Vegan Mofo #1: Irish Buttermilk Pancakes...

Today is the first day of the much awaited Vegan Mofo, are you excited? I am. I didn’t realize it until today but I guess there are some new guidelines this year. Apparently there are daily prompts/suggestions for what to blog about there is one for each day of the month, a lot of people seem to like this idea - it requires less thinking and planning I suppose, but I hate it. There is nothing more boring to me then doing the same thing everyone else is doing. For me part of the fun of Vegan Mofo is to see all the different things people are coming up with. Why do I want to look at twenty posts all talking about the same thing? I also don’t like being limited. I couldn’t be less interested in ‘following’ what everyone else is doing and that goes for every aspect of my life. So, needless to say I’m not following these prompts, I’m doing my own thing, if that means I’m excluded from Vegan Mofo then so be it, but I really want to continue on with my original idea.

The theme I decided on is Veganized Dishes From Countries To Which I’ve Traveled. I do so much traveling and food is a big part of traveling, when away I always tell myself that I’ll experiment at home with the foods of my travels but I rarely do. I figured this year’s Mofo would give me the perfect opportunity and excuse to do just that. I also thought it might be nice to provide you with some new recipes, considering I haven’t been very active lately. Every year I cook other people’s recipes for Mofo, but this year is the first time I’ll be blogging original recipes. Though, just a point of warning, I’m going to be veganizing ‘traditional’ recipes, and so I’m going for authenticity in my creations, not health. Most likely the recipes will not be gluten-free, soy-free, sugar-free, salt-free or any other kind of healthy. They will not be unhealthy on purpose, but a lot of them are going to be based off of ‘meat and potatoes’ recipes and so I am envisioning a lot of seitan usage in the coming month. So, anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

Coincidently today’s recipe actually goes along with the prompt for September 1st, which is ‘Breakfast” I had planned to start Mofo out simple with a quick and easy recipe, Buttermilk Pancakes!

Now despite my best efforts I can’t find a reliable source on the internet claiming that Buttermilk Pancakes are an original Irish creation. It seems every English speaking country has their own version of this classic breakfast. Though I’ve flipped through a couple of Irish Cook books and they all have a variation on Buttermilk Pancakes. Considering that Buttermilk is quite common, readily available, and widely used in Irish baking it is not unreasonable to think that Buttermilk Pancakes might have originated in Ireland or at least somewhere in the United Kingdom before migrating.

Perhaps it’s a typically Irish practice to serve pancakes drizzled in Honey, but I’m not sure. I myself have always served pancakes - any kind - with maple syrup, so I thought dousing them in honey was a bit weird myself but I decided to give it a try, and really enjoyed it. The honey really melted into these soft fluffy cakes, and it was a really nice compliment to the savory butter. It had a lighter, more mellow sweetness then serving the cakes with maple syrup.

To mimic the buttermilk I used non-dairy milk with a large quantity of apple cider vinegar, but don’t worry you can’t taste the vinegar. Due to the sugar, these pancakes are a little sweeter then what you might be used to, but they are not so sweet as to be unpleasant. They are very simple and easy to make, with few ingredients, and due to their simplicity you can whip up a good batch virtually any day of the week. Enjoy with a nice steaming mug of Irish Breakfast Tea!

Irish Buttermilk Pancakes 

2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 ½ tsp Baking Soda
4 Tbsp Sugar
Ener-G Egg Replacer or Flax Egg to = 1 Egg
1 ½ Cups Non-dairy Milk (Soy or Almond recommended)
2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Non-Dairy Butter, and Bee-Free Honey to Serve 

- Heat greased skillet over medium heat.

- Combine Milk and Apple Cider Vinegar in a measuring Cup and let stand for five minutes.

- Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl.

- Make Well in center and add Ener-G Egg or Flax Egg, along with Milk/Vinegar Mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Don’t over mix.

- Using a 1/4 Cup measuring cup scoop the pancake batter onto the hot greased skillet, spreading batter into a circle. Let cook until bubbles form on top, then gently flip the pancake over.

- Repeat until all batter is used and pancakes are cooked.

- Serve drenched in melted vegan butter with a hearty drizzle of Bee-Free Honey over top.

4th Of July Fun...

My Plate - Black Bean Burger with all the fixin's
Buffalo Mac Salad, BBQ Coleslaw, BBQ Beans 

Well, I hope everyone had a lovely fourth of July. Ours was pretty low-key. Since I had my mom and step-dad visiting, and we were busy hanging out I didn’t feel much like cooking. Which was okay too. My mother-in-law was kind enough to pick up some fresh-made vegan black bean burgers for us, - which I forgot to photograph, sorry - and I took care of the sides and dessert.

