x-vegano

Sopas de Abóbora e Tofu Atolado

2007-05-12T12:25:00.000-04:00

Ando cozinhando muitas sopas ultimamente, primeiro porque é prático, segundo porque quase sempre fica gostoso. E não poderia deixar de mencionar então a maravilha que é a abóbora, um 'must' em quase todas as minhas refeições dessas últimas semanas. Boa para sopas, cremes e até só no vapor. Abóbora, eu te amo.

Começo pela Sopa de Sementes de Abóbora. Como o nome sugere, usei sim as sementes da abóbora, mas não tanto assim, precisava mesmo era de um nome pro prato. Enfim, usei uns 300gr de abóbora, ralei a casca e separei uma colher de sopa de sementes. Na panela refoguei três alhos com ervas secas e adicionei as sementes até fritá-las bem (detalhe importante), adicionei então a casca ralada ao refogado e deixei por alguns momentos, mais duas cebolas, e depois de translúcidas adicionei 1/2 a 2/3 de copo de lentilha, 1/2 de soja desidratada, a abóbora e um pouco de salsinha picada. Meio litro de água fervente e deixei cozinhar, corrigindo o sal e temperando a gosto. Pelo que eu lembro tava ótimo, nota 9! Suquinho de cupuaço pra acompanhar sempre que possível.

Canja Vegana. Chamo de canja toda sopa que leva arroz, mas essa em particular me remeteu muito à infância quando comia canja com restos mortais de aves. Refogado o alho com um caldo de legumes, adiciono 200gr de abóbora picada, uma cenoura picada, dois tomates picados sem semente, uma abobrinha picada, 1/2 copo de arroz branco e um pouco de lentilha (sempre). Adiciona então a água fervente, corrige o sal e temperos e tcharam, uma canja da vovó vegana! Nota 10!

Tofu Atolado. Realmente, não consegui pensar em outro nome melhor pra esse prato que fiz. Fritei 500gr de tofu e algumas salsichas da Superbom picadas e não sabia o que fazer com isso. Então fiz um molho vermelho refogando dois alhos com ervas, adicionando uma lata de tomates em conserva e todo o sumo, sal e temperos a gosto, adicionei as frituras maravilhosas, cebolinha picada e azeitonas picadas, e só. Legumes no vapor (e quando digo legumes, tem abóbora no meio) e arroz frito pra acompanhar é o ideal. Nota 8!

Sopa de Ervilha Partida e Almoço Ético

2007-05-09T15:58:00.000-04:00

Dia 6 agora foi o meu aniversário de 19 anos e convidei alguns amigos próximos e familiares pra comerem uma Feijoada Vegana, foi legal, apesar de ser o meu aniversário (não gosto nem um pouco de envelhecer). Tiveram vários acompanhamentos e o bolo foi um sucesso (Bolo de Chocolate com cobertura de Pasta de Amendoim, DELÍÍÍÍÍCIA!). Más notícias: não tenho foto alguma, sorry, se conseguir alguma futuramente posto aqui, claro.

Começo então pela Sopa de Ervilha Partida. Faz um tempo que fiz essa receita então vou tentar relembrar os passos: primeiro refoguei duas cebolas grandes e uma batata picadas no azeite com ervas finas e pimenta do reino; adicionei água fervente e esperei cozinhar ao ponto de amassar e conseguir um purê; adicionei meio copo de ervilhas partidas e cozinhei por dez minutos; adicionei 1/4 de copo de uma massa integral que comprei e deixei cozinhar por mais alguns minutos. Devo ter usado salsinha também em algum momento, como de costume. Nota 8, só preciso tomar mais cuidado com o excesso de sal.

Hoje, lá pelas 10:30 comecei a pensar no que comeria no almoço, penso em comida bem cedo mesmo, já que não tenho o costume de tomar café-da-manhã. Acabou dando nisso, vários pratinhos bem-sucedidos e um almoço meat/dairy/egg-free aqui em casa, mas na realidade tive que preparar mais um macarrão no alho pra minha irmã que é quase alérgica a tudo que é vegano. Os pratos: Abóbora e Vagem de forno; Abobrinha recheada; Arroz à grega; Salada de tomate com tofu marinado; Espinagre e Feijão-de-corda no vapor.

Abóbora e Vagem de forno. Já fiz essa receita algumas vezes, peguei de um programa de culinária na televisão, no Discovery Travel&Living tem alguns programas que eu adoro! Corte a abóbora com casca em fatias finas de 1cm ou menos (como na ilustração computadorizada que disponibilizei ao lado) e higienize as vagens, temperando com alho picado, pimenta-do-reino, azeite, sal marinho, folhas de louro e salsinha (opcional), sou adepto da cozinha sem frescuras e o bom mesmo é melecar a mão misturando os temperos bem aos vegetais. Leve ao forno pré-aquecido (180C tá ótimo) coberto com papel alumínio por 10 a 15 mins, depois retire o papel e deixe por mais 10mins. É simplesmente delicioso, nota 10!

Abobrinha Recheada. Fiz essa receita algumas vezes também, é do livro de culinária veg. chinesa da Pi-Yueh, mas como não achei o livro fui fazendo como lembrava. Cortei a abobrinha em fatias grossas e retirei o miolo, levei ao vapor e deixei cozinhar até ficar al dente. Recheei com a carne de soja que preparei com tofu e levei ao forno de 15 a 20 mins. É uma ótima receita, nota 9!

