Veggie Goes Vegan

Week One Cooking from Mayim's Vegan Table #vegcookbookclub

I'm trying to get back in the swing of things with the #VegCookbookClub, and this month's selection was the perfect one for me, since I already owned Mayim Bialik's Mayim's Vegan Table, and was looking forward to trying it. I also knew I wasn't traveling the entire first half of the month, so I'd be in the position to be *able* to cook at home. Which isn't always the case.

So, I'm pleased to say I got off to a roraring good start and made four, count 'em four recipes from Mayim's Vegan Table last week. I did my usual poor planning and #lazycook approach that frivolously substitutes and omits ingredients, but all in all, all four recipes came out pretty well.

The first picture above is of the Tofu and Vegetables Curry.  The recipe makes a LOT of food, in fact I had to move to a bigger pot mid-prep, because I understimated how much it would make.

My #lazychef approach:
I substituted coconut oil for canola oil.
I omitted the cinnamon stick and lime juice, as I didn't have any.
I omitted the cilantro, since I have an allergic reaction when I eat it (and I'm beginning to think coriander (cilantro's seed) does the same!
And I really didn't measure the sweet potato.

When I filled the (now bigger) pot with all the vegetables, it really didn't seem like enough liquid to adequately simmer it all (perhaps I had too much sweet potato?) so I added an extra cup or two of water.

Anyway, it was super-easy, didn't take tooooo long, and very subtly spicy. It suggestt serving it over rice or noodles, but I pretty much ate it like soup or stew, on its own. I'd make it again.

I also made the Creamy Enchilada Casserole, pictured at left. This also made a large number of servings. Her book is geared towards families, but the portion sizing also makes it perfect for someone like me, who can cook  a dish for dinner one night, then bring servings of that same dish to work for lunch for another day or two.

My #lazychef approach:
I of course used way more than one garlic clove, I mean WHO can you just one garlic clover?
I chose to use the black beans (not a #lazychef thing, but just thought I'd share what I used)
Again omitted cilantro, because yuk
Also omitted the oregano, because I don't like oregano that much to begin with and *definitely* don't think it belongs in a Mexican-inspired dish.
I used corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas for the layers. Just cause.
For the cheese sauce I chose soy milk out of the mil choices offered.
And here's the biggest #lazyweb substitution of all. The recipe called for a package of Daiya shredded cheddar, and I had a package I had opened and used a bit of in the fridge, so I hadn't bothered to buy more. But I realized that was probably WEEKS ago, because that Daiya had died-a. Luckily I had some other vegan cheese in my fridge...a new brand called Door 86 (that started as a Kickstarter project, from what I can tell). The flavor I ahd that seemed most apropos for the dish was not the Sriricha Cheddar that I had gobbled up earlier, and not the Candied Lemon Cashew Cheese that I still had some of, but the only other flavor I ahd left, the Gruyere. So I used that.

I think the cheese choice (and the fact that Door 86 is probably not as focused on melting applications as Daiya) was problematic. But when heating up the sauce I just added a bit of nutritional yeast, and in the end the sauce was fine, the overall flavor of the casserole was fine, and I even served it to a non-vegan friend, who liked it. I *might* make this again, but would probably use a slightly smaller casserole dish (so it would turn out thicker) and use the called-for cheese option.

The other two recipes I made, I ate them up without remembering to take photos. This is how you know I'm not the best food blogger. Or even, really, a food blogger :)

First I made the Corn and Black Bean Salad. It's pretty much corn, black beans, and hearts of palm...hard to go wrong with those ingredients. The dressing, however, is vegenaise-based, and frankly I would have probably preferred some kind of salsa dressing or sesame dressing. I like vegenaise in appropriate mayonnaise-y situations, like in my mock tuna salad, but I've never been a mayonnaise-y salad dressing gal, so this didn't totally float my boat. 

The other dish I made that I didn't snap was the Udon with Edamame and Peanut Sauce. Again, kind of hard to go wrong! I used rice noodles i had on hand, rather than actual udon noodles, but this was a very simple and flavorful dish. Blending up the peanut sauce in my VitaMix was a piece of cake. I can see how the sauce might have been a little less powerful with heariter udon noodles, but I don't mind a powerful peanut sauce :) 

As always, you can count on the fact that I leave cilantro out. And you know another #lazychef thing I regularly do? I don't grate things. I hate grating things. So I just chop up the carrots pretty fine, btu don't grate them. Same for ginger. Same for, well, anything.

