Whenever I get a new cookbook, I like to curl up with a cup of tea and blanket and read through it as if it were a novel. Terry Bryant’s The Inspired Vegan is perfect for my little ritual, as it’s full of personal memories, tales of inspirational people and stories about social movements. Oh, and there’s quite a bit about food too! The book is divided into two parts – Basics and Menus, with an Interlude containing a list of recipes in between.  

The Basics section covers all of the basics of cooking, food preparation and nutrition, and includes simple recipes such as Basil Pesto and Basic Tomato Sauce. The Menus section takes the guess work out of meals and combines recipes that work well together. The menus are listed seasonally and all include soundtracks and a book or film. The recipes are extremely creative, and your mouth with start watering while just reading through them. Chewy Lemon-Coconut Cookies with Lemon Icing, anyone?

The menus use fresh, seasonal, plant-based ingredients, so they’re super healthy but without sacrificing any flavor. At first glance, the recipes may seem a little daunting, but they really are easy to make and come together quickly.  This really is an incredible cookbook – with it, you can impress your vegan friends with your fancy cooking, or show your carnivore friends how incredibly delicious vegan meals can be.

I started with Tortillas Stuffed with Swiss Chard, Currants and Spicy Guacamole. This was fast and easy to make, and was incredibly delicious. I used gluten-free tortillas, which is why they look a little shiny. 

Roasted Winter Vegetable Jambalaya was the perfect dish for a chilly winter’s night! This is a creative take on a meal that’s typically made with meat. It took a while to cook, but it required very minimal time in the kitchen. I chopped the veggies, put them in the oven, set a timer and did other things around the house while they roasted. 

I had planned on making Jerk Tempeh with Cilantro Sauce, Purple Slaw and Double Garlic Rice for dinner on Valentine’s Day, but we decided to let someone else do our cooking that night and ordered takeout. I made this dish later in the week. Had I known how amazing it was going to be, I probably would have insisted on making it as planned. This was a really incredibly meal. The jerk tempeh was delicious on it’s own, but the cilantro sauce added a little extra kick to it, and the rice and purple slaw complemented it perfectly.

My copy of The Inspired Vegan is already full of sticky notes marking other recipes I want to try. Hmmm… what should I make next?

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized eggplant, diced
• 1 summer squash, sliced
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cup cannellini beans (1 14 ounce can)
• 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, in their jucie
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon Herbs de Provence (or 1 teaspoon each of dried thyme, rosemary and basil)
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Add everything but salt and pepper to your slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
2. Add salt and pepper to taste, serve and enjoy!

 Ingredients

• 16 ounce block of firm or extra tofu, drained and crumbled
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 leeks, cleaned well and sliced
• 10 -12 mushrooms, sliced
• 6 ounces of baby spinach, chopped
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1/4 teaspoon tumeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon all purpose seasoning mix
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
• Sea salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup olives, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped

Directions

1.  Cook the leeks in the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat for about 10 minute, until they start to brown and caramelize. Stir often.
2. Add the crumbled tofu, the spices and the nutritional yeast. Let cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the broth to prevent the tofu sticking to the pan. You can add more than 1/4 cup if the tofu seems dry.
3. Add the mushrooms and cook until they soften, about 5 more minutes. Add the spinach and cook a minute or two, until it wilts.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste and top with chopped olives and tomatoes. 
5. Serve and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 16 ounce block of firm or extra firm tofu, drained and crumbled
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon tumeric
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 small red onion, chopped, about half a cup
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cups greens, chopped – kale, spinach or chard
• 1 cup beans – black, kidney or pinto
• 1 cup salsa
• Handful of Daiya cheese
• 1/4 olives, chopped

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion until it’s translucent and slightly caramelized, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the crumbled tofu to the pan, along with the spices and nutritional yeast and mix everything together. Let cook for a minute or two and then add the chopped peppers. Cook until the peppers are soft, about 5 more minutes.
3. Add the salsa, stir to coat everything thoroughly. Mix in the beans and greens and cook for two or three more minutes, until the greens are wilted.
4. Sprinkle the top with Daiya cheese and top with olives. Let cook until the cheese melts. 
5. Serve hot. You can top with sour cream and hot sauce for a little extra kick.

Okay, well maybe vegan pizza isn’t really in the category of “breaking news”, but it’s pretty darn exciting! Thanks to the pizza hungry Montclair Vegans, True North Osteria in Montclair is keeping Daiya cheese on their menu as premium topping. That means I can have delicious vegan pizza anytime I have a hankering – and I don’t have to make it myself!

