SACHA-ISH: Zing and Pay Chen (Toronto-based food writer, TV and radio personality) have created this savoury chili condiment.  Launched just in time for the holiday gifting and entertaining season, this versatile and delicious jar of goodness can be used in many ways. Sacha-ish is inspired in part by some of her favourite food memories of hot pot where dipping sauces like shāchá jiàng were always a feature at the dinner table. Great for dipping everything from chips to dumplings. Enjoy it as a side sauce for your favour protein. Try it in a veggie stir fry or noodles.  Dollop a spoonful even on top of eggs! Currently available for order online at Zing. You’ll want to check out the rest of the collection too! A three-jar set would make a great gift idea!

KILNE Everything Pan: the name says it all from this high quality Canadian kitchenware brand that sells directly to consumers online. We were impressed with their kitchen knives and steak knives so when they introduced the Made in Italy pan we couldn’t wait to get our hands on it. Cook your favourite recipes directly in this pan on the stove top (induction too!) – pancakes and eggs slide off easily! It also can safely go into the oven! Cleaning is a dream.

Trip to Eataly: Eating is very much part of travel for some of us. Having just returned from Italy I can say you can put me on this list! Why not gift the food lover in your life a whirlwind tasty treat with Italian treats like panettone, olive oils, biscottis and more from Eataly Toronto? There are curated gift boxes ready to go at various price points or create your own. The “Trip to Eataly” gift box sells for $119 and includes Torrone, EVOO, Pistachio spread, Dadi Mixed Cremino Chocolate and Cherry Preserve. They also ship across Canada.

General Assembly Pizza: The popular fresh-to-frozen pizza home delivery subscription based service is a great solution not just for families but also for anyone who has a full calendar and wants a quick but damn great pizza in 7 minutes. They’ve also recently launched a New York Sicilian style pizza complete with Impossible Meat — a perfect option also for holiday gatherings as an appy.

Charlie’s Burgers Wine Club: For the wine lover, gift them this subscription to Ontario’s most exclusive wine club. Built by the same team members who brought the Michelin Guide to Toronto, this monthly delivery of curated and exclusive selection of imported wines from the world’s best vineyards and not found at the LCBO. Deliveries also come with notes about the wines each month.

Crafty Ramen: For the noodle-head in your life, gift them a subscription to this Canadian ramen company. Each ramen kit contains fresh made noodles, broth, protein, sauce to make a delicious warm and savoury Japanese noodle soup bowl. They were also recently on Dragon’s Den!

Genuine Tea: for the tea lover in your life this is a company worth exploring. While we love their Creamy Earl Grey, the Silver Needle tea is one that caught our attention. Considered one of the most prized in the world, it’s beautifully complex.  This mild white tea has notes of chamomile and peach. It also can be re-steeped multiple times. Toronto-based Genuine Tea was founded by two tea aficionados who have a passion for hand-crafted artisan teas. After travelling to plantations across Asia and learning about various teas and how different cultures enjoy them, they bring a wealth of knowledge to share with other tea lovers.

Blume: Cozy up with a mug full of chocolaty goodness is a winter ritual. If you’re looking for a guilt-free option worth a try is their Reishi Hot Cacao. According to this Vancouver-based company, this vegan option for our favourite hot beverage also comes with some healthful properties. Support your immune system and fight off the blues with this mystic mushroom hot chocolate. Known as the mushroom of immortality, reishi is a popular stress-soothing adaptogen that helps you fight off the blues and improve your sleep cycle. Cacao helps to support the production of anandamide AKA “the bliss molecule”. You may also want to check out their other offerings all inspired by our favourite beverages but can do more for us. Also all organic and plant-based. Their holiday lattes are delicious including the nut nog, gingerbread, and mint cocoa. I’m also loving their Rose London Fog Blend. 30 servings per 100 g package.