Salada de Tomate com Tofu marinado e Arroz à grega. Cortei o tofu firme em cubos e deixei marinando numa mistura de shoyu, alho picado, gengibre picado, azeite e alecrim por uns 30 mins e adicionei ao tomate picado e manjericão fresco, saladinha ótima, nota 9! Tinha uma sobra de arroz escorrido na geladeira e decidi incrementar um pouco, refoguei primeiro metade de uma cenoura picada no azeite e ervas finas, depois adicionei vagem e um pouco do tofu defumado picados, adicionando então ao arroz, bem gostosinho, nota 8! Na ilustração computadorizada também podemos ver o resto de soja que fiz pra rechear a abobrinha, soja é imabatível essa minha (nota 1 000 pra ela), qualquer dia posto passo-a-passo como se faz.

Salada de Picles / Bolo de Chocolate e Cupuaçu / Sopa de Cenoura com Beterraba

2007-03-22T01:22:00.001-04:00

Querido diário culinarístico, venho esta noite comentar a respeito dos últimos pratos que desenvolvi. Mas antes, um pouco sobre minha vida de doente: hoje realizei um procedimento cirúrgico para retirar as benditas pedras nos rins que me tiram a paciência há algumas semanas, agora só é esperar pra notar a melhora, não posso esperar para poder comer pimenta de novo!
Já deu, vamos ao que interessa.

Salada de Picles com Arroz de Espinafre. Estava eu lá na Casa Roma certo dia comprando tofu, quando me deparo com esse intrigante arroz enriquecido com espinafre do Bob Esponja, claro que não resisti e o comprei. Então certo dia eu com fome & preguiça estava querendo fazer algo rápido e refrescante. Acabei com isso aí: arroz de espinafre com brócolis, macaxeira (aipim para sudestinos) e um pouco de alho torrado por cima, com uma salada bem refrescante de picles caseiro e legumes. Faz-se picles de diversas maneiras, muitas bem fáceis, faço o meu deixando o pepino de molho numa mistura de açúcar, sal e vinagre, beeeeem refrescante. Nota 8.

Bolo de Chocolate e Cupuaçu. Bem, pra quem não mora em Manaus, meus pêsames, pois vocês nunquinha encontrarão cupuaçu fresco e bom do jeito que temos aqui, essa fruta é fantástica e versátil, é muito usada em sucos (meu favorito até) e doces artesanais.
Eu estava com saudades dos meus bolos e decidi tentar essa receita nova, substituindo o leite de soja de outra receita pelo suco de cupuaçu, ficou ótimo, principalmente no dia seguinte. Recheei o bolo com um doce de cupuaçu caseiro da minha avó que é perfeito, misturando-o com um pouco de chocolate derretido, a cobertura foi feita usando chocolate, açúcar, suco de cupuaçu e um pouco de trigo para dar a textura de cobertura. Nota 9.

Sopa de Cenoura e Beterraba. Eu ando estranho esses dias, sempre tive preguiça pra cozinhar, digo, quase sempre, optando assim muitas vezes por receitas fáceis e rápidas, mas mesmo com toda a preguiça do mundo tenho cozinhado quase todos os dias e em todas as refeições, acho que isso é um reflexo direto da minha saúde atual, tirando a fomigerada dor renal.
À sopa! Sim, sim. Abri a geladeira e vi lindas cenouras grandes e coloridas na minha frente e o desejo de sopa me veio à cabeça. Usei três cenouras grandes e uma beterraba, fervendo-as em água salgada com meio caldo de legumes até ficarem moles no ponto certo para bater no liquidificador. Noutra panela anti-aderente, refoguei três cabeças de alho, meia cebola, orégano, alho poró, a outra metade do caldo de legumes e um tomate pequeno, até dar o ponto certo, corrigindo o sal. No liquidificador bati a cenoura e beterraba usando parte da água em que foram cozidos, adicionando o refogado, até atingir a textura desejada. Levei ao fogo e adicionei brócolis previamente cozido no microondas, usando a água do cozimento para se chegar à grossura ideal. Ficou completamente delicioso, uma surpresa total pra mim pois não esperava algo tão bom. Nota 10, sem dúvida!

Sopa de Lentilha Apimentada e Arroz à grega

2007-03-19T15:41:00.000-04:00

Dei um tempo disso aqui novamente. Não estava muito afim de postar porque dá um certo trabalho e a minha câmera estava com problemas. Mas, como não vivo sem comer, tenho sim cozinhado como de costume, com receitas bem legais que posso até repetir pra postar aqui futuramente. Lá vai.

