Fourneau fou infernal et fils

A quick post today to tell you that, in case you haven't heard, Viva Vegan Store now has a physical store front!
We are so happy to be meeting people in person, some of them internet friends from long ago, new friends too. It's quite the adventure to be running the store and we love it.

One of the best thing that comes from meeting new people is the incredible amount of talent there is out there. If you have not heard about Fourneau fou infernal et fils, here are a few pictures of the deliciously amazing VEGAN DONUTS (you read that right) that we get to be surrounded with all day.
When Laurence comes in with her creations of the day, it's always a magical moment.
Then we have to show restraint and leave her baked goods for our customers.




You should definitely come down and see for yourself, though :p

Have a great weekend everybody!


Our New Storefront:

Boutique Viva Vegan Store
4148 St-Laurent
Montreal QC
514.903.VGAN (8426)

Viva Granola in Montreal @ The Big Veggie Gathering

I have been meaning to post a recipe since forever, I swear. But life has kept me more busy that I had ever imagined, with a big insanely quick move related to another event I hope to be able to write about soon!

For today though, I wanted to post this event mentioned in the post's title that is coming up in Montreal: It's the 4th edition of the Big Veggie Gathering, on December 4th at noon! At the HEC once again, there will be a Vegan Potluck (with best dish contest), speakers, a culinary demo and kiosks.

We will be there with Viva Granola Vegan Store once again! We can't bring all our inventory with us though so if you are attending and there is something in particular you would like to see, just send us a quick email and we'll do our best to include it =)



All the details for the Big Veggie Gathering can be found here!

Lazy Baklava

Lately I have been in the mood for baklava and so I wanted to drool over my picture (lower on the page) and rethink of how my lazy idea turned out really, really well.


Baklava is definitely one of my favorite desserts but I have only made it a couple of times. The first reason being that I don't really like working with filo dough. The second reason was that for years, I had no access to a butter substitute (Earth Balance) and I would never have dreamed of making baklava with vegetable oil. Blasphemy! ;-)

I know I'm exaggerating as Aunt Trudy's Maple Walnut Baklava is absolutely delicious AND made with vegetable oil. Its only problem is that when you have to share with 4 other people, Aunt Trudy doesn't make her baklava big enough ;-)

So for years, no baklava for me... that is until I realized that the vol-au-vent lying around in the freezer since Christmas could not possibly wait until next Christmas. And I needed a dessert, stat!

So here is the result:



And here is the recipe, with absolutely no need to twist one of my arms:

Lazy Baklava
Brigit

• 6 large vol au vent shells, vegan friendly and uncooked (or more of the tiny variety)
• 300 to 350g of finely chopped walnuts
  
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup organic sugar
• ¾ cup water
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (you will not taste this in the final product)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 or 4 tablespoons Earth Balance Original Buttery Spread
  

Place the vol au vent shells on a serving platter or dish that has been greased with a bit of melted Earth Balance. Put aside.

Mix the walnuts with the cinnamon. Stuff each shell with the nut mix, and put the rest of the mix around each shell.

In a small pot, mix the water and sugar and heat until all the sugar crystals are dissolved. Add maple syrup, vanilla and the lemon juice and bring to a boil. Lower heat and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Add Earth Balance and let simmer 5 minutes more. Remove from heat and let cool.

When lukewarm, pour the syrup over the nuts in the middle of each baklava shell and then on the rest of the nut mix around the dish/plate. Add maple syrup if desired.

To serve, share one shell with someone you like :)

Asian style Braised Vegetables

Here is a little recipe that's very simple, super tasty and what's best is it can be adapted to what you have on hand. I love that.
First thing I did: I added more pineapple-y goodness.
Second thing I did: I removed most of the mushrooms asked for by the recipe, although I love mushrooms. My mom had found this recipe on the website of a Quebec cooking show and it asked for lots of different types of mushrooms that are impossible or really difficult to find in regular grocery stores, depending on where you live.

Be creative and add/substitute what you want while respecting the base for the sauce, pineapple and general guidelines and you should end up with something delicious :)

Bon appétit!

Asian style Braised Vegetables
The "What's in Brigit's Fridge This Week" version

- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) toasted sesame oil
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 2 carrots, thickly julienned
- 1 to 2 cups snow peas, (to taste - or other green vegetable, like green beans)
- ½ cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1 to 2 cups white mushrooms, sliced
- other vegetables that are waiting in the fridge for your consideration, to taste
- 2 cups pineapple with juice, fresh or a 540ml can, cut into chunks
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

Heat oil in a large heavy pot or wok and add garlic, carrots, peas and cabbage (and *other vegetables, if used) and cook for 5 minutes on high heat.

Add the mushrooms and pineapple chunks.
Stir well.

Add pineapple juice, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and simmer for 10 minutes stirring frequently or until vegetables are done to your taste.

Serve with a bowl of jasmine or brown rice.

Holiday Recipes: Sucre à la crème

I have been meaning to post Holiday recipes for the last two weeks but we are so busy it has been hard to find the time. Finally, I'm here today with an old Quebec favorite, Sucre à la crème.
It's a brown sugar fudge that is famous for being one hard recipe to succeed at making and the proof is that I have never, ever, ever, ever, succeeded in making it before. It took me trying to veganize it for it to finally work for me. It might be a good thing, it might be a bad thing... because although a lot of Québécois eat Sucre à la crème all year long (it's now widely available in most grocery stores), I have to think of it as a Holiday treat. That way, I put it in the Once-A-Year category and it's better for my curvy figure.

