Tag Archives: dairy-free

Oct 31 2012
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Lazy Vegan, Reviews

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween from Turning Veganese! Um, now here’s the part where I apologize because this isn’t really a Halloween-themed post, but a Lazy Vegan review of Amy’s Rice Crust Roasted Vegetable Pizza. I liked Amy’s products a lot in my pre-vegan days. Their stuff is just better than other frozen prepared foods in many ways.

This pizza is single serve and topped with shiitake mushrooms, sweet onions, and roasted red peppers. It has no cheese (dairy or otherwise) and is gluten-free. It’s easy to cook in the oven, but what I really loved is that they provided toaster oven directions as well. I love using my toaster oven!! Bonus: no cheese means no potential mess in your oven or oven rack. Sadly, it is not soy-free. It’s not a thousand calories and was the perfect portion for a dinner, though I did make a salad to accompany it.

At the first bite, I was kind of weirded out by the rice crust. I got over it quickly, though. The crust had a nice crunchy texture. The sauce was good and not slimey like on other frozen pizzas. The veggies were good; the sweet onion was the real star among them. I have to admit that the pizza was kind of bland. I sprinkled some garlic salt and red pepper flakes on it and topped with some fresh cilantro that I had in the fridge. It made a HUGE difference!

Here’s a photo of the salad I made. Doesn’t it look delicious? It was!

So, yeah… mine doesn’t exactly look like the version on the box. It might look a little burnt on the edge, but there was no burnt taste and it was just as edible as the rest of the slice. I am likely to buy this again, but I might watch to see when it’s on sale or I have a coupon. Amy’s has a lot of great products, but, unfortunately, you won’t find their vegan products in many (or any) stores outside of your neighborhood Whole Foods.

Now, I have to go back to resisting all the non-vegan Halloween candy I have! –Melissa

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Oct 30 2012
4 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes

Penne Puttanesca

Puttanesca is terribly underrated and we were cleaning out the fridge this particular day. I started simply and got some of my favorite pasta sauce and a bag of rice pasta. Brent is in charge of making pasta so I was saucy!

I diced an onion and sauteed it with some flake red pepper and basil olive oil. It smelled SO amazing I wish I could make a scratch-n-sniff post.

I added 2 cups of sauce and threw in

1 tin of olives that I drained

1 cup of TVP (omit if you’re sensitive to soy)

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp coriander

1 tin of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tin of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

I stirred it up until it was hot and fragrant and when Brent was done making the pasta we mixed it all together and devoured it.

I guess we do this kind of pasta a lot and don’t always post about it. Capers, mushrooms, garlic, basil leaves and just about everything else gets throw into this dish. I recommend it for families with kids who will find the hunt for all the different veggies and beans entertaining.

This is Brent and Christie, signing off!

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Oct 26 2012
1 Comment
Cooking, Reviews

Speaking of Shrimp…

After posting about lobster mushrooms I did get a hankering for shrimp. So these exist…

I know, right? They look vaguely like the real thing and I’m here to tell you about it.I was excited that they’re gluten-free and soy-free. The ingredients are pretty good, mostly starch and flavorings. They’re low calorie and non-GMO. I thought they were a little expensive at $8 per package, particularly considering the ingredients, but I also don’t know how to make pseudo-shrimp at home.

I decided to cook them like any self respecting lover of shrimp would; I heated up a pan with copious amounts of Earth Balance butter and garlic.

They smelled divine, not fishy. Shrimp shouldn’t smell particularly fishy anyways as long as they’re fresh.

Sauteeing them I got a better idea of their texture. They’re slightly rubbery, like shrimp that you’re likely to find at most restaurants. I personally like the texture a lot.

After adding some pasta, sun dried tomato and Teese mozzarella to the mix, things were starting to look delicious.

We topped it with some fresh basil. It was a welcome change so far as dinner goes. I think they’d be great in stir fry or in gumbo but I’m not sure about as a shrimp cocktail. I’d buy these again. Let me know what you think if you get to try them!

 

This is Christie, signing off!

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Oct 23 2012
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Reviews

Kale Chips

I’ve got a thing for kale. It’s among my favorite green leafy vegetables and I love a lot of them so that’s saying something. This is a little known fact among carnists but I know most vegans out there are nodding their heads when I say that kale makes great chips. Today I’m telling you about 3 different brands that Brent and I have tried.

