Spicy Tomato Soup (Zuppa Di Pomodoro Piccante)

The first time I made this soup, I thought it was a horrible mistake. If you're like me, you taste while cooking. It's the best way to figure out what might adjusting and if the recipe is coming along.

I got to #3 in the recipe and tasted. It tasted like a salty, tomato-y mess. I was hugely disappointed. But I hate wasting food. So I finished the recipe. Blended the soup, added the coconut milk and brown sugar. mixed, and tasted again.

It was transformed. It was now the soup of the Gods. Zeus himself eats this soup.

I kid you not, this soup is the bomb. It took no small amount of self control to stop myself from taking the whole pot and a spoon, and eating it all in front of my TV while watching Once Upon A Time.

I made the soup again recently for some friends of mine. We rotate hosting vegan potlucks. It's oodles of fun! They loved the soup too!! And demanded the recipe.

Moral of the story? Make this soup. Do it. Now. The Vegan Gods command you.

And of course, it's from "Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen".

Note 1: The recipe makes enough for about 5 good bowls of soup. Perfect for workday lunches!

Spicy Tomato Soup (Zuppa Di Pomodoro Piccante) - Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen pg. 72

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 medium sized onion (roughly chopped)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tsp of sea salt
• 2 tsp of Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper
• 1 (28 oz) can of fire roasted tomatoes ( I couldn't find a 28 oz can, so I used 2, 398 ml cans. It's roughly the same volume) liquid and all. 
• 3 cups of vegetable broth 
• 1 can of coconut milk, plus extra for drizzling
• 2 tbsp of brown sugar 
• chopped fresh basil for garnish

Instructions 

1) In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat and saute onion until soft 

2) Add the garlic, salt, Italian seasoning and red pepper, let cook for a minute more, until fragrant

3) Add tomatoes and vegetable broth, bring to a boil

4) Remove from  heat and in batches, transfer soup to a blender/food processor and blend until smooth

5) Return to the pot, and stir in the coconut milk and brown sugar

6) reheat and season to taste

7) divide up soup among bowls, garnish with fresh chopped basil and drizzle with more coconut milk

Note 2: The page also includes a second recipe for "rustic croutons" to serve with the soup. I never made em'. The soup is delicious without.

Note 3: I omitted the "drizzle" of coconut milk. I did garnish with basil. 

Note 4: The first time I made the soup, my only criticism is that is was a tad salty. In reading reviews of Chloe's recipes, many people seem to reduce the salt she uses. The second time I made the soup, I didn't salt it until after it was completed. So no 2 tsp of salt was added with the garlic and other seasonings. I waited until it was blended with the coconut milk and brown sugar, THEN salted to taste. Both the broth and the canned tomatoes have a good amount of salt. So that adds to the flavour already. 

The tomatoes were on sale. So I stocked up :) Told Yah you'd see those cans again!

The other ingredients, minus the broth 

Onion in the pot with the seasonings 

Now with the tomatoes and broth added 

Soup after blending 

Now with the coconut milk and brown sugar added 

Garnished with basil and served to my guests! 

EDIT: This soup is fast becoming a favourite among my friends. Try it!!!

Pasta Ai Fagioli (pasta and beans)

Another recipe by Chloe Coscarelli.

She offers a little history lesson behind this recipe. Apparently this soup was originally a "poor person's stew". People would use leftover pasta sauce and make a second meal with it.

This was exactly my plan with this recipe. I already had the majority of the ingredients and needed to use the bottle of opened, leftover sauce in the fridge. So I thought, why not?

Ingredients

2 tbsp of olive oil
1 small onion finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cup of water
1, 8 oz can of tomato sauce (or 1 cup of sauce)
1 can of cannellini beans (15 oz) (i.e. white kidney beans) drained and rinsed
1 tbsp of fresh thyme
1 tsp of sea salt
1/2 tsp of black pepper
3/4 cup of small pasta shells or tubes (gluten free or not, your choice)

Directions:

1) In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat and add onion and carrot. Cook until soft, then add garlic and cook for a minute more, until fragrant.

