Baking

HOLY MOLY!  VEGAN SALMON! Pardon my enthusiasm.   It's been too long since I ate some nice fish. Why? Well it's a no-no on the VEGAN DIET I'm currently on.  So what's the issue? If I'm vegan I must detest the way fish tastes, right? I must want to eat, live, and breathe only vegetables, no? Sadly, NO. I am new to veganism but not so new to fish loving. I am of Nordic descent so I think that its in my DNA to love fish or something. I could actually live without almost all fish forever and be happy, but salmon? I have LOVED salmon for my entire life -- in pretty much every form I've ever experienced (raw, poached, smoked, fried, grilled, steamed, cured, mousse, roe). Giving it up was a really big challenge for me but one I'm proud that I made. Salmon are some pretty amazing fish -- they swim up rivers! A sight my husband and I go and enjoy every autumn at Old Mill as they fearlessly leap over waterfalls to return to their place of birth. This past weekend I wa...

BBQ!  I first fell in love with barbecue as a child who took March break vacations in Florida. My family and I would ALWAYS go get some amazing barbecue from our favorite spots at least three or four times each trip. Sweet, tangy, salty and smokey -- what's not to love? But I am not an American and my love for barbecue didn't really translate back here in Canada growing up. The best barbecue I found here was nothing like what we ate in the States. It wasn't until well after I had become a vegetarian that barbecue invaded Toronto. Now it seems like there are great barbecue joints everywhere here.   Oh my do I enjoy good barbecue. But to be honest, I haven't been enjoying any at all since becoming mostly vegan (I still eat raw honey ) and only rarely encountered barbeque as a vegetarian for the past decade. Why? With my soy allergy and not eating meat, I haven't really sought it out. Most vegan or vegetarian options in Toronto are not barbecue, and when th...

PEAR POCKETS.  Not to be confused with Pear Turnovers , or even Pear Handpies . These delicious pockets are more closely related to Pizza Pockets than pie in some ways. Why? It's all in the crust... And what a crust it is! Imagine if pie crust and scones or cookies had a baby, it would be this crust people! Buttery like a cookie, not quite as sturdy as a bread or pizza crust, and slightly chewy . Load it up to the bursting point with sweet pear pie filling (or any pie filling, sweet or savory) and you end up with a great portable snack or mini-meal that won't spill out in every direction when you slice or bite into it. It's all because of this wondrous crust.     Why is this crust magical? Several reasons. It's firm enough to encase lots of filling -- even if you over-stuff these pockets like I did! Seriously though...imagine the raw dough cracking under the strain of too much filling, yet no baking disaster ensues! Instead charming holes form, revealing a lus...