Blogging Redux: Twitter made me Vegan

Today’s not only my coronation ceremony as Teacher of the Year 2011, but the second anniversary of my decision to “go vegan”.  (A quick vegan shout out to The Waterview Pavilion in Belmar – they did an excellent job creating a delicious vegan lunch for the only non-meat or fish eating Monmouth County TOTY.) I’m republishing a blog post I wrote on May 25, 2009 about how Twitter played a big part in my decision. Twitter was a cocktail party back then (as opposed to the frat kegger it’s heading towards), and I found many real people discussion their eating choices online.

So let’s revisit a more innocent time when cutting animal products from my diet was new and challenging…and peaches are back in season, so let’s try that cobbler!

Twitter made me Vegan.

I know, only a few posts ago when talking about @pleather and @veganfreak’s podcast, I said, “I’m not a vegan”.  I wasn’t when I wrote that although I was trying that NPR Vegan be4 6 idea.  Then I began following vegans like @vegan1 and @vegancook101, and twittering vegans like @ismithx, @eatconciously, @yovegan, and @stephendavis02 started sending me DMs of support as I tweeted about my thoughts on becoming vegan.

So as of today, I’ve been vegan for a week.  Not long at all, I know, but very eye opening.  No, I’m not going through my closet of shoes and handbags and discarding those made of leather, but I won’t buy new ones – found a GREAT non-leather bag for Sarah at Target that confirmed for me the existence of fashionable non-animal alternatives.  I’ll also admit that it wasn’t so much animal cruelty that “turned” me (I do acknowledge it and never wore fur cause I couldn’t look my dog in the face if I did), but the effects animal husbandry and harvesting has on the environment convinced me immediately.  Even the town of Ghent in Belgium is going vegetarian every Thursday to address this environmental impact, so if they can do it, so can I! (Yea, I learned that on Twitter too!)

I was very surprised at how many foods I consume have animal products in them.  Who knew there was a really nice health food store right around the corner from my big American supermarket?  Nature’s Corner carries all kinds of vegan food (cheese, milk, snacks, etc.) many of it local – got tofu from Pennsylvania this morning – and vegan lunches I can grab at the wonderful teacher lunch hour of 10:30 a.m.!

The real issue now is how will I adapt all my favorite recipes to my new vegan lifestyle?  More to the point, how will my children react?  I tried an experiment last Tuesday.  @vegancook101 tweeted this recipe and I thought I would adapt it.  I didn’t use whole wheat ziti (I used durham wheat ziti), I used a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes, a 15 oz can tomato sauce with italian spices, added my own dried oregano, thyme, and basil along with onions and garlic to make the sauce.  I used soy crumbles for the “meat” and put vegan mozzarella on top rather than breadcrumbs.

I don’t have a picture of that meal (my bad), but here’s what happened.  It was a busy Tuesday night at our house. I tutor a student with Asberger’s Syndrome in Flash Animation at 7 on Tuesdays.  Sarah was filming a project for US History, and Joe was playing drums at his friend Nigel’s house (better there than here).  When Joe came home, he and I sat down to the ziti.  I asked him how he liked it; he said, “It’s really good.”  Then I broke the news about the non-meat meat.  OMG, you’d think I fed the kid poop!

Now, I have to show him the packages when I tell him it’s meat, milk or cheese.  In his defense, he’s 14 and, when I was pregnant with him, I practically lived on beef, even fantasized about steak at odd moments!  Sarah, on the other hand, liked it as did her friends.  She was a vegetarian for a number of years, so not a surprise.  Unfortunately, I was off tutoring by the time they tried it, but based on how little was left over for my lunch the next day, it was a success with them!

After that experience, I began thinking about how I would adapt favorite recipes to be vegan.  I love to cook and enjoy nothing more than waking up, planning meals for a day or two, going off to the store, then spending the day in the kitchen.  Helps with our busy schedule cooking ahead, and I do enjoy listening to NPR and trying new recipes on winter sunday afternoons.  This past saturday, I tried another recipe a tweeter posted (I forget who – apologies!) called Rustic Bread & Eggplant Lasagna.  Again, I substituted vegan mozzarella for the breadcrumbs and used the first fresh basil of the season to add some flavor.  Here’s 2 pics of the finished dish:

Peaches are also in season, so I adapted a peach cobbler from the Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts (p. 30).  The only substitution to make it vegan was margerine for butter – and Joe loved it!

