WOW, ITS BEEN TOO LONG!!!!!

Looking back on when I started this blog its funny.  I never knew where I would go with this thing or if I would even stay vegan.  I have to admit over the last 4 or so years I have gotten really drunk and had a cheese pizza a few times.  Ive been kicked out of fur stores, hassled people on the streets for wearing leather or fur and even had a man almost knock me out for scaring his daughter with a gruesome animal rights picture.  I am a lot more mellow now and can actually be friends with people that eat whatever they want.  

I have been working for the last year of my life at a restaurant called Live Organic Food Bar.  It has been a wonderful experience.   What started as a completely raw cafe 6 years ago by a very dedicated wonderful owner/chef has now transformed into what is in my opinion the best vegan restaurant in the city.  Roughly half the menu is cooked and half the menu is raw.  Since working there I have contributed many menu ideas and in my opinion the cooked offerings on the menu have improved greatly.  I am happy where I am now and encourage as many of you to come eat at the restaurant and tell me what you think, criticism is one of the only ways i can improve as a chef.

I am going to blog more now considering I am now a professional working vegan chef and when I set this blog up several years ago that is what my intention was to be.  I still want my own high end vegan restaurant one day and I hope to do that in the 5-6 years of my life, I know it will happen.

For now I will post a recent picture of myself and hope that people will return to reading my blog.  I will post tons of pics of the amazing food we create at Live every single day and hope that i can look at this blog in another 2-3 years and say wow, life has gotten even better

Ciao for now

Doug

BEAUTY QUOTE

"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern."


I just think this is the most beautiful quote I have ever read. Thanks to the wonderful person that sent it to me :)

xoxoxo

Valentines and such

It has been about four months since I have posted. I have been such a busy boy. I am working at a vegan cafe in downtown Toronto and having a good time there.

I have moved twice, adopted a couple of cats and gained about twenty five pounds from drinking wayyy too much beer. Its ok cause I know I can lose it and get back in the amazing shape I was in.

I have some pics and a whole bunch of crazy stories from the last little while. I went to Farm Sanctuary again back in November for American Thanksgiving. It was awesome seeing all the turkeys and feeding them instead of us eating them :)

I will post a few pics now and promise to get back in the game of blogging. The CN Tower climb is coming back in April so i have to be ready for it.

I got an elephant tattoo not too long ago on my right calve and I'm getting a strawberry today on my right arm to add to the sleeve.

My parents got a new doggie. Sheena is her name and she is beautiful.

My friend is an aspiring makeup artist and she gave an amazing slit throat last week. I walked around the city for a while looking like this.

Ciao for now,

Doug

Lassies Paw tattoed on my foot!

I got her right paw tattooed my right foot so I will always remember her. When we first brought her home she used to sleep at my feet so this is a fitting way to have her always on me :)

My dog is about to die from cancer....

SO i know it has been so long since I have posted. Between cooking for the film festival, moving into your first place, going out all the time and partying, looking for a good girl and then getting sick from all the partying i just have wasted all of my time on facebook. I have transitioned into a new job and now it looks like i will be getting another one.

My dog Lassie that I have had since i have been ten has bone cancer and she is going to die really really soon. Tomorrow I am going to tattoo her right paw on my right foot. I am 24 years old now and I remember the day she came home, she was only a few months old. I am actually tearing up a bit as i write this!

Anyway. I apologize for not keeping up to date with blogging but I really really promise to be better at it and I hope to be working at Toronto's best Vegan restaurant. It all depends on the pay.........

And to the girl who sent me an email today, WOW. Thank you sooooo sooo much. I was at work and I got it on my blackberry. It really touched me and inspired me to post, MERCI BEAUCOUP :)

DOUG

BAD BLOGGER/FARM SANCTUARY

OH MY GOD! It's been almost a moth since I have posted anything!!!!!

So bad of me. I have been so busy at work and I am actually moving into my own place in a couple of weeks so I am busy packing, buying furniture and all that fun stuff. I have been out partying when I can and just enjoying the summer so the little time I have on the computer I waste on facebook.

I visited FARM SANCTUARY in upstate NY a couple of weeks ago. Oh my god. I hugged cows, sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys! It was awesome. We had a hoe down and then camped out on their grounds with activists from all over North America.

I have just been sooo busy..........

Here are a few pics from my hoe down visit but like I said before, If any of you are on facebook add me as a friend on there, Douglas McNish.

:)

ciao for now

Crispy Mock Salmon with a Lemon, Blueberry Salad

I had some leftover salmon in the freezer so I defrosted it and quickly seared it in a little grape seed oil to crisp up the outside. I deglazed the pan a little bit with fresh lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and extra virgin olive oil. Not only was this the dressing for the salad but this was a perfect sauce for the salmon.

The salad was boring, simple but delicious. It was just organic romaine hearts, blueberries and julienne red onion with that same dressing slightly warm.

