The Very Very Bad in Vege Burgers

After having been pleasantly surprised at various vege burgers I had in the last few months (the one I had at Blog Paws included), I was looking forward to taking out my George Foreman grill and making myself a proper “home made” dinner (well more home made than ordering in or going out to eat).

I invited mys sis (also a vege) over and ran out to my local grocery store (D’Agostino) to get everything I needed. Now my sister lives in the East Village and though she purchases her vege burgers at her local bodega (deli), it turns out she has a much wider variety than I do at my proper grocery store. I guess they really know their audience downtown! I thought at least they would have Boca Burgers or Garden Burgers but nope. Only one brand in the refrigerated section (up with the produce randomly).

So I purchased the Franklin VeggiBurgers along with a ripe avocado, some yummy fresh buns etc and went home to fire up the “grill.”  Perhaps it was because it was Gluten Free? But while the end result looked nice, it tasted…I’m not gonna lie…like cardboard with condiments.

Do NOT waste your money, or your calories on this brand!  Let’s just say that thankfully (once again) wine saved the day. Or night as it were!

 

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Vegan Cheese

Cheese is absolutely the hardest thing for me to consider giving up. Ironically, it’s the way that milking cows are treated that bothers me almost more than anything else.  While I haven’t been buying cheeses, I still eat it when I go out. Baby steps.

I started experimenting with various cheese “alternatives” and as with Almond Milk, all cheese alternatives are not equal.  Here are a few I really like.

WORD OF CAUTION: Many soy cheeses include milk products so you have to read the label carefully!

Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese – Herbs and Chives

Follow Your Heart –   Mozzarella (I highly recommend you stay away from the “Cheddar Cheese”)

Dr Cow Nut Cheeses

So delish but not cheap!  If you check out their website they list where their products are sold (online and in stores).

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Healthy Vegan Dinner in 10 Minutes (or Less!)

A super easy way to make a protein-filled pasta dinner in a pinch.

All you need is a can of lentil beans (I like French Lentils),  Marinara Sauce (any pasta sauce in a jar you like) and pasta!  If you want to get REALLY fancy you can saute garlic with basil in a pot and then add lentils and sauce.  Viola! Enjoy!

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Sharon’s Brussel Sprout Recipe

When I make brussel sprouts I usually chop ’em up, coat them in olive oil, and either soy sauce or balsamic vinegar, salt and cook on a coookie sheet until crispy.

Sharon, an I HAVE CAT reader who was never a big brusseel fan shares another easy and intersting way to cook these veges.  Give it a try – you too might become a convert too!

 

• Sautee chopped red onions in a pan over a medium flame (with olive oil- or organic/vegan alternative)
• When onion is transparent, add chopped brussel sprouts (cut in halves or however you like)
• Add cinnamon over veggies and cook until veggies are cooked to your satisfaction
• Toss with cran raisins and nuts (pinoli nuts or almonds work well)
• Option: Add chopped apples as well

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Jen’s Vegan Feast!

My friend Jen has jumped into a cruely-free diet with both feet. Recently she whipped up this yummy, colorful totally vegan dinner.

Butternut Squash Recipe:
Cut squash down the middle, scoop out the strings and seeds. Turn both pieces face down on a foil covered baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. When the squash is soft inside, remove from the oven, add Earth Balance butter substitute.  Stuff with mix of quinoa, raisins, a little brown rice syrup and a dash or two of cinnamon.

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My Ex’s Crispy Tofu with Black Bean Sauce

This one is one of my standbys. I owe this recipe to the guy I dated who lived in Brooklyn and had 9 bikes residing in his master bedroom (you can read more about him in “The 2nd of 9 Lives”). I am not an optimist but I believe we learn something from everyone we date.

It’s not a complicated recipe but it does require a lot of chopping and you do need to find fermented/dried black beans and have dry sherry and canned broth on-hand. Once you have that, you should be all good once you pick-up some tofu and fresh scallions!

For the Sauce:

• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tsp. Chinese Shao Hsing wine or dry sherry
• 1 tsp. Sesame Oil (very important)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

You also need:

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil for frying
• 1 pound firm tofu cut into 3/4″ to 1″ cubes
• 1 or 2 fresh hot green chiles, cut crosswise at a slight angle into 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick slices
• 4 scallions, cut crosswise at a slight angle.  Cut the white, firm parts into 1/4″ thick slices, cut the greener portion into 1/2″-3/4″ slices
• 2 tablespoons salted black beans, rinsed thoroughly and finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely chopped (I sometimes use much more, maybe 4 tablespoons)

Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl, mix well and set aside

Fry the tofu in the vegetable oil over high heat until it is lightly browned on all sides.  When brown, remove to a plate with a slotted spoon.  Put the chiles and scallions into the remaining oil and stir fry for 30 seconds, scrape up any bean curd that is stuck to the pan as you do this.  Quickly add the black beans, garlic and ginger and stir fry for 10 or 15 seconds.  Return the bean curd to the pan and toss for 10-15 seconds.  Stir the sauce again and pour it over the bean curd, reduce heat to low and stir gently until the sauce is thick.

