What Vegetarian/Vegan food are you Eating Right Now?

[Poundwise]

Thanks Jen! I will try refried beans and soups. We do mac and cheese already, and the kids finally like pea or lentil soups, but only if there's bacon in it! I'm thinking about trying more Indian dishes but they do take a long time.

A kind friend sent me a Rancho Gordo bean sampler, so I'm going to soak the giant Corona beans while I think about what to do with them.

[BECABECA]

We’re having huevos rancheros for breakfast. We do it easy style by just using salsa as the ranchero sauce instead of making our own. 5 minutes cook + prep and you’ve got a decently impressive breakfast to serve your guests.

[BECABECA]

Thanks Jen! I will try refried beans and soups. We do mac and cheese already, and the kids finally like pea or lentil soups, but only if there's bacon in it! I'm thinking about trying more Indian dishes but they do take a long time.

A kind friend sent me a Rancho Gordo bean sampler, so I'm going to soak the giant Corona beans while I think about what to do with them.

For your split pea soup, I find that adding smoked paprika makes it taste like there’s ham in there. It’s funny, I ran out of regular paprika for a recipe and found smoked paprika in the cupboard (left by some AirBnB guest) and used that instead and didn’t like the dish I made because it tasted too much like ham!

Indian dishes are what I was going to recommend you make. I have one dish that my carnivore extended family always requests when they come visit. Couple it with the frozen naan from Trader Joe’s and some rice and it’s better than half the Indian restaurants I’ve been to:
(I obviously skip all the steps to add chicken to it, and every once in a while if I’m feeling really ambitious I make paneer to add to the sauce, which is the second recipe link):
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/228293/curry-stand-chicken-tikka-masala-sauce/
https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/how-to-make-paneer-homemade-paneer/

[OtherJen]

Thanks Jen! I will try refried beans and soups. We do mac and cheese already, and the kids finally like pea or lentil soups, but only if there's bacon in it! I'm thinking about trying more Indian dishes but they do take a long time.

A kind friend sent me a Rancho Gordo bean sampler, so I'm going to soak the giant Corona beans while I think about what to do with them.

Rancho Gordo is one of my favorite suppliers! The Rio Zape beans are my favorites, like pintos but 10x better. I don’t think I’ve tried the Coronas yet so please let me know what you think.

For easy curries, I love Budget Bytes: https://www.budgetbytes.com/category/recipes/global/indian/. The Curried Chickpeas with Spinach is delicious on basmati rice. And there’s no shame (IMO) in adding a little ham or bacon to beans or split peas for flavor. It’s still a big reduction in meat.

[Poundwise]

The Corona beans were great!! After presoaking I put them in the slow cooker on low for 10 hours, following this recipe (not vegetarian but you can use veg broth and skip the bacon/sausage).
https://www.prouditaliancook.com/2015/09/corona-beans-with-sausage.html

Except I didn't add the tomatoes until the last hour, because I wanted to save some beans for other purposes.  Also I skipped the bacon and added chopped fresh spinach in the last 10 minutes instead.

The beans were very creamy and quite satisfying, and 4/5 of the family enjoyed them, which is pretty good. 

Thanks for the curry recipe, I'll give it a whirl!

[OtherJen]

The Corona beans were great!! After presoaking I put them in the slow cooker on low for 10 hours, following this recipe (not vegetarian but you can use veg broth and skip the bacon/sausage).
https://www.prouditaliancook.com/2015/09/corona-beans-with-sausage.html

Except I didn't add the tomatoes until the last hour, because I wanted to save some beans for other purposes.  Also I skipped the bacon and added chopped fresh spinach in the last 10 minutes instead.

The beans were very creamy and quite satisfying, and 4/5 of the family enjoyed them, which is pretty good. 

Thanks for the curry recipe, I'll give it a whirl!

Thanks for the follow-up and recipe! My husband would love that.

