Don't Lose Your Lunch

Worldwide Vegan Bakesale

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:28:00 +0000

Worldwide Vegan Bakesale - Austin
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

Austin participated in the Worldwide Vegan Bakesale last Saturday at Monkey Wrench Books. All the proceeds were donated to Food Not Bombs and Austin Pets Alive. Thanks to Leslie for organizing the event. Austin has so many talented bakers. Click here for more pics of the massive spread.

Hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Mon, 11 May 2009 04:20:00 +0000

Grocery Getter
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

I'm heading a little farther down the road to live in Austin, so this blog is on hold until I have a new kitchen to call home. I've been ejected from my cozy cubicle due to "these economic times", so I'm taking the opportunity to try something new. If anyone would like to pay me to dice veggies or sift flour, let me know.

In the meantime, I'm going for a bike ride. See y'all around.

Chocolate Glazed Donuts

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 05:19:00 +0000

Chocolate Glazed Donuts
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

I've been slippin'. After an intense debate on yeast-risen vs. cake donuts, I remembered I hadn't posted these babies yet. It's basically my beignet recipe with negative space. Scroll down on that link for the variation.

Pralines

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 16:54:00 +0000

Pralines
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

Sugar ruuush!

Pralines:

1 1/2 c pecans

2 c sugar

1/2 c water

2 tB brown rice syrup

2 tB soymilk powder

1 tB blackstrap molasses

1/2 ts vanilla extract

1/2 ts bourbon

1/4 ts salt

Seitan Jambalaya

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 01:11:00 +0000

Seitan Jambalaya
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

Jambalaya is similar to gumbo, but without roux. Most of the ingredients are the same, but it's all made in one pot including the rice. I used the gumbo recipe from the other day, substituted a 16 oz can of diced tomatoes for the tomato paste & omitted the roux. About 20 minutes prior to serving, I added 1 cup uncooked white rice. It's a good one for the slow-cooker.

Hummingbird Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:05:00 +0000

Hummingbird Cupcakes
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

My hummingbird cupcake recipe is featured in this month's Society of P.E.A.C.E. newsletter. S.O.P. is a grassroots organization promoting veganism in the Houston area. They know how to throw a great potluck, too. Check out the events calendar at societyofpeace.org.

Seitan Gumbo

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:58:00 +0000

Seitan Gumbo
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

I challenged myself to come up with a gumbo recipe that is truly made from scratch. No commercially-available spice blends, roux or meat analogs allowed. There are 3 separate recipes involved, but the roux & seitan can be made well in advance.

This gumbo is a full-on sausage party, but you can add okra or beans. Even though it's not traditional, I find fava beans stretch this recipe really well.

Roux is always the base of gumbo, but making it the normal way requires constant stirring & burns easily. I bake my roux, instead. It takes way longer, but you don't have to pay attention. You can use less oil once you get some experience making it.

The seitan links are cooked using the Everyday Dish steaming technique & have an andouille spice profile. Enough explaining, go make a big pot of gumbo!

Seitan Gumbo:

1 tB toasted sesame oil

1 onion, coarsely diced

1 bell pepper, coarsely diced

3 stalks celery, coarsely sliced

4 garlic cloves, smashed & chopped

2 tB tomato paste

1 tB Hungarian paprika

1 ts dried thyme

1 ts dried oregano

1 ts black pepper

1 ts salt

1/4 ts cayenne

1/2 c water

1 1/2 qt veg broth

1/2 c baked roux (see recipe below)

4 cajun seitan links, 1/4" slice (see recipe below)

2 bay leaves

1/4 c parsley, chopped

Saute onion, bell pepper & celery for 4 minutes.
Add garlic, saute for 2 min or until everything is lightly browned.
Add tomato paste & spices, saute for 2 minutes.

Move sauteed ingredients to a large pot.
Deglaze pan with water & add to pot.
Add broth to pot & bring to boil.
Lower heat & add roux, stirring constantly until completely dissolved.
Return to boil so roux can thicken.
Add seitan & bay leaves.
Simmer on low for 45 minutes, adding water if necessary.
Add more salt & cayenne to taste.
Add parsley a couple minutes before serving.
Remove bay leaves.
Serve over long-grain white rice, sprinkle with filé.

