We received some free "written off" brown rice from the food co-op. By "some" i mean about 6lbs. I'm not a fan of rice, really, but i AM a fan of pudding. Specifically rice pudding.
I soak my rice overnight (1:2 rice:water) ratio with about a tablespoon of something lactobacilli-containing-- plain kombucha or soy yogurt, in a covered tupperware. It supposedly makes it easier to digest. I don't rinse or drain in after soaking, it just goes straight to the stove for the usual 45 minutes.
Rice Pudding!
Ingredients:
3/4 c. cooked brown rice
1.5 c. almond milk (may have to add more if it thickens prematurely)
2 t. light brown sugar
1 T. white sugar
1/2 t. cardamom
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla extract
dash of salt
Simmer everything until it's rice pudding consistency adding more almond milk as you see fit, stirring often. Serve warm or cold. Garnish with almonds, cinnamon, raisins, or in my case, a ginger-o cookie.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
BEST VEGAN FOOD IN ANN ARBOR, MI ACCORDING TO ME
I lived in Ann Arbor for 4 years as a non vegan and for 1 year as a vegan, after returning home from Philadelphia. I basically only live in the Ann Arbor area because of the food and my boyfriend. But here are my favorites.
1. Chia Shiang: on Packard (past Stadium): OMG. My friend took me here and I was a little resistant at first because I dislike change, but OMG THIS IS THE BEST PLACE EVER. Through the week they have vegan hot and sour soup, but not on weekends. The vegan wonton is so-so (cold when I got it), but the SESAME SUE PAO (fake beef) is one of the most delicious deep fried asian delights I've ever experienced.
2. Earthen Jar: on 5th Ave (just east of Main, just south of Liberty). Pay by the pound, probably about 80% vegan, and the entire restaurant is a shrine to Bob Marley. Weigh your plate first, wash your dishes in the back afterwards, and get a soy lassi.
3. Pita Kabob Grill: (William and State). "Megan's Falafel" is awesome, as is the cauliflower one, but get Megan's. The baklava is vegan, too. OH! And get a side of french fries with garlic sauce. The garlic sauce is vegan. Your order will likely be taken by a girl reading a fantasy novel with a skinny waist, or a broody teen in a Coheed and Cambria sweatshirt... she wasn't wearing it when I brought 1/2 of Dillinger Escape Plan in for lunch, which was probably lucky.
4. Exotic Bakery: (Plymouth Rd near N. Campus). An old Syrian man will microwave a plate full of delicious delights for you and point out all the vegan desserts. The restaurant looks like the front of their house probably looks like. I love it here. This should be way higher on the list.
5. Arbor Brewing Co: (on Washingston btw Main and 4th). Decent place to take nonvegan friends or family. They've heard of "vegan" which is sort of novel at most "pubfare" type places and usually have a vegan special-- or something that can easily be made vegan. Plus they have a tempeh burger if you don't like the special. The special is usually pretty sweet though.
***Truly, it would take A LOT to get me to go to somewhere other than these restaurants, but I do occasionally "mix it up"***
6. Eastern Flame: (next to the Fleetwood) open til like 4am. I went here after The Bang!. Their cheap 1/2 order of hummus or baba is delightful.
7. Sylvio's: (on North U. just east of State Street). Vegan pizza. I've had better, I've had worse. It's vegan pizza.
8. Arirang: (in the strip mall at Ann-Arbor Saline Rd and Water St. near the Outback). The stone bowl tofu bi bim bap without egg. Yum. Don't eat the mysterious things they bring out on the tray before hand. The "onions" are dried squids, and the "tofu squares" are some sort of egg custard... LESSON LEARNED.
9. Red Sea... BUT THEY CLOSED :(
10. People's Food Co-op/Cafe Verde: (Kerrytown). The hot bar food and especially the soup, are sorta bland, but I like it.
11. Jazzy Veggie: (on Main St near Vinology). Not awesome, but 100% vegan so you should go there anyway. A LOT of fake meat, which I don't really like. The chicken noodle was pretty good though.
