Cashew Cheese Jalapeño Poppers

Since we discovered Zengarry's Cashew Cheeses at Ottawa VegFest two summers ago, we've been hooked! Her cashew cheeses are the best we've ever had and changed the game when it came to making delicious cheesy vegan dishes. 

We recently placed an order online and purchased multiple flavors! We've been busy in the kitchen creating new recipes with the delicious fauxmage, including these Cashew Cheese  Jalapeno Poppers.

Chloé's Open Faced Sandwich

*Updated - Originally posted 11/21/2013*

This was one of our go-to sandwiches while we were in University. We weren't vegan at the time so we used buffalo mozzarella. Since transitioning to a plant-based diet, we hadn't found a good buffalo mozzarella substitute... until now!   

We found The Happy Pear's recipe for Buffalo Mozzarella on YouTube and instantly decided to give it a try and remake our old favorite sandwich. It was a definite success and we're so excited to be making this delicious recipe again!

This recipe was originally created by our friend Choé who is a vegetarian. She kindly allowed us to share this recipe with you all! 

  

Vegan Beer-Baked Scalloped Potatoes

I was watching the Food Network on my day off and saw delicious, creamy scalloped potatoes on the screen. I also happened to be snacking on some beer cashew cheese. This gave me the inspiration to create this amazing recipe! It's creamy and full of flavour... no cheese needed!

Vegan Cauliflower and Potato Curry Soup

I've recently discovered Rich Bitch Cooking's YouTube channel and I was instantly addicted! Her recipes are innovated, simple and look incredibly delicious. She has many Indian dishes and it inspired me to try making one of my own. 

This dish is my new favorite. The combination of flavors is divine and it's incredibly simple to make. 

Homemade Rosemary Sea Salt Soft Pretzels

We love our pizza dough recipe and love that's it's so versatile. We use it for pizzas, cinnamon buns and we recently discovered that we can use it to make soft pretzels! We must say, these were definitely a hit during the holiday season. They are perfect served with dipping sauces and can be made in any shape. We made them two ways, pretzel knots for dipping and traditional pretzels for a perfect snack size. 

Tofu Chili

A perfect Sunday night meal, chili has been a Grey Cup staple in our household for many years. We have made several chili recipes, this one being our newest one using tofu. 

Homemade Vegan Sushi

Last year, I visited my friends in Toronto and we had a homemade sushi night. It was my first time making sushi and I was shocked by the simplicity of the process. You can customize the filling to your preference, making it easy to please everyone. At first glance it may look difficult, but trust me when I say you need to try it for yourself. 

Teriyaki Tofu with Cauliflower Rice

Cauliflower rice is a great alternative for those who are trying to eat a low carb diet. The Minimalist Baker easily explains how to make your own with beautiful pictures. 

Here is our Teriyaki Tofu recipe using cauliflower rice. You can definitely make this recipe with regular rice, couscous or quinoa.  

Oatmeal Apple Raisin Muffins

Hey everyone! It's been a while. We haven't posted any new recipes in almost a year because we were focused on another project: our very first cookbook! The Lifestyle Notebook Cookbook will be launching on December 3rd 2016 and we're thrilled to be sharing this exciting news! Click here for details about our launch. 

Now that this project is nearing completion, we will be focusing on posting new weekly recipes on our blog.

We're kicking things off with these delicious oatmeal apple raisin muffins. To be honest, we are not the best bakers, however we decided to give it a go! These muffins are a perfect grab and go breakfast and turned out to be a hit, especially with our dad! 

Vegan Chocolate Chip & Walnut Cookies

I had a few friends coming over for a chill girls night-in. I knew I wanted to make a dessert to munch on but didn't have much in the cupboards to work with. I searched the internet and found this simple cookie recipe from Love & Lemons. I decided to give it a try and fell in love! I've since made this recipe 3 times. My non vegan friends loved them and they are a great healthier alternative. The perfect combo of chewy and crunchy!

Vegan Spinach Dip

Spinach dip has always been a potluck and appetizer night staple in our household. This recipe was easy to veganize and is sure to please vegans and non vegans alike!

Vegan Sausage Stars

This is our first vegan Christmas and we are so excited to veganize our traditional holidays meals and appetizers. 

Wonton hors d'oeuvres, most commonly known as sausage stars, are one of our holiday staples. We wanted to try to recreate this recipe, while staying true to the classic flavours. 

