VeganMoFo VIII: Moment of Bliss

Not gonna lie.  After two years of completely failing at MoFo, I am so excited that I haven't missed a day yet and I'm prepared for the next week and a half and the full month is planned out.  I have so much organization that it would drive Kittee crazy!  I love that woman.

So Fridays are all about using cookbooks I've been too overwhelmed by or haven't had a chance to try.  I've had Blissful Bites by Christy Morgan for a long while now, but I never really could decide what to make.  However, I always find myself ooing and aahing over the chapter dedicated to sea vegetables so I opted for the Land and Sea Soba Salad.

styling noodles?  ain't nobody got time for that

This thing is so good!  It's gingery (YES!), salty, smoky, sweet, and bitter from the cruciferous veg.  The only thing I had to do different was substitute red cabbage for the napa because the state of napa cabbage in my grocery store was frigging disgusting.  I actually got really angry at my grocery store because their entire produce section was a joke when I went shopping.  I'm talking dried out, wilted green onions.  I've worked in grocery for years and we would NEVER get away with that.

Digressing.

Go ahead and try this dish.  Your mouth will thank you!

Cookbook Challenge 2: The Great Valley Adventure

Dudes.  A weird thing happened on my way to the store.  Not really, but my laptop broke (and is still broken) so it's been hell trying to blog.  I have about 5 weeks of cooking to show you.  I hope you're ready for this one.

First up, week 3 was Urban Vegan.  I tried a few new things from this book and loved most of them.  I really like the layout of the book.  Every recipe seems to be on a single page, which is something I like in a cookbook.  I also love that the steps aren't incredibly difficult to follow.

fettucine alfredo

THOUGHTS
1. Fettucine Alfredo: Absolutely amazing.  I loved this.  It was one of the simplest alfredos I've ever made.  Plus, I love that it wasn't super thick or heavy.  I threw in some sundried tomatoes and fresh basil before topping with homemade parm.  Damn good food.
2. Chickpea Paprikash: This really doesn't photograph well, but it was so creamy and delicious that none of that matters.  I have never had or even heard of paprikash until fairly recently.  I was super freaked about using so much paprika, but it really went well with the dish.  Plus, I love how smooth the yogurt made everything.
3. Lemon Poppyseed Tempeh: I really felt like a dish like this could have used exact measurements.  I used 4 lemons fresh from our tree, but I guess they were super juicy because all I tasted was lemon.  There wasn't enough of a rounded flavor for me.  However, I would try this again to make sure it wasn't user error on my part.

Havana beans and rice and pan-fried plantains

4. Confetti Quinoa: This was another dish I didn't really like.  It was too moist for me even after cooking for an extra 10 minutes or so.
5. Havana Beans and Rice: Absolutely lovely.  It makes a ridiculous amount of food, too!  Plus it is really simple.
6. Pan-Fried Plantains: I had never seen sweet plantains fried this way.  The sugar gave them a nice crunch.  Went super well paired with the rice and beans.

potato and tempeh sausage pizza

Week 4 was a cookbook near and dear to my heart, Vegan with a Vengeance.  This was the first vegan cookbook that got me excited about food.  It taught me how to cook, and really sparked a passion for food that I never had growing up.

sweet potato crepes w/ cilantro-tamarind sauce

THOUGHTS
1. Fresh Mango Summer Rolls: My first time ever rolling out fresh spring rolls.  Truth be told, Era is the one that reaches for fresh spring rolls.  I always get that deep fried ish, but these were SO GOOD.  Really fantastic.  I can't wait until mango season because I'm stuffing those biznootches with some Ataulfos, yo.
2. Potato and Tempeh Sausage Pizza: This was a recipe I've been checking out for years, but I never have fresh fennel in the house.  So glad I finally made it.  Love the way potatoes taste on pizza!

fresh mango summer rolls

3. Horseradish-and-Coriander-Crusted Tofu: This was a little spicy and a lot awesome!  It was really reminiscent of fish when dipped in the tartar sauce.  I hate fresh mint so I just substituted green onions.
4. Wasabi Mashed Potatoes: These were so damn good.  Super creamy and the wasabi really gave it a great kick.  Era was visibly surprised when he took a bite because I forgot to tell him about the wasabi.  Haha.

