Vegan à Montréal

Every year’s Vegan MoFo alerts me to a number of new/established blogs I immediately become obsessed with, but I think this year’s was extra-special. You might know that one half (if you don’t count Buhbah) of us VOTMers is Canadian, and I am particularly fond of French Canada since I spent thirteen years in French Immersion. Tragically, my French isn’t anywhere near it should be, but after visiting my little sister, who is a resident of Montréal, and applying for a couple of jobs in the city that gave rise to Leonard Cohen, I’m pretty stoked on Montréal, and French.

The author of Vegan à Montréal, Babette, is a native Quebecer whose French language blog is full of vegan recipe reviews, vegan food, guides to the vegan goodness to be found in Montréal, and much more. Luckily for us, Babette is also fluent in English, and graciously answered some questions about her blog and vegan life in French Canada.

Veganomicon's Penne Vodka, made by Babette.

VOTM: When and why did you start your blog?

Babette: I started my blog two years ago, in October of 2009. I had been reading vegan blogs for a couple of years, and these blogs were mostly written by Americans and other English-speaking people. There were very few vegan blogs from Montreal and elsewhere in Québec, and most of them were in English. I thought I could create a French blog that could be used as a reference for aspiring vegans who speak French. It sometimes can be a hassle, when it is at all possible, to look up information in English, and I feel this might discourage people who want to embrace veganism. I didn’t want to publish a blog without pictures, so as soon as I got a digital camera, I started Vegan à Montréal. At first, it was really mostly to help people know veganism, but as time passed, I came to enjoy writing my blog more and more. Sometimes I even feel like I am a little obsessed with it.

VOTM: What is it like being a vegan in Montreal? How has the vegan scene evolved?

Montreal is great for vegans. Since 1997, we have an all-vegan restaurant called Aux Vivres, and a couple of other vegan restaurants have opened since then. Unfortunately, most of them are located downtown or in the Plateau (Montreal’s trendy neighbourhood)… I wish they were spread all over the city, or just around the corner of my house, but hey, I am not going to complain! We also have a lot of vegetarian places, and they all offer vegan options. Other than that, there are standard restaurants that offer decent vegan options, but there are also places where you have to settle for a green salad or pasta with tomato sauce. Nothing’s perfect.

And I have to mention the opening of Viva Vegan a couple of years ago. This online store carries all sorts of vegan goodies (pizzas, cheeses, candies, beauty products, marshmallows, etc.), and last winter, they opened a physical store in the city. How cool is that! They even have a selection of baked goods like vegan croissants, vegan cupcakes, vegan baklavas, etc. The vegan scene has been evolving in the right direction, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Montrealers.

Greek Tofu Benedict from Vegan Brunch, made by Babette

VOTM: Since your blog is written in French, where do the majority of your readers come from? Have you made any connections through the French-speaking blogging world?

Most of my readers come from Quebec. But there are also French readers in other parts of the country, as well as readers from France. A few people also told me they read my blog to practice their French. Many people have started their own vegan or vegetarian blog since I started mine, and I hope it sets a trend. I wish there were so many vegan blogs in French that it’d be hard to keep track of them.

VOTM: Why are you vegan? Are you involved in any vegan outreach activities (other than the blog, of course)?

I’m vegan for the ethical reasons—the environment, the animals, etc. I remember when I was 17, I thought being vegan could absolutely not be healthy, even though I had been vegetarian for a couple of years and was open to new information. That’s when I got a computer and Internet access—well, that was more than 10 years ago! I started posting in a vegetarian forum, and there was some guy there who had just turned vegan and he pointed to websites where people could learn the reasons behind veganism. I read about factory farming and learned, among other things, that the hens and cows who produced the eggs and milk I was consuming were not ethically treated, and were eventually killed and transformed into meat. Most importantly, I saw how veganism was totally healthy, and this just confirmed that I had to be vegan, that there was nothing crazy about it. Less than one or two weeks later, I was vegan, and I never turned back. Veganism defines who I am and it really became an integral part of my identity.

As for activism, I go to protests a couple of times a year and I also do outreach activities with animal rights organizations.

VOTM: What is your favourite vegan restaurant option in Montreal?

I would have to say Aux Vivres—they make killer sandwiches like the BLT. Their brunches are wonderful. So are their desserts. I love it! I’m also a big fan of La Panthère verte, an all vegan sandwich joint. I really like their tempeh sandwich and they also sell homemade vegan kefir. And Viva Vegan sells great sandwiches, grilled-cheeze sandwiches, pizza rolls and wonderful pastries. I can’t go there without sampling something.

