Recipe Round-Up: Vegan Cooking for One

Vegan Cooking for One by Leah Leneman is a book I've had for a while, though I resisted buying it due to the title even when I was living on my own. It consists of weekly menus that make use of part tins or part blocks of ingredients for each recipe, so over the course of a week you use up everything and don't have bits and pieces going off in the fridge. It gives you a shopping list at the beginning of each week. The serving sizes tend to be quite generous.

Smoky Beans: The smoky in these comes from using smoked tofu, rather than using liquid smoke or smoked paprika. It is has apple juice in the recipe, which makes it fairly sweet. It is served over mashed potatoes, which is always good.
Rating: :)



Smoked Tofu a la Kind: Smoked tofu and mushrooms in a creamy sauce (based on a roux) and served on toast? Yes! I would consider this more a lunch dish than a dinner dish. I left out the capsicum.
Rating: :)



Creamy Curried Mushrooms with Bulgur Wheat: I scaled this a little by using less bulgur (1/4 cup rather than just over 1/3) and usingmore mushrooms and onions. This was back in a time when I couldn't get plain soy yoghurt at all, so I used sour cream instead. It is quite rich.
Rating: :)



Gooseberry Dessert: I found some gooseberries randomly, so seemed like a good time to try this dessert, also made with semolina. It is quite tart, it says to add sugar to taste and I added a tablespoon. The gooseberries cook quickly. It is nice with some sort of maple syrup or agave on top.
Rating: :)



Lentil and Vegetable Pottage: This recipe makes a larger than usual amount for this book! It is a bit on the bland side, but is still nicely comforting. Lentils, onions, garlic, zucchini, carrot and mushrooms, served with some bread and Nuttelex.
Rating: :)



Spaghetti with Sun-Dried Tomatoes: This is kind of bland and a little dry, adding extra olives helped. It would be nice with some baked tofu added, and lots of salad.
Rating: :|



'Chicken' Salad: This is a light lunch, combining peas, 'chicken' slices and celery in a mayo and sour cream dressing served over lettuce. I used Redwoods Cheatin' Chicken Slices.
Rating: :)



Millet and Vegetable Gratin: This made a huge amount! The recipe called for 1/2 cup of millet, I used 1/3 of a cup, but for one person probably just 1/4 cup would be fine once it is mixed up with al the vegetables and baked. I used some Cheezly on top for the cheese.
Rating: :)



Tofu with Cashews and Vegetables: Simple, fast and tasty, this has a teriyaki kind of sauce to it. Served over brown rice and topped with roasted cashews.
Rating: :)



Spaghetti with Olive Sauce: As always, more olives are needed! This didn't dry out like the other pasta dish above did, and the fresh tomatoes cooked down into quite a nice sauce.
Rating: :)



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Speaking of kitty birthdays, our gorgeous clinic kitty Abbey turned 18 on Saturday (she's a Valentine's day baby). To celebrate, one of our nurses made this adorable 18th birthday hat for her. Isn't it fetching? You can't see it too well here, but the green matches her beautiful eyes!