http://eatnvegn.blogspot.com/2008/05/super-spices.html

Did you know some of your favorite herbs and spices contain as many antioxidants as a serving of fruits or veggies? (I realize this is a departure from my usual post, but if you read through the lesson, there’s cake at the end!) This is not an in-depth lesson. You can google any of these and discover their health promoting qualities. This is just a post to say you should try to incorporate these herbs and spices into your daily diet, and a few suggestions to help you do so. And maybe by doing so, you’ll cut down on your salt intake if that is an issue for you., plus you’ll be doing your body good.

Generally speaking, a half teaspoon of these dried spices and herbs provides the same or more antioxidants than a half cup of fresh fruit. Hence, they are Super Spices.

Cinnamon is among the highest in antioxidants. Of course we all add cinnamon to our muffin and cookie batters. TRY adding a half teaspoon cinnamon to coffee or tea before brewing. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon over peanut butter and banana sandwiches. When you bring home that pint of Soy Delicious Vanilla, let if soften, then stir in a teaspoon of cinnamon and refreeze. There’s nothing better on a hot summer evening than cinnamon ice cream over fresh fruit.

Ginger – I love my fresh ginger, but I do keep ground ginger as well. It’s not just for holiday baking. TRY sprinkling ground ginger over fresh fruit or adding a half teaspoon to a quart of lemonade.

Turmeric – DID YOU KNOW turmeric is a root and is in the ginger family? It has long been used as an anti-inflammatory to aid in treating conditions such as IBS and arthritis. We all use turmeric to make yellow rice and dals. TRY adding a half teaspoon to your next batch of hummus, or to a bag of popcorn to give it a buttery look, or to your next tofu scramble if you want an eggy look.

Pepper – this includes paprika, chili powder, red pepper, and cayenne. DID YOU KNOW the hotter the pepper, the more antioxidants it contains? TRY sprinkling some crushed red pepper flakes into your next batch of pizza or pasta sauce. Add it to store bought sauces or relishes for a real flavor boost.

Rosemary – Rosemary may be abundant in Mediterranean cooking, but it’s abundant in Texas too. The bushes grow roof high here! DID YOU KNOW rosemary is great for your hair and scalp? We are used to adding rosemary to focaccia and roasted potatoes. TRY adding a half teaspoon to your recipes for greens and dried beans, especially fava beans.

Oregano – This wonderful herb has one of the highest antioxidant levels of all the dried herbs, up to 20 times more than all others studied. Fortunately for us, oregano can be used as a flavor enhancer for practically any vegetable or legume. DID YOU KNOW there are 3 varieties of oregano - Italian, Greek, and Mexican? Mexican oregano is my favorite and I buy the dried whole oregano flowers. It’s the secret ingredient in my delicious and healthy ranch dressing and also in my favorite pinto beans. TRY adding fresh tomato slices and dried oregano to your grilled cheese sammies. Sprinkle it over those frozen pizzas when they come out of the oven for a more homemade flavor.

Thyme – This is another herb that goes with most veggies, as well as mushrooms and grains. It is a key component in the classic mire poix. Thyme lends an especially hearty flavor to bean soups, mixed vegetable soups, corn (think cornbread, cornbread stuffing), and tomatoes. DID YOU KNOW there are approximately 60 varieties of thyme? TRY a lemon juice, thyme, and white wine sauce on your artichokes. Sprinkle it on your tofu scrambles and into your tofu salads. And always season your homemade vegetable broths with thyme.

REMEMBER to crush your dried herbs before adding them to your food to release their full flavor. If you need just a pinch, simply rub the herbs with your thumb and forefinger as you sprinkle them onto the food. For more, pour it into the palm of one hand and rub your palms together to sprinkle it over your pan.


Thanks for sitting through your lesson! Now you may have cake, as promised. This is a picture of a slice of my mom’s lemon cake I made her for Mother’s Day. She LOVED everything about the cake – the flavor, the moistness, the bit of a crust it made on the outside, and the cute little personal size.

tonight 8:00 (EST) wife swap between Artists/Environmentalist/vegetarian mother swaps with motorcycle atv/hunting/uber masculine family.

quote I just heard "if you can't eat meat you're not an American."

