Tag: Cooking

Stocking the Kitchen

A few of our favorite things

His Bite, Her Bite1 Comment

Josh: I’ve been vegan for a long time. What I’ve watched change over the last decade is the acceptance, availability, and improved quality of vegetarian and vegan food products in both retail and restaurant settings. These days it is relatively easy for folks with plant based diets and/or lifestyles to enjoy the same pleasures as our omnivore friends and family – without requiring any animal products or by-products.

We utilize a lot of great products from a lot of different brands. There are many brands and products on the market that make our social lives easier in restaurants and our domestic lives immensely more beautiful for all the time we spend preparing delicious meals together.

This post will be ongoing, one that we will come back to again and again to update as we try new products or remember to add products that we love. Bookmark it and check back often!

Things we like
Not Dairy

Silk Plain Protein Nutmilk – milk replacement for cooking, baking, cereal, etc.
Simple Truth Chocolate Soymilk – indulgent sipping, or in our breakfast smoothie with coffee ice cubes, frozen banana, and almond milk
Silk Vanilla Coffee Creamer – in coffee or tea
Earth Balance (sticks) – butter replacement
Silk Plain Yogurt – as sour cream, in tzatziki, in sauces, or just as yogurt alternative
Daiya Provolone Slices – cheese replacement
Daiya Pepperjack Shreds – cheese replacement
Daiya or Follow Your Heart Mozzarella Shreds – cheese replacement (both brands good)
Follow Your Heart Cheddar Shreds – cheese replacement, better than Daiya cheddar (but Daiya is okay if it is all you can find)
Breyer’s Non-dairy Cookies and Cream – yummy ice cream, great price per ounce
So Delicious Salted Caramel – really yummy ice cream
Simple Truth Salted Caramel – yummy ice cream, cheaper than most vegan ice creams

Not Meat

Simple Truth Meatless Crumbles – ground beef teplacement
Simple Truth Meatless Patties – replacement burgers
Simple Truth Chickn Patties – replacement chicken patties
Simple Truth Breakfast Patties – replacement breakfast sausage
Simple Truth Chickn Tenders – replacement chicken tenders
Morningstar Farms Chickn Nuggets – replacement chicken nuggets
Morningstar Farms Buffalo Chickn Nuggets – replacement chicken nuggets, buffalo flavor
Morningstar Farms Shredded “Pork” – replacement pulled pork
Gardein Meatless Balls – replacement meatballs
Gardein Beefless Tips – replacement beef great for when you need “that” texture, we use it for things like stroganoff
Gardein Beefless Crumbles – replacement ground beef
Gardein Beefless Patties – replacement burger patties
Torfurky Italian Sausage or Chorizo – replacement italian sausage or chorizo links
Beyond Burgers – exceptional burger replacement available for retail purchase, but pricey
Pantry Staples

Aldi or Kroger brand Almond Butter – we prefer it to peanut butter
Raw Cashews – for creamy sauces or homemade cheese
Nutritional Yeast – for creamy sauces or homemade cheese
Flour – thickening sauces, homemade bread and pizza
Quick Rise Yeast – homemade bread and pizza dough
Chickpeas – used to make hummus or add protein to any dish quickly and easily
Rice – always a good idea to keep rice around
Dried Spices – we make sure to always keep garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, cumin, peppercorn, paprika, salt, chili powder, cayenne, mustard, oregano, basil, bay leaves, 21 Seasoning Salute (Trader Joe spice blend), chipotle chili powder
Vital Wheat Gluten – make your own seitan at home! This is essential

Other Essentials

Hummus, homemade or store bought – just the best, great on bagels, salads, with carrots or pita chips, or anything else really
Better Than Bouillon Vegetable – plant based beefy broth replacement
Better Than Bouillon No Chicken – plant based chicken broth replacement

Feel free to reach out if you have suggestions or questions. ?

Main

Cheeseburger Soup

His Bite, Her Bite3 Comments

Nora: Are there carrots in cheeseburgers? Don’t be ridiculous. But there are carrots in this soup. Why be predictable? Let’s get cooking!

Josh: Let’s get something straight right now. This soup is ridiculously tasty. It is creamy, meaty, and indulgent, though note it is also pretty quick and easy to make. The ingredient list is relatively short for this kind of hearty and satisfying dinner and the specialty ingredient requirement (you know how vegan recipes can be) is relatively low. There is some prep involved – those veggies need dicing – but after that the soup comes together naturally and without much pomp or circumstance.

These leftovers are awesome! This is one of those recipes that starts out great and gets better when it sits overnight to really flavor up. I spend the next couple days being the envy of the office come lunchtime. In winter this soup gives you solace, in summer you don’t care if it’s hot because goddamn is it delicious. This is a great meal to make when you want to eat well without occasion, but also perfect for when you’re entertaining guests because everyone enjoys it and even your avid meat-eaters will be satisfied.