Balzac’s: Coffee lovers across our country are probably familiar with this Canadian coffee house – we visit the one in the Distillery District often! Founded in Stratford, Ontario and inspired by the Grand Cafés of Paris. We came across their customizable coffee roast subscription – frequency of delivery, grind, weight and preferred roast (which can be adjusted anytime) including their popular organic and fair trade beans.

Galerie au Chocolat: Canadian Made – Located in Montreal, Galerie au Chocolat is Canada’s best kept secret for chocolate lovers since 1985. The line of indulgence for the holiday season includes with new luxurious assortment of chocolate offerings from their Artisan, Fairtrade, and Liesse Sugar-Free lines.

Just Vertical: for the person who misses their garden and loves fresh herbs throughout the year, Just Vertical’s hydroponic growing system offers beautifully designed indoor garden systems that are easy to use, sustainable — perfect for the urban gardener. The EVE is a space-sensitive indoor garden that’s built into a seriously beautiful piece of wooden furniture. If that’s too big of a commitment start with one of their Seedling Kits and grow popular herbs like basil and chives then transplant them to your own indoor garden.

Gingerbread Wood Board (Indigo): charcuterie boards and butter boards are all the rage and we can’t get enough of them! But this wooden board shaped as a Gingerbread man is so sweet! We can easily fill it with gingerbread cookies, tarts, chocolates and candy canes as a great leave behind hostess gift at any upcoming holiday party.

Ciselier Alpen Italiano Classico Kitchen Scissors: what do you get the ultimate foodie on your list? They wouldn’t guess you’d gift them “the perfect kitchen scissors”. These heritage crafted scissors are perfect for those artisanal pizzas, to debone chicken, and more. The ergonomic design makes them safer to use than knives. Centre tool is a bonus to crack those lobster shells.

The Edgy Veg EASY EATS Cookbook: We adored Candice Hutchings’ previous cookbook and have been keeping an eye out for this latest one. She taught us that we don’t need to sacrifice creativity or bold flavours with vegan dishes and now you won’t have to sacrifice time or ease either! Each recipe in this book takes no longer than 45 minutes to create. No need to go to fancy health food stores for ingredients either!

Lucky Iron Fish: is a simple, reusable and effective cooking tool that adds extra iron to your daily foods or drinks. Made from food-grade electrolytic iron powder that is FDA certified and approved for food fortification worldwide. Many love this as it offers a side-effect free source of iron, especially for those with iron deficiency anemia.

The post Toronto 2022 Food Lover’s Gift Guide appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

-From The Edgy Veg’s new cookbook

Veggs Benny Recipe

Serves 4

 Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C)
 Baking sheet lined with parchment paper

12 asparagus spears, trimmed 12
1/2 tsp olive oil 2 mL
1 tbsp coconut oil 15 mL
1 block (10 oz/300 g) medium or soft tofu, cut into 8 slices, about 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick 1
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 slices of your favorite vegan cold cuts (I like Tofurky), sliced into bacon-like strips 8
4 English muffins, halved 4
1 recipe Ritzy Hollandaise (see recipe, below) 1
Cayenne pepper
Chopped chives

1. In a large bowl, combine asparagus and olive oil; toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer on a prepared baking sheet, and roast in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until tender but still crisp.

2. While your asparagus is roasting, heat coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When oil begins to shimmer, add tofu and a pinch of salt and pepper. (Don’t be shy with the salt: tofu literally has no flavor, so salt with conviction!) Cook for 10 minutes on each side, flipping once, until tofu starts to brown on the edges, just like an egg would. Set aside.

3. Heat the same pan you used to prepare the tofu over medium-high heat. Lightly fry cold cuts for about 3 minutes, flipping once, until heated and slightly crispy. Congratulations, you’ve just made vegan bacon!

4. Place 2 English muffin pieces on each plate and top first with cold-cut bacon slices, then tofu egg, followed by asparagus spears. Drizzle with hollandaise sauce and add a sprinkle of cayenne and chopped chives. Serve immediately and say “So long” to that hangover!

