Vegan Cooking & Cookbooks discussion

Have you taken any non-vegan recipes from vegetarian or traditional cookbooks and made them vegan?

This thread is the place to share about your creations.

* NOTE: Please be careful to not post any actual copyrighted recipes that belong to others. Thanks so much.

And, thanks for sharing your experiences with veganziing non-vegan cookbook recipes.

And thank you to Lindsey for suggesting a place to post veganized recipes!

I did exactly this over the weekend: I made the Yemiser W'et from Sundays at Moosewood, Pg 522 and left out the Niter Kebbeh (clarified butter with LOTS of spices) using olive oil in its' place. Also, since I was reading Little Bee (Little Bee is from Nigeria) I used some okra in lieu of the peas. It is DELISH!

Selah, They both sound delicious, tastier and healthier than the original versions. And I love "eating to my books" too. When I was an omnivorous child, I always wanted bread and cheese (but not goat cheese) whenever I read Heidi. (This is my edition of that book.)

Lisa wrote: "Selah, They both sound delicious, tastier and healthier than the original versions. And I love "eating to my books" too. When I was an omnivorous child, I always wanted bread and cheese (but not go..."
Oh thanks for the reminder! I have yet to enter my childhood books. But I got a little strange about age 10 when I discovered the grown up part of the library.... and my first foray into mysteries was the Lindbergh kidnapping and In Cold Blood. You know, children's classics. ; >

I got to the In Cold Blood stage when I was 12. ;-)

ETA: Oh, I don't think there's any food I want at all to go with that book, even though I love that book and I love food.

Um yeah. I hear you on that one...

Now that I'm thinking about food and book mashups, I am craving Italian food. Got any historical novels in tune for that?

A Thread of Grace was excellent, I thought. There's always The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo.

Lisa wrote: "A Thread of Grace was excellent, I thought. There's always The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo."
Thanks. Added to my wish list.

One of my last omni cookbooks is The Indian Slow Cooker: 50 Healthy, Easy, Authentic Recipes which I purchased because I 1. LOVE Indian food and books, and 2. love using the slow cooker, and 3. the authenticity of it wooed me.

It has some non-vegan recipes... and that got me thinking about "butter chicken" and soy curls, so I have just placed an order for Butler Soy Curls (6 8oz bags - about 36 meals *estimated* for about $30 US. I'm going to try to veganize butter chicken. I'll report back - maybe with photos!

Ooooooh, I used to love butter chicken. I can't wait to hear how that experiment turns out! Go Selah!

I'm SO enjoying reading the cookbook cover to cover! There are gorgeous photos, descriptions of spices and dals, omgoodness.!

Lee wrote: "Ooooooh, I used to love butter chicken. I can't wait to hear how that experiment turns out! Go Selah!"

I wonder if you can also just substitute large chick peas for the chicken. Come one, it's even similar in spelling :-)

That's a great idea Gundula! I'm going to look for a butter chicken recipe and do just that. Really, it's the sauce that makes it fantastic.

Lee wrote: "That's a great idea Gundula! I'm going to look for a butter chicken recipe and do just that. Really, it's the sauce that makes it fantastic."

For most curry dishes, it's the sauce that makes it fantastic. I think I'm going to try the same thing sometime soon.

Gundula wrote: "Lee wrote: "That's a great idea Gundula! I'm going to look for a butter chicken recipe and do just that. Really, it's the sauce that makes it fantastic."

For most curry dishes, it's the sauce th..."

Tis true- in fact, consider marinades.... we take a basically tasteless piece of flesh and try to cram flavor into it. Why not substitute tofu? It's the spices, herbs and such that are making me go YUM!

Gundula, and All, I find spices and sauces ARE the dish, and whether I have them with a grain, a bean, tofu, etc. I get that flavor. Works for me! There are also vegan chicken products out there for those who are interested.

Lisa wrote: "Gundula, and All, I find spices and sauces ARE the dish, and whether I have them with a grain, a bean, tofu, etc. I get that flavor. Works for me! There are also vegan chicken products out there fo..." and that's where my Masala Dabba comes in...

I know it's been awhile since the butter chicken conversation, but have you noticed that Kathy Hester has a recipe for Butter Chick'n in The Vegan Slow Cooker? It's on my "to try" list.

