Breakfast Burrito Bamboozle

There are these really large flour tortillas sold at trader joes,
one of the only wraps or tortillas that are vegan. They tend
to tear pretty easy, but they are soo good- especially if you
get them on a fresh day.

They are one of the things I always seem to have around, showing
you just how often I eat burritos and wraps. I have to say that
I like them because they are cleaner than sandwiches and you can
be more exciting with what you put in 'em. I like throwing left-
over curry or salad in a wrap.

Not that I only eat white flour tortillas, they are just the most
accessible and the only ones near that don't have over 20 ingredients.

But hands down, I love breakfast burritos the most. When I'd get
taken to a fastfood mexican place as a kid, I always wanted to
order french fries with my burrito to stuff in to attempt to simulate
a breakfast burrito.

It is also one of the only ways I would eat eggs or red sauce.
Now I love mixing it up with different beans or just doing some
spicy taders.

My latest joy as been getting the vegan tofu eggs down.
I'm not talking about a tofu scramble here, very different.
Think plain scrambled eggs, now we're talking.


I just cooked the potatoes with some chili powder, cumin, salt,
pepper, garlic, onions, basil and a tomato. I don't have any
hot peppers right now, so I just added a splash of some hot
chili thai sauce that gave it a bit of tabasco fiasco.

Now the eggs are super simple. Cooked in a nonstick pan, dry...
Mash half a block of tofu add a squirt of mustard, 2 tablespoons
of braggs, black pepper, and a good sprinkling of kala namak-
black salt.

I got it at the Punjab market a couple miles away.
Basically its carbonized salt (pink, not actually black) that has
a strong sulfuric essence. I picked up the idea from the Vegan Crunk
who posted a recipe for some tofu deviled eggs a while back.
Haven't made the deviled eggs, but I've been using the salt in my tofu
salad sandwiches and scrambles. One smells screams eggs, try it
and you will understand. The pack was only $1, so there is no reason
not to.

So, cook the tofu over medium heat until it starts to dry out a bit
and brown. Throw it furiously into your tortilla and eat with voracity.



Like I said, any kind of beans are awesome in these guys, or
peppers. Vegan cheese, I'd recommend Follow My Heart's Pepper Jack
to grab a little spiciness. If you asked my brother, he'd say it
needed catsup. What is your favorite thing to put in burritos?

P.S. Since I mentioned the Vegan Crunk, I have to add that she is
having a giveaway right now for a copy of Tamasin Noyes' cookbook,
American Vegan Kitchen. So check that out!

Unidentified Filled Object: Vegan Ravioli

The idea of making your own pasta does appear to be very daunting.
I'm hear to tell you not to fear, fresh delicious, egg-free pasta
very near. You don't need a pasta roller or a ravioli cutter to
make awesome ravioli. Although, if you have them on hand it would
cut your prep time in half at least.

I find it strange that the majority of pasta you buy is egg-free,
but 98% of pasta recipes you find call for at least two eggs.

I'm now at the stage of experimenting with different flours and
colours with spinach and tomato, but this you will find is a
great place to start with either unbleached all-purpose dough
or semolina flour.

Basic Basic Vegan Pasta Dough

1 cup flour
1/4-1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Slowly incorporate the water into the flour by adding only a 1/4
of a cup at first. Only add a few drops at a time after that
as you go or else you dough will get sticky fast. What you want
is a nice dense brick. It may seem too dry, but just keep working
it before adding more water.

I keep a bowl of water on hand though to seal any cracks that
may occur later.

After mixing everything together, knead for about 5 minutes.
Let rest for 10 minutes and knead and rest again. Its easy to get
frustrated if making the dough by hand, but all that you need to
do is be sure to let your dough rest often. Allowing your dough
to rest will allow the gluten to relax and activate, yielding
a smooth texture.

On a very lightly floured surface begin to roll out your dough.
Whenever it seems like its getting too tough, just let it rest
a moment and try again. I don't know exactly what thickness to
say you should roll it out too, but I would say that of a
regular piece of denim if you were to hold it between your
fingers.

