the jb show.

Vegan Chicken Salad

2011-09-15T13:30:00.000-04:00

Chicken salad is one of the things I occasionally miss from my youth as an omnivore.

Possibly because my mom’s recipe was so good and so simple that it was a near constant presence in the house in the summer time.

The idea of chicken salad always brings be back to hot summer nights and trying to scarf down a sandwich or two so we can get back outside on our bikes to make use of every last drop of daylight until that dreaded end of August.

This recipe is a little more complex than hers was, but that is a hard one to replicate.

Start out by boiling water. Dissolve the cube bouillon into the water, then combine with the nutritional yeast and Braggs or soy sauce.

Mix this until everything is fully incorporated.

Pour this hot mixture into a bowl with the dried textured vegetable protein (TVP) and mix to make sure all of the TVP is wet.

Allow this to sit for an hour so that the TVP gets rehydrated and takes in the flavors.

While that’s soaking, shred the carrots, slice the celery and chop the pepper and onion.

After the hour is up, pour the TVP mixture into a fine strainer and press out any excess liquid.

The texture is kind of spongey, so it will be possible to squeeze out liquid for a long time, so don’t go overboard, but get a good amount of it out so that the salad isn’t too runny.

In a large bowl, mix together the chopped veggies and the TVP.

Add the salt, pepper, mustard and apple cider vinegar, then stir very well.

This is the turning point for this recipe to go vegetarian or vegan, and it’s an obvious move to go either way.

For vegan “chicken” salad, just use vegan mayo, for the ova-lacto vegetarians out there, use regular mayo.

Add whichever mayo you choose one spoonful at a time and mix in until you are satisfied with the flavor.

This will require sampling, so get your wheat thins ready.

Cover and refrigerate for a little while, since the TVP might still be a little warm. Letting it sit in the fridge will also allow the flavors to come together as well, so if you make this the night before you serve it, you’ll be even happier with the result.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup textured vegetable protein

(TVP)

1 1/2 cup boiling water

2 tbsps. nutritional yeast

1 cube vegetable bouillon (can sub

fake chicken flavor)

1 tbsp. Braggs liquid aminos (or

soy sauce)

5 to 7 baby carrots, shredded

2 celery stalks, sliced

1/2 bell pepper, chopped fine

1/2 red onion, chopped fine

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

(optional)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tbsp. mustard

4-6 heaping spoonfuls mayo, according to taste

Corn Salad

2011-09-14T16:51:00.000-04:00

Summer time brings us lots of fresh corn for super cheap thanks to farmers markets and sales at the local grocery store.

While nothing beats it on the cob with butter and salt, sometimes we need to switch things up a bit.

This fresh corn salad is great as a side at your omnivore barbecue, but it completely vegan for those of us who don’t eat meat.

Start by cooking the corn in your preferred method. Easiest is just husking, cleaning and boiling for 10-15 minutes. You can also soak in some salted water with the husks still on, then grill them or bake them.

This does give you a better flavor on the cob, but when you’re cutting it off for the purpose of this salad, easier is probably the best bet. Set it aside to cool for a bit so you can handle touching it.

While the corn cooks and cools, dice the rest of the veggies and get them ready.

In a small bowl, mix the oil, lime juice, sugar and spices (and the optional hot sauce if you want more of a southwestern flavor to the dish) until everything is incorporated.

After the corn cools off a bit, use a sharp knife and cut the kernels from the cob into a large bowl.

Mix in the other diced veggies, then pour the dressing over and toss gently.

Cover and allow to sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.

Toss again before serving because the dressing will settle to the bottom.

Ingredients:
5 to 6 ears of fresh corn

2 to 3 ripe tomatoes, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped fine

1/2 cup olive oil

1 to 2 limes, juiced

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Hot sauce to taste (optional)

1 minced jalapeno pepper (optional)

Vegan Frittata

2011-07-01T16:49:00.000-04:00

A frittata is supposed to be one of the easiest things to make, since it’s just a little sautéing and a little baking and you’re done.

Obviously, with all that egg, it is not a vegan friendly dish.

If you’re vegetarian, you can do this with about six eggs and scramble them instead of the tofu mixture.

Serving this to vegans, the tofu mixture works well. It might not look pretty, but it tastes good, and that’s really all I care about.

Start by sautéing the onions, garlic and peppers for a few minutes until the onions start to get translucent.

Add the sliced potatoes and continue to sauté for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a blender, break up the tofu, add the nutritional yeast, Braggs and chili powder. Blend until it is smooth and everything is evenly mixed.

Spray the sides and bottom of a casserole dish with some non-stick spray, then mix the sautéed veggies and the tofu mixture (or the six eggs, scrambled) together and pour into the casserole dish.

Bake at 350 for about an hour.

Allow to sit for a few minutes before cutting.

Ingredients:
2 potatoes, sliced

1 bell pepper, diced

1 red onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 package (12 oz) firm tofu

4 tbsps. nutritional yeast

2 tbsps. Braggs liquid aminos

or soy sauce

1 tsp. chili powder

Oil for sautéing

Vegetarian tourism.

2011-06-13T14:20:00.000-04:00

Hanging out in Berkley for a conference on online journalism, I have already found this town to be extremely vegetarian friendly. Started with a great dinner at Herbivore - The Earthly Grill for some obvious reasons.
They have an all vegan menu with tons of fruit juices and smoothies and an extensive list of entrees and sandwiches that rivals any omnivorous restaurants, but way better because I can eat everything on the menu. This makes it hard to decide, since most places the vegetarian options consist of a small handful of choices and sometimes just a veggie burger that they thawed out just for me.
I got the taco appetizer which was great, then the potato-soy pie with mushroom gravy which was one of the best things I've eaten in a long, long time.
Also had the carrot-apple-ginger juice because fellow JRCer and award-winning blogger Kelly Metz had it and I couldn't resist.

Pretty amazing restaurant. Super-friendly staff. Cool looking building.
Now if only the vegan cinnamon bun place was open on Mondays....

Vegan bean salad

2011-06-13T13:59:00.000-04:00

The season for cookouts and other outdoor gatherings is upon us.

For many vegetarians, it means having to explain repeatedly why we don’t want that veggie burger cooked on the grill with the beef and that popping it in the microwave will be just fine, thank you.

It also means it is time for the abundance of side dishes and salads that often make those cookouts even more enjoyable than whatever does or doesn’t come from the grill.

This is one of those standards that every party should have because it is so simple and yet a light, healthy alternative to the heavier, mayo-based salads.

Start by dicing the veggies and setting them aside.

Clean the seeds and stuff out from the middle of the tomato before you dice it. All of that just makes the salad too watery.

Rinse and drain all of the beans well making sure to get as much excess water out of the mix from there as well.

Mix the beans and diced veggies in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix the vinegar, oil, sugar and spices and whisk together to fully incorporate them.

Pour this mixture into the large bowl and stir well, but gently to make sure the dressing gets on all of the salad.

Cover and put in the fridge for a few hours to allow all of the flavors to mingle properly.

Toss again before serving.

Ingredients:
2 cans garbanzo beans (15 oz.)

1 can black beans (15 oz.)

1 can kidney beans (15 oz.)

1 tomato, diced

1 red onion, diced

3 stalks of celery, diced

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsps. salt

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup olive oil

Raw salad wraps!

2011-06-01T12:48:00.000-04:00

Peta posted this recipe for raw wraps with corn and avocado that I will have to try pretty soon.

I'm not big on the raw food movement, i understand how it's good for you and the benefits, blah blah blah. But raw food can taste good too, and I'm all about good food.

Baked Asparagus

2011-05-24T14:19:00.000-04:00

This recipe is one of the simplest recipes of all time, but it is one of my favorites.

There are a million variations, none of them wrong.

Alter the spices, the measurements, the temperatures, the cooking time, whatever, but it still comes out as baked asparagus.

Less time will make it more crisp, more time will make it more tender.

Obviously, more spices will up the flavor, less with give you more of the natural asparagus flavor.

Sometimes I like to just drizzle some plain olive oil on the asparagus and just bake it with no seasoning.

This batch, I tried the white asparagus mixed in with the green asparagus that we all love so much.

It is prepared the same way, but the flavor is very different. White asparagus is milder and not as good, but it is a nice change when mixed with the green.

Start by mixing the seasonings into the olive oil in a small bowl. Let it sit for a while to soak the flavors into the oil.

Next, trim the bottoms off of the stalks.

Preheat the oven to 425.

Brush the olive oil on to the asparagus on a baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, turning them over once during the baking.

Serve hot.

That’s seriously how easy this dish is.

A couple of variations to try are replacing the basil with red pepper flakes or chili powder, or drop the salt for a slightly healthier version.

Ingredients

1 pound of fresh asparagus

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. basil

3 tbsps. olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Baked Mashed Potatoes

2011-05-23T14:35:00.001-04:00

This is another simple, but rewarding recipe, a basic baked side with mashed potatoes, onion, garlic and cheese.

The best results will come if you use a cast-iron pan to bake, but a regular casserole dish could do the trick as well.

Start by peeling and washing the potatoes, then quartering them.

Boil them until they are cooked all the way through.

While they are boiling, preheat the oven to 450 then dice the onion and saute in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil with the garlic.

The onion and garlic should be nice and browned and set aside by the time the potatoes are done.

After the potatoes are good and soft, drain them and return to the pot you boiled them in.

Drop in the margarine and mash with a potato masher. Mix in the onions and garlic, then add salt, pepper and spices.

Lightly oil the cast iron pan with some olive oil.

Scoop all of the potatoes into the pan.

Top with the shredded cheese.

Bake until the cheese is lightly browned, about 15-20 minutes should do it.

This is easy to make into a vegan dish by just using Daiya to top it and Earth Balance for the margarine.

Ingredients:
3 to 4 pounds of potatoes

1 small onion

2 tsps. minced garlic

3 to 4 tbsps. olive oil

1/2 stick margarine or butter

1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. chili powder (optional)

1 tsp. cumin (optional)

Pineapple Fried Rice

2011-05-23T14:17:00.002-04:00

Fried rice is usually vegetarian until they put the meat in it, so this is an easy dish to make into something vegetarian.

The ingredient list makes it look kind of complicated, but once the items are all collected it is a simple to create this meal.

Cook the rice first and set aside. It should be able to cool off a little while you mix everything else together.

Cut all of the veggies, then heat up a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat.

Once the oil is hot, add the ginger and garlic and fry for a minute or so, stirring the whole time.

Start frying the onion for a couple of minutes.

Add the pepper and carrot, heat for another two minutes or so.

Stir in the sesame oil while these heat up.

Add in the silken tofu and stir well.

Next, toss in the broccoli and heat briefly.

Add the rice and pineapple and stir well.

The sauce will be mixed into the wok as you continue to stir the mixture.

Pour in the soy sauce or Bragg’s liquid aminos, then add the curry powder and sugar all while stirring.

Heat thoroughly, but don’t overcook or the broccoli will get limp and no one likes that.

About 2 to 3 minutes should be enough time.

Serve soon and enjoy.

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups cooked rice

1 cup pineapple chunks

1 pepper, diced

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, shredded

1 stalk of broccoli, chopped

1 to 2 cups of silken tofu

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. minced ginger

2 to 3 tbsps. soy sauce or Bragg’s

1 tbsp curry powder

1 to 2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp. sesame oil

Vegetable oil for pan frying

Pierogi made vegan

2011-04-27T16:03:00.003-04:00

Pierogi are actually really easy to turn vegan, but are almost always vegetarian to begin with.

Peel and boil the potatoes and boil them until soft. Mash them well and set aside.

Start heating the olive oil in a large pan. Shred the onion and saute for a few minutes.

Stir in the soy milk, salt pepper and sour cream and heat until the ingredients are fully incorporated.

Blend the mixture into the mashed potatoes and set the filling aside.

Mix the dough ingredients together to form the dough.

Knead it for a few minutes, then roll out on a well floured surface to about ¼ inch thickness.

Cut circles with either a biscuit cutter or pint glass.

Make sure the dough circles are well floured so that they don’t stick together while you finish cutting and filling the pierogi.

Boil water in a large pot while you fill and close the pierogi.

Take each dough circle and put a small spoonful of the filling in the middle, then wet the edge a little bit and fold in half.

Pinch the edge shut starting at one end and methodically closing the whole side to make sure that there are not any holes.

Once they are sealed, boil them a few at a time until they begin to float in the water.

Some people will just melt butter or margarine on them and eat this way.

I like to pan fry them in just a little bit of oil. The other option is deep frying them, but just be careful to drain them well and not put wet pierogi into the deep fryer.

These can be filled with just about any filling, so get creative and have fun.

Ingredients:

Dough:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup oil

1 tsp. salt

Filling:

3 to 4 potatoes, boiled and mashed

1/2 onion

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup soy milk

1 tub of tofuti sour cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Sweet potatoes and almond syrup!

2011-04-26T10:54:00.000-04:00

This is a simple recipe from Girl Cooks World that I need to try some time soon.
* 3 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled
* 1/4 cup light brown sugar
* 1/4 cup water
* 2 almonds, crushed
* vegetable oil for deep frying
* approximately 1 Tablespoon black sesame seeds
* salt to taste

For the full recipe check out Girl Cooks World

Faux-chicken tetrazzini

2011-04-23T12:21:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite tasks in the kitchen is to make vegetarian versions of the dishes my family ate when I was a kid.

Often, they are just approximations, sometimes I hit dead on and on occasion I improve upon the original.

One of those dishes that I always loved as a kid was chicken (or turkey) tetrazzini.

I’ve taken an old recipe and subbed in some veg alternatives and come out with something pretty good. Might not be better than my mom’s, but it is a satisfying and hearty meal.

This is pretty simple.

Prepare the spaghetti as directed on the box.

As the pasta is boiling, finely chop the mushrooms. I like to use baby bellas, but pretty much any mushroom will work.

Sauté the diced mushrooms in a couple of tablespoons of margarine until cooked through and lightly browned.

Prepare the frozen faux-chicken as directed on the package. You can use Quorn brand’s Chk’n Tenders for vegetarian or Morning Star Farms’ Meal Starter strips for a vegan dish. You can also heat and dice Boca’s Chik’N patties or nuggets for a different vegan version.

While the mushrooms and chick’n cook, heat a saucepan on med-low heat and melt 4-6 tablespoons of margarine.

Thicken with the flour and blend well.

Add the broth, milk and wine and mix thoroughly.

After both mushrooms and Chik’n are done cooking, stir into the sauce.

Prepare a casserole dish by lightly greasing the sides with margarine or non-stick spray.

Pour in both the drained pasta and the sauce. Mix together and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. For a vegan version, you can use vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast and some margarine to add some flavor to the top.

Bake at 425 until the top is slightly browned, or about 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 box of spaghetti (16 oz)

1 package frozen faux chicken

1 pack (8 oz) fresh mushrooms, diced

6 to 8 tbsps. margarine

2 1/2 cups veggie broth

1/4 cup cooking wine

1/4 cup flour

1 cup unsweetened soy or almond milk

1/2 cup grated parmesan or vegan alternative

Green stuff and pasta

2011-04-23T09:15:00.000-04:00

This pasta dish is really just my way of combining my favorite green veggies.

Mixing asparagus, spinach and broccoli might not sound too appealing to some, but since we’re all grown ups, we’ll probably be alright.

Start by boiling the pasta however you normally cook your pasta, then drain and put back into the pot while veggies cook.

While that is boiling, dice one onion and sauté in olive oil.

Once the onions are beginning to brown, add the veggie broth and allow it to simmer over medium heat.

Add the broccoli and asparagus and cover, allowing this to heat in the broth.

Once the veggies are heated, but still a little crisp, pour this whole mixture into the pot with the drained pasta.

Add the baby spinach, frozen veggie crumbles and about 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.

Mix thoroughly and return to low or medium heat for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Once the spinach is cooked, serve sprinkled with the rest of the Parmesan cheese.

To make this vegan, just use a brand of veggie crumbles, like Boca, that don’t use egg or dairy to make them. Also, substitute the Parmesan cheese with a vegan Parmesan or combine 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast with a couple tablespoons of melted margarine.

Ingredients:

1 box (16 oz) of penne or other pasta

1 bag frozen veggie crumbles

1 onion, diced

1 bunch asparagus cut in 1-inch pieces

1 to 2 crowns broccoli, chopped roughly

2 cups baby spinach

2 cups vegetable broth

1/2 to 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
or vegan alternative

Baked Brussel Sprouts

2011-04-22T11:20:00.000-04:00

This week’s recipe strikes right to the core of the Lazy Herbivore ethos. It is super-easy, takes little time and is totally vegan.

Brussel sprouts have been demonized by children and adults alike forever. They are not the most appealing veggie through normal preparation.

Boiling them and putting a little butter and salt often makes for a solid punishment for children.

