Things you've tried to veganise

[maidenofthewell]

What are the most adventurous things anyone here has tried to veganise?
A while back I had an insane craving for a cheese omlette...not that I even ate cheese omlette before I was vegan, but anyway I bought a load of vegan cheese (not sure which one, it was in America but was pretty good and went all melty), and chick pea flour and made a kind of pancakey thing that I hoped would go all omletty...it kind of worked, it didnt really look or taste much like I remembered omlette to be like but was nice enough and stopped the craving!
My sister also once made me this self soaking chocolate cake/pudding thing from a traditional recipe book that was one of the most un-vegan looking things ever and did an amazing job of veganising it!
Id love to work out how to make a vegan merangue lol.

[twinkle]

Recently I did a pretty good job on jaffa cakes. Most of my own attempts (as opposed to recipes, e.g. for tofu cheesecake) at simulating non-vegan food are a bit unconvincing - they might taste nice but not like the original thing, but the jaffa cakes made me wonder why I haven't seen a commercial version, seeing as orange jelly, chocolate and spongey biscuit/cake bases really are a pretty great combination

[Sarah_]

bowtie chicken pasta.
The sauce is a cream base, and I tried...
well, never mind what I tried. Not good.

[genisis]

What are the most adventurous things anyone here has tried to veganise?
A while back I had an insane craving for a cheese omlette...not that I even ate cheese omlette before I was vegan, but anyway I bought a load of vegan cheese (not sure which one, it was in America but was pretty good and went all melty), and chick pea flour and made a kind of pancakey thing that I hoped would go all omletty...it kind of worked, it didnt really look or taste much like I remembered omlette to be like but was nice enough and stopped the craving!
My sister also once made me this self soaking chocolate cake/pudding thing from a traditional recipe book that was one of the most un-vegan looking things ever and did an amazing job of veganising it!
Id love to work out how to make a vegan merangue lol.

int it weird how sometimes you seem to crave things and thats all you can think about! a few months back i was really craving for a quiche,so i made one with tofu,it did the trick! i kind of made it up as i was going along and it ended up being pretty nice ,but since then ive tried a couple more and they have not turned out so nice!!

[Hemlock]

My old fave - lemon meringue pie, attempted to make it with whipped tofu and vegan cream.....no, no and thrice NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[fiamma]

Pandoro.

This is a traditional bread/cake made with lots of eggs, eaten at Christmas here in Italy. I tried to veganise it last year and it was a major disaster

Gonna try again this year

[flying plum]

i've never tried, but i've been thinking about trying to make brioche. i imagine i will run into similar problems as you, fiamma, but my mum used to make this amazing chocolate bread and butter pudding with brioche. after my reasonably-successful attempt at bread and butter pudding making (better cold than hot, but then i like the 'real thing' that way also), i thought i might try this...

[flying plum]

apparently mashed potatoes is a good egg replaces?!?! never heard that, but on my brioche travels, i have found this:

http://shmooedfood.blogspot.com/2006...ate-babka.html

how freakin' good does that look?!?!

amanda

[mjnewbould]

I think meringue must be the absolutely most difficult thing to veganise! I cannot imagine how it could be done!

[fiamma]

how freakin' good does that look?!?!

Oh man, that looks divine

[flying plum]

i know! i only have t-400 flour at the moment though, and that would be way to fine for that...

was thinking about your pandoro though - it's similar to brioche isn't it? do you think you could adapt that recipe?

amanda

[sugarmouse]

Cottage cheese (looked great but didn't satisfy my craving)
Scrambled egg (consumed willingly by my omnivorous mother!)
Cream of mushroom/tomato soup (I loved them both, Scruffyhead hated the former and refused to eat it!)
Parkin (Loved by all who tried it!)
Lasagne (went well!)
Baked bean,Mince and brussel sprout pie (ok maybe that is one I invented myself)

[harpy]

Not had much luck with Yorkshire pud, but find polenta an acceptable substitute.

Wouldn't mind having another try at the Yorkshire pud if anyone has a method that doesn't turn out like shoes

[fiamma]

I was thinking about your pandoro though - it's similar to brioche isn't it? do you think you could adapt that recipe?

