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Practically Raw Desserts

I really love Amber Shea Crawley‘s first book Practically Raw, so I was super excited when I heard she was working on a follow up dessert book. Practically Raw Desserts is packed with easy recipes for treats of all kinds (not to mention gorgeous photos of the finished goodies), and it’s destined to become my go-to dessert cookbook.

The title “Practically Raw” is a play on words, as Amber’s recipes are practical because they’re easy to make and don’t require fancy equipment or weird ingredients, and they’re practically raw because directions for using an oven are included where applicable for those who don’t have dehydrators. Most recipes also list ingredient substations, recipe various and chef’s tips. The recipes are easy to follow and don’t require to much time to make, so they’re great for raw food newbies and people who say they’re not good at baking, but they’re interesting and creative enough for kitchen veterans to enjoy.

Amber begins the book with kitchen and raw food tips along with a pantry list, and she then explains how to make your own nut butters, flours and “milks”. Recipes range from cookies, bars and cakes to pies, puddings and candies. All of these treats are raw treats are totally free of dairy, eggs, gluten, wheat, soy, corn, refined grains, refined sugars, yeast, starch, and many of the recipes are also free of oils, nuts, and added sugars.

So far I’ve made Cocoa Crunch Clusters using dates subbed for raisins and Goji Berry Granola Bars with dried cherries instead of gojis. Both recipes took just a few minutes to make and both were incredibly delicious. (Why have I been buying granola bars all of these years when I could have been making my own?) I have a lot more recipes bookmarked, and I know I’ll be uncooking my way through Practically Raw Desserts all summer!

Be sure to check out my interview with Amber on Chic Vegan: http://chicvegan.com/interview-series-amber-shea-crawley/

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Monday Roundup

I am preparing to head off to Portland for Vida Vegan Con with my friend Jenna from Good Good Things, but I have scheduled out blog posts for this week, so it will seem like I’m still here. As usual, I was pretty busy last week. Here’s What I was up to:

On Wednesday I interviewed Rory Freedman for Chic Vegan. We talked about her new book Beg, her dogs and vegan food, among other things. The interview can be read here: http://chicvegan.com/interview-series-rory-freedman/

My Pad Thai with Spicy Peanut Sauce was featured on VegKitchen.com: http://www.vegkitchen.com/recipes/pasta-and-noodles/peanutty-pad-thai/

And some of my grilled dishes made an appearance in Kathy Hester’s grilling post on Key Ingredient: http://www.keyingredient.com/blog/post/15338304914/confession-time-im-not-a-griller

Since it’s Monday, be sure to check out both Devil Gourmet and Hot From the Kettle to see what I’m to for Meatless Monday.

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Shrute Farms Inspired Roasted Beet and Citrus Salad

Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.

The Office ends its nine year run tonight and I’ve stuck with it to the bitter end. I feel a special connection to the show, as I was the art director for a paper company for six and a half years. We sold scrapbooking paper and stationery rather than copier paper, but there were enough similarities to keep my former coworkers and I amused. The company ended up being sold, and my last day was spent hurriedly trying to finish projects and packing up my department equipment up to ship to the new owners in another state. For the past year I’ve had reoccurring dreams about packing up my office, and strangely some of the staff of Dunder Mifflin make appearances as coworkers. (Perhaps I should see someone about this?)

I’m going to a viewing party for the finale at a friend’s house tonight, and we’re making food to commemorate the show and to commiserate its end. Some menu ideas that came up were Jan’s 3 Hour Osso Bucco, Shove It Down Your Gullet Hot Dogs, Kevin’s On The Floor Chili, and of course, a stapler incased in Jello for dessert. While this Roasted Beet and Citrus Salad isn’t exactly taken from an episode of The Office, I made it as an homage to Dwight’s beloved beet farm.