[partgypsy]

I can't remember if I posted this, but a super easy chili is a:
1 big can of black beans,
1 can of chili beans, and
1-2 cans of beans of your choice (black, kidney, white/navy bean)
1 can of tomato sauce.

Sautee onions, garlic, green pepper (veg of your choice including spicy pepper if you like heat) in oil. Add can tomato sauce and cans of beans. Add spices (pepper, cumin, chili powder, oregano). Can also steam and add half of a cubed sweet potato. Cook until bubbling and heated through.

I serve it with either warm tortillas and cheese, sour cream, etc, or corn muffins which can be crumbled in the chili. It literally takes 20 minutes to make and so I've been making it once a week.

We also usually have tacos once a week. Not vegan but when I switch the meat to the "mexican meatless crumbles" kids like it just as well as ground meat. Serve with either black beans or refried beans.

 

[Sanne]

Pasta pesto with fresh grilled vegetables (bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini), fresh tomatoes, sundried tomatoes. It was amazing.

I make pesto with the juice of grilled bell peppers (from a jar - we use the actual bell peppers from jar for grilled 'cheese' sandwiches), cashew nuts, nutritional yeast, garlic and fresh basil. I feel it tastes fresher without olive oil and it's less fat. Enough good fat from the cashew nuts. 

[Sugaree]

We've been more or less vegetarian for the last 6 weeks or so.  I'm still working through some of the meat/cheese/frozen meals in the freezer, but we might eat it twice a month.  I prefer true vegetarian meals as opposed to fake meat.  My son actually came down with hives after eating a corn dog from MorningStar.  I'm not 100% sure that's what caused it, but we probably won't get those anymore.  I'm on a Thai red curry kick right now and have made several curries with different vegetables, curry paste, coconut milk or cream, and ginger.  I found an excellent black bean burger recipe with diced portabello mushrooms and broccoli.  For chili, butternut squash and chipotle chiles in adobo is also a winner as was pineapple fried rice. 


I've started eating prepared tofu and I like it, but my family won't touch it.  I need to learn how to cook it myself instead of getting the frozen Amy's meals. 

[steevven1]

Just made some vegan 15-bean soup (with Beyond Sausage!)

Slow cook:
1 bag of HamBeens Cajun 15-bean soup
1 white onion, chopped
50-50 mix of vegetable stock and water to cook it in
Salt, garlic powder, red pepper flakes to taste

Afterward:
Add soup flavor packet mix
Add black pepper to taste
Cook 4 Beyond Sausage links in pan, chop into discs, and add to soup

Enjoy for next several days!

[gooki]

Made spaghetti with vegetarian meatballs (oats, cheese, mushrooms). OMFG they were so good, kids loved it as well.

Used this recipe, skipped the waiting around steps as we were in a hurry.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/232908/chef-johns-meatless-meatballs/

[brooklynmoney]

I have been making Alton Browns garden veggie soup for lunch for weeks: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/garden-vegetable-soup-recipe-1915670.amp

[mspym]

We made butter bean cacciatore last night and it was delicious.

[StashingAway]

lunch this week is homemade sweet potato black bean soup

saute onions & garlic in olive oil
add cut up sweet potato & drained canned black beans
add cumin & paprika
boil until tender
then mash/blend as much of the soup as you want (I like some chunks, but you could puree the whole thing if you prefer)

quick, easy, & filling

We just had sweet potato black bean enchaladas. Super good.

https://cookieandkate.com/black-bean-sweet-potato-enchiladas/

[MasterStache]

Going to have some plant based meat tacos tonight. Always with a side of Mexican rice.

[Sugaree]

Sweet potato tortilla soup.

