Robin Robertson

In keeping with the Vegan Planet theme, I thought it would be interesting to occasionally feature posts from vegans around the world. My first guest blogger is Lochlain Lewis, a vegan currently working in Afghanistan. Here is his post:

Eating Vegan in Afghanistan

We walk the short distance to the Afghan Security Guard compound for our weekly dinner invitation. Upon entering the small room most of us remove our footwear. A slender man comes in and rolls out a six foot mat on the floor. He scurries in and out carrying plates until there is no more room on the mat. It is now covered with dishes of rice, raw and cooked vegetables, falafel, meat, and flat bread. To be a good host is the mark of a good Afghan. They love that we sit with them on the floor around the mat, crossed legged or with one leg turned under with the other knee pulled up to one’s chest. In this setting with so many people sitting around the mat, they don’t notice that I’m not eating the meat.

I’m beginning to pick up the technique of eating rice by packing it with two fingers and thumb, and lifting it to my mouth without tilting back my head. My favorite rice has a nutty flavor nearly like Indian pilaf. It’s cooked with baby grapes that lend a tanginess to the rice. I pull a piece of the flatbread from the round next to me and, cupping it between my finger and thumb, I press it into the falafel patty. Its subtle spiced flavor contrasts well with the sautéed cabbage. Tomato slices as red and ripe as I’ve ever seen line the edge of a plate of green onions. The Afghan fare is what most of us would consider rustic. But it is in the simplicity that I find its true enjoyment.

At the close of the meal, green tea is served. They pour a small amount of locally grown granular sugar in the bottom of a glass mug and pour the steaming tea over it. The conversation floats like steam rising from our tea. Dinner concludes with handshakes all around and the occasional hand to the heart. Such hospitality is an oasis in an otherwise unforgiving terrain.
—Lochlain Lewis

I had one of those “aha” moments the other day while contemplating making seitan satays for dinner. Instead of marinating the seitan to infuse it with satay flavors, this time I decided to put the satay flavors directly into the seitan mixture.
To do this, I made a small batch of shortcut seitan —the kind everyone is making these days using gluten flour instead of the traditional (and time-consuming) method made with whole-wheat flour that involves lots of washing and rinsing and kneading. To the basic ratio that is nearly equal parts dry ingredients to wet ingredients (but just a smidge less wet ingredients), I included peanut butter, soy sauce, and garlic powder right in the seitan mixture to give it a rich satay flavor without marinating. I then stretched the seitan into a rectangle and baked it for about 20 minutes. After cooling, I was able to cut it into thin slices and thread it onto skewers. The satays were then arranged on a baking sheet, dabbed with a little spicy peanut sauce and drizzled with a little oil. I then broiled them for a couple minutes, but you could grill them if you prefer.

I served them with my favorite quick-and-easy peanut sauce (the recipe is below), and the satays were everything I’d hope for. I made extra peanut sauce to use later in the week, probably tossed with some noodles and veggies.

Announcement: The Humane Society International (HSI) recently added a section to their website to promote veg food choices, and I’m pleased to announce that they decided to use recipes from my book Vegan Fire & Spice for their launch. Here’s the link for the recipes — many of them have photos, too.

Reminder: The deadline for the Creative Couscous Cake Contest is coming up fast. Don’t miss your chance to win and be immortalized on these pages! It’s simple — just grab a box of couscous and think of your favorite dessert flavors…you may be surprised what you come up with!

Easy Peanut Sauce for Satays and More
Start with this basic recipe and then taste to customize it to your liking: add more water for a thinner sauce, a bit more vinegar or tamari for a more salty/pungent flavor, a pinch more sugar if you like it sweeter, and so on.

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons tamari or other soy sauce
1 teaspoon Asian garlic-chile sauce
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1/2 cup water

In a bowl, combine the peanut butter, vinegar, tamari, chile sauce, ginger, and sugar, stirring to blend well. Slowly add the water, stirring, to make a thick sauce. Set aside.
Makes about 1 1/4 cup

A trip to my favorite farm stand this weekend didn’t disappoint. While my own vegetables are still working their way up through the earth, the produce sold at a farm near my house was lined up and ready to go. Among the booty I brought home were tender green beans, sweet onions, baby red potatoes, and several rare and irresistible “black” tomatoes.

Whenever I see a vegetable display such as this I can only think one thing: Salad Nicoise, that lusty Provencal composed salad accented with Nicoise olives. Sure, the traditional version calls for tuna, but I like mine with thinly sliced pan-seared extra-firm tofu. Arrange the components on leaf lettuce, drizzle on some vinaigrette, and dinner is served.

Does anyone else out there have a favorite way to enjoy these veggies?

Erik Marcus over at Vegan.com has accomplished an astonishing feat with a feature article called Vegan.Com Top 10 Recipes of 2008. In it, he has managed to compile a favorite recipe from the authors of 10 recent popular vegan cookbooks, along with a photo of each recipe and commentary by each of the authors. I’m honored to be included in this stellar group with my recipe for Indonesian Coconut Rice from Vegan Fire and Spice. Check out the article and see if your favorite books (and recipes) made the cut.

REMINDER: Don’t wait until the last minute to submit your entry in the “Creative Couscous Cake Contest” – the contest closes on May 10. These couscous cakes are so easy to make, there’s no reason not to enter! (BTW, if you have more than one amazing idea, there’s no limit on how many entries you can enter…)

Everyone’s enthusiasm for couscous cakes has inspired a contest: The Creative Couscous Cake Contest! As I’ve said before, the variations on this recipe are only limited by your imagination. Just prepare a batch of couscous, using fruit juice or other sweet liquid, instead of the usual water, press it into a greased springform pan (I like to make it in a springform pan, but you can use whatever pan or mold you want), and refrigerate (see my April 9 blog entry below). Once chilled, you can add your choice of toppings, slice it up, and serve it for brunch, a snack, or dessert.

So here’s the challenge: come up with your own variation of couscous cake, then send me a description and photo of your masterpiece. The grand prize winner will receive a copy of my Proggy Award-winning vegan cookbook, Quick-Fix Vegetarian,* which contains a recipe for – you guessed it – couscous cake! The top three entries will get the photos of their creations posted on this blog and, undoubtedly, be the recipients of numerous accolades. The contest closes on May 10. Winners will be announced on May 17.

To Enter: Submit your entries by e-mail through the contact page on my website. Just go to http://www.robinrobertson.com/, then click “Contact.” My e-mail link is at the bottom of the page. Good Luck!!

*if the winner already owns a copy of Quick-Fix Vegetarian, I’ll be glad to send a copy of Vegan Fire & Spice or another book you don’t have.