Plain Ol' Pancakes

Ever wake up and just want regular old, no-frills pancakes? If so, grab your copy of HIAV and turn to page 44.

CLASSIC PANCAKES
HIAV p. 44
Prepared 11/22/06

Classic! Not much else to say about these; it isn't the first or last time I will make them. My boyfriend loooooves them with peanut butter.

Another Delicious Sauce

In a sauce v. soup battle, I am not sure which genre would win. I adore them both. This was a really satisfying meal.

GINGER PEANUT SAUCE
p. 82 HIAV
Prepared 11/13/06

This was really good though I felt like it could use more depth, and so next time I will add more sesame oil and hot sauce. It was fantastic over rice noodles with steamed vegetables.

Aw Yeah, Its Maureen's Coffee Cake

One of the things I love about these books is that authors seem like they have spent a lot of time discussing the food and recipes with friends and family. For this recipe, S. Kramer nonchalantly divulges her concern that her husband might leave her for her friend Maureen, simply because (we are led to assume) Maureen's coffee cake is fabulous. Thats setting up quite the scene-- who needs crazy TV dramas when one has vegan cookbooks?

MAUREEN'S COFFEE CAKE
p. 189 GOV
Prepared 11/12/06

Got high marks from friends, family and neighbors alike. Forgot to photograph it before son had picked off most of the topping while I was otherwise occupied. Seems like he might like to spend some quality time with Maureen too. I used the wrong size pan and so baked the cake for much longer.

I Finally Exhaust The Oat Bread Recipes

Each book in this collection has an oat bread recipe, and this is the one from LDV. I am not sure why, but I didn't really care for this one as much as the first. In fact, we chucked part of the loaf, which is highly unusual in our household. The soup, though, was really good, and the leftovers went to work for lunch each day. I would make the soup even spicier next time!

KISSING COUSINS OAT BREAD
p. 266 LDV
Prepared 11/12/06

I don't not recommend it...I just liked the other two better, though this one is pretty similar to the one from GOV, just with almost double the amount of rolled oats.

SPICY CREAMY TOMATO SOUP
p. 55 HIAV
Prepared 11/12/06

Simple, fast, warm, delicious. I love soup. As mentioned, I will make this with a bit more spiciness next time. Well received by the males of the family.

Happy Birthday, and Welcome, Baby Carter!

What better way to welcome a new baby than with a birthday cake? Carter's mom loves lemon cake, and so I baked one for the family.

LEMON CAKE
p. 147 HIAV
Prepared 11/10/06

Frosted with some
ANYTHING GOES ICING
p. 150 HIAV

The cake didn't rise very much, but I hope it was delicious. I haven't gotten feedback, because opining on baked goods for your friend's recipe review website tends to be very low on your list of things to do when you have a newborn around. Either that or it wasn't very good and she is too embarrassed to tell me so. That couldn't be though. Could it? I will update you post haste when I receive word.

In Which We May Have Helped Cause A Baby's Birth

Our friend came over for dinner and she was pregnant. Less than a day later-- not pregnant at all. Was it the chili-like beans, rice and cornbread we served? Lets just say that by the end of her visit, we were pretty sure that the baby was not too far from being ex utero.

WOLFFIE'S "BUTTERMILK" CORNBREAD
p. 268 LDV
Prepared 11/07/06

I am not sure why this Wolffie character didn't get a co-author credit for LDV-- she supplied a vast number of the recipes. Her cornbread was pretty tasty. I thought it was a bit on the dry side, but that didn't matter much to me given that our meal was on the soupy side of things. I was impressed with its high rise.

Birthday Broccoli

Those of you keeping track at home know that my birthday falls very close to election day, and that I love broccoli. Therefore (and this has nothing to do with the elections), when it came to picking out a delightful birthday meal, it was a no-brainer that it would involve broccoli.

ZUCCHINI & BROCCOLI TOSS
p. 151 GOV
Prepared 11/06/06

Delicious! Soybeans were added-- the amount of time that they'd been expired made me a little nervous, but weeks later, we are all still kicking. We kicked it up a notch by adding not just any almonds but Trader Joes's wasabi almonds. Easy and satisfying.

Wicked Good Pumpkin Bread

MIKI'S PUMPKIN BREAD
p. 280 LDV
Prepared 11/5/06

I omitted the nuts but was told by a taster that that was an error. I did add the optional chocolate chips, which apparently was the right thing to do. As with all breads, this is especially good straight from the oven and with the chocolate chips sort of melty. The balance of spices is nice in this, and it was nice to not have to double the recipe to get two loaves (it is for two loaves). It feels like the perfect November bread. Try this, I think you will like it.

Another Pancake Review

COCONUT PIE PANCAKES
p. 39 LDV
Prepared 11/5/06

These were not prepared by me, but they assuredly were eaten by me! They were quite tasty: sweet and moist and with a spicy kick that is unusual in pancakes but welcomed by the taste buds. They were prepared with a pear instead of a banana and with a cardamom "replacement"-- I don't know what went on with Google and cardamom replacement, but I do know these things were rich and good. Oh...and I requested a handful of chocolate chips to be thrown in, which I think helped add some sweet magic. In lieu of chocolate chips, I might next time drizzle a chocolate sauce over these babies.

Saucilicious

RED LENTIL SAUCE
p. 182 LDV
Prepared 11/1/06

This was a simple and delicious sauce. I am a big huge fan of red lentils...en fait, I love lentils in general. I pegged this one for a winner but then immediately rescinded said pegging when I got to the third to the last ingredient. Cinnamon? Say wha?? I became very, very skeptical. BUT! S. Kramer didn't lead me down the primrose path-- this was very tasty slathered on a simple meal of steamed veggies and rice and an excellent dip for our Crispy Tofu Fingers, a recipe from the excellent book Raising Vegetarian Children.