Veganmofo: Day 3: Treat yourself to a break!

Well I had a giant epic post done up, but blogger and firefox crashed and I lost a huge post. I dunno if I can really devote more time to writting today so sadly here is the abridged version with less photo/details.

Veganmofo daily theme today was give yourself a break so I decided to take a my instagram daily food gram self appointed mofo theme and tie it in. So here are my lazy go to for breakfast lunch and diner, these are the ones I turn to again and again although they are not the absolute easiest they are pretty close and still fill me up without getting boring.

Breakfast: Cereal

Now cereal isn't my favourite breakfast but it is one I like to have around for sheer speed and ease. If I don't know what I want cereal saves me from having just coffee and nothing else. But the cost around here is a turn off even while favouring the usually cheapest option of a plain grain flake or puffed grain in the eco bags/family kilo bags. This bag still cost me 10$ so while it as the cheapest option, twice the cereal for only 1-2$ more it is still quite expensive compared to other foods  (stay tuned for my grocery haul video this cereal came from!) but it is the easiest.

So, anyway I get a plain cereal and I try to vary the grain/kind for variety and I mix in stuff to add flavour and crunch and nutrients that more expensive mixes have. For a way cheaper version of this lazy meal you would simply make your own granola or other cereal in advance. I have on hand silvered almonds, and hemp hearts to boost it up with non-dairy milk and bananas will always be the cheapest fruit but any fruit addition adds minimal effort with maximum pay off for elevating your cereal.

Thanks to @Veganmofo for sharing my breakfast post btw <3 p="">
Lunch: Leftovers

What could be easier then simply eating something you already fricken made! Bonus points today because this is actually a freezer soup that my mom made me so double whammy I didn't even make it. I also took out a frozen bun and tossed it into the oven while I nuked the soup.

Whether its just last night dinner or a single serving of soup/stew you froze ahead like a boss leftovers are perfect for lunch because it a) Uses up stuff you already have and b) is just so fast and easy.

Since most recipes make 4+ servings I like to take at least one portion of a meal to freeze for later like a frozen dinner and to use during times I cannot decide what to make or just don't have the energy. It also saves me from my biggest money pitfall which is ordering food (which I know is not frugal but often expensive premade food wins over not eating at all). So save yourself from this by keeping a steady supply of frozen stuff from when you did have energy to cook and reduce waste.


Dinner: Protein, potato, veg

It is not even funny how often I eat this but it is fast basically throw it all in the oven and the variations are endless. I try to keep gardein stuff in the freezer for this and stock up when its on sale but this is still obviously way more expensive then cheaper proteins you make yourself like baked tofu/lentil loaf/burgers/setian/tempeh etc. So change it out based on your costs and preferences.

Broccoli is great frozen or fresh just nuke for a bit or nuke then toss into the same cast iron as the rest to roast. I typically used a single cast iron pan in the oven for all these style meals. Potatoes in this one are smashed and baked (nuke potato, toss in cast iron pan and squish then bake to finish)

Typically I preheat the oven grab a frozen vegan burger/chicken/mock fish/baked tofu/indian veggie patty and follow the directions or 350-400 is a typical range for any homemade stuff to reheat. chickpea cutlets are great for this and potatoes are my go to because they tasty and really don't care if you bake them within that range.

Frozen corn and peas are a cheap and classic standby. These indian patties are amazing and basically chickpea flour mix vegetables and bread crumps so making them from scratch and freezing would save $$

This meal has loads of downtime sine you preheat the oven with a rinsed potato or two then add you protein to cook and steam a fresh or frozen veg and your done. But the variations are endless based on what you have stocked in the freezer or previously made or just simple tweaks to the potato like minimal slicing for hasel backs makes it feel fancy.

Also so much of the cook time is just waiting for the oven so it is great for week nights. In fact with my old flat mates we ate this 80% of the time or more because it easily allowed us to accommodate everyone crazy food allergies and/or how many people where home 1 vs 8 was basically the same amount of work.

I like to bake everything because it helps with the cost of the oven but in the summer for example I might opt to microwave and pan fry everything, since I am not paying to heat the oven I will often do mashed or steamed potatoes.

If you like grains, you could easily sub potato for grains I just usually don't. It would be slightly healthier and cheaper depending on how much your potatoes are but both grain and potato are pretty frugal. Rice cookers will save you energy, time and again money if you opt for the grain variation.

