My Adventurous Palette & Resulting Backlash

Recently I ordered a new cookbook "Silk Road Cooking, a vegetarian journey." Few books have gotten me as excited to cook as this book has. It's full of wonderful and enticing recipes with flavor combos and spices that are new to me. So, finally, I got myself together and made something from it - "Azerbaijani Pomegranate and Spinach Soup." YES. It is as crazy and interesting as it sounds. It's got onions, garlic, lentils, split peas, cups and cups of fresh herbs, and 1 entire pound of spinach.... oh, and 4 cups of pomegranate juice. Luckily, we have a pomegranate juice vendor at our farmers market - so the juice was really top quality. The soup has a tangy, sweet, sour and yet somehow savory combination of flavors ... Totally interesting. The flavor profile is quite unfamiliar to me, but I can sense that it's all quite harmonious somehow, and that this is comfort food somewhere in the world. Mr. Vegan Eats & Treats had a (small) serving and then ordered some takeout... but I, of course, persevered. Perhaps unwisely, I failed to notice that this recipe would make about 4,000 servings, so I had it for dinner and have been dutifully eating it for lunch for the last few days as well. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it's even better with each passing day. I guess that's a universal principle of soup. Soon enough I'll pop the rest of it into the freezer and plug away at it from there.

After being so adventurous, I was in the mood for some old favorites... like the always-a-hit Tofu Omelette from Vegan Brunch. I cooked up chard and sauteed some Tofurky Italian sausages for the filling. Mmmm. Mr.VE&T did not need to call for take out.

Polenta Rancheros - another Vegan Brunch favorite. So fast, so easy, so tasty. I made a half-batch, which is about 2 servings, and made a very nice dinner on a busy night. Vegan Brunch is such a great book, I think it has become one of my most favorites of all.

And a few bonus pics that I've been meaning to post separately, but will instead lump into this one massive post:

Valentine's Day! Beet Risotto in a heart-shaped dish, of course... It really is that red.

... accompanied by a salad with red & green lettuce, cukes, raw beets, and tomatoes. Mmm. Healthy and yummy!

Pancakes!! My mom and my little nephew came over for a breakfast party this weekend. We ate pancakes, played board games, and watched the Olympics. I made the "Perfect Pancakes" from Vegan Brunch... but I healthified them a bit - used half white whole wheat flour, and subbed out some of the flour with wheat bran and soy protein powder. Such a versatile recipe, it withstood my tweaks with flying colors. Mmmmm.

I also made a batch of homemade sausage patties to go with the pancakes -spicy and perfect. I like some savory with my breakfast sweets. And, of course there was fruit... don't worry, I'm a good auntie.

Finally, let's end with dessert... I did some baking for a bake sale last weekend... the folks putting it on wanted some vegan goodies and they knew who to call! I made some lemon cupcakes (from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World) - not pictured - and some vanilla cake squares, with a layer of raspberry jam, and covered in chocolate ganache. I really like this ganache recipe from "Simple Treats" - it's so easy and foolproof. I used warm almond milk instead of dissolving coffee granules in water (since I didn't think coffee + raspberry would be so great) - the ganache pours perfectly and firms up glossy & beauteous. Mmmmmmmmmm.

Olympic Feast

Last friday we had family and a few friends over to celebrate the kick-off of the XXI Winter Olympics and watch the opening ceremonies together. It was an international potluck; everyone was supposed to pick a country to represent and then bring a dish from that country. It was so much fun! We had a great time eating and joking and watching the parade of nations. I know there are some haters out there who think the Olympics are just an expression of over-spending and nationalism, and those are definitely part of the experience, but I am just too amazed and inspired by all the athletes and their example of motivation and determination and skill and beauty to be swayed. Viva los Olympics!

As host of the party, I felt compelled to represent Canada, the host nation. So, first I made a Quebec Tourtiere - a vegan version of a meat pie, believe it or not. I mostly used Bryanna Clark Grogan's recipe, but I added a whole ton of mushrooms and a dash of cinnamon & clove, which I saw in many other recipes posted online. For the mushrooms, I chopped 'em up in the food processor, added a little soy sauce and liquid smoke, and cooked 'em and cooked 'em until all the juices were gone and they were getting lightly browned. Then, I added that to my ground up seitan and proceeded with the recipe. Before this party, I had never even heard of touriere, but this pie turned out really great and there were no leftovers!

Of course, when I think Canada, I think "maple syrup" almost immediately. So, I also made a batch of Dreena Burton's "Maple Walnut Cookies," one of my favorite recipes of all time. (Bonus, Canadian recipe author AND Canadian maple syrup!)

Mr. Vegan Eats and Treats represented Croatia, and as such prepared a big platter of sliced french bread slathered with ajvar veggie spread and topped with a slice of cucumber. Mmmm. We ate SO MUCH ajvar when we were in Croatia... and lucky for us there's a little shop nearby which sells a pretty good selection of imported Croatian foods, so it's still easy to find.

My aunt brought this Lebanese-style rice salad, which was really great (and - surprise! - she used Bhutanese red rice for extra international flair). It was so super yummy, and beautiful too! She also brought along some plain steamed broccoli and green beans, which were representing Ireland (green - get it?!). :)

My mom decided to represent Morocco and made this really great Moroccan Tempeh with Charmoula (from Fresh Food Fast)...

