Vegan Convenient

The Easiest Veggie Pot Pie

2010-12-05T16:35:00.000-08:00

An easy way to put together a veggie pot pie comes from the freezer. Here's what you need:

* A pie pan if you are making a one-crust pie. If two-crust, use the pan that comes with the frozen crust.

* Frozen vegetable mix - choose what you like that would work in a pot pie. About 32 oz. should work.

* Optional - canned, frozen, or fresh mushrooms

* About 1 c. mushroom or other veggie gravy. Can be from a carton, mix, or your own invention.

* Frozen pie crust(s) - one or two, your choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If you are going for a two-crust pie, place the vegetables (and mushrooms if using) into the bottom crust. Mix gently if necessary. If you want a one-crust pie, dump the veggies and mushrooms into an empty pie pan.

Pour the gravy over the veggies:

Up-end a pie crust over the pie:

Cut some slices into the crust to vent steam.

Bake for about one hour, until crust is brown and gravy is bubbling:

Scoop with a large spoon for best results:

Variation: Cook the vegetables and gravy together in a saucepan until warm prior to adding to the pie pan. In this case raise the oven heat to 425 and cook for about 30 minutes, or until crust is browned and filling is hot. I haven't tested this option myself so I don't know exactly how long it should cook!

Freeze!

2010-11-14T16:20:00.000-08:00

This is not the picture I meant to have in this post. I meant to have a full glass of my version of a mocha coffee freeze (aka "frap"). But I couldn't let it sit. I had to drink it right then. So will you.

I have a weakness for these frozen drinks but I can't afford them all the time and I can't control everything that goes in them when I go to the shop. So I went online to see if I could find recipes. I tried several and came up with this combination as my favorite:

Mocha Freeze

1 c. soy or other non-dairy milk

1/2 c. strong coffee

1 T. cocoa powder (unsweetened, vegan)

1 T. sugar (your choice; I like brown sugar)

about 1 c. ice cubes

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Option: use instant coffee, 1 T. or to taste, and a little more soy milk, instead of the 1/2 c. strong coffee.

One obvious advantage to making your own is the quality of the drink. Use high-quality cocoa and coffee and you'll notice.

crossposted at Vegan Soapbox.

New Vegan Cake Mixes hit the Market

2010-06-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

A young couple from the small coastal community of Los Osos, California is taking its vegan awareness to the stores. Jeffrey Bailey and Veronica Rains offer cooking classes in their home, cater special events, and take part in other local events. Recently they have started to create and sell baking mixes at farmers' markets, in some local groceries, and online.

In the last six weeks, Wholesome Chow has sold over 500 mixes, an indication that the small company has found a respectable market for its products. There are good reasons for the popularity of these mixes:

* They are made with high-quality ingredients, including as many local ingredients as possible and healthier sweetening options. Most of the ingredients are organic, none are artificial, and there are no preservatives.
* The packaging is simple and recyclable, a sealed paper bag that reduces waste.
* Instructions are easy to follow
* The baked goods taste good!

Choices include chocolate, vanilla, lavendar, lemon poppy seed, and chai spice cake mixes, and corn bread mix. Gluten-free mixes will follow soon.

: Rains and Bailey behind their work.

Bailey and Rains have been vegetarian for over 16 years. Rains has a culinary degree and teaches vegetarian, vegan, and raw food preparation.

The Wholesome Chow website includes more than baking mixes. There are recipes (vegetarian, not all vegan), event details, sample menus, and more.

crossposted at vegansoapbox.com

Yum! Fries from the Oven

2010-05-15T15:17:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I just need that crunch, but I don't need the fat. So here is how I make oven fries:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Peel as many potatoes as you feel like eating, but no more than can be spread on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Rinse and slice into french fry shapes or round slices, whatever you like. Spray a cookie sheet with spray oil mix, or line with parchment. Pile the sliced potatoes in the middle and sprinkle generously with a seasoning mixture of your choice. Mix it up with your hands and spread the slices in a single layer.

Place in oven and cook for 20-30 minutes, depending on how thick the slices are. Turn the slices after about 10 minutes and again after 20, or as needed. You'll know they are done when the edges are browned and the slices have puffed up a bit. Remove from oven and place in bowl or plate. Salt to taste and eat right away!

Quick Bean & Chard Soup

2010-01-15T07:34:00.000-08:00

I was scanning my email the other day and saw a post from allrecipes.com that featured a white bean and spinach soup. I scanned the recipe for a sense of the soup and went to my kitchen.

I didn't have cannelini beans or spinach. Of course I wouldn't have chicken broth. So here's what I did:

Butter Bean and Swiss Chard Soup

* Took my soup saucepan (I guess it would be called "medium" in size) and added water to it, maybe three cups.

* Threw in two vegetable broth cubes (the 2-cup variety).

* Added a teaspoon of minced garlic from a jar in the fridge.

* Rinsed a small bunch of swiss chard, cut off bad parts, sliced the stems off (I usually make an upside down V in the stem to get most of the stem away from the leaves but big deal if you don't). As I cut the stems into small pieces (1/2" each, about) I tossed them into the pot.

* Cut up the chard leaves roughly.

* When the stem pieces had cooked a few minutes (five - eight +/-) and were about done, I tossed in the leaves.

* Rinsed a can of butter beans and tossed into the pot.

* Heated through, making sure the chard leaves were cooked enough to my taste (very short time).

I ate it that way, adding a bit of salt and pepper at the table. Some cayenne would be good, too. An added benefit, to me, was the nice flavoring the butter beans added to the broth that would not have come from cannelini beans.

Yum!! I ate it all, I am a little embarrassed to admit.

L.A. Area Residents: Veg Out!

2009-10-21T09:48:00.000-07:00

I have tested a few vegan food delivery services (See posts on Veggie Brothers and BuyKind ). Because I live in an area of small population, I have had to order from other states. Orders arrive in cartons with special cold-packs and the shipping is fairly pricey. The food was good but sometimes the packaging left something to be desired. For those in the greater Los Angeles area, and even beyond to San Diego and Santa Barbara, there is another option: Vegin' Out.

Vegin' Out is a fresh vegan food delivery service. Orders placed by Friday are delivered fresh on Mondays. Beyond the greater L. A. area they are fed-exed and arrive Tuesdays. The basic order will provide nine meals (three of each of three entrees, plus sides and desserts). A double-order saves money. All food is vegan.

The price for a single order is $110, $125 if FedEx is necessary. Cheaper than restaurant delivery but more than home-cooked, of course.

Because of where I live I can't test this out. If I should find myself in Los Angeles for several days and it's convenient, I might get the chance.

As you might imagine, the testimonials include some from well-known stars, like Alicia Silverstone. I would like to hear your experience if you try this or have tried it. Please let us know your experience.

crossposted at vegansoapbox.com

A cool soup for a hot summer day

2009-08-18T16:43:00.001-07:00

The other day I turned to my trusty Vegan Express Cookbook for inspiration. I chose the Curried Cashew and Green Pea Soup because it sounded just right for a summer evening. I was right. It as sophisticated, cool, delicious. Here's the recipe:
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Curried Cashew and Green Pea Soup (from Vegan Express)
2 cups rice milk
1/2 cup cashew butter
1 12.3-oz package firm silken tofu
1 - 2 tsps good-qaulity curry powder
1/2 tsp minced fresh or jarred ginger
1/2 tsp dried dill
1 medium tomato, diced
3 cups frozen green peas, steamed
1-2 scallions, green parts only, minced
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
2 tbs lime juice
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine 1/2 c of the rice milk with the cashew butter and tofu in a food processor. Process until smoothly pureed.

To serve at room temperature, transfer the puree to a serving container, then stir in the rest of the rice milk and the remaining ingredients. Check the seasoning, then serve. To serve chilled, refrigerate the soup for an hour or so. (Serving chilled means you can prepare ahead, have it ready when you are)

To serve warm, transfer the puree to a small soup pot. Add the rest of the rice milk and the remaining ingredients, stir together, and heat until just warmed through. Adjust the consistency with a little more rice milk if needed. Check the seasoning and serve.
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I served the soup with a side of cauliflower and carrot salad, also from the same cookbook.

This cookbook has become one of my favorites. Good food, interesting and fun, and easy and fast to make.

You too can make cashew butter

2009-08-16T15:32:00.000-07:00

A while back I attempted to make cashew butter and failed. I thought it would be just like peanut butter. Put a bunch of cashews in a food processor and let 'er rip. I got ground cashews. Not good. Then I learned that (sigh) you have to add a bit of oil. And you might want to add a little bit of a sweetener, like agave syrup. So I put two cups of dry-roasted cashews, a teaspoon of agave syrup, and a few tablespoons of a neutral oil in the food processor and turned it on. When it seemed it was not getting past the grind stage I added a bit more oil. I had to do this a few times. And the result was delicious.

This exercise was necessary because I wanted to make a soup that calls for cashew butter and did not find it in the first two markets I checked. I didn't have the time or energy to go to the natural foods store, where I could have found it, so instead I grabbed a bunch of cashews. It was easy, fortunately (with a food processor).

Make a salad!

2009-07-25T10:14:00.000-07:00

Mark Bittman, a non-vegan, offered 101 salads in a recent New York Times article. He started the list with the vegan salads. I copy them here for ease, and note that the original article can be found at the NYT website. I have removed what I consider gratuitous comments on non-vegan additions that Mark made. If you try some, let us know how you like them!

For fat-watchers (and yes, I'm one of them), I have starred those that call for no oil. Of course, many of the salads that call for a vinaigrette can be made with one that is fat-free.

MOSTLY VEGAN SALADS

1. Cube watermelon and combine with tomato chunks, basil and basic vinaigrette. You can substitute peach for the watermelon or the tomato (but not both, O.K.?).

2. Mix wedges of tomatoes and peaches, add slivers of red onion, a few red-pepper flakes and cilantro. Dress with olive oil and lime or lemon juice. Astonishing.

* 3. A nice cucumber salad: Slice cucumbers thin (if they’re fat and old, peel and seed them first), toss with red onions and salt, then let sit for 20 to 60 minutes. Rinse, dry, dress with cider vinegar mixed with Dijon mustard; no oil necessary.

4. Shave raw asparagus stalks with a vegetable peeler. Discard the tough first pass of the peeler — i.e., the peel — but do use the tips, whole. Dress with lemon vinaigrette and coarse salt.

5. Grate or very thinly slice Jerusalem artichokes; mix with pitted and chopped oil-cured olives, olive oil, lemon juice and a sprinkling of coarsely ground cumin. Unusual and wonderful.

6. Sichuan slaw: Toss bean sprouts, shredded carrots and celery, minced fresh chili, soy sauce, sesame oil and a bit of sugar. Top with chopped peanuts and chopped basil, mint and/or cilantro. (The full trio is best.)

7. Grate carrots, toast some sunflower seeds, and toss with blueberries, olive oil, lemon juice and plenty of black pepper. Sweet, sour, crunchy, soft.

* 8. Chop or slice radishes (or jicama, or the ever-surprising kohlrabi) and combine with chopped or sliced unripe (i.e., still crunchy) mango, lime juice and mint or cilantro.

* 9. Chop or slice jicama (or radishes or kohlrabi) and mango and mix with coconut milk, lime juice, curry powder and cilantro or mint.

10. Cook whole grape tomatoes in olive oil over high heat until they brown lightly, sprinkling with curry powder. Cool a bit, then toss with chopped arugula, loads of chopped mint and lime juice.

11. Chop and steam baby or grown-up bok choy until crisp-tender, then shock it in ice water. Drain, then toss with halved cherry tomatoes, capers, olive oil and lemon juice.

12. Combine sliced fennel and prune plums; serve with vinaigrette spiked with minced ginger. Nice pairing.

* 13. A red salad: Combine tomato wedges with halved strawberries, basil leaves, shaved vegan Parmesan and balsamic vinegar.

14. A classic Moroccan thing: Thinly slice carrots, or grate or shred them (the food processor makes quick work of this). Toss with toasted cumin seeds, olive oil, lemon juice and cilantro. Raisins are good in here, too. There is no better use of raw carrots.

15. Cut cherry or grape tomatoes in half; toss with soy sauce, a bit of dark sesame oil and basil or cilantro. I love this — the tomato juice-soy thing is incredible.

16. Slice fennel and crisp apple about the same thickness (your choice). Combine, then dress with mustardy vinaigrette and chopped parsley. Come fall, this will be even better.

17. With thanks to Szechuan Gourmet restaurant: Finely chop celery and mix with a roughly equal amount of pressed or smoked tofu, chopped. Dress with peanut oil warmed with chili flakes and Sichuan peppercorns, then mixed with soy sauce.

18. Roughly chop cooked or canned chickpeas (you can pulse them, carefully, in a food processor) and toss with olive oil, lemon juice, lots of chopped fresh parsley and mint, and a few chopped tomatoes. Call this chickpea tabbouleh.

19. Mix cooked cannellini or other white beans, chopped cherry or grape tomatoes and arugula or baby spinach. Lightly toast sliced garlic in olive oil with rosemary and red pepper flakes; cool slightly, add lemon zest or juice or both, then pour over beans.

20. Shred Napa cabbage and radishes. The dressing is roasted peanuts, lime juice, peanut or other oil, cilantro and fresh or dried chili, all whizzed in a blender. Deliciousness belies ease.

* 21. Dice cucumbers (if they’re fat and old, peel and seed them first) and toss with cubes of avocado, a little mirin, rice vinegar and soy sauce.

22. Thinly slice button mushrooms; toss with finely chopped carrots and celery and mix with mung bean sprouts. Finish with peanut or olive oil, sherry vinegar, a little soy sauce and minced ginger. (This is a super vinaigrette, by the way.)

* 23. Thinly slice some cucumbers (if they’re fat and old, peel and seed them first), red onions, radishes and fresh chili pepper. Soak for a few minutes in equal amounts vinegar and water, with some salt and sugar. When they taste lightly pickled, drain and serve, alone or over rice.

24. Blanch spinach, then drain and shock in ice water. Squeeze it dry, chop it and toss it with toasted pine nuts, raisins, olive oil and a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar. Capers are good, too. Quite elegant, actually.

* 25. Combine chopped bell peppers, tomatoes, red onion, chilies and cilantro, then toss with corn tortilla strips, toasted in a 350-degree oven until crisp (or yes, use packaged chips; why not?). Dust with chili powder and lots of lime juice.

26. Combine mushroom caps and thinly sliced red onions with olive oil; broil gently until tender and browned. Toss with a lot of chopped fresh parsley or basil (or both) and a simple vinaigrette. Some chopped escarole, arugula or watercress is good, too.

27. Cook whole, unpeeled eggplant in a dry, hot skillet or on a grill, turning occasionally, until completely collapsed and soft. Chop and toss with toasted pita, toasted pine nuts, cooked white beans and halved cherry tomatoes. Dress with olive oil, lemon juice and lots of black pepper. Or a vegan yogurt dressing is good, especially one laced with tahini.

28. Toss mâche or another soft green with toasted slivered almonds and roughly chopped fresh figs. Thin some almond butter with water and sherry vinegar to taste and use as a dressing.

29. Pit and halve cherries (or halve and pit cherries), then cook gently with olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar until they break down. Toss with chopped radicchio, endive, escarole or a combination, some toasted hazelnuts and more oil and vinegar, if necessary.

