Recipe Round-Up: Eat, Drink and Be Vegan

Time to clear out some more archives! Let me begin with a tale. Once upon a time there was a girl called Susan. And for many moons she would skip into her local Borders and look at The Everyday Vegan by Dreena Burton. Susan kept on putting off buying this book, because at $55 it seemed just a tad pricey, even though she knew that buying vegan books from Borders in Australia is never cheap. Then one day the magical interwebs sent Susan a Borders voucher, buy two cookbooks and get a third for free! Susan was full of glee, and skipped into Borders. But woe, the book was gone. Susan's woe was short-lived, however, for upon searching through the shelves she found Eat, Drink and Be Vegan by Dreena Burton. And she rejoiced. And she bought it. They went home together and the book provided delicious, delicious meals. And they lived happily ever after. The End!

So yes, Eat, Drink and Be Vegan is a new addition to my cookbook collection. I have not made that much out of it yet. But so far what I have made, I have been pretty darn happy with! I love that Dreena gives lots of suggestions for things that go together, because you all know menu plans (mine or other peoples) fill me with glee! So, let us take a peek and what has been cooked up, shall we?


This was the first thing I ever made. It is Garlicky Broccoli, Corn and Bean Burritos, topped off with some Smoky Avocado Sauce and a big green side salad for scurvy-fighting properties. The Smoky Avocado Sauce is delicious, and really pulls the whole thing togehter. I loved the beans for the burritos - you make your own pureed beans and it includes balsamic vinegar. It certainly makes for a scrumptious taste sensation!


Pictured here is Cumin Lime Tofu with Autumn Puree and a green salad topped with Polenta Croutons. The flavour of the tofu was awesome. Unfortunately, mon pere had purchased the wrong type of tofu (silken firm rather than real firm), which just refused to soak up as much marinade and it should have. It was still pretty tasty though! I found I was all out of pepitas, so I crushed up some sunflower seeds instead. The Autumn Puree was great, especially smothered in left over marinade. It is quite sweet and I think would also make a nifty quick pie filling. But that might just be me. The left over marinade also made a fabulous dressing for the greens. But I must now just take a moment to talk about the star of this dish.


Behold. The golden perfection. What happens when 5 ingredients, a bit of time and almost no effort combine. Polenta Croutons. Make them. Eat them. On their own. Holy cow, in case you cannot tell, I am in love with these things. They are seriously NOM and it is a miracle there were any left to go on the salad, I spent all afternoon just snacking on them!


This little number is Savory French Lentils with Roasted Winter Squash Rings, Lemon Broiled Green Beans and brown rice. So, the squash rings were more squash half moons because I could only find halved butternuts. The beans are super quick and easy to make. And the lentils require almost no effort and are really tasty. No wonder it is a mainstay in the Burton household, if we are to believe the blurb.


And finally the Bean and Corn Tortilla Lasagna with Avocado, served with a salad with Cumin-Cinnamon Vinaigrette. I used cheddar Cheezly to top this dish, but I have heard about the nacho flavour and I suspect it would go very nicely with it too. I did have a brief urge to splot some 'sour cream' on it, but in the end didn't. The salad dressing is amazing though! I put the extra in a jar and every lunch time I give it a shake and pour it over more salad. It is certainly inspiring me to eat lots and lots of my greens!

So, there is the current line up of dinners provided for me. They have all been fabulous. I will definitely be looking to get my hands on her other books if they are anywhere near as good as this one!