The whole dish is sooooooo good!!!!!!!!!! YUM YUM!!!!!!!

Man do I hate fur stores sooooo much. Why in this day and age do we have a store dedicated to selling the skin of a dead animal? It makes no sense to me so I did what I thought was best and told them how I feel!!!

ass$oles!

So I made some five spice tofu the other day. I just marinated it really quickly in white balsamic vinegar, agave and lots of dried oregano. The salad that is stacked in between the two tofu halves is madre from fine green beans, arugula, avocado and lots of fresh herbs. I finished the dish off with a sweet basil oil, it really accentuates the whole dish!

The other couple of pics are from a vegan Thai place we went to in Montreal called CHUCHAI, here is a little review of it http://restomontreal.ca/portal/chuchai/index.php?lang=en

we had three great dishes, mock beef in a sweet and sour sauce, mock chicken in a peanut sauce with crispy spinach and the mock duck in red curry was awesome!!!!!!

i cant wait to go back to Montreal, they have vegan soft serve too with different sauces to go with it........ yum yum

the last picture is of Lucas Solowey. He is the PETA rep from Montreal and one hell of a Vegan ambassador for the animals. he and someone else managed to sneak into the Canada day parade wearing nothing but a bloody flag that says Canada slaughters seals!!!!!!!!! they made a lot of press and Ingrid Newkirk herself got hold of the photos, WAY TO GO!!!!!!

BAD BLOGGER FOR A REASON!

hi everyone,

sorry i have been so bad at blogging but i was in montreal partying and going to see the two best activist in the world, enjoying cold beer and having great food of course. i will post some pics but i hope everyone is doing well? what do you think of me adding an artichoke and an orange tomato to my arm?

NEW TATTOO!!!!!!

I got a new tattoo tonight. It is soooo beautiful and I am sooo happy with how it turned out. Be nice to cows, please dont eat them....

TRUFFLED TOFU SCRAMBLE WITH WHITE BEANS AND SUN DRIED TOMATOES

I love scrambled tofu. To me there is nothing better than a big ol' plateful of rich buttery goodness mixed with whatever you have on hand in the fridge.

For this one I had some white beans left over so I just sauteed them with a little olive oil, shallot, turmeric and nutritional yeast. Once the spices had been cooked out I added about half a pound frozen, then thawed and drained firm tofu. You have to cook the tofu for a good 5-10 minutes in my opinion so it really picks up all the flavours and develops some body. I added a touch of white truffle puree and about a tbsp of white truffle oil. I let the scrmabled tofu sit for another five minutes or so before eating as this allows everything to come together.

I finished the dish off with the sweetest imported sun-dried tomatoes from Italy you will EVER put your pretty little mouth around and some baby basil seedlings.

POWERED BY TOFU!!!!!!!!

p.s. if any of you are on facebook please look for me, I am obsessed with it and i post other pics on there and argue with people all the time about Veganism and hunting etc....

douglas mcnish on facebook

peace and love to everyone!!!!!!!

I HATE PET STORES!

So I have this pet store in Fairview Mall that is really close to me. Every single time I go to the mall I make myself go to the store and check up on the puppies and make sure that they are ok. Most of the time they have poop on them and are crowded into these tiny little boxes.

I am an activist first and foremost. I believe in Animal Rights 100% and places like this make me sick. I am a humble person and do my best not to yell at the "people" who work in these stores. I just let them know that what they do for a living is nothing short of miserable and that there are thousands of animals being euthanized every day, why would they contribute to an already serious problem? I even hand out literature to the people in the store to inform them about puppy mills. I stay in the store till i get kicked out. Whatever, I speak up for the poor babies who have no voice.

I was SOOOOO HAPPY when I saw the sign yesterday that said they were closing. I asked the manager why and she said that the mall DID NOT renew their lease! I got the malls number and am going to thank them tomorrow!!!!!!!!! I took pictures of the dogs. Please, anyone out there who can, go to the local stores and educate people about puppy mills and buying from shelters.......

BOK CHOY

Here is a really short and quick post of Bok Choy. I was portioning some at work the other day and I thought it would make a cool pic, I like it alot......

MISO AND MAPLE GLAZED TOFU WITH HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD, COUS COUS AND GRILLED ASPARAGUS

I first deep fried the firm tofu till it was crisp. I brushed on a mixture of miso, maple syrup, sesame oil and soy sauce. I burned the top of each layer of tofu with a blow torch. This caramelizes the sugar in the maple syrup and brings out the flavour in the miso so well.

Using the best heirloom tomatoes I have had this year I just tossed them with olive oil, fleur de sel, and baby basil sprouts. This went in between each layer of tofu. For the cous cous salad I used cinnamon, cumin, red onion, red pepper, yellow pepper, tomato, dried apricot, currants fresh mint and parsley. I just grilled the asparagus and finished the dish off with a sweet balsamic vinegar reduction and edible flowers.......

