Sunday, March 9, 2008

white food, rainbow taste

Oooh, I've been wanting the Vegan World Fusion Cuisine cookbook SOOOOO badly, I've been pretty much in love with how it all looks so fresh and spirit-full, and complicated in the sense that there's a lot of small ingredients involved, but essentially simple to prepare. Plus it's all colourful, and semi-raw! Anyway, fortunately enough you can read a bunch of it online, and two of the recipes just about stepped off the page, took a gander at my fridge and said, "you know girl, you have everything to make this AND it would use up that gigantic organic cauliflower you got for 99 cents that's been sitting like a delicious white ghost in your fridge just waiting for the right soup recipe to come along."

I swear, they said that! (it's a pretty magical book). So I soaked up some seeds and maybe an hour later I had some seriously sparkling food. The sunflower seed pâté is so cool, you get a woosh of olive and then a woosh of sundried tomato, and so on like that. And the soup! It's light but almost buttery and easy enough to make that I did it all with one hand while talking on the phone. Went really well with the sandwich!

And because I got the recipes online anyway, I'm just gonna cut to the chase and post them up here, cause they're that good. I can't wait to buy this book!!

Bhakti's Broccoli Bisque (*Cauliflower variation*)

5 cups filtered water or vegetable stock
3 1/2 cups cauliflower florets
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup cashews, roasted (I only had 1/3 of a cup and it was totally fine)
1/2 cup celery (I didn't have this, didn't miss it)
1 tbsp garlic
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
1 tsp fresh dill (or 1/2 tsp dry)
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
black pepper, ground to taste
Nama shoyu, to taste (optional)

1. Add water or stock, cauliflower, onion, celery and garlic to a 3 qt. pot and cook over medium-high heat until all veggies are just soft, approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove from heat, allow to cool 10-15 minutes, place in a blender, add cashews and very carefully blend until smooth (I used my stickblender). Blend in batches, being careful to fill blender only half full. Start with low speed initially, slowly increase speed until desired consistency is reached. Return to pot, add remaining ingredients and stir well.

Jai to the Most High Sunflower Seed Dip

1 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup lemon juice, fresh squeezed
1/2 cup filtered water
2 medium sundried tomatoes, soaked in warm water
2 tbsp red bell pepper, diced
1 tbsp green onion, diced
1 tbsp olives, sliced thin
2 tsp fresh basil, minced
2 tsp italian parsley, minced
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp Nama shoyu, or to taste
1/2 tsp garlic, minced (optional)
1/4 tsp oregano, fresh minced
1/4 tsp sea salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper, ground to taste

1. Soak sunflower seeds in water for at least an hour.
2. Soak sundried tomatoes in warm water for 20 minutes. Drain & chop small and place in a large mixing bowl.
3. Place soaked and drained sunflowers seeds, lemon juice, water and garlic in food processor and process until smooth.
4. Place all ingredients in the large bowl and mix well. For best results allow to sit for a few hours before serving.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

this sandwich looks so good! I also happen to have a huge bag of sunflower seeds in my fridge... Thanks for the recipes!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Happy Birthday! (a bit late)
Chocolate banana pie sounds like a heavenly birthday treat.

I'm excited to see the key lime pie so I can live vicaariously through you!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Oooh, the title of your post couldn't be more right - the food might LOOK colorless, but the flavor sounds ike it's anything but!! Yum!! And thank you for posting the recipes :0)

Oh and happy belated birthday (so sorry that I missed your birthday post)!!

Vegan_Noodle said...

I have wanted this book too... glad there's site with some of the recipes!!

Monika K said...

Happy belated B-day!!! I made your aloo paratha this weekend and thought of you (it was awesome!). I think I'm even going to play around with the recipe and try adding different spices to the potatoes (dill, caraway seeds etc).

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

Happy Birthday, late style!!!
this pics are beautiful.

Anonymous said...

you've sold me on that cookbook too... that looks so yummy and healthy. also, happy belated birthday!

Rural Vegan said...

The sunflower spread looks incredible stuffed into that pita! I've had my eye on this cookbook for a while too, I think you've convinced me to take the plunge and add it to my expanding collection!

MeloMeals said...

Happy belated birthday. Your sushi looks amazing!

I have that cookbook.. it is packed away at my old house.. I'm going to pull it out again.

l.a. said...

oh wow that sandwich looks good.

what looks even yummier is your vegan sushi. i love it!

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

hi again-
i've tagged you for 5 facts. see my post for details.

<3