Vegan Dumpling Quest!

I like gyoza... a lot.

but it's time for sleep, back manana.

Oh, wait, why is something meatless always vegan. Like extreme virgin olive oil.

These foods existed before the vegan routine.

Beauty, eh? I could make this, just sans the ginger (RP is not a fan). More recipes! When you get a chance, of course.

Just
Eating
Soy?

What?!?! You didn't make your wrappers from scratch? Shame! They taste so much better than the store bought ones.

Actually, it sounds very good. I copied it to my recipe file for the next time I make some pot stickers.

If you're looking for some more vegan recipes, here are a few that I've tried at least once:

If you have leftover wonton wrappers, this will use them up:

Vegetable Ravioli


Ingredients:

1 1/2 tomatoes, diced
1 onion, chopped
8 whole mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 cup spinach, chopped
1/2 cup non/lowfat cottage cheese
2 tablespoons basil, minced
Freshly ground black pepper
48 eggless pot-sticker shells

Instructions:

Combine the tomatoes, onion, mushrooms, and garlic in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is somewhat dry. Set aside to cool.

Combine the tomato mixture, spinach, cottage cheese, and basil in a large bowl. Add pepper to taste.

On a cutting board, lay out a single layer of pot-sticker shells. Using a pastry brush, moisten the edges with water.

Place 1 tablespoon of the spinach mixture onto the center of each shell. Cover with a second pot-sticker shell and press the edges together with a fork to seal. Repeat with remaining shells.

Cook the ravioli in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Serve hot with pasta sauce.

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Vegetable and Rice Pizza


Ingredients:

6 cups brown rice, cooked (I was out of brown so used white rice)
4 egg whites or 4 tablespoons egg substitute, lightly beaten
2 cups non/lowfat mozzarella cheese, grated
1-1/3 cups pizza or spaghetti sauce
2 teaspoons black pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons non/lowfat Parmesan cheese, grated
10 whole mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup pineapple chunks (I used cherry tomatoes instead of pineapple)

Instructions:

In a bowl, mix rice with 2/3 cup mozzarella cheese and egg whites or substitute.
Spray a 12 inch pizza pan with nonstick cooking spray (nonfat) and press mixture into pan and bake at 400 degrees F for 5 minutes. (I baked it for 10 minutes for a browner crust on the rice.)
Combine sauce with pepper and garlic and spread over the baked rice crust.
Top with remaining ingredients and sprinkle with reserved mozzarella cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes.

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I frequently make this one with and without the cauliflower. Sometimes I'll add pistachios and cherry tomatoes.

Vegetarian Pilau

.
Ingredients:
1 small head cauliflower, About 3/4 pound( 360 g), trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch flowerets
1 teaspoon (5 ml) canola oil
1 tablespoon (15 g) grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon (2.5m) turmeric
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 10 ounce (300 g) onion, chopped fine
1 bay leaf, crushed
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) cinnamon
1 teaspoon (5 ml) curry powder
1/2 cup (90 g) green peas
1 3 ounce (90 g) summer squash, chopped
1 cup (150 g) raw basmati rice
2 tablespoons (30 g) raisins
1 1/2 tablespoons (22.5 g) toasted slivered almonds

Instructions:
In a large non-stick skillet, heat the oil and then add the ginger and turmeric. Cook stirring for 30 seconds. Add the cauliflower and cook, stirring until the edges begin to brown, about 3 minutes. It should still be firm. Remove from heat.

Spray a large pot with cooking oil and add the onion and bay leaves. Cook until the onion begins to color. Add the cloves, cinnamon, and curry powder and stir over medium heat for 1 minute.

Add the prepared vegetables and rice. Toss over medium heat for 3 -4 minutes. Add 2 cups water, bring to a simmer and cover. Simmer until all the water has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in the raisins and almonds. Serve immediately.

One vegan thing I've done with wonton wrappers is fill them leftover mashed taters, cilantro and cumin, then sauté. Could probably pretty easily spin up some sort of curry dipping sauce with the stick blender -- probably with silken tofu as the base. For non-vegans, yogurt could be the base.

And allowed them to rocket home without a vehicle!!!

You're some Mensch F'art.

Have you turned into a complete vegan? Would you mind digressing a bit on how it's working for you? I'm interested in trying it myself, but couldn't quite get into the groove of it yet.

PS: Those dumplings look delicious!

ahh, here are the details I've been looking for

I think I'd cheat and use mac11's idea from another thread - buy a bag of coleslaw mix and add the seasonings to that

great idea for those lil dumplings

Yes, I did go full Vegan. I was holding onto fish, but after the discovery of vegi-shrimp, the rest was history.

