Camping Stoves - Pros & Cons

Happy Vegan MoFo, everyone! Last year, I unofficially participated (I was a day or two too late in my registration, so I wasn't including in the blog roll), and I blogged every day except the first day (though I made two posts the next day to make up for it). This year, I'm *officially* participating (my, but I feel so important and stuff!), and I've made a promise to myself to blog every day, even if it's something short and simple.

For my first posts, I've decided to focus specifically on vegan camping. My boyfriend/musical partner, Mark, and I are a little over halfway through our contracted run at the Kansas City Renaissance Faire, and we're camping there every Saturday night. This time, we were lucky enough to be able to stay on the top floor of a friend's booth, so we've actually got electricity and even a small refrigerator! *gasp* However, most of the time, our faire camping consists of just a tent. Since faires go for a weekend, and we're usually camping for Friday-Sunday nights (and there's not really any place to get ice), our camp foods include things that need no refrigeration. For our trip to Pennsic (an SCA event in Pennsylvania), we brought a big bag of grapes, but ended up having to throw part of them out after they molded after a couple of days.

As far as cooking goes, Mark has four of camp stoves that he likes using. They're all pretty compact, which is useful when one is trying to fit a lot of stuff in a fairly small car (I've got a Chevy Aveo). The first stove is a single burner that screws on to the top of a propane canister. Since our lantern uses propane as well, this is convenient. The next stove uses esbit tablets, which are supposed be non-toxic. However, you have to use an entire tablet once you light it, so some of it may be wasted if you're only cooking a small amount (for example, it's not good for heating just one cup of water). This stove is also the smallest, and is always in Mark's kit - we mainly use it when we run out of propane or when we're "cooking on the go"; it's the easiest to take with us to places other than our campsite. The third stove is a bit bigger, but has two burners (useful for cooking two things at a time) and runs on multiple types of fuel (mainly camp gas). The fourth stove is kind of neat - it has a catalytic heating element instead of an open flame, and can also be configured to act as a stool, a lamp, a tire chock, an emergency reflector, or a heater. It's supposed to be able to be used as a shovel, but no one has ever figured out how (to our knowledge). Unfortunately, the company that produced this stove has since got out of business. This stove runs off of isobutane mixtures (which are expensive), and doesn't get as hot as the other three.

Mark says he'd like to start using a solar oven, which is very eco-friendly, and can get very hot. The downsides are that it's much bigger, takes up more space, and has to be used in direct sunlight (so it's not so great for cooking at night, obviously!)

Tomorrow, we'll take a look at some of our favorite camping "pantry" staples, as well as cookware. Do you have a favorite camping stove? Let me know in the comments!

Gluten-Free Vegan Pancakes & Breakfast "Sausage"

A while back, I bought some Bob's Red Mill gluten-free baking mix and have been using it for all sorts of things. My favorite, so far, has been pancakes. (Strangely enough, one of the intended uses for the mix is biscuits, and I haven't made those at all. I think I'm a little afraid to!)

Today, I decided to make some pancakes for lunch today, and the bf made some breakfast "sausage" with "beef" TVP (that's Textured Vegetable Protein, for those that don't know), vegan chili mix, onions, garlic, Braggs, and liquid smoke. He mixed it all together and fried it in a little bit of canola oil until he decided it was done. Upon tasting it, he decided that the "sausage" had too strong of a flavor on its own, but that it tasted great wrapped in a pancake with a bit of melted Earth Balance.

I've never been one for savory pancakes (I ate most of mine with some lavender syrup, and I've been regularly known to eat them with 100% fruit jelly), but I decided to give this whole "faux pig in a blanket" thing a go.

It was surprisingly tasty.

So much so that I ended up eating *two* of my precious pancakes topped with "sausage".

Granted, it was very nice to eat the rest of them with the lavender syrup, but those sausage pancakes were an unexpectedly awesome way to start off lunch.

(Unfortunately, I was too hungry to take pictures. I'd say "bad blogger, no biscuit", but you already know that I'm not making biscuits. Scared to, you might say.)

