Robin Robertson

Much like the past year, the holidays just flew by and suddenly, here we are in 2014.  I made my own particular riff on Hoppin’ John yesterday (I combine the collards with the black-eyed peas and rice for a delicious one-dish meal) but I changed it up slightly, adding some diced tomatoes, smoked paprika, and jalapenos to the already-tasty dish.  Topped with some vegan sour cream and a splash of Tabasco, it was out-of-this world fabulous.  I also made some cornbread to add to the prosperity symbolism (gold) along with the (green for money) collards, and the good luck black-eyed peas, every indication is that it should be a great 2014 (I’m assuming it will be even better because we had second helpings of our Hoppin’ John!).

My favorite Christmas present this year was the Crazy Cat Lady Action figure that my sweet felines gave me. (I think Jon helped them place the order…)  Here is the Crazy Cat Lady sitting in a vat of catnip — she even had her “house” carpeted with scratching box material — all in an effort to make her cats love her even more!

Speaking of cats, my kitties had a great Christmas — they each got their own new catnip toy.  Here’s Gary with his catnip banana — he’s so happy with it, his tail wouldn’t stop wagging!

And here’s Gary wishing everyone a Happy Mew Year!

 

 

I’m very excited about the 10th Anniversary of my bestselling cookbook, Vegan Planet.  And even more excited about the publication of the new Revised Edition, coming out in just a few weeks.

To celebrate, my publisher, Harvard Common Press, is sponsoring a fantastic giveaway: a chance to win one of 20 limited-edition Vegan Planet aprons just for pre-ordering the revised Edition of Vegan Planet. Here’s how it works:

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the best-selling cookbook, we’re giving every person who pre-orders a copy of the newly revised edition of Robin Robertson’s VEGAN PLANET a chance to win one of 20 limited-edition Vegan Planet aprons! Just forward your Amazon confirmation receipt detailing the pre-order to hcpblogging@gmail.com, and you will be automatically entered to win.

To find out more about how to enter and other details, go to this link. 

Here’s what the apron looks like — wouldn’t it be fun to wear while your cooking up all those great vegan recipes?

 

Happy Anniversary to Vegan Planet!

It’s time to announce the two winners of the Cookbook Giveaway for two signed copies of Nut Butter Universe.  First, a huge thank you to everyone who entered.  If you didn’t win, I hope you will put Nut Butter Universe on your Christmas list!

The winners (chosen at random by the infamous Random Number Generator) are:

#22 – Gloria Kersh — whose favorite nut butter is peanut butter.

and

#162 – Kristin Troska — who likes Sunflower Nut Butter on toast.

Congratulations, Gloria and Kristin!  Please e-mail me with your mailing addresses so I can sign your books and get them out to you. (Let me know if you want the books signed for you or someone else.)

I don’t want to leave everyone else empty-handed, so how about another recipe from Nut Butter Universe?  This is one of my favorite desserts in the book:

 

Lemon-Kissed Chocolate-Cashew Mousse

A touch of lemon adds a refreshing flavor note to this chocolatey mousse.  A garnish of chopped cashews adds crunch. This recipe is from Nut Butter Universe by Robin Robertson. (c) 2013.

 

1 cup vegan semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked 4 hours, then drained well

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

6 ounces extra-firm silken tofu, drained and blotted dry

1/4 cup agave nectar or maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, divided

2 tablespoons chocolate curls or toasted chopped cashews, for garnish

 

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over gently simmering water, stirring frequently.  Set aside. 

In a dry blender, grind the cashews to a paste.  Add the lemon juice, tofu, agave, and vanilla extract and blend until smooth. Add the reserved melted chocolate and 1 teaspoon of the lemon zest and process until smooth. 

Transfer to individual dessert dishes, cover, and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours. 

When ready to serve, sprinkle the top of each dessert with the remaining lemon zest and chocolate curls or nuts.

 

Serves 4

 

— THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED —

Thank you to everyone who entered!

Tis the season….for a Cookbook Giveaway!  Just in time for the holidays, I’m giving away two signed copies of Nut Butter Universe.  Even if you already have your own copy, you’ll want to enter this giveaway because, as you can see in the above photo, it makes a great gift, especially when you put it in a basket with a jar or two of your favorite nuts and/or nut butters.