But baking them gives you a light, crunchy veggie that is just as good as a side dish as it is for a snack.

And as far as simple recipes go, this is about as simple as they come.

Slice them in half (or quarters if you want to double your cutting efforts) and arrange them on a baking sheet.

Brush lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Bake at about 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes, flip them and bake for another 6-8 minutes.

You can also add some fresh chopped or minced garlic to replace the garlic powder, or spice it up with some cayenne pepper or Cajun seasoning.

These baked sprouts won me over to brussel sprouts after a long time of remembering the torture that I always remember them being as a kid.

It helps that they are fresh sprouts instead of the frozen kind, and anything baked with garlic and salt can be amazing.

Ingredients:

Brussel sprouts (fresh)

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Garlic

Vegan cinnamon buns

2011-04-22T09:29:00.000-04:00

I have often professed my inefficiency at vegan baking.

Cooking vegan I can do, but baking vegan has always ended in flat, doughy breads and cakes that were not worth sharing.

So, being stubborn, I decided to try again, this time with cinnamon buns.

For this endeavor, I wanted help and found a recipe from VeganYumYum.com that I decided to adapt a little bit.

The recipe was pretty easy, but time consuming.

The result was nothing short of spectacular.

So this week’s recipe is not mine, but rather the story of my first successful foray into vegan baking (besides cookies, but that doesn’t count, anyone can make cookies).

VeganYumYum.com recommends Earth Balance brand margarine, and I went with that because it is a great product that always works well.

They also called for Ener-G egg replacer, but I chose to use 1 banana and a mixture of 2 tablespoons water, 2 tablespoons oil and 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Each of these is a suggested vegan egg replacement in a lot of recipes, but I tried using the two and found that it worked out.

Start by proofing the yeast as directed on the yeast packets, warm water, tsp sugar and yeast, set aside.

Next, melt the margarine on the stove.

Mix in the soy milk, sugar, salt and egg replacers from the dough ingredients. Mix until the concoction is smooth and everything is combined.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool below 110 degrees because it is time to add in the yeast mixture, and if it is too hot, the yeast becomes pointless.

Add the wet mixture to about 4 cups of the flour and mix thoroughly until it becomes a smooth batter.

Add the other two cups of flour and mix until it becomes a more solid, messy dough.

Knead the dough on a floured surface for about eight minutes.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover. Allow the dough to rise for 90 minutes somewhere warm.

After it has risen, roll it out in a rectangle about 15x20 inches.

Pour the ½ cup melted margarine evenly onto the dough surface, brushing to spread it out.

Drizzle the molasses around, then sprinkle the sugars and cinnamon from the filling ingredients to cover the whole top of the dough.

Roll up the dough, gently, and then slice the roll into the individual rolls. This should make 9-12 rolls depending on how thick you slice them.

Pour the melted margarine into a long, flat casserole dish or lasagna pan and coat all surfaces.

Sprinkle with the 1/3 cup of sugar.

Place the rolls in the pan and allow them to rise for about 45 minutes.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

The icing is simple, combine the ingredients and stir well until it resembles icing and has no lumps.

Spread icing and enjoy.

These were so good that I’ve now begun thinking about baking more often.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

4 tsp active yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 cup warm water

1 cup soymilk

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup margarine

2 tsp salt

2 eggs worth of egg replacer

6 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

½ cup margarine, melted

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 tbsp cinnamon

2-3 tbsp molasses

For the pan:

½ cup margarine, melted

1/3 cup sugar

For the frosting:

¼ cup margarine

1/3 cup Tofutti cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Easy veg egg rolls

2011-04-22T09:26:00.002-04:00

Chinese food (or the Americanized version we eat in this country, anyway) is often an easy vegetarian choice, since most restaurants offer a tofu dish or vegetable stir-fry.

Most however don’t have egg rolls that are meat-free.

Making the deep-fried classic is easy, once you gather the right ingredients.

To make it really easy, I use a frozen veggie assortment that are made for stir-fry and usually are an appropriate assortment. You can also just use fresh veggies, but the effort and cost put in seems pointless since you’re going to shred everything and then deep fry it in a wrapper. So I go for the easiest route, frozen.

Start by defrosting the veggie assortment or chopping fresh veggies very small.

Next shred the carrot and cabbage with a food processor, do just chopping very fine with a knife.

Mix together all of the vegetables.

Heat a frying pan with the sesame oil, then fry the vegetable mixture, stirring frequently.

As the cabbage shreds become limp, add the soy sauce, sriracha and spices. Stir well, then set aside.

Either heat up your deep fryer to 350 or put about 3 inches of oil in a pot and heat to about 350 on the stove.

Lay the egg roll wrappers on a plate positioned like a diamond. Brush a little water around the edges to that they will stick once wrapped.

Put about two tablespoons (more or less depending on the size of the wrapper) of the filling in a line at the middle of the wrapper.

Fold the bottom corner up and over the filling. Fold in the two sides, then roll up the top corner. Place with the seam side down on a plate so until you’re ready to fry.

Once you have a few ready, drop them into the oil for 2-3 minutes, then flip them over and cook for a couple more minutes.

After they are nice and brown on all sides, place them on some paper towels to drain excess oil.

Ingredients:

1 package or egg roll wrappers

1/2 head of cabbage

1 carrot

1 bag (8 oz) of frozen mixed veggies, stir fry assortment

1 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. sriracha or other hot sauce (optional)

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 tbsps. sesame oil

Oil for frying

Scallion Pancakes

2011-04-22T09:19:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite appetizers is the scallion pancakes from New Harmony in Philadelphia.

This all vegan Chinese restaurant has a ton of amazing food, and if you get the chance, go get their all-you-can-eat dim sum. It is a parade of delicious appetizers dropped at your table until you pass out in a food coma.

These are not as good as the New Harmony ones, but are a good homemade alternative.

Start by boiling the water.

As this heats up, sift flour into a large bowl.

Add the water slowly to the flour, stirring constantly. Incorporate all of the water until a dough forms.

Roll the dough into a ball, cover with a damp towel and let it rest for about a half hour.

Slice the scallions and grate the ginger.

Roll the dough on a well-floured surface into a large, thin rectangle.

Mix the two oils and lightly brush the surface of the dough.

Mix the scallions, ginger and sesame seeds, then spread them evenly around the oiled dough.

Roll the dough up and quarter it.

Each piece should be flattened to about a 6 to 8 inch pancake.

Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.

Fry each side of the pancake for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.

Drain on paper towels, then cut into wedges.

Combine all the ingredients for the dipping sauce and serve.

Ingredients:
2 cups of all purpose flour

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup sliced scallions

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated fine

1/4 cup canola oil

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp toasted sesame seed (optional)

Sauce:

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 tsp minced ginger

1 tsp sugar

Vegan cream of mushroom and spinach soup.

2011-04-22T09:18:00.003-04:00

For a vegetarian, I’ve never been good at liking mushrooms.

As I get older, I find more that work for me. Usually in dishes that don’t give me the mushroomy texture.

Cream of mushroom soup is not something I would have thought I’d ever find appealing.

So when presented with the idea of crafting a mushroom soup, I figured that would be a good challenge.

A friend’s basic cream of mushroom soup recipe was the base for this (thanks Kaik) and then I tried to make it taste less mushroomy.

I started with a mixture of mushrooms. You can use whatever variety you like best, but I chose mostly baby bellas with a few porcini, oyster and shitake.

Start by sauteing the mushrooms in olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. This should take about 10 minutes to brown them completely.

Add the garlic and ginger and allow them to saute for a few minutes.

Next, pour in the almond milk and the veggie bullion.

Raise heat to allow this to come to a brief boil, then reduce heat again and simmer, stirring frequently.

Add the soy sauce and sriracha according to your taste.

The spinach can be chopped or you can remove any stems, or just dump in all of it into the soup.

Allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes to combine the flavors.

Puree the soup in a food processor or blender, then put it back on the stove.

Heat the newly liquified soup and add about 1/4 cup of the potato flakes to thicken the soup.

Slowly add more potato flakes to thicken until the soup is at your desired consistency.

Ingredients

8 to 12 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 to 3 tbsps. olive oil

1 quart almond milk

2 cubes vegetable bullion

1 package fresh baby spinach (6 oz)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. ginger, minced

1 to 2 tbsps. soy sauce or Bragg’s

1 to 2 tsps. sriracha hot sauce

1/2 to 1 cup instant mashed potato flakes

Best brinner ever. (sorry, this one isn't vegan)

2011-03-04T16:56:00.000-05:00

Breakfast might the most important meal, but it is the one I most frequently skip. A couple of cups of coffee usually do the trick for me. The only real problem with that is that breakfast foods are pretty much my favorite foods of all time.

Enter brinner.

The old practice of making breakfast foods for dinner is more reason to celebrate than most holidays on the modern calendar.

This seems like a simple meal, and it is. But to make sure things get cooked well, you need to keep an order to things.

Start with the home fries.

In a large skillet, sauté onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for a few minutes.

Slice your potatoes fairly thin and add to the onions and garlic. Keep turning so that they don’t burn on the bottom of the pan.

As the potatoes start to soften (takes about 10 to 15 minutes usually), you can turn up the heat a little to start browning them.

In a separate pan, sauté the rest of the onion and garlic with some non-stick spray for a couple of minutes.

Cut the asparagus into 1/2- to 3/4- inch pieces, then add to the onions and garlic.

Cook the asparagus until the color changes to a brighter green and they become tender.

In a bowl, beat the eggs and then pour over the asparagus mixture.

Add in the salsa, cheese and hot sauce then stir continuously, flipping the eggs over to make sure they get cooked throughout and so that they don’t stick to the pan.

Serve hot with a little salt and pepper to taste, or a little extra sriracha.

Ingredients:
4-6 eggs

1 pound of asparagus

1/2 small onion, diced

1/2 cup fresh salsa

1/4 shredded cheese

1 clove garlic, minced

Sriracha hot sauce (optional)

4-5 potatoes

1/2 small onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

3-4 tbsp olive oil

Vegetarian spin on shepherd's pie

2011-03-03T16:55:00.000-05:00

To be totally honest, there isn’t really a bad way to make shepherd’s pie.
So many variations are out there and every person who makes it swears that it is the most authentic way to make it.

That makes it an easy dish to rebuild as a vegetarian version.

You can make this with leftover mashed potatoes or instant ones, or you can make quick mashed potatoes before beginning the filling.

If you are making fresh mashed, start by peeling and cubing the potatoes and boiling them until they are soft.

Mash them in a bowl with half a stick of butter and a quarter cup of milk. Add in salt and chili powder to taste. Set aside.

Preheat the over to 400 degrees.

Heat up the olive oil in a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat. Saute the onions, peppers and garlic for about five minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the frozen recipe crumbles. Recipe crumbles are like ground-up veggie burgers, for those who aren’t familiar with them.

Stir frequently until thoroughly cooked, then add corn and peas.

Stir in the veggie broth and Braggs or soy sauce.

Add the roux powder or gravy mix to thicken the sauce. Add more if the sauce is still looking watery, then stir in the rest of the spices and let it simmer for a few minutes.

Spoon the filling into a casserole dish and top with mashed potatoes, then sprinkle some shredded cheese or Daiya on top.

I like to make them in smaller individual dishes so that they can be served that way or refrigerated in the individual dishes for easy reheating later.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.

Ingredients

2 to 3 tbsps olive oil

1 package frozen recipe crumbles

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

3/4 cup frozen corn

3/4 cup frozen peas

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tbsp Braggs liquid aminos (can sub soy sauce)

2 tbsps. instant roux powder or vegetarian gravy mix

1/4 tsp. roasted cumin

1 tbsp. sriracha

1 tsp. salt

For mashed potatoes:

5 to 6 potatoes, cubed

1/4 cup milk or soy milk

1/2 stick margarine

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Shredded cheese or Daiya for topping

Oprah's vegan challenge

2011-02-02T13:10:00.000-05:00

The whole vegetarian world is talking about Oprah and the light she is bringing to the cause.
She is doing some great stuff right now and I encourage everyone to go read it, but I want to remember that there are tons of people out there living it every single day that deserve as much (or more) praise as Oprah is getting for her week long experiment.
The activists.
The vegetarian restaurants.
And the everyday vegetarians working to save animals one day at a time.

Vegetarian onion soup

2011-02-01T16:00:00.001-05:00

Winter classics are sometimes hard to replicate as vegetarian meals.

The reliance on heavy, meaty and fat -laden ingredients often makes the vegetarian versions pretty far off from the original version.

French onion soup is one of those, since the flavor relies so heavily on the beef stock and often actual beef fat.

Making a hearty, smoky vegetarian version of this is a bit complex, but not too difficult once you compile the ingredients.

Start by slicing the onions very thin. A food processor is your friend with a task like this unless you like watering eyes and misery.

Melt the margarine in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil, then mix well.

Sauté the onions for about five minutes, until they start to get translucent.

Add in the garlic, cumin, salt and pepper and stir in for another minute or two.

Mix in the Worcestershire, liquid smoke and sugar, then turn down the heat to low and let this cook for about an hour. Stir occasionally to make sure the onions are not sticking or burning on the bottom of the pan.

If you can’t find vegan Worcestershire sauce, sub Braggs or soy sauce, but then cut out the salt. (I have a recipe for vegan Worcestershire sauce on my blog, but Annie’s makes one that is better and easier).

After an hour of heating this mixture, pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil.

Once the soup boils, reduce heat to medium and let it heat for another ten minutes or so while you preheat your oven to broil.

Scoop the soup into individual, oven-safe bowls. Top with some day-old or toasted French bread, sliced thick. Top the bread with sliced cheese or vegan alternative. Daiya mozzarella works great, but using a slice or two of one of the other vegan cheeses will do just fine.

Heat in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly

Carefully remove and enjoy.

Ingredients:

2 pound of onions, sliced thin

2 quarts of vegetable stock

2 tbsps. margarine

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 to 1 tbsps liquid smoke

1 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tbsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp pepper

1 to 2 tsps salt

Thick sliced bread (for topping)

Cheese slices (for topping)

Warm up with black bean and sweet potato soup

2011-02-01T15:59:00.000-05:00

A nice hearty soup can be as simple or as difficult as you can imagine.

This is a black bean and sweet potato soup that is much closer to the simple end of things.

Start by peeling the sweet potato and dicing it. Boil the sweet potato until it is tender.

While that’s boiling, slice the onion and saute it in the olive oil over medium heat until the slices brown.

Drain and rinse the beans.

Combine the cooked onion and sweet potato with the beans and vegetable broth in a large stock pot.

Add the spices and molasses and stir well.

Heat on high until it boils, then reduce heat to medium and allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Drain the liquid and reserve all of it.

Put about three quarters of the solid veggies into a food processor or blender and puree.

Mix the pureed veggies with the other quarter and the broth and stir well in the stock pot. Heat back up to boiling stirring frequently.

Serve hot with some bread or crackers for a hearty vegan soup that will satisfy on and frigid winter afternoon.

Ingredients

2 cans (15 oz.) black beans

4 cups vegetable broth

1 red onion, sliced thin

1 sweet potato

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. molasses

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. olive oil

Daiya Cheese

2011-01-10T13:13:00.000-05:00

I know that if I do end up making the leap and going totally vegan, it will be in large part because of Daiya cheese.
All of my vegan versions of recipes that have cheese pretty much revolve around their amazing cheese substitute, so I love when companies that make great products get recognition for those products.

PETA has named them company of the year.

Nice recognition for a company that truly deserves recognition.

Tempeh Bacon

2011-01-09T08:42:00.000-05:00

This recipe is a for all the longtime vegetarians who still crave a good BLT on occasion.

I know all the vegetarians out there have heard the omnivores spout off about how we “gave up meat by choice, so why do we always try to make stuff that tastes like meat?” The anger that meat eaters have over the idea of fake bacon kind of blows my mind.

The simple answer to why we try so hard to make these fake meats is because we can.

The more complex answer will go into choosing not to kill animals to subside and having a clearer conscience after going vegetarian than before, not because we didn’t like meat.

So back to the fake bacon… this is my experiment with making tempeh bacon and the results are just what I liked best out of the several methods and mixtures I tried. This is one of those recipes that you should adapt and make your own.

Start by mixing the Braggs, water, molasses, liquid smoke and spices. I used a roasted cumin made by McCormick that worked really well. Having never seen roasted cumin before, I naturally was curious and it definitely is a different flavor than straight ground cumin so I will be trying it in some other stuff.

Mix the marinade thoroughly and set aside.

Slice the tempeh as thin as you possibly can, a filet knife works well and steady hands work even better.

Soak in the marinade for 20-60 minutes. The longer the better since tempeh will soak in the flavors as you leave it in for longer.

Preheat the over to 400 degrees and brush with olive oil. Place the tempeh strips on the baking pan and brush the tops with oil as well.