2) Add broth, water, tomato sauce, beans, thyme, salt and pepper. Let cook, uncovered, until the liquid starts to boil

3) Add pasta and let boil, stirring gently, until pasta is tender

4) Add salt to taste.

Easy peasy lemon squeezey.

Note 1: I added celery to the onion and carrot because I had some pre-cut celery in the fridge. The combination of carrot, celery and onion in cooking is called Mirepoix and is the beginnings of many many dishes.

Note 2: I added a couple dashes of Italian seasoning. *shrugs* It was there.

Note 3: I used quinoa pasta. I've been eating a lot of regular pasta lately. And while I love me some carbs, I decided I needed something with less gluten and more protein.

Note 4: I used only a couple dashes of salt, not the full tsp stated in the recipe. There was no extra "salt to taste" either. Keep in mind that broth and store bought sauce is usually quite salty. You may not need any extra salt.

Note 5: The longer this soup sits, the thicker it will get as the pasta absorbs more liquid. It'll will still taste the same though.

Ingredients. Minus the water and broth. 

Mirepoix and garlic!

With the rest of ingredients added! 

Finished soup

I prefer my soup thickened. DINNER! Some nice crusty bread is great with this. 

Some upcoming recipes to look forward to.

-Spicy tomato soup - Chloes vegan Italian Kitchen
-Ginger mushroom summer rolls - Thug Kitchen
-Savory carrot tempeh sandwiches - Thug Kitchen
-Roasted chickpea and broccoli burritos - Thug Kitchen

2 recipes in 1! Pan-seared Garlic tofu and Avocado Caprese Pasta Salad

I'm feeling better! And thus I cooked. :)

I combined two recipes to make one meal...or several meals, cause I made enough for a few days.

I've made the salad before, while staying at my parents during the holidays. Mom and Dad eat very differently than I do. But for some reason, whenever I cook, they want what I am having.

So, I had to fight my mom for my salad. Not so for the tofu. Mom hates tofu.

So let's start with the tofu! From the "Oh She Glows" cookbook.

Pan-seared Garlic Tofu

Ingredients

one pound block firm or extra-firm tofu
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp of melted coconut oil or grapeseed oil

Directions

1) Press the tofu in a tofu press. Or use the DIY method given in the book. I will describe the DIY method cause I don't have a press.

Rinse the tofu. Cover a cutting board in kitchen towels. Wrap the tofu in paper towels and then in more kitchen towels. Put the wrapped up tofu on the cutting board and stack some heavy books on top. Do this for 30 minutes at least, up to overnight.

2) Slice the tofu into squares About 1cm thick and 1/2 inch long

3) preheat a skillet (cast-iron if you got one) over medium heat for a few minutes

4) combined seasoning ingredients in a large bowl, throw in the tofu and toss it around until it is nicely coated

5) When a drop of water sizzles on the skillet, it's ready. Add the oil and coat the skillet with it. Add the tofu in a single layer on the skillet. You want each tofu piece flat on the skillet. Careful about the oil splattering or touching the skillet.

6) cook the tofu for 3-5 minutes, until a golden crust forms. Flip the tofu and cook for 3-5 minutes on the other side. Now it's ready to eat!

Note 1: The book says to keep an eye on your homemade press because the books will topple over. I ignored this and went for a shower. Sure enough, as I was attending to my hygiene, I heard a big ol' crash in my kitchen. Trust your cookbook. It does not lie.

Note 2: This recipe reminds me of paneer. Paneer is fresh cheese in India. It served in channa's and in other thick sauces served with naan, roti or japati. It got me thinking I could swap out the paneer in a recipe for this.

The seasoning

Wrapped up tofu

Tofu press! This also gives you a chance to see my other cookbooks. Caribbean vegan has a great potato salad recipes that goes over very well at work-potlucks. The cans I added for extra-weight. They will also be featured in an upcoming recipe.

