tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6176005470596442792012-02-12T23:55:13.858-05:00Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.comBlogger3021100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-60956782345881134332012-01-29T07:29:00.001-05:002012-02-04T10:54:39.406-05:00

I'd forgotten that ratatouille existed until I saw a post by Chef Michael Smith on Twitter, linking to his own recipe for the dish. Do you know Michael Smith? He is one of the benefits of living in a house with cable and, more to the point, with The Food Network. Michael Smith is a chef from PEI who looks and talks like John Corbett. It's eerie, really. I bet he has a hard time getting through

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-18991124907040985332012-01-25T06:54:00.002-05:002012-01-25T06:54:59.236-05:00

Would YOU want to get up and go to work? J.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-80888983776359994492012-01-22T08:19:00.002-05:002012-01-22T09:14:22.794-05:00

Confession. I read a lot of "chick lit" novels. I'm picky about which ones I read, but I do plow through them at a steady rate. Even though they're not realistic fiction per se, I can appreciate them, as the amazing Mindy Kaling says, "as a subgenre of sci fi, in which the world created therein has different rules than my regular human world." Anyway, while I enjoy reading the books, I've never

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-45787813540760923352012-01-17T16:32:00.003-05:002012-01-17T22:12:43.426-05:00

Har har. Kidding! My husband is excellent and wonderful and I would never trade him for a cake. A cake can't cuddle me while we watch The Simpsons, or take me on a trip to New York City, or repeatedly tell me that it likes my cooking better than the meals we eat in fancy restaurants. Not even this cake. Though it is mighty in its deliciousness. I made it on the weekend, mostly for the

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-59157459513755129552012-01-08T14:36:00.002-05:002012-01-08T15:15:19.786-05:00

So, my real Christmas present from The Man of Science this year was a trip to New York city for the two of us. I've been to New York a bunch of times, but never with him and never with a hotel stay as part of the plan. Don't get me wrong, I love sleeping on my friend Hallie's couch, but having a room at the Ritz Carleton with a beautiful view of the water was nothing to sneeze at, either. Good

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-13925872359730142922012-01-02T18:56:00.004-05:002012-01-02T19:49:53.669-05:00

Hello, hello, hello! I hope everyone had excellent holidays. You know what I did with my time off from work? Nothing. Nothing stressful, anyway. I stayed home, wore pajamas, ate lots of food, watched movies, and read books on the couch (with the dog) by the fireplace. It was the best ten days I've had in a long time. And now tomorrow I have to go back to work, which I'm almost completely ready

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-76361259642704346282011-12-19T05:20:00.002-05:002011-12-19T05:20:01.324-05:00

First of all, thanks so much to everyone who commented. I loved reading about your favourite socks and your chocolate preferences. I loved that the sock preferences skewed to the stripey and cosy, which mirror my own sock preferences excellently. Yesterday afternoon, when the deadline for commenting had passed, I put everyone's names in two bowls (one for raspberry, one for ginger) and

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-49974754184327765972011-12-15T06:17:00.002-05:002011-12-15T06:47:43.081-05:00

It's giveaway time! Last week I bought two of these cool-looking, fair-trade vegan chocolate bars from a company called Divine. They come in all kinds of flavours, which is awesome. I figured they'd keep me liberally chocolated this holiday season.But also, my good friend Kat asked what I wanted for Christmas and, of course, I said I wanted chocolate and socks. Because everyone likes chocolate

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-24505190357274786452011-12-14T05:38:00.002-05:002011-12-14T05:38:00.559-05:00

The Man of Science and I have been meaning to go to brunch at Zen Kitchen for a while now, but finally made it happen this Sunday. The whole experience was basically perfect. We started with coffee and tea, then moved on to a tempeh Reuben sandwich with fries (me) and a "traditional" breakfast (scrambled tofu, potatoes, beans, toast) for the MoS. For dessert I had a pumpkin cheesecake and he had.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-19432077789470157272011-12-10T13:38:00.003-05:002011-12-12T10:18:32.872-05:00

Blame it on being back in the bosom of the family home. Or perhaps on the fact that I don't have a sewing room set up right now and hence couldn't spend a bunch of time making home made gifts. Or maybe I've been listening to the new She & Him* album too much and I'm just plain off my rocker with Christmas spirit. Whatever the cause, this year I was possessed to make Christmas cookies. Oh sure, I

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-18648635058095245662011-12-04T18:37:00.003-05:002011-12-04T19:26:48.445-05:00

My parents who, as you all know, I live with now (temporarily) are quite addicted to Masterchef Australia. They watch an episode or two every night. There is one featured chef in particular, Adriano Zumbo, who brings in the most ridiculously complicated recipes for the contestants to try to make. I was wandering through the living room on Friday when my mom and dad were watching an episode that

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-12722335457883107892011-11-23T05:51:00.000-05:002011-11-23T05:51:00.395-05:00

This was a weekend brunch-for-one that I made just for me when no one else wanted to eat anything. Toast, slightly mushed up veggie burger (Amy's California burger), a bit of Daiya cheddar, and a bunch of miso gravy on top. I can't believe how good it was. J.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-83726454175248592472011-11-20T02:13:00.000-05:002011-11-20T02:13:00.087-05:00

I'm been on a morning smoothie kick ever since the Man of Science and I started this temporary arrangement of living at my parents' house. I just don't feel like anything else first thing in the morning. It's partly because I'm a Hobbit and I need to eat, like, seventeen times a day. So for the last few months, first breakfast has been a smoothie of some variety and second breakfast is something

