For the love of carrots

Yesterday I fell in love with some carrots. They were seasonal, found in my neighborhood and just gorgeous. While gazing lovingly at these multicoloured beauties, visions of everything I could do with them darted to mind. I simply had to have them! 

One thing to love about Toronto is the abundance of small, family run fruit markets that pop up in just about every neighborhood. It makes it easier to do small, frequent shops for fresh produce. This is preferable to the weekly chain shop where you hope the produce won't go bad by the end of the week. I once bought grapes at Costco and they stayed in my fridge for at least two months with no decomposition before I threw them out. It creeps me out when produce doesn't decompose in a timely manner. I'm lucky enough to have a great selection of fruit shops that try to carry organic and local produce, but the Toronto Farmers’ Market Network has a great list of all the markets in town, here.

Getting back to the carrots, I have to say that the giant purple one was my favorite. It was orange on the inside and grated up into these lovey striped pieces of delicious. I decided to make a colourful cabbage slaw to go with some crabcakes we picked up from the friendly neighbourhood fish man. It was heaven on a plate:

Ingredients:

 1/2 red or white cabbage shredded

 4-5 large carrots grated

 1 small red onion sliced in thin strips

Dressing:

 4 tbsp EV olive oil

 3 tbsp cider vinegar

 3 tbsp sugar

 1 tbsp parsley (more if fresh)

 1 tbsp dijon mustard

 salt and pepper to taste

• Cabbage, carrots and onion go into lrg bowl. Mix dressing together and pour over top. Toss to coat.
• EAT! Carrots are so underrated, one gives you enough vitamin A for the day!

This slaw is healthy and seasonal because it's made with local root vegetables. It keeps well in the fridge, but usually doesn't last long because of how versatile it is. I made some fresh rolls today, wrapping the slaw into rice paper with lettuce and some grilled shrimp... It's going to be great with my boyfriend's famous chicken stew tomorrow... I can also picture it with satay or on the side of a spicy Thai curry... The possibilities are endless...

Happy eating.

Great Organic Cafe in the Junction

The best part of living in Toronto is the abundance of food choices!!! The multicultural nature of our city provides delicious food of all types and I intend to try them ALL. I've lived in Bloor West Village for over two years now and have been slowly working my way through the yummy restaurants the hood has to offer.

The BEET Organic Cafe has made its home in a old converted bank building and actually has pretty cool lofts right above it. It's located in the Junction, a cute artistic neighborhood just north of High Park and I headed there a couple weeks ago with my veggisaurus sister. One great feature is the cute little side patio perfect for sipping on my favorite beer: Mill St. Organic. Score.

A certified nutritionist and a homeopathic doctor are co-owners of The Beet and their vision is to get optimum nutrition while still creating deliciousness. They use fresh, organic certified and local produce whenever possible and their packaging is biodegradable. This is pretty neat for anyone like me who feels extremely guilty carrying home a Styrofoam takeout container (even though I recently found out you can now recycle those babies in Toronto).

On to the food! The menu is just the right size and they have specials everyday that are posted on their website in case you are waffling on where to go for lunch. We tried some amazing smoothies and I had the Upbeet - Fair Trade cocoa & espresso, blackberries, dash of cayenne. I know it sounds a little weird, but the cayenne added this amazing spiciness to it that was delicious. The only thing I can think to compare it to is the spicy Mayan hot chocolate at SOMA in the Distillery district, which is awesome by-the-way.

Next we shared two sandwiches: Buenos Dias - Avocado, spicy black bean spread, quinoa, tomato, caramelized onions & raw cheddar cheese with a fresh side salad, and Grilled Cheese and Local Apple - Raw Quebec cheddar, Raw Swiss emmental & sliced local apple with yummy spiced pumpkin soup. We promptly went halfsies on both to maximize the sampling experience. Voila, one of my tastiest lunches:

The grilled cheese was to die for, the crispy apple totally made it happen. I loved the soup as I am a fan of all things in the pumpkin/squash family. The wrap I discovered had cilantro in it, which ruined it a bit for me... we do not get along. My sister on the other hand loves cilantro and loved it, so all was not lost. Altogether a yummy adventure and the best part came at the end. I used the bathroom for the first time! You may think this weird, but a pretty and clean bathroom totally makes an impact on me. I think it really shows how much a place values their customer's comfort. It inspired me so much I couldn't resist snapping a picture.

Cute right? My neighborhood is full of hipster stay-at-home mommies and daddies and the change table is adorable and thoughtful. Yeah, my hood is awesome. Happy Eating!