Plant-based food <3 - Things you cook all the time, lazy meals, complicated but worth it food, snacks, favorite recipes, recent eatings, etc.

[Agent Abe Caprine]

I love black bean burgers.

 

[CallmeCicada]

I like this one, recipe uses honey so just sub for your glucose of choice.

Honey comes from bees.

Also, this always made me curious why no one brings it up when the point arises. But isn't honey technically "plant based", don't bees just collect the nectar/pollen from flowers, its not like its a part of their body, it's just their food supply. I just don't really get the distinction.

 

[TheArtilleryman]

Zucchini sliced lengthways in to thin and wide bacon-shaped strips, lightly battered (tempura is best) and fried until crispy, serve with balsamic vinegar. Absolutely delicious.

 

[There She Glows]

Made vegan mashed potatoes for a dinner party tonight. I don't need to explain how to make mashed potatoes but some things I think make a difference - fry a ton of minced garlic in whatever (I used earth balance) then dump in a cup of extra creamy oat milk, garlic powder, 4 tablespoons of nutritional yeast and a couple pinches of nutmeg. Keep all of this warm on the burner until you're ready to fold it into the potatoes.

 

[Lycalopex]

Very little that I eat is 100% vegan. I'm an avid enjoyer of eggs, cheese, red meat, and milk, so they find their way into everything I eat. Fake milk made from oats or almonds or whatever is disgusting, fake meat is way too salty (and expensive), and fake eggs and cheese don't taste anything like the real thing. Margarine is super unhealthy and vegetable oil spread is meh, so butter is king. Even sweet things tend to have honey or milk in them.

I'm not saying this to be an asshole, I'm saying it because I genuinely don't think I regularly eat anything completely vegan. I like a good banana or blueberry but don't usually keep fresh produce around because of spoilage. I love rice, potatoes, and green beans but always put butter in them. I like bread but it's usually paired with butter, mayo, or cheese. I get sick of sweet things quickly, even if I like a good cinnamon roll (which usually has butter anyway). etc, etc.

I don't go out of my way to shop vegan, I get what I can afford and what I know I like. I guess I could be boring and make pasta without any form of dairy product.

Oh! I do love fried pickles, though.

 

[CallmeCicada]

Very little that I eat is 100% vegan. I'm an avid enjoyer of eggs, cheese, red meat, and milk, so they find their way into everything I eat.

Same, but I always get a sense of accomplishment if I can make a vegetable dish taste good. I don't prescribe to the imitation animal products either that plague the US and Europe. I feel it's disrespectful to and try to make them taste like something else. It's all marketing and with a hint of politics mixed in since veganism is inherently a political life-style. I probably have only a handful of recipes that are 100% vegan (falafel are by far my favorite) that I consider good.

Fake milk made from oats or almonds or whatever is disgusting, fake meat is way too salty (and expensive), and fake eggs and cheese don't taste anything like the real thing

I do disagree about almond milk, believe it or not it's a historic ingredient and has been used since the Medieval era. However, the store bought stuff is not very desirable, so I do recommend you make your own if you're interested. It's great for cooking and you can make a sort of almond "tofu" (you can actually do this with any nut milk) with the milk and other things with the left over pulp as well.

Margarine is super unhealthy and vegetable oil spread is meh, so butter is king. Even sweet things tend to have honey or milk in them.

Agreed, olive oil is king imo for vegetarian/vegan food though and butter for anything else. If you like butter I suggest you try burre monte. The honey thing never made sense to me and still doesn't It's still technically a plant based food since it's just the nectar collected from the bees and not actually a part of their body. If the argument is that honey is a product made by bees then you could make the same argument for certain types of fungi that are cultivated by ants. I don't see the logic behind it.

 

[Inkling Boy]

https://www.budgetbytes.com/coconut-curry-chickpeas/

I make this on a semi-regular basis. It's very easy and my family always loves it. I usually serve it with a side of veggies, rice, and some naan bread.

 

[Lycalopex]

It's great for cooking and you can make a sort of almond "tofu" (you can actually do this with any nut milk) with the milk and other things with the left over pulp as well.

