It was a coal pizza!

Last week, M. and I decided to go to Carbone's located on Taylor Ave for dinner. Carbone's is known for their coal fired oven pizza. What the heck does that mean!?

I went to check out the menu online (http://www.carbonecoalfiredpizza.com/menu/index.html) and their was a legend for vegetarian and gluten free options. Unfortunately, their chicken wings and caesar salad were shown as vegetarian options. I e-mailed them on the "contact us" page to let them know of this error but to also ask if they had vegan friendly pizza dough out of curiosity. Well, I received a quick reply from the manager. Check it out!

Hello Stephanie,

Thank you for your email, and thanks for letting us know about the vegetarian option next to the wings! That is definitely not accurate! However, they are gluten free which is the symbol that should be there. We will update ASAP.

Our regular pizza dough is vegan friendly! In our gluten free dough we use egg whites. 

We in fact use anchovies in the caesar dressing.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Regards,

Benjamin 

Managing Partner

I appreciated the quick feedback.

Off we went for dinner last Saturday and M. and I decided to share a 16'' pizza and we would "make our own". We chose the basic tomato sauce and mozzarella with goat cheese, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives and arugula. This coal fired pizza tasted very fresh and the crust was fantastic!

 This is what was left over....

I find Carbone's to be a very veggie and vegan friendly restaurant with a great array of toppings with fair prices. This is a restaurant that I will definitely return to.

It's all about the Lychee's baby!

The lychee fruit or "Litchi"can be found in subtropical climates. It is grown on a fruit tree native to southern China, Taiwan, Bangladesh and Southeast Asia.... thank you Wikipedia!

I didn't know what the heck a lychee was until I had the Presidents Choice soft drink which lead to a lychee martini at Blu Fish (during my "eating fish" days) to... I should probably try the fruit.

I found this fruit (shockingly) at Superstore in late spring and they are delicious! Unfortunately, this sweet treat are only available for a few weeks a year. Well, at Superstore anyways. I wonder if they are around for a longer period time in Asian food markets?

The reason I wanted to share my love for this fruit with you is because I went to Superstore a few weeks ago and they were on display (as they should be!) for only $2.99 per 2 pound bag (which is an excellent price). Sometimes, when they are in bulk, I get stuck paying almost $3 a pound. Adds up!

The down side to this fruit is that it is 66 calories per 100 grams (booo!) but their are no saturated fats (yay!!!!) probably should be avoided if you are on a diet (booo!) but they are an excellent source of Vitamin C (yay!!!!)

Besides their pointy shell, unique texture, funky shape and huge pit, they are my third favorite fruit... after mangoes and pomegranates. All local fruits ;)

One day, I decided to have 1/2 a cup of cottage cheese (unsalted), 1/3 cup of granola with a few lychee's which made a lovely breakfast one morning.

What are some of your favorite fruits this time of year and why?

First visit of the season to St. Norbert

The Farmer's Market at St. Norbert has been a staple in Winnipeg for years but, it can be overwhelming , busy, crowded but the vendors are friendly and there is a very good variety. The only major problem I have is that you need to be there right at 8 am when it opens (on a Saturday morning!) to get the last of the free parking and before it gets too overcrowded. I found some asparagus for $3 a pound, some vegan cupcakes from Veggin' Out bakery (4 cupcakes for $9) and multigrain butter horns for $4.

I had some friends over on Saturday night that are vegan and the cupcakes were delicious! There were different flavoured icings on top of chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. My favorite was the vanilla berry!

It is definitely worth going to, but as I said, get there nice and early! Check out their website at http://stnorbertfarmersmarket.ca/

If you are interested in finding out where there is a farmers market that is closer to you, check out the Farmers Market Association of Manitoba's official website at http://fmam.ca/. You will find the market that I am co-coordinator for, the River Heights Farmers Market. To check out that market, go to the official website at http://www.rhfarmersmarket.com/ . This is the 4th year that the market will be open and I am very excited for the new variety of vendors we have this year that includes the Veggin' Out baker, a salsa vendor, gluten free baker, various organic produce vendors and many more. Check out the website as it provides more information on our vendors, opening hours and location of the market.

What did you find at your local farmers market this weekend?

O.J.'s and Sage Garden Part II

My work hosted an activity day last week where all employees in my department can pick an activity we wanted to participate in. I chose to go to Sage Garden along with other friends. Before going to this chemical free garden centre, the girls and I decided to go to Original Joe's for a quick lunch. This time I picked the dragon boat lettuce wraps with soy chicken. It was fantastic!

