Praise the Non-Seitan

Usually I'm not a lover of fake meats, I try a new product for the novelty of it, and if it's good, maybe have it every 2-3 months. But a few weeks ago, in Wing Yip, I found my addiction:

TKC is a Malaysian company that makes fake meat/fish that tastes pretty authentic and is very easy to cook with, but doesn't freak you out because even if the texture is good, it's clear it's not real meat. Plus, they don't include a billion additives, most is soy-based.

I'm addicted to the "chicken breast" and the "Satay", and last week I bought their fake cod, which is flavoured with seaweed and the "skin" is a sheet of nori- pure heaven and finally something to take care of my fish cravings.

Couldn't take any pictures of the cod because it was scoffed instantly, but here's the prawns (not authentic-looking at all, the other varieties you can buy with their intense red/pink colouring are quite creepy, no?) with soba and some stir-fried mizuna:


And today's breakfast (miso soup not photographed), pretty easy to tell what's what. The chicken is seriously addictive!!!


I haven't seen the products anywhere else, but if you're in the UK, Wing Yip has their megastores in London (Croydon and Cricklewood), Birmingham and Manchester.

What's your favourite vegetable?

Warning: extremely lame vegan foodie post :) I've been thinking about this for a while (what a thing to be occupied with!), but I don't think it's worth a forum survey or something.

If you had to pick your three favourite veggies, what would you choose?

I'm for greens and rather "exotic" stuff; can you guess?

Another Survey!

Thanks to Jess, we have another Mofo filler post :) I'm nowhere near the 20 posts minimum, but I have good excuses (like getting excited about interviews ;-) oh, and work, life... chinchillas?!).

1. What was the most recent tea you drank?
Coffee-strong South Indian tea from denn's biomarkt. I go through those tea phases where I obsess about one brand. I realize black tea isn't the healthiest option, but I'm healthy enough already!

2. What vegan forums do you post/lurk on? If so, what is your username? Spill!
I'm pavotrouge pretty much everywhere. I'm registered with the PPK and VFF but I barely post. I occasionally post on vegan.de. My home forum is www.veganforum.com, which surprisingly seems very unknown among bloggers.

3. You have to have tofu for dinner, and it has be an Italian dish. What comes to mind first?
Pizza with tofu ricotta.

4. How many vegan blogs do you read on an average day?

It feels like there are billions in my reader, honestly there are about 60-80. I don't read them every day but skim them all once a week when I can afford to hang out online (read: weekend days).

5. Besides your own, what is the most recent one you’ve read?
I can't really tell, see 4.)

6. If you could hang out with a vegan blogger that you haven’t met, who would it be, and what would you do?

I'd like to meet up with bazu now she's in England :) But I haven't met any vegan bloggers so I'd be happy to meet any at all!

7. If you had to base your dinners for a week around one of the holy trilogy – tofu, seitan or tempeh, which would it be?

Seitan, because it's the easiest to modify and can be used in so many different cuisines. I love tempeh but it's hard to get your hands on here and I don't care too much for tofu.

8. If you had to use one in a fight, which would it be?
Tempeh, because I know many people who are scared of it.

9. Name 3 meals you’d realistically make with that tough protein of choice!
Tempeh cacciatore from Vegan Planet, Tempeh chili spring rolls and pizza with simple Italian marinated tempeh (seems like all I ever think about is pizza...)

10. What’s a recipe in vegan blogland that you’ve been eyeing?
Two recipes have been in my bookmarks for the last couple of weeks, but I'm too lazy to get all ingredients together: Seitan bratwurst patties and Civet of Seitan.

11. Do you own any clothing with vegan messages/brands on them?
Loads. I have a herbivore sweater and tshirt (which cost me $$$ import taxes!), another black AR-themed sweater and countless tshirts.

12. Have you made your pilgrimage to the ‘vegan mecca’ yet? (Portland, duh)
Portland? London is the vegan mecca!

13. What age did you first go vegan? Did it stick?
Properly vegan, as in grasping the whole ethics? When I was 18, and it's been lasting until now.

14. What is the worst vegan meal you’ve had? Who cooked it?
Christmas dinner from work, two years ago. The salad and dessert was better than the regular menu, but the entree was three roasted baby tomatoes, and a "ratatouille" of 2 slices of courgette and a bell pepper with some rosemary thrown onto it. I was endlessly bland and I grabbed some neat Thai curry on my way home because I was still hungry.