Going vegan has been fine for me. I think the most common difficulties are in workplace situations where someone brings a cake or something. They suddenly remember you don't eat eggs or dairy and then get really apologetic. They apologize a lot about no other options. Meanwhile you try and calm them down (I don't really want cake anyways).

I think the thing which causes the most trouble is often that we socialize eating with a feeling of inclusion, and so some people feel bad if they feel like you've been left out.

On more of a functional side, I am fortunate to live in an area with plenty of grocery and restaurant options. In fact, less than a mile from my home is a pan-asian all vegetarian (most items on the menu are full vegan) restaurant. While it first seemed like I'd need more fancy grocery chains like Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and Yes, I found that more general groceries like Giant and Safeway have expanded their selections in very impressive ways. The Vegan diet is very accessible. you're in NYC, so I don't imagine you would have that much trouble.

With my health and wellness, I feel strong and full of energy. I just feel good. As I wrote in the other thread about my choice, I didn't ceremonialize any element of this. I just did it.

It does put some people off. People get defensive. For these reasons, I don't go out of my way to talk about it too much. I honestly don't really like the terms "vegetarian" or "vegan." We don't have terms for people who don't smoke, and people who don't smoke aren't devoted to moralizing and putting down people who do smoke. It's very personal. To quote my mother:

"A vegan? I don't think we've had one of those in the family before!"
R
T

Can you get coleslaw mix without the dressing added? I've never purchased it, so I don't know how it comes.

A
R
That's a really clever idea!

That sounds delicious. It reminds me of this Irish food I had once, but i can't remember the name.

A
R
T

Right. That last paragraph was what I was getting at when I probably sounded snotty before, when foods like some/most at that pan asian restaurant are what you are looking for, just the way many foods are cooked already. I can see the necessity of the label, to be clear re the ingredients are ok for you. I guess I just react to the cultural part of vegenity, including your side of it, the way whole office cake thing gets to be a deal.

Tonight I'm having spaghettini with a sauce of garlic and parsley sauteed in olive oil, and some previously roasted red and green peppers sliced up and tossed in. I take that as vegan. If I add some parmigiano, I wander out of vegan and into dairyville.

Maybe as time goes by, most menus will have more info, at least available if not on the main page.

I know that vegetarian. I work with her. She likes me because I changed my diet. Perhaps, she feels that she had some role in that (she didn't). She likes to stroll over to me and give me one of those look-at-those-guys kind of faces. She often comments on what others eat. I don't know why she thinks I'm going to be impressed.

She hasn't even asked my reasons. I think she assumes that my reasons must be the same as hers. I think my relationship with the issue is very different. She is very centered on the animals, where as I'm very centered on the humanitarian, ecological and environmental issues.

She's the type that makes the big deal out of the cake.

A
R
T

Which one: the one about dating a vegan?

Thanks for sharing your experience. Interesting! My main obstacle is that I just enjoy the taste of meat, that I find it hard to do completely without it, and that I find vegan mock-meats inadequate. Seitan comes close though if it's prepared right. I might just make it work eventually.

I had a thread after the dating a vegan one. I think its title was "Pescetarianism."

I had retired everything but seafare at that point.

Seitan is pretty good. The vegi-shrimp I mentioned earlier are perhaps the most convincing. They border on suspicious.

Next time I'm in NYC, let's get together with Joe Nation, and I'll cook you guys dinner. I'll show you want I've learned!

A
R
T

Actually, I plan to come down to Washington sometime in early September to prepare the tour I plan to give my parents when they visit late September to early October. Why don't we get together for dumplings and veggie shrimps in early September?

I'll be in Germany until the 13th. Ha. Imagine that.

However, if when you're down in greater Washington, you find yourself on the Virginia side, here is the place where I eat the vegi-shrimps.

Sunflower Vegetarian Restaurant

As for the tour you plan to prepare, share details with me, I might be able to offer some local tips and stuff. For instance, don't bother going to the monuments during the daytime. They are best viewed at night time (no middle school kids, it's quite, dramatic lighting).

A
R
T

great answer

yup, it's just the shredded veggies - and there are many variations of shredded veggies available - I like the one with lots of shredded brokkkly in it best.



mac11 uses it for something she called inside out egg rolls - basically veggie egg roll innards done as a sort of casserole - very tasty with the right spicing (I need toasted sesame oil at the end to make it seem 'proper' to me)

more shredded veggies



from

http://chewchewtrain.wordpress.com/2010/07/11/easy-asian-inspired-summer-slaw-salad-vegan/