| eLifelines July 2011 |
| Sunday, 09 January 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Summer is the time to get outside and enjoy the heat, and the veg community in Toronto is fortunate to have lots of opportunities to do just that! In August, Gene Baur of Farm Sanctuary will be coming to town to give out FREE veggie dogs as part of their 25th anniversary tour. Soon after that comes the Annual Vegetarian Food Festival, and in between you might choose to walk or run in preparation for being part of our team at the upcoming Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. If that's not enough to keep you busy in Toronto and you're looking to get away, we've got a great suggestion: Lands in Love Vegetarian Resort in Costa Rica! Also in this issue you'll find lots of yummy food ideas, such as recipes for Banana Ginger Flapjacks and Manicotti, and a link to vegan and gluten-free snacks. Don't Miss These Upcoming Events!10,000 Tastes, 10 Billion Reasons is happening August 10th, and the Annual Vegetarian Food Festival is September 9th to 11th. Find out more in the TVA in Action section.
This Month... TVA in Action - 10,000 Tastes, 10 Billion Reasons Featuring Gene Baur, Toronto Vegetarian Team at the Waterfront Marathon, Vegetarian Food Festival In the News - Netherlands to Ban Cruel Religious Sacrifices Animal Advocacy Profile - A Photographic Journey with Jo-Anne McArthur Nutritious Food of the Month - Glorious Gooseberries Recipe - Banana Ginger Flapjacks with Gooseberry Compote Discount Profile - Rancho Relaxo: 10% off Reader's Corner - Manicotti and Tofu Scramble Recipes, Veggie Resort in Costa Rica, Vegan and Gluten-Free Snacks
TVA In ActionUpcoming Events
Be part of Farm Sanctuary's 25th anniversary "Just Eats" tour. The afternoon portion of the event will take place at Yonge-Dundas Square, and will include the opportunity to meet Gene during a free veggie dog giveaway (sponsored by Tofurky!), free samples of some of the best vegan foods on the market, veg celebrity appearances and performances, and much more! The evening portion of the event is a ticketed presentation at the Hart House at the University of Toronto and will include Gene's presentation highlighting the founding of Farm Sanctuary, the Canadian Empathy Awards, a book signing and a vegan raffle! When? Wednesday, August 10th Where? 10,000 Tastes (12 to 6 pm) at Yonge-Dundas Square; 10 Billion Reasons (7:30 to 9:30 pm) at Hart House at the University of Toronto How much? 10,000 Tastes is FREE! 10 Billion Reasons is a ticketed event, ticket prices TBA. More information: www.empathy-unlimited.org/10billionreasons Click here to see an invitation to Ellen to come out, from Vegan Meal Time.
27th Annual Vegetarian Food Festival The Annual Vegetarian Food Festival gives you a chance to enjoy a diverse cross-section of vegetarian cuisine. Discover new products and ideas from more than 100 exhibitors and enjoy a wide variety of presentations and cooking demos. Whether you're looking for new ideas to add colour and variety to your meals or you're a seasoned vegetarian interested in expanding your knowledge of nutritious and ethical foods, this is the place for you. When? September 9th, 10th and 11th Where? Harbourfront Centre How much? This is a FREE event! All lectures and cooking demonstrations are free as well. More information: Keep checking back to the website for updates on speakers, cooking demos and exhibitors. veg.ca/festival Want to volunteer at the festival? You can help by staffing a TVA table, serving food at cooking demos, distributing programs, and so much more! Click here for a list of positions and to send in your volunteer application online. The Toronto Vegetarian Team is Back at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon Are you a plant-powered runner? Join the Toronto Vegetarian Team at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon! You can sign up to walk or run the 5k, 1/2 marathon or full marathon to raise funds to support TVA. All runners on the team receive a special discounted charity registration rate, and will be invited to a post-run dinner at Rawlicious, where you'll get a complimentary appetizer and dessert. Plus, you have the opportunity to win some great prizes from Whole Foods and Moksha Yoga if you're one of our top three fundraisers! Last year, 17 members of the team ran or walked to raise a whopping $7500 for TVA. This year, we want to surpass that goal so that TVA can continue to expand our outreach program, distributing more vegetarian starter kits, and getting more people to take the Veggie Challenge and commit to trying a vegetarian diet for one week!  