Produce Stand Off - A food thread for plant-based eaters

[1000YearBan]

You can sub flax for an egg in baking. The recipe is 1 tablespoon flax meal and 2 tablespoons boiling water, let sit for 5 mins and you have your slimy “egg” for binding. Usually though I just throw the flax in with dry ingredients.

Here’s my vegan southern cornbread:

2 cups corn meal (Martha White is fine just make sure it’s not “Hot Rize”)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 flax “egg”

NO SUGAR!!!

1 2/3 cups soy milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup corn oil

9 inch cast iron skillet

Preheat the oven and skillet to 450. Sour the soymilk with the vinegar for a few minutes before adding to the dry ingredients. Pour the oil in the hot skillet, then from the skillet into the batter. Stir the batter (should be a little runny) and pour into the hot oiled skillet. Bake 25 minutes.

[nick_warr]

If you cook your chickpeas from dried, the water when they’re cooked can serve a very similar purpose (egg substitute).

[ClutchLinkey]

I will try that, thanks! I love me some Tex-Mex, so need some kind of sour cream type thing.

@nick_warr

cook your chickpeas from dried, the water when they’re cooked can serve a very similar purpose

I’ve heard that but never tried it. I usually do cook from dry. Good tip.

@1000YearBan

Here’s my vegan southern cornbread

Thanks!
And what do you slather on it in place of butter? Or does it simply not need it?

[1000YearBan]

We’re using the vegan butter from the grocery. I’ve tried a few recipes to make it from scratch but they were all a pita to make and tended to get moldy too fast.

[1000YearBan]

Super stir fry tofu hack:

Put your tofu in the freezer overnight, then move it to the fridge. Then before you stir fry, drain out the liquid. You can use towels and a heavy weight for 10 minutes, but honestly I just squeeze the tofu between my palms over the sink. Then cube and fry.

I find the tofu likes to stick to the wok so I “deep fry” it first. I don’t have a deep fryer anymore but my oven has a convection setting so I air fry the tofu cubes in an oiled iron skillet in the oven at 400, tossing every 5 or 10 minutes until they’re crispy on all sides. Then add to the wok after the ginger garlic and onions and before the peppers and mushrooms

[j9c]

I completely agree. Most of the time, there’s just no substitute in flavor, mouthfeel, melting point, etc. when vegan stuff is being asked to perform on the playing field that butter, cream, milk etc. invented. Not a level playing field. And putting in xanthan gum, or other engineered stuff, is a stop-gap at best.

Tofu hot dogs are ok for meat-eaters who grew up eating meat hot dogs, but IMO these are crutches best abandoned as soon as possible.

I’ve been a vegetarian since 1981, having been raised in a home in the midwest where tofu was a regular normal thing to eat and have in the fridge because half our fam is Chinese. It was a whole nuther world outside our house though.

The closest I’ve gotten to an actually tastes good GF vegan brownie:

Almond Brownies

Preheat oven to 325°F / 162.7778°C … or if in Texas, just put the SunOven outside 5 minutes before you want to bake

2T coconut oil (cold-pressed, unrefined is best), liquid
1/2c sugar (whatever is on hand, brown sugar is ok too)
1 T ground flax meal dissolved in 2 1/2T boiling water, beaten well, let it set up for 5-10 minutes before using
1/4c “almond beverage” or oat milk or other milky liquid
1c almond flour (I get an ok price at Costco)
1/4c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8t sea salt
1t baking powder
1/2c chopped almonds or unsweetened coconut flakes or a blend
1/4c dark chocolate chips

Mix all the wet stuff in one bowl.
Mix all the dry stuff in a different bowl.
Combine the bowls.

Bake in a 8"x8" pan lined with parchment paper for ~35-45 minutes.
Slower oven is better for chewier brownies.
Cool slightly before cutting.

ETA: thank you @zfirphdn for that good catch… because even though I do have a sweet tooth, I don’t recommend making anything that is half sugar. For this reason, I stopped making mustang grape jelly years ago, because it is literally half sugar and half grapes. My pancreas told me to.

ETA2: grammar, and a better estimate of baking time, as my oven is quirky and I ought to have a separate oven thermometer because I sense the dial and the true oven temperature are often… dissimilar…

[docosc]

Yes. please!

[zfirphdn]

That brownie recipe looks good!

@j9c

1/2 sugar

I assume that must be 1/2 cup, but just checking to be sure of it… ('cause that’s how I am )

[belovedvillain]

@ClutchLinkey

sour cream type thing.

I use powdered citric acid (in very gentle amounts) to add that subtle tang in a lot of creamy dishes and think it works a treat. Enjoy!

[j9c]

Ooooooops!

Good catch.
Corrected.

[docosc]

@belovedvillain

I use powdered citric acid (in very gentle amounts)

Wooo! Powerful stuff, deft hand required indeed. Very effective, but tiny amounts make a huge impact.

[chgoliz]

@ClutchLinkey

I was more wondering about if there are substitutions for those dairy products.

Kite Hill chive cream “cheese”. I know plenty of omnivores who get this instead of dairy cream cheese, it’s that good.

[chgoliz]

Try tossing the tofu in corn starch before frying, baking, or air-frying.

[white_noise]

I like oat milk, but in my oatmeal it’s a bit extra.

[j9c]

@1000YearBan

I long for the day to have a traditional brie

I realize that these two things are not the same, but sometimes, when I find myself craving something rich and fatty (brie, ice cream, french fries), I eat an avocado and the craving goes away.

If you are ever in Austin, please do stop by this well-loved, macrobiotic (vegan) community gathering spot:

https://www.casadeluz.org/eat-drink

They get a lot of things right, and it’s delicious.

[milliefink]

@white_noise

I like oat milk, but in my oatmeal it’s a bit extra.

Yep, me too. So I use soy, or if I can splurge, there’s a pricey brand of walnut milk (cuz it tastes good and I’ve heard walnuts are extra good for you!).

[Doctor_Faustus]

@1000YearBan

instead of aging a vegan milk into cheese

Isn’t that just tofu?

I’m not being facetious, the process is almost the same, just with soy milk as a basis and a different coagulant, right? I don’t know if you can age tofu, or if you can make it from other plant milks, but that is pretty much what I would expect a cheese made by this process to taste like then.

[docosc]

We discovered General Tso’s cauliflower, exactly the same recipe and process other than florets instead of chicken. Amazingly good. As I said above, not “pretending” to be meat is probably the best approach to converting carnivores (such as myself) to less planet-killing dietary plans. We are not vegetarian by any means, but have cut our meat intake by 50% or more with that approach.

[1000YearBan]

@chgoliz

Kite Hill chive cream “cheese”.

I’ve seen it, but at $7 it’s well beyond my budget. Even the store brand fake meat and cheese costs 2X the real stuff. It’s a major problem.

[snigs]

I’ve been drinking chobani extra creamy oatmilk in my coffee, and have occasionally used it in baking, either a complete substitution, or half milk, half oat milk.