Veganism is a strict dietary regime of all plant based foods, they eat nothing derived from anything with a pulse, nor any shellfish nor clams,oysters, mussels etc.
No dairy.. (milks, eggs, cheese, butter : solid nor clarified).
They DO eat lots of unprocessed grains, legumes, nuts, sea vegetables, root and plant vegetables and fruit, and given the correct cooking treatments, Vegan dishes can be as tasty and as filling as their vegetarian counterparts, it just takes a little more effort, time and imagination.
Today and tomorrow I am creating a mainly vegan menu, the only things that are vegetarian are the Vegetable Cottage Pie ( Shepherd's pie), and the Eve's pudding, fresh caramelized apples with a vanilla sponge cake topping.
I enjoy compound salads...the ones that eat like a meal, and I am making 2 couscous based, "Tabouleh" type ones;
A chopped raw vegetable ( tomato, cucumber, scallions),parsley, cooked chickpeas, with a citrus dressing and a cabbage slaw
A chopped dried apricots, parsley, chopped raw macadamia nuts, parsley,cooked chickpeas, raisins, cumin, turmeric, fresh mint and cabbage slaw.
A black bean and dried tomato ( own dried from last summer) dip with whole wheat pita bread
The soups are:
Mixed vegetable with basil-pumpkin seed pesto ( no cheese)
Miso with sea vegetables ( kombu kelp and fresh vegetables)
Entrees
Sloppy Joes...This is a very American dish.
Usually made with ground meat, I am using bulgur wheat and tempeh (fermented soy and flax seeds, fermented in a block), in a tomato-chili sauce..cooked well then spooned onto own made poppy seed-oat bread rolls...These small rolls have a denser texture so they soak up the sauce well.
The trick with the tempeh is to break into small pieces and cook in boiling salted water for 10 mins..drain then rinse and cool and it breaks up into "grains", which in a sauce, behaves like ground meat.
Fermented soy is the only way the human body can break down & absorb all the nutrients from the beans...when eating fresh edamame or even drinking soy milk, 80% of all nutrition is lost.
(Tempeh, miso paste and brewed soy sauce are good)
Falafal Po'Boys another American classic usually (deli meats & cheese on a bread roll) given an vegan twist with garlic and chickpea fritters served with a very lenmony-tahini sauce again with whole wheat pita breads, sliced tomatoes & scallions.
A wonderful pomegranate molasses infused lentil and chickpea stew with brown rice ( cumin, turmeric, garlic, carrots, sweet potatoes, celery) Middle East inspired.
British classic with a California twist... Cottage pie with vegetables and topped with mashed yams & cheese
Own grown sprouts and a fermented pro-biotic called spiralinalak, made from fermented rye berries.
For dessert a Vanilla sponge topped Eve's pudding, with caramelized Granny Smith apples.
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| The tempeh before cooking in boiling salted water for 20 mins, then broken up |
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| The tempeh cooking |
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| Direct from India..Kashmir Red Chili powder, very spicy! |
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| cooked chickpeas with turmeric & bay laurel |
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| The bread roll dough |
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| the crumbled tempeh to be added to the chili mix |
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| Previous 2 the vegetable soup topped with basil-pumpkin seed pesto |
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| Side view of the Sloppy Joe mix packed |
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| The basil-pumpkin seed pesto for the soup |
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| The Sloppy Joe mix packed |
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| Falafal mix |
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| breads proving |
The sloppy Joe's were a big hit and I will be making them again next month.
ReplyDeleteNo one noticed they were Vegan!!
Vegans also do not eat honey
ReplyDelete