[partgypsy]

Started lent so back to meatless!
The weekend made my usual easy chili, with cornbread (added fresh corn to mix). Also salsa and chips.
Some dinners I don't want to make anything fancy, so for example last night just ate hummus and baguette with small salad and olives on side.
Other items on rotation this week:
spinach rice
tofu dogs beans and "franks"
(not vegetarian) spagetthi with red clam sauce (orthodox lent you can have some kinds of seafood)

Also in next week want to make a batch of cookies.
I have not yet made vegan version of this cookie (koulourekia) so am curious to try it out. There is more than 1 recipe out there so might look at all of them and improvise. For example I don't have sesame seeds but do have sliced almonds. I don't have ouzo but do have brandy.
tps://www.thehungrybites.com/sesame-and-olive-oil-cookies/
 

[GuitarStv]

Chana Masala today.

[Serendip]

Simple dishes lately:
 tonight was soba noodle salad with shiitake mushrooms, cucumber, green onions and garlic/ginger/sesame sauce

This is another quick one that I've liked recently (over rice instead of sweet potato)
https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-braised-coconut-spinach-chickpeas-with-lemon-recipes-from-the-kitchn-164551

[mspym]

Black bean burgers with salad tonight
https://www.skinnytaste.com/spicy-black-bean-burgers-with-chipotle/

[Sugaree]

Last night was Caribbean jerk black eye peas with pineapple salsa.  I thought it was great.  My husband was just kind of "meh" about it.

[lexde]

I made a hummus pasta the other day that was fantastic. I had never made hummus before, and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was (even in my Nutribullet; would have been much easier in a regular food processor!). That was vegan.

This morning, I had an english muffin with 1tbsp peanut butter and 1tbsp honey. Not sure where that falls on the vegan-vegetarian spectrum. I lean toward "honey is vegan, bee husbandry keeps them thriving" but many people seem to disagree so I guess I'll just call it vegetarian.

Lunch will likely be a cocoa-PB2 oatmeal bowl I've been meaning to try. Also vegan.

Dinner is looking like TVP sloppy joe + baked potato. Vegan! Or vegetarian if you dress up the potato with butter/sour cream (I will likely stick to the vegan butter I have while SO does the dairy).

[Sugaree]

This morning, I had an english muffin with 1tbsp peanut butter and 1tbsp honey. Not sure where that falls on the vegan-vegetarian spectrum. I lean toward "honey is vegan, bee husbandry keeps them thriving" but many people seem to disagree so I guess I'll just call it vegetarian.

Having kept bees in the past, I'd say that I can kind of see the point about it being exploitative to use honey.  However, I think that industrial almond production is probably far more harmful to overall bee health than eating some locally sourced honey.

[lexde]

This morning, I had an english muffin with 1tbsp peanut butter and 1tbsp honey. Not sure where that falls on the vegan-vegetarian spectrum. I lean toward "honey is vegan, bee husbandry keeps them thriving" but many people seem to disagree so I guess I'll just call it vegetarian.

Having kept bees in the past, I'd say that I can kind of see the point about it being exploitative to use honey.  However, I think that industrial almond production is probably far more harmful to overall bee health than eating some locally sourced honey.

That’s interesting. If you’d like to elaborate I’d love to hear it. I guess I’ll keep honey in the vegetarian column, then. I’m still Omni, but trying to transition to more plant based foods.

[lexde]

I made an easy chocolate PB oatmeal that I will probably use for lunches for a while.

1/2c oats (150cal)
1tbsp cocoa powder (10cal)
2tbsp PBFit peanut powder (70cal)
1c unsweetened almond milk (30cal) - I will try 3/4c next time.

Total 260 cal for about 1.5c food. It was not very sweet at all, you can add sweeteners like maple or sugar, but I just wanted something basic. I mixed everything for overnight oats but they were a little too watery this morning so I heated for about a minute in the microwave. It was really filling though and seems to be moderately healthy.

7.5g fat, 36g carbs, 10g fiber, 15g protein.

[Sugaree]

This morning, I had an english muffin with 1tbsp peanut butter and 1tbsp honey. Not sure where that falls on the vegan-vegetarian spectrum. I lean toward "honey is vegan, bee husbandry keeps them thriving" but many people seem to disagree so I guess I'll just call it vegetarian.