I'm happy I got off to such a good start on this month's #vegcookbookclub sselection. Now I'm off to plan what I'll make in week two. Because on April 16th I leave for some travel, and I don't think I'll be cooking much the second half of the month!

I've actually been cooking, just not posting

Thanks to the VegCookbookClub, I've actually cooked regularly. I don't claim to do anything facy and recipe-based more than a few times a month, but I am keeping up.

The problem is that then I snap the shots of the food, post them to Instagram, and never quite make it over here to blog it.

August's cookbook is Betty Goes Vegan by Annie and Dan Shannon. And I've made three recipes:

Greek Lemon Soup:

Thoughts: I like lemon, I like artichoke hearts, I like garlic. In other words: This worked for me. I might add some tofu for some protein (although the recipe already does call for chickpeas). 

Mexican Meat Loaf:

Thoughts: So easy. And pretty damn hearty. I'd make this again.

Cheezburger Pie:

Thoughts: Go light on the vegan cheese. Even if oyu like Daiya shredded cheddar, which I do, a little goes a long way.

I'll be trying a few more recipes form the book before the month is out, because I'm actually not traveling at all the next 3 weeks, so looking forward to it!

VegCookbookClub July Cookbook: More from Wild About Greens by Nava Atlas

I'm doing pretty well actually cooking from this month's cookbook for Veg Cookbook Club, Wild About Greens by Nava Atlas. 

It happens to align really well with my commitment to try to eat more healthily this year, a lot of which has been focused on green juices, smoothies and cooking with mroe greens (especially since I am not a massive fan of salads).

Two nights ago I made Mediterranean Greens with Pine Nuts and Raisins.

I'm not gonna lie: Per usual I didn't have exactly the right ingredients, and I didn't follow instructions exactly. Most notably, i didn't have raisins like I thought I did...but I DID have dried cherries. You know what? They worked just fine.

In addition, I used a mix of greens (spinach, collards, kale) and it wasn't quite the mix in the receipe, and since Atlas recommends cooking for different lengths of time, depending on what kind of greens you use (and I didn't use a mix of greens that  matched exactly her suggestions) I played it by ear on  that.

Despite all that, this came out really nicely. I especially loved adding the lemon juice at the end. I served it with couscous and some soy curls that I seared in the same pan I cooked the greens in.

My S.O. is not a fan of cooked greens, actually, but he really liked it too.

This was easy...the epitome of simple and tasty and comfort food that felt healthy. So, a keeper.

 

Something New To Try: A Veg Cookbook Club

Britt Bravo, a BlogHer friend and the organizer of what started out as a BlogHer editor book club, has started another book club. I am going to at least follow along with her Veg Cookbook Club. Since my New Year's Resolution was to leave work at 5PM, this is very aligned with that goal. (OK, that's kind of a joke. My resolution is to eat healthier, but as I determined in this post that that really meant leaving work at 5.)

I already own the first book, Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Appetitie for Reduction. [Disclosre: That's an affilite link for Britt, who deserves it because she is awesome at running book clubs!!]

So, anybody else in? I htink it's a GREAT idea and hope I can participate not just by following along, but by healthy cooking.

 

 

Vegan MoFo Day 3: I have a head of cauliflower in my fridge

I just bought a head of organic cauliflower. I buy cauliflower a lot.

And an inappropriate percentage of the time, I don't use it.

It's inappropriate because really there is nothing easier than chopping up a head of cauliflower, tossing it in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and cinnamon and roasting the whole thing for a mere 15-20 minutes or so for a delctable dish.

Why don't I do that every single time?

Inspired, this time, by a post from the Whole Foods blog that shares their 10 favorite ways to cook cauliflower, I'm bound and determined to make it...maybe tonight. Not all of their suggestions are vegan, but most can be veganized.