Funny, I knew right away what I wanted to make, because I’ve had my eye on it for years. The Spicy Red  Buffalo Macaroni Salad from Joni Marie Newman & Celine Steen’s awesome little book “The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions.” Personally I’ve always loved a good pasta salad, and this one sounded really interesting, but even though I love pasta salad I rarely find occasion to make it. The 4th seemed like the perfect time, especially since my mom and step-dad like pasta salad too, and since my step-dad likes heat. It’s actually a really easy dish. Just cook your macaroni, roasted red peppers, onions, celery and spinach - although I just realized now that I forgot to add the spinach, whoops! - Then the dressing is made with tofu, hot sauce, earth balance, oil, garlic, salt, pepper and I added a wee bit of agave to balance the tang a bit.  The end result was that this salad was out of this world amazing and my husband and I couldn’t stop eating it! I’m so glad I finally got around to making it.

Spicy Red Buffalo Macaroni Salad

Next up I wanted to make the BBQ Beans from “Vegan Food Substitutions.” I’ve always loved a good saucy bean dish, and I’ve always loved baked beans. These tasted just like a baked bean but with out the long baking time. Simply add all your sauce ingredients into a pot, add the beans and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the sauce reduces a bit. These too were fantastic, and reminded me of the kind of baked beans you eat out of a can - only better! I was happy to have the leftovers and I gobbled them up in no time!

BBQ Beans 

Lastly I decided to make the Creamy BBQ Coleslaw from Joni Marie Newman’s book “The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet” it’s a really simple slaw recipe, shredded cabbage, agave, apple cider vinegar,  vegan mayo and BBQ sauce. I added some onion and carrot in too because, well I love that in my slaw. This slaw was super creamy, and super flavorful. As much as I love slaw, and as much as I love BBQ I never thought to combine the two into one dish! Amazing!

Creamy BBQ Coleslaw 

For dessert I went with pie, and fruit pies at that because Pie is really my favorite dessert and I was all ‘caked out’ after my birthday anyway. Once again I chose to make pies from Hannah Kaminsky’s lovely book “Easy as Vegan Pie.” Of course I can’t just pick a straight forward pie can I? I wanted something unique and since I had a ton of cherries on hand I decided to make the Black Forest Pie because who doesn’t love chocolate and cherries? The Pie is basically as it sounds, think black forest cake but in pie form. Chocolate Crust, chocolate cherry filling, chocolate topping with whip Cream. Yum, yum! This pie went over huge with everyone and I sure liked it a lot too although a small slice was enough for me, as it was a bit too chocolatey for my taste.

Black Forest Pie 

Second I made the Blueberry Blackberry Licorice Pie. Licorice you say? Yes indeed. I know how insane that sounds but trust me when I tell you this pie was out of this world amazing, and this is coming from a girl who hates black licorice or licorice flavored anything. I’m not even all that found of anise to be honest. Still, it was such an interesting combination that my curiosity got the better of me. The pie crust is a standard crust - any recipe will work really - and the filling is a standard blueberry blackberry filling but then you slice up pieces of black licorice and some of them melt into the delectable berry sauce as the pie cooks, while others remain whole. This pie was so good I had 2 slices right out of the gate, and I was impressed at how mellow the licorice flavor was. Not overbearing, it gave it just the right hint of ‘different’ and really took this pie to a new level. As much as this pie came as a surprise to me, it also came as a surprise to everyone else, I think most people were put off by the addition of licorice, until they tasted it for themselves. Only one slice remained after all was said and done! The lesson? Never be afraid to try new things!

Blueberry Blackberry Licorice Pie 

I hope you all had a happy fourth.

The 30 Day Vegan Challenge Fundraiser Campaign...

I just wanted to take a moment to share with you a fundraising campaign that’s currently going on. Colleen Patrick-Goudreau - AKA - the patron saint of Veganism - has launched a campaign to bring back an updated and revised version of her inspirational book “The 30 Day Vegan Challenge” If you don’t know about The 30 Day Vegan Challenge you should! It’s a wonderful book, full of practical information about veganism, menu plans, recipes, tips for making the transition, guidance and you name it, it’s here. The original book sold 20,000 copies before it went out of print and was a major inspiration to so, so many people. If you ever listen to Colleen’s wonderful Vegetarian Food for Thought podcast then you’ve probably heard her read countless letters from fans, and listeners who attribute their making the shift to veganism directly to her, and this particular book. It really is wonderful, and when it came out it was one of the first vegan books of it’s kind. - Now vegan guides are popping up all the time, but Colleen’s is one of the few that I come back to again and again. Of course I was already vegan when I purchased the original book, I didn’t buy it to challenge myself to go vegan, I bought it to support Colleen’s work, as well as to have a comprehensive resource to share with friends and family whenever I got asked the inevitable ‘ insert common question about veganism here - questions. I bought it so I could fact check things on a moments notice, and so that I always had it handy, and because I find her words to be such an inspiration, such a breath of fresh air, and I love her kindness, compassion, and easy style.