Ritzy Hollandaise

Makes 1-1/2 cups (375 mL)

The epitome of brunch sophistication is a perfect hollandaise, which can be found at the Ritz in Paris. I’ve managed to crack the secret to this rich, creamy, lemony butter dream of a sauce so you can enjoy it at home, no passport required. I guarantee even the French would approve.

 Blender

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk 125 mL
1/2 cup soft silken tofu 125 mL
1/2 tsp black salt or sea salt 2 mL
2 tbsp nutritional yeast 30 mL
1/4 tsp dry mustard powder 1 mL
1/4 tsp ground turmeric 1 mL
1-1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (approx.) 22 mL
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 1 mL
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 mL
1/3 cup vegan butter, melted 75 mL

1. In a blender, combine almond milk, tofu, black salt, nutritional yeast, mustard powder and turmeric. Blend on High until smooth. Add lemon juice and blend until smooth. Add cayenne and pepper; pulse until well combined.

2. Remove the plug in the lid. While the blender is running, slowly add vegan butter through the hole in the lid and blend until smooth. Check the taste and consistency of hollandaise and adjust salt, pepper and lemon juice, if necessary.

Hack It!

To ensure that the butter does not separate from the rest of the sauce, you want to make sure that you are adding melted vegan butter at a comically slow pace. If you think you’re pouring slowly, go even slower.

Hollandaise is a very versatile sauce; as well as Veggs Benny, it tastes fabulous on top of our Better Than Eggs: Tofu Scramble, in The All-Day Breakfast Sandwich, drizzled over veggies or even as a dip for Potatoes Served in the French Manner.

The hollandaise sauce will keep for 5 days in the fridge and for 1 month in the freezer. It can easily be reheated on days that you’re feeling extra lazy. To reheat, whisk in a small saucepan over low heat for about 5 minutes, until heated through.

Check out the cookbook by Candice Hutchings here.

The post Veggs Benny Recipe from recently released The Edgy Veg Cookbook appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

This cookbook caught my attention as I’m constantly on the look out for more tasty vegetarian recipe for my family. Could I convince them? I needed to find out.

Hutchings recently hosted a blind folded recipe tasting event for the launch of her cookbook. The event was held at the YouTube creator space downtown, of course. We were greeted with a mimosa made with kombucha.

Blind folded we were given the opportunity to taste four of her dishes from the cookbook. Not being told what was in front of us, we were instructed to use our sense of smell first before finding any sort of cutlery to aid us.

Dish one was the “Unorthodox Lox & Cream Cheese” that was overwhelmingly convincing in taste and texture. Made with carrots and nori, this dish was undeniably delicious. I quickly scanned the book immediately following the event to see what I needed. I’m going to take the directions and make a large batch of the carrots and just eat them on their own — like I would do with real smoked salmon.

The next dish that came was the “Loaded Breakfast Burritos”. Again, we wondered “how” did she create this without using eggs and making it so filling? The tofu scramble used in this will make you change the way you think about using tofu.

French Toast is always a brunch favourite but the Edgy Veg “PB&J French Toast” will become a family favourite for sure!

Hutchings also proves that you can extend these recipes to entertaining guests. The “Death by Chocolate Mousse” is easy but guests will think you’re all fancy like that. Light and rich. That’s all you need to know.

She tells us that her love for cooking was inspired by some of our most favourite chefs including Anthony Bourdain and David Chang (Momofuku). She’s even taken on recreating a Momofuku-style ramen in this cookbook that I can’t wait to try!

I’m sifting through the cookbook now and my mouth is watering. We were told to try the Cauliflower Buffalo Style Chicken Wings! And I wish I could show you the Chik-Fillet deluxe recipe – I pretty much want to lick the photo in the book. Yup, definitely food porn.

The Edgy Veg cookbook has 138 vegan recipes. More info on where to get it here.

The post Toronto YouTube Star Candice Hutchings launches Edgy Veg Cookbook appeared first on Toronto Guardian.