Vegan Tim Hortons?

This morning we went out and had breakfast on the boat.  The lake weather is still crisp, and we were in our hats and gloves.  Zara refused to sit on the deck because it was so cold, but she enjoyed the smells.  She was intrigued by Canada goose watching, and the male Canada Goose was eyeing her too, as the female sat on her nest in the rocks, nurturing her eggs.  Spring!!!

As good Canadians, we drove through Tim's to get a hot coffee and a "bacon-less" BLT.  It is always a challenge to order VEGAN in a standard drive-thru.  I brought a container of coconut bacon that I made last night, and we added it to our sandwiches when we got to the boat.

While it has been years since I have eaten at any of the big three (McD, BK or KFC), I have been known to order a seven layer burrito, ("no cheese no sour cream no meat") at Taco Bell.  Subway can do a reasonably decent veggie sandwich, although I always find there is WAAAAY too much bread.

Tim's is another matter.  While they attempt to cater to Canadians, still very much of their fare is laden with animal products, and it's really hard for Bill or I to eat lunch there.  Other than a bagel and a black coffee or tea, and the most basic of veggie sandwiches, there's really nothing we can eat.  Vegans are Canadian too!??!!

One of my goals for the summer is going to be to compose letters to Tim Horton's, Boston Pizza and Starbucks to identify the need for them to have vegan options which are easy to order.  I am quite sure they are working on this, and am quite sure they have done many a market study on the idea.  The problem for me is that I have never personally identified this to them.  I want them to know that I am out there deciding NOT to eat at their establishments on occasion because there isn't enough for me to order.

 I hold a firm belief that if something is important to you, you must voice your concern.  If something isn't right & you aren't getting what you need from someone, you have to speak up.  You might not get anywhere right away, but staying silent is the sure fire way to ensure nothing ever changes.

Even for Canadians who aren't vegan, there is a growing, health conscious sector of people who might appreciate the option.  And adding something vegan to the menu might mean more business for them, also.

For Tim's, it could be as simple as adding two kinds of hummus to their wrap menu.

For Boston Pizza, it could be to simply add Daiya cheese to their list of cheese options (along with Feta, Cheddar, Jack, Goat Cheese and Mozzarella) and adding some Gardein Chicken Wings to their wing menu.

For Starbucks, it would be great to get a breakfast wrap with a tofu and Daiya cheddar scramble in one of their wraps.  They already have soy milk on their menu for any kind of coffee, and that is huge progress when one really REALLY wants a Mocha!

I think the trick is to propose menu additions that don't ask too much of the big conglomerates, or force them to change too much.  It is also about persuading them to understand that while they might need to add some inventory, they could open themselves up to more sales if a vegan can eat there.  If a plant based product is cheap (hummus, tofu) they could stand to make some money.  AND where a plant based product is NOT cheap (daiya, gardein) they can charge accordingly.

I'll pay whatever premium you want to charge me if I can "grab a bite" with my friends.  Just put it on the menu!!!


For now, I offer this navigational top five list for vegan eating in traditional establishments.

1.  Read the entire menu.  Meat or cheese can easily be left off the order.

2.  Ask for something to be substituted for the meat or cheese.  "Can you leave off the chicken and substitute extra avocado?".

3.  Watch out for the dressings.  Mayo, Aioli, and Sauce are usually code for "animal".

4.  ASK if they have a veggie burger that can be added into a sandwich, burger or fish dish.  If you like what you see on a menu as it is written (the grilled chipotle lime fish looks delicous!) see if they can switch it up.  I have been known to sub in onion rings or a portobello mushroom in chicken dishes and the result is fantastic.

5.  Most importantly, MAKE ONLY ONE SWITCH.  The trick is to make it easy for the kitchen to switch it up, and make it easy for the server to ring it in.    

Warning : Consumption of Coconut Bacon is highly Addictive

What is the difference between really liking something and being addicted?

How much of personality is involved in addiction?  How much of it is psychological, how much is imbalance, how much is will power?

I read in an article written by a 40 year old recovering alcoholic that she explained her problem to her children by saying "my body has a problem with alcohol, the same way your dad is allergic to melon".  The first time I read this, I thought it was brilliant.

Some people can drink, smoke, gamble, shop and eat all the while keeping their lives balanced in moderation, as part of a healthy life.  Others can't ever engage in these behaviours without falling prey to becoming highly addicted to the next high.

