Saturday, November 26, 2011

Being a veggie HEAD!


Ingredient Substitution Guide

The next time you’re missing an ingredient in a recipe, don’t panic.



The next time you’re missing an ingredient in a recipe, don’t panic. Many recipes are flexible and will still come out delicious when you improvise. Plus, many non-vegetarian recipes can be tweaked to create a new veg version.

Use our chart below as a starting point, and start asking yourself questions such as: What do I really want this dish to taste like? What textures do I like? Why did the recipe developer put all of these ingredients in here, anyway? Here are some general guidelines about making substitutions in recipes:

Try to keep ingredients within the same ethnic category. Ethnic flavor combinations have been developed over centuries and blend together naturally. If you are making over a Mexican dish without meat, use traditional Mexican proteins and starches such as pinto beans, black beans, and posole (hominy), not Asian mung beans or Indian lentils.

Dissect the basic flavors of the dish. If you’re missing a certain flavoring, ask yourself if it is basically sweet, salty, sour, bitter, or spicy? Think of something from your cupboard in the same category.

Substituting starches and proteins makes less of a difference in overall taste than spices and flavorings.

Try the pantry approach to cooking: If you find yourself continually missing key ingredients, analyze your pantry and consider restocking it.

Assemble complementary herbs, spices and flavoring in groupings in your pantry. That way, when you are experimenting with a dish—Italian, for example—your Italian seasonings such as basil, parsley, garlic, and oregano will be grouped together, and you can substitute accordingly.

Keep staples such as flours, oils, beans, and grains on hand so you don’t have to run out to the store at the last minute.

MAKE IT MEATLESS
Ingredient Substitute
Meat Beans, cheese, seitan (wheat meat), tempeh (cultured soybeans), textured vegetable protein (TVP), tofu
Meat/seafood stocks Vegetable stock, water in which beans, pasta, or vegetables have been cooked, vegetable bouillon cubes, miso (fermented soybean paste) diluted with water
Seasoned or smoked meats Flavored soy meat substitutes, crumbled tofu seasoned with fennel, parsley, and garlic, canned chipotle chiles, roasted vegetables, toasted nuts, smoked tofu, smoked cheeses
Gelatin  Agar-agar (powder or flakes), arrowroot (powder), guar gum (made from seeds), xanthan gum (made from corn), kudzu powder
MAKE IT VEGAN
Ingredient Substitute
Buttermilk Clabbered soymilk (1 cup soymilk mixed with 2 tsp. lemon juice or white vinegar)
Cheese
Soy- and nut-based cheeses
Cheese or ricotta cheese Crumbled tofu
Eggs Ener-G Egg Replacer, 1 mashed banana or 1/4 cup applesauce per egg (best for baked goods); 1 Tbs. agar flakes whisked into 1 Tbs. water and chilled for 5 minutes (for an egg white substitute), 1 Tbs. ground flaxseeds simmered in 3 Tbs. boiling water for 2 minutes
Mayonnaise Soy-based mayonnaise
Milk Nut milk, rice milk, soymilk
MAKE IT LOW-FAT
Ingredient Substitute
Creamy soups and sauces Nonfat strained yogurt, soymilk, puréed roasted vegetables, cooking rice in soup then puréeing it
Oil in baked goods Applesauce, puréed bananas, puréed cooked prunes
Oil for sautéing Vegetable stock, wine, vinegar
Salad dressing Vinegar or citrus juice thickened with puréed roasted red peppers, carrots, onions, or garlic
Sour cream Strained nonfat yogurt
White sauce Puréed white beans
MAKE IT ALLERGEN-FREE
Ingredient Substitute
Butter Clarified butter (milk solids have been removed), olive oil, sesame oil
Chocolate Carob
Cows’ milk Goats’ milk, soymilk, rice milk, nut milk
Cows’ milk cheese Goat cheese, sheep cheese, soy cheese, nut cheese
Eggs Ener-G Egg Replacer, 1 mashed banana or 1/4 cup applesauce per egg (best for baked goods); 1 Tbs. agar flakes whisked into 1 Tbs. water and chilled for 5 minutes (for an egg white substitute), 1 Tbs. ground flaxseeds simmered in 3 Tbs. boiling water for 2 minutes
Peanuts Almonds
Wheat flour (for baking) Flours made from barley, buckwheat, corn, kamut, oats, rice, rye, spelt
Wheat pasta Pasta made from corn, spelt, kamut, quinoa, rice
MAKE IT ETHNIC
Origin Ingredient Substitute
Americas Cactus pads (nopales) Green beans, okra

