new cookbooks and mujicha (barley tea)

A few of the vegan books I ordered came in the mail.  Appetite for Reduction has the liveliest and funniest writing, so I can't wait for her other book, Veganomicon, to arrive.  Simply Vegan was at the library, and I liked it so much, I got my own.  All these books have good info on vegan nutrition (getting your iron, B12, calcium, protein, etc.)  They also include cooking and shopping tips.  I also can't wait for my own copy of Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet because her recipes look so good and include lots of Japanese foods.

Humble mujicha.  It's a cheap barley tea that's caffeine-free and doesn't contain the tannins that interfere with iron absorption.  I brew it cold, with one big teabag in a pitcher, for 30 minutes to up to 5 hours.  It has a subtle nutty, woodsy flavor.  I don't sweeten it, but it's good to drink with chocolatey and peanut buttery sweets.  Thanks to my local friends for serving me iced mujicha and getting me hooked!  It's also popular for babies & toddlers, and pregnant and nursing women.  A package of 54 large teabags costs about $2.50 here in Japan.   You can probably find it at an Asian market in the USA.

Peanut Butter Brownies (extra fiber)

I was using up a box of Fiber One cereal (really, I don't need any extra fiber on this vegan diet, but thought this would be a fun way to use up the box) and some Jif peanut butter.  So I invented these funny brownies.  I was thinking they'd be more like bar cookies, but when they came out of the oven, they looked like a delicious pan of brownies.  You could substitute another cereal for the Fiber One.

• 2 c. Fiber One cereal, soaked thoroughly in water from 1-24 hours.  Include soaking water in the recipe.
• 1 c. Bisquick (it's vegan!)
• 1/2 c. dry rolled oats
• 4 heaping Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1/2 c. Sugar in the Raw (White sugar is often processed through animal bones.  You can increase the sugar if you want sweeter brownies.)
• 1/2 c. chunky peanut butter
• 1/4 c. flax seeds, ground to a meal (these will replace eggs)
• 3 Tbsp. water

Combine all ingredients except the last two (flax seeds and water) in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix water with flax seeds, and whisk with a fork until thick and a bit frothy.  Add your flax seed "egg replacer" to the big mixture.  Spread in a 9x13" greased pan.  Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees F.  Brownies will initially be gooey, but will solidify a bit when cooled.

They needed a little something, so I poured brown rice syrup on mine.  The syrup is mildly sweet and tastes a bit like caramel.  Soy or coconut (non-dairy) ice cream would've been yummy, too.

 the ingredients

The finished product.  I was surprised how good it looked!

Vegans just wanna have fun

Asahi beer and Fritos are both vegan treats.  We found these Fritos scoops especially good with Indian curry!

After reading that Asahi beer is "happily vegan", I had to read up why a beer wouldn't be vegan.  I read about use of animal products in beer and wine making from several sources.  This article by Matt Frazier in No Meat Athlete, says:

"Although there are plenty of vegan-friendly beers out there, many breweries use animal products in the brewing process. Their most common use is as clarifying agents, but animal parts are also used for head retention, flavor, and coloring.
Because the U.S. does not have any laws requiring disclosure of non-vegan ingredients, beer labels rarely mention their use.
Some animal products are the main ingredients in a beer and are easy to spot. These are usually indicated on the label and can easily be avoided. Honey is a common example.
It's the animal products used in smaller proportions that don't make it to the labels that you need to watch out for.
Here is a list of the most common animal products that are used in brewing:

• Isinglass – Clarifier that is very common in brewing. Comes from the dried swim bladders of fish. Almost all cask conditioned ale uses isinglass as a clarifier, although it is more common in England than the U.S.
• Gelatin – Clarifier obtained from the skin, connective tissue, and bones of animals. Typically taken from cattle and frozen pigskin.
• Casein/Potassium Caseinate – Protein found in cow milk used as a clarifier.
• Charcoal – Used for filtering. A portion is usually produced from animal bones.
• Diatomaceous earth – Used in filtering. Comes from fossils or sea shells.
• Insects – Made into dyes and used for coloring.
• Glyceryl monostearate – Animal derived substance used to control foam.
• Pepsin – Also used to control foam; it is sometimes derived from pork.
• White sugar – Flavor additive often whitened using bone charcoal.
• Albumin – Refers to any protein that is water soluble. Most common type in brewing is serum albumin, which is taken from animal blood.
• Lactose – Beers labeled as sweet, milk, or cream stouts may or may not contain lactose. Sometimes the description refers to the texture and not the ingredient. It's best to double check these to be sure. Milk chocolate is common in certain styles, but some so-called "chocolate" porters or stouts actually contain no real chocolate at all. Some malted barley is called "chocolate malt" simply to describe the flavor the roasting imparts."

This website, Barnivore, lists more info about specific brands, including whether the used grain is sold for livestock feed.  I think it's up to the individual where to draw the line on what's acceptable, but it's really not so hard to choose cruelty-free brands.

Sweet Peanut Butter Spread

This is good for sweet cravings!

• about 1/3 c. peanut butter
• about 1/3 c. pea protein powder
• enough warm water to help stir it all together
• about 1/4 c. molasses

Stir together and store in the fridge.  I've also made this with Cary's 100% Maple Syrup, and it was heavenly.  To eat it like a gooey sweet dessert, spread on bread or graham crackers and top with extra molasses or syrup.

I'm using up this Jif and switching to natural peanut butter.  You can try any vegan protein powder with this (hemp protein, brown rice protein, soy protein.)

various lunch plates, thoughts on transitioning to vegan

The "brunch plate" above has azuki beans (Japanese sweet red beans), brown rice, kale, tofu - all cooked with sesame oil and soy sauce.  Those are polenta slices and crumbled tortilla chips on top.

It's been about a month and a half since I transitioned to a vegan diet.  I wish I'd photographed all the recipes I've tried, but will start now.  For the first couple weeks, I had a constant low-grade hunger and a bit of light-headedness.  I read this would happen as the body adjusts to more plant-based fuel.  Chewing thoroughly is supposed to help.  I was used to throwing together veggies, and adding things like egg, cheese, ranch dressing, cottage cheese, fish, turkey, or chicken to feel satisfied.

So instead of all that animal protein, I put together various beans, peas, grains, nuts, nut butters, seeds, tofu, starchy vegetables (sweet potato, squash, corn.)  I put these together with greens and less calorie-dense veggies.  I found these flavorful mix-ins instead of dairy & egg-based dressings: miso paste, sesame oil, Japanese sesame dressing, wasabi and soy sauce, tahini, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, rice vinegar.  And my best trick is to tuck cut-up fruit on the side, and mix it in a little: halved grapes, sliced bananas, chopped peaches, dried cranberries.  A drink with diluted fruit juice and fresh-squeezed lime juice provides extra vitamin C to increase the bioavailability of plant-based iron.  Red Star Nutritional Yeast is a cheesy-tasting sprinkle that's fortified with B12 and other B vitamins.  It's been a popular vegan condiment since the '70s.

So my bottom-line advice for eating vegan is to include plenty of calorie-dense plant foods.  There are easy recipes out there for satisfying, gooey sweets, too.  Being able to eat all that (and I still have lost weight without trying) helped me not need the meat, dairy, eggs, and fish anymore.  Focusing on absorbing iron and taking B12 every day (from supplements or fortified foods) keeps red blood cells healthy.

This plate has (clockwise from top): edamame hummus with cucumbers and pita chips,  steamed mustard greens with ground flax seeds and sesame oil, Japanese sweet potatoes and kabocha squash (Japanese pumpkin), watermelon, my quinoa cashew salad (someday I'll blog that recipe.)