Serve immediately.  I usually serve it over rice.

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Mom’s Lentil Soup (it’s vegan!)

My mom is one of those cooks who can make an amazing gourmet meal with whatever happens to be in her fridge. I need a recipe. So when I was home for the holidays I had her teach me how to make one of my favorite soups.

It’s super healthy and vegan to boot. You can whip up a big pot and freeze some for later!

 

My friend Jen joined me for dinner bringing yummy sourdough bread from Whole Foods along with a delish Kale side dish (recipe to come but if you like Kale scroll down!). Viola –  the perfect winter meal!  Best of all, it tasted just like mom’s (not always the case when I try to replicate one of her meals!).

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 lb regular dried lentils (usually half of the small package)
• 6 cups of water or vegetable broth (or a mix of both)
• About 1/2 package of frozen spinach (if you prefer swiss chard you can use that instead)
• 1 carrot (finely chopped)
• 1 small potato (finely chopped)
• 1 stalk celery (finely chopped)
• 2-3 garlic cloves (crushed or finely chopped)
• 1/2 – 2/4 c fresh chopped cilantro/coriander depending on how much you like it – i love it! (use dry if you don’t have fresh)
• 1/2 lemon
• 2-3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
• Can add hot sauce at the end if you like a little more “kick”
• Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place lentils and water/broth into a large pot, bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Drop in finely chopped carrot. celery and potato.
2. While broth is simmering and veges cooking, in a separate small pan heat olive oil and add garlic and cilantro/coriander to release flavors for a few minutes.
3. Add contents of sauce pan into the simmering soup and squeeze in the 1/2 lemon. At this point you can determine how long you need to continue cooking the soup by checking the texture of the lentils and veges (don’t want it to be to mushy, don’t forget it will cook a bit once you turn off heat).

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All Hail Kale!

After my Brooklyn-living-bike-obsessed boyfriend and I broke up last fall (You can read more about him in “The 2nd of 9 Lives“) he began updating Facebook with status messages the likes of “Making Kale soup!”, “Eating Kale again tonight!”

My first reaction was thinking his life without me must be pretty boring – I mean really, Kale updates? But then I started worrying…was he somehow saying that Kale was more exciting and fulfilling than being with me?  I had to see for myself.

A few weeks ago I had friends over and I decided to whip-up some Kale Chips. Within the hour the batch was gone and everyone from the vegan to the meat eater in the group had fallen in love. This didn’t help me in terms of feeling any better about my ex’s FB updates but at least he’d turned me on to Kale.

Give this super simple recipe a try and if you discover you like Kale check out 365 Days of Kale, a blog written by a dietician and cancer survivor who has quite the love affair with this particular vege. She has all sorts of ways to incorporate Kale into your diet from soups to pizza toppings.

KALE CHIPS

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon apple cider or red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoons salt (you can always add more after they are baked)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 bunches kale rinsed with stems removed

Directions

• Cut kale into 2 to 3 inch pieces.
• Mix vinegar, oil, and salt in a large bowl then add kale and mix by hand. Try to get all the leaves covered.
• Place on cookie sheets and bake at 350 F until they are crispy. Helps to flip them over and move them around with tongs about 10-15 minutes in to make sure they bake evenly.
• After about 20 minutes, if it looks like they are not sizzling a bit or getting a little crispy, turn up the heat to 400°F. Time for baking varies depending on the size of your chips and desired crispness.

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Not All Almond Milk Is Created Equal

At first blush almond milk screams “high calorie” but surprisingly that’s not the case and it’s a nice alternative for soy milk if you want to mix it up a bit. The vanilla flavor is great for making Chai but usually I get the unsweetened regular flavor for use in cereal.

But  be forewarned, not all Almond Milk is created equal as I found out the hard way!  I bought some at my local grocery store the other day and it could only be described as tasting like poison. I checked the ingredients and found they had put almond flavoring in it – ick! It tasted like chemicals!

I can personally vouch for ALMOND BREEZE, the same folks that bring you Blue Diamond Almonds. So pick up a box (some stores also have it in the refrigerated section with the regular milk) and let us know what you think!