hipsterhousewife's Profile

I'm moderately lactose intolerant, so while I can tolerate small amounts of aged cheese, as well as sheep's/goat's milk, I've become quite enamored of subbing avocado for cheese on things like sandwiches and chili-- you get the creaminess and the fat with none of the pesky milk sugars.

As far as baking, non-dairy milks and oil can usually be subbed passably for milk and butter, but it may take some experimenting to come up with the right consistency and flavor. I'll echo the sentiment: Don't be afraid of vegan/gluten-free baking! I love dairy, eggs and wheat, and eat all of them to some degree, but find that Whole Foods' vegan donuts blow their dairy-and-egg counterparts out of the water... and almond flour has totally won me over as a wheat flour replacement (for pancakes, waffles, cakes and muffins in particular).

Do you think the bag would hold a one-dozen egg carton securely? Eggs are always the thing that trip up my canvas bag plans...

I use an old CD/DVD tower with a couple of the shelves removed-- I have a tray that fits perfectly on the top for holding two wine glasses, two cordial glasses, shakers, jiggers, etc., and liquors and wines get stored on the three shelves. We have a very small collection (mostly made up of wine, sherry, port and brandy), so it's plenty sufficient for us.

@sewtrashy-- In that milk/cream/any dairy product naturally contains fat, it is. Full-fat dairy is closer to its natural form than non-fat. I might not go so far as to call non-fat yogurt fake food, but I won't generally eat it (full-fat fage tzatziki sitting in my fridge right now!).

Smoore-- how are you handling the butter when you make cookies? My husband melts his, and so the cookies spread in the oven, but I just soften mine slightly and cream it with the sugar, and I'll put the bowl of dough in the fridge if it's ready before the oven is. Same idea as freezing, but more instantly gratifying than if you have to freeze the dough before you can bake it.

I've made a very similar salad with segmented red grapefruit, and it works fabulously. Citrus + pistachios + feta = salad heaven. I'll usually segment over a bowl to catch all the juice, then just mix that with olive oil for my vinaigrette, but I'm liking the idea of marinating red onion with the citrus... and cumin? Mmm.

I'm sure you're being sarcastic, screamadonna, but avocado would probably do really well-- some of us who missed the 70s the first time around (and some who were there, for that matter) dream of avocado refrigerators and fight each other for stray harvest gold dishes at Goodwill. This has me considering buying a dutch oven (especially with the black enamel interior? Swoon).

I usually buy the smallest grapefruits I can find (the size of a medium-large orange), so those are easy to segment the traditional way. I could definitely see cutting in half for some of the larger varieties, though.

I use my chef's knife and cup the fruit in my left hand, over a bowl, as I cut with my right. I squeeze all the juice out, since I'm usually prepping a salad when I cut my grapefruit this way (grapefruit and raw pistachios has become a favorite salad combination in my house, cheese optional).

Guys, you don't need to defend tofu and seitan. For one thing, each is based on a common allergen (soy and wheat/gluten, respectively), which is good enough reason to avoid them for some people. They also are both pretty processed, which is another reason. And some people just don't like them. It's okay.

That said, I've found it difficult to find too many whole food vegan recipes. A good rule for winging it is to think about your three main protein groups-- grains, legumes and nuts/seeds-- and try to work at least two, if not all three, of those groups into each meal. (Not strictly necessary, especially if you're still eating meat/eggs/dairy, but a good way to ensure you're getting varied protein). Soy (in the less-processed forms of seitan or soy beans, or a good soy milk made with just soy and water) is a protein source that mimics animal protein pretty closely, and quinoa is also a good source of all the essential amino acids.

Zsuzsi, I believe Nora was just making her own "thirteen" list to compare with a "thirteen" list that Serious Eats made, so maybe you should take it up with them.

There's some really awesome-sounding cheeses on here-- I've definitely been wanting to try Pleasant Ridge. I might add a super-tangy feta (my local market sells a Bulgarian one that tastes like yogurt!) or goat cheddar (mmmmm) to my list, as well as the standby parmigiano and gruyere. Mozzarella, though? Meh.