Where to eat

Commensal (655 Bay St, n. of Dundas, enter on Elm, 416-596-9364) has a great promotion this holiday season. Everyone enjoys 10% off (minimum party of 8) and the group organizer eats for free! They are a fancy pay-by-weight buffet with over 100 salads, hot dishes and desserts.

Hot Yam! (33 St George St, n. of College, www.hotyam.blogspot.com) has closed down for the rest of December until January 7th. Luckily, you can find many of their recipes here: http://hotyam.blogspot.com/ . They serve all vegan, mostly local and organic lunches at the UofT International Student Centre once a week.

Kale Eatery (2366 Yonge St, n. of Eglington, KaleEatery.com , 416-792-5253) is now open! This is Sunny Cafe's new location of pay-by-weight vegetarian eat-in or take-out food.
Shawn C writes: It is a self serve buffet and you can eat in (6 or 7 tables) or takeout (in compostable eco-container). ...They have about 20 items (split between 11 hot dishes and 9 salads or cold greens). They also have pre-made sandwiches for $6 or $7. They also have a juice bar and a cooler of locally produced take away soups and baked goods/deserts from other companies."

Magic Oven (360 Queen St E, at Parliament, www.MagicOven.com , 416-703-3555) has started to offer an "all-you-can-eat" pizza and salad night every Wednesday from 5 to 9 p.m. for $12.95 Nicole writes "I went last week and they had both vegetarian and vegan options available. The service was exceptional: they have servers constantly walking around with trays of different pizza and salads and you get as much as you want. I highly recommend it!" They are a gourmet pizza restaurant that also serves plus pastas, salads and appetizers. Many veg and vegan options.

In the news

Ying Ying Soy Food – Organic Gourmet Tofu (St Lawrence Market, 92 Front St E, www.yingyingsoyfood.ca, 905-847-5592)  had an interesting article written about their history and products in The Toronto Star on December 10th 2009 . They are an organic soy food manufacturer and retailer. Products include: Gourmet Tofu, Tofu Roast, Tofu Steak, Tofu Burgers & Tofu Bacon. Their hours are Tue-Sat 8am-5pm. Closed Sun-Mon.

Bakeries

Closures

Aliviar Spa (646 Queen St W, www.aliviarspa.com, 647-435-0903) has closed its doors. As seen on BlogTO. They were an organic and vegan spa. UPDATE: February 2010:  The owner informed a member that they're planning to reopen in a new location.

Ever wonder what the TVP gang looks like?

Ever wonder what the resource centre looks like?

Ever wonder who else came to the 2009 open house?

Thanks to the moving picture phenomenon known as video, which is exactly like the audio you're used to from the TVP if your eyes are closed, you can know everything. EVERYTHING.

This vid-stravaganza is a cookie-popping 7 minutes long.

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Lisa and Kris passionately discuss vegan baking; the sweet and the savoury. Kris' recently released book, 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes  is the source of Lisa recent bought of vegan baking supremacy. Kris shares some great suggestions for holiday baked goods, including a delicious bread studded with cranberries and orange peel that makes a fabulous hostess gift. Lisa delights in Kris' exploration of vegan pastries and appreciates her recipes that reinvent signature treats from popular chain restaurants. All in all, the women engage in a sugar-charged discussion of all things vegan and delicious.

Check out more exciting recipes from Kris by visiting her blog at www.nomnomnomblog.com

This podcast is rolled, pressed, and marked with a v...put in the oven for the veggies and me.

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After whetting the appetites of Torontonian's at the 25th annual Vegetarian Food Fair, Terry Hope Romero joins Lisa for a discussion of vegan cookie invasion and flavourful Latin fare. The little blue book that is taking over cookie exchanges everywhere, Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, is the third co-authored project of Terry and Isa Chandra Moskowitz (following the success of Veganomicon and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World). Terry shares her tales of transporting thousands of vegan delights on New York's transit system and celebrates the portability of these treats over the prementioned crusading cupcakes. Terry describes the essential pantry items for baking up perfect vegan cookies and her sweet selections for the holiday season. The discussion gets hotter with a shift toward South American cuisines and Terry's first solo project, Viva Vegan, due out in the spring. Lisa and Terry discuss new techniques for achieving the most flavourful rice, seitan and tofu dishes. Terry shares her thoughts on the perfect Latin holiday feast and Lisa laments the months she has to wait until this fantastic book arrives on shelves.

This podcast is a hot, sticky, sweet trip from tamales to snickerdoodles.

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After a busy Sunday full of festive vegan fare, Lisa interviews Angela from Front Door Organics . Lisa gushes about the amazing quality of produce that Front Door Organics has supplied for TVA cooking demos in the pasts and finds out how to get boxes of the best organic food to arrive right to your front door. In fact, Lisa adds the Fresh box to her holiday wishlist. Angela shares how the organic food scene has evolved over the past 13 years and discusses the challenges of sourcing fresh ingredients during Toronto's cold winter months.

