Alternative ingredients

Cajungal

Cajungal

Staff member
So I've been trying some things lately in the kitchen... things that are making the fellow squirm, but whatever, I am having fun. As long as there's meat and potatoes in the fridge, he's happy.

I found a recipe for pudding made with silken tofu. I'm trying that today. I also read about people who use black beans in flourless brownies. This isn't a diet I'm starting; I'm not cutting out flour or dairy or anything completely, but I enjoy exploring how many different ways I can make something taste good.

Does anyone prepare recipes like this regularly--swap for an ingredient that's considered healthier/lower carb/higher protein/vegan? Do you have any advice for me? OH! Also, has anyone here used almond or coconut flour in baked goods?
 
Chad Sexington

Chad Sexington

If you have any successful endeavours, definitely post them. I have been trying new recipes several times a week. I actually have some photos I should put up in the What's For Dinner thread from last week.
 
LordRendar

LordRendar

I acutally had silken tofu pudding since I have a lot of Vegan friends and am currently living in a Vegetarian household.It is very delicious.

I make a lot of seitan as a meat substitute and if you marinate it correctly it even tastes as good as meat.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

I generally alter my recipes to include less salt, fat, and sugar. Then again, I have a fucked up sense of taste and it's not as strong as others.
 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
Cajungal said:
I tried it. It's very tasty, and it's just 2 ingredients--silken tofu and melted chocolate! :)
Click to expand...
I've had that before, and I love it. I'd call it more of a mousse than a pudding, and how well it turns out depends entirely on how good of chocolate you use. The better the chocolate, the better it turns out. Using something like Hershey's would result in something I wouldn't much care for.
 
Cajungal

Cajungal

Staff member
figmentPez said:
I've had that before, and I love it. I'd call it more of a mousse than a pudding, and how well it turns out depends entirely on how good of chocolate you use. The better the chocolate, the better it turns out. Using something like Hershey's would result in something I wouldn't much care for.
Click to expand...
The store I went to had hershey, toll house and a store brand chips. I got the dark chocolate toll house. Not as chalky as milk chocolate or hershey's would have been, but definitely not as smooth as it could be. Isn't stopping me from enjoying it though! I'm... so full.
 
strawman

strawman

My wife reports that she skips the eggs and oil and water from the duncan hines devils food chocolate cake mix, and just drops in a can of canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling).

Veggies! Lower cholesterol and fat!

Tastes good.

She also puts peas in everything she can if she thinks she can get away with it.
 
B

BErt

Well shoot, I was just in a position today where I was going to make pancakes and didn't have eggs. I ended up deciding I didn't want them bad enough to go looking for a substitute. Oddly enough I had canned pumpkin around too, and pumpkin pancakes are awesome anyway. Now I know what to try next time.
 
drifter

drifter

BErt said:
Well shoot, I was just in a position today where I was going to make pancakes and didn't have eggs. I ended up deciding I didn't want them bad enough to go looking for a substitute. Oddly enough I had canned pumpkin around too, and pumpkin pancakes are awesome anyway. Now I know what to try next time.
Click to expand...
Well, I know what I'll be making for breakfast later.
 
WasabiPoptart

WasabiPoptart

Bananas are a good substitute for eggs in baking as long as you aren't making something delicately flavored. 1/4 c. mashed banana per egg in the recipe.
Also applesauce can be used instead of oil.
 
drifter

drifter

That reminds me, I've heard frozen bananas tossed in a blender makes for a killer ice cream substitute. I gotta remember to try that.
 
WasabiPoptart

WasabiPoptart

DarkAudit said:
For best effect, don't spill the beans on the tofu until after the guests have all praised the dessert. ;)
Click to expand...
I did that to my parents when I made them my veggie moussaka (the recipe is some where on here in a convo about lentils). They had no idea, told me it was very good, and ate it up. As soon as I said there was tofu in it suddenly it would have been better with ground beef in it. LOL
 
BananaHands

BananaHands

Staff member
Hey, so I guess I can start throwing up some of my vegan recipes for this thread. First up, beer battered Seitan 'wings'. I've been tweaking this recipe for like the last three years. Plenty of alternative ingredients in this puppy.

