Wednesday 12 October 2011

VeganMoFo 2011 #12: 'Veganomicon'



Veganomicon
Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, Marlowe and Company, 2007

Veganomicon


That other book I was waiting on from Amazon for Christmas was none other than Veganomicon, that mighty tome but Isa and Terry. Being completely besotted with Vegan With A Vengeance and having very much enjoyed Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, it stands to reason that I was eager to get my hands on Vcon as soon as possible.

Veganomicon is a lovely book, it is large and hardback, so it stays open very easily on the bench. There is a middle section of colour photographs. The book starts with sections on the pantry, equipment, cooking and prepping terminology and instructions for basic cooking of vegetables, grains and beans. Chapters for Recipes include Snacks, Appetizers, Little Meals and Dips, Brunch, Salads and Dressings, Sammiches, Mix-and-Match (Vegetables, Grains, Beans, and Tofu, Tempeh, and Seitan), Soups, Casseroles, One-Pot Meals and Stove-top Specialties, Pasta, Noodles, and Risotto, Sauces and Fillings, Breads, Muffins, and Scones, Cookies and Bars, Desserts. There is also a lovely section of Menus.

So I went through and made a list of all the five-star recipes from this book. It is way too many to post photos of all of them in the one post. I have a couple of photos I haven't posted before, so I have uploaded those. Otherwise I have reposted some of the prettier photos, plus a few recipes that have an extra special place in my heart.

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Mango, and Tangerine Baked Tofu

Tangerine Baked Tofu With Quinoa Salad With Black Beans

First off, let's talk about the salad (made here with red quinoa). It is amazing, and to me is just the taste of summer. I used carrot in place of capsicum. When I first made this I still didn't like coriander leaves (cilantro) so I made it with mint. I not love coriander leaves, but I actually think I like this better with mint! Now, the tofu. This is chewy and delicious. I subbed in mandarin and oranges for the tangerine. Put these two recipes together and you have a perfect summer night's dinner.

Chickpea Cutlets with Mushroom Sauce

Chickpea Cutlets With Roasted Asparagus And Mashed Potatoes And Mustard Sauce

Two amazeballs recipes. The chickpea cutlets are the stuff of legends. I always mean to make a big batch to keep in my freezer to have on hand. The mustard sauce is also fantastic. I served here with some roasted asparagus and some mashed potatoes. Take that meat and potato omnis!

Hot and Sour Soup with Wood Ears and Napa Cabbage

Hot And Sour Soup

Hot and Sour soup is my favourite sort of soup - yum! I found with this soup that I had to double the amount to the liquid ingredients to get it soupy enough for me. I love all the textures in this soup!

Eggplant-Potato Moussaka with Pine Nut Cream

Eggplant-Potato Moussaka with Pine Nut Cream

This is a beautiful casserole, and is made all the more awesome by the pine nut cream that tops it. Zucchini also joins eggplants and potatoes as they roast up to deliciousness. Then they are layered with a lovely tomato sauce and topped with that amazing cream.

Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits

Leek And Bean Cassoulet With Biscuits

I don't think there is anyone alive who could try this and not be in heaven. It is what you want on a cold winter night, plus it has biscuits!

Kabocha-Udon Winter Stew

Kabocha Udon Winter Stew

This is a wonderful, warming and very pretty stew. It also makes a lot, so your belly will be full and happy. When you are making it, it may seem like the vegetables are too much for the liquid, but it all cooks down just fine.

Spicy Tempeh and Broccoli Rabe with Rotelle

Spicy Tempeh and Broccoli Rabe with Rotelle

Special mention to this recipe as not only is it a total five-star recipe, it was also the first recipe I ever made from the book! I used broccolini instead of broccoli rabe, which are apparently similar though not quite the same.

Sour Cilantro Cream

Sour Cilantro Cream

This isn't one of the prettiest photos, but this recipe has to have a very special mention. I once hated cilantro, I made a face if I so much as smelled it and I would sub it out for mint or parsley. However, it was in so many of my recipes and I felt like I was missing out on something special. So I decided to teach myself to like it. This was the recipe that started to change my mind towards cilantro.

