Vegan "undiscoveries"

[fiamma]

I thought it might be fun to start a thread about "discoveries" of food that's been around for decades, old recipes with a new twist, whatever. It would be great to make more use of basic staples that everyone could find at their local store or supermarket...

I must admit I was inspired by the purchase of a bag of tapioca! It is very odd stuff... my first thought was "Wow...frogspawn!" :amazed_ani: But it is strangely delicious, once you get over the consistency.. :evil: Just made my second batch, substituted the water for coconut milk :cool:

Any more foods you've unearthed? Childhood recipes, vegan or veganised?

[VeganZee]

My husband is American and for ages and ages he went on about biscuits that they would eat for breakfast with some sort of white sauce and sausage. Being British I had never heard of such a thing although his descriptions of the biscuits made them sound kind of scone like. So one weekend a few months ago he decided to try to veganise this childhood memory. He said the white sauce was made with egg so he used asafoetida in a soya milk based white sauce. I am not sure what else he did but he was very pleased with the results and said it tasted just like he remembered. I have to say that I, however, found it the most AWFUL REVOLTING TERRIBLE thing i have ever tasted!! Even thinking about it now makes me feel ill! Having discussed the meal together my husband said it was kind of a strange food and we were intrigued to find out more about its origins. it would appear that it was actually an ANTI- British dish!! After America defeated the British in the war of independence they didn't want to eat anything that Brits would have eaten so they invented this dish. I think they should have just fed it to the Brits, I am sure they would have defeated them a whole lot quicker that way :)

[harpy]

LOL! A scone with white sauce and sausage doesn't sound too appealing I must say.

I have been racking my brains to think of an undiscovery as defined by fiamma, but not come up with anything yet. However as a result of having vegetables delivered by a "box scheme" we have tried some rather unglamorous vegetables that I wouldn't normally bother to buy, such as swedes and turnips, and found them much more interesting than I was expecting.

[Clueless Git]

Does 'bubble and squeak' count?

Oi loiks me bubble'n'squeak, oi does :)


And as Harpy mentioned swedes ..

Neeps'n'tatties!

Oi loiks me neeps'n'tattie too! :)

[missbettie]

Its called Gravy and Biscuits and i miss it so much! its delicious! Very bad for you though....I think its a Southern thing... ?

[fiamma]

we have tried some rather unglamorous vegetables that I wouldn't normally bother to buy, such as swedes and turnips, and found them much more interesting than I was expecting

"Unglamorous" is exactly what I'm looking for, harpy! I would ask you for your swede/turnip recipes, but they don't seem to do turnips here in Italy. Or parsnips, oddly enough!

[harpy]

You know me and cooking, fiamma - I just put everything in soup or a stew :o Parsnips are nice mashed though, either on their own or with potatoes (that's the other half's department. Baby turnips are nice baked, or even raw in a salad.

I think some continental countries do grow turnips and swedes but they view them as animal fodder so perhaps you could "scrump" some - just joking.

Barley is another thing I'd forgotten about that's a nice addition to soup etc. Do you have that there?

[fiamma]

Barley's very easy to get here; it's not something I use much. I have used it very successfully in a cold salad.
The only thing I can get that remotely resembles turnip is celeriac; a Polish lady I met at the supermarket advised me to use it raw, and since I was going through a raw food stage I was really excited to try it, but didn't like it raw, it's very strong...
Seems like it should be good cooked with potatoes though, as you suggest :)

[harpy]

Oh yes, celeriac also turns up in our boxes and is very good mashed or (surprise surprise!) in soup. I have used it once or twice to make stock as a basis for the soup, but usually I just bung it in with the other slower-cooking veg.

It is a bit of a pain to peel though isn't it? I always seem to end up composting rather a lot of it, never sure what to do about the rooty bit at the bottom.

[fiamma]

Maybe we should rename this thread "the Unglamorous Foods Thread"? ;)

[helgalush]

Fiamma, I cant think of any of my own right now, but wanted to mention that in France I had tapioca in soup and it was delicious. It was before I was vegan and I dont think it was vegan as it was a creamy soup, but I bet you could use it to thicken up vegan soups??

