Fresh Picked: A Tale of Two Salads

This time of year, the vegetable garden can be a full-time job — or at least two part-time jobs, with Jon tending to the weeding, watering, and picking and me doing the washing, trimming, and cooking. (We both share in the eating.) Even in this heat, we still have a few cabbages like the one in the photo. We’ve been enjoying them in vegetable soups, halushki (sautéed cabbage and onions with pasta), and of course, coleslaw.

Below is a photo of what we picked this morning. I’ll cook up the beans for tomorrow’s dinner — probably a Nicoise Salad, one of our favorites. I’ll wash, cut, and freeze the bell peppers. The baby chard is for tonight’s dinner – just steamed lightly and served with a little Earth Balance and salt and pepper. I’ll use the cabbage, tomatoes, carrots, hot chiles, and Thai basil in two salads for lunch today and tomorrow.


After an endless parade of Italian-style tomato salads, I decided to make the African-inspired Spicy Peanut Tomato Salad from Vegan Fire & Spice for today’s lunch. Since I had Thai basil that needed picking, I changed up the recipe slightly, making it more Thai than African in flavor. Either way it’s a different and tasty way to enjoy a few of the many tomatoes in our midst. I garnished the tomato salad with a Thai basil flower. So pretty.


Tomorrow we’ll dig into the Cajun Coleslaw. It tastes great today, but will be even better tomorrow. If I’m feeling ambitious, I’ll make some fried green tomato po’boys to go with them. Here are the recipes for the two salads:

Spicy Peanut Tomato Salad
This recipe is adapted from Vegan Fire & Spice by Robin Robertson © 2008, Vegan Heritage Press. This salad is best eaten shortly after it is made.

3 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 scallions, chopped
1 small hot chile, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon chopped Thai basil (or parsley)
1/4 cup peanut butter
3 tablespoons rice vinegar (or fresh lime juice)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste
Salt, to taste
2 tablespoons crushed peanuts (optional)

In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, scallions, chile, and basil. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter, rice vinegar, oil, soy sauce, sugar, and salt to taste. Stir to mix well, then stir in water, 2 tablespoons at a time, to make a smooth and pourable dressing. Add the dressing to the vegetables and toss to combine. Sprinkle with the crushed peanuts, if using.
Serves 4

Cajun Coleslaw
The flavor of this zesty slaw improves if you allow it to sit overnight, so plan to make it the day before you need it. (This recipe is adapted from Vegan Fire & Spice, by Robin Robertson © 2008, Vegan Heritage Press.)

1 small cabbage, cored and shredded
1 medium carrot, grated
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 fresh jalapeño, halved and seeded
2 tablespoons minced parsley
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste
3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco, or to taste
1/4 cup olive oil

In a large bowl, combine the shredded cabbage and grated carrot, and set aside.
In a food processor, combine the garlic, jalapeño, parsley, vinegar, sugar, salt, and Tabasco, and process until well combined. With the machine running, slowly add the oil. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and mix well. Cover and refrigerate.
Just before serving, drain the excess liquid and adjust the seasonings to taste.
Serves 4 to 6

Summer Squash Improv and a Thank You!

Last summer, our vegetable garden produced a mountain of zucchini, so this year we decided to mix things up a bit and plant some yellow summer squash, too. I’m glad we did. I use the yellow squash in all the same ways I cook zucchini and sometimes I'll use one of each in a recipe, just for the color contrast.

Two of the four yellow squash pictured here I simply diced and roasted in an oiled baking pan at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or so, turning once. I had seasoned them with salt and pepper while they baked. Once tender, I tossed them in a bowl with some fresh chopped parsley and halved cherry tomatoes from the garden. So simple and so good.

The other two squashes inspired an “improv” casserole that turned out to be a cross between mac-and-cheese and that Southern-style yellow squash casserole that every grandmother in the South makes when squash is plentiful.


To make the casserole, I chopped the squashes and sautéed them with a chopped sweet onion until soft. While the squash and onion were cooking, I rummaged through my refrigerator and found some leftover cooked angel hair pasta and a container of creamy chive-flavored Sheese.


For the sauce, I combined 1/2 cup of the same creamy Sheese in a bowl with about 2 cups of soy milk to make a thick sauce. I stirred in a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast, salt and pepper, and some snipped chives to bring out the chive flavor of the Sheese. I cut through the cooked pasta a few times with a knife so the pieces would be more manageable, and mixed the pasta, sauce, and cooked squash and onions together. I then spread the mixture in an oiled baking dish, topped it with dry breadcrumbs, and baked at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. I served it with a bowl of diced tomatoes simmered with garlic and basil. The quick and easy casserole was totally yummy and there are loads of possibilities for variations, using different vegetables and herbs.