AP CHICAGO - Chicago has repealed a two-year-old ban on foie gras.

The City Council passed the measure Wednesday to again allow restaurants to serve the delicacy.

The food is made from duck and goose livers. Supporters of the ban complain that birds are force-fed to make their livers bigger.

Mayor Richard M. Daley had called the measure the “silliest ordinance” ever passed by the council. The ban went into effect in August 2006.

---

Does anyone know if there is a letter writing campaign or anything that is already being done to protest this?

Bad enough that they overturned it, and then to call it the silliest ordinance ever?!???

http://veganyumyum.com/2008/05/homemade-organic-soymilk/

When I decide to do a food experiment, I’m pretty good at predicting how the final product will turn out. I’ve been thinking about making my own soymilk for a while now, even though I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to like the end result. So I spent some time looking for tips on how to make the best tasting soymilk at home. With those tricks up my sleeve, I started soaking the beans last night and crossed my fingers, hoping my initial prediction would be wrong.

But I was right. As pretty as my soymilk is, I wouldn’t drink a glass if you paid me.

Now, it’s not terrible. It’s not even bad. It’s just different. I was REALLY hoping I’d be all “homemade soymilk tastes better!” and “commercial soymilk sucks!” but sadly, my palate is keenly attuned to Silk brand soymilk, which has been processed and messed with to such a degree that I think it might be impossible to replicate it at home.

It bums me out that I like commercial stuff better, but them’s the breaks.

Usually I don’t share recipes on my blog that I don’t approve of (on the rare occasions that I do, I’m not shy about saying so), but I think the process of making soymilk is interesting. I thought you might like to see how you can make it at home without a fancy $100 machine. I hear the machines are great, mind you, but if you’re considering buying one you should definitely give this a go before you invest in one to make sure you’ll like the taste.

And just because I don’t like the taste of homemade soymilk, it doesn’t mean you won’t. It’s… beany. And… well? Beany is the best word for it. I’m also hoping that someone who makes tasty soymilk at home all the time will read this, discover a flaw in my recipe or technique, and give me the secret to tasty soymilk. This was my first time making it, afterall, so it’s possible the I just screwed the whole thing up.

Soaking the beans
Right. So the first thing you’ll need is organic dried soybeans. I hear there’s a particular variety called Laura soybeans that have a better taste, but they’re expensive and only available online. I picked mine up at my local grocery store in the bulk section. The night before you make your soymilk, soak the beans in a large amount of cool water overnight.

It’s amazing how much water these babies soak up, so give them ample space to expand. If you’re going to soak them for more than 8-10 hours, soak ‘em in the refrigerator. They’ll keep refrigerated for a few days, just change the water whenever you think of it. (At left: dry vs. soaked)

Removng the Skins
I read that you can reduce the beany taste of your soymilk by removing the skins before blending them with water. They were supposed to “slip right off” after soaking, but mine required a fair amount of agitation to remove. I ended up scrubbing them mercilessly between my palms, like I was washing the plague off my hands, but, you know, with soybeans instead of soap. After about 10 minutes I gave up.

After removal, the skins were also supposed to float to the top of the water for easy scooping, but mine didn’t seem to be all that buoyant. To separate them from the beans, I ran the faucet at full-tilt into the large pot the beans were in, so that the overflowing water would carry the skins with it. That worked alright, but I did need to use a slotted spoon to help the process along. I think I removed just over a cup of skins, and I’m sure I didn’t get all of them. Below is a bowl full of throughly abused soybeans.

Blending the Beans
Now it’s time for blending. I have a crazy Vita-Mix blender, which pulverizes anything in its path. I think that a regular blender will work fine for this. Your okara (the bean pulp, more on that in a second) might not be as fine, but that probably makes for easier straining. You’ll need to blend in batches:

1 Batch, for 1+ Cup Finished Soymilk*:
1 Cup Soaked, Skinned Soybeans
3 1/2 Cups Water

Let your blender run for at least two minutes. You want to make the mixture as smooth as possible. If your blender won’t fit the batches as measured above you can blend less, but keep the proportions of beans:water the same. I made two batches.

