Vegan Reuben, Part II

This is all about the Thousand Island/Russian dressing for your Reuben. This seems to be the basic gist of it:

Vegan Thousand Island Dressing

1/2 cup Veganaise
6 ounces of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon vegan sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons sweet pickles, finely diced
2 teaspoons sweet pickle juice

Blend all ingredients in a bowl until well incorporated.

Easy!

You could also try something more like...

Vegan Russian Dressing (makes 2-3 servings)

3 Tablespoons Vegenaise
3 Tablespoons ketchup
3 Tablespoons minced pickles
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

Blend all ingredients in a bowl until well incorporated.

You can also Google either dressing and find lots of alternative recipes, OR you can just buy some, because several companies now offer lots of vegan dressings.

Of course, many people claim that mustard is great on a Reuben, and that would certainly simplify things.

Next: Assembly and preparation.

Vegan Reuben, Part I

I don't know why I've been so obsessed with this; I've never even HAD a Reuben, vegan or otherwise. Maybe it's just because it looks and sounds so good.

Anyway, this weekend is rainy and muggy, and we're enrolled in dog training, so no vegan Reuben at a restaurant this weekend. I've decided to just plunge right in and start working out the recipe based on descriptions of the animal-based recipe.

Here are some tips from a recipe for a traditional Reuben:

Modern-day Reuben sandwiches are often open-faced and broiled, which dries out the corned beef and makes the cheese rubbery. Or, under the misguided belief that more is better, they are overstuffed. The main things to remember for a great Reuben are to keep the filling under control and in balance, so when you bite into it you get a harmonious and succulent mouthful; and to grill the sandwich slowly and under some pressure, so the bread gets toasty brown and buttery crisp, the meat gets warmed through, and the cheese is just melted enough to be oozy.

OK. So, this all pretty much translates to a vegan version: no broiling, no overstuffing, balance, slow grilling, pressure, crisp-warm-oozy. Sounds good! Now, all we need is a recipe.

Bread, vegan margarine and sauerkraut are all pretty easy to come by, so the two major obstacles would seem to be the vegan corned beef and the Russian dressing.

Let's start with the corned beef.

There are vegan corned beef recipes all over the place, so you could try one of those; alternately, you could probably use something like Lightlife Steak-Style Smartstrips. Or, you could try this one, which requires a steamer, but which I think would be just about right:

Vegan Corned Beef

INGREDIENTS

- 1/2 cup chickpeas

- 1 tbsp oil

- 1 cup water

- 2 tsp seasoned salt

- 1 tsp salt

- 2 tsp smoked paprika

- 1/2 tsp cloves

- 1/2 tsp allspice

- 1 tsp dried mustard

- 4 dried juniper berries, crushed into powder (optional)

- 1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten

METHOD

Get water on its way to steaming in your steamer

1. Place chickpeas in a food processor and process until smooth. Add everything else except the wheat gluten and process.

2. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the wheat gluten with a fork. Knead for a minute or so to get everything mixed.

3. Shape into a rectangle (about 8" x 5") and wrap in foil. Double fold the seams so the seitan will steam properly.

4. Steam for 45-60 mins. The seitan must swell against the foil, so make sure that happens before you remove it from the steamer.

5. Let cool briefly, then thinly slice for the sandwich.

OK, so let's say you don't have a steamer, but you still want a more hands-on method or you don't like pre-fabbed not-meats. How about this?

To make corned "beef", all you need to do is a make brine (salted water) and soak seitan in it overnight. So take these ingredients:

6 cups of water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon cloves
3-5 bay leaves
1 tablespoon juniper berries (optional)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon all spice powder
2 packages of seitan

Pour all ingredients except the seitan into a pot and boil for five minutes. Set aside to cool.

Pour the brine into a plastic bowl and add the seitan. Put into the refrigerator overnight to brine.

To prepare the seitan for use in the sandwich, remove it from the brine, dry it on a paper towel, then slice thin.

NEXT: Vegan Thousand Island Dressing!

In Vitro Meat Habitat

It is exactly as bizarre as it sounds. Here are the crucial bits from the article by Andrew Michler at Inhabitat:

From the boundary-pushing team of archi-visionaries who brought us the fabulous Fab Tree Hab comes a new (and somewhat disgusting) way to grow a structure — using animal flesh! The In Vitro Meat Habitat is a futuristic concept home composed of meat cells grown in a lab. We can’t imagine that these residences are going be replacing suburban tract homes anytime soon, but it sure is a provocative idea! The creator of the concept, Mitchell Joachim, is a futurist with a twist– he says he is actually developing the concept in a lab.

Before you start crafting your protest signs, Dr. Joachim explains “It is intended to be a ‘victimless shelter’, because no sentient being was harmed in the laboratory growth of the skin.” He envisions a wall in which tissues, skin and bones replace insulation, siding, and studs respectively. For fenestration, or openings of windows and doors, he envisions sphincter muscles that can open and close. Current prototypes are pig skin cells grown around a recycled PET plastic scaffold.