The amazing chapatis au végépâté from Montreal's Aux Vivres

Thank you so much, Babette!

And with that, happy holidays and thank you for reading our wee blog. We look forward to bring you some exciting content in 2012. 2011 was an amazing year for veganism, and it can only get better. We want to remind you guys that we are dying to hear about your small- or large-scale vegan advocacy/projects where you live! Please email us at vegansonthemove@gmail.com so we can feature you and inspire vegans everywhere.

VOTM Guide to Gifting Part 2: If you’re not a cat.

You saw Buhbah’s picks, here’s mine! Buy local, handmade, vegan, etc. Some might say we’ve entered “last-minute” as it pertains to gift-buying for the holidays, but I say psshaw. Bake your hard-working postal worker some cookies and hope for the best.

This wonderful gift pack from Food for Lovers Queso (we love Chris and Crystal!) is essential. Your lucky recipient gets a jar of the best vegan queso, either a felt ornament from our very own Panda With Cookie or a queso cozy, and a personalized gift card. Open to US-only, sadly, but I know I have lots of American friends staring blankly at the tortilla chips in their cupboards.

I'd go for the felt serrano.

I love My Zoetrope, it is no secret. I fell in love with artist Michelle Cavigliano’s colourful illustrations last year, and this year I am really excited to have her 2012 Calendar sitting on my desk, awaiting 2011 to bite the dust. Because aren’t we all waiting for 2011 to bite the dust?

Someone on my list will find this grey turban ear warmer from Treewool under the tree. Good thing my family ignores the blog.

I am by no means a perfume girl, but I can think of handful of crazy friends who would love this fascinating Grandpa’s Pipe-scented roll-on perfume oil from LondonCity.

The next two picks come from local (to me) businesses run by incredible people I have had the privilege to either work with, eat with, or write about.

Nice Shoes is Vancouver’s first vegan shoe store, run by a wonderful vegan couple. And I have been thinking about, saving up, not saving up enough and then going broke, and then thinking about again these boots for years.

Karmavore Vegan Shop has the ubiquitous Peppermint Chocolate Vitasoy in stock. Enough said. Non-Canadians, you are in luck—Karmavore ships worldwide!

After that Vitasoy aperitif, we are getting hungry, yes? How about some PandaWithCookieBakes Earl Grey tea cookies or some SweetVConfections S’more Fudge?

This beautiful necklace makes me feel pretty emotional because it would have been the perfect gift for an inspiring bird-loving person I knew and loved and who passed away a couple of years ago. I’m sure many people would appreciate its uniqueness.

And because it always comes back to cats (Buhbah just jumped on my lap), who needs Santa cards when you can have trampoline kitties? The scrappyrat Etsy shop donates some of its proceeds to various worthy animal causes.

Buhbah Friday: Sim 2012

Panda and I have both been busy this week, but Sim has been even busier. Everyone’s favourite staunch, moustached cat has been planning a 2012 campaign trail. A small hiccup occurred last weekend when poor Sim was the victim if an evil car collision to his head, allegedly (so says Buhbah) driven by the annoying bark-machine Sim shares residence with. Do not worry, Internet, Sim is healing up nicely and has only a couple of small scars on his face to show for it.

Sim’s autobiography is due out just in time for the holidays. You should like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

Buhbah Friday: Buhbah’s Newest Attempt to Take Over the World!

The flood in my house is mostly a thing of the past, and Buhbah has been doing a whole lot of this in my office:

Leave me alone, shorter but still kinda tall one.

Meanwhile, Buhbah’s fame just keeps on increasing, most recently with this prototype Panda With Cookie Buhbah holiday ornament, only $8 (US) from the Panda With Cookie Etsy Shop!

See the fang?

But Panda’s efforts (while Buhbah slumbers) don’t stop there. Panda had the brilliant idea to take custom cat face orders for your own personalized cat ornament. In true VOTM style, she is donating 10% of all cat ornament and zine orders to Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, who assist cats that are looking for homes.

Custom cats!

As if any feline-respecting person can resist. Contact Panda Cookie today and make sure your cat makes his/her appearance on your holiday tree!

