>ONE LOVE — VEGAN STYLE
Simple vegetarian meals on offer at Rastafarian eatery
Rasta restaurateurs’ Scarborough takeout is “a sanctuary” for sharing ideas on their philosophy that health is wealth,
How many restaurant kitchens have you been in where the chefs burn frankincense and read from the Bible while extracting milk from coconuts and chopping vegetables? I’ve been in one — Ital Vital Rastarant. That’s not a typo for restaurant. This vegan takeout and juice bar is run by two Rastafarian men, Arnold (Makus) Freeman and Michael (Drey) Stephens. Rasta food is always vegetarian, often vegan. Here at Ital Vital on Pharmacy Rd. just south of Eglinton, it embraces vegetables, fresh coconut milk, soy protein meat substitutes, basmati rice and chow mein noodles.
Seasoning is simple, usually Bragg liquid soy seasoning (a soy or tamari substitute that’s free of wheat, sugar, salt, alcohol and preservatives), a little sea salt here and some garlic powder, cinnamon or cloves there.
“We don’t believe in killing or hurting things in the world, so that’s why we are vegan,” Freeman explains. “We believe in one love.”
Like Stephens, he’s from Guyana, so there’s a West Indian sensibility to the ever-changing menu. The men have been in Canada long enough to throw veganized shepherd’s pie, lasagna and spaghetti and “meat” balls into the mix.
Meals are takeout and run $7 to $13.50, depending on how much food you want.
You usually get rice and peas, non-GMO barbecue soy and chow mein plus a choice of stews made from things like Caribbean pumpkins, callaloo (a leafy green), chickpeas, okra, zucchini, butter beans and bok choy.
The cooking oil is either coconut or a coconut/ avocado blend. Sometimes there are fresh vegan rotis.
“A real Rasta man is a vegan,” says Freeman. “He don’t drink no milk. He don’t eat no cheese. He don’t eat no butter. But now that we have vegan butter, it’s good.”
He takes me into the kitchen and patiently teaches me how to make an Asian-influenced ginger-carrot rice, West Indian chow mein, Rasta coconut vegetable stir-fry and Rasta veggie barbecue.
Red, green and yellow bell peppers figure prominently in this kitchen. The Rastafari colours represent “blood, the earth and the sun.”
We listen to the late Rastafarian musician Garnett Silk and other reggae.
“When I became a Rastafarian at 14 years old, I had to cook for myself,” says Freeman. “It kind of separates you from the family. It’s a transition. I learned to cook from the Rasta women and the older Rasta brethren.”
Now 38 and a father of five, he moved to Canada when he was 18 and worked in various factories before being laid off from his duct-cleaning job.
He teamed up with Stephens to open Ital Vital — ital means vegan, vital means vital — in February 2014.
Stephens, 35, came to Canada in 1996 and became a Rastafarian only about six years ago. He has a culinary certificate and has worked at places such as Montana’s Cookhouse and the Red Door Family Shelter.
The men belong to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewa-hedo Church and follow the King James Bible. Their dreadlocks, essential for Rastafarians, are wrapped in hats and turbans as they cook.
One thing these two friends aren’t used to is media attention.
“We’re not really steeped in that,” admits Stephens. “We’re more capable in the cooking and the serving and the healthy food department — and the spiritual department.”
He describes their restaurant as “a sanctuary, a humble abode, to share ideas, to stand behind freedom of speech, courage to act and the Ital Vital philosophy of health is wealth.”
If there’s one taste that stands out here, it’s the fresh coconut milk. Freeman breaks coconuts every morning, removes the flesh from the shells, chops it, blends it and strains it.
“I’m trying to give the people what I’m living.”
He’s horrified when I muse about adapting one of his recipes by using canned coconut milk.
“You want that right taste,” he implores me. “Not preservatives.”
“Please tell people to come, because they’ll get the right taste here.”
Ital Vital’s Ginger-Carrot Rice
Star Tested From Ital Vital Rastarant at 741 Pharmacy Ave., south of Eglinton Ave. E. Bragg all-purpose liquid soy seasoning (called liquid aminos in the U.S.) is a gluten-free soy sauce or tamari alternative made of two ingredients: soybean vegetable protein and purified water. It’s in most supermarkets.
2 tbsp (30 mL) coconut oil 3 medium carrots, peeled, coarsely grated 1/2 large Spanish or other sweet onion, halved again, thinly sliced 2-inch (5-cm) piece ginger, peeled, finely grated 1 tbsp (15 mL) Bragg all-purpose liquid soy seasoning 5 whole cloves 2 cups (500 mL) basmati rice, rinsed 3 cups (750 mL) water
In medium saucepan, heat/melt oil over medium. Add carrot, onion and ginger. Cook, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes to soften without browning. Add Bragg soy seasoning, cloves, rice and water. Raise heat to high; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover. Cook until water is absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with fork. If desired, remove cloves before serving.
Makes about 8 cups (2L). jbain@thestar.ca