REVIEW: MAD FAUX CHEESE

 

This year my favourite craft show announced that they were doing a food show and I of course wondered if there were vegan vendors.  Yes!  Mad Faux Cheese.  I was destined to meet Madison Conlin and her artisanal vegan cheeses but alas, timing and life made my meeting impossible.  So in the meantime, I added Madison as an instagram friend and drooled over her amazing vegan recipe results and cheeses from afar.  

I just had to try them.  A nut cheese sounded awesome.  This past week the lovely posted an offer for a trio of cheeses for thanksgiving.  Here came my opportunity.  I placed my order and drove into ottawa at 6 in the morning to arrive at vegan bakery extraordinaire, auntie loos to pick up this deliciousness.

Yesterday evening I set out all the "cheeses" with some plain old crackers and prepared to have my mind blown.

Little backstory regarding the taste testers.  I use to love chèvre...until we became vegan and you find out how bad cheese is for your body and for les animeaux.  My babes are picky eaters.  Dips are usually a no go.  It is terrible trying to get them to eat my homemade hummus and vegan cheese brands.  My hubby cannot stand cheese and has not had cheese in a decade.

I put the board down and these guys just devoured it.  My eldest babe avoids all vegan packaged products but she just went for it.  The beautiful colours of the cheeses were so enticing.  Cranberries in the lemon cranberry chèvre.  Real basil and sundried tomats in a beautifully coloured cheese.  A smoked Gouda.  A creamy Brie.  She dove in.  The papa could not help himself and the taste reminded him of that real cheese taste but oh so cruelty free.  There were not enough crackers to go around.

We were amazed.  I vowed never to eat any other packaged faux cheese again.  The papa agreed and a decision was made to make this a staple in our home.

Why is this faux cheese really so great?

1.  You can pronounce every ingredient and it isn't soy based.  

2.  The presentation is awesome.  I even cut out the labels and stuck them in the cheeses for a great display.

3.  All picky eaters in my house jumped at the chance to eat this amazingness.

4.  The cheese tastes similarly but better than real cheese... No joke.

As for the cheese favourites.  We each had our own.  We all loved all but I personally love the lemon cranberry for a bagel, as a dessert or on Melba toast.  The eldest was all over the Brie.  The papa loved the smoke Gouda, sharp but not overwhelming and the littlest big loved the sundried tomato.

Go on ahead and order this loveliness. Unfortunately only ottawans are lucky enough to taste this magic but please like Madison on Facebook at Mad Faux Cheese and on instagram with profile @madisonconlin.  She had mega #veganfoodporn.

(Note:  this is not a sponsored post.  I have asked Madison about her cheeses and I paid for the amazingness and told her that I would do an honest review.  I was lucky enough to get to sample all her choices as she added in one extra cheese as an added bonus, so not only does it taste amazing, she is a sweet mama too!)

 

 
 

VEGAN MOFO: COMFORT FOOD SERIES - ASIAN TOFU SLIDERS

It is getting cold outside.  Autumn in Canada is my fave season.  It brings about thoughts of harvest, cozy socks, tea and chilling with a blanket.  It is when I get most of my crafting done and recipe development.  Vegan Mofo has begun and I am too exhausted to come up with a clever theme.  So I thought..."this is the season of comfort so why not blog about comfort food!"

I plan to post all the deliciousness prepared over the next month.  There is no set schedule but if I'm feeling like a little home cooking is necessary and it is infused with nostalgia and taste, I'll be sure to bring it!!!

Tonight I was craving sliders.  I've actually never had one but for some reason the end of summer weather is making me yearn for a good tasting burger, fresh and sweet.  So I came up with Asian sliders with homemade guac and grilled pineapple.  

Asian Tofu Sliders

1 block of tofu (if you like a more raw tasting burger... If you like a mild more solid burger go for two blocks)

1/4 cup parsley

2 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 a bunch of green onion finely chopped

2 tbsp of soya sauce

1 tsp of ginger and curry spice each

2 tbsp of maple syrup

1 tsp of lemon

1.  Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until desired consistency.  I prefer very smooth.