So when I heart that The 30 Day Vegan Challenge was out of print I was sad that new people wouldn’t be able to experience this gem for themselves. Then I heard she was updating it, and trying to bring it back into print - to stay this time - and I got super excited. In fact, this is actually one of the books I’ve been testing recipes for, and trust me the recipes I’ve tried thus far are out of this world, and certainly worth the cost of the book. (Just a disclaimer here I’m not getting paid to test the recipes, it’s totally volunteer, I’m also not getting paid to promote the book, I do so because I believe in it.)

I do not have many heroes, and there are not many people in this world that I look up to, but Colleen is a constant source of inspiration for me. Her podcast was one of the driving forces in my shift from omnivore to vegetarian and finally to vegan. I could not have done it without her constant support, or without her recipes, and this book is like every podcast episode rolled up into one convenient, and tidy parcel. It would have been a nice thing to have when I initially went vegan, and so it deserves to be brought back for all those not yet transitioned or as Colleen would say for all those not yet ‘awake.’

So if you’re interested in making a donation you can visit her campaign page Here. You can donate any amount you want from as little as $1 - believe me even that makes a difference - to as much as $10,000. Each donation comes with a gift, from a exclusive recipe, to a copy of the book, to an e-book, to a private party with Colleen, and more. You can also read more about the book, the campaign and Colleen Here, as well as watch videos, and listen to her amazing podcast. Currently she’s only $3000 short of her goal, so at this point every dollar truly counts!

Do it for yourselves, for the ‘not-yet-vegans’ and for the animals!

The 29th Annual Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival...

This year my husband and I were fortunate enough to attend the 29th annual Vegetarian Food Festival in Toronto. The festival was held September 5th-7th which was serendipitous for us, because we were planning to be in Montreal then. Originally for our somewhat belated anniversary getaway we were going to go to Niagara Falls and then head straight for Montreal, totally bypassing Toronto, then I found out about the festival. The Toronto Veg Fest is the largest Vegetarian Festival in all of North America, it’s a 3 day extravaganza and always amazing. How could we pass that up? So as much as it pained us we decided to knock a couple of days off of the Montreal trip to attend the festival.

CN Tower

Amazing View!

We arrived in Toronto on Saturday afternoon, and after checking into our hotel we headed straight for the festival. I had never been to Toronto before and so the whole experience was new and exciting. There was some massive construction going on but lucky for us we had a GPS that helpfully guided us to the Harbourfront Centre where the festival was being held. Once we found a parking garage - pretty easy - we headed off to explore the ground. First I have to say it’s a beautiful location, right on the water with glorious views of the CN Tower and other absurdly tall skyscrapers. The grounds themselves were massive too, and jam-packed full of fun loving vegetarians, vegans and the veg-curious. There was live music, and a ton of awesome vendors - something like 150 different vendors in total.

The Awesome World Cafe 

There were local bakeries, food trucks, local restaurants, there were local advocacy groups, and product manufacturers. There were well-known vegan companies such as Daiya, Gardein, Earth Balance, Field Roast and Vega sampling out their newest products. I got to try the new Daiya cream cheeses which I thought were alright but not my favorite of their products. I got to try some samples of vegan coconut bacon, vegan chicken, new and interesting Kombucha’s, fair-trade chocolate and so much more. It was a total blast, although I found that first afternoon a little overwhelming. The grounds were just so big, and there were just so many people - thousands upon thousands - and I was in an unfamiliar place being bombarded with too much information all at once. It was a little bit of vegan overload for me you know? Hard to compute it all. So after giving everything a good look over and enjoying a few snacks we decided to go explore the city, and enjoy a proper dinner.

Steam Buns - White Potato Curry Bun Left
Whole What Cabbage Bun Right 

Of course we returned to the festival Sunday afternoon and stayed nearly till the end. We enjoyed a ton more vegan goodies like the Mac & Cheese Burrito from Hot Beans. We also grabbed one of their jackfruit tacos. We grabbed some delicious steam buns from King’s Café - 1 cabbage steam bun and 1 potato curry steam bun.  We ate some delicious vegan Jerky - probably the best I’ve ever had, even better then Primal Strips - some organic salad and then it was time to move onto dessert.

