Veganomicon Review: Sauteed Collards

In my quest to fit more super-nutritious dark, leafy greens into my diet, tonight I tried the second Veganomicon recipe for cooked greens, Sauteed Collards (first was Easy Stir-Fried Leafy Greens).

Using this mix of turnip, mustard, and collard greens plus spinach from Trader Joe's was a mistake. Not only was it more than twice as much ($3.99) as a bunch of collards at Giant Eagle ($1.79), but the spinach cooked up so much quicker than everything else and got all mushy while the other greens cooked. Aside from that, this recipe was fantastic! First, you saute a bunch of garlic (4 cloves for 1 pound greens) in a bit of olive oil (I used less than the recipe calls for; Veganomicon tends to use too much oil for me). Then you add your greens, saute for a few minutes, then add the concoction that makes these greens so yummy: vegetable broth with soy sauce and liquid smoke (1 teaspoon each of soy sauce and liquid smoke in 1/2 cup vegetable broth for 1 pound of greens). They cook for a few minutes in the broth; mine cooked unevenly because of the mix of greens. Still! Delicious! A year ago before I started eating vegan, I'd never imagined that I'd be saying "Mmmm!" while eating a plate of greens, but here I am with a belly full of greens and a smile on my face. Two thumbs up!

Happy Herbivore Chicken-Style Seitan

I've never made seitan before, but the photo of the Chicken-Style Seitan in The Happy Herbivore Cookbook looks so amazing, I've been dying to dry it.

Turns out, making seitan is simple. The Happy Herbivore version is made with vital wheat gluten and seasonings. You mix them together with water to form a dough, cut it into pieces, and get something that looks like this.Then you add the dough to a pot of broth and seasonings and cook it for an hour. You then bake it for about 25 minutes until it forms a skin similar to chicken. The recipe suggested using the leftover cooking broth to make gravy, which was super easy to do by just adding some soymilk and a little cornstarch.

The result:Yum! Delicious on its own covered in gravy, but I'll definitely make this again for wraps or maybe to add to pasta.

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!