The Barebones Vegan: Cheap 'n Easy! (Just how you like it)

This is my third of the "Barebones Vegan" posts, in which I tell you how to get by as a vegan without sacrificing your wallet or principles (screw you, Big Business!). You can find my other two posts on this issue here and here.

In the kitchen, practicing my "Look me in the eyes and say that" face. I never said I was fierce.

Here's a cheap and easy recipe that I adapted from The Vegetarian Meat & Potatoes Cookbook.

Spicy Spanish Potatoes:

Ingredients:

7 or 8 small potatoes (use red bliss or Dutch yellow), sliced 1/4'' thick
1 TB (or so) olive oil
sea salt and black pepper to taste
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/8 cup rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
Sriracha ('cause I'm crazy like that)

Parboil your potato slices for about 3 minutes. Then fry them in the olive oil until they're slightly browned on both sides (about 5 minutes). Reduce heat to low and season with salt and pepper. Add the cayenne and paprika, making sure to flip the potatoes over a few times to coat. Cover the pan and let it cook until potatoes are soft.

In a small bowl, mix together the tomato paste and vinegar. If you're also crazy, add however much Sriracha you want. Stir the mixture into the potatoes and cook for an additional 5 minutes or less, making sure to flip the potatoes occasionally.

The beauty of this dish is four-fold:
1. it's cheap
2. it's easy
3. it uses mostly natural foods
4. it acts as a sinus decongestant because it's so damn spicy 

I paired these potatoes with heated up black beans topped with melted Daiya, and a salad of arugula and tomato. I think adding a side of sliced avocado would also be good.

P.S. Peta2 does a $3 Dish Of The Day if you're interested in checking out similarly cheap vegan recipes.

Like this necklace? Get ready for a shameless plug: Support small, vegan businesses.

Food Choices By Numbers

According to a report by Kling and Hough (2010), of the organization, Brighter Planet: 

Click image to enlarge (photocred)

And there you have it!

What on Earth Are We Going to Do About Earth?

Remember when I said I was back from my recent dissertation hiatus? I lied. Sorry about that. Academia can be so labile. I can, however, report that at long last, I've begun the data collection phase of my dissertation research! For those of you not in academia, all you really need to know is that this is a milestone for me, one that has been (for reasons seemingly beyond my control) particularly difficult to reach, and that it's best to tread lightly.

Meanwhile, as I live in my little bubble, there is major turmoil going on in the world. There are so many different messages being exchanged about what will happen to Japan, whether radiation will affect the US, and how to help. As for self-protection (for Southern Californians), I have heard that taking iodine supplements are recommended to prevent radioactive iodine from having the chance to be absorbed in the thyroid. I have also heard from a friend that kelp is the safest source of this iodine. And yes, despite the government's reassurances that everything will be okay, I bought a bottle.

photocred.

It's also a good time to remind people that radiation affects ground water, which means it gets absorbed into vegetation. When animals eat that vegetation and store it in their cells, those animals and their secretions become a very concentrated source of whatever crap (e.g., radiation) was in the vegetation they ate. Ergo, avoiding eating any animal products is your safest bet if you want to limit your intake of toxic substances. Viva la veganism.

But what about the animals' exposure to radiation? What pills will they take to prevent themselves from absorbing the awesome amount of pollutants that humans have leaked into our shared space in the solar system? What about them, huh?

What about the continued use of nuclear power and weapons?

What about the future?

We are screwing up the planet and a bottle of iodine ain't gonna fix it.

But you can. And so can I.

Fashion can be so cruel.

My dissertation has a knack for causing unintentional hiatuses in many aspects of my life, including this recent one from blogging. I am back, though. For now.

I have a few announcements!

1. This month's Bitchcraft Trading Post event was a huge success! It was held in Atwater Village in an outdoor courtyard, and there were approximately 20 artists/crafters vending, including foodchain. If you're local, come check out the next event in May! I'll post details soon.

2. West Hollywood may become the first US city to ban the use of animal fur for fashion, and hopefully it will not be the last. On Sunday, 2/20 from 2pm-7pm, foodchain will be working with Compassion Over Killing to raise money for the Fur Free Weho Campaign by selling vegan jewelry and accessories at a fundraising event in Glendale, CA. A portion of my proceeds will be donated to the Fur Free Weho campaign. Fashion should never be cruel. More details about the event here.

3. Be sure to vote on March 8th for candidates who support outlawing fur.

Like, why?

Junkaaay Mondaaay Pita Pizza

There exists a junkie in all of us.