Mac & Cheese Burrito 

Jackfruit Taco 

From Bunner’s we got a delicious cinnamon bun and an Orange Spice cupcake., with I think a rose water frosting. - It’s been a couple of months so cut me some slack on the memory. - From Tori’s Bakeshop we got a delicious gluten-free Coconut Cupcake that actually tasted a lot like a corn muffin with a sweet frosting, good thing I like corn muffins! But the best thing we had dessert wise was probably their espresso cupcake with biscotti, so mind-blowing! We finished the decadence with a cone of wild blueberry doughnuts and a Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwich. So good!

Cinnamon Bun 

Orange Spice Cupcake 

Honestly I feel like we actually ate a lot more then this, but the festival is all kind of a blur for me now and these are the only pictures I have. I think the festival was just so much fun, and just so cool that we neglected to take pictures of what we were doing and what we were eating. The awe-factor you know?

Oh well, Hot Beans, Tori’s Bakeshop, and Bunner’s were all on my list of ‘must-visit spots’ for when I was in Toronto and so I was glad that we could knock ‘em all out of the way in one fell swoop at the festival.

Espresso Cupcake Left, Coconut Cupcake Right 

Of course if vegan festival food isn’t quite your thing there was plenty else going on. There were so many amazing speakers, a bunch of awesome cooking demo’s and even a world record breaking 550kg yolk walk by German strongman Patrik Baboumian. Pretty neat stuff. Among some of the guest speakers and demoer’s were Taymer Mason, Del Sroufe, Allyson Kramer, Doug McNish, Melissa Morgan, Jo-Anne McArthur, Liz Marshall, Gene Bauer, Jenny Brown, David Simon, Erin Red, Breeze Harper, Michael Gregor, John Pierre, Kristen Lajeunesse, and Jennifer Cornbleet. Pretty cool lineup no? Because of timing, and scheduling I didn’t get to see all the speakers that I wanted to, there was just too many cool things to see and do, too many great things to eat, it was hard to fit it all in even in two days, but I did make the time and the effort to go and see Taymer Mason.

Wild Blueberry Doughnuts

Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwich 

Taymer’s cooking demo was wonderful, and I’m really glad I got to see it. If you’re unframiliar with Mason, she wrote the amazing book “Caribbean Vegan” which you may recall I made quite a few recipes from over the course of this year’s vegan mofo. For her demo she made the Lentil Patties, and the Eggplant Seaweed Accras from her book, and both were delicious. Rather then all of us getting a minuscule sample we each got a nice plate with a hearty half pattie and a large accra. Mason was a pleasure to watch during her demo, you can really see the passion she has for cooking, and her easy, down to earth, friendly vibes made the whole experience great. Afterwards she was kind enough to stay and sign cook books, and I was lucky enough to have had the forethought to bring my copy of “Caribbean Vegan” along. It was a real treat to speak with her, and it’s pretty cool having a signed book you know?

Taymer Mason Cooking up some great stuff!

And I guess that about rounds it up for the Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival. We stayed till the end, took a nap under a tree near where they were cracking open coconuts, listening to music and people talking, and then what did we do? Well, we went to a restaurant and had dinner! I know we’re total gluttons, but that’s what you do on vacation is it not?

I’m really hoping we’ll be able to make the Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival next year.

Happy Vegan Mofo 2013!

It’s that time again folks, yes, Vegan Mofo has arrived! This year the world wide blogging event has moved up a month. For the past couple of years it’s been held in October but it was pushed up to September 1st this year to give us bloggers - and readers - a little more variety. I guess everyone got tired of seeing recipe upon recipe for pumpkin, and Halloween themes. I am super pumped! Like every vegan blogger I always look so forward to Mofo. Not only because I love the intense blogging and cooking but because I love to read about everyone else’s experience.

Many bloggers choose a specific theme to work with over the course of the month, and some people choose daily themes like muffin Monday or something like that. For the past two years I’ve done what I call “Cooking the Books.” in which I make recipes from various cook books in my arsenal and share them with you guys. Since my blog is full of original content year round I feel like this provides a nice change of pace. Plus it gives the me opportunity - or an excuse - to use a variety of different cook books that I might not regularly use, and make some more interesting and involved recipes then I might normally choose.

My first year doing Mofo I didn’t have a theme beyond “Cooking the Books” it was pretty generalized. My Second year blogging for Mofo I wanted to hone in on a theme so I chose to make sandwiches all month. This was a great experience but it also taught me an important lesson. If you have to eat the same basic thing every day for an entire month you might burn out. That’s what happened to me anyway, and so this year for Mofo I’ve settled on a theme that’s somewhere between general and specific. Ethnic food!