Sopa de Lentilha Apimentada. Ou melhor, sopa de vegetais apimentada, porque tem de tudo um pouco aí dentro, é só usar a imaginação o os restos da geladeira.
Antes de descobrir que tinha pedras nos rins semanas atrás, achei que estava com uma gripe forte e passei a fazer sopas quase diariamente, comecei a criar algumas receitas até bastante decentes. Essa versão é bastante nutritiva e pode ser feita com tudo que há na sua geladeira, tudo mesmo. Só pra nomear alguns ingredientes que usei: espinafre, brócolis, pimentão vermelho e amarelo, lentilhas e arroz integral, além do alho e cebola, claro. Em sopas refogadas, basta se atentar ao tempo de cozimento dos vegetais e ir refogando na melhor ordem possível. A minha dica é, quando se estiver refogando o alho, adicione já ervas secas ou frescas picadas para depois adicionar a cebola, aconselho também usar caldo de legumes, pois dá mais sabor, com a quantidade de água fervente desejada. Depois dos vegetais cozidos no tempo certo é só jogar salsinha fresca por cima e tudo certo, e azeite, é óbvio.
Usei pimenta chilli fresca (qualquer outra serve). Para um sopa de duas pessoas use metade de uma pimenta, pois é bastante forte. Higienize-a bem, tirando as sementes e picando, adicionando ao alho refogado, confere um apimentado ótimo à sopa, não exagere senão se arrependerá. Nota 9.

Arroz à grega. Adaptei essa receita de uma que a minha mãe costuma fazer usando ovos, substituindo-os por tofu.
A dica para o tofu é simples, drenar o máximo de água possível para que ele absorva os temperos que você adicionará, usando toalhas de papel ou pano, as duas dão certo.
Refogue uma cebola até ficar translúcida, adicione o tofu drenado e ligeiramente picado (não pique demais) até ele ficar bem refogado e dourado. Gosto de usar fondor de legumes e até arisco para dar gosto ao tofu, porque naturalmente o tofu tem gosto de absolutamente nada. Depois de refogar, coloque-o de lado na panela mesmo, colocando um pouco mais de azeite para refogar os vegetais, nesta receita usei cenoura e vagem (previamente cozidas no microondas) picadas e cardamomo (eu tinha sobras já cozidas na geladeira e aproveitei). Misture tudo com o arroz já preparado e tempere a gosto usando sal marinho e pimenta do reino, no final adicionei salsa picada e um pouco de orégano, é uma ótima maneira de deixar o arroz do dia-a-dia bem mais gostoso . Delícia magia, nota 9!

January Favorites! Part 2

2007-02-04T19:32:00.000-04:00

Part 2 of January Favorites, and yes, I know it's already february, but who gives a damn! Oh, another thing, I think I won't be updating this in english any longer, since my portuguese-speaking readers are in more number now, and that would be the fair deal, if foreign readers have any question, feel free to leave a comment.
Let's begin' the groovyness.

Tofu Fish Sticks. Got this recipe from one of my favorite blogs: The Vegan Lunch Box, by Jennifer McCann. I've done other recipes that I found there, like the Babka and Tahinopita (sorry guys, I didn't take pics of this one). This time I used flour instead of cornmeal and used baked it instead of deep-frying it, next time I'll fry it cos' it's just greasely better, if you know what I mean! Oh, some Babaghanoug (baba-gnush) dad did the other day and ketchup for dipping. The recipe has got flour, sweet paprika, almonds, salt, dry dill and other herbs I don't recall, yummy yummy.

Pastels. At my uni, there are basically no vegan options, me and my cousine had to talk to the manager twice just to get those items that require only boiling water so we can eat sth at nite, but they do have all these pastels with meaty filling, nothing that appealing, the dough is what I really miss!
So I found this pastry dough and took it to the oven, with two difference fillings, tofu cream, made with dry herbs, grated carrots and black raisins and the other filling made of vegan chocolate chips and condensed milk, really good.

Home-made veggie burgers. This is a rather old and really easy recipe, but ok. One day I had some meat left over so I decided to try making home-made burguers, just by adding some flour the it and shaping it, really great to eat with ketchup and mustard & herbs. I like it better with ciabatta bread, fresh lettuce and tomatos.

Faux-cheese Quiche and Apple pie. I baked these for my cousine's birthday party, that veg nite was a hit! As you can see, the baked goods are not even done, it's just that I forgot to take the afterwards pics so I only had this one to post. The Apple pie recipe I got from How it All Vegan (loooves it) and everyone really loved it, I just replaced the maple syrup (cos' that's really impossible to find over here) for molasses, and the quiche I made up by myself, with spinach and tofu, it got very cheesy, yummy yum.

Mashed Cassava. I actually did those to eat along with the salad and mustard dressing. Cook the cassavas in salty water then mash it with a fork or any other utensil, sauté onions and olives with about a tbsp. of vegan margerine and another of olive oil, add to the cassava mixture and sprinkle fresh parsley and canned corn on top, a great side dish.

January Favorites! Part 1

2007-02-03T20:13:00.000-04:00

Don't you guys think I gave cooking a break cos' noooo I didn't, I gave it to updating this poshy blog. You know, I'm a lazy ass. So, in fact I was cooking, baking and cattering crazy, yeah, cattering, for my cousine's birthday party, my beautiful cousine Tainá, this vegan beauty I adore so much. I still haven't got the bday pics so I'll just post whatever I have done at home.

Veggie Mini-pizza. Going around my local market I found this vegan pizza dough, a really thin easy-to-cook dough that I just couldn't resist buying, since my pizza try-outs have always been a disaster. So I topped it with tomato sauce, tofu & herbs cream and some veggies I love, and it worked just perfectly, at least I could be less desperate about vegan pizzas.

