Roasted kabotcha with broccoli and peanut sauce

Roasted kabotcha squash with broccoli, peanut sauce and brown rice. I got the peanut sauce recipe from The Enlightened Kitchen: Fresh Vegetable Dishes from the Temples of Japan. The author, Mari Fujii suggests it with fried kabotcha but I roasted it instead. This book is gorgeous by the way: color photos, diagrams, simple but elegant recipes. No onions and garlic though, as this is all vegetarian (mostly vegan) Buddhist temple-style cooking.

Spicy ginger peanut sesame noodle salad

Brown rice fettucine slathered in dressing (peanut butter, tahini, water, rice wine vinegar, tamari, sriracha, ginger, sesame oil, agave, lime juice), tossed with raw veggies (shredded carrot, sliced scallions and seedless cucumber), served on a bed of baby spinach and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. Next time I might add some avocado slices on top too since it goes so well with peanut (try an avocado peanut butter sandwich for lunch some time. I promise I will not steer you wrong here). I was also thinking that this would make the perfect summer potluck barbeque (meat-free hopefully) dish. It doesn't need to be re-heated, it's fast and straightforward, you can customize it with whatever you like (add whatever veggies are hanging out in your fridge, maybe some corn, some snap peas or mushrooms, or some tofu or tempeh), and it doesn't scream; "OMG THIS IS VEGAN FOODZ!?!" to omnivore friends. Really, it just says, very politely "hey, I am very delicious, ask for my recipe," and then coughs; "go vegan..." Heh, talking food.

In which global warming confuses my taste buds...

The random warm days apparently now sprinkled here and there this January made me seriously crave salad. It's a nice change from all the roasted root veggies and brown rice I've been consuming lately. (Truly, has there ever been a more vegan-er-ish comment than that?)

Peanut-Sesame covered Rabbit Food:

Salad: romaine, purple cabbage, shredded carrot, cucumber, scallion, chickpeas.

Dressing: peanut butter, tahini, tamari, sesame seeds, sesame oil, tangerine juice, agave nectar, sriracha, dijon mustard, black pepper, water.

Oh, and while the title is (kind of? hopefully?) a joke, I'm linking to one of the many meat = bad for the environment articles right here.

Vegan Lunchables

A carbtastic dinner tonight + lots of leftovers for lunches this week: roasted delicata squash with spinach, basil and artichoke pesto (with pignoli, olive oil, vegetable broth, oregano, black pepper), roasted sweet potatoes, mashed parsnips and potatoes (with olive oil, rosemary, black pepper and soy milk), brown rice and some store-bought cranberry sauce, inspired by vegan yum yum's latest post. I don't care how hot out it is outside-- I want fall food!


Peanut ginger tofu salad w/ carrot and cucumber sticks and toasted whole wheat pita triangles inspired by an Everyday Dish show with Julie Hasson, but taken in a more Thai direction by yours truly. In the salad: extra firm tofu, peanut butter, sriracha, scallions, grated carrot, cilantro, cucumber, ginger, garlic, tamari, white pepper.

Vegan Japanese...ish

Vegan sushi: spicy chickpea roll (mashed chickpeas, veganaise, sriracha, scallions, tamari, cucumber), mango nigiri with cilantro, and an "elephant roll" (peanuts, avocado and red pepper, black and white sesame seeds sprinkled on top). Use toasted nori sheets, keep your hands very wet when working with the sticky stuff, and don't forget to to prep that rice with rice wine vinegar, sugar and salt, it makes a BIG difference. Oh, and I just rolled these guys using a big ziplock freezer bag since I didn't have a bamboo mat-- and it worked out pretty well. Still need some help? These nice ladies explain it all. It's actually really fun and pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Will certainly be making again soon.



Perfect vegan tempura: Used this recipe from veg web except I used half AP flour and half rice flour. I battered my veggies (1 sweet potato, 1/2 bunch broccolini and 1 onion) and then dredged them in panko bread crumbs. Fried in some veg. oil (peanut might be even better next time) and served with a simple dipping sauce (tamari, mirin, scallions, sesame seeds).

Fun Fact: shojin ryori is the name of a traditional vegan Buddhist cuisine . While the above especially bastardized meal is in no way an example of it, it's interesting to read about. As Buddhism affected Japanese culture, vegetarian cooking in major cities and temples influenced Japanese cuisine. Not hard too imagine when you think about all the soy and gluten preparations made famous there. (Agedashi tofu!)

For more Japanese food check out The Vegan Ronin's blog with some seriously yummy looking pictures.