Tag: NCVA

Latest issue of Capital Veg News infiltrates Ottawa

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The Winter 2011 issue of Capital Veg News has been sent to the printers! Here’s a pdf of it:

Winter 2011 Capital Veg News

You may notice that there is some repurposing of blog content for the newsletter. Our blog content has been so good, we figured why not? We print 1,000 copies of each issue of the newsletter and it gets circulated far and wide, mostly through the City of Ottawa’s public libraries. Many of the people who receive it don’t know about the blog yet, or may not be blog readers. In fact, NCVA vice president Corrie Rabbe learned about the NCVA’s existence through picking up a copy of the newsletter, which is evidence enough that it’s a valuable thing to produce!

A special thank you to our newsletter supporters… The Table Vegetarian Restaurant, Rainbow Natural Foods, Green Earth Vegetarian Cuisine, Cafe My House, Credible Edibles, and The Green Door. Their advertising support is what allows us to print and circulate 1,000 copies. Also, thank you to volunteer Chantel who so competently and without complaint does the pagination and design.

Please feel free to print off a few copies and leave them wherever there are potential readers, including your omnivorous friends and family members.

NCVA Launches Restaurant Outreach Program

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After several months of planning, the NCVA’s Restaurant Outreach Program has officially been launched. This momentous occasion occurred last night when I handed over the first Restaurant Outreach info package to a server at Pubwell’s Restaurant on Preston Street at Elm.

The Restaurant Outreach info package

So what is the Restaurant Outreach Program? Basically, it’s an attempt to get Ottawa’s omni restaurants to be more vegan-friendly. Our ultimate goal: to produce a list of dozens of Ottawa restaurants at which vegans can order off the menu with neither fear of hidden animal ingredients nor extensive discussions with servers and chefs.

How does it work: First, we developed an information package that explains what vegans are, why accommodating them is good for business, and how to add vegan menu items or veganize existing items. The info package is available on the NCVA’s Web site here.

Now, the distribution phase has begun! I am starting in Little Italy since that’s where I live, and will move on to the Byward Market, the Glebe, Westboro and beyond.

With any luck, Ottawa restaurateurs will heed the call to participate in our program in order to receive our support and publicity. Keep your eyes on the blog for news of new participants, who will also be listed in the Restaurant Outreach section of the NCVA Web site.

Now here’s the part where I ask for your help. Individuals interested in hand delivering info packages to restaurants in their area are invited to drop me a line at erin.anne.osullivan@gmail.com. I’ll get the packages to you. All you have to do is hand them over with a smile, and keep track of which restaurants you gave them to.

I also invite everyone to have a look at the info package and to offer any suggestions at all for improving our chances of making this campaign a success.

Come on, Ottawa veggies! This is your town. This is your food. This is your chance to make marginally more bearable your meals out with bone crunching moms and dads, siblings and significant others, clients and coworkers! Viva la vida!

Cafe My House launches Web site

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By Pamela

One of my favorite places, Cafe My House, has launched a Web site/blog. You can find it here:

http://www.cafemyhouse.com/

It’s currently a bit sparse, but it does include the menu, some resources, the address and hours of operation. This is useful, because I’m sure nobody likes showing up at a place to eat only to find that they’re closed!

So bookmark it, and check it out periodically for news and announcements.

Me discovering Cafe My House for the first time, back in May 2010.

Veganity 101: The joys of Purse Food

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by Jen Lahey

One of the greatest things about being a vegan is exploring all the delicious food available to you. Increasingly, there are options available in restaurants, at corner shops, and at farmers’ markets. But what about those days when you’re on the run, or you’re out for a pint at a less than vegan-friendly pub and you find yourself with a roaring case of the hungries?

Being a healthy, happy vegan, I am a high energy sort of person, the kind who has trouble sitting still for long periods of time. But as my partner and friends and family will attest, if I don’t get in enough foodies my energy and mood flatline and I turn into a non-reactive zombie woman (vegan zombie: “Graaaains, graaains!”).

