Vegan Pancakes

In the mood for pancake breakfasts, I tried two different recipes over the weekend.

First, an online recipe that I modified slightly.  They actually had a good consistency and a nice flavor, slightly sweet.  If eating them plain, there was a tiny bit of the baking powder flavor but it was fine with toppings/syrup.  Here is the recipe:

Vegan Pancakes
1 cup flour (I used half wheat, half all-purpose)
1/2 TBSP agave nectar
1 TBSP* baking powder 
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup almond milk 
1 TBSP vegetable oil


Mix until batter is smooth and well-blended, pour into small circles on hot pan and cook until golden brown and done all the way through.

*yes, that is a tablespoon; not teaspoon the original recipe called for two tablespoons. Bleh!

All in all, I was impressed with these.  They tasted pretty much like "regular" (non-vegan) pancakes; they were a bit thick, which was perhaps owing to using the almond milk vs. soy milk.

The second recipe is from the new Good Housekeeping Simple Vegan cookbook.  This is the only recipe I actually tried making, despite having the book out from the library for a month, which tells you how (not!) inspired I was by the cookbook.  I think it might be a good option for people who are a bit afraid of going vegan, or think it's all for "hippie" people and are uncomfortable with a title like Vegan with a Vengeance.  It would probably be a great gift for that reluctant mom who is nervous about her grown child embracing a diet with no meat ("but how will you get any protein, my dear!?") as she could see that, oh, yes, the folks at Good Housekeeping tested these recipes and include some helpful little blurbs on vegan nutrition and perhaps her child really will survive and perhaps she might even try one of the recipes herself.  However, I found it just a bit too glossy (as in superficial, not just the photographs) and lacking the depth in both scope and creativity that many other vegan cookbooks (such as those by Isa Chandra Moskowitz) possess.

As for Good Housekeeping "triple-tested" (as they proudly proclaim) pancakes, I was intrigued with the inclusion of quick-cooking oats in the recipe.  I love the oat bread I've been baking but was disappointed with the pancakes.  They simply weren't flavorful enough on their own (perhaps because there is no sugar in the recipe) and they were a bit dense (only 1 tsp of baking soda here and the oats made it heavier, I think).  Still, they were tasty enough when topped with some raspberry jam ;-)

Back at last... and making a very easy lunch

Since my husband and I returned from vacation last week, I admit I haven't been ultra inspired to try out new recipes in the kitchen.  Even though we did make some of our breakfasts and dinners in our little vacation-rental kitchen to save money, I admit it was super nice not having to cook every single meal especially since we found some great vegan restaurants and grocery stores.  I'm finding my culinary interests rallying a bit now, but thought I'd better post something before a month passes without blogging a single thing.

Enter my favorite new quick lunch!  I'm sure the recipe is nothing very unique or creative but since I "made it up" I'll call it

Kathryn's Hummus Wrap

take 1 flour tortilla or lavash wrap*

spread with hummus**

add lettuce

sliced kalamata olives

diced red onion

roll up and chow down ;-)

* love the California lavash brand, which I've found at Whole Foods

**I admit I have not tried making my own hummus yet (tisk-tisk) but it's on my to-do list.  I like the Trader Joe's Eggplant Hummus for this wrap as it tastes a lot like babbaganoush but doesn't cost as much!

Here's a picture of my super fast and easy lunch, before I rolled it up.

Orange-Glazed Tempeh from "Color Me Vegan"

I'm always excited when a new vegan cookbook shows up at the library.  This time it was Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's Color Me Vegan.  I wasn't sure, at first, how well I liked the set-up of the book. It's basically like eight mini-cookbooks in one because each chapter features a color (red, orange, yellow, green, blue/purple, white/tan, black/brown and rainbow) and each chapter features starters, sides, soups, main dishes, desserts, and beverages made of foods with that color.  So, if I was in the mood for a dessert, I'd have to look through each separate color section vs. just one dessert section as in most cookbooks.  However, once I got the hang of it, it wasn't too annoying and I do like the idea of breaking the foods down into colors because it really made me see what colors I tend to eat and which ones I rarely eat.

I had some tempeh languishing in the fridge, so decided to make the Orange-Glazed Tempeh recipe.  The glaze is really yummy, with the orange juice and maple syrup giving it a nice tangy-sweetness and the soy sauce and rice vinegar giving it a bit of Asian flare.  Though I was initially suspicious of serving it over cooked kale, as the recipe suggested, I tried it and it was quite tasty!  I also have to give a shout-out to the Lightlife brand of tempeh as it includes not just the soybeans but also some rice so it's not quite as strong in flavor and also doesn't pack quite as much soy punch in one serving (I try not to eat too much soy).

Here's the result.  Yum! :-)  Happy to share it for the Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge over at my friend Lee's Vegaloca blog.