Tonite, I’m adapting our favorite Giada DeLaurentis dish: Salmon Baked in Foil. I substituted tofu for the fish and am currently marinating it in olive oil, fat free balsamic dressing, garlic (really, anything with garlic is good), oregano, thyme, basil, and lemon juice (see below):

I did find that Yankee Candles weigh the best when draining tofu!  Check back for an update on how this adaptation works out, as well as tomorrow’s attempt to tackle a true favorite – meatloaf!  Oh, and if you keep following my adventures in vegan cooking, you’ll discover that all my cooking utensils are very 60s/70s.  I learned to cook from my grandmother and those remind me of her kitchen.

Everyday Vegan: Taking Stock

When you start to cook as a vegan, one of the basic ingredients you may have difficulty replicating is chicken stock. In my omnivore incarnation in the kitchen, I don’t recall using much beef stock, but my pantry always contained a good supply of chicken stock.  As a kid, I remember my grandmothers making chicken stock out of the leftovers and bones of Sunday chicken dinners to be used in other recipes later in the week. When I was an underemployed 20-something in Southern California,  I made many a batch of chicken stock to use and freeze.  Good chicken stock added so much flavor to so many recipes, I couldn’t imagine finding a substitute…

and I never learned to make my own vegetable stock.

So about two years ago when I thought I’d just experiment with vegan cooking, I went off to my local health food store in search of a chicken stock substitute.  As with most things healthy in this country, decent vegetable stock in a box or can cost more than chicken stock and contained way too much sodium even for this lover of salt.  I started with the little cubes, then noted even the health food store version contained 42% of my daily allowance of sodium.  Why didn’t I just use pound of salt instead? I was desparate, and as we in the northeast prepared for what became snowpacolypse, I hastily grabbed a little canister off the shelf hoping it would make decent soup during the storm.

Trust me, the last week of 2010 provided a lot of time to experiment with chicken stock alternatives.

I discovered that my snow induced purchase of Vegebase was a truly brilliant bit of happenstance.  Add a tablespoon to a cup of hot water and you have what looks and tastes like cup a soup with only 5% of the daily allowance of sodium.  Through winter colds and soup making Sundays, I burned through my stash of Vegebase.  Branching out, I used it as stock for curries and stir frys.  As of this posting, I’ve yet to find a recipe this vegan stock didn’t work with and in many ways enhance. Here’s a picture of what I call “soup with all the vegetables that need to be used now“.

No, I’m in no way affiliated with the producer of Vegebase.  I’m just an everyday vegan home cook making her way in an omnivore’s world.

Everyday Vegan: Breakfast!

A weekend episode of Everyday Vegan, this morning I thought I’d share a new breakfast favorite.  I find that breakfast and baked goods are the toughest cooking categories in which to find decent vegan alternatives.  On Wednesday, I wrote about Trader Joe’s soy chorizo, and yesterday morning while rummaging in the fridge for a decent breakfast idea, I hit upon a spicy tofu scramble!

Vegan Tofu Scramble

1/4 of a package of Trader Joe’s soy chorizo
1 1/4 inch slice of extra firm tofu, crumbled
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced tomatoes
1 shallot minced
garlic powder
cumin
salt & pepper
chopped fresh cilantro

Press the tofu to get as much water out as possible but don’t stress it – this is breakfast after all.  Add soy chorizo to nonstick saute pan and cook for about 5 minutes or until light brown and crumbly.  Remove from pan.  Add about 2 tablespoons EVOO and saute mushrooms and shallots for a minute or two.  Add crumbled tofu and all the spices to taste.  I add a LOT of cumin but it’s really up to you how much spice you’d like. Saute for a few minutes so tofu can absorb the flavors.  Add tomatoes and saute until warm but not mushy.  Add soy chorizo and some fresh chopped cilatro.  Stir until all ingredients mixed together.  Serve topped with more fresh cilantro and whatever bread or tortillas you have on hand.