I'm sick with a cold (for the first time in OVER A YEAR!!) which means I am pounding lots of health food and vitamins today. However, for dinner, I decided I really needed some junk. It just felt right.

One of the things I love about being vegan is that my concept of what constitutes "junk" is probably still a lot healthier than average. Yep, my pita pizza has whole wheat "crust," no cholesterol, and, best of all, it's cruelty free.

P i t a  P i z z a  C Y o F C - S t y l e

Ingredients:

Whole wheat pita bread from Trader Joe's (the regular size)
Arrabiata pasta sauce, also from Trader Joe's
Daiya cheese, mozzarella style
Olive oil

If using a regular oven, preheat it to 375. Otherwise, a toaster oven or your oven's broiler is fine. Drizzle some olive oil over a piece of pita bread and spread it around evenly. Make sure the "back" of the pita bread is facing up (you want the concave bowl shape so nothing spills out). Next, spread some Arrabiata sauce on top. Finally, add a generous sprinkling of Daiya (mine is usually so generous I can hardly call it a "sprinkling"). Bake in your oven/broiler/toaster oven for approximately 12 minutes (less for broilers, more for regular ovens, about the same for toaster ovens). You'll know it's done when the cheese is bubbling and the bread is a little crispy.

I like to top mine with dried, crushed red pepper for an extra spicy kick.

Get yr junk on.

What's your favorite do-it-yourself pizza?

Nanny Foodchain's Tarallucci Cookies! My FAVORITE

Like, oh my god, my favorite cookies ever were the ones my late Grandmother ("Nanny") used to make every xmas. She called them "tattalouch" but I think the more widely-known name is "tarralucci." Let's call them that so that people searching the vast interweb can find this recipe.

I've been wanting to resurrect this recipe for a few years now, but as the original recipe was not vegan, I knew it'd be a challenge. I also knew I could do it, and this year, I did. So here you go, the veganized version of Nanny Foodchain's "tattalouch"/tarralucci cookies.

N a n n y  F o o d c h a i n ' s  T a r r a l u c c i  C o o k i e s   O M G  M y  F a v o r i t e  E v e r 

Dough Ingredients:

5 cups flour
6 tsp of Ener-G Egg Replacer + 8 TB of water, thoroughly mixed together
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup Earth Balance
1 cup unrefined sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup vanilla soy milk
1 tsp lemon extract (a little more if you're feeling lucky, or use lemon zest if you're feeling fancy)
1 tsp vanilla

Icing Ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar that's not processed through bone char
However much vanilla soy milk it takes to make the mixture into a pasty liquid
1 tsp lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. After you mix the dough ingredients together, flour your hands, then take a chunk at a time and roll it between your hands until it forms a log. You'll want the log to be roughly the size of a small dog's turd. Think maybe the size of the turd of, say, a 2-month old Pitbull puppy named Sprinkles at a kill-facility. Once you have your log, twist it into a little, swirly pile. Repeat this process until you have no more dough.

Bake for roughly 10 minutes. Maybe more. The bottom of each "pile" should be golden brown around the outside. The insides will be cake-like.

Don't wait for the cookies to cool. Take your icing mixture and spoon it over each cookie. If you want, decorate by sprinkling Florida Crystals or some other form of vegan sprinkles on top. Hey, adopting Sprinkles is vegan, by the way.


Another hey, sometimes Nanny Foodchain liked to dye the dough red and green. You could probably get yourself just a little beet juice and dye the dough a nice pink OR red. Not sure if food coloring is vegan. I haven't used it in years. Anyone know?

I just want to bite into that lemony, vanillay, cakey goodness.

Swirly piles!!!!

haaaaaay.

And did you know these cookies are famous now?

20% Discount for fashion that's vegan and eco-friendly

There's a new company for those who are in the market for some 100% cotton, made-in-the-US, stylish clothing but don't want to feel dirty for buying it.

Ecolissa is a vegan-owned company selling clothing and accessories. All products are 100% vegan, earth-friendly, US-made, stylish, and tend to be made of very comfy materials. 

I particularly dig this skirt, pictured below, which is made of 100% organic cotton.

photocred.

If you like ecolissa's stuff, but don't have the bank to afford it right now (or if you do and just wish to spend less), I've got a coupon for you! Yep, ecolissa has offered to give chooseyourownfoodchain readers a 20% discount. Even on sale items! (The skirt above is on sale...ya know, in case anyone wanted to get me an Xmas present or something ;)).

The coupon code is: "vegan20"

photo cred

Move over, Dov Charney.