Going Vegan in Alabama

Archive for December, 2008

When it's Christmas and you are Vegan, you may want to do a little pre-planning.

You can order a Torfurky from Vegan Essentials after Thanksgiving and then a start planning a Vegan Christmas menu.

Many times you can stick with traditional dishes like Brussels Sprouts, mashed potatoes, and the Tofurky. You could make Lemon Pie and Pumpkin Pie for dessert.

You might be a little nervous if you don't think you are a good cook and I you don't want your family and/or guests to be disappointed with the food.

With the Tofurky, you can use a crock-pot using this recipe from the website. You can even put in carrots, potatoes and onions.

You can steam the brussel sprouts or even roast them with a bit of honey. Use organic potatoes, boil till soft then mash.

Your family / guests will probably LOVE it and want the recipes. These foods are great for people with health or weight isuues.

You may be doing a lot cooking for Christmas week and have a lot of leftovers -- probably no need to go the supermarket.

A new project to consider could be Vegan Entertaining. -- like for the Sugar Bowl. You'll want to wow them with vegan food. Have suggestions?

How do you know you are becoming a better vegan. Maybe it is when you find yourself standing in the supermarket and dialing a product's customer service number to find out if the ingredients are plant or animal made.

If they are animal derived -- off the list and off you go hunting for a replacement.

That's when you are serious

Here are a few kitchen equipment wish lists any cook vegan or other would love to have ...

To this list add:

* KitchenAid KSM 150PSER Artisan 5-Quart Stand Mixer (Green Apple or Ice is nice)
* A Vita-Mix blender

And under kitchen gadgets:

* An apple corer (which I had and one time, but has disappeared)
* Whisks in varying sizes
* a lemon zester

A lot of people don't like to make grocery lists, yet when you are vegan it is a good idea to keep a "premade" list and check things off that you need as you run out.

You can keep the premade list on your computer and add or delete things as you need them. It will also see what items you use alot of and don't use.

One of the biggest changes you may notice when you become vegan is your planning. You really have to think ahead. The advantages is organization makes for saving time. The time it takes to plan ahead, saves scrambling time for knowing what to eat. You don't always have the option to eat out or eat convenience foods unless you stocked up on some.

Many vegans decide to make one day a week Cooking Day -- like Sunday.

Here are 3 recipes you might want to try on your Cooking Day:

* Chana Masala
* Cranberry Oatmeal Spice Bars
* Impossible Coconut Pie

Reviews of the Recipes:

Chana Masala: A great recipe that is easy to make with ingredients many already have -- except garam masala or curry powder. Even non-vegans like it.

Cranberry Spice Bars: Probably needs cinnamon. You may wish to add more flour and 1/4 cup of vegan margarine, bake for 20 minutes. Texture is good.

Impossible Coconut Pie: The silken tofu may throw some people off -- yet it does bake well. It would be a good chilled spring or summer pie.

When you have more time to cook, you may wish to use more fresh ingredients. Plus, you have more time to experiment. Once you find several good recipes you like, you will know what to buy to keep on hand.

Things like onions, green peppers Tofurky kielbasas are can certainly become vegan "staples."

To buy fresh basil or not? Some may wish to use fresh basil for vegan pizza or vegan italian recipes.

You may not wish to buy it. Ask yourself, will you use ALL of it? Or will it go to waste.

Think about all those specialty flavored products like vinegar. Some people have a big collection of vinegars and oils for special recipes. They use it once or never. They may just sit in your cupboard turning old.

Let's look at spices. Same thing -- alot of spices that are never used. If you can buy spices from a bin it may be a better choice. Buy the unusual spices at just enough for a special recipe.

Trying to figure out what staples that will be used over and over will take time.

There is no need to have a lot of special stuff -- for cookbooks -- there are plenty of good vegan recipes on the internet.

Many new vegans have hundreds of dollars invested in vegan cookbooks. Some are used, some are not touched. What they may wish to do is really go through all of their cookbooks. They may be offer some very interesting new vegan dishes.

Alot of vegans love buying new cookbooks -- yet they should be aware they can be expensive.

Think about giving away any cookbooks -vegan or otherwise if they are not being used.

Here's some suggestions to use while looking through cookbooks:

1. Does it fit your cooking style.
2. Does it use a lot of ingredients you never heard of or easy to find/buy?