A waffle is like a pancake with a syrup trap...

Lentil Rice Pilaf by Casbah

I have had this box of pilaf in my cupboard for some time now. I was saving it for when I didn't have anything else to make...and yesterday was that day. It has a very simple list of ingredients but is delicious. The seasoning is very nice. I also threw in some baby spinach at the end of the cooking time to add some greens. I plan on buying some more and keeping them on hand for days when I don't want to cook. One serving has 8 g of fiber and of protein!






Billy and I made our grocery list and meal plans for the upcoming week today, and afterwards, I was left with the urge to cook. So for breakfast, I made waffles.

Cornmeal Waffles with Blueberry Syrup- 125 Best Vegan Recipes

The cornmeal gives a really nice texture and I love how these are crispy. I had it with some leftover breakfast sausage.



Update: These waffles freeze really well. I wrapped them in wax paper and then foil, and froze them. To reheat them, I popped each quarter into the toaster for a few minutes. They stay nice and crispy!


I'm off to the kitchen to make some goodies for a bonfire tonite!

Product Review: Shopper's Drug Mart Nativa Organics

Shopper's has launched a huge organic food line, at affordable prices. There's a lot of different products out, much of it vegan-friendly.

One of those products, their cookie buttons, is my favourite so far. The box comes with 6 100-calorie snack packs. And the cookies are good! They're just mini chocolate chip cookies. And I love the snack pack size...I haven't had any of Nabisco's but they don't look very substantial, they look like a lesser version of the real thing. Not so with the cookie buttons.

Also, I got their natural microwave popcorn. Three boxes for 5$! It was obviously an introductory price, but I'm glad I stocked up, because it is very good. I'll make it my regular popcorn...they don't sacrifice any taste, and it's organic.

Check out a Shopper's near you. :)

Product Review: Yoso Sour Cream

Save your money.

It smells like ass, it tastes like ass. Save your money and stick with Tofutti. Even vegans draw the line somewhere, I don't care how desperate you are.

Yoso, back to the drawing board, although I still *love* your soy yogurt.

product review: PC Chai Tea

President's Choice has come a long way. This isn't necessarily a "vegan" product. It's PC Memories of India Masala Chai Loose Leaf Tea. It's about 6 dollars for a can, but so worth it. You simmer a tablespoon of the tea for every cup of water, and then add equal amounts of milk (soymilk in our case). I like to sweeten it with dry sugar, although agave would probably be good to. This stuff beats any Chai stuff at Starbucks, and hands down, beats any chai tea bags. I highly recommend it. I wasn't a big tea drinker before, but now I'm obsessed!

Product Review: Tofutti Pizza Pizzaz

I saw this in the health store yesterday, and *obviously* I had to try it. I don't know if I overcooked it, but it was not that great. I'd rather make my own pizza, which is always delicious.

Sorry for the bad picture, I'm in class.

Product Review: PC Blue Menu The World’s Best Meatless Seasoned Chicken Breast

I almost flipped when I saw these "chicken" breasts in the freezer at Superstore. I had to try them. You get 8 pieces for 8.99 although apparently that may just be an introductory price. I prepared some last night on the stove, and also microwaved one for lunch today. Both ways turned out great, but I have to say, it was extra juicy when made in the microwave. They are seasoned enough to eat on their own, which I did, on a bed of basmati rice. You could do so many things with these, and I think they are going to become a freezer staple for me, to have on hand on those nights when I don't feel like cooking.

Alright, enough about me...

Let's get to the food! Thanks for the congratulations from everyone.

I've heard a lot about Candle Cafe's cornmeal-crusted tempeh...so I tried it. It was very good, although it was too salty. I was expecting there to be extra marinade (which contained about 1/2 cup of tamari) after baking, but the tempeh soaked it all up and all of its salt too. These are fried, but I cut the oil down by half and it was enough to fry them all. I served these with sweet potato smash, also from Candle Cafe. I really enjoyed the potatoes. I slightly undercooked them, but the combination of cinnamon, maple syrup and miso was great.

