MoFo 17: Thanksgiving Dinner

We had a lovely Thanksgiving day! The sun was out and it was beautiful here in San Francisco. I did have to hit up two stores (two because I forgot portobello mushrooms for the above dish and had to run out again), but it all came together--even if it was 2 hours later than expected.

Above is the porcini and pecan pate with some fresh french bread for spreading. This was delicious! I was a little concerned as I was making it because it didn't seem like it had enough different ingredients to have more than a musky mushroom taste (what with the dried porcinis and the fresh portobellos), however it didn't taste overly mushroomy at all. It was super smooth and tasted creamy and decadent. Definitely a winner.

Next up was dinner. Here we have festive chickpea tart, cranberry and orange salad, and green bean casserole. The tart was a recipe from Dreena Burton, and like everything from her it was just fantastic. This tart is like fall blended together and put in a crust; it's got chickpeas, spinach, dried cranberries, onions, and is perfectly spiced. I made the flaky pie crust from Vegan Vittles to put it in and that was great as well--best part: no shortening in the crust! We topped the tart with the yeast gravy from The (almost) No Fat Cookbook, a nice simple nutritional yeast based gravy. The salad recipe I adapted from swell. I used a baby spinach and arugula mix instead of kale because the guys are not the biggest fans of kale, especially uncooked. I also swapped out dried cranberries for fresh. I doubled the amount of orange juice, orange slices, and avocado, and halved the amount of oil. I didn't bother with the balsamic reduction drizzle because there was enough going on already. This salad was fabulous! I loved the combination of all the fruit with the greens. Yum! Lastly on this plate of goodness was green bean casserole. This recipe was modified from cute and delicious. I swapped out fresh boiled greenbeans for the canned and caramelized onions for the can of french-fried onions. This also turned out great! The noochy sauce was deslish. I loved having so many vegetables on our plates, it made dinner not feel so heavy...and it left room for the amazing dessert we had coming. Behind the dinner plate are some roasted chestnuts. I'd never had these before and a friend brought them over with her. Interesting, but good! She was raving about the chestnut and lentil pate from Veganomicon; I may have to get on that.

Alright, and here's dessert! It's the chocolate cinnamon babka from Vegan Dad. We had a bit of trouble with this recipe since it's written in ounces and I don't have a kitchen scale. So, I just kept adding flour til it seemed like the right consistency to me--and it worked! Crisis averted. This looks much more complicated to make than it really is, perfect for entertaining! I didn't realize there needed to be a second rise after adding the chocolate layer and twisting it up, and since I didn't have time I just skipped it. It puffed up quite a bit while cooking (and we had let it rise the first time for about 5-6 hours), so it worked out just fine. Let me tell you, this is delicious! Once it's cooked the cinnamon flavor doesn't really hit you, it just adds to the bitterness of the chocolate and makes it taste so good. This will definitely get made again.

Being the klutz that I am I of course didn't make it through the day without a battle scar. I hit my arm against the rack in the oven (right above where my oven mitt covered) and ended up with this lovely. Luckily it doesn't hurt...I'm so tough.

Here were the beautiful arrangements we had for the table. I put together the mums and sunflowers and my friend brought over a beautiful bouquet with purple kale as the main component! Gotta love people who appreciate the beauty of vegetables! We also had some cute little pumpkins and a kabocha squash mixed in with some candles. I plan on roasting these babies up and making something with them (I've never had kabocha before, ideas?). Hanging out on the counter there is also a plastic Yoda...He's from a cereal box years and years ago (at least 9), and ever since my dad and I have taken turns hiding it back and forth, seeing how long it would take for the other to find it and just how creative we could. He's been in showers, pillowcases, suitcases, car trunks, purses, food--he gets around. Now that my parents live in Florida it's longer in between the hidings. I left him at their house for him to find last time I was out there in June; I got him back today (my dad snuck him to my brother when he was visiting in September for my brother to hide), he was tucked in along with the groceries. Oh, Yoda where will you go next...

