hot for food

There are so many vegan and vegetarian friendly restaurants opening up all the time, and I’ve noticed more options being added to menus at restaurants that still serve your typical fare. Which is huge. But finally Veggielicious is here! This is the first community restaurant event of its kind and it’s hitting Toronto from April 9 – 24. The cities best vegan/vegetarian restaurants will be offering special deals on meals to encourage people to get out and try eating great food that is free of animal products, heart healthy, compassionate, and eco-friendly.

So if you think you could never eat vegetarian or vegan food – even for just one week – now’s your time to challenge yourself. Trust me, rather than go out and spend lots of money on groceries you might not be familiar with or start experimenting with cooking vegetarian/vegan, just get outside and try one of the Veggielicious restaurant offers and see just how delicious and satisfying this way of eating can be.

If you enjoy the menu items at places like Rawlicious, Live Organic Food Bar, and Vegetarian Haven maybe that will make a change in your mind and jumpstart some motivation to experiment with plant based meals at home. I’ve linked the restaurants listed above to my Yelp reviews for you to check out. While I eat at some of these places regularly, I’m so excited to venture outside my neighborhood and try some new places. Veggielicious is great excuse to do so! Most of the participating restaurants are in Toronto but I love the inclusion of Kind Food in Burlington and Brooklyn’s Restaurant in Thorold. I’ve heard amazing things about both and I plan on making a trip out there during this event.

If you go out to a yummy resto during Veggielicious please share your reviews with me or post to yelp.ca so we can spread the word and change the world, one eater at a time! For a full listing of participating restaurants and other info check out Veggielicious.ca

I bet you had NO idea you could make a vegan quiche. It’s not just my imagination. I know, I know, a quiche is a savory baked egg tart. BUT I figured out a way to mimic the taste and texture without the use of dairy or eggs! I sort of remixed a couple of recipes I’ve seen, and improv’d a little. So as per usual I didn’t follow a recipe and what I’ve listed below might not be EXACT, but its all about mixing and then tasting. Maybe you want it tangier, saltier, spicier etc. So PLEASE do with this what you want and create your own personal vegan quiche!

Vegan Mushroom Leek Quiche

Dough:
1 cup pastry flour OR all-purpose flour
3-4 tbsp Earth Balance
2-3 tbsp cold water
pinch of sea salt

This is a very simple tart/pie crust. I eyeballed the whole thing and only had 1 cup of flour in my cupboard. This made 5 tarts in a muffin pan. So if you’re making a dozen you should double this recipe. Using a pastry blender or your fingers cut the cold Earth Balance into the flour so it becomes crumbly but don’t over mixed. Then add the water a bit a time and mix with your hands or the pastry blender until you’ve got a ball of dough. The texture is pliable but not really wet or dry. Roll out on a floured surface and cut rough circles out approx. 3-4 inches wide. Just using your hands form and press the round of dough into lightly oiled muffin pan cups. Make a couple of stabs with a fork into the bottom of the crusts. I DIDN’T bake my crust in advance, but I should have. Bake these at 350 F for approx. 10-15 minutes until they are very lightly browned. Allow to cool before pouring in the filling.

Filling:
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 leek
1 cup mushrooms
8 oz silken tofu
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 tbsp tamari or shoyu
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp tumeric
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
fresh ground pepper

Put all the ingredients, except the leek, mushroom, and onion in a blender or food processor and mix until well blended. Again some of these ingredients can be eliminated or replaced with other herbs and spices depending on your tastes. I made this all by eye balling and tasting as I went along until I got the right taste I wanted. However, the cornstarch should not be altered, only increased if you make more of this recipe.

Chop the onion, mushroom and leek into fairly small pieces. Saute everything until cooked through. Add the vegetables to the quiche mixture and fill each tart crust just before the top edge. Bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes or until the filling is browned on top and bubbling.

I am still in awe of the versatility that tofu has. I encourage you not to shy away from incorporating it into your diet even if you’re not vegan or vegetarian. Yes, some people are allergic to soy. But the reason that happens is because people are eating a lot of packaged food and therefore eating a lot of processed genetically modified soy. You had no idea did you! Whole organic soy (Wildwood is a great brand) is good for you and the possibilities and uses for it are limitless.