I was not charged extra for substituting the chicken for soy chicken.  It was well worth the $12.99 plus tax. I also want to go as far to say that this could be vegan... which would be even better!

When we made our way to Sage Garden after lunch, we were told to go to a table with planters waiting for us. We had to pay $15 to participate and I soon found out that not only did we receive a planter sold for $6.99 but also 5 plants! The group received (from right to left) a basil plant, flower, sangria pepper plant, lemon savory and oregano plant. I was shocked that we received all this considering that M. and I went last month and three plants cost us $16.

It was a really nice afternoon with a great turnout. I love coming here because they have such different type of herbs, fruits and it is all organic. One day, when I have a real garden, M. better hold me back because I will go crazy and try and buy everything! Here are some more photos from that day.

Coming Soon!

I am currently working on the following posts:

1) Trip to Sage Garden Part Two  (posted June 23rd)

2) My trip to Crampton's Market   (posted July 8th)

3) All that can be found at the River Heights Farmers Market - Opening day July 5th and St. Norbert Market (already open)  (posted June 24th)

4) My to-do-list for this summer regarding food related field trips

5) My visit to Carbone's restaurant who have the coal fired pizza (posted June 28th)

6) List of my favorite cookbooks and why

Lots to share!

I want this blog to not only discuss vegetarian recipes and where to find obscure ingredients in Winnipeg, but also to discuss, especially this time of year, of cool places to buy some local ingredients in Winnipeg and what your neighbourhood Farmers Market can provide for you! And, finally, how to manipulate those ingredients to make fantastic meals! I also want to explore some neighbouring towns this summer and discuss some vegetarian friendly restaurants or fresh local ingredients that they offer! I love to explore and try new things and I think this summer is the perfect time to do it!

What are some of your summer "food" goals? Planning to try a new restaurant that has veggie friendly options? Planning to try a new Farmers Market this year to see what produce they have to offer? Share your experiences and give us some tips of where we can have a veggie friendly good time too!

Local foods = Healthy Dinner

This is a part two to my post from Sunday. I mentioned that I purchased some local corn, kale and tomatoes from Vic's Market. Unfortunately, they do not have a website but they can be found on the corner of Jubilee and Pembina. There market is a bit more expensive, but they do have a deli and sell a wide variety of fruit, vegetables (mostly local) and oils. I like going there because it's a go to place to find some obscure ingredients. It's worth checking out at least once.

Anyways... before I get too off track, I made dinner this past Saturday night with my goodies and it was such a treat!

 I sauteed the kale and then put the in the oven on broil for three minutes to make kale chips.

With some boiled corn, cut up fresh tomatoes and kale chips my dinner was complete. But, M. had a craving for poutine so he made that for his dinner and I took a small bowls worth as a treat. He grabbed some fries from a restaurant down the street and we made the gravy and topped it off with some Bothwell cheddar squeakers and some left over tofu turkey. 

M.'s dinner:

 This is a, "I can't get off the couch" type of dinner.

As a side note, I love checking out the Famers Markets as soon as they open and I have developed a routine when it comes to groceries so that we remain within our budget. One week, I wake up early and try and make it to the St. Norbert's Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. Once I am done my shopping, on the way home, I stop in to Vic's Market and grab whatever produce that I didn't see at St. Norbert. The next week, I go to River Heights Farmers Market located at Oak and Grosvenor (opens July 5th) on Friday's after work and go to Costco over the weekend. I alternate. I like switching up the Farmers Markets since I am exposed to different vendors and the fact that I live in River Heights, I want to support my local market.

Which Farmers Markets do you frequent?

The Hunt for Asparagus

I am not a fan of asparagus, but M. loves it. It's his favorite vegetable. I am not sure why I am not a fan of it but it seems to sneak up in most of my meals over the summer and I tell myself that it is good for me so that I eat it. Unfortunately, lately, it's been a very expensive vegetable. Asparagus has been available for awhile, but not local asparagus ie those tree trunks found at Costco.  To me, it's not worth buying it as their is not much flavour and it has a woody texture. We did stop by the Crampton's market (more on this later) a week ago to buy some local honey and we found some local asparagus but it was $3.79 a pound... that's expensive! Poor M. he said a silent goodbye and we walked out deciding that he should be patient until the price becomes more reasonable. Fortunately, this weekend we noticed in the Superstore flyer that asparagus was now at $1.99 a pound. M. was extremely happy.

