| Moscow Food Co-op Recipes | |
Vegan
Bites:
Movin’ On
by Hope Von Stengel, Photo by Joseph Von Stengel, Newsletter Volunteers, from the July 2007 newsletter
Saying goodbye is never easy, but this month my family and I are saying thanks and goodbye to this little community we called home for the past three years. There are so many things we’ll miss about West Coast living (I moved to Oregon from the East Coast exactly 10 years ago), but family called us from back East and seemed to need us to be there more than we needed to be here. I’m especially going to miss writing “Vegan Bites.” There are so many topics I still wanted to write about. Instead of focusing on one aspect of veganism, I’d love to pass on some of my favorite resources.
There is an abundance of cookbooks out in the universe. While researching ideas for meals at home, I spent a lot of time hanging out on the couch or in bed reading recipes. The library is one of my favorite places to “book shop” for cookbooks, because it only requires an hour or two of reading before you know whether or not you would like to commit to a real purchase at the bookstore.
Here is a list of books (some are not 100% vegan, but all have many vegan recipes included) that I consider worthy of owning: The Garden of Vegan: How It All Vegan Again! by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard; Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Meatless Recipes from Around the World by Madhur Jaffrey; The Self-Healing Cookbook by Kristina Turner; The Book of Whole Meals by Annemarie Colbin; The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook: 350 Essential Recipes for Inspired Everyday Eating by Jack Bishop; Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking by Julie Sahni; The Teen's Vegetarian Cookbook by Judy Krizmanic and Matthew Wawiorka; and The American Vegetarian Cookbook from the Fit for Life Kitchen by Marilyn Diamond. I’ve probably forgotten to add a few of my favorites, but this list is enough to get you inspired at the library.
As for resources that go beyond the physical, there are so many worthy sites that are dedicated to vegan and vegetarian living or are recipe-focused. The Internet is ultimately the most accessible place for figuring out what to do with unusual produce or how to cook food you found in the bulk section at the Co-op. I’ve literally Googled TVP at least 30 times so I could figure out the proportion of water to TVP granules. What did I do before my high-speed connection?!
Here is a list of wonderful resources for vegan cooking. Again, not all of them are purely vegan, but there are enough vegan recipes to make it worth your while: www.vegetariantimes.com; allrecipes.com; vegweb.com; www.christinacooks.com; www.veganchef.com; and www.ivu.org/recipes.
Veganism extends beyond the kitchen, as well. If you are looking for information about becoming vegan, animal rights, where to buy vegan shoes and just about anything else you could think of that is related to veganism, here are some fantastic links: www.goveg.com; www.vrg.org; www.vegan.org; and www.vegansociety.com.
Shortly after I realized that I would no longer be writing the newsletter article, I started a blog about anything/everything vegetarian. It is still brand spankin’ new, but I’m hoping to add more entries in the future. The home of this blog, titled “The Global Carrot,” is: theglobalcarrot.blogspot.com.
Best wishes to everyone in the Palouse area. The Moscow Food Co-op Community News was one of my first glimpses into this community and I’ll be sure to check it out virtually to keep tabs on what’s happening in the area.
My spin on the Vietnamese-style cellophane (or crystal) spring rolls
12 spring roll wrappers
1 carrot (or 2 small), grated or julienne
1 daikon, julienne (or 1 large red, orange or yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced in 2-inch long slices)
2 cups lettuce, finely chopped
6-8 oz. seitan, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. cilantro
2 Tbsp. mint
Prepare the ingredients. Soak a spring roll (not egg roll style wrappers, but the thin spring roll skins) in very warm water for about 20 seconds, until soft. Carefully lay the roll out on a plate. Add about 2-3 heaping Tbsp. of the ingredients onto the roll and fold burrito-style. Cover with a damp paper towel. Repeat. Be sure to keep the plate somewhat dry throughout. Don’t keep these in the refrigerator too long and these do not freeze well. Tastes good with a hoisin, plum, or peanut sauce.
This recipe can be adapted to taste easily. It’s almost better to work with the ingredients as a framework — some people like the dip thicker or spicier or lighter. Adding more peanut butter or hot sauce is also optional. Try parsley or mint instead of cilantro. Easy to make — just stir the ingredients together in a small bowl. Tastes better if refrigerated at least one hour, giving flavors time to co-mingle. Keeps well about 4-5 days, if covered tightly.1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter (natural)
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. ginger, minced (or more, to taste)
1 small garlic clove, minced
few shakes of red chili pepper flakes
juice from 1 lime
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar (or more, to taste)
2 Tbsp. water (or more, as needed)
2 Tbsp. chopped peanuts
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. cilantro
|
Copyright: Copyright on articles, recipes, and
images are jointly held by the Moscow Food Co-op
and the respective authors, except were otherwise noted. |
For additions or corrections to this page, please contact the Webmaster.