Kaia Foods makes 3 different flavors of kale chips: barbecue, cheese and sea salt and vinegar. I found the taste to be bitter and the chips were crushed in their bags. They’re gluten-free, nut-free and soy-free. They’re fairly inexpensive so far as kale chips go at $5.89 per bag.

New York Naturals is one of my favorites. It comes in Bombay ranch, cheese, spicy miso and sea salt and vinegar flavors. Bombay ranch was my favorite with a creamy, tangy flavor with a hint of curry to it. The sea salt and vinegar was very salty which is saying something because I dig salt. The kale chips were huge [mostly] intact leaves covered in delicious flavorful cashews. Just watch out for the stems… they’re like twigs. They’re fairly high in calories but are a great alternative to junk food that’s made from junk. These contain soy and nuts but are safe for people with nut or gluten allergies. They cost $7.99 ber box but I think they’re at least worth giving a try if you’ve got some spare cash for a new mouth experience.

Pacific Northwest Kale chips come in cheezy, cilantro lime jalapeño and Stumptown original. Stumptown contains hazelnuts and the other 2 contain cashews so be aware for those with nut allergies. The flavors are kind of awesome and I particularly liked the Stumptown original; it was subtly spicy and cheesy. Unfortunately they did get stale quickly in the Florida humidity but I think that’s unavoidable here. They also got crushed in the bag so it was difficult to get both the flavoring and the kale into my mouth (not as bad as Kaia Foods). They cost $8.99 per bag. If you’re in the market for kale chips, I’d recommend the New York Naturals.

What New York Naturals did that the others didn’t was to put their chips into a box. This keeps the flavoring on the kale and the kale intact so you get chips instead of crumbles. So now you know Brent’s and my favorite is NYN but if you’ve got a dehydrator you’ll end up with the best product if you make it yourself. Kale with a touch of olive oil and sea salt is my favorite of favorites.

This is Christie, signing off!

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Oct 19 2012
2 Comments
Reviews

Cava and Caviart

Brent and I like to celebrate for no reason whatsoever. And sometimes there’s a reason like reaching the 20K milestone for visits to Turning Veganese!

What better way to celebrate than with champagne and caviar? Okay, well it’s cava and Cavi-art but who’s counting.

We started with the traditional black Cavi-art and the red chili varieties. We paired it with some regular rice crackers and some home-made cashew cheese. Both varieties of Cavi-art are pretty amazing both in appearance and texture relative to the real thing except that neither is driving a species to extinction. Sturgeon are really cool fishes. I want future generations to get to meet them. It’s still a little pricey for most budgets but compared to the real thing is relatively inexpensive at $10.95 for 3.5 ounces

Caviart is made from seaweed and has half the calories of the real thing. They’re also rich in flavor and come in varieties like wasabi, ginger, ‘salmon’, black, red, yellow and balsamic (which I recommend with pesto).

So Brent and I got to have a decadent celebration with some of the old school players. I want to make a quick note about sparkling wines. I’m a big fan of cava, which is the Spanish equivalent of French Champagne.  We’re big fans of Cristalino cava which has actually won awards as a value sparkling wine and I think it’s as good as some $70 bottles of champagne for a tenth of the price.

Why sparkling wine? Most high quality sparkling wines are fermented in the bottle and then clarified by a process called ‘riddling’ which was invented by Madame Nicole-Barbe Clicquot, also of my favorite champagne, Veuve Clicquot. Riddling is animal friendly so if you’re trying to figure out which wine to order at a fancy dinner party but don’t want to bust out your cell phone to check barnivore.com, look for a sparkling wine (cava, prosecco, champagne, etc.) and ask to see the bottle. If the bottle says “fermented in this bottle”, you’ve got a winner. Now go forth and celebrate for no reason whatsoever.

This is Christie, signing off!

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Oct 16 2012
9 Comments
Raw

Hemp Cheese

I’ve been making cashew cheese for months now but wanted to try this with hemp seeds (nutrition data pictured at left). Hemp is a much more sustainable seed product than cashews or almonds mostly because they use less water to grow, ounce for ounce and has twice the protein for about the same amount of fat, Hemp is also rich in omega fatty acids and iron. This is also suitable for most people with nut allergies as well as soy-and dairy sensitivities. To make this cheesy spread I combined

1 cup of hemp seeds

juice from 1 lemon

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 generous pinch of salt

2-3 tbsp of water

I then blended the mixture until it was creamy. This took a while but the end product was worth it. We ended up with a lightly sweet cheesy spread. I suspect you could also bake it to make a harder cheese like I normally do with cashew cheese. I was feeling peckish and impatient so that didn’t happen.

