Robin Robertson's Blog, page 28

Coming Soon: One-Dish Vegan

It’s almost time for One-Dish Vegan to make its appearance.  The official due date is September 10, but you can pre-order now on Amazon and there’s always a chance it will be available early!

Awhile back I posted a few photos taken by recipe testers during the testing phase of this book.  I thought this might be a good time to share a few more snaps of my favorites.  (The following photos were taken by VeganAide — except for the Pad Thai Pie — I took that one!)

This is a slice of Banh Mizza — the crazy-good banh mi inspired pizza. I think this pizza should be its own food group!

Here is the Risotto Primavera, loaded with colorful vegetables, including edamame:

And this is the Chickpea Noodle Soup, so rich and delicious — definitely a hearty meal in a bowl:

Finally, another one of my personal favorite, Pad Thai Pie:

I love cooking “one-dish” meals and so it was especially fun for me to work in this book.  I hope you love it!

Christmas in July

I called this post “Christmas in July” for two reasons.  One is that I’m finally getting around to showing you the “sweet from savory” ice creams I made last winter using leftover cranberry sauce, apple sauce, and mashed sweet potato casserole.  By blending some of each of these sides dishes with frozen bananas, I made some great tasting frozen treats.  I didn’t use a recipe — just combine about 1/2 cup of cranberry sauce with several chunks of frozen bananas in the food processor, and it made a delicious (and very PINK!) cranberry ice cream.  I did the same with some leftover applesauce, adding some extra cinnamon on top.  It was very refreshing. The sweet potato version was fabulous, too.  I think it would be especially good with some warm pecan sauce on top, don’t you?

The other way this post is Christmas in July is because of the huge box of food items I received from Veestro, a new company that makes prepared vegan meals and ships them to your door.  Of the nine items sampled, I liked the Kale and Beet Salad the best. (The dressing was amazing!)

The lentil soup was very good, as were the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and the noodles with peanut sauce.  The flavor of the cheesecake was good, but the crust was soggy — maybe not the best choice for freezing and transporting?  All in all, the flavors were great, although we found the portions of many of the offerings to be a little small, especially for the price.

It also feels like Christmas because I’ve completed the edits on two of my upcoming projects: MORE Quick-Fix Vegan and the improved and updated Vegan Planet: Revised Edition.  At this moment, I’m only working on one new book project (more on that to come).   So with only one project (instead of three) on my desk, there may be some summer out there left for me to enjoy yet!

For now, I’ll leave you with a little Christmas in July gift…a teaser photo from my current book project (TBA) — it’s especially appropriate for this hot summer weather: Watermelon Paletas (photo by VeganAide):

 

 

 

Best. Birthday. Ever.

My birthday was yesterday and it was a big one.  Milestone birthdays can be difficult, especially ones that start to sound “old.”  Usually Jon and I just celebrate our birthdays by taking each other out for a nice dinner and maybe a day-trip to somewhere in the area.  On a previous birthday, we drove to Cyrus McCormick’s farm (you remember learning about him in grade school, right?). For Jon’s birthday last year, I took him to Paris — Virginia, that is.

This year, my birthday was the best ever:  Jon threw me a surprise party over the weekend!  I seriously can’t believe he pulled it off right under my nose — I must be getting old! Somehow, he managed to convince a dozen of my favorite people to journey out to rural Virginia.  At first he told me that two of our friends were visiting this weekend, then the day before the party he said there “may” be a few “extra” people for dinner.

Late Saturday afternoon, our house began to fill with friends (some of whom I haven’t seen in years).  It was fabulous.  I’ve never been so surprised, or touched, in my life.  Jon even managed to coordinate the menu — he ordered a coconut cake (my favorite) from Sticky Fingers (shown above) and one of our DC friends picked it up on her way to the party.  Several people offered to bring food, so there was lots of delicious goodies to enjoy, from homemade vegan sushi, to a gorgeous bowl of fresh fruit with mint.

Unknowingly, I had made the main dish for my own party!  On Friday Jon told me to “make extra” for our Saturday dinner guests.  Clever boy!  I also ended up making a “second” birthday cake — actually it was a tester cake for an upcoming book project, and I had planned to serve it as dessert (not knowing there was a Sticky Fingers cake in my future!).  So guests had a choice of coconut or chocolate cake — most of us chose to have a slice of both! (We washed it down with a birthday toast of Dom Perignon — a gift from a special friend.)

A great time was had by all: fabulous company, great food, gorgeous weather, and Margaret, the original party animal, was in the midst of it all.  (The other cats were hiding!)

As an interesting side note: I guess it’s no secret I’m a “food person” — here are some of the fabulous food-related gifts I received this year:

Thanks to everyone who came to my party (you know who you are!) and thanks also to everyone who send me special birthday messages, cards, e-mails, and Facebook greetings.  Your good wishes, love, and friendship mean the world to me!

