Cookbook Challenge - Roasted Root Vegetable Soup

Here's my second Urban Vegan recipe for this week's PPK Cookbook Challenge.  The Roasted Root Vegetable Soup is versatile and can be made with a variety of veggies. Here are the ones I used: carrot, onion, potato, turnip, and parsnip.  A couple of those were new to me. A turnip is a lot like a potato once you peel it, and a parsnip is like a white carrot.

Little beauties...here they are on the tray ready to go...

And the perhaps less attractive, but still tasty, result...

It's not a soup that makes you use exclamation points, but it has a nice flavor and is good for lunch on a cold winter day.

On the side we had raw vegan kale chips, recipe courtesy of Averie at Love Veggies and Yoga. I had been meaning to try these for awhile, but I had tried making kale chips in the past and burned them, resulting in a horrible stench, so I was a little gun-shy. Now I wish I'd gotten to them much sooner! Talk about addictive. I love cheesy, salty snacks, so these are perfect for me.

I don't own a dehydrator, but the baking method worked fine. Later in the day, the leftovers did get a little soggy. What I did was eat them on top of a hummus bagel. Or, you could probably pop them back in the oven for a few minutes to re-crisp.

Cookbook Challenge - Chickpea-Chili Burgers

This week, the PPK Cookbook Challenge tackles The Urban Vegan. I'm testing recipes for Dynise Balcavage's next book, so it was fun to go back and try a recipe from her first offering.

Jackson was eager to help by adding the ingredients to the food processor (which is not plugged in...I can just see my mom freaking out over this pic so I thought I should point that out!)

And, by now y'all know how Olivia usually loves to supervise in the kitchen...but today she was caught up in a book.

The Chickpea-Chili Burgers are an economical alternative to store-bought vegan burgers. Roasted red peppers and chili powder give the burgers a slightly spicy, sweet flavor.  I made mine too wet and they were kind of sticky to handle, but they turned out OK.

The next day I formed the leftover mixture into small patties and ate them on pita bread, like falafels. I liked them even better this way.



Urban Vegan Tester #11 - Spiked Chocolate-Banana Smoothie

Chocolate, banana, and a touch of rum. Mama likey.

Cookbook Challenge Week 2 - Veganomicon

This week, I've decided to group all of my PPK Cookbook Challenge meals into one post. But don't let the fact that I'm not writing a novel over each of these recipes dissuade you from trying any of them, for they are all fantastic.

The Veganomicon is the cookbook I turn to most often, not only for recipes, but for information about how long and what temperature to roast certain vegetables or boil dried legumes. I'm the kind of cook who is always forgetting if you should bake a potato at 400 or 450, so it's extremely helpful to have a handy reference for that sort of thing. 

But the recipes are, of course, the main attraction of this book. I used the Veganomicon twice last week. Not for the challenge, just because Banana-Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding and Vietnamese Seitan Baguettes with Savory Broth Dip are awesome.  The Vietnamese sandwich is one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life, for real.

And what do we have this week?

Chile Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu Po'Boy
So messy, but so addictive.  The tofu's cornmeal crust provides a crunchy, spicy contrast for the cool, creamy coleslaw.  I topped my po'boys with hot sauce instead of the chipotle mayo, but that probably would have been delicious as well. Can't wait to eat these again.

Samosa Stuffed Baked Potatoes

I love the spicy flavors of fried samosas served at Indian restaurants, and this looked like a healthier, homemade alternative.  I halved the recipe so we wouldn't have a ton of leftovers. I cheated by microwaving my baked potatoes, so these came together quickly. I thought they looked really appealing, with the bright bits of pea and carrot.  They also smelled lovely, from all the Indian spices. My only complaint was that they were on the dry side, and could have used a dipping sauce or chutney. Next time, I'll pair them with the 5-Minute Mango Chutney.

Tofu Florentine

This took an hour to put together, but it was worth it. I halved the recipe and it still filled a pie plate. First I layered in some home fries, followed by steamed spinach and broiled tofu. I doused the whole thing in cheezy sauce and sprinkled on some chopped tomatoes.  The spinach makes this dish taste "healthy," but in a good way.

Next week, we move on to Urban Vegan.  Although I've been busily testing recipes for the Urban Vegan's new cookbook, it'll be fun to go back and revisit the first book.

This week seemed to fly by! Have a great weekend!

Urban Vegan Tester #10 - Cumin-Harissa Dipping Sauce

Today I tried out a new food item called harissa.  It's new to me, anyway.  Harissa is a North African condiment, a paste made from hot chili peppers, garlic, salt and olive oil. I found this brand, called Cap Bon, at Whole Foods.

I used the harissa to make a dipping sauce found in the Urban Vegan's upcoming cookbook. The spicy, creamy sauce tastes just fine on a seitan burger, but it really excels as a dip for sweet potato fries. Its heat is a perfect match for the sweet potatoes' intrinsic sweetness.

If you're someone who habitually adds hot sauce or crushed red pepper to your food, I encourage you to seek out your own little can of harissa!

Kale Garlic Bread

Sometimes I buy the giant bags of pre-chopped kale (20 cups to a bag) because they are more economical than the individual bunches. The only problem is that once you get down to the bottom half of the bag, you get a lot of thick stems mixed in with the leaves. My desire to use all the parts of the kale, but not have to gnaw on the tough stems, resulted in this delightfully green creation.

Kale Garlic Bread
5 cups chopped kale (bits of stems included)
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Steam the kale for 6-8 minutes until tender. Combine kale with other ingredients in the food processor, scraping down the sides with a spatula to insure everything is blended. Spread the kale mixture thickly on halved ciabatta rolls, baguettes, or whatever bread you enjoy. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast, if desired. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.

Serve alongside pasta dishes, or on its own as a snack.

Urban Vegan Tester #9 - Tanzanian Curried Chickpea-Banana Soup

For today's lunch I made this soup from the Urban Vegan's upcoming cookbook.  Tony loved its super spicy, coconut-tinged broth.  Personally, I liked that it features bananas. 

Bananas in soup? Yes! I'm not familiar with Tanzanian cuisine, but I've enjoyed plantains (which are similar to bananas) in Latin American or Caribbean dishes. They provide just a little sweetness and creaminess that provides a nice contrast to the intense heat. That's the role the bananas play here. And it definitely works!