You can also add your favorite vegan pesto spread for a pesto spread, some herbes de provence, dairy-free ranch seasoning or whatever your favorite dip is.

It’s great on our home-made gluten-free vegan bread or in combination with a sprinkle of fresh herbs on crackers. It also makes a great high protein pasta sauce. Let me know if you get to try it!

This is Christie signing off!

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Oct 11 2012
1 Comment
Reviews

Vegan Beer : New Planet’s 3R Raspberry Ale

What up thugs and thugettes? We’re back with our fourth installment of vegan beer reviews. In this post we take a look at New Planet’s 3R Raspberry Ale. It’s Barnivore approved, and pretty freaking tasty!

Enjoy. And from Brent and Christie, peace out, my vegans.

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Oct 09 2012
15 Comments
Cooking

Crazy Easy Three Bean Chili and a Giveaway!

Three bean vegan chili is nothing to sneeze at when we make it. Before I talk about chili though, I’m going to tell you about Muir Glen – I’ve been using their organic canned tomatoes for years.

I grew up farming and tomatoes have a special place in my heart. In fact I’m a tomato snob. I usually turn my nose up at tomatoes in the supermarket and in restaurants because they’ve lost their flavor through refrigeration, artificial ripening techniques, and through selective breeding for other traits like improved shelf life. Subsequently I turn to canned varieties unless I can get good ones from my garden or from my farmer’s market. Muir Glen has a range of organic tomato products including their roasted diced tomatoes, tomato paste and regular diced tomatoes. Whatever they’re doing over there definitely makes a difference and this is a giveaway so you can see for yourself without spending your hard earned cash.

Back to chili. Tomatoes are important for chili recipes. I can’t imagine chili without them: they provide a crisp base and a source of important nutrients like lycopene and vitamin C. To begin we assembled the following:

1 onion, diced

1 jalapeño, minced

1 cube vegetable bouillon

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp coriander

1 15oz. tin of pinto beans

1 15oz. tin of kidney beans

1 15oz. tin of black beans

1 15oz. tin of diced tomatoes

1 15oz. tin roasted diced tomatoes

1 cup TVP (use a 15oz. tin of pumpkin puree if you’re sensitive to soy or both if you want a mellower chili)

1 tsp flake red pepper (more if you like spicy food)

salt to taste

1 tsp olive oil

We sauteed the onion, jalapeño and spices and sauteed it in olive oil until the mixture was fragrant and steamy.

Then we added the tomatoes and heated them until it started to bubble.

Then I added the rest of the ingredients (don’t drain the liquid from the beans or tomatoes). I added both TVP and pumpkin. That’s just how I roll. After it was nice and hot, I adjusted the spices and served up topped with Daiya and some home made bread.

This is a flavorful chili that will fool a lot of meat eaters with how hearty it is. The roasted tomatoes add an additional depth of flavor that you can’t get just by adding liquid smoke. The textured vegetable protein will confuse a lot of vegans because it’s so meaty. It’s cholesterol-free, high in fiber and low in fat.
So now on to the giveaway. This is a promo by Muir Glen: they’re going to send you a 14.5 oz can Reserve Harvest Sunset Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, a 14.5 oz can Reserve Harvest Sunset Organic Diced Tomatoes, a 14.5 oz can Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies, a 14.5 oz can Muir Glen Organic No-Salt Added Diced Tomatoes and recipe booklet featuring a variety of recipes created by award-winning chefs from around the country. Of course you’ll only need the recipe book for using the other cans of tomatoes because you’ll want 2 of them for my recipe.

In order for me to select winners, all you have to do is the following:

1. like and follow our blog

2. like us on FaceBook

3. comment below on what you use tinned tomatoes for most often in your kitchen

Then I’ll ask each of the randomly selected winners (5 in total) to email us their mailing address before midnight Sunday, October 14. I’m excited to pass on some free products that I’ve been enjoying for years so that I can be sure I’m not crazy for liking Muir Glen.

This is Christie, signing off.

