American Vegan Kitchen.. revisited!

We've been doing a pretty good job keeping our cookbooks active since the challenge ended.  We've probably made something out of American Vegan Kitchen at least once a week.  One of our favorites is still the Coconut Bacon Bits, but here are some other goodies:

Seitan Po' Boys

These were the perfect flavorful and messy sandwich!  Aside from making the seitan (which I did the day before) they were also pretty quick to make.  We served them on French bread, as suggested, with pickles, mustard and a little extra mayo.

Brew City Stew

We used the extra seitan to make this stew.  The seitan really picked up the flavor of the beer, which I didn't expect.  It was really hearty and gave us enough to dinner and leftovers for lunch.

Brewpub Tater-Tot Pie

This might not be the prettiest dish, but it was definitely one of my favorites from this book.  We used a can of kidney beans in place of the TVP and omitted the mushrooms, otherwise we followed the recipe.  Again, the flavor of the beer really came through in this, so pick a beer that you like!  This is a relatively quick meal to keep in mind for the fall or winter.

Cook Book Challenge Week #8

American Vegan Kitchen

Tonight's Menu: Seitan and Herb Dumplings

this bowl is full of comfort!

I'll start this post by saying that I burned my tongue because I couldn't wait for a taste of this!  We didn't have everything we needed, but I've looked at this recipe every night as I flip through the book and we had all of the important ingredients.  It took some patience, because made the seitan and the stew tonight.  When we got home from school, we started the Seitan Lite, popped it into the oven, went for a quick run, turned the oven off, stretched for a bit, chopped veggies, watched a little TV and finally started to prepare the stew.  Once the seitan was done and the stew was simmering, we had time to clean up the kitchen and do a few other things.  I plopped the dumplings in early, because I couldn't wait! I almost doubled the dumpling recipe, but I'm glad I didn't because they more than doubled in size while cooking.  I thought the veggies might be a little crunchy since I didn't let it simmer the full time before adding the dumplings, but everything came out perfectly done.  This recipe was packed with flavor... it was full of seasoning at every step-- the seitan, the broth, the stew and the dumplings.

this speaks for itself

This was a perfect Friday night meal, especially tonight as it's rainy and chilly outside!  It might be a little too much prep for a mid-week meal, but now that we have some pre-made seitan, it would be much quicker.  Either way, it satisfied my dumpling craving and left us with plenty for lunch tomorrow!

I guess I should reflect on this week's challenge with "American Vegan Kitchen."  I absolutely loved everything we made this week.  I'm also super excited because we successfully made two new seitan recipes-- one baked and one steamed.  We couldn't stop raving about most things, and the only thing I would change would be to double the recipes to produce more left overs. I'm glad I finally got into this book, and it's one I won't stay closed for long; there are so many more recipes to attempt!

P.S.  Picture to follow soon!

Chickpea Wingz & Avocado Ranch

We didn't have anything planned for dinner tonight, but someone posted these earlier this week on PPK and I've been thinking about them since!  Tonight we made the chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon into "chicken nugget-sized boneless wings" in chipotle wing sauce.  I also made the ranch dressing recipe from American Vegan Kitchen with a super ripe avocado for dipping sauce.  I could have eaten this with a spoon, it was SO good!  With a big tex-mex salad, tonight's dinner was a perfect thrown together weeknight meal!  Now if we only had leftovers...

Cook Book Challenge Week #8

American Vegan Kitchen

Last Night's Menu:  Peanutty Tofu Kale Pockets & Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

cucumber and carrots are hiding under the peanut sauce!

Chad made dinner last night and I must say, he did a great job!  This was the first recipe he picked earlier in the week,  but we needed to get a few things for it.  It was worth the wait!   He started marinating the tofu and had everything else set out and ready to go when I got home.  While the tofu was baking, we chopped and made the peanut sauce and by the time that was done, everything was ready to assemble.  Pita, peanut sauce, sauteed kale, chopped veggies and a few chunks of tofu... yum!  I guess I never realized, but Chad and I really like peanut sauce!  We had a recipe that we made a few times last fall, and since this challenge started, we've made Brooklyn Pad Thai, Thai Chick-Un Pizza and now Peanutty Tofu Kale Pockets.  I just love the combo of the peanut sauce with cucumbers and other fresh veggies and herbs.

For dessert, I made the Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, with a few changes.  I used whole wheat flour and, since I was really craving chocolate, subbed chocolate chips for the raisins.  The cinnamon was a really great complement to the chocolate.  I made one regular batch and, for something different, made the rest in a mini muffin tin.  They turned out like little brownie bite cookies.  It was a fun variation, and they would've been delicious topped with a small scoop of ice cream! 

Cook Book Challenge Week #8

American Vegan Kitchen

Last Night's Menu:  Greek Town Gyros with Tzatzika Sauce & Midtown Greek Salad

This was the second seitan recipe that we've made.  I made the first one in the slow cooker, which was so easy.  I was a little worried about this recipe, because it needed to steam.  Either I'm a seitan pro or I'm just really good at following recipes, but this turned out (what I believe to be) perfectly!  We were both amazed by the flavor.  It's been a few years since I've had a gyro, but the flavor and even the texture were exactly what I remember.  AND the seitan was maybe even a little better than what I remember, because it didn't come from a twirling spindle of meat.

