VeganMoFo 2015 #12: Recipe Round-Up: The Abundance Diet

12. Tell us about your favourite cookbook!

Oh MoFo, so cruel. I actually cannot possible choose a favourite cookbook. I can tell you the ones that I am not fond of, the ones that I like and the ones that I love, but to pick one out from my collection as a favourite? I can't do it. So I am sharing with you what I have been cooking from my most recently purchased and currently most frequently used cookbook instead.

The Abundance Diet by Somer McCowan is a great cookbook that is packed full of produce heavy, healthy food. It is designed so it can be done as a 28 day plan, or you can just make recipes as you wish. Everything is gluten free (though I used oat milk in the smoothies, so not really), refined sugar free and mostly oil free (there is a little bit of sesame oil). I recently did a seven day mini-challenge while I was recovering from a leg procedure and was unable to exercise. I love the food in this book, because it is delicious and satisfying. I've made heaps from this book, but I am sharing some of my favourites with you here from each chapter.

Mayan Cherry Smoothie: This is a variation on the cherry smoothie in the book, and is without a doubt my favourite of the ones I've tried (I've made about 3/4 of the smoothie recipes so far). Chocolate cherry smoothy with a hint of cinnamon and chili... enough said!
Rating: :D



Ultra-Alkalising Green Smoothie: This unusual smoothie has no fruit, except for some lime. It was like drinking a lovely, thick savoury green juice. Somer recommends adding two droppers of stevia, but I don't have stevia (I don't like it) and I didn't feel like I needed to add any other sort of sweetner, it was great as it is!
Rating: :)



Florentine Tofu Scramble: This is delicious! Fire roasted tomatoes, nooch, baby spinach, herbs... it is so yum. I had a 500g block of tofu about to go out of date, which was a bit more than the recipe required, but I just upped the spices a little and added a splash of water. I was a little worried about this initially, because there was not browning of the tofu first, but I didn't need to worry. One of my favourite scrambles.
Rating: :D



Vegetable Pudla: My first pudla! Chickpea batter mixed with tomato, onion, parsley and baby spinach and cooked in an oil-free non-stick frying pan. It is so easy, so yummy and the serving size is HUGE! I served mine with some chopped tomato and cucumber and a drizzle of tahini on top.
Rating: :D



Nicoise Salad with Smoky Tofu and Creamy Miso Dressing: This beautiful salad is topped with a tangy miso and caper based dressing. The smoky baked tofu is great, and would be super as a snack or side on its own. Instead of butter lettuce, I just served with baby spinach, and I left off the raw red onion because I'm not a fan.
Rating: :)



Cheesiest Potato Soup: Stop everything and go and make this, it is seriously the cheesiest, creamiest, most satisfying soup ever. I only got three serves out of this, rather than four. You can see here I also stirred a bit of baby spinach through it, and I served it with some BBQ chickpeas (another recipe from the book) on top. You must have this soup!
Rating: :D :D (yes, it gets a second!)



Cucumber Tzatziki: This is based on the sour cream recipe from the book, which is in itself amazing. I made a half batch of this recipe, and used dried dill but fresh mint. It is great served with vegetables for dipping.
Rating: :)



Cheesy Cauliflower and Potato Bake: Apparently this is based on a dish served at funerals, however I am pretty sure this would be a far superior version. Cashew-based cheese sauce coats potatoes and cauliflowers, and in my case some peas and black beans as well, and it is baked in the oven. I found this only really served about 3 (but that is probably because I couldn't stop eating!). Perfect on a chilly winter night, or any night really.
Rating: :D



Roasted Tofu and Vegetable Stir-Fry with Garlic-Ginger Sauce: This was the first recipe I made from the book, and it is a winner. The sauce is delicious (she gives some variations on the sauce I would like to try one day as well). I left out the capsicum in the book and instead increased the carrots and zucchini. I took the option of serving this over brown rice (and baby spinach). The tofu is just simply tossed in Braggs and roasted, and is really yummy.
Rating: :D



Happiness in a Cookie Bite: Yes, there are desserts in The Abundance Diet, Somer recommends two desserts a week if you are following the plan. These are yummy little balls of oats, nut butter (I used peanut rather than almond), coconut and chocolate chips. They set up nicely in the fridge and hold together well, and are just delightful little snacks of joy.
Rating: :D



So there you have it. You will notice that I used a lot of my :D rating, because the recipes in this book tend to be really good. This cookbook will definitely be joining my list of favourites!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post: Month of Gizmo



Yesterday I left you with a photo of a furry Gizmo, this is what happened the next day. She got nekkid! When we moved to Brisbane, Gizmo really struggled with the heat and with furballs. Although a shorthair, she was a double-coated girl, so I did end up having her clipped over summer for her last few years. She would get so frisky once the fur was off!