Zaadz: Soul Food

Re: Shoes

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 04:56:17 -0000

Ha ha, that goes for me too. I can't even justify ebay prices.

Here are some sites that sell vegan shoes:

Alternative Outfitters - all vegan, and occasionally a good sale.
http://www.alternativeoutfitters.com

Alloy - junior clothing, but I hear the shoes are surprisingly well made for the price
http://store.alloy.com/frontpage.do

Houser Shoes - a better than average selection if you search for "synthetic"
www.housershoes.com

Love My Shoes - like above, a good range, and lots of faux
http://www.lovemyshoes.com/

Rampage - trendy and mostly veg
http://www.rampage.com/shoes.html

What a Pair - good commitment to veg styles
http://www.whatapair.com/

Vegetarian Shoes and Bags - not the biggest range, but OK
http://www.vegetarianshoesandbags.com/

Urban Outfitters - often a good selection of veg shoes
http://www.urbanoutfitters.com

More cheap Chinese junk -
http://www.windsorstore.com
http://www.fashionbug.com
http://www.newport-news.com

Ginger Limon Scones

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:55:52 -0000

Was playing around the kitchen tonight and made these. They turned out and are SO tasty!
I hope you enjoy them. I cant wait to have them with my moring tea.

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon of Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer https://www.bobsredmill.com/index.php
3 Tablespoons of water
2 ½ cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup of sugar, plus extra for topping (or ¼ cup of Agave)
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup of Earth Balance butter, chilled
½ - ¾ cup of chopped crystallized ginger
zest of one lemon
½ teaspoon of lemon extract
½ cup of unsweetened soy milk or other non dairy milk, plus extra for topping

In the food processor or with a hand whisk, whip egg replacer and water together. Add soy milk and lemon extract to egg replacer and set aside.

In large bowl or food processor, whisk together the four, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the chilled butter and combine until mixture looks like crumbly, lumpy cornmeal. Toss in lemon extract and crystallized ginger.

Add liquids to four mixture and combine by hand until the four mixture is just moistened. DO NOT OVER MIX.

Place dough in a zip lock bag and sick in freezer for 15 minuets or refrigerator for 40 minuets. While dough is in freezer/refrigerator, preheat oven to 400F and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Once dough has chilled, take it out of plastic bag and place on lightly floured surface. Pat dough into a disk and roll out until it is ½ inch thick. Cut disk in half and then cut each half into four triangles. Place them about ½ inches apart on baking sheet. Brush each triangle with water or soymilk and sprinkle with sugar. (You can also brush each top with honey.)

Bake for 12 minuets or until golden brown.

Re: Food and Healing

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 07:50:31 -0000

I read this great book about 14 years ago and it really helped me. I still recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about how food can improve your health, and about the benefits of eating wholefoods.

TEENAGE VEGETARIANS

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 05:13:38 -0000

SO... i don't want to eat SALAD for the rest of my life (lol) so is there any advice out there for a teenager who's considering going full veggie (i'm currently semi - no read meat) on a low budget and living with a non vegetarian family?

how can i eat veggie when i eat out without just ordering the side salad?

and are there any good suggestion for breakfast other than fruit?

Re: TEENAGE VEGETARIANS

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:35:51 -0000

breakfast, oatmeal or seven grain or mueslix, add raisins or molasses or cinnamen...

biggest thing if you are going veggie is variety, start trying all sorts of fruits and veggies, colorful plates. Also experiment with grains, quinoa, amaranth, wild rice, and various nuts

get a cookbook, get a few of them, start checking off what you've made and grade it as what you thought of it, and how you'd change it so when you open to that page again you see your notes.

eating out, ask what fresh veggies they have in the back that they can steam for you, or which ones they have to add to your salad. Look at the side veggie dishes they have or the meals and see what appeals...kitchens will assist if you ask.

lotta places have veggie menus or plates that they don't advertize. Look for portabellos, guacomole things like that on the menu elsewhere...

good luck, by the way, eating veggie organic is cheaper than buying meat!!

I go camping with the scouts and we get $13 per person to feed them two breakfasts, one lunch and one dinner...when a carnivore cooks they complain they don't have enough money...when I cook I buy organic, everyone is full and spend $11 per person!

Re: Ten Reasons To Be A Vegetarian/Vegan

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:22:46 -0000

Yeah nice recipe in there, lol :)

I wrote a blog today that highlight 5 crisis that a meat diet is connected to:

http://b13.gaia.com/blog/2008/6/5_key_crisis_on_earth_that_1_singular_thing_is_responsible_for

You might find some links in that which connect to referenced material.

