Vegan Planet

What’s Cooking for Thanksgiving?

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:15:00 +0000

Is it just me, or is this year really flying by at record speed? I can’t believe Thanksgiving is only three weeks away. If you’re not sure what to make for Thanksgiving dinner, I’ve got some ideas to tell you about.

I already know what I’m making, and you can read all about it (and see a photo) at Vegan.com where I share my menu and recipes for the entire meal. Many of the recipes this year are from 1,000 Vegan Recipes, including Seitan en Croute with Madeira Sauce and Rum-Spiked Sweet Potatoes with Pomegranate Pecans).

For even more holiday dinner options, consider ordering a copy of A Bountiful Vegan Thanksgiving, an e-book compiled by Nava Atlas. It’s filled with holiday recipes contributed by several cookbook authors and bloggers. It includes my recipe for Thyme-Scented Sweet Potatoes with Black Olives and Garlic. Nava is donating profits from this e-book to charities concerned with global women's issues and world hunger.

Wait, there’s more... The editors at VegNews Magazine have just published their Holiday Cookie Collection. This little e-book is filled with all the flavors of the holiday season, from gingerbread and Chocolate-Orange Macaroons, to Pecan Pie Truffles and Candy Cane Whoopie Pies. (The e-book also includes my recipe for White Chocolate Oatmeal Spice Cookies.)

With all these options available, there’s no excuse for not making a great vegan Thanksgiving feast at your house and goodies throughout the holiday season.

Why Is This Cat Smiling?

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:26:00 +0000

He’s happy because his “mom” won a 2009 VegNews Veggie Award! Gary was so excited about the news, he even took a break from playing in his cat tunnel to read all about it.

I’m truly honored to receive this special recognition for my work. It came as a total surprise, with the news being delivered to me by a phone call from VegNews publisher, Joe Connolly, himself. Talk about making my day!

Be sure to see the complete list of 2009 Veggie Award winners in the November+December issue of VegNews Magazine.

Photo Op: If you want to see some yummy-looking photos from 1000 Vegan Recipes, go to Vegan Appetite and check out the 10/26 post. Tami was a tester for this book and has posted several photos of the recipes she made from it. Thanks, Tami!

“Hollan-dazed”

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:53:00 +0000

I might as well face it, I’m addicted to the Hollandaze Sauce from 1,000 Vegan Recipes. So far I’ve used this sublime, creamy, decadent, delicious, lemony sauce on baked potatoes, roasted asparagus, roasted cauliflower, Soy-tan Dream Cutlets, and my current brunch favorite, Burritos Benedict. As seen in the photo, I’ve also used it to top Cashew-Chickpea Medallions. This silky sauce is best made in a high-speed blender for the ultimate in creamy smoothness. It’s very easy to make and a great way to dress up a meal.

As I do with everything I cook, I always taste what I’m making as I prepare it, to be sure of the balance of flavors. The danger with tasting this sauce as you make it, is that you’ll want to keep on tasting it until there’s barely enough left to serve for dinner.

Hollandaze Sauce
This recipe is from my new book, 1,000 Vegan Recipes, published by John Wiley & Sons.

3/4 cup unsalted raw cashews
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 cup hot water
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
Pinch ground cayenne
3 tablespoons vegan margarine

In a high-speed blender, process the cashews to a fine powder. Add the nutritional yeast, water, lemon juice, mustard, salt, turmeric, and cayenne and blend until smooth.
In a small saucepan, melt the margarine over medium heat and add to the cashew mixture. Blend until smooth. Serve as is or return the sauce to the same saucepan and heat, stirring, over low heat.

Pan-Seared Seitan with Artichokes and Olives

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:39:00 +0000

I dream of Soy-tan Dream Cutlets. Well, okay, maybe I don’t actually dream about them, but I sure like to make them for dinner. In fact, they’re among my favorite recipes in 1,000 Vegan Recipes. Made by combining vital wheat gluten and extra-firm tofu with seasonings, the resulting cutlets are more tender than regular seitan and firmer than tofu. Quick and easy to make, these cutlets can then be used in a variety of recipes that feature seitan, tempeh, or extra-firm tofu, such as sautés and stir-fries. I like to cook up a batch and keep them on hand for those nights when I want to get a great meal on the table — fast.

The other night, I used them instead of regular seitan to make the Pan-Seared Seitan with Artichokes and Olives from 1,000 Vegan Recipes. I grabbed some cutlets from my stash in the refrigerator, pan-seared them, and then kept them warm in the oven while I made the topping, a quick sauté of garlic, diced tomatoes, and sliced artichoke hearts, with black olives and capers. (The recipe is below.) In the book, I suggest an optional topping of vegan feta, but I didn’t have any on hand, and the dish was delicious without it.