Dark and Fabulous (Vegan) Chocolate Pudding

My favorite treat these days is "Dark and Fabulous Chocolate Pudding"  It's a perfect sweet treat now that summer is here and I'm no longer craving baked goods (or interested in heating up the oven!)

My recipe is modified from the one found here at VeganWeb which looked WAY too sweet for my taste but still provided the foundation for what is, I think, the best homemade pudding I've ever created, vegan or otherwise.

Here is my recipe:
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups almond milk
1/4 cup agave 
1 TBSP vanilla extract


Mix dry ingredients, add milk and stir until smoth.
Cook over medium heat until boiling and thick, stirring continuously so it doesn't burn.
Cool to room temp, stirring occasionally while still hot.


Mmm, mmm!  My first attempt had a few lumps but I got better my second batch.  Stirring constantly and getting out the lumps is the most "difficult" part of this recipe (really, it's such an easy recipe!); well, okay, maybe the hardest part is waiting for it to cool since ;-)  

I'm very happy to submit this to the Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge at the fabulous Vegaloca blog!

Black Bean Tempeh Stir Fry

Last week, I discovered the charming No Meat Athlete blog and quickly set to perusing the recipes.  Exhausted from very busy days at work, I decided not to tackle anything too elaborate; the Black Bean Tempeh Stir Fry looked easy enough yet also something different from our usual dishes so I gave it a try.

Yum!  My husband and I both loved this dish.  (And it turned out to be rather photogenic, too--yay!)  I'm a huge fan of kale but haven't incorporated it into any dishes (I always eat it as a by-itself side) and I thought it went really well in this dish.  I found a tasty brand of tempeh that includes wild rice with the soybeans and that made a much more delicate flavor that soaked in the flavors of the black bean sauce nicely.  I did not attempt to make my own black bean sauce (though I might try it in the future since I really try not to buy store-bought anymore) and used the Lee Kum Kee brand which was quite tasty.  I did not use the red bell pepper, and instead of sugar snap peas I used regular sweet peas from the freezer and it still tasted delicious.  Also, I used regular vegetable oil since we didn't have peanut oil.  I'm sure using all the ingredients would make the dish even better but we loved our modified version.

This will definitely be one of my go-to recipes in the future and I'm delighted to include it for this week's edition of the Vegaloca Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge.

You can find the recipe here (toward the bottom of the post).

Appetite for Reduction's Roasted Vegetable Pasta

Mmmm!  For Mother's Day, my mom wanted a pasta dish with veggies so I decided to continue my obsession with Appetite for Reduction and try the Pasta with Roasted Vegetables.  I hadn't done a roast veggie dish before but this one turned out quite tasty. I especially loved the cherry tomatoes bursting open and the crispy-tender tips of the asparagus! ;-)  The herbs are pretty basic and I would probably play around with them next time, but the balsamic vinegar added at the end (after pasta and veggies are combined) is a really nice touch and ties the flavors together.  One variation: my mom is gluten-intolerant so we used some Lundberg brand penne rice pasta (I've found it's one of the better rice pastas) instead of the fusilli as the recipe suggests.  It provided a nice anchor for a happy Mother's Day dinner. 

 

(I snapped this super fast as the guests were arriving!)  Definitely a dish I'd recommend and one I'm happy to include for the Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge over at my friend Lee's blog, Vegaloca.

A BIG "Appetite" -- Pea Soup, OMG Onion Rings, Herb-Baked Cauliflower

I felt super-inspired by the new Appetite for Reduction cookbook and decided to try three dishes in one evening.  Not that they all really "go" together, but I had fun and they ended up tasting great.  All are worthy to share for this week's Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge over at the fabulous Vegaloca blog.

For the main dish, I made the Pea Soup.  It's got a wonderful flavor with paprika (I didn't have any smoked paprika so used regular) and ended up much more red than the usual green color.  I really enjoyed it with the carrots (who needs ham!?) and my husband also liked it.  Will definitely make again.  Super easy and left-overs are delish'!

Next, the Herb-Baked Cauliflower and Breadcrumbs.  These are very tasty!  I loved the herb combination but wished that the herb-breadcrumb mixture stuck better.

Finally, just for me, the OMG Onion Rings.  And, OMG, they were so tasty I ate them all myself (good thing the recipe is from a low-fat cookbook; and good thing my husband doesn't like onion rings!!!)  Again, I wanted the breading to stick better.  I'm not sure if it was the type of breadcrumbs I used (the only kind I could find without offensive ingredients were panko-style; they still tasted great but perhaps another kind would do better with this recipe)?  In any case, yummy and I made another batch later in the week. 

With three winning dishes, I was loathe to return "Appetite for Reduction" to the library.  So, I splurged and bought my own copy (very reasonably priced at 41% off at Amazon right now.)  A very valuable addition to my cookbook shelf :-)