What Vegans Eat

Things have been quiet here the past three weeks thanks to a much-needed vacation this wee blogger took to do some traveling around the eastern United States with her favourite American. I hope to offer up a couple of blog posts concerning it over the next week since much time was spent exploring vegan options in Maine and Pennsylvania. First, however, I'd like to get caught up on what others have been doing online this past month, starting with a peek at some of my favourite food blogs...

I love simple-to-make finger foods -- particularly ones that don't require hovering over the stove too much during these warm summer months. Several weeks ago, I picked up some rice paper for the first time ever and tweeted a request for filling suggestions, and then spent a few days having a blast playing with different ingredients. Yesterday, while catching up on internet goings on, I was quite glad to see that Anna from Carrot and Potato Time had recently blogged about rolls. I also got excited upon finding a recipe for Green Curry Summer Rolls on the VeganDad blog, as well as a recipe for Raw Spring Rolls on the Vegan Epicurean blog -- both just from this past week.

I should also mention that last week while on vacation, I noticed that Claire over at Chez Cayenne had posted a recipe and photo of what appear to be absolutely scrumptious Baked Tempeh Spring Rolls. I hope to make these over the weekend if I can find some vegan spring roll wrappers at the grocery store!

Speaking of filled things, cookbook author Dreena Burton tossed around some suggestions for what you can stuff into a wrap a few days ago on her eat, drink & be vegan blog. She mentioned using sprouted grain Ezekiel wraps, which I try to get from time to time since they are so delicious. They're a bit more pricey than other store-bought wraps, but are free of the preservatives you'll usually find in regular wraps, so they're good for you on more than one level. I usually find them in the freezer at the local health food store.

Speaking of wraps, I'll wrap this up (groan!) by reminding everyone to check in on NZ Vegan Podcast host Elizabeth Collins' ongoing Flickr project, "What this NZ vegan eats". The photos will surely mesmerize you into trying the many recipes to which Ms. Collins ever so kindly links!

What Vegans Eat

I'm always a bit surprised at how quickly time has passed when I remember to scroll back through posts to see when I'd last posted updates on what some of my favourite vegan food bloggers have been writing about. In this case, I'm surprised it's been a whole month since my last "What Vegans Eat" post. Without further hemming and hawing, here are just some highlights of what's caught my eye over the past few weeks:

I have been on an almond kick for the past few weeks, enjoying tamari-roasted almonds, almond milk and almond butter. Almonds are such a great source of healthy fats and Vitamin E that their tastiness is just a real perk. I'm going to try something a little bit different this weekend, however, and make this recipe for "Almond Feta" that was posted on Vegan Epicurean just yesterday.

Claire at Chez Cayenne leaned towards Indian flavours this past month, posting recipes for both "Sweet Potato-Edamame Mini-Samosas" and "Mushroom-Lentil Burgers with Indian Spices". Both sound absolutely yummy!

Somehow overlooked when I wrote up "The Ultimate Mac 'n' Cheese Post" a few weeks ago, the VeganDad blog featured his first attempt at concocting a vegan KD knock-off -- "Vegan KD 1.0". I've gotta try this one over the weekend, as well.

Over at Manifest Vegan, allyson posted the following recipe just in time for its main ingredient to start popping up all over my backyard: "Dandelion Fritters"! I should cross-post it into a "veganism on the cheap" post, since foraging for wild edibles is a side-interest of mine that's a worthwhile -- and fun -- pursuit for those who want to eat well and pinch pennies.

I'll wrap the recipes up with one that involves one of my favourite combinations ever that doesn't include garlic. At the Big Raw & Vegan blog, Zucchini Breath featured a recipe for "Vegan Peanut Butter Cups". Go ahead and try not to try them -- I dare you! And pass them on to all of your non-vegan friends to show them just how deliciously decadent vegan cooking can be.

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What Vegans Eat

With the holidays just a few days and a nearly two-week long internet hiatus looming for me, I figured that now would be as good a time as any to take that periodic peek at what's been happening on some of my favourite vegan food blogs.

Nathan Kozuskanich shared a recipe for Green Potato Soup on his Vegan Dad blog a little less than a week ago. With heaps of leeks, chard and spinach, it looks as good as I've no doubt it tastes. It sounds like the perfect thing to ladle into a big bowl and curl up on the sofa with to watch holiday claymation specials.