Buhbah Friday Guest Post: Lucy

Buhbah is really mad at us because our house was flooded. Buhbah is fine, and has plenty of food and a warm, dry, place to sleep with lots of attention from his fans, but you know how cats are. Apparently he is supporting the Occupy workers strike, so he’ll be back to VOTM at some point in the (hopefully, but I’m not going to force him!) not-too-distant future. He is currently occupying Sim’s yard.

Lucy (pictured) is no longer with us, so Buhbah will feel like a huge jerk if he protests this guest post. Lucy was one of my roommates (the others were two cats and a wonderful woman named Susan) when I lived in San Francisco, and she was awesome. She was a rescue spaniel found dumped by the side of the freeway and adopted from Muttville Senior Dog Rescue in the Bay Area. She was completely deaf, had cancer tumours, and painful back issues, but with some love and medication, she was still able to live on happily for a few years. When I took her for (short—we lived a block away) walks in Golden Gate park, she always wanted to smell the flowers in the rose garden, and she was also a frequent appreciator of the flowers in Susan’s garden. When she was getting close to having to be put down, one of the cats used to lay in her bed with her. R.I.P. Lucy. Support Muttville Senior Dog Rescue! Senior dogs are the sweetest!

Spooky Buhbah Friday

True story: One day my boyfriend (pictured, the one who is not a cat) and I sat down to see what this True Blood kerfuffle is all about, and Buhbah nestled in between us, as he does. I am not shitting you—the next day, he had grown a fang. He hasn’t yet grown the second, but you can bet that when Bill and Eric and the gang of terrible actors on an okay TV-show come around again, Buhbah will make his full transformation. By the way, Buhbah loves being held like this. He’s a “scrapper from way back”.

You know, it’s been years since I’ve lived somewhere where cute, dressed-up children come around trick or treating, but if they did, I’d be sure to give them Chick-O-Sticks (rarely available here in Canada, but amazing and unrivaled), homemade vegan toffee (that their parents will sadly and promptly throw out), and maybe even some Pez. What do you offer your likely non-existent trick or treaters?

Recipe Testing 101: Featuring Pie

My fave curried macaroon pie. Can you spot Buhbah in the background?

Hi guys! Well, I survived the technapocalypse yesterday. I was without internet for 20 hours. What a ridiculous diva I must be to even let that get to me, but try explaining to your ISP that you need to be around for something called Vegan MoFo and see how far you get. But you know, I read an amazing book, cuddled Skittles, worked on boring work stuff, and even bought ingredients for recipe testing, so it was a very nice internet stimulus-free day.

Vegan recipe testing! It’s awesome. Here’s why:

1. You are supporting vegan cookbook authors!
2. You (usually) get a free vegan cookbook! And your name in print. Don’t even pretend that doesn’t excite you.
3. You will inevitably learn how to be a better cook, and even improve your palate. Because instead of telling the author “that was fucking tasty,” they want to hear “the acidity was slightly overwhelming, but the creamy mashed potatoes quelled it in the final dish. However, when do I add the brown rice flour? It was not included in the directions.”
4. You get warm fuzzies from being a part of a community of excited vegans planning a culinary takeover of an omnivorous world.
5. You can post stuff on your blog and make people batshit jealous of this secret society you’re involved with.
6. As much as I might think my marmite gravy is the most amazing recipe of all time, let’s face it—we’re not all genius recipe inventors. Testing gives avid cooks the experience of understanding what it takes to create a recipe, and the ability to interact with the recipe’s author to make them feel like they had a valuable part in its creation.

I haven’t been testing for years like many of my vegan friends, but I have been a proud tester for my friends Melisser Elliott, Julie Hasson, Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, Kittee Berns, and currently, for Terry Hope Romero’s new project. Even though I already have way too many cookbooks, there is something extremely motivating about seeing recipes from your favourite authors long before the general public, and having the opportunity to give valuable feedback.

People often seem to be curious about what it takes to become a recipe-tester, so this is my experience. Follow your favourite cookbook authors in whatever capacity they make available online. My connections have all stemmed from being a part of the PPK forums, but that’s not necessary, as not all people writing vegan cookbooks are on the PPK. Authors will often put the call out on their blogs, twitter/facebook accounts, email newsletters, etc. It’s not hard to “get in” as a newb—most authors wisely like to choose testers from a wide variety of backgrounds, geographical locales, and experiences. Jump on the call when it arrives, and chances are, they’ll be grateful. If they can’t accept you due to an overwhelming response, don’t take it personally, and just wait for the next time. There will be a next time, because rampant vegan cookbook growth is a very real phenomenon.