Since I had pan-searing on the brain, I also seared some sliced zucchini along with a few halved artichoke hearts and grape tomatoes to serve with the cutlets.

In other news…

Book Giveaway: A copy of 1,000 Vegan Recipes is being given away on the blog at vegcooking.com. The deadline to enter the contest is November 4th and the winner will be chosen at random.

New Blog Alert: I just found out about a new blog called “Cooking from 1,000 Vegan Recipes: six vegans, one book, one blog.” Tune in as these six bloggers cook their way through 1,000 Vegan Recipes — it’s kind of like “Julie and Julia” — only better cuz it’s vegan! Check it out.

Pan-Seared Seitan with Artichokes and Olives
This recipe is adapted from 1,000 Vegan Recipes. The original recipe calls for regular seitan, but this time I used Soy-tan Dream Cutlets (also from the book) instead. You could substitute tempeh or extra-firm tofu, if you prefer. Add a few shakes of red pepper flakes if you want a little heat.

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 Soy-tan Dream Cutlets (or regular seitan cutlets)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 cups canned or frozen (cooked) artichoke hearts, cut into ¼-inch slices
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
1 tablespoon capers
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 250°F. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat. Add the cutlets and brown on both sides, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a heatproof platter and keep warm in the oven.
2. In same skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, artichoke hearts, olives, capers, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and cook until hot, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
3. Arrange the cutlets on plates and top with the vegetable mixture. Serve hot.

Autumn Vegetable Fritters

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:24:00 +0000

Last night’s dinner was a wealth of autumn vegetables: buttercup squash, sweet potatoes, Savoy cabbage, carrots, and onion, all cut into large chunks and roasted together until crisply browned around the edges and tender-sweet inside. I made more than we could reasonably eat at one meal, so for today’s lunch I decided to use the leftover vegetables to make fritters.

They’re so quick and easy to make. Just chop up the cooked vegetables and place them in a bowl. Sprinkle them with all-purpose flour (about 1/3 cup) and season with salt and pepper to taste. I didn’t add any additional herbs or spices because the cooked vegetables were already seasoned, and I wanted their flavors to come though without other influences.

After shaping the vegetable mixture into patties, fry them in a little oil until browned on both sides. That’s all there is to it. I served them with a lightening-quick applesauce I made by shredding a few apples with a box grater and combining them in a saucepan with a little sugar, cinnamon, and a splash of lemon juice. I cooked the applesauce for no more than five minutes, just long enough to warm through and allow the flavors to combine.

The applesauce tasted great with the fritters which were delicious and so gorgeous—the colors of the different vegetables in the fritters reminded me of the vivid autumn leaves gracing the trees this time of year.

More 1,000 Vegan Recipes Sightings:

On 10/9, 1,000 Vegan Recipes was a staff pick on VegNews Magazine’s This Just In.
On 10/7, the book was also recommended by Erik Marcus on Vegan.com.
Also on 10/7, Jenn, of Vegan Dance If You Want To, did a post about one of my favorite recipes in the book, the Soy-tan Dream Cutlets. Made with both tofu and wheat gluten, these tender and tasty cutlets can be used in your favorite seitan or savory tofu recipes.

1,000 Vegan Recipes Discovered in Minnesota

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:39:00 +0000

Last year, Lisa Dahlmeier and her sister-in-law Toni Dahlmeier tested several recipes for 1,000 Vegan Recipes, so they were excited to see the book in their local Barnes and Noble the other day. To mark the occasion, they had someone snap a photo.

Thanks for sending the photo, Lisa! You two are adorable, and I’m happy to see my new book in such good company!

Spinach Salad with Almonds, Fuji Apple, and Figs

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:52:00 +0000

Apple season has descended upon the Shenandoah Valley and every fruit stand and farmer’s market is bursting with bags, boxes, and bushels of crisp, beautiful apples in more varieties than I can name. I brought home more than I can easily use, but I’ll try my best. Applesauce and baked apples are definitely in our future, and I’ll soon be baking Jon his favorite apple pie.

Personally, I enjoy apples when they’re combined with savory foods such as roasting chunks of apple with carrots and potatoes to serve with a seitan roast, or sautéing sliced apples with cabbage, onion, and vegan sausage. Apples are also a great addition to salads, like this spinach salad that combines a chopped apple with figs and toasted almonds tossed with a light vinaigrette. You can use any kind of apple you like in this salad and walnuts or another nut can be substituted for the almonds.

I love the way the varying textures and flavors in this salad play off one another. It’s a great salad for these autumn days when the weather’s still warm enough that a refreshing salad seems like a good idea, but you want one that’s satisfying enough to remind you that it’s autumn.

