Zojirushi Rice Cooker

Published by VeganCauldron on October 6th, 2011

Who would have guessed that a rice cooker would make a difference in what seemingly appears to be a very simple item to cook. Just stick it in a pan with boiling water and there you go! Boy is that ever wrong. Up until now we used to buy the cheap $20 – $30 rice cookers at Canadian Tire and they worked ok but never stopped annoying me. The spray of starchy water and inconsistent results really didn’t make me want to make rice too often. Luckily (in retrospect) our rice cooker broke, so last weekend we went to Markham to see what the Asian shops were selling. We ended up buying a Zojirushi rice cooker.

 

 

 

 

 

Now the rice turns out perfect every time and it’s as if we were at a restaurant. It sounds funny to say but it has totally changed the way we prepare food because now we actually want to have rice every night and choose vegetables accordingly every day. Changing things up can get tricky, but it makes it a bit more like a game to prepare dinner now.

Here’s a picture of the rice cooker we chose:

So if you’re in the market for a new rice cooker, I definitely recommend investing in one of these bad boys. You won’t regret it!

A few pictures of my dinner tonight:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Concept Branding

Published by VeganCauldron on September 28th, 2011

 

 

 

 

The main reason I haven’t taken the time to blog for myself is that Lidia and I have been busy working on our own business for the past 8 months or so. What really kicked it off was our hatred of working in corporate settings. Us both being vegan made us really want to do something in the vegan community, which is where our idea of social marketing for vegan and ethical businesses was born.

No matter how difficult it can be at first, the number of amazing people we’ve met in the process has been totally worth it.

If you or anyone you know could use our services feel free to contact us! Our website is: http://conceptbranding.co.

 


Respect

Published by VeganCauldron on September 19th, 2011

Everyone makes their own choices in life. Yet for some reason the mere mention of being vegan can bring out what seems to be pure hatred in some people. I never realized that trying to make a difference in the world was so hated on. Since when does wanting to do the least harm possible become something to be against?

Now yes I do realize that there are some evangelical vegans out there who never miss any opportunity to preach their message and harass anyone around them. That being said, not everyone in the “community” is like that and just like we don’t judge all omnivores it would be very much appreciated if the same respect would be paid back.

I just don’t get how someone’s dietary/lifestyle choices can affect someone so much as to them not wanting to even talk to someone.

Of course as previously mentioned this targets both parties, a vegan honestly can’t expect an omnivore to respect their choices if they don’t accept that omnivores also make their own choices.

So please everyone love each other!


Vegan Bloggers Unite!

Published by VeganCauldron on September 15th, 2011

So my wife @LidiaLF started a group for vegan bloggers (@VeganBlogsUnite) to plan meet ups and to be able to communicate with each other. For now all we have is a Twitter page but we have secured a blog and will work on getting a forum going. So many exciting ideas and so many amazing people out there to connect with.

We’re open to any ideas as we want this to be a group where everyone’s involved.

We look forward to hearing from you all!


It’s been a while

Published by VeganCauldron on September 13th, 2011

So I haven’t blogged in a couple months and I really don’t have any reason for it. Sometimes it’s just hard to find inspiration or to take the time to sit down and write. To be honest, it’s also difficult to feel relevant or to not feel like I’m rambling.

All in all I had a wonderful summer and am feeling great! It’s funny how I used to be shy about being veg, but now I love living our vegan lifestyle. I love knowing that I am making a difference even if it’s a tiny one. Everything helps right?

I hope this will give me a bit more inspiration to write more often from now on!

A quick run through of random events such as recycled art in Montreal’s Eaton Centre:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Raw zucchini spaghetti from Nzyme:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Raw tacos at Live Food Bar:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Playing with my parents dog Coco:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally the Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival where we met lots of amazing people and had lots of great food!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Farmers’ Markets

Published by VeganCauldron on July 11th, 2011

This weekend we spent both days at farmer’s markets. Saturday morning we went to Evergreen Brickworks farmers market and on Sunday we went to Leslieville Farmers market. Both markets feature organic produce and items such as coffee and raw chocolate. Brickworks has been around for much longer and is in an amazing location which is hard to beat when it comes to surroundings, but really the most important part of a market is what’s sold there. It wouldn’t be fair to compare the amount of inventory and selection at each as Brickworks has the advantage of being more trafficked due to it being around for so much longer. I enjoyed both markets equally for completely different reasons.

Brickworks has stunning scenery and a huge covered area where the stands are. There’s also an arts & crafts building and a lot of walking trails surrounding it so you can easily spend an afternoon there.

Leslieville Farmers Market on the other hand is much more cosy. The stands are set up around a “field” (open park) but it was much easier to get around and the vendors were extremely friendly.

I highly recommend both and if you ever see us there say hi! We’ll be at both almost every weekend!

 

 

 

 

 


Food Trucks Toronto

Published by VeganCauldron on July 5th, 2011

Over the weekend there was so much happening in Toronto it was hard to choose what to do. Canada Day weekend alongside Pride and all. On Saturday we chose to go to the Distillery district and see what all the fuss over the food trucks was for. Not that everyone was there for the food trucks alone, there was a Toronto Jazz Festival event happening as well, but with thousands of people in attendance I’d definitely call the event a big hit! Most of the food trucks ran out of food within a couple hours of opening. I guess they weren’t expecting so many people. Of course this was a good thing for the vendors, but it probably became a bit of a frustration to the attendees. I guess next year everyone will be more prepared!

Crowd near the food trucks

Regardless of the frustrations we still had a great day. We walked around and viewed the shops, ran into some friends and Twitter folk and enjoyed the sun!

We’re definitely going back next year!


Happy Birthday @LidiaLF!

Published by VeganCauldron on June 30th, 2011

I’m going to dedicate this post to the most amazing human being on this planet! My beautiful wife @LidiaLF! Thank you for always being there when I need you and for sticking by my side through everything.

Not everyone is for marriage, but let me tell you, when you meet the right person it just seems to make sense. At least that’s what happened to me. Lidia is such a joy to be around, always a smile on her face and abundant laughter.

We’re not ones for birthday plans and events so this blog post will be surprising to her! Last year I bought her an iPad for her birthday and nothing will ever top it, she loves it so much.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Lidi! You’re my everything and you make my life a happy place!


Summer is for biking

Published by VeganCauldron on June 28th, 2011

It’s been a few years since I last had a bicycle. My last one had been stolen and I didn’t get around to buying a new one until a few weeks ago. It feels great to finally go out on the trails again. I used to go riding for hours on end every weekend. Even though I might not go for as long anymore, I’ll still enjoy it as a way to relax and get my thoughts together.

What I love about living in midtown is that there are so many different parks and biking trails in ravines and wooded areas. Just last weekend we discovered a new biking trail behind a Loblaws at Millwood and Redway. They’re shared bike and pedestrian tails, but it sure beats riding on the roads alongside cars. I prefer being outside in the peacefulness. There is also Sunnybrook park which is a short distance away from where I live.

I hope everyone is out there enjoying some sort of outdoor activity!

 


Chex cereal finally came to Canada!

Published by VeganCauldron on June 27th, 2011

As the subject line says, Chex cereal finally came to Canada! This is exciting for me because there really aren’t many options for gluten free cereals, and out of the few options most aren’t the most appetizing. Up to this point we’ve been driving down to Buffalo to get Chex but it was honestly a bit silly to drive so far just for cereal. Though we’re always looking for a reason to get away.

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