Welcome to

As I embark toward the culinary frontier of veganism at home, I’ve recently tried several meat and dairy substitutes.  I never thought I’d be doing such a thing, but I’m trying to keep an open mind about it.  The most surprising thing about meat substitutes is their variety.  I had no idea there were so MANY of them!

The early frontrunner for Most Like the Real Thing is Quorn Chik’n.  A bizarre name, to be sure, that is made even more bizarre by the use of an apostrophe.  There is a lot of creative punctuation in the brand names of fake meat.  I’m postulating that the manufacturers of this kind of stuff are making up for the lack of real meat with punctuation, hoping that the whimsical nature of it will distract the eater from savoring the foodstuff too deeply.

Anyway, it was much to my un-surprise that this Quorn Chik’n is the most realistic because it contains ANIMAL protein in the form of egg whites.  Oops, I should have read the label more carefully before I bought it.  So Quorn is not a vegan product, but definitely legal for the vegetarian.  I wouldn’t attempt anything crazy with it, but it bakes up fine in the oven, and I’m even thinking about making a pot pie with it. 

Quorn is, essentially, mycoprotein, a prolific fungus that will literally grow for MILES if unchecked… a giant underground mushroom colony, if you will.  The texture is remarkably accurate for coming close to the feeling of meat in your mouth, and the flavor is vaguely garlicky and savory/sweet.  It’s okay!

Second-runner up for taste/flavor accuracy is Tofurky Hickory Smoked Deli Slices.  My dog came running when I opened the package to make a sandwich for my husband, which was a good sign.  The dog spat out the vegan cheese I opened at the same time, though.  I had to taste it immediately for myself, and I concurred with Buddy (the dog, not my husband).  I’m not looking to be libelous, so I won’t harsh on the brand of “cheese” right now, but it was beyond bizarre…grainy, yet flexible and sticky.  Early samples are revealing that for fake cheese to be even remotely palatable, it must contain casein (a milk protein, see previous post), thus rendering it merely vegetarian, not vegan.

Third runner up is Gimme Lean Smart Ground Crumbles.  The texture is right on the money, but the flavor is slightly off the mark.  I would not eat this stuff unadorned unless I was having a craving for mulch.  But with plenty of veggies and gravy, it was a-okay.  I made a shepherd’s pie with it.  I made the gravy out of vegetable broth, paprika, garlic, and arrowroot, which was alright, too. 

I’m approaching this vegan-cooking-at-home thing as a challenge to somehow maintain all the comfy familiarity of regular meals.  I’m hitting the mark sometimes, sometimes falling short.  I’ve got to keep trying, though, because I flatly refuse to conscript myself to a future full of nothing but brown rice and carrots.  Now THAT would put me over the edge.

If you’re looking for ways to make holiday entertaining easier, consider basing an hors d’oeuvre selection around puff pastry.  If you’re feeling sporty, by all means, make your own and freeze it.  But many of the frozen versions are really quite good.  I like Pepperidge Farm and Vie de France (might have trouble finding this one if you don’t have a food wholesaler near you).  Or if you’ve got a bakery near you that makes it own puff pastry, inquire as to if they’ll sell you some.

First,  if you’ve never worked with frozen puff pastry, you should know that it thaws FAST and can dry out quickly.  Ten minutes on the counter with a piece of plastic wrap over it will thaw it enough to work with it.  If you can work quickly, keeping it covered with plastic wrap is enough, but if you’re working slowly or in large quantities, keep a damp towel handy to drape over the pastry sheets.  Dust your work surface lightly with flour.  Once thawed, puff pastry can be rolled, cut, sealed, shaped…the possibilities are endless.

Try cutting the puff pastry into two inch squares and push each square lightly into the greased cups of a mini muffin pan.  Fill each square with a quiche mixture, a daub of cream cheese and a chunk of sundried tomato, an artichoke wedge and some shredded parmesan…you get the picture, you’re only limited by your imagination.  Bake the cups according to package directions for temperature, but keep your eyes on them for timing.  They should take around fifteen minutes in the oven.