I love the summer because you can play around with sooooo many fresh and bold falvours!!!!!!

Damn I love the sun :)

TATTOO ADDITION!!!

I added two red beets, one golden beet, a candy cane beet cut in half and a head of radicchio to my fruit and veggie tattoo last night....

My left arm is turning into the GARDEN OF VEGAN!!!! (sorry sara kramer) hehe

VEGAN SOFT SERVE IN TORONTO!!!!

I went to M and B Yummy Foods for dinner tonight. The woman who own the restaurant is an Ethiopian chef and with some convincing from a fellow activist and friend(Antoine) she changed her entire menu Vegan! Wow, what an amazing thing to do...

A lot of her dishes are served on Ethiopian flat bread or INJEERA which is made with the whole grain TEFF. Teff is so damn healthy for you and I cannot begin to explain how good and fun it is to eat with your hands. Who likes forks and knives anyway??? The Injeera is a little sour, very spongy and filling. As the meal goes on it soaks in all the juices and it is over when the Injeera is done!!

I had the special Whig was a portobello stew, green bean stew and simple salad. Ethipoian food is peasant food. Very simple food done well and it is spicy so be warned. I had a mock chicken sandwich as well but didnt take a pic of that, it was just TVP on a bun.

Now let me say that this woman has a soft serve TOFU ICE CREAM MACHINE!!!! YES TORONTO, you heard me......

Right now she has chocolate, strawberry or plain vanilla. I reccomended Oreos or some other junk and she is going to think about it. In New York they have a place with Tofu soft serve and the lines are out the door. C'mon Toronto lets show up our neighbours down South!!!!!!!!

I had the Strawberry and it was damn good. Please help her out because she is struggling. People want to eat meat and its a shame. If you live in Toronto go Visit here http://www.mbyummy.com/

PINEAPPLE CARPACCIO

Normally places serve carpaccio as paper thin pieces of cow. Well this is a dish composed of paper thin, and I mean paper thin pieces of pineapple served with wild mushrooms, fresh cracked black pepper, truffle oil vinaigrette and red beet seedlings.

All of the components really come together to make this a great summer dish. I love it and its so simple....

Next time im going to play around with paper thin slices of portobellos.....

INDIAN FOOD GALORE

At work I made some really great Indian Veggie Food. First we served a mixed green salad with a citrus vinnaigrette in a crispy papadum over a warm lentil salad, definitely wortha yum yum!

The main I made was a chick pea and potato sort of stew with many many exotic flavours. I sauteed onion, garlic, ginger and added a ton of baby spinach. I used the same liquid that I cooked the hick peas in to make a sort of gravy for the stew. The starch releases from the peas while cooking so its perfect for thickening everything up. Once wilted I added a mixture of garam masala, cumin seed fresh and ground, coriander, cardamom and this amazing spice that I HIGHLY recommend to everyone called CHAT MASALA. If you haven't heard of it pick it up. I think it has dehydrated mango powder in it amongst other things. It is hard to describe but its kind of sweet, spicy and sour all at the same time. Very very exotic. It really rounds out certain Indian dishes.

We toasted these yummy flat breads and filled them with the mixture and served a simple green salad and some tandoori seasoning for garnish. this time worth two yum yums!!!!!!!!!

I took some other random pics that I liked of the kitchen so you might just get some random shots, WHY NOT EH??????

VEGANS WILL RULE THE WORLD!!!!!! sorry i like saying that and this is the perfect forum to express myself. Get out, enjoy the weather and exercise!!!!!!!! I love summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NEW TATTOO

I have lots of things to post and will get to them either today or tomorrow so please check back. I have been a busy boy. For now here is a couple of pics of the new tattoo I got last night. A motif of my favourite fruit and veggies, enjoy....

CURRY CASHEWS WITH TOFU, HEMP SEEDS, BOK CHOY AND STEAMED VEGGIES WITH A CHILI POWDER DUST

I was very very craving some steamed veggies and after a awesome workout I needed some protein. Lately I have been craving curry. I love curry so much and there are just so many things you do with it.

I steamed some cauliflower and baby carrots in veggie stock. I use the best organic Veggie stock. It gives the veggies such a mild sweet flavour and I crave it sometimes even in my sleep!

I used a pound of frozen defrosted medium firm tofu. After draining all the water from the tofu I was left with literally half! It amazes always how much water is in tofu.....

After draining it I added nutritional yeast, cardamom, turmeric, cumin and garam masala. I added just a splash of grapeseed oil to my pan and sauteed it all together. After allowing it to cook evenly for about 10 minutes I added about 4 small baby bok choy and a big handful of roasted cashews. I cooked it for another 5 minutes and it was heaven. I finished the plate with a really awesome chili powder that I have and the meal was complete!

So tasty and so filling! YUM YUM!!!

