12:03 pm - More tofu questions
Author: elfstar18
I plan on trying to stir-fry firm silken tofu with vegetables for dinner tomorrow. My usual recipe for meat based stir-fry was to cobble together a sauce of soy-sauce, peanut butter, and beer (surprisingly good). Do you think that something like this would work for a tofu marinade? How long would you let it marinate? Also, if you were going to press the liquid out in order to get firmer pieces, can that be done after/before marinading or is it a one or the other type deal?

(5 comments | comment on this)

4:10 pm - Jamie Oliver kills chickens on his new tv show.
Author: crzydimond
I'm unsure if this has been posted yet, I had a quick look and didn't see it.

It's disgusting. I mean the intentions were good, but I'm sure there was a different way he could have gone about raising awareness.

The latter link has some fairly awful pictures, so don't click that one if you have a weak stomach.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23027416-5012980,00.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-506759/Jamie-Oliver-electrocutes-chickens-suffocates-chicks-TV-expose-industry-brutality.html

(18 comments | comment on this)

10:23 pm - Experiment gone right!
Author: cheyvonne
So, this was one of those spur of the moment recipes that I hoped would work and ended up turning out okay - chocolate peanut butter rice pudding, all done in the microwave! I basically made one cup of uncooked brown rice according to the microwave directions (which, by the way, worked out amazingly well - much better than when I usually try to make brown rice on the stove), and then stirred in one 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk, some cocoa (maybe 1/4 to 1/2 a cup...to taste), some peanut butter (could be omitted, again to taste) a half teaspoon of vanilla, and voila! Rice pudding.

Mostly, I'm posting this because my last attempt to make rice pudding turned out horribly, horribly wrong - so bad that it gave my roommates the mistaken impression that I am a horrible cook. Moral of the story - culinary experimenting will start out shaky, but don't be afraid to develop some intuition, learning from your mistakes. And, it is quite easy to make perfect rice in the microwave. This wasn't even instant, or anything, just plain old brown rice. It took just as long to cook as on the stove, but the results were a thousand times better. Thank you, modern technology.

current mood: chipper

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9:44 am - Starting out, once again...
Author: streetangele
Hi, everyone! I'm trying to get back into vegetarianism. I ate a vegetarian diet for two years, up until last year, however, I did it most unhealthily. I cooked a little, but mostly relied on fast food and general junk that was just not good for me at all.

I have a few questions for you:

1. What are your favorite all-purpose cookbooks? I'm partial to ones full of pictures, but they are not necessary.

2. What staples do you keep in your kitchen at all times to help you make a myriad of meals? My kitchen is currently empty (embarrassingly so) and I'll be needing to hit the grocery store very soon. Anything and everything you can think of is welcome!

3. Has anyone tried the new Wishbone Bountifuls salad dressings? If so, what are your thoughts on them? Any recipes you've tried them with? I'm a HUGE fan of salads and sandwiches, so I'm always trying to find new recipes for these things. Feel free to give me your favorite recipes and ideas for those munchies. :)

I'm really excited about getting back into vegetarianism, and I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. Thank you! :)

current mood: happy

(11 comments | comment on this)

10:06 pm - More on the Army Pig Tests
Author: leaveittoweaver
Thought this video would be of interest to you all:

( On To The Video )

(2 comments | comment on this)

4:00 pm - Pad Thai?
Author: magickal_faerie
Hello all, long time reader, first time poster :)

I am severely craving some Pad Thai, so I was wondering if you had any tried and true recipes.  I have a few printed from various websites, and I have the Moosewood cookbook but all the recipes are so different from each other I don't know which one to use!  If any of you have any ideas, I would certainly appreciate them :)  Thanks a bunch!

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4:40 pm - Seriously?
Author: jenafreaka
Army will shoot live pigs for medical training

( Read more... )

If you would like to get involved, you can follow this link:
http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/army_shoots_pigs

(5 comments | comment on this)

7:54 pm - Asian food?
Author: elshastorm
I'm currently on an EXTREMELY tight budget. But I'm having an Asian food craving. Not something in particular, just Asian. So, of course, my first thought was that I should get a bag of frozen veggies for stir fry. But I was wondering if you lovely people had any other ideas of CHEAP stuff that I could get/prepare (preferably in quantity and keep for later). Perhaps some sort of noodle dish...? I'm really unsure here as I've hardly cooked any Asian food at all. Help! :D

(x-posted)

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7:19 pm - Meat as a status symbol
Author: tenmazero
Meat Eaters Live a Lie

"While a big, juicy steak may indeed be culinary nirvana for many, your taste for beef could be based in part on expectation rather than reality.

On the assumption that meat is associated with social power in some peoples' minds, researchers rated study participants on what they call a Social Power Value Endorsement measure, to determine their preferences for meat and their cultural perceptions of it. Participants were then told they would taste either a beef sausage roll or a vegetarian roll. You can guess where this is headed.

Of course the researchers used one of the oldest tricks in the social scientist's toolbox: They lied. "

EDIT: Link fixed. Sorry about that.

