36 replies to this topic

[battleofthebulge]

One of the members of our book club has become a vegan. Now, I've found a great roast portobello mushroom w/rocket polenta recipe for mains, but I'm stuck for dessert, so I thought I'd ask the experts
Obviously I could do fruit and / or sorbet, but the weather here is wet and chilly so I'd rather have something a bit more comforting. What on earth can I make with no dairy or eggs??

Sarah

[sugarbuzz]

Here's a website that might help

http://vegweb.com/recipes/sweets/

[battleofthebulge]

Here's a website that might help

http://vegweb.com/recipes/sweets/

Wow that has lots of recipes but most of them seem to have vegan-specific ingredients like vegan choc-chip cookies! And vegan sugar?!
I think I'll have to search around my supermarket's 'free from' aisle and see if I can find some substitutes.
Thanks very much for the link.

Sarah

[divalasvegas]

One of the members of our book club has become a vegan. Now, I've found a great roast portobello mushroom w/rocket polenta recipe for mains, but I'm stuck for dessert, so I thought I'd ask the experts 
Obviously I could do fruit and / or sorbet, but the weather here is wet and chilly so I'd rather have something a bit more comforting. What on earth can I make with no dairy or eggs??

Sarah

I have a vegan coworker and recently ordered some pastries that he would like from a bakery specializing in vegan bake goods which he loved. Personally, pastry without benefit eggs, butter, milk or cream is not my cup of tea but it takes all kinds to make the world go around.

I was thinking about baklava. Does this person like walnuts? I was thinking that instead of the melted butter used for the baklava you could use a combination of margerine and walnut oil instead of the butter, and then proceed as usual with the syrup normally used for baklava. Wait a minute! I forgot. I almost said to make the syrup using honey, lemon juice, cinnamon, etc. BUT I JUST REMEMBERED VEGANS DON'T EAT HONEY (Aargh!) Let's start over. You could probably make a decent honey substitute using demerara (raw sugar) made in to a simple syrup AND THEN proceed.

I hope this person appreciates how dear you really are.

[battleofthebulge]

hmmm .. margarine! now that's something I haven't bought in years!!
I initially did think of baklava - good suggestion. I think she might eat honey. She's not totally strict, like she drinks non-veggie wine
Thanks a lot!
Sarah

[*Deborah*]

Sorry, but what is non-veggie wine?

[battleofthebulge]

Well, you might not want to know this, but wine and beer are often 'fined'. Not all the yeast gets converted into booze, and the wine/beer can be cloudy. To make the wine nice and clear, a powder (called isinglass) made from fish swim bladders is added to the liquid. No, I swear I'm not making this up! The yeast then sticks to the ex-bladders and can be filtered out more easily. So in theory all the isinglass gets taken out, but it's still not considered suitable for veggies.
http://www.vinceremo...k/veg_vegan.htm

I just thought (prompted by the idea of wine) of maybe doing pears poached in red wine:
http://www.epicuriou...iews/views/3162

Sarah

[divalasvegas]

Well, you might not want to know this, but wine and beer are often 'fined'. Not all the yeast gets converted into booze, and the wine/beer can be cloudy. To make the wine nice and clear, a powder (called isinglass) made from fish swim bladders is added to the liquid. No, I swear I'm not making this up! The yeast then sticks to the ex-bladders and can be filtered out more easily. So in theory all the isinglass gets taken out, but it's still not considered suitable for veggies.
http://www.vinceremo...k/veg_vegan.htm

I just thought (prompted by the idea of wine) of maybe doing pears poached in red wine:
http://www.epicuriou...iews/views/3162

Sarah

Okay *Deborah* you definitely beat me to the punch with your question. With all due respect to the vegan wine, isn't that like worrying about how many thousands--and there are thousands--of microscopic critters you wash down the drain every day when you take a shower and wash your hair? Best of luck to you battleofthebulge and your friend, but as for me, life is hard enough without putting veganism on top of it. Please write back and let us know how your dessert efforts went.

