Vegetarians at the Cottage

It's the end of May and we are officially into cottage season! For vegetarian/vegan guests and cottagers hosting non-meateaters, it can be a bit troubling to figure out how to feed everyone. So here are a few meal suggestions that will satisfy everyone:

1. BBQ. Nothing says summer like the smell of barbeque, and what better way to feed everyone then burgers and hotdogs. Of course, most vegetarians prefer that veggie burgers are put on the grill before the meat, so if you want to be really accomodating I suggest cooking the veggie meals first, or at least putting them on one side of the grill and using separate tongs. Other than burgers, the buns and most toppings are usually vegetarian anyway. If you are trying to score brownie points, pick up some vegan cheese so the vegans can make cheeseburgers.

2. Pizza. Ok, so maybe we don't eat cheese or meat or anchovies... but believe it or not vegans can still eat pizza. So what do you need for a vegan pizza? Pizza dough and tomato sauce are often vegan (check your labels to be sure!), so all need you need is toppings. Any veggies will work, but in particular I recommend Daiya vegan cheese and Yves "pepperoni".

3. Grilled Cheese. Yes! Really! Just use Daiya cheese shreds and Earth Balance for butter and you're good to go.

4. Veggie soups (the options are endless). Just don't add meat. Nuff said.

5. Quesidillas. My favourite veg version is made with refried beans and mashed sweet potato. Again, Daiya brings this dish to another level.

Bi Bim Bap

Several times now I have eaten at Bi Bim Bap and it is time for me to share it with the world (although based on my most recent visit, it appears the word is out). Bi Bim Bap is a Korean dish served in a hot stone bowl. It consists of rice and various toppings. At Bi Bim Bap, the restaurant on Eglinton West, you choose your rice (white or brown), your topping (yes, there’s tofu) and your sauce. Then it is cooked up and served in a stone bowl that remains very hot throughout the entire meal. The sauce is served in a small bowl on the side, which you must mix into the bowl. The quantity of sauce provided is quite small, so throughout the meal I often request different sauces, such as apple, sesame bean, and soy garlic, for no extra charge.

There is meat on the menu, so it is a great place to go with people are not vegetarian. It’s also great for those who are gluten-intolerant as the meals are all based around rice.

The service is great, and the staff never rush you with the bill (in fact, we always have to ask for it).

  

I have never made reservations, but on my most recent Friday dinner I did have to wait about 20 minutes, so I recommend making reservations if you are going on a Friday or Saturday night at prime dinner time. But if they’re too busy, you can always walk across the street to Loving Hut!

Castro's Lounge

Is it just me, or has Castro's Lounge completely flown under the radar? With only one review on Happy Cow, it seems Toronto vegetarians have yet to discover this vegetarian gem in the Beaches (oh, excuse me, the Beach)...

Castro's, despite its name, looks nothing like a lounge and everything like a bar. Had it not been my destination, I would have walked by Castro's assuming it had nothing but bar food to offer. And would I have ever been wrong! We walked in to find an excellent live band at the front of the restaurant, and the small restaurant seated close to capacity. The menu is entirely vegetarian, with interesting options for vegans and the celiac/gluten-intolerant crowd as well.

We had the chickpea bowl and okra burrito. The menu contains a variety of Indian and Mexican dishes, and some interesting mixes of the two. Unfortunately (and fortunately) they were out of their vegan desserts so we didn't get to sample any of those. As an FYI, Tori's Bakeshop is just down the street, so you can hit two birds with one stone if you're making a trip to the area. Tori's was closed by the time we finished dinner, so be sure to check out the store hours beforehand.

Cruda Cafe (at St. Lawrence Market)

In the midst of camel burgers and hanging cows, Cruda Cafe is a bit of an oasis at the St. Lawrence Market. Serving smoothies, wraps, and other entrees,  everything is raw, vegan and delicious. My favourite is the gnocci; it's a "spaghetti and meatballs" kind of meal, with dumplings on noodles and an amazing sauce. The sweet potato sandwich is also very good; it's a thin flat bread with very flavourful toppings served over salad. I have also tried two of their desserts. The parfait was good, but the nanaimo bar was exceptional (and huge!). They also have beautiful-looking cupcakes with real flowers on top, and the takeout containers are compostable. In a city that loves its markets, it's nice to know that us non-meat-eaters can still show up and join the party. But you may need to avert your eyes...

Papyrus

Many people assume that because I'm vegan I care about the environment. I always want to tell them to drop the stereotypes about vegans, but the problem is... they're right!  For those of you who also care about the environment, I wanted to share a new discovery in the GTA.