30. Fast, grown-up potato salad: Boil bite-size red potatoes. While still warm, dress them with olive oil, lemon juice, whole grain mustard, capers and parsley. Chopped shallots, bell peppers, etc., all welcome, too.

31. Roast beets whole (or buy them precooked), then slice or cube and toss with a little chopped garlic (or a lot of roasted garlic), toasted walnuts, orange juice and olive oil.

32. Same deal with the beets, but toss with cooked corn, arugula, olive oil, sherry vinegar and chopped shallots.

33. The real five-bean: Chickpeas, cannellini or other white beans, kidney or other red beans, steamed string beans and steamed yellow wax beans. Toss with vinaigrette, chopped scallions or red onion, and parsley.

34. Grill quartered romaine hearts, radicchio and/or endive. Drizzle with olive oil and sherry vinegar, and add dill and chopped shallots. Teeny-tiny croutons are great on this.

35. Combine cooked or canned black beans with shredded cabbage and this vinaigrette: olive oil, fresh orange juice, not much sherry vinegar, ground cumin.

36. Mix cooked or canned chickpeas with toasted coconut, shredded carrots, chopped celery, curry powder, olive oil, lime juice and cilantro.

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Placing the vegan salads first gives them a role of importance in this article. A few years ago we would not have seen that.

Viva la soul! Review of Vegan Soul Kitchen

2009-07-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

Bryant Terry's new cookbook, Vegan Soul Kitchen, takes "soul" seriously. Instead of focusing on traditional soul foods and simply replacing the animal products, Terry tries to define what the soul in soul food really represents. It's as much a book about a culture as it is about food. But that doesn't mean it is filled with dense gray pages of type. It also doesn't mean Terry is preaching or trying to convert anyone.

Why do I mention this book in this blog? Because many of these recipes are absurdly easy to make, and the others, while they may require a few pots and bowls and a little time, go together easily. Also because the cookbook includes directions for making several home-made condiments, which can enhance your convenience food!

Baked sweet potato fries

When I first opened this book I was confused. The book is not divided in the usual sections: appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, dessert, breads, blah blah blah. Instead it is divided into sections that are important to those southerners who swear by soul food. That means we get a whole chapter on watermelon. And drinks. And condiments. Along with the expected (but differently categorized) chapters on vegetable side dishes, grain dishes, protein dishes, desserts and other sweet things.

The whole of it adds up to a focus on the lighter parts of the meal. It's a great book for parties, right out of the box. It's also a good book for home-made staples. You can create a light corn broth, a zinging cajun-creole seasoning mix, pickles and ketchup and salsa and chutney and more. Terry is also interested in keeping his meals healthy, so you'll find little emphasis on fat and lots of emphasis on fresh.

cajun-creole spice mix

In other words, this book is more for the edges than the center. You will find red beans and rice and you will find "not-so-dirty rice" and hoppin' john, yes. There are many main dish recipes. But the bulk of the book is in the seasoning, the introduction, the end of the meal. Not to mention the melody.

Every recipe is prefaced by the name and performers of a piece of recorded music. The cookbook itself begins with the score for "Blessing" by Donald Bryant. After the song we are usually treated to a little bit about the food, where it's from, memories, some hint of how it came to be.

Some nuts and bolts:

* Every recipe starts on a new page, at the top.

* There is a section on equipment at the beginning.

* There are color photos sprinkled through it.

* Although some of the recipes take several steps, none require the skill of a kitchen magician. You can make these.

corn broth on its way to becoming succotash soup

I tested several recipes and enjoyed them all. When I made Succotash Soup with Garlicky Croutons I told my daughters that this one recipe was worth the price of the book. I am now using the cajun-creole spice mix that I created from the chapter on condiments, and I know I don't have to settle for anything commercial again.

straining the succotash soup. easier than I thought.

File under "entertainment", "basics", "staples", and "VEGAN".

crossposted at Vegan Soapbox

Simple steamed veggies

2009-06-23T11:12:00.001-07:00

The other day my meal was just this simple: steamed vegetables (right) and salad (left). I believe when there are many colors you've got it covered.

Testing, testing...

2009-06-21T19:29:00.000-07:00

I am trying out some recipes in a new cookbook: Vegan Soul Kitchen, by Bryant Terry. Today I tried the Succotash Soup, with Garlicky Cornbread Croutons. It's not a quick dish. I figure you should allow yourself two hours to be safe. It's a good recipe for those who are practicing their sidework skills (it's good to keep cleaning up after yourself as you go along, especially when there are several pans and bowls involved). It isn't a complex recipe and the ingredients are few, but there are enough steps that I felt very proud when I finished it.

The recipe calls for four fresh corn cobs, from which I cut off the corn and then cut the cobs in three parts. It also calls for 2 cups of lima beans, cooked in 10 cups of water until tender. When the beans are done, they are strained out of the broth and the cobs are then added to the bean broth. Thus:

While the cobs are cooking in the broth, giving up their flavor, diced onions (from one large onion) are sauteed until soft. In the cookbook they are sauteed in olive oil, but I used water.

Meanwhile the beans wait:

And the fresh corn waits:

The corn is added to the soft onions (1/3 c. of corn is reserved for later), and the mixture is cooked about five minutes longer, until corn is done:

When the broth is ready (it cooks 30 minutes), the corn cobs are removed and added to the compost pile if you have one (I don't, yet), and the corn and onion mix is added to the broth.

After it is cooked sufficiently (about ten minutes), it is blended in a blender and then strained through a sieve to get rid of the tough corn skins.

The sieving is easier than I expected. There was a bit less than a cup of fiber left in the sieve when I called it good.

The recipe calls for a topping of corn bread croutons that are toasted with a garlic-oil mixture as well as freshly roasted corn (done in the broiler). I actually prepared and served these parts, along with the chopped flat-leaf parsley.

The result:

It is so delicious! This recipe makes me want to make more from this cookbook. But honestly, it's the kind of recipe that I consider worth the price of the book.

Note: I tagged this post "McDougall" because with the water instead of oil the soup itself is cooked according to McDougall recommendations. The croutons and roasted corn were not.

A Corny Meal

2009-06-21T06:58:00.000-07:00

Polenta with mushrooms and asparagus in marinara sauce

Easy meal to make, satisfying, flexible. Two methods:

Method one: the "hard" way:

For four servings:
Polenta:
1 c. polenta meal
4 c. water
1 tsp. salt

Make the polenta: Mix polenta in water, in a two-quart baking dish. Add salt, stir. Bake for fifty minutes at 350 degrees. Take out, stir, then replace in the oven for 10 - 20 minutes, until done. It will be thick and soft.

Corn and vegetable sauce:
4 ears corn
1/2 c. water
1/2 medium onion, chopped
4 oz. mushrooms, sliced
4 oz. asparagus, fresh, preferably thin
1 - 2 c. marinara sauce
A few leaves of fresh basil, chiffonade (roll up and slice thinly) (optional)
Italian seasoning to taste

While the polenta is cooking, prepare the vegatables. Take the husks off the corn and cut in half. Clean and slice mushrooms. Wash asparagus, cut off tough ends and discard, then cut spears into 1 - 2" long pieces. Chop onion. Slice basil leaves into thin strips.

Put a large pot of water on to boil. When the polenta is back in the oven for the second time, put the corn in the pan to cook until done. Test by spearing an ear - if liquid that comes out of a kernal is clear the corn is done.

When polenta is about 2/3 (about 40 minutes in) done, fix sauce. In a large frying pan heat water over medium heat. Add onion, cook for about a minute. Add mushrooms and steam-cook until nearly done (5 - 10 minutes). Add asparagus, marinara sauce, and seasoning. Cook until asparagus is crisp-tender.

[Alternatively, you can cook the polenta ahead and refrigerate. Cut into four pieces and reheat in the microwave]

To serve: Divide polenta onto the four plates. Divide sauce on top of the polenta. Serve corn on the side.

Method two: The easier way:

Polenta: Use tube from the store. For each serving cut two slices, each about 1/2" thick. Heat in microwave until warm.

Corn: use frozen ears. Cook four in microwave, according to package directions.

Sauce. Combine all ingredients except asparagus in wide microwave-safe dish with lid. Cook in microwave oven until nearly done (microwaves vary; start with three minutes and check). Add asparagus (you can use frozen spears if you like, or frozen cut asparagus) and cook until crisp-tender, another minute or so.

Assemble.

Warning: I did not try the microwave version. I relied on past experience with similar mixtures and with polenta from a tube package. If you try it let me know how it comes out.

What is convenience?

2009-06-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

Today I attended a Pampered Chef party at the clubhouse in my mobile home park. Yes, I admit it. I'm trailer trash. But vegan trailer trash.

I joined seven others from the park. The consultant (also from the park) had laid out her equipment on some tables in front and was demonstrating how to make some artichoke tarts.

Now, years ago I attended the only other Pampered Chef party I have been to. I didn't know anything about the company then but thought perhaps the equipment was for people who really like to cook, and maybe it would be great equipment. I soon discovered that instead it is all about "convenience". The recipes and equipment are all intended to make cooking as easy and fast as possible. Our host - consultant demonstrated how easy it was to make these tarts, using about seventeen pieces of equipment.

Yes. The list of equipment was longer than the list of ingredients. Among the items she used:

* a garlic press
* a food chopper
* a wooden thing to press dough into a cupcake pan
* a large measuring cup/bowl
* a pizza wheel (I kid you not: she chopped parsley with it)
* cupcake pan
* a melon baller
* a cherry pitter
* and more

I have some specialized equipment myself. I have a mandolin, a salad spinner, a rice cooker, a crock pot. Most of the time, though, I rely on two knives - a chef's knife and a paring knife - plus a cutting board, and some pans for cooking. It doesn't take much to be a vegan chef. And I suspect that I could have put together the same recipe (relying on vegan cheese, of course, instead of what she used) in the same or less time with a lot less equipment.

The trick is knowing how to use your equipment. Learn how to use and care for two decent knives and you are well ahead. You will also have a lot less to clean up.

PETA's Vegan College Cookbook

2009-06-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

Check out PETA's Vegan College Cookbook
at peta2.com.

I just took a look at PETA's Vegan College Cookbook at the bookstore. I was surprised at how simple the recipes are. It's full of really convenient vegan recipes. They are super-easy.

And none of the recipes require a stove!

Just add color

2009-04-30T20:18:00.001-07:00

Sometimes we are not having a complicated meal. I admit to fixing myself some dishes, like the above, that are as simple as they come. In this case, it is especially important to consider the color of the dish itself. The right color can make the dish taste better! I promise!

Incidentally, these vegetables are on the "okay" list of an elimination diet. An "elimination diet" is one that includes only those foods that are not likely to cause an allergic or sensitivity reaction. I am currently on one of these diets for a week - or more, depending on results - to discover if certain foods might be the culprits in the inflammation I experience (arthritis).

Dr. McDougall has a clear explanation of when you might want to try this method to sort out a long-term health issue. Take a look at this newsletter.

Convenience Store Challenge Take 2

2009-03-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

Well, friends, there was no winner of the first convenience store challenge. But we're doing it again!

Same rules:

* Take ten bucks into a convenience store
* Find vegan food
* Put together a meal for one or more using just that food, plus you can add water, dried spices and herbs, nutritional yeast. It must be a meal, not a snack.
* Post about it here or here.

If you go to that link above, you'll see some examples of convenience store meals I made myself. It CAN be done. It won't likely be super-healthy but it can be a real meal.

Deadline: March 31, 2009

Winner gets to choose a cookbook from the vegan soapbox store!

Cheap, Easy, Healthy

2009-02-26T20:37:00.000-08:00

Jeff Novick, RD at the McDougall forums offers this cheap and easy vegan meal:

1 28 oz Can Whole Tomatoes (no salt added)
1 16 oz Bag Mixed Frozen Vegetables
4 oz Frozen Chopped Collard Greens
1/2 Large Bag Success Instant Brown Rice

This took about 10 minutes to make, only because the rice takes 10 minutes to make. I put the tomatoes and the veggies in a pot and as soon as the rice was done, i added it.

You can read about the nutrients here >>

Simple satisfying dessert

2009-01-25T09:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went to a local farmers' market. I admit to being lucky that there are several in my area and they all boast bountiful amounts of fruits and veggies, as well as nuts, olive oils, breads, coffee, and more. I set my calendar to remind me of the Saturday morning farmers' market because I am always forgetting otherwise. So now I go more often.

I bought three quarts of organic strawberries there. When I got home I stole some oranges from a neighbor's tree. This tree grows untended and its fruits spill over the fence separating our lots, so it's fair! It's also true that I can get these fruits but my neighbors can't reach them without going into my yard.

I looked on the web for simple recipes featuring these two fruits, and came across the following on ChefMD:

Sweet Balsamic-Glazed Oranges and Berries
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes
4 servings
194 calories per serving, 4% from fat

Ingredients
4 navel oranges
4 cups hulled strawberries, sliced
One-quarter cup balsamic vinegar
One-quarter cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon juniper berries, crushed (optional)
One-quarter teaspoon nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
Pomegranate seeds (optional)

Preparation
Peel oranges and cut crosswise into one-quarter inch thick slices. Arrange on four serving plates. Arrange strawberries over the orange slices. In a small saucepan, combine vinegar, brown sugar, and, if desired, juniper berries. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Strain out juniper berries if using. Drizzle mixture over fruit; top with nutmeg. Garnish with pomegranate seeds, if desired.

Substitutions
If you can find them, use blood oranges—their flesh and juice are tomato-red, but orange-sweet.

Tips
The balsamic glaze thickens as it sits. If you use the juniper berries, be sure to strain them from the glaze before serving. Their aroma lasts just long enough to perfume the sauce, and deepen its flavor. These berries are too strong to eat by themselves. The optional pomegranate seeds provide crunch and visual delight. When they are in season in the fall and winter, make sure to buy a whole pomegranate, just for the wonder of those nuggets of tartness and crunch, and to make this dish exceptional.

Nutritional Analysis
Total fat (g): .9;Fat calories (kc):8.1;Cholesterol (mg):0;Saturated fat (g): .1;Polyunsaturated fat (g): .3;Monounsaturated fat (g): .1;Fiber (g):7.9;Carbohydrates (g): 48;Sugar (g): 40/;Protein (g): 2.7;Sodium (mg): 11;Calcium (mg):11;Magnesium (mg): 38;Zinc (mg):.3;Selenium (mcg):2;Potassium (mg):645;Flavonoids (mg):7.4;Lycopene (mg):0;Vitamin A (RE): 43;Beta-carotene (RE): 96;Vitamin C (mg): 184 Vitamin E (mg): 1.09;Thiamin B1 (mg):0. 19;Riboflavin B2 (mg): 0.17;Niacin B3 (mg): 0.9;Vitamin B6 (mg):0. 17;Folic acid (mcg):83
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The recipe is easy to make, delicious, and rather gourmet in effect. You can see the recipe on the website here:

http://www.chefmd.com/recipe_display.php?id=18

Also on this page is a video showing the doc-chef talking about the virtues of strawberries and making the dish. Excellent.

