Artichoke Hearts with Garlic and Capers

This recipe is from the cookbook Vegan Fire and Spice by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 63 of Vegan Fire and Spice.

Ingredients: artichoke hearts, capers, garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, olive oil, black pepper, fresh parsley, dried bread crumbs, salt.

Tofu "Scampi" with Spinach

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 44 of Quick-Fix Vegan.

I'll tell you how much I like this recipe. I made it for lunch yesterday and right after I finished I wondered if it would be weird to make it again for dinner. So I didn't. I woke up this morning and wondered if it would be weird to make it for breakfast. So I didn't. But I did make it for lunch again. It is really good.

I'm not much of a fan of tofu, but this does it right. The outside has a crispy shell that is made from the cornstarch and spices, and the inside is soft and chewy. And then you have the creamy chewiness of the spinach and the tangy zest of the lemon juice and white wine. Dulse flakes are one of the ingredients. Dulse is a type of seaweed. That gives this dish a 'taste of the ocean'. Really outstanding. I wonder if it would be weird to make it for dinner tonight.

Ingredients: extra firm tofu, fresh baby spinach, olive oil, garlic, dried basil, dried oregano, dry white wine, fresh lemon juice, cornstarch, dulse, black pepper.

Two-Tomato Pastry Purses

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 29 of Quick-Fix Vegan.

It's near the end of summer and the tomato plants in my garden have started dying out. I realized I haven't really used any tomatoes in this blog recently, so I scrambled through my cookbooks to find some tomato recipes before the rest of the plants go.

This is another recipe from Quick-Fix Vegan. It has some fresh cherry tomatoes with sun-dried tomatoes, and olives, scallions and basil that are cooked down then placed in little pastry squares and folded over. I'm not sure if the 'purses' are supposed to stay closed during cooking. All of mine opened up. Still looks nice either way.

This was a good appetizer. The puff pastry is fluffy and crisp, and the filling is very sweet and tomato-y. This recipe makes the kitchen smell great while it is cooking.

This was the first time I made this, and start to finish it took about 50 minutes. The oven needs to warm up, the puff pastry needs to thaw, and the filling needs to cook on the stove top, then cool before being put into the purses. With practice I might be able to get that down to 35 minutes, but the first time through it wasn't a quick fix. It's a lot of time to spend on an appetizer. Still tasty though.

Ingredients: oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, scallions, garlic, olive oil, fresh basil, black pepper, vegan puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm used here).

Jerk Seitan and Vegetable Skillet

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 48 of Quick-Fix Vegan.

It catches my attention any time Robin Robertson creates a recipe with 'jerk' in the title. I love the recipes for Jamaican Jerk Sauce and Jamaican Jerk-Spiced Tempeh Nuggets in her book Vegan Fire and Spice. I make the tempeh jerk nuggets at least twice a week, because it is so fast and tasty. So, this recipe for Jerk Seitan and Vegetable Skillet in Quick-Fix Vegan was bookmarked within 2 minutes of me receiving this book. And this recipe doesn't disappoint.

It tastes very sweet and is kind of fruity. There are many different flavors at work... the spices, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion... And with all the colors, it's a fun dish to look at.

For the seitan, I used Trader Joe's Beef-less Strips. I've never had much luck creating my own seitan. It always turns out kind of spongy. FYI, the TJ's strips are seitan, but they don't call them that. Seitan is made from vital wheat gluten and spices, and is very high in protein and fiber.

Ingredients: seitan, red onion, red or yellow bell pepper, zucchini, grape tomatoes, scallions, jalapeno, garlic, fresh ginger, soy sauce, cider vinegar, lime juice, dark brown sugar, thyme, allspice, cumin, nutmeg, fresh orange juice, black pepper, salt.

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Basque Chickpea Stew

This recipe is from the cookbook Vegan Fire and Spice by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 83 of Vegan Fire and Spice.
This is a great tasting stew, and is also quick to prepare. You have the option of using fresh or dried rosemary, and I went with fresh because I have so much in my garden. It lent a wonderful aroma to the dish. The tomatoes, onions and zucchini cook down to give this a sweetness, and the chickpeas give it a nice texture.

Ingredients: chickpeas, zucchini, tomatoes, onion, tomato paste, olive oil, garlic, serrano chile, rosemary, vegetable broth, salt.