Recipe Round-Up: Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan

I am yet to meet anyone who doesn't sing the praises of Eat, Drink & Be Vegan by Dreena Burton. This book probably has the highest proportion of :D ratings of any book I own, I think. It includes an entire chapter of hummus! It is also full of suggestions for combining dishes, so you put together some truly amazing meals.

Orange Sesame Tofu with Coconut Lime Basmati Rice and Simple Swiss Chard: The fresh citrus flavours of this tofu are delicious, and there is loads of the sauce left over to drizzle all over the rest of your dinner as well. In this case, the rice and chard. The rice cooks beautifully in a rice cooker, minimising the number of pans you have to have on the go. When I made the rice I had a bit of leftover basmati and wild rice mix, so I used that with plain basmati rice for a bit more interest. The chard was indeed simple, and makes a speedy side.
Rating: Tofu :D, Rice :D, Chard :)



Avocado and Pinto Bean Enchiladas with Cornmeal-Crusted Plantains and salad with Cumin-Cinnamon Vinaigrette: Enchiladas are pretty fun, if sometimes a bit fussy. I used 2 bottles of Old El Pasa Enchilada sauce for the casserole, and ended up with some of the mixture leftover. The real star of this dinner was the plantains! Delicious. I served this with some salad greens, doused in a delicious and so simple vinaigrette.
Rating: Enchiladas :), Plantains :D, Vinaigrette :D



Lentil Veggie Chimichangas with Rosemary Cornmeal Polenta Fries and Creamy Basil Dressing: Get ready for a particularly knock-out meal! The chimichangas are stuffed full of zucchini, patty pan squash (I used this instead of capsicum), onion and some lentil tomato sauce. I used the regular sized tortillas (rather than the large) and this filled eight of those. The polenta fries are amazing, using a package of ready-made polenta for super ease. I used 1kg rather than 510g to get my four servings (these are really, really good). Finally, a bit of freshness with some creamy basil dressing over tomatoes and cucumbers. Gorgeous.
Rating: Chimichangas :D, Polenta Fries :D, Dressing :D



Lemon Garlic Pasta and White Bean and Walnut Bruschetta (also with some Creamy Basil Dressing): Carbs go so well with carbs. The pasta is very quick and simple, but has lots of flavour. The bruschetta topping made enough for 16 slices of baguette. I found the topping a bit bitter for my liking, probably from the walnuts. To prevent scurvy I served this with some more salad and left over basil dressing from above.
Rating: Pasta :), Bruschetta :|



Lemony Cashew-Basil Pesto and Pasta with Simplest Garlic Bread and salad with Back-To-Basics Balsamic Vinaigrette: More carbs! For both these pasta dishes I used spinach fettuccine, which is a favourite of mine. I had to add a bit of the pasta water to the pesto at the end, or it would have been a bit too thick and clumpy to coat the strands. The garlic bread truly is simple, and amazing. However while it is salty and cheesy and fabulous, I didn't find it garlicky. Originally you rub frozen bread with a garlic clove. I have since made it again by mashing the garlic into the butter, which makes it perfect. The dressing is incredibly simple. It says to make it in a blender, but I just put it all in a jar and shake well!
Rating: Pasta :), Garlic Bread :D, Vinaigrette :D



Gimme Chimis topped with Guacamole Con Alga Marina and Potato Squashers (and salad with Cumin-Cinnamon Vinaigrette): Chimichangas is fun to say, and they are fun to eat. These ones are full of beans, tempeh and veggies. Again I filled 8 regular sized tortillas rather than 4 large ones. The guacamole was a bit of a let down, which is hard for me to say as I love avocado. But I didn't really like the flavour that kelp granules give it, it was a bit too strong. The potatoes more than made up for the guac, these are amazing. They are one dish that I have made regularly, as you can't go past them if you want an easy potato side. Bake potato, squish potato, top with oil and salt, bake more. I bake for a bit longer than the recipe calls for to make them go extra crispy.
Rating: Chimi :), Guacamole :|, Potatoes :D



Brown Rice n Beans 'Jumble-aya' with Lemon-Broiled Green Beans (and salad with Back-To-Basics Balsamic Vinaigrette): The 'jumble-aya' needed an extra half an hour to cook through the rice before it was soft enough for eating. I put in green peas instead of green capsicum. The beans are very easy, but you may want to make a triple batch because the original recipe (calling for 100g of beans) certainly does not make 2-3 servings.
Rating: 'Jumble-aya': :), Green Beans :)



Cashew-Ginger Tofu with Cinnamon Lime Quinoa with Apricots and Almonds: Another yummy and saucy tofu, using cashew butter and fresh ginger. Again, you get a lot of extra sauce for pouring over everything. The quinoa is quite sweet, a bit too sweet for my dinner tastes. You need to serve it with something salty on the side. But I think it would make a great breakfast! I served these with some roasted asparagus.
Rating: Tofu :), Quinoa :)



Blackened Tofu with Autumn Puree: Blackened anything is not something I had experienced before acquiring my vegan cookbooks, and I do love how the spices form a lovely crust around the tofu. The autumn puree is another quite sweet side, so thankfully the strong flavours of the tofu were there to balance it out. I think the puree would make a nice dessert on its own. I served these with some brown rice and some baby spinach leaves.
Rating: Tofu :), Puree :)



Sweet Potato Lentil Chili with Kinda Corny Muffins: This is a lovely and hearty chili, with sweet potatoes, lentils, tomatoes and kidney beans. It goes well with the muffins, which are a fun take on cornbread. I spread these with some Nuttelex, and they make a nice snack as well as a good side.
Rating: Chili :), Muffins :)



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Sahara is a little bleary-eyed after, she woke up from her nap right as I was going to take a photo.