A Buffet of Recent Eats

I've had a bunch of pictures hanging around for a while, so instead of reviewing each recipe I thought I would just post the pretty pictures.  Enjoy!

Jerk Asparagus and Chickpea Piccata

Appetite for Reduction

Chicken Salad Sammy

The Best Veggie Burgers

Curried Red Bean Pilaf with Walnuts and Raisins

Vegan on the Cheap

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie 

theppk.com

Cajun Beanballs and Spaghetti

Appetite for Reduction

Thai-Style Pineapple Rice Salad

Vegan on the Cheap

Fronch Toast with mango coconut salsa

Vegan with a Vengeance

Unhealthy splurge

I'm not saying I eat healthy all the time, but I try to stay away from greasy, fried foods.  If I have chips, I make sure I'm at least eating them with some fresh salsa.  I bake almost exclusively with whole wheat pastry flour.  But.  These cheese curds have nothing healthy about them; they were a total splurge (which we ate with a big, green salad loaded with veggies, if that's any consolation) and totally worth it.  I used the batter for beer-battered tofu from "Vegan Brunch" and cubed up half a brick of Follow Your Heart nacho cheese (that was Chad's pick; I would have gone for almond cheddar).  Although the result was melty, greasy and delicious, it will probably be a while before I make these again!

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 #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!