AMY WINEHOUSE

Now I know this is a Vegan blog but I went to go see miss Amy Winehouse on Sunday evening. This woman has the voice of an angel. She is a cross between Etta James, Erykah Badu(Vegan) and Laryn Hill....

Her album Back to Black will go down in history(at least my history) as one of the greatest of all time...

I had the time of my life and wish that I could go see her again tonight. I have been soo busy at work but will get back to the nice Vegan Cooking really soon. I have been cutting my calories so I don't blog about steamed broccoli and quinoa....

VEGAN FACIAL!

I was so excited to hear about a Vegan Spa here in Toronto the other day. As soon as I heard about it I called them up and made an appointment for a wonderful Vegan Facial. Not only are all of the ingredients animal free, they are organic and of course there is no testing on dogs, cats or bunnies involved here. The beautiful ladies here were so friendly(and cute) and took care of me very well. I am going to go back over and over again and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who lives in the Toronto area!!!!! http://www.aliviarspa.com/3.html

It is so refreshing to think that there are places like this around for guys like me who actually care....

LEMON PEPPER AND HERB ENCRUSTED SEITAN WITH STEAMED VEGETABLES AND A HEMP BUTTER REDUCTION

I have been making Vegan Cheesecakes for the last couple of days and I didn't have that much time tonight for dinner. I missed eating veggies because I have been on a serious protein kick lately trying to lose the last 15 or so pounds. It was steamed veggies all the way tonight for me, but I love hemp butter, and I love seitan. Why not throw them all together?????

I coated the seitan in nutritional yeast, lemon pepper seasoning, spelt flour and dried thyme. I quickly seared this in hot grape seed oil and drained it on paper towel. In another pan i steamed my veggies in stock in order of hardness and took them out. I reduced the stock and added in about 2 tbsp of hemp butter. This made the sauce thick rich and delicious. In French cooking we call this montee au beurre, done with butter of course. This one gives you protein, omega fatty acids and it just tastes so damn good. I sprinkled hemp seeds on top cause I'm in a hempy mood today.......

TATTOO

I got the word Vegan tattooed across my right inner forearm yesterday! These are really early pics and it is still healing. I got all Vegan ink and a fellow Vegan Activist who just happens to be an amazing tattoo artist to do it.

I AM HARDCORE :)

p.s. i love bunnies

CN TOWER CLIMB!

On Saturday I climbed The CN Tower. 144 flights of stairs and 1776 in total. It was a hell of a time and I managed to squeak out a clean 17:45! Pretty good considering I was shooting for 25-30 minutes. Next year my goal is 12 minutes no questions asked!!!!!!!!!

It was cold, rainy the lines were long but I love animals and it was for the WWF so in the end everyone wins, right.

ANIMAL TESTING DEMO

Last Night I took part in a great demonstration with a Toronto based group called Wild@Heart. These guys are wonderful and a highly recommend to anyone who cares enough about animals and who is willing to spend a couple of hours to speak up for those who have no voice to join them for the next event.

We were at Yonge and Dundas square on a busy Friday night trying to educate the public about the cruelties of animal testing for items such as hair gel, toothpaste, dental floss, moisturizer and shaving cream. In this day and age its not necessary and it plain evil. When buying your cosmetics or prescription drugs please ensure they are cruelty free and a bonus is when you buy the healthy stuff, generally speaking they don't have the animal by-products in them.

Who wants to rub glycerine(pig fat) on their face or body anyway???

Take a few minutes and google what companies do and don't test on animals and become aware, please! Stay away from Proctor and Gamble, they seem to own half the world and at the same time kill as many little animals as the can :(

RED WINE AND MISO GLAZED TOFU STEAK OVER A SPICY LENTIL AND WILD MUSROOM SAUTEE WITH SPAGHETTI SQUASH SALAD

I marinated my extra firm tofu steak in red wine and a combination of yellow miso, maple syrup, sesame oil, soy sauce and a touch of grape jelly. After sitting in the marinade for a while I simmered the tofu in the marinade until it became nice and sticky and then grilled it until it caramelized. It was perfect! I cooked lentil de puy and sauteed some shitake, button and oyster mushrroms and added some simple tobasco sauce which I love for a kick that adds no calories, this helped the tofu as well with that little bit of umph...

For the spaghetti squash I just roasted the two halves and spooned out the "guts" I tossed them with fresh basil, diced tomatoes, New Zealand Olive Oil and fleur de Sel. I finished it with Baby Basil Seedlings and a balsamic Vinegar Reduction. What a meal!

FRIED WONTON WITH SOUR CHERRY JAM

These were a couple of deep fried won ton wrappers filled with one of the best sour cherry jam's from Iran I have ever tasted. They were crispy, hot, sweet and I finished them off with a gray coarse sea salt on the outside. It off-set the sweetness so well. This is something that dances around in your mouth when you taste it.

I don't eat fried food very often but this is well worth the extra calories. I skewered it on a lime leaf and attached it to a piece of marble. This is pretty cool and something that I haven't seen done at any Vegan restaurants any where.