Mike K at Vegan for the People posted a couple of recipes over the past few weeks that caught my attention and that I hope to try out soon. One is for Sesame Long Beans with Five Spice Tofu and the other for Somali Sambusas. The sambusas are filled with lentils , scallions and cilantro and seasoned with spices like cardamom, cumin and coriander. They sound wonderful --and I'm not just sayin' that because I'm a huge fan of filled things and finger foods.

Speaking of filled things, check out the Baked Whole Wheat Empanadas recipe Alicia shared with her readers on the Vegan Epicurean blog. This blog is relatively new to me and I'm already sold on it after looking over the dozen or so most recent recipes and their photos. I also appreciate that she includes nutritional information on the recipes she posts. I'll be lurking over there a fair bit in the New Year, I'm sure.

Just in time for holiday entertaining for those who like to cater to their guests sweet tooths, Claire at Chez Cayenne offered up a recipe last Saturday for Orange-Chocolate-Chocolate Chip cookies. She also provided a recipe for those who like to cater to those guests who like to indulge a little to engage in their holiday merrymaking: Vegan Irish Cream! (By the way, for some great info on chocolate and what is or isn't vegan, check out this 2006 blog post by cookbook author Dreena Burton!)

Cookbook author Bryanna Clark Grogan featured a recipe for a simple Rustic Apple-Almond Cake on her blog a few days ago that does indeed sound like a yummy treat to have on hand for family or friends who might come calling.

Finally, the six vegans over at Cooking from 1,000 Vegan Recipes have been busy! As of last Saturday, they'd prepared 155 out of the 1000 recipes in Robin Robertson's book. Go have a look at the gorgeous photos of the dishes they've reproduced from it. Better yet, buy the book and cook along with them, using their notes as pointers.

So there you have it--the last instalment of "What Vegans Eat" for 2009. If you think that going vegan is hard because your food options somehow become limited, or, if you're just stuck in a food rut and can't think of what to make for dinner, read the food blogs mentioned above (as well as those whose links I've listed off to the right) and let yourself be convinced otherwise.

Go vegan and stay vegan and enjoy the good healthy eats that come with it!

Oh, What to Eat?

Vegan Examiner Adam Kochanowicz's recent post ("How to eat vegan: practical ideas") reminded me this morning that it's been a while since I've poked around online to see what some of my favourite vegan food bloggers have been tossing together in their kitchens. I've said it before that it was 1) the availability of vegan recipe sites and cooking threads in vegan online communities, as well as 2) the assortment of decent vegan cookbooks I accumulated that both taught me how to really cook for the first time, as well as facilitated a healthy transition to a plant-based diet. These days, those who are adopting the vegan lifestyle also have an incredible number of vegan food blogs to peruse for everything from cooking tips to recipe suggestions (or even plain old tempting photos of vegan dishes).

As Kochanowicz points out in his article: "It's not just the presence of non-vegan food but the absence of vegan food which creates a barrier for you to immerse yourself in a vegan way of living." I agree with this and also think that an absence of meal preparation ideas can be detrimental for vegans--particularly those who've never really spent much time cooking for themselves. When you just don't know what to make or how to make something, it's all too easy to reach for junky alternatives. Not being a food blogger myself, I'm grateful that I can pick and choose from a wide variety of offerings from others online and highlight them here from time to time. I also hope to begin a regular (and possibly monthly) series of guest cookbook reviews within the next few weeks, thanks to some fellow vegans who've offered to pitch in occasional posts. In the interim:

Claire over at Chez Cayenne shared a recipe for Tempura Nori this past weekend. I could definitely see these becoming quite an addictive snack.

Gaia at Live It Up Vegan! posted a recipe for James Barber's Tofu on Pita. I remember watching Barber's old cooking show The Urban Peasant in my pre-vegan days, too. It was a CBC staple.

Kitchen Dancing's Sinead salvaged some leftover Halloween pumpkins to make Scavenged Pumpkin Buns, using whole grain spelt flour and the kinds of spices that leave a kitchen smelling that almost comforting sort of way it always should when the weather starts to turn cold -- of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamom and nutmeg. (You should check out Sinead's other web project--her Ask Science Dude website and podcast.) Speaking of pumpkins...

