Keri Cronin

Category Archives: Vegetarian


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Enjoying Vegan Food

If you had told me a few years ago that I would be blogging about food, that I would be interested–really, really interested–in trying new recipes and that kitchen gadgets (hello Vitamix!) would be on my “wish list” I would have laughed. For years I was a pretty lazy vegetarian — frozen pizzas, lacklustre sandwiches, cereal. Whatever. As long as it wasn’t made of animal flesh I was ok with it.

Being vegan has brought many changes to my life – all of them positive. This weekend I was thinking a lot about how I’ve begun to pay more attention to what I eat, both from a nutritional and ethical point of view, but also from a taste point of view. I’ve been thinking more about flavours, textures and how different dishes go with one another.

We cooked up a storm this weekend. First up: White Bean and Kale Soup and Biscuits. Then Carrot Raisin Muffins from my all-time favourite vegan cookbook, Vegan With a Vengeance.

We took a trip to the market on Saturday to stock up on greens and goodies. (veggies for us and for Jill the rabbit!) While we were there we stopped at Rise Above Bakery’s booth and got some fabulous chocolate croissants – yes, they were vegan! Oh. My. Goodness. So delicious! Then we stopped at the Truly Organic Foods booth and had a great chat with Lee-Ann. We bought some Salad Booster and some Coconut Oil from her. Both sounded amazing, but while I was pretty confident that I knew what to do with the Salad Booster (“sprinkle on top of salad”), I was less certain about what to do with Coconut Oil. Turns out there is a whole world of Coconut Oil goodness just waiting to be created! Marlie sent me a recipe for a Granola made with coconut oil so I had to make that today. The whole house smelled like toasted coconut goodness.

For dinner tonight I finally got to try a recipe I’ve been dying to try for ages, Tomato Basil Cream Pasta from Vegan Yum Yum. Wow. Just wow. (please note, I’m complimenting the recipe, not my cooking :) ). This will be a go-to favourite from here on in. I’m still always amazed at the versatility of nuts. (I’m also discovering, much to my delight, that businesses like Truly Organic Foods sell raw nuts that have very likely not come into contact with peanuts. I know that it is pretty difficult to guarantee this, but by virtue of how these raw nuts are acquired, packaged and sold the risk for someone with a severe peanut allergy is pretty minimal. This makes me very, very happy.)

We also were invited to a fabulous vegan brunch on Sunday morning. (thanks Crista & Dylan!) What better way to enjoy good vegan food than to share it with friends?! I’m seriously thinking we should start a vegan brunch club, moving the feast from house to house each month. Anyone with me?


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A “Baker’s Dozen” at Rise Above

So, I was among the fortunate few who scored a seat to tonight’s “Baker’s Dozen” event at the new Rise Above Bakery in St. Catharines. Now, I’m not one to gloat, but I have to say that if you weren’t there you missed out in a rather epic fashion. Amazing! An amazing 5 course vegan meal in a funky new downtown venue. Fan-flippin’-tastic!

To start, we had a delicious celery-pear soup.

This was followed by a potato and heirloom beet salad.

The next course was tofu in shitake dashi with sesame vegetables.

Next up was gnocchi in a cashew cream sauce. Amazing!

Dessert was a cinnamon bun with vanilla “ice cream” – seriously one of the most delicious desserts I’ve ever had in my entire life.

A great atmosphere and a great night – excellent food, wine, chai tea, art, etc.

Even Jenny (the cat) and Jill (the rabbit) approve.

Word on the street is that these events will take place on a semi-regular basis. If I were you, I’d be sure to sign up for the next one. Seriously.

Huge congrats to Kyle Paton on this new business adventure. I smell success!


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Solstice Breakfast at Pan

To celebrate Winter Solstice we had breakfast at Pan, one of our favourite downtown restaurants. As usual, the food was spectacular! I had the “Eggs Bryan,” a vegan version of Eggs Benedict: toast, spiced tofu and an avocado-based hollandaise sauce. So yummy and it is especially nice with a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice.

Niagara folks – if you haven’t been to Pan lately (or at all, for that matter), you are missing out! Great food made with local ingredients – the menu is veggie-friendly, but there is something for everyone! A great downtown location, neat art on the walls, “Baby Hour,” a new dinner menu on Thurs, Fri & Sat, and some pretty fabulous beers and wines – what’s not to love!? (and, no, I don’t work at Pan, I’m just a Pan fan!)