Weird traditions--just another thing I'm grateful for. Here's hoping you had a wonderful day with good food and great company!

If you have photos of your vegan Thanksgiving dishes there a couple of blogs that would love the pictures for some epic food posts: Quarrygirl and Lunchboxbunch.

Also, if you feel like winning some awesome cookbooks: Robin Robertson is giving away her last cookbook of MoFo, Party Vegan. And Ricki is giving away the cookbook of the winner's choice!

MoFo14: Survey Time

I didn't feel like doing a regular post today, so I decided to fill out the survey that's been making its way around the MoFo blogs. The picture above was some cactus we bought recently. My boyfriend is in art school and needed some cool food to photograph, so those came home with us. He took this photo, it's easy to tell that it wasn't me because it's way better that what I can do. I don't think I'm patient enough to be an artist...Anyway, I'd never had cactus before, so after he was done shooting it I looked up how to cook it! We cut off all the needles, wiped off the slime that comes out after doing so, then cooked it up with some asparagus and made fajitas. It was super-good. Another scary food tackled!

And now, for the survey!

1. What is one food you thought you’d miss when you went vegan, but don’t?

String cheese, I used to eat that stuff all the time

2. What is a food or dish you wouldn’t touch as a child, but enjoy now?

All sorts: avocado, mushrooms, onions, eggplant, spinach...I was verrry picky pre-veg

3. What vegan dish or food you feel like you should like, but don’t?

Kombucha. I don't get it, it's disgusting

4. What beverage do you consume the most of on any given day?

Without a doubt: water

5. What dish are you famous for making or bringing to gatherings?

Either a dessert (usually cookies because they transport well) or hummus

6. Do you have any self-imposed food rules (like no food touching on the plate or no nuts in sweets)?

It's not a rule, but I usually don't like nuts in cookies or brownies--it just ruins them

7. What’s one food or dish you tend to eat too much of when you have it in your home?

Kettle Chips Salt and Black Pepper. I don't like too many chips but these are terribly addicting

8. What ingredient or food do you prefer to make yourself despite it being widely available prepackaged?

Hummus and veggie burgers

9. What ingredient or food is worth spending the extra money to get the good stuff?

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

10. Are you much of a snacker? What are your favorite snacks?

If I'm stressed I'm a gigangtic snacker. I like to keep Clif bars around for quick on-the-go snacking and hummus and fruit for when I'm home

11. What are your favorite vegan pizza toppings?

Cashews, tomatoes, and spinach...so good

12. What is your favorite vegetable? Fruit?

Favorite veggie is kale; favorite fruit is tomato (oh, you wanted something more "fruity?" I also love strawberries)

13. What is the best salad dressing?

The house tahini dressing from New Leaf Market. I'm still trying to recreate it, or at least something comparable

14. What is your favorite thing to put on toasted bread?

Avocado and tomato. Second would be Earth Balance and Tofurky (don't knock it 'til you try it!)

15. What kind of soup do you most often turn to on a chilly day or when you aren’t feeling your best?

If I feel like cooking: Chickpea Noodle Soup from Veganomicon. If I don't: Anderson's Split Pea from a can

16. What is your favorite cupcake flavor? Frosting flavor?

I don't have a favorite, but you can't go wrong with chocolate...or margarita, or spice, or...yeah cupcakes

17. What is your favorite kind of cookie?

Plain old chocolate chip, freshly cooled from the oven (when they're still warm, but not melty)

18. What is your most-loved weeknight meal?

Dragon Rice Bowl from reFresh

19. What is one dish or food you enjoy, but can’t get anyone else in your household to eat?

Brown rice with steamed kale, seaweed, sesame oil, soy sauce, and sesame seeds. To me this is like perfection in a bowl--I'm alone in this at home

20. Favorite non-dairy milk?

Trader Joe's Chocolate soy milk. I love that stuff, if I didn't stop myself I could probably drink the entire carton in one day.

21. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?

When I made cookies by myself from scratch for the first time, I was about 10. The directions said 2 1/4 cups flour; silly me put two one-quarter cups (1/2 cup) of flour. I didn't know why it was written that way, but I went with it. Needless to say it was a runny mess...runny all through the oven. I still get teased with that story. I guess I could have far worse stories, luckily I've never lit the house on fire or anything

22. Favorite pickled item?

Dill pickles, the giant ones

23. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods…what would they be (don’t worry about how you’ll cook them)?

Tofu, peanut butter, and chocolate

24. Fondest food memory from your childhood?

My grandmother making chocolates with me, teaching me how to paint on designs. That was fun...she recently passed away and this memory still makes me smile. The chocolates were in the shape of teddy bears!

25. Favorite vegan ice cream?

Purely Decadent Turtle Trails (vanilla ice cream with caramel swirls and chocolate-covered praline pecans)

26. Most loved kitchen appliance?

Vita-mix

27. Spice/herb you would die without?

Garlic and cinnamon

28. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?

Strawberry. Raspberry is a close second

29. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?

Sweet and Sour Tofu with Broccoli and Almonds from Vegan Yum Yum

30. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?

Tofu, but I'm a fan of them all

31. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?

Dinner on a non-crazy night. Breakfast on weekends is also nice on a lazy day.

32. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.

Bananas, blueberries, peas

33. What’s on your grocery list?

Nutritional yeast

34. Favorite grocery store?

Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Rainbow Co-op (SF)

35. Name a recipe you’d love to veganize, but haven’t yet.

Chicken and dumplings

36. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa’s because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?

Oh She Glows. I don't know how Angela does it, but she usually updates twice (!) a day and has tons of great-looking recipes

37. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?

Not candy, per se...but Rice Dream makes these mint chip ice cream oatmeal cookie sandwiches that are so good! Divvies caramel corn is pretty awesome too

38. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?

Dr. Cow tree nut cheese

And there you have it. I'm a little sad that I wasn't able to answer pumpkin to any of these answers because I really do love it, but alas, no survey can cover everything.

Cool goings-on in the blog world today:

1) Want an original way to use up Thanksgiving dinner leftovers? Hannah from Bittersweet has got you covered with a Thanksgiving quiche!

2) I have a bag of TVP granules sitting in the cabinet that's been there for months now. I know I bought them with some recipe in mind, but I can't remember what it is. Well, now I'm glad I have them because manifest:vegan has a recipe for a pasta bolognese that looks fan-tastic!

Also quite a few giveaways going on, up for grabs: So Delicious products at An Opera Singer in the Kitchen; Caribbean Vegan at Cake Maker to the Stars; and Skinny Bitch in the Kitch
at Weekly Vegan Menu. Good Luck!

MoFo 4: An Ode to Hummus

I have found my absolute most-favorite "plain" hummus recipe in the whole wide world! This is the creamy hummus from Vive le Vegan! and it's sooooo good. This is not just my opinion by the way; my boyfriend and several of his friends have also attested to this fact. It's made even more amazing by topping with a bit more extra-virgin olive oil and paprika. What makes this hummus so great is all the lemon juice; not only is it perfectly creamy, but it's also mouth-smackingly tart. And garlicky. Oh man, I'm in love. This has been the only hummus I've made in months because I just can't get enough. For all of you that love hummus out there (this should be everyone!) you have to try this one!

Dreena knows her hummus. In Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan there's an entire chapter devoted to this lovely food. I've made a few of them: Curry Chickpea, Peanut-Sesame, and Black Bean Orange (which I don't have a photo or post for as of yet; when I do it will obviously be showcased in the same Pyrex bowl as all the others, lol). When I made a cookbook as a gift for a couple friends of mine who were getting married I was sure to include plenty of hummus recipes because they have always been big fans of the hummus I brought to parties. In fact, I was told in no uncertain terms that I was to always bring hummus with me. This is my secret weapon to be loved at parties--now it's out. Do with it what you will, but I hope it's used to make the world a better, more hummus-filled place...