I love all ethnic and world foods, I can’t think of a region where I’ve ever said  “Ugh, the food there is terrible, or I don’t like ____ food.” Yet, strangely in my day to day life I don’t often cook traditional ethnic dishes. I do a lot of fusion cooking. A lot of Asian fusion or stir-fry. A lot of Indian fusion, Middle Eastern fusion, Mexican fusion even European fusion to an extent. It’s less common for me to make a dish that is distinctly from one country. I really don’t know why this happens to be the case, after all I love world cuisine and I have a wealth of cook books devoted to the subject. I suppose these particular books just don’t fall into my regular repertoire of ‘go-to’ books, but I’d like to change that.

Since it would be kind of impossible to make regional specialties from every corner of the globe in a single month I’ve decided to narrow my focus to only a few regions. Asia, India, The Caribbean, Mexico/Latin America, and Europe. That gives me a wealth of countries to choose from and loads of potential variety so that I won’t get burned out, and I think it keeps things interesting. Other criteria I chose to picking these regions go as follows - I had cook books that focus on these areas, they are some of my favorite cuisines, or I have limited to zero experience cooking them. I plan to break each area down into smaller points of focus so that I can get the most variety and excitement out of the project.

For Asia - I’ll primarily focus on Chinese cooking, though I may through in a few Korean dishes, maybe a few Japanese dish’s, some regional specialities from South East Asia, and I’m also including Hawaii in the Asian category. Even though Hawaii is a U.S. state, anyone who’s ever been there knows that Hawaiian cooking isn’t American cooking. Polynesian cooking is it’s own distinct style, a kind of blend of all the various Asian cultures and cuisines that have passed through the Island over the centuries. I love this kind of food, and it reminds me so much of childhood that I thought it was only fair to include a few dishes from one of my most beloved places.

For India - I want to make both North Indian and South Indian cuisine, with perhaps slightly more focus on South Indian cuisine because I have no experience in cooking it and limited experience in eating it, as many of the Indian restaurants in my area are of the North Indian variety.

For The Caribbean - Well, it’s kind of a ‘free for all’ in which anything goes but probably I’ll make a lot of Jamaican or Barbadian dishes.

For Mexico/Latin America - it’s also kind of a ‘free for all’ that will probably mostly focus on generalized Latin American cooking however there will be at least a couple of Mexican dishes, and a couple of Cuban ones, and maybe something from El Salvador or possibly Argentina.

For Europe - My primary focus will be on French, German and Greek cooking but a few dishes from other European countries might sneak their way in. I chose Germany and Greece for the obvious reason that, that’s where my heritage lies. My childhood is full of German and Greek cooking and yet I rarely make dishes from either one of these places. I wanted to explore these cuisines a little more. I also chose France because I have zero experience cooking French food, but the style of it has always intrigued me, and what better time to experiment with it then now?

So there you have it, Vegan Mofo 2013. I have no particular order to what cuisine I’m going to post when. I’m going to leave it open for variety rather then do all the Asian cooking in one block, all the Indian cooking in one block etc... It’s more interesting this way, and less chance of getting burned out I think.

Lastly, unfortunately - or fortunately - once again I’ll be absent for part of Mofo. My husband and I are going on Vacation next week so we’ll be gone from September the 6th to the 16th or so. During that time I will have limited or no internet access and so I will be unable to post. However, to make up for the days I’ll be gone I plan to do what I did in previous years and post twice daily to make up for it. So bare with me while I’m gone, and please, please stay tuned!

Happy Mofo Everyone!
Peace/Love

Veggie Fest! Naperville, Illinois 2013...

Veggie Fest Entrance

This weekend was the annual Vegetarian Festival in Naperville, Illinois, a two day event full of good eats, cool speakers, great demo’s, holistic health advice, free massages, free meditation lessons, activism, and so much more. Veggie Fest has been taking place during the second week of August for the past eight years, and I’ve been in attendance for the past four. It seems crazy to think that I’ve been going to this festival for four years and I’ve never once posted about it. I know the first year I didn’t post about it because that was before my time as a blogger, and before I was even a vegetarian let alone a vegan. The second year I was so excited to get out there and enjoy all the great eats in my first year of vegetarianism that I forgot my camera at home. Last year I did in fact bring my camera though I neglected to take many pictures and then once I got home updating about it totally slipped my mind. This year however I was a great blogger, I brought the camera and made sure to take a lot of pictures.

