It was time to expand my horizons.

I threw together a zucchini sauce with some veggies over some pasta and was amazed how yummy it was! Sorry for the lack of measurements, I'm always cooking on a whim and only cooking for one. I plan to make this next time I have company!!

INGREDIENTS
• Pasta, cooked (I used brown rice fusilli)
• 5 medium brown mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 tbsp. earth balance
• 1/2 c. canned or fresh diced tomatoes

SAUCE
• 1/4 c. chopped onion
• 2 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. olive oil

º heat oil in a frying pan over med-high heat, sauté onions and garlic until slightly browned.
º set aside

• 3/4 - 1 c. zucchini grated or finely chopped
• 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. soy milk
• 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
• dash of pepper (to taste)
• dash of salt (to taste)

º throw all ingredients in a blender and puree.
º sauté sliced mushroom in earth balance over med-high heat
º throw pasta, zucchini mixture and tomatoes in a saucepan and warm until preferred temperature
º serve on a plate or bowl, top with mushrooms and vegan parm.

Fried No-Egg Sandwich

Oddly enough I was a fried-egg tomato sandwich addict before I developed my egg phobia.
I hadn't considered it a possibility until I came across a recipe for "Egg McVegan" on vegweb. I was a little hesitant because Apple Cider Vinegar stinks so much, but Mmmm... oh so good!!

Anyways here's how I made it.
• Sliced firm tofu, baked in Apple Cider/Oil mixture and sprinkled with Tex Mex and Italian spices
• Mixture of equal amounts of Apple Cider vinegar, olive oil and a dash of salt
• Yves Canadian Bacon, fried
• Melted Tofutti cheese slice
• Tomato and ketchup
• 2 slices of light Rye toast

CauliPot Soup

Another slow day at work led me to many vegan food blogs and recipe sites. I had a ton of cauliflower to use up and wanted a simple healthy meal for dinner (and leftovers for lunch!).

I found this cauliflower soup recipe somewhere on the web, but as usual had to alter the amounts so I wouldn't be eating it for weeks! It takes very little time but tastes a little bland. It would be quite tasty with a cheese sauce mixed in - perhaps some nutritional yeast (?!) Oh well next time!

• 2 c. cauliflower, washed
• 1 med. potato, cubed with skin still on
• 3-4 c. vegetable stock
• 1/4 c. chopped onion
• 1 c. soy milk
• 1-2 tsp. nutmeg
• salt and pepper

º In a pot boil cauliflower and potato in vegetable stock until tender
º Drain about 1 c. vegetable stock and pour the remainder of the pot contents into the blender
º Puree for about 2 seconds, ensuring the consistency is slightly chunky
º Pour back into the pot, add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until ready to eat