That's it. I left out Seva because I think it sucks.
1. Chia Shiang: on Packard (past Stadium): OMG. My friend took me here and I was a little resistant at first because I dislike change, but OMG THIS IS THE BEST PLACE EVER. Through the week they have vegan hot and sour soup, but not on weekends. The vegan wonton is so-so (cold when I got it), but the SESAME SUE PAO (fake beef) is one of the most delicious deep fried asian delights I've ever experienced.
2. Earthen Jar: on 5th Ave (just east of Main, just south of Liberty). Pay by the pound, probably about 80% vegan, and the entire restaurant is a shrine to Bob Marley. Weigh your plate first, wash your dishes in the back afterwards, and get a soy lassi.
3. Pita Kabob Grill: (William and State). "Megan's Falafel" is awesome, as is the cauliflower one, but get Megan's. The baklava is vegan, too. OH! And get a side of french fries with garlic sauce. The garlic sauce is vegan. Your order will likely be taken by a girl reading a fantasy novel with a skinny waist, or a broody teen in a Coheed and Cambria sweatshirt... she wasn't wearing it when I brought 1/2 of Dillinger Escape Plan in for lunch, which was probably lucky.
4. Exotic Bakery: (Plymouth Rd near N. Campus). An old Syrian man will microwave a plate full of delicious delights for you and point out all the vegan desserts. The restaurant looks like the front of their house probably looks like. I love it here. This should be way higher on the list.
5. Arbor Brewing Co: (on Washingston btw Main and 4th). Decent place to take nonvegan friends or family. They've heard of "vegan" which is sort of novel at most "pubfare" type places and usually have a vegan special-- or something that can easily be made vegan. Plus they have a tempeh burger if you don't like the special. The special is usually pretty sweet though.
***Truly, it would take A LOT to get me to go to somewhere other than these restaurants, but I do occasionally "mix it up"***
6. Eastern Flame: (next to the Fleetwood) open til like 4am. I went here after The Bang!. Their cheap 1/2 order of hummus or baba is delightful.
7. Sylvio's: (on North U. just east of State Street). Vegan pizza. I've had better, I've had worse. It's vegan pizza.
8. Arirang: (in the strip mall at Ann-Arbor Saline Rd and Water St. near the Outback). The stone bowl tofu bi bim bap without egg. Yum. Don't eat the mysterious things they bring out on the tray before hand. The "onions" are dried squids, and the "tofu squares" are some sort of egg custard... LESSON LEARNED.
9. Red Sea... BUT THEY CLOSED :(
10. People's Food Co-op/Cafe Verde: (Kerrytown). The hot bar food and especially the soup, are sorta bland, but I like it.
11. Jazzy Veggie: (on Main St near Vinology). Not awesome, but 100% vegan so you should go there anyway. A LOT of fake meat, which I don't really like. The chicken noodle was pretty good though.
That's it. I left out Seva because I think it sucks.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Thanksgiving 2010
Tempeh and Wild Mushroom Fricassee
This is from an article the New York Times ran this year, but I'm having trouble finding the exact link. This is pretty much the recipe. It's super easy and so delicious and healthy and something like 320 calories in a whole cup sized serving. Not that anyone I know cares about that.
12 oz (1.5 packages) of tempeh
2 c. button mushrooms, chopped
2 c. crimini mushrooms, chopped
2 c. shitake mushrooms, chopped
2 portobella caps, degilled and chopped
2 large leeks, chopped finely
20 cloves of garlic, minced (seriously 20)
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. flour
1/4 c. white wine
12 oz (1 can) veg broth
salt, pepper, thyme, and parsley to taste
2 T. oil
It helps if you chop up all the veggies first, because things get moving pretty fast once you start cooking stuff, and it helps to have everything ready to add all at once. Chop the tempeh into small cubes and cook in the oil in a dutch oven until browned evenly. Medium-high heat is desirable. Once the tempeh is browned, pour in the white wine and the soy sauce and stir it up with the tempeh til everything boils off. Remove tempeh from pan and set aside. Put the sliced leeks, all the mushrooms, and the garlic in the dutch oven and simmer for a little, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour, then the seasonings, and finally the veg broth. Cover and let everything simmer in there for a little while, when it's nearly done, add back in the tempeh and simmer for about 5 minutes uncovered until some of the liquid evaporates/thickens. Make it the night before and reheat it about 20 minutes before it's time to eat.
