Rogue Vegan » Shopping

Pizza Toppings & love for tofu

Raiu — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 02:59:34 +0000

When I was still eating animal I loved pizza. It was, without having to quibble, my favorite meal. My absolute favorite pizzas where the ones with an absurd variety of cheeses on them. Now that I’m vegan and unwilling to give up pizza, I have found that the traditional “cheese” pizza just doesn’t cut it. Vegan cheese aren’t readily enough and in enough flavorful varieties to make a cheese pizza tasty enough for me. Add to that the fact that I am a picky eater and you can imagine that a “veggie” pizza suggestion is followed up with me rolling my eyes and saying, “Why bother?” So, I usually top my pizza with vegan meat alternatives like Gimme Lean Sausage and Yves Pepperoni. But the store I went shopping at the other day doesn’t carry my meatless pepperoni. Despite that, I still made pizza yesterday. I’m also out of olives. Though that may be for the best because I like to wear them on my fingertips and do Jazz Hands in the kitchen.

toppings:

Vegan Gourmet Mozarella cheese
Vegan Gourmet Cheddar cheese
Gimme Lean Ground Sausage

I had a picture. I swear I took one. but I’ve misplaced the camera that I took it with. I’d take another picture with my phone but I’ve already eaten the leftovers today. But don’t fret, more picture will be forthcoming in a few days after I have completed my newest cooking experiment: Tofu Pepperoni.

I LOVE TOFU. Srsly. I have a shirt that says so, so it must be true!

Tofu gets a bad wrap. But that is mostly from people who don’t know what to do with it and tried to eat it unflavored. But it is one of the most versatile and amazing ingredients that you can have in your fridge. But getting the best results with it usually involves pressing it to extract it’s extra fluid, freezing, or both.

Pressing tofu is essential when trying to imbue it with outside flavors, like with a marinade. Think of unpressed tofu as a saturated sponge. If you want to get new fluid into the sponge the old fluid needs to be removed.

Freezing tofu is usually done after a cursory pressing, though that’s not entirely necessary. Tofu that has been frozen changes in texture, becoming chewier and more resilient.

This recipe for Tofu Pepperoni looks promising. Unfortunately, my spice rack is missing a few items so I need to go shopping again. So expect a follow up blog post. And next time, it will have pictures.

At this time I would like to talk about a giveaway my fellow blogger & twitterer the Voracious Vegan is doing. She is giving away a TofuXpress tofu press. This handy dandy little device would make my life a whole lot easier. And if you are as serious about tofu as I am then you should enter too. So.. Go read this blog. Then leave a comment, post to twitter about it, write a blog about it, or all three.

see you next time… hopefully with pictures.

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
Website:: http://www.displacedworld.com
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A couple of years ago I fell in love

Raiu — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:28:17 +0000

A couple of years ago I met the love of my life in the grocery store.

VitaSoy Peppermint Chocolate soy milk. yum

Unfortunately, I have not been able to find this beverage this year. And a recent comment I made about this on twitter brought about the unhappy news that Vitasoy will only be available in Canada this year. So sad. Thankfully, I stumbled across this product’s clone from Westsoy:

Westsoy Chocolate Peppermint Stick

Though I am unable to do a side by side comparison I am fairly certain that the taste is practically identical. Additionally, I can find Westsoy products at more stores than I could previously find Vitasoy. So go out and buy this product (and vitasoy’s if you are in Canada) so that it keeps returningto the shelf.

I want to make bread

Raiu — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:51:34 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve made bread, but I love doing so. The ambient temperature of my house is pretty cool of late due to the weather change. So I wanted to wait until my father starts using the woodstove to start baking. The wood stove really keeps the whole bottom floor roasty toasty. Well, today my father and I went into town. He needed to buy more bricks for the woodstove and I wanted to go to Lowes to pick up an unglazed quarry tile. His venture was successful. Mine, not so much. You see, I wanted to pick up a baking stone so that I can make those rustic pan-free artisan-like loaves of bread. And that was my main purpose in going into town.

As many budget conscious bakers know, a “pizza” stone is expensive and easily replaced by a cheap unglazed quarry tile (or several) from your local home improvement store. Except that my local home improvement store doesn’t carry them in house. Smart move on their part. In order to get my hands on a $2 tile I had to order an entire box of tiles. 16 tiles in total. Now, if you are playing along at home then you know that I probably could have bought a “pizza stone” online for the price I paid for these quarry tiles. But I refuse to admit defeat. I refuse to pay inflated prices for a baking stone. Besides, after I subtract what I need from my box of tiles I can give away the other tiles to friends and family and thus keep them from spending way too much money on a “luxury” item. I know it must seem silly, but it’s just the way I work.

