Gave into temptation and bought a new vegan cookbook. I had my eye on Vegan Lunch Boxes, and on The Urban Vegan (I read her blog), but they both have faux-vegan processed food which I don't like. (a) Because I can only buy a lot of those things at the health food store, and I'm way too cold-resistant to go that far (7 min walk) in the winter. Seriously. I don't even go to the library across the street. ALL outdoor activity ceases once we reach 5 degrees C.
And (b) some products we don't have at all in my store, and I don't have a car so I'm not going any further.
And (c) I just don't want to eat a lot of processed food. Yes I'll buy bread and cereal and spaghetti sauce. But if I'm going to buy processed food, I'll buy a whole meal (hummus), or as a treat (vegan cream cheese, ice cream). Not as stuff I have on hand at all times, for any recipe.
Anyway, so I bought The Supermarket Vegan because it's based on 2 things: (1) food you can get at a suburban grocery store, and (2) not very processed.
I tried it tonight. In minutes I found two recipes I could make using the ingredients I have on hand, even though I haven't done a big shopping trip lately; I made them both, and was done, and cleanup done, within an hour. (I like to make big pots of things to eat over a couple days.) I made chilli with pasta, and curried orzo.
...Yes I know I'm the only vegan who read this blog. But I... I needed to shaaare. Probably a good book for people who want to make more vegetarian or vegan meals, but without having to buy kooky ingredients.
Thanks, I'm trying to eat more healthy and with fewer dead animals involved. I have to get France on the same wavelength too - slowly... It would help if I got involved doing more cooking - but it's haaarrrd to change old habits. Not to mention cook with parrots screaming at me.... ;-) whine whine whine...
ReplyDeleteThanks!
ReplyDeleteYou know how cooking-resistant I am. So if I can integrate some no-fuss, easy-to-find, vegan-friendly meals....all to the good.
The chili recipe was just ordinary, but I'll make the orzo one again. Eez good!
ReplyDeleteI will always be an omnivore, but I hate cooking with meat and don't care to eat it often. I much prefer vegetarian cooking to non-vegetarian, and a vegan grad school friend (from the last grad school) got me a little into vegan baking. I'll never be big into baking, but I recently made vegan pumpkin brownies that were awesome.
ReplyDeleteActually, I was looking into getting some basic vegan baking book. I was impressed with the way that the pumpkin brownies substituted a vegetable for some of the moisture that would usually be provided with milk and a lot of oil. Not because I'm trying to lose weight or anything, but because it's always helpful to get more veggies in. So, if you have a basic baking book recommendation, I'd love to know it.
ReplyDeleteAs far I know, the cookbooks that do the most in regards to "sneaking in more vegetables" are the cookbooks for parents. The Jessica Seinfeld book is the famous one, but there are others. --> Oh and probably some low fat cookbooks would too. Maybe this blog:
ReplyDeletehttp://blog.fatfreevegan.com
The vegan baking recipes I have are still based on the usual ingredients.
I only have one baking specific book (vegan): Goudreau's Joy of Vegan Baking. But my fave recipes mostly come from my general vegan cookbooks. I have a raw desserts book by Ani Phyo which I bought to have some "less processed" options. (Tend to be date and nut based.)
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