Right now I'm debating between making Caulipots (a mashed cauliflower potato combo) form Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Appetite for Reduction or using my fancy Cuisinart Soup Maker/Blender (that I haven't used nearly enough) to make a creamy cauliflower soup

What would you make with a fresh head of cauliflower?

Vegan MoFo Day 1: My interview with Clean Food's Terry Walters is live

I met Terry Walters last month at the BlogHer Handmade/The Creative Connection event, and right away asked her if I could interview her for BlogHer. She said yes, a week later we were on the phone, and we decided to publish the interview as a kick-off ot both World Vegetarian Month and VeganMoFo.

Read the whole thing...lots of great information about food, health...and also self-publishing!

Bonus, in case you missed it: I also got to interview Kathy Freston a couple of months ago.

Hearing the warm wonderful perspectives of these two great ladies is a great way to kick off VeganMoFo.

Enjoy!

Link: Excellent Jonathan Safran Foer interview

As always Jonathan Safran Foer expresses himself with a rare blend of petry and pragamtism when it comes to the subject of Eating Animals.

You'll enjoy this interview in the Sydney Morning Herald.

These two quotes, particularly, are thoughtful and inarguable:

''Do I think there is any chance in the world that half of Americans will be vegetarians in 10 years? I would say there is virtually no chance in the world of that. Do I think there is any chance that half of the meals eaten in America will be vegetarian in 10 years? I think there is a good chance of that. And that would have the same impact on the world - whether it's half the people or half the meals. It's just that we are not used to thinking about that second way because we've become so convinced that it's a question of identity or lifestyle as opposed to the end that we want.''

and

''It gives the appearance of being incredibly profitable and efficient, even though it's not. It's not profitable if the costs weren't externalised. If you simply made them pay for their environmental clean-ups, they would all go out of business tomorrow.''

And here's one more. Another example of how he states radical propositions so calmly:

''We have to eat much, much, much less, just because there isn't enough earth on Earth. And the other caveat is we pay the real cost - and people would eat a lot less.''

Is that such a bad thing? Given our losing battle with obesity in First World countries such as Australia, eating less seems like a positive. Foer says: ''The bad thing is the rich people would get to eat what they want, the poor people wouldn't. But that's already true.'' 

That last sentence makes you cringe; it's an "ouch" moment. But it's true. And if we were all eating better quality food that was less damaging to the planet, theoretically we all would benefit too.

Foer has turned quiet persuasion into an art form.

Kathy Freston interview now live on BlogHer

About 4 weeks ago, just days before I left for San Diego and BlogHer '11, I had the opportunity to interview author and wellness expert Kathy Freston for BlogHer. She was as lovely and down-to-earth as you might expect. We held the interview until now and published yesterday, given yesterday I spent here in vegan-friendly Portland at the world's first vegan blogger conference: Vida Vegan Con. Check out the interview. And check out the first commenter who sees nothing but judgment in the interview, even though I think Kathy goes way overboard in attempting to be anything but jugmental. Projecting much? Well, you tell me. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Quick Link: Essential Veg*n Cookbooks

At least, according to Care2 Green Living blogger, Becky Striepe.

 

While I have four out of the five books she recommends, there's only one on the list that I turn to regularly: Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Romero. Clearly, I need to go give the other three a closer look!

My other go-to cookbook that isn't on the list is The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

Yes, I dabble in many other books, and variety is the spice of life, but those two books are such diverse compendiums of vegan cuisine, I seriously feel like between those two books I would be set for vegan life.

What are your faves?

Video of Jonathan Safran Foer talk/interview last September

Last September I attended a talk/interview with Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Eating Animals and general rock star to the veg*n crowd. It was awesome, but I didn't really try to recreate it. He has such a distinct, rational, non-confrontaional, yet deeply emotional way of expressing himself on the issue...it's hard to capture.

And now I don't have to try, because my friend (and companion that evening) Stacie Tamaki found a video of that very evening, which she posted on her blog.

Stacie is a graphics person, so she also added her own visual take on how we think chickens are being raised, vs. how they are really raised in this country. 

So, check out her blog, her post and the video. You'll be glad you did.

(And just be glad I've contained my Foer-fangirldom in this post...'cause seriously, he's brilliant.)