Do you ever make vegan meals?

[caseydog]

Ovo-tarian (vegetarian who eats only eggs)
Lacto-tarian (vegetarian who uses dairy but not cheese or eggs)
Flexigan (part time vegan)
Flexitarian (part time vegetarian)
Pesco-tarian (someone who eats fish and is vegetarian)
Pollo-tarian (someone who eats chicken and is vegetarian)
Vegetarian (someone who eats dairy, eggs and milk but no meat or fish)
Veggan (someone who is vegan and eats eggs)
Seagan (someone who eats fish but is otherwise vegan)
Vegan (someone who abstains from all animal products)

Omnivore -- me.

CD

 

[Morning Glory]

So I make vegetarian samosas served with cucumber rhaita and tamarind chutney.
Are the condiments vegan? Or the samosas?

Russ

Rhaita is made with yoghurt which is made from milk so is not vegan (although there are yoghurts available in the UK made from nut milks). The samosas are probably vegan unless the pastry for the samosa uses animal fat. A lot of bought condiments are vegan. You need to look at the label to see if any animal products are used. I wouldn't have thought so with tamarind chutney. Some condiments like Worcestershire sauce aren't vegan because the contain anchovies.

Vegan rules are very simple. In fact, there is really only one rule. Check that the food doesn't contain anything produced by or from an animal (animals obviously include fish). The only difficulty is when things are not labelled properly with all the ingredients.

 

[Yorky]

Vegan rules are very simple. In fact, there is really only one rule. Check that the food doesn't contain anything produced by or from an animal (animals obviously include fish). The only difficulty is when things are not labelled properly with all the ingredients.

So you would need to know what cochineal is?

I'm afraid that it's all beyond me.

 

[Morning Glory]

So you would need to know what cochineal is?

I'm afraid that it's all beyond me.

Yes. I think these days most people do know that - and they certainly would if they were vegan! There aren't many things like that though. With the majority of food cooked at home its very obvious if you have used any animal products when making something. I don't think that is beyond you at all! You are a good cook.

 

[garlichead]

Yes. I think these days most people do know that - and they certainly would if they were vegan! There aren't many things like that though. With the majority of food cooked at home its very obvious if you have used any animal products when making something. I don't think that is beyond you at all! You are a good cook.

I don't think it's as obvious as you believe it to be. Sugar can contain bone char which I'm sure can be problematic considering the amount of products that contain sugar. Sugarcane I'm referring to.

 

[Yorky]

I don't know whether vegans are against actually killing animals.

My wife considers that every living being deserves a life although she eats chicken and pork and fish and seafood. She hates geckos and snakes but would never dream of hurting them - she just doesn't want them in the house.

The irony is that she will slap down a mosquito or stamp on a cockroach without a thought.

 

[caseydog]

So you would need to know what cochineal is?

I'm afraid that it's all beyond me.

That is my fear about cooking a meal for a vegan. I'd be afraid that there would be one ingredient that has one-percent animal derived stuff in it, and the vegan would say, "I can't eat that!"

Cooking vegetarian is easy. Vegetarians are generally okay with things like a little butter.

CD

 

[caseydog]

I have eaten an Impossible Burger, just to have the experience of eating it. It was good. Will I ever eat another one? No. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I was disappointed when I later found out that those burgers are not healthier than a regular beef burger.

SatNav, were those plant based meat pucks they served you at the hospital good?

CD

 

[caseydog]

Yes. I think these days most people do know that - and they certainly would if they were vegan! There aren't many things like that though. With the majority of food cooked at home its very obvious if you have used any animal products when making something. I don't think that is beyond you at all! You are a good cook.

As I type this, I have absolutely no idea what cochineal is. I'd never even heard of it until today in Yorky's post.

CD

 

[caseydog]

I don't know whether vegans are against actually killing animals.

My wife considers that every living being deserves a life although she eats chicken and pork and fish and seafood. She hates geckos and snakes but would never dream of hurting them - she just doesn't want them in the house.

The irony is that she will slap down a mosquito or stamp on a cockroach without a thought.

I am a card-carrying member of PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals). At the same time, I am very adamant about humane treatment of animals. I want the food I eat to have a good life, eat a good, healthy diet, and be dispatched in a quick, painless way.

CD

 

[karadekoolaid]

I suppose the only time I´ve cooked anything totally vegan by design was for the Indian Embassy´s Chargé d ´Affaires. As an additional challenge, he politely informed me beforehand that he didn´t eat onions or garlic either. I made Aloo Saag, potatoes and tomtatoes with coconut, and pullao rice, and he loved it.
Perhaps the most important thing is simply to be well-informed and careful. I can recall several occasions where I´ve asked for a vegetarian sandwich and it´s come with a slice of ham in it. When I asked the waiter, he said " well ham´s not meat".
I can understand making that mistake with bacon, which is entirely another food group, but not ham.

 

[karadekoolaid]

As I type this, I have absolutely no idea what cochineal is.

It´s similar to ground up cockroach, but redder.

 

[garlichead]

KK, your on a roll.

 

[Morning Glory]

I am a card-carrying member of PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals). At the same time, I am very adamant about humane treatment of animals. I want the food I eat to have a good life, eat a good, healthy diet, and be dispatched in a quick, painless way.

CD

Sorry wrong quote - but you said you didn't know what cochineal was. Its red food colouring from insects. Used in loads of pre-made stuff. Starbucks used to use it, for example. See here:

The Truth About Red Food Dye Made from Bugs

Its always fun to say to people who say they would never eat insects that they most likely already have done.

 

[Windigo]

I suppose the only time I´ve cooked anything totally vegan by design was for the Indian Embassy´s Chargé d ´Affaires. As an additional challenge, he politely informed me beforehand that he didn´t eat onions or garlic either. I made Aloo Saag, potatoes and tomtatoes with coconut, and pullao rice, and he loved it.

Yeah Hindu vegetarians & vegans often don't eat alliums, it's a requirement for the Brahmin ( priest class). Hindus from other classes do often eat alliums, but not always.

They use asafoetida instead