I'm certainly gonna try I'll let you know how I get on... I think a trial run will be in order before Christmas gets here *nods*

[Elahiya]

traditional german rosti http://vegananke.blogspot.com/2008/1...erman-aka.html
cheese soup http://vegananke.blogspot.com/2008/1...eeze-soup.html
"flammkuchen"
http://vegananke.blogspot.com/2008/1...lambe-aka.html

my lasagna i already made almost vegan before i went vegan. that would be the next thing to try, i think....

[bradders]

i also want to find a way to make vegan yorkshire puds esp in time for christmas, nut roast, stuffing gravy vedgies and if possible yorkshires. got to try to do this this year

[Sarah_]

I think I'm next going to try my hand at baking a vegan pot pie without it tasting like black pepper and mush.

[bryzee86]

tip: less pepper, less mush.

[Herbsman]

cheese on toast when I was a student. never again.

[bradders]

when I can afford it cheese and tomato toasties work well using the 'mozzorella' slices (not the redwood ones) from holland and barret with ketchup, turns out rather yummy

[Gorilla]

Redwood melting Cheezly makes an awesome cheese on toast IMO.

i have no idea how to adequately emulate soft meringue like in lemon meringue pie but Veganstore have just started seliing a vegan meringue mix that apparently makes crunchy meringues (i bought some but i haven't tried it yet).

[bradders]

tofutti is far superior

[Healthy]

Reading about your experiments reminds me of a few months ago when I went on a job interview for Tofutti! I was thrilled to learn the company was in the town next to mine. So, I got to meet the president -- the person who invented Tofutti!! It was one of the funnest interviews I ever went on. As I sat down for the interview, he had a Tofutti cutie there for me to eat

THEN I got to taste test some new products!

I didn't get the job, but what an honor it was to interview with a vegan legend!!

So, keep up the good work with your experiments on trying to veganize -- one of you may end up a millionaire!!

[Cherry]

That beats the usual glass of water, Healthy

i have no idea how to adequately emulate soft meringue like in lemon meringue pie but Veganstore have just started seliing a vegan meringue mix that apparently makes crunchy meringues (i bought some but i haven't tried it yet).

They have!? Wow!!!!

How did you do the jelly in the jaffa cakes, Twinkle?

I've tried to veganise lots of things. No luck with yorkshire puddings. Or double cream - but you can buy that now so I stopped trying. I didn't even ATTEMPT meringue. I'm going on the veganstore website ...

[twinkle]

...
How did you do the jelly in the jaffa cakes, Twinkle? ...

Marks and Spencer shredless marmalade. Of course, it's not exactly the right flavour because there's that tinge of bitterness you get with marmalade, but because I'm not able to be as stingy with the chocolate as they are on the real deal, that kind of hides it. Everyone who has tried them has been complimentary so far

[Gorilla]

tofutti is far superior

i can't get the Tofutti slices locally so i'll have to take your word for that.

I'm going on the veganstore website ...

they recommend sandwiching the meringues with squirty soya cream - so of course i had to buy some of that too. i reckon if they turn out as well as the website says, you could easily make some sort of pavlova with them. i may be disappointed but it's always good to try these things

[twinkle]

Gorilla - I think it was on the newsletter rather than the site itself they said it wasn't suitable for making pavlovas. Not quite sure why it wouldn't be though. I eagerly await your report back, as meringues are one thing I still miss occasionally

[Sarah_]

Would a cottage pie be alright with fake beef crumbles?

[Sarah_]

tip: less pepper, less mush.

Ha. I've never made one myself before. I'm just thinking of the vegan pot pies I've had from boxes and that's what they tasted like.

[bradders]

I'm thinking of trying to make something similar to corned beef at the moment. Just got to figure it out though, it would be really good for sandwiches if I could achieve this and a really good way to help convert some northerners I know

[Sarah_]

^ that sounds really interesting. Got any ideas yet?

[Gorilla]

bleh, corned beef?! that made me want to puke even before i went veggie!

[Sarah_]

I've forgotten what it tastes like, only that I disliked the texture and I hate creamed corn, which is what my fam makes it with.

[Kitteh]

I think meringue must be the absolutely most difficult thing to veganise! I cannot imagine how it could be done!

Angel Food has created a vegan meringue mix, maybe it's the one avail. @ Vegan Store.

http://www.angelfood.co.nz/confectionery_meringue.htm

I tried mini quiche but didn't like them and am yet to use my marshmallow kit.