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-89009396559004725882011-11-16T16:32:00.002-05:002011-11-16T16:35:35.287-05:00

On Friday I went to a dance party at Raw Sugar and then got to sleep over at Megan and Dave's house. In the morning Megan and I ate oatmeal and talked about cardigans. It was perfect. J.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-24031520697323840552011-11-13T12:07:00.003-05:002011-11-13T12:28:00.123-05:00

I couldn't resist using that title. Even though it would seem more accurate if I'd tried to make a slaw and been defeated by it, which was not the case. This slaw is a winner, yes, but I was not defeated by it. I ate it happily. Everybody wins. I guess I'm just a lover, not a fighter. So, there was this cabbage. It was in our vegetable crisper and it had been there for several weeks. My family

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-82341166953111395572011-11-09T05:20:00.001-05:002011-11-09T10:29:44.042-05:00

It's not food related, but I do like to post about my Halloween costumes (except last year's This-Sarah-Palin-Costume-Is-Making-Me-Hate-Myself-When-I-Look-In-The-Mirror debacle). This year I had a great time making myself a Mary Poppins costume. It all came from Value Village save the tights and shoes which were already mine and the daisies for my hat which my mother kindly brought home for me.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-24286615257311814632011-11-06T15:08:00.004-05:002011-11-06T15:51:46.985-05:00

So, I guess it's become clear that Vegan Mofo broke me this year. I fought the Mofo and the Mofo won. That's never happened to me before. I always complain about it, sure, but I have never just given up the way I did this year. I guess maybe it's not a good idea to take on a daily posting challenge when the entire rhythm of your life has just changed dramatically. My new living-with-my-parents

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-58113705666047520152011-10-20T07:54:00.002-04:002011-10-20T07:58:14.753-04:00

I made the potato and kale enchiladas from Veganomicon last week for the Man of Science and my mom and I for dinner (my dad is away travelling, lest you think we just deny him dinner!) Have you made those? They're delicious. Anyway, there were a lot of leftovers, so I froze them in individual containers (four, to be exact) and I am eating my way through them. When I have a place where I can heat

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-67900333698835829642011-10-17T05:41:00.001-04:002011-10-17T05:41:00.238-04:00

Note: Before Vegan Mofo began I put out a call to friends asking if anyone wanted me to design a special vegan lunch just for them. I was planning to do one post like this per week, but I ended up with so many requests I'm going to attempt to do two per week. Stay tuned for vegan lunches designed for students, teachers, writers, travellers, small business owners and more! This is Lisa. I have had

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-12389057905397001822011-10-14T10:09:00.004-04:002011-10-14T10:28:54.086-04:00

Hey, check it! An actual recipe. We owe this miracle to the fact that I have the day off today, which gives me time to write, sew, take the Man of Science's clothes to the cleaners, do some dishes, walk the dogs, and clean out the fridge. And, most importantly, make myself a great lunch. I will admit that I am not usually a huge green salad fan. I see other healthy food bloggers writing about

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-81565555766027427732011-10-13T19:46:00.003-04:002011-10-13T19:53:45.636-04:00

I had an annoying morning at work yesterday and also was so hungry I ate my packed lunch (soup and crackers) at 10 AM. I figured this all justified a trip to the Green Door vegetarian buffet which happened to be on my way to my next appointment. This restaurant has been around forever and people in Ottawa have mixed feelings about it. It's kind of hippie-ish and the food on offer is pretty much

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-59838015719416885712011-10-12T05:59:00.000-04:002011-10-12T08:06:20.719-04:00

One can't serve a new recipe without eating a bit of it first... right? This was my lunch on this past holiday Monday which was Thanksgiving Day here in Canada. I made a nut/veggie loaf that I'd never made before and I wanted to make sure it tasted good before I fed it to my relatives. It ended up being fairly good, especially with the miso gravy on the side. I don't know that I'd make it again,

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-77627873424640781712011-10-11T05:11:00.000-04:002011-10-11T05:11:01.133-04:00

These aren't food, but they are an excellent addition to any lunch. Bamboo cutlery! This set is made by To Go Ware and I keep it in my purse so I never need to use disposable cutlery when I'm eating on the go. The set even has chop sticks with it, in case you're into that sort of thing. And the whole shebang is very light-weight which is great because my purse is already full of piles of food in

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-27791074053275420962011-10-10T12:26:00.008-04:002011-10-10T14:17:06.116-04:00

Note: Before Vegan Mofo began I put out a call to friends asking if anyone wanted me to design a special vegan lunch just for them. I was planning to do one post like this per week, but I ended up with so many requests I'm going to attempt to do two per week. Stay tuned for vegan lunches designed for students, teachers, writers, travellers, small business owners and more! This is Sara. She lives

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-32272473622882421082011-10-07T06:27:00.000-04:002011-10-07T09:47:24.484-04:00

Those of you in Ottawa may have heard me on CBC radio this morning discussing Tofurky, what it's like to be a vegan at Thanksgiving, and what I like about Thanksgiving itself. Or at least I think that's what you would have heard me discussing. I didn't catch the broadcast myself, unfortunately. I'm hoping that they'll put the piece up on their website. We'll see.On that note, here are some

