Bryanna Clark Grogan’s Vegan Feast Kitchen/ 23rd Century Table

UPDATE: There is a new post (Feb. 19, 2017) on making a double batch of this yogurt in the Instant pot insert, and it is a slightly streamlined recipe.

I've been working on this yogurt for a few months.  I wasn't having much of luck getting a tangy yogurt that was also medium-thick and creamy, like the yogurt I grew up with.  I also wanted a mixture that didn't include a thickener that needed to be cooked, and I also didn't want to have to sterilize the milk first.

I have finally refined the recipe to my satisfaction, and, now that I have an Instant Pot with a yogurt mode, that makes it even more convenient.  It's so quick to make that I make a batch every 5 days or so, rather than making huge batches that may or may not fit into my refrigerator!

Why do I make soy yogurt?  I want the nutrition of soy milk and the creaminess without too much fat. The most thorough chart of the nutrients in various plant-based milks is here: http://www.onegreenplanet.org/foodandhealth/the-ultimate-guide-to-plant-based-milks/  You can see there  how superior soy is in nutrition.



If you are wary of soymilk, check out my page of research here: http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.ca/p/are-you-concerned-about-safety-ofsoy.html If you are worried about GMO beans, just buy organic soymilk-- organic products cannot contain GMO ingredients or they lose their organic labelling. The thickening ingredient is also NON-GMO, according to my research.

Many people make coconut yogurt from canned coconut.  However, 1 serving (1/2 cup) of that type of coconut yogurt is 240 calories compared to about 57 calories for this soy yogurt (made from full-fat soymilk). The coconut yogurt contains about 20 g fat per serving, 14 g of it saturated, compared to 2 g fat (.4 g of it saturated) in the same amount of soy yogurt. And 1/2 cup soy yogurt contains about 3.2 g protein, compared to 2 g or less with canned coconut milk.

Do we really need to use a thickener?
I've read so many blog posts and FB post and comments about making vegan yogurt and I scratch my head at how some people produce a soy yogurt so nice and solid with no thickeners at all. I have come to the conclusion that soy milks and other plant milks are vary in some way so that some of them thicken without help, and some don't.

I have experimented in the past with cornstarch, tapioca starch and agar powder (each by itself, and then various mixtures of the above) as thickeners and didn't really like the consistency or mouthfeel of any of them, alone or together with another. I also didn't want to have to cook anything in the procedure.  Instant ClearJel®(not regular ClearJel®, BTW) proved to be the answer to making nice creamy yogurt that will hold its' shape with any cooking.

INSTANT CLEARJEL® NOTES AND SUPPLIERS (July 2017)
In this recipe, DO NOT use the regular Clearjel® meant for making jam and pies and needs to be cooked.  Instant Clearjel® does NOT need to be cooked.  It is carried on amazon.com, hoosierhillfarm.com, barryfarm.comand King Arthur Flour for US customers. It has been available in Canada primarily from baking supply wholesalers, but,  good news for Canadians--amazon.ca finally carries Instant Clearjel®! (Make sure you add a note to your order specifying that you want INSTANT Clearjel®.) According to their website, Gourmet Warehouse in Vancouver, BC carries it, too, but I'm not sure if they do mail order (their website is under construction right now).
For information about these thickeners, see
http://sharealikecooking.blogspot.ca/p/clearjel-page-clearly-best-thickeners.html (According to this source and others, Instant Clearjel® and Ultra Gel® are both NON-GMO.)
Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S EASY, CREAMY HOMEMADE SOY YOGURT IN THE INSTANT POT (CULTURED IN JARS) Updated on Feb. 19, 2017
Yield: 5 cups

Ingredients (only 3!):
The Milk:
4 cups (946 mL) UHT (ultra heat treated; in a Tetra Pak carton) organic soymilk,  original style-- use an UN-opened carton (I use PC Organics Fortified Soy Beverage, Original, a Canadian brand-- I prefer "original" to "plain".)
The Starter:
1/4 cup commercial or homemade soy yogurt with live culture (I have used "Nancy's Cultured Soy" with success), OR 1 tsp. dried vegan yogurt culture OR powder from 2 probiotic capsules (live, nondairy)
The Thickener:
3 Tbs Instant ClearJel®-- DO NOT use regular Clear Jel for making jam and pies

