Plant-based pantry part of a healthy home

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A handful of innovators are changing the way plant-based food is being produced

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After almost 20 years of cooking for high-end bistros, private catering, and personal chef services, the career of classically-trained Canadian Chef de Cuisine Susan Hoy took what must have looked like a very sharp turn.

Burnt-out by the high-stress food industry, Hoy decided to retrain for another field. Citing a love of gardens, vegetation, hiking, and getting her hands dirty in fresh soil — along with a sense of the connection between healthy soil and human health — Calgary-based Hoy become an agrologist — a soil, vegetation, and water specialist.

But by 2015, Hoy was back in the kitchen, focusing on the link between nutrition and health. By 2019, she was running — along with partner Sheryl Anderson — Flora Foods, one of a handful of innovators in plant-based eating that’s changing the way food is produced, prepared, and brought to our homes.

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The route back to the kitchen started when Hoy found herself standing with a farmer, unable to convince them to put legumes in to stabilize the eroding soil. “I realized I could have more impact teaching people how to use all these wonderful pulses at home than I could arguing in a field,” she says.

“When you look at it in the rear-view mirror, it all lines up,” says Hoy of the evolution of Flora Foods, which makes about 400 plant-based meals for delivery every Monday to homes in and around Calgary. There are also a few pick-up points. Food is prepared in a ghost kitchen — just before delivery, Hoy points out — and packed in reusable glass containers.

COVID-19 spurred exponential growth in the business, which will soon open a dedicated location that includes retail space for meals and house-brand specialities like plant-based fish and Worcester sauces.

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Menus rotate every twelve weeks, with six dishes each week. “That opens up a lot of choice for people as well as room for my chefs to stay fresh and create,” says Hoy, adding that crowd favourites — like meatloaf — pop up on twice a season.

Hoy’s approach to plant-based is encouraging rather than evangelical. “No-one needs anyone barking at them,” says Hoy. She’d rather, she says, leave the door open — whether it’s people who want to cut down on spending, for health or ethical reasons, and those who are simply curious, adventurous eaters.

For more on plant-based cooking, go to www.aroundthehouse.ca

That it makes home-based cooking movements like plant-based eating easier and tastier is one of the attractions of Breville’s new Joule oven/air fryer.

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Designed in collaboration with online culinary resource ChefSteps, the smart connected countertop unit has Breville’s high-quality heating technology — six elements optimally placed for various cooking techniques. Those include a super-convection setting that combines high heat with high-efficiency circulation for crispy air frying and dehydrating. TIP: I used the dehydrating function very successfully on some tired cherry tomatoes for a simple pasta dinner.

Other helpful features include an LED screen that indicates which rack to use for the 13 pre-sets — from toast to roast, a middle rack that automatically pops out when the door opens, and very short preheat times.

An app has a digital library with video-guided recipes and content that’s useful for both the beginner and seasoned home chef. Autopilot settings adjust temps throughout cooking, so chef need do almost nothing. I tested it on a steak, and got perfect results. More info at Breville.

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Made a small but delicious plant-based change with a new beverage called Sapsucker sipsapsucker.com. Get this: it’s made with a by-product of the process maple trees use to draw water through their roots and trunk, which acts like a natural filter while collecting nutrients stored in the tree.

Sustainably harvested from trees in Ontario and Quebec, it has a slight natural bubble and fruit flavour that’s a wonderful alternative to soft drinks or alcohol, and a tasty way to rehydrate.

Vicky Sanderson is the editor of Around the House, www.aroundthehouse.ca. Check her out on Instagram@athwithvicky, on Twitter ATHwithVickyand on facebook.com/ATHVicky.