Re: TEENAGE VEGETARIANS

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:37:49 -0000

Where do you live that there aren't vegetarian options on most menus? Crazy.

I agree about asking for things that aren't on the menu. You also have to get comfortable asking what's in certain things - soups and rice dishes may be made with chicken broth when they can easily be made with water instead. Beans in some Mexican restaurants are made with pork fat.

Also try calling in advance to ask a manager what options they have. If enough people start asking, those restaurants will be forced to change.

Are you still interested in dairy and eggs (lacto-ovo vegetarian)? Or are you eliminating all animal products (vegan)?

Breakfast is about the easiest meal to "veg-ize." I'm a vegan myself, and fruit is indeed an awesome breakfast. So is a fruit smoothie with stuff in it. I eat cereal with rice milk, soy yogurt, oatmeal, or toasted English muffins with Earth Balance margarine (this is a nondairy spread with no hydrogenated fats. It's better than any other margarine or butter substitute out there - your whole family should try it.)

In terms of living with a non-veg family, you will have to take more responsibility for feeding yourself than someone else would. (Good practice for college, though.) Go grocery shopping with your folks and take a separate list so you can grab things like canned beans/chili, soups, veggie burgers in the freezer section or veggie dogs, trail mixes and snacks, vegan ice cream - good easy foods you can deal with yourself.

You might even be able to get your family to go meatless once a week or so - now they're saying that If every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetables and grains, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off of U.S. roads.

Crazier things have happened. Next thing you know they'll be shopping at the farmer's market and deciding what organic local tomatoes to buy.

Also this page has several good links:
http://www.peta2.com/STUFF/s-recipe.asp

Re: The Joy of Vegan Baking

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:05:28 -0000

I have this book as well! I love love love it! It has amazing recipes for all things baked. There is a very good classic chocolate chip cookie recipe that everyone should try!

Summer Recipes

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:15:54 -0000

I'm curious what vegetarian recipes people are making this summer? I'm always on the lookout for light recipes that are easy and quick to make and "hit the spot" in hot weather. I tend to eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies but crave salt by the end of the day (too much sugar from the fruit!). What dishes are out there that are salty/flavorful/nutritious? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Re: TEENAGE VEGETARIANS

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 04:09:34 -0000

Trader Joe's makes an awesome breakfast cereal that my vegan teacher turned me on to. It's called Oat Bran Swirls. They taste like Cinnamon Buns and are absolutely amazing!

Re: TEENAGE VEGETARIANS

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 13:17:50 -0000

If your not going completely vegan, I HIGHLY recommend eggs for breakfast foods. They're a great source of protein and you can make them in so many different ways that it's unbelievable! Yogurt is also amazing--you can get plain yogurt and add fresh fruits, wheat germ (for fiber), and other protein powdery things. It's also a great breakfast/lunch food in the summer, since it's very light, cool, and refreshing yet also really filling.

In terms of eating out, some geographical regions have more veggie options than others. I generally look to see if anything looks good and, if it has meat in it, just ask if they can cook it without the meat. Most places are willing to oblige if they can and if not, your waiter might have a suggestion or two.

I've been an ovo-lacto-veggie for almost 19 years (since I was three) and, when I was 16, my family went back to meat. I couldn't adjust to being a carnivore, so I stayed veggie and just started cooking for myself. There are a lot of cookbooks out there that are "Vegetarian fast food" and "Easy Vegetarian Meals" that have some great suggestions. Don't be afraid to experiment. Take the basic idea of the recipe and branch off! One of my favorite meals started out as sauteed veggies and now I've expanded it into an elaborate couscous dish that includes sundried tomatoes, spices, soy chicken, etc. (Soy meats are also great--Morning Star has an amazing line of all sorts of different "meat" products that you can either saute or stick in the microwave and they'll be ready minutes flat. Just be sure to check that it says "meatless" on it, 'cause sometimes their packaging can be tricky.)

Re: Summer Recipes

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 19:31:34 -0000

Do you have a grill? We love grilling in the summer. Lately I've been getting seitan (the one in the blue box, it's in cubelike pieces), marinating it in a ziplock bag with tamari (or soy sauce or nama shoyu or Bragg's), garlic, ginger, or whatever else we feel like.

Then I put the cubes on skewers with mushrooms, chunks of zucchini, bell pepper strips, and so on. Ooh, when the seitan gets all crispy and slightly burnt on the edges...yay.

On the side we might cut up some small potatoes, toss them in olive oil, salt, and pepper, fold them into a foil packet, and toss them on the grill too. These take longer to cook, so start them first.

If you don't have a grill you can probably do kebabs under the broiler.