This, my friends, is where Purse Food comes in (Murse Food for those gentlemen who carry a man bag). It’s become a running gag amongst my friends that I have a constant stash of snacks hidden away in the folds of my roomy Mat and Nat bag, always ready to go for when I find myself peckish in a situation with few vegan options. A tidy stock of Purse Food is one of the greatest tools in a vegan ninja’s arsenal of tricks.

Dried fruit and pre-wrapped vegan snacks (a.k.a. Purse or Murse Food) should always be kept nearby in case of a hunger emergency. This tiny purse is holding dried apples, Late July cookies, a PC Organics crispy brown rice bar, and a peanut butter Cocoa Camino snack bar.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not an advocate of going out with friends to places where the “vegan option” on the menu is an iceburg lettuce salad, and part the fun of strengthening your vegan values and lifestyle is choosing to support places that support us. And I am lucky to hang out with nice people who take into account my veganity and more often than not like to go to places where we can all find something good to eat. But it’s good to be armed for situations that are less than perfect, and being an easy-going, always-prepared person gets you far in the battle to show the world how relaxed and non-complicated being a vegan really is.

Stocking your bag with a selection of goodies means you never have to worry about what to do when you feel your energy dropping in the middle of a busy day at work, when you’re stuck in a meeting, or when you’re out running errands. It also means you can choose to have healthy things stashed, so you don’t have to settle for processed crap from the 7-11 or stale, questionable baked goods at conferences and meetings.

A good place to start your harvest of Purse Food is the local health food store. A few suggestions to get you going: Raid the bulk food section for goodies, such as tamari almonds, sesame sticks, and dried fruit (mango is my current fixation). There’s lots of other items to suit the cause; these are just a few of my stand-bys. Then meander over to the snack shelves and snag some Lara bars and vegan jerky. I also found my new favourite stash at the Hartman’s Your Independent grocery store on Somerset: wasabi cashews (WASABI CASHEWS! So. Good.)

Cut up veggies and fresh fruit can work, too, though they’re better for times when you know you’ll be eating them within a few hours (finding annihilated fruit in the bottom of your bag days later = fail). Then head on home, divvy your finds into small containers or resealable bags, and venture forth confidently to rock your own vegan world.

Christmas Eve dinner at ZenKitchen

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By Pamela

I was feeling in the mood to be a bit fancy, so on Christmas Eve day I made a last-minute reservation online to go to ZenKitchen that evening with my partner.

As soon as we went in we were greeted by Dave, who exclaimed, “How nice to see you! I didn’t realize you were coming in tonight!” There’s nothing quite like a warm welcome to set a good tone for the evening. Later Chef Caroline came out and said almost the exact same thing, so that must make it true!

Tapas Plate appetizer.
We ordered our favorite appetizer, a tapas plate with Zen salad rolls with Thai peanut sauce, dengaku tofu skewers, house pickles, kale and handcut potato chips. I love love love the tofu skewers, and saved mine for last. It was, as usual, wonderful. Personally, if there were an entree of appetizer that consisted entirely of the apple tofu skewers I would order it in a heartbeat. (Caroline?) The Zen salad rolls are also tasty, but since I really hate mushrooms I end up pulling them out (as discretely as possible of course!) and making a bit of a mess. I also opted to have warm apple cider to drink, which was a nice toasty treat on a cold night. We were treated to two amuse bouche items, some locally baked bread with white bean and butternut squash dip, and a second one, the description of which I can’t recall (but see the bottom for a photo!)

Vegan ravioli-- but you'd never know it.
As is the norm at ZenKitchen, the server explained and offered the Four Course Chef’s Tasting Menu, but as someone who’s filled with a bit of anxiety over blind meal options I stuck to the menu. For my main course, I ordered the ravioli filled with pesto-cheese, with smoky tomato sauce and roasted vegetables. I’ve had it a few times now and it’s always delicious. It’s warm comfort food, and fairly filling. Yves had the Panko-crusted seitan medallions with a cranberry-teriyaki sauce, ancient grain pilaf, and Asian slaw. He was actually too full to finish it entirely, so I helped him out a bit.

