lifestyle – Page 9 – VeggHead BeerCyclist

LBⓋ 3/10

Posted on November 21, 2015November 21, 2015 by jeffreylatty

Low Budget Ⓥegan 3/10

Chicago-style Vegan Hot Dogs could be a bit cheaper depending on the quality of your Veggies. Any time I’m eating raw Veggies, I tend to be pickier on quality. These are super quick and easy to make and even easier to devour.

Chicago-style Vegan Hot Dog ingredients:

Smart Dogs, grilled or boiled
Smart Dog Buns, regular buns
Mustard, mmmmm
Tomato, I had leftover grape Toms-sliced longways
English Cucumber, diced
Celery Salt
Onion, diced
Tortilla Chips, on the side or choose other side

No instructions needed (I’d hope) 🙂

Chicago-style Vegan Hot Dog Cost Science:

Smart Dogs (8) = $3.99 @ $0.50 per serving
Buns (8) = $1.25 @ $0.16 per serving
Mustard (136) = $1.75 @ $0.02 per serving
Tomato (10) = $3.98 @ $0.40 per serving
English Cucumber (10) = $1.99 @ $0.20 per serving
Celery Salt (794?) = $1.00 @less than $0.01 per serving
Onion (7) = $1.17 @ $0.17 per serving
Tortilla Chips (13) = $2.00 @ $0.16 per serving

These are extremely comforting Vegan Dawgs and at $1.62 per serving, they are most worth it on a regular basis. Lightlife does an outstanding job with their Plant Powered Protein and if anyone ever gets a chance, TRY one of their many products. They even blew my mind having JUMBO Smart Dogs.

Lightlife

To all of you getting some snow, be safe & have FUN!

LBⓋ 2/10

Posted on November 20, 2015 by jeffreylatty

Low Budget Ⓥegan 2/10

EZ Chinesey ingredients:

Ramen, just noodles not seasoning packet
Veggies, I chose Oriental (Frozen)
Balsamic Vinegar
Sesame Oil
Sriracha
Soy Sauce
Minced Onion, dry
GarlicP/OnionP/Salt/Pepper

EZ Chinesey Cost Science:

Ramen, seasoning packet discarded (24) = $2.18 & $0.10 per serving
Oriental Veggies, frozen (13) = $5.98 & $0.46 per serving
Balsamic Vinegar (32) = $2.97 & $0.10 per serving
Sesame Oil (10) = $3.48 & $0.35 per serving
Sriracha (96) = $2.97 & $0.04 per serving
Soy Sauce (30) = $1.88 & $0.07 per serving
Seasonings @ roughly $0.05 per serving

Bring water to a boil and add Seasonings and Veggies for a minute. Then add Ramen Noodles without their non-Vegan seasonings. Turn off heat and stir for 1-2 minutes. Strain. With Noodles and Veggies still in strainer, in the same pan/pot put Sesame Oil/Balsamic Vinegar/Sriracha and Soy Sauce and heat. Add Noodles and Veggies and stir. Done.

At $1.17 per serving this EZ Chinesey is more on the expensive side, BUT ideal for date night and 2+ servings. HAPPY FRIDAY

LBⓋ 1/10

Posted on November 19, 2015November 20, 2015 by jeffreylatty

A go-to quick and inexpensive sandwich that I’m hooked on keeps my belly and wallet happy.

I love Vegan food that is basically all ready prepared as a meat substitute, but it is rarely on the cheaper side. I have actually documented the price of the ingredients and would like to continue with 10 different ideas over the next few weeks.

Go-To Ⓥ Sandwich ingredients:

Hamburger-less Bun, toasted
Frozen Hash Brown Patty, baked or pan-fried
Iceberg Lettuce, torn and folded
Mustard, generously splashy
Tortilla Chips, on the side and/or on the sandwich 🙂

Go-To Ⓥ Sandwich Cost Science:

Buns (8) = $1.50 & $0.18 per serving
HashBrown Patties (10) = $2.00 & $0.20 per serving
Lettuce (5-7) = $1.77 & $0.22 per serving
Mustard (136) = $1.75 & $0.02 per serving
Tortilla Chips (13) = $2.00 & $0.16 per serving

I’m definitely not saying this should be consumed every day for every meal. It is, however, cheaper and healthier than fast food. It is also cheaper than using Ⓥ Boca patties. And I find them extremely satisfying. I still love my Ⓥ Boca patties, just can’t afford them all of the time especially if you are as thirsty as me. CHEERS at a whopping 79 cents per serving for this meal.

