zenpawn

Hi all! If you recently sent me a message or question via the contact page, I apologize for not responding. It turns out, I was getting your email, but there was no identifying information with which to enable a reply. I have now fixed the problem, so I will actually see the name and email you entered. Woops. Please try again. One I can answer in public is for my kimchi recipe. You can find it, and links to other resources, in the comments section for that post in the archives here.

Also, be sure to check out the recently-added Books link in the right-hand column, containing some of my recommended reads.

Thanks to those who wrote in and to all who add comments. You keep me going.

I’m constantly creating my own hot sauces, as the habit of placing large internet orders for commercial offerings, often at $5/bottle(!), got rather expensive. And it’s much more fun and interesting. Usually, they are just spur-of-the-moment, but this is one of my favorites, so I finally decided to write down the recipe.

Get the recipe in Vegan Done Light.

Serve over roasted veggies, garnished with cilantro or parsley.

It was a relaxing solo day of thanks, watching chess online and poker live on television later in the day, and, of course, cooking and eating. Indeed, I was a trencherman today! Two big meals and continuous snacking for this bachelor.

Spaghetti squash, kidney beans in tomato paste and chipotle powder, and a kale salad with tarragon vinegar.

Cheezy orzo (i.e., glucomannan pasta with brewer’s yeast) and broccoli.

Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale (I hope their beer is vegan; it’s one of my favorite microbrews. I sent an email to their support department to verify.) Consider it confirmed! Their response: “Our ales are not made with any animal products.”

Get the recipe in Vegan Done Light.

Roasted brussels sprouts, onion, garlic, and jalapeno swimming in the last of the coconut curry sauce.

This post, and one to follow in the days to come, offer up two recipes for the main dishes in an Indian dinner I cooked for a friend this weekend. We had originally planned to also bake something for dessert, but having had seconds (or even thirds…you know who you are) we were not at all tempted and skipped it.

The spread, which my friend declared the best meal I’ve made yet, consisted of a toor dhal in tomato sauce, roasted cauliflower and zucchini* in a coconut curry sauce, chicory and onion salad with fig-infused balsamic vinegar, and basmati rice. For a cooling condiment, mango chutney, from Hannaford’s own Inspirations line, fit the bill quite nicely. Finally, the rice and curry were garnished with green onions and parsley, respectively.

[*] The menu called for butternut squash, but apparently the Thanksgiving shoppers had bought them all up.

This dhaal was inspired by flavors and methods found in the books
Vegetarian Indian (responsible for the spelling) and Fresh From The Vegetarian Slow Cooker.

Get the recipe in Vegan Done Light.

These mini Mexican pizzas are perfect for my CRONies, gluten-freers, and as delicious appetizers.

Get the recipe in Vegan Done Light.

These were so good! If you are patient enough to let them cool a tad, or have fire-proof hands, you can pick them up and eat as finger food.

My friend since sixth grade has an October birthday. This year I surprised him with a cake celebrating, of course his birth, but also the flavors of the season: a pumpkin spice cake.

To somewhat hide those cracks, provide more sweetness, and lastly as a canvas for lettering, I topped it with a thin layer of semi-sweet chocolate.

The cake was a big hit! It was moist and dense, spicy and a little sweet, made more so by the chocolate (and the botched strawberry preserve lettering). We got a chuckle out of that.

Last week I made these applesauce-raisin muffins. They were intended for my coworkers, but a bad traffic jam that day kept me out of the office, working at home. So, instead, I froze them for future handy snacking.

Happy World Vegan Day everyone!