It is 3 sleeps ’til Disneyland and my camera and smartphone are caput! I love you, Vegan MoFo, but mercy?

Brrrr! Today is the first day it has really felt like Fall in Victoria. So much so that I immediately yanked out the slow cooker at 7 am this morning to warm my house with the scent of an all day stew.

Yesterday I took the book, Sporkfed , out of the library. I’ve been perusing it, but gingerly. When I was in highschool, for some reason–perhaps it was related to the fact that, during my initial exposure to Monty Python, the word/concept of SPAM was the only thing I could actually find humour in–some friends and I took waaaay too much glee in imagining all the different Hormel products you could, er,  ”Sp”-iferate? Vegetarian even then, I sheepishly (SPeepishly?) admit that I enjoyed hyperbolizing the ridiculousness of Hormel and its thinly-veiled horor show: SPAM? And SPORK? Why, then,  not SPAMINGO, SPOCELOT, SPJILA MONSTER…SPUNK, well, you get the drift. The gist is that, even then, we understood how arbitrary it is to accept the commodification of sentient beings. Where I am I going with this? I think Spork Sisters is a weird choice of name because, come on! We’ve all heard of Hormel’s SPORK! Am I crazy or am I right???

Or, perhaps I am just crazy? I could’t find any documentation that a Hormel version of SPORK (spiced pork?) actually exists(ed), even though I swear I could find it in the grocery store right now. But, luckily, I am not having Dr. Moreau-esque hallucinations. My false memories are just solving the mystery of time travel.

But it wasn’t an American fiasco. This one is all on us. Holy Hell, Canada. Holy Hell.

Speef existed too??? What the spudid spidea? Well, the modern-day Spork Sisters are nothing but cute and spunky and Deschanel endorsed and what on Earth does any of this have to do with Vegan MoFo or a recipe? Nothing. Nothing at all. I just got really distracted and retracted into teen-me mindset for a spell. Thanks for indulging. But the Sporkfed ladies do have a recipe for Mushroom Bouruignon that looks extra yummy and inspired me to do this:

Slow Cooked Lentil Kind of Bouruigno-no

INGREDIENTS

–  5 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
–  1 large onion, coarsely chopped
–   8 cups vegan stock (preferable “beef” (spbeef?) flavoured
–  1.5 cups brown/green lentils, dry
–  1.5 cups vegan red wine
– 2 tbs tamari
– 1 tbs worcestershire sauce
–  2-4 tbs dijon or grainy mustard
– 3 large carrots, chopped
– 4 medium potatoes, chopped
– 2 stalks celery, chopped
– 2 large bay leaves
– 1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary
– salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Put it all in the slow cooker. Walk away, bro. Just walk away. Come back when lentils are soft and tasty. (6-10 hours; times vary according to slow cooker).

2. Adjust seasoning and serve with rice or crusty baguette if you welcome gluten. mmmmmmm.

NOTES

Not even a little fiddly, so decidedly un-French, this recipe is fragrant, hearty and warming supper for any Fall day. This is quite a bit soupier than traditional bourguignon (and only missing mushrooms because my husband hates them, boo him!). Please feel free to thicken and shroom to your heart’s content!

Thanks for playing everybody. Good vegan-chameleonicating! Tons of great potluck ideas, but, on account of this is my contest and I am one picky vegan, there can only be one winner. And that winner shall win:

Just in time, no? It’s the holidays. Hit’em all sneaky like, when they’ll look rude if they poo-poo your shiz.

The holidays! They be upon us! You need this book! Yes, you! You! Although I do not know much about this book or author, her stuff looks A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E. And holidays? Anything that makes these nightmarish times a little less cerebral? OKAY!

Congrats to Bit! And, thanks for playing, MoFo’s! Happy Holidays!

That rhyme makes sense  to me because we are going to Disneyland in a mere 6 sleeps and my kids are all about the Pirates of the Caribbean level of the Disneyland Kinect game, in vital preparation.

Vegan Thanksgiving. Stiff and Proud be thine Bird.

So, we are all done Thanksgiving over here. Thanks to all who played my Potluck game – winner announced at noon PST tomorrow! We hunkered down close to home this long weekend, as we are adventuring forth right quick, so I did not have to please anyone who isn’t already pleased with me! And, since I think Thanksgiving is all about your house smelling succulent and luscious and tummy groaningly good all day long,  I made that happen!

Roasted Harvest Vegetable Thai Coconut Soup a la Slow Cooker

Recipes will follow this week, but until then, look how pleased m’lady was with Susan Voisin’s Impossible Pumpkin Pie. aw!

Get in my belly, punkin pie.

Happy Thanksgiving! See you tomorrow!

Since nobody has entered my super-duper-you-will-like-what-you-get challenge yet, I am opening it up to the States too. Come on Canada! You don’t want a Thanksgiving challenge prize to go to someone from a nation where the holiday occurs way too darn close to X-Mas, do you????

“Hey! You remember the harvest? Horn’o'plenty and whatnot? I totally heralded that! Yeah. Good times. Seems like it was just yesterday, right? That’s because IT WAS!!! Also, we should probably talk about how I made my way into your living room from that cozy place in the back of your cat pee saturated shed.”

To light the fire of most-gluttonous competition in you, I shall provide 5 links to my favourite holiday recipes. Happy long-weekend and beware of wandering Pier One Kitsch Monsters lurking behind your door this All-Thanksgivings-Day Eve!!! (Bet you didn’t know Canada had such awesome legends, did you?)

Just 5 Links to a Few of MyWholeDeal’s Favourite Holiday Treats

•  I like Vegan Shepherd’s Pie so dang much. When I choose to ignore my bizarre potato allergy, it is my favourite comfort food. (Basically potato starch turns my mouth into Jeff Goldblum in “The Fly.” That’s all you want to know.)
• Ridonkulously Good. Fat Free Vegan Impossible Pumpkin Pie
• Potstickers. Who can resist potstickers? (Jerks. Only jerks.)
• Randomly, this recipe is always a huge hit at parties. Again with the potatoes. People love’em. Watch out for THIS!
• Loaves are adorably innocuous. It’s something big, but small! You’d try it, wouldn’t you?

Enter early. Enter often. Links to recipes, photos and blogs are more than welcome! Happy MoFo Thanksgiving!

Vegan MoFo Day 4. Thanksgiving is coming at us right quick here in Canada-ville. It’s a time for getting together with friends and family and cooking an excessive amount of food. So excessive , in fact, that leftovers often end up in the trash even though we eat ourselves stupid, foreheads glistening with the sweat of our toil. The meaning of the holiday? As much as I can figure, it is to just really rub our beautiful opulence in the faces of those less fortunate than us. You know, make it blatantly obvious, just as it is starting to get REALLY cold, that we know how good we have it. At least that is what is about in my family.

“The stains don’t quite reach my belly button yet. There’s no way poor kids will get how awesome food is. Definitely room for one more Yorkshire pudding,” says Cousin Manfred, every year.

Of course I am both jaded and joking. I’m not ACTUALLY related to ol’saturated pits up there and my real family is actually quite  full of grace, both congenially timid and reasonably arid at every holiday mealtime. Sometimes holidays just get me down. I had an exceptionally stress-free childhood and, as an adult, I have an incredible respect for what grown-ups accomplish at every “most wonderful time of the year.” Really, I DO just want to be happy and thankful at Thanksgiving. But, in reality, we have to over-extend, under-nap and over-eat. But vegans kind of get a pass at that last one. Which brings me to the point of this post: Vegans at Thanksgiving.

My oldest son made this plaintive art at the wee age of 6. “Happy Thanksgiving?” Indeed.

Clearly, vegans do not care for the main draw of Thanksgiving: the ritual culling of pretty fricking amazing beings (I don’t want to link to the PETA article I found about turkeys soley because I am in an immense hurry and  it was the first one that popped up and, also, I am not ridonkulous like  PETA and I have been writing for over 14.4 hours at this point today, but, PLEASE, trust me, turkeys are freaking S.M.R.T.) But, the hidden horror for society-friendly vegans is actually…dun-dun-dun–the fear of rejection.

“I rebel because it is clear your acceptance of my convictions is mere placation.”

For those who choose to eat ethically rather than traditionally, every occasion feels like you are the sore thumb. “Here’s some cookies, but I know you won’t eat them.” “Oh! I know you won’t like this, but look how juicy the [insert juicy thing here] is.” “I guess you won’t let the kids have these, but…” Traditions are traditions because we repeat them time and time again. I respect that! That’s why I keep bringing animal-free main-dishes to every occasion. I want people other than my fiercely supportive parents and grandparents (I remember when you ate 18-year-old-me’s Minute Rice Sushi, Nana and Papa!) to try yummy good food. So I will just keep on bringing tasty, animal free treats and one day, maybe we’ll blend in as a zany side.

