It's Not Pretty, But ...

... it sure tasted good! I bought a lovely head of purple cauliflower and what should I do with it but whip up the ugliest dish ever — Satyamma's Famous Caulifower Curry from the Moosewood Cookbook:

No offense to cookbook author Mollie Katzen, but this dish simply doesn't lend itself to purple cauliflower. It may have been a little sexier with a traditional white cauliflower. Of course, all cauliflower tastes the same, no matter the color. And this dish was deelish!

The curry paste is made from ground roasted peanuts, coconut, cayenne, onion, garlic, ginger, and some other yummies. It's combined with cauliflower, carrots, potatoes, and chickpeas and served over brown rice.

I even had a few Onion Parathas (from this HappyVeganFace recipe by Jessy) that I'd frozen awhile back after making a large batch:

These are spiced onion-stuffed flatbreads, and I thawed one out to really give this dish an Indian flair. In case you were wondering, Jessy's parathas freeze beautifully.

Cheeze Toast and Mamafish!

I discovered one of the coolest things ever today! One of my favorite local coffeeshops now serves Vegan Cheeze Toast. I stopped into Otherlands Coffeehouse to do a little work on my laptop, and lo and behold, a little sign next to the register read, "We now have vegan cheeze toast!" I had to order some, along with my Vanilla Soy Coffee Freeze:

Doesn't it look all melty and delicious?! I think it's Follow Your Heart, but I'm not certain. Whatever it is, it's delicious. The fresh bread is grilled so it has a hearty just-came-off-the-flame taste.

I noshed on the bread while working on my new gay rights news blog for the Memphis Flyer (the altweekly newspaper I work for) website. It's called Memphis Gaydar and you can link to it here if you care to read about LBGT issues in Memphis. Right now, our county commission is considering an ordinance that would make it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity for workers in county government. Amazingly, the radical right Bible-thumping crazies have managed to convince several commission members that gay people don't deserve equal rights (however, a good number of the not-crazy churches are standing in support of the ordinance). They county commission will vote on that today.

In other news, I finally mailed a birthday gift for Shellyfish's mom as part of the 60-Day Project over on her blog, Musings from the Fishbowl. Shellyfish asked her readers to sign up to send her mother a small gift for her 60th birthday, and then we were all assigned weeks in which to mail our gifts. My week was last week, and I sent this Zhena's Gypsy Tea (fair trade and organic!) and a batch of my friend Uele's super-delicious locally-made Groovy Foods Civil Granola:

Happy Belated Birthday, Mamafish!

Tapas Night

Rather than chowing down on a big entree and a couple of sides, tonight's dinner was more of a "small plates" kinda thing. I'd been working on this Pepper-Crusted Cashew Goat Cheese from Vegetarian Times for days:

The cashews must soak for six hours, and the nut cheese mixture has to rest for another 12 hours. Then it's baked and chilled before serving. So when this cheeze log was finally ready, I decided to make dinner out of it.

I served it on some Crisp 'n' Light Wasa Crackers (the best flavor!):

This was phenomenal! The log remains pretty soft, so the cheeze is spreadable and it really melts in your mouth. And it only has a few ingredients — cashews, tahini, lemon juice, and oil.

I could have eaten the entire "goat cheese" log for my dinner, but instead I created these Sweet 'n' Sour Notballs for my cookbook's appetizer section:

They're basically bean and TVP balls simmered in a sweet 'n' sour barbecue sauce. It's the kind of typical Southern fare you might find lurking in a Crock Pot at some redneck church potuck. Always a fan of white trash cookin', I knew I wanted some classic trailer park-style appetizers in the book. These balls would also be tasty served atop spaghetti with marinara.

I also made a quick Citrus Broccoli Salad using local farmer's market broccoli:

It's really quite simple — lightly steamed broccoli seasoned with a little lemon zest, oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. A light, refreshing way to enjoy broccoli on a hot almost-summer day. I was going to use it for the cookbook and then realized that the idea seemed awfully familiar. That's when I remembered Bryant Terry has a Chilled Citrus Broccoli Salad in his Vegan Soul Kitchen book. His has a few more ingredients and sounds even better, so I won't be using this recipe in my book. I'll just give it here.