Family Recipe Vegan Stuffing
1/2 a log of the "gimme lean" fake sausage, cooked and chopped up small
1/2 a loaf of stale white store brand bread, ripped into pieces
1/2 c. celery, sliced very thin
2 small yellow onions, sliced thin
2-3 T. earth balance stick
1 c. veg broth
salt, pepper, thyme, and parsley to taste
Sautee the onion in the butter on medium heat until translucent. Add in the celery and sautee for 5 more minutes. Add in the fake sausage, the bread and the seasonings. Slowly stir in the veg broth, using more or less based on the staleness of the bread. This is best as a "drier" stuffing. Reduce heat to low, so nothing burns to the bottoms and cook for about 10 minutes stirring frequently/constantly.
Creamed Spinach
1/2 a package of frozen chopped spinach
1/3 a tub of tofutti better than creame cheese
1 T. earth balance
1-2 T. plain unflavored almond milk
salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper to taste
Thaw the spinach in a skillet with the earth balance over low-medium heat. Use a plate to cover the skillet so it defrosts more quickly. Add the cream cheese and the seasonings. Slowly add the milk until the desired consistency is reached. I love the kick the cayenne gives it.
I also made my "usual" roasted garlic mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy, both can be found in the way beginning of this blog with the tvp meatloaf. I also made a pecan pie which turned out really soupy and not that good, so I'm not posting it here. But thanksgiving was awesome this year.
This is from an article the New York Times ran this year, but I'm having trouble finding the exact link. This is pretty much the recipe. It's super easy and so delicious and healthy and something like 320 calories in a whole cup sized serving. Not that anyone I know cares about that.
12 oz (1.5 packages) of tempeh
2 c. button mushrooms, chopped
2 c. crimini mushrooms, chopped
2 c. shitake mushrooms, chopped
2 portobella caps, degilled and chopped
2 large leeks, chopped finely
20 cloves of garlic, minced (seriously 20)
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. flour
1/4 c. white wine
12 oz (1 can) veg broth
salt, pepper, thyme, and parsley to taste
2 T. oil
It helps if you chop up all the veggies first, because things get moving pretty fast once you start cooking stuff, and it helps to have everything ready to add all at once. Chop the tempeh into small cubes and cook in the oil in a dutch oven until browned evenly. Medium-high heat is desirable. Once the tempeh is browned, pour in the white wine and the soy sauce and stir it up with the tempeh til everything boils off. Remove tempeh from pan and set aside. Put the sliced leeks, all the mushrooms, and the garlic in the dutch oven and simmer for a little, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour, then the seasonings, and finally the veg broth. Cover and let everything simmer in there for a little while, when it's nearly done, add back in the tempeh and simmer for about 5 minutes uncovered until some of the liquid evaporates/thickens. Make it the night before and reheat it about 20 minutes before it's time to eat.
Family Recipe Vegan Stuffing
1/2 a log of the "gimme lean" fake sausage, cooked and chopped up small
1/2 a loaf of stale white store brand bread, ripped into pieces
1/2 c. celery, sliced very thin
2 small yellow onions, sliced thin
2-3 T. earth balance stick
1 c. veg broth
salt, pepper, thyme, and parsley to taste
Sautee the onion in the butter on medium heat until translucent. Add in the celery and sautee for 5 more minutes. Add in the fake sausage, the bread and the seasonings. Slowly stir in the veg broth, using more or less based on the staleness of the bread. This is best as a "drier" stuffing. Reduce heat to low, so nothing burns to the bottoms and cook for about 10 minutes stirring frequently/constantly.
