Vegan Recipe Montage – A Robin Robertson Extravaganza!

Coconut Curry Chickpeas and Cauliflower

 

Asian-Style Noodle Soup

 

Indonesian Satay Sandwiches with Peanut Sauce

 

Spinach and Red Lentil Soup

 

Deconstructed Bahn-Mi Salad

 

Ginger-Sesame Seitan with Spicy Basil Sno Peas

 

Skillet Lasagna

 

Tiramisu Parfait

 

Shortcut Baklava

 

Hoisin-Peanut Sauce (over broccoli and soba noodles)

 

Butternut Squash and Green Apple Soup…

… or What To Do With the Rest of the Coffee Rich

I was recently given a recipe for this soup which called for heavy cream.  Normally, I would just substitute whatever non-dairy milk I have on hand or soy creamer.  But since I had nearly a quart of leftover Coffee Rich and I absolutely hate to see things go to waste, I figured that this would be a great way to use it!  And it was!

I wish I kept the recipe to post here, but I ditched it.  It was not as good as other squash soups that I’ve made in the past, especially  Urban Vegan‘s Roasted Root Vegetable Soup, which is not technically a squash soup as much as it is a soup with squash in it.   Buy. Her. Book! This recipe alone is worth the purchase price – consider the other 249 recipes a bonus.

 

Coffee Rich – Product Review

 

I was at a grocery store on Monday evening that I don’t normally go to when something in the freezers caught my eye.  I think I stared at it for a full minute before I realized that it was the elusive Coffee Rich that I had been looking for for a year.  That’s right.  A full year.  I just scrolled back through some old emails, and found one from December 1, 2009 offering coupons for free products: French Meadow Bakery (which I honestly do not recall if I ever found) and Coffee Rich.

Did anyone catch that?  I found it in. the. freezer.  So, now I am wondering if every grocery store I’ve been to actually carries this product.  I have looked in every cold case/dairy case in every store I frequent for months and months (until I eventually forgot about it).  I have asked people that work in the stores.  No one seemed to have any idea what I was talking about.  Because it’s in the freezer.  So there is actually a readily available – VEGAN – coffee creamer on the market and it is nowhere near where anyone would look for it?  To me, it would make more sense if it were by the other “non-dairy” creamers in the cold case, or aseptically packaged near the powdered creamers/coffee/tea.

On to the review.

Let me first disclose that I received this product free.  I received an email requesting that I use the product, give a brief review, and a link back to the website.  The fact that I received the product at no charge has no bearing on the following review.

Short answer:  It is just OK.

Long answer:  I am thrilled to have found a vegan coffee creamer that is not completely soy based, although it does contain soy.  I am less than thrilled that it contains corn syrup.  The flavor reminds me of the non-vegan, plain Coffee Mate, which I never enjoyed.   At $2.59 for a quart, I think it is a little pricey.

So, in a nutshell, if you were/are a fan of “non-dairy” creamers, I think you will like this.  If I didn’t have access to any type of soy/nut milk, I think I could (maybe) get used to this.  But I’m glad I don’t have to.

 

Vegan MoFo – Day 30: Skillet Lasagna

Poor execution of a great recipe.  Boooooo!

I almost didn’t even post this because of how many mistakes I made in the preparation of this recipe.  Because it’s a test recipe for Robin, I am going to hold off on any recipe comments until I make it again — the right way.

Vegan MoFo – Day 28: Ginger-Sesame Seitan with Spicy Basil Snow Peas

Pass / Fail:

Pass – Every Robin Robertson recipe I’ve tested, including – and especially – this one!

Fail – Me, with this year’s MoFo.  9 measly posts.  Shameful.  However, they were the most delicious meals I’ve made in a long time.  So perhaps it wasn’t a total fail.  ;o)

Today’s lunch was unbelievably delicious.  My husband even said that it was like a dish you’d get at a really good vegetarian restaurant.  I concur.

The flavors were amazing, it was easy to make, and the house smelled terrific as it cooked.

I squirreled a little away for my lunch tomorrow.  Knowing this is waiting for me just might make Monday more bearable.

Vegan MoFo – Day 16: Coconut Curry Chickpeas and Cauliflower

More than just a cute little alliteration… or is it?

an inViting Variety of saVory Veggies!

Lots Leftover for Lunch!  (Yay!)

another Recipe from Robin Robertson‘s Repertoir.

 

 

 

Vegan Mofo – Day 15: Deconstructed Bahn-Mi Salad

I don’t know if I can say much more than Tami has said about this Robin Robertson recipe in her recent post.  Plus, her photo is much, MUCH better.

Also, please ignore the fact that my baguette is a little – shall we say – dark?   I used a relatively new toaster oven, and I was multi-tasking.  ;o)

 

 

Vegan MoFo – Day 11: Everything-but-the-kitchen-sink Soup

This soup cleared out both produce drawers (and half of a shelf), save for a head of cauliflower that I’m saving for a curry dish and a handful of snow peas.   Nom!

My normally thrifty self  splurged today on this beauty.  Looooooove.

I read online: “Extremely attractive cookware piece can go from your oven or stove to the table effortlessly.”  I’m not so sure about the “effortlessly” part.   It weighs about 10 pounds empty.

I’m seeing a whole lot of one-pot meals in my future.

 

Vegan MoFo – Day 8: Vegetarian Salad

(Pardon the horrible cell phone photo in a very dark restaurant.)

Yes, that is the name of the salad on the menu.  I opted for the Caribbean Mango dressing on the side, which I probably could have consumed all of right out of the little container, but was less than satisfying on the salad.  I had high expectations for that dressing.

Also, I think it needs to be said that it’s a sad day when salads have to be labeled as “vegetarian”.  Why must most salads be laden with meats and cheeses?   There was even egg and mozzarella cheese listed on the menu for the Vegetarian Salad.   *sigh*

Not. Everything. Needs. Cheese.

A glass of Magic Hat completed the meal.

 

Check out An Opera Singer in the Kitchen to enter her TofuXpress giveaway!

 

Vegan MoFo – Day 5: Spinach and Red Lentil Soup

Remember, remember the 5th of November…

I forgot, forgot the 4th.  I completely forgot to post yesterday.  Until just now.  Oy.

Tonight’s dinner was another Robin Robertson tester.   Another delicious tester.  Even more delicious, apparently, than the other two.  Stick with me… you’ll understand.

Cooking in the pot is a red lentil soup.  In the photo to the left, what I thought was an inordinate amount of spinach is being added (hence the name of the soup).  Of course, Robin is brilliant.  It wasn’t too much.  It was perrrrrfect.

As I was cooking, my son yelled from another room and asked if I was making chili (family favorite).  Ummmm…. sort of? (but not really).   I knew that was a good sign.  Sometimes my kids – even as growing, hungry teenagers – will turn their noses up at dishes that they deem unappetizing, based on how it looks.  So, I figured that if he thought it was chili-like, he would at least try it.

Cooking finished.  Ladled carefully into a bowl.

 

So when it came time to serve up dinner, I braced myself for a  “That’s not chili!” meltdown.   It never happened.  Phew!  I went with the “Looks like soup, tastes like chili” story.  And stuck to it. It must have worked, because, as you can see in the picture to the right, it’s all. gone.

No leftovers.

No “Whatever.  I’m making pasta/pierogies/mac & cheese /a can of black beans.”  Yes.  A can of black beans is sometimes lunch/dinner/snack  for my daughter.  She did add black beans to the soup.

 

Whatever works.