Ottawa Eats Vegan

TASTE TEST: DOMATCHA MATCHA TEA

January 23, 2016

This week I tested out matcha tea from DoMatcha. I wouldn't consider this a vegan product, more of a health product, but for many others and myself, both goes hand and hand. The last time I had matcha tea was at Starbucks a few years back. While I wasn't thinking about the quality or the benefits of the matcha back then, it really got me interested when I was demoed the product at Kardish last weekend.

What is it. Matcha is a powdered green tea. Traditionally, matcha was reserved for Japanese Tea Ceremony but it's slowly making it's way to the Western Countries.

Availability. There was two size available when I was there; The Organic Ceremonial Tin (1 oz for $26.99) and the Organic Summer 2nd Harvest Tin (2.8 oz for $34.99). I bought the Organic Ceremonial Tin, which gives me 25 servings.

Difference. According to the website (www.domatcha.com), the difference between the two is simply when the tea leaves were picked, which impacts the flavour and the quality. The Organic Ceremonial is the new top leaves that are handpicked in the spring, have a smooth but strong flavour and is considered higher quality. The 2nd harvest matcha is harvested in August, which makes the leaves less fresh and gives a astringent flavour. They explain why the 2nd harvest has more than twice as many serving for not even $10 more. This one would be better used in a blended drink or in baking as opposed to the Ceremonial, which is better enjoyed in it's purest form, blended with hot water.

Flavour. During the demo, the matcha prepared was very smooth; the natural foam made was rich and frothy. Then I was offered a bit of almond milk and it became this drink I would make myself each morning - a step up from coffee.

Caffeine. Speaking of coffee, matcha does contain caffeine. However the energy provided by matcha is mild and steady, lasting about 4 to 6 hours. During the demo, it was mentioned that matcha is perfect for when you got to focus on a tasks but you don't want the jittery energy, especially if you are sensitive to caffeine like I am.

Benefits. According to the pamphlet I received at the demo, here are the benefits of matcha:

Nature's highest source of L-theanine
up to 137 times more EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate) than all other tea
10 times more potent than steeped green tea
6 times more amino acid than common black and green tea
bursting with chlorophyll
source of dietary fiber
offers vitamin C, selenium, chromium, zinc and magnesium
alkalizing rather than acidic

I also read that matcha a great to boost your metabolism and help with weigh loss.

Preparation. The instruction given with the product indicates using a bamboo whisk and bamboo bowl. Combine 1/2 to 1 tsp of matcha with 60 - 90 ml of warm water (boil water that isn't too hot to the touch or if you have a thermometer it should be 175°F/80°C).Whisk until frothy, dissolving all the chunk of powder. Add more water, almond or any other nut milk until you get the desired taste.

Recipe. Matcha almond milk Frappe. Combine 1 cup of vanilla almond milk with 1 tps of matcha and blend until smooth. Add 1/2 cup of ice and blend for an additional 5 second. Pour into a chilled glass, sprinkle with cinnamon and serve. More recipe on the DoMatcha website.

Have you ever tried matcha tea? Let me know how you prefer to make it below in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

WHY OTTAWA GOES VEGAN?

January 17, 2016

First, welcome!

I wanted to dedicate my first post to why I started this blog. It all started after a particular moment I had at work. This man, my friend and I were waiting to take the elevator. Once it arrived, the man knew the girls coming out and asked where they were going for lunch. They said ''The Green Door, you want to join?''. Let's just pause here and take a moment to appreciate this place....all good? me too. Okay let's continue.

After this, the man immediately said 'no thanks' and laughed. I'm usually pretty quiet but when someone brings up something, someone or a place that I love, I speak up. So I said to my friend 'I love that place!'. She then asks me 'Is it like a bunch of salads?' and the man laughed and mentioned that that's the same thing he would ask.

I am not a confrontational person, quite the opposite, so I simply smiled. The man was not mean about it and say that he heard great things about that place, to which I replied: 'Yes, everything is so good!' Will that make him try the restaurant? Probably not, but that wasn't the issue here.

When we got out of the elevator, my friend asked me again 'So what do they have?'. My answer to this question is what bothered me. I simply said' You know, pasta salad and... well so many stuff!.' I could not think of anything food they sold, even if I when there a couple of weeks back and devoured my entire plate.

