Adventures in AFR

A few weeks ago, I finally bought Appetite for Reduction and have been loving it!  We have made two or three things each week and already have a few favorites-- including Baked Falafel.  So... here are some recent pictures and thoughts on some delicious meals!

The first thing we made was Baked Falafel, which we have made probably half a dozen times now.  Last night, Chad was even successful making them solo.  The first time we made them, we just ate them plain for a snack.  Since then, we usually make a big salad with cucumber, tomato, red onion (for me) and tahini dressing.  The recipe is so easy, just throw the chickpeas and some other ingredients in the food processor, blend until smooth, mix in a few other seasonings, form and bake.  They can be ready in right around 30 minutes, so it's a surprisingly easy weeknight meal.

The second thing we tried was another salad-- Pad Thai Salad with Peanut-Lime Dragon Dressing.  We doubled the veggies and added some pan-fried tofu triangles to make it a meal.  Since I've been in love with anything Thai and peanutty lately, I thought this salad was amazing... lots of fresh veggies and flavor.  I also liked making the dressing from scratch.  There are a bunch of recipes for dressing in this cookbook that I'm planning to make.  I like that you can adjust the seasoning, oils and such and know exactly what you're eating.  Plus, you can always taste freshness!

The remaining recipes in random order:

Herb-Roasted Cauliflower and Bread Crumbs

This was a simple side, but was SO flavorful.  The bread crumbs and herbs make the cauliflower taste rich and buttery.

Mac & Trees with Easy Breezy Cheezy Sauce

Another vegan mac and cheeze recipe to add to my arsenal!  This had a good flavor, not too rich.  The big stalks of broccoli (or trees) bulked it up and added more flavor.  I think I used a whole box of whole wheat pasta and still had enough sauce to go around.

Lasagna with Roasted Cauliflower Ricotta & Spinach

This recipe used a combo of cauliflower and tofu to make a ricotta-like filling and black olives on top in place of cheese.  It was really filling and made enough for dinner and lunch for me and Chad.  I can see this becoming a fall and winter favorite.

Curried Chickpeas & Greens

Another really quick and delicious meal.  This was the first time that I used mustard seeds, garam masala and I also finally bought fresh ginger.  I LOVED this recipe.  It was so flavorful from all of the seasonings (I think there is something like 10 different spices), tomatoes and kale.  I'm already looking forward to making this again!  (This picture is from my phone.  Somehow my camera battery was dead for over a week!)

Arabian Lentil & Rice Soup
I don't know how I missed taking a picture of this one.  Chad will probably say it's because he made it, which he did, but that's not why there is no picture.  This was made with creamy red lentils and jasmine rice, with its own share of veggies.  It was also a good way to use up some of our homemade veggie broth (it's taking over the freezer!).  I think we had enough of this for a few left-over lunches, so that was a little bonus.

I think that's it... so far.  I'm loving this book and there is so much that I still need to try!  I love that, like Isa's other books, there is such a variety of recipes.  There are safe favorites (like Mac & Trees  and Classic Black Bean & Veggie Chili) mixed in with other recipes that I wouldn't normally seek out (like Curried Chickpeas & Greens and Curry Laksa). I'll let you know what else I try soon...

Cook Book Challenge Week #9

Vegan on the Cheap

Last Night's Menu:  Curried Tofu Wraps and Curry Coconut Rice
Dessert (and Breakfast!):  Great Northern Apple Cake

This week's cookbook over at the PPK is "Yellow Rose Recipes", but I am subbing "Vegan on the Cheap."  This was the second vegan cookbook that I purchased and it's fairly well-used.  We have a few favorites including Wheatballs, Spinach Pie and Chocolate Oatmeal-Peanut Butter Cookies.  I'm looking forward to checking off more recipes from our "To Try" list.

We started on Sunday with dessert-- Great Northern Apple Cake, which actually ended up being dinner due to a late lunch and a leaky sink.  The recipes includes two apples (organic Granny Smith apples were on sale, yay!) and almost a full can of great northern beans, so I didn't feel TOO bad about eating it for dinner (and again today for breakfast!).  The prep was pretty easy and I followed the recipe pretty closely, only doubling the walnuts and halving the brown sugar.  It turned out SO moist and delicious.  The walnuts were amazing, because they mixed with the apples and spices as the cake baked.  When I dished up the first piece, Chad said it looked like it belonged in a restaurant.  I'll admit, I thought it looked pretty professional, too!

Last night, we made the Curried Tofu Wraps with Cheapskate Chutney and Curried Coconut Rice on the side.  It was a really quick meal that was on the table within 45 minutes-- Chad was in charge of the wraps, while I made the rice and chutney.  The kitchen was all cleaned up by 6:00, which is usually when we are getting ready to sit down to eat!  It was a really fresh and filling meal.  I've never made chutney before; I always thought it was really difficult and fancy, but it was super quick and easy.  I used a mango in place of the pineapple, otherwise I followed the recipe pretty closely.  The sweetness and soft texture was perfect with the curried tofu and crunchy veggies.  The curried coconut rice was a good variation from my regular "use coconut milk instead of water" coconut rice.  I liked the veggies mixed in for a little more flavor and texture as well.  This was a perfect weeknight meal, it was quick to prepare, filling and packed with veggies and flavor!