2.  Preheat the oven to 375•

3. Heat a skillet with a generous amount of oil on medium-high heat.  Place a heaping tablespoon of the "batter" in the hot pan and press down. Cook until brown on both sides and place on an non-greased cookie sheet. 

4.  Once all patties are on the sheet place into the oven and cook for approx. 15 minutes.

COMPOSURE

Grilled pineapple

Guac

Greens

Ketchup

Sliced shallots

Sweet relish

Dijon mustard

I found that all of these components out together make the best tasting slider.  Enjoy!!! And happy vegan mofo!!!

 

VEGAN MOFO: BAKING WITH BABES

As vegan parents to vegan babes it is important to model our veganism as well as involve our babes as much as possible in the preparation, gathering and making of food.  We live in a great community surrounded by local Farms and gardens which I am hoping to be involved in the upcoming growing season, but for now we cook and eat with our babes and to us, it is important.  This morning the Littlest Big Babe helped the Papa in the kitchen with making his Sunday morning pancakes (today is a holiday so we are making them instead).  It is so fun to watch them make messes and feel the ingredients.  I think there is great satisfaction in making something.

Here are my top tips for baking with babes:

1.  If you are new to the idea, pick a day and time each week to bake a simple cookie recipe.

2.  Have all ingredients gathered beforehand and read the recipe so you can better guide them in the process.

3.  Let go of the idea of containing the mess.  It may get messy.

4.  You can write down the recipe for each child and put pictures of the ingredients beside the measurements to visually guide.

5.  Ask them what they enjoy doing.  Everyone has tasks they like.  Let them do those.

6.  Get down to their level or bring them up to yours.

7.  Invest in some baking tools for little hands.  They would definitely enjoy that trip.  

 

VEGAN MOFO: CUPCAKES AND VISITS

Today was our official day in our new home after frantically moving and cleaning the old apartment.  It has been exhausting.  For me, I am so worried about getting everything in its place.  I cannot sleep well until this and that are just so.  As I look around at the piles of boxes, the realization that my desire to settle easily may take a long time.  The Papa is exhausted for other reasons.  He literally moved our entire contents of our apartment in eight loads.  I helped a lot with our first but after that I was on baby duty, which is a bit much in itself, considering that nothing is baby proofed yet.  He also was the one who had the pleasure of going back to the old apartment (which I have separated from weeks ago).  He was the one to bid it a fond farewell.  He said goodbye to the home our babes grew up in, the room my babe was born in and their recorded heights on the doorframe.  There was no looking back as he said goodbye.  He left to new memories but it is hard to say goodbye to a place you called home for soooo long.  

Well, the house is a work in progress but today is the start of the most awesomest month of the year VeganMoFo.  Basically it is a month where bloggers dedicate their posts to veganism.  Some people have themed blogs, others share recipes. The support for being vegan is there.  I believe this is my fourth one!!!  So WELCOME!!!  All of my contact information is available on the blog if you wanna connect.  Follow my instagram and also leave a comment.  I would love to hear from you.  

For today's post I am gonna talk about the best housewarming gift.  We live in a small town as some of you know.  We love it, except for the fact that amazing vegan fare is hard to find.  You have to travel about an hour to get to Ottawa to experience vegan heaven.  Today we happened to head to Ottawa for business (which I will talk about shortly), so vegan restaurant hopping wasn't in the cards.  

We did our thing and rushed back to meet our friends Em (who is starting a blog soon eeek! ) and Graham.  These two are awesome!!!  Anyways, we ended up stopping at a tool store for my hubby and guess who was there too.  Yep!!  I fell in love with some boxes and Em did too.  I had the idea of putting them up as bookshelves.  We went ahead from the store because the babes were bugging out.  Our friends were close behind.  Next thing we know they are in our foyer with the box I adored full to the brim with vintage finds, handmade aprons for the babes and vegan Thimblecakes cupcakes: tiramisu, double chocolate, s'more, cookie dough and a baby cake.  Yum!!! 

I think we will keep them around.  In other news, I bough this:  

 

 

ON BEING AWAY FROM THE ELDEST BABES FOR THE 1st TIME

This weekend the Papa and I headed to Osheaga Music Festival in Montreal.  The trip had been planned as a birthday present for the Papa.  We had fallen in love with Mumford and Sons.  They were a headlining show.  We had to go.  