Having kept bees in the past, I'd say that I can kind of see the point about it being exploitative to use honey.  However, I think that industrial almond production is probably far more harmful to overall bee health than eating some locally sourced honey.

That’s interesting. If you’d like to elaborate I’d love to hear it. I guess I’ll keep honey in the vegetarian column, then. I’m still Omni, but trying to transition to more plant based foods.

Sure.  There are a handful of ways that a commercial beekeeper can make money.  Selling honey is actually one of the worst profit centers.  The most lucrative is pollination contracts, with almonds being the biggest.  Almonds require a lot of bees to set a good yield (a lot of water too, but that's a separate issue).  Somewhere in the 1.5 - 2 hives per acre range.  And they need to be in place by January.  So what happens is that commercial pollination keepers will overwinter their hives in places like southern Georgia where they can start splitting their hives early in the year and get the number of hives built up early enough to meet that demand.  Then they pack hundreds of hives onto 18-wheelers and ship them to California where they are staged in a yard waiting to be dispersed to the various almond groves. 

After almond season is over, they are shipped back to the south.  Some of them are going to be sent to Florida for oranges or up north for blueberries and/or apples.  All this movement can spread diseases, parasites, and/or Africanized genes to native bee populations along the way or within the staging yards (and don't forget that at least every other year, one of those 18 wheelers crashes and 4 million bees are sent flying over the Interstate).  Once the pollination season is over they are brought back to Georgia.  At this point, some beekeepers will pull all the honey they can get out of the hives and feed sugar syrup back to the hives (because sugar is 50 cents a pound and they can sell honey for $4 a pound).  Bees can survive on sugar syrup, but it really should be an emergency feeding situation.  This honey is going to be sold by the 55 barrel drum and is likely what you see in the grocery store. 

There is also the idea that a certain number of lost hives is just a cost of doing business and that they'll just make new splits the next spring.  A small time local keeper is more likely to take better care of their hives and not just say "oh well, better luck next year" if one is struggling.  A commercial beekeeper may also find it more cost effective to use a harsher set of chemicals to treat diseases and mites.

On the flip side, there are a lot of keepers who claim that if it weren't for pollination contracts, fewer splits would be made and fewer new colonies would be created (the production of bee colonies/queens themselves might be the second most lucrative profit center for southern keepers).  I can see their point, but still think that turning out large quantities of colonies that may or may not overwinter successfully vs. fewer colonies that are better adapted to their specific environment is a trade-off that might not be the best thing in the long run. 

[lexde]

This morning, I had an english muffin with 1tbsp peanut butter and 1tbsp honey. Not sure where that falls on the vegan-vegetarian spectrum. I lean toward "honey is vegan, bee husbandry keeps them thriving" but many people seem to disagree so I guess I'll just call it vegetarian.

Having kept bees in the past, I'd say that I can kind of see the point about it being exploitative to use honey.  However, I think that industrial almond production is probably far more harmful to overall bee health than eating some locally sourced honey.

That’s interesting. If you’d like to elaborate I’d love to hear it. I guess I’ll keep honey in the vegetarian column, then. I’m still Omni, but trying to transition to more plant based foods.

Sure.  There are a handful of ways that a commercial beekeeper can make money.  Selling honey is actually one of the worst profit centers.  The most lucrative is pollination contracts, with almonds being the biggest.  Almonds require a lot of bees to set a good yield (a lot of water too, but that's a separate issue).  Somewhere in the 1.5 - 2 hives per acre range.  And they need to be in place by January.  So what happens is that commercial pollination keepers will overwinter their hives in places like southern Georgia where they can start splitting their hives early in the year and get the number of hives built up early enough to meet that demand.  Then they pack hundreds of hives onto 18-wheelers and ship them to California where they are staged in a yard waiting to be dispersed to the various almond groves. 

