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In search of good home style vegan recipes

Anonymous

My DD has decided to become vegan, so I'm looking for recipes that even meat lovers love.

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32 replies

Latest reply was from

Diana

Veteran

http://www.101cookbooks.com/ar.....ecipe.html

This is amazing. Even if you think you hate tofu and/or Brussels sprouts. (I love both.). Bonus: it's very easy and quite adaptable. I usually add some chili flake for heat, and sub scallion for the cilantro (bc my husband hates cilantro.)

That website (101cookbooks) has lots of other vegan ideas too (although some recipes contain eggs or dairy).

My other go-to vegan dish is aloo gobi (Indian cauliflower+potatoes). Sometimes I also add peas. I don't use a recipe at this point but this one looks similar to what I do (I use slightly different spices but that's personal taste - you need to experiment to find what you like):
http://www.foodnetwork.com/rec.....ecipe.html

There's many other great Indian vegan dishes too, although some are quite complicated. Maybe one of our Indian members will chime in with more authentic recipes. (Ulterior motive : I totally want to learn some too!)

ETA: also tofu stir fries. It's very similar to meat stir fries in terms of technique. The trick is to use extra firm tofu and press it before you use it (like 15' under a weight -I use a can or something on top of a plate + some paper towels). Then cook the tofu in a nonstick pan w/oil until it's golden and crispy (be patient! It has to cook off its extra water first). Take tofu out, set aside, and then stir fry any veg you want (w/garlic, ginger, & chili pepper if you want) until done, add back the tofu and add sauce (the v basic stir fry sauce is just soy sauce, sugar, water, & cornstarch) & cook until the cornstarch turns clear. Serve w/rice.

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

My daughter is also vegan (after years of being vegetarian). My boyfriend doesn't eat wheat, so that makes cooking for everyone complicated! Some of the things we like are:

Spaghetti Squash cooked like a stir fry type of dish (I found a video recipe on Facebook)

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili (that recipe was on a slow cooker website)

Portobella burgers

I make a salad with strawberries and nuts and add some veggie chicken nuggets that come with a sweet Asian sauce (I can't remember the brand!)

Pumpkin or potato soup- I take them more savory with veggie broth and use vegan cream cheese

Ethnic foods seem to be the best options for us many times. They are often naturally vegetarian, flavorful, and easily modified....lentils, curries, stir fried, noodles, etc.

Sometimes I grill meat for us and veggie meat for her and serve it with potato or sweet potato or rice and a veggie.

Oh and Ikea has veggie meatballs now and you can get them frozen in the marketplace!

Sorry I can't link to things from my phone!

Alexandra

(website)

Veteran

Some of my favorites come from Eating Clean, a cookbook by Amie Valpone. You can find lots of vegan recipes on her blog: http://thehealthyapple.com/category/vegan-2/

And if you're going to make tofu, I'd recommend using the EZ Tofu Press to get the extra water out of it (much better texture and flavor-absorption). It's a great gadget. I use it at least once a week. Here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/EZ-Tofu.....007LLGMG2/

JenniferAnne

Mark Bittman has a book called "Vegan Before 6" that has a lot of good ideas and recipes. For a sample: http://www.rd.com/health/healt.....pes-vegan/

L'Abeille

Veteran

One of my daughters has gone vegan; she's the shortest of the lot, and the foodie-est and the best cook too, so that is her way of maintaining her weight while loving to eat.

Anyway, she says that Gardein brand "fish" fillets taste exactly like the real thing, because they use the seaweed that gives real fish its flavour.

Another daughter was vegetarian for quite a while, and while still living at home, too. A lot of canned/dried beans dishes. I learned to make things like curries and chili and stew with just the veggies and legumes, and for those who still want meat we could throw a chop or chicken breast on the George Forman grill (which, haha, I bought at the same time). I do a curry and a Moroccan tagine in which I use chickpeas or chicken or both, all equally tasty and filling. For me the bigger challenge is not leaving out the meat, it's leaving out the cheese!

"Oh She Glows" is a blog by a vegan who tested a bunch of recipes till perfect. I learned how to do a rubbed kale salad from her, and I learned that the secret to creamy vegan desserts and frostings is avocado. Now that she has published a cookbook, it might be harder to locate the recipes on her website, which is oddly laid out.

