by Faith Escher
I have recently fallen in love with the library…how could I not fall in love with a place that has an endless supply of available books at absolutely no cost. In one of my recent library explorations, I happened upon a cookbook section that has enraptured me. This library has everything from old and obscure Scandinavian cookbooks to the classic must reads by Julia Child to vegetarian cuisine for families–the possibilities are endless, and it is so fun to explore.
What I love about cookbooks is that they are such an experience. A cookbook is a story, a journey, a history book and an arsenal of recipes that lead to delight! Sometimes I make myself a cup of tea and just read through cookbooks for quick tips, short little anecdotes, and interesting facts on a rainy day while I have something delicious cooking on the stove.
One of my favorite things about a cookbook is the evidence of a good recipe. Surely, if you find a page covered in flour fingerprints, smelling like a vanilla scratch and sniff, or dotted with tiny soy sauce stains you will know that you have found a favorite!
This week, all of the recipes have been sought for and scavenged at a local Southern California library to provide you with an exciting array of wonderful plant based delights!
Turning the Page
Total Budget: $100 or less
All recipes serve 4
NOTE: Garlic (2) = how many recipes the ingredient garlic is used in. For example, “Garlic (2)” means we will be using garlic in two of our recipes for this week.
The Shopping List For All 5 Dinners
* Mirin is a vinegar like seasoning liquid that can usually be found in the foreign foods aisle at your local market. It should be located near the ponzu, fish sauce, or soy sauce near the asian foods.
$80.00 – $100.00 *Prices may fluctuate depending on tax, store, sale and season. I paid $86.48 this week.
If you followed us last week you already have the following; however, if this is your first week you will need to make these additional purchases (appx $21.46) or substitute with ingredients you have in your cupboard.
Recipe No. 1
Pineapple-Cashew Quinoa | Cook Time: 30 minutes
Source: Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero | Link to cookbook |
Link to recipe instructions
Stir-fry:
Note: This cookbook is an incredible resource and a must have for your library! One of the really unique and fun things about this cookbook is that its appendix is the way its recipes are sorted. The appendix is broken up into sections: soy free, gluten free, low fat/reduced fat, recipes in under 45 minutes, etc! It is aesthetically pleasing and as much of a treat to read from as it is to eat from!
Recipe No. 2
Mushroom and Pea Sabji | Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Source: Vegan Indian Cooking by Anupy Singla | Link to cookbook
Instructions:
Note: The recipe suggests serving this dish with brown or white basmati rice, but since quinoa was already on the shopping list I simple used the quinoa instead.
Recipe No. 3
Sweet and Sour Vegetables | Cook Time: 20 minutes
Source: Global Vegetarian Cooking by Troth Wells | Link to cookbook
Sauce:
Instructions:
Note: *The recipe suggests that you use whatever vegetables that you already have on hand, so in addition to the ones that I have added to the list and put in the brackets, you can add anything else that you have left over i.e. pineapple, mushrooms or cashews would be amazing as well! **Use real maple syrup instead of brown sugar. ***Use any thickener that you have on hand instead of the cornflour.
Recipe No. 4
Seitan Saute with Pineapple | Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Source: Students Go Vegan Cookbook by Carole Raymond | Link to cookbook
Instructions:
Note: *I used peanut oil **For this recipe, instead of using peanuts I used the cashews that we purchased for the first recipe. Also note that I doubled the recipe from the original. This recipe serves four as it is noted. I love to eat this recipe over grains. Since there should be plenty of quinoa left from your shopping, you can use that or any other rice or grain you have and enjoy.
Recipe No. 5
Giant Mushrooms Stuffed with Eggplant | Cook Time: Under 1 hour
Source: The Vegetarian Epicure Book Two by Anna Thomas | Link to cookbook
Instructions:
Note: *Substitute butter for olive oil **I used cashews instead of the walnuts. Also I added an extra ½ cup of cashews and left out the cheese.
I hope this blog inspires you to look through some of your old cookbooks, and hopefully it inspired you to take a trip down to the library as well!
References
Moskowitz, I. C., & Romero, T. H. (2007). Pineapple Cashew Quinoa. In I. C. Moskowitz &
T. H. Romero (Authors), Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook (p. 175).
Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.
Raymond, C. (2006). Seitan Saute with Pineapple. In C. Raymond (Author), Student’s Go
Vegan Cookbook (p. 179). New York, NY: Three Rivers Press.
Singla, A. (2012). Mushroom and Pea Sabji (Mushroom aur Mattar ki Sabji). In A. Singla
(Author), Vegan Indian Cooking: 140 Simple and Healthy Vegan Recipes (p. 187). Agate
Publishing.
Thomas, A. (1972). Giant Mushrooms Stuffed with Eggplant. In A. Thomas (Author), The
Vegetarian Epicure Book Two (p. 183). New York, NY: Borzoi Book by Alfred Knopf.
Wells, T. (2006). Sweet and Sour Vegetables. In T. Wells (Author), Global Vegetarian Cooking:
Quick and Easy Recipes From Around the World (p. 83). Northampton, NY: Interlink
Books.
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