Ingredients

8 medium beets (I used 4 red and 4 gold)
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
sea salt
4 medium oranges
¼ cup orange juice
4 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (I used tangerine flavored balsamic)
Freshly ground black pepper
6 cups arugula
2 scallions, thinly sliced
½ cup toasted pistachios, chopped
½ cup fresh parsley leaves

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°. Scrub the beets and pat them dry. Rub them with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt. Place on a foil-covered baking sheet and bake for about an hour, or until they are tender when pierced with a knife. Set aside and allow to cool.
Peel the beets (the skin should peel or rub off pretty easily) and then slice into cubes about ½” to 1”. (This might get messy, so don’t wear your nicest white shirt while doing it.)
Supreme the oranges by trimming the tops and bottoms off the oranges and then carving off the peels and white pith. Carefully slice the orange segments away from the membrane, cutting as close as possible so not to waste too much of the orange. Cut the slices into ½” to 1” pieces.
Add the orange juice, lime juice and vinegar to a large bowl and mix together. Slowly add the remaining olive oil to the bowl while whisking the mixture. Add beets to the bowl, toss to coat, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Gently fold in the orange slices. Cover bowl and let sit for about an hour to allow the flavors to mingle.
When ready to serve, toss the arugula into a bowl along dressed beets and oranges. Top with the toasted pistachios, scallions and parsley. Serve and enjoy! (That’s what she said.)

Serves 4 as a main dish or 6 to 8 as a side dish.

I’m submitting this recipe to Healthy Vegan Fridays and Gluten-Free Fridays.

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What I Ate Wednesday – Random Dinners

Since I’ve already shown off what I eat in a typical day, for today’s What I Ate Wednesday I thought it would be fun to show off a few random dinners from the past week. My breakfasts and lunches don’t really vary too much from day to day on weekdays, but dinner is where I get creative, so this is probably the meal everyone wants to see anyway!

There was Tempeh Marsala one night. The recipe made four servings so I had it for lunch one day too. This has been one of my most popular recipes so far this year, and it was even a favorite on Gluten-Free Fridays last week!

I had some fingerling potatoes from my co-op, so I made Roasted Niçoise Salad with Cashew Goddess Dressing one night. The recipe is from Nut Butter Universe by Robin Robertson. This was amazing and I was happy that it made four servings, so I was able to have another salad for lunch the next day.

Also from Nut Butter Universe I made Penne Primavera with Avocado and Cashew Cream. I almost made my standard pasta and veggies dish, but then decided to flip through the book to see if there was something I could make with pasta and the ingredients I had on hand, and I’m so glad I did. Nut Butter Universe is favorite new cookbook!

After last weekend’s outdoor potluck Dennis and I kept the grill out and hunted around the fridge for food we could throw on it. We came up with tofu, onion and pineapple skewers, baked potatoes and asparagus. I also made a quick broccoli slaw.

After Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s event at Peacefood Cafe last week, I picked up dinner to go and brought it home to NJ. I ordered a Pan-Seared French Horn Mushroom Panini, a Mediterranean Oven-Dried Seasonal Vegetable Panini and some chickpea fries, which Dennis and I split when I got home. Those paninis are works of art. I’d kill for a Peacefood in NJ! (Just kidding – of course I wouldn’t kill anyone. Maybe I’d slap them around a little though.)

Make sure you check back in next week to see more adventures in the life of my tummy!

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Virgin Vegan by Linda Long

Linda Long wrote her new book Virgin Vegan: The Meatless Guide to Please Your Palate as a primer for new and aspiring vegans, as well as to answer that lingering questions “What do vegans eat?” You don’t need to be a newbie to enjoy Virgin Vegan though – I bought it for the recipes! Linda compiled recipes from vegan notables such as Victoria Moran, Fran Costigan and Our Hen House’s Jasmin and Mariann as well as from the menus of prominent vegan restaurants such as Candle 79 and Peacefood Café.

Virgin Vegan is not just a book, it’s also a multimedia project. The Virgin Vegan website contains a wealth of information including recipes and resources and video discussions. Linda conducted 50 interviews with well-known vegans such as Gene Baur, Russell Simmons and Brendan Brazier which can be found on the site as well. New video clips are being added to site all the time, so be sure to check back often.