SWEET CORN, QUINOA, WHITE BEAN AND TEMPEH RIBLETS

I was really hungry today and I had some awesome sweet corn lying around. I don't usually eat that much corn because it doesn't really have any nutritional value to it. I already had cooked quinoa, white beans that had a little truffle oil on them and these amazing tempeh riblets in a sweet gooey bbq sauce. I steamed everything together in a pan with a little soy sauce and water. What really made the dish perfect was the bok choy and the fact that the riblet sauce breaks down and almost coats everything in its ooey gooeyness.....

I finished off the dish with some baby micro beet sprouts and a little tandoori seasoning. This was a really great meal for a COLD rainy day today. Please tell me, where did summer go???

MOCK MUTTON ON A BED OF QUINOA AND BRAISED GINGER BOK CHOY

Tonight I had a great workout in preparation for the CN TOWER STAIR CLIMB on Saturday morning so I came home hungry and full of energy. I decided to use some of the yummy mock mutton I bought at King's Cafe and I made a sort of Ragout of mushrooms, cauliflower, onions, garlic, a little nutritional yeast, cumin, soy milk, and the mock mutton. This soy meat is the best one I have tried so far. It is very close to the real thing and even tatses alot like it has the gristly part of the fat on the meat. It is scary. It is very very high in protein and extremely low in fat. You could replace this same thing with chick peas, navy beans, tvp chunks, the list goes on.......

I quickly fired up a little quinoa and tossed it together with some tomato concasse and Bragg's. I love bok choy and I quickly braised it in low sodium soy sauce, ginger and water. This was the perfect meal to me and I am happy with the way it came out!

KINGS CAFE

I went to Kings Cafe the other day down in Kensington Market. It was such a beutiful day and I went for a great walk.

I am a fan of mock meats. Sorry to anyone out there who isn't but I love the stuff. I know that it is processed and if you are Vegan why try and replicate something, yada yada yada.....

There is something about a mock meat that,if it is made properly or a really good seitan that I just love!!!!!! This place has them ALLLLLLLL! The woman who works here is so friendly and very knowledgeable about all of the products she sells. Be careful because some of the items have dairy and egg whites in them. I personally love the mock mutton. I bought two bags of the stuff.

I had some lunch here for the first time and lets just say that I wont be back for the food they cook. So many places in Toronto disappoint me. There isn't much comparison to New York food. I had some deep fried soy protein in a sweet and sour sauce made from KETCHUP! and a pretty tasteless curry. Oh well, there's always the mock meats, yum yum!

MY CHEF INTERVIEW

Hi everyone out there in cyber land. I did an inter view for Chef Jason Wyrick in Arizona for his website http://www.veganculinaryexperience.com/ Please go and check it out. It should be posted by now. You have to sign up for his site but there are lots of cool things, great recipes and reviews. As I mentioned before he is a very passionate man with a great knack for cooking. Hope you enjoy my little question and answer with him....

SWEET TOFU STIR FRY

I had some firm tofu in the freezer so I quickly defrosted it in the microwave. 3 minutes on a low heat, flip it over and then 3 more minutes on the other side. You have perfectly defrosted tofu. This gives you two things. The ability to squeeze almost all of the water out of your tofu and it makes makes the texture much "chewier" I love it in comparison to tofu just stored in water. The texture is much more appealing in the mouth.

After I squeezed all the water out I marinated the tofu in sweet chili sauce, soy sauce and....cue the beautiful sounds, AGAVE. I mean, is there a better thing of the face of the earth. Really. This could be the best ingredient ever created for human consumption. It is so sweet, safe for diabetics and doesn't raise the glycemic index and doesn't even have that funny gross after taste that honey does.

I had some brown rice and I just cut up some veggies. I don't use oil anymore to stir fry, just veg stock. Lots of fresh ginger and garlic and braggs, a lot less sodium. As the rice and veggies were cooking I heated up a tiny bit of grape seed oil in a separate pan and crisped up the tofu. It was perfectly sweet and spicy.

I didn't make it look pretty but it was very very tasty and a great meal for a post workout session....

HEARTY FOOD+ME =HAPPY

I made a navy bean ragout with organic red quinoa, button mushrooms, roasted red peppers, red onion, garlic and tomatoes. I finished it off with kohlrabi sprouts and chive oil. To make the dish creamy and rich I cooked the beans in a mixture of fat free soy milk and nutritional yeast and I sauteed the veg in a little coconut oil. I allowed a little caramelization to happen in the bottom of the pan and then deglazed with a little 12 year old wine from Portugal. I cant remember the name now. All in all the dish was perfect. Not too rich and it was offset perfectly by the sweetness of the port wine. This is something that I long for when I go out to Vegan restaurants but they never have it on any menus.