Creamed Spinach
1/2 a package of frozen chopped spinach
1/3 a tub of tofutti better than creame cheese
1 T. earth balance
1-2 T. plain unflavored almond milk
salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper to taste
Thaw the spinach in a skillet with the earth balance over low-medium heat. Use a plate to cover the skillet so it defrosts more quickly. Add the cream cheese and the seasonings. Slowly add the milk until the desired consistency is reached. I love the kick the cayenne gives it.
I also made my "usual" roasted garlic mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy, both can be found in the way beginning of this blog with the tvp meatloaf. I also made a pecan pie which turned out really soupy and not that good, so I'm not posting it here. But thanksgiving was awesome this year.
Friday, October 29, 2010
VEGAN ROTIBOY!!!!!!
Rotiboy is a delicious Malaysian mall-bakery coffee bun, that I believe were taken from a traditional Mexican treat. They are extremely unvegan, but extremely irresistible when you are at Simpang Lima Mall in Semarang Indonesia, half starved but determined to use the internet. The nice thing about Rotiboy, is you don't need to speak any language, just hold up fingers for however many buns you want, because the bun (with no variation) is the only thing Rotiboy sells. This morning I woke up thinking about Rotiboy. I am going to Haiti tomorrow to do some relief work, and so I made these for dessert after my going-away dinner. They are a work in progress, but it tastes like Rotiboy. The recipe is a 3-parter-- dough, filling, topping.
Dough:
4 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. Earth Balance, softened
about 1 c. Plain Almond Milk
2 t. active yeast
1 t. salt
Ener-G egg replacer for 1 egg (1 heaping tsp + the recommended amount of water)
Proof yeast in a mug with some sugar and a little bit of the milk warmed, set aside to do it's thing. Sift 4c. flour into a bowl, add sugar and salt. Stir in the liquid ingredients. Knead in the butter. Dough should be smooth and stretchy, not sticky. Add more milk or flour accordingly. Knead for approximately 10 minutes. Separate dough into round balls a little bigger than a golf ball (I was able to make 17)... let them rest for about 10 minutes while you make the filling.
Filling:
1/3 c. loosely packed light brown sugar,
7 T. Earth Balance stick, softened (use all but 1 T... it makes sense when the recipe is complete)
1/2 t. vanilla
Mix the three ingredients with a hand mixer. The butter has to be quite soft, but NOT MELTY. I turn on the oven for 30 seconds and then turn it off and put the butter inside to facilitate butter softening in our frigid home. Set aside.
So by now, your dough has rested. Smoosh each ball down (about the size of a coaster?) and spoon a dollop (shooter marble sized?) of the butter filling into the middle. If you have leftover, add a little more to each one. Use it all up. You won't be sorry.
Next, close them up. I folded mine in the middle (like a taco) and then folded each side in and sealed the edges, then I manipulated the shape so they were rounded squares. Place them on a cookie sheet with tin foil underneath and let rest for 45 minutes somewhere toasty (again, I used the oven trick).
While they are resting, make the topping.
Topping:
The topping is THE most important, the original recipe called for 3 eggs, and this is certainly where there is the most room for improvement. Sam claims my only problem was that I didn't use enough topping per bun, I thought it was a little... dry. And less melty in your mouth...
2 T. instant coffee dissolved in 1 T. warm water
1.5 c. powdered sugar
3/4 c. flour, sifted
1/2 t. cinnamon
7 T. Earth Balance stick, softened
Almond Milk as needed (since I didn't put in eggs. Maybe a higher fat milk (coconut milk?) would help with the dryness)
Mix together the dry ingredients, stir in the wet ingredients, use a mixer to whip them up. The consistency should be like really thick frosting. Load this business into a pastry bag or a ziploc with the tip cut off and squeeze it onto the top of the buns right before you cook them. I thought the icing would spread out a little as it got warmer and cover the entire surface of the bun, but it didn't.
Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until the top is brown.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Mexican Snickerdoodles
The People's Food Co-op in Ann Arbor has these pretty delicious vegan cookies in their cafe that they have dubbed "mexican snickerdoodles" because they are spicy. Since becoming aware of their existence, I have questioned the cultural sensitivity of referring to something as "mexican" just because it's spicy, and I'm pretty sure these cookies aren't actually mexican. But whatever, they are so delicious. I found the recipe on the "post punk kitchen" blog which is an excellent resource. I haven't made them yet, so I am not sure if they taste the same as the ones at the food co-op, but I bet they are really similar.
For the topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the cookies:
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons almond milk (Or your preferred non-dairy milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon chocolate extract (or more vanilla extract if you have no chocolate)
1 2/3 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Mix the topping ingredients together on a flat plate. Set aside.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to vigorously mix together oil, sugar, syrup, and milk. Mix in extracts.
4. Sift in remaining ingredients, stirring as you add them. Once all ingredients are added mix until you’ve got a pliable dough.
5. Roll dough into walnut sized balls. Pat into the sugar topping to flatten into roughly 2 inch discs.
6. Transfer to baking sheet, sugar side up, at least 2 inches apart (they do spread). This should be easy as the the bottom of the cookies should just stick to your fingers so you can just flip them over onto the baking sheet.
7. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, they should be a bit spread and crackly on top.
8. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Monday, August 9, 2010
VEGAN FRIED CHICKEN!!!
ingredients:
-1/2 cup TVP
-1/2 cup broth to reconstitute the TVP
-about 1.5 cups vegan pancake mix (the co-op had this in the bulk bin... i literally know nothing about pancakes so I have no idea what's in it... flour and arrowroot maybe?)
-2 heaping spoonfuls of nutritional yeast
-salt, pepper, seasoning to taste
-panko bread crumbs
-oil for frying (something with a higher boiling point than olive so they get nice and brown and crispy... we use grapeseed oil)
Bring the broth to near-boiling and pour over the TVP. Let it set for about 10 minutes adding more water/TVP. Once it cools off a little, stir in the pancake mix and the yeast til it makes a sticky formed batter. Start warming the oil on medium heat. Using a table spoon, drop large dollops of the mixture into a shallow pan of panko crumbs and evenly coat. Toss in the oil (when the oil is hot enough, the edges of the patties will sizzle... test it before you put a bunch in. Cook for a few minutes and then turn and brown on both sides. Let cook on a towel or piece of paper towel.
VARIATION #1: add some spicys and it'll be just like the spicy popeye's chicken.
VARIATION #2: serve with some really greasy buttered noodles with crackers crumbled on top of the noodles and it'll be just like Zehnder's in Frankenmuth, MI.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Apricot Hempseed Bars
I'm making these for my friend and bringing them to warped tour on friday wrapped in tin foil in a tote bag. They seem healthful, delicious, easily transportable, and full of nutrients I probably don't get enough of (omega 3). Adapted from a recipe off the Whole Foods iPhone app... yup...
-1 cup shelled hempseeds
-1 cup pitted dates
-3 cups dried apricots
-some flax seed, raw sunflower seeds, raw almonds, WHATEVER!
-juice from one lemon
-vanilla extract (I'm using a vanilla bean my friend Jeremy picked from a garden and mailed to me from Malaysia... SERIOUSLY!)
-nutmeg
-cloves
Put everything in a food processor. Foodprocess it. Press it down with a spatula into a pan that you already lined with wax paper. Cover, refrigerate, cut into squares and feed them to your friends... aka this scaryass dude:
(photo courtesy of equally scaryass dude Nate Shannon)
-1 cup shelled hempseeds
-1 cup pitted dates
-3 cups dried apricots
-some flax seed, raw sunflower seeds, raw almonds, WHATEVER!