Equipment:
An 8-cup microwave-safe (Pyrex) batter bowl or something similar
measuring cups and spoons
Immersion/stick blender
an 8" fine mesh stainless steel strainer with handle
a soup spoon
another bowl or pitcher (or even a pot) that will hold at least 6 cups-- the strainer should be able to rest on top of it without slipping.
5 half-pint canning jars and lids

Directions:
Sterilise/scald all equipment with boiling water, including the jars and the working end of the immersion blender.

Pour 1 cup of the soy milk, straight out of the newly-opened carton, into the batter bowl.  Heat on High in the microwave for 2 minutes. Pour in the remaining milk. Add the starter or yogurt and sprinkle on the Instant ClearJel®. Blend with the immersion/stick blender until well-blended with no perceptible lumps, but not excessively frothy.
Place the strainer over the extra bowl, pot or pitcher and slowly pour the yogurt mixture into it.  Press the mixture through with the back of the soup spoon if it won't go through easily.  Strain all of the yogurt mixture. This will make for a very smooth yogurt and only takes a minute or two.

Pour the mixture into the 5 jars, screw on the lids and place on the rack inside of the Instant Pot.  Secure the lid, open the steam vent and push the Yogurt function button.  Set the time.  I like a fairly tangy yogurt, so I set it for 10 hours, depending on how long I've been using the starter (it gets tangier with age, and then weakens, by which time you need a new starter). You can taste it after about 8-9 hours and add time if need be.  It will get a little tangier as it cools in the refrigerator.

When it's done, refrigerate the jars for 12 hours before serving.

Save 1/4 cup for the next batch (use within a week) until you judge that the starter is weakening. (Weak starter may cause the yogurt to curdle, separate, and/or be lumpy or runny, and the taste may be not as tangy. If this happens, use the results for smoothies and, next time, start with powdered vegan starter, probiotic powder or newly-purchased soy yogurt.)




Servings: 10

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per 1/2 cup serving): 57 calories, less than 1 calories from fat, 2g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 26.1mg sodium, 160mg potassium, 5.9g carbohydrates, less than 1g fiber, 3.2g sugar, 3.2g protein, 1.4 points.

Enjoy!

About 10 years ago, I developed the original of this recipe for my now-defunct cooking newsletter The Vegan Feast Kitchen.  I was going for a partially whole-grain, low-fat, moist muffin with good structure.  (I don't like dry muffins.) In those days, I often used medium-firm or silken (extra-firm) tofu as an egg replacer in this type of baking, and it worked well. The other day I came across the recipe and I had all the makings. They sounded perfect for a cold winter day, along with a hot cup of tea. 

As I was assembling the ingredients, I wondered if I could use aquafaba instead of the tofu (my freezer is full of aquafaba ice cubes!). I had my doubts, because tofu is solid and aquafaba is liquid.  But, you never know til you try, so I took the plunge and substituted aquafaba for the tofu, measure for measure, but cut the non-dairy milk down by 1/4 cup. I also decided to cut the sugar down by a third, which turned out to be a good decision. The batter was very moist, even by my standards (my muffin and cake batters tend to be more moist than traditional ones) and I was a bit worried, but there was not much I could do about it at that point, so into the oven they went.

I also opted for using the two-thirds of the batter for muffins and one third for mini tea breads in little fruitcake pans, just for the heck of it.

It worked! The muffins and the tea breads came out beautifully.  (Note: I don't know if the batter would turn out so well in a large loaf pan.) The crumb was moist but the muffins and bread were easy to slice, and the flavor and aroma were balanced and delicious. This recipe is definitely a keeper and I'm happy to be able to use up some of my aquafaba stash in all of my old muffin recipes.


  
Printable Copy







Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

I'm trying to use up all the great vegetables I have around-- especially the lovely local winter squash.  I love winter squash.  I actually eat it for breakfast sometimes (very satisfying!).  Last night I had a chunk of Hubbard squash and some cooked brown basmati rice in the refrigerator that I wanted to use, so I decided to make a tian, which is a type of vegetable gratin from Provence (named for he earthenware vessel of Provence used both for cooking and serving), sometimes made with the addition of rice.  It makes a great side dish or a main dish, if you like.