After almond season is over, they are shipped back to the south.  Some of them are going to be sent to Florida for oranges or up north for blueberries and/or apples.  All this movement can spread diseases, parasites, and/or Africanized genes to native bee populations along the way or within the staging yards (and don't forget that at least every other year, one of those 18 wheelers crashes and 4 million bees are sent flying over the Interstate).  Once the pollination season is over they are brought back to Georgia.  At this point, some beekeepers will pull all the honey they can get out of the hives and feed sugar syrup back to the hives (because sugar is 50 cents a pound and they can sell honey for $4 a pound).  Bees can survive on sugar syrup, but it really should be an emergency feeding situation.  This honey is going to be sold by the 55 barrel drum and is likely what you see in the grocery store. 

There is also the idea that a certain number of lost hives is just a cost of doing business and that they'll just make new splits the next spring.  A small time local keeper is more likely to take better care of their hives and not just say "oh well, better luck next year" if one is struggling.  A commercial beekeeper may also find it more cost effective to use a harsher set of chemicals to treat diseases and mites.

On the flip side, there are a lot of keepers who claim that if it weren't for pollination contracts, fewer splits would be made and fewer new colonies would be created (the production of bee colonies/queens themselves might be the second most lucrative profit center for southern keepers).  I can see their point, but still think that turning out large quantities of colonies that may or may not overwinter successfully vs. fewer colonies that are better adapted to their specific environment is a trade-off that might not be the best thing in the long run.

Thank you very much for this answer. A lot of info I wasn’t aware of.

Does this impact your consumption of other agriculture items that require bee exploitation (like the almonds and blueberries, as examples only)? Do vegans consume less of these items generally, or is the contention mostly just with the honey product (if you know)?

Thanks again. I have learned a lot today!

[Sugaree]

This morning, I had an english muffin with 1tbsp peanut butter and 1tbsp honey. Not sure where that falls on the vegan-vegetarian spectrum. I lean toward "honey is vegan, bee husbandry keeps them thriving" but many people seem to disagree so I guess I'll just call it vegetarian.

Having kept bees in the past, I'd say that I can kind of see the point about it being exploitative to use honey.  However, I think that industrial almond production is probably far more harmful to overall bee health than eating some locally sourced honey.

That’s interesting. If you’d like to elaborate I’d love to hear it. I guess I’ll keep honey in the vegetarian column, then. I’m still Omni, but trying to transition to more plant based foods.

Sure.  There are a handful of ways that a commercial beekeeper can make money.  Selling honey is actually one of the worst profit centers.  The most lucrative is pollination contracts, with almonds being the biggest.  Almonds require a lot of bees to set a good yield (a lot of water too, but that's a separate issue).  Somewhere in the 1.5 - 2 hives per acre range.  And they need to be in place by January.  So what happens is that commercial pollination keepers will overwinter their hives in places like southern Georgia where they can start splitting their hives early in the year and get the number of hives built up early enough to meet that demand.  Then they pack hundreds of hives onto 18-wheelers and ship them to California where they are staged in a yard waiting to be dispersed to the various almond groves. 

After almond season is over, they are shipped back to the south.  Some of them are going to be sent to Florida for oranges or up north for blueberries and/or apples.  All this movement can spread diseases, parasites, and/or Africanized genes to native bee populations along the way or within the staging yards (and don't forget that at least every other year, one of those 18 wheelers crashes and 4 million bees are sent flying over the Interstate).  Once the pollination season is over they are brought back to Georgia.  At this point, some beekeepers will pull all the honey they can get out of the hives and feed sugar syrup back to the hives (because sugar is 50 cents a pound and they can sell honey for $4 a pound).  Bees can survive on sugar syrup, but it really should be an emergency feeding situation.  This honey is going to be sold by the 55 barrel drum and is likely what you see in the grocery store. 

There is also the idea that a certain number of lost hives is just a cost of doing business and that they'll just make new splits the next spring.  A small time local keeper is more likely to take better care of their hives and not just say "oh well, better luck next year" if one is struggling.  A commercial beekeeper may also find it more cost effective to use a harsher set of chemicals to treat diseases and mites.

