Rogue Vegan » Reviews

Playing Catch-up

Raiu — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:35:42 +0000

Hey kiddles! I know it’s been awhile. But if you are reading this then it means you have not given up on me and I love you for that! I hesitate to look at the date stamp on my last entry. I might die of shame over neglecting this blog.

So where have I been? What have I been up to? Have I given up my vegan ways? NEVER!

For the past few months I’ve been eating much of the same things you have seen me post in this blog before. Over and over again. I’ve tried a few new (to me) products and invented a few foods out of desperation and a thinning pantry. I’ve also dealt with a wide range of anti-vegan sentiment. And I’ve been struggling with some shopping highs and lows. So where to begin? How about where we left off?

My last post was in *cringe* February (I’m sorry. please forgive me? Will groveling suffice, or do I need to bribe you?) and I had just gotten back from the Portland, OR /Vancouver, WA area. And while I was there I made it to a Whole Foods to try some Go Max Go candybars. Maybe they deserve their own post with pictures of the packaging and how they look cut open. But I honestly don’t know how I made it back to the apartment I was staying at without swallowing all four candy bars whole. They certainly didn’t make it back home with me and to my computer. So I’m just stealing this picture straight from their website:

If you want to see what they look like cut open just go to their website and drool over the products page. For those who don’t get the names, here is the breakdown: Jokerz = Snickers. Twilight = Mars Bar. Buccaneer = 3 Musketeers. Mahalo = Almond Joy.

I, like most Americans, indulged a bit too much in cheap candy bars when I was a kid… and adult. So in making the switch over to Veganism I instantly felt a void in the form of milk chocolatey snacks. I’m not certain, but this blog post entitled “Chocolate” may have covered that a little.

If you can find them, Go Max Go bars are the absolute best for scratching that candy bar itch. Yeah, they’re a tad spendy, but I’m starting to get used to that in “luxury” items. But the cost of vegan “milk” chocolate has helped me to learn moderation.

These candy bars aren’t as thick as their mainstream counterparts, and I did feel as though the Jokerz bar could use a little more peanut, but they are good. They have classic candy bar texture and taste.

As for the results of my previous chocolate taste testing which I dropped the ball on… Larabar’s are for health food nuts who think they like junk food. The Boom Choco Boom bar tasted like cheap Easter chocolate, which I have no problem with. But if you have the option, the Boom Choco Boom crispie rice bar is the way to go. And the clear winner of the three was Terra Nostra’s Ricemilk Choco bar. Of course, it wasn’t cheap. And I hesitate to say that it was worth it. But if you need a milk chocolate fix then you won’t be griping over the price.

/chocolate

I also had my first run in with the much talked about Gardein Faux meats. After a spectacular failure at trying to get vegan Thai food in Vancouver I raided my host’s fridge and discovered some spaghetti with Gardein meatballs. Now, before I go further I should say that I don’t really care for spaghetti. Keeping that in mind, this spaghetti (and it’s vgn meatballs) was just as good as any spaghetti I have had in the past. Looking at their website now, I don’t see the meatballs. I guess that doesn’t matter because the product I really fell in love with was the Chicken Scaloppini. And I am ecstatic that my local shopping haunt, Food4Less, now carries a large selection of Gardein products.

Food4Less also recently started carrying Dandies vgn marshmallows & Ricemallow creme. Visions of Rice Crispie treats dance in my head. But just as surely as my spirits soared, I was soon brought crashing down to earth by the horrible realization that Food4Less no longer carries Frontier brand Vgn Chicken Bouillon. I live on the stuff and buy the bulk bags there constantly and now I am left lost and chicken-flavourless. And to add insult to injury it seems that they have switched out their Vital Wheat Gluten with Gluten Flour. Gluten Flour has a lower gluten content and makes for very sad seitan. But Fred Meyer still had VWC, and Frontier Bouillon in smaller quantities.

/new shopping

I also recently volunteered at the Frybread booth at the Veteran’s Powwow. The frybread was made with milk and therefore I couldn’t eat it. I’m sure you’re not surprised that I couldn’t eat much of anything at our their food booth. The booth was staffed by mostly volunteers, the majority of them Veterans. A few times people asked me why I wasn’t eating anything and I volunteered that I was vegan and had to explain what that means. You can probably guess that I’m not a food ethics nazi by virtue of the fact that I was helping out at a booth that served animal products. So it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that I never harangue people about what they eat or where their meat comes from. If they ask me my opinion I will give it, but I never try to convert a meat eater. But some people think that all vegans are argumentative and confrontational. And some of those people think that they will have the upperhand if they take the initiative to start the argument. This happened that weekend as I was rolling dough.

A guy walked up to me and in a condescending tone like that of an adult to a idiot child he started telling me that God put animals on this earth for us to eat. I just smiled and shook my head like I wasn’t buying it. And when he realized that he wasn’t going to get a rise out of me he dropped it. In situations like these no one is going to win an argument. And trying to argue would be a waste of my time and energy. Pick your battles. This wasn’t even a skirmish.