Bake for about 10 minutes.

Check them to see if they are nice and dark brown, if they aren’t, flip them over and leave in for a few more minutes.

Let the tempeh cool a little, but definitely use as soon as you can to keep the crispness.

I made BLT wraps with the ‘bacon’ this time, but could easily use the same stuff for a breakfast meal.

The sandwich part is as simple as just wrapping up the veggies, ‘bacon’ and some dressing or mayo/nayo.

Ingredients:

For ‘bacon’:

1 8 oz. package of tempeh

4 tbsps. Braggs Liquid Aminos or soy sauce

4 tbsps. water

1 tbsp. molasses

1 tbsp. liquid smoke

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. roasted cumin (optional)

1/2 tsp. paprika (optional)

Olive oil

For sandwich:

Tortillas or wraps

Lettuce

Tomato

Avocado

Dressing

2010-12-29T12:47:00.003-05:00

The Rice Crispy treat is one of those things that is hard to come by in the vegetarian world. Well, at least a good one is anyway.

Since most marshmallows are made with gelatin, the standard cereal treat is off limits for vegetarians.

This variation of the classic cereal treat uses a jar of Fluff instead of a bag of marshmallows. Fluff is mostly made with egg whites, so it isn’t vegan, but for vegans, there are brands of vegan marshmallows out there that work well. They tend to run about five bucks a bag, so unless I’m making these for my vegan friends, I’ll stick with the $1.25 jar of Fluff until I find a good brand of Fluff without the egg.

Start by melting the margarine in a large pot. Scoop out the fluff with a spatula and mix constantly to avoid burning it while it all melts. If you’re using the vegan marshmallows, follow the same instructions, but melting will take a little longer.

Once everything is completely melted, remove from the heat and immediately stir in all of the cereals and cranberries. It is easy to substitute different cereals or other add-ins. Chocolate cereal and chocolate chips work well. Really, chocolate chips mixed with just about anything works pretty well.

After you have a nice marshmallowey coating on everything, scoop the mixture out and spread evenly onto a flat pan. Using a little bit of cooking spray is a good idea, but in a glass pan I did fine without it.

Allow them to cool, then cut up and enjoy.

Ingredients:

1 jar of Marshmallow Fluff (can use vegan marshmallows instead)

4 cups of crisped rice cereal

2 cups of crunch berries cereal

½ cup dried cranberries

4 tbsp margarine

Veggie stuffed peppers

2010-12-28T16:35:00.003-05:00

A recent conversation about frozen meals that were staples growing up got me thinking about the fact that I’ve always wanted to make a vegetarian stuffed pepper that wouldn’t really replicate the classic from the red box, but be a satisfying winter meal.

This one is pretty simple, but can be altered to make it more complex.

Start by cooking the orzo as directed on the package.

While that’s cooking, heat up the olive oil in a frying pan, put in the minced garlic and then brown the fake meat. There are many brands of frozen ground “beef” that will all work for this. I like the Morning Star Farms one, but that isn’t vegan, so if you are vegan or are making these for vegans, I suggest the Boca crumbles or the Gimme-Lean ground beef style.

Browning this ingredient in a pan will give you a better flavor, but heating the frozen guys in the microwave will work. After both orzo and faux meat are heated up, combine them in a large bowl.

Chop the green onions very fine and shred the zucchini and mix them into the bowl.

Stir in the tomato sauce and the spices.

Cut the tops off of the peppers and clean out the seeds.

You can boil the peppers submerged in water for about four minutes to prep them, but I like them with a little more crispness in the pepper, so I skip this step.

Fill the peppers with the mixture from the bowl.

Add shredded cheese to the top or bread crumbs and margarine, then bake at 375 for about 40-45 minutes.

I had some of the stuffing left over, so I mixed it with the rest of the package of orzo and it made a pretty good side dish.

Ingredients:

4-6 bell peppers

1 12 oz package of veggie crumbles/fake ground beef

3 green onions

1 small zucchini or squash

1/2 cup uncooked orzo

1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 clove garlic (minced)

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. basil

Salt and pepper to taste

Shredded cheese for top (optional)

Bread crumbs and margarine for top (optional)

Apple Cider Doughnuts!

2010-12-13T14:54:00.003-05:00

Donuts are not really the healthiest breakfast around, but are usually vegetarian, depending on what they’ve been cooked in.

Most places use vegetable oil any more, but I like to ask just to be certain, there are some places out there that still fry things in lard.

This recipe for apple cider donuts is vegan if you use a margarine that is vegan.

Everything else here is vegan friendly.

Blend all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl, reserving some flour for dusting the surface and rolling pin.

Stir in the melted margarine until it is all absorbed.

Add the cider and applesauce and mix until all of the flour is absorbed and a dough has formed.

The dough might be a little soft and moist, if so, add flour a little at a time until it is workable and feels like you can roll it out and cut it without too many problems.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface with a rolling pin to about 1/2 inch thick.

If you happen to have donut cutters, use them to press out the donuts and holes. If you don’t, be resourceful and use what you have.

I used a pint glass for the donuts and a bottle cap for the holes.

Heat up a deep fryer or a heavy stock pot with enough oil to deep fry in to 375 degrees.

These only take a couple of minutes to fry up nicely, so keep an eye on them.

Drop in a few at a time, gently. Leave space because they do expand some. They will sink and then begin to flat pretty soon.

At about a minute, the edges should look kind of brown, the top will still look uncooked, so with a pair of tongs or a couple of forks, flip them in the oil.

About a minute later, flip again to see how the other side looks. If it is nice a brown, take it out and drain on paper towels or brown paper bags.

While they are still hot, roll them in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon (a dash of cinnamon in three tablespoons of sugar should do the trick).

To make a glaze, you can mix equal parts powdered sugar and vanilla soy milk or apple cider.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat white flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 good shake of nutmeg

2 tbsp melted margarine

1/2 cup apple cider

1/4 cup applesauce

oil for frying

extra flour

Potato chowder with corn and asparagus

2010-12-06T13:55:00.000-05:00

It’s soup time of year again.

Making thick, heavy soups is one of the joys of the cold weather. It might not offset driving to work on a sheet of ice, but it helps a little.

This potato chowder is easy to make into a vegan version by replacing the cheese with soy cheese or Daiya and replacing the cream with almond milk or taking out the cream and adding an extra cup of veggie broth.

Start by skinning and dicing the potatoes, then boiling them until they are tender.

While the potatoes are boiling, cut the asparagus into small chunks about 3/4 of an inch long and dice the onion fairly small.

Once the potatoes are soft, drop the asparagus in with the potatoes for a few minutes until that is soft as well.

Drain these and set aside.

Saute the onions in the olive oil in the same pot that you boiled the potatoes in. Once they are translucent, add the garlic, salt and pepper.

saute this mixture for a few minutes, then add the vegetable broth and corn. Bring this to a boil, then reduce heat and add the cream and shredded cheese. Simmer this while adding the potatoes and asparagus back in.

Let the soup heat all the way through for about ten minutes on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.

Scoop about 2/3 to 3/4 of the soup into a food processor or blender. Puree and then add back into the remaining soup and mix thoroughly. Heat this up and you’re ready to serve.

If you have a small food processor (like I do), this may involve using a large bowl to hold the puree while you use a few different batches in the food processor.

Serve with a scoop of sour cream (or Tofutti sour cream) and some fresh dill on top. Squeeze just a little bit of fresh lemon juice into the bowl as well.

Ingredients:

3-4 pounds of potatoes

3 cups vegetable broth

1 pound asparagus (fresh)

1 cup corn (fresh is good, but frozen works)

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp olive oil

1 cup cream or almond milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Salt

Pepper

Sour cream (garnish)

Fresh dill (garnish)

Lemon juice (garnish)

Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-12-06T13:50:00.003-05:00

Vegan baking has not been my strong suit, but I continue to try. Cookies are usually the easiest baked good to be successful at, so that’s where I’ve concentrated recently.

Mixing a few different fall flavors just seems appealing to me, so I tried pumpkin banana chocolate chip cookies.

This is basically an old chocolate chip cookie recipe with pumpkin and banana in place of egg and then the addition of the typical pumpkin pie spices.

Start off by combining the pumpkin, banana (mashed), sugars, vanilla and vegetable oil. Mix them well until the lumps are mostly gone.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, spices and baking powder.

Mix the baking soda with the almond milk and stir into the wet mixture.

Mix the flour and spices into the wet mixture and stir until completely combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips until distributed evenly.

Scoop large spoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10 to 13 minutes.

These make a very cakey cookie that could be called muffin-tops, but I set out trying to make cookies, so I’m calling these cookies anyway.

To make sure these are totally vegan-friendly, check the chocolate chips. Many brands of semi-sweet chips are made without dairy, but some have milk. Most dark chocolate chips will be vegan and then there are vegan specific brands out there that can be found in places like Whole Foods.

Ingredients:

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 very ripe banana

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp almond milk

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

1 bag (12-16 oz) of chocolate chips

"Chicken" noodle casserole

2010-11-22T16:35:00.000-05:00

This week we have a “chicken” noodle casserole that is made with just a bunch of stuff I happened to have around the kitchen. This is one of my favorite ways to cook because it really brings out the lazy in me since I don’t have to go to the store. Casseroles often happen in this way, and experimenting is always encouraged when making any casserole.

The recipe is easy, and the leftovers heat up nicely. And, this meal is awesome for comfort food when the weather is getting colder.

Start by boiling the noodles according to the package directions.

While the noodles are boiling, heat the onion in the olive oil over medium heat.

As the onions start to get translucent, add in the Chic’n strips and heat according to package directions, turning frequently until slightly browned on all sides.

Pre-heat the oven to 375.

Mix the gravy packets into the two cups of water and microwave to make the gravy, about two or three minutes, stopping to stir a couple of times, or whatever the directions say.

Once the noodles are done, drain well and put into a large casserole dish.

Stir in the onions and Chic’n Strips and any seasoning you might like.

Next stir in the gravy and combine all the ingredients together to make a consistent mixture throughout the dish.

Top with the shredded cheese or Daiya, then breadcrumbs and thin pats of margarine.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Ingredients

1 package (1 pound) noodles

2 tbsps. olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 package Morningstar Farms Chik’n Strips Meal Starters

2 packets of vegetarian gravy mix

(Hain makes a great chicken flavored one)

2 cups water

1 cup shredded cheese or Daiya vegan cheese

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 to 1/2 stick of margarine

Taking it slow gives baked beans a kick

2010-11-22T16:32:00.000-05:00

Baked beans seem like something that should be vegetarian friendly without much effort, but to buy them in the store takes effort. A few brands have one variety of vegetarian baked beans, but most have bacon or pork or some other part of a pig.

A little experimenting will give you the exact flavor you want, but using a crock pot and cooking them slowly will give almost any attempt amazing results.

You’re going to need a crock pot for this recipe, but I’m sure stove top will work if you have to.

You can sub an appropriate amount of canned beans instead of cooking the dried beans, but 79 cents worth of dried beans will probably mean about four or five bucks worth of the cans.

To prepare the beans, ignore the instructions on the bag. They have always steered me way wrong and I end up with beans that are too hard to enjoy.

Boil about eight or nine cups of water in a large pot. Rinse the beans and put them in the boiling water for a few minutes.

Remove from the heat and let sit for an hour.

Place back over low heat and allow them to simmer for another hour or two, until the beans are soft.

Dice the onion and peppers fine. I like red onion in this recipe, but any onion will do.

The hot peppers are also a variable, I like using two different types of peppers to create a slightly more complex flavor.

Drain the beans once they are soft enough, set aside about a cup and a half of the liquid.

Put the beans, onions and peppers into the crock pot.

In a separate bowl, mix the bean water with the molasses, sriracha, sugar, garlic, salt and mustard.

If you’re not familiar with sriracha, it is a Chinese hot sauce that has more flavor than most other hot sauces, but still has the spicy kick. It has become my choice for hot sauce in most recipes, but if you don’t have it, use regular hot sauce. If you haven’t tried sriracha, go buy it on your next trip to the supermarket.

Mix these up and pour into the crock pot and stir into the beans.

Cut the butter or margarine into thin pats and place on top when you are done.

Put the lid on and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours.

Stir it up and enjoy.

This recipe is easy to make vegan by just using Earth Balance sticks or another dairy free margarine instead of butter. I recommend the Earth Balance because it is the most butter-like vegan margarine out there.

Ingredients:

1 lb dried beans (pinto, kidney, great northern, whatever)

1 small onion or ½ large onion, chopped fine

2 small hot peppers

1/3 cup molasses

1 tbsp sriracha (optional)

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp salt

½ tsp dried mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

1 stick butter or margarine

Bill Clinton and the Power Vegans? Sounds dangerous.

2010-11-05T16:26:00.000-04:00

An interesting piece from BusinessWeek talks about the new trend of the rich and powerful becoming vegan/vegetarian. I love the idea of Steve Wynn convincing his corporate brethren to go vegan as well.
Check it out:
""CEOs are smart. There just hadn't been enough exposure for people to glom onto this trend," says Ingrid E. Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "The information is everywhere now. Instead of 'Better buy this blue chip,' it's 'Better eat vegan.' " When Newkirk learned Wynn had become a vegan, she didn't think the news was crazy. "Having dolphins in a small tank outside a casino is crazy," she says. "Ordering vegetables is not.""

Veggie Meatloaf

2010-11-04T11:42:00.002-04:00

Some of the simplest recipes are the best.

This is one of the easiest vegetarian meatloaf recipes I’ve tried, but it is also the best.

It comes to me from a nonprofit group based in D.C. called Compassion over Killing. From the group’s name, you probably already figured out that they are an animal advocacy organization. Check them out at www.COK.net for more recipes and info.

Obviously this group supports a cause that is close to my heart, so I really urge everyone to check them out and learn a thing or two.

One of the many great things about cooking vegan dishes is that you never have to worry about undercooked veggies making you sick like you do with meats that may not be cooked all the way through.

I tried making this meatloaf in the easiest way possible by using the frozen veggie crumbles, mixing in all of the ingredients and tossing them in a loaf pan and baking.

I added liquid smoke to the mixture and it was a pretty good addition to an already great recipe.

The COK.net recipe calls for baking this meatloaf at 350 for one hour and twenty minutes wrapped in foil.

It’s probably a good idea to let the crumbles defrost first, because it took mine an extra 25 minutes or so. The recipe is so simple and so flavorful that it is well worth the time spent waiting.

So chop the onions finely, mix everything together in a large bowl, transfer to the loaf pan and bake until the top is nicely browned.

Serve with mashed potatoes and maybe some veg gravy (Hain makes a super-easy packet that you just mix with a cup of water and microwave for two minutes) and some basic veggies on the side.

Ingredients:
1 pound of veggie crumbles/ground beef substitute

3 tbsp ketchup

2/3 tbsp prepared mustard

½ tbsp horseradish

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 tsp salt

½ cup bread crumbs

¼ cup soy milk

½ tbsp soy sauce (or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos)

1 tsp liquid smoke

Pumpkin pancakes are irresistible

2010-10-28T13:51:00.000-04:00

Rich fall foods get you ready for the winter, since we all like to pack on the warmth for the coming sub-zero weather.

This vegan variation of pumpkin pancakes will do the trick since you won’t be able to stop eating them.

Made with soy milk and applesauce, they are lower in fat than when using eggs and whole milk, but they don’t taste like it.

And as simple as they are to make, you’ll be doing this all fall.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices (but not the brown sugar).

In a separate bowl, measure out the canned pumpkin. Be sure to use the 100 percent pumpkin instead of the pie mix in a can.

Stir in the wet ingredients and then the brown sugar. Mixing the brown sugar in with the wet first and dissolving it prevents the problem of the hard little clump of brown sugar hiding in the dry ingredients.

Pour the liquid mixture into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and mix until fully combined.

The batter might seem a little thick, but resist the urge to thin it out with more soymilk.

Scoop about a quarter cup of batter onto a lightly greased skillet or griddle. These turn out great on a cast iron griddle if you happen to have one of those.

Serve like any normal pancake, with some margarine and syrup.

An easier, but less tasty version would be to prepare Bisquick and add the canned pumpkin to the batter, but they are so easy from scratch that it is well worth the little extra effort.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin

1 1/2 cup soy milk

1/4 cup applesauce

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 tbsp vinegar

Mashed potatoes are worth the effort

2010-10-27T17:01:00.000-04:00

Mashed potatoes are not exactly the laziest recipe out there, so this week is more about the herbivore than the lazy.

Choosing high quality potatoes is one of the most important parts of the process.

I like using organic red potatoes when I can find them, but russet work well, too.

The next step is deciding if you want to have skins or not in the final product. What seems to be the lazier option, keeping the skins on, is actually not that much easier, since you have to then wash the potatoes really well since they come from the dirt.