What’s your favourite thing to bring to an omni potluck? The most tantalizing prospect may get a prize…

Well, it’s only day three of Vegan Mofo 2012 and, as I expected, my atrociously busy month is already getting the better of me! I have a deliciously Autumnisinal (I’m not too busy to make up words, apparently!) recipe coming at you tomorrow, but for now, let us take this day to reminisce about the lazy, hazy days of summer. Days when salad was all you needed to sustain you until your next craft beer. Yes, salad days.

I didn’t really fall in love with salad until I gave up gluten (veggie blasphemy, I know). The word salad brought to mind iceberg lettuce, over-ripe tomatoes, oddly moist cubes of cheese and nasty bursts of green bell pepper diced too small for me to ever cull entirely. But this summer I fell in love with salad and I ain’t ever going to quit it again. Check out some of my pretty summertime feasts below:

Vegan Mofo Salad-a-go-go

(Nailed it! 3 titular rhymes down!)

Kid Friendly Fruit Salad Plate

MyWholeDeal’s Top 10 Dinner Salads of Summer 2012

Fruit and Greens with Homemade Fat Free Berry Dressing (made with my first attempt at jam jam!)

Broccoli Slaw, Spinach and Summer Fruit with Homemade Mango Rosemary Dressing

Nectarine and Fresh Herb Salad (herbs from my vertical garden!)

Asian Noodle Salad with Homemade Spicy Chili Lime Dressing

Chunky Summer Fruit Salad With Fresh Garden Greens

Warm Asian Salad With Homemade Sesame Miso Dressing

Signature Sobo Restaurant Salad, located in Tofino, BC

Wya Point Salad With Salsa and Sriracha, Tofino, BC

Spinach Salad With Marinated Veggie Skewers

Lemon Dill Mushroom and Artichoke Salad

Recipe requests glady taken! Later MoFoers!

Think I’ll be able to rhyme-title all my posts this month? Today’s MoFo is brought to you in part by a Victoria institution: Rebar Modern Food. Chances are if you are even slightly veggie oriented you have mad a point to hit this adorable restaurant nestled in what used to be a bank vault in historic Bastion Square. I happen to have it in good authority that the currently siteless Rebar is about to make a huge splash on the web, but until then, let’s look at another aspect of this groundbreaking eatery: the iconic Rebar Cookbook:

Packed to the brim with creative and energizing recipes, owner Audrey Alsterberg and Chef Wanda Urbanowicz captured the vibe of the bustling restaurant and reproduced it in book form. Each recipe is introduced with a personal anecdote, giving the reader a rich back story and a true feel of what it is like to be a part of the Rebar team. Things are about to get very exciting at Rebar, so I will probably come back to this topic again this month, but for now, on to the mojo, MoFos.

Mangos are pretty.

Kind of Like Rebar’s Mango Mojo

There is nothing quite like the marriage of smooth and sweet mango with vibrant lime and when they invite a spicy friend over to play, well that just pure magic. Mojos are smooth and spicy sauces originating in Latin and Carribean regions. Rebar’s take on mojo eliminates traditional oil and gains its acidity from citrus rather than vinegar. Simple and delicious as written, I tripled the spice factor and added a generous teaspoon of that yummy Mandarin Lime infused sea salt I showed you yesterday. Remember?

So Yum.

The method is simple: purée everything together until smooth and adjust seasoning as necessary. In addition to the salt, I also snuck in two birds eye chillis at the end, doubled the lime juice and added a fist-full of garlic cloves. We are flavour junkies. Serve over crunchy-fresh salads garnished with black beans and pepitos, in wraps and tacos or over rice and dahl. But that’s as specific as I am going to get because  I want you to seek out Audrey and Wanda’s book!

Smooth and Spicy. Just how I likes it.

Happy MoFo, friendos!

South of the Border Spoilage for my Birthday!

Going gluten-free has made such a huge impact on my health and happiness and, after you get over that initial hump of tearing up every time you walk past a bakery, it’s actually pretty darn simple. And simple is exactly the name of the gluten-free game in our house. I don’t go for elaborate blends of flours and starches to cobble together a bun for my beans. The fewer and more whole the ingredients, the better. And you can’t get much simpler than making your own, homemade corn tortillas.

My husband has a sick sense of humour, which is why he is my husband.

Spicy food is big in our house, and, as you can see from the above photos, my husband decked me out with some new tools for my birthday this summer. Although not a necessity, a tortilla press makes making your own tortillas an absolute delight. I have an aluminum one, but there are a number of varieties out there and they are quite inexpensive. Or, you could try to build your own!

Masa Harina is simply corn ground into flour. It and water is really all you need for THE best and yummiest tortillas in the universe (seriously, store bought are like eating the corn equivalent of malaria after you try these bad-boys), but I like to flavour mine up a little.

INGREDIENTS

–2 cups masa harina (corn flour)
–1.5 tsp ground coriander
–1/2 tsp cumin
–1 tsp sea salt
–1.5 cups water
–1 medium freezer bag OR parchment paper or wax paper cut into rounds the size of your press

My favourite tortilla enhancer. Ever.

METHOD

1. Easy peasy. Just mix everything together (using your hands works best!) until a smooth dough forms, adding extra flour if the dough is too moist and more water if the inverse be true.
2. Cover dough in a damp tea towel. Form dough into balls just slightly larger than those golfers use for golfing with. You should get roughly a dozen, give or take a golf ball, keeping the dough/balls covered as you work to prevent dry balls.

Nice Balls. I get that a lot.

3. I like using the freezer/ziploc bag method. Cut off the zipper part and slice the sides, leaving the bottom intact. You can use it time and time again. Place the open bag in the press and put a ball in the center. Close bag. Close press. Yay!

Just pressed!

Alternately, put ball between two sheets of parchment or wax paper cut to fit press. Et voila! Alternately to that alternate, put dough balls in between any of those slippery surfaces and roll out to desired thickness with a rolling pan or wine bottle.

3. Assembly line time! Preheat griddle or cast iron pan to medium-high heat. Heat each tortilla for 30 seconds per side (flattening additional balls as your tortillas cook). Remove from heat and store between sheets of paper towel or wrapped in a clean, dry tea towel. Reheat briefly before serving.

Grill’em.

Wrap uneaten (???!!!) tortillas in plastic and foil and refrigerate for 5-7 days. Or just do this and be happy! Like a Vegan MoFo!

Party.

See how terrible this picture is? I took it with my terrible phone. Because I am finally getting my camera fixed! Huzzah!!!!

Okay, okay, okay. Maybe Autumn isn’t the devil after all. Perpetual student that I am, I always feel more motivated and productive when the trees start taking their leaf clothes off. With all three of my monkeys attending school this fall, I am baking up a storm to keep their lunch kits stocked. These particular muffins were born from the pumpkin I had leftover from our first day of fall pie (thanks to Susan Voisin for this delightful fat free and gluten-free recipe!). My kids always seem to end up in allergy-laden classrooms, so these are allergen-free and school lunch-aliscious. And they make your house smell great.

INGREDIENTS:

- 2 Ripe Bananas, mashed
- 1 cup pumpkin, cooked and puréed
- 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2/3 cup natural sugar
- 1 tbs vanilla extract
- 2 cups whole grain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, optional
- 1/2 cup raisins, optional
- 1/2 cup non-dairy chocolate chips

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cream together wet ingredients and sweetener.

2. Sift in dry ingredients and stir gently until just mixed.

3. Fold in optional add-ins. (Come on! Go for the chocolate!)

4. Pour into prepared muffin tin and bake for 25-30 minutes. (Toothpick test to be sure!!!) Eat’em up yum.

Fine. I Get it. It's Fall. Yummmmmmm.

I am in the middle of a career transition, which means I am staying up late and stocking our deep freeze with very many easily defrostable suppers and generally just doing everything but writing for pleasure. However, I would be a huge jerk-head of I did not share this ridiculously easy and undeniably delightful recipe with you all. Right. Now.

Did you eat dairy as a kid? I actually lived exclusively on yogurt and Stoned Wheat Thins for an entire year, so, even though the thought of consuming another species’ baby food super grosses me out now, I do have fond memories of a certain flavour of yogurt that was divine: apple cinnamon. Are you a child of the late 80s/early 90s who grew up in BC? I will give you such a cuddle if you remember this flavour–could have been Dairyland, might have been Island Farms, perhaps it was Yoplait? Anyway, it was good. What I made this weekend? Sooooo much better! Lemon juice lends these tantalizingly tender apples just the right amount of tartness and a healthy blend of spicy goodness gives them a satisfying flavour that added sweetener only wishes it could. Do this….now!!!

