Spoiler alert - garlic is one of them
So it’s common these days to buy ready-made plant-based foods at the supermarket, with more and more brands offering a variety of meat replacements and other products, from sandwiches and snacks to ready-made meals.
But, apart from the fact they’re often ultra processed (which I talked about last week), most of them, for me, don’t deliver on taste.
I’m privileged enough to have travelled all over the world, grazing my way through a global smorgasbord of wonderful plant based food, from Aussie health bowls and Thai curries to Mongolian buuz (dumplings) to a veganised New Orleans muffaletta and southern comfort food.
My tastes, palate, and kitchen desires revolve around a bunch of flavours that are pretty easy to come by, and – in my opinion – serve to elevate a pretty boring dish into something much better.
Don’t fall into the trap of eating lentils and onions, or a dry old bean-based burger. Just like life, it’s all there for you to explore. Recipe books are a great way to start – and I have an increasingly bulging folder of recipes printed from vegan foodie websites.
And don’t forget libraries are a great place to grab a recipe book or three, as well, especially if you’re not sure you’ll like them!
As I’ve said before, I believe plant-based people are mostly good, creative cooks – it takes a little extra effort sometimes to veganise a recipe, and, if you’re like me, taking a moment to think how your food serves your nutritional needs and health.
And while I moan about meat alternatives, I do appreciate some of them can be tasty – and still better for you than lumps of carcass.
The Fab Five
Garlic
My friend’s dad used to eat raw garlic sandwiches, and I admired him for it. Not only is it brave, given the effect on his breath, but it meant he was always ready in the event of a vampire attack.
Garlic, in all its forms, is widely adored in the plant-based world. Those who love me know a black or smoked garlic bulb is a joyful gift. I have another friend who lives near an area of wild garlic, and made us some pots of wild garlic pesto. A dream!
I don’t think this is the recipe she used, but this Pesky Vegan wild garlic walnut pesto is wicked.
Garlic can be added to everything, in my opinion. Vital in hummous, divine as a hero ingredient in a soup, crucial in a curry, and you can’t eat anything in a bowl, like pho or ramen without a heapin’ helpin’ of garlic.
I throw a whole bulb in the roasting dish every time I make roasted veg, and if there’s enough, it’s fantastic just spreading a clove or two on a hunk of good bread. You can, of course, fry a ton of chopped or sliced garlic and then store it as a wonderful topping for anything.
Don’t fall for those ‘one clove’ additions in a recipe. Go on, treat yourself and triple it.
I’ve just done a kitchen audit – we have roasted garlic, fried garlic pieces, garlic powder, garlic salt and about six bulbs knocking about. I wouldn’t say it’s an obsession, but a vital ingredient if you want to get some good flavours in your food.
And, yes, I’m aware there are those who don’t like garlic, which seems heartbreaking to me, and those who don’t think you should eat it at all. Let’s not forget garlic lowers high blood pressure, reduces high cholesterol, is a natural blood-cleanser, has anti-fungal and antibacterial properties and acts as a natural antibiotic. Phew. Poor vampires, missing out on all that.
Still, be aware of garlic’s effects if you’re deeply into meditation, or follow Buddhism…
Soy Sauce
Yes, it’s one of the saltiest things on the planet, but it’s sooo good. If you’re trying to be healthier, you can find low sodium soy, and gluten-free versions.
Just remember light soy sauce is saltier and used more for flavour, while dark soy sauce is generally thicker, less salty and slightly sweeter than light, so ideal for adding colour to your dishes and for marinading.
And for dipping, it’s good to have a blend of the two, but most dips use light.
Don’t muck about with shoyu-tai, those little plastic bottles, they’re an environmental nightmare. Get yourself a giant bottle, or even better, a hydration sack on your back filled with soy.
While I’m not a soy connoisseur or snob, I know that there are hundreds of different kinds. It’s a good idea to seek out Thai soy for your green curry, a Japanese soy for your ramen (and the Japanese ones tend to be less salty) and you guessed it, a Chinese variety for your home-cooked Chinese foods.
Chili Sauce
I think chili - or at least a hot hit in your dish – is also vital. Full confession, I’m not too good at eating raw chillies, and I don’t really get on with a dish where they throw a handful of raw chillies on top. What I do love is the flavour, often in a sauce. So those little corner shop bottles of any chilli sauce are a massive boon to my cookery. And yes, they’re processed, but not many seem to have nasty chemicals included.
