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June 2-9, 2012

Celebrate the many benefits of veg
eating with events, videos, & more!

2011 Finalist - Environmental Awareness Award

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For media inquiries regarding The 27th Annual Vegetarian Food Festival, please contact media@veg.ca.

 

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Toronto Vegetarian Association
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Lifelines - Sept 2008

Lifelines is Toronto Vegetarian Association's regular newsletter. It's filled with news, articles, recipes, restaurant reviews, event information and more. Become a supporter to receive Lifelines year-round.

eLifelines May 2011 - 3 Ways to Learn About Food and Animals
Sunday, 09 January 2011

  
Pig
 

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The second annual Compassion Week is coming near. This year the week includes an arts night, a Compassion Marketplace, the launch of the annual Compassion Award, and a week-long series of high school talks about animals. 

Before that kicks off, check out a screening of the new documentary Forks Over Knives. This film will make you want to take action, like Toronto Pig Save, featured as our animal advocates this month for their work exposing the cruelties that exist in Toronto's slaughterhouses.

If this motivates you to eat cruelty-free, check out the healthy powers of nutritional yeast and put it to use with a vegan version of pasta with bechamel sauce and fresh herbs, or try one of the many new veg-friendly businesses we found out about in the directory updates!

Don't Miss These Upcoming Events!

Compassion Week starts early June, with the Compassion Cafe on June 9th and the Compassion Marketplace on June 11th. Find out more in the TVA in Action section or on Facebook.


 


This Month...

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TVA in Action - Compassion Cafe, Compassion Marketplace, Nominate Someone for the Compassion Award, Directory Updates

In the News - New TV Show on Animal Planet

Animal Advocacy Profile - Toronto Pig Save: Giving Slaughterhouses Windows

Nutritious Food of the Month - Nutritional Yeast

Recipe - Kamut Pasta with "Bechamel" Sauce and Fresh Herbs

Reader's Corner - Toronto Veggie Pride Parade, Forks Over Knives, Help Out the Raw Vegan Festival, Veggie Shared House Sublet Available

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TVA In Action

Upcoming Events

 
 Larra Skye 

 
Compassion Cafe
Drop by and enjoy conversation, art and jazz music while sipping on a tea or latte. Artwork encouraging people to care about animals will be displayed and on sale, and Larra Skye and Caitlin Black will provide entertainment. 

When? Thursday, June 9th at 7 pm
 
Where? T.A.N Coffee (37 Baldwin Street)
 
How much? Free. Proceeds from the sale of artwork will benefit local farmed animal sanctuaries.
 
Find out more at www.compassionweek.ca.
 
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Compassion Marketplace
Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, author of The Joy of Vegan Baking and Vegan Table will host an ask-the-expert session at our Compassion Marketplace. The marketplace will also feature local vegetarian businesses and other non-profit organisations.
 
When? Saturday, June 11th 
 
Where? Wychwood Barns (601 Christie St.)
 
Cost: Free admission to the marketplace and Colleen's "Ask the Expert" session. Tickets for Colleen's talk are $20, or $15 for TVA members, and can be purchased at the TVA Resource Centre or by phoning the TVA office at 416-544-9800.
 
Find out more at www.compassionweek.ca.
 
Nominate Someone for a Compassion Award

Do you know someone whose compassion is a guiding principle in efforts to bring about positive change? Who goes above and beyond to help people and animals? Whose example inspires others to make changes in their own lives that reflect compassionate values?

If you said yes, we want to hear about it! You can tell us by submitting a nomination to the first ever Toronto Vegetarian Association Compassion Award.

Visit www.compassionweek.ca for full details and an online nomination form. 

Find other veg-related event listings at veg.ca/events.   

TVA Group Events

 
The Dinner Social Group will hold their next meeting at Rancho Relaxo (300 College Street) on Thursday, May 19th at 7 pm. Please RSVP by the Wednesday before the event to 416-544-9800 or tvadinner@veg.ca.
 

The North York/York Region Group will meet for dinner at Loving Hut (953 Eglinton Avenue W) on Sunday, May 15th at 1 pm. All ages, and new, experienced & transitioning vegetarians welcome. Please RSVP to yorkregion@veg.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 416-636-5757.

The Veggies of Halton and Peel will meet at WASS Ethiopian Restaurant in Hamilton on Saturday, May 14th at 6:30 pm. RSVP to figbson@veg.ca.