So either wash your potatoes or peel and rinse them, then cut them into rough chunks.

Boil the chunks until they are soft, testing a larger one after they start to float, and allowing them to cook for longer until they are soft all the way through.

Drain well and put into a large bowl while still very hot.

Add butter right away to let it melt. It is a good idea to let butter or margarine sit at room temperature for a while to soften it so it will melt quicker.

I use an electric mixer because it’s so much easier, but hand mashing works as well.

As you mash, add the sour cream and cheese, allowing them to incorporate well and then add the milk slowly until the mashed potatoes are the level of creaminess that you want.

Add the garlic and other seasoning to taste. Below are some amounts for everything, but adjust levels according to your taste. I don’t think I have ever measured anything when making mashed potatoes, so these are all estimates.

More butter means better mashed potatoes, but less healthy ones as well, so take that into consideration.

The option of making vegan mashed potatoes is easy by just using dairy free versions of the milk, margarine and sour cream.

The key to good vegan mashed is Tofutti brand vegan sour cream. That is the best vegan version that I’ve found and is crucial to making the potatoes creamy without real butter.

Daiya cheese is a great vegan cheese that melts well, but for mashed, most vegan cheeses work pretty well when shredded.

Vegan or dairy, mashed potatoes are easy, but time consuming. I will usually make a whole five-pound bag of potatoes when I’m making mashed just to make sure there are leftovers. Real mashed potatoes reheat well and also work well breaded and pan fried for potato pancakes.

Ingredients:

Potatoes, 5 pounds

1 stick of butter or margarine

1 8oz container of sour cream

½ cup milk or soy milk

1 cup shredded cheese or Daiya

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp Cajun seasoning

1-2 tsp coarse salt

Pepper to taste

gnocchi made easy.

2010-10-26T17:00:00.000-04:00

Making gnocchi seems like a daunting task, but it is actually way simpler than it really seems.

Start by boiling the potatoes in some salted water until they are soft all the way through.

Check them with a skewer to make sure you are not trying to mash up undercooked potatoes.

Mash the potatoes well while they are still hot. Allow them to cool a bit before proceeding, but just enough that you can comfortably handle the potatoes to knead the dough.

Start by adding the flour slowly, about a half cup at a time.

Knead the flour and spices into the potato to form a soft dough.

Adding the flour slowly will allow you to get the dough to a good consistency without over drying the dough with too much flour.

If you add too much flour, the dough becomes crumbly and will not hold shape.

This recipe is for basic potato gnocchi, but can be adapted to be any type of gnocchi by adding ingredients into the dough before rolling and cutting into small pieces.

Adding parmesan or Asiago cheese will give more flavor, but be sure to add that before all of the flour, since grated cheeses can make the dough drier, meaning you will need less flour.

After the dough is solid, but not crumbly, kind of like a soft cookie dough, start rolling portions of it into snakes about ¾ of an inch thick.

Cut the rolls into small pieces about an inch long, the using the tines of a fork, press a ridge into one side.

Drop several of the gnocchi at a time into boiling water.

Once they start to float, let them cook for about two more minutes, then remove and drain. They are pretty delicate, so use a spoon to scoop them out of the water and place into a strainer.

Serve with your favorite sauce as a main dish or a side.

This dough is easy to make and add to, so spinach gnocchi or asparagus gnocchi are simple, just cut the veggies up fine and incorporate into the dough, more flour might be needed since the moisture of the veggies will probably soften the dough.

Ingredients

2 1/2 pound of potatoes, peeled

1 to 2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

Homemade pizza dough is simple stuff

2010-10-14T17:50:00.002-04:00

Pizza is one of those universal meals that most people love.

Making it at home is easiest when you just buy the pre-made dough, spread a little sauce, sprinkle on some cheese and bake according to the package directions.

Not as easy, but still pretty simple is making your own dough.

This can be made in advance and frozen for quick and easy dinners throughout a busy work week.

This recipe will make two small pizzas that are each enough for two people to eat.

Start by mixing the sugar into a cup of warm water, not hot, but warm.

Add the yeast into the water and allow it to sit for about ten minutes.

While the yeast is prepping, mix the salt and flour into a large bowl. I use white whole wheat flour to give it a little more health value, but not as much of the whole-wheat taste as regular wheat flour.

Most people use regular unbleached all-purpose flour, that will work as well.

After ten minutes, the yeast should have created a foam on the water. Mix the yeast-water and two tablespoons of oil into the flour and mix thoroughly.

Once the dough forms from this mixture, sprinkle some extra flour onto a clean countertop or cutting board.

It’s time to start kneading the dough.

Every recipe will try to tell you a technique that works better for kneading, but just knead the dough however works for you for about ten minutes.

Pounding, squishing, rolling, grabbing, and rubbing all work. Just make sure all of the dough becomes a consistent color and texture.

Spray or brush some olive oil into a large, clean bowl and place the ball of dough into this and then get the oil on the top and bottom of the dough as well.

Let it rest for an hour, covered with a damp cloth, then knead it again for a minute or two. There will be air released in this process, so don’t be gentle and don’t think you messed up when you plop down the dough and it deflates. That’s what you want it to do.

Let it rest again for another hour.

Freeze it now if you want to save it for later.

When you’re ready for pizza, either defrosted or immediately, start by pre-heating your oven to 475.

Stretch the dough by hand or rolling pin by starting with a ball and pushing outward.

Once the dough is in your nice, perfectly circular crust shape (which mine never seems to be, but you’re probably better at this than I am with my lack of patience) put on whatever toppings you want.

I like to throw a pinch of cornmeal onto my cookie sheet or pizza pan before placing the dough on it, but this is optional.

I use whatever pasta sauce I have sitting around, some shredded cheese and fresh cut veggies.

When I feel like treating myself, I get a package of the Light Life veggie pepperoni slices. They aren’t cheap, but they are delicious and packed with protein.

The dough is already vegan, so to make this meal vegan, just use non-dairy cheese or leave the cheese off all together.

Brushing the edges of the crust with olive oil and garlic will help keep it from drying out while you cook and add a little extra flavor.

Cook for about 10 minutes or until the crust has started to get golden brown and the cheese is melted and starting to get brown as well.

Ingredients:

3 cups of white whole wheat flour

1 tsp. salt

2 1/4 tsp. active yeast (or 1 packet if you buy the 1/4 oz. packets)

1 cup warm water

1 1/2 tbsps. sugar

About 3 tbsps. olive oil, 2 for in the dough, 1 for coating the bowl

Tomato sauce

Shredded cheese

Toppings

Great outdoors is the perfect stage for easy vegan dishes

2010-09-24T17:37:00.001-04:00

Camping is one of my all-time favorite activities. Getting away from the daily grind to a place where cell phone reception is poor at best and charging a laptop isn’t really an option is just a small part of the appeal.

Being out in nature and witnessing what we as a species have paved over in a lot of areas and seeing the world as it should be is the main reason I try to get out there.

I recently went camping with three vegetarian friends of mine, so I thought I’d offer up some of the simple meals we prepared over the campfire.

None of these were done while heavy trekking, just simple car camping so the ingredients are from a cooler, but some things can be put into a pack and travel for a real wilderness trek. All of these meals were done in collaboration with all four of us on the camping trip, so none of these meal ideas are mine alone, but I thought I should share them all.

Breakfast

Vegan pancakes are simple with a box of Bisquick and some soy milk with just a little vegetable oil.

Some vegan margarine and a basic frying pan do the trick. We had a camping cookware set from Coleman that was pretty inexpensive and worked great.

The trick is to use a lot of margarine because the pan heats up pretty high over the open flame and will cause the pancakes to stick.

Lunch

The best discovery of my camping was a hobo-pie maker from a company called Rome. This cast-iron device opens on a hinge and you put in two pieces of bread, fill it with pretty much anything from peanut butter and jelly to vegan faux-lunchmeats. Just shove it right into the coals of the fire and you have a great toasted sandwich in just a few minutes.

Veggie hot dogs are great over the fire as well. The good old traditional method of finding a stick and skewering them to toast over the open flames works well. Best of all, since there is no meat and it’s all precooked; you just have to heat it up and not worry about cooking out bacteria that cause problems in undercooked meats.

Dinner:

Some prepackaged meals just heated up over the fire work great, but combining some of those veggie hot dogs with some fresh veggies in a pot and tossing in some seasoning, then busting out the cast iron sandwich machine makes an awesome dinner.

Rice cooks nicely in a little camping pot over the fire as well, so mixing that with some canned beans and spices, or tossing the beans in a pot with some onions and some boxed Indian food makes a hearty meal as well.

Vegans can have an unlimited amount of options for meals while camping, especially because of the fact that most vegetarian foods really just need to be heated up and not actually cooked all the way through.

The Lazy Herbivore is a weekly vegetarian recipe column designed for vegetarians with little time on their hands, or little effort to put into cooking.

To ask questions, suggest recipes, talk about vegetarian stuff, or just belittle his writing abilities, email John at jberry@timesherald.com or call 610.272.2500 x204.

Vegetarian spots in Montgomery County

2010-09-22T17:41:00.001-04:00

I'm always looking for new places to find vegetarian meals near by. There are plenty of restaurants that offer vegetarian and vegan options on their menu, but few that are fully vegetarian outside of Philly.

Are there any fully vegetarian places in Montgomery County at all?

Easy guacamole

2010-09-22T17:37:00.002-04:00

The toughest part of making fresh guacamole is the avocados, both choosing a ripe one and getting it pitted and skinned without maiming the important parts.

If you press on the skin, it should be slightly soft, but not too soft. If it is hard, the avocado is not ripe, if it is very soft, then it’s overly ripe and will not taste right.

Try slicing it vertically right at the center until you hit the pit. Next turn the avocado around the blade so that you cut all the way around the pit. Turn the two halves in opposite directions.

One of the halves will still have the pit, so try to gently pry the pit out with your knife.

Scoop the flesh out of the skin and put into a bowl.

Once you have scooped all of the avocados, mash them with a fork or potato masher.

Mix in the garlic, onion and tomatoes while mashing the avocado a but more.

Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice into the mixture.

Add the salt and pepper, then mix in well.

Serve with some chips and garnish with slices of the tomato if you have any left over.

You can also use fresh guacamole on sandwiches, burgers or any number of other meals.

Ingredients

4 ripe avocados

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1 serrano pepper, chopped

1 lime

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 or 2 plum tomatoes, diced

1/2 tsp salt

fresh ground black pepper to taste

The Lazy Herbivore is a weekly vegetarian recipe column designed for vegetarians with little time on their hands, or little effort to put into cooking.

To ask questions, suggest recipes, talk about vegetarian stuff, or just belittle his writing abilities, e-mail John at jberry@timesherald.com or call 610-272-2500 x204.

Herbivore Vs. health food enthusiast

2010-07-19T16:28:00.000-04:00

I hear it a lot from various sources and in various ways.
Sometimes it it questions on how I can have a 200+ pound stature when all I eat is carrots and lettuce.
Usually it is more along the lines of people mistakenly telling me that I'm going to live a long life because I eat so healthy.
Now that I have been sharing my recipes, it's become more people questioning why my vegetarian recipes include margarine and cheese and sugar when I'm supposed to be cooking so healthy.
I'd love to dispel that myth that all vegetarians are health food enthusiasts.
At a recent mostly vegetarian gathering at my house, the thing that got the most excited response was that we figured out a vegan batter to make deep-fried Oreos.
Yes, because there is no meat in our diet, vegetarians tend to have more healthy options than omnivores because of the high fat content in a lot of meat, and especially in fast food.
So by default, herbivores do eat a bit more healthy than average people, but that isn't the reason why most of us do it.
A true vegetarian lifestyle is more about avoiding the death of animals than it is about eating the most nutritious meals possible.
There are a lot of vegetarians that are also really in to health foods, but healthy and vegetarian are not one and the same.

Brown rice patties

2010-07-19T15:21:00.003-04:00

A little while back, a reader wrote in and asked for a recipe that made good use of brown rice, since it has more flavor and more nutrients than plain old white rice.

I was first shocked that anyone was reading my ramblings, but then tried to find a dish that really made use of brown rice in a way that was more substantial than just a base for which to serve a stir-fry over.

Grabbing some extra veggies and mixing in a couple of cups of cooked rice, I made these rice patties that can be great as a side dish for any meal, or made smaller, can be just a snack on their own.

The first step is to saute the veggies, about a half an onion and half a bell pepper make a nice base, but you can use pretty much anything you want.

Mash up about 2 cups of cooked brown rice in a large bowl using the back of a wooden spoon. Don’t obliterate it, just make it kind of chunky so you will be able to form it into patties.

This is a good way to make use of extra rice if you have the habit that I do of cooking way too much rice every time I make rice with dinner.

In a separate bowl, mix together the tomato sauce, vegetable broth, and spices.

Mix this liquid mixture into the mashed rice and make sure it is all mixed through.

Add in the bread crumbs, half of a cup first, then judge by the consistency whether or not you need the rest.

The mixture should be solid enough to form into shapes, but not crumble as you form them.

Heat up enough oil to coat the bottom of a frying pan.

Form the patties depending on what purpose you want to use them for. A side dish with eggs for breakfast or some faux chicken strips for lunch or dinner will work best if the patties are about four inches around and about 3/4 of an inch thick.

For a snack, go for more bite-sized pieces.

Place the freshly made patties into the oil and cook them until they start to brown, then flip them and brown the other side.

Serve soon after cooking so they are still crunchy.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 bell pepper diced
1/2 onion diced
1/2 to 1 cup of bread crumbs
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

The Lazy Herbivore is a weekly vegetarian recipe column designed for vegetarians with little time on their hands, or little effort to put into cooking.

To ask questions, suggest recipes, talk about vegetarian stuff, or just belittle his writing abilities, email John at jberry@timesherald.com or call 610.272.2500 x204.

Veggie Stroganoff

2010-07-08T17:10:00.004-04:00

This simple casserole is a vegetarian approximation of classic beef stroganoff but obviously without the beef and is simple to make into a vegan dish with a few easy substitutions.

Start by boiling the noodles and preparing them like normal, draining and setting aside.

I use the same pot from the noodles for the rest of the prep just to make cleanup easier and use less water to be environmentally friendly, too.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the olive oil for a few minutes over a medium heat.

Add the diced onions and cook until the start to become a bit tender.

Add the mushrooms. I like the baby portabellas because they have a richer flavor and a denser consistency than button or cremini mushrooms, but are still fairly inexpensive and easy to find.

Once the mushrooms start to soften, add the soup. If you’re using the classic condensed soup, add the water called for in the standard preparation instructions, usually one can.

Stir in the veggie crumbles once the soup is mixed.

If you’re not familiar with veggie crumbles, they are in the freezer section of your local grocery store with the veggie burgers. I am partial to Morningstar Farms, but Boca ones are really good as well. Since I am such a big fan of these, I tend to put more than is necessary in recipes, so I make this with 1 1/2 bags instead of just one.

Once this mixture is blended, add the sour cream, then the wine.

Let this simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to combine, but stir occasionally to keep from burning on the bottom of the pan. Add the salt, pepper and paprika while this cooks.

Bring back the noodles and stir them in to get them all coated evenly by the sauce.

Spray a 9-by-13 casserole dish with non-stick spray, then even spread the noodles and sauce throughout.

Mix together the cheese and breadcrumbs and sprinkle evenly over the top, use more than one cup of cheese if you’re feeling adventurous or unhealthy.

Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese starts to brown.

The way to make this vegan is simple, use a vegan soup, vegan sour cream (Tofutti makes Sour Supreme that mixes into recipes just like regular sour cream), and either replace the cheese on top with a vegan version or just increase the breadcrumbs and spread a few tablespoons or dairy-free margarine evenly across the top before baking.

Since I work a lot, this is a great dish to make on the weekend and have as leftovers throughout the week because it re-heats nicely.

INGREDIENTS

1 to 11/2 packages Veggie Crumbles (ground meat substitute)

1 Vidalia onion, diced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 bag egg noodles (or equivalent)

1 can cream of mushroom soup (plus water if condensed)

2 tbsp white cooking wine

1 tub sour cream (8 oz)

1 to 2 cups cheddar cheese (shredded)

½ cup bread crumbs

2 tbs olive oil

1/2 tsp. paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

Spicy potato salad

2010-06-23T18:00:00.000-04:00

Summertime means standard lighter fare that most vegetarian cans get behind, because other than the grilled meats, most things everyone serves at their cookouts are veggie sides.

You can get tired of the standard mayo-based potato salads, so an oil based spicy version might be the answer to put some variety into the summer menu.

This recipe is easy, but takes a little prep, since the flavors should be allowed to mingle over night in the fridge.

Boil the potatoes until tender, and set aside to cool.

Chop and dice the celery, pepper, onion and carrot and set aside.