... and this is part two of my mom's Morocco contribution: Couscous with snap peas, red onion and mushroom... used as a base for the spicy tempeh dish. So tasty!!

We even had an international selection of beverages. My dad came representing Jamaica, who apparently has a medal contender with their one winter Olympian, and so he brought along Red Stripe beer.

Here's my platter full of delicious (and healthy) goodies! It was a really fun night! Now I have to go run off and watch some more snowboard cross and downhill skiing and women's half-pipe and slalom ....

Birthday Cakes, King Cake, Taco Joes & More!

It's been non-stop-action over here at Chez Vegan Eats & Treats. First, there was a family dinner party to celebrate my brother's 40th Birthday (!!) and also his girlfriend's daughter's bday. My brother has a traditional Favorite Birthday Dinner: Taco Joes. It might not be the most photogenic dish you've ever seen, but it's mighty tasty! And, it pleases a wide range of palettes, which is important in our family of raw vegan - meat eatin' - gluten free - soy free - Taco Bell lovin' - kids to grown ups crew.

Here's a dark picture of the set up (damn you, winter!). Taco Joes are pretty much a big taco salad on top of fritos. Fritos are technically vegan, but some of us hippies are too "sensitive" to be wild about eating fritos, so I also made a batch of the Crispy Tortilla Strips from "Real Food Daily." They were perfect! So, here's how to make your own taco joes:

Fritos or homemade chips

Taco "filling"*

Toppings: green onions, black olives, salsa, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, guacamole...

We also had some non-vegan toppings like cheese and sour cream for the non-vegans

First make some homemade taco seasoning (it turns out store-bought taco seasoning pretty much always has milk in it!?)

6 Tbsp chili powder

2 T cumin

4 T paprika

1 T oregano

1 T garlic powder

1 tsp cayenne

1 T sugar

1 tsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

Mix it altogether. It will make a lot more than you need, so you can also half it.

Now for the Taco Filling:

1 lb tofu or seitan

2 cans kidney beans

olive oil

2 onions, diced

1 bell pepper (preferably red), diced

1 can diced tomatoes

1 small can tomato sauce

6 Tbsp taco seasoning

1 c water or broth.

Crumble your tofu or grind the seitan into crumbles in the food processor. Saute the onions, & bell peppers over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes until slightly softened. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, taco seasoning, water or broth, and then the tofu/seitan and beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 20-30 minutes. It's best if you cook it in advance, to let the flavors stand and blend... then you can heat it up before dinner.

For dessert, also by request, I made my favorite chocolate cake recipe (the vegan chocolate cake from "Joy of Cooking," of all places). In between the layers, I put a layer of homemade raspberry jam, and then I used some defrosted frozen raspberries to make that crazy frosting. I just melted some frozen raspberries, strained out the seeds with a sieve and then used the resulting juice as the liquid AND the coloring for the frosting. It was super yummy!

I made a pretty similar cake when my cool friend Alana turned 30 last week (wooo!), and her husband asked if I'd bake a cake. What an honor! So I whipped up a big sheet cake for the party - I used my biggest pan. I think it's 11x13, and tripled my standard Joy of Cooking cake recipe. It's amazing how much longer that cake took to bake when I tripled it. At least twice as long! There was a thick layer of raspberry jam on top of the cake, and then the whole thing was covered in thick chocolate ganache.

Last week, something very unusual happened... Mr. Vegan Eats & Treats made dinner! He had a vision, and he was determined to have it. Probably more than anything in the world, Mr. VE&T loves tomatoes + rice. Anytime I make anything with tomatoes + rice, he goes crazy for it. So, it's no surprise that tomatoes & rice were the foundation for his dish. There was rice (white rice ONLY, mind you), with a tomato stew/broth on top. Just as he likes it, there was some cinnamon & nutmeg in the sauce too. Then, on top, one of Mr VE&T's favorite veggies - roasted cauliflower. Unfortunately, I've been under the weather with a cold this week, so I didn't have much appetite or enthusiasm for this special occasion, but Mr. VE&T assures me that it was very good & perfectly hit the spot.

Lastly, but not leastly, I've been looking for a reason to cook up a king cake again this year, now that it's officially King Cake Season. So, the glorious victory of the New Orleans Saints in the superbowl this weekend was all the reason I needed. Yesterday, I made up an Apple Praline King Cake and then my parents came over after dinner for a celebratory slice... a day late.

Fresh out of the oven...

Sliced open, half-way to touchdown!

Please take a moment to appreciate the glory of my special metallic Baby. As some of you already know, an important aspect of the Mardi Gras King Cake is that somewhere in the cake is hidden a little baby. Traditionally, if you get the baby in your slice, then you are supposed to make the next cake and host the next party. You can use a bean or a regular plastic baby (plastic babies are inserted after baking, mind you)... or you can get totally lucky, like me, and happen into a party store while you are staying in New Orleans, and just happen to find a whole supply of purple, green and gold metallic babies. Oh yeah!

Finally, a few more New Orleans cuisine meals I've made recently, for your enjoyment:

New Orleans style tamales...

Red Beans with Cornbread. (Beans & Cornbread had a fight! Beans knocked cornbread outta sight! .... Meet me on the corner tomorrow night, I'll be ready!)

xo!