Our Spicy Raw Zucchini Soup!

This is one of my favorite soups and it's really simple to make! 

In a blender put the following ingredients:

2 ½ cups zucchinis (chopped)
1 avocado (peeled, pitted)
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon freshly ground coriander
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
(or balsamic)
3 c hot water
1 red apple diced to go on top
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast (each bowl)

1. Mix all of the ingredients except the red apple and nutritional yeast
in a blender for only a quick second so that the soup remains a bit
chunky. You can make it really smooth if you like, but I enjoy this one
with a bit of texture. Add the hot water last so it will be warm when
you eat it.
2. Serve and garnish with finely diced red apple, shreds of zucchini
and sprinkle a teaspoon of nutritional yeast over each bowl.
3. Eat it!
Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side.

Lyn and the Frog

I love this guy, but I think he was taken by surprise because it looks like he's trying to get away from me.

Coconut is an excellent protein!

Coconut is a great alternative to tofu (which is almost as bad as cattle rearing in terms of soil erosion and clear cutting of forests). You can use coconut in so many ways. I love it raw of course in green salads, fruit salads, coconut pouridge, and on its own. But if you fry it up in a pan with a little olive oil and sea salt the flavour is incredible! Add it to your pasta dishes, rice dishes, salads, stir-fries and in anything you can think of. Even my friends who eat meat love it and make it for themselves. You don't have to be afraid of coconuts anymore because if you look below I will show you how to open one!

How to open a coconut and get all the "meat" out the EASY WAY!

Drain the water out by digging a knife into the softest black spot at the top of the coconut (there are 3, but one is soft). Then use a hammer to repeatedly hit the center of the coconut while turning it in your hand. It will crack down the center. Use a pear knife to cut little pieces out of the nut. You do this by pressing (like in the picture) down into the pulp of the coconut all the way, and then flicking the knife to one side which will pry the piece loose. If you are doing it right it will only take you a couple of minutes to get the whole thing out!

To open a coconut

Drain the water out by digging a knife into the softest black spot at the top of the coconut (there are 3, but one is soft). Then use a hammer to repeatedly hit the center of the coconut while turning it in your hand. It will crack down the center. Use a pear knife to cut little pieces out of the nut. You do this by pressing (like in the picture) down into the pulp of the coconut and then flicking the knife to one side which will pry the piece out. If you are doing it right it will only take you a couple of minutes to get the whole thing out!

James on a winter hike

Vegan / Vegetarian Restaurants and Cafes in Toronto

(Photo from the RawTherapy.blogspot.com of Live Raw Food Bar dish)

If you are in or around Toronto, check out these Vegan / Vegetarian cafes and restaurants:

* Alternative Grounds Coffee House & Roastery
 333 Roncesvalles Ave (at Grenadier), 416-534-5543

 * Annapurna South Indian vegan/vegetarian Cuisine 1085 Bathurst St. 416.537.8513 annapurna.ca

* Bombay Palace
71 Jarvis St, Toronto, 416-368-8048 
 
* Buddha's Vegetarian Restaurant
666 Dundas St W, Toronto, 416-603-3811

* Buddhist Vegetarian Kitchen
3290 Midland Ave #9, Scarborough, 416-292-7095 
 
* Butler's Pantry Cafe
591 Markham St, 416-535-9868, www.butlerspantry.ca

* Butler's Pantry Cafe 
371 Roncesvalles Ave, 416-537-7750, www.butlerspantry.ca

* By The Way Cafe 
400 Bloor St W (at Brunswick), 416-967-4295

* Camros Organic Eatery
25 Hayden St.(Persian ifluenced food) www.camroseatery.com, 416.960.0723

* Commensal
655 Bay St (n. of Dundas, enter on Elm), 416-596-9364, www.commensal.ca

* Cruda Cafe Raw Vegan Cuisine
93 Front Street E. 905.447.6501 CrudaCafe.com

 * Debu's Indian Cuisine
291 Augusta Ave (s. of College), 416-968-7111, www.debusaha.com

* Debu's Nouvelle Indian Cuisine
552 Mount Pleasant (n. of Eglinton), 416-927-9340, www.debusaha.com

* Dukem Restaurant   
950 Danforth Ave (w. of Donlands), 416-406-6342, www.dukem.ca

* EAST! by Spring Rolls
240 Queen St W., 416-351-3278, www.springrolls.ca, info@springrolls.ca 

* Free Times Cafe
320 College St (w. of Spadina), 416-967-1078, www.freetimescafe.com

* Fresh (3 locations) 326 Bloor St: 416.531.2635, Queen St. & Crawford 416.913.2720, 147 Spadina St. 416.599.4442 www.juiceforlife.com

* Fressen 478 Queen St. (west of Spadina) 416.504.5127

* Full Moon Vegetarian Restaurant
638 Dundas St (at Denison) 416.203.1210 (vegan Asian Dishes)

* Govinda's Dining Room
243 Avenue Rd. (Hare Krishna Temple) 416.922.5415 iskon.ca/toronto

