Sunday, January 31, 2010

"The Year in Meat" (repost)

I just thought I'd share a really interesting blog post I read the other day from vegan.com. It basically summarizes the major stories and things that happened during 2009 that impact factory farming, meat production, consumer knowledge, and a general vegan lifestyle. Its definitely worth a read.

http://www.vegan.com/articles/yim/the-year-in-meat-2009/

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Fried Tofu

I can't get it quite like they do in my favorite Thai restaurant, Duck Walk, but its better than I've had other places and good considering its homemade. Its probably because I don't have a deep fryer...

I got the basic recipe out of a book my boss got me called "Meatless Meals for Busy People".

It would probably work best if you try to dry the tofu a little first.
Take a package of tofu and slice it into cubes. I like to slice it horizontally into 3 layers, so that its smaller. Then, to dry it more, you can put paper towel under and over it. Put something with a little weight on it to help the towel absorb water and leave it for a little while.
After it has had time for the water to be absorbed, slice it into one-inch cubes.

1 pound cubed tofu
1/4 cup soy sauce (approx.)
1 Cup flour
sesame seed oil
1 tbsp Sesame seeds
salt

Lay the tofu out in a tray and pour the soy sauce on top. Try to get it on all sides (if 1/4 cup isnt enough, add a little more)

Coat the bottom of a frying pan in the sesame seed oil and turn it up to medium-high.
Put the flour in a separate bowl and mix in the sesame seeds.
Dip the tofu in the flour and then put it in the pan to fry.
Fry it until it is brown on both sides (about 10 minutes). Make sure to flip it over half way through. It should hopefully be a little crispy. I think the longer you dry it, the crispier it should be (to a point), but I haven't experimented with this yet. Its really good, because it gets crispy on the outside, and squishy on the inside. Add salt as soon as you pull the tofu out, while its still wet.

I'm gonna get back to watching modern family. Great show!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Ice Cream review

One of the hard things when you first become vegan is that you have to discover new things to use or consume in place of the usual things you used to love. For me, I even falsely assumed there were a lot of things that I just had to accept I'd never eat again. I never thought I'd have good ice cream again, or cookies and cream, ect. But its been fun exploring what else is out there and trying it out (and making other people try it out too). So occasionally I'd like to put together a list of what products I've found that are vegan versions of these foods. Today it will be ice cream:

The absolute best ice cream I've found has been So delicious coconut ice cream. They use coconut milk and agave nectar as the sweetener and I love it. I think I've had 3 of their flavors.
Their cookie dough is *amazing*. Somehow the dough is gluten free and has no egg, but it still tastes just like other cookie doughs and is really good. This one is my favorite.
The next best is Chocolate peanut butter. Its chocolate ice cream with ribbons of chocolate fudge and peanut butter. Super delicious.
I've had their mint too, and that one is great as well.

http://www.purelydecadent.com/products/purely_decadent_Coconut_Milk.html

Here's a list of other flavors:

Chocolate
Coconut
Mocha Almond Fudge
Passionate Mango
Vanilla Bean

Its more expensive than other ice creams, but that encourages me to not eat to much, and to savor it.

They also have soy flavors, but I haven't tried too many of those.

I've had their ice cream sandwiches (amazing) and their coconut milk ice cream bars (even more amazing). The bars are coated in this delicate, delicious chocolate covering. Its really amazing chocolate just by itself.

I've also tried rice dreams cookies and cream. You can tell its from rice milk, it has a very strong noticeable taste. After a while, you notice it less as you eat but it doesn't go away. I've only had it once.

Most soy ice creams taste like soy too, which is sometimes ok. I've had cookie dough that my boyfriend loved (which is weird since he hates soy products), but he didn't like the other flavors of that brand. I've had butter pecan, which was pretty good (I think these were all soy delicious flavors). The buttery-ness helps make it not taste like soy at all. Whats been really good is I've bought their vanilla bean, and mixed it in a blender with nerds to make a nerd blizzard (my favorite kind at dairy queen as a child that they dont even make anymore). It properly fulfilled a comfort food niche that I needed.

The one that I really haven't liked is better pecan by tofutti. Way too soy tasting. But my friends were all making root beer floats, and thats what the smallish grocery store had. It was sort of weird with root beer, and it made it too buttery.

If I try/think of more I'll add them. Feel free to add comments.


Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Crunchy Vegetable Wraps

I got the basic idea for this from my vegetarian starter kit (i.e. a booklet of info and recipes) that I requested when I first went vegetarian. Its really simple, pretty much like a salad in a tortilla (isn't that what most wraps are?)

Makes about 4 servings
4 10-inch flour tortillas
1 cup shredded spinach
1/2 cup shredded red cabbage
1/2 cup sliced avocado
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped cucumbers
1/4 cup diced red onions
1/4 cup diced red peppers

also, 2 tbsp of sunflower seeds might be good in there too.

Add all the vegetables in a bowl and put on your favorite vegan salad dressing. Mix, and then add about 1/4 of the mix to each tortilla. Then wrap and enjoy.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Quinoa Vegetable Pilaf

This recipe is really good because it is so versatile. You can take the veggies in several directions, and its one of those recipes when you can just put in whatever you have. I found the base recipe from the Savvy vegetarian online.

1Cup quinoa

Choose 2 or more from:
1 celery stalk, diced
1 carrot, diced or shredded
1 parsnip, diced or shredded
1/2 red pepper, diced

1/2 cup chickpeas
1 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1 Tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger (or 1/2 tsp dried ginger)
1/2 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup vegetable broth

1/2 cup frozen peas
And/or
1/2 cup frozen corn

I usually leave these out, but 2 cups chopped spinach or chard, and 1/4 cup minced parsley or cilantro

Add ground pepper to taste

Soak quinoa 15 minutes
Heat olive oil on medium low
Peel and mince garlic and ginger, saute with mustard seed for 3minutes
Chop first set of chosen veggies (and chickpeas), add to pan and saute 5 minutes
Mix in the bay leaf, tumeric, coriander, and cumin
Turn heat to medium high.
Drain quinoa and add it. Stir until its dry and starts to pop.
Add 1 3/4 cup broth and salt. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 15 min.
Stir in the corn/peas, and other optional veggies that you would like
Cover and cook 5 more minutes, then its ready to eat.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Delicious Stuffed Mushrooms

Whenever my friend Priya comes over you can trust two things will happen: hilarious situations, and some sort of adventurous cooking expedition. With the former being done the night before, we set out on the latter today.

For Christmas, my dad got me this book called "The Accidental Vegan" with some pretty interesting recipes (and a substantial section on Tempeh). The basic recipe for Stuffed Mushrooms was in there, so my friend and I adapted it to our own tastes for lunch today. I'll admit that I don't really like mushrooms all that much, but the stuffing (which also has mushrooms) made me forget that for a while. I think if I could just make the stuffing, and not have it turn out badly (i.e. burnt or too squishy), I would. I might try it as a sort of casserole style some other time.

1 lb large button mushrooms
1 red onion, chopped
2 or 3 cloves garlic, diced
1/3 cup red peppers, diced
1 cup bread crumbs (or crumbled toast works too in a pinch, as we discovered)
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp crushed red peppers

Preheat oven to 375F

Wash the mushrooms and remove the stems (save them). You should be able to peel the top layer off the mushroom.
Chop the stems and other ingredients, then put the stems, onions, garlic, and peppers in a skillet with the olive oil, for about 10 minutes.
Add salt, basil, crushed red peppers, and bread crumbs.

Separately, coat a baking pan with olive oil and set the mushrooms in, top down.
Add the filling to each mushroom, about a tbsp.
Bake 45-55 minutes, or until brown.

6/16/10:  Note: Also is very delicious with baby bell peppers, from Trader Joe's.




Saturday, January 23, 2010

Aunt Pat's awesome vegan, all fruit, gluten free pie

My dad's side of the family are all pretty into health, so they were most supportive when I went vegan and tried to make sure that what they cooked was ok for me to eat. My aunt Pat even went vegetarian herself, after looking into the topic. She also has celiac's, so she can't have most typical deserts unless she makes them herself or buys something special. So when I went out to visit and celebrate my college graduation, she made these delicious pies that everybody (even my extremely health conscious dad) could eat.

Crust:
In a food processor, mix about 2 cups raw pecans and about 6 pitted dates together. Then
press the "dough" into a pie pan.
(Or if in a rush, (and if you don't care that its not gluten free) you can use a keebler graham cracker crust, which is vegan)

Filling:
For the filling, mix in a blender 1-2 bananas and a bunch of strawberries. Try not to get it too runny. If the bananas are too green, it won't have as good of flavor.