I don't know about you, but whenever I get asked about vegan or vegetarian food, it's like my mind goes blank. There's so much things I could say and I get really exited when someone asks me but nothing comes out. I cannot for the life of me put sentences together that can truly describe the goodness of vegan, plant-based food!

What I'm disappointed is that by me saying vague things, it will certainly not convince my omnivore friend to at least try a vegetarian/vegan place. So I thought it would be a great opportunity to start this blog and show how amazing vegan food can be.

I want to show what are the vegan options that are available here in Ottawa. Where you can buy it, how much it cost, does it taste good, etc. I would also like to focus on healthy food items that are naturally vegan and are beneficial to our health.

Even thought this information is available on various other blogs and websites, I would like to dedicate some posts to restaurants and cafes offering vegan options or even better, the ones that are fully vegan!

Also, any feedback is very much welcomed and appreciated! I've been vegetarian for over 12 years but vegan is quite new to me. I try as best as I can. The food I buy with my own money is always vegan and it will always be. My thinking is that I'm not going to give my hard earned money to companies that supports animal abuse and that are destroying our environment and/or our health. It just doesn't sit right with me.

Thank you for reading and let me know your story below in the comments. I'd love to read them!

TASTE TEST: DAIYA DAIRY-FREE MEDIUM CHEDDAR STYLE

January 16, 2016

First taste test is the Daiya Medium Cheddar Style dairy-free 'cheese'. Daiya was the first vegan cheese I ever tried. Their mozzarella and cheddar style shreds on pizza is definitely a must try!

I bought this block of vegan cheese at Kardish for $4.99. There was also another brand available (for which I cannot remember at all at this moment) but at $12.99 a pop, so I decided to try the Daiya first.

As you can see from the package, this product is dairy and soy free, contains no casein or cholesterol. Compared to regular cheese that does contain cholesterol, this could be a great alternative.

Taste.The cheese alone does has a cheesy flavour but if you were wishing for an exact match, it does not taste like cheddar cheese. When I first tasted it, I honestly hasn't a fan. I could eat it but I was trying to find ways to mask the flavour. However, after I tried it again, it wasn't so bad so I think you can get use to the taste. As for the texture, it was quite similar to cheese.

One things for sure, once it's paired with something else, like cracker or a tortilla, it was pretty good!

Use. After the initial try, I tried to use the cheese in different variations. First, I decided to make a nacho dip. I used half the block of cheese, 1/2 tbs of cumin and 1/2 tbs of onion powder.

I placed the cheese in a pot for melting. First mistake I made was not putting any butter in the pot before adding the cheese. What happened is that the cheese sticked to the pot. Not fun to clean, let me tell you that! The only way I got the pot cleaned (see below), was to let it soak in water and soap.

Once it melted, it had this filmed that formed on top (you can kind of see it in the picture below). It did melt once I was mixing the cheese but I had to make sure I didn't leave it alone. After all the pieces have melter together, about 5 minutes, remove from the heat.

Again, alone it was fine, it was sticking to the tortilla chip and tasted fine. However, once I added a bit of salsa, it was so much better. It also tasted better served warm.

Making grilled cheese was my second idea to try. Spoiler alert: this one was actually a success.

My boyfriend loved this one and me too! I'm almost certain some people would not be able to tell this was made with vegan cheese!

******

Verdict: I can't say that I loved this product on it's own but with other food (like crackers or bread), it was not bad. In a grilled cheese, because I got the two thumbs up from the boyfriend, that one was a hit.

To be honest, it's not a product that I would buy in my weekly groceries. I would buy it in some occasion, especially if we crave a grilled cheese. Because it's one of the few vegan cheese available in Ottawa, if I decided to make a vegan cheese plater, I would incorporate this cheese but I would make sure there's various accompaniments (i. e. bread, crackers, olives, pesto, etc) to balance the taste of the cheese alone.

Please note that these are my opinions only. If you enjoy this product, let me know how you use it and I'll give it a try. It was also give ideas to others! :)

Thanks for reading!

TASTE TEST: DOMATCHA MATCHA TEA

WHY OTTAWA GOES VEGAN?

TASTE TEST: DAIYA DAIRY-FREE MEDIUM CHEDDAR STYLE

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