Book Review and Contest: The Saucy Vegetarian

Grilled Tofu Salad featuring Peppercorn Ranch Dressing

It's time for another book contest! The wonderful people at the Book Publishing Company are giving me the opportunity to give away a copy of The Saucy Vegetarian by Joanne Stepaniak. Most vegans are familiar with Stepaniak's innovative recipes from previous books such as Vegan Vittles and The Uncheese Cookbook. This book continues along the same lines, offering "Quick and Healthful, No-Cook Sauces and Dressings" to please any palate, mood or dinner theme.

The book has nearly 100 pages of recipes broken into categories such as Vinaigrette Sauces and Dressings, Nut and Seed Based , Tomato, Bean and Vegetable Based, and Creamy Tofu Based. The huge array of recipes and flavors represented in the book is very diverse and imaginative.

In addition to the recipe chapters, the opening of the book is a guidebook to learning how to understand the basic flavors of food (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, sweet, astringent,and pungent) and how balance those to create a flavorful dressing or sauce of your own design. If viewing foods in this way is new to you, the book offers some 'tasting charts' to help jumpstart your thinking in this way. There is an indepth (and very valuable) section discussing specific ingredients and their roles. For example, the oil section not only explains why a small amount of oil sometimes enhances a dressing, but details taste profiles and storage of half a dozen oils as well as nut and seed butters. The other elements of a dressing or sauce are given the same examination. All of this leads into an explanation of how to use your cooking intuition to tailor a recipe to suit yourself or multiple ways to adjust consistency to acheive exactly what you wish. One last tool is included to encourage your own creativity by offering a chart for improvising. The chart uses the basic flavors as headers with columns of suggested foods to help bring about the desired result. I've always felt that a delectable sauce is the perfect finish to a great meal and with this book and the tools it gives you, the options are endless.

When I first saw got this book in the mail, I couldn't imagine many people wanting a whole book of no-cook sauces and dressings. How many variables could there be? Happily, I was very wrong and am so impressed with this book that I'm going to pick up a copy for myself. It's one of those building block books that encourages happy experiments in the kitchen.

Would you like to win a copy of this book? All you have to do is tell me something about a sauce or dressing in your comment. It could be your favorite additions to make a dressing pop or your favorite way to use a sauce, or whatever else you'd like say. Remember, the more people who enter increase the chances of these contests continuing. Thank you again to the Book Publishing Company for making them happen.

Good luck!

Update: Yes, book contests are open to International residents. Sorry, I should have mentioned that. Thanks for all the enthusiastic posts so far!

Thanks to all who entered. The contest is now closed.

Buffalo Wing Pizza!

Just because I'm not a football fan doesn't hold me back from feasting on what I think of as 'football food'. This hot and saucy dish combines the best of two perennial favorites: wings and pizza, with some greens on top to round out it. The crust is thin and crispy, improvising for the lack of breading on the wings, but giving the same textural thrill. Serve it as an appetizer or indulge in it for dinner.




Crisp Pizza Crust
Makes 1 12-inch crust

¾ cup warm water
¼ teaspoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon olive oil

In a small bowl, combine the water, agave and yeast. Stir together and set aside until bubbly, about 3 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture and olive oil. Stir together then knead on a lightly floured work surface for 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and cohesive. The dough should be soft but not sticky, so add additional flour as needed. Shape dough into a ball.

Lightly oil a medium bowl. Place dough in bowl, and turn over so that the oiled side is up. Cover with a towel and let rise 1 to 1 ½ hours in a warm place until doubled in size.

To bake, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. If using a pizza stone, place in oven. Roll out on a lightly floured surface or a lightly floured piece of parchment paper to a 12-inch round. If using parchment paper, transfer crust on paper to a large baking sheet. Prick with a fork. Add topping and bake until done, about 15 minutes.

Buffalo Wing Pizza
Makes 1 12-inch pizza

½ cup ketchup
¼ cup hot sauce (such as Frank’s)
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
2 teaspoons olive oil
½ cup chopped onion
8 ounces chickeny seitan, cut into ½ inch cubes
2 cups quartered cremini mushrooms
1 ½ cups arugula, julienned
2 carrots, shredded
½ cucumber, diced
1 Crisp Pizza Crust
Ranch Dressing of choice*

In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, hot sauce and liquid smoke. Mix and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add the seitan and mushrooms and cook on medium high for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mushrooms are soft. Turn heat off and transfer the sauce to the seitan/mushroom mixture. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Make sure an oven rack is in the lower 1/3 of the oven.