In about 10 days my box of tiles will come in. By then we should be having a fire pretty consistently in the house and thus a warm house. And THEN I will be able to make bread.

And about bread…

I went to the store today to try and find bread that was vegan. I honestly did not think it would be so hard. No luck AT ALL. I just might go grab one of those Ezekiel loaves to tide me over until I can get my bake on.

I also made the “Best Vegan Mach and Cheese” recipe from vegweb today. I halved the recipe and it still made a ton of food. But I gotta tell you, if it really is the “best” then I think I’ll be giving up on mac and cheese. It did nothing for me. My dad, who definitely IS NOT a vegan, actually liked it. I ate it but not in the savory kind of way. I ate it on autopilot, distracting myself with tv and random conversation. When my mother came home later, she tried it. She ate it. She ate it like I ate it. She will not be eating anymore.

Let me say, this was not a disappointment. I’ve eaten a lof ot mac & cheese over the years, but not because I thought it was amazing. Not even because I was craving it. Mac & Cheese is not a comfort food for me. It’s just something to eat. So I’m not one of those vegans who will be forever searching for the perfect mac & cheese recipe. I can live fine without it. I know that sounds crazy from a cheese-o-holic, but let’s be honest here, that “Blue Box” crap isn’t really mac & cheese anyways. Now, if I had had a similarly unsuccessful go with a vegan pizza it might be a whole other story. And perhaps that is why I am putting off trying to make a pizza with my expensive Daiya shreds. If the most promising of all vegan cheeses disappoints me in pizza form my universe might collapse in on itself.

Tomorrow I am going to make Vegan Dad’s Alfredo sauce variation. I also need to think about ways I can incorporate more green things in my diet. I have a natural aversion to green things unless they are covered in cheese or fried.

not so milk chocolate

Raiu — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:41:21 +0000

No fabulous goodies today, kiddles. I didn’t cook anything today, just slept waaaaay in.

I went into “town” with my mother this afternoon and we swung by Healthway in Medford, Oregon because we were on that side of town. To my delight I did learn that they carry Better Than Bouillon “no-chicken” paste. I didn’t pick it up because I already have something that does the job, but when I run out I’m going back over there. I also stumbled on this:

It’s from the Hain Celetial Group. I dunno if It’s any good. It was $2.50 and I’m still in sticker shock over having paid that much for a chocolate bar. But if it’s any good I’ll buy more. So I suppose the pricey nature of it will keep me from indulging constantly.

Well, I’m off to cook a bunch of seitan for laterz.

‘night all

Vegan shopping in Southern Oregon

Raiu — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:00:36 +0000

My mother has a coworker who does a lot of cooking and when my mother mentioned to her that I had gone vegan and was bulking up my pantry, she recommended to my mother that we visit the Butte Creek Mill.

The Butte Creek Mill is one of those little historical/museum type things you find in old towns. It has a lot of the local history there. History tends to take on a more personal tone when you’re related to most of the people who originally settled in the area. Yeah, my family goes back. And true to form, when we walked inside and saw a display about the Mill’s founder my mother told me I was related to him. I jokingly replied back, I’m related to everyone.

Inside Butte Creek Mill, which is just off of Main street in Eagle Point, Oregon, are packages of every kind of grain and mix you might expect to come from a mill. They even have a selection of gluten-free products for celiacs. On the wall behind the counter is an impressive array of bulk spices with a sign boasting that there were more to be had. And that was when I fell in love.

You can’t beat the prices that you pay for those bagged spices in the hispanic section of your grocery store. But they lack in variety. And I wasn’t excited to pay upwards of $5 for a jar of spices when I was not entirely certain that I was going to be getting my money’s worth. By paying by the ounce at the Butte Creek Mill I ended up saving quite a bit of money. I plan on going back to collect more spices, because at their prices I’m no longer spice stingy.

After leaving the BCM my mother and I discussed buying a case of small canning jars to keep my spices in and talked about where we might go to do so. And on our way to visit the Grange Coop we made an impulse stop at Goodwill. And while my mother was looking at everything I found to my delight a spice rack with empty jars for $6. These Spice racks are they type that you might buy at Costco with the bottles preprinted with the spice contents. And of course, the jars are filled when you buy them new. I couldn’t resist. It was exactly what I needed at the exact right time.

After Goodwill we then made our way out of White City and into Medford We stopped at Fred Meyer because of their large health-food section. I bought some more Vital Wheat Gluten from the bulk bins and some vegetarian chicken flavored broth powder. I was hoping to find the no-chicken Better-n-Bouillon, but a thorough seach of the stores extended inventory yielded only the standard selection. I also picked up some raw cashews because I want to make a soft spreadable cashew cheese later.