Chayote squash  Yellow or green pattypan squash or zucchini

Poblano or Anaheim chiles  Minced jalapeño chiles and green bell pepper

Posole (dried hominy)  Canned white hominy
Asian Bok choy (Chinese white cabbage) Beet greens, kale, Swiss chard
Chinese cooking wine Dry sherry
Chinese five-spice powder Mixture of anise seed or star anise, fennel seed, cinnamon, black peppercorns, and cloves
Galangal (Thai ginger) Fresh ginger
Lemongrass Lemon zest
Lotus root Jicama or water chestnuts
Mirin (Japanese rice wine) Sweet white wine
Nam pla (Thai fish sauce) Soy sauce and lime juice
Rice wine vinegar Cider vinegar, white wine vinegar
Sesame oil 1 Tbs. sesame seeds fried in 1/2 cup vegetable oil
Thai basil Italian basil
Water chestnuts Jicama
Indian Atta (chapati flour) 1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour plus 1/2 cup sifted whole-wheat flour
Chana dal Split yellow peas
Curry powder Mixture of ground ginger, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, turmeric and fennel
Garam masala Mixture of 1 tsp. cardamom seeds, 1 Tbs. cumin seed, 1 Tbs. coriander seed, 2 tsp. black peppercorns, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. cloves, and 1 tsp. nutmeg
Jaggery (coarse palm sugar) Date sugar or brown sugar
Toor dal, urad dal, mung dal Red lentils
Mediterranean Broccoli rabe Broccoli plus arugula or dandelion greens
Cannellini beans Great Northern beans, navy beans, red kidney beans
Fava beans Lima beans or butter beans
Fennel Celery plus some fennel or anise seeds
Parmesan cheese Any hard, aged grating cheese such as Asiago, Romano or aged Monterey Jack
Pine nuts Walnuts or a mixture of walnuts and almonds
MAKE IT ALCOHOL-FREE
Ingredient Substitute
Red wine Pomegranate juice or 1/2 cup water with 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
White wine Vegetable stock, apple juice, carrot juice
Wine or beer Non-alcoholic wine or beer

Comments

By Vicki McIver on Jul 08, 2007:
What is tempeh and where do you buy it?
By Anonymous on Jul 12, 2007:
Hi Vicki,

Thanks for writing! Tempeh is made from soybeans that are pressed into thin rectangular cakes and fermented. You can also find tempeh made with grains and/or veggies in addition to soybeans. By itself, it has a mild nutty flavor, but like tofu, it absorbs flavors well.

Tempeh is usually found near tofu in refrigerated sections. You can definitely find it at natural foods stores, but I've also seen it at many supermarket chains. Lightlife is a common brand (http://www.lightlife.com/tempeh.html).

To prepare tempeh, it's best to steam or simmer it in a marinade, broth, or sauce for at least 15 minutes. This will soften it a bit and make it even more flavorful. Hope you give it a try!