Plus, let's not forget the larger our team is, the louder our message that vegetarians are indeed strong, athletic and healthy. We hope you'll join us to make these dreams reality.  To join the Toronto Vegetarian Team please contact Barbi Lazarus at blazarus@veg.ca or 416-544-9800 to receive the special registration code and next steps. And don't forget, even if you don't want to run or walk in the race yourself, you can still support the team by sponsoring a runner on the team, or the entire team by visiting the Toronto Vegetarian Team's website. TVA Group EventsVeggies of Halton and Peel will meet on Saturday, July 9 at 11:45am at KindFood (399 John St. in Burlington). They are a gluten-free vegan bakery, organic cafe, and juice bar. If the weather is nice, they have offered to reserve the patio table for the group. For more information on this restaurant, please visit: http://www.kindfood.com/ Come early and enjoy one or both of the thrift shops of the Burlington Humane Society. 'The Loft' is located at the main shelter, while 'The Attic' is located at 479 John St. (open 10am-4pm) and is walking distance from KindFood: http://burlingtonhumane.ca/the-attic.html. A short drive from the downtown and you can also visit the farmers market at the Burlington Mall from 8am-2pm: http://www.burlingtonmallfarmersmarket.com/ To RSVP for lunch, please send an e-mail to Fraser Gibson at fgibson@veg.ca. The Toronto Vegetarian Meetup Group is holding a farewell dinner for the vegetarian restaurant White Lotus on Sunday, July 10th. Click here for details. The Dinner Social Group will hold their next meeting at Rawlicious - Junction (3092 Dundas Street West) on Thursday, July 21st at 7 pm. Please RSVP by the Wednesday before the event to 416-544-9800 or tvadinner@veg.ca. Vegetarians in Their Twenties will meet at Rancho Relaxo on July 16th at 7 pm. Come out to munch on their delicious veg*n menu items, have fun with others from the group and give your input on what kinds of activities you want the group to partake in! Please RSVP by July 14th to vitt@veg.ca and look for them on Facebook. Join one of TVA’s social groups. Directory UpdatesBig news this month: The immediately popular Hot Beans is opening a sister restaurant (diner style) on July 8th. Hogtown Vegan will be located at Bloor/Ossington. Plus, there's lots of news in the veg catering and meal delivery world. Click here for more information on these and other directory updates. In the NewsNetherlands to Ban Cruel Religious SacrificeWhile a compromise allowing exemptions for certain religious groups weakens the strength of the original proposal, Dutch lawmakers are going ahead to ban certain religious traditions of slaughtering animals. The Party for the Animals introduced the legislation and targets slaughter without the use of stunning. Click here to read a Huffington Post article from April discussing the background to the ban when it was initially proposed, and click here to read about the final compromise that was made. Animal Advocacy ProfileKnow someone you want to nominate for the Animal Advocacy Profile? Tell us about someone in the community doing inspiring work for animals. Using Photography for Animal ActivismThere are many methods of activism: some people attend demos, some people write letters, some volunteer for organizations like the Toronto Vegetarian Association and take part in community outreach, and some, like Jo-Anne McArthur, use art to tell a story and get people thinking about the ways they use animals in their everyday lives. Click here to read about not only Jo-Anne's photographic work, but also how she has inspired and impacted both people and animals she comes across every day. Nutritious Food of the MonthGlorious GooseberriesCare of Amy Symington What the hey is a gooseberry? It is none other than a tart, tangy type of fruit that luckily for us, inhabits our great province. It is often bitter in taste and has a grape-like size, flavour, and texture, with only a slightly more fibrous mouthfeel. In terms of taste, some say it’s what you would get if a grape met a kiwi and well, the rest is gooseberry history. There are various colours and kinds depending upon your locale on the old globe. Focusing on the North American types you are most likely to find either a red or green variety. These include: The Pixwell gooseberry, which is a variety that produces round, 1/2” berries. They are light green in colour and if permitted will mature to a soft pink. The Welcome gooseberry also yield 1/2” berries, but are a variety that produces a much sweeter and darker red fruit than the Pixwell. They are much more astringent in flavour than the green variety. Both are tasty. Speaking of tasty… Gooseberries are well known for their use in desserts like tarts, pies, crumbles or crisps. Gooseberries