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Holiday Goodies

We had a few friends and neighbours over yesterday afternoon for a little holiday cheer. And what would a get-together be without food? We had so much fun preparing holiday goodies, including cupcakes (soynog + gingerbread,

pecan “snowball” cookies (recipe from VegNews),

gingerbread and “buttery” lemon cut-out cookies,

and, of course, hummus & pita (recipe from the Chez Piggy cookbook).

It was wonderful to get together with some family and friends to celebrate the end of term and start of the holidays. Our lovely, generous friends brought many treats and goodies, including several bottles of wine that I’m looking forward to trying. In addition, Marlie and Jim brought an assortment of homemade raw vegan “sweet treats”: lemon coconut bars, candy cane and cacao truffles and some raw chocolate flowers.

Nadine, Graeme and Eliot brought delicious vegan oatcakes + a festively decorated cookie made by Eliot.

Shauna, Tim and Adalaide brought a box of vegan donuts from Rise Above Bakery. Such a thoughtful and yummy treat!

And Lesley brought over some chocolates from Maha’s Chocolate – these are both dairy and peanut-free. Can’t wait to try them!

Happy holidays everyone!


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Please Pass The Soup!

A cold and snowy day in Niagara today – the first one of the year! brrr…

This calls for some soup!

We didn’t have all the ingredients in the cupboard to make a traditional miso soup, but the following did the trick to warm us up:

-boil up some vegetable dumplings as per package directions
-when dumplings are cooked, scoop out of the water with a slotted spoon and set aside
-let water temperature drop a bit (so that it isn’t boiling, basically)
-spoon 3 Tablespoons (or more if you like) of miso paste into the hot water
-use a whisk to mix the warm water and miso in the pot
-put in 1/2-1 cup of frozen peas
-add a couple of handfuls of sliced mushrooms
-put the cooked dumplings back in the pot
-mix everything together and serve with green onions as a garnish


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Wild! Rice!

I found this recipe in the latest issue of VegNews and tried it out tonight. I think it might be a good candidate for a vegan contribution to holiday dinners.

Wild Rice with Apples and Butternut Squash
1 1/2 cups wild rice, cooked
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cups of 1/2 inch cubed butternut squash (from 1 1/2 lb. squash)
2 granny smith apples, unpeeled, cored and cut in to 1/2 inch cubes
1 Tbsp. dried thyme
1 cup of water or veggie broth
1/c cup walnut pieces

Heat oil in large skillet and sauté onion over medium-high heat until translucent. Add squash, apples and thyme and sauté for another 5 minutes. Stir in water/broth. Combine cooked rice, parsley, and sautéd mixture into a buttered 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle walnuts on top and bake at 425 for 20-25 min.


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Vegan Brock

A few of us Brock-based vegans (and vegan sympathizers) have banded together to form a group called Vegan Brock. The idea is to use social media to spread the word about vegan options on campus – look for us on Facebook and Twitter!

To that end, I was just over in the Guernsey Market to pick up some lunch. While I didn’t see any baking labelled with the new “vegan” stickers today I was delighted to see soy milk for sale in the drink coolers. You can pick up 1 litre tetra packs or the smaller drink box sized containers. I’ve been asking for non-dairy milk on this campus for ages so this is just a wonderful development! Well done Guernsey Market! (This makes a nice change from the 2 on-campus Starbucks locations who offer me the “lactose free” milk every time I ask for soy milk. I think these are the only two Starbucks locations I’ve ever encountered who are so resistant to bringing in non-dairy options. So weird!)

So to all you Brock folks looking for non-dairy options, be sure to support the Guernsey Market in this initiative.

The vegan soup at the Guernsey Market today was a yummy-looking Pasta e Fagioli, but since it is such a warm, sunny day I wasn’t in the mood for soup. I opted instead for a “shaker salad.” I love this idea — you grab a (100% biodegradable) container and load it up with your choice of veggies and beans. Add your dressing and any toppings (sesame seeds, croutons, etc.), put the lid on and shake it up. This makes a nice, fresh, healthy alternative to the prepared salads one often encounters in cafeteria-style places. Today I loaded mine up with: spinach, broccoli, carrots, beets, peppers, olives, and chickpeas. No dressing necessary. Yum!