Plop your prepared filling onto the dough and wet the dough
with your fingers around the area so it will seal when the top
layer is pressed down. The filling should be spaced about
and inch apart on half the the rolled-out dough. With a
sharp knife cut off half of the dough and place it over the side
with the filling. Press down and cut out the squares.

For some reason I had a bizarre compulsion to make them round,
so I used a glass to trace the size and ended up sealing
them one at a time.

By the time you're pressing the edges individually, it may start
to dry out. So, you may have to gently wipe it with damp fingers
to continue sealing them or shaping if you are making plain pasta.
Drop the ravioli into boiling water and cook until al dente,
anywhere from 3-7 minutes. They will start to look soft and
slightly more translucent.





Here is my little tester...


Then the whole shabang....


Topped with a cheesy sauce next to a nice salad...


Pumpkin and sage...


Red pepper and tofu ricotta!


You can also save these and freeze before the boiling stage
for later. And you can fill them with practically anything-
I'm already thinking of a four vegan cheese ravioli!

Soja Rancheros~ Vegan Huevos Rancheros

As a child the only type of egg I would eat was hard boiled.
And looking back I think that was only because of the pretty
dyed ones at Easter. So I'd eat egg-salad (if it didn't have
celery in it) or deviled eggs... but probably because I loved
mayo as a kid. But I hate hate hated any other kind of egg.
I 'fondly' remember my Dad trying to get me to eat scrambled
eggs one night and me staunchly refusing.

My Dad was not easy going on picky eaters, so guess what I
had for breakfast... Reheated scrambled eggs. Except this time
my Dad put butter on them. Yes butter. I guess he was trying
to tell me it would taste like pasta with butter. WHAT?

I ate them while sobbing. I remember this happening a couple
times. I also remember my Mom throwing it out after my Dad
went to work. But it didn't last for too long, my Dad got the
message that eggs were not on my menu and just gave me extra
taders instead.

As a teen I suppose I developed a taste for scrambled eggs,
but only really well done- practically burnt. None of that
runny stuff. But I only felt ok eating the eggs from our
chickens. My parents have a bunch of pet chickens that
run all over the property and once in a while we'd get some
eggs. All in my pre-vegan ovo-lacto days...

In that same phase, right when I met Monkey-Man, I suddenly
discovered Huevos Rancheros. It is a mexican dish of fried
egg, tortillas, and salsa. Alot of people say cheese on it
isn't traditional, but every where I had it, it was served
with cheese. Some say to cook the salsa before you put it
on, but honestly. What is better than fresh Salsa?
Also, I've had it with refried beans, which I'd like to try
in layers, but I wanted to get the basics down first.

Recently we got a bunch of Follow My Heart Cheese on sale
at Sprouts (seriously like $3, we stocked up!). So with
the spicey nacho cheese, I knew it was coming.

Now I won't give you the recipe now because I want to
work on adding a gooey yoke to this tofu egg, but an easy
replication is just frying some slabs of tofu in earthbalance
and salt and pepper.


I'm working on it, but I'll be darned if it doesn't taste just
like an egg. This was made by blending and adding some seasonings,
but you'll still have to wait.


Whoa! Monkey-man went a little over the top with the cheese.
All this is piled on his hand made corn tortillas, just Masa,
water and salt.

You do a quick flip with the cheese on top so it melts all over
your 'egg' and tortilla. But don't leave it for more than a few
seconds or it will burn really fast.


Then just top with fresh or cooked salsa and enjoy~

No Posts= High Grades

Yes my friends, I have discovered a relationship with a very high
level of statistical association. Finally squeezed through midterms
and emerged triumphant. Now to just actually start my final projects
and start studying for finals. Ha. I got my midterms returned and
only have three weeks of classes left for the quarter.

I have been cooking quite a bit when I am at home, naturally.
Much of that has been experimental, so no solid recipes unless you
wanna be a tester for the book.

