Vegan Recipes and Plant Based Cooking

Something extraordinary happened to me the other night. I was dicking around on google and did a search for vegan food and I actually found a nearby restaurant with a full vegetarian and vegan menu to accompany their regular one. It's called Via Roma. It's in Toms River. It's a town or 2 away from me, but not that far. It's an Italian restaurant and they are very big on the daiya cheese. I've heard a lot about this vegan cheese, but have never actually eaten it. I do wonder if it's as great as has been implied. They had such a huge array of vegan dishes on their menu it was overwhelming. I'm used to having only 1 or 0 choices at any given eatery. They even have vegan desserts. That's unheard of!!! What thrilled me the most was their burgers. I love veggie burgers, provided they are vegan veggie burgers. It can be quite frustrating. Veggie burgers are quite common and prevalent, but they almost always contain eggs. And that just won't do. Even w...

I got this new spice blend at amazon. It's McCormick Bajou Cajun seasoning. It tastes great on just about everything. I'm not kidding. I sprinkle it on food every chance I get. No lie. I used it to make some dirty lentils and barley the other day. So much simpler than trying to mix tons of different individual spices. I cook the lentils and barley in vegetable stock and a teaspoon or two of soy sauce and add 2 teaspoons of the spice mix. I like to have mustard green in the mix. So I add them in too. I like to use about 1/3 each of lentils and barley. That makes a really good sized batch. When all the stock is gone I simply finish the cooking process with water. When the lentils and barley and greens have cooked for about 20 minutes and are tender I add some chopped bell pepper, minced garlic and jalapeno if I have it. And more of the spice mix and a teaspon of olive oil. Cook it just a minute or two more to slightly soften the veg and bring their flavors into the mix. ...

I now dream in vegan. It sounds strange, but it's true. I had this whole big dream about a search for a restaurant selling portobello burgers. I wanted one really bad. It was this whole big to do. A long and arduous search for someplace that would make me a proper portobello burger. With the right toppings and in a whole wheat wrap. Which I guess techinically isn't a burger, so much as it is a sandwich. But let's not quibble over the details. In my dream it was referred to quite often as a burger. I think it makes it sound tastier. In the dream I also wanted some vegan onion rings. Which are impossible to find unless you make them yourself. I guess that's why it's called dreaming. So in the dream I finally found a place that have the mushroom burgers and would also let me teach them how to make vegan onion rings and vegan black bean burgers too. We coated our onions in beer and flour and then deep fried. I dunno if that would work in real life. But it was good in ...

Want to cook your potatoes fast? Want to cook your potatoes so they taste great? It's simple really. You'll need some knife skills, but that's all it takes. The trick is to cut your potatoes into a small dice. About 1/4 inch cubes. That's all there is to it. For the purpose of this recipe we'll use half a five pound bag of russets. Roughly 3 large and 2 mediums. Heat a really large frying pan with about 1 teaspoon of olive oil. When the oil is hot add half your diced potatoes and salt generously. Don't fill the pan up. It's better to work in two batches so the potatoes can cook evenly. Stir to coat them in the oil and then cover and let steam on medium heat for 2-4 minutes. Keep an eye and an ear on them. But avoid the temptation to over stir. The lid on the pan will keep the moisture in and you shouldn't have a problem with burning so long as the flame is not too high. Stir after several minutes and recover and let cook 2 minutes more. Remove ...

Are you familiar with the dominos 2 two topping medium pizzas for $5.99 each deal? Are you also aware that if you select no cheese that an additional topping is free of charge? I had no idea at all. It wasn't until I was playing around with the gluten free pizza online and swapping out toppings that I found out the secret. It would've been nice if their site has indicated that I was entitlted to an additional topping on my pizza because I'd opted out of the cheese. This applies to regular pizza orders as well, not just the $5.99 deal. It certainly makes sense, they are saving all that cheese afterall. Just would've been nice had they been more forthcoming about it. I never would've known if I hadn't been messing about with topping combinations. I discovered it purely by accident. Dear folks at dominos, that's the sort of thing you ought to pipe up about... it makes you look good. In case you're wondering, only the crispy thin crust and gluten free crusts...

I've previously praised their chick peas curry. Now I feel I must praise their kidney beans curry as well. What I love most about this brand is their simple ingredients. Unlike western and American concoctions, they have authentic, short and pronounceable components in their food. They are, I believe, all vegetarian, though some refer to usage with chicken and several are vegan. I'm a big garbanzo bean fan so I was really drawn to their chick peas curry packet. The sauce and the potatoes make for a mild curry with a hearty feel. I didn't think I'd like the kidney beans curry version, but boy was I wrong. I love this one way more. I'm not even a fan of kidney beans. But the sauce that comes with this one is so spicy and curried and tomatoey that it made me into a kidney bean lover. Now I'll be the first to gripe that it's expensive, but taste wise I feel it to be 100% worth it. It's just that good. I wish I could make a homemade dish that is. I ca...