Cafe by Tao

Walking around Vegfest Vancouver, we walked by Tao Organic's booth and decided to give it a try. I've always wanted to try something there, but its location in North Vancouver is somewhere my family rarely venture out to.
I really expected more of VegFest and I was kind of disappointed with the lack of actual booths that actually served vegan food... there were about three. All the other booths were information booths about animals and humane societies, etc, which was great but many non-vegetarian/vegan Vancouerites probably would not stop by those booths.
Cafe by Tao had a few of their menu items displayed for people to order at their booth. The items included Rawkin Pizza, The Real Lasagna, Gaia Burger, and the Falafel Wrap. Keep in mind that these items are all vegan, raw, and wheat-free. Love!
I ordered the Rawkin Pizza and the Falafel Wrap. If you want to try a raw vegan lasagna, I have a recipe for you!

Rawkin Pizza

The Rawkin Pizza is a wheat-free sprouted buckwheat crust topped with dill nut cheese, sweet chili sauce, chiffonade kale, julienne carrots, cauliflower florets, and marinated mushrooms. Let me just say, that crust is really good. It's not your usual raw vegan cardboard pizza crust. It is a thin crust, seasoned well with indian spices like cumin. The marinated mushrooms were fantastic too, as they had a salty flavour with some tanginess. I will have to try to make a marinate like this and share it with you guys in the future. Because we were at the festival at a later time, they reduced the menu prices slightly, so this slice was around $2 (i don't quite remember).I know gourmet raw foods take at least one day advanced to prepare as the dehydration process can take any time from 24-48 hours. Therefore, I think this was worth the price I paid.

Falafel Wrap

The falafel wrap is actually much more flavourful than it seems. Its "wrap" is the lettuce which consists of tomato, alfafa, cucumber, nut cheese and their famous falafel all wrapped inside. I really appreciate how the wrap didn't come apart because of the lettuce's delicate nature. The toothpick with the dried olive and cucumber really helped stabalize the burger from falling apart in your hands.

I would make a trip to their actual cafe in North Vancouver one day, perhaps after skiing up on Grouse Mountain in the area? I'd like to try more items, like their soups and mesquite cakes! 

Lots of Nuts,

Peanut Crumpet xo

Quick as a Wink Pizza (Yeast-free, V, GF)

I have always loved homemade pizza. But I never liked making the dough because it just hogs up all your time. Here's an example: "Let sit for 2 hours. Once dough has doubled, punch the middle, and let rise for another 3 hours" ... you get what I mean?

Many people would just buy the unbaked or pre-made pizza dough, but what's the point of eating a home-made pizza when you didn't actually make the dough? You more or less just put toppings on and stuck it into the oven.

So the solution to solve my problem for never having the motivation to make pizza is to create my own yeast-free, vegan recipe. For those with gluten sensitivities, this recipe is also for you!

Quick as a Wink Pizza (Yeast-free, V, GF)

makes one large pizza

Dough

• 1 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 cup amaranth flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour 
• 1/2 cup ground flax seeds
• 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
• 2 tsp baking powder

Topping Ideas

• Vegan Pesto
• Walnut Cheeze (crumbled walnuts + nutritional yeast)
• Zucchini chunks
• Broccoli
• Tomatoes
• Corn
• Red peppers
• Avocado
• SUNDRIED TOMATOES!! 

Directions

1.) Preheat oven to 390 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2.) In a large bowl, combine together all the dry ingredients.

3.) Add your water and mix with a plastic spatula. This will seem like a lot of       water, but it will be absorbed!

4.) After water is absorbed, your dough should have the consistency of a drop         cookie dough, a bit of a contrast compared to your good ol' fashioned dough.     Dump your dough onto a pizza pan or cookie sheet. 

5.) Spread the dough evenly on your pan. I found it easier to wet my fingers         first so the dough stick less.

6.) Put in oven for 15 minutes, until the top of crust is no longer doughy.

7.) Now it's time to pile up your pizza! Remember to stack it up high with           nutrient dense veggies!

8.) Bake for another 20-30 minutes until crust is perfecto, slice and indulge!

 Lots of Nuts,
Peanut Crumpet xo

Krause Berry Farms

The joys of summer: continuous sunshine, no school (unless you go to summer school, then I pity you), sleeping in, eating icy treats, family vacations, trips to the beach, and berry season.

Every year, I look forward to my U-Pick adventure at Krause Berry Farms. No need to buy tiny boxes of berries at ridiculous prices, just pick the very best for yourself at only $1.75 a pound! I am so thankful that British Columbia is home to a variety of beautiful berries. I grew up vising berry farms for U-Pick; nearby home, in Penticton, but this farm in Langley has to be my favourite. 

Since my first visit to Krause Berry Farms years and years ago, they have expanded and upgraded in so many fantastic ways! New tables on 'The Porch' and in reused wagons can accommodate many more people during meal times, the bathrooms have more stalls, the market sells even more great finds, and they even have a cafe with fresh berry waffles and live music. Recently, they even opened their own winery! Krause Berry Farms has evolved into so much more than just a berry farm. Their market sells pre-picked berries if you would rather not get down and dirty in the fields, fresh vegetables, frozen pies and pizzas, preserves and jams, and other random knick-knacks. On this particular visit, I saw they have even started making their own fresh peanut butter! I got a taste tester and it was so. good. There is also a bakery that has so many delicious pies, shortcakes, cookies, fudge, and other sweets that are drool-worthy. Now that you have a glimpse of what the farm has to offer, let's see what the Crumpets specifically have to say.

Raspberries and Blueberries in mid-July