Baked Roux:

2 c white flour

2 c canola oil

Mix flour & oil, dissolving lumps.
Bake in an 8"x8" Pyrex pan for about 3 hours, gently stirring every 30 minutes.
Take care not to splash the roux on yourself.
End result should be darker than peanut butter, but lighter than chocolate.
Allow to cool before handling.
Store in a glass jar in the fridge.

Cajun Seitan Links

1 c vital wheat gluten flour

1 tB broth powder

1 tB onion powder

1 tB garlic powder

1 tB Hungarian paprika

1 ts dried thyme

1 ts dried oregano

1 ts black pepper

1/4 ts cayenne

1/2 ts salt

1 c cool water

1 tB toasted sesame oil

1 tB soy sauce

Boil water for steaming.
Combine dry ingredients, whisk & set aside.
Combine wet ingredients, whisk & pour into dry ingredients.
Mix until just combined.
Divide into 4 & shape into links.
Roll them loosely in foil separately & twist the ends.
Steam for 30 minutes.

Beignets

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:42:00 +0000

Beignets
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

I haven't had a beignet in years & it's about time I figured out how to make them myself. A beignet is simply a square doughnut covered in powdered sugar. They are usually associated with the French Quarter in NOLA & cafe au lait. This is about as easy as bread-making gets, so give it a shot. You can double the recipe & freeze half for a lazy Sunday.

Beignets:

3/4 c lukewarm water

2 tB sugar

2 tB soymilk powder

1/4 ts salt

1 ts yeast

1 1/2 to 2 cups flour

1 tB veg shortening

Peanut oil for coating & frying

Powdered sugar for dusting

Whisk water, sugar, soymilk powder & salt in a large bowl.
Sprinkle yeast into bowl & allow 10 to 15 minutes to activate.
Mix in 1 c flour & stir until gluten strands develop.
Mix in shortening.
Mix in remaining flour until dough stops sticking to the bowl.
Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface.
Knead dough for 5 to 10 minutes.
Fold dough in half toward you, push outward with heels of hands, rotate 90°, repeat, repeat, repeat... now your moment of zen.
Sprinkle dough with flour while you knead if it is still too tacky.
Don't overdo it. The dough should be smooth & supple.
Pour a little oil into a large clean bowl.
Shape dough into a ball & coat it in oil by rolling it around in the bowl.
Cover & let it double in size at room-temp for an hour or 2.
You can refrigerate overnight if you want them in the morning.

Later that day...
Uncover & punch down dough. You can also freeze dough for later at this point.
Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface again.
Stretch dough horizontally, fold in 1/3rds like a letter in an envelope, fold in 1/2 toward you, repeat once.
Roll dough into a large 1/4" thick square.
Cut into 2" squares.
Place on a lightly floured baking sheet, cover & let rise for 30 minutes in a cool oven.
In a heavy bottomed saucepan, heat 1/2" deep oil to 350°F.
Use a thermometer!
Carefully place into hot oil until puffed up & golden brown.
This should take less than 1 minute per side.
Remove with tongs & place on a cooling rack over a baking sheet.
Allow oil to return to 350°F between batches.
Sift powdered sugar over beignets & serve warm.
Have a cup of coffee while you're at it.

Doughnuts:

Add 1/2 ts vanilla extract before the flour.
A big pinch of nutmeg is nice, too.
Cut shapes with a pint glass & a shot glass.
Glaze with chocolate ganache.

Sopapillas:

Add 1/2 ts cinnamon before the flour.
Roll out to 1/8" thick & cut into 4" semicircles.
Dust with powdered sugar & more cinnamon.
Serve with agave nectar.

Sesame Kale Soba

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 03:28:00 +0000

Sesame Kale Soba
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

I've been poring over the recipes in Get It Ripe for the last couple weeks. When dinosaur kale appeared at the grocery store, I knew how to put it to good use. Super simple & super tasty.