Veganism doesn’t have to be as expensive of a lifestyle as some of us can make it to be. Overall, the satisfaction of eating to BETTER the world and to BETTER ourselves is priceless no matter the price tag.

Ⓥeatballs

Posted on November 9, 2015November 11, 2015 by jeffreylatty

Back Burner Ragu Marinara ingredients:

Celery, finely diced
Carrot, finely diced
Onion, finely diced
Garlic, diced
Balsamic Vinegar
Veggie Broth
Tomato Paste
Chopped Tomatoes, canned or fresh (deseeded)
Sugar/SeaSalt/Pepper/Cayenne/GarlicP/OnionP

Steps:

Cook Garlic, Celery, Onion & Carrot before adding everything else.
Simmer for hours, stirring.
I used Brown Sugar this time and I put a splash of Liquid Smoke

I decided to cancel my plans on making Seitan ‘Parmesan’ in order to ride a Gran Fondo on my only day off in the last week. At times, I have been motivated to suffer through various rides. One, to make me stronger and two, to deplete any frustrations and stress life can bring. This stress killer was a ride with 20-35 km/h headwind. I chose to turn my Back Burner Ragu Marinara into a soup.

Gran Fondo

Creating things that are versatile keeps you on your toes and free to motivate your imagination in the kitchen. Just like recipes, plans do not have to be kept and should be open for changes and involve freedom.

Roasted Ⓥeggie Soup ingredients:

Back Burner Ragu Marinara, simmering
Cashew Milk
Tofu, soft
Eggplant, chopped
Potato, chopped
Cauliflower, chopped
Green Pepper, diced
Asparagus, chopped
Tomato, chopped
Celery, chopped
Mushroom, sliced
Onion, diced
Sugar/SeaSalt/Pepper/GarlicP/OnionP
Nutritional Yeast

High Dive Double Backflip:

Roast Veggies to desired doneness.
Add Tofu & Mushrooms towards the end of desired doneness, or not.
Simmer Cashew Milk with seasonings while Veggies are roasting.
Add roasted greatness to Sauce and enjoy 🙂

Last night I spontaneously decided to make pasta from my Soup. And also decided and brainstormed Ⓥeatballs. The last time I made meatless ‘meatballs’, I was not even Vegetarian yet. I took a different approach and had fun with the idea. The results were very rewarding and extremely tasty.

Ⓥeatballs ingredients:

Fennel Seeds, roasted
Eggplant, roasted & diced
Garlic, minced
Raw Cashew, pulverized
Raw Almonds, pulverized w/ skin
LightLife, ‘beef’ & ‘sausage’ – diced
Bread Crumbs, plain
Corn Meal
Vital Wheat Gluten, not too much
Idaho Spuds Instant Mashed, classic
Cashew Milk
NutritionalYeast/Sugar/Cayenne
GarlicP/OnionP/Turmeric/Thyme/Oregano
SeaSalt/Pepper

Cannon Balls:

Roast Fennel Seeds and Eggplant together and cool slightly before dicing.
Start mixing dry ingredients first before wet and more wet ingredients just to ease my anal-ness.
I decided to add Vital Wheat Gluten last just because I was unsure of how it would mix. I added a bit at a time while mixing with one hand until I found my ideal consistency.
Form into balls and bake before broiling to finish with some color and char flavor.

Pasta ingredients Ⓥ:

Bow Tie noodles, cooked entirely in Sauce
Roasted Ⓥeggie Soup, simmering
Spinach, sliced like Basil
Ⓥeatballs, fresh out of oven 🙂

Snow Angels:

Make sure noodles have cooked in sauce.
Add sliced Spinach.
Plate Pasta with Ⓥeatball.
Enjoy a beer and be happy:)

Currently on Netflix incase you’d like to GEEK OUT:

Mysteries of the Unseen World

The Physics of Light

Blushing Ⓥ Linguine

Posted on November 6, 2015 by jeffreylatty

Back Burner Ragu Marinara ingredients:

Celery, finely diced
Carrot, finely diced
Onion, finely diced
Garlic, diced
Balsamic Vinegar
Veggie Broth
Tomato Paste
Chopped Tomatoes, canned or fresh (deseeded)
Sugar/SeaSalt/Pepper/Cayenne/GarlicP/OnionP

Steps:

Cook Garlic, Celery, Onion & Carrot before adding everything else.
Simmer for hours, stirring.
I used Brown Sugar this time and I put a splash of Liquid Smoke

Blush Sauce ingredients:

Cashew ‘Milk’, mmmmm
SeaSalt/Pepper/GarlicP/OnionP/Cayenne/Turmeric
Nutritional Yeast/Sugar
Back Burner Ragu Marinara

Boil & simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Blushing Ⓥ Linguine ingredients:

Blush Sauce, hot & ready
Linguine, undercooked
Green Pepper, julienne sliced
Mushroom, sliced
Onion, diced
Parsley
Basil, sliced
Daiya, slices mmmm

Science:

Sauté Veggies and add Blush Sauce.
Undercook Linguine and drain to be completed in Blush sauce.
Plate Blushing Noodles and top with Blushing Veggies and Daiya slices.
Broil for two minutes and finish with herbs.

BBⓋ Ⓥuality Ⓥuest

Posted on November 4, 2015November 5, 2015 by jeffreylatty

Mixing bicycles, (good) beers and (great) food together is a powerful combination. And at that, not everyone is Vegan and definitely not even Vegetarian. I have learned most people are well aware and can somehow relate to Vegetarianism. It’s Veganism that overwhelms the carnivorous mindset. I try my best in any situation to influence people to better the planet and in bettering themselves.

Does that mean I should spend money and time on Vegan food to share? You’d better believe it!

I’m a huge fan of LightLife products. And their Smart Dogs are outstanding! I brought enough Smart Dogs to share and more than enough Ⓥasta Salad to share.

Seitan ingredients:

Vital Wheat Gluten
Rosemary/FennelSeed, crushed
Corn Meal
Cayenne/Thyme/Turmeric
Tomato Paste
Broth
SeaSalt/Pepper/GarlicP/OnionP
BayLeaves/Celery/Onion, for cooking in
Non-Dairy Cheese Cloth

411: Mix wet ingredients together and mix dry ingredients together and then mix wet and dry together. Form into a loaf and put into wet ‘Cheese’ Cloth and bake in Lasagna pan two hours flipping halfway in Broth. Remove from cloth immediately and store, add color or use!

WildTurkey 101 BBⓋ sauce ingredients:

Chipotle Adobe, chopped/mixed/liquified
Liquid Smoke
Garlic/Onion/Serrano, diced and roasted or roasted and chopped
Brown Sugar
Sriracha/BalsamicVinegar
SeaSalt/Pepper/OnionP/GarlicP
Tomato Paste
Broth
Wild Turkey 101, after a few sips 🙂

Shots:

Bring everything to a boil and simmer for hours.
Strain or do not strain, depending use.

Italian Dressing ingredients:

Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar
Balsamic Vinegar
SeaSalt/Pepper/Oregano
Garlic cloves, peeled & slight cut into

Two parts oil to one part Vinegar which is ⅔ Red Wine Vinegar and ⅓ Balsamic. Let marinate for days.

Ⓥasta Salad ingredients:

Rotini, tri-color & slightly overcooked
Daiya, ‘Cheddar’ slices-chopped
Black Olives, whole & then quartered
Italian Dressing
Cayenne
Cucumber, deseeded & diced finely
Radish, diced
Celery Seed
Sunflower Seed, shelled & unsalted
Spinach, basil-like sliced 🙂

Mix & add dressing as late as possible.

ⓋLattyDaddys

Posted on October 31, 2015November 11, 2015 by jeffreylatty

Vegan LattyDaddy’s are Vegan patties that are perfectly architected like imperfected Cincinnati’s Belgian Abbeys.

No need for Condiments. A LightLife LifeLine. A menace to society. How can one Vegan patty be so flavorful and still hold its own against heat?

Japanese beetles are not The Beatles with a Japan-like accent, but here in the midwest of the United States of America to ensure our Windows are sealed correctly.