Bean Soup. A family favorite. I can remember in details those rainy nights when mom made soup with the beans she had cooked for lunch, always so comfy and oh-so-good. The original version is already vegan-friendly so I just enhenced it a little with my favorite aromatics and fresh chives on top, let me say that's a great twist to it.

Fabulous French Toast. From fabulous 'How it All Vegan' that you can see in the pic. Kramer and Tanya did a good job on this one. The recipe has got soy milk, flour, psyllium husks (I'm in love with those), cinnamon and sweetener, really easy to do. I garnished it with banana, more cinnamon and molasses, AWESOME.

Marinaded Tofu, The Revenge. I have tried this recipe a few times and it's definetely too good to be true. Marinade the tofu in this sauce made of soy sauce, garlic, olive oil, sweet paprika and some sea salt. Stir-fry it with a splash of olive oil and it's done really, eating along with toasts and fresh basil is extra special. That's a great way of cooking tofu, takes yummy to the next level.

Rainbow Salad with Nasty Mustard Dressing. My cousine Tainá decided to drop by a few days ago and I always like to cook her some good stuff, so I ended up creating this colorful and flavorful salad. Fresh lettuce, yellow and red pepper, raisins, carrots, pears and cucumber. That's a refreshing salad, and with that mustard dressing, oh-my-god! The dressing is made of yellow mustard, molasses, white pepper and a pinch of sea salt, my dad loved it, and so did I.

New Year Work Out's

2007-01-21T23:25:00.000-04:00

Okay, first post of 2007. My lazy ass and computer were not really into posting anything really, but that does not mean I haven't been cooking, hell no nigga! Here there's a pic of me acting silly and eating my gorgeous cake at xmas nite, big hit I must say.
So here there are some of the stuff I've been working on lately.
Oh, before I forget, my fabulous book finally arrived, "How it all Vegan" by Sarah Kramer and her buddy Tanya, with loads of interesting recipes I'm dying to try out. I already made some faux feta and it is great. Can't fucking wait to try those cakes out, ouch.

Indian Daydream. Ok, save me cos' that was good! All those rich spices worked perfectly. Curry, cumin and chilli, combined with fresh vegetables, such as spinach, small potatoes, fresh tomatoes, red onions, garlic, red peppers, watch out cos' that's fantastic. Oh yeah, loads of olive oil, it's good for the heart.

Split Peas with Wakame. Got this recipe from Vesanto Melina's book, in the recipe section. It's a nice comfy soup, but next time I'll go easy on the wakame seaweed. Oh, gorgeous crispy croutons on top with a splash of olive oil.

As some of you may know, I started baking like crazy, trying out different recipes from Kramer and other cooks, so a while ago my friend Luzia asked me if I could bake her a chocolate cake for her bday, so I came up with this delicious chocolate cake, who's called now Vegan Delight. So the first pic is the try out and the second is the cake I sold her, apparently it tasted great. Ok, I'll start taking orders ;)

That's Tati, my great beautiful dog, tho she does not live with me anymore we're still in touch, as in the pic when she came to pay me a visit while dad and mom were fooling around somewhere else. I love her with all my heart. Bye

Christmas Supper

2006-12-28T03:25:00.000-04:00

Ok, I finally got my lazy ass to post the x-mas dinner special. This year's special nite was hosted at grandma Dora, nice family treats. I didn't get to cook everything I wanted cos' let me tell you sth about cooking veg food at the same time with dead seafood all over the place, it's hard! So, there you go.

Tofu Supper. I got this portuguese recipe from this old e-book I own. Firstly, you cook the small potatoes and onions in the oven for about an hour, give a light punch to each potatoe (after it cooled, important detail) and set them on the bottom of a glass bowl, chop the cooked onions, sprinkle fresh parsley, olive oil, chopped black olives, salt and cover it up, letting it rest for a few minutes. Then, add a layer of braised cabbage with garlic, and after marinating the tofu for two to three hours with this mix of soy sauce, diced garlic and olive oil, grill the marinated slices and put it on top, sprinkling some chopped walnuts and more fresh parsley. My big uncle loved it, definetely a hit, even tho it got placed around all those dead animals.

Festive Whole Rice. The big star! This saturday I went to this health-food store downtown with my friend Mariah and got all these nasty nuts and colorful raisins so I could make this dreamy rice come true. I used this whole grain rice so it got a bit more nutritious than rice usually is in x-mas suppers. I firstly roasted some peanuts and hazelnuts in hot olive oil, added white and black soaked raisins and chopped green olives. I cooked the rice normally and then combined the two things, always sprinkling fresh parsley.

Cinnamon-Chocolate Nutty Cake. So I enhenced a little bit the Kramer's recipe, reduced the amount of ginger, added cocoa powder to the mixture and used brazil nuts as well. I decided to do the topping aside, so I created this nice smooth topping firstly blending some soft tofu and about 2 tbsp. of organic sugar, then adding some vegan chocolate melted, added a tsp. of apple cider vinegar and that's it. The cake was also a hit, and that topping, oh dear vegan god!

I know, I'm still to do the vegan Rabanadas and the dutch recipe I got from my dear friend Fiona, the notorious Olliebollens (I hope I spelled that correctly). I hope I get enough courage to try those and others for the new year's party.

