Yesterday, I got my November issue of Gourmet in the mail. I think I got the subscription for free on some offer at amazon.com. Usually there’s only a recipe here and there that is naturally vegan and maybe a couple more that might be worth veganizing. So it was really nice to be flipping through and find a whole vegetarian Thanksgiving menu spread. What’s even better, is that when I looked it up at their site, they actually have 3 vegetarian menus online! Okay, not vegan, but still, most of the recipes are pretty easily veganized. Seriously, you’ve got to check out the pumpkin stuffed with vegetable stew on the website. How impressive would that look as a centerpiece?
This Sunday was the monthly gathering for our Atlanta Vegan Activity Group. Sometimes we have potlucks and sometimes we go to restaurants. This month we headed to Harmony Vegetarian for Chinese food. It’s on Buford Highway, so if you’re not normally in the area it’s a good time to hit up the ethnic groceries for specialized ingredients.
I knew when I got up Saturday morning and it was finally feeling like Fall that I was going to be all about getting soup at Harmony. The craving stayed with me until Sunday, so I got the Ham Noodle Soup. And it was exactly what I wanted. Nice broth, pink hammy chunks, veggies and oodles of noodles.
Kevin can’t get out of there without a Chinese Pizza. Here he’s finishing it up with his General Tso’s Chicken in the background. The nice thing about our main vegan/vegan-friendly Chinese restaurants, Harmony, Green Sprout and Chinese Buddha, is that they all offer brown rice as an option. Also for Atlanta folks, Ashley has put together a new website for Atlanta vegans: veganatlanta.com. Check it out for information on the upcoming picnic in the park.
Well, I was going to make Dal Kootu last night. But then I burned the beans in my pressure cooker. The water kept bubbling out of the steam release. Maybe I need a new pressure cooker.
the burnination
So I flipped around Dakshin: Vegetarian Cuisine from South India for another recipe I could make. I picked Vegetable Korma. It was okay, but the coconut didn’t mix up smooth enough. I think it would have have been better if I had a vitamix or if I somehow substituted in coconut milk for the shredded coconut.
Oh yeah, now I remember why I bought a new digital camera. *sigh*
Last night I decided to cook the quickest thing I had planned so there was time for me to lick on my new MacBook. The upside of getting my house burglarized, I suppose.
I mostly followed the recipe for Soba Noodles with Asian Greens and Slivers of Tofu from Quick Fix Vegetarian. Okay, so those aren’t soba noodles. Still, they’re Asian. The greens part is Chinese Broccoli, Gai Lan, I think. It’s kind of similar to rapini or broccoli rabe. Think really skinny broccoli that’s almost all leaf with little bitty florettes. Also, instead of baked Asian tofu, I used regular firm tofu that I browned up in a pan with a garlic clove and a sprinkle of tamari. Oh yeah, and I added half a red bell pepper. If you’ve cooked a bunch of stir fry type dishes, you know that the recipe is mostly just a suggestion. The more the make, the more comfortable you’ll be subbing in whatever you feel like. I ended up adding a lot more tamari than it called for, and then sprinked salt on top. I can be a salt fiend though. Really tasty though and had a high veg/noodle ratio so it was probably reasonably healthy as well.
When I saw this recipe while cruising VeganMoFo blogs, I knew I’d be making it soon. I mean, I had JUST cooked up a big batch of chickpeas. How could I not? Plus I’m apparently obsessed with pumpkin right now. I even bought one at the farmer’s market this weekend to bake up for myself. But for the hummus, I used the lazy canned kind. But I made up for that laziness by making my own pita.
For the pita, I used the recipe in The Bread Bible. It’s pretty simple and the dough can rest in the fridge for up to three days. So it’s easy to make them on your timetable rather than letting the yeast rule you.
resting pita dough
all rolled out
Oh yeah, I almost forgot the really fun part about the pita. I mixed up the dough Sunday evening. I was a little tired. When I was getting the water, I just filled a measuring cup with water, then checked the temperature to make sure it was okay. The next step would have been to poor off the excess and pour the amount the recipe called for into the bowl. But I just dumped the whole thing into the bowl. Crap! So I added a little more yeast and flour until it felt right. Apparently I am learning what “feels right” means because they came out just fine. All but one even puffed like it should. And that one half puffed.
puffy fresh baked pita balls
So, what about that hummus & chard? I gave you the link to the pumpkin hummus at the beginning. I don’t know if my garlic was super strong, but if you’re garlic shy, you should start with half the amount and see how you like it. I liked it just fine! It’s also a wee bit spicy. It mixes up really nice and smooth in the food processor. Sometimes hummus recipes don’t behave as well. The chard is Tunisian Braised Chard from Olive Trees and Honey. Flavorful and juicy. The pot liquor was so good that I’ve been drinking it after I finish the veggies.
pumpkin hummus, tunisian braised chard, pita
This post brought to you by: Kevin’s old powerbook! Which is really cute and small and sort of makes me wish the new MacBooks had a little bitty version. Bad news: someone broke into my house and took my shit. Good news: I’ll get a new computer a little sooner than I was planning. Bad news: probably not replacing camera.
Oh, and it might be too late, but I’m going to send this to Susan at Wild Yeast Blog for YeastSpotting. Even if it doesn’t make it, you should check out the YeastSpotting round-up every Friday. You’ll drool over all the bread yummies people have been making.
Also for Atlanta folks, Ashley has put together a new website for Atlanta vegans: 
Oh yeah, now I remember why I bought a new digital camera. *sigh*