The Babes were initially going to all come.  The daunting task of trucking them around the metro and the festival didn't even register.  But when the g-units offered to take the Eldest ones I jumped at the offer.  I have had many years to relish in my Babes.  There will be so many more.  But after a year without vacation, the exhaustion and sleep deprivation that comes with raising three amazing, spirited babes, I think I am in an emotional place to leave my babes without anguish or despair.  I truly believe that the Papa and I deserve it.  And quite frankly, although I plan on homeschooling my babes concurrently with their education at a more natural school, the desire to fulfill my heart and desires has been occupying a lot of my thoughts (but I will explain that at another time).

The Eldest babe is my most sensitive babe.  She gets anxious easily.  She doesn't do well with sudden change.  As the day approached, we made little mention of our leaving.  The morning of their departure the Papa and they packed their little suitcases (soup cases as the Biggest/Little says).  The excitement of a journey eased the transition.  For all of us, it was the first time we weren't sharing an experience. The fact that we each were going to be embarking on our own adventures that we could talk about later (oh and the prospect of Hello Kitty gifts from China town) sweetened the deal.

The Papa and I, along with the Littlest, had the best weekend ever as a couple.   We didn't stop moving.  Metro, festival, tours of the Notre Dame cathedral, vegan eats at Bonny's.  We packed a lot in.  When the weekend ended however, we were craving our Babes.  The g-units offered to feed them dinner and being them home but the realization of not seeing them the entire weekend dawned on us and we drove an hour out of our way to see their little faces.  I'm glad we did....

They had an epic time.  When they saw us they immediately ran.  The Eldest Babe had presented me with a bag full of literally 30 drawings, her best yet, as a gift.  There were hugs, love, kisses and an appreciation for each other.  It was amazing.

And while I am not sure how other mamas feel leaving their babes, our voyages of independence truly did bring us closer and help us grow.  It was lovely and I wouldn't mind making it a yearly tradition.

Little Vegan

 

kick butt kale chips (purple version) / coconut wrapped date rolls / carrot sticks / grilled tofu pieces / squash & cauliflower soup garnished with green onion

Recipe: Kick-Butt Kale Chips

kale:  a  form of cabbage, with green or purple leaves, in which the central leaves do not form a head. It is considered to be closer to 
wild cabbage than most domesticated forms.

This is a staple in our house all year round.  It is easy to grow (even in the snow) and has such an amazing flavour and multiple benefits including:  low in calories, fibre, zero fat, high in iron, Vitamin K, High antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, calcium, Vitamin A and Vitamin K....

So here is our favourite 5 minute recipe.

RECIPE

Ingredients:

Kale

Salt

Directions:

1.  Heat the oven to 400 degrees. 

2.  Pull the leaves from the stalks into chip size pieces (you may want to save the stalks for soup).

3.  Place in a colander and rinse thoroughly.  

4.  Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle with a little salt.  Each chip should be covered with salt once.  Overdoing it could make it too salty.

5.  Place in oven and cook for about 5 minutes.  You may have to flip once.  Watch carefully.

6.  Serve immediately as a side or snack

Veganocity Recipe: Buttery Baked Apple

RECIPE

McIntosh Apples

1 tsp cinnamon per apple

2 tbsp sugar per apple

Buttery Spread to fill each apple

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Core Apples and place in baking dish.

3.  Fill each apple with buttery spread half way.

4.  Sprinkle tsp of sugar and cinnamon into the apple.

5.  Add buttery spread to fill apple and sprinkle with remaining quantity of cinnamon and sugar.

6.  Repeat for all apples.

7.  Bake for 1-2 hours.

Serve hot with homemade granola and soygurt.

xoxox The Mama 

Chopped Vegan Competition: Vintage Double Chocolate Squash Brownie Brunch

 Vintage Double Chocolate Squash Brownie with Salted Popcorn and Apricot Drizzle

This dish is the sweet little ending to a bridal brunch.  It actually tastes really delicious!  The perfect combo of sweet and salty.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of wheat germ mixed with 1/3 cup of milk
1 1/4 cup of sugar