Seitan ingredients:

Vital Wheat Gluten
Rosemary/FennelSeed, crushed
Corn Meal
Cayenne/Thyme/Turmeric
Tomato Paste
Broth
SeaSalt/Pepper/GarlicP/OnionP
BayLeaves/Celery/Onion, for cooking in
Non-Dairy Cheese Cloth

WildTurkey 101 BBⓋ sauce ingredients:

Chipotle Adobe, chopped/mixed/liquified
Liquid Smoke
Garlic/Onion/Serrano, diced and roasted or roasted and chopped
Brown Sugar
Sriracha/BalsamicVinegar
SeaSalt/Pepper/OnionP/GarlicP
Tomato Paste
Broth
Wild Turkey 101, after a few sips 🙂

Shots:

Bring everything to a boil and simmer for hours.
Strain or do not strain, depending use.

ⓋLattyDaddy patty ingredients:

Seitan, diced
Tofu, firm
LightLife ‘beef’ & ‘sausage’, chopped
Brown Rice, cooked
Black Beans, cooked
Pinto Beans, cooked
Lentils, cooked
WildTurkey 101 BBⓋ sauce, mmmmmmm
Sunflower Seeds, roasted
Cauliflower, diced & roasted
Eggplant, diced & roasted
Shallot, diced & roasted
Broth, Veggie DUH
Mushroom, sliced & roasted
Garlic, minced & roasted
Parsley, chopped
SeaSalt/Pepper/OnionP/GarlicP/Sugar
LiquidSmoke/Cayenne/Turmeric/NutritionalYeast
Instant Mashed Spuds, binding agent

Mix together. I let sit before forming patties. I normally would’ve roasted the patties, but I actually ran out of Parchment Paper and pan-fried the patties with very light oil in a non-stick pan.

ⓋLattyDaddy ingredients:

ⓋLattyDaddy Patty
Daiya, Daiya slices melt extremely perfect 🙂
Green Pepper, sliced and pan-fried or roasted
Tomato, sliced
Buns, bigger (gourmet) & toasted on insides
Vegenaise, mmmmm

Trick or Treat:

Toast buns and set aside.
Roast or pan-fry ⓋLattyDaddy patty and put Green Pepper slices under Daiya & melt.
Lather Vegenaise on inside of Buns and put together.
Put together without condiments. Place Tomatoes in there somewhere.
I baked halved Potatoes on a cast iron skillet for the side.

I find myself talking to beer store clerks/cashiers more and more. I think, unconsciously adapting them as my “bartender” as I don’t go to bars much anymore because they cannot upkeep their varieties of good beers to my beer guts demand. I don’t dwell of any issues going on in my life, just basically hired friends forced to bullshit with me. 🙂

Drink a Bicycle and go Ride a Beer. Have an extremely safe and outrageously FUN Halloween!

Vegan Lasagna with Ⓥicotta

Posted on October 21, 2015 by jeffreylatty

Lasagna is along the same lines with me as my Chili. In a past blog, I went through my Evolution of my Chili. I don’t think anyone read it, which is great, but I don’t wanna invest in that much time or that many words. I apologize (for apologizing) for any (not really) inconvenience.

The best Lasagna that I have ever made, involved Béchamel sauce. Which in French translates to “not Vegan” or something like that. I have created Ⓥicotta, a delightful VEGAN combination of Béchamel & Ricotta Cheese.

And of course Lasagna is never successful or possible, even, without a great sauce. In my case it’s my Back Burner Ragu Marinara. And now I am obligated to find throwback pictures to commemorate my Italian roots.

Working for the Italians:

Back Burner Ragu Marinara ingredients:

Celery, finely diced
Carrot, finely diced
Onion, finely diced
Garlic, diced
Balsamic Vinegar
Veggie Broth
Tomato Paste
Chopped Tomatoes, canned or fresh (deseeded)
Sugar/SeaSalt/Pepper/Cayenne/GarlicP/OnionP

Steps:

Cook Garlic, Celery, Onion & Carrot before adding everything else.
Simmer for hours, stirring.

Ⓥicotta ingredients:

Tofu, soft
Raw Cashews, boiled & chopped
Eggplant, sliced, roasted & chopped
Fennel Seed
Garlic, roasted & chopped
Lime, juiced
Honey, 😉
Shallot, diced
Baby Spinach, sliced
Instant Mashed Potatoes, thickening (top secret) agent
Cashew ‘Milk’
BalsamicVinegar, SeaSalt/Pepper/Sugar/LiquidSmoke/GarlicP/OnionP/Cayenne

Mix to a somewhat clumpy consistency, if desired.