The new book, Salt Sugar Fat : How the Food Giants Hooked Us (by Michael Moss) is one I am dying to read (no pun intended).  It purports to expose all of the deliberate and premeditated ways that food companies have conspired to make people hooked on their products.

I am hooked on reading audiobooks in my car.  My commute and driving time are usually great pockets of learning for me - keeping me informed on subjects I care about (Food Writing), keeping me entertained with fun distractions (I LOVE Sophie Kinsella / Madeleine Wickham books!) and time management (If you've not read David Allen's Getting Things Done, you must!)

Audiobooks, especially with the advent of the ipod, make learning more possible than ever.  I have been in love with audio since law school, and I never tire of this kind of learning.

I have a pretty photographic memory, especially for words, but also for numerical sequences.  So I keep seeing SALT SUGAR FAT whenever I think about my newfound passion for coconut bacon.

Salt - Tamari
Sugar - Sweet
Fat - Coconut

While I appreciate the cruelty-free difference between a vegan version of coconut bacon and the usual, saturated, sad and suffering kind of bacon, it is still VERY ADDICTIVE.

The entire bag of coconut was delicious in our CLTs today, but the few leftovers that are still on the counter have been routinely pillaged by Bill, Harrison and I.  I am quite sure that there will be nothing left by the time someone has won the Master's and is donning the green jacket today.

But even if this product is equally addictive, focusing on the simple math, it is actually more fattening, saltening and sweetening than bacon.  Here's why

BACON BITS - 200 grams
Fat 42.75
Saturated Fat 14.25
Sodium 4856
Calories 712
Sugar 0

COCONUT BACON - One 200 g bag
Fat 65
Saturated Fat 58.5
Sodium 6075
Calories 1126
Sugar 65

Coconut bacon fares worse on every traditional nutritional front.  More saturated fat, more calories, more sodium and more sugar.  But when one considers the environmental impact of pig farming, the massive amount of water needed to "produce" it, the bacteria and subsequent antibiotics necessary, not to mention inhumane practices like gestational crates, thumping and just plain old slaughter, I will take a shredded coconut any day of the week. (Go ahead...f you dare.. google "pig thumping" but be prepared for your bacon addiction to shrivel into oblivion).  I might do a further post on coconut's healthy fats which distinguish it from animal saturated fats, but today's not the day for it.

They say pigs are more emotional and responsive than dogs.  When I look into our beautiful girl's eyes, I sometimes see another world of emotion there.  She can be excited to see us, jumping into the car with sheer exuberance.  She loves a great scratch, howling with pleasure.  She snuggles while watching TV, and dreams of other worlds - paws twitching, with the occasional yelp, howl or woof.  People care for and nurture their dogs, and will agonize about giving them a dignified death - and yet our piglet friends do not get the same respect in life, or in death.  Even as I went to capture this juxtaposition of coconut bacon and our dog, I see she is snuggled in for the afternoon with one of Harrison's shoes for company.

In the end, coconut bacon is the one for me.  And if this is addiction, may I never recover.

So, for those of you who think you can handle it, here is my easy recipe for the most addictive thing I have ever produced in my kitchen.  Please consume at your own risk!

1 bag flaked sweetened coconut
6 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp liquid hickory smoke

Mix everything together until evenly coated.  Spread out on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Take the mixture out of the oven to cool.  As the coconut comes to room temperature, it will crisp and get sticky.

(* Note: I do want to work on a version with shaved raw coconut, so that I can avoid the "icing sugar, sorbitol, propelyne glycol and sulphites in the "sweetened flaked coconut", but Rome wasn't built in a day.)

Coconut Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato!

For many vegans, bacon is the last thing to come off the menu.

It is salty, sweet, crisp & fatty - basically hitting the entire spectrum of what turns on a human taste bud.

While checking out various vegan blogs with my morning coffee (and a mug of miso soup), I came across a number of postings for coconut bacon.

As simple and easy recipes appeal to me always, the fact that this one had four ingredients - all of which are in my home - was a bonus.

Oven to 400, I mixed some sweetened shredded coconut with "some" tamari (a fermented soy sauce) and some liquid smoke.  The recipe called for maple syrup, but since I only had sweetened coconut, I skipped it.

I baked the coconut until it started to sizzle.  Then, I got lost in doing something else and the next time I noticed, some of the coconut had burnt to a crisp!

