vegan mofo: trying out my new cookbooks

Last week I mentioned that I had received The Vegan Table, Urban Vegan, and Quick & Easy Vegan Comfort Food. Well, of course I had to try all three out ASAP.

First up, Quick & Easy Vegan Comfort Food. I had some spinach that had to be used up so I elected to make the spinach and cheeze scramble. I added about double the spinach called for, but it cooks down so small that it hardly seemed like I was eating such a huge amount of spinach. I really liked the seasoning in this recipe. I made it a wee bit more spicy, but other than followed the recipe.

I had just bought some TVP, so the sloppy joes in Urban Vegan called my named. I omitted the oil as well as the sugar. I feel like I really can’t judge the recipe because the TVP I bought, while cheaper than my regular brand, is so gross. It smells bad, it has a weird taste, it’s just ick. I learned my lesson, back to my old brand I go. From what I could tell, the sauce recipe was really good…even though I omitted the sugar it was still plenty sweet for me. But then again I don’t like overly sweet sloppy joe recipes. I didn’t have any buns, so I served it on a sprouted tortilla.

Finally, The Vegan Table. I made the eggplant and carmelized onion “lasagna.” I had my doubts about this recipe….olives and raisins together? Are you mad? But I went with it and was pleasantly surprised…it was actually really good! The taste is so complex, there are so many different taste sensations going on…but they harmonize. This would probably be fabulous in the summer with fresh tomatoes, eggplant, and basil, but ah well. We do what we can here in the north.

TVP Meatloaf

In my pregan days I loved regular meatloaf. I even requested it for my 14th birthday dinner. Seriously, what 14 year old requests meatloaf for her birthday dinner?! Come to think of it, that was my last non-veg birthday, but I digress. So clearly I have a love for meatloaf. I found this recipe for TVP meatloaf about a year ago. I instantly fell in love with it. I’ve been tinkering around with it and each time I make it a bit differently.

Here’s my most recent version, served with roasted green beans, roasted brussel sprouts, and a salad:

TVP Meatloaf: (adapated from here)
-2 c. water
-1/2 c. ketchup
-2 tbsp. tamari
-2 c. unconstituted TVP
-1/2 c. oats
-1/4 c. ground flax
-1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
-3 tsp. garlic powder
-2 tsp. onion powder
-1/3 c. bbq sauce (whichever one is your favourite)

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Mix water, ketchup, and tamari. Add TVP and let sit 10 minutes.
3. Add in oats, flax, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and onion powder. Mix.
4. On a cooking sheet, form the mixture into a loaf. Trust me, this ends up with a nice outer crust that you don’t get with a loaf pan. Bake 30 minutes.
5. Spread bbq sauce over top. Return to oven for 10 minutes.
6. If desired, broil for 3-5 minutes to crisp up top.

Serves 4.

If you were to use the exact ingredients I did, it would come in at 374 calories, 5.2 g fat, 47.8 g carbohydrates, and 33.9 g protein per serving.

Yay 100 Posts!

Well this post marks my official 100th post. A lot has happened in the past 100 posts..including transitioning to veganism from nearly 10 years as a lacto-ovo vegetarian. I really feel like being vegan has made my cooking 100x better…I can’t just throw cheese on something to make it edible (I at least have to go to the trouble of making a nutritional yeast cheesy sauce!). I actually enjoy trying to veganize classic dishes. I’ve even succeeded in having the bf eat vegan a few nights a week…which several months ago would have seemed impossible.

Anyhoo, nostalgia aside, I do have quite a bit of food-related things to share with you. First up, my brunch from yesterday…all from Vegan with a Vengeance:

Herb roasted poatoes, tofu rancheros, and the TVP breakfast chorizo. The chorizo was interesting…when I first tasted it I thoguht, “ew!” But by the 4th bite I couldn’t get enough of it and went back for seconds. Definitely something I would make again. Especially considering as I’m always trying to force myself to cook with TVP more…not that I don’t like it, I just never think of using it. Here’s a close-up of the tofu rancheros:

Yesterday evening we had a few friends over to play some board games. It’s a pretty fun and inexpensive way to spend a Saturday night, so why not? I enjoy it because I get to make snacks for people…last night was particularly nice seeing as how there were 3 boys so everything actually was eaten. First up, the infamous Fauxtess Cupcakes from Vegan with a Vengeance. I’ve been meaning to make these babies for awhile now.

I didn’t have any soymilk powder on hand, or maple syrup. So the filling on the inside is just regular vanilla buttercream, and the ganache on top is just soymilk and semisweet chocolate…mmmm. These went over extremely well. I managed to snag one, well the boys I think had 3 each. Here’s the money shot of the filling:

I also made a batch of tamari roasted chickpeas from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan…because they’re delicious and nutritious.

Finally, I made a black bean dip to serve with tortilla chips. Everyone seemed to really enjoy this…I thought I made way too much, but by the end of the evening there was nothing left in the bowl! I based it on this recipe for taco filling, but made it more “dip-ish” if you will.
Black Bean Dip
-15 oz black beans, partially mashed
-cooking spray
-1/2 onion, diced
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1/4 c. red bell pepper, diced
-1 tbsp. cornmeal
-2 tsp. cumin
-1 tsp. paprika
-1/2 tsp. cayenne
-1 tbsp. chili powder
-3/4 c. salsa
-a couple dashes hot sauce (optional)

Spray skillet and heat over medium heat. Saute onions until tender. Add garlic and red pepper and saute a few minutes more, until pepper is tender. Add the black beans. Stir in the cornmeal, cumin, paprika, cayenne, chili powder, salsa, and hot sauce (if using). Cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently. If more heat is desired, add additional hot sauce.