Vegan Cranberry Cabbage Coleslaw

2008-12-07T14:08:00.000-08:00

This is a really simple, highly nutritious side dish or snack.

It takes about 15 minutes to make and just about anyone could make it. You can chop the veggies by hand or with a food processor, whatever you prefer.

By the way, WH Foods says this about cabbage:

Cabbage is an excellent source of vitamin C. It is also a very good source of fiber, manganese, folate, vitamin B6, potassium, and omega-3 fatty acids. Cabbage is also a good source of thiamin (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), calcium, potassium, magnesium, vitamin A, and protein.
Cabbage also contains phytochemicals called indoles and sulforaphane, the breakdown products of compounds called glucosinolates.
For an in-depth nutritional profile click here: Cabbage.

Ingredients:

1/2 head of cabbage, chopped
1/2 head of red cabbage, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 carrot, shredded
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 cup Vegenaise or other vegan mayo
3 tablespoons cranberry sauce

Directions: Mix everything together in a bowl. Serve cold.

A challenge!

2008-11-25T16:25:00.000-08:00

Here's the deal:

1. Take $10
2. Go to a convenience store of your choosing.
3. Purchase food.
4. From what you purchase at the store for your $10, create a vegan meal for one or more persons.

Respond here with details of what you chose and how you prepared it. Pictures are welcome - although you may need to host them elsewhere.

All of the ingredients must come from the convenience store, with these exceptions:
* any spices or herbs you have in your kitchen
* water

Bonus points to those meals that require little preparation or cooking equipment, especially to those that require only a microwave oven.

DEADLINE: December 31, 2008

Everyone is a winner, but I will choose one person to receive the winner's choice of a vegan cookbook from the vegan soapbox: http://www.vegansoapbox.com/shop

A month of vegan meals

2008-10-05T17:31:00.001-07:00

I have started a wiki for anyone who wants to record a full month of vegan meals. The butternut squash soup at the left is part of a meal I had yesterday.

I started it because I think it's a good way to let others know "what vegans eat" - including the wide variety one can find by just looking at different vegans' months - as well as to take a closer look at what I eat myself (and try to improve it).

If you'd like to participate in the wiki go to:

http://veganmonth.wetpaint.com

Veggie soup in the microwave

2008-10-05T12:14:00.001-07:00

Yes, Virginia, a delicious healthy soup can be had at home or in a motel room (one that's equipped with a microwave and a fridge). You'll need

1 microwave-safe bowl
vegetable broth
frozen vegetable mix (peas, carrots, beans, for example)

Pour broth into the bowl to about 1/2 or 2/3 of the bowl size. Toss in a small handful of frozen vegetables. Microwave for three minutes. Eat.

It seems like a no-brainer yet I did not think of this until just recently. I usually make a larger amount of soup in a pan on the stove. But yesterday I was in a mad hurry to eat and get on the road, because I was meeting a friend.

Variations:
Throw in some cooked noodles or rice or a bit of ramen.
Add baked tofu (available already cooked in supermarkets), cut into chunks
Vary the broth (try a chicken-style, for example, or miso) and vary the veg mix
Crumble a veggie burger into it

Sweet potato and cannellini bean hummus

2008-09-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

For me, one of the harder parts of veganism is in the sandwich department. How often can we eat hummus (well, actually, maybe every day would be fine for me)? How can we add some variety that will also appeal to more skeptical (usually omnivorous) friends and family? I am finding more and more recipes for spreads that appeal on every level.

The other day I made this dip from sweet potato and canned white beans. The recipe is from Vive le Vegan, a nice vegan cookbook with a special section on food for babies (as well as larger sections on breakfast and baked goods than I usually find in vegan cookbooks).

It has a slightly sweet taste, is good as a dip or a spread. It is very easy to make with a blender or food processor. It is going into my list of spreads I will make again.

In case you want to run out and get the ingredients before you get the cookbook, it contains cannellini beans, cooked yam, lemon or lime juice, garlic, olive oil, hot sauce, salt, pepper, toasted pine nuts, fresh cilantro (optional garnish).

Super Simple Soup

2008-09-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

In one episode of Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares (or it might be the American version, Kitchen Nightmares), Gordon Ramsey is faced with a chef who likes to overcomplicate dishes. He challenges him to a taste test: both he and the chef will create a broccoli soup, using whatever ingredients they want (in addition to the broccoli). Others will then do blind taste tests and let them know which they prefer.

The chef created a cream of broccoli soup with something like fifteen ingredients (I'm not kidding). Gordon, on the other hand, used fresh broccoli, water, and salt. I think it was water but it may have been broth. Pretty sure it was water. You can guess it: Ramsey's simple soup won the contest, hands down.

I decided to go for it myself. I used frozen broccoli (a no-no for Gordon, which I do understand, but this is all about convenience and in this case I do not think it sacrifices flavor) and a quart of vegetable stock from the shelf. I brought the broth to a boil, tossed in about a third of a bag of broccoli (the smaller bag), cooked until the broccoli was done, then put it all in the blender. I sprinkled some cajun seasoning on top. Pepper would have been good, too, or paprika. It really was delicious and so very easy to make.

Simple Soft Tacos

2008-09-24T20:05:00.001-07:00

Here's a simple, tasty taco recipe.

Ingredients
Taco Meat:

12 oz can of pinto beans
8 oz jar of salsa
8 oz water
1 cup TVP dry crumbles
packet of taco seasoning

Everything Else (all are optional):

Hot sauce
4 green onions
1/2 cup shredded soy cheese
1/4 cup soy sour cream
1 cup shredded lettuce
2 chopped tomatoes
guacamole or avocados
package of tortillas

Directions

Heat a large skillet on the stove-top.
Add everything listed for taco meat above into the skillet and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
Reduce heat to medium and stir frequently until liquid reduces to your liking.
Warm tortillas in microwave.
Make your own taco and enjoy!

You can serve this with a side salad, corn, rice, or whatever you like.

(The recipe doesn't come from Vegan Planet, shown in the photo, though I do highly recommend that cookbook.)

Get dressed quickly but carefully

2008-09-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

I had lunch at a restaurant today. The salad was made of lettuce still glistening with water, along with shredded carrots and a few cucumber slices. The weak dressing was on the side. As I bit into this concoction it occurred to me that many people don't care for salads because this is what they think they are. Yet even in a restaurant, even with average cooks with little time, they can be much more.

"God is in the details", they say. I think cooking is in the details. Small details, just a matter of paying attention.

My mother first told me about salads. She told me to use a wooden salad bowl and olive oil, because olive oil does not get rancid, whereas other vegetable oils do. Actually, olive oil does go rancid. The various so-called experts seem to disagree on whether the use of olive oil to "season" a wooden salad bowl is good practice. I think the best bet is to use food-grade mineral oil for seasoning an unfinished bowl but go ahead and use olive oil in your salads. Do a quick wash and dry after eating up the salad and let the bowl air dry. Never put wooden bowls (or utensils) in the dishwasher.

My stepmother took me farther into the salad creation world, showing me how to create a classic dressing. She made this salad every day that I knew her and I doubt anyone eating it ever tired of it.

If you have a wooden bowl you can use this method for making a simple classic salad (scroll down farther for the quicker version, though; this is vegan convenient, after all):

Smash a clove of garlic with a large chef's knife (or with some kind of garlic crusher). Place it in the wooden salad bowl. Use a wooden spoon to smash it up more in there. Add salt - 1/2 to 1 tsp, more if you like - and use it as a grinder to grind the garlic more.

Add about a teaspoon or more of dry mustard, grind that together a bit, then pour in olive oil. The standard formula calls for three parts oil to one part vinegar; let your own taste be your guide (you can adjust later). So start with about 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil. Smash the garlic and mustard, salt, and oil around the bowl until it is an opaque blend. There can be bits of garlic lying around. If you want to take out some of those bits go ahead. Depends on your love of garlic.

Whisk in 1/8 c red wine vinegar, or less. Taste, add pepper, adjust seasonings.

To make the salad:

Use prewashed baby spinach, romaine, or other good quality greens. Iceberg lettuce is useless for nutrition and has no flavor. If these greens are wet for some reason dry them with a clean dish towel. This is one of those steps that really do matter. Wet salad greens do not a great salad make. Tear the greens into the bowl. Add any other ingredients you like, but if you use tomatoes or other similarly watery vegetables, remove the watery seeds first so you don't dilute the taste.

Take wooden salad forks and toss, coating the ingredients with the dressing from the bottom of the bowl.

QUICKER VERSION:

Put 1 clove garlic, 1 tsp dry mustard, 1/3 c red wine vinegar, 2/3 c extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper in blender. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Tear fresh dry greens into bowl. Add as much dressing as you prefer, and toss together. Serve.

Dipping: not just hummus any more.

2008-08-31T12:26:00.000-07:00

I made this white bean dip this morning. It contains roasted garlic (five cloves), rosemary, cannelini beans, lemon zest and juice, a bit of olive oil and red wine vinegar. Oh yeah, and some salt and cayenne pepper. It was easy to make (using a food processor) and tastes really good.

The recipe is in the 125 Best Vegan Recipes cookbook. I recommend this book to anyone just starting out as a vegan - it is nonthreatening, the recipes are clear and easy to make, and so far they have all been delicious. Well, I recommend it to any vegan really. Or nonvegan.

Convenient Vegan Camping

2008-08-29T11:25:00.000-07:00

Being a vegan camper might seem a little daunting if it's your first time doing either. Being vegan is hard enough. Camping is hard enough, so vegan camping must be really hard, right?

Wrong.

It's really pretty simple to stay vegan while camping or stay camping while vegan. Here are just a few resources to get you started. After this, use your imagination (or just use your favorite search engine):

TVP (textured vegetable protein) is your friend. Lightweight, high protein, just add hot water and spices. It's great for camping: make tacos, stews, sloppy joes...

Peanut butter and __! Bring your PB and jelly, bananas, agave nectar, apples, carrots, celery, or whatever else you like with peanut butter.

Oatmeal is lightweight, healthy, and cooks up with just hot water.

REI has a vegetarian section in the camp food department. Check it out >>

TastyBite makes vegetarian and vegan meals that don't need refrigeration.

Fantastic Foods is another brand that offers boxed meals.

If you bring a cooler you have more options like veggie burgers and veggie dogs.

If you're not packing light you have more options too, like tons of fresh fruit and veggies as well as canned foods or the heavier dried foods like beans.

Whatever you can cook over a gas flame you should be able to cook on a barbecue or a camp stove.

Whatever you can cook in an electric or gas oven you should be able to cook in a solar oven.

Another variation of the pot pie

2008-08-25T10:00:00.001-07:00

A healthier pot pie can be made with just one crust. In the case pictured at the left, I mixed together one package of Hain's vegetarian brown gravy mix with 1 cup of water and heated, stirring occasionally, until thickened (just a few minutes). I dumped one package of "tuscan vegetables" (a bag of broccoli, mushrooms, red peppers, and onions) into a large pie place, added a half-bag of "stew vegetables" (carrots, potatoes, onions, celery) on top, and poured the brown gravy over it all.

I then inverted a still-frozen pie shell over the top and gently eased it out. Once out I pushed it down a bit so the edge would contact the pie plate.

I cooked the pie at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes. When I scooped out the first serving I noticed that there was a layer of liquid spread at the bottom. After a little while, though, the liquid stabilized. My advice, then, is to let the pie sit about five minutes after you take it from the oven to let the juices thicken a bit and stay with the veggies rather than leak out.

Obviously, if you use a smaller pie pan you might prefer to use just one bag of frozen veggies rather than 1-1/2 bags. The broccoli stayed green in this case, so that tuscan mix was a good choice. Another option is to add drained canned potatoes to the mix, roughly chopped, instead of stew veggies.

Ingredients:

1 frozen pie crust - white or whole wheat
1 to 1/2 bags of frozen vegetable mix (there are many varieties available)
1 packet of vegetarian brown gravy mix (the type that calls for one cup of water)

Alternatives:
Add canned potatoes, roughly chopped

Chains & Fast Food for Convenient Vegan Food

2008-08-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

These are the old standbys for when there’s nothing else available at that time or day, at that price point, or in that quick time-frame. Being vegan doesn't mean you have to eat healthy, home-cooked, unprocessed meals all the time. Though a whole foods diet is best for your health and the environment, chain restaurants and fast food have a place in modern society. Here are just a few places where you can find convenient vegan options:

Subway
For vegetarians, order the veggie sub. For vegans, get the veggie sub minus cheese on Italian bread (other Subway breads have animal products like cheese or egg in them).

Carl’s Jr.
Most Carl’s Jr. locations offer a salad bar, baked potatoes, and a few other vegan meals. If you’re on a budget or in a rush, this might be a good choice.

Del Taco
Just like Carl’s Jr., this is a good option if you’re budget is tight or if you’re in a hurry. Get a plain bean burrito without cheese or customize another menu item to omit the meat and dairy.

Taco Bell
Same as Del Taco - get it without cheese, meat, sour cream, etc.

Wendy’s
For baked potatoes or salads.

Comfort food: veggie pot pie

2008-07-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

A veggie pot pie can really be easy as pie. Made from items in your freezer and cupboard. And so delicious. Of course, put an old shoe in between two pieces of flaky crust and someone is bound to rave over it. Admittedly, the crust is not the healthiest food on the market, but there are some ways to reduce its effects.

For this veggie pot pie, start with the ingredients in the picture:

- bag of frozen "stew vegetables". Might be nice to get some that are not in huge chunks like these are but these do work.
- two frozen pie shells - vegan, of course (usually they are but not always) - you might want to choose whole wheat crusts if your grocer's freezer has them, for additional flavor and greater healthfulness.
- onion - or not, depends on your preferences - could also use frozen chopped onion
- mushroom or brown gravy mix, vegan. I didn't see any at my store, so I grabbed a can of sliced button mushrooms and some veggie broth instead, along with superfine flour (rice flour or regular wheat flour can substitute)
- soy-based vegan margarine

Not shown here: veggie seasoning. There are so many varieties of seasoning mixes out there. Go for flavors you love. I chose Spice Hunter's veggie grilling spice.

The steps:

Take the pie shells out of the freezer and separate. Let thaw a bit while you prepare the filling.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt 1-2 Tbsp of margarine in a saute pan. Chop the onion (if using) and add to pan, cook over medium heat, stirring, until it starts to get translucent. Add in drained can of mushrooms (if using). Stir and cook about a minute.

Add 1 - 2 Tbsp of flour (fine flour or rice flour is nice for gravies). I used 2 Tbsp here. Mix together, cook for about 30 seconds. Add vegetable broth, about two cups, a little at a time, stirring until mixed and thickened each time.

Alternatively, make up a batch of brown or mushroom vegan gravy from a packet.

Dump in the bag of frozen vegetables. Stir to coat and mix together. Add a generous dollop of vegetable seasoning (shake it on) and mix it up.

Pour into one of the frozen pie shells. Invert the second shell over the first. If it is mostly thawed you should be able to pat it down gently over the mixture and seal the edges by crimping them. Poke some holes in the top with a sharp knife.

Bake for about an hour. Check after about 20 minutes. If the crust is already browned you can tear some aluminum foil and wrap it around the edges to keep the crust from burning. Look for signs of bubbling filling. After 30 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees.