Now, for a MoFo Roundup! Here are some cool blog-happenings today:

1) Butternut Rancheros over at PPK. Looks and sounds delicious!

2) Thanksgiving meal ideas from Chloe over at her blog. The Harvest-stuffed Portobello Mushrooms look fabulous. I'm a big fan of cashews in my food and I always seem to forget that until I see a recipe that calls for it and I'm sucked in (the pineapple quinoa cashew stir fry from Veganomicon is a perfect example of this).

3) Kathy from Lunch Box Bunch has a recipe for Cool Mint Chocolate Rice Crispy Squares today. I have not had a rice crispy treat since becoming vegan and I used to love them. I need to get on that, maybe with this recipe.

4) Meet The Shannons has a Vegan French Dip Sandwich. No, I'm not kidding...it blows my mind too! It looks great.

Want another chance to win a book? Hannah at Bittersweet has a copy of The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life: Cruelty-Free Crafts, Recipes, Beauty Secrets and More
by Melisser up for grabs. Check it out!

MoFo 1: Tofu, Spinach and Daiya Lasanga

Welcome to MoFo! There are over 500 bloggers participating this year--vegan bloggers out in full force!!! I'm going to spend the month catching up with my cooking posts and doing a daily roundup of my fave blog posts of the day.



The dish above I'd been hearing rave reviews about, and I have to say that it lived up to the hype. It's the tofu spinach lasagna from The Vegan Table. I added the Daiya, because as you may know I was swimming in the stuff,and it made a very nice addition. I know I said that I had found a new favorite lasagna back in December, however this one is definitely a contender for that so coveted spot. It's also a bit easier. For the sauce I used the basic marinara recipe from Veganomicon, it's my go-to and it's always great! I really recommend this dish for that lasagna-loving person in your life.



While every dish from Colleen's book hasn't been amazing (case in point), this is one amazing lady who does know what she's talking about. She's one of my vegan role models, have you heard her podcasts?! Or checked out her website, Compassionate Cooks? She just released a new book, Color Me Vegan. I haven't had a chance to check it out, but it sounds really fun.



Hope you all have a great night, I got to this post in just in the nick of time. If you have a chance, check out my fave vegan blog posts of the day:

1) The always-adorable Amey from Vegan Eats and Treats is blogging her way around the world this MoFo, first up: Mexico!

2) Angela at Oh She Glows has come up with an amazing looking recipe, a cake in a jar--perfect single serving size!

3) Over at Vegansaurus, they're posting a recipe a day of Chef Tal Ronnen's Gardein Thanksgiving menu. Today is Sage and Pumpkin Seed Crusted Gardein with Cranberry Cabernet Sauce! Imagine serving that to your loved ones this Thanksgiving. I bet it would blow their socks off. I'm gonna have to keep this in mind for my celebrations. Also, don't miss the first recipe of a beet and orange salad!

4) Also from Vegansaurus: they're getting a new vegan chef/blogger each week to veganize the winning recipe from the Bravo show Top Chef: Just Desserts. This week it's a fried lemon pie with salted caramel ice cream...whoa! They're on week seven, don't forget to check out all the other amazing veganations!

5) Seeing as I'm a lover of all things pumpkin, and not only this time of year, Ashley over at The Edible Perspective got me salivating with her Baked Pumpkin French Toast. It's pumpkin food porn madness over there!

Latin Feast: Arroz con seitan, Braised Brazilian Shredded Kale, and Black Beans

Oh. My. God. This rice dish is one of the most amazing things I've ever eaten. It tasted like it came from an amazing restaurant, but even better because it came from my own home. The beautiful coloring came from achiote paste, and the addition of green olives and capers gave an unexpected flavor combination. I used the steamed white seitan for this dish. So yeah, it's amazing and if you or a friend has Viva Vegan! I suggest you make this right away. Let's see a close up of this beauty:



Served alongside was another recipe from the book, braised Brazilian shredded kale. It was also very good, with onions and nice smoky flavor from the addition of liquid smoke. To round everything out we also made the black beans from Veganomicon. I like this simple recipe because it doesn't take much: a can of black beans, an onion, a bay leaf, and that's about it. The beans can just sit on a burner while you're busy cooking other things.