In all instanes you can cheat to speed this up for the times you debated what to eat until 8pm or 9pm and you need food fast by simply nuking the potatoes and finishing them up in a pan/oven (or not at all!). You can defrost your protein before hand (or if you have tinned baked beans use those instead and microwave all the things).

Unless I am boiling the potatoes I usually microwave the veggies or nuke then roast them in the oven, it saves time $ and energy this way but you still get the glorious roast veggie taste.

Seriously, I eat so many variations its not funny.

Veganmofo: Day 2: Impress Me meal

I gotta say my fail safe impressive yet easy meal has been the same for ages and ages Veganomicon classic Chickpea Cutlets w/mustard gravy V'Con as well and lemon roasted potatoes another V'Con gem. I cannot even count the number of times I have made this meal, but it is a lot.

Sometimes I switch it up and do a classic mashed potato or a more classic style mushroom gravy with steamed carrots or a green or roasted Brussels sprouts for the big guns. Vcon has always been a great book filled with impressive yet manageable recipes that never fail to disappoint and I think it was one of the first Vegan Cookbooks with a 'fancier' foods I purchased.

Surprisingly for something I (and the rest of the internet!) made obsessively for years I cannot find a decent photograph but I will link you to the recipe on Isa's new website. Ironically my historically picky eater mom texted me just the other day asking for this recipe. So if you haven't tried them out do yourself a favour and head over to Isa's blog to make a double batch of these bad boys.

Double Batch Chickpea Cutlets

Isa and Terry have always had a special place in my heart, PPK4ever!

Veganmofo: DAY 1: Share your favourite food

Ok, so the blog post is a bit late as I was dealing with visiting family but I used that as an opportunity to share one of my favourite foods from Halifax suitable a Vegan Donair. Lately with unpacking the apartment and my knee injurying (kitchen unpacking/use-ability is still in flux!) so my favourite food has been food I didn't have to prepare myself :P.

So I took my Dad across the bridge to Halifax for Johnny K's Seitan Donair. No Vegan Donair sauce saddly but since I prefer spicy sauce the substitution for red chili sauce is a-ok with me and the vegetarian donairs are vegan! Hurray!

I got a classic style donair combo with fries [Although I usually get the Gyro because it's the a donair with Fries INSIDE and more bang for buck]. But since I was craving fries because let's face it potatoes are my one true favourite food.

Gloriously fried potatoes! The side fries were actually way more than I thought so the wrap, soft drink and fries for 9.99$ is a great deal.

My dad whose favourite food is also seitan, opted for the healthier donair box which is basically the donair seitan on top of fries or salad (he got salad).

Happy MOFO!

PPK Wisdom: Terrible Archining of Veganisms awesome history and our weirdo family

Lots of knowledge was shared over at The Post Punk Kitchen form and while our supreme leader is moving on to better things we are going through the process of trying to preserve our little piece of the internet.

I am looking into more professional and complete archival options with my classy library data science friends but for now, I am just doing what I can to try and save some stuff

Colander Sprouting Method

The colander method is basically find any colander where the holes are small enough that the seeds you want to sprout don't get through them - at least till they've grown enough. Most cheap plastic ones work too! Even for alfasprouts! :)

Put the seeds in lukewarm water overnight in a cup or the like. Drain it then and put them in a colander (or several if you're making lots of sprouts). Then find a soup plate or the like to put under the colander(s). Stack them one above the other if you are using several. Morning and evening you then hold the colander - or the colander stack - simply under the water tap to rinse them and let most of the water drain. Shake them a bit too. Empty the soup plate from any excess water before and after the rinsing. Simple as pie ;)

Astrid aka Helgonblomma

Seitan O Greatness

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5 c. vital wheat gluten


• 1/4 c. nutritional yeast


• 1 . salt


• 2 t. paprika


• 1/4 t. cinnamon


• 1/4 t. cumin


• 1-2 t. pepper


• 1/8 t. cayenne pepper


• 1/8 t. allspice (I skipped this)


• 3/4 c. cold water


• 4 T. tomato paste


• 1 T. ketchup


• 2 T. olive oil (I used canola because I was out of olive oil)


• 2 T. vegetarian Worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce--I used soy because I had no Worcestershire)


• 1-3 cloves garlic, crushed well (I just sprinkled in garlic powder to taste)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325°.

In a large mixing bowl mix dry ingredients. Mix the rest of the ingredients (liquid ingredients) in a smaller mixing bowl. Whisk well until mixed.

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix well, then knead for several minutes.

Form into a log (6-8" long), wrap tightly in foil, twisting ends. Bake for 90 minutes. When done baking, unwrap and leave out to cool all the way. Then wrap it foil or plastic and refrigerate. Slice to use as desired.