So I salvaged the centre bits, which were beautifully browned and crisp.  One forkful, and I was SOLD.

This morning, I had my first BLT in years!

When I think of the ways I can add this flavour back into my repertoire, I am so excited.

Fettucini Carbonara!

Caesar Salad!

Club Sandwiches!

This is the best discovery since coconut hollandaise!

Kitchen Sink Curry : Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

One of the great tests of a cook is how to re-purpose leftovers.

Over the years I have coined several phrases to discuss a night like tonight.

 I coined the phrase "Four Corners Pasta" - where I take stuff from the four corners of  my kitchen's life (freezer, fridge, pantry and oil & vinegar section) and make a spectacular dinner.  Since, in my opinion, everything can be made into a pasta dish, this ability to match stuff together (with a maximum of three or four ingredients) can be a real Tuesday-saver.

I also like the phrase "Kitchen Sink Curry" - where every leftover veggie, bean, nut butter and sauce ends up in the curry - with coriander, curry, turmeric, and cumin and always with some minced garlic to bring out the zing.  Served over brown rice, jazzed up with green onion or fresh basil, it's never disappointing.  It is also a great budget extender on those nights when you just don't want to do much.

How about "Bites Buffet"?  Where I put everything in the fridge out on the island, and everyone just dives in for a few bites.  This can also be called "Snack Dinner", where raw veggies, hummus, salad, fruit, nuts, crackers and some cold pizza squares can stand in (literally) for something much more time-consuming.

Yes, in Venice they call it "Ciccheti", and in Spain, it's called "Tapas"....

But at our home - it's one great way to reduce, reuse and recycle delicious food I've already shopped for, purchased and prepared.

Tofurkey Ham Sandwich

I bought some Tofurkey Smoked Slices which were supposed to taste like ham.

When Harrison was much younger, I sent him to school with veggie "meat" sandwiches all the time, and he never knew the difference.  But now that he's older and can't be fooled, I almost never buy it.

He does like sandwiches, so I bought some.  And this morning I was just desperate in the "what's for lunch?" department to make myself one too.

I bit into it expecting it to taste like an imitation.  Like Freixenet pretending to be Veuve Cliquot.

But instead

IT
WAS
GREAT!??!!!

It tasted nice and rich, satisfying and smoky.  I'm thinking that it would make a good BLT, or go nicely on a hawaiian pizza, chopped up with some pineapple.

I have really moved away from the processed foods, but this was something that I would definitely buy again.

Easter Indulgences

The Family Celebration Feast is a tradition hardwired into human DNA.

It is NOT hardwired into Animal DNA.

No animal I know of "celebrates" with a different way of eating on a particular day.  Their eating is seasonal and appropriate to the day and the availability of food.

Enter the "EASTER BUFFET".

Our family got together yesterday to celebrate together at a lovely restaurant with a spectacular brunch buffet.  As I am accustomed to doing, I called ahead to let them know that there would be a vegan among them.  I do this for 3 reasons.

1.  It is more considerate than springing it on them and;
2.  Even though I can eat around a buffet if I have to, even most vegetarian items usually have cheese, butter or milk in them.
3.  I want restaurants to get used to hearing the term "vegan"

Nothing makes me happier than seeing a vegan choice on a regular restaurant menu.  I've seen it at football games, in airports and at food trucks.  And if some manager or restauranteur has put it there, I want to reward them by ordering it.

Yesterday's buffet was massive.  Harrison joked that the only thing I could eat was the curly kale which was garnishing the fruit platter.  I took the suggestion literally, helping myself to eight long stems.

A platter of roasted veggies (sweet potatoes, mushrooms, asparagus & red peppers), over top torn kale garnish, with lemon juice (I stole the half lemon garnish from the smoked salmon platter) with a few garlic crostini and a balsamic vinaigrette was a delicious, massive salad.  The restaurant very kindly prepped an angel hair pasta with tomato sauce, lots of veggies and added some chickpeas (because I mentioned I love them).

Harrison piled his plate high with free-range, antibiotic-free, hormone-free chicken (their menu was nicely specific), but ate only a few bites.  (I kept thinking of Warren Kramer's advice on the cruise "not to push too hard"...)   When asked why, he said "honestly, it doesn't have a lot of flavour".

These celebratory meals probably drive about 2500 calories or more into those who indulge in it.