Spinach Salad with Almonds, Fuji Apple, and Figs

This simple salad is easily tweaked to suit your tastes. For example, you can use mixed greens instead of spinach or change the ratio of greens to the other goodies — some people like more greens, others prefer more fruits and nuts. Instead of the figs you can use dried cranberries, and of course, whatever variety of nuts or apples you prefer. For a heartier salad, you can top it with some chopped vegan bacon or smoked tofu. The recipe is in my new book, 1,000 Vegan Recipes, published by John Wiley & Sons.

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 cups loosely packed fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/2 cup sliced or chopped figs
1 Fuji apple, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch dice

In a small bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, sugar, and salt and pepper, to taste. Blend well and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, almonds, and figs. Add the apple along with enough of the dressing to coat. Toss gently to combine.

Mac and Chard

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:09:00 +0000

Autumn is here and at my house, we’re ready for some comfort food meals, especially those oven-baked casseroles that I rarely make unless there’s a chill in the air.

Like many people, mac and cheese is one of our all-time favorites. And, as most vegans know, it’s one dish that everyone seems to have an opinion about. The main point of departure about what makes a great mac and cheese usually concerns how to get that creamy cheesy flavor without using dairy cheese. There’s the nutritional yeast camp, the tofu faction, and the fans of vegan cheese products. Some people like all three ingredients in their mac and cheese, while others will have none of it.

I personally never met a vegan mac and cheese I didn’t like, but I thought it would be great to see if I could come up with a version that didn’t contain any of those debatable ingredients — and still taste like mac and cheese. The other stipulation I gave myself was to include a green vegetable like spinach or chard in the recipe so it could be served as a one-dish meal — and also seem a little more virtuous, to boot.

The result of my personal challenge is called Mac and Chard. This soy-free, nutritional yeast-free, (and of course cheese-free) version of macaroni and cheese is teamed up with the lovely and healthful addition of chopped rainbow chard. The recipe is from my new book, 1,000 Vegan Recipes, which is now available (a week early!) on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Borders.

Mac and Chard
If rainbow chard is unavailable, use another variety of chard or substitute fresh spinach. To make the sauce silky smooth, it is best to use a high-speed blender such as a Vita-Mix to help grind the cashews to a powder. (This recipe is from 1,000 Vegan Recipes published by John Wiley & Sons.)

12 ounces elbow macaroni
1 medium bunch rainbow chard, tough stems removed, and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 Yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into ¼-inch slices
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (for color)
3/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 cup unsalted roasted cashews
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs (use panko, if you’ve got it)

1. In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni over medium-high heat until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

2. Steam the chard until tender, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, squeeze any remaining moisture from the chard and set chard aside. Lightly oil a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350° F.

3. In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and potato. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, cover, and cook until the vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Add 1 cup of the broth, the turmeric, and 1/2 teaspoon of the paprika, and continue cooking, uncovered, until the vegetables are very soft. Remove from the heat and set aside.

4. Grind the cashews in a high-speed blender until ground to a fine powder. Add the onion and potato mixture, the remaining broth, lemon juice, mustard, and salt and pepper, to taste, and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.

5. Combine the sauce with the cooked macaroni and steamed chard and transfer to the prepared casserole. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and remaining 1/4 teaspoon paprika and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Bake until hot and golden brown on top, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Crazy for Carrot Cake

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:59:00 +0000

When I was about ten years old, my parents let me grow my own little vegetable garden in the back yard. I tended it carefully everyday and managed to grow a few rows of beautiful tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and carrots. The memory of those perfect vegetables I grew as a child is what made this year’s dismal crop even more frustrating.

As expected, the deer ate the lettuce (although we managed to pick a little for ourselves first). What we didn’t expect, was that the deer also ate the tomato plants — they’d never done that before. The cucumber plants produced only enough small cukes to put up two jars of pickles. And the carrots. I didn’t even want to plant carrots this year because I wanted to save room for pricier produce such as arugula which if I didn’t grow it myself, I’d never spend the money on. But Jon wanted homegrown carrots for a carrot cake which he informed me was now a “tradition” since I baked him a cake using our own carrots for two years running.

Trouble is, for all the planting, weeding, and watering, once we dug up the carrots, washed them off, and trimmed them, they were so small this year that there was just enough to make the carrot cake — no more, no less. Jon ate a piece of the cake before we could take the photo, and it really is tasty — moist and delicious with a creamy frosting. And, as it turns out, is well worth growing just enough carrots for.

The recipe is from my latest book, 1,000 Vegan Recipes, which comes out on October 5. The book is available now for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Borders.

