Eat Dance Live

Since we moved to Ottawa, we have a number of go-to places when we need a non-homemade vegan fix. While t he Green Door and the Table were always our favourites, there's a charm and quirkiness to our neighbourhood's  Wild Oat Bakery , which has always made us come back for more. My favourite vegan item on their menu is actually their raw "pizza," which is more of a big salad on a flax cracker. Andrew's is their Vegan "No Cheese" Pizza, which is essentially veggie toppings on a flat bread. Really the catch of that pizza is the sunflower seed-paste type thing they use instead of cheese and tomato sauce, so I knew that would have to be my focus. (For any local readers, their vegan hemp brownies or their raw truffles are to die for.) I knew exactly what to do. We also recently went to Montreal for a long weekend to celebrate the New Year, where we rediscovered our love for Aux Vivres , probably the city's most popular organic vegan haunt. On the fir...

I have to be a little narcissistic here and say that every once in a while I bust out culinary brilliance. Today was one such day. There need to be no words, only the yumminess that is this raw sunflower beet burger. I attribute a lot of the taste of this burger to the freshly cut herbs of our back patio (on that note, the Garden page has been updated for May-June). It might sound uninteresting if you just scan the recipe, but the result is delicious: Sunflower Beet Burger Yields: makes about 4 bun sized patties 1/2 C sunflower seeds 2 tablespoon of flax 2 tablespoon of fresh parsley, chopped 2 sprigs of fresh thyme (about 2'' sprigs) 1 sprig of fresh rosemary (about 2'') 1 stick of celery 1/2 C carrots, chopped 1 medium beet, chopped 1 teaspoon of mustard 1/2 teaspoon of umeboshi paste (this is key!) 1/4 C tomato, chopped salt to taste pepper to taste 1. Blend everything in your Vitamix or food processor until the mix reaches bu...

... why, they're sunflower seeds of course! And don't just put them in your bird feeders, they're great for you too! Sunflower seeds a packed with proteins, fiber, healthy fats, minerals, loads of vitamin E and magnesium! Vitamin E is anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant, and thus protects you from asthma, osteoarthritis, cardiovascular issues, cancers. It also helps maintain the proper functioning of your noggin', especially with memory and cognitive functions. Magnesium helps maintain bone health and energy, and its needed to process calcium. I've been loving sunflowers recently, especially when soaked. I find them the most easily digestible seed/nut (pumpkin seeds are a close second). I've been eating them in Meredith's sunflower rye crackers, in mock tuna, and most recently in Matt Amsden's Veggie Cakes, from Rawvolution . They're excellent! Who knew beets, sunflower, and just a few more ingredients would make such a wonderful patty! This is the...