On the flip side, there are a lot of keepers who claim that if it weren't for pollination contracts, fewer splits would be made and fewer new colonies would be created (the production of bee colonies/queens themselves might be the second most lucrative profit center for southern keepers).  I can see their point, but still think that turning out large quantities of colonies that may or may not overwinter successfully vs. fewer colonies that are better adapted to their specific environment is a trade-off that might not be the best thing in the long run.

Thank you very much for this answer. A lot of info I wasn’t aware of.

Does this impact your consumption of other agriculture items that require bee exploitation (like the almonds and blueberries, as examples only)? Do vegans consume less of these items generally, or is the contention mostly just with the honey product (if you know)?

Thanks again. I have learned a lot today!

I can't speak for others and I'm not sure exactly how well known this information is.

I consider myself plant-based as opposed to vegan.  I eat this way for health reasons with environmental concerns being a secondary (but important) consideration.  I have the added complication that I live in BFE and acquiring perishable plant-based alternatives can be difficult.  I still drink more almond milk than I would like, but the only other widely-available option is soy milk and I just don't like it.  I will probably eventually transition to oat milk (that I make at home) or pea protein milk (once my local grocery store catches up).  I will say that what we lack in "hippie feed" variety, we make up for in local options.  For things like blueberries and strawberries, I try to buy locally and in season, if possible.  The local blueberry farm has their own full-time apiary for pollination so I don't have any concerns about them.

I think that unless you are eating only locally grown, organic produce then there are going to be some moral hazards on almost everything.  Avocados, like almonds, require a ton of water, but so does beef cattle.  Anything that has to be shipped in carries a carbon cost.  That includes the veggie/vegan items I have to have shipped from Amazon.  I think everyone has to decide for themselves what they are okay with and everyone should just do the best they can and not stress if they aren't doing everything perfectly. 

[lexde]

This morning, I had an english muffin with 1tbsp peanut butter and 1tbsp honey. Not sure where that falls on the vegan-vegetarian spectrum. I lean toward "honey is vegan, bee husbandry keeps them thriving" but many people seem to disagree so I guess I'll just call it vegetarian.

Having kept bees in the past, I'd say that I can kind of see the point about it being exploitative to use honey.  However, I think that industrial almond production is probably far more harmful to overall bee health than eating some locally sourced honey.

That’s interesting. If you’d like to elaborate I’d love to hear it. I guess I’ll keep honey in the vegetarian column, then. I’m still Omni, but trying to transition to more plant based foods.

Sure.  There are a handful of ways that a commercial beekeeper can make money.  Selling honey is actually one of the worst profit centers.  The most lucrative is pollination contracts, with almonds being the biggest.  Almonds require a lot of bees to set a good yield (a lot of water too, but that's a separate issue).  Somewhere in the 1.5 - 2 hives per acre range.  And they need to be in place by January.  So what happens is that commercial pollination keepers will overwinter their hives in places like southern Georgia where they can start splitting their hives early in the year and get the number of hives built up early enough to meet that demand.  Then they pack hundreds of hives onto 18-wheelers and ship them to California where they are staged in a yard waiting to be dispersed to the various almond groves. 

After almond season is over, they are shipped back to the south.  Some of them are going to be sent to Florida for oranges or up north for blueberries and/or apples.  All this movement can spread diseases, parasites, and/or Africanized genes to native bee populations along the way or within the staging yards (and don't forget that at least every other year, one of those 18 wheelers crashes and 4 million bees are sent flying over the Interstate).  Once the pollination season is over they are brought back to Georgia.  At this point, some beekeepers will pull all the honey they can get out of the hives and feed sugar syrup back to the hives (because sugar is 50 cents a pound and they can sell honey for $4 a pound).  Bees can survive on sugar syrup, but it really should be an emergency feeding situation.  This honey is going to be sold by the 55 barrel drum and is likely what you see in the grocery store. 