Vegan Spotlight on Pennsic and Vegan Camping Food

Remember me saying that I travel a lot, since I'm a musician? Well, I just got back from Pennsic (an SCA event in Slippery Rock, PA), and though I bought very little food while I was there (we packed more than enough food for the entire run), I wanted to mention that Rose's Bread Boule (in the Pennsic food court) has vegan chili and vegan stew in bread bowls (I had the vegan stew last year, and it was very good), Pennsic Produce (also in the food court) has lots of fresh veggies and fruits, including a chopped raw veggie mix in their cooler, and Your Inner Vagabond (at the end of the isle with Calontir Trim, next to the Market Stage) has lots of coffee and non-coffee drinks which are vegan as-is or can be made with soymilk, as well as several vegan food options (all of which are marked V on the menu), such as dolmas, baba ganouj, tabouli, and a couple of sweet deserts.

Mark (my boyfriend/musical partner) and I performed inside Your Inner Vagabond (and got a great response), and decided to order a coffee drink (one with iced coffee, soy milk, and pearls like you get in bubble tea). We went to the counter and ordered it, but when the gal found out that we wanted it for there instead of to go, she gave us a menu and told us to sit down. I thought perhaps she was giving us the chance to figure out what food we might want to order to go along with the drink, but about 30 minutes later, when the drink never came out (and no one came over to us to take our order), we finally gave up and left. The drink sounded like it would be delicious; I'll just have to try again next year.

Since Mark and I were trying to conserve money, we did a couple of shopping trips at Wheatsville Co-Op to prepare our camping food. We bought two jars of Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter for sandwiches, two boxes of Clif Bars (for future reference, I like the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut bars, and am not nearly as fond of the Oatmeal Rasin or Crunchy Peanut Butter), several packets of Tasty Bite vegan Indian food, and some containers of food from the bulk section - rice, orzo, TVP (both "chicken" and "beef"), chili mix, and refried beans mix. We also bought a few packets of Chreese sauce and a box of instant mashed potatoes. Along with our soy milk powder, oil, and spices, we were able to make some decent dinners - "cheesy" orzo and TVP, "cheesy" mashed potatoes, and bean/chili mix with rice. For dinner the first night, we had thin rice noodles (donated by one of my friends who was cleaning out her pantry before moving), pasta sauce, and sliced Sweet Italian with Tomato and Basil sausages by Tofurky. Since that meal only used two of the four sausages, we sliced the other two length-wise and had them on sandwiches for lunch the next day. Another dinner was made with the rice noodles, pasta sauce, canned sliced mushrooms, and a yellow squash that we bought from the produce section. We also bought a couple cans of Amy's vegan soups, a can of green beans, a can of organic peas, and a can of vegan dolmas to round things out. For breakfast, we had either oatmeal (also bought from the bulk isle) or breakfast rice or orzo (rice or orzo with soymilk, raisins, and a little raw sugar). The one thing that we were missing was bread - we were worried that the regular bread I get (with very little or no preservatives) wouldn't travel well - so we bought a bag of potato bread from the Cooper's General Store at Pennsic (which happened to be vegan - yay!) Speaking of the General Store - they also have frozen strawberry bars (which seem to be relatively healthy) for about $1.30 or so. These are *wonderful* when the weather is hot outside!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Car Cookies

Even after I made the chocolate chip cookies a few weeks ago, Mark was still craving cookies today. Since last Sunday was his birthday, I decided to indulge him while also trying out this awesome technique for baking cookies in one's car. I figure it's a win-win - we get cookies, and I can take advantage of our 102º F sunny weather *and* not heat up my apartment by using my oven!

Since I only had 1 cup of flour left in the house (and practically no oil), I wanted to find a cookie recipe that called for a nice round number of cups of flour. I chose Happy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies from VegWeb, and halved the entire thing. Instead of chocolate chips, I used the last remaining 2/3 of a puck of Ibarra Mexican drinking chocolate. This also gave me the opportunity to dance into the living room where Mark was working and proclaim "Stop! Hammer Time!" after I'd borrowed his hammer to smash the chocolate. (Yes, I'm a geek. What gave me away?)



After halving the recipe, I ended up with 9 cookies. I figure this is ok - if the experiment doesn't work, then we haven't wasted too much, and if it's even a partial success, then we've got 9 cookies!



I put the cookies into the car around 3 pm. At 4:30, my car was in full shade (the only time I've ever regretted getting the Good Parking Spot (tm)!), so I moved it to a bank of spots diagonal from my apartment, which meant that the sun was coming in the side instead of the front. I moved the cookie sheet from the passenger's side dash to right in the center, balanced on top of the clock console so that it was getting full sun again.



As you can see, the cookies had flattened out a bit at this point. I left them in the car until about 7:15 pm, and then brought them inside.



