Comfort food the Hogtown Vegan way!

I have a mild addiction...well the kind of addiction where you go into a place to pick up your takeout and they know you by name.  However, my addiction cannot be seen as a bad one.  For I am addicted to the Hogtown Vegan!  The Hogtown vegan is located at 834 Bloor St.  They have a delicious menu, that even non-vegans approve of.  My father, who LOVES his meat, was pleasantly surprised when we  went there for my last birthday.  And that is when the love for this fabulous restaurant began to bloom.  This evening I am having my favourite dish on the menu the Pulled Unpork Sandwich.  Since I can have bread I get this dish put on a bed of their garlic collard greens.  It is super yummy!  The variety is amazing and the prices are not too bad.  Visit there website (http://www.hogtownvegan.com/) or better yet pay them a visit!  Also please take note that they only accept cash.  Below is a pic of my delicious dinner. Thank you Hogtown Vegan!  M

Simple Kale Chip recipe

I was at my friend's house last night for a party and she was saying how she would like to make kale chips for her husband to get him to eat kale, but didn't know how.  This got me thinking that I should post my easy kale chip recipe.  Kale is super good for you. It is full of amazing nutrients and when cooked right it is super tasty, especially in chip form.  I know my boyfriend seemed a little skeptical at first, but after one bite he thinks they are super delicious.  You don't need to eat a lot of them because they are really filling.  I like to have them as late night snack or as a quick and easy side dish with dinner.  They are best served when fresh out of the oven.

Kale Chips
As much kale as you want to eat (I usually do a handful)
Olive Oil
Salt

Wash and then rip kale up into bite sized pieces.  Discard any hard stems. You don't want them bigger because the kale doesn't hold up to being bit into once cooked.  Place kale pieces onto a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Toss the kale, olive oil and salt with your hands.  Then put into a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes.  Be sure to watch it closely as it burns easily and I don't recommend eating burnt kale chips.

Enjoy this easy and tasty recipe!

M

Desperately seeking some comfort food

I can't really eat out right now nor can I eat anything that is "bad" for me, which means I can't have any sugar.  I had a craving for mac n' cheese.  So I decided to make up my own vegan mac n' cheese.  Since it has been so hot (and I don't have air conditioning) it was important for me to come up with a recipe that didn't involve me turning on my oven.  Instead I used inspiration from my friend who is also on a limited diet.  She used to eat Mac n' Cheese at least once a week, but now is not able to indulge in her old standby.

I cooked kamut pasta, but you can your favourite pasta.  I then made a cheese sauce in a separate sauce pan.  This recipe made enough for my boyfriend and I to eat dinner, plus a small portion as leftovers.  The recipe for the cheese sauce:
1Tbls Earth Balance Butter (or other vegan butter)
1Tbls whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or other alternative milk)
1 1/2 Daiyan cheese (this is important is melts)
Pepper to taste

Melt the butter with flour in a small sauce pan until browns a little.  Add the "milk" and stir.  Add the "cheese" and pepper to taste.  Stir frequently until the cheese is melted.  Pour over cooked pasta.  Then enjoy!

M

Bread making part 2

I have been experimenting with the bread recipe I posted last time.  I recently added cinnamon to the dough.  If you love cinnamon like I do, it is a nice added flavour to the bread.  If you cut the slices ticker you are able to put it in the toaster.  I toaster a couple of piece of the cinnamon bread and it was better than eating it not toasted.  I had the toast with Earth Balance buttery spread, however, it will be great with jam.
I have also been making two loafs at a time.  I make the dough and then before the water is fully absorbed.  Once the dough it separated I add different spices to the two balls.  This way I have some variety in flavours and I don't have to make the bread as often.  Two balls fit onto one pan and the cooking time is still 40 minutes.

Till next time!

M

I am unable to eat yeast right now.  As a result I decided to look into making my own bread instead of buying it.  I like this recipe because it is plain and you can add different spices.  Adding rosemary and garlic powder to the dry ingredients makes a great tasting focaccia type bread.  I also added flaxseeds for extra nutrition.  It is a little more dense than yeast bread, but the versatility is amazing and means you will never get bored.  It is also great because you know what it is in it, plus the best part it is super easy and uses things you are likely to already have in your house.

3 cups whole wheat flour 

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cup liquid (water, alternative milk or a mixture of both)

1/4 of fat (oil, melted "butter") -I used olive oil

1. Mix dry ingredients in one bowl

2. Mix liquid ingredients in another bowl

3. Mix dry and liquid ingredients together until combined. Do not over work the dough. Dough should be moist not sticky, it could take a few minutes for the flour to absorb the liquid

4. Oil hands and place the dough onto baking sheet and make into a ball or oval

5. Score lightly the surface in diamond or "x" shape (to prevent splitting of the crust)

6. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes

I also decided to use it as a replacement for pizza dough by adding basil and summer savory to the dough.  It doesn't roll out instead use flour to push it out into a pizza dough shape.  

Enjoy!

M

"Egg" Salad Sandwich

I made this version of eggless salad sandwich for lunches this week.  Instead of eggs I use tempeh.

1 package of tempeh
1 celery stalk, diced
3 Tablespoons red pepper, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
1 Tablespoons mustard (use your favourite)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
salt & pepper

Place tempeh in pot of boiling water.  Simmer for 12 minutes.  Drain tempeh and let sit till cool.  Once cool cut into small pieces or grate with cheese grater.

Place celery, red pepper, carrots and tempeh in bowl.

Mix vegan mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, garlic powder, ginger powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Place mayonnaise mixture into bowl with tempeh and veggie.  Mix well.

Mixture will keep 3-4 days in the fridge.  I like mine on bread with some lettuce. Makes for a quick and tasty lunch.

If you have different vegetables in the fridge you can also use them.  Green onions, pickles or green peppers would add a different flavour, but still adding a nice crunch in contrast to the tempeh.  

Enjoy! 

M

I made a delicious dinner of roasted tofu, potatoes, onions, carrots with quinoa and a side of swiss chard.  My boyfriend was worried about roasting the tofu.  He was paranoid about it getting too dry without marinating it first.  But since I am I always one to try something new I just wanted to go for it.  And this way if it didn't worked out I would know for next time.  Thankfully, it worked out! We had ourselves a delicious improvised meal of influenced by Indian and Moroccan spices! 

Recipe:
1 block of firm tofu, cut in slices then in half
2 medium potatoes, cut into cubes
3 carrots, cut into pieces about same size as potatoes
1 medium onion, sliced
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 cinnamon
1/4 tsp-1/2 tsp chili flakes (depends on how much spice you want)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the tofu, potatoes, carrots and onion pieces onto a baking sheet.  Mix the olive oil and spices in a small bowl and drizzle over tofu and veggies.  Mix the oil and veggies with your hands to make sure they are well coated.  Put in oven until veggies are cooked. Serve on top of quinoa, rice or couscous.

I served this with swiss chard that I washed and cut into strips.  I then cooked it in a pan with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  If using the stems be sure to cook them for a few minutes before you throw in the rest of the chard.  It is a nice light compliment to the spices on the tofu and veggies. 

M