cooking

Back In The Lab -Homemade Meatless Meat

by ladypbwiggins

Tonight (Tuesday) I went back to the lab, finally. The last year or so I have been buying Plant-based meat substitutes, (that usually means processed soy). It is expensive and I discovered through experience, causes weight gain. I thought if they can make it so can I. Tonight was the night.

I decided to try making crumbles for tacos. I marinated TVP in a Mexican spiced marinade. I added vital wheat gluten and put it in a skillet to cook like ground beef. Added a little salt to taste.

The next part of the experiment was a homemade corn tortilla baked in a tostada shell. Once I began I discovered I didn’t have very much Masa. I ground corn meal but it wasn’t as fine as masa. I used it anyway. Worked out okay. Will be better next time.

So here is dinner. Homemade tostada shell with home cooked black beans, marinated homemade meatless crumbles, lettuce and tomato topped with nutritional yeast.

Homemade means from scratch.

Gluten-free Cornbread and Soup

by ladypbwiggins
I guess you’re asking, “What is this woman’s obsession with cornbread?” I’m a southern born and bred girl. There are just some things that have to be eaten with cornbread. My experiment was to answer the question about flour substitutions to teff or oat flour. Today I used Quinoa flour. I have eaten quinoa but I have never used the flour. I used my gluten-free cornbread recipe and substituted quinoa for soy flour. The taste was great but it didn’t rise as much as expected. I was very pleased with the browning. The other breads didn’t brown as pretty. This is not my last experiment  with cornbread.
My next experiment will be using aguafaba instead of Ener-G egg replacement. I’ve read that aguafaba can be whisked to form a meringue like product that can be used in baked goods in place of eggs. It’s suppose to make a lighter texture in baked items. Stay tuned.The soup also provided an opportunity for experimentation. I made vegetable soup with meatless Italian sausage. Pretty straight forward. The problem: to much basil. I used Young Living Essential Oil’s basil vitality. This oil is very concentrated and intense in flavor. I only intended to use 1 drop but a second one dropped before I could lift the bottle. So how do I neutralize this basil. I added chickpeas to the soup and let it simmer. Side note: I cooked a batch of chickpeas earlier. I avoid can goods when I can. The chickpeas mellowed the basil intensity and added more texture to the soup. This was a great lunch.

The “Eat Loaf”

by ladypbwiggins

Most of us who have changed to a plant-based eating lifestyle are on a continuous search for great tasting meat substitutes.

Yesterday I prepared the Esselstyn’s “eat loaf” recipe contained in their The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook. I refrigerated it and we ate it for dinner today. I was so involved with getting the other dishes prepared that I forgot to take a picture. The picture below is what is left of the loaf. If you decide to try this, it makes enough for two loaves.

Heart healthy “Eat Loaf”


This loaf can be a meal with nothing else. It has so many different veggies; carrots, greens, beans, onions, garlic and for added texture, oats.

Teff flour or Cornbread

by ladypbwiggins

I find it very interesting that my most viewed post was written in 2016. I had begun my research and experimentation with heart healthy recipes. I was trying gluten-free flours to make familiar food items. This is when Teff flour entered my life. I had never heard of it before. I had made soup and I wanted some cornbread. I decided to use teff flour in making it. I shared the outcome and it has been my most viewed post. I don’t know why. Is the interest the Teff flour or the cornbread? I wonder.

S.O.B. Burgers

by ladypbwiggins

Yes that is the name of the burgers. Anne Esselstyn and Jane Esselstyn have the recipe in their cookbook, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. It is the Smokey, Oat, Bean Burger. Because I had to make some substitutes I renamed it. My version is the  Smokey, Flax and Pea Burger.
I discovered that I was out of oats and I didn’t have any cannellini beans. I substituted ground flax seeds for oats and black-eyed peas for beans. The seasonings were the same.
It was so good. I served it with romaine lettuce leaves as the bun and tomatoes with brown mustard and hot sauce. I will try the recipe again with oats and beans.