Live Music - Folk, Reggae, Spanish,
It's always a great mix of bands

Veggie Fest for me is the premier summer event, and I love it. Everything about it excites me and soothes my soul. I always end up talking to cool people, and learning new things. I love hanging around the activist booths and talking to other long-time and newbie vegans. It’s great to be in a big group of like minded people who are supportive. Being around so many cool vegans inspires me, and rekindles that fire inside that often dulls when there isn’t enough vegan stimulation around. That’s not to say that the non-vegans in my life aren’t supportive or inspirational, they are, just in a different way. The realities of the non-vegan world can be harsh, and sometimes it can be hard to deal with the constant meat-pushing culture all around you, that when you show up at veggie fest it’s like you’ve crossed into some magical oasis where nothing can hurt you, or bother you, and everything is uplifting. It’s always a great day for my husband and I.

Awesome Licence Plate in the parking lot

We decided to go on Sunday, which was the second day of the event. It opened at 11am, and we got there at 10 minutes to, but by the time we got our car parked and walked over to the grounds of the Science of Spirituality Center where the fest is held each year the gates were opened and we were ushered in. We started by registering. Then we headed off in search of what great vegan fun we could have. We were suppose to meet our friends J & L but they were running late so we decided to loop around. One of our first stops was the Book Publishing Company's tent, which is one of my favorite tents at Veggie Fest. I took a good long look at all the books on offer but really my eyes were only set on one. “Cookin’ Crunk” by Bianca Phillips. I have been reading Bianca’s blog Vegan Crunk  since shortly after I went vegan. It was one of the first blogs I happened to stumble across and I immediately loved it. She has a fun and easy style of writing that I appreciate and a real down-home, down to earth personality which I really like. Plus she always gives you the scoop on cool new vegan products and cool new vegan cook books. Since I always read the Veggie Fest Schedule online in advance I knew she was going to be at Veggie Fest this year doing a demo and I was uber excited about that. Her cook book has been sitting on my amazon wish list since it was published but I just hadn’t gotten around to buying it yet. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so, since I was hoping to get to chat with her and have her sign the book after her demo.

Empanada's and Guac

After buying the book my husband and I wandered into the food court where we promptly became excited for all that was on offer. Since Veggie Fest is a Vegetarian Festival not all of the food is vegan or vegan-friendly. Some years have been more vegan then others. The first two years we went were a bit low on vegan options, but last year was better, and I have to say that I think this year was the best yet. We started off by getting some empanada’s with guacamole and salsa. These were good, though I’ve made better at home. We followed the empanada’s up with a slice of vegan pizza! We were so excited to finally see Vegan pizza at veggie fest. Normally they only have vegetarian pizza and it’s always loaded with dairy cheese. This year they had a vegan slice with vegan sausage and it was super yummy! After that we took a quick circle around the grounds getting a preliminary look at the various tents, and then it was time to check out the first cool demo of the afternoon.

Sausage and 'Cheese' Pizza 

I was interested and excited to see Jennifer Cornbleet author of “Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2" do a chef demo. It was also the perfect time to get out of the sun as the weather had started heating up!  The demo was good and ran about thirty-five minutes or so. Jennifer had a great personality and really made raw food seem quick and easy. Her recipes all sound wonderful and she really takes some of the mystery out of raw food. For the demo she made a Raw Chocolate Mousse Tart with a Pecan crust. It was very simple and came together quickly, it was also delicious! The secret ingredient was avocado - as is the case with many raw mousses - and it was fantastic. I don’t buy raw cook books terribly often because I find many of them to be too fussy and involved, but after watching Jennifer’s demo I think I’ll definitely have to pick up a copy of the revised - and newly republished - edition of her book.

Jennifer Cornbleet during her Demo 

It was sometime during Jennifer’s demo that our friends J & L finally arrived. It was good to see them as I actually haven’t seen them since Christmas. Spoken with them on the phone and via social media of course but actually see them in the physical world? Yeah it’s been a while. So we chatted for a few minutes then took in the circuit, making our way back over to the food court. My husband ended up getting the vegan masala dosa from Art of Dosa, and I got a vegan corn dog. The corn dog was just okay, the dog part was delicious and tasted as good as I remember any traditional hot dog tasting. The Okay part was the corn batter. It wasn’t as crisp or flavorful as I would have liked, but then perhaps I wasn’t thrilled with it because I never liked regular corn dogs? Who knows. I always say I’m going to get one and then I never do, so this year I made sure to finally go for it.

