Perfect Pinic Potluck Food

Last night, I reviewed Tamasin Noyes' comfort-food cookbook American Vegan Kitchen, a phenomenal volume of downhome, blue plate special-style dishes. I know this may sound crazy, but I think I actually love Tami's book more than the Veganomicon. Yep, I said it. I don't care if that's vegan blasphemy. Don't get me wrong — I still love Isa and Terry's magnificent tome. But Tami's cookin' is so in line with my style of no frills, home-cookin'.

I went to a potluck picnic on the first day of spring. Even though it was almost two weeks ago, I saved this post so I could post two gushing reviews of Tami's book back-to-back. The picnic at Ellendale Park in Bartlett (a suburb of Memphis) celebrated the Spring Equinox, a time when people traditionally make dishes with eggs. But um, yuck. No eggs for me.

Instead I brought this Spicy Tofu Noodle Salad from American Vegan Kitchen:

Tofu is lightly pan-fried in chili oil and served atop whole wheat spaghetti noodles (her recipe calls for cappelini but I wasn't sure what that was) tossed with red bell pepper, cucumber, Napa cabbage, and a spicy Asian sauce with hints of sesame and ginger.

It was a huge hit with all the omnis, who made up about 98 percent of the folks in attendance. Tami's recipe says it serves four, but it actually made a HUGE batch. I had to use a Halloween candy bowl to hold it all since none of my serving bowls are that big. The size of the dish, the fact that it didn't need to be served warm, and the sheer deliciousness made this the perfect pinic potluck food.

Vegan Diners and Dives

As soon as Tamasin Noyes' cookbook American Vegan Kitchen hit stands last month, I headed to Amazon to purchase a copy. Fortunately for Tami, everyone else had the same idea — the book was sold out! Every vegan and their mother had to have a copy of Tami's awesome cookbook of diner-style comfort recipes. The book is available on Amazon here now, but I lucked out because Tami (you might know her from the Vegan Appetite blog) wound up sending me a copy for review.

Y'all know I love me some comfort food. I'll take a bowl of vegan mac & cheese over a fancy four-course dinner any old day. Tami's recipes are reminiscent of eats you might find at a very vegan-friendly roadside diner (unfortunately, most roadside diners aren't very vegan-friendly), so of course this book is right up my alley.

Chapters are divided into cute little catergories like "Rise and Shine" (breakfast, of course), "Sandwich Board," "Salad Bar," "Choice of Sides," and "Dessert Case." Doesn't that just make you wanna pull the car over, load the fam into the dive-y diner, and order a glass of iced tea from a nice lady named Flo?

My friend Stephanie tested for Tami's book, so I asked her what I should try first. Honestly, everything sounded so good (seitan po'boys, beer-simmered seitan stroganoff, sweet garlicky ribs) that I couldn't decide on my own. Steph suggested the Savory Stuffed French Toast with Mustard-Shallot Sauce:

Oh. My. God. Y'all. Day-old French bread is stuffed with vegan ham (I used Yves brand) and Bosc pear slices. It's battered and lightly pan-fried and then topped with a tangy mustard-shallot sauce. I wouldn't have thought to combine ham and pears, but it's such a magical combination. I had a couple slices for dinner alongside some caramelized cabbage 'n' onions (a recipe from my cookbook). This French toast is certainly a keeper.

I've only made a couple of recipes from American Vegan Kitchen so far (I'll share pics of the other one with y'all tomorrow night), but I've stayed busy wiping my drool of the book's pages. Everything sounds amazing. Expect to see plenty more posts from this book. And go buy it. You know you want it.

If You Don't Eat Meat, You Can Have Some Bread Pudding

Okay, not a Pink Floyd fan. But I couldn't resist the pudding reference. Sorry. I'd actually share a slice of my Chocolate Chip Coconut Bread Pudding with you, even if you do eat meat. But it might steer you away from the dark side:

This creamy bread pudding will be included in my cookbook, so I won't divulge the recipe. But as you can see, it contains melty chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and chunks of slightly-stale sourdough bread. I rarely eat white bread, but I'll occasionally splurge with some sourdough. This pudding would be delicious made with whole wheat bread too, I'm sure.

I ate some for breakfast, drizzled with Sweet Vanilla Sauce:

It's never too early for dessert, right? Can you believe I'd never even tried bread pudding until last Easter? My friend Sheridan and I made a strawberry bread pudding for an Easter/Spring picnic. The idea of wet bread used to gross me out, but one bite and I realized the bread actually becomes creamy and delicious rather than soggy. I think I'll have some more for breakfast tomorrow.