Here are some of the highlights since St. Valentines Day...


Monkey Man's Potato Pierogies



Creamy Fat-Free Basil Pesto


Luscious Vegan Lasagna




Bad lighting, sorry.


Back to making my 'Cutie Quiche', but this time around its all vegan.
At one point I was known for the palooza of quiche I'd make and now
it may happen again.


I love the pie pan that I finally got to use. I actually had not
made any sort of pie since my pie series and my friends had given me
a gorgeous ceramic pie dish that I had not gotten to use yet.

Maybe I'll make them a quiche to say thanks! This one was a whole
wheat crust and stuffed with broccoli and garlic.

All of these were amazing, if I do say so myself and you could taste
absolutely no difference between these and their non-compassionate
counterparts.

I have some great recipes and series coming up soon, so don't fear!

Pondering Pie: Part Four

Yesterday I wrote about the two main ways of looking

at fruit pies, cream and custard pies have very much

the same division. You can always look at pies as being

cooked or uncooked. Well, not really uncooked, but more

'precooked'. I'm not even touching on 'raw pie' here, but

I am thinking on doing a post for that...

So custard pies are those that are baked in the end.

Of course the crust may be prebaked briefly before to

ensure

it doesn't get soggy when you add the filling, but it is again

baked after the filling is added. You could call these double-

baked pies. These would be your average custard pies, pumpkin

pies, sweet potatoes pies (maybe), etc.

When I used to consume eggs- we had rescued chickens and

many were separated from the roosters, so we used the

eggs that were not fertilized or my dad sold them to friends...

But I've been off the liquid chicken for sometime now-

I used to make an apple custard pie every full moon.

Green apples line the bottom and a spicy custard is poured

on top and it is baked.

Custard primarily is an egg mixture plus milk, sugar, vanilla

and some spices. So how do we substitute and achieve that

perfect custard smoothness in a twice-baked pie?

I've had excellent luck with silken tofu as an egg sub.

I think it was the main substitute for Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's

sweet potato pie...

For Pumpkin pie, I may add a little tofu to thicken a bit,

but usually I'll just use soymilk and cut back on the liquid

requirements in the recipe. It is really nice to just let the pumpkin or

squash stand alone. The flavour is really amazing.

But I know we all love that creamy texture. Try out tofu-

Silken Firm is the best, it the pack that comes vacuum packaged

and is not refrigerated. It is what I use in one of my favourite

creations, my 'Lover's Accident Pie'. I cannot divulge my entire

recipe to you but I will give you a break down of the tofu custard

that is used.

The Mini Custard

The real sized pie

For a Basic Tofu Custard

1 12-oz package of silken firm tofu

1/2 cup soymilk

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons arrowroot powder

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

a pinch of salt

Blend all ingredients except the arrowroot,

once smooth and creamy add the powder and blend

again. Pour into a pre-baked crust and bake at 375F

for about 40 minutes or until golden brown on top

and it appears to be setting up. Don't worry if it is

a little giggly, it will set up as it cools down a little too.

Now you can add any variety of spices here or use this to

set up a batter for something else. It adapts well into a

cheesecake if you add something to sour it or add more vanilla

to use it as a vegan creme brulee recipe...

Baked and creamy

Topped with cranberry syrup...

The other type of cream pie, which I haven't touched on

get is that which is poured into an entirely pre-baked crust

and chilled to set. The would be like a banana cream pie

or a pudding pie. The crust is baked about 15 minutes or

less depending on what type it is. You can use a graham

cracker crust which is pretty popular for these types of pie.

I don't make these too often because I'm not a huge pudding

person. I do make a really good chocolate pudding, but very

very rarely am I in the mood for it.

I would have pictures because I made one a couple months ago

for my grandparents, but it wasn't worth photographing

because they cut it up before it was entirely set and I didn't

feel like taking a picture of a blob of pudding was worth it.

