Showing posts with label EDBV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EDBV. Show all posts

Saturday, February 12

Cook Book Challenge Week #5

Eat, Drink & Be Vegan
Last Night's Menu: Lemon Chickpea Lentil Soup

Last night's dinner was really quick and surprisingly filling.  All I had to do was chop the veggies, add seasoning, measure a few things and let the soup simmer.  Once the soup is ready, you blend it (I left mine a little chunkier) and add extra chickpeas.  It reminded me of pea soup, but with more flavor and a little lemon.  I thought it was interesting that you blended the cooked lentil, but the resulting texture was great.  I ate leftovers for lunch today, and since it was thicker today, served it over brown jasmine rice.  It was just as tasty today!

Thought's on "Eat, Drink & Be Vegan"?  Originally, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I was pleasantly surprised by a few things-- lots of veggies, quick recipes and simple ingredients.  I LOVED the Thai Chick-Un Pizza.  The other two recipes were good, relatively quick meals that I'll keep in mind for the future.  I'm sure there are other things in the book that I would really like, so I'll add this to my wish list!

Wednesday, February 9

Cook Book Challenge Week #5

Eat, Drink & Be Vegan
Tonight's Menu: Bean and Corn Tortilla Lasagna with Avocado

I don't have a whole lot to say about the lasagna, because it was pretty straight forward.  I followed the recipe nearly word-for-word.  The only thing I changed was baking it in a round CorningWare dish.  The tortillas that I used fit perfectly, so I decided to use it instead of piecing them together in a rectangular pan.  Since it was smaller, I layered everything twice.  There wasn't much to chop or prep, so it was pretty quick to toss it together.  The lasagna was nice and spicy and I was surprised that I could really taste the lime juice in between the layers.  Chad really liked it and had only good things to say.  If I make this again, I would probably add either chopped tomatoes, green chilies or chopped green peppers to the sauce layer.  It was good as is, but it was just missing the "wow" factor.  On the other hand, it was really quick to prepare.. so I guess that's a trade off.

Like I said, not much to say... I'll add a picture soon!

Tuesday, February 8

Cook Book Challenge Week #5

Eat, Drink & Be Vegan: Everyday Vegan Recipes Worth Celebrating
Last Night's Menu: Thai Chick-Un Pizza

Week five already?  I though this challenge would be a lot of work, but it's turning out to be pretty fun.  The only thing that's been a little difficult is that I don't own all of the cookbooks, but with the help of my friendly, local library... problem solved!  This week is another book that I hadn't really looked at before.  There are a ton of things I'd like to try, so it's looking like a promising week.

no cheese to miss her
To start the week, we made Thai Chick-Un Pizza.  Chad was pretty excited about this and I was also looking forward to trying it, because we both liked the Brooklyn Pad Thai last week.  It took me quite a while to (at least an hour) prep the ingredients, because there's a lot of rinsing, chopping and blending to do.  The peanut sauce has all kinds of goodies mixed in and the pizza is loaded with toppings.  I followed this recipe pretty exactly and it turned out great.  The peanut sauce was really rich and flavorful.  I loved the sweetness from the pineapple, and I'm also realizing I love the crunch and taste of bean sprouts.  Finally, the cilantro and green onions added another layer of flavor.  This was definitely the pizza we were both hoping for!  It was so filling, that there are leftovers (which Chad claimed again) for lunch.

Also, I thought I'd include the recipe for the pizza crust.  It's something my mom came up with years ago.  She mixed and matched a bunch of recipes until she came up with this.  It's really quick and if you're making a simple pizza, you can usually have in on the table in thirty minutes. 

Stir and Roll Pizza 
2 c flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour yesterday)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2/3 c non-dairy milk (I used rice)
1/4 c oil 

1.  Heat oven to 425.  Measure all ingredients and stir until well-combined.
2.  Gather dough together and press into a ball.  Knead 10 times on counter.
3.  Spread some flour on the counter and roll crust into desired shape.  (Fits large pizza pan or cookie sheet)
4.  Bake 5 minutes.
5.  Top with desire toppings.
6.  Bake additional 10-15 minutes.