[bradders]

I'm thinking of some kind of seitin + mushed kidney beans + some sort of sunflower fat

I did used to love the stuff to be honest, as I did haslet (which is easy to emulate but so few like it inthe first place)

[Gorilla]

Angel Food has created a vegan meringue mix, maybe it's the one avail. @ Vegan Store.

that's the one! i see from the link (as twinkle said) they say you can't make pavlova with it, but they don't say why. underneath that they say they'll post a recipe for lemon meringue pie soon, maybe i'll hold on to my packet until they put the recipe up, that would be cool.

I'm thinking of some kind of seitin + mushed kidney beans + some sort of sunflower fat

I did used to love the stuff to be honest, as I did haslet (which is easy to emulate but so few like it inthe first place)

OMG haslet. i'd forgotten all about that. a rare treat (!!!) from my childhood. don't tell me you used to like Spam too lol what do you use to make mock-haslet, just out of interest?

[squigaletta]

I made a bechemel sauce last night, so easy to do!

[bradders]

yes indeed haslet or in this case 'notlet'- my own name woop
I cook by guesses and it seems to work. for the lamb version I use a vegan mince such as that available from sainsbury's + pressed garlic (not squashed) parsley sage onion and breadcrumbs
soak it all together in a little soya milk (unsweetened)
mix it all together, best to get your hands in there like needing bread
squeeze out the excess moisture
put it in a loaf tin
and bake at 150c reduce to 110c after 15 mins
how long depends on how much. If you've made about a litre then about 45 mins at 110c (1hour in total) the reality is though that haslet has so little meat in the first place that there's not much poblem here

[bradders]

I always hated spam though

[Kitteh]

that's the one! i see from the link (as twinkle said) they say you can't make pavlova with it, but they don't say why. underneath that they say they'll post a recipe for lemon meringue pie soon, maybe i'll hold on to my packet until they put the recipe up, that would be cool.

I bought a packet yesterday as they were avail. for sale at our Cruelty Free Festival, will let you know when I get around to making them! I'm not sure why, I guess they are meant for making little merigues, maybe it doesn't work if you leave it all together?

[squigaletta]

Seems a bit strange though, I would have thought they would say 'not suitable for making big merangues' rather than something about a specific dish. Maybe it explodes on contact with (soy) cream?!!?

[Gorilla]

I bought a packet yesterday as they were avail. for sale at our Cruelty Free Festival, will let you know when I get around to making them! I'm not sure why, I guess they are meant for making little merigues, maybe it doesn't work if you leave it all together?

yes perhaps it doesn't set unless you make it fairly small. i was thinking you could make lots of little ones, stick them together in a circle with soya cream and pile a load of fruit in the middle, could be a good alternative to pavlova i reckon!

[harpy]

Even small meringues are a bit of a breakthrough, aren't they? Please report back, those of you that have some!

[Gorilla]

^ indeed! it'll probably be a while before i get round to it because i'm lazy but i'll post when i do!

[aussievego]

I bought a packet yesterday as they were avail. for sale at our Cruelty Free Festival, will let you know when I get around to making them! I'm not sure why, I guess they are meant for making little merigues, maybe it doesn't work if you leave it all together?

I was at the Cruelty Free Festival too. What an awesome day. Great bands, great food, and I caught up with so many people I don't see very often. I love going somehwere where most of the people are vegans and all your friends are in one place.

[squigaletta]

Not terribly adventurous but I made some vegan chocolate brownie cupcakes (obama and mccain for election night party...the obama ones got eaten pretty quick!) and got the classic comments of 'wow they dont even taste vegan'...

[Hemlock]

that's the one! i see from the link (as twinkle said) they say you can't make pavlova with it, but they don't say why. underneath that they say they'll post a recipe for lemon meringue pie soon, maybe i'll hold on to my packet until they put the recipe up, that would be cool.

Hallelujah *chorus of angels begin to sing* At last!!!!!!!

[buttons]

My (omni) sister called today to tell me that she's making our Christmas pudding vegan! She's using an egg-replacement and veggie suet (instead of animal suet). Yay!

I was feeling a little bummed about missing out on trifle (for sentimental reasons, mostly) - then this happened!

[seamus]

steak tartar.
do not bother.

[fiamma]

I was feeling a little bummed about missing out on trifle (for sentimental reasons, mostly) - then this happened!

Great news about the Christmas pud! You can make a vegan trifle too BTW - use vegan jelly, make your custard with soya milk and top with Soyatoo whipping cream, et voilà!!!