2011 has arrived

It's a new year and there are so many vegan recipes to try. This week, I'm starting with some olive lentil burgers, key lime pie and spaghetti with slow-roasted tomatoes and soy ground "meat".

While I have completely avoided all meat and continue to do so into the new year, I haven't exactly gone vegan. Not yet. I am guilty of indulging in small samples of old cheddar and still put the cream in the coffee. Vegetarian, but not quite vegan - I will get there some day though.

Not all substitutes for dairy and meat are created equally, and it will take some time to discover where to find the best products. Also, I'm finding that it may be best to forgo a lot of these substitutes for something more home made - for example, skipping the tofu-bought burger so a home cooked lentil or black bean patty. It's an approach I'm going to try.

GMO foods. Soy is another issue here. Too many tofu and soy products are genetically modified, and I find that I'm getting pickier with where I buy these. Organic is great, and local even better:

www.yingyingsoyfood.com

I'm going to try marinating tofu in a sweet and sour sauce, baking it and then adding it to a stir fry. It's going to be an experimental recipe - let's hope it works. If it does, I will post it on here.

Vegan Moussaka

Today I found the perfect vegan moussaka recipe, on a wine website:

www.avalonwine.com/recipe-Vegan-moussaka.php

I attempted this recipe tonight with fantastic results. We all having seconds! Bonus: there are wine recommendations on this site to go with the recipe - I'll have to try this next time.

Beetroot Hummus

In a medium-sized pan, boil/cook the following:

1 can of chick peas (drained and rinsed)
1 chopped onion
1 large/medium or 2 small beets chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic (crushed)
Salt and pepper
Water - enough to submerge all the ingredients

Cook until tender - I usually bring this to a boil on medium heat, reduce and cook for about an hour on medium-low.

Once cooked, remove from stove and let it cool down.

After it's cooled, drain the liquid and retain about a 1/4 cup, then dump it in a blender or food processor. Add the following:

Squeezed lemon juice (1-2 lemons)
1/4 tahini (or between 1/4 and 1/2 cups if you like creamy hummus)
Chili pepper powder (1 tbsp) - only include if you like it spicy
Cumin (1 tbsp)
2-3 raw crushed garlic cloves (the more the better)
Dried or finely chopped fresh parsley (1 or 2 tbsps)

Blend everything together and enjoy with pita, veggies or tortillas. The beets are a great addition because they are full of iron and fibre.

:)

Avocado chocolate pudding

It sounds weird, but it's actually quite good. This treat consists of only three ingredients:

One avocado (very ripe works best)
1 tablespoon dark chocolate/cocoa powder (Dutch chocolate is awesome)
Agave or maple syrup - about 1/4 cup (haven't tried honey, but it might work - agave is really good and is available in almost any health food store - I've also seen it at some regular grocery stores too)

Mash everything together in a bowl with a fork until no green is showing - it will look like icing or mousse and tastes yummy!

Pancake recipe

This is easy and better than the pre-mixed packaged stuff:

1 1/2 cups of flour (spelt flour is good if there is a wheat or gluten allergy)
1/2 cup raw sugar or other sweetener (agave syrop, maple syrop or honey)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 cups milk (soy, almond, rice, hemp or your regular dairy milk - if you're not avoiding dairy)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla flavouring

Mix together the following ingredients:
flour, sugar (or sweetener), baking powder and spices - i.e. add cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. (also good to add: flax seeds, hemp seeds, nuts or chocolate chips)

Mix in a food processor or blender:
milk, olive oil, vanilla (add pumpkin pureed if making pumpkin pie pancakes, and add cinnamon and all spice to the first bowl too)

Combine both groups of ingredients and heat up the frying pan with some oil to cook the batter. Heat the oven to 200 degrees to keep the pancakes warm

Also good to add:
Raspberries, blueberries, apple pieces (good with cinnamon), strawberries

Week two on the vegan journey

Things are going quite well so far. Week two is done and there has been no meat consumption except when I asked for a veggie hotdog and the vendor gave me a beef one. I would've tried returning it if we weren't busy hunting for a taxi to get home from a party. One minor oops - but I am right back on track again.

Eggs. I love them, and I can't deny it! I eat them at least three times a week. They are really good with toast, with spinach or in an omellette. This will be a hard one to give up, so I'm not going to just yet. Egg replacements in recipes for desserts are no problem - as the taste of egg is not really an issue here. Tofu scramble recipe - now there's something I would like to try soon and will post the outcome on here when I do.

Cream in the coffee. The soy milk coffee "cream" just doesn't cut it - not that I don't dislike soy or soy milk - it just doesn't work as a creamer. Try a mocha latte or chai drink with soy milk - it is actually quite good, but not as a cream replacement in a regular cup of java. Those coffee whiteners are not an option either, because they are full of chemicals and I think that stuff is actually flammable (scary thought, if that's accurate..)

Those two items are going to be the biggest hurdles. Dining out, while this is done on a strict budget and not done as often, is going to be interesting for finding vegan items. There are some amazing vegetarian eateries around the city. Chinatown has great choices - from black bean and chili braised eggplant to curried tofu. Miso soup and california rolls. Pizza and pasta - with or without cheese? The vegan version of pizza is good, depending on the toppings. I will be experimenting with pasta at some point and see where that goes...

Stay tuned for recipes :)

Recipe sites I found

Here's some great websites I have come across in trying new recipes:

Post Punk Kitchen: http://theppk.com

http://vegweb.com

http://busy-vegan.com

I'm working on some ideas of my own and will post these soon...