LPK's Culinary Groove at the farmers' market!

I had an interview for a volunteer position in the Yonge and Eglinton neighbourhood today and spotted a farmers' market on my way to the subway. I just had to check it out.

The market was quite small but had a wide variety of goods: fruits and veggies, honey, soap and moisturizer made from honey, organic meats... pretty much your standard farmers' market. It also had Jamaican food, a crepe stand and a premade entree (i.e. chicken pot pie) stand. I bought some peaches and was ready to head home. Then it caught my eye... a LPK's baked goods stand with the words "organic, gluten-free, vegan".

Vegan= dairy-free! Vegans don't eat any animal products (that includes milk, honey, and gelatin). I love meat but appreciate the availability of vegan products because it makes my diet easier to follow. Treats like cupcakes and cookies are an added bonus.

LPK's farmers' market stand offered cookies, cupcakes, Nanaimo bars and a rice foccacia. I indulged in a banana cupcake with maple frosting and an Oreo-inspired cookie. I was impressed with the prices- sometimes gluten-free products are marked up because vendors know you have very little choice. At $6 for both my treats, I felt the pricing was fair and comparable to market-price baked goods at bakeries and cafes.

Left to right: chocolate chip cookie, ginger sandwich cookie, Oreo-inspired cookie

I needed an afternoon pick-me-up and coffee goes amazingly well with baked goods. I decided to use my coffee quota for this week and took a seat in the nearby Starbucks. I ordered a "tall, mild" and dug in excitedly.

First up: the banana cupcake with maple frosting. (see picture below)
- very moist, not crumbly like many gluten-free products
- sweet but not too sweet
- would definitely purchase again


Next up: the Oreo-inspired cookie. (I was going to save this for dessert tonight but couldn't resist),
- at first, I found it a bit crumbly
- tastes EXACTLY like an Oreo
- a good size (approximately as big as my palm)

I was tempted to head back to LPK's stand and buy everything in sight. Fortunately, they have a store at Queen East and Broadview and a website! Their menu is available online and lists all allergens. You can browse their website for all their products and get info for custom orders for special occasions. Everything looks so beautiful and delicious!

Finally, the environmentally-conscious would approve of LPK's Culinary Groove. They use "organic, fair trade, local and seasonal products whenever possible".

Looks like I've found my new favorite pastry shop.

Low-budget Vegan "Curry"

Chickpeas coated in the coriander, turmeric, ginger paste.

Curry and rice. So simple, so nice.

Blended and served as a soup.

Before I started my gluten-free, dairy-free diet, I loved dining out at Indian restaurants. The food is so flavorful and my favorite part was the nann bread and the yogurt raita sauce. Sadly, Indian restaurants are off-limits for me now because everything on the menu contains at least one of: dairy, gluten, onions and garlic.

Instead of feeling sorry for myself (which is easy to do when you have colitis), I came up with an Indian-inspired "curry". This is a Vegan recipe, but even meat-lovers (including my boyfriend the ultimate steak enthusiast), love it! Many people think of "curry" as spicy, but really it is just a name used to describe dishes from South Asia that use ground spices for flavor. The three most common "curry powder" spices are: turmeric, coriander and cumin.

The star of this dish is the turmeric. I like this spice not only because it gives a wonderful colour and flavor but also because it is known for its anti-inflammatory properties. In fact, a quick search on google scholar (query: turmeric + colitis), produced quite a few peer-reviewed articles on turmeric's effectiveness in treating colitis. This includes a double blind human study and an animal study.

This meal has it all: protein from the chickpeas, starch from the potatoes and vitamins from the cauliflower and carrots. While coconut milk may be saturated fat, remind yourself that you are eating a vegan, home cooked meal. Many cultures around the world traditionally use coconut milk as a staple in their mainly plant-based diets. If you can tolerate dairy, you can use milk or sour cream in this recipe instead.

What you need:

Spatula or wooden spoon

Knife

Colander/ strainer

Cutting Board

Vegetable peeler

1 large pot with a non-stick bottom and a LID (I use a non-stick wok that holds about 2L of liquid.)

Slow cooker (optional)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. coriander powder

3 tbsp. turmeric powder

2 tbsp. freshly minced ginger

4 tbsp. olive oil

1 can coconut milk (I buy the cheapest one I can find while trying to avoid sulphites that are used as preservatives).

1 can tomato paste (optional)

2 tbsp. gluten-free tamari sauce

1 can chickpeas

1 whole cauliflower

2 medium potatoes

2 carrots

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Prepare the vegetables:
Wash and peel potatoes and carrots, then chop into large cubes (approx. 1 inch x 1 inch x 1 inch).

Wash and prepare the cauliflower. Every part of the cauliflower is edible except the green leaves.

2) Rinse and drain the chickpeas

3) Mince the ginger (2 tbsp is approximately 3 slices minced)

4) Turn the stove on maximum. Add olive oil and ginger to the pot and brown the ginger.

5) When ginger begins to sizzle, add the coriander and turmeric. You will begin to see a "paste".

6) Add the rinsed chickpeas and stir.

7) Add the coconut milk (and optional tomato paste) and stir.

8) Add the cauliflower, potatoes and carrots. Stir well. If there is not enough liquid to cover the contents of the pot (which is usually the case), add water or another can of coconut milk until the contents are all covered.

9) Cover the pot with the lid and wait for the curry to "bubble". Once the curry begins to "bubble", turn the stove to medium and add the gluten-free tamari sauce.

***At this point, if you don't want to sit around watching the stove and you have a slow cooker, you can put the contents of the pot into your slow cooker and set it on "high" for about 3 hours*** (if you use a slow cooker, the final product tends to be more "runny"- better blended as a soup than as a curry

10) Stir the pot approximately every 10 minutes for 30 minutes. Then, turn the stove to low.

11) Stir the pot approximately every 25 minutes for about 2 hours. You are waiting for the vegetables to be tender enough to eat with just a fork or spoon- just give it a test once in a while and when you think the curry is done, its done!

12) Salt and pepper to taste. I like lots of fresh ground pepper in mine.

Serve alongside rice, gluten-free pasta or gluten-free bread. Also delicious on its own or as a soup after a quick spin in the blender.

Enjoy!