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.

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 #10

Viva Vegan!: 200 Authentic and Fabulous Recipes for Latin Food Lovers

Last Night's Menu:  Cuban Black Bean Soup

Tonight's Menu:  Sweet Potato-Chipotle Bisque

I've been looking forward to this week for a while, because 1) I LOVE Mexican and Latin-inspired cooking and 2) I don't own the book, so I've really only looked through it a few times at Barnes and Noble.  I decided to start out the week with two easy soup recipes.  My jaw is still quite swollen and stiff, so I can't handle much chewing action and the weather has been perfect for soup, but these soups were no compromise on flavor!

Last night we made the Cuban Black Bean Soup.  Black beans have long been my favorite bean, but lately we've been eating far more chickpeas, so I was excited to get back to the black beans.  We even made an extra batch while we were at it.  This soup was pretty simple, but very flavorful.  You soak the beans overnight, simmer for a couple hours, add the Sofrito (which is garlic, onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, seasoning), season with liquid smoke and lime juice and serve!  For the minimal amount of ingredients, like I said, it was really good.  Terry lists the liquid smoke as optional, but I would definitely recommend it. Chad had two bowls and a piece of pie in the time it took me to eat just one bowl... someday I'll be able to use my molars again!  I had leftovers for lunch today with some cornbread, and it was just as good as last night.

Tonight we made an equally easy and delicious soup-- Sweet Potato-Chipotle Bisque.  The ingredients were minimalist in this recipe, too and I followed everything, only using coconut oil in place of olive oil.  It was super easy for me to eat, because once everything is softened you blend it (potatoes, onion, garlic, chipotle) and then add "cream" (I used coconut milk), lime juice and cilantro at the end.  It was so fresh and flavorful and the smokiness from the chipotle made the soup taste thicker than it was.    We served this soup with cilantro-lime rice and black beans.  It was very light and filling and ready in less than an hour.

Not sure what we're making tomorrow, but I'm looking forward to soup for lunch again!

Bye, Bye Wisdom Teeth; Hello Blender!

I had an exciting start to my spring break yesterday-- a visit to the oral surgeon to have my wisdom teeth removed.  This is something I've been putting off for at least the last 10 years, since my orthodontist first told me it would be a good idea.  When we moved to Illinois, my new dentist was the third person to tell me it was a "good idea."  Since my spring break is a week earlier than Chad's this year, I figured now was as good a time as any and finally made the appointment.

I don't know if the doctor gave me a few extra doses of Novocaine or what, but I couldn't tell the difference between my tongue and my bottom lip for a good six hours!  Chad enjoyed making fun of me, since I could barely swallow enough water to take my antibiotics and pain meds.  I finally tried to eat some jello in the early afternoon, which was not as easy as you might expect.  I couldn't move my jaw enough to chew, so I basically slurped it by the spoonful and swallowed the chunks.  I decided if I was going to go through the effort of "eating," I needed to try something a little more worthwhile... which is where the blender comes into play.  We had some leftover Mexican Bean and Rice Bake and broth from last weekend, so Chad threw that in the blender and the resulting drink was much more satisfying than globs of jello.  The other two quick, yet nutritious and delicious "cup-friendly" meals I had are listed below.  The soup was so good, that I might make it again with a big loaf of homemade bread when I can actually chew again!

10-Minute Cheezee Cauliflower Soup

1/2 head cauliflower, washed and broken into large pieces

1 medium carrot, cleaned and cut into thick coins

1/2 c veggie broth

1/4 c cheezee sauce (I used extra from AVK)

Prepare steamer on stove top and add veggies.  Steam until soft, about 10 minutes.  Combine veggies, broth and sauce in a blender.  Blend on high until smooth.  Add more broth or water to achieve desired thickness.  Serves 2.

Banana Milk

Blend 1 ripe banana with 2 cups milk (I used unsweetened almond) on high until no chunks remain.  Pour into glass and top with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

I have a feeling I'll continue using the blender a lot more often than usual in the next week...

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!

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!

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 #1

Appetite for Reduction
Today's Menu: Tortilla Soup

Yum, Yum, Yum!  I didn't get home until late tonight, so Chad was in charge of dinner.  He said the soup was really simple (bonus!).  He did make a few intentional changes-- black beans instead of pinto, chipotle peppers in adobo instead of jalapenos, and one UNintentional change-- a CAN of peppers, instead of the two the recipe called for!  We adjusted the spice by adding extra broth and a can of tomato paste.  This is definitely something we'll make again soon!

Now, off to bed to dream about a snow day tomorrow :)