While in Ottawa, Billy's mom brought us to the Produce Depot. I need one of these here! They had every imaginable fruit and vegetable in the world! I consider myself to be pretty knowledgeable about product, but there were many things I'd never seen before. Anyways, they even had vegan products there (Tofutti, etc). I picked up some Shefu Tofu BBQ Bites by Soyarie. I followed their tip on the package and made a wrap with it. A brown rice tortilla with some guacamole, curried mayo, spinach, pineapple, red pepper and the tofu bites. The texture of the tofu was awesome. It was kind of stringy and dry, the way meat can be, and the flavour was good too. Anyways, my picture of the wrap whomps, so I'm using the one from the website.
I have a lot of fruit to use up, and I was in a baking mood so I made some Maui Muffins with Orange Glaze, again from Candle Cafe. These have orange juice, orange zest, coconut, and pineapple and are topped with an orange juice and zest glaze. They are marvelous. If you have the book, I strongly recommend this recipe!

Exciting!

Today was exciting for me. My local Superstore opened up their Natural Foods section. I was like a kid in a candy store! Vegan cheese, Tofurkeys, ice cream, I can pick it all up there. One stop shopping! I picked up a case of Yoso soy yogurt. It came in three flavours: strawberry, vanilla and blueberry. I had the strawberry one today for a snack. Its probably the closest thing to the real thing that I've ever had. Very yummy.

I hope you all had a great Easter if you celebrated. We had a great trip down to Ottawa. We went to Lick's, a burger place. But they also have the greatest veggie burger ever. They even cook it on its own grill, with its own utensils, with a vegan whole wheat bun. I don't have a picture, but it pretty much looks like a burger. I also bought some kid-sized ones to take home with me (portion control, haha).

Easter dinner was great, I got stuffed on stuffed squash, and then for dessert, a mint cream egg! Billy's mom found these smooth dark chocolate eggs with mint fondant centres at Giant Tiger...and they're delish! If you've got a Giant Tiger near you, get over there!

Also, since this post seems to be about a bit of everything...I've now officially lost 20 pounds! I can't count how many times I've blogged about wanting to lose weight, and losing a few pounds here and there. I didn't want to be all talk, so I figured I'd wait til I hit the big 2-0 and then say something. Happy dance!

Product Review: PC Indian Chana Masala

A few weeks ago when I was doing groceries, I spotted this frozen meal at the Superstore. I wasn't going to get it, since I usually cook enough for the week, and didn't need it, but Billy said I should get it for those busy nights or emergencies. Plus its fairly nutritional with lots of fiber and protein. This is the description given on the website: Chickpeas, onions and tomatoes accented with an Indian-inspired spice blend, with basmati rice on the side.

Well, last night was one of those emergencies. I worked until ten, and was supposed to head to a friend's house for St. Patty's. I was starving, so I stopped at home and picked up the meal. I made it when I got to her house, and everyone said it smelled great. And it tasted good too. The basmati rice was actually well cooked and didn't suffer any adverse consequences from being frozen. The sauce for the rice was just the way I like it: not spicy but lots of flavour!

I think I'm going to stock up on these, to encourage the store to keep them, and also for those nights where there's no time or I'm too lazy, but still want to eat healthy.

Alfredo

Billy and I had tofu "alfredo" from Candle Cafe Cookbook today for dinner. The colour isn't very appetizing and I couldn't get a picture, but its yummy. B says it doesn't taste like regular alfredo but that it's really good anyways, and really garlic-y! We decided to make it chicken alfredo, so we used PC Blue Menu Meatless Chicken Strips. Mmmm, these things are great! I like the texture better than Yves. The pasta, topped with some faux parm and parsley was yummy! And the delicious garlic bread helped too ;)

Thanks for all the get well and birthday wishes...I'm feeling better but still not 100%. Good enough to make cupcakes though ;)