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-66013330760628714172011-10-06T05:40:00.002-04:002011-10-06T05:40:00.629-04:00

Many work days find me far away from anywhere where I might be able to heat up some leftovers to eat for lunch. This is the kind of lunch I bring with me on those days. A peanut butter sandwich, some homemade applesauce, a mix of almonds and chocolate, and a banana-peanut butter-chocolate chip muffin. A bit pasty, all told, but it kept me fed as I drove around from place to place. J.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-74074479926143539772011-10-05T05:56:00.003-04:002011-10-05T09:53:17.286-04:00

Note: Before Vegan Mofo began I put out a call to friends asking if anyone wanted me to design a special vegan lunch just for them. I was planning to do one post like this per week, but I ended up with so many requests I'm going to attempt to do two per week. Stay tuned for vegan lunches designed for students, teachers, writers, travellers, small business owners and more! This is Elizabeth (with

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-6467811011845976702011-10-04T06:51:00.000-04:002011-10-04T06:51:00.379-04:00

This is my lunch from yesterday. It is somewhat similar to the lunch I recommended for Joe. A small thermos full of warm carrot and parsnip soup, Mary's crackers, a peanut butter and banana muffin, and some almonds mixed with bits of a raspberry Cocoa Camino chocolate bar. I ate this partly while sitting in the cramped office of the site I was working at and partly when I was driving back to my

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-75324262551466873662011-10-03T06:50:00.003-04:002011-10-03T16:51:21.977-04:00

Note: Before Vegan Mofo began I put out a call to friends asking if anyone wanted me to design a special vegan lunch just for them. I was planning to do one post like this per week, but I ended up with so many requests I'm going to attempt to do two per week. Stay tuned for vegan lunches designed for students, teachers, writers, travellers, small business owners and more! This is Joe, sitting in

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-76599446364708166032011-10-02T19:35:00.002-04:002011-10-02T19:45:02.548-04:00

I saved half my Saturday breakfast to eat for lunch. A great mix of scrambled tofu, oven homefries, and vegetables, with a side of kamut toast with Earth Balance. Tomorrow I'm hoping to have my first specially designed lunch post. Assuming I don't fall asleep on my laptop before the post can be completed. J.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-5293861472295535032011-10-01T12:57:00.002-04:002011-10-01T13:23:33.940-04:00

Well, goodness. It's time for Vegan Mofo (AKA Vegan Month of Food) once again! The month where vegan food bloggers from across the globe post as much as they possibly can. And then everyone needs to have a big nap when it's all over. Last year, some of you will remember, I chose "Comfort Food" as my theme and attempted to post every day of the month about some delicious, comforting vegan food

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-26168827663587341792011-09-25T13:36:00.005-04:002011-09-25T16:02:38.252-04:00

A lady from the Vega company wrote to me and asked if I'd like to participate in a breakfast challenge the company was using for promotion* of their vegan protein/meal replacement type powders which they call Whole Food Health Optimizers (so Star Treky!) Since I actually use Vega products, and felt kind of excited to get some for free in the mail, I said yes. In a few days I had sample packs of a

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-62382503433285977802011-09-21T05:31:00.000-04:002011-09-21T05:31:00.071-04:00

One of the perks of living at my parents' house (besides getting to watch Castle on their big TV and having my mom offer to do my ironing for me) is having unrestricted access to the full lot of vegetables they get every week from Roots and Shoots Farm. The farm is just a few minutes up the street from their house, so these vegetables are super-mega local, at least while we're living here. As

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-44541219644566135142011-09-18T14:08:00.003-04:002011-09-18T14:44:16.639-04:00

Hello! Did you miss me? Did you forget I existed? For those of you not in the know, let me catch you up. My husband and I (plus two cats and three dogs) have just moved out of our falling apart, no-central-heating, moldy, splintery-floored, broken-stoved house downtown and are now residing with my parents in their sub-sub-urban bungalow about 40 minutes south of our previous home. We've done this

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-41175221925067373782011-09-06T07:12:00.000-04:002011-09-06T07:12:00.058-04:00

I had Friday off last week, which meant I had a super-mega-long weekend, what with Labour Day and everything. Sadly, I knew most of the weekend would be dedicated to packing up/organizing things in our soon-to-be-abandoned home. To keep from going mental, I decided that Friday was to be filled with fun activities rather than responsible ones. And what a good idea that was! Friday was a wonderful

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-870028823022074402011-09-03T15:44:00.004-04:002011-09-03T15:58:16.454-04:00

First off, my apologies to those readers who don't watch The Big Bang Theory, which is where my ridiculous post title comes from. It's from an episode called "The Wheaton Recurrence". In one scene, the character of Howard Wolowitz is throwing out examples of what someone might do in unintentionally offend a ladyfriend. It came to mind when I was making this "short stack" of pancakes on Friday.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-72935631697804629292011-08-14T19:16:00.004-04:002011-08-14T20:06:04.507-04:00

Our refrigerator has been a bit of a jerk these last three weeks. Like it's going through some teenage, contrarian appliance phase where it doesn't actually pack its bags and leave, but instead gradually stops doing what is expected of it. Mostly it sulks in the corner listening to Smiths records and thinking about how unfair it is that it has to keep our food cold all the time. Every minute!