All this shopping I have been doing lately shouldn’t be considered representative of the average vegan shopping experience. I’m still in the process of creating my pantry and figuring out what I might need on a consistent basis. This is newbie vegan shopping. But I think doing all this shopping in a short time has actually helped me. Or perhaps it will help you. I now have a much better idea of what I can find where in Southern Oregon.

A lot of Vegans and vegetarians in the area might think that their best option is to go all the way to Ashland to find what they need. But for those of us who would rather not make a whole day of shopping, Ashland is more like a distant dream or a concept than a real option. For Spices I’ll now only go the the Butte Creek Mill in Eagle Point, Oregon. For bulk items like Nooch (Nutritional Yeast) & veg chicken bouillon I’ll got the Fred Meyer in Medford. And for the bulk of every other vegany food item I’ll shop at Food-4-Less, also in Medford. It should be noted that I could find Nooch in Food-4-Less, but they didn’t have the Nooch in the large bulk bins, only in the smaller “spice” bins.

As you may have guessed, this post was more for newbie vegans and vegetarians in my geographic area who are at a loss where to do their shopping.

My first Official day as a vegan…

Raiu — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 04:52:17 +0000

and the first day of the VeganMoFo is coming to an end. I woke up and by my bed was half a box of Caramacs. BAM! Start the day with temptation. I just got up and ignored it. And later when I went up stairs to fetch something from my room I scooped up the box and brought it back down and handed them over to my mother.

I really love milk chocolate. I don’t care for dark chocolate at all. But I LOVE milk chocolate. There is nothing I like more, not even cheese. And I really love cheese. In fact my love of chocolate (I eliminate dark chocolate from that label) might be partially responsible for my weight gain over the past several years. I cannot turn down a candybar. Or I should say, I “could not” turn down a candybar. Because although I have not gone to the store today, all day long I have been mentally turning away chocolate every five minutes. Not that I’m fixated or anything. I’ve heard that there are promising vegan milk chocolates out there but I haven’t stumbled across them yet. I might just have to make some chocolate cupcakes tomorrow to take the chocolate edge off.

On the topic of cooking, I cracked open my Veganomicon cookbook and decided to give something a try. I hadn’t exactly planned for this yet, so it was a lot of thumbing through pages and mentally recounting what I have in my pantry. In the end I decided to try the chickpea cutlets. They came out pretty good for a first try. Second time around should be awesome. I mashed the chickpeas too small and I think I’ll adjust the spices a bit, but all in all they were pretty nummy. Of course I had them with mashed taters, gravy & some other green veg. I have no pictures. My food did not come out at all photogenic. Maybe next time.

My initial plans for the day were to make Vegan Dad’s smoked turkey lunch meat, but it seemed I was lacking a couple things and the appropriate steaming hardware. Please don’t give me helpful tips on how to improvise a steamer. I had nothing I could improvise with. I’m fairly certain you can bake it completely and omit steaming, but I’d rather not. I don’t want to have to do variants in a recipe when I’ve never made it before. Compromises should never come at the very beginning. that’s starting things off on the wrong foot. lol So I didn’t make the fake meat today.

I also had my UPS tracking page for my Daiya shipment opened in a tab all day. And every time I would walk by my computer I would refresh it. It’s really sill because it was sent out for delivery (with every other package) at around 7 this morning. Rationally I knew that the status wouldn’t update until after I got my package, but I couldn’t help myself. I’m like a kid on Christmas and the UPS lady is my Santa. That analogy is all sorts of messed up because though I wouldn’t mind sitting on her lap it would not be in the holiday spirit. Maybe it’s the smart little uniform…

Welp, (yes, the P was intentional) I’m tired and I think I’ll lay down and look at my vegan pr0n (cookbooks). Happy Vegan MoFo!

OMGWTF IT’S VEGANMOFO!!1

Raiu — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:23:36 +0000

In the normal progression of time I suppose that although it is technically October first, the day that I am wrapping up is September 30th. But that doesn’t matter because IT’S VEGANMOFO!!!!!!!11

I went shopping today at this HUGE grocery warehouse. You know it even if you don’t live here. Every area has one. It’s huge, old, kinda dirty, ant tends to cater towards the lower income brackets because they put so little into the store that the products they sell are usually a good price. But as luck would have it, this store has a good “health food” section. It’s more a specialty section that caters to vegetarians/vegans & people who like to buy organic. So I may be extremely fortunate.

