Mad About Udon

Good news–I got my degree on the mail (having skipped convocation). So I officially have my Bachelor of Science in Biopharmaceutical Sciences (concentration Medicinal Chemistry). Whoo whoo!!

*crushes beer can on head*

Okay, so onto the food, I have so much to post. I’ve been re-making a couple recipes just for convenience. The other day I made falafels again from The Garden of Vegan. Let me tell you, that book is on fire! No seriously, it’s on fire, I turned the wrong element on (like I do every time!!) and it caught fire. Now my book is charred but my favourite recipes are intact so it’s all good.

Other foodz:

Banana Bread. I’ve made this before but with vanilla icing. Chocolate is equally good.

Grilled melons and pineapple with So Good soy vanilla ice cream

Not-yet-barbecued kebabs. I used PC Blue Menu Marinated Tofu and red and yellow peppers drizzed with oil and sprinkled with various herbs. Loblaws has been out of zucchini for like, a week (!!), and so peppers were the only vegetable I could come up with. Unfortunately, the BBQ was out of propane so I just baked these instead (didn’t get a picture, oops)… we’ll try again with the BBQ next week I think.

Another batch of Thai red curry, this time with little grilled tofu squares and served over brown rice vermicelli (upper left).

My friend “T” and I were wandering around the city last weekend, on a sweltering summer’s day, looking for a place to eat. We ended up at Sushi Go, right in the Byward Market. The prices were decent (also since I make sushi at home, no price for take-out sushi is every really satisfactory) and the sushi was excellent. We were, however, a little disturbed at the “Doors-Wide-Open-and-Air-Conditioner-Blaring” policy that Sushi Go and every other restaurant/cafe/business in the Market seemed to operate. Is it even remotely ethical or responsible—in this current age of environmental concern and reform—to engage in such a business practice?

TGIF!

-Maureen

This post has been brought to you by Jake, my catsitting charge last week, seen here crunching data and compressing files.

Last week I had the pleasure of eating at Cafe Soup’Herbe in Old Wakefield, Quebec with two friends, another vegetarian and a veggie-happy omnivore. C’était superbe!! It’s a vegetarian cafe but the vegan options were marked on the menu. The cafe itself was rustic and comfortable, nestled at the foothills of Gatineau Park. I was rather surprised to find such a veggie gem in a small cluster of town and stores, in Quebec no less (the Quebecois love their meat). Soup’Herbe is only a 15 minute drive from Ottawa, and could easily be accessed before or after a hike in the Gatineau Hills.

I ordered the Soup’Herbe salad, which was amazing! If I said that this salad was colossal, it would be a reckless understatement. It was also so beautifully arranged that I almost felt bad about eating it. It contained everything–alfalfa sprouts, green and purple lettuce (I’m bad at diagnosing lettuce types), carrots, cucumbers, red onions, tomatoes, croutons…and probably other stuff I can’t remember. It was served in a tasty vinaigrette dressing.

I’ll definitely go back to Cafe Soup’Herbe anytime!

For lunches this week I made a pasta salad using organic multicoloured rotini, low-fat lemon poppyseed dressing, and all the veggies in my fridge that I thought were going to go bad (orange and yellow peppers, cucumbers, bean sprouts). Unfortunately, I made one mistake…. upon the discovery that I didn’t have any tofu left (grilled or pan-fried tofu makes great “croutons”) I subbed with textured vegetable protein (TVP) slices. Yuck. They were limp and watery and cold. Other than that, this salad was decent but I wouldn’t made it again without tofu.

I usually perk up a tepid salad by adding crunchy red onions sauteed in balsamic vinegar (don’t overcook!). The red onions absorb the perfect amount of vinegar so as to explode with deliciousness when they are bit into.

I hope everyone has lovely weekend plans ahead…the weather looks great for Ottawa so I’m going to head out on a 33-km rollerblade mission as soon as I post this. It’s supposed to be *really* hot today… it’s already 35 with the humidex at it’s only 9:30 am! Luckily my route takes me near a beach and I’ll be sure to Slip, Slop, and Slap, and also carry a water bottle even though it’s annoying. Have a great weekend everyone!

