A welcome addition to the cookbook shelf

Every time I scan the cookbook section of my local (kick-ass) bookshop these days, I’m delighted to discover yet another collection of vegan or vegetarian recipes. It seems there’s a new book added to the pile on a weekly basis, which is great for my kitchen (and terrible for my wallet). And though I’d never complain about having too many vegan-related books to choose from, it’s kinda tough to decide where to plunk your hard-earned Queen Liz (that’s $20 for you non-Canadians); I definitely have a few impulse buys whose pages have yet to be glued together with spilled flour and sauces. So, I was delighted when presented with Beth A. Barnett’s Rabbit Food Cookbook, a compact, spiral bound gem featuring vegan tips, food history and a solid portion of yummy recipes. The format is sensible and easy to digest, with hand-written text and whimsical sketches throughout, which (almost) makes up for the lack of colour pictures.

Between the pages

The first half of the book is full of advice and food for thought. The author offers tips on nutrition without being preachy, and suggests several respectable resources for further nutrition information. Her tidy section on the Industrialisation of Food in America (pp. 32-56) is necessarily oversimplified, but a good overview for readers who have little exposure to food history – and again, there are great resources listed for further self-education. Beth offers helpful ingredient tips, and crafts for making your own grocery & produce bags. She also touches upon the practical work of growing your own food, something more of us should be doing! One of the best things about this book is how helpful yet un-assuming it is. Beth doesn’t present her work as being the sole authority on vegan lifestyles, but merely one in a plethora of awesome books to have on hand.

The latter half of the book features 111 pages of recipes divided into breakfast, soups, mains, sweets and drinks. Many of the recipes are standards found in most vegan cookbooks – but they work! I’ve made the Fancy Brownies (p. 202) so often that the page is more cocoa-coloured than white anymore. Beth’s recipes vary from quick meals that amateurs can whip together with ease, to slightly more complex dishes that require a bit of planning. With regard to the compact page size, some recipes are written too concisely, leaving the reader to fill in a few gaps that might be obvious to a seasoned cook but will result in mistakes from people new to the kitchen. For instance, the Tofu Pot Pie (p. 139) is written over three pages and broken down into four main steps, but is missing important directions – like whether pots, pans, or bowls are best for any given step. Aside from such issues, the resulting food is generally amazing (my roommates devoured the pot pie in a flash!). There’s a nice variety of meals, too – sushi, tempeh, pastas, hearty salads, and a few seitan dishes to boot. And the peanut butter cookies are to die for…

The little things

For all the cookbooks I’ve perused and purchased lately, this one takes the cake for most helpful and easily accessible. I’m particularly fond of the coil spine (why is this not a regulation for all cookbooks?!) and the cute illustrations, though its useful information puts this book at the top of my gifting list for others. If a few recipes were written with more clarity, I’d dare say this is a perfect little book – especially for newer vegan cooks.

With the past issue we were able to go one step further with helping people through the T.O.F.U. grant, and we’re looking forward to being able to continue this program through future issues. Since another one is just around the corner, we have been working towards finding other avenues to support people in their related work. One of the ways we have decided to do this is through directly sponsoring vegan-related events, or at least advertising with them when possible.

With this in mind, T.O.F.U. is proud to be involved with the following:

Berkeley Vegan Earth Day – San Francisco, California, USA
April. 22nd, 2011

Berkeley Vegan Earth Day will feature a screening of the award-winning feature documentary, “Call of Life, Facing the Mass Extinction” by Species Alliances, which investigates the growing threat to Earth’s life support systems as a result of dwindling biodiversity. Following the screening, there will be a panel discussion featuring experts in vegan lifestyle and nutrition, and environmentalism. The admission also includes a delicious, vegan, catered reception sponsored by Vérité Catering, which specializes in plant-based cuisine.

For more information, please contact Karine Brighten Events.

Ottawa Veg Fest 2011 – Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Sunday, May. 1st, 2011

From fun costumes, to free samples, to guest speakers and a silent auction, there is something for everyone at this family-friendly, grassroots event. This year’s keynote speaker, former NHL-player turned vegan Georges Laraque, and the great NCVA Cupcake Challenge are bound to be highlights from what is set to be a great event.

