Serials and Scenarios ~ Fran Costigan's Vegan Chocolate Cookbook Review

A publisher sent a copy of Fran Costigan's Vegan Chocolate for my review and opinions. This cookbook is gorgeous coffee table art. The photos and recipe titles are drool worthy. 

So much chocolate, so much eye candy. 

I flipped through the book, almost afraid to touch the pages, they are that beautiful. I also set it aside until I felt brave enough to cook from it. 

Seriously, this is a real deal cookbook. Gourmet treatment, serious attention to detail. These are recipes to make when you want to knock someone's socks off. I didn't have an event planned or opportunity coming up that required a beautiful, glorious dessert of this caliber. Just like I look at Julia Child's epic cookbook as above my skill levels, Vegan Chocolate intimidated me. 

Then I got a touch of cabin fever. I've spent the last two weeks doing a whole lot of resting trying to kick a viral hybrid of yuck. And Sunday afternoon I decided I needed to do some cooking. So I flipped through this gem and picked some recipes for which I had the ingredients. This was a challenge based on the whole two weeks virus thing. I haven't been spending much time in the grocery store. 

For my experiences with the recipes and my opinions keep reading. 

Recipe 1... Graham Crackers. Store bought graham crackers are sure nice and convenient when you can find a vegan version. However, they don't touch the flavor of homemade. And honestly, these are delicious. I didn't get fancy and cut disks and make them cute like in the cookbook, I ran my knife over the flat sheet of dough and poked some holes. Nothing gourmet on my end. But this is an easy recipe and one that is the base for her Magic Cookie Bars, Smores and Moon Pies. I can only imagine how off the charts those are going to be based on how great the other desserts were. 

Recipe 2... Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies. I dare anyone to guess these are vegan. No way. These are chewy, crispy, chocolatey and delicious. The recipe doesn't make a huge batch and that is probably good. Just sayin. 

Recipe 3...Almond Cookie Crust. I put this together for a base for a chocolate cream pie made with her chocolate pudding. Let me talk about the crust. Yum. It would be a delicious base for just about any filling you could come up with. Cookieish and pie crustish at the same time and tasty. 

Recipe 4... Okay. The piece du resistance. Almost Instant Chocolate Pudding. Holy moly. Wow. This took me back to 8th grade Home Ec when I struggled over home cooked pudding. The horror of eggs being put in the pudding was replaced by finally getting it cooked without floaty nastiness...once. This Almost Instant Chocolate Pudding tasted so much better with no eggs and it really was easy. Easy. And honestly...so delicious. I consider the price tag on this book worth it for that recipe alone. It set up amazingly as chocolate cream pie. I can't wait to serve it for guests down the road. Off the charts creamy and decadently chocolately. 

With these recipes turning out to be so delicious I can't wait to try others. Yes. This cookbook calls for some ingredients you might not have in your cupboard. Yes there are steps to many of them that seem intimidating. But with results like I got, I am so ready to embrace vegan gourmet chocolate desserts that could absolutely make an omnivore weak in the knees. If you are tempted by this book, I don't think you'll be sorry for hitting "add to cart." 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Fud Kansas City Restaurant Review

 A couple vegan friends joined me for a whirlwind tour of Kansas City area vegan restaurant fun. That's right. We drove three ish hours to eat copious quantities of vegan grub and do a bit of shopping. An overnight stay via Airbnb helped us sleep off Friday night's food coma and prep for the Saturday's eating adventures. 

My first restaurant review is Fud. This was my second visit to Fud. We bought a sundae there a year of so ago and devoured it and felt the need to repeat that yummy experience. We entered the small restaurant with the groovy atmosphere and quickly ordered our treat. 

The Sweet stack is a huge sundae made with cashew based ice cream and covered with all the toppings they have on their menu. The four of us split one delicious sundae and ordered some mac and cheese on the side. 

The mac and cheese was a delicate, subtle bowl of deliciousness. Creamy, comfort food and mildly tangy. 

While enjoying our snack we discovered that Fud offers brunch on Saturday from 11 to 3. We returned and ordered three entrees to split four ways. 

They had a reuben tempeh "corned beef" hash. Purple cabbage and jackfruit provided the corned beef pink, A side of sour kraut added the perfect additional tang, fried potatoes rounded it out and it was truly amazing. 

Blueberry pancakes were our nod to traditional breakfast foods. And we weren't sorry. The others poured maple syrup on theirs but I stuck to the way it was prepared, blueberries, a little powdered sugar and a drizzle of blueberry syrup poured over the stack. The two plate sized pancakes had a hint of savory and we decided there might have been some cornmeal in the recipe. 

The last dish was a tofu open faced sandwich. Two thin slices of tofu, one smoky the other eggy stacked with greens, tomato and a delicious drizzle. The eggy tofu was amazingly eggy. I think it was a sulfurous salt that I'm going to have to add to my pantry. 