This was my yummy lunch plate today.  I threw together ingredients from the fridge: barley, kidney beans, steamed collard greens (high in calcium!), tomato, avocado, fresh basil, lime juice, miso paste, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, roasted garlic (I wrap the bulbs in foil and bake in oven), nutritional yeast.

Edamame Hummus

This is an easy recipe, and you can find variations online.  I got this one from the Food Network website.  The fresh lemon juice and zest makes it light and lively.  Good with pita chips, crackers, cucumbers, and as a sandwich spread.

• 1/2 pound frozen shelled edamame (green soy beans), about 1 1/2 cups.  Sometimes I add chickpeas, too.
• 1/4 cup tahini or nerigoma (Japanese ground sesame seeds)
• 1/4 cup water
• juice and zest from one lemon
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• 3/4 teaspooon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Boil the beans in salted water for 4 to 5 minutes, or microwave, covered, for 2 to 3 minutes.

In a blender, puree the edamame, tahini, water, lemon zest and juice, garlic, salt, cumin, and coriander until smooth. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil and mix until absorbed. 

 I like to stuff it in a toasted pita with peanuts and maybe some tomatoes.  Like this, it's better than dessert!

Ralph rules the kitchen.

How it all started

Vegan: a strict vegetarian; a person who does not eat animals (including aquatic animals) or their excretions.  Vegans eat a plant-based diet.

A group I am in was putting together a cookbook for a fundraiser.  I'm not one to follow recipes much, but decided to try a few new things, and maybe come up with something new for the cookbook.  I made chicken enchiladas to share with a friend.  They turned out pretty good.  I used the pre-cooked, cubed chicken, though, because I don't like dealing with the slimy raw meat. 

Then I was browsing at the library, and found Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet in the new books section.  The same day, I also checked out the new Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook.  The Kind Diet was full of vegan recipes (free of all animal products) that included lots of Japanese ingredients that would be easy for me to get.  I looked at casseroles in the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook, and decided they were too meat-heavy for my liking.  I decided to look into more vegetarian and vegan cookbooks at the library.

After reading more of The Kind Diet, about how horribly animals are treated on farms and in slaughterhouses, I chatted with a neighbor about it.  I told her I was getting disgusted with the idea of eating meat and animal products.  She pointed me to the "Meet Your Meat" video on YouTube, saying if I watched it, I'd lose my appetite for it all.  I thought it would be a good idea, because I've tried going vegetarian for stretches of time before, but always went back to my old ways.  It was time to face the facts.  Warning: this video is very graphic and disturbing.

I watched "Meet Your Meat" (only 13 minutes on YouTube) and many related videos over the next few days.  I read other books and articles about factory farming, slaughterhouses, commercial fishing.  I listened to podcasts about it (mainly Vegetarian Food for Thought.)  I lost my appetite and some sleep!  I was deeply saddened, haunted, and horrified by what I learned.  But it's the right time in my life to learn these things.  I wish I'd done it sooner.

So now I am vegan, and don't plan to go back.  I have new vegan cookbooks, and enjoy inventing dishes.  And I mean satisfying, hearty dishes.  Flavorful.  I'm surprised that my friends are so interested in trying my vegan creations, and they request the recipes.  I've learned to have vitamin C-rich foods with my meals to help absorb iron (plentiful in plant foods), and take a reliable vitamin B-12 supplement.  Vitamin B-12 is produced by bacteria, but since we wash produce so much, we don't get much from plants anymore.  Despite eating a lot of food, including calorie-dense foods like nuts, beans, grains, sweet potatoes, maple syrup.... I've lost extra weight without trying.  Best of all, I just feel good about eliminating animal products and reducing at least a little animal suffering.  It's much easier and cheaper than I ever imagined.

My only regret about becoming vegan is that I wish I'd done it long ago.

About this blog

Since becoming vegan, I get lots of recipe requests and interest in vegan cooking.  I'm surprised!  So rather than giving out recipes individually, I thought I'd make a new blog to record them (and their yummy pictures.)