Planta Queen

Continuing on my eating tour, my sister recommended Planta. On Queen St. West. I’m interested in expanding my vegetarian repertoire. Planta Queen surpassed my expectations. They serve vegan food.

We started off with the spinach and shiitake, and potato truffle dumplings. I loved the richness of the black bean sauce that came with the spinach and shiitake dumplings. The potato truffle was very good, but I’m not a fan of truffle flavour. Next up was the spring rolls which had a very meaty taste even though there was no meat in it. The dosa with coconut lentil curry was sublime. I need to make that curry. The dan dan noodles had plenty of peanut flavour to go with the kamut. The Shanghai slaw reminded me of papaya salad with a chill bite and undertones of lemongrass.

This is vegan food that does not try to pretend that it’s meat is on another level. All their dishes had such rich flavours that you never knew that the meat was missing.

The bussing was lightening quick. No sooner had we plucked the last morsel off our plate did it get picked up. The service was really good.

Oh yes, the washroom decor was interesting. Whomever would have thought washroom photos belonged in a food blog.

Cravings Market Restaurant


I’ve had my eye on Cravings Market for a while. Probably since it opened quite a few years ago. Since I was in the mood for vegetarian and hubby steak, I choose a place which could accommodate both our desires. When we left our place, it was lightly snowing. More on that later.

The restaurant has an interesting format. It’s laid out like a market with stations catering to different types of cuisine. For example, salad, stir fry main course and dessert. Each diner is issued a card. Walk up to the station, order, present the card. Servers will bring it to the table. Go right to the hostess stand to pay, no need to ask for the bill at the table. They also do take out.

I had the three salad sampler with mixed vegetables, quinoa, roasted beet and mandarin with a skewer of shrimp. Hubby had the prime rib special with roasted potatoes, carrots, zucchini, yorkies and gravy. For dessert, I had tiramisu and Rosso’s decaf. The coffee was heavenly. Hubby had chocolate mousse. Everything was delicious and freshly made. Their chefs can customize your selection and cook to order. There was enough variety for even the pickiest of eaters. Even though they don’t have a kids menu, my kids could easily eat from the regular menu. Beware though, the portions are very generous.

The service was very good. I do recommend this restaurant for special occasions. It is family friendly, so there might be an element of noise if kids are there.

We stepped out to a heavy spring snowstorm. We would learn later, that many cars had gone into the ditch on highways around town. We had about 25 cm of accumulation that didn’t melt right away. We made it home safely with careful driving.

Cravings Market Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Instant Pot Hot Mulled Apple Cider

I find that hot mulled apple cider is a great alternative to alcoholic beverages at a holiday party. It also adds a delectable aroma to the air. It’s no fuss and definitely irresistible.  I’ve provided two options – traditional stovetop and Instant Pot or slow cooker. I prefer unsweetened apple juice. The spices more than compensate for the additional sugar.

You may ask why would I make this in the Instant Pot if it takes over 30 minutes longer? The answer is, less liquid tends to evaporate using the lockable lid, and I don’t have to watch the stove to see if the heat needs to be adjusted. I can also plug the IP into the room downstairs where I am hosting the party rather than leaving it on the stovetop in the kitchen.

Also note that for the Instant Pot, the slow cooker function is being used, not the pressure cooking function. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, it works well in a standard slow cooker too.

Hot mulled apple cider
Hot mulled apple cider

Cider in Instant Pot
All ready to slow cook. Lid shown for serving

Hot mulled apple cider
Hot mulled apple cider

 


Print Recipe


Hot Mulled Cider

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 60 to 90 minutes
Passive Time 60 to 90 minutes

Servings
people


Ingredients

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 60 to 90 minutes
Passive Time 60 to 90 minutes

Servings
people


Ingredients


Instructions
Stovetop
  1. Slice oranges crosswise into 1/2 inch rounds. Cut slices into quarters with peels and juice.

  2. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over low heat for an hour.

