Veganomicon - Spicy Eggplant & Peanut Soup

Veganomicon

I’ve been eating peanut butter or cashew-macadamia butter every single day like a madwoman, so I figured why not make the eggplant & peanut soup from VCon.  It’s legendary by now; all of the testers loved it!

I didn’t put the green beans in because I don’t like them very much and I added chives and sambal oelek because the soup wasn’t very spicy for me.  It’s very appetizing and creamy, with chunks of tender eggplant here and there. 

Have I mentioned I like eggplant? 

Veganomicon - Beanballs!

Hearing others’ raves about the beanballs, I thought I’d give them a try as my next V-Con recipe.  They are easy to mix together, once you have your kidney beans mashed, and smell of garlic when baking (what could be better?).  I enjoyed the crispness on the outside contrasted with the creaminess on the inner part.  Good stuff.

VeganMoFo - Eggplant

I wish I made eggplant more often!  Here are a few of my favorite ways to eat this delicious purple-skinned veggie:

Breaded eggplant with spicy & sweet tomato sauce from Venturesome Vegetarian (as I recall, I used gluten-free breadcrumbs)

Garbanzo moussaka from More Fabulous Beans (with a great cheese sauce!)

Potatoes with eggplant butter from Fresh & Fast Vegan Pleasures

I know it’s hard to tell from the picture what exactly this dish is, but it’s basically eggplant in a tomato sauce.  One of my favorites, recipe found here:  http://www.ivu.org/recipes/indian-salads/eggplant.html

Eggplant rollatini from Veganomicon

I’m trying to get as many posts in as I can for VeganMoFo, have only missed a few days!!  That’s good…..right? 

VeganMoFo - Favorite Dish for Company, Weekend

Cheesy potato pierogi with sauteed onions and cauliflower sour cream.  Yum!

Or

Sweet potato-leek chowder with tofu and vegetable nori rolls

with

Apple spice cupcakes with caramel penuche frosting!

(edited to add that this recipe is in Veganomicon and also appeared in a VegNews issue - if someone has the month, please advise!  :))

Not too labor-intensive, but nice to make on a day when you’re not rushing home from work to begin preparations!

Tamarind Lentils, Garlic-Saffron Rice, Cornmeal Roti

Veganomicon

What could beat garlicky rice with a touch of saffron?!  This was a really good, comforting meal.  I added some hot sauce to the lentils, as I wanted them a bit more spicy, but otherwise, everything as-is was perfect for me.  I even scaled it down a bit to make dinner for one! 

VeganMoFo - Veganomicon Leek & Bean Cassoulet

Veganomicon Leek & Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits

Mighty tasty meal of a creamy stew topped with flaky biscuits (made with whole-grain spelt flour)!  It has leeks, carrots, onions, potatoes, and peas.  I think if I make it again, I will leave the carrots out.  This was just such a great medley of vegetables and the white beans!  And any time I can break out my cast iron and throw the thing from the stove to the oven, I’m excited. 

VeganMoFo - Veganomicon, Potato Rolls & Squash

Veganomicon

Butternut Squash with Carmelized Onions, Chestnuts, and Sage Breadcrumbs

(I added sweet potatoes and left out white beans)

I found this dish to melt in my mouth!  I admit to being a bit nervous when I first smelled these baking.  It seemed that there was too much thyme.  But then, after everything was baked and the flavors melded, I found my fear was put to rest!  The onions were perfect. 

Note:  I don’t know if I’m hugely fond of chestnuts.  I like crispy nuts better! 

Potato Rolls

I saw a picture of these a month ago or so and wanted to eat my screen!  With white poppy seeds on top.  They were really good and could go well with margarine or jam.  I even used part whole-grain flour.

[huge pile of] Hot & Sweet Seitan (no cookbook)

This is just something that I made up, just wanting to make a simple seitan sauce that didn’t require 20 ingredients or much thought.  The seitan is pan-fried in peanut oil, then glazed with a mixture of kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), ginger juice, and hot sauce (in this case, Frank’s).  I like the flavor, resembling a sweet barbeque.

VeganMoFo - Favorite Foods

Between legumes, nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, it’s hard to pick one from each category as a favorite, but for VeganMoFo (and only during this special month-long project!  :p), I will attempt to do so.

If I had to choose a favorite legume, I think it would be white beans, specifically the cannellini variety.  Besides being high in protein, dietary fiber, calcium, and iron, they have great taste and a creamy texture to boot!

Excellent in my Cajun white bean soup and white bean gremolata with lemon, garlic, parsley, and extra-virgin olive oil, I’m guessing this legume also makes quite the appearance in Veganomicon’s Leek & White Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits.  Stay tuned!

In the meantime, try the white bean & tempeh patties or white bean gravy from Vegan With a Vengeance.

Photo from PinkHairedGirl!!

Cajun white bean soup with recipe:  http://utopiankitchen.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/cajun-white-bean-soup/

White bean gremolata with bread & pita chips:

VeganMoFo - Veganomicon Broccoli Polenta

 

Veganomicon

Another Rarely Used Grain

It’s amusing to me how often corn is mistaken for a vegetable, especially when the kernels are eaten off the cob, frozen, or canned.  But then, when we use things like cornmeal and corn grits, it seems suddenly corn is remembered as the grain it is again!  :)   Whole-grain cornmeal is a good source of protein, dietary fiber (like all plant-based foods!), and iron.

I love polenta - the flavor of the corn becomes buttery and, to boot, it’s amazing how thick the stuff becomes when cooled and then sliced!  When Isa and Terry took polenta to the next level in Veganomicon, adding one of my favorite vegetables, broccoli, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I tried it.  See, I eat broccoli almost every single day.  And not just a little bit - I typically eat a whole pound at once.  And I am not alone in this! 

Broccoli is a good source of protein, thiamin, pantothenic acid, calcium, iron, magnesium and phosphorus, and a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E (alpha tocopherol), vitamin K, riboflavin, vitamin B6, folate, potassium and manganese.

For some of the broth, I used sun-dried tomato soaking water, and I decided to add a layer of sun-drieds in between two layers of polenta.

Shown here with an Italian-seasoned nutritional yeast sauce.  It was delicious!!! 

Veganomicon - Butternut Squash Rice Paper Rolls

 

Veganomicon

I love summer rolls because it feels like you’re eating a salad but in the form of a finger food.  Well, assuming your rolls have vegetables in them! 

This was, lo and behold, the first recipe I marked in VCon that I wanted to try.  It sounded so simple yet so tasty, and believe me, it was!  The squash, pumpkin seeds, cilantro, and noodles are perfectly complemented by the sesame-soy dipping sauce.  I made a dinner/main course out of this, served alongside a few other vegetables.

(for gluten-free, use Bragg’s or tamari.)