Sophie’s Kitchen Giveaway winner!

The Sophie’s Kitchen Giveway winner is vidya108!! Congratulations!

Vegan Seafood + Giveaway

I recently received coupons from Sophie’s Kitchen to try three of their vegan seafood products for free. These took me a long time to find, but luckily a couple weeks after receiving the coupons my local Whole Foods started selling three of the selections: prawns, calamari, and breaded shrimp.

I purchased these three, and last night I had a vegan friend over to sample these with me. I have to admit that I spent a lot of time online researching how you eat these foods. Despite having grown up on an island and having a childhood surrounded by seafood, I hated the taste and never tried many of our regional specialties. So, yes, I googled “how to eat prawns” and “what is calamari?”. The breaded shrimp didn’t need any researching, however, since it was the one kind of seafood I would eat growing up. Although, honestly, since I usually drenched them in cocktail sauce I probably couldn’t taste the shrimp.

Anyway, for the calamari and breaded shrimp, I followed the package instructions for baking. You can also deep-fry these, but I’m not a fan of cooking with that much oil, and baking is significantly easier.

The rings are the calamari (which is squid), and the crescent shapes are the breaded shrimp. They were done in just 15 minutes, which means they’d be a great side dish for when you’re busy.

For the prawns, I decided to dice them up and make risotto. Here’s what they look like straight out of the package:

I was actually a little freaked out by how real they look. Luckily though, they aren’t real, and thus require no de-pooping or other gross things.

I kept the risotto very basic. The only seasonings I used were fresh oregano, salt, and lemon juice. The rich flavor of risotto comes from the wine and fat (in this case extra-virgin olive oil and Earth Balance butter), so I like to keep everything else simple.

So, now for the most important part. How did everything taste? Although I personally wasn’t a big fan of the calamari, my friend said they were her favorite. I never tried calamari in my pre-vegan days, so I can’t attest to what it’s suppose to taste like, but I think the main reason I didn’t care for them was just the texture. My friend that liked them the best has a great palate (and in fact cooks for a living), so I would say just give them a try and see how you feel. I’m probably just really picky.

The prawns were huge, so I chopped them up to have more bites of them in the risotto. I feel like these would be great appetizers with a good dip or sauce. They were a tiny bit bland, but I’m pretty sure that’s how they’re suppose to taste. The pink color was beautiful in the risotto, and I would love to serve it to an omnivore to get their opinion. It took a few bites to get over how real they looked and felt to me, but once I did manage to convince myself of their veganness, I ate away. Next time I buy a package of these (yes, I will totally buy these again!) I plan to make a seafood salad. Their taste actually reminded me a little of the “fake crab” fish that is used to make seafood salad.

The breaded shrimp were my absolute favorite. I loved popcorn shrimp and cocktail sauce when I was a kid, so I felt like I was reliving a little bit of my childhood with these. They’re delicious, and I would serve these to meat-eaters without a second thought.

Now for the giveaway! This is the first ever contest on Ahimsa, and I’m really excited about it. Hopefully it won’t be the last. Sophie’s Kitchen has generously offered to send the winner 2 coupons to try their product for free. You have four chances to win, and leave a separate comment for each. ***Make sure you leave a valid email when you comment so that I can contact you if you win!!***

1. Visit Sophie’s Kitchen’s website and comment with what 2 products you would try.
2. Follow Sophie’s Kitchen on Twitter.
3. Like Sophie’s Kitchen on Facebook.
4.  Like Ahimsa on Facebook.

I’ll randomly choose a winner on Saturday, December 31st at noon. Good luck!!!

Into the East

For Christmas, my boyfriend bought me a copy of Hema Parekh’s The Asian Vegan Kitchen. I’d had the pleasure of looking at this cookbook a long time ago when I checked it out from the library, and although I’ve had the intention of purchasing it ever since, I just never got around to it. The photo insert is full of beautifully-prepared dishes, and there are a variety of recipes from the Asian continent.

I’ve already made a few recipes from the book, and I am impressed.

