Robin Robertson

I’m excited to announce that my new book, More Quick-Fix Vegan goes on sale this week!  This new book is the third in a series of “quick-fix” books, the first two being Quick Fix Vegetarian (which is 100% vegan) and Quick-Fix Vegan.   And now there’s MORE Quick-Fix Vegan!

Here are some of the recipes you’ll find in More Quick-Fix Vegan:

 

Garden Vegetable Bean Soup

  Big Bang Tofu

Chickpeas Nicoise

Raspberry Zabaglione

One of my favorite chapters in the book is called “Big Bowls” — here’s a sampling of some of the delicious “meal in a bowl” recipes you’ll find there:

 Quinoa and Chickpeas with Arugula Pesto

Romesco Vegetable Bowls

Braised Greens and Black-Eyed Peas with Smoky Grits

Cannellini Spezzatino

Roasted Vegetable Tabouli Bowls

Manchurian Chickpea Bowls

Balti Bowls

Red Beans and Sweet Potatoes with Watercress and Walnuts

Chimichurri Quinoa Bowls

Tempeh Larb

Mac UnCheesy Bowls

Sweet Potato Barbeque Bowls

Tempeh Reuben Bowls

Vegetable Pot Pie Bowls

Polenta with Tuscan Kale and Cremini Mushrooms

Mediterranean Tofu Scram-Bowls

 More coming soon about More Quick-Fix Vegan, including sample recipes! 

In the meantime, just a reminder that the 30th annual celebration of Meatout is happening on March 20th. Encourage your friends and family to pledge to eat animal-free for a day. www.Meatout.org/Pledge

 

 

 

With all this cold weather, soup has been a regular on my lunch menu — usually a hearty stick-to-your ribs bean soup or a minestrone loaded with vegetables.

This week, however, I was craving something with a little crunch, but I wanted more than a salad.  That’s when I remembered how much I love the Thai Tofu Wraps from Nut Butter Universe, featuring baked tofu strips, a creamy, spicy nut butter spread, and lots of crisp veggies wrapped in a tortilla or levash.

If you don’t want to bake your own tofu, you can use the packaged baked marinated tofu or add strips of seitan instead.  Or skip them both and just enjoy it as a salad wrap.  Here’s the recipe:

Thai Tofu-Vegetable Wraps

These wraps envelop crisp fresh vegetables and a zesty sauce for a yummy lunch or a light supper. To make this gluten-free, use gluten-free flatbreads. This recipe is from Nut Butter Universe by Robin Robertson © 2013, Vegan Heritage Press. Photo by Lori Maffei.

 Serves 2

 

8 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into strips

2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce, divided

Salt and ground black pepper

3 tablespoons cashew butter or peanut butter

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon natural sugar

1 teaspoon Asian chili paste, or more to taste

1 cup shredded lettuce

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/4 cup bean sprouts (optional)

2 tablespoons finely minced red onion or scallion

2 lavash flatbreads or large flour tortillas

 

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or spray it with cooking spray. Arrange the tofu strips on the pan, drizzle them with 1 tablespoon of the tamari, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake until lightly browned, turning once about halfway through, about 20 minutes total. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, combine the cashew or peanut butter, remaining 1 tablespoon of tamari, lime juice, sugar, and chili paste. Blend well.

In a medium bowl, combine the lettuce, carrot, bell pepper, bean sprouts, if using, and onion. Toss to combine.

Spread the sauce mixture onto each flatbread, dividing evenly. Top with the vegetable mixture, spreading on the lower third of each wrap. Top the vegetables on each flatbread with strips of the reserved tofu.

Roll up the sandwiches and use a serrated knife to cut them in half. Serve at once.

 

This recipe for Banh Mi Noodles from More Quick-Fix Vegan is  one of my favorites from the book.  I simply can’t resist the flavors of that seductive Vietnamese sandwich in whatever form it takes.  Over the years, in addition to making the traditional sandwich, I’ve done banh mi interpretations in a deconstructed salad, a wrap, crostini, and even a pizza. Now, all the flavors of my favorite sandwich get tossed with noodles!
Thanks to Zsu Dever for the great photo.  Now, here’s that noodle recipe.

Banh Mi Inspired Noodles
From More Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson (c) 2014, Andrews McMeel Publishing.
Serves 4
8 ounces rice noodles or linguine
2 large carrots, peeled and coarsely shredded
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/3 cup chopped scallions
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
2 teaspoons natural sugar
1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil
8 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into thin strips
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons water
1 to 2 teaspoons sriracha sauce
3 to 4 tablespoons crushed roasted peanuts

Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain well and return to the pot. Add the carrots, cucumber, scallions, ginger, cilantro, vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar. Toss to combine and set aside.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the tofu and stir-fry quickly to brown it on all sides.
In a small bowl, combine the hoisin, soy sauce, water, and sriracha, stirring to blend. Pour the sauce mixture onto the tofu and stir-fry 2 minutes longer.
Combine the tofu mixture and the cooked noodle mixture and stir-fry until heated through, about 2 minutes longer. Serve hot, sprinkled with the peanuts.