Putting it all together:
Cover the bottom of the "pie crust" with sliced bananas.
Then decorate on top of the filling with sliced fruit: sliced bananas, sliced strawberries, sliced kiwi, blueberries, blackberries, and
raspberries. (those are the fruits I use...you could experiment with others if you like).
Chill and serve.

The filling might turn out a little runny (usually for me it looks a little like yogurt), but really its still delicious.

My little cousin wanted to eat while he was watching tv in the bedroom. He grabbed his plate and everyone was like "nooo..." He tripped and it landed face down on my aunts white carpet. It was kind of funny, in a tv sitcom kind of way.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Apple Crisp

I loooove apple crisp. And blueberry crisp (although I won't get any of that until the prices go down in the summer). I usually just get this bin at the store and dump it in with some butter to put on top of the apples, which is good, but it has a lot of unpronounceable stuff in it, and probably some kind of high fructose corn syrup and the like. I found this recipe off a Betty Crocker website and modified it slightly. It originally called for nutmeg, but I thought it detracted from the overall taste, so I took it out and added a little more cinnamon.

4 medium cooking apples (tart works best, but any type really will do), sliced and peeled.
Some people leave the peels on, but I like it better without them
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats (most types will work, I used old fashioned)
1/3 cup vegan butter (such as earth balance)
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Temp- 375 F

Spread apples in a baking pan. Stir the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl, doing the dry ones first. Add the butter and mix it in well. It should end up looking somewhat crumbly.
Spread over the apples evenly.
Bake for 30 minutes. The apples should be tender when pierced with a fork.

Note: I tried this recipe last weekend with bulgar wheat be cause I was out of flour and it wasn't
very good.

This will be my next vegan baking activity at work!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

The Best "Chicken" Pot Pie Ever

This pot pie is AMAZING! This was one of the foods that I thought would never be as good once I gave up meat. I tried Amy's pot pie, but it was too bland and didn't have that delicious gravy taste. (A lot of her other stuff is great though, like her lentil soup, that's my favorite). Then I found this recipe online (it says its by Kathy Freston) and its everything I ever wanted in a pot pie.

I've made this for my work twice and most people told me they couldn't tell it wasn't real chicken. One of the times it was for my Vegan thanksgiving. I'll make a post about that sometime.

4 Tbsp vegetable bouillon (I haven't found a good conversion to liquid broth yet(
2 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes (a good investment for any vegan. High in protein and b-12. I use it sometimes in sauces or instead of parmesian cheese on pasta.)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 boiled potatoes, in small cubes (or 15.5 oz. can white potatoes)
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen carrots (or 1 1/2 cup mixed frozen vegetables)
1/2 cup faux chicken (I love the quorn chicken (*technically not vegan but you can see my opinion on it in the quinoa quorn corn recipe from 1/6/10) or the recipe says you can use Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Chick'n Strips. Hell, even tofu would probably work if you got it firm enough)
1 box puff pastry sheets, thawed (pepprige farm works really well, and its typically not too expensive)


Preheart oven to 400F.
Mix the vegetable bouillon with the hot water to make a stock. Set aside.
Combine the nutritional yeast and flour in a large pot and stir constantly over low heat until lightly toasted. Add the oil, stirring. This will make a roux. Slowly whisk in the stock, garlic salt, and pepper. Add the vegetables and faux chicken. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until heated through.
Roll out one sheet of puff pastry and place it in a 9-inch pie dish (or a square baking dish), trimming to fit. Place the pastry in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until it starts to puff.
Remove the pastry from the oven, pour the filling into it, and place the other sheet of puff pastry on top, cutting and pressing together the edges and making several 1 inch slits to allow the steam to escape.

Continue baking for approximately 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and puffed.

It makes the house smell so good, and is great for cold winter weather.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Cuban Black Beans and Rice


I got this recipe out of a Martha Stewart magazine, and it was really good.

1 cup long grain white or brown rice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped (I think white works a little better than red, but either is fine)
1 bell pepper, cut into small 1/4th inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, chopped or crushed (a garlic press is the best invention ever)
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 15.5 ounce cans black beans rinsed (or the equivalent fresh)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 radishes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup fresh cilantro

Cook the rice as instructed on the package (usually 1 cup water for every 1/2 cup rice, probably about 20 minutes)
While this is cooking, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in the cumin and cook for 1 minute

Add the beans, oregano, and 1 cup water. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, Add the vinegar and smash some of the beans with the back of a fork to thicken.