I’ll stop babbling in order to share a couple of photos of pies (oops! I was going to share tons of photos, but I forgot that my Macbook crashed pretty much the day after pie-testing ended) I tested for the hot-off-the-press Vegan Pie In The Sky. Like I need to sell you on pie. For beautiful photos, buy the book yourselves. I make pie to eat, not to gaze at. These were all made for the bake sale for Japan earthquake relief my boyfriend and I held back in April.

Vancouver Canucks-themed Grasshopper Pie

Appleberry Pie

Cappuccino Mousse Pie

VPITS!

The Dancing Vegans

The Dancing Vegans are two vegans in my frequent home(ish)town of Victoria, BC. One day several of weeks ago, I was perusing the grocery store Market On Yates (it’s a rad store that sells vegan cookbooks at the tills—you’ll often have a Sarah Kramer sighting (I’m so creepy!), and I used to live around the corner from the store in a horrible silverfish-infested apartment with my little sister, and I designed the organic produce department for MOY’s sister store the Market on Millstream and….oh, this isn’t about me. Sorry! Anyway, I came across some spicy sauces in cute little mason jars labelled The Dancing Vegans and duh, I knew I had to track down these (dancing) vegans on the move. Here they are. Thanks so much Bronwynne and Yogev for this extra special vegan MoFo interview! Be inspired! I know I am. And I still have to track down some Dancing Vegans mayo.

VOTM: Who are you, how long have you been vegan, and why did you decide to start the Dancing Vegans?

The Dancing Vegans: We are Bronwynne and Yogev. We met in Thailand at a home for refugee children on the border of Burma and Thailand. The home (Baan Dada Children’s Home) is vegan. I (Bronwynne) have been vegetarian almost my whole life, and vegan on and off over the years. Yogev became vegetarian after staying at Baan Dada Children’s Home. We moved to Canada together (I am from Canada and he is from Israel), got married in March and became vegan together last April.

We started the Dancing Vegans because we want to offer delicious, cheap options to people looking to refrain from consuming any animal products. We noticed that there are not a lot of options for vegans looking for sauces here in Victoria, so we decided to try to make a few different things.

VOTM: What products does your business offer?

TDV: We offer vegan mayo, dips, sauces, pasta, and baked goods. We are always trying new recipes and creating new dishes. People in the Victoria area can email or call us to place an order, which will be delivered (by bicycle) to them.

VOTM: What has the response been? What are your plans for the future of the business?

TDV: The response has been good so far. The first time we sold any thing was in Fernfest, a celebration of the Fernwood community here in Victoria. The response there was amazing, everyone asked where they could get our products. Now we have our chili sauces at the Market on Yates. Our ultimate goal is to sell our products to people directly, that way we can offer an affordable price as well as recipes so that the people can make it for themselves in the future. Eventually (after traveling for a little while) we want to open a vegan café, maybe here in Victoria or somewhere else on the west coast of BC.

VOTM: What advice do you have for other “vegans on the move” hoping to launch their own startup and offer great vegan products?

TDV: Don’t try to fill your food with imitation meat products. Nature offers us everything we need to stay healthy and create amazing food! Use natural ingredients and people will always love your products.

VOTM: Finally (a random), what’s your favourite vegan meal?

TDV: Something that we love making is a dish we also loved eating in Thailand. It’s called Som Tam (green papaya salad). It’s spicy, fresh and makes a great side or main dish.

Panda With Cookie

Panda Cookie came up with the idea for Vegans on the Move, but she herself has long been a model vegan moving. Maybe you’ve noticed our plush vegan stir-fry monster ambassadors on the blog’s background? Those are Panda creations.

If Oprah had been smart enough to give these out to her lucky audience members, cats would have already taken over the world. Meet "The Buhbah".

The history of my friendship with Panda Cookie goes like this: We meet on the PPK, and she amuses me with her wonderful humour (with a U) and raps. Then I hear about her Panda With Cookie Etsy shop, and my life is never the same. Suddenly, I own multiple monsters, several hilarious zines, an Asparagarr, and Panda sends Buhbah his very own (first) catnip carrot. The catnip carrot, now named The Buhbah, is probably one of the best things to enter my life. I’m not even kidding. You can hear Buhbah talk about it (among a great many other things) here.

Yes, your couch is sad that it is not home to a giant tofu pirate.