I managed to find most of what I want. I bought some items from bulk bins and beefed up my spice collection from the cheap bagged mexican spices. You gotta be smart about these things when you don’t have a steady income. All in all I’m pretty happy with the results of this night’s venture. I think I can get most of the rest of what I want by visiting a couple other stores. And after all this shopping is done I will have a better idea of where to go for specific things and plan accordingly so that I’m not all over town.

If there is one thing that shopping has reinforced for me is my desire to get my own soy milk maker. The amount of tofu that I plan on using in various delicious recipes I’ve been reading might break the bank if I bought it with the frequency with which I wanted to use it.

I think tomorrow I am going to make VeganDad’s lunchmeat. I’m really keen on sandwiches and would love to have vegan lunchmeat on hand that didn’t cost me an arm and a leg for a few slices.

Oh, and my Daiya is scheduled to arrive tomorrow too! erm.. today? I’ll write more when my day has gotten underway, or perhaps wrapped up. I’m just so happy to be doing all this. I’m happy to be going Vegan. I’m happy to be a part of VeganMoFo. I’m happy to be starting a positive change in my life. In fact, I’m so happy that I’m realizing I am actually giddy. The kind of giddy born of being really fucking tired. And I am… tired. So bed.

Night all

I need a Soy milk maker

Raiu — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:58:11 +0000

I’ve never been much of a milk drinker. Having been lactose intolerant all my life I never experienced enjoying a glass of milk. It’s not as though I started out as a milk drinker and had this allergy sneak up on me. Drinking milk has always made me feel ill so I have an instant aversion. As a result I do not require soy (or nut/rice) milk as a beverage alternative. I also don’t cook with milk all that often, so purchased soymilk often expires long before I’ve used half. I’m also unimpressed with the recycleability (or lack thereof) of many soymilk containers. All in all it seems very wasteful to me. Enter Soy Milk Makers.

I didn’t know such a thing as an in-home soymilk maker existed. As I looked into, it became obvious to me that I would not need a specialized piece of equipment for this. I’ve successfully made nut milk at home with my blender and cheese cloth. But the whole process was messy and tedious. And I’d much rather have a machine that would cleanly and effectively do all those things for me.

I’m looking at a $140 investment, give or take. There are cheaper models and probably more expensive ones. I plan on doing a little more research on the matter before committing to buy one. After all, I am broke. Shelling out $140 on any one thing is huge for me. Technically right now I could afford it, if I decided eating wasn’t a priority. So this is more like a notation on a future purchase. So if you wanna help me meet this future goal then consider visiting my shop (link up top) some time in the future when I get some inventory in there. Or not. you know, whatever floats your boat. After all, it’s not for you to pay for all the things I want.

One of the benefits of making your own soy milk is also making your own fresh tofu and knowing exactly what is in it. And that alone is worth the price tag.

Daiya better go retail SOON

Raiu — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 07:19:49 +0000

Back when I first became a vegetarian and flirted with becoming a vegan I tried a few cheese alternatives. most of them weren’t even vegan, having dairy derived ingredients to aid in melting. And for the most part, all of them were a disappointment. I didn’t need them to taste exactly like Cheese. But I did need them to have at least a generic cheese taste.

I’ve read a few reviews here and there for various vegan cheeses. I even saw a blog that had a side by side comparison of several top brands which all failed in some way. However, now there is Daiya.

Daiya is a vegan cheese that melts and from what I’ve heard, tastes pretty good. Problem is that Daiya still hasn’t implimented a retail strategy yet and only sells in bulk to the food industry. A handful of mail order companies? have managed to get Daiya in stock, which they then source out to commercial kitchens to shred & package it in smaller portions. Two retailers, Pangea & Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe are both on the east coast.? Portland Oregon’s Food Fight only carries Daiya in stores and I live in Southern Oregon.

In the end, I ordered online from VeganEssentials who, I believe, is based out of Wisconsin.? The deciding factor was financial. I ordered 2 lbs of Daiya, had to pay for a cooler and ice pack and 2nd day shipping. This was the same across all three websites I found Daiya available from.? However, I found a one-time use coupon for Vegan Essentials that reduced shipping by $7. VeganEssential’s 2-day shipping was marginally less than? the others and in the end I paid $35 for 2 lbs of Vegan cheese.

Let that sink in.

I paid $35 for 2 lbs of vegan cheese.

I will not be repeating this unless Daiya fucking BLOWS MY MIND. At this price, I can’t afford it. This makes me sad because I love cheesey food so incredibly much. So I guess I’ll have to be more careful and plan out exactly how I am going to be spending this dietary currency.

Makers of Daiya cheese take note. There are people out there who willingly paid extra for coolers and 2-day shipping, essentially paying for your product TWICE over. Get off your asses and offer it to the public already so I can request my local grocer carry it.