Vegan Miscellanies

Cycling: Money, Fitness, and the Environment

Since I bought my little Echo in 2006 to get to work during the winter months, I've thought and talked about cycling to work at least during the warm months. I went on cycling and hiking trips during my spring vacations this year and last and cycled a fair bit on weekends. And for the past month or so, I took my bike with me to work on the back of the car so I could cycle during my lunch hour. But it wasn't until today that I began to cycle to and from work again.

It's a little embarrassing, and I suppose I could brag about what I'm doing rather than admitting why I'm starting it just now, that money and fitness ultimately trumped environmental concern in motivating me to leave the car at home and cycle to work instead. But, embarrassing as it is, it serves to illustrate an important point: money talks. Indeed, money can be a powerful tool in the activist's toolbox.

Just last week I had to dish out the money to secure our new place in Hamilton, an expense largely unplanned for, at least the timing of it, and this right after returning from vacation. And fuel prices are now higher than I've ever seen them, reaching as much as $1.25/litre. Add to this the fact that, since teacher's college and my short teaching stint, I had gained a fair bit of weight, a trend not at all eased by my current cubicled management position. These two factors combined, as indicated already, served to push me over the edge from thinking about leaving the car at home to actually doing it.

How does all this relate to veganism? Easy. Through our purchasing choices, at the grocery store and the restaurant, we harness the power of money. It might be said that the real activism is in the exercise of choice, but I think my point stands that money is the tool we use in the exercise of choice. By chosing to purchase one thing and not another, we ultimately influence the choices the shopkeeper and restaurateur must make to stay profitable, as also the manufacturer, and thus effect change, however slowly.

Now, bringing this discussion back to me and my cycling to work instead of driving to work with bicycle in tow, I must say that I feel good, aching musles and all, about the decision. And my partner and I have already begun planning, little by little and as money allows, ways to decrease our reliance on the automobile (I must say that works better in larger cities) and increase our use of human power. Any suggestions, tips, tricks, leads, and so on, will be much appreciated, as many items such as bicycle cargo trailers, bike panniers, and cycling clothes, are rather expensive.

Review: Gravity Coffee House, Minden, Ontario

On our vacation, as short as it was, and while in Minden, Ontario at our little rented cottage, we discovered Gravity Coffee House. There was only one restaurant in town, as far as we could tell, aside from this coffee house that had veg*n options. It was a Thai restaurant located on the same street as our little cottage. Unfortunately, it was closed, the proprietors having gone back to Thailand for an extended visit.

So we were lucky to find the coffee house. It attracted us immediately for two reasons: firstly, it advertised a good selection of loose leaf teas, a matter close to Jihan's heart and a subject about which she knows a fair bit, and secondly, it listed vegetarian soups right on the board adjacent to its name.

Gravity Coffee House, utilizing the bottom floor of a good-sized house, is owned and operated by Gerald W. Wills and his daughter, Lila Sweet. It has a bright and tastefully decorated interior, seating perhaps twenty patrons comfortably, with a good-sized patio (closed during our visit because of the cool weather). The paintings on the wall are, if memory serves me, for sale by the artist.

Inside the coffee house, perhaps more aptly named a tea house, there was indeed a good selection of well-labeled loose leaf teas. These were situated on the wall, in glass jars, across from the sales counter so patrons can stop to read the labels, open the jars to take a closer look at and smell the teas, before deciding on a purchase. Unfortunately, tea was served in a tea pot or press pot, rather than a gai wan. Although these are fine for certain herbals and black teas, for more delicate greens and whites, they are not ideal. Precise timing for optimum steeping, keeping track of the proper temperature of the water, and doing multiple steepings become more difficult in regular tea pots and press pots.

But Lila, sitting down with us for a friendly chat, was happy to listen to Jihan discuss the use of the gai wan; the varieties of teas and tea plants and their origins; harvesting and preparation methods; different grades of tea; and optimum steeping times, depending upon the type of tea being prepared. We even brought in a gai wan of our own, and Lila was happy to sit through a short tea demonstration.