For my full review of Virgin Vegan, check out the post I did on Chic Vegan, which also includes a recipe for Linda’s favorite soup. http://chicvegan.com/virgin-vegan-cookbook-review-and-recipe/ Also make sure you take a look at the chat I had with Linda as a part of Chic Vegan’s Interview Series. http://chicvegan.com/interview-series-linda-long/

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Monday Review

Happy Monday! I don’t really have much in the way of news this week, so I thought I’d do a little wrap of what’s going on with me. Last week I went to see Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, who was doing a meet and greet at Peacefood Cafe‘s new downtown location. I originally met Colleen when I hosted a speaking event for her for my MeetUp Group Montclair Vegans, and it was fun to see her again. I also got see Erin from Red Radio and spend some time with friend Sharon from Big City Vegan. Colleen was promoting her wonderful new book On Being Vegan, which you should check out.

Speaking of new books, last week I reviewed Rory Freedman’s new Beg: A Radical New Way of Regarding Animals for Chic Vegan. Look for an interview I did with Rory later this week on Chic Vegan as well.

Since it’s Monday, it’s time for my Meatless Monday columns! I’m back on both Hot From the Kettle and Devil Gourmet, so make sure you take a look at both.

I had a lot of fun participating in the Virtual Vegan Potluck this weekend (even if I did bring leftovers!), and I hope you had fun visiting all the stops along the way. If you missed any of it, you can start at the beginning and click the links to check out all of the stops.

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Virtual Vegan Potluck

I heard about the Virtual Vegan Potluck last year, but I wasn’t really sure what was going on. Now I realize it’s just a blog chain full of yummy vegan recipes, and I’ve decided to participate this year. I signed up a month or so ago, and I had grandiose plans of cooking up a new, incredibly creative dish that would wow readers to the point of speechlessness. Alas, my schedule got incredibly busy with working, writing, teaching cooking classes and whatnot, so that incredibly amazing and creative new recipe has not yet been unleashed from the back of my brain. Instead of coming up with something new in a rush, I’ve decided to share a recipe from earlier in the year that I’m really fond of, and I hope you become fond of it too!

Tempeh Fricassee with Wild Mushrooms

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 8 ounce packages of tempeh, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons Braggs Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
4 large leeks, thinly sliced
2 cups white button mushrooms, sliced
2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 cups shiitake mushroom caps, sliced
2 large portobello mushroom caps, chopped
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried parsley
10 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped, optional

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Directions:

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and tempeh; sauté for about 8 minutes or until golden brown. Add the wine and soy sauce and cook until almost all of the liquid evaporates.
Add leeks and mushrooms to pan and sauté for 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook 1 more minute, stirring frequently. Add the celery seed, thyme, dried parsley, garlic and broth to pot and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
Uncover and cook 3 minutes or until thick. Stir in the lemon juice, salt and pepper and sprinkle with parsley, if using.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

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Potluck-Worthy Rice Salad

As I mentioned on Wednesday, I attended two potlucks in two days earlier in the week. At the potluck I hosted on Sunday, my friend Lydia from From A to Vegan gave me The Best of Vegan Cooking by Priscilla Feral, a cookbook from Friends of Animals. I knew I was going to my friend Jen’s potluck on Monday evening, and I wanted to cook something with ingredients I had on hand (my pantry is out of control!), so I flipped through my new cookbook looking for something that would be good for a potluck and contain ingredients I wouldn’t have to go buy. I came across Himalayan Red Rice Salad with Cranberries, and it seemed to fit the bill. I made a few changes according to the contents of my pantry, mixed up the rice salad and took it to the potluck. Much to my surprise, it was a big hit! I hadn’t planned on sharing the recipe when I originally made the salad, so this week’s food photo is a little less inspired than usual. Don’t let the boring photo fool you though – this is one tasty dish!