Tofu Overboard!!!

seasoned tofu

I used a grill skillet. So my cooking tofu now has some grill marks on it.

Pan-seared Garlic tofu 

Second recipe! From "Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen"

Avocado Caprese Pasta Salad

Ingredients

1 pound of whole wheat fusilli
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper
2 tsp of sea salt
2 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup of basil, cut into chiffonade
2 ripe avocados, cut into small cubes
black pepper to taste

Directions

1) boil water in a large pot, add pasta and cook to desired tenderness. Drain, rinse with cold water and return to the pot. Toss noodles with oil and set aside

2) To the pot, add the lemon juice, garlic, salt, crushed red pepper, tomatoes, basil and avocado. Season with black pepper

3) Wearing gloves, toss noodles with your hands, mashing the avocado slight with your fingers. Drizzle with more oil if needed. Season to taste.

Note 1: Chloe uses this flavour combination a lot. Lemon, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. It's delicious. You can feel the acid working in your mouth. Mmmmm. Probably would make a good salad dressing...

Note 2: Mashing avocados is messy fun!!!

Note 3: I used whole wheat macaroni cause I had it on hand. I also threw in some raw baby spinach and red onion for extra veggie content and flavour.

Note 4: After a few days, the pasta will dis-colour somewhat. It'll stay taste good though.

Seasonings 

Other ingredients 

pasta salad without the avocado

Remember my post of avocados? http://apieliving.blogspot.ca/2015/03/much-ado-about-avocados.html

Pasta Salad with avocado!

And finally.... LUNCH!

Convenience Food.

The last few days have been rough.

I'm exhausted. Not sure if it's the time change, maybe the change in weather? Because of the increased sunshine I have been walking more and driving less. Maybe that's it? Most likely I am stressed. I am TERRIBLE at recognizing I am stressed. I work in Mental Health. It's rewarding and interesting. It can also be mentally draining and emotionally taxing.

Regardless of the reason. I'm too tired to cook. I lack motivation and inspiration. Looking at my kitchen is annoying me. My big comfy bed looks far better. Despite this, I still wanna eat something healthy and vegan as much as possible.

Enter take-out and convenience food.

Sunday night I got a pizza for dinner. A whole pizza just for me. And I ate nearly the entire thing (it was a small pizza mind you). In Ontario, there are three chains that offer Daiya on pizza. Daiya is diary free cheese. Does it taste like cheese? IMO, it's bland. Cheese has a lot of fat and salt. It also has "umami", which means "pleasant and savoury" according to Wikipedia. All this equals flavour. Daiya doesn't quite achieve this. I have never met a vegan cheese that did. Maybe one day I will be surprised.

Regardless, the presence of Daiya at these big pizza chains means that when I get together with friends and they say "Hey! Let's order a pizza!" I don't have to say "Umm.... what will I eat?" I can simply ask that we order from: Panago, Pizza Nova or Mama's Pizza and get my own little dairy free pizza.

Sunday, I went with Panago. I find their pizza's more inventive and interesting than other chains. The one I got had a pesto sauce, fire roasted tomatoes, spinach, caramelized onions, artichoke hearts...there was so much flavour that for once, I didn't miss the cheese. I will definitely get it again.

http://www.panago.com/

Yesterday, I grabbed Rawlicious. This restaurant offers vegan, raw, and organic food. It's also within walking distance of my apartment. It's checks all the right nutritional buttons. The Toronto Star recently wrote about it in "The Dish".

http://www.thestar.com/life/2015/02/12/the-dish-does-raw-vegan-fare-from-rawlicious-stand-up-to-its-healthy-appearance.html

I got the "cannelloni" (nut cheese wrapped in shaved cucumber) and a falafel salad. I had the first for dinner last night and the second for lunch today. Both were delicious, nutritious and fresh. I've never had a bad meal at Rawlicious. The food is high quality, which does make it pricey. These two meals costed $36.39. The salad also wasn't as filling as I thought it would be. I ate a snack around 3pm.

