Cooking & Baking

My children and their whole families are vegetarian/vegan like my ex-husband, so I've been cooking veg since the 1970's. My favorite meat substitute is TVP, textured vegetable (soy) protein, like Bob's:

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It has a sponge-like consistency that absorbs the flavor of the dish, and a texture that really mimics ground beef. I use it in chili, tacos, pasta sauce, shepherd's pie and any other recipe that calls for ground meat. For use in chili and sauces, I make the recipes a bit on the "soupy" side and add the dry TVP to the dish for the last 30 minutes, as the dry TVP has a thickening effect. For tacos and shepherd's pie, I hydrate the TVP in hot veg broth first, and then use it in the recipe.