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-28595502464510446382011-08-08T19:48:00.005-04:002011-08-10T13:52:15.310-04:00

Every week our CSA delivery from Roots and Shoots Farm gets more exciting. This week we had some lovely onions and garlic, chard, potatoes, purple carrots, and a few tomatoes. I'd already purchased a bunch of local tomatoes from the market and so I combined our CS tomatoes with those ones to make big pot of roasted tomato soup. I don't often think of tomato soup, but I was watching Masterchef

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-74146547906996939682011-08-02T09:41:00.003-04:002011-08-02T10:25:59.622-04:00

This time last year I was a very happy girl. I had a sixties style updo, an amazing dress, bright blue shoes, and I was about to marry my favourite guy. At the altar of Elvis. In Las Vegas. After driving down The Strip in a 1969 Cadillac convertible. For new readers, the full story can be found here. Or, if you aren't into clicking, here's the short version: The Man of Science planned our entire

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-72081717507777882802011-07-31T16:46:00.005-04:002011-07-31T20:37:22.772-04:00

Blargh. I don't know what it is about this kind of weather (Humidity? Thunder? Heat?) that renders all my careful migraine-control-techniques useless, but I don't like it. At all. This was supposed to be a super-fun weekend (It includes my birthday! And my one-year wedding anniversary!) but in between bouts of super-fun have come bouts of stupid headachey, low blood sugar crappiness. I have spent

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-60409997414897496802011-07-27T06:42:00.001-04:002011-07-27T06:42:00.087-04:00

Shortly after our lunch at Rawliciious, we happened by Bunner's Bake Shop which is, by it's own declaration, Toronto's only vegan, gluten-free bakery. Since I've got no beef with gluten (that's vegan humour) and I can bake my own vegan cupcakes, I didn't feel the need to stock up on goodies. However, there was one lonely cinnamon donut calling my name. It was a baked donut and, despite being

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-3520347508686971542011-07-24T19:15:00.003-04:002011-07-24T20:16:56.343-04:00

Seeing as an extended summer vacation is not in the cards for me this year, I decided to take a quick trip to Toronto this past weekend for a bit of a relaxing change of pace. Part of the trip was spent in the company of my friends Nicole and Alex and their rather amazing 2 year old son, Jacob. I got to check out their brand new apartment, discuss farm animals and the sounds they make with Jake,

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-28400337086674714092011-07-18T19:26:00.002-04:002011-07-18T20:00:44.676-04:00

So, it's hot. Not much more to say about that. I don't really mind the heat, but it sure doesn't make me want to cook much. I had "bake something" on my weekend to-do list, but I crossed it off with impunity as soon as the humidity kicked in. Turn the oven on? No thank you. Also there was a wildly destructive storm here last night. This meant we had two out of three dogs freaking out with thunder

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-17776302862127853052011-07-13T19:57:00.003-04:002011-07-13T20:02:41.861-04:00

Sorry friends. My computer died on Sunday so I didn't have my usual time to sit and prepare a longer post. Don't worry, I'd backed everything up (thank you Man of Science for buying me an external hard drive and also for gently informing me that yes, I did need to buy a new computer even if spending all that money made me want to throw up a little) and nothing of import was lost. But I can't

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-91592854800775449012011-07-06T07:04:00.000-04:002011-07-06T15:24:15.967-04:00

The Man of Science requested tapas for his birthday dinner and I was excited to oblige. Even though I got cranky towards the end of the cooking marathon because the kitchen was too hot and I was tired. FYI, it is bad form to get irritable when you're doing something nice for someone else. It made me feel like a bit of a jackass. Next time I'll keep myself in check! The meal was delicious,

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-51473311056783291102011-07-03T09:00:00.005-04:002011-07-03T09:53:01.246-04:00

"I don't think I'm getting enough kale," said The Man of Science yesterday. We were eating kale at the time. For the fourth time in two days. I can't remember how I responded. I probably said nothing, seeing as my mouth was full of kale. Yes, I know there's been a lot of kale around here lately, but frankly, the girl can't help it. When there's kale around I want to eat it all the time. And now

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-63361096372534903312011-06-29T18:00:00.003-04:002011-06-29T18:12:37.361-04:00

Those who know me well know that I'm attempting to not buy anything unnecessary in 2011. This covers books, records, clothing, and... kitchen equipment. I know. It's bananas. But I'd been doing well until this month. This was the month that I felt like I had NOTHING to wear and NOTHING to read (everything I've got on hold at the library is taking forever to get here). Most importantly, I was

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-28521236196073805072011-06-28T07:12:00.000-04:002011-06-28T10:12:05.379-04:00

First, allow me to make two confessions.1. I have been really stupid when it comes to packing lunches lately. I usually take leftovers, but for some reason we haven't had a lot of those lately. I know I could easily throw together a salad to take, but I actually am not a big fan of traditional salads. So I've been spending too much money buying mediocre lunches while at work. Even though the cafe

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-47576701814777472862011-06-20T07:02:00.000-04:002011-06-20T15:31:50.697-04:00

Those of you in other countries may not know that Canadians sh*t-talk my home city of Ottawa all the time. The city has a reputation for being boring, reserved, bland, and for, as I remember my parents saying in the '80's, "rolling up the sidewalks at 8PM". I'm not going to say that all of that is patently untrue, but I will say that usually people who complain like that either a) don't live here

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-10989151335330891002011-06-15T07:54:00.000-04:002011-06-15T07:56:12.055-04:00

It's all action, all the time around here. J.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-23611227745155092022011-06-12T20:45:00.004-04:002011-06-13T10:19:17.571-04:00