Staysfit

Veteran

Cookbook recommendation: Forks Over Knives. I haven't had a dud yet from any of the recipes and it's a well used cookbook from my collection.

UmmLila (Lisa)

Veteran

Daiya mac and cheese. And if she likes Indian or Egyptian flavors I have some real recipes for you. Also have a vegan kid. Not sure what kind of warm vegan shoes or sweaters she thinks she's wearing at boarding school in Massachusetts this winter.

Meredith

Veteran

I also recommend Oh She Glows. Her husband is NOT a vegan, so her recipes tend to please vegans and meat eaters alike. But I don't know that they necessarily fit the "homestyle" description. Worth a look all the same. I have her cookbook and have also made recipes from the blog.

Anonymous

Thanks, everyone. You've given me places to start.

Anonymous

Can anyone tell me how to cook MILD Indian food? We love to go to an Indian restaurant on campus, but the heat level varies. We asked for mild the last time we were there, and ordered the same dishes as before, but ended up with food that was too spicy. I'd love to cook Indian recipes at home, esp. vegan ones, but don't know how to tell if a recipe is hot or how to adjust a recipe to make it mild.

crazyone

Veteran

BC: some guidelines--leave out green chillies altogether or leave them in whole if you want some heat. The way to make something very spicy is to add chopped green chillies to the oil at the beginning--the capsaicin gets released into the oil which then flavors the entire dish. You want to avoid that. Some mild heat is good for balancing of flavor--I would suggest using some cayenne pepper or what is termed as "chilli powder" in Indian English (add to your taste) rather than fresh green chillies (which are harder to control in terms of spiciness). Dried red chillies are also an option, less spicy than green. And of course, never eat the chillies, especially if they are whole!

If you are cooking restaurant-style North Indian food, try making a paste or powder of cashew nuts to add creaminess to dishes. This will also dial down the heat, but when you cook at home using the tips I suggested you shouldn't have a problem with it. I personally think spinach or "palak" dishes really need the heat to balance the somewhat bland spinach, but many other vegetables really don't need it at all.

This is a vegan blog run by an Indian woman who has a number of good recipes.

http://www.veganricha.com/cate.....an-recipes

I am vegetarian, not vegan, but my family is South Indian and South Indian vegetarian food is almost entirely vegan except for yogurt/buttermilk dishes and some desserts.

Anonymous

Thanks! I have seen this woman's website, and her recipes look great. I just want to make sure I don't overheat the family, lol. I know how to tame the heat for Mexican and New Mexican recipes, so what you're saying sounds similar. I just don't know much about the various types of curry, etc. and need some reassurance. I personally like spinach just like it is; no need to add heat to it at all.

crazyone

Veteran

BC: just to clarify, I like spinach on its own too, but I find that the palak paneer type preparations (or palak tofu for the vegan version) need a bit more heat than other dishes to balance out the blandness of the blended spinach.

Kenji Lopez-Alt of Serious Eats has a pretty good facsimile of Channa Masala with some not-too-hard to find ingredients: http://www.seriouseats.com/rec.....ecipe.html

He also does a monthly "Vegan experience" every year:

http://www.seriouseats.com/tag.....experience

L'Abeille

Veteran

I get you, BC. DH loves his curries hotter than hot whereas I have very timid taste buds. Here's what I have learned:

Yogurt is the magic ingredient for putting out the fire, much like sour cream with chili. I put a bowl on the table for people to add as needed, and request it in restaurants. You can get a similar effect from sliced bananas, shredded coconut, or coconut cream /milk. I put out several plus raisins, peanuts, diced cucumber and tomatoes, and the kids would customize their plates like make-your-own sundaes, and gradually got used to more heat.

What really won me over though was when I learned about the "fragrant curry" as opposed to the "hot curry". I start with about a tablespoon of the yellow "curry powder" plus turmeric, with the onions. Then with the veggies and liquid I add the fragrant spices: cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, bay leaf. Cumin, coriander and mustard seeds are also not hot. The heat comes from peppercorns, hot peppers and ginger, so go easy with those at first. Hotheads can sprinkle chili flakes on their plates.