Does she? I love that sauce! I must get my hands on that book now that I have a slow cooker. Let us know if you give it a try, Bobbi.

Will do. I hope to get to it next week.

Emmy wrote: "I veganised butter chicken on my blog using tofu. My husband loves it - not low fat though!

http://gourmetcaravan.blogspot.com/20..."

Oh gosh. That looks decadent and delicious. I'd never even heard of butter chicken until this group started talking about it.

I just love how we now now successfully veganize 99.99% of all non-vegan foods.

That looks great, Emmy. I'd just have to sub tempeh or seitan since my husband doesn't care for tofu.

Emmy that "butter chicken" looks so delicious! Your blog is so adorable.

On the topic of veganizing things ... I wanted to veganize Pfeffernüsse (German Spice Cookies) ... I googled and found that someone had done it already!

http://tofu-n-sproutz.blogspot.com/20...

Sharing, as perhaps some of the other vegan cookbook readers would like to try it. Hopefully I'll get to try it over the weekend and can post the results next week.

Rachel wrote: "On the topic of veganizing things ... I wanted to veganize Pfeffernüsse (German Spice Cookies) ... I googled and found that someone had done it already!

http://tofu-n-sproutz.blogspot.com/20......"

Thanks, Rachel. Those look delicious. I used to enjoy the traditional cookies at this time of year.

I went to a "vegan breakfast for dinner" party and made a vegan version of this:

Cheesy Sausage Potatoes
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Ch...

I used Yukon Gold potatoes, which were on the small side but not itty bitty like new potatoes. Instead of peeling and boiling them per the instructions ... I just rinsed and scrubbed them well. Then I sliced them into thin slices, maybe 1/8 to 1/4 in thick (about a half a centimeter thick, for our metric-minded readers). I put the potatoes in a glass bowl, microwaved them for 5 minutes, stirred, and then microwaved them another 5 minutes.

For the sausage I used Gimme Lean Ground Sausage Style by LightLife foods.

http://www.lightlife.com/Vegan-Food-V...

I unpeeled the tube, sliced up the "ground sausage," and then put it on a hot skillet that I had sprayed with cooking oil, along with some chopped up onion. While the sausage was cooking, I used my fingers to break it up into small pieces, which was kind of dangerous since it got kind of hot. But my metal cooking utensils were not doing a good job of chopping the sausage up into satisfactorily small pieces. Any suggestions on how to better break up my Gimme Lean? (You can't really break it up into small pieces before it is cooked because when it's cold, all the pieces stick together and re-mass into big pieces again.)

While that was cooking, I chopped up some green bell peppers and red bell peppers and threw them in to saute with the Gimme Lean Sausage and onions. (I couldn't resist to make the dish just A BIT more vegetable-y and more nutritious hopefully). I chopped the green and red bell peppers up very, very finely so they wouldn't interfere with the general look of the dish.

Then I buttered a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with Earth Balance and layered my potato slices in there (they were already soft from the microwave). I melted some Earth Balance and poured it over the top of the potatoes. Then I sprinkled the Gimmee Lean sausage / onions / green and red bell peppers sautee on top. And finally, I covered the whole thing in Daiya cheddar cheese style vegan shreds.

Then I baked according to the instructions in the link (350 degrees for 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted).

I brought this to the party (actually did the final step, baking in the oven AT the party), and the dish was a big hit! It's a nice "comfort food," that is, for people who like regular bland fatty American style breakfast food. I know that doesn't too appetizing, but honestly, that's how most American breakfast food is. And people like it !! :) It's true, we do like it. :) I don't know why.

It was good, but there was one problem ... the Daiya did not adhere to the bottom layers while baking. :( So when people would cut into the cheesy sausage potato casserole, the Daiya cheese would come off as a sheet, with this other chunky stuff underneath. I'm not sure how to fix this ... but I'm thinking maybe ... instead of layering the Daiya cheese on top ... maybe I should stir the Daiya cheese in with the potatoes and sausage, and bake it like that? Not sure. Any other suggestions?

This was easy, and I'd definitely make it again. I think this could be a good dish to try, especially for families and people with kids. Enjoy experimenting !

