Quick snack

I know this sounds simple.....but sometimes at night when I get a craving for the evil chips......(why are sweet chili heat Doritos vegan?!?) I need a quick and easy snack. So most of us have apples lying around in the fridge. I mean if there is one fruit Canadians almost always have, especially in winter, it's apples. So after making 8 nice little sections from any variety of fresh organic apple, I spread some delicious raw almond butter on top. Then a sprinkle of raw organic cocoa powder to top it off with, and then you have it. It satisfies my sweet tooth and has a nice crunch. Plus it is good for you!

Merry Vegan Holiday Dinner!

So this year, I was celebrating the holidays with loved ones who wanted to have a totally VEGAN holiday dinner!!! This was a first if you can believe it, after being veg since I was 12! So after treking to Hamilton, we happily began assembling our feast. J had procured a lovely hand made tofu roast from The Rainbow Tree (in Toronto). It is tofu skins wrapped around a rice/nut/cranberry stuffing. The deal also comes with gravy and cranberry sauce!

J's sister Cyndi made delicious roasted potatoes. Just a little olive oil, salt & pepper and her not-so-secret ingredient...Montreal Steak Spice. Roast them up in the oven and they get all lovely and crispy. We did some yam/sweet potatoes (is it wrong that I can't tell them apart?) with a bit of Earth Balance (veg butter) and maple syrup. Broccoli fill the green veggie void on the plate. Some Ace Bakery baguette on the side and voila!

Now the other mystery item on the plate....it was our very un-traditional appetizer of Cyndi's guacamole and chips. We got so hungry making the dinner...and waiting for it to be done that we needed a snack to keep us going. J and I ventured out to the store and brought back some very boring Tostidos, but it was Christmas eve after all, and not many store options besides the local 7-11!


This is a close-up of the tofu roast & stuffing. I had already put the gravy on but it soaked in. Just trust me that it was super yummy. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed dinner, even K, our almost 3 yr old helper! I hope everyone else out there in Veggie homes had a wonderful meat-free holiday.

Vegan Nachos!

We all have days when we feel lazy and just want some easy-to-make, not-so-healthy food. So a few weeks ago I had a craving for nachos. Now this is one of the food things I had given up on when going vegan. I had tried vegan cheeses and was consistently disappointed. Then one day at Loblaws I stumbled across Vegan Gourmet cheese. It claimed to actually melt! So I got the nacho cheese flavour, and all the other fixings.
I usually use organic blue corn chips, to at least pretend I'm eating a healthy version. So lay them out, grate the veg cheese and put under the broiler while I cut up the other stuff. I sprinkle black beans (canned, rinsed) with taco seasoning and let that sit. When the 'cheese' is nice and melty, I layer on the beans, tomatoes, peppers, green onions, tofutti sour cream, salsa, and of course homemade guacamole (which to me is made by mixing ripe avacadoes with hot salsa, super easy and fast!) Sooo yummy...but never any leftovers. I have to say it was SO good that I have given in and made it a few times in the last while.

Meet the animals!

So I wrote a new post, then had issues uploading the photos. And let's face it, the photos are what make food blogs exciting. So until I get a little photo-to-computer help from J, we will cover other topics!

So in one apartment, my roommate T and I have a bit of a zoo going on. 3 kitties and 1 sleepy dog! It's time for them to make their blog debut:





Clio (Calico) The grandma of the bunch since she is a happy, healthy 14 year old lady. Clio was rescued from Animal Care and Control shelter in my hometown. She was very insistent that I pick her and very vocally let me know she wanted to come home with me. I should have known from that moment that life would not be quiet with her around! I sometimes call her the 'duck' because she meows like a quack when she is hungry. But she is also the smartest of the bunch and very sweet and cuddly. She was always very easy-going when I was fostering cats and never gave me any trouble. When new people come over, she is always the first to greet them and make friends. She will always give YOU a head rub and seems to actually listen when you talk to her.

Tanger (Orange) My middle guy, who must be about 7 (or maybe 8?) now. When saying his name, think about a 'Tanger'ine.....yes he is the orange one! He was a foster cat that I got when he was just a tiny, sick little guy. He was found with his 7 brothers in a bag that someone had thrown away. They all had ear mites, and other conditions that required them to have lots of medications. I agreed to foster whichever kitten from the group needed a home and ended up with him, the runt of the litter. I decided to keep him since he was too adorable, and he has made himself a happy home. I sometimes think that his traumatic kitten-hood has led to his strange behaviours. He loves metal and will go out of his way to chew on necklaces, earring, zippers etc. He has a fondness for over-grooming and as a result, looks a bit like a scruffy alley-cat at times (we are working to stop this). His other quirkiest like, is ear wax. He MUST chew on used Q-tips and if you don't let him, he hunts through the garbage to find them. He always finds a comfy spot and will burrow under the covers to make himself a nest.

My old roommate moved out and took her cat with her 2 years ago. This was pretty upsetting to Tanger since she was his best buddy and playmate. He moped around and was quite despondent for a while. So I decided to get him a new friend to bond with, which brings us to........