 

 

Father’s Day Treats

Remember back in the day when a new tie was the go-to gift for Father’s Day?  That was a long time ago….  Well, one gift idea that never goes out of style is FOOD, especially “Dad” food: you know, fun stuff that has “special treat” written all over it.

This year, why not make something from Nut Butter Universe — the recipes are fun and flavor-packed. You might try the Smoke and Spice Hummus (served with Dad’s favorite dippers), photo by Lori Maffei. Or make a special grilled dinner featuring these Grilled Vegetables with Almond Romesco (photo by Somer Vedge):

And Nutty Buddy Burgers:

You could always say it with sweets, like this Too-East Chocolate Fudge. (Note: The photos of the burgers and the fudge are also by Somer Vedge. Here’s a link to her review of Nut Butter Universe.

Or start Dad’s special day with a fun breakfast like these muffins (show here with  Granola Sunflower Bars and a Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie (photo by Lori Maffei):

In case you don’t have Nut Butter Universe yet, here’s the recipe for these tasty muffins, so  Dad won’t go hungry.

Happy Father’s Day!

Cranberry-Pecan Butter Muffins

The only thing better than savoring the aroma of these fresh-baked fragrant muffins is biting into one. Bejeweled with sweet-tart cranberries, and loaded with protein and calcium, they are a good choice for breakfast or a between-meal snack served with coffee or tea.

 Ingredients:

1/3 cup pecan butter
3 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil
1 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds with 3 tablespoons of water in a blender and blend until the mixture thickens, about 1 minute.
1/2 cup natural sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a muffin pan.
Blend the pecan butter and oil in a large bowl. Add the milk, flaxseed mixture, and sugar and blend until smooth.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. Stir into the pecan butter mixture until just blended.
Fold in the cranberries, then transfer the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling the cups about two- thirds full. Sprinkle the tops with about 2 teaspoons of chopped pecans.
Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve warm.

  Makes 12 muffins

 

 

What’s New? Vegan Planet!

When people ask me “What’s new?” or “What are you working on?” my answer is usually, “How much time do you have?”  That’s because I’m involved in so many exciting projects, it can’t be explained in a few words — or a brief blog post, for that matter.

To that end, I’m going to tell you about one new thing at a time, and today it’s all about announcing that there is a new and improved, completely updated and revised edition of VEGAN PLANET in the works!

I’m very excited about this project because Vegan Planet was the original ultimate vegan cookbook.  At 400 recipes, it’s a thick book filled with all the basics of going vegan, including lots of easy basic recipes along with some more involved ones.  Over the years, it’s been called the “vegan bible” and “the vegan joy of cooking.”   Many people have told me it was their first vegan cookbook.   I love hearing about how this book has helped people go vegan because that’s why I do what I do.

The original Vegan Planet was published in 2003, making it ten years old this year.  It’s definitely in need of a makeover.  In the new edition, you’ll find lots of familiar favorites along with dozens of all new recipes as well as several recipes from the original book that have been revised and renamed.  It’s been a pleasure to work hard these past several months to make the new revised Vegan Planet the best book it can be.  I hope you love it!  It’s scheduled for release in January of 2014.  Here’s what the book description on Amazon has to say about it:

When it first appeared in 2003, Vegan Planet revolutionized animal-free cooking. Robin Robertson’s pioneering book played a leading role in the passage of veganism from subculture to mainstream culinary lifestyle. Its breadth and variety of fantastically flavorful food not only gave vegans what they craved, it gave them food they could serve up happily to their non-vegan family members and friends.

 

One decade and more than 100,000 copies later, this important classic is back in a thoroughly revised edition. Vegan cookbooks are big sellers today, but in a thicket of topical and niche titles there’s a need for an everyday cooking bible on which vegan cooks can rely. The new Vegan Planet meets that need handsomely. Robertson’s extensive updates cover such things as: the newly expanded range of whole grains that are available; super greens, such as kale and chard, that are rising in popularity; new facts concerning which cooking oils are healthiest and most earth-friendly; and new saucing and flavoring ideas from the global pantry. Throughout, there’s the spirit of adventure and of culinary creativity that has cemented Robertson’s reputation at the top of the vegan pantheon.

Finally, I’d like to share with you some of my favorite recipe tester photos that were taken during the testing phase for the revised edition of Vegan Planet.  At the top of the post are the Vegetable Pakoras. Here is another favorite, Scallion Pancakes:

And here is the Mahogany Eggplant:

And finally the crisp and delicious Shredded Vegetable Fritters:

That’s it for now.  I hope you’re as excited as I am about the new Revised Edition of Vegan Planet!