Slow Cooker Spiced Apples

INGREDIENTS

– 4-5 large locally grown apples, peeled, cored and chopped coarse
– 1/4 cup water
– 1 tbs lemon juice
– 1 large cinnamon stick, brocken in two
– 2-3 tsp ground cinnamon
– 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice OR 1/4 tsp each: ground nutmeg, ginger and cardamom

METHOD

1. Put everything in your slowcooker or crockpot. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-7 hrs.

2. Let out a satisfied moan as you ingest. Serving suggestions? Serve over oatmeal, with pierogy, over vegan ice cream or just transport it directly from crockpot to belly.

Hey, people who came out of me! Leave me alone and eat your anthropomorphic food creatures!!!

I have so many things on deck right now: salsas, camping cuisine, cookies, dressings, cakes, curries, soups, lunch box ideas, reviews, soooooo many baby friends and more! Now, if everyone reading could each lend me an extra 6 hours a day, well, that would just be swell!

Back soon. Promise!

Holy slippery summer! I cannot believe we are approaching mid-August already and, while I am sad that the daylight is waning ever-faster, I am loving all the fresh, local produce spilling forth into my shopping bags. Berries, tree fruit, eggplant and summer squash galore–this week alone I’ve concocted 5 varieties of freezer jam, chocolate zucchini muffins, baba ghanouj and this delicious roasty veg dish that can be served hot or cold.

This isn’t a recipe so much as an “oh my goodness, fresh vegetable sure take up a lot more room than prepared ones and I need to make room in the fridge for my husband’s beer before he gets all pouty” idea. I have no measurements, just a fantastically full belly and a delicious smelling house.

So durn cute these patty pan be! Yarrrrr!

INGREDIENTS

–enough summer squash such as zucchini, yellow zucchini and patty pans cut into 2 inch chunks to feed the people you are feeding
–enough garlic cloves, peeled and chopped very rough, to make savoury the veggies you are serving
–enough rock salt to make the veggies as flavoury as you like them flavoured

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 450ºF. (Note: I roasted my vegetables first thing in the morning to avoid running my oven in the hot afternoon. Since this is a dish best served hot or cold, what time of day you choose to roast is your dang business and I will keep my nose out of it.)

2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and spread veggie chunks out in an even layer (Another note: I left my patty pans whole because they are so dang adorable—see above photo–but ended up trimming and chopping them for this recipe later. I’m working on a stuffed patty pan recipe that will preserve their cuteness next week, so go ahead and chop for this one.) Sprinkle with desired amount of rock salt.

3. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until soft with minimal char. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Or not…

Getting Saucy

While roasted veggies can be delectable on their own, who can say no to sauce? Not I, said the saucy pig. This idea was inspired by the lovely dressing Christy Morgan, The Blissful Chef, developed and posted about the other day. And also by the fact that we just got back from camping and I was putting mustard on everything. For reals. And by the beautiful vertical gardens my manfriend built me.

Vertical Palate Herb Garden. Crafted with Manliness and Love

AND a Vertical Palate Flower Garden. Because I am special enough for pretty things.

And by a tasty hunch.

Herbed Mustard Sauce

INGREDIENTS (again with the no measurements! Eyeball enough to cover your veggies’ shame.)

–2 parts mustard (used a combination of sweet onion, dijon and grainy horseradish)
–1 part fresh lemon juice
–sweetener, to taste (since I used sweet onion mustard, I did not add any additional sweetener, but agave or brown rice syrup would work)
–chopped fresh herbs (I had sage, thyme, rosemary, tarragon and chives), to taste
–Nutritional Yeast (optional, but really works great if you’re serving this dish warm), to taste

METHOD

1. Whisk together mustard(s), lemon juice and sweetener, if using. Stir in fresh herbs. Fetch your roasted vegetables, remove garlic, if desired, and toss. Heat if you want to, or serve cold for a refreshing side. What did I do? I reheated mine with a handful of broccoli and tossed in some nutritional yeast flakes. Super, healthy, filling numdom.

Summertime Vegan Comfort Food

I’ve got plenty of projects in the hopper right now (more Tofino reviews, Victoria Vegan Fest, Vegan Pho and more!), but I wanted to take but a brief moment to post a yummy recipe that will help you use up all those greens your gardens are no doubt foisting at you. This quick, yummy cheesy sauce is a great friend to any leafy green you have on hand: collards, kale, spinach, bok choi, beet greens, argula, finely chopped broccoli–if you can grow it, this will make it tastier. Have shrively, icky brown thumbs instead of vibrant green ones? Just throw in a half a bag of store bought spinach or broccoli. Nobody’s judging. Except for me.

Yummy and Gluten Free!

Cheesy Vegan Greens

The ultimate comfort food for me, this cheesy vegetable explosion reminds me of the roux-based cheese sauce my Mom served me over broccoli and cauliflower as a kid. Gardens are bursting with greens right now and this tofu based sauce is a delightful departure from raw salads. Excellent at breakfast, brunch or dinner, experiment with veggie combos and get a little cheesy today!

INGREDIENTS:

-1 package Extra Firm Silken Tofu
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- 3 heaping tbs nutritional yeast
- 2-3 tsp  Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, or to taste
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
- 1 tbs  vegan worchestershire sauce*
- 2 tbs  red or white wine , substitute broth or water, if desired
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
- 5-6 cups leafy greens, chopped rough

Even asparagus is great in this sauce. Just break off the hard bits and slice in half on the diagonal.

METHOD:

1. In a medium pan over medium heat, begin to sauté garlic and onions in worchestershire sauce and wine. Meanwhile…
2. Using your food processor or blender, purée together tofu, mustard, nutritional yeast and hot sauce until very smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference (we like extra season-y seasonings!) Meanwhile…

More Sriracha! More Mustard! More Sriracha!

3. Once onions and garlic are quite tender, add mushrooms to pan and cook until they release their juices and use said juices to deglaze pan. Add tofu purée and mix thoroughly.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. It is okay to have some browned bits mixed in as it adds to the flavour.
5. Add 2/3 of your greens to the pan, mix thoroughly and cook for 2 minutes longer, until greens are nice and wilted and covered in cheesy sauce.
6. Taste, adjust seasoning, if necessary. Stir in remaining greens, transfer to serving dishes and serve immediately (with more hot sauce!!!!)

Serves 2 as a main dish and 4 as a side.

NOTES:

*This recipe is gluten-free if you use gluten-free worcestershire. I’ve tried The Wizard’s, but recentlyy discovered Wan Ja Shan Organic Worcestershire at Planet Organic. It is waaaay cheaper ($4 cheaper per bottle!), organic, vegan and gluten-free and it tastes way more authentic to boot. Hunt some down, if you can!

Wan Ja Shan Worcestershire Sauce. Gluten Free! Vegan! Delish!

Vegan Meal Catered by Red Can Gourmet, Tofino, BC

(*NOTE: This the third in a multi-part series chronicling the extreme, sustainable, yumm-osity of Canada’s Pacific Rim. MyWholeDeal.com was generously hosted by Tourism Tofino to attend Grazing in Gardens, the main event of the Tofino Food and Wine Festival, and to experience what Tofino, BC, has to offer a clean-eating traveler. Special thanks to Kirsten Soder and the friendly folks of Tofino, BC. Be sure to read part 1 and part 2 and check out my posts on the Get Fresh Guide blog)

The Part in Which We Stuff Ourselves Silly and Continue to Get Silly

Miraculously, the majority of our party made it back to the Ocean Village fully clothed and 84% coherent. This is not to say that there were not issues. For instance, although I was also 84% sure that I abandoned my progeny several hundred kilometres back, there was a small child and a babysitter occupying our cabin upon arrival. She was cute, so we allowed her to stay, but paid the larger female to leave almost immediately.

She warrants attention from me because she clearly likes to party.

After a glorious afternoon being spoiled at the 10th Annual Tofino Food and Wine Festival’s Grazing in the Gardens event, it was difficult to resign ourselves to the sad fact that no-one was going to fill our commemorative goblets but ourselves from here on out. But soldier on we did and settled in to enjoy MacKenzie Beach and each other’s company.

And our self-filled goblets...

Despite the jovial atmosphere and world-class vistas, it soon became apparent that we were dodging several big questions looming ominous and unanswered, casting shadows over our light-hearted crew. The first and foremost of which: where the heck was this little kid’s mother? (The second: taking into account how many other organs you actually have, in the whole scheme of things, how vital is the liver…really?) And then it dawned on us! We were down a man. Or a lady. Or just a super-great hostess. Before we could get properly distraught, in burst said hostess with food, and caterer, in tow.

Red Can Gourmet Catering, Tofino, BC

Located in the Industrial District of Tofino, BC, right across the street from the Tofino Brewing Company, Red Can Gourmet is described as “a professional open concept commercial kitchen” where patrons can “interact with chefs as they create inspired west coast dishes.” Chef and owner Tim May, who was, just moments prior, fervently feeding grateful guests at Grazing the Gardens, has been cooking professionally for over 30 years at some of the world’s best hotels. He graciously agreed to create a very special vegan spread for MyWholeDeal.com and even hand-delivered it to our cabin by the sea, picking up our wayward hostess en route. Cuz that’s just how they do in Tofino. They are right personable like that.