Defrost the peas, but don’t cook them.

The peas and shredded carrots are not really integral to the salad, but add to the flavor and texture.

In a large bowl, mix the oil, vinegar, mustard, hot sauce, garlic and spices.

Allow the potatoes to cool somewhat, but not completely, a little warmth in the potatoes can allow the spices to permeate the potatoes better than if they are cooled all the way.

If they are too hot, it will cook the veggies and lose the crunch of the celery and peppers.

After the spice mixture has coated the potatoes, let them rest for a few minutes and soak.

Next you’ll mix in the chopped vegetables and stir them thoroughly.

Cover and put in the refrigerator at least until it is chilled. Leaving it alone overnight will allow the flavors to blend better and give you a better salad.

This recipe is not only a variation on the typical potato salad, it is completely vegan without the use of any expensive substitutes like the fake mayonnaise that often runs twice the price of regular mayo and is sometimes difficult to find.

Ingredients:

4-5 pounds of red potatoes, roughly cubed with skins on

2 stalks of celery

½ cup shredded carrots (optional)

1 bell pepper, diced

½ onion, diced

1 cup frozen peas

4 tbs olive oil

4 tbs vinegar

2 tbs hot sauce (more for extra kick)

2 tbs brown mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Vegan pasta salads

2010-06-22T17:15:00.000-04:00

Recently I have been making more vegan foods rather than just vegetarian.

For those of you who don’t know the difference, it is simply that vegans do not eat anything that comes from an animal, where vegetarians don’t eat anything that is made from dead animals.

So vegans don’t use cheese or eggs, but vegetarians do.

Most traditional pasta salads are made with eggs and mayo, which is made of eggs as well.

I adapted an old recipe for an Amish-style macaroni salad, making it a good amount healthier by changing it to a vegan dish.

You start by cooking the pasta.

Drain it, rinse with cold water and let it cool off.

As the pasta cools, mix the vegan mayo, sugar, vinegar, mustard and spices in a large bowl big enough for all the pasta eventually.

Once this is all mixed well, stir in the chopped veggies.

Last, mix in the pasta and make sure that all the pasta gets a good coating with the dressing.

Before serving, let this sit in the fridge for at least an hour to allow the flavors to mingle better.

If you have the time and foresight, make this the night before you want to serve it so it can rest in the fridge overnight.

Subbing vegan mayo into most recipes for pasta salads will usually work just fine to make it vegan, but some times the salad tastes different with the substitute.

The ones that work best are the ones that don’t rely on the mayo as the only source of flavor for the dressing.

Ingredients

1 box of pasta, shells or elbow

work best (16 oz.)

1 cup vegan mayo (like Nayonaise)

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

2/3 cup white sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons yellow mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 med. onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup grated carrot

Hash browns

2010-06-22T17:08:00.000-04:00

This recipe evolved from many attempts, and failures, at making hash browns over the years.

My usual method for breakfast potatoes was home fries because that is so simple, so I finally set out to try making hash browns instead.

A lot of people just do a simple shredded potatoes fried in oil with some salt and pepper.

This is the easiest way, but it is not as good of an outcome as when you put a few more ingredients into the mix.

I’ve got two different cooking choices for this recipe.

Frying will give you a delicious, quick and more traditional hash brown patty, but baking will give you almost the same taste, just a good bit healthier.

The best tip when making hash browns, no matter what method you use, is to soak the potatoes after you shred them and then drain as much of the liquid as you possibly can.

One way to get this done is to drain them in a colander and then squeeze them out in a clean kitchen towel.

Getting as much water out as possible will make the patties stick together better and give you less splatter when you drop them in the oil to fry.

Start by cleaning and skinning a few potatoes. Each large potato will give you almost a cup of shredded potato, so for this recipe, 2 or 3 potatoes should do.

The easy way is in the food processor, but you can use a hand shredder if you’re feeling ambitious.

Soak the shreds in water and put in the fridge for at least an hour.

Drain and squeeze out the water after they’ve soaked for a while.

You can skip the soaking if you want to, but the results will be better if you soak. Still get as much of the moisture out as possible before moving on.

Mix the cheese into the potato shreds, setting a little aside if you’re doing the baked method.

Mix the eggs in a separate bowl with the salt, pepper, garlic and hot sauce.

Pour the egg mix over the potatoes and stir throughout.

If you want to bake them, spray a muffin pan and preheat the oven to 400.

Scoop the mixture into the cups, filling each to the top. This is enough for about 6 cups, just double the amounts if you’re serving a bunch of people or if your family is Irish.

Top with some shredded cheese and bake for about 35 minutes or until the tops are brown.

For the less healthy method, pour about a quarter of an inch of oil in a heavy-bottom pan and place large spoonfuls of the potatoes into the oil once it’s hot.

Turn them over when the bottoms get browned.

Set them on paper towels to drain a bit.

Ingredients

About 2 cups of shredded potatoes

¾ cup shredded cheese

1 egg or egg substitute equivalent

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp of hot sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil for frying or non-stick cooking spray

Four cheese baked ziti

2010-06-22T16:56:00.002-04:00

Baked ziti is a traditionally vegetarian dish, but you just have to watch the cheeses you use.

Most cheeses in this country are made without rennet, but a lot of imported cheeses still have it.

Rennet is not vegetarian, it is used mostly for harder cheeses and is made from the lining of a cow or sheep stomach and is used in some part of the the cheese making process to curdle the milk.

Aged provolone and the real Italian imported cheeses mostly have rennet, so check the packaging when you’re buying. I have read a lot of labels, so I tend to buy certain brands that I’m familiar with already.

I also like to buy the fat-free ricotta cheese to fool myself into thinking this recipe is a little healthier.

Preheat the oven to 375.

Start by boiling the pasta until it is al dente. Drain it and let it cool just a little so it is easier to handle.

Mix together the mozzarella, ricotta and parmesan cheeses in a bowl.

Stir in the spices and if you want to, put in some ground style veggie crumbles. For those not familiar, in the freezer section, with the veggie burgers, several companies have a ground beef style of meat replacer that work great in any recipes that call for ground beef. I usually have a bag or two in my freezer at all times because they are a quick and easy way to add protein to an all vegetarian diet.

Put down a layer of pasta in a long casserole dish. Top with a layer of the cheese mixture, then a layer of the sauce.

Repeat until the dish is full and make sure the top layer is sauce.

Then finish off with the sliced provolone over the sauce.

Bake at 375 for about 30-35 minutes, or until the cheese on top has started to brown.

Ingredients

1 box of ziti or penne pasta (16 oz.)

1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup of ricotta cheese

1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

6-8 slices of provolone cheese

1 jar of marinara sauce (20-24 oz)

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 tsp of oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1-2 cups of veggie crumbles (optional)

Morningstar makes it easy

2010-05-17T10:24:00.000-04:00

MorningStar Farms cookbook is out.
This stuff is some of the laziest vegetarian meals, so I will fully support this.
Easy recipes based on some of the best veggie burgers and vegetarian products out there, how can this be bad?

I've got to go get me a copy of that soon.

Mini pot pie is vegan-friendly

2010-05-13T08:30:00.000-04:00

Making a good pot pie is no easy task.

There are hardly any ways to really get a vegetarian version either.

So when I found a good tasting, vegan pot pie recipe that didn’t take me all day and 50 bucks in groceries, I nearly fainted.

Amy’s Vegetarian makes some good frozen pot pies, but they cost like four dollars each and are the same size as the buck-fifty Swanson chicken ones.

The recipe I originally adapted this from was vegan, so I’m keeping it vegan for the sake of all my friends who eat dairy free.

By using a muffin pan instead of a pie plate or casserole dish, you get single serving pot pies that taste just as good, but then no one is in danger of getting the piece from the middle with barely any crust.

The only hard part is finding a puff pastry that is actually vegan, but they are out there, and if all else fails, make your own pie crust.

Start by heating up the cooking oil in a saucepan. I use a two quart one to give me some room to stir.

Stir in the onion and garlic and let them heat until the onions get see-through.

Toss in the rest of the veggies and spices and heat for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Mix in the margarine, wine, tofu and soy milk as you stir slowly while pouring each in.

Add the flour last and allow the sauce to thicken as you cook another 7-10 minutes, then let it cool a little as you’ll be pouring it into the crust soon.

Preheat your oven to 325.

Start by either laying flat the dough if you have store bought or rolling it out if you made your own. Cut small pieces that will fill the bottom and sides of one cup in a muffin pan. Rolling out puff pastry a little thinner than normal is a good idea unless you want the pot pie with a big fluffy crust.

Carefully scoop or pour the vegetable and sauce mixture into the dough. It’ll probably still be hot, so watch out.

Take a second piece of the puff pastry and lay it over the top, pressing the edges to create a seal around the sides of the dish. I let the excess hang over the edge for the burnt crust edges, but you can trim it if you’re not strange like me.

If you trim the edges, you can use the excess dough by rolling it all together and using it for more mini-pot pies.

Some people make the sides pretty with some pie edging techniques, but I don’t see the point since it’s probably just gonna get devoured quickly anyway.

Make sure to vent the crust on top, one X in the center of each should do the trick.

Bake it for about 45 minutes, or until the crust turns a golden brown and gets bubbly.

Let it cool for a little while before you pull them out of the pan and start eating so that the inside can settle and solidify a bit.

Even without greasing the cups, these pop out pretty easy, so there is no need to add extra calories and fat by using shortening or oil in the pan.

The great thing about this is that it tastes good the first time, but seems to get better as leftovers.

Ingredients:

1 package of frozen puff pastry

2 Tbsp of vegetable oil

1 12-14 oz pack of tofu, diced small (you can easily sub diced seitan or Morningstar Farms Chik’n strips chopped)

1 medium onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup of chopped baby carrots

¾ cup of peas (frozen work just fine)

½ cup corn (frozen is fine)

1 large potato diced small

1 cup of soy milk

1/3 cup white wine

2 Tbsp unbleached flour

2 Tbsp vegan margarine

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp basil

salt and pepper to taste

Iron Mike is vegan!?!?!

2010-05-12T20:29:00.000-04:00

"The 43-year-old said he'd become a vegan and finally had 'no drama' in his life."

One of the greatest fighters of all time, Mike Tyson, has gone veg.

Gotta love it. I wish the guy luck, he's definitely led a crazy life, and if this helps him find more peace. I know I felt healthier and happier when I dropped meat.

Lazy Hummus

2010-04-27T13:30:00.002-04:00

Herbivores love hummus. Well, most of us do anyway.
It is a versatile food that goes well as an appetizer with pretty much any type of meal or on a sandwich with some fresh veggies to be the meal.
The best I’ve ever had is at a restaurant in Lansdale called The Oasis, but there are few places that I know of that serve bad hummus.
Store-bought hummus is usually passable, but seldom great. However, it will always do in a pinch.
For years I have been telling myself that I would try to make some at home and beat the stuff from the supermarket.
Many vegetarians I know have done it and espouse the ease of the process; so I finally caved and gave it a shot.
The recipes I found were a variety of complexities, and many seemed like they would be great, but I settled on a combination of a few of the easier methods I read.
You can use either a food processor or a blender to do the work.
If using a blender, you might want to make this recipe in halves and then combine later.
I used my food processor, which has a pretty big bowl on it, so I was able to fit two cans of chickpeas with ease.
Add in the liquid from the can; a few tablespoons at first and save it to add more if it’s looking a little thick.
Put in the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, oil, salt and paprika.
Pulse the mixture slowly at first, then for longer as the ingredients start to mix.
It only takes a minute or two, but then take off the lid and check the hummus for consistency. If it seems too dry, add more of the liquid reserved from the cans. If you go too far the other way and it is too runny, add more chickpeas.
Hummus will taste better if it is a little wet rather than too dry.
The whole concoction should go in the fridge for a while to allow the flavors to settle throughout.
You can serve with sliced veggies and pita bread for dipping.
Hummus is also a great spread on a vegetable sandwich or as the main part of the sandwich. My favorite way is a simple pile of lettuce, hummus, tomato slices and cucumber on a good, hearty dark wheat bread or wrapped up in a pita.
Being my first batch ever, I was very happy with the results and the ease of it all. The time span from can opener to placing it in the fridge was less than fifteen minutes. The results were better than the plastic tub from the grocery store, but not near the awesomeness that comes from The Oasis.
We will have to see how I do in round two.

Ingredients:
2-15oz cans of garbanzo beans (drained, but reserve the liquid)
4-6 tablespoons of liquid from the can
6 tablespoons of tahini
2 cloves of garlic, minced
5 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of sesame oil
1-2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of paprika

First experiments in making homemade hummus.

2010-04-26T16:01:00.000-04:00

I just tried making hummus for the first time, and it was super easy.

Food processor, chick peas, garlic, lemon juice, tahini. You have hummus.
Anyone out there have some advice on improving, but still keeping it really simple? Add-ins, spices, methods to improve?

Thanks, I'll be writing up the recipe i used really soon.

Pasta with tomatoes and zucchini

2010-04-21T22:38:00.000-04:00

I'm gonna have to try this one soon. It seems really easy and delicious.
This comes from Whole Foods' Web site:

Ingredients

6 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped basil
1/2 pound whole wheat fusilli
2 zucchini or yellow squash, grated
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange tomatoes on a large parchment-lined sheet tray, cut-sides up. Drizzle with oil; season with salt and pepper. Scatter 2 tablespoons Parmesan and 2 tablespoons basil evenly over top. Roast until juicy and bubbling, about 20 minutes; set aside. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add fusilli and cook until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add zucchini, lemon juice, remaining 6 tablespoons Parmesan and 2 tablespoons basil. Toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide pasta onto four plates, top with tomatoes and serve.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2583

Pineapple stuffing

2010-04-14T12:04:00.001-04:00

So I’m a little late for Easter, but every year my family has ham for this and many other holidays where the whole clan meet and I’m the only vegetarian.
Side dishes are the entire meal for many people in my situation, so the sides need to step it up a bit.
This is a simple way to dress up stuffing you buy dried in the bag from your local supermarket.
Many of my favorite dishes are doctored versions of basic dishes, which means little real effort, but with some creativity, you get a dish that tastes way better than the company who made it intended.
Start out by preparing the stuffing as the bag instructs. This usually involves boiling water, melting butter and mixing in the dried stuffing straight out of the bag. Some brands call for chopped onions or celery mixed in as well.
After you have the prepared stuffing, making it more festive is really quite easy and it makes the boring bagged stuffing into something way better.
Sprinkle a little of the brown sugar on the bottom of a casserole dish. Spoon in the stuffing and mix in the pineapple chunks.
Stir in a little more brown sugar while you are mixing in the fruit.
Top it all with a few pats of butter and a coating of brown sugar. Sprinkle a little juice from the can over the top of it all.
Cover with foil and bake for about 20 minutes at around 350.
More time or a higher temp will give you a crispier top to the stuffing, if you’re in to that kind of thing (which I am).
Lining the bottom of the pan with butter before you spread the brown sugar and using more sugar will give you a nice crust on the bottom which almost makes it more dessert like.
This side dish is great for the vegetarians, and it is vegan friendly if you use a brand of stuffing that is dairy free and use all vegetable based margarine.
Serving it at a family dinner with my carnivore kin also works great because they love it as a side dish with their ham. The brown sugar and pineapple compliment the meat nicely, but more importantly for me, tastes great on its own.

Ingredients:
1 bag of stuffing mix, plus whatever is needed to prepare according to package
1 extra stick of margarine or butter
1 can of pineapple chunks, drained save a little juice
Brown sugar to taste

Uncle Jack Mac

2010-04-13T15:04:00.002-04:00

Every kid loves mac and cheese.
Even the grown kids like me.
OK, especially grown kids like me.
The difficult part of finding a great mac and cheese recipe is sifting through the millions out there that are good enough, but often fall short of great.
For me, a great mac and cheese recipe is almost as easy as the stuff from the box, and tastes like you spent a whole day sweating in the kitchen.
This one combines a few different recipes I’ve used in the past into something that takes only about 15 minutes of prep time and about a half-hour of baking.
The obvious first step is to boil your pasta. Then turn on your oven to about 350 degrees.
While that is boiling, melt about a half-stick of butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.
Once the butter is melted, stir in the flour one tablespoon at a time to thicken it into a gravy-like consistency.
Stir in the milk, whisking as you go to get the mixture smooth.
Let this warm for a few minutes.
Once the milk is hot, stir in the shredded cheese. I’m using Monterey Jack cheese for this one, but it’s easy to substitute a different type of cheese. Thicker shreds of cheese will melt, but finely shredded cheese will do it more quickly.
The mild flavor of the Jack cheese goes well with a bit of a zestier ingredient tossed in, which is why a lot of people like the pepper jack cheeses, and why I mix a couple of healthy shakes of Cajun seasoning into the sauce as the cheese melts.
Once the cheese is melted, you’ll get a pretty thin sauce that may seem too runny for mac and cheese, but be patient. The sauce thickens while baking.
Mix the cooked pasta and the cheese sauce into a casserole dish and stir it well.
Once all the pasta is covered in the cheese sauce, sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top of it spreading evenly.
Use the remaining butter in pats distributed around the top so that all of the bread crumbs are at least near some butter. The butter will melt in the oven and make a nice, crunchy brown crust on top.
I like to serve it with some veggies to pretend like I’m eating healthy in this meal. Often, much like the child I truly am, those veggies get mixed into the macaroni on the plate so it all becomes an unhealthily delicious blend.

