International Fare

I've really been looking for easy comfort foods as the weather has gotten much colder. I tried eating foods that were from a theme - food from warmer regions to make me feel the cold less. It sort of worked.

The first stop was Thailand, as I made a recipe I've made a few times before - Peanut and Sesame Noodles from the Enchanted Broccoli Forest. I love it! I like how crisp the cucumber is, and how the cilantro works with the peanut butter. Instead of tofu, I used Yves Chick'n Tenders (which I seem to add to everything these days). I wouldn't describe myself as a fan of Thai food, but this is tasty. It just makes alot, so I invited friends over to help dig in so that I wouldn't be eating this all week.


Next, I made my way to the US by making Creamy Tofu and Broccoli Skillet from the Vegetarian Family Cookbook. Instead of tofu, I added in Yves Chick'n Tenders (again) just to get some added protein. I loved how easy and creamy this was. I served it over brown rice and had a tasty sweet potato on the side.


With my leftover rice, I made another recipe from the same book - and headed down south with the Southwestern Rice and Black Bean Salad. I was quite impressed with this meal. It wasn't very spicy, but with my recent heartburn woes, I was happy with it's subtle blandness. It would have been way better with the suggested fresh cilantro, but when I reached for it in the fridge, it was way past it's prime. Next time I'll make sure to have some fresh cilantro on hand, as it would have enhanced the flavours.


To hit another continent, I pulled out a recipe that I hadn't made for seven years - Morrocan Tofu Tagine with Jeweled Couscous from VT. Instead of using honey, I used agave nectar, and I subbed - you guessed it! - Yves Chick'n Tenders for the tofu. So good!

In search of Genie's ass

I realize I'm the last person on Earth to receive Veganomicon. Well, second last, because Sarah's book will arrive along with mine (someday) in my mailbox, so technically she'll be the last one. I want it. Bad. I thought my VwaV challenge would distract me from how painstakingly slowly anything arrives in the mail, but alas, no. Other Chapters customers who pre-ordered received their copies, but not us. My challenge is kinda anti-climactic at this point, but I'll post the new recipes I've tried anyway. Actually, the hardest part of the challenge isn't making new recipes, but not making the ones I really really love over and over. And I did - Marinated Tofu, The Best Pumpkin Muffins, Big Gigantoid PB Cookies and Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies to name a few.

I'm not a huge breakfast eater, but had to try Banana-Pecan Pancakes, topped with Blueberry Sauce.



Whoever first combined bananas and pecans together was a genius. Or genie-ass, as we like to say around these parts.

Although I've made a lotta chili in my day, I never followed the Chili Sin Carne al Mole recipe to the letter. I didn't this time either, subbing Yves ground round for the seitan and kidney beans and chickpeas for the pinto beans. I loved the flavour though, and this was the first time I had ever added molasses to chili. Genie-ass.



I had to cheat and try a Veganomicon recipe. I've wanted to make the Panko Stuffed Mushrooms ever since I saw the v'con sneak peek. This was taken pre-bake.


On the plate.

Using panko for the breadcrumbs - genie-ass. These were so good - crunchy/salty/soft/savoury. I'm not a big eat-a-mushroom-whole fan and I loved them. The mushrooms were baby portabellas, since I have never seen a "stuffing mushroom" so labelled here.

Last week was my birthday, an event I love to share with family but not the whole world. Pete slaved over a wonderful feast of roasted butternut squash soup, strawberry spinach salad, garlic bread and Tofu Ricotta-stuffed shells. It was so deliciously good that I hardly had room for dessert. But Sarah had made Isa's Sm'love Pie again.



That's the lightnin' fast slice'n'serve gettin' my piece. I wasn't wastin' no time. Of course, they both should realize they've set the bar so high for next year. I'm spoiled. Thanks guys!

From Sarah and my mom and Gord, I received a waffle iron! Of course I had to knock off another VwaV recipe - Pumpkin Waffles (pumpkin has been a recurring theme here, I know). I used whole wheat flour (strangely enough, the same weekend Isa posted about them) so they were pretty hefty and filling. I still need to master the feng shui of the waffle iron. This photo doesn't really do my inexperience justice.



That's really all I've been up to while waiting....patiently...for my veganomicon to ship.

Chowin' Down

Once again, this week was pretty busy on the food front. I had to use up the last of our garden bounty, and VwaV inspired me to team my remaining grape tomatoes with pesto and pasta. I made my usual pesto with fresh basil, ground almonds, garlic, olive oil, sundried tomatoes and salt, then mixed it with sautéed grape tomatoes and onions, and finally tossed it all with pasta and olive oil. It was a really great way to end this past season - I'm already looking forward to next summer's garden! Although, that's not so hard to believe - Ottawa winters are dreadful and we always look forward to the nice weather!




