My Pantry Essentials for New Vegans

My most-used food cupboard. Top shelf is pasta and other dry goods (Jiffy mix and Stovetop are not vegan, but I live with a non-veg fella). Middle shelf is egg replacer, VWG, dried legumes, oats, nooch and peanut butter. Bottom is dried fruit, lots of nuts, teas and some snacks.

I've been meaning to write this post for a while now because I have had several people ask me how to get started cooking after spending years survivng on boxed food and take-out. When I first started to cook (about 2 years ago), I didn't know what I needed to keep in my pantry. It felt like every recipe I tried required tons of ingredients, but that was just because I didn't have well-stocked pantry. Over the months, and now years, I have learned what I will always use and try hard to keep it stocked. It includes and assortment of baking goods, spices, condiments, dried goods and even a few cans and frozen goods. I hope this helps those of you just starting out. Don't be discouraged, after you get the pantry stocked, cooking gets loads cheaper because you'll already have lots of stuff ready to use. But, it does take $$ and patience when you get started. Good luck! And please feel free to contact me if you need any help or ideas.

Things you'll always find in my freezer:

• peas - add to curries, soups, even salads
• corn
• hashbrowns & tater tots - perfect for quick breakfasts and lunches
• shelled edamame - add to soups, salads and stir-fries
• Daiya - I like to always have some on-hand and it keeps longer in the freezer
• tempeh - perfect for pretty much any meal
• Gardein crispy chikn strips - nom nom nom

Spices I can't live without:

• garlic powder and garlic salt
• onion powder
• chili powder
• coriander
• cumin
• curry powder
• black pepper
• kosher and sea salts

 Foods in my Cupboards at all times:

• dried legumes and lentils
• brown rice
• nuts -almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, and walnuts
• pasta -spaghetti, penne and shells
• canned beans - chickpeas, black beans and kidney beans save time in a rush
• tomato sauce and crushed/diced tomatoes for making my own pizza/pasta sauces and chili
• Nooch (nutritional yeast) - I add it to tons of dishes for cheezy flavor and for the B-12.
• peanut butter
• Bisquick (yup, it's vegan)
• coconut oil or any cooking oil, like olive oil. Coconut oil can be pricey if you don't hunt for bargains.
• sesame oil
• TVP/TSP - textured veggie/soy protein makes a great ground beef texture when cooked

In my fridge all the time:

• soy sauce and Braggs aminos
• mushrooms
• Veggies: carrots, lettuce, red onion. potatoes, fresh heads of garlic, spinach, broccoli
• ground flax - add it to all sorts of stuff, even smoothies, make flax eggs.
• dressings, especially vinaigrettes
• salsa
• maple syrup for anything from baking, breakfast, to tempeh bacon
• yellow and dijon mustards
• Vegenaise (Best vegan mayo brand ever). Find it in your grocer's cooler.
• Earth Balance vegan buttah

Baking goods:

• unbleached all-purpose flour
• sugar (find sugar made from sugar beets as they don't use bone char to bleach the sugar)
• brown sugar
• cinnamon
• vegan chocolate chips - I always use Ghirardelli semi-sweet chips which are accidentally vegan
• cocoa powder
• vegetable shortening
• vanilla extract
• powdered sugar

I hope this helps out :)

The reason for my recent absence...

Hello Readers. I know there are at least a few of you folks popping by everyday, so I just wanted to update you on something special. I've been absent here for about a week because of a project I've been working hard on. I just built a raised bed garden so I can grow some veggies and fruits organically in my own yard. I've been dying to do it and I really hope it's going to pay off and save me money in the long run.

The bed itself is about 3'x6' and can hold a surprising amount of plants. I built mine of cinderblocks because it's sturdy and won't rot, unlike many woods. Plus, it was cheaper than wood. The fencing is all re-used from my yard at my old house. And the dirt a combo of new and old. I try to keep things inexpensive and easy while reusing items whenever I can. Now I'm just hoping my thumbs are as green as my lifestyle! So, here are some photos chronicling the progress of the garden.