  3. Pour into mugs and serve.

Instructions for Instant Pot
  1. Slice oranges crosswise into 1/2 inch rounds. Cut slices into quarters with peels and juice

  2. Add all ingredients, close and lock lid.

  3. Set valve to venting.

  4. Press "slow cook" and adjust to less.

  5. Set time to 1 hour and 30 minutes.

  6. Retain on keep warm setting while serving. Substituting a 9 inch standard pot lid will make it easier for the guests to serve themselves.


Recipe Notes

Adapted from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/hot-mulled-cider-recipe-1914496


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Nourish Bistro

Continuing my search for unique food in Banff, I stumbled upon Nourish, which serves vegetarian food. I ordered the nourishment bowl, which was packed with textures and flavours. It was surprisingly substantial.

I tried their vegan cheesecake for dessert. It was pretty good, made with coconut milk. A warning though, the dessert is a bit on the expensive side.  If you like good quality vegetarian food, Nourish is for you.

Nourishment Bowl A quinoa, rice blend, hemp, flax and chia infused rice blend, sauteed with onion, red pepper, garden greens, seeds and nuts
Nourishment Bowl
A quinoa, rice blend, hemp, flax and chia infused rice blend, sauteed with onion, red pepper, garden greens, seeds and nuts

Vegan cheesecake with nuts and cinnamon
Vegan cheesecake with nuts and cinnamon

Nourish Bistro Banff on Urbanspoon

Fresh on Spadina

Living in Calgary (Cowtown), I haven’t really learned to appreciate really good vegetarian food in restaurants, other than in Indian restaurants. Until I tried Fresh, on a recommendation from a friend. I had the Energy bowl, which had a coconut curry sauce with vegetables on top of soba noodles. It also came with marinated tofu, which had a rich flavour, with undertones of vinegar. It was quite large and substantial. The flavours were rich and satisfying. I would highly recommend it, even for non vegetarians.

Energy bowl marinated tofu cubes, rich coconut curry sauce, chick pea & vegetable stew, cucumber, tomato, red onion, sunflower sprouts & tahini sauce
Energy bowl
marinated tofu cubes, rich coconut curry sauce, chick pea &
vegetable stew, cucumber, tomato, red onion, sunflower
sprouts & tahini sauce

Fresh By Juice For Life on Urbanspoon

Vegetable Manchurian

I’ve never had Indo Chinese food until I went to a South Indian restaurant last week. It is fascinating to me; Indian food using Chinese cooking techniques.  Much of this kind of cuisine is deep fried, with gravy, like this recipe.  It tastes like Chinese food, but with undertones of Indian spices and heat.  Manchurian style is a sauce that is flavoured with soy and a spicy kick. There is also chow mein and fried rice.

I used the recipe from 365 Days of Eating Blog, but I needed to make adjustments to the recipe as the veggie balls were too watery and the gravy too thin. The original recipe called for corn flour, so I used corn meal. In hindsight, I suspected it should have been corn starch.

For the Manchurian balls

2 cups                  finely chopped cabbage
2 cups                  very finely chopped mix of carrots, cauliflower, parsley or whatever you have
4 tablespoons    corn starch
2 tablespoons    all-purpose flour (may need more if too liquid)
2 tablespoons    dark soy sauce
Dash                    chilli sauce
1/2 teaspoon     black pepper
Salt
Oil to fry

For the gravy

2 cups                   water
4 tablespoons     corn starch
1/2 cup                 chopped green onions with stalks
6-7 cloves             garlic
1 inch                    knob of ginger grated
1/2 teaspoon       red chili flakes
2-3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon           vinegar
1 tablespoon       red chili sauce
1 tablespoon       tomato ketchup
1/2 teaspoon      pepper
Dash                    sugar
1 tablespoon       oil

In a bowl mix all the ingredients to form the manchurian balls. It should be a little damp to touch and should form a ball when pressed in hand. Take a fistful and bind tightly to shape the mixture into 1 inch balls. If the mixture is too dry to bind, add an additional teaspoon of water. If the mixture falls apart, add more corn starch or flour and squeeze out some moisture as balls are made.

