If you had told me a few years ago that I would be blogging about food, that I would be interested–really, really interested–in trying new recipes and that kitchen gadgets (hello Vitamix!) would be on my “wish list” I would have laughed. For years I was a pretty lazy vegetarian — frozen pizzas, lacklustre sandwiches, cereal. Whatever. As long as it wasn’t made of animal flesh I was ok with it.
Being vegan has brought many changes to my life – all of them positive. This weekend I was thinking a lot about how I’ve begun to pay more attention to what I eat, both from a nutritional and ethical point of view, but also from a taste point of view. I’ve been thinking more about flavours, textures and how different dishes go with one another.
We cooked up a storm this weekend. First up: White Bean and Kale Soup and Biscuits. Then Carrot Raisin Muffins from my all-time favourite vegan cookbook, Vegan With a Vengeance.
We took a trip to the market on Saturday to stock up on greens and goodies. (veggies for us and for Jill the rabbit!) While we were there we stopped at Rise Above Bakery’s booth and got some fabulous chocolate croissants – yes, they were vegan! Oh. My. Goodness. So delicious! Then we stopped at the Truly Organic Foods booth and had a great chat with Lee-Ann. We bought some Salad Booster and some Coconut Oil from her. Both sounded amazing, but while I was pretty confident that I knew what to do with the Salad Booster (“sprinkle on top of salad”), I was less certain about what to do with Coconut Oil. Turns out there is a whole world of Coconut Oil goodness just waiting to be created! Marlie sent me a recipe for a Granola made with coconut oil so I had to make that today. The whole house smelled like toasted coconut goodness.
For dinner tonight I finally got to try a recipe I’ve been dying to try for ages, Tomato Basil Cream Pasta from Vegan Yum Yum. Wow. Just wow. (please note, I’m complimenting the recipe, not my cooking :)). This will be a go-to favourite from here on in. I’m still always amazed at the versatility of nuts. (I’m also discovering, much to my delight, that businesses like Truly Organic Foods sell raw nuts that have very likely not come into contact with peanuts. I know that it is pretty difficult to guarantee this, but by virtue of how these raw nuts are acquired, packaged and sold the risk for someone with a severe peanut allergy is pretty minimal. This makes me very, very happy.)
We also were invited to a fabulous vegan brunch on Sunday morning. (thanks Crista & Dylan!) What better way to enjoy good vegan food than to share it with friends?! I’m seriously thinking we should start a vegan brunch club, moving the feast from house to house each month. Anyone with me?
