The Vegetarian & Vegan Thread

[marcy248]

Ladies, yesterday I cooked up a batch of seitan from the Vegan with a Vengance cookbook. It came out so great and so delicious. I highly recommend it!

 

[misssakura]

Do you eat dairy?

My only weakness is cheese and I hardly eat it. I don't eat eggs, don't drink milk etc. But we do buy some cheese from a small farm up north sometimes..I suck.

I'm just such a fussy eater..and I like food. And quite a lot of the time I hate cooking in our small dingy kitchen so I rush the food and the vegetables taste like feet. But adding cheese makes everything taste nice..

I'm a bad bad person

And a bad bad cook

 

[nicky25]

I am a vegan, and I had found it really hard to give up cheese at first too. But it gets easier, you really it's not something that you 'need' as you think you so, but something that becomes a 'want'. you cab buy great vegan cheeses, in the US more so than in AUstralia, and to be honest they taste pretty much like normal cheese. you still can get the melty texture with the salty cheesy taste.
there's a really great cookbook called 'the uncheese cookbook' that i recommend to anyone going vegan or vegetarian.

 

[MelissaElliott]

I am a vegan, and I had found it really hard to give up cheese at first too. But it gets easier, you really it's not something that you 'need' as you think you so, but something that becomes a 'want'. you cab buy great vegan cheeses, in the US more so than in AUstralia, and to be honest they taste pretty much like normal cheese. you still can get the melty texture with the salty cheesy taste.
there's a really great cookbook called 'the uncheese cookbook' that i recommend to anyone going vegan or vegetarian.

Cashew Cheese is AMAZING & melts well. Ann Gentry of Real Food Daily (amazing vegan restaurant in LA) has a cookbook with great recipes for it & other amazing dishes.

Here's her cashew cheese recipe:
Raw Cashew-Cheese
Soaking nuts not only makes them softer and easier to blend, it also makes them easier to digest, especially when they remain uncooked. It is very important to take the time to allow the raw cashew-cheese to set up for at least a day.

1 1/2 cups raw cashews
Cold water sufficient to cover the cashews by 2 inches
1/3 cup water
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp. sea salt

• Place the cashews in a medium bowl. Add the cold water and let soak for 2 hours. Drain.
• Combine the cashews, 1/3 cup of water, lemon juice, garlic, and salt in a food processor and blend, scraping down the sides occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until very smooth.
• Transfer to a small bowl. Cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 1 day and up to 2 days. Refrigerate until ready to use or for up to 5 days. Makes 1 1/4 cups

Also, Vegan Lunchbox has a fun blog with food ideas: http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/

 

[nicky25]

Thank you! what a fabulous recipe!
does anyone have a good Seitan recipe?

 

[misssakura]

I wish new zealand had more vegan products. I bought sundried tomato pesto and was gutted to find out it had parmesan in it. Why? I just want sundried pesto! At the same time, I'm really not a huge fan of genetically engineered products..so even if I had the choice the US does I would probably stay away from most of them. I've only seen one or two products that use organic soy.

 

[nicky25]

You cam make your own cheeses if you follow recipes from the 'uncheese cookbook'
there aren't many vegan products in australia either, it's pretty crap actually.

 

[lostinemotion]

not everything vegetarian in the us is genetically modified.
in fact everything at whole foods has to be certified organic and they have a big selection.
does anyone have any vegetarian recipe cook books, that aren't all salads or all fatty and carby?

 

[nicky25]

I have heaps!!!! there's one called the "Vegetarian low carb diet' that has great recipes, and a ton of vegan books. there's a vegan book called 'easy vegan cooking' which is amazing, easy and low fat recipes..there's the "Tofu 123" book which has everything with Tofu in it.
Try VegWeb for some great recipes.
what are you looking for in particular?

 

[misssakura]

I looked at importing the uncheese cookbook but it just cost way too much. Like when nava had her sale, the postage cost triple what the books did...siiggggh...

Nz has a weird tax on books so books are REALLY expensive..dunno why.

 

[starfish]

does anyone know of any vegan resturants (or places that serves vegan food) in london?

 

[marcy248]

Thank you! what a fabulous recipe!
does anyone have a good Seitan recipe?

This is a really great seitan recipe: http://vegancore.blogspot.com/2006/02/vwav-seitan.html

 

[Crakk]

Any of you ladies/gents enjoy dole fruit cups? They are delicious and only 80 cals!

 

[Organic]

Any of you ladies/gents enjoy dole fruit cups? They are delicious and only 80 cals!

i'd much prefer to eat fresh fruit, over something with added sugars and has been processed to death. but if you like them, go for it.

 

[shes_in_parties]

It is kind of a hard transition at first, well especially if you enjoy meat. For me it was easier, since I was mostly into poultry.


Well worth the lifestyle if ya can stick with it.

 

[seanutbutter]

^I agree. Things such as going out to eat or eating at a friend's house can be difficult, but in the long run being a vegetarian is worth the troubles. (For the most part, at least.)

 

[nicky25]

yeah it is, but you have to advise people of what you don't eat. if you have an allergy people are more than accommodating but if you choose to lead a cruelty free lifestyle, people become very defensive. i think it's because it reminds them that they're eating lots of garbage and killing animals and the environment in the process.

 

[FashionGrrrrl]

Yeah...I don't like it when people are defensive or go on and on trying to convince me to eat a hamburger because humans are "supposed to eat meat". What I choose to put in my own body is not their decision to make, just as much as they can choose to eat meat and I don't force them not to.

My uncle doesn't seem to understand that vegetarians don't eat anchovies or lard...and my mom never checked soups she fed me for beef or chicken broth. Every time I've discovered I've accidentally eaten meat I feet sick to my stomach. You also have to watch out for oyster sauce in thai food, I only recently discovered this.

I hate family dinners for sooooooooooooooo many reasons...

 

[Velony]

I recently found out that miso soup often consists of fish broth and and almost every curry paste I checked out has some fishy ingredients in it. So far I haven't found a vegetarian friendly alternative.

 

[missbliss]

I have heaps!!!! ....

lol, this made me laugh because I thought it said "I have herpes!!" & I thought that was pretty random. Sorry, no one really says "heaps" here. It's nice though. Okay, to get back on topic. Does anyone have any yummy mushroom recipes?? It's one of my favorite veggies, but I prepare it the same everytime & would love to hear some of your ideas since thus far they've been brilliant!