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!

Sopa de Repollo

It has been a crazy week of illness in the Martin-Cisneros house.  Last week, Era got sick.  I basically mocked him for whining and talked about how strong my immune system was.  Then karma kicked my butt.  I've been sick since Saturday and spent the past two days battling a high fever.

I'm just starting to get my cooking energy back, so I decided to make one of my favorite and easiest soups: cabbage.  Sopa de repollo is a Mexican cabbage soup that contains cabbage, squash, and a gang of veggies.  It really hits the spot for when you feel sick.  Plus, it's super easy to make.  The best thing to do is to cut the veggies on the thick side so they don't break down too much during the cooking process.

veggie heaven

Sopa de Repollo
(serves 8)
gluten free
soy free

2 Tbsp canola oil
1 small white onion, diced
3 large carrots, cut diagonally
4 small red potatoes (about ¾ lb), diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, more or less to taste
2 tsp ground cumin
2 small zucchinis, sliced in half moons
2 celery stalks, cut diagonally
½ medium head of green cabbage, roughly chopped
8 cups water
1 ½ tsp fine sea salt, more or less to taste
pepper to taste
1 cup tightly packed cilantro, minced

Heat canola oil in a large stockpot over medium high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and potatoes. Cook them until the onions start to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and cumin and cook for another minute. Add the zucchini, celery, cabbage, water and salt. Bring to a boil before turning the heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the fresh cilantro.

Now, I must take some more meds and relax.  Later this week I'll be doing a Caribbean Vegan review!  I'm way excited about that.  Also more cookbook challenge stuff to come.