Today, he and I were at Gateway for most of the day, therefore, I volunteered to go to Superstore to pick him up some asparagus along with our groceries but I first wanted to go to a garden centre north of the perimeter called Schreimers where Vic's Market (more on that later) opened their second location. I live in the south of the end of the city so I am family with all of the green houses south of the perimeter on St. Mary's but M. is from Transcona and told me that he heard it was a neat place to visit and since Vic's opened their second location there (they always have the most beautiful produce), I should check it out.

I found a new planter for my orchid and some beautiful strawberry tomatoes, local kale and peaches and cream corn! I, of course, found some asparagus but it was $3.99 a pound. With M.'s okay, I walked away and took my goodies home. This trip was really a splurge because the tomatoes were $5 a pint! Aren't they pretty though? How could you resist? They look like little jewels and you can pop them in your mouth like they are candy since they are so sweet.

I finally made it to Superstore at 12:30pm, but guess what, asparagus sold out. (sad face)

Sometimes, for food especially (healthy food, not junk food) what is $3.99 for a pound of asparagus? I had no problem earlier today spending $5.49 for a grande java chip frappuccino from Starbucks and I bet that thing was 550 calories! That being said, I also spent $5 on a pint of tomatoes. I think, for M. and I, we are trying to shop for food in a 'smarter' fashion and sometimes we end up missing out in the end. That doesn't happen to often, but it's something to be aware of.

It's interesting how we accept the prices of junk food which can be expensive without question but when we see produce slightly less or equal in price, we second guess the purchase. Why is that? It's the same when we purchase foods from local farmers markets and we do complain that the prices can be on the higher side... but don't we want to support our local economy? Something to ponder... In the end, I think I need to work on finding a happy medium.

I thought I would share this little story to see if you experience the same predicaments as we do. I also wanted to share with you about my visit to the Schreimers Garden Centre and to suggest for you to check it out. It's only a 5 minute drive North of the perimeter on Lagimodiere and now with Vic's Market that is also located there, it will expose you to some really fantastic local produce. I was so proud of myself for only purchasing three items this time around because everything looked delectable!

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend :)

(A post about smaller produce markets such as Crampton's and Vic's Market where you find local foods will follow shortly)

Healthy Comfort Stew

A couple weeks ago, after a weekend long of rain, I needed some type of comfort food.  I rifled through my cupboards and found a few things to make a filling stew!

I grabbed an acorn squash, kale, sweet potatoes, red curry paste, coconut milk and black beans. After preparing all of the ingredients, in it all went into my cast iron pot to gently simmer so that all the flavours marinated through and through. 

Then I had the old "get in my belly!" moment. I like this recipe because it is quick, easy and you can really play with the ratio of your ingredients. If you really like kale then load it up! It will only improve the recipe. It's also very colourful which is always a bonus.

Sunday Night Stew

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 medium size squash- acorn or butternut cut up into cubes
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1 tsp of red curry paste (you can keep adding a tsp at a time to get the heat that you want) 
• 3 large de-vined Kale leaves (ripped up)
• 1 medium size sweet potato or 2 small sweet potatoes cut up into cubes
• 1 can of black beans (drained)
• 1 teaspoon of cornstarch

Directions:

• Put a frying pan on medium-high heat with two tablespoons of olive oil
• Wait until the oil heats (not smoking, you can test this with drops of water) and saute the ripped up kale leaves for 3 minutes.
• Add the squash and sweet potatoes for 2 minutes so that they get seared a bit.
• Add the coconut milk, curry paste and black beans and let it simmer for 10 minutes uncovered.
• Add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch for the mixture to thicken. Cook for another 5 minutes uncovered.   

Yay for easy recipes!

Superman Protein Bars

These are protein bars that M. and I make on a weekly basis. It has a really great texture and doesn't fall apart as easily compared to others we've tried. We also really like this recipe because we can use any type of dried fruit, protein powder or milk!

