The Vegan Butcher

As I announced on Twitter and Facebook a couple of weeks ago, I now work at the only fully vegan bakery in all of big, bad London, Ms Cupcake! About once a week I’ll get sent to deliver a special order of cakes and treats to Vx, the fully vegan shop near King’s Cross.

“What?!” you’re probably thinking. “Getting paid to visit a vegan shop?!?” Trust me, it’s nothing but trouble. Every time I go there I find something new to buy and I’m spending far too much money. Though, I’m sure the owner is not complaining. (more…)

My fack, I love bread. So, so, so much. And Dr. Atkins can kiss my carb-filled ass, because I ain’t givin’ it up anytime soon.

Today was a bit out of hand, though. I had toast for breakfast (as I ran to my Tube station), a peanut butter sandwich for lunch (at my new job!) and when I got home I made a big ol’ pan of bruschetta. The Bruschetta Experience involved using a gas oven for the first time. Did I blow up the house?!? Only one way to find out… (more…)

It’s not always easy being vegan in a non-vegan world. In this post I will not cry you a river about never being able to eat in social situations, blah blah. This post is about the amazing and heartwarming times you find omnivorous restaurants that are willing to go out of their way to ensure you get a delicious vegan meal in their non-vegan setting. Here are some stories about places like that. (more…)

This post is in honour of the home city of my heart, Halifax. Just this evening it was announced that our Halifax shipyard has been awarded a $25 Billion contract to build new ships for the Canadian military. I can only imagine the parties that are springing up across the city right now. And across the whole country, really. (We have a lot of boys that had to go away to find work. Maybe we can get some of you home now, eh?) I wish I could be there with you tonight, my friends. The only thing I can do from here is drink with you in spirit (check) and blog about my last lunch EVER in Halifax. I know, a touching tribute.

My very last day in Nova Scotia (as in, I was flying out that night) saw me packing, running my friends out to the airport for their flight ahead of mine, and tracking down rogue vegan foods/ingredients that I feared (correctly) I wouldn’t be able to find over in the UK.

We were out at Pete’s Frootique (ironically, a British grocer) and I found my sought-after ingredients and I bought a couple things to make one last honkin’ sandwich before flying away. Here’s what went down. (more…)

This weekend Canadians from coast to coast to coast are celebrating Thanksgiving. Here’s a little excerpt from our friends at Wikipedia regarding the Canadian roots of Thanksgiving:

“The origins of the first Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to an explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Pacific Ocean. Frobisher’s Thanksgiving celebration was not for harvest, but for homecoming. He had safely returned from an unsuccessful search for the Northwest Passage, avoiding the later fate of Henry Hudson and Sir John Franklin. In the year 1578, Frobisher held a formal ceremony in Newfoundland to give thanks for surviving the long journey. Years later, the tradition of a feast would continue as more settlers began to arrive to the Canadian colonies.”

Well, I’m a Londoner now, so technically this week is a homecoming for me, right? Time for a feast?! (more…)

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…)

I hope you’re ready for another massive dose of insanity, because it’s time for the next post in the “From the Booth” series! In this series, as previously shown, you and I will take advantage of the endless hours spent at my weekend/evening job in a parking lot attendant booth by cooking vegan food right here at the lot.

This week we delve into a world as of yet unexplored at the booth: Baking! Baking? BAKING?!?! In a parking lot?!? All right, everybody needs to calm down. Yes. We’re going to bake. Let’s make the impossible possible! Grab your mixing bowls! We’re making banana bread. (If you’re thinking, “This shit is bananas!”, you’re not wrong.) (more…)

It’s time for our next post in the “Into the Woods” series! If you missed the first I recommend that you read back so as not to be totally and utterly confused during this post.

Next up on our list of fairy tale characters to explore: Little Red Riding Hood.

In “Into the Woods” Little Red is a chubby little thing that loves her sweets. She stops by the Baker’s house on her way into the woods to visit her grandmother and places an order…all for Granny, of course:

“It’s not for me, it’s for my Granny in the woods. A loaf of bread, please—to bring my poor old hungry Granny in the woods… Just a loaf of bread, please… And perhaps a sticky bun? Or four? And a few of those pies, please… I sort of hate to ask it, but do you have a basket?” (more…)

Get ready for the most exciting blog post of your life in which I make a sandwich from the leftovers in my fridge! I can tell you’re all pretty jacked up about this–perhaps we should all calm down.

The other night I was cooking for a post that didn’t involve a main dish. I didn’t have anything on the go to eat for supper, so I rooted around in the fridge and found leftover seitan and garlic mayo from this meal, and dug in the freezer to find leftover batter coating from this meal. We were in business! (more…)

The “From the Booth” series is BACK! With less than two months remaining until I pack up and ship off to England, the extra hours at my weekend/evening job have been ramping up and I figure we should utilise them by cooking ridiculous things in the parking lot.

The first time we threw caution and common sense to the wind and cooked at the attendant booth of my parking lot we made a vegan grilled cheese sandwich. This time we are harnessing more of my mad Girl Guide cooking skills and we’re making a Milk Carton Hot Dog. Get ready for this shit. (more…)