It's so yummy you'll want others around to share it.

Variations:

* Use different mixes of vegetables. Add peas, corn, beans. If you use smaller pieces you can fit more in there and thus the ratio of good to bad (where "bad" is the oil in the crust) will increase. Add in fresh or frozen chopped bell peppers.
* Try a one-crust version. Pour the mixture into a pie pan and put a crust on top only.
* Use puff pastry - either as a full pie or smaller pockets.
* Use "chicken" vegan gravy.

Wrap parties aren't just for movie makers

2008-07-27T13:32:00.001-07:00

Consider having a wrap party after the next football game. Or protest. Or whatever. Or just offer the materials for lunch or dinner.

Displayed here are several ingredients that can be made into wraps: avocados, salsa, sliced bell peppers, sliced tomatoes, sliced baked tofu, hummus, vegan mayo, veggie pate, little greens, and soy chorizo.

The soy chorizo can be cooked up in a few minutes in a saute pan and can be hot or cold. You might like to add refried beans and offer the option of making hot burritos.

This type party lends itself well to a group event, where each person brings one or two ingredients.

To make it even more fun and enjoyable consider taping a list of suggested groupings on the wall near the ingredients. For example, note that these ingredients go well together: hummus, soy chorizo, sliced tomatoes, avocados. For a great list of possibilites with catchy names, take a look at Vegan Express, by Nava Atlas.

Oh, one more advantage: leftovers. These kinds of ingredients move readily into other dishes later.

Vegan Fire and Spice: Just What the Tastebuds Ordered

2008-07-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Robin Robertson’s new cookbook, Vegan Fire and Spice, is garnering rave reviews from all over. And with good reason. The dishes are easy to make, use commonly-available fresh ingredients, and offer a splendid array of tastes.

Many of us who have been vegetarian or vegan for a while reach a point when we want to do more than order Indian take-out. We want to make Indian take-out. Not to mention African, Caribbean, South American, and more. We want to shake up our own kitchens by bringing in different techniques and flavors. This book promises to give us the means. The book is a reworking of Robertson’s Some Like it Hot, with all recipes veganized and 25 additional recipes added. It is also the first to be published by Robertson’s new enterprise, Vegan Heritage Press. I recently tested several of the recipes from different parts of the book and all were successful. Some made it to a coveted place on my sure-to-make-again list because they are simply too good.

The cookbook is divided into sections, each section a geographical region that is known for spicy and hot dishes. When you open to that section there is a list of recipes, categorized by “appetizers”, “soups”, and so on. The recipes, then, are not listed in their entirety in one place. The index is complete, however, so if you are looking for a specific recipe and don’t remember where it comes from you will find it there. It makes sense to look within a region for a menu of dishes rather than take a chance on mixing cultures, picking one from Italy and another from China, for example. For this reason I find the arrangement agreeable.

Each recipe is on its own page. No sharing. I prefer this standard, as it’s easier to find the recipe and to follow it.

There are no pictures, other than on the cover. I love pictures but I appreciate the economies of leaving them out. It adds to the adventure, too.

The recipes are easy to make. I admit to being an occasionally ambitious cook, happy at times to create complex dishes that take specialized skills. Most of the time, though, I prefer to put together meals quickly and easily and know they will turn out right even when some parts go wrong or I have to substitute some ingredients. Forgivable recipes, I call them, that’s what I look for.

From my experiments with Fire and Spice, I believe that’s what we have here: forgivable recipes. When I made the Senegalese soup (p. 119) the first time I got distracted and burned the mix of onions and celery. I didn’t want to start over so I scraped out the less-burned parts and dumped them in another pan and continued on. I suspect the soup would have been better if I’d had the full contingent of onion and celery and none of it was burned but it was nonetheless delicious. When I made the vegetable pakoras I didn’t chop the cauliflower enough, and I made the mistake of throwing in the cauliflower before I had the flour and water mixed. But I soldiered on and although the pakoras were not beautiful they were tasty indeed. Way too tasty, considering I made a full batch and there was only the one of me in the house.

Some of the mistakes I made came about because the recipes are not always as specific as they could be. One recipe calls for two Granny Smith Apples, another for a head of cauliflower, another for one or two yams or sweet potatoes. Not all of these recipes specify the size of these vegetables or an alternative measure, like weight or number of cups. In my experience some vegetables and fruits can vary dramatically in size. Sometimes the directions lack a little: the pakora recipe says to mix enough water into the flour mix to “make a batter”. But how thick?

And sometimes the timing is off. When I made the Chickpea and Green Bean Curry (p. 158) I had to make my dinner guest wait because it took much longer for the green beans to cook than estimated. My beans were fresh and cut according to directions and I think they were typical of what you would find in a grocery vegetable section, so I’d suspect my experience would be typical. Most of the time I did find the time estimates within the recipes to be accurate, however. What I would have appreciated, though, would have been estimates of time to make the entire dish.

Minor gripes. Most of the recipes do list ingredients by weight or cups and most of the directions are clear and unmistakable in intent.

The recipes call for fresh vegetables and fruits most of the time. Occasionally they require canned diced tomatoes or canned beans, but most of the ingredients are fresh, as they would be in their native countries. This means you do need to do a little preparation. The good news is that most of this preparation can be done ahead of time, as it would be in a restaurant if you were the sous chef (according to Wikipedia the more correct term may be commis chef, one who prepares vegetables unaided). The better news is that this is basic prep, nothing fancy, nothing beyond you.

Should you be new to kitchen equipment or preparation, though, there is a helpful section at the beginning of the book that tells you all you will need to know. There is also a section on the nature of spices, chiles, and other “exotic” ingredients. I inserted the quotation marks because seitan is about as exotic as they get here, meaning you should be able to find most of the ingredients, or reasonable substitutions, in any well-stocked grocery store, and the few remaining can be obtained at a natural foods store or even online.

Using fresh ingredients means the dishes will taste as good as they should. It’s worth using the freshest you can find because you’ll notice the difference.

Even though I see this book as the guide to an adventure the seasoned vegan is going to want to take, a brand new vegan cook can confidently prepare these delicious dishes and be proud.

On equipping the kitchen

2008-06-19T15:52:00.000-07:00

On Vegan Convenient we focus on the easy ways to get the food to the table without sacrificing taste or nutrition. We do need some equipment, though.

With What do I Cook?
An overview of cooking equipment

Although many of us like trying many different types of foods to find new tastes and uses for plant-based foods, when we cook such foods ourselves we rarely need any kind of specialized equipment. The basic vegan kitchen is really a simple kitchen.

The Basics
The basics will get you through most recipes. You can chop vegetables with a knife and cutting board, saute in frying pans, boil water and make soup or cereal in the large or small saucepan, mix simple cookies or salads or casserole mixtures in the large bowl.

Knives:

It's possible to get by with one knife, a chef's knife, but we believe in three types:

Chef's knife
Bread knife (serrated blade)
Paring knife

It's helpful at times to have more than one paring knife, possibly different sizes, but one will do. You'll want a knife sharpener as well. Whatever is recommended for the type knives you purchase. It isn't necessary to get the very best knives, as lovely as they are. A decent medium-quality brand should give you many years of good service.

If you are serious about cooking, learn how to use that chef's knife to its full advantage. When you have the skills, throwing together many fresh ingredients won't throw you.

Pans:

Frying pans: cast iron is great for adding iron to your diet and for cooking foods that require high heat, and to boot these pans are not expensive. It's nice to have the chef's pans, the expensive ones, but really you can do very nicely with a set of two or three reasonably-priced pans, whether cast-iron or stainless steel or some other material. You'll probably want to avoid aluminum and teflon because of their potential effects on your health.

Sauce pans: Another set of three, varying sizes. Good to have a set with heavy bottoms, again not aluminum or teflon. With lids.

Baking pans: Useful to have a cookie sheet or two. Cookie sheets can be used for components of many main dishes as well as for cookies.

Bowls and cups:

Two mixing bowls, one large and one small, should do you.
1 liquid measuring cup
1 dry measuring cup set

Utensils:

Pancake turner (aka spatula; depends on what country you're in)
Large mixing spoon
A set or two of measuring spoons

Cutting boards:

It's handy to have more than one. Wood is safer than plastic (bacteria survive on plastic longer than on wood).

Beyond the basics: making it easier:

If you find you have a real yen for this cooking thing, so much so that you want to branch out into sauces and smoothies and dips and many many chopped things and even some fancy baked stuff, you'll find that this equipment makes it easy and so much fun:

Blenders.

Regular blender. Find a good one. Don't just get the one on sale. Check the resources page at the end of this book for websites that offer unbiased reviews of kitchen equipment.

High-performance blender. A Vita-mix or equivalent high-performance blender can do things ordinary blenders can't, like make almond butter and whole fruit juices.

Immersion blender. Great for pea soup and similar mixtures. Just stick in the pot at an angle and whir away. Easier than processing batches of hot liquid in a regular blender.

Food processor. Again, don't go for the cheapest. You should be able to find a decent medium-size processor for not much more than the cheaper models and the first time you chop vegetables you'll be happy you did. Check reviews. Don't be fooled by advertising and don't compare on the basis of options. If you think you'd like to make bread with your food processor, you'll need to step up to a higher-quality one.

Plastic chopper. There are many of these out there, the small choppers with handles you turn. They are inexpensive, can replace a food processor for many foods (like onions), and usually are easy to clean.

Rice cooker. Rice cookers are simple beasts that do a great job on all kinds of rice. You can cook a whole pot full or less, and freeze what's left over in portion-size baggies.

Miscellaneous appliances. Grillers are great for grilled vegetables and sandwiches. Waffle irons make terrific vegan waffles. A stand mixer makes many mixing chores much easier and if it is heavy-duty enough it can make bread dough too. Crock pots continue to give us a way to get a meal started that can cook itself while we are away; especially handy for chile, soup, stew.

For most home cooks, a minimum of equipment is necessary to create a wide variety of delicious vegan meals. We recommend starting with the basics and adding as needed, as your interest expands. It can be a lot of fun to try dozens of recipes from the many excellent vegan cookbooks out there.

Easy roasted vegetables

2008-06-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

left: unbaked vegetables ready to go into oven

One type of convenient product I have come to love is the spice or herb blend. I have a "greek seasoning" blend and a "creole seasoning" blend that can be used on almost anything. One example is this easy roasted veggie dish. These are general directions because the dish will vary with what you have on hand, what you like, how much you want to make.

Use fresh vegetables from your refrigerator. Or you could use the stew-type frozen vegetable mixes available in grocery markets for an even easier version. Root vegetables, like potatoes and turnips and onions, make fine roasting fodder. Bell peppers of any color, leeks, squash, all are good. The cruciferous vegetables, like cabbage and broccoli, may not fare as well but could work if the dish is covered long enough to get them steamed. Corn could make a great addition (frozen or fresh).

Estimate how many veggies you'll need based on how many will be eating and how big a pan you'll be using. You'll want the veggies to make a layer that is not too thick so they will all cook evenly. Wash and cut the vegetables into bite-size chunks. Leave skins on potatoes.

left: roasted vegetables ready to eat

Pile the vegetables into a shallow roasting dish or casserole. Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons (or more, depending on how many there are, you want a very light coating) of olive oil on top, and a generous amount of greek seasoning mix on top of that (or try another seasoning mix that goes well with vegetables, like Italian). Mix lightly and cover the pan (with a lid or with foil). Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, stirring two or three times. Remove lid or foil and let cook 5 - 10 minutes uncovered.

7 Vegan Convenience Foods

2008-06-02T13:39:00.000-07:00

There are more vegan convenience foods than some omnivores imagine. You just have to know where and how to find them. That's where this blog comes in. We help you make veganism convenient through quick and easy cooking as well as vegan convenient foods.

Erik at Vegan.com listed a few vegan convenience foods in his last podcast. We thought we'd share that great resource.

Here are the vegan convenience foods Erik recommends:

Personally, I enjoy Lara bars and Luna bars the most. I don't much care for Probars, but we're all different and you might like them a lot. Energy bars are an excellent emergency food to keep in your purse or backback for those times when you're stuck with omnivores who refuse to accommodate your eating preferences. Or, obviously, they're great on hikes or bike rides, too :)

Fantastic Foods

2008-05-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

Fantastic Foods makes convenient boxed meals that can be prepared on a stovetop, a plug-in burner, a microwave, or a campfire. Talk about convenient!

They make vegan chili, burgers, taco filling, scramble, soups, dips and more.

Here's a complete list of their vegan foods >>

Convenient: Web Recipe Search

2008-05-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

So, let's say you've got some vegetable - don't ask why - and you're not sure how to cook it. You look it up in some of your cookbooks but none of the recipes look appealing. Or, the recipes that look tasty require additional ingredients you haven't got in your cupboard. So what do you do?

Why, you get online and search the web, that's what.

Check these websites out. They offer custom recipe searches that can help you find the perfect recipe:

Vegan Recipe Search - searches a set of specific vegan recipe blogs and websites to find vegan recipes for you
Vegan Food - searches a database of recipes from alt.food.vegan
Veg Cooking - PETA's veg*n recipe database

Well, that's enough to get you started. More to come in the future :)

Convenient Vegan Cookbooks

2008-05-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

It can be difficult being vegan. Especially when you're a new vegan and you don't know all the "ins and outs" of vegan shopping and cooking. Sometimes you can feel like being vegan is so hard that you might just think about dropping your new vegan habit.

STOP.

Please don't give up on veganism. Giving up on being vegan is giving up on yourself. You're not giving yourself enough credit. You CAN do this! You can!

Here is a list of some cookbooks that can help. These books make vegan cooking simple, easy, convenient, and cheap:

Specifically about vegan convenience and ease:

Specifically for quick vegan meals:

Specifically for cheap vegan meals:

Specifically for single vegans:

And here are some great beginner books for the newly vegan:

Convenient: CousCous

2008-05-04T14:34:00.000-07:00

Here's one of the most convenient vegan foods available: couscous.

Couscous is a wheat product that cooks in only 5 minutes. You can eat it where ever you'd eat pasta or rice. So you can eat it with stir-fried veggies, baked tofu, or beans. Or you can eat it alone with some spices. No matter how you eat it, couscous sure is convenient.

Wikipedia says this about couscous,

"The couscous available to buy in most Western supermarkets has been pre-steamed and dried, the package directions usually instruct to add it to a little boiling water in a pot and covering for 5 minutes to make it ready for consumption. Another quick and easy method is to prepare it by placing the couscous in a bowl and pouring the boiling water or stock over the couscous, then covering the bowl tightly. The couscous swells and within a few minutes is ready to fluff with a fork and serve. Pre-steamed couscous takes less time to prepare than dried pasta or grains such as rice."

You can even cook couscous in the microwave. Just boil the water in the microwave and add the couscous, let it sit for a few minutes and then fluff it up and eat it.

Please pass the mustard

2008-04-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

What have we here? Two packages of convenience food if I ever saw any. Smart Dogs and crescent rolls.

Combined, they make

Pigs in blankets! Vegan version. And they aren't as bad for you as the other kind. These are not going to be to everybody's taste but we figure there is a wide range of veganism in this world, and some of us crave things like this from time to time.

