Kingston Food Fest=Disappointment fest. Good thing I can cook!

I knew it was going to suck before it did.

The weird cow you can milk. A sign of things to come.

 Any time there is any kind of "fest" though, in particular when it promises food, I just can't stay away. What if there was some lovely little booth full of vegan options? What if no one went there and they didn't come back next year? I had to go just in case. Turns out the reality was much worse than I could have imagined. Not only were there abysmal vegan options, for a city who claims to be "a foodie's heaven on earth" the choices were pretty poor in general. Perhaps I missed the great local flavours by arriving within two hours of closing, but for the most part, the choices were all national/international chain restaurants. Laaaaame. Way to showcase our local flavour with restaurants you can get in any city in Canada *slow golf clap*. I bought ten dollars worth of tickets, which I had a stupid hard time spending. I had salsa and a fruit cup, and a gigantic water bottle filled with painfully sweet lemonade.


Good thing I wasn't counting on satisfaction. Or a meal.

 Sigh. And then, the heavens opened up and out came Tandoori Sizzle. This is the Indian take out place by my house that I *love*. I went there once after the world's most expensive grocery trip and had $9 to feed three people. While I maintain you get enough food to share, the owner would *not* let that happen and gave us a feast for $9. It was so kindhearted and thoughtful.

Anyways, here they were to save me again! With Samosas! The line up was unreal, probably because this was the only local/different thing there. From Tandoori Sizzle, my day just went uphill. Next up- I bought myself A NEW FOOD PROCESSOR. My other one got smashed and I needed an upgrade. A food processor is essential for raw food deserts, nut cheeses, hummus, pesto and many other delicious things. I love kitchen gadgets like nothing else, so any time I bring home a new major player it's like having a new baby.

Say hello to your new baby sister, Vitamix. I love you the same, but different.

Since I didn't have exactly $400 to buy the Kitchen Aid of my dreams, this fine Hamilton Beach will be the processor of my now until the dreams come true. But wait! Have a look at the french description. Robot Culinaire.

This beast is not just a food processor, it is now officially my Culinary Robot. OUI!
I also got a trip to the farmer's market as a consolation prize for being downtown on a Saturday, so I had the freshest produce in town to play with.

Basil, carrots and a free(and awesome) restaurant guide to Kingston. Score!

It was time for me and my new Culinary Robot to make some magic. Pesto! My dinner guest for this evening was Deb(one of the funniest girls I know) who, thanks to a big promotion, is no longer my boss. Woo hoo, lets ditch the professionalism! With booze!

So close to becoming a rap video.

 After an embarrassing muscle fail,

If you don't open soon, shit's gonna get real.

it was time for picking dinner. Green beans from my garden....look at us all homesteady and shit.

For our luscious dinner tonight we had Roast vegetable pasta with basil-cilantro pesto,, , garlic bread, and these green beans that are out of control delicious. OUT OF CONTROL!!!

And because carb on carb on carb isn't quite enough, chocolate chip pecan cookies for dessert.

Not even kidding, I had 27 of these.

At this point, it's time for cards. This is my nerdy secret. I love cards. I love shuffling, I love  trash talking (clearly) and more than anything I like winning. So when you dine at my house, the unofficial initiation is beating me at cards. I won't tell you this at the time, but if you can't beat me at Speed at least once without me letting you, you won't be invited back. Turns out Deb is a shark, because bitch smoked me right from the start. I let her have her sitting ovation for awesomeness.

Next time I won't let you win.

 Just this once.

Food Not Bombs=Flavour Explosion

This blog is going to be a little bit risque because FNB is a *little* bit illegal. Mmm....illicit activity!It's mostly because we generally cook in non professional kitchens and give out food in crazy places like parks. For free. I know, ballsy.

We break bread together! Please note, knee was for photo op only. We tend to use knives for this kind of thing generally.

Food not Bombs started 30 years ago as a means to protest environmental degradation, homelessness, hunger, waste and to incite social change. Different groups around the world run things in different ways but are often the first responders during disasters and such. The other thing that's awesome about FNB is the food is vegetarian/vegan!

Look at me ma, I cooked somethin!

 I first sought out this group because Isa told me I should in "Vegan with a vengeance". Since I have little ability to think for myself and I wanted to improve my cooking skills like she said it would, I found a group running in  my area. Plus people doing anything to say "f*ck the man" makes me feel excited to the max!!!!!<-Five exclamation points clearly shows you *MAX*. How the Kingston chapter runs is that we collect food that would otherwise go to waste then collectively prepare and eat together.

This food would have been garbage!

 People take turns being the leader and running a team of fearless volunteers (though sometimes team means you + me). It's awesome! Lots of people join us to share in the free food and spectacular company :D If you'd like to help cook or just come eat, leave a comment with your email and I'll get back to you on where all the top secret excitement happens!

When making food and not bombs, there are sometimes still casualties of war. Farewell garlic bread, you would have been delicious.