My little sister now has a giant tofu monster pillow to snuggle with. A wonderful friend ordered some Rocky Road brownies (from Panda’s bake shop) and more Panda Cookie plushes for my birthday. When I see a package from Asheville in the mail, I know my days is about to rule. We have a duck (Quackers), a horse (Figgles), a wizard (CaDaBra), two wee monsters (It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue; and Hot Chocolate), a little green monster (Mossy), and more.

Peter! He is mine!

Panda brought her business to Vida Vegan Con this past summer (where I won a bid on Peter the Pig, who Panda donated for a silent auction benefiting Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary), and after that, she drove up with me to Salt Spring Island where she presented Buhbah with his second, freshly catnipped carrot.

My yet-to-be-born niece or nephew will be wearing a monster onesie, oh yes.

I can’t guarantee you’ll get that kind of unrivaled customer service, but I can easily say that Panda With Cookie products are lovingly sewed and uniquely designed plushies, delicious baked goods, humourous zines, and whatever new creations Panda has up her black and white furry sleeves. My sister and one of my closest friends are pregnant, and I’m impatiently waiting for them to pop so I can order up some PWC onesies and t-shirts.

Who doesn't need a candy corn plush in his/her life?

Halloween is around the corner and all of those other holidays soon to follow, so this is the best time to order some mellowcreme candy pumpkins, pirate ghosts, aprons, onesies and maybe a giant pirate tofu block of your own. I can’t even begin to tell you how passionate I am about supporting wonderful, creative, independent, talented artists, and fortunately, all PWC products are Buhbah-approved.

I asked Panda if she wanted to include any brilliant quotes for my write-up, and she provided two cracker quotes (Masterchef Australia has me calling everything a cracker): 1) ”chops cabbage thinly, yes I do” (Panda is an expert cabbage chopper. I went out to pick up my boyfriend while we were making dinner together and when I came back the cabbage was shredded perfectly and uniformly. It was magnificent.) and 2) “5 out of 5 cats like panda with cookie best! They know she’s a sucker who will pet them for hours on end.” (It’s true!).

Buhbah endorses Panda With Cookie Products.

Produce Nerding with Gabrielle

High-five if you have a degree/certificate/interest/career/whatever in the fine arts! We here at VOTM are of the artsy persuasion: Panda and I even have (somewhat) matching MFAs. Anyway, pursuing my degrees in the arts was really fun, but it also means that I’m not exactly highly employable in my field other than freelancing (which I do and love), so on more than a few occasions I’ve had to find work elsewhere. No big deal. I like to do lots of different things.

After I finished theatre school, having worked part-time at a health food store during school, I jumped at the chance to manage an organic produce department at that same store. I biked to work at the crack of dawn, unveiled and said hello to my beautiful veggies hours before the store opened and customers started pissing me off, created a stench in the back room soaking cilantro back to its crisp, fresh self, and honestly, fell in love with veggies. It was definitely that job that ignited my passion for cooking with beautiful ingredients, letting the produce shine through, and it turned me from a slightly food-fearing vegan to a celebrator of kitchen alchemy. If that sounds cheesy, don’t even get me started on how I met my current boyfriend at that job, and how I’d get chills when he’d ask me to accompany him to the cooler to pick out some choice kale for his inter-store delivery. Veggies brought us together, you guys.

Anyway, gone are the days of that line of work, and I sincerely miss opening boxes of gorgeous freshly harvested local chard, garlic, tomatoes, watercress, and so on. But I’m still a vegetable enthusiast, and while I was wracking my brain thinking about what to write about yesterday, I went out to a great store near where I’m housesitting for a little inspiration. I picked up some of my favourite produce items which only set me back about $20 (mostly due to the mushrooms and local garlic), and now I’m going to nerd out and tell you about it.

To begin with, the stars. Mushrooms. I am obsessed. Put some button mushrooms in my tofu scramble and I’ll eat it, but I won’t be impressed. Sauté over high heat some oyster mushrooms and garlic in coconut oil with a sprinkling of thyme, some lemon juice, salt, pepper, wine, and red pepper flakes, and I will marry you. I picked up my favourite mushroom of all time (chanterelles), and also some maitakes and white beech mushrooms.

Favourite preparation: I almost always do a variation on Isa’s chanterelle recipe when I’m cooking fancy mushrooms. Essential: wine. I have forever been meaning to make the Oyster Mushroom Rockefeller from the second Horizons cookbook, so I might sub in the maitakes for that. I’ll report back if it’s good.