[M. Lucia]

Chocolate Silk pie
(my fall back vegan dessert that has won many non-vegan fans)

graham cracker crust (make with margarine)
12 oz silken tofu
12 oz chocolate
1/3 cup coffee liquer
tsp vanilla, pinch sugar

over a double boiler, melt the chocolate with the liquer to combine
whir together chocolate mixture, tofu, vanilla, and sugar in a processor until smooth
pour into pie crust, refrigerate several hours until firm and chilled

[*Deborah*]

Well, you might not want to know this, but wine and beer are often 'fined'. Not all the yeast gets converted into booze, and the wine/beer can be cloudy. To make the wine nice and clear, a powder (called isinglass) made from fish swim bladders is added to the liquid. No, I swear I'm not making this up! The yeast then sticks to the ex-bladders and can be filtered out more easily. So in theory all the isinglass gets taken out, but it's still not considered suitable for veggies.
http://www.vinceremo...k/veg_vegan.htm

I just thought (prompted by the idea of wine) of maybe doing pears poached in red wine:
http://www.epicuriou...iews/views/3162

Sarah

Wow! not that it matters to me, but...that was unexpected!

M. Lucia, presumably you use vegan chocolate...

[battleofthebulge]

Errrr ... what are graham crackers?

[*Deborah*]

A graham flour biscuit...here is some info from a Brit comparing graham crackers and Digestives. I would say that Digestives would probably work OK in lieu...what do you normally use as a cheesecake base?

Edited by *Deborah*, 27 July 2005 - 10:59 AM.

[battleofthebulge]

A graham flour biscuit...here is some info from a Brit comparing graham crackers and Digestives. I would say that Digestives would probably work OK in lieu...what do you normally use as a cheesecake base?

Ah ha! Yes digestives are good, or ginger biscuits work well as a spicy contrast.

This recipe is also a good excuse to buy some coffee liquer

[lcdm]

What about an apple (or any other fruit) crisp? Fruit mixed with sugar maybe a little cinnamon. Topped with rolled oats/sugar/margarine (instead of butter). You can serve warm to help chase away the chill. You could have ice cream or whipped cream available for the non-vegan members.

Just thought of this: grilled fruit; pinapples, peaches, plums

Edited by lcdm, 27 July 2005 - 11:29 AM.

[MelissaH]

Just wanted to add a caution here that many margarines on the market are made with dairy components. In these parts, we can only find one brand of margarine that's non-dairy, and we either have to go to the big supermarkets Syracuse (our big city) or to a health-food store. Make sure to read the label. If it's labeled as kosher pareve, you know it will be dairy-free.

MelissaH

[jackal10]

Baked apples (stuffed with raisins, sugar, spice)
Poached pears (in red wine and cinnamon, chocolate sauce)
Strudel (oil pastry)
Baklava

[chefpeon]

Hmmmm....whaddya know!

I've learned three things reading this thread:

1. Vegans don't eat honey. (Why?)
2. There is such a thing as vegan wine, and there's wine that has fish bladder remnants...yum!
3. Brits aren't familiar with Graham Crackers! Wow! I never would've guessed that.

I don't think it would even be possible to do a vegan pudding, would it?

A comment: Why is it when one person (or less than the majority) has a funky diet regimen (by choice, not medical), the host feels compelled to cater to their needs? Just because one person is vegan, everybody else has to eat vegan too? I've been in these situations a lot, because I live in the L'il Berkely of the Northwest......more vegans per capita than I've ever known. I've been to quite a few vegan dinner parties. Needless to say I didn't eat much. Maybe I'm spoiled, but vegan meals are FAR from satisfying to me! I don't know how they can stand it. Not only that, but since we live in a mostly non-vegan world, having to pay THAT much attention to what you're eating, is, well, tiring.

Honestly, though, I'm not really as mean as I sound. If I were hosting a dinner party and someone was vegan, I would make one of the dishes a vegan dish, but I certainly wouldn't center the whole meal around my one vegan guest. If they're still hungry they can eat the grass in the front yard. Ok, maybe I AM mean. I'm sorry, but vegans annoy me.

My main job is baking cookies and pastries for a little wholesale bakery. I do a vegan cookie that I personally think is crap, but apparently the vegans like it. It sells, anyway. It's made with plum puree, canola oil, organic sugar (it looks like a cross between brown and granulated sugars), vanilla, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, dairy free chocolate chips, and toasted hazelnuts.
The only good thing I can say about this cookie is it has a helluva shelf life......wait, make that a "half life".

[WHT]

Sorry, but what is non-veggie wine?

Eggs are used to clarify some wines and I am sure that other animal products are used too. But as others have mentioned there are other microbes involved in wine making. Yeast would be a prime example.

[*Deborah*]

I don't think it would even be possible to do a vegan pudding, would it?