horseradish-and-coriander-crusted tofu

wasabi mashed potatoes

5. Sweet Potato Crepes w/ Cilantro-Tamarind Sauce: I always stared longingly at this recipe in the past.  There are so many ingredients that I never felt I had the time to make it.  However, everything comes together super fast and I was left with a wonderfully spiced filling, chewy crepe, and the bomb ass sauce.  The sauce is creamy, tangy and a little bit bright.  I loved this dish so hard.

butternut squash lasagna

I skipped a lot of weeks because I didn't have some books, but I jumped back in with week 9, Yellow Rose Recipes.  I had heard so many great things about this book over the years and finally purchased it back in December.  Gotta show that Texas love!

lemon tahini dressing

THOUGHTS
1. Tofu Scramble: This was super quick and easy.  Plus, I'm totally in love with the seasoning mix.  Anything that tastes of cumin has a place in my heart.
2. Lemon Tahini Dressing: So simple SO GOOD.  I made this and ate bowls for at least three days using this sauce.  Every bowl I had was absolutely amazing.  If I kept a supply of this and the goddess dressing from AFR, I'd never leave my house again.
3. Butternut Squash Lasagna: Super good and really filling.  I could easily see playing around with this and doing some add ons.  I was thinking how wonderful it would be with sausage and crushed red pepper flakes.

portobello feijoada, savory orange rice, and braised Brazilian shredded kale

Week 10 was Viva Vegan, my favorite cookbook ever!  I just love how every time I go back, I find something new and delicious that I've never had before.  I made a lot of stuff prior to and during this week, so I'll only leave my thoughts on the newly tried recipes.

THOUGHTS
1. Portobello Feijoada: This dish was amazing!  Meaty, mushroomy, filling.  Words cannot express how good this stew is.  And it made a ridiculous amount of food.  We were eating leftovers for days.
2. Braised Brazilian Shredded Kale: Really easy.  Super delicious.  And a great option to make because Era hates raisins so I don't make the chard w/ capers and raisins often.

vanilla-coconut flan

3. Vanilla-Coconut Flan: Perfect!  Just like I remember during Spanish class in high school.  I am definitely going to try the cafe con leche one next.
4. Peruvian Seitan:  I didn't make the skewers, but I took Terry's burrito advice and made a burrito that rocked my pants off.  I made the refried black beans and yellow rice.  Then I added the seitan to the burrito along with lettuce, tomato, and guacamole.  Greatness.

creamy corn-filled empanadas

5. Creamy Corn-Filled Empanadas: I have never made empanadas before because I hate working with dough and they seem pretty time consuming.  These were so good, I just have to make some other ones from the book.  Served these with the Green Onion Salsa.

mom's morning casserole

Finally, this past week was Vegan Brunch.  I mean, this book totally sparked my love of brinner.  I was obsessed with Isa's pancakes since VWAV, but when you are throwing omelets and muffins and motherforking coffee cake my way...it's a miracle that I actually eat anything other than breakfast all day.  I didn't make nearly as much as I wanted to, but what I did make was gooood.

THOUGHTS
1. Mom's Morning Casserole: I have always skipped over this one because we never kept tempeh in the house until recently.  So I halved the recipe and got to it.  So much awesomeness.  I really wanted to eat this with a side of biscuits and gravy, but I forced myself to eat some steamed broccoli instead.  Delicious!
2. Basic Scrambled Tempeh: I made this with tofu because I didn't feel like going to Trader Joe's for tempeh. This was unbelievably simple (maybe 5 ingredients) and so good!  I love any time I get to use chard.
3. Fried Plantains: Easy and delicious.  I don't think you can ever go wrong with fried plantains.

basic scrambled tempeh tofu w/ fried plantains

Whew.  That's all for now.  I have so many blogs to read.  I'll do at least one more blog this week...maybe two.  Anybody else stoked that Spring has arrived?!

Cookbook Challenge 2: Week 6 Caribbean Vegan

I realize I'm doing this out of order but I am super excited about everything I cooked this week!  It was the 6th week and we could cook out of VCTOTW or use it as a freebie.  Well, right before I went home for the holidays, I received a review copy of Caribbean Vegan.  So, I decided to cook from it.  The book had been on my wishlist for awhile so I jumped at a chance to do a review.  I've been steadily making my way through the book and made a lot of recipes this week so I could give a very fair opinion.