Cheeseburger Soup
Makes: Dinner for two, lunches for two for two days (or leftovers for two for one day… this soup is really good)
Adapted from: Namely Marly
Time: 20 minutes prep, 20 minutes cook
Omnivore Index: Dads don’t know it’s not meat
Ingredients

For the soup:
1 onion, diced
5 large waxy potatoes, diced
8oz mushrooms, diced (optional actually mandatory)
1 cup carrots, diced
1 bay leaf
4 cups vegetable broth
8-10 oz frozen meatless crumbles (we use Simple Truth or Gardein often)
1 cup nondairy cheese (Daiya Pepperjack is a nice touch)
1 tsp salt
Pepper, to taste
Green onions and bac’n bits for serving

For the cream:
1/2 cup plain nondairy milk
1 cup (4.5oz) raw cashews
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup water
Directions:

Saute onions until tender.
Add carrots and potatoes, cook for a few minutes.
Next add bay leaf, mushrooms, broth, salt, and pepper. Simmer.

Meanwhile combine cream ingredients in a high speed blender. (If you don’t have a high speed blender, simmer the cashews in the 1 cup of water about 5 minutes and then add cashews AND remaining water to food processor with garlic powder and nootch.)

Once carrots and potatoes are tender, remove bay leaf, turn off the heat, and add cream, meatless crumbles, and cheese. Stir to combine.

Serve with bacon bits (check your local grocery store brand, many brands are vegan) and diced green onion.
Even obligate carnivores love Cheeseburger Soup!
Closing Arguments
Nora: You won’t miss the bun!
Josh: Finally, a burger as it was always meant to be eaten – with a spoon.
Main · Soup

Winter Stew with Dumplings

His Bite, Her Bite1 Comment

Nora: Michigan seems poised to finally get some crappy winter weather so here’s a lovely rich stew to warm you up. I have always loved drop dumplings so I was delighted to get to enjoy some tonight. My mom didn’t like to make them for us when she did chicken and dumplings because drop dumplings disappear too quickly when you’re feeding five. Rolled-flat dumplings are still good… but… I digress. If you find these dumplings go too quickly for your family (or your own appetite for dumplings) it would be quite easy to throw another batch of dumplings in the pot while you reheat the leftovers. You might be able to get away with pulling out all the dumplings and cooking a second batch immediately. Either way, you MUST pull the floaters out and store them separately from the rest of the stew unless you want your leftovers to transform into winter vegetable mush.

Don’t be alarmed by the apple juice in this recipe. You’ll add salt to taste and I promise it won’t turn out too sweet. Someday we might try swapping the juice for more broth and cutting up an apple to cook with the veggies. Also, my brain wants to add a little curry powder to this to make it into mulligatawny, but that’s another post.

Josh: This is a fantastic stew recipe that is easy to make and satisfying to eat. There is some initial prep involved, chopping up veggies mostly, but after that you basically let it cook and do your own thing for a while. The flavors of the stew turned out fantastic, and the complementary but somewhat contrasting flavors of the dumplings provided really wonderful spikes of flavor that added so much value to the meal.

This recipe is cat approved by Easley, our hellspawn.

When we make this, it frees us up from the obligation to cook, the panic about not eating, and the obligation to eat for just long enough in the evening to decompress while it cooks. I don’t know about you, but we work full time jobs that aren’t blog related. When we get home from work, there is a lot that needs to get done including some mental relaxation. In my case, I also work freelance, so my evenings often involve the Batman job as well as what home things need doing. This recipe is amazing because I can get other things done while knowing dinner is on the way. And dinner is super yum.

Winter Stew with Dumplings
Makes: Two bowls for dinner and two bowls for lunch
Adapted from Rabbit and Wolves
Time: 15 mins prep, 45 mins cooking
Omnivore Index: nobody will miss the meat
Ingredients:
For the stew:
– 1 Tbsp oil
– 6 cloves garlic, minced
– 1 onion, chopped
– 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
– 2 large russet potatoes, diced
– 12 ounces mushrooms, sliced
– 8oz baby carrots, chopped
– 1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
– 4c (32oz) vegetable (“beef”) broth
– 1c good apple cider or juice (we used Simply Apple from the refrigerated section)
– 2 Tbsp liquid aminos or soy sauce
– 2 bay leaves
– 1/2 tsp oregano, dried
– 1/4 tsp thyme, dried
– pinch red pepper flakes
– lots of salt and pepper to taste

For the dumplings:
– 1 1/3c all purpose flour
– 2 tsp baking powder
– 1 tsp baking soda
– 1 tsp salt
– 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
– 1 tsp spice blend (we used 21 Seasoning Salute from Trader Joe’s)
– 2/3c nut milk
– 1 Tbsp oil
Directions:
1. In a large pot, heat the oil on medium high. Add the garlic and onion. Saute the for about 5 minutes until the onion is soft and starts to brown.
2. Add the apple cider vinegar, and stir to deglaze.
3. Add the cut potatoes, mushrooms, carrots and parsnips. Liberally season with salt and pepper. Saute the veggies for a couple minutes. 
4. Add the broth, apple cider/juice, liquid aminos and spices.
5. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes or until the veggies are cooked through. 
6. When the stew is nearly done, mix together dry dumpling ingredients. Test the stew, and when the spuds are soft and the carrots just slightly firm (or however you like your veggies), add the milk and oil. Stir batter briefly to combine.
7. Taste the stew for seasoning and remove the bay leaves. Stir well. Keeping the stew at a simmer, drop golf ball sized dough blobs into the pot. Plop dumplings in different areas of the pot to keep them from sticking together. You should get about a dozen dumplings.
8. Cover, simmer 10 minutes or until dumplings are done. A toothpick inserted into a dumpling should come out clean.

