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6 Friday, March 15, 2019brooklintowncrier.com Brooklin Historical Society: It's a gas! By Jennifer Hudgins On June 25, 1995, the Consumers Gas Company in Whitby, along with its authorized dealer, Advantage Air Care in Brooklin, was pleased to inform Maureen and Gord Stevens that they were the winners of the draw for a brand new furnace installation to the value of $3,500. The arrival of natural gas to Brooklin was announced on July 20, 1995, at the lighting of the torch ceremony in front of the Luther Vipond Arena where Maureen was given the honour of "throwing" the switch. Mayor Tom Edwards attended the ceremony along with Consumers Regional General Manager, Paddy Davis. Because Maureen and Gord were one of the first 100 natural gas customers in Brooklin, the happy couple also received a coupon from Uxbridge Nurseries Ltd. for a free 2 ft spruce tree. This tree was planted in their backyard on Queen Street and is now a 30 ft beauty! Maureen and Gord were sorry they couldn't take the tree with them when they moved to Kimberly Drive. Community Calendar Sat.-Sun., March 16-17: Songspot Theatre Company presents "Into the Woods - Junior" A Stephen Sondheim musical At Whitby Courthouse Theatre, 416 Centre St. South Shows at 2 pm and 6 pm on each day For tickets, call The Song Spot 905-425-7664 or email thesongspot@gmail.com Adults $20 - Children $15 Fri., March 29: 4:00 - 5:00 pm (4th Friday of each month Teen Leadership Council at Brooklin Library Whitby Library's Brooklin Branch seeks Teen Leadership Council members to share ideas & assist with special events and programs. Grade 9-12 students earn community service hours. Snacks provided. No registration required. For information, email teenservices@whitbylibrary.ca. Sun., March 31: 7:30-9 pm: Trivia Night At MichaelKelly's Eatery on Winchester and St. Thomas $20 per person cash only. Teams of 4-6 ONLY. Each team receives a large pizza and an order of garlic bread, with a beer per person. Winning team members each get a $10 gift certificate to MK's. Register by emailing your name and number of team members to: editorofbtc@gmail.com Capacity is 42 people, so registration is first come-first served. Hosted by the BTC with all proceeds to Prostate Cancer Canada Network (PCCN) Durham. Sat., May 4: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm: St. Thomas' Anglican Church Spring Market Bazaar Sun., May 26: 9 am - 12 pm: Pet Valu Walk for Dog Guides Hosted by Lions Foundation of Canada Dog GuidesAt Brooklin's Pet Value store Visit: walkfordogguides.com/locations/walk.cfm?ID=1981 French Family Storytime: Children and their caregivers can join Madame Sue for weekly French Family Storytime! A half hour of French stories and songs, with a dash of English! Drop in at Central Library's Children's Program Room Tuesdays: 7:25 pm: Brooklin Toastmasters Club Practice public speaking at Brooklin Community Centre & Library. Contact John Johnstone at jajhj@sympatico.ca or phone 905-683-4439 or Patricia Romano at promano257@outlook.com or phone 905-626-7055. 1st & 3rd Tuesdays Community Care Durham (CCD) Basic Foot Care at St. Thomas' Anglican Church. 905-668-6779 Mon.-Fri. CCD delivers hot or frozen meals. To order: Karen Andrews 905-668-6779 If you have a community not-for-profit event you would like included in the calendar, please email it to editorofBTC@gmail.com with the subject line "calendar." Priority will be given to Brooklin events. Some editing may occur. Plant-Based Eating by Sheree Nicholson Don't be a junk food vegan Being vegan does not necessarily mean you're healthy since many plant-based foods aren't good for you. A "junk food vegan" is someone who is vegan but eats poor quality foods. An example: Oreo cookies are vegan but not healthy (I know you love to eat the middle white stuff). Being a junk food vegan diet is detrimental to your health and I can't stress enough that a whole food plant-based diet is the key to better health. Whole foods are simple foods, made from ingredients that don't contain a long list of chemicals. Think vegetables, fruits, grains, and seeds. Cooking from scratch can be hard during the week when you're rushing around with kids/ jobs, etc. So have homemade frozen meals or pre-cook on Sundays. There are even food delivery services that can help keep you sane. Let's face it: If you're working then running kids around town, you will occasionally go through the drive-through for dinner. Sometimes sanity trumps quality. Losing easy recipes One of the hardest things I found about switching to a plant-based diet was the loss of easy recipes I'd memorized. It became stressful to use long lists of ingredients from cookbooks, all with complicated steps. While a new recipe on the weekend could be fun, it drove me nuts during the week. In searching for simple recipes, I found this blog: https://minimalistbaker.com. It's about simple meals with 10 or fewer easy-to-find ingredients. An example is the recipe below which I modified to make it simpler. Cauliflower is high in antioxidants, a great source of fiber, and is a low carb alternative to grains and legumes. I've used it in pizza crusts, as a "wing" alternative, and as a replacement for rice. Vegan Mashed Cauliflower 2 heads cauliflower 4 Tbsp vegan butter* (or olive oil) 3-4 cloves garlic* (minced) 1/2 tsp sea salt (to taste) 1 pinch black pepper ¼ - ½ cup unsweetened plain almond milk (to help with pureeing) Instructions Cut cauliflower into even florets and steam in a large pot with a steamer basket (covered) until very tender - about 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the pot and cauliflower florets. Remove from heat and set aside uncovered to cool slightly. In the meantime, sauté the garlic in vegan butter in a small skillet over medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes or until just slightly browned (be careful not to burn). Transfer half the cauliflower to a food processor (or use an immersion blender to purée cauliflower in a pot or saucepan) and process until puréed. (The amount of cauliflower you purée at once will vary based on the size of your food processor). Then add half the garlic butter as well as half the salt and pepper and process until well combined. Taste and adjust flavour as needed, adding more salt and pepper to taste, garlic for intense garlic flavour, vegan butter for buttery flavor, or almond milk to help the cauliflower purée. Note: You could even blend in a little nutritional yeast to add a cheesy flavor. Transfer to a mixing bowl or serving platter and cover to keep warm. Then repeat the blending and seasoning process until all the cauliflower is whipped and seasoned. This recipe can be made in advance and reheated on the stove top or microwave. Sheree's hack: Cut and prepare your cauliflower on the weekend so you don't have to prep on a weeknight. Brooklin Town Crier Seeks Part Time Advertising Sales Representative Earn extra money! Set your own schedule! Work independently from home! Get to know your community! If interested, please email: brooklintowncrier@gmail.com