Wednesday, March 19, 2008

vegnomiconstraveganza, pt. 47, 48, 49...

I do have other cookbooks, I swear I do... but somehow I just keep coming back to the Vcon. It's like this personal challenge thing to finish it, and it narrows my weekly grocery ideas down to a manageable level, definitely. Plus it tastes fantastic, like 98% of the time, can't go wrong. :)

The prettiest salad award goes to the black bean, mango and quinoa salad, and also the "makeable in ohhh 5 minutes" award. I rank both factors pretty high, I'll be making variations on this for years to come, I think. (and each subsequent salad will rock more than this one, because I was using up iffy mango and tasteless red peppers in it. and it was still great!)

I don't know why I torture myself with risotto-making plans on my off-days. Maybe because on the other side of all that stirring I feel like I've climbed a mountain. A mountain made of patience! And about 1 more cup of water than the recipe called for. So yeah.... this is one tasty concoction. I've never even had regular risotto, but this one (the asparagus and lemongrass risotto) was worth every moment of glazed-over-eyes and stirring, stirring, stirring.......... seriously! Something really nice and exotic about it (and yet comforting like only a big ol bowl of creamy rice can be). It was even good the next day.

And what does one do when the fridge is down to carrots, celery and peas? Make pot-pie of course! This was kinda iffy for me, actually, but I'm not much of a 'beef-style' person normally, and I think the toughness of the crust was my fault since I followed normal crust procedure and not what was written in the book (I added water, chilled, and rolled. Instead of adding water, rolling and chilling). I mean, it was good, but not my usual bag, you know? I'm actually kinda curious what recipes will be left for me to force myself through when I get near the end of the Vcon - I counted today and I'm 1/5th through the book!!! Whew! (and what happens when the cookie and brunch book come out? Liz explodes, basically. XDDD)

EDIT: The crust wasn't tough it just wasn't browned enough! And I dropped a bit of water in the filling before I made the second one, to up the gravy factor, and went mad with the pepper. MUCH better this time. Extremely yum. And oh lordy did I feel like June Cleaver while making this, did I mention that? The novelty of that alone will probably get me to potpie it up sometime again in the future, maybe chicken-style next time though, cause those are the freezer-burnt memories of my childhood. White sauce-y, nutritionally void, gooey crusted toasty gems... zomg I'm getting nostalgia-drool all over! haha, anyway....

15 comments:

T said...

I know what you mean about the total domination of Veganomicon... I've been totally neglecting my bevvy of other rockstar cookbooks. But everything is sooo good! I liked the pot pies when I made them, but like you, I did my own thing with the crust.

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

potpie is def in my top 10 favorite meals.

Anonymous said...

Mmmm. I can't wait till my mango ripens so I can make that quinoa. I think V'Con has taken over the cookbook world. It's so hard not to want to make stuff from it!

VeganCowGirl said...

Your blog makes me sad!!!!!
Vegonmicon has NOT come out anywhere in Europe yet and I do not want to spend the 100 euros they want for shipping!!!
Great photos.

Steffi said...

@missblueberry: you can order the vcon for 20-25 € off amazon with free shipping O_O Plus, every bookstore is able to order it for a little more money.

Oh, the idea of doing all the recipes in the book... I've given up, but go for it!

Lindsay (Happy Herbivore) said...

i have always wanted to make the mango-black bean recipe but wasn't sure about the flavors or how it would look (my spouse has to like the looks of the food before he'll eat it) and now that I see it here, I WILL be making it soon. thanks!

Rural Vegan said...

The quinoa salad is quite a looker, tasteless peppers or not! Working your way through V'con might keep you busy for the rest of the year!

Seitan Wörshipper said...

I liked that pot pie-thing! You have nice blog with lots of good attitude toward cooking! ;)
Those pot stickers in your earlier posting looks also wery tasty, I maybe going to try that recipe!

Judy said...

You're the second blogger I've seen to post that mango recipe..... have to try it now!

I kind of like making risotto, it's relaxing and the end result is so worth the stirring :)

aTxVegn said...

You have been posting so much good food! I'll just have to say that it all looks amazing.

Steph said...

Girrrrl. I tagged you and now you're responsible for a "5 Things About Me That Nobody Knows" thingy.

Anonymous said...

I looooove pot pie! I wanna make some so badly. Yours looks fantastic.

bazu said...

I need to cook more from this book- that quinoa salad looks amazing.

Vegan_Noodle said...

Man, you are rockin through V-con!! That pot pie is calling my name...

TB said...

i love that quinoa salad, and that pot pie looks incredible. also, can you believe it, i've never had risotto, let alone made it myself. someday!