I know it certainly isn't the prettiest thing in the world, but it'll get the job done. And, like I already said, it was cheap! I decided to plant things in the holes of the blocks to maximize my space. There are squash and zucchini in some, others hold garlic, and the back side is full of alium, which is said to keep some critters away because it smells like garlic. Another great part of the raised garden is that you can control what happens in your soil. My soil is a mix of peat, gardening soil, and some topsoil. I added some earthworms and some compost to keep the soil nice and rich. As for the fencing, I added a little chicken-wire around the bottom to keep out the little bunnies that call my yard home.

Here's what I have growing:
Broccoli, sweet peas, summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, romaine, Brussels sprouts, strawberries, red onion, garlic, and baby watermelon. Just a plant or 2 of everything.

For me, the raised bed is ideal since we have terrible soil. The majority of it is actually clay. We have less than an inch of topsoil, as you can see from the massive bare spots all over the yard! But, slowly and surely grass is coming up. The people that lived here before us never planted any grass at all, so it has been a nightmare and a half trying to re-vamp the yard. But, enough about that. Time to get back to cooking!

My Own Taco Seasoning Blend & The 3 R's

 

It's no lie when I say that I am obsessed with tacos. They are my vice (hey, everyone needs one...or three). Okay, so tacos are one of my addictions, second only to chickpeas. But, you get the point. They're high up on my list of things I must consume often. What I am getting at is that I use a lot of taco seasonings, so I figured I would hook you up with a simple recipe to make some to have on-hand and ready to use whenever the taco craving strikes. Which, for me, happens to be several times a month.

Anywhoooo....
I decided a couple years ago to give up the packaged taco seasoning blends because they had only a few spices along with a ton of other ingredients I didn't need or want, like MSG (monosodium glutamate), silicon dioxide, and ethoxyquin (a preservative and pesticide). So, for a while now, I have just randomly been throwing spices into my tacos as they cook, not necessarily measuring anything, and tasting as I went along with the cooking. Today, however, I decided to make a large-ish batch of a spice blend to see how it works. And, it is rockin. Obviously, not everyone has the same tastes, so you may hate my mix. Whatever. I decided to post my spice mix so you could make your own decision about it. I will warn you that it is kind of spicy. Depending on how much you are cooking at a time, you will only need about 1 TB of the mix for a small to medium batch

Meg's Taco Seasoning Blend: Makes about 4-5 ounces

• 4 TB chili powder
• 5 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp kosher or other large-grain salt
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp chipotle powder (optional for extra heat)

And, now, I would like to get on my tree-hugger hippie soapbox for a moment. I like to re-use packaging, especially jars, whenever I can. Sure, I could've recycled that small glass relish jar, but I knew that one day, I'd find a use for it. It is the perfect size to still fit into your spice cubby without becoming too burdensome. Though, to be fair, mine will never make it to the cubby, it'll be on the counter with all of my most-used spices. I like the glass jars because they usually have a nice, tight-fitting lid to keep air out and spices in. A loose-fitting lid just won't do as your spices will lose their potency and fragrance.

Plus, by re-using your own jar, you save energy that would go into creating a new jar or energy that would would go into recycling the existing jar. Don't we all remember the song about The 3 R's? Reduce-Reuse-Recycle...come on, I know you know what I'm talking about. The goal is to basically keep things out of the landfills. It's quite a simple concept. And, as the month of April is host to Earth Day, I've decided to add some earth-friendly posts and tips to my blog. If you have any ideas to share, let me know by emailing me: TheSnarkyChickpea at Gmail dot com.

The 3 R's in order of action, for those who are a little rusty:

• Reduce consumption (of packaged items, especially anything plastic)
• Reuse existing items and then,
• Recycle items we can't re-use