Using up lacto ovo vegetarian food.

I was suppose 2 upload this post last week but I was so caught up with school, work and everything else. I had a huge midterm this week so I haven't really made anything at all but I've been trying to finish all my lacto ovo vegetarian food. I've finished a majority of them with the exception of the cream cheese, butter, chocolate chip, chocolate candy, graham cracker, condensed milk and bread crumb and morning star. Oh dear god never finish my choco candy! Too much!


Dragon Fruit

I bought some from the market the day before yesterday. It was only 3.29 /lb in comparison to the usual of 6.99/lb. I just bought two and it was almost two lb. Crazy! I haven't eaten these in a while. The one I purchased was the one with the white flesh, not the one with the red/pink flesh. The one with the white flesh are mild in taste and it is not very sweet. In fact you can say it's lacking. Both the white flesh and the pink/red flesh one contains seeds that looks similar to black sesame seed. It's quite obvious there are a lot of different species of dragon fruits. There are at least 5 different species for the dragon fruit with the red/pink and the white flesh one. There is one special species where the dragon fruit is golden yellow!! I think I'll make some dragon fruit agar agar jelly from one of the thai food blogs. Hm...These dragon fruits remind me of the exotic fruit mangosteen. I miss those. I had them when I was in China. They don't sell them here. T.T If they were too, it probably cost so much.


Choco Coffee TeaBread
Anyways I've tried using up all my sour cream by making these sour cream cookies but I modified it so that it taste like chocolate and coffee and contains no eggs but it ended up like cake/bread! where's' the chewy or the crispiness?! It goes well with tea though. Dip dip :3




Baklava

Made some baklava from PamelaCooks! The agave has finally came and the phyllo dough was also waiting for me in the freezer. I think we overcooked it because the phyllo dough wouldn't golden. There was also a proud with our measurement of the nutmeg and the allspice. We added tooo much. There was a huge nutmeg/allspice flavor. It was a bit too flakey too because the syrup cooled down by the time the baklava came out of the oven. All problems on my b/f and my behalf. Other than that, the bakalava tasted awesome. I think Ill make it again!

My mom grew a lot of cucumbers in the yard and my granny gave us a lot of her home grown cucumbers as well so we need to eat some. I also need to rid myself of the sour cream, cream cheese and my wilting scallions. I've lost the sheet of paper to the ingredients I've used so I dont have the weight of each other either. Sorry.

Cucumber Sandwich (Lacto Vegetarian)

Recipe Serves 2 or 1 hungry person/279.5 cal/serving

1/2 Large Cumber, Sliced
2 oz Cream Cheese =*
2 Tbsp Sour Cream*
1/3 Scallion, Finely Chopped
2 Small Stalk of Celery, Finely Chopped (A stalk from the middle/inner bunch of celery. It's about 4 in long.)
1 1/2 Tbsp/1 Freshly squeezed Lime Juice
4 Slices of bread
Salt & Pepper to taste

• Combine the cream cheese and sour cream together.
  
• Pour the lime juice and mix well
• Then stir in the scallion and celery
• Season the spread with salt and pepper.
  
• Spread the cream cheese mixture onto one side of both the bread.
  
• Placed the sliced cucumbers on top of the cream cheese mixture of one slice of the bread and place the other slice on top of the cucumbers.
  

If you have left over cucumbers you can just eat it as it is. Hm...
* You can use vegan version of these. You can use tofutti brand cream cheese and sour cream.

Black Bean Patties


I have had these tucked away in my freezer for months. I've used a recipe from vegweb.com It tasted delicious with dijon mustard and sweet relish. I have had so many sandwiches this past week that I'm so sick and tired of it.

Spinach Pasta


I was quite proud of this recipe since I didn't modify or use a recipe :3 Yay but apparently I forgot how much of each ingredients I placed in it. Lost the paper where I wrote everything.

Homemade Soy Yogurt

Soy Milk (Vegan)

Hmm....cultured soy milk hahah. It can't really be called soy yogurt since, by definition yogurt is made with cows milk. I don't care SOY YOGURT SOY YOGURT. We say vegetarian hot dog why not soy yogurt. Hm... Soy yogurt is very different from dairy yogurt. Soy yogurt is more diluted and the taste is very different. Even if the soy yogurt is plain, it doesn't taste sour like plain dairy yogurt, it taste sweet. Maybe that's just me.

