Author Archives: Melissa

Aug 14 2012
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Thoughts

Vegan Lifestyle: Shoes

We here at Turning Veganese could write many posts about shoes, handbags, and other accessories, and how turning vegan has changed how we shop. This post is about one particular brand of shoe: TOMS.

TOMS are pretty popular these days, but they first ended up on my radar when I was searching for vegan boots. They make a pretty damn cool vegan boot:

 

It was disappointed to then learn that their classic slip-on shoes are not vegan, though they do have some vegan styles. This is so exciting to me. I have two pairs of TOMS, one classic and one ballet flat, and I was finally able to get a pair of the vegan chambray slip-ons. They were on backorder for a long time!

 

While I wish TOMS was exclusively vegan, I have to appreciate that they make vegan products at all and are proud to do so. There are a lot non-vegan products that I’m having a hard time letting go of. It’s wonderful to know that I can still enjoy my comfy TOMS without compromising my vegan integrity.

Visit TOMS by clicking here.

Do you like TOMS shoes? What popular brands have vegan products? Let us know! –Melissa

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Aug 11 2012
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Thoughts

Simply Vegan

I reached another milestone yesterday: I had another birthday! It was my first birthday as a vegan. I don’t know about you, but for birthdays and other holidays, I like to enjoy a decadent meal, guilt-free. This year, I knew exactly what I wanted: a Tofurky cheese pizza and a Chicago Diner cake (which you can find at Chicago-area Whole Foods in addition to the diner itself). Props to my family for getting me exactly what I wanted! My nieces even loved the cake:

She’s a goofy one! That was dinner. Lunch was pretty darn good, too. My sister treated me to falafel from Pita Inn which is the falafel that I measure all other falafel against. In other words, it’s the best.

It was such a breeze to know exactly what I wanted to eat for my birthday. Previous years have been almost annoying… do I want Chinese food? Pizza? If pizza, deep dish or thin crust? Steak? Fried chicken? Gyros? Basically, what awful and unhealthy food should I get? I love that that wasn’t an issue this year.

In other news, I think I have finally settled on the perfect vegan Filipino breakfast:

Super garlicky rice with tempeh strips and tomato salad. I have finally embraced the wondrous tempeh strip. I credit Brent and Christie for that. This breakfast is so easy, super yummy, and hearty! And it MUST be eaten Filipino-style, with a spoon containing a little bit of everything on the plate:

Now please excuse me while I have another slice of that delicious birthday cake! –Melissa

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Aug 08 2012
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Cooking, Thoughts

Help Wanted: Upo Recipes!

I’ve posted quite a bit about my Dad’s garden this summer and I have really enjoyed it. I am so appreciative of the garden. I can grab basil or mint right when I need it, eggplants go from garden to table in minutes, and it’s kind of amazing to see beans and bitter melon go from nothing to ready-to-eat within a day or two. It’s also been really nice and rewarding for my entire family to be able to share the harvest with our friends.

One of the weirder items that my Dad grows is upo aka bottle gourd aka calabash. Here’s a picture of the plant from about a month ago:

And here’s how it looked yesterday:

The ‘meat’ of upo is quite watery. We use it a lot in soups, or we simply stir-fry it. Either way, it requires flavor. Shrimp or pork are typically cooked with upo. So here is where I ask YOU for your help! Have you cooked upo? What vegan recipes can you share? Upo seems to be used in many different ways by many cultures. I’m looking for a little guidance, and I will gladly blog about whatever recipe(s) I try.

If you have a recipe or idea to share, leave a comment! Thank you!!! –Melissa

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Aug 06 2012
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Cooking, Recipes

Stuffed Bitter Melon (Ampalaya)

This dish originated from a craving for soy curl BBQ, believe it or not. One thought led to another, and next thing I knew, I was grabbing a bitter melon or ampalaya from the fridge and getting to work. I’ve eaten a lot of ampalaya and I’ve eaten it in many, many ways, but I’ve never had it like this.