Dr. Joachin admits that the home is not all that pretty, but his work in exploring radical new ways to create futuristic buildings is a provocative reminder that sustainability requires a radical new vision of our cities and homes.

Um. Well. OK.

If this were a sci-fi novel, I'm pretty sure those meat houses would develop sentience and pose a new moral dilemma to humankind. Since this is reality, I'm pretty sure that everyone will be all, "Eww," and probably won't even want to eat it, much less live inside it. But still! Cruelty-free meat habitats! Oh Brave New World!

Vegan Dog food

I've tried V-Dog and Evolution vegan dog foods, and they were OK - I don't really object to corn and soy in dog food, but I don't love it, either. My dogs like everything, so rejection has never been an issue, but I've never found a brand that had really good-sounding ingredients in a good balance, so we haven't really clicked with any particular brand. I do like Vegedog as a supplement for homemade dog food, but I like having some kibble on hand. So I'm thrilled that Natural Balance has a really excellent vegan dog food! Just thought I'd pass it on.

No Reuben This Week...

We went to One World Cafe for our weekly "Satur-date"...but the Reuben wasn't on the menu. Apparently the Reuben is too powerful to be served before 3pm on weekends! Plus, it turns out that One World Cafe doesn't offer a truly vegan Reuben anyway - they can't guarantee that the soy cheese and the Russian Dressing are 100% free of animal products. So...I got this delicious wrap (sprouted grain tortilla, herb salad, shredded carrots, tomatoes, sprouts and guacamole) with garlic-herb dressing:


And it was super. So what to do about the Reuben? It turns out Liquid Earth has a Reuben Royale - I don't know if it can be made vegan or if the cheese is from cows, but it's worth looking into, I think. If all else fails, Great Sage went completely vegan this year, and they have a Reuben. We can always go back there and try that one!

Vegan Sammiches: At Last!

The IC and I went to Great Sage for lunch yesterday, and the IC had their vegan club sandwich, which is a big favorite of his. Here is a picture of yesterday's lunch:

As you can see, this sammie has lettuce, tomato, Vegenaise, and some sort of bacon and turkey substitute. Simple. So today we replicated this sandwich in hoagie form, with positive results!

Here's what we used:

One Italian roll
Tofurky slices (oven roasted style)
Vegenaise
Several slices of Smart Bacon
Fresh herb salad
Sliced plum tomatoes

I toasted the Italian roll, smeared it liberally with Vegenaise, cooked up the Smart Bacon and sammiched it all up together. The light in my kitchen isn't as lovely as that at Great Sage, but still:





That's a pretty good-lookin' sandwich. The IC reported that it was delicious, and when I asked what could take it to the next level (avocado slices? pesto mayo?), he insisted that it was already at a very high level. So there!

Next Sandwich Challenge: One World Cafe in Baltimore has a delicious-looking vegan Reuben going on.

A Vegan "Chicken" Breakthrough?

I don't really mind eating tofu and tempeh and stuff that doesn't taste like chicken or meat. But here's an article in Time about a new mock-chicken product that (according to the article) really really does taste like chicken. I think this bit:

Before an animal is killed, its flesh essentially marinates, for all the years that the animal lives, in the rich biological stew that we call blood: a fecund bath of oxygen, hormones, sugars and plasma.

pretty much sums up why I'm OK eating something that tastes like beans (they've been marinating in chlorophyll and sunshine!) or pretty much anything else that hasn't had "the benefit of sloshing around in something so complex as blood before (it goes) onto your plate."

If you've been waiting for the next major mock-meat breakthrough...it appears your wait is over!

Scott Jurek

The NY Times has a little article about vegan ultramarathoner Scott Jurek: check it out here. The article is titled "Diet and Exercise to the Extremes," and I like that the "extreme" part of his diet isn't that it's vegan. It's that it consists of, like, a bajillion calories per day.

The exercise is pretty extreme, though.

Mercy for Animals - Dairy Farm Investigation

The latest Mercy For Animals Dairy Investigation: results and responses are here, on the MFA blog.

I sometimes wonder about the way celebrities are always highlighted by the animal rights movement. I mean, I'm pretty sure Alec Baldwin isn't vegan - OK, I don't know, maybe he is, but isn't there something kind of...carnivorous about him? But he frequently speaks out for organizations like MFA and that's fine...I'm glad he's lending some of his fame in that direction. I just don't know how persuasive he can be if he speaks out against animal abuse and all that, if he's also simultaneously contributing to the problem (by buying & eating meat...if he is, indeed, doing so). But whatever, whether you care that Alec Baldwin has spoken out in favor of their campaign or not, it is a troubling, thought-provoking investigation and you can check it out on their blog.

World's Laziest Vegan Superhero

OK, So I never got around to posting about the vegan sandwiches. I've been busy, and most of my cooking has been re-hashing old territory. But I did recently re-vamp my Red Velvet Cake recipe with a transcendant frosting that is worth talking about. So, I will work on translating that recipe to something anyone can replicate.