Recipe Yields about 2 cup 175.5 Cal/Cup

2 Cup Soy Milk (I used unsweetened Silk soy milk)
1/4 Cup Plain Soy Yogurt with Active Culture like WholeSoy & Co
1/2 - 1 Tbsp Cornstarch* (If you want it to be much thicker use 1 Tbsp, 1/2 Tbsp should be fine)

• Put 1 3/4 cup soy milk into a pot and heat it up on med-high heat until it starts simmering.
• While the soy milk is heating up, dissolve the cornstarch into the 1/4 cup reserved soy milk to create a rue. (Don't sprinkle cornstarch into the hot soy milk or else you'll get clumpy bits in your soy yogurt!)
• Pour the rue into your simmer milk and mix it in and stir until the soy milk mixture is slightly thickened.
• Let it cool until it is 110 F. This is crucial because if you mix the soy yogurt into the hot soy milk mixture, the bacteria will die!!
• Mix in the soy yogurt and pour into a container.
  
• Place it in the oven at 100F for 8 hours or into a dehydrator for about 5-8 hours. I have a ronco dehydrator, I just placed it in a skinny long container and placed it into the middle of the dehydrator for about 6 hours.
  

You can experiment by putting some sugar, fruits, spices, grains etc. Have fun!

*The amount of cornstarch was edited changing from 2 tbsp to 1/2 tbsp to 1 tbsp. edited: 12/21.07

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I just found the yogurt way too thin and it wasn't as sour as I hoped it would be, so here's the new recipe.

2 Cup of Unsweetened Soy Milk (You can use sweetened soy milk just omit the sugar)
1 Tbsp Sugar [ The sugar feeds the backeria]
1/3 Cup Soy Yogurt 1/2 for a more tangy taste
2 Tbsp of Cornstarch

• Pour 1 3/4 cup soy milk into a saucepan and pour the sugar into it. Let it simmer on low-medium heat.
  
• Mix the 1/4 cup soy milk with the corn starch until they are dissolve.
  
• When the mixture is simmering mix the soy milk and pour in the cornstarch mixture.
  
• Stir it until it thickens.
• Remove from heat and let it cool until the temperature of the soy milk mixture is 100-120F. If you don't have a thermometer room temperature will do but ideally the best temperature for the yogurt bacteria is 100-120 F.
  
• Mix in the yogurt until combine.
• Put it in a container and place it in a dehydrator for about 7 hours. Just make sure that the dehydrator does not get too hot. [ If you don't have a dehydrator just preheat your oven to the lowest setting and place the container of yogurt into the oven and leave a crack open.
  

Slow week

Yes it has been a slow week. It's the second week of summer school. Calculus/intergals is hard work. After classes I go straight to work and on the days I have off, I spend all my time with my b/f. Not a lot of time for cooking. I've been just microwaving morningstar veggie bites for dinner and what not. I still have a lot of lacto octo vegetarian food...

I got this recipe off of recipezaar I still need to get rid of my vegetarian items.



Avocado Pie (Lacto Vegetarian)

8 in" pie/Serves 8 Slices - 282 cal/serving

Filling
1 /173g Avocado
1 14 oz/397g Condensed Milk, Canned
1/3 Cup/79 mL Lime Juice, Freshly juiced

Crust
12 1" by 2"/93g Graham Crackers, Crumbled
2 1/2 Tbsp/37 mL Baby food or Applesauce, Sweetened

• Preheat the oven to 350F.
  
• Make the crust by crushing the graham crackers into medium coarse grains.
  
• Cut the baby food/applesauce into the graham cracker until the mixture is cut into texture like coarse bread crumb.
  
• Press the crumb onto the bottom of a 8" circular pan.
• Place the crust into the oven and bake it for 10 minutes.
• Let the crust fully cool before filling the crust.
• To make the filling pit and skin the avocado.
  
• Put the avocado, lime juice and condense milk into a blender and blend it into a thick puree.
  
• Pour the filling mixture into the pie crust and let it chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
  

Verdict: Need to use up some left over vegetables.

It taste much better as leftover since the casserole firmed up and the tofu absorbed more of the flavor.


Vegetable Casserole (Vegan)

9" bu 5" loaf/4 servings

1 15 oz Block Firm Tofu, Thawed or in Packaged
1/4 /152g Eggplant, Sliced into 1/4"
1/2 /164g Large Zucchini, Sliced into 1/4"
3/4 /114g Large Onion, Sliced into 1/4"
2 Cup/592 mL Tomato Sauce
Vegetable Oil

• It's best if you use thawed tofu because it absorbs more flavor. Drain the tofu and press as much liquid out of the tofu as possible with a heavy weight.
• Slice the tofu block into 1/3".
  
