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A Weekend in Montreal

I went away to Montreal with a friend last month. We took the train from Toronto, and it was just a lovely little trip all around – it was the first time I’d been away from our son for so long, and it was nice to have a bit of time away, but still hard and a bit of an adjustment.

After the five hour train ride into Central Station, we walked over to LOV for a late dinner. It was a Friday night, so unsurprisingly, they were busy, but luckily could accommodate us after only a short wait. We basically ordered one of each of their appetizers – i.e., just living the dream.

For me, the standouts were the nachos and the french onion soup. But I liked the brussels sprouts quite bit too. If you live in Toronto, you might be interested to know that LOV is opening a location here as well (aiming for May 2019 at King & Portland.)

After we took advantage of the beautiful weather and walked over to our AirBNB and went to sleep in preparation for an action packed tomorrow.

I’d made reservations at Le Parloir for afternoon tea earlier that week, and it was lovely. Like really lovely. To get there we walked through Parc la Fontaine, and saw people enjoying the day – there is a great looking hill for tobogganing and some random pieces of public art like this Acorn Slingshot.

The funny thing about taking a vacation away from my son, S, was that I kept looking for activities to do with him for the next time we visited together. I made a note of the places we ate that had high chairs or changing tables, even though S doesn’t use them anymore.

So Le Parloir is a cozy tea room, with lovely old wooden tables, and welcoming decor. Every table but ours was full when we walked in, and everyone seemed eager about their tea setting. So was I.

We started with tea – they bring by a basket full of tea samples you can smell and look at. I picked my usual Earl Grey, which was lovely. But in retrospect I wish I would have branched out a bit – or at least tried my old standby lapsang souchong which they also had available (which if you’ve never tried it, has a smokey, almost whisky type flavour.)

Soon it was time to eat. We’d gotten strawberry cream tarts, two cupcakes, a fluffy biscuit with preserves, a pudding type thing, small cucumber sandwiches, marinated roasted mushroom sandwiches, beet hummus, tofu salad, and another sandwich.

They were all lovely though I was especially fond of the fluffy biscuits and tofu salad sandwiches!

Afterwards we kept walking on to our next destination – we were going to go get facials and do the water circuit at Bota Bota – but conveniently, could pop in to Invitation V on the way there. (we would end up come back here again the next day to grab food before our train – it’s close to the via rail station, and has great options.)

I ordered the ceasar salad with a side of fries and I have no regrets. The thing that really stood out about this was the yuba/tofu skin pieces. It seemed herbed and seasoned and pressed into a form then diced. Really innovative, and I feel like that doesn’t happen very often – at least not with things I’m already familiar with like tofu skin. I was glad to have ordered it.

The next time I ordered their omelette and it was something exceptional too. I was expecting just some chickpea thing, or just some tofu thing, but it was so much more. I will definitely come back there sometime.

All in all, a lovely little whirlwind trip to Montreal, and it was nice to check out so many new-to-me places. We were sort of forced to branch out – two of my previously favourite places were closed for holidays – Cafe Dei Campi and Sushi Momo (including their new delivery/take out spot).

Next time, we’ll do it all.

Favourite Vegan Instant Pot Recipes

Hello there, did you just get an instant pot?

Are you wondering what to do with it? I am here for you. Here are 10 of my favourite instant pot recipes.

We have had an instant pot for a few years, and at first, I was totally scared of pressure cookers, but the instant pot made it easy and fun. Having one helped us make food that was deeply satisfying and flavourful with a quarter of the time or effort (or without much of the advanced planning required for using a slowcooker.)

I’m especially keen on the more soupy/stew-y type meals, but you’re not limited to that with the instant pot or other pressure cookers, there are a wide variety of recipes to choose from.

1. Vegan Richa’s – Lasagna Soup

I could just make a list of all of my favourite Vegan Richa recipes for the instant pot, but that would be silly because I haven’t had one I didn’t like. They’re always amazing, and every single one is full of flavour and with varying levels of ease. You can also check out her own list of 20 Vegan instant pot recipes.

This lasagna soup is something we go back to often. It’s super easy, fast, and doesn’t take much planning or work. It is one of the best things to just throw in the pot, and get on with your evening, but it’s also great for any level of advance meal planning too.

Be vigilant about getting this off pressure when the time is up though – the noodles may not survive it!

