Book Review: Vegan Unplugged by Jon Robertson with recipes by Robin Robertson

I had never given emergency preparedness much thought. But when my refrigerator gave out last week, I was very glad I had a copy of Vegan Unplugged: A Pantry Cuisine Cookbook and Survival Guide to get me through a week of living refrigerator-free. It could have been an expensive week of take-out and eating out, but we had some of the best home-cooked meals ever, made them with simple, inexpensive ingredients, and prepared them in lightning-fast speed—thanks to this wonderful book.

While the recipes in Vegan Unplugged are phenomenally easy-to-prepare and delicious (and worth the cover price alone), it also offers priceless solutions to a variety of challenging situations like eating vegan while traveling, when visiting non-vegan family and friends, when camping, remodeling, when the power goes out, and on those days when you just don't feel like cooking.

Within its pages you'll learn how to shop for a safe, reliable, and efficient non-electrical heat source and stock your pantry with everything you need to create a bounty of delectable globally inspired pantry cuisine. With recipes like Curry-Spiced Pumpkin Bisque, Thaiphoon Tofu Stir Fry, Asian-Style Vegetable Pancakes with Dipping Sauce, and No-Fuss Chocolate Fondue, your meals will taste more like painstakingly prepared gourmet cuisine than making-do-with-what's-in-the-pantry fare. Bear in mind that these recipes are not to be put on the back burner only to be called upon when disaster strikes or when you're on the road. The recipes are all completely flexible, and you can upgrade them with fresh ingredients for spectacular meals anytime.

So what did we eat for dinner while the fridge was out? We started with Kitchen Sink Capellini made with artichoke hearts, tomatoes, chickpeas, black olives, capers, and basil over angel hair pasta. I added some greens, as I wanted to start using up the produce I had before it spoiled. This gorgeous dish was so scrumptious, I'll be making it again and again.

Tuscan Chickpea Stew is a delightful combination of garbanzos, potatoes, artichoke hearts, and roasted red bell peppers. Again, I upgraded the recipe with some lovely purple kale. Colorful and delectable!

I first saw the recipe for Samosadillas on Jon's Facebook page. It looked so good, I had to jump right in and make it. And we enjoyed it so much the first time, I made it again last week. This recipe turns a samosa on it's head by wrapping its curried potato filling inside a warm flour tortilla. It's a fabulous   fusion of Indian and Mexican food.

Moroccan-Spiced Vegetable Stew starts with an enticing medley of dried mixed fruits (I used blueberries, cherries, apricots, raspberries, and raisins), green beans, onions, carrots, tomatoes, and chickpeas, infused in a fragrant blend of cinnamon and cumin. Served alone, with warm pita, or over couscous or rice, you couldn't ask for a more sensuous dish.

Whether you're the kind of person who plans ahead for emergencies, or you just want to sink your teeth into some super delicious, easy-to-prepare dishes, Vegan Unplugged is a must-have. You'll come back to its recipes again and again. Want to win your very own copy? Head on over to the new Vegan Heritage Press blog, and enter to win a copy of one of three great books: Vegan Unplugged, Vegan Fire & Spice, and American Vegan Kitchen! (But before you head on outta here, check out the recipe below, and please leave me a comment letting me know which one of these dishes made your mouth water or your tummy growl.)

To whet your appetite, here's the recipe for Samosadillas from Vegan Unplugged excerpted by arrangement with Vegan Heritage Press. Copyright © 2010. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 16-oz can white potatoes drained, or 3/4 cup dehydrated potatoes, rehydrated (I used 1 fresh russet)

1 4-oz can green peas, or 1/4 cup dehydrated peas, rehydrated

1 4-oz can hot or mild diced green chiles, drained

2 Tbs raisins

1 Tbs soy sauce

1 Tbs curry powder

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp chili powder

Salt and black pepper

4 flour tortillas

1 small jar chutney (I used tamarind chutney)

Directions:

1. Place the potatoes in a saucepan and mash them with a potato masher or ricer. Add the peas, chiles, raisins, soy sauce, curry powder, coriander, cumin, chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and heat over medium-high heat until hot, stirring as needed, about 5 minutes.

2. Cut the tortillas into quarters. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the filling onto each piece of tortilla. Fold one side over the filling and press lightly to flatten. Set aside. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

3. Arrange the samosadillas in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. cook until lightly browned and heated through, turning once, about 8 minutes total. Serve hot with chutney.

Book Review: Vegan Bite by Biteby Marilyn Peterson

Today is March 20th, the first day of spring, the eve of my birthday, and the official beginning of this year's Meatout, the world's largest grassroots diet education campaign. I dedicate this post to the thousands of caring individuals across the globe, who share the joys and benefits of going vegan with countless others, making Meatout an enormously successful annual event.

I've waited twenty-five years to say this: Vegan is going mainstream, baby. The "v" word is no longer just kicked around like some kind of hot potato with cooties or regarded as "weird," "fringe," "faddish," or "radical." Articles in major magazines and newspapers have extolled the virtues of going vegan, and millions of Oprah and Ellen viewers have heard about the multitude of benefits to be gained from eating a pure plant-based diet. Only a few years ago, most people couldn't wrap their brains around the concept of giving up meat, dairy, fish, and eggs. But now more than ever before, Americans are beginning to not only accept, but embrace the idea that eating exclusively plant-based foods is good for their health, the animals, and the planet.