The tops of the cookies were done - solid and just slightly crispy. The bottoms weren't really all that done, and one or two cookies lost the middle part of their bottoms when I picked them up off the cookie sheet. (This wasn't the end of the world; I just scooped up the middles and stuck them back where they belonged.)

The verdict? These cookies were actually pretty tasty - soft yet slightly crunchy on the tops. Next time I make them, I'll make sure to put them in the car earlier in the day so that they'll have more time in direct sunlight (and it'll be hotter for longer). All in all, I'm calling this one a win!

RECIPE REVIEW - Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Earlier today, my boyfriend Mark expressed a desire for chocolate chip cookies.

Now, I'm not really a cookie person. I'm a big fan of vegan baked goods - I make great pies, cupcakes, and have even tried my hand at scones. However, every time I've tried making cookies in the past, I've ended up with badly burned crunchy pucks or under-baked blobs.

However, I love my boyfriend (and I was also craving something chocolate-y and sweet), so I started leafing through my cookbooks in search of that elusive Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie That Even April Can't Mess Up (tm). I finally decided on "Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies" from page 137 of "How It All Vegan" by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer. I was a bit dubious about using 1/2 a cup of Earth Balance and 1/2 a cup of oil, so I opted to use only 1/4 a cup of oil and use 1/4 a cup of water to make up the difference in liquids. Also, I didn't have any chocolate chips, so I used the same thing I did when I made my chocolate chip scones - two pucks of Ibarra Mexican drinking chocolate, put into a ziploc bag and smashed with a hammer. (Take that, chocolate!) After mixing everything, the batter was *really* crumbly and didn't want to hold together well. I used a couple of spoons to transfer it to the cookie sheet and smush it into vague cookie-like shapes. Even with the reduction in oil, I was worried they'd be too oily, since they were leaving quite the film on my silicone baking mat. However, after baking and cooling, the cookies developed a decent texture and tasted pretty good.



I think next time I'll replace the 1/4 cup water with non-dairy milk of some sort (coconut or almond, most likely), and perhaps add just a tiny bit more liquid overall. But hey - yay, cookies!

RESTAURANT REVIEW - Biscuits + Groovy, Austin, TX

Biscuits + Groovy
Facebook Page
5015 Duval St (at 51st St. and Duval, next door to Flightpath Coffee, Arabic Bazaar, and The Peddler bike shop)
Austin, TX 78751
(512) 804-8285
M-F 9am-2pm, Sat-Sun 8:30am-2pm, Fri-Sat 7pm-2am


I first heard about Biscuits + Groovy when they ran a special on Groupon. Upon finding out that they could make practically everything on the menu vegan, I was so excited that I had to go there *that day*, before my Groupon was even available.

One very important thing of which to take note - Biscuits + Groovy is located on Duval STREET. If you just type "Duval" into Google Maps, you might end up with Duval ROAD, which is in a completely different part of town. If you then drive to Duval Rd, I guarantee that you will not find any food trailers at all, especially shiny silver ones with vegan biscuits. (Go on, ask me how I know.) *facepalm*

When I finally got to Duval St, I found the trailer right next door to The Peddler bike shop (and, for reference, across the street from the cheapest gas in the entire city of Austin. You're welcome.)



Owner Jon Lach is a complete sweetheart; very friendly and obviously excited about his business. He's also vegan, and is really informative about all of his food (and the fact that just about anything can be made vegan). He'll gladly tell you about upcoming special dishes he's planning, and can help you make up your mind if you can't decide what you want. On my first visit, I ordered The Donna Summer - vegan biscuits smothered with vegan cream gravy, vegan sausage, vegan cheese, and tofu scramble.



While the biscuits weren't *quite* as flaky as I would have like, the gravy was really tasty, and the sausage, cheese, and tofu scramble rounded out the dish nicely. I was pretty hungry, so I was able to eat the entire dish, but my boyfriend Mark could only finish a little over half of his, and took the rest home.

On my second visit (yay, Groupon!), I got The Aretha Franklin - vegan biscuits smothered with vegan cream gravy, vegan sausage, vegan cheese, and vegan bacon. I also had a delicious fruit smoothie from Flightpath Coffee (which is only 3 doors down from the Biscuits + Groovy trailer).