Ingredients:
1 box of pasta
2-3 cups of shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3 cups of milk
1 stick of butter
2-3 Tbs of flour
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
Cajun seasoning (if you don’t have the prepared Cajun mix, use some chili powder, salt, pepper and garlic all to taste)

Hot and Sour cucumbers

2010-04-01T21:03:00.001-04:00

This recipe is not as simple as most of the dishes I have offered up so far, but it’s pretty easy for how fancy it sounds.
It has a little asian flair with some simple ingredients.
The key to the recipe is preparation.
Measure out your ingredients first before you start even heating up your skillet.
Cut the cucumbers in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds.
Slice these into long strips and then cut the strips into quarters.
Once the cucumber pieces are cut and the ingredients are measured, heat the skillet on high. After it is hot, pour in the oil and evenly coat the pan.
Turn the heat down to low and toss in the garlic clove and the peppers.
Heat the peppers and garlic until the peppers turn dark.
Crank the heat back up to high and add the cucumbers. Stir them quickly as they will cook fast in this oil.
Do this for about 30 seconds then add the soy sauce, honey and salt.
Keep over the heat for only a few seconds while stirring constantly.
Pour the contents of the pan into a dish and let the cucumbers marinate in the sauce. Once they have cooled, cover the dish and put it in the fridge.
Chill the dish until the whole concoction for about 30 minutes or so.
Stir a few times during the cooling to allow the marinade to cover evenly.
After they are completely chilled, put just the cucumbers in another dish without the marinade and sprinkle the vinegar over them and toss.
Serve cold.

Ingredients:
1 pound of cucumbers
3 tablespoons peanut or corn oil
1 clove of garlic
2-4 dried chili peppers
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt

Raw foods

2010-03-09T16:18:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure the whole draw of the raw food movement, but it has been interesting to me for a long time now. If anyone out there has opinions, i'd love to hear them.

There are lots of raw food recipes out there that seem interesting to me, but have not been real high on my list, but this one seems interesting: http://goneraw.com/recipe/mango-nanna-pudding

Mango Nanna Pudding:
Ingredients:

- 1 ataulfo (aka champagne mango), preferably, but any mango will work, ataulfo seem to be more puddingesque
- 2-3 medium bananas

Preparation:

1. Peel mango.
2. Blend mango and bananas together in blender until desired consistency is reached. I blended it until completely smooth but you could leave it chunky if you wish.
3. Garnish with other fruits if desired.

Cheese puffs

2010-03-09T16:08:00.000-05:00

Hors d’oeuvres can be extremely complicated to make and be very time intensive, which is odd since they are usually just bite-sized little snacks that disappear quickly.
I’ve managed to hobble together a cheese puff recipe that is not difficult and requires very little actual effort.
The single longest investment of time is spent defrosting, which is still quite easy since you just take it out of the freezer and let it sit on the counter for a while.
These super-easy cheese puffs can be made with just cheese or with spinach and cheese, or like I usually like to do, mix-and-match.
Preheat your oven to 400 and get out an ungreased cookie tray. Parchment paper can be used for this, but I’m simple and just skip it.
You want to start with a good puff pastry from the grocery store freezer. Let it defrost according to the package directions and then lay it out on a lightly flour-dusted countertop or cutting board.
Using the dough as it stands will give you a very thick and flakey crust, which is great if you want a larger final product that is more than one bite, but if you’re looking for smaller, bite-sized snacks, use a floured rolling pin to thin out the dough some.
Make an egg wash by scrambling the egg and the water in a small bowl or mug.
Brush the egg wash on the rolled out dough.
Cut the dough to the size you want to make the snacks. Try two inch squares for starters.
The cheese you choose makes this your own and can give you vastly different results.
I love some Havarti cheese, and it works really well with the pastry. For the spinach and cheese ones, I like a classic shredded mozzarella mixed with the chopped spinach, maybe a little parmesan in the mix.
Slice and cut the cheese to fit well inside the dough you’ve cut. An easy way to do this is to use shredded cheese and just make small piles. Make sure the edges of the dough are clear.
If you’re making the spinach ones, just defrost the spinach and drain all liquid, then mix with the shredded cheese and put it on the dough like the plain cheese ones.
Place a second square of dough on top of the small piles of cheese or spinach and cheese.
Gently press the edges to seal in the filling.
Brush a layer of the egg wash over the top as well and place them on the baking sheet.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.

Ingredients:

1 package of frozen puff pastry
1 package of cheese (any variety)
1 package of frozen chopped spinach
1 egg
1-2 tsp of water
Flour for sprinkling the counter

Super easy banana bread

2010-02-16T19:37:00.001-05:00

Everyone loves bananas.
The are great on cereal. Great by themselves. A great base for a desert.
But every time I buy a bunch of bananas, there is a few bananas that end up sitting in the kitchen until they are too ripe to eat and end up getting tossed.
The best solution for that problem is banana bread.
With about a million recipes out there for banana bread, it is hard to find one that isn’t good.
There are some that take a lot of preparation and others that are as simple as mashing some bananas and throwing it in the oven. That is more my speed.
This recipe is one of the simplest ones out there, so it called to me.
You don’t need a mixer or fancy equipment, just a bowl, a wooden spoon and a loaf pan.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Start with some over-ripe bananas peeled and smashed in a large mixing bowl.
Stir in the melted butter, then the beaten egg, sugar and vanilla.
Next is the baking soda and salt. Try to mix them in evenly throughout the mixture and stir it well.
The flour goes in last and stir it in until all of the flour has been incorporated into the batter.
Pour the finished batter into the greased loaf pan. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top of the batter.
Bake for about an hour, or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.
I prefer to slice it while it is still warm and spread butter on the slice. It makes a great breakfast cake or a little snack at any time.
You can make this into more of a desert by mixing in chocolate chips as you pour the batter into the pan or topping with some vanilla icing.

Ingredients:
    •    3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
    •    1/3 cup melted butter
    •    1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
    •    1 egg, beaten
    •    1 teaspoon vanilla
    •    1 teaspoon baking soda
    •    Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 Tbs brown sugar
vegetable shortening or butter to grease the loaf pan

it's meatless monday...

2010-01-25T17:41:00.000-05:00

http://www.meatlessmonday.com/why-meatless/
much like the British version, meat-free monday, this baltimore based group encourages folks to give up eating animals one day a week.
with some compelling stats, this link has a few good reasons to give up eating meat for at least one day a week, including the meat industry's high usage of fossil fuels and water. reducing your meat intake by one seventh will reduce your personal contribution to that huge carbon footprint that is the meat industry.

Mama's?

2010-01-22T19:27:00.001-05:00

http://www.mamasvegetarian.com/live/
There is a vegetarian fast food place in Philly that i haven't tried yet.
Someone tell me what is wrong with my life.
Also, anyone who has tried it, tell me the deal and if it is worth the trip...

Stir fry barbecue

2010-01-06T17:29:00.000-05:00

I have another recipe on here that is for a seitan sloppy joe, and I made almost the same dish, but didn't chop everything as finely and it turned out completely different.
The sloppy joes recipe is very easy, and this stir fry is almost the same thing, but with large chunks of veggies and seitan and served over rice.
You just start with about six cutlets of seitan and cube them about 1/2 inch in size. Roughly dice a pepper and an onion and fry the veggies in a heavy pan.
Mix in the seitan cubes and barbecue sauce until it is all thoroughly mixed. Let the mixture sit in the pan and burn a bit on the bottom of the pan. Scrape it up into the rest as you mix so that you are incorporating the slightly burnt barbecue sauce into the flavor and texture of the overall meal.
Once you've heated this mixture sufficiently to your level of burnt-ness, serve it over cooked rice and top with some sweet-and-sour sauce.
You can try bringing some heat and using some finely chopped habanero pepper as well, if that's your style.

AP story: Paul McCartney takes Meat-Free Mondays to EU

2009-12-03T22:12:00.000-05:00

By ROBERT WIELAARD, Associated Press Writer
BRUSSELS (AP) — Paul McCartney took his "Meat-Free Mondays" campaign to the European Parliament on Thursday, saying the power to halt global warming lies as much with individuals as with their governments.

McCartney met in Brussels with Rajendra K. Pachauri, head of the U.N.'s global climate change panel, and praised the virtue of skipping meat one day a week for the sake of the environment.

"I grew up as a kid not eating meat on Fridays," McCartney told reporters. "It was part of the rules of the school I went to.

At a time of concerns over global warming, McCartney added, there are "even more crucial reason" to skip meat.

The former Beatle and well-known vegetarian said the production of food — from farm to fork — accounts for 20 to 30 percent of global green house gas emissions. Livestock production is responsible for around half of these emissions.

Still, he admitted that his flight from London to Brussels — and on to Berlin for a concert later Thursday — had contributed to global warming.

"They haven't invented microphones that work on candle power," he said. "I do everything I can. If I go for a car, I go for hybrid. I recycle."

Pachauri lauded McCartney's initiative, saying it "certainly makes the tasks of governments so much easier."

Earlier, Pachauri met with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who said even if the global climate conference opening in Copenhagen next week does not yield a final accord it must "light the pathway to a legal agreement" on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Barroso said he was heartened that "around 90" government leaders are coming to Copenhagen for the Dec. 7-18 U.N. climate meeting.

The environmental/vegetarian link.

2009-12-01T17:53:00.000-05:00

I know there is tons out there about the link between the meat industry and global warming/environmental decay, but this is a nice article about it.

Click here for Kathy Freston's article from Huffington Post

Possibly my favorite part of this was finding Martha Stewart's vegetarian thanksgiving episode. Now if only my favorite, Ina Garten, would do a whole vegetarian episode, I'd be happier than anyone ever.
But check out Martha's full vegetarian thanksgiving episode.

Simple Seitan Stew

2009-11-20T23:47:00.000-05:00

Autumn is a great time for those classic comfort foods that we all grew up loving (at least on the East Coast of the US).
Classic beef stew was something most kids were served on a cold evening after raking leaves all afternoon.
Most vegetarians I know spend a lot of time trying to find non-meat versions of classic dishes, many of which are every bit as delicious as the original meal, but without the cruelty and usually healthier.
Replacing the beef with a cubed seitan (either buy some at the store, or try making this one in advance) is a great way to make this as hearty as any stew out there.
You can do this on the stove on low heat, but I prefer to use a crock pot and cook it slowly. This mingles the flavors better and is easier to dump everything in and walk away for a few hours.
Start by skinning chopping up the potatoes, yam and turnip, rough 1x1 inch cubes will do great. I like to boil these for a few minutes just for good measure, but you can skip that step if you're doing the slow cook method.
Dice the onion and pepper. Slice the carrots and celery.
Cube the seitan and don't try to drain all the liquid as you go, this helps add flavor to the stew.
Mix all of these ingredients in the crock pot or a large stock pot on the stove on low heat.
Stir the gravy packets into the water and pour in over the mixture of veggies. Add whatever spices you find interesting, I listed an easy group in the ingredients here, but there is not any standard set if you look at other stew recipes, get creative.
The gravy will thicken while it cooks, so don't worry that it looks watery just now.
Let it cook on low for about 45 minutes on the stove, or for however much time you have in the crock pot. A long, slow cooking time will really blend the flavors well and make it hearty. If you're short on time, put the crock pot on high for 20 minutes, then reduce to low for another 20 and you should be good to go.
This also re-heats very well.
Serve it with a thick, crusty bread for dipping and some hot apple cider.

Ingredients:
4-6 cutlets of seitan
2 potatoes
1 sweet potato or yam
1 turnip
1 onion
1 pepper
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
2 packets of vegetarian brown gravy mix
2-3 cups of water
Seasonings to taste:
salt
pepper
garlic
paprika
crushed red pepper

BBQ jerk-seitan

2009-11-10T09:45:00.000-05:00

Horizon's in Philadelphia makes what might be one of the best appetizers ever, vegan or not.
They have a Jamaican barbecued seitan that is unreal.
Their secret is the seitan.
Ray's Wheat Meat is made by an Allentown, PA company and is available in Whole Foods and other retail outlets in the region that are veg-friendly.
I tried to approximate the joy I found at Horizon's, but for far less money.
A container of Ray's runs about 4 bucks at Whole Foods, and I'll be experimenting with other sauces, but my first attempt was with a bottle of whatever-was-on-sale barbecue sauce.
Lightly coat a frying pan with some olive oil on a medium-high heat.
Break the seitan into rough pieces about bite sized and heat them up until they are hot all the way through. This should only take a couple of minutes.
Coat each one with the sauce and sear them on each side.
Serve them hot and enjoy.
The sauce at Horizon's is better. The smoked chipotle dip they serve with it is unbeatable. But this low end version of the Horizon's classic is easy and satisfying.

Vegan sloppy joes

2009-11-09T21:45:00.000-05:00

This recipe starts with seitan. You can either make you own like this one, or buy some from a store.
You want to start by finely chopping and onion and a green pepper. Mince the garlic unless you're using the wonderful pre-minced jar of garlic.
Heat up a large splash of oil in a heavy skillet (cast iron works great) over a medium-high heat.
saute the onions, garlic and pepper until the onions are clear. and starting to get a little brown.
While the veggies are sauteing, shred the seitan with either a food processor, or just by chopping it finely with a knife.
Once the veggie mix is ready (slightly browning) mix in the shredded seitan.
Let this heat up for a few minutes and then add the barbecue sauce. This is not an exact science, just pour it in from the bottle and mix well. Once everything looks like it is coated, you've put in enough sauce.
I've found that the best flavor for this comes from letting the sauce burn on the bottom of the pan and scraping it into the mix. So let everything cook well and wait a little while between stirs. It will be cooked pretty quickly, but a little bit of burning this will actually add to the flavor, just try not to go overboard.
It is done when it looks like sloppy joe, dark red but still moist and as burnt as you like it to taste.
Put it onto your favorite rolls alone or with some lettuce and sliced tomatoes. Toasting the rolls first makes a nice contrast in textures to the soft, sloppy filling to the sandwich.

Ingredients:
Seitan (I usually shred about 6 or 7 cutlets, not sure how that equals store-bought, but it's about 2 cups or so after shredding)
1 bottle of barbecue sauce (most brands are vegan if they are not the honey or bacon flavored varieties)
One onion
One green pepper
One clove of garlic, minced (or the jarred stuff works great)
Rolls

Fake Meatloaf

2009-11-08T09:20:00.000-05:00

I found this at VegWeb.com:

Ingredients:
substitute for 2 eggs (mix 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder, 1 tablespoon corn starch, and 4 tablespoons water)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 box medium firm silken tofu (350 g)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 packet vegan dried onion soup mix (1.5 oz)
1 teaspoon oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2/4 cup chopped celery
2 cups chopped mushrooms (use portobello mushrooms for a heartier taste)
1 1/2 teaspoon each of oregano and basil
1/2 teaspoon sage
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (Variations: To make it stick together better, try lowering the bread crumbs to 3/4 cup and adding one of the following: 1 extra box of tofu, 1 cup of instant mashed potato flakes, 1 - 1 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice or 1 cup burger-style crumbles)

Directions:

Mix egg substitute, soy sauce, tofu & onion soup mix together in blender. Add walnuts & blend until smooth.

Saute vegetables until onions are transparent (add other diced veggies if you wish - ie peppers, carrotsetc). Add herbs/spices while vegetables are frying.

Mix blender ingredients, cooked vegetables and bread crumbs together in a large bowl.

Press into a greased loaf pan. (Or, as user giraelei suggests, "Instead of a loaf pan, I usually use a square cake pan and liberally coat the loaf with ketchup so it gets kind of burnt and caramelized. Yum!")

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool slightly. Turn loaf out and slice.

This has become a standard dish at my parents house when all sorts of eating habits must be catered to. Even the most obstinate meat eaters love it. It is also excellent the next day cold on a sandwich with a bit of mustard.

Interesting bit about health of a vegetarian diet.

