Cookbooks

I own many vegan cookbooks, and I borrow a little from each of them when I cook. But there are a few cookbooks I use over and over again and would encourage you to get. I don't really want to post recipes from cookbooks here because I think we should support vegan chefs with our money, but I will tell you what recipes work and which ones don't. Here are my top three recommendations (all available on Amazon):

1. Vegan With a Vengeance

A great collection with fresh ideas for every meal from breakfast to dinner. I use this several times a week. And, the ideas in here have spawned many original creations.

2. Vegan Lunchbox

I love the Vegan Lunchbox blog (you can order the book from there as well), and found this book a fantastic resource for the kids' school lunches and ours as well.
3. Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

This book has saved birthdays and family events (with non-vegans) because the recipes are so tasty and pleasing for all (who doesn't enjoy fat and sugar?). I used the recipes in here to make these cupcakes for my son's 4th birthday party (he wanted replicas of the race cars in the opening sequence of Disney's movie "Cars."

In Celebration Of Spices - Mustard Seeds in Saarina Pudi

When Sunita announced her spice of the month as mustard seeds, I was wondering what I can make which would give this spice its due importance, since I add it to almost everything I cook, including scrambled eggs! Anyway, I was giving some thought to the RCI - Karnataka event, when it struck me! I made Bele Saaru following an authentic recipe and its even more special to me since I made the Saarina Pudi (Sambhar powder) on my own, one of the dominating ingredients being none other than MUSTARD!

So here is how I put the omnipotent spice to other uses.

Saarina Pudi (Sambhar powder, Karnataka Style)


What I Used:

Dhaniya seeds - 250 gms.
Red chillies - 100 gms
Jeera seeds - 50 gms
Fenugreek seeds - 25 gms
Mustard - 25 gms
Pepper - 25 gms
Hing - 1/2 tsp

How I Made It:

Roast dhaniya and red chillies in very little oil till it emits a nice smell.

Dry roast all other ingredients till well done and add hing at the end.

Grind all together and store in airtight container.



Recipe courtesy goes here.

This is my entry to this month's 'Think Spice.. Think Mustard Seeds' hosted by Sunita of
Sunita's World. I would also like to send this to Asha as my first entry to RCI - Karnataka.

Deli-Cinq Seitan

Tonight was an experiment in seitan. Most weekends I try to make a batch of seitan to use during the week. I like this recipe, but made a few alterations this time. I cut the "dough" into pieces to mimic chicken breasts, tripled the broth, and cooked it on low in a crock pot. This made a very tender, and freakishly meat-like seitan.

Then, I marinated the seitan pieces for a few hours in the following:

- 1/3 can of Five Alive frozen concentrate, thawed

- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 1 tsp. dried basil

I grilled the seitan about 8 mins per side on med-high on the BBQ, and served with mashed potatoes, broccoli, and carrots.

TIP: you can steam the veggies over the boiling potatoes--save yourself washing another pot!

VERDICT: The kids loved it, and gobbled it all down.