Fast Food

We all have busy lives. Sometimes you just need a quick meal. The one major downside to being vegan is the fact that fast food restaurants may have vegetarian options but definitely not good vegan ones.

Even the vegetarian options don't pass for some people. The main problem being they have to use the same area to cook the patties as regular meat. I'm not that uptight about things like that, but I know some people that are.

KFC has a veggie chicken patty but they cook it in the same vat as the chicken. Burger Kings patty is cooked on the same part of the broiler as the grilled chicken. A&W's veggie patty contains egg. McDonald's discontinued their patty (good riddance) and Wendy's hasn't even thrown an option into the mix.

Out of all the fast food restaurants here in Winnipeg I think Burger King has the best option by far.  At least they have tried to separate it somewhat: that part of the broiler obviously isn't used as often, so you can hope that all the chicken stuff is burnt off by the time your veggie is thrown on. But on the other hand, if it's busy you might even have your veggie falling into the same tray as the chicken. The worst part of it all is, a vegan isn't able to eat all the good parts of the burger, like the mayo and cheese!! And if you're lucky they'll give you a patty that's been sitting for an hour so it's like cardboard too. Yummy! So I say it's the best option, but I still prefer something home cooked.

So what do you eat when you're on the go? Fries, fries and more fries? Even fries are chancy. I found out that McDonald's fries in the states have "Natural beef flavour" added to the coating. WTF? WHY?

Well, what I try to do is eat out as little as possible. And when I do eat out, I usually just eat vegetarian to save myself from the hassle, the monotony and the headache.

Here are some of the quick meals that I’ve been having this week:

Egg sandwiches - Breakfast style

You'll need:

· Tofu - Silken

· English Muffins

· Veganaise (optional)

· Ketchup (optional - I don't, but lots do)

· Tofutti cheddar cheese slices

· Lettuce

· Tomato

· Cornstarch

· Salt and pepper

I buy this kinda tofu, it's the most "egg like" when cooked I find:

The tofu in the package is already cut into two blocks. Slice like so:

Pour a mound of cornstarch, and dredge your tofu pieces. Be gentle or they will fall apart.

Heat your oil in a pan on medium heat. Place your tofu pieces in the pan without touching.

 Cook till golden brown. That's what the cornstarch is for, and it also gives it this delicious crispy coating that isn't that far off from a fried egg. Tofu is bland so once cooked drain on some paper towel and salt and pepper both sides of the tofu.

Assemble however you like.

Red Peppers and such

Cut up and fry the red peppers on a low – medium heat till they are soft and have some colour. Add salt to the peppers once they are cooked.

Cut up veggies to go with it, and plate.  I was originally given a version of this to eat in Europe. The dish I was served had a fried/scrambled egg, sliced cucumber, tomatoes, the peppers, a piece of raw onion and some olives. They cooked the peppers in olive oil and then sopped up the flavourful oil with their bread.

I didn’t have any cucumbers on hand and I love avocado so I substituted.

BLT Sandwich

I was in Zellers the other day and found they have a decent vegetarian section. I was in the downtown one under The Bay. They had Yves Bacon which is an 'ok' bacon substitute. I try to stay away from the overly processed foods but I’ve been craving a BLT lately.  Very important tip* - Don’t overcook the bacon. I put in just enough oil to coat the frying pan then only heat the bacon. It will turn hard like plastic if overcooked.

Nothing too surprising: just Veganaise, Tofutti cheddar cheese slices, the bacon, lettuce and tomato.

QUICK AND EASY!!

Spicy Black Bean Soup

 I have a cold so I've been trying to get in as much soup as possible. I like it spicy to help get my nose running so I can clear it all out. I don't know if this helps, but I like it.

Last night I made Spicy Black Bean Soup, and as usual, I tweaked it a little, and it turned out great!

