Chili on Rice

This is a tasty dish! I always recommend www.vegweb.com for recipes and inspiration. A view of vegweb today inspired me to create this recipe.

ingredients

1 small green pepper chopped, small

2 celery stalks sliced (about 1/2 cm slices)

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup frozen corn

olive oil

10 button mushrooms, halved

1 small zucchini, chopped

796 ml can diced tomatoes

549 ml / 19 fl oz can 6 bean medley, drained & rinsed

1 1/2 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp vegan worcestershire sauce

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried cilantro

1 tsp cumin

fresh ground black peppeercorns to taste

1 cup basmati rice - optional

Tofutti Sour Supreme

Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds

red pepper flakes

method

If desired, cook rice according to package directions.

Heat some olive oil in a large pot, add onions, celery and green pepper. Saute 'til onion translucent.

Mix in garlic.  Saute a few minutes.

Add zucchini and mushrooms. Saute 'til zucchini starts to get soft.

Add tomatoes, beans, corn, chili powder, worcestershire sauce, salt, cilantro, cumin and black pepper.  Mix well.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer 1 hour, stirring frequently.

Serve on a bed of rice, topped with Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds, Toffutti Sour Supreme and red pepper flakes.

This is a very pretty and tasty dish.  I served it with warm bread sticks...it served 4 of use with chili left over for lunch tomorrow!

Goodness Me!

My first job as a teenager was at Burger King in Brantford (circa 1982)...fun times...

The restaurant closed just before Christmas this year...I did enjoy the veggie burgers and prompt service provided by the employees so I was kinda sad to see it closed up...until I found out that Goodness Me! is going in it's place!

Since becoming vegan nearly 20 years ago Goodness Me! has been a fun afternoon trip for my husband and I to find new vegan foods'n'things!  We would travel to the location on Upper Wentworth in Hamilton...they have since moved to a larger location on Upper Gage Avenue in Hamilton...

When my husband and I first became vegan we had to travel to Hamilton to get stuff 'cause it just wasn't available here in Brantford at the time.

We can pretty much get everything we want now here in town and make fewer trips to Goodness Me! and Whole Foods (Oakville).

I am excited about Goodness Me! because I will be able to go there regularly and look forward to viewing their selection of organic produce!

I'd love for my 15 year old son to get a job in the Brantford Goodness Me! store!  That'd be cool that his first job and my first job were in the same building - just very different enterprises!

http://www.goodnessme.ca/

Christmas Comfort Drinks!

At Christmas Zehrs' grocery store stocks Vitasoy Chocolate Mint soy beverage.  I can't seem to keep it in the house! So far this season I've bought at least 4 cartons of it and I've only had 1 small glass of it!  The kids love it!

As a child in my prevegan days I used to love chocolate mint ice cream.  This beverage tastes just like it!

I was never an egg nog person.  My husband used to drink it in his prevegan days.  We now purchase, for him to enjoy with rum during the holiday season, vegan egg nog.  Vitasoy has Holly Nog and So Nice has Noel Nog.  He likes these beverages. We have served these nogs to my mother at Christmas...no complaints!

Vegetables, Rice & Coconut Curry Sauce

This is a recipe that is very tasty...it is from Fresh, the restaurant. I edited it slightly.

Ingredients
*not all of these veggies need to be used...just use what you've got!

1 zucchini sliced, slices halved
6-8 button mushrooms, quarter
1 green pepper, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
baby bok choy
3 carrots, peeled, sliced
1 sweet potato, peeled, chopped
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup cauliflower florets

chick peas (canned, drained and rinsed or dried peas soaked overnight, drained)

1 cup brown rice, cooked on stovetop in accordance with package directions

3 tbsp oil
1 small cooking onion, diced
1 - 2 tbsp minced garlic in oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp sea salt
3 tbsp curry powder
3 tbsp flour
2 cups vegetable stock (low sodium if possible)
1 1/2 cups canned coconut milk
3/4 - 1 cup sliced grape tomatoes

Method

Steam or fry vegetables 'til el dente...don't overcook.  Make sure the colour is still vibrant and veggies aren't mushy.  Cook the chick peas with the veggies.

Make the sauce as follows:

• heat oil in saucepan
• add onion and garlic, cook 5 minutes 'til softened
• add cumin, salt and curry powder, cook 1 minute
• add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently
• stir in vegetable stock gradually to prevent lumps
• add coconut milk, stir well
• add tomatoes, stir well
• bring to a boil, stirring occassionally
• simmer 20-30 minutes until slightly thickened

Serve on plates or in bowls as follows:

rice
veggies
sauce

*this makes a ton of sauce...save some in the freezer...put it on other rice dishes, roasted potatoes etc.

Two...Count'em Two Great Restaurants In One Day!

My husband and I spent a beautiful day on Queen Street in Toronto this past August.  We spent it on Queen Street specifically because of it's great food establishments. 

The restaurants we had planned to visit were Fresh and Fressen.  Toronto is fortunate enough to have more than one location of Fresh. 



Fresh's Cookbooks



We went to Fresh on Spadina for lunch...would definately go there again!  Both my husband and I ordered their Energy Bowl.  It was great!  It was so good and upon my return home I ordered their cookbooks!

http://www.freshrestaurants.ca/

After lunch we visited shops on Queen Street, purchasing a few items and then we showed up on the doorstep of Fressen. 

It's Saturday night...dinner hour...we are asked "Do you have a reservation?" ...oops..."uh, no" is our reply.  Well, it was our day because someone had just called to cancel...we were seated immediately.

The service was good and the food was out of this world.  We have been vegan for 19 years...however, we had never attended at an up-scale vegan restaurant before...we were delighted!  We would definately recommend Fressen, just call ahead to avoid disappointment!  Not only was the food good but they go out of their way (because they have professionals in the kitchen) to display the food on the plate in such a way that you must take a picture of it before savouring it!

http://www.fressenrestaurant.com/

Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary

Last weekend we went to Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary in Lakeside, Ontario (just outside of St. Mary's).  They do not have regular visitor's hours but they do host an open house.

 http://www.cedarrow.org/

The Sanctuary is a small farm which is about the size of a hobby farm.  The weather was beautiful and the animals were out to great us in the sunshine!

We visited with calves, chickens, goats, pigs, pot-bellied pigs and donkeys.  The animals come from rescues. The young pig quite enjoyed a belly rub that my husband willingly provided! - pigs are just like dogs!

This type of an afternoon out might not be everybody's idea of an October day trip but it was awesome for me!  I love talking to the animals.  Someone gave me a carrot to feed to one of the very large pigs!  Call me crazy, but I like this kind of stuff!  I really have a  soft spot for pigs...but who wouldn't - they are adorable!

Cedar Row has had a table at the Toronto Vegetarian Food Fair...that's how we found out about them....check them out on the web...or in person!

Veg Out, London

Last week, after visiting Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary, we headed to London, Ontario to Veg Out, a vegan restaurant.

It was good but not fantastic...I suppose that once you've been to Fressen in Toronto nothing can compare!

I don't know that I'd go back...the kids thought that their Potato Apple Gratin was not completely cooked...my husband said this lentil loaf was good but it didn't look great to me. 

However, I was quite pleased with my sammich. I had their Bacon Mushroom Melt.  I tried to emulate this sammich yesterday for lunch and it turned out pretty good:

Ingredients

fried sliced mushrooms

carmelized onions

spicy mayo (I added hotsauce to Vegenaise)

lettuce

Tofurky's tempeh maple bacon, fried

tomato slices

Daiya cheddar

toasted bread