OK guys I know you probably like flexing your cooking skills like I do for my friends. Its a lot easier then you think even with very little money and I have a few good ideas On what you guys can serve.
Silly little simple HYP Party tips:
Not to different then the everyday. Bulk is as always a friend as are Canned beans and sale coupons.
Bulk TVP and Nutritional Yeast are a good things that with the right this and that (which I'll be sharing) can lead to some kick ass taco's.
BBQing is fun and can be cheap and tasty too. They are also not just guy's fun I did a dinner party recently for my friends who were all meat eaters and they loved the vegan sides I made a bit more then the chicken that was there for them.
So first the True Blood Taco's
These were had by the Papoose and me for the True Blood season three premiere a few weeks ago.
So for the taco's you need:
A Cup of TVP (it will yield enough meat like filling for about 6 tacos which was three each for us since it had been so long since either of us had had a nice taco)
Two cups of Better then Bouillon Chicken style vegan broth (make sure it has the certified vegan logo if not walk away from the bouillon)
Half a packet of your favorite vegan taco seasoning mix ( I tend to stretch out this organic one I find at Whole Foods for for about a buck and a half. When I think of the name or get a new pack I will post it.)
A Pack of store bought taco shells.
Tofuttie Better then Cream cheese (trust me its weird but soooo good)
Some chopped up lettuce and tomato (seed the tomatoes you don't want your tacos squishy now,)
Combine the TVP with the broth let it start to come to a boil and add the taco seasoning and turn the heat down so it will simmer.
Give that about 5 minutes tops while you are waiting chop and seed your tomatoes and chop your lettuce. Get your Better then cream cheese out of the fridge if you already haven't (its best to soften it some easier to spread over the warm taco filling)
Once the filling is fluffy and has some sauce left in it pop the shells in the micro wave and follow the directions on the box for heating them. I like the crunchy ones always have so this is where we may differ but you can use either or if you can find it the taco shell bowls would be nice with some vegan refried beans on the bottom and make a better then Taco Hell taco salad.
All that's left is the filling and enjoying of your True Blood Tacos.
Next up A very nutty pie.
This came after being shown that I could eat some of the ready made pie fillings from DollarTree Then finding all these ingredients there as well. Would a store bought have been cheaper maybe but how much fun is that?
For Nutty Pie you will need to pick up:
Two packs of your favorite pre-chopped baking nuts that they carry. (I use slivered Almonds and Chopped Walnuts)
One can of Chocolate Creme Pie filling. (yes its vegan might not be good for you but its soooo good.)
Finally one graham cracker pie crust. (pre-made saves time and your already there what is 4 bucks if your doing desert for 1 or more people?)
If you follow the can and see how long the filling needs to set the one I get normally takes an hour. So make sure you have room in the fridge for a pie.
Dump the contents in the pie crust and spread evenly then add your nut topping. If you so wish and know a good way to make a cheap vegan whip cream you can also put this on your pie over the nuts and all and let it set in the fridge at least an hour overnight is best if you can resist the chocolaty temptations of the pie. I normally can't for more then two hours and end up eating it by my self during shark week in about two to three sittings. Hey look vegan food is delicious and normally better for you but we like to be fat just like everyone else once in a while too. What's the fun of life with out a little glutting?
Monday, June 28, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Liberating the Libations
I have found a handy website to help me make sure the liquor, beer and wine I put into me is vegan. Now wine is pretty tricky due to the sulfates used in the fermentation process. But if any of you like me now read a lot of Veg News you have seen the adds for the Frey Winery. Now where I live work and play they are pretty reasonable for a bottle. (Last time I checked under 20), they are sulfate free and wonderful additions if you have friends over for grilling. (See if they wont bring the wine since you will be hosting and cooking.) I've had the Merlot with some large portabella caps my dad found at our local Sam's Club off the grill and it was a great pairing. I however stick to reds so you might not hear me talk about anything other then Shiraz and Merlot. These are also good to keep around to marinate different veg and fruits for different salads and soups.
