Most of the recipes I've found for vegan/vegetarian dishes sound
really delicious but there's a slight problem. Most of them call for
ingredients that aren't even in the store, or if they are, are very
expensive.

Tempeh, for example. That's not in the grocery store, and I'm not even
sure where I would go to get that. I've never had it before so I'm not
sure I'd want to pay a lot of money just to find out I hated it.

Seitan (yeah, that can be made at home, but you have to track down the
right flour, and do everything right, etc.) Also I've never had it so
I'm not sure I'd want to pay a lot of money for it.

Ener-G egg replacer. That wasn't in the grocery store last time I
looked.

Soy flour (never seen that either).

The only tofu my store carries is firm.

Does anyone know of a web site I can go to that has recipes with
ingredients more like "All purpose white flour" that anyone can get a
hold of in a regular grocery store?

-Rubystars

(Rubystars) wrote in message . com>...
> Most of the recipes I've found for vegan/vegetarian dishes sound
> really delicious but there's a slight problem. Most of them call for
> ingredients that aren't even in the store, or if they are, are very
> expensive.
>
> Tempeh, for example. That's not in the grocery store, and I'm not even
> sure where I would go to get that. I've never had it before so I'm not
> sure I'd want to pay a lot of money just to find out I hated it.
>
> Seitan (yeah, that can be made at home, but you have to track down the
> right flour, and do everything right, etc.) Also I've never had it so
> I'm not sure I'd want to pay a lot of money for it.
>
> Ener-G egg replacer. That wasn't in the grocery store last time I
> looked.
>
> Soy flour (never seen that either).
>
> The only tofu my store carries is firm.
>
> Does anyone know of a web site I can go to that has recipes with
> ingredients more like "All purpose white flour" that anyone can get a
> hold of in a regular grocery store?
>
> -Rubystars


All of those 'hard to find ingredients' are actually readily available
on-line. Now that I live in a rural part of the world, I get most of
the specialty ingredients from on-line shops. I order a bunch of
different things at the same time and save on shipping. What may seem
expensive, may not be in the long run, if used for several dishes.

You can make seiten from ordinary flour you find in a supermarket. You
can make your own tempeh from soy beans. You can use a mashed banana
or mashed tofu for egg replacement in baking. Firm tofu is the most
versatile, and if its the stuff in the box, would work well for any
'silken tofu' recipe.

If you email me what part of the world you are in I'll help you source
out these ingredients locally or work on some alternatives. If I can
get the stuff where I live I'll bet you it'll be far easier to get
these things where you live.

(MrFalafel) wrote in message . com>...
> (Rubystars) wrote in message . com>...
> All of those 'hard to find ingredients' are actually readily available
> on-line. Now that I live in a rural part of the world, I get most of
> the specialty ingredients from on-line shops. I order a bunch of
> different things at the same time and save on shipping. What may seem
> expensive, may not be in the long run, if used for several dishes.

That's true, it could even out.

> You can make seiten from ordinary flour you find in a supermarket. You
> can make your own tempeh from soy beans. You can use a mashed banana
> or mashed tofu for egg replacement in baking. Firm tofu is the most
> versatile, and if its the stuff in the box, would work well for any
> 'silken tofu' recipe.

Yeah the tofu I can get at the store is Mori Nu firm. The only other
kind they have are some cubes floating in water and that doesn't look
appetizing, but I've used the mori nu kind a lot in different things
and I like that kind.

I'm glad that it's the most versatile type though. That's probably why
they only carry that one.


> If you email me what part of the world you are in I'll help you source
> out these ingredients locally or work on some alternatives. If I can
> get the stuff where I live I'll bet you it'll be far easier to get
> these things where you live.

I live in Houston, Texas. Most of the people out here are really
heavily into meat eating and would laugh at the idea of anyone trying
to "cut back." Unless cutting back meant eating more chicken and fish
and less beef and pork. *L*

So the grocery stores don't have a lot of vegetarian type foods, but
since Houston is a more international city we've gotten a lot of
people from India and Mexico that live here now and so there are
sections of the stores that cater to them more. Still not very large,
but there's some things there. The health food stores and specialty
shops are overpriced a lot of times though (Maybe because we're in TX,
not California, so they have a limited customer base), so that's why I
like to stick to the grocery store.

It was a good idea to look online for these things. I might try to get
some of them that way, just to see if I like them.

-Rubystars

Try Whole Foods. I get a lot of what some would consider "health food"
at the local Whole Foods (I'm in Raleigh NC), and it's not as expensive
as you might think...

According to their website, there are 4 in Houston:

1: 4004 Bellaire Blvd.
West University Place
Houston, TX 77025
713.667.4090
713.667.4013 fax
Store hours: 8:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

2: 2955 Kirby Dr.
Houston, TX 77098
713.520.1937
713.526.4376 fax
Store hours: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

3: 6401 Woodway #149
Houston, TX 77057
713.789.4477
713.789.9419 fax
store email
Store hours: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.

