Just Reporting on the Same Holiday Everyone Else Is (Was)

I ended up going out of town to a non-vegan dinner for Thanksgiving. That's OK though - it was not the first time I'd been in that position, and I decided to try one of the recipes that inspired me during MoFo.

The Beast is a casserole layered with semi-traditional Thanksgiving foods and flavors. I say semi because soy curls are probably not totally traditional. Megan over at Down Home Vegan posted the recipe she created after competing in a Vegan Iron Chef competition. Since I needed a meal that would travel for the holiday, I decided this would be it.

I am stunned by how fast and easy this was to make. I wanted to get a head start, so I started making the components while I had a few minutes, and before I knew it, the ramekins were going in the oven.

(Sadly, none of the pictures feature the pumpkin gravy, which was subtle and surprising in flavor).

I had to make a few adjustments, and baking it in ramekins was the first, so I reduced the cooking time a bit. I have these great ramekins that are large enough to hold a meal-sized portion, and that have these handy plastic lids. So they're much easier to pack and lug around, but more importantly, I clearly had a limited amount, and I couldn't share with the omnivores.

Typically, I do like sharing, but it sucks to bring an empty casserole dish home and spend the next few days hearing about everyone else's damned sandwiches and soups while I'm making new meals and being pretty grossed out. This goes doubles for those meals at which NOTHING is suitable except what I brought.

So The Beast was quick and easy, and it worked to suit my selfish side. On top of all that, it was a dish that goes where you want it to go. I couldn't find soy curls, so I used TVP. Then, I decided that I wanted to make my own cranberry sauce, so I used Alicia Simpson's recipe, but I added the vanilla and cardamom as directed by Megan (I will never make it any other way). Finally, I forgot to top it with puff pastry, and it didn't matter because the mashed potatoes made for a lovely crispy topping.

None of that mattered, everything was amazing. Plus, like any holiday food, it was even better as leftovers. I had made it the night before, so it was all leftovers all day!

The Beast was only missing one part of a holiday meal, so I also made the Pumpkin Gingerbread with Pumpkin Butter from Quick and Easy Vegan Celebrations. I made it in a loaf pan and it was super cute. I did stress a little, thinking about how I should have made a glaze rather than the butter, since it would have looked more festive. Someone should have slapped me. The combination was awesome.

So at least I ate well. It's getting harder and harder to sit down to large celebrations that are so closely linked with a practice that I find so utterly revolting. It's heartbreaking and frustrating at best. I don't want to dwell too long on that right now. I'll keep dreaming of a day when I have the space to host the type of celebration of thanks that I'd like to see - one of hope, love, and compassion for everyone.

Ginger Whiskey Truffles

You can't have a proper Birthday Dinner without a celebratory dessert. I actually picked out the dessert nearly a month ago, and doing so inspired my post on MoFo Ideas That I'd Like to Try. When I saw these Whiskey and Ginger Truffles on Tea and Sympatico, I knew that I had found the perfect dessert for the bourbon-drinker in my life.

The truffles were super easy to make, except for one thing. As an American, I'm not used to measuring things in terms of mass, and I'm really not used to that near-mythological metric system. Luckily, I have a kitchen scale, and was able to measure everything in grams. While doing so, I took the time to figure out what that would mean in cups and tablespoons.

The really cool thing though, is that when I wrote to the author, she gave me permission to repost the recipe with the converted measurements! She informed me that hers is based on a recipe she found at her local food co-op, The Eighth Day.

If you want an alcohol-free version, or just a base version to experiment, check them out here. T&S informed me that she's experimented with variations like chocolate and orange, rum and raisin, and cherry and coconut, which have all turned out great.

I'll probably experiment a lot and then give away tins full as gifts, since they're easy and delicious. I'm thinking a crème de menthe version would be great for the holidays. The ginger whiskey were rich and decadent, and they left me feeling fancy and smug, like that one guy in Mad Men who's always in his scotty dog pajama pants. You know the guy.