Not authentic (closer to a South African Malay style curry though) but can ease a family into the harder stuff. Just start with what you have.

Anonymous

Well we can't do yogurt due to my DD's need to be vegan. We are used to a bit of turmeric. I use it in my homemade yellow rice. I can only take cumin in small doses, though. We always used cheese to squelch the heat of Mexican dishes, but my DH and I have built up a tolerance for medium heat in those recipes, and we lived in a place where we are authentic Mexican cuisine, which is not at all like the "Mexican" restaurants they have here in the South. We're kind of new to Indian cuisine, so I very much appreciate the tips!

elpgal

Veteran

Ummlila, I would love some links to vegan Egyptian recipes especially lentil based.

Anonymous

I ordered a couple of vegan cookbooks and found some good-looking websites: Oh She Glows, VB6 & FOK. The Indian recipes really capture my interest, but there are other websites that also look great.

rachylou

Veteran

Oh, I have to add this one: http://minimalistbaker.com/5-i.....nch-toast/

I've seen it done with coconut milk too. I'm not vegan, but I have to admit the messiness of eggs often prevents me from doing various things. So I like this recipe. It's all in my head I'm sure, about the eggs, but I feel eggs are very messy.

Mauvish

BC:
I agree with gradfashionista abour using powdered cayenne pepper or as i call it Red Chilli powder.
I would also be very very aware of various brands of spices you buy or use. if you like nay specific brand keep the original packing.

for salt and red pepper, my mom told me ALWAYS ALWAYS add less than what recipe asked for and taste tests need to be done at various points of cooking. Because more can always be added but if its too hot, no spice can be taken out ( yes, it can be toned down with coconut milk yogurt or any other non dairy yogurt )

Indian cuisine is NOT uniform and it has SO MUCH variety. even with various meats too. Mainly they are divided into North Indian Cuisine and South Indian but within two major categories they are further divided by region, and every region adds something little different to its food.

you are more than welcome to PM be about any specific dishes/recipes.

Anonymous

Thanks!

Mauvish

I have no idea why i mentioned gradfashionista, i meant to refer crazyone's reply.

Anonymous

Good news! We made a vegan tofu spinach lasagna recipe that turned out really great. My DH never knew, and I didn't tell him, about the tofu. The tofu was used to make the "Parmesan cheese," but was mixed with quite a bit of spinach, so it was not detected. It was filling, too. Definitely a keeper!

Alexandra

(website)

Veteran

It sounds delicious. Can you link the recipe, please?

Anonymous

I found this great recipe using the Yummly app: Vegan Tofu Spinach Lasagna http://www.yummly.com/recipe/V.....gna-895309. Download the free Yummly App - https://cp7hr.app.goo.gl/QXTh

We made the recipe with Barilla No Boil lasagna noodles, so it came together fast.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

We have a vegan in the family also (and a vegetarian, and someone who needs to be kosher -- fortunately not all living with us at once but sometimes visiting all at once).

We've found some great recipes in this book: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/.....1100046085

I make the lentil soup all the time.

We also like Mark Bittman's vegetarian book -- most recipes can be adapted to vegan if they are not. Another great vegetarian book is an older one by Madhur Jaffrey: https://www.amazon.com/Madhur-.....bc?ie=UTF8

I just love this book. We belong to a community -supported agriculture co-op and sometimes get large amounts of "difficult" veggies like turnip or cabbage -- stuff that people usually only like in limited amounts. Well, I turn to her every time for interesting and new preparations and she never fails me.

Anonymous

Thanks, Suz! I have another DD who no longer lives at home; she has gluten intolerance and eats mostly vegan (at least the last time I checked). My other two DDs will eat just about anything, and a SIL who doesn't eat red meat. We are very fortunate that our diet is already healthy. I only have to make small tweaks to satisfy everyone. I personally prefer a mostly vegan diet for health reasons. I hope to reduce inflammation in my body.

Alexandra

(website)

Veteran

Thank you, BC. I'm downloading the app as I type.

Anonymous

Did you find it, Alexandra?

Alexandra

(website)

Veteran

Yes, and as soon as I have the kitchen up and running (we're in the process of moving halfway across the country), I'll be making it. Along with several other recipes I yumm'd. Thank you for sharing!

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