Saint Lucian Bake, grapefruit, Everyday Vegan Ham, scramble

There are over 100 authentic recipes, with tons of tips throughout.  I was pretty surprised by everything I learned by reading through this book.  First of all, I never knew the Caribbean had such a strong Indian influence.  This book has a ton of delicious curries, stews, and rotis.  I immediately gravitated towards those because I have a major love for Indian cuisine.

Herbed Sada Roti and Eggplant Choka

The book is divided into 9 chapters: condiments and sauces, breakfast dishes, appetizers, soups and stews, entrees, side dishes, Caribbean tea party, desserts, and drinks and cocktails.  The easiest way for me to cook through this book was to head straight for the condiment section.  There are plenty of recipes that require condiments or sauces from this section.  My suggestion is to start with the: Bajan Seasoning, Jamaican Jerk Seasoning, and Bajan Pepper Sauce.  These are the three that seem to be used most often.  I totally fell in love with the pepper sauce.  It's this vibrant yellow color with a kick of mustard and spice.  So good!

Dal Puri Roti w/ Sauteed Spinach

Dal Puri Roti w/ Curried TVP Stew

This book really opened me up to a new kind of cuisine and different methods of cooking I never knew about.  Also, this is pretty cheap cooking.  A majority of the ingredients are found in the produce section for less than a dollar.  There are a few specialty items that may require a Caribbean or Latin market: banana leaves, ackee, breadfruit, and yams.  These aren't in too many of the recipes, though.

Chickpea Curry and Spinach Rice

There were plenty of dishes that I fell in love with.  First and foremost, every baked good I tried was absolutely divine.  My favorites were the banana bread, herbed sada roti, and dal puri roti.  I also gained a new respect for chickpeas.  The way that Taymer handles them in this book has resulted in some of the tenderest and most flavorful chickpeas I've ever had in my life.  I feel like that's a bold statement for a vegan to make, but I stand by it.  I also fell in love with the doubles (especially the chickpea stew), the chickpea curry, Creole sauce, ham, and eggplant choka.

Coconut Flan

THOUGHTS
1. Bajan Seasoning: Super easy to make and adds so much flavor to the dishes.  It makes a lot and lasts up to a year in the fridge.  Love this stuff!
2. Bajan Pepper Sauce: Bright yellow and seriously flavorful.  This is spicy and great.  Another recipe that is used a lot in the book to flavor dishes.
3. Green Mango Chutney: Unlike the mango chutney I'm used to, this is not sweet.  It's salty and garlicky, a pleasant surprise!
4. Creole Sauce: I'd like to bathe in this...or at least drink it from a cup.  It's this wonderful tomato based sauce filled with slivered onions.  So good over the tofish and cou-cou.
5. Saint Lucian Bakes: This was my first time ever seeing a recipe that used baking powder call for a dough rise.  It really makes a fluffy, chewy, crusty combo that just cannot be beat.
6. Herbed Sada Roti: These take about 3 hours to make, but they are so damn worth it.  The edges get pillowy and delicious.
7. Eggplant Choka: Simple, spicy, and undeniably delicious.  This is a classic breakfast dish in the Caribbean and I can see why!
8. Curried TVP Stew: This is rich and has so much depth of flavor!  It calls for Marmite or Vegemite, which adds a nice beefy undertone.
9. Chickpea Curry: I fell in love with this!  The eyes-roll-back-in-your-head kinda love.  So flavorful and delicious.  Very simple to make as well.
10. Everyday Vegan Ham: This ham really reminded me of the stuff I used to eat at Christmas.  Spiced beautifully with a great smoky flavor.
11. Trinidadian Doubles: Streamline this process by making the chutney and filling while the bara rises.  This is really an epic meal.  Perfect for a Sunday afternoon so you can take doubles for lunch all week.  Drool.
12. Cou-Cou and Tofish: Amazing!  Anything with okra is automatically awesome in my book.  I really like the tofish marinade.  Just delicious!
13. Spinach Rice: A super simple side, but really satisfying.
14. Dal Puri Roti: Just wrap me up in this stuff.  Flaky roti filled with dal.  Nuff said.
15. Sauteed Spinach: The dish seems really simple, but it is mighty flavorful.  Spicy and delicious!
16. Banana Bread: Dense, moist, delicious.  Not too sweet.  The first banana bread I didn't feel the need to smear with Earth Balance.  Fantastic straight out of the fridge!
17. Coconut Flan: This is creamy and delicious.  Really easy to make.  Not overly sweet.  The pineapple and cherry addition makes it super purty.