Below is my prep – I do love to prep!

Final delicious breakfast for one (because the girl is at school and the boy won’t touch tofu).

Everyday Vegan: Chorizo!

I love cooking magazines and while there are a few good ones for vegans, I like the challenge of reading magazines with general recipes and trying to make them vegan.  Cooking Light makes this easier for its readers with The Enlightened Vegetarian section.  Granted, they place these recipes at the very back of each issue, but I foil their plans to hide these great options by reading the magazine back to front!

The April 2011 issues has an exceptionally large amount of vegetarian recipes that are either already vegan or easily altered.  My favorite thus far is Paella with Soy Chorizo.  I substituted cumin for the saffron – I don’t keep saffron in the house, am not a fan of tumeric the usual substitute for saffron, and truly believe that cumin (along with cilatro) makes every dish that much more delicious.

First step, locate soy chorizo.  In my part of New Jersey, we have to travel to get to any decent store.  I realize this every time I visit my parents in Plano, Texas, where every store is a mile away.  Every store.  A quick google of “soy chorizo” revealed that Trader Joe’s carried a decent product and, by coincidence, a Trader Joe’s recently opened in Shrewsbury. While not around the corner from my house in Wall, I teach on Tuesday nights in Fair Haven and could easily swing by to pick up this necessary ingredient.

The recipe requires only half the package above, so I’m going to be experimenting with other options for using this spicy meat substitute.  Don’t think I’m a fan of vegan products masquerading as meat; in fact, I recommend to people who are new to the lifestyle to avoid them.  They just don’t taste “right”.  However, this soy chorizo is delicious!

The recipe itself does take a bit of time to make, so it’s definitely a weekend choice for me.  Excellent leftover, this made enough for dinner for me as well as two lunches. On the spicy meter, it’s not burn your taste buds jalapeno hot, it’s more a mild pleasant taste, but if you are like @JenAnsbach and pretzels are your version of spice, this isn’t for you.   Below you can see my finished version; it’s not yellow like the original recipe but I loved it!

Dining out with the Everyday Vegan

One of the most difficult aspects of being vegan is dining out. True, quite a few restaurants in our area at least try to include a vegan dish on their menu, but the majority of the time a vegan plays the game of 20 questions with the wait staff at most establishments.  I was actually served a plate of plain spaghetti, no sauce, one dry lump of pasta at a shore restaurant during a banquet when I told them I needed a vegan entree.  I even called ahead! So, the first piece of advice from the Everyday Vegan: avoid Doolan’s in Spring Lake.

Most people know how much I love Restaurant Plan B in Asbury Park, but they aren’t open on Mondays and wonderful as Jeffrey and his staff are, variety is the spice of life! Where else can a compassionate eater dine?

Chain Restaurants: People who work in places other than the classroom like to go out to lunch, and chain restaurants are convenient.

• Now that our favorite Indian buffet place is no more *sigh* @mswas and I generally meet for lunch at Chili’s. If you let your server know you are vegan and order the vegetarian fajitas, you’ll get a delicious vegan lunch with little effort on your part.
• My son is a big fan of TGIFriday’s (he makes up for my not eating meat by his huge teenage appetite), and on our first visit to their restaurant in Freehold, I told the server I was vegan.  Lucky me, this guy was vegetarian, and he shared his favorite dish with me.  Order the Bruschetta Chicken Pasta, hold the chicken and the cheese, add extra balsamic glaze and you have a very good vegan option!
• Finally, the New Jersey side of our family likes to dine at Carrabba’s.  Again, you have to tell your server you’re vegan, but every location I’ve dined at has gone out of their way to make a vegan entree for me that rivals those chosen by my omnivore relations.

Local Restaurants: Other than Restaurant Plan B, you do have quite a few options at the Jersey Shore.

