Sunday, June 16, 2013

The Weekend: Veggie Fest


We have enjoyed another busy weekend so far. Yesterday, we travelled to our hometown of Hamilton, Ontario for the very first Veggie Fest, Hamilton's vegetarian, vegan and raw food festival. I am generally willing to travel for food.

We met lots of lovely people, like Jen from Apiecalypse Now (awesome name!), a vegan bakery in Toronto. Jen's baked goods contain no dairy, no white sugar, no lard, no chemicals, no GMO...and the list goes on. So what's left? Just delicious, animal-friendly treats, such as sausage rolls and cookies. More about that later.


These nice guys from the Hamilton/Halton Animal Liberation Team (H.A.L.T.) shared trays of veggies, crackers and dips to welcome visitors.


Which I appreciated, because this little gal actually munched on some celery.


She didn't really have any lunch after that though. By that time she had spotted the vegan baked goods and she was holding out for them. I had this amazing raw wrap though. The people from Raw on Dundurn Street South make wraps using dehydrated bell peppers and tomatoes. My wrap was quite delicious and had me thinking about buying a dehydrator. I also need a good juicer and a strong blender if I want to make all of the delicious things I saw yesterday.


We also munched on a bag of kale chips from Raw.


Then it was back to Apiecalypse Now. I had a piece of vegan marshmallow and chocolate pie. Of course, I also sampled the kids' cookies (just for reporting purposes of course). They made a big deal about me taking the tiniest of bites though. My fave was this cookie with vanilla icing, above.


My son thought this one was like a giant Oreo, above. Apiecalypse also had chicken(less) pot pies. I decided to come back and get one when we were leaving but they were sold out!


I also talked to the lovely Zoey from Tonica Kombucha. Zoey is a yoga instructor who founded Tonica Kombucha in 2008. Read more of her story here. I enjoyed the vibrant blueberry flavour, while my husband had the ginger rapture. Zoey explained that she developed the beverages to have a light, pleasing bubble so they would appeal to kombucha newbies as well as kombucha lovers. All ingredients are organic and free of allergens and GMOs.


We also chatted with the nice rep from Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary, a family-run haven for farm animals, located just outside of Stratford, Ontario. I am currently reading "Animal Camp" by Catskill Animal Sanctuary founder Kathy Stevens, and I have been really wanting to take the kids to a sanctuary.

Speaking of kids, this brave guy and his wife are expecting their sixth baby soon. And they are all vegan. I asked if they have a big grocery bill and he said they sometimes keep it really simple by cooking up a big pot of lentil soup. I think that's a great idea. Sometimes I get caught up in buying all kinds of expensive packaged products, but a nice tomato sauce or soup works just as well.

If you are in the Stratford area, Cedar Row is having an open house, bake sale and veggie barbecue on June 22nd, from 11 am to 4 pm. Sounds like a lot of fun!


My son insisted I get a photo of this stuffed carrot.


The family enjoyed taking a look at some of the buttons on display from The Button Pushers.


Why is it so hard to get a picture where both of the kids are looking at the camera?

By the way, do you like my new Matt and Nat purse? I ordered it (cheap-like) on Beyond the Rack a few weeks ago and I have been waiting for the opportunity to use it at just such an event. (Somewhere where you don't want to carry a giant, heavy purse.)

How is your weekend going? How far do you travel for food?


17 comments:

  1. Ummm... Delicious photo!! I'm so hungry!

    Xoxo!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Interesting Post with amazing Pictures! All looks so good :)

    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad you got to go! And that you're all in summer clothing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! What's the weather like in Melbourne?

      Delete
  4. Oh wow that looks like awesome fun! Its so easy to get in a rut of thinking with cooking-- I love catching fests & fairs just for the inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So true! I need regular doses of inspiration or I get real lazy!!

      Delete
  5. That looks like such an AMAZING event to attend!

    As a vegetarian myself, I know it's not always easy to find foods that are healthy and geared towards non-meat eaters! I cannot even imagine walking into a place with not a hint of meat on the menu :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know what you mean! When I see a menu that's all vegetarian, I am overwhelmed. I'm not used to so much choice! ;)

      Delete
  6. Although I am not vegan/vegetarian I LOVE most of the dishes I've tried. My all time favorite meal EVER was at a place in Asheville, NC called the Laughing Seed Cafe. Here's the description: "Spinach-Pesto Manicotti (V/GF)
    Zucchini “noodles” stuffed with live sunflower-spinach pesto, cashew ricotta and fresh basil served over sun-dried tomato marinara with house-marinated olives." Seriously amazing.

    I thought you might be interested in this site: http://farmanimalsanctuaryproject.com/home.html
    The artist was featured in a show at the gallery I work for. She also has a book that went along with the project.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That sounds like a wonderful dish...and the kind I better get at a restaurant. Sounds complicated for me. ;)

      Thanks for the site recommendation. The animal portraits are beautiful. I am finding out through reading how unique each animal is (their preferences and character traits) and it looks like that's what the Farm Animal Sanctuary Project focuses on too. :)

      Delete
  7. That looks fun! Those wraps look delicious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They were delicious! I would love to make them...one day. ;)

      Delete
  8. Thanks for sharing this informative blog. Keep update your blog. Eating Organic foods is good for health. Especially Millet foods support healthy and regular digestion Mixed Millet can contain more antioxidants and nutrients than regular food. Best Gluten and Dairy Free Desserts in Toronto | Paleo Desserts to Buy in Toronto | Keto Desserts to Buy in Toronto | Sugar Free Baked Goods in Toronto | Best Gluten Free Baked Goods in Toronto

    ReplyDelete