Brussels sprouts! Roasted, they are amazing. I hate prepping them, but I love eating them enough to keep me laboriously cutting off those stupid brown parts. I made an ugly soup out of them, and that was great, but truth be told they are best halved (or quartered if they’re huge, but the smaller they are, the tastier!) and roasted with garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and maybe some maple syrup and lemon juice. Has anyone been to Brussels? I like to imagine that you hop off the plane only to have roasted Brussels sprouts presented to you on a toothpick for taste-testing. I’ve also had expertly prepared sprouts served in a bath of cashew cheese topped with breadcrumbs at Gracias Madre, and deep-fried sprout “chips” at Social Kitchen and Brewery, both in San Francisco.

Tomatoes and hot peppers. Tomatoes! They are so nasty at Subway, or from Safeway imported from far, far away in the dead of winter, but local heirloom tomatoes are the shit. Hot peppers—I’ll buy imported ones because I NEED peppers all year (sriracha doesn’t always cut it). I put chilis in everything. Sometimes my boyfriend challenges me to make something without chilis, but since we both have a pretty high spice tolerance, I can usually sneak a jalapeno in with no ill effect or accusations of cheating. I love tomatoes in all forms (though commercial ketchup is mostly gross), but slow-roasted tomatoes are my favourite. Since my weirdo boyfriend hates cooked tomatoes, we usually just enjoy them raw, which is great if they’re not the winter/imported ones. I recently bought a stove top smoker, and though I’m pretty lazy about actually using it, smoked cherry tomatoes are wonderful. The Rebar cookbook (recommended!) has a wtf-pinch me-this can’t be real recipe for caramelized red onion soup with port, slow-roast tomatoes, and fresh herbs that is probably one of the best soups I’ve ever made. Someone posted the recipe here but you should get that book. Oh, and add some chilies!

Nugget potatoes. Fingerlings are my favourite, but I love colourful nuggets. We think we love purple potatoes the most, but we’re probably just making that up because they are pretty. Anyway, potatoes, in my opinion, are best roasted with plenty of oil, my holy trinity of salt, pepper, and garlic, and whatever else. However, it is fun to mash potatoes. Just make sure not to buy that stupid unsweetened almond milk that has vanilla extract in it. Gross. Oh, and don’t peel them! Peeling potatoes is something I avoid at all costs. Peels are tasty and nutritious. Potatoes are usually pretty affordable to buy organic, so there is no need to peel.

Did I recommend anything that doesn’t include these cute little bulbs of magic? Not likely. I don’t know what local garlic is like for you, but for me, it is huge, purple (this stuff is the red Russian variety grown on Gabriola Island), has cloves that are pungent, effortless to peel, and oh-so-perfect for roasted whole bulbs. Messing around with tiny cloves and sticky peels makes me angry.

Galangal! What kind of fancy-ass awesome shit is this? Truth be told, I love ginger, but I adore galangal. I can never find it where I normally live, so when I’m at fun stores that keep it in stock, I always buy a knob (best word ever). Galangal is a key component in Thai cuisine and a frequent ingredient in Thai curry pastes, but to be honest, I’ll use it in any application where I’d usually use that other rhizome. I’ll even chop a bit off and make galangal tea. Who drinks galangal tea?! Weird vegans, that’s who. It seems a little bit more intense than ginger, and slightly prettier. I have actually told customers that.

Okay, this one is totally gratuitous, because I live in Canada and shouldn’t have access to papaya, but (very rarely) I cave and buy one. What can I say? The way the sweet fruit melts in my mouth is addictive, and I love squirting some lime juice and cayenne (try it!) on it, or even chaat masala if I’m feeling crazy. At the height of my trying-to-eat-local-and-organic crusade, I went to Hawaii (yes, I recognize the absurdity of that statement), and I was perplexed as to why I could only readily find papaya in plastic clam shells at grocery stores and gas stations. Granted, I was in Honolulu, but still! Anyway, I treat myself to a papaya every few months. Last night I ate this guy with a spoon, and my craving has been satiated for now.

Winter squash is the lazy person’s saviour. First of all, it looks cute on your kitchen counter, and second, it stays good for ages so you can put off cooking it for weeks at a time. When you finally do roast this beauty into something like this Kittee recipe, you’ll wonder why you don’t have 20 more ready to pop into the oven.