"Pudding" being a general British term meaning what North Americans call "dessert", rather than Jell-O pudding or plum pudding.

[jackal10]

You could use carregeen instead of gelatine if you want something jellied - often sold as Kosher
You can certainly do a vegan version of an Xmas pudding - no eggs, but beer and vegetarian suet. Probably a bit heavy, but if you use mostly breadcrumbs and not flour, and lots of fruit, steamed for a very long time it should be OK. I don't think vegans outlaw yeast, yet, although some only eat raw food.
I came accross one tonight who explained he was doing it to improve his health. I forbare from trying to explain that his diet was probably making him sick, but it shows what a lot of basic food education there is still to be done.

[Pam R]

I've had vegan chocolate mousse. Silken tofu blitzed in a food processor - add some melted bittersweet chocolate, maybe some sugar or a bananna.

When you're shopping for ingredients if you look for kosher items, beside the kosher symbol if there is a 'p' it means the item is pareve - meaning it's neither milk not meat. You'd have to check ingredient lists for eggs, honey and fish though.

Make a crumble - whatever fruit you like, then a mix of oatmeal, flour, sugar and margarine on top - yes margarine. Margarine is the answer to much of my non-dairy baking needs. There are certain brands that are completely non-dairy... but I don't know if you have access to Fleishmans or Mothers.

[LCS]

Vegans don't eat honey because honey is an animal by-product.

I'm a lacto-vegetarian (= vegetarian plus no eggs) due to religious reasons. I haven't known a single non-veg acquaintance to *cater* to a veg*n minority, so I'd like to know who your friends are who do and tell them to invite me over anytime! :D Anytime I attend a function, I tell my hosts not to go out of his/her way and I eat beforehand and ask if they'd like me to bring a dish to share. But I find they want to offer me more than a salad and cheese and crackers b/c they are being gracious hosts; they invited me into their home for a meal and therefore want me to have a whole meal like everyone else.

I've been a vegetarian for 14 years that by this point, it's second nature. I know what I can and can't eat and don't expect others to memorize the list. I don't think any veg*n should.

I used to make those kinds of cookies you speak of when I worked at Whole Foods b/c they wanted to kill a few birds with one stone (prune puree = reduces fat; oil instead of margarine = keeps the no trans-fat crowd happy; whole wheat flour = who the hell knows???), but what you end up with is a compromise on taste and texture. Anyway you can add margarine instead and get a better cookie?

As for a vegan pudding, yes, it's possible. Some aren't bad either.

Hmmmm....whaddya know!

I've learned three things reading this thread:

1. Vegans don't eat honey. (Why?)
2. There is such a thing as vegan wine, and there's wine that has fish bladder remnants...yum!
3. Brits aren't familiar with Graham Crackers! Wow! I never would've guessed that.

I don't think it would even be possible to do a vegan pudding, would it?

A comment: Why is it when one person (or less than the majority) has a funky diet regimen (by choice, not medical), the host feels compelled to cater to their needs? Just because one person is vegan, everybody else has to eat vegan too? I've been in these situations a lot, because I live in the L'il Berkely of the Northwest......more vegans per capita than I've ever known. I've been to quite a few vegan dinner parties. Needless to say I didn't eat much. Maybe I'm spoiled, but vegan meals are FAR from satisfying to me! I don't know how they can stand it. Not only that, but since we live in a mostly non-vegan world, having to pay THAT much attention to what you're eating, is, well, tiring. 

Honestly, though, I'm not really as mean as I sound. If I were hosting a dinner party and someone was vegan, I would make one of the dishes a vegan dish, but I certainly wouldn't center the whole meal around my one vegan guest. If they're still hungry they can eat the grass in the front yard.  Ok, maybe I AM mean. I'm sorry, but vegans annoy me.

My main job is baking cookies and pastries for a little wholesale bakery. I do a vegan cookie that I personally think is crap, but apparently the vegans like it. It sells, anyway. It's made with plum puree, canola oil, organic sugar (it looks like a cross between brown and granulated sugars), vanilla, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, dairy free chocolate chips, and toasted hazelnuts.
The only good thing I can say about this cookie is it has a helluva shelf life......wait, make that a "half life". 

----

One thing that was touched on in this thread is "vegan sugar". All that means is that the sugar was not processed with bone-char. As far as I know, this is not a method used in the UK and Europe anymore, but about 25% of sugar manufacturers in the US still do. Beat sugar is not processed with bone-char.