This podcast is overflowing with apples, oranges and a season's worth of root vegetables.

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This podcast is a crumbly chai cookie rolled in sparkly sugar 37 minutes. 

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In this special episode of the TVP, Lisa and Colleen have the pleasure of chatting with cookbook author extraordinaire Dreena Burton about holiday eating. Dreena discusses the uniquely vegan holiday dinner traditions she's developed over the years (including east coast-style vegan stuffing, properly known as "dressing", which you should try - it's it in the All Dressed Squash recipe in The Everyday Vegan).

Dreena not only provides a lot of excellent meal suggestions for large holiday dinners - check out her blog for the recipe ideas discussed in this show - but she also has some great ideas for gift-giving and freaking out young children via the introduction of a Santa who may be either drunk or just clumsy.

As always, Dreena is super sweet and Lisa and Colleen were really happy to have this opportunity to chat with her.

This podcast is an east coast stuffed squash 33 minutes long.

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Compassionate Celebrations: How to be the perfect host/hostess for your holiday party!

Date: Sunday, December 13 from 5-8 pm TIME IS RUNNING OUT, REGISTER NOW!
Location: Pulp Kitchen 1129 Queen St E.
Price: $15 for members of TVA

Doug McNish will present recipes to impress everyone with delicious and satisfying vegan food. For those looking for new recipes to up their A game, Doug will take your food preparation skills to the next level. Recipes will include impressive entrees and appetizers for family gatherings and potluck parties.

Learn how to prepare 5 tantalizing menu items for your guests:

• Carrot & parsnip fettucini in a hemp coriander chlorella pesto

• Crisp phyllo purses with a roasted red pepper, spinach and tofu filling

• Glazed Tofurkey

• Tempeh crabcakes

• Raw avocado mousse

  
  

NOTE: This event is open to TVA members only. Tickets MUST be purchased in advance. To purchase your tickets, please phone the TVA office at 416-544-9800. Space is limited.

Click here to learn about becoming a member of the Toronto Vegetarian Association, so that you can attend events like these and others!

Today John and Colleen talk about eating some "handwiches" from Urban Herbivore .  Both Colleen and John are big fans of the six dollar sandwich which is full of smoked coconut, cashew mayo, tomato, and salad greens.  Their discussion of the bread, which is shaped like a little hand, leads the two into a conversation about weird foods which they've been exposed to in the past.

The two co-hosts also deal with some letters they received this week.  They received some kind words from a couple of listeners (Hi Peter!) and had one listener suggest that the co-host combination of Liam and John is simply too much masculinity (Hi White Raven!).  This inspired Colleen and John to write a "Top 10 Responses To Podcast Listeners Who Feel There Are Too Many Male Podcast Hosts And Not Enough Female". 

AngelA writes in to let us know that there has recently been a compilation of Vegan and Animal Rights Radio shows and Podcasts which can be found here.

Colleen also reports about recent experiences with Rancho Relaxo, Veganomicon, and The Joy of Vegan Baking.

This week's podcast an I-Love-Rock-and-Roll 33 minutes.
 

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	Photo care of Viva, a vegetarian organization in the UK Tweet if you love TVA! Come follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/torontoveg We’re on Facebook Join the Toronto Vegetarian Association Facebook Group to receive invitations to events and more! Want even more news? Want even more news? TVA members are entitled to a free customized version of VegE-News. Find out more.

Holiday season is almost upon us - and there's lots of ways to celebrate and save!  

Make your first stop for holiday shopping our annual sale and open house on December 12th. Then, head to Magic Oven or Le Commensal to take advantage of some great holiday specials they're offering.

Then it will be time to ring in the new year with a bang - and we'll be doing just that by starting the third year of our strategic plan with our Compassion for Animals focus by launching Meat Free Mondays.

While you wait for these exciting events, stay warm and healthy with Glorious Roasted Garlic Soup.

Don't Miss These Upcoming Events!

TVA's Annual Holiday Sale and Open House will happen on Saturday, December 12th from 12 to 5 pm. And Doug McNish will host another Holiday Cooking Demo on Sunday, December 13th. Find out more in the TVA in Action section.

Today Liam and John eat a lot of food and you get to hear all about it!  What a great way to spend 25 minutes of your time!  They start with splitting an X-large Fredo from Pizzaiolololo.  That didn't seem to satiate the two podcast hosts, however, as they still had room for some spiced pear cake from HOT YAM!  Needless to say both Liam and John left feeling quite full. 

The two podcast hosts also found time to discuss the recent events at the TVA Annual General Meeting. 

There was also some discussion about:  Thai food, eating in South America, and Bob Barker.

This week's episode is a no-fish-sauce-in-my-Thai-food 25 minutes.

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