Vegan Lasagna with Ⓥicotta ingredients:

Back Burner Ragu Marinara, hot
Lasagna noodles, cooked
Ⓥicotta, mmmmmmmmmmmm
Daiya, mmmmmmmm
Parsley

CONSTRUCT 🙂

Vegan Biscuits and Gravy

Posted on October 20, 2015October 20, 2015 by jeffreylatty

Today I purchased the cardboard refrigerated Biscuits for the first time in my life. It took me a minute to find Vegan Biscuits, but thankfully they are out there. And they were very simple and tasty. They complimented my Gravy extremely well. I’ve made bread a few times from scratch and I do not like to bake. Store bought Bread is well worth it to me.

Let’s Go.

Seitan ingredients:

Vital Wheat Gluten
Corn Meal
Rosemary/Cayenne/FennelSeed, crushed together
Tomato Sauce
Veggie Broth
Turmeric/Thyme/SeaSalt/Pepper/GarlicP/OnionP
Bay Leaves/Celery/Peppercorn/Fennel/Rosemary, for baking
Vegan ‘Cheese’ cloth

Domino Effect:

Mix wet ingredients together and dry ingredients separately before mixing together.
Form into a loaf and put into wet ‘cheese’ cloth.
Put Seitan loaf into Lasagna pan and put Herbs/Veggies with Broth filling halfway.
Bake for two hours, flipping loaf in between.
Remove from cloth immediately and put in foil or use.
I broiled slightly after out of ‘cheese’ cloth.

Groovy Gravy ingredients:

Cashew ‘Milk’, mmmmmm
Nutritional Yeast
Garlic & Onion, diced and dry roasted
Seitan, diced and sliced for garnish.
Tofu, soft
Raw Cashew, boiled, strained and chopped
Cauliflower, roasted and chopped
Eggplant, sliced, roasted and diced
Potato, diced and roasted
Rosemary/SeaSalt/Pepper/Sugar
Lime, juiced
Instant Mashed potatoes, thickening agent 🙂

Roast everything and bring to appropriate consistency, simmering. Serve HOT with Biscuits.

Happy Monday!

Illinois Brews & Baseball

Posted on October 14, 2015October 15, 2015 by jeffreylatty

Congratulations to Cubs fans everywhere. Congratulations to Cardinal fans in Illinois for seeing a truly stellar team this year in the Chicago Cubs take away their pride. Since 1876 the Chicago Cubs have won 1197 games against STL and the Cardinals have taken 1147 from the Cubbies during regular season play. And in the all-time post-season the Cubs are 3-1 against STL. According to Wikipedia.

I’m very excited to see and try many Illinois brewed beers and creations. For me, anyways, true local brews give you a sense of untouchable refreshmentism before even considering the smell, taste, feel or notes. Perhaps that is due to the freshness, but I believe it’s more along the fine lines of a thing called pride! Like rooting for your local high school football team, it may not be the best, but damn it, you’re happy to see it and experience it.

Breweries come and go, bought out and sold out. There are craft breweries now directly competing with the (has-been) big dogs Miller and Bud. I want to concentrate on the Illinois breweries who are not selling out. All of this information is from Wikipedia. Apologies if any info is incorrect.

My first favorite Illinois brewery:

Big Muddy Brewing opened in 2009 in Murphysboro, IL.

My go-to Illinois brewery:

Revolution Brewing out of Chicago since 2010.

Mead:

Wild Blossom Meadery – Chicago, IL.

Most versatile arsenal Illinois brewery:

Destihl 2007 Normal, IL.

Super local Illinois Valley breweries:

Radium City
Starved Rock Brewing

Most impressive Illinois brewed beer:

Tighthead Irie IPA- Mundelein, IL 2011

I was watching the Cubs on Monday night and wanted some easy quick (Vegan) food. I tweeted Jimmy John’s, half inebriated. And with their awesome help, I was able to conclude and acquire a Vegan delivery. Their bread is not Vegan. I paid $18 for two lettuce wraps that were delicious and not so much filling. I was impressed with how well Jimmy John’s interacted with me via twitter and did not cower like a company that puts beef fat into their fries and probably soda. That was the first time that I have ordered out in quite a few months.