Last week Ottawa had its first "Tour La Nuit" as part of Capital Velofest (Bikefest for you anglophones). Tour La Nuit was basically an hour-long evening bike ride with a bunch of major roads in Ottawa closed to cars so the cyclists could take over. I went with my friends Magi and Krishna (and their three terriers who love riding in a bike trailer!) and since they were good enough to pick up my

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-74955697242772914552011-06-08T20:06:00.003-04:002011-06-08T20:15:18.925-04:00

I was a bit bonkers (in a good way) on Saturday. The Man of Science and I got up early and took the dogs for a walk, then I made breakfast, went to the farmers' market, did two loads of laundry, and worked on the quilt I was making. Then it was noon. And I was starving. This lunch was an easy mix of chopped up Soyarie tofu burger, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, and leftover potatoes from breakfast

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-49487640972988887312011-06-06T07:07:00.001-04:002011-06-06T08:21:36.878-04:00

One of the problems that comes with living in a climate with very extreme seasons is that when it rains it pours. Literally and metaphorically. My last post was all about the literal version of raining and pouring (and kudos to you all, by the way, for knowing exactly what unsettling sci fi movie it was that my mother exposed me to at an impressionable young age) and this time I'm thinking about

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-13981913601853823132011-05-22T15:48:00.002-04:002011-05-22T16:26:17.670-04:00

When I was a kid, my mom made (let?) me watch some movie on TV that featured a bunch of children stuck on a planet where all it did was rain. It rained and stormed every minutes of every day except for one day of the year when it was all sunny and gorgeous and flowers bloomed. Of course the kids in the movie locked some unpopular kid in a closet so he missed the day of sun. Then they felt bad and

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-34614679414236865592011-05-18T06:06:00.001-04:002011-05-18T12:15:36.447-04:00

No recipe posts this week because I am awash with non-blog business that is dominating my schedule. Yikes! When did everyone start leaving their winter hibernation? I'm not prepared for this. Just in case you missed the big old ad in the sidebar, I want you all to know that I'm teaching an Urban Vegetable Gardening For Beginners class at Flock Boutique in Westboro tomorrow night from 7-9 PM. The

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-74806573034887485572011-05-11T05:47:00.000-04:002011-05-11T05:47:00.324-04:00

"Are you a morning person?" Mandi asked me when I knocked on the door of Auntie Loo's Treats yesterday morning at 7:30 AM. I told her I was. "Good," she said, "Because some people find me really annoying." I was there to watch and offer help while she made the first bakery batch of my dark chocolate almond cupcakes. All I ended up doing was measuring almond milk and taking photos with my phone.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-35292796037020222632011-05-08T19:44:00.002-04:002011-05-08T20:51:02.845-04:00

You know what I love? I love Parks and Recreation. Yes, that's right. I love a television show. Don't worry, the Man of Science knows, and he's cool with it. In fact, this random expression of love is related directly to the fact that he came home on Friday with the Season Two DVDs for us to watch together. And now that we're about seven episodes in, I am even more confident in my love. It is

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-56991811202756868992011-05-04T07:10:00.001-04:002011-05-04T07:10:00.560-04:00

This has nothing to do with food, but I'm bummed about the results of yesterday's federal election. I walk past the parliament buildings in this photo all the time and I like to feel a sense of peace and hope when it comes to my home country. I'm having a hard time feeling that right now. I hope it comes back eventually.J.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-75155176016568880792011-05-01T08:29:00.006-04:002011-05-01T19:12:40.153-04:00

When I heard that Ottawa's Veg Fest was hosting a cupcake competition for amateur bakers I was all over it. I signed myself up right away. "Fun!" I thought. "Cupcakes!" Fast forward to this past Friday. I'd had some help from my friend Krishna, who loaned me her frosting bag and cupcake carrier and gave me icing advice. I felt ready to create The Cupcake of Champions. I spent the afternoon baking

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-33677049954330723832011-04-28T11:41:00.003-04:002011-04-28T11:47:46.926-04:00

I missed Wordless Wednesday this week. What can I say? I'm off work this week. All days blur together in Vacation Land. I did, however, really want to post about this bread plate. It was on the table at every family dinner that my maternal grandparents ever hosted. And since they had such a lovely marriage (full of good food and wine!) it will always remind me of them. When my grandfather moved

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-11320223580016152702011-04-25T09:11:00.003-04:002011-04-25T09:28:48.864-04:00

Above, you see an abandoned prototype for my entry in the upcoming Ottawa Veg Fest Cupcake Challenge. Yikes. I can bake cupcakes like no one's business, but do I ever need to work on my icing. Good thing I have the coming week off work, I can give myself a frosting crash course.If you're in Ottawa, maybe you want to come to Veg Fest this year. I'll confess that I've never been, mostly because I

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-14245962253607260932011-04-20T06:41:00.000-04:002011-04-20T06:41:00.293-04:00

My quick no-fail Saturday lunch: heat olive oil, saute garlic, add white kidney beans, squeeze in 1/4 a lemon, add several handfuls of kale, squeeze in another 1/4 lemon, season with salt and pepper, eat with fresh bread. Easy vegan lunch, for the win. J. *If you eat all your lunch, there will be cake.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-80937933428038396182011-04-17T20:23:00.001-04:002011-04-17T21:31:37.581-04:00