• Cook the Onions in a pan with some oil until half way tender then add in the zucchini and eggplant. Season with some salt and pepper and cook until tender.
  
• Drain as much liquid as you can because when you bake it, all the water sweats out of the vegetables.
  
• Preheat the oven to 350F.
  
• Line the bottom of the pan with about 1/2 cup of tomato sauce or enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Then line the next layer with tofu and cover it with another 1/2 cup of tomato sauce or how ever much it takes to coat it.
  
• Line the next two layer with the zucchini and the onion and cover it with 1/2 cup of tomato sauce.
  
• Then line the last layer with the eggplant and coat it with 1/2 cup of tomato sauce.
• Bake it in the oven for 45 minutes.
  

Verdict: Had a lot of plums and I love spreads ;3 Stored in gerber jars. That's why I've been using a lot of baby food in my baking recently. I bought 24 jars of baby food for 10 dollars at my local market with my b/f. I felt like I had a baby and I didn't even know it. I got this recipe off of epicurious. Note: Preserve is not as sweet as jam. It's a tad bit sour for those who dislike sour stay clear of this recipe!

Plum Preserves (Vegan)

Serves 4 4oz jars

2 lb/907 g Plums, Any
1/2 Cup/100g Sugar,Granulated
1/2 Cup/118 mL Water
1 3" Cinnamon Stick

• Pit the plums and roughly chop them into large pieces if you like large pieces in your spread and smaller pieces if you like jamish like spread.
• Mix the water, plums, sugar and cinnamon stick into a small pot and simmer it for about 45 minutes or until it reaches the consistency you like.

Verdict: Homemade is the best even if it is organic.

Cashew Butter (Vegan)


Yields 1/2 Cup/ 16 Servings of 1 Tbsp = 48Cal/Serving

1 Cup/129g Cashew, Salted Roasted
or
1 Cup/120g Cashew, Raw
Salt

• If you are roasting your own nut, preheat the oven to 325F
  
• Place the raw nuts on a shallow rectangular pan. Do not pack your nuts!
• Sprinkle enough salt for your tasting.
• Roasted for about 10-20 minute or until golden brown. Stir often because they burn easily
• Put the Cashews into the blender and blend it until it turns into butter.

**Note: If you like crunchy cashew butter, blend the whole cashew until it's chopped into coarse pieces and reserve 2-3 Tbsp. After you blend all the cashew into a cream, fold in the reserved cashew pieces.




VWAV's Chickpea and spinach curry. I made it with some coconut milk. hmm... :3

Many unsuccessful dishes =/

Attended a family bbq for July 4th so I decided to bring some food there and my mom asked "Why? There's yam and fruits" Wow very nice...yam and fruits. I decided to make the Green pepper wheat gluten steak. It's a recipe I got off of vegweb.com. It's modified to what have had in stock. Here's the recipe I used.


Green Pepper Wheat Gluten Steak (Vegan)

recipe yields 4-6 serving 246 cal/serving

1 12 oz Pkg of Gluten (the one found in the chinese supermarket)
1 Tbsp of Olive Oil
2 Tsp of Sesame Seed Oil
1/2 Cup of Onion, 1 inch half ring
2 Cloves Large Garlic, Minced
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Black Pepper, Grounded
1 Tsp Fresh Ginger, Grounded
1/4 Tsp of Guilin Garlic Chili Sauce (Hot sauce will do)
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper, Grounded
1 Vegetable Bouillon
1 Cup Hot Water
1 lb Chopped Plum Tomato
2 Large Green Peppers
1 Large Red Pepper
2 Tbsp Corn Starch
1/4 Cup Cold Water
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

• Drizzle a pan with the olive and sesame seed oil and saute the onions. Then add the pepper and salt and saute it until they are almost tender.
• Add the gluten and cook until the sides are lightly brown. Don't burn them! Then add in the ginger and garlic.
• Dissolve the bouillon in the cup of boiling water and add to the gluten in the pan.
  
• Let the food simmer for about 5 minutes and then add the tomatoes, peppers, cayenne and guilin garlic chili sauce and let it simmer for another 10 minutes.
• In a small cup or bowl create a slurry with the corn starch, soy sauce and cold water. Combine until all the corn starch has dissolved.
  
