VegitariMan! is nuts,

And in other news Captain Obvious is stating what we already knew. Before I was a vegetarian, I used to hate nuts in my food. I didn't mind eating nuts, but they weren't really a big part of my menu. Now that I have my super powers, I have found that nuts are an essential part of being a vegetarian, unless nuts make you die, then they are not.  Nuts is also voted the number one answer to Nazi surrender demands ever. But nuts also have some really good things for you as well.

A new paper found in the New England Journal of Medicine, tracked people who ate one ounce of nuts per week, four times a week and every day to see how their overall health was affected. It turns out eating nuts just once a week gives you a pretty big jump in your overall health, and that increase in health increased with nut consumption per week. An ounce of nuts is a shot glass full, or a hand full.

The cool thing was, nut eaters were thinner, had better cardiovascular health, lower cancer rates and overall lower rates of death by natural causes. All types of bodies were looked at by BMI so it wasn't just that healthy people ate nuts, but unhealthy fold who ate nuts did better than those who didn't with the same habits. It also didn't matter what types of nuts were eaten, mixed nuts or peanuts (actually a legume)  were looked at as well as other categories of nuts. No word on processed or semi-processed forms of nuts were studied, so we don't know if almond butter is as good as almonds, nor do we know if cooking with nuts gives the same effects.
But nuts are high in good fats and protein, and lots of essential vitamins and aminoacids. One aside, cashews have some problems with the harvesting of them, so I tend to avoid them until a monitoring system is in place to help the harvesters of that fruit.
Also a friend of mine insisted that onions are the only thing that would make her cry...so I threw a coconut at her...now ya'll go nuts!!!

Vegetarian Conundrums at the Thanksgiving

Many of us find our vegetarianism an issue (along with global warming, equal rights, Obamacare etc) challenged by our family during Turkey day more so than any other day. So how do you not get guilted out by your family "I slaved all day....you should try this deep fried turkey....sorry, no tofu at this table" and the like. I've seen two type of folk in this problem. Some just hang back and take just a few veggy side dishes, and try not to be seen not eating the meat(s) du jour.
Others will take ALL the potatoes and say, "Hey this is all I get to eat here so I'm entitled." Well don't be bashful, but also don't violate Wheaton's Rule. Instead try all the veggy items on the table but also never come to any table (food or idea) without something to add. A basket of sweet taters is never turned down, nor are other veggy sides, but one thing you can bring is a main dish that can be a side for those who are not vegetarian and you might win some converts. At least you will have a better chance than winning that global warming argument with Uncle Bob...

So Happy Non-Turkey Thanksgiving to ya'll. And keep eating low on the food web.
Pictured is a sweet potato and carrot satay with forbidden rice, goat cheese and peanuts.

Minions!

Sounds like VegitariMan! has some minions!
 The Entire Norwegian Army is doing meatless Mondays. (Via Huffington post)

Lunch!

Lunch today is some lentils, turban squash, olive oil, bacon flavored salt, granulated garlic and some blue cheese crumbles. (still fighting the cats off, cats love squash and cheese).

TVP

If VegitariMan! had a side kick, it would be TVP, or textured vegetable protein (seriously guys, your marketing folks need to be fired). OK not the most exciting (or appetizing) name, and one of their reasons vegetarian food is so looked down upon by the carnivore crowd. But chances are, they and you have eaten this product and not even known it. There was even one famous Tex-Mex fast food joint that used it in a 2:1 ratio with their beef in their tacos, and kept doing it even after they were busted, and why not?

Note: I don't endorse any particular brand of TVP, I usually buy it in bulk and unflavored. There are many different brands and many meat flavored versions, so if you have used any let me know if there is one you love...or not. 

Now for those of you that are still trying to get your head around this stuff, rest assured, this is one bit of vegan cooking you can't screw up. TVP is a soy product that is ground to different sizes and then dried. Some are formed into nuggets, but I just use the loose medium grind. The package directions are pretty standard for the loose stuff. Take one cup (235ml) TVP, and one (235ml) cup warm water and mix to re- hydrate the protein....which is fine but VegitariMan! craves flavor!

One way to do this is use your favorite vegetable broth instead of water which works ok but I have a better method if your family craves ground beef flavor. First in my pantry I always have some form of dehydrated mushroom, either a mix or shitake mushrooms. I re-hydrate them in warm water until I can squeeze liquid out of them and not feel any hard dehydrated bits.

Now that I have 'shrooms for my dish, there is that brown lovely mushroom flavored water that should be used, and that is what I re-hydrate the TVP with. 

Next, 2 (37ml)Tbls of your favorite fry oil, I like grape seed oil as it has a clean taste and a high smoke point, into a frying pan.

2 cloves garlic minced

1/2 yellow or other onion chopped goes in with the garlic. The garlic can burn if you put it in alone, but the water in the onion will provide some thermal cushion for the oily garlic. I stir fry them until they are just getting tender.

next add your TVP re-hydrated with the mushroom water and saute' until slightly brown.