So, hopefully, I've done this book justice.  I absolutely adore it!  I love getting excited about new cookbooks and this one has so many things to "Squeeee" about!

Cookbook Challenge 2: Weeks 1-2 Appetite for Reduction and Vcon

I've been trying to utilize my cookbooks more, so I decided to join the Cookbook Challenge over at the PPK.  Week one was Appetite for Reduction, a book I got semi recently but I love it so damn much that I'd like to cook from it all the time.

Below are two things I cooked over the holidays before the challenge.  Sorry for the photo quality.  Sometimes a girl needs to get her eat on:

chickpea piccata & caulipots

hottie black eyed peas and greens & ginger mashed sweet potatoes and apples for New Year's Day

Now for everything I made during the first week of the challenge followed by my thoughts on the things I hadn't made before.  There is so much greatness in this book that I can't wait to get back to it.

 baked falafel, eggplant kibbeh, shabby sheik hummus

Brussels sprout-potato hash

mushroom and cannellini paprikas w/ scarlet barley

THOUGHTS (newly tried recipes)
1. Chickpea Piccata: The piccata in Vcon is my favorite meal of all time.  This is a great alternative to having it with seitan.  I honestly could not tell that this was low fat.
2. Caulipots: These are another thing that blow my mind!  They taste so damn good that I might even like them better than regular mashed potatoes.
3. Eggplant Kibbeh: This made me realize that I hate fresh mint in every form.  I liked the kibbeh though!  Very delicious.
4. Shabby Sheik Hummus: Smoky.  Awesome.  Deliciousness.
5. Brussels Sprout-Potato Hash: This was far more amazing than I thought it would be.  Super filling and the lemon really makes everything pop!
6. Mushroom & Cannellini Paprikas: This was good, filling, and earthy.
7. Scarlet Barley: This stole the show and a bit of my heart!  By far, my favorite dish from the book so far.  And it's visually stunning.

The second week was all about Veganomicon.  I have cooked more recipes out of this book than any other.  I decided to randomly choose what I was eating so I could branch out of my comfort zone.

saffron garlic rice

chickpeas romesco

chile cornmeal crusted tofu, southwestern corn pudding, and green pumpkin seed mole

THOUGHTS (newly tried recipes)
1. Saffron Garlic Rice: I've made this before but didn't remember it so I'll include my thoughts.  The best part about this rice is the almonds. Such crunchy goodness!
2. Chickpeas Romesco: I know.  I've had the book for 3.5 years and never made one of the most talked about recipes.  This was so delicious!  I loved how beautifully the ground almonds work in the sauce.
3. Southwestern Corn Pudding: Truthfully, I never tried this because I thought it would be like creamed corn (which I hate).  However, it was delightful!  I loved the flavors and colors in this thing.
4. Green Pumpkin Seed Mole:  This tasted fresh and nutty.  Great paired with the corn pudding, and super easy to make.
5. Rustic White Beans and Mushrooms (not pictured): Good, but I had a lot of trouble with my beans.  Instead of cooking them for 45 minutes like the recipe said, I cooked them for at least 3 hours.  This is entirely due to the quality of beans I used.
6. Tomato Couscous w/ Capers (not pictured): I love anything with capers, so this was really good!

Some time this weekend I'll post everything that I cooked from Urban Vegan this week.  Happy Friday all!

Bargain Shopping, Insanity, and MoFo

Fellow vegans, I am still on a bargain high from my weekend of grocery shopping.  I think most of y'all know that few things thrill me more than an extremely good deal  If you know where and when to shop, groceries on clearance are your bestest friend!