If wine isn't your thing there is a great variety of liquor out there that can be added to other things to make a great punch or mixed drink, or if your style is straight up the get your shot glasses ready to pour. In my age range of 21-30 we tend to buy the cheapest of the cheap because its quick, effective and gets you right and toasty fairly quickly. I how ever beg you, do yourself and your liver a favor and when you have the money splurge or even pool your money if its going to be a night of quarters and circle of death. Skip the Popov and go for the Smirnoff. In my area we discount liquor warehouses that do nothing but try to compete with each other on the prices of there booze. Now I know in area's where there is only state stores and beer in the super markets this isn't as easy as it is for me to go to my Local Joe Canal's and pick up a half gallon of the poison of choice. This is where the tool your using right now this very second comes in handy. With a little research and a valid card and a state that lets you ship you can order a good bit of things off line. So say you see an amazing deal in one of the many web stores based out of New Jersey you can take advantage of it and order what you might want or need fr your pantry.
The three I tend to keep around are Rum, Irish Whiskey and Vodka. I'm not much for Tequila but that may be because I've just never wanted to drink it. I even before going vegan stayed away from cream based things because they just clogged up the works. Though by the end of this year I will have my vegan Irish Cream down pact I swear it. Rum I tend to mix with wholefoods ginger ale as a treat once in a blue moon. But if your going for broke cheap ginger ale or Sprite will work in a mix that makes it taste like cream soda (one of my favorites before I gave up soda). I'm planing to try it with lime sparking mineral water and will update on that taste when I have consumed it.
Now beers are tricky, we all have our favorites. These three things being something I refuse to skimp on so I tend to drink sparingly and when I do I splurge. Normally when I've made a little extra one week I'll buy me a 6 pack to sip on for a few weeks when I've had an extra hard day at work. I for one love lagers or stouts but there are not many that are vegan friendly. I've used this list to give me a great run down of the alcohols that are vegan consumable.
BARNIVOIR
They have helped end many arguments with my non vegan friends and even turn them onto some good curlity free libations.
So now hopefully if your drink of choice is the Hipsters PBR or the Sharp choice of Red Stripe or even then down home boy's choice of a Bud you can find out if your cheap or pricey drinks are as vegan as you.
Happy Drinking.
If wine isn't your thing there is a great variety of liquor out there that can be added to other things to make a great punch or mixed drink, or if your style is straight up the get your shot glasses ready to pour. In my age range of 21-30 we tend to buy the cheapest of the cheap because its quick, effective and gets you right and toasty fairly quickly. I how ever beg you, do yourself and your liver a favor and when you have the money splurge or even pool your money if its going to be a night of quarters and circle of death. Skip the Popov and go for the Smirnoff. In my area we discount liquor warehouses that do nothing but try to compete with each other on the prices of there booze. Now I know in area's where there is only state stores and beer in the super markets this isn't as easy as it is for me to go to my Local Joe Canal's and pick up a half gallon of the poison of choice. This is where the tool your using right now this very second comes in handy. With a little research and a valid card and a state that lets you ship you can order a good bit of things off line. So say you see an amazing deal in one of the many web stores based out of New Jersey you can take advantage of it and order what you might want or need fr your pantry.
The three I tend to keep around are Rum, Irish Whiskey and Vodka. I'm not much for Tequila but that may be because I've just never wanted to drink it. I even before going vegan stayed away from cream based things because they just clogged up the works. Though by the end of this year I will have my vegan Irish Cream down pact I swear it. Rum I tend to mix with wholefoods ginger ale as a treat once in a blue moon. But if your going for broke cheap ginger ale or Sprite will work in a mix that makes it taste like cream soda (one of my favorites before I gave up soda). I'm planing to try it with lime sparking mineral water and will update on that taste when I have consumed it.
Now beers are tricky, we all have our favorites. These three things being something I refuse to skimp on so I tend to drink sparingly and when I do I splurge. Normally when I've made a little extra one week I'll buy me a 6 pack to sip on for a few weeks when I've had an extra hard day at work. I for one love lagers or stouts but there are not many that are vegan friendly. I've used this list to give me a great run down of the alcohols that are vegan consumable.
BARNIVOIR
They have helped end many arguments with my non vegan friends and even turn them onto some good curlity free libations.
So now hopefully if your drink of choice is the Hipsters PBR or the Sharp choice of Red Stripe or even then down home boy's choice of a Bud you can find out if your cheap or pricey drinks are as vegan as you.
Happy Drinking.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Cooking Channel
OK so who has seen this new network that is like the young hipster brother to the FoodNetwork. I for one am enjoying it so far. Food Jammers has gotten my attention as has a few other shows.