I'd rather have real tofu, to be honest. It's been co-opted by people trying to make it a meat substitute but it's very good as just a protein in its own right, especially with meat. It's really good for extending ground meat like people do with breadcrumbs in meatballs, and it takes on the flavor of whatever it's cooked in so you barely notice.

The honey thing never made sense to me and still doesn't It's still technically a plant based food since it's just the nectar collected from the bees and not actually a part of their body. If the argument is that honey is a product made by bees then you could make the same argument for certain types of fungi that are cultivated by ants. I don't see the logic behind it.

something something exploitation

 

[CallmeCicada]

I'd rather have real tofu, to be honest. It's been co-opted by people trying to make it a meat substitute but it's very good as just a protein in its own right, especially with meat. It's really good for extending ground meat like people do with breadcrumbs in meatballs, and it takes on the flavor of whatever it's cooked in so you barely notice.

Yes, so much. The culinary/food industry constantly trying to make tofu into something else is maddening. I really like using tofu and I went on a frenzy learning a lot of Japanese cuisine to the point where I even ended up making my own tofu. So I am a biased to enjoying tofu, and similar to how you mention with making tofu with meat, I love using it in east Asian soups (e.g. Miso soup, egg drop soup, Chinese pickled fish soup).

The issue I had though was the tofu not really absorbing much of the soups flavor. I've found that using some firm tofu and freezing it then thawing it and using it allows the broth to fully absorb into the curd whereas before it would only absorb about a quarter inch from the surface. It works well for soups and even stir fry.

Also the almond tofu is not really a substitute for soybean tofu, it is more of a desert (thought you can also make a nice desert with silken tofu).

something something exploitation

so if a vegan finds a beehive in the forest can they eat it? lmao

 

[paroom paroom]

Also, this always made me curious why no one brings it up when the point arises. But isn't honey technically "plant based", don't bees just collect the nectar/pollen from flowers, its not like its a part of their body, it's just their food supply. I just don't really get the distinction.

so if a vegan finds a beehive in the forest can they eat it? lmao

Honey isn't considered vegan just like milk isn't considered vegan. You're not eating the animals themselves, but you're eating their food. With cows, we steal their milk so we can have it and kill the baby cows right away (if they're male, cause they can't be drinking our milk) or enslave them for more milk if they're female.
With bees, we steal their honey, which is the food that they make for themselves, and even in the most ideal scenarios where bees are treated "nicely" (many honey producers kill off the entire colony when Winter comes), there are several problems with this:
· 1: We're taking their food, which takes a great deal of effort for them to make. We're taking their main source of energy, the one that they're naturally intended to ingest. We're limiting their capability to polinize and grow their colonies because they simply don't have as much food.
· 2: Commercial honey producers use one species to make their honey, which is a competitor with other species of bees and other pollinators, and because their use is so extended, other wild bee populations are starting to decline.
· 3: Bees don't want humans to take their honey. Many people claim that this is a "symbiotic relationship", but if that were the case, bees would have no problem with humans taking their honey. The fact that beekeepers have to wear protective gear in order to get the honey says it all.

If the argument is that honey is a product made by bees then you could make the same argument for certain types of fungi that are cultivated by ants. I don't see the logic behind it.

I'm curious about this, what are those fungi? Do ants feed on these fungi?

I'm not saying this to be an asshole, I'm saying it because I genuinely don't think I regularly eat anything completely vegan.

Why even post here, then? I get it, you're not vegan. Very cool.

 

[CallmeCicada]

I'm curious about this, what are those fungi? Do ants feed on these fungi?

Usually they are in the genus of Agaricaceae, sub-genus Leucoagaricus, and sub-genus Leucocoprinus being the more common fruiting body fungi ants tend to cultivate. It's actually an interesting subject and many people are recognizing and studying ants amazing ability to cultivate these fungi (see Ant–fungus mutualism).

 

[paroom paroom]

Usually they are in the genus of Agaricaceae, sub-genus Leucoagaricus, and sub-genus Leucocoprinus being the more common fruiting body fungi ants tend to cultivate. It's actually an interesting subject and many people are recognizing and studying ants amazing ability to cultivate these fungi (see Ant–fungus mutualism).

