Dreaming.of.Mead

Mead has me completely captivated. I’ve been researching this ancient brew for some time now, but have yet to make any myself.

“But!” you say, finger pointed, “mead is NOT VEGAN!!”

I know, I know. The main ingredient in mead is honey (hence it is also called “honey wine”), which vegans choose not to consume. That’s why I’ve been researching different techniques and perusing the web for effective honey replacement experiments concerning mead-making.

Let me just say, there is a LOT of information out there about just this thing, and much of it is micro-tidbits of information combined with varied suggestions from mead-maker to mead-maker. I’ll probably end up using a mishmash of instructions and ingredients to form my own recipe, one that will undoubtedly change as I trouble-shoot over time.

As far as honey-replacement goes, I’ve got my eye on a few non-animal sweeteners that I’ve used before:

agave nectar

maple syrup

and

rice nectar (Suzanne’s “Just Like Honey” comes to mind. If you’re vegan and haven’t tried this yet…like, OMG.)

I’m going to keep looking around, but I will post the final recipe when I’m ready to make it myself. In the mean time, I’m going to make a small batch of Spontaneous Cider. (mmm…bubbly….)

If you’re interested in brewing up your own vegan not-honey-wine, here are some great places to start:

Vegan Crunk – Bee-Free Mead – (bee sure to read the comments too!)

Got Mead – A few gems of advice in this thread about ratios/sweeteners, and a whole lot of mostly good-natured omni. opinions on veganism & honey.

Jack Keller – Winemaking – What a goldmine of information on home-brewing almost anything! There’s not a mention of the word vegan on the whole site, but there are some amazing recipes here (some include wild edibles-my other favorite subject!) that warrant conversion, and an overwhelming amount of general information for beginners and advanced brewers alike.

Temple Illuminatus – Vegan Mead – An actual recipe! Sounds quite simple, actually, without all that ridiculous science-y mumbo-jumbo.

(During my search-quest I happened upon a traditional native beverage of Mexico called Pulque that is an alternative to mead and uses agave nectar. Hmmm. There’s another post a-brewin’.)

Well, that’s it for now.

If you have experience, tips, or helpful ideas about sweeteners, brewing, or fermenting in general, please do let me know!

Happy fermenting!

Potato & Tempeh Breakfast Patties

During the summer I picked up this recipe from the Lalibela Farm stand at the Portland, Maine farmer’s market. It’s pretty simple, but a tad time consuming. I lollygagged and it took me about an hour. Get up early or set aside a few extra minutes, ’cause these hashbrown-style patties are DELICIOUS, and totally worth it.

I used Lalibela’s tempeh: the Cadillac of fermented soybean products. Also, I bet you could create something just as tasty if you want to swap out any of these spices for your favorite or seasonal herbs.

Original recipe from The Tempeh Cookbook. I’ve simplified the instructions a bit.

Ingredients:

4c mashed potatoes

8oz. tempeh (1 package)

1c veggie stock

1tbsp tamari (I didn’t have any in the house, so I omitted. You could also use Bragg’s.)

1tsp/e of marjoram & thyme

1/2tsp sage (Again-didn’t have it, but how I wish I did!)

4tbsp veggie oil (I used olive oil.)

1/2c chopped onion

1/4c fresh parsley, minced (if desired)

Directions:

1) Cook tempeh in stock 20 mins. Let cool.

2) Saute onions in 2tbs oil until translucent.

3) Grate the tempeh.

4) Mix together tempeh, onions, mashed potatoes, & herbs.

5) Make into lil’ patties, then fry them in a skillet until brown on both sides.

Take care not to break them apart when flipping.

Voila!