We also crumble up tempeh and saute it with shredded carrot and zucchini, or spinach and shrooms, and eat it in tortillas with avocado slices. So simple but so good.

We like it raw in the summer too - we make a lot of sushi rolls. My favorite is avocado, portobello and cucumber but we've played around with "Italian sushi" - tomato, basil, and olives. Really almost any vegetable can be rolled up in seaweed because when you crave salt, it's all just a vehicle to deliver wasabi and soy sauce, right?

I have a really great paté recipe for sushi -

2 cups Butternut squash or pumpkin, peeled, seeded, cubed
2 cups Walnuts
1 tablespoon Dill weed
½ Lemon juice (half a large lemon, or one small)
2 tablespoons Nama shoyu
1 tablespoon Dulse flakes

Add squash and walnuts to food processor and pulse until the pieces are manageable. Add remaining ingredients. You will have lots. Spread it on sheets of nori with cucumber and/or avocado.

Re: Summer Recipes

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 01:41:30 -0000

i love nori rolls in the summer. I get sheets of seaweed nori and I stuff it with baby greens, sliced veggies & fruit and usually a nut pate or dressing. You could make it a bit more like sushi by adding cold rice.

For some good nut pates and spreads I would check out this thread:

http://www.rawfreedomcommunity.info/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=72

This recipe has some assembly instructions:

http://goneraw.com/recipes/1953-Winter-Nori-Roll

Sometimes I'll make similar things but instead of using nori I'll use a napa cabbage leaf or a Vietnamese rice paper wrap.

Re: Summer Recipes

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 02:23:30 -0000

I like a salad made with sweet potatoes. Surprisingly, sweet potatoes are allowed for pre-diabetic conditions, while potatoes are not!

I prefer to use the ones from Costa Rica as they are white inside; and keep their texture when boiled.

A rough recipe, as I cook this without measuring:

Boil 2 large or 3 small sweet potatoes
Skin and chop them
Add chopped or thinly sliced onion to taste, and tomatoes
Sprinkle lime juice to taste, salt [I use sea salt] and cracked black pepper.
Cilantro leaves, chopped as a garnish.

Mix it all and then sprinkle some sesame seeds or something crisp for an added zing!

Re: Summer Recipes

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:37:24 -0000

Here's a recipe for a summer salad that I like. I found it in Cooking Light magazine, in the Enlightened Cook section.

Watermelon Salad

1/2 cup chopped red onion
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
4 cups cubed seeded watermelon
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup (2 ounces) feta cheese, crumbled

Combine onion and juice in a medium bowl; let stand for 10 minutes. Add the watermelon, olives, parsley, and mint. Cover and chill for one hour. Sprinkle with cheese. This yields about 12 servings, with a serving amounting to about 1/2 cup of salad and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cheese. It's good served on a bed of fresh greens. if you can get lambs' quarter, that's especially nice.

Re: Summer Recipes

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:42:35 -0000

Oh, Laura and Meenakshi, your summer salads sound delicious! Can't wait to try your recipes, thanks for sharing.

I'm a big salad fan, too, and in summer one of my faves is couscous salad:

250 g instant couscous
2-3 scallions
1 green (or red or yellow) bell pepper
1-2 tomatoes
fresh parsley
1-2 lemons
1 tbs. olive oil
salt and pepper
Harissa

Prepare Instant Couscous (soak in salted boiling water for a few minutes; after the water has all been soaked up but the couscous is still hot, I add a spoonful of butter), put couscous in fridge to let it cool.
If you like it a little spicy, add some Harissa to the couscous.
Chop vegetables and parsley, add to couscous.
Mix olive oil with lemon juice (to taste) and pour over couscous, blend well.
Season with salt and pepper.

Bon appetit!

islam and vegetarianism

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:18:06 -0000

786

selam,
here's a great website on islam and vegetarianism:

http://www.islamveg.com/

bawa muhaiyaddeen on vegetarianism

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:22:34 -0000

786

http://members.aol.com/yahyam/bawaveg.html

Re: Summer Recipes

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:02:57 -0000

Just found this video from the Compassionate Cooks' site on vegan BBQ - yum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku1d7IONHDA

I don't know why it won't let me embed it.

Great Chefs Cook Vegan

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:20:11 -0000

I stumbled across this book last week bumming around Barns and Noble.

The food photography is gorgeous and really well done.

Each chef included three to four vegan recipes. Perfect for a fancy dinner party, special event, or to customize to fit nightly dinner.

Chefs include: Thomas Keller, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Daniel Boulud, Charlie Trotter, Todd English, Eric Ripert, Cat Cora, and many other amazing chefs.