If you want to feel that way too, but, like me, you're too American to be bothered by a logical and easy system of weights and measures, just follow the easy recipe below, and have your girl bring you your finest cozy jams.

Ginger Whiskey Truffles
with permission from Tea and Sympatico
Ingredients:
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
2.5 tbsp vegan margarine
1 tbsp whiskey
1 tbsp non-dairy creamer
1/3 cup ground almonds (grind up 1/4 cup of whole almonds)
1.5 cups powdered sugar
5 large pieces of crystallized ginger chopped into tiny pieces
cocoa powder for rolling

Assembly:

• In a pot over low heat, melt the chocolate and margarine together.
• Stir in the cream and whiskey, followed by the rest of the ingredients.
• Chilling in the fridge until the mixture cools, and is firm to the touch.
• Roll the mix into walnut-sized balls and roll them in cocoa.
• Store them in a covered container in the refrigerator.

And that's it! Super easy. These took me less than 10 minutes to mix and cook, and the batter firmed up enough as I left the pot on the stove to cool a bit. The rolling step is fast too. The measurements above are approximate, but I can tell you that none of them are heaping. When in doubt, err on the side of under-measurements, as you can always add more of whatever to mix on the stove.

By the way, they're great with coffee in the morning.

Blogging Sister and a Dinosaur Song

My sister finally started a blog! I say finally, because I've been bugging her to do it for ages.

She is a vegan who eats a diet that is pretty different from mine. She's gluten-free, and really focused on nutrition. She knows a lot about food and the human body, and I learn a lot from her, even if I don't always take her advice.

You can read it here: Plant Based Paige. These are her gorgeous kale chips. She's taking suggestions on varieties to try, so I suggested wasabi and crab - like Crab Chips, which I've only ever seen in Maryland.

After you've read her blog, watch this video! It's from Dinosaur Train, which is one of the few kid shows I can actually stand. I really like how those dinosaurs aren't reinforcing gender roles, and are actually encouraging kids to think scientifically. I also like how they sing a lot. This particular song is my new response to people who don't understand what veganism is.

Vegan MoFo 30: MoFo Ideas I Want to Try

I wrote a post for every day of the month, and my post for the 31st is already written! I saw a lot of great ideas over the course of Vegan MoFo, and I added too many cook books to my wish list. Even better, I added a bunch of lovely new blogs to my reading list.

I still want to make an effort to comment on blogs every day. The reading and writing are a lot more fun when they are part of a conversation. I think nearly every comment I made was to exclaim over beautiful things, or to try to win cookbooks, but there were a a lot of entries that made me want to try new things.

There's no way I could write a comprehensive list. In fact, I read only a few blogs regularly because I had to keep it under control somehow. It did occur to me, however, that I should have kept a running list of the things I really wanted to try, but wouldn't get around to during MoFo.

So here's a partial list. If you have suggestion, especially if it's from your own blog, please let me know! I've already thought about how to keep the MoFo spirit going, and this is one way that I can do it.

So here's my make soon list in no particular order. I'm going to print it, and stick it to the fridge so that I don't forget.

National Coming Out Day Treats

Whiskey and Ginger Truffles

Cheese Danish

Black Forest Shakes

Tofu Katsu Musubi

The Beast

Black and White Cookies

Sweet Potato w/ Apple Corn Salsa

A Vegan Meringue Topping/Hot Chocolate with Flax Meringue

Loaded Sweet Potato Fries

Treacle Tart (she uses this as her source)

Pennsylvania Shoo-Fly Pie

Dirt Cake

Cake Balls!

Cheezy Apple Roll-ups

Party Vegan Give Away

Check it out here.

28. Thanksgiving!

You may have thought you were past all the USA Thanksgiving posts, but you were wrong. My parents and I celebrated it on Saturday because that worked better with our schedules. I'm going to keep it brief though because I'm still stuffed. I present my menu and appropriate pictures. You may notice that a lot of these come from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen. Last year I had just begun cooking and found the blog and went with her suggestions for dinner for myself. I did the same this year because it worked so well and I wanted my parents to taste it all.