Instant Pot Lasagna Soup – Vegan Lasagna Soup

2. Kitchen Treaty’s – Simple Chili Recipe

I’ve made this a few times with positive reviews. It’s easy, and straightforward and perfect anytime of the year, but especially during some of the colder months.

Simple Instant Pot Vegan Black Bean Chili

3. Cotter Crunch’s Lentil Gumbo

I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy several different bowls of vegan gumbo in New Orleans, and I’m always looking for that hearty thick delicious flavour. I like that this recipe doesn’t need any packaged meat analogues to be tasty, but if you were looking for a sausage to add, the tofurky andouille fits right in.

Snappy Instant Pot Lentil Gumbo {Vegan}

4. My Food Story’s Chana Masala

Pressure Cooker Chana Masala (Instant Pot and Stovetop recipes)

5. Hip Pressure Cooking – Perfect Oatmeal

Oatmeal is boring right? Why would you need help with that?

No. Instant pot oatmeal is awesome. You can do steel cut oats in a fraction of the time, you don’t have to babysit the oats at the stove, you can throw them in the instant pot, and just have a shower, or drink coffee and relax with your family. It’s a major time saver for us, and I’m a big fan.

So how do you do oats in the instant pot? Check out Hip Pressure Cooking for more information.

Pressure Cook the PERFECT bowl of oatmeal

6. Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures – Vegan Beef Stew

There is something about this season, but I am obsessed with deep brown delicious beefy stews, and this one does it for me. Hope you love it too.

Instant Pot Vegan Beef Stew

7. Evolving Table – Instant Pot Potato Corn Chowder

Chowda? Chowder? Chowdair? That’s you choice, but this chowder is great and flavourful, and perfect for a weeknight. I’d also recommend using an immersion blender for a couple of quick pulses to give it a thicker broth vs. the thickener suggestion. I also really like adding some 1/2-1cup of cooked chickpeas to this to add a bit more protein to the mix. Check it out from Evolving Table.

8. JL Fields – New World Székely Goulash

This recipe has a lot of really strong and delicious flavours – it’s on the sour side, and definitely for folks that love sauerkraut. You can find it in JL Fields “Vegan Pressure Cooking” cookbook, or online from her publisher here.

9. Instant Pot Pumpkin Walnut Chili from Pinch of Yum.

Another, but dramatically different chili recipe. Walnuts and Pumpkin isn’t really what you think of when it comes to chili, but this recipe really makes it work – warming and tasty, it’s perfect to spice up wintertime blahs.

Instant Pot Pumpkin Walnut Chili

10. Jill Nussinow’s Red Lentil Sweet Potato Hemp Burgers

While not entirely made in the pressure cooker, this recipe takes things up a notch, with just a few minutes of post instant pot prep and baking.

Red Lentil, Sweet Potato, Hemp Burgers – Vegan Under Pressure

Bonus: make a Cake in the Instant Pot.

I don’t know about you, but the first time I saw someone make a cake in the instant pot, I did a double take. But why not? Give it a try with this great chocolate cake recipe from Quick and Carry Bags!

Vegan Chocolate Cake – Instant Pot

Bonus: Making Coconut Yogurt

Did you know you could make dairy-free yogurt in the instant pot? You can!

The second time we bought an instant pot, I made sure to get the one with the yogurt button – you can set it up for a day or so, and it takes care of the fermentation process for you. Get the recipe and instructions from the Detoxinista.

More info:

For more information about cooking vegan with the instant pot, my favourite judgement-free, anti-food shaming but vegan group is: Plant-Based Instant Pot People on Facebook. Lots of great suggestions, and lots of great advice.

Hope you find this list helpful, and let me know if you try anything!

Vegan Hanukah Menu Planning

I spend a lot of time thinking up ideas for special events at our house – and I tend to go a bit overboard. We are a family of three, and very rarely, are we accompanied by my in-laws. They have additional dietary restrictions to consider that can be a bit more challenging to accommodate – non-vegan keto – so when we eat together, it takes a little bit of planning to make sure everyone has something to eat.

It’s also kind of fun working with additional restrictions because it changes things up, and usually makes us try something new.

We’ve been doing a couple of things to try and encourage family to come over, so instead of dinners, we try to do breakfasts or brunches and invite people over when they’re less likely to have other things going on.