Chickun & Waffles

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:36:00 +0000

Chickun & Waffles
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

If you have something as ridiculous as a realistic looking soy chicken in your freezer, you might as well veganize a ridiculous brunch. The soy chicken was double battered in panko & seasoned flour, then fried in peanut oil. The waffle recipe is from Joy Of Vegan Baking, but with more soymilk & a little vanilla. Maple syrup everywhere!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 19:32:00 +0000

Chocolate Strawberries
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

I've been eating every possible combination of greens, bean & fruit since New Year's Day. Tasty, yet not photogenic. My energy is up. My weight is down. I've gained some lighter cooking habits for the long term. Guess what. My Eat To Live 6-week plan conveniently ends in time to pick up some chocolate covered strawberries from Amy's. It's an annual Valentine's thing. Time to indulge.

New New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:43:00 +0000

Black-eyed Pea Stew
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

My camera is back in my hands just in time for '09. As a resolution to eat more healthfully, I'm diving right into the Eat to Live program until Valentine's Day. This means mountains of vegetables & no refined foods, so I'll be referring often to the Fat Free Vegan to keep things interesting.

Of course, you can't let New Year's Day go by without black-eyed peas & greens. It just so happens that this tradition fits right into ETL. I made a slow-cooker stew based on the Fat Free Vegan's Hoppin' John. Mine included quinoa instead of brown rice & some other minor variations. A great start for the next 365.

MockGriddles

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 03:42:00 +0000

MockGriddles
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

My camera is away for a while, so I'm digging deep for lost photos. This was my attempt at veganizing McGriddles, the oddly plural breakfast sandwich. We are looking at 2 silver dollar pancakes with syrup in the batter, tofu fried in oil with turmeric, Gimme Lean sausage & a slice of Tofutti cheese. Great hangover food &, unlike the original, doesn't feel like a brick in your stomach.

Thanksgiving at Green

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 02:02:00 +0000

Thanksgiving at Green
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

We took a road trip to San Antonio over the holiday & got into town just in time to eat Thanksgiving dinner at Green. It was so good, I grabbed an extra plate to go.

Pumpkin extraVeganza

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:17:00 +0000

My family started celebrating Thanksgiving early this year. With a nod to Iron Chefs everywhere, I made sure everything I brought included pumpkin.

Pumpkin Hummus
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

As an appetizer, I had pumpkin hummus from the EverydayDish recipe.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

These are the pumpkin oatmeal cookies from Vegan with a Vengeance, but with craisins & toasted pecans.

Pumpkin Black Bean Chipotle Tamales
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

I made a ton of tamales with a pumpkin, black bean & chipotle filling served with pumpkin salsa. I added sauteed celery, onion & bell pepper to VeganExplosion's pumpkin cornbread recipe to make dressing.

Pumpkin Ale
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

I usually pick up a 6-pack of pumpkin ale every year about this time.

Pumpkin Pie
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

Whole Foods sells vegan pumpkin pies.

Pumpkin Butter Blintzes
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

These blintzes are the dessert crepes from Joy of Vegan Baking filled with homemade pumpkin butter.

Wooo, I think I'm done with pumpkin until next Thanksgiving. Speaking of giving thanks, thanks to my family for cooking some sides with olive oil instead of butter & handing off lots of leftovers to me.

Vampire: The Cupcake

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 14:30:00 +0000

Vampire: The Cupcake
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

Here's a little Halloween twist on some Veganomicon jelly donut cupcakes.

Severed Fingers

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:24:00 +0000

Severed Fingers
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

I'm getting into the Halloween spirit with these almond shortbread cookies thanks to a recipe from Yeah, That "Vegan" Shit. Raspberry jam made them extra gory.

Lambic Ice Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 04:51:00 +0000

Lambic Ice Cream
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

A local ice cream shop has some odd beer flavors from time to time. I wanted to try making my own & came up with a raspberry lambic syrup to enhance an existing ice cream recipe.