I admit to cringing when I hear Veganist author Kathy Freston suggest that people "lean into veganism," because I want cruelty to end and people to stop eating animals now. But if I am honest with myself, I must take a step back and reflect that I didn't become vegan overnight (how many of us really did?) I did quite a bit of leaning myself—first giving up veal, then red meat, and eventually chicken, fish, eggs, and dairy. (The last animal foods to leave my plate forever were cream cheese, (there was no palatable non-hydrogenated and casein-free vegan option back then), chopped herring, and unagi (eel) sushi. I can still remember the last time I thought about ordering unagi, and my friend, Sangeeta, looked at me and said, "Are you sure you want to eat that? Think about the poor eel." She was so calm and gentle about it. I thought of the poor eel, and that was it for me. No more leaning.

Today there are delicious vegan options for almost every food imaginable—even vegan cheeses are starting to rival the real deal. (Have you tasted Dr. Cow Tree Nut Cheeses?) And talented chef/authors like Jenn Shagrin take their culinary creativity into the stratosphere with vegan recipes for everything from scallops to short ribs and flank steak!

In perfect synchronicity with all the new vegan awareness, chef and author Marilyn Peterson, (herself a leaner for many years and a vegan for the last thirty), offers a gentle, step-by-step guide to overhauling your diet and achieving your most vibrant health in her wonderful new book, Vegan Bite By Bite.

In Vegan Bite By Bite Marilyn becomes both mentor and cheerleader, offering a clear and simple path to healthier, more compassionate food choices that can be made over the course of two stages. Stage One includes packaged comfort foods like mock meats and cheeses, allowing the palate and the body to ease into the elimination of animal-based foods without giving up many familiar tastes and textures. In Stage Two, whole plant-foods predominate, and more raw foods are included. There are no time restrictions, and readers are encouraged to lean in at their own pace. The transition is presented joyfully and light-heartedly, and as you read, you will feel as though you have a partner and friend holding your hand and guiding towards more vibrant health and vitality.

At 75-years-young, Marilyn Peterson is the perfect vegan ambassador.

How many 50-year-olds do you see every day who don't look nearly 
this youthful, trim, attractive, and fit?

The book opens by asking (and answering) the questions, "Why Vegan?" and "How?" and is peppered with thought-provoking, inspiring, and humorous quotations from famous vegans. There's a chapter on karma that connects readers to her own inner voice and shows us the connection between our food choices and our spiritual evolution.

What Marilyn succeeds at doing next in her book, is something I have done often in people's homes. She walks readers through a complete kitchen makeover, teaching them how to organize, store, substitute, and shop for healthier vegan foods. And since so much of the apprehension people have about going vegan is centered on wondering what they will eat, in Vegan Bite By Bite Marilyn offers more than 100 delicious recipes along with six-week menu plans so that readers don't even have to think about what to shop for or prepare.

In later chapters, readers will gain insightful health and nutritional information from medical doctors and be inspired by transition stories from celebrities, students, authors, and others. Don't be surprised if many of these stories sound a lot like your own. It's comforting and supportive to know that other people had the same questions, doubts, and struggles with their diets as you do. From these stories we also learn that there's no one right way or single path, and that we're all still fine-tuning and tweaking our diets.

My favorite chapter by far, is the one in which Marilyn shares her own story. It's a moving survival narrative detailing an extraordinary life journey filled with suffering, joy, challenges, and successes.

Readers won't feel stranded when they reach the end of the book, as Marilyn has thoughtfully provided supportive books, websites, and other resources for newbie vegans. One of those is her very own website, veganbitebybite.com. And it's filled with photos, recipes, and other valuable resources. You can even sign up for workshops and cooking classes with Marilyn!

Whether you are fully committed to taking the great vegan leap or only ready to dip your toe into vegan waters, Vegan Bite by Bite will not only answer the question, "so now what do I eat?" but will show you how to lean into eating vegan with flavor and ease.

I couldn't get through the whole book without preparing at least one of Marilyn's recipes. Eggplant Minestrone Stew beckoned to me, so I went shopping for all the needed ingredients. To my astonishment, there was not an eggplant to be found anywhere! (First it was raw pistachios—I still can't find them—and now it's eggplant!) I went to three different stores, and at each one they told me they'd been out of them for several days. I had already purchased all the other ingredients, including my new favorite pasta, Ancient Harvest Gluten-free Elbows, and while I had a real craving for eggplant, I decided to substitute potatoes and carrots, rather than figure out an entirely new dish to prepare. As it turned out, this almost entirely new dish was flavorful and filling. (So good, that yes, I added it to our dinner rotation!)

Here's my version of Marilyn's Minestrone Stew (with potatoes and carrots, instead of eggplant!) Buon appetito!

Ingredients:

2 potatoes, peeled and cut into ½" cubes
8 oz elbow macaroni, cooked al dente
1 Tbs olive oil
6 cups plus ¼ cup vegetable broth
1 medium onion, diced small
2 carrots, peeled and sliced ¼"-inch thick
4 garlic cloves, minced
1½ tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp lemon juice
2 15-oz cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
2 14.5-oz cans fire-roasted tomatoes
3 large bay leaves
2 tsp thyme, dried
2 tsp oregano, dried
1 Tbs basil, dried
1 cup packed fresh basil, roughly chopped

Directions:

Boil potatoes for 10-15 minutes, until tender. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside.
Prepare pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water, drain, and return to pot. Stir in olive oil, and set aside.
Heat ¼ cup broth in large soup pot on medium-low heat. Brown the onion and carrots. Add the salt, pepper, and garlic. Stir and cook until carrots are slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients, except the pasta. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add pasta and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Remove bay leaves and serve. Makes 6-8 hearty servings.