Later in the week, I made Orange-Glazed Tofu and Broccoli from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook. Oddly enough, it tasted just like this. But it seemed way easier! I'd definitely make this again in a heartbeat. And I liked it with the tofu, since seitan seems to be turning my stomach these days.



On the baked goods front, I think I've nearly made every muffin recipe with VwaV. I have been tempted by the Ginger Raisin Bran Muffins, but since I'm not a fan of raisins nor crystallized ginger, I made a couple of subs to include nuts and a chopped pear. I'll definitely make these again, as I really liked how they tasted just like something from a bakery - not too soft and moist like my muffins usually are!



Last night, I decided to make something from the November/December 2007's issue of VT - I've been looking to add to my salad repertoire, and the Spinach-and-Orange Salad with Almonds and Honey-Sesame Dressing fit the bill. Now, I didn't want to use the honey, so in my usual fashion, I substituted half the amount of honey with maple syrup, and the other half with agave nectar. Omigod - this salad was great! Very easy too. I also drizzled my leftover dressing from my plate onto my leftover Orange-Glazed Tofu and Broccoli serving - I'm so refined :( I hope my mother doesn't read this, but I figure it was better than licking my salad plate clean (which, of course, I NEVER do...)



Tonight, Kyle and I made separate batches of Sarah's Stew - his with meat, and mine featuring Yves Chick'n Tenders (due to my recent non-fondness of seitan, I've been using these, which oddly enough, I can stomach). Here's the recipe:

Sarah's Stew

6 large potatoes, unpeeled and diced into 1-inch cubes
1 head cauliflower, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
2 large onions, diced
2 cups savoy cabbage (optional)
2 cups celery, chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 jar tomato paste
2 teaspoons marjoram
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon celery salt
pepper to taste
8 cups vegetable stock
1 ½ tablespoons Spike seasoning

*Yves Chick'n Tenders, optional

Heat oil in an extra large cooking pot. Add the vegetables. Stir well for 2 - 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste, herbs, Spike and pepper, then pour in the stock and tenders (if using). Stir well, and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover pot and simmer for 30 minutes. By this time, the water should have been absorbed and the vegetables will be tender. Tastes way better the next day.

Greatest Hits!

Wow, I didn't realize how many pics I've taken over the last few weeks! I guess I did some good eatin'!


First, I made a few things from recent issues of VT. From September 2007, I made the Greek-Style Panini with a couple of substitutions - crumbled tofu instead of feta and I also spread some pesto on my sliced baguette. These were tasty! It did tempt me to add a panini griller to my appliance collection, but a weighted pot was a great stand-in on top of my grill pan. I teamed this up with a Carrot Soup from an old issue of VT - it used a whole giant bag of baby carrots that I chopped in the food processor then blended with leeks and other ingredients in the pressure cooker.




Next, I made another quick meal from October 2007's issue - Stir-Fried Udon Noodles with Bok Choy. It was very tangy and tasty!



I also made a delicious recipe from Bryanna Clark Grogan's Almost No-Fat Cookbook. I had this book tucked away in my kitchen bookcase with full intentions to make the Pineapple Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry, but never seemed to get around to it. Am I ever glad that I finally did! It was another quick meal, as I used Yves "Chicken" Tenders. It was very flavourful with the sauce and the pineapple! I received many compliments from curious co-workers as the smell of my reheated leftovers wafted over the cubicle walls.



I also tried a couple of recipes of my own - I roasted some butternut squash in my slow cooker with onions, garlic, ginger and maple syrup, then when I got home, puréed it up with some veggie stock to make a yummy soup.



I also used some leftover meatballs from making this again, to serve on top of brown long-grain rice. For the sauce, I mixed equal amounts of chili sauce and organic grape jelly - just like my mom does for regular meatballs. Tasty!



From VwaV, to continue with Tracy's challenge while we count down the days to the Canadian release of Veganomicon, I made Banana-Pecan Pancakes. I used whole wheat flour as my only sub...delicious! They were light and fluffy, just like Isa said they would in the lead-up to the recipe!



Finally, I wanted to save this entry for last. After describing numerous carrot mishaps here, here and here, I finally had success with the Carrot-Raisin Muffins from VwaV!!! This was a major victory for me! They were extremely yummy, especially with the addition of walnuts! I won't be too adventurous again, as the dried cranberries I added were not a good idea.

The All-You-Can-Grab Buffet

Here's my contribution to the housewarming that we went to on the weekend. VWAV's Tofu Dill Salad Sammiches:



As Sarah described, as soon as they hit the buffet table they were being gobbled up by the obviously starving omni crowd. This wasn't the venue for extolling the virtues of vegan food, it was the kinda time and place where you grabbed what you could and growled at anyone who looked longingly at your plate. The omnis didn't even use plates, so the vegans had to forage for what they could.