I hope you enjoy this recipe from More Quick-Fix Vegan.

It’s National Peanut Butter Day!  To celebrate I’m sharing one of my favorite recipes from my cookbook, Nut Butter Universe.  It’s the stir-fry with spicy peanut sauce that I love to make often, usually varying the vegetables and protein with whatever I have on hand and sometimes tossing with cooked noodles instead of serving over rice.  The one thing that remains constant is the peanut sauce — although I often double the amount of sauce because, well, it’s peanut sauce!!!!

Just for today I’ve renamed the recipe (and added a little extra peanut butter!) in honor of National Peanut Butter Day!

“National Peanut Butter Day” Spicy Stir-Fry with Peanut Sauce

 A creamy peanut sauce is the star of this versatile stir-fry. You can vary the vegetables according to your personal taste and their availability. In addition, the amount of heat in this dish can be controlled by the amount of red pepper flakes added to the sauce. Strips of extra-firm tofu are a pleasant foil for the spicy sauce. This recipe calls for serving it over rice, but it’s also delicious tossed with cooked rice noodles instead.

 Ingredients:

2/3 cup water

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup wheat-free tamari

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons natural sugar

1 teaspoon ketchup

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, orto taste

1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil

8 to 12 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained,pressed, and cut into 1/2-inchstrips

1 large yellow onion, halved length-wise and thinly sliced

2  cups broccoli florets, blanched

1  red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

2  cups thinly sliced napa cabbage

1 cup thinly sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms

3 to 4 cups cooked brown rice

1/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

 Directions:

 1.   In a bowl, a food processor, or a blender, combine the water, peanut butter, tamari, vinegar, sugar, ketchup, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes, and blend well.

 2.   Pour the mixture into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cornstarch mixture and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed. Remove from the heat and set aside. Add a little water if the sauce becomes too thick.

 3.   Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the tofu and stir-fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the onion, broccoli, and bell pepper, and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add the cabbage and mushrooms and stir-fry 3 minutes longer, or until the vegetables soften, adding a little water if the vegetables start to stick.

 4.   Return the tofu to the skillet. Add the sauce and stir-fry to coat the vegetables. Serve over the rice and top with the chopped peanuts.

 Serves 4 to 6

 From Nut Butter Universe by Robin Robertson. ©2013 Robin Robertson. Used by permission from Vegan Heritage Press. Photo by Lori Maffei.

 

 

 

 

 

Many thanks to everyone who joined my “Vegan Planet Party” and entered the giveaway to win Vegan Planet aprons and a copy of the book.   I loved reading all of your comments — it’s such a great way to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Vegan Planet and the launch of the new revised edition.

Four winners were chosen at random (thanks, Random.org!)

An apron goes to the following three people:

1. Darrell Butner

2. Laura Thompson

3. Mark Hawthorne

A copy of the new Revised Edition of Vegan Planet goes to:

4. Asa Mills

Congratulations to all four of you.  Please e-mail me with your mailing address so your prizes can be sent to you.  If I don’t hear from you by Friday, a new winner will be chosen.

Reminder:  During the month of November I posted 30 recipes from the revised edition of Vegan Planet.  If you missed any of them, here’s the complete list.  You can find them all here or by clicking on the archive list for November 2013 on the right hand side of this page.

1.                  Penne and Butternut Squash with Kale Pesto

2.                  Roasted Root Vegetable Chili

3.                  Rustic Peasant Loaf with Black Olives and Sun–Dried Tomatoes     

4.                  Ginger-Lemon Tofu

5.                  Three–Onion Appetizer Pie   

6.                  Curried Cauliflower Pakoras

7.                  Scallion Pancakes with Sesame Seeds

8.                  Shredded Vegetable Fritters  

9.                  Tiramisu Cheesecake 

10.              Pasta Puttanesca        

11.              Za’tar–Spiced Bean Patties with Coconut–Curry Sauce

12.              Polenta–Stuffed Red Bell Peppers

13.              Fresh Peach Crisp with Almond Butter Cream

14.              Chickpeas Vindaloo

15.              Crispy Kale

16.              Savory Pumpkin Bites

17.              Three–Flavor Pancit

18.              Flax–Berry Pancakes

19.              Lemon Risotto with Peas and Scallions         

20.              Tempting Tempeh Sandwiches

21.              Banana–Split Tea Bread

22.              Mahogany Eggplant

23.              Red Bean Cakes with Creamy Coconut Sauce

24.              Curried Lentils with Carrots and Peas           

25.              Spinach Frittata

26.              Saffron Couscous Cake with Spring Vegetable Sauté

27.              Brandy-Apple Pie                   

28.              Autumn Roasted Vegetables

29.              Tofu Yung

30.              Smoky Maple Kale and Black Beans