Vegan Cheese Alternative!!!

OK. Today I absolutely love me, because I invented this fabulous recipe. Well to be honest I got the idea from it online, but the only similarities between mine and that one are the base ingredients. The other recipe was written by a very confused hippy I think, because they sort of listed the base ingredients (potatoes and corn meal, as you'll see below), then they gave suggestions of other things you might put in there, then gave a sort of impotent attempt at preparation instructions which then just sort of faded off halfway through having never told anyone anything. So........I figured out my own thingy!!

It tastes pretty darn close to cheddar cheese. Not exactly, and the consistency is nowhere near of course, but pretty darned close and certainly good for sandwiches or when you're standing near the refrigerator pretending that "sampling" isn't really "eating".


Ingredients

Boiled Potatoes - 750 grams (a little over 1 1/2 pounds)
Corn Meal - 3 tablespoons
Popcorn, popped and smashed (Yes, I said popcorn!!) - 1 microwave bag full.
Vegan butter - 3 tablespoons
MSG - 1 teaspoon
Apple Cider Vinegar - 1 tablespoon
Pumpkin Seed Oil (or any other vegetable based oil!) - 1/2 tablespoon
Yeast (that "Nutritional Yeast" stuff if you can get it!) - About 42 grams (just under 1 1/2 ounces)
Lemon juice - 1/2 tablespoon
Paprika - 1 teaspoon
Cumin - 2 teaspoons
Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon

To kick it over the edge add:
Onion flakes - 4 teaspoons
Garlic powder - 1 teaspoon

Instructions

Peel and boil the potatoes. When they are just done (not too too done!), drain them and mash them up. Then with a fork, one by one smash in the rest of the ingredients! It should have the consistency of peanut butter when you're done. Put it in the fridge in a flat Tupperware thing with a lid and let is chill and go all solid for a few hours. You can slice it or spread it, whichever you prefer. It should last about 3-4 days in the fridge. Probably you will eat it all before that though because it's fab.

BTW, not only is this delicious, it also has FAR LESS FAT and FAR FEWER CALORIES than regular cheese. I don't know what the calories are "per serving", because I have no idea what a "serving is, but below I've provided the nutritional information including calories for THE WHOLE THING:

Nutritional information if you were to eat the WHOLE THING:

Calories: 1,290 (but remember, that's for the WHOLE THING)
Fat: 38.5 grams
Carbohydrate: 218.2 grams
Dietary Fiber: 21.9 grams
Protein: 22.7 grams


Just as an FYI, the same amount of real cheese would have 3,146 calories and 242 grams of fat (of which 149 would be saturated fat). Plus you'd break out, have bad dreams if you ate it before going to sleep AND you'd be eating fermented cow juice.
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Vegan Pancakes!!!

As you might know if you read my "actual" blog (http://cafejovanka.blogspot.com/), I have recently taken the leap from Vegetarianism into Veganism. Hooray! And I'm finding out that there are a gazillion ways to make vegan versions of things that are not just as good but BETTER than the non-vegan originals! Try this and I defy you not to love it. It's really fast and easy, too!

Serves 2 people (or 4 if you're being sensible)

INGREDIENTS

1 cup flour (any kind)
2 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup soymilk (Vanilla flavored soymilk makes it even better!)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
A few drops vanilla flavoring

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl then pour onto a preheated (medium high) non-stick frying pan. test the edges with a spatula and when they get rubbery slide the spatula under them and flip them over. It really only takes about 2 or 3 minutes.

Serve them up with organic maple syrup and prepare to lap up the praise.
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Baked "Fish Style" Tofu on Toast - Under 300 Calories Per Serving!

I am on a diet right now. Some meat eaters have a myth about vegetarians always being skinny, but oh are they wrong my friend. We can be chubby. Believe you me. Maybe we can't ever approach the someone-needs-to-knock-a-wall-down-and-fetch-us-out-of-our-house-with-a-forklift obesity of some meat eaters, but we can certainly eat enough delicious vegetarian food to not be able to fit into any of our jeans and have to wear sweatpants everywhere.