To add nutrition, I used my creamy, fat-free white bean flour based Béchamel sauce (see this blog post for more info), with a small amount of vegan cheese, to hold it together, instead of the more common and sometimes copious amounts, of dairy cheese and cream-based sauce.  


The ingredients for this recipe are few and simple, but, together, made a delicious and nutritious dish.


Printable Copy

BRYANNA'S VEGAN BROWN RICE & WINTER SQUASH TIAN (GRATIN) WITH BEAN FLOUR-BASED BÉCHAMEL
4-6 servings

1 Tbsp vegan butter or olive oil
2 tsp dried, crumbled sage (not powdered)
3 cups grated peeled winter squash (such as Butternut, Hubbard, etc.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped parsley (this can be omitted, if you don't have any)
3 cups cooked long grain brown rice, such as brown basmati
1/2 cup grated melt-able vegan cheese, such as Daiya Mozza or "Smoked Gouda", or your favorite kind
Fat-Free, Creamy Vegan White Bean Flour-Based Béchamel (Make ahead):
2 cups non-dairy milk of choice (use Original type-- I use soy milk)
1 tsp vegan chicken-style broth powder or paste (I like Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken Vegan Broth Base)
1/4 cup white bean flour (or white urad dal flour)-- see below
1/4 tsp salt
1 pinch grated nutmeg
freshly-ground pepper to taste

Freshly-milled white bean flour-- you can use navy beans, Great Northern, cannellini or white kidney beans.  This batch was made with navy beans. If you can't find white bean flour to purchase look for white Urad Dal flour where ingredients for Indian cooking are sold (which includes some large supermarkets).

To make the Béchamel Sauce:

Place all of the Béchamel ingredients in a blender and blend until very smooth. I cook the sauce in the microwave, in a large Pyrex batter bowl. I cook it on 100% power for three minutes, then whisk it then repeat for 3 minutes more. Microwave a bit more if necessary. If you prefer, you can cook it in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce boils and thickens.


To make the casserole:
Set oven to 400 degrees F. Oil an 8-cup shallow gratin or casserole dish.

In a wide heavy skillet, stir-fry pan or sauté pan, heat the vegan butter or olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the sage and grated squash.  Sauté until the squash has just softened.  I only sautéed it for 3 minutes, but it may take longer if you grate it more coarsely.  You don't want it mushy. Immediately stir in the chopped garlic and parsley (if using).


Combine the sautéed squash in a large bowl with the cooked brown rice, cheese, and the pre-made Béchamel Sauce.


Scoop the mixture into the prepared pan and place in the oven.


Bake for 25 to 25 minutes, or until a bit of a crust forms on top.  Serve immediately.


Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per 1/4 of recipe): 365 calories, 80 calories from fat, 8.9g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 488.3mg sodium, 712mg potassium, 63.2g carbohydrates, 8.5g fiber, 7.4g sugar, 10.8g protein, 10.4 points.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per 1/6 of recipe): 243 calories, 53 calories from fat, 5.9g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 325.5mg sodium, 474.7mg potassium, 42.1g carbohydrates, 5.7g fiber, 4.9g sugar, 7.2g protein, 6.9 points.

Enjoy!

I'm so sorry for not blogging for so long!  I have not been terribly inspired in the last few months, so have been taking a bit of a blogging vacation. On top of that, I have had the worst cold of my life for the last three weeks-- very tired from waking up coughing at night. But, I'm on the mend, finally.

One wonderful addition to our life-- I have a great-grandson!  Here he is with me just after he turned 4 months old:


I have been working on a few things and hope to post them soon.  In the meantime, I made some muffins yesterday.  I used to make muffins quite often, but I don't do much baking these days.  We have to watch our calories and fat. But Brian expressed an interest in carrot cake all of sudden, so I suggested carrot muffins instead of cake. (I happen to have a huge bag of carrots in the house and have been trying to use them up, so it sounded like a good idea.)