How To Cook Brinner

On Saturday, Stephanie (a.k.a. Poopie Bitch) and I presented our second cooking demo this month! This time, we cooked brinner for the fine folks at the Pu-Lin Buddhist Temple. We made a Tofu Scramble with Fresh Veggies and Diner-Style Home Fries. And we brought along a batch of my Whole Wheat Butter-Soymilk Biscuits to complete the meal.

We split up the demonstrating duties, and I got the Tofu Scramble. Here I am sauteeing the almost-finished product with mushrooms, spinach, carrots, vegan sausage, and tomatoes:

We used my recipe for scramble, which you can find here. But the people in this particular Buddhist tradition don't eat garlic or onions, so we left that stuff out. Here's my hand crumblin' some tofu into the second batch (we made four batches to feed the crowd):

Steph took the reins with the Diner-Style Home Fries, an onion-free variation on Isa's recipe from Vegan Brunch:

Look how preggers Stephanie is! Her vegan baby is due in July. Not only does she make vegan babies, she also makes some bomb-ass home fries. Check it:

We worked side-by-side, demonstrating the recipes and answering questions about veganism. My friend Greg was there too — occasionally chiming in with interesting vegan tips. He doesn't look very happy in this picture, but I assure you he was:

After the demo, we spread the food — scramble, taters, biscuits, and pineapple and cantalope — out on a table and filled our plates:

Here's the whole class standing in front of an awesome altar decorated with golden Buddhist statues:

The guy in the white shirt on the far right is Henry. He's the one who invited us to cook at the temple, which doubles as his home. Thanks Henry! And thanks to Steph's husband Richard for taking these awesome pictures with my camera!

Raw Food Meets Fried Food

My buddy JohnP once told me that he had his dehydrator and deep fryer going at the same time one night ... and it made him think of me. It's funny because it's true. I love me some fried foods, but I also enjoy eating raw meals made from fresh, organic, wholesome veggies. It's all about balance.

That's why I had to try these Raw "Fried" Vegetables by Lindsay of the Cooking for a Vegan Lover:

Don't they look a lot like fried vegetables? They're actually raw mushrooms, zucchini, and red bell pepper coated in olive oil, nutritional yeast, and spices and then dehydrated for about 12 hours. Click here for Lindsey's recipe. Super tasty, and way more guilt-free than real fried veggies.

I served the veggies with a warm bowl of Lentil Soup and Rustic Multiseed Wheat Bread:

My friend Greg made the soup a few days ago, and I'm not sure what he put in it. But it's delicious. It has a smoky flavor (maybe he used Liquid Smoke) and it's peppered with veggies, like carrots, peas, and okra.

The bread was part of a loaf I baked a few weeks ago from Vegetarian Times. I sliced it up and froze each piece individually. Anytime I bake bread, I slice the whole loaf and freeze it immediately, so I always have fresh-baked bread on hand.

Curry Burrito!

Technically, these Aloo-Yoop Curry Potato Wraps from Sarah Kramer's 2010 Go Vegan wall calendar are not burritos:

But I felt like I was eating a giant burrito when stuffing this coconut milk-infused tater wrap into my tiny mouth. Yes, I have a little mouth, and this was a very big wrap. So big, in fact, that I couldn't properly fold the ends of my Ezekial 4:9 sprouted grain wrap. All the filling kept falling out, but it was so delicious, I didn't even mind the mess.

I've vowed to make every recipe in the 2010 Go Vegan wall calendar, and this was the featured dish for March. Sweet potatoes meet white potatoes, green peas, chickpeas, curry powder, and coconut milk. Creamy, hearty, delicious. Oh, and of course, I drizzled the wrap filling with sriracha.

If I make it again though, I'm seeking out a larger wrap. I wasn't crazy about the Ezekial wraps, despite my love for their sprouted grain bread. They were a little tough, and I prefer a soft, melt-in-your-mouth wrap. But I suppose the Ezekial wraps are healthier, so at least I can have that satisfaction.

All That Glitters

When people ask me my favorite color, I say "glitter." Maybe that makes me a little airy-fairy, but so what? Glitter is fun! And it contains all colors, which is perfect for an indecisive Libra like me.

My love of glitter is what initially drew me to these Citrus Glitters from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar:

The "glitter" is actually turbinado sugar, but it's the citrus flavor that truly shines in these soft sugar cookies.

A mix of orange, lime, and lemon zest went into the cookie batter, creating a delicate citrus flavor that was a perfect balance with the crunchy turbinado sugar.

I especially loved the texture of these cookies. Sugar cookies often end up way too crispy for my liking, but these remained soft and somewhat cakey (even four days later!). I brought a plateful to work to celebrate the Spring Equinox (my favorite holiday!), and they were quickly gobbled up by the co-workers.