Facebook prompted Pouding Chômeur

Vegan Pouding Chômeur

It started with a post about ‘des pets de soeurs’, a reference to a Quebecois treat I enjoyed every time my mother made pie in my youth. Literally “nun’s farts” – it sounds so much better in French, huh? – these were made with leftover scraps of pie dough, and some mixture of brown sugar and butter or a splash of milk, then rolled up into little sweet treats.
Soon the facebook thread included “la tarte au sucre” and “pouding chômeur” which was one of my absolute favourites as a kid. It’s sweet, sticky and not healthy at all. Of course, I’d had to concoct a vegan version a few years ago, and it’s just as great. That led to the question on facebook, “vegan, but how?” and a need when I got home from work last night to mix one up.
Here’s the result, along with the recipe.
The name, by the way, means pudding of the unemployed, or poor person’s pudding and was supposedly created by Quebec women factory workers early on before the Great Depression.

Makes one 9X9″ cake

Ingredients for cake
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1 and 1/4 cups soy or nut milk

Sauce:
1/2 cup brown sugar (can use 1 cup if not using maple syrup)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp vegan margarine
1 cup boiling water
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 375ºF
Blend dry ingredients fully.
Mix soy milk, oil and vanilla extract.
Mix wet  into dry until completely incorporated but do not overmix. Mixture will be thick.
Spread into oiled cake pan.
Combine sauce ingredients making sure sugar is dissolved.
Carefully pour evenly over cake.
Bake for 35 minutes or until top of cake is golden.
Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.

What’s Soupalicious? Just a soup lover’s dream event

“Good soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living.”
Louis P. De Gouy, ‘The Soup Book’ (1949)

I have one word for you for September – Soupalicious! If you’re a fan of soup, then check this out in Toronto on the 30^th at Artscape Wychwood Barns.
The funds raised from Soupalicious are dedicated to the support of Plant a Row-Grow a Row, which encourages the sharing of harvest from people’s gardens with neighbours in need.

I’ll be there serving up my Roasted Veggie Chowder with garlic croutons and there’ll be lots of great chefs and restaurants represented ladling their soups, too. I took part in this event last year and it was fantastic!
This time around it took me the better part of the month of July to decide what I wanted to make, and then most of August to come up with a new recipe I was happy with. I have to admit that the sweltering summer days were not conducive to making soup!
My self-imposed criteria was to create a soup that would be simple to make and versatile so that you can feature your favourite veggies in the mix. I also didn’t want it to include expensive or hard-to-find ingredients. Above all it had to be tasty – a comforting soup, creamy without the cream and fat. I think I got it!
The secret is two-fold: roasting chunky pieces of vegetables rather than boiling them, and using a roasted garlic infused cannellini bean base that’s puréed to create a healthy, satisfying and delicious soup without dairy.

Simply seasoned with thyme, bay leaf and parsley, and finished with a few homemade croutons, it’s got both comfort and crunch in a bowl.
So come on down and  “Sip, Slurp and Savour” this soup and many more on September 30th. I’ll have copies of the recipe on hand, too.

All the details for the special day are here !

Hope to see you there!
Christine

A Vegan Fundraising Story

The idea of holding a vegan dinner came to me when I realized that my dream of opening a vegan restaurant is likely not going to happen – at least not in the foreseeable future. That, however, did not dampen my determination to do something in a restaurant setting to serve up some tasty veg cuisine.  Ultimately, it was my love of cooking and turning people on to vegan food colliding with my passion for the public library that provided the solution and eureka! The Vegan Fundraising Dinner was born.
I approached restaurant owners Renata and Zbig Lenc with the idea of renting the Painted Peppercorn to hold the event. When Renata heard what I wanted to do, she offered the use of their restaurant for free. How generous was that?! And she helped me immensely on the night of the dinner, too.
As the plans came together, I contacted Vicki and Tim of Vicki’s Veggies to ask for a donation of some fresh greens. That’s how we came to have the most beautiful, fresh, organic arugula for the salad.
Two days before the big night, I realized we needed chaffing dishes since we were setting the dinner up as a buffet. I called Chef Michael Hoy – undoubtedly one of the best chefs and nicest people around. He not only provided the chaffing dishes, but made sure I had new Sternos, too (yes, I might well have forgotten those all important components).
When I first came up with the idea for the dinner, I have to admit that I was a little concerned. I thought most people would hesitate to try a full vegan dinner. I was pleasantly surprised when I sold out within just a little over a week.  .
So with the help of many wonderful people, including my husband Gren who chopped tons of veggies, and my daughter Sarah helping me on the big day in the kitchen along with Renata, we held a super fun event. Everyone loved the vegan food and helped us raise $600 for the library.

Next: a vegan breakfast. Let me know if you want a seat at the table!

Note to self: take photos before the food is almost all gone!