Food For Lovers Vegan Queso

In the days leading up to Super Bowl Week, it was impossible not to notice the giant end-cap display at my local supermarket featuring dairy-laden tortilla chips and queso dips. Not long after that, I reviewed Nacho Mom's Fire Roasted Vegan Queso. (And some months earlier, I also reviewed their Ultimate Vegan Queso.) I love the stuff! It's cheesy, spicy, and fat-free. What's not to like? Then I learned about another company making vegan queso, and I thought, really? But then why not? There can never be too many vegan companies out there giving people healthier, delicious, cruelty-free options. So I decided to try Food For Lovers Vegan Queso. Like its competitor, it's cheesy flavor comes from nutritional yeast. It's smooth, creamy, and has a nice spicy kick.

It made wonderful nachos,

and really jazzed up my Chez Gourmet Oregon Harvest Veggi Burger (shown here with Trader Joe's Smoky Peach Salsa on a Dave's Killer Bread Blues Bun.

If these photos make your mouth water, grab yourself a jar of vegan queso as soon as you can. I still can't find them locally and must order them online at Pangea, VeganEssentials, and Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe. But then, you might get lucky and find a store near you that carries at least one brand. You'll save yourself a small bundle in shipping. Either way, don't miss out on enjoying such a delicious guilt-free indulgence. Happy eating!

Book Review: Speed Vegan:Quick, Easy Recipes with a Gourmet Twist by Alan RoettingerAnd a Great Giveaway!

When I first met Chef Alan Roettinger at Portland VegFest last year, I was struck by his commanding presence. Maybe I was simply awed by his stature, or maybe it was the white chef's jacket—(they have that effect on me). But Chef Alan also reminded me of myself twenty-something years ago. Those first few years of going to veg conferences surrounded by like-minded people and all kinds of delicious vegan food made me feel very much like a kid let loose in a candy store. Perhaps he felt the same way.

In the introduction to Speed Vegan, Chef Alan wrote that he had started eating an exclusively vegan diet only a few weeks before going to press with the book. Like so many other newbie vegans, he reported that his body was "ecstatic with the change" and that he was enjoying more energy, needing less sleep, and was feeling invincible in all of his athletic activities. (No surprises, there!)

He also penned some of the most encouraging words about cooking that I have ever read. Among them is my favorite line:

"What will make your food extraordinary is not the recipe, or even the ingredients—it's you." 

With so much inspiration at the outset of his book, I decided to make an entire Sunday dinner with recipes from Speed Vegan. My menu looked like this:

Campari-Braised Radicchio Salad with Grapefruit
Orecchiette with Herb Sauce
Balsamic Mushrooms
Dried Fruit Compote

That sounded impressive and challenging to me, but even though all of the dishes were complex in flavor, they were also a snap to prepare!

I've been eating a lot of pink grapefruit lately, but mainly for breakfast. So finding a recipe for grapefruit salad was a real treat! Campari-Braised Radicchio Salad with Grapefruit sounded like a winner to me, not only because of the grapefruit, but for its two leafy vegetables that are seldom-enjoyed at my house—radicchio and watercress, and also for relying more on Campari than oil for its dressing. (It even comes with ideas for what to do with the leftover Campari.) The salad was alive color and bursting with a mingling of earthy and citrusy flavors!

I love balsamic, and I have a pantry filled with several varieties, so I'm always thrilled to find new ways to use them. Balsamic Mushrooms is a mushroom-lover's delight, blending together the woodsy flavor of baby bellas, the fruity acidity of balsamic, and the sweetness of agave.

Talk about a delicious way to get your greens on! Orecchiette with Herb Sauce is one of those dishes I would never have thought of creating myself. The sauce is sort of like a pesto, but not really (there are no pine nuts, basil, or cheese in it). But what you do have is a rich, creamy, green sauce made from baby spinach, watercress, fresh tarragon, and flax oil, that just kind of clings lovingly to the pasta and fills your taste buds with joy. Have you ever seen a more brilliant shade of green?

If I had been in a wine-drinking mood, this meal would have paired perfectly with a bottle of Organic Wine Works Radical Red. But as it turned out, I got to use the bottle of sweet dessert wine I'd received at a white-elephant gift exchange last Christmas to make dessert. (I knew that bottle was going to come in handy one day!) With raisins, apricots, blueberries, cranberries, cherries, and strawberries, the recipe for Dried Fruit Compote had more fruits in it than you can shake a stick at! I was able to find everything but dried strawberries, so I substituted blackberries. And in one of my most classic perimenopausal moments, my newly purchased dried apricots disappeared within minutes after taking them out of my shopping bag. (I still haven't found them!) I had a couple of dried apricots in the pantry and some prunes, so I used those instead. Delicately flavored with tangerine and served over Purely Decadent Vanilla Bean Coconut Milk Ice Cream, this dessert was a delectable indulgence.

True to the book's title, all of the recipes in Speed Vegan came together in no time and went from prep to table in less than thirty minutes, at what I consider, lightning-fast speed. The dishes were all exceedingly flavorful, which will give your dinner guests the impression that you slaved for hours in the kitchen. And why would you want to spoil that fantasy?

I loved the Balsamic Mushrooms so much, I wanted to share them with you. So here is the recipe from Speed Vegan excerpted by arrangement with Book Publishing Company. Copyright © 2010. 