Superman Protein Bars

Ingredients:

2 cups of quick oats
1 cup of protein powder (we use vanilla Whey protein powder)
1/4 cup of natural peanut butter or almond butter
1/4 cup of natural agave syrup (you can also use honey)
1/3 cup of dried blueberries
1/4 cup of pecans (or sliced almonds)
1/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup of unsweetened apple sauce (we buy the individual packaged cups from Safeway and it comes to the exact amount that you need)
1/4 cup of 70% dark chocolate
1/2 tbsp of cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

Directions: 

• Take all of the dry ingredients (except for the chocolate) and mix in a large bowl. Set aside.
• Take a medium size microwavable bowl and mix all of the wet ingredients. 
• Take the chocolate and cut it up in small chunks so that it will melt easily.
• Add the chocolate to the wet ingredients, mix, and put the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Ensure that all the chocolate has melted. 
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
• Spray a large casserole dish (long and deep) with oil. Put the mix and flatten it in the casserole dish. Refrigerate over night. 
• You can cut up the bars the next day, put them in individual plastic and freeze. They thaw out nicely in an hour. 

Dry Ingredients: 

Wet Ingredients: 

Finished product: 

Wrapped and unwrapped

They can end up having an odd shape but they are awesome! This is a perfect snack in the afternoon. We tried once using steel cut oats but the texture was awful! Stick with the quick oats.

Enjoy :)

Impulse Costco Purchase

Great name. Better colours. Awesome price: $4.99!

Had to buy!

Conquering the Pavlova

Time to take a chance!

I have a 2013 bake/cook goal list and it's not long but the point of it is to push me to improve my cooking/ baking technique and to try new recipes. Ever since I started cooking/ baking, I have been terrified (no joke) on making meringues and macaroons. They always seemed incredibly difficult and required a specific type of technique that I felt that I do not possess.

I received my monthly edition of Vegetarian Times Magazine and noticed a recipe for a Pavlova. A Pavlova dessert is a meringue-based dessert and it has a texture that is hard/ crisp on the outside but soft and light on the inside. It's a very popular dessert in Australia and New Zealand. I figured, it was time to take a chance and try this very complicated and daunting dessert (to me anyways).

Well, it was very successful! It was light, fluffy and delicious! In the center, I made a greek yogurt whip cream mix with a topping of blueberries and raspberries. Perfect dessert for a heavy dinner.

I am very happy that I attempted this recipe.  Best part is that it's only 186 calories per serving! Next, I need to try to make a lemon meringue pie.

I adapted the following recipe:

Raspberry and Blueberry Pavlova

(Pavlova with Mango recipe from Vegetarian Times, June, 2013)

Ingredients:

Toppings:
2/3 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup of non-fat 0% Greek yogurt
2 tbsp of sugar
1 container of raspberries and blueberries

Pavlova:
1 cup of sugar
11/2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup large egg whites (approximately 4 eggs)
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

Topping:

• Beat cream and yogurt together with 1 tbsp sugar in a medium bowl until stiff.
• In a separate bowl combine all the fruit together with 1 tbsp of sugar.
• Cover and chill both bowls.

Pavlova:

• Position over rack below centre and preheat oven to 250 degrees. 
• Cut out of parchment paper, a 9 inch diameter circle. Place parchment paper onto a baking sheet.
• Combine 1 tbsp sugar and cornstarch in small bowl. 
• In a separate medium bowl beat egg whites, lemon juice and vanilla with handheld electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Slowly add 1 tbsp at a time of remaining sugar (15 tbsps). While doing this gradually increase the speed of he mixer from medium to medium- high. I have a 7 speed mixer so I went from 5 speed to 6 speed then 7 speed at the end. Beat for 4 minutes or until the mixture becomes thick and looks satiny. The best way to know if it's ready is by taking a spoon and making a path through the mixture. If the path doesn't cave in, it's ready. 
• Now beat in the cornstarch mixture. 
• Scrape the mixture into the centre of the parchment paper circle and spread it out almost to the edge of the paper because the Pavlova will expand. Ensure that the edges are slightly higher than the centre. 
• Bake the Pavlova for 1 hour and 15 mins EXACTLY. You will know that it's ready if you can poke your fork through the edge of the Pavlova and the crust gives in a little bit. 
• Do not remove the Pavlova from the oven. Turn off the oven, keep the door closed and let Pavlova cool in the oven for 1 hour. 
• Gently remove the parchment paper from the Pavlova and place it on a large dish. 
• Spread the yogurt mixture thickly in the centre of the Pavlova spreading it around but leaving a crust. 
• Top the yogurt with the fruit mixture. 

How did yours turn out?