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A tip for people who hate having to cook after work.

On Sunday evening cook up and prepare a whole load of veg (e.g. steaming broccoli, roasting sweet potatoes, grating carrots, spiralising some cucumber, pan frying some tofu etc). Then when you get home from work cook some grain (rice, noodles, quinoa etc.) pile the veg over it and then top some raw veg (e.g. avocado, tomatoes) and a dressing of your choice. Such a good way to get in a quick, healthy, tasty meal after a day at work!

B5FF8554-09D2-4352-9142-E6CBC5B3ED6D.jpeg

(damn, didn't think the image would be that big!)
 
Today's homemade recipe is tomato and bean pâté. Drain a can of butter beans and put them in the blender (cannellini beans will do as an alternative). Add half or two thirds of a jar of sun dried tomatoes to the blender but don't use all the oil. Blend away, adding a bit of spare oil if needed then decant the wodge of pâté into a convenient dish. Can be a bit lumpy but that's no great hardship.

EDIT: Some ground black pepper wouldn't go amiss either.
 
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Did more Sunday meal prep yesterday. This time packed lunches.

lunch.jpg

Roasted some sweet potato, steamed some broccoli, cooked some rice, seared then baked mushrooms and tofu and added some kale, mixed seeds and black beans. Also made a dressing with tahini, maple syrup, ginger, soy sauce and water to add to the lunch after microwaved.

Got the idea from here:
 
I made that pulled jackfruit about 2yrs ago and it was awful. Or at least it was incredibly mediocre. I was going through a phase of trying to find substitutes rather than just changing out altogether. It was a very dispiriting time. I still fall for it on occasion, for instance with some veggie mince from Farm Foods. I cooked it yesterday in a bolognese style and had to convert it to a chilli to make it palatable. The Farm Foods stuff is good otherwise. The 'meatballs' and sausages are half decent at least.

Nothing beats the disappointment of vegan cheese though.
 
Infidel Castro said:
I made that pulled jackfruit about 2yrs ago and it was awful. Or at least it was incredibly mediocre. I was going through a phase of trying to find substitutes rather than just changing out altogether. It was a very dispiriting time. I still fall for it on occasion, for instance with some veggie mince from Farm Foods. I cooked it yesterday in a bolognese style and had to convert it to a chilli to make it palatable. The Farm Foods stuff is good otherwise. The 'meatballs' and sausages are half decent at least.

Nothing beats the disappointment of vegan cheese though.
Click to expand...

I tried to make it too a few years back and mine wasn't great either. The Sainsbury's one is good though - I had it in a tortilla with black beans, guacamole and rice and it was yummy. Linda Mccartney mince also v good imo.
 
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Jeff Robinson said:
Did more Sunday meal prep yesterday. This time packed lunches.

View attachment 128528

Roasted some sweet potato, steamed some broccoli, cooked some rice, seared then baked mushrooms and tofu and added some kale, mixed seeds and black beans. Also made a dressing with tahini, maple syrup, ginger, soy sauce and water to add to the lunch after microwaved.
Click to expand...

Miss-Shelf said:
Just made mac and (cashew sauce) cheese yum Vegan Green Chili Mac n Cheese | Minimalist Baker Recipes
Click to expand...

I want to eat both of these right now.
 
lazythursday said:
Tofu - this is my all time best recipe -

1) Take the tofu out of the package, wrap it in a tea towel or something and put a plate on top, then a few cans of beans on top of the plate. Press it like that for an hour or so.
2) Make marinade - about 50ml soy sauce, 50 ml water, 2 tablespoon maple syrup / agave, 1 tablespoon balsamic, 1 tablespoon tomato puree, 1 tablespoon liquid smoke (or half teaspoon smoked paprika) 1 tablespoon oil, couple of cloves of garlic, chopped.
3) Chop tofu into about 10-12 planks, cover with marinade, put in fridge for at least a couple of hours.
4) Bake at about 200 degrees for 30-40 mins, turning every 15 mins, pouring marinade over each time.

Now you can use it a variety of ways. Chop into smaller chunks for stir fry etc or leave in planks for sandwich fillings. Great hot or cold. I find it hard not to just gobble the lot.
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Thanks for this, I made some today and it is indeed very nice. The first genuinely enjoyable tofu experience I've had.
 
May Kasahara said:
Thanks for this, I made some today and it is indeed very nice. The first genuinely enjoyable tofu experience I've had.
Click to expand...
Really glad you enjoyed it, I love it, I just wish it didn't take so many steps to make. Also from that basic recipe it's pretty easy to come up with new marinades - eg another one I like swaps the tomato puree for ginger, the balsamic for lemon juice and the liquid smoke for sesame oil.

What annoys me is that if you can make something so delicious from tofu at home why are the ready marinaded ones you buy in shops so bloody horrible?
 
May Kasahara said:
Thanks for this, I made some today and it is indeed very nice. The first genuinely enjoyable tofu experience I've had.
Click to expand...

I'm going to have to try baking it. Got some of the pre-marinaded stuff, plus the pre-fried stuff for stir frying...
 
Jeff Robinson said:
I tried to make it too a few years back and mine wasn't great either. The Sainsbury's one is good though - I had it in a tortilla with black beans, guacamole and rice and it was yummy. Linda Mccartney mince also v good imo.
Click to expand...

I've made it a few times and it was good. Even impressed a few dedicated meat-eaters with it. The trick for texture is to bake it in the oven for a bit at the end. I bought some from a stall at the Vegan Festival last year though and it was pretty poor... soft and soggy.
Taste wise it's all about the sauce. I made my own which (without wanting to sound conceited) was why it tasted so good :D

What do people recommend as a butter replacement? Something that tastes 'buttery'. For cooking and for pastry. I did some research on the net around xmas and vitalite seemed to be the best option for pastry... but it tastes like coconut, and I was not impressed
 
Noticed two vegan food places in the Northern Quarter today as I walked past - one was empty but the other full. Not sure if moose goes to any of them in the NQ.
 
mr steev said:
What do people recommend as a butter replacement? Something that tastes 'buttery'. For cooking and for pastry. I did some research on the net around xmas and vitalite seemed to be the best option for pastry... but it tastes like coconut, and I was not impressed
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I can’t talk about pastry, but for some things where you might use butter I use coconut oil.

It doesn’t taste of coconut. But it’s not like butter either, it’s very neutral.


Edit: a quick Google suggests it’s good for lots of baking recipes
 
8ball said:
I can’t talk about pastry, but for some things where you might use butter I use coconut oil.

It doesn’t taste of coconut. But it’s not like butter either, it’s very neutral.


Edit: a quick Google suggests it’s good for lots of baking recipes
Click to expand...

I use coconut oil as a butter replacement in things like tarka dal and it works well but, from experience, you can taste the coconut in pastry. I'm after something that has a buttery taste. I'm aiming to make a vegan rough puff pastry that can stand up to one made with butter. Trex is ok, but doesn't have the buttery-ness
 
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