Veggie/Vegan Pate

[theCryptofishist]

(Before we start, I did look on the first page to see if there was a good thread to ask the question.)

Looking for a good veggie or vegan pate or dip, preferably that I don't have to cook up before hand and which will survive the rigors without extraordinary effort on my part. Perhaps from a box?

[FIGJAM]

Bean dip tastes like fa gra to me.

[Dr. Pyro]

Just be sure to add plenty of bacon.

[theCryptofishist]

Will you bring me two extra packages of the kosher stuff? I can never find it.

[tahiti_treat]

I like Tartex: http://www.tartex.com/product-range/organic-vegetarian-spreads/pastries.html

I haven't tried a lot of the flavours, but the Champignon one is yummy. I don't care for the Herbs one as much.

[theCryptofishist]

Always take food advice from the guy at the Snack Food Glory Hole.

[Ugly Dougly]

There's that eggplant stuff, babaghanoush?

[theCryptofishist]

Eggplant is right out. I refuse to believe that eggplant is a food. I understand that some people disagree, but I don't want to bring something I'm not willing to eat.
And powdered hummus (which I find a little boring) is the fall back, of course.

Not that I meant to obnoxiously shoot you down, Dougly. Sometimes I wonder if sabotage my relations on the board with my strong opinions.

[danibel]

I love Toby's tofu spread. It's premade and must be kept cold...but it's delish. Kind of like a fake egg salad...Which btw there is a great recipe for in the the Enchanted Broccoli forest cookbook.

[some seeing eye]

Second danibel's suggestion of Toby's! I like the spicy, which melds well on a sweet cracker/bread with mustard or siracha. Another item to taste test is white miso. It's a cooler item, spreadable, very salty, you won't need much. Asian markets & healthy food stores have, national brands and local home made. There are many misos and adding seaweed is an option.

[Ugly Dougly]

Eggplant is right out. I refuse to believe that eggplant is a food. I understand that some people disagree, but I don't want to bring something I'm not willing to eat.
And powdered hummus (which I find a little boring) is the fall back, of course.

Not that I meant to obnoxiously shoot you down, Dougly. Sometimes I wonder if sabotage my relations on the board with my strong opinions.

You axed for it!

[scott_k]

Trader Joe's Punjab Choley. Pre-made. Essentially non-perishable. Tastes damn close to fresh authentic Indian food. Healthy and gives you energy. Can be made in about 3 minutes.

Instructions:

1. Remove foil packet from box at home (precycle box). Memorize cooking instructions off of box.
2. Boil water.
3. Drop foil packet(s) into water.
4. Food gets hot.
5. Tear open pouch and pour it into a bowl.

I lived off this stuff last year. Strongly recommended. I gifted about a dozen plates to my neighbors and made some lasting friendships because of it. This food is BOMB.

Requires virtually zero clean-up after you eat. Boiling the food within the foil packet means you save that cooking pot for that bitchin' dinner feast you've got planned for later in the evening.

[Eric]

There's a place at the Civic Center Farmers Market ("Heart of the City") that makes great tapanades - an olive one, I believe an artichoke one... he's got about 6 or 8, quite tasty (not super cheap). I know he's there on Wednesdays (on Market St, near the entrance across from the ugly fountain), not sure about Sundays (I'm much to hung-over to farmers market on Sundays).

Trader Joes also makes a really good olive hummus I bring out every year. Great with pita chips.

All of these, of course, need to be refrigerated so they may not meet your needs.

[BBadger]

I like dipping stuff in hummus, but it ought to stay chilled. It lasts a long time though.

[AntiM]

Midwestern veggie dip: peanut butter.

[VultureChow]

Pate is quite different from a dip.

Dip wise, hummus is the obvious one. If you didn't want to refrigerated or do dried, you could just buy canned chickpeas and other ingredients and do it up fresh with a mortar and pestle. Like Eric said, olive tapenade is great. Very simple to do. Cannelloni beans can also be used to make a very nice dip.

Pate, though, I have less experience with, though I do enjoy this mushroom pate: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/wild-mushroom-pate-recipe/index.html Most of the ones I make involve meat. There a Michel Richard recipe for Faux Gras made with pureed chicken livers that is decadent.

Most cooked (ie molded in a terrine and baked in a bain marie) pates will use egg as a binding agent, so it's not vegan.