The best things in life are simple

They say the best things in life are free. After spending two blissful but expensive weeks in Italy last spring, I have to say I don't necessarily agree with that statement. However, I think the Italians would agree that the best things in life are simple. A long walk in nature, spending time with loved ones, sharing a delicious meal: these are things without which life would be far less happy.
And so this brings me to panini: considering the intro, you might think I was going to go into the history of panini, what's considered a "real" panini, how all those inauthentic panini-makers out there are disgracing the name...But no.
While I did eat some sandwiches in Italy-- some flat and heated, some not--I am by no means an expert. And besides, I tend to consider myself a contemporary foodie: I borrow from other cultures and traditions at will, take what works for me and what I like, and adapt as needed for what's available and what is, of course, vegan. So I don't really know that much about traditional panini. I belive traditional panini includes meat and cheese, but when I make panini I fill it with veggies. Panini are an excellent way to jam my meal full of vegetables, and a panini press is an excellent way to cook those veggies.
If you don't have a panini press you can use your oven for both grillign the veg and making the sandwich itself. But if you do have apanini press, here's how I do it:
Slice your preferred veggies--I prefer zucchini, eggplant and peppers of various colours-- about a quarter-inch or half a centimeter thick. Grill them on the panini press until softened, then layer them in your bread of choice--lately I've been using the thin-style burger/sandwiches buns you can fnd at the grocery store these days. Add your favourite vegan cheese (mozzarella-style Daiya is pictured) and some kind of flavour, like pesto, tapenade, or dressing; then assemble and grill until warmed through and melty.
It is such a simple meal, but is one of the best things I eat--share it with loved ones, and it can be one of things in life.

Break out of your recipe rut

Sometimes we find ourselves doing the same thing over and over again. Habit can be comforting but it can also be boring. Often we don't even realize we're stuck in a rut until we're on the verge of the umpteenth iteration and we think, "Of course. This again."
I do that with food a lot. I'm sure I'm not the only one--they say most of each person's diet consists of the same 20 foods. And that wouldn't surprise me. There are a few foods I have in the fridge all the time--two of them being toast with hummus and fruit and soymilk smoothies. Both of which I eat for breakfast almost every day. There are sound reasons for this: I don't have a lot of time on weekday mornings and it's simply easier to make the same thing time and again. However, it definitely counts as a breakfast rut. So I was pleasantly surprised when I tried Polenta Rancheros from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan Brunch. It was something I could make on the weekend and heat up in the morning, and it would shake up my morning routine enough that it would get me on a new track for breakfast. And frankly, it's delicious. When fresh, the polenta (in place of eggs in the non-vegan huevos rancheros) is soft and creamy, and the contract with the spicy, saucy rancheros is divine. I also love the chance to cram more avocado into my day. So join me, get out of your rut--polenta rancheros for breakfast!

The best meal I ever had

Picture it: Florence, 2011. (Okay, so it doesn't have the same ring as when Sophia from Golden Girls says it, but I got stuck for an opener.)
I was on vacation in Italy with my mother. Before out trip, my mother had been worried I wouldn't get enough to eat in Italy. She even said she thought I might have to "forget about" being vegan while I was in Italy. Hellz to the no, mom!
But it wasn't always easy. The first place we visited, Venice, had plenty of vegan things to eat, though everything was ridiculously expensive. Next we went to Cinque Terre, a series of small towns on the Ligurian coast in Italy. As vegans know, finding non-animal foods in small towns can be a challenge. Whether this was the cause or whether it was just the style of food in this area, I did have trouble finding food. I lived on veggie sandwiches and plain pasta for 3 days. Thank god I took an online vega'ns advice and brought peanut butter with me! Otherwise I would have been starved for 3 meals a day instead of 2 and a half.
So the most delicious meal I ever ate was our first meal when we arrived in Florence. Taking our guide book's advice, we generally tried to find non-touristy places. Since we were usually in touristy areas, this was difficult. Especially because mom let me scan the menu and see if there anything I wanted before we went in. On arriving in Florence, we checked in to or hotel and walked down the street almost the first restaurant we saw had a ton of things I could eat. And I was so hungry! I didn't realized how hungry I was for real food, after three days of eating protein bars and instant shakes. I order three dishes, and let me tell you, I ate every single bite. My appetizer was olive tapenade; mom didn't get an appetizer but I don't think I shared with her. I also got white beans in love oil--I found this dish throughout Florence and sometimes beyond, so I think it's a typically "Tuscan" dish. Thank god for beans! I gobbled it up. And finally I had pasta with veggies. It had pasta with veggies throughout my visit, but after 2 solid courses before the pasta, I finally was full. Grazie!

Flavourful old favourites

Vegan foods have come a long way. I've been told that 10 years ago it was even hard to find vegan hot dogs. Lately I've seen recipes veganizing everything from escargots to the infamous Double Down. (I have no doubt that the cruelty-free version is nonetheless just as disgusting as the original.)