Please note my seasonally-appropriate tablecloth here.

Mushroom, Lentil, and Wild Rice Timbales with Impromptu Gravy
The Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole
My Family’s Cranberry Relish Recipe
Kicked Up Maque Choux (veganized)
Mashed Potatoes
Candied Sweet Potatoes (courtesy of my mom)
Chocolate Hazelnut Cake (courtesy of my parents)

25. Biscuits and Gravy

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it. I hope you all remembered to sponsor a turkey at Farm Sanctuary or a similar organization if it was in your budget to do so.

Because of my work schedule, I'll be celebrating over the weekend, so my Thanksgiving feast posts will follow. For now, enjoy reading about biscuits!

About a year ago, when I started really cooking for myself, I spent some time online looking for recipes and ideas. I don't know why Biscuits and Gravy blipped on my radar. I'd never had them pre-vegan days, but for whatever reason, I printed the recipe, and have made it dozens of times since.

One of the best things about it is that it doesn't take all that long to make, but is so deeply satisfying. It pairs wonderfully with tofu scramble or your preferred sausage-style food, and a cup of coffee.



I found the biscuit recipe at Vegan Explosion. The gravy recipe is linked to on the same page, but it leads to a dead end. I've written asking permission to reprint the recipe, and as of this posting have not heard back. I will update if needed. In the meantime, I recomend the Navy Bean Gravy from Vegan Brunch or Tofu Mom's Basic White Gravy a substitutes. Or, if you know of another great biscuit gravy, comment here.

Bonus: Two More Give-Away Wins!

I am one lucky duck! I won two more MoFo give-aways.

One was actually a few days ago, but I've been traveling, so the update is late. I won the new ebook, Soups, Stews & Chili - Vegan Recipes to Warm Your Soul, from Cooking for a Vegan Lover! I can't wait to try some of these during the cold winter months ... especially if the DC metro area gets a sequel to last years Snowmaggedon.

The second was just today, when I scored a copy of
Vegan Fire & Spice from Vegan Planet. As I write this, it occurs to me that this book is also an excellent one for cold winter months with its spicy international dishes.

Big thanks to these generous bloggers. Vegan Planet has another give-away, this time for Party Vegan, going on today. I'm out of the running, since I just won, and others deserve a shot at this level of joy. Good luck.

Bonus: Vegan Corner

Vegan Corner launches soon, and it may be even better than combing multi-page PPK threads about the best places to eat an shop in the cities you're visiting. Best part? 10% of proceeds go back to the animals. I can't say much about it that isn't already nicely summed up in the press release, so here's an excerpt:

... entrepreneurs and animal-rights advocates Nathan & Adriana Pope have announced their company, Vegan Corner to launch on December 1st, 2010. Vegan Corner is the world’s largest vegan business directory, with a comprehensive listing of every vegan and vegan-friendly business worldwide, complete with reviews written by fellow plant eaters and health-conscious foodies alike.

While you're at it, check out Sparrow Media. The campaign for a variety of humanitarian causes, including veganism, so the next time some one tries to sass you about helping humans, you can (very kindly) point out that your compassion extends to all animals.

24. Capital City Cheesecake

Vegan Treats is the reigning champion of commercial vegan cheesecake, but I am all for others taking a shot at the crown. While Capital City Cheesecake won't dethrone VT anytime soon (not a chance, since it's not a vegan joint), it at least remembers we vegans in its menu. Currently, there's only one vegan cheesecake available and it's plain, but the lovely staff are willing to top it with whatever you'd like, so points for that. And it's pretty good. (Pardon the phone picture).



I actually haven't had a plain cheesecake in ages. Here at home, I make Pumpkin Cheesecake or any one of the flavors from Vegan Planet. I don't know if I've ever seen a plain cheesecake at VT - but I've had lemon, raspberry, chocolate, pumpkin, peanut butter, and mint. I think they have plain topped with strawberries or cherries, but I get distracted by the more colorful options.