Stella (Black & White) Oh little Stella....she is a year and a half now and still full of that kitten energy! Playing in the bathtub in the middle of the night, climbing onto bookshelves and knocking paintings off the wall, instigating chase games up and down the halls at full galloping speed (and full volume!). She was a stray rescued by Toronto Cat Rescue, along with her brother and sister. I wanted to get a younger, fixed, female who was not shy to become friends with Tanger. You never know with cats if they will get along, but the plan worked perfectly. Stella and Tanger are best friends and often snuggle together, play and groom each other. She brings out the kitten in him, which helps since he is a little too fond of food! Her cutest quality, is playing fetch. She loves her purple hippo toy (from my sister!) and will fetch it when thrown from my bed into the hall. She is always so proud when she retrieves it and loves to hear that she is a 'good girl'. (check out the video below!)



We also have another Stella...the dog. As if we ended up with two pets with the same name! Stella-D is a 12 year old chihuahua. She was a puppy mill dog that T rescued a few years ago. She is just so full of love and wants to be cuddled. I didn't think I would like a small dog since I associate them with being 'yappy'. But she is so well-behaved and hardly ever barks. And since she sleeps pretty much all day, you hardly even know she is there! The cats and dog get along pretty well...except when Cat-Stella wants to play and bites Stella-D's ear. They can even all sleep on one bed together and no fighting! This is a photo of her ready to go in mom's purse.

So this is our zoo, quirky habits and all. They all eat natural food, Natural Choice for the dog and Wellness for the kitties. I have researched cats and veganism and decided it was not in their best interest. Wellness foods seem to be one of the best options out there with high quality ingredients and less by-products or questionable additives. I use a corn husk based litter so they won't breathe in clay-dust fumes. I even toyed with the idea of toilet training them after reading someone else's blog, but have put that idea on hold for the time being. I know some people have issues with being vegan and living with pets. But I see it as providing a healthy, happy home for my little ones, where they are safe and loved.

Lunch & dinner guests!

So here we go, first blog! I have been thinking about what I wanted my blog to be about and it seems my name says it all. Vegan lifestyle, traveling, traveling and still surviving as a vegan....all of the above.

First of all, a little about myself. Just call me M. Living here in Ontario, Canada, but I have done a wee bit of traveling in my lifetime. I have been vegan for 11 years and vegetarian for 9 years before that. 3 wonderful, entertaining (lively!) cats live with me and one part-time dog.

I try to eat healthy and succeed most of the time....but I do love desserts as well! This weekend I actually managed to get to the local farmer's market before work and ended up getting an odd combination of things as I hurried through. A bag full of kale and chard, sweet potatoes (the seller was very enthusiastic!), raw cocoa powder, a $6 bag of multi-coloured carrots, and some type of raw cracker/mini pizza crust. I also had a quick bike ride to the veggie store to get a regular load of broccoli, mushrooms, peppers, fruit etc. I had to be prepared for 2 meals on Sunday; a visit from my fave 5 year old boy and his mom, and also a nice date-night dinner with J.

The 5 year old always loved my stir-fry with coconut peanut sauce, so that was a no brainer to whip up. Rice vermicelli noodles, tofu cooked in tamari and sesame oil, and a heap of veggies. The sauce is so easy, an adaptation from a Sarah Kramer recipe years ago. I think I didn't have all the ingerdients at the time, so I made a more basic one, and it has stayed. Coconut milk, peanut butter, tamari, chili powder and rice vinegar, all to taste.
And I made a healthy trick dessert of a chocolatey-banana smoothie. If it tastes good, kids will like it! Almond milk, a little leftover coconut milk from the peanut sauce got thrown in too. Some raw almond butter, cocoa powder, raw hemp protein powder, a tiny bit of raw agave....and of course frozen bananas. Freezing the bananas makes the smoothie so thick and creamy! I think the novelty of blending things is also fun for kids so I had lots of help making this.

Date night dinner was a bit more hectic...I had no clear idea what I was making until things just came together. Starting off with sweet potatoe fries...that never got very crispy :( I brushed them with olive oil and seasoned with cumin, chili, coriander etc. They were still very tasty, but just a bit limp. Steamed kale/chard topped with mushrooms and Bragg's. Then, the big challenge: I had chinese eggplant that I was determined to use. So I breaded them with spelt flour and spices, then fried them with coconut oil. I forgot how much oil they can soak up! So not the healthiest way to cook them....oh well. I topped the crispy slices with a tomatoe sauce that turned out really well considering it was a last minute throw together. All in all, a strange combination but everything tasted great! And J liked it all, but then that's never been a problem! I think J just is happy when I make dinner!


Since J is trying to cut out processed sugar, I managed to refrain from making dessert...this time. But I am getting the urge to bake soon! Plus I should really do some holiday baking in the near future to use as gifts. I also have a request for some vegan ice cream sandwiches for an upcoming birthday party. So ends my first post and I will have some travel/vegan related posts coming up soon!