Remove dumplings before storing leftovers.
Closing Arguments
Nora: other than the chopping, this recipe is super simple and hands off. Great for reading on the couch while dinner cooks. The dumplings are sublime, so light and fluffy!
Josh: The dumplings are worth killing for. Be prepared to make extra because they are so fucking good with this stew.
Main

Baked Seitan Ribs

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Nora: Ribs were one of my absolute favorite restaurant splurge meals. Since I’m new to the veggie lifestyle I still have deeply-ingrained taste preferences for certain foods and these meatless Ribs totally hit the spot for me. (Veggie crumbles as taco meat is another Craving Buster, but that’s another post.) This recipe is insanely delicious and even has the fun “pull apart” quality meat ribs have. I was honestly shocked at how good these are and other than the lack of bones, they are completely realistic feeling/tasting. We’ve made these three times in three weeks.

Don’t be alarmed by the word seitan. It’s just wheat meat. You probably don’t have to go to the fancy grocery store since our Kroger carries it alongside all the Bob’s Red Mill fancy grain flours. If you are familiar with seitan, you’ll be happy to know this recipe does not require the long kneading and boiling/steaming/baking which usually produces seitan. Yes, this is weeknight friendly wheat meat! Rejoice!!! Also, this recipe PERFECTLY bakes half a bag of freezer fries simultaneously. This is the kind of high quality vegan content we have all been searching for!

The only negative to this recipe is it only makes two slabs (enough for two hungry people or maybe four with lots of sides). If you need more or want leftovers (you do) you will need to prepare this in two pans. The key to the meaty texture is contact with the pan edges and larger slabs will have mushy middles. We don’t have two small pans the same size, so currently we are doomed to eat all our ribs in one sitting.

Josh: Ribs are a weird thing to eat when you stop and think about it. Like… ribs, though? I digress. I never had ribs as a real boy, we didn’t have money for splurges like that and the idea of seeking ribs out was not on my radar. Then I joined the dark side of the force and began growing my incredible vegan super powers, so there was no going back. I would have never come up with the idea of eating ribs, would have never bothered with it. But Nora gets this idea to make ribs and so we cobble this together.

Wow. Just wow. We’ve made these ribs three times in less than a month. They’re ridiculously good. Firm and tough, tangy, sticky, actual finger licking good. The recipe is really easy to make thanks to our kitchen aid mixer. Mostly the recipe is waiting for the cook time to expire, which is useful when you have other things to accomplish in the evening but know you’re just going to hit the sofa after dinner no matter what.

In addition to being quick and easy and tasty, these ribs are affordable. Buy yourself some vital wheat gluten (seriously, if you don’t have this already GET IT TOGETHER because homemade seitan is delicious, versatile, and easy), some soy sauce, some nooch (read: nutritional yeast – we read the Thug Kitchen cookbook once and can’t think of Nooch any other way), and you’re already most of the way to cooking countless meaty vegan meals without breaking the bank. If nothing else, do it just to make these ribs. They’re spectacular.

Baked Seitan Ribs
Makes: Two slabs of ribs
Slightly adapted from Fat Free Vegan
Time: 5 minutes prep, 45 minutes to cook
Omnivore Index: slap it on a bun and Ronald McDonald himself would call it a McRib
Ingredients:
– 1c vital wheat gluten
– 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
– 2 tsp paprika
– 2 tsp onion powder
– 1 tsp garlic powder
– 3/4c water
– 2 Tbsp almond butter
– 1 Tbsp soy sauce
– 1 tsp liquid smoke
– 1c (ish) BBQ sauce (we use Sweet Baby Ray’s)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray grease a 9×9 metal pan.
2. Mix all ingredients except BBQ sauce and knead 60 seconds. I do it in the stand mixer but it wouldn’t be hard by hand.
3. Spread into the prepared pan, using the “kitty paws” technique with your fingertips as needed.
4. Using a small, sharp knife, cut dough down the middle. Turn pan 90 degrees and cut across 8 times to make 16 “riblets.”
5. Bake 25 minutes. Pull out of oven, baste with half the BBQ sauce. Using a spatula, flip each quarter of the ribs, taking care to flip “corner to corner,” with the crispy outer corners all swapped to the center of the pan and the soft inner edges all against the sides of the pan.
6. Baste with the other half of the BBQ sauce and bake 15-25 more minutes or until sauce is starting to caramelize and ribs are firm.
Closing Arguments
Nora: Make these ribs and eat them. Soon.
Josh: Holy shit these ribs are good. Sinfully good. They’ll make you think you accidentally broke vegan edge.