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For the Birds!

This weekend we drove down to Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY to attend the Celebration for the Turkeys. This event, of course, takes place around the same time as American Thanksgiving and is a symbolic way of both celebrating the animals rescued at Farm Sanctuary and remembering those millions and millions of animals who are not as lucky. At this event turkeys like Daphne and Velma get fed tasty treats like cranberries and mashed pumpkin.

We spent a few hours at the farm, hanging out with the cows, pigs, chickens, geese, goats and rabbits. I absolutely love Farm Sanctuary — one of my favourite places on earth!



After spending time at the Farm, we all gathered at the Harbor Hotel for a vegan thanksgiving dinner. So delicious! The menu included: a yummy salad with pomegranate, a pumpkin soup that might just be the best soup I’ve ever had in my entire life, mashed potatoes, a beans and greens mix, Tofurkey, assorted veg and some delicious desserts (including chocolate dipped strawberries).

We stayed at the Marmalade Cat B & B in Watkins Glen and enjoyed a delicious vegan breakfast, complete with french toast. (thanks Sally!) There were 3 lovely cats who lived at the house — Charlie, the orange and white cat, was especially friendly!

Good Groceries was right next to the B&B and it was great to shop for products that we can’t yet get in Canada — things like the Tofurky pizzas with Daiya, Soy-based Whipped Cream and Field Roast sausages. (I know, I know! Prepared foods are not the most nutritious and we generally don’t eat them, yet it was really exciting to see and purchase products I’ve heard about in the vegan blogosphere but have not yet had access to. I promise to use them sparingly!)

While we were down in the Finger Lakes region we decided to nip over to Ithaca. I was so looking forward to going to the Moosewood Restaurant, but it is only open for dinner on Sundays. My disappointment was short-lived though — we found a funky little waffle house that had vegan waffles. Yay!!


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End-of-Summer Salad and Back-to-School Sandwiches

I can not believe the fall term is upon us! Wow! Where does the time go?

On the cooking front, a change of season and a change of routine require new recipes!

We attended a potluck-type event this weekend, and one of the dishes we brought was a corn and blueberry salad. (Thanks to Natalie for sending along the recipe!)

We were able to pick up most all of the ingredients at the St. Catharines farmer’s market this weekend — I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of all the delicious fruit and veggies grown right here in Niagara! I feel so lucky to be living in this part of the world. (note: this salad is easily veganized — just use agave in place of the honey in the dressing).

On the back-to-school front, Chickpea Salad sandwiches are rapidly becoming my new favourite stand-by lunch option. So yummy! I’m also excited about the Guernsey Market at Brock, in addition to the focus on fresh, local ingredients we’ve been told that there will be vegetarian and vegan options. At this point I’m cautiously optimistic, and I look forward to checking this out over the coming year.


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Vegan Heaven

We recently drove out to Nova Scotia and back for the ALECC conference at Cape Breton University (more on that wonderful conference in another post). This was my first extended road trip since becoming a vegan so I was very curious as to how things would all work out on that front. My VegOut app for my iPhone was incredibly handy, and there were only a few days on the trip where my meals were an odd-looking mish-mash of whatever animal-free products I could get my hands on.

The absolute, hands-down winner of the “best vegan meal on this road trip” award was a place called Noosphère in Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies, Quebec. Some stellar googling on the part of my travelling companion turned up this gem of a place along the shores of the St. Lawrence, about an hour and a half north of Quebec City. Noosphère is both a motel (adorably old-school in the most charming sort of way) and a restaurant that specializes in a Commensal-style vegetarian buffet. Again, I’m not wild on the buffet as a concept, but these veggie places have found a way to take the gross and the gluttonous out of buffet-style dining. In fact, it is the opposite, since your bill is determined by the weight of your plate people tend to take exactly what they can eat and it seems there is very little waste as compared to the gigantic portions served at some other restaurants.

Noosphère is, in short, a delight for the vegan traveller. (I have been referring to it as “vegan heaven” for the past few days!) It is set in a most beautiful part of Canada, the motel is very reasonable (less than $70/night), the staff is incredibly friendly, and the food has a home-cooked delicious quality to it. I am already planning my next road trip back to Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies! The vegan chocolate cake alone is worth the drive!!

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