LCBO Food & Drink Autumn 2024

INSIDE SCOOP

WHAT’S FOR DINNER? Use Your Noodle

While most people think of Asian-style noodle soup as restaurant food, it’s also a fun way to eat at home—no recipe required. All you need is some broth, noodles and enough add-ins to give it some substance. To get your creative juices flowing, here are three easy ideas for a comforting meal-in-a-bowl.

Curd Mentality Having a package or two of Ying Ying Soy Food

Gourmet Tofu (200 g, $4.99, yingyingsoyfood.com) in the fridge means there will always be a tasty, plant-based protein at the ready. The Mississauga based company makes seven flavours—either black bean or miso would be excellent in a vegan noodle soup.

s eafood broth + rice noodles + cooked shrimp + thawed frozen corn + cilantro leaves, chili crisp

CHICKEN

VEGAN

mushroom broth + soba noodles + flavoured tofu + shiitakes, julienned carrots + sliced green onions

chicken broth + instant ramen noodles + sliced rotisserie chicken + chopped bok choy + shredded nori, toasted sesame seeds

SHRIMP

No Bones About It Even the best chefs find it

challenging to make vegetable broth with the same lip-smacking qualities of meat stock. Toronto based Siip came up with a magic formula in their Vegan Broth (4 single-serve packets, $8.99, siipbroth.com), a deeply flavoured, mushroom-heavy elixir that will take a vegan noodle soup to the next level.

FOR FALL TOASTING Mock Up BY MEGAN POWELL

Some traditional Indigenous ingredients—foods from the natural environment used for time honoured meals and celebrations—can also be used to great effect in non-alcoholic beverages. You could make a tea with chaga mushrooms and cinnamon, and use it as a base for a spritz with soda water and maple syrup. Or muddle blackberries and mint, then top with lemonade—this is a popular refresher at Powwows. This Squash & Sage Mocktail (p. 142) merges tradition with mixology. Sage is one of four sacred medicines (along with sweetgrass, tobacco and cedar), and squash is one of the three sisters (alongside corn and beans), which represent the symbiosis of companion planting. It’s the perfect drink to toast the autumn harvest.

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———————— AUTUMN 2024