For every up there is a down

by Anne

Yesterday I attempted carob chip cookies. They were, as Beyonce would say, uh DIS-AS-TUH. They were definitely cooked too long, but I even cooked them less than the recipe called for. The carob chips melted and burnt, and over all, the cookies didn't have a great taste or texture. I would blame the carob  chips but the dough tasted fine. Next time (if there is a next time), I will find a different recipe, especially one that does not call for cinnamon.

But! I had a new success today. 

I have never had kale, but it's one of those health foods that the average American doesn't eat. I've never had it as it always seemed like it was probably going to be disgusting. I imagine that raw it probably doesn't taste very good. However, like many things, coated with a little oil, salt, and apple cider vinegar, and baked, kale tastes pretty good. They crisp up nicely and taste a bit like veggie chips or veggie crisps if you like those. However, no matter what anyone says, they don't taste like potato chips.

If you're so inclined, here's the (practically doesn't count as a) recipe. 

A few cups of kale, chopped into chip-sized pieces (I bought bagged, pre-cut)

1 T canola/vegetable oil (slightly less works well)

1T apple cider vinegar

1/2 t salt (or less) (I used 1 t and it was too salty)

clean and very thoroughly dry the kale. put in large bowl, add oil, salt, and vinegar and toss to coat. Spread on cookie sheet in one layer, probably best to do it in  a few batches. Bake for 12-14 minutes in a 350 degree oven and eat. They look strange on the cookie sheet and they should be mostly crispy. You might have a soggy bit here or there, but for the most part they should crisp up. They're very crumbly.

Kale has a good deal of calcium in it which is a concern for vegans, and obviously these are a lower fat and calorie snack than potato chips.

Here's a photo stolen from one of my favorite recipe websites, VegWeb.com

Don't judge them based on their looks

I realized I never wrote about my macaroni and cheese attempts. The frozen Amy's mac and cheese was very thick but tasty. I attempted to make my own but it was not good. It was completely bland, I'm interested to know more about how Amy's makes their cheese sauce because mine tasted absolutely nothing like theirs. I'm tempted to try Daiya vegan cheese to make up a small batch of macaroni and cheese to see how it works. It seems too good to be true, but I figure if I make a béchamel with enough vegan butter, salt, and black pepper, it will probably get close to the right texture. The only problem is is that Daiya cheese costs about $5 per 2-cup bag. The most expensive things I've bought are the dairy imitations. Fortunately, I discovered that BJ's, our local wholesale store sells almond milk in half gallons which definitely drops the price. They're only $1.75 as opposed to the over $2.00 for the smaller box.

Daiya is lower in calories and fat (not drastically lower, 20 fewer calories per ounce, 3 fewer grams of fat). But it doesn't have much in the way of nutrients, no calcium, iron, vitamins, etc. It's lower in saturated fat, is cholesterol free and is free of all preservatives, hormones, and soy. I will report back on it's success or failure as a cheese substitute.

Tofu is so gross, especially when you don't know it's there

by Anne

I really hate tofu. People who are all "TOFU IS SO GOOD IT CAN BE ANYTHING!" are just wrong. It's gross. It looks gross, it tastes gross, it's texture is repulsive and it just isn't worth the protein it gives you.

Therefore, I was less than thrilled to discover when I heated up my lunch today that there was tofu in it. I should've noticed it on the package and in the ingredients but I was in a hurry when I grabbed it and didn't think to look closely.

I give it two thumbs down. It was only just so-so as far as frozen meals go, and then the chunks of tofu just sent it off the cliff. No good. I don't recommend it. Amy's makes a LOT of really really good vegan products so I encourage people to try them, but I will not be buying this particular product again.

I'm trying this new non-dairy macaroni and cheese tomorrow. I'm a little scared, to be honest. It's made mostly with rice, and is soy free so I'm giving it a shot. My expectations are low already because it's a frozen meal but we'll see how it does as a macaroni and cheese substitute.

Lunch tomorrow?

Tonight for dinner was Pseudo-Burritos. It was a huge hit with everyone who tried a "bite" going back for several more bites or a bowlful. I wasn't sure there'd be enough for me when I was ready to eat dinner, haha.

Here's the recipe:

15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
10 oz can ro-tel, DON'T drain it (I used mild because Mom is a spicy food wimp)
2 1/2 cups of corn ( the original recipe calls for a 15 oz can but everyone agreed it needed more corn)
1 C uncooked barley
2 1/4 C vegetable broth
2 T lime juice
2 t cumin
1 t chilli poder
2 T minced onion (original recipe called for a whole chopped onion but I didn't have one and didn't want to go back to the store)
1 clove garlic, minced

Toss everything into a slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours. I pan-fried a couple of tortillas with  a little non-stick cooking spray and ate it that way. It was deeelicious and filling and definitely reminds me of the vegetarian burritos at Chipotle.

A usual day of experimental vegan eating: some ups and some downs. They can't all be good.

Two Thumbs Way Up

by Anne

Found a few new vegan-version recipes to try out. Once the chocolate cake is gone I'm going to move on to baklava. I found that they sell blue agave nectar at Wegman's which can be used in place of honey. I'll definitely be picking some up when I decide to make the baklava, maybe next weekend.

Two new vegan foods to rate. In my quest to find vegan ice cream I decided to try:

Turtle Mountain Purely Decadent made with Coconut Milk

Vanilla Blean flavor

I opted to try this instead of an almond milk version because this line is soy free. I was hesitant because, while I like coconut, I don't LOVE coconut. Well, I can say that the coconut flavor is definitely there but is blended smoothly with the vanilla bean flavor. However, if you really dislike any hint of coconut, don't eat this ice cream.

The best part about it was the texture. Very soft and very much like real vanilla ice cream.  Many soy-based ice creams are incredibly hard and don't soften all that quickly.

I would definitely recommend this ice cream to anyone who's been in search of a satisfying non-dairy ice cream. There are some vegan replacements you can convince yourself you like, but some things just don't cut it. This definitely cuts it for the ice cream cravings.

The other product I tried today was Health is Weath Veggie Munchees.

They're small in size, each munchee is about the size of a marshmallow, and six of them, or half the package are only 130 calories. They're very tasty, especially if you've been missing the taste of egg rolls. I ate four of them and gave two to the 11 and 12 year old cousins and they were universally approved of. I recommend dipping them in a little soy sauce if you're so inclined.

I also bought a box of potstickers I'm going to open up after I finish the Munchees... which will probably be tomorrow. :)

Two thumbs way up for each of these vegan products.

Tonight for my parents I made macaroni and cheese (just regular real mac and cheese) with broccoli. It smelled SO. GOOD. But I resisted the temptation, great though it was. I ended up leaving the house to see the NHL Awards at my sister's house so I removed myself from the temptation. It's the first time I really craved cheese since I started eating vegan as strictly as possible. Instead for dinner I ate leftover spaghetti sauce with whole wheat pasta shells. Still deeeeelicious. 

Tomorrow I will probably be making some slow-cooker burrito filling with barley, corn, and black beans, among other ingredients. Definitely looking forward to those tastes and textures again.