Okay, enough about that... this meal was a BIG winner.  It was amazing.  It was everything I expected.  Again, I can't say enough good things about it. It was also a quiet meal, with a few mmm's and yum's, because that's about all we could say in between monster big bites.  I really liked how the seitan turned out from slicing and pan frying.  The sauce made it a sloppy mess, which is exactly my kind of sandwich.  I ate two big pitas full of seitan, veggies and sauce AND a salad... I couldn't resist the second one.  The recipe says this serves four, but I think the amount of seitan, depending how thinly you slice it, can serve twice that.  Just chop lots of veggies.

We managed to save enough of the seitan for leftover Greek Salads tonight, which I'm pretty excited about!

Cook Book Challenge Week #8

American Vegan Kitchen: Delicious Comfort Food from Blue Plate Specials to Homestyle Favorites

Weekend Eats:

Cinnamon Flapjacks

Very Vanilla Raisin Bread with Raisin Bread Glaze

Café Broccoli Salad

Coconut “Bacon” Bits

Old-Fashioned Tempeh Burgers with Burger Sauce

Chocolate Chip Quick Cake

I’ve been so excited for this week, because we’ve had this cookbook since December and haven’t made a single thing!  Everything sounds great, so we dove into it this weekend…

The first thing we tried was the Cinnamon Flapjacks (have I mentioned that I love pancakes?!).   This is probably my favorite pancake recipe yet.  I didn’t have yogurt, so I used coconut kefir and a little less milk.  They were really fluffy, but filling.  I would eat these every morning if I had the time and energy at 6:00 am!
 

sliced and ready to be devoured

The second breakfast recipe we made was the Very Vanilla Raisin Bread.  This recipe took a lot of patience, so I was really hoping that it would be worth the effort… and it was!  I followed the recipe word-for-word (okay, except using half whole wheat flour), because I really wanted it to turn out.  I was surprised by a few things… two tablespoons of vanilla?  I guess that’s why it’s “very” vanilla and the amount of rising time.  I don’t know if it was due to the whole wheat flour, but my dough didn’t seem to rise much.  It passed the “finger test” though, so I suppose that was the important part.  In the end, the loaf barely made it through the day.  We each had two thick slices with a cup of tea and a few grapes for breakfast and it slowly disappeared as the day progressed.  Chad said he would like to “triple” the icing next time; I don’t know about that, but it was pretty good.  I might add some vanilla bean paste to the dough for even extra vanilla flavor.

We made two side dishes.  The first, Café Broccoli Salad, we ate with leftovers from Friday.  This again was delicious from the first bite.  We may have both even exclaimed, “Wow!”  I really liked that the broccoli was just a little steamed and still super crunchy.  There was just enough sauce, which wasn’t too overwhelmingly mayo-y.   The fruit and nuts (I actually used sunflower seeds instead of pine nuts) made it taste very light and summery.  I’ll definitely use this recipe again.  It was a quick side for leftovers and I can see it being great for summer cook outs.

The next “side” (I’m not sure what this should be called) was Coconut “Bacon” Bits.  I have to start by saying, if you own this book and haven’t made this recipe, stop reading and go make it!  They really were THAT good… salty and smoky, with a little sweetness.  It was so simple… coconut flakes with some liquids and seasoning tossed in the oven for 20 minutes and you’re rewarded with amazingly delicious tasty little bits.  I think Chad ate half of the bacon before we had dinner.  

fully loaded!

Which, speaking of dinner, was Old Fashioned Tempeh Burgers.  We started marinating these after breakfast and made them for an early lunch.  The marinade smelled great and I love tempeh, so I was excited for these.  I only used 8 ounces of tempeh, and I sliced them into slider sized burgers.  Also, when we fried them, I topped each side with extra marinade.  They turned out nicely browned, with a little crunch.  We also made the Burger Sauce, which I liked more than I thought I would.  We topped the buns with a little sauce, romaine, a burger, avocado, sliced tomatoes and a sprinkling of coconut bacon.  Again, these were AMAZING!  They were so simple and quick (if you prepare and allow them to marinate ahead of time) and the bacon added extra flavor and crunch.  So good.

so tasty, but not so pretty

The last recipe of the weekend was Chocolate Chip Quick Cake.   I really can’t say enough good things about the recipes we tried this weekend, and this was no exception.  It was so easy and turned out great.  I can see swapping out the chocolate chips and using this as a base for all kinds of “quick cake” creations.  I think we turned the cake into three servings instead of probably the six or eight it called for… oops!  The description calls this cake something in between shortcake and cake, but I would probably compare it more to a scone.  It would be great with a cup of coffee or a big glass of almond milk.

We still have a few things planned for the week and I can’t wait to try them!  I would even be happy with eating leftovers of this all week… if we had any leftovers!