So I guess that give us some time to talk about my favorite lazy hobbie and that's watching cooking shows. Like a lot of people I grew up watching Julia Child (hey she was on after Ghost Writer as was this old house), but once the food network came out I was enamored with hosts like Emaril and the Iron Chefs. But at 16 and being 450lbs I was knocked off my feet when i seen the raw chef Juliono on there. It was like this light had went off in my head and I had my mom hunt down his book but found it to expensive and settled for a young adult fiction book instead. But the seed had been planted. I knew deep down I hated scarfing double cheese burgers and wanted to be more like this waif like man with all his energy.
At 13 after years of watching Lisa Simpson on TV I had tried to become a vegetarian but my dad wouldn't hear anything of it. So after seeing Juliono I would go to the cook book section of out local Barns and Nobel. Now in 2002 there wasn't a lot of books that i knew of so I stuck to looking for anything with vegetarian in the title because I knew that word. It wasn't until Davey Havok and the east bay punk band AFI that was introduced to me by a member of the local punk band the Ghouls. That I learned Vegan. Next thing I was begging for my mom for the any cookbook with vegan on it and cooking us our first Tofurky for Thanksgiving. She liking it more then myself at the time. But I was determined I would be a vegan and I would be a damn good one.
And all of that takes us full circle to here and now and the Cooking Channel Not only does it show how adorable Morimoto was before coming to America. They did a show on just Veg eating called the Veg Edge. I adored it and it made me feel like I shouldn't have left this poor blog to dust up as I have over the past few months. They also cover foods that you normally don't see on Foodnetwork. They have two Indian based cooking programs, A French Cooking show hosted by a wonderfully cute and quirky woman. Over all the Channel I find a lot more enjoyable then Foodnetwork. Not that I don't still have my favorites there. FYI I know none of us could afford one but Charm City cakes is now offering a Vegan option on their amazing and fun cake.
Recipes coming soon!
So I guess that give us some time to talk about my favorite lazy hobbie and that's watching cooking shows. Like a lot of people I grew up watching Julia Child (hey she was on after Ghost Writer as was this old house), but once the food network came out I was enamored with hosts like Emaril and the Iron Chefs. But at 16 and being 450lbs I was knocked off my feet when i seen the raw chef Juliono on there. It was like this light had went off in my head and I had my mom hunt down his book but found it to expensive and settled for a young adult fiction book instead. But the seed had been planted. I knew deep down I hated scarfing double cheese burgers and wanted to be more like this waif like man with all his energy.
At 13 after years of watching Lisa Simpson on TV I had tried to become a vegetarian but my dad wouldn't hear anything of it. So after seeing Juliono I would go to the cook book section of out local Barns and Nobel. Now in 2002 there wasn't a lot of books that i knew of so I stuck to looking for anything with vegetarian in the title because I knew that word. It wasn't until Davey Havok and the east bay punk band AFI that was introduced to me by a member of the local punk band the Ghouls. That I learned Vegan. Next thing I was begging for my mom for the any cookbook with vegan on it and cooking us our first Tofurky for Thanksgiving. She liking it more then myself at the time. But I was determined I would be a vegan and I would be a damn good one.
And all of that takes us full circle to here and now and the Cooking Channel Not only does it show how adorable Morimoto was before coming to America. They did a show on just Veg eating called the Veg Edge. I adored it and it made me feel like I shouldn't have left this poor blog to dust up as I have over the past few months. They also cover foods that you normally don't see on Foodnetwork. They have two Indian based cooking programs, A French Cooking show hosted by a wonderfully cute and quirky woman. Over all the Channel I find a lot more enjoyable then Foodnetwork. Not that I don't still have my favorites there. FYI I know none of us could afford one but Charm City cakes is now offering a Vegan option on their amazing and fun cake.
Recipes coming soon!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
My Budget
OK so to be frank my budget might be a bit more for food then someone else in my position. I make about 200 a week and the arrangement at home is that i buy my food and pay my bills that I don't have to pay rent since my dad's former job gives us enough in unemployment to cover their things. Between paying for school which is about 150 a month and my phone bill of 155 that takes about two weeks of pay to cover not to mention my credit card that i keep forgetting to pay and will throw about 100 at when I have remembered and have the money. that leaves me a pretty good food budget but I try to spilt it so that i can afford other things or save for my move to Berkley with my faithful genie pig The Papoose who hasn't met food she wont eat well besides mushrooms.
So i guess you've figured I have about 800 a month coming in. If it was just me and I had rent and all to pay I would need to be section 8 to just have a place to live or a roommate. at least 500 goes to bills on most months because i do try to help with cable phone and Internet as well as the electric bills. that's 300 for anything else I need. 150 I try to save. So that's 150 for grocery's a month.