Crazy for Carrot Cake
This carrot cake is moist and flavorful without being cloyingly sweet, with sweet bits of carrot and cloaked in a luscious, creamy frosting. And what a decadent way to get your beta-carotene for the day. For a bit of crunch, add 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts. For an even richer “carrot” color, substitute carrot juice for all or part of the soy milk. This recipe is from 1,000 Vegan Recipes published by John Wiley & Sons.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup plain or vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup canola or other neutral oil
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups finely shredded carrots
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)
1 recipe “Cream Cheese” Frosting (recipe follows)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, soy milk, oil, maple syrup, and vanilla, then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir in the carrots and raisins, if using, until just mixed.
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
5. Let the cake cool in pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. When completely cool, frost the cake with the cream cheese frosting.

“Cream Cheese” Frosting
This frosting is famous for being the crowning glory of carrot cake, but I also like it great on my Banana-Walnut Cake and Spice Cake with Mango and Lime from 1,000 Vegan Recipes.

1 (8-ounce) container vegan cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons vegan margarine
2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and margarine together with an electric mixer on high speed until well blended.
2. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla, then beat until light and fluffy. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

A Handful of Chiles

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 22:31:00 +0000

To say our vegetable garden didn’t do too well this season is an understatement. The only comfort is that many other people in our area had a similar experience. Not that we didn’t have some wonderful veggies, especially at first, but eventually the weather and the deer took their toll, and we ended up yanking out the garden early this year and relying on the farmer’s market for our “just-picked” produce. In a way, it turned out to be a good thing. It allowed us to find some locally grown goodies that we might otherwise have missed.

One treasure I found at this week’s market were the gorgeous chiles you see in the above photo — all of them hot. The farmer was selling them for a dollar a handful, which was a bargain for two reasons — neighboring stands were selling them at five for a dollar, but also, this farmer had huge hands, so his “handful” was extremely generous.

As he dropped two huge fistfuls into a bag, I mentioned that I’d be posting a photo of these fiery little beauties on my blog. He promptly added three more handfuls for free, including some chocolate habaneros — just to add more color to the photo. I came home with a whopping full bag of hot chiles, all for two dollars. Purchased at another farmer’s table, the same amount of chiles would have cost me nearly twenty dollars. And if my own chiles had survived the summer, I never would have met the generous farmer with the aesthetic eye.

How Green Was My Curry?

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:55:00 +0000

You know you have a great friend when she offers to drive over four hours (each way) to stay at your house and take care of your animals, so you can get away for a few days. When that same friend also brings you a couple cans of the best green curry sauce this side of Thailand, you wish you could clone her.

Incredible but true, my friend Sam did both of these amazing things recently. I came home to an immaculate house, three spoiled but happy cats, and 16 well-fed ducks. Now about that green curry…

I love a good Thai green curry, but because it’s made with fresh and hard-to-find (for me, anyway) ingredients and with no Thai restaurant nearby, I rarely have a chance to enjoy it. Moreover, I had never found a commercial green curry sauce that had a “wow” effect, until Sam turned me onto a brand she found in Guam — Aroy-D. Although I’ve seen it online ($5.99 shipping for a $2 can of sauce?), neither of us have been able to find it at our regional Asian markets, so the last time Sam went to Guam, she brought home a case of the stuff. And, generous soul that she is, she gave me a couple of cans from her private stash. That stuff is fantastic — as good as any I’ve had in a Thai restaurant. And it's makes a quick and easy meal that tastes like it took forever to prepare.

For the dish you see in the top photo, I stir-fried extra-firm tofu with sliced onion, bok choy, green peas, and a red chile. Once everything was cooked, I simply added the green curry sauce and simmered it for a few minutes, then served it over some brown rice. Mmmm. Thanks again, Sam!

1,000 Vegan Recipes

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:05:00 +0000

I still don’t think it’s quite hit me that, yes, I wrote a book containing one thousand vegan recipes. After three (long) years of writing, testing (thanks again, testers!), and tweaking, I can tell you that I’m absolutely thrilled that the publication date is near — the book comes out October 5th. As you might expect, I’m happy to be finished because of the intense work involved. But more than that, I’ll be excited to see this book in print because of what it represents.

At 640 pages, this hardcover book is a reminder of how far the popularity of vegan cooking has come over the last several years. It wasn’t all that long ago that there were only a handful of vegan cookbooks in print, let alone one that contained a thousand recipes. Fast forward a few years and now the shelves are literally filled with vegan cookbooks. But to me, 1,000 Vegan Recipes is more than just a cookbook. It also represents three years of my life and, more importantly, a little piece of vegan history.

1,000 Vegan Recipes is part of an ongoing “1,000 Recipes” series on various cuisines published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Ten years ago they released 1,000 Vegetarian Recipes and I think it says a lot that, ten years later, they are now publishing 1,000 Vegan Recipes. In the Introduction, I relate that people often ask me “What does a vegan eat?” and soon I’ll have an easy answer — I can just show them a copy of this book!

