VeganMoFo 2011 #16: 'Vegan Cooking For One'

Vegan Cooking For One
Leah Leneman, Thorsons, 2000




It took me a while before I finally bought Vegan Cooking For One. The title just sounded so sad! I finally bought it from Borders with a 'Three Cookbooks for the Price of Two' voucher. When I bought this, I was already back in Brisbane and cooking for my parents, so my days of cooking just for myself were mostly over. But it is quite a nice little book, and I can see how useful it would be for those vegan who do just cook for themselves. Sometimes I make recipes from here for myself if my parents are out, or sometimes I double or triple or recipe and make it for my family. Scandal!

The book is identical in size and shape to Leah's other book, Easy Vegan Cooking, which I reviewed earlier this month. This book differs in format from others. It starts off with an introduction, covering pantry basics and the like. The book is then separated into two seasonal sections - Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter. Within each section are several weekly menus. Each menu includes Sunday Lunch, Sunday Dinner (a bit fancier), Sunday Dessert, Monday Dinner, Tuesday Dinner, Wednesday Dinner, Thursday Dinner, Friday Dinner and Saturday Lunch. The book assumes you will eat out at least one night a week, and also manage your own breakfast and workday lunches. At the start of each menu is a shopping list for the week. This is very useful, as it groups recipes to allow the vegan cooing for one to use up that big tin of beans or that head of cauliflower in a couple of recipes for the week.

I don't make a week's menu from this book, as I mostly am cooking from other books for my family or am having leftovers if I am late home from work. But it is useful for the odd meal when I am cooking just for myself (other favourite cooking for one meals include using sauce or pesto recipes from other cookbooks and making up a pasta/vegetable/protein dish). I've made a fair bit of this book, here are some of my favourites. A note: I find that the serving sizes in this book are often very generous - even for my hungry belly! I tend to cut down on the amount of grains/rice/pasta called for.

Potato and Lentil Bake


This is in the Spring/Summer section, but would be equally delicious in winter. A bed of mashed potatoes is topped with a lentil sauce and baked. Delicious!

Mediterranean Noodles


I added zucchini and carrot instead of the capsicum to this yummy tomato sauce. The noodles (I used spinach fettuccine) are made especially delicious by mixing through some vegan margarine and some nooch through them before adding the sauce. I served this with some herby soy sausages for protein.

Cheesy Rice Savoury


Yay for cheesy stuff! Rice, tomato, mushroom, peas and onion mixed up with grated vegan cheese. Yummy!

Tofu, Mushrooms and Greens in Teriyaki Sauce


This is simple and delicious, with an easy homemade teriyaki sauce. Instead of using lettuce leaves for the greens that the recipe calls for, I used some left over kale - fantastic! I love kale. I served over soba noodles.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup


This is a lovely cauliflower soup, and is one of my fondest memories from the time I could only eat soup for two weeks after getting my wisdom tooth out. Some cauliflower soups can be a bit bland, but this has a lovely flavour.

Tempeh and Mushroom Stew on a Mashed Potato Base


This filling stew is the ultimate in comfort food.

Spaghetti with Cauliflower Romagna Style


This is very simple, a sauce of cauliflower, garlic, tomato paste and pepper, but the taste is amazing. Served here with some roasted green beans.

Pasta with Three (or Four) Cheeses


Of course I made this with four cheeses. Cheezy! I used 100g wholewheat penne here. The four cheeses were cream cheese, nooch and two types of Sheese.

Caribbean Rice and Beans


This is simple but so amazingly delicious. Black-eyed beans with rice and spices in coconut milk. Superb! Looks like I served it here with some sauteed zucchini and grape tomatoes.

What do you cook when you are cooking for just yourself?

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post


A few days ago I shared a picture of Abby with you, one of our clinic cats. This is Jarvis, and he is the grand man of our clinic. He has lived with us for the last several years after some wonderful clients of ours found him on the street. He's an older boy, and he has some intestinal disease and now also diabetes, but he continues to trundle along and will likely outlive us all! He is super handsome, and protects out clinic. Don't let your dog near the door, or Jarvis will get grumpy and ready to defend!