Heat oil in a wok and deep fry the balls on low- medium heat till they are golden brown. These balls can be eaten as a snack with a side of ketchup or sweet and sour sauce.

In another wok, heat a tablespoon of oil. Add the onions (keep aside some greens for garnish), garlic and ginger and sauté on high heat. Add the spices, sauces and water and bring to a boil. Check for salt and add as necessary as the soy sauce will also add salt to the dish.

Just before serving, take out ¼ cup of the liquid, cool slightly and dissolve the corn starch in it. Add to the gravy and bring to a boil while stirring. Heat till the gravy has a shine to it.

Then add the balls to to the gravy and garnish with the onion greens.

Serve hot with Chinese Fried Rice or steamed rice.

To make a dry manchurian, reduce the quantity of water to ¾ cup, corn flour to ½ tablespoon and then proceed as above.

Recipe inspired by 365 Days of Eating.

All the ingredients
All the ingredients

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Deep fried goodness
Deep fried goodness

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Pita and Falafel

I’m in the mood for something healthy and vegetarian. After a visit to Calgary Shawarma, I wondered if I could make a decent falafel wrap at home.

Kudos to the authors for the pita and falafel recipes.

I was generous with the parsley so I ended up with green falafel! Dried and reconstituted chickpeas give a nice texture.

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I tried the flatten and roll as opposed to my pizza technique which did not require a rolling pin. Rolling pin wins, as the texture is more even.

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I liked the way some of my creations puffed up. Some of them didn’t. And some of them were a little charred.

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Fried is definitely tastier, but baked is healthier! Fried in a cast iron pan.

Fried, and baked falafel
Fried, and baked falafel

My pitas were so small that the falafel didn’t fit inside. Topped with: lettuce, tomato, red onion, black olives, cucumber, Greek yogurt and tahini. Tasted good, though.

Falafel sandwiches, left is fried, right is baked
Falafel sandwiches, left is fried, right is baked

Green Bean Heaven

Sometimes you buy a large bag, of say green beans because they were on sale? What to do?

Green Bean and Grape Tomato Salad

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Recipe courtesy of The Vegan Chronicle.

Orange Sweet and Sour Stir Fry

  • 1 lb green beans, trimmed and cut in half
  • 1 large orange, cut into supremes
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 box grape tomatoes
  • 1/4 C fresh ginger, sliced into sticks
  • 1 tbs corn starch
  • 2 tbs ketchup
  • 2 tbs Chinese red vinegar
  • 2 tbs orange juice
  • 1 tbs soy sauce
  • water
  • salt and pepper to taste

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Arugula and Cilantro Pesto

I was hoping for some fennel in my CSA delivery this week, but it was not to be. I really like fennel frond pesto. I’ve just about decimated my basil plant so I decided to make pesto with something else. I did get some arugula to go along with the bunch of cilantro that I bought earlier this week.

The recipe is adapted from Veganivore.

  • 2.5 c. arugula or baby arugula
  • 1 bunch fresh cilantro (or a little more if you really like cilantro)
  • 1/2 c. pine nuts
  • 1/2 c. olive oil
  • 2 T. lemon juice
  • 2 t. minced garlic
  • 1 t. Fleur de sel (or sea salt)
  • up to 1 t. freshly-grated pepper
  • 1/2 C grated parmesan cheese, more to taste

For the pesto:

Combine arugula, cilantro, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper into a blender or food processor. In a pan, toast the pine nuts for a minute or two and add to the blender. Pulse the blender until all pesto is thick and creamy and a bright, beautiful green- pausing to scrape unblended ingredients from the sides if you need to. Have a quick taste and adjust salt if necessary. Use a rubber spatula to scrape every bit of the pesto from the blender and enjoy!

I mixed it with some penne pasta and for a gluten free version, buckwheat groats.

All ready to mix
All ready to mix

Lovely, deep dark green
Lovely, deep dark green

Arugula and cilantro pesto with penne
Arugula and cilantro pesto with penne