Ingredients:

3 cups water
1 ½ cups brown rice (I used Trader Joe’s Brown Rice Medley.)
1 vegetable bouillon cube
½ cup slivered almonds
1 tablespoon good quality olive oil
3 tablespoons fig balsamic vinegar (You could use any type of balsamic, but I think the fig vinegar I used really complemented the flavors of the other ingredients in the salad.)
1 tablespoon tamari
½ teaspoon powdered ginger
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
½ cup dried cranberries

Preparation:

Because times may vary, cook the rice according to the package instructions, adding the bouillon cube to the water. Set cooked rice aside and let cool.
Toast the slivered almonds by either heating them over medium heat in a dry pan and stirring frequently or popping them into the toaster oven (on a small cooking sheet of course) for 5 to 7 minutes. They should be slightly brown and fragrant. Let cool.
Once the rice and almonds have cooled, mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Taste and adjust spices if needed. Allow to sit for 30 minutes to an hour to let the flavors combine. Serve at room temperature.

Serves a lot of people!

I’m submitting this recipe to Healthy Vegan Fridays and Gluten-Free Fridays.

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What I Ate Wednesday – Two Potlucks in Two Days

This Sunday I hosted the first Montclair Vegans outdoor potluck of the year, and then on Monday my friend Jen hosted an outdoor picnic potluck at Montclair’s beautiful Presby Iris Gardens. So for this week’s What I Ate Wednesday post, I’m showing off what it’s like to eat at two vegan potlucks in two days!

Sunday’s potluck had a Cinco de Mayo theme. It was the first time we used our our backyard this year, and I made chipotle marinaded tofu and veggie skewers that Dennis barbecued on the grill. There was so much food, I needed two plates just to sample it all, and I’m not even sure what all of the dishes I ate were. My first plate contained a few beany dishes, cornbread, cauliflower with nacho “cheese” sauce, hummus and pita bread, stuffed grape leaves, pasta, and a one of my tofu skewers.

Plate two contained a sweet potato dish, baked plantains, raw sunflower seed tuna, and a beans and greens dish. There were also rice crackers and carrot sticks. (Excuse the mess on the plate that the first round of food made!)

Dessert was an amazing raw cheesecake and mixed fruit.

There were less people at potluck number two on Monday, but the food was just as good. I made a rice salad that everyone loved, so I may just have to post the recipe later in the week. There was also a pasta dish, a seitan and noodle dish, a green salad and my friend Jen’s homemade bread.

Potlucks are a wonderful way to gather people, share recipes and have fun. It’s also a great way to show omnivores how diverse and delicious vegan food is! I highly recommend throwing one and seeing what develops.

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Around the Interweb

If you’re saying, “VeggieGirl, I love reading your blog! I wish there were more places around the interweb that would could find you and your writing”, then you’re in luck!

I wrote about the newly opened Maywood Pancake House for my Meatless Monday column on Devil Gourmet today. Take a look: https://devilgourmet.com/meatless-monday-at-maywood-pancake-house-maywood-new-jersey/

Speaking of Meatless Monday, for my Hot From the Kettle column today I’ve written about NJ bakery Papa Ganache’s recent Cupcake Wars Win: http://hotfromthekettle.com/vegan/ejas98crp4cw2g8xqxwgkssdnw2gvb

I recently interviewed Practically Raw Desserts author Amber Shea Crawley for Chic Vegan: http://chicvegan.com/interview-series-amber-shea-crawley/

I also recently interviewed Linda Long: http://chicvegan.com/interview-series-linda-long/, and I reviewed her new book Virgin Vegan as well: http://chicvegan.com/virgin-vegan-cookbook-review-and-recipe/

If you’re hungry, my recipe for Thai Coconut Tempeh with Pineapple Salsa can be seen on Veg Kitchen.com: http://www.vegkitchen.com/recipes/tofu-tempeh-and-seitan/thai-coconut-tempeh-with-pineapple-salsa/

My recipe for Pasta with Beans and Greens and Creamy Cashew Sauce is on VegKitchen.com too: http://www.vegkitchen.com/recipes/pasta-and-noodles/pasta-with-beans-and-greens-with-creamy-cashew-sauce/

Phew, that’s so much writing, I’m exhausted just thinking about it all! Promise you won’t get sick of me?

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