Vegan Hanukkah Brunch

Tofu Scramble
Bagels
Lox (carrot or tomato)
Quick pickled purple onion
Potato Pancakes
Zucchini Cauliflower Pancakes
Macaroons
Vegan cheese plate
A bunch of cream cheese – Miyokos (we picked some up from Summerhill Market in Toronto), Tofutti, and maybe some homemade cashew based.)

I like the idea of help yourself buffet style brunch. Put a bunch of serving dishes out with food on them, some plates, and people find a place to sit and chat around the house.

Tofu Scramble – If you follow me on instagram or facebook, you know my endless love for Hot for Food’s Perfect Tofu Scramble, it is always excellent. The combination of nutritional yeast, soy milk, paprika, and shallots/onions is delightfully and subtly eggy, without needing any kala namak/black salt

Bagels – I absolutely love making bagels at home, but you don’t have to, there are several commercially available vegan bagels out there – like these ones from Silver Hills Bakery.

As for me, I have a regular goto recipe for my homemade New York style bagels from Sophisticated Gourmet. I know what the dough should feel like when it is ready. I can make it without even checking the recipe anymore. I’ve been dreaming about Pumpernickel Bagels lately, and I think I’ve found my goto for that with this recipe from (uh ironically[?] enough) Milk and Honey.

Lox – Carrot or Tomato or both? Your choice! Or use Sophie’s Vegan Seafood Smoked Salmon (which is available irregularly through various speciality retailers).

I’m really feeling this recipe from Delightful Vegans for the carrot smoked salmon the idea of blanching and roasting the carrots might seem a bit much, but it’s something that can be prepared a few days in advance.

I used a recipe from the Field Roast cookbook for tomato lox, but this Carrot and Flowers recipe (which also includes a recipe for cashew cream cheese) appeared well before that book and it looks great too.

Quick Pickled Purple Onion – I like this method of quick pickling onions the day of or the day before, it’s so great on

Potato Pancakes – latkes are perfect for any meal of the day (a few recipes are linked below.)

Vegan Hanukah Dinner

Of course, you start with traditional latkes.

I am a larger shredded type of potato latke person, though I know a lot of people like using mashed or very finely grated potatoes in theirs. Your milage may vary.

I have been thinking about using aquafaba in my latkes, and was happy to see a recipe that features my favourite kind of shred along with aquafaba. You can find the recipe here from Zu Devers‘ Aquafaba cookbook. I’ve also had great luck with Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Latkes. I also often just veganize Tori Avey’s Crispy Panko Potato Latkes (you may notice, she’s mentioned several times in this post, and for good reason, her recipes are fantastic.)

Apple sauce for latkes – I want to take it easy on myself – instant pot apple sauce

Brisket – the BlackBeet Roast from Avocado and Ales – this is something you can make a bit in advance and then bake on the day with some carrots and onions. I wouldn’t make it on the same day you’re prepping other things.

Vegan Broccoli Salad from Mary’s Test Kitchen

Choose your favourite fried foods:

Tori Avey’s Portobello mushroom schniztel

Tori Avey’s Jewish Fried Artichokes are really calling to me this year, especially because we picked up a package of frozen artichokes during passover earlier this year and have yet to make use of them.

Vegan Hannuketo Recipes

This 4 ingredient zucchini cauliflower fritter from The Big Mans World seems promising – there are two recipes on the page

Vegan Broccoli Salad from Mary’s Test Kitchen

Low Carb Vegan’s Seitan roast – I’m going to test this one out this year, with a bit of cauliflower, if only to have something fat and protein heavy kicking around in case anyone wants it!

Hope you have a fun and happy holiday season if you celebrate anything this month. Do you have any holiday favourites?

Rivière-du-Loup, PQ – Café L’Innocent and Parc des Chutes

After Quebec City, we made a pit stop in Rivière-du-Loup – just to grab lunch and stretch our legs for the next part of our trip. Luckily, Café L’Innocent was there for us. It’s a funky artsy space with indoor and outdoor seating – and it’s conveniently located within a 10 minute walking distance of Parc des Chutes – a beautiful park with a waterfall (that is also a hydroelectric generator) and hiking trails for varying abilities.