On Veganism and Convenience

2008-04-13T18:05:00.001-07:00

The last post was about making veganism more convenient. These links are to articles about how easy veganism is or why the convenience issue doesn't matter at all. Take a look:

Convenience/Inconvenience Myth - "if one is concerned with the "convenience" of their diet, they necessarily sacrifice their health, which does nothing to improve the force of their argument - nor does it disprove the argument that a similarly [un]healthy vegan diet can be equally convenient; if, however, one is interested in eating a diet that is in their health interests or welfare, one will do well to put the necessary thought and effort into their food selection and avoid the downfalls of mere convenience."
Isn't Being Vegan Difficult? - "It's profoundly more difficult to make excuses for inflicting avoidable violence on innocent beings, or to deny it, or to try and not think about the consequences of your actions, or to fend off your conscience. That wears on you, one way or another."
Isn't Being Vegan Inconvenient? - "I don't feel inconvenienced when restaurants become exercises in patience, or when I've read the whole ingredients list only to realize that it said it had dairy in it in bold print at the bottom. I don't feel inconvenienced when by best-friend gets in a fussy mood and calls me a rabbit-food eating hippy or when I have to bring my own lunch to school every day. Those small and acceptable consequences are the trade-offs that I hardly notice for looking at the pay-out."
Isn't being vegan really inconvenient? - "At first, not having so many options when it comes to being a consumer might seem a bit daunting, but once you know your stuff and get a little organised, it's really quite incredibly easy!"

PS - Here's a convenient vegan meal: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Making Veganism More Convenient

2008-04-11T15:27:00.000-07:00

Here are two resources with suggestions to make veganism more convenient for you:

Veganism and (in)convenience - "Don't give up on the whole thing because you mess up a couple of times. You won't be struck down if you forget to check for whey powder until you've eaten half the packet of crisps. But it doesn't mean you might as well go back to your old eating habits! A new vegan who makes a few mistakes is still on track to do a whole lot more good than someone who doesn't even try. Just remember to check the label next time, huh?"
10 Helpful Techniques For Vegans Dealing With NonVegans - "The mistakes nonvegans often make are numerous, too many to list here, but some common misunderstandings are these:
a) many people still assume fish and poultry is vegetarian, remind them it’s not,
b) lots of people don’t understand what “dairy” really means and they think butter or yogurt (especially if it’s fatfree) is vegan, remind them that dairy means milk and all milk products,
c) many people forget about broth, oil/lard, and those other little details, if you think something might contain those items, ask."

PS - Here's a convenient vegan food: a bean and rice burrito.

Quick and Easy

2008-04-06T22:27:00.000-07:00

Need something really quick and really easy? Think frozen foods.

Here is a snack or side dish:

Just take some frozen veggies, any package will do, and empty it into a ceramic or glass dish. Add some water, about half a cup, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave it for about 3-5 minutes. Then drain the veggies and put them on a plate or in a bowl. Season them with Mrs. Dash, Tony Chachere's, or your favorite spice blend.

Now eat.

I didn't say it was going to be the best meal of your life. But it's quick, easy, and relatively healthy :)

Win the "Vegan Express" Cookbook!

2008-04-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

Win a vegan cookbook at Vegan Soapbox!

Vegan Soapbox is giving away a vegan cookbook and one of the options is Vegan Express, a cookbook practically designed for readers of Vegan Convenient.

Head on over there and enter the contest if you'd like to win a free vegan cookbook!

Click here to win a vegan cookbook at Vegan Soapbox!

Convenient: Frozen Oatmeal

2008-02-23T17:29:00.000-08:00

This is a pretty funny story from Bitter Sweet:

"Convenience foods are undeniably attractive options when compared with traditional, time-consuming dishes, and so I can see how easy it is to get lured in by the seductive notion of easy eating. Just heat and go! [...] Homemade is always infinitely better, but unless you do nothing but cook all day long, it isn’t always a realistic possibility.
"On the other end of the spectrum are those pointless conveniences that are made for the laziest and most reluctant cooks, and stumbling upon a box of frozen, steel-cut oatmeal at Trader Joe’s I thought for sure I had another one to add to the list. Seriously, frozen oatmeal? How busy/cooking-incompetent/mentally impaired would you have to be to need pre-cooked, frozen oatmeal?"

She buys the oatmeal and ends up eating her words. She loves it.

Some convenience foods seem like a ridiculous waste of money and cardboard packaging. But some, well some are just tasty :)

On the other hand, oatmeal is a pretty convenient food, regardless of what kind you buy. Even the regular stuff that's not quick-cook is simple and convenient. Just add water and heat up!

Convenient: Microwaves

2008-02-22T16:46:00.000-08:00

When we first imagined this blog, Vegan Convenient, we were traveling. We stayed in motels with mini-fridges and microwaves. Aside from eating out and eating raw, all of our vegan meals were prepared in the microwave.

Microwaves are one of the most convenient methods of preparing vegan meals. They cook food up fast and they require very little space.

You can cook frozen, fresh, or canned foods in the microwave, but did you know you can also cook up rice in the microwave?

Look! It's a microwavable rice cooker.

A Childhood Favorite Soup

2008-02-17T18:26:00.000-08:00

When I was very young my siblings and I wanted Lipton's chicken noodle soup all the time. My mother decided to make it every day until we got sick of it. And sick of it I did indeed get. Still, the thought of such homey soups makes me a wee bit nostalgic for the days when I didn't have to worry about much beyond what I had for lunch.

It's comfort food. So it's natural that there would come a time when I would want to bring that memory alive again, without the real chicken, excess salt, or pitiful broth. And so I put together this vegan version.

I had some "veat" left over from the "chicken" salad I made recently, reported here. I sliced that up while I heated some vegetable broth. In this case I used vegetable broth cubes in boiling water because that's what I had. To the boiling broth I added the veat "breast" slices, some chopped red pepper, and frozen peas. When it started to boil again I tossed in a chunk of cappellini that I had broken into pieces. In a few minutes it was done, ready for salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Honest. It's a lot better than Lipton's.

Saying no to Veggie Brothers

2008-02-14T18:09:00.000-08:00

Today I decided to place an order with Veggie Brothers. I noticed that all of the entrees and appetizers are varieties of fake meats. Several were on the order of "hot and spicy chicken wings", however, and I remembered just how tasty such concoctions can be. Not too long ago I ordered some from a vegan Thai restaurant on Melrose in Los Angeles (yes, vegan Thai, and no, I do not know why spicy chicken wings in a Thai restaurant).

The other items for sale include "home cooking" items like mashed potatoes, pasta, veggie chicken noodle soup. What is nice about the Veggie Brothers offerings is that you can order a single serving, a family-size package, or even a "food service" pack. Because I had not tried their food before I chose several single serving items and one family pack (yes, southern fried "chicken"). I looked at the shipping information and did not see any cost information at this point so I went ahead filling out the order.

My total was about $50, which seems a good amount for a trial of this sort. The items are frozen so I knew there would be some expense involved in the shipping, as there is at the other two vegan food delivery services I have tried (Hungry Vegan and BuyKind).

I knew shipping would be more than amazon but I wasn't expecting to be socked with a $50 "special handling" charge on top of the shipping charge. I looked into it and learned that deliveries west of the Mississippi must go by air, which requires the use of dry ice, which is what the extra charge is for.

So curses. I just couldn't justify it for my order. And I don't want to order a huge amount in case I don't like any of it. So I won't be ordering from veggie brothers until they open a plant closer to home.

Now it's up to you! If you live east of the Mississippi and have tried veggie bros or want to, please do! And let us know about your experience.

A Tale of Two Salads

2008-02-13T18:48:00.000-08:00

The other day I happened to catch an episode of "semi-homemade" on the food channel. In this episode, Sandra Lee created a cashew chicken salad using deli coleslaw, cooked chicken strips, mandarin oranges, and cashews (a bit of olive oil optional). I thought this might be a good candidate for veganizing. So here's how I went about trying that:

First I made a vegan coleslaw because I couldn't find one at my local deli. I made the one I described in this post. Easy to make, tasty. Can keep in fridge a day or so.

Second, I took a package of Veat vegetarian chicken breast from the freezer. It looks like this:

When I took it out of the package it looked like this:

I didn't really want to eat that. Doesn't look so good. But I thought maybe I could make it more appetizing by cooking it in a teriyaki sauce. For this purpose, I chose Trader Joe's Soyaki sauce. I cut the baby out of its little plastic package and cooked it on the stove in a small frying pan, turning it now and then to get it warm and covered with the sauce. When I could put a fork in it I took it out and sliced it. It looked like this:

So that did help. At least aesthetically. I cut these slices into two pieces, bite-sized. Then I was ready to put it all together. Coleslaw, chicken, mandarin oranges, cashews. Here's what it looked like:

It looks okay, huh? Well, it was okay but it was far from great. In fact, I'd say maybe not ready for prime time. But it wasn't as bad as some of the reviewers of the original dish said. Comments on the original chicken salad, using a mayo coleslaw and real chicken, included these gems:

I thought this would make a quick and easy lunch but my husband just stared at me. I tried a couple of bites and threw the rest out. Nothing could save this dish.

terrible. I used a good cole slaw (Rudolph's) and it still turned out to be pretty disgusting. My husband absolutely hated the mandarin oranges in it.

Yucko!

I served this for lunch and my husband just laughed at me. He wouldn't even try it. I ate a bit but I have to admit it was a bad idea. The mayonnaise in the slaw just serves to slime everything else up and the taste isn't that great.

To be fair, not all of the comments were bad. But these are representative of those that were, and they seem to have some elements in common: husbands, for example.

I'm not recommending the vegan version as I made it. I wonder if one made with a vegan mayo might be better. Or another type of faux chicken. I'm open to suggestion!

BuyKind experience

2008-02-12T08:07:00.000-08:00

I learned a few things by buying food through buykind.com. In a nutshell:

* Buykind is a fledgling vegan food delivery service. Buykind contracts with vegan restaurants that have won awards for their food, and arranges for items from their menus to be made available for shipping all over the country. So far there are only six restaurants in the group, but obviously this kind of business should be able to expand fairly easily. The kind of attention that the owner gives to the business just might translate into success. Read her story on the website.

* Vegan foods are making their way into the wider marketplace. All of the wraps I purchased actually came from Nature's Express, based in Yuma, Arizona. These amazing plant-based deli foods, including many raw foods, are infiltrating their way into Whole Foods markets and other locations, including the restaurant from which I placed my order.

My experience.

I decided that I wanted to order completely online, through the order form, rather than by email or by telephone. I also decided to save shipping costs by choosing a restaurant on the west coast. Only two restaurants on the list are on the west coast, and one doesn't yet offer online orders (but you can place your order by email or phone). So I chose the other, Good Karma in Venice Beach, California.

And that's why I ended up ordering wraps and spreads. It doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to order this kind of deli food by mail, but I wanted to try out the service. Fresh vegetable wraps, particularly featuring raw foods, don't tend to freeze well, so they need to be eaten soon after delivery. The other items on Good Karma's menu don't travel well and so are not offered, but believe me, the next time I am in Venice I'm hunting this place down (sweet potato fries!).

I placed my order Saturday night. I took a chance on the shipping costs because they are not included in the initial order but added later. I hope that it will be possible to spell out shipping costs more specifically on the website soon.

Jody, the buykind proprieter, called me almost immediately. She told me I could add additional items for the same shipping cost and told me what that cost would be. She said the order would be shipped out on Monday for delivery Tuesday, by ground. The order would be packed with ice packs and insulated materials so should be cold when I got it. I decided, then, to add to the order and chose additional wraps and spreads. I sent this information to Jody by email, who recalculated the total and sent me the paypal invoice.

On Tuesday Jody called me again. Somewhere along the way my order did not get processed. Good Karma had not packed it up and sent it along its way. Jody was tracking orders through her delivery service, KHL, and found that somehow my order was not on the truck. She asked if it would be okay to ship it Wednesday for delivery Thursday. I said sure. It's all a part of the experience. She said she would send me a gift certificate for $10 for my inconvenience, to be used on my next order.

The order arrived late in the day Thursday, as promised. Individual plastic containers held the wraps and the usual plastic bowls with lids contained the spreads. These were packed with ice packs and surrounded by strips of insulating material, which Jody notes is biodegradable. I am not sure about this part or I may have misunderstood her. The strips are like padded envelope material, except that they have a shiny (aluminum?) sheet on one side.

This is what the items looked like. This is where I saw Nature's Express and got curious, given that the address on the label is in San Diego, not Venice Beach. If you look closely at the label you can see that the ingredients are excellent. So too was this interesting Kale wrap:

Everything was fresh and inviting to look at. I will admit that I am not a big fan of the sliced meat substitutes, so the wrap I ate that had a kind of sliced chicken in it didn't overwhelm me. I was more impressed by the hummus in the kale wrap (not to mention the kale itself). The hummus is raw, made from cashews and something else I have forgotten, and it is creamy and delicious. I also had a barbecue tempeh, tofu pesto, and veg "chicken" tequila lime wraps. I haven't yet tried the spreads, which are made by Good Karma.

Overall, the experience and the food was good. I will use the $10 certificate to try something from another restaurant, something not a wrap. Although these wraps were good I really didn't want to work my way through five of them in a couple of days (although they make fine breakfasts).

coleslaw

2008-02-10T09:16:00.000-08:00

Coleslaw, according to wikipedia, is a salad consisting primarily, and minimally, of shredded, raw cabbage, although it often also includes shredded carrots. There are many variations of the recipe which include the addition of other ingredients, such as red cabbage, pineapple, or apple. It is usually mixed with a dressing which traditionally consists of, or is based on, vegetable oil and vinegar or a vinaigrette. In the U.S. coleslaw often contains mayonnaise (or its substitutes); although many regional variations exist, and recipes incorporating prepared mustard are also common. A variety of seasonings may be added. The dressing is usually allowed to settle on the blended ingredients for several hours before being served. The cabbage may come in finely minced pieces, shredded strips, or small squares. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleslaw).

Coleslaw is also another reward for picking up that head of cabbage, an inexpensive and versatile vegetable.

Hats off for this recipe to Rebecca at vegan food:

Dressing:
1/3 c. oil
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
3 T sugar (or brown rice syrup or apple juice concentrate)
2 t salt
2 t mustard seeds
1/2 t celery seed

Salad:
small cabbage, shredded
onion, thinly sliced
red bell pepper, thinly sliced
carrot, coarsely grated

Boil dressing ingredients for about a minute. Pour over salad ingredients. Mix. Let sit for a couple of hours. (I put it in the fridge.)

When I made this recipe I used the Mark Bittman method for the salad ingredients: I put the ingredients in a colandar, ground coarse salt over them, mixed it up. I let that sit for a couple of hours to drain the excess water from them. Because I had used salt in this step I didn't add any to the dressing.

Vegan Valentine's Day Chocolates

2008-02-08T12:31:00.000-08:00

My mother-in-law (who is not vegan) sent these terrific vegan chocolates to me and my husband for Valentine's Day!

The chocolates are from Rose City Chocolates and their description of the chocolates says:

"Go Vegan! The Best Vegan Chocolates Will Amaze Your Valentine. This splendid selection of vegan specialties has been made without any animal products of any kind, with no sacrifice in flavor or to our commitment to all natural and fresh ingredients. Additionally, all of the sugar used in making these chocolates is processed from the sugar beet - there are no animal products used in processing or filtering the sugar. The chocolates in the selection are shown below. Each Box is beautifully wrapped in a hand-tied ribbon."

