"Jazzy Vegetarian's Deliciously Vegan" + giveaway

Hello web-land!

I have exciting news for all of you!

I am one of the final folks reviewing Laura's newest cookbook, Jazzy Vegetarian's Deliciously Vegan [AMAZON] and am hosting a giveaway for a copy of the book to one lucky US resident!

For those not able to take part in the giveaway, I am sharing an exclusive recipe - one that hasn't been posted yet (that Google and I can find, anyway - please don't tell me if you do find it elsewhere; let me live in my bubble).

This will be the third time I am reviewing Laura's books. HERE is the first one and HERE is the second one. They both come with their own special recipes, so are definitely worth a look.

More in the great news department: The Jazzy Vegetarian Season Six will start on May 28th! Catch it on Create TV or on Laura's station: HERE.

The newest book in Laura's collection of offerings is Jazzy Vegetarian's Deliciously Vegan.

This is Laura's fourth cookbook and I could hardly wait to see what she came up with this time! I find something new in Laura's book with regular frequency, so for me, this was really exciting!

This book comes with a collection of Laura's Top Ten lists for things such as egg substitutions, two-ingredient recipes, cheese substitutes, etc...

And of course, my favorite thing in all of her books: the menus!

I am such a sucker for menus! I love to serve 'complete' meals and a menu is a great way to make sure of that -- all headache-free.

So that's where I started, the Menus. And this is what I found:

Yeah, I am  a brunch-aholic. I love reviewing brunch items because, frankly, brunch is hard to make vegan, with all the cheese and eggs that are usually involved. Laura seems to have made it with perfection.

And then I looked at the ingredients in the recipes and the ingredients in my fridge. We get CSA so we don't always have just exactly what is called for, so a bit of editing of the menu brought me to this...

So, "Wow! Weekend Brunch 2" was born.

And then I realized I didn't get blueberries this week, but I did get strawberries, so the cake turned into Strawberry Tea Cakes. Since dessert usually has to be made well beforehand, the cake came out of the oven first -- smelling amazing, by the way.

Next on the game plan was the Fabulous French Toast Bake. I bake all our bread (except pita and other large flatbreads) so this mal-formed 50%-whole wheat loaf was destined to become toast.

(Why bake bread at home: store bought has its own legacy of troubles, but for me the biggest is the plastic bag they come in. I can buy great, organic, wholesome, delicious bread, but they come in plastic bags. To save the plastic, I bake our bread.)

Unfortunately, I don't have a photo for the French Toast Bake due to cook's error.

Simply put, I messed up the directions (my fault, 100%) and the bake didn't look like it should have and I didn't want to taint Laura's recipe. In any case, it came out tasting great and disappeared as soon as I put it on the table.

The other main dish on the menu is a quiche cup. Zucchini season is already on us here, in San Diego, so these miniature quiches, Zucchini Quiche Cups with Rustic Bread Crusts, were destined to be. 

This is a really simple recipe but supremely tasty. My eldest daughter couldn't keep her hands off them! Nicely done, Laura. She is extremely discerning!

How about, instead of a fruit salad, confetti fries? See how my brain works? Not very logically, I'm afraid. 

The recipe, Colorful Confetti Fries, calls for sweet potatoes and russets, and ... (you can probably see where I'm going with this) ... my CSA brought me kholrabi and sweet potatoes, not russets. 

Nevertheless, Laura's recipes are pretty flexible and this one was no exception. Any root vegetable would be great here so don't be shy.   

In addition to the root vegetables being air-fried and the zucchini in the quiche, I wanted to serve another vegetable.

I saw this recipe in the book: Green Beans and Tomatoes. I happen to have both in spades right now, and the recipe was so easy, and looked so good, that onto the "Wow! Weekend Brunch 2" it went!

Isn't it a pretty color combination? Pretty food also happens to taste good!

To round off the menu, a drink is always appropriate. 

In fact, when I told my daughter that we were having the brunch, her first question was what kind of drink will we be having with it. Her usual go-to is a big batch of some kind of iced tea, but she was very happy with Laura's Green Julius Smoothie. 

To make up for the lack of a photo of the French Toast Bake, I offer you a photo of the complete Strawberry Tea Cakes. They are both spectacular dishes. 

As always, first I want to share a recipe with you from the book. This time I wanted to pick something that was not shared already and something that shows you that this isn't just a brunch book, it's also a lunch, dinner, snack, dessert book! 

It is full of healthy and delicious recipes that are easy and pretty fast to make. And each one has Laura's unique Jazzy spin. 