Miyoko Schinner at her Demo 

After that it was time for the next demo, and this one I was super excited for. Miyoko Schinner of “Artisan Vegan Cheese” Fame. I saw her demo at Chicago Vegan Mania last year - yes I know I never posted about it and I’m sorry! - and she was fantastic, unfortunately at that time I didn’t have a copy of her book nor did I have the time to stick around and chat with her after her demo was over. Mania was well manic! I got her book a coupe of weeks after Vegan Mania and since I’ve made seven or eight cheese recipes from it that I have absolutely loved and adored. She really brings a whole new level to vegan cheese and her’s are seriously the best I’ve ever had. Much better then even the best store-bought vegan cheese. So I packed up my copy of “Artisan Vegan Cheese” from home with the intention of having her sign it after the demo.

Guy in an awesome carrot costume!

Her demo by the way was great. She is so full of life and energy. She radiates what it means to be a joyful vegan and she’s funny! I loved watching her, and even when things didn’t go exactly right - the stove heated to quickly and gave her a bit of trouble - she still kept her cool and rolled with it. She said that she’s more of a ‘throw a bit of this and a bit of that in’ kind of cook, and I can definitely identify with that. That’s really my style too, having to jot down everything I put into a recipe can be so tedious but it must be done if you want others to create it with the same luck as you. So for her demo she did a lox flavored cream cheese that she served on a bagels. I’ve never had lox before so I don’t know what that tastes like, but it reminded me of a seafood dip from my childhood. It was delicious! Next up she made a sun-dried tomato and basil cream cheese also served on a bagel and it was amazing! Lastly she made fresh mozzarella that she served in a panzanella salad. This too was fantastic. I loved that all these recipes were quick and easy, and they really re-inspired me to pick up “Artisan Vegan Cheese” again and make some stuff.

Great bumper sticker on  that cool car with the vegan
Licence plate. Love stuff like this! 

So after the demo was over, I went over to where she was signing the books and brought out my copy of “Artisan Vegan Cheese” the book signing line was quite long and so I didn’t want to take up too much of her time. I just told her how much I loved the book, how I’d made many cheeses from it and how even my husband loved the recipes I’d made from the book, which is saying something since he’s never been a cheese lover - vegan or otherwise. Miyoko was super nice, and friendly and I walked away feeling really good.

Corn Dog

After Miyoko’s demo we met back up with J & L who told us they were bailing on Veggie Fest. We’d hardly spent any time with them yet as they didn’t attend any of the demo’s with us, so that was a bit of a disappointment. They said it was too hot, and too crowded, and so we said our goodbyes and parted ways. I like being at veggie fest with friends, because I love the group experience, but it was no less fun with just my husband and I.

Delicious and Refreshing Frozen Soy Cappuccino 

After J & L left we walked around some more and checked out various booths. We went over to Mercy For animals, and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and Vegan Mania tables. We went back to the Book Publishing Company’s table and then back to the Food Court where we sampled products by Earth Balance, Cobra Corn, Tasty Bites and other great stuff that I can’t exactly recall now. Then we wetted our whistles with some Frozen Soy Cappuccino’s! Which were super delicious and hit the spot!

Then it was time to head back over to the demo tents to watch Bianca Phillips! This is the demo I was the most excited about. She’s been around doing demo’s at different vegetarian and vegan festivals all year, and I get to read about all the cool things she makes on her blog so I was really curious to see which recipe from “Cookin’ Crunk” she was going to make. She ended up making the Creole Sausages which were really delicious. Now I’m a bit picky about my seitan, and since she prepared the sausages in advance they were cold when served which I would normally not like, but the flavor of them was really fantastic. I know they’ll be really great grilled or fried, and they had a fantastic texture. I also really loved that they were made with white beans as well as gluten flour. I think the beans gives them a much milder flavor then the kinds of seitan sausages that are made solely with gluten.

Bianca Phillips during her demo
Check out that cute 'Cookin' Crunk' Apron

Though Bianca’s demo was quite short I enjoyed it! She’s as easy going and funny in person as she is on her blog, and you really get a sense of her passion for cooking good comforting food. After her demo my husband and I walked over to where she was going to sign books. I was second in line and since the line wasn’t too busy yet I was able to talk to her for more then 5 seconds, which was super cool. She’s really sweet, and friendly and I walked away feeling pretty happy about my new signed copy of ‘Crunk’

It was around that time that my husband’s mom showed up with his cousin C. Neither of whom are vegan or even vegetarian - though C was vegetarian for a time. - His mom had decided to drop by and check the festival out this year to see what it was all about and she thought C might like to come along. It was nice to have them there and it was cool to take them around and show them the different things going on, and see them enjoying the food. Back in the food court my husband and I couldn’t refuse a plate of delicious sushi. Originally I wasn’t going to get any because I’ve had it before and it’s typically the same. Teriyaki shiitake mushroom maki. It’s good, but doesn’t blow my socks off. This year however they really gave their sushi a new look, and it had way more flavor. C bought some and when I saw her plate I couldn’t not try it, it just looked to good to be true.