Looking Back to Find Gems

by ladypbwiggins

Sometimes looking back over old posts remind you of the reasons you’re doing certain things now. My husband nor I are gluten intolerant so why do I have a gluten-free vegan cookbook? When did no oil cooking become important and why?

I wasn’t looking for these answers but I stumbled over the post that gave them. It was simple. His cardiologist instructed us to do that. I also unearthed The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook that is plant-based and oil free. I purchased this at the beginning of our journey 3 years ago after watching an Engine 2 video.
I read through it and now I am adding the recipes to my re-energized food preparation  experiences.

Raw Vegan Tacos

by ladypbwiggins

I tried something new today. I made vegan tacos without tempeh or TVP. I used mushrooms to give the meat texture but I marinated the chopped mushrooms in Mexican spice seasonings first. I discovered I had run out of dry oregano so I used Young Living Oregano Vitality. I made spicy salsa and used “cheese” that I had made for another meal. Romaine lettuce leaves were the shells. Oh yeah, also used the pinto beans I made the other day. Now their gone.

Sorry there are no pictures. We ate them before I realized I hadn’t taken a picture. I guess we were hungry.😀

Starting All Over

by ladypbwiggins

In 2017 my husband and I began a raw vegan lifestyle for his heart health. I joined him because I don’t like to cook and making two meals was out of the question. I also thought it could improve my health; make what was good, better.

In 2018 cooked vegan was introduced into our plan. That was good but by now I was exhausted. The Dr. told me that I didn’t have to make everything from scratch. Well, O happy day. I thought this was a blessing. I began a new journey into the vegan processed food world. Label reading became more of a necessity. As with most products in our stores the packaging can be misleading or barely truthful. Some brands are vegetarian but intimate that they are okay for vegans. Some meat substitutes taste decent and others don’t. One thing they all have in common is too much sodium and they are PROCESSED. In 2019 I gained weight eating processed food.

Here I am in 2020 beginning our raw journey again. This time it is for me. This time it is harder. I don’t know if I know too much or not enough. One thing I do know is the processed meat substitutes will be eliminated and if ever returned it will be sparingly.

As a singer once put it

Starting All Over Again is going to be tough but we’re, I’m going to make it.

Leftover Sausage Mixture

by ladypbwiggins

Yesterday I decided to try frying the leftover sausage mixture that I made a few days ago. To my surprise when I removed “meat” from the refrigerator the texture was more meatlike than when first made.


Baking didn’t yield a product with sausage-like texture. It looked more like a “not so done” puffy biscuit. I decided to try frying this time. Frying was not successful. It seared the outside but did not cook the inside. I put it in the oven to bake it through.

Frying

That worked. I also tried it in the waffle iron just for giggles. I was making banana nut waffles.

To Recap

Making Vegan Sausage Patties

by ladypbwiggins

(I made these sausages on the 21st)
A year ago at least I searched the web for a vegan breakfast sausage pattie recipe. I found several but this one appealed to me. I don’t remember why it has taken me so long to try it. Maybe it’s because of the TVP and the Vital Wheat Gluten. I wanted to eat clean back then. I don’t know the source of this recipe so I can’t give the appropriate credit. I gave it a try.


Breakfast Sausage

1 c black beans*
1 c veggie broth
2 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP Tamari
2 TBSP Maple syrup*
1 TBSP sage
1/2 tsp thyme*

1/2 tsp rosemary *
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp whole fennel seeds*
1/4 c nutritional yeast
1/4 c TVP
1 1/4 c vital wheat gluten
Red pepper or cayenne to taste

*My substitutions
   White beans
    Rosemary Vitality Essential oil
     Thyme Vitality Essential Oil
     1TBSP ground fennel seeds
      1/2 tsp raw blue agave

Soak the TVP for about an hour in the veggie broth. Combine all ingredients.  Bake in a 350° oven.

The flavor is good but the texture was not comparable to store bought vegan or vegetarian sausages. On that I was disappointed.