What you’ll need:
  • Seitan
  • Soy Milk
  • White Wine Vinegar
  • 1 cup Flour
  • 1 cup Beer
  • 1 cup Bread Crumbs
  • Buffalo sauce.
  • Olive oil
  • Tongs (it’ll get messy if you do it by hand).
Let’s Do This:
  1. The first thing you’ll need for this is the vegan buttermilk, which is actually pretty simple. For every cup of soy milk you use, put in a tablespoon of white wine vinegar. Stir it up and let it sit for ten minutes. That should do the trick. Pour the buttermilk in a bowl when finished.
  2. Cut the seitan to whatever size you want. Although if it’s too thick, you may run in to some issues with a gooey inside. Drop the seitan strips into the bowl of buttermilk.
  3. While those are soaking, mix the breadcrumbs, flour and beer in a separate bowl. I usually add some spices and stuff into this mix. You'll also need to add more of each ingredient as you continue.
  4. Toss the seitan in the breadcrumbs/flour/beer mix. I usually put the breaded seitan on a pan covered with wax paper so it dries slightly. Keeps the breading from just falling off.
  5. Throw some oil in a pan and throw it on the stove to heat it up. You don’t have to put too much. If you end up putting a sizable puddle, you’ll end up hitting yourself with some hot oil.
  6. After it is all coated, drop the wings into the pan and let it get crispy. Drop the finished wings on a plate with a paper towel to soak up some of the grease.
  7. Sauce it up.
Here's my last batch pre-sauced:


Here's a batch I made without breading. It was good, but it really didn't have that desired crunch. Still, loads healthier.

 
Fun Size

Fun Size

Oh God, these things. Every time we make one of these recipes, I'm thinking to myself "We're going to put what in the cookies?", and every damned time, it's my new favorite cookie. My wife made the gingerbread biscotti in the cookie one, and I seriously ate them until I had a stomach ache like a stupid little kid. I've only tried a couple of the cupcakes, but the experience was similar.:

http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Cupcakes-Take-Over-World/dp/1569242739
http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Cookies-Invade-Your-Cookie/dp/160094048X
 
BananaHands

BananaHands

Staff member
Fun Size said:
Oh God, these things. Every time we make one of these recipes, I'm thinking to myself "We're going to put what in the cookies?", and every damned time, it's my new favorite cookie. My wife made the gingerbread biscotti in the cookie one, and I seriously ate them until I had a stomach ache like a stupid little kid. I've only tried a couple of the cupcakes, but the experience was similar.:

http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Cupcakes-Take-Over-World/dp/1569242739
http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Cookies-Invade-Your-Cookie/dp/160094048X
Click to expand...
That vegan cupcakes book has an AMAZING pumpkin cupcake recipe.

Also, if you're baking anything you can replace egg with flaxseed:

  • 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
  • 3 tablespoons water (or other liquid)
  • Stir till gooey.
Flaxseed has tons of benefits, so it brings something to those cookies.
 
BananaHands

BananaHands

Staff member
For today's alternative ingredient, we're going with Vegenaise!


Great alternative to mayo for recipes. Which brings us to...

Vegan Coleslaw

You'll need....
  • 1 bag cabbage mix
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 1/2 cups of vegenaise
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 3 tablespoons vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • Swirl of honey mustard (look for one without high fructose corn syrup!)
Combine and mix the ingredients and then chill.

I'm not even a huge onion fan and I absolutely love how good this 'slaw tastes.
 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
A tasty alternative crust for a quiche can be made from potato, if you need to be gluten-free or just want something different. Grate the potato, add salt, squeeze it out in some cheese cloth or a tea towel, and then press it into the pie pan and season with pepper.
 
Cajungal

Cajungal

Staff member
I found a recipe for flourless pancakes. I love pancakes, but generally they're not a great breakfast food... at least on weekdays when I need to get shit done. It consists of 1 egg, a mashed banana, and a quarter cup of peanut butter. They taste good with honey, but they are so dense. That batch lasted two days. Unlike normal pancakes, they tasted okay when reheated. I just threw them back in the pan.
 
Fun Size

Fun Size

Since I was spouting off about this in the minor victory thread, I will throw down strong support for Field Roast brand sausages. The Italian, Apple Sage, and Mexican Chipotle sausages are vegan, and better than real sausages IMHO. Even the Frankfurters are really good (although a bit salty for my taste). None of that crappy "fake meat" texture that I hate so much, and they taste so damned good.
 