It’s a chili time of year! I’ve made this recipe many times for many people, and most of them have asked me for the recipe afterward. I’ve adapted it from a old recipe card I got from Peta about 15 years ago, and this is the first time I’ve ever written my version of it down. This makes a HUGE amount of food, so you can have it for lunch every day, make it for a potluck, freeze some for later, or invite a bunch of people over to help you eat it. This would be a perfect dish to serve if you’re having friends over to watch the big Puppy Bowl this weekend! You can use fresh beans and sauce, but I use cans for convince. 

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 or 2 small chili peppers, chopped
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 yellow summer squash, diced
• 1 14 ounce can kidney beans
• 1 14 ounce can pinto beans
• 1 14 ounce can black beans
• 1 28 ounce can chopped tomatoes
• 1 28 ounce can plain tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. In a large pot over medium heat, cook the onions and garlic in the oil for about 5 minutes, until they become soft and translucent. Add the the rest of the vegetables and cook for about 10 minutes, until they soften.
2. Add the tomatoes, sauce, beans and spices. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Let simmer for about half an hour. You can leave simmering longer, if you like.
3. Serve hot and garish with green onions, Daiya cheese or chopped avocado. This chili goes really well with my double corn bread recipe.

Since they have a very veg-friendly menu, I planned a Montclair Vegans lunch there over the weekend. This was one the group’s most popular meetups, with 21 people in attendance. True North was kind enough to bring in Daiya cheese for us, so we could have vegan pizza options. Everyone was oohing and aahing over the food, and I heard a few people ask “How do they get this food to taste so good?” The most popular dishes were the Brussels sprouts, the cauliflower chickpea bruschetta, and of course, the pizzas. At one point, the Brussels sprouts were declared the most delicious thing on the table and someone said that was quite a statement about how good the food was, since sprouts usually get a bad rap. I noticed that there were no crusts left on anyone’s plates after finishing off the pizza, which is a testament to how good the dough is. 

Dennis and I split an order of cauliflower chickpea bruschetta. I really love the combo of cauliflower, capers and olives.

I had the True North pizza, which is made with pesto and oven dried tomatoes. I added olives and mushrooms.

Dennis had the Jersey Devil, which is made with a spicy tomato sauce, caramelized onions and peperoncini peppers. 

For dessert I had chocolate bruschetta, which is made with olive oil, chocolate and a sprinkling of sea salt. 

Lunch at True North Osteria was so good that as people were leaving, they asked me if I was going to plan another group lunch there soon. I think I just might!

I remember chicken cacciatore being a favorite dish of mine when I was little, but for the life of me I can’t remember actually eating it. Perhaps I heard the word “cacciatore” somewhere and really liked the sound of it? Maybe my mom made some other dish and called it “cacciatore”? I will probably never know for sure, but my guess is that there was some sort of jarred sauce that was poured over chicken and called “cacciatore” because it sounded exotic and exciting. 

Most vegan versions of cacciatore are made with seitan, but I thought it would be fun to try it with chickpeas. It’s traditionally served over pasta, but I had some leftover cooked quinoa in the fridge that I served with it instead. This is another really warming stew-like dish for a cold winter’s evening. 

Ingredients:

• 14 ounce can chickpeas
• 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 6 -8 crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours
2. Server over pasta, brown rice or quinoa.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound seitan, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 1 sweet potato, diced
• 2 cups red skinned potatoes, diced (about 8 mini or 2 medium sized potoates)
• 2 cups water
• 1 beefless bullion cube (I used Not Beef by Edward and Sons)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

1. Place all of the ingredients except the cornstarch into your slow cooker, and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours
2. About half an hour before serving, mix together 3 tablespoons of the broth from the stew with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, and add it back to the slow cooker. Turn the heat up to high, stir and cover.
3. Serve with crusty multigrain bread.

Ingredients:

• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 head cauliflower, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 green beans, cut into 1″ segments
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 lb firm tofu*
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 – 2 tablespoons red curry paste, to taste
• 1 can light coconut milk
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• a few dried Thai red chili peppers, optional
• 1/2 cup cashews

Directions:

1. Add all of the ingredients except the cashews and chili peppers** to slow cooker.  Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. 
2. Just before serving, mix the cashews and chili peppers into the curry.
3. Serve over brown rice.

* You can use drained firm tofu, fried tofu or baked tofu. I used two packages of baked tofu this time.

** If you like really spicy food, you can add the chili peppers to the slow cooker at the beginning. I mix them in at the end for a bit of flavor, but they’re really hot, so I never actually eat them. (Dennis does though!)