Finishing up Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan

A Sweet Finish:
I decided to close July's VegCookbook selection with a sweet. Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan has an excellent "Sugar 'N' Spice" chapter with loads of decadent desserts and baked goods. I went with a simple, no cooking required recipe.

Cashew Banana Ice Cream

There's great vegan-friendly bakery in Ocean City, NJ, called The Bashful Banana Café that is famous for a banana "frozen custard." It's just bananas whipped to a custard consistency. They call it: the Banana Whip. This "ice cream" version adds cashew butter, which gives it a thick, creamy texture. The recipe also calls for sweetener. I added a little agave but would skip it next time. Bananas are sweet enough. I also added some vanilla and cinnamon. Overall, a speedy sweet fix that requires only firing up the food processor.

Salad Dressing Round-Up:
Plus, here's a quick round-up of the salad dressings that I've made from this cookbook in July.

Salad Dressings from ED&BV

Of these three dressings, the Creamy Basil Dressing (top) was my favorite. Fresh basil provides so much flavor. I used cashews and almonds for the nuts and unsweetened almond milk as the main liquid. It was great on salads and as a dip for heirloom tomatoes.

Back-to-Basics Balsamic Vinaigrette is one for regular weeknight rotation (bottom left). Super simple and straightforward. Although, as with all the dressing recipes, I cut back on the sweetener by a third, at least. (Sometimes I think Canadian cookbook authors just like to promote maple syrup. Which I love. But not in everything.)

Cumin-Cinnamon Vinaigrette was a unique blend, but perhaps not to my tastes (bottom right). I think the cinnamon reminded me too much of my morning smoothies. This one would work on a salad served before a spicy Indian meal.    

August's pick:
Now August is arrived and with it comes a new book: Betty Goes Vegan by Annie and Dan Shannon. I haven't gotten my hands on a copy yet but I wonder if it'll have the technicolor glow I remember from my Mom's old Betty Crocker cookbooks.