Vegan Mofo: Salad Doesn't Have to Be Boring!

I know some vegan cookbooks steer away from "salad sections" because many vegans want to get away from the myth that we only eat lettuce and carrots all the time. And I get that. But lettuce and carrots are yummy, and good for you!

My book will have a combined "salad & sandwich" section since I view both as super lunch-y foods. In real life, I generally make big ole everything salads with no recipe to speak of. I just throw whatever salad-y stuff I have into a bowl and toss with a convenient bottled dressing. But my book will have some real recipes that include homemade dressings and carefully-paired salad ingredients, like in this Seitan & Red Pear Salad:

It uses the Seitan Chicken from another recipe in the book, red pears, green onions, walnuts, and my homemade white pear vinaigrette. It seems a little fancy for country cookin' book, but even the most downhome cook likes to make gourmet stuff sometimes.
What's your favorite salad combination?

I Put My Root Down

Every time I cook with root veggies, I get the Beastie Boys' "Root Down" stuck in head ... which isn't a bad thing at all. Tonight, I used these lovely root crops to make a delicious Seitan & Root Veggie Pot Pie:


The pie is going in my cookbook, but you can see here what the main ingredients are — sweet potatoes, white potatoes, carrots, turnips, and yellow onion. I made a Whole Wheat Pie Crust using another "going in the cookbook" recipe. After some cubing, boiling, seasoning, mixing, and rolling, this came out of the oven:


This was one of the most comforting dishes I've made in awhile. However, I have a hard time making pie crust look pretty, so sorry if it doesn't look as appetizing as it tasted. I


Fortunately, I froze three slices and I've got another three in the fridge to eat for lunches throughout the rest of the week. Yea! Pot Pie Forever!