Tuesday 2 September 2014

Vegan MoFo 2014 #2: Robin Robertson Rocks - Vegan Planet


Who is loving MoFo already? I have already read so many great posts.

I thought I would kick off with the first Robin book I even bought, the original Vegan Planet. Let's see what's cooking! Please note that I have a huge backlog of photos for so many cookbooks, so some of these photos are very old. For each recipe I have also let you know my rating of it, I rate in a smiley face system: :D, :), :|, :(, :X

In addition, for these recipes from the old version of Vegan Planet I have included a quick note as to any changes to these recipes that appear in the revised edition.

Pan-Fried Tofu and Watercress with Lemon-Caper Sauce is an absolute winner of a dish, it is so delicious. I did find I had to add an extra tbs of white wine and lemon juice towards the end as the sauce had evaporated a bit too quickly. Watercress is an unusual green for me to have, and I enjoyed the change. I served this with some garlic roasted potatoes and a roasted truss tomato.
This recipe appears in the revised edition almost unchanged, except that the 16oz tofu is now 12-16oz.
Rating: :D

Pan-Fried Tofu and Watercress with Lemon-Caper Sauce; Garlic Roasted Potato (HIAV); Truss Tomato


Tempeh and Sweet Peppers with Bourbon-Spiked Barbecue Sauce became Tempeh with Zucchini and Carrots given my distaste for almost all things capsicum. Served with a balsamic bean salad and lots of salad greens. The BBQ sauce uses dried chipotle for a lovely smoky, mild heat.
This recipe appears in the revised edition using one 8oz package of tempeh, instead of 2 packages, and the tempeh is diced rather than in strips.
Rating: :)

Tempeh and Sweet Peppers with Bourbon-Spiked Barbecue Sauce; Sweet Pepper and Balsamic Bean Salad (TGOV)


Artichoke-Sunflower Spread makes a yummy and unusual addition to sandwiches or crackers, and is especially delicious with ripe tomato. It makes a good sized amount and is very filling.
This recipe appears in the revised edition with the omission of olive oil.
Rating: :)

Artichoke-Sunflower Spread


Yellow Split Pea Soup with Green Pea Garnish is a satisfying savoury soup. It is a bit salty, however the sweetness of the green peas on top makes a lovely contrast.
This recipe appears in the revised edition with a few changes in the sizes of the vegetables as well as the yummy sounding addition of liquid smoke.
Rating: :)

Yellow Split Pea Soup with Green Pea Garnish


Farmhouse Vegetable Soup is full of onion, carrots, celery, potatoes, green beans, zucchini and kidney beans. I left out the capsicum because gross. This is a very satisfying soup, though I accidentally cooked it to be a bit mushy. It is kind of like a chunky stock, which is very satisfying.
This recipe appears in the revised edition with some changes to the quantities of vegetables and extra herbs.
Rating: :)

Farmhouse Vegetable Soup


Ribollita is one of my favourite hearty soups - lots of cabbage and beans and bread, what is not to love? This recipe came together very easily and had a great flavour.
This recipe appears in the revised edition with more garlic and less oil.
Rating: :)

Ribollita


Mediterranean Lima Bean Salad with Grape Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, and Marinated Tofu is a bit of a mouthful, but it is a tasty mouthful. I used frozen edamame instead of lima beans because I haven't found them here. The tofu is soaked in a marinade of miso and lemon juice before being baked, make extra!
This salad does not appear in the revised edition. A simpler Lima Bean and Tomato Salad seems to take its place.
Rating: :), rating for the tofu: :D

Mediterranean 'Lima Bean' Salad with Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives and Marinated Tofu


Springy Tarragon Pasta Salad with Roasted Asparagus and Baked Tofu is a fantastic salad to take to work for lunches, it is substantial and satisfying. I didn't used yellow capsicum, I just used more yellow tomato, and I served it over lots of greens. There is a recipe for baked tofu earlier in the book, though when I made this recipe I used some leftover baked tofu from another book.
This recipe appears in the revised edition with white beans instead of baked tofu and a few other small changes.
Rating: :)

Springy Tarragon Pasta Salad with Roasted Asparagus and Baked Tofu


New Millennium Mornay sauce is a lovely bean-based creamy sauce that I used to make the above pasta casserole. It is creamy, though not very cheesy. As well as being a great sauce for casseroles, pasta or vegetables, it is also great chilled as a dip. Yum, yum.
This recipe appears in the revised edition as Vegan Mornay Sauce and includes more nutritional yeast (yes!), more lemon juice and some yellow mustard.
Rating: :)

New Millenium Mornay - Macaroni Casserole


Fresh Herb and Scallion Dressing is a tangy, creamy dressing with a little Tabasco kick. The creaminess comes from silken tofu. This dressing is great with crunchy cos lettuce, cool cucumber and juicy tomato.
This dressing appears in the revised edition using cashew cream instead of the silken tofu.
Rating: :)

Fresh Herb and Scallion Dressing


Cute Kitty Photo of the Post

2013-03-07 16.03.03-1


Abbey is our beautiful clinic cat, she is 17 years old. Abbey loves kittens, and enjoys snuggling with them when we have young ones for adoption at the clinic. Here she is snuggling with the kitten then called Jack, who is now a cat called Taco in his new home.

7 comments:

  1. Looks like a good book, all the soups look great and it's just coming to that time of year! :)

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  2. I love that these all look so tasty as well as so healthy. I like your rating system too.

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  3. Fantastic write up! I haven't tried any of these recipes but I'll definitely be giving them another look. I still have so many recipes from this book that I've bookmarked, but I've bookmarked dozens and dozens of things from dozens of other books and websites :/

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  4. Great theme! I love Robin Robertson. I made so many of her recipes when I first went vegan. She's awesome.

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  5. Vegan Planet is one of Robin's books that I don't own. But, it looks like I should pick it up! Everything looks great.

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  6. Vegan Planet is probably the 2nd vegan cookbook I got and I was so excited to have access to so many vegan recipes back in the days. I haven't tried even 10 per cent of the recipes though, but I absolutely love the ribollita and the mornay sauce. I'll be coming back to your post to get inspiration and choose what to pick. The watercress dish is quite tempting right now. I like how you mentioned the changes that were made in the new book.

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  7. I remember checking out this book from the library but I can't remember what I made from it. The macaroni casserole that you made with the New Millennium Mornay sauce looks so good! I'm not even looking at that pan fried tofu. Nope. No use crying over the fact that I can't have soy anymore. I'm not looking at that crispy, savory, perfect cooked tofu... *sobs*

    Look at those noses and ears! Pink and dark brown go so well together, don't you think? :)

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