Framboise Lambic Syrup

1 c framboise lambic beer

1/4 c organic sugar

a splash of orange liqueur

Make your favorite vanilla ice cream less 1/4 c sugar.
Use silken tofu in the refrigerated tub, not the aseptic box.
Slowly pour a ribbon of the chilled lambic syrup & 1/2 c chopped frozen raspberries into your machine during the last few minutes of freezing.

Saag Tofu

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 04:47:00 +0000

Saag Tofu
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

There are tons of Saag Paneer recipes going around the information superbuffet, but this is how I like it.

Saag Tofu

8 oz firmest tofu

2 tB olive oil

1 ts brown mustard seeds

1/2 onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1" cube ginger, grated

1 ts garam masala (recipe)

1 ts coriander, ground

1 ts cumin, ground

1 ts salt

1/2 ts turmeric

1/2 ts cayenne

16 oz bag frozen spinach, thawed

1/4 c water

2 tB nutritional yeast

1/2 lemon's juice

If you are in the Houston area, the "Tasty To Fu Hard Texture" in Fiesta's produce section is great for this recipe. It's perfect without needing to freeze or press.

One Bite Brownies

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 01:55:00 +0000

One Bite Brownies
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

You know those lil' brownies at the grocery store? Yeah, those. I've experimented with this recipe a few times over the last year & this is the result I've enjoyed the most. The coffee amplifies the chocolate flavor without it actually tasting like coffee. You have to try it for yourself.

Walnut Brownies

1/2 c walnut pieces
1 tB flaxseed, ground
1/2 c coffee, freshly brewed
1 c organic sugar
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 c canola oil
1 tB blackstrap molasses
1 ts vanilla extract
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 ts baking powder
1/4 ts salt

Preheat oven 350°F. Toast walnuts on a cookie sheet in oven for about 10 min. Chop & set aside. Whisk ground flaxseed into coffee & give it a couple minutes get goopy. Beat the sugar, cocoa, oil, molasses & vanilla in with the flax goop. Sift in flour, baking powder & salt. Mix until just combined. Fold in walnuts. Plop (24) tB-sized scoops of batter in an oiled mini-cupcake pan. Bake for 15 min. Toothpick test should be moist. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Turn the pan upside-down & pop 'em out. Eat.p.s. To use a regular cupcake pan, fill the cups halfway & bake for 22 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:30:00 +0000

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

This recipe from Everyday Dish makes the best batch of chocolate chip cookies I've had in a long time. It uses common pantry ingredients, so odds are I can whip some up when the mood strikes without going to the store.

Dirrrty Rice & Beans

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 14:34:00 +0000

Dirrrty Rice & Beans
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

Somewhere between Louisiana & Mexico, Yellow Rose Recipes combines two classic rice dishes.

Raspberry Peach Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 03:41:00 +0000

Raspberry Peach Pie
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

This pie was devoured pre-hurricane, but I'm just now mentioning it here. I've never in my entire life made a fruit pie or one with a top crust before this. Thanks to The Complete Book of Pies, it's going to happen a lot more often. This cookbook isn't exclusively vegan, but the recipes we're interested in are clearly labeled at the top of the pages. Pie might just be the new cupcake.

Tater Pig

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:09:00 +0000

Tater Pig
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

Some quick PPK forum inspired carnival food. From what I gather, tater pigs typically involve a power drill & Lil Smokies. This one was made with a knife & Tofurkey sausage. I've never seen this in Texas & it's not on a stick, but it's ridiculous enough to believe it can be found a fairground somewhere out there.

Hummingbird Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Wes) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 01:40:00 +0000

Hummingbird Cake
Originally uploaded by Don't Lose Your Lunch

Hummingbird Cake

1 c pecan halves

3 cups flour

1 ts baking soda

1 ts ground cinnamon

1/2 ts salt

3 medium bananas (very ripe)

1/2 cup canola oil

8 oz can crushed pineapple with liquid

2 cups organic sugar

1 ts vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Icing

8 oz tub Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese

1/2 cup Earth Balance

4 cups powdered sugar

1 ts vanilla extract

*For cupcakes: 350°F for 26-28 minutes.