In a few months, if all goes as planned, the Man of Science and I will be moving in with my parents. I get a lot of freaked out looks when I tell people this, but it's not really a big deal. As I've mentioned before, our house is being rebuilt this year and we'll have to live somewhere while that's happening, which means prevailing on the good will of my parents for approximately six months. My

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-52835279754659977182011-04-15T06:48:00.001-04:002011-04-15T06:48:00.048-04:00

Maybe someday you'll all forgive me for that post title. But really, isn't everybody looking forward to the weekend*? This is the last post about our party food, which you'll notice was heavily weighted in the direction of dessert. Because we all love dessert. And now that I am a pie expert, I just want to make pie all the time. Pie, pie, pie, pie! Of course, I haven't mastered any kind of pie

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-88047966739105758492011-04-12T07:14:00.002-04:002011-04-13T16:09:03.515-04:00

My friend Adam and I were out for dinner the other night and we got to griping about being vegans who eat wheat. We're both finding lately that when "special" meals are offered for vegans, the meal often ends up being gluten-free as well. The restaurant (or airplane, or conference center, or whatever) is killing two restrictive diets with one stone, as it were. Which is fair, I guess. But

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-71386754399872838802011-04-10T10:23:00.002-04:002011-04-10T11:31:00.823-04:00

Last week I had to do a day of driving around with a coworker to handle some work stuff. The coworker I was with is an older guy, who doesn't fully "get" the idea of eating vegan, but is pretty easy going about it. Especially since he grew up on a beef farm. Anyway, we were in a rural area about an hour away from the city and I was pretty certain there wasn't going to be any exciting lunch

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-7592665377110093672011-03-31T07:33:00.000-04:002011-03-31T09:35:05.151-04:00

Unlike the bagel-creamcheese-tomato devotee I married, I do not eat the same breakfast every day. It's not that I'm being particularly nutritionally responsible, I just wake up in the mood for different things on different days. I often think it would be easier to eat the same thing every day. I'm not a fan of actually having to think about things in the morning. This is why each night my running

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-3638889325029982872011-03-30T06:17:00.002-04:002011-03-30T08:19:40.261-04:00

After I made quiche for the aforementioned vegan brunch, I had just enough pastry dough leftover to make a small apple pie for the Man of Science and me to share for dessert on Sunday evening. For the filling I sliced up two apples and tossed them with corn starch, agave, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a bit of whiskey, then baked the whole thing while we ate spaghetti. Easy as... well, easy as something.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-70555990858490687982011-03-27T15:18:00.002-04:002011-03-27T16:12:13.350-04:00

Although I usually spend Sunday afternoons at home reading the paper and getting caught up on important television watching, today I broke from that habit to attend a potluck vegan brunch hosted by Jill, creator of the excellent Vegan Backpacker blog. It was really fun to spend an afternoon talking about vegan and non-vegan-related things with a small group of Ottawa vegan ladies. It reminded me

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-69286201470607918492011-03-23T18:12:00.002-04:002011-03-23T18:21:10.613-04:00

I've probably mentioned that our average sized house is heated entirely by one, kind of small, gas fireplace. Which means it gets a bit cold in here over the winter months. We get used to it, wear sweaters and slippers, know where the warmest spots in the house are, etc. However, we don't often have guests over. When we do they remark on how chilly their feet are. Now that it's warming up, we're

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-85424211833305939812011-03-20T10:25:00.000-04:002011-03-20T10:48:27.203-04:00

Way back in September, while waiting in line with our friend Hallie at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, my friend Joe reminded me of this bit from The Office in which Michael misses the point of a comedic roast. I believe the example Joe used for me was, "Jennifer. You're a Canadian and you wear a scarf even if it's 75 degrees outside. Boom. Roasted." So when I posted yesterday on

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-6600113930375172122011-03-16T06:25:00.000-04:002011-03-16T06:25:00.216-04:00

I made this sandwich on Sunday at around 10 AM. We'd been out for breakfast (and newspaper reading) and as per usual I'd eaten potatoes, toast, fruit and tea. Not a horrible breakfast but one completely without protein. As a result I was really damn hungry by the time I got back home. Then that night I had a dream that I was begging the cafe where we eat breakfast to make me vegetarian sausages.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-90299427602532843982011-03-13T16:34:00.004-04:002011-03-13T17:25:01.974-04:00

Anyone who knows me or reads this blog regularly knows that I travel a lot for work. I'm a daycare inspector, which means that I'm working in a different place every day, and spending a good portion of my work hours driving around town in my little Honda (the one with the "Reading is Sexy" bumper sticker on the back). Because of this weirdy weird job set up, I often don't stop formally for

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-6938469677866798682011-03-09T19:31:00.002-05:002011-03-09T19:37:29.587-05:00

So, when I am not cooking, wrangling domestic animals, watching Big Bang Theory re-runs, working at my actual job, or embarrassing myself by telling the guys behind the desk at the library how happy it makes me to visit the library (true story), I sometimes make quilts. My friend Kat started a blog about quilting and she's letting me contribute to it. Maybe you'd like to check it out. J.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-50046381000352261052011-03-06T18:20:00.006-05:002011-03-07T10:48:41.814-05:00

Did anyone else enjoy Mark Bittman's excellent hissy fit regarding MacDonald's breakfast oatmeal? The Man of Science sent the link to me as soon as he saw it, knowing that my own freak outs regarding "convenience" foods tend to take a similar tone. See, I understand why people might want to buy instant versions of more complicated food. I know cooking certain kinds of foods takes time and effort

