My daughter is celebrating 4 years of being a plant-based Veganista. She is committed to her dietary choice and has evolved into a spectacular cook! All of her dishes are so tasty as she ingeniously uses herbs and spices to add a unique flavor to every dish she makes. In fact, whenever she is home, she commits to making me at least 4-5 vegan dishes before she leaves, which I freeze and pull out when needed. Yum!
The basic differences between a vegan and a vegetarian is a vegan will avoid meat, poultry and seafood but they take a little step further by not consuming milk, eggs, honey or any product/ by-product made from animal/ animal skin. There are sub-categories for vegans: ethical vegans do not consume any dairy product be it milk, eggs, cheese, and avoid the usage of any product made by animal skin or parts. Plant-based vegans live on plant-based foods which grow from the ground only; raw vegans don’t eat any animal by-products or anything cooked above the temperature of 115° Fahrenheit as they believe the food will lose its nutrients and enzymes completely.
A vegetarian is someone who does not eat meat or consume any kind of animal product. They exclude meat, poultry and even seafood from their diet. However, they may go on to consume dairy products such as milk and eggs. There are sub-categories that fall under vegetarian, the most popular: lacto ovo vegetarians, excludes meat/flesh but may include eggs/milk; demi vegetarians consume fish, eggs, other dairy products but not meat; and semi-vegetarians sometimes voluntarily control their meat intake.1 This week, enjoy one of my daughter’s vegan recipes that is beyond delicious:
Mille’s Oyster Mushrooms
Ingredients:
2-6oz packages organic oyster mushrooms
1 cup of flour
¼ cup semolina flour
1 cup of plant-based milk
Seasonings:* Seasoning salt, chicken seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper
*I normally season to taste, best to start with ½ tsp and build from there.
Prepare separate bowls for dredging mixtures:
Dry: ½ cup flour and ¼ cup of semolina with seasonings
Wet: ½ cup of flour, I cup milk
Season to taste
Let’s do this!
Heat oil in a heavy bottom cast iron skillet. Wash oyster mushrooms with veggie wash to clean off any dirt/debris. Break the oyster mushrooms down, cut to form them into your preferred desirable size – I usually cut them down the middle and break away pieces as I so desire. Next, coat the oyster mushrooms in the dry mix. Dip oyster mushroom in the wet dredge. Sprinkle a bit more of the dry dredge onto the oyster mushroom. Place in cast iron skillet—turn over when side is golden brown and repeat! Served best with hot sauce! Similar to frying chicken, frying oyster mushrooms takes time to find your groove with what feels right tweaking seasonings as you go. Most importantly have fun with it and watch as your family and friends dig in with enjoyment!
Submitted by my Daughter
1 Source: NDTV Food
Next Week – Series Conclusion
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