Burmese (chickpea tofu) John P

This wondrous stuff is the subject of one of my most-read posts on the PPK Forums. By the power of the interwebs, and the work of a number of PPKers and bloggers, the original recipe has been simplified. See what happiness we can make by working together! So you don't have to weed through the kerjillion posts at the PPK, I will condense the collective wisdom for you:

3 cups chickpea flour

9 cups water

1 t. vegetable oil

1/4 t. turmeric

1 t. salt

Mix the chickpea flour and water, stirring well. Allow this to sit out at room temperature for 12 - 24 hours, loosely covered - no more stirring.

Prepare a container for your finished chick-fu, lining it with cheesecloth. (Do this now, you will have no time later.)

To a large pot, add the oil, turmeric, salt, and most of the chickpea mixture. There will be a very thick sludge (sounds lovely!) in the bottom of the chickpea flour bowl - about a cup or so. Leave this in the bowl for later. You want to have just enough liquid left with the sludge so that you can pour it into the pot later.

Bring the pot to a boil and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring constantly. (I mean it.) Take the pot off the heat, arm yourself with a study whisk, and add the sludge (mmm!) from the bowl to the pot. Beat the crap out of it until it is combined smoothly. Put the pot back on the heat, and cook for 10 more minutes, stirring constantly. You will get tired, complain, and want to stop. It will get very thick. Don't be a baby. Keep going.

When done, pour into your prepared container - fast! It starts to set up quickly. Let cool and refrigerate until fully set.

You can make this in smaller amounts. I have done 1/2 and 1/3 of the original amount. You will need to cut back the cooking times slightly. Also, the last few minutes, when things are getting really thick, are more difficult with a smaller batch. So it goes. I say make the big batch and freeze what you can't use.

Esme's Special Sauce

In a small bowl mix up the following in equal parts:
Tahini
Miso
Soy Sauce (I always use tamari because it’s my favourite thing ever)
Olive Oil
Nutritional Yeast or Mustard
Lemon Juice or Vinegar
A few cloves of Garlic.

Toss with hot, cooked pasta. That’s it, you’re done! It’s excellent with greens, I usually have it with steamed brocolli. My favourite thing about this sauce is how incredibly versatile it is and how I usually have the ingredients for it on hand. When I made it today I didn’t have any tahini or lemon so I used peanut butter and lime and it made quite the tasty peanut sauce. I make it all the time when I’m short on time (or not, it’s so good). 

Lachesis' Alfredo Sauce 

The Real Alfredo Sauce by Lachesis
½ cup Earth Balance
2 cups unsweetened soymilk
1 package extra firm tofu (Mori-nu, in the tetra pack, appr 12 oz)
1-2 tbsp white cooking wine
2 tbsp onion powder
2-3 tsp garlic powder
1-2 tsp sea salt
1-2 tsp black pepper (to taste)
pinch of nutmeg
2-4 tbsp arrowroot powder (more or less, as needed.. it should be creamy and the Earth
Balance should not separate)
Combine all of the ingredients except the arrowroot powder into a food processor and blend until creamy and smooth. Put the mixture into a pot on medium-low heat. In another container mix the arrowroot powder in a little of the sauce mixture. When the sauce in the pot is nice and hot, whisk in the arrowroot mixture. You can turn up the heat a little, but don’t let it boil. When it thickens and just starts to bubble it is done.

Alfredo Stroganoff
First marinate the mushrooms. They soak up the flavor pretty fast, so you don’t have to marinate them for too long if you don’t want to.
Mushroom Marinade Ingredients
1/3 cup vegan Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbsp Tamari sauce (or soy sauce)
2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup water
Mix and let baby bellas or creminis marinate while you make the Alfredo sauce.


Some stuff from the Will it Freeze Thread

Isa's marbled banana bread and muffins, Yes! Moon and others have had success.
Cucumbers for gazpacho: YES!
Chickpea cutlets, Yes! Share your methods below
Cooked beans, yes!: Most folks here seem to make a big batch and freeze small containers or portions (in cooking liquid i believe?)
Isa's beet burgers (and likely all other veggie burgers) Yes! steps in link
Lime juice/zest (likely all citrus)
Mirepoix DeneRose posted in the pantry thread that they freeze mirepoix so share your secrets!
Tomato sauces/soups/chillis/curries and other saucy mixed vegetable dishes: Yes!
Brown Rice, cooked (pg2) Chicki shared this recipe form Pressure cooking today
Salsas: Yes, but they will be waterybirdsonawire suggests draining the salsa before use if you find it watery
Seitan: I have seen numerous ppkers mention freezing seitan so share your tips/tricks/methods below
Veggie Scraps, YES! PPK method use a freezer bag to house onions skins, vegetable peels and bits/ends when the bag is full boil contents with bay leaf and pepper corns for homemade broth (avoid bitter veg like cabbages cauliflower etc or only in small quantities) the broth can also be frozen into icecubes or larger containers for future use