This recipe was taught to me by a fabulous lady called Marie-Jeanne. Marie-Jeanne has been a vegan for 40 years and runs a vegan animal rescue sanctuary in the Flemish Ardennes. She is such an animal lover that you aren't allowed to wash your hands if there's a tiny spider in the sink and mice are welcome guests in her house and come for their dinner every afternoon. She is who I want to be when I grow up.



That's why I was rather shocked one day when she said she was making fish for lunch. Really??? What happened to your principles? What's going on? She seemed to be giggling about something and then I saw why: What she had made was this baked tofu dish. Whew! The spider in the sink and I breathed a sigh of relief! And to top it all off it was absolutely delicious!

So being on a diet, as I am, I've adapted this fabulousness and now enjoy it as satisfying breakfast (or lunch or dinner!)

Ingredients
Serves One. Make more if there are more people (do I really need to say this? I don't think so.)

Half a Package of firm tofu cut into slices like in the picture at the beginning of this recipe.
1 teaspoon olive oil
About 1 tablespoon of "fish seasoning" spice which you can buy at most super markets.
1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1-2 cloves garlic, sliced
One piece of toast


Instructions

In a glass baking thingy, smear the olive oil on both sides of each tofu slice.
Sprinkle the lemon juice over the now oiled tofu slices.
Sprinkle the spice liberally over the whole lot. Use more if you like. It won"t hurt you.
Place the garlic slices on top, evenly distributed

Bake in the oven at 200°C for 20-25 minutes.

Put toast in toaster. When it pops up, remove it.

Serve the tofu on the toast! Enjoy!

Now here's the nutritional information:

Calories: 283
Fat: 13.8 grams
Carbs: 17.8 grams
Protein: 22 grams (!!)

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General Tso Tofu!

I recently heard someone describing "General Tso" chicken and she was ooh-ing and aah-ing and going on and on about how great it was, but I stopped her halfway through and said, hold on there shortstop, I don't eat meat, remember? then she assured me that I was in luck because apparently the secret is in the sauce. So I let her go on with her sales pitch. Then I went online and figured out all the ingredients. Then I made some General Tso at home with tofu - all within hours! It was fabulous! Horribly, disgustingly fattening but absolutely gorgeous! Spicy and savory and Mmmmmmmm!!! I don't know who exactly General Tso was, but he was certainly a guy who liked adventure!

Now first of all, there is a Vegetarian and a Vegan version. The vegetarian version uses eggs, and the vegan version doesn't. If you are vegan, you can either use a vegan egg substitute you buy in a shop, or you can make your own egg substitue thusly:

Vegan Egg Substitute

Mix: soya flour, wholemeal flour, vegetable oil, soya milk, baking powder and salt.

OK - I'm guessing at the proportions here because I'm really bad at translating what I do into Human Speak; but basically 1/4 cup each of the soya flour, wholemeal flour, vegetable oil and soya milk, then about a teaspoon each of baking powder and salt. Mix it all up and if you need to adjust the consistency of the goo, add either flour or soya milk as needed. You can store the unused portion in the fridge for a few days.

OK Here's the ingredients you need for the whole shebang:

Ingredients
A half kilo 16 ounce) extra firm tofu
2 eggs, beaten (or egg replacer to make it Vegan)
5 teaspoons cornstarch, for sauce
1/2 cup cornstarch, for breading
5 tablespoons rice vinegar
6 1/2 tablespoons rice wine
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 cup oil (for frying)
chili oil

Directions

1. Chop tofu into 1 inch cubes, press these between two towels to take out the moisture and dry them.

2. Mix rice vinegar, rice wine, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, 2 Tbsp Sesame oil, and chili oil to taste. Add to this the cubes of tofu, cover and let marinate in refrigerator at least 4 hours, preferably over night. BTW if you like things really spicy, add a little chili paste. If you like things even spicier than that, chuck in some actual chilis.

3. Next, remove the tofu from the marinade. Try to remove as much outer moisture from them as you can. Set them aside.

4. Take the marinade and add to it the 5 tsp Cornstarch and 1/2 cup sugar. Then whisk it together.

5. In a large sauce pan bring the marinade (now General Tso's Sauce) to boiling over medium low heat. It should be thick when done. Then remove from heat.

