Veggie Nerd

Vegan Protien Pudding

2008-07-30T19:13:00.001-04:00

I drink a protein shake every day. Everyday. It’s been getting old for months now. Today I tried something new. I’ve been working on this idea for some time and come up with some palatable puddings, but none quite as amazing as this one. I was so excited when I tasted it, I actually took a spoonful upstairs and interrupted my husbands work time to get him to try it.

Serves 4 , 30g protein per serving

For the chocolate chips:
1 block (28 grams) unsweetened bakers cacao
4 packets Splenda (or 3 tablespoons of brown sugar if you prefer)
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the pudding:
1 package MorningNu Soft Silken Tofu*
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 servings GNC Soy Protein Vanilla Flavor*
1 cold cup water

First, melt the bakers chocolate in the microwave in a small bowl or ramekin. This should take about 30 seconds on high, pause to stir, then another 30 seconds, although microwaves vary. Immediately add the sweetener or sugar and the vanilla and stir to combine. Freeze for at least half an hour until the chocolate is a solid block. Remove from the freezer and smash the block into chips. I put it in a bag and used a hammer on my carpet. My downstairs neighbor probably loved that. Reserve a few for garnish.

Next, in a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the tofu, vanilla, soy protein powder, and cup of water with an immersion blender until creamy and smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spoon for a chunkier chip, or combine with the immersion bender for a finer chip. Garnish with leftover chips and serve immediately for a pudding consistency or refrigerate for a few hours for a moose consistency. Keeps well up to 48 hours.

*The brands I use are just for reference. Any brand of tofu, as long as it is soft, not firm, will work fine. I’ve not tried any other brand of protein powder, though, so I don’t know how well others will work.

The PPK has a website?

2008-07-18T12:16:00.002-04:00

Ok, am I just completely out of the loop or what?! PPK is short for Post Punk Kitchen which is the title of Isa Moskowitz's tv show on vegan cooking. I've never watched the show, but I have her book "Vegan with a Vengeance". I can't believe I didn't know she had a website!

www.ppk.com

"Cheating" Tacos

2008-07-08T19:59:00.004-04:00

We invited our very carnivorous friend Doug over one evening for board games, and instructed him to pick up Taco Bell or something on the way because we were having vegan tacos and they would probably be too weird for him. Well, he decided that vegan tacos would be healthier than regular tacos (in this case it is true) so instead he joined us. Expecting some kind of flavorless tofu taco, he inspected it. Finding that it did in fact Look like a taco, he tasted it, and exclaimed, “This is cheating!” Hence, the Cheating Taco was born.

Serves 6 (12 tacos)
Cook time: 30 minutes

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced (I like Vidalia but any type will do.)
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 cloves of garlic (aprox 3 tablespoons), diced
1 cup dehydrated TVP or 1 bag frozen burger crumbles
1 can petite diced tomatoes or two chopped tomatoes
(optional, one of our good friends hates tomatoes, so I know it‘s good without them, too)
1-2 cups water, 2 tablespoons soy sauce

For the spice mix:

3 parts of chili powder
2 parts cumin
1 part oregano
1 part marjoram
1/2 part turmeric
*For more heat add ½ part red pepper flakes, or more to your taste

If 1 part = 1 tablespoon you will make enough to fill a spice jar
If 1 part = 1 teaspoon you will make enough for one recipe

If you are using TVP rehydrate it by soaking in ¾ cup lukewarm water until all the water is absorbed. Mix a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce with the water before adding it to the tvp to helps give it a beefier flavor.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook to soften until the onions are transparent and slightly sweet, 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook while stirring to avoid burning the garlic until it is fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the TVP or crumbles, spice mix, tomatoes (if using), and enough water to make a sauce, start with a 1/2 cup, then add up to a cup. It should be the consistency of a hearty stew. Lower the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the flavor of the spices have absorbed and some of the liquid has evaporated. It will need salt or soy sauce, add to taste. I usually add salt at the end of cooking because I use less that way, but if you want to add it at the same time as the spices, that works, too. Serve in hard corn shells or soft tortillas with toppings of your choice. (Lettuce, tomato, salsa, vegan sour cream, vegan cheese, Taco Bell Border Sauce, whatever you like.)