Finally, I want to say a big THANK-YOU to everyone who took the time to post a comment or send me an e-mail about my six-month post. Your suggestions for improvement to my blog are very helpful, and I hope to implement many of them in the coming months. I also want to tell you all how very much I appreciate your kind words about my blog. It’s nice to know there are so many of you reading and enjoying it, and it’s also a great motivator to keep me blogging. As promised, one commenter was chosen at random to receive a free cookbook, and so a copy of Vegan Fire & Spice goes to: Annette. [Note to Annette: please e-mail me with your address and I’ll get a book out to you!]

Hot Weather, Cool Dinner

With the temperature back into the 90s this week, I’ve been favoring lighter meals that don’t heat up the kitchen.

The Quinoa-Stuffed Avocados from Vegan Fire & Spice, really hit the spot for last night’s dinner. I cooked up the quinoa early and then assembled the rest of the ingredients just before dinnertime.

The recipe can serve four people for a light lunch or salad course, but if you’re serving it as I did (as dinner for two hungry adults with a taste for quinoa and avocados), then it serves two.

Do I need to mention how nutritious quinoa is? If you’re not familiar with this hearty South American grain, it’s super-high in protein and rich in iron and other nutrients. It has a delicious nut-like flavor and is very satisfying.

Quinoa-Stuffed Avocados

This recipe is from my book, Vegan Fire and Spice.

3/4 cup quinoa
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small red onion, minced
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 ripe Haas avocados
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 large butter lettuce leaves

Cook the quinoa according to package directions. Set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes to soften. Transfer the onion to a bowl. Add the reserved quinoa, tomato, parsley, salt, and pepper, and mix until well combined.
Carefully halve the avocados lengthwise and remove the pits. Running a small knife around the between the avocado skin and flesh, remove the pulp, keeping the shells intact.
Cut the avocado pulp into 1/2-inch dice and add to the quinoa mixture. Add the lemon juice and the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and toss gently to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Spoon the mixture into the reserved avocado shells and serve immediately on salad plates lined with lettuce leaves.

Versatile Quick Red Bean Dal

I thought I’d share a recipe from my Summerfest demo – the Quick Red Bean Dal from Vegan Fire & Spice.

To show the versatility of the Quick Red Bean Dal, I first prepared it as a main dish over rice (see photo). I then spread some onto tortillas with some curried mashed potatoes made from any leftover potatoes (see photo of a potato dosadilla from Quick-Fix Vegetarian in my February 21 post. The combination is heavenly comfort food with an Indian twist.

The tortilla is then folded in half and toasted on both sides in a skillet. You can then serve the “dosadilla” on a plate with a knife and fork for a lunch or light supper, or you can cut it into wedges and enjoy them as fun snacks or appetizer “pick-up” food.

Here is the dal recipe and the dosadilla variation:

Quick Red Bean Dal
2 (15.5-ounce) cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons organic canola oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Salt
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves

Place the kidney beans in a bowl and mash with a potato ricer or stick blender. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, cover and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the ginger, tomatoes, curry powder, coriander, cayenne, and salt to taste. Mix well.
Add the reserved beans and water and simmer until the mixture is hot and the flavors are well blended, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve sprinkled with chopped cilantro.
Serves 4

Dal-Potato “Dosadillas”
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons minced scallions or onion
2 cups cooked mashed potatoes
2 teaspoons curry powder (or to taste)
4 whole wheat tortillas
Quick Red Bean Dal (recipe above)

Heat the oil in a small skillet. Add the scallions and cook until softened. Add the potatoes, and curry powder and cook until well mixed and hot.
Spread the potato mixture evenly over each of the tortillas. Spread a thin layer of dal over the potato mixture. Fold the tortillas over and place them in a large non-stick skillet or griddle over medium-heat. Cook until lightly browned on both sides, turning once.
Keep them warm while you cook the remaining dosadillas. Serve them whole to be cut with a knife and fork, or cut them into wedges to eat out of hand.
Serves 4

On to Summerfest

The 34th annual Vegetarian Summerfest, the annual conference of the North American Vegetarian Society begins on Wednesday. It takes place at the beautiful campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Johnstown, PA, on a picturesque mountaintop 650-acre wildlife preserve. The five-day even is jam-packed with talks, food demos, and entertainment, and the roster is a veritable who’s-who of vegan personalities including T. Colin Campbell, Howard Lyman, Jo Stepaniak, and many others.

