Veganomicon Review: French Lentil Soup with Tarragon and Thyme

Disclaimer: My favorite food in the whole world is a lentil soup from Ali Baba, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Oakland. It's rich and hearty with lentils, a bit of rice, browned onions, and some magical spices that make me want it every day. All other lentil soups have tough shoes to fill.

While the French Lentil Soup with Tarragon and Thyme from Veganomicon doesn't taste a thing like Ali Baba's, it's really good. As the recipe notes promise, the tarragon is the magic ingredient in this soup, adding a sweet, nearly licorice-type taste. It and the other spices transform it from a basic ho-hum lentil soup into something I'll look forward to having for leftovers for the next few days. My photo doesn't do it justice--it's great!

Romaine Salad with Roasted Mushrooms and Veganomicon Miso Tahini Dressing

For lunch I paired baby romaine with roasted mushrooms and dressed it with Miso Tahini Dressing from Veganomicon. The dressing has two ingredients--miso and tahini--plus water to thin it out, so it takes no time to whip up and is really good. The combination of romaine, roasted, chewy mushrooms, and this dressing was divine!
I also mixed the dressing in with some of the Tamarind Lentils I wasn't crazy about...and I immediately liked them much more! I'd also make this as a dip for veggies. Someone posted the recipe here. I made a two-serving recipe by using 2 tablespoons each of the miso, tahini, and water.

Also, the roasted mushrooms technique is from Mark Bittman's Food Matters Cook Book. I'd never had mushrooms cooked this way and really like the chewy, dense texture and meaty taste.

His technique is: Heat the oven to 400F and coat a baking sheet with about 1 teaspoon olive oil. Put it in the oven for a few minutes so the oil gets hot. Add a bunch of sliced mushrooms (1 big package) and toss to coat then let them roast for about 10 minutes, until they start to release moisture. Take them out, add 1 minced garlic clove, 1 teaspoon sage, and some red pepper flakes if you want. Toss them all together and then bake for a few minutes more, until the mushrooms are dry and chewy. I originally made these for vegan pizza but the leftovers were great in this salad.

Veganomicon Review: Sun-Dried Tomato Dip

Quick and easy to make and absolutely delicious, this dip was perfect Super Bowl food. It uses only a few ingredients: almonds processed to a powder, sun-dried tomatoes plumped up with boiling water, garlic, lemon juice, and salt. The consistency was nearly-creamy and spreadable. Omnivore husband really liked it too. I'll definitely make this again whenever I want a quick, easy, and yummy appetizer.

I served it with whole-wheat baguette bread I made yesterday. Two thumbs up!

New Vegan Cookbook: Appetite for Reduction

Even though we're still on Veganomicon for Cook Vegan Lover's Cookbook Club, I bought the next book we'll be reviewing: Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I've been wanting this cookbook for a while so am excited we'll be reviewing it next. Appetite for Reduction has 125 fast, filling, low-fat recipes. Perfect!

I've already tried one of the recipes posted on the author's website, OMG Oven-Baked Onion Rings, and they were great. Can't wait to try many of the other recipes!

Restaurant Review: Tana Ethiopian Cuisine

Last night we had plans to meet friends at Abay for Ethiopian food. There was an hour wait so we opted to go around the corner to Tana Ethiopian Cuisine. (Yes, Pittsburgh's two Ethiopian restaurants are around the corner from each other. That makes sense.)

I learned the reason for the hour-long-wait at Abay and none at Tana: It wasn't nearly as good as Abay. The injera bread came out cold, thick, and already so soaked from the sauces that I could only use about half. I got an individual combo plate with Misir Wot (lentils) in Berbere Sauce (which the menu described as "hot," but it had only a faint hint of spiciness), Tikil Gomen (cabbage and carrots), and Shiro Wot (ground chickpeas). The Tikil Gomen was very good. The others were good, but not as fantastic as Abay's dishes.

My husband and friends got a chicken entree with veg sides. The chicken entree consisted of a drumstick and whole hard-boiled egg. First, you can imagine that a drumstick and egg covered in sauce is pretty hard to eat with just the injera bread as a utensil. Second: Why the egg? Were they trying to cover the span of what "chicken" might mean? Everyone thought it was odd, and only one person ate it (and then described it as "yep, just an egg.")

Lesson learned: Abay is worth the wait!

Cayenne-Spiced Roasted Nuts

I made these nuts for the Super Bowl tomorrow. I'd made them previously and burned the crap out of them. This time they came out perfectly done. They're soooo delicious and addictive, with a sweet/spicy flavor combo that's great.

Cayenne adds its own health benefits to the very nutritious nuts. According to Vegetarian Times, cayenne is a natural blood thinner that improves circulation, can help treat heartburn and ulcers, helps rev metabolism and reduce appetite, and may also help prevent pancreatic cancer.

This recipe is from the January/February 2011 issue of Vegetarian Times. You can substitute any type of nut. This is what I made.

Cayenne-Spiced Roasted Nuts
Makes 5 cups

Spice Mix

• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice, optional

Roasted Nuts

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1 cup raw almonds
• 1 cup raw pecans
• 1 cup raw walnuts
• 3/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 3/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300F. Combine all spice mix ingredients in small bowl and set aside.
2. Combine all nuts, oil, and spice mix in a large bowl. I started with 2 tablespoons of oil and added only as much as I needed to completely coat the nuts with oil and spices.
3. Spread on 2 baking sheets. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until nuts begin to brown and appear dried, stirring occasionally. Season with salt if desired and cool on baking sheets. Store in an airtight container. NOTE: Better to under-bake these because they're easy to burn. They continue to bake a little on the baking sheets when you take them out of the oven, so I took them out just when they started to look like they might be done, and by the time they cooled they were perfect.

Braised Broccoli with Lemony Tahini Sauce

Since I first made this recipe from Mark Bittman's Food Matters Cook Book, it's become one of my favorite broccoli recipes. It's quick to make and delicious. You can use either broccoli or cauliflower, and you can roast the veggies (toss with a little oil and toast at 400F for about 30 minutes) instead of braising the veggies. The recipe is very similar to this one from a 2006 issue of Vegetarian Times, which I've made many times and love. Today I modified Bittman's recipe a bit to use less oil and had it for lunch with leftover Tamarind Lentils (that I didn't love, but I hate to throw them out.)

Braised Broccoli or Cauliflower with Lemony Tahini Sauce
4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil (Bittman's recipe calls for 3 tablespoons)
• Vegetable broth for braising
• 1 large head (about 1 & 1/2 pounds) broccoli or cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon (I didn't use zest)
• 1/3 cup tahini
• Salt and black pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Instructions (with my modifications)

1. Coat a large deep skillet with cooking spray and heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli florets, stir to coat with oil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown and get tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Once the oil gets used up, add a little vegetable broth so that they can cook without burning and sticking to the pan. Remove the broccoli.
2. Lower the heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the pan along with the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, until they soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice, zest, tahini, a good sprinkling of salt and pepper, and 1/2 cup water or vegetable broth. Stir until a relatively smooth sauce forms and begins to bubble and thicken, 3 to 5 minutes. Add water or broth if it's too thick; thick sauce will clump and not spread easily over the veggies.
3. Return the broccoli to the pan, stir to coat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli is fully tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning and add the parsley if using. Serve hot or at room temperature.