I love to make way more than I need and keep it for easy lunches like enchiladas, taco topped baked potatoes, or more tacos. It keeps well for a week or so covered tightly and refrigerated.

Super Easy Leftovers Enchiladas, 1 serving

1/2 cup Cheating Taco meat
2 corn tortillas
1/2 cup enchilada sauce

Preheat oven to 375. Wrap tortillas in a damp cloth or paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds to soften. In a small baking dish wrap taco 'meat' in tortillas, place in dish seam down, and smoother with sauce. Bake until sauce is bubbly and the 'meat' in the middle is warm, about 20 minutes.

You can also completely phone this one in and microwave it for a few minutes on high, it's not nearly as good but if you're extremely pressed for time or working in an office kitchen, it can be done.

Vegan Library

2008-07-08T02:19:00.003-04:00

My Vegan Library of Cookbooks:

Vegan with a Vengance, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
I love how Isa's personality penetrates all of her recipes. It's not just a good reference book, it's actually really fun to read. The recipes are full of flavor, but tend to be on the rich side.

Vegan Planet, by Robin Robertson
Most of her recipes are very healthy tasting, which took a little getting used to, but now they are more and more appealing.

The Single Vegan, by Leah Leneman
Extremely simple home style recipes for those days when cooking is just irritating and I feel like eating comfort food.

The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen, by Peter Berley
When I first received this book as a gift it was overwhelmingly advanced, however my skill level has increased tremendously thanks to it. While the recipes are generally very complex and time consuming, his passion for his art is charismatic. The book is very descriptive and includes illustrations for the most hard to describe techniques. I've learned more from this book than any other on my kitchen shelf.

I also keep a Joy of Cooking and a the Rodale Cookbook on hand for reference. My Joy of Cooking is a hand me down from my grandmother, so it's also good for a laugh, especially the section on entertaining, which is downright Victorian.

Seitan (Wheat-Meat)

2008-07-07T22:34:00.003-04:00

Ever notice there's protein in bread? Yup, check the label. And no, it doesn't come from the eggs in the bread, it's there even in vegan breads. It comes from the flour it's self. Apparently you can separate the gluten from the starch and bran to make a thing called seitan. It's not even that hard to do!

Cook books will make this less simple. They will have you making your own veggie broth or seasoning the stuff or otherwise making it complicated. I made it so ridiculously simple I was sure it wasn't going to be good, but, I was wrong. In fact, after enjoying it for the first time tonight, my husband started brainstorming with me about what else we could do with it!

All you need is flour, water, & veggie broth. It takes about 2 hours, though, so make it a weekend project. It keeps well for a couple of weeks.

Here's how it's done (makes aprox 3, 4oz servings):

Make a simple dough from:
-2.5 cups whole wheat flour
-2 cups white unbleached flour
-2 cups water

(I used all white flour because I was out of wheat and it came out ok, a little stringy, but it tasted great.)

Drown your kneaded, elastic, lovely round dough ball in luke warm water in a bowl and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile bring to a boil:
-1 can veggie broth
-3 cups of water
Then lower to a simmer. *Here you can make this complicated and make your own broth if you'd like.

Then put the bowl in the sink and wash the dough ball over and over and over and over until the water is almost clear. It will be about 1/4 it's original size. It took me a good 20 minutes to get a nice smooth elastic lump with a tendency to ball up rather than fall apart.

*Here you can make things complicated and add spices or finely chopped veggies to your dough ball.

Simmer golf ball sized pieces of your lump in the veggie broth for 60 minutes. You may have to add water to keep them covered.

At then end of all this you should have a pot full of wheat-meat balls. I ate one plain and enjoyed it immensely. Then, I sliced up the rest and stir fried with some veggies it in a phoned-in teriyaki sauce, covered it with sesame seeds and served it to my husband as sesame "chicken". It was beautiful, I wish I'd taken a picture, I should have, but my camera was hoisted by a wily ferret last weekend at my brother in laws. He just found it today.