Red Can Gourmet's Vegan Mushroom Risotto with Asparagus

As you can see from the above photos, Chef May really did go all out. Veganized for my pleasure were a humongous garden-fresh salad, a tender and delicate mushroom risotto topped with perfectly prepared asparagus and portobella and an entrée that rivalled any carnivorous fare. Check these out:

Red Can Gourmet Vegan/Gluten-Free Cannelloni. Yum!

Do you know what those are? If you have a respectable level of reading comprehension, then you totally do because I just told you in the caption! See, right up there! Go on, take a look. I’ll wait. Oh, healthful-minded taste seekers, those cannelloni were a lovely and thoughtful creation, striking that ever-elusive vegan chord of being visually arresting, scrumptuous and wholly satisfying.

Yes, I am a messy eater, but you need to see this.

Rather than the traditional pasta tube, Red Can utilised thin slices of potato, cooked al dente to encase a light-yet-truly-satiating filling of julienned vegetables in a tangy and umami tomato sauce. Having recently converted to a gluten-free diet–which is so amazing that you have to call me so we can chat about it, or, if it’s easier for you, I can just write about it more here at a later date–this was a very happy surprise. Though fully prepared to compromise my values this particular weekend, let’s face it, I was so full of locally-grown fermented grape juice and revelry by this point that it was probably a good idea to hold on to a wee semblance of self-control.

Did I mention I was partying with a toddler?

So much more than a series of side dishes, Red Can Gourmet was able to embrace the concept that vegetables are food, not just garnish, and put together a meal that pleased even the most hunter-y of diners among us.

In homage to this valiant feat, I tried to recreate the dish at home last week. Thank you so much, Chef May. This is what came out of my kitchen.

Totally ripping off Red Can Gourmet's Vegan/Gluten Free Cannelloni

Red Can Gourmet Inspired Gluten-Free Vegan Cannelloni

Keeping the spirit of the dish, I opted for toothsome eggplant and squash for the “noodle,” then added beans for extra protein, wilted spinach and our most coveted vegan staple, snoochi-nooches, to give these cannelloni a traditional, hearty and cheesy flavour.

INGREDIENTS

Outtards

- 1 large eggplant, sliced 2mm thick, lengthwise
- 2-3 large zucchini, sliced 2mm thick, lengthwise
- 1 can seasoned diced tomatos (I used Aylemer’s Bruschetta variety) OR 2 cups of your favourite pasta sauce
- 4-5 tablespoons nutritional yeast, vegan parm or your favourite vegan cheese subsitiute

Innards

- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1/2 red onion, finely diced
- 1/2 cup red wine or broth, for sautéing (or a bit of olive oil, if your diet allows for processed food)
- 3 cups finely julienned vegetables such as carrots, summer squash, broccoli stems* and bell peppers, (*hint I, and Red Can, I suspect, added a package of pre-cut broccoli slaw to the mix for easy-peasieness)
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced, if you’re not living with a closeted fungi-a-phobe
- 1 cup cooked beans of your choice. White beans, fava or delicate red lentils are divine
- 1/4 cup fresh or  1-3 tsp dried herbs, to taste. Fresh rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley are great, or even dry Italian seasoning (about a teaspoon and a half) works too, if fresh isn’t available.
- sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste.

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Using the mandolin slicer that you definitely own if you fell for those late-night TV ads in 1999 and bought one from the dollar store and still have kicking around but doesn’t really work that well, slice eggplant and zucchini in 2mm slices lengthwise.

Susanne Somers promised it would work!!! LIAR!!!!

When that proves waaay too frustrating to articulate without swearing, exercise a steady hand and knife those veggies.

Huh. Face of a 14 year old and hands of a 73 year old. There's got to be some math in there that equates to my real age and will get those stalwartly ID-ing renegades at the Beer and Wine off my hide.

2. Grill or steam slices until just tender, about 3-5 minutes and set aside to cool.

3. In a large sauté pan, cook onions and garlic, and dried herbs, if not using fresh, in wine, broth or oil until very tender.

Did I mention I like wine?

3. Add julienned veggies, beans and mushrooms (if you are so lucky!) and cook over medium heat, stirring regularly.

There are no mushrooms in here. I am not at all bitter about that.

4. Once most of your cooking liquid has evaporated (or, your veggies are nice and tender, if you are using oil), turn off heat and stir in spinach and fresh herbs, if using fresh. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.

5. Assembly time. Spread 1/4 of sauce or the juice from the diced tomatoes into a 13″X9″ baking dish and top with a layer of eggplant and zucchini (2 slices each) cross-hatched to form a manipulate-able, lasagna-sized “noodle.”

Vegan Cannelloni Assembly-you can totally boss this gluten-free noodle around.

6. Spoon 1/8-1/4 cup of sautéed veggies onto the bottom quarter of your “noodle.” Carefully roll it up, securing with toothpicks, as necessary.

And boy, is it necessary!

7. Repeat steps until you are unable to repeat the steps any longer due to lack of wrappers, filling or baking space. Cover cannelloni with remaining sauce or tomatoes, top with nutritional yeast (snoochi-nooches!) or vegan cheese and more salt and pepper. Bake for 25-30minutes, until very tender and bubbly.

Fresh from the oven!

Serve with crusty bread, crunchy salad and love.

Did I say love? Cuz I meant wine.

Tune in this week for more Tofino adventures and my coverage of the first ever Victoria Vegan Fest, wherein a juggler makes my 9 year old question his self-worth. Good times!

The Part of the Trip in Which We Start to Get Totally and Justifiably Silly

(*NOTE: This the second in a multi-part series chronicling the extreme, sustainable, yumm-osity of Canada’s Pacific Rim. MyWholeDeal.com was generously hosted by Tourism Tofino to attend Grazing in Gardens, the main event of the Tofino Food and Wine Festival, and to experience what Tofino, BC,  has to offer a clean-eating traveler. Special thanks to Kirsten Soder and the friendly folks of Tofino, BC)

Touring Tofino, Day 2. Dateline: Saturday, June 2, 2012  Time: 8:58am

Despite my best intentions, my subconscience stepped up to the plate and fortified my body with a little extra sleep to get me through the most momentous of days. Knowing full well that restraint was not going to be my mantra, I decided to keep up the “I’m Such a Healthy Person” ruse…for the morning, at least.

So, you know how, on TV, people just love running on the beach? Well, I’ve lived on the coast my entire life, plus I’m one of those weird people that truly, completely and actually enjoys running, but for some reason I’ve never taken it to the beach.

I was right to look skeptical. Or maybe I am smelling something gross.

Turns out MacKenzie Beach isn’t a long beach, like, say Long Beach, but more of a shortish beach, like, say, well, MacKenzie Beach. Long story short, I ran out of beach pretty darn fast, which didn’t really bother me because running on squishy sand isn’t as romantic as it looks, especially if you don’t have anyone to run towards in slow motion. So, I cut up through the Crystal Cove Beach Resort–which boasts rental cabins, RV parking, a playground and the most darling man-made river you ever did see, and I hit the mean streets of Tofino.

Now, I don’t have what you might call a “sense of direction” per se, so I was pleased to see a bunch of other like-minded individuals wearing stretchy pants much like my own when I emerged onto the main drag (aka the highway). There was also a paved running/biking/in-line skating (don’t in-line skate) pathway that was highway adjacent and just primed to be trod upon. Keeping the creepieness to an absolute minimum, I fell in behind my comrades in what could only be described as the best direction to go in. Or was it? To my utter dismay, an even bigger group of joggers was fast approaching from the opposite direction. Always quick on my feet, just as the groups converged, I faked an unruly shoelace and joined the bigger flock once the coast was clear. Yes! This was the way to go! Or was it?

Suddenly I was struck with a panic that rattled my very core. What if we were headed out of town? What if this was some sort of (very fit) Pacific Rim cult that combed the streets of Tofino, scooping up unsuspecting, jogging tourists, luring them to a make-shift commune and forcing them to craft pucca shell necklaces to sell to the less athletic tourists? “No, way, not me!” I shouted at the baffled-looking louts and promptly pivoted, dashing to freedom in my original, less culty direction. For about 100 metres or so, when I hit The Tofitian and realised that, if I wanted to run towards civilisation and be protected from cults (which I totally did), I needed to go the other way.

Familiarity was what I craved, so I ran back to Shelter Restaurant and gave this bear a high-five. We both needed the positivity.

Shelter Restaurant in the morning light and a friendly, life-affirming bear.

Once the bear and I had made our peace, I set off for pseudo-home, feeling much more worldly and less directionally challenged. But, when I reached Ocean Village, I was greeted with a piece of my emotional journey laying in wait for me:

Tofitian Coffee. One of life's little guide posts.

