Spring has sprung,
the food festivals have come.
Today was a busy day in my world of eating and walking my way through Toronto. After work I had just enough time to walk to the Raw/Vegan Food Festival then on to the refurbished Distillery District to take in some of the many food festivals this city has to offer.
First up, the Raw/Vegan Food Festival on Bathurst street just north of Bloor. I ‘pigged-out’ (so sorry vegans, no pun intended) on nothing but sugary treats here, both vegan and raw.
For an appetizer I had a mini orange blossom cupcake from the Girlnola (“Gluten-free gourmet goodness“) table. This two-bite treat was followed with a chaser of raw vegan fluffiness, a combination of pureed cashews, silken tofu, agave and raspberries. To cleanse the palate I had a ‘turtle’ inspired filled chocolate. The chaser and palate-cleanser were provided by Live on Chocolate, “…Toronto’s Only Raw Vegan Chocolate Company!” Then I had a teaser of coconut pineapple jam from Cocovie, a company that extolls the virtues of all things coconut. So intrigued by the flavour, I was persuaded to buy their coconut flour cookbook. And then I had the edible piece de resistance of the whole event, a masterpiece of vegan baking from Kupcakes Bakeshop.
I was enticed with the star-shaped tiled icing of the orange cardamon almond cake. The proud mom of the shop’s owner convinced me that the $2.50 price tag was worth it. Money changed hands and I savoured the moist sponginess of a cake baked without butter. Apart from the brown speckles in the icing, I did not detect the taste of cardamon though the flavour of orange came through loud and clear. The orange bits could be seen and tasted providing a perfect sensual complement to the cake. Mom knew best; it was worth the $2.50 price tag.
Filled with sugar, I headed off on foot to the next food festival du jour…1000 Tastes of Toronto.
WEAL FOOD 