Some people like their Sucre à la crème on the hard side, some prefer it creamy. Some prefer it with nuts, some would never add nuts. You can customize it the way you like and yes, that means that you will have to play around with the recipe which is the perfect excuse if you want to practice making it now, or after the holiday season.

By the way, I would like to thank Jojo for her help testing this recipe and for her variation suggestion.


Brigit's Vegan Sucre à la crème

· 750ml (3 cups) organic brown sugar, packed
· 225g Earth Balance buttery spread (preferably not the Mediterranean one)
· 160ml Belsoy Creamy Preparation (Jojo liked using Coconut Milk instead - I find it gives a bit of a bitter flavour but it is still good)
· 500ml (2 cups) organic Vegan Icing Sugar
· 1 Tbsp good quality pure vanilla extract or if you prefer, maple extract (or a mix of the two)
· a Candy Thermometer

In a medium size heavy cooking pot, melt Earth Balance Spread with the brown sugar, stirring constantly. This is important because the sugar must not burn - it would affect the flavour.

Continue stirring until boiling stage is just reached and then add the Belsoy Creamy Preparation or coconut milk, then let it reach the boiling point again.

Lower heat and let simmer to 240F on your candy thermometer (this can take from 3 to 5 minutes - using the thermometer is more precise and it is highly recommended). The more you cook the mixture, the drier(harder)the end result will be. This is where you can tweak to your liking. If you prefer your Sucre à la crème creamy, cook it slightly less.

When 240F is reached, immediately transfer the mixture to clean medium bowl and with the help of a hand held electric mixer, add the good quality vanilla and gradually add the icing sugar. If you find your mixture too dry, you can add a bit more Belsoy cream, one teaspoon at a time. Be aware that adding too much will change the end result, maybe making it too creamy for your liking.

*If you would like to add walnuts, this is where you would do it, with the help of a wooden spoon, just before pouring the delicious mixture in a mold to let it set.

Pour in a square mold and let cool completely in the fridge. When set, cut into squares and share with all the people who have been nice to you during the year.

OR you can freeze the squares you want to eat later :)

James Barber's Tofu on Pita

We discovered this recipe many years ago. Thinking about it, I guess it was the first recipe that we tried that contained tofu. And we fell in love with it at first bite :)
It is very simple & quick to prepare, inexpensive, very fresh and totally satisfying. It is on our menu list this week and we will be serving it with Tofutti's Supreme Sour Cream (Viva Granola Vegan Store now carries it, if you can't find it near you)... Plain soy yogurt is also good with this.

We have been making it for more than 10 years, have given the recipe to many people, including lots of non-vegans, and each time, we hear great feedback about it. It would be so good for our ego if it was our recipe, but it is originally James Barber's.

Mr. Barber passed away in 2007, sadly. You might have followed his CBC cooking show, The Urban Peasant. Not a lot of his recipes were vegetarian, and even less, if any, were vegan - honestly, I don't remember as I didn't even know what veganism was when I used to watch his show, back in the early to mid 90s. But I discovered tofu because of him (or I learned to really love it though his recipes) and loved how he had a no-nonsense approach to cooking. He gave great tips and you could even learn some trivia before and after commercial breaks. I loved that. So, I liked to watch The Urban Peasant and Mr. Barber encouraged me to cook without feeling too self-absorbed, focusing more on my natural love of food, experimenting and creativity.

Without further delay, here is this super yummy, peanuty tofu recipe! Try it and have fun cooking!

James Barber's Tofu on Pita

- 1 block of extra-firm tofu, cut into fries
- 1/2 to 1 white onion, sliced
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil - I love to use sesame oil for this but canola or sunflower works fine, too.

Brown or sauté the above ingredients in a heavy-bottomed frying pan.
When the tofu is golden and crispy on all sides, temporarily remove pan from heat and quickly stir in*:

- 2 Tbsp natural peanut butter
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- Juice of 1 lemon
- salt, to taste
- a bit of cayenne, or to taste

Put the pan back on the burner to heat.
Serve on/in pita bread garnished with crispy romaine leaves, spinach leaves, vegan sour cream or soy yogurt.

*You can prepare the little peanut sauce in advance and add it in all at once to "deglaze" the crispy tofu.

Tofu & Zucchini Pasta

Today I am passing on a recipe that was originally from my dear Aunt Lucie which is quick to make and delicious. You can replace the tofu with tempeh strips, seitan chunks, TVP or SoyCurls, your choice.

As always, have fun, be creative and thanks for visiting! :)



Tofu & Zucchini Pasta
Gaia's Aunt Lucie's recipe


• 900g pasta
• 1/2 - 1 bloc tofu, cubed
• 3 cups zucchini, cubed
• 2 cups green peppers, cubed or sliced
• 1 1/4 white onion, diced
• 56oz diced tomatoes, with juice
• 20 fl.oz tomato condensed soup
• 1/3 cup vegetable broth
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 Tbsp oregano
• 2 tsp garlic granules
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• 2 tsp basil
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp crushed chili peppers
• Sauce sauce, or tamari, or Bragg's


Cook chosen pasta according to directions - meanwhile, prepare "sauce":

Sauté tofu in a little oil and season with sauce sauce.

Add vegetables and cook on medium heat while stirring constantly until vegetables are tender.

Add all other ingredients and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes.

Gently incorporate pasta OR serve over pasta.