Citrus Broccoli Salad
--------------------------

1 head broccoli, florets cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 Tbsp. agave nectar
salt & pepper to taste

Steam broccoli for about 4 minutes, until slightly tender but still pretty crispy. Allow to cool, and then stir in other ingredients to combine. Chill for several hours.

Move Over, Dinty Moore

My omni boyfriend loves that Dinty Moore beef stew in a can, and I seem to remember eating it a time or two when I was a kid. Even though it's got icky beef and loads of fat in it, it always looks kinda good in my boyfriend's soup bowl. I think it's just the creaminess of a stew that I crave, so decided to create a similar vegan version for my cookbook. Enter Seitan Beef Stew:

This photo was taken right after I made it, so it's still a little soupy. I found out today that it thickens considerably in the fridge. I used the ingredient list from a can of Dinty Moore to try and loosely replicate their version, only vegan-style. Plus, I added some dried herbs and local farmer's market kale for a more sophisticated taste (and some healthy greens!).

I know you're not supposed to eat stews in the spring and summer, but I'm not a fan of rules. Stew tastes good all year round, and this was deliciously comforting served with a warm slice of homemade whole wheat sourdough bread.

Beer for Breakfast!

That's right. This morning's breakfast included a touch of Young's Double Chocolate Stout — in my waffles! When I saw the Chocolate Beer Waffles in my new copy of Vegan Brunch, I knew that would be the first thing I'd try:

Topped with soy whip and organic chocolate syrup, these were almost too sinfully decadent for a weekday breakfast. But then again, I had a much easier time waking up for work this morning knowing what awaited my breakfast plate.

I made a whole batch on Monday night and stuck them in the freezer to re-heat each morning in the toaster. That makes this gourmet breakfast a super-quick morning meal. You can't actually taste the beer, but they're so chocolately and delicious.

Unfortunately, my waffle iron is starting to suck. All my waffles have either stuck to the iron or turned out pretty soggy lately. None of this batch stuck, but they definitely didn't get very crispy. Luckily, the re-toasting takes care of that. It used to be such a great waffle iron, but I guess no cheap appliance can live forever. Don't judge the recipe because I know a better waffle iron would toast these like magic.

Veggie Family Dinner

My parents and I were off work for Memorial Day, and I've been anxious to try my mom's latest cultinary discovery (soaking okra in beer before frying). So it seemed like the perfect time for her to feed me! I invited myself over for dinner (they live an hour away) and she cooked up an amazing meatless feast. Here's my plate:

There's fried cabbage (the best I've ever had ... seriously, my mom is a bad ass cook), deep-fried squash and deep-fried okra (both soaked in beer before dredging in a cornmeal/flour mixture), black-eyed peas, corn seasoned with loads of Earth Balance, a whole wheat dinner roll, and a slice of fresh tomato.

I couldn't fit the macaroni and tomatoes onto my plate, but she made that too. Here's the serving dish:

This was such a delicious meal. Even my dad didn't miss the meat! We're all huge fans of deep-fried veggies, but my mom and dad are pretty health-conscious these days. So this was a special treat. I promise to work out extra hard tomorrow to make up for all the fat I consumed tonight.

Pasta and Pie

I rarely cook big meals on Saturdays, but last night, I was in the mood to spend some time over the stove. So I made yet another tasty creation from Swell Vegan's Swell cookzine — Lentil Bolognese Over Whole Wheat Pasta:

Lentils stand in for meat in this bolognese sauce, making it a hearty and healthy alternative to traditional beefy pasta sauce. I had a pantry filled with unopened bags of lentils than a friend gave me last summer, and in trying to use them up, I've grown weary of my old lentil soup stand-by dinner. But this was a delicious and new way to use up some pantry items! Plus, the sauce contains red wine, and I'm a huge fan of that. Thanks Swell Vegan!

For dessert, I whipped up this Strawberry Pie:

I hand-picked the berries earlier in the day in a last ditch effort to stock up before berry season ends. And I'd been craving my Granny's veganized version of strawberry pie, a recipe that I'll certainly be including in my cookbook.

Unfortunately, I couldn't wait for the pie to set before digging in, so my first slice wasn't photo-worthy. I topped it with Soyatoo Whippable Soy Topping (the kind you whip yourself...I like that so much better than the kind in the spray can). I'm pretty sure I'll be having more of this for breakfast ... and maybe even for lunch.