-juice from one lemon
-vanilla extract (I'm using a vanilla bean my friend Jeremy picked from a garden and mailed to me from Malaysia... SERIOUSLY!)
-nutmeg
-cloves
Put everything in a food processor. Foodprocess it. Press it down with a spatula into a pan that you already lined with wax paper. Cover, refrigerate, cut into squares and feed them to your friends... aka this scaryass dude:
(photo courtesy of equally scaryass dude Nate Shannon)
squash tostadas
In America we tend to avoid food that's really spicy when it's stupid hot out, but in Indonesia, they made spicy food particularly when it was super hot and humid out, so I'm doing that today.
-one yellow squash
-one large onion (sweet), chopped
-one zucchini
-two jalepenoes
-one green pepper
-the juice of one lime
-2-3 cloves of garlic
-olive oil
-small corn tortillas (2-3 for a normal person, 4 for a hungry person)
-dash of salt
-fajita seasoning or hot sauce or a packet of taco seasoning (I use "the spice hunter" salt free fajita seasoning blend in the bottle)
-(optional) one avocado, mashed
1. In a large skillet (or ikea wok that you stole from ed grant) sautee the onions in oil until translucent. Reduce heat and add chopped garlic, and then jalepenoes. I used about half the seeds and mine turned out super spicy, so adjust accordingly based on how much heat you like.
2. I chopped my yellow squash in finger sizes, and my zucchini in thin medallions. Do that, and add them. Turn up the heat a little.
3. Add the chopped green pepper. I chopped mine pretty small this time.
4. Add salt and seasoning and let simmer for a bit.
5. In a separate skillet, heat some oil and fry up the corn tortillas, about 4 minutes on each side.
6. As the tortillas are finishing, squeeze the juice of one lime onto the veg mixture, and let it simmer for a minute more.
7. Smear the avocado on the tortillas that are now tostadas, and scoops the veggies over top.
SO KILLER GOOD!
-one yellow squash
-one large onion (sweet), chopped
-one zucchini
-two jalepenoes
-one green pepper
-the juice of one lime
-2-3 cloves of garlic
-olive oil
-small corn tortillas (2-3 for a normal person, 4 for a hungry person)
-dash of salt
-fajita seasoning or hot sauce or a packet of taco seasoning (I use "the spice hunter" salt free fajita seasoning blend in the bottle)
-(optional) one avocado, mashed
1. In a large skillet (or ikea wok that you stole from ed grant) sautee the onions in oil until translucent. Reduce heat and add chopped garlic, and then jalepenoes. I used about half the seeds and mine turned out super spicy, so adjust accordingly based on how much heat you like.
2. I chopped my yellow squash in finger sizes, and my zucchini in thin medallions. Do that, and add them. Turn up the heat a little.
3. Add the chopped green pepper. I chopped mine pretty small this time.
4. Add salt and seasoning and let simmer for a bit.
5. In a separate skillet, heat some oil and fry up the corn tortillas, about 4 minutes on each side.
6. As the tortillas are finishing, squeeze the juice of one lime onto the veg mixture, and let it simmer for a minute more.
7. Smear the avocado on the tortillas that are now tostadas, and scoops the veggies over top.
SO KILLER GOOD!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
NOT FOOD: making my own cleaning supplies
Lately, everything has been grossing me out. I've long since denounced obviously gross crap like antiperspirant and tampons, but I'm getting more and more extreme in my old age.
Tampons and maxi pads have been replaced (for the rare occasion that i menstruate thanks to my Mirena IUD) with a divacup and my "blood towel".
Laundry detergent: a grated bar of castile soap, 1 c. borax, 1 c. washing soda that I'm storing in pickle jar on the top of my fridge.
Window cleaner: 2 c. club soda, 1 tsp cornstarch, 3 tbsp lemon juice in a spritz bottle
For my bathroom I use borax and a sponge to scrub, white vinegar in a spritz bottle to clean/shine.
I'm still looking for: dryer sheets alternative.
