Sunday 21 August 2016

Recipe Round-Up: Veganomicon

Wowsers, what a week. I've been struck down with the worst sick I've had in a while. There was a time there when I could barely eat. And if I am turning down food, you know things are serious. I was only able to take one day off work, and have spent the last three days there (the last two days with no voice). So today, this glorious Sunday, I am just lying around at home, drinking tea and soup, and hugging the cats. And finally getting this blog post up!

Veganomicon... does it need an introduction? Probably not. So let's get to it. I haven't used Vcon for awhile, but looking through some of these recipes I've made in the past, I need to revisit it. You can see my other posts about Vcon here.

Baked Apricot BBQ Tofu: I love BBQ tofu, and Vcon has a recipe for two different sauces you can use on yours. One is regular BBQ, but there is also an Apricot BBQ sauce, which is what I used here. It was very good!
Rating: :)

Baked BBQ Tofu - Apricot Sauce


Tomato-Rice Soup with Roasted Garlic and Navy Beans: This is a hearty soup, that makes a bunch! Very good for feeding a lot of people, or for lots of leftovers. The roasted garlic is a very nice addition. I can never find tinned navy beans here, so I used cannellini beans. Also served with some olive and thyme sourdough.
Rating: :)

Tomato-Rice Soup with Roasted Garlic and Navy Beans


Creamy Tomato Soup (with Basil variation): This is a great tomato soup, with a very intense flavour. It has sundried tomatoes as well as canned tomatoes in it, and is made smooth and creamy by potatoes. There is a basil variation, which I have made as well - basically just stirring through some basil. But whichever way you have it, it is good. Especially with a grilled cheese!
Rating: :)

Creamy Tomato Soup


Creamy Tomato Soup - Tomato-Basil Soup Variation


Jamaican Yuca Shepherd's Pie with Sweet Potato, Kidney Beans, and Plantains: This is a nice take on the shepherd's pie (and the filling is also nice on its own as a curry over rice). I have never found fresh yuca here, so I used frozen. I also used peas in place of lima beans in the filling. Oh yeah, and left out the scotch bonnet peppers! I couldn't find Jamaican curry powder anywhere, but the recipe notes it has some star anise and coriander and aniseed, so I added a bit of Chinese 5-spice to some curry powder for a completely inauthentic knock off attempt. Tasted good!
Rating: :)

Jamaican Yuca Shepherd's Pie with Sweet Potato, Kidney Beans and Plantains


Almost All-American Seitan Potpie: A very hearty dinner! I increased the amount of vegetables in the filling because that is how I roll. Pot pie isn't something I grew up with, but something I do enjoy now as a vegan. The crust was pretty easy to bring together, and was a nice pastry. After this photo it was drizzled in ketchup because that is how I feel pot pies should be served.
Rating: :)

Almost All-American Seitan Potpie


Seitanic Red and White Bean Jambalaya: For me, this dish was missing something. It was OK, but not wow. Which is a bit of a shame, because it made so much. I had to use two casserole dishes to cook it in the oven (it does say to use the biggest pan you have).
Rating: :|

Seitanic Red and White Bean Jambalaya


Spaghetti Squash Mexicana with Salsa Fresca: Hmmm.... spaghetti squash. It was unavailable here for ages, but is trickling through now. Sometimes at outrageous prices, but I have found it at decent prices sometimes and picked one up. First up, spaghetti squash in no way replaces pasta for me in any way, shape or form. Pasta is pasta, I love pasta. Spaghetti squash is its own thing. It's own not very filling thing (if I have it, I have to make sure I have some carbs somewhere else in the meal, or I die). The bean mixture that it is tossed with is nice here, with black beans and corn in a gentle spice. The best part is the salsa. The salsa recipe is included on this page, but it is also a separate recipe in the sauces section. It is great!
Rating: :)

Spaghetti Squash Mexicanan with Tropical Avocado Salsa Fresca


Seitan in Mole Sauce: This has a great flavour. The mole sauce is made from scratch, and is really nice, and is mixed with the seitan, carrots and onions. I served with with brown rice and roasted cauliflower for my dad's birthday one year (see the tablecloth, that means special occasion!).
Rating: :)