Mihl at Seitan is My Motor posted a recipe a few days ago for Curried Pumpkin Soup with White Wine and Seitan, with a link to one for another blogger's Pumpkin Chili.

Finally, if you want an eyeful of what gorgeous and delicious vegan food looks like, check out Cooking from 1000 Vegan Recipes. Better yet, pick up a copy of Robin Robertson's book 1000 Vegan Recipes and cook along with them. So far, the six bloggers have 79 recipes down and 921 to go.

Because Vegans Love to Eat, Too

A popular misconception about veganism is that food options become limited. If anything, becoming vegan taught me that I'd had no idea of the actual variety of foods available to me and of the multitude of ways in which they can be seasoned and prepared. I taught myself most of what I know about cooking while reading vegan cookbooks cover to cover and while lurking in recipe forums in online communities; these days I'm still studying cookbooks, but tend to pick up so many new ideas and tips on many of the wonderfully well-written vegan food blogs out there. I'm trying to get into the habit of providing a regular update of the dishes and cooking tips that catch my eye on those vegan food blogs I follow. I think that learning how to prepare food you love is probably one of the most important things you can do for yourself as a vegan. Plus, becoming a good cook provides you with a valuable tool for vegan outreach, where you can teach others around you that absolutely delicious meals need not involve animal exploitation.

So?

Anna, over at Carrot and Potato Time, posted a recipe for a Basic Vegan Chili for crock pots a few weeks ago that included a tip on using kombu seaweed to bring about "a general reduction in, ehm, digestive distress (gas!) associated with beans". Her recipe was of interest to me since I was recently given a crock pot and have just started experimenting with it. I picked up a copy of Robin Robertson's Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker while in Philly and look forward to sharing the outcome of recipes I try from it.

A recipe that could easily be adapted for slow cookers is the one for Smokey Corn Chowder posted by Claire at Chez Cayenne just a few days ago. It's adapted from a recipe by Deborah Madison. I love corn chowder more than just about anything in the world--honestly! I hope to try this recipe out soon if I can find some smoked Spanish paprika in one of my local stores.

Last week, Ms. Veganorama at Yummy Vegan Dinners posted a recipe for Vegan Burger Patties, with credit for the recipe given to Bryanna Clark Grogan. I'm a sucker for a good veggie burger recipe and this recipe is neat because it's not your typical crumbly bean / grain burger, but is more of a burger-burger substitute, using gluten flour, chickpea flour and oats for texture and to bind the patties.

And by the way, if you haven't done so already, bookmark and read this blog: Vegan Mafia. From product and restaurant reviews to food photos and recipe ideas, Ms. Rock covers it all delightedly and delightfully!

Speaking of cookbooks: Along with the aforementioned Robin Robertson book, I also picked up Nava Atlas' Vegan Express and Bryant Terry's Vegan Soul Kitchen in Philly recently. I look forward to trying out some recipes from each of those and sharing the results here in future posts. (Note: You can find some sample recipes from Bryant's book by clicking on the links in this April 8 blog post.)

Because Vegans Love to Eat, Too

Once again, just because I can, I've taken a peek at what some of my favourite vegan food bloggers have been up to lately.

Yesterday, the perpetually-upbeat Jessy from happyveganface posted a recipe for the veggie burger to beat all veggie burgers. Her Spicy Black Bean Millet Mushroom Potato Burger seems to incorporate anything and everything -- from tahini to sriracha) and looks amazing. Click on the aforementioned recipe title to see for yourself!

SusanV over at the FatFree Vegan Kitchen shared a recipe earlier last week for Iraqi-Inspired Seitan and Eggplant Stew. Just reading the list of the mix of seasonings used is enough to make me want to try this one out soon--paprika, cloves, coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon, et al..

Spreaking of intriguing spice mixes, Claire at Chez Cayenne posted a tempting recipe for Malaysian Tofu Curry over the weekend. I may actually test this one out on my spice-living friend Thomas when I visit him in Pennsylvania in a few days. Those of you who appreciate heat should visit her blog periodially, since its focus is indeed on spicy cuisine.