I haven't used my homemade laundry detergent on my bag of rags yet (cut up towel tidbits to decrease/eliminate my paper towel usage), and I'm curious to see how clean they get. The nature of coin laundry in an apartment complex makes the whole "soaking" thing rather difficult too.
Word.
Tampons and maxi pads have been replaced (for the rare occasion that i menstruate thanks to my Mirena IUD) with a divacup and my "blood towel".
Laundry detergent: a grated bar of castile soap, 1 c. borax, 1 c. washing soda that I'm storing in pickle jar on the top of my fridge.
Window cleaner: 2 c. club soda, 1 tsp cornstarch, 3 tbsp lemon juice in a spritz bottle
For my bathroom I use borax and a sponge to scrub, white vinegar in a spritz bottle to clean/shine.
I'm still looking for: dryer sheets alternative.
I haven't used my homemade laundry detergent on my bag of rags yet (cut up towel tidbits to decrease/eliminate my paper towel usage), and I'm curious to see how clean they get. The nature of coin laundry in an apartment complex makes the whole "soaking" thing rather difficult too.
Word.
Tomato/Basil/Mozzarella Sandwich Summer
This weekend, my awesome friend Jason visited and we made some DELICIOUS caprese-style sandwiches. They were perfect for the stupid-hot weather and we discovered a delicious new fake cheese, daiya brand, at the local-bourgey-chain market near me: Plum Market.
We talked a lot about how important it is to be conscious of what you eat whether it be vegan/cruelty-free/organic/etc, and it really reinforced my convictions as a vegan. Since moving to the middle of nowhere and spending more and more time with my well-intentioned but thoroughly nonvegan family, it's been really challenging to stay enthusiastic about what i "can't" eat.
Being vegan is rad!
Ingredients:
-french or italian bread (we got Livonia small batch local stuff)
-daiya brand fake mozzarella
-a ripe tomato, sliced thin
-0.25 of an avocado per sandwich
-1-2 leaves of fresh basil per sandwich
1. Under the broiler, toast the bread on both sides. While toasting the second side, liberally apply the fake cheese shreds to one side of the sandwich and watch it melt under the broiler... melty but not burnt.
2. Thoroughly wash and pat the basil dry. Tear it up into little tidbits. If you are pulling fresh basil off a plant that you got form Home Depot, always clip it from the top, right above the next row of leaves, that way your mom won't keep yelling at you for killing the basil plant every other week because you kept pulling leaves off haphazardly leaving all stems, sorry Mom.
3. Mash the 0.25 of the avocado and spread it on the other slice of bread.
4. Add tomato slices.
5. Add basil tidbits.
6. Squish it down flat. Cut it in half triangle-ways.
We talked a lot about how important it is to be conscious of what you eat whether it be vegan/cruelty-free/organic/etc, and it really reinforced my convictions as a vegan. Since moving to the middle of nowhere and spending more and more time with my well-intentioned but thoroughly nonvegan family, it's been really challenging to stay enthusiastic about what i "can't" eat.
Being vegan is rad!
Ingredients:
-french or italian bread (we got Livonia small batch local stuff)
-daiya brand fake mozzarella
-a ripe tomato, sliced thin
-0.25 of an avocado per sandwich
-1-2 leaves of fresh basil per sandwich
1. Under the broiler, toast the bread on both sides. While toasting the second side, liberally apply the fake cheese shreds to one side of the sandwich and watch it melt under the broiler... melty but not burnt.
2. Thoroughly wash and pat the basil dry. Tear it up into little tidbits. If you are pulling fresh basil off a plant that you got form Home Depot, always clip it from the top, right above the next row of leaves, that way your mom won't keep yelling at you for killing the basil plant every other week because you kept pulling leaves off haphazardly leaving all stems, sorry Mom.
3. Mash the 0.25 of the avocado and spread it on the other slice of bread.
4. Add tomato slices.
5. Add basil tidbits.
6. Squish it down flat. Cut it in half triangle-ways.
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