Roll crust as in crust directions. Transfer to a baking sheet or pizza stone. Prick with a fork. Spread seitan/mushroom mixture over crust. Bake 15 minutes or until crust is golden and crisp. Top with arugula, carrots and cucumber. Drizzle with dressing and serve extra dressing on the side.

*Everyone seems to have their favorite ranch style dressing, so I'm not posting a recipe for one.

Don't wait for a football game to give this one a try. It's that good.

Coming later this week: Another book contest! Get ready!

Cookbook Winner! + An Unsolicited Sausage Review

Maple Apple Raisin Bread

Congratulations to #58, Sophia! The Random Generator is shining it's light on you today. Please send me your mailing address and I'll get 1000 Vegan Recipes in the mail to you. The book is mighty. It might help to do some arm exercises to prepare. Thank you very much to everyone who entered. I wish I could send each and every one of you a copy. Since I can't, be sure to check out the sample recipes over at Robin Robertson's blog. Best of luck in the next book contest, coming soon!


This is a food blog, so let me give you a little more food content. This is a new (to us) vegan sausage. Don't be fooled, you may have seen it since the company has been around since 1991. While we like Gimme Lean products, we were excited to see this Twin Oaks Sausage in the refrigerated case at our co-op. This weekend we put it to the test alongside some maple apple raisin french toast. We were too hungry to take photos, but here's our take on it. This sausage is drier and it's slightly more subtle in flavor. It's less in-your-face with spices and the mouth feel is less oily (win!). The slices crumbled a little more during cooking because it doesn't really lend itself to shaping, but that didn't bother us. Overall, we preferred it over the Gimme Lean. We also picked up one of the chorizo style, too, and look forward to giving it a try.

Coming soon: Buffalo Wing Pizza - just in time for the Super Bowl! And of course, another book contest. Check back.

Singing Bowl Cafe in Erie, PA

If you live within driving distance of Erie, PA, I've got great news for you! There is a new vegetarian/vegan cafe called the Singing Bowl. Having just opened in December, it's brand spanking new. Although their primary focus is vegan, they will add dairy cheese to sandwiches for your non-vegan friends. Even though vegan is the new vegetarian, some people still find a 'vegetarian' restaurant more approachable than a vegan one. This is just one example of how the Cafe bends over backwards to be welcoming.

The restaurant has a sandwich lunch menu and offers a Soup of the Day and a Lunch Special. They also do Dinner Specials and on the day of our lunch visit, the dinner was going be be Awesome Seitan Stroganoff. My pictures aren't the best, but I definitely wanted to show you what the restaurant has to offer. I apologize in advance for the photo quality. It seems I've been spoiled by my tripod and remote.

Carrot Ginger Ale Soup

We shared a bowl of Carrot Ginger Ale Soup for starters. The whole idea of ginger ale in soup fascinated me.... and the taste was addicting. I ordered a BLT with chimichurri sauce that was lick-your-fingers good. I was tempted by the lunch special which was a Jamaican Plate but the board said it had cashews. Not being a nut lover, that scared me away. But Jim ordered it and it really wowed us. There were two navy bean and rainbow chard patties encrusted in cashew crumbs with a gumbo/pilaf on the side. The flavors were exotic and delicious. We didn't have room for dessert, but got to sample the green tea cake with ginger frosting that was light and wonderful. Check out these cupcakes, too.

BLT

Jamaican Lunch Special

The service is warm, friendly and fast. If you've ever visited the Whole Foods Co-op in Erie, it's likely you'll see some familiar faces. Even though it reveals some of my hippie tendencies, I have to say the Cafe has wonderful vibes. In an up and coming neighborhood, this revamped old building is now decorated with creative and eclectic local art. The atmosphere draws you in and makes you want to linger over your lunch. Jesse, the owner, has some innovative and fun ideas to bring to the Cafe, so be sure to keep an eye on their facebook page for special events. We're going to be looking for reasons to make the drive to Erie just so we can grab something to eat the Cafe. Right now, Sunday Lunch is sounding good!