On a side not I don't know where you live but the weather today was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! THANK GOD....... keep it up mother nature

Couple of Pics From The Show

Here are a Couple of Pics from the show I went to the other night. Such a great time and I will post a buch of video on youtube so if your interested just go to youtube and type in NAS and Toronto show.

PICTURES WONT WORK?

I am not able to post any pictures right now and it is driving me crazy! There is something wrong with the network apparently and as soon as it is fixed or I can I will post some pics from the show I went to last night and I made some really great food today....

Me so angry!!!

NAS WAS SICK!

NAS delivered last night in a big way. The house was filled to capacity, probably about 2500 people. No opening act, which believe me, for someone who had to work this morning, and also is NOT a fan of openers in general this made an even better night. His latest album is called HIP HOP IS DEAD and it refers to the fact that when you turn on the TV or listen to the radio you are bombarded with gold teeth, half naked women, guns, cars and jewelry. Now for me, someone who has been a hip hop fan for a long time now and will be one for life it is difficult to explain to someone that I listen to RAP music. They look at me like I'm crazy. "YO, YO" or "WHATS UP MAN?"

I am sick and tired of defending the art that I love. The word RAP stand for Rhythm and Poetry. I listen to Men and Women spill their hearts and souls into their music. I get a certain feeling when I hear Talib Kweli, The Roots, or Common spit that classic song that brings me back. From Cypress Hill to Method Man I am in love with HIP HOP and I will be till the day I die. From time to time I still listen to that ghetto music that might make mention of drugs or guns. I listen to it because its reality. That artist is talking about what he or she knows, what he or she grew up around. If you grew up selling drugs or prostituting then by all means share your life experiences. I am an open person and enjoy hearing about life's struggles. My life has not been easy and I enjoy escaping through certain artists lyrics and how they relate to my own. That's just me. If you dig country than that's cool for you. I love Sara McLachlan and Andrea Bocelli. U2, Amazing Band.

For me there is nothing like slipping on my headphones, turning the volume up full blast and listening to Enter the Wu-Tang 36 Chambers...

NAS TONIGHT!!!

I'm going to see NAS tonight and I just had to let the world know. I am very excited as he is one of the best MC's to EVER grace a microphone. The show is sold out and it's at the Kool Haus here in Toronto. From Illmatic to Hip is Dead Nas in an artists artist and I will post photos from the show!

MY GIRL AND CURRY TOFU SCRAMBLE!

Tonight I hit the gym for the first time in A WEEK!!! gasp....

It felt good to get back in there and I did an hour of cardio. I was hungry when I cam home and was also feeling a little lazy so I went to my good old standby, scrambled tofu. Is there anything better than this dish. When done well it just tastes so good and packs so much nutritional value. I felt like spicing it up tonight so I added some really nice authentic curry powder to the mix. The kind you get in little India. I cut up whatever I found in the fridge. A green pepper, Chinese long beans and some sun dried tomatoes. I mixed 1 pound of medium tofu, squeezed and drained with about 5 tbsp nutritional yeast, 2 tbsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp garam masala, salt, pepper and about 1 tsp of turmeric. I sauteed the veg in just a tiny bit of grape seed oil and then added the tofu in one shot. I find if you cook the tofu for a good 10 minutes or so it really picks up alot of flavour. I steamed a whole bag of spinach for the side and ate it with a couple of pieces of pumpernickel bread.

Lastly here is my baby Lassie. We have had her now for 13 years and I love her to death!!! She is the best girl in the world and I wouldn't trade her for all the tofu in China...

VEGAN CHEF INTERVIEW!!!

I did an interview for Chef Jason Wyrick who lives and runs his own Catering Company in Phoenix, Arizona. http://www.veganculinaryexperience.com/VCEAboutChef.htm

He is a great Chef who has a ton of passion and I strongly reccomend that you visit his website and join up for his recipes! I will let you guys kow when the interview is posted on the site.

ABOLITIONISM OR WELFARISM?

Here is a link to a great blog I stumbled upon tonight. As an activist I always do my best trying to educate the public about the cruelties of the world and help to end Non-Human Violence. There is a debate going on about Animal rights groups and the Welfarist approach. In a nutshell this means that asking KFC to "improve" their conditions does not help but actually make things worse because it actually makes people feel better about where they are going to eat. PETA is considered a Welfarist group by Hardcore Abolitionists.

Anyway, I came across this great blog and she wrote a great piece in both French and English. please take ten minutes and read. Tell me what you think. I am split on the topic.

http://thestartingpointisveganism.blogspot.com/

p.s. The man who actually started the whole movement is professor Gary Francione. He teaches at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Here is the link to his blog. http://www.animal-law.org/ He has debated the issue with many many people in the past.

NYC TRIP

That was my NYC trip. I didn't eat out a whole lot but I posted what I could. I hope you all like what you see and please believe me when I tell you that I will be posting my own cooking soon. I had a great time but I am back home now and it's time to get back to work. I am seriously thinking about getting a tattoo on the left palm of my hand. I want a chef's knife cutting through a tomato and a piece of broccoli....