You can read more about 1,000 Vegan Recipes on my website, GlobalVeganKitchen.com. The book is available for pre-order on Amazon now.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing some of the recipes from the book and look forward to blogging more often now that I’ll have more time.

Curry Love

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 21:31:00 +0000

I enjoy making Thai curries from scratch, however, I don’t always have the time or ingredients on hand to make it happen. The fact is, there isn’t a lime leaf or piece of lemongrass to be found within an hour of my house, so when I run out of ingredients it can often be several weeks before I replenish my supplies. That’s why I was intrigued when the folks at Curry Love sent me samples of their new line of organic curry sauces. They come in three flavors: Passion Red Thai Curry (hot), Luscious Yellow Thai Curry (mild), and an intriguing Blissful Banana Ginger flavor (medium-hot) — I think I’ll use that one to make some laksa.

I tried the mild yellow curry first, and it smelled wonderful right out of the jar. After stir-frying some onion, carrot, and tofu, I added some steamed broccoli and the curry sauce and simmered it all together for a few minutes. To serve, I spooned it over brown rice and garnished it with a sprinkling of cashews and cilantro. It was as flavorful as the yellow curries I’ve had at Thai restaurants, and I expect the other flavors will be equally good. When I’m too busy to cook and crave some curry, it’s good to know a quick and easy meal is as close as my pantry.

Orzo-Stuffed Zucchini

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:56:00 +0000

At the farmer’s market last weekend, I discovered the most adorable little round zucchini. They were between the size of a tennis ball and a baseball and I couldn’t wait to get them home to stuff them!

It was a simple matter to slice off the tops and scoop out the insides, leaving about 1/4-inch shell all around. I cooked the shells for a few minutes in a pot of boiling water, just to soften them slightly.

For the stuffing, I wanted to include tomatoes because I love the zucchini-tomato combination. Since puttanesca sauce is high on my list of favorite flavors, I decided that was a good place to begin. I sautéed minced garlic in olive oil along with the chopped insides from the zucchini. I then added chopped tomatoes, olives, and capers, and seasoned it with salt, pepper, and basil.

I combined this fragrant mixture with some cooked orzo (this rice-shaped pasta is perfect in a stuffing). I added a little chopped cooked chard that I had on hand and then stuffed the mixture inside each zucchini and baked them for about 20 minutes.

To serve, I nestled these little beauties on a bed of the remaining orzo-puttanesca mixture and they tasted as good as they looked. I can’t wait until next week’s farmer’s market so I can see what other new and interesting vegetables are available.

Garlicky Tomato Salad with Stone-Ground Grits

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:59:00 +0000

On a driving trip through the countryside last week, I visited a mill where they grind their own grains. I picked up some bread flour, buckwheat flour, and some stone-ground grits, which I used to cook all the time when I was a chef in Charleston, SC, but they haven’t been on my home menu very often in recent years.

I simmered the grits in well-seasoned vegetable stock until thick. I then stirred in some shredded cheddar Sheese and a little Earth Balance and transferred it to a baking dish to cool. The next day, I cut it into triangles, arranged them on a baking sheet, and baked them until warm.

For a topping, I sautéed minced garlic in olive oil and then added a tumble of gorgeous little tomatoes that I picked up at the farmer’s market. The colors of the tomatoes ranged from yellow, to orange, to red -- so pretty! I added some parsley from my garden and sautéed the tomatoes just for a few seconds, basically just long enough to coat them with the garlicky olive oil. After adding a bit of salt and some cracked pepper, I spooned the tomatoes over the yummy yellow triangles.

The flavor was incomparable, and I especially enjoyed knowing it was made with local ingredients. Does that make me a “locovore herbivore”?

Roasted Watermelon, Anyone?

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:34:00 +0000

Roasted watermelon has been turning up in various cookbooks and cooking magazines of late. I found the idea intriguing, so I decided to try some for myself to see what all the fuss was about.

I cut out two rounds from a slice of seedless watermelon and roasted them on a baking sheet. Sprinkled with black sesame seeds and served with a balsamic-blackberry reduction, it certainly made a striking presentation on the plate (although I do think it looks eerily like raw tuna). As far as the flavor factor, I wasn’t exactly knocked out by it. Bottom line: I think I’ll stick to eating my watermelon the old-fashioned way: ice-cold slices for dessert or as a snack (or dressed up as in the “fresh fruit cake” of my June 28 post).

Has anyone else tried roasted watermelon? I’d be curious to know what you think of it.