• Putting aside the no-menu debacle of a few Mondays ago, Langosta Lounge on the boardwalk in Asbury can make a number of entrees vegan.  I would suggest the Soleado veggie roll (cucumber, avocado, red raddish inside wrapped in sweet potato) if you like sushi, and quite a few of their salads are easily made vegan.
• Klein’s in Belmar and Sumo in Wall also make excellent vegan sushi.
• The red sauce sans meat at Molinari’s in Neptune has long been a favorite of mine and placed atop a bowl of pasta (make sure you don’t get the fresh, it has egg), it’s delicious.  Molinari’s also made us garlic bread with margarine when we asked – very accommodating.
• Finally, Jose’s in Spring Lake can serve you a vegan meal but it took quite a bit of back and forth to figure this out! Both my kids love this place, and it reminds me of a local restaurant their Dad and I frequented in San Diego decades ago called Ye Olde Taco Shoppe (you can’t make this stuff up).  Ye Olde had Serge the waiter and that’s all that’s lacking in comparison at Jose’s.  They may use lard or animal fat in the refried beans, still not clear on that, but the black beans are vegan.  Order a black bean burrito or the vegetarian tacos without cheese and you’re good to go!  Also, their chips and salsa are incredible so don’t miss out on those either.

Diners and Bar Food: It wouldn’t be Jersey without diners and bars!

• Diner menus have everything so it’s not that difficult to find something vegan.  We like the Princess Maria Diner in Wall, and they have a very good vegetarian panini which made without cheese becomes vegan.  I also discovered that their lentil soup is made with a vegetable stock and is the perfect choice on a rainy spring afternoon.  Salads are always a good vegan option at the diner.
• I love Bond Street Bar in Asbury Park and if you’re vegan, you will too.  Their veggie burgers are vegan (no cheese) and the sweet potato fries are the most amazing bar food you will ever have.  Last summer they also offered a huge basket of edamame which you could get with olive oil and garlic rather than butter (or just steamed but you are in a bar after all).  The prices at Bond Street can’t be beat.  I’ll leave you to determine whether or not your alcohol is vegan, but if you have an iPhone, there’s an app for that!

Pizza: This menu option is tough.  When I decided to become vegan, I started making pizza at home, and it turned out quite well.  However, sometimes you just want to grab a slice on the go.

• Last summer when we were shooting our ProjectTwenty1 entry in Asbury Park, I ordered both vegan and non-vegan pizza from Crust and Crumble.  Of course, many of the non-vegans made fun of me and my soy cheese, but it was a yummy, gooey, messy alternative to traditional pizza and very reasonably priced.
• Pizza Fusion in Red Bank offers pizza with soy cheese and a large variety of toppings.  If you’re shopping downtown and just need a quick bite to eat, a stop at Pizza Fusion is your best vegan choice.
• A Jersey Shore tradition is pizza from Pete and Elda’s.  Now don’t get all excited, they don’t have vegan cheese so alas you can’t eat their pizza if you’re vegan.  However, they are very accommodating when asked to prepare a vegan pasta dish.  Trust me, when everyone wants Pete and Elda’s you don’t want to draw their ire by pointing out your food choices.  Go, enjoy, and maybe educate your fellow diners!

Fast / Quick Food: Yea, we’ve seen the movies, but sometimes you just have to stop at a fast food or casual dining spot. Chipotle is the “go to” option for most vegans; their vegetarian burrito without cheese is an awesome fast food choice.  At the shore, Surf Taco and Fins offer delicious tacos and burritos that are easily made vegan.  If you absolutely have to, Taco Bell’s bean burrito without cheese is vegan and believe it or not, McDonaldland cookies are vegan!

This Everyday Vegan hopes she helped her fellow compassionate eaters dine out a bit easier next time friends and family suggest a restaurant.  This is a very short list so please feel free to add to it in the comments section. I’d love to discover a new vegan dining experience as we head into summer!

Everyday Vegan: Veganomicon

It’s been almost 2 years since Twitter made me Vegan.  Most summers, I choose a cookbook or two and make the recipes that appeal to me because summer is when a teacher has the time to test and tweak recipes.  Two summers ago in the Barnes and Noble in Plano, TX, I found my vegan bible, Veganomicon and rediscovered an old vegetarian favorite, The Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Cookbook, one in a series I’ve loved every since I bought The Enchanted Broccoli Forest in college that I still use.