6. Beat two eggs, (or pour about 2 egg's worth of the the vegan goo that you pre-made) and immerse the tofu in it, covering all sides with egg/vegan goo. Then remove the tofu and place it on a paper towel. Then toss the tofu in the 1/2 cup cornstarch to lightly cover each side. Shake off the excess.

7. Heat 1/2 cup oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Then place in the tofu, turn it during cooking so that each side gets browned.

8. When all sides are browned, place the tofu on a paper towel to get rid of excess oil. Then add the tofu into the sauce and heat over low for 3-5 minutes until everything is heated through.

9. Serve with rice. Oh. I forgot to mention that you should make some rice. But hopefully you're reading this all through before you actually make the stuff.

10. Serve it and rake in the compliments.

Oh! BTW: Sesame seeds ad a really nice touch. You can sprinkle a few on when it's done. It looks kind of cool too.

Here is the nutritional info!!


Serving Size 1 (388g)
Recipe makes 3 servings
Calories 873
Calories from Fat 497 (56%)
Amount Per Serving %DV
Total Fat 55.2g 84%
Saturated Fat 9.1g 45%
Monounsaturated Fat 22.4g
Polyunsaturated Fat 20.7g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 141mg 47%
Sodium 2751mg 114%
Potassium 437mg 12%
Total Carbohydrate 68.0g 22%
Dietary Fiber 2.4g 9%
Sugars 35.4g
Protein 22.5g 45%
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Thai Style Spinach Tofu Curry with Peanut Sauce

I haven't posted anything here in a while, partially (I suppose) because I'm really lazy and partially (I suppose) because I'm aware that no one is reading this. Ah, but this blog is for me and my own private usage I've decided!! Those of you who refuse to read it.......won't read this, either....so.......um......there.

BTW I realize the photo isn't of the best quality, but it is an actual picture I actually took of the actual finished product, and that should count for something. The camera isn't even ours - our camera broke. This one is a very crappy one which we borrowed from our friends.

OK here are the ingredients:

For the main thingy
2 Pkgs Tofu
3 med. Onions
2 cups frozen chopped spinach
1 pkg or can tomato pieces
2 garlic cloves
2 tspn. curry powder
2 vegetable stock cubes
2 tablespoons soy sauce


For the peanut sauce
(This is made in mind with having lots left over so you can use it on salads and things for weeks to come as it is delicious. That is, of course, unless you do what I did and accidentally spill it all over your kitchen floor).
6 cloves garlic
2 red chili peppers
fresh ginger (about the same amount bulk wise as the garlic)
About 3/4 cup peanut butter
About 1/2 cup olive oil (Did I mention this isn't exactly diet food?)
2 or 3 table spoons soy sauce
Salt to taste

Also make some rice. Surely I shouldn't have to tell anyone how to do that??

Whoops! I have to go. I'll post cooking instructions later.

The Peanut Butter Sandwich - a Minimalist Recipe dedicated to Boukje

My sister-in-law Boukje reads my recipe blog apparently, but has complained that my recipes have "too many ingredients". I suppose this is true, and really, what kind of vegetarian blogger would I be if I didn't also cater to the vegetarian on the go who doesn't have time for such frivolity. With that in mind, I present my recipe for a peanut butter sandwich.

The Peanut Butter Sandwich

Ingredients:

Peanut butter
Bread
Butter (optional)


Cooking instructions:

Gather all your ingredients in front of you, with a standard sized plate and a dull knife. (editor's note! If the butter option is being used, you might want to use two knives so as not to sully any of your ingredients!).

Open the jar of peanut butter by steadying the jar with one hand whilst revolving the lid in an anti-clockwise direction with the other hand. When the lid has clearly disconnected from the jar, cease revolving motion and gently lift lid away from jar and set down on a (preferably) flat surface. Now take bread in hands. Hopefully bread has been pre-sliced. If not, it would be advisable to discontinue operation and acquire pre-sliced bread. If this is not an option, carefully slice two equal (1 - 1 1/2 centimeter in width) slices off the loaf of bread. (*warning*: make sure you are slicing across the shortest width of the bread. Slicing across the longest width of the bread can result in a sandwich that is completely the wrong size!)...Take the two slices of either pre-sliced or carefully self-sliced bread, and set them on the plate, broad side down.

