Dabbling in Vegetarianism (& other alt-food fun!)

[Aggie]

Ayuh, there's still one dinner that Dad made when I was very small that's referred to as "Kung Fu Stew" (Kraft dinner, peas, ketchup and baby clams ) that did not get eaten whatsoever.  We went for a walk instead, and maybe a bowl of cereal instead.


I'd read some recipes (the normal chickpea version) that involved fermentation, so I wasn't scared.  Considering some of our staple foods (kimchi, doenjang) are spontaneously fermented, I don't have much of a horror of microorganisms sharing my feast.  I don't think it was the fermentation that threw the recipe off, just the original material and especially the fact it wouldn't 'wash' like the chick pea flour did.  I will start another chick-pea batch today.


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Also picked up some wheat gluten and am going to try dabbling in seitan. Total deja-vu.  

[Aggie]

*double-post*

Update on the bu-fu:  Ran another batch using chick pea flour, but added a mix of curry-ish* spices and a good pinch of salt during the cook-out. Finished product was quite tasty on its own, delightful pan-fried.  I made a modified version of palak paneer (chard instead of spinach, bu-fu instead of paneer) and it was quite nice _{and vegan, but don't tell anyone!}

This is going to be a staple food chez moi, I think - it's cheap, requires very little hands-on time (besides the lengthy soak-out) and looks to be useful for a lot of things that soy tofu is not particularly good at.


_{*cumin, coriander, cardamom, dried ginger, dried garlic, probably turmeric, maybe fennel, possibly cinnamon and cloves - I don't keep track}

[Opsa]

That sounds delicious. I like those spices.

[Aggie]

I have lots of fun with my mortar and pestle - probably my favourite piece of kitchenware.

I heartily recommend getting your hands on some chick pea flour and giving this a try. I'm definitely going to try making veggie burgers using this as a binder and base in the near future.

[Aggie]

!VEGGIE LUNCH HELP NEEDED!

Field season is starting again and it looks like I'll be doing some extended time away from home soon.  Problem is, I've kind of lost my taste for land-meat lately and want to keep eating mostly veggie food. I think I can muddle through dinners for the most part (will be trying microwave bu-fu), but I could use some pointers for veggie lunches. Hummus tends to get me about halfway through, and I suppose some bean-and-rice wraps will be a good option (& semi-reasonable to cook in the field, if I use canned beans and bring the rice cooker, plus some spices) - any other ideas?  Cheese is a no-go for the most part, due to price*, saturated fat content and general dislike. I'm also opposed to processed faux-meat products; I'd rather eat roast chicken than a veggie chicken nugget.   I will be in and around the pickup truck for the most part on this round, so I can eat sit-down foods, but it's hard to get my usual lentil-based lunch staples up to proper heat on the truck defrost, so the focus is on cold foods.  On many jobs, time is limited and I need easy-to-eat food that can be jammed down the gullet throughout the day.

*blame the bloody Canadian Dairy Cartel gangsters.

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Bu-Fu Update:

I've successfully attempted a soft-tofu version of bu-fu, using a ratio of 1 parts soaked 'sludge' to 2 parts of water and the same cook-out method.  The result is somewhere between a soft and medium tofu, good for soups and the like (although we've been eating it plain with kimchi).  I'd anticipate that one could go even further to 1 parts sludge to 3 parts water, but haven't tried this yet.

I've been using a larger soaking container (2-litre measuring cup) and doing about 2 cups of chickpea flour at a time; I've also moved the soak to the fridge so that it's less likely to start fermenting. The larger container allows a larger volume of rinse water and therefore less decants (still do about 2 - 3).  After soaking and decanting, I've been draining off the excess water and using the soaked sludge as needed; it seems to keep for a few days and if it's the first thing you cook, generally chills and firms fast enough to prepare as needed. The finished product tends to sweat water a little, so fresh preparation may be an advantage.

As noted above, I'm going to trying to cook this in the microwave to see if it's field-portable, as the raw materials and equipment are easy to pack.  The tricky bit will be keeping it from getting lumpy, so I expect to be cooking, stopping, stirring, cooking, stopping, stirring....

Might get around to trying to use this stuff as a binder for veggie patties tonight - I've got some instant refried black beans (i.e. dried black bean flakes) that I will mix in for texture, colour and flavour, plus onions, garlic and spices.  I've got an inkling that incorporating seitan into the mix will get it all the way there in terms of texture and mouthfeel, but haven't got around to making that stuff yet.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Have you seen this idea?

How to cook food with your car's engine block

Basically, you wrap up the item(s) to be roasted into extra-heavy duty aluminum foil, find a suitable spot on your engine block, and drive.   Obviously, experiments are in order, but the how2 talks about where in the engine compartment is suitable.

I love this bit o'wisdom from the how2:

"... or you can use wire to tie the food down. Use common sense when securing the food. Avoid placing it near moving parts, and don't strain hoses by trying to force the package under them. If you're going to use wire, use baling wire rather than trying to use the wires that are already in your engine compartment."  (emphasis mine)

Ya think?

[Aggie]

Given my environmental background, I'm a little too paranoid to consume anything that's been under the hood.  Kind of negates eating organic food*, eh?  I'm exposed to enough crap during a field day and even eat in the field with disposable gloves on to minimize cross-contamination.  One might wonder about the freshness of the defrost air when parked, but inhalation will be the primary route of concern there, IMHO.

