PPK Cookbook Challenge: Eat, Drink & Be Vegan

ED&BV's Gimme Chimis

I didn’t have last week’s cookbook, but was excited to try Dreena Burton‘s Eat, Drink & Be Vegan, which I’ve had nearly since it was released, though I’d only ever referenced it previously to make a white bean hummus.  I made quite a few recipes, actually, and only over the course of three days!

First I made the Gimme Chimis (if I have one critique of this cookbook just flipping through it, it’s the cheesy names, but being family-friendly/mom-authored I understand why it is so).  This was really good – smokey, a little spicy, and crispy on the outside.  I would make it again, but maybe up the spiciness.  And add guacamole!  (Our avocados smelled and tasted of garbage, unfortunately.)  I also replaced the beans called for with some mashed potatoes.

Somehow, I managed to pick a load of fried recipes, which, while tasty, doesn’t reflect my usual food choices.  I’ve been trying to counter it with eating more raw foods this week.  And speaking of raw, I made Dreena’s Living Caesar Dressing, which was really really tasty!  I had it over mixed greens topped with the Blackened Tofu (LOVED the crispy, spicy flavor!).

ED&BV's Blackened Tofu over mixed greens with Living Caesar Dressing

The last recipe I tried was modified as far as presentation.  Angela brought home a bunch of free, recently expired tofu that needed to be used quickly, so I made a double batch of the Cumin-Lime Tofu, part of which I used as a stuffing for pupusas.  Pupusas are corn tortillas usually stuffed with pork, cheese, or refried beans – I opted for the tofu mixed with shredded zucchini, heirloom tomatoes, onions and garlic instead, and slathered them with some tomatillo salsa.

Pupusas stuffed with ED&BV's Cumin-Lime Tofu, zucchini, tomatoes, onions and garlic.

As far as the tofu part, it was so-so for me.  It tasted very limey and very salty (I would add garlic if I made it again and add the full amount of agave nectar).  But as the Blackened Tofu was so good, and I’ve got a lot of yummy tofu recipes in my bookshelf, it’s not a huge loss.  I ended up baking it far longer than called for to get all the liquid to absorb.  I think I will mix the (large amounts of) leftovers with some rice and veggies.  Overall, a successful week of new recipes!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 at 12:03 am. It is filed under Cookbooks and tagged with Mexican Food, Tofu. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.