Mini turnovers are a breeze with frozen puff pastry.  Make a few fillings like duxelles (reduced mushrooms, shallots, and cream), browned sausage and apples,  or minced prosciutto with some greens like spinach and arugula.  Cut the pastry into three inch squares and place a half tablespoon of filling in the center of each one.  Dip your fingertip in some water or egg wash and trace along the outside edge of each square.  Fold them all up into a triangle and pinch along the seams.  They are more work than the mini cups, but cute as the dickens.  Paint with cream or egg wash and bake.

Even easier, you can wrap a sheet of puff pastry around a wheel of Brie, seal the bottom well, and paint the thing with egg.  For more fun and flavor, tuck some toasted almonds or walnuts inside with the cheese, and maybe some dried apricots or cranberries.  What emerges from the oven will be a gorgeous, golden delight that cost you perhaps fifteen dollars and fifteen minutes to make.  A gourmet grocer or cheese shop would have charged you far more.  Place the “brie en croute” on a platter, garnish with an assortment of crackers and crudites, and your guests will gather around it like moths to a candle.

I’ve got a couple of other tricks up my sleeve for puff pastry, but they’ll have to wait for another time.  There’s something I want to try involving miniature smoked salmon napoleons.  I’ll let you know how it turns out.

I’m not a fan of chilly weather by any means, but I do enjoy the indulgences and rituals that the cold brings with it.  One of my personal favorite things on a nippy night happens to be curling up with a giant, steaming cup of tea.  I’m not a tea connaisseuse by any definition, but I know what I like and don’t like in a cup of tea.  One of my favorite go-to tea brands is Celestial Seasonings because they’re good at packing in a lot of flavor for a little price, plus they’re all natural.

Well, wasn’t I excited at the grocery store last Sunday to see a holiday flavor of Celestial Seasonings I hadn’t seen before, Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride.  Just the sight of the box made me look ahead to an unnamed evening in the coming week, my hands already mentally clutching my Pyrex two-cup pitcher (I use it as a tea mug, yes, I know it’s crazy, but it takes two hands to hold it so they both get warm).

This stuff tastes so bland and dull I can barely believe it.  Celestial Seasonings really missed the mark on this one.  Sugar cookies?!  Where?  I couldn’t even taste a crumb.  The resulting brew, even after seven minutes of steeping , was the color of pee, but with less flavor.  It’s like a couple of raw mushrooms and a vanilla bean walked past a cup of hot water without even waving to it.  Phooey.  I’ll take my Stash Creme Caramel Decaf Tea over this any day.

Today I read that some species of predatory birds are threatened by lead poisoning, of all things.  The short version of the situation:  birds of prey often end up eating the “one that got away” from a hunter’s shot.  Over time, the continual ingestion of the lead shot can lead to infertility, illness, and death in condors, eagles, buzzards, et al.

Reading that article (a recent issue of National Geographic sitting in my doctor’s waiting room) made me sad for the birds, but it only reaffirmed the growing evidence that eating food that hasn’t been treated with chemicals is simply the wise thing to do, whether human or animal.  I’m not implying that industrially farmed food always contains chemical toxins, but when fruits and vegetables are cultivated on a large scale, chemicals are necessary to promote growth, discourage pests, and inhibit spoilage.  That’s the bottom line. 

It’s also good to know that local and regional produce often contain less chemicals because chances are a handful of actual humans watched over it as it grew.  While it might not be organic, a minimal amount of fertilizer and pesticide was probably used.  When farmers can visually inspect the health of a plant, they can know what needs to be done to keep it healthy  instead of blindly showering it with stuff.

I know I go through phases where I wonder if paying for local and organic food is worth the cost. Do you do that?  I look at the perfect, blemish-free commercial produce in the grocery store and then see how much cheaper it is than the local organic stuff.  But I need to continually remind myself that, number one, the local organics TASTE BETTER, and number two, they’re better for me.  As Joni Mitchell sang, “I’ll take the worm in my apple, give me the birds and the bees, please.”  Shop and eat the food that’s closest to home.  It might cost more, but in the long run it costs less.

Writing yesterday about my favorite food products, I came to realize how loyal I am to certain brands without much realizing it.  A prime example is Bon Ami cleanser.  My mother and grandmother both use it, too, so I’ve always seen the inconspicuous gold and red can hanging around since childhood.  If you’ve never tried Bon Ami, I highly suggest you do so.