If you find yourself in the Kansas City area I definitely recommend Fud. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Review of Gardein

I was totally under the effects of a head cold Friday. Rob was feeling punk, too. Saturday was better and unfortunately required a trip to a store. So I ventured out and went to Target. I wasn't planning on cooking. However, I thought I'd check to see if they had a Vegan pizza hanging around in their freezer case. As I browsed around after grabbing soy milk and toilet paper, I discovered a case full of Gardein. 

I don't have a tight relationship with Gardein. I had never actually even tasted it until I was almost a year into Veganism. What I have tried has been pretty yummy so when I saw that freezer case with a bunch of choices I knew what I was buying for dinner. Everything was pretty reasonable, too. A main course that feeds two (or more) under 5 bucks? Okay. 

My review of Chicken Sliders.

These are tasty. I was so hungry by the time I got home I just followed the stove top method and fixed up the package (4 patties and buns which worked out to 2 a piece). Cheaper than fast food. Better than fast food. Vegan. And non-GMO. With fresh toppings, these can have unlimited tastiness. And I think the texture and taste wouldn't clue any omnivore into the fact that these aren't just a cute little chicken sandwich. I'm thinking vegan ranch dressing with tempeh, eggplant or coconut "bacon".  spaghetti sauce with Daiya mozzarella melted on top. Buffalo sauce. Tapenade. Oh, the possibilities. I give these a double thumbs up and will buy them again. 

My review of Szechuan Beefless Strips


I mentioned I shopped while hungry. So I bought a few Gardein products. I thought the Sizzling Szechuan would be a quick idea for after church. 

I had some leftover pepper and onion strips. Also some cauliflower and mushrooms to use up. So I added some garlic infused grape seed oil to a pan, chopped the veggies and dumped half the package of the Szechuan Beefless into the pan. After browning everything I added half the sauce packet. Yum. The sauce is a little sweeter than I like, but I did add more soy sauce which fixed that for me. Since I used only half the package and almost always have veggies that need to be tossed into a stir fry or medley there is another meal waiting. A very good deal, 4 meals for under $5.00 and just the time it takes to chop veggies and cook em up. Another double thumbs up. 

These items were just the tip of the Gardein iceberg at Target. Thanks, Target. You've always been one of my favorite stores but this is vegan icing on the cake. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ How Vegan - Vegan 101 Part 2

Basic Cooking Trials and Tribulations. Transition from Traditional to Vegan. One step at a time.


Don’t get rid of your regular cookbooks quite yet. You can adapt many of your favorites. This occurred to me about six months into this adventure. I played around with loads of experiments and tried (and served) a lot of “Fail!!!” recipes. Had I simply followed Vegan recipes or veganized my traditionally favorite recipes, one ingredient at a time I probably would've had better results. However, I generally learn a thing or two with a good fail. Let me pass on my lessons.

How to Veganize a Recipe 101 and to Avoid the Processed Vegan Diet ... think whole food and healthy. Honestly, many not so great "food" items are accidentally Vegan. I.E. some puddings. How is that possible? Chemical concoctions. We all want to avoid those nasty test-tube cocktails, right? Unless you are thinking Vegan for animals only, you are seeking an avenue to better health, right? So the more packaged something is the more handled it is, and the further it veers from being food. If you can find organic ingredients that aren't crazy expensive go for it.

Cooking:

Almost all animal products are replaceable. Some are easier than others.


Instead of meat based bouillon and broths, use vegetable. Organic is best. And if you don’t like to spend money on broths, make your own. Stick a gallon sized zipper bag or bowl in your freezer. Dump your veggie peels, odds and ends in the bag (avoid lettuces and rotten bits, do throw in stems from herbs). When it is full, dump the contents in a dutch oven, crock pot or soup pot. Cover it with water and simmer a few hours. Let sit til it cools, strain the liquid and put the liquid in recycled pasta sauce or peanut butter jars. (Leave room for liquid expansion). Freeze til you need them. This is not salted. If you want a salty liquid you can add soy sauce. (I use my seitan (weird word....it's also called wheat meat. It's a stretchy protein that can and does mimic the texture and mouthfeel of some meats. It's made from gluten flour....you can find excellent packaged versions. Trader Joe's and Gardein for example) simmering liquid to cover my scraps as it has flavor in it, too.) I make the seitan, fish it out, throw my frozen veggie bits in, add more water and do big batches of seitan and vegetable broth back to back.

Butter for cooking basics. For sautéing you can use coconut oil (this will give you a slight coconutty flavor/taste unless you buy one that specifically does not flavor) Earth Balance, organic canola oil (buy organic to avoid GMOs). You can use vegetable broth. You can dry sauté using a very hot pan with vegetables that will caramelize like onions, peppers, mushrooms. The key is to get the veggies to immediately sear once they hit the pan. To add flavor in breads and mashed potatoes etc.Earth Balance is the Vegan alternative to butter. It's pretty tasty and has all those same butter properties like melt and taste factor.

Milk might be the easiest ingredient to switch out. Between the options of flax, hemp, rice, soy, almond, coconut, oat and probably a few more, most people should be able to find something that works tastewise. For cooking it won't matter as much as the milk won't be the primary taste. The one thing to be aware of is that some milks work better in some recipes, and any flavored milk (vanilla) is likely to be sweetened. You'll need to look for plain if you are going for savory. Read the ingredients, original does not necessarily mean plain. You can also make your own milks if you have a high speed blender. Basically nuts or oats and water are the ingredients. It won't keep as long as the store bought versions but it's less expensive.

Sour cream, cream cheese, mayonnaise cheese have commercially prepared substitutes. We've tried a few different types of each of these. Cheese, hands down for us is Daiya. Trader Joe's has a cream cheese substitute. Several cookbooks have recipes for homemade vegan sour creams, cream cheese and mayos. There are even recipes for Vegan cheeses and butters on websites. Tofu is often used for these items and so are nuts.  We've been experimenting with cream cheese at our house and the results are pretty amazing.

Eggs. A biggie for me. Eggs in baking can be replaced with commercial egg substitute (or made with tapicoa/potato flour combinations). I use mostly ground flax eggs. 1 TBSP ground flax mixed with 3 TBSPs liquid replaces one egg. This works great. Ground or whole chia 1 TBSP to 3 TBSP liquid is another common egg replacement. You won't miss the eggs in your cakes, cookies, etc.

Next: Meet the Meat Replacements...

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Why Vegan # 1

So I've learned a few things since starting the Vegan journey almost two years ago. 

I've waxed not so eloquently about some of these details but maybe have not covered enough to make my journey clear to my readers. 

The big question I would've and did ask when starting this trip is "How to go Vegan and what have been the best helps along the way?"

And since January is right around the corner, and January is the month when humanity generally decides to make healthier choices, I think the timing is right to share our personal Vegan 101 path. 

Are you considering going meatless? Once a week? Cutting back? Do you want to live a greener life and reduce your carbon footprint? Are you motivated by health? Animal protection? A combination of both?

In this season of overindulgence, while considering your future health and choices, here are some details that may build a map of the route we are on. 

The following information is fluid rather than concrete because I haven’t read all or cooked from all Vegan cookbooks and websites. However, the resources I’m supplying have been helpful to me on my journey. And they have been well worth the cost of trying the recipes and buying the books.

The first three are recipe books that have a decent amount of teaching on the whos, whats, whys and hows of Veganism. If you are concerned about the environment, your health and furry (or not so furry) little (or not so little) critters you would choose well to check out Thrive Foods, The Kind Diet and Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook. Each of these contain loads of details and help on how and what to do. Each of them also contains some tasty recipes. Some of the ingredients are likely odd for the newbie Vegan or wannabe Vegan, especially in Thrive Foods and The Kind Diet. Thrive Foods really does a great job explaining why to consume the unusual items he suggests. 

Not using/consuming animal products makes a huge difference in our environment. Again, Thrive foods goes into loads of detail about the impact of animal farming. Recycling, walking or riding a bike everywhere, buying local…these things all add up, but avoiding the use of animal products knocks it out of the park. 

If words like Miso (just opened my first bag ever), Tempeh (started dabbling a year ago) and the idea of eating sea vegetables (gag) makes you feel overwhelmed, you can breeze past those ingredients and revisit them as you feel more comfortable. Thrive has smoothie recipes and raw meal ideas. Skinny Bitch has a vegan cookie that will fool anyone. And The Kind Diet has a couple of recipes that have become go-to for me. 

Documentaries are also a great source of information on health and environment. (Food Matters, Food, Inc. Forks over Knives, King Corn, Vegucated, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead)Do note that if you are sensitive about animal suffering, you may struggle with many details. And documentaries always have a bent.   

Inform yourself to make the decision that is best for you and one you can live with. And no matter what decision you make, you will discover nay-sayers and critics. What you choose to put in your body is a lot like your spiritual beliefs. What I believe spiritually is truth. But that truth, no matter how real it is, feels, is shared with others, documented by ancient writings etc. etc. is a personal decision. I believe and base my life on truth, many others do not. And beliefs can be passionate and polar opposites. Veganism, food, diet and nutrition contains those same camps and sometimes they are light years away from each other.

Another cookbook that is of value for newbies or explorers is Supermarket Vegan, especially if you live in an area without Trader Joes, Whole Foods, co-ops or Farmer’s Markets. Supermarket Vegan is a good resource. Heavy on salads and sides, light on desserts, but lots of recipes where you can find ingredients in your local grocery store.

One of my most valuable basic books is The Complete Guide to Vegan Substitutions. It contains charts and details, recipes for just about every substitution you might need to find. It shows how to veganize your favorite recipes. It’s a basic building block. The handful of recipes I’ve tried will be ones I’ll tweak the next time I make them, though, because they were a bit bland. It offers a basic foundation to build on rather than the perfect book for the recipe you will serve to your next gathering of omnivores (meat and dairy eaters...). Vegan on the Cheap is another good resource. I like (and so does my budget and body) using whole foods to make my own meals. These both help me to do that.

Next Topic: 

Basic Cooking Trials and Tribulations. Transition from Traditional to Vegan. One step at a time.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Cheez-a-Doodly Night

Brie and spicy jelly cream cheese

Last night was the great Vegan Artisan cheese unveiling at the Vegan Omaha meet up. 

As I mentioned earlier in the week, Lindsey and & have been busy little bees fermenting, curing, blending and shaping various cheeses as featured in Veg News magazine. 

They put together a brie, chevre, buffalo mozzarella, tomato, basil kabobs three cream cheeses and a sharp cheddar. 

The sharp cheddar had some firming issues so it became a cheese ball rolled in chopped pecans...and many people's favorite cheese of the night. 

We met at House of Loom and had sandwiches delivered by Block 16 (YUM). But, I think the cheese may have been the hit of the night. 

cheddar cheese ball and chevre

chevre, brie and fruit platter

I don't want to exaggerate and say that the Vegans fell on the cheese and devoured it....but....Lindsey and & have customer one and two locked in for the next batch. A vegetarian (those who eat cheese thank-you-very-much) said these cheeses were some of the best he's eaten. The brie won raves from two former brie fans. And those who went up to the cheese bar went back twice, thrice or embarrassingly uncountable times. The bowls and plates were literally scraped clean. Not licked, that would have been tacky, but scrapped indeed. The only thing left on the plates were two tiny bits of chevre which was hidden under an apple slice, a tiny smear of mozzarella and fruit. In a group of vegans who know that sometimes fruit is the only safe thing on the plate, to leave it behind makes a statement. 

Success and kudos. Deliciously good time had by all.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Feeling Cheezy?

Buffalo Mozzarella

Sprout and soak grains to make your own rejuvelac

Sometimes it's a little scary to spend time with like-minded people. After all, folks who may mesh with us on one level may be polar opposites in others....

We've met a few fun people via Vegan Omaha, a group that gets together to do meet ups at local restaurants several times a year.

The Vegan Cheese Issue

Anyhoo, Sarah and Lindsey are some of the fun Vegans we've connected with via Vegan Omaha. And we've started hanging out a bit here and there. This is probably dangerous on a few levels. A few weeks ago & and Lindsey came up with an EPIC idea.

For an upcoming meet up, Lindsey and & decided to make several artisan Vegan cheeses from the October issue of Veg News.

Cashews and unflavored, unsweetened soy yogurt - Vegan cheese maker's friends

Sweet and savory cream cheese, brie, sharp cheddar, mozzarella, chevre

And I got to help. Mostly by making snarky comments, laughing at mishaps, tasting and taking a picture now and again. 

Oh and filling cheese crusted bowls with water so they didn't turn into cheese cement.


This cheese making thing is pretty crazy cool.

Mozzarella

We now know how to make rejuvelac and this is not for the weak-stomached in the crowd. My usual readers know all about "Mother" (Kombucha). Well. Let's just say rejuvelac might be queen mother because of her stench. Rejuvelac is the juice that forms after about two days of soaking sprouted grains. I believe it is the Vegan cheesemaker's whey. 

Not all Vegan cheeses have rejuvelac. I think only two did. The sharpest flavored two which, after one whiff, only makes sense. 

Rejuvelac (Let's say smells like cheese + old sweat socks)

Each cheese takes DAYS to make. Even the cream cheese (which is amazing). Why? There are hours or days of fermenting that takes place on the kitchen counter or within the dark, cool recesses of a closet or troll-cave-like-pantry. 

Brie (Next to last step)

Throwing the components together is easy, and each cheese really doesn't have a crazy list of ingredients. I think the cheddar and mozzarella were the most involved ingredient-wise. (We finally opened that miso and it's not as scary as I thought it'd be.) Each of the steps took 5 - 10 minutes but the prepping, soaking and fermenting makes this an epic project indeed.

Chevre (last stage before curing for 4 days)

I'll be sure to post comments, reviews and pictures of the plated cheeses. Suffice it to say we ordered the Vegan Artisan Cheese Cookbook after tasting these in step one and two. In spite of the work/wait etc. making our own cheeses just might have to be a regular to do on our list.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Maple Cranberry Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes ~ Vegan Recipe

Maple Cranberry Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients based on four servings.

2 Large Sweet Potatoes baked at 350 until tender. Approx 45 minutes.

(This could easily work in a casserole dish as well, just discard the potato skins and grease the pan.) 

Scrape the cooled sweet potato innards into a bowl. 

Add the following: 

1/2 (small) can of mandarin oranges (minus the juice) crushed or half of an orange, pulp and juice only.
2 TBSP maple syrup
1/2 Cup dried cranberries. 

Mix well. 

Place mixture back into potato shells or in a greased casserole dish. 

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. 

Remove from oven. 

Top with: Sugared Cranberry Pecan Topping

3/4 Cup pecans
1/4 Cup dried cranberries
1 and 1/2 TBSP sugar 

Heat pecans in a frying pan over medium heat. Stir and watch/smell. When they become fragrant after a minute or two, add sugar and cranberries and stir until sugar begins to liquify. Stir until coated. Place in a bowl until ready to top the sweet potatoes.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Margaritaville Mojito Mousse ~ Vegan MoFo #18

I set out to create the equivalent to Applebee's Shooters. 

My final Shooter knock-off....my Vegan version of the Key Lime Shooter. 

I've tweaked it a bit to make it more interesting and hopefully flavorful. 

Introducing the Margaritaville Mojito Mousse Dessert. 

Forgive the pictures. In the flurry of activity I'm afraid this one didn't get adequate pictorial coverage. Picture a layered dessert that looks pale and delicious in rows in a glass loaf pan, trifle bowl or individual glass cups. This will also work as a pie.

Pretzel Crust:

1 1/2 Cups crushed pretzels (about three cups of intact pretzels)
1 and 1/2 TBSP powdered sugar
2 TBSP coconut oil 

Blend all together until it sticks together slightly when pressed.

Place half of the crumbs in the serving dishes/pans you will be using. Reserve half for the next layer. 

Lime Cream :

1 silken firm or extra firm tofu (Mori Nu)
2 TBSP arrowroot powder
3 TBSP lime juice
1 and 3/4 Cup powdered sugar

Combine fully in food processor. 

Layer one half the cream over the pretzel crust. Reserve half for the second layer.

Coconut Mint Cream:

1 Can Coconut Milk (this needs to be refrigerated for two days ahead of time and the thick layer needs to be skimmed off and placed in a mixer bowl. You can save the watery layer for smoothies or cooking etc)
Whip the cream
Add 3 TBSP powdered sugar
and 1 to 3 drops of mint flavoring. Start with one. You want the mint to be just a hint unless you really love mint. 

When it is the taste you want and whipped, place 1/2 of the coconut cream over the lime layer. 

Repeat all three layers. 

Refrigerate at least two hours, overnight is better and even a full 24 hours even better.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Let's Hear it For the Girls ~

On this upcoming Sunday night, July 22nd, & and I are going to have a little party.

KitchenAid is sponsoring a fundraising event for breast cancer called 1,000 Cooks for the Cure. From July 20th through the 29th they are hoping for 1,000 people to sponsor some sort of food related event. 

The guests can donate to finding a cure for breast cancer, the hosts provide whatever food they chose to provide, and if $50.00 of donations come in from that party, KitchenAid also plans to keep on giving. Each qualifying party host will receive a special plate. When that plate is loaded and passed on to someone else, who then goes online to register the plate, KitchenAid will donate another $5.00 each time the plate is passed. Cool idea.

We can designate the local chapter or nationwide breast cancer organizations with our donations as well.

If you live in my metro area Omaha (or will be out and about traveling through my neighborhood) come on over at 6:45. (You might want to email me for my address, unless, of course you already know it, or are a creeper, then I won't give it out. )

Did I mention all the treats will be Vegan? Oh, let me mention that. Why? Well, & and I think Vegan is a great way to lessen the chances of getting breast cancer. And these particular treats are darn tasty. Did you notice the works of culinary art in process pictured above?  The lemon bars. OH MY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Just saying. And they need just a tweak or two more before utter perfection is achieved.

The cookies are in the final trial and one tweak away from utter mouth bliss. And the stuff in the jar, a crazy idea that came to me last night that is brilliantly easy and tasty. The chocolate/mint combo needs to be smoothed out, but the texture is amazing.

If you can't attend, well, feel free to donate. Our party is #13. Or feel free to sign up for a party of your own.

We plan to do a game or two, a craft should those in attendance care to make something to take home, eat, of course, and have some fun conversations. 

Serials and Scenarios ~ The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions Reviewed...

The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions: Veganize It! Foolproof Methods for Transforming Any Dish into a Delicious New Vegan Favorite

Celine Steen , Joni Marie Newman

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Fair Winds Press (December 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1592334415


Description:

Veganize Any Recipe with Confidence!

The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions is your secret weapon to turning any recipe imaginable into a deliciously “veganized” success—no guesswork or hard labor involved. And no more kitchen failures or recipe flops either. Simply look up whatever non-vegan ingredient you want to sub out, and expert author team Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman will explain exactly what substitution is best to use and how to make it without compromising taste or flavor, so you’ll create dishes that are not only better than the “real” thing, but healthier, too.

With more than 200 recipes and substitutions that show the swaps in action, you’ll find step-by-step instructions for replacing everything from butter and bacon to gelatin and gouda. You’ll also find healthy substitutions for replacing things like gluten, sugar, and fat, so you can fine-tune any recipe to your dietary needs.

Stunning photography and easy-to-follow charts appear in every chapter, making it a cinch to dip in and out whenever you need a quick reference or recipe.

If you’ve always wanted to turn your aunt’s famous mac and cheese into a veganized taste sensation, or your grandma’s buttermilk pie into a rousing, “reinvented” success, The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions is the solution you’ve been looking for!

My Thoughts:

This is a terrific resource for a person who is exploring plant-based or Vegan cooking or a more seasoned cook who is looking to cut back on buying the processed Vegan friendly items. This is also a good resource for someone who's looking to transition out of meat and dairy products and wants to trade out traditional pantry/refrigerator items with plant-based substitutions.

I'll admit I purchased this complete guide because of the darling illustrations along with the implied promise that I could figure out this whole new way of cooking without animal products. And I have not been disappointed with my decision. I like the compact size of the book, as well.

Once I received my copy of The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions I glanced through it but didn't embrace it as a go-to cookbook. It was more of a resource for me. But after having it awhile I've begun to cook out of it and mark more recipes I'd like to make.

The book is broken down differently than a standard cookbook. Instead of appetizer, main, sides, salads, desserts type of format, the divisions are topical.

Section One has loads of recipes and is called "Let the Cows Some Home! Foolproof Substitutions for Dairy". It is further broken down by a milk sub and cheese sub chapter. Included are recipes for making nut cheeses, dairy free sour cream, milks and even chocolate bars. Each section has a chart that explains what an item does for a recipe and the items that you can use to replace it. (Most have more than one substitution and quite a few have a gluten free or soy free version that will work.)

There are a total of six sections: substitutions for Dairy, Eggs, Meat, Animal Products, one that encompasses Gluten, Soy, Sugar and Fat substitutions and finally a complete chart of subs. Note: the sugar and fat substitutions are not fat and sugar free, i.e. the authors use of agave or maple syrup or brown rice syrup instead of standard sugar.

Some of the recipes are quick and easy, and some rely on processed Vegan friendly foods. Example Cookie Cookies (cookies made with crushed sandwich cookies...hence the name, I'd guess) . Recipes will call for purchased patties and or meat subs. But there are recipes for make your own seitan, boiled and baked versions. And they include recipes on making your own "bacon" bits, hot dogs, "pepperoni" subs and even baby back ribs and fish sticks.

Several recipes are stack recipes, ones that call for another recipe to be made prior to making the end result. For example the Savory Artichoke Pie includes the  Roasted Squash Lentil Spread.

Recipe measurements are in weight and volume which is nice. And some of the unique recipes they provide include unusual items like Vegan marzipan, graham cracker crust, "ham", make your own gluten free baking mix, cheese fondue and a non-fermented dairy free yogurt. 

Ingredients like miso, nutritional yeast, agar flakes, vital wheat gluten and TVP are maybe unfamiliar to brand new Vegans but can be found on-line or in health food stores or sections.

I personally have prepared the Baked Seitan Cutlets and the Speculoos Cookies and can recommend both as worth the price of the book and of the shelf space.

Serials and Scenarios ~ 350 Best Vegan Recipes and Giveaway ~ Reviewed

NOTE: SEE BELOW FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO WIN A COPY OF 350 BEST VEGAN RECIPES

350 Best Vegan Recipes
Deb Roussou
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Robert Rose (March 8, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778802949


Description:

Delicious, innovative and easy-to-prepare recipes for everyone in search of meal-planning options to fit the vegan lifestyle.

These tempting vegan options include a wide and varied range of tantalizing meal ideas -- from amazing appetizers and salads to hearty soups, incredibly satisfying main courses and decadent desserts. This outstanding cookbook contains so much more than just incredible vegan offerings (that are also guaranteed to appeal to non-vegans and non-vegetarians) -- it also includes comprehensive and useful information on everything from stocking a vegan pantry to helpful kitchen tools and equipment.

And what really sets this book apart from other vegan cookbooks is the "Vegan from Scratch" chapter which provides information on making everything from Vegan Bouillon to Soy Cream Cheese and Smokey Maple Tofu Bacon Slices. These recipes really bring a wholly authentic vegan lifestyle into the home kitchen!


My Review

If you are new to Vegan eating, investigating it, or are trying to add delicious meatless meals to your life, this packed-with-recipes cookbook is a great resource to have on hand.

I'd love to tell you that I cook from my brain and pure creativity and never need cookbooks to get the juices flowing, but that would be a lie. Not saying I can't get on a roll and go all out. But when I'm tired, or bored, or just can't muster creative, I like me a good cookbook.

I also would love to tell you that I love internet recipes. Honestly, with a few strokes of a few keys one can really find a whole lot of what they need on the web. But, I hate cooking from recipes on my computer. There is something about a book that I can write down tweaks or suggestions for next time in the margins. I even like an occasional splatter mark in my cookbooks. (Not to be confused with spatter for those like me, who love police fiction. I do not want spatter in my cookbooks, thankyouverymuch.)

I have made a handful of recipes from 350 Best Vegan Recipes. Each of them was delicious.

My first recipe was Serrano and Roasted Pepper Cornbread. Yum. I had some leftover Spanish rice that needed a little something to make it star in another meal. With a handful of seitan bits and the cornbread layered over the top and baked with the cornbread instructions, yum, this bad boy is a keeper.

Next up was Almond Bear Claw Muffins served to breakfast guests.  Absolutely delicious. I used almond butter instead of the paste that is called for and the recipe worked well. And won raves. 

Another muffin recipe was equally delicious. Raspberry Streusel Muffins.

The Cremini and Kalamata Olivada -- YUM.

I don't think I can tell you what i still want to make from this cookbook. It would probably take less time and space to tell you what doesn't appeal to me.

Recipes on my radar include:

Trendy and creative sounding Horseradish Mustard and Panko-Encrusted Tofu and Northwest Passage Cedar-Planked Tofu. Down home fun comfort food... County Fair Corn Chip Pie. With recipes like these book covers most aspects of Vegan entertaining.

Raw and just veggie lovers will find a section that contains recipes like: Cauliflower and Zucchini Slaw, Hearts of Palm and Mushroom Salad with Lemon Parsley Vinaigrette, Grilled Artichokes with Jalapeno Mignonette Sauce, Sauteed Slivered Brussels Sprouts Over Wild Rice Cakes and Lemon Cucumber Tabbouleh. All together now, "Yum." 

The dessert section offers up a Cranberry Walnut Cake with Caramel Sauce, Jade Green Tea Pound Cake and Figgy Pudding with Brandy Hard Sauce.

A dozen or so pages contain cocktail recipes, too.

I also appreciated the resources. Like the salad dressing recipes, spice blends and basic Vegan recipe versions to replace expensive Vegan processed items. You can use this resource to make your own dairy free versions of mayonnaise, ricotta, smear, sour cream, tempehacon bits, caramel and divine chocolate sauces, vegetable broth and seitan.

Not every recipe in the book is unique, there are several basics or standard items you'll find in nearly every Vegan focused cookbook.  The recipes I tried are delicious and easy to follow.  If you are looking for why to go Vegan, or what one is, that information in not in here. However there are some resources for new Vegans like a very simple pantry list, useful kitchen tools, vocabulary, and suggested menu/party list. Most recipes can be made with commonly found-in-Vegan-household ingredients. If you are looking for some tasty Vegan recipes and like the idea that you can buy a book with 350 recipes instead of 175, then you might want to look a little bit closer at adding it to your bookshelf. It's a keeper and I will continue to cook from it.

And one of the recipes on my must try list is one I have permission to share with you.
Excerpted from 350 Best Vegan Recipes by Deb Roussou © 2012 Robert Rose Inc.  Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Sauteed Slivered Brussels Sprouts Over Wild Rice Cakes (page 132)

Heightened flavors and a vibrant presentation make this dish a real star. It is doubtful there will be any leftover, but if so, chill the shredded Brussels sprouts, dress with balsamic vinaigrette and serve as a memorable side dish.

Serves 4


       Preheat oven to 200°F (100°C)

       Blender


1 lb Brussels sprouts, bottoms and outer 500 g leaves trimmed

2 tbsp olive oil, divided 30 mL

2 onions, thinly sliced 2

3 cloves garlic, sliced 3

11⁄4 tsp salt, divided 6 mL

1⁄2 tsp Dijon mustard 2 mL

1⁄2 cup firm or extra-firm silken tofu 125 mL

2 cups cooked mixed wild and brown rice 500 mL

2 tbsp chopped chives 30 mL

1 tbsp chopped basil 15 mL

1 tbsp minced Italian flat-leaf parsley 15 mL

1⁄8 tsp freshly ground black pepper 0.5 mL

1⁄3 cup fresh bread crumbs 75 mL

Canola oil

2 tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted 30 mL

1. Finely slice sprouts about 1⁄16-inch (2 mm) thick. Separate slices into shreds and set aside.

2. Place a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and let pan get hot. Add 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the olive oil and tip pan to coat. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, 3⁄4 tsp (3 mL) of the salt and mustard and cook, stirring often, until onions are golden and caramelized, about 20 minutes.

3. In a blender, purée tofu until smooth. In a bowl, gently fold together puréed tofu and rice. Mix in chives, basil, parsley, black pepper and remaining 1⁄2 tsp (2 mL) of salt. Place bread crumbs in a shallow bowl and, using a tablespoon, drop rice mixture into bread crumbs, patting gently to form a cake. Press additional crumbs on top and use a small spatula to transfer cake to a plate lined with waxed paper. Repeat with remaining rice mixture.

4. Place another skillet over medium-high heat and let pan get hot. Add about 1⁄4 inch (0.5 cm) canola oil. When oil is hot, place 3 or 4 rice cakes in pan and cook until edges begin to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip cakes and cook until underside is browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and keep warm in preheated oven. Repeat process with remaining rice mixture.

5. In pan with onions, heat remaining 1 tbsp (15 mL) of olive oil over medium-high heat, pushing onions to one side of pan. Add Brussels sprouts and cook, stirring frequently, until shreds are bright green and just beginning to wilt, about 5 minutes.

6. Arrange 2 to 3 rice cakes on a plate and top each with a little pile of sprouts. Sprinkle with pine nuts and serve.

Now would you like a free copy? The publisher is offering to send one of my readers (US or Canada) a copy. 

I'm leaving this random contest open through midnight on July 21st. 

Leave a comment. One chance. 

Follow my blog. One chance (you have to leave another comment telling me.)

Poke around the provided links and tell me, in a separate comment, which recipe you'd like to try.

Make sure I can get in touch with you. And wait til the reveal on July 22nd. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ What? Vegan BBQ Weenies???

This is a crazy easy recipe. 

A few weeks ago I found a recipe for using a carrot as a Vegan hot dog. As crazy as that sounds I realized that the texture of a cooked carrot is somewhat similar to a hot dog, and well, the shape is kind of a new brainer. The "dog" in this recipe would be hidden in the bun and covered with toppings. Dang, not that I really loved hot dogs, and frankly, I have only had one Vegan hot dog, and don't feel the need to do that again. It just wasn't the best. Check out the carrot dog link.

While pondering this wonder,

my mind made a connection. One of our favorite pre-vegan treats, served almost every New Year's Eve with much guilt and heartburn was Beanie Weenies...or Little Smokies. I'd buy those little packages at the grocery store, slather them in various concoctions until we found the perfect brew...grape jelly and mustard and onion soup mix ended up being the wiener...I mean winner. I'd dump it all in a crockpot and simmer it for hours. The little dogs would puff up and brown. And we'd eat em up. 

So if a carrot could fool the mind into believing I was eating a hot dog, could small carrot lengths, drenched in sauce fool me into thinking I was eating Beanie Weenies? Worth a shot. 

I had recently made a big batch of BBQ sauce from the Blissful Bites cookbook  and had purchased ten pounds of organic carrots at Costco two weeks ago. Voila. Good time to experiment. 

I chopped the carrots into mini-carrot size. (Seriously, mini organic carrots would be a breeze.) I dumped them into my small crockpot, drenched them and stirred til all were covered in the homemade BBQ sauce and turned it on low for four hours. I added a bit more BBQ sauce right before serving so they were nice and saucy.

That's it. They are delicious. And unless someone loves the snap of gristle and would miss it, I'm pretty sure no one would really care that these are substitutes for Beanie Weenies. Ya know?

Any BBQ sauce or favorite sauce would work. The Blissful Bites BBQ sauce is tasty. I think I will try to get something going with the mustard/sweet/oniony blend for the next batch. And there will be a next one. Crazy easy. And crazy good.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Vegan Yumza ~ Iowa Style

Vegan Yumza...Iowa Style

We have a restaurant chain in the midwest called Runza. Born in Nebraska these special sandwiches are kind of like calzones, but smaller and breadier, and full of ground beef, cabbage and spices. They've expanded over the years and have done special versions like an Italian, and the swiss and mushroom version.

But. Since we don't eat there anymore due to the whole meat thing, and since we had a refrigerator with some spoonfuls of this and that, and since I recently tasted a savory Vegan kolache, I put my creative food wrangling cap on and came up with this. I have all sorts of ideas dancing around in my head. An Italian one for sure, my hamburger crumbles recipe and cabbage etc. etc. I'm also thinking these little "meaty" packets will freeze for quick dinners down the road. I think I'm onto something. Expect more.

This one is a basic pot pie feel. It tasted pretty darn good.
(Serves 4 people)
 
Dough:

    3 teaspoons yeast
    1 cup warm water (110-115 f)
    1 teaspoon sugar
    1TBSP olive oil
    1 TBSP ground flax seed
    1 teaspoon salt
    2 cups flour + additional to knead into dough as needed. (I used mix of unbleached white and whole wheat pastry flour)

Instructions

Put yeast in bowl and cover with 1/4 of the cup of water. Stir and add sugar. Let sit for a few minutes til it foams. Add oil, salt, remaining water, flax and the two cups of flour. Stir until mixed well. It will form a soft ball. Add another 1/4 of flour or so, knead that in (in the bowl works just fine). Repeat that step two or three more times until the dough doesn't stick to you and it forms a nice ball. Knead it a minute or so. Let sit in a warm spot for 1/2 hour or 45 minutes, it will double in size. Preheat oven to 425. When ready form into four equal sized sections. Rectanglish...I used my hands. The dough is pretty easy to work with. And you can see my rectangles are not quite...ya know.

While the dough is rising, grease a pan, and prepare the filling.

2 medium or 3 small potatoes diced
1/2 onion diced
3 smallish carrots thinly sliced or diced
3 celery stalks thinly sliced or diced
1 cup vegetable broth or 1 cup water and 1 tsp vegetable boullion
1 TBSP Earth Balance
1/2 to 1 cup of leftover bits of whatever you need to use up in the fridge like lentils, seitan, cauliflower other veggies
1 tsp salt if using salt free broth.
pepper to taste.


Melt Earth Balance in a pan, toss in onion and celery and saute til tender and turning translucent. Toss in the rest of the veggies and potatoes and cook until they begin to brown. Add broth and salt if using. Simmer until the mixture thickens and potatoes and carrots soften.

Place 1/4 of this mixture on each rectangle. I placed the mixture in the middle of the left side of the dough and then folded the right over the left and pinched it closed. Repeat with the other 3 pieces of dough and the filling. Lay the packets in the baking dish 9 x 13 works. Slit each 2 or 3 times on top of the packet. Bake at 425 for 23 minutes.