Weekend Eating

A busy weekend requires a single-post roundup of my vegetarian adventures for the weekend. I hope you will all forgive me .

Falafel Friday:

Boringly, I had the same food as Sam on Friday. Having received the daily phone call asking for lunch advice, I quickly dispensed with my plan of going to freshii to sample their overpriced salads. Whilst thinking of lunch ideas, I realised that crunchy, hot falafel smothered in hummus and accompanied by that pickled purple vegetable that nobody knows what it is (I think it's turnip but it could quite easily be pickled  Snozzcumber [see above] for all I know/care. It's just SO purple and pickly) was exactly what I wanted. I've discovered a little underground food court between Yonge-Bloor Subway station and Holt Renfrew so a quick trip there resulted in a styrofoam container loaded with all the veg, rice, beans and falafel I could possibly manage in one sitting. In fact, I didn't manage it in one sitting. I ate it all afternoon and had just half a Ristorante pizza for dinner. A good day's eating.

One thing that I have certainly noticed, even in the short time I've been vegetating, is that I am less full after eating and hungry more often, but I can actually only eat quite small portions because the foods I am eating are so filling. Beans, gnocchi etc really fill you up quickly without seeming to eat that much. The outcome of this is that I'm eating small amounts and more often which is probably much better for me than having massive feasts at irregular intervals! I'm sure this is more a result of a more considered approach to what I am eating than anything else. Consciously attempting to meet my daily nutritional requirements with limited resources is resulting in some well rounded meals. I'll have to see if I can find a way to keep that up beyond Easter because I find that I'm not so tired after eating this way.

Sandwich Saturday:

Saturday was a day of food adventures. I went to Chinatown and Kensington Market to pick up a few ingredients to use in future vegetarian cooking including: tamari, tahini, quinoa and of course, cheese. Cheese shopping whilst vegetarian is dangerous, especially in Kensington Market. One cheese very quickly turns into 5 when a middle aged Eastern European lady is force-feeding you sample after sample, barely giving you the chance to mutter muffled protests through mouthfuls of smoked gouda and gorgonzola when you only came in for some olives in the first place! But, I love cheese...so I guess it's not the end of the world.

I took the opportunity to swing by the Urban Herbivore - little brother of Fressen vegetarian restaurant - which serves vegetarian salads, bowls and sandwiches. I picked up one avocado sandwich (picture above) and one grilled celery root (celeriac to the British) sandwich. I had half of each, reserving the other half for Sam to eat when she got home from work. A full review of these will appear shortly on my much-neglected blog In Search of a Sandwich. Needless to say, they were delightful, filling and lasted me much of the day. A few boiled Chinese vegetarian dumplings dipped in apricot mop (what else?) with a splash of soy sauce rounded off the day nicely. 

Something Sunday:



Today I nibbled on various leftovers throughout the day - sandwiches, salads and other bits and pieces that were left from the week. I'd been planning to do a big cook some time this weekend but work, shopping and general tiredness appear to have gotten in the way slightly. I managed to find some energy this evening to experiment with my newly purchased immersion blender. So, I made hummus with sundried tomatoes, and a broad bean and pea hummus-type dip which is called Bisarra (well it's usually just broad beans but I think I've made my thoughts on peas clear). The thing I like about hummus is that it can be whatever you want it to really. As long as you have:

Chick peas
Garlic
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Tahini (this sesame seed paste is a traditional but not an essential ingredient of hummus. It adds quite a nutty, savoury flavour and reduces the amount of oil needed because it's moist and quite oily itself. It is a little unpleasant on it's own because it's so intense. If anyone wants to try some, I have tonnes)

You can really add anything you want or adjust the proportions to your own tastes. I go quite light on the oil, one fat clove of garlic, a couple of tablespoons of tahini, quite a hefty splash of lemon juice, and finish with salt and pepper. This gives me a nice tangy hummus that is a bit thicker than most of the ones that you buy. Adding some sundried tomatoes just makes it even tangyer (or is it tangier? That's in Morocco isn't it? How fitting) which is how I like it. Using roasted garlic makes it quite rich and delicate which people often prefer because the raw garlic does slap you in the face a little, and then slaps everyone you talk to for the rest of the day in the face as well. Really any of those flavours you associate with the Mediterranean can be easily incorporated into hummus. I wonder how it would be with apricot mop? Why didn't I think of that earlier?! It could only be amazing.

The Bisarra was more of a spicy dip - with some smoked paprika, cumin and a little cayenne thrown in. Otherwise, besides the tahini, the basic recipes are pretty much the same. It's amazing how far the spice goes though - the beans really take on strong flavours well. I'm not sure how much I enjoyed the Bisarra - I think it needs a little work but I liked the bean/pea combo and I'm always a fan of spice. More work to be done on that one.

