Vegan MoFo. Preparing for Thanksgiving. And Veggielicious at Fresh

I went grocery shopping today in preparation for the Thanksgiving Celebrations this weekend. I can spend more time than I should at farmers markets or grocery stores, getting lost in all the options, reading labels, reading sources (and planning what I’m going to do with everything!) I love looking at veggies and fruits, and where they come from. Ontario has this amazing harvest, and the local food options are endless. (though the cranberries I picked up are from Nova Scotia.)

Several bags later, and slightly aching arms (because of course – I don’t drive – so this was a walking/street car trip.) I had a house full of thanksgiving food, and most of it was from Ontario. I am ready to get cooking!

This evening we opted for a dinner at Fresh on Crawford (894 Queen Street W, Toronto) and I checked out their Veggielicious special which is:

A 16oz Amazon Power Smoothie (young coconut water, strawberry, acai & guarana, coconut milk and agave nectar), your choice of a Szechuan Kale Salad (raw kale in a spicy szechuan dressing with roasted peanuts, celery, bean sprouts, tomato, red pepper, green onions, marinated tofu cubes and sesame seeds) or the BLT Burrito (smokey tempeh bacon with garlic mayo, lettuce, napa cabbage and tomato in a whole wheat tortilla), and the option of a Coconut Cream Cupcake or a Gluten Free Walnut Brownie – $17.00

I tried the BLT Burrito, and it was delicious. Makes me wish it was on their usual menu, because it was great. Rich smokey, and a little chewy tempeh bacon, lots of lettuce and a bit of garlic mayo, it was not quite the crispy BLT sandwich that I was expecting, but it was filling, flavourful, and all around worth ordering again (and again.)

And of course, I had the Coconut Cream Cupcake from Sweets from the Earth. Against all odds, JC and I split it, and were satisfied.

The consensus on the Amazon Power Smoothie was that it was weird, and I’d probably never order it again, but it was oddly… compelling? I kept drinking it. It might have had something to do with the guarana….

This weekend is going to be great, and I’m just so excited to get cooking. I’ve already got a few pie style pumpkins stewing in a crock pot as I type. “Pie pumpkins” are the smaller, sweeter, and less grainy textured pumpkins than those big scary faced pumpkins, and I’m making a pie (or several tiny pies – I still haven’t decided yet…)

And since I’m on the topic of pie, recently I saw fellow VeganMoFoer, Amanda on In My Vegan Garden mentioned a pie potluck and thought. Whoa. What a great idea. Plus the pictures are gorgeous. And other PDX VeganMoFo folk  were involved too! On Life’s To Do List: Vegan Pie Potluck.

Hope everyone is having a happy MoFo! 🙂