On another topic: I’ve been asked to post the following job opportunity. If you know someone who wants to work as a vegan private chef in the Baltimore area, pass this along:

Immediate need for excellent vegan live-out private chef to cook full-time for 1 person in Baltimore, Maryland. Must have prior experience cooking vegan gourmet meals. Chef must also be vegan/vegetarian. Must also help administrate the household - including running errands, paying bills, coordinating subcontractors for house maintenance. Competitive salary! Fax resume to 410-486-7692.

Veggie Awards: Vote for Me!

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:47:00 +0000

It’s that time of year again: the annual VegNews Veggie Awards -- and I'm happy to say that I’ve been nominated in two categories and would appreciate your voting for me:

"Favorite Cookbook Author"

and

“Favorite Column” (for my Global Vegan column)

As an incentive to cast your vote, you will have a chance to win fabulous prize packages, including a Tropical Vacation Getaway, a His/Her Urban Goodie Bag, a Vegan Ice Cream Starter Kit, and a Chocolate Madness Gift Box.

Here's a direct link to the survey.

The polls close July 31 at midnight, and winners will be announced in the November+December "Best of Vegetarian" holiday edition of VegNews.

Fresh Fruit “Cake”

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:20:00 +0000

Here’s a fun way to serve fresh fruit – turn it into a “cake.” It makes a pretty presentation, it’s easy to make, and makes a refreshing summertime dessert.

For the main part of the “cake,” I sliced off the top and bottom of a small round seedless watermelon. I then placed a plate on top of the watermelon about the same diameter as the pink part of the fruit and used the edge of the plate as a guide for my knife to cut away the rind. This left a pretty pink cylinder of delicious watermelon.

I then placed the watermelon “cake” on a plate and decorated it with blueberries, strawberries, and kiwi slices. I think it would also look pretty with sliced starfruit and blackberries – maybe next time!

Birthday Tradition

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:53:00 +0000

Once you’ve done something two years in a row, does that count as a tradition? On my birthday last year, I digressed from my usual food post to share some photos of my kitties. I thought I’d do the same this year, with a few extras, too. Here are the dynamic duo, Gary and his diminutive partner in crime, Mitski:

The photo below is our darling outdoor kitty, Jason, who “came with the house” (he looks a lot like Gary, doesn't he?). I’m still no closer to making him an indoor kitty, but he enjoys the little house Jon built for him on our deck, and of course, the three squares (actually, two) a day I feed him.

This next guy is not a kitty, of course, but I just had to share a photo of the cutest alpaca we met recently who was kind enough to strike this handsome pose:

And finally, I can’t seem to get by without talking at least a little about food. I was thinking about how great our blackberries were last year and anticipating a new crop this summer. Then I remembered the incredible variety of berries I had the pleasure of sampling a couple years ago in Italy while visiting the Mercato Centrale in Florence.

And they had some amazing olives too, as one would expect.

What I didn't expect was happening upon a restaurant called "Ristorante del Fagioli" -- Bean Restaurant? Sounds like a great place for a vegan to eat -- too bad the place was closed when we were there.

Arugula Potato Salad

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:43:00 +0000

My vegetable garden continues to supply me with enough arugula to open an arugula restaurant. As you know from my previous post, I like to sauté it in garlic and olive oil — just add cooked beans and pasta (or rice) and dinner is served. I’ve also made some great arugula pesto, which, in addition to tossing with pasta, is also good slathered on grilled bruschetta or transformed into a salad dressing. But I think my favorite way to enjoy it is in the Arugula Potato Salad recipe from Vegan Fire and Spice.

In this recipe, cooked potatoes and roasted red bell peppers combine with chopped arugula and a snappy dressing made with garlic, capers, and a touch of cayenne. It’s easy to make, colorful, and loaded with flavor. It makes a great side dish for anything from veggie burgers to seitan “parmesan” — I actually served it with both, so I know from whence I speak. If you add a little extra arugula and a cup of cooked cannellini beans or chickpeas, it can even be enjoyed as a main-dish salad.

The cayenne in the dressing adds just the slightest nuance of heat. If you prefer a spicier salad, you can add some hot red pepper flakes or even add a minced hot chile. And as every garlic lover knows, you can always add more garlic to the dressing.

Some shortcut tips: In the original recipe, the potatoes are cooked on the stovetop and the bell peppers roasted over a flame. Since I had planned to make this salad the night before, and I already had the oven on for something else, I tossed some potatoes in the oven to bake for the salad. Instead of roasting my own bell peppers, I used the jarred kind. (You could also roast your own in advance.) With the potatoes already cooked from the night before, and the roasted peppers from a jar, the salad only took minutes to assemble.

Arugula Potato Salad
This recipe is adapted from Vegan Fire and Spice.