These two, served with a rosemary focaccia, some olives and a watermelon and feta salad (cubed not crumbled feta though - crumbled feta annoys me) and I was a very happy, slightly more Mediterranean, temporarily vegetarian, chap.


John

A Touch of Tofu

Veggie day two food intake:

Footlong veggie sub from Subway - Wholly unsatisfying. Whilst it was an excellent opportunity to have a different sauce with my Subway (I just can't escape the killer combination of hot sauce and ranch during omnivorous Subway visits), I ended up disappointed for a number of reasons. First of all, I didn't get the Subway-standard 6 slices of tomato. Someone didn't successfully completed their Sandwich Artist training. Having worked at Subway for 6 months, I am now one of those annoying people who knows exactly how many meatballs should be on a meatball sub and will tell you if you short change me (but won't say a word if I get an extra one). Maybe I should get a job as a Subway mystery shopper.

Secondly, there was no meat on it. To make up for this I considered blasting it with salt but thought that would defeat the point of having a sandwich made entirely of salad and so decided against it. I should have had cheese though - the salvation of the vegetarian. There's always cheese to take the edge off! Being a vegan must be a living hell.

Tofu and vegetable stir fry with tea-infused couscous - Amidst the jars of things in the fridge that I have made and then forgotten about are two jars of apricot mop - basically apricot jam boiled with some vinegar, ginger and sriracha (chinese chilli sauce). Apparently it is the perfect accompaniment to crispy deep fried chicken wings but I never got that far in the recipe. However, the apricot mop is the ultimate condiment for all occasions, including dipping pitta bread, using as the base of a salad dressing and, of course, splashing over meat. Yesterday it formed the base of this tasty stir fry cooked by Sam. She also had the genius idea of cooking couscous in minty tea rather than the usual boiling water or stock. I don't think the flavour of the mint came out as much as I would have liked but you could certainly taste the tea and I think she's on to something interesting. Imagine couscous cooked in apricot mop! It can't get much better than that.

Much as I enjoyed this meal, there is definitely something odd about tofu. I haven't had much experience with it in the past, despite having been vegetarian for lent once before. It has only appeared in my life in small pieces in hot and sour soup, or as a barely noticed component of a Pot Noodle. In both of these cases, the tofu was soft and wet and slurped down with everything else in my bowl/pot in big, mushy spoonfuls. So this was really the first time that I've chewed tofu and it took me some time to come to terms with the texture. It's not quite meat, it's not quite cheese, it's not quite mush. It's just somewhere close to each of these without sitting firmly in one camp. I found that a little disconcerting so perhaps I would enjoy softer tofu more as it would be further from familiar textures. I will investigate and keep you posted.

President's Choice Blue Menu Key Lime ice cream - Mmmm fake-sugar delicious

John

Day One

After a Shrove Tuesday of bacon topped pancakes, Ash Wednesday brought with it a commitment to forty days of vegetarianism in observance of Lent. No bacon, no burgers, and no beef broth. I hope that sharing this adventure will make it a little easier and so, here is how it began.

Today I ate:

A bean burrito from Quesada - Very satisfying and filling. Having both types of beans (black and pinto) certainly makes a difference because you get the contrast of textures which is often missing in bean burritos. That being said - I've decided that black beans just aren't my bag (baby). Outside of Chinese cuisine, I don't really enjoy them. They seem to be a little springy and without much flavour. Also, it was undercooked. The moustached gentleman at the checkout seemed to be in a great hurry to move me and my vegetarian-friendly burrito along and so it was a little mushy. Non-melted cheese has no place in my burrito. Perhaps that is also partly to blame for my black-bean-abhorrence.

Broccoli and blue cheese gnocchi (with additions)

 This flashed up on my 'Recipe of the day' widget that I have on my Google homepage. How fitting - a vegetarian recipe on the first day of veggielent! I decided to add a bit of nutritional content so I included peas (you can never have too many), mushrooms and a little garlic for flavour. I also fiddled around with the quantities a bit - doubling the amount of gnocchi, reducing the amounts of cream and blue cheese - to make a meal that would go further and be slightly less fatty. It was very filling, and there is tonnes left for lunches which I am happy about . It ended up being a little dull though, even with the addition of garlic. It was rich and delicately flavoured but quite a one-note experience. The addition of a splash of balsamic vinegar on the plate lifted the whole dish. Expect to see it popping up again in the near future.

Snacks:

One Nature Valley almond granola bar - purchased by Sam (I was extremely skeptical) but I quickly decided that they are delicious and our box of 64 may not last very long!

Day one was a decadent success. Easing myself into a vegetarian regime with some big, hearty dishes, packed with beans, cheese and other vegetarian stereotypes was a good idea so that I finished each meal full and satisfied, without feeling like anything was missing. The days to follow will most likely include some effort to grasp the opportunity to eat a little more healthily but, for now, melted cheese eases the transition away from meat.

John