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-86785757437030257302011-03-01T08:56:00.003-05:002011-03-01T10:39:23.759-05:00

The Man of Science and I had to take a somewhat unexpected trip to Toronto this week, so I don't have a regular recipe post for you all right now. All I cooked before we left were muffins, and since approximately 77% of the recipes I post are muffin recipes, there's no need to post yet another variation of that theme. Instead, let me quickly tell you about the restaurant where the Parents of

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-78215507414254111592011-02-23T19:34:00.004-05:002011-02-23T19:45:32.540-05:00

My friends, I am so excited. For this week, I conquered pastry crust! Up until now my crusts have always been kind of bland and chewy. But just last week I made a quiche (carmelized onion quiche from Vegan Brunch) for breakfast with friends and I used vegan Earth Balance shortening instead of margarine for the pastry. Low and behold, a crust of excellence. And then, even more amazingly, I baked

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-66433771153783093552011-02-21T12:56:00.002-05:002011-02-21T13:46:12.850-05:00

I was very happy to just settle in for a quiet, solitary morning today (it's a holiday in Ontario) because I spent Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday visiting my friend Kat and her family, who are lovely, but certainly not sedate! I really enjoyed hanging out with her two excellent kids and I even enjoyed cleaning her entire dining room. However, a morning alone with CBC radio and pancakes was

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-20168438865636182092011-02-16T07:39:00.001-05:002011-02-16T09:54:26.933-05:00

The Man of Science surprised me with a box of the special Valentine's cake truffles from Auntie Loo's vegan bakery on Saturday, right after I'd grumbled at him about not putting his laundry in the appropriate basket. Well played, MoS, well played. In return, I offered to make whatever he wanted for dinner on Monday night. We ate a whole lot of chickpea cutlets, brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes,

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-48926170400439268272011-02-13T13:58:00.002-05:002011-02-14T09:46:21.692-05:00

Okay, minestrone is not really particularly romantic. To tell you the truth, I kind of forgot about Valentine's Day this year. Well, as much as one can forget about it when every blog, TV show, magazine, and newspaper is mentioning it in some capacity. However, this year Valentine's Day was kind of like last year's Winter Olympics. I knew it was happening, I just failed to care. (The Man of

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-31346821529667603272011-02-09T06:00:00.001-05:002011-02-09T10:20:09.414-05:00

These are beans grown locally by Rainbow Heritage Garden. I buy a package every year at the Carp Winter Farmers Market and save them for a special project (more on that next week!) These are all heirloom bean varieties and do they ever taste good. Also, they're damm pretty. It was almost a shame to cook them, because it mutes those nice colours. J.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-11051739362454177972011-02-06T11:10:00.002-05:002011-02-06T11:16:06.420-05:00

I'm trying to write something witty about this recipe, but all I can think about is this great old Billy Bragg album (Workers Playtime) that I've been listening to all weekend. I first started loving Billy Bragg when I was in high school, and I even went to see him play at The Concert Hall in Toronto, a place which could have been awarded the "Venue Where Small Teenage Music Fans Are Most Likely

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-1928664318127571202011-02-02T06:23:00.000-05:002011-02-02T06:23:01.118-05:00

Sam has taken to hanging out on top of the cookbooks in our kitchen. I often look over and catch her staring at me while I cook, which is funny because the only human food she's ever been interested in is potato chips. She loves potato chips. Who can blame her?J.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-64277932296635046892011-01-30T15:34:00.007-05:002011-01-31T15:18:12.378-05:00

I almost never make chili. Not because I don't like it. On the contrary, beans and tomatoes are some of my favourite things. Vegan chili, however, is one of those dishes that gets over-eaten. It is trotted out at every vegan potluck or dinner party. It's what new vegans first learn to make (and make again, and make again) after deciding to get down with the plant based lifestyle. (It's kind of

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-81119633274856419162011-01-19T17:25:00.007-05:002011-01-20T12:15:20.141-05:00

The Man of Science and I got home from San Francisco at about midnight last night. As we hauled our suitcases through the Ottawa airport, he turned to me and said, "Well, that trip was kind of a bust, wasn't it?" Yes. Yes it was. It shouldn't have been, though! San Francisco is awesome. The weather was amazing. Our hotel was really cool. I had a list of great places to eat and things to do. But

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-40005799114330253152011-01-09T20:40:00.004-05:002011-01-11T18:24:56.697-05:00

This week is a small reprieve from the madness of the holidays before the lesser madness of a smaller holiday descends upon us. Yes friends, my delightful husband and I are leaving on a jet plane this Friday bound for San Francisco. Land of vegan delights! We'll only be there for four days, so we're going to try to pack in as much eating as possible. Okay that might be the royal "we". But as I

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-35911637929196548572011-01-05T06:05:00.000-05:002011-01-05T06:05:00.561-05:00

The the Man of Science and I were in Toronto over the holidays I brought him to Sadie's Diner for vegan breakfast. I was so excited to be back there, I kept acting bananas and knocking things over. I had vegan french toast (which is now featured in my blog header up there) a strawberry smoothie, and tea with soymilk. The Man of Science had coffee and the vegan huevos racheros that I had the last

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-7754453864475793002011-01-01T14:50:00.005-05:002011-01-02T08:05:41.513-05:00

