Vegan Mofo: Avocado Madness!

As the title suggests, Alicia Simpson's Vegan Comfort Food is loaded with satisfying, downhome dishes. Some are more complex than others. A few call for pre-made, packaged products, like vegan cheeze or veggie burgers. Some folks don't really like cookbooks like that, but I do. I wouldn't want every book in my library to have shortcuts, but books like Simpson's are nice for quick weeknight meals.

Case in point — the crisp Avocado Melt Panini from Vegan Comfort Food:

Avocado, vegan cheeze, tomato, onion, and cilantro on bread. Simple, yes. But it's something I probably wouldn't have thought to combine without a recipe to put the idea in my head. I'd never had avocado on a grilled cheeze, but it's a great combo! The creamy avocado melds well with the melty, warm vegan cheeze. I used Teese mozzarella for this sandwich, and since I don't own a panini press, I placed a cast-iron skillet atop the sandwich while cooking for the pressed panini texture.

Simpson's book conveniently offers meal ideas by suggesting other recipes in the book that would complement main dishes. Her "Avocado Madness" meal featured the panini served with Tomato & Avocado Soup:

Another idea I wouldn't have considered before — cold avocado atop warm creamy tomato soup. I've only used avocado to garnish cold, raw soups in the past. But this was delicious and warming on a chilly fall day. Plus, I got to use the majority of a whole avocado for one meal. And that means no waste.

On the Vegan Mofo front, I won't be posting for a few days because I'm headed to New Orleans with my family. But I'm sure I'll have a ton of delicious vegan NOLA food to share when I return.