Needless to say, I became a little weepy at this point and spilled the whole sordid tale of my run to my husband, gulping down delightful mouthfuls of perfectly and sustainably brewed Americano–with my choice of soy or almond milk!–while we held hands and strolled the beach. We looked infinitely more romantic than I had, stumbling frantic and alone, just precious moments earlier, but there was no time for extended hand-holdery! We were fast nearing the hour to Graze in the Gardens. For this, my friends, was the 10th Annual Tofino Food and Wine Festival!

So official looking, you just know it's going to be decadent!

As the tickets suggest, Grazing in the Gardens was not just a clever play on words–this thing was actually happening in actual, botanical gardens! The Tofino Botanical Gardens are “ twelve acres of gardens, forest, and shoreline that explore the relationship between culture and nature.” And they sure are perdy. A maze of art and agriculture, it is easy to lose yourself in the natural beauty of this temperate rainforest reserve. Especially after you’ve had a few.

Yes, this is a crappy photo. But I really need you all to see how awesome this set-up was!

Upon arrival, we were greeted by friendly faces and the equivalent of an adult trick-or-treat bag: a commemorative wine glass that was to become a fifth limb for the next 14 hours or so, in my case. That blurry wine glass up there became my best friend (and kinda blurry in real-life too, as the day wore on). Basically, the gardens were outfitted with dozens of awesome little stations at which you were expected to smile, make at least a minor attempt at small talk and then present your receptacles to be filled with treats and complement away. With over 70 food, wine, cider and beer participants (all from BC!), you better believe it was a taste adventure to be reckoned with.

And they had this Guy photo-bombing everybody! Oh yeah, this Guy!

To be absolutely frank, this was an experience like no other I have had before. Everyone was jovial, indulgent and happy to be taking part and, eventually, everyone turned into my Mother at about 8:37pm on any holiday: still super excited that you are around, but with a little more to say about every little thing. And I love that!

The very best place to juxtapose your refine-ity with your propensity for messy-osity: The Tofino Food and Wine Festival at the Tofino Botanical Gardens

By the end of the afternoon, fancy ladies on fancy shoes were just a smidgeon less sure-footed, but everyone was still smiling, gullets filled to the brim with some of the most exquisite cuisine and libations our beautiful province has to offer. If you appreciate what it means to be sustainable as a human, a province or even just a region on this planet, I urge you to check into the Tofino Food and Wine Festival next year, because they know what is up with eating local and they are ninja-like in feeding it to you in its most tantalizing incarnation.

And there's a DJ on a pirate ship, which is always gangster.

After sampling the fruits of our province, it was time to overstay our welcome and sneak a few “off-the-record” sips. Then it was time to wobble back to our cabin by the sea for a hand crafted meal made just for me!

10th Annual Tofino Food and Wine Festival--even creeps are welcome!

Tune in tomorrow for tales of Red Can Gourmet and Vegan debaucher-ay (Whatever, it totally rhymes when I type it like that!)

Part One: Touring to Tofino

(*NOTE: This the first in a multi-part series chronicling the extreme, sustainable, yumm-osity of Canada’s Pacific Rim. MyWholeDeal.com was generously hosted by Tourism Tofino to attend Grazing in Gardens, the main event of the Tofino Food and Wine Festival, and to experience what Tofino has to offer a clean-eating traveler. Special thanks to Kirsten Soder and the friendly folks of Tofino, BC)

Dateline: June 1, 2012. Time: 9:32pm.

Cue the cleansing breath. After months of taking care of multiple jobs, kids, household duties and those jerks who take up the whole running trail even though they’re going really super slow (ski poles? on a golf course? seriously?), I finally made it to the ever-fabled light at the end of the tunnel. And Tofino, BC, snuggled in the heart of British Columbia’s majestic Pacific Rim, is that beautiful, beautiful light.

So much more than just a pretty face, Tofino, BC, is a bustling city truncated into deliciously digestible tidbits. MyWholeDeal.com was lucky enough to be welcomed into its bosom to see exactly why the Pacific Rim powerhouse is a destination you’d be very silly to miss.

First off, the ol’grey drive to Tofino just ain’t what she used to be. Gone is the winding and perilous logging road of yore, replaced by a delightfully curvy– yet pleasingly smooth– highway that my husband promises he was not demolishing at 140km per hour.  Departing Victoria at 5:30pm-ish, we had time to uncerimoniously ditch our children in Nanaimo and still hit Vancouver Island’s most westerly coast well before 10pm.

He seems trustworthy, no?

And what a welcome we received! The Ocean Village cabins freckle the coast of MacKenzie Beach at the northern edge of the Pacific Rim National Park. And they are adorable. Seriously, if architecture could be an animal, these amazing A-frame studios would definitely be pigmy marmosets.

Seriously.

Outfitted in rustic cedar, our loft-style cabin featured two bedrooms, a livingroom area with gas fireplace and a full kitchen and bath.

Cuter than a Pygmy Marmoset.

Beyond the immediate aesthetic appeal, Ocean Village is close to town and provides some super amenities of its own, not the least of which is direct access to stunning MacKenzie Beach and eco-friendly goodies that tickled my gentle, Earth-cuddling soul:

Nature's Goodies at Ocean Village, Tofino, BC

With pounding surf echoing through the cabin and the heady sea air intermingling with the scent of warm cedar, we could have just hunkered down by the fire for the rest of the evening…

The fridge was practically begging us to!

But, no. We were here to eat Tofino and, come on! No kids? It was go time! And so we went. To…

Gimme Shelter. Rolling Stones. References. Goulet!

Do you watch Top Chef? Of course you do. It’s the gastronomical equivalent of the SuperBowl and it is impossible to resist, no matter how many times you have to shield your eyes from the horrible meaty bits. Especially when it is Top Chef Canada and one of the contestants is a chef at a restaurant you’ve gnoshed at on the Island. So, after watching Chef Joel Aubie represent Tofino on the culinary big screen, we decided give Shelter Restaurant another taste.

We arrived close to 11pm and the place was absolutely packed. Whether it was because of Feast Tofino or because this is the place where the cool kids hang out was of little consequence: Shelter was buzzing with a positive energy that made the somewhat cramped quarters feel like a party rather than a nuisance.

Right off the bat, Shelter endeared itself to me by making it impossible to miss where my food came from:

Shelter's Menu is Positively Bursting with Local Flavour

While Tofino may be considered remote by some, the pride the town takes in being sustainable is palpable (more about Tofino’s extraordinary local food efforts later in this series). But, while I was excited to taste the fruits of their passion, first things first.

Priorities, yo,

Once properly lubricated, I dove into the menu. Now, don’t get me wrong. This restaurant is far from a vegan meca–but the server was enthusiastic and friendly and not at all put-off by my dietary choices. With the wealth of organic and local ingredients stocking their larder, I have no doubt that if you provided advance notice to the chef,  you would be treated to some mean, green vegan cuisine at Shelter. But I snuck in via cover of night and I was still perfectly pleased with what I got:

The famous Shelter Salad, Tofino, BC

I opted for the Shelter Salad sans feta. I am told that this salad has been on the menu for years and every time the chefs try to refresh the menu with something new, they are met with such a public outpouring of salad outrage that this Tofitian staple invariably remains. And it was good. The greens were fresh, the dates delicious, but the star of this show was most definitely the delicate pappadum garnish:

Beautifully Spiced Pappadum at Shelter Restaurant, Tofino, BC

Light, crisp and spiced to perfection with cumin, coriander and carroway, the pappadum elevates the Shelter Salad from “just a salad” to something truly worth keeping on the menu. Yes, I get it, Tofitians! You gotta fight for your right to pappadum!

After our late dinner, we were very eager to return to our beautiful seaside bungalow. Bundled up tight in the extra duvet so thoughtfully provisioned, we settled in for some serious relaxation in that blissful place where the sea of stars meets surf.

Seaside Snuggles at Ocean Village, Tofino, BC

Yes, the first night of Clean-Eating Tofino was a resounding success, but I was right to seek a good sleep, because Day 2 was destined to be a doozy…

Stay tuned for Pacific Rim running, epic adult trick-or-treating and food, food, food!

Yeah early 90s. Way to get into my tiny skull! Uhhhh! (hmmmm?)

Do you like running? I really, totally, completely and authentically do love running, but I understand that the majority of people despise it and look for any excuse to justify their revulsion. That’s cool. The way I see running is thus: a whole bunch of people came out of me and they really love to talk to me. And other people like talking to me too, apparently. As an only child, running is the best way to get a ton of fresh air and escape the flappity-flappity of jaws for a time, while reconnecting with those imaginary siblings I’ve been neglecting since 2nd year University. It’s also the best way to really enjoy music. Seriously! Head-phones snug, playlists aligned, body fleeing–this is liberty in its purest form. Try it! Your brain and body deserve a break.