I made this using one relatively small (6-7 inches) bitter melon, so adjust the recipe measurements as needed if you have lots of melons.

Stuffed Bitter Melon

1 bitter melon
1 cup soy curls (I use Butler)
1 tbsp plum sauce
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
olive oil
salt

I cut the bitter melon in half lengthwise, scooped out its guts, and then put it in a bowl of salt water and let it soak. This helps to remove some of the bitterness. I then took the soy curls and put them in a bowl of water to rehydrate. While the melon and soy curls were both soaking, I minced the garlic and ginger.

When the soy curls were ready, I chopped them into small pieces to facilitate stuffing the melon halves. Then I browned them in a pan for about three minutes. I have started sprinkling Butler’s Chik-Style Seasoning whenever I cook soy curls to give it a more meaty flavor. This is totally optional!

I removed the soy curls from heat, placed them in a bowl, and coated them with the plum sauce, chili garlic sauce, and minced garlic and ginger. While the flavors marinaded for a bit, I got back to my bitter melon halves and rinsed them very well to remove all the salt.

I placed the halves in a baking pan and stuffed them with the soy curl mixture. Then I baked them at 325 degrees in the toaster oven for 10 minutes and raised the temp to 350 for the last five minutes. If you use a regular oven, I would bake them at 350 degrees straight for 15 minutes. You may need to keep it in there longer if you want the bitter melons to be tender. I like my melons with a little crunch.

Oh my goodness. OH MY GOODNESS! This was so delicious. It was sweet, spicy, and subtly bitter. I ate it with some rice, but it’s yummy all on its own. I’m glad to report that this was omnivore-approved. If you don’t have bitter melon, bell peppers would probably make a good substitute.

Let me take a minute to praise Butler Soy Curls. This product has seriously upped my excitement for vegan cooking. You can buy them directly from Butler in bulk or from Vegan Essentials, which is a Turning Veganese favorite.

Soy curls stuffed in bitter melon. Who knew?! Happy eating and experimenting, everyone! –Melissa

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Aug 04 2012
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Thoughts

Vegan Weirdness

I ate a peanut butter and pickle sandwich for a snack a moment ago. Is that weird? Is being vegan weird?

Whether I like it or not, being vegan sometimes makes me feel different. It was a strong feeling in the first few months and has gradually faded, at least from within. That said, I had a couple experiences in the past week where I felt like a total weirdo for being vegan.

I went out for dinner and was really appreciative when my friends made sure we went to a place where I would have vegan options. It had been awhile since I had seen one of them and she learned only a day or two before our dinner that I was vegan. It was kind of a strange meal. I felt like I was pitied because I “couldn’t” eat the meat dishes (we went out for tapas), and I also felt like the meat dishes were purposefully moved as far away from me as possible on the table. And when I offered my vegan plates to share, I got this reaction of, “No no no, that’s your food. You can’t eat our stuff so we won’t eat yours. I hope your food is good, though!” I wasn’t offended and I knew the intention wasn’t malicious, but it made me feel really weird. So I drank more sangria to take the edge off.

Yesterday, I went rogue and had a slice of cake at work. I was also offered a slice of cheesy custard coffee cake. I declined, saying that I had already been bad by eating the cake and didn’t want to be further bad and eat cheese. Without getting into specifics, let me just say that I started ranting about how cheese is dairy and dairy isn’t good for you and dairy DOES hurt cows and I don’t want to argue about whether or not it’s cool to eat cheese. The response I got from my rant: “I wasn’t attacking you. I didn’t know about milking cows and hormones. I was asking a lot of questions because I really didn’t know and I want to understand. I’m sorry!” Whoa. When did I become a defensive vegan?! WEIRD!

Ahhhh! All that aside, I’m really happy that I’ve chosen to turn veganese. It’s brought a lot of joy and knowledge into my life. It’s a lifestyle that I am extremely proud of. If that makes me weird, then I am a total weirdo! –Melissa

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Aug 01 2012
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Cooking, Main Dishes

Mushroom and Tofu Tacos, Jr.