Have a nice Christmas you lazy folks, peace and love to u all.
Muita paz e muito axé.

B4 x-mas x-vegano Special!

2006-12-22T23:58:00.000-04:00

To celebrate the few days left before x-mas nite, I've decided to do this x-vegano special, with this old recipe I never got to post and other sweets. I had my last exam from uni today so I can focuss a 100% on wot to put on the table to my angry family omnivors sth completely cruelty-free, and that's a tiring essay I must say.

Let's begin with the oldies!
Yummy lasagna with crazy faux-cheese. That was a hit! Got tenners from everyone that tasted. Because I live in this completely non-vegan country, we have no fake cheese whatsoever, so I combined some ingredients that turned out to be quite cheesy. Made cheese and soy meat layers. Good to go with ketchup! Ha!

Babka Dreams. I know I know, I did post the babka, but I just thought this pic was way too cool to not show ya... you can notice the uneveness of the muffins , hahaha that's how unexperienced I am with baking. But it doesn't matter, the most delicious thing I've ever tasted in vegan sweets, I hope I get to repeat it, but it's just so much work, one day, one day.

Now the ones I've done recently.
Cinnamon Salad. One word, refreshing. Normally I use this nice soy sauce, paprika, sprinkle of sugar and dried herbs sauce to eat with my salads... but not this time, I got a little carried away and added some cinnamon to it, and the result was fabulous. Let's call it Cinnamon Salad for now on. Refressshhhhhin'. Oh, I used this really easy pickle recipe from Veginity in this one too.

Groovy "Chicken". There I was trying this new soy beef-shaped out, decided to do this rich curry-paprika seasoning and the result is wot I like to call veganlicious. You guys can notice how addicted to onions I am now.

Whole wheat Shimeji Pancakes. Ok, my vegan pancakes try-outs were always a disaster, so this time I got a recipe that actually worked, let me tell you sth, those lineseeds work magically! For the filling, I didn't want to go wrong, so I prepared the shimeji mushrooms I adore so much once again. I actually added some fresh parsley to the pancake dough, yummy recipe that gives me loads of nasty ideas.

Now that I can relax and simply wait for my "How it all Vegan" by Kramer to arrive and watch Six Feet Under (I got the second season, finally), I'll have plenty of time to think about wot to cook. You guys will have a nice surprise after x-mas, that's for sure.
And to finish this b4 x-mas x-vegano special, this nice pic of me and my mom, with my stily dad on the right. She's an omnivor, but has got the veggie soul (Love)(Love)(Love).
Happy Christmas Everyone!
Feliz Natal pra todos!

5 minute Roasted Red Pepper Pesto and Pasta

2006-12-19T22:47:00.000-04:00

Another Kramer's recipe (told you I was a huge fan). When I firstly saw it on her site I got instantly interested and was looking forward to cook it cos' I really miss pesto from my ovo-lacto times. I must admit I got carried away with basil just a tiny bit, I'm definetely a basil lover, so it got a little too rich, but even so the recipe is really tasty and from wot I can remember, really similar to wot pesto is. Next time I'll add some soft tofu to the mixture and control myself a little more with the fresh herbs of the recipe.
It turns out that the cake was a HUGE success and everyone is asking me to bake it again for x-mas dinner, I'm even thinking about selling it to the friendly-vegans in my city cos' they are all hungry bitches. I give the pesto recipe a 9, because it has got some real potential, and the veggie jesus said it was yummy!

Mini-Frittatas and Patatoes Calientes

2006-12-17T17:06:00.000-04:00

For lunch today I decided to make eggplant mini-frittatas and potatoes with chilli. The frittata recipe I got from this groovy lady on youtube, watch it here. For each eggplant I used 1tbsp. of cornmeal, don't forget to let the eggplant cool, after cooking it in salty water, for a few minutes before adding it, combined with the fried red bell peppers and garlic, and finally formed the disks in the frying pan, tipping over several times so it gets crispy.
The potatoes are the easiest thing to do, I used two unpeeled potatoes nicely washed, cooked it in salty water then took it to the frying pan with garlic, chilli and some herbs. I give it a 9.

Maureen's Coffee Cake

2006-12-17T05:57:00.000-04:00

Yep, I've decided to give baking cakes another try with my dear yeast-assistant, who pretty much made me do it all alone this time, so I got this nice recipe from Sarah Kramer's website: Go Vegan Dot Net, it is also on my links section under the profile (I'm a huge Kramer's fan, HUGE!).
That's a really easy recipe, the only problem for me was to find those ingredients, and after that everything was pretty much done. The baking process turned out to be quite easy, so I decided to pimp it up just a bit, so I've came up with this chocolate-tofu topping that worked well, sprinkled chopped walnuts on top and added some papaya on the sides.
The dough was reeeeeally light and pretty much as good as it seems, promise you that! No personal avaluations, today my mom graded me and she gave it a 10, and she's a picky omnivor, the kind that does not believe in eggless cakes!