Truly a chocolate lover's fantasy.
Because he was full Yves passed on dessert, but I had been salivating over the mere thought of the Spicy Mexican chocolate cake with warm chocolate sauce, creme anglaise, and berry coulis all afternoon, so I would not be deterred. I have to be honest, I can’t really tell you if the cake was extraordinary or not; it was so very smothered in the divine warm chocolate fudge sauce that it didn’t really matter. I’m inclined to say it was good, but frankly that sauce is so decadent it could make cardboard appealing. Suddenly and irrationally Yves became very hungry and I had to share some, but I still got my fill. It was, as always, phenomenal. Every time I have it I am inspired to create my own spicy chocolate desserts at home, and true to form within 48 hours I was baking Mexican chocolate cupcakes. But they don’t compare, and I anxiously await the next time I can partake in Chef Caroline’s unreasonably delicious concoction.

After playing with the really cool sink fixture in ZenKitchen’s bathroom I returned to the table to find more chocolate; ZenKitchen’s homemade chocolate truffles. A perfect end to a delightful meal.

A couple more photos of dinner:

The mystery amuse bouche.
Seitan: An excellent gateway food to give omnivores.

Did you miss Veg Fest guest speakers? Here’s your second chance.

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We have been very fortunate to be able to anchor our two Veg Fests with top notch speakers on what we consider to be the key reasons to live a veg lifestyle: Health, Environment, and Animal Rights.

Unfortunately some of our volunteers were among those who were not able to see the speakers make their presentations (that includes Corrie and I, the event organizers). There were also many others who either couldn’t make it to the event, or couldn’t tear themselves away from the excitement happening upstairs.

But there’s good news: The NCVA now has each of the speaker’s presentations online! You can download or stream them here.

Just to recap…

In year one, 2009, we had the good fortune of welcoming Brenda Davis R.D., who is an author of seven books and one of the most well-known experts wordwide on vegan and vegetarian health. She gave two informative and compelling talks. Our presentations that year were rounded out by Montreal’s Yasmin Fudakowska Gow, a yogi and environmental activist who participated in a 2008 Climate Change awareness tour of 21 university campuses across Canada sponsored by the David Suzuki Foundation, and Jason Halvorson, an animal right activist whose activism has made waves from coast to coast.

In year two we had some real heavy heavy hitters: Gene Baur, founder of Farm Sanctuary, Dr. Michael Greger M.D., a physician, author, and internationally recognized professional speaker on a number of important public health issues including veganism, and Jae Steele, a Toronto-based registered holistic nutritionist living in Toronto and cookbook authour.

So be sure to listen to them, and share them with your friends and family! And stay tuned for news on Veg Fest ’11, which is being held May 1 at the Glebe Community Centre.

Mama Africa

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By Erin

I don’t know exactly why I decided to name this post Mama Africa. It just seemed right somehow.

Perhaps it’s because the food at Sunday’s East Africa Meetup was so fabulous that I want to cast off my Pol-Irish-Canadian identity and reconnect with my African roots, distant though they may be. 

Perhaps it’s because I associate “Mama” with family and our record turnout of veg-minded folk game me a warm familial, “Yes, we can change the world through unbridled eating” kind of vibe.

Or perhaps it’s because I ate so much that I subsequently appeared to be several months pregnant.  

Whatever the case, Sunday’s meetup was a roaring success. There were about 30 people, and local Ethiopian food expert Shaun confirmed that the food that day was particularly fine. Being an idiot, I forgot my camera, so I can’t provide any shots of it. That’s OK, though, because, frankly, Ethiopian food tastes a hell of a lot better than it looks. 

Luckily, Shaun had his iphone handy and was able to take this shot of the group:

Note Neil and I with our contraband spoons. We bad! (Just kidding, they offered spoons to the injera-impaired)

In addition to the amazing food, the company was awesome and the conversation lively. I refused to break JJ out of prison, learned about Sudbury loons, shamelessly plugged the radio show Animal Voices (animalvoices.ca!) and scoffed at the folly that is flavoured beer.

I did make a bit of a faux pas when I told a pair of Sudburians that their city looks like the moon. But in my defense, I thought it was a compliment. Like getting to live in space but without having to spend a lot of money or learn math.