Location: 2504 Peach Street, Erie, PA, 16502

Phone:(814) 454-8300

Hours: Wed - Fri: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm/Sat:10:00 am - 10:00 pm/Sun:10:00 am - 5:00 pm

*Saturday Night is Sushi Night

On another note, Isa over at the PPK is starting a grassroots effort to encourage vegan bake sales to benefit Haiti. For tips on starting your own and a rundown of current locations, check out her blog. My rural area isn't a likely spot for a bake sale so we're donating cash instead. Here's just one spot to show your support.

Book Review and Contest: 1000 Vegan Recipes!

Now that the holidays are over, it's time to give one lucky reader what they really wanted for a gift but didn't receive. Yes, that's right......this mammoth tome of incredibleness. 1000 Vegan Recipes is from Robin Robertson. I was fortunate to be a tester for this book and got to try a wonderful variety of delicious recipes.

The book opens with a thorough introduction including "Seven Steps to a Plant-Based Diet" and an explanation of protein, which is a frequent question vegans face from omnivores. There is a lengthy and very useful section on ingredients and stocking the pantry, as well as kitchen equipment and presentation.

This intro launches the book into the twelve (!) recipe chapters. But the quantity of recipes in this book would mean little if the recipes weren't terrific. The good news is that they are. The chapters are what you'd expect. They include Appetizers and Snacks; Salads, Sandwiches, Pizza and More; Soups; etc., all the way through to Desserts and beyond. One thing that I particularly like is that the book divides the Pasta and Noodles chapter from the Main Dish chapter for those times that nothing will do except pasta. By the way, the fresh pasta recipe is the best I've tried.

You can see some of what I've made in this earlier post. Since then, here are a few more dishes.

Apricot Walnut Scones (minus walnuts, plus white chocolate chips)

The perfect accompaniment for a hot cup of tea or for breakfast.

For those times when pasta is essential, here are the Linguine Puttanesca and the Pad Thai.

This Puttanesca is almost exactly like the dish we get at a local Italian eatery owned by a Sicilian chef. That's high praise!

The Pad Thai is tangy and bright - full of flavor.

Seitan with Ancho-Chipotle Sauce

This fantastic dish is easy to make and has a terrific texture. (I know, this one is in the earlier post, but just in case you don't click back, it's too good to miss.)

True, it's easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer size of this book. It weighs in at 4 pounds! But don't be so floored by it that you let it sit on your shelf or just flip through it on your coffee table rather than using it in your kitchen. With so many choices, my suggestion is to view each chapter as a smaller book. Pick one chapter and choose a recipe from that chapter to get started. Next time, pick a different chapter. Before you know it, you'll have tackled a few recipes and will be hooked. As always with Robin's books, she suggests you tweak the recipes to please your own palate.

Be sure to check out Robin's blog for lots of sample recipes. For a chance to win this book, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. The winner will be drawn at random in a week or so. Be sure to check back in case I can't get in touch with you.

Good luck!

Update 1/19/10: the contest is closed. The winner will be announced later today. Thank you for reading!

Book Contest Winner!

Whew, I really didn't plan on drawing this contest out this long, but with the holidays being what they are, the time just kept getting away from me. I don't know about you, but I'm having a hard time getting my head around the idea that it's 2010. Being a child of the '60's, I expected us to have our own private jet packs by now. We used to think people would have given up real food around the year 2000, opting for 'perfect nutrition pills' three times a day instead. I'm really glad that didn't happen!

But a little contest suspense never hurts, and in this case, it especially doesn't hurt Rose, Commenter #11 who wins the free copy of 20 Minutes to Dinner! Please email me (noyesjtATsuite224.net) your mailing address and I'll order a copy from the Book Publishing Company since there is no way I'm parting with the review copy. Many thanks to them for sponsoring so many wonderful book contests. I hope you will enjoy this book as much as I do!

Stay tuned for another book contest soon. This fantastic fettuccine from 1000 Vegan Recipes just might be a hint. Then again, it might just be a delightful dinner for a snowy night. The pasta is homemade and I just added a simple garlic, oil and spinach sauce.


Psssst! Would you like to see some of the recipes in American Vegan Kitchen? Amazon now has the Look Inside feature.

Happy 2010! If you happen to have a jet pack, please make sure it's environmentally friendly.