Yes, I know it's Easter.

Yes, it may be a time to gather and celebrate as a family.

But if "family" is the reason we're celebrating, I want those occasions to go on for as many years as we possibly can and I want everyone to be as healthy and confident and vibrant as they can be.  When I hear talk of medications and procedures and diagnoses, I just want to scream.

I wish I could just go into everyone's house, raid the processed, sugary, saturated and terrified food and just replace it.  For even a week!

Instead I tried not to lecture, ate lots of colours, enjoyed my abundant meal and accepted my family exactly the way they are.

Black Truffle Mushroom Vegan Quiche

Maybe I should start filming the "how" portion of how I make things?

We just finished a savoury, smooth vegan quiche, and a quick French salad.

   

Doesn't this just look like the picture of a thoughtful, well-planned romantic lunch?

OR.....

Maybe it's the combination of a half a package of mushrooms, a half a block of tofu, a half a loaf of hard-as-a-rock baguette and some creative thinking, seasoned with some risk.

Bill is enthralled with a book today, and since we both are not working it is a good chance to catch up.  No- not with each other... with cleaning, laundry, fridge cleaning and cupboard organization for the long weekend.     When that stuff is done, I'll be in the mood for connecting with him.  For me, Mazlow's Pyramid (Shelter, Food and other stuff should include things like clean floors and laundry.  

I am reading Sheryl Sandburg's book "Lean In" which is a masterpiece.  She references a book called "Porn for Women" which contains supposedly contains pages like a man calling to his wife "I did the laundry and put the towels away"... and "...I'll do the dishes".  I laughed out loud at the thought.

But there's something to it.  We all have engagements that take our minds to a higher place.  For some it's reading.  For others, it's gardening - or a walk.  For me, it's organizing.  

An organized kitchen and pantry makes it much more possible to freestyle.  Hence, the elegant lunch.

While there were a cup of sliced mushrooms, some tofu and a baguette calling out to me there was also:

Braggs Liquid Aminos in my pantry - adding amino acids and a salty, meaty flavour to the blended tofu mixture,

Nutritional Yeast Flakes - on the counter, adding a parmesan-like cheesiness to the quiche

Organic Spring Mix - washed, ready to eat in the fridge, for a quick salad.

Raw, shelled sunflower seeds on the counter, in a clear jar - reminding me to sprinkle some on our quick salad.

Avocado Oil - a luscious, luxurious oil craving to be used in its raw form in the most simple of preparations

Lemon White Balsamic Vinegar - a lighter version of the well-known favourite, which won't discolour salads

Gray Sea Salt - crystals of the gods.

and finally...

Black Truffle Paste - Nothing puts a tuxedo on any food faster.  If you're not sure how to use black truffle paste, think of it where you'd use mushrooms or meat.  It is full bodied, rich, extraordinarily decadent.  I used a whole tablespoon in the humble tofu mixture.  Like when Richard Gere takes Julia Roberts to the opera in "Pretty Woman" in that red velvet dress.  Perfect cinema - perfect cuisine.  I had a dress like that once in the eighties - and loved it.

I blended the tofu, truffle paste, 1/4 cup of the nutritional yeast and some sea salt in the Vitamix.  When smooth, I oiled two oval ramekins and poured in the mixture.  I sauteed the mushrooms with some earth balance and black pepper (plus a bit of white truffle salt).  I studded the mushrooms on top of the tofu mix.  Once the mixture was baking in a 350 degree oven, I poured an 1/8th cup of bread crumbs on a plate, added a tablespoon of Earth Balance to it and squished them together.  Splashed a bit of white wine and some earth balance to deglaze the pan, along with a teaspoon of dijon mustard.  Poured the sauce over the quiches.  As they were nearly finished baking, I sprinkled the crumbs on top to finish them off.  

Remember - texture, Texture, TEXTURE!

Tossed the salad with a bit of avocado oil and white balsamic, and mixed with my hands.  I was very proud of plating the salad without salting it.  Instead, I pinched some grey sea salt over top for a salty, crystalline surprise every few leaves.   

After about 25 minutes, the tofu puffed up like a quiche, and I plated it with the salad.  The crumbly, crisp top was the perfect counterbalance to the soft, rich quiche.  The mushrooms were beautifully flavoured, the dijon was a flavour burst and the salad was a fresh, crisp accompaniment.

What a perfect start to a long weekend.