Finishing Vegan Brunch

Roasted Root Vegetables

Here are the last few things that I've made out of Vegan Brunch, the March cookbook pick for VegCookbook Club. First, I decided to take on the potato, which Isa Chandra Moskowitz says is a must-have brunch item. And since it is close to the holiday weekend, I roasted up some root veggies and made the tempting navy bean gravy.

Home fries close-up

Diner Home Fries
Boiled potatoes were a comfort food for me when I was in college. So I decided to be a potato purist and use the Yukon Gold potatoes that are called for in the recipe. But bland, nutritionally underwhelming white potato varieties just don't thrill me anymore. Maybe I could make a healthier version with sweet potatoes? I did swap a red pepper for the green one, which added some sweetness. And I sprinkled on some paprika for further color. Malt vinegar, ketchup, and mustard were the condiments that I used copiously.

Root veggies close-up

Roasted Root Vegetables
Roasted veggies are my go-to holiday dish. I guess I'm used to a more saucy style of roasting. (Making a sweet/sour marinade and cooking the veggies in a glass or ceramic roasting pan.) However these roasted root veggies are prepared in a drier fashion, spread on a cookie sheet. Simply dressed with olive oil and salt, the cooked veggies were simple and tasty.

The parsnips, turnips, and carrots were excellent root veg choices. I couldn't find golden beets, so I subbed sweet potato. I also added mushrooms and whole cloves of garlic toward the end of the cooking time. I topped the veggies with the gravy below.

Best gravy ever?

Navy Bean Gravy
I'd make this recipe for any holiday because this gravy is the bomb! Super savory, thanks to the thyme, onion, and garlic. And thick, thanks to the navy beans and flour. However eating this sauce doesn't leave you with the heavy, woozy feeling that gravies made with vegan margarines often do. In fact, there were no leftovers because my boyfriend started eating it with a spoon. He thought the gravy tasted "bready," in a good way.

Spring things

Smoothie, amaryllis, and book tournament

We've survived the snowstorm rain in DC. Now here's a trio of my current spring things. A freshly blooming red amaryllis, which was a late Christmas gift from my folks. The Morning News Tournament of Books--like March Madness for books--which is keeping me glued to my laptop. (Go Mantel!) And a purply glass of the Smoothies Supreme recipe from Vegan Brunch, the March VegCookbook Club pick.

The Smoothies Supreme is super simple smoothie that tastes rather like a potluck punch. It's frozen bananas, berries, water, and juice. Isa Chandra Moskowitz recommends pineapple juice but I could only find an 100% juice orange pineapple mix, which has apple juice in it too. (Drat!) For berries, I used a "Cherry Berry" blend of blackberries, blueberries, black raspberries, and dark cherries. (Watch out for pits.) I also added amla powder and ground chia seeds to add a little more nutrition. Best enjoyed near an amaryllis.

I'm going to be downing more smoothies as the TOB bracket plays out on weekdays this March. Below is a full list of the current contenders, with links to my short Goodreads reviews for the titles I've read. I can't recommend the tourney highly enough with its smart, funny judges; zombie books (!); and the best comments section on the Interwebs. Here's their excellent primer FAQ.

The 2013 Tournament of Books Finalists
HHhH by Laurent Binet
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Arcadia by Lauren Groff
How Should a Person Be? by Sheila Heti
May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Homes
The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson
Ivyland by Miles Klee
Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Dear Life by Alice Munro
Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
Building Stories by Chris Ware

A brunch pie and cheesy sauce

Here are two more Vegan Brunch recipes, from the March VegCookbook Club pick. By the way, Britt Bravo, the Club founder and guiding force, was recently interviewed on Tranquility du Jour, a podcast by DC's own Kimberly Wilson. In the episode, they discuss the Club and some time-saving strategies for weeknight veggie dinners.

Mushroom, Leek, and White Bean Pie
I had an extra store-bought whole wheat crust on hand (total time saver), so I decided to try Isa Chandra Moskowitz's solution for a tofu-less quiche. While not as pretty as the classic quiche, this savory pie tasted and cut better.