I don't know if I'm crazy but I really want it. I hope everyone has a great Sunday and I have to start training hard for the CN Tower stair climb on the 28th. i am going to climb all 144 flights of stairs.....To think, I couldn't even do all 18 flights a couple of years ago in my apt building. Look at me now!

ZEN PALATE

We went to Zen Palate last night for a quick dinner. http://www.zenpalate.com/

They are the same owners as GOBO, the restaurant that I mentioned a couple of days ago. They have good food and its fast. You can sit upstairs and is more upscale with more of a dinner feel or downstairs and its quicker and LOUDER! We opted for downstairs. We both got steamed veg to start and The peanut basil roll. They have great steamed veg and I know its only steamed veg but you would be surprised at how many places can't get steamed veggies right. The roll was nice but kind of bland in my opinion. I ordered the Sesame Medallions which are Gluten Medallions Steamed in a Brown Sauce served over steamed broccoli with Brown and red rice. I love this dish and to me this is the EXACT texture of what Seitan should be. They have it right here. Maybe not seitan but a steamed wheat gluten. yum yum. It comes with fried spring rolls but i didn't eat them.

I have to say that at the end of the meal as we were leaving i walked over to a table and spoke with a couple. There was a young woman who decided to come into a vegan restaurant wearing a coat that was trimmed in fur along the hood and sleeves. I voiced to her that it was cruel and that this was certainly not the right place for her to be wearing such a hideous and cruel item of clothing. She told me since she had not paid for it that she thought it was OK. I told them that in my free time I was an AR activist and that I protest against fur and that I thought what she was wearing was ugly and mean. I wished them a good night and left. Next time she will not wear a fur coat in a Vegan restaurant again!!!

CIAO

TWO OF LIFES JOYS

So, I have to speak about two things I had yesterday that filled me with such joy and happiness. First is a healthy Vegan marshmallow replacement that is actually sweetened with brown rice syrup and tastes so good that you will instantly forget all about marshmallows. This stuff is ooey,gooey and it melts in your mouth like nothing i have ever had. I have to be honest. If you eat with the most bitter chocolate you can get your hands on it is ALMOST the best thing in this world, almost :)

The second thing I had was a Cajun Seitan sandwich from Candle Cafe. Now if you have never heard of Candle Cafe it is one of New York's busiest and most well known Vegan establishments. Its a celeb hot spot and gives a lot back to the animal rights community. Bart and Joy, the couple who own the Restaurant, and the upscale sister Candle 79 are great people and have a great thing going here. From Fresh juices, to mounds of steamed veg to every kind of tempeh, seitan and desert you can imagine its so nice to be able to order Vegan food that's not Asian influenced. This is such a great place and every meal is always a winner. http://www.candlecafe.com/

The seitan Sandwich I had was perfect. The bread was fresh, the seitan was crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle and juicy. It had avocado, caramelized onions and came with a creamy chipotle sauce. HEAVEN on a bun!!! I will miss Candle cafe and New york.

ANGELICA KITCHEN

Some places come and some places go. There is a reason that Angelica Kitchen has been around for so long here in New York. It is one of, if not the first Vegan Restaurants in Manhattan. http://www.angelicakitchen.com/

At least 95% of the menu is organic and when you dine here you can be assured that the greens you are eating were harvested THAT DAY! They use ancient grains, have no deep fryer and deal with no middle men whatsoever, to the point where they do no accept credit cards. They have a cute little cartoon that explains credit cards make the price of tofu go up!!!

Every time I have eaten here I just feel good after. This is what healthy, Vegan food is and should be

After eating pizza we just opted for a main. I got one of the specials of the day. I got the North African nut stew. It had large chunks of carrot, celery, rutabaga, and onion in a rich thick tomato ragout. It came with steamed broccoli, a quinoa teff blend, pickled daikon and what could have been some of my most favourite tempeh EVER! The tempeh was marinated in what tasted like orange juiced and brown rice syrup probably and it was so good and tender. I got the optional two small sides and went for the salad of fresh greens and steamed veg. The veg is underneath the salad. Enjoy the pics.

If you ever are in NY, please please come to Angelica Kitchen....

VEGAN PIZZA!

Tonight I was starving. We decided to hit up a couple of locations for two quick bites. First we went to Viva Pizza. It's an all Vegetarian Pizzeria with so many Vegan options you would think that you had died and gone to heaven! From miso marinated tofu to green tea pesto they have any kind of healthy Vegan topping you could dream of on a pizza. They have a wide variety of crusts. I personally love the spelt, it just gets so crispy it doesn't compare to whole wheat or a white flour dough in my opinion. We ordered a roasted red pepper and caramelized onion slice with marinara sauce and soy sausage and soy cheese. Let me tell you. This was absolutely delicious. The sauce was a perfect blend of sweet and savoury and the soy sausage was nice and chewy. The onions and peppers danced on my tongue. Since giving up pizza I ALWAYS look forward to visiting NY so I can come to Viva and chow down on some authentic Manhattan Vegan ZA.