-Maureen

I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather this weekend. I spent the last two days rollerblading, jogging, hiking, and of course, cooking! It needs to stay 22 degrees (Celcius) forever. Unfortunately, in Ottawa we have 8 months of bitter, frigid cold, 2 months of scorching heat, and 2 or 3 weeks of random (but sometimes pleasantly moderate) weather in between seasons.

On Friday night I went out for drinks and dinner with my friend Mike at the Auld Dubliner in the Byward Market. It was almost warm enough to sit on the patio, but ultimately, no dice. Anyway I had lots of fun and was very impressed by their menu as I had a number of options. I ultimately had a grilled veggie wrap with veggies and spiced wild rice. It was nothing I couldn`t make at home, but very satisfying for pub food: and for only $10!! And we each had a couple beers of course.

Either Thursday or Friday night I was desperate for some vanilla chai tea, but alas, my new apartment does not have a loose-leaf tea strainer. In despair, I improved with a length of cheesecloth:

Looks like a giant fluffy moth eh? The tea was weak but it worked!

Happy Memorial day to all our southern friends in the States! Enjoy your long weekend.

-Maureen

I smothered chopped red and yellow peppers in herbs and canola oil and roasted the pieces for about 15 minutes. I added the roasted peppers, and some chopped cherry tomatoes, to Vegetable Giardino pasta sauce from La Bottega Nicastro, and simmered the mix for 15 minutes. I poured it over fresh gniocchi, which is so easy to cook that I won’t describe it. Served with another batch of bruschetta (which didn’t turn out so well because I couldn’t find any f*cking basil in this whole city and so subbed with oregano).

Because it was a special dinner I also picked up some vegan cakes from Perfection Satisfaction Promise, right on the outskirts of the University of Ottawa campus.

Clockwise from carrot: carrot cake, lemon poppyseed cake, chocolate cake, peanutbutter-chocolate cheeseake. Very pri$ey but well worth the investment! We ended up nibbling on these over a couple days.

-Maureen

On Victoria Day Monday, Alison and I had the pleasure of eating lunch at the Granola Girl Cafe Project. Due to the length of Part I, I’ll cut to the chase: the food and ambiance were divine! I had the Olive “Cheese” Sandwich, served with in-house ketchup. Since my primary criteria for defining a food item as “edible” or “tasty” is the degree to which it is smothered in ketchup, this sandwich got a thumbs up! The homemade bread literally melted in my mouth, which is a quality I never knew bread could possess!

I also indulged in a vegan chocolate bar–Butterfyngers to be precise. It’s been so long since I’ve had a chocolate bar. YUM!

And finally, I bought some PB & J granola to take home, and ate it with some warm almond milk (thanks for the suggestion, Sara!). It was also supremely satisfying.

Spread the word! Granola girl rocks!

-Maureen (Photos by Aly)

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Sara Banks, who along with Lawrence Playford-Beaudet, is taking on the task of feeding Ottawa’s vegan population with style, accommodation and artistry at The Granola Girl Cafe Project, a fund-raising initiative for the eventual establishment of a restaurant. Although Ottawa has a handful of vegan-friendly restaurants , it has had a definite lack of 100% vegan eateries, aside from The Garden Spot located on campus at Carleton U, until now, that is! The newly established Granola Girl Cafe Project, located on 4 - 226 Gladstone Ave just off of Elgin St, offers a delightful and very reasonably priced 100% vegan menu of beautifully crafted granolas, lunch items, desserts and drinks.

The Granola Girl Cafe Project has provided local vegans with the opportunity and convenience to indulge themselves on sinfully delicious homemade desserts, candy bars, vegan cheeses and many other items not available elsewhere. Granola Girl Sara has had a great deal of experience creating vegan culinary concoctions in a wide variety of settings, beginning with her time preparing food for an Oberlin College vegetarian and vegan-food collective in 2004 where she learned to prepare vegan meals in order to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Since then, she has honed the art of preparing beautiful and exciting vegan dishes appealing to both the taste buds and one’s aesthetics. Sara had been providing the local vegan community with a custom-made granola service as well as monthly dinner parties which became implausible due to her growing clientele and format of the events. Upon meeting her fellow granola girl at a soy milk workshop which Lawrence was teaching, the Granola Girl Cafe Project was born. The project has allowed the granola girls to begin raising money for their plan to fill downtown Ottawa’ void of vegan restaurants and offer their delightful fare to the vegan community at unreasonably reasonable prices.

