TVP? Where the heck do you buy it? Any good recipes?

[Aster]

When i was a kid i remember my mom trying to get us kids to eat tvp, and i remember it being absolutely terrible. Now i'm thinking that i might be able to cook it so that it tastes better than my mom ever made it

So where do you buy the stuff? Mom always ordered it from a bulk supply company thru her church. Can you get it at a regular grocery store now? We have Safeway, Superstore, Co-op. Maybe a health food store? We have a Nutter's and a couple of pill-factory 'health' stores. I'm not into online shopping, and we very rarely ever travel the 6 hour round trip to go to the city.

Does anyone have any good recipes just in case i'm fortunate enough to find some tvp?

[Clarity]

co-op probably...though on occasion the regular store suprises me and have TVO "crumbles" (fake hamburger) in the freezer section.

[Aster]

Our 'co-op' here isnt like the health food co-ops in other places, it's just a grocery store chain. They even have a 'co-op' chain of gasoline stations. It's a Canadian prairie thang lol. I guess it wouldnt hurt to call around a bit though. (lazy me)

[Clarity]

sigh....do you really have a big mail order objection?

[RasJane]

We get our TVP straight from Bob's Red Mill. They make one called TSP which is all organic. Before I had Bob's nearby, I bought it at WinCo, a wharehouse type store with a big bulk section, or FredMeyer, also in the bulk section. You might try asking a local store if they will special order some for you.
As for recipes, I have a few, but I really checked out this thread to find out everyone else's recipes. I got mine from the Farm Cookbook.

[serenetabbie]

We buy TVP from a local Health food store. The only thing we have had it in that everyone will eat is chili! Just make the chili however you normally make it, only add rehydrated TVP in place of any meat ( I soak it in tomato juice to add a bit more flavor). I sometimes sneak it into meatloaf or meatballs, but it has to be something with some spice in it. My die hard meat eating DH hates it. I got a book from Vegitarian Times...I think it is called "cooking with TVP" or something like that. It was like $5.

[Arduinna]

Yes, we get ours at the health food store or from bobs red mill at the regular market. I used to buy the chunks also but can only find them at selected health food stores.

I never reconstitute with water before putting in a recipe as it has no flavor then. I prefer to let it soak up the liquid from the recipe and possible add more water if the recipe is too dry then. Works great for thickening chile that way.

[Aster]

I finally found some at Nutters! Whoo hoo! And it was cheap.

I like the idea of reconstituting with something other than water. Spices sound good.

Guess i'll have to put on my lab coat and mess up my hair and do some 'mad-scientist' type experimenting in the kitchen. ild

Hmm, i wonder if i could make a tvp pad thai with coconut milk and curry paste....Lunch is either gonna be realllly good or reallly strange today.

[leafylady]

Is seitan the same thing as tvp, but already rehydrated?

[LavenderMae]

Seitan ,is wheat gluten and TVP ,is made from soy.

[USAmma]

We get ours at the Asian market, and it's cheap if you don't mind Japanese writing on the package. :-) TVP will absorb flavors so try soaking it in flavored water, like putting a few dashes of Teriyaki sauce in it, or broth. It tastes the best in stir fries, IMO.

Darshani

[1jooj]

I add it to chili just like Arduinna does--and my carnivore dh doesn't even recognize that it's a non-meat chili. And I don't tell him...does that make me bad?

I have also added it to other soups, and if I ever get really wild, I'm thinking I could add it to refried black beans and stuff burritos with it. I'm confident it would be a non-issue there, too.

And I can buy it at a local grocery chain, which has a pretty decent health food section--I even bought Glad Rags there for under $7!

[jenP]

Yuk. I've been vegan neary five years and never liked the stuff. It's just so processed. I'll take beans or tofu anyday over TVP/
Funny thing, an omnivore friend of mine LOVES my TVP chili, likes it better than with meat. Go figure.

Jen