But it is a vital process when making Great tasting Vegan food.
I am all for fresh tasting food but unless it states RAW in the description, I prefer my flavors well balanced and cooked well..a lot of local restaurants, serve good food but a lot of the vegan ones rely on blocks of seitan ( 100% wheat gluten) and fresh veggies cooked quickly resulting in something that resembles a "cooked salad" in flavor!
I prefer to make my vegan dishes taste hearty without having to over season or add too many oils.
I also never want to create something that resembles a meat product..in my mind if you are going to become a vegan why would you want to create meatless traditional meat dishes ( like fake hot dogs?)?
I prefer my bean patties be served on lettuce or young collard leaves with fruit and vegetable salsas..but will never resort to these frozen chicken tenders or anything seitan..sounds too much like Satan in the pronunciation anyway...lol...also a slice of seitan is like eating a slice of washed bread!
The depths of flavor is where SLAKING comes into it's own.... any stew, soup, ragout, some breads,dips, stuffings, & etc are far better served the day after they are made..the secret is to allow it to cool and develop some flavors before refrigeration.
If you slake well, you will find you don't need to add harsh seasonings or extra herbs to develop flavors..the vegetables will break down, release their own sugars, enzymes & flavors and do the work for you.
Don't try and cool something in a warm room, quickly or in a kitchen it won't work..cool in a darkened ( not direct sunlight) well ventilated, space ( if open window it should have an insect screen)...I often use fans in my cooling room
Cruciferous vegetables..cabbage, cauliflower & etc. these cannot be slaked as they will sour
Eggs, animal milks and cheese dishes should not be slaked they will grow bacteria quickly.
The following photographs are herbs and flowers in my garden after last night's rain shower & dishes in prep. and now being slaked:
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| French Lavender for the Provencal Vegetables |
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| Culinary Sage leaves and flowers for the Spring greens, pumpkin seed and chili-orange salad ( I could not find a good juicy grapefruit so I am substituting local grown naval oranges, at their peak right now) |
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| after our very mild California winter..I am now picking my own tomatoes and peppers from my garden..In March/April! |
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| Fresh English thyme |
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| prepping the cucumbers for the soup, it is better to use field grown as opposed to hot house as they have better flavor..always remove the skin and seeds as these can become bitter when cooked |
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| cut the vegetables in uniform size for even cooking |
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| butternut squash,,buy them with a long neck and small bulb bottom for more vegetable |
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| Common garden mint for the cucumber soup |
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| nice fresh beans for the Provencal Vegetables |
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| tomatoes right now are better cooked to release their sugars |
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| the zucchini and all the vegetables cooking for the Provencal Vegetables |
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| fresh lavender picked |
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| blended miso. butternut squash, coconut, lime leaf soup (always add the miso paste after the dish is cooked and do not allow the soup to boil afterwards) |
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| blended coconut, cucumber mint soup |
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| own grown Spring greens inc. wild Italian heirloom spinach |
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| always remove the tough stems from the lavender |
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| fresh cilantro |
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| Spring greens |
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| 2 types of basil top and bottom |
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| Georgia Peace rose after the rain |
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| The Provencal Vegetables slaking |
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| air plant flowering on cactus |
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| blended potato, green pea and scallion soup |
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| yes I have fresh peppers to pick! |
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