VeganizeSeattle Thanksgiving Addition

It's Wheat Meat Bitches

 

 

     So, I didn't cook traditional thanksgiving fare, I am not supposed to celebrate it as I am Muslim.  But I wanted to make something.  Aside from my nice glass of apple cider with  mulled spices I decided to make some wheat meat.  It's made from vital wheat gluten, and most call it Seitan, but I am not eating something that sounds like the master of evil, and it's too cute for that name anyhow lol.

 

 

     I tripled up on the recipe because I wanted to have extra in the fridge.  I know it's made of a wheat gluten, which sounds like nothing but carbs.  But this stuff is mostly protein, which is why it's so good for a meat alternative, so I want to see if one could manage to do a low carb diet using this stuff.  I will let you know, I am a bit scared of overdoing it and developing a gluten allergy lol. 

 

    The taste is phenomenal!!!  Check out the spice mix, I stole the recipe from another blog, here's the link  http://yeahthatveganshit.blogspot.com/2007/04/infamous-seitan-recipe-o-greatness.html. 

 



New England Tofu

New England Tofu

 

     I remember telling you all about this, I took a photo of it next to the photo in the book.  You see it's supposed to be New England Tofu Rolls.  I am loving this simple recipe!  I add a little bit of dill to it for a zing.  I can tell this recipe is going to be very versatile, I see a vegan version of egg salad coming out of this, you probably would just have to doctor it slightly with a good mustar, it doesn't need much more.  I miss a good egg salad sandwich... so guess what I will be taking to work tomorrow for lunch :o)

     I discovered that I am not so good at holding the fat bitch inside down though, I bought some Kroger brand sweet potato chips to go with this, and for lunch I admit to eating the bag.  I just don't think I am at the point I can have something sweet and savory in the house and not have it inhaled, don't think I am quite there yet.

     Any of you who might be reading, where do you find your vegan fare?  In the greater Seattle area we have some awesome stores for this, or at least it's fabled.  I live North of Seattle in Everett, and I just don't fancy driving into the city and paying for parking just for grocery shopping.  In the Pacific Northwest we have a Kroger owned store called Fred Meyer, and I LOVE YOU Fred Meyer!  Good selection, fair price, and I quite loved my 20 cents fuel discount today.  Also, I discovered they have herbs in bulk!

   And... yes, I got into trouble with the herbs in bulk.  Not really trouble, I got my whole mustard seeds and cumin seeds, to toast up with coriander and some other herbs to make a Sambar for some Indian cooking!  And... my apartment smells amazing!

     One thing I have to say about the cookbook I listed that I am currently sampling from, it's a godsend for a single or busy person.  It would be great for two as well.  The fact I can put things in the croc-pot and save on time is great.  I do find myself tweaking the spice ratios in the recipes, but I find this with most cook books, we all have our own tastes.  It's no fault to the author.

     I bought a croc pot trio, three 1.5 croc pots connected, buffet serving style.  Setup on my counter and it's a cooking dynamo, I highly recommend!


  



It's Cold Here In The Pacific Northwest!!!

     EEEEEEH!  I woke up this morning an damn is it cold.  It makes me want to bake and eat utter nonsense.  I guess there's a time and place for it, but certainly not while you're alone in your apartment and hungry in the morning lol. 

     I think I may have to find something sensible with almond flour I can make and post it up for you all.  Ooh, perfect cold weather speak... let me find a photo really quick.

The Keurig V700 Brewer

 

     So, I had one of the original Keurig brewers, one of their smallest single serve models with no water tank.  It was okay, I liked the convenience, but I never quite found the K cups to make coffee as strong as I like it. When that machine died (not on their part, it was an old machine and it was its time) I replaced it with a programmable drip coffee maker, but I almost NEVER used it.  Before work I am up early early, and I am half zombie and stumbling around... so unless it's super easy I am not preparing and brewing coffee.  On the off chance I filled the coffee maker the night before so the automatic programmed brewer would work, you then have the hassle of the coffee grounds.

 

     Grrr coffee grounds!!!  When you're single it can take some time to fill  a garbage can.  Cofee grounds get stinky, they get moldy, not to mention they have a tendency to hold water.  Not a pretty sight, taking out the garbage three floors down and there is water dripping from the garbage bad.  Makes your neighbors wonder just what you're disposing of.  YOU if you don't stop staring lookee-lou.

 

     Back to the machine, I just bought one of these.  How do I like it?  I could not be happier with my purchase!  They have some newer Vue models, I think this was either the first or the second.  It has quite a sufficient water tank, it has an led touch screen to make your coffee and/or tea selections, and it looks pretty on my counter!  The tray you see at the bottom removed so you can fit a travel mug under the machine (I've not tried this, because usually when leaving the house it's to take the bus downtown to work, I usually make my coffee there because I've missed the boat to do so at home).  However, I buy quite large mugs and have brewed a 12 ounce cup, which happens to be the travel mug size!  How is quality you ask?  WONFERFUL!  With the newer machines you can adjust your brew strength, your cup size (8oz, 10oz, 12oz), the cups are bigger, which goes to argue more grounds more coffee or stronger coffee, and it holds true!  Along with coffee I tried their hot cocoa and it was delicious.  You can also brew over ice with this, and as well adjust the brewing heat... but I've not quite used these functions yet.  Would I recommend the machine?  Absolutely 100%

So how's that switch to a vegan diet going?