2010 was an amazing year for me and for this little blog. I feel like I got a real handle on what I want this blog to be and I've loved getting to know internet friends through comments and correspondence and by reading other blogs. It Ain't Meat, Babe is a really cosy corner of my life and I'm hoping it stays that way through 2011, which will be a year of big changes for us around here.In the

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-60285251195378448612010-12-23T07:10:00.000-05:002010-12-23T11:23:46.534-05:00

Nothing demonstrates one's complete lack of cookie cutters like the onset of the holiday season. There I was, ready to make gingerbread for us to snack on over the holiday, and I realized that I didn't have any seasonal cookie cutters. At all. No mittens, no little men and women, no snowflakes. Nothing. Except Star Wars. Not wanting to give up OR brave the crowded, crazy shops, I forged ahead.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-40896142756866594232010-12-22T05:19:00.002-05:002010-12-22T08:13:04.998-05:00

Since it is the time of the year when everyone on earth is offering sugary baked goods to their nearest and dearest, I've been trying to avoid sweets. I will fail, but at least the trying will probably cut down on the loads of sugar I'd be eating if I wasn't trying. Or something like that. Anyway, one lovely example of my failure to avoid sweets came when I saw these giant smore cookie things for

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-481026378833121792010-12-20T06:56:00.000-05:002010-12-20T09:23:32.281-05:00

Okay, this movie is kind of ridiculous. But, you know, Colin Firth is in it being dashing and dark haired and grouchy and Mr. Darcy-ish, which is actually more than enough reason to watch it. I think I enjoyed it more when I saw it in the theatre, though. Since this time it came on the heels of the much more, uh, subtle comedies The Holiday and Love Actually, it really just struck me as very

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-44444059699524597182010-12-15T07:11:00.003-05:002010-12-15T08:41:48.362-05:00

It's very snowy here and my holiday to-do list is making me a little freaky. I wish I could stay home with these two all day. J.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-10038699503264782222010-12-12T13:02:00.001-05:002010-12-14T09:29:48.273-05:00

As many of you mentioned in the comments of my last post, another excellent Christmas romantic comedy set in England is Love Actually. This movie features many actors who I love, namely Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, and the even-more-dashing-than-Jude-Law Colin Firth. (I like Colin Firth because he is dark haired and cranky-yet-good-hearted, just like my husband.)The movie has many

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-34355604553220966252010-12-09T07:07:00.003-05:002010-12-09T08:34:22.557-05:00

Well hello! You may have noticed that I took a little blog vacation after Vegan Mofo. I was just so happy to not have to photograph my food for a few days. Sheer joy, I tell you. And I thank you for all the comments you posted in my absence and I swear I will put in the baking powder amount for those cookies ASAP. Now, back to business.If you live in my part of the world, you’ve no doubt realized

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-81243769348300122882010-11-30T07:17:00.001-05:002010-11-30T08:12:20.287-05:00

Welcome! To the Last! Day! Of! Mofo! Wheeeeee! I am very much looking forward to going back to my once or twice a week posting, I have to say. Not that I haven't enjoyed spending this time with you all, but holy. It usually takes me a couple days to perfect a blog post, check the recipe, fix up the photos, look for typos, etc. Mofo-vember challenged me to speed that process up. It was a bit

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I grew up in the seventies and eighties, a time when canned mushroom soup reigned supreme. If you ask most people who grew up in that era, they can name at least one dish they ate at the family dinner table involving canned cream of mushroom soup as a main ingredient. I can name two. One of them was a dish of what I think were egg noodles and homemade meatballs, topped with a mushroom soup-based

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-15228963740210468932010-11-27T12:15:00.005-05:002010-11-27T16:37:11.243-05:00

I didn't post yesterday because I was too busy eating this gingerbread lemon cupcake (from Auntie Loo's Treats) and drinking tea at Raw Sugar with my friend Lisa while our friend Dave played some music. Back on track tomorrow, I promise. The cupcake ruled, by the way. J.

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-40314979480455391562010-11-25T21:00:00.003-05:002010-11-25T21:10:14.780-05:00

Friends, it's late. I spent all day driving (for work) to and from a nursery school in a remote Ontarian town, where one child hit me in the face with a plastic potato and then tried to serve it to me for lunch while I worked: She perhaps thought the cupcake would make me forget about the maiming, but it didn't. But then, lucky me, the Man of Science took me out for veggie burgers and then

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-55631061838632370452010-11-24T07:11:00.002-05:002010-11-24T09:34:27.670-05:00

What holiday involves more comfort food than Thanksgiving, really? We Canadians have already had our Thanksgiving and it was delicious, thanks for asking. But I'm well aware that my American brethren are celebrating this weekend, so I wanted to give you all a bunch of suggestions, just in case you're still wondering what delightful vegan dish you can make so you don't go hungry at an omnivorous

Jennifer (It Ain't Meat, Babe)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12260580747334230342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617600547059644279.post-30990089802575208062010-11-23T17:23:00.001-05:002010-11-23T17:24:11.569-05:00

It was my boss's birthday last Friday, so I wanted to bring something fun for her and my other coworkers to eat on Monday. My boss has mentioned that she's trying not to eat huge quantities of sweets and, as someone who likes to encourage people to eat healthy, I support that. But a very small, mostly organic, baked vegan donut as as birthday treat? Probably not going to do too much damage. At

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