The Vegan Thread

We live in the sticks and our nearest town has a run down greengrocer and a co op. Neither carry great veg etc and often veg from Tesco are short dated and not in great condition So we tend to get two food deliveries a week - Riverford organic veg and meal boxes and a Tesco order for household essentials and cupboard ingredients.

I’d also rather avoid having to drive somewhere to get food when it means I am another car on the road. Hence why I am keen to discover a few more cupboard meals and also to focus a little more on the veg garden to have some seasonal fresh things to add to cupboard ingredients.

Anything with 8 different ingredients does not count as CBA cookery. Maggi noodles is CBA cookery.

It does when your day job is cheffing, haha.

That actually sounds banging.

I like this a lot. The kind of thing you can put together while the pasta cooks.

Italian nonnas be spinning in their graves but I don’t care.

I find nutritional yeast a good Parmesan sub

Only one of my kids will eat yeast flakes so it's just easier to leave out anything cheesey and let people sprinkle on what they like.

My toddler has started eating yeast on its own if allowed. He’s obsessed

Yep, it's the youngest who loves it. I have to ration it.

Went to Brunchies in camberwell this morning. Omni diner but a decent sized vegan breakfast available, nice outdoor area at the back off the street (for when the weather's nice) and prices aren't crazy. Lots of space inside and well lit, big windows etc. would recommend it. So much nicer than trying to cobble together a vegan brekky say at love walk - stopped going years ago it was always so sad and disappointing. Nice option if you're in the area :)

Another thing that’s nice is scrambled tofu on toast. I put a block of tofu in a bow and mix it with smoked paprika, turmeric, yeast flakes, tahini, chilli flakes, salt, white pepper and then fry it off with some oil. Can add a splash of oat milk if you want it a bit wetter (I guess like creamy/buttery scrambled eggs if that’s your vibe).

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Also, I’ve been trying to make the perfect oat bars for cycling; I want them chewy and moist and to hold their shape in a jersey pocket. It’s become an obsession.

These are apricot and almond with brown rice syrup, coconut and a ‘white chocolate’ topping made from cashews and coconut milk powder.

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I tend to make the Katie Kookabura ones with grated carrot. I've found they taste better when I don't overcook them too

https://youtu.be/8mjv-_HfgZI

Recipe please!

I'm on a mission to perfect 'prudge', or protein fudge for the non-idiots like me who are obsessed with abbreviating everything. So far, cacao and peanut butter development is working well but doesn't travel far in heat or last long once made (we are a greedy lot though). I'd love the recipe for your bars too Hollow!

I've not done scramble in ages, I like it part tofu, part gram flour scramble, Kala namak salt for eggyness.

That sounds awesome, will try it out!

I’ll post my recipe later as I’m out cycling (and eating the bars funnily enough) and I can’t remember it off the top of my head.

Mine is a bit kinda made up like most of the stuff I cook, but essentially do what you were doing for just tofu then borrow a gram flour scramble recipe from online and whack that in the pan and carry on scrambling. Ends up being better than either texture by itself in my opinion.

Another tip for scrambled tofu is to use half firm and half silken. Gets it just on the right side of sloppy (i.e. nearly, but not)

Recipe please! Sounds great.

Another call for the recipe… look and sound great!

What’s the common vegan stance on emulsifier e471? This is a basic malted flour loaf made at a local bakery, and whilst not labelled as vegan, has no obvious animal ingredients listed. But what about the last item, e471? Is this animal derived? I’ve eaten this a few times these last few months; have I been unwittingly consuming animal products?
I realise veganism is a spectrum, but I don’t want to be a hypocrite.

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A quick google throws up:

E471 is mainly produced from vegetable oils (such as soybean), although animal fats are sometimes used and cannot be completely excluded as being present in the product. The fatty acids from each source are chemically identical.

Which I would guess is pretty individual as to whether you are ok with that. It's not something I had known about before tbh.

Personally I'd avoid it but that is because I am a strong believer that bread should be bread and anything over and above flour, salt, water and yeast is unnecessary.... Bread thread >>>>

Ok, maybe I can rest my mind a bit…

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