2 cups of squash (finely grated)
1 cup of almonds finely chopped (pretty much ground)
1/4 cup of flour
1/2 cup of cocoa
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 cup of chocolate chips

4 - 6 tsp of SMUCKER'S apricot preserve
1/4 cup of popped popcorn mixed lightly with salt, little oil and 1/4 tsp finely chopped rosemary sprig

Soy Whip cream and a dollop of apricot preserve for presentation

Recipe:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and Earth Balance buttery spread a square 8 inch baking dish.
2.  After mixing the milk and wheatgerm and letting sit for five minutes, combine the wheat germ mixture with the sugar with a hand mixer.
3.  Combine the squash with the dry ingredients and mix with wheatgerm/sugar mixture until "just mixed" and well incorporated.
4.  Pour half of the mixture of brownies into the buttered dish.  Place little dollops of apricot preserve throughout and then blend with a spoon lightly.  Top the layer with the popcorn.
5. Top with the rest of the brownie mixture.
6.  Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Presentation:

These taste best when warm so scoop out, place in the bottom of a vintage tea cup, add a dollop of soy whip and top with apricot preserve.

Yummy!  I hope I win Isa!

Vegan MoFo Day 8: Canadian Thanksgiving, Pumpkin Pie and Chumpcakes

 

 Well I must confess that completing the cupcake list has been difficult but I am still up to the challenge. There was one day where I was completely out of commission due to an infection - nothing to worry about.  There was another day where the hormones of being a new Mama for the third time combined with the lack of hours in a day collided to leave me a mess.  Then there was the day when I actually completed one of my cupcake to-dos and my little family took it upon themselves to devour the deliciousness while I napped (So no photograph for that day but I can tell you they were tasty and maple).

But my Vegan MoFo was rejuvenated with the best of all holidays:  Tofurkey Day!  At least one day in the weekend, the Papa and our family (mine through love and marriage and his through biology) gather to share in the vegan goodness.  Although the Papa's parents aren't vegans they make the entire spread vegan for their 5 granddaughters, children and their spouses.  It is absolutely divine.  The Papa always makes the most delicious of pumpkin pies.  I contribute a stove-top stuffing and cranberry sauce.  The Honourable El makes the most amazing Double Chocolate Chip Cookies whose recipe can be found here.  (NOTE:  if you want to experience transcendence MAKE THESE COOKIES!!!!)

This year we gathered on the Saturday and it was marvellous.  The cousins play so well together.  Each takes on a role based on their birth ages and they simply enjoy!  The second generation (we) get to chat with each other and catch up on the small or big changes in our lives.  It is a chance to reconnect and laugh and share.  The G-units get to watch the magic happen and usually let us all experience the best of everything.

On the Sunday:

We went for an amazing hike in the woods and noshed on pumpkin pie, stuffing and samosas on a cliff overlooking a small town.  It is so nice to see the autumn leaves from the sky.

On this day:

We enjoyed the weather with a bike ride and a park jaunt.  We spent the afternoon making more Tofurkey-liciousness and I completed the Chumpcakes (or Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes).  These cupcakes share a special place in our hearts because I made about 100 of these suckers for our wedding on Halloweeny 2 years ago (which can be viewed here).

Vegan MoFo Day 3: Minty Fresh and Thoughts on Mindful Mothering

P.S. Gotta love a man who comes home with Baroque inspired cupcake liners - my fave

On Cupcakes:

It is 10 o'clock, the cupcakes are cooling and the minty fresh icing is ready to go on.  I skipped the ganache and instead plopped a lovely decadent chocolate chip in the centre.  They will make a lovely snack for the Papa on the scaffold.  NOTE TO SELF & LITTLEST OF BABES:  Caffeine may be a problem, but it is oh so good.

On Mamahood:

Today this Mama was exhausted.  Each day is filled with caring for these amazing Babes.  They each have their own personalities and I relish (mostly) in the aspects of all.  But at times when you combine a frustrated Mama with frustrated Babes and throw in a whole bunch of miscommunication from all sources, the day becomes long and hard.