And while this establishment is not by any means a vegetarian or vegan eatery, they did have some good vegan salads, a vegetarian soup, and a vegetarian sandwich. Once again, after informing her that we were vegan, she was happy to make modifications. The soup, she informed us, had butter at its base. But the salads, and a wonderful grilled sandwich called the Roasty, she was happy to modify to ensure they were entirely vegan. And I did find some nice, organic, dark chocolate cookies, not unlike oreos, that were entirely vegan.

The friendliness, personal touch and willingness to learn from patrons and to adapt menu items accordingly were admirable. If you do to the Haliburton region, or are on your way to Algonquin Park, I recommend Gravity Coffee House as a stop. If more vegans stop by, there may well appear more distinctly vegan offerings.

Gracity Coffee House is located at the corner of Main and Newcastle Streets in downtown Minden, Ontario. You can call them at (705) 286-4002. Gravity Coffee House also has a seasonal, much smaller location, on Wards Island (part of the Toronto Islands).

Vacation, Grilled Food, and a Place in the Hammer

I only get a couple of vacation weeks a year, so I took my first week off the last week of April. Jihan managed to get the same week off, and we had both business and pleasure to take care of during that week. We did the pleasure part first, going up to a small rented cottage in Minden, Ontario, with our bikes on the back of the car. Friday and the weekend we used to look for a new place in Hamilton, our old hometown.

Though vacation week, after a sunny, summery week, turned out to be fairly cool, we did manage to get a little cycling and hiking done.

A lot of people neither like to engage in physical activities like cycling and hiking during their vacations, nor spend much time cooking for themselves. For them vacations are about complete relaxation. We like to be active in nature and get creative with our cooking.

Because of the somewhat cool and wet weather, and the barbecue's unsheltered location, we decided to use our electric CuisinArt griddle and grill for coconut milk pancakes (like the coconut milk crepes, only a little thicker) in the morning and wonderful grilled creations in the evening.

One evening I grilled up some veggie burgers, giant mushrooms (size and shape like portobello, but white), and sliced zucchini. I put the grilled veggie burgers and barbecue-slathered giant mushrooms inside rosemary ciabatta buns (grilled lightly after putting on vegan mayonnaise), together with mustard, slices of vegan jalapeno cheese, organic kosher-dill pickles, onion, and fresh tomato. On the side we had the grilled zucchini and a simple baby spinach and red bell pepper salad. Jihan made the salad and the dressing that went with it.

Another evening I grilled sweet corn on the cob, more veggie burgers, and barbecued veggie kebabs made of  king oyster mushroom, onion, zucchini and red bell pepper slices. I drizzled extra virgin olive oil over the kebabs as they grilled, before basting them with barbecue sauce. On the corn on the cob we simply put a little unsalted margarine and sea salt.

Also in Minden, we discovered a cafe that, while neither entirely vegetarian nor vegan, was owned and operated by a young woman and her father who were very open and willing to veganise dishes. I'll write about the Gravity House Cafe Coffee House separately.

After we returned from the cottage we spent a couple of days in Hamilton to look for a new place. The hammer, as it's sometimes called, is our old hometown, and it happens to be halfway between where I work and where Jihan will study in the coming year. I'm sure the new place in Hamilton will be referenced on this blog in the coming months, as will the city itself.

We're Back from our Short Vacation :>(

We are back from our short vacation. We rented a small cottage only slightly up north in Minden, Ontario, a small town near Algonquin Park.

Jihan has just posted one of our delicious Lebanese staples, red lentil soup. It is delicious and one of her comfort foods. And I have some yummy grilled foods to share with you that we cooked up at the cottage. Since vacation is, sadly, at an end now and I must get to bed, I shall write about the grilled foods tomorrow soon.

Just to get you warmed up (don't drool on your keyboards), here's a picture of the grill before one evening's feast.

Wait for it...