*It’s possible I over-reduced my soymilk by simmering it too long and/or failing to use a lid, which may be why the flavor is so intense. Boil yours with a lid for a higher yield.

Straining

Strain your blended soymilk into a large bowl. I used a nutmilk bag, which is essentially a fine mesh bag with drawstring that strains out even the even very tiny particulate. If you don’t have a nutmik bag, use several layers of cheesecloth, or a very fine chinois strainer. You can not over-strain your soymilk.

Really. I strained mine five times: three times before cooking and twice after it was finished and cooled.

The pulp leftover from straining is called okara. There are many recipes that call for okara, so save it to use later. Keep in mind, though, that many recipes call for okara that comes out of soymilk machines, which is cooked okara. This okara is raw and REQUIRES cooking of some sort to break down/neutralize nasty enzymes that we humans can’t digest very well. I think I’m going to try Susan V’s Okara “Crab” Cakes, myself!

Boiling the Milk

Bring your strained soymik to a boil. Once it’s simmering, cook it for 20-30 minutes. While it’s cooking, yuba (a skin) will form on top. Skim it, and any foam, off. Yuba is edible, an a lot of people really enjoy it, so check out recipes for that, too!

Flavoring, Cooling and Storing
At the end of cooking, flavor your soymilk. I added a pinch of salt and a scant tablespoon of sugar. Add a little bit at a time and taste it as you go until you reach the flavor you like the best. Transfer it to the refrigerator and cool. After cooling, I strained mine again to remove any extra yuba that had formed, and removed even more particulate that had settled at the bottom. Your soymilk should last about a week in the fridge. Glass containers with lids are best

Final Thoughts
I’m pissed that I don’t like it more, but it was a neat project. It was only recently that I realized it was even possible to make soymilk at home. I think I’ll stick to buying mine. I’ve had great success making nutmilks at home (specifically almond milk), and they’re not only easier to make but really, really tasty to boot. If I try to make soymilk again, I might add rice, or oats, which I hear helps the reduce the beany flavor, but other than that, I’m not sure how much more palatable I can make it.

Soymilk experts, any advice?

My husband and I were debating something the other day that we just, until recently, realized. We use our refrigerator, but only to make sure things last longer. We don't really NEED to keep our produce in there if we plan on eating it within the week. Certain things, yes, but not everything I have piled in there.

My question is: do some of you have smaller refrigerators? Can you get away with a tiny machine in order to save energy, or am I underestimating the necessity of the good ol' icebox?

Obviously I don't use cheese, eggs and meat which are some of the main items that go bad quickly. I have a few things like salad dressings and the like, but I'm sure I could ditch the full unit for a little office sized fridge, no?

Have any of you done this? Am I crazy? What about that big gaping hole I'll have in my kitchen when my fridge is gone? Lol.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/honey-skunk/VyQd/~3/290461708/

http://www.honey-skunk.net/x/2008/05/14/oatmeal-date-bars/

This was the first recipe I attempted to veganize from my new cookie cookbook and with delicious results! I worked with what I had in my pantry, using pecans instead of walnuts and Ener-G Egg Replacer instead of actual eggs. If I make these again I’d like to try using bananas for the egg substitute– a hint of banana would work really well with these!

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups Rolled oats
3/4 cup Whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsps Baking powder
1 1/2 tsps Salt
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Allspice
3/4 cup Earth Balance
2 cups Brown sugar, packed
3 portions Ener-G Egg Replacer
2 1/2 tsps Vanilla
1 1/2 cups Pecans, chopped
1 cup Dates, pitted and chopped

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a food processor, grind 1 1/4 cups oats until a finer texture is made. Place in a large bowl with 1 cup whole oats, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and allspice. Whisk together and set aside.

- Beat butter and brown sugar until creamy and light. It helps to let the sticks of butter sit out for a bit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Mix in egg replacer and vanilla. I prefer to add the flour/oat mixture by hand to avoid over mixing, but you may use an electric mixer or food processor if you wish. Add in the pecans and dates (or other choice fruit/nut combo!) and fold into the batter.