I got this recipe out of:

I love this cook book

 Spicy Black Bean Soup

1 tbsp. canola oil
1/2 c chopped spanish onion (Whatever that is. I used regular ol' yellow)
1 garlic clove, minced (I cheated and bought a jar of pre-minced garlic)
2 - 15oz cans of black beans drained and rinsed well
1 - 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes with juice
4 c veggie broth
1 Bay leaf
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. fresh lime juice (Hah, yeah right like I have fresh limes. I didn't even have my usual bottle of lime juice, I guess I had one too many Fog Horns. So I put in a couple squirts of lemon juice.)
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/3 c vegan sour cream
1 c fresh chopped cilantro (I didn't have, so I used 1 tbsp dried parsley and added with other spices)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and sauté onion and garlic until tender, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Stir in the beans, tomatoes, vegetable stock, bay leaf, cumin, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove soup from the heat. Discard the bay leaf. Stir in the lime juice and cayenne. Serve immediately garnished with sour cream and cilantro.

So I thought this sounded good but that it could be better. Along with the onions and garlic I also added in a chopped green pepper. I also 'messed up' the recipe again because of not reading it carefully and added in the cayenne with all the other spices, but it still turned out great. I think it helps the flavor build so I'll still do it like that again. After that was all cooked up it was just very chunky stuff with broth... so I puréed half the soup to give the broth some body.

The soup turned out even better than I expected. I'm not a huge soup fan so trust me, if I put it in this blog it is worth making. This was delicious. The sour cream added, made me think: Mexican Borscht. It was very easy to make, which is great when you're sick because you don't want to slave over a stove. And the spice was perfect. Loved it!

Moussaka and Avocado Fries

On the weekend I made Moussaka. It turned out really good but I did make some changes:

The recipe was from ethnicvegan.com:

Moussaka

Moussaka is a layered eggplant casserole that traditionally contains lamb or beef and a rich dairy-based sauce. Although Greece seems to be the birthplace of moussaka, many other regions of the world claim their own versions, including the Middle East, Ethiopia, and Eastern Europe. Our version uses broiled eggplant instead of fried and includes a creamy vegan sauce.

1 large eggplant (I used three chinese eggplants)
2 Tbs. olive oil plus additional for brushing eggplant
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 cup red wine
1 Tbs. tomato paste
1 15-oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 oz. vegan cream cheese (used Tofutti's Better Than Cream Cheese)1/2 cup soy milk (This is the only part of the dish that really needed tweaking. The sauce was way too runny and didn’t thicken up under the broiler. I would start with about three tablespoons of flour and 1 tbsp. marg. Make a roux with the milk then add the cream cheese.)

1. Oil an 8 x 8 baking pan; set aside. Heat the broiler. Trim both ends of the eggplant and cut 1/4" lengthwise slices (peeling the eggplant is optional, I didn’t.). Place slices on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Slide baking sheet under the broiler and bake until slices are nicely browned. Turn slices over, brush with olive oil, and brown the other sides. Remove from oven and set aside. (I cooked them under high and they browned really fast so I set the broiler to low and let them cook while I made the sauce. It turned out well)

2. While browning eggplant, heat 2 Tbs. olive oil in a large saucepan. Cook onion and garlic until onion is translucent. Add next 8 ingredients (red wine through black pepper); stir to combine. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes.

3. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine vegan cream cheese with soy milk. Stir occasionally until cream cheese is melted. (Strongly suggest using something to thicken the sauce. This is the imitation béchamel sauce.)

4. Place half the eggplant in the baking dish. Spoon half the tomato sauce over the slices. Repeat with remaining slices and sauce. Spoon the cream cheese sauce over the casserole. Place baking dish in oven under broiler until top is nicely browned. Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes. Serve with a green salad. (I didn’t really read the recipe to well. I ended up cutting the eggplant into round slices for browning. I also threw it into the sauce before putting it in the baking dish. Both ‘mistakes’ didn’t affect the dish. Tip: the ‘béchamel’ sauce will burn. Lower the rack so it’s not too close and don’t walk away. I had to keep popping bubbles that were getting to close to the element)

Variation: If you like to cook with meat substitutes, add a vegan beef or sausage to the tomato sauce mixture.   (I added in a whole brick of crumbled firm tofu. I would suggest just half a brick for next time.)