Black Bean Burgers and Roasted Potatoes and Carrots

Needing to use up some of the bowlful of artichoke dipping sauce I was thinking of complimentary flavors and came up with black bean burgers. These are from Veganomicon. I really like this recipe because it's simple and good; they have lots of onion and spice going for them, and while I'm not normally a big onion fan in these it really works well. The recipe makes 6 burgers, but they freeze well, so that's what I did with my extras. For fixin's we had the sauce, roasted red peppers (which I roasted at the same time as the potatoes and carrots), lettuce, and tomatoes. The veggies were roasted for about 40 minutes, until browned and tender.

Chickpea Cutlets with Mustard Sauce and Artichokes with Tangy Dipping Sauce

We've got the super-jumbo artichokes in season here; they can almost be a whole meal in and of themselves but I wanted some protein to go with, so I threw together the always good chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon. The mustard gravy (also from V'con) is what we always serve with these, the flavors just go together superbly. I've been reading PinkVegan's blog, she's cooking her way through all the recipes in The Vegan Table and The Conscious Cook, to see what I want to make next from both of these books. A while back she made the tangy dipping sauce for artichokes and it went over well with her family; it sounded great and I'd been wanting to try it. That's the sauce in the background of my picture, I halved the recipe, and it still made a whole lot. I used basil as my herb of choice and it was super good. It was creamy and definitely tangy--it tasted great on the artichokes. We had a lot of this sauce left; I used some of it in an upcoming dinner post and I'll have to think of something/s for the rest (it's mostly Vegenaise, so it makes a great spread).

Beanball Subs (or Daiya Dish #1)

Having never had a meatball sub before I have no idea where this craving came from. I blame the cheese. I don't really care for the taste of a lot of mock meats, so I went with the beanball recipe from Veganomicon for this. They were excellent.

Beanball Subs

makes 2 sandwiches

1/2 recipe beanballs (from Veganomicon, p. 189)
1 cup pizza or marinara sauce
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
2 sandwich rolls (we used ciabatta), sliced
Daiya to taste

1. Make beanballs according to directions. Begin to bake.
2. Chop bell pepper. Place pieces on baking sheet with beanballs.
3. During last 5 minutes of baking add pizza sauce to baking sheet.
4. Place bread in oven on separate baking sheet.
5. After 5 minutes remove everything from the oven.
6. Change oven setting to broil.
7. Stir sauce, beanballs and bell pepper to combine. Pile onto one side of each roll.
8. Sprinkle Daiya on both sides of bread. Return to oven.
9. Remove when bread is slightly browned and cheese is bubbly. Cut in half.



Enjoy!

Lasagna and Caesar Salad

After seeing a picture of Matt's lasagna over on his blog "My Veggie Kitchen," I had to try it. It looked so saucy and amazing. Oh, and it was! I used his Bechamel replacement for cheese instead of grated vegan cheese. I was a little afraid because it was very liquidy when I poured it on, but as you can see above it turned out really nice and firmed up well.

I used no-boil noodles and it worked out great. I also added some extra spinach and garlic and used crushed fire-roasted tomatoes in lieu of diced because that's what I happened to have in the cupboard. This is by far my favorite recipe for vegan lasagna yet. It had a lot of sauce, which I like. I'm also not a fan of a lot of the mock meats, some other recipes call for the ground round or crumbles and those have an off flavor to me that I'm not fond of.


