Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Stuffed Peppers & Black Beans & My Cookbook

I cooked dinner early this morning... which I don't ususally do! I mentioned yesterday that today was my day to cook for my friends with a brand new baby, and morning was the only time I had. Actually it was kind of fun! They're vegetarians, so it was extra fun to cook for them. I made a big batch of stuffed bell peppers & a big batch of black beans, and then gave them half and kept half for our own dinner.


For both of these recipes, I used the same "Vegetarian Suppers" cookbook that I used yesterday. These stuffed peppers had quinoa, fresh spinach, corn, jalepenos, cilantro, garlic, and some tofu ricotta in them (which I subbed in instead of feta)... and were served over a bed of caramelized red onions simmered in white wine. Aren't they pretty?? they're also very, very good.

The black beans were great! with cilantro, coconut milk, garlic, cumin, green bell pepper, and diced onion. These were spicy and very tasty!!

Here it is all on the plate. We also had a piece of toast and a big salad. What a feast!

We enjoyed our dinner, and I hope our friends did too!

Also, a few of you have asked me about getting a copy of my annual holiday cookbook. Every year for Christmas I make a little cookbook with some of my favorite recipes that I discovered that year. Most of them aren't recipes I made up (I'm not so good at making up recipes), but rather recipes from cookbooks. I draw little pictures to illustrate it... it's only 10 recipes or something, a little xerox number. Anyhow, if you want one, send me your actual name and mailing address and I will send you one! Here's my email address: ameyfm (at) yahoo.com

As an aside, I give out these cookbooks to all my friends and family and even all my yoga students. It's a nice homemade gift, and also it's a friendly little sneaky bit of vegan activism. I think I'll put up a little tutorial once the holiday season rolls back around. In the meantime, start keeping track of your new favorite recipes for this year! :)

10 comments:

  1. Your friends are so lucky to receive such delicious looking food! I like how you left the stems on the peppers - it makes for a pretty presentation.

    I think your cookbook idea is great. I'd love to get one, but I may be moving before the holiday season rolls around again. I'll have to get back with you around August (when my lease is up).

    I'm starving looking at all this food - I'd better go eat breakfast!

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  2. I love the dinner you made for your friends--what a wonderful thing to do! The black beans sound so delicious... yum.

    And I think the cookbook idea is so nice and unique.. and yes, a good way to spread the vegan love!

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  3. Those peppers are gorgeous! Your friends are so lucky.

    Oh, and I loved your holiday cookbook. I thought it was such a thoughtful and creative gift- and you're right, a bit of stealth activism to boot!

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  4. Pretty peppers! That was a very nice gift - I'm sure your pals appreciated some veg fare.

    Vegan propaganda is a great gift! It's really neat when recipients make an attempt at some of the recipes, and are surprised at how easy and tasty vegan food is!

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  5. Amey, those peppers are indeed beautiful atop the red onions. You were smart to cook enough to keep some for your dinner. And the black beans sound really good. Coconut milk is a great idea for thickening. I don't like when recipes ask you not to drain a can of beans - the coconut milk is a great replacement.

    I'll send an email so I can get your cookbook, thank you! One advantage to blogging is now I write down and keep my recipes.

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  6. Hi Katy,
    Send me your address anyway, I'm going to send some out soon... you don't have to wait for next christmas!

    Hi Laura,
    In fact, I thought of you when I was making those beans! I love how you make beans so often... and I thought "Laura would like these beans!" :)

    Hi Bazu,
    I'm so glad that you are enjoying the booklet! It's a fun gift to make and give.

    Hi Sarah,
    One of the coolest thing about the cookbooks is that all year people come up to me and say "oh I just made one of your recipes..." :) It's so neat!

    Hi ATXvegan,
    Yeah, I know what you mean about blogging being a way to keep track of recipes. It's really neat. Also, the coconut milk was great in the beans. The beans also had chipotle peppers in them - which I had never used before. What a beautiful flavor!

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  7. The peppers look great. Funny because I used to hate all peppers. After 5 years as a vegetarian, I started to like red/yellow peppers when they are cooked. Now, I am starting to be able to put up with green.

    The cookbook is a great idea for many reasons? Have you ever thought of turning it into a PDF, so you could email it? I'd love to get a copy, but honestly I'd prefer it to be electronic. Then I don't need to worry about spilling on it and messing it up or wasting paper.

    There are a couple of different free programs for creating PDFs. Drop me an email if you want some help with that. I'd certainly love a copy if you decide to give that a try.

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  8. how lovely, these pics are fantastic!

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  9. What lucky friends you have! I wish someone would bring delicious vegan food round my house (without me having to phone and order it!)

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  10. Oh, those peppers look devine. I have red, yellow, orange, and green in my fridge right now. DH was asking for stuffed pepper too. Thanks for the tips!

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