On Sunday night, Era and I headed over to Ralph's (a local grocery store).  Era saw this Modern Marvels about cheese and felt he needed some.  I figured I'd go along because they are the closest store in my area that has Daiya.  We don't normally shop there because the prices are pretty high.  But two glorious things happened this trip.  First, they finally are stocking Tofurky Pizzas!  We were so stoked that we bought all three flavors.  Then, we realized that they had a whole selection of vegan soy/seitan products on sale.  Italian sausages for $1.25, Yves deli turkey for 99 cents, and Tofu Pups for $1.25!  We bought four of each and froze most of them.  It was a treat for us because we don't really buy convenience foods normally.

Sabra hummus!

Yesterday I started Insanity again, after having to stop due to an injury.  This program is seriously no joke.  But I absolute adore the intensity.  So more food journaling should be coming.  I pretty much took the summer off from working out and doing food journals.  Fall is here so I definitely have renewed energy.  Take a look at yesterday's lunch:

sourdough bread, Italian sausages in marinara, VT cheddar cheeze, olive medley, hummus, grapes

Vegetarian Times cheddar cheeze

I really like the cheddar cheeze.  I think it absolutely shines paired with mustard (especially brown deli mustard).  I had it in a grilled cheeze today on sourdough.  Awesome sauce!

Kittee testers (washing greens for gumbo, King Cake)

Lately, I've been cooking a lot.  This is what I love about Fall.  It's cool enough to spend hours cooking.  Above is a mosaic of some Kittee testers.  Mostly King Cake, but there is a sink full of greens for a gumbo I ate yesterday.  Very good stuff!

Speaking of testers, I revisited one of my favorite cookbooks to test for: Viva Vegan.  I made the arroz con seitan last week for the Britney episode of Glee last week!  No theme.  I just wanted good food to go with possibly the best episode EVER!  Seriously...love the steamed white seitan so much!

arroz con seitan

I also delved into 500 Vegan Recipes.  I've made recipes here and there for this book, but I almost never have ingredients for food that isn't Mexican or Indian.  True story.  I did end up making the white pizza last week.  Really good!

white pizza

I feel like this is the longest entry of all time, but I did want to remind everybody that Vegan MoFo is just around the corner.  If you haven't already done it, please sign up here.  Also blog, tweet, and facebook it!  This is the 4th edition, and it is going to OWN!  I've been collecting ideas all year, and I hope to do some things that I've been excited about for a while.  I'm going to organize my ideas tonight.  What about you?  What ideas do you have for MoFo themes?

VeganMoFo: Lazy Sunday

Today marks the beginning of calendar week 2 for me: Utilize My Cookbooks Week. I decided to start with Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer. How It All Vegan was the first cookbook I ever owned. I don’t give this series of books nearly enough love. Since I couldn’t find HIAV, I decided to do one recipe from both Garden of Vegan and La Dolce Vegan.

It’s Sunday so I decided to veg out and have a movie set marathon. First up is the Scream collection. I’m most likely following this with Blade, Underworld and Meet the Parents. No movie extravaganza is complete without popcorn. So I made the Cracker Janes from Garden of Vegan. The name is slightly misleading, as they taste nothing like Cracker Jacks. However, they do remind me of Crunch N Munch and they are so effing addictive it’s ridiculous. Try eating a small amount. I dare you! Not gonna happen. They are sweet and crunchy and buttery and caramely and just damn good.

Cracker Jane

I decided I should eat some real food so I don’t die of a sugar coma. Last week I did a big order from Food Fight. I bought an ass load of Indian food. I’m probably gonna have to buy some more and stock up on Ramen because it is just that good.

Delhi saag from Food Fight Grocery

I made the Aloo Mattar from La Dolce Vegan. This made my house smell so wonderful. It takes no time at all and it is delicious. Seriously good. I served both the Delhi saag and aloo mattar with a quick toasted cashew and cumin rice. Good Indian food in less than twenty minutes…all Sundays should be like this.

Aloo Mattar

I encourage all of you to remember those forgotten cookbooks. If you’re anything like me, you just use the same recipes over and over and then buy new books for the collection. I’m trying to stop that habit. Tomorrow I’m making a little something from a very well known zine. For now…have a good Sunday y’all!