I will also work on the vegan sandwich thing. It seems to me that there are any number of possibilities there, but the IC has gone off sandwiches lately and I haven't been making many. BUT. Like I said, I'll work on it and try to get my head back in the game.

Why Does a Salad Cost More Than a Big Mac?

From the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine:

The Farm Bill, a massive piece of federal legislation making its way through Congress, governs what children are fed in schools and what food assistance programs can distribute to recipients. The bill provides billions of dollars in subsidies, much of which goes to huge agribusinesses producing feed crops, such as corn and soy, which are then fed to animals. By funding these crops, the government supports the production of meat and dairy products—the same products that contribute to our growing rates of obesity and chronic disease. Fruit and vegetable farmers, on the other hand, receive less than 1 percent of government subsidies.

The government also purchases surplus foods like cheese, milk, pork, and beef for distribution to food assistance programs—including school lunches. The government is not required to purchase nutritious foods.

More here.

Meanwhile

While I'm working on sandwiches, I would non-rantily suggest that perhaps you would like to hear about Farm Sanctuary's latest campaign? It will help piggies, veal calves, and chickens!

Sandwich On!

The IC just told me the other night that he is planning to try to go vegetarian starting after February 6th. I am so proud of him and I really want to help him succeed and enjoy the process.

I don’t think he’s doing it just to please me – he’s always been very respectful of my food choices, and he likes a lot of vegan fare, but eliminating animal products from one’s diet, while essentially simple, can be very hard. Food is more than fuel for most humans. For example, there are many holiday dishes that people associate with happy family occasions, and it might be very difficult to tell your grandmother that it would be unethical for you to eat her non-vegan Christmas cookies that she made especially for you. People assume you’re judging them, and nobody likes that. Arguments. Hurt feelings. And worst of all...sometimes there's just no dessert for you.

The IC has heard many, many rants (probably many more than he would like) about the benefits of a plant-based diet. I think his decision is based on several factors – ethics, food costs, the environment, and overall health, for example. I know I get a little ranty on this blog, but for now I'm just going to focus on sandwiches. If you would like a rant, just let me know and I'll be happy to provide one. OK, on to the IC and his impending vegetarian experiment.

Since I do much of the cooking, the IC regularly has vegan dinners. He rarely eats breakfast, but when he does, vegan pancakes/waffles/French toast, tofu scramble, vegan sausages, and a variety of other items are completely OK with him. Snacks are also easy.

I think the biggest challenge is lunch. The IC needs packable, portable lunches that can be taken into the field or the office and enjoyed with a minimum of fuss. The obvious solution is sandwiches.

This is where the difficulties really start. The IC is from Pennsylvania and PA is one of the Deli States. The Deli States take sandwich traditions seriously – and there are no veggie options in the traditional deli lexicon. BLTs, Reubens, Monte Cristos, Cheesesteaks, Pastrami, Salami, Meatballs, Tuna Salad…the list goes on and on, but with nary a veggie option in sight. Deliciousness is important, and the deliciousness must last from the moment the sandwich is created until lunchtime, which may be many hours later.

So, in honor of the IC, I am beginning a sandwich series. I will post failed attempts and successful recipes, along with the IC’s impressions. Although I have been vegan for many years, I rarely eat sandwiches, and so I have no current sandwich recipes. If you have a fabulous vegetarian sandwich that is not-to-be-missed, by all means, let me know! I'd love to try it! I've gathered some ideas, and I'm excited to try them out.

Off to the test kitchens…Sandwich On!

Eggland's Best Eggs Now More Nutritious - But Still Contain the Same Amount of Toxic, Soul-Corroding Evil

ARRRRG. I am so done. Eggland's Best continues to be an unwelcome omnipresence in my life. I came across this blog post the other day and it not only makes me want to continue my Cathe boycott, it makes me want to throw forks.

Just for the record, NO EGGS are actually humane. If you visited any EB facility, you would be so appalled and disgusted you would probably think I am substantially less insane. I have seen battery cages, I have been to the so-called "cage-free" facilities (Pilgrim's Pride in north Texas, for one, along with some smaller farms that were no less awful). They're bad, people. BAD. Information (with minimal disturbing photography, etc) is here. I know it's hard to look at and think about, and I hate to be one of these people who throws emotionally troubling videos at you and demands that you become vegan. I know it doesn't work that way and I don't want to be an emotional blackmailer. I just want to make it clear that this isn't something I'm inventing to enhance my feeling of moral superiority or whatever - it's not about that. This is an issue of real and terrible suffering and I find it hateful to see this degree of cruelty dressed up and presented as "even more nutritious!"

Incidentally, you can get all those same nutrients via a plant-based diet.

Nice one!

I really dig this design by Vincent Guihan - which I retrieved via Gary Francione's blog.