The Aretha Franklin was similar to the Donna Summer, though I think I slightly prefer the tofu scramble to the vegan bacon. When I went, there were two picnic tables at which to sit (which I hear that Jon made himself!), and one (or perhaps both - my memory isn't great) had large umbrellas for shade. Even with the shade, it was still hot, so Mark and I walked over to Flightpath and sat on the patio in front to drink our beverages (he had a mocha) and eat our food. I hear that Jon has installed some better seating coverage, so I'll bet it's even shadier now.

Besides having awesome food, Biscuits + Groovy also does a "Mix Tape Trade" - just bring in a mix CD and get someone else's! Bring it back when you're done listening to it, and you can get yet another. They also are about to start Biscuits + Movies (every Saturday night starting 7/16/11), which sounds like it'll be a blast. I voted for "Blues Brothers" for the first night, and suggested The Wizard of Speed and Time as a possibility for a future date.

I can't wait to go back to Biscuits + Groovy. I think I might try for The Burrito next time - they say you can get anything on the menu in it, and the possibilities are mind-boggling!

RECIPE REVIEW - General Tao's Tofu

General Tao's Tofu
from VegWeb, written by rubybean77
(Also, if you click on the above link, you can see the instructional video posted below the recipe!)

Ingredients:

1 (12 ounce) box firm tofu, in 1" cubes (frozen and thawed, if desired)
1 egg equivalent (e.g., EnerG Egg Replacer), prepared
3 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons water, divided
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon cornstarch, divided
vegetable oil for frying + 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
3 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2/3 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon sherry, optional
red pepper, to taste
steamed broccoli, to serve

Directions:

1. Mix the egg replacer as specified on the box and add an additional 3 tablespoons water. Dip tofu in egg replacer mixture and coat completely. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cornstarch over tofu and coat completely. Watch out that the cornstarch doesn't clump up at the bottom of the bowl.

2. Heat oil in pan and fry tofu pieces until golden. Drain oil. Heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in pan on medium heat. Add green onions, ginger, and garlic; cook for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn garlic.

3. Add vegetable stock, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, sherry, and red pepper.

4. Mix 2 tablespoons water with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and pour into mixture stirring well. Add fried tofu and coat evenly.

Serve immediately with steamed broccoli over your choice of rice.



First, please pardon the fact that there are no pictures for this recipe. My boyfriend and I were really hungry and ate all of it before I could grab my camera. Since I'm going to make it again, I promise to get pictures next time. Cross my heart and hope to run out of chocolate. (Or something.)

I had a few slight issues with this recipe, but they were all entirely my fault and can be fixed the next time I make this. There *will* be a next time, because even with the problems, it was still tasty.

I'll admit; I'm usually a bit lazy with my cooking. First, I mixed up the "egg" mixture in a container, put the tofu pieces in it and stirred them around some to make sure they were coated, then just started sprinkling the corn starch directly onto the tofu. Luckily, I'd only used a little less than half of the corn starch when I realized that the bottom of the container bore a striking resemblance to Elmer's glue, so I went ahead and put the tofu pieces into the heated, oiled pan, let them cook for a very short while, then sprinkled the remaining cornstarch over the tofu pieces in small batches, stirring in between sprinkling.

Second, instead of preparing the sauce in a separate pan, I added all of the ingredients into the same pan with the fried tofu. This created tofu that was probably not nearly as crispy as intended (mine was a smidge soggy), but it was still edible.

My last problem stemmed from the fact that I had no broccoli, but I *did* have cauliflower. Instead of steaming the cauliflower while I was making the rest of the recipe (which would have been the smart thing to do), I forgot about it until after everything else was ready. I cut up some of the cauliflower, piled it all into my giant coffee mug/bowl-thing, added a bit of water, and microwaved it for about 3 minutes. This actually didn't cook it much at all, so I had fairly crunchy cauliflower to go with my somewhat soggy tofu. Next time, I'll shoot for the other way around.

Since I didn't have any veggie broth, I put 3/4 cup water, a handful of kale, about 1/3 of a carrot, a couple shakes of salt, and a squirt or two of soy sauce into my Blendtec blender, and used that. I also decided not to use as much sugar as the recipe calls for, and instead just sprinkled some sucanat over the top of everything in the pan (I didn't measure, but if I had to guess, I'd say I used less than 1/8 of a cup). Also, for the "red pepper", I diced one red serrano pepper, which provided a really nice spice that didn't go overboard.

Overall, it was quite tasty, and when I make it next time, I won't take the "shortcuts" I used this time.