Ingredients:

1 lb mushrooms, preferably cremini or baby portabello
3 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely diced shallots
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs dark agave nectar
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme, or 1/4 tsp dried
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Wash the mushrooms well and pat them dry. Quarter them, taking care to keep the stems attached.

Heat the oil in a large pan over high heat. Add the shallots and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the mushrooms and stir well. Cover the pan and cook until the mushrooms begin to release their liquid, about 1 minutes. Remove the cover and cook until the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Add the vinegar, agave nectar, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, until the mushrooms are lightly glazed with a smooth sauce. Serve at once. Makes 4 servings.

Are you a fan of mushrooms? What are you favorites? Please let me know if you try this dish and what you think of it. And if you enjoyed this post, please let me know by leaving a comment below.

You can find out about all the newest vegan book titles from Book Publishing Company by following them on their Facebook page. And if you'd like to win your very own copy of Speed Vegan or one of five other fabulous vegan books from Book Publishing Company, simply click on the "Live Delicious, Eat Vegan" link below! Good luck!

I Want to Let You in on a Little Coconut Secret

I'm all about coconut! (One could say I'm quite cuckoo for coconuts!) Slather me in coconut oil, bake me some coconut cupcakes, let me slosh them down with a tall glass of chocolate coconut milk, pass me the French vanilla coconut creamer for my red rooibos chai tea, and please dollop some coconut milk yogurt
all over my bowl of fruit. (You get the picture.)

And then there's Coconut Secret. Hats off to my friend, Bryan Au, for turning me on to these wonderful raw coconut products. I'd heard of coconut flour, but coconut vinegar, coconut nectar, coconut crystals, and coconut aminos were all brand new to me, and I was quite eager to try them all!

As much as I adore the flavor of coconut, coconut vinegar, nectar, crystals, and aminos don't taste at all like coconut. That's because they're made from the nutrient-rich sap that exudes from coconut tree blossoms, rather than the coconut fruit. (This makes them perfect for those coco-phobes out there!) What you do get are raw enzymatically alive products that are grown without chemicals, pesticides, or herbicides, and taste as good or better than the alternatives. 

I've been enjoying the delightful earthy flavor of Coconut Crystals in place of sugar with my morning grapefruit and Coconut Nectar instead of agave with my afternoon herbal tea. Both are low-glycemic and sweetly delicious.

A broiled grapefruit sprinkled with ginger, cinnamon, and

Coconut Crystals brings a bit of sunshine to the start of my day! 

I fell in love with Coconut Aminos Soy-Free Seasoning Sauce. It's a blend of aged coconut sap and sun-dried mineral-rich sea salt that boats a smoky, much lighter-than-soy-sauce flavor. I preferred it with sushi over tamari or soy sauce, as it has a wonderfully mellow flavor that does not overpower with its saltiness. 

I tried cooking with Coconut Aminos in place of soy sauce, and I was delighted with the flavorful results. It worked beautifully in the Unfried Fried Rice and Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin-Mustard Tofu from Appetite for Reduction. And I was thrilled to see that my local Market of Choice carries Coconut Aminos Soy-free Seasoning Sauce, as it will now be a staple in my pantry.

I added little bits of "tofu egg" to the fried rice to remind me of the rice we used to order at the Dragon Seed Restaurant in Jackson Heights, NY every Sunday night when I was growing up. I recall that we always had to order everything without bean sprouts, because my mother would be horrified if a bean sprout came within 100 feet of our table.  

Coconut Vinegar was a nice departure from other vinegars. I like the idea of using it instead of apple cider vinegar to make "buttermilk" for baking, by mixing it with So Delicious Coconut Milk. 

I love to cook and bake with Coconut Flour. Chocolate Chip Coconut Flour Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce seemed like the perfect way to treat myself after a long, hard week at work.  So we had these for Sunday brunch!

Now that I've let you in on my little coconut secret, you can explore Coconut Secret's website, share, and enjoy!

Chocolate-Chip Coconut Flour Pancakes

adapted from a recipe on http://vegweb.com

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Coconut Secret Coconut Flour
2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour -or- gluten-free flour mix
2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbs evaporated cane crystals
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs canola oil -or- coconut oil (thank you, Karen!)
1 1/4 cups So Delicious Original Coconut Milk Beverage
1 Tbs pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Heat a large skillet or pan for 2-5 minutes. Lightly spray the pan with cooking spray.

Mix dry ingredients until well combined. Make a well in center, and fill with wet ingredients. Add chocolate chips, and mix until combined, but still a little lumpy. Spoon batter onto pan. I use 3 tablespoons per pancake. Cook until bubbles appear on top, about 3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown. Serve with raspberry sauce. Makes 8 pancakes.

Simple Raspberry Sauce

Ingredients:

4 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup Coconut Crystals
1 Tbs cornstarch or arrowroot mixed with 2 tablespoons water

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for about 15 minutes until the sauce is thickened. (If using frozen raspberries, it will take a little longer.) Remove from heat, and let stand for at least 10 minutes before serving. Makes: 3-4 servings.

Random Musings and Shatter-Resistant Glass Water Bottles!

My Christmas Cactus finally decided it would bloom—on Valentine's Day! It gifted me with just a single solitary flower, but boy, is it spectacular! 

My galangal plant, which I received as a 6-inch single stalk in a tiny 3-inch pot is now almost 3 feet tall,  bushy, and breathtakingly beautiful! I'm still waiting for it to flower, as I'm told the blooms look just like orchids. And I don't have the heart to dig up the roots to make Thai coconut soup. It's time for a bigger pot, don't you think?

I finally broke down and bought myself a pair of Vibram Five Fingers barefoot shoes. They're vegan, of course, and crazy comfortable, once your toes figure out how to wiggle themselves into each little toe slot. I saw someone wearing these last summer and thought they looked insanely ridiculous. But when I tried on a pair on, I was totally hooked! While trying to snap a photo of them, Chaya decided it would be better if the photo was more about her than the weird-looking shoes!

Chaya and Thelonious sometimes get into little skirmishes. They never stay mad at each other, and it's wonderful to watch them rub up against each other when they make up. It's also nice to see them quietly hanging out together.

I'm on this glass kick. I'm loving glass jars, glass straws, glass bowls. I mean, what's purer and cleaner than glass, right? So I recently got these wonderful glass water bottles. I know, you're thinking, "Glass water bottles? Aren't you worried about them breaking?" But here's the thing: Pure Glass Bottles have a non-removable, shatter-resistant coating that is also BPA-free. So your beverages are happy inside the glass, and you'll be happy, too, because if you happen to drop the bottle, it probably won't break. (And even if it does, you won't end up with shattered glass everywhere.) I dropped my 17.5-oz Traveller bottle filled with water on my wood floor, and it didn't even crack! (Even more impressive, the floor didn't get damaged, either.) Stainless steel bottles are a great improvement over plastic, but I love these glass bottles, because now I don't have to deal with the metallic taste anymore. It's just pure, delicious water, smoothies, lavender lemonade, and iced herbal tea. 

What new products have you recently discovered that are making your life more delicious?

Book Review: Asian Fusion~A Culinary Odyssey of Vegan Recipes by Chat Mingkwan

I'm a huge fan of Chat Mingkwan's earlier book, Buddha's Table: Thai Feasting Vegetarian Style. Its pages are well-worn and separating from the spine, because it's been propped open with weights on my kitchen counter so often. I seemed to have completely missed the release of his second book, Vietnamese Fusion: Vegetarian Cuisine, so now I'll have to track down a copy. But how exciting it was to learn that he's now created a third book filled with recipes from countries throughout Asia!

In the preface to Asian Fusion: A Culinary Odyssey of Vegan Recipes there are translations of the phrase "thank you" in ten Asian languages, only five of which I am familiar with. After tasting many of the recipes in this book, I 'd like to learn how to say thank-you to author Chat Mingkwan in all ten!

At the beginning of the book, you will familiar yourself with all of the special ingredients used in the recipes that follow. I quickly discover how cleverly Mingkwan utilizes plant-based seasonings to recreate the flavor-enhancing characteristics of many non-vegan ingredients—like shrimp paste and fish sauce—that are typically used in Asian cooking. With exotic names like salam leaves, shiso, and lesser ginger, and recipes from Burma, Sri Lanka, and Laos (to name but a few), I was quickly expanding my culinary horizons!

Since I can honestly say that I've never eaten Filipino food, I decided to delve right into Mingkwan's recipe for Pancit Noodles (Pancit Guisado). This flavorful dish heavily emphasized the Asian influences of Filipino cuisine (which also has Spanish influences). I loved working with pancit noodles, and the sauce was quite different from anything I've eaten before. Fermented bean curd was also new to me. Although an optional ingredient in this recipe, I'm really glad I used it, as it added a layer of complexity to the finished dish.

Of all the mouthwatering photos in this book, the one that really caught my eye was the Singaporean Sweet and Sour Plate (or Peal Wan Puk). And since Mark and I are both huge fans of Thai sweet and sour dishes, I decided to see how this one might compare. Well, as you can see, it served up beautifully:

The sauce was sweeter than Thai sweet and sour, with just a hint of citrus. It far exceeded both of our expectations, with Mark commenting that this was the best sweet and sour he'd ever eaten. I loved frying up the slender slices of tofu and found that I only needed to use half the oil called for in the recipe. 

I am looking forward to making at least one recipe from each of the thirteen countries represented in Asian Fusion, especially some of the yummy-sounding desserts like Sri Lankan Spiced Coconut Custard, Chinese Braised Pears in Sweet Wine, and Indian Baked-Spiced Bread Dessert. If you enjoy Asian food and have a yen to expand your own culinary horizons, then this book is just for you! 

Following is the for recipe Singaporean Sweet and Sour Plate from Chat Mingkwan's Asian Fusian excerpted by arrangement with Book Publishing Company. Copyright © 2010.

Ingredients:

2 Tbs light soy sauce, or more to taste

2 Tbs vegetarian or mushroom stir-fry sauce

1/3 cup sweet chili sauce

3 Tbs rice vinegar

2 Tbs sugar, or more to taste

2 Tbs cornstarch

1 Tbs tomato paste (for red color; optional—but I used it!)

1 Tbs sambal oelek (Indonesian hot chile sauce) or sriracha sauce (I omitted this ingredient)

1 small orange, zest and juice

3 Tbs vegetable oil (I used 1 1/2 Tbs)

2 cups julienned tofu (3/4 - 1 lb)

3 Tbs minced garlic 

1 cup finely diced water chestnuts

1 cup finely diced onion

1 cup finely diced pineapple or apple

1 cup finely diced colorful bell peppers

Salt and ground pepper, to taste

1/2 cup roasted cashew nuts (optional—I used raw)

1/2 cup sliced green onions, both green and white parts, cut into 1-inch-long strips

4 springs fresh cilantro, leaves only, for garnish

Directions:

Combine the soy sauce, stir-fry sauce, sweet chile sauce, vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, optional tomato paste, optional sambal oelek, and orange zest and juice in a small bowl. Stir to mix well. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the tofu and cook for 2-3 minutes, until light brown and crispy all over. Add the glaric and cook and stir for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the water chestnuts, onion, pineapple, and bell peppers. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the mixture from the wok and set aside.

In the same wok, stir in the soy sauce mixture. Cook and stir for 2-5 minutes, until the sauce thickens into a gravy. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add a little water if the sauce is too thick or too dry. Adjust the seasonings to taste.

Stir in the reserved tofu mixture and toss to coat evenly with the gravy. Just before removing from the heat, stir in the cashew nuts and green onions. 

Transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with cilantro. Serves 6.

No Calories, No Fat, No Carbs, No Kidding! Oh, and a Winner!

If you're counting calories, fat, or empty carbs and you're passionate about pasta or nuts for noodles, then this post is for you!

Have you heard of Miracle Noodle? I first learned about it from my Facebook buddy, fitness coach Sincere Hogan. Because of his enthusiasm, dedication, and commitment to empowering people to achieve their health and fitness goals, Sincere is an inspiration to me. He often shares photos and recipes from his collection of "New Warrior Grub," and I am always excited when he posts something vegan. So when I happened to catch one of his posts featuring a high-fiber, calorie-free, fat-free, vegan noodle, I had to take a closer look.

A calorie-free noodle? Get outta here! But here's the scoop: Gluten-free, soy-free shiratake Miracle Noodle is made from the root of the konjac plant, also known as Devil's Tongue.

Seriously, is this not the most provocative-looking plant you've ever seen?

Known as konnyaku in Japanese, konjac is grown in the warm subtropical to tropical regions of China, Japan and eastern Asia. It has been used for centuries to make flour and jelly and has more recently been used to make a plant-based substitute for gelatin. Konnyaku noodles, known as shirataki in Japan, are filling, because they're made from water and a highly soluble fiber, called glucomannan. It makes you feel full, without adding calories, empty carbs, or fat. You'll be surprised how much like your everyday Miracle Noodles are. But a word of caution: you don't want to overeat this stuff. After all, your body does need nutrients other than fiber! But replace your pasta and noodles with shirataki, and you won't have that weighed-down, heavy feeling the morning after you consume it.

When I received my first bag of Miracle Noodle (angel hair style), I prepared it according to package directions, first draining and then rinsing the contents in cold water to remove their somewhat odd aroma, and then drying them on a clean kitchen. Drying the noodles is an essential part of the preparation, to remove the bitterness, or "aku" as it is referred to in Japanese. Then I blanched the noodles in boiling water for 1 minute, drained them again, and set them aside while I prepared the sauce for the Hot or Cold Sesame Noodles recipe found on Miracle Noodle's website. You definitely do not want to overcook these babies, as it would change their texture and make them too chewy.

Granted, this was basically an all-fat meal, so it's not one I would eat everyday. But it was very easy to prepare and absolutely delicious. It even brought back fond memories of the cold sesame noodles I used to enjoy at one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in New York City, T.S. Ma. (We're talking 25 years ago, and I still remember it!)

I next decided to get a little inventive. I threw together some ingredients I had on hand and created a tasty Mexican Pasta. As luck would have it, I just happened to have a jar of Nacho Mom's Vegan Fire-Roasted Queso in the cupboard! If you haven't yet tried Nacho Mom's Queso, get your hands on a jar. (You can also see some mouth-watering photos and read my earlier review here.)

My colorful Mexican Pasta concoction was scrumptious and a snap to prepare! And for all the Weight Watchers out there, it may not look like it, and sure didn't taste like it, but this was a completely zero-point meal!

Ingredients:

1 3.5-oz bag Miracle Noodles
1 small onion, diced
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 cup spinach, packed
1 tomato, diced
2 heaping Tbs Nacho Mom's Ultimate Vegan Queso

Directions:

Prepare Miracle Noodles according to package directions, rinse with cold water, and set aside.

In a large skillet, sauté onions in broth for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add tomatoes and then spinach, stirring to combine. Cover, and heat until spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes. Add queso to pan , and stir all together, heating through for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, add noodles to vegetables and sauce, serve, and enjoy!

Miracle Noodle makes several varieties of shiratake, including fettuccine and angel hair, and they even make rice! I can't wait to try the rice. What about you?

My heartiest thanks to everyone who entered my Glass Dharma giveaway. The lucky winner is Anna of GreenTalk! Congratulations! You'll soon be receiving an email confirmation from me and your gift certificate will also be emailed to you from Glass Dharma. Please let me know when you receive your straws.

In a State of Sipping Bliss Glass Dharma Straws Review and Giveaway!

What's your favorite beverage? Is it a smoothie, bubble tea, iced coffee, or a piña colada? Whatever you love, isn't it much more fun sipping it through a straw? I have the cheeriest childhood memories of slurping chocolate milk through flexible paper (and later, plastic) pastel-colored straws. Drinking anything through a straw (even maté tea) just makes me feel like a kid again.

But paper and plastic straws are disposable, and aren't we all looking for ways to live more sustainably? Enter Glass Dharma Straws—They're reusable, sustainable, and beautiful. They're so durable, they come with a lifetime guarantee! If you accidentally damage or break your straw, they will repair or replace it for free! And this is the part I love best: You don't have to choose between paper or plastic anymore!

Glass Dharma straws are also:

• Made in the USA
• Non-porous and hypoallergenic
• Handmade from borosilicate glass—the strongest type of commercially available glass on the market
• Great for all hot and cold drinks
• Perfect in specialty drinks like bubble teas, shakes and smoothies, and iced drinks
• Beautiful in cocktails—they make a highfalutin' accessory to any martini glass
• Kid-friendly and kid-safe
• You can even use them for drinking wine, coffee and tea so you don't stain your teeth. (Okay, maybe you'd raise a few eyebrows sipping your Merlot through a straw. Although maybe not—check out the snazzy little decorative dots number further down in this post.)

If you plan to take your eco-chic Glass Dharma straw with you when you dine out, I encourage you to buy a neat little hemp sleeve carrying case that will fit easily into your purse, pocket, or backpack. You can see mine on the table in the lower right-hand corner of the photo below. I brought my GlassDharma straw with me out to Manola's the other night and enjoyed sipping my Thai iced tea with coconut milk so much more. I already carry my own chopsticks, so why not my own straw? The chopsticks even fit inside the carrying case along with the straw! BYOS, is my new motto when eating out, which stands for: bring your own stuff! Speaking of which, did you know there's a movement to have restaurants encourage patrons to bring their own reusables and even offer reusables for sale as an upgrade to menu items? Check out TakeOutWithout, a company whose mission is to reduce restaurant waste. I learned about them on Glass Dharma's blog.

No, Johnny Depp didn't just walk in to the restaurant. 

I'm simply in a state of sipping bliss!

Glass Dharma straws are available in several sizes, and I really like their smaller gauge (7mm) "shorty" straws. They're 6.25" long and perfect for small children, juice glasses, martinis, and my favorite new grab-and-go beverage: So Delicious single-serve vanilla coconut milk beverage! This straw is thin enough to fit in the little punch-hole where the plastic straw would normally go in. My straw has red decorative dots on it. They also make decorative dots in Green, Blue, Amber, Clear, and Black. Yes, come to think of it, that straw would look quite grand in a glass of red wine!

I recently got a bag of acai powder from Mountain Rose Herbs and thought I'd use it to make a breakfast smoothie. Since I am prone to gulping down my smoothies rather than sipping them, I thought that sipping one through a Glass Dharma straw might encourage me to slow down and savor the the flavor. Check out the vibrantly beautiful fuchsia-like color of this one:

To make this smoothie, I blended together 1 cup cranberry juice, 1 tablespoon Acai berry powder, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, 1/2 cup frozen raspberries, and 2 teaspoons agave.

I've had no problem cleaning my GlassDharma straws either by hand or in the dishwasher (which we seldom use). But if I ever forget to rinse one out right after using it, it's kind of nice to have a cleaning brush on hand. They're available as an optional accessory, but one is included when you buy a set of four straws.

I'm really tickled about my new glass straws. Like Dorcas Lane from the BBC series, Larkrise to Candleford, these straws are my one true weakness. (If you've never seen the show, this character says that about everything she loves.)

Would you like to win your very own Glass Dharma straws and make them your "one true weakness"? One lucky reader will win a $25.00 Gift Certificate from GlassDharma! To enter, visit GlassDharma's website, and then leave a comment here telling me which straw you'd most like to own or give as a gift. The winner will be selected in a random drawing and notified by email. Glass Dharma will also email the gift certificate to the winner.  (What I'm saying here, is please make sure that I can access your email address when you enter!) Open only to US and Canadian residents, please. Contest ends 1/31/11 Good luck!!!!

If you'd like to earn extra entries you can do any and/or all of the following: (You don't have to do any of these to win, but you'll earn 1 additional entry for each one you do and let me know about in your comments.)

• Follow this blog.
• Tweet this: Make sipping your smoothie sustainable and fun! Win a $25 gift certificate from @GlassDharma Straws! http://bit.ly/dEzLPk
• Follow Glass Dharma on twitter
• Follow me on twitter
• Mention this contest on your blog and include a link to this post.
• Post a link to this contest on your Facebook page.

A Pizza, Some Sushi, and A Winner!

The other night, just by chance, Mark and I created the most amazing Artichoke, Asparagus, Spinach, Sun-dried Tomato, Mushroom, Onion Pizza!

I usually take the time to make homemade dough, but sometimes not. (Mark rolls it out. He has professional pizza-making experience!) Sometimes I have the time to make a homemade sauce, and sometimes not. Either way, homemade pizza is still delicious! And with enough tasty toppings, you don't even miss the cheese! Because friends have been asking for the recipe since I posted this photo on my facebook page, here's the quick and easy recipe for when you're short on time:

Ingredients:

1 packaged pizza dough (I like the pizza dough made by a local company, The Bread Stop)

1 16-oz jar Trader Joe's Fat-free Pizza Sauce

1/2 yellow onion, sliced into 1/4-inch rings

8 asparagus stalks, tough ends removed

1 cup spinach, roughly chopped

1 cup baby bella mushrooms, sliced

1 15-oz can artichoke hearts, drained and sliced into 1/4"-thick rings

sundried tomatoes

fresh basil, roughly chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Roll out pizza dough and place on a lightly-oiled pizza pan or pizza stone. Bake on the bottom rack for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and gently press down any parts that have risen.

While dough is baking, using a large skillet, gently cook onions in a tablespoon of olive oil, or for a fat-free version, use 1/4 cup water.  (If you have more time, you can caramelize the onions for even more flavor!) Remove from heat, and set aside. 

