Mad About Udon

I hate waiting for fruits/veggies to ripen! Such is my major frustration with mangoes, avocadoes, bananas, , etc. (Apples & carrots, FTW!!). Three weeks ago I bought a mango to make Mango-Avocado Guacamole and after 2 weeks (seriously!) of waiting for it to ripen, I manically hacked into it with a machete (okay, just a knife). It was still hard as a rock and I forlornly threw it out. Later that day I found 3 mangoes at the grocery store in the “50% off because these are so ripe they are about to go bad” section. Victory against the mangoes! Two went into the guacamole and with one to spare, I made Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Mango from Veganomicon:

It was colourful and nutritious, to be sure, but 3/5 for taste. I couldn’t even detect the mango. This is only my second Veganomicon experiment, the first one being my wildly successful and often-repeated Pumpkin Cake with Pecan Streusel Topping.  I think I’ll probably shelve this recipe and try another one from the book.

Happy Canada Day long weekend everyone!

                 -Maureen

This past weekend I travelled to New England to hike the Presidential Range of mountains in New Hampshire. This was my first trip into the States this hiking season. Usually I go to Adirondacks in New York but something drew me to New Hampshire. I went with 8 other hikers from the Alpine Club of Canada. The drive through Vermont was lovely, tarnished only by the uproarious admission by my car-mates that they had (all!) smuggled fruits and veggies across the border. What. The. Hell.

Hiking burns about 500 cal/hour, and for long stretches on the trail, it’s important to pack lots of food and pack it well. I made a dozen sandwiches consising of baked tofu (marinated in soy & ginger salad dressing), soy cheese, and sweet thai chilli sauce on a bun.

I also packed 12 granola bars (seen above) and 8 apples (which I legitimately purchased in Vermont, unlike my obnoxiously felonious comrades).

Aside from tofu sandwiches, apples, and granola bars, there is a lot that the active vegan can pack for a hike. Unless you’re trying to create a calorie deficit (which is often the case), you may need to pack up to 5,000 calories/day. Packable fruits and veggies include oranges, carrots, peppers, avocados, broccoli, cauliflower, and potatoes. For long hikes, you can dehydrate certain fruits like pineapple, bananas, mangoes, apples, strawberries, and kiwis.

Additionally, Luna Bars, some Clif Bars, and random brands of granola bars are vegan, so check the labels. I find it’s easier to pack a dozen identical sandwiches because it saves money and stress, and packs well, but other ideas include: peanut butter or hummus on a pita, crackers, dry cereal, trail mix (although I personally think that hikers eat waaaay to much trail mix), raisins, wild rice, vegan cookies, fruit leather, or just any type of homemade sandwich using your favourite vegan protein.

Our group dinner the first night was fortuitously vegan—pasta and sauce. I co-ordinated dinner the second night, which was 6 different kinds of store bought curry (all vegetarian, two vegan), brown basmati rice, and naan. Unfortch I forgot to take a pic but here is a salad that another hiker made that night for the group:

The hikes were great—the storms lifted just in time on Saturday morning for us to scale Mt Madison and Mt Adams, and hike along the rocky ridge of Mt Jefferson. On Sunday we hiked a small mountain just to stretch our muscles back into shape. It was very challenging overall (I’m still sore!) but good practice for my Rockies trip in August. The views were incredible.

Happy Hiking!

-Maureen

Empidoids! Mmm dried flies… Just kidding. The only time I consume flies is when I accidentally inhale them (some of the specimens are quite small; I have to mount them under a microscope).

Clockwise from upper left corner: steelcut oats with apple and raisin, red grapes, honey dew melon, cold pasta salad (vegetable confetti pasta, fenugreek sprouts, watercress, sweet yellow pepper, white onion, cucumber and capers), raspberries and blueberries and Yoso blueberry soy yogurt.

The above photo is a somewhat typical example of the kind of packed lunch I bring to work. I usually eat the oatmeal and grapes in the morning, and the berries and soy yogurt in the afternoon. The cold pasta salad is not really typical of my packed lunches as I usually do not have time to make such a thing in the morning.

- Aly

PS The Granola Girl Cafe Project is back from the summer hiatus!

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

My mom recently purchased some Vidalia onions, and was kind enough to share a few of them with me. I had no idea why she was so excited about them until I looked them up yesterday! Vidalia onions are known for their distinctly sweet and mild taste. During my quick search to learn about them, I came across a few interesting recipes. I tried a variation of Morris Farms’ Sweet and Sour Vidalia Onions and Cucumbers recipe last night, and it turned out pretty well!