- Coat a 9×13″ glass baking dish with shortening or cooking spray, then pour the batter in, making sure to spread it evenly throughout the dish. Sprinkle the remaining oats over the top and bake for 35 minutes, rotating halfway through if you desire. Use a toothpick to test the center before removing, then let cool completely before cutting.

I individually wrap mine in saranwrap and they kept well for about a week. They are unbelievably delish with a cup o’ joe early in the morning!

breakfast:
Whole Grain English Muffin w/ Almond Butter + Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam
Banana
Glass of Soymilk

lunch:
Cajun Tofu Leftovers
1/2 slice of Coconut-Cashew-Banana Pie

Snack:
Pink Lady Apple

supper:
Curried Chickpea-Broccoli Stew (loosely based on this recipe) 

dessert:
Red Grapes

Polar Bear added to endangered species list

We're awesome!

x-posted to militantvegans

http://theurbanhousewife.blogspot.com/2008/05/teese-teese-magical-product.html

The vegan blog world is quite the hype machine, it seems there's always a new recipe or product making the rounds & Teese has been exception! While my 1st taste of Teese was back when I returned from Europe, I was lucky enough to have a package arrive at my door with an amount sufficient for proper taste testing! (Yes, that label says "Bloggy McBloggerson"!)

I'll admit, I was quite the cheese lover in my vegetarian days, so I tend to approach vegan cheeses with caution. While there are some decent options on the market, most are rubbery nightmares that don't melt or taste anything like the original. For the most part, I am more than happy to do without these imposters, but watch out sub par vegan cheeses, Teese is here to blow you away!

Anxious to try the Teese right away, I opted first for a quick & easy meal; grilled sandwiches! Using my handy sandwich press, I spread Earth Balance lightly across slices of bread, filled them with slices of Teese, & pressed them in to the grill. What emerged was crunchy pockets filled with ooey-gooey melted Teese centers & I must say, they were wonderful! I was concerned the sandwich grill would not work to melt the Teese, but it actually worked so well, there was some spillage! C'est la Vie! By the way, next to the sandwich is one of our favorite things; Kale Chips!

Next stop, PIZZA! I mean, c'mon, Teese was made for this stuff. Teese comes in Mozzarella at the moment, with Cheddar in the works, so we should all be making pizzas while we wait for the new flavor to arrive. I made a sourdough crust & topped the pizza with tomato sauce, garlic, zucchini, bell pepper, tomato slices, & a few pieces of Julie's Spicy Italian Sausages. Once again, I went with large pieces of Teese, instead of shredded & it worked out well. This was one killer meal that satisfied even my pizza obsessed husband!


The pizza was such a success, we made Calzones next. I set up a little spread of toppings; more sausages, artichoke hearts, garlic, bell peppers, zucchini, tomato sauce, & we each made our own ideal combinations. That is Ryan's hand you see there, even he had fun coming up with flavor ideas. Doesn't a "Make Your Own Calzone" party sound fun? The calzones baked up nice & golden brown & although the Teese tried to escape from them, they were delicious! For an extra decadent treat, I could see Teese & tofu ricotta making an amazing combination!

Finally, I had to try something outside the Italian inspired genre. Previous to going vegan, "pregan" if you will, I used to make Enchilada casseroles often. While I still make them these days, I typically skip the cheese subs & focus on spices & extra vegetables. This time, I piled layers of black beans, corn, shredded carrots, zucchini, onions & garlic between strips of corn tortillas soaked in enchilada sauce & topped it with shredded Teese. Thank you, Chicago Soy Dairy, the Enchilada Bake is back! Once again, it melted easily & brought the dish a new & improved taste!

So, you're probably wondering, how does it taste? What's the texture like? Can you eat it plain? Teese is a soft, fresh mozzarella-style cheese, it's quite moist, but not slimy & doesn't smell bad like Follow Your Heart. It has a creamier, more complex taste than FYH, it's almost buttery. While I noshed on a few plain pieces, my guess is most people wouldn't like it this way, it really is at its best when melted!

Want to get your hands on some Teese? Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe, Vegan Essentials, & Pangea have it available via mail order. Also, Chicago Soy Dairy has a listing of places stocking it or using it HERE. Finally, if you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, I've convinced Rainbow Grocery to carry it, so look out for it starting as soon as June!