[easternsun]

what about rice pudding made with coconut milk, raisins and nuts?

you can use maple syrup instead of sugar in a lot of recipes, i do.

[battleofthebulge]

what about rice pudding made with coconut milk, raisins and nuts?

you can use maple syrup instead of sugar in a lot of recipes, i do.

Wow that sounds great!! How much milk to rice, do you know? Same as if I was making it with dairy? Hmmm ... yes with nuts and maybe some cardamom.
I always use organic sugar so the bone stuff (eeuuu) shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks again everyone I'll let you know how it turns out.

(And for those who say I shouldn't bother catering .. well, I kind of agree, and it's going to be a real downer on book club meals if she carries on. Maybe we'll make her bring her own lentils whilst we're tucking into paella!)

Sarah

[Pan]

[...]I always use organic sugar so the bone stuff (eeuuu) shouldn't be a problem.[...]

Naive question, perhaps, but why would the use of bone necessarily make anything non-organic?

[battleofthebulge]

[/quote]

Naive question, perhaps, but why would the use of bone necessarily make anything non-organic?

[/quote]

Partly because organic foodstuffs aim to avoid any kind of additions, also it would be very difficult to ensure that the bones used came from organic animals .. in fact, I wonder if anyone knows which animals are used? Cows?

This is Wikipedia on bone char:
Bone char, also known as bone black or animal charcoal, is a granular black material produced by calcinating animal bones: the bones are heated to high temperatures in the absence of air to drive off volatile substances. It consists mainly of calcium phosphate and a small amount of carbon. Bone char has a very high surface area and a high absorptive capacity for lead, mercury, and arsenic.
[edit]

Uses

Bone char is used to remove fluoride from water and to filter aquarium water.

It is often used in the sugar refining industry for decolorizing (a process patented by Louis Constant in 1812). This leads to worries from vegans, since about a quarter of the sugar in the US is processed using bone char as a filter (about half of all sugar from sugar cane is processed with bone char, the rest with activated carbon). As bone char does not get into the sugar, sugar processed this way is considered parve/Kosher. Vegans are of varying opinions over whether sugar can be considered truly vegan.

Life is soooo complicated!

[Patrick S]

[...]I always use organic sugar so the bone stuff (eeuuu) shouldn't be a problem.[...]

Naive question, perhaps, but why would the use of bone necessarily make anything non-organic?

It wouldn't, at least according to USDA standards of what constitutes a 'certified' organic product.

[Patrick S]

Okay *Deborah* you definitely beat me to the punch with your question.  With all due respect to the vegan wine, isn't that like worrying about how many thousands--and there are thousands--of microscopic critters you wash down the drain every day when you take a shower and wash your hair?

Hmm. I never considered that! Actually there are mites (8-legged animals related to ticks) on our bodies in several places. I guess the mites make us all animal mass-murderers! Probably you can't even walk around in your garden without crushing soil organisms, like nematodes. BTW, I'm knocking anyone here, I just never considered the lowly mites before.

EDIT to add juicy detail. Mites of the species demodex folliculorum inhabit our eyelash roots, and there may be as many as 25 per root, chomping away on your skin.

Edited by Patrick S, 28 July 2005 - 06:19 AM.

[jaynesb]

Here are 2 vegan recipes I have made with success (in other words, even folks who aren't vegan like them)

Amazon cake (a chocolate cake):
Amazon choc cake
I've got a friend who now makes this once a week!

Chocolate chip cookies from a comment I found in a blog. Here's the link. Scroll down to a comment by Lauren on May 20 2004 11:16
These cookies have lots of stuff going on in them -- nuts, chocolate, oatmeal, coconut.

vegan choc chip cookie

jayne

[battleofthebulge]

Thanks so much Jayne, but the meal's tonight (which is now, UK time).

So, I've just placed in a medium / low oven a large bowl with arborio rice, coconut milk (enough to cover and then some), a cinnamon stick, some cardamom cloves and about a cup of unrefined sugar (avoids the bones issue ..). I reckon it'll take about 30 mins to cook, so in 15 I'll add some lemon zest. It should sit whilst we're eating the mushrooms. Then sprinkle on some cinnamon to serve.
Gotta dash - everyone will be arriving in a minute, so must check the Pinot Grigio is cold!
Book for the evening: 'A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian'

Thanks to everybody for a really interesting thread. Brilliant!

Sarah