Where the meat don't hang out...

HELP

So i tried making these cookie and they turn out flat. I have made them before with a friend and they were chunky and chewy, just right.

http://www.silksoymilk.com/AppetiteAppeal/RecipeDetail_Recipe.aspx?ID=83

Did you use the same kind of butter? Because easy spread type margarines will make your baking flat. The only other thing I can think of is that when you were adding your dry ingredents to the creamed mixture and or folding in the chocolate chips, your dough got over worked. It can't get too warm either before you put it in the oven or it won't turn out right.

cynfullov wrote:

Did you use the same kind of butter? Because easy spread type margarines will make your baking flat. The only other thing I can think of is that when you were adding your dry ingredents to the creamed mixture and or folding in the chocolate chips, your dough got over worked. It can't get too warm either before you put it in the oven or it won't turn out right.

oh I probably did over work the dough. That could be it b/c i used a stick of regular butter. Thank you!!!!

HEY!! It calls for :

[1 cup unsalted butter or organic shortening]

Your supposed to use regular butter, just not *spreadable* margarine.
There are margarines and then those specifically made and labled spreadable. Which using them would give you a flater oiler cookie. And I've also had way too many batches going at the same time before so I try to put the batches waiting to be baked in the frig. to chill them just a little. Not very good baking terms here, but it keeps them from getting to warm and mucky which in my experience makes come out flat & oilier. But, some people like them that way.

cynfullov wrote:

HEY!! It calls for :

[1 cup unsalted butter or organic shortening]

Your supposed to use regular butter, just not *spreadable* margarine.
There are margarines and then those specifically made and labled spreadable. Which using them would give you a flater oiler cookie. And I've also had way too many batches going at the same time before so I try to put the batches waiting to be baked in the frig. to chill them just a little. Not very good baking terms here, but it keeps them from getting to warm and mucky which in my experience makes come out flat & oilier. But, some people like them that way.

Flat and oily, that it exactly what happened. A stick of butter is regular butter right? I need to chill my batter before hand. This helped a lot, thanks

Yes, a stick of butter is regular butter. Not margarine.

I was probably confusing earlier. I'm sorry. Some people that I've known when you say "butter" they take that to mean margarine. Well they actually include that as butter. I should have asked if you had used real butter as the recipe called for or margarine when you had made them with your friend. Many cookie recipes are made with margarine and come out fantastic unless the *spreadable* type margarines are used.

* Fantastic, but not exactally thought to be very healthy for you because of the hydrogenated oils and so forth.

Why do the worst things for you have to taste so good!

Hey SPF -- yeah, that has happened to me too! (the flat cookie thing.) Cynfullov is right: it has only happened to me when the butter gets too warm, whether before or during mixing. Adding a little flour and putting the dough in the fridge will help -- won't completely solve it, but you'll get a less flat cookie.

And yeah, while I have baked with "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light" and gotten excellent results, I have baked with real butter and gotten perfect results. Sad but true.

That said, my friend swears that these lowfat cookies don't taste lowfat, and her office agreed:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1622526

RedAngel wrote:

Hey SPF -- yeah, that has happened to me too! (the flat cookie thing.) Cynfullov is right: it has only happened to me when the butter gets too warm, whether before or during mixing. Adding a little flour and putting the dough in the fridge will help -- won't completely solve it, but you'll get a less flat cookie.

And yeah, while I have baked with "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light" and gotten excellent results, I have baked with real butter and gotten perfect results. Sad but true.

That said, my friend swears that these lowfat cookies don't taste lowfat, and her office agreed:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1622526

oh cool recipe, but what is a good replacement for eggs??

^^ One tablespoon ground flaxseed meal mixed with 3 tablespoons warm water (let it sit for a minute), the total measurement being 1/4 cup, replaces one egg.

I haven't tried it myself -- but when I have cereal in the morning, I crush flaxseeds and add them to heated soymilk and pour that over it, and the flax does thicken the soymilk in a slightly egg-white-ish way.

You could also use Ener-G Egg Replacer, which is essentially potato starch, but your end result might be a little bit dry; your butter or oil might compensate for that though.

Also, mashed banana can work (it binds like an egg does), but the flavor is usually obvious. Which isn't bad if you're making banana bread or chocolate-banana cupcakes:
http://theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/recipe.php?RecipeID=279

Could anyone recommend a good vegetable cookbook? Not a vegetarian cookbook per se, but a book with basic vegetable recipes. I need to incorporate more veggies into my diet, but apart from steaming my carrots and broccoli, I am cluless about how to prepare them.

Diva: Try looking through a few Italian/Mediterranean cookbooks; there are usually some good vegetable prep ideas in there.

Also, I know you're not looking for vegetarian-specific recipes, but you'll find good ideas here too:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/

And this site is great for searching recipes by ingredient:
http://www.recipezaar.com/

And another good one:
http://www.cookinglight.com/

Yeah, generally search by the specific veggies you have in mind.

Best vegan brownies EVER!

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/6036/vegan-brownies.aspx

add some raisins or nuts or cherries mmmmmmmmmmmmm

La Diva Carlotta wrote:

Could anyone recommend a good vegetable cookbook? Not a vegetarian cookbook per se, but a book with basic vegetable recipes. I need to incorporate more veggies into my diet, but apart from steaming my carrots and broccoli, I am cluless about how to prepare them.