I was wondering if anyone can tell me how rice vinegars are made? Because I know that gelatin is used to some extent to purify some vinegars, but I was wondering if anyone knew whether that was the case with rice vinegars as well? The reason I ask, of course, is that it's commonly used in sushi, and I rather like veg*n sushi, but I thought of this now.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with half a banana, walnuts, raisins and flax seeds.
I cup Mate Vana tea with ricemilk.

Snack: Small peach. Cup of coffee with ricemilk.

Lunch: Side salad with romaine, flax seeds and raspberry walnut
dressing. Whole wheat spaghetti.

Dinner: Veggie burger with BBQ corn (I am assuming since my husband
and I are going to my parents tonight.)

Dessert: Up in the air.

Tea (my tummy was sick this morning)
Sandwich: 2 slices Ezekiel Sesame Sprouted Grain bread, 1/2 avocado, chipotle hummus, roasted red peppers
Snack: petite carrots and baba ghanoush
Dinner: homemade curry dish w/ MSF chikin strip meal starters, boiled potato, broccoli florets, diced fresh mango, and shredded fresh coconut with fresh coconut water and sweet curry powder as its base.
Teeccino herbal coffee, mocha flavor (anyone ever try this stuff??)

Dark bread with white almond butter and some hagelslag

Ontbijtkoek bar type...thing

One banana, piece of apple, piece of kiwi, some grapes

Four olives and a sundried tomato (I couldn't wait until dinner was ready so started looking for food in the fridge...)
Pizza! My Dad likes to experiment with making pizza crusts and made two pizzas today. One turned out soft and fluffy, the other crust was very hard and crispy. Both were very good.
A cracker, pesto, half a fresh tomato...

Black bean brownie (shared the last bit with my Mum!)

One small but very delicious cookie.

I just had an argument with someone over a girl who calls herself vegan but still eats dumpstered meat and roadkill. Um, no. He insisted that the label isn't important since she's doing a good thing by only eating meat that's been thrown out. I agreed that that's definitely better than buying it, but she is not by any definition a vegan, and is not helping the cause. He's insisting that she's doing more than me because people would be more willing to listen to someone who eats meat! That doesn't even make sense! Ugh. I just needed to vent =/

http://letsgetsconed.blogspot.com/2008/05/crack-of-noon-test-kitchen-eggplant-no.html

You see this sad looking eggplant below, that was 1/2 off at the coop? It became dinner.

I was inspired to make this eggplant-as-noodles lasagna. It has tofu almond ricotta, basil marinara, kale, fresh basil and some teese on top, what the hell. I'd never done a noode-less lasagna before and the experiment was exciting.

Recently, someone posted a link to video outtakes from the TV show Hell's Kitchen featuring the contestants in a tasting challenge where they tasted various dishes and were asked "what is missing." The secretly "missing" item from each dish was meat, because each dish used a fake-meat substitute (fake chicken, fake beef, and fake sausage).

As it turns out, this footage was featured in last night's episode. I was hoping that after Chef Ramsay revealed that meat was the "missing" ingredient in each dish, he'd say something along the lines of, "This just goes to show that you don't need meat to make delicious entrees, and to prove it, you'll all be making meatless dishes today." Instead, he berated them all for having lousy palettes and gave them to opportunity to "redeem" themselves in a blindfolded taste test wherein they had to identify each food sampled.

Phooey. :(

http://www.myaimistrue.com/archives/2008/05/thanks_for_all_the_comments.html

Thanks for all the comments on my veganniversary post! Several of you asked for cookbook recommendations and your wish is my command! Here are a few of the ones I use the most. This post is also the first ever giveaway I've done on this site. Leave a comment by Monday at noon Eastern time. Two winners* will each receive a copy of the Don't Eat Off the Sidewalk zine, which is no longer for sale, but is totally fabulous! The tempeh wingz will knock you on your butt.

Most of the "order it here" links will go to Herbivore's site because they are awesome and I think you should support them, but you can find most of them on Amazon as well.