2009-11-02T22:35:00.000-05:00

I constantly get the barrage of questions and comments from people about the impact of a vegetarian diet on a human's health.
Our bodies are designed to break down foods from animal and plant sources. People will always argue that it means we should be eating an omnivorous diet.
But a world filled with millions of healthy, happy vegetarians will prove that it is quite possible to live and flourish with a completely vegetarian diet.
http://www.medicinenet.com/vegetarian_and_vegan_diet/page2.htm
MedicineNet.com has a nice piece about the idea of a balanced vegetarian diet providing all of the nutrition that a human needs to survive.
Sure, if you're a vegan who eats nothing but Swedish Fish and Peanut Chews, then of course your body is going to be in terrible condition. But if you're a meat eater who only consumes burgers, you're going to be in a bad place, too.
The key is always having a balance, whether you are vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, omnivore or carnivore.
Variety is the key.

Baked seitan

2009-10-27T21:35:00.000-04:00

There is a recipe for seitan that is making its way around the food blogs called Seitan O'Greatness, so I figured I had to give it a try as well. I found what I think is the original at Post Punk Kitchen.
It is a little time consuming, but very easy to make. The majority of the time is the 90 minutes it has to bake.
Start by turning your oven on to 325.
You just want to combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine the wet ingredients in a small bowl. Mix each bowl well separately, then pour the wet into the dry and mix.
Once it forms a dough, knead it for about a minute.
Roll it into a cylinder about six to eight inches long.
Wrap it tightly in foil and twist the ends. Bake this for 90 minutes.
Let it cool and then slice it as you use it.
This can be used in pretty much any recipe where you want chunks of seitan, but is also tasty just sliced and eaten.
I haven't tried it, but many people seem to like it fried and a little hardened on the edges, and then mixed into their favorite recipe.
It has a little spice to it, but a tomato-ish flavor from the tomato paste. So it's pretty good crumbled over pasta.

Ingredients:
1.5 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cumin
1-2 tsp pepper (I use 2 tsp)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (you can use 1/8 tsp if you like it less spicy)
1/8 tsp allspice
2 tsp garlic powder

3/4 cups water
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp vegetarian Worcestershire sauce

Vegan Worcestershire sauce

2009-10-25T15:18:00.000-04:00

There are a lot of recipes that call for a tablespoon or two of Worcestershire sauce. This is a problem for vegetarians, since there is usually anchovies or anchovy paste in the brands you buy in the store.

There are a couple of them out there without, but they are hard to find.

I found this recipe on CookingWithRockStars.com and just tried it.

You just take all of the ingredients and mix them in a sauce pan. Let it boil while stirring constantly.

Simmer it for another minute and then let it cool.

The recipe doesn't yield a whole lot, but it's not like we're using it to marinate a steak, so it is perfect when you need a little bit for a recipe, then store the rest in the fridge for another recipe.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Pasta with some spice

2009-10-24T18:07:00.000-04:00

I found this recipe for arribiata sauce over at Epicurean.com and decided it looked easy enough to try.

Making homemade tomato sauces seems like such a daunting task that I've never even attempted it before. This sauce calls for canned tomatoes and some fresh spices, so it seemed like something I could handle.
The first step is to chop the parsley and crush the garlic.
Heat up the olive oil in a large saucepan over a med-low heat. Once hot, cook the parsley and garlic in it for about five minutes, stirring frequently.
Stir in the chopped onions and mix this several times during ten minutes over this heat.
Next you'll want to dump in the oregano, red pepper flakess, basil, salt and pepper.
Then put in the tomato paste. Stir this mixture constantly for about two minutes.
Break up the tomatoes as you stir them into the saucepan and mix in both cans of tomatoes and the juice they come in.
Let this simmer, still over the medium-low heat for about 45 minutes uncovered.
Stir the sauce frequently and don't over cook it, or the tomatoes will become kind of bitter.
This makes a pretty large batch of sauce, so you'll have enough for a few different meals. You can separate this into one quart containers and freeze it until you're read to use each batch.
Dump the frozen sauce into a pan and stir in some cooked pasta for a quick and easy meal down the line.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup packed fresh parsley
1/4 cup olive oil
4 crushed garlic cloves
4 onions, coarsley chopped
5 1/2 oz. can tomato paste
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 - 28 oz cans whole tomatoes w/ sauce

Zucchini Parm: lets make something healthy into something bad for you!

2009-10-22T12:40:00.000-04:00

I love zucchini parmigiana.
My mom used to make it for my siblings and I in a probably attempt to just sneak some vegetables into our stomachs.
The recipe is pretty simple, but takes a little time. You can make it a bit quicker if you deep fry the zucchini, but it's slightly healthier to bake it.
It's not vegan friendly, but you can probably sub in an egg replacement in the breading step and some vegan mozzarella in the final part and do just as well as the non-vegan way.
Preheat your oven to about 350.
The first step is to select a nice big zucchini. This also works with eggplant, but my favorite is zucchini.
Slice the zucchini on a slant to create longer slices, so you have more surface to bread.
Coat a baking dish (the one I use is 9x13 Corningware) with butter or margarine (Earth Balance will make this step vegan) and set it aside.
Crack the eggs into one bowl, and stir with a whisk or fork. Fill another bowl with bread crumbs and a little Old Bay, stir and set the two bowls next to each other.
Dip the slices into the bread crumbs, then into the egg, then bread crumbs again.
Place them in the baking dish. I used a couple of baking dishes for the first bake so that all of the slices can bake evenly, then layer them when I add the sauce and cheese.
Once all of the slices are neatly arranged in the dish, put a generous amount of the butter or margarine throughout the dish and bake it for about ten minutes.
Take out the dish and flip them over. If it looks a little dry, add some more margarine.
Once both sides are golden brown, take it out and get the cheese and sauce.
Cover the zucchini with sauce and cheese leaving a nice layer of cheese on the top. Mix in your favorite Italian seasonings to the sauce just to liven it up a little.
Bake this again until the cheese is toasted nicely.
You can eat it just like this or serve it over spaghetti for an easy dinner. The leftovers re-heat well, too, so just sprinkle some shredded cheese on each serving and pop it in the microwave later in the week.

Ingredients:
1 large zucchini or multiple smaller ones
3-4 eggs
bread crumbs
about 1-2 sticks of margarine (depending on taste and how unhealthy you are willing to make this)
1 jar of marinara sauce (i like to use a tomato and basil sauce for this to add some flavor or sometimes arribiata sauce to make it nice and spicy)
Mozzarella cheese, shredded or sliced

Banana Muffins

2009-10-19T21:08:00.000-04:00

Another recipe that is rarely made with any type of meat, but this one plays right into the lazy aspect of my recipe collection.
I'm not much of a baker, even though I love to cook, so baking from scratch has to be an easy recipe for me to even give it a shot. Cooking is an art, while baking is a science
These banana muffins are really easy to make if you have a few bananas that are starting to get too brown for eating.
The recipe is from allrecipes.com and I made these for the first time the other day to rave reviews.
Preheat the oven to 375 and ready your muffin pans (light grease or papers, whichever you usually use).
Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in one bowl and mix them together a little.
In another bowl, mash the bananas and add the plain sugar, egg and melted butter until it looks evenly mixed.
Combine the two bowls into one just until the flour is moist, then spoon it into the muffin pan.
Mix the brown sugar, 2 Tbs of flour and the 1/8 tsp of cinnamon with 1 Tbs of butter (I used a little more butter and brown sugar to make a little more topping) then sprinkle this mixture over the muffins.
Bake for 18 minutes and check them with a toothpick in the center.
These are great cut in half and then quickly grilled and served with some butter. If you top them with some cream cheese icing, they become banana cupcakes.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

French fries are always vegetarian...

2009-10-15T17:22:00.000-04:00

I'm aware that there are very few ways to make fries that are not vegan, or at least vegetarian, but there is an art to making really good french fries from scratch.
It seems pretty simple, but the easy way out makes good fries. The more complicated way make amazing fries.
You start with potatoes. Clean them. Peel them if you want, or leave the skin on if that's what you want. Cut them into fries. Keeping them kind of thick makes for a nice texture or soft potato inside a crunchy exterior.
The complicated way:
Put the sliced fries into a large bowl and cover them with cold water. Leave them in the fridge for at least an hour, up to 12 hours.
After the soaking, drain the fries and pat them dry with a clean cloth or paper towels.
Heat up some vegetable or peanut oil in a heavy pot (dutch ovens work best, or any heavy bottomed pot) over a med-high heat.
Heat small batches of fries for about five minutes. This is step one, so the fries will not be heated all the way, just drain them and set them aside.
After they are all heated the first time, raise the temp of the oil to high.
Put the fries back in the fryer for 5-10 minutes until the outsides are golden brown.
Drain on paper towels and add salt and pepper to taste. A coarse sea-salt is always my favorite for fries.
The easy way:
Skip the soaking and the first round of cooking. Just cook each batch until they are golden brown on the outside and enjoy.
The more complicated way will give you a better flavor and texture to the fries, but the easy method will also deliver fries that are way better than the bags you buy in your freezer section.

Wegmans hits Upper Providence/Collegeville

2009-10-12T04:20:00.009-04:00

The supermarket chain that has made adoring followers of so many is now in our side of Montgomery County, with two more locations come soon.
Their Collegeville store opened Sunday to an epic draw of bargain hunters, curiosity seekers and already loyal Wegmans customers.
I've been hearing good things about Wegmans for years as far as the selection of vegetarian items and variety of organic foods, but I've never had a chance to shop at one.
The new location, while I didn't shop since I was there covering it for work, seems to be fulfilling all of those promises.
As I made my way through packed aisles and dodged errant children and shopping carts, I did notice that there were several sections on the shelves that had a wide variety of vegetarian staples that most supermarkets carry these days, but also an expanded selection of each familiar brand. Like many stores have a few Taste Of India entrees (they have a lot of veg-friendly meals in boxes) I noticed a whole shelf section. And most carry Morningstar Farms, Wegmans had a whole freezer door filled with those green boxes.
I might not want to deal with the crowds that were there Sunday, but after it calms down to normal grocery store busy I definitely will be going back there to stock up. They have a good variety and their prices are mostly lower than the bigger chains who treat vegetarian items as luxury pieces and charge more just because they think they can.

New stuff from Morningstar Farms

2009-10-11T14:35:00.000-04:00

Morningstar Farms has a fairly new product out: Chik'n Patties.

They are basically a breadless version of their breaded Chik'n patties. They taste good and work well on sandwiches. Also work well heated up and chopped over a salad, or just diced and mixed with some rice and smart balance with salt and pepper.

I will always recommend the pan prep over the microwave prep because it takes a couple more minutes, but yields far better results.

Vegan gravy

2009-10-07T21:24:00.000-04:00

This recipe is from manyveggierecipes.com and is simple and quick. It does call for a lot of ingredients, but the result is worthwhile. Once you have all of these odds and ends, you can make this quickly at any time.

Ingredients:

3/4 cups Water
2 tbsp Unbleached flour
1 tbsp Tahini
1/4 cup Soy milk
2 tbsp Vegan margarine
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp Garlic salt
1 Vegetable bouillon cube or 1 tbsp vegan broth powder
1/4 tsp Ground coriander
1 tbsp Nutritional yeast

Instructions:

Combine the water, flour and tahini in a small jar. Shake the contents until the tahini dissolves.
Pour the mixture into small sauce pan and add the remaining ingredients.
Heat, stirring constantly, until gravy thickens. Do not let it boil.

Mock-Tuna salad sandwich

2009-10-06T09:48:00.001-04:00

This recipe comes from AllRecipes.com originally, but I added a couple of minor adjustments.

It helps to use a potato masher to crush the beans. If you use a brand of chick peas that is a bit softer, that's better to make the consistency a little softer. Harder beans make either a chunkier salad or more time spent mashing.

After you crush the beans, stir in the other ingredients and mix until everything is blended. Keep covered in the refrigerator until time to use.

My favorite way is to toast the bread first, then put a little extra mayo on with the cheese and lettuce and tomato.

Ingredients: "tuna" salad
1 (19 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
and mashed
2 tablespoons mayonnaise or vegan mayo
2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard
1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
2 green onions, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
Chili powder, sprinkle
salt and pepper to taste

sandwich parts:
wheat bread
slice of cheese
sliced tomatoes
romaine lettuce

Vegan red-skinned potato salad

2009-10-05T23:48:00.000-04:00

This is just a vegan replacement of an easy potato salad recipe. It's simple to make as is, but it's also easy to add some unique touches to make it your own. If you're not vegan, use real mayo and add some chopped hard-boiled eggs. Vegans can add some peas or shredded carrots. Bacos are an interesting touch. Make it your own and have fun.

Boil potatoes until soft, drain and let cool.

Cut the potatoes and leave the skin on. Toss in a large bowl with enough room to stir in all the ingredients.
Dump in the mayo, mustard, onions, celery and seasonings.
Stir.
Cover and put in the fridge for at least an hour to allow the flavors to mingle and set in to the potatoes.

Ingredients:
5 pounds clean, scrubbed new red potatoes
1 onion, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
4 cups vegan mayo
salt and pepper to taste
Mustard to taste
Cajun seasoning or Old Bay

Accidentally Vegan

2009-10-02T18:44:00.000-04:00

Peta.org has a great list of items available commercially that are vegan, whether they were designed that way or not, they are.
Accidentally Vegan is an informative site with all types of interesting stuff.
Some of the odd ones were Baco's brand bacon bits, Shake and Bake, Manwich sauce and Hershey's Syrup. All vegan.
Also, you'll all be glad to know that Red Bull is actually vegan. That puts to rest the rumors that taurine is made from bull semen.

The easiest garlic bread

2009-10-01T21:23:00.000-04:00

I know garlic bread is near impossible to make non-vegetarian, but this is one of the easiest recipes ever.
The most important thing is that you need good bread.
A big loaf of Italian bread from your local supermarket will be great, but you can do this with hoagie rolls or something along those lines.
Cut the loaf lengthwise, but make sure to keep it in one piece so you can close it back up.
Butter both sides of the loaf with your favorite butter, margarine or vegan butter (Smart Balance light is vegan and works well for this).
Sprinkle generously with garlic powder. Don't use garlic salt, you'll regret it. I learned that the hard way a long time ago.
A little bit of Parmesan cheese adds a nice bit of flavor to this, but it's good without it too.
Wrap it in foil and bake at 375 for ten or fifteen minutes.
Slice it while it is still hot. Serve and enjoy.

Vegetarian Day

2009-09-30T15:29:00.000-04:00

World Vegetarian Day is October first. This kicks off vegetarian awareness month. I'm not really sure why there needs to be an awareness month though, since mostly everyone knows vegetarians exist and awareness months are usually for cancers and autism.

In spite of there being no lack of awareness of us, Vegetarian Day is still kind of fun. Wear your vegetarian-related t-shirts and make something tasty for your co-workers, and of course for yourself, and spread everything that is positive in your lifestyle.

All of you out there who aren't vegetarians, spend the day exploring meat-free meals and find out a little about your herbivore friends.

I'm not trying to convert anyone here, but try it for a day and get a glimpse into the meat-free world around us. You might see how fun and healthy it is to live a more compassionate lifestyle.

Horizons

2009-09-29T11:35:00.000-04:00

There once was a fantastic restaurant in Willow Grove that served some of the best vegan cuisine that ever hit the suburbs.
They moved to Philadelphia a couple of years ago and still serve amazing food, but it's just a little less convenient for those of us who live in the burbs.
Horizons Philadelphia is a more upscale experience than the Horizon's Cafe of yesteryear, but the owners and chefs maintain the same quality of their menu and dining experience on South 7th street in Philly.

I recommend the seitan dishes, but the desserts have always been worth saving room for.

Baked Mac-and-Cheese

2009-09-26T00:24:00.000-04:00

This is an old (well, from when I was a kid) family recipe and I'll apologize up front for not knowing quite what quantities to tell you, but it's easy to judge as you go and my first cooking lessons were from my mom, who almost never made the same dish the same way twice, but somehow always made it taste good.
Making baked macaroni and cheese is kind of an art.
It's a simple dish that can be made as fancy as you want to spend the time making it.
This is an easy method that isn't fancy, but tastes great.
Start by cooking your macaroni. You can use any shape of pasta, but the purist in me like to use the good old elbow macaroni. Drain it well and set aside.
Pre-heat your oven to 325 or 350.
Spread some butter on the bottom of a glass baking dish, I generally use a 9X13 corning ware dish.
Toss the pasta, cubed or sliced Velveeta and can of stewed tomatoes in and mix them up to evenly distribute everything. Mix in some milk to give the cheese sauce a creamier consistency.
Top with slices of cheese and a few pats of butter.
Bake until the top gets lightly browned. (about 20-25 minutes)
Serve with some peas and you have the meal eaten in the Berry household several times a month when I was young.

Baked macaroni and cheese:
1 box of pasta, elbow macaroni or shells work best
1 box of Velveeta cheese
about 3/4 cup of milk
1 can of stewed tomatoes, drained of most liquid, but still moist
butter or margarine

Beans and Rice

2009-09-24T17:52:00.002-04:00

One of the easiest things that can be a staple in the vegetarian's diet is beans and rice. You can combine these two mainstays in any number of ways, some fancy and some simple.

