Chow Vegan

The winner of the Viva Vegan! cookbook is number 46.

Congratulations to JoLynn-dreaminitvegan! Please send me an email with your mailing address and I’ll get the cookbook mailed out to you.

Thanks to everyone for playing!

This past weekend, I went to Maker Faire in San Mateo. It’s an event held at different cities around the country that celebrates DIY in arts, crafts, engineering and science.

One of the best things about the Bay Area faire, was the number of vegan food choices. There was vegan paella, vegan corn dogs and vegan dim sum.

I also saw veggie hamburgers, veggie pad thai, falafels and garlic fries. And veggie gyros with tempeh! I didn’t check to see if all of those items are in fact vegan or just vegetarian. I was just so happy to actually have choices.

I’ve tried the vegan paella before and it’s good. It’s all open so you can see the paella cooking in the extra large pans.

At the Clif Bar booth, they were offering up small samples of their many flavors as well as giving away full-size-still-in-the-wrapper samples. I grabbed a couple of the Clif Kids Twisted Fruit Rope and ZBar – a perfect snack for walking around the faire.

Viva Vegan! Cookbook Giveaway
Don’t forget there’s just a couple more days to enter the giveaway here, it ends on Saturday, May 29, 2010.

A few weeks ago, I received a review copy from the publisher of the newly released Viva Vegan!: 200 Authentic and Fabulous Recipes for Latin Food Lovers by Terry Hope Romero.

Viva Vegan! is to Latin food what Vegan Soul Kitchen is to African American food – amazing cookbooks that open up and reinvent the culinary delights of their respective cultures using fresh ingredients to create healthy, tasty, vegan meals.

And if you liked Veganomicon, you’ll probably like Viva Vegan! too, it’s written in a similar style and format but focused solely on Latin cuisine.

Since I have a soft spot for shepherd’s pie, the Creamy Corn-Crusted Tempeh Pot Pie jumped out as one of the must-try recipes. It’s a twist on the Chilean comfort food “pastel de choclo” or corn pie.

Using fresh white corn from the farmers market, the creamy topping is a sweet contrast to the savory tempeh filling. It’s fairly easy to make too as it’s mostly assembly. To see for yourself, I’m giving away a copy of Viva Vegan!

To enter, complete the following:

1. Subscribe to chowvegan.com via RSS reader or email.

2. Leave a comment in this post and tell me what’s your favorite Latin food. Comment must be made by midnight PST on Saturday, May 29th; one entry per person. Giveaway is open to US mailing addresses only.

One winner will be randomly selected from the comments received and announced on Monday, May 31st.

Disclosure: In case you didn’t notice, this post is crawling with Amazon links. I get a few coins thrown my way if you click on any of the links and make a purchase of anything.

The cookbook I’m giving away is the one that I received directly from the publisher. I did not drool on it.

Today, I made quinoa. It’s been on my list of things to cook for awhile but I didn’t have the right equipment. Quinoa should be rinsed before cooking but I only had an itty-bitty fine mesh strainer which would have taken forever.

So with a proper sized strainer purchased, I’m finally ready to give it a go. I went with this recipe for Seven-Vegetable Couscous With Chunky Onion Harissa from epicurious.com. But instead of couscous, I used quinoa. Since they’re kinda similar, I figured it would be just as good if not better.

I did make a few tweaks – carrots instead of butternut squash (not in season right now). Reduced the amount of oil called for in the recipe and I cooked the quinoa separately in a fuzzy logic rice cooker.

You gotta make the harissa, it adds even more flavor and totally makes the dish. I only made half since the recipe makes a lot. I also gave the garlic and onion a quick sauté (in the recipe it’s raw).

I’ve eaten the couscous version quite a few times over the years and it’s great. But the quinoa really ramps up the nutrition for an awesome one dish meal complete with protein. It’s how I’ll be making it from now on.

Continuing on with another variation of the Roasted Tofu Cubes recipe from Vegan Soul Kitchen, I made “Honey” Walnut Tofu. It’s a veganized version of honey walnut shrimp, a Western-influenced dish typically found at Chinese restaurants.

I’ve never actually ate honey walnut shrimp before I was vegan and it never grace my childhood dining table. One, I don’t think it was even invented back then and two, milk and mayonnaise are not exactly Chinese ingredients.

I’m not 100% sure what it’s suppose to taste like, but it reminds me a little bit like ranch dressing, only sweeter. I didn’t caramelized the walnuts like restaurants do, as I prefer them raw.

Like the other roasted tofu variations, it’s really easy to make. Just roast the tofu, whisk together the sauce and toss.

“Honey” Walnut Tofu
Serves 4 as part of a meal

I 16-ounce block of extra-firm tofu
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Sauce
3 tablespoons Vegenaise or other vegan mayonnaise
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 tablespoon soy milk creamer
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Garnish
Handful of raw walnuts
White sesame seeds
A few sprigs of cilantro

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, combine the oil and salt. Cut the tofu into cubes (I usually get 24 cubes out of a one pound block) and gently toss to coat with the mixture. Place each tofu cube in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Roast for 15 minutes on each side.

Place the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Taste test and adjust by adding more agave nectar, if desired.

Add the tofu cubes to the sauce and toss until the tofu is well coated. Plate, then top with the walnuts and sesame seeds. Garnish with the cilantro.

Related Posts
Buffalo Style Roasted Tofu
Roasted Tofu with Leeks and Black Bean Sauce
Salt and Pepper Roasted Tofu
Roasted Tofu Cubes From Vegan Soul Kitchen