meansoybean

One of the things that actually turned out this past weekend? Impossible Vegan Pumpkin Pie, from FatFree Vegan Kitchen. As I’ve mentioned several times; I don’t like making pies because I find making rolled crusts tedious. They never seem to work out. When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it.

It turned out great, but I missed the texture of a crust. (Dammit!) I’ll have to find one of those crusts that you press into the pan and use this as a filling.

I committed to bringing bread for the office fundraiser lunch buffet yesterday, a $4 all-you-can-eat concept to help raise money for Shave to Save. I chose bread because I knew it would be super easy, since I had the dough waiting in the fridge. I was glad to see that the bread was all gone by quitting time — I didn’t think people would bother with something as mundane as bread.

I didn’t attempt the buffet myself. No one labeled the food, heck, I didn’t even label my bread boule. Besides the bread, I think the only edible thing would have been samosas that looked like they were bought at Pushaps — which I love. Better safe than sorry, though.

The second (and final) fundraiser bake sale should be going on next week. I think I’ll try and make Isa’s Milanos and knock their socks off. Or maybe lemon squares. Or Nanaimo bars… Or…

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not perfect. Sometimes I end up with something that’s so FUBAR’d that it just ends up in the trash. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. And I hate wasting food, so it’s always a downer.

As much as I love being in the kitchen and making stuff, I find that this happens when I’m tired. If I’d rather be chilling on the sofa or not doing anything at all, it almost feels like I’m submitting to forcible cooking. Very bad mojo for the food, I’d say.

So it wasn’t a very productive weekend, food-wise… My pumpkin chocolate chip cookies were a disaster, melting all over the pan. They are barely edible, so they’re packed away in a jar til I get fed up and toss em. However, I blame the outcome of the toasted pumpkins seed squarely on Mother Nature. They look good, but they’re hollow inside. Blech.

The seemingly semi-annual Matt & Nat sale is back on next month… time for everyone to go crazy.

I own a couple of their bags. But my most used item is a dinky little pouch you wouldn’t think much of, if you saw it. It’s perfect for holding all my cards and a bit of cash, with no room for much else, keeping your pockets light. I don’t think they make it anymore, but they might still have leftovers to be had at their sale.

I don’t know about you, but I feel a bit funny about PVC-made bags. This type of plastic seems to skew towards evil, health and environmentally speaking. Remember all the talk about smelly PVC shower curtains? After I got my last Matt & Nat bag, I was kind of regretting the purchase because it had a strong chemical smell. I’m pretty sure it was the suede-like lining inside. But I stuck with it, and it eventually went away. So I’m very glad to hear that they will start recycling water bottles to make all their bag liners, and hopefully there won’t be an offensive odour that goes along with it. Also for Fall 2009, they will have a men’s and women’s collection entirely (inside and out) made of recycled water bottles. I’m intrigued. I really like KENNER from the Feutre line. Hint, hint. Matt & Nat bags make great gifts, especially if they’re on sale!

The MATT & NAT sample sale is back! We know you’ve all been waiting for it….
Don’t miss out on styles from 50% to 70% off!

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 17TH: 10AM-7PM
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 18TH: 10AM-7PM
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 19TH: 10AM-7PM
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 20TH: 10AM-7PM
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 21ST: 9AM – 3PM

**CASH ONLY**
**NEW STOCK DAILY**

Matt & Nat Montreal • 225 Chabanel W. Suite 440A • Check it out in Google street view! (give it a sec)

After hearing so much about this sale, I finally went in Summer 2008. The lineup was insane the first day at opening. I waited 2 hours to get in and just walked out. I knew there would be another huge wait for the cash. I was hoping to get in line while everyone was at the toss (they threw free bags out their window into the parking lot). But I had to drive all the way back home to get a forgotten shopping list! But I went back to the sale on the Friday night, and it was pretty chill; no lineups at cash.

I didn’t go to the summer sale this year, but I heard the prices went up slightly. I believe a big bag cost ~$100, whereas last year they cost ~$90. I don’t know what you should expect this time around, but you should go in with a list of what you’re looking for (check out their site) and take down the regular prices to calculate the savings you’re getting. Gone are the days when they first started these sales and all bags were $20 a piece, so legend goes…

A word of advice: this is a high traffic area of the city, given that it’s the “clothing district”. If you venture out on a weekday at noon, you’ll be faced with the lunch crowd; both on the street and most likely in line for the sale. If you’re driving — go early so you have enough time to find parking! You’ll be dodging delivery trucks, jay-walkers and double-parked cars.

I used to live a stone’s throw from Aux Vivres, and I spent an insane amount of money there — because when you live on the Plateau it’s easy to be a hipster-doofus who’s too lazy to cook. But now that I live in a very quiet suburb with no natural food stores or veg*n restaurants, I don’t always feel like making the weekend trek to hang out and get brunch.

The Aux Vivres Le Complet is a large plate with tofu scramble, two strips of tempeh bacon, roasted sweet potatoes, salad with dressing, a slice of cornbread and a bit of fruit garnish. For $9.75, it comes with filtered organic fair-trade coffee or chai. I think my favourite parts of this affair are the salad and the chai/coffee. The rest has, admittedly, become a bit bland over the many years I’ve been patronizing this joint. Maybe my palate is just bored of this one… they do have the La Polenta plate, but unless you like a Mexican slant to your brunch — dear God, stay away!

So you want to stay in your cozy jammies and your belly wants food, what do you do? Shuffle to the kitchen and get cooking! I won’t get into the potatoes or salad, as I feel that’s pretty standard, and I’m sure most of you know how to make these things. I usually omit the tempeh bacon, reserving that for special occasions. The most important component is the scramble, and here’s my recipe.

meansoybean’s tofu scramble
Feeds 2 very hungry people

1/2 block of firm or extra-firm tofu, crumbled
1 small onion, diced
1 tomato, diced
4 mushrooms, diced
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat a pan and fry the onion in oil for about 1 minute until translucent, then add mushrooms. Once the mushrooms are nicely browned, add the tomato, tofu and turmeric — stir well. If the scramble is liquidy because of the tomato, simmer until just moist. Salt and pepper to taste.

The beauty of homemade brunch is that it can be as fancy or as ghetto as you need it to be.
Eat your heart out, Aux Vivres!