I'm Back...

Finally, I'm back. The past few months have just flown by. With the days getting shorter, and the weather so much nicer, I have been maximizing playtime with my horses and minimizing time on the computer and time reading cookbooks. Not really a bad thing, though, as I ended up trying some new recipes that came to me via some of my favorite food blogs that I subscribe to. Whoever said that free recipes found on the internet aren’t as good as the ones found in cookbooks? Not me!

So, I have a small backlog of photos to post in upcoming weeks. Click on the name of each recipe to see the corresponding recipe.

First off, a couple of recipes from 101 Cookbooks. If you haven’t checked out this blog by cookbook author Heidi Swanson, I highly recommend that you add it to your blog reading. Although many of her recipes are not vegan, she comes up with some pretty good vegan recipes on a regular basis, which makes it worth taking a look at. Here are two that I have tried recently:

Maple Grilled Tempeh served with steamed veggies over a bed of quinoa. A simple and delicious meal. I’m always looking for uncomplicated marinades for tempeh so was thrilled when I came across this one.Peanut Butter Cookies
I made these with whole wheat pastry flour. Can peanut butter cookies get any easier and healthier than this?


Cauliflower Dal with Panch Phoran from Fatfree Vegan I made this recipe several months ago and quickly became a fan of Panch Phoran. Just as a side note, if your family doesn’t like the wonderful aroma of Indian spices lingering in your house for the week after you make your favorite Indian dish, you may want to turn on the fan over your stove when you make this, especially if you have the heat or A/C on and the windows shut.

And for the grand finale – Julie’s Peanut Sesame Noodles from Everyday Dish TVI prepared this for the first time for our monthly vegan potluck and by the time I made my way through the line to get some for myself, there was literally only one bite of it left! Fortunately I had set some aside for myself, prior to the potluck, (thus the picture), so I can vouch that it was absolutely DELICIOUS!!! I will definitely be making this again.

Good Eats from The PPK

When I transitioned to a vegan diet over two years ago, one of the first web sites I encountered on my quest for delicious, yet uncomplicated vegan recipes, was The PPK. What I love about Isa and Terry's recipes is that they make amazing vegan food accessible to people like me with limited cooking skills, a small kitchen with appliances circa 1976, and no Whole Foods Market or gourmet grocery for over a hundred miles. Taking a look through my food photos the other day, I realized that in recent weeks I have made quite a few PPK recipes so decided to do a post showcasing them all. Enjoy!

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies - without the walnuts, from Veganomicon. A staple food in our household!

tlT - tempeh, lettuce, and Tomato sandwich made with Tempeh Bacon from Vegan with a Vengeance, served on Ezekiel sprouted grain bread. I capitalize the T in Tomato because that beautiful Tomato is the star here. This is the only time of year that I make tlT's as I despise those pale, grainy tomatoes that one finds in the market the rest of the year, and I'm certainly not going to insult my tempeh bacon by having it share a sandwich with anything inferior!

Almond-Quinoa Muffins - from Veganomicon. The subtle hint of cardamom combined with the delicate crunch of quinoa make my mouth sing with joy! I was out of dried fruit, so simply omitted it from the recipe. See the quinoa peeking through the roof of the muffin?

Broccoli Polenta - from Veganomicon. I have made polenta plain, with spinach, with carrot juice, in my slow cooker, in my microwave, and on my stovetop, but not of my prior efforts come close to comparing with this recipe. If you've never liked polenta before, give it a second chance with this recipe. I don't like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen most days so I simply poured it into an 8x8 glass dish then cut it into rectangles once it set, then served it with Southwest Beans from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson. I reduced the oil in the polenta by 1 Tbs with no ill effects. Hiding in back are some fire roasted tomatoes and Sour Cilantro Cream, (made without the oil), also from Veganomicon.

Spicy Pinto Sausages - click here for the recipe from the PPK blog. I shaped these into patties before steaming then served them breaded and pan fried, per Julie Hasson's recipe for Spicy Italian Cutlets, along with Julie's sauce from the same recipe, over spinach linguine. Absolutely delicious! No need for spending the big bucks at a fancy Italian restaurant when you have this!!

French Lentil Soup with Tarragon and Thyme - from Veganomicon. The recipe can be found here on the PPK website. I love lentil soup but had never made it with French lentils before trying this recipe. The texture of those tiny little lentils combined with the tarragon, makes this no ordinary soup. A must try!