At the end of the day, I'm happy to see restaurants offering vegan options and using the word "vegan." It means they're aware of us and the options, it brings it to the attention of others, and it's normalizing. Of course I'll join you for cheesecake, and no we don't have to make the 3 hour trip to Bethlehem, PA. Besides, they had good coffee and vanilla (bonus points) soy milk to add to it.

I think I'll add them to my letter-writing list. Plain may be a nice change for me, but I'd like to see their Oreo cheesecake veganized.

21. Baking with Persimmon

Up until a few weeks ago, I couldn't have picked a persimmon out of a line up. But they started appearing at my market, and I was curious. But like all things new to me, they were frightening. I've learned my lesson when it comes to buying things because I might be able to make something out of them. This goes for everything from food to the fringe you see on old lamps. So I just kept passing them by.

Then I saw this post about using them in baked goods and decided that the best thing to do was exactly what this post said.

So I started by making the Persimmon Cinnacrunch Muffins, a variation on those found in American Vegan Kitchen.

They turned out wonderfully and got rave reviews from the family.



I had plenty of left over pulp, so I decided to make some cookies. I hadn't printed any recipes, and none of my books had one, so I looked up a bunch, then sort of just made it up. It's crazy simple, and turned out really well. Except they're not terribly attractive. I generally prefer to have no dried fruit or nuts in my cookies, but it seems like people do that a lot with persimmons. I might be persuaded to try white chocolate chips though. I was going to frost these, but had lots to do and got lazy. Maybe I'll get inspired when I defrost the batch I froze.

I included the recipe below. They were pretty sweet, so next time I'll probably go to 3/4 a cup of sugar. Here's the recipe - let me know if you have any great ideas for jazzing it up.

Persimmon Cookies

•1/2 cup shortening
•1 cup white sugar
•1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•2 cups all-purpose flour
•1/2 teaspoon baking soda
•1/2 teaspoon baking powder
•1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
•1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
•1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1 cup persimmon pulp

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease cookie sheets.
2. Cream together the shortening, sugar, and vanilla.
3. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add to the creamed sugar mix.
4. Stir in the persimmon pulp.
5. Drop by the tablespoonful onto cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

19. Brownies, Slighty Imperfect

The quickest way to get on my bad side is to complain about the texture of my brownies. I never even knew there was a fudgy/cakey debate until I shared a batch of vegan brownies with a non-vegan friend. She took a bite and then said, ""Oh these are more cakey." Something about her tone really grated on my nerves.

Since then, I've bitterly searched for proof that there is a vegan brownie that can satisfy even the whiniest of our critics.

Now, I'm pretty satisfied these days using the Cafe au Soja Lait (blurrily pictured) or the Cookies ‘n Fudge Brownies from Hannah Kaminsky's Blondies and Brownies eBook. I also really love the Cheesecake and Pumpkin Brownies found in Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, but I still don't have a favorite unadorned brownie recipe - especially one that yields crinkly-top brownies.

So when I stumbled upon this post at Not A Rabbit, I was intrigued. I didn't have the required ingredients for the Not A Rabbit version, but I had everything for her source, Wing-It Vegan's Eureka Brownies!

They turned out to be pretty good. They do have more of a shine or crinkle than other brownies I've made, but I wouldn't say it's comparable to the boxed kind. They taste good, but they don't taste junky enough. The whole wheat pastry flour is detectable, but the coconut milk really adds an extra something. Also, they sort of fell apart when I took them out of the pan. I think I may have cooked them a little too long - I went to the upper end of the range on the baking time. And I should have doubled the recipe, as suggested by Wing-It.

However, after a night of refrigeration, the brownies became fudgier. I think that had I been patient, and let them cool completely, and maybe even refrigerated them, they would have been beautiful.