The trick with veganizing main course dishes is we try to remain faithful to the original without the meat that is often the dish's primary ingredient. Pardon me for the next couple sentences, but I'm going to have a self-righteous vegan foodie moment: cooking with meat is easy with minimal effort, because it has lots of flavour. And cooking--with meat or animal products or not--is about balancing a few crucial elements: flavour, presentation, texture, and culture/memory. So when we veganize things, we have to up the ante a bit to compensate for the fact that we're taking out something that contributes to all of these things. In veganizing French Onion Soup, you take out the beef in the stock and the cheese on top. So how to compensate for this? Well, stretchy, melty, yummy Daiya takes over for cheese quite nicely. But the broth requires a little bit more dedication: I learned this a few years ago when I took beefless French Onion soup to work and a co-worker bluntly declared it lacking. Truthfully, it was lacking, so when I made it again today I carefully took steps to bring back the flavour. If you make stock from scratch, ladle out a liter or so for this recipe and then proceed with the additions to the stock. The result is a rich, brown stock with lots of flavour, and a veganized dish that satisfies.

Veganized French Onion Soup

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon oil
2 cans vegetable stock, plus water according to directions; or 1 container of ready-to-use broth
1 to 2 cubes mushroom bouillon, plus water according to bouillon directions
3/4 of a teaspoon 'browning liquid'
2 to 3 dashes of liquid smoke
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, or 1/3 cup white or red wine
Approximately 1 1/2 cups mozzarella-style Daiya

Heat sauté pan with the oil. Add the onion to the heated pan and sauté over medium-high heat for a few minutes, then then reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have become a rich dark brown, anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes.
While the onions are sautéing, prepare the broth. In a large stock pot, add the stock, mushroom bouillon, 'browning liquid', liquid smoke and the garlic.

When the onions are browned, de-glaze the pan with the balsamic vinegar and a ladle-full of the broth (or with wine), then add the onions and liquid to the stock pot.

To bake, use oven-proof bowls and ladle in enough broth and onions to fill each two-thirds full. Add a slice of crusty bread to each, or toast whatever bread you have on hand, and gently place on top of the broth in each bowl. (Denser bread, or whole grain bread, better resists getting soggy during baking than white bread. But toasting helps too.) Top each bowl with 1/3 cup of mozzarella-style Daiya and put in the oven under the broiler until melted, watching carefully so as not to burn it.

Makes 4 to 5 servings, depending on how big your bowls are, and how big your appetite is. :)

My Vegan Heart

Vegans spend a lot of time thinking about food. Partly, it's because we're foodies, which contributed to the decision to become vegan in the first place. Or vegans become foodies after the fact, because in exploring new things to eat, we discover a whole new world of food that we never knew existed. Or we're forced to bake and cook more simply because the choices in the big, wide world are limited. (Incidentally, that's how I started with cupcakes. And then biscotti. Then ice cream. Mmmmm, ice cream.)

So the disappointment we feel upon going to a restaurant and checking their menu is invariably great. I'm an optimist, so I always go in hopeful. When I realize I can have the salad, with one or two things taken off, or the pasta, with the plain red sauce, I am always saddened.

And also pissed off. How hard is up to come up with one decent vegan meal in an entire menu? Or to have handy off-menu go-to recipe that you can make to accommodate vegan, gluten-free, or lactose intolerant vegetarian diets? Because while I go to non-veg establishments with friends, family and co-workers, the places I go to willingly--and bring others to--time and time again are the places that go the extra mile to make me feel welcome. I should say, to make me feel welcome as a vegan.

Once, I was taken to an expensive restaurant in Toronto. I asked my friend to call ahead and let them know I was vegan, and to check that they could accommodate me. He didn't of course; so I made (yes, I said made) him call on the way there. They said fine, no problem, they'd tell the chef but of course they could accommodate me. I was optimistic--this was one of the most expensive restaurants in the city. If you work in Toronto, make more than six figures, and want to shmooze a client, this is where you take them. I asumed that between the fridge and the pantry, and the skill of what must be an experienced and, you know, awesome chef, I would be served something fantastic. So, optimistic readers, guess what I got? The complicated, exotic, delightful dish worthy of a high-end restaurant who had a couple hours' notice? Nope. Pasta, with grilled veggies....Insert sad face here.

Even worse was when I went to a fish'n'chips place in a small town. I asked if the batter had egg in it. The waitress didn't even move. She looked at me, pen and pad in hand, and said, "I have no idea." Okay then--I'll fries and a salad please.

At the opposite end of the spectrum was my first visit to a vegan restaurant. I was almost dumbstruck by choice. I could eat anything on the menu. I didn't quite know what to do with myself! It was almost divine. *stares wistfully into space*

While I don't expect to be overhwlemed with choice at an omni restaurant, something above veggies on pasta would be appreciated. Yesterday, at a bakery/cafe (Bubby Rose's in Victoria, for the curious), I could actually eat the chili. She checked their handy book of menu items' ingredients, and when she couldn't find it she asked the cook. And then she checked on the bread for me too! Might I add, this was voluntary--all I said was, "is it vegan?" and she was off. And I even forgot to check on the bread--she remembered and checked completely and came out to tell me. As a consequence, I will go back there--again and again. (And again--that chili was goooooood.)