We didn't wait for Valentine's Day to come. We opened the box and tasted a piece. They are fabulous!

So, if you're looking to get some vegan chocolates for yourself or a special someone, consider these from from Rose City Chocolates!

Ordering in again

2008-02-02T16:56:00.000-08:00

I just made my second order from a vegan food delivery site. This time it was buykind.com. This site offers various meal items from several restaurants in different parts of the country. By going through the restaurants and placing an order, I learned this much:

1. There are a total of six restaurants so far. One of the restaurants does not yet offer online ordering; you have to order by phone or email. I decided against that option simply because I want to stick with getting it all done online.

2. You have to complete an order at one restaurant before going to another. They are separate orders.

3. Delivery information is incomplete and seems to vary from restaurant to restaurant but I may have that wrong. To be safe, I ordered from a restaurant in Venice, California because it's relatively close to me (about 200 miles). And imagine my surprise when no shipping charge was made at all! But then I got a call from Jody at buykind saying they calculate shipping after the order is placed, and they offer a flat rate per box which is quite reasonable for me. She said I could add up to five more items for the same rate, so I am going back to choose a few more items.

4. The website could use some work. As a web designer myself I tend to be sympathetic. It can be hellish getting it the way you want. Also, this is a brand new business.

5. Because I ordered Saturday the order will be prepared and shipped on Monday and will arrive Tuesday. Sounds good to me.

cabbage and potato soup

2008-01-27T08:13:00.001-08:00

I like to make soups from what I have on hand. This one is substantial, earthy, inexpensive and I think delicious. It also freezes well. It isn't a quick meal but it's easy to put together if you are okay with chopping vegetables, and if you freeze portions they will be ready when you are.

Cabbage and potato soup

Makes about 8 servings (adjust to your needs; nothing is sacred!)

2 Tablespoons +/- oil
2 large potatoes
1 large onion
1 large carrot
1 clove garlic
1/2 head cabbage
1 - 2 quarts vegetable broth or water
1 - 2 tsp ground red pepper
paprika, black pepper, salt to taste

Peel potatoes and carrot. Chop onion. Heat oil in large soup pot, add onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is a bit soft. Chop garlic clove and add to pot, stir. Chop carrot, add to pot. Chop cabbage and stir into pot, cook a bit, then add broth or water. Cook until potatoes and cabbage are soft, about 20 minutes. Season with red pepper. Serve sprinkled with paprika and pepper and pass the salt.

A simple cabbage salad

2008-01-25T15:17:00.000-08:00

I admit openly: I stole this from Mark Bittman. The recipe. He made a video showing how to make this salad, which I watched, and then I made the salad that you see here. Mark Bittman is a video columnist for the New York Times, his vlog (?) is called The Minimalist. A good name, and when I saw the headline - "shredded cabbage" - I thought I might simply link to the video here. Unfortunately, The Minimalist titles feature pictures of animal products being made into food, including sea animals, so I figured it wasn't really appropriate for this blog. BUT the cabbage recipe? Perfect.

Warning: it actually takes a bit over two hours to make this. So don't drag out the head of cabbage right before dinner.

Shred cabbage into a colander. Any kind of cabbage, any way of shredding. I simply sliced it thinly, then quick-chopped those "slices". Took a minute maybe. Add in other hard veggies like carrots if you like.

Sprinkle about three tablespoons of coarse salt on the mix and toss it together.

Let it sit for about two hours, draining into the colander. After two hours, squeeze the mix to let go of additional water.

The mix has shrunk a good bit by now. Put the mix into a bowl. Add some pepper (freshly ground, of course), sprinkle with a bit of olive oil, follow with a light (sherry or rice, for example) vinegar, toss together. And that's it.

This would go well with a veggie burger or other sandwich or some soup and bread. Or any time you just need a little crunch.

Hungry Vegan review

2008-01-25T07:20:00.000-08:00

I have had only one experience with the Hungry Vegan. If any of you have ordered from there and would like to share your experiences here, I hope that you do so. We have heard from lmf about her experience, which made me conscious of how different it can be for different people.

Timeliness: My order arrived on time. Everything was cold and safe to eat. So I was able to eat all of it, and with one exception I did.

Leaky packages: Both soups leaked. lmf said some of her bags leaked as well. In my case, they only started to dribble when I took them out of the box so it was not a big deal. However, I would be concerned if I were the owner of this company.

Product appearance: Some types of dishes travel and present well even when packaged in bags like these. Some do not. I had some trouble with appearance:

This one was like a brick of mush. It tasted all right but its appearance really put me off and I ended up tossing most of it (this is the one dish I didn't finish).

This was a piece of pie. I'm big on sweets so I ate it all but I don't think I would have offered that to anyone else.

Nice appearance to this tofu dish. It also tasted good, was perhaps my favorite.

Variety: There was a lot of variety: a bean dish, rice dishes, tofu slice dish, pasta, different types of soups, more.

Cooking quality: Most of the cooking seemed to be done correctly. The seasonings were appropriate, the ingredients cooked properly (nice pie crust) - except one. The bean dish was undercooked. I cook a lot of dried beans and I know when I taste that bit of roughness that the beans are not quite done. They were soft but not all the way there.

Taste: Here's where I simply debated with myself. The dishes all tasted okay. I can't say any were standouts. I kept asking myself, what makes this dish special? And I didn't have an answer. Of course this is my personal opinion. To me, these dishes were similar to what I tend to have in my freezer, left over from major cooking efforts on my part. Decent enough to eat but rarely really really good. Actually, I do think some of my soups and bean dishes surpass what I ate from the Hungry Vegan.

Like many of you, I don't want to dis any effort to offer vegan foods conveniently. My experience was not terrible, even if it was not outstanding. I can see room for improvement and I fully expect this fledgling operation to improve where it needs to (especially in bag sealing and appearance, in my opinion) and I am very interested in the experiences of others.

In the meantime I will be ordering from the two other sources mentioned by others here: veggiebrothers, which offers a lot of choices, frozen, and buykind, which arranges to ship meals from vegan restaurants. Thank you to peacebro and jory for these finds. I will, of course, share these experiences too.

Vegan Blogs Part 2

2008-01-24T15:28:00.000-08:00

More vegan blogs for your enjoyment!

Vegans of Color - this blog is a group blog that tackles the issues of overlap between veganism and race. An excellent blog that can be eye opening for vegans and nonvegans alike.
Veganize Me! - Amy takes nonvegan recipes and converts them into vegan ones.
Vegani - your basic vegan food blog. Pictures, recipes, reviews. Great for omnis going vegan or vegans looking to add variety.
Vegan*Core - focuses on diet.

Want more vegan blogs? Check out the last vegan blog post or look in the sidebar for the blogroll here at Vegan Convenient.

Quick meals from books

2008-01-21T11:39:00.000-08:00

There are different ways to get food on the table quickly and easily. One way is to use convenience food, one focus of this blog. A good cookbook for this approach is Conveniently Vegan (see link at right). This book offers many meals that require only a few easily-found ingredients, many of which can be from the cupboard or freezer.

Another approach, also frequently used in this blog, is to put together fresh ingredients or foods that you have made yourself previously when you had a few minutes. A cookbook that uses this approach is 20 Minutes to Dinner (see also the link on the right, just added today). This book is aimed more at people who like to cook, at least some of the time. It offers directions to cook or prepare many "components" of dishes, like dried beans or "breast of tofu" or vegetarian "sausage", so that you have, in essence, your own "convenience foods". Throughout the book are some lovely alternatives to everyday items that you can usually throw together very quickly, too - like the banana milk I made today to put on my cereal (banana, cold water, vanilla and a blender). Obviously, the advantage to making your own is that you know exactly what is in it. These foods may also save money.

20 Minutes also offers a food prep and nutrition chapter, with information on what equipment you need (very little) and on getting the most nutritional bang for the buck.

Some folks have posted complaints on amazon.com that it often takes longer than 20 minutes to get dinner on the table, using this book. From what I have sampled and read, I'd say this is probably true. However, the more skilled you are with your equipment the sooner you will get that meal out there. It's probably a good idea to assume it will take a half-hour most of the time, and sometimes you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Breakfast potatoes variation

2008-01-21T09:33:00.000-08:00

I never get tired of potato variations. This one features soyrizo - which I note keeps better than the meat version and, as I have noted before, tastes every bit as good - and fresh baby spinach. These directions make plenty for two.

1-2 Tablespoons olive or neutral oil
1/4 large onion (or 1 small onion)
1 large baking potato (can also use new potatoes)
1/3 package of soyrizo (soy version of chorizo)
1/4 pound mushrooms
handful of fresh spinach leaves
parsley, salt, pepper

Chop up the onion, saute at medium heat until a bit soft. Add the chorizo, smash around the pan, fry until it starts to crisp up. Chop up the mushrooms roughly, toss into the mix and keep turning to get them cooked a bit. While the mix is cooking, slice the potato thinly, then add. Turn over several times to mix, then cover for a few minutes to let the potato get nearly cooked through. Take off the cover, turn as needed to get to the doneness and crispiness that you desire. Near the end, throw in the spinach leaves, cover again to steam a bit. Take off the cover, cook to desired doneness. Serve sprinkled with parsley, offer salt and pepper.

As usual with this type meal the ingredients and amounts are totally in your power. You might prefer to make it with leftover potatoes, already cooked, or put the sliced potatoes in the microwave for a few minutes to cook before adding. If they are sliced thinly enough they do cook fairly quickly in the pan, so it's up to you.

Picture of soyrizo stolen from the urban granola - http://urbangranola.blogspot.com.

The Hungry Vegan: first impressions

2008-01-18T19:16:00.000-08:00

My Hungry Vegan order showed up today, right on time. The box was sitting on my front porch when I arrived home after a day away.

I opened it and found a styrofoam cooler with sealed bags inside, along with two ice packs, which were still mostly frozen.

On top of the bags was a letter listing the food items enclosed and some notes about the food.

I lay all the items out on the table so i could look at them.

There were two soups (lentil and carrot bisque), eight meal items (including a quick bread), and two desserts. The carrot bisque soup bag was not sealed all the way and therefore when I took it out it dripped a few drops. The pie was pretty smashed - I wonder why they thought that would travel well! I went ahead and heated the bisque, along with a potato-rosemary-olive-sun-dried tomato mix, for dinner:

The food was good. What I ate actually reminded me of meals I make myself when I am paying a bit of attention and even actually following a recipe. And it was filling enough. I think two people could have had the soup. I haven't tried anything else yet.

My first impression is that there could be better quality control. That soup should not have leaked. All seals should be tested - surely there is a way to do that. And the pie might have done better packed differently, or left out altogether. I do think this is a good option to have available, especially if you do not want to cook (or can't) and don't live near good delivery places. The shipping cost is rather high outside the regional area, so it also makes more sense for people inside that area than for people like me, but the cost of the food is quite reasonable and sometimes we can justify the shipping expense.

Vegan Food Brands

2008-01-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

Here's a list of some food brands that tend to be vegan/ vegetarian (not in any particular order):

Fantastic Foods
Cliff Bar
Luna Bar
Boca Burgers
Alternative Baking Company
Silk
Garden of Eden
Lightlife
Cascadian Farm
Tofutti
Foods Alive
Gardenburger
Earth Balance
Newman's
Walnut Acres
Health Valley
Muir Glen
After The Fall
Natural Feast
Now and Zen
Chocolate Decadence
Santa Cruz Organic
Galaxy
Annie's Natural
Seeds of Change
Loma Linda
Morningstar Farms
Yves Veggie Cuisine
Celestial Seasonings
Natural Touch

Just be sure to double check the ingredients and/or look for a label that says "vegan".

Other Vegan Blogs Part 1

2008-01-17T18:20:00.000-08:00

Want to read more vegan blogs? Here are a few others to try:

Where’s The Revolution? - food blogging with plenty of pics
Walking The Vegan Line - food blogging. Great photos.
Vive Le Vegan - from the author of Eat, Drink & Be Vegan, Vive le Vegan! and The Everyday Vegan
Vivacsious Vegan - a variety of vegan writings
Veggie Chic - for vegetarians and vegans. She explores lots of veg related concepts, but doesn't food blog much.

Order it online! Whereever you are in the U.S.

2008-01-12T17:37:00.000-08:00

The Hungry Vegan offers a full menu of vegan meals that can be delivered to your door, ready to heat and eat. Every week they design and create a different menu, and everyone gets the same thing. The orders placed by Tuesday at midnight are shipped out the following day, and delivered one or two days later by FedEx. The prices are reasonable for a delivery service like this: $75 for one week's meals for one person. Delivery is fairly expensive, but cheaper if you live in the regional area near the Hungry Vegan (see the website for a map).

I have just ordered one week's worth from them. I will write about my experience here. I am hoping for the best - what could be more convenient than delicious vegan meals that are sitting in your refrigerator, ready to heat?

Convenient Burritos Not Vegan

2007-12-13T17:07:00.001-08:00

Cedarlane Foods had a labeling problem that resulted in a minor recall. The burritos use soy cheese but it's made with dairy casein. The large boxes are labeled properly, but the individual burritos were not.

Sadly, if you thought these burritos were vegan, you were mistaken.

From the FDA recall news feed:

"Cedarlane Natural Foods of Carson, California is conducting a voluntary recall of Cedarlane Low Fat Bean Rice & Cheese style Burritos because they contain undeclared casein, a milk protein. People who have an allergy, or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products. No illnesses have been reported to date.
The reason for this voluntary recall is due to the fact that an allergen, casein, (a milk protein) was not noted on the printed packaging of the individual units. Specifically, the printed outer carton contains the word casein in the allergen statement. The individually wrapped burrito however does not reference casein in the allergen statement. The labeling error was detected by a routine review at Cedarlane Natural Foods as well as the Food and Drug Administration.

Cedarlane Low Fat Bean Rice & Cheese Style Burritos are available in a 6 oz plastic film wrapped packaging as well as cartons of an 8 count, 6 oz family pack. The affected open code dates are from "062808A" (June 28, 2008) through "082908A" (August 29, 2008) and is located on the bottom right, after the heating instructions, of the print plastic wrap of the individual burrito. The open code date of the outside printed carton is similar to that of the individual units but without the 'A' and can be found on the right hand side panel, near the bottom of the carton.

Cedarlane Low Fat Bean Rice & Cheese style Burritos are distributed through all 50 states (U.S). Consumers that possess this product with the respective open code dates are advised by Cedarlane Natural Foods to return the product to the store of purchase for a full refund. Refunds can be obtained until June 1, 2008.

Grocers and distributors have been advised by Cedarlane Natural Foods to withdraw the product with respective open code dates listed above from sale and hold it for pick up from the company. Consumers with any questions may contact the company either by telephone at (800) 826-3322 and speak with Linda Manzo, extension 800, or by e-mail at we-care@cedarlanefoods.com"

I'm thinking Cedarlane needs a few emails sent to them asking that they make their burritos the vegan way.

To get the FDA recall news, sign up with your email here or get the feed for a feedreader here.