So there we go, next time, I'll double the batch, I'll use half all purpose flour, I'll bake for a minute less, then I'll cool completely and refrigerate before cutting.

All in all, this is a recipe worth trying out. Grinding down the sugar was new to me, but I could see the difference it made. I used a coffee bean grinder.

So give it a try! I still plan on trying out Not A Rabbit's version. Let me know what adjustments you make, if any.

Bonus: Give-Aways

For The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook at I eat trees. I feel a little guilty that by blogging about this, I get an extra chance to win, but since I blog give-aways all the time, I'm not going to beat myself up about it too much. The post is a few days old, but you still have time. The deadline is Saturday, November 20th.

For Vegan Fire and Spice at Vegan Planet.

And don't forget Celyn's daily give-aways at Miso For Breakfast.

So what did I miss?

16. My Favorite MoFo Themes

We are half way through the Month of Vegan Food! I've loved every post of it so far. I was never religious about posting before, but I've done every day, and all of them in advance so far. The best part for me has been the sense of freedom. I feel no guilt for short, fun, food-related posts.

However, I didn't start that way. I had a lot of anxiety about having no theme. So many bloggers have chosen exciting, and creative themes, and I want to be one of those.

But my theme for life is busy - work, school, dance - I work hard to make certain things like reading for pleasure, and cooking a priority. So I'm actually happy to just be making daily posts. In the future, I'll try to come up with the theme to end themes, but for now, you get what you get.

Well, actually what you get is a list of my favorite themes and descriptions quoted from the bloggers that dreamed them up. This is in no way comprehensive. My strategy for blog reading has been to open the reader and and click about at different points on the list. The blogs below are ones I happen to come across and fancy the theme. They're in no particular order. And if your wicked cool theme isn't listed here, let me know in the comments and I will avenge you!

Carnal Vegan

... so for vegan mofo my plan is to post about some cultural food-related moments that i find particularly interesting, each hopefully accompanied by some minor analysis or just a quick thought about its significance.

Rose's Random Road Trip

My theme this year will be a random road trip. The idea is to use the random geo-location generator from random.org to generate the destinations ... This will provide me with the locations for the "road trip" ...

Madcap Cupcake's Holiday Cookie Project

This year I thought I’d keep the focus on the sweet. I’m thinking cookies – holiday cookies, specifically. This was my line of thought – by the time this month is done, the Holiday season will be upon us and (this is when inspiration struck) since every year I like to make cookies for friends and family (and sometimes it’s a challenge to find the time to experiment with a lot of new cookies), why not make MoFo 2010 into my personal Holiday Cookie Project. You see, by the end of the month I shall have tried and tested over two dozen different cookies – and the best of the best of these little sweeties will see their way into Holiday spreads and gift baskets galore.

Vegan Eats & Treats

Today is day one of the Vegan Month of Food, and I will attempt to blog every day this month. Furthermore! I am going to take you on a grand adventure... Around the World in 30 Days. Every day this month, I will feature a different meal from a different country. What fun!

In My Vegan Life

My MoFo theme this year is “Veganizing Family Recipes,” and I’m having a ton of fun sifting through my recipe cards, asking relatives questions about their famous dishes, and often challenging myself to come up with vegan solutions to hurdles like “corned beef.”

Weekly Vegan Menu

For the following month we are recreating restaurant food for your home. Don't live near Millennium? No problem. Applebee's uses meat? We got it covered. Desserts use eggs and dairy? Sink your sweet tooth into November.

This month we are traveling all over the U.S. making signature meals - yes, not dishes, but meals! - from top vegan, vegetarian and popular restaurants.

Vegan Food; More Than Tofu and Sprouts!

Not only will I be participating in this month's web-famous "VEGAN MOFO" Month-Of-Vegan-Food Blogger's Challenge, but I've also accepted a further (and crazier) challenge from the lovely and über-talented super-blogger Jess Scone (Of "Get Sconed" and "Stumptown Vegans" fame) : To blog 30 DAYS OF VEGAN GRAVY!