Considerably less attractive than Sarah's stellar dessert were the Pumpkin Pie Brownies that I made.



But I really enjoyed the pumpkin-chocolate combo - the spicy pumpkin really set off the rich chocolate base.

For my Vwav challenge, we had One Night in Bangkok (well, two) - I made both the Brooklyn Pad Thai and the Thai Green Curry;



(The pad thai photos got lost in cyberspace. Or camera space. There's only one terribly blurry photo left. I won't make you dizzy.)

I went with tamarind in the pad thai sauce vs the lime juice. I think next time I'll try half of each, for extra extra flavour. I really liked the dish. For the curry, I'll throw in more veggies next time, like broccoli and maybe carrots. Thai restaurants always serve those fancy-cut carrots. I don't know how to do that.

Heaven on Earth

Omigod - Isa's Chocolate Smlove Pie is to die for. I can't really say much else because it was just that darn good, as it was devoured at a family housewarming party tonight. Fortunately, Tracy and I managed to serve ourselves and our immediate family before the other vultures came along! I think most of the non-vegans who ate the pie were on too much of a chocolate high to notice or care that tofu was a main ingredient.

I was nervous about how long the recipe was in length, but happily surprised that it didn't really take much effort at all to make. I used a whole package of water-packed silken tofu that weighed more than the pound called for in the recipe, so I skipped adding the liqueur/soymilk option for the filling. It turned out great. I'm also glad that I read somewhere on the PPK to make extra maple-candied pecans - what a great little snack to have leftover!

Honestly though, anyone who hasn't already made this should really do so immediately! I can't believe I had stored this recipe in the back of my mind for as long as I did!

Pumpk'd

It's definitely harvest time! I bought six pie pumpkins from Farm Boy and spent my holiday Monday roasting...


Puréeing and packaging...


and Muffining! I tweaked the VwaV Best Pumpkin Muffins Ever recipe to use whole wheat flour, egg replacer and some applesauce that would have otherwise rotted in the fridge (it was still fresh when I used it!). They were amazing. I also made a Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving, but I ate all evidence of that.


I also tweaked my own recipe for Pumpkin Scones. I cut out circles, and instead of using the Drizzle part of the recipe (I was getting lazy at this point), I just sprinkled some cinnamon on top of the icing.


With all of that, I STILL have loads of pumpkin left over to store in the freezer to make more yummy pumpkin treats throughout the winter - hooray!

Six Down

I tucked a few more VwaV recipes under my apron strings.

Mushroom and Sun-dried Tomato Risotto


The flavours are heavenly. I may try it in the pressure cooker next time as the stirring is labourious.

Sweet Potato Hash (a keeper for sure, featuring spinach here)



The most heartiest vegan dish around, Stewed Tofu and Potatoes in Miso Gravy



Braised Cauliflower in Three-Seed Sauce


(Hot-Sauce Glazed Tempeh from Veganomicon makes an appearance there - it is SO good. I need to go buy more tempeh)

Apple Pie Crumb-cake Muffins



And scrumptious, scrumptious Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies.



Pete came home with six more sugar pie pumpkins. I get the hint.

Veganomicon is set to ship from Chapters on November 1 (my birthday - certainly a sign). Must. keep. cooking...

And I obviously need to switch up my placemats once in a while.

Plugging Away...

...on my VwaV challenge. I took score: 43 down, 91 to go (based on the recipe list in this thread). A little disheartening, but we'll eat happy trying. I had to try Kabocha Squash Stuffed with Butternut Vindaloo because there is no photo posted in the thread for it.



I know those aren't kabocha squashes (squashes? squice? squashii?) but they are really pretty. I loved the flavour of the vindaloo in all it's mustard-seedy goodness.

And lemon-poppyseed muffins.



I've always been leery of poppyseeds after my sister worked at a grocery store and handed out free samples of poppyseed-filled baked goods. She always knew who was sneaking back for seconds when they eagerly grinned for more. Good muffins, though.

And here are the famous Big Gigantoid Crunchy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies.



They were frequently mentioned in the addiction thread. Ya, I see why. They are awesome. Really awesome. Like I could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner awesome.

And these have been popular for a long time too. Raspberry Chocolate Chip Blondie Bars.



They are brilliantly simple to make (I used raspberry jam) and fancy enough to put on a Christmas cookie platter.

And finally, this week's CSA haul.



Celery, swiss chard, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, broccoli, garlic, sage, a white squash of unknown variety, and yummy fresh raspberries. It was the first time we got fruit in our basket. I'm afraid the CSA season may end any week now. It's been great - again, check out Tim and Roshan Aubin if you are in the Ottawa area and looking for a CSA.