15. What made you decide to blog?
I had a blog before but somehow lost the incentive to post. Then I got excited about veganism, cooking and everything and decided I'll feel better if I am actually contributing instead of wasting time online. Also, people kept asking me to share recipes and I got tired of writing them down each time.

16. What are three of your favorite meals to make?

1.pizza 2. pizza. 3. pizza

just kidding- though I love pizza a lot.

My favourite things to make might be:

1. Thai curry

2. vegan Katsudon

3. Fattoush - Lebanese bread salad

17. What dish would you bring to a vegan Thanksgiving-themed potluck?
Apart from never having celebrated Thanksgiving?

18. Where is your favorite vegan meal at a restaurant? How many times have you ordered it?

Simplistic pasta al' arrabiata at Vapiano. I know it's easy to make yourself but they have the best, freshest pasta in the world. I've probably eaten it 50 times in the last three years.

19. What do you think the best chain to dine as a vegan is?
I love Vapiano, an Italian cafeteria-style restaurant where everything is prepared fresh and right in front of your eyes. Plus, their prices (and wines!) can't be beaten. Half of their pasta dishes are vegan (if you tell them not to put parmesan cheese on top at the end). They're going to open their first US branches in early 2009.

20. My kitchen needs ………
Hum... I'm really self-sufficient and happy with the way things are. There are a lot of fancy gadgets but before I can fit any of these in, I'd need a bigger kitchen.

21. This vegetable is not allowed in my kitchen…..!
Savoy cabbage. There used to be many veggies I didn't like when I first moved into my own place, and I love most of them now. But this thick icky-textured cabbage that tastes like dirt shall be banned!

22. What’s for dinner tonight?
Thai noodle soup.

23. Compose your perfect vegan sandwich, right now.
Ciabatta bread, red pepper hummus, lots of olives, Italian marinated tempeh, tomatoes and pickled zucchini.

24. Add a question here!
Duh. Not again :) If there are questions, use the comment function and I'll gladly answer.

Euro-Thai Noodle Soup

The first couple of dinners I spent with my Thai friend's family, her mother made a real effort to make "European" dishes for me (or what she thought traditional European food). Until I told her I don't need schnitzel and goulash every day.
Now when you live in the middle of nowhere, Asian groceries are not easy to get and we ended up having a lot of wannabe-Thai dishes with supermarket staples, including many many noodle soups.

This is my favourite and the dish that first got me into cooking when I was 15. It's not too exotic and easy to prepare, yet doesn't use fancy ingredients and it's still authentic.
The trick is to really cook everything seperate, it's still very quick to finish, I promise!

you'll need (for 2 servings or one very hungry vegan):

• 1 square ramen/chinese soup noodles (or spaghetti/linguine...)
• 1/4 block of tofu, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 red chili, cut into fine rings
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup mung bean sprouts

garnish:

• 2 tbs chopped parsley
• crushed peanuts
• sugar
• chopped spring onions
• chili powder/ pickled Thai chilis

1.) Saute the tofu in a small saucepan until slightly browned, then take out of the pan and set aside.
2.) Same saucepan- bring some water to a boil and cook the noodles. Take them out.
3.) Quickly saute the garlic and chili, add broth and bring to a boil.
4.) Now assemble your bowls- first bean sprouts, then noodles, then tofu and ladle the broth on top eventually.

Serve with small bowl of all of the garnishes and enjoy :) I like mine with lots of chili and sugar!

Self-depricating vegans...

...like I have been this week need their comfort food.

On Tuesday, I had dinner at a co-workers place because I helped her with some computer stuff (because I'm a super computer geek apparently ?_? it's mostly an aura thing I must have caught from all my IT friends).
She's omni but very open to trying vegan things... so we kept thinking about what we could cook and decided we didn't feel like it.
So we had ALDI soy schnitzel (which taste exactly like the chicken nuggets my grandma always stocked for my when I was little!), chips and salad. Yep, we're classy like that.

When I pulled the camera out to get a picture, Anne stopped me because she had to put sesame seeds on the salads- to make it look fancy, hehe!

I do cook!

I almost can't believe it myself, but yes, I'm still cooking, and even taking pictures! Some tasty new things I've tried in the last 2 weeks:


TVP gyros, djuvec rice, tsatsiki, olives and tomatoes. Just like from the small diner in my hometown. When I was craving gyros in the last years, I'd turn to the ready-made Viana stuff. Then I found a jar of kebab spice on my kitchen shelf (Phil?) and decided to marinade some TVP in that overnight, squish out the liquid the next day and put it into a pan with loads of onions and garlic until crunchy (about 45 minutes). Totally worth it and cheaper than Viana crap for 3 € for a small serving! Djuvec style rice is simply tomato rice with peas and green beans and tsatsiki... go figure.