What you see above is the chickpea curry and the chapati from the chapter on Indian cuisine (by far the longest section in the book – not a bad thing!). The chapatis were pretty plan, just like chapatis should be, but the chickpea curry was really saucy and flavorful. This was by far the best chickpea curry I’ve ever made. The recipe uses pureed tomatoes, and I think that had to do with it to a degree. The pureed tomatoes blend the flavors together better than diced/chopped tomatoes do. I also had some leftover seitan in an Asian-y glaze, but there wasn’t really a recipe. I just sort of threw things together and thankfully it turned out great.

Last night I made the bamboo shoot and green pea stir-fry (Burma) and the Korean simmered tofu chorim. I’ve had a can of bamboo lurking in my pantry for months, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to use it up. The bamboo pairs pretty well with the peas, and there’s a very simple sauce. This would be a great recipe for a busy night – it comes together quickly with little preparation.

The simmered tofu chorim was out-of-this-world delicious. It’s just fried tofu with a sweet soy sauce, but there are a lot of flavors going on here. Instead of the mirin called for in the sauce, I used marsala wine because it was the closest thing I had. I’m not sure if it changed the flavor much, but this was so good I ended up eating a pound of tofu by myself because every time I walked into the kitchen I grabbed another slice.

I roasted some sugar snaps and cooked some quinoa to have on the side. It was a very fulfilling meal.

Do any of you have this cookbook? What should I make next?

Meals For My Busy Days

Whew! We’re nearing the end of our busy season at work, and as of January I’ll have way more time off, and much more time in the kitchen. I’m looking forward to having more chances for experimentation.

Here’s a few pics from some of my recent meals. I’ve been cooking mainly large pots of food, so that I can feed myself and still have plenty left over to take to work. One of my favorites so far has been the Home-Style Veggie Noodle Soup from Julie Hasson’s Vegan Diner.

It’s hearty, comforting, and delicious. The only variations to the recipe I made were to sweat the vegetables before starting the soup, and adding vegan Worcestershire sauce along with the tvp granules.

I also made the Cheezy Mac from Vegan Diner, and added some kale into it.

The cashew based sauce was creamy and smooth (I soaked the cashews for approximately 6 hours because I had to use my food processor – if you have a high-powered blender that would be unnecessary). I ate the pasta alongside a roasted portobello with pan-sauce gravy. I’ve been addicted to making pan sauces lately, and will show you how in an upcoming post!

Around Thanksgiving I found myself craving a dish I actually despised as a child: green bean casserole. I didn’t know exactly how to make it since I constantly ridiculed it and considered it disgusting as a kid, so I used the recipe from C’est la Vegan. It came out amazing and paired great with mashed potatoes with basil and buttered corn.

So those are just a few examples of what I’ve been enjoying. Coming up: a giveaway (the first on Ahimsa!), a vegan seafood party, pan sauces, and a lot of Asian vegan cooking!

Spicy Lettuce Wraps

Hey guys! I’m finally back online after some technological mishaps, which I fixed by getting drunk on Thanksgiving and taking my computer apart with a screwdriver. All it took then was buying a USB wireless adapter, and everything’s set!

After such a long absence from Ahimsa, I’ve decided to give you guys a delicious recipe. It’s truly quick and easy, and I love these for lunch because they still feel special despite being so dang simple to whip up. Here you go!

Spicy Lettuce Wraps (serves 2, but would double or triple easily)

4 Romaine lettuce leaves, washed
1/2 cup tvp granules
1/2 cup water
1 Tbs oil
1 Tbs ketchup
1 tsp hot sauce

Spice Blend
1 Tbs chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tsp oregano
1 Tbs nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp onion powder

First, rehydrate the tvp: combine tvp and water in a microwave safe bowl, and heat for about 4 minutes. Let set for 10 minutes.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, and add the 1 Tbs oil. When oil is hot, add the tvp, and saute for about 2 minutes, just until it starts to brown. Then add the ketchup, hot sauce, and spice blend, and stir. Saute another 2 or 3 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.

 

Fresh Tomato Salsa
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 scallion, chopped
2 Tbs red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp cayenne (or more to taste)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine ingredients, stir to mix thoroughly, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before using.

To make wraps, just put a generous scoop of the tvp into the lettuce leaf, and top with a dallop of fresh tomato salsa. It’s really tasty.

There are a few variations you could do for these: use ground walnuts instead of tvp, use collard or another leaf instead of Romaine, substitute salsa verde for the tomato salsa, or add shredded vegetables.