Place asparagus spears in a steamer basket, and steam for 3 minutes, just until bright green in color. Remove from pot, and set aside.

Spread sauce over par-baked pizza dough, and then evenly place asparagus spears over pizza, so that each pizza slice will have an asparagus spear at its center. Arrange spinach, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, onions, and basil around asparagus spears, decorating as you please. Bake on center rack for an additional 15-20 minutes, until outer crusts begins to turn slightly golden-brown. 

Monday nights are sushi night at our house! It's a cooking-free night for me, and an opportunity to indulge in my favorite veggie sushi rolls: Gail Rolls (avocado, cucumber, and inari), and Crop Burning (marinated shitake, avocado, cucumber, and hot sauce) which we take-out from Sushi Domo. Aren't they pretty?

Okay, enough about food, already. Let's get to the good stuff! The winner of a copy of my favorite new cookbook, Appetite for Reduction is ....~Cee~! Congratulations! Please check your email in-box for my message. Thank you to everyone who participated in this contest. Stay tuned for more to come!

Appetite for Reduction Book Review and Giveaway!

I adore the cover artwork, don't you? It's so beautiful, I'm inspired to write another book just so I can ask Lisa Diercks to design the cover. Wouldn't you love to own a copy of Appetite for Reduction? Read on for a chance to win one!

Did I mention that Isa wrote this book just for me? Well, not really. It only feels like she wrote it for me. Actually, she wrote it for her own personal reasons. But let's be honest: Who among us hasn't eaten more than our fair share of vegan cupcakes and cookies? (Thanks in no small part to Isa.) After all that indulgence, I celebrate Isa for creating Appetite for Reduction and for filling it with so many gorgeous, delicious, low-fat, low-calorie, winning recipes.

AFR is written in Isa's characteristic easy, breezy style,—and it's peppered with lots of helpful sidebars, like the "Ingredient Scavenger Hunt". The introduction to each recipe is sprinkled with amusing tidbits like "Don't be like Dick Cheney, cook your pasta properly!" This will make you smile a lot, which is a very good thing to do when you're playing with food.

You won't find any tempting desserts in this book, but what you will find are more than 270 pages of super-satisfying soups, salads, sandwiches, sides, stews, bakes, bowls, casseroles, curries, and pasta dishes, many with whimsical names like Unfried Refried Beans, Cajun Beanballs and Spaghetti, and 2nd Avenue Vegetable Korma residing in equally adorable-sounding chapters like "Rub-Your-Tummy Veggies" and "Talk Pasta to Me (& Noodles!)." These dishes are made with easy-to-find ingredients, and you won't have to spend hours in the kitchen preparing them (many can be made in under 30 minutes!). The 14-page insert of full-color photographs will make your mouth water, even if you're not hungry and will inspire you to roll up your sleeves and get cooking. (The photo of Spinach Lasagna with Roasted Cauliflower Ricotta & Spinach is jaw-droppingly spectacular.)

If you haven't already sampled the recipe for Isa's OMG Oven-Baked Onion Rings, you'll want to go straight to page 55 as soon as you get this book in your hot little hands. (Or maybe you'd like to take a quick detour to the color insert facing page 146, where you'll find a mouth-watering photo of Isa's onion rings.) These babies brought back happy childhood memories of paper-mâché masks and huge side orders of onion rings from the Belaire Diner—but without the newspaper and the high-fat grease. Making them was gobs of fun. Eating them was even more fun!

Deciding what to make next was a bit more challenging. OK, maybe not so much. Everybody knows how much I love barbecue. I honed in on the recipe for Tamarind BBQ Tempeh and Sweet Potatoes. This was seriously the most delicious barbecue sauce I've ever eaten and by far, the easiest to make. I marinated the tempeh for over an hour and was glad I did, because the sexy-sweet, tangy-tart flavor of tamarind made the sauce really sizzle. This dish would have been great with onion rings, but since I'd already eaten like a hundred of them that day, I served it with Polenta Stuffing (one of Isa's recommendations.) It wasn't even Thanksgiving, but it sure seemed like a holiday meal!

I really wanted to try the recipe for Quinoa, White Bean, and Kale Stew, but I didn't have any white beans on hand. So instead of substituting, I chose Smoky Tempeh and Greens Stew, as I always seem to have tempeh in the fridge. (Interestingly, Isa says you can substitute white beans for the tempeh in this dish, if you happen to be out of tempeh). The seasonings in this dish (think: lots of smoked paprika) were very mellow, but blended together beautifully. Only Isa could get me excited about a dish that has lima beans in it. And this one tasted better with every bite!

Mark and I were really in the mood for pasta. But which recipe? (Pasta de Los Angeles and Creamy Mushroom Fettuccine were both contenders). I decided on Fusilli Roasted Veggie Primavera, because fusilli is fun to say and tickles your tongue when you eat it. This was one of those dishes that makes you want to sing Italian love songs while you're making it, and makes you feel like you're in Little Italy while you're eating. In a word: magnifico!

If you want to treat your taste buds to lots of delicious new recipes and your be very good to your waistline at the same time, don't wait another second to get yourself a copy of Appetite for Reduction. And if you'd like to win your very own copy, here's all you have to do:

1. Follow this blog.
2. Leave a comment on this post telling me what dish sounds most appealing to you and/or why you'd like to own a copy of this book.
3. Make sure I have a way to get in touch with you to let you know you've won.
4. That's it!

I'll use the magic random number generator to select a winner next week. Good luck!