Serve the beans over the rice and top with the radishes and cilantro.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Southwestern Quinoa with Blackbeans

I found this recipe somewhere on the internet and its good and full of protein.

1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water

1 1/2 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp onion (minced or diced)
2 cup of various colored bell peppers to make it look pretty
1 cup black beans

lime juice, cilantro (if desired), black pepper, and hot sauce to taste
1 1/2 cup corn

Rinse and cook quinoa (it helps to fry it a little first) in the water
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add onion and cook for about a minute. Add peppers, cover and saute until tender (3-5 minutes)
Add beans.
Add lime, cilantro, pepper, and hot sauce to taste
add corn and quinoa, then re-season for taste. Cook until heated and blended

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Cranberry Walnut Bread

I had my monthly vegan baking class today and it was amazing! I had to make 2 batches, one after another, so that I could pull a completed product out of the oven at the same time I was putting the demonstration batch in. One batch was a bread, and the other I used the same recipe to make muffins. It went over really well and I got a lot of positive feedback. The entire building smelled so good (an added bonus). My boss said that even some guy who had walked in off the street said that something smelled really good.

I got the recipe from my farm csa and modified it to take out the eggs and dairy. It went along with the fresh cranberries we got that week. My family were the guinea pigs over christmas.

24 muffins or one 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf.

Ingredients
1/2 cup walnuts (pecans also work well), coarsely chopped
1 cup fresh cranberries (dried works in a pinch but usually adds more sugar to the product), coarsely chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon orange zest
4 tablespoons cold vegan butter, cut into pieces (the smaller its cut, the easier it is to stir later)
1/2 banana
3/4 cup orange juice (fresh or store-bought)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Grease a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

Coarsely chop nuts. Set aside.



In a small bowl, combine the banana with the orange juice and vanilla extract. It really helps to pull or chop the banana into small pieces. Use a whisk to break the banana into very small chunks within the mixture (think diced size) Set aside.


In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the sugar, baking powder,
baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend it
into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives.
The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.

Mix the wet ingredients into the
dry ingredients well. Stir in the chopped cranberries and nuts.
Pour into the prepared pan or cupcake tray. One thing we discovered today is that an ice cream scoop (not the old fashioned kind) will easily scoop and portion the batter.

Bake for 50 - 60 minutes (for bread), 25-30 minutes (for muffins), or until a
toothpick/utensil inserted into the center of the product comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

5 Funny/ironic things that are vegan

1) Oreos-You'd think that the whole chocolate/cream and being a cooking thing would mean lots of dairy and possibly egg, but nope, they're vegan. And delicious. This applies to oreo pie crust too. Thank god, because that means I can still make oreo pie. This is always my go to example for how vegan cookies can be delicious. Also lorna doones and nutter butters. I swear a CEO in nabisco is vegan.

2) Pillsbury Crescent rolls- yes, the ones with "real buttery flavor" are indeed vegan. No egg and no dairy butter. Which begs the question, as one might also ask for the oreos: whats really in these things?

3) a-1 steak sauce. My co-workers always laugh about this one. I think its just funny because people mainly associate it with meat. I put it on everything. potatoes, tater tots, green beans. Its delicious.

4) Jello pudding, various flavors. I know that the vanilla and butterscotch versions are vegan (I have them in front of me). One would just usually expect pudding to have some kind of dairy in it when made by a major corporation. I just guess all of these are funny because they're produced by major food corporations, which traditionally don't have animal welfare (or anyone's welfare for that matter) or vegans/vegetarians in mind. This also makes oreo pie vegan.

5) Pepperage Farm puff pastries. These are delicious and amazing for baking. I hope to soon explore this further. One usually expects most flaky desserts and pastries to have egg in them, but these don't. They also make my holiday staple, quorn chicken pot pie, possible.

Maybe next time I'll do 5 funny/ironic things that aren't vegan. And they will mainly be due to having gelatin. Although skittles and starbursts are no longer on that list! Everybody write to your MARS Inc. representative and say thank you!



Rosemary Potatoes

This is a pretty simple potato recipe that might work pretty well with breakfast or a lot of steamed vegetables (Btw, a steamer is a vegan's best friend). I usually love putting A-1 steak sauce (which appears to be vegan, something that my friends find amusing to no end) on my fried potatoes, but as I'm not sure how it would taste with asparagus, I haven't tried it with this yet.