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip-Walnut Cookies

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip-Walnut Cookies

These cookies are crispy, chewy and awesome. I usually use pecans rather than walnuts, because that is my preference. Initially I found the dough to be quite sloppy, but it thickens on standing so you can roll these out.


Coconut Lemon Bundt Cake

Coconut-Lemon Bundt Cake

I love bundt cakes. They are fun to say and pretty to look at. I also like making them in my nice non-stick silicon bundt pan. This cake is delicious, moist and light.

Here are the other five-star recipes I've made:

Mediterrnean-Style Cashew-Cucumber Dip
Diner Home Fries
Chocolate Chip Brownie Waffles
Portobello Salad with Spicy Mushroom Dressing
Maple Mustard Dressing
Black Bean Burgers
Roasted Portobellos
Soft Poppy-Seed Polenta
Saffron-Garlic Rice
Chickpea Romesco
Baked BBQ Tofu
Mole Skillet Pie with Greens
Cauliflower and Mushroom Potpie with Black Olive Crust
Tomato and Roasted Eggplant Stew with Chickpeas
Parsnip Chips
Penne Vodka
Mac Daddy
Lasagne Marinara with Spinach
Asparagus and Lemongrass Risotto
Curried Udon Noodle Stir-Fry
Backyard BBQ Sauce
Cheezy Sauce
Citrus-Date-Sesame Sauce
Banana-Wheat Germ Mushrooms
Carrot-Pineapple Sunshine Muffins
Cranberry-Orange-Nut Bread
Pistachio-Rose Water Cookies
Orange-Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies
Fudgy Wudgy Blueberry Brownies

And these are just my favourites, it doesn't even scratch the surface of all the other great recipes that I have made from here. To see other things I have made from Veganomicon, click on the veganomicon tag at the bottom of this post, or search Veganomicon in my blog. There are lots of posts! Now, do you need this book? Well, many people would have it already! But if you don't, the answer is yes.

Do you take photos of your food?

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post

Sahara Reads Veganomicon

I've posted this photo before, but it seems fitting in today's post to post it again. Sahara is reading Veganomicon!

8 comments:

  1. Vcon really is an awesome cookbook! You've made so much more than I have so now I have lots of things I want to make starting with those choc chip walnut cookies.

    Cute photo of Sahara, I wonder what recipes she's choosing?

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  2. YAY! Sharing the Vcon love. With Sahara too.
    :-)

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  3. We had the tempeh brocolli rabe thing for tea last night! I've made it twice now it's so good. And the raspberry chocolate cookies are amazing. I just mashed up some defrosted frozen raspberries instead of jam and it totally worked. Awesome book.

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  4. I was just looking at the Vcon for some tempeh ideas and was giving serious consideration to the spicy tempeh and broccoli rabe. I'm sold! Love Sahara reading! Sadly my cat thinks sitting on the open book is the thing to do.

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  5. the coconut lemon cake is one of my favourite cake recipes and a great favourite with the non vegans in my life. I don't have a bundt pan so I half the recipe and bake it in a loaf tin instead and it still comes out great.

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  6. Was trying to find a way just to send you a message, but couldn't figure it out, so I'll leave a comment. :) I was hoping to pick your vegan, vet, brain about kitties...if you might have a moment, please drop me an email. If not, no worries. :) wickedliz at hotmail dot com

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  7. Ooh we're going to take on the moussaka also! So happy to see this one reviewed. It's almost like the vegan bible to cooking!

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  8. I have not cooked as much as I clearly should have with this book, but one of my favorites out of it is the Mediterranean style cucumber dip - it is FANTASTIC (as is the carrot dip nearby in the book!). Also fun: I, too, have a picture of my one-eyed-orange-tabby sitting with the opened tome. Too cute!

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