That's really cool. Ants in general are fascinating, and so are fungi. I wish my wheels were open so that I could see elemental spirits, they probably have a hand in many of these interactions. Maybe they have a symbiotic relationship in which the fungi act as a communication vessel for ants (maybe through the mycellium) and ants return the favor. Just speculating.

 

[CallmeCicada]

That's really cool. Ants in general are fascinating, and so are fungi. I wish my wheels were open so that I could see elemental spirits, they probably have a hand in many of these interactions. Maybe they have a symbiotic relationship in which the fungi act as a communication vessel for ants (maybe through the mycellium) and ants return the favor. Just speculating.

That is a very interesting thought, though it's beyond my purposes which is simply to create tasty food and I love mushrooms so much I've been trying to see how I can get more that you don't usually see in the stores (e.g. lions maine, chicken of the forest, maitake, king oyster etc) and I want to just have better quality mushrooms as well. So my solution is is simply grow them myself. I have been researching how to cultivate my own mushrooms at home. It's pretty amazing how many ways you can grow them even if you don't have a lot of space in your house, you can grow them in buckets or even plastic bottles.

 

[Lycalopex]

Why even post here, then? I get it, you're not vegan. Very cool.

Because this is a public discussion board and I enjoy discussing.

 

[SirCliveSinclairdabbing]

I used to love McDonald's vege burgers back in the day, (probably still do) anyone in the UK recommend a store brand of them?

 

[There She Glows]

and you can make a sort of almond "tofu" (you can actually do this with any nut milk) with the milk

Pumpkin seed tofu is awesome and a fun weekend project.

 

[paroom paroom]

Pumpkin seed tofu is awesome and a fun weekend project.

Mary's Test Kitchen always comes up with amazing ideas! I've been wanting to try this pumpkin seed tofu for ages, but I don't know where to get cheese cloth or a tofu press (Amazon is dead to me). Have you tried it? It seems absolutely delicious

 

[Lycalopex]

Oh, I guess that's a fair point. Fucking love pumpkin seeds. Honestly, most of my "vegan" foods are snacks.

On that note, if anyone here hasn't frozen a peeled banana, you have to at some point. Shit's like natural ice cream.

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole 2]

Also, this always made me curious why no one brings it up when the point arises. But isn't honey technically "plant based", don't bees just collect the nectar/pollen from flowers, its not like its a part of their body, it's just their food supply. I just don't really get the distinction.

Part of it is that bees are for hire. The hives are driven around and kept in cold temperatures to keep the bees sheltering then they are let loose to pollinate avocado and almond trees, rinse and repeat. From their (the vegan) perspective I can understand that, it is exploitative, but older vegans are getting tired of this shit because there's a rumbling of organic fertilizer(actual shit) being an animal product so now everything has to go artificial/synthetic. It's almost like someone is pushing this... new... way of...

 

[paroom paroom]

Part of it is that bees are for hire. The hives are driven around and kept in cold temperatures to keep the bees sheltering then they are let loose to pollinate avocado and almond trees, rinse and repeat. From their (the vegan) perspective I can understand that, it is exploitative, but older vegans are getting tired of this shit because there's a rumbling of organic fertilizer(actual shit) being an animal product so now everything has to go artificial/synthetic. It's almost like someone is pushing this... new... way of...

0:02

So first of all, what many people call "organic" fertilizer is nothing but cow manure, which has enormous potential for contaminating underground water currents, food poisoning, etc. For anyone who's lived near crops who use this kind of fertilizer, you'll know how foul the stench is. It smells like putrid death. The good thing is, you don't need that at all. You can just use plant-based fertilizer (like compost), which isn't bad for the soil in the long run and doesn't smell like absolute shit.

Second of all, you can also forego any kind of fertilizer use if you start growing crops with techniques that are both great for the soil and great for raising production, like electroculture, biodynamic agriculture, permaculture or no dig.

And third, do you know of any movement that isn't been co-opted by globalist powers to push their agendas? I'll wait. The powers that shouldn't be don't give a flying fuck about the animals, all they talk about is "sustainability", and let's not forget the push for making us eat ze bugs. Pretty antithetical to veganism, if you ask me. Every legitimate movement is going to have attempts of co-opting by the lamprey 1% psychopaths.