Look at that amazing sushi! 

After we packed away the delicious sushi we shared some of my husband’s mom’s fries, and watermelon, grabbed some lemonades, and capped the food festivities off by each enjoying a slice of Pineapple Upside down cake. The fries, cake lemonade and watermelon I forgot to photograph but trust me when I say they were all good.

Once we were stuffed to the bursting point we did a few more circles of the grounds, and headed into the meditation tent to learn how to meditate on our inner light. This was my husband’s idea which surprised me because usually it’s me suggesting stuff like this. Originally I had no interest in meditating at that moment but he was going so I decided to go too. It was a fun experience, and peaceful. The meditation was guided by a lovely Austrian woman, and I felt so at east that I was ready to fall asleep. As for seeing my inner light, well I’m not 100% sure. I often see light when I close my eyes, so I don’t know if this is just a strange thing about me, or if I’m always able to see my ‘inner light’ perhaps I should meditate on it some more.

Crowd in the Food Court

After that it was time to head out. We ended up leaving around quarter past five which is the earliest we’ve ever left Veggie Fest. Normally we hang around till it closes down and listen to the music and dance, but with J & L gone, no more room in our bellies to eat, no more demo’s to watch, and having already looked over everything more then once it was time to head out. Leaving Veggie Fest is always sad, but as it turned out we left just in time, because about twenty or so minutes after we headed out it began pissing rain.

I can’t wait until next year’s Veggie Fest, but until then I have the Toronto Vegetarian Festival to look forward to - if there are any Toronto area vegetarians or vegans going, let me know maybe we can meet up! - and Chicago Vegan Mania just a few weeks after. It’s gonna be end to the year!

If you couldn't make it this year I hope you come out next year.
Veggie Fest is held Annually in Naperville the second week of August.
On the grounds of the Science and Spirituality Meditation Center.
4S 175 Naperville-Wheaton Road

It's Back! - Vegan Mofo 2012...

It’s that time again folks - Vegan Mofo!  I’m gearing up, I’ve got a plan, I’m ready, I’m excited. This is only my second year doing Vegan Mofo, which for those of you who don’t know is a world-wide blogging event. It’s a personal challenge undertaken each October where vegans the world over - and some non-vegans too - try to post at least 20 times, on topics that are exclusively related to vegan food. A lot of people take this opportunity to create a wealth of new recipes, some like to use it as a way to gear up for the holidays. Since when I post recipes they’re always my own anyway I decided for last year that I would spend the month cooking recipes from other people. That seemed a pretty popular idea, and what I like about it is that it gives other people an idea of what particular cook books are like. There are not - in my opinion - enough good vegan cook book reviews, particularly when it comes to the specifics of various dishes.

So this year I decided I would do the same thing. Spend the month blogging about the delicious things I make from my stockpile of cook books. However within the context of that parameter I decided I wanted a theme, and I decided that theme would be Delicious and Decadent Vegan Sandwiches. Over the summer I was really into making homemade veggie burgers and a few weeks ago I was on a real sandwich fix, so I thought it would be perfect. It’ll be a fun way to show that vegan food is just as good, fun, and simple as anything else, and that if you want it to be it can be just as ‘bad for you’ or at least feel that way, haha...

Since last year I missed 2 weeks of Mofo due to being on vacation I posted twice daily to make up for the absence, to ensure that I would at least reach the 20 post quota. This year I won’t be on vacation - my only other commitment this month is Thanksgiving on October 8th - however I got really used to the intensity of posting twice a day, and I kind of like the idea of it. So I’m going to attempt to post two sandwiches a day, and we’ll see what happens.

Now for a little definition - when I say Sandwiches I basically mean anything between or on bread or bread like food. So in addition to regular ole’ sandwiches I’ll possibly also do open-faced sandwiches, burgers, wraps, taco’s, burritos, and things of that nature. I’ve got a list of 55 written down of 55 possible sandwiches that I’d like to make, and many of those recipes also require making extras like condiments and even the breads themselves, so it’s going to be a busy month. I’m interested in finding out how many I’m capable of making in a month, I just hope I’m not sick of sandwiches by the end of Mofo!

So Happy Vegan Mofo to everyone participating - I am just as eager to see what all of you come up with!