I served this with Caesar salad and took the opportunity to make my own croutons, something I've never done before. For the dressing I used the recipe from reFresh; it's a lot less complicated and uses less oil than most other recipes I've seen. We've made it before and it's incredibly good. It also lasts a while, so it can be stored in a resealable container and use it again (which is good because it makes a lot). The croutons were roasted garlic and came from Veganomicon. I just roasted the garlic while the lasagna was baking. Then I cut up the bread and after about 25 minutes pulled out the garlic. I made the oil mix for the croutons, mixed them up, then put them in the oven to cook while the lasagna was finishing up. While the lasagna cooled I had a chance to put get the lettuce ready for the salad, then the croutons were done. When we make Caesar salad we like to have the lettuce and croutons coated in the dressing, so we put everything in a bowl with a lid, shake it up, then serve. Yum!

Chickpea Noodle Soup

I caught a cold last week. I'm guessing that someone was kind enough to bring it into the office because there were four of us sick at the same time (and that's only out of nine). I didn't feel much like cooking, but some warming, filling soup sounded like just the thing to help me feel better. Enter this winner from Veganomicon. It's got a great simple, but not too simple taste. That makes it great for when you're feeling under the weather, but don't get me wrong it's also great when you're not.

The broth is a combination of stock, water, and miso paste; the filler is made up of onion, carrots, chickpeas, mushrooms, and noodles. The recipe called for soba, I subbed udon because that's what I had on hand. I also left out the celery seeds, don't have them and probably never will.

I'm feeling much better now. I can't say it was all the soup, there was also a lot of sleeping and tea, but it definitely helped.

Smoky Red Bean and Pepper Gumbo

This is a dish we've made before and will definitely continue to make in the future. It's just so good. This gumbo is from Veganomicon. It's got lots of tomatoes and bell peppers in it (5 bell peppers!). It also has beer in it; it always makes me feel badass to cook with beer. The smokiness is due to roasting the red bells and tomatoes, and a bit of liquid smoke. It's got a nice, thick, stick to your ribs texture thanks to chopped okra.

I serve this over a small pile of white rice. Luckily we had a couple extra people over to help us eat this. We still ended up with a lot left over though. I think that cornbread would also taste great with this.

Lemon Bars

Prior to being vegan I had actually never had a lemon bar before. So, these aren't anything that I missed or could make a good comparison for. However, these little beauties from Vegan Cookies and Veganomicon are good! As soon as my boyfriend looked through VCIYCJ all he could think about and want were lemon bars; unbenownst to both of us this recipe was also in V'con (I've never made a dessert from that book actually, so I didn't notice these there until the other day). I finally remembered to get fresh lemons at the store--now he's happy.

Just a warning, these guys require about 4 hours to make and set, so if you want them for a special occasion, prepare ahead. First the crust is made, refrigerated, and baked.


The filling comes next. Other than zesting and squeezing the lemons, this part's pretty simple.



The filling gets poured over the crust and it goes into the fridge for the next three hours. Of course, my boyfriend couldn't wait that long and cut out a piece after about two. These really don't last that long, it's been two days and the crust is already starting to get a little soggy. Be sure to have plenty of friends around to help you eat these, or I'd suggest making only a half batch.

Italian Feast

Oh, spaghetti. Comfort food at it's most basic. This is spaghetti and beanballs from Veganomicon. The balls are made from mashed kidney beans, garlic, herbs, tamari, tomato paste and some vital wheat gluten to hold them together. They're then baked (or fried) so they're nice and crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. They were really good. We served them with brown rice spaghetti and a batch of mushroom marinara sauce (also from V'con). I also made up some stir-fried spinach with lots of garlic and some garlic bread from one of our local natural foods stores (New Leaf sells their own vegan garlic bread). I didn't have any other use for spare baguette and my freezer is already full of bread crumbs so my boyfriend went and picked up these after discovering I was out of yeast at home and partly through cooking (my original plan was to make garlic breadsticks; I'll still have to try that though).

Served with a glass of red wine this was incredibly satisfying.

