Danny! The new tofu store

[Nicky]

There's a new store at a mall here, called "Tofu Tofu" (I dunno if you have been there DannyKass). I went in there today and I wasn't that impressed, not even impressed enough to spend more than about 2 minutes in there. There was only about two lots of shelves, so not much variety. There was things like TVP I noticed and lots of pasta/rice as well. But to be honest I've seen alot more tempting vegetarian foods at the supermarket :(

Have any of you guys found the same thing?

[DannyKass]

Whoops, Didn't see this!!
In Northlands?!?!
Because theres a tofu store there too.. But it looked scary, so I didn't go in!
Plus I think they sold chicken... But maybe not...

Did you buy anything? Was it nice?

[Nicky]

Because theres a tofu store there too.. But it looked scary, so I didn't go in!




Yeah that's the one I'm talking about :) Next to 'Bakers Delight'. I think they do sell chicken, and I definately saw fish. Okay I can see that they would cater for the widest varieties of 'vegetarian' but that meat was a high proportion of all the stock they sold. If there was more vegetarian foods then it wouldn't be as bad. I was just disappointed with the store, I kinda felt sorry for it too, I don't know how it makes any money *shrugs*

[DannyKass]

Yeah.. But the colour scheme makes it look creepy too! And the fact its never got any people in it!

So wow they have TVP? I've never tried that, but I want to! I may go back there sometime after xmas then!

[Nicky]

Yeah, definately! It's deserted...I never see anyone there :(

Yup, they have an asian brand I think. If you can't get TVP there then try an asian food store because they apparently usually have it. I've never tried it before. I know people use it as a meat extender, but I wonder what it's like just by itself?

[DannyKass]

Mm.. Yeah.. Cause I dont really like tofu (or soy anything, cept the soy-good thingys)

[Nicky]

Tofu is good :) So are the So Goods- my mum discovered the other day though that they don't sell the wild berry varieties at our supermarket anymore :(

EDIT: That was pretty random- tell me what you think of the TVP though, I should try it too :)

[DannyKass]

I brought some TVP. There was brown stuff and yellow, so I was talking to the guy about which was best to get (but as he was asian we both had no idea what each other was saying) anyway I managed to find out the yellow was chicken, brown was beef, it expands times 4! And you just put it with hot water for 1 to 2 hours.
BUT I FORGOT TO ASK HOW MUCH WATER :|

[Walter]

TVP is pretty useful in some recipes. I don't know if I would ever eat it on my own though.

Personally, I like to take about a fourth cup of it and add about 2/3 cup - 1 cup of water to it and let it sit for 10 minutes or so. Add that to a pot of spaghetti sauce, and it'll make it a ground-meat spaghetti sauce of sorts. Naturally, veggie up your sauce with peppers and onions and it'll be delicious. :)

[borealis]

I've put TVP in shepard's pie and stew. It's pretty flavorless, so I used lots of "poultry" seasoning (you know, the rosemary-sage-whatever spice blend) to make it yummy. I would not recommend the big TVP chunks as they come out kind of spongy.

I forget the ratio of water to TVP, but when I've used it, I had to add more water anyway... just check it after it's been soaking awhile and add more if you need to. I bet soaking it in veggie broth would improve it. I only just thought of that.

[Nirvana19105]

Whenever I soak TVP, I've noticed that there's really no such thing as too much water. Just let the pieces soak until they're soft, and dump out exess water. I like to sort of press the pieces too after that to great rid of the water inside so it'll soak up more of the flavors I add to it.

That being said, I definately wouldn't eat it as a snack on its own or anything, but with the right seasonings it can be really good. Theres this pot pie I make with it that always turns out great. I forget off the top of my head exactly what I add to the TVP, but I know theres some cider vinegar and soy sauce in there which turn out to taste pretty "meaty" together.

[Nicky]

Oops, I'd forgotten about this thread :)

Thanks for all the TVP suggestions- I might just try the stuff to see what it's like. I don't know if I'm a fan of fake meat :-/