What do you recommend for vegetarians if they can't take soy-based protein or foods with high concentrations of potassium? Appreciate any help.
By shelly kataria on Aug 02, 2011:
I am running low on olive oil .What can I substitute this with in pasta salad ?
By lorena on Oct 28, 2011:
im allergic to soy and im trying to go vegetarian how can i substitute that? and im also trying to do this with out breacking the bank! why is so expensive to buy in places like whole foods or the fresh market? any advices??
By Susan on Nov 18, 2011:
I am making the Cornucopia Compote recipe (Nov 1, 2004 issue) with acorn squash. From the picture, the squash appears to be yellow, as if it were pealed but nothing is mentioned about this; since acorn squash are green am I missing a step? Thx for any help.
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Sunday, November 6, 2011

IRISH MOSS TIME from the life of a MIXTRESS


Recipe time

To soften even the driest of curly-coily hair

Setting lotion and/or a styling gel
5 to 10 grams of dried Irish Moss
40 grams of water (add more water if you wish)
1 gram of Organic dried Chamomile herb
1 gram of Organic dried Rose Petals & Buds
1 gram of Virgin Coconut Oil
1 or 2 drops of Vegetable Glycerin (optional)

Prep time: 10 mins

Method:
Bring water to a boil then turn off the heat
Add the dried herbs & the Irish Moss to the boiled water
Cover and let it set for 5 minutes or until it turns thick
Strain the herbs from the water
Add the Virgin Coconut Oil & Vegetable Glycerin
Stir until thick in consistency - if the consistency is thin add more Irish Moss
Allow to cool in the fridge
Use as a setting lotion and/or a styling gel

Store unused portion in the fridge for 3 days - discard after 3 days.


Protein Conditioner:
5 grams of dried Irish Moss
300 grams of water (add more water if you wish)
3 drops of Ylang-Ylang essential oil
2 drops of Lavender essential oil

Prep time: 15 mins

Method:
Bring water to a light simmer
Add the Irish Moss to the water
Cover and let it set for 5 minutes or until it turns thick
Allow it to cool
Strain the Irish Moss from the water
Add the essential oils
Shampoo hair as normal and instead of using a commercial conditioner just rinse your hair with the mixture
Use as you would your commercial conditioner.


Make your own inexpensive anti-wrinkle gel to tighten pores, reduce inflammation & help skin appear smoother.

Hand & Face Gel:
3 grams of dried Irish Moss
30 grams of water (add more water if you wish)
2 gram of Organic dried Lavender herb
1 gram of Organic dried Chamomile
0.5 grams of Organic Papaya Oil
0.5 grams of Vegetable Glycerin (optional)

Prep time: 10 mins

Method:
Soak the Irish moss, Organic dried Rose petals & buds & Organic dried Lavender herb in water for 10 minutes.
Bring water to a simmer then turn off the heat
Remove from the heat and let it cool.
Strain the herbs from the water into a bowl, pressing the gel through the strainer with a spoon
Stir in the Organic Papaya Oil & Vegetable Glycerin until it has emulsified
Pour the gel into a screw-top jar.

Store unused portion in the fridge for 3 days - discard after 3 days.


Oh yeah - if you plan on having a nice hot soak in the bath toss a little Irish Moss in there your skin will thank you for it!












Bath Soak - skin - so much - softer

Toss about 10 grams of Irish Moss into your bath. Add a couple of drops of your favourite essential oil
OH - NICE!!!


We've done head & shoulder now it's nails & toes!

Sometimes what I like to do is soak 5 grams of dried Irish Moss & 5 grams of dried Organic Rose Petals in 400 grams of warm water, cover with cling film and place it in the fridge overnight.
Take a third of the mixture, strain the herbs away, pour it into a spray botte, add some more water, a couple of drops of my favourite essential oil, put the spray cap on the bottle and spritz my hair with it on a hot Summers day.
I use the other half of the mixture, with the dried herbs still in it, as a fingers & toes soak. Doing this prevents hang nails and softens the cuticles & nail beds making it easier to trim. So when I'm done both my hands and my feet look, feel and smell GREAT!!!


aha-aha-aha-SPA-SPA-SPA!!!
For those of you who have always wanted to go to the SPA but your moo-laa says "nah!!!"
All you need is a bit of seaweed, honey, yoghurt, sugar and some other kitchen-y ingredients and create your own at home SPA.
Now that you have the low-down on Irish Moss the next step is to make seaweed wraps, face packs & hair muds!
Simple to do and I will show & tell all NEXT WEEK.

See you then...