Dreamy Noodles

2006-12-14T01:20:00.000-04:00

Ok, I've decided to combine the three things I like the most in food, wich would basically be: pasta, garlic and hon-shimeji mushrooms... So, I did this really easy-to-cook recipe combining those three items. Firstly, cook the noodles and add some fried garlic to it, set aside, then slightly fry the shimeji mushrooms in a little bit of hot olive oil and just to finish it add one or two tbsp. of soy sauce. That's a 10!
The secret about this type of mushroom is to, after cleaning it with cold water, let it rest in warm water for several minutes, then dry it nicely and fry with the hot olive oil, and of course, don't forget to season it with salt and black peppers, although I know u guys are excellent chefs and would not forget that important detail.
I know it would turn out great too if I added some chilli, sesame seeds or even brazilian nuts to it, but I had just got back from the uni and I was damn lazy. And for dessert, Chocosoy Barra Crispies from Olvebra, I like the crispies better even tho I can eat those bars in two seconds.

The Tasty Eggplant

2006-12-11T23:43:00.000-04:00

Yo! Cos' it's near xmas and I had the ingredients I cooked today this improved-version of this recipe from the Yuh Pih Yueh's book "The New Era of Vegetarian Food", Tasty Eggplant. I added red bell and green peppers, spiced a bit with chilli, cumin and sprinkled sesame seeds. Really tasty han, I give it a 9.
My aunt was around and she made this simple and really yummy recipe of meatless feijoada and mashed potatoe with fresh parsley. Goo-hood.
Even though I'm an atheist I love Christmas time, such a joyful time although it doesn't get any colder in here, hehehe.
Game time. Ok, I just love this Zoo Keeper little funny game, so fuckin' addictive... have fun, and that's it for now.

What's Up eggplants?

2006-12-10T14:30:00.000-04:00

Hello sunshine! It's been a "while" since my last entry here.
Much has changed about my vegan chef skills and knowledge, let's just say now I can bake Vegan Chocolate Babka's and other vegan delights HAHAHA! So, to restart posting here I'm showing you guys this deliciousness called Babka I baked with the help of my dear friend Juliane, the yeast-assistant.
I got this recipe from the groovy Vegan Lunch Box by Jennifershmoo, this blog has been my inspiration for a long time and that lady rocks my world, can't wait to put my hands on her book. I made the babka in this cake pan cos' my mom kinda lost our bread pan, and I also baked a few muffins wich kinda got burned on top, no worries, it was THE SHIT even so.
And just to celebrate my return, there's a pic of me eating at this excellent vegan restaurant back in Rio called Beterraba, sorry, but no link this time.
As you can see, my entries will no longer be in portuguese/english cos' it's just too much work and I intend to keep on updating as much as I can, so I have to make it a little more practical, I'm sorry guys but online my english-speaking friends are the big majority.

Acelga e soja / Chard and soymeat

2006-05-03T19:50:00.000-04:00

Bem, estive doente esses dias então não tive como postar, mas mesmo doente tive que preparar algo pra comer, então aproveitei pra tirar uma foto para futaramente postar no x-vegano. Um mini-ensopado de acelga, carne de soja com pimentão vermelho e ,é claro, arroz! O mini-ensopado foi ensinado pelo meu pai e é realmente fácil de fazer. Corte várias folhas de acelga japonesa em pedaços grandes e coloque-as numa panela com um pouco de água e shoyu, deixe a acelga murchar e então ponha um pouco de sal se necessário, e pronto! Bem gostoso e nutritivo. Nota 8! Well, I've been ill these days so that's why I couldn't post, but even when I'm sick I do have to cook something for myself, so I just took a picture to post here whenever I got better. A chard mini-stew, soymeat with pepper and of course, rice! The mini-stew was tought by my father and it really is easy to do. Cut some japanese chard leafs roughly and put them in a pan with water and soy sauce, let the chard shrivel and then add some salt if necessary, it's done! Really tasty and nutritious. An 8!

Sopa de tomate e veganese! / Tomato soup and Veganaise!

2006-04-29T01:41:00.000-04:00

Andei preocupado nesses dias com a minha dieta, pois vendo as postagens anteriores percebi que andei comendo muita soja, e como tudo em exagero faz mal decidi variar um pouco e fazer uma sopa de tomate bem temperada. Primeiro refoguei cebola e alho no azeite, depois fui adicionando vários temperos diferentes, como páprica e pimenta-do-reino, adicionei o suco de tomate, um pouco de sal e mais temperos pra finalizar, dentro de 10-20 mins está pronto! Bem gostoso! Nota 9! I've been a little worried these days about my diet, after seeing some previous posts I noticed I've been eating too much soy, so I chose to vary a little by doing this well spiced tomato soup. Firstly I braised onions and garlic in olive oil, then added different condiments, such as paprica and pepper, added the fresh tomato juice, salt and some more spices, within 10-20 mins it's done! Really yummy, a 9!

