Well we've got the land but they've got the view.

For Christmas I was hoping to get the new cookbook from Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Luckily - my husband is a great gift-giver and I received it! Between moving, I haven't gotten a chance to make as many recipes as I'd like - but the few that I have made so far from Isa Does It have been amazing. I didn't have any doubts that they would be.

I've been a huge fan of Isa since Veganomicon when I first went vegan in 2009 - Blast from the past when first cooking with Veganomicon. Since then I've fallen in love with her dessert books - Vegan Cupcakes take over the world, Vegan Cookies invade the cookie jar.. and my favorite for dinners that never disappoint - Appetite for Reduction.

You might say I have a #wcw on Isa...
Onto the recipes!

First up I wanted to try a simple and warm recipe. The Lentil-Quinoa Stew (with Lots of Kale) stuck out to me since it was ingredients I knew I had on hand and sounded very comforting. Although I am not a fan of kale (but sure have I tried to be!) I knew I could alter this recipe to be something that would be great for a weeknight meal.



I made a few alterations, which I've included in this recipe:

Lentil-Bulgar Stew (adapted from Isa Does It):
Serves 6
1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1 tsp dried thyme
6 c vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1 cup carrots, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
3/4 c dry lentils
1 c bulgar
1/2 t ground pepper
1 bag of spinach
1-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

Preheat a 4-quart soup pot over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray or use water to coat the pan for cooking. Saute the onion with a pinch of salt until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 15 seconds, then add the thyme and Italian seasoning. Add the broth, bay leaf, carrots, celery, lentils, bulgar, salt, and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium and cook for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender. Add the spinach and stir frequently until it is wilted. Add balsamic vinegar, taste for salt, and let the stew sit for 10 minutes or so off the heat. Thin with water/broth if necessary, and serve.

As per most of my dishes, hot sauce was already on the table and ready when this was finished - so add to your own liking.

As previous posts have shown, waffles are very common in our house. Usually on weekends we are home, Sundays = Waffles in the morning. Isa had a great recipe that I read reviews on stating they were the "best pancakes ever"....so I knew I had to disrupt our waffle theme.





Vegan Pancakes (adapted from Puffy Pillow Pancakes from Isa Does It):
Makes 6 pancakes
1 1/2 c white whole wheat flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 truvia packet
1 cup almond milk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Ener-G egg replacer
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and truvia. Make a well in the center. measure the milk into a small bowl. Add the vinegar and Ener-G, use a fork to vigorously mix the ingredients until foamy. Pour the milk mix into the center of dry ingredients. Add the water, apple sauce, and vanilla and use a fork to mix until a thick, lumpy batter forms. It doesn't need to be smooth - just make sure all ingredients are mixed.
Preheat a pan or griddle over medium-low heat and let the batter rest for 10 minutes.
Lightly spray the pan with cooking spray. Add 1/3 cup of the batter to the pan and cook for 4 minutes until puffy. Flip the pancake, adding new spray if needed and cook another 3 minutes. Let them rest on a cooling rack with aluminum foil until ready to serve.

After making these, I remembered why I prefer waffles - SO much easier to cook. I was not gifted with the flipping of pancake talent, luckily Jason is better at it than I am so he took on that job. Waffles are way easier since they just sit in the iron and the light turns green when they are ready. :)

One final recipe to review from Isa Does It is her Tempeh Giardino. We are not tempeh fans - although my older posts may have said differently - so I knew I wanted to recreate this dish using tofu.




Tofu Giardino (adapted from Isa Does it):
Serves 4
1 block of tofu, pressed and then cut into smaller cubes
1/2 t salt
1 small red onion, diced
1 yellow squash, cut lengthwise and into 1/4" thick moons
1 zucchini squash, cut lengthwise and into 1/4" moons
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chopped tomat
1/3 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves

Preheat large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray. Saute the tofu with a pinch of salt. Cook for about 5 minutes until lightly browned, tossing frequently.
Add the onion and sauté for another 3 minutes - adding water if needed to prevent burning. After translucent, transfer tofu and onion to a large bowl.
Spray pan again and add zucchini and squash. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes, tossing frequently until lightly browned. Move squash to one side and add more cooking spray along with minced garlic. Work quickly so garlic doesn't burn, add chopped tomato to garlic and salt and toss to coat. Cook for 1 minutes then toss the squash and add the tofu and onion back in pan. Mix everything, add the basil, and cook for another 2 minutes. Taste for seasoning and serve.