There is also the idea that a certain number of lost hives is just a cost of doing business and that they'll just make new splits the next spring.  A small time local keeper is more likely to take better care of their hives and not just say "oh well, better luck next year" if one is struggling.  A commercial beekeeper may also find it more cost effective to use a harsher set of chemicals to treat diseases and mites.

On the flip side, there are a lot of keepers who claim that if it weren't for pollination contracts, fewer splits would be made and fewer new colonies would be created (the production of bee colonies/queens themselves might be the second most lucrative profit center for southern keepers).  I can see their point, but still think that turning out large quantities of colonies that may or may not overwinter successfully vs. fewer colonies that are better adapted to their specific environment is a trade-off that might not be the best thing in the long run.

Thank you very much for this answer. A lot of info I wasn’t aware of.

Does this impact your consumption of other agriculture items that require bee exploitation (like the almonds and blueberries, as examples only)? Do vegans consume less of these items generally, or is the contention mostly just with the honey product (if you know)?

Thanks again. I have learned a lot today!

I can't speak for others and I'm not sure exactly how well known this information is.

I consider myself plant-based as opposed to vegan.  I eat this way for health reasons with environmental concerns being a secondary (but important) consideration.  I have the added complication that I live in BFE and acquiring perishable plant-based alternatives can be difficult.  I still drink more almond milk than I would like, but the only other widely-available option is soy milk and I just don't like it.  I will probably eventually transition to oat milk (that I make at home) or pea protein milk (once my local grocery store catches up).  I will say that what we lack in "hippie feed" variety, we make up for in local options.  For things like blueberries and strawberries, I try to buy locally and in season, if possible.  The local blueberry farm has their own full-time apiary for pollination so I don't have any concerns about them.

I think that unless you are eating only locally grown, organic produce then there are going to be some moral hazards on almost everything.  Avocados, like almonds, require a ton of water, but so does beef cattle.  Anything that has to be shipped in carries a carbon cost.  That includes the veggie/vegan items I have to have shipped from Amazon.  I think everyone has to decide for themselves what they are okay with and everyone should just do the best they can and not stress if they aren't doing everything perfectly.

Awesome response. Thank you very much!

[lexde]

I'm making this french lentil soup:

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/french-lentil-soup-236772

With no-knead bread:

https://pinchofyum.com/no-knead-bread

[John Galt incarnate!]

It's a dreary day so I made pea soup w/ carrots and 1/2 of a minced onion.

As I type it's cooling.

[GuitarStv]

Spicey/smokey Louisiana style red bean and veggie stew on a bed of basmati rice.  Burning through some of the coronavirus stash of beans and rice.  :P

[lexde]

Spicey/smokey Louisiana style red bean and veggie stew on a bed of basmati rice.  Burning through some of the coronavirus stash of beans and rice.  :P

That sounds delicious!

[GuitarStv]

Spicey/smokey Louisiana style red bean and veggie stew on a bed of basmati rice.  Burning through some of the coronavirus stash of beans and rice.  :P

That sounds delicious!

Fortunately it was . . . I made a crap ton of the stuff.  Froze half of it and will be eating the rest over the week.

[Trifle]

Last night for dinner I made an awesome leek and potato pie from my garden.  Our chickens contributed the eggs. 

[StashingAway]

Red lentil tacos this time around. So, so good.

[Sugaree]

I think I'm picking up either chickpea tacos or a chickpea and cauliflower taco bowl for dinner.  Supporting my favorite local taco stand. 

[tawyer]

Seitan aka wheat meat. Homemade from shelf-stable ingredients.

[mspym]

Tofu and vegetables with home made satay sauce that our 14yr old whipped up. He has really good taste buds!

[Sugaree]

Chana masala with couscous.  Also picked up some peanut sauce mix when I was at the grocery store I don't normally go to.  They had tahini too, but it was on the pricy side so I left it behind.