The cover of Veganomicon is kind of crusty (always a good sign with a cookbook) and it’s littered with page flags marking my favorites.  As Rachel Ray would say, these are many of my “go to” recipes, and I’ve decided to share 2 of them on the blog.

First up, Pasta e Fagioli.  I LOVE canellini beans and make a number of variations of this recipe.  You can leave out the pasta and flavor with fresh sage from the garden for a really quick summer meal.  Below is a picture of the classic Veganomicon version with diced tomatoes, tubetti basil, thyme, rosemary, white wine, and canellini beans:

Next from Veganomicon, Leek and Bean Cassoulet with navy beans, carrots, celery, potatoes, and leeks (again – I love leeks) which the recipe pairs with biscuits but I generally just use toasted rosemary italian bread.  This is even better the next day for lunch:

Finally, a really healthy and easy dish from Moosewood, Squash and Kale Risotto.  Don’t be afraid of risotto; it’s just takes a little love and attention, but it’s well worth the effort.   I’ve recently become a big fan of kale, and the mix of the tart kale with the creamy squash is a perfect pairing!

So grab a copy of either – or both! – of these cookbooks and try a few vegan recipes!  My library has the entire Moosewood series so don’t think you have to go spend a lot of money to make a few healthy compassionate meals.  Let me know what you try, how it comes out, and any vegan cookbooks you’ve come to love!  After all, summer is almost upon us … and anyone who comments on the blog is entered into the random drawing for the scarf made by me!

Everyday Vegan: Enchiladas

This is a recipe I’ve been making since I lived in San Diego over 20 years ago and made a lot when I was pregnant with my daughter.  I’ve adapted it to various locations and diets (most recently, low-fat), and now it’s time to make it vegan!  This is especially good for lunch the next day or for office or church potlucks.

“Chicken” Enchiladas Suiza

8-10 flour tortillas (white or wheat)
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 chopped red pepper
1 teaspoon cumin (or more to taste – I love cumin)
1 package vegan chicken strips
1 cup vegan sour cream (I used “Better Than Sour Cream”)
1 cup soy milk ( in addition to the soy milk below)
1 jalepeno pepper
shredded vegan and monterey jack cheese
3/4 cup “cream of chicken soup” (recipe below)

Prehead oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 x 13 glass dish with cooking spray (or 2 8″ square dishes so you can freeze/save one for another day).

Saute scallions and peppers in olive oil or cooking spray (your choice). Remove vegetables, then saute vegan chicken for a few minutes until warm all the way through. In a medium bowl, combine vegetables and “chicken”; set aside. In another bowl, combine “cream of chicken soup”, vegan sour cream, and soy milk. Add about 2 tablespoons of this mixture to vegetable mix.  Add half the jalepeno to the chicken mixture; save the rest to “sprinkle” on top with the cheese.

Vegan Cream of Chicken Soup

I put this together from a number of different recipes on vegan websites:

1 cup soy milk
4 teaspoons vegan chicken bouillon
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Place all ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat stirring regularly with a whisk until thickened. Use as directed above.

Back to the enchiladas: Place approximately 1/2 cup “chicken” mixture in each tortilla. Roll up and place in glass dish. When all tortillas are in the baking dish, cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with shredded cheeses. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Let set for 5-10 minutes, then serve!

Everyday Vegan: Vegan Pizza

When we lived in San Diego all those decades ago, the newest pizza craze in that part of the States was “Hawaiian Pie” – pizza with pinapple and ham on top. Newly transplanted from the right coast, we wanted to fit in, so we ate it.  More like the strombolis we were used to at Stuff Your Face, it was no east coast style pizza.

Fast forward to “Mom is doing this vegan thing cause she’s going through menopause – that’s GOT to be it!” [insert mother of teenagers rant here], and I’m making pizza at home with a plethora of yummy veggies on top.

I like a thin crust so don’t let the dough rise for more than 10-15 minutes, but if you are a thick crust person, you can let it rise for about 30 minutes.  I used a base of baked eggplant to give the pie some moisture and piled on what I had in the fridge.  I’m sure there are many many variations – do share!

