Vegan on the Cheap
Posted by Tweety on Jun 01, 2010 · Member since Jan 2003 · 3135 posts
Anyone have this cookbook by the ever prolific Robin Robinson yet? I need another cookbook like a hole in the head, but it was onsale at the mainstream grocery store for 25% off and I couldn't resist. In the beginning the gives some tips about saving money and that being vegan doesn't have to break the bank. Supposedly the recipes never cost more than $2.00 per serving. Looks good. There's a lo mein recipe I might try soon.
I don't have this yet, but I am getting some Amazon reward checks and this is on my list. I checked it out at the bookstore and it looks like it has some good sounding recipes... one that caught my attention was the "tiramisu" :).
I just bought it and I look forward to cooking out of it too. I love Robin Robertson, she is a cookbook producing maniac! I mean that in the best way possible because I love everything she does. Anyway, like Tweety, I need another Cookbook like I need a hole in the head but I bought it too. I'll report back when I start cooking from it! I'm in the middle of a move and it's enough to not throw all of my stuff in the garbage :)
Penne and Broccoli with Tomatoes, Walnuts, and Raisins - very good. Pretty run of the mill recipe, but the raisins and waluts added a bit of uniqueness to it. I used sauce instead of crushed tomatoes because that was all I had. I omitted the sugar since the raisins were sweet enough for my tastes and I added a generous amount of crushed red pepper and left out the salt and pepper.
I like that it's nutritional and antioxidant value, especially if one uses whole grain pasta like I do, is a powerhouse.
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I ordered Vegan on the Cheap! I'm so impatient to receive it. Does anybody try another recipe? A favorite one?
I have not read the book but its my understanding that if one dosent buy vegan processed/ prepared foods and instead natural whole fresh and bulk foods there is a huge savings.
I try to keep under a dollar a pound for bulk items, impossible to near impossible with organic. But, bulk organic millet at whole foods has been a steady $1.19/lb for some time. Wheat berries I both cook, sprout and grow to wheatgrass. I buy whats on sale and stock up with other organic beans and legumes. Seeds, sunflower seeds are among the least expensive, mathematically I buy/consume a greater percentage over cashews, almonds, walnuts and other premium nuts.
Sprouting is an excellent cost efficient super nutrition method.
Fortunately I have an Indian market within walking distance of my home; heads of cauliflower, spinach, two huge bunches of cilantro are often $1. Same with their rice, beans and legumes 4-5lb bag is often $4. Almonds are $3.50/lb and dates are cheap too. I can find exotic sproutables for rather fair prices.. fenugreek, black mustard. Its really amazing.
I am under $200/ month feeding myself and a 5lb rabbit (she eats two large bowls of greens and veggies daily).
Stalks and things starting to go bad are offered to the dogs, if they decline off to the compost that I use to grow wheatgrass. If I stuck to soley the conventional goods at the Indian market I am sure I could trim a good 25%.
I wish there was an Indian market near me. The one in Tampa has produce way cheaper than the regular grocery stores, but it's too far for me to regularly shop.
Tofu fried rice - Relatively good. Nothing to jump up and down about, but good. I used pigeon peas because I hate green peas. Next time I'll ditch the peas a use broccoli florets. Good basic recipe.
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barbequed black bean and tofu burritoes - quick and easy and tasty. I've always thought the combo of beans and tofu was strange, but it works with Latin flavors I've noticed. I cubed the tofu instead of cutting them in strips and didn't make burroritoes because I had some smaller white corn tortillas in my freezer I wanted to use up, so I made tacos instead.
I had a mnior criticism in that in the list of ingredients she doesn't say "divided" when the soy sauce and oil were to be used separately. I mistakenly added two tablespoons of soy sauce to be bbq sauce, when one was to be used and another used in the tofu stir frying. No biggie. I fried the tofu and then mixed it with the beans rather than use them separately.
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Tropic of Tempeh - Very interesting combination pineapple and tempeh.....it has some rice vinegar in the stir fry base which gives it a sweet and sour type taste. It also called for cayenne, which I upped a bit, and the hotness along with the sweet and sour worked very well. Quite good.
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White beans and lemon potatoes with olives and tomatoes - Pretty good. I love olives and the olives was the outstanding taste in this dish. I added a can of artichokes as was suggested as an extra and it was good. I did find the dish a little dry, like it was missing some tomato sauce, but liked it.
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Three words--Tiramisu Bread Pudding
Southern New Years Stew - Very good. It's southern I suppose because of the collard greens, and New Years because it calls for black eyed peas. I used red beans instead. I added a jalapeno. Nice mix of rice, beans, potatoes and greens.
I tried a new veggie broth with this, "Savory Choice" reduced sodium. It comes as a liquid concentrate in individual packets. I liked it allright.
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Baked seitan loaf - This is the best seitan recipe out of all the ones I've tried! It even beats Viva Vegan. I saw major praise for it on the blog Two Vegan Boys and Kris was right. This is the seitan I'll be using from now on. It's easy to make which is also a big plus.
I have it, and am not impressed. There's nothing particularly new or inventive in it. It's the first of her books I've been disappointed with.
Baked ziti - As you can see I didn't use ziti, but what I had on hand. This was pretty good. Whenever I make dishes like this that use tofu, I get a little "meh" experience because my mind remembers how good baked ziti is with real cheese. Nonetheless, this is not a "meh", but a "pretty good".
I used the marinara she has in the same book. I used one can of crushed and one can of petite diced instead of two cans of crushed, since that's what I had. This was a very good basic marinara sauce and it made enouhh for the ziti and some to freeze for future use.
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Hey, I got this book for Xmas from my dear husband. I'm reading it through...will probably make the New Years Dish and will report back. Looking forward to trying some of this!!!
I just bought this book on my kindle to test out how I look cookbooks on a Kindle. Everything looks really simple with easy ingredients (this is great for me, because where I live a lot of things called for in recipes aren't available here, such as vegan cream cheese or vegan faux meats). I'm excited to test out some recipes, especially some of the casserole dishes which sound perfect for winter. I'll review once I make some recipes.
I got this book for Christmas, and I'm excited to cook more from it! I made one recipe (which referenced a second) for lunch yesterday.
The Mexican Rice & Beans bake was really tasty and very easy. I made the Cheezee Sauce to go with it, and it was really good, too. Similar to the Bulk Uncheese recipe on this site, but it seemed easier, less expensive, and I thought it even tasted better!
Big Stick Pepperoni- Really good. I never liked 'real' pepperoni when I was still a carnivore. This I love. It's so very easy to make. (I usually have to add a little extra vital wheat gluten, though.) I always make a double batch and freeze most of it. I really enjoy it cut up and eaten on it's own for a snack, or on a cheeseless pizza with lots of veggies.
Indian-Spiced Lentil Ragu- A good comfort food. My family enjoyed it more than I did. (A bonus, actually, as they're not vegetarian.) I plan to make this again, with them in mind.
Big Stick Pepperoni: Awesome and easy to make. Were having it on pizza tonight!
I sliced it and sauteed it in some oil and it's even tastier and more pepperoni-ish this way.
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YUM!!!!!!
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