Take the recipe below for a spin, or have a look at some of the other recipes being shared on this tour:

Tex-Mex Salad Bowl  shared by Veggies Save the Day

Miso Parsley Humus  shared by Veggies Inspired 

Root Vegetable Lentil Trio Stew  by V Nutrition and Wellness

Lemon Maple-Cranberry Muffins shared by Veganification

Banana Pecan Coffee Cake shared by Vegan Nook

Fusilli-Brocolli Bowls with Walnut “Cream" Sauce shared by Carob Cherub

Potato Spinach Fritatta shared by Heal, Grow, Blossom

Sensational Stuffed Manicotti shared Finding Happy in Healthy

I am sharing this amazing-sounding Gingered Portobellos dish. After you get the recipe, make sure to enter the giveaway for a copy of Jazzy Vegetarian's Deliciously Vegan [AMAZON]  :

Details:

Win: Jazzy Vegetarian's Deliciously Vegan [AMAZON]

When: April 29 - May 7, 2018

What: Giveaway on Zsu's Vegan Pantry. [LINK TO HERE]

Who: US Residents only

How: Enter in the Rafflecopter below

Gingered Portobello Steaks

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

These delicious mushroom steaks taste and look much like a conventional steak, making a great substitute for a meat entrée. I like to serve this snazzy dish for dinner parties, but it is easy enough to make for a weeknight meal, too!

3 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more as needed

6 large (or 8 medium) portobello mushrooms, washed and stems removed

2 tablespoons tamari

1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1/16 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Line a rimmed baking sheet, large enough to accommodate a single layer of the mushrooms, with unbleached parchment paper. Brush about 1/2 teaspoon olive oil (in a thin layer) on each mushroom cap, then flip the mushrooms over and arrange them gill-side up on the prepared baking sheet.

To make the marinade, put 21/2 tablespoons of olive oil and the tamari into a small bowl and briskly whisk to combine. Add the ginger, garlic, maple syrup and cayenne pepper and whisk to combine. Spoon an equal amount (about 2 teaspoons or so) of the marinade evenly over the gills of each mushroom. Cover with foil and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour to let the flavors marry.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the mushrooms for 35 to 50 minutes (see note) or until they are almost soft. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 to 12 minutes, or until the mushrooms are golden and becoming caramelized.

Let the mushrooms rest at room temperature for 5 minutes. Transfer each mushroom onto a cutting board and cut into thick slices, on the bias. Serve 1 to 2 mushrooms per person, with rice, quinoa, or potatoes and a green veggie on the side.

CHEF’S NOTE: Baking time will vary depending upon the thickness of your mushrooms. Thinner mushrooms will require a shorter baking time, while thicker mushrooms will need to bake longer.

Recipe by Laura Theodore, from JazzyVegetarian's Deliciously Vegan. Published by Scribe Publishing, ©2018, reprinted by permission. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

asian ginger soup

ASIAN GINGER SOUP PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Sweet Tomatoes restaurant has an Asian Ginger Soup that is not just vegan, but so easy to fall in love with. My youngest, who as recently as last month, didn't mind if ginger never existed at all, decided that ginger, at least in this form, was acceptable. This is a simple broth with added condiments -- spinach, mushrooms, tofu, green onions, carrots -- whatever the diner would enjoy. Not only was it acceptable to her, but it became a soup that both girls insisted I try to make at home. 

I began searching the web for a recipe for this soup, and wouldn't you know it, Sweet Tomatoes itself has published the recipe on their blog. Happily I began to cook. A red flag went up when I noticed that the recipe called for cornstarch; the broth at the restaurant was not thick at all. Nevertheless, I made it as written and hoped I was mistaken about the thickness.

Turns out, I was't. The recipe they have printed, in my opinion, is not the one they serve. At least not as written. Also, their recipe calls for vegetable broth base and I wanted a back-to-basics broth.

I began by making my own broth using carrots, onions, ginger, garlic and celery. After letting it simmer for an hour, I strained it and added it to some sauteed ginger and garlic. That did the trick! No need for any vegetable base or broth mix. Simple, down home cooking.

I have since made a few more gallons of the stuff and the kids have asked that it be placed on rotation. Although this is an easy recipe, I can't say it is quick since there is an hour of simmering involved. It is hands-off, however, so give this recipe a try.