Here are 5 songs that I unapologetically, yet terribly shame-facedly, admit make me forget that I am running and propel me into go-like-stink-mode…you owe me in the comments! This is the first in series of such posts—there are greater shames to come! Please share your guilty pleasures–it will benefit all of us!!!! Now…..Run!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Breeders, “Huffer”

I would definitely kiss Kim Deal if I had the chance in spite of the massive marital headache it would cause. Take chances. make mistakes.

Grimes, “Oblivion,”

I KNOW!!! This song is a rip-off of, like, 64 billion other songs! And I am sorry, Roy Orbison and a bunch of other (even indie) artists who were blatantly pillaged of their hard earned work. But, man oh boy, this is a great song when you are running a hill-y course. Just saying.

LCD Soundsystem, “North American Scum”

This one is completely arbitrary. Anything by LCD Soundsystem is perfect. For almost anything you need to get done. Period.

Fat Boy Slim, “The Rockafeller Skank”

So. Freaking. Embarrassing. But it makes me run! And the fact that I am sharing this with you makes me a very big person, no? Oh crap.

Holy F*ck, Super Inuit

Oh, you’ll run faster. You just will.

Coleen Patrick Goudreau's Purple Potato Soup from Color Me Vegan

Hi again again! See? I really am back, if not a little sluggish.

To pick up where we last left off, I am a longtime, health conscious vegan who went mildly astray. But not all at once. Things got drastic when I started hanging out with this guy:

Husband+Wife=Married people automatically get the same portion sizes regardless of body size/composition, no? (Also, I enjoy this picture because I look frightened--which I kind of am because it is X-Mas Eve and 4am and we're still not done the Sanata-ficating of the house--and it looks like he is super mean and controlling. In reality, he is the kindest person in the universe, so I assume I'm doing him a solid by false advertising a tough guy persona)

Discounting the fact that he has put me “in the family way” on more than one occasion, my main veggie-beef with the manfriend is that eating with a person who is exactly 1.056ft taller than you–with a very appealing frame to match–will eventually give you a terribly skewed perception as to what you-sized portions really look like. Seriously, my husband is a machine, a vegetarian Takeru Kobayashi that makes ridiculous serving sizes appear completely reasonable by comparison. And, boy oh boy, did I do a great–nay, fantasmic– job keeping pace for nearly 8 years. But stupid genetics caught up with me after all. Who knew consuming 23 botched potstickers could have ill effects?

How did I break the cycle? Why, the flu, of course! Do you like graphic disgustingness on a food blog? Well, you’re getting it, but don’t fret–you will be rewarded with visions of tummy friendly soup soon enough. Basically, my kid puked in my mouth. Really puked. Like hard. And with fervour. It was as awful as it sounds, happened in a public place and tasted of peanut butter. A trifecta of a.m.a.z.i.n.g!!!!!! This happened right about the time that I realised I fell off the scaffolding of healthful eating and I seized the opportunity to exploit my flu-influenced fear of solid food to hunker down for a total diet overhaul. After all, what could possibly inspire better health choices more than a mouthful of toddler vomit?

Here's the soup! Perhaps this is the wrong photo to place here....but look how the purple gets all blue the next day. Neato!

I’ve always had a rough go coming back from the flu, but this time was different. It was a glorious puzzle waiting to be unfurled. Rather than forcing my body to eat like it used to even if it wasn’t ready or even necessary, I just slowed down; I succumbed to my cravings and stopped after one serving. If I was hungry 20 minutes later, I went back for more. And what did I crave? Soups, soups and more soups! Tummy hugging, veggie exploding, every flavour you can imagine soups. I positively reveled in soups of all sorts–started with broth, moved up to miso, graduating to minestrones, then dahls, then bisques and stews. If this sounds boring to you, then you have not explored the wonder and majesty that is the one pot meal. There is a reason soup is synonymous with healing and comfort food: it’s warm, it’s sultry and it is everything you want it to be with none of the nasty baggage, if you prepare it right:

Pretty, purple potato. Pure ingredients for clean insides!

So, as I train for the TC 10k, I am on a double S&M diet: luscious Soups, crazy huge Salads and lots of Munching in between. And I feel fabulous! “And what about the Purple Potato Soup?” you gasp. Well, I made the recipe almost as suggested (recipe found in Color Me Vegan, by Coleen Patrick Goudreau), but I upped the garlic to 4 cloves and the broth to four cups rather than two. I also cooked mine in the pressure cooker for 8 minutes instead of simmering and added a hearty helping of crushed red chillies and hungarian paprika to the mix. We still found the soup to be crazy bland on day one; ample doses of sriracha and sambal olek helped. By day two the flavours had matured  (and the colour blued up–see above), so outside flavour assistance wasn’t quite as necessary, but still greatly appreciated.

Would I make this recipe again? Not as written, per se. But the purple potatoes are so dramatic and the cauliflower such a delicate and delicious accompaniment, I will definitely play with the concept and get back to y’all.

This is the guy who puked in me, Would you fight back????

It's like Spring in your mouth.

Hello again. I feel as though some further explanation regarding my extended absence is in order: the long and short of it is that I got kind of, well, over my whole deal for a bit. Not tired of eating a “healthy” vegan diet, but tired of documenting everything and trying to make it look pretty and photographing instead of munching with my munchkins. And then there was the fact that I was spending my free time eating all of my culinary missteps instead of exercising. And it turns out I made a lot of mistakes.

After Vegan MoFo 2011, I took a look at myself, had a little shudder and then a little shut-down. As evidenced in my final week of MoFo posts, I had drastically diverged from my original mission with this site. Instead of focusing on a wholesome, whole foods and total body health, I was relying on and writing about processed and packaged foods more often than not. My body noticed before my brain did: un-food+unbridled serving sizes =’d a-Ryann-who-had-not reared-her-ample-haunches since the mid-1990s. In December, I realised that my “early-second-trimester” wardrobe had magically morphed into my every day wardrobe and I knew it was time to make a change. Luckily for me, the change was simple: I just had to go back to how I was BB (Before Blog).

Things were going swimmingly, but I missed writing in a casual voice and, as the days grew longer here in gorgeous Victoria, BC, I really missed taking pictures. Especially now that my food was so much more photogenic, vibrant and sproingier (I’m not sure that’s a word. My Mom uses it to describe her hair sometimes, so I assume it means healthy and bouncy. My Mom is adorable, so I’m just going to go with it). Borderline mopey, in the middle of February, I had an idea: I registered for the Times Colonist 10k . I’ve always loved running, but I have never run a race before. For motivational purposes, I chose an adversary–a person to beat (you know who you are)–and I started training.

It’s hard to believe it until you try it, but, for serious! Smaller, more frequent quantities of superior quality foods give you waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more energy. And that is what I have been doing on my MyWholeDeal.com vacation. Yesterday I ran 10.1 km in 40 minutes less than the time class I registered in (could have been a fluke—don’t tell anybody!!!!) For the remainder of this month and, hopefully, for the foreseeable future, I will document my energizing diet and my training techniques, including my undeniably awesome running playlists. Get ready to give yourself over to the eclectic wonder that is my musical muscle because it is go-time in every sense of the term. And here’s a recipe to get you started.

Simple Fat Free Lemon Dill Marinade

One of the very best things about being vegan is that you are totally within your rights to reuse an amazing marinade with no risk of life threatening illness. Seriously, if the fact that your “food” will relentlessly and mercilessly tear out your guts if you don’t prepare it “just so” doesn’t disturb you even a little bit, I envy your rose coloured glasses so, so much!

This super simple marinade screams Springtime freshness really loud, so make sure to prepare it après afternoon siesta (Romance languages just love to intermingle in the Spring). This mixture paves the way for a beautiful salad topper, satisfyingly punchy kebab or a beautiful soup or stir-fry base.

INGREDIENTS

- juice from one large lemon or 2 small (you figure out the medium-sized lemon dilemma on your own, friendo!)
- 2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
- 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped fine (or 1 tbs dried dill, but don’t!!!! Just wait ’til Spring!)
- rock salt and pepper, to taste

METHOD

1.Mix all that stuff together and throw some yummy other stuff in there to hang out for a bit (the technical definition of “a bit” is at least 2 hours). I did mushrooms (6-10 whole  halved or quartered), red onion pieces and a can of artichoke hearts (halved). Skewer’em and grilled for 8-10 minutes and served over greens of your choice (I chose spinach and sunflower sprouts with shredded carrot and diced cucumber).

First Grill of the Season!

