Vegan Poutine

I haven't had a lot of time to cook lately. I have been running after some papers for the wedding, and facing the chaotic Brazilian bureaucracy. I am getting married next month actually. It happened all quite fast. In my last post, I was saying how I thought my boyfriend's family did not approve of me because I am not Jewish. Well, his parents seemed to have gotten used to the idea now, and they approve of it, although they'd wish I were Jewish. His other relatives (like his paternal grandmother and uncle) say I look like a nice girl, but that it is too bad I am not Jewish. So this is where it stands. But we are getting married anyway.

I thought it would happen later during the year, but my boyfriend wants it to happen as soon as possible. Hurry much? Well, I think he is more worried about my status in Brazil and wants to regularize everything. It's true that it would be better for me. I would be more independent, financially and all.

Anyway.

I have been incredibly busy and have not had the time to cook, as I said. Still, on Wednesday night, I got home early and was able to cook a little. I made this vegan poutine.

For those of you who don't know what poutine is, it's a French Canadian speciality, fast food. It typically consists of French fries, curd cheese and beef gravy. My version was slightly healthier: roasted fries, home-made vegan cheese and home-made vegan gravy.

CHEESE

Ingredients

1/2 cup of raw cashews soaked over night

1 cup of hot water

1/4 cup of agar-agar powder

3 table spoons of tapioca powder

1 clove of garlic, crushed

Half a bell pepper (I chose a yellow one for the colour)

A pinch of sea salt

Juice from half a lemon

I wish I had nutritional yeast powder to add to the recipe, to give it a slightly cheesier flavour, but it's been impossible to find in Brazil. Also, instead of water, you could use some vegan milk of your choice (preferably unsweetened), but I ran out.

Preparation

Mix everything into the blender until smooth and transfer to a sauce pan. Heat everything on high heat until it simmers and lower the heat to medium low. Keep stirring. The mixture will get very thing, very fast. Keep mixing until it can form a ball. Transfer the mixture into a pot and let it cool to use later. 

I let mine sit in the fridge for about 2 hours before using it. I cut it into bite size pieces and added them to the fries.

General comment: It doesn't quite taste like cheese, so don't be fooled. I love cheese and it has been what is the most difficult for me to stay away from as a vegan, but this cashew cheese goes a long way. It's versatile. I can mix in more herbs, and truffle oil, or maybe a jalapeño pepper for some Mexican flavour The possibilities are endless.

FRIES

Ingredients

3 average size potatoes

Oil to coat the potatoes

Sea salt

Thyme

Preparation

Wash the potatoes well and leave the skin on for extra vitamins. Cut them into French fries size strips. Let them soak in water for about an hour, that is to lose some of their starch and get them crunchier. Drain their soaking water and rinse them. Put them in a dish and coat them with oil, season with salt and thyme. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes or until crispy.

GRAVY

Ingredients

1 table spoon of olive oil

1/3 cup of all-purpose flour (whole wheat could have worked too)

1 table spoon tomato paste

3 cups of vegetable broth

1 clove garlic

1/2 tea spoon of each, paprika, oregano, black pepper, hot sauce

Preparation

Over medium heat, make a roux with the olive oil and the flour. Add the tomato paste and garlic. Once well combined, add a little of the vegetable broth. Enough to dilute the roux a little. Whisk until smooth. Add the rest of the broth. Continue whisking until the sauce thickens. Add the spices.

Pour the gravy over the fries and the cheese. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Gosh, I have been craving for poutine for so long. It totally satisfied my need!

Vegan eating out: Subway

I have a confession to make. This is the second time I try to stick to a vegan diet. The first time, it was from 2008 to 2009. I managed to eat entirely vegan for a year. Then I travelled to Brazil for the first time, and I got tempted by their vegetarian pizzas...and that was it. Now, in Brazil again, I decided to give it another go.

The first time I became vegan, I didn't tell my family, and when they came to visit me in Toronto my mom proudly handed me a bag of curd cheese she had brought from Quebec, thinking I would be happy to make my own poutine. I gently refused saying:

"Thanks, but I don't eat cheese anymore. I am vegan..."

My mother looked at me with surprise. She was horrified.

"You don't eat cheese anymore? You need it for your proteins."

She continued bugging me even when we were waiting in the line to enter the CN Tower.

"Not even a little egg?"

My mother's reaction is not uncommon when I tell people I am vegan.

"But it's just for a diet. You won't eat like that for the rest of your life, right?"

I thought I could make a series showing people what vegans eat when they go out.

For example, we can go to Subway.

I learned recently that Subway is trying some vegan sandwiches in some locations in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

There seems to be more vegan toppings in some countries too (like the U.S.) than in Brazil.

Here, we have only the white italian bread that is vegan. The others have cheese or honey in it. Sadly, even the whole wheat bread seems to contain L-cystein, and I am not sure if the source if animal or human (yuck). So I stay away from it.

I usually have a veggie delight on white italian bread with all the veggies (here this means lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, pickles, black olives and cucumbers). I top it with a fat free sweet onion sauce.

I am also not sure if Subway's breads here contain azodicarbonamide. A chemical used to make yoga mats... So don't be fooled: eating at a fast food restaurant is always fast food.