Here are some more ideas on how to make this complicated:

-Pulverize it in a food processor, add some soy sauce, and use it as the "ground beef" in something. Even hamburger helper. Although, there's no such thing as a vegan hamburger helper, at least it's healthier than beef.

-Slice it, don't spice it, and use it as the chicken in something.

-Marinate it in a spicy Asian sauce and dehydrate it. I haven't tried this, wonder if it would make decent jerky for hiking? I'll have to talk someone into loaning me a dehydrator and try it.

-Add chopped garlic, sage, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, and thyme to the ball before boiling. After boiling saute in oil and splash with soy sauce. Sausage flavor! You could even make it shaped like links, maybe, before boiling.

-Add garlic, fresh basil, and chopped sun dried tomatoes before boiling. Slice and saute after boiling. Toss in pasta with some pesto.

I don't know if those ideas will work, but I look forward to trying them!

What This is All About

2008-07-07T18:17:00.011-04:00

I've been vegan for a couple of years now. Although there are (supposedly) a lot of us out there, most of the places I've lived have few, if any, vegan restaurant options. So, I learned how to cook. I've become familiar with all the 'weird' stuff we use for protein and gained a mountain of knowledge about all the delicious veggies out there!

After enjoying meals I've cooked and vegan potluck items so many omnivores out there were so hesitant to try, several friends have requested information and recipes from me, so I've decided to blog my favorite culinary inventions and experiences with new items I've tried from recipe books.

A few myths about Veganism I'd like to dispel:

1. Going vegan will make you skinny. When I first started, I feared starving so much I over ate and gained 20 lbs in 6 months. I've since lost that, plus another 20, but that was mainly due to restricting potion sizes and exercising, and my BMI is still currently in the "overweight" range. To loose weight, you still have to eat less. Veganism is not a magic cure for overeating.

2. You can't get enough protein from vegetables to be healthy. The RDA for protein is 50-65 grams per day. I genuinely haven't have trouble with this. For example: a scoop full of soy protein powder gives you 25 grams. Only 4oz of seitan, one serving, contains 28-31 grams. So, if I have a protein shake for breakfast (which I do every day) and a salad for lunch (I'm not usually that good) and some kind of seitan concoction for dinner, I have eaten 56 grams of protein, well on my way to the high mark, and that's in just from two food items; the salad had no protein. Now lets say you have an all American day: eggs and bacon biscuit for breakfast, fried chicken for lunch, and a hearty steak dinner, lots of protein right? So, three animals and one fetus later you have consumed 80 grams of protein. You'd think you'd get a lot more protein out of that deal. Anyway, it's not hard to get enough protein, seriously, even if you won't touch tofu.

3. You can't get all the vitamins you need. Some vitamins vegans typically lack are B-12 and B-6, both used to digest protein, and typically found in meat. (I'm not a nutrionalist, so please don't quote me in any research papers.) Calcium can be a problem. There are a few others, too. All of those vitamins can be bought over the counter in pills, and almost every faux meat and soy product is loaded with them. Although I take a multi vitamin anyway, because I'm paranoid and a little neurotic, I actually get everything I need from my diet. The real secret is variety, just like any diet, with or without meat.

4. If I can't eat meat or dairy or eggs, there's nothing left to eat! Spend 20 minutes in the produce section of your standard grocery store, you don't even have to go to a fancy health food store, and you will find an amazing variety. There's a lot more there than potatoes and ice burg lettuce, and it's all edible, I promise! Then there are beans and breads and tofu and seitan and sauces and soups and smoothies and every fake meat you can imagine. You won't starve, trust me, see #1.

5. Vegans like to judge non-vegans for their sinful life of animal murder and wastefulness. If you think god put animals on the earth for us to enjoy, or if you think our evolutionary superiority gives homosapian the right to rule at the top of the food chain, I'm not itching to argue with you about it. I never sat down and thought, gee, I need to find a way to be superior to others so I can look down on them. If you feel you need to justify eating animals, then maybe you should look into vegetarianism, that says to me it does spark an ethical note. I do, however, judge people who don't do their research. :)

That being said, shall we get on with the culinary adventures?