Even in a pretty bland sandwich, I’ll add some drops of something a bit fiery… and in my book, you can’t eat anything claiming to be ‘Asian’ without at least a hint of heat. I think my love of bottled chilli sauces partly comes from my partner not liking it as much as I do, so I add it after finishing cooking.
A typical dish made by me will often include a sprinkle of chilli flakes, a pickled chili or two (they hit different to raw), and a splash or dash of a sauce. Nothing to alert the good people at the League of Fire, the official governing body for competitive chilli-eating…
Again, a quick kitchen audit reveals my favourite Cholula chipotle sauce, some wonderful Texan stuff, chilli flakes, chilli powder, sriracha mayo (which counts as another vital staple in my book), some dried chipotle and two pots of Tajin Mexican spices. And there’s always Tabasco knocking about somewhere, the last we had was a delightful raspberry flavour one.
The Texan stuff, a gift via a friend in Canada…
Nooch – Nutritional Yeast
These little yellow flakes are a must for any vegan kitchen. It’s a cousin of baker’s and brewer’s yeast, but deactivated, and often fortified, making it super good for most of us.
Not only cheesy, it provides an umami hit across a variety of dishes. Dip tofu chunks in a cornflour and nooch mix. Throw a tablespoon in your soups and stews. Sprinkle it atop a salad, or simply eat it by the spoonful (but don’t tell anyone). Don’t even attempt to make a vegan cheese or sauce without it, and it’s a wonderful addition to popcorn or pizza.
I think I love it because it’s so versatile, but also a little bit because it’s kind of like fish food, and sometimes it’s good to pretend you’re a fish, right? Of course.
Nutritional yeast is rich in nutrients often lacking from vegetarian and vegan diets. It’s also free of gluten, soy and sugar, making it great for people with food sensitivities.
Derek Sarno, one of my food heroes, mixes nooch with herbs and garlic, for example, to make wonderful seasonings for anything and everything. Recipe below, but if you’re bored of reading, watch the video here, featuring Frankie the dog.
Avocado
These wonderful berries (yes, officially they’re berries!) are a Godsend in the kitchen. Nature’s mayo, creamy, delicious and filling, for me the avo is a perfect food. They have a perfect blend of carbs, fat and protein, and I remember reading somewhere you could live on Avocado. I think you’ll probably slip off, though.
My only issue with these incredible fruits is that you have that tiny window of ripeness. Cue the 10,000 vegan memes – ‘can’t come out tonight, my avocado is hitting peak ripeness’ etc.
But there are few things in my overly privileged life more annoying that deciding it’s TIME to slice open the avo, do the twist, open that green goddess up, only to discover hard, chewy rubber. Argh.
And so you wait, eyeing it up, touching it, squeezing it, until that day you decide, it’s READY. And then you cut it open and it’s all mushy and weird inside.
Damn these petulant, tasty bitches.
Anyway, when you’ve achieved peak avo ripeness, there’s nothing better than slavering it all over a bit of toast and tucking in (without paying £13.95 in a café, thank you). And don’t forget guacamole, up there in the Holy Book of Divine Dips, near hummous and baba ghanoush, but so very easy to make.
My partner discovered a great recipe where you slice the avo, dip it in bread crumbs and stuff, and bake it. If I can find the recipe, I’ll put it below.
Meanwhile, a bit like nuts and Quinoa, I’m uncomfortable with the provenance of avocadoes, but I work on the basis that we can all source more sustainable or ethical ones. But be mindful that since gaining in global popularity, farming these glorious innocent fruits is causing deforestation, destroying ecosystems, funding drug cartels, and contributing to climate change. DAMMIT. But there’s hope – I found this company, for instance.
RECIPES
Chili Garlic Noodles
A wonderful recipe, quick, easy and tasty:
https://eatwithclarity.com/spicy-chili-garlic-noodles/
Burnt Garlic Soup
Garlic is certainly the hero of this dish. I used to get it from an Indian takeaway, and it was amazing. I never asked them for the recipe, for fear it contained tonnes of oil or something…but this version is good enough!
Here's a simple recipe for vegan burnt garlic soup that uses minimal ingredients, including onion and a cornstarch slurry to thicken it:
Ingredients:
10-15 Garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 cups vegetable broth (a stock cube or homemade, as you like)
2 Tbsp cornstarch, mixed with 2 tablespoons of water
2 Tbsp olive oil, or oil of choice. Some use butter
Pinch of salt and pepper, to taste
Optional additions: Chopped peppers, carrot, cabbage, corn – add in with the chopped onions if you wish, just small amounts
Green onions or chives for garnish (optional)
Preparation:
Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
Add the sliced garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until it is deeply browned and almost burnt. This will take about five minutes. Be careful not to let it get too black as it’ll turn bitter. I do too when I’m hot.