are often preserved by drying, jamming, pickling or storing in a simple syrup. They are used for flavouring carbonated bevies, water and fruit wines and have been known to make the odd appearance in your tea pot as well. The less bitter berries go best on salads, as garnish to a yummy summer cocktail or all by their little lonesome. The more bitter berries are great in sauces, jams and in baked goodies. Just remember to remove the stems prior to using and/or eating. And they’re nutritious to boot! Gooseberries are a good source of Vitamin A, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Dietary Fibre and Vitamin C. 150 grams of this gem of a fruit is 70% of your daily Vitamin C intake as well as 5.25 grams of fibre! Not to mention, it is rich in anti-oxidants and helps to regulate those sometimes crazy-out-of-control, blood sugar levels. Gooseberries are in season in Ontario in the wonderful summer months of July and August and you should try them. Perhaps in the recipe below... 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. RecipeBanana Ginger Flapjacks with a Gooseberry CompoteMakes 8 large pancakes
Flapjacks:
Compote:
In a large bowl mix the dry flapjack ingredients. In a small bowl mix the wet flapjack ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fully incorporate. Set aside. Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan add the compote ingredients. Simmer ingredients for 20-25 minutes until a sauce like consistency appears. Keep warm until needed. In a large pan over medium heat, add ½ tsp oil. Ladle the flapjack mix onto the pan and cook for about a minute or until bubbles form in the batter. Flip and cook the other side for about 30 seconds until the flapjack is golden brown. Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve flapjacks with gooseberry compote and fresh fruit. Find links to more recipes at veg.ca/recipes. Discount ProfileRancho Relaxo: 10% off with the TVA Discount CardCare of Terri Coles
Mexican is not necessarily the most vegan- or vegetarian-friendly cuisine, what with the common pork, sour cream and cheese. But at Rancho Relaxo, there's a nice vegetarian menu (look for the green leaf beside menu items), and nearly all items on the regular menu can be made vegetarian or vegan upon request. There's soy-based sour cream and cheese on offer, and you can sub out the meat for tofu or wheat-based meat substitutes in many dishes -- or just get them to amp up the veggies. They also have several gluten-free options as well, including a beer on tap. Restaurant manager Alicia (of Pink Hart Diner fame) is vegan herself, so you can feel confident that the staffs knows what you're trying to avoid in your meal. The tofu borracho has a great sauce, and definitely try the deep-fried ice cream -- available with both dairy and soy-based ice cream. TVA Discount? 10% off Veg Status? Not a vegetarian restaurant, but almost any dish can be made as a vegan version Where? 300 College St (w. of Spadina) Reader's CornerReader's RecipesWant a classic, lucious Italian dish without the cruel cheese and unhealthy cream? Check out blogger Shannon's recipe for Vegan Mmmanicotti. Not only is this recipe delicious, Shannon's also focused on making it easy and affordable!TVA volunteer Susan Nobleman also has a recipe to share for Tofu Scramble. Ingredients
Directions In a non-stick pan on medium heat, heat the oil. Sauté the garlic, celery and onions until the onions are translucent. Meanwhile, rinse the tofu block, cut in half and crumble onto a large dinner plate. Store the remainder covered in water in an airtight container, save for another meal. Add the veggies of your choice, sauté lightly, keeping the veggies crunchy. Add the crumbled tofu and stir fry until the tofu is lightly browned. Flavouring: Add a good shake of Mrs. Dash, a lighter shake of cumin and enough turmeric to colour the tofu yellow. Stir fry a short while longer. Add the tomatoes, leave on burner for only a couple more minutes. Reader's ClassifiedsLands in Love is a vegetarian resort in Costa Rica. Their beautiful property has many amenties such as a pool and spa, and they also provide tours and local trips to volcanos, hot springs, zip lines and more. They even have a pet hotel if you want to bring your furry family with you! Click here for more information. Check out nūd fūd (pronounced nude food) for some amazingly delicious and healthy snacks! All snacks are raw/vegan, organic, gluten-free, fruit-sweetened, hand-made, and local! Available at health food stores in the GTA and online at www.nudfud.com. Join the Toronto Vegetarian Association today!
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.
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