Also

A friend sent me a recipe today for Baked Avocado Fries. Haven’t tried them yet, but just bought another batch of avocados yesterday, but once they ripen… oh baby, I can’t wait.

Baked Avocado Fries

http://morethanmary.com/2011/01/heavenly-and-healthy-delicious-dish-baked-avocado-fries/

You’ll need:

• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 large eggs, beaten (vegan replacement is 2 tbsp. ground flax with 6 tbsp. water. Let sit half an hour)
• 1 1/4 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
• 2 firm-ripe medium avocados, pitted, peeled, and sliced into 1/2-in. wedges
• Grated parmesan for serving (optional) Mary Note: Not optional in my opinion.

Vegan parmesan is available at Superstore:

Simply:

Preheat oven to 450.

Coat avocado slices in the four, then egg, then panko. Spread on a cooling rack that has been sprayed with non-stick spray, then place on a cookie sheet.  Spray the top of the wedges with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, then bake for about 20 minutes at 450, or until they are golden brown (I turned my oven up to 500 for the last 5 minutes).

OMG
I want these so bad.

Vegan or Veganist

So this last month has been pretty hard. I've moved into my new house and now don't have access to a computer at home. I could try writing these up on my phone. That may be a bit challenging with pictures, but may be necessary.

So Vegan or Veganist?

It's been really hard to call myself a vegan lately. The veggie days have started to creep in more and more often, especially on the weekends. I have people asking why I don't just become straight vegetarian. And I almost feel guilty, but really I shouldn't. When my extended family makes their snide comments at family dinners or when I eat something before I even stop to consider whether or not it’s vegan, I should just say to myself, "I'm trying". I'm doing what I can, when I can, at the pace I feel comfortable with to keep this going.

The reason I started going vegan was because I read the book Veganist by Kathy Freston. It's about making changes at your own pace. Here is an excerpt off her website:

What’s a veganist?  Someone who moves toward eating a plant based diet so that they are as physically healthy as they can be, environmentally friendly, and a kind and thoughtful human being.  And it’s not about being pure or strict; it’s about being informed and having fun while living according to values like kindness and thoughtfulness.  Truly, I believe in progress, not perfection!

http://www.kathyfreston.com/kathy_freston_veganist.html

Not perfection. I will never be a perfect vegan, and accepting that will help at being a better vegan. It doesn't mean that I've failed or am failing. I've made a lot of changes and every little bit helps. I find myself saying "Well I've already eaten some dairy... might as well make a whole day of it" This is the next bad habit I am going to try to kick. No more vegetarian 'days', just vegetarian meals. I really have to focus on whether I can go without that non-vegan item, and make a decision before every single item that I'm about to eat. A huge part of it is just being too lazy. I am recommitting myself. I can be better. I will be better. 

Crap... just realized Christmas is around the corner. No cookies. No milk chocolate. No vinatarta. Damn. This will definitely be a challenging few months.

I just called my mom to double check if her vinatarta was vegan. And it isn’t. So that really is sad, but she said that she’s changing all her tarts to vegan. So at least that’s something!

On to food!  My favorite part.

Though I was feeling dejected yesterday and the craving for a cheesy pizza was definitely floating around my head... I fought the urge! And made Spicy Peanut Noodle soup instead. Delicious! (It is actually my attempt to replicate the soup I had at Delicious Vegetarian - Great restaurant!!)

I didn't take pictures cause I was rushing to clean while cooking, before heading out to a friends, but if you want to try it, here is the 'somewhat of a' recipe.  (Sorry I cook by sight and taste, a lot)

I added 4 cups of broth. One can of coconut milk. About a cup of peanut butter. A single serving package of udon noodles, and cayenne pepper to taste (About four dashes with the shaker). And I cooked that for about 20 minutes. Adding in about 1 tbsp of chopped peanuts in the last five minutes. The soup shouldn't be too thick. If it is, just add more broth. If you have some green onions or chives you can throw some in, it looks great.

Here's a pic just in case you don't know what udon noodles look like:

They are like 50 cents to a buck depending on where you buy them. So it’s overall a really cheap and super easy dish.