We started our visit at the cafe and ordered some of their vegan things, they have things labelled on the menu as to what is or can be made vegan, and ordering was straightforward and our server was very helpful. JC went in before us to ask about vegan options and the server was enthusiastic and friendly about it, which made us extra happy to stay.

JC really wanted poutine before we, voila, they had a vegan one. It was a different take on poutine, and had VegNature chèvre slices on top (which is based in Quebec city) and JC liked it. I was too focused on my falafel burger to steal too much of his food.

I was really feeling the falafel burger, and the kiddo really like the hummus and falafel plate. We had our fill of the delicious food, and then went for a walk over to the nearby Park.

We went back to Rivière-du-Loup on the way back as well, and visited the same park – it’s just such a lush green and lovely spot to take a break or walk around. Peeking into the window at the generating station was pretty cool too, if you’re there for a while, or just passing through, these two spots were great.

Café L’Innocent

460 Rue Lafontaine, Rivière-du-Loup, QC G5R 3C2 (map)
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Toronto – Rosalinda

Rosalinda opened earlier this year in May, and I’ve been a handful of times. Sometimes just to grab a snack and a drink at the bar (totopos!), sometimes with friends, sometimes on a date, sometimes with a group. It’s good for all of those things. And Rosalinda has turned into one of my favourite fancy-casual type places in the city.

Seating is ample (138-seats) – the space feels huge – especially by Toronto restaurant standards. If you go during the day, it’s full of bright natural light, and a mix of pretty green fake and (maybe?) real plants throughout the space. Lots of windows, lots of intimate corners to sit in. They have these great mini booths for two people, and bigger booths at the back, and I feel like the seats are well spaced.

Last month someone I knew sat next to me, and we were spaced far enough away that we didn’t realize it until one of us got up and came back.

The food is always good. Every time. I’ve never had anything that I felt wasn’t well thought out – though I don’t love everything, that’s personal preference, not poor execution. At this point I’ve tried most of the menu, and I find myself gravitating towards the same things.

Appetizers

My favourite appetizers to share (or not share) are the mushroom potato flautas and the chilaquiles rojos. Over and over again, these two have stood out. They’re both beautifully spiced and flavourful with a great combination of textures.

I’ve got my heart set on making some chilaquiles at home sometime.

The flautas are crispy, stuffed with mushroom and potatoes, drizzled with a cashew crema, and topped off with a fresh savoury cilantro slaw, and resting in a poblano salsa. Yum.

Tacos

We also had a couple of tacos to share. I’ve had the oluqueno-style smoked onion tacos before, and they are also quite delightful.

The Chorizo Verde Taco

The jackfruit is marinated in citrus, and topped off with slaw.

Plates

Mixed Squash with pipián verde (a sauce made with pumpkin seeds) and puffed grains (which I believe are also the same as their chicharron, but crumbled.)

Spicy roasted carrots a with mole almendrado and a sprinkle of sesame.

Dessert

I ordered the chocolate mousse and coffee to cap off the evening. I remember it being extremely thick and rich last time I shared it with a friend, but this time, it was still extremely thick and rich, just a little less so. Especially great with a big cup of Sam James Coffee though.

We also ended up with several plates of Churros, and almost ended up with more. It was just plates and plates of churros. Which was funny, because the churros are basically the only thing I’m not super excited about. Go figure. JC is quite into them, so don’t worry churro fans, they were not wasted. It comes with a banana caramel for dipping.

Drinks

I’ve had a bit of everything over the last few months.

They have a variety of drinks, alcoholic, non-alcoholic, coffee, juice, nice sampling flights of tequila and mescal, and an ample wine list.

The flights of mescal were my favourite – and came with slices of oranges and chili salt.

So anyway, we’ll be back.

Have you been to Rosalinda yet?

Rosalinda

133 Richmond St W Toronto, ON (map)
website | facebook | instagram

p.s. they have a limited takeout menu posted on their instagram stories.
p.p.s watch out for the super heated vent outside, phew.
p.p.p.s they have a burger, I’ve never had it, but people always seem to order it a lot.

Meal Prep Monday – Autumnal as Heck

I’ve been getting into making meals in advance for the last few months, but haven’t really been sticking too it too intently, I’ve mentioned Things2Eat a lot, but it’s helped me learn how to cook more regularly – and making sure we have all the ingredients for recipes helps.