P.S. Lisa, I know you don't like Daiya cheese; actually I think I might try this with Follow Your Heart next time. Any kind of vegan cheese will do for the topping. I wonder if other types of vegan cheese will adhere better to the bottom layers.

Rachel, I'd like the vegan sausage even less since I don't like anything that reminds me of meat, but the photo you posted did make it look appealing, and those waffles and fruit, those I'd have liked. This is a fabulous recipe though for eaters who want these flavors but who don't want the animal cruelty, animal fat, animal protein! Thanks for posting!

Next time I get my hands on some chanterelles I want to make the following, which I used to make as an omni and had with Quorn during a brief vegetarian phase:

For approx. 4 portions:

500 g chicken substitute in cubes or strips (maybe TVP?)
some vegan spread or oil for frying
1 large onion
250 g chanterelles (would probably work well with all sorts of mushrooms)
veg stock or salt
pepper
125 ml white wine
250 g crème fraiche substitute (if you can’t find this, just use more soya cream)
150 g soya cream
pinch of sugar
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
tarragon (fresh or dried is fine)

Sweat the mushrooms and onion and after a few minutes add the chicken substitute. Sprinkle with some veg stock and add pepper. Gently fry for a few minutes and then add the wine. Add crème fraiche and cream and simmer until the sauce is creamy. Add Dijon mustard, sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Finish off with tarragon. Serve with rice or pasta.

These ingredients work extremely well together. They all complement each other. Maybe somebody has an idea of what could be used instead of a chicken substitute? What vegan food goes well with tarragon and white wine? Maybe some kind of nut? Or could you do something with tofu?

Wiebke wrote: "Next time I get my hands on some chanterelles I want to make the following, which I used to make as an omni and had with Quorn during a brief vegetarian phase:

For approx. 4 portions:

500 g chick..."

I was wondering wether you could just leave out the vegan meat. I also wonder wether frozen edame or frozen green peas might work (or just some cooked grains).

Mhh, sounds interesting. I will give it some thought. I have plenty of frozen peas so might try that next.

Tonight we had butternut squash soup, one of my mum’s recipes:

Butternut (1-2, or other pumpkin, whatever you’ve got going)
Onions (4-5 large)
Carrots (5-10 depending on size)
Potatoes (2-3)
Veg stock
Curry powder
Ginger
If you fancy it: coconut milk or soya cream

Sweat the onion and carrot in oil, sprinkle some veg stock, add butternut or other pumpkin and potatoes, add water, curry powder, ginger and simmer until soft, use a blender to get rid of all the lumps until smooth, add coconut milk or soya cream.

I am planning to freeze what is left (a lot) and defrost to have as part of the Sunday birthday meal.

Wiebke wrote: "Tonight we had butternut squash soup, one of my mum’s recipes:

Butternut (1-2, or other pumpkin, whatever you’ve got going)
Onions (4-5 large)
Carrots (5-10 depending on size)
Potatoes (2-3)
Veg s..."

That sounds delicious, I will have to try it. Did you use low sodium vegetable stock. By the way, do you know wether Maggi is vegan? And what about marmite or vegemite?

Gundula wrote: "Wiebke wrote: "Tonight we had butternut squash soup, one of my mum’s recipes:

Butternut (1-2, or other pumpkin, whatever you’ve got going)
Onions (4-5 large)
Carrots (5-10 depending on size)
Potat..."

I don't think it was low sodium. A bit naughty, I know. It was organic though. Sorry, I don't know about Maggi, marmite or vegimite. I have looked at them a few days ago and it just says vegetarian, which doesn't mean they are not vegan, I guess. They might just not say vegan. I am not great on ingredients though. Maybe somebody else knows?

Wiebke wrote: "Gundula wrote: "Wiebke wrote: "Tonight we had butternut squash soup, one of my mum’s recipes:

Butternut (1-2, or other pumpkin, whatever you’ve got going)
Onions (4-5 large)
Carrots (5-10 dependin..."

Me neither, and sometimes the ingredients are written in such small script you actually need a magnifying glass to go shopping.

Wiebke, the butternut squash dish sounds delicious.

And, Gundula, Yes, Marmite is vegan: http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/marmite...

I'm not sure about those others.