Cost Breakdown

tofu, spinach, green onions, mushroom: $4

carrot, ginger, garlic, celery, onion, parsley: $3

Total to make 10 servings:

$7.00

potstickers

It just may be that by the time I post all of the Chinese New Year meals, the next Chinese New Year will be upon us. I'll make this the last recipe from this particular week, and am only posting it because these Potstickers were darned fine! Especially for having contained TVP, which can have an adverse taste. I made about 40 wrappers and they were loved by the family. A bit of rice and the dipping sauce was really all this needed to make it a complete meal. Many appetizers are just fine as main dishes with the addition a few extra sides. 

My family likes the steam-fried potstickers. Making these little guys really is just as easy as making any meal as long as you have an assembly line going. Fill 5 wrappers at once, pleat all 5 before proceeding and place them on a floured tray while you complete the rest. Have the dipping sauce ready before you even begin because once you have these cooked, the masses will be scarfing them before you have a chance to even gather the ingredients.

To cook potstickers, have your pan very hot, add some oil, add your potstickers, flat side down, and cook until golden. Then add 1/4 cup water, cover with a lid and cook for  a few more minutes until the wrappers are done. Crispy and delicious! Like these...

dan dan noodles

Dan Dan Noodles is a Chinese Sichuan dish consisting of noodles, preserved vegetables, pork, green onions, chili oil and Sichuan peppers in a spicy broth.

As I researched this very traditional dish, I found that the Sichuan peppers are a must and a highly sought after ingredient. It is supposed to be a 'peppercorn' so spicy that it numbs the mouth and tickles the tummy. So, off I went eagerly in search of this supposedly elusive, and at times banned, "peppercorn." The peppercorn is really the outer part of a tiny fruit. I was able to find it at a small Oriental Market in our town (I believe the ban on importing it is no longer in effect, but don't quote me.).

I made the Dan Dan Noodles using seitan and a vegetable broth souped up with chili oil and flavored with ginger, garlic and sherry. I went in for the winning shot and added plenty of Sichuan peppers, and eagerly awaited the promised elation that accompanies these peppercorns slamming against the palate. I awaited the fire that consumes your mouth and leaves it tingling ...and then....

Not much. Tingle, yes. But no fire. I figured I hadn't added enough peppercorns, so I added more and more until my plate had more ground peppercorns than seitan. 

What a let down. I suppose this happens when the reality doesn't live up to the expectations. Therein lies your lesson; be on the lookout for the Sichuan peppers and if you find them, add them to your Dan Dan Noodles. However, in my opinion, the peppers, while being truly exotic, detracted from the flavor of the dish, so don't hold off making this in hopes of attaining some miraculous flavor component; you might be as disappointed as I was. 

I made the noodles without the peppers and very little chili oil for the kids so I know the dish without it is really tasty, but if you can get your hands on them, go for it - there really is nothing like tasting a traditional ethnic dish with all the unique flavors it is supposed to posses. Just don't set yourself up for failure - keep your expectations in check. 

Cost Breakdown

stock, tamari, peanut butter, vinegar: $3

chili oil, sesame oil, sugar, Sichuan peppers: $1

garlic, ginger, preserved veg: $1

seitan, sherry: $2

noodles: $2

Total to make 5 servings:

$9.00

DAN DAN NOODLES PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

ginger seitan

Asian Night

Cat is Japanese at heart - yeah, big surprise - she's a teenager. I think most teenagers these days are wanna-be Japanese, especially in this age of video games, anime and manga.

When Asian Night comes up, she always requests something that is Japanese. Which is fine by me; otherwise I wouldn't even know some of the dishes that exist.

She wanted me to make Shogayaki. Shoga means ginger and yaki means grill or fry. And that is your five cent language lesson for the week. Shogayaki is pieces of pork stir-fried, sometimes with onions, with a ginger sauce. It is served with shredded cabbage.

This is high on the Simple and Quick List as long as you have seitan. You can also use well-soaked TVP pieces. I defrosted and sliced my Tender Cutlets into thin (1/8 - 1/4 inch) strips, coated them with arrowroot (or cornstarch or flour) and stir fried them with sliced onions.

Then I poured on my ginger sauce - garlic, ginger (lots!), sugar, tamari, toasted sesame oil, mirin and sake (I used white wine) - and let it thicken and coat the seitan.

I served this with the traditional shredded cabbage and not-so-traditional sauteed garlic kale. Really good stuff.

Cost Breakdown

seitan, onions: $3.50

arrowroot, oil: $1

sauce, garlic: $2

cabbage: $2

kale: $2

rice: $.50

Total to make 6 servings:

$11.00

GINGER SEITAN PRINTER FRIENDLY RECIPE