Although we made this recipe in January - it would definitely be perfect for a light spring/summer dish! I'm excited to try it again with more in season tomatoes and produce.

Other honorable mentions from Isa Does It that are not shown:
Pesto Soup, Baked Garlic Curry Fries, Sun-Dried Tomato Penne, Chana Masala, and Alphabet Soup.

I know my next go-to will be her Malai Kafta, which is Jason's favorite indian dish. I feel it will be a great weekend dinner that I know we will love. :)

Oh where does the time go?

4 months later and I'm posting again.
I seem to fall in this rut often within the past year or so..
Although I still read other's blogs all the time and am always inspired to keep going with mine, but yet I always put it to the side. I still take pictures of all the fabulous food I've been making though "just in case" i'll blog about it.
In which I will!

I have another cookbook review.
Appetite For Reduction by Isa Chadra Moskowitz, aka the vegan goddess of wonderful foods and cookbooks (veganomicon, vegan cookies/vegan cupcakes, vegan brunch..yes they're all great!)

I was intrigued by this book however because it was focused on healthier foods with less "fake meats" and more using pure vegetables and "real" food. Not that I don't love a delicious seitan scallopini, but sometimes resorting to how delicious just vegetables can be is a nice refresher.

I was able to get this book at a Border's that was closing, so I got a great discount! They had a lot of different vegan books that I was tempted to buy at such a great deal as well, but I already have quite the bookshelf full of them.

The first recipe I made from this was the Chickpea Piccata and Caulipots (pg. 115 and 54)



I love piccata sauces so I knew this would be good, and I loved the idea of a healthier mashed potato using half cauliflower as well. There were a few variations of the caulipots but I stuck to the original recipe and they turned out great.

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes (Caulipots): (serves 4)
2 russet potatoes, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 tablespoon of olive oil ( I used smart balance instead! made it taste "buttery" like mashed potatoes i'm used to!)
2-4 T of vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon of salt
several pinches of freshly ground black pepper

Place the potatoes in a 4 quart pot in enough cold water to submerge them, making srue there are about 4 inches of extra water on top for when you add the cauliflower. Bring the potatoes to a boil. Once boiling, add the cauliflower and lower the heat to a simmer. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes and cauliflower are tender.
Drain them in a colander, return them to the pot, and use a potato masher to mash them up a bit. (I think i used a bottom of a cup, but I added a masher to my wedding registry!) Add the olive oil (or smart balance), 2 T of broth, and the salt and pepper and mash a bit more. Use a fork to make sure its seasoned well. Add more broth if needed and taste for salt.

These were so great and I honestly would have had no idea there was cauliflower used in it except for I made them.

Chickpea Piccata: (serves 4)
1 cup thinly sliced shallots
6 cloves garlic, sliced thinly (i used a jarred minced garlic, about 3 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
2 cups vegetable broth
1/3 cup white wine (i used pinot grigio because it's great to drink as you cook)
pinches of black pepper and dried thyme
1 16 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup capers with a little brine
3 T lemon juice
4 cups arugula (I used spinach)

Preheat a large, heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Saute the shallots and garlic for abuot 5 minutes, until golden. Add the bread crumbs and toaste tehm by stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. They should turn a few shades darker.
Add the broth, wine, salt, pepper, and thyme. Turn up the heat, bring the mixture to a rolling boil, and let the sauce reduce by half; should take about 7 minutes.
Add the chickpeas and capers and let heat through, about 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and turn off the heat.
To assemble correctly, and if you made the caulipots as well -- put on a plate the spinach or arugula, then top with a serving of caulipots, then a serving of chickpea picatta so the spinach gets warm and it all goes together perfectly!