Simplicity! Red quinoa with eggplants that've been sauteed with tomatoes and capers and a splash of white wine. So quick and good!


More eggplant goodness! Nasu-don after Vegan Ronin's fantastic recipe with a pile of pickled ginger and spring onions. It's hard to imagine what it's like unless you try the recipe.


Sunday roast dinner (actually lunch)! Parsley roast potaoes, chicken-style roast, smashed peas and gravy. Every since my trip to Ireland and getting some foodie magazines from there, I'm so much more into Western European cuisine. Yes, I cooked this!

Political Cooking: Wam Kat

Ok, this is going to be a German-centered book since the guy I'm talking about is Dutch and now lives in Germany, plus his book has only been published in German so far.

I hadn't heard of Wam Kat before I read an article about his new book "24 Rezepte zur kulinarischen Weltverbesserung" ("24 recipes to make the world a better place", dang German long words that can't be translated!) on Utopia.de.
A political vegetarian cookbook with a twist of biography in it? Sounded like my kind of book, but 25 € seemed a bit overpriced for it.

So I started reading about Wam Kat, who has been cooking for the masses for free at eco/environmental/AR gigs since the 70s, founded his own environmental network and was one of the first bloggers ever (Wikipedia says much more).

I also read some interviews and watched this video:


That convinced me to get the book... usually I wait until I've tried a bunch of recipes or have at least read a book from page to page, but I felt an urgent need to write about this book.

I'm not easy to surprise when it comes to cookbooks, and even though there's only 24 recipes in there (really? it feels like so many more!), I'm eager to try every single one of them. They are really inventive, and if not, have a lovely personal touch to them, and even though the book is called vegetarian 95% of the recipes are vegan. Where not, Wam suggests vegan alternatives- and I mean, for a change, real alternatives, not "leave out xy if you're vegan".

Plus, there's so much general info about the idea of Volksküche, left politics and just random chatter that's so much fun to read.

I'm going to test some recipes soon- and if you think your German is acceptable, give the book a try (after all, it's not the author's native language, either).

Did I mention Wam has the cutest Dutch accent ever?

Blog Action Day 2008 - Poverty

(yes, I'm aware it's not quite 15 October yet. I'll be out all day tomorrow and the day after so rather early than not at all)

In the past couple of weeks, I think I've posted enough about how veganism is one possible solution against world hunger, how important it it to buy fair trade products where possible, about living on a budget and wasting food.

I'm not going to lecture today, I just want people to stop a moment and reconsider their standards.

Now that the international stock market and economy has been crashing for the last weeks, people are worried about losing their savings, not being able to afford a second car, not having their weeknight take-outs and so on.

The official definition of "poverty" in Germany (yes, we have official stuff for everything) is when you people live on less than ~730 € a month (per person). I lived on far less while growing up and also when I first moved out into my own apartment.

In fact, I'm not that far above that figure right now, and I live in my own place in the city centre, can afford good food, a travel every now and then, buying books and clothes, going to gigs and pretty much everything I'd like to.

Growing up, I was one of the poorest kids at school. Which meant I didn't get fancy designer teen clothes and my family could not afford to go on holiday except for visiting relatives. I was the only kid in my grade whose parents didn't own a car.
Still, we had clothing on our backs and plenty of food in the house at all times. We even all had our own TVs and computers. We had proper health care and social insurance.
Is this "poverty"?

Classmates kept pitying me for the fact that I started working part-time when I was 13 so I could pay for trips, clothes (on top of what was necessary; my mom paid the essential, but teenage girls...) and (gasp!) my own Internet connection and mobile phone.

I get incredibly angry when people moan about how expensive things are yet they can pay International travels, cars and fancy gadgets.
Could it be, that our Western world has lost its healthy views on what's "normal"?

Let's have a look at this neat statistic:
(many of you will know it already, but it's so striking I felt the need to post it today)

If we could reduce the world’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, the demographics would look something like this:

The village would have 60 Asians, 14 Africans, 12 Europeans, 8 Latin Americans, 5 from the USA and Canada, and 1 from the South Pacific

51 would be male, 49 would be female

82 would be non-white; 18 white

67 would be non-Christian; 33 would be Christian

80 would live in substandard housing

67 would be unable to read

50 would be malnourished and 1 dying of starvation

33 would be without access to a safe water supply

39 would lack access to improved sanitation

24 would not have any electricity (And of the 76 that do
have electricity, most would only use it for light at night.)