The TVA Reading Group will meet on Monday, May 30 at 6:30 p.m. for a potluck in the Queen West area, to discuss The Value of Nothing by Raj Patel. New members welcome. Contact Shân at tvareads@veg.ca

Join one of TVA’s social groups.

Directory Updates

There's an abundance of new businesses to check out this month! A new Indian vegetarian restaurant, Cholan, has opened in Mississauga, and APieCalypse Now is a new vegan bakery coming to farmers' markets near you. Plus, Panacea's got new vegan chocolate bars and whipped cream, and someone's discovered a very vegan-friendly restaurant in Roncesvalles, Cardinal Rule Restaurant. Find out more about these, and if you can believe it, several other new discoveries, in the May directory updates


In the News

New Reality Series Focuses on Vegan Baker and Activist

There's a new reality show on Animal Planet, and it's following a vegan animal rights activist and baker! Sweet Avenger will be about a vegan baker who is out to save animals one cupcake at a time. The new series will start this summer. Click here to read more about it!

 

Animal Advocacy Profile

Know someone you want to nominate for the Animal Advocacy Profile? Tell us about someone in the community doing inspiring work for animals.

 
 

Toronto Pig Save: Giving Slaughterhouses Windows


Toronto is home to four slaughterhouses, and there are many more beyond city limits. Is this a surprise to you? Toronto Pig Save is working to expose the horrors that exist behind the walls of these slaughterhouses, and present positive alternatives like animal sanctuaries and adopting a vegan diet. They've started up a travelling art show and spearheaded a vegan challenge for Earth Week.

Click here to read about the fantastic work they're doing to give slaughterhouses windows and both expose the cruelty taking place, and the ways in which people can make changes in their own lives to save Toronto's pigs and other farm animals.

 

Nutritious Food of the Month

Nutritional Yeast

Care of Amy Symington

No, nutritional yeast won’t make your bread rise or your home brew taste better, but its uses and nutritional benefits are absolutely nothing to sneeze at.  
 
What is Nutritional Yeast? For those of you who haven’t been privy to the existence of what should be referred to as the veghead’s best friend, nutritional yeast is a derivative of yeast combined with a cocktail of sugarcane and beet molasses that has been fermented for a period of one week. After which, it is then harvested, washed, dried on roller drum dryers and packaged for sale. It is available in either flake or a powder form and can be located in most health and bulk food stores.  
 
What does it taste like!? It has a strong nutty, and creamy flavour that makes it perfect for the concocting of cheese substitutes. The flakes or powder simply disintegrate into or amalgamate with whatever they are sprinkled on to, poured over or stirred into, enhancing any savoury snack or meal alike. 
 
Besides taste, what’s in it for me? Nutritional yeast is good for you. It is a complete protein and is a very good source of dietary fibre as well as the complex B vitamins; vitamins everyone needs to be wary of consuming adequate amounts of.  However, make sure to read the nutritional labels first to ensure that the nutritional yeast you’re purchasing does in fact contain B12, as some do not.     
 
What the goodness gracious do I do with it? It is often used in place of the not so nutritious parmesan cheese, atop of pastas, soups or salads. In addition to Italian night, nutritional yeast also frequents movie night as well as a delightful popcorn topper. In addition to the tried and true uses for this savoury flavour enhancer, it is also great in some more adventurous-type fare as well. Try it in pâté, creamy nut sauces, mushroom gravies, tofu scrambles, or dressings. Use it as a topper for steamed broccoli or baked potatoes. Mix it in chowders, add it to savory scones, or toss it in a spicy bean burrito! Caliente!

Click here to join TVA and receive the print Lifelines, which offers more nutritional info, recipes and cookbook reviews. Find more nutritional information at veg.ca/nutrition.

Recipe

Kamut Linguine in "Bechamel" Sauce with Fresh Herbs

Care of Amy Symington 

 
 
Kamut
 

Ingredients

Pasta (or use store bought whole wheat pasta to save some time!)

  • 2-1/2 cup Kamut flour + extra for rolling 
  • Pinch salt 
  • 1 cup cold water 
  • 2 tsp olive oil 

 Combine flour and salt in large bowl. Make a well in center. Add cold water and olive oil. Knead until dough is smooth.  Cover with wet cloth until ready to use.  When ready, divide dough in half and roll out to ½" thickness. Use extra flour to prevent sticking. Thinly slice into noodles. Repeat with other ball.  Place all noodles into a pot of boiling water. Cook until el dente. Drain. Set aside. 

