A Couple More Cookbooks
Posted: October 26, 2016 Filed under: Snacks | Tags: 52 cookbooks, kid-friendly, Robin Robertson Leave a comment
Adding to the 52 cookbooks list. First up, cornbread from Peter Berley’s The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen. I posted my adapted version of his recipe already and often make this when we have chili for dinner.
Next up, Energy Bites from Robin Robertson’s Quick Fix Vegan. This is the very last recipe in this book and it’s a good one. They’ve got cashews, sunflower seeds, dates, cranberries and peanut butter (which I substituted for the tahini). The kids ate them at first and then lost interest but I thought they were great right through to the last one!
San Francisco Fab Cakes
Posted: October 22, 2016 Filed under: Dinner | Tags: 52 cookbooks, okara, tofu Leave a comment
Since we’re all about making things from scratch, we’ve really been enjoying The Homemade Vegan Pantry by Miyoko Schinner. And since we got a soy milk maker a couple years ago we’ve been making soy milk regularly and then wondering what to do with the okara, which is the leftover pulp from making soy milk. We use it for baking and granola but I was happy to find a few recipes in The Homemade Vegan Pantry that include okara, like these San Francisco Fab Cakes. They’re sort of a mock crab cake and they’re really delicious! And our 52 cookbooks list is finally growing again.
Eggplant Parmesan
Posted: October 20, 2016 Filed under: Dinner | Tags: 52 cookbooks, Bellair Farm, eggplant, italian Leave a comment
We’ve been getting plenty of eggplant from our CSA and found that this Eggplant Parmesan recipe from Chloe’s Vegan Italian Kitchen was super easy to make and really delicious. Rather than breading and frying the eggplant, it’s broiled and then layered with tomato sauce, bread crumbs and a faux mozzarella sauce made from cashews. The only issue I had with the recipe was that the cooking times seemed too short. The eggplant was pretty toothsome at first but after covering it and cooking it longer it was melt-in-your-mouth perfect. Hopefully we’ll have a chance to make it again before the eggplant is gone for the season!
Cracking Open a Few Old Cookbooks
Posted: October 18, 2016 Filed under: Dinner | Tags: 52 cookbooks, Bellair Farm, bok choy, bread, cabbage, tomatoes Leave a comment
Here’s some digging into the cookbook archive to catch up a bit on the 52 cookbooks effort. First up, something we did with the bok choy we’ve been getting from our CSA.
Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Roasted Peanuts from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison
3 Tbs. raw peanuts
2 tsp. oil
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 1/2 lbs. bok choy
2 Tbs. oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. minced ginger
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 3 Tbs. water
Fry peanuts in oil until golden then set aside. Chop bok choy into bite sized pieces. Heat oil, stir-fry bok choy, add garlic and ginger, add soy sauce and cornstarch slurry. Coarsely chop the peanuts with red pepper flakes and add to bok choy.
We had this over rice with some fried tofu and it was fabulous.
No picture of this one but it was a nice way to use up a green cabbage. Despite the name this book is not particularly vegan-friendly. Case in point: this cabbage recipe calls for duck fat. Well, it was easy to substitute Earth Balance.
Braised Green Cabbage from Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters
1 green cabbage, quartered, cored and thinly sliced
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
3 Tbs. Earth Balance
1 Tbs. cider vinegar
1 bay leaf
1 apple
1/2 c. water
salt & pepper to taste
Cook onion in fat, add cabbage, vinegar, bay leaf, salt & pepper and water. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Grate the apple, add it to the pan and cook another 5 minutes.
Pizza Shop Breadsticks with Sneaky Momma’s Tomato Sauce from Vegan Lunchbox by Jennifer McCann
The tomato sauce has kale, red pepper, and carrots so I figured this was a good way to get the kids to eat some extra vegetables. The bread sticks were rolled in a sesame seed/nutritional yeast mixture, also upping the healthiness a bit. You could do this with any bread recipe and any pasta sauce recipe. I thought it would be fun for the kids and though they weren’t totally sold on it, I thought it was fun.
Aquafaba Sweetness
Posted: October 13, 2016 Filed under: Fun stuff, Snacks | Tags: 52 cookbooks, aquafaba, donuts Leave a comment
Clockwise from top left: Fried Doughnuts, Sweet Whipped Topping, Lemon Meringue Pie, Swiss Buttercream
We were thrilled to have an opportunity to test recipes for Zsu Dever’s newly released Aquafaba book. We tested a mix of sweet and savory recipes and they were all delicious. It’s amazing to think that the water we were draining off our chickpeas all these years could be so versatile. Since receiving our copy of the book we’ve tried a few more recipes and have yet to be disappointed. In fact the Swiss Buttercream is our new favorite cupcake topping. It’s light and fluffy and not overly sweet.
This past weekend we went to Carter Mountain Orchard to pick apples. In addition to apple picking their specialty is apple cider doughnuts. Unfortunately these are not vegan. Aquafaba to the rescue! We wanted to bring a treat for the kids and the Baked Apple Cider Cake Doughnuts were perfect. Especially with the addition of some leftover Swiss Buttercream we had on hand after making cupcakes for a birthday party. The big kid has been bringing these for lunch this week and loves them.
On another note, I started the year with the idea that we’d try at least one recipe from 52 different cookbooks this year, an average of one per week. I’ve fallen hopelessly behind on this effort but this will certainly count. We’ll see how many more we can add before the end of the year and maybe we’ll keep at it into next year.
Fig Apple Crisp
Posted: October 2, 2016 Filed under: Breakfast, Snacks | Tags: apples, figs, kid-friendly Leave a comment
It’s apple season! And that means it’s also fig season. Four years ago we planted a tiny fig tree in our yard and finally this year we’re getting a decent amount of fruit. Yesterday I combined the figs with some local apples from Carter Mountain Orchard to make a simple crisp. For the filling I used about a pound and a half of apples and about a half pound of fresh figs, then I just added a tablespoon of flour and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. The topping was 3/4 c. rolled oats, 1/4 c. flour, 2 Tbs. canola oil, 1 tsp. agave, and another 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. I think some nuts would be good in the topping so next time I’ll add some chopped walnuts. Then bake in a covered baking dish at 375° for about 45 minutes. Enjoy!
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