http://rawlicious.ca/canada/

Lastly, I wanna talk about Field Roast, Field Roast is a product that USED to be available in Canada. It's been banned. Field Roast is a company that produces a protein alternative for vegetarians and vegans. It's base is wheat gluten. Wheat Gluten is used to make seitan. People cook and use seitan the same way they would use tofu, tempeh or soy (i.e. veggie burgers, stir fries, etc.). The reason people like is that it is not soy based. Some people worry about eating too much soy because of GMO's, pesticides, risk of breast cancer etc. (I do not worry about these things)

You can actually make seitan at home easily and cheaply. I'll blog about it sometime. However,Field Roast expertly made. It's delicious. And packs a ton of protein per serving. I used to buy tons of it. It was very convenient to fry up a "sausage" or some "roast" and pair with some veggies to make a healthy dinner. Alas, no more.

Last year, around September 2014, Canada stopped allowing shipments of Field Roast from the States, where it is made and still sold. Why? Essentially the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) wants Field Roast to test it's products on animals. As a vegan company, they refused to do so. The CFIA is demanding this because Field Roast is packaged to look like meat. Therefore, it must meet certain requirements to be comparable to meet. The testing will insure this. Essentially, they want proof that the protein content is what Field Roast is claiming it is. And the only way the CFIA can think to do is to test the product on animals.

Come on. There is NO other way this can be validated? I refused to believe this.

There is another product made in the UK that isn't sold in Canada. I suspect for the same reasons.

http://www.quorn.com/

The protein alternative market is growing and growing. All I can say is that Canada better get with the times. Or they will be missing out on some big business.

There is a petition to get Field Roast back in Canada. Please consider signing it.

https://www.change.org/p/rona-ambrose-tell-canadian-authorities-to-stop-picking-on-vegetarian-food-manufacturers

My delicious pizza

The "Cannelloni" from Rawlicous

My last Feild Roast, which I bought before the banned and am now saving. It will be consumed on a special occasion. 

The Falafel Salad from Rawlicious 

Marinated balsamic, maple and garlic tempeh

I've been trying to clean house a little, empty out my very full pantry and fridge. Waste not. Want not.

So I was a happy Apie when I saw I already had most of the ingredients to make this recipe from the "Oh She Glows" cookbook. Tempeh is one of those weirder proteins that your never quite sure what do with. I am sure people say the same thing about tofu or soy. But for me, tempeh seemed .... unapproachable? I use to just buy it pre-marinated in the store. So I was curious how marinating my own would turn out. 

1            8 oz. package tempeh

1/2         cup balsamic vinegar

2            cloves garlic, minced

4            teaspoons low-sodium tamari

1            tablespoon pure maple syrup

1            tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Rinse the tempeh and pat dry.  Slice the tempeh into 8 thin (1/4”) pieces, then halve them on the diagonal to make a total of 16 triangles.

In a large glass baking dish, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, tamari, maple syrup and oil.

Add the tempeh to the dish and gently toss to coat with the marinade.  Cover the dish with foil and marinate the tempeh in the refrigerator for a least 2 hours, or overnight, gently tossing the tempeh every now and then.

Preheat the oven to 350 dgrees.

Spread the marinated tempeh triangles in a single layer in the baking dish and cover with foil.  Bake the tempeh in the marinade for 15 minutes.  Remove the foil and flip the tempeh in the marinade.  Bake, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the tempeh has absorbed most of the marinade.

Note 1: I had no tamari. So I substituted low-sodium soy sauce. Which I did have.  
Note 2: In the pictures you'll notice two bottles of balsamic. Since I wasn't using Tamari, which has a richer flavour than soy sauce, I used two kinds of balsamic (one a tart cherry) for a more intense flavour
Note 3: I didn't really slice the way the book wanted me too. Ooops. 
Note 4: I'm sure you've noticed by now, I don't really do garlic cloves. I just the giant bottle of pre-minced garlic at the store. I use so much garlic in my cooking, this is a big time saver. 

