Going vegan......old style?!

andrina_nightshade

lolabug wrote: »

Vegan marshmallow kit ;-)
http://www.veganstore.co.uk/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1&Product_Code=185&Category_Code=

I bow down before you! This is amazing, thanks so much!

I think this just shows how warped my priorities are, lol. I can happily live without meat, but start reducing the types of sweet I can eat... :eek:

Murrell

I came accross this recipe for vegan marshmallows, but the reviews of the recipes are not good. I have just bought for the first time some agar agar for another recipe, so may give it a go anyway, using half portions, as my hubby wants me to make some, so that i can make a wagonwheel type chocolate! Some hope, but i will try.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Vegan-Marshmallows-78524

If you try it let us know how you get on. I will also do the same when i get round to it, hopefully next month.
Sandra

twinkle_star_2

Hello again all,

Am amazed by the number of vegans and veggies appearing! Also thanks to non-veggies for contributions. Yay:beer:. Well, last night my OH said he wanted burgers of KFC as he was feeling meat-deprived (despite having a 1kg cooked ham in the fridge:eek:). I was going to make him some beefburgers from some frozen mince and myself a bean-burger but I got inspired by the KFC idea. Now I was never a KFC fan myself (not eaten much chicken for years) but I always loved the little tubs of things it came with. So, I decided to make a vegan KFC dinner!

For me this meant - baked beans, coleslaw, chips and something to replace the the chicken pieces.

I made a quick coleslaw with grated carrot and chopped savoy cabbage (not ideal but in the fridge) mixed with a big dollop of vegan mayo. I particularly like coleslaw as its raw (lots of vitamins kept intact) and cabbage is such a great source of loads of important vitamins and minerals.

Instead of chips I did spicy potato wedges (potatoes, olive oil, pepper, paprika, cayenne) and beans were just beans....:rolleyes:

To replace chicken I was originally going to do a potato and vegetable nuggets but I couldn't figure out how to make them stick together without egg (there are ways but I wasn't sure if i had any of the right ingredients). I thus decided on chickpea burgers but made nice and small. So here's the recipe (from memory):

Chickpea and vegtable burgers
1 tin chickpeas
2 carrots
2 small onions
3 mushrooms
2 fat cloves garlic
1tsp marmite
pepper
thyme
olive oil
tomato puree
8 tbsp porridge oats

Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Place in a bowl and mash roughly (leave some whole/chunky bits).

Finely chop onion, garlic and mushrooms, grate carrot. Fry gently in olive oil and add the marmite. Continue to fry until soft.

Once vegetables are softened pour them into the bowl with the chickpeas. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, a few squirts of tomato puree, thyme, salt and pepper.

Give it a good stir then add porridge oats. You may need more or less depending on how wet your mixture is. If the mixture is too wet or too dry you won't be able to form it into burgers so just keep altering the mixture with tomato paste/oats until you can roughly make a ball.

Make your desired size of burger (i did roughly twobite-size balls and slightly flattened them and I got about 18). Place on an oiled baking tray and bake for approximately 20 minutes at Gas 5 or until crisp and very lightly golden on the outside.

Twas very yummy (OH loved the chickpea burgers despite the total lack of meat) and I'm having it all again for lunch!:D

Edit: I just had my lunch and I think I liked the chickpea burgers even better cold! On reflection however, I think they need a bit more pep so I'd probably add another clove of garlic (I am a garlic fiend) and maybe some spices e.g. cumin & cayenne.

Justamum

twinkle_star wrote: »

To replace chicken I was originally going to do a potato and vegetable nuggets but I couldn't figure out how to make them stick together without egg (there are ways but I wasn't sure if i had any of the right ingredients).

These sound intriguing - wouldn't they stick together if you mashed the potatoes (not sure if you mean potatoes and veggies in pieces, but if so, mashing some of the potato might help).

twinkle_star_2

I was going to do mash potato with small piece of veg (peas, sweetcorn, carrot, broccoli etc) mixed in but wasn't sure if just mashed potato would stick it all together enough (I used to put an egg in to bind it). May give it whirl without the egg and see what happens.

Justamum

I've just re-read your post, and might make this myself tonight:D I was going to do veggie shepherds pie, but this sounds more exciting. I'm sure I've got chickpeas in the freezer (or if not I've got LOOOOAAAADS:rotfl: of other beans in there). I might not be able to do the coleslaw though - I've run out of vegan mayo and our local health food shop always seems to have run out :rolleyes:

lesley1960

What are peoples views on buying ' vegan' products that are made by companies who have doubtful vegan principles ? i.e the makers of marmite who I am led to believe support vivisection?

twinkle_star_2

Hi justamum. Glad to be of inspiration! Hope you note my edits before this evening (marmite & spices!).

Hi Lesley1960, as I've only just made the transition from meat-eater to vegan I haven't done too much research into the ethical background of all the products I eat (yet!). I'm hoping to steer clear of the big bads (nestle is the obvious one) but otherwise I'm still rather clueless. I'm hoping to eventually be as ethical as possible in everything that I buy but its a slow process!

P.S. Just did a quick google of marmite and it turns out the animal testing thing is becasue their parent company is Unilever which also does soaps and things (and may test on animals - couldn't find confirmation on this). Hmmm...

Boodle

Some yummy ideas for meals here :T None of us in our household are vegan but we do eat a lot of food which would probably suit vegans, tho mostly vegetarian at least I suppose, as we do have dairy. I will be watching this thread with interest. Good luck with your mission

frugalmumof4

hi, i have come across this site today, lots of great home baking ideas, thought it may be of help to someone, we have just made the gingerbread men!

http://www.recipesforvegans.co.uk