This 'n' That

I was on a bit of a cooking spree, and decided to whip out Vegan Planet to try a few of the 400+ recipes. I first made Udon Noodles in Ginger Broth (I'm not around the book now to type the totally correct title). I have to say that I won't make this again - it lacked flavour and with such a runny broth, it was hard to eat the noodles without making a giant mess. If I were to make it again, I would significantly increase the flavouring with something, and would break the noodles up into tiny pieces.

Next, I thought I'd try the Spinach Bread Pudding. Tasty, but there was one thing I'd do differently...note the instructions about the pan prep:

This is the result of 'lightly oiling' the pan:

Despite a messy clean-up, it was quite tasty. I served it with some Roasted Vegetables with Thyme (basically cut up parsnips, white potatoes, red potatoes, carrots, onion and garlic mixed with olive oil and thyme and baked at 450 for 40 mins) and baked tofu.

I've been getting better at planning my meals and going to the grocery store just once during the week. This week, I already made Pasta with Portobello Mushrooms in Mustard Sauce. It was from an old issue of VT, but I modified it to include onions and Yves Chick'n Tenders. I used a grainy dijon mustard so I had mustard seeds caught in my teeth everywhere - use smooth dijon if that would make you self-conscious!

Finally, to coincide with Tracy's VwaV challenge, I made the Apple Pie Muffins. OMG - I was skeptical about just how good they would be, but wow, they are great. It's well worth dropping the streusel topping all over the floor to eat these.

Beet the Clock

I had vowed a while back that I would make every recipe in VwaV before Veganomicon came out. I had said even Orange-Glazed Beets. Well, here they are:



And here they are frolicking on my dinner plate with Marinated Asian Tofu, sauteed swiss chard and roasted spaghetti squash. And they were good! I like beets!



And because wild blueberries were prolific at Farmboy, here are Sunny Blueberry Corn Muffins. I'm on a roll.



Is anyone else up for the challenge??

We had lots of tomatoes in our CSA basket this week, and I needed a meal that would use up a few at once. I didn’t want to make regular boring tomato sauce, as it can be too acidic for my liking. We had an eggplant in the fridge, so I made this dish. Warning: this is not a low-fat recipe! I wanted to make sure the eggplant was soft, and since eggplant absorbs a lot of oil when cooking, I used the minimum that I thought I could get away with.

Fresh Tomato Eggplant Pasta

1 large eggplant
5 large tomatoes
5 tblsp organic extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced*
5 white mushrooms, sliced
½ cup red wine
2 tsp organic sugar (if using red wine that isn’t sweet)
2 tsp sea salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tblsp fresh basil, chopped
1 can chickpeas

1 package organic large-shaped pasta, penne or rotini

Peel eggplant with a vegetable peeler and cut into 1” cubes. Submerge eggplant in a bowl of heavily salted water (like 2 heaping teaspoons) by placing a bowl upside-down over the cubes to keep those floaters underwater. Let sit for 30 mins, or as long as possible.

Put a large pot of water on to boil. Make a little X with a knife in bottom of each tomato. When the water is bubbling, drop tomatoes in. Let cook for 45 seconds, then remove tomatoes with slotted spoon and plunge into a bowl of cold water. The tomato skins should peel off easily with your hands. Chop naked tomatoes into 1” cubes.

Put the same big pot of water on the stove to boil for the pasta. That way there will be less dishes to wash. I’m lazy.

Rinse and drain eggplant. Place olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over med heat. Add the eggplant cubes and cook for 15 minutes, or until eggplant is completely brown and soft. Add the garlic and mushrooms. Cook for another 3 minutes. This is what it looks like at this point:



Add the red wine, salt, sugar and chickpeas, and simmer for 5 minutes, heating through. Mix vegetables with cooked pasta and serve.



*Since joining our CSA, I’ve learned that fresh garlic kicks butt over the dried up bulbs they sell at the grocery store. Farmer’s markets have huge amounts of garlic at this time of year. The garlic juice should drip out of the press, or it’s not fresh.

My Favourite Salad

I really miss my favourite Lebanese restaurant in Ottawa - Kamal's - as it had the best Fattoush Salad ever. I've tried other places, and found that the dressing isn't that great, or the pita crisps are too greasy. I realize I sound very fussy, but I wish that I could go somewhere to experience such a tasty delight instead of having to make it myself.

Fortunately, to satisfy my cravings for this tangy salad, Vegan Planet's version is pretty darn good. I like how it calls for chickpeas for added protein. Although the recipe doesn't contain 'sumac', which I think is a traditional spice in fattoush, it's nice and garlicky.


Since there's alot of chopping involved due to all of the fresh veggies and fresh herbs, I typically buy the pre-cut romaine salads in a bag.