Apart from this would-be antagonist I’ve had to put up with borderline insulting comments about how vegan food must be full of sticks and twigs and other silly comments belittling the food (and ingredients of the food) that I eat. But I don’t let it get me down. I just go on being happy with the food that I eat.

/confrontation

Plans for the future?
I want to start cooking again. More than just what I’ve already been making. I want to try some new recipes. I also want to make my own un-turkey this holiday season. So I’ll be doing some experimenting soon. And I’m resolved to get back on the posting bandwagon with stories and pictures of my experience.

much love,
Melanie

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i believe in the power of cake. do not tell me it is a lie. I refuse to believe your black mesa atheist propaganda!

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Birthday:: November 9, 1979
Current City:: Eagle Point, OR
Hometown:: Medford, OR
Political Views:: Socialist with a Gold Card
Religious Views:: Cake Pandeist
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Tofurky VS Field Roast

Raiu — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:06:52 +0000

In my local supermarket there are only two holiday turkey substitutes: Tofurky & Field Roast. For Thanksgiving this last year I bought the small Tofurky. As laziness would have it, I didn’t cook it for Thanksgiving. But a few days later when I was housesitting I brought my Tofurky with me and cooked it there. And then for Christmas I decided to give the Field Roast product a try.

Now, let me say, I like Tofurky. But I think a lot of the variation in people’s taste experience is in the preparation. So it can be a hit or miss ordeal. Unfortunately, it is cost prohibitive to purchase Tofurky with the sole intention of experimenting until you get it just how you like it.

Field Roast’s Celebration Feast is smaller than even the small Tofurky log, but unless you are feeding a large vegan family then it shouldn’t matter. Field Roast is DELICIOUS no matter how you might cook it. It’s savory and the stuffing is yummilicious. It’s uncanny in that the method they use to prepare it makes it outwardly resemble actual meat. I had to look at the label several times to reassure myself that is was in fact Vegan. Of all the pictures that I am sure I have taken, this picture of the cut up Field Roast is all I can manage to find:

In my opinion, Field Roast’s Celebration Feast is the BEST of the two options. But the journey doesn’t end there. I have an out of print cookbook that has a recipe for creating your own un-turkey. And I think I have just about everything I need. So in the very near future I will be doing some experimentation with that. Stay tuned!

Veg Update

Raiu — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:01:08 +0000

VeganMoFo’s ending was perfectly timed. Because once Peter got here for his visit I did not feel like writing a bunch of blogs. But that doesn’t mean I quit cooking vegan stuff. In fact, I have been in cooking over drive. I’ve managed to bang out a couple veg blogs covering a few meals, but pretty much every day I have been cooking. I’ve made bread, a fresh batch of seitan, lots of breakfast foods (Breakfast Burritos, Tofu Scrambles, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, etc), brownies, Pizza, and I’m sure a lot more than I can recall off hand. And in the process of cooking all vegan for my houseguest, I may have planted the Veganism seed in Peter. He has loved everything that I have cooked.

I don’t have any of the pictures from most of these meals readily available, so I’ll just do a picture blog later. But don’t expect a lot. I had a difficult time remembering to take pictures and by the time I did, most of the food was already crammed in my mouth.

I used all of my Daiya cheddar during Peter’s visit. And I have to say that it is fabulous. And if I had a retailer nearby I would be buying Daiya’s Cheddar exclusively. I used Follow Your Heart Cheddar in a homemade cheez-it’s recipe and they turned out okay. Verdict is still out on wheter I will be buying it again. I think I’m just gonna have to try it in more things. But I think the key to using Follow Your Heart Vegan Cheeses is to press out the excess moisture before use because it is a very wet cheese. Also, their cheddar flavor is not something I would just munch on. I didn’t use my Italian Blend Daiya on the pizza I made, although I imagine it would be perfect. Instead I used the Mozzarella flavored Follow Your Heart cheese. I could probably much on the Moz. The taste wasn’t bad alone and it was GREAT on my pizza. Although I liked the other toppings on my pizza, I could happily chow down on an all vegan cheese pizza. So even if the Daiya ends up being better, my cheese of choice will still be Follow Your Heart. It’s local (Food-For-Less in Medford, OR) and a great product.

The moistness of the Mozzarella cheese was not a problem, since it was gonna be melted, and also since fresh mozzarella cheese is a moist cheese anyway. If your only experience eating real mozzarella cheese was in the form of those dry shreds, then you missed out. I effin’ love Follow Your Heart’s Moz Cheese. And I am so incredibly grateful that I have a vegan cheese for pizza that I can find locally.

I have so much more to write about. I got a fabulous soy milk maker from Peter for my birthday that I am über stoked to fire up. I’ve lost 10 lbs since going vegan (not exercising a lick). But I also have a main blog that I need to write a novel in. So this is where this post ends.

breaking out the omni cookbooks

Raiu — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:51:40 +0000

Not that I don’t love my vegan cookbooks, but I was in my kitchen earlier and looking at my family’s collection of cookbooks and realized there must be something salvageable in there. So I grabbed everything off the shelf that caught my eye.