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Oct 07 2012
10 Comments
Cooking

No Need to Knead Gluten-free Vegan Bread

I’m going to start this post by thanking 2 bloggers who have inspired me to take a stab at vegan baking. Somer of Vedged Out and recently featured on Forks over Knives and an Unrefined Vegan who has organized Virtual Vegan Potlucks have tickled my eyes, nose, mind and mouth in the best kind of way. They are two bloggers who seem to bake effortlessly. Vegan baking is certainly a nuanced thing but if any of you are experienced with baking gluten-free know that these recipes require lots and lots of eggs. So what’s a girl to do when she wants bread without gluten or eggs?

For baking bread today I’m using ground flax seeds. Flax is full of omega fatty acids and other important nutrients but practically speaking they’re also loaded with long chain polysaccharides that make it a great binding agent. With chicken eggs, protein forms the binding agent along with lots of cholesterol and recent studies bolster the claim that eggs are worse for your body than smoking. I don’t want that in my body so flax it is! Combine your ground flax seeds with water half an hour before baking (mix well) and you’ll notice the gelatinous texture that will help hold your bread together forming in your container. To start, we assembled the following ingredients

1 3/4 cups gluten-free all purpose flour (I’m using Bob’s Red Mill)
1/8 cup oats
1/8 cup quinoa flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp agar agar or suitable vegan gelling agent
1/4 cup lightly packed coconut sugar
5 tbsp flax meal in 1/2 cup of water (mix well and allow to sit for 20-30 minutes)
1/8 cup vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons almond milk or other vegan alternative
1 tbsp active dry yeast (no need to put it in water first, seriously)

First, Brent combined all the dry ingredients in a large bowl including the yeast.
In another bowl, I combined the vegan milk, oil and flax “eggs”. It looked kind of gross.


I added the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. Beat the batter until smooth. This can be done with a stand or hand mixer, but I like to use my Brent for this; his muscles are amazing. The batter should be thick but not doughy.


I sprayed a non-stick pan with olive oil. Then I poured the batter into the bread pan and sprinkled the top of the batter with sunflower seeds and buckwheat groats. You can also sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.

We set it aside to rise for about 50 minutes or until the batter was peeking above the rim of the pan.


We baked it in a 375°F pre-heated oven for 50 minutes; until a toothpick comes out clean. We let it cool for 15 minutes. Then we removed from the pan and cool thoroughly on a rack. A glass pan might be better for next time.


As a first effort to bake gluten-free and vegan in about a year and a half, I’m pleased. The texture of the bread was good, lightly crispy outside and fluffy inside. I have had problems in the past with vegan gluten-free breads being far too dense for my taste.

The taste was lightly sweet and nutty but nothing special. Next time I plan to add some nutritional yeast or carob and maca powder and Braag’s aminos to bring out more of the flavors in all those grains and seeds. Quinoa, flax, sunflower seeds, buckwheat groats, rice, sorghum, oats and almonds make for awesome bread.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

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Oct 05 2012
14 Comments
Main Dishes

Did you say… lobster?

Yes. I said lobster… mushrooms.

Lobster mushrooms are actually 2 kinds of fungus that live in parasitic relationship with one another. The fungus Hypomyces lactiflorum gives the characteristic red color to the outside of the white fleshed Lactarius piperatus. L. piperatus feeds the parasite which will eventually render the host unrecognizable.

Above is the sliced uncooked mushroom which does bear a striking resemblance to chopped cooked Maine lobster. I decided to do a more traditional preparation of these mushrooms by sauteeing in Earth Balance vegan butter and garlic.

This is more butter than I’ve used in years for anything so I was excited for something decadent. As with most foraged foods, these mushrooms should be cleaned carefully and inspected for insects and dirt. Also some people can have a mild adverse reaction to these mushrooms the first time they eat them so if you’re unaccustomed to these mushrooms, sample sparingly.

While cooking, these mushrooms have a delicate seafood smell and that with garlic and butter was very confusing for someone who hasn’t had lobster in a few years.  I served this up with steamed asparagus and some chipotle lime quinoa.

The flavor of this mushroom is light, fruity and with a mineral flavor that is not unlike real lobster. The texture is a little tougher than appropriately cooked seafood, not quite rubbery but more crumbly. This isn’t an ersatz meat but really a food with uniquely desirable qualities. I’m hoping that the next time I get my hands on a few of these I’ll be able to make a lobster mushroom bisque. I hope you get to try it!

This is Christie, signing off!

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