For butter option (If preparing non-buttered option, please skip this step and proceed to the next paragraph entitled, "Applying the peanut butter"): Unwrap butter, or remove lid from butter spread, whichever is applicable. Grasp dull knife by the handle (important!), and insert the blade into the butter. Remove the blade employing a semi-circular movement with the wrist so that a measure of butter is removed and sticks to the knife. If first attempt is unsuccessful, try again using a slightly larger arc until butter removal is achieved. Once butter is on the knife, bring it to the bread, lower it, and distribute the butter onto the broad side of the bread using the knife in sweeping motions to coax the butter to the edges of the bread. Keep doing this until the butter is evenly distributed on the bread. If more distribution is needed, repeat butter removal step to bring more butter to the bread.

Applying the Peanut Butter: Grasp a dull knife by the handle, and gently insert the blade into the peanut butter on the inside of the peanut butter jar. Employing a circular motion, use the knife to coax a chunk of peanut butter out of the jar. Bring the knife, with the peanut butter on it, to the non-buttered slice of bread and lower the peanut butter onto the bread. Using a sweeping motion, distribute the peanut butter over the bread, extending out towards the edges. If distribution does not seem complete, repeat the instructions at the beginning of this paragraph to acquire more peanut butter.

When you are happy with amount/distribution of peanut butter (and butter, if you are using this option), prepare to close your sandwich. To do this, gently lift one of the bread slices and revolve it so the butter/peanut butter is facing downwards, towards the other piece of bread. Now move the bread so that it is positioned above the other slice of bread (which should still be lying stationary on the plate). Line up the two pieces of bread as best as you can by visually judging where the corners are. Your aim here is to bring the two pieces of bread together in an exact square with all the sides of the square of one slice lining up with all the sides of the square of the other slice. When you are certain that this has been achieved, carefully lower the piece of bread in your hands until it is on top of and touching the stationary piece of bread. When this has been achieved, you can remove your hands.

Congratulations! Your sandwich is now ready to eat! Simply slip your thumbs under the sandwich, at the same time closing your other fingers over the top, with enough pressure to secure your sandwich. Be careful not to apply too much pressure or sandwich can fracture. Bring sandwich towards your face and apply eating motion.

Enjoy!






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Vegan Risotto

Dedicated to Jonathan, who is trying to lower his cholesterol or triglycerides or something.

Here's something you should know about Jonathan: He is a vegetarian. And yet he apparently has such high cholesterol that his doctor has had "a word" with him How can this be? I'll tell you how: Not only is Jonathan a vegetarian, he is also an Australian. And the problem with Australians is that when made to give up their barbecues, they tend to fall back on the deep fried and stodgy foods of their British ancestry. And believe me, there is nothing that an Australian would find more insulting than to be reminded of having British Ancestry, but it's true. And British food is world renowned for being terrible. Everything is deep fried or buttery and vegetables, when present, are boiled until they are unrecognizable. So when you couple that with Jonathan's addiction to cheese (in lieu of barbecue meat), you're heading for trouble.

By contrast, the Italians seem to have the right idea about things. They cover everything with cholesterol-lowering olive oil, infuse everything with garlic, drink red wine, and live with a relaxing fegiddahbowddit attitude. And I, having Italian blood, have magically been inspired to create this tantalizing dish.

I've also made it easy for those bachelors on the go.


The Recipe:

1 package rice in the individual boily bag thingy
2 medium tomatoes
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 or 2 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon olive oil
A few leaves of fresh basil, torn into bits.


Set the rice to boil in slightly salted water. While it is boiling, prepare the other ingredients, and put them into a large bowl. It helps if you stir it all up together. When the rice is done, cut the bag open (be careful! Don't burn your fingers! Use a fork for Chrissakes!) and dump the rice into the bowl. Mix it all together. Add more olive oil if you like, if you're not worried about the calories. Don't worry about the fat thing, because this is good fat.

Good, huh?.......Now lay off the cheese for a while, my friend. x