The Frugal Essentials

2007-12-11T14:55:00.000-08:00

How many times have you heard or thought that being vegan is expensive?

A lot of people have the misconception that special diets require more money than traditional diets. It's not true and one blogger proves it. One Frugal Foodie blogs about a variety of special diets, (dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, etc.), all the while showing how to be thrifty. In a recent post, the Frugal Foodie outfits a kitchen with necessary cooking equipment with less than $100. Here are the recommended items:

$10 - Spice Grinder
$25 - Blender
$11 - Rice Cooker
$11 - Electric Tea Kettle
$15-20 - Hand Mixer
$10 - Toaster

It got me thinking: this is a great list of tools for a cabin, dorm, RV, or motel. It's perfect for the traveling or temporary vegan who cooks.

Read the whole article for more details >>

Free Convenient Vegan Meals

2007-12-10T13:08:00.000-08:00

What's more convenient than eating free food someone else prepares? Well, if you're interested in going that route, try prison!

Hahaha, just kidding.

But PETA just released a list of the top ten vegan-friendly US prisons.
It's worth a look >>

Quick 'n easy snack

2007-12-07T10:58:00.000-08:00

This simple snack - or lunch, or, for that matter, breakfast - can be made with bread or bagel. Toast the bread, layer thin tomato slices, drizzle with a bit of extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle with pepper or lemon-pepper. Add salt if you like. It's easy and it's elegant. And it's good. Another variation is to slice some avocado onto the top, sprinkle with a bit of fresh cilantro.

Ode to the pressure cooker

2007-12-05T11:55:00.000-08:00

There are specialized pans to have, and specialized pans to not have. The pressure cooker is one to have if you ever cook at all.

Pressure cookers are good for vegetables, grains and dried beans, use much less energy and time to cook and therefore are also good for the environment and for you.

For example, you can "presoak" dried beans in a pressure cooker in five minutes, and then cook the beans (with all the trimmings) for about a half-hour or 45 minutes and you're done. With prep time (chopping onions and carrots and so on) and time to bring the pot up to pressure, then, getting dried beans on the table, cooked perfectly, will take about an hour and a half - or less. Cooking beans conventionally can take up to eight hours for presoaking plus two to three hours for cooking, not including prep time. I have learned that sometimes the beans I buy are not the freshest (yes, there is a difference in dried beans) and they take a really long time to get done. Even the tough ones give in to pressure cooking, though.

Pressure cookers do an admirable job on fresh veggies, like carrots, and on grains like rice and can even be used to make some interesting desserts. You might be lucky, like I was, and get one for free on freecycle or craigslist, but however you get it be sure to use it!

Hash!

2007-12-05T10:50:00.000-08:00

So you decided to cook the other day? Or you went out to dinner and couldn't finish? So there are bits and pieces of leftovers in the fridge? And maybe you are a little leftover-phobic? Hash might be the solution. Hash can be made with a wide variety of leftovers, combined with a few fresh ingredients if you like.

Hash usually contains potatoes so if your leftovers don't include any you might want to zap one in the microwave. Hash usually contains some sort of protein thing, too, and bits of whatever else might go with it. My general method is:

Heat a tablespoon or so of oil in a frying pan. Chop up a bit of onion, toss it in. The onion usually goes first, if you are going to use it, because it needs the chance to soften up. Add any other fresh veggie type ingredient, like bell pepper, and any fresh protein thing, like the fresh mock sausage (gimme lean is one type) so these things can cook a bit and even get a little crispy, then the chopped cooked potato. Turn the heat up a little to crisp it up (I think hash should have some crispness to it), then it's nice to add a bit of spinach or other bright green leafy veg (I use frozen). Sprinkle with some paprika or red pepper (depending on your heatness tolerance and what's in the hash) and some parsley and pepper, and that's it. At the table you can give it a shake of salt if you like.

The hash pictured has onions, leftover half baked potato, leftover cooked portabello mushroom, a bit of fresh gimme lean sausage, 1/4 red bell pepper, a bit of firm tofu, sliced, and a sprinkling of spinach. It tasted great!

Convenient Vegan Gifts

2007-12-04T14:04:00.000-08:00

Want to give a gift to a vegan? Or how about a vegan gift to anyone? Here are some vegan gift ideas. But since this is Vegan Convenient, all these gifts are pre-made, ready to go, totally convenient:

Vegan Gift Baskets:

Vegan Divine makes some wonderful looking gift baskets. They have a special holiday basket (shown here).
Check out Vegan Divine for more information >>

The Vegan Store has lots of vegan gifts including an assortment of gift baskets. These baskets are pre-made so all you have to do is buy one and have it sent to your special someone.
Check out the Vegan Store for information >>

The Vegan Gift Shop has some baskets as well. One great choice is the cookie basket.
Check out the Vegan Gift Shop for more information >>

Vega*n Magazines:
What's easier than a magazine subscription? They make great gifts both for the giver and the receiver!

Veg News is an excellent veg*n magazine that most vegans, vegetarians, and health conscious people will enjoy. Another good option is Vegetarian Times magazine.

Clothing:
T-shirts, belts, purses, and shoes are good gifts for people you know well. Just be careful and get the right size.

This cute shirt comes from Alternative Outfitters, a vegan boutique.
Check out Alternative Outfitters for more information >>

Matt & Nat is a vegan purse company. They make awesome, beautiful bags. The purse above is from their holiday collection.
Check out Matt & Nat for more information >>

Support a vegan/animal organization:

Buy something from a non-profit.

This heart necklace comes from the PeTA shop.
Check out PeTA's store for more >>

Or you can gift a wine membership from the Humane Society.
Check out the Humane Society for more information >>

These are just some of ideas for convenient vegan gifts. I'm sure you can come up with more ideas...

Trying out a new cookbook

2007-12-01T09:02:00.000-08:00

I purchased this cookbook recently and am testing some of the recipes. From a quick review of the pages I think I will find it useful.

This is a variation of one of the dishes in the cookbook. The dish goes by the title of "sauteed cabbage/corn" (I don't know why the slash. Why not just "cabbage and corn"?)

The recipe calls for a 6-ounce package of vegan "bacon", chopped, a small green cabbage, a ten-ounce box of frozen corn, and three tablespoons of vegetable broth. My version depended on what I had in the fridge: two vegan Italian sausages, a small chunk of cabbage, a bag of frozen corn, veggie broth. The dish goes together quickly and tasted good. I suspect the cookbook version, with more cabbage (I like the Italian sausages and would probably stick with those) would taste even better than what I made.

The combination of sausage and cabbage is a good one, good country fare really. Most of the recipes in this book make no pretensions about being elegant or gourmet. There are few ingredients, most easily-available and familiar. From what I have looked over (but not yet cooked) I think it's a good book to have on the shelf and I expect to use it rather often.

Nutrition Bars - The Ultimate Convenience Food

2007-11-29T21:11:00.000-08:00

Not all nutrition bars are equal. And not all nutrition bars are vegan. But many are. They make for great snacks and convenience meals. I recommend that all vegans (and anyone with dietary restrictions) carry a nutrition bar in their bag or purse for those moments when you can't find a restaurant or don't have time to get a real meal. These things are lifesavers for anyone whose diet is limited.

A vegan thanksgiving

2007-11-24T08:22:00.000-08:00

We cooked a simple vegan thanksgiving this year and everyone liked it. Our menu came primarily from the Farm Sanctuary's handout, which you can download. We eliminated a few of the items on the menu and added one from another site. In addition, we added a simple dish of rainbow chard with red bell pepper, because the market had bunches of fresh colorful chard and we couldn't resist.

The meal:

clockwise from left: vegan sausage pot pie, another pot pie, sweet potato biscuits, apple streusel, green beans with ginger and almonds, garlic mashed potatoes

and

Corn chowder

and

rainbow chard, sauteed lightly with red peppers in olive oil

and

vegetables, crackers, dip, plus a cup of mushroom gravy.

The recipes for everything except the pot pie and chard are on the handout linked above. The pot pie recipe is from vegcooking.com. We substituted vegan Italian sausage for the vegan chicken in the pot pie. We also used frozen whole wheat crusts - which we had to modify to accommodate the large amount of filling.

We found that the pictures on the Farm Sanctuary handout didn't all look the way they actually should. All of the dishes are easy to prepare and require no special skills. There were no duds in the menu and I intend to cook several of these recipes again. I can hardly wait, in fact.

Veggie Bake

2007-11-13T17:56:00.000-08:00

Those marinade mixes can be used to make a flavorful baked dish. Choose compatible fresh veggies. Here I grabbed red potatoes, summer squash, onion, bell pepper, and a tomato. Later I added some olive oil. Here's how I put it together:

Slice the onions, throw them in a casserole that allows them to spread out a bit. Slice up the potatoes and add them to the pile.

Cut up the squash and bell pepper, toss on top,

then slice the tomato and layer it last.

Mix about a quarter-cup of olive oil (or less) with the marinade mix. Pour it over all. Stir a bit to mix.

Cover the casserole and place in a 400 degree oven for 30-45 minutes, opening to stir two or three times. When it appears that the veggies are pretty much done, take the cover off and let the mixture steam off some of the liquid.

Serve on plates - two to four - and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes: I found the marinade a bit spicy. You may want to use less of it or more veggies. I also believe the mixture would do well with less oil, maybe 1/8 cup. If you don't have fresh veggies or are in more of a hurry, this dish would work with frozen vegetable mixtures quite well. Dump in one of those bags of potato mixtures, add the marinade-oil mix, throw in the oven.

Ode To The Rice Cooker

2007-11-09T20:00:00.001-08:00

I love my rice cooker. Oh, how I love my rice cooker. Let me count the ways:

It cooks rice perfectly
I can walk away from the kitchen while the rice is cooking
It can cook quinoa, couscous, and so much more
It can steam vegetables
It can be carried to potlucks
It keeps rice warm hours after it's been cooked
Some rice cookers can be used like crock pots
Rice goes well with almost anything
Rice is cheap, easy, and convenient

10 Minute Vegan Meals

2007-11-09T11:01:00.000-08:00

The Urban Vegan has posted another installment of 10 minute vegan meals.

Here are some examples of the meals:

Throw 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin in the food processor with 2 T olive oil, 4 or 5 garlic cloves, and a cup of beans. Spread on a toasted, Earth-Balance-spread baguette.
Make a grilled vegan cheese sandwich. Don't forget the sliced onion and tomato.
Fried rice: In a hot wok, saute an onion in canola oil until soft. Toss in thawed frozen veggies (peas & carrots, for example). Toss in rice, and coat with oil. Add soy sauce, Bragg's or Nasi Goreng paste, to taste.
While boiling pasta, toss in some chopped Swiss chard and loads of sliced garlic. Drain, toss with extra virgin olive oil, salt and red pepper flakes. Top with vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast.

Take a look at both of them:

Breakfast! Yum version of chorizo and eggs

2007-10-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

When I moved to Los Angeles in 1966 I was 20 years old and had not ever seen or heard of chorizo.

Living in Los Angeles was a great way to find out about Mexican food, obviously. My stepmother took me to a little hole in the wall place that made chile rellenos "the right way". I have to agree with her that the usual version is pretty awful in comparison to simply stuffing the chile with cheese, then dipping in egg white, beaten, and frying. There may have been a little flour in that egg white but not much. Anyway, those days are gone, no more chile rellenos for me. Well, honestly, I'm not a vegan 100% of the time and on occasion I get something made with eggs or cheese, and I wouldn't turn down eggs from a truly happy hen. I can also imagine using a vegan cheese and that being just fine.

One thing I discovered was chorizo. I suspect that at first I was afraid of this weird sausage. But then I tried it, and like most people I tried it with eggs. I would fry the chorizo to let loose some of that fat (and get rid of it), then I'd throw in the beaten eggs and scramble it up. Served with potatoes and toast, perfect.

Now I make the vegan version and honestly I think it's better. It's lower in fat by a whole lot, it has the flavors and the crispiness I like. It's very satisfying. Here's how I do it:

1/2 small onion, chopped
1-2 T neutral oil
6 oz firm tofu
4-6 oz soyrizo or equivalent (I don't know if any other company makes it)
1-2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
salt and pepper

Saute the chopped onion in the oil for a few minutes, until soft. Crumble in the tofu, which you have drained for a few minutes. Add the cumin and turmeric and stir until it achieves that nice yellow color.

Cut open the soyrizo package and squeeze out the amount you want into the pan with the tofu. Mix together with a fork and heat. Turn a few times with a pancake turner, letting the soyrizo get crispy in spots. When it's all heated through, add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

One generous serving. Two servings not quite as generous.

Tortilla Soup

2007-10-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

My daughter Mary called to tell me about a tortilla soup she had made that was really easy and tasted great. Over the phone she told me how to make it. This is my version of what she said.

two or three corn tortillas
1 small onion, chopped
1-2 Tablespoons oil (neutral is probably best)
1 14.5-oz can stewed tomatoes, Mexican flavored (with jalapenos, cilantro)
1 Qt. vegetable broth
salt
fresh cilantro (optional)

Slice the tortillas in strips.

Either fry them in a little oil until crisp (what Mary did) or
Spray with cooking spray (like Pam) lightly and then sprinkle with salt. Spread in a layer in a flat pan and put in the oven at 400 degrees until crispy.(what I did)

In a two-quart saucepan, heat the oil, then toss in the chopped onions. Cook until soft, a couple of minutes. Add the canned tomatoes, stir. Add the vegetable broth and heat through. Stir and break up tomatoes now and then.

When hot, ladle into serving bowls. Sprinkle with tortilla strips.

Makes about 4 generous servings.

Vegan Pork And Beans

2007-10-23T11:37:00.000-07:00

A very simple, easy vegan dish is the vegan version of pork and beans.

Here's how you make it:
Take a can of vegetarian beans. Red beans work well, but you can use whatever you like. Then take a vegan hot dog or two and cut the hot dogs up into chunks. Heat up the beans, add in the hot dogs, and voila! You're done! Eat it with rice or toast.

I decided to showcase here a slight variation of veggie pork and beans. I make this version often.

Ingredients:
1 can of spicy navy beans
2 Italian flavored veggie sausages
1 cup of cooked macaroni noodles

Prearation:
Heat everything up in a pot on the stove for about five to ten minutes.

Another variation I like to make is the caserole version. Take the pork and bean mixture and pour it over crackers or toast in a caserole dish. Top with crackers or toast and bake for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees F. You can even add a bit of shredded vegan cheese on top if you like.

Chili impromptu

2007-10-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

Chili can go together with a few basic ingredients, plus odds and ends. The variety makes it fun and possible. You can throw this one together in 20-25 minutes.

Chop up a small onion. Saute in a little neutral oil until soft, a couple of minutes. Chop up a few other veggies if you have them. I used some zucchini and carrots. Throw those in, cook for a couple of minutes. Toss in a 14.5-oz can of beans (in this case I used Cuban black beans, which means they come with some nice extra ingredients well suited for chili), a 14.5-oz can of chopped or stewed or diced tomatoes, and as much chili powder as you like. I used maybe two tablespoons. I also added a healthy shake of cumin for that extra smokiness.

In a pinch, use frozen chopped onions or dried onions or onion salt, add dried veggies and skip the saute steps.