Mastering the Art of French Cooking: The Vegan Version

I'm always veganizing recipes that I love - or ones that just look or sound good...

sometimes successfully - sometimes not...

Messy Vegetarian Cook

In celebration of the Vegan Month of Food 2010, the Messy Vegetarian Cook is going South-East Asian! Coconut, rice, noodles, bananas and leaves, chili, pandan, woks, steamers, tofu, and more!

The I-40 Kitchen

This year for Vegan MoFo, I am going to explore recipes from old vegan or vegetarian cookbooks. I will write more about some of the books and authors as the month progresses.

Juu's German Kitchen

Imagine my kitchen would be a time machine and it is going to sent me back to 1910. Of course I'm not going to leave my hometown so I'm going to find myself standing in a kitchen inside of an old house somewhere in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Rear View Vegetarian

Rather than examining items (recipes and books and ideas oh my!) in my usual somewhat anarchic style I'm going with a plotted narrative. Complete with characters and cliffhangers and episodic storytelling.

Cupcake Kitteh

Earlier this year I participated in River's E.A.T World challenge, I made recipes from France, the Caribbean and Central & South America. I've decided to continue on with the E.A.T World challenge as my VeganMofo theme. I'll be visiting a different country each day, veganising traditional meals as well as making them gluten and soy free.

Lazy Smurf's Guide to Life

Rice and beans.

Scratch and Sniff

For the month of November, I'll be blogging about packing vegan lunches for adults. If there's anything you ever wanted to know about how one lazy person can save money, eat healthfully, reduce her environmental footprint, and prevent animal cruelty all through the power of a satisfying lunch, ask in the comments.

I had month-long themes in mind when I started, but the good people at the PPK forums pointed out some really cool week-long themes and weekly serials and I couldn't resist including them. I know these are for last week, but it's worth going back to read them.

Down Home Vegan: Magazine Week

This week, I'm going to embark on a theme I was going to do last year, but ran out of weeks. Each day will feature a different cooking magazine's recipe that I will veganize, or simply just use as an inspiration.

Seitan Said Dance: Comic Book Week

It's a new week, so I've got a new theme. This week's theme is comic books. Yup. I'm going to write five posts about food inspired by comic books and it's going to be just as nerdy as you expect it to be.

Vegan in Brighton: Cook Book Challenge

I have A LOT of cookbooks and I feel that most of them really don't get used enough. Although I do genuinely love to cook I often find myself relying quite heavily on processed foods & (delicious) meat substitutes - I'd like this to change & MoFo seemed like a good time for a challenge. So, I made a list of all the cookbooks I have & would like to use more & all week I'll be picking the name of a cookbook from [a] pile...

Panda With Cookie: Tasteless Tablescapes

Tablescapes! Such a hot topic these days. Now if you are like me you don't have the cash to buy a bunch of pretty, fancy dishes to suit the multiple tablecloths, vases and outfits you plan to decorate your table with. So I will provide you with some simple ideas that anyone can use to make their next dinner party fun!

What are your favorite themes this MoFo?

Even though this entry took me longer than most of the others, I feel like I'm cheating. This post isn't really about vegan food, it's about what others are doing with vegan foods. So I leave you with this:

I needed a convenient and easy weekend lunch while in the middle of writing a research proposal that was due soon. I found the answer to that in Robin Robertson's 1000 Vegan Recipes. The Curried Walnut "Chicken" Salad was my first foray into the word of curried salads. I've seen plenty of recipes for it, but it always sounded sort of icky.

But I got brave - I wanted to make something with seitan, and this was easy. I didn't use homemade seitan - that's an experiment for another day - but I found some in the store.

This came together very quickly and was delicious and satisfying. It's not the most photogenic food in the world, but at least the lettuce is pretty!

12. Apples and Onions, Huh?

That's a combination I wouldn't have come up with on my own. In fact, I'd never heard of anyone doing such a thing until I stumbled upon it twice in the same week.

