LAZY SUNDAY HOMEFRIES

This recipe is suitable for max 2 people so add another potato for 3-4 and adjust ingredients.

• I really dislike cooking in the microwave, but I was particularly lazy one morning so I cut up one large white potato into cubes (washed, obviously, with the skin still on) and stuck it in the microwave for 5 minutes

• After your nuked potatoes are finished, cut them into 1/2 mm slices

• Melt 1 tablespoon per potato of Earth Balance in a frying pan and add the potato bits

• Sprinkle 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of pepper and 2 tsp of garlic per potato

• Fry for approx. 5 mins or until they reach desired crispiness, tossing every minute or so.

I like them with ketchup!

Reviews, Restaurant Discoveries..

As far as eating out in Toronto goes.. i've been doing a lot of it and as we all know it can be tricky! Working in the hardcore downtown area, it's been difficult finding places that cater to my lifestyle. Sadly, i've walked away from numerous places that refuse to embrace animal-free edibles - ahem Kernels!

Still, i've sampled many a "vegan" meal so here are my findings so far!

VEGETARIAN HAVEN
• My initial experience at this restaurant was not so pleasant. I ordered a burger with soy cheese. Bad idea, the ENORMOUS burger was not so delicious, possibly due to this mysterious soy cheese.

The second time I ordered takeout. I had a mango smoothie which was fabulous and veggie fried rice, also fabulous.

FRESSEN
• I've only dined there once, but can't wait to return. I was more than happy to fill up on the hummus and bread that accompanied our table, but sampled a few different dishes too. To start I had the peppery rocket arugula with pears, pumpkin seeds and seared tempeh in a poppadum canoe, I was completely apprehensive, but man was it good! I tried the squash ravioli and potato gnocci, both incredible!

FRESH
• You know I always hear how great this place is, but for me it's just mediocre. Not super fantastic, but not bad either. I had the deluxe burger w/o cheese last time I was there and it was good - but nothing to get too excited about. I also had the urban wrap minus the mayo but I wasn't a fan. Maybe i'm ordering the wrong items?!

URBAN HERBIVORE
• It took me awhile to actually make it there before closing, seeing as how my schedule does not correspond well with their hours. It was a bit of a let down. Mostly I was disappointed they spread some olive/bizarre mixture on my sandwich without asking if I wanted any. I despise olives so I barely made it through half the sandwich.

RICE BAR
• I ordered some basmati rice bowl with coconut green curry, I had them replace the regular milk with soy and added bok choy and another vegetable (?? it's been awhile). It was quite good, although my smoothie was a little too runny.

FIT FOR LIFE (Commerce Court)
• This place was reccommended to me by a coworker, so I went in with high expectations. I asked for a california pita dealio and was unimpressed. The combination of vegetables weren't too appetizing and it was messy as hell! I'm pretty certain I had half the pita contents on my face and the other half covering the circumference of the bench I was sitting on.

NATURALLY YOURS
• This is the closest health food store/veg takeout place to my work. I've tested out the veg chili and chickpea roti wrap - both very filling and flavourful. If you're looking for an excellent home-cooked kind of veg meal, this is a great place to go. As far as the store part goes - it stinks for finding vegan products!

PIZZAIOLO
• Man I love this place! Not only is the staff at the Dundas/Mccaul location amazing (they delivered even though they did not have a delivery person), but their vittoria pizza is the best I've ever had. In my pre-vegan days I could eat 1 piece MAX, now I will not rest until the entire box is devoured.

THAI PARADISE
• The staff is more than happy to make your pad thai just how you like it - fish sauceless and eggless! It's one of my favourite places for pad thai yet - and i've been to a TON of thai restaurants.

DHABA
• My first real Indian food experience. It was all positive aside from the $12 margarita. I assume they charge so much because the drink tasted like pure tequila. The waiter recommended okra okra (I sheepishly had to ask what okra was...cucumber/zucchini veg, for those who like me, are unfamiliar with exotic veggies). I also discovered you have to order rice to accompany the dish. The rice was flavoured with what, I couldn't tell you, but the combined flavours of the rice and okra okra it was spicy, slightly sweet and fantastic. We also ordered garlic naan bread, which he told me was vegan (although he had a suspicious look on his face when he answered). The bread was pretty burnt, but the non-blackened bits were very good. I would definitely go back, but i'd stick to the $3 juice for a beverage.