7 people would have access to the Internet

1 would have a college education

1 would have HIV

2 would be near birth; 1 near death

5 would control 32% of the entire world’s wealth; all 5 would be US citizens

33 would be receiving --and attempting to live on-- only 3% of the income of “the village”

How poor are you?

(the original version can be found here, this is an update and abbreviated one)

Wholesome lunchbox October!

I seriously need to get back into bento-ing. Ok, I need to get back into pretty much everything ambitious cooking, I've been so lazy the last couple of weeks!

As most bento events are a) contests and I hate competition in my free time or b) about cutesy bento or even artistic kyara-ben. I love cooking with a bit of cute in it, but I'll always stay an impatient girl.

So I was very happy to find out about the monthly Wholesome Lunchbox event hosted by Coffee and Vanilla.

This is tomorrow's bento and my entry for this month. I even bothered to "make" a background!

The green "Natural Leaf" box (because who doesn't "Love Natural Blessing"?) has crispy homemade gyoza with seitan, spring onion and mushroom filling. Underneath, there's a small tossed salad of spinach, some tomato wedges and home-grown mizuna.

For sweet things, I have green grapes and Italian lemon/orange cake (recipe to follow soon!).
Can't wait for Monday!

Another me me...

My weekend plan (i.e. no plan for the weekend!) worked out and I got some proper cooking, baking, cleaning and planting done, as well as recipe copying and other stuff.

Next week is going to be full of blogging events that I don't want to miss out on... so come on, camera, re-charge your batteries quickly...

Until then, I'll bore you with this year's mofo survey by
Food Snobbery is my Hobbery

1. Name a song that involves food in some way.

Die Banane - Die Ärzte (yes, a song called "the banana")

2. What criteria do you use when choosing a new cookbook to buy?

I don't go for the books with fancy covers or lots of pictures, though I like a certain DIY-look as with everything I buy. When browsing for books, it's important that the recipes match the way I cook. Buying Western-centered books is a waste of money for me as I never ever try things, or if I do, don't really like them.
There are a few exceptions, but mostly, I'll be happy with Asian, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cookbooks.

Another thing that's probably odd is that I like books that have a certain touch to them, for example a cloth-bound cover instead of a paperback.

3. What did you eat today?

Thai rice and mushroom coconut soup

4. Name a vegan food that you know exists but you have never tried.

Fiddlehead Ferns

5. The Food Network just called and needs you to start your new show tomorrow. What will the title of the show be?

I beg you pardon, mainstream TV?!

6. Favorite hot sauce or other spicy condiment?

Asian "Sweet Chili Sauce for chicken" (best without chicken!)

7. How old were you when you became vegetarian/vegan?

after having tried different stages of vegetarianism and going back to an omni diet every now and then, I went vegan shortly before I turned 19.

8. Favorite vegan cheeze?

Veganwonderland's "Keehse", in fact the only one that I'll eat.

9. Cutest baby animal?

Guinea pigs, because they're just like miniature versions of the grown up piggies.

10. Favorite type of jam/jelly/marmalade/preserves?

Homemade elderberry... morello cherry... my own Bratapfel-rum jam... can't choose.

11. Do you take any vitamins/supplements?

I buy some VEG1 every now and then, but don't worry if I run out because I eat plenty of fortified food (making Alpro rich...)

12. What food/dish most embodies the Fall season?

Apple strudel, vegetable soups.

13. What food would you have a hard time living without?

Pasta, and I mean the real stuff. Gluten-intolerance would be so hard for me! Also a life without green tea, olives and red wine.

14. Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?
tea, mostly green and herbal teas but I enjoy some chai or a good cuppa black tea every now and then, too.

15. It's 10PM and you're starving. What do you eat?

that's what pasta was made for. It's strange buy I have to eat something after 10 PM or I'll wake up in the night, starving. So if I don't have any leftovers, I'll cook some spaghetti and have them with arrabiata sauce or olive oil, chili and garlic. Fruit or veg won't fill that nightly vegan eating machine up!

16. If you have an animal companion, what is his/her favorite food?

Raisins are crack to chinchillas. Seriously.

17. Worst injury you've gotten in the kitchen?

None... though people always fear I'll hurt myself and tell me I look clumsy in the kitchen.
Now that's the reason why I don't own a proper chef's knife!

18. When you have a food-related question, who do you call?
Usually the Internet, or my friend Dan or Yu who are both fantastic, yet omni cooks.