Remove about a third of the burnt garlic from the pan and set aside for garnish.
Add the chopped onions to the remaining garlic in the pan. Reduce the heat to low and sauté until the onions are translucent and soft, about 5 minutes.
Pour the vegetable broth into the pan with the onions and garlic. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer.
Slowly stir in the cornstarch slurry to the simmering soup. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the soup thickens slightly, about 2-3 minutes.
Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve garnished with the reserved burnt garlic and chopped green onions or chives, if using.
This soup is delightfully simple, with the burnt garlic providing a deep, smoky flavour that complements the sweetness of the onions.
Holy Trinity Baked Tofu
The Holy Trinity because, of course, it has garlic, soy and chili. This is one of those dishes that you can easily tweak to suit your own tastes, and you might prefer air frying, deep frying or shallow frying the tofu. It’s great served on top of any sort of bowl, like Ramen, pho or a rice bowl, can be served on its own, or with a dry spicy noodle dish.
Ingredients:
Firm Tofu: 400 grams, pressed and cut into cubes
Garlic: 3 cloves, minced
Ginger: 1 inch piece, finely grated
Soy Sauce: 3 tablespoons (or your salty sauce of choice)
Chili Sauce: 2 tablespoons (adjust according to your heat preference)
Maple Syrup or Agave Syrup: 1 tablespoon
Sesame Oil: 1 tablespoon, plus extra for greasing
Cornstarch: 2 tablespoons, for coating
Spring Onions: 2, finely chopped for garnish
Sesame Seeds: 1 tablespoon, for garnish
Lime: wedges for serving
Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F). Lightly grease a baking tray (or use baking paper) with a bit of sesame oil.
If your tofu is a bit wet, press it. Easiest way is to wrap in a clean kitchen towel and place a heavy object on top to press out excess moisture for about 15-20 minutes. I’ve got a tofuture press, it was a fantastic gift from one of my lovely nieces. https://www.tofuture.com/
Cut the (drained) tofu into 1-inch cubes.
In a bowl, combine the minced garlic, grated ginger, soy sauce, chili sauce, and maple syrup. Mix well to create the marinade.
Toss the tofu cubes in the marinade and let them sit for at least 10 minutes to absorb the flavours.
Sprinkle cornstarch over the marinated tofu cubes and toss gently to coat. This will help to create a crispy exterior when baked. (I use a tea strainer to get good even coverage. It’s basically a tiny sieve.)
Arrange the tofu cubes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, turning halfway through, (the tofu, not you) until the tofu is golden brown and getting aa bit crispy around the edges.
Remove the tofu from the oven and drizzle with a little more sesame oil if desired.
Sprinkle with the chopped spring onions and sesame seeds.
Serve hot with lime wedges on the side for an extra bit of zing.
Derek Sarno’s Beast Seasoning
The man behind UK Supermarket Tesco’s ready-made vegan food range has some cracking recipes for seasoning. You can add these to anything and everything.
The BEAST seasoning blends:
GARLIC & HERB:
Yeast: 3 cups
Garlic Powder: 2 TBSP
Garlic (Granules): 2 TBSP
Salt: 1 TBSP
Black Pepper: 1 TBSP
Parsley: 2 TBSP
Rosemary: 1 TBSP
Sage: 1 tsp
Pinch starch of your choice (corn, potato etc)
BBQ BEAST SEASONING:
Nutritional Yeast 3 cups
Garlic Powder: 3 TBSP
Brown Sugar: 3 TBSP
Smoked Paprika: 2 TBSP
Paprika: 2 TBSP
Salt: 1 TBSP
Rosemary: 1 TBSP
Chilli Powder: 1 TBSP
Onion powder: 1 TBSP
Black Pepper: 1 TBSP
Ground toasted Coriander Seed: 1 TBSP
Pinch of Starch of your choice
Use this blend as a seasoning rub - goes well on fake meats, tofu, seitan and veggies.
Preparation:
All you need to do is blend it (in a food processor) for a few seconds, and bung it in a jar. It’ll keep for ages, and use it liberally on all your food. It adds a big protein kick, B12 and FLAVA!
Bonus recipe
Oatcakes
A simple, easy, quick and super cheap to make recipe…you’ll probably never buy oatcakes from the store again. These tick all the boxes. I had a hankering for oatcakes last night, so made them - in a flash.