Ingredients (for one person)

1 medium potato or 2-3 small red or white potatoes, its not necessary to peel these, but I would advise washing them if you don't.
3 asparagus shoots, chopped
a small amount of diced onions
2 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper, to taste

coat the bottom of the frying pan with olive oil, to prevent burning (add more if needed later)
fry onions for 1-2 minutes to soften and release fragrance.
Add the other ingredients
cover, put on medium low or medium heat
cook 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown
They should be tender and cooked when poked with a fork.
add salt and pepper.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Three great Chicago-area Vegan/Vegetarian Restaraunts

In the past few days I have been to three Veggie restaurants that are amazing, two in Chicago and one in Evanston. I'd like to give them each a little plug and explain why I think each are great.

The first, and I think my favorite place for vegan dining, is the Pick me up cafe, on clark street in Wrigleyville. One great thing about it is that about half the menu is vegan, and most options could be modified to be vegan. If you need a place that will provide something for everyone, both meat eating and not, this place is great. Nobody has to be short on options, and everything is delicious. Their vegan pancakes are delicious. The vegan pizza is ok, but I'm not a fan of soy cheeses and would rather just have mine without cheese. They have this amazing falafel wrap that I get cravings for. So good! My boyfriend is vegetarian, and he loves it because they don't try to replace everything with fake meats and cheeses. And my meat eating friends are always happy too. Plus, they have a jukebox and a cute decor.

This morning after trying to sled in the cold, I went to the Blind faith cafe with some friends up in evanston. Its on Dempster, near main st. Its a very organic place, they are completley meat free, and they have a lot of vegan options too. I had a really great black bean tostada (I just told them to hold the dairy). It was better than what I've had at the chicago diner. They still had the brunch menu up (breakfast items are usually tricky because they almost always have eggs), but their dinner items are amazing. There's this vegan "meatloaf" made with cashews and shiitake mushrooms for the base which is so delicious! And they have a vegan bakery too, for the desserts. Mmm, we had peanut butter chocolate cake, and the frosting tasted a little bit like puppy chow.

Tonight, for my one year vegetarian anniversary we went with some friends to the Chicago Diner. They are a vegan staple in this area, and are usually very busy. Their desserts are so good too. My absolute favorite is their vegan cookie dough milkshake. I've had their cheesecake too which is really good. One of my most carniverous friends absolutely loves it and says that its the best pulled pork he's ever had (including the real thing). For appetizer's try their barbecue chicken wings. When I first had them a few days after going veg, I couldn't believe that they weren't real meat.

Ginger Cabbage



This recipe comes from the farm CSA that I'm in and its absolutely delicious. One usually doesn't think of cabbage as delicious, but the flavors are just so good.

Ingredients
6 Cups thinly sliced Green or Savoy Cabbage
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1 Tbsp Minced Fresh Ginger
1 Tbsp Vegetable Broth
1 Tbsp Rice vinegar (can be substituted with sake or something else of this nature)
1 1/2 Tbs Soy Sauce
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Preparation
Slice cabbage and mince garlic. Heat 1 Tbs broth and 1 Tbs olive oil in a large stainless steel skillet.
Saute cabbage, green onions, garlic, and ginger over medium hear for 3-4 minutes stirring frequently.
Add soy sauce, rice vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.

This works really well with brown or white rice. This is maybe about 4 servings worth of food.

Also, this can very easily be turned into a delicious stir fry. one can add sliced carrots, red pepper, snow peas, broccoli, or any other favorite stir fry vegetable and add it at the same time as the cabbage.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Vegan Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies


I'm making this right now so hopefully it will turn out. Usually it works pretty well. I made this at my first vegan baking social at work. I modified it from the back of a Corn Starch box. I've had to write in cinnamon on it because it makes it even more delicious, but I forget it since its not in the original recipe.

Pre-heat oven to 300F

1 Cup vegan butter (Earth balance is a good brand)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/4 cup corn starch
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix all ingredients well. It may look somewhat clumpy, but you should be able to form it into 1 inch balls. If its too dry or crumbly, try adding a little soymilk or another alterna-milk little by little until it firms up a little. Mine looked crumbly, but it formed into balls well like regular cookies. And it tastes great.

Cook it about 25-30 mintues, then cool for 5 minutes.

One of my residents passed on today. Harold was a great guy.

10PM
P.S. They're Delicious!