Seitan in Mole Sauce


Tropical Avocado Salsa Fresca: Just coming back to that salsa again, it is pretty much the greatest salsa you will even eat. You can choose between mango, pawpaw or pineapple. I have made it with both mango and pawpaw, they are both great options. My mum has an avocado sensitivity, so I made a portion for her using cucumber instead of avocado that was still nice and fresh. Please make this forever.
Rating: :D

Tropical Avocado Salsa Fresca


Do you have Veganomicon? What are your favourite recipes?

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post

Dim Sim on her back


The final in my 'Dim Sim On Her Back In My Lap' series. Behold the awkward leg placement. Bless her.

18 comments:

  1. It has been so long since I've cooked from Veganomicon. This was like a fun walk down memory lane. It was one of the first vegan cookbooks that I owned, and it still holds a special place for me. I remember loving the lemony roasted potatoes in that book and the hot sauce glazed tempeh. I know there were loads of others I loved, but those were the first two that popped to mind.

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    1. I love those potatoes too! I haven't made the hot sauce tempeh yet, because of spicy issues, but I now have a way around it to make it mild sauce tempeh. ;)

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  2. The recipe I have made most often is definitely the chickpea cutlets - they have been a regular in our house for ages. Also the vanilla ice cream. Recently I tried the lemon bars for the first time and they were awesome!

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    1. I haven't made these lemon bars, but I really should. I love lemon bars and have been meaning to try this recipe for a long time. Next bake sale!

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  3. Hope you feel better soon! That's a shame that the jambalaya recipe was just OK. Sometime I'll have to try making a vegan version of the jambalaya (& gumbo) I had when I visited Mississippi & Louisiana years ago! :)

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    1. I have no idea what jambalaya should taste like, I have only ever had it when I make it from cookbooks. But I had hoped for more.

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  4. I love this post, but sorry to hear that you've been so sick (and working through it!! ). I just made that tomato, white bean, roasted garlic soup this week. I love that recipe!

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    1. That is a lovely soup, in retrospect would have been great to make for sick days as well. :)

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  5. I hope you feel better soon! But cat cuddles always help! I absolutely love Veganomicon, it is definitely one of my favorite cookbooks ever!

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    1. Thank you, I am mostly recovered now! Cat cuddles are the best.

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  6. Oh man, it has been so long since I've cooked from Vcon!! My FAVE are the chickpea cutlets. Oh, and the S'mlove pie! And the eggplant moussaka.

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    1. The eggplant moussaka is amazing! I haven't made it for ages, but a friend made it when I went to her house a while ago and it was just a great as I remembered.

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  7. Spaghetti squash is my enemy. We get it from our CSA all the time and I just wish we wouldn't. I feel obligated to take it, but this year we got 4! Two went bad luckily (I mean, no that is bad! XD) so I've only have to actually figure out what to do with two different squashes. I find that using them in stir fries aren't so bad. And making sure you have some yummy pressed tofu in there too.

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    1. Wow... four spaghetti squash is a lot to get through for a fairly lacklustre vegetable. I've got a few more recipes that call for it, so I will probably buy it again if I see it at a reasonable price just to try them, but I know to add lots of flavour, protein and carbs now!

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  8. Oh no :( I hope you are feeling better. I feel like I'm starting to get a bit of a sore throat and it's making me think I may get something. Yuck.
    Veganomicon!!! My first vegan cookbook. Still my go-to. I love that book. There are still so many recipes in it I haven't yet tried though.
    I need to try that Creamy Tomato Soup!
    Actually... I haven't tried most of these recipes. I need to crack that baby back open!

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    1. I definitely need to crack it back open again as well!

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  9. Noooo, I'm sorry you're so sick. That sucks. I love Veganomicon so much & I totally agree that it doesn't really need an intro. My go-to recipes are the banana bread and the mac and trees but my favourite recipe might be the moussaka with the pine nut cream, it's delicious and I love making it for friends.

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