Pumpkin Baked Ziti with Caramelized Onions and Sage Breadcrumbs

When I was flipping through Veganomicon the other day this recipe caught my eye and I knew just by reading the title that I needed to try it. I had never noticed this recipe before but it sounded super amazing. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that it was. V'con is my favorite cookbook (and I have a lot. When I went vegan I think everyone thought I would starve because I got almost nothing else as gifts). Isa and Terry put together some amazing, inventive recipes and they never disappoint!

This ziti showcased the flavors of autumn so well. The pumpkin is enhanced by nutmeg, walnuts, and the caramelized onions. A cashew-tofu ricotta is also mixed in with the pumpkin to give it a real creaminess and gives this dish some protein. I made fresh breadcrumbs for the topping and the spices mixed into them really rounded out the flavors.



It took a good amount of time to whip this up, and a whole lot of dirty dishes (both bowls of my food processor and the dry blender container) but this made a lot and we will be happily eating it for several days. The only thing I would change upon making this dish again is to reduce the amount of onion. There were 2 whole onions chopped up and caramelized in there; I personally onion to be a background flavor and it was pretty strong in this. Still good, but strong. I'll probably have onion breath the rest of the evening.

Asparagus and Lemongrass Risotto

Today the wind was whipping around like crazy, so some warm comfort food was in order. Tonight it was another favorite in our household; this recipe comes from Veganomicon--it is fabulous. It has amazing flavors with the blending of the lemongrass, basil, mint, asparagus, lime juice, and peanuts. This recipe takes a little longer than your usual risotto because it requires making your own lemongrass and vegetable broth plus sauteing the asparagus, basil and mint together before even starting with the rice stirring process. But, it's worth it! I left out the called-for shallots, mine were moldy, and subbed Pinot Grigio for sherry (I always make sure I have a cheap bottle of red and white wine around for cooking; no matter how cheap it is 2-buck Chuck just isn't worth it though--blech)

When making risotto it's important to stir, stir, stir. I just turn something on the TV and stir while I watch (tonight it happened to be Tool Academy; I know, I know, but it's a guilty pleasure). Below is a picture of how I keep my area set up while I'm stirring. I keep the broth to the back of the rice pan, set to low so it stays warm. To the right (I'm right-handed), I keep a measuring cup for adding broth. I keep the measuring cup in a larger container so the counter doesn't get all messy.



It takes about 35-45 minutes to stir all the broth in and get the rice to the correct consistency, then you can dig in!

Pasta with Vodka Sauce and Chilled Citrus Broccoli Salad

This pasta is a staple in our home--for us it was love at first bite. The recipe is from Veganomicon. It whips up in about half an hour and the sauce is made creamy and satisfying with the addition of ground almonds. I always add extra crushed red pepper than it calls for, and since this is usually made on a whim we just use whatever pasta we have in the house; tonight it was brown rice fusilli.

The broccoli salad consists of cooked broccoli covered in a dressing of orange, lemon, and lime juice with garlic and oil. Everything is mixed together and chilled before serving...super tasty. This is from Vegan Soul Kitchen. While the recipes from this book have all been amazing, many, like this one, call for a lot of oil. I usually leave out as much as I can, which has yet to affect the results too much.

Kale, Potato and Pumpkin Seed Enchiladas with Chile Sauce

These are the enchiladas from Veganomicon. I'd made them before, but I'd always cheated and used canned enchilada sauce to save time. This time I worked from scratch. The sauce is a combination of roasted peppers, roasted tomatoes, onions, and spices--all simmered and blended into a sauce. I also added a couple of chipotle peppers, because we like things spicy. The results were good, but it yielded a much thicker sauce than I'd expected.

The fillings are made up of smooshed potato, kale sauteed in lime juice and toasted pumpkin seeds. I double the amount of kale called for because I like that ratio of kale:potato better, and also that way I don't have a bunch of kale wilting away in my fridge.



We served this up with some lime and chile refried beans and mexican beer.