Minatomachi's Leftover curry paste, tomato paste and chipotle in adobo sauce freeze well. Which is good since I never use the whole jar or can in one go.

Blanched fresh broad beans freeze well. I like that since I only have access to them in early fall.

Fresh hot peppers, lemongrass, ginger and turmeric freeze well.

I keep all my nuts and seeds in the freezer so they don't get rancid. I also keep cooked diced tomatoes in the freezer because I make them myself in batches. Same for cooked beans (without their cooking liquid.)

Fresh herbs freeze, but I only use them in dishes where they'll be cooked, because they become too limp and soggy for salads or such.

I also put peeled and seeded raw winter squash pieces in the freezer when I have some leftover from a squash too big for the recipe I'm doing. It becomes soft like it's cooked, but otherwise it works.

Bread crumbs (or loaf ends for making bread crumbs) work too, as well as nut-based parmesan.

Fresh ho fun noodles don't freeze. They turn into a sad, sad mush.

I just dump all the peppers, lemongrass, ginger and turmeric into a container (I break or cut bigger pieces of ginger into smaller knobs before). I haven't had dryness problems, but I unfreeze them before using. They get a little soggy, but it's workable (when partly unfrozen, they are easiest to chop or grate, but my timing is generally not that good).

Concerning curry paste, hot sauce and chipotle, I freeze them in a candy mould or any very small mould since I use them in small quantities. Then I umold the frozen pastilles and keep them in a jar. When I need one, I take one from the jar with a spoon and put it in the fridge or microwave it.

I transfer tomato paste to a small jar and freeze the jar until I'm ready to use it. I do the same for applesauce since I make a batch for use in baking instead of eggs or oil.

vijita I freeze a tonne of chilis this time of year. Every type of chili I can find fresh. I hoard 'em and if I have enough room in the freezer they'll keep me going all year! I freeze them whole too. If you must deseed, it's really easy when they're just a tiny bit defrosted. I keep all my dried chilis and lemongrass and ginger etc in the freezer too so my freezer is more like an explosion of fresh aromatics than the place where old loaves of getting-stale sliced bread go to die.

Efcliz Also in case people don't know the absolute best way to use ginger is take it right from the freezer as a knob and grate it on a microplane right into the dish, skin and everything.

Vegan Frugality: How to be a Cheap Vegan (basically a subject close to my heart)

I know in the past I have raved about The Cheap Vegan Zine (which is sadly out of print) and from time to time I share budget or frugal friendly tips. The reason for this is both a passion for great whole foods being accessible and attainable for everyone but also from the very real economical situation I grew up in and find myself in today. Nova Scotia is one of the worst places for food affordability and quite often I see Stephanie (of Cheap Vegan Zine Fames) and my shared bane faux frugal tips. Mock money saving ideas that cost more then they save, or cheap meal plan ideas for 1$ a day which is frankly not attainable for many people due to local food prices, other economic factors like shift work (hours available for cooking), access to transportation/printers/internet and other resources that factor into comparison shopping and other things like initial disposable income or a well stocked pantry (not everyone has a well stocked pantry to start with or enough $$ up front to buy the much cheaper 10 kl bag of flour or other bulk items).

But enough about the politics of food and affordable living, onto the real money saving and cutting down on food waste stuff. One of the best tips from The Cheap Vegan Zine is a simple one: Recycle your Leftovers! Something I have talked about before and other blogs has tackled (perhaps accidentally). This serves a few purposes: 1) cuts down on food waste 2) saves you time and often money by using something you've already made to make something new 3) saves you from eating the same damn thing for weeks on end. Which when your cooking for a smaller crowd can be helpful because honestly who wants to make 1/2 recipe of chili or w/e just because you live alone, no one that's who.

I loved the ideas given for re-purposing soups or stews into casseroles then into veggie burgers and other tips.But I always wished there were more examples given, so I present you with some stuff I have been cooking lately which you may or may not have already seen on Instagram!