I like muffins that are low in fat, but moist. The crushed pineapple helps with that and I think using the aquafaba as an egg substitute also helps. We loved them, and I hope you do, too.





















Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S AQUAFABA PINEAPPLE-CARROT MUFFINS (vegan, low-fat)
Yield: 10 muffins

Dry Mix:
1  cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1  tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 cup brown sugar
Wet Mix:
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1/4 cup aquafaba (cooking liquid from cooking chickpeas, or liquid from canned chickpeas)
3 Tbsp oil
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Additional Ingredients:
8 oz. crushed pineapple, drained thoroughly
(NOTE: If you have only canned pineapple slices, use 6 slices and shred with a fork; drain thoroughly.)
1 1/2 cups grated raw carrot, squeezed by hand to remove juice.
1/2 cup raisins
Optional:
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans

Turn the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease 10 muffin cups with cake release, or line with unbleached paper cupcake liners.

In one bowl, mix together the Dry Mix ingredients with a whisk.

In a larger bowl whisk together the Wet Mix ingredients thoroughly.  Pour in the Dry Mix and stir gently.  Add the pineapple, grated carrots and raisins (and optional nuts, if using). Mix just enough to distribute the ingredients evenly.

Distribute the batter evenly between 10 prepared muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick poked into the center of one muffin comes out clean.

Place the muffin tin on a rack for a few minutes, then carefully loosen the muffins from the cups and turn on their sides.

Nutrition Facts (without nuts)
Nutrition (per muffin): 215 calories, 40 calories from fat, 4.6g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 248.2mg sodium, 332.6mg potassium, 42.5g carbohydrates, 2.9g fiber, 25.4g sugar, 3.1g protein, 6.3 points.

Nutrition Facts (with optional nuts)
Nutrition (per muffin): 254 calories, 72 calories from fat, 8.4g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 248.3mg sodium, 358.4mg potassium, 43.3g carbohydrates, 3.3g fiber, 25.6g sugar, 4g protein, 7.4 points.

Enjoy!

This recipe came about in my kitchen two days ago when I was trying to think of something yummy to do with 2 cups of homemade vegan "sweet crema" that I had made for Thanksgiving dessert but never used, and some leftover vegan sour cream (both items made with silken tofu).  I thought about ice cream right away because both of these low-fat items are so nice, creamy and rich-tasting. But I wasn't sure if there was such a thing as Sour Cream Ice Cream.  However, it sounded possible, so I looked it up.  And, yes, there is such a thing as Sour Cream Ice Cream. The two recipes I found were egg-free, which is a good start for a vegan interpretation. One contained sour cream, whole milk yogurt and whole milk.  The other contained sourcream, 1/2 and 1/2, and heavy cream.

So, with some skepticism, I used my "sweet crema" (I'll post the recipe another time) and the leftover Tofu Sour Cream (recipe here) with some soymilk.  But it turned out to be absolutely delicious!  Topped with dribbles of the easy Brown Sugar Sauce (recipe below)...mmm, mmm!

NOTE: There's no need to make two additional recipes in order to make the ice cream recipe. To create a "from scratch" recipe (see below), I combined the ingredients for my "sweet crema" and 1/3 of my Tofu Sour Cream recipe, along with all of the additional ingredients.

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S VEGAN "SOUR CREAM" ICE CREAM
Servings: 8

16 oz extra-firm silken tofu (1+1/3 MoriNu 12 oz. shelf-stable cartons)
1 cup creamy original soymilk (I use Silk Organic Original), or other creamy non-dairy milk (NOT full-fat coconut milk)
(NOTE: If you prefer, you can use your favorite commercial vegan creamer, such as So Delicious Original Coconut Creamer)
3/4 cup light-colored unbleached organic granulated sugar
4 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp Instant Clear Jel or UltraGel (OR 1/2 tsp guar gum or xanthan gum)
(NOTE: the above ingredients help keep the ice cream from getting icy)
1 tsp lemon oil or 2 tsp. finely-grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/8 tsp salt

Crumble the tofu into a blender and add all other ingredients.  Blend until VERY smooth.  Chill mixture until it is very cold.