1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
Salt
1 large or 2 small red bell peppers
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon capers
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups lightly packed arugula, coarsely chopped

1. Cook the potatoes in a saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. (Alternately, you can steam the potatoes over boiling water or roast them on an oiled baking sheet. You can also bake the potatoes and dice them after baking.) Place the cooked potatoes in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Roast the red peppers over an open flame or broil about 4 inches from the heat, turning until the skins are completely blackened. Put the charred peppers into a paper bag and let steam for about 5 minutes to loosen the skins. Scrape off the blackened skin and remove the seeds and stems. Chop the peppers into 1/2-inch dice, and add them to the potatoes. (Alternately, to save time, you can use jarred roasted red bell peppers.)
3. Mince the garlic and capers in a food processor or blender. Add the lemon juice, cayenne, and salt, to taste, and process until well blended. Slowly add the olive oil to emulsify. Add the dressing to the potatoes along with the arugula and toss until coated.

Pasta with Arugula and Fava Beans

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 15:31:00 +0000

This year, my vegetable garden includes several arugula plants. I’m really excited about this since I love arugula and can’t buy it locally – and even if I could, it would be very expensive. As I’m observing how the plants spike upward it’s easy to guess why arugula is also called “rocket” lettuce.

A few years ago, while visiting Umbria, I enjoyed a fantastic pasta dish topped with arugula, fava beans, and tomatoes. I haven’t been able to find fava beans in my area, so I was nearly ecstatic when I discovered packages of steamed favas in the produce section of Trader Joe’s on my way home from D.C. recently.

With favas and arugula in hand, I was able to recreate the dish I had so much enjoyed in Italy. Although Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains have replaced the Italian Apennines for ambience, this rich and flavorful meal was still delicious. Here’s the recipe:

Pasta with Arugula and Fava Beans
For this recipe, I used fusilli because I had it on hand, but any bite-size pasta shape would be good with this sauce. Instead of using the steamed fava beans from Trader Joe’s, you can prepare your own fava beans or substitute cooked chickpeas or cannellini beans for a tasty alternative. Another variation would be to use spinach, chard, or other dark green in place of the arugula.

8 ounces fusilli or other small pasta shape
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups coarsely chopped arugula, well washed
1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 (12-ounce) package steamed fava beans (from Trader Joes)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water.
While the pasta water is coming to a boil. heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the arugula and cook, stirring, until wilted. Add the tomatoes, fava beans, red pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer to blend the flavors and heat through, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.
When the pasta is cooked, drain it well. To serve, divide the pasta among shallow bowls and top each with the sauce, or transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl, add the sauce, and toss gently to combine before serving.

Sweets and Beets with “Diced” Spinach

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 16:56:00 +0000

I sometimes find myself pairing ingredients as much for the visual impact as for the flavors. Such was the case the other day when I roasted diced sweet potatoes and beets – they tasted as good as they looked.

I also wanted to include some greens on the plate, so I steamed some spinach. I thought it would be fun to give the spinach a similar appearance to the other cubed vegetables, so I shaped it into a narrow rectangle and used my chef’s knife to “dice” it. The resulting plate of vegetables looked almost too good to eat — so we had to snap a photo before digging in.

Short Trip – Great Food

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:45:00 +0000

After working practically non-stop for months on my upcoming cookbooks, I finally got away to DC last weekend for a little relaxation. The weather was perfect — sunny and warm with a slight breeze. Much better than summer’s oppressive heat and humidity that will settle in soon enough.

Living in a rural area with limited (make that closer to zero) dining-out options, I end up cooking at home all the time. Not a bad thing, of course, but I do enjoy the occasional break from routine. That’s why anytime we go into the city, one of the highlights is going out to eat. This trip we had some terrific veggie sushi and some great Thai food.

The best meal of the weekend, however, was one we enjoyed on the drive home at a little Vietnamese restaurant in Centreville, Virginia. It’s a cute place and the food was great. Best of all, they have an entire vegetarian menu page and are sensitive to using vegan ingredients — I was assured that they use an all-vegetable broth in their vegetarian pho and that they use no egg or dairy in their vegetarian menu items.

The most difficult part for us was restraining ourselves from ordering everything on the menu. As you can see in the photo, we came pretty close to doing just that. We shared an order of super-yummy spring rolls (which we inhaled before remembering to snap the photo!), a wonderful bowl of pho that contained thin slices of seitan, an addictive banh mi sandwich on fresh crisp French bread, and their “special rice dish” that included a slice of delicious shredded tofu loaf served with broken steamed rice. Everything was super-fresh and reasonably priced.

After our fabulous Vietnamese meal, we stopped at Trader Joe’s, which is just down the road from the restaurant, and loaded our car with all the ingredients that I can’t find in my local supermarket. Now that I’m back home and my kitchen is well stocked, it’s back to home cooking. But I’ll save that for another post.

