Cook Book Challenge Week #3

The Urban Vegan
Friday's Menu: Fettucine Alfredo and Choco-Coco-Oat Bars
Today's Breakfast:  Better Than Buttermilk Pancakes

dinner's ready!

Friday's dinner was Fettucine (capellini, actually) Alfredo.  It was really quick to make and I followed the recipe pretty closely.  A few changes I made were using about half of the pasta, cutting the Earth Balance from six to four tablespoons (I just couldn't bring myself to use ALL the butter), adding a few Italian seasonings and fresh broccoli.  The sauce was pretty easy to make.  I read somewhere else that people had trouble with the sauce thickening, so I added a bit more than a tablespoon of cornstarch and a little extra nutritional yeast.  The sauce still wasn't "thick," but it was an okay consistency.  It was pretty flavorful, but not exactly "Alfredo."  I haven't had fettucine Alfredo in years, even though I used to LOVE it, I couldn't bring myself to eat it, knowing it's so unhealthy.  This sauce wasn't quite as rich, but it was a decent substitute.  It was also really easy to make, so I can't complain there.  We served it sprinkled with extra nutritional yeast and a glass of wine!  Some crunchy garlic bread and a fresh side salad would've been a good addition.

crumbly goodness

I always like to make a dessert or something special on Friday, since we have extra time, so I flipped through the dessert chapter.  I found "Choco-Coco-Oat Bars" and had everything I needed.  As chance would have it, I had picked up some random ingredients at Whole Foods last time we were in Madison (coconut oil, unsweetened coconut flakes and dark chocolate chips), which was just what I needed for the recipe.  I haven't used coconut oil before, but as soon as I opened the jar, I could smell the amazingly sweet scent-- not what I expected from oil.  I also used a little to grease the pan.  I love the smell and hopefully I'll find another use soon!  The bars definitely satisfy a sweet craving, without being too incredibly unhealthy.  I'm not sure what I did, but they didn't exactly turn into "bars," more of a crumble.  Maybe I didn't let it cool long enough before digging in.  The way it turned out, I can imagine it would be even better with a scoop of coconut ice cream!  (Note: this morning they have cooled into real bars.)

topped with EB and syrup

This morning Schatzi woke us early (by early, I mean before 8:00), so I whipped up the pancake batter right away.  I left the batter pretty thick; the recipe called for up to an additional four tablespoons of milk.  I greased the griddle with coconut oil (yay!), and it gave the pancakes just a little added sweetness.  As far as pancakes, I would say they were pretty standard, nothing too exciting or out the ordinary.  I planned to make the apple cinnamon variety in the recipe, until Chad snacked on the apple earlier in the week!  Not a bad recipe, but not one I'm super excited to make again.

Another week of the challenge is on the blog.  What did I enjoy about The Urban Vegan?  I really liked the Chickpea Chili Burgers; this is definitely something we'll make again and probably often.  I liked all the variety in her recipes, even though we stayed pretty simple again.  I didn't recognize a lot of the recipes, so that may have added to my apprehension.  I don't think this is a book I'm dying to buy, but I would check it out from the library again and try a few more things.

When I asked Chad what he thought about last night's meal, his only comment was "Good."  Guess that answer is good enough :)

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?