Ingredients:
225g oats
60g wholemeal flour, plus extra for dusting
A pinch of salt, to taste. (The recipe calls for 1 Tsp, but I found them way too salty!)
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp baking powder
60g butter
Preparation:
Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Mix together the oats, flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Add the butter, then rub it all together until it's like large breadcrumbs.
Gradually pour in 60-90ml warm water, stirring it with a wooden spoon until it forms a thick dough. Mush it together a bit by hand.
Sprinkle some extra flour on your work surface and roll out the dough to about ½cm thickness. That’s thin. I got bored of rolling and ended up with very thick oatcakes. You might like that, but I prefer mine thin. Use a cookie cutter to cut out about 20 rounds (the amount depends on the size of cutter).
Place the oatcakes on a baking tray and bake for 20 mins or until golden.
Stuff You Should Know – and Care About
Think what you use in the kitchen
It was only a few years ago that I discovered fabric conditioner isn’t vegan. Nor is most toothpaste. And these big companies test on animals. It’s a ruddy minefield! Every day is a learning experience, but what I do know is that the majority of kitchen products, like dishwashing liquid, are hideous for the environment, from the manufacture to the plastic bottles, to the ingredients. If you want to know more, Ethical Consumer magazine has just made a guide to dodgy washing-up liquids and stuff, and it’s pretty good. For example, Ecover and Method brands are vegan, but they are owned by SC Johnson which is not. SC Johnson tests on animals.
Gardener takes city to court over right to not mow his lawn
The amazingly-monikered Wolf Ruck, an artist and former Olympic canoeist in Mississauga, Ontario, embraced rewilding his garden with native plants three years ago. Despite environmental benefits like increased biodiversity and reduced maintenance, Ruck’s garden has faced legal hurdles. City officials, responding to neighbour complaints about the appearance of his yard, deemed it in violation of local bylaws concerning weed and tall grass control. They forcibly trimmed his garden twice, billing Ruck for the costs.
But Ruck, who represented himself in court, lost his case after arguing that the city had applied the bylaw unfairly and arbitrarily. Now liable for the municipality’s legal bills of $6,000 (£3,450), he has filed an appeal. Ruck remains committed, viewing his garden as a personal stand against environmental degradation.
Austrian minister backs EU nature restoration law
Austria’s Green party climate minister Leonore Gewessler ended a months-long deadlock by defying the Austrian chancellor to back the EU Nature Restoration Law, which requires member states to begin restoring a fifth of the bloc’s land and oceans by the end of the decade.
“In 20 or 30 years, when I [talk to my nieces] and show them the beauty of our country and of this continent, and they ask me: ‘What did you do when everything was at stake?’ I want to be able to tell them: ‘I tried to support as much as I could,’’ Gewessler said after the decision.
Her backing meant there weren’t enough nations against the proposed law to stop it; and it’s now being enacted.
Cause of the Week
Last week’s newsletter poll showed that most of you disagree with the sort of direct action XR Rebellion, Animal Rising and Just Stop Oil do, on the basis that it pisses people off more than raises awareness of the issues. Some 67% of readers felt it creates animosity.
A Facebook friend blocked me earlier this week, because I expressed opinions that the washable cornstarch sprayed on Stonehenge led to people like him talking about it, and why they did it, ergo, his anger was at least fuelling debate (pun intended). But then to block me for expressing an opinion that didn’t align with his is a shame. I wanted to understand more why him, and his friends, hated the protest so much. They’re certainly not the sort of people to be at the ancient monument during summer solstice. The only time these sort of people see Stonehenge is when stuck in an eight hour traffic jam in a petrol vehicle on their way to Cornwall or somewhere. Oh the irony.
We must all be willing to hear others’ opinions to listen, to grow and to learn. Sometimes it’s hard to hear other’s opinions (but bacon, etc), but, there’s so much truth in the phrase:
“Every [one] should periodically be compelled to listen to opinions which are infuriating to [them]. To hear nothing but what is pleasing to one is to make a pillow of the mind.”
- St.John Ervine
My cause of the week – Be nice, and be more open to hearing other’s opinions, even if only to (gently) put them right! 😊
Love, peace and wishing you a beautiful week ahead,
Cool! Going to buy some Nooch after I am done at the Farmer's Market today. Thanks.
I agree with 4 out of your fab 5. Avocados have no place in my kitchen - they make both me and my partner sick whenever we eat them (unfortunately, as I love their creamy goodness).