2. The acidity in the lemon juice and vinegar will cause your veggie marination victims to give up their goods, thereby providing you with a more copious and flavourful marinade to continue your culinary journey with: after skewers, I chopped up 4 more mushrooms, tossed ‘em in the leftover yumminess overnight and then sautéed the whole lot with a small sliced zucchini, about a cup of baby spinach leaves, salt, pepper and some tofu Shirataki for a super filling, yummy-but-light, lunch the next day. Heavy on the Sriracha, of course. We can’t eschew all things processed lest we become savage.

Lemon Dill Shirataki with Mushroom and Zucchini...Yum!

At any rate. I’m back now. But I am leaner and tougher and more excited than ever (which must be pretty super excited, says anyone who has ever had a conversation with my motor mouth. Ever.) Also, if my pictures are so incredibly heinous that you can’t stomach them, follow me on Facebook to find out why!!!

Ahhhh. It’s nice to be back!

It's like a salad within a dream within a salad within a dream.

Hi again!! Cop-out post here. Those of you who also follow me on Facebook already know that a gigantic asteroid filled with hot tea crashed into my camera a couple Fridays ago, a super-true occurrence, which has tragically hobbled my blogging re-emergence thus far. Let’s all agree that my involuntary camera augmentations are going to make my site look super dreamy and move on, okay??? Also, I’ll provide two bonus recipes this week to make up for the cop-out. I’m back. For serious!

Happy last day of Vegan MoFo 2011!!!

As you may have noticed, this day is also Halloween and, as a person completely covered in small children for most moments of the day, I found it very difficult to be post-proactive this weekend. For that, I apologise and will make it up to you with a particularly nummicious recipe tomorrow–which also happens to be International Vegan Day!!!

For tonight, let me leave you with one last product review. It’s quick. It’s easy. It’s delicious and there is not much else to say about it, which is great because I just trick’or’treated with a mess’o'toddlers and I am ready to veg in front of a cheesy/scary/why-the-dickens-are-we-watching-this movie and enjoy my sugar buzz in peace.

Soyatoo Rice Whip on an Apple Cinnamon Pancake

I spotted Soyatoo Rice Whip hanging out in the refrigerated veggie stuff section at Safeway (Tillicum) and could not resist. There will always be a special place in my heart for aerosol products, not because I approve of them, but because I can’t help but think it is neat when something is propelled almost violently onto something else and I’m supposed to eat both things. That’s about the extent of my “animal” instinct. Sad, isn’t it?

Soyatoo Rice Whip Nutritional Info

The other draw was the lower-calorie, less-fattiness of the product. For the occasional splurge on a processed product, I can deal with this nutritional data. Plus, it tastes great! Kind of vanilla-y, extra silky and not artificial at all, I am putting this one in the mental archives for the next time I have to spray anyone with anything that I might have to eat off them. You’d be surprised how often that happens. For serious.

Hi y’all. T’is the Friday night before Halloween and I am all kinds of inundated with sewing and sorting and reading and reviewing and cleaning and just generally not enjoying the season at all. So, I’m producing a cop-out post on this, the last Friday night of Vegan MoFo 2011.

This is my week in vegan reviews, so please check out all my vegan reviews here! And I’ll be back tomorrow with one more yummy review and then I’ll close out Vegan MoFo 2011 with two more fantabulous vegan recipes on Sunday and Spooktacular Monday. Happy Vegan MoFoery!

I took one for the Vegan MoFo team with this post, folks. Yep, it’s another vegan “cheese” product. Nope. Wait. Cheddar flavoured soy protein product. Doesn’t that sound amazing? Deep breath. And here we go.

Now, I suppose that vegan cheese qualifies as an acquired taste and I suspect that there exists a potential for my taste buds to adapt and come to appreciate the pungent and er, robust flavour that most vegan cheeses boast. But, why would I put myself through such heartache and sorrow for a product so devoid of nutrients and so full of other stuff? Seriously! Look!

Earth Island Vegan Gourmet Cheddar Nutritional Info

Fine. I get it. People loooooove cheese. They totally want to marry it and make tiny cheese babies with it. And even once you are firmly ensconced in your new vegan life, you don’t forget. I know this! And you know I heart nostalgia (see yesterday’s yogurt love fest or the trip down memory lane I took riding my mom’s macaroni casserole). It is understandable to miss cheese, especially since it’s been reported that cheese possesses addictive qualities, but vegan cheese does not contain casein (which is the cheese crack) or much protein, calcium or any nutrient to speak of, so why do we subject our beautiful bodies to all this sodium, fat and weird-tastedness, I ask? Oh! You want the ooey gooey meltieness!

Earth Island Vegan Gourmet Cheddar...melted? Non! Il ne fond pas!

Other than Daiya, which is tasty, but also nutritionally defunct, I have yet to encounter a vegan cheese that really melts. Earth Island Vegan Gourmet Cheddar did not. It became kind of sweaty and crumbly and smelly, like an out of shape guy at the gym for too long, but that’s about it.

Maybe I’m being too harsh. I’m afraid I was biased by the slimy texture and potent aroma that assaulted me upon opening the package. How’s this for objectivity: my sweet innocent Daiya lovin’ 2 year old ate a piece with a super strange look on her face and said, “Thanks for the cheese, Momma. More water? Now?” Thanks is a very positive word, right?

Sigh. If we never mucked with cow babies’ milk in the first place, we would never of had cheese to miss and we would not be trying to emulate something that we shouldn’t be eating anyway. Yeah, I went a little political there for a wee sec. I hate vegan cheese that much. But if you need it, I suppose Earth Island Vegan Gourmet Cheddar is not the worst you could do. My main complaint is the pungent flavour, so maybe try the Mozzarella and report back. I would love to know what everybody else thinks about vegan cheese–I’m sooooo nosy!

So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk Yogurt

This has been a quick Vegan MoFo! Only four obligatory blogging days left (though, I may get sentimental and weekend post this week) and three more vegan convenience foods for my Vegan MoFo Week in Reviews.

Today I bring you the happiness that is So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk non-dairy yogurt. Yogurt was a big loss for me: I pretty much lived on fat free yogurt and Stoned Wheat Thins my last year of high school and it’s a well known fact that I think it is adorable when small children say “yo-grit” instead of yogurt, so it’s been a real shame having to tell them to shut up and stop rubbing it in my face all these years. Oh sure, I’ve tried other non-dairy yogrits, but soy based products all have that same, shall we say, fakedy taste. Definitely not tangy and creamy like I remember it could be. Well, it’s time for me to quit my grousing (and growling at toddlers) because So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk Yogurt has finally come to my aid.

So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk Yogurt Nutritional Info

As you can see, it is a great source of calcium, but most importantly, So Delicious has captured that all important tang that makes yogurt so, well, yogurty. This is thanks to how dang cultured it is, I’m supposin’. My daughter chose blueberry for us to sample. Thankfully, it comes premixed, not “sundae style,” because I cannot abide spoons that get goopy passed their midway points. The colour was crazy-vibrant purple–check it out:

Blueberry So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk Yogurt

–as a result of the blueberry juice concentrate, which made my 2 year old very excited. Pretty food is soooo much better than drab food, apparently. She gobbled up more than half the container in no time flat and I had to hide the rest, because at per $4.29 16oz container (on sale–I think it’s closer to $5.99 at regular price), this coconut-based yogurt does not grow on trees! But, that’s the pitfall of quality vegan products: you gotta pay for the goodness. I respect that, but that is also why we’re rice and beans vegans 89% of the time.

The only other issue I have with this product is the fat content: 4g saturated fat per serving (and seriously, who eats just a serving?) isn’t ideal, but the fat is from sweet, sassy coconuts, so I’ll relax a little and drizzle some of this in my borscht next time. Honestly, I’m just glad there’s a reason to encourage my toddlers to mispronounce yogurt! Yay, So Delicious!

I decided to jump on my Tofurky Pepperoni Pizza this evening and the reason for that was onefold: it’s October 25th. I work until 4:20pm. There are only like two feet-fulls of days (translation: maybe 10?) left when I’ll be able to run outside after work without fear that weird oldish men in blue sweatpants will drag jogging me into the dark bushes and create a situation that warrants the arrival of a Channel 6 News Van. Am I a little paranoid? Totally. But I’m also selfish and neglectful of my family, so frozen pizza it was for supper tonight!

Tofurky Pepperoni Pizza. Cooked. (Curse you, Autumn Lighting!)

Luckily, it was a super-delicious frozen pizza. Crispy-thin whole grain crust, über-herby sauce, very not rubbery faux pepperoni and just a touch of vegan cheese, so as not to put off the vegan cheese resisters: Tofurky Pepperoni Pizza was a hit all ’round our square table. The sauce was a definite highlight for me, since it was a main flavour component, not just a bland supporting player. The garlic might be a little heavy handed for some, but I really enjoyed having a pizza breath war with my daughter after supper (just speak really breathy “h” words into each other’s faces a whole bunch. Who needs video games? What? My other kids do? Oh, right.)