Freeze according to the directions for your ice cream maker. I use a Cuisinart ICE-30BC 2-Quart Automatic Ice Cream Maker and this recipe took about 20 minutes freezing time.

Spread the mixture into a 2 quart rectangular glass or ceramic baking pan or a rectangular 2 qt. freezer container. Cover and freeze for several hours before serving-- preferably overnight.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 119 calories, 11 calories from fat, 1.6g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 136.5mg sodium, 140.8mg potassium, 21.7g carbohydrates, less than 1g fiber, 20.3g sugar, 5.1g protein, 3.3 points.


BRYANNA'S QUICK & EASY BROWN SUGAR "CARAMEL" SYRUP 
Yield: 1 1/2 cups
This isn't a real caramel sauce.  In that type of recipe, you must actually caramelize white sugar. But, believe me, this short-cut version is delish!

1 cup brown sugar (light brown or regular-- your pick)
1/4 cup vegan butter
1/2 cup creamy non-daiiry milk (I use Silk Organic Original) OR vegan creamer such as So Delicious Original Coconut Creamer
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

Whisk together all of the ingredients in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Keep whisking gently for about 5 minutes, or until it thicken. Remove from heat. Serve warm or refrigerate. The warm sauce will harden a bit when dribbled over ice cream.

To reheat, microwave briefly at low power.

Nutrition (per 1 Tbsp serving): 55 calories, 17 calories from fat, 1.9g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 25.7mg sodium, 39.4mg potassium, 9.2g carbohydrates, less than 1g fiber, 9g sugar, less than 1g protein, 1.6 points.

Enjoy!

A couple of days ago, our neighbor and friend, Noni, gifted us with with some fresh leeks and celery from her garden.  I love leeks and use celery regualrly, but I was astonished at the dark green color and intense flavor of this homegrown celery. And so many leaves, which are so full of flavor.


(TIP: If you only have access to storebought celery, choose the greenest you can find and use all of the celery tops and leaves, and the inner stalks with leaves, augmenting with chopped stalks if necessary.)

I immediately decided that we would have a leek and celery soup with white beans for dinner.  I would also use much more celery than I usually do. The soup is simple and fairly quick to make, and makes a satisfying, warming autumn meal.  I hope you enjoy it.


Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S AUTUMNAL LEEK, CELERY AND WHITE BEAN SOUP
Servings: 6

2-3 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups thinly-sliced white and light green parts of cleaned and trimmed fresh leeks
4 cups thinly-sliced fresh celery leaves and upper and inner stalks with leaves
4 1/2 to 5 cups thinly sliced cleaned and trimmed leek greens
6 cups rich vegan broth (I like Better than Bouillon No-Chicken Vegan Broth Paste)
4 cups (or 2/ 19 oz. [540 m cooked white kidney beans, or cannellini beans or Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1  bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 Tbsp vegan basil pesto
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Garnishes:
smoked hot paprika
extra-virgin olive oil or dark sesame oil

Heat the oil in a soup pot over high heat.  Add the white and light green leek parts and stir witgh a wooden spoon until wilted.  Add the celery and stir til wilted.  Now add the green leek parts and stir again until wilted.  Add a sprinkle of salt.  Turn the heat down to Medium, cover and cook about 10 more minutes, stirring every few minutes and turning the heat down if it starts to stick.


Add the broth, beans, bay leaf, and thyme. Stir and bring to a simmer over high heat.  Turn down to a low simmer, cover and cook about 20 minutes.  Stir in the pesto and taste for seasoning.

Ladle into soup bowls, drizzling each with a teaspoon of extra-virgin olive oil, or dark Asian sesame oil.  Sprinkle with smoked hot paprika and serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 279 calories, 47 calories from fat, 5.4g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 795mg sodium, 1059.5mg potassium, 47.3g carbohydrates, 10.7g fiber, 6.7g sugar, 14.8g protein, 8.2 points.

Enjoy!

Homemade veggie burgers, veggie "meatballs" and veggie "crumble" ready for the freezer

Homemade veggie burger cooked in a counter-top grill

I have been working on this burger mix for a while now, and I am now confident that it's ready to share!