I always used to call it frogspawn too!

[khadagan]

I love this thread, I have no recipe to add this moment but am going to buy some tapioca. It is one of those products that I'm always drawn to in the store and I end up looking at for a while then place it back because I don't know what to do with it. Well I still don't know, but I will be buying it and will make something with it! :))

[VagabondVegan]

Lentils...nuff said :P

[Back-Space]

Lentils...nuff said :P

Uggh... I opened a can of those the other day that mustn't have been sealed properly... I've gone right off of them and haven't bought a can since. I haven't had much luck with the dry ones either. I made myself some beans that had been dried the other day but I felt sick after eating them. So lacking in taste.

[Back-Space]

Although I do want to buy an icecream maker :p I want to get some coconut milk, chocolate syrup, maybe some strawberries or a banana... Grind it all up and turn it into some icecream :p

[VagabondVegan]

Thats why you dont buy CANS of them, get em dry hell of a lot easier, cheaper and versatile

[Back-Space]

I just can't manage to make them taste the way they do canned :(

[vava]

We get the orange lentils over in GB - when my son was in southern Calicornia we couldn't get the orange ones and we had to get the green ones to make soup. It tasted great but looked like mud.

[khadagan]

Olive lentils, theyre so good for you as well

[vava]

I've just discovered Sainsburys quick noodles - they do various flavours - I have the vegetable ones. Quick to make for lunch and filling too and best of all cheap - although not the best nutritionally.

[Manzana]

I love kohl rabi.... it is a vegetable... looks somewhat like a spaceship gone wrong...

I eat it raw or in salads or with hummus... it tastes somewhat like a cross between a really juicy apple and a cabbage:amazed_ani: Definitely recommend it!

[ShadowTears]

Its called Gravy and Biscuits and i miss it so much! its delicious! Very bad for you though....I think its a Southern thing... ?
Mmm, I LOVE gravy and biscuits! My mom always made it and now she just uses soy milk instead of cow's milk and it tastes sooo yummy! And yes it's a southern thing. :)

Hehe, just like peanut butter and syrup. Corn syrup, that is. Mixed together and/or poured on top. Not the healthiest thing to consume, but I looovvee it. :)

[henryfoole]

Cocktail hedgehogs where you get an orange and stick cocktail sticks in it with hot dog, pineapple and vegan cheese. Cheezly does not stay onto well was the only issue but it's fun. :)

[veganvoo]

I've just discovered millet. Its very nice, cheap and very good for you. So far I've only used it as a replacement for rice but I guess it could be used instead of tvp in spag bol etc.

Split peas are another cheap filling but forgotten about staple. I boil them up and add smoked tofu to make a pudding.

[yo-yo]

I've just discovered millet. Its very nice, cheap and very good for you. So far I've only used it as a replacement for rice but I guess it could be used instead of tvp in spag bol etc.

Split peas are another cheap filling but forgotten about staple. I boil them up and add smoked tofu to make a pudding.

Millet is awesome! I 'discovered' it a few years ago when I tried out a recipe in a cookbook I have. It is great in burgers! My b/f goes crazy for my millet burgers! And we like the fact that we're eating bird food...!

Lentils- amazing! Always used to stick to the red ones (Back-space- definitely get dried ones!) but bought some green ones last night and put them in a cottage pie with some other things (quinoa, soya mince and veggies) and it was sooooo tasty!! Probably the best I've ever made.

Harpy- I found a great recipe in 'Another Dinner is Possible' (or the 'Vegan Bible' as we like to call it) for celeriac steaks- I was very unsure before I cooked and tasted them but these things are addictive! If you want the recipe let me know.

I also used to get a veg box and it is such a great way to try out new veggies. Before a couple of years ago there were so many British grown things I had never tried. Some of my fave 'discoveries' this way are: celeriac, pumpkin, kohl rabi, kale, jerusalem artichoke and beetroot.

I discovered toasted seeds a few years ago (sesame, sunflower and pumpkin) and me and my b/f are a bit obsessed with them! I've also converted lots of my family to them too ;)

xx