Fresh

My favorite restaurant in Toronto is called Fresh. It is vegan, and has such good food. I know a lot of you are thinking what I'm thinking. How can vegan and good food be in the same sentence? How do they live without bacon, cream, and all the other tasty treats animals have to offer? Well I don't have the answer for you. All I know is that those vegans at Fresh sure can cook.

I worked in the service industry for about 12 years. I started when I was about 16. I have fond memories of those days. I certainly had some good times. When I'm reminiscing about those days, sometimes I think I'd like to do that job again. It only takes about 10 minutes in a busy restaurant to make me realize that doing a job in your twenties might be a wee bit different than taking orders in your late thirties. I don't want to go back.

I do fantasize about owning my very own sandwich truck. Every time I see one I think it would be fun getting up early and making a wad of sammies, and then heading to the construction site. I even envision muscling out the mom and pop truck that's been at that site for the last 30 years. Oh don't tell me I don't have dreams! I'm not going to be a stay at home mom forever.

I made an avocado soup that I'll be serving at my sandwich truck if you are interested. I'll have to rename it my sandwich/soup truck. It's not vegan but I'm pretty sure the folks at Fresh would like it too. I'll sneak it on the menu when I get a job there. Just don't tell them there's dairy in it.

Cucumber Avocado Soup

1/2 English cucumber, sliced
1 avocado
1-2 jalapenos, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup of plain yoghurt
1-2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste
a handful of cilantro
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp of oil

Heat oil in a saucepan and saute the garlic until fragrant. Add all other ingredients and blend until smooth. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Serve chilled.

Making Yoghurt

Yup you read right. I'm making my own yoghurt. And let me tell you, it rocks. I'm not sure if it actually tastes better than the store bought kind or if it would win in a blind taste test, but I'm loving making it. It's the whole process of making something from scratch when I had no idea how it was made. All I knew is that I could buy it from the store, and that they seemed too expensive and loaded with crap I can't pronounce. There are lots of food products that I'm not sure how they make them but I want to do it myself. Cheese, crackers, marshmallows, and booze are all future projects. It is legal to make your own marshmallows isn't it? It won't make me go blind?

I also love that I've created no garbage while making yoghurt and that it never touches plastic. I'm not a fan of plastic. Yes I am one of those people. There was a lot of hullabaloo recently about which plastics are the safe ones. Which plastics don't leech hormone disrupting toxins, and carcinogens into our foods and which ones are okay. I'm pretty sure none of them are okay. I think it was just a way of placating the masses, so big business can claim they are being responsible while still producing the "safe" plastics and topping up our landfill. But that is my theory.

When I make my own yoghurt, the milk comes from a glass jar, to my metal pot, to my recycled glass containers. Not a drop of of plastic enters the process and no waste is create. It's awesome. If only my neighbour had a cow, I could go right to the source. Life is hard in the city, not so many cows to milk. Luckily, yoghurt making is pretty easy so it makes up for the lack of cows. Here are the how to's;

Yoghurt

3 litres of milk
1/4 cup existing plain yoghurt with live cultures

The first thing you must do is change the lightbulb in your oven to a 60 watt bulb. You can use either skim, 2% or whole milk. I usually do 3 litres at a time but you can use any amount. Heat milk to 185 F. If you do not have a thermometer, 185F is when the milk will start to froth. You may have to stir occasionally so as not to scorch the milk. Once the milk begins to froth, remove from heat, cover and let cool to room temperature. This process will take several hours. Once cooled, remove 1/2 cup of milk and mix with 1/4 cup of existing yoghurt. Add that mixture to the pot of milk, and mix thoroughly. Pour milk in sterilized containers. I like to use old mason jars that I've washed in the dishwasher. Place filled containers in oven with the oven light on and let stand in oven for a minimum of 24 hours. If it exceeds 24 hours the fermentation will just continue which is just dandy. Place yoghurt in fridge and enjoy for weeks to come.