Heat until it all until hot. Break up large pieces of tomato if you like. I served it over brown rice, which I had in my freezer. When cook rice, I make big batches in my rice maker and freeze serving-size amounts in freezer bags. They microwave perfectly in about two to three minutes.

Preparing apples

2007-10-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we find ourselves with apples. Fresh apples. And while eating them fresh is a good thing to do, sometimes we want to make something with them. This can lead to paring and coring and slicing. Here I offer the quickest way I have found to do these things.

Paring. Start by slicing off the two ends.

Then pare the rest of the apple, from end to end:

Cut the apple in four pieces, through the root ends. Then, angling the knife, cut the core out of each of the four pieces.

Chop or slice, as needed. Slicing goes quickly if you use a chef's knife and just run through the pieces. Watch a cooking show for the technique. In fact, I gleaned all of this from various cooking shows.

Incidentally, it's wise to position the fingers of your non-knife hand, the one holding the apple, so that the knuckles face the knife rather than the finger ends. I have done it wrong in this photo, but I'm careful.

Another tip from cooking shows: use a paper towel, piece of plastic, bowl or something else for the scraps. Then you can dump it all later - preferably into your composter.

It's a lot faster than running to the wastebasket with every handful of scraps.

Southwest Vegan Enchiladas

2007-10-19T15:50:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:

* 1 package of tortillas (corn or flour, whatever you like. I prefer corn.)
* 1 can of vegan baked beans
* 1 large jar of salsa (I like mild or medium southwest style.)
* 1/2 bag of frozen veggies (southwest mix or corn and peppers)
* 1-2 cups of shredded vegan cheese (I like Monterey Jack flavor)

Preparation:

Mix beans, veggies, lots of salsa, and most of the cheese in a bowl. Pour some salsa into your baking dish (I like a rectangular casserole dish). Arrange your tortillas sort of like tacos opening upwards. If you have a round baking dish or just a few tortillas, make a pie instead by lying the tortillas flat on the bottom of the dish. Scoop your bean and veggie mix into the tortillas (or on top of them if making an enchilada pie). Then roll up the tortillas and dump more salsa on top (or layer again with tortillas if making a pie, then spread salsa over them). Spread the salsa around with a spoon or rubber spatula so all the tortillas are smothered in salsa.

Bake at 350 degrees F for about 25 minutes.

Then sprinkle a little more cheese on top and bake another five minutes or until cheese is melted.

You can serve it with vegan sour cream, guacamole, rice and beans, or alone. It's a yummy, easy meal that almost everyone enjoys.

Tofu, Quinoa, Artichoke

2007-10-19T15:46:00.000-07:00

The tofu: I took a 16 ounce chunk of tofu and cut it up into 6 large slices. I marinaded it in teriyaki sauce and then stuck it in the oven at 350- 400 degrees F on a greased baking tray for 30 minutes. (You can broil it too to get a crispier texture.)

The quinoa: I put half a cup of dry quinoa in the rice maker with 1 cup of water and turned the rice maker on. Quinoa is incredibly easy to cook, you can make it like rice or polenta. It's super high in protein and good for you; it's basically a vegan power food.

The artichoke: I cut off the stem, the leaf tops, and the outer leaves of an artichoke. Then I boiled it for 30 minutes (you can steam it instead), cut it in half, scooped out the fuzzy stuff and dropped a dollop of margarine or vegan mayonnaise inside.

Vegan Groceries Online

2007-10-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

Shopping for groceries on Amazon sounds weird, but it's definitely easy and convenient. Here are some vegan selections:

A Work in Progress: Roasted vegetables en croute

2007-10-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

The real cook will test and retest, work on a recipe until it's just right, and only then present it to the world. But I'm not a real cook. I want to share the steps along the way to the finished product. The trials that maybe aren't perfect.

I read a review of a restaurant recently that noted one of the specialities: roasted vegetables and cheese layered on top of an olive tapenade, wrapped in a flaky puff pastry. I thought I could come up with my own version. This is my first try. I'll describe what I did, how it came out, what I learned. If you have comments or suggestions I'd love to hear them!

I used:

puff pastry - frozen
vegetables: in this case carrots, onions, zucchini, portabello mushrooms, green bell pepper
olive oil for roasting veggies
seasonings for veggies: rosemary, parsley, oregano
tapenade: in this case green olive

First, I roasted the veggies. I cut them into strips, placed them in a casserole dish along with sprinklings of olive oil and the seasonings, and covered the dish. I roasted them in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. When it looked like they were about done, I took off the casserole top and let the veggies brown up a bit and let the steam escape, about ten minutes.

Wonderful alternative: Trader Joe's (and some other markets) offers roasted vegetables in a package, all ready for you!

I just guessed at amounts. I think, though, that the total bulk of one bell pepper, two carrots, two largish portabellos, and a medium onion is about right for this dish. More on that later.

When roasted my veggies looked like this:

When done, I let them sit a while to cool down.

After I put the veggies in the oven I took out the puff pastry to defrost. I took one sheet out of the package.

When it was defrosted (40 minutes) I rolled it out a bit.

I fit the pastry into my pan, having determined how much to roll it out by how large the pan was.

Then I started layering. I used up what was left in my jar of tapenade.

It is spread rather thinly there. Then I attempted to layer by color:

Some veggies did not cover.

I finished with the scrapings of onion and bits.

I folded one side of the crust over and the other on top of that, and pinched it to the side. On top, then, were two layers of puff pastry.

I baked it at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until puffed and golden.

I let it cool a little and then sliced into it.

Not bad but there were issues. Here is what I learned:

* Use more tapenade, make a real layer of it. I couldn't even taste it.
* Cut the veggies into smaller pieces and cook enough of each color to make a full layer. When I bit into my piece it was not as neat as we might like. I think smaller pieces would make it more layered, it would look more elegant, and it would "eat better".
* Don't overlap the crust. I found that two layers had some trouble. Both did not puff fully.
* Use a cookie sheet or other large pan with lips (to catch any spills or oil). I think this will allow it to blossom and will take full advantage of all of the pastry.

I also believe that this is the type dish that does well served at room temperature, could be made in little packets rather than in one big layered dish, and could even be the basis for an alternative Cornish pasty. I want to explore those alternatives in the future, and when I do you'll be sure to hear about it.

Easy Vegan Recipes

2007-10-14T12:14:00.000-07:00

The vegan web is growing. More and more vegans are sharing their stories and recipes online to help each other and expand our network of information. Here are some other websites with simple, vegan recipes:

Compassion Over Killing - easy vegan recipes
Fat Free Vegan - Quick & Easy Vegan Meals
Real Food - Cheating Easy Vegan
The Veggie Table - Easy Vegetarian Recipes
Vegan Outreach - easy meal ideas
Fantastic Foods brand - easy, simple vegetarian recipes
Savvy Vegetarian - salads

Boxed Indian Meals

2007-10-14T12:02:00.000-07:00

Much of Indian cuisine is vegetarian or vegan. Indian convenience foods are great prepackaged options. Tasty Bite brand labels their vegan foods prominently, just look for the check boxes on the back. I like Punjab Eggplant and Spinach Dal.

The boxed foods found in the grocery aisle with rice and dried beans are often a good bet for vegan convenience foods. There are various rice mixes, couscous mixes, and other traditional "side dishes." Vegan meals can be made by combining various side dishes to make complete meals.

Often that grocery aisle also has the premixed spice packets. These are great for adding flavor to tofu, seitan, veggies, or beans. Just read the ingredients carefully because not all are vegan. However, ignore the pictures on the spice packets. Taco seasoning made for meat tacos can work well for tofu tacos too. Marinade meant for chicken or beef can work just fine on non-meat items like potatoes or TVP.

Vegan Chili

2007-10-14T11:55:00.000-07:00

There are a variety of canned and dried vegetarian chili mixes that you can make on a stove top, in the microwave, or just by adding hot water. They're great for camping or for hearty Fall and Winter meals. Combine it with rice and you've got a complete protein, too.

A good side dish for chili is cornbread. My favorite vegan cornbread recipe is this one from Post Punk Kitchen.

But if you really don't want to cook or bake much, try getting some frozen corn on the cob and nuke (microwave) that in a plastic bag for about three to five minutes. Corn on the cob goes well with chili.

Miso Soup

2007-10-13T04:17:00.000-07:00

Miso soup is really easy to make, but since this blog is about vegan convenience food, there's an even easier way to make miso soup: prepackaged.

Most miso soup is vegan, but check the ingredients to make sure. Some brands are not vegan.

Scramble it

2007-10-11T18:22:00.000-07:00

Tonight I didn't have much in the house but didn't want to hit the market, so I went with a scrambled tofu.

1-2 T Neutral oil, like grapeseed
Firm tofu (or silken if you prefer the texture): about ten ounces
Small onion, chopped, or ready-to-cook frozen chopped onions, about a half-cup
Broccoli - about a half cup or so fresh or frozen
Tomato - one small
cumin, salt, pepper, cilantro - fresh, dry, or frozen - to taste
tumeric - 1/2 tsp

Drain tofu, set on paper towels. Heat oil until warm. Add onions, cook until soft. Cut broccoli if necessary into small pieces and toss in. Stir a bit, get it greened up. Crumble drained tofu into pan until it's about the size of egg scrambles. Mix it all together. Add cilantro, 2 teaspoons (or more) of cumin, and mix up more. If you have some turmeric put a bit in, but not too much (it gets bitter). It's nice for color.

Slice the tomato thinly and toss it in, mix up a bit just to warm it through.

Serve with salt and pepper.

Of course this is subject to endless variations: spinach, peas, chives would be nice additions. If you've got leftover cooked boiled potatoes I can see cutting those up and adding them in. Yum.

Takes about ten to fifteen minutes to get this on the table. You can eat it as is (which is what I did) or wrap in a tortilla or scoop with toast.

Breakfast variation - with onions and potatoes.

Fresh Veggie Soup

2007-08-22T17:51:00.000-07:00

Many of the recipes in this blog make use of convenience foods. Sometimes, however,, we do have some fresh veggies in the fridge and the will to use them. It doesn't take long to put together a decent soup from whatever happens to be in that vegetable drawer, within reason, along with prepared vegetable broth.

For this one we used a quart of vegetable broth, a few carrots, one average zucchini, about a cup of frozen corn, half an onion, and some small pasta. You could add bell peppers, cabbage, green beans, just about anything that sounds reasonable.

Heat the broth while you cut up the vegetables. Cut them in small pieces so they will cook faster. Cut them in this order, and as you finish each one, throw it in the pot: Onion, carrot, pasta (about a half cup or so dried - use the alphabet letters or similar size for quick cooking), corn, zucchini. Generally, cut up the veggies that will take the longest to cook first. When the pasta is looking nearly done put some bread in the toaster or get out the crackers.

If you're feeling quite gourmet you might do as we did here - snip a few fresh basil leaves from the plant you have outside (or on your windowsill) and sprinkle thin snippets onto the top of the soup. Parsley is nice, too.

And now for a word from our sponsor: how do you make sure you actually get around to using those fresh vegetables before they go bad? Invest in some Evert-Fresh green bags from reusablebags.com. These bags are magic, I swear! Simply put fresh dry veggies in them, one type per bag, and these bags will keep the veggies from going bad for a very long time. It seems freaky and like there is some nasty chemical in those bags but that's not true. All natural, all safe, and just amazing. If you buy through this link you help keep us on the air:

Puff Pastry Pizza

2007-08-16T07:12:00.000-07:00

I borrowed this idea from Vegan Italiano. The basic method holds for whatever you put on the top.

Defrost one sheet (1/2 package) of frozen puff pastry for about 30 minutes. When it's malleable (soft enough to push around) lay it on a baking sheet on which you have rubbed a bit of olive oil.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Gently stretch the pastry to the edges of the pan and create a little lip. Alternatively, you can place the pastry on a floured surface and roll it out.

If the pastry is not stretched or rolled evenly the cooked product will shrink in odd ways. Place the pan into the oven for ten minutes. Meanwhile, slice up some veggies and cook them in a bit of olive oil. Use whatever veggies are handy that make sense. In this case the fridge was not overflowing so I used carrots, onions, mushrooms, parsley.

When the ten minutes are up, take the pastry out of the oven. It will be cooked.

Spread tomato sauce (whatever type you like) over the crust, toss on some cut tomatoes if you like, and add the cooked veggies. Pop back in the oven for about five minutes to warm through.

Because the pastry is so light and flaky, it cuts easily. Because the pastry is so light and flaky, it's also quite high in fat. But without cheese it's still a healthy meal.

Roasted Vegetables

2007-08-15T10:12:00.000-07:00

If you can cut up a few veggies this one's for you.

For this dish use:

2 russet potatoes
8 oz. mushrooms (cremini are hearty)
1 fresh red pepper
1 onion
1 package chicken seasoning mix

OR choose your own veggies. Carrots, green bell peppers, turnips make nice options. Throw in some drained extra-firm tofu, cut into slabs, for additional variety and taste.

Clean the veggies and cut into pieces. Mix with seasoning mix (choose flavor to your own taste). Place in baking pan, cover with foil, bake at 350 degrees for about 30-45 minutes.

Chili and Broccoli

2007-08-15T08:48:00.001-07:00

This meal takes about five minutes and can be prepared entirely in a microwave if you so desire.

Ingredients:
Fresh or frozen broccoli
Canned vegetarian/vegan chili
Rice (microwave or minute rice is fastest)

Prepare all as directed on the labels.

Quick Sweet Gnocci

2007-08-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

This vegan meal is SWEET. It’s gnocci (ptato filled pasta) with carmelized carrots and rosemary.

We used frozen gnocci, available at almost any grocery store. We cooked according to the directions on the label.

In a separate frying pan, we cooked sliced carrots with a little oil, a little sugar, and a little sherry.

We added the carrots to the cooked gnocci and topped with some rosemary.

Healthy Vegan Top Ramen-ish Soup

2007-08-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

This is a cheap, simple, quick, nutritional soup, especially when paired with a multi-grain slice of bread or a baked potato. It’s basically a healthy Top Ramen. (Not in the noodle sense, in the cheap and quick sense.)
The ingredients: vegetarian/kosher soup bouillon, frozen vegetables, nutritional yeast, and water.

The instructions: bring 2 cups water to a boil, add a handful of frozen veggies, a tablespoon of nutritional yeast, two tablespoons of bouillon.

The ingredients shown here:

The soup shown here:

Crossposted at Elaine's diary.

Baked Tofu

2007-08-13T08:29:00.000-07:00

Baked tofu is not difficult to make but sometimes we don't want to scrounge for ingredients. Instead, take out a package of marinade mix, mix as directed, and marinate cut tofu slabs (extra firm, "Chinese style") for a half-hour or longer. Bake on cookie sheets at 350 - 375 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes. Depending on what marinade mix you've chosen (we know you look at the ingredients before you buy) the tofu will go well with a variety of grains and veggies.

In this case we chose a "southwestern" marinade mix from Kroger's. It was a bit spicy. When placed on top of hot brown rice it makes a nice meal. A little greenery can be mixed in (I always like broccoli or spinach)or set on the side. You might want to scrape together the leftover marinade that clings to the cookie sheet and sprinkle it over the rice, or use some bottled sauce (barbecue might be a good choice) to add more liquid to the meal.