May 1st

The first day of my fully vegan month! My boyfriend Dom and I decided to go all out and celebrate by making some yummy vegan French toast. French toast without eggs, you ask? How is it even possible? Well, it ended up being incredibly simple and more delicious than the eggy bread I’m used to. We mixed flour, cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg and a pinch of salt together in a shallow bowl. Then we whisked in non-dairy milk (we used vanilla-flavoured almond milk) and a splash of vanilla until we had made a paste. We dipped pieces of stale bread in the paste and fried them on a preheated cast iron pan until crispy. Strawberries, maple syrup and vegan butter completed the delicious brunch. It was so beautiful this morning that we decided to eat outside on the porch. Dom lives next to a farm and while we were eating our breakfast, the tractors were in the fields, tilling the earth and preparing it for the spring planting. I thought it was a particularly fitting welcome to spring, specifically to my spring this year, as for at least the next month, everything I eat will come from the earth.

Sundays nights are usually spent at my Grandma’s for family dinner. Today was different though, as I cooked my own vegan food while my family ate their usual meat and potatoes (no one has decided to embark upon this journey with me…yet…although they are all very supportive and love to try the foods I’ve been cooking.) I started off with a snack – kale chips. So delicious. If you haven’t eaten kale before, this is the way to try it first.


Kale Chips:

Tear the leaves off of the tough stems. Chop them into 2 inch square pieces. Coat with olive oil in a bowl. (Make sure each piece is well coated or it will stick to the pan). Bake on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until crispy. Remove, sprinkle with salt and pepper. We made a dip with Vegenaise (vegan mayo) and lemon zest and lemon juice mixed together. The kale becomes very thin and papery. Very yum. My young cousin called them “broccoli” and couldn’t stop eating them!

Spaghetti Sauce:

For dinner, I made a simple butternut squash soup and a tomato-basil sauce with whole wheat spaghetti. The spaghetti sauce is so easy to make. I used fresh basil (a must – so sweet and delicious), 2 cloves of garlic, one can of organic diced tomatoes, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the finely chopped garlic for about 30 seconds, then add the leaves of basil. Cook quickly, pour in the tomatoes, add a splash of vinegar and heat. Very yummy, very simple.

Dessert was soy ice-cream with a drizzle of brown rice syrup. And I felt just as full and satisfied as the rest of my family after dinner!