Lebanese Red Lentil Soup

Okay, folks, I finally have a moment to write up the Lebanese red lentil soup post.  I'm sorry I haven't done it earlier -- I type a lot slower than Abram, and have been on vacation until this weekend.  Here's the recipe for one of my few much-cherished comfort foods:

Lebanese Red Lentil Soup

• 1 lb dry red lentils (sorted and washed)
• 10-12 cups water (depending on how thick you want the soup to be)
• salt to taste (I generally use sea salt)
• 3-5 tbsp sunflower or other veg cooking oil (I find that sunflower oil has a relatively neutral taste)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 tsp whole cumin seeds
• 1/2 bunch of fresh Italian parlsey, finely chopped

1. Place lentils in a large pot with water and bring to near boil on high heat. 
2. At near boiling point, bring the heat down to medium and make sure you scoop all of the foam or "scum" off the top.  When the heat is brought down to medium, cook the lentils for about 30 minutes, or until the lentils turn a pale yellow and are fairly soft. 
3. Meanwhile, in a frying pan, heat the sunflower oil and saute the onion and cumin seeds until the onion is translucent. 
4. Add the sauteed onion and cumin seeds to the lentil pot along with salt (I generally put in a small palmful) and parsley and cook for an additional 10 minutes. 
5. Remove from heat and serve in bowls with some fresh-squeezed lemon juice.  Enjoy!

Tomato and Chinese Eggplant Stew over Rice

Jihan made this wonderfully simple, yet bold and delicious tomato and Chinese eggplant stew. Actually, she made two wonderful dishes yesterday, this stew and Lebanese red lentil soup. That'll be in a separate post.

Here's how simple it is:

• 3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3-5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1-2 red Thai finger chillies, chopped
• 1 Chinese eggplant, diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 28oz can tomatoes, with juice, diced (we used President's Choice Organics)
• 2-3 sprigs of fresh basil (tear off whole leaves, rather than chopping the basil)
• salt to taste

1. In a pan or medium pot, saute garlic, onion, chillies, Chinese eggplant, and bay leaves in extra virgin olive oil on medium-high heat until onions are translucent.
2. Add diced tomatoes, with juice, and bring to boil.
3. Add fresh basil and salt and cook on medium heat until eggplant is tender.

Serve over a bed of rice (we used brown basmati rice). Delicious!

Serves 2 if used in a single course meal, or up to 4 if served alongside appetizers or another course. As usual, we simply pigged out and ate the whole thing in one sitting.

Review: Guelph's Caribbean Cuisine

Jihan and I stopped by Guelph's Caribbean Cuisine today to have some vegetarian roti. For those familiar with Guelph, Ontario, it occupies the space previously used by the Salsateria. The latter did not shut down altogether, but rather opened a much larger restaurant/night club under the same name a block or two away.

Guelph's Caribbean Cuisine is a small, unassuming place with a brightly painted interior, large sidewalk-facing windows, and very limited bar-style seating along the sides and front (no individual tables). When discovering a new restaurant or cafe, especially if I intend to write about it, I pay close attention to the atmosphere of the place. I look around -- at the kitchen (as much as I can see), the dining area, the staff, the clientèle, the decor, etc. And I listen.

One striking thing I noticed as I ate (and listened) was that there was no music piped into the dining area. The only sounds filling that space were the whir of refrigerators, the sounds of cooking, and of people eating and chatting. I like that. As much as music can set the mood at a party or small social gathering, it can also be an unwelcome imposition in a public space.

I know, on to the food...

While this is by no means a vegetarian or vegan establishment, there are some delicious vegetarian items. We ordered a vegetarian roti each. The last time we had roti, we were at the Caribbean Roti Palace at 744 Bathurst Street in Toronto. They had set the standard for us. The roti we each ordered had mango curry (a new ingredient for us -- this place has more filling options), chickpea and potato filling.

The taste did not disappoint. The chickpea and potato tasted familiar, while the mango curry added a hint of sweetness.  The roti wasn't too dry either, as some can be. Very delicious! Go check them out when in Guelph if you like roti. They are located at 45 Cork St, right downtown.

Spicy Sweet Sprouted Black Beans

I had sprouted black beans that needed to be used up, and a small amount of sprouted chickpeas. There weren't enough of either to make a meal for two, so I decided to add the chickpeas into a dish that normally doesn't, and probably shouldn't, have them.

I wanted a dish with ample spice, but also a hint of sweetness. Maple baked beans came to mind. Unfortunately, I put a little too much maple syrup in and made them a bit too sweet. Note to self: stick to the black beans (or white) for this dish, and cut down on the maple syrup, but definitely keep the spice, mushroom, and red bell pepper.