     People have made comments that going vegan would be so hard.  In some ways yes, like products that have milk or milk by product.  There were these new England tofu rolls I made, which I will include for you here soon my friends, and they show in the book pared with potato chips.  I wanted it with potato chips, looked good to me and made me crave a salty treat.  Do you know how hard it is to find potato chips that don't have milk fat in them?  I must have looked like mister fatty mcfat fat while looking at every chip bag in the enormous chip isle. SIGH.  I did find some though and they were good, but if you have problems eating just a serving of potato chips I might recommend finding something else to pair with.

    In other ways, the switch is pretty easy.  As I said, I am not going to be some crazy vegan Nazi with myself.  If I want something with a little milk in it, or I crave something like chicken or what have you I am not going to deprive myself.  I will say, I have had meat twice in the last month or so, and it made me sick.  Not the thought of it, I literally got ill.  I think your body starts to put itself through  detox of the richer products.  As well, while I may miss things including milk like milk chocolate; dairy milk itself is something I never quite enjoyed.

     Cheese.  I loved me some dairy cheese though.  I am finding some quite lovely vegan cheese though.  Mostly the daiya brand.  But goodness is it expensive!  There is a book about artisan vegan cheeses, and making them on your own.  I will most likely buy this book and give it a go, but I am not sure how much of a fuss I want to go to in that arena.

     Generally I am feeling better, not really seeing a lot of weight loss though... but then again this is the month of my birthday, and everybody and their brother wants to take me out to  lunch or dinner.  I do plan on being the on who loses weight over the holidays though.

Italian "sausage" coins and gravy on top off mashed cauliflower, with roasted carrots

 

 

     What can I say about this recipe?  Even though it looks like some slop you might feed a barnyard animal, or something even a bit more sinister and "wasteful", if you get my drift... it was delicious!  My first time making mashed potatoes with cauliflower, in the future I may find a way to thicken them up for a little more of a mashed potato consistency, but they're quite nice none the less.  The gravy is a mushroom gravy, and I am surprised I didn't hate it, because I hate mushrooms... but I am trying to find ways to work them into my diet and maybe even make myself like them.  The roasted carrots are delicious, next time I might add some spices into the parchment before I add them to the slow cooker.  That little bowl of unidentified something is actually a soy strawberry yogurt, not home made.  Hey, can you blame someone for needing something a little sweet to round out the meal with?

 

     On the Italian "sausage", they're seitan, or I just call it vegan Italian sausage.  I hate the work seitan, no, I am not eating Satan thank you very much.  Making your own fake meats with vital wheat gluten my friends is far more affordable than finding it ready made in the grocery store.  I didn't find the recipe from the book for Italian sausage to be spiced very well, I like big flavors.  I did find another recipe online for a fake meat, that turned out somewhat like a meatloaf or faintly tasting like something from Pepperidge Farms.  It was quite tasty and the next time I make this dish I am going to spice the Italian sausage the same way.  I will put my own tweak on that recipe and put it up here for you my friends. 

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

 

 

     The first recipe I tried from the current cookbook I am sampling was the vegan macaroni and cheese.  The recipe calls for a whole wheat elbow macaroni, I use dream fields brand because I had a lot of it left from my low carb days.  The next time I will use a non low carb whole wheat elbow macaroni, the dream fields brand is a bit too soft for my taste, and I like my pasta a little more al dente.

 

     This recipe doesn't use cheese, to make up the cheese taste you use nutritional yeast.  I don't find it cheesy tasting, but it is delicious.  In the sauce you do end up using chopped tomatoes, being somewhat of a lazy cook on the day I put this together I used a can of diced tomatoes, it worked fantastically.  So, how would I describe the taste?  It's like a creamy tomato sauce with just a little extra kick to it.  I can't quite point out what the little extra kick is, maybe it's the taste of the nutritional yeast.

 

     I find this on its own quite satisfying, but in the future I may find something to pair it with, to make it more of a complete meal.  But for now I am saving calories by not adding any additions to my meal.  On a scale from 1-10 I would probably give this recipe a 7 or 8, I am sure if I played with the seasoning I could make it more cheesy tasting.

 

 

 

A Little Kitchen Accessory Chat

 

 

 

 

Okay guys and gals, I just have to share.  I had a store credit on Overstock.com and I found this spice rack, and I am a little in love.  Granted different color options would have been nice, albeit a veneer on the wood, but this spice rack is beautiful.  Someone had reviewed it and said they were disappointed because it came with no labels, but these are the labels that came with the rack, and I think that while they're simple they are as well elegant.  With my store credit I ended up paying nothing, but the spice rack I believe was just $29 approximately.  The spices contained within if you had bought at the grocery store separately would cost you near $100, it as well came with a few spices you don't usually find in your standard spice rack, such as Herbs de Provence, Coriander and Crushed Mint.

 



A Little More Info, And A Second Though

     Throughout this journey I will be sampling certain cookbooks, the current book is "Vegan Slow Cooking for Two or Just for You: More than 100 Delicious One-Pot Meals for Your 1.5-Quart/Litre Slow Cooker"

 

 

     If you should have any interest in the books I sample from you can feel free to ask me questions, I will answer them but I will not post the recipes... this would be copyright infringement and we're not going to play that game.  Plus, if you're anything like me you probably love a good cookbook.

 

 

      What ever happened to that no oil thing?  Well, I am going to try to do some oil free cooking to be more healthy, but I don't think it's something I will follow too rigidly.  I am not a believer in going all crazy fundamental and micro managing yourself to a T, don't we get enough of this at our jobs?  Anyhow, I find this especially true when it comes to diet... Not that I am some bastion of health or specimen of physical beauty.