Still cooking, still eating

Still taking lousy pictures of tasty food.  However, lately it has just been too much damn effort to post the pictures and write about them.  I will do my best to backtrack and catch up.

While I'm still enamored with Isa Does It and am now going back for round two of fave recipes, I've had a diversion or two in the midst of the Isa love.  For example, Vegan Pizza!  I've had pizza at least once a week (well, twice, since my pizza dough recipe makes enough for 2 pizzas), but I am not complaining.  Such a perfect food.

Anyway, nothing earth-shattering in the Vegan Pizza book, but they are solid recipes.  I'm not one to do a whole lot of experimenting in the kitchen, which is why following recipes has such appeal to me.  I'm a compulsive rule-follower, plus I don't like wasting food when experiments go awry, so I'm definitely a recipe gal.

Some pics:

All American Barbeque Pizza

Broccoli Cheddar Pizza

Cowboy Pizza (my fave of the bunch)

Peanut Barbeque Pizza (recipe here)

And up this week is Thai Peanut Pizza.  And while the pizza recipes have all been good, there are some gems in the ingredients, as well.  The sweet and smoky soy curls are delicious, and the cheddar cashew cheese sauce is fantastic!  I have used it in several other recipes and am not ashamed to admit that I would eat this by the spoonful as soup.  There are also recipes for burger, taco, and pizza crumbles that I haven't gotten to just yet but that look promising.

I got this book from the library, as I try to do with any cookbook before making the purchase plunge, and with this one I decided to copy the recipes of interest and pass on the purchase.  No particular reason, other than I'm trying to be judicious about cookbook purchases and while this one is solid, it did not bowl me over.  That's not to say the recipes aren't great and that I haven't enjoyed the pizzas, it's just that I didn't see myself referencing this book over and over like I have with others.  Still, it's definitely worthy of a look, so check it out if you get the chance.

Pizza, how I love thee.

Mmm, cookies

So I am WAY behind in posting stuff, but just to get something out there, today I made German's Chocolate Cookies from Bake and Destroy.

(Slightly modified) recipe here.

If you like German Chocolate Cake, you will like these.  Or maybe I should say, if you like chocolate, coconut and pecans, you will love these cookies!  These are definitely different than the usual cookie--it ain't no chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin kinda cookie.  I knew these were going to be delicious when I tasted the batter and the baked cookie is better than the batter.  I'm so glad I avoided the tried and true and tried something a little different this time.  My taste buds are very happy today.

Cincinnati Skyline Chili

This is one of the dishes I turn to when I want an easy, cheap, filling dinner.  I have a couple of go-to recipes for this, and tonight I went with Happy Herbivore's version from The Happy Herbivore Cookbook.  I never had the "authentic," meat-based version of Cincinnati Chili, but there's something about the sweetness combined with the spicy that I find really appealing.  I make this dish every couple of months year-round and it's a definite favorite that never fails to satisfy.

I can't find an online version of the recipe but here's a variant.

I also tried a new sour cream recipe and found it to be delicious.  It has a cashew base rather than a tofu base, which I much prefer.  I wish I could remember where I got this one, but alas, I cannot.  So here you go:

Vegan Sour Cream

1 cup raw cashews, soaked and rinsed well

¼ cup water

¼ tsp salt

1-2 tsp apple cider vinegar

½ -1 lemon juiced

Drain and rinse your cashew really, really well! Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Slowly add more lemon juice to taste, and water until desired consistency is reached.

The best part of the Super Bowl

The queso dip, of course.  Such a painful game to watch.

I can't remember the last time (pre or post-vegan) that I had a bowl of queso dip.  Creamy, soupy, gloppy queso dip.  This one is quite excellent.  Recipe from The Little Foxes.  Get it here.

Been cookin' but not writin'

I've continued to cook my way through Isa Does It, although I have been remiss in writing about it.  And sometimes in taking pictures of it.

First up, Bhindi Masala:

Okra and black eyed peas!  And, I found the recipe to be...eh.  I topped with with plain yogurt, which was a mistake.  Is there a such thing as unsweetened plain yogurt?  It added a sweetness to the dish that I definitely did not care for.  I should have made a batch of sour cream and it would have been much better.  It did make for nice, filling leftovers but honestly I probably won't make this again.

Next up, Banana Berry Scones:

Fantastic!

Another Isa recipe, but this time from Vegan Brunch.  Lemon Poppyseed Muffins:

Again, wonderful.  Recipe here.

And, last but not least from Isa, is Pesto Cauliflower Pasta with Breaded Tofu:

Ah, pesto, how I love thee.  I did make one modification to this recipe, in that I used the pesto I had in the freezer rather than the one used from the book in this recipe.  But it still counts, as it's my fave pesto recipe off all time, and it just happens to be Isa's recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance.  Plus it made the recipe come together much faster.  The breaded tofu, while not perfect in appearance, was easy and not nearly as messy as I thought it would be.  Really quite wonderful.  It's only 10:20 in the morning and I'm already craving it for lunch.

And, just for fun, a non-Isa creation just to shake things up!  Chai  Berry Muffins from Bake and Destroy!

Obviously I'm on a muffin/breakfast pastry streak.  But really, how can you go wrong?  These muffins are most tasty, although not quite as spicy as I anticipated.  This could be due to the fact that I have a cold and my taste buds are muted.  And, word to the wise, if you make these, use a frozen berry mix that does NOT include strawberries.  The strawberry will get all mushy and will fall out of the muffin, causing a huge crater in it.  No one wants that.  So learn from my trial and error and use smaller berries.  Otherwise, yeah, I'll be making these babies again.  Recipe here.

I have made a few more recipes that I didn't get in pictures for one reason or another.  I've made the Roasty Soba Bowl with Miso-Tahini Dressing (wonderful), the Spinach and Black Bean Burrito Bowl (good, not great), Roasted Red Pepper Mac and Cheese (delish and tastes pizza-y, recipe and video here) and Nacho Night (duh, of course it was good).  My fascination with Isa Does It continues, although it is starting to slow.  Hard to believe, I know.  Now is when I start going back and making recipes for the 2nd time.

Good times in the kitchen.

Cozy Hummus Bowl

Another winner from Isa Does It!

The marinated and baked tofu is fantastic and will have many other applications.  And the hummus, oh the hummus!  Maybe it was the kalamata olives in it, but I've not had much success in making my own hummus and was pleasantly surprised with this recipe.  Will be making this again SOON.

Isa's Banana Nut Muffins

All I can say is...wow.  Make these today.