Vegan Recipes in the News

The Loyola University Examiner published what sounds like an amazing soup from Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet: 400 Irresistible Recipes with Fantastic Flavours from Home and Around the World (aka Vegan Planet). It's Thai Style Coconut Soup.

Yesterday, the New York Times' website featured a recipe for a vegan variation of kufteh (aka kibbeh) that sounds simple and yummy. The recipe has Aleppo pepper listed as optional. I've never used it, myself. Anyone else?

The Miami Herald also offered up a treat (albeit just before the holidays) that was vegan by chance. It's Senegalese Black-Eyed Pea Salad (Salatu Niebe). It's from Brooklyn Chef and Restaurateur Pierre Thiam's book Yolele! Recipes from the Heart of Senegal.

I hope to try the kufteh over the next few days and will post results if I get the chance.

Strawberye

I found the original recipe for this strawberry pudding / jelly on a Medieval "cookery" website. I've tweaked it a little. I've been reading up on vegetarianism throughout history and trying to dig up traditional recipes that were animal-free. There are variations on this recipe all over the internet, including this one here which uses rice flour as a thickener. This one below uses almond milk, which was commonly used by medieval cooks since refrigeration wasn't available and dairy milk would spoil.

Strawberye

2-1/2 cups fresh strawberries
1 cup almond milk
1 cup red wine
2 Tbs cornstarch
1/4 cup currants
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 cup (vegan) sugar
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of saffron
pomegranate seeds

Clean the strawberries and cut into quarters. Simmer them in the wine in a pan until they're soft. Strain the mixture to remove the seeds and pulp and return the strawberry / wine concoction to the pan. Add everything else except the cornstarch and bring to a low boil. Once it's boiling, stir in the cornstarch and stir the mixture until it's thickened. Remove from the heat, heap into bowls and garnish with pomegranate seeds and serve warm.

Now, the original recipe called for "amidon" instead of cornstarch, but suggested cornstarch as a more readily available substitute. The word 'amidon' is French for cornstarch, though. I'll have to see what that's all about. I was also left wondering how readily available ordinary old sugar would have been in the 15th century, which is apparently when this dish would have been made. You can see a picture of it here.

I haven't tried it yet, myself, but may give it a shot over the next few weeks. That's a lot of sugar, though, and I don't have much of a sweet tooth.

Ask, and Google News Provides: More Vegan Recipes in the New

The Canadian Press is circulating an Asian-inspired recipe for Sesame Sugar Snap Peas from The Whole Foods Market Cookbook by Steve Petusevsky. It's also circulating a recipe for Bean and Mushroom Burgers from The Vegetarian Cookbook published by Reader's Digest Canada.

The Guardian had a really scrumptious sounding recipe for Garlic Soup and Harissa a little over a week ago. The butter called for can be replaced with Earth Balance or another vegan butter substitute.

Another article I think I missed was in Vancouver's goold old Georgia Straight on April 24. The article is about the benefits of a well-planned vegan diet and features a recipe for Shiitake-Miso Gravy adapted from Nava Atlas' Vegan Express, a bookbook I'd really like to try out soon.

(I just discovered the hard way that blogging about recipes when you're on the second day of a juice fast is akin to watching running water when you really, really have to pee.)

Vegan recipes in the news

The Kansas City Star had a recipe for Cashew Manicotti w/ Sundried Tomatoes tucked into an Earth Day related blurb about veganism. It's from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook.

The Canadian Press is spreading around a recipe for Tomato Curried Lentils, from Angeline Linardis' V Cuisine: The Art of New Vegan Cooking. I think that Linardis has a blog (unless the blog's name is just a coincidence), but it seems to be a 'by invitation only' sort of thing.

The Baltimore Sun has a piece today about the rising cost of food and how to eat frugally by incorporating vegetarian meals into your week. In it, the writer of the piece contributed her adaptation of a Curry of Eggplant and Peas recipe from The Vegetarian Epicure.

A Maritimer's vegan take on Egyptian cuisine

A couple of years ago, I spent some time testing, tweaking and sometimes (when needed) veganizing some Egyptian recipes I found across the internet. In some cases, I took 2-3 or more similar recipes and sort of merged them according to my taste buds. The experiment culminated in a scrumptious feast that left even a really fickle omni friend delighted (and stuffed). Here are a couple of the recipes; I'll have to dig out the others over the weekend.

Orange & Olive Salad with Cumin

What you need:

8 oranges, peeled and with the white pith removed, sliced (or in segments)
3/4 cup good quality black olives*, cut in half and pitted
1 red onion, sliced very thinly
juice of one medium-sized lemon
1/2-1 tsp ground cumin (to taste)
a pinch of cayenne (or more to taste)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbs olive oil

What you do:

Toss together the oranges, olives, onion. Mix together the lemon juice, cumin, cayenne and crushed garlic and then mix into oil. Toss with the rest of the ingredients, salt and pepper to taste, chill (you don't really have to, but I did and liked that the ingredients had a longer chance to marinate) and serve. Serves 6.

