Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Two New Cookbooks

The Olympics are well underway and I've been trying to watch as many of the events as I can. To help get in the spirit, I'm wearing my super warm Olympic mittens.


These are offically called Torchbearer mittens, and they are part of Hudson's Bay Co.'s Vancouver Olympics line. They are only $10, and the net proceeds go to support Canadian athletes. (as with all the items in the line) They are quite the hot item and are apparentley sold out! You might be able to find some still in stores. Check The Bay or Zeller's. If you can't find the mittens, there are still scarves, toques, hoodies, T-shirts, etc. so you can deck yourself out and show everyone your Canadian pride. I see people everywhere wearing Team Canada gear. WOOT!

I got a couple of new cookbooks and have made a dish from each one.

This is one of the books I got. I have 3 of Robin Robertson's other books and everything I've made out of those ones has been good. I thought this would come in handy for nights after work or days when I'm feeling lazy. The first dish I tried was this -

Roasted Winter Vegetables with Seitan Chunks and Brown Gravy. This was a snap to throw together! The cooking time was more than 30 minutes, but the prep was about 15. This was so good - comfort food at it's finest.

The recipe didn't call for sugar snap peas, but I had a couple of handfuls left over in a bag, so I threw those in near the end of the cooking time. This is one of those dishes that can be mixed up to suit what you might have in your fridge. I also had half of a rutabaga that I added & it all worked out just fine.

Another book I got was Vegan YumYum! If you've followed Lauren's blog, you know what fantastic things she whips up in her kitchen.

This is not a very good picture, but the dish is delicious. It's Marmalade Tofu with Kale and Lemon Pearl Couscous.
My tofu came out much darker than Lauren's. I used soy sauce rather than tamari and frozen tofu. I find if the tofu has been frozen, it sucks up more marinade than if it's used straight out of the package.

The recipe says this can also be made with seitan. I'd like to try that as well.
If you'd like to try this dish, the recipe can be found
here along with a much better photo. :o)
For our wine choice, I picked this
Grüner Vetliner.

Grüner Veltliner is the most widely grown grape in Austria and is known for being a very food friendly wine. There are a lot of simple, inexpensive bottles out there, but if you've never had this varietal, splurge a little and get a decent one.

9 comments:

Levinson Axelrod said...

Both of those books look awesome. I might try to find those online soon. :) Thanks for the suggestions.

dreaminitvegan said...

I love vegan yum yum's recipes and Robin Robertson as always.

I agree with you on the frozen tofu, if one is to marinade tofu, frozen is a great way to go.

Michelle Ann said...

Love those mittens!!!

オテモヤン said...
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ellen said...

Got those mitts and was surprised how warm they were...nice and toasty on those cold days. First time I find something that keeps my hands warm.

Kris said...

Man, now that the Olympics are over, I'm finding myself really wanting a pair of those Bay mitts. Oh well. I also would like a bite of that roasted winter veggies dish, but thankfully it hasn't sold out and I can make it anytime. Thanks for the inspiration :) Cheers!

raton said...

Wow. excited about the winter olympic? :D

across jeans said...

Those mittens are really cute. And the food looks delicious too!

Focus on Health said...

Hi Carrie, it's Candi! I loved your photos and have not looked at that cookbook Vegan YumYum. That tofu dish looks great!!