Guacamole

Makes enough for maybe 4 people, but I've finished it off with a friend when we were pretty hungry.

2 avocados
1/2 cup minced red onions
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (Note: I was missing lime juice once, and vinegar and salt in its place turned out ok)
1 tsp salt (plus more to taste at end)
1/2 ripe full sized tomato or 1 plum tomato
1/2-1 full jalapeno pepper, depending on desired spiciness. Can be substituted with a weaker pepper as well.
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed

A red bell pepper can be used in place of, or in addition to the spicy pepper. It adds an interestingly sweet quality.

Mash avocados into a thick, creamy paste. It can be left a little chunky if desired.
Add onion, lime, salt and peppers. Mix thoroughly.

Add chopped tomato right before serving or it will become a little runny. Mix and salt to taste.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Signature Puppy Chow

I don't really do anything different than anyone else's puppy chow, but I make it all the time so I guess its my "signature" dish. Maybe add more powdered sugar than most. I've made it so much, I have it memorized. Its how I won over my boyfriend. Priya did warn me that if you feed men they never leave...

Puppy Chow

9 cups chex cereal (rice or corn work well)
1 cup chocolate chips (make sure there's no milk)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegan butter
1-2tbsp vanilla extract(I tend to favor it in my recipes)

2-3 cups powdered sugar

Put the 9 cups chex in a giant mixing bowl and set aside

melt the chocolate chips, peanut butter, butter, and vanilla extract in a saucepan and stir. Don't let it burn, so you need to stir frequently. Once it is in liquid form, pour it over the cereal. Mix well, using a big spoon. This part is the most difficult, because it starts solidifying and won't spread evenly. Just do your best, it turns out alright. Don't worry if it clumps, those are the most delicious.

Split it up into 2 gallon sized bags and pour 1 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar on top. This is the second hardest part, as it tends to get all over. Its easiest to have a helper, and have one person scoop it into the bag, and the other to hold the bag open. Then, shake the bag vigorously. Turn it in all directions so the powdered sugar filters down and coats everything. Dump into a bowl and enjoy.


Vegan butter: Any vegan worth his/her salt knows about earth balance. Sold at trader Joe's and Whole foods. I've even seen it in Jewel. I dunno about other ones.

Vegan Chocolate chips: Check the ingredients for milk. Milk chocolate is out. O organics (sold at Dominics/safeway) is vegan. President's choice (Jewel). One of the Ghiredelli's is (I think semi sweet).

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Quinoa Quorn Corn















This is a recipe I came up with for lunch the other day. I'm really not good with measuring, so I eyeballed what seemed right proportion wise.

In a pot, I prepared about a cup of quinoa, which is a seed that not many people have heard of. Its great for Vegans because of its high protein and iron content.
While this was cooking, I put a little olive oil in a frying pan, enough to coat the bottom. I added some diced red and white onions, maybe about 1/4 cup, and let these cook a little longer to soften them(3min).
I cut the corn off an ear and added that, so about 1/2 cup.
Then, one can add either peas or black beans, depending on the style wanted. Both are pretty good, and both have a fair amount of protein. Or one can do both.
I added as well as quite a few chunks of Quorn*, which is a delicious chicken substitute. It is also high in protein, and comes from a mushroom. Its one of the rare things that's soy and gluten free in the vegetarian world. I use the pre-cubed kind.

Basically, everything in the frying pan just needs to be heated up and browned a bit. Add salt, and a little chili powder was also pretty good in there too. Keep it warm, but don't let it burn. When the Quinoa is done, add it to the frying pan, mix it up, and serve.

Protein content:
Quinoa: 9g
Quorn 11g
(Black Beans: 6g)
(Peas: 5g)
everything else: 2g
Total protein: 28g


*Quorn is technically not vegan (they use a small amount of cage-free egg), but because of said soy free and gluten free qualities, I think its important to support it, so that vegetarianism can be brought to a wider audience. (those with soy allergies and celiac's disease especially) I have emailed the company and they said that they are working on finding a different binding agent. Its better than the company not existing and making it harder for some people to not eat meat.

Thesis

I'm a recently turned vegan, so I've been enjoying immensely the process of delving into the world of animal-free cooking. As I find and test delicious recipes, I'd like to share them with anyone interested. At my work, I've been able to cook up a vegan dessert once a month, so I'll include those too. I'll probably also pepper my work with interesting articles I find and other things that catch my fancy.