19. Summer is ending- What food will you miss most?

This summer's harvest was disappointing, so there's nothing I'm going to miss. Usually I'd mourn over the last lovely tomatoes and cherries.

20. What snacks do you keep in your purse/backpack/desk at work?

None, as shops are really close and I can go out buy something if I really fancy it. We're a health-conscious bunch so we usually have fruit and maybe even some salad ingredients in the office at all times. Plus, there's bento.

21. Favorite soup to make on a rainy day?

Dhal or minstrone. Any day!

22. What's your favorite combination of fresh vegetable and/or fruit juices?

Ew. I just can't have vegetable juices. I like mango-apple, though.

23. Favorite brand of root beer?
No root beer round here!

24. Make up your own question!

Favourite Breakfast?
Soup! Doesn't matter if it's leftover veggie soup or Japanese/Thai-ish breakfast soup.

Back to organic

No food pics today, but I have a goal to share with you folks today.
I've discovered I spend way too much money on food at the moment and end up throwing away a lot of stuff.
As much as I like to cook for people, entertain and stuff my co-workettes with cookies, people can only eat until they're full.

And I have a very snobby thing to admit... though I am well aware that there are millions of people out there who don't have enough food and are even on the verge of starving... but I don't appreciate conventional food properly. I guess it's just that throwing out "cheap" food doesn't hurt as much as organic produce.

I used to buy 90% organic for quite some time but somehow lost track of it. So my vegan mofo aim is to return to being more eco-conscious, spend less and waste less.

So my plan is:
a) return to making a meal plan and shopping list - and stick to the shopping list
b) only buy organic OR local
c) buy fair trade, where available
d) buy non-organic/non-local/non-fair only if these options don't offer quality, good-looking produce, cost more than 2x than conventional (trainee here!) or are simply not available (e.g. it's hard to find chocolate chips in Germany at all, no way you'd find organic ones!).

How about you? What products will you only buy in organic (my rule is: everything I'm going to eat raw or grows underground must be organic or I won't touch it) and fairly traded (chocolate/cocoa, coffee, certain exotic fruit) and how much of your overall food purchases?

(and now the first weekend in more than a month with almost no plans and time to cook is beginning!)

Where I cook...

for now... at the moment it's uncertain if I'll move, when and where. Well, at the latest, next year, to the UK, that's what's certain.

The rest... flatshare searching blues... anyway, this is my first and most beloved tiny kitchen for now, and I'm very proud of it.

The cooking area (only a kitchenette!) is very small, but I've worked a lot on it and can fit everything in my kitchen. Plus, there's quite a bit of space for entertaining guests.
Believe it or not, but up to 15 people fit in here!


Er... please kindly ignore the dirty dishes... kitchenette is shiny nonetheless!

Cookbook, dish, bento and other stuff shelf, mini coffee machine, electric kettle, my mini convectional oven <3>
All the counter space I have is this wooden IKEA board, but it's enough for me. Only must remember to fold it down at night or I'll run into it on my way to the bathroom at night or in the morning.

It's a very small, mixed-together and cheaply equipped kitchen, but it's mine and I wouldn't trade for a fancy, shiny huge one :)

They all look the same...

...curries, that is. After reading the PPK "let's use our cookbooks more often" threads and finding out I'm running totally late for participating, I decided try some more recipes from Vegan Planet.

Which didn't express me. Don't get me wrong, I love how the book is international and seems to have a recipe for everything, but none of it has had that "wow" effect yet.

So we have lentil curry (which made a load, so I ate it 5 days in a row!):


And green bean-chickpea tagine, served with V-con red quinoa and chickpea pilaf. I left out the dried fruit because a) I didn't have any b) I'm not particularly fond of dried fruit in cooked things


I didn't manage to whip up a cake for Alex's birthday (as if I ever managed a properly iced birthday cake, anyway!), so I made chocolate muffins that look huuuge in this picture.
Talking about cakes, check out this site with fucked up cakes made by professionals!

I was meant to be at a demo on Saturday but we were horribly late. Sadly, everybody had already left and we couldn't catch up with the march anymore- luckily, that meant more waffles for us!

Now the question of the day: find out who this handsome stranger eating a vegan waffle is and win... a date with him and his pet owl ?

Vegan no-fo

I was all excited about starting to blog away again, but now so many things are happening at the moment, and a friend from London decided to visit on very short notice.

As much as I love entaining people, it's all a bit stressfull at the moment.

Now it's the first day of Vegan Mofo and I skipped breakfast, forgot my bento, had a boring salad and have been feeling a bit sick all day. Not a good start, but maybe it'll turn tonight...