Vida Vegan Blogger Conference – Portland, Oregon, USA
August. 26th to 28th, 2011

Workshops, discussion panels, speakers, special events, vegan food, and more. This conference will celebrate, explore, and fine-tune the practice—and ever-growing community—of vegan bloggers.

For more information, please see the Behind the Scenes post on the organizers, one of whom contributed to the last issue.

We’re hoping this list will continue to grow over the coming months, and we’re open to suggestions if you have them.

So, I was disappointed today to come across news that the Greenwich market in which Ms. Cupcake has been selling wares for nearly a year had informed her that she could no longer sell there on weekends. Citing that “there are too many cake stalls” at the market, and requesting that she sell during the quieter Friday markets, the Divisional Director of Property Management for the market, Paul Turton, is causing quite a stir amongst the customers.

Luckily, some of those customers have started a petition to try and get Ms. Cupcake back during the busier markets. So, if you’re so inclined, please head over to see what you can do to get a few more cupcakes back into people’s weekends.

Keep the “Ms. Cupcake” stall at Greenwich Market.

As well, Ms. Cupcake, who are currently working on opening their own shop, will be holding a “pop-up” market on Saturdays in front of their future shop location in Brixton. So, if you are lucky enough to be in the area, go visit them and show some support!

Note: In order to avoid any confusion, there is another market vendor who sells vegan cupcakes during the weekend who seems to still be allowed to attend the market on weekends. So, this may not be a clear case of discriminating against a vegan business.

“T.O.F.U. is a dope digital mag that I discovered recently. Complete with recipes, editorials, restaurant reviews, cool feature stories & more – it’s worth checking out if you’re into all things vegan!”

Thanks to the folks at Well and Good for taking the time to say such kind words about the new issue. They seem to be spreading some great vibes in their corner of the net, so head over there and check them out.

Alright, maybe it’s just a crush since they’re not entirely vegan, and they are on the other side of the world, but I can be smitten for today, right?

Lentil as Anything

They have a “pay as you feel” policy, three locations, live music, artwork, films and they are quite active in their community.

Oh yeah, they also share a kitchen with the fine folks who did the cupcake cartoons I posted about a little while ago, Mister Nice Guy Cupcakes.

Swoon.

Now, if they go vegan and add a record store adjacent to the restaurant, I’m going to have to grab my passport and credit card.

Mister Nice Guy Cupcakes: Cupcakes Comics

In these lovely comics you’ll find the answer to such things as:

- What does broccoli make smell funny?

- What exactly is in the icing for vegan cupcakes?

I’m not saying you will want to know the answers, but you just might laugh when you find out!

With the new issue being completely digital the whole world has opened up in terms of who can be involved. In fact, I’m hoping I will be able to showcase what veganism looks like in as many places as possible. I also plan on doing it in multiple languages. That’s right, if all goes well the next issue will not be restricted to just English articles. I think it’s only right since veganism doesn’t stop at English, right?

So, if you happen to know of a great little vegan cafe down the road from you or perhaps a place you go online that is cool enough to ship to your small town, let me know. I’ve tracked down everything from a bed and breakfast in the UK that looks amazing (The Sands) to a great little bakery in Ottawa, Ontario (Auntie Loo’s). However, I now know there is so much more out there, and that makes me smile.

Of course, it also makes a guy like me want to pack a suitcase and find out how great all these places are for myself! I’m open to donations to make that happen!

=-)

‘Vegan cupcake:’ The tastiest oxymoron

If you can get past Vanessa Farquharson’s need to make veganism seem extreme and her initial disbelief that something vegan could taste good, there is a great little story there.

So, a nod of thanks and congratulations goes out to folks like Chloe Coscarelli, New Moon Kitchen, and Sweets from the Earth who are hard at working filling the stomachs and changing the minds of so many people out there. Hopefully, Vanessa Farquharson is one of them.

I’m about to head out on the road again with a friend of mine on the Snowflakes and Cupcakes tour* to Ontario, and I can not wait to get another chance to try various vegan food establishments. I was just tipped off to this one in Ottawa, and I want cupcakes now!

Perhaps I can catch-up with my Ottawa veg* friends again and we can eat a few (too many)?

*Note: the tour is not specifically vegan, but I will be on said tour and possibly bringing T.O.F.U. shirts, so it is at least 33% vegan. Woohoo!