Yes this can be done. Yes you can eat well and vegan on it a month.
Bulk sections at Whole foods and shopping with coupons in their savings paper (yes they have one) Help me load up on things that aren't in the local super market. As for them My local one is shop right as well as Auldi which has non name brand foods and I've found many fun treats for myself there that would cost more at Wholefoods.
Simple rules I follow:
Recently I've tried to give up soy things but since I'm allergic to coconut it makes it hard to switch over. But when it comes to my milk substitute I find that shopping around is best and when I can I use the coupons given to the shopper club members to help cut down the costs.
Next shop in bulk. The local grocery has what they call a Can Can sale. Its a chance a few times a year to stock up on can goods. As much as I prefer fresh canned is a great way to save a bit of money and have it around. Three different kinds of beans , chili powder, maybe a fresh pepper and if you have it some TVP makes a pretty kick ass chili that can be frozen and eaten over time to save on your a good bit of money how many things can you say would cost you 5 bucks and you get at least 3 meals out of it and it taste great.
Next I don't think I will ever stress bulk enough when it comes to Whole Foods, it saves money and helps you be a bit more Eco friendly if your like me and go to the dollor store an get your own containers to hold your bounty in. Same can be said about their fresh nut butters but I would also check your local markets. I'm lucky enough to live in an area right now that its a short train ride into a major city where I can go to markets as well as have access to a family that over my 6 years of being vegan have gotten into farmers markets and farm stand even more so then when i was a kid. These too are money savers.
If you have a planter box and a green thumb growing your own herbs is a good way to get into gardening and learning how to care for outdoor plants. Saddly my schedual at times is hectic enough for me to forget about them and I've had more then one good plant pulled up by my grandmother who lives with us and is just a bit nutty.
Lastly the WalMart. I'm a punker and I have a taste for outlandish looking things. Which in it self is ok if your a size 0 and can afford Hot Topic, I can't so places like WalMart and Target become havens for me to get things I want a a low price. I tend to shop out of season when I do for clothing because for 20 bucks that I can sperate I can sometimes get a new hoodie or a pair of boots that are non leather and to my tastes pretty cheaply. They are also good for the running in for a few can goods or thing like taco shells or pizza crusts when my tastes are calling for one of them.
Also another thing with WalMart is that some still sell fabric, not much ant most are being fased out but that could be a time to stock on things to make your vegan home more you as well.
See I told you it wouldn't be all about food but how to be a vegan on a very tight budget.
Next up Libations!
So i guess you've figured I have about 800 a month coming in. If it was just me and I had rent and all to pay I would need to be section 8 to just have a place to live or a roommate. at least 500 goes to bills on most months because i do try to help with cable phone and Internet as well as the electric bills. that's 300 for anything else I need. 150 I try to save. So that's 150 for grocery's a month.
Yes this can be done. Yes you can eat well and vegan on it a month.
Bulk sections at Whole foods and shopping with coupons in their savings paper (yes they have one) Help me load up on things that aren't in the local super market. As for them My local one is shop right as well as Auldi which has non name brand foods and I've found many fun treats for myself there that would cost more at Wholefoods.
Simple rules I follow:
Recently I've tried to give up soy things but since I'm allergic to coconut it makes it hard to switch over. But when it comes to my milk substitute I find that shopping around is best and when I can I use the coupons given to the shopper club members to help cut down the costs.
Next shop in bulk. The local grocery has what they call a Can Can sale. Its a chance a few times a year to stock up on can goods. As much as I prefer fresh canned is a great way to save a bit of money and have it around. Three different kinds of beans , chili powder, maybe a fresh pepper and if you have it some TVP makes a pretty kick ass chili that can be frozen and eaten over time to save on your a good bit of money how many things can you say would cost you 5 bucks and you get at least 3 meals out of it and it taste great.
Next I don't think I will ever stress bulk enough when it comes to Whole Foods, it saves money and helps you be a bit more Eco friendly if your like me and go to the dollor store an get your own containers to hold your bounty in. Same can be said about their fresh nut butters but I would also check your local markets. I'm lucky enough to live in an area right now that its a short train ride into a major city where I can go to markets as well as have access to a family that over my 6 years of being vegan have gotten into farmers markets and farm stand even more so then when i was a kid. These too are money savers.