• Mix the slurry into the food in the pan and let it cook until the sauce reaches your desire consistency.

I also made some vegan seasoned faux "sausage" patties but I don't think it tasted that great. It tasted a bit too herby since the recipe required a lot of herb. I like the texture of the pattie though.



Avocado = Guacomole :) Two attempt using two different recipe. I like the 2nd one more. I got this recipe out of one of my vegetarian book.

Guacamole (Vegan)

Recipe: Yields 4 Serving 173 Cal/Serving

2 Ripe Avocado, Mashed
2 Tomatoes, Seed and Chopped
6 Scallions, Finely Chopped
1-2 Jalapeno, Seeded and Finely Chopped
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp Cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste

• Peel and seed your avocados and then mash it up well with your fork or masher.
  
• Quickly add the lemon juice and mix well. Then add the tomatoes, scallions, jalapeno, cilantro, salt and pepper. Incorporate all the ingredients together.
• Serve with tortilla, crackers, bread etc.

"Zucchini in bikini are walking down the stairs" an excerpt of the lyric from the the children show "Banana in Pajama". Wow...I feel old that was from my childhood. Needed to get rid of my zucchini so I ate it. I also needed to get rid of my dairy items. The light cream has been sitting in my refrigerator for about a month.


Zucchini Dessert Pie (Vegetarian)

Recipe Yields 8 Servings 283 Cal/Serving

1 9 Inch Pie Crust (you can make your own or omit it to make a custard)
2 Cup Pureed Cooked Zucchini (About 2 really large zucchini)
1/3 Cup Rice Syrup
1/3 Cup Sugar, Granulated
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Cinnamon, Grounded
3/4 Tsp Ginger, Grounded
1/4 Tsp Allspice, Grounded
1/4 Tsp Nutmeg, Grounded
1 Cup Light Cream, warm or (Vegan version: Soy Cream)
3 Tsp of EnerG + 2 Tbsp Water

• Peel and cut your zucchini into 1 inch cubes and microwave it for about 8 minutes on high or until tender.
• Drain out off all the water from the zucchini!!
• Put the chunks of zucchini into your blender and blend it until there are no more solid pieces.
• Mix the puree with the rice syrup, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg.
  
• Warm the light cream and pour it into the puree mixture along with the egg replacer.
• Pour it into the pie crust and bake it for 425F for 10 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 250F and bake it for 40-45 minutes or until your knife comes out clean when inserted near the middle of the tart.
  
• Let it cool down completely before serving.
  

Attempted to make pumpernickle rye bread but I'm not sure if it's really pumpernickel rye since it doesn't taste anything like the one my ex job had. Who knows I guess Ill try again with another recipe.


I made the Banana Split Pudding Brownie from VWAV. It tasted great but it was a bit too fudgy. I know it's suppose to be pudding but was it suppose to be goey? The photo I saw on ppk does not look like pudding. In fact it looked solid. I think the error occurred because I reduced the recipe to by 1/4 and I ended up baking it in a muffin pan since I don't have a small enough pan. The top of my brownie lumped inwards. It deflated!! Maybe it's because I filled the muffin pans too much. Who knows...I'll try baking it in a rectangular pan next time.

Natural Valley Granola Bars

Snack Bars

Nature Valley
Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars - (All vegan except Oat's n Honey) *contains honey
Nature Valley Yogurt - (Not sure) Sorry I didn't ask about the yogurt culture
Nature Valley Chewy Trail Mix - (All of them are Vegetarian) *contains honey
Nature Valley Sweet and Salty - (Not sure) Sorry I didn't ask about he yogurt culture for this.
Nature Valley Healthy Heart - (All of them are Vegetarian) *contains honey
Nature Valley Fruit Crisp - Vegan
Nature Valley Cereal - (All of them are Vegetarian) *contains honey and no vitamin D

For all of those who can't always get larabars or those organic bars you can get nature valley bars. I've contacted Kellogg's nature valley's division asking whether or not their natural flavoring is animal derived and the representative was very friendly and assured me that the natural flavoring is plant derived.

Kashi TLC Granola Bar

Kashi TLC Chewy Granola Bar - (All of them are vegetarian) *contains honey
Kashi TLC Crunchy Granola Bar - (All of the are vegetarian) *contains honey

I've also contacted the Kashi company and asked about their natural flavoring and they also replied saying that their natural flavoring is not animal derived. It's a healthier alternative to nature valley for those who are concerned with their health but they're not vegan.