Sauce 

  • 530g package soft organic tofu 
  • ¾ cup unsalted cashews 
  • ½ cup nutritional yeast 
  • 4 cloves garlic 
  • 1 tbsp oil 
  • 1 tbsp whole wheat flour 
  • 1 cup water 
  • 3/4 cup fresh herbs, chopped (dill, thyme, tarragon recommended) 
  • Zest of 1 lemon 
  • Pinch salt    

Directions: In a food processor add tofu, cashews, nutritional yeast and garlic. Process until smooth. Set aside. 

Over medium heat in a large sauté pan add oil and flour (making a roux). Whisk together until smooth. Add tofu mixture to roux. Whisk. Add water and continue whisking.

Whisk in fresh herbs, lemon zest and salt. Add pasta. Toss until noodles are coated. Serve immediately.

Find links to more recipes at veg.ca/recipes.

  
  

Reader's Corner

Reader's Events

The second Toronto Veggie Pride Parade takes place Saturday, June 4th, heading down Yonge Street to Queen Street. The Toronto Veggie Pride Parade is for everyone, so whether you're a veggie yourself, veggie-friendly or even a staunch meat-eater, you are welcome to attend and celebrate the "Veggie Lifestyle"! Come and demonstrate how diverse and desirable the veggie diet and lifestyle is! Find out more at www.veggieprideparada.ca

Forks Over Knives is premiering on May 20th at the Cumberland Theatre. The film examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the so-called “diseases of affluence” that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods. Want to win a free pair of tickets to the advanced screening on May 18th? Be one of the first 15 people to email Barbi with an answer to this skill-testing question: Name one speaker in addition to Colleen Patrick-Goudreau and one vendor currently scheduled for the Compassion Marketplace on June 11th.

Reader's Classifieds

The Raw Vegan Festival needs help contacting clothing stores in Kensington Market. If you live in Kensington or are familiar with the area and can help, please contact rawfood@rogers.com.
 
Vegetarian shared house looking for people  We have a sublet available for June, July and August. Plus a long-term room opening up July 1st, but we are looking to fill it with a tech-oriented person who wants to work on web and database aspects of the Veggie Challenge in exchange for free or reduced rent.
 
We are an easy-going intentional community house that started 14 years ago. The house currently operates on a non-profit basis with extra revenue used to sponsor the Veggie Challenge (http://www.veggiechallenge.com). Our house also offers rent credits to residents who are keen to volunteer on this project.
 
An ideal candidate is someone who likes volunteering. But an important consideration is someone keen on living in close community with others, and who fits well with the current mix of residents. The monthly amount of $420 ($445 winter) includes everything (utilities, internet, and a basic land line for outgoing calls). In addition, we each pay $35 cash into the house fund per month. We have a vegetarian (vegan-friendly) kitchen with an emphasis on organics and locally-grown foods. Currently, each resident cooks shared meals three times a month.  
 
For more about the house see http://www.deliciousearth.wordpress.com/the-house/ or email sleckie@veg.ca.

Join the Toronto Vegetarian Association today!

What Our Members Have to Say

 
“Going veg is the only intervention we can make as individuals that has purely positive impact, with no negative side effects. Since its inception, TVA has done a superlative job of promoting vegetarianism/veganism. Providing a monthly donation, however small or large, greatly helps TVA plan and budget for activities that continue this critical mission.”

-- Dinesh Parakh
 

Founded in 1945, the Toronto Vegetarian Association is a volunteer-driven charitable organization devoted to providing information and support to people who are interested in making healthier, greener, more peaceful food choices.

By becoming a member of TVA, you'll support vital programs such as the largest annual vegetarian food fair in North America, the vegetarian directory, a volunteer-run vegetarian resource centre and the Veggie Challenge. You'll also receive our quarterly print newsletter Lifelines, and be entitled to a free, customized subscription to VegE-News. Plus, you'll have the option to purchase our Discount Card, offering savings at over 80 veg-friendly businesses in the GTA. All donations of $20 or more are tax-deductible.

Join the Toronto Vegetarian Association today and help us inspire people to choose a healthier, greener, more peaceful lifestyle.