I was really impressed at how easy this recipe was. The prep time was nothing. No veggies to chop or sauces to blend. Ingredients are easy to use and easier to find. I started the tempeh on a Friday night. Since I had the weekend ahead of me, I decided to marinate overnight. I had the time. In the morning I tossed the tempeh again and let it sit until lunchtime. 

Another great thing about this recipe is that it's a one dish recipe. You make the dish, marinate, and bake all in the same dish. Great for cleanup. 

Results: Marinating tempeh yourself is definitely the way to go. The finished product was tastier and less greasy than anything I have bought in the stores. The fact that it was really easy and low stress is of course, an added bonus. It was tangy and sweet, with some good chew. Tempeh is still not my favourite protein. But at least I now have something good I can do with it!  

Organic unflavoured tempeh. 

Tempeh in the marinade.

Other ingredients. 

After marinading overnight. 

Finished product. 

Mac and "Cheese" x2 - Guest blogging from sister!

As a vegetarian, I often hear these words from people who eat meat: "I think I could be a vegetarian. But ....but.... BACON! Can I be a vegetarian and just eat bacon? I can't live without bacon!". When I hear this my usual response is to smile and say something like "Oh you get used to it." or "It's easier than it looks". Meanwhile my internal monologue is more like this.

YES. YES YOU CAN LIVE WITHOUT BACON. YOU CAN TOTALLY NOT EAT BACON FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE AND I PROMISE YOU WILL LIVE. YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE WILL LIVE? THE PIG. THE PIG WILL TOTALLY LIVE IF YOU DON'T EAT BACON. PIGS ARE ADORABLE. AND SMART! A PIG IS A SMART AS A THREE YEAR OLD. WOULD YOU EAT A THREE YEAR OLD? OF COURSE NOT. 

OH. AND THEY ARE TOTALLY NOT DIRTY. THEY ARE VERY CLEAN ANIMALS. THEY SMELL BECAUSE HUMANS PUT THEM IN CLOSE QUARTERS SO THAT THEY HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO LIVE IN THEIR OWN FECES. HUMANS ARE JERKS. SAVE THE PIGS!

......and so on. 

So yah. I will admit to a fair bit of moral superiority regarding my diet. Your diet causes the death of innocent and adorable animals. Mine does not. And my food still tastes good. Neener neener!

Or so I thought. 

It turns out, a vegetarian diet still causes harm to animals. How you ask? Let's talk about dairy to start.

Dairy products come from milk (duh). Milk comes from cows (also duh). The milk industry has done an awesome job of convincing people that cows are always producing milk. It's just what they do. We might as well collect it right?

Wrong. 

Cows produce milk like women produce breast milk. Meaning, they make milk when they have a baby. A calf. No calf. No milk. So. Dairy cows are constantly impregnated to ensure they are always producing milk. The calves are taken shortly after birth. A good number of them are killed for veal. Certainly the vast majority the male calves are, since bulls don't make milk at all. And you only need a small number of studs to impregnate a whole bunch of heifers. 

In addition, the normal lifespan of a cow is twenty years. Dairy cows live about 4. That's because they are sent to slaughter after they past their peak milk producing years. 

When I learned all this. I was horrified. I immediately resolved to become a vegan and not participate in this system of animal cruelty.

And this is when I had to eat my cap locks. I issued an internal apology to all the meat eaters I had ever judged. 

Because cheese. 

Cheese is to vegetarians what bacon is to the meat eaters. Cheese is awesome. It's salty and gooey and stretchy and tastes good on EVERYTHING.

Give up milk? I never liked the taste anyway

No more yogurt? Fine, I'll switch to oatmeal in the morning

Ice cream? *shrugs* better for my waistline

Baked goods? Vegan baking is awesome!

But CHEESE?

When it comes to me transitioning to vegan, cheese is my downfall. Store bought vegan cheeses are okay (i.e Daiya and other). But I find it's actually better to try and make your "cheese" type things. You wind up with a better flavour. And it's fun!!!