On Saturday, June 21, I will be in their company, too, doing a cooking demonstration called Little Bites to Big Bites: Bold Global Flavors for Versatile Appetizers or Main Dishes. During my demo, I’ll prepare several dishes from my latest book, Vegan Fire & Spice that can be used as both appetizers and main dishes and show how to use spices and seasonings from different global regions to enhance everyday meals.

One of the recipes I will be demonstrating is the Seitan Satays with Ginger Peanut Sauce, which you can see in my April 28 post, as well as the Jamaican Spiced Tempeh Nuggets. Amy over at the Vegcooking.com blog wrote about this recipe in her April 17th post, and included a great photo.

Speaking of photos, I hope to take a few while at Summerfest, and I’ll be sure to share them with you when I return next week. Are any of you planning to be at Summerfest? If you do, please find me, as I’d love to meet you.

Sizzling Stir-Fry Satisfaction

I love tofu. In fact, I often find myself craving it. That’s what happened the other day when I also happened to be craving my favorite vegetable, asparagus, which is becoming unaffordable again as its season wanes. I decided to have one last asparagus fling, so I teamed it with some tofu in a quick-and-easy stir-fry from my book, Vegan Fire & Spice and served it over some brown rice. Cravings satisfied!

Spicy Tofu and Asparagus Stir‑Fry
I prefer using thin asparagus for this stir-fry, because it cooks quickly and doesn’t require paring. If all you have are thick spears, be sure to pare them near the bottom. (This recipe is from Vegan Fire & Spice: 200 Sultry and Savory Global Recipes © 2008.) Leave out the red pepper flakes if you’re not a heat-seeking vegan like myself.

2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon organic canola oil
1 bunch asparagus, cut diagonally into 2-inch pieces
12 ounces extra-firm tofu, well drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 scallions, minced
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste

In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, sesame oil, water, cornstarch, and sugar. Set aside.
In a large skillet or wok, heat the canola oil over medium‑high heat. Add the asparagus and stir‑fry for 2 minutes, then transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon.
In the same skillet, add the tofu, garlic, ginger, and scallions, and stir-fry until the tofu is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Return the asparagus to the skillet along with the red pepper flakes and stir‑fry until the asparagus is just tender. Add the soy sauce mixture and stir‑fry a minute longer, or until hot.

Serves 4

Top 10 Recipes on Vegan.com

Erik Marcus over at Vegan.com has accomplished an astonishing feat with a feature article called Vegan.Com Top 10 Recipes of 2008. In it, he has managed to compile a favorite recipe from the authors of 10 recent popular vegan cookbooks, along with a photo of each recipe and commentary by each of the authors. I'm honored to be included in this stellar group with my recipe for Indonesian Coconut Rice from Vegan Fire and Spice. Check out the article and see if your favorite books (and recipes) made the cut.


REMINDER: Don't wait until the last minute to submit your entry in the "Creative Couscous Cake Contest" – the contest closes on May 10. These couscous cakes are so easy to make, there's no reason not to enter! (BTW, if you have more than one amazing idea, there's no limit on how many entries you can enter...)

Enter the VegCooking.com 'Fire & Spice' Contest

I was so pleased to learn that Vegcooking.com is having a "Vegan Fire & Spice Cookbook Contest." Enter the contest to win the Grand Prize -- a set of three of my cookbooks: Vegan Fire & Spice, Vegetarian Meat & Potatoes, and the Proggy Award-winning (all vegan) Quick-Fix Vegetarian. Two runners-up will each receive a copy of Vegan Fire & Spice. It's easy to enter – here's the link: Vegan Fire & Spice Cookbook Contest

My Vegan Easter Pie Tradition

When I first went vegan, one of the first things I needed to veganize was a traditional family dish: the Italian specialty we call Easter Pie. Each year my mother would make this savory pie with hot Italian sausage and ricotta cheese — about as non-vegan as you can get. We never ate the pie hot or even warm — in fact, we usually enjoyed it cold for breakfast. Over the years, I’ve tinkered with her recipe and I must say that the recipe in Vegan Fire & Spice comes pretty close. The recipe is below and includes my latest “tweaks” (I’m always zeroing in on just the right balance of flavors so it tastes as close to my mom’s version as I can get it.) The photo shows the slice I had for lunch today with a side of red beets on a nest of beet greens. Mmm.
It seems as though everyone who makes (traditional) Easter Pie (called “pastiche” and “scachette” in different places) includes something different in their recipe — some people use rice, others use noodles, and some make it on the sweet side. If you have a family Easter Pie tradition (and a vegan version!) I’d love to hear about it.