So mostly following along with the October 7th plan, Here we go:

I’ve decided to make four out of the five items:

- Fall Harvest Bowls from Eating Bird Food
- Aloo Gobi (with bonus chickpeas) from Jessica in the Kitchen (which is turning into one of my favourite food blogs)
- Thai curry pumpkin soup based on this recipe from Running on Real Food (with bonus chickpeas)
- Cajun Cauliflower Bowl (but I made it with lots of vegetable oil), skipping the green beans, and adding shredded shawarma spiced chickwheat.

Today I’ve made/prepped:

Pumpkin carrot muffins (a few with chocolate chips.)
Thai spiced pureed roasted pumpkin coconut soup with chickpeas
chickpea, cauliflower and potato curry.
tahini apple cider dressing for fall harvest bowls
Couscous (for harvest bowls (in lieu of quinoa) and cajun cauliflower bowls)
roasted butternut squash (for lunchtime harvest bowls)
washed and dried kale for fall harvest bowls
shawarma-spiced chick wheat (for cajun cauliflower bowls)
lime tahini dressing for Cajun Cauliflower Bowl
chickwheat with 1/2tsp allspice, 1/2tsp cinnamon, and 1/2tsp nutmeg

I suspect the plan will be to order delivery one day this week, or to make tacos (as I made sure to have all the necessary ingredients on hand for those for easy lunches.)

Last week I roasted a couple of pie pumpkins, and while trying to clean out the fridge today, I decided to use all of the leftovers. The pumpkin soup is going to be great, and I’m definitely tempted to cut one of my remaining tiny pumpkins in half (and roast them) for pumpkin soup bowls that are a little bit extra this week. Only time will tell on that one.

My pumpkin carrot muffins turned out wonderfully. I loosely followed this recipe from Lovely Little Kitchen with several modifications, including technique for minimizing bowls (which you can follow or not), otherwise two bowls, one with dry, and one with wet ingredients would work well.

Chocolate Chip Carrot Pumpkin Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tbsp prepared egg replacer (I used bob’s red mill)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup finely shredded carrot (approximately 1 large carrot)
1/2 cup light oil, I used canola
1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease your muffin tin. I used a 6 muffin tin. You could also use a regular pan, just adjust the time according to your oven.
Mix together the wet ingredients (pumpkin, carrots, oil, vanilla), egg replacer, spices, salt, baking powder, and sugars.
Add flour and just stir until everything is incorporated. add chocolate chips and give batter a swirl.
I used a 1/2 cup measure for the large muffins – aim for them to be nearly full, they’ll puff up a little bit.
Bake your muffins for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

VeganMoFo 2018 – Potato Kibbeh

One of my favourite indulgences is books. Especially kids books, and one of my favourite places to get them is Another Story Bookshop on Roncesvalles in Toronto. Yesterday I popped in to pick up a pre-order, and a few other books for our son, on the way out by the check out – on their fantastic and ever changing cookbook wall – they had Vegan Recipes from the Middle East by Parvin Razavi, so I bought it.

Flipping through was delightful, there were lots of colourful pictures and mostly straightforward recipes, and broken up into 6 sections by regions of the middle east. There are desserts and drinks and mains and appetizers, and they all look inviting and attainable – but what immediately jumped out at me was the Potato Kibbeh (on page 100), and I just knew I’d be making it today.

I started the day off by throwing a bunch of potatoes in the instant pot so I could steam them for a few recipes I have planned for this week.

The recipe for Potato kibbeh was easy to follow – I left the skin on the potatoes and mashed them, then mixed them with soaked bulgar wheat, grated onion, spices, and threw it in the oven for about an hour. It was delicious – the cinnamon and mint flavours were subtle, but swirled together with the onion and danced on my tongue. The bulgar potato combo was texturally fun, as was the crisp crust of the kibbeh. I did opt for the walnut crust, which I think was a great choice.

If you don’t have access to the book I’m using, you can also find a few different recipes for potato kibbeh online – I’m very interested in trying this recipe from Lands and Flavours sometime.

It’s not beautiful, but it is delicious. I also paired this with a fattoush salad and a rosewater saffron rice pudding also from the same book.

The pudding was amazing, and is definitely going to get added to my regular roster of tasty things I make at home.