* Green Earth Vegetarian Cuisine
385 Broadview Ave. 416.778.9199

* Guru Lakshmi Authentic South Indian Veg   Cuisine 2555 Erin Centre Blvd #3 Mississauga 905.803.8310

 * Happy Buddha
2366 Young St. (North of Eglington) 416.544.0330

* Hibiscus Restaurant
238 Augusta Ave. (Kensington Market) 416.364.6183

* Il Fornello
576 Danforth Ave, 416-466-2931, www.ilfornello.com

* Il Fornello
1560 Yonge St, 416-920-8291, www.ilfornello.com

* Il Fornello
Bayview Village Mall, 416-227-1271, www.ilfornello.com

* Il Fornello
214 King St W, 416-977-2855, www.ilfornello.com

* Il Fornello
8851 Yonge St, Richmond Hill, 905-530-1153, www.ilfornello.com

* Il Fornello
203 N. Service Rd. W, Oakville, 905-338-5233, www.ilfornello.com

* Il Fornello
2022 Queen St E, 416-691-8377, www.ilfornello.com

* Il Fornello
Queens Quay Terminal, 207 Queens Quay West, 416-861-1028, www.ilfornello.com

* Indian Flavour
123 Dundas St. West. 2nd Floor, 416-408-2799, www.indianflavour.ca
 
* Kale Organic Eatery
2366 Yonge St. 416.792.5253 & 322 Bloor St. E. (inside Noah's) 416.963.8624

 * Kensington Natural Bakery & Cafe 
460 Bloor St. W. 416.534.1294

* Kama Classical Indian Cuisine 
 214 King St. W., 416-599-5262, www.kamaindia.com

* Karine's Vegetarian & All Day Breakfast 
 Village by the Grange, 416-591-0863, www.karines.ca

* Khalsa Pizza
 470 Chrysler Dr, Unit 7, Brampton, 905-799-1800, www.khalsapizza.com

* Kindfood
 399 John St, Burlington, 905-637-2700, www.kindfood.com, info@kindfood.com

*  King's Cafe
192 Augusta Ave (s. of Baldwin), 416-591-1340, www.kingscafe.com

*  Laila
553 Bloor St W, 416-588-0199, www.hyperadvantage.com/laila

* LIVE Organic Food Bar
264 Dupont St. (at Spadina) 416.515.2002, www.livefoodbar.com (raw food)

*  Lotus Pond Vegetarian Restaurant
3838 Midland Ave, Unit 121, Scarborough. (416) 412-3140

 * Loving Hut Vegan Cuisine
953 Eglington Ave. W. 416.782.4449 LovingHut.ca

*  Loving Hut Vegan Cuisine 
 140 Spadina Ave (at Richmond), 647-351-7618, www.lovinghut.ca/toronto.html
 
* M&B Yummy
1263 Queen St. (at Brock) (Ethiopian food) 416.516.2798

* Magic Oven
360 Queen St E (at Parliament), 416-703-3555, www.magicoven.com

* Magic Oven
270 Dupont St (at Spadina), 416-928-1555, www.magicoven.com

* Magic Oven  

127 Jefferson Ave (Liberty Village), 416-539-0555, www.magicoven.com

* Moe's Southwest Grill
35 Eglinton Ave East, 416-489-6637, www.moes.com

* Moonbean Coffee Company
30 St. Andrews St. (at Kensington), 416-595-0327, www.moonbeancoffee.com

*  Papaya Island
513A Yonge St, 416-960-0821

* Rancho Relaxo
300 College St (w. of Spadina), 416-920-0366?, www.ranchorelaxo.biz

*  Rawlicious

3092 Dundas St W (w. of Keele), 416-519-7150,  www.rawlicious.ca

* Rawlicious

20 Cumberland St., Toronto, 416-646-0705, www.rawlicious.ca

* Rikishi
833 Bloor St W, 416-538-0760

 * Sadie's Diner & Juice Bar
504 Adelaide St W (e. of Bathurst), 416-777-2343, www.myspace.com/sadiesdiner

* Saravanaa Bhavan  

4559 Hurontario St (at Eglinton), Mississauga, 905-290-0769, www.saravanaabhavan.ca
 

* Saravanaa Bhavan  

February Blaws: Cure

Well it's February again and you know what that means...I have the blaws like so many other folks I know who live in wintery places. Time to break out the vitamin D (D2 is plant sourced, D3 is animal sourced) and give yourself some sort of a makeover! I need to shake things up a bit, knock off this yearly zombie phase I seem to go through. How have I done it in the past?...I've died my hair black, taken up photography, and had girl nights where we made awsesome vegan treats, swapped clothes and brainstormed about what we wanted our lives to be like.

I need to go for a walk and end up in some cafe I've never been in where people sit really close to eachother and read books. Maybe I'll just have a tea and write all the bits of conversations I overhear. It will lead to a great epic adventure novel that will be a best seller, and I'll be rich enough to fly to Peru next February when this happens all over again.

Vegan Blog Tracker!

Here is a great site that allows you to find a lot of awesome vegan blogs without having to look through a million not-so-great ones (although every vegan gets an A for effort in my books!):
www.VegBlogs.com