Italian Easter Pie
Called by many names in different regions of Italy, my family just called it Easter Pie because my mother only made it at Easter time. This is an adaptation of the recipe in Vegan Fire & Spice — the original version makes enough filling for a larger pie, and I decided to make a smaller one this year. Note: to save time, you can use ready-made pie shells, if you like.

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup non-hydrogenated vegan margarine
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
8 ounces vegan sausage, crumbled (homemade or purchased)
1 pound extra-firm tofu, drained and crumbled
1/4 cup vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast
1/4 cup minced parsley
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a food processor, combine the flour, margarine, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. With the machine running, add enough water until a dough ball forms. Separate the dough into two equal balls, and refrigerate until needed.
In a large bowl combine the vegan sausage, tofu, soy parmesan, parsley, remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, pepper, ground fennel seed, cayenne, red pepper flakes, and paprika. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Roll out the dough into 2 11-inch rounds. Place the bottom crust in a 10-inch pie plate, and spread the filling mixture over it. Cover with the top crust, pinching the edges, and prick with the tines of a fork. Bake for 1 hour or until the crust is golden brown.
Serves 6

Busy Day, Easy Dinner

Whenever I cook rice, I always make extra so I have some leftover for another meal, especially on a busy weeknight. This time, I used the extra rice to make Hunan Fried Rice from Vegan Fire & Spice. The recipe is below. I followed the recipe pretty much to the letter, except I doubled the cayenne (we like a little extra heat) and I added an extra “oops” of sherry, too, just because.

Hunan Fried Rice
This is a flavorful version of fried rice with a touch of heat. Omit the cayenne for a mild version or double it if you want it hotter. Instead of cayenne, you could add a minced hot chile, if you have one on hand. This recipe is from Vegan Fire & Spice.

3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon light brown sugar, or a natural sweetener
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 pound extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold-pressed canola oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cups shredded napa cabbage or bok choy
1/4 cup minced scallions
3 cups cold cooked rice

In a shallow bowl, combine the soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and cayenne. Add the tofu and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Drain the tofu, reserving the marinade. Blend the reserved marinade with the cornstarch and add to the tofu, tossing to coat.

Heat the canola oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper, cabbage, and scallions and stir fry 2 minutes. Add the tofu and marinade and stir-fry until the liquid is nearly absorbed. Add the rice and stir-fry until heated through and well combined.
Serves 4

My Last Butternut Squash

After a week of unseasonably warm temperatures, the cold weather is back and along with it, my desire for a comforting stew. I wanted to use my last remaining butternut squash that I picked months earlier from my now-frozen vegetable garden. A richly flavored African stew sounded like a good match. I adapted this stew from the recipe for North African Pumpkin Stew in Vegan Fire and Spice. In straying from the recipe, I enriched the sauce with a bit of peanut butter, added a lonely sweet potato that was languishing in the fridge, and topped it with some steamed baby spinach, because we love our greens and also because spinach goes so well with the flavors in this stew. Served over brown rice, the result was a delicious one-dish meal that tasted even better when we had it for lunch the next day.

Butternut Tribute Stew
This yummy stew was a fitting tribute to my last garden-grown squash from the fall. The recipe was adapted from Vegan Fire & Spice. If you don’t like heat, just omit the chiles.

2 tablespoons cold-pressed canola oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 small, fresh hot chiles, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 small winter squash, seeded, peeled, and cut into bite-sized cubes
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, or a natural sweetener
2 cups water or vegetable broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (15.5-ounce) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
Cooked brown rice or couscous, to serve
4 cups fresh baby spinach, steamed

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, cover, and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, chiles, ginger, cinnamon, cumin, and allspice, and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add the squash and sweet potato and toss until evenly coated with the spices. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, water, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Add the beans, cover, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. A few minutes before serving time, remove about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and place it in a small bowl. Add the peanut butter and stir to combine, then stir the peanut butter mixture back into the stew. To serve, spoon some rice into the bottom of shallow serving bowls. Top with the stew and place a small mound of steamed spinach on top.
Serves 4

Pasta Puttanesca

Another newspaper reporter and photographer were here yesterday – this time to do a piece on my new cookbook Vegan Fire & Spice and take photos of me and some recipes from the book. That was all the excuse I needed to make some favorites from the Italian section. I made Pasta Puttanesca, easily the best-loved pasta dish in my house, with its garlicky tomato sauce loaded with capers and black and green olives. As long as I had the olives out, I also put together a bowl of Spicy Olives, fragrant with lemon zest, and to go with them, Artichoke Hearts with Garlic and Capers. The hardest part of making these three recipes was waiting for the photographer to leave so we could dig in. Is it just my Italian heritage, or does anyone else love cooking with garlic, olives, and capers as much as I do?