Hoje foi definitivamente um dia cansativo e atarefado para mim, mas tudo valeu a pena pois almocei num restaurante vegetariano muito bom! Quase 90% dos pratos eram completamente veganos, então fiquei ainda mais satisfeito. Comi um prato maravilhoso de glúten com maionese caseira (feita à base de cenoura) e uvas-passas que não pude acreditar! Então, consegui pegar a receita da bendita e aqui vai a minha primeira tentativa de maionese vegana caseira, que achei que ficou ótima pra primeira tentativa, nota 8, porque estava querendo muito comer maionese de novo! Sei que está um pouco parecido com mostarda, mas a veganese é uma ótima substituta pra maioneses comuns! Today was definetely a tiring and busy day for me, but it was all worth while because I had lunch in this marvelous veggie restaurant! Almost 90% of the dishes were completely vegan, so I got even more satisfied. I ate this marvelous dish made of gluten with this veganaise (carrot based) and raisins that I could not believe in! So, I got the recipe of it and here goes my first attempt with this home made vegan mayonnaise, that I believed has turned out pretty decent for a try out, an 8, just because I really missed eating it! I know that it's a little mustard-like, but the veganaise is an excellent egg-based mayonnaise replacer!

Salada e açaí! / Salad and açaí!

2006-04-27T11:55:00.000-04:00

Bem, faz tempo que eu não como uma boa salada, então hoje aproveitei que estava com muita preguiça pra cozinhar qualquer coisa, então preparei esta salada rápida, porém bem gostosa e nutritiva. Depois de limpar bem os vegetais, cortei alguns tomates, mini-cenouras, alface e algumas alcaparras, temperei com azeite (de praxe), sal e pimenta-do-reino. Bem gostoso e revigorante! Nota 8! Well, it's been a long time since I don't eat a nice salad, so today I decided to make one cos I was so lazy to cook anything, I prepared a very good, nutritious and easy-to-do salad. After cleaning the vegetables really nicely, I cut some tomatoes, mini-carrots, lettuce and a few capers, tempered with olive oil (as usual), salt and pepper. Really good and revigorating! Score 8!

E pra sobremesa, açaí! Com um pouco de tapioca grossa. Essa fruta local que eu tanto amo. O consumo de açaí vem desde os tempos antigos pré-coloniais, em que os índios de toda a Amazônia já extraíam a fruta e dela faziam um suco nutritivo e muito calórico. Para maiores informações clique aqui. And for dessert, açaí! With a little bit of thick tapioca. This local fruit that I adore so much. The consumption of açaí comes from the ancient times before colonialism, where indians from all the Amazon already extracted the fruit and made a very nutritive and caloric juice. For more info click here.

Tapioca doce! / Sweet tapioca!

2006-04-25T19:23:00.000-04:00

Atendendo a pedidos, o x-vegano publica agora, a primeira receita doce, que como todas as outras é hiper fácil de se realizar. Usei farinha de mandioca (que na minha região chama-se de tapioca) e doce de leite sem lactose. Numa frigideira grande coloque a tapioca formando um disco e espere a massa ligar e depois vire-a, adicionando o doce de leite e dobrando. Realmente delicioso!!! Nota 10 sem pensar duas vezes! Answering to some requests, x-vegano posts today the very first sweet recipe, that like the others is really easy to execut. I used cassava flour (tapioca in my region) and lactose-free condensed milk (made of soy milk). In a wide pan put the cassava flour forming a disk and wait until the dough bonds and then turn it upside down, adding the condensed milk and folding the dough. Really delicious!!! Score 10 without second thoughts!

Carne de Soja / Soy meat

2006-04-25T12:35:00.000-04:00

Carne de soja bem temperada sempre fica gostosa. E bem fácil de preparar também, neste caso eu fiz um prato de soja bem básico, hidratei por 5 mins, refoguei com cebola e tomate no azeite, adicionei molho shoyu e pronto, fica uma delícia! E se comer com arroz e batata palha fica melhor ainda, nota 9! Well-spiced soy meat always turns out delicious. And it's really easy to cook as well, in this recipe I did this really simple dish, hidrated for 5 mins, braised with onion and tomatoes in olive oil, added soy sauce and there you go, really yummy! And if you eat it with rice and potato cheaps it gets even better, I give it a 9!

Como podem ver, dei o pé na bunda do meu coelhinho antigo e fiquei com esse novo, nao costumo dar nomes a seres inanimados, se tiverem alguma sugestão é só gritar. As you can see, I ditched my old bunny and got to be with this new one, I'm not used to name things that do not move, if you have any suggestion just yell.

Shimeji! / Hon-Shimeji Mushroom!

2006-04-23T15:18:00.000-04:00

Hon-shimeji na manteiga costumava ser o meu prato favorito, mas desde que me tornei vegan venho fazendo esta receita com pouquíssimo azeite e molho shoyu e continua ficando delicioso! Não existe segredo algum para esta receita, este delicioso cogumelo pode ser frito no próprio óleo que libera quando aquecido, no caso deixei-o perder um pouco de água e entao adicione um pouco de molho shoyu, sal e azeite. Delícia! Nota 9! Buttered Hon-Shimeji used to be my favorite dish, but ever since I turned vegan I've been executing this recipe with a little bit of olive oil and soy sauce, and it still gets marvelous! There's no secret with this recipe, this wonderful mushroom can be fried in its own oil while it's being heated, let it lose some water and then add soy sauce, salt and olive oil. Delish! 9!