Cajungal

Cajungal

Staff member
Fuckin' black bean brownies... so delicious. There's still sugar in them, but if you're looking to cut out flour, this is a good recipe:

* 1 can rinsed and drained black beans
* 3/4 cup sugar (or ~1/2 cup agave nectar if you prefer that)
* 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips -- 1/4 cup melted, 1/4 cup set aside
* 3 eggs
* 3 tbs canola oil
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 1/4 cup cocoa powder
* 1 pinch salt

Blend all ingredients in a food processor except un-melted chocolate chips until smooth. Pour batter in an 8x8 greased pan. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top, and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
 
BananaHands

BananaHands

Staff member
Recipe calls for buttermilk and you want to keep it vegan?

  1. 1 tablespoon of white vinegar in a measuring cup.
  2. 1 cup of either almond milk or soy milk (hemp milk might work too?).
  3. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
  4. TA-DA. Vegan Buttermilk.
 
BananaHands

BananaHands

Staff member
Made this open-faced BBQ tempeh sandwich yesterday on ciabatta.


All vegan! A lot of protein! Not too hard to make. I'll post the recipe later today.
 
BananaHands

BananaHands

Staff member
What you need:​
  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup tamari
  • 1/4 cup canned tomato sauce
  • 1 large chipotle chile in adobo sauce
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup agave nectar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 pound tempeh (2 8-ounce packages], cut into 1/2 inch fingers (TRADER JOES HAS THE BEST TEMPEH!)
  • 5 4x4-inch pieces of focaccia (Alternatively, use ciabatta)
  • 4 1/2 cups carrot-cayenne coleslaw <---Link to that recipe.
What you do:​
  • In a blender, combine the apple cider vinegar, lime juice, tamari, tomato sauce, chile, olive oil, agave nectar, cumin, cayenne, and water to create a marinade. Puree until well combined. Set aside.
  • Preheat grill.
  • In a large baking dish, place the tempeh fingers in one snug layer. Pour the marinade on them and tightly cover the dish with foil. Transfer to the grill, close, and bake for 50 minutes, turning the tempeh once halfway through.
  • Remove the baking dish from the grill. With a slotted spoon, transfer the tempeh fingers back to the grill and cook until sizzling and slightly charred, about 1 minute per side.
  • While the tempeh is grilling, put the focaccia on the grill and cook until warm and slightly charred, about 2 minutes per side.
  • Construct the sandwiches by adding 3 to 4 tempeh fingers to each square of focaccia and topping with coleslaw.
 
BananaHands

BananaHands

Staff member
Made this last night. It was amazing. Kind of toyed around with a few recipes I saw on the internet. Either way, super cheap to make. Also, sorry for flooding this with recipes, should I just make my own thread?

Chickpea Casserole Sandwich:



What You Need:
  • 1 can Chickpeas/Garbanzo beans (SAME THING WEIRD RIGHT?)
  • 2 carrots
  • 3 tablespoons veganaise (non-vegans, mayo works fiiiine).
  • 2 tablespoons dill relish
  • Bread (your choice!)
What You Do:
  • Drain the beans
  • Grate the carrots
  • Throw the can and grated carrots into a food processor/blender.
  • Blend until it's all mushy and almost resembles tuna.
  • Throw it in a bowl, slop on the veganaise/mayo and relish, stir until it's all mixed up good.
  • Spread generously on bread.
  • Throw it in a pan and fry it a bit. Think grilled cheese.
Super good. Also, tastes great with sriracha if you're feeling saucy. Oh, I put some daiya which is my favorite cheese substitute too.

Oh, that spinach thing in the background is just sauteed spinach, mushroom, black bean and some minced garlic.
 
Chad Sexington

Chad Sexington

I thought I'd post this here and in the What's for Dinner thread. http://www.pepperplate.com

It's a service (with a useful phone app!) to organise recipes and ingredients, create meal plans/schedules and easily construct grocery lists from recipes you've saved. It can automatically import recipes from about 20 sites, so you rarely have to manually add a recipe. I find it crazy useful, especially the grocery list function, which makes grocery shopping so much easier (it sorts things by store section automatically, which is soooo nice). You can add items manually, too, so you can have your whole grocery list there and just have your phone open while you shop.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top