Anyway, not much else to say except thanks to all attendees for continuing to make the NCVA meetups a success. They just keep getting bigger and better!  I guess this will be the last one of the year, but Green Earth’s monthly Sunday brunch is not far off…

Why I joined the NCVA

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I’m still pretty new to Ottawa. It’s times like these when I attempt to get my feet wet in a variety of social scenes. Originating from Toronto, I was spoilt with the non-stop bombardment of social possibilities. Being vegetarian in Toronto was like being an official member of a popular club. Now in Ottawa, I’ve learned that to get my feet wet, I have to go to the water myself.

I was somewhat apprehensive at first, but mostly excited, to explore the world of the NCVA. Once I did, I realised that becoming a member was not only going to benefit me, but it was going to benefit many, and thus it was the right thing to do. Once I trained myself to stop calling the NCVA the “OVA” (which clearly doesn’t make sense from a vegan perspective), I was ready to fit in. That’s pretty much all it takes, because the organization is not-for-profit, volunteer-based, and vegetarian, whose mandate is to educate the public about the health benefits of a plant-based diet, and more generally, to improve public health. This is one group that could easily mesh well with my own set of ethics and beliefs and, for that matter, anyone else’s. Whether or not you are vegetarian, promoting health of the greater public and of yourself is a worthy cause.

And then there’s the whole social aspect. I often feel alone as a vegan in a meat-eating world (shameless plug). Generally, going to work, socialising with acquaintances, friends, and family, doing the groceries, or whatever, I started to feel like I was the only vegan out there and no one would ever understand me anyway. It still baffles me that people still think it is ok to mock or slam vegetarianism right to your face, as if they can’t see how the derision is prejudiced and discriminatory. But then I attended a NCVA event and immediately let out a sigh of relief–Finally! a place where I knew that I wouldn’t be made fun of for being culinarily different or more ethically sound. It was like my own personal vegetarian haven, where like-minded people admire and support me and my vegetarian lifestyle.
 
There was also the fact that with the NCVA, part of my social life could align with my morality, which is a great coupling. Being veg was always a great way for me to show the rest of the world that I care about animals (and the environment, and my personal health), but I was presented with the opportunity to take it a step further. By joining the NCVA, I realised I was supporting the greater cause of promoting a plant-based diet to the rest of the world. I was chipping in, wearing the badge, taking a stand! Coming out of the proverbial vegetarian closet was great for my social life, but I hope it also made it that much easier for anyone else who wants to do the same. Supporting the NCVA arguably equates to an increased vegetarian presence in Ottawa and thus a happier, healthier city.
 
Finally, this was my way of giving back to the community. Although nothing beats the warm and fuzzy feeling got from my childhood teddy bear (Mr. Fuzzy Wuzzy, if you don’t mind), a close second for me is always donating to a worthy cause. The best thing about donating to the NCVA is that I not only got the incredibly highly-sought after warm and fuzzies from the act of giving, but I also get a membership in return. I figured my $20 membership was a donation to something I cared about deeply, as well as an opportunity to connect to fun social events and new, like-minded people (and get great NCVA member discounts at great veg and veg-friendly restaurants in Ottawa!).
 
So, although I’m far from the poster child for the animal rights movement, nor am I saving the planet on a daily basis, I at least knew that, yes, I could make a small, but significant, difference just by being a part of the NCVA. I already felt like I was becoming more of an effective voice for those animals among us who don’t have one. The good news for you folks is that you can do it, too! You don’t even have to wait till the next NCVA event to land yourself a hot new membership. You can do it now right here from the convenience of your own home and at your leisure: ncva.ca/membership

Basically, you’re welcome.

— joe vegan @ saladinasteakhouse.wordpress.com

An Imperial Feast

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By Erin

Sorry for the dorky post title but I an in bit of a food coma. A food slash beer slash Cocoa Camino almond butter chocolate bar that I ill-advisedly bought when I popped into Herb and Spice afterwards for eye makeup remover coma.

You see, I have just come from my office Christmas party.

