Favorite 2013 VegCookbook Club Recipes

It's New Year's Day and I realized that I didn't post about VegCookbook Club for December but I have been revisiting my favorite recipes from 2013. Below are some photos, largely from Instagram, with links to my initial reviews from earlier in the year. Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan got my vote for cookbook of the year, but all of the books that I sampled were winners. I didn't get my hands on Isa Does It, the November book, which won the popular favorite. However I will be cooking from the January selection, the books of author Lindsay S. Nixon, aka the Happy Herbivore.

Top Smoothie: Crazy Sexy Goddess Smoothie, I posted about this amazing smoothie twice!

Top Dressing: Dijon Vinaigrette. Okay, I really like making salad dressings. This one is classy.

Top Baked Good (savory): Cornbread Biscuits

Top Baked Good (sweet): "You Got Peanutbutter in my Chocolate" Cookies, also from EDBV. Oops, I never posted about this one. But it was good enough for my office holiday potluck.

Top Dessert: Sinful Chocolate Pudding. So easy to make.

East Coast coffee cake and West Coast shopping

East Coast Coffee Cake

Vegan Brunch, the March VegCookbook Club selection, has been impossible to put back on the shelf. Here's a final sweet baked item from The Bread Basket chapter: East Coast Coffee Cake. I opted for a double variation, using blackberries and chocolate chips. I also swapped white whole wheat flour for the all-purpose.

The coffee cake was easy to assemble. You make the topping and cake separately and then add the variation ingredients. The cake smelled divinely of sugar and spice while baking. The hardest part was waiting a full hour for it to cool. My boyfriend kept feeling the sides of the pan to assure me of its rapid progress. But I made him wait and it was well worth it. Holy sugar bomb! This is another decadent holiday treat.      

Hot out of the oven.

Meanwhile, Britt Bravo has announced the April VegCookbook Club book. It's a classic, How It All Vegan! by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer. The pick is kind of a tribute too, to Sarah Kramer, Queen of Vegan Cookbooks (and apps). Sadly, Sarah has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. She is blogging about her experience at her awesomely titled website and asks that folks shop at her online store, Sarah's Place. I'm definitely going to shop there for Mother's Day and upcoming spring birthdays. And I'll be sending healing energy and virtual vegan gratitude out towards the West Coast too.

In an online shopping mood? Please visit: Sarah's Place

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.

A sweet brunch and a spinach smoothie

Continuing on the Vegan Brunch bandwagon, I decided to copycat Britt from the VegCookbook Club blog and make this sweet, egg-free take on French toast. Next week I'll have to offset this sugar kick with something savory from the cookbook.

Banana Rabadana (Brazilian French Toast)
I don't normally make French toast because I never have stale bread on hand. But I lucked out, finding a stale loaf at my local natural food store. The baguette label listed whole wheat as an ingredient too, although after white bread flour. So I'm pretending this dessert is slightly healthy.

The banana custard was easy to blend up and smelled strongly like baby food. Toasting the dipped bread on the skillet was harder, but I didn't use a nonstick skillet. (My trusty cast iron was too wee for the job.) I also over-dusted the crispy toast with cocoa powder and cinnamon. So trust me, there was toast under that spice layer.

The rabadana tasted sweet and rich, especially when paired with fruit and the sweet cashew cream (below). I guess this dish traditionally uses a port wine syrup. That would definitely add a tangy kick. Perhaps you could just serve it with a glass of port?    

Just blended cashew cream

Sweet Cashew Cream
Here's a close-up of the creamy topping that I added to the French toast plate above. It's a simple blend of soaked cashews, almond milk, maple syrup, and vanilla. I added cinnamon, a suggested variation. The cream firmed up a little in the fridge but I only refrigerated it for a few hours, not overnight.

P.S. Here's a belated photo of my St. Patrick's Day green smoothie. I simply took my dandelion smoothie recipe and swapped spinach for the dandy greens. A fine Sunday detox drink.

And a spinach smoothie for luck

Baking for Vegan Brunch

Muffin close-up

Here are two recipes from The Bread Basket chapter of Vegan Brunch, the VegCookbook Club pick. Both involved firing up the oven. These may be some of the last items that I bake until fall. DC has such a brief springtime window that it'll probably be no time at all before the long hot and humid summer stretches before us. I do hope our next few club cookbooks have some raw recipes.  

Toasted Coconut and Chocolate Chip Muffins 

These tropical muffins called for mango but I opted for the chocolate chip variation on the back page. The toasted shredded coconut perfumed my kitchen delightfully. The muffins came together easily after that key toasting step. The resulting muffins were nicely spiced with nutmeg and allspice. The white whole wheat flour also gave these muffins a sturdy texture and made them taste slightly wholesome while still being a sweet treat.  

Cornbread Biscuits
Another simple and quick baked good. I ended up halving the recipe and using white whole wheat flour (in addition to the cornmeal) for these biscuits as well. I added a little more liquid to compensate. And, of course, I had to add jalapeños, the suggested variation. In fact, I "forgot" to halve that step and made the biscuits extra peppery. This is a recipe I'll return to for sure. Sweet, spicy, and savory.

The brunch goes on...

Here are two new favorite recipes from Vegan Brunch, the March VegCookbook Club selection. I'm enjoying cooking from this book and hope to bake something from The Bread Basket chapter next.   

 

Sesame Scrambled Tofu and Greens with Yams
The other Clubbers are right; this tofu scramble is a keeper. So easy to prepare and tasty! It has a refreshing sesame flavor. (I didn't even add hot sauce.) I used dandelion greens here, as I had a spare bunch thanks to my Whole Foods snafu. The greens really cooked down and were tender and sweet. The yams were also super sweet and complimented the garlicky tofu. I did use tamari instead of soy sauce and totally forgot to add the ginger.

Chorizo Sausages
Made with mashed beans and vital wheat gluten, these chorizo sausages were like some that I prepared last year. (They don't photograph well.) Above are two sausages fresh out of the steamer. These sausages have a spicy, tomatoey exterior with a lemony, chewy interior. The sausages develop an even firmer texture when they're cooked. I halved the recipe and still had plenty of chorizo. I used some of the links as a side for the tofu scramble (top) and others as a "meaty" pizza topping. Here's how they looked when sliced and sautéed:

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