And thus the point of this very long post. 

Yesterday, my sister and I both made vegan Mac and "cheese" using two different recipes. First up is sister-dearest!

Recipe: http://chefchloe.com/entrees/vegan-mac-n-cheese.html

Sister's comments: I thought this would make an excellent base for a recipe, but I knew I wanted more. More heat and more umami. I made some important changes. First of all, margarine scares me, and so I used butter instead. I am skeptical of the need for gluten free products for non celiac patients, and so I used regular whole wheat flour. I used skin cow's milk since I don't use soy or almond milk. I substituted sriracha for tomato paste to lend heat. I didn't have broccoli and I love mushrooms, and so I sauteed some portabello with garlic and used this instead.  The final product was pleasantly warming and savoury. If I made this for guests, I would finish it with scattered frizzled onion and perhaps some minced green onion/chives/parsley.

My notes: Sister is not a vegan clearly. Nor does she intend to become one. But she is dedicated to healthy eating and an awesome chef!

My turn!

Recipe: http://chefchloe.com/on-the-side/sweet-potato-mac-n-cheese.html

Note 1: Both recipes are by Chloe Coscarelli. She is an amazing vegan chef. Her vegan cupcakes won "Cupcake Wars" a reality TV show. She beat out all the traditional (egg and milk) bakers. I own the book "Chloe's vegan Italian Kitchen". I don't think I've ever made a bad recipe from it. The "meatball" sliders are a crowd favourite. My meat eating friends go crazy for them. 

Note 2: I added more salt, more lime juice, more soy sauce and more garlic to the sauce. 

Note 3: I boiled my pasta in veggie broth

Note 4: Over the weekend I heated some water for another purpose. I saved it and used it again to boil the sweet potato. Water conversation. Try it. 

Note 5: At the last minute I threw in some tomato paste. It changed the colour and the taste slightly.

Results: I think next time I will use soy/rice milk. I got the "cheesy" flavour. But the almond milk was masking it somewhat. I need something that has less of a distinct flavour. 

End notes: In later posts, I will talk about the egg industry, as well as the environment. My soapbox is not done. 

Marinara Sauce / Why cooking is like putting on pants.

I always say that I don't actually know how to cook. What I do know how to do is follow directions. A recipe is directions. Ingredients are tools. Get the right tools, follow the directions, and you should end up with edible foodstuffs. There's a great deal of comfort in that. So often in life we do exactly what it is we think we should do, and do not end up with the desired results. Not so with cooking.

It's like putting on pants. As babies, we thought wearing pants was impossible. We screamed and shouted and insisted on our mommies and daddies do it for us. Often we didn't wear pants at all. And we went around pant-less. But then we were given the directions to put on pants, and we mastered those directions. All of a sudden, wearing pants became a simple concept! Seriously, who do you know (aside from toddlers) who has difficulty with their pants? Probably very few people.

And the great thing is, once you learn how to put on pants, you can put on all sorts of pants! Short pants, long pants, ugly pants, dress pants, yoga pants, jeggings. Although, tbh, everyone would prefer you didn't wear jeggings. Those things are awful.

Now compare making a casserole to pants. A casserole has a base, it has a filling, and it has a topping. It usually contains some sort of carb or starch as well. Once you have this concept (i.e. directions), you can make all kinds of casseroles! Same concept applies to cookies, muffins, stews, soups, you get the idea.

This brings me to tomato sauce I make my own marinara sauce. And I pretty much made up the recipe. I looked up a bunch of recipes, got the general directions, found out the general ingredients (tools) used and went from there. I can provide you with the ingredients, and the general directions. But not the measurements. This is because I do it all to taste. I encourage you to experiment with the ingredients until you find something you like.