I got this eerie sense of deja vu as I was cooking this dish and then realized that it was because I had made something like it before. I panicked at first, thinking to myself that I was mentally challenged for not being able to come up with something new. But then I realized how much had changed since I last made mushroom and tofu tacos, and I suddenly felt this sense of pride.

Allow me to explain. I went from barely cooking to suddenly learning how to cook vegan meals for myself. Every time I would prepare something, I had to do “research,” figuring out how to prepare and cook things, what ingredients to use, even simply making sure that what I was making was actually vegan. When making this dish, I didn’t think much about it. I just got my ingredients and dove right in. I am not the same Melissa that I was a year ago!

This is a good variation on my original recipe since it’s “ground” tofu and mushrooms. You will need the following:

1 block extra firm tofu, liquid squeezed out, and then mashed with a fork for a ground meat-like texture
1/3 cup of mushrooms, minced – I used some dried mushrooms that friends from Thailand brought for us
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tsp chipotle chili powder (or ancho chili powder)
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cumin
salt, to taste
olive oil for frying
ground annatto (optional)

Mix all but the olive oil and annatto together in a bowl. Fire up a frying pan and heat up the olive oil. Then, toss in the tofu/mushroom mix. Cook until heated through. I add some annatto halfway through to give the tofu some color.

Stick that stuff on a warm tortilla, put your favorite taco toppings on it, and stuff your face! –Melissa

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Jul 30 2012
9 Comments
Reviews, Snacks

PB2: Powdered Peanut Butter

I was talking to a friend who’s a vegetarian (Hi, Yamini!) when she asked if I had heard of PB2. I had not. So she gave me some to try. How awesome is that?

PB2 is a powdered peanut butter product. Say what? Yep. Powdered peanut butter.

PB2 has three ingredients: roasted peanuts, sugar, and salt. It’s basically traditional peanut butter — without  fat or oil. Per their web site, this is how the product compares to traditional peanut butter:

AMAZING, right?! Making the peanut butter is easy. Simply mix 2 tbsp of the powder with 1 tbsp of PB2. Adjust as needed if you want something more runny or more thick.

I’ll admit that I wasn’t completely blown away by PB2, but if I hadn’t known that it started out as a powder, I would have been fooled. My six-year-old niece tried some, and she loved it! I do wonder why sugar was added; not a huge deal, though.

I prefer traditional peanut butter, but the nutrition facts speak for themselves. I sometimes go several days in a row when I eat peanut butter and toast for breakfast. The lower fat and calorie content, along with 5g of protein per serving, makes PB2 a GREAT option. In addition, having peanut butter in powder form makes it easy to mix into smoothies or when baking and cooking. I definitely intend to use PB2 next time I make kare kare.

Learn more about PB2 at their official web site! Let us know what you think if you try it, and I hope you do. –Melissa

 

 

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Jul 28 2012
7 Comments
Dining Out

Being Vegan is Easy at Over Easy Cafe

Dining out when you’re vegan is generally a challenge, but it seems to be even more of a challenge when going out for breakfast. Pre-vegan, I would get overwhelmed at the vast breakfast/brunch selection at some restaurants. Now I go to those same places and get frustrated because the only vegan thing on the menu is a bowl of fresh fruit.

This morning, I perused several prospects in the hopes of finding a place that would please both myself and my non-vegan dining companions. I was really glad to come across Over Easy Cafe. Why? Because they have a tofu scramble on the menu! My Mom and niece didn’t have to be weirded out by menus that vegan/vegetarian places tend to have (let’s admit it… sometimes supremely vegan spots can be kind of weird for those who aren’t vegan) and I was able to enjoy a hearty vegan breakfast.