Sausage Sandwich and Potato Salad Redux

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:57:00 +0000

I’ve been waxing nostalgic lately, and with the cookout season officially underway, I recalled how my dad used to love to fire up the grill when I was a kid. Grilling, along with the occasional pancake supper, were the only times Dad would do the cooking. Instead of the usual hamburgers or hotdogs, however, my Italian father preferred to grill spicy sausage and peppers which were served in warm crusty rolls, often accompanied by my mother’s potato salad.

Fast forward a zillion years to my vegan versions of these family favorites. The potato salad is an easy do-over, since I just needed to swap out Vegenaise for the mayo and omit the hard-cooked eggs that my mother habitually added to her potato salad (double helping of cholesterol, anyone?). At the last minute, I diced a ripe avocado that I needed to use up and added it to the salad, and I’m glad I did. The avocado was a nice counterpoint to the pimiento-stuffed green olives that are requisite in my Close to Mom’s Potato Salad (below) adapted from Vegan Planet.

For the sausage, I used a recipe from one of my upcoming cookbooks (sorry, I can’t share that recipe just yet) in which I come close to the seasonings in my family’s sausage recipe. To cook the sausage, I used a variation of the steaming method I learned when I used to make seafood sausages as an omni restaurant chef — we’d shape the delicate seafood mixture into logs and wrap them in plastic wrap and aluminum foil before steaming. For the vegan sausage I just use the aluminum foil.

Many years ago I saw a similar method used for making seitan sausage in an old cookbook and it does work fine, although I thought the resulting texture could have been firmer. My own take on that method (which I think produces a better texture) is a steam/bake combination where I shape the sausage or seitan into patties or logs and wrap them in foil, then place the “packages” in a baking dish. I then add water to the baking dish about halfway up the sides, cover the entire baking dish tightly with foil, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour (depending on how thick the seitan or sausage is). After baking, I remove them from the pan and let them cool. Then they’re ready to sauté (or grill) to give them a nice browned color on the outside. (I’ll post the actual recipe soon.)

To approximate the great Italian rolls my family used to enjoy, I defrosted some frozen pizza dough, divided it into quarters that I shaped into logs and baked for about 15 minutes. After cooling for a minute, I sliced them open, added the sausage and peppers, and served up a taste from my childhood — vegan-style. It’s definitely not a low-cal, low-carb, or low-fat meal, but, hey, at least it’s cholesterol-free and a delicious indulgence for a cookout.

Close to Mom’s Potato Salad
Adapted from Vegan Planet. I used small red-skinned potatoes and left the skin on. To this recipe, I also added a diced avocado, making it a little less close to Mom’s version!

1 1/2 pounds small waxy potatoes
1 celery rib, minced
2 tablespoons grated onion, or to taste (optional)
1/3 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed green olives
1/3 to 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise (I used Vegenaise)
1 to 2 tablespoons soy milk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Paprika, for garnish

1. Boil the potatoes in a pot of salted boiling water, until tender but still firm. Drain and allow to cool, then cut them into bite-size chunks, and place them in a large bowl. Add the celery, onion (if using), and olives and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine the vegan mayonnaise, soy milk mustard, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and add to the potato mixture, stirring gently to combine. Sprinkle with paprika. Serve right away or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Great Greens

robin@globalvegankitchen.com (Robin at Vegan Planet) — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:10:00 +0000

When I was a kid my mom never had to tell me to eat my greens. I’ve always loved them just about any way I could get them—and I still do. This year our vegetable garden will give us escarole, arugula, spinach, chard, two kinds of lettuce, and kale. That should keep us up to our necks in leafy greens until next winter.

There’s a lot to love about greens. Sure, they’re super-nutritious and they taste great. But what I like best about them is their versatility. Take kale, for example. You can eat it raw in a salad or fried as chips. You can steam, boil, or sauté it. And that’s just for starters.

My own kale isn’t ready to pick yet because we planted late, but the other day I bought a huge bag of curly kale at the supermarket. It wasn’t very tender, so I blanched it for a few minutes (which also helped it fit better in my refrigerator).

I sauteed some of it with garlic, white beans, and brown rice. I added a handful to a soup. I even used some in a smoothie (with pineapple and bananas—yum). That left enough to serve as a side dish to accompany some barbequed seitan and roasted sweet potato sticks.

When I have tender baby kale leaves, I like to serve it raw as a salad combined with diced avocado and a squeeze of lemon. That’s how I had planned to serve this blanched kale, but at the last minute (while waiting for the sweet potatoes to finish roasting), I also added some diced mango and a few dried cranberries. The result was a kaleidoscope of color and amazing bursts of flavor. What could have been just a “side of kale” turned out to be the star of the entire meal.