	Vegan with a Vengeance. This was my first vegan cookbook. The pumpkin waffles are a favorite of Jimmy's. Also contains great basics like tofu scramble as well as some more exotic stuff like Jerk Seitan (AMAZING). The coconut cupcakes are to die for (those were served at my bridal shower) and the chocolate raspberry blackout cake will totally knock you out. Here are some things I've made from the book. Order it here.
	Veganomicon. Don't let the size intimidate you. If I had to suggest only one cookbook to buy, this would be it. Besides hundreds of really really great and simple recipes, the book is worth it for the front section alone. It includes pantry stocking tips as well as sections on how to cook a bean, grain, vegetable. Invaluable information right there. Favorites: black bean burgers, spaghetti & beanballs, cornmeal masala-encrusted brussels sprouts, tempeh shepherdess pie. Here are some things I've made from the book. Order it here.
	Yellow Rose Recipes. My friend Joanna wrote this and it's totally awesome. This book comes highly recommended for picky omnivores (especially dudes and kids) who like "American" cooking. Everything I've made from this book Jimmy has eaten second helpings of. Favorites are baked mac & cheeze, cajun spice tofu, butternut squash lasagna and the vegan parmesan substitute which I always have in my fridge now! Order it here. Read her blog here.
	Vive le Vegan. Great book for lots of wheat-free recipes, also tons of kid-friendly stuff. I love her banana pancakes recipe. She also has a new book out that I wanna get called Eat, Drink & Be Vegan which I've gotten tons of great recommendations on. Order it here.
	New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook. Fun fact: my mom as a teenager actually used to live on The Farm which is a big hippie commune in Tennessee. When she saw I had the cookbook she got a big kick out of that. Some great recipes for basics like salsa, vegan sour cream, how to make your own tofu, stuff like that. I really like the enchiladas too. Order it here.
	Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. All vegan cupcakes, all the time. Every single person who's eaten a vegan cupcake from this book has said they're better than "regular" cupcakes. The basic vanilla cupcakes with vegan buttercream icing will not let you down. Cupcake pictures! Order it here.
	Indian Vegetarian Cooking at Your House. I love this book, all the recipes are formatted like this. Dump this in a pot, stir, dump this in, stir, dump this in, stir, serve. Seriously they make it so easy. If you're smart you'll do all your prep ahead of time and separate them into little bowls so you can add in groups just like the book says. I've had great success with every recipe I've tried from this book. Favorites are bharta and chana masala. Pictures & more here. Order it here.
	Papa Tofu. Awesome zine by Kittee. Contains delicious cake making recipes, Ethiopian food and southern cooking. The cheeze grits recipe omni tested and enthusiastically approved. Order it here.

I also recommend any of Madhur Jaffrey's cookbooks. I personally own World Vegetarian and World of the East Vegetarian Cooking. Some of the recipes can be pretty complex but every single one I've tried has been successful.

Another great resource for vegan recipes is the Post Punk Kitchen (this site is also the genius of Isa, author of 3 of the above cookbooks). Also be sure to check out their forums. They have been of invaluable help to me over the past year and there are some pretty neato people on there too!

I hope this post is helpful! If you have other vegan/veg cookbooks that you love, please add them to the comments!

*I'll use an online random number generator to pick the winners.

B: None, was late for college

L: Weetabix, peach soya yogurt, orange, apple

D: Paella, mixed leaf salad with a vinegar dressing and buckets of sangria

Snacks: More sangria and a massive bag of caramelized onion crisps

Edit: Here's a link to some pictures of my dinner ^_^

I just checked to see if Listerine is vegan, and I wasn't sure about the ingredients, but it's owned by Johnson&Johnson so I'd like to avoid it regardless of the ingredients. That being said, are there any vegan mouthwashes out there that aren't unbearably strong and that are easy to find?

Thanks!

Hi Folks,

I am looking for alternatives to Kohinoor Heat and Eat meals. Specifically, similarly prepared Indian food that does not have butter or ghee (or paneer etc, etc, etc) in it.

This stuff makes great emergency stores, camping food and all around convenient food that does not take my precious freezer space. Unfortunately, a significant amount of the dishes contain butter or ghee, including what would be my favorite dish, aloo palak.

Edit: I just found This list. Very interesting. Though, I am still looking for personal recommendations. :)