You get it though: pudding cooked in a pan on the stove and

put into a prebaked crust and chilled= yum.

But definitely try out that vegan custard, its the foundation

for any good custard pie.

Dunkin' Cruelty

I am afraid that quite often my blogging gets caught up with the luxury of eating and cooking, romance or entertaining. I confess that it is a hard subject to constantly be dwelling upon day after day. But this is really why I do what I do. I have committed my life to saving the animals and although it may not always be that obvious, it is what drives every action of my life.

As some of you may already know, I have been keeping up with the Dunkin Donuts Project with Compassion Over Killing : Dunkin’ Cruelty. The project is supported by a number of groups including Farm Animal Rights Movement, Action for Animals, and Vegan Outreach. I was surprised to find that PETA has not yet joined the initiative and cannot imagine why. Though on one hand, I am glad. It seems that lately PETA brings more trouble than support. (ahhh the joy of making mass amounts of enemies..)

Compassion Over Killing is asking Dunkin’ Donuts, the world’s largest coffee and baked goods chain, to stop using eggs and dairy in their doughnuts and also to offer vegan menu items. According to the dunkincruelty website there are approximately 6,400 stores in the United States alone and serve over 3 million customers a day. That is a lot of freaking doughnuts.

Supporters of animals rights have been stepping forward to contact Dunkin’ Donuts directly to ask for an end to the cruel practice that is involved in supporting the egg industry. I personally contacted the company by email and snail mail, neither graced a reply. I am not surprised. I am surprised though that alternative products are not being explored. One would think of the savings that the elimination of egg products could bring would spark a look into other options. However, subsidies for animal products are so immense that there is really no point while the right people are in power.

Today, COK came out with breaking news. An undercover investigator working for Michael Foods, the main egg supplier for Dunkin’ Donuts, exposed some horrific footage taken during the month of August. This should definitely make one double think that deep-fried, glazed, hunk of a heart attack breakfast.

Watch the video now

Now consider these facts... There are more than 325 million laying hens in the United States that are confined to battery cages. These wire cages, which are stacked atop each other, are roughly the same size as a filing cabinet drawer and hold typically ten hens. Imagine playing a game of sardines with half a dozen people, except it lasts your entire life. Or living in a 7x7 foot room with 12 people. If you get weak and fall over, you’re trampled to death. You cannot stretch your limbs out without being entirely cramped or touching someone else. Chickens have their beaks sawed off with a hot blade so they will not peck each other to death in a stress induced fever. It cuts through bone, cartilage, and soft tissue. Anesthetic? Are you kidding? Their feet often get caught in the mesh of the cages, debilitating them-- they cannot reach the food and water and die slowly of starvation.

This is only a minuet aspect of the entire industrial egg production process... This is after the culling of the chicks to sex, picking out the females. Males are usually thrown away live, crushing and killing those underneath. Imagine a mountain of dying fluffy first day hatched chicks. Another way to dispose of unwanted males is to put them in live to a meat grinder/ wood chipper machine.

Then the pains of transportation, raising them to laying age, forced molting, problems of osteoporosis, egg bound hens, loss of feathers, pollution from waste matter... and on and on... not even mentioning what happens once they are spent and are no longer laying up to speed. This is usually after only one year of their lives. Chickens can naturally live up to 15 years.

This is heavy, I know. Yet, ignoring the facts will not change the practices that continue to take place every second. The suffering of non-human animals will not disappear when you turn your back. I urge you all to not only support the project dunkincruelty, but to also start to reconsider your own habits. Everytime you eat, every time you spend $ you are declaring your support of something-- food, practices, and companies. So think about it. What do you want to support? Every person counts, just as every animal counts. This is life and death.

http://farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfarming/eggs/

http://www.animalfreedom.org/english/information/abuses.html#hens

http://www.goveg.com/factoryFarming_chickens_egg.asp

http://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm_animals/poultry/egg_laying_hens/welfare_issues.aspx

http://dunkincruelty.com/