These two recipes I think would win over any omnivore easy. It's such a comforting and delicious, yet extremely healthy meal that anyone would enjoy it. :)

The next recipe I tried from the book was the Red Thai Tofu (p.149) and Green Beans with Thai Basil (p.98).

Both of these recipes were great, and went together perfectly for a delicious meal :)



The flavoring and seasonings on the tofu were perfect and the way of cooking it made it just enough crispy and firm to not be on the mushy side.
The basil in both of these recipes really brought it all together.
However, for both of these recipes it calls for fresh Thai basil.
I could not find this type in the stores near me, and regular basil leaves worked just fine! As I've been learning with a lot of recipes..don't be intimated by the complex ingredients, as long as you can find something similar in your local stores then the recipe will be fine and have your own twist to it!

Another recipe that we made was the Mango Baked Beans.


I'm back and forth with this recipe. i halved it for just Jason & I, and it still made a TON. I'm pretty sure the leftovers ended up being trash after being in the fridge for too long though. :(
The night that I made it and we ate it I really did like it.
I also made the accompanied corn bread with scallions with it and that gave it a nice touch and was great to dip into the bean sauce.
The mango added sweetness to the beans and bbq-ish to it which was a nice contrast.
I don't think I'd make this again though, but it was nice to try and a great easy weeknight meal!

The most recent meal that I've made from AFR was the 2nd Avenue Vegetable Korma.
This was AWESOME!
I always have trouble when I eat out and order a vegetable curry.
It always comes to me the way I don't want it to -- more of vegetables in a "soup" then vegetables with a sauce on top. I like coconut milk in my curries, but not my vegetables drowning in it.
That's why I prefer to make my own curries with coconut milk at home. Plus I can make it with light coconut milk, which in my opinion is much better than the full stuff..it just has a less overpowering taste but still brings on tons of flavor!



This recipe made a ton and was great the next day as leftovers over spinach!
Any indian-inspired meal I'm instantly drawn too, and usually very happy with so this was no different. It was great to use such fresh veggies for it as well. The zucchini was a nice change to the usual veg lineup.

This cookbook is truly great and I've been bookmarking many other recipes from it that I plan on making in the future.

My only demise? There is no dessert section!!

While I know Isa's cause of this book was to be "healthy" after making Vegan Cupcakes and Vegan Cookies cookbooks, it would still have been nice to see some "healthier" versions of her own desserts that she's come up with!

That's okay though, my "healthy" cookbook of Happy Herbivore has delicious fat free carrot cake cupcakes that we made to tie me over, which I'll review next time. ;)



Another recipe tried from the book was the

as we know it

As a christmas gift from my friend I got the new skinny bitch cookbook.
The first book, Skinny Bitch in the Kitch was given to me by my aunt 3 years ago for Christmas..and what was the push to lead me to finally take the plunge into veganism that January.
As I became interested in different vegan cookbooks and recipes, I realized how much I did not really like the recipes from skinny bitch. They seemed very simple, (recipe for vegan cheeseburger - 1 vegan burger patty, 1 slice vegan cheese, 1 vegan bun..not too complex and not really cooking..)
However, the book by Kim Barnouin, one of the skinny bitches, that recently came out is very different, and I absolutely love it!
The pictures in the book are wonderful and the recipes are even better :)
So far I've made three of the recipes, but I have many of them bookmarked and will be making them soon, I'm sure.

My first recipe out of the book was the Tempeh Tomato and Tarragon Stew on page 208.
The recipe made 4 servings, and since it was just Jason & I, I knew there would be plenty leftover.




