Flax-Berry Pancakes with Simso's Strawberry Sauce



Flax-Berry Pancakes with Simso's Strawberry Sauce


When I find a recipe I like, I sometimes get into a rut.  I've been making the same pancakes for over a year now and this morning decided to bust out a few cookbooks and look for something new.  My choice was Flax-Berry Pancakes from Vegan Planet: 400 Irresistible Recipes with Fantastic Flavors from Home and Around the Worldand to top it all off Simso's Strawberry Sauce from Vegan World Fusion Cuisine.  I must say, as a Canadian who can't imagine using anything but maple syrup on my pancakes this was a pretty radical idea.

The pancakes were tasty and easy, except for the bit where you have to scrape ground flaxseeds out of the blender jar.  I was a little more hesitant about the strawberry sauce it but exceeded my expectations.  The recipe called for chopped strawberries, water, a little sweetener of your choice (I used agave), mirin, a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of cardomom which I hate so I left that out.  My only complaint is that it only made enough for one person.   Next time I will double or triple the recipe.  All in all though, it was a successful breakfast and my weekly cooking challenge is complete!  

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My friend Kathryn was way ahead of me this week and whipped up some tasty, savory black beans and rice for our challenge.   Go and check it out at The Hedgehog in the Kitchen. 

Happy cooking everyone!

Butternut Squash and Wild Mushroom Lasagna

Creamy and rich, almost overwhelming so, with not a drop of dairy in sight.  The butternut squash lent this dish a hint of sweetness.  I made the mistake of using dry noodles instead of the type you must boil first and the top layer was a little on the chewy side.   I think I prefer lasagna with some type of red sauce although this was very good.  The food in the photo looks downright scary because I'm terrible at making lasagna look pretty and it always falls apart when I lift it out of the pan.   Recipe from Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet. 

Caution! Caution!  View the following photo at your own risk. 



Butternut Squash and Wild Mushroom Lasagna


For our weekly cooking challenge this week, my buddy Kathryn over at The Hedgehog in the Kitchen made a delicious lentil soup.   Check it out!  

My other friend Kika has also been doing lots of cooking this week for vegan mofo and her latest creation looks yummy - Vegetable Curry with Chickpea Patties.

Indonesian Style Rice with Tempeh

Indonesian Style Rice with Tempeh

I love a little sweetness in my savoury dishes and this hearty tempeh and rice meal fits the bill.  I used an entire package of tempeh instead of just one cup because once it was poached and crumbled, I didn't want to waste the remainder.  Next time I will add more than 2 cups of napa cabbage to increase the veggie content and make this a more balanced one pot meal.  I left out the hot chili to make it child friendly and instead used part of a bell pepper to blend up with the shallots.  I enjoyed the nutty flavour and chewiness of the tempeh and rice mixture.  While I was eating it felt very satisfying and filling.  Leftovers the following morning were just as good.  This is another winner from Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet, she is fast becoming my favourite cookbook author.

Thai-Style Coconut Soup



Thai-Style Coconut Soup


I was feeling pretty crappy today but determined to cook something for my challenge and vegan mofo. How about something hot and nourishing?  The Hot and Sour Soup I made last week was so delicious I decided to try another recipe from Vegan Planet - Thai-Style Coconut Soup.  I never imagined it could top my enthusiasm but oh my god, this soup was freaking awesome!  The creamy, smoothness of the coconut milk contrasting with lime, ginger and a hint of chili and then add to that the savoury warmth of shallots, mushrooms and tofu.   I think I'm in LOVE!  Peole of Thailand, you are geniuses!  What a combination of flavours.  Robin Robertson you rock!  I think I'm on some kind of happy, soup high.  :-)  

I used to think working with fresh ginger was a major pain in the bum but recently I've given up trying to peel, chop or mince it.  I just take a fresh hunk of ginger straight from the freezer and grate it (peel and all) on my box grater.  It's so much faster!   Okay everyone, go make this soup but before you do that check out Kathryn's entry this week in the cooking challenge which is Rosemary Focaccia Bread!

Szechuan Hot and Sour Soup - Vegan Mofo Day 7!!!

I've always wanted to make Hot and Sour Soup at home and I was extremely pleased with my first attempt. I used an Indonesian chili paste and one teaspoon made the soup plenty hot enough for me.  I also upped the sugar from 1/2 teaspoon to about 1 1/2 teaspoons. For some reason the cornstarch didn't thicken the soup but it didn't matter because the flavour was so excellent and I dídn't neet to add salt or pepper at the end as called for.  The soup is full of chewy strips of tofu, bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms and finished nicely with a bit of sesame oil, cilantro and scallions.  Perfect for a cold fall day, yum!

Recipe from Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet.


Szechuan Hot and Sour Soup



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My friend Kathryn made a delicious sounding Cauliflower and Mushroom Pot Pie over at Hedgehot in the Kitchen.  Check it out!

Minted Baba Ganoush

Eggplant roasted with garlic

I just found out about Vegan Mofo which I've seen reference to in the past and thanks to my new friend Kika who alerted me this afternoon of the deadline to participate, I think I just squeaked in the door and hope to be included.  The Vegan Month of Food is basically a blogging bonanza where participants are asked to write as much as possible about vegan food during the month of November.  Apparently well over 500 people are doing this! 

My second foray into Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet is Minted Baba Ganoush which admittedly has the appearance of gray oatmeal but tastes good.  I think it could use a little more zing but since I have a minor obsession with eggplant, I polished off a good sized serving without any problem.  There were a few moments of panic when I realized I rarely buy fresh mint and wondered how crucial it was to the recipe but then someone reminded me that we have a slew of mint growing wild in the cracks between the patio stones in our new backyard!  Yay, I just popped outside for a sprig and took a picture on the deck.  


Minted Baba Ganoush

To accompany the Baba Ganoush, I also made a delicious flatbread (really! truly!) but sadly it was all eaten before I could get a decent photo.  They came out of the pan and straight into the mouths of some hungry family members.  I will make them again soon and hide a few so I can capture how appetizing they are.

Black Bean and Butternut Squash Chili



Prepping the Butternut Squash


A few months ago I purchased a cookbook by Robin Robertson called Vegan Planet: 400 Irrestistible Recipes with Fantastic Flavors from Home and Around the World.  Whew, that's a long title!  Until today, I hadn't had time to really read through the book page by page but am I ever happy to have picked this up.  It's chock full of delicious sounding recipes.  I've already made note of at least 50 that I want to try and I'm only about half way through.  

For the cooking challenge this week I'm making Black Bean and Butternut Squash Chili on page 316.  The recipe called for a cup of apple juice which I didn't have so I substituted some of my daughter's peach cocktail which contains apple juice and half of a leftover applesauce cup I found languishing in the back of the fridge.  It smelled really appetizing while it was cooking!    The peach juice added a little extra sweetness and an interesting flavour.  I want to make this again using the apple juice.  I also think the squash to bean ratio was a bit off, it may be that my squash was too large but next time I won't use the entire thing.   The whole family enjoyed this dish served over either quinoa or rice.      


Black Bean and Butternut Squash Chili




Served with Quinoa


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This week Kathryn from The Hedgehog in the Kitchen was run off her feet.  But, she did have time to create a simple rice pudding dish to satisfy a late night sweet craving.