My Babes are my world.  I cannot reiterate that enough.  They have filled my life with so much love, life, light and purpose.  With that comes huge responsibility. The responsibility of wanting them to experience life without thwart.  The responsibility to be nothing but supportive, encouraging.  The responsibility of not exposing them to that which my dysfunctional upbringing did me.

So on a day when the compromising became overwhelming, getting fresh air became an obstacle and lower back pain was a physical struggle, I lost sight of that responsibility and feel ever so guilty and upset.  As mother's we swear to do things differently, positively from those before us.  And I know I cannot beat myself up over it but I do and vow to change.  It is constantly a struggle trying to be mindful of each being in this Mess and their individuality and how we interact.  But I must continue to be mindful.  I want to affect my Babes positively and have a relationship with them based on trust, love, acceptance and communication.

xoxo

Vegan MoFo Day 2: Ghost Stuffies and Basics

The Babes helped me with this recipe and deserve all credit for its preparation and deliciousness.  Most of the day I was feeling overwhelmed by a body that is still recovering from birth.  Walking is a bit difficult and my lower back is full of pain.

I did muster up enough energy however to create these cute little ghost stuffies from leftover fabric.

Super Easy DIY:

You will need

1 piece of fabric square about 12 inches by 12 inches
1 12 inch piece of yarn
Stuffing / Batting
Eyelets (these ones you poke through the fabric and they go into a metal piece)

1.  Find the middle of your ghost and attach eyes on the right side of the fabric
2.  Stuff the middle with a ball of stuffing
3.  Cover the stuffing and secure by wrapping the yarn around

Happy MoFo!

Vegan MoFo Day 1: Intro to my Month, Cupcakes

Yes it is upon us again...Vegan Month of Food 2012 Edition.  Vegan MOFO is awesome.  It is a chance to blog about all things deliciously vegan.  The MoFo-ers ask that we do a minimum of 20 posts but I am going to try and do one everyday, maybe more.  I know. I KNOW!!!  This Mama just had a baby 2 weeks ago, the Papa started a new career and the Eldest Babes are amazingly exuberant and requiring a lot of stimulation.  Not to mention I will be incorporating a little homeschooling into the mix.  Well, Vegan Mofo is awesome.  The month of October propels me:  changing leaves, changing lives, changing body, changing babes.

This year I decided to go simple with a theme.  I will be making 31 varieties of cupcakes over the month.  My goal is to bake a cupcake each day but realizing that some days may be a bit of a write off with the amount of responsibility in the mess, I may not get to it.  So some days I may not bake at all but others I may bake 4 varieties.  We'll see.  31 Cupcakes are promised however.

Here is a tentative list of the cupcakes I would love to complete (they are all courtesy of the amazing Isa Chandra - the vegan Goddess that I wish to meet desperately...last year I won a signed copy of her book Vegan Pie in the Sky):

1. Golden Vanilla Cupcakes
2. Your Basic Chocolate Cupcake
3. Carrot Cake Cupcakes
4. Gingerbread Cupcakes
5. Crimson Velveteen Cupcakes
6. Peanut Butter
7. Chocolate Cherry Creme 
8. Brooklyn vs. Boston Cream Pie Cakes
9. Maple Cupcakes
10. Pineapple Right-Side Up
11. Chocolate Mint
12. Smores
13. Brooklyn Brownie
14. Banana Split 
15. Toasted Coconut 
16. Dulce Sin Leche
17. Lemon Macadamia
18. Green Tea with Green Tea Glaze & Almond Flowers
19. Mexican Hot Chocolate
20. Coconut Lime
21. Chai Latte
22. Pistachio Rosewater (DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE I CAN GET ROSEWATER?)
23. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip
24. Apple Cider 
25. Mucho Margarita
26. Blueberry Lemon Creme
27. Cappuccino
28. Sexy Low-Fat Vanilla
29. Peanut Butter Bombes
30. Peanut Butter Chocolate Heavencakes
31. Simple Vanilla and Agave Nectar

Let the Vegan Yummy Games Begin!!!

My Grocery List for Tomorrow:

Cupcake Liners

Icing Sugar

Canola Oil

Soygurt

Walnuts

Raisins

Carrots

Lemon Zest

Vegan Shortening (Earth Balance of course!)

Vegan Buttery Spread

Chocolate Chips