Pizza Crust

2 cups flour (or 1.5 cups white flour & 1/2 cup wheat depending on your preference)
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon olive oil
3/4 cup room temp. tap water

Toppings
1 Baked Eggplant (see below)
1 red pepper in 2″ slices
1 onion sliced
garlic to taste
basil
oregano

Combine the dry ingredients. Add olive oil then water and stir with a wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed. Knead for a minute or two into a nicely mixed ball. Leave in mixing bowl and cover with a towel. Let rise for 15-30 minutes depending on how thick you like your pizza crust.

For topping, peel eggplant and slice into 1/2 long pieces (lengthwise). Place on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Cook for approx. 30 minutes on one side, turn, then cook another 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees F. (I did this before I made the pizza dough.)

In a saute pan, saute large mushrooms in olive oil. Remove from pan, add sliced red pepper, garlic (I like a lot, but add to taste) and onions. Saute until onions are softened.

Roll out dough on pizza pan sprayed with olive oil. Using a pastry brush, spread a small amount of olive oil on dough until covered lightly. Layer toppings starting with eggplant, then mushrooms, and pepper mixture. I topped with fresh basil and oregano from my kitchen garden.

Bake in 500 degree F oven for 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!

Stress

What’s the best way for you to blow off some steam?

Cooking.

No, really, I love spending a Sunday afternoon in my kitchen or a few weeks in the summer working my way through a cookbook.  I completely got the entire Julie & Julia story back when it was just a blog.  I may be vegan, I but appreciate what that project did for her.  I haven’t spent much time in my kitchen in the last two weeks, and I’m suffering.  Leisurely preparation of food, especially if I have NPR on the iPod, is my favorite way to relax after a crazy day or week.

Sometimes, I just crave lentils. Here’s a recipe I make a lot because it’s quick, delicious, and even better for lunch the next day.

Red Lentil Curry

1 cup red lentils
1 to 1 1/2 cups veggie stock (depending on your desired consistency)
1 medium onion diced
4-6 garlic cloves chopped (depending upon your love of garlic)
1 Tablespoon cumin (or more, I love cumin)
1 Tablespoon curry powder (or more, I love curry)
1 tomato diced
chopped cilantro

Saute onions in a medium saucepan in olive or vegetable oil until almost soft, then add garlic for a minute or too. Add cumin and curry (I just keep adding until it smells as strong as I would like). Saute for another minute or two, then add stock. I don’t like mushy lentils, so I tend to add a cup of stock, but if you like your lentils with more liquid, add a cup and one-half. Bring to a boil, then add lentils.  Cover, reduce heat to simmer for about 10 minutes.  DON’T cook for too long or you’ll end up with a mound of mush.

To serve, top with diced tomatoes and cilatro.  Serve with pita bread brushed with olive oil and toasted in the broiler.  I cut mine in fourths with the pizza cutter – instant, vegan naan!

Valentine’s Day

I bought strawberries today, and when I got them home, I remembered an afternoon almost 2 years ago when my daughter Sarah and her friend Chrissy (well, it was mostly Chrissy) made vegan chocolate covered strawberries in my less than state-of-the-art kitchen.  This blog post, written that day on another incarnation of my blog, is a Valentine memory of a wonderful afternoon with 2 incredible young women!

Sarah’s Art Honor Society induction ceremony is tomorrow, and we are bringing vegan appetizers. The first, vegan chocolate covered strawberries, we made this afternoon. We used vegan chocolate chips melted in our makeshift double boiler over medium heat. Chrissy added 1 Tablespoon vegan margarine and about 1 Tablespoon water. The margarine makes the chocolate shiny, and the water made the melted chocolate smoother. Here’s the melted chocolate and our metal bowl on top of a saucepan with boiling water pretending to be a double boiler:

Below is a picture of the beautiful strawberries we bought:

Here is the brand of chocolate chips we used – excellent:

And here’s a picture of the beautiful girls who helped, best friends Sarah (my daughter with the sunglasses on her head) and Chrissy: