Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival 2012

A couple weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend the 28th Annual Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival. It is without a doubt one of the most successful Veg Fests in North America, if not the world. The impressive Toronto Vegetarian Society is the driving force behind this yearly mecca. My first visit to Toronto just happened to be during the 24th Annual Veg Fest four long years ago and I was really excited to return and check out all of the venders and speakers. Oh, and did I mention it's free?  
   

One of the first places I had to stop was the Field Roast table. Field Roast is one of my all-time favorite companies.  I've never eaten something of theirs I didn't love. I was told that Field Roast distribution is a little wonky at the moment in Canada, but keep asking your local stores to carry it. Their table was packed with people all weekend!

Apiecalypse Bakery, located straight outta Toronto, was a pleasant surprise. Not only did they have Vegan Marshmallows out the yin yan, they also had S'more Pie! Really nice people who rock!

You know I had to stop by the Vega table! It was crazy packed most of the weekend, which is awesome. I've been using Vega products for 5 years now and it's amazing to see how much the company has grown in that time. I guess if you have a great product it's going to be successful.  

A couple products from Bio, MozzaRisella and Muscolo De Grano that looked interesting to me. I'm not sure if I'll ever see these in the states, but you Canadians can gloat that you have something we don't!

Of course, a lot of the heavy hitters were in Toronto, too. I had my first taste of the Jalapeno Garlic Havarti Style Wedge from Daiya and I liked it! Gardein brought some Teriyaki Chick'n Strips that I thought were amazing. But the Coconut Earth Balance is freakin' out of this world! I've never been an Earth Balance connoisseur, but you gotta' try this stuff.

But  the greatest product of the entire Veg Fest, by a long shot, was this Aureeva Creamsicle Soya Beverage. It was liquid gold, I swear to god. If anyone can get this imported to the US, I will love you forever. It seriously tastes like creamsicle, kids will love this stuff!

I wasn't able to see most of the speakers, but I did get to go to most of the cooking demos. Strangely, even though I don't like to cook, I find cooking demos entertaining and informative. The genius known as Isa Chandra Moskowitz (no, she didn't make me say that) was funny as usual. Terry Hope Romero made Seitan Gyros and won the crowd over. Taymer Mason introduced everyone (especially me) to Carribbean cuisine. I found out Taymer is a fan of my blog which is totally awesome and unexpected!

So that was a little snapshot of my experience at the Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival. I barely scratched the surface because there is so much going on. If you've always wanted to go to Toronto, you should totally go during the Veg Fest. It's a humbling experience that will reinforce your choice of going Vegan or Vegetarian.

Gardein Ultimate Beefless Sliders

I've never been to White Castle (although I used to see the commercials on WWOR as a kid), so the idea of a slider was pretty alien to me. And being Vegan for the last decade only added to my indifference if it was ever uttered in public. For those who haven't caught on yet, a slider is basically a small hamburger. So why does that matter to us Vegans? Well, Gardein has come up with one of the most interesting products I've seen in a while, The Ultimate Beefless Slider.

I find the Beefless Slider fascinating because it already comes with a bun. Also, a  pack of sliders take only one minute in microwave (plus a minute wait time). It doesn't get any easier or lazier than that. But the kicker is that they taste amazing! In my experience, any product where a bun is included has been gross and barely edible, but these are genuinely delicious. The bun is soft and the burger part is moist. And for those of you who just turned Vegetarian or Vegan, the Meatless Slider tastes a bit like real hamburger. I don't miss that meat taste at all, but I think it's a nice option for people who are trying to go meatless (Go Meatless Mondays!) So wrapping up, if you are looking for a QUICK little meal that is unique to Vegan frozen food, The Ultimate Beefless Slider is the one!

Gardein Buffalo Wings & FYH Vegan Ranch

Finally working my way to other Gardein items, my next choice was the Gardein Classic Style Buffalo Wings. I never had actual buffalo wings so I'm not the best judge of how authentic they taste. But they look good on the cover and I could go for some spicy stuff.

Apparently people eat buffalo wings with ranch so I didn't want to be left out. Follow Your Heart has an amazing Vegan Ranch that is sure to knock you socks off. It's great on salads too, (so I hear).

Anyways, so what did I think of the Buffalo Wings? They were good but I have a few complaints. Comparing them to the Gardien Crispy Tenders, they are a bit tougher and not as breaded. Also they didn't come out of the oven as saucy as on the packaging, but I added a bit of Frank's Red Hot and obviously the FYH Vegan Ranch.

If I didn't have those two additions I might have been a little disappointing, but I did so I wasn't. So bottom line: They are good, but they won't ever replace the Crispy Tenders in my freezer.

Daiya Day!

Quite possibly the biggest story of the year for Vegans, Daiya Cheese becomes widely available at Whole Foods Markets nationwide today. Why all the hype? Well Daiya is unlike any other Vegan cheese. First of all it has no soy which is pretty rare for Vegan cheese. Second of all it melts as if it were real cheese. I have a feeling that non Vegans looking for a cheese alternative will jump all over this. Third of all it tastes amazing! So the bottom line is Vegans now have a easier way to get Daiya and non Vegans will now have another option to try. In the end the cows win!

To celebrate this glorious day I decided to cook with Daiya! I know, I know, Laziest Vegans is all about not cooking. This will be one of the few times I cook for this blog so don't get used to it. Basically I whipped up some of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Chickpea-Hijiki Salad Sammiches and topped them with Mozzarella Style Daiya. For the last step I broiled them in the oven for 5 minutes.

As you can see, the Daiya melts and browns as if it were dairy cheese. If you want to get REALLY lazy you could buy some English muffins and spaghetti sauce and make mini pizzas. And if you are REALLY REALLY lazy, Daiya is already in some prepackaged Vegan foods.

Amy's Rice Macaroni with Daiya

Gardein Marinara Chick'n Good Stuff with Daiya

The Higher Taste Vegan Supreme Burrito with Daiya

Out of these three the only one I've had is The Higher Taste Burrito. It was amazing as I'm sure the others are.