Isa Does It...Again!

Queso Blanco Bowl!

Magnificent!  The kale chips are genius.  This beat the pants off a Chipotle burrito bowl any day.  This is going to become a staple meal, no doubt about it.  And the queso will be standard fare for any number of applications.  I wish it was tomorrow so I could be eating these leftovers right now.

Whatcha got cookin'?

The cold weather, long evenings and upcoming holidays have had me spending time in the kitchen.  My pictures, however, have not gotten any better.

 Curried Peanut Sauce Bowl from Isa Does It.  Wonderful!  The peanut sauce recipe alone is worth buying the book.  Yep, that good.

 Bike Messenger Brownies from Bake and Destroy.  With a moniker like Bike Messenger Brownies, you know I couldn't resist.  Espresso in the brownies + chai glaze = love.  Will definitely make these again.

Pizza Bowl from Isa Does It.  Can ya tell I'm loving the bowls?  I made Big Stick Pepperoni from Vegan on the Cheap to use in this recipe.  For once I didn't go the lazy route by just buying packaged sausages.  Again, the sauce on this made the recipe.  And, yes, that is white rice.  So sue me, I have several bags in the house for some reason and I just need to use them.  I always feel guilty not using brown rice for some reason.

Tonight's dinner is French Fry Tacos.  Bad pics to follow.

Mexican Pizza

Recipe and more appetizing pic here.  All in all, pretty tasty.  I just used regular pizza crust rather than the "pizza bases" called for in the recipe.  I assume the pizza base refers to something like a Boboli, but those have dairy in them so I went with my old standby pizza crust.  The only other mod I'll make in the future is to thin the refried bean mixture, as it was hard to spread on the dough and then it dried and became kind of cakey in the oven.  But, really, how bad could any pizza be?

Spicy Peanut Soup

One Dish Vegan by Robin Robertson is one of the new cookbooks in the house that has been providing inspiration lately.  Robin is one of my fave cookbook authors, and I have more of her books than any others (although Isa is a close second).

I could not pass up a cookbook with a title that includes "one dish," since my motivation level is often low and I just want to make something that's relatively quick and easy that doesn't dirty every pot and pan in the house.  I'm not always successful on that front, but knowing Robin's previous work, I was confident that the one dish portion of the title was mostly accurate.

I've made a recipe or two from the book already, but given the previously noted lack of motivation, that often applies to taking pics of the end product.  Either the kitchen is a mess and I don't want that documented, or I'm too hungry and just want to chow down.  I will try to be more diligent.

So, last night I made Spicy Peanut Soup.  Yes, it was a one dish creation, as soups often are, and it was delicious.  Oh but wait, I did use a cast iron pan to brown the tofu.  I stand corrected.  I did try to find the recipe online but was unable to do so.  The book is still new so I will wait to post until the coast is clear(er) and will then revisit.  Until then, pick up a copy at the library or just buy it if you are a cookbook hoarder like me.

I'll definitely make this one again.  Add a little Sriracha for extra heat.  This recipe makes a lot, so prepare yourself for spicy, peanutty goodness for a few days.  I know you won't mind.

Where have you been all my life?

Long time, no write.  It's not as if I haven't been eating.  Ha, as if.  But, you know, life gets in the way, inspiration wanes, etc.  But there's nothing like a new cookbook to inspire!  And sometimes that doesn't even work.  Now that we're in the throes of the time change and evenings are looooong, I'm getting my comfort food mojo going.

As is my way, I like to investigate new cookbooks via the public library to determine if they are purchase-worthy.  And I've come across a couple that will be finding a new home with me.

First up is Isa Does It by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

For those of you who don't know, Isa is vegan cooking royalty!  Her books have guided me along the vegan journey.  From Vegan with a Vengeance to Veganomicon to Vegan Brunch to this book and all the others, her books and her website the Post Punk Kitchen have been by my side.  She's creative and inventive and I appreciate that her books aren't just a slight variation or re-hash of previous recipes.

This book is beautiful and the recipes are accessible--and by accessible I mean that they utilize stuff I have in the pantry and that I don't have to buy ingredients that I will use once and that's it.  I am so looking forward to cooking my way through this one.  The copy from the library will be returned with a few splatters on it (oops) and my lovely NEW personal copy will arrive soon.

I did make the Cast-Iron Stir Fry last week, but I was too lazy to take any pictures.  But I did get some pics of the Cheddary Broccoli Soup.

Total comfort food.  I've been hesitant to try any of the vegan broccoli cheese soup variants because my memory and taste buds can't let go of my pre-vegan Velveeta broccoli cheese soup extravaganza.  Knowing full well that were I to try it now, the Velveeta stuff would be too salty and leave that weird Velveeta film/coating on my tongue, I still hesitated to try a vegan version.  But no mas.  This stuff is wonderful.  And it was even better today for lunch.  I look forward to many winter evenings cozied up with this soup.

Since the book is just released, I don't want to get in anyone's cross-hairs by posting the recipe.  Therefore, you'll have to visit your local library or just take the plunge and get your own copy of this book.   I promise you will not be disappointed.

Some yellow food

I grew cauliflower for the first time this year and opted for a yellow variety.  I roasted a head the other night and it was delicious.  Just a little olive oil, salt and pepper.

And September was Vegan MOFO (month of food), so the bloggers were hard at work churning out fun new recipes.  Vegan Yack Attack's theme was mac and cheese, which is a most noble endeavor, in my opinion.  I decided to give the Buffalo Chickpea Mac 'n Cheese a crack.

I found it to be quite delicious.  The recipe called for Teese, which made me wary because in past experience I didn't care for it and found it to have an odd taste.  But I bought the creamy cheddar vegan sauce and found it nearly perfect for this application.  It wasn't difficult at all to make and came together well.  The only other issue I had was with the ranch sauce, which called for plain vegan yogurt.  I can't find a plain unsweetened yogurt, so the ranch sauce had a slightly sweet taste to it which wasn't awful but I'd prefer less sweetness.  Next time, I might sub sour cream for the yogurt.  Or just more Vegenaise.  Can't go wrong there.

Anyway, definitely enjoyed this one and will make it again.  It's amazing that any of the roasted buffalo chickpeas made it into the dish.  Seriously addicting.  Way better pictures and the recipe can be had here.

Vegan Bulgogi

Long time, no write! It's not that I haven't been cooking...but the recent hot spell around here pretty much sucked the culinary inspiration right out of me. My motivation level hasn't allowed me to spend more than 15 minutes prepping dinner, so my posts would have been decidedly uninspired. And if I did make anything interesting, I was too lazy to take a damn picture and post it. How sad is that? It's just an indicator of how much I HATE heat. Hopefully we are done with the 90+ degree days and have moved into more reasonable climate territory. But then again, maybe not, given the floods and wild weather we've had here in Colorado the past few days. While my house, its contents and occupants managed to stay dry, not everyone was so lucky. And this situation is far from over, especially since it rained all day today, which we definitely did not need. This dreary, rainy day did inspire me to post something I made a few times this summer and it has become a favorite. I ran across the link to the recipe here. I gravitate toward Mexican food, which is no surprise to the 3 people who read this blog. But, I do enjoy Asian food and try to incorporate new recipes when I can.

Really, really wonderful. I made sandwiches with it, but also found myself shoveling pieces into my mouth before they even made it into the sandwich. The recipe is here. The recipe calls for vegan cheese but that seemed not quite right to me so I just did Vegenaise on a bun and called it good. Coleslaw is also quite good in this application. I did make 2x the marinade the second time I made this and found it to be perfect. Guess I'm just a saucy gal.