Now clearly, Bubby Rose's has made an effort to accommodate different diets in their menu. They not only had vegan brownies clearly labelled as such in their dessert case, but that've also labelled gluten-free and dairy-free items as well. And they've obviously emphasized with staff that customer service is a priority, even for those of us with sometimes-challenging diets.

But it's the effort--if waitstaff know off the top of their heads what on the menu is vegan, I'm sold. If there is more than one vegan option on the menu, I'm usually ecstatic. If staff go out of their way to check on things for me, I'm coming back. Because the key to my vegan heart is trying. Just make an honest effort, and I'll heart you forever.

VEGAN <3 4 EVAH.

Thankfull of phyllo

Thanksgiving isn't the same by yourself. You can make the same delicious, home-cooked comfort foods; you can get yourself second portions of everything and undo the top button of your pants, and it's still not the same. Last time I was home for a holiday, I helped my mom and brother cook the turkey (yuck)--but it was still better than eating a vegan meal by myself. But as someone living 3 big provinces away from my friends and family, I was resigned to a solo celebration this year. So when a co-worker invited me to her Thanksgiving dinner... well, I was thankful.

But I didn't know quit what to bring. I wanted something delicious, omni-friendly--that my hostess and the other guests wouldn't to smile politely while I made them eat--and suitable for smothering with gravy. Inspired by a stuffed phyllo recipe from a Vegetarian Times recipe, I made up my own.

Thankfully (!), it went over well. They were definitely smiling when they ate it, and not just to be polite. In fact, leftovers may have been happily scooped up (pun intended) by the other guests.

Holiday stuffed phyllo

1 teaspoon oil
1 onion, diced
4 cups sliced mushrooms (I used portobellos, because it was all that was left and not crazy expensive at the grocery store, but use whatever kind you like, or use a few different kinds)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup cooked wild rice
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon summer savory
8 sheets phyllo
oil for brushing (I used garlic oil, but I'm not sure you could taste the difference)

Caramelize onions with oil in a large pot. (Instructions here.) Add mushrooms and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the cranberries and stir, so they steam and plump up while the rest of the liquid evaporates. When all the liquid has evaporated, stir in the wild rice, sage and summer savory. Taste at this point to make sure there's enough herbs for you. Add more to taste if necessary.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush oil over the bottom of whatever you're going to use for the phyllo--I used a casserole dish, but you could also use a cookie sheet too, and just fold the ends and sides over the top.
When everything is in place, unwrap the phyllo. Lay one sheet in the casserole dish and brush with oil. Repeat with 5 more sheets. Fill with the mushroom mixture. Top the mixture with another sheet of phyllo, probably folded in half to fit the dish, and if so, brush in between the layers with oil. Repeat with last sheet of phyllo. Gently fold the edges of the first six sheets of phyllo over the top, and brush with oil.
Bake for 45 min or until the phyllo is browned. Serve with gravy--I made Mushroom Gravy from Isa Chandra Moskovitz's Vegan Brunch.

You could probably get away with more cranberries, if you wanted; or switch up the herbs for whatever you prefer. I also think there could be some protein--if I hadn't been serving to omnis I would have added steamed, cubed tempeh when I added the cranberries. Mmmm.

The Cutest. City. Ever

My tenure in Victoria started this week. The vegan food forays are successful so far; my only fault is excitement. I have to keep reminding myself that I am here for two months. Accordingly, I do not have to try everything on the very first day.

So far, I have:
--settled into my apartment in the James Bay neighbourhood, including figuring out a Murphy bed,
--gone for a run and gotten rather lost,
--bought groceries at Thrifty's, the big grocery store down the street from me,
--acquired a loaner bike from a co-worker who happens to live a few blocks from me,
--bought (vegan) cupcakes at Pink Sugar (Sin-a-mint and Toasted Coconut; I have only tried the former and it was yummy, will report on the latter...later)
--discovered my local Lush store, mere minutes from my office
--tried a spin class at the Y (which was less than successful, though I attempt again Saturday morning)
--bought some locally-roasted coffee for my morning caffeine buzz, which I will try tomorrow morning and report back.

My initial observation is mostly that Victoria is really, really cute. Maybe it's just the neighbourhood I've been in so far, but the city seems mostly comprised of cute little bungalows with cute little gardens and cute little friendly cats. Really forking cute. And cute parks. And cute crosswalks at intersections, instead of stoplights. Even the city on a map--it looks like it's big and spread out, but really, it's small. Small and CUTE.

Should I find any non-cuteness--waitstaff who swear like truckers? a traffic jam of more than 3 vehicles? pets that aren't sweet-faced and fuzzy? Or, god forbid, a little old lady who makes cookies from a mix--I will advise you immediately.