(13 comments | comment on this)

10:41 am - Join and make a difference!
Author: dinaroxbaby
Join SocialVibe,
choose a cause you want to support or help,
choose a sponsor,
and make a difference!

http://www.socialvibe.com/?r=174201

(comment on this)

1:24 pm - Vegetarians in Michigan
Author: pinkfroggrrl
I know we're from all over the world in this community but any of you near the Detroit area in Michigan, listen up:

There is a Chinese restaurant called "Red Star" on Michigan Avenue in Dearborn, right across from City Hall. They will do any of their chicken or beef dishes with what they call "Vegan Chicken or Beef". I'm pretty sure it's TVP or perhaps tempeh.

I had General Tso's and Beef with Broccoli last night for dinner with the vegan alternatives and it was AWESOME.

Also, you can request a veggie spring or egg roll with your meal as well as plain rice instead of the usual shrimp fried rice.

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9:46 pm
Author: azila
Anybody know if the enzymes in bearitos crunchitos are vegetarian friendly? I can't find it anywhere online....

(2 comments | comment on this)

4:26 am - Goodbye Suddenly
Author: johnnyblank
Hi my name is George Wong, I'm an actor and vegan chef from Toronto, Canada, currently living in NYC. If you want to join Facebook, I have pics of my food (and you can request recipes for anything).
Please support you fellow veg. This is my first music video, to a mix of music of Nancy Sinatra (remix), Gigi D'agostino, Hellogoodbye, and Gloworm.
It's a closure piece for my last relationship.


jb

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12:23 pm - Sloppy Joes
Author: emeraldmarbles
Does anyone have a recipe that they'd like to recommend for vegetarian sloppy joes using BEANS? Right now, I just use a can of manwich and some fake meat crumbles, but I'd like something without fake meat.

Thanks!

(6 comments | comment on this)

8:21 am - slow transition, vegetarian products questions
Author: elfstar18
Hello, I'm new here. My boyfriend and I have been cautiously circling the idea of vegetarianism for a while now. Eating meat has gotten harder and harder to justify from either a nutritional, financial, or environmental standpoint. That said, we were once, and still are to some extent hard core meat eaters. (A year ago I would have typically had steak for dinner at least twice in a week. Also, my three-meat-meatloaf is one of my favorite foods.) Slowly, slowly we've added lots of fresh vegetables to our diet (ex: our steak and broccoli stir-fry has morphed into a vegetable stir-fry), but we do still eat chicken and fish and *occasionally* red meat. My goal is to be on a 90% vegetarian diet with NO red meat, but I'm taking it slowly, if for no other reason than that I have a freezer full of food that I am loath to waste.

All of that said, we recently took the plunge into meat-alternative products, buying some tofu and some "Bob's red mill textured vegetable protein". The tofu was awesome, and having used it in stir fry, we've already bought another package (but how do you make it crispy on the outside? I'll have to look into that.) The textured vegetable stuff was another matter... It wasn't *bad*, but we used it in place of ground beef to make tacos and it sucked up all of the flavoring we added and was still on the bland side. Grumble. It would have been nice (and so cheap!) if it had been a painless ground beef substitute. Is there a better one? Also, what is the best vegetarian bacon? Do any vegetarian bacons do anything along the lines of rendering fat? Was that a stupid question? I love to cook, but I don't know how to cook without meat yet!

I am not sure what a typical transition is like... I think I always had the idea that people wake up and realize that they can no longer stomach meat and so become vegetarians that very day. I still love the taste of meat, I just can't deny that it's not good for me or the planet, and so am trying to get away from it. Has anyone else done it slowly, and has that worked for you?

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11:57 pm
Author: frankensteiin
alright, it's circa 11:57 p.m. LA time, and i'm craving taco's hardcore. preferably without cheese and preferably with avocados. is there anywhere open at this time that could cover those bases?

is there anywhere open ever that could cover those bases? i haven't had taco's in agessssss

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10:22 am - Fake meats etc. in Europe
Author: freespirit_me
Hello friendly veg*ns!

I'm going to be leaving for Europe (Italy and Switzerland, to be exact) this week, and will be visiting a whole lot of omni family and friends while there.  I'm hoping I can get to the local grocery store and pick up some fake meats or tofu or something along those lines before we go to anyone's house for dinner, so that I can have a back-up in case they are serving some super-meaty meal that I can't get around.

I know I'm going to at least one big family BBQ.  But I really have no idea what's available, and I'd like some help!  Most likely I'd be buying it in Switzerland, so if anyone has any experience buying fake meats and such there, can you give me a hand?  IS there much available to begin with?  What brands are best?  Does the tofu taste the same as over here?  (I know things like milk can taste different, is it the same with soy-products?)  Any other advice?

Thanks!!!
Christine

(24 comments | comment on this)

10:24 pm
Author: seaglasslove
I made the best sandwich I've ever had in my life:

Mashed avocado with sea salt and pepper on both sides of 100% whole wheat bread. A dab of vegan mayonnaise. A slice of tomato, red onion, and broccoli sprouts.

I also picked up some:

- hummus with different spices
- chocolate unsweetened soy milk
- raw almonds
- dried strawberries

Yay!

(3 comments | comment on this)