First, it’s environmentally friendly, and it always has been.  There are absolutely no harsh chemicals in it, no bleach so there’s no overwhelming smell, and it’s totally biodegradable.  You might say, “Samantha, what does this have to do with cooking?”  Well, aside from the fact that I do use it to clean all sorts of things, I always keep a can of it under the kitchen sink to clean pots, pans, and casseroles.  When Bon Ami is around, you have no need for scouring pads that contain wicked degreasers and chemicals.  It won’t hurt your hands to use it without gloves, and it rinses off your skin just as easily as it rinses off of things.  Ever notice how long it takes to get the blue suds off of a casserole when you scrub it with a traditonal scouring pad?  That always freaked me out when I would try to use one.  What if there’s still some of it there when you cook with that casserole again?

The best part is that Bon Ami works fast.  You’ll find you’re more inclined to wash your cooking equipment right after you use it.  That is, you won’t have the temptation to shove your crusty pans in the dishwasher just to get them out of the way, knowing full well that when they come out of the machine you’ll just end up scrubbing them anyway. 

I’m not that into commercial food products, or so I thought until I was cleaning out my fridge and cupboard.  I use more “made” stuff than I realize, and some it brings me shame to admit and some it is just good sense.  I’d like to know if anybody else is as fond of these product as I am.

Vietnamese Chili Garlic Sauce-what would I do without it?  This stuff is the best.  It brings savory heat wherever you want, plus it’s good on sandwiches and eggs.  I use it just about anywhere you might use Tabasco.  And it makes a righteous base for wing sauce.

Saltines-you want crunchy chicken?  Just roll it around in finely crushed crackers after the egg wash, and I guaranteed your bread crumb can will empty much more slowly. (Yes, I admit to using canned bread crumbs, but just sometimes.)

Hellman’s Mayonnaise-oh, this is the best commercial mayo out there!  Don’t leave home without it.  I use for a LOT of things mayo is not traditionally used for.  It makes the bread of a grilled cheese crunchy and light, did you know?

Tubes of fresh herb paste-nothing like them if you need a tablespoon of lemongrass, marjoram, et al, the herbs you don’t usually buy fresh because they will just languish slimily in your fridge before you end up throwing them out.  Wasabi in a tube rocks, too.

No-boil lasagna noodles-I ADORE these things simply because you don’t have to deal with the inevitable sticking and tearing that comes with cooking regular lasagna noodles.  Perfect every time.

Heinz Ketchup-of course there’s nothing wrong with having ketchup in the fridge, who doesn’t?  But I use it for lots of things, though.  A teeny squirt of ketchup in a pan sauce brings an unnameable but satisfying, binding sweetness to it.  It doesn’t work for any sauce at all, just some.  Use your judgment.  Maple syrup can do the same thing, keep the good stuff around, not Aunt Jemima.

I’m sure I’ll think of more of my favorite things.  Stay posted.

I was washing up my one and only piece of Le Creuset cookware this morning, briefly thinking I should get more of it, when I realized that aside from cooking a holiday meal, one piece is all I really need. The piece I have is a two-handled deep casserole with a lid, and I use is it as a frying pan, baking dish, braising pan…and probably other ways that I’ve forgotten. It was given to us as a wedding gift over three years ago, and I absolutely love this thing.  If I had a true need for more of it, I probably would have gone out and splurged on some a while ago.

If you spend any significant amount of time cooking at home and you’re on a budget, and you don’t own any cast-iron cookware, you really need to get some.  I submit to you that if you’re thinking buying one of those cheap-o sets of pots and pans, please reconsider your needs and think about buying one or two pieces of really high-quality stuff, like Le Creuset.  It combines the excellent heat distribution and heat retention of cast-iron with an easy-to-care-for enamel coating. Plus, they’re beautiful to behold, coming in many colors. There’s no need to “season” it like plain cast-iron, you can scrub it with soap, and you can let it air dry.

Also, keep your eyes peeled for open stock sales of high-quality pans like All-Clad, Farberware, or Calphalon.  With a piece of Le Creuset, and a piece or two of heavy stainless steel or copper, you’ll be set.  Now if you like to puff yourself up, and display a whole matched set of cookware of which eighty-percent will simply gather dust, my way of thinking won’t help you.   But if you want the helping hand that really good cookware brings without breaking the bank, two or three well chosen pieces should do the job.