Hope you are having a lovely week, and hopefully still super into potatoes. I couldn’t handle thinking about them for about a week, but now I’m back in for the rest of VeganMoFo. Chao for now. <3

Vegan Mofo 2018 – Let’s Talk about Moon.

I’d like to dedicate this whole post to someone that has helped my family eat better for nearly an entire year. Have you checked out the meal plans from Things2Eat? Because if you follow me on instagram, you may notice me mention this a few times – since I am a super fan and it has changed my life for the better.

There were days when I would spend hours (not joking) trying to find a recipe that speaks to me, only to bail and order delivery because I got annoyed with the copious options, and an inability to decide on just one thing. That or we didn’t have the one special ingredient needed.

And needless to say, that was frustrating.

Chickpea Couscous Bowls with Tahini Sauce in this weeks meal plan

Then, around a year ago, the things2eat blog comes along, with great recipe ideas, and if you sign up for her newsletter, she even includes a shopping list and a weekly plan of attack for the whole thing. Life. Changing.

We just wait for Moon’s email on Friday – with a shopping list, and load up click and collect, and voila. We’ve got most of the ingredients we need, for the meals we want to eat, and can start prepping on the weekend, or make food day by day.

mini chickpea frittata’s from this week’s meal plan

I appreciate the people that share recipes a whole bunch, but someone distilling recipes down into a cohesive weekly meal plan? For free? That’s just heart eyes all the way out.

Cauliflower Sweet Potato Tacos with Refried Beans from Sept 9th’s meal plan.

So I recommend you follow along and definitely sign up for the newsletter, especially if you’re looking to make more meals at home, but get overwhelmed by the options out there like I do. And don’t forget to follow along on instagram.

Vegan MoFo 2018 – Potato Pancakes

In the last few days, I’ve made three different types of pancakes. On Friday, our son asked for pancakes for breakfast, so I made a few.

One of our favourite recipes for regular pancakes is the “Perfect Pancakes” from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Vegan Brunch. After finding it online a few times, we eventually had to pick it up, as it’s full of wonderful ideas for breakfast. These pancakes are fool proof, straightforward, and I suspect anyone can make them and have them turn out incredible.

Since I was making pancakes anyway, I decided it was the perfect time to make potato pancakes while I was at it. So I grated a few potatoes, rinsed and pressed them to reduce moisture, and put them in a bowl.

One of the things I like to do with potatoes for pancakes is to grate them in two different ways – because potatoes are great at binding themselves together (heyo starch) – so I use the biggest side on a box grater for three potatoes and then the finest side for one.

Then I add about 1/4-1/2 cup of chickpea flour, salt, pepper, and a touch of garlic or onion powder – followed by a 1/8 of a cup of the pancake batter put into a hot pan. And voila, we’re in potato pancake town.

BONUS

I have been reading No Kimchi For Me by Aram Kim to our son quite often lately, and at the back of the book there is a recipe for kimchi pancakes – so after seeing this recipe fort the past few weeks, I had to make it. But obviously I omitted the egg (and didn’t replace it with anything). And it was amazing.

VeganMoFo 2018 – Macaroni and Potato cheese

Have vegans gone too far? Cheese made from potatoes? It’s clearly mayhem over here you know.

Last night our son pulled a package of twirly pasta out of the cupboard and asked us to make something with it – so we did. I’ve been thinking about this cheesy sauce for a while so while we were talking about dinner ideas, I sent over this recipe from Veggie on a Penny to our family slack channel and voila, we had dinner in progress. (made by JC)

It’s pretty incredible what textures are possible with the help of the very humble potato, and the texture you don’t necessarily want in a soup, lends itself quite well to something like a cheese analogue. I wouldn’t say this is cheesy in a share with all the non-vegans and new-vegans you know immediately, but it’s a nutritional yeast based cheese, and our toddler was very enthusiastic about the flavour (and I really liked it too.)

It is easy to just throw the potatoes and carrots in a pressure cooker, if you have one, it will just take a bit more time, but it will still turn out great. You could also try this variation with sweet potatoes and cashews from Dr Pamela Fergusson, an RD that used to live in Toronto.

The one thing I would like to experiment with with this recipe in the future is adding some pureed white beans to the sauce to increase the protein and nutrients, ideally without changing the flavour, but that will have to happen some other day.