Easy Homemade Salad Dressings

Here are a couple of homemade salad dressing recipes that take less then 4 minutes to make and are delicious:


Greek Salad Dressing:

3 parts lemon juice
4 parts red wine vinegar
6 parts olive oil
sugar, to taste
minced garlic to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Mince those garlic gloves and then combine everything else. Give it a good shake and you're ready to dig in. I like to use a small mason jar for mixing the vinaigrette, to ensure that the seal stays tight when I shake it.


Balsamic Vinaigrette:

5 parts balsamic vinegar
5 parts olive oil
1 part dijon mustard
pinch of dried basil
salt and pepper to taste

Combine, shake well.

Next week, how to create your own salad bar.

Pizza Pizza - Beamsville

4322 Ontario Street
905-687-1111

Well, Pizza Pizza is not going to be the most glamorous restaurant covered here, but it is vegan-friendly. We ordered a large pizza and I held my breath, wondering if the non-dairy cheese was going to be any good.

We did the multi-grain crust with Italian homestyle tomato sauce. My half of the pizza was green olives, mushrooms, grilled zucchini and the vegan cheese. A cool aside, when I asked the person taking my order if there was some way to denote which side of the pizza had my cheese on it, he suggested getting an additional topping on my side (which he did not charge me for), to ensure that there would be no confusion. (I didn't need to worry about differentiating the cheese in the end,...the vegan cheese looked nothing like the melty mozzarella.)

Other vegan options included:

Garden salad - Balsamic or Zesty Italian dressing
Greek salad, hold the feta, Balsamic or Zesty Italian dressing
Crunchy dill pickles
Potato Wedges
Onion Rings
Fries

Sauces:
Chipotle, Italian Marinara Dipping, Hot, Frank's Red Hot, BBQ, Italian Homestyle Pizza, Bruschetta, Sweet Chili Thai

Breads:
Tortillas, Whole Grain Dough, Classic Dough

I want to mention that looking at the menu, I can't figure out where they use the tortillas. Also, the cheese. I know you're waiting to hear about the cheese. The brand is Violife. I didn't love it; it had that faint chemical taste that I also find with Daiya products. It melted okay and tasted better when hot, but I would be tempted to try it without the cheese next time.

For me, this would be an 'in-a-pinch' restaurant option, and I would probably stick to the sides above instead of ordering the pizza next time. Having said that, if you enjoy the Daiya cheeses, you will probably enjoy this Violife cheese as well.

Hours:
Sunday to Wednesday: 11am - 10pm
Thursday: 11am - 12am
Friday and Saturday: 11am - 1am

How To Connect:
Website
Facebook
Twitter

Salad Dressings

I know that vegans eat a lot more than just salads, but now that the weather is turning a bit warmer, I have to admit that my palette is getting a litter lighter. And salads fit the bill perfectly.

Here are the two most-used recipes at our house:


GREEK VINAIGRETTE

3 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons olive oil (I often use garlic flavoured)
1/2 tsp sugar (if desired)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine and shake well. If the ratio of more vinegar to oil is too tart for you, just increase the olive oil until you achieve the combination you prefer. At our house, this vinaigrette is perfect with cucumbers, black olives, red onions, and mandarins added to our salad.


BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil (again, adjust to your own preference, I keep it closer to 1/3 cup)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine and shake well. This recipe is also fabulous on grilled veggies.


If you're not the type to make your own dressing, here are a handful of accidentally vegan options that you can find in any grocery store:

Kraft
Balsamic, Classic Catalina, Creamy Italian, Fat-free French, Zesty Italian, and Fat-free Zesty Italian (source)

Newman's Own
Balsamic, Lite Balsamic, Lite Italian, Raspberry and Walnut Lite, Olive Oil & Vinegar, Red Wine Vinegar & Olive Oil (source)

Fiddler's Pour House - St. Catharines

149 St. Paul Street
St. Catharines
905-345-1225

Though some in our party weren't as happy with the ambience as I was (college kids were playing euchre at the table,...gasp, said the curmudgeons),.....we all agreed that the food was fabulous.