It was actually a bit of a nail-biter for me at first, since I suggested the restaurant. I picked the Imperial because I knew that, while it caters to a mostly omni crowd, it has at least one vegan entrée. I admit that I was mildly concerned that the food and/or service would stink and that the two dozen public servants with whom I work would react by blaming the vegan.

My fears were assuaged pretty quickly, however, as polite and efficient servers fed us alcohol. Those fears evaporated completely when our food arrived.

Neil and I had the Southwest Vegan Black Bean Burger. It was simply presented – Neil’s with fries and mine with salad. I know you’re already thinking that I probably ate his fries and yes I did and so what? I do apologise, however, for also sharing his fries with an adjacent female colleague who also ordered the salad in a moment of self-delusion. That was a bit much even for me.

Vegan Southwest Black Bean Burgers

And as it happens, the fries were the best part of the meal. Seriously – they were awesome. I will pause for a moment to remember their crispy fabulousness…

Now what…um, the salad dressing was really nice – some sort of Asian inspired concoction. Unfortunately, the salad itself was profoundly bitter – I only wound up eating a quarter of it.

The burger itself was only pretty good. It was a little on the mushy side. The bun was a tad crunchy (over-toasted, I think, rather than stale). Still, good enough to attract me back for a second go. Especially given just how totally charming the Imperial is, with its vintage posters advertising ultraviolent 70’s B-movies and the weird Ms. Pac Man sign above the bar.

Of course, I can’t speak to the omni options. I didn’t taste them and didn’t make inquiries of those who did – being somewhat disinclined to hear about how tender or nicely spiced the cows and pigs and fish were. Still, the general air of satisfaction that emanated from my colleagues suggests that The Imperial is a safe place to bring your omni pals.

So thumbs up to the Imperial. I should also note that they have a 3-option Sunday brunch and that one of said options is vegan. I’ve had it several times now and, as clichéd as it sounds, each time was better than the last. The vegan meal includes pancakes, beans baked in a tomato, toast and pan fried potatoes. Not cheap but, well, god hates a tightwad, doesn’t he?

Vegan Brunch

Another Awesome NCVA Potluck!

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By Erin

Thanks to everyone who came out to tonight’s potluck and cookie exchange.

We got off to a bit of a slow start. The potluck officially began at 6:30, but by that time there were only about 10 people there. More slowly trickled in, however, and by 7 or so, I’d say we had a good 40 people.

Highlights of the evening? Hmmm….I got to try vegan mac and cheese for the first time. Well, the homemade stuff anyway. I made a boxed version once and Neil was so traumatized with revulsion that I’ve never attempted to make it again. Neil, of course, wouldn’t try it – even when I told him that Salad in a Steakhouse had made it (sorry, David, I started calling you that and now I can’t stop).

Neil’s faux steak and stout pie, of course, was a big hit. It’s even better now he’s making it with the Nelakee mushroom beef instead of the rather gelatinous PC fake beef strips.

Oh, and of course Pamela’s awesome curry was, well, awesome. It earned more than one delighted exclamation of “fake shrimp!”

There was a dramatic late run on the buffet table when it was discovered that late arrival Harpreet had clandestinely added some homemade potato pancakes to the buffet table. A big shout out to Harpreet for bringing something so awesome on her first time out, by the way!

On the weird side, the dessert table this time out was filled entirely with apples. Seriously, there were something like five separate bags of apples, and no other desserts.

Weird!

Well, there was also a bag of oranges and a couple of things that straddled the line between sweet dessert and savoury side dish, but mostly it was apples. Very weird how that can happen sometimes. At the September potluck, for example, it was all desserts. There were maybe two savoury dishes and the rest was cakes, cookies, pies…

That was pretty great actually.

Of course, it was quite providential that the dessert pickings were slim, since today was the day of the cookie exchange. We sold quite a few 6-cookie bags to our dessert deprived attendees.

Cookie Exchange

Who made that fabulous shortbread, by the way – these little squares with the fork holes?

World’s best shortbread

Because they may well be the most fabulous things I have ever eaten in my life.

Anyway, thanks again all. Hope to see you at the East Africa Meetup!