Thursday, October 1, 2009

VeganMoFo: Urban Vegan

I'm kicking off the first day of VeganMoFo with a post dedicated to the recipes I was fortunate enough to test for the The Urban Vegan: 250 Simple, Sumptuous Recipes from Street Cart Favorites to Haute Cuisine earlier this year. Today happens to be the official release date of the cookbook and I urge you to pick up a copy. Dynise has incorporated her intense love of travel into her recipes, filling her cookbook and our tummies with the flavors of France, Cuba, Vietnam, North America, and so much more. Here are some of the recipes I tested:

The Pumpkin Spice Baby Bundts (which I previously discussed here) were moist and flavorful with a delicate glaze.

The Porcini Quinoa with Cauliflower and Toasted Pecans was probably my favorite of the savory dishes. It was warming with a lovely hint of toasted nuts.

When I lived in Toulouse, France, there was a little Italian restaurant where we would eat on special occasions. My favorite dish there was Pasta alla Melanzana and this Spaghetti alla Melanzana took me back to that time.

My favorite sweet dish was the Vietnamese-Inspired Tapioca Pudding. Sweet and fruity with a nice variety of textures, this tapioca was the best version of tapioca pudding I've had since becoming vegan.

The Havana Beans and Rice was a smoky, well-spiced dish.

Maybe I spoke too soon about my favorite of the sweet dishes...Michele's Peanut Butter-Graham Balls were absolutely delicious peanut butter truffles.

The Spinach with Pine Nuts and Raisins was the perfect combination and one of my favorite recipes from the collection.

My first attempt at risotto was this rich Pumpkin Risotto with Sage and Sun-Dried Tomatoes.

I've become the girl who thinks the best "candy" is crystallized ginger (well, I prefer Trader Joe's Uncrystallized Ginger), so of course I wanted to try the recipe for Chocolate-Covered Ginger. It did not disappoint.

The Green Bean, Mushroom, and Tarragon Salad was creamy and tangy.

I made the Portobello Burgers sans buns. They were amazingly juicy and perfectly cooked.

Fresh herbs gave the Herby Polenta a wonderful added dimension.

I hope you'll add this diverse cookbook to your library and, when you do, let me know what you've made!

16 comments:

lindsay said...

your bowls are so cute!

Anonymous said...

oh, what a coincidence !!!
Guess what book arrived via amazon.de on my doorstep ?

That tapioca pudding looks intriguing, - I have never seen tapioca like that over here, - bummer :(

Happy MoFo'ing to you !!!!

Michelle said...

Ahh baby bundt!! And those bowls are adorable!

Anonymous said...

The weather is cooling down ma belle so we r expecting more delicious baked goods (like the pumpkin baby bundts) in the mail from u!

Jen Treehugger said...

Baby Bundts always get my attention though everything looks good they have totally stolen the show.
Heart your dishes muchly.
Happy Mofo'ing.
:)

Sunny Subramanian said...

when are you going to have us over for dinner? ;)

Monique a.k.a. Mo said...

Yes! Chocolate covered ginger!

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said...

ha, your bowls are great! And I totally need to get this cookbook, everything looks so varied and neat!

Lex said...

OMG I've got to rethink my whole MOFO post this is one heck of a kick off!

lolahippie said...

they all look so good!

i have a question - where did you get the bowls with the faces? i have a huge cup (pink) that has hearts on the side and a little sticky-out nose. i am 99% sure they are from the same..? producer? well, but my favorite cup is not here with me in LA but home in singapore, so i am wondering if i can get the same thing here!

thanks : )

p.s. i discovered your blog a few weeks ago and i read every single entry!

Ricki said...

Wow, I am so impressed! I must order that book. The tapioca bowl is just too cute!

kim g. said...

This post is amazing! Everything looks so incredibly delicious. I really miss tapioca pudding, so I'd probably get the book for that alone.

River (Wing-It Vegan) said...

Someone should hire you as their official book spokesperson, you make them look so good! You have a whole set of those adorable bowls? How cute!

vegan.in.brighton said...

Oh wow, I cannot wait to get this cookbook!

That mini bundt is just too cute and porcini quinoa sounds and looks delicious.

trina said...

All of those dishes look great!

Anonymous said...

Love your bowls and all your goodies. My dishes are much less exciting. :)