:: Tasty Book: Vegan With A Vengeance ::

We have a vegetarian household at Chez Chellman. I haven’t cooked meat in many years (I eat it elsewhere, I just don’t cook it), and Lisa’s been veg for many more than that. She borrowed the cookbook Vegan With A Vengeance from the library a few weeks ago, and it’s been very good for tasty eats. I recommend the book heartily, and wanted to note the recipes we’ve made since we borrowed the book. One of things I like about it is that the recipes, at least the ones I’ve made, are fairly easy to make without being boring.

These are the ones we’ve made since having the book. Once we buy it, we’ll make even more.

• Baking Powder Biscuits and White Bean Tempeh Sausage Gravy
  This one is a big winner — Lisa likes to cook breakfast, and has made this several times.
• Scrambled Tofu
  Lisa has made this several times. It’s good as written, but she likes to add canned artichokes to pep this up.
• Sesame Asparagus
  A very tasty and fast way to prepare asparagus.
• Seitan
  I was making the seitan recipe from the PPK website before seeing the book. The one in the book is slightly different, but the results seem to be basically the same. Like she says there, it’s a lot cheaper to make seitan yourself. It takes a few hours to finish, but most of that is just letting it simmer and cool — the actual prep time is pretty fast.
• “Fronch Toast”
  Not Lisa’s favorite; the chick pea flour adds an odd flavor.
• White Bean and Roasted Garlic Soup
  Making this, I roasted garlic (two heads!) for the first time. It’s a very garlicky soup, but the roasting makes it less ridiculous than if it were uncooked garlic.
• Stewed Tofu and Potatoes in Miso Gravy
  This was a milder recipe than I was expecting. Good, but not my favorite. I had never used miso before making this, and I have a lot left over. I should try making miso soup.
• Mango-Ginger Tofu
  This is a very tasty sweet and spicy recipe, lots of mango.
• Ethiopian Seitan and Peppers This doesn’t taste like any Ethiopian food I’ve had, but it’s a good preparation of seitan.
• Mushroom and Sun-Dried Tomato Risotto
  I had never made a proper risotto before making this. I had always thought that the thickness of a good risotto came from cheese or cream or some kind of dairy, but it actually comes from the way it’s prepared (i.e. lots of stirring). Really good.
• Raspberry Blackout Cake with Ganache-y Frosting
  Lisa made this for her dad’s birthday earlier this month. It’s very chocolatey. I think I do like non-vegan cakes a little better, but this was a very good one.

This book is worthwhile whether you eat meat or not. Go get it.

If you eat meat and need some new recipes presented in a hilarious package, I recommend you watch Cooking With Coolio. I haven’t tried his recipes yet, but his treatment of spinach is pretty similar to what I’ve been doing with kale lately (and has been a big hit around here), so I’m pretty sure it’s all good. If you’re sensitive about language or yo mama jokes, be forewarned that there are plenty of both.

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:: The Credit Crisis ::

The New York Times has a pretty explanation of the credit crisis available. It’s a pretty tangled web that was woven that has unraveled in a hurry.

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:: Crocuses ::

I saw crocuses in the neighborhood for the first time tonight. Spring just might be on its way.

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