I helped with the samosas for a starter with some awesome peanutty dipping sauce,...then followed up with roasted cauliflower and fries. Delish. The roasted cauliflower came with vegan cheese, dried cranberries and almonds. I thought this sounded like a strange combo, but it totally worked. The cauliflower would have been equally good without the cheese.

Fiddlers has a menu with many specific vegan-option available items, including:

Appetizers:
Samosas
Kettle Chips
Battered Pickle Fries
Sweet Potato Fries

Mains:
Chicken Wings
Nachos
Chicken Tenders
Fiddlers Salad`
Garden Salad
Roast Cauliflower
Grilled Cheese

There are also many gluten-free options and vegan chicken and pulled pork can be added to most dishes, if desired. I asked about non-dairy options for coffee or tea and was told that although they do not have them usually, if I were to call ahead, they would make a point of picking some up and having it on hand. Pretty cool.

Parking is street parking with a somewhat pricey lot two doors down.

Hours:
Tuesday to Sunday: 11:30am to 11pm
Monday: 3pm to 11pm
(last call 2am)

Ways to Connect:
Website
Facebook
Twitter

Root 8 - Beamsville

5041 King Street
Beamsville, ON

905-563-1155

I was super excited to hear about an all vegan restaurant coming to Beamsville and Root 8 did not disappoint. The restaurant has a real cafe feel to it with its turquoise distressed wood decor.

The menu consisted of salads, wraps, bowls, chili, panini, and little dishes of mac and cheese, and tofu nuggets.  There is also a smoothie and juice menu, along with daily specials that included a hummus tray, french onion soup, and a burger with all the fixin's on the day that I went.

I ordered the panini with sweet peppers, zucchini, portobello mushrooms, spicy mayo, and mozza cheese (cashew cheese). I also enjoyed a chocolate, almond butter 'muffin' for dessert. Loved them both. I ordered take-out so I cannot speak to the wait-staff's attentiveness, but I was thoroughly charmed by the person who took my order. She was informative about the menu items and friendly without being intrusive while I waited.

Panini with sweet peppers, zucchini, portobello mushrooms, spicy mayo, and cashew mozza cheese.

Chocolate, almond butter 'muffins'

Plus, in keeping with their environmentally friendly philosophy - I received this lovely take-out bag and will, in future, receive $1 off my meal if I bring it in. Great idea.

$1 off my next meal if I remember to bring it in

Parking is free in this mall.

Hours:
Saturday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 11am - 6om
Thursday, Friday: 11am - 7pm
Sunday, Monday: Closed

Hours will be extended in the summer.

How To Connect:
Facebook
905-563-1155

The Black Forest Inn - Hamilton

Black Forest Inn
255 King Street East
Hamilton, ON

905-528-3538

If you ever heard of or been to the Black Forest Inn, you are very likely to be surprised to see a review about it here, and not just because it's located in Hamilton. This restaurant is super heavy on animal products and normally I would not be found in this type of restaurant. However, due to family circumstances, this is exactly where I ended up.

I called ahead, on three separate occasions to try to talk to different people about vegan options, because each time I was completely unsatisfied by the options. Or lack of. And I didn't get the feeling that anybody cared that I was going to be attending lunch and not really going to be able to eat anything.

There was one single menu item that was available to me as a vegan: vegetable plate. It is listed on the menu with a fried egg, so obviously I skipped that, still quite uncertain as to what to expect. Well, I was most pleasantly surprised. The vegetables are cooked with margarine, and I was promised that it was vegan.

My plate was overfull and contained cabbage, mushrooms, carrots, sauerkraut and the most flavourful potatoes I've had in a long time. I almost couldn't finish it (almost), and I completely enjoyed it.

Having said that, I want to be very clear - there was no hope of having coffee or tea unless I wanted to drink them black, and the dessert menu was not even close to being vegan friendly. I could have started with a salad and a vinaigrette, but the salad was a meagre iceberg lettuce version that I could not even bear to try.

Bathrooms were an adequate size and very clean.  Decor was Austrian/German and looked old and outdated, but again everything seemed very clean.

Parking was available in a city lot across the street, as was street parking.

They do not take reservations.

Hours:
Monday to Thursday: 11:30am-9pm
Friday and Saturday: 11:30am-10pm
Sunday: 11:30am-9pm

How To Connect:
Website
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter