Mock Chicken Salad

So I’ve been a huge fan of Whole Foods’ mock chicken salad for a couple of years now. I’ve long wanted to figure out how to make it, but the texture of the faux chicken they use is, IMHO, what makes it so damn good. Well, I finally figured out what product they’re using… Delight Soy Nuggets. I found them recently in the frozen foods section at the local Whole Foods, and they looked just like the soy nuggets I’ve seen in the prepared foods section at The Mothership. Long story short… they are the very same nuggets my beloved mock chicken salad is made of.

I decided to try my hand at making my own, if only because the Whole Foods stuff is just so damn pricey. Now I just needed a good chicken salad recipe. For that I turned to the Shannons, and their Betty Crocker Project. I used their chicken salad recipe, and it came out fantastic! I failed to take any pictures, but it looked just like the Whole Foods mock chicken salad, and by all reports tasted even better. I ended up replacing the red onion called for in the recipe with yellow, because that’s what I had on hand. And rather than frying the nuggets, I prepared them as directed on the package - baking them for 10 minutes at 350, then letting them cool before chopping them up for the salad.

My estimate is that I made about twice as much as normally comes in the large to go container at Whole Foods (at an average price of $10 per container), at a total cost of around $7. My only regret is not putting some back for me to have today, since my guests devoured the entire batch last night. Next time, double batch!

Kale Soup!

Kale Soup

 

6 small new potatoes, diced

Water for boiling potatoes.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, sliced or diced

4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1-2 fresh jalapeno or serano, seeded and diced

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/8-1/4 teaspoon chilli powder or cayenne

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

(optional) generous pinch saffron, lightly crushed

3 bay leaves

1 3-inch cinnamon stick

salt to taste

3 cups or 2 cans, drained and rinsed, of cooked chickpeas or red beans (I do a can of each, myself)

8 cups vegetable broth (or water plus bouillon)

1 large tomato, diced

1 large bunch kale, thick center ribs removed and chopped or torn

 

Cook potatoes until just done, then drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in bottom of soup pan. 

Add onion, carrots, garlic, and chiles.  Saute over medium-high heat until onion is transparent.

Add spices and stir.

Add chickpeas and/or beans and stir to coat with spices.

Add vegetable broth and diced tomato.  Continue to cook and stir over medium-high heat until it begins to boil.

Add kale, stir into soup, then turn down heat to low or medium-low to simmer. 

Simmer 10-20 minutes, depending on how done you like the kale.

Stir in cooked potatoes and then serve.

I’ve also made a larger batch by using two bunches of kale, medium to large new potatoes, and three quarts vegetable broth. Everything else just increase by approximately half again… or not. Everyone seems to enjoy it immensely with just adding the extra broth, potato and kale.

Peanut Butter Melties

This is a recipe I adapted from one I got a couple of decades ago in one of those recipe card subscription trial packs... You know the ones I'm talking about (unless you grew up with the interwebs, and then you probably don't). These cookies are almost like short bread in consistency, and they are by far my favorite peanut butter cookies evah.

PEANUT BUTTER MELTIES

3/4 c. earth balance (or other vegan margarine)
3/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg replacer (I use Ener-G for this recipe)
2 c. all purpose flour

Cream earth balance, peanut butter, and sugar together until smooth. Beat in the egg replacer. Stir in flour to make a stiff dough. Shape dough into balls about ping-pong ball size. Place on cookie sheets.

Press with cookie stamp or pointed side of meatless mallet or any other object that will transfer a design onto each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees for 8- 10 minutes or until just lightly browned and set. They will be very soft until cooled. Once the cookies firm up, they should slide easily off of the sheets.

Enjoy!

How vegan are you?

I had someone I’ve been corresponding with through email ask me this question recently, and the emphasis of the discussion was on a person raising or hunting, and killing and butchering their own animals for meat. Trying to explain something to someone in writing has always had the side effect of helping to solidify my understanding of, or views on the subject, and after writing what turned into a short essay on the subject, I thought I would post a slightly revised version of it here.

So, how vegan?  In my mind, you're either vegan, or you're not.  Either you believe it's okay to exploit animals, or you don't.  The term “Vegan” is specifically designating a person who, for ethical reasons, abstains as much as is reasonably possible from exploiting animals for any purpose.  If someone is just avoiding eating animal products for health reasons, etc...  then they're a strict vegetarian, but not a vegan.  Some will make that distinction by calling someone either a dietary, or an ethical vegan.  I am definitely an ethical vegan.  

I'm not a rabid vegan by any means, and I come a background of ranchers, farmers, and hunters. While I don't necessarily want to hear about or participate in these things, I am pragmatic enough to see that the hunted animals lived natural lives until the moment they were killed, and those raised for personal consumption are usually well cared for.  I'm at odds with many vegans on this subject, because I recognize that there will always be people who want to eat meat, and people doing so in a responsible way is better than factory farming. Commercial livestock operations treat animals as product, and are never okay in my mind, no matter how “humane” they claim to be, and trophy hunters deserve a special level of hell reserved just for them. But the person (who we will assume is never going to stop eating meat) who chooses to take direct responsibility for how the animals they eat live and die, definitely gets more respect from me than the average asshole spouting about climbing to the top of the food chain as they eat the steak someone else raised, killed, and dismembered for them, without a care for how much suffering occurred so they could have a ribeye at the Outback.

Vegan in Fredericksburg

Wow...  It's been over a year since I posted here.  I've been trying to eat healthier these days - and not always succeeding.  But I take it once food choice at a time, and try to make more good choices than bad.

Since my birthday fell on fourth of July weekend, we put off going out of town until this last weekend. Saturday we headed to Fredericksburg, a place not well known for it's healthy vegan options. However, for the most part, I managed to eat surprisingly well. We ended up snacking quite a bit, but I brought dried fruit and nuts with us to try to stay away from bad snacks.

For dinner Saturday night, we had salad, veggie sushi, and a giant (and way overpriced) stir-fry with a miso sauce that was light on oil. Sunday we grabbed lunch at Subway on our way to Enchanted Rock. I skipped the vinegar and oil I normally would have gotten, and had mustard instead - and of course, no chips or soda. I hiked all the way to the top of the rock - which might not seem like a long hike at only .6 miles to the summit, but it's also a 425 ft increase in altitude over that .6 miles. I'm not sure what the flat surface equivalent might be, but it's definitely got to multiply the effective distance hiked by some factor. The SO had a shoe blowout a little over halfway up, so he camped in a shady spot while I went on to the top.

After cleaning up, we went to dinner at Navajo Grill, and had one of the most wonderful meals I've had in a while (short of Wink, of course). The appetizer was a plate of beautiful local tomatoes with olives, basil, cucumber, and balsamic vinegar (no oil). I was in heaven! For our main course, the chef made us a plate that included a lovely pasta dish with fresh local vegetables in a light tomato sauce, spaghetti squash with sun dried tomatoes, and kale sauteed with white wine, lemon, and roasted garlic. It was light, healthy, and delicious. After dinner we went to see the bat emergence at the Old Tunnel, an abandoned railroad tunnel. If you've never seen a bat emergence, they are impressive. This tunnel is home to anywhere from one to three million bats during the summer months - and they all come out of the tunnel at dusk in search of food.

I wasn't perfect, and yes, I ate a few things that aren't on the acceptable list - but I did make more good choices than bad, and I worked exercise into the weekend. A vast improvement over times past, when I would have used being on a getaway trip as an excuse to eat horribly and be a slug.

My first post as the Austin Vegan Examiner

It was a bit rushed and not my best work, but I'll get better. I'll be covering various vegan topics, and plan to post several times a week.

http://ping.fm/5eNPF

Survival Tips for New Vegans | The Vital Voice

Nice article with some simple tips for anyone thinking about going vegan.

From: http://ping.fm/KNXEw

The Low Carbon Diet

http://ping.fm/a59vM

Scientific American article on how meat contributes to global climate changes

http://ping.fm/PKzBZ

Meat: the slavery of our time

http://ping.fm/iqQl8

"So how will we become a vegetarian planet? The numbers suggest that we won't stop eating meat simply because it's "the right thing to do." People love it too much. Instead, we'll be forced to stop. By 2025, we simply won't have the resources to keep up the habit."

Faux butterfinger soft serve sundae at Toy Joy. ZOMG good!!

Now for the details: 

Start with a large helping of Toy Joy's own vanilla soft serve, which uses a combination of soy and coconut milks.  Drizzle with hot fudge sauce, and coat with crushed Chick-O-Stick candy.  Add two pieces of Chick-O-Stick and a cherry, and you're about as close to a Butterfinger sundae as you're going to get in vegan form.

Animals know right from wrong

It's unfortunate that animals had to be subjected to captivity and testing for scientists to finally come to the same conclusion that anyone with companion animals has known all along. Thanks to Todd for the link.

http://ping.fm/1JI4o

Holy Sugar Coma Batman!

Someday I will make this. And it will be awesome.

http://ping.fm/zdVCO

Vegan brownie sunday FTW!

Had this wonderful brownie sunday with chocolate mint ice "cream" and hot fudge sauce at Lula's Sweet Apothecary in New York City last weekend. It was incredible, and a real joy to go to an all vegan ice cream shop.

Uploaded by www.cellspin.net

Q & A

1. Favorite non-dairy milk?

Original Almond Breeze

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?

Miso soup
Mac 'n Crack
Tofu Scramble and chipotle “sausage”

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?

Earth Balance, popcorn salt & nutritional yeast

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?

Gluten-free brownies from a mix . Not pretty - or edible.

5. Favorite pickled item?

Sweet relish

6. How do you organize your recipes?

Uhm...

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?

Compost everything possible, use disposal on rinsed bits that clog the drain, trash for the rest.

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods...what would they be (don't worry about how you'll cook them)?

Avocado, brownies, edamame

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?

Mom making me lasagna for my birthday.

10. Favorite vegan ice cream?

Soy Dream Butter Pecan.

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?

Toaster oven.

12. Spice/herb you would die without?

Garlic

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?

A cookbook put out by my grandfather's church. Decidedly not vegan.

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?

Red plum

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?

Mac 'n Crack

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?

Tofu, definitely tofu.

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?

Afternoon

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?

Cookbooks, a pitcher, some stouts & I'm not sure what else... it's a jungle up there

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.

Whole strawberries, vegan wontons, edamame

20. What's on your grocery list?

Vegetable stock, sweet relish, vegenaise, carrots

21. Favorite grocery store?

HEB, because it's close - but Whole Foods for vegan specialty items.

22. Name a recipe you'd love to veganize, but haven't yet.

Banana pudding

23. Food blog you read the most. Or maybe the top 3?

Lonestar Plate - The Vegan Blog of Texas

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?

Dark chocolate with mint, or with almonds and cranberries

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?

Chocolate - always with the chocolate

26. What foods are you embarrassed about liking?

I dunno... Sour Patch Kids?


Your Turn!

Animals just wanna have fun

"From tickling to playing catch, animals engage in certain behaviors just for fun..."

This article makes the point (in a round-about way) that animal activists should focus as much on the fact that animals feel and pursue pleasure, as that they experience fear and pain.  I was pleasantly surprised to see the fundamental argument for animal abolition and veganism being presented in a mainstream article - simply that "an animal's life has intrinsic value, that is, value to the individual independent of his or her value to anyone else, including humans..."  I am somewhat disappointed that they didn't mention veganism at all, but on the other hand, it's possible the article will plant some ideas in the minds of people who would otherwise dismiss any article with the words "vegan" or "animal abolition" as propoganda.  

Shoreline Grill

I had recently been bemoaning the lack of vegan-friendly upscale restaurants.  While looking for a place to take my grandmother for Mother's Day, my wonderful mother found the Shoreline Grill - a very nice restaurant with a vegetarian menu, that actually includes several options marked as vegan.

I started with a local microgreens salad with dried tart cherries, toasted hazelnuts, and a roasted poblano vinaigrette.  The flavors worked very well together, and I'd definitely order it again.  We decided to try both of the vegan small plates.  The first was a tofu tartare, with a "creamy" wasabi sauce, avocado, and house made taro chips.  The tofu was lightly marinated with just enough sesame oil to give it a hint of smokiness, without overpowering the other flavors.  The other small plate was a "vegetable twister" - basically a sushi roll with avocado, cucumber, asparagus, and sweet soy sauce - all wrapped in potato strings and then deep fried until the potato is browned and crispy.  The penne pasta entree was lovely, with a very light sauce enhancing the flavors of the vegetables, rather than it being the primary flavor.  For dessert the kitchen put together a dish for us that included a strawberry sorbet surrounded by a flash-frozen berry mix. 

Overall, the experience was quite good, and we had a lovely evening.  However, as I began writing this post, I realized that instead of the vegan pan roasted tofu that we thought we had ordered for our second entree, we were served the dish directly below it on the menu which included a ginger cream sauce.  I'm pretty upset about it, but I can't remember if I specifically said vegan when ordering the tofu.  It's such a habit for me that I think I did, but I'm not entirely sure.  Where the creamy sauce would normally have been a clue for me, the sauce with the tofu tartare was also quite creamy, and was vegan, so I didn't suspect.  I saw a tofu dish marked vegan and ordered it, without really looking closely at the rest of the description.  I didn't even look at any of the menu items not marked vegan, or I probably would have realized they'd served us something else entirely.  I'm pretty much kicking myself, and feeling a bit ill now at the thought of eating cow excretions.  Now I'm just hoping that the dairy doesn't trigger a migraine for me. 

Tofu Scramble - Why does everyone alway put turmeric in it?

I love tofu scramble, but if you look at a dozen recipes for it, ten of them will probably use turmeric. As far as I can tell, the turmeric is just to add a yellow color in order to make the tofu look more like scrambled eggs - it certainly doesn’t add anything to the flavor, and actually detracts from an otherwise yummy dish in my opinion. To be honest, the sight (much less smell) of scrambled eggs makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little, so I can’t understand why anyone would want to make yummy tofu look like something so disgusting. I’ve tried several of the better known recipes out there, but I find I do my best cooking on the fly (except for baking - I always stick fairly close to the base recipe when baking). So here’s my favorite way to make tofu scramble, with a decidedly tex-mex flavor:

- Saute onion, fresh garlic and diced new potatoes in olive oil (or vegetable stock, if trying to reduce fat) until the potatoes are about half done.
        
- Add sliced mushroom - I prefer baby portobellos - and saute until the mushrooms are almost done.

- Add two Field Roast Chipotle links (or a milder sausage if you’re not into the spice), sliced into small bite-size pieces, and saute until the sausage is warm through.

- Crumble one package of drained extra-firm tofu into the skillet.

- Add your favorite salsa, starting with about one third cup, and adding more if you like. At this point the mix will be fairly wet, but it will cook down fairly quickly.

- Next add your spices (see below) and about a half a cup of nutritional yeast.

- For spices, I like to add black pepper, garlic salt, cumin, and smoked paprika. I couldn’t tell you the exact amounts if I tried, but if you absolutely need quantities, try starting with 1/2 tsp of black pepper, 1 tsp garlic salt, and 2 tsps each cumin and smoked paprika. I think those are probably a little less than I actually use, but it’s always easier to add spice than to remove it.

Simmer over the same heat level used to saute until enough liquid has evaporated to suit your preference. I like mine fairly moist - but that could be just because I’m ready to chow down already!

To complete the tex-mex flavor, serve with sliced avocado and corn tortillas. For another variation, try adding corn and black beans in the first couple of steps, and top with fried corn tortilla strips (the small bits at the bottom of the tortilla chip bag work pretty well too).

Buca di Beppo

We went to Buca di Beppo tonight for Jess's birthday dinner, and sat at the kitchen table - quite an experience.  It was interesting to be right in the heart of the kitchen, but noisy.

While the vegan options are limited, the items that were available were all pretty decent.  We started with the bruschetta, which was piled high with a nicely seasoned tomato blend, and quite tasty.  The waitress gained points by realizing and pointing out that the "vinaigrette" that normally comes with the salad would not be vegan since it has egg in it (okay, really? egg?  in a vinaigrette?  WTF?).  She brought out olive oil and balsamic vinegar for the salad, which while simple, did have sweet peppers, and kalamata and green olives. 

For entrees, we had gnocchi with a garlicky tomato basil sauce*, and spaghetti marinara.  Our waitress racked up some more points by offering to check the ingredients list of the gnocchi, but I have to say it was my least favorite of the dishes we had.  The sauce was good, but the gnocchi was bland and smooshy.  The spaghetti marinara was quite yummy though, and the spaghetti was perfectly cooked.  

The highlight of the evening for me though, was the Ultimate Raspberry Lemon Drop.  Bacardi Razz and Limon, sweet and sour, and a couple of frozen raspberries served in a martini glass dipped in sugar with lemon zest.  Yum!  

*Note:  My good friend Sarah of The Southern Fried Vegan pointed out that the gnocchi is normally served with a roasted garlic marinara sauce with "a touch of cream".  The server checked the ingredients list for us, and the gnocchi itself is vegan, so we had them sub a vegan sauce.  

Vegan Friendly Fine Dining in Austin?

I love Austin.  There are so many vegan-friendly restaurants here, and most are serving great food, but so far they're all very casual.  My mother (who is awesome) went to some trouble to find a really nice place called Shoreline Grill to go to for Mother's Day, that not only has a vegetarian menu, but half of the items on it are marked vegan.  To top it off...  they look delicious!

I'll be posting a review of the meal after Mother's Day, but I'd love to hear if anyone has any other vegan fine dining suggestions, or would like to share their experiences with Shoreline Grill.