For dessert, we finished off the last of the apple cake.  Next dessert?  I'm thinking brownies...

Cook Book Challenge Week #4

Vegan with a Vengeance: Over 150 Delicious, Cheap, Animal-Free Recipes That Rock
Today's Menu: Soup!
Soup #1 Chili Sin Carne al Mole
Soup #2 Curried Split Pea Soup

Assuming the weather holds out and we have school all week, this is going to be another busy week for us.  We planned ahead by preparing two crocks full of soup last night.  Also, this week's cookbook "Vegan with a Vengeance," is probably my favorite vegan cookbook.  Maybe because it was the first one I bought, maybe because it's just that awesome.  Either way, I'm looking forward to trying a few new things this week... starting out with soup!

First, the chili.  We just threw everything in the slow cooker to make preparation easier.  Also, we didn't have any seitan on hand, so we skipped that and replaced the jalapeno with chipotle.  Other than that, we followed the recipe pretty closely.  I had a bowl for lunch today with a few tortilla chips.  I couldn't finish the whole thing though, because the soup was really rich.  I don't know if it was because I used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder that it was so strong or maybe I added a little too much molasses?  It was filling, smelled good cooking all night and Chad really liked it, so I'm not sure.  If I have any more, I'll probably add some more chili powder or broth.  It would also be good with cornbread, something with a simpler flavor.

For dinner, we ate the Curried Split Pea Soup.  This was also a pretty easy recipe to make using the slow cooker.  If I make it again, I would saute the onions and garlic, like the recipe called to do, to make it more flavorful.  I also used some veggie broth that was left over from the chili.  There wasn't as much curry flavor as I expected, but it was a good soup for a cold, wintry night!  It actually reminded me more of my mom's split pea soup than I expected.  I also made a loaf of homemade artisan free-form bread to go with the soup, instead of the suggested rice.  AND ever since we had the Fettuccine Alfredo last week, Chad has been obsessed with nutritional yeast!  We always dip this bread in balsamic and olive oil, but all he could think about after school until we ate was spreading EB and "nooch" on his bread.   I'm not sure which he likes more, eating the nutritional yeast or saying "nooch." 

As I finish typing this, I received word that school has been canceled for tomorrow!  I'm off to enjoy my evening...

Cook Book Challenge Week #3

The Urban Vegan: 250 Simple, Sumptuous Recipes from the Street Cart Favorites to Haute Cuisine
Tuesday's Menu: Curry Cashew Casserole
Tonight's Menu: Chickpea Chili Burgers

This week's cookbook, as listed above, is "The Urban Vegan."  To be honest, I've never looked through it before last weekend, so I'm looking forward to some more new ideas.  It's also the first time I've checked out a cookbook from the library.  All sorts of excitement!  Without further ado, the food...

Chad was in charge of last night's dinner-- Curry Cashew Casserole.  He didn't say much or complain about it, so I'm assuming it was pretty easy to throw together.  I did help a little by making the cashew butter with raw cashews in the food processor.  I don't know if the raw cashews made a difference, but I had to add a little oil to bring it together.  The only other change he made to the recipe was using curry powder in place of curry paste.  The recipe had lots of veggies-- broccoli, tomatoes, red pepper-- but lacked some kick from the spices.  I think next time I would add extra curry and maybe even crushed red pepper or cayenne to make it more interesting.  We served it over brown rice, and it ended up being a satisfying meal.  With a few changes, I would make this again as a quick weekday meal.  (I only snapped one picture before my camera battery died, so it's not the best quality.)

so good..

Tonight's menu included Chickpea Chili Burgers.  Chad did most of the work again tonight (yay!) and I just had to finish blending, forming and frying the burgers.  I wasn't really sure that I would be very impressed with them and wasn't sure about the bread and oats in the mixture, but they ended up being more than I expected.  They have a different texture than most other burgers that we've tried-- crispy on the outside and chewy, but smooth on the inside.  Definitely a good "different."  We topped them with guac, tomatoes and chipotle mayo (my easy recipe below).  They were so good, we both ate two, loaded with toppings!

Chipotle Mayo
1 chipotle pepper in adobo, seeded
1/2 c Nayonaise or Veganaise

squeeze of lime juice

Add pepper and Veganaise to food processor.  Blend until smooth.  Squeeze lime juice into food processor.  Pulse a few more times.  Chill until ready to serve.  (Pretty easy, huh?)

I'm typing this in our kitchen, while Chad is cleaning up and washing dishes... perhaps I should go help?