Menu: An All-(South) American BBQ from Viva Vegan

Viva Vegan by Terry Hope Romero is a criminally underused book in my kitchen. I don't know why, but I just haven't made that much from it. Perhaps the amount of chile and capsicum in it initially daunted me, but I have become so adept at leaving them out or substituting for them now that I feel quite comfortable making anything without them. But I have made some great stuff from it, with many other things marked. I have posted about things a few times, which you can read here.

At the end of the book, there are several different types of menus. Large dinners (for four to six people), smaller dinners (for two to three) and two recipe meals for weeknight cooking. You know I love a menu, though sometimes they can be a bit overwhelming. Certainly some of the menus for large dinners have a lot of components to them! And while part of my obsessive trait in the past would have been to feel like I must make every single thing, guess what - I don't have to! So this BBQ menu from the large dinner section of the book has been scaled down to make it a more manageable every day affair.

So Good So Green Dipping Sauce: I made a half recipe of this, and while I started in a mini food processor I switched to an immersion blender when it came to blending in the coriander because it was a bit much for my mini in volume. Of course the huge difference I made was leaving out the green chiles, no spicy for me thanks. Once you get rid of those, it is a lovely mix of mayo, lime, lettuce, and coriander. It also calls for raw garlic and green onions, but as my stomach doesn't hold with that any more I used some garlic and onion powder instead. Initially it tasted a bit grassy from the lettuce, but after sitting for a bit the flavours melded wonderfully. The recipe recommends leaving it for at least 30 minutes or even overnight before using.
Rating: :)



Peruvian Red Chile-Corn Salad with Limas and Cherry Tomatoes: This recipe calls for aji panca paste, a red chile paste. I randomly do have some of the yellow aji paste in my fridge, to use very sparingly, so I used a smidge of that plus some smoked paprika. It gave a very mellow heat, especially with the sweet corn. I also left out the raw onion. I used a tin of butter beans, which I love as they are big and creamy. This was a very nice salad.
Rating: :)



Peruvian Seitan and Potato Skewers (Seitan Anticuchos): As you will see, no skewers were used in this. I just don't like them for the most part, and can just as easily grill ingredients without them. You need to take them off anyway. I made a half recipe of this. The seitan is marinated in a blend of garlic and spices. Again, I used a smidge of my yellow aji paste with some paprika instead of red aji paste. I also used garlic powder rather than raw garlic. I left out the onions and the capiscum from the non-existant skewers, and just grilled the potatoes and the seitan using my cast iron grill pan. I cannot get this pan right, it is all gummy and I think my attempts to keep it seasoned just keep making it worse. But in any case, it worked well enough here.
Rating: :)



And here is a plate of delicious South American BBQ-inspired food, also featuring some grilled corn on the cob that was in the menu. Yum!



So what did I leave out of this menu? Pickled red onions, because I am not a raw onion person. Yellow Chile Grilled Tempeh, which I had made previously. And the dessert of Un-Dulce de Leche with ice cream and berries, because it was a week night and I didn't have time to make this.

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



I thought I might share some sweet kitty art today. I found this wonderful artist, Bunny Dee, who makes the most beautiful kitty art. I have bought heaps of stuff from her (visit her store here, but this was my first order (which I framed for the photo, thanks Ikea). Obviously Cat Mama and Cat Coven, but the one below is her Crystal Cats print. So pretty! I look forward to sharing more of her beautiful kitty art that I have bought here as well.