Let’s start with the random Vegetarian books. When I went vegetarian I didn’t buy a bunch of cookbooks because I didn’t need them.
OK, So Now You’re a Vegetarian – I bought this book when it came out in 2000, shortly after I became vegetarian not because I thought it would be an invaluable tool, but because it was written by a local girl and they mentioned it on the news. So I thought, “why not“.
This is a crap-tastical book for vegans. It’s a book for the newbie vegetarian and full of quite a bit of useful information for the newbies including some nutritional information, cooking & ingredient terminology. But nearly every “recipe” in this book relies heavily on eggs or dairy. But this would be a good starter cookbook for the new vegetarian who doesn’t really cook. lol

I don’t even know where Practical Vegetarian came from. I didn’t buy it. Maybe someone dropped it off at my mother’s house in an effort to recommend some healthy meals for my father who is a diabetic and eats crap. There are other cookbooks out there by the same name. So don’t be confused. This is a tiny book that looks like it came bundled with other things, not something you would buy individually.
It has both vegan & vegetarian recipes and discounting the few that call for cheese, most of the recipes can be altered to be vegan. But there’s nothing really exciting in there so I’m closing it’s cover and banishing it from whence it came.

the OMNI cookbooks:
the Betty Crocker’s Cookbook might have some baking recipes that can be converted, but for the most part this is a junkfood cookbook for an era in american cooking when junk food was starting to make it big at home and in the market.

Easy Sushi was a birthday gift from my amazon wishlist. I never really intended on making sushi I just wanted ot look at the pictures because sushi is so pretty to look at. It has no veg redemption. If you want to make vegetarian sushi it is one google search away.

Now here is the great surprise to me. Harumi’s Japanese Cooking was my favorite cookbook purchase in my omni days. I am a HUGE otaku and love making bentos, so in the effort to make more authentic inclusions to my bentos I bought a cookbook from this renowned and awesome author. Every dish (even the ones I would never eat) look amazing and there are lots of notations on what ingredients can be omitted or substituted if you can’t get the ingredients that she lists.
Nearly every recipe in this cookbook has meat, but it doesn’t take much effort or googling to figure out how to sub out most meat items appropriately. Reflecting back, I’m not even sure there is any dairy in any of these, and only a few contain eggs. So this cookbook is actually pretty flexible if you can think creatively.
I also have a (not pictured) tattered paperback Indian cookbook that I haven’t thumbed through, but it looks promising.

The other cookbooks that are circulating around the house don’t really merit a mention. I do have a couple raw uncookbooks, but apart from smoothies there is nothing in any of these books I care to revisit.

I’ll probably be selling a few of these books that have done nothing for me for a few bucks each in my shop.

Not-tella. Yeah we gots teh sweet toothes

Raiu — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 02:50:34 +0000

Today was going to be a day of leftovers and putting off a much needed shower (which I finally squeezed in during an SGU commercial break). But as my father’s sweet tooth kicked in he started to root around the kitchen and pantry. Eventually he asked me if I had eaten the last of the nutella. Now, the first time nutella came into the house was because I purchased it. And in the countless times over the past few years that we have bought nutella I have probably only had 1 tablespoon. The hilarity in the suggestion that I finished off the nutella was almost more than I could bear. So when I came across a vegan recipe for a chocolate hazelnut spread, it wasn’t for me that I took interest.

As luck would have it, when I went shopping a couple nights ago, I picked up some raw hazelnuts just for such an occasion. So I pulled out the ever-nearby Veganomicon and thumbed through to find the recipe. Now, I’m not brazen enough to post the recipe. I think that’s rude and possibly a copyright violation. If you are feeling particularly needful of the recipe I have no doubt that a brief google search will yield it. But it’s really not difficult at all. All you need to do is make a nut butter with your roasted hazelnuts, and cocoa powder, a diary alternative & a sweetener. Yes, you could make it more complicated if you want. You could use additional flavor enhancers. Hell, you could slather it all over your naked body if that’s your thing. But those are all up to you.

When I followed the recipe in the book, my nut mixture reached it’s saturation point at around half the oil it called for. So instead, I thinned it out with some soy milk. Obviously the end result is perishiable, so I’m keeping it in the fridge. I don’t know how long it will last, but the rate at which we go through nutella in my household it will not be an issue at all. The omni verdict: “mmm good.”

I also picked up a couple packets of Road’s End Chreese mixes out of curiosity. Looking at the ingredients they are essentially nutritional yeast with extra spices thrown in for a little extra flavor and color. I tried the gluten-free cheddar style chreese (which I picked up by mistake) and it is nothing to write home about. Making your own cheese sauce at home with “nooch” (nutritional yeast) would probably come out better. Word is still out on the other gluten-y packages.

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