How I made vegan dinners for three rising Ottawa performers...
Well, it all starts with a shift assisting the chef in the kitchen at the downtown Chelsea Club and a block of tofu. I was assisting for the Taste of Ottawa event with two local women singers - Lynne Hanson (lynnehanson.com) and Andrea Simms-Karp (andreasimms-karp.com) - organized by Ana Miura (anamiura.com), a wonderful local singer-songwriter as well. When I went into the kitchen, Chef Sean said that was one singer was a vegan (Andrea), handed me a block of tofu, and said that I was responsible for her dinner.
Well, it's hard to believe but tofu is probably the last thing that I think of when I'm cooking a vegan meal where I want to impress someone. I use it in a variety of dishes but have seldom used it as a main dish in cooking school and in the restaurants I worked in. Partly it's because of the negative experience people have had with vegetarian or vegan food being about bland tofu with beans and rice, and partly it's because it's hard to make it become the main feature of a gourmet meal without a lot of thought and work. I find it especially hard in an environment where I don't have most of the natural ingredients and equipment close at hand that I'm used to working with.
Well, I had some time while preparing other dishes for the a la carte menu that night and had a deadline that I needed to meet, which is always a good driving force. I decided to marinate the tofu in my orange-teriyaki sauce that is always a hit and then reduce the sauce and add a few other ingredients. I start with a basic teriyaki sauce but vary the ingredients depending on the season, what's available, and my whims. I was feeding only one vegan but decided to go crazy and do the whole block of tofu just in case. This was good foresight as Ana Miura, who came to my last dinner, said she wanted to eat the same dish as the vegan person if there was enough. I told her she could have anything on the menu... chicken, salmon, scallops, etc... and I was just making tofu but she insisted as she said she loved my food and didn't know when she would be eating it next. It was a nice compliment and I was flattered, but again I was only serving tofu and would have preferred to have cooked her something a bit more interesting and gourmet. Then, the second singer, Lynne Hanson, said she would like to join in too.
So, next thing I know I was cooking vegan meals for three hungry young performers with one block of tofu. I added to the plate some jasmine rice and assorted vegetables that I sauteed, which I gathered from ingredients that the chef had available. It was quite inexpensive when you consider that one block of organic tofu was probably under $3.00. I wish it was more gourmet and I had time for more thought and ingredients but I was quite pleased with the results under pressure and with limited ingredients. I felt like I was on one of those top chef shows.
It was especially nice to get positive feedback from the singers after the event about my food. I've always thought that great local food and music would be a good combination and hit with people, and mentioned it to the singers, who all seemed keen about it as well. I'm especially keen to help Ana Miura's initiative called "Babes for Breasts" where events raise funds for breast cancer. Ana's working with the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation (ORCF) in the development of a new support group called "Well Women" for those women who have fought and beaten breast cancer and are now seeking to regain their lives after regaining their health. It would be a first for this city!
So, this might be the start of another fabulous collaboration and idea, ideas that seem to spring up seeds that are being nourished by positive energies and light. Well, I'm going to have coffee with Ana to discuss the idea further and as I've always said at the beginning of this journey... you just never know what is going to happen next...
Well, it's hard to believe but tofu is probably the last thing that I think of when I'm cooking a vegan meal where I want to impress someone. I use it in a variety of dishes but have seldom used it as a main dish in cooking school and in the restaurants I worked in. Partly it's because of the negative experience people have had with vegetarian or vegan food being about bland tofu with beans and rice, and partly it's because it's hard to make it become the main feature of a gourmet meal without a lot of thought and work. I find it especially hard in an environment where I don't have most of the natural ingredients and equipment close at hand that I'm used to working with.
Well, I had some time while preparing other dishes for the a la carte menu that night and had a deadline that I needed to meet, which is always a good driving force. I decided to marinate the tofu in my orange-teriyaki sauce that is always a hit and then reduce the sauce and add a few other ingredients. I start with a basic teriyaki sauce but vary the ingredients depending on the season, what's available, and my whims. I was feeding only one vegan but decided to go crazy and do the whole block of tofu just in case. This was good foresight as Ana Miura, who came to my last dinner, said she wanted to eat the same dish as the vegan person if there was enough. I told her she could have anything on the menu... chicken, salmon, scallops, etc... and I was just making tofu but she insisted as she said she loved my food and didn't know when she would be eating it next. It was a nice compliment and I was flattered, but again I was only serving tofu and would have preferred to have cooked her something a bit more interesting and gourmet. Then, the second singer, Lynne Hanson, said she would like to join in too.
So, next thing I know I was cooking vegan meals for three hungry young performers with one block of tofu. I added to the plate some jasmine rice and assorted vegetables that I sauteed, which I gathered from ingredients that the chef had available. It was quite inexpensive when you consider that one block of organic tofu was probably under $3.00. I wish it was more gourmet and I had time for more thought and ingredients but I was quite pleased with the results under pressure and with limited ingredients. I felt like I was on one of those top chef shows.
It was especially nice to get positive feedback from the singers after the event about my food. I've always thought that great local food and music would be a good combination and hit with people, and mentioned it to the singers, who all seemed keen about it as well. I'm especially keen to help Ana Miura's initiative called "Babes for Breasts" where events raise funds for breast cancer. Ana's working with the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation (ORCF) in the development of a new support group called "Well Women" for those women who have fought and beaten breast cancer and are now seeking to regain their lives after regaining their health. It would be a first for this city!
So, this might be the start of another fabulous collaboration and idea, ideas that seem to spring up seeds that are being nourished by positive energies and light. Well, I'm going to have coffee with Ana to discuss the idea further and as I've always said at the beginning of this journey... you just never know what is going to happen next...
posted by Caroline at 7:40 AM
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