We are not really fond of soft, not to say mushy, veggie burgers.  We like them "meaty" (and I've been a vegan for about 27 years).  Sometimes we buy veggie burgers, but I wanted to invent an easy and inexpensive homemade mixture that could also be used to make a "veggie crumble" for things like Shepherd's Pie and taco filling, as well as veggie "meatballs", which I have always been fond of-- there are so many ways to sauce them and flavor them.  It seems that all the world loves meatballs!

I started with an old recipe from one of my early books, but simplified, multiplied and amplified (in terms of taste).  The results were excellent in the end, and I love having tasty homemade vegan burgers, "meatballs", and veggie crumbles in the freezer for quick meals.

The recipe looks long, but that's only because I've given directions for forming and cooking each type of product you're making, as well as three different cooking options.  It's really a very simple recipe.

Veggie "meatballs" simmered in vegan broth with tofu sour cream and homemade pesto

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S BASIC HOMEMADE VEGAN BURGER MIXTURE (FOR BURGER PATTIES, VEGGIE CRUMBLE & "MEATBALLS")
Servings: 14-16
Yield: about 61 ounces
The mix (before cooking) weighs about 61.4 ounces.  This amount can be made into eight 4.5 oz. burgers + two 12.6 oz. bags of burger "crumble" OR 24 meatballs (1 oz. each)-- or 1 bag of "crumble" and 12 "meatballs". OR you can make it all into 60 "meatballs", OR approximately 5 portions of "crumble", OR 13 large burgers. The recipe can be multiplied.

3 cups dried textured vegetable protein granules (TVP, or textured soy protein granules, or soya mince) 
3 1/3 cups boiling water
Flavoring Mixture:
9 Tbsp (1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs)  soy sauce or Tamari (TIP: I prefer not to use Bragg's Liquid Aminos, which is overly salty and expensive, and lacks the umami kick of a real fermented soy sauce/shoyu, or tamari)
4 1/2 Tbsp vegan Worcestershire Sauce
4 1/2 Tbsp ketchup
3 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp dried marjoram (or 1/2 marjoram and 1/2 basil)
1 1/2  tsp onion powder (TIP: I grind dry onion flakes in a spice grinder-- tastes better, lasts longer and doesn't go rock-hard like purchased onion powder)
1 1/2 tsp garlic granules
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
Last Additions:
1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten powder
1 1/2  cups cooked or canned (rinsed and drained) black or pinto beans, mashed coarsely with a fork (NOTE: I haven't tried brown lentils yet, but they would probably work as well.)

To make the Basic Burger Mixture:

In a large bowl, mix the textured soy protein granules with the boiling water and let set while you organize the other ingredients.

Whisk together the ingredients for the Flavoring Mixture.  Stir into the soaked soy protein mix. To thoroughly cool the mixture (which is necessary to prevent the gluten from clumping into "strings"), spread it out on a shallow baking pan and refrigerate until cool.  If you are in a big hurry and have a large freezer, pop the pan in there, but check it regularly to make sure the mixture doesn't freeze.

When the mixture has cooled off so that it is cool to the touch (it doesn't have to be cold), add the vital wheat gluten powder and the mashed beans, and mix well. (I use my hands.)

NOTE: This Burger Mixture can be refrigerated for several days, or even frozen for a few weeks, if you aren't ready to form and cook it.  You can multiply this recipe as you like to make larger quantities for the freezer.

Forming the Burger Mix:

The mix will weigh about 61.4 ounces.  This can be made into eight 4.5 oz. burgers + two 12.6 oz. bags of burger "crumble" OR 24 meatballs (1 oz. each)-- or 1 bag of "crumble" and 12 "meatballs". OR you can make it all into 60 "meatballs", OR approximately 5 portions of "crumble", OR 13 large burgers.

Form the burgers by weighing out 4.5 oz. portions, forming them into balls and then pressing into burger shapes.

Form the "meatballs" by weighing out 1 oz. portions and forming compact balls.

To make the Veggie "Crumble", press each portion of the mixture flat onto a parchment-lined pie plate.