Now here is my secret: add 2 Tbls (37ml) of steak marinade, or your favorite liquid steak sauce and my mushrooms. and stir until mixed

I follow that with a splash of liquid smoke and turn the mixture in the pan until it looks like browned ground round.

Keep this recipe for later use, we will use this lots more!

1 cup (235ml) Textured Vegetable Protein, (TVP) unflavored

1 cup (235) dehydrated mushroom mix

2 Tbls (37ml) grape seed oil

2 cloves (or more) garlic, minced

½ onion chopped

2 Tbls (37ml)steak marinade or seasoning

2 Tbls (37ml) liquid smoke

Rehydrate the mushrooms and use the left over liquid to rehydrate the TVP.

Heat the oil in a fry pan, add garlic and onion, stir fry until softened, add mushrooms, TVP and brown. Add steak marinade and smoke and fry until browned.

Okay, what to do with that Trident missile sized banana squash or the Turban squash we made last time? Thin skinned Summer Squashes Should not be used for these recipes. They are too special for this rough treatment we are to give the thick skinned cousins. So sorry, your car will have to wait to be emptied of the many zucchini that friends have given you because you left it unlocked at church...at least that's what happens here. Note: Winter squash taste best when left to cure in a cool dry place, like your garage or a root cellar for a couple of months. Duh, they're winter squash, they didn't get that name because they grow in the snow. When the stem is very dry, they are ready for eating. They also freeze well when denuded of the shell, and can be used along side or in smashed potatoes to sweeten that dish up a bit.

OK, once you have your chunks of squash here are a few uses I like, and more will come. Unlike a TV chef, I am actually feeding these to my family and friends and not just throwing them out after the take, so give me time to eat these!
First up, every bodies favorite:tacos!

I like my tacos a bit mid-eastern, so I guess you would call them veggy schwarma's (kind of a contradiction I know but hey we live in a world of jumbo shrimp so there!). I chop up the chunks of squash, and spread them out on a piece of pita bread (tortillas work just fine and are lower calorie). I then add the normal taco fillings, but my favorite is using TVP (textured vegetable protein, you can buy from many bulk dry good stores for much cheaper than the packaged brands). I add some cheese and my favorite sauce (ketchup or Sraracha are my favs) fold and eat up.

I also like to heat up the bread on a stove top for about 30 seconds as well. This is the naked version, I add onions, greens tomatoes and even some cucumbers.

The squash used in place of the refritos gives the taco a more earthy sweet flavor.

More on TVP later.

Exotic Squash Part One: the Turban Squash.

Exotic Squash Part 1: Turban squash

A turban squash is a thick skinned Winter squash most often used for soups because its shape works well for a bowl. It is most often topped (the turban part) and the bottom half scraped and used as the bowl with the flesh cooked various ways and then pure'ed (or soupified as I call it). The base of the turban will also have these bumps that are in fact sugar storage for the plant, and these are common on many winter squash. If you just want to eat or use the flesh and not use it as a bowl I recommend you by a hefty meat cleaver and a rubber mallet to open the gourd. Most of the seeds are in the turban part and are quite thick and tasty so save them; but there is still some good flesh in the top.

Put the cleaver in the cleft and smack it with the hammer! You will have to (unless you bought the worlds largest leaver, or you are using a Clay-more), move the cleaver back and hit it again a couple of times to split the squash open.I quarter this thick skinned squash because I can and it involves hammers and tools.

Ok, now you can scoop out the squash guts found in the "top turban" part of the squash. If you don't get all the stringy parts out, don't sweat it, there is a real cool way to remove them later. Now I put the pieces on a cookie sheet and bake it for about 30 minutes in a convection oven at 350F (175C). I then pull it out and let it cool so I can handle it. One of the nice things about thick skinned squash is that the skin is so tough, (how tough is it?...) It's so tough that you can just peel the flesh from the shell (that's not very funny...).

You'll also note that the long stringy unappetizing parts of the gourd just peel off the good stuff. Now you can use the still warm squash stuff for what ever you want. This is a moderately strong flavored squash so minimal spicing is needed. I recommend you use it in dishes like curries and or tangenes or just some salt pepper and olive oil, and some other recipes to be later determined. Enjoy and let me know your ideas!. V-Man!
Next up: OK I now have a couple pounds of turban squash, what do I do with it?

Welcome to VegitariMan!

Welcome to Vegitariman!

I am a super hero who's super power is to make vegetarian recipes taste good and make you not miss meat in your daily diet. I am not vegan, if that is your choice, cool! and many of my recipes can be converted to that. I love eggs, milk and sustainable fish products (fine if that makes me not vegetarian in your book ok but keep reading) My wife and I went Veggy last year when we found out that chicken, pork and beef are all fed bycatch. This is not sustainable and doggone it, it competes with Flipper for food! Most of my recipes are of the "Oh crap I need a meal in the next hour" types so gourmet purists leave now. I use canned and bottled when I am in a fix, but I'll also put up the occasional scratch recipe just for the more adventurous (meaning when ever I get adventurous). Comments, ideas and pics of your meatless treats would be appreciated. Thanks V-Man