This stew (mine was more soup-like than stew-like, maybe thats why we had so much leftover!) was really easy to make and I had never cooked with swiss chard before, so I was excited to try it out!
Funny though, as i took the swiss chard out to cut, I actually had no idea what to do, and had to google it. First time for everything!
Jason made his verrry delicious garlic bread to go along with this, which was a fresh baquette from the store with smart balance, garlic, and dried basil. He does make some delish garlic bread! :)

Tempeh Tomato and Tarragon Stew:
2 T oil (you can use spray for the cooking if you'd like)
2 cups 1-inch tempeh cubes (I kept the recipe the same otherwise, but only used 1 cup of tempeh..which was one package, seemed like 2 would be a ton!)
salt and pepper to taste
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk, diced
3 T minced tarragon
1 T minced thyme
1 bunch swiss chard, thinly sliced
2 1/2 c diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups red wine
4 cups vegetable broth

Heat a large saucepan over medium high heat with cooking oil/spray. Add the tempeh and saute for 5 minutes until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper and remove from saucepan and set aside. Add onion, carrot, and celery to saucepan and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add tarragon and thyme, and saute for 1 more minute. Stir in the swiss chard and cook for 6 minutes. Return the tempeh to the saucepan and stir in the tomatoes and garbanzo beans. Add the wine and simmer for 8 minutes until liquid has reduced to half (mine never really reduced too much..hmmm...)Pour in the broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer for 20 more minutes and serve hot.

As much as I really enjoyed this soup the first night, I did not enjoy it as much later in the week for lunch reheated. I'm not the biggest fan of the flavor of red wine, so I think after sitting in the fridge for a few days, the flavor really took over. If you like red wine, you'll really enjoy it though :)

Another recipe I made was the Spicy Vegetable Curry on page 222. Another thing I really like about this book is that there are a ton of ethnic dishes! I love ethnic foods..indian, thai, chinese, etc so I was really excited to make a lot of them!
This curry came along really quickly, so it was a great week night meal when I didn't feel like cooking a long recipe. I didn't get to take any pictures of this, but I highly recommend it, it was great!
The recipe calls for mushrooms, eggplant, and okra. I really really don't like mushrooms, eggplant isn't one of my faves either, and I could not find okra. Thus, we used veggies we liked - broccoli, bell peppers, and any other random veggies we had on hand. It's a really versatile recipe which makes it even better.

One recipe that caught my eye first while skimming through the book was the Asian Macaroni & Cheese. It seemed like such a different approach to the usual mac & cheese, so I was really excited to make it. Plus I have yet to make my own vegan version of the dish, although I have had the packaged vegan mac & cheese's which have been pretty good.


Sorry for the bad lighting, my apartment really isn't the greatest place to take food pictures.

Asian Macaroni & Cheese:
2 cups cauliflower, cut into small pieces and stems removed (i just used a bag of frozen cauliflower florets..yeah, lazy way out I know)
1 cup light coconut milk
1 cup water
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp white miso paste
1/4 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
1 tsp potato starch
2 T oil
1/2 c firm tofu, drained and cut into cubes
2 1/2 cups cooked macaroni (i used heart-shaped macaroni, in the v-day mood!)
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium saucepan, cook 1 cup of the cauliflower with the coconut milk and 1 cup water over medium high heat until soft. Add garlic, nutmeg, miso, soy sauce, mustard, salt, and pepper. Cook about 3 minutes and add potato starch to thicken. Pour the mix into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.
In another saute pan, heat oil and saute the rest of the cauliflower and tofu over medium high heat until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. In a lasagna-style pan, add the macaroni, cauliflower, and tofu mixture. Mix in the cauliflower and coconut milk sauce. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top, and add the garlic powder over breadcrumbs. Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

I halved the entire recipe, and it still made a ton. I also used an 8x8 pan instead of a lasagna style pan since I made less. Also..white miso paste..I had been looking for it everywhere for a while, and finally found it in a natural food store near me. The darn jar was $13! After coming home and adding the 1/2 tsp to the recipe, I really do not think it was needed at all! So expect a lot of recipes soon to be incorporating the miso, the jar is huge!

Anyway, this dish was fabulous!
And days later, it was still just as good.

I really cannot wait to make more from this cookbook, just so many awesome refreshing recipes in it!
Next post I'll be doing a DC trip review, we went there this past weekend for valentine's day and tried a few awesome vegan friendly places! Plus I met Lindsay Nixon aka Happy Herbivore, and that in itself was awesome!
Take care!
<3