TVP - funny (low fat vegan) stuff!! To Sparrow

June 24, 2008

Hi Sparrow,My comments are interspersed and marked with --->:--- On Tue, 6/24/08, Sparrow R Jones <sparrowrose wrote:Sparrow R Jones <sparrowroseRe: TVP - funny (low fat vegan) stuff!! Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2008, 9:34 AM

On 6/24/08, Beatriz <searchingalight@ > wrote:

>

> I don't know how you prepare tvp.

I followed the package directions . . .

> But if you soak it in hot water for a few minutes; rinse it

> thoroughly until the water comes clear and then squeeze it

> so all the water comes out.

.. . . which said nothing about rinsing and squeezing. Just soaking in

hot water until hydrated.

---> I found that out by myself: Good old-fashioned trial and error. The rinsing removes that unpleasant chemical aftertaste. TVP is very absorbant. By squeezing the water out, you are making space for the sauce or seasoning to be absorbed. Sauce tastes better than tap-water, lol. IMHO, the results are much better, but your tastes may differ.

The aforementioned sloppy joe recipe from the DVD has the preparer

throwing the dried, unsoaked, unrinsed, unsqueezed granules right into

the pot.

---> Yes, sure I used to do that, too and it would taste just like cardboard.

> I served a vegan version of spaghetti a la carbonara to my very

> picky non-veg sister and she said that if I hadnt told her it was

> tvp, she wouldnt have noticed.

Doesn't carbonara use fatty pork, not beef crumbles? And how could you

substitute the cheese effectively in a vegan manner? I'm sure I would

have noticed that it wasn't really pasta carbonara (though it probably

tasted excellent.)---> OK, honey, my mistake! Let me rephrase that: I served a vegan tomato-sauce with tvp over spaghetti to my very picky non-veg sister and she said that if I hadnt told her, she wouldnt have noticed there wasnt meat in it. Regarding cheese, I havent found a good substitute for that, yet. Sorry, for not being able to be of help with that. I just go without and don't even miss it if the tomato-sauce is tasty enough.Cheers, Beatriz