TVP Use and Storage

[Brighid1971]

We've been seriously looking at all of the foods we can store in bulk, and one that caught my eye was TVP. I actually saw it in Tightwad Gazette first but found more about it on the 'Net...Anyway, 'Bob's Red Mill' carries it ( ) and has an excellent recipe here--

http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipe/detail.php?rid=632

Textured Vegetable Protein Sloppy Joes
contributed by Dorothy R. Bates

Ingredients:
8 large Kaiser or Hard Rolls, split
2 cups TVP® (Textured Vegetable Protein)
1-3/4 cups Hot Water
1 Tb Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 medium Onion, chopped
1 medium Green Pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1 (6 oz.) can Tomato Paste
1/2 cup Water
1 tsp ground Oregano, Mediterranean
1/4 cup Ketchup
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce*
1 Tbsp. Honey (optional)

In a medium bowl combine the hot water with the 2 cups textured vegetable protein. Set aside while preparing the chopped onion and green pepper.

Heat a nonstick skillet, add the olive oil and quickly saute the chopped onion, green pepper and minced garlic. Cook until onion is slightly translucent and green pepper has softened slightly. Add the textured vegetable protein.

Mix the tomato paste with the 1/2 cup water and seasonings and stir into the skillet. Bring to a boil, taste and add salt if desired. Sauce should be thick, but spreadable; add a little more water if needed.

Spoon sauce on bottom half of split bun, pile on lettuce and cheese (if desired) and top with other half of bun.

Yield: 8 servings

I figure I can slowly start to sneak it into recipes in this "meat and potatoes" house...what else do you use TVP in, and how can you store and use other bulk foods? Is there a good timetable for rotation of foods you've bought in bulk?

[mammabooh]

I've used it in sloppy joes, chili and burritos. I just keep it in a glass jar with a lid.

[HilltopDaisy]

I use it in a recipe for "Fake Chicken Salad". I'm a vegetarian, so I enjoy it for what it is, but you'd never fool a meat-eater with it (I don't think you'd fool a meat-eater with TVP no matter how you fixed it).

I take a cup of fine TVP (not the chunks) and soak it in a couple of cups of boiling heavily seasoned vegetable broth. Make sure the broth is boiling so the TVP really soaks up the flavor. When it cools completely, pour off the broth that did not absorb. I add finely diced celery, onion and carrot, just like for chicken salad. Add parsley and mayo. Refrigerate until the flavors blend. I really like this on a sandwich. The recipe you posted looks delicious, too. Thanks!

[HilltopDaisy]

Oh, I forgot all about chili! Yes, it's very good that way, too.

[WisJim]

We use it sometimes to extend hamburger or sausage. When cooked with ground meat, onions, garlic, and seasonings, it will absorb their flavor. I think that we used to use it as a sausage substitute in lasagna by sauteing it with some almond butter and onions before adding it to the sauce.

[Tracy Rimmer]

I use it in any recipe that calls for ground meat. A favorite way is in moussaka. Instead of browning ground beef or lamb, I sprinkle TVP between the layers of potato and eggplant, and then dump in a cup of beef stock. As the moussaka cooks, the TVP reconstitutes with the stock, creating a beef-like consistency that my kids can't really tell isn't ground beef.

I store it in a big jar in my pantry.

[lgslgs]

We bought a 50 lb bag at bulkfoods.com http://www.bulkfoods.com/search_resu...hParamTxt=4747 and it should last us for years. The unflavored variety should store indefinitely as long as it is kept in a dry, air tight, and mouse/bug proof container.

We hydrate it and season it to use in place of meat, or stir it in partitially hydrated or dry when we want something crunchy (like meatless taco salads). Served dry topped with milk and a bit of sweetner and it is a breakfast cereal. We also make all sorts of burgers (or meatloafs) - throwing in whatever ingredients are at hand and grill the burgers on the Foreman grill. It's nice in soups, chili, and pasta sauces as well. Hmmm...maybe I need to make a TVP lasagna this week.

When we want something with more protein content than whole grains, we just toss in some TVP.

Lynda

[Brighid1971]

Originally Posted by lgslgs

Served dry topped with milk and a bit of sweetner and it is a breakfast cereal.

As a breakfast cereal? No kidding?....

[lgslgs]

Yes - and with a little dried coconut and a packet of Equal, it somehow tastes just like Frosted Mini Wheats!

Lynda