My favourite environmentally-friendly greeting card brand for the last few years has been Papyrus because of the beautiful embellishments. I usually head to Indigo when looking for Papyrus, but just this week I was walking through Bayview Village and there it was -- a free-standing Papyrus store! Just wanted to share!

Green Living Show

My goodies from the show: vegan ceasar dressing from Organic Garage, various Live Clean products, spelt milk, LPK buns, organic craisins, mini Luna bars...

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Today I went to the Green Living Show at the Direct Energy Centre and, as always, the best part of the show is discovering and sampling new products.

My favourite discovery was a new line of non-dairy milks imported from Italy; I sampled the hazelnut rice, buckwheat, kamut and spelt . The brand is BIO and I recommend the spelt and buckwheat in particular. Products are not yet carried in Ontario, but can be ordered through the website. (http://www.thebridgesrl.com/prodotti/bevande/farro/bio-farro-drink-natural/?lang=en)

LPK had awesome samples of pesto on gluten-free vegans buns, and we bought three packs of the buns to take home. Now if only I could re-create that pesto...

I also sampled Earth Balance's new coconut-flavoured spread and it was delicious. It will be fantastic in baked goods.

Unfortunately, the show ended on a low note. Like, last year, there were few vegetarian options in the food section. As well, food must be purchased by first buying tickets, which seems particularly wasteful in the context of the green living show. But here is my vent...

We scouted out options and realized there was only one vegetarian offering - at Keriwa Cafe - so we bought the right amount of tickets and lined up at that station. Well, the people working there took the sign down while we were in line and increased the price from 1 to 2 tickets, so we now did not have enough tickets for all of us to buy lunch. We stayed in line because it was our only option, but while my order was being prepared we noticed the staff eating as they garnished (with hands), and then one licked her fingers! So I left my untouched bowl (no refund or apology offered, of course!) and headed to LPK's to fill up on vegan sweet potato donuts (mmm......) It's disappointing to end on a low note, but as you can see from the photo I did not go home empty handed!

One Restaurant (Yorkville)

I love to share and recognize restaurants that are accomodating of vegetarians, vegans and others with various dietary restrictions. My most recent discovery is One Restaurant, a Mark McEwan restaurant on Yorkville Avenue. Yes, it's beautiful and has great service, but what really impressed me was its vegan-friendliness. Vegans generally have a difficult time with fine dining, but One was amazingly accomodating. For starters, there were several vegan (or veganizable) options on the breakfast menu. I had a generous serving of oatmeal, raisins and brown sugar. More importantly, however, was the fact that they had soymilk. I usually have pretty good "soydar" but One was so off my radar I didn't even think to ask about soymilk, until of my colleagues kindly piped up on my behalf. I also have to share that One has gluten-free bread. In addition, they informed us that if you call ahead they can accomodate all kinds of requests. So kudos to One Restaurant!

Vegetarian Passover

Over the years I have struggled with how to keep Passover as both a vegan and an Ashkenazi Jew. Most of my protein sources, such as beans, lentils, and tofu, are off limits during Passover (but quinoa seems to be ok!). To make matters worse, when I first went vegan Passover usually overlapped with my final exams, which made it that much more difficult. Rather than risking feeling weak and tired while studying, I opted to follow the Sephardic tradition during Passover, which meant the protein-based kitniot was back on the table (literally). I have found that this is the right balance for me. How do you keep Passover as a vegetarian or vegan?

Organic Oven

Over the last couple of years, gluten-free menu items have been popping up all over the place. But for people who are extremely sensitive, the risk of cross-contamination means that even gluten-free items might not be safe to eat. Enter: Organic Oven. Organic Oven is an entirely gluten-free bakery and cafe, with tons of vegan items. I went there for breakfast for the first time on Good Friday and was overwhelmed by the options. I settled on a vegan berry muffin and soy berry smoothie; my husband had a chicken sandwich. I admit the muffin had a distinctively gluten-free taste, but if I were gluten-intolerant or celiac and also vegan I would be thrilled that there is safe place to find both vegan and gluten-free items. Organic Oven sells beautiful looking cakes, some that are gluten-free and some that are both gluten-free and vegan. They also sell some gluten-free grocery items. There are about 5 or 6 small tables in the cafe at the Yonge and Lawrence location. We followed breakfast by a walk around Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens, which made for a beautiful morning.