4: 11145 Westheimer Road
Houston, TX 77042
713.784.7776
713.954.3768 fax
store email
Store hours: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

If any of these are close, take a trip and see what they've got.

Ben

Rubystars wrote:

>
>
> I live in Houston, Texas. Most of the people out here are really
> heavily into meat eating and would laugh at the idea of anyone trying
> to "cut back." Unless cutting back meant eating more chicken and fish
> and less beef and pork. *L*
>
> So the grocery stores don't have a lot of vegetarian type foods, but
> since Houston is a more international city we've gotten a lot of
> people from India and Mexico that live here now and so there are
> sections of the stores that cater to them more. Still not very large,
> but there's some things there. The health food stores and specialty
> shops are overpriced a lot of times though (Maybe because we're in TX,
> not California, so they have a limited customer base), so that's why I
> like to stick to the grocery store.
>
> It was a good idea to look online for these things. I might try to get
> some of them that way, just to see if I like them.
>
> -Rubystars

On 9 Nov 2003 09:18:17 -0800, (Rubystars)
wrote:

>Most of the recipes I've found for vegan/vegetarian dishes sound
>really delicious but there's a slight problem. Most of them call for
>ingredients that aren't even in the store, or if they are, are very
>expensive.
>
>Tempeh, for example. That's not in the grocery store, and I'm not even
>sure where I would go to get that. I've never had it before so I'm not
>sure I'd want to pay a lot of money just to find out I hated it.
>
>Seitan (yeah, that can be made at home, but you have to track down the
>right flour, and do everything right, etc.) Also I've never had it so
>I'm not sure I'd want to pay a lot of money for it.
>
>Ener-G egg replacer. That wasn't in the grocery store last time I
>looked.
>
>Soy flour (never seen that either).
>
>The only tofu my store carries is firm.
>
>Does anyone know of a web site I can go to that has recipes with
>ingredients more like "All purpose white flour" that anyone can get a
>hold of in a regular grocery store?
>
>-Rubystars


I'm so thankful I live near downtown Austin. I have a co-op and a
local grocery within walking distance that carry all of this kind of
thing and more. In 5 minutes drive, I have 2 more large supermarkets
(one 24-hour) that have lots of space dedicated to ethical, organic,
and otherwise "weird" foods. I get tempeh in the produce section of
2 of them, and the vegetarian-specific cooler case of the other 2.

Or, I can head over to the 24-hour Kerby Lane restaurant (that uses
only locally grown produce, mostly from their own farm) and get a big
hummus and tabuleh plate for a few bucks. It'll likely be served to
me by a person with unnaturally colored hair and holes in his/her ears
that you could run a dowel rod through. Great conversationalists,
when they're not obviously baked into oblivion.

Austin is good. I like it here. *sigh* :-)
-Vioxel

pamitySpam
Just remove all the spam and such.

(Rubystars) wrote in message . com>...
> (MrFalafel) wrote in message . com>...
> > (Rubystars) wrote in message . com>...
> > All of those 'hard to find ingredients' are actually readily available
> > on-line. Now that I live in a rural part of the world, I get most of
> > the specialty ingredients from on-line shops. I order a bunch of
> > different things at the same time and save on shipping. What may seem
> > expensive, may not be in the long run, if used for several dishes.
>
> That's true, it could even out.
>
> > You can make seiten from ordinary flour you find in a supermarket. You
> > can make your own tempeh from soy beans. You can use a mashed banana
> > or mashed tofu for egg replacement in baking. Firm tofu is the most
> > versatile, and if its the stuff in the box, would work well for any
> > 'silken tofu' recipe.
>
> Yeah the tofu I can get at the store is Mori Nu firm. The only other
> kind they have are some cubes floating in water and that doesn't look
> appetizing, but I've used the mori nu kind a lot in different things
> and I like that kind.
>
> I'm glad that it's the most versatile type though. That's probably why
> they only carry that one.
>
>
> > If you email me what part of the world you are in I'll help you source
> > out these ingredients locally or work on some alternatives. If I can
> > get the stuff where I live I'll bet you it'll be far easier to get
> > these things where you live.
>
> I live in Houston, Texas. Most of the people out here are really
> heavily into meat eating and would laugh at the idea of anyone trying
> to "cut back." Unless cutting back meant eating more chicken and fish
> and less beef and pork. *L*
>
> So the grocery stores don't have a lot of vegetarian type foods, but
> since Houston is a more international city we've gotten a lot of
> people from India and Mexico that live here now and so there are
> sections of the stores that cater to them more. Still not very large,
> but there's some things there. The health food stores and specialty
> shops are overpriced a lot of times though (Maybe because we're in TX,
> not California, so they have a limited customer base), so that's why I
> like to stick to the grocery store.
>
> It was a good idea to look online for these things. I might try to get
> some of them that way, just to see if I like them.
>
> -Rubystars

Perhaps a conversation with the Houston Vegetarian Society would get
you some good information? Their website lists 'veggie friendly food
shops' he http://www.vshouston.org/markets.htm. International food
stores are sometimes cheaper than supermarkets on many items.