We also orderd a broccoli, tomato and mushroom slice with marinara. This one was good but I found it to be a little bland so I added a little green tobasco sauce and orgegano as I went. Still, if you are Vegan and miss pizza, this is about as good as it can possibly get! One of the best Vegan pizza places on the face of the earth. They do whole pies as well with or without cheese and the soy cheese is Casein free of course :)

NEW YORK and ME TODAY

Today we cut through central park. It wasn't a very nice day but I got a couple of pics. I took a pic of myself and I really can't believe just how much weight I have lost. I used to weigh around 260 pounds so it still amazes me when i see a picture of the new healthy vegan me. It truly is great when you see the great results of healthy eating!!!!!!

IM STILL HUNGRY!

So we came home and I was still hungry. I am a growing boy and I need my calories right? We had some left over steamed greens in the fridge and I found some tofu so I made a quick scrambled tofu. I love scrambled tofu. When I was making my transition into Veganism I prided myself into trying to make the best scrambled tofu. I think it comes down to squeezing the water out of your tofu, using nutritional yeast and either braggs liquid aminos or a light soy sauce for flavour. I add whatever veggies I have in the fridge. Sun dried tomatoes packed in oil ALWAYS add soo much to the tofu scramble and roasted red peppers as well. Hey, whatever you have in your fridge toss er' in the pan. That's what I say....

Sorry for the lack of colour in this one tonight but please belive me it was yummy. Oh and i put some of the lifeline soy sausage in it because i'm in the states so I can get it so easily.

GOBO VEGAN RESTAURANT

Tonight we went to GOBO. It's a a great Vegan restaurant here in Manhattan that is Asian influenced. http://www.goborestaurant.com/

We didnt go crazy and order anything extravagant and tonight it was really noisy so we played it safe and got a couple of our all time favourites. I personally love the sweet and sour sesame protein. Its not tofu and its not soy protein, its just GOOD! They have soo many different kinds of seitan here on the menu and I am actualy a little sad I didnt order any but please take my word for it that they are all so tasty.

We got the Chopped Romaine salad with smoked tofu, almonds, carrots, tomatoes and a creamy tahiny dressing. The steamed veg were overcooked as usual even though we even asked them to be crunchy and the seasme protein was on point! MMMMMM, sesame protein.

Oh, and the bread here is great. You get a choice of a cranberry walnut or seven grain slice. We both went for a taste of both. With the bread you get a ramekin of a cinnaminy goodness sweet potato puree to spread on your bread, yum yum!

Here are a few pics....

KFC PHOTOS

Here are some photos from the KFC prtotest the other day....

NEW CAMERA, YAYYYY

I just bought a new camera today so I am going to take lots of pics tomorrow. I am really excited to try it out sround town and I should be going for a walk around Central Park and through Manhattan as well.

I bought an Olympus FE-230. Really great camera for about 300 bucks, you cant beat that price in Canada!

Stay tuned for more.......

Protest and New York

The KFC protest yesterday was awesome. It was really cold outside but we still managed to have 7 dedicated people to show up and brave the weather. I handed out leaflets and spoke with as many people as I could through their car windows as I help up a boycott KFC sign. We had a group member who dressed up in a chicken suit to attract alot of attention and boy did it ever. We had lots of cars honk their horns and lots of great support. Please answer me this, why is it that people would tell me to F**k off and give the finger? It was snowing and I was really cold and one guy called me a joke? Because I am standing up for something I believe in? Regardless of anything we had a great meal afterwards at a mostly vegan Asian restaurant and the day was a positive one.

I am off to New York tomorrow and for those of you who don't know it is a Vegan paradise for eating. I am going to take lots of photos and add descriptions. Please stay tuned for more....

Happy Vegan Easter

WHY HIP HOP IS DYING

This is a great read from my favorite site.

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/columns-editorials/id.754/title.stop-making-it-rain

"CHEESECAKE"

Here is a photo of my chocolate cheesecake from a dinner I had with the family. They didnt blieve me when I told them it was made with tofu.

Chocolate Pumpkin with lots of spices and it was amazing! One of the best deserts I have ever made and in no way am I a Pastry Chef...

NEW TO THIS

So I am new to this Blogging but promise to take alot of pics of all the great Vegan Food I am going to be making and preparing. Lots of photos and things to come in the future. I will be writing about life, music and animal rights as well. Anyone from Toronto that would like to get involved with AR who hasnt already, please contact me...

KFC PRotest tomorrow

We are geared up for a great KFC protest tomorrow. I am excited to help educate the world about the cruelties that go on behind the doors of the world largest chicken "restaurant" Should be good.