Aux Vivres inspired me

So Friday night was the Aux Vivres night. And Saturday, I wanted to cook. Fully inspired by Aux Vivres, I got cooking!

The Vegelox we had the previous evening was just so crazy good that I had to figure out a way to make my version of it. I did some research online and although I was missing a really important ingredient (seaweed), I tried to make this vegan-version of smoked salmon. I mixed carrot pulp with capers, olive oil, green onions, salt and pepper. It wasn't as crazy as the one we had on Friday but it was more than just edible :P. I didn't stop there: I wanted to try making a cheese-like dip, something with herbs. I took out the tiny little food processor I have and mixed tofu with chives, olive oil, salt and pepper. It turned into what you can see on the right in the picture. It was really tasty! I could totally imagine this spread in a sandwich or something.

 And for my main course, with the peanut sauce that was in my meal at Aux Vivres, I wanted to do something that used peanut butter.

How about a spicy peanut butter marinade? Sounded promising! I mixed peanut butter with soy sauce, garlic, chili pepper flakes, a bit of olive oil and water. I marinated thick slices of tofu in it for a couple hours. Before cooking, I breaded my tofu in unsweetened coconut and sesame seeds. In the pan for a couple minutes on each side and BAM! Really flavorful tofu, with Thai aromas. I served it with whole wheat spaghetti with carrots, spinach and edamame, and a drizzle of sesame oil. Mmmmm!

Aux Vivres: Montreal's first vegan restaurant

I love HappyCow.net and its recommendations for vegetarians and vegans. That's where I read about Aux Vivres. Located on the Plateau, it's a really cute plate with a fully vegan menu. Kris and I gave it a try last Friday.

What we had:

Drinks: a cocoa-based smoothie, and the other one was made with berries. 

Starters: We went for the selection of cold starters. Cream cheese-like dip, vegelox (absolutely amazing), hummus, vegepate, tapenade, pickles and really good bread. 

My main dish: the Thai bowl, with tempeh. It came with peanut sauce, vegetables and rice. Mmmmm peanut sauce...

Kris' main dish: the Indian dinner; rice, a chick pea curry, chutney and a salad. 

For dessert, we shared a fake-cheesecake that was surprisingly creamy and moist. 

We asked for a table outside; they have a cute patio in the back of the restaurant. Aux Vivres seems like a good place to have a casual meal with friends, or on a double-date. I would definitely love to go back.  

Best. Burger. Ever.

The title says it all.

Kris and I went to the Jean-Talon market last Thursday to get inspired for our dinner. I was buying my usual tempeh and nuts and goodies. I also bought Blue Style Sheese, a 100% dairy free alternative to blue cheese. We ran into BBQ Tempeh Burgers and we had to give them a try, and Oh, My, God. Those turned out to be the best burgers we had ever had.

Imagine a really good quality bun with nigella in it (mmmm), the BBQ tempeh patty, the blue sheese, tofu-bacon (tofu marinated in soy sauce, liquid smoke and maple syrup), nayonnaise, tomato, spinach, and sprouts. It was... I don't know how else to describe it but to say that it was out of this world. We had it with a store-bought canned mixed bean salad that was really good.

If our dinner at Crudessence was described as a foodgasm, this had to be another one.

Vegan Dinner for Two

Before I talk about the food, I gotta tell you guys about Colleen Patrick Goudreau. Founder of CompassionateCooks.com, I think it is pretty safe to say that she is the reason why I am vegan. She opened up my eyes (and my heart) to the reality of the animal industry. She is very articulate, very smart and never uses a condescending tone when she talks. I beg you to check out her Podcasts, Vegetarian Food for Thought. After listening to all of her podcasts in a matter of days, I knew I was ready to follow my heart and make the switch. She also used to be a cooking instructor, and one of her videos on YouTube demonstrated her Stuffed Acorn Squash recipe. I knew I had to give it a try; it looked so simple and delicious!

Anyway, so... A lot has happened to me in the past week. Without really getting into details, I have a new guy in my life, and I'm glad to say that he's vegan too, so it was with a lot of pleasure that I prepared us a really, really gorgeous vegan dinner!

The stuffed squash came out beautifully. I changed the recipe from the video a tiny little bit, using a butternut squash instead of an acorn squash, and changing the spices and herbs as well. But believe me guys when I tell you that it was simply incredible, and so so so easy to make. Plus, it makes a very elegant meal. I served mine with a mixed green salad topped with soy nuts and squash seeds. 

And now, the dessert. Isn't this sexy? It's a raw vegan brownies, topped with coconut, served in a mango-peach soy dessert you get from grocery stores and blueberries. The raw vegan brownies are crazy simple to make:

In a food process, mix 1 cup of dates, 1 cup of walnuts, 1/4 cup of cocoa powder and a table spoon of coconut oil. Mix really well and press into a pan. Let it cool in the fridge before serving. Top it (or not!) with coconut. DONE!

J'avais amené des brownies crus végétaliens chez mes parents le weekend dernier, et ma mère les a particulièrement aimé. Je pense l'avoir rarement vu aimé autant un petit plaisir sucré. Et ils sont tellement simples à faire!

A newly vegan girl back in her hometown

I spent last weekend over at my parents' house in Loretteville, a beautiful suburb of Quebec City. As a newly vegan though, I was a bit nervous about going back home and having to deal with questions and concerns about my new way of life.

Everything went really well! My mother showed some sincere interest into what I had to say about veganism. My dad took me to the grocery store so that I could buy food I would want to eat, and I had brought a huge bag full of vegan basics like nutritional yeast and dates and nuts.

I was lucky enough to be there for a really warm and sunny weekend; I got to use the pool and go on bike rides. It felt good to be alive! I also made this little video to show you guys what it's like to live with my new body.



And nooowwww, the noms!

I made this delicious iced chocolate and coffee drink. I simply blended cold coffee, vanilla soy milk and cocoa powder into this smooth, sweet and decadent treat!

The best meal I had over the weekend was definitely my tofu skewers. I marinated the tofu in orange juice, tahini, soy sauce, chili pepper flakes and garlic. I had the tofu with cumin vegan sausages, bell peppers, eggplant, butternut squash and onions.

Mes soeurs se sont bien amusés à mettre leur grain de sel dans mes vidéos ;) Mais à voir leur réaction devant mon hummus de fèves noires, je pense qu'elles ne peuvent pas juger mon végétalisme :P

Letting go of the scale

Over the past year, my scale has been my biggest "friennemy". I was obsessed with the numbers that would show up whenever I would step on it. Often times, I would weigh two times a day to see how my body would react to my daily routines. I know how my weight changes through the week, how the lowest numbers would always show up on Sunday mornings, and the highest on Thursday nights... Don't know exactly why, but it was always like that! I know how my weight goes up right before my period too. (Oh the joy of being a woman!)

I have stopped counting calories a while ago, and I actually completely stopped looking at calories last week when I became vegan. I am ready to look past the numbers in food and just see food as food and not as a bunch of numbers. And I'm also ready to let go of the scale... 

I am not going to judge how I am feeling and how my body is feeling by numbers on a scale anymore. I have learned what I had to learn about food. and I have learned what I had to learn about staying active. I feel good in my body. My appearence matches who I've always been on the inside; I am a strong, confident woman who knows what she wants for her life. 

It is time to move on! I am no longer a loser; I am a maintainer. As long as my current clothes fit and I feel comfortable with the way I live my life, I'll still have reached my "goal weight". The only difference now is that that goal weight is not a number; it's a state of mind, and I've reached it.