Once you find where to get these different food items you may find
yourself going to supermarkets less and less. I've always found
supermarkets to be more expensive than green grocers and certain
specialty stores.

(MrFalafel) wrote in message
<snip>
>Perhaps a conversation with the Houston Vegetarian Society would get
> you some good information? Their website lists 'veggie friendly food
> shops' he http://www.vshouston.org/markets.htm. International food
> stores are sometimes cheaper than supermarkets on many items.
>
> Once you find where to get these different food items you may find
> yourself going to supermarkets less and less. I've always found
> supermarkets to be more expensive than green grocers and certain
> specialty stores.

Thanks Mr. Falafel!

-Rubystars

Vioxel > wrote in message >. ..
> I'm so thankful I live near downtown Austin. I have a co-op and a
> local grocery within walking distance that carry all of this kind of
> thing and more. In 5 minutes drive, I have 2 more large supermarkets
> (one 24-hour) that have lots of space dedicated to ethical, organic,
> and otherwise "weird" foods. I get tempeh in the produce section of
> 2 of them, and the vegetarian-specific cooler case of the other 2.

Neat.

> Or, I can head over to the 24-hour Kerby Lane restaurant (that uses
> only locally grown produce, mostly from their own farm) and get a big
> hummus and tabuleh plate for a few bucks. It'll likely be served to
> me by a person with unnaturally colored hair and holes in his/her ears
> that you could run a dowel rod through. Great conversationalists,
> when they're not obviously baked into oblivion.

I wonder if they consider being baked out of their mind healthy? Of
course, it must be fun to go there.

-Rubystars

Is there any natural food store in your city ?
Thats the place to go to get good products and informations ,and usually if
they dont have the product you're looking for .. well .. they 'll order it
in no time

Plus , personnally ,I try to give my money to small and independent family
owned stores .They care more about what theyre selling than big corporate
supermarkets!! I hate those *******s!!


"Rubystars" > a écrit dans le message de news:
...
> Most of the recipes I've found for vegan/vegetarian dishes sound
> really delicious but there's a slight problem. Most of them call for
> ingredients that aren't even in the store, or if they are, are very
> expensive.
>
> Tempeh, for example. That's not in the grocery store, and I'm not even
> sure where I would go to get that. I've never had it before so I'm not
> sure I'd want to pay a lot of money just to find out I hated it.
>
> Seitan (yeah, that can be made at home, but you have to track down the
> right flour, and do everything right, etc.) Also I've never had it so
> I'm not sure I'd want to pay a lot of money for it.
>
> Ener-G egg replacer. That wasn't in the grocery store last time I
> looked.
>
> Soy flour (never seen that either).
>
> The only tofu my store carries is firm.
>
> Does anyone know of a web site I can go to that has recipes with
> ingredients more like "All purpose white flour" that anyone can get a
> hold of in a regular grocery store?
>
> -Rubystars

FRANCOIS DEMERS wrote:
> Is there any natural food store in your city ?
> Thats the place to go to get good products and informations ,and usually if
> they dont have the product you're looking for .. well .. they 'll order it
> in no time
>
> Plus , personnally ,I try to give my money to small and independent family
> owned stores .They care more about what theyre selling than big corporate
> supermarkets!! I hate those *******s!!

The supermarket where she usually shops happens to be family-owned. It's
not a small store (or chain), though. That chain is very responsive to
consumers and they also care about what they sell despite being such a
large chain. I'm sure you'd hate HEB anyway just because they turn a profit.

usual suspect > wrote in message >. ..
>
> The supermarket where she usually shops happens to be family-owned. It's
> not a small store (or chain), though. That chain is very responsive to
> consumers and they also care about what they sell despite being such a
> large chain. I'm sure you'd hate HEB anyway just because they turn a profit.

I know I've said they don't carry a lot of things I'd like to try but
they do carry a lot of ethnic foods and different types of produce
that I've been enjoying.

-Rubystars

> Tempeh, for example. That's not in the grocery store, and I'm not even
> sure where I would go to get that. I've never had it before so I'm not
> sure I'd want to pay a lot of money just to find out I hated it.

Tempeh is very nice, especially if it's fresh and home made.
Intructions can be found he http://www.tempeh.info