* Don't skimp on the olives by getting those canned rubbery things.


Couscous with Currants and Cumin

What you need:

1 cup water
1 cup couscous
1/2 cup currants (or raisins)
2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs fresh ginger, finely grated
1 tsp cumin seed, toasted
the grated zest from one orange
1 Tbs fresh cilantro, finely chopped
salt
hot chili flakes

What you do:

In a saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in the couscous and currants. Cover and remove from heat to let stand for around 5 minutes. During this time, heat the olive oil in large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic and ginger. Sauté 3 minutes or until tender and then add the cumin seeds. Sauté an additional minute. Fluff the couscous and currants with a fork, then stir in the onion mix, the zest and the cilantro. Add salt and hot chili flakes to taste. Serves 3-4.

More vegan recipes in the land of online news

Carolina's News 14's website is featuring a recipe for Vegetarian Chopped Liver. I couldn't help but laugh when I first saw it. ''What am I?''

The Irish Independent has a really hearty sounding tofu recipe -- Tommy Tofu, by health journalist Michael van Stratan.

Finally, just in time for Passover, the Jewish Journal has three recipes from Faye Levy's Healthy Cooking for the Jewish Home (not a vegetarian cookbook). There's Braised Calabala Squash w/ Chiles and Ginger, Cucumber, Jicame and Orange Salad w/ Black Olives, and Ethiopean Spiced Vegetables. Given the variety of colourful ingredients and spices, these recipes must be gorgeous as well as delicious.

More vegan recipes in the news

The Bangor Daily News is featuring Zesty Soyrizo Penne, Quinoa Salad, Cilantro Pesto Tofu and finally, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookies (which was reprinted from the Post Punk Kitchen website).

Vegan soup recipes in the news

The Victoria Times Colonist ran a decent article by Eric Akis the other day. It's well worth reading just for the great instructions on how to make a flavourful vegetable-based stock (and includes a recipe for one). As a bonus, he included recipes for Curried Yam Soup w/ Coconut and Lime, Classic Mushroom Soup and Lentil Soup w/ Herbe de Provence.

A couple of veg recipes in the news...

Carolina's News 14 has a recipe for Vegetarian Borscht today. Opt for vegetable stock and a soy-based ''sour cream'' like Tofutti's and the recipe is easily veganized.

The Orillia Packet & Times has an Asian-Style Vegetable Noodle Bowl recipe from Eric Akis' Everyone Can Cook Midweek Meals. (The egg noodles are easily replaced with an animal-free alternative.)

Veganism in the news -- a recipe and more!

The Canadian Press issued a recipe from Laura Mathias' ExtraVeganZa -- Quinoa Three Bean Salad w/ Toasted Almonds.

The Weymouth News featured a guest article -- accurate and concise -- about the cruelty inherent in the production (and associated consumption) of eggs.

Perhaps most significantly, there are reports all over the news this morning about a recent study that shows that a gluten-free vegan diet raises natural antibodies and lowers bad cholesterol (no surprise!), and may help sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis by reducing what is currently their elevated risk of having a stroke or heart attack.

Recipes: Got a date?

These are simple no-cook recipes for healthy snacks that are great for kids or adults.

Date Treats

1 lb pitted dates
1/4 cup peanut (or other nut) butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans, walnuts or other nuts or seeds

Mix the nut butter and chopped nuts / seed and stuff dates with mixture. Yum!

(This was adapted from The Deaf Smith Country Cookbook.)

Date Balls

1 cup cooked dates
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2 cups organic cereal flakes
coconut (optional)

Cook the dates in water until they're soft. Add the nuts and remove the mix from heat. Stir in the cereal flakes and shape into one inch balls. Roll in coconut. Serve immediately.

(This was adapted from a regional Seventh-Day Adventist cookbook.)

More vegan recipes in the news

The Star features a recipe adapted from Dreena Burtons's Eat, Drink & be Vegan -- Avocado, Bean & Corn Tortilla Lasagna.

The Erie Times-News has a recipe for Penne w/Spinach Cilantro Pesto and Arugula from Laura Mathias' ExtraVeganZa: Original Recipes from Phoenix Organic Farm.

The Chicagoist has an Easy Tomato Bruschetta recipe.

The Washington Post has a recipe for Spicy Stir-Fried Broccoli w/Tomato-Chickpea Ragu by chef Tracy O'Grady, as well as an Okra Gumbo from the Creole Restaurant and Music Supper Club in East Harlem.

The Janesville Gazette has one for Garlic Mustard Pesto from ''America's best-known forager'' Steve Brill (see my link to his website to the left of your screen).

And finally, to cap things off without a recipe, but on a related note -- Indystar.com has a clever little story in their Lifestyle section about the modern-day dilemmas facing people trying to throw together dinner parties.