COOKING THE PRODUCTS:

I prefer to cook the products in the microwave oven-- it saves energy. I place the products in parchment-lined Pyrex pie plates or square Pyrex baking dishes. Cover with a Pyrex pot lid that fits (they are easy to find in thrift stores).  But you can also bake or steam the products-- see the directions for different methods below.

Method #1, Microwave:
FOR BURGERS:  I microwave 3 or 4 burgers at a time for 4 minutes, then flip them over using a small silicone cookie spatula (see photo); cover and cook 3 or 4 minutes more.


Carefully use the small spatula to transfer the burgers to a platter or cookie sheet to cool.  They are delicate at this point, but will firm up when cooled.  Keep refrigerated for several days, or freeze.  Cook refrigerated or thawed burgers in a lightly-greased skillet, or on an outdoor or counter-top grill, using medium to medium-high heat.

Before cooking

After cooking

FOR "MEATBALLS":  Cook using the same method as for the burgers, keeping a bit of space between the "meatballs".  Cook for 3 minutes on one side, turn over and cook for another 3 minutes.  Transfer the balls to a platter or cookie sheet to cool.  They are delicate at this point, but will firm up when cooled.


When cooled, compress the balls further with your hands-- they will expand when cooked in liquid or a thin sauce.


Keep refrigerated for several days, or freeze. I coated the 12 meatballs lightly in flour and simmered them in about 1 cup of "chicken-y" broth at medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the broth reduced to about 1/2 cup; then added vegan sour cream and some homemade pesto-- delicious!







The "meatballs" are tender and moist. You can use your imagination when saucing them-- or improvise using the recipes of many cuisines.

FOR THE VEGGIE "CRUMBLE": This is great to use in "meat loaves"; chile (which we had tonight), taco filling, Shepherd's Pie, spaghetti sauce, lasagna, etc., in place of commercial vegan hamburger replacements, such as Yves "Ground Round".  Press about 12 oz. of the Burger Mix into a parchment-lined Pyrex pie pan, cover and microwave as for the Burgers.  When thoroughly cool, crumble with your fingers and Keep refrigerated for several days, or freeze.

Before cooking

After cooking

Crumbled and ready to cook with or freeze

Method #2, Steaming:
FOR BURGERS AND VEGGIE "CRUMBLE: Steam the burgers, or large "patty/ies" of Veggie "Crumble" (see above), on metal or bamboo steamer baskets over simmering water for 20 minutes. (Make sure to spray the steamer basket with oil first, or line with cooking parchment with a few holes poked in it).  Handle and cool as directed above under microwave directions.

FOR "MEATBALLS": "Meatballs" should only take about 10 minutes steaming, as directed above. Handle as directed above under microwave directions.

Method #3, Baking:
FOR ALL THE PRODUCTS: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place a shallow pan of hot water on the lowest rack. Place whichever shape or product you are making on parchment-lined baking sheets. Cover loosely with foil, not touching the tops of the patties, but sealed around the edges of the pan(s).  When the oven comes up to temperature, bake for 20 minutes. They will cook in their own steam. Handle and cool as directed above under microwave directions.


Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 149 calories, 27 calories from fat, 3g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 604mg sodium, 143.8mg potassium, 12.6g carbohydrates, 1.7g fiber, 1.2g sugar, 18.2g protein, 3.9 points.

NOTES:

BRANDS OF REASONABLY-PRICED ORGANIC TEXTURED SOY PROTEIN AVAILABLE IN BOTH CANADA AND THE USA (try amazon.com or .ca)
(This type of product is called "Soya Mince" in the UK and other British Commonwealth countries.)

Bob's Red Mill Organic TSP

Now Foods Textured Soy Protein Granules-Certified Organic

***If you live in Canada, in a city with a "Bulk Barn" (a Nova Scotia-based bulk food store chain), you can order 10 kg bags of "Minced TVP" at a very reasonable price (even if your store doesn't stock it), and it keeps very well.  It is a product from Grain Process Enterprises in Scarborough, Ontario, which was listed on the "Oh She Glows" blog under "Organic Wholesalers": http://ohsheglows.com/2011/03/06/how-to-save-money-on-your-grocery-bill/