Still Eating Leftovers

I’m still eating leftovers, so no food today. However, there is some housecleaning (as people would say) to do, so let me get on with that.

First, I received quite a surprise on my shopping trip earlier this week. Not only did I find the new So Delicious Coffee Creamer (website not yet updated to show product), but right next to it was sitting MimicCreme in the 16 oz size they have for coffee creamer use. After having it in my coffee for the last two days I can tell you that any hype you have heard is all true and you should run out and buy some immediately. I have even added some agave nectar and cocoa to some to make a chocolate creamer (I like chocolate in my coffee). And ironically the only reason they are now stocking MimicCreme is because this store no longer sells Silk soy milk products, due to their decision to stop using both local and organic soybeans (but not reflect the change on their boxes), so these creamers are their replacement.

Second, I have plans to start making my own peanut tofu. Unfortunately, I have only fnd one store (of the three that I frequent on an as needed basis) that carries raw peanuts. And none of the stores around here seem to carry granulated peanuts or peanut pieces (like what is needed to make Celine’s Peanut Milk). So I may have to look at using salted peanuts that I rinse thoroughly with water before using; however, I am not sure that is a great idea and would only be a fall back solution. I also plan on ordering a tofu kit sometime in the next week and am looking for directions on making silken tofu as well. With tofu, I can live without tempeh.

Thirdly, I am still drinking kefir, but do plan to stop my experiment. Currently I am using a starter (that is not vegan, but vegetarian) and have realized that I really do not have the space in my tiny kitchen nor the desire to have to drink this every day. I am not saying kefir is hard, just that it doesn’t work for me and my needs. Lately I have realized that this is something that I will have to drink for the rest of my life to occasionally eat soy products and that really doesn’t make sense to me. With the peanut tofu now, the only product I would want would be tempeh, and then only on occasion. Also the only other time I would eat a soy vegan product is at a restaurant. It just does not make sense to devote time and space to something; that though helpful, is a daily commitment. I am now looking at the possibilities of what I can use for occasional eating of soy products. More to follow on this. However, for those of you that are soy allergic I do suggest that you look into this and it may be a great help for you.

Fourthly (and last), starting next week is VeganMoFo 2009, which is a food blogging event that Isa at PPK Forums has put on for the last few years. I just missed last year and will be participating this time. The goal is to blog regularly in the month of October and show the world how good vegan food can be. I intend on showing that even those of us with food intolerances can still eat very healthy and wonderful vegan food. If you are not part of the PPK forums you can still participate by getting in touch with kittee and have your blog added to the list. Or you can just read and enjoy. And I hope you don’t mind leftovers, because you will see them here on a regular basis next month.

Thai Tossed Salad

I have been looking for different salads in all of my books and this has been one that sounded interesting, to say the least. Since I have never been to a Thai restaurant, I can’t say if this is authentic or close to what they serve; but it does have the flavors of Thailand.

This is another recipe from Vegan Express, actually two recipes; since the dressing is also from the book. The salad is really easy; just some broccoli, red bell pepper, cucumber and roma tomato. The recipe also calls for sliced mushrooms and some sprouts, but because I’m not fond of either of those, I just left them out. It is also supposed to have some pineapple as well, but for some reason I totally forgot to put that in until after I ate. The pineapple, though, would have added a definite sweetness that would have been quite nice.

And the recipe is quite easy. Just prep the veggies, toss together, place on top of lettuce and pour on the dressing. The dressing is the Coconut Peanut Sauce or Dressing, from the same book. And that is easy also. It just has jarred Satay Sauce, agave nectar, coconut milk, and some curry paste. It is quite easy to put together and tastes quite good. And it doesn’t thicken in the refrigerator. Wonder how it would work as a dressing on a rice or pasta salad?

And just to round out the meal, I had some Burmese Tofu that was simply baked in the toaster oven. It was very good with the Coconut Peanut Sauce or Dressing on it.

Broccoli Slaw with Craisins and Ginger

I’m using another recipe from PDQ Vegetarian tonight. This time it is a salad based on broccoli slaw that has raisins and candied ginger added to it. Or it is supposed to be raisins; I didn’t have any, so they got replaced with craisins instead. Don’t think it hurt the salad though. The dressing is just vegan mayo, rice wine vinegar and powdered ginger. And just in case you think that the ginger will overwhelm the salad, it is a nice accent, but not an overwhelming flavor. The ginger was also nice with the Dijon Beets (that I earlier wrote about here) and my favorite veggie burger. All in all it was a simple dinner for the end of summer.

Kefir Update and Curried Asian Vegetables

First off, time for the kefir update. Today was my last day of the second quart of the So Delicious Coconut Milk Kefir. I started drinking four ounces per day at the end of last week, without any problems. And since today was the last day, that meant it was time for my test. As part of lunch today, I had a single serving of Silk Live yogurt. This was around noon. As of right now (6:45) I feel fine and have no nausea; which was my major symptom of soy intolerance. Does this mean the kefir helped? Not sure, but it is interesting. And it does mean that I will continue this experiment. Now I just need to make my own kefir. So next on the things to do is to buy some of the starter from a store and also look into getting some of the grains as well. After drinking this for a month, I should see if I can eat tempeh. That would be a real challenge to see how well I tolerate soy.

For those you who want to try this, please heed this warning. I am not here to give medical advice and have no medical training. If you are soy intolerant or even soy allergic, this will be an attempt at your own risk. If you still want to try this experiment at home, please follow the suggestions below.

1. Start slowly. Only drink an ounce or two for the first few weeks. After that you can increase the amount taken daily, but do not attempt any soy until you have had at least two quarts of kefir.
   


2. After having two quarts of kefir, I would suggest that your first soy food be yogurt; simply because it also has probiotics in it and is the soy protein least likely to bother you in the first place. If you are soy allergic, please make sure you at this point, you have your auto injector or some Benadryl around, in case you have a reaction. Also do not do this alone and do it in your doctor’s office, if you can get them to come on board with this experiment.
   


3. If the yogurt goes well, and you are drinking from 4-8 ounces of kefir a day; I would not try tempeh or tofu till you are have gone through at least another two quarts.



4. This is not a cure all and results may differ. It will not work the same in everyone. You will not be able to eat all the soy protein you would like to do so. But it will allow you to eat tofu or tempeh when you have no other options and for those who are allergic, it may allow you to handle soy lechitan or soy sauce again. And that should make your lives much easier.

And now onto dinner. I wasn’t sure if I would even have dinner tonight, since I was unsure how I would be feeling. But, earlier in the day I made some of the quick Burmese Tofu developed by Vegetation (it does work with the chickpea flour as well), just in case. And in looking at my food plan for the week, Curried Asian Vegetables from PDQ Vegetarian seemed to be the simplest thing to have for dinner that would go well with the chick-fu. So it ended up being a nice, simple dinner that was not cold; since I am sick of cold salads and cold meals. The chick-fu is round, simply because that was the smallest container I had that could be used as a mold.