Vidalia Onion and Cucumber Salad:

2 c cucumber, grated
1 ½ c Vidalia onion, coarsely chopped
½ green pepper, thinly sliced
¼ c corn

¼ c white wine vinegar
1 T maple syrup
1 T dried dill weed
1 t ground black pepper
3-5 drops of Stevia (depending on sweetness of dressing)

Mix vegetables together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the dressing ingredients together. Combine the two mixtures, chill and serve. This recipe yields 3 servings.

- Aly

PS If you care to catch a glimpse of the International Space Station, apparently it will be putting on quite a show over the next couple of days!

Today I felt like giving another go at a vegan bacon substitute. There are quite a few recipes available on the internet for this, such as this one and this one. My variation is most similar to the former link.

¼ c water
1 T soy sauce
5 drops liquid smoke (I purchased this from the Superstore)
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion salt
1 portion of firm tofu (I used a Miso tofu patty from the H&S), crumbled in to bits

Heat the liquids at a low temperature in a frying pan, and add the crumbled tofu pieces and spices once the liquids have begun to bubble. Heat the mixture until the liquid has evaporated and the tofu has become brown and crispy. This took me about 25 minutes as I had the stove on a very low setting.

The final result tasted fantastic, and was not too far off the last store-bought stuff I tried.

- Aly

I made lunch for a omnivorous friend yesterday who was curious about the sorts of things I can eat with my allergies. I was quite nervous about this at first as I always want to leave my friends with a good impression of vegan fare! I ended up preparing roasted brussel sprouts, a salad and a pasta and mushroom combination:

It is going to be difficult, but not impossible, to get school stuff in to my photos now that the semester is over ;)!

I used the FFVK’s fantastically simple and delicious roasted Brussels sprout recipe. The blob of hummus in the salad was also inspired by various FFVK posts. The pasta dish was a mixture of Eddie’s vegetable confetti pasta, shiitake mushrooms, fresh oregano, onion and various herbs and spices. It turned out pretty well!

On a distantly related note, I had the pleasure of going to a vegan brunch today (I wish I had had my camera!) where I was introduced to Yoso, a tasty soy yogurt which was definitely more palatable than any other soy yogurt that I have tried!

- Aly

My desktop computer has been ressurected by Aly’s friend Frank and now we’re back in business!

Being as I’m juggling my honours thesis and four chemistry exams at the moment, I’m basically living off of toast and Diet Coke. So I’m going to slowly post all my backed up pics over the next two weeks to give the illusion that I’m not eating as crappy as I currently am.

First up is Carrot Raisin Celery salad. The ingredients are… um, everything in the title, plus a bit of sunflower seeds and of course salad dressing. It’s not very quantitative, but for you math geeks out there, let’s say 1 cup shredded carrots, 1 cup chopped celery, 1/4 cup raisins, 2 tbsp seeds, and dressing to taste. I enjoyed it with Low-Fat Honey Dijon one day and Low-Fat Sundried Tomato the next. A very simple recipe but drop dead delicious:

-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

This is a recipe in progress. If you are looking for something to satisfy your sweet tooth, wait for Maureen’s next post!

1 ¼ c rolled oats
1 T spelt flour
1 t cocoa powder
1 t ground flax seed
1 T dried goji berries
2 T raisins, currants, dried cherries, and/or dried cranberries
2 T chocolate chips
¼ c frozen, unsweetened raspberries
¼ c water or juice of your choice
1 banana
5 drops of Stevia

Mix everything together. Dollop the mixture on to a lightly oiled pan and bake at at 350 F for about 20 minutes. The blobs of oatmeal will not flatten during the baking process, so make sure to do so before baking if desired. The version I used to make the granola bars in the picture had too much liquid, and did not include the extra 2 T of dried fruit and chocolate. It yielded about 22 little hearts.

Note: I included the goji berries for their festive red colour. They are far too expensive for what they are, especially since there does not seem to be much scientific evidence supporting their attributed properties. I do not think I will be purchasing these again!

During my quest to find vegan and allegy safe chocolate chips, I picked up some mung bean sprouts at the Natural Food Pantry and ended up using them, along with grated carrot, baby spinach, sliced cucumber, snow peas, capers, cubed tomato, chick peas, cubed avocado and chopped orange pepper to make an awesome salad for supper:

- Aly