Pasta Puttanesca

“Puttanesca” means “streetwalker style” in Italian. Some say because it was a quick dish for “working girls” to prepare after a busy night. Others say it’s because it’s irresistible. To me, this dish is all that and more.

2 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup imported black olives, halved and pitted
1/2 cup imported green olives, halved and pitted
3 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 pound spaghetti or your favorite pasta
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic. When the garlic becomes fragrant, add the tomatoes, red pepper flakes, basil, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring the sauce to a boil, stirring continuously to help break up the tomatoes. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring continuously, until the tomatoes make a thick sauce. Add the olives, capers, and wine and keep warm. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti to the water and cook until it is al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and transfer to a large serving bowl. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings. Add the sauce to the pasta and toss to combine. Serve immediately, sprinkled with the minced parsley.
Serves 4




Spicy Olives

You can use a combination of black and green olives, if you like. Just be sure the olives are good quality imported olives as they have the best flavor.

2 cups brine-cured black or green olives
Zest and juice from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Place the olives in a bowl. Add the lemon zest and juice, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Add the olive oil, stirring to combine. Cover and set aside to marinate for an hour or two or refrigerate and marinate overnight.
Serves 6 to 8




Artichoke Hearts with Garlic and Capers

When I was growing up, this old family recipe was always reserved for special occasion.

1 (9-ounce) bag frozen artichoke hearts
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon capers
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup toasted dried breadcrumbs

Cook the artichoke hearts according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the reserved artichokes, capers, and hot red pepper flakes. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, stirring to blend the flavors for 3 minutes. Add the parsley and breadcrumbs and toss to combine.
Serves 4

Thai One On

It’s no secret to people who know me that Thai food is my favorite. I cook Thai at home, but I enjoy eating in Thai restaurants even more. When we moved to the country last spring, we left my favorite restaurants behind. The nearest Thai restaurant is nearly an hour away, so at least we’re saving money.

When we need to venture out to a metropolitan center like downtown Harrisonburg, VA for say, office supplies, we always work it around a Thai lunch. On Tuesday, we took the car to a dealership there for service. While my husband fumed over the $350 charge to put in a sensor the size of a cashew (just after the warranty ran out), I took solace in knowing that a great Thai lunch was waiting for us at the Taste of Thai restaurant. And what a lunch it was.

I never met a peanut sauce I didn’t like, but the Praram Curry with Fried Tofu was transporting. Beyond wonderful. Since the rich, multi-dimensional flavor is still tattooed on my brain, my new obsession is to duplicate it. In my lifelong search for the perfect peanut sauce, I’ve developed no fewer than a dozen variations over the years, and examples can be found in Vegan Planet, Vegan Fire and Spice, and many of my other books. However, my quest ended when I tasted this sauce. It was creamy, silky, and peanutty, sure, but it also wafted subtle echos of curry and all the flavor dimensions that word represents. Has anyone else found their perfect peanut sauce? If you have, I’d love to hear from you.

Changing the World One Recipe at a Time

Today is the first day of the rest of my blog. It’s great to have another way to connect with everyone who enjoys great vegan food. I plan to post my own insights, news, helpful tips on vegan cooking, and food photos as well. I won’t be able to resist posting photos of my cats from time to time.

Having written 17 vegan and vegetarian cookbooks, I’ve always enjoyed answering questions from readers about the recipes in my books and vegan and vegetarian cooking in general. I hope to continue to do that through this blog.

But, first, some news... As the New Year dawns, I’m happy to announce the recent publication of my newest book, Vegan Fire & Spice: 200 Sultry and Savory Global Recipes. This book isn’t just for vegan chile-heads either – there are lots of full-flavored recipes from around the world that anyone can enjoy. Best of all, you can adjust your own heat level, making them hot or not. I hope you’ll check it out.