Ingredients

one can of crushed tomatoes ( I use Unico)
tomato paste - 1-2 tbsp (optional)
Olive oil - about a tbsp
minced garlic (about .... 4 cloves?)
one onion- minced
3-4 stalks of celery- chopped
one red bell pepper- minced (optional)
one packaged of fresh basil- chopped
dried basil - add to taste
dried oregano - to taste
salt and pepper - to taste
red pepper flakes - to taste (optional)

Directions

In a large sauce pan, saute the onion, celery and red bell pepper (if using) in the oil until the onions are soft. Add garlic and saute for a few minutes more. Add crushed tomato and tomato paste (if using). stir everything around

Now start adding the spices. Use all the fresh basil, but do everything else to taste. I find I end up using quite a bit of salt. But maybe salt isn't your thing. Maybe you want more oregano, who knows. Taste often. Stop when it's delicious. Simmer for about 10 minutes to allow flavours to develop.

Note 1: You will notice there is no sweetener in this sauce. I like my sauce savoury, not sweet.
Note 2: You could also add nutritional yeast for a more cheesy flavour.

Checkout 51

I spend too much money on food. Have I mentioned this?

My pantry is full. Like FULL. It's gotten to the point where I am buying items that I already have because I cannot see them in the pantry. Then I later find them buried under teas and quinoa and vital wheat gluten and I curse myself for having wasted the money.

There is a couple of ways I try to save money on groceries. One way is buying as much local produce/in season produce as I possibly can. In the harvest months this is easy. Ontario in the summer and fall is cornucopia of berries and cucumbers and peppers. Peaches and pears and corn and squash. Kale and spinach and other greens. Cheap and healthy meal planning is a lot easier.

Winter is more barren. Local produce is limited to mostly carrots, onions, parsnips, beets, rutabaga, apples, hot house tomatoes and green house cucumbers.

I can and do use these winter veggies in my cooking. But there are only so many roasted root veggie platters, soups and stews you can make. So how else can I save money?

One way is Checkout 51.

Checkout 51 is an app available for Iphones and Androids (I have a droid). Every week, it posts products, offering money off if you buy certain products. For instance, Kelloggs may offer $1 off any of its cereal that you buy.

The companies that sell these products are the ones making the offer. They do it to encourage people to buy/try their products.

When I am planning my grocery list (I always shop with a list) I look at what is bring offered to see if there is anything I can use in my meal planning. This week I can get $1 off Silk Almond Milk. Silk is offering $1 any of their milk products to encourage people to try their new Cashew Milk. I go through a carton of almond milk a week. So this is great. I also "boosted" my savings by posting the deal to Facebook. So now, when I go to purchase my milk, I will get a $1.50 off.

Also, I can get $1 Thai Kitchen products. Thai kitchen is my second favourite coconut milk. The first being the organic coconut milk I get at a health food store. Usually, a can of coconut milk is $3.49. Pricey. The offer makes it $2.49. The organic milk at the health food store is $2.19. However, the health food store is 10 minute drive away. The store where I can get Thai kitchen is on my way to work. When I factor in convenience, the deal is worth it. The coconut milk will be featured in a soup I am making for guests on the 28th (yes I will post the recipe).

After I purchase the products, I take pictures of the receipts and "claim" the offer all on the app. Once approved, my Checkout 51 account is credited. When I have $20 in the account, I am sent a cheque.

Companies use the pictures of the receipts to insure you have bought the product, and as market research to see what else you are buying.

There are some downsides to Checkout 51. The offers are time limited, so you only have so long to buy the products. Also, there is very little fresh produced offered. 99.9% of the offers are for pre-packaged food, household products and personal care items.

You also need some self control, It's very tempting to buy some of the products just because you know you will get money off. I think the companies are banking on this. But if you aren't going to use it/eat it, and if it wasn't part or your original meal planning for week, it's still a waste of money.

If you can deal with all that, then Checkout 51 is for you! Check it out!

Much ado about Avocados.

Remember the picky child I told you about? Well she hated avocados. It was texture thing. Plus it was green. Children don't like green things. 