So, while good, this dish wasn't quite as good as the picture would have you believe. The recipe below includes the adjustments I think necessary to make it a truly delicious dish. Just think of this as a beta version. Test, tinker, and improve.

Here you go:

• 1 1/2 cups sprouted black (or white) beans
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• 2 portabellini, diced
• 1 or 2 red Thai finger chillies
• 3 oz. tomato paste
• 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• salt and black pepper, to taste

1. If not already cooked, put sprouted black beans in 4 cups water with 1 clove garlic and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 14 minutes.
2. In a heavy cast iron wok or pot, saute onion, mushrooms, hot peppers, and red bell pepper on medium-high heat for a few minutes.
3. Once onions are translucent and peppers begin to soften, move these to one side and add drained beans on other side.
4. After a minute or two, mix well and keep on high heat while preparing sauce.
5. In small bowl, mix tomato paste, maple syrup, soy sauce and water.
6. Add sauce to pot, reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring now and again.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.
8. Serve with pita or other fresh bread and a slice or two of orange.

Enjoy!

Lebanese Okra and Tomato Stew

While it is preferable to use fresh okra and tomatoes for this dish, canned okra and diced tomatoes will work well when short on time or energy.

This is a delicious, hearty, gut-healthy dish, loaded with vitamins A, Thiamin, B6, C, folic acid, riboflavin, calcium, zinc and dietary fiber. And both the mucilage (the slimy stuff around the seeds) and the fibre contained in the pod are excellent for gastrointestinal health.

But enough about the health benefits. Let's talk taste! This is a very simple dish, but is just bursting with flavour. As with many Lebanese dishes, it is the holy trinity of olive oil, garlic and lemon that flavour this dish. The texture, however, is all in the okra.

Here we go:

• 3-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (some use up to 1/2 cup)
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 28 oz. can okra (or equivalent of fresh okra)
• 28 oz. can diced tomatoes (or equivalent fresh, ripe tomatoes)
• 5 small white onions, chopped (generally included, but we opted for no onion and lots of garlic)
• up to 1 1/2 cups fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped (we were out, unfortunately)
  
• 3-4 tbsp lemon juice
• sea salt to taste (if using canned okra and tomato, skip salt)

1. Saute minced garlic in olive oil for a minute or two (don't allow too much browning).
2. Add onion, if using.
3. Add okra and bring to boil.
4. Add diced tomatoes and bring to boil.
5. Simmer for a few minutes, or until okra is tender.
6. Add salt and cilantro.

Serve over brown basmati or other long-grain rice. Enjoy!

Apple and Potato Soup a la Normande

This is another veganization of a Normandy dish. It can be eaten hot or cold. Though it may look a bit like a breakfast cereal, this is a wonderfully delicate soup with just a hint of sweetness borrowed from the apples, sherry and coconut cream.

In Normandy, so I've read, this soup (that is the dairy-laden version called La Pommeraie Glacee) is often served as a first course to an autumn meal of roast duck or chicken with roasted root vegetables. Vegans wishing to use it similarly could have it before a hearty meal of Tofurkey Roast, roast seitan, or baked tofu and roasted root vegetables.

It is hearty enough, however, to have it on its own as a main course. That's how we had it. And the recipe makes so much that there will most certainly be leftovers to try chilled.

Here we go:

• 4 tbsp non-hydrogenated margarine
• 2 leeks, cleaned and sliced (mostly the white part)
• 4 apples, chopped, not peeled (I used Red Delicious, though apparently tart green ones  like Granny Smith are ideal)
• 6 cups stock (3 cups water, 3 cups soy milk, 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tsp marmite)
• 3 cups small yellow potatoes
• 1 cup heavy coconut cream (I used a package of creamed coconut)
• 2 teaspoons cream sherry or, more traditionally, Calvados
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Sautee sliced leeks in margarine for 3-4 minutes on medium heat, covered.
2. Toss in sliced apples and cook, uncovered, for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally so apples are well coated with margarine.
3. Pour in the stock, add potatoes, and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
4. When apples and potatoes are soft, puree in blender, then return to pot and stir in coconut cream, sherry, and cinnamon.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Garnish with apple slices sauteed in margarine for 5 minutes and then drained on paper towels.

Enjoy!