The leeks in the pie were rather subtle. I think if I made it again, I might try onions in their place. I also didn't have extra thyme sprigs, so I used some pickled dilly beans for decoration. I served the pie with hot sauce and malt vinegar, which was an odd but effective condiment combo.

Cheesy Sauce
This cheesy sauce is a simple stove-top recipe. It tastes strongly of nutritional yeast, or "nooch" as Isa has christened it. I love nooch, so I can image pouring this sauce on everything. Which is good because the recipe made three cups. Sadly, I didn't serve this savory sauce with the pie above. Instead I made it in advance for burritos (my time-saving, go-to weeknight meal) later this week. We'll see how this sauce reheats and if I can keep my tasting spoon out of it until then.

Brunch on!

This is an early bird post for the March VegCookbook Club selection, Vegan Brunch, because I couldn't wait until tomorrow to start brunching! This beautiful, colorful cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz is a hoot, filled with her usual humorous voice and 175 homestyle, comfort food recipes. It's like having a friend dish all her "hostess with the mostest" brunch secrets.

The recipes are divided into the following sections: The Savory, The Sweet, The Sides, The Bread Basket, The Toppings, and The Drinks. There are also glorious food porn photos that make you want to drop everything and get your brunch on, 24/7.

I made both of these brunch dishes for dinner but I'm looking forward to having some lazy weekend brunches in the near future. (Maybe even a brunch picnic, if Spring ever arrives.) This book has me breaking out the tofu blocks until then.  

Basic Scrambled Tofu with Roasted Portobellos
I'm not usually a tofu scramble fan. Often I find these breakfast scrambles to be dull and dry. However, this recipe was super tasty, as promised. I added onions, carrots, and cremini mushrooms to the scramble. Because it was nicely seasoned with cumin, thyme, turmeric, and garlic, I didn't need to drown my plate in condiments. In the future, I'd recommend doubling the recipe in order to make seconds or leftovers.

Scrambled tofu close-up

I topped the scramble with roasted portobellos, a side recipe. This easy and tasty mushroom preparation is also a keeper. It simply calls for cooking wine, soy sauce, garlic, oil, and balsamic.  I wonder if I could roast the mushrooms in a toaster oven rather than heating up the "big oven?"

Classic Broccoli Quiche
This quiche looked so pretty. However compared to the scramble, the tofu here tasted bland. This might be because I forget to add Dijon mustard to the tofu and cashew blend. (I served the mustard on the side with hot sauce and ketchup.) Also I didn't have any tarragon on hand but I added some dill as a substitute green herb. The cherry tomatoes were a nice decorative touch.  

Quiche cross section

#100 = Mexican hot chocolate pop

Isa Chandra Moskowitz and The Post Punk Kitchen recently released their PPK 100 for 2012. (The 2011 version of this now annual list is here.) These 100 items are a vegan celebration and would make an awesome bucket list. Once again, the list includes some crazy new food ideas (kale mojitos!), a few rediscovered classics (like composting and pickling), and mouth-watering culinary finds (someday, LA's Vegan Beer Fest, someday). This year the PPK gang left the final slot empty for the people. I'd like to suggest filling #100 with this swoon-worthy vegan treat available at DC's Pleasant Pops shop.

Originally a farmers' market stand and food truck operation, Pleasant Pops opened their Farmhouse Market and Cafe in September. Located at 1781 Florida Ave NW, the tiny Adams Morgan shop has a coffee bar vibe with many patrons permanently parked with their laptops. The café has light offerings and to-go food items, including Soupergirl soups, Uncle Brutha's hot sauces, and other local favorites. It's a great shopping spot for slow food gifts and quick take-out items. I recommend taking the item below.

Vegan Mexican hot chocolate pop

Pleasant Pops specializes in paletas, traditional Mexican ice pops. They have diverse flavors listed on a chalkboard in helpful dairy and non-dairy columns. The vegan Mexican hot chocolate flavor naturally caught my eye. This pop is the bomb. The decadent popsicle is spicy, peppery, bitter, and sweet, just like Mexican hot chocolate should be. I enjoyed this ice cold pop in the dead of winter but I can't wait to revisit the pop shop come warmer weather. And try some of their fruity flavors. I do hope that this hot chocolate flavor is an all-season menu item.