I only use cookbooks for sweets recipes, so I can't help much in way of actual recipes...

However, can offer a bit of advice...

I tend to either bake my veggies with herbs and olive oil (yum!) or stir fry them. Stir fry is great, and you don't really need a recipe for it persay... I generally just toss whatever I have in a pan with oil, spices, lemon juice, and some sort of sauce and cook it until the veggies are done. Put the veggies that take the most time to cook in first (cauliflower, broccoli, carrot) followed by things like snap peas, mushrooms, tofu, garlic, peppers, onion, and so fourth, and add sprouts, leafy veggies, spices, and sauces in at the end. It's pretty simple, very tasty, and very versatile. I pretty much live off of stir fry...

Synth wrote:

Best vegan brownies EVER!

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/6036/vegan-brownies.aspx

add some raisins or nuts or cherries mmmmmmmmmmmmm

Those look amazing, Synth!

I threw something together this weekend that actually turned out pretty well. Made some quinoa (followed the directions on the box) but added low-sodium veggie stock instead of water. Meanwhile, in a skillet, I sauteed (well, I guess I sauteed) some zucchini in a tiny bit of olive oil. Just flipped the little rounds until they looked kind of grilled and were tender all the way through. I put it in a bowl with the quinoa, and added some cut-up grape tomatoes and black olives, and stirred in a little dried basil (would have used fresh basil, but mine went bad) and black pepper. Didn't follow a recipe, but it was still yummy!

I thought about all you vegans when I seen this recipe .

Oh -- **awesome!** Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos are vegan!

http://www.veganessentials.com/catalog/spicy-sweet-chili-vegan-doritos.htm

Of course it's not health food (if I was after that I wouldn't get Doritos). But nondairy Doritos? Yay -- I can have them without taking a pill first!

^ YAY'S!

WANT but not set for release until Nov. 10.

So... for whatever reason, I found some health recipes and I was wondering how you all think it would turn out. I've never cooked vegan/vegi/health food before, so I'm not sure how it would turn out/taste based on reading the recipe alone....

Here's the main one I found that I have questions on:

Quote :

VEGAN CASSEROLE

* 5 russet potatoes, peeled
* 1 clove crushed garlic
* 1 stalk celery, chopped
* 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
* 8 whole black peppercorns
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 bay leaf
* 1 tablespoon light miso paste
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 3/4 cup diced red onion
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
* 1 pound firm tofu, crumbled
* 4 tablespoons hickory flavored barbecue sauce
* 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
* 1 tablespoon vegetarian chicken flavored gravy mix
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1 tablespoon tamari
* 1 cup fresh corn kernels
* 1 cup chopped spinach
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1/8 cup whole wheat pastry flour
* 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast (optional)
* 1 tablespoon vegetarian chicken flavored gravy mix
* 1 cube vegetable bouillon
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Peel and quarter potatoes. Place in a medium or large size pot with water to cover. Add garlic, celery, parsley, peppercorns, onion, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until potatoes are very tender.
3. To Make Filling: While potatoes are cooking, in a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil and saute onion and garlic. Saute for 1 minute over medium heat, then add mushrooms and saute for 2 minutes. Crumble tofu in chunks into the skillet and saute briefly, mixing well. Stir in barbecue sauce, yeast, gravy mix, thyme, paprika, and tamari. Mix well and saute, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes over medium heat.
4. Transfer potatoes from water to a large bowl, reserving 3 1/2 cups of the remaining stock. Add miso, oil, and 3/4 to 1 cup of the potato stock to the potatoes a little at a time, mashing potatoes as you add the stock. Add only enough water to moisten potatoes adequately. Do not over moisten, this potato mixture will be the crust covering of the casserole.
5. Add corn and spinach to filling mixture and mix well. Spoon filling into an oiled, shallow ovenproof casserole dish. Pat down with back of a large spoon. Spread potato crust evenly over filling, smoothing top with a spoon or spatula. Dust evenly with paprika. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until crust is golden.
6. While casserole bakes, prepare gravy. Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add flour and yeast, stir with a whisk over medium heat to form a paste. Slowly stir in 2 1/2 cups of reserved potato water, whisking as you stir to allow gravy to thicken. Stir in instant gravy mix and continue whisking until gravy is thick and smooth; add additional potato water, if necessary. Serve casserole with crust on the bottom and filling on top. Spoon gravy over top.

About two weeks ago I went back fully vegetarian... and quit smoking (again). My skin looks better already!

^^ Ah! Congrats!

Thanks!

Ooh... I was looking for veg Thanksgiving dishes so I googled "sage" and "portobellos" and found this recpie. Looks good! And somewhat adaptable, too. Put it together with a 3-bean salad for protein, and do sides of veggies and mashed potatoes, and this could be really nice. Maybe some sort of shroom gravy on top?

I may have just sussed out my Thanksgiving main dish; now to find one for the Fella.

^My thanksgiving main dish is going to be a tomato, mushroom and goat cheese quiche. I don't have the recipe at hand- it's at the parent's house back in the Austin area. We'll be having a big family meal but there will be 2 vegetarians there.

^^That sounds really good. I'll swap you my tomato basil tart recipe for your quiche recipe, if you like.