As simple as possible is a quick casserole with a couple types of beans and a bit of cheese.

Cook two cups of rice in a rice cooker or on the stove. A rice cooker is the greatest thing in the world for a lazy vegetarian, since all you have to do is measure, pour and hit one button.

Just heat the oven up to 350 and prep a two quart casserole dish with a light coat of cooking spray or vegetable oil.

Take your cooked rice and make a layer on the bottom of the dish. Follow that with a thin layer of salsa, then a layer of beans (mixed together and rinsed, unless you buy seasoned beans, then just drain excess liquid), then a layer of cheese.

Repeat these layers until you have filled most of the dish. Top with cheese and a few pats of butter or a vegan margarine that is good for baking. If you're feeling fancy, throw some bread crumbs on top of it all and then sprinkle with Cajun seasoning or old bay.

Bake for 20 minutes or so, or until the cheese is melted and a little brown. If you just cooked the rice and it's still hot, you can get away with higher temp and less time.

Bean and rice casserole:
2 cups rice
2 cans of beans (I like to mix black and pinto, but whatever you have will do)
1 jar of salsa (you won't use the whole jar for this, but chips and salsa are a nice snack with this)
1 cup of shredded cheese or vegan substitute
butter or margarine
bread crumbs (optional)
Cajun seasoning (optional)

Philly's best vegan chinese food.

2009-09-23T07:38:00.000-04:00

Now, this is clearly a subjective matter and I know people love each of the handful of vegetarian Chinese restaurants in Philadelphia, but I also know that I'm right and New Harmony is the best of them all.

Located on Ninth St between Arch and Race Sts (135 N 9th st, to be exact), New Harmony was once owned by the same folks who had rival vegan Chinese restaurant, Kingdom of Vegetarians but is no longer associated with them.

Their menu has the full array of dishes you'll find at any Chinese restaurant from beef lo-mien to dragon and phoenix to barbecue spare ribs. The only difference is that all of these meats are vegan meat substitutes.

The portions are all generous and the prices are all reasonable. More importantly, all of the food is delicious. Many of the omnivores I know have eaten there and liked it as much as their favorite non-veg Chinese places.

If you're feeling really hungry and/or gluttonous, take a couple of friends and get the all-you-can-eat dim sum. For around 12 bucks each, the servers will keep dropping plates of a variety of appetizers from their menu. You can choose from the list on the dim sum page or just have the cooks give you a variety of their choosing.
Your first time there, you should do the variety and then you can request repeats of the ones you like.
Big party coming up? Groups of ten or more can get their banquet room downstairs complete with large-screen tv and dvd player or karaoke.
Check them out next time you're in the Chinatown section of Philadelphia.

Quick and dirty vegetarian stuffing

2009-09-22T17:47:00.004-04:00

This recipe is not really so much a recipe as a combining store-bought easily prepared items to make something even better from them.

Buy any type of bagged stuffing to prepare. Most of these are vegetarian and basically look like a large bag of croutons with some seasoning mixed in. That's probably because that's all they really are.
Stove-Top and those type's of stuffing mix are not vegetarian and should be avoided.

Most of the bags call for a chicken stock and some celery and some butter. The easy way to make that vegetarian is to used vegetable stock instead, and to make it vegan, use any dairy-free butter spread such as Smart Balance's Light spread or Earth Balance. (no relation)

Also get a tube of Light Life sausage. This stuff might be the best tasting meat substitute on the market.

Crumble and brown the sausage while you're heating the water or vegetable stock for the stuffing mix.
Preheat the oven to about 375.
Set the sausage aside and finish preparing the stuffing as directed on the package.
Mix the sausage into the stuffing and stir in some brown sugar, a few heaping spoonfuls will do. It really depends on taste for this one.
Put this all into a baking dish and sprinkle some more brown sugar lightly on top. Scatter a few dabs of butter or vegan butter sub and leave it in the oven until the tops is a little toasty, or very toasty if you like it crunchy. A tip for those who like it crunchy though, turn up the heat and bake for less time so that the rest of it doesn't dry out.

Serve it with your favorite fake chicken or tofurkey or just eat it on it's own. It's that good.

Dirty Vegetarian stuffing:
Any variety of instant stuffing mix that is vegetarian
One pack of GimmeLean or similar brand of vegetarian sausage
Butter
Brown sugar

Wearing your heart on your sleeve

2009-09-20T09:41:00.000-04:00

There are tons of clothing websites out there that represent every cause and style imaginable.

One of my favorite vegetarian/vegan designers of graphic tees and other various items is herbivoreclothing.com.

They have a pretty good variety of designs, but carry books, accessories and home decor items as well.

The prices are reasonable and the styles are varied, so they have something for every herbivore out there.

Too many vegetarians in one room

2009-09-18T21:58:00.003-04:00

Boston's Vegetarian Society is holding their 14th annual Food Festival October 31 and November 1.
They have tons of speakers and demonstrations on any topic relating to being an herbivore.
The whole event is free and includes free food sampling. This has got to be a lot of fun, and very informative, I'll have to try to make my way up to Boston next month.

Check out their website for info.

Ranch dip for everyone

2009-09-18T00:53:00.003-04:00

This is an easy vegan version of the ubiquitous ranch dip you find at any gathering in the middle of the veggie tray. That veggie tray is often the only thing at some parties for the vegetarians and vegans, so we often hit it first. Many times it is not vegetarian friendly because some store-bought dips have gelatin in them, and almost none of them are vegan.
I found this recipe on a website, I think it was VegWeb.com but I'm not completely sure.
All that needs to be done is to take the spices and mix them into the vegan sour cream or vegan mayo and then chill it for a while before serving.
Often I'll use this as a guide and approximate the amounts of each spice. Tofutti vegan sour cream has given me the best results so far.

Quick Vegan Ranch Dip:
1 cup vegan mayo or vegan sour cream
2 teaspoons parsley
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of dill weed
black pepper to taste

Chili is better for you when it's vegan.

2009-09-17T01:47:00.000-04:00

Chili is not really a health food in most people's eyes. A vegan version takes out a lot of the fat and cholesterol and, when done right, can leave you with just as much flavor.
This particular recipe has satisfied many a meat-eater in the past. Several calling me a liar when I tell them it's vegan.
One of the easiest ways to prepare vegan chili is to start with a packaged base and make it your own.
I use Fantastic Foods vegetarian chili mix as a starter. Just prepare it as the box tells you.
The instructions call for two cans of beans, a can of diced tomatoes, and some water. it's very easy.
Adding extra spices is always a part of my cooking. The chili gets extra garlic, crushed red pepper, chili pepper, salt, onion powder, Cajun seasoning, Old Bay, pretty much anything sitting around the kitchen.
Also dumped in are usually an extra can of beans (usually a variety rather than just three cans of kidney beans), peas, corn, some fresh peppers, extra meat substitutes (Morningstar makes frozen steak strips that add a great texture to the chili), fresh tomatoes. Again, mostly anything I find hanging around the kitchen.
Every batch of chili can and should be different from the last. Get creative.
Slow cooking it after you are done the box directions and all the other additions gives it a chance to blend the flavors more and give it a more consistent flavor throughout. If you have a crock pot, that works great, but if not just a stock pot with low heat works just fine.
My cooking style calls for the informal method of just letting it heat for as long as you feel like it or have time for.
Serve it over rice or with some nice crusty bread to dip in it. Shredded cheese (or vegan substitute) also adds an extra dimension to the dish, so give that a shot too.

JB's Easy Vegan Chili:
Fantastic Foods Vegetarian Chili mix
3 cans of beans (I usually go with 1 kidney, 1 pinto and 1 black, but any combo will work)
1 can of peas (frozen or fresh work well, but cook them first to soften them)
1 can corn (same thing here)
1-2 cans of diced or stewed tomatoes
1 bag of Morningstar Farms steak strips (the chicken ones work well too for a different taste)
Fresh hot peppers to desired taste (jalapeno or habanero are good for some kick)

Spices: All added without measuring because it is chili, just use some common sense
Garlic (minced or powder)
Salt
Onion powder
Old Bay or Cajun seasoning
Chili powder
Crushed red pepper
Hot sauce

Dining out is the easiest vegetarian meal.

2009-09-16T10:10:00.002-04:00

Even with the majority of restaurants offering vegetarian and vegan options, there is still a lack of real variety at most places.
One or two dishes without meat can be good enough for the most part, but sometimes we just want to go somewhere that either has a lot of options or only meat-free options.
A favorite of mine is Govinda's at Broad and South Streets in Philly.
They have some of the best vegetarian sandwiches I've ever had. There is a pepper-"steak" sandwich that floors me. They also have a great ham and cheese hoagie made with the best fake ham that I have ever had.
They have real cheese and vegan cheese available so that most everything on their menu is available as a vegan dish as well.
The counter is usually quite busy, so you might have to wait in line for it, but there is a lot of great food there, so give it a try if you're a vegetarian or an omnivore. Even my meat-eating friends that I've dragged there have loved the taste of everything they had.

A vegetarian's life is more than just eating

2009-09-15T20:35:00.002-04:00

A real vegetarian doesn't just limit their animal friendly choices to the food they consume. What we wear is important too, as any real vegetarian knows well.
Sometimes it is hard to find non-leather shoes, belts, wallets, etc.
For all the other lazy vegetarians out there, the easiest thing you can do to solve this problem is head to Moo Shoes, a New York based clothing and shoe company that only sells vegan-friendly gear.
They have my favorite shoes ever.

So if anyone wants to buy me a new pair, I wear a size 12. Just throwing that out there...

This website really is great, and everything I have ever bought from them has been high quality and with fantastic customer service.

Give them your business and support cruelty-free companies.

Summer is ending, who has extra produce?

2009-09-14T20:28:00.002-04:00

Summer vegetable gardens are a lot of work. That's why I love people who have them and perpetually have too many fresh veggies come September.
I have personally reaped the benefits of my enthusiastic friends Autumn after Autumn. Zucchini are always the most prolific producers, followed closely by tomatoes.
Gather up some scrounged veggies and a box of pasta and you can make one of the freshest and easiest pasta primavera dishes ever.

Start by boiling the water for the pasta. Put the pasta in while you saute the veggies, since most pastas take ten or so minutes and that's about how long you'll be heating the other stuff.
Next, cut whatever veggies you have (I have a suggested list below, but really, any mix of veggies will do just fine) and heating a Tbs or two of olive oil in a large skillet.
Toss the garlic into the oil as soon as it is hot. This is another perfect time to have the little jar of pre-minced garlic in the fridge.
Put in the broccoli and carrots (any harder veggies) first, followed soon by the zucchini and squash. Heat them until they start to get warm, then dump in your spices and stir.
Toss in the tomatoes once the zucchini is almost tender. Heat for about 2 minutes or until the tomatoes are heated, but still a little bit firm.
Drain the pasta, mix in a dash of olive oil and the Parmesan cheese. Stir in the vegetable mixture and serve.

EASY PASTA PRIMAVERA
1 package of pasta (spaghetti or ziti work well, but almost any pasta will do)

Spices: all measurements are estimates
1/2 clove of garlic (more if you like garlic)

1/2 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. basil
salt to taste
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. oregano

2 or 3 Tbs of olive oil
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese or vegan subsitute

Veggies:
1 zucchini, sliced
1 yellow squash. sliced
1 stalk of broccoli, cut into florets
2 medium tomatoes cut into small wedges or 15 or so cherry tomatoes
a handful of green beans
5 or 6 baby carrots sliced or cut into thin sticks

Salads are a vegetarian's best friend

2009-09-12T01:55:00.001-04:00

Being a lazy vegetarian salads are a nuisance to make and we tend to not make them at home. We tend to see too many of them when we're out at restaurants because the salad is all some places offer to the meat-free crowd. Some restaurants don't even have a meat-free salad because regular patrons want their chicken strips thrown across the top of a Caesar salad to negate any health value.

Making these salads at home is the easiest thing if you do the right shopping.

The pre-cut bags of lettuce cost a little more, but if you find them on sale they can actually be a better deal than buying whole heads of lettuce. Pre-cut romaine mixes often have packets of cheese or croutons for making Caesar salads. The vegan option nixes the cheese and the dressing is more difficult to find, but they exist.

Caesar dressings usually have anchovies, but some out there come without the little fish, so just check ingredients. Annie's brand makes a good one, and Follow Your Heart has a vegetarian Caesar dressing. Also be wary of Worcestershire sauce in the ingredient list, as that has fish in it too.

Croutons are important for a good salad. The easiest way is to buy them, but making them takes only a few minutes. Take either some cut up french or italian bread or just use some regular sandwich bread. Wheat adds an interesting flavor to the croutons. Stale bread actually works best for this. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan. Toss in some garlic to taste (Spice World brand is good and easy to come by in the jars already minced and can be used in a million ways). Lightly brown the stale bread cubes and set them aside on a paper towel.

Any fake chicken products will do, but MorningStar Farms has the meal starter strips that taste great, are vegan, and heat up and toss into the salad with no trouble. You can even use the same pan as the croutons since the oil is still good for cooking the fake chicken strips.

So cut the lettuce (or open the bag), toss into a bowl with some Parmesan cheese or vegan substitute, mix in the fake meat strips, toss in the dressing and top with the fresh croutons.

Enjoy a fairly hearty salad as a side or a large portion for your dinner.

Ingredients:
Romaine lettuce (bagged is the easiest way to go)
Stale bread
Olive Oil
Garlic, minced
Caesar dressing (Annie's, Follow Your Heart, or any anchovy free type)
Fake chicken strips (breaded or grilled style work equally well)
Parmesan Cheese (vegan subs are pretty good and fairly easy to find)

The other fake meat

2009-09-11T09:55:00.003-04:00

One of the big things for any vegan or vegetarian is meat substitutes. Buying them gets expensive and making them is often hard to do and very time consuming.

Long long ago, a friend of mine sent me a link to VRG.org and their recipe for seitan. For the uninitiated, seitan (pronounced say-TAHN for the lame and satan for the cool) is a wheat gluten based meat substitute that is not great on its own, but make a good base for making just about anything.

The gluten flour is about the only thing that is not readily available in all stores. The kombu seaweed can really be subbed for any seaweed which can be found in the "ethnic" section of your local supermarket.
Gluten flour (aka vital wheat gluten) is available in some supermarkets, but not all. Whole Foods will probably have it, there is a brand called Bob's Red Mill that is available pretty widely in with baking products and bread-making supplies and also on Amazon.com.

Quick Homemade Seitan
(Makes 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 pounds or 2 to 2-1/2 cups)

2 cups gluten flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1-1/4 cups water or vegetable stock
3 Tablespoons lite tamari, Braggs liquid amino acids, or soy sauce
1-3 teaspoons toasted sesame oil (optional)

Add garlic powder and ginger to flour and stir. Mix liquids together and add to flour mixture all at once. Mix vigorously with a fork. When it forms a stiff dough knead it 10 to 15 times.

Let the dough rest 2 to 5 minutes, then knead it a few more times. Let it rest another 15 minutes before proceeding.

Cut gluten into 6 to 8 pieces and stretch into thin cutlets. Simmer in broth for 30 to 60 minutes.

Broth:
4 cups water
1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
3-inch piece of kombu (a type of seaweed)
3-4 slices ginger (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring broth to a boil. Add cutlets one at a time. Reduce heat to barely simmer when saucepan is covered. Seitan may be used, refrigerated, or frozen at this point.

Total Calories per 4 oz. Serving: 77
Fat: 0 grams

Easy Vegetarian

2009-09-10T21:17:00.004-04:00

Time to bring some focus to this blog. I know i'm not talking to a huge following here, but this is now going to be a blog about being vegetarian and looking for the easy ways to stick to that.

I've got more than a decade of experience being a lazy vegetarian, so I'm going to bring my recipes and easy solutions for people who are busy, short on time for food prep, constantly on the run, or just plain lazy about cooking.

I'm very strict on my vegetarian diet, often cooking and eating vegan because those are actually the healthier recipes without the fat and cholesterol in dairy. There is no room for fish or white meats in a real vegetarian diet. Anyone who calls themselves a vegetarian but they eat chicken/fish/whatever is either dumb or a liar.

Today's post will be the easiest of all vegetarian cooking: a link to buy 2 minute microwave meals.

Going Native is delicious

These are quick and easy vegetarian meals (3 of them are vegan, the paneer is an Indian cheese, so that's clearly the non-vegan one) and are best just heated up and dumped over rice.
Taste-wise, they are good to very good. None are as good as making the recipe yourself, but much easier. I have a few of them on my shelf at work for busy nights when I didn't bring dinner and don't want to spend the money (also read: broke) on take out.