First, I just got a copy of The World in your Kitchen a few days ago, and while doing some before-bed reading, I found the Apple Bean pot. I like apples and beans, and was intrigued by this dish from Saudi Arabia, but the ingredient list contained onions. Hmm, I was skeptical at best.

Then, at the beginning of Vegan MoFo, I found this recipe for Apples with Marjoram. Sounds delicious - I love those things ... but wait, what's that I see as the second ingredient? "2 big onions (there should be about 1 cup of diced raw onion)."



I figured it must be a sign. I was destined to eat apples and onions (and beans). I decided to make the bean pot first, since it's more of a complete meal, but I've marked the other recipe to use as a side to a casserole or roast.

The Apple Bean Pot was snap to make. I had soaked and cooked the beans ahead of time, so I just did a little chopping, sautéing, and measuring. The spice combination of turmeric, cinnamon, allspice, and cumin smelled divine when added to the pan of caramelized onion. I left the optional sugar out of the cooking, since I make enough desserts that I'm in no danger of deficiency.



I decided to pair this dish with bulgur, a staple of Middle Eastern diets, and plain coconut milk yogurt, the vegan version of what the author of the book recommends.



As it turns out, everything about this was a good idea. The spice combination is rich and subtle. The apples were perfectly sweet, and a bit tart, and the onions soft and caramelized. The flavors combined perfectly. This is a warming and filling fall dish that could easily be elevated to comfort food. It would also be great with some flatbread and sautéed greens.

Sorry, no finished product shot of this meal!

Bonus: Poems About Food and Analysis

I'm enjoying the analysis of the role of food and eating in the arts over at The Carnal Vegan. It's a great MoFo theme!

The poems about or involving onions have been especially eye-catching for me.

Check them out!

More Books to Win

American Vegan Kitchen.

This book is great and worth having, especially if you miss diner food. The diner was an important hub in my hometown. In HS we'd all go there for fries and coffee and breakfast at midnight.

But times have changed: the diner closes at 10 pm now (is that even legal?) and I'm a vegan who lives 150 miles away.

I've been planning on doing some heavy cooking from this one for MoFo, since I haven't used it as much as I thought I might, so stay tuned!


Vegan on the Cheap.

I don't have this one, but I recently gave it as a gift to someone who had been wanting it. In a time where we're all trying to save money, a book like this is valuable. It even lists the approximate cost per serving for each dish. Very clever!

But don't enter - I hope to win!

What Your Momma Didn't Know... Give-Away

Here.

And check out those creepy Halloween cupcakes! Too cute.

Vegan on the Cheap Give-Away

Enter here. Or don't ... I want to win this book!

Dealing with Zucchini and Irony

After making this Zucchini Bread, I got to thinking about other ways to deal with the flood of zucchinis I was sure to get on Tuesday in the CSA box. So I went to my Gmail recipes stash and fished out some fun zucchini ones and got this post ready ... and opened the box on Tuesday to find not a single zucchini.

Seriously?

I did get one from Mr. Miller though, so that's something. I also got many lovely Japanese Eggplants, so I made Balsamic Glazed Tofu and used the same marinade to cook the eggplants. It was almost too easy, but turned out brilliantly.

Anyway, since I'm sure I'm the only person who is wanting in this arena, here are some of my favorite ways to combat the green wave.

Vegan Zucchini Bread

Creamy Zucchini and Basil Soup

Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons and Portabella Mushrooms

Chocolate-Zucchini Muffins Recipe

Stuffed Zucchini Bites

Zucchini Dressing (Raw. Scroll to the bottom.)

Creamy Zucchini Soup (Raw.)

ETA: Zucchini Pasta Dressed in Spicy Peanut Sauce and Topped with Tofu

Posting from work means no pictures and I've been sitting on this post for days now. Besides, what if you have zucchini to cope with NOW? Links are almost as fun as pictures and all the bloggers linked take waaaay nicer pictures than I do, so go over there and have a look.