Party Vegan

Another birthday "do" done....phew. Party Vegan book came in handy for a few things, wish I had remembered to take more photos. Tried the punch - very good and the children liked it and thankfully none of them asked me for pop! Also tried the corn muffin recipe. They were tasty with bits of cilantro, jalapeno and red pepper. Trouble is, they were really dense (not in a good way...is there a good way?). They were heavy little things, I think the batter could have used some extra leavening help, maybe vinegar.

I'm becoming a fan of Alex Jamieson's recipes. For this party I made a double batch of Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili from her Detox Diet book. It's got lots of lime, a hint of cocoa and nice texture with the sweet potato (well, I used what we call yams).

Fantastic mint chocolate cupcakes from VCTOTW - I think they were a hit. Very minty, you better like that combo if you ever go for these. Argh, terrible photo. I suppose I'll just have to make them again to get a better shot.

Orange Carrot Cake with Chocolate Icing....

Orange, carrot, chocolate....in case you're wondering, yep, it works!

So my first recipe out of Party Vegan turned out to be cake, big surprise. In the book it is suggested as a Halloween treat, I made it last night as a mid-week birthday offering for the boys in the house. The icing is especially delicious and we all loved the hint of orange. Definitely one to file under the 'make often' category, it was quick and easy to boot.

New on the Shelf...

Party Vegan and VCTOTW! Yay, they finally arrived!

VCTOTW: I know it has been around for a while now, and I have been able to try at least 4 recipes from it in the last few years. Since those I tried were such huge successes I knew I wanted to try all 75 incredible looking treats in the book. It really needed a spot on my cookbook shelf, and looks great there I might add. I look forward to my non-veg*n friends & family marveling over how beautiful baking IS in the vegan world!

Another incentive, it's my son's 4th birthday next week - cupcakes are on the menu and I've promised a practice run tonight. Deciding what to make is really the issue now.

Party Vegan: The first Robin Robertson recipe I tried was her Belgian-style Seitan Stew, which I think I may have blogged about here last year. It is a fantastic recipe, and since then I've become a fan. Party Vegan is a very cool book, especially if you like to have people over for eats. It's laid out by the type of gathering, such as 'a picnic lunch', 'Halloween' and 'Potluck', and my favourite, 'curry for company'. But if you're just looking for soup recipes, you can flip to the index for a list. Another really handy feature is 'recipes by category', where recipes are listed by type along with a handy classification of being either 'make ahead' and/or 'quick and easy'. My one wee criticism would be that they could have included page numbers here to save having to flip to the index. But this is a super feature none the less.

First up, planning on the Party Punch for birthday celebrations next Sunday, maybe the corn muffins too. Once the birthday craziness has subsided, I think the Creamy Noodle & Vegetable Bake, from the potluck section will be next.