Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Yum! Can you share your nut cheese recipe(s)? I've been experimenting with them at home, including making fermented cheeses. I wish I could buy Dr Cow's Treenut cheeses at a store in my area!

I really like this alfredo from Chloe Coscarelli
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes ... index.html
I've made it with the almonds but more often than not I replace them with cashews because it's quicker. It's comforting, familiar and delicious.

Anything from VCTOTW impresses, but especially tiramisu cupcakes in my experience (you can make them without the shot of alcohol too). Oooh and the carrot cake from VWAV, people go crazy over that. My mum declared it the best cake ever and made it for every occasion until she found the lower fat chocolate bundt cake in Vcon which is currently her 'best cake ever' of the season. Basically Isa has amazing recipes.

Raw desserts are usually winners, particularly decadent cheesecakes.

I made the Artisan Vegan Cheese fondue for my parents and for omnis at a workshop. Everybody LOVES it. Almost indistinguishable from 'real' fondue. Serve with bread, seitan/tempeh and roasted veggies.

The recipe is also on Miyoko's website: http://veganmanifesto.blogspot.nl/2012/ ... sauce.html

So I'm cooking for a male omni friend on Tuesday (who may or may not have potential as a love interest :) ) - what should I make him? I've never really cooked for someone I'm dating before, only family and friends who already love vegan food. Any pointers?

I'm so in love with roasted vegetables. OMG, so good and simple. Tonight was brown mushrooms, carrots, zucchini and brussel sprouts.

YES, roasted vegetables! I am eating roasted broccoli this week. Don't the mushrooms get all dried up and tough?

RE: what to cook for your potential date, make something that has lots of flavor and texture, so that the lack of meat isn't an issue. In other words, don't do fried tofu or a fake burger--people are always comparing those to meat and like to be disappointed.

Something like a curry or tagine or stew. Perfect for this time of year, too...

The PPK's pesto risotto with roasted zucchini is fancy, easy, and delicious. Made this for a date once. Goes great with wine. :D

One of the volunteers at the church where my school choir recently performed just had a nasty fall and broke her hip, so the choir has rallied to try and fill her freezers with delicious meals for while she's recovering.

Any ideas for things that are impressive but really comforting, and that will freeze well (possibly for a good couple of months)?

Thanks guys for the suggestions - sorry I'm so late in responding! I ended up making enchiladas from the Oh She Glows blog, and they were a hit!

My boyfriend is a meat eating southern boy but he looooooves my vegan cooking. Some of his favorites include stuffed shells with cashew ricotta from V'con, the creamy mushroom fettuccini from AFR, and the basil cilantro pesto from V'con. The Mango BBQ beans and the chickpea piccata from AFR are also winners.

I cook for a bunch of committed carnivores every week and I find that curries and chillis go down amazingly well, especially if there are beanss involved as they're really filling and satisfying, but aren't "scary". This week I'm making cauliflower and chickpea curry, coconut brown rice, carrot and almond salad and poppadoms. Plenty of different flavours and textures - they don't even notice it's vegetarian, let alone vegan :)

I have to say, I take seitan to work on a regular basis... the omnis love that stuff! I've had omnis ask me for the recipe, and then make it for stir fries! amazing!

I made JackFruit Carnitas tacos for my meat loving friends at a party, and they seemed to really dig them. A few even asked for the recipe! I said "Hey guys, its cheaper than meat too!" That seemed to be a good selling point.

http://cleangreensimple.com/2011/06/jackfruit-carnitas/

xGreenling: Soups, Curries & Chili's freeze really well. Its hard to say what people will like. Some people have very picky palettes.

A vegan stew may work, or corn chowder-something familiar like that. Potatoes also seem to be universally appreciated. Maybe you could make a big batch of vegan mashed potatoes.

We have a soups and stews luncheon coming up Friday and I can't decide what to make. I've "won" the last two years with a white bean and kale stew and my chili.

I love this! Great tips!

Tell people not to expect it to be meat, cos it's not. If they go into a meal expecting chickpea cutlets to be like steak, well they'll just be disappointed. I like to give things fun, vegan names, like Funster Cheese instead of Meunster, because then they are more likely to accept it for what it is not and not compare it to what they think it should be like.

Okay people, I need ideas!
I'm having some new friends over on Friday, including my crush and another vegan. I very much want to impress both of these people. I set this up under the pretense of sharing the goodies I just got in recent PPK swaps: crackers with cheezly and tartex, hagelslag on toast, cookie butter, and girl scout cookies. So that feels like appetizer and dessert. What can I make for the entree? It should be something light so they have room for everything else.

^ what about soup? Maybe a carrot soup or white bean and escarole.
I've impressed omni's with quinoa, eggplant rollatini, and apple pie. And gluten free potato pancakes.

This is my favorite food ever. I made it a few weeks ago after seeing your post. Ahhhhh it's so good.

I've made cinnamon rolls many times to share with omni house guests, co-workers, and friends. They're always impressed that not only are they vegan, but that I made cinnamon rolls from scratch. Most people think it's hard to do and have never made them, so that earns me major points.

I use the recipe from Vegan Brunch, and instead of using fake butter to roll them I just use raw coconut oil. They come out just as good.

Had my omni buddies over for a movie night this past weekend. I did tacos and served:

Refried black beans (VV)
Yellow garlic rice (VV)
Taco Shmeat (Boca meat with taco seasoning)
Cashew Queso
Guacamole
Tortilla chips, rice and flour tortillas, and all the fixins (lettuce, tomato, onion)
Margaritas and coronas for booze
Margarita cupcakes for desserts.

The cashew queso was a new thing for me, at least in entertaining. Normally I buy "real" cheese and sour cream, but we always end up with tons left that we don't really want. Everyone loved the queso though, and every last drop was happily devoured on chips or in tacos.

There was a new guy there and afterwards he was like "I was a little skeptical, but it was really good." He said the only reason he knew the shmeat wasn't real was because it didn't have quite the tendon-y springiness of real beef (talk about shiitake I do *not* miss about meat). One of the girls is *super* picky, but I asked if she liked it, and she said she likes everything at my house. Squee! If only I could feed these meat-loving omnis every meal... I'd veganize them in no time flat!

I don't really think there's a trick to feeding omnis besides knowing their dietary preferences. I said this up-thread, but if you've got meat-loving omni friends who *aren't* foodies and who don't really like vegetables or beans, meat subs can actually be a good way to go, as long as the subs are convincing and sort of covered up (like boca crumbles in tacos or spaghetti or chili). Doing something where people can put together their own food helps too (taco bar, pasta bar, tapas, etc.). In this case, I had rice and beans on hand for people who weren't feeling the shmeat. Basically, if I do serve shmeat or tofu or something, I make sure to have another option on hand (I've sometimes served italian tofu alongside pasta, and only a few people are ever interested).

I find Field Roast products to be a huge hit. I grind them up in my food processor and use it as veggie ground round on pizza, chili, tacos etc. I also slice it and serve as an apetzer with an olive and a toothpick. And they seem to like that there is no soy in it.

The best way to share vegan love is through raw desserts. You know, the raw cheesecakes.

This was my latest big win:
http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2013/03 ... heesecake/

This chocolate mousse pie is also always a winner (not raw but no-bake, with hidden tofu):
http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2012/04 ... ousse-pie/