25 January 2010

This Week in My Kitchen: Pho, Potato Leek Soup, Falafel Plate with Roasted Veggies, Carrot Cake, Chocolate Cupcakes

Pho
I love pho, but I just don't trust that vegetarian pho in restaurants is actually vegetarian, so I learned how to make it myself using this recipe. The secret to the broth is the star anise, which fills the house with that pungent, beautiful licorice smell that 's the hallmark of so many pho houses. For add-ons we had tofu marinaded in veggie broth and Chinese 5-spice, fresh basil, bell pepper, jalapeno slices, sprouts, lime juice and sri racha hot sauce. Usually I have fresh limes and scallions, but I forgot to pick them up at the market. Mmm... I want pho right now!


Potato Leek Soup
Potato soup is one of my favourite things to make, so potato leek soup has to be that much better, right? Right! I used the Basic Potato Leek Soup recipe in How it All Vegan as a jumping off point, but I used less oil for frying the leeks and added some soy milk and margarine at the end of cooking for some creaminess. I pureed everything with my hand blender, but I think next time I'll reserve some of the leeks and leave them whole.



Falafel Plate with White Bean Hummous and Roasted Veggies
One day this week I was at a loss as to what to make for dinner. I cooked up some dried white beans and stared at them for a while. Then I remembered some fantastic white bean hummous I'd had once at Locus, so I set about trying to recreate it. The result was pretty good - nice and bright, lemony and not too garlicy. I roasted some zucchini, orange bell peppers and fennel (a big hit with Kirk), fried up some falafel balls and served it all with some Stoned Wheat Thins (since we didn't have any flatbread on hand).


Carrot Cake
One of my favourite cookbooks is Voluptuous Vegan by Myra Kornfeld. It's full of rich, delicious recipes organized into menus. It's great for impressing your friends at dinner parties. This week I was craving carrot cake, so I broke out Voluptuous Vegan and used her recipe. I substituted pecans for walnuts, but otherwise stayed true to the recipe. The result was fabulous, rich and moist, more a spice cake with a bit of carrots. I only wish I'd had some coconut milk to make the accompanying coconut cardamom sauce. Next time!




Chocolate Cupcakes
So much for weaning myself off of sweets! You know when you really need some chocolate? This week I solved that with the Basic Chocolate Cupcakes recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (such an amazing book!). I iced them with a simple chocolate glaze, and my chocolate craving was satisfied!



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Dynasty Chinese Five Spice Powder  Huey Fong Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (28oz)  How It All Vegan!: Irresistible Recipes for an Animal-Free Diet    Stoned Wheat Thins, 10.6-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 12)  The Voluptuous Vegan: More Than 200 Sinfully Delicious Recipes for Meatless, Eggless, and Dairy-Free Meals  Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule

1 comment:

  1. Oh my gosh, the pictures alone made me salivate.
    They look so yummy!

    ReplyDelete