Chili

One vegan meal i've been enjoying for many years is veg chili. For awhile this was the only veggie recipe my mom knew how to make so I ate it often. After a recent move even further downtown and farther from any organic/natural/health food stores I was unable to find some key ingredients for this fabulous chili. In lieu of TVP, stewed tomatoes and many other veggies I usually toss in I substituted whole roma tomatoes, canned lentils and tomato paste.

Generally when i'm improvising I don't keep track of the amounts (also my measuring utensils didn't quite make it to the new place). Anyway here's the ingredients list.

• Can of tomato paste
• 1/2 can lentils
• Chopped celery
• Can of roma tomatoes and juice
• Kidney beans
• Diced onion
• Chopped garlic
• Chili powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Diced green pepper
• Chopped Mushrooms
• Red pepper flakes

Tastes delicious with Earth balanced buttered toast... mmm...

CJs Summer Veg X-travaganza Pasta

• 1/2 c. green pepper
• 1/2 c. red pepper
• 1/2 c. yellow pepper (all sliced like preparing for a pizza)
• 1 c. onion
• 5 cloves fresh or minced garlic
• 3/4 c. chopped zucchini
• 1/2 c. mushrooms
• 2 c. crushed/diced tomatoes
• 2 c. cooked spaghetti noodles
• 2 tbsp. basil
• 1 tbsp. marjoram
• 5 tbsp. olive oil

- Cook pasta
- Sauté onions and garlic in 1 tbsp of oil until translucent
- Toss in chopped peppers, zucchini and mushrooms
- Throw in tomatoes, marjoram and basil
- Add in spaghetti noodles and rest of oil
- Toss for a few mins.

* A nice additive to this recipe is dethawed frozen smoked tofu, it kind of tastes like sausage (if I remember correctly what sausage tastes like!).

Experimental Biscotti...

Ever since the veganism began, I've missed my biscotti along side my coffee at Starbucks. Inspired by a delicious spiced one from Sweets From the Earth, a vegan bakery here in T.O, I found a recipe on the net and went to work. The recipe called for applesauce, but after discovering my applesauce had mold in it (sadness), I used the closest thing - apple butter.

Biscotti certainly wasn't the easiest kitchen creation i've attempted, Almonds were flying in all directions across my apartment.

It turned out quite well, slightly gooeyer than I was hoping for, but after dipping it in chocolate I was impressed!

Saucey goodness!

It's the weekend (thank goodness) and that means many hours slaving away in the kitchen. Tonight's menu consisted of my first attempt at lasagna. I used the recipe from "How it All.." but added some chopped shrooms and sprinkled parm, which I believe only enhanced the succulence of this recipe. I had a little trouble with the rice noodles - the sticky bastards - so it turned out quite sloppy but nevertheless absolutely delicious!

I had tons of leftover noodle bits and thought, while tossing them in the garbage, they would be good for a vegan version of "hamburger helper."
Oh well, another time.

Getting Creative

Since I have perpetually forgotten to take photos of the burritos i've been gorging on for the last week (apparently I love refried beans) I decided to post this little number.
After craving the Sandwich Box's delightful grilled veggie sandwich I had two weeks ago and denying myself the indulgence, I threw this together hoping it would somewhat resemble a SB menu item.

I have to admit it's not too shabby. More fillings (i.e sweet onions) would have improved the flavour, but it served it's purpose. If you're curious to test it out (and possibly create your own variations) i'll post the recipe seeing as how I didn't steal it from a cookbook.

To roast the red pepper and portabello shrooms, cover whole vegetables in olive oil (or whichever oil you prefer) and place under the broiler, turning every few minutes. Keep your eye on these bad boys because they can burn fast if you leave them too long. The red pepper took approx. 5-10 minutes longer and I eventually ended up slicing it into strips to speed up the process. I used a George Foreman grill for grilling the sandwich, but i'm sure you could use other varieties of grilling devices.

• Mash avocado (I used 1/2 for one sandwich)
• Spread dijon mustard and vegan mayo on 1 slice of bread (as much as you'd like).
• Spread avocado on other slice
• Toss a little sprinkling of chopped garlic into the avocado
• Thinly slice vegan cheese of your choice (I used rice mozza) and place on top of avocado
• Throw on a small handful of arugula
• Slice and lay 1/2 a roasted portabello on top on arugula
• Slice 1/3 of the roasted red pepper into strips and place on top of portabello
• Drizzle tiny amount of oil onto both sides of grill
• Sandwich goes onto the grill for about 5 minutes, depending on the type of grill you're using.
• Remove and devour

Let me know if any variations of this recipe turn out spectacularly!