If you have a planter box and a green thumb growing your own herbs is a good way to get into gardening and learning how to care for outdoor plants. Saddly my schedual at times is hectic enough for me to forget about them and I've had more then one good plant pulled up by my grandmother who lives with us and is just a bit nutty.
Lastly the WalMart. I'm a punker and I have a taste for outlandish looking things. Which in it self is ok if your a size 0 and can afford Hot Topic, I can't so places like WalMart and Target become havens for me to get things I want a a low price. I tend to shop out of season when I do for clothing because for 20 bucks that I can sperate I can sometimes get a new hoodie or a pair of boots that are non leather and to my tastes pretty cheaply. They are also good for the running in for a few can goods or thing like taco shells or pizza crusts when my tastes are calling for one of them.
Also another thing with WalMart is that some still sell fabric, not much ant most are being fased out but that could be a time to stock on things to make your vegan home more you as well.
See I told you it wouldn't be all about food but how to be a vegan on a very tight budget.
Next up Libations!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Hungry Young and Poor
This being our initial blog together I wanted to introduce myself and let everyone know about me and how we will be going over the adventures of cooking vegan on the tightest budget I can think of. $7.25 minimum wage an hour on less then 40 hours a week. Now before you think this is someone looking for sympathy, its not.
In 2008 I was a a recent art school grad but like a lot of people in my class work came well... very hard or never. So after my dad lost his job about a month after my graduating I pushed aside my dreams of going to L.A. and becoming a graphic designer. Sadly my only job at the time was working at a liquor store. Though I had been there for years they refused to pay me more and i was already working mine and the other guy that had just quit shift. So I kept looking for anything that would work in my Field. Nothing did. So I became depressed and started questioning myself my life and my choices. Like a lot of people who came out in 2008 we felt the crush of the economic downturn and wanted to do something with our lives. That something didn't include my regimen of eating vegan junk food and watching Planet Green 24/7 and wishing I could cook more things from Whole Foods like Chef Emeril.
So after two years and still working retail, though no longer in liquor I decided to change things. A lot of people when they find out I'm vegan wonder how I do it. How i actually make things work on the money I have and living with two people that aren't vegan.
The answer is normally its not easy. But food is a passion of mine. Trust me one can't have gotten to my weight in high school with out food being a passion. It hasn't changed just because I changed to a curtly free lifestyle. I still watch the Food Network on my times off and kinda drool or sit and think, "Well I can make that and use this for that and that for this.".
I have a binder filled with recipes I've either tired or want to that I've gathered from different places on line and VegNews that I want to turn into easy ways for a single vegan to cook them.
So in the long and short of it this is going to be a shared culinary adventure, not that it will all be about food. I want to let people know how I've lived on this little of a budget and been happy with it all, (well except the fact that WalMart becomes more of an annoying friend then a hated foe). So hopefully we can share some tips and laugh at some of the weird things I come up with.
So what do you say, shall we cook?
In 2008 I was a a recent art school grad but like a lot of people in my class work came well... very hard or never. So after my dad lost his job about a month after my graduating I pushed aside my dreams of going to L.A. and becoming a graphic designer. Sadly my only job at the time was working at a liquor store. Though I had been there for years they refused to pay me more and i was already working mine and the other guy that had just quit shift. So I kept looking for anything that would work in my Field. Nothing did. So I became depressed and started questioning myself my life and my choices. Like a lot of people who came out in 2008 we felt the crush of the economic downturn and wanted to do something with our lives. That something didn't include my regimen of eating vegan junk food and watching Planet Green 24/7 and wishing I could cook more things from Whole Foods like Chef Emeril.
So after two years and still working retail, though no longer in liquor I decided to change things. A lot of people when they find out I'm vegan wonder how I do it. How i actually make things work on the money I have and living with two people that aren't vegan.
The answer is normally its not easy. But food is a passion of mine. Trust me one can't have gotten to my weight in high school with out food being a passion. It hasn't changed just because I changed to a curtly free lifestyle. I still watch the Food Network on my times off and kinda drool or sit and think, "Well I can make that and use this for that and that for this.".
I have a binder filled with recipes I've either tired or want to that I've gathered from different places on line and VegNews that I want to turn into easy ways for a single vegan to cook them.
So in the long and short of it this is going to be a shared culinary adventure, not that it will all be about food. I want to let people know how I've lived on this little of a budget and been happy with it all, (well except the fact that WalMart becomes more of an annoying friend then a hated foe). So hopefully we can share some tips and laugh at some of the weird things I come up with.
So what do you say, shall we cook?
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