Best of all, you can enter this giveaway more than once, since there are FIVE ways to enter:

1. Leave a comment at the end of this post telling me your favorite nut butter and how you like to eat it.

2. Subscribe to this blog.

3. Friend me on Facebook or Twitter (I’m @GlobalVegan)

4. Like my Vegan Planet page on Facebook.

5. Spread the word about this giveaway on your own blog or on Facebook, Twitter, or other social medial.

That’s it — you can enter once or enter five times, if you want to!   Two winners will be chosen at random on Sunday December 15 at midnight (when the context closes).  Winners will be announced right here on Monday, December 16.  Good Luck!

In the meantime…here’s one of the ways I like to eat walnut butter — I think these Spinach Walnut Crostini will be great to serve over the holidays.  To make them even more festive, I’m going to sprinkle some minced roasted red pepper on top to get that “red & green” thing going!

 

 

Spinach-Walnut Crostini

This popular Italian appetizer is made with toasted bread rounds that are usually rubbed with a cut clove of garlic and crowned with a savory topping. This recipe is from Nut Butter Universe by Robin Robertson © 2013.

 

3 garlic cloves

Olive oil

9 ounces fresh baby spinach, chopped

2 tablespoons walnut butter

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt

1 baguette, cut into 1/2-inch-thickslices

2 tablespoons chopped toasted walnuts

2 tablespoons finely minced roasted red bell pepper or sun-dried tomato (for the holidays!)

 

Finely mince two of the garlic cloves and set aside. Cut the remaining garlic clove in half and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil or 1/4 cup of water in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the spinach, stirring to wilt. Stir in the walnut butter, red pepper flakes, and salt to taste, blending the walnut butter into the spinach, stirring until any remaining water is absorbed. Keep warm.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Brush one side of each slice of bread lightly with olive oil. Place the bread, oiled side up, on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. When the bread is toasted, remove it from the oven and rub the oiled side with the cut sides of the halved garlic clove.

Top each piece of bread with a small amount of the spinach topping. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts red bell pepper.  Serve hot.

 

 

 

 This Giveaway is Now Closed.

[ Gratuitous Gary Snow Globe photo]

 

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I can’t believe we’re already well into the first week of December — probably because November was such a busy month.   I have lots planned for this month, too, including some great giveaways, but for now, I thought I’d share a recap of my two November events.

The One-Dish Vegan Blog Tour was a huge success with lots of recipes, reviews, and giveaways. I want to thank all the fabulous bloggers who participated in the blog tour.  Here’s an updated (and alphabetized!) list of the participants, in case you missed any of the posts.  Check them out:

 

Cathe’s Kitchen: Review

 Chic Vegan: Frittata Puttanesca + Giveaway

 Glue and Glitter: Cauliflower Comfort Bake + Giveaway

Healthy Slow Cooking: Chipotle-Citrus Tofu and Broccoli + Giveaway

 Julie’s Kitchenette: Cuban Black Beans and Rice + Giveaway

Keepin’ It Kind: Frittata Puttanesca + Giveaway

 Kim Cooks Veg 4U: Quinoa and Lentils with Butternut Squash and Rapini

Olives For Dinner: Spinach Alfredo Linguine + Giveaway

 Pickles & Honey: Frittata Puttanesca + Giveaway

 The Plant-Based Dietician: Mac and Thai + Giveaway

 Positively Vegan: Chipotle-Citrus Tofu and Broccoli + Cuban Black Beans and Rice
 

Savvy Vegetarian: Penne and Broccoli with a Creamy Chickpea Sauce + Giveaway

 Ugly Food Tastes Better: Jamaican-Style Coconut Rice Bowl + Giveaway

Vegan Appetite: Mac and Thai + Giveaway

 Vegan Crunk: Review

Vegan Richa: Chipotle-Citrus Tofu and Broccoli + Giveaway

 Veggiegirl: Mac and Thai + Giveaway

 VegKitchen: Brown Rice and White Beans with Shiitakes and Spinach

 

Also in November was my 30 Days of Vegan Cooking to celebrate World Vegan Month.  For this event, I shared one recipe each day from my upcoming Revised Edition of Vegan Planet for the entire month of November.  If you missed any of the recipes, the best way to find them is to go to the Archive page for November.

 

More soon…in the meantime, if you’re enjoying my various cookbooks, it would be great if you would take a few minutes and post brief reviews on Amazon.  I would be a huge help.  Thanks so much!