The Vegan Butcher

I am having a full-blown love affair with the cookbooks of Joni Marie Newman and I don’t care who knows it! She’s absolutely genius. This post chronicles the first meal I made from her new book with Celine Steen, Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites.

As the title clearly states, this book includes nothing but recipes for substantial, filling food. You’re not going to find recipes for dainty salads in here, I’ll tell you that much for free.

I cracked open this cookbook on a hot, humid, Halifax summer weekend. My friends Jimmy and Kaleigh were coming over to visit that afternoon. I didn’t want to go to the grocery store and I wanted to cook outside. Those were my parameters while I flipped through for a recipe.

I found a recipe for the Ultimate Patty Melt topped with Smoky Pub Cheese, a burger served on sourdough bread.  I sounded delicious and it fit the bill. I was happy. (more…)

Dolly Parton very nearly ruined my dinner last week. This post chronicles that evening.

Let me begin by stating my undying, unconditional, lifelong love for Dolly Parton. She is a musical genius and has a brilliant mind for business. And she’s funny as hell. What it comes down to is that she has never done nor will she ever do anything I don’t absolutely love. I think during the next holiday season I’m going to have to devote a post to how much I love her and Kenny Rogers’s Once Upon a Christmas album. But that is not this post. This post is about Dolly Parton and vegan hamburgers. (more…)

In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth. He created the first man and named him Adam. When He was about to create a companion for Adam He addressed him and said, “Adam, I can create you the most beautiful of all creatures and she shall be your partner, but it will cost you an arm and a leg.” Adam considered, and then said, “What can I get for a rib?”

AHAHHAHA. Okay, I seriously hear that terrible joke in my head every time anyone mentions ribs in any context. You had best believe it was being hollered over and over in that echoey and empty cavern upstairs when I was making these bad boys. To drown it out I jammed my earbuds in, put Prince’s Very Best Of album on loop, and cranked it up.

I saw this recipe a couple months ago and immediately wanted to tackle it. It’s fairly labour intensive, so I needed to be in the right physical and mental place to do it. That day finally arrived last week. (more…)