Como vocês podem ver, meu chocolate sem crueldade está quase acabado, meu querido amigo Thiago me visitou hoje para almoçar e para nós assistirmos à "A Carne é fraca", vídeo que mostra as crueldades cometidas pelos matadouros para que a carne que você come chegue até a sua mesa. Se quiserem uma cópia desse vídeo muito esclarecedor é só me falar, darei algum jeito para conseguir para todos. As you can see, my cruelty-free chocolates are almost done, my dear vegan friend Thiago came over to have lunch and watch "The meat is weak", a video that shows the cruelties committed by slaughterhouses so that the meat you eat gets on your table. If you want a copy of this very elucidative video just let me know, I'll manage to get you all copies.

Churras Vegano em três passos fáceis! / Vegan Barbecue in three easy steps!

2006-04-21T22:03:00.000-04:00

Sim! Sim! Sim! "Churrasco Vegano", são receitas que tirei do livro não-vegano Churrascos & Grelhados de Cecilia Norman, um livro bem antigo que achei jogado pelos cantos da minha casa. Esse livro tem várias dicas de vegetais para serem levados à grelha, e muitas opções que podem ser veganizadas. Aqui vão os três passos fáceis pra um churrasco vegano de sucesso!. Yes! Yes! Yes! Vegan Barbecue, these are recipes taken from the non-vegan book called Churrascos & Grelhados by Cecilia Norman, a very old book that I found lying around in my house's corner. This book contains many tips to make veggie barbecues, and many options that can be veganaised. Here you'll see three easy steps to make that successful vegan barbecue you want!

1. Usei shitakes frescos e cebolas, mas podem ser usados também muitos outros vegetais como batatas e beringelas. As cebolas são cortadas ao meio e temperadas unicamente com sal e pimenta-do-reino, já os shitakes são temperados com um molho à base de azeite, salsa picada, sal, um pouco suco de limão e pimenta-do-reino. I used fresh shitake mushrooms and onions, but many other vegetables can be used in this same recipe, such as potatoes and aubergine. The onions are cut in half and spiced with only salt and pepper, the fresh shitakes are tempered with a sauce made of olive oil, parsley, salt, some lemon juice and pepper.

2. Disponha os vegetais numa grelha e regue os shitakes com o molho. Tampe a grelha e deixe cozinhar por 20-30 minutos. Vire-os para grelhar os dois lados e depois sirva quente. Lay the vegetables in a grill and sprinkle the fresh shitake mushrooms with the sauce. If possible, cover the grill and let it cook for 20-30 mins. Remember to turn them around so that both sides get nicely cooked and then serve it hot.

3. E finalmente, coma tudo sem pensar duas vezes! Sempre uso azeite extra-virgem para temperar o prato já terminado, fica ainda mais gostoso (dica portuguesa para o X-vegano)! And finally, eat it all without second thoughts! I always use extra-virgin olive oil to tempere any dish, it gets even more delicious (a portuguese tip to the X-vegano)!

Esse é um dos pratos que mais gosto, e como sou um fã de cogumelos darei nota 10, porque é simplesmente delicioso, prove você também! This is one of my favorite dishs, as I'm a big mushroom fan I'll give it a 10, because it's simply delish, do it yourself!

Páscoa vegana e Lasanha! / Vegan Easter and Lasagna!

2006-04-21T15:10:00.000-04:00

Olá, esta é a minha primeira postagem neste meu blog de culinária vegana. Me chamo Gustavo, moro em Manaus, Brazil, e sou vegetariano há quase quatro anos e me tornei vegano há três meses, desde então tenho me empenhado mais na cozinha e tenho criado algumas receitas ou adaptado algumas que antes continham carne ou laticínios. Hello, this is my first post in my personal vegan culinary blog. My name is Gustavo, I live in Manaus, northern Brazil, and I've been a veggie for almost four years and became vegan about three months ago, since then I've put some hardwork in my kitchen and created some recipes or veganaised some that contained meat or dairy.

É Páscoa! Se você pensava que um vegano nao comia chocolates, está muito enganado! A verdade é que a maioria dos chocolates não continham leite, mas as grandes empresas como a Nestlé, que só prejudicam a economia local, invadiram o mercado com chocolates ao leite e desde então não se vêem mais chocolates sem lactose. Na imagem podemos ver o coelhinho da Páscoa que minha mãe me deu com a cesta repleta de chocolates sem crueldade (não está tão repleta, porque já comi vários, lol) . It's Easter! If you think a vegan can't eat chocolates, you're very wrong! The truth is that most chocolates were milk-free, but the big companies such as Nestlé, that can only harm local economy, have flooded the market with milk-based chocolates and ever since you can't see lactose-free chocolates that often. In the picture there's my Easter Bunny that my mom gave me with a nest loaded with cruelty-free chocolates (it's actually a bit empty, I ate a lot, lol).

Lasanha! Sim, sim! Veganos comem lasanha... Usei massa de lasanha sem ovos (a base de sêmola), tofu frito, carne de soja com ervilhas e tofu temperado com pimenta-do-reino e azeite em cima pra nao ficar muito seco. Ficou deliciosa! Nota 9, boa nota pra minha primeira experiência com lasanha vegana! Lasagna! Yeah, yeah! Vegans do eat lasagna... I used eggless lasagna dough, fried tofu, soy meat with peas and tofu tempered with pepper and olive oil sprinkled on top so it didn't get too dry. Delicious! I give it a 9, great score for a first lasagna experience!