I  now LOVE avocados. Too much probably. They are incredibly tasty and very versatile. The only problem with them is that their very difficult to buy. I either get them when they are unripe, or too ripe. You need to find avocados a day or two away from being perfectly ripe for good meal planning. You might as well try to find the holy grail. A ripe avocado is usually a dark green or brown colour. When squeezed, they give under the fingertips, the more they give, the riper they are. After a while, the flesh of an overripe fruit will go brown, instead of the vibrant green a good avocado should be. When they do, the flesh takes on an oxidized flavour I don't care for. 

So I usually buy unripe avocados. And use them as they ripen. Therefore, I have several "go-to" recipes on standby. Ever heard of avocado chocolate pudding/mousse?

Here's a very basic recipe for it.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Chocolate-avocado-mousse/

Note 1: I used agave syrup instead of honey. You could also use pure maple syrup. 

Note 2: for extra chocolate-ly flavour, melt some dairy free chocolate chips in a double boiler and pour that in the food processor as well.

Another favourite is "15 minute creamy avocado pasta" 

http://ohsheglows.com/2011/01/31/15-minute-creamy-avocado-pasta/

This pasta is truly my favourite pasta. I always put extra lemon juice in because I love tart, sour things. 

Something new I made recently was a dressing from "Oh she Glows". The recipe is for "Creamy avocado potato salad". But I only made the dressing. I've been using it on salads. 

• 1/2 cup of avocado
• 2 tbsp of fresh minced dill weed
• 4 tsps of fresh lemon juice
• 1 green onion roughly chopped
• 1/4 tsp of fine grain sea salt (or to taste, more for serving)
• fresh black pepper

Instructions: chuck the prepared ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth

Note: I used way too much salt. So I used 1 and 1/2 avocados to compensate. 

Note 2: I used more green onion (3-4 stalks) cause I like the taste

The Apie Life

It's a new blog! YAY!

Hello. My name is Apie. And I am a foodie.

The most expensive thing I pay every month is rent. The second most expensive thing is my grocery bill. I love food. I love trying new recipes, I love mastering new culinary skills, I love making food for others. I love introducing others to new ways to cooks and to look at food. I love taking pictures of food. I love posting pictures of food.

Yes I am one of THOSE people.

As a child, I was a horrible terrible picky eater and am single-handily responsible for all of my mother's grey hair. This persisted long past the time when such things are cute in children and lasted until I went to university. When all of sudden, away from my mother's kitchen, I had complete control of what I could eat.

My mother always insured that my sister and I had healthy, nutritious meals growing up. A south-Indian vegetarian family, rice, lentils and vegetables featured heavily in our meals (I became a full vegetarian at 10). It was solid food. And mom still makes a few dishes that I love. But as dedicated as she was to our diets, mom hates cooking. So trying new recipes wasn't high up on her priority list. Besides, why would she bother when she had a little terror who wouldn't eat 3/4 the things she made anyway.

Now at university, I was all over the cafeteria. I ate pizza for breakfast, washed it down with soda, and went to class. I ate cereal for dinner. I ate pastries for lunch.

But this was also the time I started cooking for myself. And I discovered the cooking was not the chore it was for mom. It was fun! Eventually, I settled into making relatively healthy meals for myself.

Fast forward 10 years. I am working in my chosen profession, living the single and baby-free life, and still love to cook. Over time, this love has evolved into a passion for making healthy, tasty meals. I've now been a vegetarian for 20 years and over the last year, I have been cooking more and more vegan food. I have been loving the results. I post many pictures on Facebook. And friends suggested I make a blog instead of blowing up their walls.

Will I ever go fully vegan? I don't know. I hope so. I know that that lifestyle is what best fits with my ethics, morals and beliefs. I know myself well enough that I cannot be bullied into something. I work best under my own terms. I am allowing myself a very long transition. I find new ways to make changes as time goes on.

Expect this blog to contain many pictures of food and recipes. Expect guest blogging from my sister! Another vegetarian foodie. But it wont all be about food. Expect posts about politics. Food politics, environmental politics, money and politics, how it all connects. Expect some randomness.

This should be fun!