[Serendip]

Recent experiments have included

- Coconut chickpea curry

- the falafel salad from 'budget bytes' website *substituted cucumber for the tomatoes and it was delicious*

-nettle crepes *in Finland there is a flat pancake with spinach in in..I made something similar, vegetarian/not vegan

[mspym]

Baked gnocchi with pumpkin, mushrooms, and sage. Pesto dressing. We added a tin of chickpeas for additional protein.

[StashingAway]

Recent experiments have included
-nettle crepes *in Finland there is a flat pancake with spinach in in..I made something similar, vegetarian/not vegan

We had crepes with spinach Fluorentine in it last night! I forgot how tedious crepes are to make... which is why we don't have them too often ;)

[Serendip]

Recent experiments have included
-nettle crepes *in Finland there is a flat pancake with spinach in in..I made something similar, vegetarian/not vegan

We had crepes with spinach Fluorentine in it last night! I forgot how tedious crepes are to make... which is why we don't have them too often ;)

Oh really? These are really simple--not actually crepes, they are slight thinner but definitely less puffy than traditional pancakes. I think I used an extra egg..never can actually follow a recipe..
(web-link for one recipe--sortof awful photos/website but you get the gist) :)
https://www.theschizochef.com/finnish-spinach-pancakes/

[Sugaree]

I bought a bunch of dried chickpeas the other day because the online grocery ordering is limiting me to two cans and that's just not going to cut it.  I probably should have read the instructions more carefully because it turns out that 4 lbs of chickpeas will make 9 quarts, not 9 pints.  I'm good on chickpeas for awhile, but now I'm out of pint jars and have some black beans and black eyed peas that I need to can.

[mspym]

@Sugaree can't the dried beans sit there until you want them? I am trying to understand why you are canning them because it's just not something it would occur me to do.

I made fake-tuna salad the other day with canned chickpeas and veganaise and both boys enjoyed it, thought it was tuna. Last night we had bulgar wheat chili on jacket spuds and some garlic green beans. Ofpym's regular chili has transitioned seamlessly to vegan.

[Sugaree]

@mspym If I can them, then they are ready to use when I need them, like the cans from the store.  It's just nice to have a ready-to-go supply for weeknights rather than having to soak and cook them for a couple of hours.

[StashingAway]

Recent experiments have included
-nettle crepes *in Finland there is a flat pancake with spinach in in..I made something similar, vegetarian/not vegan

We had crepes with spinach Fluorentine in it last night! I forgot how tedious crepes are to make... which is why we don't have them too often ;)

Oh really? These are really simple--not actually crepes, they are slight thinner but definitely less puffy than traditional pancakes. I think I used an extra egg..never can actually follow a recipe..
(web-link for one recipe--sortof awful photos/website but you get the gist) :)
https://www.theschizochef.com/finnish-spinach-pancakes/

Interesting; the crepes flourentine that I make are traditional French crepes with a white spinach sauce filling. I hadn't realized that the Finnish ones were made so differently.

For whatever reason, it always feel like forever to pour and turn 20+ crepes to get a family meal's worth. Probably doesn't help that I'm doing it in a cast iron skillet. I would rather something that I don't have to stay  as vigilant on... at least for casual dinners. They're more of a "special meal". But the recipe you linked looks like it would be easier to try!

[MVal]

I made some nice portobello mushroom steaks with roasted root veggies and a zucchini-eggplant cheesy mash last night for me and my vegetarian boyfriend. Earlier this week I made pasta shells and asparagus in a roasted red pepper and tomato cream sauce using yogurt I'd made in my Instant Pot.

I've stocked up on hard squash and dry beans and rice in case fresh food becomes scarce, but so far the grocery stores have plenty of produce.

[Serendip]

Been testing a lot of recipes from Amy Chaplins' really great cookbook "at home in the whole food kitchen'. Some simple recipes..the more complicated ones just often skipped over but everything I have tried from the book has been a success.  Tomorrow I'm making the spicy black bean stew and recently made the forbidden rice pudding. all very good.

This morning I made a batch of granola and also a rhubarb & apple crumble.