Chewy Vegan Molasses Cookies

Lately, I've been doing lots of online Christmas shopping and it's definitely giving me holiday fever. I found a festive cookie recipe on Faring Well and I just had to try them. These vegan cookies are the perfect combination of soft and chewy, a great treat along side a large glass of (plant) milk!
  

Creamy Vegan Arugula, Tomato & Avocado Potato Salad

I can honestly eat potatoes every day! Fries, mashed potatoes, potato soup, potato salad... the possibilities are endless! This next recipe is inspired by my favorite sandwich. It contains sesame ezeikel bread, vegenaise, avocado, tomato, scallions and arugula. I pretty much just combined all of these ingredients and created a creamy vegan potato salad. 

Vegan Stuffed Cigar Bread

Thinking up of a main thanksgiving dish was a bit tricky since I wanted to remain faithful to typical dishes that would be served during the holiday.  Thankfully, my mom helped me modify her classic stuffed cigar bread recipe and together, we cooked up this wicked main. It was delicious, especially topped with a generous helping of vegan gravy!

Vegan Food in Toronto : Notebook Entry Two

Back in August, my boyfriend and I went on a weekend trip to Toronto. We explored the sights and went apartment hunting for his move to the city.

wish restaurant

During my short stay, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to explore some vegan restaurants in the area. Discovering new food is truly one of the most exciting parts about eating a plant-based diet. When people find out that I’m vegan, I’m often asked about the food I can eat since people tend to perceive veganism as a restrictive diet, which it is in a sense, but not in it’s true nature. If you take a moment to think about your diet, there is most likely a vegan alternative for your favourite dishes. A vegan diet does not primarily consist of salad and tofu.

At times, finding vegan food can be a struggle, especially in restaurants. Most places I've been to have very limited vegan options and I’m left ordering a plain salad with a side order of french fries. Of course, there is nothing wrong with eating salad and french fries, but if I choose to go out to eat, I would rather have something a little more self-indulgent. That being said, when I do see vegan options on a menu or have the opportunity to eat at vegan restaurants, I definitely carpe diem and try as many things as possible.

During our stay in Toronto, we had the immense pleasure of eating at two remarkable restaurants: Wish and Live Organic Market. We had such a lovely time at both places, the décor and ambience adding to the positive experience. And lets not forget the delicious food!

My boyfriend is not vegan and doesn’t particularly enjoy vegan or vegetarian dishes. Luckily for both of us, Wish had vegan options, after substitutions, as well as meat dishes so we were both able to benefit from the mouth-watering cuisine.

veggie burger at wish restaurant 

soup at live organic market 

On the other hand, Live Organic Market is a vegan restaurant. The gorgeous back patio is full of life; flowers and plants surround you, creating a serene environment with all the beautiful colours and smells. 

We enjoyed a peaceful afternoon sipping on delicious soup and enjoying each other’s company. My boyfriend loved his meal and was pleasantly surprised that he was able to get such a hearty vegan dish. 

On our final day in Toronto, we decided to pick up pizzas and head to the boardwalk to enjoy the beautiful summer weather. Another great discovery was Pizza Nova. Who would of thought that a popular pizza chain would have the option to substitute for vegan cheese? It just goes to show how veganism is becoming more prominent in our society and businesses are becoming increasingly aware of the need for vegan options in order to cater to their customers.

I’m eagerly awaiting my next Toronto visit in order to continue discovering delicious vegan food…oh and to visit my boyfriend as well.

Talk soon,

Janelle xx

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving weekend. This year was our first vegan thanksgiving meaning no turkey and small modifications to classic family recipes. This was my first ever attempt at baking pumpkin pie and it was truly a success! I adapted Oh She Glows' vegan pumpkin squares in order to create this pie. 

Creamy Vegan Potato and Leak Soup

My colleague brought me to the local farmer's market and my purchases have inspired me to cook up some fresh dishes. The weather is getting cold and it's time to start creating some new soup combos so here's a simple vegan potato and leek soup for you to try!

Vegan Salted Chocolate Popcorn

I often crave sweet and salty treats. The other day, I decided to combine my love of popcorn and homemade vegan chocolate together and created this masterpiece! It's the perfect healthy sweet and salty snack!

Epic Vegan Chili

When the weather starts cooling down, I crave chili! We are still in our first year of veganism so this is our first time making vegan chili. This recipe is EPIC. It has so many delicious and filling ingredients making this the perfect fall meal!