Vegan Protein Powder

Although there are tons of vegan brands available in Toronto, I've struggled with finding a good vegan protein powder.  I used to enjoy Hemp Shake by Nutiva but haven't seen it around for a while, and I'm hesitant to spend 30 bucks on a powder that might not be very good. Well, I was recently in Chicago and decided to check out Trader Joe's and see if they had any protein powder and sure enough they did - and it's great! It's called Trader Joe's Organic Hemp Protein Powder (chocolate flavored dietary supplement). It blends well and does not leave chalky powder on the side of the blender. I also love how it's so simple -- the only ingredients are organic hemp protein powder, organic palm sugar and cocoa powder. And although it is only sold in the US (as far as I'm aware), it is a product of Canada!

Almond on the go

I cannot walk buy a new vegan product and not try it.. hence, I just had my first sip of earth's own Almond on the go! As far as I'm aware it is the first almond milk in 250 mL juicebox form in the GTA. I have one rule when it comes to trying new non-dairy milks: always try the chocolate flavour first to give the product the fairest chance. I can happily say that the chocolate flavour was delicious; in fact, it tasted just like chocolate soymilk. It has a very similar nutritional profile to soymilk boxes but has fewer calories. I bought my Almond on the go from a Loblaw Superstore.

Bounce spirulina energy ball

Today I tried a new energy ball from Bounce. I had the spirulina flavour and unfortunately was not wowed, although I think that is because the ball looked like chocolate and when I took a bite it tasted nothing like chocolate (my fault - there was no indication there would be chocolate but it's hard to compete with the anticipation of chocolate!). I am looking forward to trying some of the other flavours, especially fudgie walnut!

http://www.bouncefoods.com/uk/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=5&category_id=1&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=26&vmcchk=1

The Bean Ladies

Today I went to Toronto's One of a Kind Show and stumbled upon a business called The Bean Ladies, run by twin sisters out of the GTA (http://www.beanladies.com/index.html). They make soybean snacks and other bean-based products. I sampled about a dozen soybean flavours, including Apples N' Cinnamon, Chai Latte and Dill Pickle. I was impressed by how much flavour these soybeans had and the huge variety of flavours they offered. The Bean Ladies' products are carried across the province, including at Pusateri's.

Vegan Wedding Cakes

Photo by Little Blue Lemon

Well, it's March and we are coming up on wedding season, so what better time to talk about vegan wedding cakes. When I was planning my wedding I managed to compile an impressive list of vegan bakers (and non-vegan bakers who were willing to bake something vegan). Although I am the only vegan across the families no one seemed to mind the idea of a vegan cake, so there was no need to compromise on this point.

Over the course of about a year we ordered cakes from some of the potential vendors to test out their products, which I highly recommend (birthday? graduation? order a cake!). One vendor, who makes beautiful cakes, did a vegan cake for my shower and unfortunately it was not decorated like the pictures on the website, and worse, it started to melt during the shower. We decided to keep looking.

In the end I went with Cakes by Robert in Thornhill, Ontario (www.cakesbyrobert.com) and this is a vendor that I highly recommend. We went into the bakery, showed a person (I think it was Robert himself) a picture from Google images, and he said he could make it. We went with a traditional vanilla three-tiered cake and a branch design to compliment our centerpieces. The cake image above was the final product, and we couldn't have been happier. It looked beautiful the entire night.

Lessons Learned:

-Round vegan cakes can be more expensive than square if the bakery traditionally makes non-vegan cakes (they may be less experienced with it and therefore there is a greater chance it will take multiple attempts)
-For a long-lasting and professional look, go for fondant
-Don't tell your guests the cake is vegan until after they've eaten it!
-Ask about delivery dates before you sign on the doted line. Not all bakeries offer delivery, and among those that do, they may not be open or performing deliveries the day of your wedding. For an extra fee, some may be willing to accomodate your request.
-Get the agreement in writing. Some wedding vendors will do a deal on a handshake; I always ensured we had our requests in writing, even in the form of an email in which I requested the vendor confirm that their understanding of the agreement was the same as mine.

TorontoVegan: Weddings

TorontoVegan: Weddings: I was married last September, following a two year engagement, and spent many months researching vegan and eco-friendly wedding vendors. Aft...

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my first blog. I'm new to the blogging world, but I've been part of the vegetarian world for 10 years. You may be thinking, there are tons of vegetarian and vegan blogs, so why start another one? Well, I've decided to join the conversation, focusing on my hometown of Toronto, Ontario. Toronto is a great place for vegans and I hope to share with you the many amazing restaurants, products and services I have discovered over the past 5+ years as a vegan. I have helped a lot of omnivores go vegetarian, and a lot of vegetarians go vegan, and it is time for me to share the wealth of knowledge a little bit wider. So if you live in the Greater Toronto Area, or you are planning a visit to Toronto, I invite you to visit my blog and learn about why Toronto is a great place for vegetarians and vegans.