The menu at the Granola Girl Cafe Project offers a diverse choice of brunch, lunch, and dessert type foods along with drinks. Unlike many restaurants in the area, the granola girls are very willing to accommodate their customers’ needs and dietary restrictions; if contacted ahead of time they will do their best to meet your needs! Sara has had past experience catering for clients with gluten and soy intolerances. Although accommodation may be difficult for those of us with severe nut allergies due the complications associated with nut traces, the granola girls are willing to try and meet those needs and are hoping to move towards a more allergy-safe environment as their business grows. The brunch items include Sara’s fantastic granolas, such as her famous PB&J granola, in combination with their in-house almond milk or soy yogurt. (Granolas may also be ordered in bulk.) Although the lunch items vary from week to week, they generally include a vegan grilled cheese featuring one of Sara’s homemade gourmet vegan cheeses. Sara’s desserts are guaranteed to satisfy sweet tooth; her pies, “cheese” cakes and candy bars fill the void left by the lack of pre-made vegan sweets. Her vegan candy bars, like the “butterfynger” and “twixx” are a popular stable of the Granola Girl Cafe Project. Weekly menus can be seen on the Granola Girl Cafe Project website. The word on the street is that the Chilled Yogurt Cucumber Soup will be FREAKING AWESOME.

The Granola Girl Cafe Project is open Sunday’s and Monday’s from 11 am to 3 pm. It will not be open on May 25^th and 26^th, so tomorrow and Monday will be your last chance to check it until Father’s day. Maureen and I are planning to go on Monday for Part II of the Granola Girl Cafe Project restaurant review; hope to see you there :)!

- Aly

Aly mentioned The Table in her last post so I thought it would be good timing to plug this awesome place!

The Table is a pay-by-weight vegetarian restaurant that promotes healthy, fresh, organic eating. It’s located in Ottawa at 1230 Wellington St near Holland Ave. Most of the food is vegan (they maintain scrupulously precise labels) and offer plentiful gluten-free and macrobiotic options.

I went there with a friend for my birthday last month and here’s what my plate looked like:

Clockwise from carrots: Steamed carrots + kale, curry, a grainy thing (sorry, this was a month ago), red quinoa with beans, tempeh squares (yum!), a chickpea-tofu patty in mango chutney, and “zesty bulghur”.

Other vegetarian restaurants in Ottawa that I like include Perfection Satisfaction Promise (right on the U of O campus), Govinda’s, and the Green Door.

So if you ever lose your mind and decide to move to Ottawa or, you know, are just visiting, be sure to check these places out!

-Maureen

I have not posted in the last week as it seems like I have been exclusively eating salad following a demotion from girlfriend to friend. Here are a few products of my salad fixation:

#1: Lentil Salad

Ingredients: shredded lettuce, grated carrot, cubed tomato, chopped green and white onion, chopped yellow pepper, green lentils, capers, sesame seeds, and a white wine vinaigrette. This salad was inspired by the (best Ethiopian restaurant in Ottawa) East African Restaurant’s awesome Azifa.

#2: Quinoa & Tofu Salad

Ingredients: shredded lettuce, quinoa, corn, baked tofu, grated carrot, finely sliced white onion, capers, sauerkraut and red wine vinaigrette.

#3: Cold Noodle & Spinach Salad

Ingredients: rainbow vegetable spiral noodles, baked tofu, grated parsnip, baby spinach, coarsely chopped onion, chopped yellow pepper, minced garlic and white wine vinaigrette.

#4: Fruit Salad

Ingredients: one orange, one banana, frozen raspberries, raisins and cinnamon. (Being allergic to most raw fruits makes spontaneous fruit salads quite the challenge.)

Thankfully my appetite has begun to return as I finally started running! I never really understood how great it was until I was capable of running for longer than 15 minutes. Interested in starting? Check this site and others out for more information and most importantly, just get out there and do it!

- Aly