_{*where economically feasible, I pick my battles and just avoid what isn't affordable or relatively low-impact when grown conventionally.}

If there wasn't an ignition hazard, I'd just pack my Cobb everywhere and bbq for lunch. 

"What do you mean it's unsafe?  That's the designated smoking area; who says you have to smoke tobacco and not salmon?" 

Of course, a charcoal grill is mostly applicable to meat until I get some decent veggie dogs & burgs worked out.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Do you like/can eat eggs? Those are usually easy to manage and make and if you are moving a rice cooker already...

[Aggie]

Ayuh, I forgot about eggs - I don't mind hardboiled eggs, and they are good for fat and protein.  I used to eat them often when I was on my weight-gain campaign (it's easy to find pre-peeled hb eggs in a 2-pack for about a buck). Hmm... do you think one could actually cook the eggs in with the rice?  Better to pre-cook 'em, of course, and I'd want them to be well rinsed first, but it shouldn't hurt the rice. They'd certainly be possible alone in the rice cooker. Thanks for the suggestion!

Not an egg sandwich fan, but whole eggs are easy to eat, especially if peeled the night before.

I don't have any real health or ethics-based diet restrictions, other than large amounts of dairy not agreeing with me.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

I have never placed a raw egg on the rice cooker while doing the rice itself but it shouldn't be too different from cooking it on the already made rice, it should give a different zest to it. If you feel adventurous try it and let us know (I might do it my self when the one I did yesterday is eaten today).

In normal circumstances you would drop raw eggs on a pan with already cooked rice and stir. You can add frozen veggies or some form of animal protein to the mix, and if you have the time, make it in a wok and do it fried!

[Aggie]

Ah, you're talking about cracking the egg first. My mistake - I'm talking about boiling whole eggs for lunches. Dinners aren't a problem, it's the lunches when I'm away from the hotel.  The rice cooker (stand-alone unit) is a little much for the truck (although I do have a 12-volt kettle that could probably boil eggs). I've been using instant rice lately instead of lugging the cooker, but it's a handy unit to haul when hunkered down for a week in one place.

I'm generally limited to a microwave in most hotels, so can't fry anything. Need to get that wok pan for my Cobb, then I could cook whatever I wanted on the truck's tailgate in the summer.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

You could make the rice in the evening/morning and have it for lunch, the only thing would be heating it (unless you like cold risotto or cold pasta salads), or placing it hot in a thermos container (we did that with our son's lunch for a while and the food was still warm at lunch time), there are some with a metallic liner and you place boiling water in the container for a minute or two, dump the water, place the hot food and close.

Cheese sandwiches are an alternative but that depends on how expensive sliced/cream cheese is where you are, I'm sure basic mozzarella sliced can't be that expensive (edit, I just read some very enlightening info on dairy prices up north  ). I would put some prosciutto (without explicit nitrates) but that depends on how those suit your body.

[Aggie]

With prosciutto, it's the salt that concerns me - field food involves a certain amount of processed food, and that means excess sodium, so have to keep it cut down anywhere I can. Many cheeses are also salty.

Heating's the issue, what I'm really looking for is food that can be:
a) prepared from fresh or minimally-processed ingredients 
b) eaten cold 
c) eaten easily (no fork required)
d) isn't meat
e) is cheap

Boiled eggs fit that bill nicely, so does hummus & pita or veggies, but there's not much else I can think of in terms of entrees off the top of my head.  I may have to pick up a bag of frozen falafel (fatty and salty, but locally made and veggie) to use in pita wraps, instead of the standard roast chicken.

Cheese? Expensive here, I don't like it, and not particularly healthful.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

How about regular bread? Pita bread won't fill you calorie bill (and IIRC you are losing weight) so a good loaf of bakery bread (not bag sliced) should do wonders, is filling and usually tasty.

[Aggie]

And regretfully unavailable, especially in small towns. To be picky, I insist on 100% whole grain bread, too - this is literally impossible because virtually all supermarket bakery "whole wheat" bread contains a goodly dose of white flour, these days.  I know one good indie bread bakery in Calgary (and rumours of a few others) but even they do not make much in the way of 100% whole wheat.  Comment elsewhere on butter consumption may give you an idea on how much loaf bread I eat.

_{picky-picky; I burned out on sliced-bread sandwiches around Grade 5.  Peanut butter sammiches would otherwise be a possibility. Protein remains the critical nutrient here.}

Pitas aren't bad calorie-wise, gram for gram (plus very high in protein), and virtually free of strange ingredients.  I'd go for tortillas, but they are inevitably made with hydrogenated vegetable oils here. I used to eat lots of pitas in my weight-gain days, although admittedly I'd eat a whole roast chicken for lunch to accompany them (plus a few eggs, a protein drink, and then a 10 oz. steak for dinner - any clues why I dropped that eating program?). *burp*  Even now, I will eat 3 or 4 medium pitas (or 2 large ones) minimum per lunch-day.

The hummus does a great job of making up for the low-cal pitas, as it's full of sesame paste and in some cases canola oil. Wish the sodium was a bit lower, but I watch that closely with the remainder of my lunch items to compensate.


My biggest lunch issue is that I really don't get much of a thrill from bagged lunch foods (or most breakfast foods, for that matter) and am happiest eating hot dinner-type for every meal. Not a problem in the office, much more difficult when you can't cook on a regular basis.


Damned orthorexia.....