Tofurky Pepperoni Pizza Nutritional Info

The downside? While this pizza does serve up a healthy helping of protein and vitamin C (strangely? See! The tomato sauce is glorious!), the fat content is a bit rich for my blood. Also, weighing in at 10 inches on thin crust and costing upwards of $10+ (I paid $8.69 for ours, but I *think* it was on sale…), economically speaking, on a less rushed day, I’d certainly prefer to order a hot and fresh cheeseless pizza from the Joint or some comparably delicious pizzeria rather spend my dollars on frozen.

But, I do recommend keeping a Tofurky frozen pizza or two on hand  for those days when you care more about making the voices stop for 50 minutes than preparing a real, home-cooked meal for your family. The vegan, frozen Tofurky Pepperoni Pizza is, hands down, the best frozen pizza I have tasted and I am anxious to try the other incarnations. You should too!

Yay! Tofurky Vegan Frozen Pizza

Ethnic Cottage Tikka Cooking Sauce

Hey! It’s the last week of Vegan MoFo already! Holy Hummus! What to do? How about “A Week in Reviews”? OK!!! This week will be dedicated to reviews of handy vegan products, because, let’s face it, it’s downright exciting to see a product labeled “vegan.” It’s like a happy grocery store birthday present. Fantastic.

First up is Tikka Cooking Sauce from Ethnic Cottage. I found this little beauty at the Market on Yates. I don’t often buy jarred sauces on account of the preservative/oil/ick factor, but check this out:

Look! No ickies!

Yes, yes, yes, the recipes associated with this product all call for animal products, but we know better. I had great hopes for this jar: visions of smothered tofu, tempeh, chick peas and tender lentils galore. And, as I turned the lid, summoning forth that very satisfying poppy noise, I was immediately inundated with a spicy sweet aroma that made me shout, “Oh yeah, that’s a sauce I’d like to put into my mouth.” So, I did. First, I took a spoonful. Then another. Then I heated up some leftover Jasmine Rice and just really went to town. By the time I was done, I didn’t really have enough sauce left to share with the rest of my family, so I polished off the jar incrementally (over rice with splashes of Sriracha) throughout the rest of the week.

Did I like it? You bet! Rich and tangy, with serious cinnamon overtones, this Tikka is incredibly satisfying. I especially liked the chunks of real veggies (tomatoes and onions), a feature that elevates this sauce to a status above mere condiment. Or maybe I just told myself that to justify eating mainly rice and condiment for lunch for an entire week. Whatever. Having said that, it wasn’t as spicy as I like my sauces, but that could be because I’ve positively scorched my palate over the years in preparation for our dream move to somewhere hot and spicy (anyone want to hire a graphic designer and vegan freelancer in New Mexico?) All in all, Ethnic Cottage’s Tikka Cooking sauce is a yummy splurge that boasts perfectly balanced flavours and textures. Simmer some chickpeas in there and you’ve got vegan fast food at it’s very best.

Will I buy it again? Maybe. At under 2 cups per jar and a regular price tag hovering at around $7 (I got mine on sale for $4.99), it’s really not the best use of your much coveted funds. Better to invest in some exotic spices and tomatoes of your own and Tikka yourself. However, if Ethnic Cottage Tikka was on sale again I would probably buy it for those lazy days when I just want to pour sauce on my arm and lick it off rather than cook. You have those days too, no?

Need a terribly simple, yummy side dish to bring to a potluck this weekend? This one screams “Halloween is coming” in all its vivid orange and punchy green glory. Happy Weekend, Vegan MoFoers!

INGREDIENTS

- cups carrots, sliced into matchsticks
- 1/4 cup mild vegetable broth OR orange juice OR apple juice*
- 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chiffonaded
-  2 tsp mustard seeds

METHOD

1. Add carrots and broth (or juice) to a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes , until carrots are tender crisp.

2. Drain and return to pot. Toss carrots with mustard seeds and mint. Serve immediately.

NOTES

*I don’t have a big sweet tooth, so I prefer using broth, but if you choose to juice it, a tiny splash of rice wine vinegar makes a nice finisher for this dish. If you’re brothy like me, a sprinkle of smoked rock salt is tops. Even better? Try black salt for even more Halloween flair!

As a vegan parent, some of the most frustrating moments occur at mealtimes when you are out and about. Not because you can’t just pop into McDonald’s or toss your kid some Dunkaroos. But because eating with other parents in parks or shopping centres or at playgroups or preschool outings always provokes the same questions: “You’re vegan? Are your kids? How can you feed your children such a restricted diet? How can you deprive them of so much?”

So, instead of trying to explain for the umpteenth time why feeding kids a balanced vegan diet is anything but restrictive and infinitely better than feeding them traditional “kid food” (think processed crap like chicken nuggets, pop and sugary cereals and snacks), I’m just gonna hand out cards with this URL. Here’s to the next generation of Vegan MoFoers!

What Do My Vegan Kids Eat?

Actual Fruit VS "Fruit" Snacks

Isa's Bananas Rabanda VS French Toast

Homemade Coconut Oatmeal VS Sugary Store-bought Packets

Wholegrain Pancakes with Applesauce and Veggie Ham VS Bisquik, Aunt Jemima and Nitrates

More Actual Fruit VS Fruit Rollups

Almond Butter and Apple VS Skippy and Jelly

Hummus Man and Dahl VS Chicken Nuggets and Fries

Peanut Butter Banana Man VS Well, Peanut Butter and Banana (It's not all different)

Veggie Soup VS The Weird Neon Yellow Stuff

Mediterranean Quinoa VS Hamburger Helper

Isa's Macaroni and Trees VS Kraft Dinner

Bright and Tasty VS Beige and Fried

Vegan Cupcakes VS Other Cupcakes

Awesome Birthday Cake VS DQ

Extra Credit Reading

Raising Vegetarians
Veggie Kids
Happy Veggie Kids

best vegan macaroni casserole ever

My Mom’s Macaroni Casserole was better than your mom’s. That’s just plain and simple fact. In most households, the very mention of macaroni casserole sends shudders down the spine: I see visions of condensed “Cream of Stuff” soup, cans of tuna, undercooked, or worse, over cooked celery and frozen peas or squares of weird pig by product. I shudder to think what you all went through! Vegan Mofoers, I am here to help erase the evil.

But, nostalgia be damned. Bacon is dead pigs and the dairy industry is some crazy sadistic shiz. Although I can’t say our house was exempt from exploiting beautiful, unjustly processed piggy-wigs, at least our casserole tasted better and its majesty is more easily replicated in a vegan friendly format. Which means my kids don’t need to be deprived of the excitement I felt hearing that ‘roni box a rattlin’. No sir. Time for some vegan junk food.

DISCLAIMER:

Winter food photography: it sucks. Usually I try to at least create a beautiful white light box in my….erm….upstairs bathroom…cough…shhh!!!!! But, frankly, we just joined the YMCA/YWCA and they offer evening childcare for spousal workouts, so this meal was a little rushed. Just as every junk food meal should be!

Boss Vegan Mac Ingredients

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 package wholegrain macaroni or other short pasta
- 1 can whole plum tomatoes, hand diced, juices reserved
- 1 cup crimini mushrooms, chopped
- 1 cup vegan cheese, shredded–Daiya is the best we’ve found: 1/2 cup mozzella style, 1/2 Pepperjack
- 4-8 slices vegan bacon, such as Yves Canadian, if you want that sought after bacon-y smell, or make some of Isa’s eggplant bacon
- salt and pepper, to taste

METHOD:

(It’s so darn easy, but it tastes so good!)

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF.

2. In a large stock pot, cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, sauté mushrooms in a bit of broth or white wine until just tender (alternately, if no one in your family is mushroom phobic, add to boiling pasta when there is just 2 minutes cooking time left.

cooked crimini

3. Drain pasta (and perhaps mushrooms). Return to pot. Stir in mushrooms (if using) and tomatoes with juice. Salt and pepper to taste.

Use the Mushrooms!

4. Now it comes down to taste. My Mom put ours in a very deep and giant casserole dish, which equated to a concentrated area of “cheese” and “bacon” on top and lots of tomato-y good pasta below. Our house takes picky to a new level, so I filled a 9″X”9 pyrex baking pan with just pasta and tomatoes, then mixed in the sautéed mushrooms into the remains of the pasta and put it all into 3 adorable ramikin-esque baking vessels. On the 9″X9″, I sprinkled the cheese and layered the veggie bacon. On the little ones, I just did bacon, cuz Daiya really does not have any nutritional value and mushrooms are delish.

If you don’t suffer from conflicting buds or nutritional morals in your home and you want every serving cheesy (with or without shroomies), just use a 9″X13″ lasagna pan and the upper quantity of bacon. Either way=yum!

5. Bake for 20 minutes and serve with exuberance.

Closest thing this house will ever get to a greasy spoon!

SOURCE: My mommy,  Janet McQuarrie