The Spicy Tofu Scramble consists of tofu scrambled with “chorizo” spiced veggie crumbles, red peppers, & jalapenos, topped with salsa verde & guacamole. It came with a red potato hash and a choice of whole wheat, multi-grain, sourdough, or rye toast. Let me pause here and mention that I’m not certain that the veggie crumbles were vegan and I didn’t think to ask when I was there.  Um, it was delicious. Here’s a close-up:

I hope that more places will follow the lead of Over Easy Cafe and come up with at least one vegan/vegetarian-friendly dish on their menu. It makes a huge difference.

If you’re in Chicago, try out Over Easy Cafe! –Melissa

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Jul 27 2012
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Cooking, Main Dishes

Soy Curl Adobo with Eggplant Salad

Adobo is a quintessential Filipino dish and cooking method. Pork or chicken are usually used, however, seafood and even vegetables can be cooked adobo-style. Clearly, soy curls are a great substitute. I’m still amazed by what a great meat substitute they are. I’m also amazed that it took me so long to try making soy curl adobo because it’s so quick and easy. Special shout-out to my cousin Dulce for motivating me!

Here’s what you’ll need for soy curl adobo:

soy curls
soy sauce
white vinegar
garlic cloves, very coarsely minced
black peppercorns
bay leaf
Butler Chik-Style Seasoning (optional)
turbinado (optional)

I’m not listing measurements because all you need to know is this: use equal parts soy sauce and vinegar and use more if you want the adobo to be soupy and less if you don’t. The amount of garlic is your call, too, but adobo is meant to be garlicky. With about 1 cup of soy curls, I used 2 tbsp each of soy sauce and vinegar and two garlic cloves.

I put the soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and peppercorns in a small bowl (I didn’t have a bay leaf). Then, I fired up a small frying pan (you can also use a saucepan or pot), heated some olive oil in it, threw in my rehydrated soy curls and some Chik-Style seasoning, and mixed it all together.

Immediately after that, I added in the soy sauce-vinegar mixture. I mixed it again and let it cook. Optional: once the liquid starts cooling off a bit, you can add some turbinado (I did not).

I didn’t use a lot of liquid, so I ended up with some dry adobo, which suits me just fine.

To accompany the adobo, I made an eggplant salad using one roasted eggplant, diced tomato, and minced shallot. My dad pickles his pepper surplus, so I took one of these little chili peppers, minced it, and threw it in the salad along with some salt.

So yummy! The best part is, this dish can last for several days. It’s a road trip favorite for Filipinos for this very reason. I hope you’ll try it. Oh! I made another great discovery today. My sister usually has an allergic reaction to soy milk and tofu. She tried this and so far, no reaction. Yay! –Melissa

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Jul 25 2012
4 Comments
Recipes

Easy Eggplant Sandwich

I’m weirded out by eggplant that I see in grocery stores. They never look as pretty or feel as nice as the ones that grow in my Dad’s garden. I took this photo about three weeks ago; we have a mess of eggplants now.

Eggplant is superb. You can use it in a variety of ways and in a variety of styles (Asian, Mediterranean, Italian, etc.). We “roasted” some eggplant by broiling them whole until they were soft and then peeled the skins. You can refrigerate the roasted eggplant for use later, which is what we did in this case.

You’ll need the following for the Easy Eggplant Sandwich:

roasted eggplant
sliced tomato
vegan pesto
toasted bread

Another garden goody is fresh basil. Here’s a pic of my Dad picking some basil for me for this recipe. I needed it for the pesto!

To make the pesto, put the following into a food processor and combine:

1 1/2 cups fresh basil
4-5 garlic cloves
1/3 c olive oil
1/3 c almonds or pine nuts
1/4-1/3 c nutritional yeast
salt, to taste
crushed red pepper (optional but highly recommended by me)

Look at this beautiful pesto! The non-vegans in the house thoroughly enjoyed it so I am extra proud of it.

Get all your ingredients together on the table.

To construct the sandwich, take your toast, spread pesto on it (it’s okay to be liberal with the amount you use–go crazy!), mash some eggplant on that (no need to reheat if it’s chilled), and top with tomato.

Well, I could write some more about this, but I would like to be alone with my sandwich now… –Melissa

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