Inspired by this post of Mofo's past from Vegan Sparklers : Cauliflower Tandoori Lettuce Wraps.
I made a modified version making my own Vegan Tandoori paste using Coconut Yogurt & spices I had it is loosely based on this but with fresh ginger, added the zest of the lime and red pepper flakes.

The Finished Product!

Looks impressive, but was a bit bland/mild for my taste. So the next day before moving onto the lettuce wraps I basted the cauliflower directly with my homemade rub and baked it again in the oven (which was better but got to be a bit bitter in areas where the spices were thickly applied).

The Vegan Sparkles post already had one step of recycling leftovers built in, roasted cauliflower steaks, rice and cucumber raita for diner. Then lunches or dinners later using all  last the diner components w/tomato to make lettuce wraps. Same meal with a different application and super fast because you already made it last night.

I did mine a bit differently because white rice is nutritional cardboard and I wanted more veggies I made a vegan turmeric rice w/peas but used it the same. I also steamed some carrots and sauteed in vegan butter and added hot sauce to my wraps because I found the spice was a bit lacking and it didn't need the raita otherwise.

I took this concept yet one step further this afternoon by throwing the whole dutch oven with the roasted cauliflower head leftovers onto the stove with some additional water, 2 chopped carrots and 1 diced potato. I poured the water over the cauliflower to rinse off the spices into the bottom and build a sauce for the curry, put the lid on to let the vegetables steam/boil (position the cauliflower on top if you can!). And in a separate pan I sauteed an onion and 2 garlic cloves with salt and pepper and added them on top once they were cooked. Because the cauliflower had been a bit better on my second bake attempt (likely from me applying too much paste!) I added salt and a bit of sugar to the curry as it cooked until the bitterness subsided. The water and other vegetables helped too. You can also curb bitterness with coconut milk or other vegan dairy products.

Cooking it down for about an hour with the lid partial ajar adding more water or stirring as needed. Once the liquid was reduced and the veggies were cooked I added a sprinkle or Vegan Butter and Flour to build up the gravy, cooked until it thickened and voila meal 3 Vegetable curry simply cut the cauliflower into chunks and serve with leftover rice and more cucumber raita.

You could easily make this curry with any vegetables or bulk it up with beans or tofu/tempeh/seitan/tvp leftover you have hanging around. Or if you prefer a soup simply add additional water or broth  (tasting for seasoning) to thin it out. Even a Dahl style dish with lentils. This curry is a bit more of a Japanese style with the diluted spices, added salt, and roux thickened sauce. If you have access to it you could also bulk it up with coconut milk (or add the coconut milk and blend it into a bisque), since coconut milk is a bit more $$ I stuck with the water.

1 dish, 3 meals which if I had any more left I could also add oats and blend the curry into a burger which might still happen. OR blend the curry/vegetables into a thick sauce/gravy for tofu/tempeh/seitan or other dishes. This is also a good tip if you have picky eaters who don't like vegetables you can still get the nutrients. If you do go the blended sauce (or pureed soup route) and there is still too much for you to eat (or you get sick of curry style dishes) freeze the sauce/soup into ice cube trays and use this recycled curry as a flavour booster or starter for your next meals. Once frozen you can pop the curry ice cubes into a freezer bag and you have your own veggie fueled curry paste (flavour & nutrients!).


Bonus Points: Since I am not a huge fan of Vegan Yogurt I added the rest to my homemade tandoori paste and readjusted the spices stirred it together and tossed it into the freezer for future use (marinating tofu or tempeh, as a rub or curry/soup base).

I also took the bag of marinade (since it used a whole fricken expensive can of coconut milk!) and threw that in the freezer. You can reuse most marinades a few times before they need to be thrown out and freezing can help prolong their life. Or take a tip from Isa's VWAV and use leftover marinades to build sauces, gravies, dressings, or soups/stews. In fact I could have defrosted the leftover marinade to bulk up my curry but I really want to try it out on tofu.

Possibilities are endless and you just have to experiment. Sometimes even when things don't turn out or live up to your expectations you can still turn them around into something you'll enjoy.

Veganmofo 2016: I finally have instagram

Now I too am port of the cool kids and have finally gotten Instagram for the blog and personally.
I will be doing some Veganmofo-ing both here and on the instagram plus likely posting more day to day photos of food posts that feel out of place on the blog.

check it out here and if you are a ppker/vegamofoer or have a vegan food instagram let me know in the comments so I can follow you back.

https://www.instagram.com/vegannotjustgreens/ 
or @vegannotjustgreens