My Vegan Kitchen

I love to cook and my biggest food challenge is converting 'regular' recipes into vegan-friendly dishes. Several people lately have asked me what types of ingredients I use so I thought I'd do a quick post about things that I always keep on hand in my kitchen.

• bragg amino acids-Kinda like soy sauce but much lower and sodium and high in amino acid. Basic seasoning for main dishes and great on tofu.



• nutritional yeast -Comes in flakes or powder. I love this stuff. it is the base for my delicious vegan gravy as well as a key ingredient in spinach artichoke dip. If you want to make something creamier or cheesier this will do it . Plus high in protein and b vitamins.



• egg substitute- I prefer Ener-G Egg Replacer in food recipes and apple sauce in baked goods.



• tofu-I don't think soy is great for you, so I try to be conscious of the amount I consume. But tofu is the great vegetarian staple. I freeze the firm variety for dinner dishes and refrigerate cartons that I will use for scrambled tofu in the morning.



• coconut milk- Again adds cream and tasty excitement to most dishes. I love to do curried coconut vegetables.



• beans and rice-Make a pot on Sunday and you've got two plus nights of eating. Use leftovers to make patties. My favorites are black beans and black-eyed peas.


• oils-I use olive and sesame oil the most. Sesame add flavor to almost anything. Add olive oil, sea salt and rosemary to vegetables on a cookie sheet(my favorites are squash, zucchini and onions, roast and get ready for vegetable heaven!